Off to Arkansas

So I'm heading to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Arkansas in the morning for a couple days of climbing. Andrew and I are going down tomorrow (late) morning to get camp set up and what not, then climb on Saturday and Sunday. My friends Wayne, Marty, and Letitia are hopefully going to be meeting up with us on Saturday night to climb with us on Sunday, so that will be nice.

Anyway, just wanted to put the big goals down for the weekend trip:

1. send my first V8 - Numerical Methods. I worked the moves last winter, but didn't really put a whole lot of work into it as I was trying to send another problem at the time. This would be a big leap in grade for me, but I definitely think it is do-able.

2. Finally send Razor's Edge (v5). I've worked this problem (formerly rated V7, but downgraded) on my last three trips to HCR, but just can't get the send. It's gonna happen this time though!

3. Hang Ten (V7). This would be my first V7 as well. I worked the moves on the last day of my New Years' trip last winter, but couldn't quite finish it up. It is a very burly roof problem, so it takes a lot of strength along with some good technique. I'm not sure if I'm quite in shape enough for this one, but I'm definitely going to give it some good goes. If not this trip, it'll go when I go down for New Years.

4. Have a good time and climb with some great friends, take some cool photos, and enjoy a weekend at the rocks.

Keep your eyes peeled next week for a follow-up. Also, some video from a show my band played should be put up sometime next week as well.

Wish me luck!

To Brighten Your Day

I was looking for this tune on YouTube so that I could pass it along to my band in the hopes of playing it with them and I came across this video. I usually try not to watch all those cute animal videos, but I can't resist this one. Enjoy!

A Few Pictures from the Holy Boulders

John working on Tyler Durden (V5)

Steve lacing up for Enlightenment (V5) and Undercling King (V5)

John on Tyler Durden

Jamie on Undercling King

It was great finally getting to the Holy Boulders down in Southern Illinois and I'm definitely looking forward to a return trip soon. I flashed the classic warm-up Mollusk (V3) and sent Enlightenment (V5) on my second attempt. After that I didn't send any more problems, but I put in some good work on Undercling King (V5), Jungle Book (V8...an area classic/testpiece) and Tyler Durden (V5). Durden should go down the next time I'm there, but the others could take more work.

and i'm back in the game...

So I am finally getting myself back into climbing shape after virtually not climbing at all for the past 1/2 a year (by virtually I mean about once a month at the gym). The very last day of February was the last time I had climbed outside until October 2. On that day in February, I achieved my personal best grade: V6. On October 2, I was able to climb a couple of V1s... Obviously, I had some work to do. For the past 3 1/2 weeks, I've been hitting the climbing gym 3-4 days a week and have been outside twice. The first two weeks were very hard, both physically and mentally. I was working on boulder problems in the gym for multiple days that a year ago would've been done in two or three tries. I felt worse after an hour long session than I used to after 4 hours at the gym.

In the past week though, I have been seeing some big gains. I'm repeating all of the stuff I was projecting in that first week with ease and have moved on to working on some of the hardest stuff at the gym. My endurance is still pretty low, and if I do two days in a row, that second day is noticeably worse, but my peak strength is probably back to 85% of where I was 8 months ago. I'm working on V5s-V7s and am up to 2 - 2 1/2 hour sessions at the gym.

This weekend, I'll be making my first trip to the notorious "Holy Boulders" in southern Illinois. It is supposedly the best bouldering area in SoIll and is a little hush-hush. There are no printed directions or maps of the area - you just have to know where to go and what problems are what. I know a couple of people who have been, but have never been able to get together with them. My friend John from the gym is taking me this weekend though (weather permitting), and I'm pretty excited! There aren't too many easy problems there since it is not a place where newbies go, but I'm hoping I feel strong that day and can do some of the awesome intermediates that exist.

Anyway, hopefully I'll have an update for you after this weekend if we don't get rained out.

It feels good to be back.

15 Favorite Jazz Albums

Head on over to the Jazz St. Louis website to check out my list...
http://jazzstl.org/featured/devin-rodinos-15-favorite-jazz-albums/

I Want...

Hopefully I get myself a raise soon because this is in line to be purchase number 2 (following iPhone 4!).

This lens would be a HUGE help for my photography at Jazz at the Bistro. It is the perfect lens for low-light situations because of it's speed (large aperture=more light). It is equivalent to increasing the ISO by about 10 times with no increase in noise. I would finally be able to shoot at ISO 400 or so and still get well-lit photos. This lens is also considered to possibly be the best all-purpose lens available. Perfect for traveling, landscapes and portraits, as well as low-light.

