|Adventure Film Tours

Outdoor adventure enthusiasts have three major film tours to salivate over.

(1) Reel Rock Tour. Reel Rock 8 will start touring in September: U.S. Schedule. Climbing.

"The REEL ROCK Film Tour brings the best climbing and adventure films of the year to live audiences throughout the world. REEL ROCK shows are high energy, community events that go beyond mere film screenings to include prize giveaways, athlete and filmmaker appearances, non-profit fundraising, and a party atmosphere."



(2) BMFF Radical Reels Tour. U.S. Schedule. Numerous action sports.

"Every year, the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival presents the wildly popular Radical Reels night – a presentation of the best high-adrenaline films entered into the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival competition."  

This focuses on the action/adrenaline films presented at the BMFF. It includes climbing films such as those in the Reel Rock tour, but it also covers other adventure sports.



(3) BMFF World Tour. U.S. Schedule. Action sports plus other themes.

"The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour brings Banff to audiences around the globe. Immediately after the Festival ends in November, a selection of the best films go on tour across Canada, the United States, and internationally from Scotland to South Africa to China, Japan, New Zealand, Antarctica, and points in between. Each year, the films travel to 40 countries reaching more than 330,000 people at over 735 screenings."  

This includes a broader range of films than is shown in the Radical Reels Tour--more animals, culture & conservation.

Events in IL, IN & MI

2013

• October 26, Reel Rock, Ann Arbor MI, Planet Rock.
• October 05, Radical Reels, Grand Rapids, MI, Calvin College, 616-526-6282, jrs39@calvin.edu

2014

• March 29-30, BMFF World Tour, Bloomington, IN  
• April 03, BMFF World Tour, East Lansing, MI, Michigan State University Outdoors Club, 484-798-8650 (Brian Wolff), msuoc.bmff@gmail.com
  
• April 04, BMFF World Tour, Grand Rapids, MI, Calvin College, 616-526-6282, mcw3@calvin.edu  
• April 05, BMFF World Tour, Midland, MI, Chippewa Nature Center, 989-631-0830, dpilaske@chippewanaturecenter.org  
• April 06, BMFF World Tour, Ann Arbor, MI, U of Michigan Outdoor Adventure, 734-764-3967, swerdlow@umich.edu
• April 08, BMFF World Tour, Traverse City, MI, Vasa Ski Club, 989-245-2758, curtpete@gmail.com  
• April 11-12, BMFF World Tour, Chicago, IL,  Mountain Gear, Inc.

|Friday Web Round-up

It seems I'm not writing much these days, just posting links. So here are more:

Adventure + Travel

• Africa-Americas Rowing Voyage – Four Guys in a 29-Foot Boat Rowing from Senegal to Miami (Hillary Fleming and the crew of the James Robert Hanssen, The Cleanest Line) 
• Uncharted Waters (Three Mystic Apes) 
• Kayaking the Great Bear Rainforest (Three Mystic Apes) 
• NRS – Walk on Water (Three Mystic Apes) 

Animals

• Six Animals with Pets of Their Own (MNN)
• Kittens vs. Eggs
• Animal Odd Couples (Nature, PBS)

Health 

• My Wife’s Fight With Breast Cancer (Storms of Silence) 
• Green tea‚ coffee lower risk of stroke (Himalayan Times) 

Environment

• Enjoy* (Three Mystic Apes) 
• Choose Organic Cotton (Three Mystic Apes) 

|Friday Web Round-up

Adventure

• 10 bike-friendly cities around the globe (Mother Nature Network) 
• Ocean Adventure Rowing and Education  
• Walk on Water (NRS)
• InnerViews: Christian Beamish

Nature

• Keystone Species: How Predators Create Abundance and Stability (Douglas H. Chadwick, Mother Earth News) 

Photography

• The 50 Most Perfectly Timed Photos Ever (Twisted Sifter) 
• (Keith) Ladzinske Photo 

Psychology 

• Why money can't buy you happiness (Tom Stafford, BBC)  

|Friday Web Round-up

Adventure (Travel, Sports, etc.)

