The Thought Kitchen is our effort at collective inquiry and its power to affect change. Have you ever noticed how the party is always in the kitchen? There are more walls to lean on and people are energized by the proximity to food and drink. Well, welcome to our kitchen, where we hope to tap into everything we love about that feeling—community, vivacious exchange, food for thought.
Two weeks ago, under an unseasonably hot February sun, I sat outside a Portland café and and listened to Trip Jennings, Kyle Dickman and Andy Maser eagerly describe their latest endeavor, The Epicocity Project. Three young guys with infectious enthusiasm for kayaking, they’ve set out on a 4-stage adventure to paddle rivers in biodiversity hotspots around the globe. Their first stage in Papua New Guinea won Trip “Adventure of the Year” honors from the National Geographic Society; no small achievement for a group whose oldest member clocks in at the ripe old age of 25.
Today, we received a dispatch from the team, which is now halfway around the globe. Trip, Andy and Travis are just beginning the second leg of their journey: This month, they’re attempting to make the first descent of the Upper Salween River in China, which passes through one of the least explored areas on the planet. By paddling and filming what is now China’s longest undammed river, they hope to raise awareness of an ecologically rich region that is threatened by a 13-dam hydro-electric project.
In the months to come, we’ll be featuring some of the resulting footage from their travels on The Collective. Until then, you can follow their adventures on the Upper Salween at http://china.riversindemand.com/.
It’s not often that I envy other cities for their bike-related policies (Portland being such a poster child, in that department), but this is pretty impressive: a formalized bike-sharing program in Barcelona that’s much like Zip Car here in the states, only better, because it cuts out the car part.
Only begs one question: Why haven’t we done this yet in the States? Or have we? Found via Out There Biking.
A few months back my friend Todd, of The Range Life, sent out an email linking to a slideshow of the previous weekend’s adventure. Usually his shots capture his standard weekend exploits: kayaking and skiing around Washington and British Columbia. These shots were a little different in nature, and had me wondering if Todd had just joined the setup crew for Cirque du Soleil. The first couple of shots focused on a bunch of guys in the woods climbing high into trees, setting all sorts of lines, yanking on z-drags, and smiling really big. The effort looked to be led by climbing extraordinaire Matt Maddaloni, who I’ve personally known as the climbing mastermind behind the zip-line setup used to shoot the whitewater footage in Bryan Smith’s Collective Video, 49 Megawatts, and who has been involved with the construction of most of the zip-line canopy tours around Whistler. With him behind the wheel, this project was bound to be cool.
The remainder of Todd’s shots focused on Matt attempting to free solo a 5.13 named “Young Blood” on a monster boulder adjacent to the site they’d been working on. It seemed like he was making the first few moves just fine, and then kept having issues with the crux of the problem … and falling off. Shots of Matt climbing. Shots of Matt falling in midair. Shots of the ground thirty or forty feet below the boulder. And a few pictures of the mind-blowing creative rope-work that tied the whole event together.
Bryan Smith captured that day on film, and put together a short film, “Young Blood,” that we recently posted to The Collective. Although I’d seen the photos and some small clips of the event, this video really brought home the magic that can happen when a few creative and educated minds go out to expand the boundaries of play. I will be forever impressed and inspired by folks like Matt who have mastered their craft and keep pushing the boundaries of their physical and mental abilities, use available technology in new, daring ways, focus on a minimal footprint, and do it all within a realm of safety. Keep after it!
Oregon had nearly tricked us into thinking it was spring, but then it dropped a winter storm on us like a top-turnbuckle flying elbow from pro wrestler Supa Fly Jimmy Snuka. This past weekend we were blessed with another 15-ish inches of fresh pow. People raced to the mountain like kids to the tree on Christmas day. This weekend was another example of how this winter has been epic by all counts. However, in its “epicness” Mother Nature has also brought some near and not so near misses. This powerful film, A Dozen More Turns, portrays a very real example of the avie dangers that exist in the mountains. It depicts a group of friends in the backcountry, but it is worth the reminder because slides can happen at the resort too.
