In the early early morning we set out onto the cobblestone streets of Cesky Krumlov bound for a big yellow bus vaguely reminding me of the Flonase drug bee. At seven o’clock in the morning the sun was non-existent and viewing the landscape was difficult. Eventually the sky began to brighten and the snow covered fields were revealed, only interrupted occasionally by small towns and commerce centers. It was during this time an alternative view of Cesky Budejovice via bus window. Our only other vantage point had been from the steps of the train station between transits to Cesky Krumlov. Most of my time on the bus was spent staring out the bus window while listening to Czech radio which played a mixture of eighties pop and Czech hits. It’s funny how normally I feel that becoming immersed in cultural media like television and radio helps navigate the new space we inhabit, but now it seems somewhat remote as my usage of such centralized devices has lessened and fallen by the wayside in favor of more decentralized forms of communication such as the internet. Actually it’s not that funny since it has limited my “access” so to speak, the TV signal seems to be carried most preferably by satellite, theoretically this is the same in the US between the densely packed cities and the migration to an all-digital signal.
The following is inspired by this trip. I am posting this well after the fact due to an indecision on how to process the experience. I accumulated more than thirty minutes of footage during the bus ride, and recorded as much radio broadcast to match. However, the impulse to include all the material seemed excessive, and the thought of covering and dealing with so much seemed counter productive. In short, I became blocked. In the end I was able to encorage myself to "let go" of the vast majority, in effect abandon the original idea and simply go for something less literal and less demanding. I encourage comments.
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