From: mjm <mmoynihan-AT-wi.rr.com>
Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 17:55:38 -0500
To: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Pack Rat Day?!?!


Actor Peter Coyote played the scientist guy in E.T.
"Elliot, I'm glad he met you first.", talking to the boy who 
encountered the alien (puppet) initially.
(read on this does relate to the subject eventually)*

After graduating from college in 1964, he moved to the West Coast to 
pursue a Master's Degree in Creative Writing at San Francisco State 
University. After a short apprenticeship at the San Francisco Actor's 
Workshop, Peter joined the San Francisco Mime Troupe, a radical 
political street theater, which had recently been arrested for 
performing in the City's parks without permits.

In the Mime Troupe, he was acting, writing, and directing and directed 
the first cross-country tour of The Minstrel Show, Civil Rights in a 
Cracker Barrel, a highly controversial piece closed by the authorities 
in several cities. The cast was arrested several times before a 
triumphal tour of eastern sea-board colleges and universities, 
culminating in New York City, where they were invited and sponsored by 
comedian Dick Gregory.

The following year, the Troupe toured again, and a play, Olive Pits, 
that Peter co-wrote, directed and performed in, won a Special OBIE.

In 1967 he left the theater for ten years, to "pursue absolute 
freedom". He was a founding member of "The Diggers," an anarchistic 
group who supplied free food, free housing, and free medical aid to the 
hordes of runaways who appeared during the Summer of Love. The Diggers 
evolved into a group known as the Free Family, which established chains 
of communes around the Pacific Northwest and Southwest. Sleeping Where 
I Fall, his book published May 1998 tells many stories of the Diggers, 
*including his stint at the FREE STORE , where anyone could leave 
something to offer or take something they needed.

And, while with the Mime Troupe he performed in  Joan Holden's 
adaptation of the Carlo Goldoni comedy, L'Aimant Militaire, adapted by 
into a biting satire on the Vietnam War with ongoing political 
commentary by an onstage puppet in it's own booth. PUNCH, THE RED!

Notably 1975 until 1983 Coyote was a member of the California State 
Arts Council, the State Agency that creates public policy for art and 
culture. After his first year, he was elected Chairman three years in a 
row by his peers. During his tenure, the Council's budget expanded from 
1 to 14 million dollars a year.

He is currently preparing to direct a feature film he has written, 
called Crimes of Opportunity, and has just sold a pilot for an original 
television series called 5150 to CBS television.

It seems time for a national Diggers movement, with FREE STORES fill a 
real need.


> Back in the late 70's we started an organisation called REVOLVE that 
> was
> based on scrounging at the local rubbish tip and sold useful products 
> at a
> local market as part of an Unemployed Workers Union Initiative. I 
> moved on
> but some young entrepanours took it on and turned it into a million 
> dollar
> business that can now recycle more than 60% of our nations capital 
> city's
> waste! Green Waste, Food Scraps etc included! It is a non-profit
> organisation so as it makes a profit it employs more people and 
> expands its
> process. One thing that I love is that it approaches manufacturers and
> retail outlets to secure their waste which, from an artists point of 
> view is
> a wonderful resource.....you know, short equel sized pieces of 
> Aluminium
> extrusion in their hundreds, wierd shaped offcuts of otherwise really
> expensive materials that large manufacturers discard rather than 
> keeping
> "just in case", remember aluminium bottle tops? the sheets of 
> aluminium foil
> that these were punched out of and other stuff! Lasat year they had a 
> the
> complete makings of a milk bottling plant. I passed up on an 
> opportunity to
> buy a machine for $300 aus ($150 US) that included nearly 30 minature
> pnuematic rams and controllers...DUH!
> The other initiative is LETS...or Local Energy Transfer System. Sounds 
> much
> like Freecycle but you trade for a currency token and includes labour 
> and
> some retail outlets that will trade 50% LETS 50% cash etc. Doesnt have 
> to be
> significant items either, back rubs, a companion for a day, Joke of 
> the Day
> as well as more serious items like assistance building houses, 
> panelbeating
> and of course lots of home made items, produce and "junk". Our Tax 
> office
> ruled that IT IS taxable but only in the currency of the trade and as 
> they
> arent set up to deal within arbitary economies they passed on it.
> Unfortunatley Social Security doesnt take the same attitude but then
> struggle to place a value on a "redback" or the other plethora of 
> currency
> tokens. I "sell" lots of our old sets, props, lights, puppets and 
> "junk"
> this way. By the way, debt in LETS is GOOD! There is no interest and It
> means that someone is in credit and cashed up to spend!
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