Video link (via Neat-o-rama)

Hope this makes you smile. It made me.

- Dave

Link to video.

God bless you, Ernie Brown Jr. You have discovered something that most people never do – your purpose in life. It’s great to see people doing what they love in a non-ironic way.

Although, I’d love to hear that story about the chainsaw accident.

- Dave

I just saw the film adaptation of John Krakauer’s book,Into the Wild and enjoyed it.

As with many film adaptations, it does not follow the story verbatim, but it does a good job of capturing the spirit of the book. The story follows Christopher McCandless on his journey into the wilderness of Alaska.

— MOVIE & BOOK SPOILERS BELOW —

From Publisher’s Weekly:

After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he went to live in the wilderness. Four months later, he turned up dead. His diary, letters and two notes found at a remote campsite tell of his desperate effort to survive, apparently stranded by an injury and slowly starving. They also reflect the posturing of a confused young man, raised in affluent Annandale, Va., who self-consciously adopted a Tolstoyan renunciation of wealth and return to nature.

I find Chris’ idealism refreshing and inspiring. He made a lot of mistakes along the way, like taking a .22 and a bag of rice to survive in Alaska. Ultimately inexperience coupled with idealism killed him, but that doesn’t make his adventure any less inspiring. I think if Chris would have made a couple decisions differently in Alaska, he’d be alive to talk about it today.

Sean Penn wrote, produced and directed the screenplay with writing help from John Krakauer along the way. The movie was beautifully shot with gorgeous sweeping shots of the Alaskan wilderness. Penn has an eye for capturing the powerful landscape in the movie so well that it seems as if Chris’ surroundings become another character in the movie.

If you need a bit of inspiration during the holidays of mass comsumption, give this movie a try. I think you might like it.

Links of interest: movie website, book on Amazon, rotten tomatoes review, Wikipedia page for Chris McCandless.

-Dave

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. – Henry David Thoreau

From REI’s website:

The next step in achieving our green-building objectives is to create a prototype store that incorporates experimental ideas. We have selected the remodel of our Boulder, Colo., store and have chosen to work with Gensler Architects, a leading design firm and champion of sustainable design.

Scheduled for completion in the fall of 2007, the prototype will embody the values that make REI unique — community involvement, environmental stewardship and a commitment to serve as a gateway to the outdoors.

Link (Via Treehugger)

-Dave

This little lizard was climbing on a locked box of doggie poop bags posted throughout out apartment complex. I’ve been seeing a lot of lizards crawling around Houston lately. Is this a sign of the end times or just autumn in Houston?

-Dave

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Now playing: John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman – Autumn Serenade
via FoxyTunes

Eustace is living the life that I have secretly dreamed about living for years. To be surrounded by the sights and sounds of the wild is something that appeals to my inner mountain man. I can’t really explain it. Although, the notion of living through harsh winters in the wild with only a teepee to protect me from the elements doesn’t sound like a walk in the park. It’s more romantic in notion than in reality, I’m sure. My rational side – the one that enjoys warm socks out of the dryer, thai lemon chicken and internet movie rentals thinks this idea is truly absurd.

My rational side is probably right, but it doesn’t hurt to dream.

When I walk though the Memorial Park here in Houston and smell that musty scent of fallen leaves or see the sun filter down through the canopy of leaves and smog, I say to myself, “you should move to the mountains and live in peace and harmony with nature.” Then some jackass usually drives by in a BMW honking his horn at some other jackass who cut him off in a Mercedes.

At some point in this inner dialog (of which I am playing both parts) I realize the mountains have very poor broadband internet coverage and virtually no access to a decent shrimp spring roll with spicy peanut sauce.

But damn it, the idea still appeals to me.

Anyhow, the book is well-written and inspiring.  If you like interesting character studies and adventure stories, you’ll probably like The Last American Man.

-Dave

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Now playing: Yo La Tengo – The Forest Green
via FoxyTunes

-Dave

Arc’Teryx has recently redesigned their website and it looks absolutely amazing. I’ve been a fan of their products for several years (and only recently been able to afford them).

Their backpacks are works of art. If you are a fan of industrial design, you should check them out.

-Dave

From Treehugger:

Jerry Falwell, God’s gift to swooning teenage girls everywhere, was actually quoted calling environmentally conscious Christians “niave.” Apparently there’s a liberal conspiracy involving this whole fake global warming thing…

The whole story can be read here.

(If you stare at my photoshop monstrosity above, eventually you will join Jerry in his crusade against all dirty hippies. So be careful.)

- Dave

This is a picture of Alberta Falls in Rocky Mountains National Park. It was a hot day, but the mist from the falls was cool and breezy. It was a great trip.

You can see some more photos from the trip here on our Flickr pages.

-Dave