"so, this past week ben and i have been filming at the pashupathinath temple (having finally recieved permission from the appropriate authorities) and it has been going well, and has been possibly taking the film in a slightly new direction. 
we met an 80 yr old sadhu with 12 foot long dreadlocks and whose claim to fame is that he only drank milk for 25 years of his life. he was born at pashupathinath and has lived there for the past 60 years.
his name is (of course) "milk baba" and he's really quite charming. he has had films made about him before and definitely knows how to act in front of the camera. he gave us a guided tour around the "jungle" behind the temple and showed us his 8 most favorite places to sit - in order- and at each stated "this is my nth most favorite place..." he's a great character, but i unfortunately only have 2 more days to film inside the temple grounds without being charged the tourist entrance fee of 250 rupees.
because of the intense filming of late with baba, things with the sisters have slowed down a bit. I was denied access to film inside their house other than shots of them praying... which is definitely usable, but doesn't really lend itself to the traditional ethnographic style. its been really hard trying to make the mother superior understand the importance of me filming them eat a meal together, or wash their clothes or whatever it is that they do when they are not helping the poor, tending to the sick and dying, or praying. also
the fact that she doesn't speak very good english, and my nepali is far too inadequate (though getting better) doesn't help the situation. i think words like "ethnographic" or "anthropological significance" dont enter a nun's required lexicon very often."
