Sunday, December 14, 2008
Acorn Milk Anyone?
Acorn Milk from Brian Barnes on Vimeo.
So gonna give you a couple videos we produced for the website in case you're interested in trying some local wild food recipes. This one shows you how easy it is to make acorn milk. And it's really good.
Growing Roots
This is the documentary we produced on Turtle Lake Refuge for our final project. Had alot of fun with this project and learned alot. Hope this film can inspire a person or two to check it out and try some local raw food lunch!
A Taste of What is to Come?
I think there's a good chance Bush and Cheney are going to get hit with more than a shoe after they leave office. Of course they'll probably have private security out the wazzoo for the rest of their lives too.
Hopefully we can really take this country in a new direction and start to reverse some of the intense animosity we have provoked around the world.
The Power of YouTube
So if you search for Argentina Dirty War you can find hundreds of pertinent videos. Protests are still going on as this home video shows. The children of the disappeared who were kidnapped by their parent's murderers are in their 20s today. Birth certificates were forged, and many do not know that their family is a fraud. But the grandmothers have not given up. 85 of the "missing generation" have been found, and at least 500 cases are known about and being actively searched for today.
People still going missing - Argentinians skeptical
So this guy went missing after his testimony helped bring down old war criminals. It seems many feel the governments talk of no more impunity is just rhetoric and believe the old systems and structures and corruption is still in place.
No more impunity?
Even after the junta was overthrown, the general and other military leaders were protected by the new "democratic" government, which obviously infuriated the people of Argentina. Just recently, they have said they will no longer provide impunity to these criminals, as it is not in the interest of developing a democracy. The first 3 or 4 minutes of this interview talk about the change.
Garaje Olimpo
Another Argentinian film about the dirty war of 1976-1983. I did a presentation on the power of film as a means of protest and remembrance. That's where I got all these clips.
This movie was directed by a guy who was actually tortured by the regime. You can see at least several large portions of it online.
The sort of anti-establishing shot of the muddy water in the beginning is important. The film focuses on two stories - one of a girl taken to a concentration camp who tries to use her sexuality and relationship with one of the torturers to save her life. The other story is based on the true story of the resistance and a girl who placed a bomb under the bed of a cop who was her friend's dad. The girl in the camp suffers the same fate as everyone else and is dumped out of a plane at several thousand feet into the muddy water at the same time as the bomb goes off in the film.
Filmmakers Speak Out
This is a trailer for the Argentinian film, Moebius. It was created by a professor and a bunch of his students and has earned international accalaim. A moebius strip has no end, you can make one by taking a strip of paper, twisting it and taping the ends together. If you trace a line around it, it would eventually run back into itself.
So the film is an allegorical sci-fi movie. Gustavo (the director) was also an engineer thus the sci-fi story, but the underlying message is about the "disappeared" in Argentina that I mentioned in my last blogs. The idea is that there is a subway full of people that is trapped on a moebius strip, still out there but unacknowledged by society and the government.
Gustavo worked on a very small budget and used his engineering skills to rig a camera on the subway to get the crazy tunnel shots.
Horrifying History Part 2
Here's part two of the Al Jazeera doc. Concentration camps, genocide, and torture on par with the Nazis. And this was only a few years ago! Alot of evidence suggests that the militray overthrow was backed by the U.S. government. Henry Kissinger told Videla (the dictator general) "look we would like you to succeed...if you can finish before Congress gets back the better." The story of the 22 year old girl is heartbreaking.
Horrifying History
This is the first of a two part doc put out by Al Jazeera about the 10,000 to 30,000 people that were "disappeared" in Argentina between 1976-1983 after a military dictatorship overthrew the government. If you're not familiar with what happened I'd recommend taking the 20 minutes, but it's intense. At least 500 known pregnant students, artists, and political activists were kidnapped for their babies. They were tortured until they gave birth, then loaded like cattle onto a plane and dumped alive over the Atlantic Ocean.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Power of Thought?
This is not the power of thought. I apologize for the length of the video...whenever you get bored just skip to the last 30 seconds. But seriously, they have put electrodes in monkeys brains, tied up their arms, and the monkeys used their mind to control the robot arms and feed themselves. I may have already posted that video. Are our thoughts more physical then we think? Just because we don't see it, does that mean our thoughts do not physically hurt or heal people that we send them to?
