Finding Happiness with Richard Davidson

Happiness is one of those aspects of the human experience that’s hard to define. But scientist Richard Davidson has made it his life’s work to study exactly what it means to be happy. Founder and chair of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Davidson uses the scientific method to explore the human brain in order to discover how...

Justin Clifton’s 5Point of view

photo by Ben Knight The 5Point Film Festival has a new executive director. Justin Clifton spent six years on staff with the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride .  Last summer he come over to the Roaring Fork Valley where he’s plying his expertise and vision to guide an exceptional adventure media event in Carbondale, Colorado. In advance of this four-day mountain movie...

“Happy” Earth Day Madison!

  There is no greater joy than the gift of happiness. And in celebration of Earth Day “Happy” is coming to Madison. To be more specific the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin is hosting a presentation of Roko Belic’s award-winning feature film “Happy”. The movie will be followed by a lively panel discussion on the topic of happiness...

Caine’s Arcade

A new short film by Nirvan Mullick could make you rethink what it means to play outside. Caine’s Arcade is a heartwarming true story about a 9-year-old boy who turns his dreams into reality with a couple of cardboard boxes and a roll of packing tape. In a world where children often restrict their play to commercially derived electronic games it’s encouraging to see the...

Now powered in part by Rayovac

Everyone needs a burst of energy. But who would have thought it would take the form of an actual battery! Today I’m very pleased to announce that Rayovac has signed on as a major sponsor of the Joy Trip Project. Starting next week reporting on the business art and culture of the sustainable active lifestyle will be supported in part by this Madison, Wisconsin-based provider of...

Recess is black, KEEN encourages African...

Recently outdoor shoemaker KEEN Footwear launched an ad meant to appeal to people who seldom see themselves depicted in nature. And in doing so the company made a rare overture of welcome to a much-underrepresented segment of our population committed to playtime outside, the African-American Family. As part of its campaign called “Recess is Back”, KEEN aims to encourage people from...

Rebuild the Dream a review of the book b...

The problem with the American dream is too often we’re caught sleeping. At the very least we let our attention wander in the bliss of freedom as the things in life that matter most fail neglected or are simply taken away. In his new book former special adviser to the Obama White House Van Jones drafts a thoughtful plan for the reconstruction of simple American ideals and principles...

Galileo puts your iPhone in Motion

Cameras built into the latest iPhones offer incredible resolution. Taking high quality photographs and videos has never been easier. But a new product being promoted on Kickstarter offers a very cool bit of technology to remotely control your iOS devise and make something great even better. The Galileo attaches to your phone and tripod so that users can rotate, pan and zoom the...

Canoecopia A bountiful start to the padd...

The ice is only just off the lakes in Madison Wisconsin. But paddlers of canoes and kayaks are eager to get out on the water. Every year usually on the first warm weekend in March thousands from throughout the Midwest gather to celebrate the bounty of the spring paddling season. The local gear shop called Rutabaga hosts the largest paddle sports expo in North America, an event so big...

Kokatat Gives Gear to Disabled Adventure...

Kokatat, a US manufacturer of technical apparel and accessories for water sports, donated over $20,000 in product to the local Arcata, CA organization Disabled Adventure Outfitters (DAO), for use in its watersports programs for people with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. “DAO does amazing work empowering and challenging people with bleeding disorders in and around our...

The Point of Pinterest

Every spring there’s an amazing display outside our bedroom window. As the weather gets warm after winter the magnolia tree our neighbors share explodes with bright pink blossoms. Hundreds of flowers the size of teacups cast a spectacular array of light and color that is precious to behold, because within a week or more each delicate petal will flutter to the ground and disappear, not...

SUP Wisconsin Life

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:17 — 4.2MB) Recently I was asked to create at story about outdoor recreation for the Wisconsin Public Radio program ‘Wisconsin Life‘. With such unseasonably warm weather I managed to get my stand up paddle board out onto Madison’s lakes earlier  than ever before. So I went out on Lake Wingra with my...