KWBaker

When it comes to living life to the fullest, no one does it better than Huckberry Ambassador Andy Best. Living the full-on nomadic lifestyle out of his camper with his wife and dogs, Andy’s days are spent chasing the highest peaks, exploring the backcountry, and tracing the coastlines of the United States.

His knack for capturing moments in the outdoors is matched only by how awesome of a person he is – seriously. We dare you to find a better dude. And even though he takes photos for a living, he always find time to step out from behind the lens and just enjoy the moment.

Fresh off the heels of heading up our third Explorer’s Grant trip in Olympic National Park, we catch up with Andy to chat about some of his favorite things. [H]

Improving my craft

"My art is everything outside family. It excites me daily to better myself. To study, to grind, to pursue the impossible task of greatness. It's the reward from hard work and a quality product that drives me constantly to create and share."

Fitness

"I've always been a gym rat but out here on the road you gotta get creative with your workouts. Squats with a generator? The high that comes from the physical burn keeps the mind and soul sharp. It's been a challenging but fun process."

Rebuilding a 1981 Honda Trail 70 motorcycle

"It helps me take my mind off the grind. To shift gears and tinker is quite a release. Not to mention, it's a pretty fun way to run the dogs too."

Being a nomad

"To live in the uncomfortable away from the expected is quite liberating. It's the freedom of pointing the wheels in any direction and hitting the road. All the way to simplifying what we own. To give it all away minus a few things was quite scary. Would I make it?  Could we be successful? It was worth finding out and I love how this journey has turned out so far."

Conservation

"As much I can I've been getting more involved with projects that bring awareness to the world around us. To share what's out here with the hopes that others get out, fall in love, and in turn become an advocate for the land."

Bonus Round

Do you collect anything?
Not on purpose, but cameras and outdoor equipment seem to just stack up.

What's your favorite Instagram account right now?
I'd have to say NatGeo. The stories of conservation are pretty incredible and inspiring.

You walk into a gas station at 3 am. What do you buy?
A Five Hour shot and some jerky.

Favorite quote?
"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." Michelangelo.

 

“PURITY OF ESSENCE”

By Raymond Benson

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is such an iconic motion picture that most readers of Cinema Retro, I would bet, already own a copy of this brilliant keepsake of the 1960s on DVD or Blu-ray. The film has been released several times before, but now it gets the Criterion treatment. Believe me—fans of the movie and of director Stanley Kubrick will still want to get this edition. It is definitely an upgrade in quality and the disk also comes with a plethora of fascinating supplements and some terrific goodies in the packaging.

Unless you’ve haven’t been paying attention to the lists of Great Movies You Should See Before You Die, you know that Dr. Strangelove is the story of how an air force general (Sterling Hayden) goes “a little funny in the head... you know, just a little... funny...” and orders one of his bombers to attack Russia in order to preserve our “purity of essence.” To save the day it’s up to an RAF exchange officer (Peter Sellers), the President of the United States (also Sellers), a Hawk-ish general in the Pentagon (George C. Scott), the good-ol’-boy pilot of the bomber itself (Slim Pickens), and a bizarre German nuclear physicist in a wheelchair (Sellers again). Maybe they rescue our planet, maybe they don’t.

Strangelove was Kubrick’s first time out as sole producer, along with serving as director and co-writer. Prior to making the film, he had been partners with James B. Harris, who produced The Killing (1956), Paths of Glory (1957), and Lolita (1962). Kubrick had also done a work-for-hire job for executive producer Kirk Douglas on Spartacus (1960), which he vowed never to do again, but that project afforded him the clout to carve out a subsequent career of total creative freedom. Now as the producer of his own pictures, Kubrick got what he sought. He secured his home base in England, set up a unique and highly personal routine of making films, and proceeded to give us some examples of extraordinary cinema. Strangelove was the first masterpiece out of the gate, and, fortunately, was a critical and box office hit.

It was controversial, too, as are all of Kubrick’s films made since he began producing them himself. At the time, some attacked Strangelove as being a “sick joke.” Nevertheless, it captured the mood of early 1964 and, as Martin Scorsese has said about it, “the word on the street was that it’s terrific.” It was the hip movie to see. It pushed the envelope. It got people talking. It established Kubrick as the hot filmmaker of his day.