Are you Conscious?
Call me crazy, but what is happening in the world right now is ridiculous. I don't know who this guy is but I agree with him that it seems like we are entering a new age in history. What is going to happen when 6 Billion human minds can communicate instantaneously with each other? It's going to get alot harder to screw people over on the other side of the planet, because it is getting much harder to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to exploitation of people, land, and resources when the whole world lives together in real time. And we are almost there.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Election Celebration - Seattle
So there are hundreds, probably thousands, of these online. Just pick a city. Try starting all of these at the same time to get a taste of the national and global energy that night.
Election Celebration - Boulder, CO
Boulder goes off!! I wish I had a video camera with me at the Abbey that night, because Durango got the party started as well.
Election Night - NYC
Cities around the country broke out in the national anthem, as many found a new spirit of patriotism break through years of disillusionment.
Election Night Celebration - Chicago
I have never felt so much hope for our country as I have the last week, and alot of people share the feeling worldwide. The excitement is not that Obama is going to be some kind of messiah, but that a large portion of the American people have decided that maybe the people do have a voice and a say in the direction of our country. I think we are facing some very difficult years and our only hope is to work together as a community to face the challenges. Though he has very limited power himself, having a figurehead at the top who seems willing to listen to the voice of the people could be a major catalyst in much needed grassroots overhaul of the way things are being done.
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Corporation
I can't believe I haven't seen this documentary yet, because it's right up my alley. To be honest, I'm not usually a fan of Michael Moore's films as I think he tends to discredit himself by using clips out of context for more shock effect. Even when I agree with alot of his ideas, I don't like his methodology. And this is not a Michael Moore film, which is probably why I really like it. He only has a part. The most powerful part of this doc, idea-wise, is the exploration of the corporation as a person, which it is under law. The film makes a powerful point that if corporations are people, they would be clinically defined psychopaths - no concern for others, no room for guilt, etc. Many, in fact, have been charged with felonies. It was interesting that they did pretty much the same thing with logos in the opening, that I tried to do with my experimental film on the corporatocracy.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
!! DO NOT MAIL YOUR BALLOT!!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
"Probably the Funniest Cat Video You'll Ever See!"
I never really liked cats, but this video raised them up a notch. They're frieking hilarious. A friend and I were watching a bunch of silly animal videos when I was all doped up on oxicodone last week. It was interesting that almost all of them shared footage that was also used in other videos. Some clips were in almost every video. There is a whole genre out there of just collecting other people's footage and editing it into a montage. I was thinking about doing my own "The Best Sarah Palin Montage You've Ever Seen!" I could even play Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert, throw some witty and snide comments in and make my own news show! The live audience and the guests would be a problem.
Join the International Traveling Community
I'm pretty stoked about joining this site. Have alot of work to do to develop my profile, but how great will it be to host people from around the globe at my house while I'm in school? And then be able to travel anywhere and stay with really cool people on the journey? I think I may have given some in Interactive the impression that you have to pay $25 to join. The site is completely free. Verification is just an extra measure of security that is available, to assure people you are who you say. Only 11 out of the 88 couchsufers in Durango have paid the fee and only 9 have been fully verified. Here's the site:
Couchsurfing.com
Brain Drain
Well, 69 is definitely my favorite way to boost brain power, especially if combined with 73, 75, and 71. No explanation needed!
