The man, the myth, the… lie. Meet Ricky Stanicky March 7 on @primevideo
I’ll be at Gold Eagle in Chicago on November 2 from 5-7pm doing a bottle signing! If you haven’t tasted Woody Creek Distillers 100% Rye whiskey…you haven’t lived.
This is where we got married. All those years ago.
Oh what wonderful snow we’ve had in the Rockies.
On the eighth day of the trip we did a “night ride” to see some lions which our Maasai guide, Neti, had located. Neti was almost magical in his ability to find where the animals, especially the big cats, could be found. He was an expert tracker and got many of his clues from watching the grazing animals. So at dusk, we hopped onto the roofs or our two cool-ass Land Rovers and drove out to see four lions – two young and two mature. Neti had seen them earlier in the day and noticed that the older female was intently watching three Cape Buffalo grazing nearby. When we arrived, the cats were still dozing, rolling on their backs, taking playful swipes at each other and basically acting like house cats. They made you feel that they just wanted to play, and if you approached them slowly and quietly, they’d love to be scratched behind the ears. (Of course they’d eat you). Finally, the older female got up and left and the others followed, still doing cute stuff. By now it was pretty dark and suddenly the walkie talkie barked and Neti, in the other Land Rover, said they were attacking the old buffalo. By the time we got there, all four were hanging off her hind quarters. She was still on her feet, refusing to give up, braying and thrashing about, and once or twice she threw off two of the lions and tried to run, but they were on her again in a flash. We were not more than thirty feet from them when they finally pulled her down. She was still braying pitifully as they began to tear her apart. Two in our company couldn’t watched, and they wept. Some of us couldn’t look away. For the rest of the night we talked about what we had seen. Flicka described it as being a privilege to have been present. Moore noted that although it was violent, there was no rage or anger. It was life is what it was. Life writ large and up close. The next morning we rode out to see what was left of the Buffalo. The lions had eaten a great deal of her and the Hyenas and the Jackals were waiting their turn.
On the eighth day of the trip we did a “night ride” to see some lions which our Maasai guide, Neti, had located. Neti was almost magical in his ability to find where the animals, especially the big cats, could be found. He was an expert tracker and got many of his clues from watching the grazing animals. So at dusk, we hopped onto the roofs or our two cool-ass Land Rovers and drove out to see four lions – two young and two mature. Neti had seen them earlier in the day and noticed that the older female was intently watching three Cape Buffalo grazing nearby. When we arrived, the cats were still dozing, rolling on their backs, taking playful swipes at each other and basically acting like house cats. They made you feel that they just wanted to play, and if you approached them slowly and quietly, they’d love to be scratched behind the ears. (Of course they’d eat you). Finally, the older female got up and left and the others followed, still doing cute stuff. By now it was pretty dark and suddenly the walkie talkie barked and Neti, in the other Land Rover, said they were attacking the old buffalo. By the time we got there, all four were hanging off her hind quarters. She was still on her feet, refusing to give up, braying and thrashing about, and once or twice she threw off two of the lions and tried to run, but they were on her again in a flash. We were not more than thirty feet from them when they finally pulled her down. She was still braying pitifully as they began to tear her apart. Two in our company couldn’t watched, and they wept. Some of us couldn’t look away. For the rest of the night we talked about what we had seen. Flicka described it as being a privilege to have been present. Moore noted that although it was violent, there was no rage or anger. It was life is what it was. Life writ large and up close. The next morning we rode out to see what was left of the Buffalo. The lions had eaten a great deal of her and the Hyenas and the Jackals were waiting their turn.
