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A little bit of wisdom, some tips and recommendations, local spots, road trips, mayhem, and other fun stuff- the unofficial guide for the North Texas Wildass!

"The War of Art"

First off... if you don't read, you're missing out. If you claim you don't read for a "lack of time" and yet watch more than an hour of TV, you're fooling yourself! Books can bring so much more to your life, and get parts of your brain firing that you haven't used in a while. Stoke your fire and make some time to read!

That said, one of my favorite sites is http://chrismccombs.net and his writings geared toward "Hardcore Happiness". The dude has a message to spread, and does a great job getting it across. A while back he recommended the book that this post is all about: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. I figured it would be worth 10 bucks to see if it was as great as he claimed, so I bounced over to Amazon and ordered it up. One morning this week, I opened it up with the intention of only reading the foreword or at most a chapter. What I did instead was clear my morning and dig all the way through by lunch. I then threw it in my backpack and have steadily gone back to reread portions, and my wife started digging in as well. I plan on reading it again all the way through, I liked it THAT MUCH.

Pressfield is a guy that has paid decades of dues, had his dreams smashed, been told no, and ridiculed. But he still gets up every morning, fights through, and puts words on the page. He caught a big break when he pumped out The Legend of Bagger Vance despite the fact it was about golf. He's learned a lot of lessons the hard way, and I for one REALLY appreciate learning from other people's hardships and avoiding them like the plague.

This book dives into creativity, but not so much the creative process. Rather, it tackles the setting for making creativity happen. When inspiration meets skill, great things can happen. But as anyone who tries to be a full time creative can tell you, there's a lot of Resistance to this. Pressfield dives face first into this very Resistance, and shows ways to identify and battle the forces that try to stifle creativity. I for one needed the kick in the pants that he offers up, and will put his words into practice.

He explains the difference between an amateur and Pro. And it's brilliant. A solid road map for going pro in whatever it is you do, and the keys to keeping the joy. Your creative outlet is your territory, and an entirely different set of rules apply to it. If you're an entrepreneur or fancy yourself a creative, or just need a little nudge, this book is for you. I for one know what several of my friends will be getting as gifts in the coming months. Grab it, read it, and CREATE EVERY DAY!

-Scratch

Eureka Springs Fat Tire Festival Recap

I love bikes, beer, music, my wife, my friends, and road trips. Made sense to load up for this event, so I splurged on the add-on for my bike rack and somehow crammed all our camping gear, riding gear, and entire booth/ inventory setup into the truck with four people for our fifth long weekend in a row. It was quite the load, and after some creative organizing and excellent tie down skills, we hit the road.

I LOVE the drive into NW Arkansas. Just to get out of North Texas and into some hills is amazing, and reminds me how sketchy of a driver I can be on anything but open highway.

We bunkered in for Thursday Happy Hour and a nice evening with friends in Fayetteville. Much love to the Chancellor Hotel for being bike friendly and keeping an eye on the rig over night. 

Just add caffeine, calories, and dirt for a good time. Friday morning breakfast and straight to Slaughter Pen to meet up with some riding buddies!

This should be a testament to how much fun Slaughter Pen is. One of my "to-do's" for the weekend was document everything with pics, videos, etc. We had 2 GoPros and my Nikon, and all I got was this shoddy iPhone pic at the top of the freeride park. I couldn't make myself stop and take pictures, we just wanted to RIDE! Huge props to Brantley on his first ever downhill run, and Jami's first MTB experience!

After visiting Bentonville's bike shops and the original Wal-Mart, it was time for Eureka. A great weekend for tent camping, I actually woke up cold for the first time in a long while! Great KOA facility outside of town. 

Fresh chainring logos for the weekend, loved seeing how many of these made it onto bikes, windows, etc.

...and then we went to work! We tweaked a few things on the booth, and it looked GREAT for the weekend, especially with a couple good looking ladies running around it. Thank you girls for all the help!

Bikes were ridden, minimal blood was shed, and a TON of promotion took place! VB Clothing was a proud sponsor of the Downhill Duo event (combining the DH and Super D Races), and we hope you enjoy the prize packs. It was a great gathering of riders and racers on some of the best trails around. We enjoyed meeting everyone that came by, as well as our fellow vendors! A huge thanks to all the promoters and everyone that came out, now go check out the site and store at VBCLOTHING.COM!!!

