More on our project Passage soon. In the meantime, here's a picture of a dragonfly on my bike rack. He let me get super close... Check out our tout for more bugs..
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Yup. that's my toe - but it's shot on our new Canon 60D. Ignore the hitch in the first few seconds, there's an option to take a picture while filming, but the result is that hitch... I'll stick with screen shots from the editing process, thank you. Anyway, here is the first of many videos from this new and wonderful camera. We received a beautifully written letter from a fan of 'The Highway Walkers'. Huge thanks to Rhonda for taking the time to watch our film and for dropping us a line! I've had a lot of dreams I've chased over my lifetime, a few I put on the back burners, a few I fast and furiously chased and conquered, and a few I'm currently trying to realize. You both have stirred every lost and sleeping dream still wanting to be noticed within my heart and brain. But of all the dreams I've ever dreamed or ever lost or ever lost track of, one remains; to find the good in everyone and not just everyone, but every experience whether labelled "good" or "bad". Thank you, Highway Walkers Media for showing us the manifestation of that beautiful dream that I'm sure most of us share. You walked it, lived it and were brave enough to document the concept that we all strive to be kind, we all strive to do our best and to be our best. Your journey takes us all into a better and deeper understanding of ourselves. You talk at the end about how you can't quite put into words some experiences that can't be limited by language. I feel the same in trying to find expression of how your documentary has impacted me. This is sort of a tribute. Not exactly. Maybe more of a thank you/shout out/have-you-heard-of-these-folks kinda thing. Here's four things I like about Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin: - They are better live. You know some bands who have that polished album sound and then you get to see them and they leave a lot to be desired? Not here. For starters, they have great chemistry on stage together (they should; they're engaged). And they sound great when it's stripped down, just two voices and guitar (Carrie's voice especially, while great on an album, is stunning live). Which brings me to... - They tour intimate venues. I've seen them twice, one in St. Croix Falls, WI at Festival Theatre and one in Columbia, SC at Unitarian Universalist Church. Great both times and both felt like you were in their living room just chatting and playing music. - They're consistent. Danny has put out seven albums in eleven years, Carrie has five to her name, plus their new duo album, all the while still managing to tour a majority of their time. When asked about his new album, Schmidt said "The songs are very naked and out there, and when I was listening to the songs and had been writing them – we had the collection of them and starting to think about a whole album – they just seemed like very simple, vulnerable songs, and that that would be the best way to produce them. There’s very little – it’s just me and the guitar and harmony vocals and bass, pretty much on the whole record." Check out the whole interview here. - They do a great impression of a deer (see below). Also Danny let us use his music for our film (for which we are eternally grateful). Cool, huh? Seriously, check out if they're touring near you, you won't be disappointed. While both great, I think I have to give the nod to Danny on this one... Sorry Carrie. (Darrell (right) and I (left) don't even come close...) #5 Kai - The Hatchet Wielding HitchhikerOur first mention goes to the most recent hitchhiker to be in the news, Kai the hatchet wielder. Now when you hear hatchet-wielding hitchhiker, perhaps one would assume the worst, i.e. a murdering psychopath who killed the person who picked him/her up. Not in this case! Kai actually saved several people's lives. How? Well, by hitting a man who was attempting to smother a woman by squeezing her to death. Kai, who was actually hitching a ride with the man in question, came up behind the man with his trusty hatchet and hit him so the woman could escape. He said it best in his own words in an interview afterward: "Like a guy that big can snap a woman's neck like a pencil stick. So I fucking ran up behind him with a hatchet - smash, smash, suh-mash!" Speak softly and carry a hatchet. Check out the story here. #4 Bono- The Humanitarian HitchhikerThat's right! #4 is our friend from U2. When he's not winning the Nobel Peace Prize or flying hats across countries, our peace-loving pal sometimes thumbs rides! The singer/humanitarian found himself and his assistant caught in the rain in Vancouver, Canada. Not wanting to wait it for the drizzle to subside, Bono strolled to the side of the road and stuck his thumb out. The first person to notice him (because who wouldn't pick up Bono if they noticed him, right?) was professional hockey player, Gilbert Brule. Brule was out with his girlfriend to walk his dog. Bono rewarded the couple with tickets to his show and Brule went from picking up turds to picking up free tickets in an instant. See what can happen if you pass along a little road karma. Bono said of the incident, at the show Brule and his girlfriend were at: "I like ice hockey because people who play ice hockey are the kind of people who pick up hitchhikers. I'm ever so grateful. I've decided that I want to be Gilbert Brule." #3 Saint Paul- The Holy HitchhikerOur number three comes from long, long ago. Phillip may not be as popular as say Paul or Jesus or any of the Disciples, but many people know about him, though maybe not so many know that he was a hitchhiker. Phil was walking along the road one day, like just about everybody back in the early A.D.'s when along comes a chariot with an Ethiopian in it. Well, the patron saint of pastry chefs (all cooks actually and there's no patron saint of hitchhiking... but I think we have a likely candidate - someone call the Vatican) heard the Spirit telling him to hitch a ride on the chariot and so Phil did just that. The Ethiopian and Phil talked for hours before he got dropped off at the local watering hole and as soon as he did the Spirit whisked him away. Two rides, one right after the other - lucky day! It's all there, I promise, hand to God. #2 Chris McCandless- The Hardy HitchhikerMany people are familiar with our #2. Chris McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp. Made famous by the Jon Krakauer book, Into the Wild and a movie by the same name, Chris gave up everything to explore the country. Upon graduating college, he donated the $24,000 law school fund his family had given him to an anti-hunger organization and set off. He felt a pining to explore terra incognita (undiscovered land) and after many years of traveling the USA, mostly by hitchhiking, he found himself out in the Alaskan wilderness. He hiked over 24 miles before coming upon bus #142 - the abandoned bus where he lived for the next 113. Unfortunately McCandless did not have the food, tools, or know how to survive the Alaskan wilderness and perished by starvation or the ingesting of a poisonous plant. Today McCandless remains a polarizing figure and one of the most famous contemporary hitchhikers. #1 Jack Kerouac- The Hedonistic Hitchhiker(Alright, the title's a little weird. I guess 'hedonistic' because he wrote about himself and there were always crazy adventures... I was trying to keep with the 'h' theme. Any better suggestions let me know.) Our #1 famous hitchhiker, the beat poet himself, Jack Kerouac. Kerouac is practically synonymous with the open road and travelers everywhere partake his book, On The Road, as one of the ultimate stories of freedom. Not surprisingly the story is loosely memoiric and involves copious amounts of back and forth across the USA, mostly through hitchhiking. There's not a lot I can say about him that you don't already know, but I'll share a quote that's worth repeating. It embodies Kerouac. “Sal, we gotta go and never stop going 'till we get there.' 'Where we going, man?' 'I don't know but we gotta go.” Like it? Hate it? Think we missed someone? Let me know. |
Watch Our Films FREE!Suggested Reading-3 Lessons from ultrarunner -Role Model: Search Local -How to Sleep in Your Car -How to Hitchhike: Advice -How to Adjust a Backpack -How to Hitchhike Safely -Dustin: Hitchhiker *video - Zach at Niagara Falls *video -NYC Interview *video -Trouble Crossing * video -Iron John Journey *video -Letter From a Viewer -Ibn Battuta: Exploreer -Danny Schmidt/Carrie Elkin -Top 5 Famous Hitchhikers -Hitchhiking:Trip at a Glance -Filmmaking; Perseverance! -3 Things Lionel Said -Radio Interview: WEHC -Adventure: Idea to Action -Miller's Gourmet Popcorn * -Poem from a fan AuthorsDarrell and Josiah |