If you have no idea what I'm talking about here's the link:
Boost Your Brain Power
I feel as though I at least attempt many of the items on this list on a regular basis, just because they seem like healthy things to do. But doing one thing at a time has really been my focus recently. I feel like I'm most effective when I focus all of my energies on one task - even if it's a menial one. When I try to do too many things at once, like I'm Microsoft Windows or something - it all ends up being half-assed. I know that's probably obvious, but I find myself too often trying to balance too many things in one moment of time. So I guess it's really about time management. Focus all of my energy on writing the paper, then posting on the blog, then doing physical therapy, then searching for good new music, then focus on making some bread. Instead of trying to do all or most of them at the same time, some sort of ADD juggling act, which I seem to be fond of. It's amazing what my mind can actually accomplish when I focus on something. I think that's the secret with the monkey game (see last post). It just takes focus. I don't think you can perform very well if you are talking on the phone or cutting your toenails while trying to remember what flashes on the screen for an instant. First you have to let your mind take a mental polaroid, quickly absorbing the big picture and then immediately take note of as many individual numbers as you can, the high and lo, and the order. If your eye doesn't catch a number but you remember where 1, 6, 8, and 9 are, then you can take a pretty good guess at where that other number goes. So simplify and focus on what's in front of you - what's happening right now.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about here's the link:
Boost Your Brain Power
I feel as though I at least attempt many of the items on this list on a regular basis, just because they seem like healthy things to do. But doing one thing at a time has really been my focus recently. I feel like I'm most effective when I focus all of my energies on one task - even if it's a menial one. When I try to do too many things at once, like I'm Microsoft Windows or something - it all ends up being half-assed. I know that's probably obvious, but I find myself too often trying to balance too many things in one moment of time. So I guess it's really about time management. Focus all of my energy on writing the paper, then posting on the blog, then doing physical therapy, then searching for good new music, then focus on making some bread. Instead of trying to do all or most of them at the same time, some sort of ADD juggling act, which I seem to be fond of. It's amazing what my mind can actually accomplish when I focus on something. I think that's the secret with the monkey game (see last post). It just takes focus. I don't think you can perform very well if you are talking on the phone or cutting your toenails while trying to remember what flashes on the screen for an instant. First you have to let your mind take a mental polaroid, quickly absorbing the big picture and then immediately take note of as many individual numbers as you can, the high and lo, and the order. If your eye doesn't catch a number but you remember where 1, 6, 8, and 9 are, then you can take a pretty good guess at where that other number goes. So simplify and focus on what's in front of you - what's happening right now.
Beat the Chimp
Alright, so another one from the brain homework for interactive, but they're interesting. I only got 2 right the first time, then 4 but after a few I was hitting 7 consistently and 8 once. A few more tries I may be smarter than a monkey.
Test Yourself Against The Monkey
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Homunculus

"The little man in the brain." So this is a representation of the proportional amount of sensory and motory space in the brain devoted to each body part. It's interesting that alot of people when asked wheter they would lose a hand or foot answer hand (except for artists and musicians) because they fear losing mobility. But this picture makes it obvious, they're your MVPs. Imagine if humanity had tried to develop the modern world without hands. Surprised the junk is so small, at least on the sensory side - not at the lack of motor skill though.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
We are the Machine
I really enjoyed A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. Actually had a long conversation with my sister about it; she is working on her undergrad right now and applying to med school. She has found that medical schools these days would often rather have students get their bachelor's in art or the humanities then the traditional biology or other science. And it is precisely for the reason Pink argues: "Empathy is moving to the forefront of the medical profession. It is giving way to a new generation of health care professionals...who can combine rule-based detachment with emotion-based empathy into a whole new medicine."
The idea that the right-brain is going to be the key to success in the brave new world is interesting. First, you have to assume the definition of success. He seems to put an emphasis on where the money is flowing - how to survive and climb to the top in the new age. And I think his argument is valid, concerning the basic principle of supply and demand. There are alot more and alot cheaper options for performing left brain tasks - "Abundance, Asia, and Automation." There is so much crap to go around that quality and price are now pretty much assumed. Having a design that stands out is key. And just as manufacturing has been farmed out to other countries, so now are left-brain jobs. Computers may be the most convincing reason, as they are almost to the point where our left brains will never even stand a chance competing against them. So if you want to succeed in the capitalist economy of America or the first world, you need to develop the right brain. The six necessary skills addressed are design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. Does this mean that the nerds and geeks, the Bill Gates and the left-brainers who have been at the top are going to be the rebellious "starving artists" of the future? Will poets and artists be sellouts? But the world is changing rapidly in many ways. The world is quickly becoming connected as never before. Maybe the old paradigms and hierarchies of difference can also be replaced. Maybe that's wishful thinking.
I like his conclusion that the meaning of life is to pursue happiness. What else are you going to do? And honestly what does everybody do? Even most who deny themselves or perscecute their bodies in the name of religion or whatever do it because they expect a greater happiness down the road. I agree with Dr. Firestone, quoted by Pink: "You're not going to find the meaning of life hidden under a rock written by someone else. You'll only find it by giving meaning to life from inside yourself."
