Gulf Coast Farewell

We would like to thank all of our viewers for your continued support throughout the months. We wouldn't have been able to make it through tour without you!

Most importantly, we would like to thank Jehovah Jira, for our number one hit single, "Suck Yo Mama".

Gulf Coast

Why so serious?

-Cal Veg/Pac

A little DMill that reminded me of ya'll.

"The seasons remind me that I must keep changing. and I want to change because it is God's way...I want to keep my soul fertile for the changes so things keep getting born in me, so things keep dying when it is time for things to die. I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, because a mind is made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently. Only the good stories have the characters different at the end than they were at the beginning. And the closest thing I can liken life to is a book, the way it stretches out on paper, page after page, as if to trick the mind into thinking it isn't all happening at once.

Life has pressed you and me into a book, too, this tiny chapter we share together...Everything we were is no more, and what we will become, will become what was. This is from where the story stems, the stuff of its construction lying at our feet like cut strips of philosophy."

Can't wait to see ya'll in a week or so. You are so amazing. I hope you LOVE your last week of tour, like I LOVE you.

woah, am I in degrassi?

So I'm at a certain highschool, (ahem, Santa Monica) yesterday.. and after all that high-fiving and shirt slinging and life-changing, I was really thirsty. So I went out by the van, just a few feet from my tom's (I'm trying to air them out...) , my book and iPod by the ledge; to grab a bottle of water. As I stand there, in full view of my things, two punk kids walk by and snatch my iPod. Wait. Really? I mean, come on. They proceed to walk away, probably thinking something like, dang, I just got a free iPod, and I'm such a BA too, ohh lucky day. 

they had no idea what was coming.

So I lept out from the front of the van and yelled out, 'dude, did you really just steal my ipod?' 

I proceeded to yell out- HE STOLE MY IPOD! And I'm sure I looked pretty scary, note to all- don't get a sleep-deprived roadie mad. It's just not a good idea. 

A look of fear washed over him and he threw it (what the hell..) and ran off. I notified a teacher of this houligan, and went back to the screenings. That same teacher came back and told me that they had caught the culprit, and that I was to identify him at the principals office. Sweet victory is mine. So I went to the office, and looked my little mugger in the eye. And this is what I said, " Listen, I don't want an apology, but I DO want you to know that I am here as a volunteer, as a representative for those who have nothing. My only purpose for being here is that you understand your own affluence, and realize that you don't deserve it; and that it is only yours when you give it away. All I ask of you is to watch the film today. Jerk. (Okay, maybe not the last part.) So the principal notified me that he would be suspended. Hah, in your face little boy!

So unfortunately, we can't change them all, but we can school them and make them feel really bad about themselves for being such d-bags. 

One last thing- I was walking around Santa Monica and spotted JUSTIN BOBBY eating pizza at Joe's pizza. I told him what's up, and to stop playing Audrina like a FOOL- overall, justice has been served today. 

-Nada (Cal/Veggie)

Gran Can Plan?

Hey all. It sounds like a lot of us are planning a Grand Canyon stop on the way back. Why don't we try to meet up? Comment back with the times you might go.

<3 Madlantic

OHH bama

Canada loves you too.

- cal/veg.

Happy Daylight Savings Day!

Just wanted you all to know...this is what my team did two years ago for Daylight Savings Day...in Montana...at a sketch-ball motel. I hope yours is just as great! check it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwK9BLoAYBk

P.S. that was Daylight Savings Time in the Spring...really you need to be switching your watch BACK...just fyi. don't miss screenings.

GET YOUR ROLL ON

i could be the knife in your backs,
the noose wrapped around your necks
the bullet racing through your skulls
but i'd rather use the force of my spoken word

This blog had potential I PROMISE!

East coast nearly got a picture with Ludacris... 

Here is our uneventful celeb story. I blame Eugene Kim. 

Washington D.C. 

Saturday evening in front of the Hyatt hotel Luda rolls up to be dropped off. His driver got out of the car and Josh asked if that was Ludacris in the car... 

The drive says yes.

Eugene then proceeds to say "We work for a non-prof..."

"GET BACK!!!!" Shouts the driver.

...thats all we got. Luda didn't even get out of the car. 

C'mon! Really, Luda?

What happen to the good ol' days of hanging out with fans. 

Lametown. 

cal/veg just wants to have fun

hey all, this should hold you over for the next two weeks [home-stretch]. Enjoy!

Spit-Fire 101

SHOUT OUT TO:

The Rife family (bestEST contacts ever!)

B.A.D. A.S.S. "Must Stash"

J. Mavster

This is just the beginning... The High-Stakes, Frosted Flakes, Take the Cake, NO Mistakes, Greatest of Lakes Roadie team has MUCH more to come!

NEVER TALK TO THE POLICE!

in light of blaise's recent encounter. i've decided to deliver the following advice...
outside of telling them about invisible children, NEVER TALK TO THE POLICE!

here are a few good reasons why (these videos are long, but worth it. ask any lawyer!):


BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters


Don't Talk to Cops, Part 1


Don't Talk to Cops, Part 2


love you guys.
come home soon.
-mrp

Beast coast pulled over in DC!?! OH NO!!!

Yes its true. I, Blaise Ronald Vincz, was pulled over seconds after the question "have you ever been pulled over in the IC van?" was asked. Call it what you want but I call it complete sh-crap. 

Story time with cousin Blaise. 

