We are back safe and sound from ‘the city of angels’ after a great visit.  Even met a few angels.  A great time to catch up on some long over due stories.

As some of you know, Africa has always been on my list, and this April I was fortunate enough to get a chance to cross it off. Myself and one other journeyed to Rwanda and Uganda to scout the potential for building soccer fields and setting up programs for the children and youth there. Part of an organization we founded www.oaprojects.org.

What we found were two of the most amazing countries filled with even more amazing people. I’ve truly never seen a place with more heart and soul. It was in Rwanda that I met a young guy named Jean Claude. We became good friends and one day I asked him, as I was dieing to know, what he wanted to do before he died.

He answered, as many do, by saying he’d never thought about it.

A few days later, however, he came up to me and said he had figured it out, he knew what he wanted to do before he died. He said, more then anything else, he wanted to get a song he wrote recorded on to the radio. I asked to listen to some of his music but he said that he’d never had anything recorded, though he promised to write a song and sing it to us before we left.

Here is that song, now recorded:

If any of you out there have an in at a radio station give me a holler.

–Duncan

Here are two videos from the trip:

Journal 1:

Journal 2:

P.S. We never made it to Ellen while in LA. We had a really great meeting with some movie people down there and got stuck in some classic LA traffic. We were all pretty bummed, but next time we’re going to tent outside Ellen’s house so we can get a ride with her to work.

Gettin’ Jiggy?

The Buried Life has landed in LA to attempt #79: Dance with Ellen DeGenneres! Now, Ellen doesn’t actually ‘know’ that we’re coming to her show, but we managed to get tickets for tomorrow and we figure that’s the first step. Once we’re inside, our plan is… well, we don’t have a ‘plan’ per se, but traffic is pretty heavy in LA so we’ll have time to plan on the ride over.

What we do know is that Ellen has heard about us because of all of your emails, so thank you! Apparently she’s received a pile of them so we hope it’s only a matter of time. If you want to help us with the push, you can email Ellen and tell her about our mission HERE.

In the mean time, if you happen to catch the show tomorrow keep your eye open for 4 guys dancing like buffoons.

Dance! TBL

what you looking at?

Ever ridden in a refitted 57 Chevy? You should add it to your list..

Morgan is 5 years old and likes to show off her shirt at school

Just got this photo of a little friend wearing a TBL shirt. Pretty cute eh? If you’d like a TBL shirt of your own, you can grab one here. If you’ve already got one, send us a pic and we’ll throw it up on the blog.

duncan got so excited about it that he warped through time

While in Fort Collins speaking at the Beet Street Conference we crossed #49 off the list. Six times.

good company. good nachos.

Beet Street helped us send an email around the city inviting strangers to come out and eat. Before we knew it we were sitting down a table for ten at Lucky Joes’ Pub with mothers, students, and artists (a photographer and a painter) and enjoying some delicious nachos and grilled sandwiches. We talked about life-lists, Prince, and how important it is to take time off after school (highschool or university) to figure yourself out. It was great. Thanks to Rae for sending these photos (if anyone reading this works at National Geographic, let us know. Rae wants in..)

wanna know a secret?

While in Fort Collins we had the opportunity to go out for chocolate cake with the one and only Frank Warren, founder of PostSecret.com. Four years ago Frank decided to try something new in his life. He wrote his address on a dozen blank postcards and handed them out to strangers on the streets of Washington, DC. He asked each person to mail him a secret that they’ve never told anyone before, and to decorate it in anyway they saw fit.

The idea spread like wildfire. Frank now receives thousands of new postcards every week and shares some of the most interesting in his books on his website (which receives millions of visits every month)! We had a great discussion about how good it feels to share secrets, and dreams, and even talked about the possibility of teaming up one day.

In the meantime: whats your secret?

TBL at the Beet Street Conference in Fort Collins

On Saturday we took part in a panel discussion on ‘Social Media’ i.e. how technology affects social interaction. Many people are feeling disconnected these days, as iPods and txt’ing replace handshakes and eye contact and new toys like the X-Box Live are removing the need to know what your friends look like. The question was/is: are these changes necessarily bad?

jonnie shows how big a meter is

While technology has had a profound impact on the way we interact, the panel agreed that not all changes have been bad. Example: you reading these very words. Or putting your life-list online. Without the net you would not have been able to do these things and we might never have met each other.

snapping pics after the show. dave went to the conference as spot the dog.

I like you, personally, and I’m glad we met, even it is online. Wanna go play some ball?

one man. one river

We’re working on getting you guys some photos from the Beet Street Conference we spoke at this week, but before then check it out: Dave went river surfing!

the beginner wave, 1/5 of the real deal Dave eventually rode

Monkey (aka Eric Chretien - who you can email at ironmonkey_ta@hotmail.com if you want to try it yourself), invited Dave out to ride. Together they ripped up through the rapids on a jet ski, dodging through swells he warned could kill, and the pair arrived at the rapids Dave was going to ride. They were head high. With a smile on his face Monkey turned to Dave and said ‘Okay buddy, jump in and paddle like hell!’

Dave was sucked into the rapid and ripped it up to the best of his ability. He laughed that river rafters just go through the swell, but surfers stay in it. He says its the gnarliest thing he’s ever done and says that you have to do! Check out Monkey ripping it