Anyway, we'll see what happens, hopefully I will be able to purchase this soon, but at $450, who knows. (Currently accepting donations...)

Here are a couple of shots from the opening weekend at the Bistro with my not-so-perfect for low-light situations lenses.

This past weekend I went up to Pere Marquette State Park for a busted camping trip (a severe thunderstorm rolled in around 8:30 p.m.). Here are a couple of shots from a hike that was supposed to be about 3 1/4 miles, but turned into being more like 6 1/2....woops...






One of these coming posts I'll talk about HDR photography, something I'm looking into...

Welcome back!

New Post Coming Soon

I promise!

What do you think of the new look though?

My Oscar Predictions

Last year, I won Ben's Oscar contest with 21 out of 24 correct, this year, I'll be getting all 24! Here they are...enjoy the show!

Best Motion Picture of the Year

The Hurt Locker (2008): Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side (2009)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Best Achievement in Directing

Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Achievement in Cinematography

The Hurt Locker (2008): Barry Ackroyd

Best Achievement in Editing

The Hurt Locker (2008): Bob Murawski, Chris Innis

Best Achievement in Art Direction

Avatar (2009): Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair

Best Achievement in Costume Design

The Young Victoria (2009): Sandy Powell

Best Achievement in Makeup

Star Trek (2009): Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

Up (2009): Michael Giacchino

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham("The Weary Kind")

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

The Hurt Locker (2008): Paul N.J. Ottosson, Ray Beckett

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

Avatar (2009): Christopher Boyes, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Avatar (2009): Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Up (2009): Pete Docter

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)(Germany)

Best Documentary, Features

The Cove (2009): Louie Psihoyos, Fisher Stevens

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (2009) (TV): Jon Alpert, Matthew O'Neill

Best Short Film, Animated

Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' (2008) (TV): Nick Park

Best Short Film, Live Action

Kavi (2009): Gregg Helvey

Update

So it's been a month since my last post....big surprise huh? I need to get better about just doing shorter/quicker updates more often rather than saving a bunch of stuff for one big post once a month. Oh well. I'll try to keep this one shorter anyway. So if you haven't already heard, the bouldering competition went well last month. I ended up placing 4th in advanced, which means I reached my goal! I actually ended up being the top finisher from our gym in advanced, but that is because I really strong climber from our gym that would've beat me hurt his finger just 2 days before. But yeah, the 3 guys that beat me were from out of town. I ended up winning a new chalk bucket, so since my sister got me one for x-mas, means I have 2 now. Oh well, one for the gym, one for outside. The number of competitors was down a bit from last year, but it was still a fun time.

Last weekend I went to see the Mozart Requiem at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. It was good, but I like Brahm's Requiem better. I might be going to see The Planets tonight, but we'll see. I am fortunate enough to be able to get in to the symphony for free pretty much any time I want, so I'm trying to start taking better advantage of that.

Last Sunday, I ended up going down to Jackson Falls to do a bit of bouldering. It was gorgeous weather! I ended up sending one of my long-standing projects, Wise Guys (V5). I also sent my first every V6, a problem called Burlier Problem (it starts in the same place as another problem called Girlier Problem, which is a V3). It is only about 3 moves long, but, as the name suggests, it's pretty burly. Needless to say, I was pretty darn excited after that. I've been trying to get a V6 for quite some time now. Next up: V7....hopefully sooner rather than later.

The weather is finally starting to improve around here after 2 solid months of clouds and rain. I'm going to try to go bouldering at The Graveyard on Sunday, but they are calling for a possibility of scattered showers, so we'll see if I get to go. If so, I'm really hoping to send Bug Eyes (V5), RIP (V6), and check out a new climb that's in the V7 range. There are also a couple of V4s I will hopefully be able to do. Cross your fingers for now rain down here on Sunday!

Today however, is supposed to be AWESOME weather, so I'm planning on taking advantage of it in the form of LOTS of slacklining. I've got get my chops back up and start polishing some tricks!

Anyway, that's about it for now. Like I said, I'll try to be more consistent...hopefully I'll have some good news to report after this weekend! I hope everyone is well....have a great one!

Goals

So the weather is still pretty miserable in St. Louis these days. I can’t remember the last time I saw completely dry ground. The worst part is that it is prime bouldering season and I haven’t been able to take an outside trip since New Years. On the upside though, I have been getting to the climbing gym a ton and will hopefully be in prime condition for the Gateway Boulder Bash 2010. This is the annual bouldering competition at Upper Limits (the gym where I climb). Last year I competed in the intermediate category and placed 3^rd in the men’s division. This year I am gonna try my hand at the advanced category (Elite is the highest division). Last year there were about 25 guys competing in advanced, but I have heard that there aren’t as many competitors this year. Either way, my goal is to finish in the top half of the advanced men’s. Well, my goal is actually to place in the top 5, but I would be happy with a top half finish. I know some of the people competing in advanced, but once I know everyone that is competing I will have a better gauge…unfortunately that won’t be until I get there for the comp. My friend Andrew is also competing in advanced this year after not competing last year. Anyway, the competition is next Saturday, February 13. Wish me luck….I will need it!