Gulu Walk was held on a rainy windy day here in Washington DC (home of the Redskins, who knew?) After a few laughs with Michael Poffenberger from Resolve Uganda, burritos at Chipolte, and a ridiculous text conversation between Justin Wheeler and Lisa Dougan, the beast coasters decided to venture over to Justin's project The Option/LiNK to see the DC office. It turns out that the streets of DC can be very confusing, especially in the rain. On most streets it is illegal to turn left Monday thru Friday. Let me say that last half again - MONDAY THRU FRIDAY. Today its Saturday. Legally, I shouldn't be pulled over while turning left on a Saturday... So I did it. I turned left. 

Halfway through the intersection I hear a little chirp and a blue and red glare flashes across my mirror. 

Not one.

Not two.

But THREE cop cars line up behind our terrified little van. 

You know things aren't going to go well when the first thing out of the officer's mouth is "Did you not see the three big NO LEFT TURNS signs?!? NOW YOU GOT ME OUT HERE IN THE POURING RAIN!" After staring at me he then shouted, "HOW ABOUT THE 3 POLICE CARS BEHIND YOU?!? YOU DIDN'T SEE THOSE?!?"

I tried to explain that I was under the impression that I could turn left since it was Saturday but before I get that out I was pierced by the following question-

"HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DRIVING!?!"

How do you answer that? What does that even mean? I gave the best answer I could but I'd be a liar if I didn't want to punch this power tripping punk right in his eye. 

"Five years, Sir."

"Long enough to know what a NO LEFT TURNS sign means?"

"Sir, the sign says NO LEFT TURNS Monday Thur Friday." 

By this time there is a cop standing in front of our van scoping out the Cali plates, the first cop heads back to his car unsatisfied with my answers. The cop from in front of our van leans in to the window and smiles. "You guys aren't in here smoking anything illegal are you?" He giggles. I would assume he said this because of the mound of snacks in the space between the front seats. Maybe it was the peace sign on the side of the van, I'm not sure. He then sniffed my shoulder and said I smelled nice... 

I was confused.

Cynthia saves the day by giving the best 10 second rundown of IC ever told... even under pressure, that girl is M O N E Y. 

The nice cop seemed to be content, he patted me on the shoulder and told me to have a good day. 

That's it? No ticket? No apology? 

The nice cop decides he should check with the other jerk wad of a cop to see if we are free to go.

We are all clear. 

No ticket.

No need for an apology at this point. 

Off we go. 

...until next time.

-Beastly Blazzor of the Beast Coast. 

So yeah...

I had no idea about the gorilla. NONE.

Lily

in the last 24 hours lots happened. I reconsidered another tour in the spring (you should all too. Right? I mean...live together again in the Villa? DUH) , i blew out and shredded a front tire, we flooded the back of the van in a flash flood, we did 3 screenings, ate vegetarian pizza and hung out with some pretty incredible people tonight.
We had a screening....a house party actually with some people from Love bags. They bag up supplies for the homeless and 2 nights a week they go all over the city and talk with their friends. We showed some IC films, ate pizza, laughed and cried, and then went out in the city to show this love we keep talking so much about.

I met a Shawn, a Sean and a Lily....and here's the clincher: Lily is 2, lives with her family on the streets of Ft. Lauderdale, and reminds me SO MUCH of another preciously Lily I know all the way in Newberg Oregon. I told her I had another special friend named Lily and she said, "Really? Did you know I'm really strong?"

I wish she knew how strong she really was. It wasn't that she could unscrew the cap on her bottle of water on her own, or that she could show me her rippling 2-year-old biceps....it was that she could here her baby brother crying from across the park, and that she could walk up to strangers and sit in their laps, knowing they were probably safer than where she lives.

It was a good and hard moment for me: thinking that I am on a tour to end a war in a country 10,000 miles away. Every day I talk about kids I have never met, who need love, families, help. But tonight...right in front of me, was a little girl with pink sparkling shoes who needed some love, a "family" and some help. It came in the form of splashing in puddles, giggling together in the park and holding hands.

Love and help doesn't need to just be sent to Africa...there are places to give it away all around us.
I can only hope that tonight, Lily has a place to lay her head down.
And I hope you are all seeing the faces who need love all around you too. That's why we're on tour right?

If Lily had fit in our van, I would have taken her with me. :-)
Love to you all from Miami!

Love, Bethany

So-Cal's short tip on the best use for the merch shelf.

Yours Truly,

- Cal Vegas and Cal Pacific

If you're wondering if we had a marching band marching through the halls of Downingtown West... you'd be correct.

Ah Downingtown West! Finally we have arrived! 

The administration decided to cancel the pep-rally for the Downingtown East vs West game so that we could have assemblies for GO. I mean, I understand that this is the biggest game of the year and the students need to be hyped but I am glad that they see things with a "Global Perspective." With that said, let me remind you that this is the BIGGEST game of the year (and a great game it was: D'west 21- D'east 14)  and the was still need for a pep-rally. What would you have done?

D'west decided to have a pep-rally. 

Let me set the scene. 

(Sarah and Josh are at D'east.)

Blaise is a the merch table with a few club members outside of the auditorium where Cynthia is wrecking these students lives with facts of the war. In the distance we hear some chatter, maybe a snare drum being pounded upon or locker room doors being slammed. A few football players file into the lobby ...a second later the entire space is full of football players. Like magic they split and 2 rows marching band members begin marching through. All of the action pauses as the students wait for the que. (Cynthia later tells me this is all during the scene of GO where Tye and Papito are in the hut.) 

