16/11/2010
Andy J R Webster: Fashion Blog
Fashion; what does that word mean to you? Does it mean; new styles of clothing what at this particular point in time are regarded as cool and on trend? Maybe. Does it mean, ‘mate that looks ridiculous so take of your flat cap because you’re starting to look like a poor mans Samuel L. Jackson and stop being a bellend and dress normally’? Probably not. I’m not afraid to admit I’m a fairly modern bloke, I’ve even worn a face pack. Seriously, I have. It was in my first year at university, and it made my skin feel glorious. Don’t judge me on it. Even if the past couple of sentences were slightly non-heterosexual. But remember, first year of uni. The year you’re meant to be adventurous. The year that grades and the amount of work you do mean fuck all to the outcome of your actual degree. And for many, especially those who live under a rock and can’t tie their own shoe laces, the first time you’re really exposed to a wide variety of people with different fashion tastes and opinions on what looks good! So let me off.
Fashion isn’t just clothing. Don’t get me wrong, if you mince into any college, university or anywhere else where youngish people who shop at Topman (which I love) or the female version Topshop; which is also used by rather skinny under developed emo-ish-esque lads trying most definitely too hard to follow trend they’ll resort to wearing chicks jeans because they can’t get mens jeans that fit legs based around the build of unhealthy and underfed small birds, and ask the very same question. I am positive the feedback will mainly be about clothing, brands and style.
But fashion is everything. It’s literally involved in every single item you’re wearing, using, watching, listening to and shagging. Fashion isn’t merely involved it the clothing world. It’s design in general and popular culture. The TV you watch would have followed the trend of television making when it was produced, as are the shows on it. The music you’re listening to would have been produced or influenced by a certain decade of music fashion, so is the I-pod you’re listening to it on. Also, and probably to many of you the most important, the sort of girls you chase on nights out are influenced by a number of fashion trends. Undoubtedly you will have a type, and that type depends on clothing, music taste, haircut and how drunk you are.
We would all agree though, the word fashion immediately makes you think of style and clothing. Style really does depend on who’s wearing it and whose opinion matters to you. For example, a pair of skinny jeans on an athletic tall fella looks good, whereas a pair of skinny jeans on a fat midget looks like God’s playing a joke on people with sight and looks like someone’s been sick on a hairy, wrinkly ball bag. But my intrigued friends it can swing in roundabouts, because if we take the two very same people and put an Elf outfit in the equation! What do we have? We have a hugely different outcome. Therefore, one outfit is timelessly fashionable on one person but not so fashionable on the other. Plus a midget wearing an elf costume is hilarious.
What I’m trying to say in a roundabout kinda way is, fashion is dependant on various external factors. You can’t just go onto the Topman, River Island, Burton or GQ website and see what’s on trend and say, ‘well, I guess that’s what I’m wearing this month’. That’s not how it works. If you actually do this, then listen. If you are so void of personal flair, imagination and character based substance then no one is going to take you seriously enough to notice that what you’re wearing is deemed fashionable by a website or magazine anyway. Fashion should be about who you are and what you like. It does obviously have to remain somewhere within the confounds of what is deemed fashionable at the time because that will be what’s actually available in decent shops, but this is a good thing. It means your personal choice will include flair, personality, on trend fashion choices and a certain individuality that will convey your own influences. Good times.
Fashion all depends on the person. What’s fashionable to one fella is an eye sore to the next. If you want to wear Ugg boots as a bloke, then go ahead and do it! It’s your choice, plus they don’t only serve as a gesture to your possible sexuality and fashion beliefs, they’re also useful. The amount of time’s I’ve finished teaching a surf lesson and ended up putting my feet in warm water because I can’t feel them is reeeeee-donk-ulous! Uggs would have kept my feet toasty as soon as I would have left the water! Boom, sorted. Also, the same applies to the new Topman accessory of the man headband. If you fancy one of these then go out and buy one. Put it on. Look like a prick and be proud!
