The Daily Render by Nikolas R. Schiller

Since Wednesday I’ve been in lovely Tuscon, AZ for the Green Party National Convention. I was the elected delegate from the D.C. Statehood Green Party and represented roughly 5,000 registered D.C. Statehood Greens. I didn’t have access to MySpace while there, so this posting is a condensed recap. Suffice it say, I had an absolute blast.

Here are some highlights:

— Liberated a lonely bicycle that had the same sticker as my own bicycle in DC: “Please don’t steal my bicycle. Thanks” and drove it around the town- all around town. You know how I roll. the bike is now rests in the same place i found it, waiting for a new rider

— Went to a restraurant owned by the family of one of my good friends 3 times- ate stewed cactus, spinach & pine nut tacos, and an amazing chimichanga. La Indita - Young Indian Woman…

— Walked across the border into Mexico at Nogales for the last time before a Visa is required to leave America (starting 2007 yo) and had a few beers and walked back. Customs only asked what country I reside in and in a Fruedian slip I said “Washington, DC.” - no documentation was ever made by either government of my departure and my return to the United States. And to think I walked back over with a person who has an FBI file related counter-recruitment. Well maybe I do too. I digress.

— Went to a Casino on the way back from Mexico and won $30 at Blackjack. Walked in with $30 and left with $60 but all the while knew that gambling is a tax on people who do not know math. The next day I met a Green Party mayoral candidate who for 30 years has been a slot machine repairman in Reno, NV.

— Made it to about 12 different bars on the historic 4th Ave strip of Tucson, AZ and figured out where I would have spent my Friday nights if I were to have gone to the University of Arizona. I went to Buzz instead…

— Saw MXPX, Whole Wheat Bread, Arlington View, and Transition (not my scene, but ethnographically intriquing) at the Rialto Theatre. The irony of an Arlington View in DC and Texas abounds.

— Went to the Saguaro National Park - West

— Went to Catalina State Park and saw a roadrunner — meep meep. Oh yeah, I saw a lot of cactus- but for the first time realized the beautiful biodiversity of the desert.

— Discovered how dangerous intermittent streams can be when you are in the desert’s rainy season. think desert tsunami, seriously

— Made a cameo in the Tucson, AZ Fox News affiliate’s segment on the Green Party National Meeting:

http://www.fox11az.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=78277&catId=142
(click the image to be taken to the page)

— Met a lot of great lawyers from around the country who specialize in a quite a few different legal arenas

— Came up with a few gimmicks using google maps for Green candidates around the country

— After reading thousands of e-mails from over 150 leaders scattered around the country, I finally got to make the human connection with a conversation. Made a lot of friends, mostly older in age, and considerably wiser.
Now it’s time to get back to the work that I missed out on….