On the eighth day of the trip we did a “night ride” to see some lions which our Maasai guide, Neti, had located. Neti was almost magical in his ability to find where the animals, especially the big cats, could be found. He was an expert tracker and got many of his clues from watching the grazing animals. So at dusk, we hopped onto the roofs or our two cool-ass Land Rovers and drove out to see four lions – two young and two mature. Neti had seen them earlier in the day and noticed that the older female was intently watching three Cape Buffalo grazing nearby. When we arrived, the cats were still dozing, rolling on their backs, taking playful swipes at each other and basically acting like house cats. They made you feel that they just wanted to play, and if you approached them slowly and quietly, they’d love to be scratched behind the ears. (Of course they’d eat you). Finally, the older female got up and left and the others followed, still doing cute stuff. By now it was pretty dark and suddenly the walkie talkie barked and Neti, in the other Land Rover, said they were attacking the old buffalo. By the time we got there, all four were hanging off her hind quarters. She was still on her feet, refusing to give up, braying and thrashing about, and once or twice she threw off two of the lions and tried to run, but they were on her again in a flash. We were not more than thirty feet from them when they finally pulled her down. She was still braying pitifully as they began to tear her apart. Two in our company couldn’t watched, and they wept. Some of us couldn’t look away. For the rest of the night we talked about what we had seen. Flicka described it as being a privilege to have been present. Moore noted that although it was violent, there was no rage or anger. It was life is what it was. Life writ large and up close. The next morning we rode out to see what was left of the Buffalo. The lions had eaten a great deal of her and the Hyenas and the Jackals were waiting their turn.
On the eighth day of the trip we did a “night ride” to see some lions which our Maasai guide, Neti, had located. Neti was almost magical in his ability to find where the animals, especially the big cats, could be found. He was an expert tracker and got many of his clues from watching the grazing animals. So at dusk, we hopped onto the roofs or our two cool-ass Land Rovers and drove out to see four lions – two young and two mature. Neti had seen them earlier in the day and noticed that the older female was intently watching three Cape Buffalo grazing nearby. When we arrived, the cats were still dozing, rolling on their backs, taking playful swipes at each other and basically acting like house cats. They made you feel that they just wanted to play, and if you approached them slowly and quietly, they’d love to be scratched behind the ears. (Of course they’d eat you). Finally, the older female got up and left and the others followed, still doing cute stuff. By now it was pretty dark and suddenly the walkie talkie barked and Neti, in the other Land Rover, said they were attacking the old buffalo. By the time we got there, all four were hanging off her hind quarters. She was still on her feet, refusing to give up, braying and thrashing about, and once or twice she threw off two of the lions and tried to run, but they were on her again in a flash. We were not more than thirty feet from them when they finally pulled her down. She was still braying pitifully as they began to tear her apart. Two in our company couldn’t watched, and they wept. Some of us couldn’t look away. For the rest of the night we talked about what we had seen. Flicka described it as being a privilege to have been present. Moore noted that although it was violent, there was no rage or anger. It was life is what it was. Life writ large and up close. The next morning we rode out to see what was left of the Buffalo. The lions had eaten a great deal of her and the Hyenas and the Jackals were waiting their turn.
Happy National Ukulele Day folks!
Upon our return to the states, we all experienced some form of depression. Certainly jet lag was a factor, but also the enormity of what we’d done and seen was profound enough to make our lives back home seem smaller and, perhaps, insignificant. They say it’s good to get out of your comfort zone, and despite the great care Off Beat Safaris took of us, we were certainly out of our comfort zones. And here’s the punch line: We weren’t home for a week when Felicity booked us for a trip across the Maasai Mara on horseback in 2024. I’m in. Love, Bill.
Upon our return to the states, we all experienced some form of depression. Certainly jet lag was a factor, but also the enormity of what we’d done and seen was profound enough to make our lives back home seem smaller and, perhaps, insignificant. They say it’s good to get out of your comfort zone, and despite the great care Off Beat Safaris took of us, we were certainly out of our comfort zones. And here’s the punch line: We weren’t home for a week when Felicity booked us for a trip across the Maasai Mara on horseback in 2024. I’m in. Love, Bill.
Upon our return to the states, we all experienced some form of depression. Certainly jet lag was a factor, but also the enormity of what we’d done and seen was profound enough to make our lives back home seem smaller and, perhaps, insignificant. They say it’s good to get out of your comfort zone, and despite the great care Off Beat Safaris took of us, we were certainly out of our comfort zones. And here’s the punch line: We weren’t home for a week when Felicity booked us for a trip across the Maasai Mara on horseback in 2024. I’m in. Love, Bill.
