Pathfinder Chef Challenge Spotlight: Shelley Young

Aside from being the current front runner in the race to be our Inca Trail guest chef, cooking up cooking up culinary delights along the path to Machu Picchu, Shelley Young is the founder of Chicago's The Chopping Block, a local institution which functions as both cookware shop and culinary school. Having grown up in Iowa with her "summers spent putting up beans, corn, & tomatoes...hunting wild morel mushrooms with giant hefty garbage bags, and catching fresh catfish on a weekend camping trip," it sound like she'd be pretty well prepared for the challenge of crafting creative dishes from fresh local food over a gas stove in the middle of the Andes. As if that weren't enough, Shelley trained in Mexico, so she's already got a solid headstart when it comes to Latin American cuisine. Looks like she's the chef to beat at the moment, but a lot can happen in a month and a half. Be sure to check out the other chef contestant videos on our YouTube site, and stay tuned for more chef spotlights. The ten chefs whose videos have the most views by Nov 15th will be flown out to the winery for the final showdown! Best of luck to all our contestants, and if you or any of your friends thinks you've got what it takes to win our Chef Challenge, just record a short (1 minute) video to show us what you're all about on your computer, camcorder, phone, or whatever else they're putting cameras in these days, and upload it here.

Harvest Notes: Sauvignon Blanc

Winemaker, Kevin Willenborg just sent this harvest action snapshot through. Victor Garibay, our Cellarmaster at Firestone, is lightly dusting the Sauvignon Blanc grapes with CO2, a dry ice that turns quickly to gas to displace oxygen during the crushing process. This helps preserve all those lovely oxygen-sensitive flavor and aroma compounds in Sauvignon Blanc that yield bright tropical fruit tones of passion fruit, guava, and grapefruit. Yum!

Harvest Notes: Riesling

Harvest is in full motion at the winery. Winemaker, Paul Warson, just sent this photo through: Beautiful Riesling, fresh off the vine.

Hearing Rumors: Michelin Tweets

Michelin's oh-so-mysterious-famously-anonymous band of restaurant critics speak out for the first time…well, behind a clever twitter cloak. The company launched a twitter site (twitter.com/michelinguideny), in prep for the October 5th release of the Michelin New York ratings. They'll maintain their hush-hush protocol by delaying tweets, so we'll never really know where they are at any given moment. We can however, get a little closer to the team by hearing their on-the-fly tips and recos from every corner of NYC.

Culinary Skills via Couch

We're obsessed with food, cooking, travel and well, even watching people cook. A guilty pleasure is tuning in to follow the poor aspiring chefs getting thrashed by Gordon Ramsay on Hell's Kitchen every week. But at the end of the day, would we have the skills to perform under the wicked-smart-high-stress instruction of Chef Ramsay. Hmmm. Maybe time to leap into the depths of a virtual Hell's Kitchen. You can always turn it off. The game is complete with Ramsay's tirades and high-intensity coaching, with a chance to unlock real recipes from the restaurant to test at home (the real perk). Who knows, you may even learn something. If throwing yourself into a virtual pressure-cooker doesn't sound appealing (yet), try your hand at Order Up from Wii: a game of virtual restaurant kitchens, cuisine education, and culinary prep. As with anything Wii cooks up, this rendezvous into the culinary world is engaging and humorous, testing players on everything from preparation to presentation, in burger joints to gourmet restaurants. Rising stars will make their way through the culinary ranks, with chances to be chef/owner and create recipes...all while being tested by food critics, demanding customers and the high stress kitchen environment. An excuse to sit on the couch and learn something? Take it while you can!

The Art of Motion Painting

Italian mural and graffiti artist, Blu, and David Ellis, an American mural artist who specializes in digital time-lapse animation Ellis calls motion painting, have created something pretty awe-inspiring. This short film, COMBO, took approximately 10 days to shoot, anchored by Italy's 2009 Fame Festival, a gathering of international artists, sponsored and produced by Studio Cromie. The idea behind Fame Festival is to host artists for weeks at a time, with everything from paint and clay, to dilapidated walls, local artists, and a production company at their fingertips. The finale includes a full-scale exhibition of all works created, including the following piece, COMBO.