Be who you are, like what you like, wear what you wear!
Follow on Twitter: @AndyJRWebster
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Havn't Done a Blog in Ages, I like to rant!
Since leaving a degree to study journalism in pursuit to focus more on my rugby and study a new degree called 'sports fitness', I have sadly neglected this blog as I feel no one really reads the articles posted on here and the fact that I no longer need to keep it to progress while studying journalism. Anyway, now back from university for my second year and back lifeguarding, surf instructing and coasteering at home in newquay, I felt the need to write some thoughts down for shiggles. Shits and giggles mo' fo's!
I was going to write about how a lad in one a lifesaving session yesterday neglected to tell me he had Narcolepsy until after he had a quick kip face down in the water (I told him to sleep it off, but he didn't really find it funny), but instead I'm going to write about something that affects more people than Narcolepsy. Air guitar.
Everytime I go into a indie or rock club, it's to listen to music I enjoy listening to and meeting new people, seeing old friends and having a change of scene from my usual social groups of rugby boys and football cunts. Therefore, you can imagine how frustrated I am when some skinny little fucker trying his best to look 'different' starts bouncing around infront of me playing air guitar.
I am an open minded young man and like everyone around me to live their life the way they want without judgement or influence from others. Believe me, I'm all for that shizzney. BUT. Air guitar is fucking pathetic. Seeing a grown man or, like i said before, a skinny little fucker who dresses himself to look different while ironically trying to fit in with his social group and undoubtedly trying to impress the slightly over weight gothic-ish outcast girl (probably 3/10) with daddy issues, fills me with a sense of shame, embarrasment and makes me feel so uncomfortable I feel saddened that someone would do that to themselves. I don't understand it. What are they trying to say? Whats the best that can come out of playing air guitar? you get laid? No. You get spotted by some underground indie music label and signed up for your sweet skills? Doubt it. It is fucking pathetic.
Are they telling everyone around them, 'mate, i love playing guitar so much I mime it wherever I go so everyone around me knows I play my sweet axe'! I don't think so! If they want to play guitar so much, buy a fucking guitar and play it. And then, if you can't bare to listen to music without playing along, take your fucking guitar with you and by all means, play it!
Like I've said before, it's fucking pathetic! Get a fucking hair cut, get some friends and learn an instrument before my pity makes me ill! Cheers!
I'm sure they're all good guys tho. Underneath all that balls!
I was going to write about how a lad in one a lifesaving session yesterday neglected to tell me he had Narcolepsy until after he had a quick kip face down in the water (I told him to sleep it off, but he didn't really find it funny), but instead I'm going to write about something that affects more people than Narcolepsy. Air guitar.
Everytime I go into a indie or rock club, it's to listen to music I enjoy listening to and meeting new people, seeing old friends and having a change of scene from my usual social groups of rugby boys and football cunts. Therefore, you can imagine how frustrated I am when some skinny little fucker trying his best to look 'different' starts bouncing around infront of me playing air guitar.
I am an open minded young man and like everyone around me to live their life the way they want without judgement or influence from others. Believe me, I'm all for that shizzney. BUT. Air guitar is fucking pathetic. Seeing a grown man or, like i said before, a skinny little fucker who dresses himself to look different while ironically trying to fit in with his social group and undoubtedly trying to impress the slightly over weight gothic-ish outcast girl (probably 3/10) with daddy issues, fills me with a sense of shame, embarrasment and makes me feel so uncomfortable I feel saddened that someone would do that to themselves. I don't understand it. What are they trying to say? Whats the best that can come out of playing air guitar? you get laid? No. You get spotted by some underground indie music label and signed up for your sweet skills? Doubt it. It is fucking pathetic.
Are they telling everyone around them, 'mate, i love playing guitar so much I mime it wherever I go so everyone around me knows I play my sweet axe'! I don't think so! If they want to play guitar so much, buy a fucking guitar and play it. And then, if you can't bare to listen to music without playing along, take your fucking guitar with you and by all means, play it!
