There’s a palpable sensation swirling about East Jesus lately. We feel it in our bones, breathe it in and out, see it out the corners of our eyes.

If you’ve never read Charlie’s blog post about East Jesus 2.0, you realize that he had bigger, stranger dreams for the future. If you feel like reading his hints:

http://www.chasterus.com/wp/?p=204

Caddy and I have found other notes, journal entries, and whispered stories about East Jesus 2.0. We have a scant 5 years before Charlie’s completion deadline. He predicted (accurately) that he would never live to see it. But he KNEW it would continue more or less on schedule anyway.

And so it does. We’re officially a 501(c)3 now, by the way, so if you’re looking for an end of year tax deduction, we’d really appreciate it. We’ve started our “Land Acquisition Fund,” and we’ve got quite a ways to go. New articles about East Jesus seem to appear magically every week or so; they are overwhelmingly positive, and very much in the spirit of the project. My favorite recent one was basically the survival guide in listicle format, which ensures that people who “get it” will be drawn to the place but people who DON’T will be really, really uninterested. Brianna, Caddy, and I spent Saturday evening with Amanda Palmer and her fabulous LA fan community at her invitation, and it was really excellent to be in the company of so many people who INSTANTLY understood what we’re doing.

Our first party of the season was absolutely fabulous, and it was truly wonderful to be surrounded with such gifted, extraordinary, loving people. Thanksgiving is a few days away, and Christmas/New Year’s/Birthday looms in the near future. There is more art, ever more art, and magical growth afoot.

We’ve got DOZENS of art and infrastructure projects in the pipe.  Gigsville’s Ubie, a 65′ tall neon man, will soon grace the Imperial Valley skyline with his blinking, quixotic message of “TIME FOR PIE.”  Royce Carlson’s massive new installation has taken skeletal form.  The Zen Garden becomes increasingly more zen, as the melange of “art supplies” move to their new homes at the lumberyard and art shed.  New trailers, new awnings, and a new water distribution system are taking form.  This season’s seedlings are up, soon to bear produce for Frank and Caddy’s artful cooking.

We’re making progress on the website/social media fronts, trying to share as much of the excitement and wonder of “out here” with those of you “out there.”

We’re all on the precipice of SOMETHING. Something huge and positive and wonderful.