How we shot “Happiness”Nov 23, 2012By the mid of the first day of the video shoot everyone was humming the tune. I was looking for happiness with persistent aggressiveness
I was trying to find it in outrageous experiences
I was chasing it closely like a madman who fights his insanity
But instead I could feel only tired and cynical
Even the angry dude who yelled “go do your fag thing someplace else” and threatened to call police, had a role in the production. He deserves credit. He became a point of reference that allowed us appreciate how smoothly the whole shot went considering how much could’ve gone wrong.
My happiness waited inside of me quietly
It whispered “look in yourself to find me”
But I made so much mess around me That I couldn’t see things clear and obvious
There was a phenomenal team of directors (Damian and Patrick), experts in light and camera (Simon and Thierre), movers and shakers (Melissa and Lilliana), and many others (Tammy-Lou, Cédric, Marija, Marina, Étienne, Vincent, Christophe and many more) – about 30 people had a role to play. And of course there was tango – spicy, elegant, life-giving (brilliant Bobby and Roxanne). I worked and managed many teams in my professional career, but I’ve never seen such a smooth team of strangers show up out of nowhere.
I was looking for love with tremendous committed intensity
I explored people’s faces on trains not to miss my love anywhere
I moved countries to find it, traveled exotic vicinities But my heart only shrunk from sadness and loneliness
It took two full days of hard work to shoot footage for a low budget production of a 4 minute song. I had no idea about what it takes to make a video. This project was a mere coincidence that was glued together by luck and trust
So many times love looked at me kindly
With its warm eyes it shared its beautiful tenderness
So fast I ran I couldn’t even notice it And if I did I thought better love is in some other place
With that nothing could have been easier: because for every idea and every step that was required for the project to move forward, one person made an introduction to the next one, each problem found its solution, each circumstance supported its successor.
I was looking for purpose of living in books philosophical
I was trying to find an answer to whether life’s meaningless
I was losing myself in purposeless blames and arguments But today I can say who I am, in words simple and genuine
I am a man who’s in love with life ardently I want to be honest, loving and generous And follow dreams bright like stars and sometimes unreachable And to have you my friends, my loved ones around me
So at the end, there is just being grateful for all that happened and for all new possibilities this experience has opened up for me. And the song is about you. Pictures #1, 2, 4, 5 by Luzaby Mars Photography And god saidNov 23, 2012“You are welcome. You are welcome. But could you please stop being such assholes” Happy Thanksgiving! The best thing about the hurricaneNov 11, 2012![]() Rockaway beach, New York I never experienced a natural disaster and hurricane Sandy was the thing that got the closest to my home. With that, the area where I live hardly holds a trace of strong winds of that day, but just 20 miles East in the Rockaways – it is a different story. When I reached this narrow strip of land, I saw a war-zone like landscape with helicopters flying overhead, people in military uniforms, abandoned cars and destroyed houses. For most of us, if we don’t see it, it doesn’t exist. But this was now in front of my own eyes. The ocean looked calm and quiet, almost gentle. It was hard to imagine that it was responsible for that much destruction. ![]() Rockaway beach, New York ![]() What used to be boardwalk ![]() Sandy's aftermath We were cleaning out debris in a basement of one of the houses that was flooded during the storm. I asked the two guys in my group where they were from, expecting to hear Brooklyn or Queens. But those two drove all the way from Maryland the day before. And that is how I discovered the best thing about the hurricane – volunteers. It was heart-warming, especially as a New Yorker, that there were people for whom there was no better place to be on a sunny weekend day as helping out strangers after the hurricane hundreds miles away. Check out Team Rubicon, a disaster response veteran organization, that we worked though. They know how to mobilize their people from all over the country – our team leaders flew from San Diego and Michigan. Volunteering matters. ![]() Volunteers at Rubicon
![]() Volunteers in action
Your New PresidentNov 6, 2012
To those involved in the US elections Let me suggest unspeakable. Tonight we will know the results. Let’s take the rest of the week to unwind, lick the wounds, celebrate victories. And then…. how about this: Let us EMBRACE whoever is the next president regardless of your views. GIVE your new president a chance even if he is from the opposite party. STOP the negative conversation. Instead TELL your senators and congressmen to WORK WITH your president to find compromises that are workable for the country and move it forward. We STAND UNITED during hurricanes and terrorists attacks. But do we need to wait for disasters to experience unity? Share this Hurricane contemplationsNov 3, 2012Natural disasters, what are you - Terrorists of nature, Capricious whims of a spoiled child, Enforcers of natural selection or Obedient messengers of the mysterious one? Or are you an alarm clock for the people, The arrogant ones, so used to their comforts, Who’re planning plans like fools, Soaking in illusions of safety Like a king without clothes? Of our human smallness And how easily we turn Vulnerable and needy, like little children That look for mother’s titty? On ridiculousness of our assumptions, On separating preciousness from bullshit, On giving a chance for heroes to awaken, And acts of kindness mixed with unbreakable relatedness of humans? |
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