Like I've said before, it's fucking pathetic! Get a fucking hair cut, get some friends and learn an instrument before my pity makes me ill! Cheers!
I'm sure they're all good guys tho. Underneath all that balls!
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Blogs!
Whenever I think it's time to write a blog I never have any clue what to write about. So I end up writing about either rugby or rugby. This time will be different. I'm not going to write about rugby, but the fact that I never have anything of intrest to write about.
I'm at Pittville, in the library trying to get an essay done, set to me by WebCT. As usual Fred and I are both procrastinating and not getting very much done. As it turns out I need to write a new blog anyway that is around 250 words. Seeing as my other blogs are possibly a bit longer, this new one should fit the bill perfectly!
If you're still reading this, all credit to you. It's really got no information that’s interesting at all. But I’m going to continue anyway.
The Essay we're supposed to be writing is about what we've learnt in our first semester at University. But to be honest, due to rugby (there it is again) I haven’t really learnt that much as it's made me miss a few lectures! And when I mean a few, I mean most. I'm not grumbling, I don't really enjoy getting up at 7.30am and walking to Pittville for 9.15 to write random dashes and dots on a tiny notepad in shorthand four days out of the week anyway. But, if I haven’t really learnt anything, what can i write in the essay? It would be the shortest essay and I’d probably end up writing about rugby!
I'm at Pittville, in the library trying to get an essay done, set to me by WebCT. As usual Fred and I are both procrastinating and not getting very much done. As it turns out I need to write a new blog anyway that is around 250 words. Seeing as my other blogs are possibly a bit longer, this new one should fit the bill perfectly!
If you're still reading this, all credit to you. It's really got no information that’s interesting at all. But I’m going to continue anyway.
The Essay we're supposed to be writing is about what we've learnt in our first semester at University. But to be honest, due to rugby (there it is again) I haven’t really learnt that much as it's made me miss a few lectures! And when I mean a few, I mean most. I'm not grumbling, I don't really enjoy getting up at 7.30am and walking to Pittville for 9.15 to write random dashes and dots on a tiny notepad in shorthand four days out of the week anyway. But, if I haven’t really learnt anything, what can i write in the essay? It would be the shortest essay and I’d probably end up writing about rugby!
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Gloucester Uni 1sts vs. Bristol Uni 1sts
Gloucester Uni. Rugby League 1st Team – 49 29/10/2008
Bristol Uni. 1st Team – 12
The Gloucester boys needed to put in a good performance against Bristol at Longlevens Rugby Cub on Wednesday after a disappointing loss last week against Swansea away.
From the off the lads had their game heads on and completed all pre-match warm-ups with intensity and volume. This was pleasing to watch and made head coach, Ken ‘pro-teen’ Stone a happy man.
Gloucester lost the toss and received kick off. The home side were hitting the Bristol boys hard and fast completing a good exit set. After a few simple boshes up the centre Gloucester were able to score in the far left hand corner with a simply executed backs move allowing Alex ‘small balls’ Robinson to get on the score sheet.
Later on in the first half Bristol managed to claw some points back, but with the home lads running some silky rugby Bristol weren’t able to tackle either Patrick ‘Paddy’ Evens or Josh ‘Touch anyone?’ Pettifer allowing them both to score. Keeping up the intensity Gloucester kept the points coming a nicely worked try by captain Dan Poulton.
The second half started positively with Theo ‘wolf’ Wakefield chasing up Andy ‘Statman’ Webster’s kick off and smashing his opposite man into next week. The home side were caught napping allowing the away side to sneak over the line for an opportunists try. Gloucester hit right back turning the ball over off the kick off and with Webster missing two men in the line hitting Patrick on the wing they scored again. This was soon followed up by Poulton grabbing a second near the posts.