COMBO a collaborative animation by Blu and David Ellis (2 times loop) from blu on Vimeo.

Featured Album: Arthur Russell's Love is Overtaking Me

Arthur Russell has been called a genius. More than once. In fact, the use of the word almost devolves into cliché for the frequency with which it is applied. When reading about the cellist/guitar player/disco producer/singer/songwriter/avant-garde composer you're rather more likely to come across an argument qualifying his genius, defining its specific terms, ("...cementing the fact that Russell was a genius..." “...sublime genius..." “progressive club genius” "...sketchy genius…”) than you are to encounter a genuine rebuttal of the premise. Much like with HBO’s "The Wire," against which people will on occasion lob the criticism that the much-loved show is not, in fact, the greatest television program of all time, there is little debate over whether Russell was, at the very least, a genius.

Much of this claim stems from the unrelenting consistency he managed to display across such a wide stylistic breadth. His most prominent body of work is his contribution to New York’s post-disco world in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Then there is the ethereal minimalism of his works for voice, cello, and electronics featured on his masterpiece “World of Echo.” On “Instrumentals,” Russell wove together soulful horns, soaring strings, and delicate slivers of slide guitar into an intricate yet breezy orchestral jazz number. “Calling Out of Context” gathers an eclectic batch of songs that builds a uniquely captivating architecture on the foundation of late ‘80s synth-pop. However, rather than betraying a lack of focus, Russell’s incessant genre hopping feels more like an ever shifting backdrop on which to display his singular voice and vision.

But, you may ask, what of us who care not for the opulence of avant-disco or the ethereal minimalism of, well, minimalism? What of the song, in its purest form, free from the trappings of stylistic window dressing? Fortunately, Russell’s output has this area covered as well. While most of his music was firmly rooted in the Big City New York Art Scene, the Iowa farm boy that he left behind in his youth still found a voice in some of his finest and most accessible work. Often considered something of a footnote to his career, “Love is Overtaking Me” Audika Records’ compilation of his “song” songs, could stand alone as a career-capping collection of tunes from a truly great singer-songwriter. There are distinct notes of Dylan, Lennon, Nick Drake, Randy Newman, Gram Parsons, and even a bit of Lynyrd Skynyrd. But whomever the superficial touchstone may be, each song is anchored by the immense warmth and humanity that so completely and persistently infuses all of his work. In fact, Russell’s truest genius may be precisely the way he manages to transubstantiate the obvious passion he felt for life and for love into song.

NOBODY WANTS A LONELY HEART - ...

I COULDN'T SAY IT TO YOUR FACE...

If you're at all interested in learning more, "Wild Combination" is a highly recommended viewing. Unlike many documentaries detailing the lives of late lamented musicians, which are little more than a string of friends and admirers rhapsodizing over the subject, this is film that stands alone as a cinematic achievement in its own right. (In fact, this was my introduction to his music)

Featured Destination: The High Line

Parks and green areas are cropping up in some unexpected places, as communities band together to not only reclaim communal space, but also see it thrive as a living, breathing destination for everyone to enjoy. Such parks don't stray far from the passion explored by Ken Burns in his new documentary about America's National Parks. A group of folks, from all walks, rally for preservation, beauty, and our public community. We commend NYC's High Line project for this very reason. It was originally built in the 1930's to lift freight traffic off the busy streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district, but hasn't been active since 1980. Support for its transformation into an elevated public park grew, and a team of driven, innovative community organizations and architects led the charge, resulting in its grand opening this year. Be sure to check it out when you visit NYC. Another space to watch? The East Span of the Bay Bridge in California. Fast Company reported on a proposal by Ronald Rael, an architect and professor at UC Berkeley, titled The Bay Line. This project would save the East Span of the Bay Bridge, which is awaiting demolition. Its reinvention could house a cycling and pedestrian path, a climbing wall, parks, gardens, and tennis courts. We can dream can't we? Go Ronald!

