Archive for May, 2008
#31 River Kayaking! [podcast] (*video problems fixed*)
May 30th
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Hey Team,
Here’s this week’s video starring your friendly neighborhood Amtrekker.
“Amtrekker travels to the Chattooga River in South Carolina to river kayak, get soaked and try not to die.
…that’s pretty much what happened.
(Scenes from Deliverance were roundly avoided.)”
Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player. var WT1_1 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowscriptaccess : "always", allownetworking : "all", allowfullscreen : "true"}, flashvars : { file : "http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amtrekker.com%2Findex.php%3Fxspf%3Dtrue%26id%3D12", volume : "80", bufferlength : "5", controlbar : "over", 'logo.hide' : "false", shuffle : "false", playlist : "bottom"}, attr : { id : "WT1", name : "WT1"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.amtrekker.com/wp-content/uploads/player.swf", "WT1_1", "437", "522", "9.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } WT1_1.start();And here’s the YouTube link.
Thanks everyone!
I’m done.
Brett.
If you enjoy the podcasts…why not donate?
Don’t let me stop you.
AKPC_IDS += "311,";
Pig Tails…Seriously
May 28th
Hey Team,
The River Kayaking podcast is done but the numbers for the Civil War podcast are pretty low because it’s only been out for a couple days. So to give the iTunes fans a little bit more time to stumble across it without stepping over it I’m just going to post the new one tomorrow. I know…I would feel bad about this move and gypping you faithful website fans if I didn’t have such an awesome up to the minute story to share!
I’m on my way to Charleston right now via everyone’s favorite mode of transport but with the comfort of train travel comes the occasional ridiculously long layover. This time I had a few hours to kill in the tiny town of Wilson, NC.
As the afternoon wore on I suddenly realized that I only had about a half an hour before my connecting train was scheduled to pull in and if I didn’t eat in town I would have to choke down train food. I was looking for something quick but fast food seemed to be non-existent. I had seen a sign that said “Soul Food Grill” near the train station and I thought, “‘Soul food’ would take too long More >
Spontaneous Raleigh Likin’
May 27th
Hey Team,
It looks like I have a formal apology to hand out (followed by a request). I’ve spent the last couple days in Raleigh, NC and, contrary to an old “Day in the Life” Amtrekker video, I regret to report that I’ve had a great time.
I’ve couch surfed in three different apartments in the short time I’ve been here and met nothing but good and entertaining people that have kept me running from one adventure to the next. (Although I should note that not one of those people is a native Raleighan…Raleightonian…Raleighite…Rrrr….forget it. Point is there’s still an out and I can change my opinion again within a moments notice. Don’t screw with me, Raleigh.)
The first day was spent with Ani and Allison a displaced couple from Arizona by way of Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and the Carolinas with a dog and a boa both named Nala and a ferret that answered to either Bella or “Hey, ferret!” equally. I didn’t get to spend much time with them but I did get some key geocaching in and even managed to find time for the new Indiana Jones flick. (Is it just me or does it seem like it would be incredibly More >
My Deliverance from #31
May 25th
Hey Team,
I managed to avoid not only banjo music but also any opportunities to see if I’m half the actor Ned Beatty is in what was easily one of the coolest experiences of Amtrekker so far.
Here’s the quick back-story: About a month and a half ago I got an email from Carolyn at www.wildwaterrafting.com saying they wanted to help me out with #31 on the list. Wild Water Ltd. operates on five rivers but the one I couldn’t wait to get out on was the Chattooga River near Long Creek, SC.
“But why the Chattooga, Brett? Kind of a silly name don’t you think?”
Well, welcome back, Disembodied Voice. Haven’t heard from you in awhile. But thanks for asking! (And, you’re right, kind of a silly name.)
The Chattooga is the same river that James Dickey was writing about in his book “Deliverance” AND, it’s the same river they used to film large portions of the movie, (you guessed it…) “Deliverance!”
So as soon as I got the message I called dibs on Burt Reynolds’s character and set things up for the next time I was near South Carolina, a.k.a. now.
