Video Killed the One I Trust
Published March 21, 2011 | 
My parties have all the big names and I greet them with the widest smile
Tell them how my life is one big adventure
and always they’re amazed when I show them ’round my house to my bed
I had it made like a mountain rage with a snow white pillow for my big fat head
And my heaven will be a big heaven, and I will walk through the front door
- gabriel
Allow me a moment of personal craziness from outside the echo chamber. I don’t trust video. I don’t believe in it as THE sales tool on the web. I think it has it’s place. It’s fun. It can articulate messages that can’t be expressed in any other way. But in the end, video will always be television shoveling products at me, or cinema speaking down from the peak of a cloudy mount. Even the most humble video narrator is the host. It’s their house, and as a guest you have to listen. It’s beyond a window frame. Video is “out there somewhere”. It’s someone else in another world, and another time. Literature is different. It’s under your control, and it’s in your head. The written word, is here and now. It’s the author’s words, but spoken with the reader’s voice. The narrator may be built upon bones designed by the writer, yet only the reader can bring the creature life. Old doc Frankenstein trusted the monster he created from the bits and pieces of strangers much more than he should have. Trusting that which we had a part in creating comes more naturally. For right or wrong, I may enjoy a video, but I’m much more likely to trust what I read. Continue reading
Therein lies the rub!
Published January 25, 2011 | 
Look at your children / See their faces in golden rays
Don’t kid yourself they belong to you / They’re the start of a coming race
The earth is a bitch / We’ve finished our news / Homosapiens have outgrown their use
All the strangers came today / And it looks as though they’re here to stay
– bowie
If you’ve been following along you’ll know that paddlers Justine Curgenven & Barry Shaw have had to take a few days of RR from their attempt to circumnavigate Tierra del Fuego on the southern tip of South America. The reason? Barry has been suffering some painful tendinitis due to overly tight drysuit seals around his wrists. Now I can guess that “off-the-grid” they’ve received all sorts of advice from the folks who made Barry’s drysuit. I also think they got a little covert commentary from a rep or two. Now what I was wondering was, that with all the emphasis on social media these days, wouldn’t you think various reps or manufacturers would have jumped in and offered some thoughts and ideas on their blog or Facebook as well? Continue reading
Posted in advertising, Commentary & Rants, Expeditions, Paddle Gear, Paddling, Random Thoughts, Web Stuff | 
social mediaYeah, Whatever, But It’s Hadas!
Published January 20, 2011 | 
Uh, oh, many, many, many nights go by, / I sit alone at home and I cry over you.
What can I do. / Can’t help myself, ’cause baby, it’s you.
Sha la la la la la la la
– beatles
So Reed has a new website!! Ok, yeah, whatever, but that’s Hadas Feldman on their header!! See, I know what’s really important! The picture dates all the way back to 2003, when Hadas, Justine Curgenven & Alexey Sitnokov paddled their way up the Kamchatka coastline. The 600 kilometer journey was featured in the first CackleTV, ‘This is the Sea’ DVD. Ok.. to be honest I’m a total fan of all things Reed and it’s soooo about time they had a new website. Very cool. Still, seeing Hadas on the top made my day.. almost made me want to buy a Reed Storm Cag… but then I realized.. I’ve already got one!
Little Black Number
Published December 3, 2010 | 
For a guy, the equivalent of the “little black number” is the tight black T… Well, if you’ve got the bod for it! I’m big into black Ts too.. (Not the tight kind). Right now my favorite is one that was sent to me by my friends at Body, Boat, Blade International. The best part is what you don’t see. One the back it says, “Throwing Stones At Sacred Cows”. Now that’s my kind of coaching! Thanks guys! If you’d like one of these fancy black numbers you’ll have to stop by their shop on in Washington State.. or call ph: 1.360.376.5388 or email: info@bodyboatblade.com. They are not available online.. (Cha, ya, I know! What’s up with that!? LOL!)
I, on the other hand am totally into the online thing. Over in my Skillet Creek world I’ve opened a little Cafe Press shop and have been selling some cool Hiking & Skiing trail marker clothing & other bits and bobs. I’m surprised how well that’s gone. You can check those out here. Speaking of little black numbers, I’ve got a strange black T made to repel the literate bears in your woods with the phases, “No, Bear.” and “Go Away Bear!” on the front. So why not take a T or mug along on your next trip to Kodiak island? Just in case… No promises.. 
So there’s my Christmas shopping shill for the year. It not only allows me to pay for an occasional four dollar cup of coffee from the local “fair-trade artwork and gift basket” filled coffee shop, but it also gives me another day to work on my post all about BC bindings. It’s not easy out there in the cold, cruel world of skiing.
What?…. Snow Storm? Tonight? What the F—————- ******* (We now take you back to your regularly scheduled program.. Are you sitting comfortably?)
Posted in advertising, Random Thoughts, Traditional Paddling, Web Stuff | body boat blade, No Bear, skillet creekFacebook Face-Off!
Published July 13, 2010 | 
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who? – the who
A Facebook page is a free, no brainer way to market your company. Not having a Facebook page today suggests either a unique marketing mindset or lack of it… Some companies see social media is a way to really connect with their customers, provide better customer support and as a way to reach out to the next generation as well. Some companies simply feel they don’t need or have the time to deal with social marketing. I’m in the first group in that I think some companies will be regretting their lack of connection now in about 10 years or so.. but that’s my opinion and I could certainly be daft as brush… Continue reading
Sometimes….
Published June 17, 2010 | 
And when I get excited / My little china girl says
Oh baby just you shut your mouth / She says … sh-sh-shhh
- bowie
Sometimes I get stuff like this in my email… I like the bubbles, they make the idea of paddling in the snow much more appealing, and the thought of getting 1000 high quality, asymmetrical fiberglass composite paddles for just $14.00 a unit certainly does make it feel like, well, Christmas!
I often get emails like this one … Continue reading
This is major Tom to ground control, I’m stepping through the door
And I’m floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
Here am I floatin’ ’round my tin can far above the world
Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do – bowie