One of our favorite film festivals, Filmed by Bike is gearing up again for April, 2008. They need your bike-themed movies, so don’t be a slacker and miss the entry deadline: March 1, 2008.
FILMED BY BIKE ENTRY DETAILS
DEADLINE: March 1, 2008
LENGTH: 8 minutes or less
FORMAT: DVD
COST: Free
HOW TO ENTER: Download the entry form from Filmed by Bike.
Filmed by Bike embraces the art and innovation of bikes through the eyes of imaginative storytellers who use moving images to celebrate the world’s most efficient and creative form of transportation. Now in its sixth year, the festival showcases a love of two wheels in eight minutes or less. This premier festival happens once a year in Bike City, USA: Portland Oregon. The event grabs hold of an entire weekend of screenings and features movies from around the globe.
I finally got a chance to download the short movie Pulp, Poo and Perfection that addresses two issues threatening water quality in Chile: Pichilemu’s sewage pipeline and forest industry pollution in the South. It’s a great piece that shows how surfers and organizations like Save the Waves can rally public awareness of corporate irresponsibility and environmental disregard. Between scenes that document the chewing and spewing of paper mills, there’s some great footage of the treasured left point breaks that are at risk—If you’re a goofyfooter like me, you’ll be even more pissed off! Released in Chile in November 2007, the short has been screened at several film festivals over the past few months, including Earth Vision in Santa Cruz and the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival.
You can download the full podcast of the documentary HERE. (under podcasts/ppp_english)
To support Save the Waves in their fight against the Chilean pulp mills, go HERE.
Well, it was a banner weekend for bike lovers in Portland. The NAHBS is now behind us, and in its wake lingers the aroma of pure two-wheeled lust, not to mention permanent grins and some new ideas for the next bike-you-never-knew-you-needed-that-now-you-have-to-have. Between the Teams of Portland exhibit and party, the show itself, and Rapha’s debaucherous, ridiculous, sublimely excellent night of Roller Racing, there was a little something for everyone.
It’s the beginning of a banner weekend here in Stumptown. As many of you know, the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show is in town, highlighting the incredible crafts-personship (there’s some damn fine women showing this weekend, too) of this hemisphere’s finest bike builders. With over 150 exhibitors, and crazy amounts of gorgeous bikes on display, it will be a visual feast. Don’t miss it.
Running concurrently are some notable bike culture events worth checking out. For sheer graphic and design enjoyment (al la the above photo of my people on the Super Relax program), be sure to check out the Teams of Portland exhibit, or at least the website for all our non-local Kitchen readers. Also, uber-stylish bike clothing purveyors Rapha are hosting some good times of their own. Peep the options, including a killer Sunday ride, here.
No doubt there’s more. Add ‘em to the comments if you like. Now go outside and enjoy!
A conceptual design from 1999, Non-Stop Shoes (NSS), by Spanish designer Emil Padòs, is a collaboration with Camper that asks the question: What would happen if you could harness the energy you create through walking? Padòs imagines a world where the calories you exert through everyday activity can be stored and used later to power small lights, mp3 players, fans or other appliances. This invention seems so obvious that I’m really surprised it hasn’t become commonplace in footwear. A quick search on Google reveals that a US patent was awarded for “footwear with energy storing sole construction” in 2001, but I’ve yet to see anything utilizing this technology on the market. Can you imagine the benefit of self-sufficient energy for activities like trekking? Or better yet, what if all the runners in a marathon were given this footwear, and the collective energy harvested could be used for some form of positive change?
Today, we received a dispatch from the team, which is now halfway around the globe. Trip, Andy and Travis are just beginning the second leg of their journey: This month, they’re attempting to make the first descent of the Upper Salween River in China, which passes through one of the least explored areas on the planet. By paddling and filming what is now China’s longest undammed river, they hope to raise awareness of an ecologically rich region that is threatened by a 13-dam hydro-electric project.
