Friday, July 13, 2007

Northbound

At 12:10 I saw a homeless woman do something rather private on a very public sidewalk: She reached way down inside the front of her pants, I believe to position a new maxi pad. She apparently didn't care who may have been watching. At 12:50 I began walking northbound on the Pacific Coast Highway, about two miles up from the pier. At 1:15 I may have walked by Kyle McLachlan at Will Rogers State Beach. Whoever it was, he had just finished running. At 3:20 I reached Topanga Canyon State Beach (Malibu city limits). About an hour later I sat on a shaded bench in the parking area of an oceanfront house or apartment. Soon a Range Rover pulled in beside me and a pretty woman got out. I asked her if I could sit here for a little bit; she said it's OK. If my pedometer is working correctly (and I think it is), I walked 38.5 miles the previous three days and I've walked 9.4 miles today, with
several hours of walk time remaining. I really hope to find a cheap food joint, but I don't think I will.

Showering & heading north

Well, I thought I was gonna get a nice complete shower this morning at the beach shower beside the pier. I prepared last night by changing my clothes in a bathroom stall, substituting swimming trunks for underwear and wearing jeans over the trunks to be ready for the cold air coming off the Pacific while sleeping on the beach for a second consecutive nite. Before heading to the shower I took off my jeans and gathered my shower stuff, putting the shower stuff in a reachable spot inside my pack. When I got to the shower, I set the camera atop the camera bag near the shower. I then removed my shower stuff and took my soap, shampoo, and conditioner to the shower. Ready to clean myself thoroughly, I pushed the shower button. Nothing happened. Same thing with the other three buttons. Fortunately the foot showers worked. I ended up being unable to wash my hair, but I was able to wash my torso
and armpits nicely. Now that my trunks are dry, I'm about to change clothes and walk NW on PCH.

What're you worth?

At 5:40 yesterday I decided I'm going to use whatever footage I want to use for the final cut of Aimless, even if I have not received permission from the people who may be plainly visible in the footage. At the same moment, I also decided I'm going to use whatever music I feel like using, even without permission from the owner(s) of the recording(s). That'll probably mean I'll be unable to get the movie distributed, but I don't care. I'll make copies and sell them myself if I have to. If record companies want to sue me, let them try. It's not their songs that will sell Aimless; Aimless will sell Aimless. I don't have enough space here to fully explain my rationale, but it makes sense. I'll try to elaborate whenever I get to a computer. Here's how I see it: Why should I pay record companies when I'm promoting their product for free? I won't do it. But I'll still ask for permission from
everyone, just to figure out who the good guys are, and I'll gladly give the good guys some good PR.
I began sleeping at 1:00 last night (Wed), right beside the Santa Monica Pier, and I woke up at 6:00. I don't think I actually slept much, though, because I was cold and the camera bag was my pillow. I hung around the pier for a few hours (mostly to recharge my phone) before going back to the beach to rest and get some sun on my torso. (Now I'm a crispy critter.) After a couple hours of that, I walked as far as the Venice pier, rolling tape the all the way through the heart of Venice, holding the camera next to my head to create a perspective of walking through the crowd. Did that on the way back, too. I think I got some interesting stuff. At about 8:00, after unsuccessfully looking around Santa Monica for some cheap eats, I came back to the base of the pier to eat a can of ravioli. A girl arrived shortly after I did, sitting nearby while waiting for a friend. Seeing her over there, I
couldn't help feeling like I should know her. I think she had the same thought. She's still around...