While spending over three weeks at the Cosmic Honey Community was a departure of sorts for me in many ways, I did not totally leave all facets of my old self behind. If you’re reading this blog, then you’re familiar that I’m a longtime screenwriter who spends beaucoup time everyday whiling away on my laptop. While the first week or so at Cosmic was experiential and I was taking in all of the new shit and people, I found myself by week two ready to start getting back into my creative biz-nass… but where?
When walking the grounds of Cosmic, one is struck by a slew of unique camping, living and travel apparatuses. I haven’t been to Burning Man, but having seen lots of video and spoken to lots of folks about it, Cosmic Honey is very much like Burning Man light in it's aesthetic. There are several permanent lotus tents that dot the grounds (and house multiple residents) and there are many repurposed/hippified school buses, some mobile and some not. Among the school bus collection, there is one very, very special one that is probably noticeable from outer space. The name of this fucking thing is… Kabuki. The best way I can describe it is that Kabuki resembles a Mad Max era stegosaurus-mobile. I absolutely fell in love with this thing the first time I saw it, though I didn’t really have much for it in mind other than as (yet another) cool, interesting contraption within the Cosmic Honey hemisphere. But there’s more…
…Julie, a Cosmic Honey resident I had the good fortune of getting to know better during my stay, always seems to have the good info on stuff. Whether it’s about people, places nearby, or just fun shit to talk about, Julie is always in the know about it. She was naturally the first person I decided to chat with about Kabuki. “What the hell is the deal with that stegosaurus bus?” She had the history. A woman had dumped a ton of money into it the year before the 2017 or 2018 Burning Man, and had the entire thing repurposed into a full-on mobile kitchen. If you go into Kabuki it does indeed have multiple cooking services, refrigerators, freezers… even a deep fryer. The idea is that Kabuki would be managed by a couple dudes this woman knew, and they would drive around the playa at Burning Man doling out free, delicious food to fortunate party goers in the area… However, Kabuki had a short run and only made it to Burning Man once. I believe ever since it was kind of this listless monstrosity of a vehicle based at someone’s place in the Bay Area…. But, that’s where Cosmic was able to step in with its vast acreage and give Kabuki a new home. Multiple Cosmic Residents, Julie included, have since done work to Kabuki to bring it back to its original (2017) glory. Most importantly, Julie informed me that I should poke my head in Kabuki... because it makes a really great place to office (?).
The ceiling of Kabuki drapes downward like this drooping jellyfish… but what lies beneath that is a perfect office space. The back of the bus, beyond the commercial cooking zone, was repurposed into a dining area that works perfectly as a great way to spread out all of your work materials. As it’s a school bus, you’re surrounded by windows on all sides, so you get this nice sense that you’re working outdoors and/or mobile... but Kabuki ain’t going anywhere. It's there for you. Kabuki also has house power, so you can legitimately set up whatever you need for real deal, office-style work.
After the first week I also finally figured out my cell network’s mobile hot spot functionality, so once I began working in Kabuki I was 100% up and running and wanting for nothing. At the end of week two/beginning of week 3 I holed myself up in Kabuki for probably about 4 days straight as I completely reorganized a feature length film script I am currently writing. It was an absolute fucking delight, and community events were probably the only thing that caused me to interrupt any of my Kabuki time. While finding this dream writing spot on the Cosmic Honey grounds was certainly a surprise, it was also a big turning point in my time there, as it gave me a needed boost of agency amidst my stumbles learning new skills and people.
Here’s to you Kabuks! If I sell this script, I’ll use 10% to finish getting you re-outfitted for Burning Man… and we’ll go there together :) Like a family!
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