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Our Second Date

6/30/2014

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It Is About the Bike

Bikes have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. 

In fact one of my earliest childhood memories was my dad pushing me off to cycle for the first time without training wheels.

That sense of accomplishment and
freedom is something I never will forget.

My summers as a youth were full of bicycle excursions that took me all over the San Fernando Valley
and into the Topanga foothills.

For awhile, my bicycle was my sole method of transportation in Los Angeles, which is no easy thing when your job takes you all over that expansive mass of suburbia, trust me.


I raced BMX for a time, in my teens.

I am semi-proficient on a unicycle, at least enough to get around for a bit while in a unicorn mask. (Granted it's not a bicycle, still sort of the same genre, more or less)

I've done one triathlon, a sprint on a dual-suspension mountain bike.


I have owned bikes of every size and variety.

Except for a road bike.

I was intimidated.

By the commitment, in regards to time and money...

and those skinny tires...

and the exclusive, elitist culture...

the shaved legs...

my gigantic body at least compared to  the elites of the field....

but I've finally made the plunge

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Riding with the Boss

Oddly enough, one of the best things that came out of working on my last film project was acquiring my first road bike.

The production designer, who is essentially my boss, is an avid cyclist. And I am quite bi-curious, as in intrigued by the whole road racing culture.

I got swept up in the Lance Armstrong/ Tour de France frenzy years ago. And even after I stopped believing in the Lie, a few years before Lance's admission, I continued watching the Tour and longing to join the Peleton.

But like I said before, I wasn't quite ready to make the plunge.

Towards the end of the show, after I signed up for a couple of marathons and realized that I would need to do a certain amount of cross-training in order to be ready and not end up over-training in the process, I told him I was ready to buy a bike.

He immediately started researching which bike would be best for me, given my budget and needs as well as finding which local shop might have it in stock.  Within an hour, we were headed over to Bayou Bicycles.

They rolled out what was to soon be my newest bicycle acquisition. The sale-person/bike-tech was quite knowledgeable and would learn that my boss was much more versed in the fine points of the velo
. I was fitted like a prince before the Royal Wedding; having an improper fitting bike was another one of my reservations, so this was a dream come true.

The two of us only managed to go out on one ride before the job came to an end and we parted ways. I learned a lot on that ride and was physically pushed. But it was a
flat and straight ride on a bike-path along the Mississippi levee.



Running Out of the Belt-line


Yesterday, I decided to get out and onto my red roadster. I planned to
try to stay on the Belt-line bike walk so that I wouldn't have to worry about cars while I was still learning basic things like turning and getting my feet out of the pedals.

Last summer when I bought new bike shoes and snapped into my mountain bike's clipless pedals after having not done that in probably close to a decade, I ended up slowly crashing and banging up my right side because I couldn't get my feet out.

It sucked and I was embarrassed, but it would have been much worse had I been going faster
and/or was in traffic.

I was breezing along the bike path which was still fairly empty and before I knew it, I was at the end of it. I was feeling comfortable with the pedals and stopping although I was still getting the hang of shifting. I decided to go for it and venture onto the streets with the cars.

Atlanta is pretty hilly. Not mountainous, but certainly hilly.

Actually it was the perfect amount of hilliness. Enough to be a challenge but not so steep as to be overwhelming for my first ride out in Atlanta.

After around an hour I'd had my fill and came back home.

Today I'm a bit sore but I am sure excited
get out again.


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Sneak Preview

6/29/2014

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Coming Soon to a Blog Near You

Now that I'm finally feeling a little more like my old self, after taking the last week to tie up loose ends on the job, recover physically and mentally, reconnect with the family and that some time to reflect and regroup, I can get back to my life before American Ultra.

Except that I can't.

As Heraclitus stated, "you can never step in the same river twice," so it is with where I'm at.

I was prepping a community garden still several weeks before the last frost; now it the beginning of summer and we're less than a week from heading out across the country for one of two transcontinental drives, I'll be embarking on.

Skye was just starting classes at the home-school co-operative. She finished up her classes the week before I got back.

We were all in Atlanta.

Now Cindy will be in New Orleans until November and I have at least 3 trips out west planned in that same time. Where Skye will be is still being worked out. Thank goodness she's as flexible and resilient as she is.


I am far behind as far as my posts are concerned and anticipate a cornucopia of new material on the immediate horizon.
With that said I hope to be posting at least once a day this week, maybe 2 or 3 if inspired and time permitting.

I don't know what they'll be. But they might be....



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Game Changer

6/25/2014

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My Latest Film Project-The Post-Mortem

For a variety of reasons, this last project was one of the hardest of my career; and I've had my fair share of difficult projects.

In this particular blog,I'm going to not analyze the hows and whys of the show itself, but rather some things I've really had to consider.

Things that this show has pushed me to become more diligent about.

Lifestyle changes that have simmering for awhile now, have boiled over.

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Running on empty
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Enduring Wisdom

“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day—unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.”

