“I miss living things – even cockroaches. I miss being part of a larger ecosystem… and if you come to Antarctica, you’ll miss these things, too.”
Geoff Graham

Antarctic adventurers Cricket Arrison and Geoff Graham send us some long-distance audio dispatches from a polar ice shelf this week on The Signal. This photo, by the way, is one of many incredible images they’ve posted at their cooler-than-cool blog: iciest.wordpress.com.

***THE SIGNAL AIRS FRIDAYS AT NOON & 7 P.M. ON 88.1 WYPR***

(Click here for mp3’s of recent episodes of the show. And PODCASTERS, click here for a link to subscribe to The Signal’s weekly podcast.)

• Decent pay, room-and-board included, for five months’ work at a scientific research facility… sound like a sweet job? Just one wrinkle: It’s on a polar ice shelf in Antarctica. Baltimore locals Cricket Arrison and Geoff Graham took the offer, they’re down there now, and they’ve been sending us a series of audio recordings that chronicle their adventures.
• Contributor Charles Cohen brings us the story of old-time fiddler Dave Bing, who keeps alive an American music tradition forged in the hills of Appalachia.
• Susan Weis of Breathe Books recommends readings on Toltec wisdom and alternative medicine.
• And literary contributor Eric D Goodman shares a story for all of us who might be a bit too attached to our daily planners.

HELPFUL LINKS:

Here’s the link to Cricket and Geoff’s bolg about life in Antarctica: iciest.wordpress.com

This week, Susan Weis of Breathe Books recommends reading:

The Fifth Agreement, by don Miguel and don Jose Ruiz
Committed, by Elizabeth Gilbert
Perfect Health – the Complete Mind Body Guide, by Deepak Chopra
The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin

Here’s a link to Eric D Goodman’s literary blog, Writeful

And here’s a link to Eric’s new children’s book: Flightless Goose

A SquashWise team member returns a drop shot on-court at Meadow Mill Athletic Club

***THE SIGNAL AIRS FRIDAYS AT NOON & 7 P.M. ON 88.1 WYPR***

(Click here for mp3’s of recent episodes of the show. And PODCASTERS, click here for a link to subscribe to The Signal’s weekly podcast.)

• We hit the courts with Baltimore’s first urban squash team, a group of middle school students who’ve dedicated themselves to a new program called SquashWise. In addition to perfecting their backhands, these young athletes are taking on extra academics and competing at tournaments up and down the East Coast.
• Matthew Porterfield talks about his film, Putty Hill. It’s a blend of documentary and narrative elements that paint an intimate portrait of family members and friends as they prepare for the funeral of a young man.
• Plus, a conversation with Michael Kimball. His movie, I Will Smash You, invites people to take a sledge hammer to their most important possessions, and his film, 60 Writers / 60 Places, takes literary readings into grocery stores, Laundromats, and subway cars.

HELPFUL LINKS:

Learn more about SquashWise at: www.baltimoresquashwise.org

To learn more about (and support the making of) Putty Hill, visit: www.puttyhillmovie.com

Find out more about Michael Kimball’s films I Will Smash You and 60 Writers/60 Places at www.littleburnfilms.com.

And find the details about Kimball’s upcoming double feature presentation (February 5th) at the Creative Alliance by clicking here.