In the early 1960s, the director had become obsessed with the arms race, experiencing himself some of the Cold War paranoia that was prevalent in those years, especially after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The British novel Red Alert by Peter George came to Kubrick’s attention and he thought it would make a fine basis for a political thriller. He brought in George to co-write, and at first the pair worked with James Harris on the script. At some point during the process, they all started to find funny things about the story. From then on, the screenplay morphed into a comedy—a very black one. In fact, Dr. Strangelove is arguably the definitive black comedy.

Harris eventually left the partnership and went off on his own, leaving Kubrick to produce by himself. That’s about the time Kubrick brought in satirist Terry Southern to polish the work and add some needed dialogue tweaking. The result is one of the most ingenious and original adaptations of a novel in movie history.

The acting and the direction are as perfect as one can get. Production Designer Ken Adam’s ultra-modern sets, especially that of the spectacular War Room, firmly situates the movie in its time and place. Gilbert Taylor’s stark black and white cinematography in the interior settings gives the picture its nightmare qualities, while the hand-held camerawork in the exteriors is effective in creating a documentary/newsreel effect. The editing (by future director Anthony Harvey, but certainly with Kubrick overseeing the work) is razor tight. The director apparently deleted a lot of footage to achieve the comic tension, including a now infamous pie fight in the War Room at the film’s climax because it apparently didn’t fit with the tone of the rest of the movie.

It all comes across with class and panache in Criterion’s new Blu-ray edition. The restored 4K digital transfer is the best I’ve seen. There’s an uncompressed monaural soundtrack, but also an alternate 5.1 Surround Soundtrack presented in DTS-HD Master Audio. The movie has never sounded better.

And then there are the supplements. Criterion provides several new pieces, and some of the best features from previous releases have been ported over as well.

The new supplements include: new interviews with Kubrick scholars Mick Broderick and Rodney Hill, archivist Richard Daniels, camera innovator Joe Dunton and camera operator Kelvin Pike, and Peter George’s son, David George. These all come with film footage and wonderful unseen stills. Previous extras include an excerpt from the tried and true 1966 audio interview with Kubrick by Jeremy Bernstein; four different documentaries about Kubrick, the making of the film, the sociopolitical climate of the period, and actor Sellers (two of which are co-produced by Cinema Retro Editor-in-Chief Lee Pfeiffer). There are also 1963 interviews with Sellers and Scott, and an excerpt from a 1980 Gene Shalit interview with Sellers.

Two trailers are included as supplements—the quirky theatrical trailer, which we’ve all seen, and the “exhibitor’s trailer,” which we haven’t. The latter is a little over fifteen minutes long; demonstration reels of this kind were commonplace in those days in order to persuade theaters to book the picture. It’s pretty much a short capsulation of the movie’s story using unedited footage, but what makes it totally cool is that Kubrick himself narrates it. He even makes excuses for a couple of monologue sequences that do not yet include cut-aways to other characters. Fascinating stuff.

Another terrific bonus is the collection of “props” you get inside the packaging—everything comes in a “Plan R” folder like the one used in the film. Inside is a “Top Secret” Memorandum containing an essay by scholar David Bromwich, and a Playboy-style booklet called Strangelove. Tracy Reed, step-daughter of director Sir Carol Reed and the only female in the cast, is on the cover of the booklet and graces a centerfold. The latter is also seen in the movie in a fictional issue of Playboy itself. The booklet’s text is Terry Southern’s 1994 article on the film. Last but not least, you even get a “miniature combination Bible and Russian Phrase Book.”

“A fella could have a good time in Vegas” with this superb release from the Criterion Collection.

CLICK HERE TO  ORDER FROM AMAZON

The patent uses infrared to tell your phone to disable video recording so you can focus on enjoying the show.

The Norwegian wind farm will supply renewable energy for Google's European data centres for 12 years.

Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook.

According to recent statistics, there are more women voters in America than men. Women, at least in recent years, tend to vote Democrat. Men are, in the main, Republican voters.

The democratic party is currently 57% female. The GOP is just the reverse, with males making up 57% of the party. The biggest single voting block in the United States is now single women, who constitute 25% of our electorate.

Okay, here's a good bar bet question for you: “Who was the first woman in American history to vote in an election?"