Hyperlocavore: When Local Isn't Local Enough

The locavore movement, for all its best intentions, has experienced a significant backlash since it's inception in 2005. The practice has been accused of being too narrow in its scope and often leading to greater inefficiencies. If nothing else, there are two magic little beans, namely coffee and cocoa, which might bring a potential adopter to their knees. The concept is one that, like most dietary matters, is probably best taken in moderation. The term hyperlocavore, then, might be met with considerable reservations, as it seems implies anything but. However, what the hyperlocavore movement cultivates, eating and sharing fresh produce grown in your community by people you know, is hard to argue with.

Hyperlocavore.com is an online hub that enables people to lower the transaction costs and increase the efficiency and practicality of eating locally. Consider the home farmer who's exhausted every zucchini recipe they can find five times over, but can't seem to grow those lovely fingerling potatoes they've always loved so dear. Picture the apartment dweller, willing to invest some sun-soaked hours in exchange for a bounty of their own, but with no desire to exchange their day job for life on the farm. Imagine the busy business executive possessing an insatiable appetite for the ephemeral squash blossom and a sizable plot of rich loam, but with neither the time nor inclination to nurture it themselves. Now, through the magic of the internet, these sad souls can finally combine their resources and see their respective produce-laden dreams come to fruition (or vegetablition, for that matter). As long as none of their dreams involve chocolate.

Featured Fruit Sculpture: Watermelon

The internet has no shortage of sensationalized teasers penned by overenthusiastic 7th grader promising "The 10 Wackiest Motorcycle Sidecars!" or that "You Won't Believe These Pics Aren't Photoshopped" (they usually are) and begging like a carnival barker to be mass-emailed ad infinitum. The ability to tune out these potentially astonishing batches of white-noise is a necessary trait to develop if you plan on getting any quality browsing done nowadays.

That being said, every now and again someone carves an disturbingly vivid and car-wreck-captivating maw into that most refreshing of summer indulgences while the late-summer heat is at it's apex and Halloween hovers on the horizon. Then I'm happy to hand over my two bits to the barker and see the show. Also, there are lots of lovely flowers and eagles and fiddles and such.

































































Plenty more pictures of exquisitely carved melons here and here. (Though, viewer beware, both sites feature an overload of the aforementioned sensationalism)

Mapping Main Street

The Kitchen Sisters, our favorite storytellers, turned us on to this ongoing documentary website, Mapping Main Street, which is fueled by this idea: "When politicians and the media mention Main Street, they evoke one people and one place. But there are over 10,466 streets named Main in the United States." It provides real stories from real people, and maps the country by those stories, corner by corner, town by town. Its collaborative by nature, and encourages us all to get out, look around & talk to people. What stories map your town?

We Heart Ice Cream

It's hot right now. Real hot. But, then again, this happens every year at about this time: harvest and the Indian Summer sun. This, my friends, is why we love ice cream. We discovered a cookbook dedicated solely to making this delightful treat shine. Best yet, there are ice cream recipes for every season accompanied by gorgeous photos. The book is called, Lola's Ice Creams and Sundaes: Iced Delights for All Seasons, by Morfudd Richards. Find it here, hot off the press.

Featured Destination: Marfa, Texas

West Texas. It’s a dusty, wide-open landscape with real tumbleweed and huge skies, complete with looming mountain vistas on an endless horizon. Situated in the high desert, surrounded by three mountain ranges in the Chihuanhuan Desert, you can pretty much bet that you’re in the middle on nowhere. San Antonio is 5 hours away, and you stand 60 miles from the Mexican border. This is a snapshot of the last frontier.

Enter Marfa, a town of roughly 2,100, where ranching takes presedence, and art takes a close second. Marfa is the crossroads of urban cowboy, where dusty vintage cowboy boots meet skinny jeans and street food. Marfa is where one can find more galleries than grocery stores, and Dwell-worthy architecture fuses into a blinking stoplight and a Wild West vernacular.

Marfa's eclectic status is rooted in the works and inspiration of artist Donald Judd, one of the fathers of minimalism, who moved here from New York in 1973. Since that time, Marfa has mesmerized fans and out-of-towners, bringing in a steady flow of artists, wanderers, filmmakers and intellectuals on same quest for space and contemplation that only the high desert plains can satisfy. Case in point, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, both filmed scenes in the area and made Marfa their temporary home during production.