New Tunes Time!!!

I distinctly remember walking my fat ass through the mall, past all the cool kids, head down so the girls wouldn't make me blush. Shuffling through the smell of Chikfila and the white noise of a consumer's haven, no time for the arcade. With that bright red sign in my sights, Sam Goody Music was my target as soon as I rounded the corner at dear old Midway Mall (RIP). 

I miss the days of fishing through all the music, thousands of CDs just waiting for me to take a closer look and maybe even a listen. Before Pandora told me what I liked, years before iTunes made everything a click away. Back then there were only rumors of the "Music Genome Project" that would allow apps like Pandora and Slacker to open a whole new realm of noise to my eager ears. 

Every time I catch myself feeling that occasional hunger for new music, I can almost smell Corn Dog 7 and remember that very hunt. Twenty bucks in my pocket, gonna get some new tunes. Some were a home run that would play over and over in my walkman, while others were a bust and sat in the case until they were traded in or given away. With the nature of my life, I spend about 12 hours a day with some kind of music playing. It carries a great deal of weight, helping carry my mood or express my feelings. But I caught myself unhappy with my Pandora stations, and after a few throwbacks in my library, I was ready for something new...

Enter Bliss N Eso, a 2 MC 1 DJ trio out of Australia with a bag full of tricks and a message to spread. Their 5th Studio album released a week or so back, titled Circus in the Sky.

I was late to our 4th of July celebration thanks to a bike ride with this in the headphones. I just couldn't stop. So much flow, a great rhythm, and the kind of production value that makes it hard to pick out one song. I just want to listen to the whole album start to finish every chance I get. It's unlike anything else I've got, and you can count on me going back and collecting their other albums and EPs. 

I dig hip hop. I love the energy, I love the beats, breaks and drops. However, I don't give a shit about ho's, bugattis, your whip, paint job, or how cool you think you are. So many rappers today have so much skill, but zero substance. You've got millions of people listening, and you're gonna rap about clubs and doo doo (every damn Lil Wayne song has a poop reference). It makes no sense to me. That's what really stands out with Bliss N Eso. Some songs are storytelling ventures that display a ton of talent, and the rest are filled with motivation, inspiration, and samples of the most energy-boosting variety. You can't help but feel good when you listen to it, and it will silence a car full of people so everyone can listen a little closer. 

Much love to Bliss N Eso for this album, and the track that lead me to them (Addicted). If you're a Flobots fan looking for a better tempo, or like the edge of Atmosphere without the hostility, give it a shot. If nothing else, fire up a Bliss N Eso Pandora station and enjoy.

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey...

     After last year's crash, I made a vow to develop a new habit during my recovery. I grew up seeing the pleasure my Dad gained from reading, but had never experienced it. During school it was strictly business, and I fell into years of the excuse "I don't have time to read". However, I was able to make time, and have since rolled through an average of two books per month, and zero cable bills. I get it now, and find myself often scheduling my day around getting to read. The only downfall is a lack of friends that read, so I find myself with these elaborate conversations, quotes, and ideas that remain internalized.

     And then I remembered that I run this blog, and how under-utilized it has been in the past. It's been a great outlet for some gear reviews, event recaps, and short rants, but I believe I'll had some depth here with a few book reviews. As a self proclaimed adventurer and notorious soloist, I've connected well with authors such as Edward Abbey, Aron Ralston, and Jack London. I definitely enjoy the classics as well as modern novels, but there's a certain vein running in me that enjoys the Science Fiction-esque qualities of older pieces. 

     Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire has hit my buttons on several levels. I found myself throughout the novel making notes of passages I just couldn't wait to go back and explore. 

     Released in 1968, Desert Solitaire is a collection of writings from Abbey's years as a park ranger on the backside of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. He was known for being a very surly, zero f*cks given environmentalist that would much rather spend his time alone in the wilderness than with the company of a society he liked less and less each day. The particular area he was stationed for these writings also happens to hold a dear place in my heart. Canyonlands NP is the area that contains Moab, Arches NP, Green River, and a number of hidden treasures in the desert of Utah. Rather than go into a full synopsis, I'd like to share a few of the parts that really hit home with me in hopes that it will inspire you to step away from the idiot box and pick up a book!

