along the border

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keep in mind as you watch this that it is filmed ENTIRELY within the U.S.. we NEVER crossed an international border.

it is a sad state of affairs that we are not allowed free passage within the united states. there are checkpoints in every state as you cross the country that daily violate our constitutional rights with random searches. along the border the department of homeland security has taken to spying on citizens, and downright harassment of populations of color by the border patrol.

the border is a conundrum. division suppresses us all. but if we erase borders and rise up and demand a living wage, are we creating a global government that represents nobody. would it be worse? i mean, we humans are an ugly lot, and prove me wrong, but it seems there will always be those who would subjugate others to their will. no matter how sadistic. in fact the worst of the worst will always scratch their way to the top. isn't that anarchy? really?

we are already there.

Mobile Broadcast News First Micro-Cast

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We held our first Micro-Cast on Sunday the 15th in Slab City.
Micro-Cast is an outdoor screening of our independent media in underserved communities. This first Micro-Cast went off without a hitch! we had about 15 Slabbers in attendance, many of whom have little or no access to the outside world unless they go into town and use the public library.

The library in Niland is really a small store front that is open only on Tuesdays and Thusdays for about 5 hours. And, the edict justcame down that the library will NO LONGER be available to people who want to bring in their lap tops and use the free WIFI there.

This is MANY Slabbers ONLY connection to the world outside of this four mile radius, and the Slabbers are righteously pissed. I was encouraging them to go to city council meetings and such, but the reality is that many of the Slabbers are not really living on the same time space continuum as the rest of the world, and CANNOT utilize the "proper channels", 'cause they can no longer access the internet.

So, if you are so inclined, i encourage you to call and write the Imperial County Library Staff, and the Imperial County Board of Supervisors and encourage them to support education, and connectivity, by keeping their library open and available to everyone, including use of the internet!

Imperial County Free Library staff at 339-6460

and

Imperial County Board of Supervisors

District 1 Victor Carrillo 760-482-4309 & 760-357-5476

District 2 Jack Terrazas 760-482-4306 & 760-337-1142

District 3 Michael W Kelley 760-355-2042 & 760-482-4308

District 4 Gary Wyatt 760-344-2181 & 760-482-4613

District 5 Wally Leimgruber 760-356-2639 & 760-482-4305

the ahhhhmenities!

after spending the last month in the "slabs", i finally got a real shower last night!
you might say that not having a real shower for a month is gross. and you would be right. but in the slabs there is running water, a la geothermal hot wells, but it ain't that clean. the cleanest you get is showering in the culvert downstream, with volunteer maintained bio-remediation pools with cattails and fish etc to clean the water pretty good. well, it still smells a little funky, and it gives you dreadlocks as you can see in this lovely photo.

but the slabs are really great, and i recommend a trip out there for anyone who can poop in the bushes, or has an RV. there is tons to do, and it is a great place to chill out and get with the natural rhythms of the day, like going to bed when it's dark and cold. we've had alot of time without electricity, heat, water, and all that jazz, and let me tell you, sitting in this cheap hotel is feeling pretty damn luxuriant. but i digress...

the slabs are a decommissioned military base near niland california. at some point in the sixties the tore the base down to the slabs except for a couple of defunct water tanks it is gone. being federal land it falls into a classification where you can camp there indefinitely, and many people do. the chocolate mountain gunnery range forms the nearest border, so there is plenty of bombing, which surprisingly becomes background noise at a certain point. it's a trip on the slabs.

the folks are friendly and highly social. we got invited to join two clubs on our first day out there. i am not a joiner, but i would consider membership. they make some great omelets at the oasis club for 3 bucks, but if they invite you to play scrabble, be prepared to lose. these guys have scrabble pretty much nailed down. we made alot of friends on the slabs, lots of visitors, lots of fun.

but as i sit here in calexico, just walking distance from the border, in this warm hotel room, with all this electricity, so i can even start to think about getting back to work (gotta thaw out the brain) i can see how some people never leave the slabs. you are completely cut off in a way. something insular and warm about shutting out the outside world and getting off grid, even without the actual heat.

more to come as the brain thaws and batteries charge!
xoxox
skinnychef

gopher flats, slab city

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well, happy valentines day everybody! isn't love grand??? hmmmm...

anyway, Flux and i went with jim and rene and had a great time golfing at gopher flats out in slab city. it is a really fun golf course, and this being my first time, i am not sure, but it looked a little dry.

music by airracket

The Tomato Festival

We were in ANOTHER parade yesterday!!!
The Niland Tomato Festival! Apparently Niland used to be some kind of tomato capitol. Who knew.