This is a little known masterpiece directed by Akira Kurosawa, who made so many it’s easy to lose count. It’s about a company of Russian troops exploring the far reaches of the Siberian tundra in the part of Russia Sarah…
Media (books, DVDs, etc)
Catching up with “The National Parks”
by tom • September 30, 2009 • 3 Comments
PBS is airing all the episodes of Ken Burns’ opus online for the next few days. Watching the first two makes me wonder how John Muir did not simply go insane. Remember, he lived in the Bay Area. And those…
Reviews wanted for “The National Parks”
by tom • September 29, 2009 • 8 Comments
We’re trying an experiment at our house in which we have no television (we can watch Netflix movies on demand, but that’s it). This means no chance for me to share my incisive insights (which is more difficult than you…
Three hours of hiking for one minute of skiing
by tom • September 26, 2009 • 0 Comments
Cody Townsend’s day job requires him to fly down mountainsides, occasionally touching skis to the surface to prevent plummeting to certain death. The other day he posted this way-cool video of one of his adventures, which required three hours slogging…
Excerpts from “The National Parks” on PBS
by tom • September 22, 2009 • 2 Comments
Bryce Canyon National Park, 2006 I just spent an hour watching previews and excerpts from the latest Ken Burns magnus opus, “The National Parks, America’s Best Idea,” which opens Sept. 27 (this coming Sunday) on PBS stations nationwide. If you…
New book on stories of the Great Smokies
by tom • September 17, 2009 • 0 Comments
A new book by William A. Hart Jr., “3000 Miles in the Great Smokies,” recounts the tales he collected in 40 years of hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. A sampling was posted in the Citizen-Times of Ashville, NC: The…
Touching tribute to a lost hiker
by tom • September 16, 2009 • 2 Comments
I found this on Vimeo. It’s called “Wait for Me.” Wait For Me (3 Minute Documentary) from Red Light Films on Vimeo.
Review — Hiking Marin: 141 Great Hikes in Marin County
by tom • May 30, 2009 • 0 Comments
Hiking Marin: 141 Great Hikes in Marin County If you want to hike the North Bay, from the Marin Headlands to Point Reyes National Seashore, Don and Kay Martin’s “Hiking Marin” will get you there. Each hike has detailed shaded-relief…
“Stranded”: My latest must-see movie
by tom • May 25, 2009 • 0 Comments
I remember as a child hearing about these guys whose plane crashed in the Andes in 1972 and who survived on the flesh of their deceased fellow passengers. “Stranded” is their story, remembered in stomach-knotting detail more than three decades…