Life is such a funny Dream....

And though they were sad
They rescued everyone
They lifted up the sun
A spoonful weighs a ton
Giving more than they had
The process had begun
A million came from one
The limits now were none
Being drunk on their plan, they lifted up the sun

Forcing it off with their hands
The trapdoor came undone
Above our heads it swung
The privilege had been won
Being drunk on their plan, they lifted up the sun

Yelling as hard as they can
The doubters all were stunned
Heard louder than a gun
The sound they made was love




None of us are here forever. That's just as well because, if we truly were immortal, we would soon get bored with the world... And the world, quite conceivably, would get bored with us. We become boring enough and set in our ways, even when we know that life is temporarily and transient. Current events have raise many questions about the security and reliability of future plans. But what do I want? A life that's completely predictable or one that's full of spontaneous joy and magic? That is the question.

Build it up just to tear it down just to build it up. . . . .

The tent is finished and prepared to come down. As I write my mornings entry from my extended stay hotel I feel and see a storm on the horizon. I have a very hollow feeling today. I think that I am missing home. I have been on the road now for over two months and it is starting to wear on me a bit. I'm also missing someone very special to me as well. Talk about the Monday blahs. I'm just not feeling it today. Ah, all thing must pass, all things I can overcome. 

Where was that thought that freed me yesterday? Why did it not stay? Why do the doors of freedom seemed to have closed on me? How much it take to keep elevated and moving in the right direction. How do I keep from holding my breath, from worry? 

My evening post will arrive upon completion of the days work. I feel as if it will take a long time to accomplish things today.

All things must pass. All things must pass. All things must pass. 

OM                                   OM                                 OM 

Good Omens

Today, we touched up the tent and put on the finishing touches. We are now preparing to work on the "Sideshow" banners, the entrance banner, and lighting for the outside of the tent tomorrow. Oh, and we are going to completely tear the tent down and rebuild it to make sure that we are all on the same page as far as putting it back together.

So after we were finished today I stuck around by myself waiting for Chris and Wayne to return from the Home Depot. As I waited I coiled up miles of power cables left behind from the PA System and Lighting. Well I looked up and in walks this chicken. Jake saw him walk in the tent and came in. At that moment the chicken decided to jump up on my shoulder. He had no intentions of leaving either. I'm not quite sure what to make of this. I'm not certain but I don't think that chickens generally hop onto humans shoulders and hang out. What the hell kind of Pirate would this make me? Maybe in some cultures this is good luck, maybe the bird new that I was a vegetarian and took refuge with me knowing that Jake had chicken curry for lunch. 

Chickens are weird, this one taking the cake. He literally did not want to leave my shoulder. It didn't bother me too much so I let him hang out for a while. I finally asked him to get off of my shoulder. Wayne's wife Michelle brought out some bird feed for him and he seemed quite content to eat it. I have a feeling that he is now a resident of the compound. 

I have decided to name him Bingo. As I finished coiling cables and making sure that everything was put away Bingo just followed me around. He'd peck at the ground and make some chicken noise and then look up at me as if I had some answer to some question that he had. Maybe I do, maybe all I really need to do is figure out the question. I often think that we always have the answers, it's just the questions that we ask ourselves are the wrong ones.

Well, I hope that Bingo does ok tonight. Wayne has cats. Wayne's cats are sort of fat so I don't think they will catch him. Bingo's pretty quick. 

Full Moon's and wandering chickens

Circus tents and Santa Claus 

Santa Clause and Aliens

Christmas on Mars.

I think Bingo is a good omen. 

Happy 420

The Tent still has many transformations to undergo. This is just a start.
We are going to take the green lights that are around it and send them up the edges towards the top on each seam. We are also going to have flags at the two mast points on top. We will also have our own popcorn vending outside of it with popcorn served up in special Flaming Lips popcorn bags which Chris and I are going to make at home in Portland at his letter press shop along with special Flaming Lips Christmas on Mars tickets that will allow entry into each showing. We are starting the first showing at 12:00 am and continuing on until 6:00am. Which at that point I suggested that we Do a Breakfast on Mars showing serving breakfast to the folks who have made it through the night and are ready to sleep for the afternoon until the show starts. (I highly doubt that my suggestion was given much thought other then a "Hey that's a good idea, a laugh, and well, really breakfast for three hundred people? Even the Lips aren't that crazy.")

