WOLF-CAT COLLECTIVE

A traveling group of interdisciplinary creatives vested in the notion of social impact. DISCLAIMER: if you see a photo of yourself on our blog and wish it to be taken down, please let us know. we meet a lot of people and though we try we can't ask every persons permission.

[wolfcatcollective]

1326 Lesseps St

We’ve been in new orleans for 4 days now, and honestly I never want to leave. For the first time in my life I really fell like I am surrounded by honestly. This is the home of the punks and the runaways. The misfits, rebels, creaters and destroyers. Anyone can fit in here. The cost of living us so low that exclusivity becomes extremely improbable. The people here do what they want, they graffiti abandoned buildings, play music in the street, or sell drugs. Almost everyone in NOLA drinks. The police presence here is so small, no one worries about the legality of things for the most part. If you don’t rent a home you can certainly find one. Squatters rights are in full effect and you can fix up an abandoned home and legally begin the process of ownership. The place we’ve been staying is a punk house full of graffiti artists. All ranging in age and occupations, most of them work seasonally out of the city where jobs are easier to come by. They have all kinds of people come through and stay with them, only asking them to do dishes or pitch in some way or another. These are the nicest most honest people you’ll ever meet. They’re all a little rough on the edges, but that’s the beauty of it all. I don’t feel like anyone is acting here. There’s need to, you can say what you want and do what you feel here. Its almost overwhelming the feeling of freedom. We went to The End of The World and saw a punk show under a bridge last night. Me and Alex found some people who had built a fire, my favorite part. The people drank, smoked, danced, and did whatever they felt. With such a huge concentration of free thinkers it’s so hard to ever want to leave.

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[wolfcatcollective]

These roots run rampant. I think the entire caravan agrees that we've found something very special in New Orleans. Another kindred city that has sustained and survived cataclysm, and a vacuum of resources. It blows my mind to thing that it would take at least six million dollars to repave the roads in NOLA, yet the mayor of Baltimore spent exactly that much to get new helicopters to patrol the ghettoes in my back yard. Maybe money can't buy happiness, but evidently the subjective definition of safer streets is still contingent upon it. It's hard to believe this city looking more like a war zone than what the ninth ward currently appears to be, ten years after Katrina. The DIY oriented anti-establishment attitude here has stolen my heart in ways I have not felt since I first set foot in Baltimore. It's a golden blend of ratchet optimism that operates on a 24 hour basis, come hell or high water. It's no exaggeration when I say we were all speechless on our first day out.

Once again, here's to new friends, old, and a road paved with broken hearts upon every goodbye.

[wolfcatcollective]

Few Clouds, 4°C

4218 N Villere St

I saw the light, and the darkness in its shadows. They followed their instincts, or did things they'd been told. They made their own choices, Putting up a good fight. They did what they knew in their souls was right. So there's light in the dark and there's dark on the light, And in the end I follow my insight. I have all sorts of feelings, Not all of them positive But I revisit my ideas And learn through them composited. The ways that the others react to my actions, Determines my feelings for all their reactions. Some things seem obscure, and out of the blue. But connect all the dots and they link up to you. So control yourself, and we control the collective Focus on the group and rebuild our directive. So many things seem hopeless, born to die. But I see it so different, hopelessness is a lie. They sell it to you on tv, in the streets Just have another drink Individuality retreats. Their control over us, overwhelmes and decays As our fight for ourselves just gets in their way. So buy those cool shoes, and they'll sell you your slavery Feeding false news and confusing real issues. They take over your mind. Wash. Once you've lost everything, all that's left is potential. Now open your eyes to make change instrumental. We all play a part in this show of our life Recognize your role and help end others strife. Everything will suffer and the fight will make progress But if we live blinded, we can only regress. Wake up!

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[wolfcatcollective]

1326 Lesseps St

We’ve been in new orleans for 4 days now, and honestly I never want to leave. For the first time in my life I really fell like I am surrounded by honestly. This is the home of the punks and the runaways. The misfits, rebels, creaters and destroyers. Anyone can fit in here. The cost of living us so low that exclusivity becomes extremely improbable. The people here do what they want, they graffiti abandoned buildings, play music in the street, or sell drugs. Almost everyone in NOLA drinks. The police presence here is so small, no one worries about the legality of things for the most part. If you don’t rent a home you can certainly find one. Squatters rights are in full effect and you can fix up an abandoned home and legally begin the process of ownership. The place we’ve been staying is a punk house full of graffiti artists. All ranging in age and occupations, most of them work seasonally out of the city where jobs are easier to come by. They have all kinds of people come through and stay with them, only asking them to do dishes or pitch in some way or another. These are the nicest most honest people you’ll ever meet. They’re all a little rough on the edges, but that’s the beauty of it all. I don’t feel like anyone is acting here. There’s need to, you can say what you want and do what you feel here. Its almost overwhelming the feeling of freedom. We went to The End of The World and saw a punk show under a bridge last night. Me and Alex found some people who had built a fire, my favorite part. The people drank, smoked, danced, and did whatever they felt. With such a huge concentration of free thinkers it’s so hard to ever want to leave.

