thefutureisred

Leaving the World For Black Rock City

We've left Reno. Noah and I found rides at the Trader Joe's rideshare spot in Reno but had to split up. All cars, vans and RVs are packed to he brim with playa stuff so no one had room for two.

I don't know how much access I'll have from here on out but will post as I can.

If no internet or cell service then I'll see you all on the other side.
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Atlanta to Black Rock City!

I bought Burning Man tickets months ago, even befor deciding to go to Argentina. So much has happened since then.

What's on my mind right now?

Well, Lila mostly. It's our first time away from her since she was born. Sure, we've had a day or two here and there, but constant travel doesn't leave much room for babysitting.

But she's in good hands here in Atlanta, and Noah and I are on the way to... I'm not quite sure what.

I have no idea what to expect, and that makes me nervous, which, quite frankly, is one of the best things about travel. With all our moving around, I'd lost a bit of that edge.

I also don't know how much cell or internet access we'll have, but I'll post as often as I can between now and September 8th.
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Flaming Lips In Chastain Park!

There was lots of confetti and huge balloons and more huger balloons filled with confetti. Encore of "Do You Realize," couldn't have been a better choice.

Now we head home to start packing for Burning Man. Burning man? Burning Man!

Thank You For Helping Us Design Our New Card!

Thank you to everyone who took our survey, commented, e-mailed and facebooked (is that really a verb now?) your thoughts, ideas and opinions on the images I posted last week. Your input made our choice much more simple and clear.

At final count, the church image was favorite at 33 percent, followed by the shadows in the desert preferred by 27 percent of you. The thought was the church is perfect for an art-y beautiful image as a postcard, but the desert shadows fit better for Burning Man.

The popcorn shot Lila took in France was also a favorite, but consensus seemed to say it would be perfect for the What Lila Sees part of the website, but maybe not something we should use to represent us as a whole.

Many of you also suggested a split run.

We basically agreed with all the above and will do exactly as suggested. We won't do them all at once but will work toward three separate cards. One smaller one for Burning Man and then a split run of postcard size cards, one for What Lila Sees, the other to represent The Future Is Red as a whole.

So far, we've designed the Burning man one. It's playing card size, double-sided and printed on a glossy thick paper stock. Tomorrow, we see proof.

Since so many of you had a hand the creation of this card, we though perhaps you'd like a first look at it too. A bit blurry in it's online incarnation, but here it is, front and back:

The New Brighton: A Quiet Cafe On Sarmiento

I would have passed Sarmiento 645, The New Brighton Restaurant,  had I not made plans to meet there.  Something about its large ornate doors and old fashioned wooden interior lead me to believe it would be overpriced and painfully touristy, meaning soggy milanesa rounding out a tired menu ejecutivo.

That meeting took place my first week in Argentina, and I would have been wrong  about the place.

I returned 8 months later, my last week in Argentina when Noah, Lila and I skipped out of the overwhelming bustle of those last minute errands on Peatonal Florida in the heart of Buenos Aires.

The doors open to such a lovely pleasant calm. A pleasant smiling hostess leads you into a lovely, richly decorated dining room where no matter how full, conversations buzz quietly, music enhances the atmostphere and all leaves you calm.

We had a such a civilized lunch that day. It wasn't just that the mushroom risotto and corvina with potatoes wonderously differed from the usual parillas and cafes. Nor was it the complimentary champagne. Nor that your water glass filled before you realized you were thirsty  It was that somehow being there was like stepping out of time for a little while.

You'll enjoy it so much, lunchtime will expand and suddenly you'll realize  three hours have passed, and you're still lingering over coffee. So when the waiter almost apologetically informed us that should we want to order the chocolate volcano cake, we'd have to wait another fifteen minutes, we happily agreed.

Yes, The New Brighten costs more than your every day restaurant in Buenos Aires, even so, it is not ridiculously expensive, approximately 75 dollars for a full meal for two including wine. It's perfect for a  special occasion, so make sure to take your time.

For us, our last full day in Argentina, it was a place to rest and recharge before hopping back out on the teeming sidewalk where we ratted about with the thousands of others as we finished gift shopping before our flight back to the US.

Picturing Where We Sat Talking of God

 

On the other side of this gate sits a bench and on that bench Lila and I sat talking about God. She asked about the man hanging on the cross. We visited many churches in South of France and Italy. This one in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume near Sillans-la-Cascade, a pinching cold natural pool and waterfall.