• Top 5 Travel Tips from a Wayfaring Aficionado (Simple Life. Good Life.) 
• Smiley’s Project: Mt Waddington (Prana) 
• Collin’s Climbing Day (Prana) 
• Shipwreck survivor recounts drama on high seas (Michael Martinez, CNN) 
• Climbing in Catalunya Spain and advice from Granny (Beth Rodden) 
• Kickin’ it with Llamas, Watching Guanacos Fly By (Chris Werner) 

Conservation

• Cooking Up a Conservation Victory in Canada’s Sacred Headwaters (Shannon McPhail, The Cleanest Line) 

Health (Mind + Body)

• Amputee Designs New Finger With Bike Parts (Derek Pettie, Wend) 
• Stress erodes employee health -- and corporate profits (Arianna Huffington, Chicago Tribune)

>MORE: Christian Social Ethics/Action

>MORE: General Social Ethics/Action

|Web Round-up

Adventure + Travel + World

• YogaSlackers: Stumbling Toward Samadhi (Yoga Slackers, Prana) 
• Afghan Cycles (Sarah Menzies, Kick Starter) 
• The End of Wend (Brian Kevin, World Hum) 
• The Dream is Still Alive in Modern America (Hussin Brothers, Matador Network) 

Lifestyle

• Living With Less. A Lot Less. (Graham Hill, NY Times) 
• Family Remodels Tiny Home
• Managed expectations in the post-employment economy (Sarah Kendzior, Aljazeera) 
• Photos of Children From Around the World With Their Most Prized Possessions (Amanda Gorence, Feature Shoot) 
• Photos: Life in Mexico's Fast Lane (Maddie Oatman, Mother Jones) 

Relationships

• The Fart That (Almost) Altered My Destiny (Anna, HaHas for HooHas) 

Animals 

• Humpback Whale Rescue (video) 
• Tumblr of the Week: Peregrine 

Health

• 22 Things Happy People Do Differently (Successify!)
• Keep A Breast & prAna (Prana) 
• We Love Boobies: Keep A Breast (Prana) 

SEE ALSO:

• List--Christian Social Ethics
• List--General Ethics & Activism

|Media Round-up

Special Delivery (Liz Clark, The Cleanest Line)

In the soft dusk, we could see all the family lined up ashore. They flashed their headlights and honked their horns, jumped up and down and waved madly, and we did the same. Slowly we drifted farther and farther away with the wind. We were both sad to have to leave so soon, but grateful that the weather had afforded us those precious 24 hours spent there. After half an hour had passed, we saw the lights of the cars heading home and turned to take on the passage ahead.

Time with family is a precious gift! Regardless of our lineage, I hope we will learn to treat each other like the One Great Human Family that we are!! One Love!

Dirtbag Diaries Podcast: Be Mine

Head Over Heels (video)

Bad sleep 'dramatically' alters body (James Gallagher)

The activity of hundreds of genes was altered when people's sleep was cut to less than six hours a day for a week.

What Happens to Your Body During a 30-Minute Run? (Jaylin Allen)

Our Common Waters: Every living thing has the right to clean water (Patagonia)

Steph Davis: Learning to Fly

When my marriage and my career unraveled simultaneously, I found myself slipping into a downward spiral of anxiety, fear and loss of faith as my world fell apart around me.

|Online Reading

These are some blogs that my lady-friend appreciates:

• Sarah Bessey
• Rachel Held Evans
• Rage Against the Minivan
• Offbeat Families
• The Run a Muck (new, haven't read it for more than a few days)

She occasionally shares quality posts with me, such as these two:

• 15 Reasons I Left Church
• 15 Reasons I Returned to Church

Somewhat-kind-of-but-not-really related posts/links here on Pack Light (about family, not spirituality):

• Frugal family living
• Frugal family travel

|Patagonia

All things Patagonia:

• Website
• Ethics at Patagonia
• The Cleanest Line -- Blog
• Facebook
• Tumblr (main)
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Used clothing
• Worn Wear -- Tumblr
• Worn Wear -- Instagram
• Publishing (more)
• Videos (YouTube)
• Yvon Chouinard
• Yvon's Books

