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.

Desert Trail Column, July 23, 2015

The meeting with our Basinwide MAC representative Teresa Sitz on July 13 was very informative and interesting. Reps from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and Roads Department were there, answering numerous questions from the audience. Wonder Valley Community Watch signs, WV pencils, WV postcards, flyers and informational sheets were given out, and a lot of subjects were discussed.

Seniors and disabled persons can apply for free painting, light carpentry and light repair work. Call 760-361-1410.

Leo Calice and Gerhard Treml from Vienna, Austria will screen the very unique “Eden’s Edge” at The Palms, 83131 Amboy Road, on Saturday, July 25 at 8 pm. “Eden’s Edge” consists of nine shorts, one of which is Darlene’s story of raising worms in the desert! This collection of short films is like nothing you’ve ever seen – it will be well worth your time to attend. More details at bit.ly/edens_edge.

We send out Rainbows-of-Rubies-and-Larkspurs to Star Javier, Isabel Austin and Mary Anderson who are all celebrating their special days this week. Happy birthday to all of you!

Karen’s Commentary:  Thanks to Jan Peek for stamps, cards and coupons. I just sent two big boxfuls of cards to St Jude’s Ranch for Children. An update on the ants:  They came back! So I am now a true believer in the powers of original blue Dawn as opposed to the cheap stuff. I applied a thin coating of “OBD” about two inches wide on the kitchen counter top all along the wall, and no more ants!

Darlene’s Commentary: Gerhard Treml  emailed me from Vienna, Austria about the showing of “Eden’s Edge” at The Palms this Saturday, but I will unfortunately be unable to attend due to my upcoming surgery. Gerhard, Edith and their team came here a couple of years ago to interview folks that had a story to tell about life in our beautiful and unique piece of desert. I was so honored to have my story selected and developed as one of the nine short films in their project. “Eden’s Edge” has been screened at art film festivals around the world, including Germany, Poland, South Korea, France, Austria and Slovenia.

If you want to ask about, complain about or cheer about our road maintenance, call 760-367-9880.

Handy Hint: To prevent a door from constantly blowing shut, put one part of an adhesive-backed Velcro fastener on the end of the doorstop and the other part on the wall.

Thought for Today: All Chinese bar codes start with the number eight, because it is pronounced in Chinese the same way as the word for “prosperity” and considered to be a lucky number.

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

Rain storm over the north of Amboy neghborhood in Wonder Valley, 7/19/15, Teresa Siz

Eden's Edge - Palms, next Saturday night, July 25

Eden's Edge, 9 Shorts On The Californian Desert

with artists Gerhard Treml and Leo Calice

One of these films feature Darlene Parris, who writes the weekly column for the Desert Trail!

 

High Desert Test Sites writes,

Please join us for a screening of Eden's Edge, 9 Shorts on the Californian Desert.  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. 

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. 

Saturday, July 25, 2015, 8:00 pm
The Palms Restaurant and Saloon
83131 Amboy Road
Wonder Valley, CA

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.