The 19th amendment to the Constitution guaranteed women the right to vote. Many people are under the mistaken belief that no woman ever voted before this amendment was passed. Women had actually been voting for many years before the 19th amendment. States and territories had their own laws.

In the year 1869, the governor of the Wyoming territory approved and passed a woman's suffrage bill. And in the following year, a woman named Louisa Ann Swain cast the first vote by a woman in an American election.

Swain was a 70-year-old housewife. She was born Louisa Ann Gardner in 1801 in Norfolk, Virginia. Louisa was the daughter of a sea captain, who sadly was lost at sea when she was seven. Upon his death, she and er mother moved to Charleston, West Virginia.

Louisa’s mother passed away while the two were living in Charleston. She then was shuttled off to live with her uncle in Baltimore, Maryland. In Baltimore, Louisa met Stephen Swain, who operated a chair factory.

The couple soon fell in love and married in 1821. Together, they raised four children. The Swain family moved to Ohio, then Indiana, before finally settling in Laramie, Wyoming. It was in Laramie, when Louisa was almost 70 years old, that she changed forever the course of American politics.

On the fine morning of September 6, 1870, Louisa Swain rose early, and put on her apron, bonnet and shawl. She carried a tin bucket with her because she wanted to purchase some yeast from a local merchant. As Louisa passed a local Laramie polling place, she decided to cast a vote.

And in this simple way, history was made.

The Laramie newspaper described Swain as "a gentle, white haired housewife, Quakerish in appearance.” She had to reassure reporters that voting made her no less of a woman. Interestingly, when the first woman ran for president (Victoria Woodhull in 1872), Louisa Swain voted against her.

The first-ever female voter in the United States, Louisa Ann Swain, died on September 25, 1880, in Lutherville, Maryland. On September 6, 2008, Congress officially voted the day to be "Louisa Ann Swain Day" by House Concurrent Resolution 378.

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Here’s an axiom that’s maybe only a little bit true: everything “tastes like chicken.” Actually, almost nothing tastes like chicken... including a lot of the chicken you’ve eaten in your life. The taste of chicken is something exceptional when done right.

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Zagat has released a list of its picks for 18 ‘must try’ OTP barbecue restaurants. The OTP is defined as areas near Atlanta outside of Interstate 285. The list includes: Big Shanty Smokehouse (Kennesaw) Hudson’s Hickory House (Douglasville) Williamson Brothers BBQ (several locations) Tipsy Pig BBQ (Lilburn) Greater Good BBQ (Tucker) Click here to view the complete list and a slideshow.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

Nothing says manly Americana like standing in front of charcoal grill that’s spewing flames like the upturned end of a rocket ship. But creating a massive fire doesn’t always equate to properly prepping a charcoal grill. At the end of the day, you’ll earn more admirers by serving up great tasting brats and burgers than by offering a low-budget pyrotechnics show. Learn to light your charcoal grill using one of these two methods, and you’re sure to get the praise you deserve.

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

The post Skill of the Week: Light a Charcoal Grill appeared first on The Art of Manliness.

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Get to know the late Ricky Parker and Scott's-Parker's Barbecue with the film Whole Hog, by Joe York.

Roberto Castro lost this weekend’s PGA tour event at Quail Hollow in a playoff after landing a shot on 18 off a spectator’s face and into another spectator’s empty shoe:

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Gas stations these days seem to all look exactly alike: a square box with a convenience store inside and gas pumps in front. The main difference between them is the color scheme that identifies the brand, and you find the same ones in every town near the interstate highway. But it was not always so -and even now you can find filing stations that are architectural wonders. Gizmodo has a collection of images of gas stations designed by renowned architects over the past hundred years or so. Some copy the styles of other buildings, some are space-age or futuristic designs, some are novelty buildings, but my favorites are the art deco gas stations. The station shown here is in Shamrock, Texas. It was built in 1936 and has been restored to its original glory. See 61 distinctive gas stations. -via Metafilter

(Image credit: Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress)

