The Dan-Train-Nomadic-Experience leaves NYC's glam and lands 30 minutes later at the Jersey Shore, in famed Asbury Park, home of The Boss, where he hopes to check out the world famous boardwalk, the great independent music scene, even catch a glimpse of Springsteen himself...Dan's read about the New Asbury Park, the new condos, the redevelopment, the new money... but, as he leaves the station he doesn't realize he's heading into the "wrong side of town."

Background:
Asbury Park is only 1.5 miles in size. It was decimated by race riots in the 1970s ... because of deep poverty, because kids were dying.

While a sliver along the shore is being redeveloped into a playground for the rich f rom NYC, the city's West Side faces deep poverty, high crime, 23 known gangs, and a deep feeling of Despair. Kids are dying, shot in the streets.

No local media tells the stories of the community. Decisions are made by and for those with deep pockets, more education, and "other" interests. So, nothing changes, and kids are still dying.

My challenge:
Bring Dan to the heart of darkness, the core of the
'hood, and use the money, the technology, and the game to bring some light to the West Side. Use media to make a difference. Make a movie with the locals, let them tell their story, show them what ingenuity and technology can do.

Turn this one of seven segments into a social service project, do some good for some kids who need some hope.

Contact me if needed - I'm doing community media work there --- pushing the power of technology and media to raise awareness, increase civic participation, and make a difference.

Dan cannot believe that in a city this small, there is so much disparity and despair. He is outraged. The final straw is the makeshift memorial made on a chain link fence for a victim of the latest shooting, only 15 years old. Amongst the signed pictures, posters, candles, and momentos of another lost life, Dan sees something that grabs him profoundly. He cannot continue the journey without stopping to make a difference. He breaks the fourth wall, turns the fictive journey into a reflective reality, grabs the camera and makes a movie with the locals...

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