Live From Shiva's Dancefloor

Yesterday, says salon.com, buffalo-lover Timothy "Speed" Levitch premiered his short film: "Live From Shiva's Dancefloor," at the Sundance Film Festival, exactly a week after the public hearings on the new WTC site proposals. The film is a 20-minute empassioned proposal that Ground Zero be converted into an open range for American bison, who are nearly extinct. His point is that the buffalo, and the Native Americans with whom they once co-existed, have undergone 4 centuries of terrorism, thinly veiled. The buffalo, like the Native American Tribes, have been displaced and disregarded, and "Speed" wants the wild oxen to enjoy some prime real estate and provide a wake up call to those who are ignorant to their plight. But can the poor beast really handle another urban stomping ground? Is this fair to the buffalo? Sure, there are buffalo in Golden Gate Park, (11 of them) but SF is full of hippies, tree huggers, and gays. People walk slowly. We do yoga. We eat goji berries and blue-green algae. At any given moment, there is probably someone in Golden Gate Park staring wistfully into a buffalo's eyes, sending metta (loving kindness.) We can relate to Buffalo. They are peaceful creatures, partially because they're so huge (between 1000-2000 lbs) that they have no natural predators (other than humans.) Similarly, San Francisco people are also generally loved by other animals, but sometimes have a hard time making friends with other humans. And like a lot of people in SF, Buffalos are actually queer, and even transgender, according to wikipedia. "Homosexual behavior, including courtship and mounting between bulls—is common among bison." So, you know, we're used to it. But are buffalos safe with New Yorkers? New Yorkers are busy. Would New Yorkers stop, and stare lovingly into those deep brown eyes? My dad lives in New York. He walks really fast. Would he have time to visit the buffalo? Maybe after orgware is launched.

Levitch is optimistic. He envisions "sixteen acres of blazing green grass, a place for togetherness, healing out loud, and spontaneous culture," says Levitch. "And in the middle of the park, the memorial should not be an inanimate slab of stone, but should have a heartbeat." The heartbeat of buffalo.