Also I think we should start a Durango laughter club. It would be hilarious. It seems that some feel it could even usher in world peace. Here's a video of a laughter club - now an international movement that was started in India by Dr. Kataria.
The idea that the right-brain is going to be the key to success in the brave new world is interesting. First, you have to assume the definition of success. He seems to put an emphasis on where the money is flowing - how to survive and climb to the top in the new age. And I think his argument is valid, concerning the basic principle of supply and demand. There are alot more and alot cheaper options for performing left brain tasks - "Abundance, Asia, and Automation." There is so much crap to go around that quality and price are now pretty much assumed. Having a design that stands out is key. And just as manufacturing has been farmed out to other countries, so now are left-brain jobs. Computers may be the most convincing reason, as they are almost to the point where our left brains will never even stand a chance competing against them. So if you want to succeed in the capitalist economy of America or the first world, you need to develop the right brain. The six necessary skills addressed are design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. Does this mean that the nerds and geeks, the Bill Gates and the left-brainers who have been at the top are going to be the rebellious "starving artists" of the future? Will poets and artists be sellouts? But the world is changing rapidly in many ways. The world is quickly becoming connected as never before. Maybe the old paradigms and hierarchies of difference can also be replaced. Maybe that's wishful thinking.
I like his conclusion that the meaning of life is to pursue happiness. What else are you going to do? And honestly what does everybody do? Even most who deny themselves or perscecute their bodies in the name of religion or whatever do it because they expect a greater happiness down the road. I agree with Dr. Firestone, quoted by Pink: "You're not going to find the meaning of life hidden under a rock written by someone else. You'll only find it by giving meaning to life from inside yourself."
Also I think we should start a Durango laughter club. It would be hilarious. It seems that some feel it could even usher in world peace. Here's a video of a laughter club - now an international movement that was started in India by Dr. Kataria.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
In Case You Wanted Some Good News


The Real Crisis is Ecological
The current financial meltdown is small in comparison to the ongoing ecological disaster.
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:42 am — Posted by Abdul 3 comments truecosteconomics nature finance environment economy crisis capitalism
Photo: Gunter Rambow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC’s environmental correspondent reports:
The global economy is losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis, according to an EU-commissioned study.
It puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion.
The figure comes from adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide.
The study, headed by a Deutsche Bank economist, parallels the Stern Review into the economics of climate change.
It has been discussed during many sessions here at the World Conservation Congress.
Some conservationists see it as a new way of persuading policymakers to fund nature protection rather than allowing the decline in ecosystems and species, highlighted in the release on Monday of the Red List of Threatened Species, to continue.
Capital losses
Speaking to BBC News on the fringes of the congress, study leader Pavan Sukhdev emphasised that the cost of natural decline dwarfs losses on the financial markets.
“It’s not only greater but it’s also continuous, it’s been happening every year, year after year,” he told BBC News.
“So whereas Wall Street by various calculations has to date lost, within the financial sector, $1-$1.5 trillion, the reality is that at today’s rate we are losing natural capital at least between $2-$5 trillion every year.”
The review that Mr Sukhdev leads, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (Teeb), was initiated by Germany under its recent EU presidency, with the European Commission providing funding.
The first phase concluded in May when the team released its finding that forest decline could be costing about 7% of global GDP. The second phase will expand the scope to other natural systems.
Stern message
Key to understanding his conclusions is that as forests decline, nature stops providing services which it used to provide essentially for free.
So the human economy either has to provide them instead, perhaps through building reservoirs, building facilities to sequester carbon dioxide, or farming foods that were once naturally available.
Or we have to do without them; either way, there is a financial cost.
Oh yeah, the environment.
Great Website too.
For the rest of the story here's the link:
http://http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters_blog/real_crisis_ecological.html
Friday, October 10, 2008
Family Guy
Personally, I think Family Guy is one of the funniest shows ever. I like this clip because it is told almost completely visually, just a little bit of dialogue at the beginning to set the scene. Watching part of No Country For Old Men earlier, I realized that I really like relatively quiet movies that are told with pictures instead of words. I've seen a few movies from foreign producers and from different eras particularly that felt more free for artistic expression, leaving lots of quiet empty space for the audience to soak things in. I like when a movie does not feel the need to explain everything with dialogue.