I remember the church clearly for two reasons. First, it holds the supposed sarcophagus of and cult of Mary Magdelene. And two, Lila and I talked about God for the first time.

She asked about the man on the cross, and being Christ on the Cross isn't part of my particular beliefs, it's difficult to answer. She also asked me why people were sitting there.

"They're praying," I told her.

"What's praying."

I too often forget that we take so many things for granted when we speak. What do words like God, prayer, sin mean to Lila? Most words she hears in a context and must divine meaning for herself. Explanations of most of these words lead only to more words to explain.

Who is Jesus? He was a man that, as taught by some religions, was the messiah.

"What's the messiah?" A person who will bring peace and harmony to all people. If you try to simplify even further, perhaps you will say the messiah will make us all calm and happy. I think the five-year-old mind can grasp that pretty well, perhaps better than the 35 year old mind can.

But is that an adeqate definition of messiah?

That was a good day.

Help, Please! Which Photo Should We Choose For Our Postcard?

In my last post, I told you we're searching for an images to use on the business postcard we're designing. This postcard is something to hand out at Burning Man and to the many people who ask us about our work and the blog.  We've winnowed, narrowed our choices, thought about it, printed up our favorites and now...

We still can't decide.

So I turn to all of you for your opinion to help us choose a photo to represent us here at The Future Is Red. We want an image that is striking. Something you'd want to send to a friend in the mail. Something that catches your eye, but not something you'd expect to see on a postcard or coffee table book.

So take a look at the following seven images and then at the end, you can take a survey to choose your favorite. For easier download time, I've included a smaller version of the image here, but you can view a larger one by clicking on the image of your choice.

The photo that receives the most votes will be our new postcard.

The Church At San Pedro de Atacama

Noah took this shot our last night in San Pedro.

Lila Sleeping Peacefully

 

Here you'll find Lila sleeping peacefully wearing her favorite blue nail polish and a tattoo. I took this photo in Salta the night before her fifth birthday which i then used in a blog post called A Portrait of Lila on the Eve Of Her Fifth Birthday.

Jagged Assembly in the Atacama Desert

 

This scene taken in Valle de la Luna, approximately a twenty minute drive outside the town of San Pedro, also in the Atacama desert. And every part of Moon Valley -- you can see how the area got its name -- presented an equally striking landscape.

Lila's Popcorn Carnival

 

Lila took this photo in Bandol, South of France a few weeks after we left NYC. She had been playing with the camera all day, and we found this along with many other interesting images when we checked the camera that night. It took quite a while to figure out what this was.

I previously posted this in the What Lila Sees Section. For those of you who don't know about this section, it's a collection of Lila's photography from the past three years. I plan to eventually expand this section to include work from other children and artists.

Lila's Watch -- Telling Time

I just love this photo of Noah's. It says so much to be about what Lila likes and who she is. From her Dora Band Aid -- she likes to decorate her body with them even when there's not a scratch to be found -- to the Barbie watch she chose in Panama for a fourth birthday present.

The Ruins in Cafayate

 

I took this photo while on a horseback ride outside of Cafayate. Rain started pouring down, so our guide stopped here for the horses to rest. Cafayate is probably one of my favorite places so far in Argentina. Hiking, horseback rides, wine country and fabulous scenery. 

I posted a series of Cafayate photos after our first trip there.

Shadows In the Desert

Another image from the amazing Valle de la Luna in the Atacama desert. Believe it or not, that extra long shadow in the middle is mine.

So there you have it. Seven choices. Now it's in your hands.

UPDATE 8.18.09: Thank you to everyone for helping us choose which photo to use on our card.The final count and to see the finished card after the jump.

Picturing Postcard Perfect in San Pedro

We arrived in Atlanta just over a week ago and life has been an absolute whirl. Between catching up with family, doctor appointments -- we still have insurance in the US, so might as well use it -- and preparation for Burning Man, I feel like we barely have time to breathe.

I'm loving it, but it's overwhelming.

One project of the many things in development: We're designing business cards. Business postcards, to be excat. So Noah and I went through every single photo we've taken -- including Lila -- over the past three years. We picked our favorites, narrowed those down further and finally decided on about 20. We'll continue winnowing down our selection, but for now, I want to share some of these favorites with you.

The one above comes from San Pedro de Atacama. It's the main town church. I like this particular shot because it's highly recognizable if you've been to San Pedro, but I haven't seen any other like it.

Our final selection should be creative but not overly artsy nor should it be something you'd see in a vacation brochure. Unique. Eye catching. And most important, something that represents us well.

Whaddaya think?