Trembling before the plow.

"Ivan Ilych's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible." 

Non-triumphant return from non-conquest of Guatemala

I spent a week in Guatemala.  As a first worlder, secure in my knowledge that my needs are many and my appetite vast, I witnessed, however briefly, just how the other nine tenths of the planet lives and was momentarily knocked off balance. Being an audio guy means I do not speak, lest I ruin a take or change the outcome of how a scene takes shape. Unfortunately that becomes how I also view the world; as a detached observer, somewhat less passionately than those in participation. It was hard not to see what was going on and want to help. We were shooting a team from Providence hospitals putting in cook stoves in the homes of indigenous Mayan people of central Guatemala because their traditional fire benches cause respiratory infection in their children.  The houses are small- some as small as 10' x 14'- and house sometimes three generations on dirt floors, with no water or electricity (though many do have some electricity) In a way the mission is a fake: the villagers do not need North Americans to put in their stoves- they are intelligent and capable people and could easily do it them selves- the crew from Seattle found that out quickly. The reason they need North Americans there is to experience the poverty and inequity first hand and then go home and try and do something about it. I very much want my kids to do this and see that the world is not just about adequate wi-fi connection. Guatemala is the destination of numerous charitable missions from the developed world and it needs them desperately. It is however becoming increasingly dependent on them. The clinic we shot, who bring teams of surgeons down from the states to do marathon surgery in their two affiliated hospitals, has almost inadvertently become the 3rd largest healthcare provider in Guatemala, a country of 14 million people.  There are many, many problems crime there: drug and gun running, disease, corruption and most visible, it is a police state  with every corner patrolled by either a army unit of 19 year olds with AK 47s or  rent-a-security patrolman with a ubiquitous silver, pistol gripped shotgun at every bank, pharmacy or fast food restaurant. There are also many American missionary Guatemala junkies who are like a woman who marries a man and wants to change him in order to "fix" him, but is always disappointed that he never changes, but keeps trying because, he would be so perfect if it worked.

A hundred inconsequential adventures.

Many things. All of them uninteresting in the aggregate. Shoots and work and discussions and an unending stream of first world problems all of which add up to the fact I have been busy and mildly disturbed by 21st century life. I am going to Guatemala for a week at the end of February.

Burning Elf 2012 : New Traditions

Laurie called this video "melancholy" and I suppose she is right. Christmas is a strange and somewhat depressing time. Nothing is ever quite perfect. Nothing makes any one as happy as you hoped (or as unhappy as you expected thankfully). And even the most ridiculous events and most meaningless rituals designed just to make you laugh, eventually make you sigh and look the other way. Burning Elf is strictly an offshoot of silliness, but now is an institution. Our attendance is slipping but devoted. It was about 60 this year and featured video projection on the elf during the lead up.  It was a fun night preceded by pressure to make it all work, pressure to be perfect or at least competent.  I watch this now from my children's eyes and think what kind of oddball traditions I am establishing and hope that they can salvage something from this mess. Ned is an observer and is slowly formulating something profound about this all. Tom will continue the Elf until 2099, no questions asked.

The Mayans were wrong (or mis-translated)

What the Mayans meant to say was that I would be involved in a car totaling collision in Laurie's car at 7:00AM on the last day of the Mayan long count calendar. This sucks.

No one hurt. Both other vehicles were drivable and driven by nice people.

UPDATE 12/29/12

TOTALED!

Several Days of Work During Which Civilization Proves it is Crumbling

Three days of unexpected work: this time of year usually means that the work for the year is over. I suddenly had three days of talking heads: Explanation of electron microscopes, the history of a defibrillator company, and finally a green screen case study of a data storage sale. Generally they were boring but harmless and possibly beneficial since they involve research and live saving.  During the last shoot the word came down that there had been a massacre of children in CT.  This news has lead to a moral depression that is hard to shake. Like climate change, we will not have the backbone to change anything about guns and mental health. We are a spineless race.

Portlandia

Never underestimate the wonderful power of taking your girlfriend to another city for the weekend. Laurie and I had a great time in Portland together sans children. All the frustrating nuts and bolts of married life, kids, house, pets and work issues disappear nicely on a train excursion to PDX. It's nice to remember all the reasons we married each other remain semi-intact.