4 Generations: A Water Buffalo in China

by Justin Glow on

Last month, blogger Philip Greenspun wondered aloud on the morality of charitable organization Heifer International’s questionable “Helping Hooves” program, designed to give an Asian farmer a much needed water buffalo for a $250 donation. A good idea perhaps, but upon reading the fine print, Philip found out that no actual water buffalo is delivered to an Asian farmer. Instead, “the money simply gets dumped into the common fund at the charity.”

Enter Robert Thompson, a musician living in China who, after reading Philip’s blog post, set out to purchase an actual water buffalo (in financial collaboration with Philip and Craig MacFarlane) and give it to a real farming family in need. Robert — video camera in hand — recorded the process of searching out a young water buffalo, finding a family, and delivering the animal. What follows is a beautiful 7 minute video of the entire process, from conception to delivery.

What a great story.

Click on the image below to view the video in a new window:

[via Kottke]

Festivals & Events: Running of the Nudes

by Dia Draper on

Is it bad if I want to do both the Running of the Bulls (RTB) and the Running of the Nudes (RTN)? Neil did a nice piece about the RTB that highlighted both the cultural spectacle and the religious aspects of the event. This group, affiliated with PETA, started an alternative to running with the bulls in 2002, protesting the treatment of the beefy bovines (yes, I just wrote that).

The group is part activist, part nudist, and all types of international fun. The web page itself is gratuitous goodness (you might want to check it out after the boss leaves). They have a “Sexiest Runner Spotlight”, t-shirts, videos, and of course: photos (trust me, don’t open these in your cubicle). Got you hooked? You can register here or sponsor a runner. You can always join Adrienne in the Naked Pumpkin Run if you need to get some training in.

The inaugural event started with 25 people running, and the 2006 event boasted a record 1,000 “nudies.” The RTN event begins just prior to the start of the RTB (both occur annually in July), and the goal is to end the Running of the Bulls event, which was catapulted into the international spotlight by writer Ernest Hemingway.

Whether you agree with the cause or not, you have to admit that its a pretty innovative grassroots effort, and another reason to visit Spain. I think I’m just going too have to watch both events and report back (you know, for research).

Wend Magazine

by Erik Olsen on

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of outdoors/travel/adventure mags comes and go. At one point, when I was living in Seattle, two different friends tried to start outdoors magazines…and each failed. That said, it’s great to see new magazines try their hand at the genre, because there are a million great stories waiting to be told and a select few glossies (while strong) have long dominated the outdoor mag landscape. The fact is, when these new magazines are good, it behooves us to support them, because good writing/photography/adventure is hard to find.

And so let me now introduce you to a killer new magazine out of Portland, Oregon called Wend. I am reminded a bit of that salsa commercial when the true salsacionoados (inevitably dressed as cowboys) hear that the salsa they are about to be served comes from (add dripping disdain here) New York CITY?!. No, as we all know, the best salsa comes from the Southwest. Similarly, one can surmise that some of the best outdoors writing/shooting should come from the West, or the Northwest, in this case.

Wend is a wonderful new magazine that is now into its second issue. While the Web site is a bit sparse at the moment, the issue I have is filled with great stories and sumptuous photographs. A few of the stories available include Powder Lines in Pakistan, about two men who survive the first descent on skis on Pakistan’s Mt. Laila. And a story on Surfing Africa’s Zambezi River. Great stuff, I’m sure you’ll agree. We’ll be checking back with them in the future, so keep an eye out.

Expat Expert Blog

by Erik Olsen on

If you are living abroad somewhere and are interested in others who live the expat life, you might be interested in this blog by Expat Expert. There are not only lots of posts here about expat life, but also scads of helpful advice and links to other expat sites. The writer is one Robin Pascoe, who has really carved out an excellent niche for herself in the expat advice world, having written several books (two of which I have and plan to review shortly) on the subject of living abroad, especially with a family in tow.

Everest Trash as Art

by Erik Olsen on

A buddy of mine who has climbed Everest a few times started a program years ago to bring trash down from the top of Everest. The South Col and other camps at the top of the highest mountain in the world had become virtual trash heaps, places where climbers for decades had left behind the solid detritus of their expeditions. My buddy said that at one point, when you reached the South Col, there were so many discarded oxygen bottles that you had to step around them to get where you were going…namely, the top. And so the program he helped form used Sherpas and funding by climbers to start hauling that stuff down. Little did they know that the trash they carried might someday be considered works of art.

Enter Jeff Clapp, who says he became drawn by the trash climbers leave behind. Clapp says he was inspired by a documentary about Everest’s trash heap (a documentary in which my friend starred), and so he traveled to Nepal and brought a load of discarded oxygen bottles back to turn them into art. He turns them into bowls and bells, after buffing them down to a shiny silver sheen. Prices range from $1,600 to $3,000 for bells, and $500 to $1,500 for the bowls. Come on, isn’t this great? You have to admire guys like this that see opportunity where others see garbage.