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I'm currently finishing my Master of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at The University of Texas at El Paso. I've geared all my studies toward traveling and documenting those travels through creative means. The label under which I put all my works, including travel writing, photography and filmmaking, is Cardboard Box Productions. It's an independent company devoted to an interdisciplinary approach to artistic endeavors. We specialize in combining the talents of ambitious musicians, filmmakers, writers, artists and businesspeople to create projects that transcend traditional forms and guidelines and allow for groups and individuals to express themselves in a more holistic manner. You can check out more at myspace.com/cardboardboxproductions. You can also view some of CBBX Pro's videos at youtube.com/cmlandrus or on vimeo.com by searching Cassi Landrus.

All materials found on this blog are property of Cardboard Box Productions and protected under Intellectual Property laws. No materials from this blog may be reproduced or published in any form or space without the consent of Cardboard Box Productions.

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Joined on: June 23rd 2009
Last Login: October 15th 2009

Blog Entries: 19
Photos: 103

TB Code: [blogger=125810]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by cmlandrus, order by Date newest first.

By cmlandrus
June 25th 2009

My First Night with Juarez North America » Mexico » Chihuahua » Juarez

No, I tell anyone who asks, I'm not afraid to come to Juarez. Not even last year around this time when the murdering was at it's height. I just never really had a reason to come. I guess I could have gone exploring, but I admit, I had paranoia instilled in me by the locals. It's dangerous, stay away. I had made a few brief visits, never staying longer than a few hours, but I could never quite venture over there alone. I wasn't scared. I think I was just doing what I was told and not giving much thought to [View Full Entry]

By cmlandrus
June 23rd 2009

Getting out of Barthalonaaa! Part 5 Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

We step onto a platform. Not a train station, but an empty wooden platform. The only sign of human life is a hotel about a five-minute walk away. We head for the hotel to see if that’s where we buy tickets for the next train. The valet tells us we just have to go back and wait for the next train. We return to the platform. Leslie is becoming increasingly upset, but I am relatively calm. “Okay, we’re going to need to change our flight to a later flight.” “I can call home and get the customer service number for Orbitz,” [View Full Entry]

By cmlandrus
June 23rd 2009

Getting out of Barthalonaaa! Part 4 Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

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Day two in Barcelona I give in and buy what I hope will be a Alka-Seltzer-like, miracle, Spanish cold medicine. I convince myself it makes me feel better as I play follow the leader with Leslie around Barthalonaaa! In the evening, I am happy to stay in and chat with our Brazilian roommate while Leslie goes out and soaks in a bit of the nightlife. Before going to bed, Leslie tells me there are signs in the train station pointing out how to get to the airport. We don’t need to read about it like we do before departing all other [View Full Entry]

By cmlandrus
June 23rd 2009

Getting out of Barthalonaaa! Part 3 Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

We do not go out after dinner. “I need to sleep tonight.” I tell Leslie. “I’m going to take a sleeping pill, so you have to get up first thing in the morning and call the ticket office again. They have an English-speaking operator. You just press the right number or something.” “Okay, I can do that. So you want me to just check on the prices then?” “Yes, ask about the price for each ticket and for each leg of the travel and about changing stations in Madrid.” I am dead asleep when I hear Leslie’s alarm go off. She [View Full Entry]

By cmlandrus
June 23rd 2009

Getting out of Barthalonaaa! Part 2 Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

“You know, Leslie,” I suggest during our never-ending twelve-hour train ride. “When we get to Barcelona, we should look into buying plane tickets to Lisbon instead of taking a train. Sometimes, you can find plane tickets really cheap.” “I read that in Spain, travel by train is really cheap, so we can probably find cheap train tickets.” “Yeah, but it might be worth it to pay a little extra because it might save us an entire day of travel. Lisbon is pretty far from Barcelona.” “But the book said train travel is cheap in Spain, and I& [View Full Entry]

By cmlandrus
June 23rd 2009

Getting out of Barthalonaaa! Part 1 Europe » France » Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur » Nice

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Leslie and I walk back to our hostel the first night in Nice. “I think I’m getting sick,” I say. “You think so? How?” It is damp in Nice. Overcast, cool and humid. A typical September. I’ve been stress for the last two weeks, but I hope it is just the weather. “You can’t get sick on our trip. It’s only the second day.” Leslie is my complimentary opposite in nearly every way. Physically, she is about my same size, but has no curves. She has striking facial features, dramatic blue eyes, white as a sheet and thick, brown, straight [View Full Entry]

By cmlandrus
June 23rd 2009

Me and Spike Lee Part 4 Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi

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My stomach was growling, and on a normal day, I would have sprinted to sample one of everything that didn’t involve red meat. But this was no normal day. I needed a photo with Spike Lee. Part of me wanted the proof that I randomly came halfway across the world, only to encounter the same successful role model who happened to drop by my humble, Midwestern university about four years earlier. Part of me just wanted to ask about that fax number again. I finished my second glass of red wine and approached Sky and Mike. “Mike, come take a picture [View Full Entry]

By cmlandrus
June 23rd 2009

Me and Spike Lee Part 3 Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi

I sipped a glass of red wine and chatted with the students, who were eager to get to know the new girl. There were a couple of Kazaks and Russians, some Lebanese and Syrians, one overly cocky half Italian half French guy, the adorably innocent twenty-two year old Iraqi secretary, and several Iranians who tended to follow their introductions with, “But don’t worry. I love Americans.” Regardless of their nationalities, nearly all were children. Most were eighteen or nineteen year old acting students, and very few reached into their early twenties. Most were on their own for [View Full Entry]

By cmlandrus
June 23rd 2009

Me and Spike Lee Part 2 Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi

I couldn’t believe it. For the last four years I had had two claims to fame. One was seeing Brad Pitt at the University of Missouri Columbia supporting a filmmaker who had made a documentary about John Kerry during his run for president in 2004. The other was the same year when Spike Lee visited and spoke about his education and early years in the filmmaking industry. What stood out to me most at that time was his commitment to encouraging and mentoring young, unknown talent. His most impressive move came when someone asked how one could get a script made [View Full Entry]

By cmlandrus
June 23rd 2009

Me and Spike Lee Part 1 Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi

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I must have landed in Abu Dhabi about the same time as Spike Lee. Maybe we were even on the same plane. I wouldn’t have noticed anyway. I was too busy gawking out the window at the dazzling display of the yellow luminosity with intermittently dispersed white radiance, all lined to perfection in an endless grid that seemed to simultaneously define and insult modern art on an astronomical scale. I stared down at the world’s new playground for the rich, not wanting to move from my seat and cursing myself for storing both my camera and my tampons in the overhead [View Full Entry]

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The World as I Know It Today

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