–Old Zen adage


I didn't take enough time out for myself on this show.  As a result, I am in the worst physical shape of my life.

I thought I was there a few months ago, but it's only gotten worse. I'm the heaviest I've been since purposely trying to bulk up to get on the game show, Battle Dome.

I'm the least flexible I've been since my knee surgery over a decade ago. And my endurance and cardio are in dire straits.

My emotional state has been a roller-coaster ride.
I've really missed my family this time around, more than on other jobs.

And once again, I'm having a hard time imagining
decorating another show.

But I still have a number of years before I can retire, probably looking at 20 more or less; around the same amount of time I've already been doing this.  So on a positive note, I'm more than half-way through this journey.

"As Far as Jobs Go, It's Not a Bad Job"


Set decorating, leading, set dressing and shopping; I have enjoyed aspects of all of them. Working in the  film business has been an amazing experience.

But it is not my passion. I fell into it.  I didn't pursue it.

I was a furniture mover at the time, one of my many odd jobs, and some one asked if I wanted to do the same thing for the movie they were working on.  I haven't looked back.

But again, it's not my passion.

I'm not sure what my passion is.

There are so many things I love doing. Many of them that I'm quite good at. But there isn't that one thing
, that I love so much more than all the rest.

At one point I would have said writing. More recently I would say story-telling, whatever that medium might be. But as of late, living the story has grabbed me.

There is a reason this website/blog is called Jon of All Trades.


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I Am a Physical Culturist

Physical Culture
This mid-19th century phrase is defined by The Oxford Dictionary as “The sum total of a society’s activities and attitudes connected with physical development and education.”

I have been intrigued by working out and being physical since I was a teen, even though I was the intellectual of the family and my brother was the natural athlete.

When I left for college, I was a literature/film major; when I left a mere nine months into it, I was a drama/dance major, with an emphasis on dance.

I trained to be a ball-room dancer and
taught a few aerobic classes back in the '80s.

I joined a gym when I was homeless so I had somewhere to shower, working out was secondary.

That said, I became a gym rat when I lived in Venice. Working out at Gold's Gym along side many world-class body-builders. Arnold was down the street at World Gym, where I was a member for a while.

Since then I've dabbled in long-distance running and obstacle course racing.

I've been doing Brazilian Jiujitsu for almost two decades. Many of the people I started with are now Black Belts with their own schools. I've trained with several martial art "celebrities"

I am fascinated with the human body and what it's capable of.

It's one of the things I love about the circus.


Picturejust before the start of last year's BM Ultra
What the Future Holds

For starters, I need to recover.  I need to unpack. And then I'll need to repack, cause we're on the road in a week. I need to get grounded.

I need to get my sleep patterns back to normal. I need to get back in shape.

I need to sort out priorities.

I need to more actively follow my passions.

I Need to Be Realistic

Sometimes I take the quote "A man's reach should exceed his reach" a bit too far.

Sometimes I take on challenges that are bit unrealistic.

I signed up for the San Francisco marathon which is in around 5 weeks. The longest distance I've run in the last 6 months is around 4 miles. I did 3 miles yesterday and was dying.

My better judgement has opted to pass on that event. However I still plan to do the Burning Man Ultra-marathon at the end of August and the Toughest Mudder in mid-November.


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All Over the Map...Literally

I just got back "home" last Friday, less than a week ago.

We spent Sunday house-hunting, only to realize that we really didn't want to be home owners again and that we should have been condo-loft hunting.

In a little over a week, we head down to New Orleans for Fourth of July en-route to Mammoth Lakes where Skye will be attending a Shakespeare camp. Cindy will fly out half-way through to start a job in NOLA. 

Skye and I will make our way back to Atlanta just in time for me to start gearing up for another cross-country  trip to attend Burning Man.

The dust will literally and figuratively settle in September.

But I do have the Tough Mudder in Las Vegas in November, around the same time Cindy will be finishing up her job and coming home.

Just the Tip of Iceberg

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Another Whirlwind Weekend

6/24/2014

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A Couple of Fundraisers, Father's Day and a Sweet-Sixteen Birthday

What I really needed weekend before last was to get some R & R. Sleeping in and a massage would have been just what the doctor ordered.

However, it was Father's Day and Skye's birthday.

I flew back to Atlanta on Friday. The girls were flying back from Los Angeles on Saturday night, so I had the  next day to shop for Skye's birthday presents.

We have downsized to the point of having one car, which works out great most of the time, because when we are working the company rents one for us. That said my rental was down in NOLA and our car was parked at the airport.

So I hopped on my bike to grab a truck from Home Depot for a few hours.

Nope; their two trucks were both broken and the row of Penske vans that were sitting there were only available on-line.

Off to Enterprise and then shopping a-go-go.

Skye's big present was her trip to LA, which I had next to nothing to do with, so I was feeling a little guilty.

That's how I ended up driving around the city in search of two inflatable paddle-boards.

Definitely a win-win.

I also would need 15 more little gifts for my sweet-sixteen surprise concept.