Upon our return to the states, we all experienced some form of depression. Certainly jet lag was a factor, but also the enormity of what we’d done and seen was profound enough to make our lives back home seem smaller and, perhaps, insignificant. They say it’s good to get out of your comfort zone, and despite the great care Off Beat Safaris took of us, we were certainly out of our comfort zones. And here’s the punch line: We weren’t home for a week when Felicity booked us for a trip across the Maasai Mara on horseback in 2024. I’m in. Love, Bill.
Upon our return to the states, we all experienced some form of depression. Certainly jet lag was a factor, but also the enormity of what we’d done and seen was profound enough to make our lives back home seem smaller and, perhaps, insignificant. They say it’s good to get out of your comfort zone, and despite the great care Off Beat Safaris took of us, we were certainly out of our comfort zones. And here’s the punch line: We weren’t home for a week when Felicity booked us for a trip across the Maasai Mara on horseback in 2024. I’m in. Love, Bill.
Upon our return to the states, we all experienced some form of depression. Certainly jet lag was a factor, but also the enormity of what we’d done and seen was profound enough to make our lives back home seem smaller and, perhaps, insignificant. They say it’s good to get out of your comfort zone, and despite the great care Off Beat Safaris took of us, we were certainly out of our comfort zones. And here’s the punch line: We weren’t home for a week when Felicity booked us for a trip across the Maasai Mara on horseback in 2024. I’m in. Love, Bill.
We’re a week into 2024 and I’ve been reflecting on 2023. This past year I met three people who had a powerful effect on me. Last February I saw Dave Chapelle and what was so very present for me was that I was in the presence of genius. He had the audience in the palm of his hand, and he played us like a Stradivarius. He is a masterful story teller and his comedy is stunningly brave and honest. I know he’s drawn a lot of heat for his comedy but what I saw was a performer filled with love of the human condition and an absolutely original take on the world. Last summer I saw Annaleigh Ashford in SWEENEY TODD on Broadway and it was one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen. She is absolutely comfortable on stage. Her performance was big and filled the theater, and yet she is a master of stillness. In one scene she was knitting a scarf while talking with a young actor and every once in a while, breaking into song. At a point, she noticed that she had dropped a stitch and she pulled the yarn out until the offending spot, and then resumed knitting. She did this while acting and singing SWEENEY TODD on Broadway. That, my friends, is what they call “chops”. Finally, I saw Michelangelo’s David. We spent most of the day in the Gallery Accademia and I know he’s made out of marble, but I swear his expression changed and I could see him breathing. It was the most divine work of art I’ve ever seen.
At the Woody Creek Distillery Bar with Gus. Went through a few of my songs. I’m gonna do it again tomorrow, Saturday the 22nd.
The next day on our ride, we were still talking about the lions and the interdigitating relationship of all these creatures. We were crossing land that is the cradle of human civilization. Africa is where Homo sapiens began and we speculated on what had changed in the last 300 thousand years. What a wonder life is. How clever. Each species carving out a niche for itself. Seeing the marvels of each of the creatures – the elephants, the giraffes, the hippos, the cats, the termites for God’s sake, it made me think of where we fit in. It made me love homo sapiens. Forgive me for editorializing, but we are critters too. We have succeeded better than any others. We have succeeded too well. But we have succeeded with our brains. And I believe our brains can get us out of this mess of global warming and the degradation of the planet. I think there is cause for optimism. Two of the huge preserves we rode across in Laikipia were paid for by Americans who bought up thousands of acres and put it into trusts that protect it for the critters forever. And it’s working. We were in the hill country and as we climbed these small mountains, we got a view of the valley below. And the plains looked full to me. I’m certainly not an expert but the herds look to be thriving. In fact, there is a big controversy that there are too many elephants. The elephants will eat all the lower leaves off the trees, and then they’ll push the trees over and eat the rest. They are deforesting the place. So the notion arises that we need to cull the herds, but of course that is unspeakable at this time. To me it is an indication that there are solutions, and that we are not doomed, and that because of our success as a species, it is up to us to come up with these solutions. Okay, I’m done.