With a few mistakes being made by both sides and referee alike the Gloucester boys starting to make ground. On the fifth tackle the balls was released to the backs allowing Webster and Poulton to execute a beautiful piece of rugby. Webster chipped over the defence with Poulton catching the bounce and putting Webster in under the posts!
Bristol started to pick their game up forcing the home side deep into there own half. But with dummy-half Webber collecting a grubber in his own try area he ‘jonny-two stepped’ his way out off trouble and put Ross ‘Kate Moss’ Gard in for a try. Good times.
To finish the game off the Gloucester backs strung together a sweet move, sucking in all the Bristol defence allowing Webber to get over the line.
Webster converted all tries, missing only three and captain Poulton grabbed himself a nice little drop-goal.
A good performance by Gloucester Uni, with plenty more to come.
Bristol Uni. 1st Team – 12
The Gloucester boys needed to put in a good performance against Bristol at Longlevens Rugby Cub on Wednesday after a disappointing loss last week against Swansea away.
From the off the lads had their game heads on and completed all pre-match warm-ups with intensity and volume. This was pleasing to watch and made head coach, Ken ‘pro-teen’ Stone a happy man.
Gloucester lost the toss and received kick off. The home side were hitting the Bristol boys hard and fast completing a good exit set. After a few simple boshes up the centre Gloucester were able to score in the far left hand corner with a simply executed backs move allowing Alex ‘small balls’ Robinson to get on the score sheet.
Later on in the first half Bristol managed to claw some points back, but with the home lads running some silky rugby Bristol weren’t able to tackle either Patrick ‘Paddy’ Evens or Josh ‘Touch anyone?’ Pettifer allowing them both to score. Keeping up the intensity Gloucester kept the points coming a nicely worked try by captain Dan Poulton.
The second half started positively with Theo ‘wolf’ Wakefield chasing up Andy ‘Statman’ Webster’s kick off and smashing his opposite man into next week. The home side were caught napping allowing the away side to sneak over the line for an opportunists try. Gloucester hit right back turning the ball over off the kick off and with Webster missing two men in the line hitting Patrick on the wing they scored again. This was soon followed up by Poulton grabbing a second near the posts.
With a few mistakes being made by both sides and referee alike the Gloucester boys starting to make ground. On the fifth tackle the balls was released to the backs allowing Webster and Poulton to execute a beautiful piece of rugby. Webster chipped over the defence with Poulton catching the bounce and putting Webster in under the posts!
Bristol started to pick their game up forcing the home side deep into there own half. But with dummy-half Webber collecting a grubber in his own try area he ‘jonny-two stepped’ his way out off trouble and put Ross ‘Kate Moss’ Gard in for a try. Good times.
To finish the game off the Gloucester backs strung together a sweet move, sucking in all the Bristol defence allowing Webber to get over the line.
Webster converted all tries, missing only three and captain Poulton grabbed himself a nice little drop-goal.
A good performance by Gloucester Uni, with plenty more to come.
Monday, 27 October 2008
A Slice of My Travels!
Alright guys, I'm pretty bored after rugby training tonight and thought i'd be pro-active and write on this blog! First of all, in my opinion blogs are useually for pedophiles and rapists. Or guys with horn rim glasses, comb over and hard on talking to people in chat rooms. I never thought i'd actually start one but can see how it can help all of us ''trainee journalists'' write about anything and everything that goes on either in our heads (Ben) or around us!
I've read pretty most of my fellow students blogs and am pretty impressed. They all entertain and it's interesting to read about peoples opinions and thoughts (again Ben).
I have nothing that you guys would be interested in to write about so when i sat down i wasn't sure what i should write about. So to give you all an insight about my life and what i do i thought i'd use some material about my time living in Dominican!
I lived and worked in the Dominican Republic two years ago, it was fucking epic. I met some friends for life and saw part of the world i never thought i would have. But the most important thing i took away from my trip wasn't the sense of how lucky we all are not living in a third world country, but my memories of the mischief me and my mates got up to. If you're sensative and easily offended you've probably stopped reading by now but if not continue!