The inside picture here is rough but it gives you an example of how dark we have made a circus tent.


I hope that you are all well, happy, and finding a bit of peace in each day. Try and take a moment to appreciate someone in your life, yourself, and your ability to do so, for we are so fortunate to have the ability to do so.

Happy Sunday and to those that do Happy 420! 

Race for the Prize

Yesterday was an intense day of work, a labor of love. We arrived at the compound at 8:00 am to start painting. We quickly decided that if we were to premiere the movie that evening that we needed to step it up a few notches. This my friends is where technology came in to save the day. 

We rented two industrial paint sprayers. We finished the tent at 5:00 pm with the help of the sprayers. ( and the five of us working diligently) Even with the help of the sprayers it was still not an easy task. We were after all painting a circus tent made of vinyl in the wind. 

That being said we painted it black. While the others started preparing the seating I was handed the task to hang the lighting. *(40 feet in the air) I took neon green christmas lights and strung them from one support beam to the next. Then Michael and I set up the surround sound 5.1 system and calibrated it for the tent. 

At the same time Chris was putting green lights around the top of the tent. Things were starting to come together. We just finished putting in theater seating which Wayne procured from someone somewhere here in the city. At the minute that the last seats were put into place the first guests started arriving. 

It was amazing. We did it, with not a minute to spare. Now I'm not one to normally pat myself on the back but I do not believe that I have ever been so proud of the amount of work that we accomplished in such a short amount of time. Once the movie started it was amazing. It felt as if you were in a theater. Every bit of attention was on the film. We did it, we created a movie theater out of a circus tent. The sound system is so intense that at moments when the bass kicks in you eyeballs rattle. This is truly something to behold. I mean, after all, the Flaming Lips did have a hand in this. It was great, we did something amazing. We took one reality and turned it into another. Everyone bought it. 

Wayne's wife Michelle handed out popcorn, beer, and soda, every one settled in the lights went down and the movie was a hit. It was such a hit that at the very end the Oklahoma City Police arrived. This was at 9:30 pm. It was quickly apparent that not only my eyeballs rattled when the system boomed. If  you lived in the neighborhood you may have thought that a UFO hand landed somewhere nearby. 

Somewhere over Kansas at the moment those sounds are still floating in the air, rattling, rumbling, and roaring, that supersonic sound. So if you hear something in the middle of the night don't be alarmed, it just the Flaming Lips and Christmas on Mars. 

Round the world and home again
That's the sailor's way
Faster faster, faster faster

There's no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowing

Is it raining, is it snowing
Is a hurricane a-blowing

Not a speck of light is showing
So the danger must be growing
Are the fires of Hell a-glowing
Is the grisly reaper mowing


Yes, the danger must be growing
For the rowers keep on rowing
And they're certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing

Umpa Loompa Doompadah Dee Doo

Oompa Loompa doompadee doo
I've got another puzzle for you
Oompa Loompa doompadah dee
If you are wise you'll listen to me

What do you get from a glut of TV?
A pain in the neck and an IQ of three
Why don't you try simply reading a book?
Or could you just not bear to look?

You'll get no
You'll get no
You'll get no
You'll get no
You'll get no commercials

Oompa Loompa Doompadee Dah
If you're not greedy you will go far
You will live in happiness too
Like the Oompa
Oompa Loompa doompadee do

I see a Circus tent and I want to paint it black . . . . .

I was just informed that we are going to paint the inside of the tent today black to make it more like a "movie" theater.
Yikes!
Stay tuned. . . . . . . . . . .

Progress Made Obstacles Arise Determination Pushes Us on. . . .

Today we arrived and attached the walls of the tent.
There was crazy storms coming and going. The tent held up just fine through wind and rain.

Then is was off to set up the PA system and Screen and test these things. We have some adjustments to make to the sound system tomorrow but for the most part it will peal the skin off of your face at points due to the loudness. We're just looking for more low end to rumble your insides apart.

Everything is a lesson in trial and error the first time around. We have to redo things but we generally find the perfect solution to our problems, if not we just put some duct tape on it and call it good.

I'm in great spirits but am feeling run down and maybe on the verge of getting ill. Sore throat sort of thing so it isn't too bad.



Tomorrow we are going to attempt to paint the entire inside of the tent black, as to keep the focus on the screen instead of the multiple colors of the tent. This is going to be an undertaking for sure. Painting Vinyl is a new concept for me. I'll keep you posted but in the meantime I shall post some pictures of what it looks like at the moment.

