-
Documentaries to See: 180° South
If there is one documentary you make sure to see before the year is over, let 180° South be it. The film follows Jeff Johnson as he embarks on the adventure of retracing the 1968 journey of Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia in the aim of climbing Corcovado. Nothing short of beautiful with its amazing shots of some of the most breathtaking places on earth, 180° South is a celebration of the natural world around us and the call to protect it. There is one point near the end where the legendary Yvon Chouinard says that one of the most important things is to lead an examined life, and I love the way that this truth is captured on screen through the journey and wisdom shared. The soundtrack is great, too.
Burn Burn Burn Like Fabulous Yellow Roman Candles... JK
After spending 6 nights in the high desert of Nevada with 63,000 other people for the 25th Anniversary of Burning Man, life will never be the same. Between the fascinating people I met, the superb creativity I witnessed, the other-worldly energy I encountered, touched and shared, and the many soulful conversations I had, I'm quite sure nothing compares to such a gathering and celebration of life, love and freedom.If I tried to put Burning Man in a simplified descriptive box, that box would melt.If I tried explaining the extent to which the artwork, workshops, people, celebrations and conversations were mind-bending in a way unrelated to foreign substances, my friends would think I'm off my rocker, which isn't a bad thing since my buddy Jack Kerouac and I go for the mad ones-"the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'If I tried to pretend I dreamed it all, my body would instinctually shake me down with a brutal dose of truth and recall with absolute conviction that I did experience the human soul on fire, arguably the most powerful weapon on earth according to Ferdinand Foch, and I agree.
My appreciation and gratitude for touching and exploring and playing with the universal human soul has no end in sight. We are one-of-a-kind in terms of our extraordinary individiual and collective power to imagine, create, share and connect with others, and above all, that truth and real experience is what I have graciously returned with.We can do whatever we put our minds to. Period. And with a heightened sense of self, collective experience beyond imagination, and an even more tremendous fire now burning in our hearts, we are reinvigorated, reignited and supremely charged to continue forward on a level we only dreamed about.Come one, come all. It's gonna be a hell of a ride here on. :D
Go out, explore and get lost!
I have a passion for museum-shops and bookstores! So luckily on a trip to DC a few weeks ago I got to hang out in the Hirshhorn museum-shop for a while, where we came across this awesome, funny and very inspiring book: How to be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith.
I highly recommend chapter "Exploration #59". Can't wait to go on my own mission next weekend and I hope to meet some purposely lost fellows!
ps. I will definitely share my lunch box!
