Banff Adventure Filmmakers Workshop 2008

I was recently lucky enough to receive a scholarship to attend the Banff Adventure Filmmaker's Workshop 2008 in Banff during the actual film festival. The mediaters of the workshop are both filmmakers with some crazy street cred, Michael Brown and Keith Partridge. I am super flattered to be able to attend this workshop and also extremely thankful that Margaret is supportive enough for me to go!

Something I can agree on

Wow, you couldnt make this stuff up. So after 8 years of living with the failed policies of the Bush era I am finally able to agree with him on something. This week the Star and Tribune had an article on the fact that Bush is trying to make it easier for Mountain Bike Trails to be built in our National Parks. This is huge and is also a long time in coming. Unfortunately if you read the article to you find out that the "Environmentalists" are against it due to destructiveness and erosion. That in my mind is old school thinking. Mountain Biking has always had an image problem but it needs to be said that Mountain Biking has come a long way in the past 15 years. There are overwhelming examples of succesful, environmentally sound Mountain Bike trails, take for instance The Kingdom Trails or the Maah Daah Hey Trails for example. For once Bush got it right. Now how do we pass on the idea of sustainable, environmentally friendly trails to our state government? How can we get more trails into our state parks and state forests? This may be one piece of the puzzle and amazingly it came from the worst enviro president in years.

Phasianus Colchicus

Phasianus colchicus

Good book

So lately I have been more into reading than blogging but I am starting to recover enough to want to get back on the web again. In any case I have been called an "addicted reader" before and I actually admit to it. I usually have three books going at one time, usually put one to two away a week and my illness has certainly not changed that one bit. In any case the book that most sticks in my mind and my heart is Thomas Maltman's book called The Night Birds. If you are a Minnesotan and you have any sense of history you need to pick up this book. If you are a person interested in history in general you need to read this book. For me this was the first book that I have read that honestly and truly gives you an idea of what it was like to be a pioneer in Minnesota in the 1850's and 60's. It also gives you an even bigger impression of what it was like to be a Native American in the same period of time. It does not pick sides, yet it gives you a window into the darkest days of Minnesotas history. Imagine if Stephen King wrote a historical fiction, based on fact, based on history that we stumble over every day as Minnesotan's and you have The Night Birds.

Back......WITHOUT a heart attack...

First off the photo above is from Chris Clark. It is me skiing in BC last spring. He meant it to cheer me up and it did. I look forward to another run like this without a heart that is skipping at 250 BPS.
As to the procedure it was not your typical Ablation. Suffice to say, as a person who is a perpetual outsider, even within a community that accepts me as an insider, my procedure was no different. Due to the skill and the experience of the Mayo Clinic and my Doctors rational mind my procedure worked out great despite the challenges that were presented. Now I am going through the ups and downs of recovery. My drug schedule has been interesting, I have to inject myself twice daily with blood thinner and had to try several different types of anti-inflamms to get to the point where I was not being sick to my stomach. The catheter insertion spots are healing well though so I have already been out walking and trying to get as much of the great fall weather on my face as possible despite my condition. Lastly, I just wanted to say thanks to all the people who have called and written to find out about how I am doing. I am just starting to dig through the emails and phone calls and will get back to people as I can.