Apr

A Successful Life

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99581988″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Success. What is it? How does each of us define it in our lives? It’s a question that has hovered over many of the stories we’ve told in the last three years. Aimee Brown has been many things in her life–a snowboarder, a hydrologist, a pastry chef, a goat farmer and a writer. Always a writer. Being a wordsmith and making a living as one are two different things. Last year, Aimee got the opportunity of a lifetime a job writing for National Geographic. Excited, she packed her Subaru, threw in her cowboy boots and moved east from her beloved Oregon towards an incredible career. After a few weeks of living in D.C. a nagging feeling set in. Were days looking out an office window, lonely treadmill runs and sun salutations without the sun success? Could you ever define it as such? It took six thousand miles of driving for her to answer that question.

Music: Love is a Dirty Word by Jason Collett • These Rivers Between Us by Slow Six • Bowsprit by Balmorhea • Albatross by The Besnard Lakes

Music provided by IODA Promonet.

Mar

The Shorts — Upward Mobility

Upward Mobility

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99581621″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Throughout the course of the Diaries, I’d hazard to guess that hundreds of you have written in about the struggle many of us–me included–experience between work and our passions. Even if work is one of your passions, the mountains, rivers, all the tiny places in this great wide world can seem impossibly far away. We are put in positions where we have to decide between pragmatism and passion. Harini Ayer’s story epitomized this struggle. She came to the States from Southern India almost a decade ago and fell in love with this country, her research and climbing. Her ability to stay here has always been tied to her visa. Her work was a form of upward mobility. But there was a catch. If Harini switched jobs, or took a break from her research, she lost her ability to stay here. Climbing took a back seat, until eventually Harini made a stand for herself, her style of life and took an incredible risk.

Music: Two Hearted River by Summer People • M4 (Part II) by Faunts • A42 by Nedry

Music provided by IODA Promonet.

Feb

The Adventures of Beansprout

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99581366″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Ryan Nickum was a 20-year-old college athlete with a passion for brutal tackles and body checks. He had yet to grow out of the angst and rebelliousness of his teenage years. Socializing involved cases of Coors, rehashing high school exploits and running from the cops. He wasn’t exactly prime recruitment material for Earth First. Spring break of his sophomore year, Nickum and his best friend Woodchuck were too broke for Cancun’s party scene and opted instead to join a band of radical environmentalist organizing a tree sit in Southern Oregon. There are many ways to stumble into activism. Maybe some people just shouldn’t read the Monkey Wrench Gang.

Music: Stare at Wheel by Dios • Wholehearted Mess by Bear in Heaven • Shy by A Sunny Day in Glasgow • Short Song by Mo Rooney • High Pockets and a Fanny Pack by Charlie Hunter

Music provided by IODA Promonet.

Feb

The Shorts — Trekker’s Blues

Trekker’s Blues

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99581127″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]More people reach the top of Mount Everest than hike the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail. It asks a lot of the human body. When writer Alissa Bohling and her longtime boyfriend Paul set out of the trail, they thought a trip of that significance would leave a mark on their relationship. They didn’t foresee that it would leave Paul hobbling and struggling to get healthy years after they reached the Canadian border. In today’s Short, Alissa puts pen to paper and imagines a pain-free life for Paul. If we write it down does it become true? I hope so.

Music: No One’s Gonna Love You by Band of Horses • Norway by Beach House • You Look Good in Orange by Charlie Hunter

Music provided by IODA Promonet.

Jan

Fueled by Strawberry Jam

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99580943″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Ski filmmaker Nick Waggoner knew what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to be a skier of the diehard variety. There were two obvious hurdles. First, he lived in New York City. Second, he was 11 years old. He found a way to make it work and before he was legally behind the wheel of a car, he was squeezing adventure out of skiing. In the last decade, his passion for skiing evolved into a passion for making films about skiing, but his approach has remained the same. Today, we bring you another Year of Big Ideas–a time to turn daydreams into concrete goals. Professional athletes, weekend warriors, and full time dreamers present their goals for 2010.

Music: Shine a Light by Wolf Parade • Everyday, More of This by Vetiver • Illuminant by Efterklang, The Danish National Chamber Orchestra • Serrated Man Sound by Mason Lindahl

Music provided by IODA Promonet and Sub Pop.