DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

The Lost Art of Hollerin’     Hollerin’ is considered by some to be the earliest form of communication between humans. It is a traditional form of communication used in rural areas before the days of telecommunications to convey long-distance messages. Evidence of hollerin’, or derivations thereof such as yodeling or hunting cries, exists worldwide among many early peoples and is still be practiced in certain societies of the modern world. In one form or another, the holler has been found to exist in Europe, Africa and Asia as well as the US. Each culture used or uses hollers differently, although almost all cultures have specific hollers meant to convey warning or distress. Otherwise hollers exist for virtually any communicative purpose imaginable -- greetings, general information, pleasure, work, etc. The hollers featured at the National Hollerin’ Contest typically fall into one of four categories: distress, functional, communicative or pleasure.     Within the US, pa

    I love to watch old horror movies. The new one are most of the times a little on the gory side, but the old ones are still fun to watch. The people in these movies have no common sense. If they had, they would all survive their little escapades with hitchhikers, vampires, zombies and any monster in the local vicinity. So, I submit for your reading pleasure:  Rules To Survive Scary Encounters . When the old lady or gentleman in the inn or tavern tells you to avoid a certain place, DO IT! The locals generally know what they are talking about. Despite how late it is, drive on through. Ignore your travelling partner's yawns, snores, and protests of fatigue and keep on going. NEVER! stay at Mom and Pop hotels. The kids have been known to harbor homicidal tendencies. If, for some unforeseen reason, the car inexplicably breaks down in the middle of the night, DO NOT leave it's shelter. Stay put! Lock the doors, and if one is available, put our cell phone to

    The Badwater Ultra marathon describes itself as "the world's toughest foot race". It is a 135-mile course starting at 282 feet below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8360 feet at Whitney Portal, the trail head to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in mid-July, when the weather conditions are most extreme and temperatures over 120 °F, even in the shade, are not uncommon. Consequently, very few people—even among ultramarathoners—are capable of finishing this grueling race. Course     Originally, the run was conceived as being between the lowest and the highest points in the contiguous United States: Badwater, Death Valley (−282 ft) and Mt. Whitney's summit (14,505 ft). The two are only eighty miles apart on the map, but the land route between the two points is substantially longer, 146 miles, because of detours around lakebeds and over mountain ranges. Additionally, since the finis