Cartoon Parkour
The thing I love about cartoons is that you can do whatever you want with them, as far as your imagination wants to go. You can have grannies leap and bound over tall buildings and run down a guy on a bike!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Caper of the Cat Burglar
Cat Burglar
Here's a link for my "Create Your Own Adventure" YouTube video. I was going for kind of a video game / parkour video / skate video style. My good friend Sam Redman just rolled back into town from Flagstaff; he's an amazing climber - very agile and ninja like, and so is Garrett. Initially, I just had a lame chase scene scripted all from first person (Blair Witch style), because I couldn't get people. But Sam and Garrett were stoked about the project, because they love parkour videos, running up buildings, and anything ninja. So it turned out to be fun and something that belonged to a group of us with vested interest. Of course the whole no sleep for 3 days thing was definitely not fun.
If you click the link above you can start at YouTube and not be interrupted, or you can just click below and it will direct you to YouTube at the next clip.
Here's a link for my "Create Your Own Adventure" YouTube video. I was going for kind of a video game / parkour video / skate video style. My good friend Sam Redman just rolled back into town from Flagstaff; he's an amazing climber - very agile and ninja like, and so is Garrett. Initially, I just had a lame chase scene scripted all from first person (Blair Witch style), because I couldn't get people. But Sam and Garrett were stoked about the project, because they love parkour videos, running up buildings, and anything ninja. So it turned out to be fun and something that belonged to a group of us with vested interest. Of course the whole no sleep for 3 days thing was definitely not fun.
If you click the link above you can start at YouTube and not be interrupted, or you can just click below and it will direct you to YouTube at the next clip.
Is McCain hiding something? PTSD or just a short fuse?
I'm sure someone has already posted this, and people have been discussing it. But I was unaware of all the people that have spoken out with concern for McCain's temper. Our country is on the brink of disaster right now and I think we need leadership from someone who can keep a cool head when shit hits the fan. Neither president can fix this country. No president, no single person can. And congress holds the purse anyway. So I don't think Obama is going to be this country's messiah, but I do feel that McCain / Palin is another step down a path that has proven to be disastrous and destructive.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Corporatocracy
This is my first experimental video, for the Video Production class. Just practicing uploading videos to YouTube.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
In My Name
The imbalance in the world between the rich and the poor is a topic that I really get passionate about. And yet I am complicit, and trapped, in an economic system that relies on that imbalance to maintain the standard of living for those of us lucky enough to be on the receiving end. I've heard many say, "we've always had the rich and the poor, and we always will." I've also been told,"if you're not liberal when you're young, you don't have a heart; and if you're not conservative when you're old you don't have a brain." Are these wise words or a cop-out for maintaining status quo in a society that operates on exploitation? I think we have a ways to go, and things are about to get really crazy with the economy. But we're also building communication links exponentially around the planet, so who knows what the power of grassroots can do in the new environment? In My Name...hell yeah.
Short Film Inspiration
Been trying to come up with something for the short film project. This Rodriguez (The Desperado / Grindhouse) short uses a simple story line and alot of sound effects, as well as fun camera angles and action sequences. Maybe some good ideas for a project.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Free Running aka Russian Ninjas
The camera work is a little rough sometimes in this video, but the dude is phenomenal. A good buddy of mine who likes to run up walls himself showed me this a couple years ago. I do like alot of the camera shots, the variety, and the way they combine everything to make a story. All you really need to make a video like this is a friend who's a ninja, or at least a gymnast. Unfortunately, people say this guy has died since making the video - dangerous stuff.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Choose Your Own Adventure
This is a pretty entertaining Choose Your Own Adventure skit. I like the format - a little different than YouTube. Shows you can do alot with one scene, a few props, and some good dialogue. The video doesn't embed for some reason, but here's a link.
http://www.pandasmash.com/video.php?epi_id=104
http://www.pandasmash.com/video.php?epi_id=104
Monday, September 15, 2008
Flying Cat
This clip is a classic, but I still laugh every time I watch it. I've always wondered if they staged it and used a dummy. You never know what you will catch when you're filming your pets or your everyday life.