One. Two. Ah one, two, three, four!!!

The sound of snares, bass drums, trumpets, trombones, tubas, piccolos, xylophones, cymbals, flutes, and anything else you may find in a marching band crash down the previously deserted hallways that are now packed full of rowdy students.

The football players are chanting "Beat East! Beat East!" 

Their peers join them, "Beat East! BEAT EAST!!!" 

Let me remind you that Gloria is suffering. 

The sounds come and go as they mob flows up and down hallways. 10 minutes later they are back in the lobby where me and 15 customers are shouting:

"What size do you need?"

"Small."

"We are out of small, would a medium work?"

"I said small!"

"Sorry we're out. How about this shirt?"

"I said I need a small!!!"

("ARGH!!! I'M SO MAD RIGHT NOW!" is what Danny Lorigo would have said.) 

$3,200 dollars later I'm smiling at the "Roadie Party" where I stuffed my face full of humus, doritos, cucumbers, swiss cakes, and oreos. 

I liked D'west. It was a good day. 

By the way, Downingtown West is not spelled "Downington West" like it was in GO. Try explaining that to the administration. haha. Its all good. 

I SAID OVEREASY!!!!!!

Tragedy struck today....Big G (our van) was victim of a brutal act of vandalism involving a carton of eggs, a get away driver, and a car full of j*ck*ss*s..

We are staying with one of our contacts, Celeste. Her parents got back from the store and informed us that our beloved vehicle had been EGGED!!! WHO COULD HAVE DONE THIS? WE ARE TRYING TO END A WAR! HOW COULD SOMEONE HAVE THE NERVE TO DO THAT TO US?? So many questions were running through my head. I was sad. I was distraught. I was at a loss of words. I immediately took action, and Lauren and I headed to a local car wash to clean our precious off. Oh what an adventure this journey has become!!!

put your hood up

Wootay I'm tattooed and barred up
Medallion iced up, Rolex bezelled up
And my pinky ring is platinum plus
Earrings be trillion cut
And my grill be slugged up

Short but sweet. Actually, just plain stupid.

So some time yesterday, we drove by a Dick's Sporting Goods. I wouldn't have said anything normally, but seriously, this store was HUGE. Two stories high, super duper wide...it was quite large, indeed.

And so without thinking twice about what I was about to say, I uttered the following, only to realize after the fact that I had made a huge mistake:

"That's the biggest Dick's I've ever seen!"

D'oh.

Cal/Vegas just brought sexy back.

just hanging with our new pals

Hey guys, Cal Vegas here- just wanted to update you on our time here in Vegas. While rolling passed the Bellagio, watching fountains dance to the tune of Elvis jams while spotting the ‘King’ himself in the Walgreens down the street hanging with MJ we thought, ‘how could team Cal Vegas represent the heart of Vegas, exactly?’

We then received word of a certain superstar by the name of Justin (sexy-back) Timberlake speaking alongside super-babe girlfriend Jessica Biel at an Obama rally this morinng. We thought, ‘what better way to bring awareness than to ambush an Obama rally?’ So we headed out with no real plan but headed straight to the man himself, surrounded by throngs of screaming fans, (ahem, Obama supporters…)

Now the following should be left to your imagination, and credited entirely to the awesomeness that is Cal/Veg. We were escorted backstage, for a little meet and greet with J-Dog and Jess (aka- Daniel’s future wife) where they proceeded to shower us with praise of our noble journey. For those of you interested, it went down like this:

-       Justin asked us all our names, and where we were from

-       When Nada said her name, he then responded with an, “oh, cool name”

-       Justin referred to us as ‘renegades’ and promised he’d ‘totally watch the film tonight’

-       Justin touched Nada’s arm.

-       He also stood next to her.

-       Oh yeah, and Justin and Jessica are dating (for now)

-       They also want ideas on what to call their new show called ‘Globe Kids’ We thought they should call it, ‘Roadies: stories of the everyday hero’

-       Ask Nada for further details on the wisdom Justin imparted on her.

So when Justin releases his next single, ‘Un-Justified War’ we’ll be heading out on the world tour. So to recap, what happens in Vegas, gets posted on the IC blog for tour bragging rights.

I mean, Cindy Crawford is cool too I guess.

 

VOTE OBAMA –  the Canadian. 

out here grindin'

Yeah I run it with killas homie, so what?
What you want me to tell you, I sold a little dust?
Send your informant!
I bet he leave bust,
I ain't scared to go
I believe in Jesus

To Serve and Protect

Well - its been 5 weeks since our first run-in with "The Fuzz", and 3 encounters later Mt. West is still ticket free.

While all adventures with lawmen are worthy to share - one exchange definitely stood above the rest - so much so, that we felt it necessary to document as an example of how all Roadies should strive to interact with America's everyday heroes.

Textbook.

- Mt. West

Team Texas tell's Cindy Crawford to "GO"!!

Hey there staff & roadies,
oh you know.. nothing special. just a typical day in the life of Team Texas... hanging out with super models, hitting up local furniture stores, eating at Cici's! You see, now that we are celebrities in our own right.. nothing much phases any more.