The next day on our ride, we were still talking about the lions and the interdigitating relationship of all these creatures. We were crossing land that is the cradle of human civilization. Africa is where Homo sapiens began and we speculated on what had changed in the last 300 thousand years. What a wonder life is. How clever. Each species carving out a niche for itself. Seeing the marvels of each of the creatures – the elephants, the giraffes, the hippos, the cats, the termites for God’s sake, it made me think of where we fit in. It made me love homo sapiens. Forgive me for editorializing, but we are critters too. We have succeeded better than any others. We have succeeded too well. But we have succeeded with our brains. And I believe our brains can get us out of this mess of global warming and the degradation of the planet. I think there is cause for optimism. Two of the huge preserves we rode across in Laikipia were paid for by Americans who bought up thousands of acres and put it into trusts that protect it for the critters forever. And it’s working. We were in the hill country and as we climbed these small mountains, we got a view of the valley below. And the plains looked full to me. I’m certainly not an expert but the herds look to be thriving. In fact, there is a big controversy that there are too many elephants. The elephants will eat all the lower leaves off the trees, and then they’ll push the trees over and eat the rest. They are deforesting the place. So the notion arises that we need to cull the herds, but of course that is unspeakable at this time. To me it is an indication that there are solutions, and that we are not doomed, and that because of our success as a species, it is up to us to come up with these solutions. Okay, I’m done.
The next day on our ride, we were still talking about the lions and the interdigitating relationship of all these creatures. We were crossing land that is the cradle of human civilization. Africa is where Homo sapiens began and we speculated on what had changed in the last 300 thousand years. What a wonder life is. How clever. Each species carving out a niche for itself. Seeing the marvels of each of the creatures – the elephants, the giraffes, the hippos, the cats, the termites for God’s sake, it made me think of where we fit in. It made me love homo sapiens. Forgive me for editorializing, but we are critters too. We have succeeded better than any others. We have succeeded too well. But we have succeeded with our brains. And I believe our brains can get us out of this mess of global warming and the degradation of the planet. I think there is cause for optimism. Two of the huge preserves we rode across in Laikipia were paid for by Americans who bought up thousands of acres and put it into trusts that protect it for the critters forever. And it’s working. We were in the hill country and as we climbed these small mountains, we got a view of the valley below. And the plains looked full to me. I’m certainly not an expert but the herds look to be thriving. In fact, there is a big controversy that there are too many elephants. The elephants will eat all the lower leaves off the trees, and then they’ll push the trees over and eat the rest. They are deforesting the place. So the notion arises that we need to cull the herds, but of course that is unspeakable at this time. To me it is an indication that there are solutions, and that we are not doomed, and that because of our success as a species, it is up to us to come up with these solutions. Okay, I’m done.
The next day on our ride, we were still talking about the lions and the interdigitating relationship of all these creatures. We were crossing land that is the cradle of human civilization. Africa is where Homo sapiens began and we speculated on what had changed in the last 300 thousand years. What a wonder life is. How clever. Each species carving out a niche for itself. Seeing the marvels of each of the creatures – the elephants, the giraffes, the hippos, the cats, the termites for God’s sake, it made me think of where we fit in. It made me love homo sapiens. Forgive me for editorializing, but we are critters too. We have succeeded better than any others. We have succeeded too well. But we have succeeded with our brains. And I believe our brains can get us out of this mess of global warming and the degradation of the planet. I think there is cause for optimism. Two of the huge preserves we rode across in Laikipia were paid for by Americans who bought up thousands of acres and put it into trusts that protect it for the critters forever. And it’s working. We were in the hill country and as we climbed these small mountains, we got a view of the valley below. And the plains looked full to me. I’m certainly not an expert but the herds look to be thriving. In fact, there is a big controversy that there are too many elephants. The elephants will eat all the lower leaves off the trees, and then they’ll push the trees over and eat the rest. They are deforesting the place. So the notion arises that we need to cull the herds, but of course that is unspeakable at this time. To me it is an indication that there are solutions, and that we are not doomed, and that because of our success as a species, it is up to us to come up with these solutions. Okay, I’m done.