"Where all think alike there is little danger of innovation."

"An economic system which can only expand or expire must be false to all that is human."

"Has joy any survival value in the operations of evolution? I suspect that it does; I suspect that the morose and fearful are doomed to quick extinction. Where there is no joy there can be no courage; and without courage all other virtues are useless."

"Too late for arguments now and as usual not enough time for panic."

"Looking out to this panorama of light, space, rock and silence I am inclined to congratulate the dead man on his choice of jumping off place; he had good taste. He had good luck- I envy him the manner of his going: to die alone, on rock under sun at the brink of the unknown, like a wolf, like a great bird, seems to me very good fortune indeed. To die in the open, under the sky, far from insolent interference of leech and priest, before this desert vastness opening like a window into eternity- that surely was an overwhelming stroke of rare good luck."

"Gaze not too long into the abyss, lest the abyss gaze into thee."

     But above all, the section that raised off the page and screamed at me was the chapter that Abbey explained the value of wilderness as "a base for resistance to centralized domination." Released in 1968, and read in the light of 2013, this passage absolutely dominated my mind for several days. He even explains that his thoughts came from even earlier poets. This was an era before Internet, Monsanto, the War on Terror, and many of the other commonalities we have grown tolerant of. Without further ado, here it is:

"How does this theory apply to the present and future of the famous United States of North America? Suppose we were planning to impose a dictatorial regime upon the American People- the following preparations would be essential:

1. Concentrate the populace in megalopolitan masses so that they can be kept under close surveillance and where, in case of trouble, they can be bombed, burned, gassed, or machine-gunned with a minimum of expense and waste. 

2. Mechanize agriculture to the highest degree of refinement, thus forcing most of the scattered farm and ranching population into the cities. Such a policy is desirable because farmers, woodsmen, cowboys, Indians, fisherman and other relatively self-sufficient types are difficult to manage unless displaced from their natural environment. 

3. Restrict the possession of firearms to the police and the regular military organizations.

4. Encourage or at least fail to discourage population growth. Large masses of people are more easily manipulated and dominated than scattered individuals. 

5. Continue military conscription. Nothing excels military training for creating in young men an attitude of prompt, cheerful obedience to officially constituted authority. 

6. Divert attention from deep conflicts within the society by engaging in foreign wars; make support of these wars a test of loyalty, thereby exposing and isolating potential opposition to the new order.

7. Overlay the nation with a finely reticulated network of communications, airlines and interstate autobahns. 

8. Raze the wilderness. Dam the rivers, flood the canyons, drain the swamps, log the forests, strip-mine the hills, bulldoze the mountains, irrigate the deserts and improve the national parks into national parking lots."

     Let that sink in a bit as you read it through the eyes of today. He's a brilliant author, rough and unapologetic. It doesn't get much better than this!

Run For the Hills 2013 Video!!!

Here we go! Thanks to Dustin Suitors for the excellent filming, edited by yours truly!

The Second Annual Run for the Hills Mud Run at Loose Wheels, Texas!




Run For the Hills 2013 from Vita Brevis on Vimeo.

Run for the Hills Mud Run 2013 Recap...

With a dozen additional obstacles and the infamous water slide expanded, this year's mud run proved to be a sloppy mess of a good time!

Vita Brevis Clothing was happy to be a sponsor and vendor for the event, and I for one had an absolute blast seeing everyone coming through the finish line on the way to a much deserved hosing off courtesy of a local fire truck. I heard several people say last year that it was the hardest mud run they'd ever done, which is impressive with all of the powerhouse events that we've seen in previous years. However, one look at the topography of this property will remind you that this run has definitely earned its name.

Even with the threat of bad weather, we hung out through some wind and rain to finish off the day in ideal conditions for playing in the mud! A HUGE thank you to everyone who came by and showed their support for VB, and props to all the people that came together to make this event a reality!

And a special word to Team Solus- Thank you so much for your continued support, you guys looked great out there! Congrats on the team win!