As such, we get invited to all the cool parties and hit up the cool spots. Here's what our mate Glen Hansard from The Swell Season had to say about us the other night we hung out with him; "You guys are so legit!" "What your doing is amazing- spreading the word about what's happening in northern Uganda, saving stray dogs, delivering babies, and giving financial advise to the stock market brokers!!" "I love you guys..when I grow up I want to be just like you." We know Glen, thank for your kind words.

Anyways, back to ol' Cindy. She said that she wanted to apply to be a roadie for the spring and to take us to Bed, Bath & Beyond.. but she doesn't know if she will have enough time. So for now, we settled with giving her a love momento (aka our Rough Cut video).. and we had her sign the cover of GO!
As you can see it reads, "To Jason, Bobby & Laren Love, Cindy Crawford" So we shall be presenting it to the 3 original filmmakers upon return.So we gotta go cuz we have been invited to another party with Bill Gates, Shaq, Harry Dunn and Lloyd Christmas, that cute little kid that says "bluuuhhddd!", the Harry Potter kids, and everyone is spending the night at good old MJ's house.

Peace- Team Texas

posted by Kurtis "Rambis" Jackson and Roberto Juarez

A Brief Note of Rwanda's Genocide

We (Middle America Roadies) attended a screening at Webster University. While we were there, I (Pat), started talking with a Rwandan student named Olive and she told me her story. Later on, at the overnight in the quad, I saw her again and asked her if she'd like to write down what she told me. And THIS is what she wrote:

Hi Patrick,

It is really hard to start the story because one really never gets a phrase or a sentence to start it, but in short i tell you this:

I was a happy child before the Rwandan Genocide which left me a double orphan and hopeless. My whole family was killed in the genocide. I mean my grandparents, my parents, aunts and uncles, and of course my sweet brother, surely the list can be endless.

My birthday is July 3 and I was born in 1988. So the genocide happened while I was 5 years and only two months before my sixth birthday.

Based on history, hatred was created between the tutsi and hutus during the colonial period. As years went on, Rwanda's people who had earlier lived happily ended up divided: oppression, discrimination and other evil things you can imagine became the order of the day.

It was April 6th when darkness and evil powers filled people that the genocide started. However, genocide acts had started in 1990's and 1994 action was taken. Hutus turned against their Tutsi neighbors and killed them by burning, slaughtering them like animals, part by part, throwing them in pit latrines, burying them alive and many other evil acts.

After the president's plane had been shot down, massacres begun. On that day, I woke up and found my parents in a sad mood that I had never seen them in before. A few hours, killing started and we fled our home, and went to hid in the bush. Friends turned against us and could not hide us. Instead they called on, the militia to kill us. It was my first time to see my mom cry, after her friend offered to hide us but later chased us out of the house on seeing the killers. It was horrible.

My father died about four weeks after the genocide had started. My mother almost survived the slaughtering but she was killed later in the camp. In fact, I was close to her when she died. I thanks God I was able to make it up to now. I never understand how mom would die and leave me. I guess people (the killers) didn't see me. Oh it was God's love, so that I could maybe tell my story.

At a certain point my sister and i met a militia who almost shot us but he didn't not have bullets as he tried to shoot. Some of the young people like me or other survivors of the genocide found their refuge in the dead bodies. They covered themselves up and pretended to be dead.

At one point, I gave up hiding when i was left alone. I became hopeless when i saw many of my family members dead, and then friend were now enemies, and they became inhuman. During the genocide, animals were better than the killers. However not all Hutus were killers. Some Hutus were good and hid Tutsis but this was a huge risk because some Hutus were also killed as they tried to hide Tutsis.

A great number of Tutsis who hide in churches were also killed there and some religious leaders also participated in the killing.

I was so fortunate that my uncle whose ordination was on the day when his entire family was killed in church, found me. My uncle was in Uganda at the time but travelled to Rwanda yet the genocide was still going on to celebrate mass in his childhood church were his family had been killed.

He found my sister and my cousin brother alive and we made it to Uganda. He left us with his friends and he continued to be a missionary in Equador and Peru. Later he made friends who are helping my cousin brother and I in our education.

Back home in Rwanda, I have two sisters alive. We are really happy children, because we believe we have a nice future.

From this experience, I want you guys (whoever reads this) to know:
>Hope
>Love
>Forgiveness

If Rwandans really loved one another, we would not have had genocide.

Forgiveness is the way to build a new generation and a way to a happy life. We are trying to reconcile so that we can live together again like we used to before evil was "planted" in peoples minds.

We should have hope for the future. I am a blessed person, I have a family now (a mom and dad) who really love me like their other children. I'm so loved and hope for the future. I can now stand and strongly say, "NEVER AGAIN," any where in the world.

Forgiveness is the hardest thing to do, but in order to live peacefully and promote the never again theme, I am willing to forgive whoever asks forgiveness from me.

Every year in April, we have a memorial period for our beloved ones.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU!

REP YOUR HOOD

Birthday Wish from Ilea

Hey teams,
Our bro Will is hurting big time. Do you think we could ralley at least $28 per team? It's all about faces, and names and people we know, and it starts right here. A former roadie and a friend.
Hope everyone is well. Loves to you all from St. Simons Island, GA.
~deep south



An Extraordinary Birthday Wish
Today I turn 28. There is nothing extraordinary about this birthday, but I do have an extraordinary birthday wish. My dear friend Will Boyd is critically ill with a heart condition caused by Lupus. This October, my wish is that you, and others you know, would donate $28, in honor of my 28th birthday, to my friend Will Boyd. Will is a servant of this world, a revolutionary, and one of the most giving people you could ever meet. His life is extraordinary, and I want to celebrate him in an extraordinary way.