Intrigued? If Marfa will be your next roadtrip destination, keep these local spots in mind. For entertainment and a thought-provoking good time head to Ballroom Marfa. For beauty and contemplation, check out Cinanti Foundation. Pay homage to the artist who sparked a movement at Judd Foundation. Lay your head down at the historic and retro-chic Thunderbird Hotel. For a Mediterranean-by-way-of-West-Texas culinary experience, sit down at Food Shark.

Bobby McFerrin's Pentatonic Power

Bobby "Don't Worry be Happy" McFerrin turns the World Science Festival audience into the giant FAO Schwartz keyboard from Big as he displays the power of the pentatonic scale.

Featured Artist: Jen Stark

Jen Stark has come a long way from the long parades of men and women joined at their the hands and feet that we all carefully cut from pieces of folded paper in kindergarten. Her sculptures, most made from the very same colored construction paper that we might have been using back then, take this humble medium and transform it into remarkably vibrant and dynamic explosions of color. Check out her website for even more.

Featured Book: Everything that Rises

In biology, convergence refers to the phenomenon of unrelated plants and animals developing superficially similar features in comparable environmental conditions. For instance, echolocation in animals of both sky and sea, or the similarly streamlined bodies of aquatic birds, fish, and mammals. These traits don't suggest a particular commonality between the creatures themselves, but rather reflect the forces, seen and unseen, of their environment upon them.

When Lawrence Weschler, in his book "Everything that Rises: A Book of Convergences," points out the echo of Rembrant's "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicholaes Tulp" in Freddy Alborta's famous photograph of Che Guavera's death, he's not implying that Alborta knowingly referenced the Dutch Master any more than he'd suggest that a duck, inspired by a dolphin's elegance, could suddenly become a penguin. However, an artistic coincidence such as this surely merits further examination, which is precisely the cause taken up by Weschler's book. Just as the meme is the cultural analog of biology's gene, these cultural convergences parallel the natural commonalities between the branches of dendrites, rivers, and trees, or the waves of the sea, sound, and our brains. Weschler steadies his aim on the intricate aggregate of unseen forces that gently shape human culture. After reading an article by John Berger which initially drew attention to the Alborta/Rembrandt likeness, Weschler developed an increasing awareness of such convergences, especially in the visual art world, and began collecting them like stamps. "Everything that Rises" is his display case. He shows off a stunning series of essays that focus on these strange little moments when bits of culture overlap, reverberate, and feedback upon themselves. His personal narratives often unfold like murder mysteries, with excerpts from The Iliad and ancient clay tablets popping up as clues while we wait on edge to discover how it'll all tie together in the end.


As with most seemingly bizarre coincidences of daily life, these convergences do benefit from the deliberate focus on the pieces of the puzzle that fit snugly, and the disregard of those that don't. Fortunately, much of the beauty in what Weschler does lies curiously in the fact that there is no central thesis. He sets out to prove nothing. The aim is merely to revel in the wonderment of it all. And what emerges is absolutely brilliant. These convergences strike at something deeply satisfying. Comforting. A strange kind of faith in the underlying order of artistry and perception. A thread that ties human culture and experience together. It's a very specific and profound version of beauty.

And ultimately, even if there is nothing more to be gleaned from these seemingly stochastic observations than a simple amused smile, this should by no means be undervalued. Delighting in such marvels is nothing short of training ourselves to find the beauty in the quotidian, to absorb life as fully as possible rather than letting it quietly pass us by. This is a sentiment which can surely be appreciated by anyone who's ever paused to cherish the cherry aroma of a nice glass of pinot. And then, rather than wonder what it all means that we might transform the humble grape into this endlessly complex repository of art and culture, we simply touch the glass to our lips, and drink it in.

Featured Tunes: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

When an announcer suavely introduces our fearless lead singer over some super heavy funk, "Dap-Dipping with the Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings," there’s no stop to the movement. "Sharon Jones, Sharon Jones, Sharon Jones...exciting dance floors across the nation with her dynamic new sound." Think old school James Brown soul laced with a certain East Bay Oakland-style funk.

