The Salton Sea Times #3

NORTH SHORE YACHT CLUB IS BACK FROM THE DEAD
For a long time the news from the Salton Sea hasn't been very upbeat, but the people of the Sea have always figured out a way to enjoy life and keep the party going. So, it's with some excitement that we announce that restoration on the legendary North Shore Yacht Club has begun. Yeap, they're bringing the old gal back to life. This architecturally reknowned building was designed by desert modernist architect Albert Frey and is considered a classic. Now we can all look forward to enjoying it the way that it was during the Salton Sea's martini heydays.

Here is a clip from a promotional film from the yacht club when it first opened:

The community is of course thrilled about the restoration, especially since it could be a nice showpiece of what is possible at the Sea.

But to be honest, in keeping with our own off-beat fascinations, we like the club because it's where all the skateboarders go to hang and because the yacht club's original owner was blown-up by a car bomb planted by some mobsters in the 1970s. Intrigued? If so, that expanded history and much much more is told on our new companion DVD - PAST PLEASURES AT THE SALTON SEA.

After finishing our documentary, PLAGUES & PLEASURES, we had so many fantastic historical films, photos, and Salton Sea artifacts that we decided to release an additional, full length DVD! It is a 94 minute collection of uncut archival films from the era, as well a bunch of other short films, photos, funny stories and other weird stuff on the glory days of the Salton Sea. In additon to the entire NORTH SHORE YACHT CLUB film, other salty rarities on the DVD include:

Original footage from the 1905-1907 flood that created the Salton Sea!

Several hilarious full-length real estate promotional films from the heydays of the Sea!

Plus, there is a collection of stories surrounding the North Shore Yacht Club, an air tour of the Sea, a history of the Imperial Valley, a moving museum of Salton Sea ephemera, remixed Super-8mm home movies, never before seen footage of bulldozed landmarks,

and much, much more for ONLY $16.95!

The DVD is only available from THE SALTON SEA EMPORIUM.

SPEED WEEK RETURNS

Have a boat? Or just want to drink a 40 oz. on the shoreline and watch the fastest boats in the world speed by? Continuing the good news in the Imperial Valley, we're happy to give you the heads up that boat racing returns to the Sea as part of the SALTON SEA SPEED WEEK which will take place this December 5th, 6th, and 7th.

That weekend will offer you the opportunity to be zapped back to the Salton Sea heydays of the 1960s. The Sea's water which is 227 feet below sea level and 1.5 times saltier than the ocean makes the Salton Sea the "fastest water" in the world. Many world records have been set at the Sea over the history of boat racing and this year's "Bonneville" style event will see some of the fastest boats in the country, if not the world, converge on the Salton Sea to try to beat the speed records!

Find out more HERE.

PART OF THE SALTON SEA'S DESOLATE SHORE MADE INTO A LUSH OASIS
For decades the 85-acre stretch of the Torres Martinez Indian Reservation lay beneath the Salton Sea. As the lake has receded, it has left behind a salt-encrusted wasteland worthy of Death Valley. But now, thanks to Debi Livesay's seven-year effort to bring back the water, it's a lush wetland supporting many plants, fish and species of birds. She has created an Eden in the desert and officials hope it's a microcosm of what will happen when state's restoration plan gets off the drawing board.

Water agreements reached in 2003 mean that Imperial Valley farmers will stop sending their run-off into the Sea, causing it to shrink further and grow ever more saline. Scientists predict that, without drastic action, by 2015 the last of the sportsfish will have died off. The 400 species of birds that nest there, including several endangered species, would like leave soon after. The state which has its own $8.9-billion, 75-year plan to rescue the dying sea and restore bird habitats, are eagerly watching what happens, because while the state's plan is still on the drawing board, Livesay's is up and running. Read more HERE.

Now with the economy as stinky as dead carp, it is probably going to be easy for politicians to once again put the restoration of the Salton Sea aside. What can you do? Well you can send a Sonny Bono postcard to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger! After all, they were both entertainers turned Republican politicians. Just download, print, fold in half, write your message, and SEND. Find out more about the SAVE SONNY'S SEA campaign and other ways to save the Salton Sea by going to our website at www.plaguesandpleasures.com

BOMBAY BEACH FEATURED ON TV SHOW "NO RESERVATIONS"
Recently, celebrated author and chef, Anthony Bourdain went on his own desert road trip for his Travel Channel show NO RESERVATIONS, and made it out to the Salton Sea.

That in itself was great, as anything that gets the Salton Sea into the spotlight in a positive way is good, as hopefully it will encourage more people to visit this special place.

However, even more tremendous, was that we'd help arrange to have Hunky Daddy be Anthony's guide for the day and take him around Bombay Beach by golf cart. It'd been in the works for a month, everything was set, and Hunky Daddy was excited about making another appearance on national television.