My job title was Activities Instructor. I ran loads of activities for all age groups including raft building, high rope work, canoeing, basketball, sea scooters, snorkling aswell as kids clubs and shizzney! The team i worked with were from all over the place (all over England that is) except for Afro Joe who was a local Dominican. He had an afro. Thats why we called him Afro Joe.
Joe and I, along with two other activity instructors, Chris and Marcus from Manchester, lived together in an apartment complex called Club on the Green. As you can imagine, four lads in a flat together was complete carnage and the place resembled ground zero on September the 12th 2001 for the whole six months we were there. Joe wasn’t actually meant to live there, as he was a Dominican and lived in the city, but we loved him enough to let him stay in our crib. It was getting in such a mess I was getting pissed off with everything. The thing that pissed me off the most was Marcus’s Quevo wrappers littered all over the place. Quevos are a sandwich type thing you could by in the city for 20pesos (about 25pence). They were amazing, but tasted like they had meat in. But they didn’t, which was curious. The wrappers were everywhere, and I hit the roof when I found three stuffed in the DVD player. Funny though!
I told Marcus to clean his shit up. But he refused on the grounds he found it funny when I’m pissed off. It got so bad I collected all his fucking wrappers and but them in a pile in front of the TV. It was then a game of who could hold out longer before someone put the pile in the bin. We’re all pretty stubborn. It was getting worse as well, we were all adding to it. Pizza boxes, burger boxes, beer bottles, rum bottles, crisp packets and more Quevo wrappers. It got so bad it was practically blocking the whole TV. In retrospect, we were a bunch of idiots as it was attracting rats and cockroaches by the thousand, and keeping me up at night.
Three weeks in I’d had enough. We were all watching half of the TV when I declared to Marcus, ‘If you don’t clean that shit up, I’m gonna take a dump on the floor.’ It got a huge laugh, but Marcus replied, ‘Funny mate, but you’re not even stupid enough to do that.’ In protest I realised I would have to follow through with my threat. So, the boys looked in disbelief as I squatted in front of them, downed my shorts and curled out a Cleveland steamer onto the pile. Absolute silence ensued. Then laughter. We soon cleaned the flat.
I hope the little story entertained all you readers! I'm getting bored so am gonna go downstairs and hide peoples food! Enjoy.
I've read pretty most of my fellow students blogs and am pretty impressed. They all entertain and it's interesting to read about peoples opinions and thoughts (again Ben).
I have nothing that you guys would be interested in to write about so when i sat down i wasn't sure what i should write about. So to give you all an insight about my life and what i do i thought i'd use some material about my time living in Dominican!
I lived and worked in the Dominican Republic two years ago, it was fucking epic. I met some friends for life and saw part of the world i never thought i would have. But the most important thing i took away from my trip wasn't the sense of how lucky we all are not living in a third world country, but my memories of the mischief me and my mates got up to. If you're sensative and easily offended you've probably stopped reading by now but if not continue!
My job title was Activities Instructor. I ran loads of activities for all age groups including raft building, high rope work, canoeing, basketball, sea scooters, snorkling aswell as kids clubs and shizzney! The team i worked with were from all over the place (all over England that is) except for Afro Joe who was a local Dominican. He had an afro. Thats why we called him Afro Joe.
Joe and I, along with two other activity instructors, Chris and Marcus from Manchester, lived together in an apartment complex called Club on the Green. As you can imagine, four lads in a flat together was complete carnage and the place resembled ground zero on September the 12th 2001 for the whole six months we were there. Joe wasn’t actually meant to live there, as he was a Dominican and lived in the city, but we loved him enough to let him stay in our crib. It was getting in such a mess I was getting pissed off with everything. The thing that pissed me off the most was Marcus’s Quevo wrappers littered all over the place. Quevos are a sandwich type thing you could by in the city for 20pesos (about 25pence). They were amazing, but tasted like they had meat in. But they didn’t, which was curious. The wrappers were everywhere, and I hit the roof when I found three stuffed in the DVD player. Funny though!