Based in Brooklyn, New York, Sharon Jones first hit the scene as a backup singer working with soul legend Lee Fields in 1996, but has been singing since she was a child in local churches and NYC funk bands. Before she made it big, she worked as a prison guard at Rikers Island and a security guard in an armored car. Tough is an understatement. See this woman live and you’ll get the picture about 35 seconds after she hits the stage. Working with various incarnations prior, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were officially formed in the summer of 2001 after scoring a club gig in Barcelona. Sharon Jones commands the stage like a young Tina Turner and works the band into the funkified frenzy. It's only a matter of time before you start doing the Dap dip. Just wait. Here's a snip from her recent performance at Amoeba...

The Wonderful World of Vectorpark

Vectorpark is home to a series of absolutely delightful interactive vector animations created by Patrick Smith. These pieces, which range from simple aimless interactions with an adorable bouncing spider and unicycling egg to more fully realized game-like environments which almost endlessly reward curious exploration with further possibilities and wonderment. Smith artfully creates a completely rhythmic and meditative universe, in which you'd swear you can feel the heft of a tank of water and the tension in a bowed branch, and where a voiceless and expressionless little bird can somehow have all the character of a silent-film star. As in a dream, there is a certain logical framework that governs a strange sort of proprietary intuition, and where actually completing any sort of task is secondary to merely delighting in the wonders at hand. At times whimsical, absurd, serene, and oddly touching, this is very much a world worth spending some time in.

Feed the Head















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Windosill

Perhaps America's Best Idea

By now you surely know that we thrive on adventure and exploration, so it’s no surprise that we’re counting down the days until the debut of The National Parks: American’s Best Idea, a compelling new series from director Ken Burns. At its very core, this documentary celebrates fervent discovery, and a desire to protect what exists in our collective backyard – from the crest of Half Dome and the Grand Canyon, to the Great Smoky Mountains and the Everglades. We’re extremely lucky that a feisty swath of people, from soldiers and scientists to entrepreneurs and idealists had the forethought to fight on behalf of our majestic landscape. From just a sneak peek, we can see that preserving our nation’s hidden gems was a long, arduous battle…and we agree, just may have been America’s best idea. This documentary series, The National Parks: American’s Best Idea, was filmed over the course of more than six years, and is said to feature some of the most extensive, breathtaking images of our national parks ever captured on film. Not only is it a story of preservation, it’s a story of the people who made it happen – across all barriers.

“The National Parks: America’s Best Idea is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone.” PBS.org

The six-episode series on PBS, directed by Ken Burns and written and co-produced by Dayton Duncan, will kick-start on September 27th, 2009.

Featured Podcast: Stuff You Should Know

We're all about discoveries around here. Whether it's knowing the best place to buy tiny original pieces of art (hmmm, I'll have to tell you about that later), finding the greatest Desert Blues bands coming out of West Africa (trust me, there's a lot, and they tend to be amazing), or uncovering vineyards from which to create great new wines, we like keep our collective ear pretty low to the ground. We're curious folks. I suppose that's just our way. But curiosity is certainly about much more than music, art, and wine. I doubt I'm alone when I find myself wondering how Tibetans avoid altitude sickness. Or if robots will ever get married. How might a cat scuba dive, we've certainly all wondered. In my more practical moments, I've been known to contemplate why my post-toothbrushing glass of OJ tastes so strange. And that hunk of gum I just accidentally swallowed? Seven years in my stomach? Really? Inquiring minds want to know.

And sure, I could probably manage to google myself an answer. I imagine the vastness of wikipedia contains such truths. But, being the discerning media consumer that I am, I shan't settle for having such wondrous bits of knowledge delivered in so dry a manner. In a perfect world, I'd have a couple of fellows, as lovable as they are knowledgeable, to impart this information to me in a playful and engaging manner on a regular basis. And what a world it is. Turns out, Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, of Stuff You Should Know [iTunes Link], are exactly such fellows. Part of the podcast wing of HowStuffWorks.com, Stuff You Should Know is pretty aptly titled. It's never really stuff you need to know, but always stuff you'll be glad you do. Josh and Chuck's curiosity and enthusiasm for their subject matter is infectious. You'll find closure for all sorts of queries long pondered yet never resolved, but even more fun are the questions that never even occurred to you to ask. Because sometimes we all need some assistance in knowing what to wonder. To be perfectly honest, I had never really considered the topic of scuba-diving cats before this morning. But now I'm as curious as, well, as a scuba-diving cat, I suppose.