My thought for the day

Don't look down upon others and have expectations because you may very well find yourself below your own mark. One thing that I have found for sure is that life is not a straight line but a journey that has it's ups and downs. You may do whatever you thought you would never do. You may find yourself saying things that you would never say.

With life's progress, twists, and turns sometimes you just have to surrender and accept your situation. I am finding that this is the only way for me. I have to trust that things will all work out for me and for others. Something will remain the same no matter what you do and somethings will leave when you least expect it.

We can only hope to embrace the good, encourage the good, practice being present and being good regardless of the situation at hand. Taking the Highroad through the likes and dislikes, the dramas and the plays.

I find myself embracing obstacles and situations that I would normally avoid as I feel like I am learning some of my biggest lessons through them. One has to burn ones hand to realize the magnitude of heat.

I am on a new quest in life to treat each and every moment as a lesson and to be present and patient in each and every moment as that is truly all that we really have.

I wish you Peace.

How to build a circus tent.

(Click on Pictures to Enlarge )




San Francisco 4:00 am
Denver 8:30 am
OKC 12:30 pm
After checking in at the hotel and grabbing a bite to eat Chris and I made our way towards the compound to start work on the next new and exciting thing of all things Flaming Lips.

The Circus is coming to town.

Enter at your own risk, you are entirely in charge of the outcome of the situation. If you were a car I would suggest putting your seat belt on, a boat one would need a life vest, an aeroplane a parachute, all you have is the vehicle of your body so by all means find that thing to cling to hold on and enjoy the ride. Once it starts it's not stopping.

The UFO is being transformed entirely as well which was the start of things yesterday as the Circus will arrive via UFO from a galaxy far far away.

Today we started measuring the ground for the tent stakes. To the uninitiated there is a lot more to a circus tent then one would think. Math, Lots of Math, measurements, right angles, and a pinch of hope that things will work out. An inch off on one side means one to two feet off on the opposite end. The start was slow and the momentum didn't pick up until about five hours into the day. We measured, remeasured, placed stakes, placed center points, and started hitting with sledge hammers. ( I sort of really dug the brut force that it takes to pound stakes into the ground.) I'm gonna be a big kid by the end of this.

So after setting the stakes, it was time to roll out the big top, which comes in three rather large pieces. These pieces are connected by a series of slipknots, about 250 total. Once the slipknots are in place two huge center poles need to be attached to the tent so when it is raised it will push the ceiling and hold the tent upwards. The two center poles attach the three vinyl sections through two bell ends.

Once those are fixed then all of the wall supports are added and tied down to the stakes in the ground. Then when everything seems to be in place Justin and I manually hoist up the center pieces which weigh about two hundred pounds. We are lifting and pushing these and the entire roof of the tent at this point. It is far from an easy task. Once those are vertical then the cranks on the center pieces have to be cranked to lift the tent even higher. Once we get them set it's time to tighten up all of the support ropes tied to the stakes around the tent.

When that is finished and everything is secure Justin and I scale the tent and climb up the top to attach the rain caps to cover the holes where the center pieces are to keep the rain out. We also have to each go down both sides and velcro over where the middle piece and each end piece meet. Then we climb to the top of the tent make sure everything looks good and we then slide down like children on a playground. One would be amazed how quickly one moves when sliding on vinyl 40 feet in the air.

At this point we had to call it a day. Tomorrow we attach the side walls, set up the sound system, bring in the movie screen, projector, lighting, smoke machines, and other sorts of psychedelic treats and tricks.

We also have to make the midway banners, (my idea coming to fruition) instead of lobster boy and bearded ladies the banners will depict characters from the movie that one will only see once inside. We are also going to be giving away popcorn made in an old timey popcorn maker with special Flaming Lips Christmas on Mars Popcorn boxes or bags. We still haven't made a decision on that yet.

Stay tuned as it will become more visually stimulating.

I am so happy to be back in a positive and creative work environment. I must admit that I was sad to end my mini vacation in San Francisco as Valorie went out of her way to show me such a good time in that city. It was truly a wonderful experience and I am indebted to her for her kindness and generosity to give of herself, her home, and her spare time, big shout out, Thanks Val, you're the best.

Tomorrow, it looks like rain. . . .