I love these movie-themed adventures. And this one is an especially cool
idea. The Rolling Roadshow is traveling the country, a sort of big-screen convoy through cinematical history, good
buddy.
From August 19 to September 7, the open-air moving film fest will go to 12 screens where the films showing were
originally shot. Think, Close Enounters of the Third Kind at
Devil’s Tower. Or The Last Picture Show in
Archer City, TX. Or Repo
Man in LA. The list
goes on. Neat idea.
We gotta go to localsurfer again for
our POTD because he’s been posting some killer stuff.
This photo of his Jeep in Yemen caught
my eye because it looks like something you’d see in an old Nat Geo magazine. I like the composition, and the over
saturation of the photo is cool. I’m curious how he’s shooting these.
Lunchtime is a good time to sit and eat a sandwich, sip some
Gatorade and watch a short film. I’ve yet to find a decent site online to do this…one that doesn’t assault you with ads
and where the video technology actually works consistently…so in the meantime I’m still stuck with DVDs for my
lunchtime viewing.
So that said, I just finished watching a superb little film that should appeal to all engaged travel fans.
A Slow Boat to Somewhere is
Jon Bowermaster’s film about sailing (in the motorized sense) the vast
blue waters of Polynesia aboard a cargo vessel. Bowermaster and his small team of cameramen and photographers
(including adventure photographer Peter McBride) ride along with a Polynesian cargo boat crew as they deliver goods to
some of the globe’s most isolated coral atolls. While the concept may seem on the surface to be as slow as the boats
themselves, it works well because of Bowermaster’s genuine interest in the subject and the care he takes to reveal the
lives of the people he meets. In one intensely poignant scene, Bowermaster’s camera whirs as a man struggles to keep
his girlfriend from leaving a desolate atoll. (and I mean desolate…Bowermaster explains in the film that there are only
like 7 people living on this island, and the conditions there are hardly Club Med). The “boyfriend”, apparently drunk,
grabs the woman by the waist as she seeks to escape. She screams and kicks, and some burly Polynesian dudes pry her
from the guy’s arms. Nasty stuff, as Bowermaster tells us in an on camera aside.
The film has shown at numerous outdoor film festivals to decent acclaim.
I am a big admirer of Bowermaster’s work. I’ve read one of his books and many of his articles. His
Oceans 8 project is exceedingly cool. (I believe he’s
actually in Croatia as I write this.) Fans of Bowermaster will appreciate his venture here into yet another medium. I
urge you to check it out.
Wow, this is a tough one.
Jiri Smitak, a Czech outdoorsman, was camping last February in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, easily one of
the most beautiful places on earth. While hanging out one evening, he accidentally kicked over his travel stove (um, in
50 mph winds), and started a fire that
quickly spread out of control, ravaging some 35,000 acres of parkland. Oh, and this violated park rules. That is, it
was illegal. Ouch.
Thankfully, the fire is not expected to affect visitation at the park, as most of the burned area was outside of where
tourists and trekkers typically go. In fact, the famous W trek was completely spared. Immediately after the blaze,
Smitak turned himself in and was fined $250, the maximum amount allowable under Chilean law. He paid it, and then gave
an additional $1000 voluntarily. But that is not enough. In March, Chilean authorities
sued Smitak for reparations. The Czech government has
offered to help, but the Chileans are saying they
might seek as much as $20 million and seek to confiscate Smitak’s Czech property (how they would do this, I have no
idea).
Now, there is no denying he caused the fire, and Smitak has said publicly that he is very sorry. But my question is:
accidents happen, and something of this scale is probably for governments to handle. Or no? Should the Chileans pursue
Smitak? In other words, are the Chileans being cool or lame?
How can a name like, “The Burning Man Project,” not capture your
attention? Heck it got mine instantly and it leaves me more and more puzzled the further I go. If you want a
simple explanation on how the festival began and bizarre events to take place in Black Rock Desert, NV this
August 29 – September 5, you better stick to
Lonely Planet’s snippet. I assure you,
once you enter the world of the burning man on their own web site curiosity will get the best of you and you’ll be
flipping through you phone to find someone who’s just as down to do it as you are. (I’m seriously contemplating this as
I write.)
In short, the Burning Man is an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and
radical self-reliance. This year’s theme is PSYCHE. Though it may seem easy at first, they suggest
reading their survival tips,
bringing some of your own entertainment, taking part in several of the wacky activities, and of course making new
friends if you plan to camp in the desert community full festival length. Count on a couple of nudist activities
or count yourself out. The big payoff is in the end when everything gets burned, including the man. Sounds incredibly
far out.