Land of Confusion
I like the anime-style cartoon in this Disturbed cover of Genesis' "Land of Confusion." It's slightly melodramatic, but they get their message across clearly using image and symbol - no dialogue except for the lyrics. When you add the video to the song, what they're really giving us is a call to revolution.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Forest is Alive
This guy put together some of the time-lapse clips of rainforest plants and mushrooms that inspired me on the Planet Earth series. It seems that he sped up the footage even faster, probably so it would synchronize with what is apparently the Xena soundtrack. But it's definitely too fast in a couple places. Sure, it's no secret that if you sit there long enough you can watch the grass grow. What I like about the shots is that you can watch how plants grow. Did you know that leafy plants flap their way together toward the sun, pulling their way up in a race for the light? Or that fungi and mushrooms grow with a pulsating energy?
Monday, September 8, 2008
Emergence
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Ants, fireflies, our brains, neighborhoods, and Google all demonstrate this phenomenon dramatically. I thought the example of the peasants guessing the weight of the oxen and the students guessing the number of jellybeans was particuarly striking. Collectively we are smarter than any single individual. This seems obvious, but it is good to see it confirmed in a real life experiment. And I think it was a legitimate comparison they were drawing between the meanderings of ants and humans, leaving random trails (swerving) to reach a common goal. I think wasps leave pheromone trails too; when I was filming a nest this weekend I started getting buzzed more and more frequently by guard bees as they discovered my location.
The ultimate question Radiolab was trying to answer in the Emergence episode is, "What is behind it all?" What or who is the coordinating consciousness in all of this? Who am I and who are you? Science is really no closer to answering these same basic questions that humans have been asking for millenia. I am excited by the exponential, technological evolution that is allowing us to connect as a race to an unprecedented degree, though wary also. This radio episode reminds me of the theory I ascribe to, that somehow we are all connected in a very real, almost physical way. I am literally you, you are literally me, Gandhi is President Bush, and Mother Teresa is Hitler - one collective, enduring consciousness. The way I think of it is like a human body, so Mother Teresa would be a white blood cell and Hitler a cancer. Of course this is just as unprovable as any world view, but I really enjoyed the episode from this perspective.
The ultimate question Radiolab was trying to answer in the Emergence episode is, "What is behind it all?" What or who is the coordinating consciousness in all of this? Who am I and who are you? Science is really no closer to answering these same basic questions that humans have been asking for millenia. I am excited by the exponential, technological evolution that is allowing us to connect as a race to an unprecedented degree, though wary also. This radio episode reminds me of the theory I ascribe to, that somehow we are all connected in a very real, almost physical way. I am literally you, you are literally me, Gandhi is President Bush, and Mother Teresa is Hitler - one collective, enduring consciousness. The way I think of it is like a human body, so Mother Teresa would be a white blood cell and Hitler a cancer. Of course this is just as unprovable as any world view, but I really enjoyed the episode from this perspective.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Hotshot Propaganda
This video is painful to watch. Journalism is my primary interest and I feel that it is important to represent people in the spotlight honestly and fairly. Of course this video isn't journalism in the classic sense, but it does claim to be a "Hotshot Documentary." While most of the facts stated are partially or even mostly true, many are exaggerated for effect. Do shots really often work 32 hour shifts? Occasionally, but certainly not frequently. This statement may have had more truth 30 years ago (I don't know when hotshot crews actually started, but the fire world was very different a generation ago). Do they really hike forever, "no matter how far?" This video is cheesy and takes itself a little too seriously - from the pretty boy working out shirtless for the camera, the Lord of the Ring-esque music, and the exaggerated claims ("the best of the best", c'mon guys). I don't know if this is a propaganda film for the crew, hoping to inspire young, overly testoseroned recruits or what. But it certainly helps to reinforce stereotypes and misconceptions that the general public has of firefighters and the wildland firefighting community.
Wildland Firefighting Hotshot Crew
My crew buddies had downtime recently and found a bunch of hotshot videos on YouTube. Hotshots is the name assigned by the Forest Service to Type 1 wildland firefighting handcrews, for whatever reason. I feel that this video is a good representation of what a hotshot crew does in the summer, in contrast to the next video I'm going to post. The Wyoming shots keep it simple and let the video do the talking. I probably would have chosen a different song for the soundtrack, but it's not bad. Short, sweet, and simple.
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