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[wolfcatcollective]

Some thoughts on reconnecting

I have a string of theories regarding the friends and memories we make. One, we remember more than we know by way of collective consciousness… kind of like how coastal redwoods grow with shallow roots, in a communal system. This allows us centuries to develop, with the flexibility to sway in wind and inclemency. When we maintain our connected roots, we increase our chances of thriving. Two, by law of attraction, we are bound to meet the same people in different incarnates everywhere we go. That birds of a feather thing. The more honest we are with ourselves, and others, the more easily identifiable our good and bad habits become. Let's take this to another level of hokey. On one of our last days in Richmond, I was sharing breakfast with Diane. I was drinking coffee, she had her beer. Diane is a special breed of empath, who has the ability to travel into the dreams of others. She's also spent a great deal of time recovering memories of her past lives. She informed me that morning of a phenomenon where those roots I mentioned before transcend lifetimes. This theoretical phenomenon goes as far as what I will refer to as "meet me at Montauk" incidents, where arrangements might be made that on a particular day, at a particular time, paths will cross and a particular exchange will be made that triggers refreshing stream of consciousness. I like to think that in uprooting myself from Baltimore, I am actually becoming more connected with my roots. Certainly, it's interesting to introduce Justine to people from my past. It's as though she gets to recover puzzle pieces that grant access to a clearer picture of who I have been, who I have, and who I commiserate with.

[wolfcatcollective]

Through with Savannah, we followed a band to Jacksonville as a pitstop before New Orleans. In Savannah we added another member to our collective. The ex girlfriend of our host there. Alex. She is an beautiful, strong female who needed an escape from her situation. Sometimes the only thing you can do is drop everything and try something new. Me and Valentina were more than happy to take her on board, promising to look out for her and add a stop in las vegas to the trip so we can take her to visit her mother. Somehow we left Savannah in good graces and with Andy's blessing. I was happy to leave the city having come to the conclusion that most of the people I had meet there were alcoholics, and I could no longer keep up. Our last night there we saw the band Darsombra play at the Jinx. A band from Baltimore and familiar faces. Beautiful. There music is a psychedelic spiritual experience. The husband and wife duo make all of their own animations which are projected ontop of their performace. Mind blowing, and such an incredible journey. See them if you ever have a chance. We followed them to Jacksonville where they let us sell our merchandise alongside them. We all hung out in my van before the show and they even put us on the guest list. I talked to people in the bar to tell them about the band and our travels, everyone was wonderful. An musician named Charlie told me about the city and the local scene. He ended up inviting all of us to stay at his family's home for the night, were we stayed up late talking and learning about his extraordinary punk magazine and his band the New Strangers (after Camus of course!). He showed us all such incredible kindness and even bought us all breakfast the next day. We left Jacksonville late last night and drove to New Orleans. We crossed the bridge into the city just as the sun began to rise. Hello beautiful new day, goodbye beautiful people. I am so blessed to run into such incredible souls, everwhere I go. I look forward to exploring the city, but for now I'm sitting on the roof of yet another of Valentina's amazing friends, Yago, letting us crash in his punk house. Everyone is asleep, so its the perfect time to paint.

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Drinking at the Jinx with Andy and Alex last night. The Mountain Goats will play here after I leave Savannah, so sad to miss them!

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The Sentient Bean, an excellent vegan friendly cafe in Savannah :)

[wolfcatcollective]

Sunshine in Savannah!

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Andy helped us reorganize the van!

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Handstands in the park make friends!

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Sunny Savannah

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Scattered showers, palm trees flowers, Georgia has my heart. The people live the way they do, Fall together, fall apart. I sat in silence and stood to go. New places need expored. I walked along a street called Park Just after dusk, still not quite dark. I sang a song, along the way Playing harmonica. I find racist roots get in my way, I point them out, remember, relay. I have to share these thoughts I have, If I dont do it, long live what's passed.

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[wolfcatcollective]

We made it to Georgia last night and woke up late in the morning to get breakfast at a local joint. Savannah Georgia. Its a beautiful town, full of civil war impersonators and alcoholics. And a dope metal scene. Andy is a vocalist in a band here, and hes letting us crash on his couches. One of Valentinas friends from high school. I cant stop thinking about Richmond. It was so beautiful. I fell in love with the people there, so beautiful. I need to tell you more about them all. Such a great unexpected adventures. An expensive endeavor , with all the repairs on the van, but beautiful none the less.

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[wolfcatcollective]

Overcast Clouds, 19°C

15 E Park Ave

Diane, the beautiful painter who let us stay in her home in Richmond was so incredible. Her children are beautiful souls and it is clear that their loving mother made all the difference for them. She is a Libra like me, and we vibed immediately. Her high energy and love for people made it so that we couldn’t help but feel at home. Her endless stories from her life helped shape my understanding of her. I knew soon enough that she was undeniably a real artist. And a true soul. I cannot express in words my gratitude for having met her. She is a jack of all trades and had been making things her whole life. Shes done it all, signs and lettering, jewlery, painting, fashion, t-shirts and bumper stickers. Just to name a few. I am in awe of her paintings, which sell for thousands of dollers, but even more so of her life. She is such an inspiration. I couldn’t name a single thing to improve this women. She fed us so much and even let me cook for the whole crew in her beautiful kitchen. And she gave us gifts. Her existence is a gift. I literally couldn’t not say enough about her to express how she impacted me. She gave me so much, but it was her words that mattered. Her excitement and zeal for life, after a lifetime as a work of art, there is so much hope in the world and humanity. I am forever grateful

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#justinecady

[wolfcatcollective]