Speeches:

• Presentation at Yale
• The Education of a Reluctant Businessman with Yvon Chouinard
• Elwha River: Yvon Chouinard
• A Fireside Talk with Yvon Chouinard and Nora Gallagher

|Go Light, Go Small, Go Far

Here is a bit of reading for you:

• Things! Things! Things!
• The Power of Less
• 100 Thing Challenge
  
• Pack Light. Go Fast.
• 8 Blogs
• 3 Rooms
• Small apartment in Bordeaux, France
• Living Large in a Tiny House
• House Size & the American Dream
• Real Homes
• Happiness economics
• 7-year Trip

|Family Travel

These families really know how to travel:

• The World's Greatest Traveler: A 1988 Mercedes That Has Been to 172 Countries (Outside Magazine, 7 Jan 2013)
• 7-million-mile Family Shares Travel Secrets (Thom Patterson, CNN, 16 July 2012)
• 10 Nomadic Families Traveling the World, 7 Continents: How They Afford It (The Nomadic Family, 6 Oct 2011)

BONUS: The ultimate frequent flyer: Air passenger who bought 'unlimited' American Airlines ticket 20 years ago clocks up 38 MILLION miles (Chris Parsons, Mail Online, 10 May 2012)

|Travel Wisely

From Backpacker magazine, "Travel Like a Pro":

• Stay Healthy
• The World's Best Budget Finds...
• Get Wired
• Travel Comfortably
• Choose What to Pack & How to Find Gear Deals
• How to Pack Your Duffle
• Carry on Your Camp Kit + Must-have Medicines
• Prepare & Schedule
• Scout International Routes
• Find a Guide

#14 180 Degrees South

180 South Trailer from Malloy Brothers on Vimeo.

#2 Jimmy Chin on Assignment

On Assignment from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

|Out of Doors

These are some action clips that have captured my attention lately:

• Ennedi Desert (adventure)
• Eiger (speed)
• South of Alaska (distance)
• Greenland (water meets rock) -- 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | slideshow

Okay, some photography/videography from Spain.

And just in case you forgot about animals and bikes.

As for music, you'll have to check out the main blog I update now (well, that blog and this one, but it has less music).

More recent videos:

• #29 Journey to Keketouhai 
• #22 The Smiley’s Project: Bugaboo Spire’s East Ridge 
• #18 Danny MacAskill Plays Capetown
• #14 180 Degrees South 
• #13 Ueli Steck's Triple Speed Climbing Record 
•  #2 Jimmy Chin on Assignment
• Banff Mtn Film Festival  2009 
• Chris Sharma 
• Climbing 
• Tom, Brian & Scott

|Guatemala Slideshow

Here is a slideshow of people and a few animals that I took while taking Peace and Justice: Latin American Perspectives:

|Patagonia Films

Gotta love these Patagonia clips on YouTube. Starters: Lynn Hill bouldering at Hueco or big wall free climbing.

|Fathers' Day

March 19 is Father's Day in Italy, but my dad is a US citizen, so today is his day. Since I can't be with him, I thought I'd write a tribute to him and my grandfather. It goes something like this...

My grandfather had a dream of visiting Israel to walk where Jesus walked. As an Adventist pastor, he didn't have significant income, so the family lived frugally while saving up money to go. But then it became clear that his boy, my father, needed a better piano on which to develop his budding skills. I believe the old family piano was damaged in a flood, but this may be erroneous.

Grandpa decided to use his savings to buy dad a grand piano. Dad used that gift well and went on to study music all the way to the completion of his Ph.D. Dad has had dreams of his own, for example studying music history in Europe. But instead he has supported others, like when he bought me a car when I returned from Korea prematurely due to health problems.

I have benefited because of my father and grandfather's generosity. Their sacrifice has provided a life that has allowed me to work and study in Asia, Central America and now Europe. Today, on this Fathers' Day that finds me in the seat of the Italian renaissance, Florence, I am reminded of the debt I owe my family in providing this type of life.

