Sorry to have been out of touch... For the last five months, I had a job out of town (hey, it was a job) and didn't have much time at all. It's over, and I'm back. And trying to Do Stuff. Latest stuff is below...

I’m going to do a music video of “50 Ways to Cure the Depression” (which is a popular song right now, with the state the economy’s in). Going to do it cheap, of course—like, for zero cost—but very competently. I think that’s possible with what I know now. There is a draft of the song out there (www.soundclick.com/share?songid=7419157), but I’m going to re-record it for the video, on my equipment but with some good musicians. As noted earlier, the video will be done “French style,” as a fast-moving slide show rather than film.

The song’s three choruses all make suggestions for things one can do to cure the Depression. All thoroughly tongue-in-cheek, of course (I have a reputation to uphold, after all). There are 17 suggestions (not 50, and I do apologize for that in the song). What I want to do is have 17 photos of 17 different people illustrating those 17 things (tongue-in-cheekly, again, because a lot of the suggestions are quite illegal). And I will thank the people in the photos in the credits that’ll be shown during the instrumental break. The choruses are the only place in the video where people will show up—the photography for the verses will be deliberately people-less.

I have taken some photos over the past two days: Karen with the gigantic BCAC donation jar (“learn how to beg, Greg”), Jason with my “Free Writing Class” poster (“learn how to forge, George”), and Jim at the piano (“write a new song, Hmong”).

I already have a photo of Deathgrass in concert (“strike up the band, Stan”) and one of two Union police officers in duck hats (“make a lot of bucks, Ducks”). The City of Garibaldi still has those Publishers Clearing House-style gigantic checks from the building of the sewer plant, and I can get a photo of someone holding one (“write some big checks, Lex”). I have a selection of photos to pick from of groups of people doing things (“Let’s do it together, Heather”).

What I’m still looking for is:

A photo of somebody standing in front of a bank (“knock off a bank, Frank”)

Someone standing by one of those “How’s My Driving?” bumperstickers, ideally on the rear of a semi (“hijack a truck, Chuck”)

Somebody standing at the front-loading washers in a laundromat (“launder some money, Honey”)

Somebody paying a bill at a counter (“pay off the bills, Phil”)

Someone standing by or holding one of those posters warning about identity theft or some other fraud (“try a new scam, Pam”)

Somebody standing in front of a church (“start up a church, Lurch”)

Someone holding a flowerpot with something growing in it (“grow a little pot, Dot”)

Somebody—a couple, perhaps—standing in a really desolate-looking landscape (“I think we’re on our own, Joan”)

Someone either packing a vehicle or standing at an obviously packed vehicle ready to go somewhere (“take it on the road, Joad”)

Somebody with a plate or container of cookies (“we could be famous, Amos”)

So here’s the deal. If any of you within eyeshot have (or can get quickly) a photo that you think would work for one of these things, and are willing to be “featured” in the video, e-mail it to me (spacehamster@embarqmail.com). Make sure to identify whoever’s in the photo, so I can put it in the credits. High-resolution *.jpg or *.tif files, please.

Yes, I can stage most of those photos if I have to—and I will, for any that I can’t get. Just thought you folks out there might be interested in helping. And it’s “quickly” because I want to put this together this week, in my spare time (which there isn’t much of, by the way). As noted above, this is being done for no cost. It’s just one of those Things That Need To Be Done.

Joe