The next day on our ride, we were still talking about the lions and the interdigitating relationship of all these creatures. We were crossing land that is the cradle of human civilization. Africa is where Homo sapiens began and we speculated on what had changed in the last 300 thousand years. What a wonder life is. How clever. Each species carving out a niche for itself. Seeing the marvels of each of the creatures – the elephants, the giraffes, the hippos, the cats, the termites for God’s sake, it made me think of where we fit in. It made me love homo sapiens. Forgive me for editorializing, but we are critters too. We have succeeded better than any others. We have succeeded too well. But we have succeeded with our brains. And I believe our brains can get us out of this mess of global warming and the degradation of the planet. I think there is cause for optimism. Two of the huge preserves we rode across in Laikipia were paid for by Americans who bought up thousands of acres and put it into trusts that protect it for the critters forever. And it’s working. We were in the hill country and as we climbed these small mountains, we got a view of the valley below. And the plains looked full to me. I’m certainly not an expert but the herds look to be thriving. In fact, there is a big controversy that there are too many elephants. The elephants will eat all the lower leaves off the trees, and then they’ll push the trees over and eat the rest. They are deforesting the place. So the notion arises that we need to cull the herds, but of course that is unspeakable at this time. To me it is an indication that there are solutions, and that we are not doomed, and that because of our success as a species, it is up to us to come up with these solutions. Okay, I’m done.
The next day on our ride, we were still talking about the lions and the interdigitating relationship of all these creatures. We were crossing land that is the cradle of human civilization. Africa is where Homo sapiens began and we speculated on what had changed in the last 300 thousand years. What a wonder life is. How clever. Each species carving out a niche for itself. Seeing the marvels of each of the creatures – the elephants, the giraffes, the hippos, the cats, the termites for God’s sake, it made me think of where we fit in. It made me love homo sapiens. Forgive me for editorializing, but we are critters too. We have succeeded better than any others. We have succeeded too well. But we have succeeded with our brains. And I believe our brains can get us out of this mess of global warming and the degradation of the planet. I think there is cause for optimism. Two of the huge preserves we rode across in Laikipia were paid for by Americans who bought up thousands of acres and put it into trusts that protect it for the critters forever. And it’s working. We were in the hill country and as we climbed these small mountains, we got a view of the valley below. And the plains looked full to me. I’m certainly not an expert but the herds look to be thriving. In fact, there is a big controversy that there are too many elephants. The elephants will eat all the lower leaves off the trees, and then they’ll push the trees over and eat the rest. They are deforesting the place. So the notion arises that we need to cull the herds, but of course that is unspeakable at this time. To me it is an indication that there are solutions, and that we are not doomed, and that because of our success as a species, it is up to us to come up with these solutions. Okay, I’m done.
The next day on our ride, we were still talking about the lions and the interdigitating relationship of all these creatures. We were crossing land that is the cradle of human civilization. Africa is where Homo sapiens began and we speculated on what had changed in the last 300 thousand years. What a wonder life is. How clever. Each species carving out a niche for itself. Seeing the marvels of each of the creatures – the elephants, the giraffes, the hippos, the cats, the termites for God’s sake, it made me think of where we fit in. It made me love homo sapiens. Forgive me for editorializing, but we are critters too. We have succeeded better than any others. We have succeeded too well. But we have succeeded with our brains. And I believe our brains can get us out of this mess of global warming and the degradation of the planet. I think there is cause for optimism. Two of the huge preserves we rode across in Laikipia were paid for by Americans who bought up thousands of acres and put it into trusts that protect it for the critters forever. And it’s working. We were in the hill country and as we climbed these small mountains, we got a view of the valley below. And the plains looked full to me. I’m certainly not an expert but the herds look to be thriving. In fact, there is a big controversy that there are too many elephants. The elephants will eat all the lower leaves off the trees, and then they’ll push the trees over and eat the rest. They are deforesting the place. So the notion arises that we need to cull the herds, but of course that is unspeakable at this time. To me it is an indication that there are solutions, and that we are not doomed, and that because of our success as a species, it is up to us to come up with these solutions. Okay, I’m done.
