sugar boot and weasel: We Make Movies (and Amends)

I've not been posting at all and for that, I apologize. We have been so, so, so, so busy I can't even take photos enough or find the time to sit at the computer and update this blog. And that's just ridiculous because I at least used to do that like once a week, backdating everything so the events corresponded to the appropriate day on the calendar. For that, I will make this entry August 31st, even though it's actually currently September 21st. But seriously, there's much to catch up on.

We were in a short film, for one thing. The boys and I were invited by my friend Dixon who I know through a bunch of other folks, none of whom are unschoolers, mamas, parents at all even, or even married. Heck, many of them aren't even currently employed. But that's the state of things these days, I suppose. Dixon is a kid I met at a birthday party for someone turning 24. The only reason I note this is because I seem to be the only 30-something ~~unschooling~~ parent I know who hangs out with lots of childless 20-somethings. It's beside the point though.

Dixon invited me and the boys to come be in his short film about kite flying and spite. It entailed getting up very early and dragging Zena with us on a Sunday morning. We went to a difficult-to-locate field in the middle of one of the area's many metropark reservations.

It was the second film we'd been in recently, as my sister Lilly is also shooting a documentary about unschooling, which I mentioned before. Rachel, who I met first on the internet and then randomly in Chicago, also did an interview for Lilly's film.

Aleks made sure that Dixon understood he was star of the show and they are also now in talks about shooting another film with a murder scene in it. Aleks was watching lots of videos on YouTube about making your own special effects. We also recently got a book from the library about special effects. He's really into it.

The kite-flying film will be showing Sept. 26th at the 2009 Film and Animation Showcase in Seattle.

The lovely Heidi Rolf took lots of photos of our shooting day and the boys made good friends with my young childless friends. People without kids love playing with kids, it seems, so it works out really well. I'm in a babbling kind of mood, so I apologize for the disorder of this post and my continual pointing out the fact that we hang out with young people who don't have children. It's sounding embarrassing now.

Bastian, Rachel, Aleks, and Miles, at craft service.

Hangin'. Rachel, Miles, Zena, Aleks, and Janna, co-star of the show.

This awesome young gentleman takes photos with this neat camera. Of Aleks with a sword.

There were many weapon props available and the boys tried them all out.

Aleks found a Monarch wing and talked extensively to Heidi about Monarchs and the caterpillars we had at home (which all unfortunately perished from the earth prior to entering the chrysalis phase).