Share your discoveries: What's your favorite source for fun facts? Have you read a book recently that makes history come alive? Know of a really rad science museum? Maybe a board game, radio show, or band so completely awesome that you forget you're learning? Let us know on our Facebook page! The person with the most fun way to learn cool new stuff gets 20% off a bottle!

OZ: Back on the Big Screen

Only a handful of movies span the test of scrutinizing generations like The Wizard of Oz. As a testament, there have even been public showings of the classic, vibrant film alongside the soundtrack of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Not many films made in the 1930’s have that sort of staying power. But, even the most avid fans of Oz have never seen it like this. On Wednesday, September 23rd at 7:00PM (local time) the film will celebrate its 70th anniversary in theaters nationwide for one night only, and this time, the fantastic tale will be in high-definition picture. Can you imagine the poppy field or the flying monkeys in HD?Wow. NCM Fathom, Warner Home Video and Turner Classic Movies will present the digitally remastered screenings in over 440 movie theaters across the country. Screenings will also feature the documentary To Oz! The Making of a Classic, which looks at how Oz was transformed from the pages of Frank Baum’s classic novel to a truly legendary film. Check the official website to find your closest route to the yellow brick road on September 23rd.

Featured Gallery: Charming Wall

A few posts ago I made a passing reference to the New York based art gallery Charming Wall. Looking back, a mere mention is far too little ceremony for so great a gallery. Charming Wall features a gorgeous array of hand-picked open-edition fine art prints from artists the world over. The style they curate, while wide-ranging, feels right at home with the contemporary craft movement being cultivated by Etsy, the Renegade Craft Fair, and the like. Best of all, being open edition and all, each of their prints (most roughly 9" x 14" images on 12" x 15" paper) sell for a mere $20. Here are a few of my favorites.

We Challenge You

There's a flipside to our Firestone Discoveries contest, one that has been a little hush-hush since contest launch. One exciting announcement at a time, whew. In addition to searching for a Firestone Discoveries Pathfinder to join our amazing trip to Peru and the Inca Trail, we have a Guest Chef Challenge. We're searching for an exciting, outgoing, creative, and adaptive chef who will join us, work alongside our Peruvian cooks and serve as the official Guest Chef on the four-day Inca Trail trek. The winner will be hired as a Guest Chef Consultant and will receive an all-expense paid trip to Peru -- to experience the incredible Inca Trail -- in return for your time and effort. This will not be just any chef - cooking on the Inca Trail trek will be an amazing challenge, guaranteed to stretch your horizons and your idea of what a kitchen should look like. Know someone who would fit the bill? Or maybe you're ready to take on the Chef Challenge? Let the games begin! Our official Firestone Discoveries YouTube Channel is about to be brimming with Guest Chef applicant videos - who will be the first? Get tips on how to create your Chef Challenge applicant video from our team.

Also, find an amazing promo video recently uploaded to the site (see below) - if it doesn't get you geared for adventure, we don't know what will! The video is also very easy to share - remember, the more friends to get to apply to become our Firestone Discoveries Pathfinder, the better your chances for winning the assignment (i.e. a trip to Peru!). Whether you are submitting Discoveries Pathfinder application or the Guest Chef Challenge video, we look forward to hearing from you.