Anyone with a modicum of farming or gardening experience knows that the secret to success lies in the soil. You’re likely also aware that it’s possible to mail off samples of the stuff and receive recommendations for improving it. What’s generally less well understood: the importance of gathering samples in a systematic way and of choosing the right evaluation service.For about $15, you can get a down-and-dirty soil analysis from your state university’s agricultural lab—including results for phosphorus, potassium, pH (acidity), and organic matter content. But you may be left in the dark about nitrogen, crucial for leafy crops. Also, state-lab solutions tend to begin and end with conventional fertilizers, when a more eco-friendly route may be what you’re after.Instead, consider forking over about $50 for the basic test from a commercial lab such as Woods End in Maine, or California’s Control Laboratories. Reports from outfits like these will usually include results for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH, calcium, magnesium, and organic matter. A few dollars more buys feedback on micronutrients such as copper, zinc, iron, and manganese. Both labs will offer recommendations for remediating soil organically.Of course, even the best lab won’t deliver useful results from faulty samples. Collect the samples before applying lime or fertilizer, and preferably on bare ground, as soon as the ground thaws enough to allow it. Turnaround time runs one or two weeks. You can also test in fall for next year’s crops.Because the terrain on your property may vary from area to area, limit each test to five acres, conducting separate tests for sections that differ in moisture, soil structure, or crop history. Within each test area, choose 15 locations spaced equally apart and note them on a map for future reference; you’ll want to sample the same spots every year. (Mark your locations on a printout of a satellite-view Google map at the highest resolution.)A shovel can handle the job, but a soil probe, a T-shaped device that you drive into the ground to extract a “core,” will serve you better. Choose a probe with a horizontal foot bar, which will provide leverage and serve as a gauge to ensure your samples come from a consistent depth (about $90; ams-samplers.com). Simply work the tool a foot into the ground and then lift it out. Use a knife to extract just the middle of the exposed soil column from each site, avoiding grass or other surface matter and removing any stones. Crush, then mix the 15 samples together in a plastic bucket, not a galvanized one, as its zinc will throw off results. Take enough soil from the bucket to fi ll about a third of the bag provided by the lab. (If the lab doesn’t provide a bag, put 2 cups of the mixture in a freezer storage bag.)Print and fill out the lab’s downloadable “sample data” form, on which you’ll indicate what you plan to grow, and make a copy to file along with your map before sending the form off . When you receive the results, follow the instructions for bringing your nutrients up to par. (These could range from a state lab’s directive to “broadcast 2.5 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet” to a private lab’s prescription for “a compost-tea drench at a rate of 2.5 to 5 gallons per 1,000 square feet.”) In the process, you’ll be establishing a fertility baseline you can refer to year after year.The post How to Test Your Soil appeared first on Modern Farmer.

As a photographer I spend a lot of time taking photos, editing, blogging, and posting to social media. To what end? Are the photos meant to be viewed for the 24 hour period that Facebook displays them and then just gone forever? And then I scrounge up another photo to share and the cycle just continues.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy sharing my photographs online. But am I just feeding into the noise? Part of my move to start printing my photos comes from my desire to create and share something tangible and special in this age of digital noise and the culture of “now” and “more.”

This post is written to other photographers who might be considering buying and using a photo printer. I’m printing exclusively with the Canon Pixma Pro 100 and couldn’t be happier with the results. Below are some reasons why you should start printing.

1) It makes you a better editor

When you print a photo and hold it in your hands, you start to notice details that maybe you didn’t on your computer or phone screen—particularly if your screen could use a cleaning like mine.

Dust spots in your sky do not make for an attractive printed image. You start realizing the benefit of zooming in close and panning around your image to inspect for problem areas. You start paying closer attention to your histogram, and so on.

Check out my blog post outlining my printing process for a more in-depth look at preparing your image for print.

2) It makes you a better photographer

When you print, especially big, all technical issues with your photographs will be amplified. Displaying photos on Instagram gives us a lot of leeway, and sometimes we brush things off. Tiny screens don’t allow for all the detail to be revealed. Sometimes the detail is beautiful and sometimes it’s problematic—either way, it’s going to show in the print.

The next time you pick up your camera, you’ll be thinking “let’s get this right in-camera.” Because let’s face it, fixing your problems later in Photoshop is not always easy, sometimes is not possible, and it’s just lazy photography (we’ve all done it!)

Photoshop is an amazing tool and some artists use it as a means to create amazing masterpieces, but if you’re using it as a crutch to polish turds, you’re doing it wrong.

3) It inspires you

Printing a photo, after careful selection, releases endorphins. I’m sure of it. All science aside, it makes me smile. It makes me want to go out and create more images that I can print large and be proud of.