(My thoughts always get kind of disjointed when I get excited so you may have to bear More >
#12 Take Part in a Civil War Reenactment! [podcast]
May 24th
Hey Team,
Yes, the video is very late. No, there weren’t very many updates this week. BUT, feast your peepers on this little baby!
Amtrekker travels to New Market, VA and takes part in the cleverly named Battle of New Market!
Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player. var WT2_2 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowscriptaccess : "always", allownetworking : "all", allowfullscreen : "true"}, flashvars : { file : "http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amtrekker.com%2Findex.php%3Fxspf%3Dtrue%26id%3D13", volume : "80", bufferlength : "5", controlbar : "over", 'logo.hide' : "false", shuffle : "false", playlist : "bottom"}, attr : { id : "WT2", name : "WT2"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.amtrekker.com/wp-content/uploads/player.swf", "WT2_2", "437", "522", "9.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } WT2_2.start();Thanks for the patience, Team! The next one should be on time!
I’m done.
Brett.
If you appreciate all the desperate blood, sweat and tears I put into every second of every video on-time or not…why not donate!
Don’t let me stop you.
AKPC_IDS += "306,";
Freezing My Musket Balls Off
May 20th
Hey Team,
Costumes are something I can get behind. Halloween is probably my second favorite holiday and I put in my time on the attractions at Disney before I became a designer so, although I could never be that guy that runs to a Renaissance Fair or proudly introduces himself as a LARPer, it was a thrill to get the Civil War uniform on and slide into a different time. However, it wasn’t too long after that when I realized I was out of my league.
I walked into the camp where period ground cloths were lined up against the wall of a barn for cover just as day was giving way to night. I carried on my back everything I would need for the rest of the weekend (which is to say, almost nothing). A cartridge box, bayonet, canteen, wool blanket, and a haversack with period cutlery and a rusting plate plus a lump of salted pork. Oh! And a gun.
Noticeably missing were Charley (my MacBook Pro for those of you who aren’t “in the know”) and a sleeping bag…
Before I even had time to stake my claim on a small portion of packed dirt beneath the barn’s overhang I was More >
Reenacting War = Enacting Discomfort
May 19th
Hey Team,
So much happened over the last few days I’m not exactly sure how to condense it. So maybe I’ll just give you a quick outline and some pictures and the next couple days can fill in the blanks.
**Disclaimer: This is fair warning. I’m almost guaranteed to screw up lots of buzzwords in this post so all you people reading this that are actually familiar with reenactments can just lay off. So there.**
Two of the officers from the reenactment picked me up in D.C. and gave me a lift to New Market, Virginia where the appropriately named Battle of New Market happened in 1864. Along with the “Chesapeake Volunteer Guard,” a group of reenactors that invited me to the battle, I would be depicting a private in the 1st West Virginia Regiment.
I had a few other offers from reenactment groups but I chose to throw my green hat into the ring with these guys mostly because the email from their Major warned me: “We are a hardcore progressive group that highly values authenticity and are more on the extreme edge, if you will, of the hobby.”
How can you turn down an invitation to anything that comes with a warning like More >
In Transit
May 16th
Hey Team,
It’s just a quick “in transit” update right now. I had to stay in California for a day longer than I was planning to thanks to some exciting stuff that couldn’t be avoided but it is definitely taking it’s toll in the travel department. I have much less time than I was hoping for to figure out how to get to New Market, VA and the Civil War reenactment for which my beard continues to grow.
In an effort to give myself as much time as possible to work out the transportation from DC to New Market I decided to fly out to Denver last night so I could catch the first flight out to DC rather than wait for the flights that actually connected but would have put me in our wily little capitol a full six hours later. Of course that also meant a fairly uncomfortable nap when I realized I didn’t have enough juice left in my frail little frame to continue working through the night.
BUT, as usual, I survived. And in half an hour I’ll be doing a phone interview with a morning radio show somewhere on the East coast with the hopes that it will More >