But as with most things around the Salton Sea - it didn't go as planned. As anybody who has seen PLAGUES & PLEASURES knows, the Daddy is a big fan of Milwaukee's Best beer. And considering the summer heat, most folks at the Sea stay up late drinking. So, when the NO RESERVATIONS crew came into town, the Daddy was still sleeping and recovering from the last night's partying. Sadly, the crew had to move on and choose another Bombay Beach resident as a substitute travel guide for the day. So while you won't be seeing Hunky Daddy on TV outside of PLAGUES & PLEASURES, they still put together a cool fun piece.

HUNKY MANIA!
As a tribute to everyone's hungover Hungarian, its time for another edition of "Hunky Sightings!", where dedicated P&P fans fulfill their wildest dream - to drink a cold cheap beer with The Daddy.

After finishing the film PLAGUES & PLEASURES, we were really excited about all the awards, the broadcast on the Sundance Channel, and seeing the DVD on the shelves at Blockbuster. But perhaps our greatest honor to date has to been discovering that two P&P fans ended up dressing up as Hunky Daddy for Halloween last year! We can't wait to see the Hunky costumes for this year. Send us your Halloween Hunky Funky Fotos and you could win a free copy of PAST PLEASURES AT THE SALTON SEA!

There has also been a steady stream of people making their pilgrimage to visit Hunky at his home in Bombay Beach. We were worried that Hunky Daddy might be upset about all the young women on his doorstep, but not surprisingly he insists that anyone is welcome. If you go, just make sure to bring him a case of Milwaukee's Best beer and your dancing boots. And be sure to send us a picture.

Live from the historic (aka rundown) Redstone Building off famous Crazytown Plaza in San Francisco, California - its time for the Tilapia Film News!

We continue to work non-stop on a feature length documentary about the legendary Los Angeles ska-punk-rock band Fishbone and are hoping to debut the film early next year, so keep your eyes and ears open. We are still amazed that the logo for the band just happened to look like the logo for Tilapia Film. We actually had our logo long before we started on the Fishbone film. Something is fishy here. Or maybe it was just meant to be.

VOTING SCHMOTING!
This month, the Ironweed Film Club is featuring Tilapia Film's short doc, LONG DIVISION: THE NEXT BIG THREAT TO DEMOCRACY. It's about economists and why some of them don't find it rational to vote. Watch the film here now...

With that said, we still encourage everyone to go out an VOTE this November 4th!!

As you might remember PLAGUES & PLEASURES was featured as part of the Ironweed Film Club a few months back. It is a monthly progressive film festival on DVD. They're great because each month they choose 2 or 3 socially-conscious, political and environmental docs with interesting stories and unique points of view. You never know what will show up in your mailbox each month. If you wanna join the club, you get the FIRST MONTH FREE (well actually only $2.95 for shipping) and you get a FREE copy of PLAGUES & PLEASURES. Then each month you will receive a new DVD with 2 or 3 great documentaries for $14.95 a month. And yeap, you can cancel at anytime. CLICK HERE to begin your Ironweed subscription.

WATCH THE NEW SERIES "AMERICAN DREAMERS"
If you like the crowd down at the Salton Sea, then you will surely like the new web series from Sony Pictures called AMERICAN DREAMERS. Our friend, Michael Jacobs, produced the series and it was photographed by Springer of PLAGUES & PLEASURES. Each Wednesday, there is a new 4 to 5 minute short film on another colorful, quirky, or unexpected American eccentric. It just proves that there are little pockets of Salton Sea eccentricity all over America! Come meet a man who built a castle by himself in Colorado, a fire eating sideshow performer, an Alien Hunter looking for revenge, the Flower Man and his junk house, an 80-year-old burlesque dancer, the Captain of Kazoos, a champion woman demolition derby driver, and even Salton Sea artist Leonard Knight and his Salvation Mountain.

New episodes are released every Wednesday on Crackle.com and YouTube.com. (You can watch all five current episodes by clicking on the small icons on the bottom.)

We continue screening PLAGUES & PLEASURES, so be on the look out for us in Memphis, Shreveport, San Diego, and Tehran. Sadly we won't be in attendance for that last screening in Iran, as we love to meet people, but it'll be great to hear what they think of our little slice of America.

Docurama Home Video continues to distribute the film and it is available nationwide. And if your local video store or public library doesn't have it, do request it and help spread the word. The Docurama edition of the DVD features some great Lost Interviews and Deleted Scenes, so be prepared to WATCH! as Leonard Knight and Naked Don work out their differences on Love, Jesus, and Nudity. GASP! when we revisit Lechon, Olivia, and other Bombay Beach regulars several years later. CRINGE! at a lost interview of Hunky Daddy philosophizing about Hungarian communism and dirty city people. Support the filmmakers by buying your DVD directly from THE SALTON SEA EMPORIUM.

With the coming restoration of the North Shore Yacht Club, the Salton Sea will be loosing one of its premiere skateboarding venues. To get a taste why skaters come far and wide to the skate the North Shore, check out this new video.

p.s. If you are not interested in receiving our harmless little electronic mail every few months, just reply to newsletter@saltonseadocumentary.com and write “UNSUBSCRIBE ME FROM YOUR DAMN NEWSLETTER!” in the subject line and we will take you off the list pronto. Thanks!