Shoot, edit, print, repeat—that’s a new cycle for me.

4) It makes you revisit old photos

Particularly if you’re just getting into printing and you have a huge catalog of images, it’s a lot of fun to go back into the archives. When you stumble upon a gem from 5 years ago and finally print it out, its satisfying.

You begin to rediscover locations you’ve since neglected, and it gets the wheels turning—see “it inspires you,” above.

5) It brings your photos to life – forever

Before I started printing, this is what I did with my photos: take the photos, edit photos, post to Facebook, Instagram, whatever, maybe blog it, and then poof: the images just went into oblivion with the occasional online or art show print sale.

That’s a lot of hard work, patience, and going out time after time chasing the sun and finally getting that perfect sunset at the perfect spot, just to let it sit on a hard drive. Print that baby out.

6) It’s ultimately satisfying

This point echoes what I’ve been saying throughout this post. Seeing all of your hard work and dedication printed on beautiful paper just feels good. It’s almost becoming an addiction for me… What can I print next? It’s just so much fun.

These are tangible things you can give to relatives, sell to clients, or hang on your wall. We see pixels all. day. long. Mix it up and get your print on.

Can you think of more reasons to print? Please share below.

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About the author: Brady Cabe is a freelance photographer based in Grover Beach, CA, who shoots for the Santa Maria Times and the Santa Barbara News Press. He also shoots everything from portraits to weddings, and teaches astrophotography workshops. You can see more of his work on his website. This article was also published here.

How can one be friends with a wolf? This question was originally answered on Quora by Oliver Starr.

How do you control the heat on a charcoal grill? Despite the volatile nature of a charcoal (or wood) fire, there are four effective ways to control the heat.

Adjust the airflow: Most charcoal grills have vents on the bottom. Open the vents wide and you get more air and thus a hotter fire. Partially close the vents and you get less air and a cooler fire. Make sure the vents are open when you light your charcoal and set up the grill. If you have trouble starting a charcoal grill, the vents may be clogged with ash.

Build a three-zone or two-zone fire: Another way to control the heat is to rake out the coals in varying thicknesses. To build a three-zone fire, arrange a double-thick layer of coals over one-third of the firebox—the third farthest away from you. This will be the hot zone for searing. Rake out the remaining coals in a single layer in the center of the grill; this will be your moderate zone for cooking. Leave the remaining third of the grill fire-free for a cool or safety zone. By moving the food from the hot to the medium to the cool zone and back, you can effectively control the heat over which the food is grilling.

To set up a two-zone fire, rake the coals into an even layer across two-thirds of the grate. This is your grilling area; the coal-free (fire-free) area is your safety zone.

Monitor the distance: The closer you move the food to the fire, the hotter the heat will be and the quicker the food will cook. Some charcoal grills (like front-loaders) have grates you can raise or lower to bring the food closer to or farther away from the fire. If your grill has a fixed grate, you can mound the coals higher toward the back of the grill and control the heat by moving the food closer to or farther way from the fire.

Make a grill shield: If your food starts to cook (or burn) more quickly than you desire, make a grill shield by folding a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil in thirds, the way you would fold a letter, and sliding the shield under the food. The shield will block the heat, slowing the cooking process. A shield also works well for keeping the exposed ends of bamboo skewers from burning.

Adapted from Planet Barbecue! For more information on the tools, fuels, and techniques of grilling, click here.

Learn more:
How to Light a Charcoal or Wood Grill
Types of Charcoal for Grilling
Grilling and Smoking with Wood

The post Crash Course: 4 Ways to Control the Heat on a Charcoal Grill appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

The genius of this new 718 Boxster lies overwhelmingly in the engines. Chopping a third of the cylinders off the flat-six engine is a pretty big deal.

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If you’re thinking of running an online business, then you’re absolutely going to need an email newsletter. Whether your business involves blogging, developing a mobile app, hosting a podcast, drawing a webcomic, or even shooting photographs — a newsletter is important for ALL of those pursuits. Why? Because an email newsletter is a guaranteed way to get information out to your fans and followers. Of all the ways to promote and grow your online business, it offers the largest return for minimal effort. And the good news is that lots of services exist that make it easy to set up your first email newsletter. The key to a successful...

Read the full article: 7+ Free Responsive Email Newsletter Templates Your Readers Will Love