I spent this past weekend getting reacquainted with Minnesota in a magical way: a trip to Jay Cooke State Park for some late winter camping, followed by a detour to Duluth for wild rice burgers and beer before heading home to Minneapolis. (more on my flickr)

popeyepanels:

Wish I was a cowboy.
June 24, 1931.

popeyepanels:

Wish I was a cowboy.

June 24, 1931.

stonelick:

TED Talk: Life Lessons from Rock Climbing

So, I know we’ve all seen our fair share of TED Talks, and I know many of you might not be into the whole ‘inspiration for fitness/life/etc.’… but I am and I’m the one behind the wheel over here :)  -EKF

(Source: youtube.com)

What we need today more than anything else is to invest in beauty, because beauty is harmony which comes from chaos. But we invest in chaos, because chaos is much more profitable than peace …. Beauty is a kind of safety vault for people. And music as well. I don’t think music is beautiful today, music is just a way to advertise other things because music is very powerful as a force and then through music we can advertise anything we want …. When music becomes a product … something is wrong about that.

…To be interested in education, art, science culture, for me this is the key against the crisis today …. The banking crisis is not as important as the culture crisis. So when you deal with culture I think you can manage the rest easier. All the rest, all the misery comes because we don’t have beauty, you know, the quality of life. And quality of life is not money, quality of life is something else.

Take a 4 minute break (full screen for full effect) Accompanying article at The Atlantic.

This is brilliant & lovely. I’m perpetually blown away by how much of a spirit-lifter and peace-of-mind-bringer a good bike ride, walk, jog, climb, or skip can be (especially with good company!)