Thought Cereal

Like clarity and cohesion? This one isn’t for you. Go find the one about pickles. And for the brave, welcome:

Well, I did it. It wasn’t easy but I brushed my hair.

I was driven down to Southern Uganda yesterday. I’m not one of those guys who knows what a kilometer means, but let’s just say I was pretty close to Rwanda. I’m also not one of those guys who can define what a road is, but if you’ll indulge me and consider what a road isn’t, we drove on a lot of those.

Maybe you know what a jerry can is. I didn’t know what it was until recently. Picture an African woman walking down the side of a road with a brightly colored container of fuel on her head. See it? It’s not fuel, though. It’s water. A jerry can held the water I used to wash myself with this morning. It seemed way too heavy to carry on one’s head.

Think of a Spanish food. Did you think of a ham sandwich? Well done. That’s right.

Now think of a Ugandan food. Did you think of matooke? Right again.

Goats dress like cows here.

I saw some baboons in the mountains.

I’m tired.

This

Is turning

Into

A

Terrible poem.

Okay, so that was what was on my mind last night. It is today now. I slept and had some coffee. It is a new day, and I only have a few more things to shoot. I am dangerously low on storage and am becoming increasingly particular about what is in front of the camera.

One of the side effects of malaria pills is you can never remember if you have taken your malaria pill.

When I was at the equator, I bought a Snickers bar – a little taste of home. Where do you think it is now? The last time I saw it, it was in a little black bag. Oh wow. There’s Juli. I bet she knows where it is.

She did.

iTunes wants to update my phone. It really has no idea about the wifi capabilities here. You’re cute, iTunes.  It took me about seven days to get my Snapchats from Hannah and KatieP.

Heck this Snickers is good.

I’m flying away from Africa on Monday. The journey to the airport is its own adventure, but once I get to Entebbe I will fly for several hours on my way to Brussels. There are a lot of amazing things about Africa, but this rock and roller is looking forward to getting back to the west. I have never been to Brussels, but I love her. And God.  New York.

And then

Albuquerque.

I’ll walk and they walk and I’ll twist and they twist and I’ll shimmy out west where I belong.

Pulling Push Doors is the name of my new movie. There you are in control of your life and your body, and the world around you, and for that brief teeny moment, when all you want to do is open the door, you realize the world around you is not what you think, and you are not in control of anything, and it’s this private moment that is either frustrating or funny, and then you don’t think about it anymore. You’re in charge again.

I’m not sure if it’s a comedy. I think everything is a comedy.  No, not Schidler’s List, you lunatic. Life. Puppies. Waiting in line. Buying something broken. It’s all comedy.

I am curious to see if you all think it’s a comedy. Maybe it’s not. It’s funny.

Like your face.

I became interested in German films from the late ‘20s and very early ‘30s. Berlin was the place where films were made and innovation was happening. Many of the great innovators left Berlin for Hollywood and here we are. I have openly stolen from these early movies for Pulling Push Doors. I like the black and white, the lighting where our focus comes and goes, the use of text to lead and misdirect. It’s like learning a series of magic tricks and the oldest and greatest trick isn’t an illusion, it’s witchcraft or a forgotten science.

I like good movies, but I also like bad movies. I have strong opinions about Rope, The Room, Pyscho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and an entire genre of Lifetimey movies where an abused woman leaves her husband by faking her death and assuming a new identity in a small town where he finds her. Remember Sleeping With the Enemy? That dude liked his towels straight.

Okay, I have a weird fondness for Sleepless in Seattle and The Holiday and You’ve Got Mail and movies like that. You’re waiting for the punchline, aren’t you? I like them. No joke.

I was thinking about the romantic comedy genre and wondering if I could make a movie like that. Romantic tragedy. My brain responded. Romantic tragedy.

Ugh. I was trying not to sound pretentious and I referenced Hitchcock twice.

Have you ever seen By the Sea? It’s so bad. It’s so bad it’s hypnotic. It’s so bad it’s funny. It’s so bad I can’t wait to watch it again. Go watch By the Sea immediately. Also, learn to play cards. I like cards.

Tell me again, what’s my through line?

Line?

Be sure to like Egg Murders Productions on Facebook, and get your pretty butt to Pulling Push Doors at The Guild on August 12. If you’re not in Albuquerque, you should be. As should we all.