Speaking of goals and climbing…I never made an official resolution at the beginning of the year. It’s been on my mind lately though, so here it goes.

Before the end of 2010 I want to:

- be flashing V5 on a semi-regular basis

- climb V6 fairly consistently

- have at least five V7s under my belt

- have at least two V8s under my belt (one of them being Numerical Methods)

- have a V9 that I am projecting

I also have a couple of sport climbing goals, but I’m really not as worried about these since my main focus really isn’t on roped climbing:

- Finally red-point Flingin’ Hog (5.11a)

- Climb a route in each of the 5.10 grades I haven’t yet climbed (5.10c and 5.10d)

- Climb in the 5.11 range regularly (5.11a – 5.11d)

These are all some pretty lofty goals...but that's the point right? Anyway, in order to help myself reach some of these goals, I have another goal of getting myself into shape. Besides my regular time at the gym (which I'm trying to increase a bit...4 days a week, minimum), I will be doing core strength workouts twice a week, hangboard workouts twice a week, and I'm going to really try to get back into doing some yoga or pilates. If I do all of this on a regular basis...my climbing will definitely see an improvement.

Another one of my goals for this year is to really dive into the whole photography thing. I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that I got a Nikon D3000 dslr (same as my sister....but I got mine first!). I have been wanting to get into photography for a while now, and now is my chance. Below are some of my photos from Jazz at the Bistro where I work.

Above: The Bad Plus, January 6, 2010

Above: Vijay Iyer Trio, January 20, 2010

Lou Donaldson Quartet, February 3, 2o10

Tonight I went to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to hear Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, the "Eroica." It was quite good. This is the second time I've been to the symphony, but since I get free tickets from my friend Marc, I need to take advantage of the opportunity more often.

So I started this post earlier today, and wouldn't you know it....the ground is now covered in a snowy/slushy/soon to be icy mix. I'm getting sick of this crap, so Janet and Jim...I'm coming to visit!

Arkansas Part 2

So where was I? Oh yes, Day 2. I won't go through all the details, but Thursday was a nice day. It was still a little wet, but climbable. I started off the day working on Fraziac (V6) again. It still didn't go though. After that we headed over to watch Wayne and some other people try an awesome highball problem called Grand Dragon (V7). Unfortunately Wayne didn't quite finish it, so we moved around the corner to Numerical Methods (V8). I actually made most of the moves, which was pretty encouraging, but I never really gave it a solid effort because I was trying to save my strength for Razor's Edge (V5). I'm really looking forward to getting back and really putting some time into Numerical Methods...I really think I can climb it if I get just a bit stronger. That would be a big jump in grade, which would be crazy...but it's all subjective anyway. I then went and got some new beta on Razor's Edge, so I put some work into that, but still didn't get it. So the day was still pretty fruitless when it came to sending problems, but I got a lot of good work in anyway. That night we went back to the barn to slackline and start the New Years celebration. We definitely had a good time and eventually went back to the cabins for our traditional New Years dance party and midnight celebration. Friday was the best day the whole weekend. It was a decent temperature and all of the rocks were dry! I went out with a goal of doing 3 V5s in a day: Even Dirtier, Razor's Edge, and Momento. I went to Even Dirtier first and got it after about 4 attempts. This was my 2nd V5 ever, so I was pretty happy. We then went over to Razor's Edge and I gave it about 6 solid tries, but just couldn't quite get it. It involves getting a REALLY high right foot and I just wasn't flexible enough that day to get it, but it will go next time. After that I went over to Momento and gave that a few goes, but I'm still not really ready for that one. It is only one foothold that is keeping me from doing it, but it is TOUGH! After that I got a problem called Alabama Ahead (V4) after a couple of tries and called it a day. Once again we pasted the evening hours in the barn slacklining. By this time, I had gotten pretty much all of my slackline ability back, so I was trying some new tricks. My friend Evan is an incredible slackliner, so he was teaching me a few moves. Sometime this spring when it gets warmer I'll put up a video of me doing some slacklining (there is also a little bit in the video posted below).

