this was a favorite joke of my grandfather, David Malcolm, who passed away a few years back. a few week agos, I sat in on a session of a specialized Masters psychology program he started in the 70s at San Diego State called Community Based Block, which was really incredible.
I was in Los Angeles for a few days, getting a taste of the city, investigating if it's someplace I could end up. I'm still undecided. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
On my way home from the East coast, I stopped off in Madison, WI and stayed with a friend, Sam Bolstad, who works in the capitol building. Though the majority of the protesting had quieted, the city was still full of exhausted, stalwart demonstrators.
"viva la cheddar revolution"
(just quick fyi, you can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them. the camera is 10 megapix, so they look pretty good blown up.)
a few stalwart protestors.
Madison:
"In 2010 UW Madison was named the number three "party school" by Playboy magazine,[115] and number 12 by The Princeton Review.[116] UW–Madison has long held a reputation for academics, political activism, and drinking; the last of these can be understood in the context of the state's traditionally high level of alcohol consumption in general."
I was fortunate to partake in/witness a special tradition at UW Madison: a 21st birthday. The evening was raucous and debaucherous, to say the least.
Big thanks to Sam and Brittany.
After an entertaining, somewhat exhausting weekend, it was time to head back to Minnesota to rest up for the next leg of my trip.
At home, I wrote, read, had my car worked on, got new glasses, said hello to friends and family.
this is where my volkswagon gets her checkups.
soon i was headed through the midwest tundra, towards colorado, the rockies, the desert, and Los Angeles. i took alotta landscape fotos, so here are a few. again, all of these photos blow up if you click on them, and some of them look pretty good.
miscellaneous midwestern sunrises.
minnesota tundra and iowa land sprawl.
kansas morning sunrise; and my evil, cleaner, biodiesel twin.
more kansas sunrise, and my first glimpse of the rockies outside of boulder, CO.
the hills outside of boulder, and the view from Buffalo Bill's grave.
Boulder, CO.
rocky roll
utah sunrise.
birds flocking across the highway. almost hit several.
will live here at some point. Utah and all other mountainous desert regions: Woah.
Nevada: yum. Having recently seen the movie Rango and being in a mad, sleep-deprived hurry though Death Valley, I spontaneously conjured Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas and listened to the audiotape. I made it safely to Los Angeles to stay with my dear friend Henry Reich.
we recorded music, poetry, took photos, ate huge meals of fresh veggies, and bounced around Los Angeles.
, alotta advertisements and car models.
394 square miles of sprawl, 3.8 million people, 1.9 million cars, and the most toxic air in America.
and perfect weather, and a tropical climate, and $831 Billion in GDP, which is enough money to fund the U.S. military budget for a full year.
it was a really nice day so we took some photos with one of henry's good cameras.
after some visits with friends, a few games of pool, and some mild cultural immersion therapy, I was off.
Big thanks to Adam Kipfer, Alex Yan, and Henry Reich.
driving south, I went through the marine base Camp Pendleton to visit an old friend, then on to SanDiego where I attended the Master's program detailed at the beginning of this post, and was fortunate enough to stay with the ever-incredible Maria Nieto Senour. Then it was up the coast, past LA, to Shell Beach, CA, to visit my aunt judy and her puppies.
some of my dad's art!
and then up the coast to sanfrancisco and northern california:
I stayed in San Mateo with my uncle&aunt and cousins, Bob&Madeline and Matthew, Gabriel, and Rebecca Flanagan.
did alotta babe-sitting, conversating, games of Mil Bourne and Sorry! Saw a presentation for the FundAField foundation (which builds soccer fields for impoverished South African school systems, feel free to donate), a little-league baseball game (with a final score of 13-14), and rebecca being adorable.
rebecca learning Street art.
I get the feeling being a parent is a full time job.
I stayed in Sanfrancisco for a few days with ms. Heather Watrous.
the Haight Ashbury district.
musicians have hard lives.
heather :) and cisco sunset
Automated Identity Theft
Fantastic. Thanks to Bob&Mad, Heather, and Christine Rodgerson for the great experiences!
Next was up to Sebastopol, an hour north of SF, to stay with Steve and Lyn Dillin and see the town I was raised in.
I also met this puppy named Kaya who I wanted to adopt even though she didn't really like me.
Text to my dad:
Can I bring her home?
Dad:
No chance.
daytrip with Steve and Lyn in the hills to see the giant elephant rocks.
Dillon beach, where I spent my first wee years.
my first house (which I can't remember because i was very small).
and then, that afternoon, I was off for a 12 hour stretch to Portland. and there was a nice sunset.
over the weekend, my uncle David gave me a tour of Portland, including a taste from their finest microbreweries.
portland's big on great food, godly beer, and interesting art.
and now I'm in Portland, productive kinda, and it's raining.
right now i'm doing an essay on "the merits of chronic procrastination" and a narrative detailing the downfall of American academia—boom! just kidding. (I'm actually working on a romance novel dedicated to Janis Joplin, Patti Smith, and Portland native Signe Toly Anderson.)
I'm leaving for north Washington state and the San Juan islands tomorrow, then heading home to Minnesota in a week.
Thanks so much to everyone who has been generous to host me. It's been really amazing, and I look forward to seeing you all very soon. Cheers, keep well, stay wild, be cool, and again, thankyou all so much.
Elliot