Medical Details
Will has been critically ill with Lupus since he was 18. He contracted pneumonia during this time and the doctors consequently directed most of their attention to his lungs. However, they failed to notice the amount of trauma to his heart due to the Lupus. The latest biopsy tests show that his heart is in such a weakened state that it would not be able to be revived if he has a massive heart attack. They say his heart could simply stop beating at any moment unless something changes.

The doctors have told him that there is nothing they can do to treat him, but his nutritionist says there is hope. Will is now on a very strict diet consuming lots of Kombucha, Voss, all natural foods, and supplements every day. He has to walk about an hour every day in order to rebuild the strength of his heart and lungs. His diet is extremely intense and has become almost a full time job for him and his fiancé, Elizabeth Rainey, who takes care of him 24/7.

Financial Details
Will has already racked up over $50,000 in medical debts and he does not have that kind of money. At this point, the doctors are denying him treatments due to his lack of funds. He has maxed out his insurance and can't get any more because he has pre-existing conditions (Lupus). His bank accounts have been frozen until he pays the hospitals back. Will is in a desperate financial position, and he needs our help.

What can we DO?
Will definitely needs our prayers. And Will needs us to act now. We are setting up a website that will help streamline all of the needs and make it easier for Elizabeth and Will to get food, messages and donations. But for now, we are asking you to make a donation. We are attempting to raise $100,000. The money raised will cover his current medical bills and help to create a fund for the bills to come. This is a large amount of money for one person, but I believe in community, and I believe that if everyone contributes a little bit, our community can raise this money.

Will has spent most of his life serving others selflessly. He continues to inspire thousands through Invisible Children and many other projects. And he’s just getting started. The projects he’s working on now are changing the world we live in. He needs more time and the world needs more Will. This is your opportunity to save an extraordinary life.

The world cannot afford to lose a Will Boyd. Can you afford to help save one?

TO DONATE CLICK:
Hyperlink to www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=4UVM8ZZUzDgQmqNEXFRnALmpUo5bv-S4eoFy9sc_HCd_2J8A7f-6UDdtHa4&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f38432c9462fe731381a7a80e09148cd4d65d984db31b77c2

If you want to do a Birthday Campaign for Will too, please just copy and paste this email, make it your own, and pass it on to all you know via email. And if you want to let us know, please email me ilea65@gmail.com .

Love,
Ilea

At Central High school today.

Spizerinctum!!

One incredible and unexplainable phenomenon about tour: One day feels like years. Although this epistemic particular does not correspond with the parameters of the contingent universe in which we currently live. The road changes things, even physics.

I am finding that life on the road is honest, humble, egalitarian, and incredibly valuable. Despite long hours, loved teammates leaving, loading and unloading boxes; the road fosters community and births independence.

I am amazed that people, by the thousands, care. I am convinced, that humanity has a longing for justice and is searching for her.

Man is knocking, we are answering.


On a slightly lesser level than a Cameron rant, Bethany with Jeff Foxworthy.

they've got you covered.

Oh..hey there fellow roadies. Nada from Cal/Veg, just stumbled across these briefs and thought I'd share with you all. Paul Frank has fashioned a pair of underpants specifically for all of you, should you read the fine print, it requires no wash, smells fresh and is reusable for the exact period of your time on the road- they expire November. 14th, then they magically transform into a bouquet of flowers. I'm not even kidding. They're glorious. Now if we all only had $22 to spare... 

Love from team SoCal

-CA- Nada.

Not a goodbye...

So, I’ve basically spent the past couple hours searching through quotes and lyrics, trying to come up with something inspiring and thoughtful to say. Something that I thought would make my decisions seem more profound. But, honestly, there is not much that I can find to say.
I am going home not because I am scared, or I don’t get along with my team, or even because I don’t like the job. All of those things couldn’t be further from the truth. In the past month and a half, Invisible Children has come to be such a big part of my life, and has come to occupy a very special place in my heart. The job is more than rewarding, and the people that I met while on tour were some of the most incredible people that I could ever hope to meet. And what’s even better is that all of these people that I have come into contact in the past 6 weeks all have a heart and a mind for the exact same thing. All of you, and all of the people that I met on the road, hope that the best in people can and will be revealed, especially when working for peace and justice.
I could ramble for hours. I am leaving because it has become more than clear that I need to be at home right now, and there is nothing else that I can do than adhere to that need. Please, feel free to talk to me more about this. I hope that I don’t sound shady or secretive. I simply don’t want to ramble on.
What I want to say most, is that I will miss you all. I will miss the adventure, and the people on the road. I will miss our spastic van, “The Lady”, our Australian GPS Karen, all of the ants back at the Roadie house, and my fake “coffee-house-like” office in the middle of a warehouse. I will miss Wallis Watkins, Cameron Woodward, and Bethany Bylsma. But, I feel as though they know that. I feel like we became friends in the first few minutes of knowing each other, and I can only hope that our friendship wont end here. And, I hope the same for all of you too. I understand that it may seem strange or awkward to try and keep in touch right now, but I truly hope that we will all find a way to do so. I’ve added my contact info, so you better use it.
Stay safe on the road, and never forget to enjoy your time there. Take risks, keep eating Taco Bell, and keep changing the world. I love you all more than you could ever imagine.

Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetime, is certain for those who are friends. ~Richard Bach

Sorry, I can’t resist quotations. I really like this one.
Deep Peace,
Webb

Jonathan Webb
721 Fairview Street
Jackson, MS 39212
731-616-8137
Webbjr1@gmail.com

Hurricane on the Bayou!

This is how dirty our tour is.

Gulf Coast

P.S. We have more coming.

Gap Kids? I think not.

You know, some people might say we were "treadin' on thin ice" with this one, but I disagree.

Enjoy this guerilla tactic.

Peace,

Team Texas.

On the Road

Broken vans, sleepless nights, and miles upon miles driven are just a few of the adventures or misfortunes that we have lived through as roadies. All in all it is worth it and the memories that these days leave behind are priceless. So here's a small glimpse of road live TEXAS STYLE!!





peace- Texaaass!!

hammer time

So the Gulf Coast team is finally back on the road doing screenings and keeping ourselves busy...and boy does it feel good. For those of you who don't know we were out of commission for about a week due to hurricanes Gustav and Ike, but we are now back and running full force. During our week of taking refuge from the winds, water, and back to back to back to back to back cancellations, we had the privilege of being housed by two very special people, Ms. Ann and Mr. Perrin Watkins (some of you may know them as Desiree and Wallis' mom and dad). Not only did they take us into their home for a week, we were never short on food or love. We would not have made it through this rough patch without their encouragement and help. We now know that whenever we're in the Baton Rouge area who we can turn to. They truly did make us feel like we were at home. Our deepest thanks go out to them and we can never repay them for how they helped our team start this tour. This blog post goes out to them and their generosity. We love you, Ms. Ann and Mr. Perrin and we'll miss you on the rest of our journey, keep in touch!

Love,
Gulf Coast (Nick "Mad Dog" Stenson, Cory "the leprechaun" Briscoe , Jenni "Princess Dianne" Goguen, and Nat-attack)

p.s.
Thanks to all of our new friends in the Baton Rouge/LSU area, you know who you are.

Gotta Love Fridays

Hey everyone! This is my first time ever blogging. And by ever I mean ever. So here’s a little insight as to what East Coast has been up to lately. Check it…

It was an IC textbook picture perfect day. Screening in the morning. Merch table at lunch. Classroom visits. Volleyball and football games at night. We even played rock band in the counselor’s office after school followed by Sarah and I taking naps on the school lawn. At one point I opened my eyes and I swear this older couple walking by thought we were homeless. We woke up from our nap so refreshed and when we thought the day couldn’t get any better, we ended up in a penthouse apartment in Rochester, NY with a bunch of teachers from the school. If you want to know what teachers are like on the weekend, Beast Coast experienced it first hand. Lots of alcohol (don’t worry, we had water), crude language and late night pizza. We all went to bed that night wondering what just happened.

P.S. I have to note that as I am writing this there are three extremely drunk sorority girls who are locked out of their room in the dorm we are staying in tonight. What is my life? I should probably go help them.... Peace out for now.

If you have like 40 minutes and a good internet connection...

...this will blow your face off:
http://www.drhorrible.com/mushortio.html

Saint Christopher

Our Lady is still sick...

She is not getting better.

Say a prayer for the Deep South Van, we can't be late to a screening.

Yep. Happy Birthday to this guy.
And welcome back from Uganda to this guy....

(ok...so they just happened to be in the same picture...but we're killing 2 birds with one stone here)

Adventures in Atlanta...

Deep South
Atlanta, GA
Captains Log 2x937=w

The Lady of Shallott continues her highway stalling...but has valiantly brought us on time to every screening we've had. I cleaned her out yesterday and I think she's feeling much better about life in general.

Had the greatest and weirdest food the world has ever seen this weekend. I introduced the team to the grandest food of all on Friday night - Ethiopian. For real times people....when we get back to Sandy-eggo...we gotta go. It's the rankest looking stuff...but will change your life...and the rest of the deep southers were troopers.

Last night we rocked ($2000+) a screening at a Korean church and were treated like Rock Stars. It was straight up weird. But the Korean food that came with the evening...also weird and wonderful...heavy on the weird....but free right? At this point...we aren't turning down ANY free food.

We've stayed the last 3 nights at a brothel. Ok...
Brothel turned B&B turned International Hostel....and its been great...a few minutes of down time without contacts...a space to revolutionize our merch...thanks to our good friend Nicole from Louisiana who came to visit....

And yes...
next week....we'll all find out if we're smarter than a 5th grader.

We're staying with Jeff Foxworthy.

Peace and love from Hot-lanta.

knock knock...

anybody out there?

make your own animated gifs!

hurray!!!!
now you can make your own WEB-CAM-STOP-MOTION-THING!





your turn!
http://www.piterwilson-toys.com/wcsmt/maker.html

Announcement

Good evening everyone.

Cory Briscoe's favorite food... is Spam.

The Streamer Eater

After livin it up in LA for the weekend (bringing CalPac merch), we've made it down to our first stop in Tucson, AZ. Loved hearing from everyone - you guys are rockin it - and we're feeling confident and prepared for our first set of screenings tomorrow. Tucson, get ready to make a difference.

But before any of this, before we could even make it 50 feet out of the parking lot for crying out loud, another story...

Suck it, Trebek.