On Saturday, we woke up to some frigid temps, but bundled up and hit the rocks anyway. Most of the group had left either the day before or in the morning, so there was just a few of us going out today. We headed to a boulder called Slopin' Joe to warm up and try a couple of classic problems. I think this is me on a problem called Slopadon Milosevic (V5). It is the classic problem of the Slopin' Joe boulder, but it was a bit out of my league. After this, we headed over to the Undertow boulder to try Hang Ten (V7). It was an awesome problem and I ended up getting all the moves but one. I'm definitely looking forward to going back to that problem when I'm a bit stronger...I think it will go! That night we ended up staying in Evan's group's cabin after yet another night of slacklining. Unfortunately, we woke up to this:
Needless to say, climbing that day was out of the question, so we got an early start home. The roads ended up being terrible, but we only came close to dying once and wrecking about 3 times... But yeah, the first 2 hours of the drive, the roads were pretty bad, but after Springfield, MO, the weather cleared up. So in the end, the trip was AWESOME! It wasn't the most successful, climbing-wise, but otherwise, I met a lot of great people, caught up with old friends, and had a ton of fun!

So I guess this did sort of end up being a play-by-play...but oh well.
Andrew and I have tried going climbing outside the past two weekends, but the weather in the area has been wet, wet, wet. Hopefully we can get outside this Sunday, but we'll have to wait and see.

Anyway, sorry for the length, but here's a video wrapping up the week in Arkansas....enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7aqVdJKQ54

Top 25 Films of the Decade

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Moulin Rouge
3. The Dark Knight
4. Let The Right One In
5. Gladiator
6. The Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers
7. Love Actually
8. Cloverfield
9. Sin City
10. Closer
11. Casino Royale
12. The 40-Year Old Virgin
13. No Country for Old Men
14. Match Point
15. The Wrestler
16. Brokeback Mountain
17. City of God
18. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
19. Atonement
20. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
21. Avatar
22. Zodiac
23. Old School
24. Rocky Balboa
25. Gone Baby Gone

Devin on Film

Top Ten Films of 2009

1.) Avatar

2.) Inglourious Basterds

3.) Whatever Works

4.) Up

5.) An Education

6.) Up in the Air

7.) Star Trek

8.) I Love You, Man

9.) Zombieland

10.) The Hurt Locker

Worst Films of 2009

1.) Thirst

2.) A Christmas Carol

3.) Pandorum

4.) New York, I Love You

5. ) Saw VI (didn't actually see it, but I can't believe these are actually still getting made)

Biggest Disappointment

Invictus

Belated New Year's Wrap-Up Part 1

So it's been awhile, but I don't have to tell you that. Anyway, for those that don't already know, I went down to Arkansas again for New Years this year. My friend Sarah flew into St. Louis from Denver and rode down with me on Tuesday, Dec. 29th. We ended up getting there pretty late that night, and everyone was all moved into our cabin at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. This year featured a lot of people that I didn't know, so I got to meet a lot of new people that night when I arrived. Luckily, everyone there was really cool. It was great seeing some old friends too! Unfortunately, it snowed throughout the night on Tuesday so we woke up to snow covered boulders and cold temps on Wednesday morning. After some really strong coffee and a solid breakfast, we went out to do some climbing. As you can imagine, all of the boulders were wet and snowy on top, making full sends pretty much impossible, but we all put in some really good work on the bottoms of a few overhanging roof problems. Here are a few pics of me on a V6 called Fraziac. I worked it pretty good for two days, but never could link all of the moves...hopefully next trip (the brown, orange and blue crashpad that my friend Emily is on is the new one I got for Christmas!)

So after a bit of climbing, Wayne ran back to the cabins, grabbed a broom and spent about an hour going around to different boulders sweeping the snow off the tops to help them dry for the next day...which helped immensely! Wednesday night though, we went to "the barn" (really shouldn't be in quotes, because it really is a barn), but they have some awesome stuff in there. The upstairs has a basketball court, a slackline, an indoor bouldering wall, and a speleo box (a plywood cave for simulating spelunking). I also had my slackline, so we set up mine next to the one there and did a bunch of slacking on Wednesday night. It was nice because I hadn't slacked in quite a while. it took awhile took get everything back, but I was happy to be back at it. We then played barefoot 3-on-3 basketball....and let me tell you...I am OUT OF SHAPE! It was pretty pathetic actually...panting and wheezing and holding the stitch in my side...and that was the first 5 minutes! Needless to say, the next day I woke up with my legs sore as all get out. A night of slacklining and basketball will definitely bring the hurt on.

It's past my bedtime now, so I'm gonna have to stop there for now. I'll hopefully not be so lazy and get part 2 up by Monday night. I hope everyone is well....talk to you soon!