The Eiger Sanction

screenshot_03George Kennedy: You know what? Way down deep you have the makings of a real bad ass. I don't know if I'd like to be alone on a desert island with you if there was a shortage of food.Clint Eastwood: Don't worry, you're a friend.Kennedy: You ever had any enemies?Eastwood: You.Kennedy: Any of them still around?Eastwood: The guy by the pool, Miles Bellow. What do you know about him?Kennedy: Checked into today. Looks like he can change a 9 dollar bill with 3s.***

Balto

There's a reason that there's a statue of Balto in Central Park, so in case you don't know why, here you go:

Balto (c.1919-14 March, 1933) was a Siberian Husky sled dog (although some sources incorrectly state that he was an Alaskan Malamute) who led his team on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheria antitoxin was transported from Anchorage, Alaska to Nenana, Alaska by train and then to Nome by dog sled to combat an outbreak of the disease.

Youtube: Balto TrailerListen: History Of Balto on American Storyteller

Lightning Field

The Lightning Field:

The Lightning Field, 1977, by the American sculptor Walter De Maria, is a work of Land Art situated in a remote area of the high desert of western New Mexico. It is comprised of 400 polished stainless steel poles installed in a grid array measuring one mile by one kilometer. The poles—two inches in diameter and averaging 20 feet and 7½ inches in height—are spaced 220 feet apart and have solid pointed tips that define a horizontal plane. A sculpture to be walked in as well as viewed, The Lightning Field is intended to be experienced over an extended period of time. A full experience of The Lightning Field does not depend upon the occurrence of lightning, and visitors are encouraged to spend as much time as possible in the field, especially during sunset and sunrise. In order to provide this opportunity, Dia offers overnight visits during the months of May through October.

MP3: Sebadoh - Soul and Fire

Who Discovered The North Pole?

Very interesting article about the discovery of the North Pole from Smithsonian Magazine:

On September 7, 1909, readers of the New York Times awakened to a stunning front-page headline: "Peary Discovers the North Pole After Eight Trials in 23 Years." The North Pole was one of the last remaining laurels of earthly exploration, a prize for which countless explorers from many nations had suffered and died for 300 years. And here was the American explorer Robert E. Peary sending word from Indian Harbour, Labrador, that he had reached the pole in April 1909, one hundred years ago this month. The Times story alone would have been astounding. But it wasn't alone.A week earlier, the New York Herald had printed its own front-page headline: "The North Pole is Discovered by Dr. Frederick A. Cook." Cook, an American explorer who had seemingly returned from the dead after more than a year in the Arctic, claimed to have reached the pole in April 1908—a full year before Peary.

Read the rest here.

Octopus Hunt

Octopus Hunt is a beautiful documentary made in the mid 60s about capturing octopus and the experience of being underwater. It includes some great hairstyles and staged bonding with accordions.Narrator: "This feeling of timelessness. Life underwater goes on and on. It's the diver that brings the element of time because he is dependent on his air supply. When this is exhausted he has to return to his own world."Watch Octopus Hunt on National Film Board Of Canada

Grand Canyon Suite

In 1916, Ferde Grofé drove across the Arizona desert with friends to watch the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. Fill in some pretty obvious details and fast forward to 1929, 1930, and 1931 and you get the Grand Canyon Suite and its' 5 movements - Sunrise, Painted Desert, On The Trail, Sunset, and Cloudburst.You can usually find a vinyl copy of Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite right next to Kristofferson and Streisand's A Star Is Born at your local thrift store.MP3: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Conducted by William Stromberg - Grand Canyon Suite: II The Painted Desert

Country Thunderstorm

Download the Country Thunderstorm MP3 at Closet Of Curiosities:

This superbly realistic colossus of a thunderstorm places you out on the front porch of a rural farm house. The storm begins with ominous distant rumblings. Thunderclaps soon build to foundation-shaking intensity. Water will seem to drip from your speakers as you experience the awesome power of nature. Leave it on for a while and you'll find you miss it when it ends.

Macho B

The last known jaguar in the United States, known as Macho B, was euthanized on March 2nd after doctors determined that it had irreversible kidney failure. Now, according to the NYT, the federal government  has opened a criminal investigation into the capture and death of Macho. A staff member of the Borderland Jaguar Detection Project, a group that worked with the Arizona Game and Fish Commission on jaguar conservation, claims to have been told by her boss, a biologist working for the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, to place female jaguar scat within six feet of a leg hold trap that was meant to capture mountain lion and black bear.Read more here.

Lost Man's River

About fifteen years after these photos were taken and seventeen years after The Snow Leopard was published, Peter Matthiessen wrote Killing Mr. Watson, a fictional tale of murder set in the Florida Everglades a hundred years ago. He'd go on to write a trilogy of the Watson tale with Lost Man's River and Bone By Bone to follow. I've never read any of these books, but in the midst of doing his research, Matthiessen did a lot of exploring of the Everglades and made a documentary/companion piece to the book appropriately titled Lost Man's River. Watch it. Matthiessen has a way of making the Everglades seem like the most beautiful yet undesirable place a man could ever want to spend his time. I think it'd be damn near impossible to visit that area and not become obsessed with it.Lost Man's River****** For some fucked up reason, Cold Splinters' images are different on Firefox than they are on Safari. Both search engines frame the images differently. On Safari, they're pushed over a bit so the borders on the above pictures look sloppy - they're cut off on the right side. It drives me nuts and I don't know how to fix it, SO, if y'all have any insight into this dilemma, please toss some much needed technical advice this way.

Ojo de Dios

Ojo de Dios:

In 1966 I was back in Guadalajara again, and saw a Huichol Indian on the pedestrian bridge leading to the marketplace, in his arms a large bundle of ojos. I watched from my vantage place on the second story of that huge central market, fascinated by this Indian's all white clothes and easy slow movements, as he stood for a few moments and surveyed the busy scene around him while holding his very colorful bundle. Later I bought a couple of the ojos and took them back to where I was staying in the small and exotic town of Ajijic, on Lake Chapala.