docublog

Intermission

Saturday: We arrived in Los Angeles half an hour before we left Singapore. It sounds like futuristic time travel and a cool deal, if it wasn't for the 16 hours non-stop in the air… Sunday: It's cold here, I feel tired, brain dead… I was watching the Winter Olympics until 3:00 AM, I must be very jet lagged. Monday: By comparison to life on the road, everything is rather boring: bags have to be unpacked, laundry laundered, the fridge is empty… Tuesday: Ralph and I spend the day in the editing room, capturing and logging the first few tapes. Ah, that makes me happy again…

And again, zigzag

Our last day on this trip, our last day in Singapore, another day with Zihan. Not only have we asked Zihan to skip class that day, we also chased away his hard working roommate who was preparing for an exam. From the university to the Marina, lunch in the mall, visiting Mr. Merlion, who has the exclusive, irrevocable government permission to spit, the brand new Esplanade, the war memorial, and what must be the world's most beautiful public library, sneaking into the subway for a couple of stops and back, all in search of the sites that inspired Zihan's entry into journal 987. All of these sites have changed in the last three years, even the Merlion was lifted to a new location to make space for developments.

Whenever he could, Zihan immersed himself into the journal. Short of editing his 2003 entry, he suddenly stopped, sat down and said he had to add something new…

Zihan

Day one with Zihan, at his family home in a cluster of residential high rises in West Singapore.

Cooling off between those hot potato questions… Not even 100 miles north of the equator, we've been making matters worse by setting a film light. As fans and air conditioning units sound like meat grinders, all we can do is sweat it out.

We picked up quite a few sounds from neighbors and the courtyard, and were checking what's going on down there.

Zihan studies art, design and media, but could just as well be a professional Lindy Hopper, which is a swing dance from the 1920s. That, of course, was not to be missed, so we came along to Swingapore, his dance studio.

Gelare

Half an hour into the interview with Ai Leen I totally got why she and her friends are such ice cream aficionados: it was so hot, I was ready to jump into a bath tub filled with it.

In January 2003, Ai Leen took journal 883 along to a late-late night dinner of ice cream and waffles. She and her friends made a drawing of themselves sitting around the table, and then she sent the journal on to NY, where it disappeared… Yesterday, we traveled back in time: most of the old gang was there, at the same café in Siglap, forking ice cream (there still are no spoons), drawing in journal 784.

Singapore keeps growing, but so far has been amazingly easy to navigate. The bold colors, especially the rich, good-luck reds, all those small businesses in between huge corporate high rises, people who are easy to talk to and friendly, a different scent at every step, the trees, flowers, birds, car honks, and the humming of the ACs -- what a cocktail. More observations: The chip in our cash card makes paying for road tolls and parking magically easy, but also transmits our location at all times. There are uncountable surveillance cameras, but no cops, nor guards, and no one is minding our filming or taking pictures, on the contrary, we are invited in. In Singapore, like in Australia, the sense of trust, safety and community is in stark contrast to our day-to-day life in the United States…

February 14

It doesn't look like too much has happened for this Chinese vendor between February 13 and 14…

A day in India… Mrs. Faziriya allowed us to film at Rasool Shop, and Kuturoos couldn't believe his luck to see journal 172. He wrote: "I enjoyed this journal really very nice beloved", and put in a description of Indian spices in Sanskrit, and $1.50 price tags.

When we showed journal 878 to Mr. Ting, the owner of a traditional shop house in the middle of Arab town, he told us about the collaborative Fabric of a Nation project, where people from all over Singapore added pieces to a huge quilt. A commemorative stamp made it into the journal.

Driving from location to location, our A-roll camera (a/k/a "Mühle," German for mill -- don't ask…) gets strapped in carefully. The B-roll camera is small enough to reside in a comfy pouch. We call it "the baby".

Singapore

The taste of the U.H.T. milk in my Earl Grey tea reminds me on scuba diving vacations in similar tropical climates, but the view from my room makes me feel like waking up in NYC for the first time, circa late 70s, wondering about the many lights in the still dark streets, wondering where all these people are going to or coming from, and how it will look at day break. In other words, although I know I'm tired and exhausted from this intense filming trip, I feel "on", excited, more than curious, and can't wait to meet Ai Leen, and her friends, who added to journal 883, and to then spend nearly two days with Zihan, whose entry in journal 987 is a fascinating introduction to life in this city state. We're starting the interviews tomorrow, so today we have time to scout, and adjust to the equatorial conditions and change of pace. The sound of Australian voices was so comforting yesterday at Changi Airport, like a last good-bye, as is the sound of the pedestrian crossings, which must have been imported from Down Under. Apparently, Jay walking is strictly prohibited in Singapore, along with chewing gum in public…

Tourist Trap

Ralph's blending in nicely with these mates, but somehow, our stop-over at Federation Square, and on journey to the Docklands, Victoria Market, and Chinatown, made us look for our special Australia wrap meal in the wrong place, and we ended up with half eaten plates, for which we had to wait so long we had to add a $50 parking ticket to the tab. Both of us a bit tired, navigating a city we don't know, we eventually had to set ourselves up for a sucker-punch! Today I'm staying home, recharging, taking care of production administration (I leave the details of this up to your imagination), and Ralph took the car for a drive into the Hinterland…

Bearfut

Yesterday's interview with Kayt was our 33rd, captured on 63-minute tapes 50, 51 and 52. I was very quiet and thankful after meeting Kayt, touched by her beauty, insights, honesty. Sometimes it is really tough being the interviewer, when all I want to do is reach out, hug, go for a walk and have tons more time. We spoke about her brother Bearfut, the search for journals 114 and 194, handing out empty journals in 2001, and seeing 526 and 987 bursting at the seams with entries from all over the place.

Bearfut on Kayt's leg. A picture of Kayt's brother is now in one of the journals, traveling on with us to Singapore on Monday.

Homy

Adelaide PS: Kay Lawrence, and a shot of the SASA campus.

And on to Melbourne…

From the airport to the city…

… a quick drink between storms.

About every half hour, Melbourne gets a major wet-down, and it's pretty cold, so cold I even saw someone in a fur jacket. I booked serviced apartments for us, and after the usual schlep (yes, again), I immediately rearranged the furniture, did some grocery shopping, and laundry, and feel right at home. And strangely, I don't mean Los Angeles. This goes a step deeper, touching my childhood home: The birch trees, the unpredictable weather, the cute little sparrows in the shrubs, and more, which I don't quite get yet...

Matthew

Anything that could be used as or fused with paper makes Matthew smile, including these giant Lotus leaves. Last night, at the BBQ journaling dinner Matthew had organized, bits and pieces of Lotus made it into journal 172…

… while Antonietta and Tristan worked in journal 878…

…and Yhonnie added many layers to journal 585.

The plates were first used as palettes, then loaded up with all sorts of meaty and vegetarian goodies. No one minded the rainstorm. We huddled closer, and managed to keep journals and filming equipment relatively dry. It rained through most of the night, but now the sun is shining again, and in a few hours we'll be in the air, flying to Melbourne...