Desert Trail Column, July 30, 2015

Approximately 100 people attended a special movie under the stars last Saturday night at The Palms. Gerhard and Edith from Vienna, Austria hosted the showing of “Eden’s Edge,” a collection of nine short films depicting slices of desert life. (Darlene’s worm farm was one of them.) The crowd was very interested in the unique filmmaking involved, and Gerhard spent about 30 minutes answering questions from the enthused audience. Because of an unexpected turn of events (see below), Darlene was able to attend the showing after all.

Darlene's worm farm depicted in the project Eden's Edge

We send out Rainbows-of-Rubies-and-Larkspurs to Lilah Margaret Fairweather and to Mandy Root who are celebrating their special days this week. Happy birthday to both of you!

Darlene’s Commentary:  Firstly, thank you, Teresa Sitz, for the moonshine yarrow – I’m dying to see what it looks like. I received a great card wishing me a speedy recovery for my hip replacement, for which I lovingly thank Teresa (the instigator) and Karen (the accomplice), brother-in-law Ted, Charlotte Williams, Izzy and pups, Almut Fleck, Mary Quamme, Pastor Max and Olympia Rossi, and my new neighbor Bob Burtt, that I will meet when I get back on my feet! I also received a phone call from Lee Jesmain, whom I so enjoy conversations with. I am very blessed to have so many wonderful and thoughtful friends, neighbors and family. But a little glitch occurred the day before my scheduled surgery when rainwater found its way into the operating rooms at HDMC causing a two-week postponement of getting my new hip!

Karen’s Commentary:  If you shop online at Amazon, I’ve found a fantastic way to donate to a charity of your choice without spending an extra penny. Go to http://smile.amazon.com. It’s the same exact shopping site with the same exact items for sale, but with a great twist. You choose what twentcharity you want to support – I chose Guide Dogs of the Desert – and a percentage of every one of your orders will automatically be donated by Amazon to that charity. No cost to you. And, by the way, I recently noticed that the Twentynine Palms Historical Society is one of the charities available, too.

Check out the Wonder Valley website at http://wondervalleycsa.blogspot.com. Teresa and Ken Sitz do a bang-up job of keeping Wonder Valleyites informed of what’s going on in our area.

Clint Eastwood, breakfast in bed.

Handy Hint: To clean your toilet, pour a cup of vinegar in the bowl before going to bed and then, in the morning, just brush and flush.

Thought for Today: “I’m Joe Citizen. I’m a moviemaker, but I have the same feelings as the average guy out there.” – Clint Eastwood

Until next time . . . remember to take time to enjoy the WONDERs all around us.

July 25, 8-ish at the Palms, 83131 Amboy Road, Wonder Valley, CA 92277

From High Desert Test Sites:

EDEN'S EDGE, 9 SHORTS ON THE CALIFORNIAN DESERT

LEO CALICE
GERHARD TREML
JULY 25, 2015
Vienna based artists Gerhard Treml and Leo Calice developed a series of short films together with an interdisciplinary team of researchers (Elisabeth Marko, Christina Linortner, Edith Schwarzl) to explore the narrative nature of landscape and how everyday stories and mythologies are enacted in them.

Their film Eden's Edge features one of Hollywood's most iconic landscapes, the Californian desert. Tightly connected to movies and myths relaying the American meta-narratives of the Wild West, the new frontier, and the land of opportunity, this particular landscape is reinterpreted by Treml and Calice's short films based on the life stories of its actual people.

The visual settings follow a stringently maintained master-plan. We see bird eye-views of minimalistic scenes, meticulously arranged in gray desert sands, usually furnished with but a few props keeping the protagonists in far distance, however, conteracted by the their close accounts on desert life.

This program is supported by The University for Applied Arts, Vienna, The FWF, and Land Salzburg.

Update: The artists will be present.