The Greatest Riddle Ever Told

I can't even remember where I heard this riddle, perhaps it was passed down to me as a child from a wise elder, or maybe I saw it late one night when floating through the television sphere. Regardless as to where it came from, it stands as one of the Greatest Riddles Ever Told:

Jim @ foresthiker.com

Two identical twin lumberjacks are assigned two identical plots of land. Both brothers (Lumberjack Jake & Lumberjack Jeffrey) never tire, never need food or water, and both are assigned to the standard eight hour shift on their identical plots of land.

Lumberjack Jake spends his entire 8-hours doing nothing but swinging his axe, and by the end of the day manages to cut down an even 100 trees.

Lumberjack Jeffrey on the other hand, spends his time by chopping trees for 50 minutes, followed by a 10 minute break, for the entirety of his 8-hour shift (8 breaks in total). By the end of Lumberjack Jefferey's shift, he manages to cut down 115 trees. (15 more then his identical brother).

So the riddle is; What Was Lumberjack Jeffery's Secret? How did he cut down so many more trees?


The Answer? 

Like any great riddle, the answer is simple; Lumberjack Jeffrey spent his ten minutes of every hour sharpening his axe.

And like any simple answer, its context can be applied to much further concepts. Lumberjack Jeffrey outperformed his brother by literally staying sharp. He used a great skill known as "working smart" instead of "working hard." We should all take a cue from Lumberjack Jeffrey and spend some time sharpening our axe. Take some time to step back and prepare for the next step, and most importantly, take some time to stay sharp.

To Tell A Story

 Story telling is an important aspect of human life. From the beginning we were told fairy-tales as we fell asleep, watched Disney movies in corralled control, and listened intently around the campfire as images of hooked hands and floating meat cleavers were told above the flames. 


As we grew up the stories still stuck around. Gossip written on the bathroom walls, teenage angst spelled out through rhythms and lyrics, and a developing understanding of the world that comes with time and only the slightest bit of maturity.



As we grow up further, stories still shape the way we learn. Amusing anecdotes told in class,  intriguing dialogue in movies and media, and daily conversations with the world around you. The importance of stories does not derive from its delivery however, it all stems from the message received.


Stories can make you laugh, cry, or yell obscenities. That's what stories are for though, to make you feel something. Forget the plot, characters, cast, lighting, narrative, perspective, medium, credit, actors, and writers; forget it all. A story can only pass mustard if it makes you feel something, anything at all.

Stories are our way of subtly expressing universal feelings. Feelings of camaraderie, of cheerfulness, and zest for life. Feelings of anguish, despair, and loneliness. Stories have no limits to what they can tell, or no parameters to how they can be understood. Stories withstand the test of time and evolve as we evolve, and more times then not, the endings change.

So the next time your out telling your drinking buddies about your encounter with an angel, or standing in front of a faceless crowd selling your image, or chatting about your day with that special someone; think about what your doing, think of what your message is, and most importantly think about the story you are trying to tell.

 

-Brad

Declaration of Independence

"We hold these truths self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the      Pursuit of Happiness."

You know these words, everyone who has grown up in America knows these words, but when is the last time you prodded past the pronunciation, the memorization, and towards the actual meaning of this iconic message?

 My interest lately has fallen upon the third intrinsic right of mankind, and the second paragraph the Declaration promises. The Pursuit of Happiness. 

 What was our founding fathers trying to give to us? For them it may have meant a pursuit of happiness under no restrictions from an oppressive kingdom, or perhaps an unmeasurable standard to instill belief towards, or hopefully they meant much more.

When the Declaration of Independence was signed and sent to the king, it stated no new ideas, no new tones of life, and no new rhetoric unfamiliar to man. It may have been a symbol of the first times these ideas have been so articulately addressed into writing, but life, liberty, and especially the pursuit of happiness had been engraved into the genetics of every sleeping man and women across our newly formed nation.

Where's Waldo?

I would dare say that our founding fathers were not inventing new concepts, but trying to encourage those to understand a freedom that does not come free at all. A freedom that comes at the price of discovery, learning, and of course, failures. These rights are a part of us just as much as our thoughts, emotions, and understandings of the world are. The founding fathers did not give us these rights, but instead guaranteed and challenged us to use them.

So the question is, where are you on the pursuit of what makes you happy? 