Featured Film: My Kid Could Paint That

A few years back, while looking to find some television programming suitable for passing the hour or two before sleep, I paused at a film called "Starman." According to the info screen afforded by digital television technology, it starred Jeff Bridges and concerned a man fallen from space who assumes the likeness of the recently deceased husband of a very lonely widow. Romance ensues. I think to myself, "This movie will either be fantastic, or an absolute train-wreck." Turns out I wasn't willing to wager the remains of my evening finding out, and so I'll likely never find out which. (Though a brief googling suggests it lies somewhere in the middle.) Not too long after, I happened across Roger Ebert's famous quote: "It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it." And I liked that. That pretty much summed up my feelings on Starman's potential merit. It's like they always say, a love story between man and alien alone does not a good movie make. While there's something to be said for an intriguing synopsis or a clever conceit, it's as often as not a red herring, one which no more guarantees a good movie than a bottle of your preferred varietal promises a decent glass. It's what you do with the grape that really matters.

Seldom is this cinematic bait-and-switch more tempting than in the documentary feature. I've only recently learned to resist the lure at the end of a long line of talking heads singing the praises of their all-time-favorite-for-the-moment songwriter, with no more truths revealed than that artist in question has some famous friends. Take a movie like "The Devil's Playground," which chronicles the period of time in which Amish teens are free to sample the various vices of the outside world. The subject is undeniably fascinating. The film, sadly, is uninspired and ultimately unsatisfying (in my opinion). On the other hand, you have "The King of Kong" This is a movie about guys playing Donkey Kong. Competitive Donkey Kong. Vying for the top score on a classic arcade fansite. And it was just about the most suspenseful and engaging movie I saw in 2008.

While I've always found the old saw about the relative strangeness of truth and fiction to be a bit suspect (Have you watched Matthew Barney's Cremaster cycle? I've never seen truth that strange.), there is certainly an added thrill in knowing that these are real people. This really happened. It's not just 'Based on a true story.' It is that story. Director Amir Bar-Lev's "My Kid Could Paint That" is one of those rare documentary delights whose premise not only follows through on its promise, but wherein the story gradually takes on a life of its own in ways that could be no more planned by the filmmaker than predicted by the audience. Ostensibly recounting the story of Marla Olmstead, a four year old girl whose abstract paintings sell for many thousands of dollars, Bar-Lev sets out to explore the intrinsic value of art, abstract or otherwise, through the lens of our culture's fascination with child prodigy. While these questions are indeed addressed, many more soon emerge as the true authorship of the paintings comes into question. In the end, the director finds himself unexpectedly emerging as a central character as the film begins folding in on itself like a Charlie Kaufman movie, and the making of film itself becomes interwoven into its own examination of ethics and exploitation, of authenticity and intentionality. Bar-Lev emerges with both a suspenseful whodunit and a thoughtful meditation on art. The only thing missing is an alien love affair.

Share Your Discoveries: What are some of your favorite documentaries? Any that you expected to be great that fell flat? Let us know! Become our Fan on Facebook, or just leave a message in the comments.

The 'Land's End' of India

Just like so many destinations in India, the southernmost tip is one of mystery and beauty that is nothing less than awe-inspiring. The town of Kanyakumari, located on the tip of the Indian Peninsula, marks the southern end of this diverse and vibrant country, a “land’s end” only fitting for the magnitude that India embodies at each turn. This peninsula falls at the convergence of three bodies of water – the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea – boasting a spectacular sunrise and sunset. Better yet, on Chitra Pournami (Tamil ceremony celebrating the day of the full moon in April/May), it is possible to experience something truly unique – watching the moon rise and the sun set simultaneously, on either side of the horizon. Seems fitting that this beach also marks the spot for a string of famous memorials, namely The Gandhi Memorial, which resembles the stunning architecture of central Indian Hindu temples. The memorial was expertly designed, so that on Gandhi’s birthday of October 2nd, the very first rays of the sun will fall on the exact place where Gandhi’s ashes were kept. Also in view, standing on two rocky islands just off the shore, are the Vivekananda Rock Memorial (built in 1970 as a dedication to spiritual teacher Swami Vivekananda) and one of the tallest statues in Asia, a 133-foot sculpture of Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar.

There are few places that leave us too moved to take a photo, but this is one of them. The above photo is just one small stamp that we have from our trip to Kanyakumari. Have any of you been to the cape or somewhere near it? We'd love to see a photo and hear about your experience on the blog or our Firestone Discoveries fan page.