Mountain West

MIDDLE AMERICA

Hey guys! I just thought you might enjoy watching this video. Just a fun way for us to pass the time driving on our way to Oklahoma. Enjoy!!!

like taking candy from a baby

We (gulf coast and tejas) had our Austin premier tonight and it was killer!!! Just a little background on this screening, the original venue canceled on us two days before so we went to Dominican Joes (coffee shop) and asked if we could host a screening and they agreed.

We set up the screening and after the first one demand was so high we played GO again!! There were a total of 145 people and we sold $2000 dollars of goods. I hate to toot our own horn, but it was baller.

We had awesome stories too, there were two people who were just there to drink coffee, stayed and said "I want every DVD you have!" There were countless stories like this.

Anyfart, we all are ridiculously stoked about tour and meeting more amazing people.

Best Story So Far - "GO! made me feel just like I did after the Rough Cut"

Gulf Coast/Tejas

night of the sentinels

i spent my final hour of the evening watching cartoons.

while watching them, i couldn't help but be reminded of draft board raids during the latter part of the vietnam war in the 70's (when most americans had grown very weary of a war that had no tangible purpose or foreseeable end...sound familiar?).

a draft board raid was the sabotage of united states draft office. the purpose was to interrupt the process through which tens of thousands of young american men were being drafted and sent to fight in vietnam. it was also held quite a bit of symbolism, as many of them were public.

they were carried out by activists who not only believed that the united states draft was unjust, but also that it perpetuated injustice. they held the belief (as i do) that when a law perpetuates injustice, it is necessary to break that law. these thoughts never crossed my mind when i was 9 years old.

i wont go into full detail, but watch these cartoons and then rent the camden 28.
food for thought


episode 1, part 1


episode 1, part 2


episode 1, part 3


episode 2, part 1


episode 2, part 2


episode 2, part 3


did you know very few episodes have been released on DVD, and according to TVShowsOnDVD.com, X-Men is the ninth most requested unreleased television show and the second most requested animated television show behind MTV's Daria. regardless, there are no plans for an official release of season box sets. also, disney has no interest in releasing any of the marvel animation projects.

youtube will have to do for now.

Awesome Screening, awesome contact, Mel is ours

So we are off to a great start cashing in at about $750 dollars at our first screening. The kids loved it, were very interested, and asked some pretty loaded questions about the war and the situation over there. I want to give a shout out to PNW for providing moral support and helping us work the merch table.

On top of this we are staying with hands down the raddest contact ever. Jakob is for real, legit. Putting us up in a guest house, entertaining us with full seasons of Hannah Montana, and making us some great pasta he definately is kickstarting our tour.

Oh and Cal Pacific. . . . we know all know which half of So Cal is really bringin home the bread this tour. That being said, Mel is rightfully ours.

Cal Vegas

Hap hap happy

Janet! Our Sista from anotha Mista!

Happy Happy Happy Birthday!
It was just yesterday, we held you in our arms as a tiny baby. And what a beautiful young woman you have grown to be.
We remember the 9 months waiting for you to arrive...and the first time we saw your precious face, we knew life would never be the same.

Although you are far away from us today, you are near to our hearts. Sell that merch. Change the world. We know....you already have.

Happy Birthday.
and godspeed.

Love, Deep South

Updation

Short and sweet:

- Stayed over at Tyler's parents' last night. Didn't get to meet his dad bc we rolled in at 2 am and he left before we awoke at 8:30, but his mom is superb. Very superb.

- Totally used the "We're doing a 5 month unpaid internship for a non-profit that helps rebuild northern Ugandan communities" to get out of a ticket last night at 1:40 am. HA.

- Check the other roadie blog for the last story about dogs and drugs.

Middle America.

"Here were the children of the American bop night."

Persons versed in thirteenth or nineteenth century literature shall be pleased to heed the following: Our team, The Deepest South, by way of providence and good fortune have christened our van The ‘Lady’ of Shalott.

Excerpt from, Lord Alfred Tennyson – The Lady of Shalott – Inspired by thirteenth-century Italian novella entitled Donna di Scalotta.

There she weaves by night and day,

And moving through a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
Winding down to Camelot;
There the river eddy whirls,
And there the surly village churls,
And the red cloaks of market girls
Pass onward from Shalott.

On the Road

For many, forcing sales makes way to a lack of travel preparations. This was the case for the Deep South team and our first night of tour. After hours of pleasant and peaceful travels, we found rest at Arizona mile marker 316 and made shelter in The Lady. I found rest in the space between the bench and two front seats, Webb took the bench, and Wallis and Bethany spooned. To my surprise, I found great comfort in the small, confined, womb like characteristics of my sleeping arrangement. Webb comments, “It was too small” (That’s what she said) and when asked to describe the girls sleeping arrangements, Bethany commented with a frightening onomatopoeia “blughgreeghb” which sounded much like a gag reflex and stated, “I am claustrophobic to epic proportions, its gonna get ugly.” Wallis suggested that “shortness of breath” captured the experience entirely, to which Bethany concluded sounded much too sexual and should be excluded from this document.

