a 7 minute glimpse into the latest expedition:

It’s a Blue Moon today … make it count …

~~~

It’s true, We have returned.  Order may now be restored.

Or should I say a new-order …

A life transforming adventure, mostly had on the canals of Belgium.

Moreover, most of “Code Name Bishop”, a film by Persephone Haverhast has been filmed.

One or two images to start:

Awakening on the Oostende-Ghent Canal:

en route to Ghent: 

 Evening in Ghent, on the Poop Deck:

Returning home, via Amsterdam:

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now a blessed day of laundry …

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~~~

Tonight we fly to Iceland.

Friday we fly to The Netherlands, then train to Brussels.

Saturday we arrive in Nieuwpoort and claim our vessel.

Seven days on the canals of Belgium, visiting Oostende, Brugges, Deinze, and Ghent.

Train back to Amsterdam for an Evening.

Fly back to Iceland for an Evening.

Return to The New Great Hall by the Sea on Monday the 27th.

May Late Summer treat you all well.

… and 

May All Attain!

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~~~

It may seem a little early to be talking about Extensions Saturday 2012, but, it’ll be here sooner than You realize …

Here is the first preview:

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Some photographs were recently developed featuring some special moments from the Pied Piper/High Summer kick off party.  One of Our guests (WEB) had arrived late and expressed a wish for an Ablution-by-the-Sea.  The Host, as convivial as ever, elected to lead a second Ablution Team into the Sea.  At this point in the day the tide had gone out a bit and the Good Times were manifest.  The sum of all these variables led to some mild injuries to The Host.  Looking back as High Summer now begins to wane into Late Summer (8/15) The Host see’s this as payment. Payment to the Piper. Payment for perhaps the best High Summer in recorded Now Today History.

WARNING>>>>>>>>>>The Following photographs are REAL and contain BLOOD>>>>>>>>>

insert photographs here:

with Winthrop Frank and WEB, posing for a rock album cover of the future:

and

and here’s one the Wife made famous already with instagram:

barnacles + rocks + momentum + The Host = Good Times.

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~~~

High Summer 2012 is proving to be one of the greatest of all recorded time.  After the Earth-shattering Awesomeness of the “Free Bird” world premiere event of Friday I had the Good fortune for another “Free Bird” Premiere Event with Winthrop Frank and Brother Jerome.  Clearly hilarity ensued:

Winthrop Frank left and Brother Jerome and I engaged in a beautiful set of the Circle Game:

Pretty nice, right?

On Sunday there was a third World Premiere Event of “Free Bird” with Sabitathica on “screen sharing”.

Thursday proved a peak-High Summer moment as well. Visitor Blim came over we had a perfect Summer day here at The New Great Hall by the Sea. A cycle of The Circle Game that included 4 (four) ablutions and the viewing of “Robert Fripp and The Orchestra of Crafty Guitarists” whilst awaiting and enjoying some catered Sushi. Here was the playlist:

Pretty nice, right?

… and to conclude, here is a rare photograph of The Host and Visitor Blim in The New Great Hall by the Sea:

So many Good Times. High Summer 2012.

~~~

Here are the first reviews of the first film from DJM since Extensions 8:

(We’ll keep them anonymous for the time being)

I

“Very good times indeed. It was an honor to be a part of the world premiere of “Free Bird”. I would not recommend attempting a screening on an empty stomach… Luckily there was an intermission so that people were able to get their heads together. And not too many passed out. RIP Larkin Allen Collins…”

II

“I enjoyed the work a great deal, the initial running time did have me slightly concerned (not knowing previously that that was the evening’s centerpiece) but the pacing of the film moved things along nicely. I particularly liked the bird imagery toward the end, tying in with the theme. And I thought the choice of the narration tone really worked with the material. By the film’s completion, you really got a sense of the odyssey involved and the feeling that the journey honoured the subjects involved a great deal. 

Oh, and the choice of Rossington-Collins’ rendition of the film’s title track was well placed as well…”

III

“Heartfelt, a good time, and a journey through transitional times.”

IV

” As your recent message arrived to my phone, literally at the very second the phone indicated the message had arrived, I was reading quotes by Winston Churchill in an attempt to recall one I was quite fond of and spoke to others on many occasions. Alas, age, lack of usage, or some other culprit is rendering me quite incapable of recalling it. Let us not however, blame alcohol for the inability to recall, for the quote I was reading as the message arrived states:

“I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.”

And so in that vein, some thoughts on “Free Bird” a film by Vlindinhauer, nay, a film by Derek McClellan.

Perhaps more than any other NTS offering, Free Bird captures the very essence of the Society’s reach, that of absurdity and profundity. The humanity of all characters, both living and dead, is honored in this film, which acts at once as celebration of life, solemn commemoration of death and legacy, and documentary of Good Times. When McClellan states that all he wants is a life where “I eat lobster and drink champagne every day”, he turns a quote that would once have been uttered by only the most audacious and indulgent of kings on its head and presents  a sort of everyman’s understanding of innate Truth – that Good Times are decadent only when performed in separation from The One. With The One however, all is not only possible, it is in fact, a promise. All else is but mere distraction and nonsense. As the film documents the sense of un-ease that accompanies that phase when one knows a move must be made, but where that move leads is not yet determined, we are taken on a journey we have all embarked upon. Turning that uncertainty into “a spiritual journey”, McClellan follows the proper beckoning of The Wife, played with much luminosity by his real-life wife, to accompany her on a business junket. Through this journey, we discover the great spiritual possibilities all around us. Suitably, by transforming this business trip into a mission for the Good Times, McClellan not only finds peace and certainty at his crossroads, but shows the audience how ripe each day is with possibility by searching for the journey within each seemingly otherwise duty. Even the extended parking lot that is the city of Jacksonville, Florida is rescued from ignominity by viewing it through this lens.  And indeed, not only is McClellan documenting this next step, but so too is special guest star Winthop Frank, who shines in his jovial cosmic riddle “karaoke”. At the film’s climax, we discover that not only was it time for The Host to move on, but time also for Winthrop Frank to make his move as well. And as the film shows at its staggering apex, we need not fear the consequences of making a move when that time comes. The rewards are ample and on full display. And quite hilarious. And judging by the current state of both McClellan and Winthrop Frank, the results are quite a success.”

V

“Freebird is a departure from the usual work of DJM. Freebird is emotionally multilayered and free from the tried and true ready-fire-aim storytelling technique often employed by DJM. This work is different, in that the storytelling is carried by his narrative driven examination of a quest long in the making.  The departure from Liquid and the professional move onward, his tender relationship with his wife caught on camera,his personal episodes on the road to Jacksonville Florida. The soul searching quest for the final resting place of Larkin Allen Collins serves as the corollary to the age old question what the fuck does it all mean? For those who’ve known DJM for a long time, there is a hint of profound sadness in all of this, but yet, redemption blooms in this growth, evolution and adaptation. There was a part of DJM left at that gravesite – I could sense it. It may have been a childhood wound or some other deeply personal artifact but it was buried there. In the discovery of the way we are and are to be, we sometimes pass similar places on the road, or smell a scent long forgotten. They leave us with that thing called wonder. I often ask myself Have I come full circle ? These thought provoking questions are cloaked under the surface in a rare, sentimental work by DJM.