-BDL

Read A Book or Two, Or Twenty

David Foster's Wallace's "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" is one of the few modern American masterpieces out there. Through a non-fiction narrative of incredible descriptions, philosophical thought, and endearing revelations, David Foster Wallace takes readers on a tour of his impressive observation and writing skills.

A handful of his essays and 90's driven rhetoric is a bit harder to follow, coupled with the constant need for a dictionary/thesaurus/Wikipedia/bigger brain to read his work. But it is possible to sludge through some of his technical writing savvy, and when an essay hits you in the write way, it's the closest thing to teleportation (except teleportation).

These essays for me included two prime examples of a skilled writer let loose in familiar situations. The first, an essay chronicling the Illinois State Fair. DFW's detailed accounts in the 4-H building, the baton-nista competition, and human description acquired while people-watching at the Illinois State Fare is full of laughs and intriguing insights.

After his encounter and subsequent essay on the Illinois State Fair, Esquire sent him on a Mega Cruise Luxury Cruise Ship. And this, in my opinion, is the best and most reflective of his style and talent. This essay is consequentially the title essay of the book and also the very last 100 pages of the thick manuscript. Worth the ride the whole way, it will make you think differently on how you see and interpret the world, take it for a spin.

-Brad

Grand Canyon 2012

Cornfields to canyon lands, I spent the last week (and my birthday) traveling to the American Southwest along with some student peers to camp, explore, and rock out. It was an amazing trip and now that vacation mode is over, I can truly begin to appreciate the adventure that took place. Here is the short low-down on the journey that took a van full of Iowans across state borders and into one of the greatest holes on Earth:

Moab, Utah
After spending more time then I care to think about in a van, we arrived in Moab late into a starry night. After a few clutch hours of shut eye, we were welcomed to the Southwest with deep canyons, spectacular arches, and views far different from the Iowa landscape. 

After spending the day exploring these foreign terrains we continued onward, and under the cover of darkness we rolled into and set up camp at Gooseneck State Park, Utah.

We arrived in a darkness that's lost upon the city-scape, darkness that collaborates with the absolute silence of dormant surroundings, and a darkness that served as a canvass for a relaxing night under a sky full of stars. 


(^)The rising sun uncovered the sleeping Gooseneck landscape that lay carved by the San Juan River. Gooseneck was a spectacular sight that stretched the eyes, but it was only a preview for what was to come down the road.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

 The best advice given to us from the beginning, was that it is optional to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, but mandatory to hike back up. This was slightly put up to the test as we traversed the nine miles of the Hermit Creek Trail. Along the way (up & down) we learned about the joy of taking breaks from hard work, the funny side of optimism, and the beauty that is the embrace of mother nature and father time. 


Through its landscape seemingly painted to the sky, it seems impossible to imagine the intensity of the Grand Canyon, and for a moment ordinary eyes open to an extraordinary sight.

-BDL

MWOLC

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the inaugural Midwest Outdoor Leadership Conference (MWOLC) at the Ohio State University. The conference itself was chalk full of sleepless nights, interesting seminars, and a good representation of some like-minded interests. It is always reassuring to be gathered with a large amount of people that share similar passions as yourself, to allow a perpetual excitement build as you spread new ideas between each other.

Now of course we had to do some climbing along the way. With a little detour and a late night driving, we found ourselves waking at the Red River Gorge in Slane, Kentucky. We hopped on the refrigerated rock and did our thing. As continued by this weekend,  My climbing career consists mostly of falls and curse words (sailor mouth!), but I always have fun far off the ground and hanging on a rope. Adventures like this push your restart button and give you that get-up and go feeling; so start your engines, forfeit some sleep, and find some excitement in your life.

In the meantime, you can check out a small example of a Lead Climbing fall 

(whipper snapper):

Jake Wallace & Nora Metz

Video/Catch courtesy Chad Lincoln

-BDL

Catching Some Movement

My latest photo endeavor included the challenge to collect movement in action. To represent action through a still shot. And in this digital age, I was able to go out, fill the memory card with blurry shots and over-exposed images, and luckily walk away with a few that turned out pretty well:

I'd like to always thank the folks that volunteered their time and effort to help me get the shots, without all of you I would just be some creep job trying to take photos of himself on a moving merry-go-round.

 "You Don't Take a Photograph, You Make It"
-Ansel Adams




Best Accidental Picture of the Day: "Bailing on Jumping a Picnic Table, 2012" ----->>>