Jan

The Shorts — If The Shoe Fits

If The Shoe Fits

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“I followed my friend through the small, dark weight room in a crusty garage-like building left over from the station’s army days and up a narrow, twisted staircase,” remembers Hilary Oliver. “Behind the door at the top of those stairs hid a magical place.”

Drudgery and boredom ruled most of Hilary’s season at Antarctica’s McMurdo Station, but she also got an unlikely introduction–one that opened up a whole different world.

You can find more of Hilary’s writing at thegription.com

Music: Mad Scientist by Fog Lake • Orater General by The King in Yellow • Little Black Balloon by Fog Lake • Circuit Rider by Fog Lake

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley and Free Music Archive.

Dec

Everybody Loves LeeRoy

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/236870110?secret_token=s-2NGgH” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /] God told Steve Wescott to walk from the Space Needle to Times Square, NYC, with a goat named LeeRoy, to raise $200,000 for an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. Or at least that’s the elevator pitch. In truth, when Steve started out of Seattle in 2011, it had much less to do with God, and much more to do with running away from himself and the mistakes he had made as a Christian rock star and sex-and-love-aholic. You probably don’t want to listen to this one with your kids.

To learn more about Steve’s project and the orphanage, Uzima Outreach, visit: http://www.needle2square.com/

Music: The Walk by Nony Zero • Slow Burn by Black Pistol Fire • Original Score by Amy Stolzenbach • Pilgrim’s Progress by Jason Tyler Burton • Destination by Jason Tyler Burton

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley, and our friends Amy Stolzenbach and Jason Tyler Burton.

Nov

The Shorts — Powder and Hookah Smoke

Powder and Hookah Smoke

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/233849913?secret_token=s-yQpiL” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]“In the end, Iran’s spirit took me completely and pleasantly by surprise,” writes Greg Buzulencia. “The benevolence I received inspired me to approach every situation with a more open mind. Doing so opened up the world in a way I hadn’t expected.” Greg left for the Middle East with dreams of powder turns, but returned with the best gifts that travel can offer: new friends, shattered assumptions and a refreshed perspective on the world and the people in it.

Want to travel like a local? Check out Greg’s new travel start up: www.viahero.com

Music: Orater General by The King in Yellow • Please Don’t Ask Me to Explain by The Walthall Tango • Wake Me Up by Publish the Quest • A Language of Its Own by Publish the Quest

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley and, friends of the Diaries, Publish the Quest.

Oct

Tales of Terror Vol. 6

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/230809971?secret_token=s-ZNNuI” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Phantasmal footsteps, strange silhouettes, inexplicable movements and unaccountable sounds. In our sixth annual Tales of Terror, Bix Firer, Lorraine Campbell and Kealan Sojack share three stories of ‘What the *&@! was that’? A dream? Or an indication that, perhaps, we are not as alone in the woods as we like to think. Happy Halloween.

Music: The Queen Rat by Coin Locker Kid • If You Can’t be the Sun, be the Sun by Schemawound • All Too Human by Coin Locker Kid • Through the Eyes of Man by emFrik • Ignore the Man Behind the Curtain by Schemawound • Halloween Everyday by Kelsey Mira • Time Travel is Possible by Schemawound • The Unknown (Halloween Version) by Savant Trigger

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley and Free Music Archive.

Oct

The Shorts — Commit Fully

Commit Fully

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“Our four seater plane touched down on a small gravel bar in the heart of the Brooks Range. We unloaded. The engine roared back to life, and the plane disappeared down valley into the blue-gray mountains. Then, the mosquitoes came,” writes Fitz Cahall. In May, Fitz received an email that contained a golden ticket–a float trip down the Kongakut River through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with the Sierra Club. His role: to film and photograph the trip as part of a campaign to permanently protect the Refuge. There was just one problem: the timeline collided with prior commitments to family and friends. How one email, one trip, and one decision to say yes crystallized Fitz’s commitment to responsibility and desire.

Music: Mad Scientist by Fog Lake • I Got a Plan to Rule the World by MC Cullah • Nocturnal Blues by Fog Lake • Sunset by Kai Engel • Little Black Balloon by Fog Lake