Thanks Dad and Grandpa. I love you.

Grazie mille!

Pace e amore,
Jeff

|Pura Vida 2 -- Efraim

Early one morning near the beginning of the trip in Costa Rica, I was sitting on the motel steps reading the Bible when the motel manager, Efraim, came out to talk. He saw my book and went back inside to get his. He proudly showed me the maps, study helps and large letters.

Later in the week he mentioned an evangelical radio station, so I asked if he was protestant or Catholic. He made it clear that he had no religion. "But you have a Bible," I prodded.

"Yes, I like reading the Bible very much. But I have no religion. I'm not a Christian. But only God can save this world."

"Only God?" I asked confused.

"Yes, politicians are only..."

He spent the next 30 minutes venting his frustrations with politicians. Very insightful and engaging. His hope of a better world is with God, not man, yet he holds no religious affiliation. You gotta love a guy like that!

(Pura Vida 1)

|Pura Vida

Ten days in Costa Rica is not enough. Long live Pura Vida. I had the privilege to travel with a mission group that was there to do dental, medical and construction work, as well as offer programs for the children.

Three things stand out to me about Costa Rica--vibrant colors (frogs, birds, forests, paint...), amazing food, and kind and generous people. Add to that an army that was constitutionally abolished in 1948, and you have the makings of a fine country.

Unfortunately, I lost my camera. I later heard a line of a song that went something like, "They can't take from you what you've already given away."

The town where we stayed closed it's only gas station when a petrol leak was discovered. Now the closest station is 1 hr 45 min away at the bottom of the mountain. They bring up cans of gas when they return from the world at large. They'd rather be inconvenienced than pollute their waterway.

I met an Adventist who works in one of the nature reserves, and she is seeing geographical population shifts among animal species that she attributes to global warming. Interesting stories that will likely show up on AEA.

I brought home a t-shirt with the words No Army. Costa Rica abolished its military some 50 years ago. Compare that with Nicaragua to the North and Panama to the South. It's the Switzerland of Central America, if you will.

Quotes from Wikipedia:

Costa Rica was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army.^[1] Among Latin American countries, Costa Rica ranks 4th in terms of the 2007 Human Development Index, and 48th worldwide.^[2] Costa Rica is ranked 5th in the world in terms of the 2008 Environmental Performance Index, up from the 15th place in 2006.^[3][4] In 2007 the government of Costa Rica stated that they want to be the first country to become carbon neutral by 2021.^[5][6][7]

On December 1, 1948, President José Figueres Ferrer of Costa Rica abolished the country's army after victory in the civil war in that year.^[1] In a ceremony in the Cuartel Bellavista, Figueres broke a wall with a mallet symbolizing the end of Costa Rica's military spirit. In 1949, the abolition of the military was introduced in the Article 12 of the Costa Rican Constitution.

The budget previously dedicated to the military now is dedicated to security, education and culture; the country maintains Police Guard forces.

Unlike its neighbors [Nicaragua & Panama], Costa Rica has not endured a civil war since 1948.


More personal stories and reflections to come...

Welcome, Ken McFarland

I've recently added Ken to my blog roll--Right End of the Telescope.

In addition to what is apparently the longest SDA blog roll on the Internet, you can also find insightful articles such as this:

Hal and Norma Taussig (excerpts) -- MEDIA, Pa. (AP) — Travel company operator Hal Taussig buys his clothes from thrift shops, resoles his shoes and reads magazines for free at the public library.

The 83-year-old founder of Untours also gives away all of his company’s profits to help the poor — more than $5 million since 1999. He is content to live on Social Security.

Taussig takes a salary of $6,000 a year from his firm, but doesn’t keep it. It goes to a foundation that channels his company’s profits to worthy causes in the form of low-interest loans. (About seven years ago, the IRS forced him to take a paycheck, he said, because they thought he was trying to avoid paying taxes by working for free.)

He calls consumerism a “social evil” and “corrupting to our humanity” because of what he said is the false notion that having more things leads to a richer life.