Epic day. Can't sleep without working the keyboard. This is turning "John-like" -- the bad habit of gulping dinner at midnight. (Am I breaking any new ground by ingesting at Carl's Jr?)

 

What an opportunity this has been. We have to take this seed and plant it. Make the "SBMS Teen Press" an ongoing education/adventure in journalism. We won't need paper--we've got the web!

 

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Started out slow today. Exhausted--slept in. Got to the trailer at 11:30 to see Brother John hard at it: working the phone and Final Cut Pro simultaneously. He's gotta learn that "cotton kills," though. I shiver just looking at him. Lynn has seen "Darius Goes West" the night before, giving it a rave. He responds by emailing the producer, and ends up getting an interview with the whole crew, scheduled for later in the day. Cool!

 

But first I've got a date with a 9-11 documentary on the EPA's bogus assessment that there were no problems with the air & environment in lower Manhattan after the attacks, and subsequent cover-up. Ghastly doings. One person interviewed in the piece says something to the effect that by politicizing the EPA, and denying there was a problem, the government effectively prosecuted an 8 month toxic attack on Americans on for the terrorists. Lawsuits are appearing now.

 

Unfortunately have to leave early to pick up Jake. Meet the Team back at studio central--the trailer at the Lobero. When the crew from DGW show up, it becomes a romp. That's a zany bunch. Not to mention visionary, and with deep hearts. An honor to meet Darius, resplendent riding his cool wheels. His heart was bearing special weight. I hope the research on DMD can help him; quiet champion. Daniel inspired a round of autographs on the trailer door--as if we'd have trouble remembering HIM!

 

We've been going round and round about Al Gore tickets. At one point there was a set for everyone on the Team. Some confusion along the way ended up having them pulled--then returned drastically reduced. All but the red carpet squad and a couple others are getting to go. Argh. I'd been looking forward to that in a big way. And with yesterday's announcement of his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, our SBIFF Attenborough Prize tonight seems propitious. But I'll be going to a MAD Academy show as consolation.

 

Jake and the other SBMS grads--and others in the program--have created some interesting and (mostly) fun work. It's its own mini festival of the arts: printmaking, animation, short films. I feel right at home! Partly because of the festival connection, partly because of the friends and colleagues who are also there to see their kids' projects. A plan is floated to add Gail and me to a group going out for dinner after the show closes its doors for the night. (You can still see the exhibit through the weekend and most of next week. Take a trip to the Ridley-Tree on the corner of Arrellaga and Santa Barbara for a treat!) But it seems things are continuing to go wrong: a report from the recon unit at the restaurant is bad. The Paradise is rockin' and there isn't any space for 2 more. Argh again.

 

So Gail and I start a wander downtown, looking for a place to eat, when we veer past the Arlington. Hey, let's check it out. Timing's about right--maybe Al is still on the red carpet. We park and scamper over just in time to see the SBMS Teen Press score an interview with the Big Guy! He was in full cruise mode up the carpet, but suddenly back-tracked to where our kids (and JSB in pants, coat and a bow tie) were stationed. Was it the result of SBIFF Press Office guidance, or did even Al recognize the gravity of the situation of having John there in a tie? I think it's even money either way.

 

Suddenly Lynn is there, too, with Tim, a colleague from Vieja Valley School. She has an extra ticket! I have my press pass! Gail and I are in!! It is GREAT. Mike deGruy leads in, Davis Guggenheim gets a few turns, but Al does the heavy lifting in the conversation. It's thoughtful, heartening, funny and provoking. James Cameron gets to do some provoking, too. Along with the praise, he prods the former Vice President to take up the mantle of responsibility and run again. The audience cheers, and Al bows with blessing/prayer hands. He does the Buddha thing now; a self-depricating smile that doesn't say 'yes.' He and Davis receive their awards, and suddenly it's over. We're left with the glow of having participated in something...auspicious? Too soft. Momentous? Too strong. Important. And we have an important mission: to become the next great generation. All we have to do is save the planet.

 

But first there is another war to fight. "The Great Yokai War" It's a tongue-in-cheek action comedy from Japan that seems to reference Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away", Indiana Jones, 50's-90's Japanese monster movies, samurai movies, the third installment of the Matrix trilogy, some recent Star Wars tech, and ghost and fantasy stories, not to mention the modern penchant for product placement...(to wit: Kirin beer). Wow--quite a mouthful, all 'round. It's funny/ridiculous and fun, but by the time it's half way done, I have to head for the lobby for some food. I'm getting head-ache-y. But it's now after 11, and the snack-bar is closed. Hence my trip to Carl's later. After all the fun is over, but not the glow (nor the hunger).

 

So. The glow's still here. The hunger's gone. It's 2:22AM and I'm due at the Andalucia at 8 for a "press breakfast." Gotta go.