Chief Dan George, as Old Lodge Skins in Little Big Man, goes up to the mountain to die:"Come out and fightIt is a good day to dieThank you for making me a human beingThank you for helping me to become a warriorThank you for my victoriesAnd for my defeatsThank you for my visionAnd the blindness in which I saw furtherYou make all things and direct them in their ways, oh GrandfatherAnd now, you have decided that human beings will soon walk a road that leads nowhereI am going to die now, unless death wants to fightAnd I ask you for the last time to grant me my old powerTo make things happen."Watch it here.
Peter Parnall
Is it odd that one of, if not my favorite, artists is an illustrator and author of children's books? Probably not, no. Peter Parnall draws sparse nature and wildlife images whose contrast of empty space and bright colors evoke a somewhat morose image of the relationships kids have to the trees, ocotillos, coyotes and barns that they grow up with. Calming, but a little melancholy. At least that's how I feel...Parnall's drawings have accompanied the poetry of Byrd Baylor (when the combination is best), stories he's written himself and the works of countless other authors. (Parnall also illustrated the first edition of Desert Solitaire, but that drawing is, well, not my favorite.) But whoever's writing the book, it's worth the buy if Mr. Parnall is providing the art. It is truly, for lack of a much better word, beautiful. I wish I could say more, but I think the images after the jump do a much better job.If you're looking for a place to start, The Desert Is Theirs is a Cold Splinters favorite.
Into the Tsangpo Gorge
Last week, on the outskirts of Salt Lake City, I sat at a small table with Steve Fisher, considered by many to be the world's best kayaker, two other friends, one old and one new, stuffed grape leaves, tabouleh, za'atar, some turkish coffee and a couple of local beers. We listened to a jet-lagged Fisher reminisce about his experience in Tibet's Tsangpo Gorge, which would become a book, Hell Or High Water, by Outside writer Peter Heller, and a documentary, Into The Tsangpo Gorge, that you can watch for free on Hulu. It's an amazing story, and while I had the advantage of hearing bits and pieces in between bites of pita bread, the short documentary on Hulu is well worth your time.From IndieBound:
The Tsangpo Gorge in southeastern Tibet has lured explorers and adventurers since its discovery. Sacred to the Buddhists, the inspiration for Shangri La, the Gorge is as steeped in legend and mystery as any spot on earth. As a river-running challenge, the remote Tsangpo is relentlessly unforgiving, more difficult than any stretch of river ever attempted. Its mysteries have withstood a century's worth of determined efforts to explore it's length. The finest expedition paddlers on earth have tried. Several have died. All have failed. Until now.In January 2002, in the heart of the Himalayan winter, a team of seven kayakers launched a meticulously planned assault of the Gorge. The paddlers were river cowboys, superstars in the universe of extreme kayaking who hop from continent to continent ready for the next death-defying pursuit.
NOW PLAYING AT THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Yes, I know. New York Museum on a blog dedicated to the outdoors. It happens. The New York Historical Society has been home to a Grateful Dead exhibit for the last couple of months that I finally went to go see this last weekend while my parents were in town. Made up almost exclusively of "stuff" from the Grateful Dead archive at UC Santa Cruz, the exhibit is about half official Grateful Dead memorabilia (old tickets, posters, skeletons from the "Touch Of Grey" video, guest lists, the original WB contract, photos, cassette tapes from the GD hotline etc.) and half unofficial art made by fans (comic books, posters, hand painted envelopes, bootlegs, etc.) which, for me, was the more interesting part. Could I have done without the fan made "SHAVE YOUR FACE" dopp kit? Yes. If my father hadn't paid the $12 per person entrance fee, would I have thought it was a rip off? Perhaps. But what's better than being reminded that Phil Lesh used to look like this?
