Oetzi was Murdered

Photo courtesy National Geographic

There has been a recent flurry of news about the circumstances surrounding Oetzi's death. I thought it might be worthwhile to point this out. Apparently, some researchers have determined that Oetzi was murdered. Someone shot him in the back and he bled out through the wound. Ewe. The good news is that there is some speculation that he was some kind of chief and was possibly killed by a competitor. Well, at least he was competitive, and apparently he was pretty good on account of being the top dog:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/03/0326_0326_iceman.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070607-iceman-murder.html

No news is good news!

Oops

For those of you who haven't heard about this, there was a polar exploration ship that sank near Antarctica over the weekend. All hands were rescued after a Norwegian research vessel arrived on the scene. There is an excellent, firsthand account of the rescue from an Alberg 30 sailor who happened to be on the rescuing ship at this location

Awesome. It's great to hear stories like that where even though a ship goes down in icy waters, everybody gets off alive, and the passengers on the new ship donate clothes and good cheer to contribute to the survival of all aboard.

Rippin

Embedded video taken by the folks at www.photoboat.com during the 2007 505 North American Championship that we ran at my home club during October.

The thing about 5o5 sailing is it's the love juice. The boat is so satisfying to sail. It's all smash and scatteration, force and focus, mind and body tuned into the water and the wind and if you miss any notes you get passed or you go swimming. Skill and passion blend in the moment and it's good lovin.

Fall

I love autumn. I love the colors of the changing leaves and sky. I love the smell of falling leaves and moist loamy soil squooshing under my boots. I love the sounds of squirrels scampering to grab their last acorns. I love the way that fall indicates the ending of summer, but at the same time, the falling leaves are laying the ground work for a new year and a new rebirth of life in the spring. I love the cyclic symbolism.

There aren't many places where fall is more beautiful or forceful than on the east coast of the US. Before thanksgiving I went backpacking with David near Roanoake, VA. He snapped this pic which I think does an admirable job of capturing the beauty of that fall day in the mountains. It is almost like you are there...