It was a race against the clock because I also had to get to
the

Circus Combustus & The Funk Pirates Fundraiser Party. They're my camp-mates at Burning Man and I had signed up to help set-up as well as fire-safety, something I hadn't done before but figured it was time to learn how.
 

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Running Away with the Circus and
A Pirate's Life for Me


I missed most of the set-up, but I was able to use some of my set dressing skills to hang up some lights and umbrellas.

I caught up a little with my Burner pals.

Then I took a turn at the concession stand until my time-slot as fire safety came up.

I received a quick tutorial on what I was supposed to do, was handed a lighter and a fire blanket
and within the first minute of my "shift" a girl is running towards me with her hands and arms on fire. I wrapped her arms up and put her out as quickly as I could.

Trial by fire in every sense of the word.

The rest of the performance went off without a hitch and I learned a bit more about other aspects of fire-safety, as well as getting a ring-side seat to some great fire-spinning.

I helped out a bit more at the concession booth, made my way to the bar, had a delicious bite to eat off the Good Food Truck, a
Poodle, to be precise; (French Toast hot dog bun, beef dog, topped with apple-maple slaw) and ended up making a post-midnight water run.

A great time, although I was beyond exhausted and surprised that I made it as long as I did.


I didn't get any photos, but pulled some off of facebook. So I must credit Marlo Mason and Justin Majors with these amazing pics.

And great thanks, awe and wonderment to my amazing Circus-Pirate family.

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Bleary Sunday, Funday

Somehow I managed to get up before the family awoke and put together my little Sweet Sixteen Birthday Surprise.
I had got one of those little helium tanks from a party store and was going to have 16 balloons floating around with little presents or something of that sort.

The tank ran out after just a few balloons, so I ended up resorting to some of my clown skills, namely animal balloon creatures as well as these cool little lights that you could drop in to make a balloon glow.

All in all it went well, because Skye wasn't expecting any sort of gifts, beyond her trip and the very special dinner outing we had planned.


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For Old Time's Sake

Rather than mess around in the kitchen, we opted to stroll the fifty yards or so to our local haunt, Barcelona.

As delicious as it was it couldn't compare to the wonderful dinner we were heading to as our Father's Day/ Skye's 16th Birthday gala event.

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Farm to Table, Celebrity Chefs, Localvore Extravaganza

I'm taking everything from there website because I'm running out of time and energy and quite honestly I'd be paraphrasing for the most part.

I can say it was absolutely delicious and an amazing way to cap of an incredible, albeit exhausting weekend.


"Event Last Brigade Supper at Gaia Gardens A BENEFIT FOR WHOLESOME WAVE GEORGIA

Love is Love Farm owners Joe Reynolds and Judith Winfrey have gathered some of the city's top chefs for a fundraising dinner on the farm to benefit Wholesome Wave Georgia on Sunday, June 15 beginning at 5:30pm.  A celebration of Atlanta's culinary past, the Last Brigade Supper will reunite the following chefs:

-Ryan Smith of Empire State South

-Jason Paolini of Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch Public House

-Chris Hall of Local Three and Muss & Turners

-Brian Horn of JCT Kitchen, No. 246 and The Optimist

-Terry Koval of The Wrecking Bar

-Gary Mennie

The evening pays homage to a time when each of these talented chefs worked side-by-side on Chef Mennie's now-famous line at Canoe. In keeping with Love is Love Farm's Punk-Rock roots, the dinner is named after one of Reynolds' favorite songs, Down by Law's "The Last Brigade."

Tickets for the Last Brigade Supper include a pre-dinner reception and tour of the farm, and wine pairings with dinner.  

About Love is Love Farm:

Operated since 2008 by Joe Reynolds and Wholesome Wave Georgia President Judith Winfrey, Love is Love Farm grows certified organic produce using soil-based agriculture practices such as crop-rotation, cover cropping, and hand weeding, seeding and harvesting. Reynolds and Winfrey aspire to demonstrate through Love is Love Farm that we can serve the good food movement through mindful land stewardship. The farm hosts several events throughout the year including educational workshops, field days and benefits for non-profit organizations.  Love is Love Farm is located at Gaia Gardens, which is located near Decatur, GA. For more information, visit www.loveislovefarm.com.

About Wholesome Wave Georgia:

Founded in 2009, Wholesome Wave Georgia is an organization whose mission is to increase access to fresh, healthy, locally grown food at producer-only farmers markets in the state of Georgia. We double the value of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits at local farmers markets to increase access to and affordability of healthy foods. Wholesome Wave Georgia operates across a network of 22 markets statewide. For more information, visit www.wholesomewavegeorgia.org.

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    Jon Danniells is an adventurer and traveler, a teacher and student, a husband and a father, a cook and a farmer, a "week-end warrior" (very amateur athlete) and has not earned any money on these labors of love.When I googled myself what showed up first was my IMDB listing, which is basically a resume for my 20 and then some year career in film, for which  I fortunately do get paid.

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