On the Road, Again

After sleeping inside The Lady, we emerged and prepared for our departure. Mile marker 316 in the cool morning was a luxury, Arizona landscape is beautiful. We hit the road and made our way to a store, ate some bagels, and began our day with what we thought to be a steady ride, and then… Wilcox Arizona population 3769*

It turns out, The Lady is a tramp. We found ourselves talking with Jared and Brian ‘Buddyz Auto Repairs’ mechanics. Brian was born in Chicago,

his uncle taught him how to fix cars and it was either, “The drugs or fixin' shit.” As for Jared, he once worked for Exxon and now manages Buddyz. Jared drove The Lady around, heard the problem and told us he could do nothing. The Lady is deceptive, she showed absolutely no problems on the GMC computer and the transmission specialist said that he could not find any problems. According to Jared, “You’re here until Tuesday, or your just gonna have to ride it out.”

On the Road…Again

Peddle to the medal. Out of Arizona. Into New Mexico. New Mexico is weird. Look what we found. Get us the hell out of here.

To be more specific, every time our car hits 60 – 70 mph, anguish. Bumpy, stalling, grinding, calamity.

Stuck in Texas.

Every time our car hits 60 – 70 mph, anguish. Bumpy, stalling, grinding, calamity.

• Update 4:00pm - We are on the road, and The Lady of Shalott is running. Well... speed walking.
• Update 12:00am- Texas Highway Patrol issued The Lady a warning for "speeding." Guess the speed... 67 in a 65, yep seriously.
  

Love,

Cameron, Deep South, & The Lady

* According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates

training in van

this is how i roll

Thanks Marcus

We just want to say thanks for sacrificing sleep so we could have computers!

kick the tires and light the fires

hey, friends. i wrote alot of love notes in high school and got very few in return, as a result i'm exhausted and heart broken. so i'll just say thanks for all that you do. there's no one group of people that i would trust more to do what you're doing.

i've set this blog up so all of you can post to it while you're on the road.
this was available for the last group of roadies (you can still read their posts) and only 35 posts were made. thats not even one post per roadie! can you believe it?

why blog? herman melville said, "We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results."

so share yourselves. share your lives!

here's what you should post:

• stories
• photos
• quotes
• comments
• poems
• drawings
  
• videos
• jokes
• news
• everything!
  

i sent you all an invitation to begin posting on here, but if you're having trouble, shoot me an e.mail and i'll walk you through how to set yourself up to make posts.

i also included some news feeds (to the right). let me know if there are any others you'd like me to include.

The world is yours, as well as ours, but in the last analysis, it is yours. You young people, full of vigor and vitality, are in the bloom of life, like the sun at eight or nine in the morning. Our hope is placed on you.

thank you. i love you all.

(don't forget to leave comments for each other!)

MUSIC FOR YOUR TRIP HOME!

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=23C54BFF6319EBBA

Loaf yous guys.

Young at Heart

go see this. now.

We Want Change

Saturday Night team SoCal spreads the word in downtown Las Vegas filling easter eggs labeled "WE WANT CHANGE" with a coin and invisiblechildren.com then hiding them around the city.

Happy Easter!

Gilman's phone goes for a ride down the elevator shaft.

The O.C.

ugandaskateboardunion.org

The special effects will blow. your. mind.

boots with the fur.

adventure at the lake.

so it is a freezing saturday morning, and team gL heads to a 'retreat' for the day around green bay, wisconsin. imagine our delight as we find there is a lake that is completely frozen over. this, of course, is the result.

please enjoy.

filipe, i think we all hope that your miniscus is not torn.


love and miss you all,
team gL.

banana phone

www.scenediego.org

Ben

What could be creepier than an abandoned Insane Asylum?

Ben Sasso.

Watch and see for yourself.

Insane Asylum

The time we broke into an abandoned insane asylum ....
CREEPY...obviously we are the bravest roadie team though...

nagi noda

this is one of the most creative things i've seen in a long long time....as in...i've never seen anything like this before. thanks to director nagi noda.

so, here...blow your mind.



you can find a number of works she has done on youtube, including a scissor sisters music video, a poodle-woman workout video, and a wild joint involving eyeballs and glasses. there are more that i haven't listed and i would encourage you to watch them all. ...there's also another one like the one above that she did for coca-cola...

eff coca-cola.
http://www.killercoke.org/

Our Time at Berkeley

Allow us to explain.  There are "tree-sitters" living in the Oaks at Cal to protest the building of a new gym complex, therefore needing to remove the ancient Oaks and build on a fault line. We happened to show up during one of the many protests that have occurred outside of the Oak area.  It was entirely fenced in by not two, but three gates, and patrolled by the UC Berkeley Campus police.  People of all ages and backgrounds were in attendance, calling the issue and human rights issue.  The video also includes the sending of supplies (water, fruits, a guitar) via a pulley system into the trees for the half dozen or so people living in them.  They have called the Oaks home for 14 months now.  You can check out more info on Youtube and via online news articles if interested. For more info click HERE

Love from PNW!

amazing

this guy seriously has one of the most amazing gifts i have ever seen... truly beautiful.

take the time to watch these videos, you'll see what i'm talking about.

Stephen Wiltshire receives his Member of the Order of the British Empire award at Buckingham Palace for his artistic ability (2006).

more info and videos about stephen at his website www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk. you can order prints of his art too.

Getting it done in D.C.

so after almost every screening we had for our first week in dc decided to fall through, from high schools to concerts, we found we had a lot of free time on our hands. we decided to "get er done" and start bringing the movement back to the ground. behold, guerilla screenings and tactics at their finest.

that last scene is a shot of the forest fire we literally drove through in roanoake va. in. sane.

love and miss you all!