I told Marcus to clean his shit up. But he refused on the grounds he found it funny when I’m pissed off. It got so bad I collected all his fucking wrappers and but them in a pile in front of the TV. It was then a game of who could hold out longer before someone put the pile in the bin. We’re all pretty stubborn. It was getting worse as well, we were all adding to it. Pizza boxes, burger boxes, beer bottles, rum bottles, crisp packets and more Quevo wrappers. It got so bad it was practically blocking the whole TV. In retrospect, we were a bunch of idiots as it was attracting rats and cockroaches by the thousand, and keeping me up at night.
Three weeks in I’d had enough. We were all watching half of the TV when I declared to Marcus, ‘If you don’t clean that shit up, I’m gonna take a dump on the floor.’ It got a huge laugh, but Marcus replied, ‘Funny mate, but you’re not even stupid enough to do that.’ In protest I realised I would have to follow through with my threat. So, the boys looked in disbelief as I squatted in front of them, downed my shorts and curled out a Cleveland steamer onto the pile. Absolute silence ensued. Then laughter. We soon cleaned the flat.
I hope the little story entertained all you readers! I'm getting bored so am gonna go downstairs and hide peoples food! Enjoy.
Christopher McCandless.....I love him!
This is somthing i wrote last year for college! Its about a man who gives uo everything and decides to just wander through America! Enjoy....
The story of Christopher Johnson McCandless is what I would describe as a deep, meaningful and emotional journey of self discovery and realisation of which I derive pleasure and inspiration. And if it wasn’t for the very thing Christopher was trying to get away from I would never have heard it. I stumbled across his story while killing time on my computer at home, a computer made by a large corporate company being driven by the idea and realisation of making money. A computer of which I am ashamed to admit spend too much time in front of buying into the idea of money making, becoming famous, pointless conversations and all other types of materialistic desires which drive the majority of us in today’s society. A type society that Christopher Johnson McCandless wouldn’t want to be a part of as it has no real meaning or sense of achievement, other than that of one-upmanship and boastfulness. Nevertheless I am a part of it and am making to real effort to leave.
The whole world, weather you like it or not, is driven by the idea and desire of money making. Money allows people to live the life they see in all the glossy magazines, allows people to buy all the things they may not need but want, allows people to travel anywhere in the world and stay in absolute comfort while doing so and most shockingly, and against the key lesson we’ve all been taught growing up. Money makes people Happy. Happy whit a capital H. Money ‘can’ buy you happiness. It can buy you anything you want. Christopher Johnson McCandless left all of this behind on his journey.
This isn’t going to be a self righteous piece of writing in which I will tell you how to live your life, and how the world we live in is a materialistic one and we’ve lost our way as human beings. Because its not. We all realise where our downfalls are as a modern society and accept them. As we should. Instead this is a piece of writing about a true traveler leaving this world behind and entering into a new one where he encounters what I would perceive as true life but am, to be honest, too scared to search for myself.
Who is our traveler? He is Christopher Johnson McCandless. He grew up in Virginia which is located in Fairfax County with his sister Carine, his mum Wilhelmina "Billie" Johnson and his dad Walt McCandless who worked NASA as an antenna specialist before starting a very successful consultancy company with Christophers mum. His parents were the epitome of the modern society I’ve described and were driven by image and making money with their company. At school he was perceived as an intelligent athlete and was a member of the cross country team. Signs of his unique mind were pretty apparent as even at a young age he recommended to all his cross country team mates at his school to treat their running training and events as a spiritual exercise in which they were "running against the forces of darkness and all the evil in the world, all the hatred."
He graduated from high school in 1986. The grades he had achieved enabled him to attend university. Christopher graduated from his University in 1990 where he majored in history and anthropology. The upper middle-class background Christopher was brought up with and the academic success he achieved had hidden his growing contempt for what he saw as the empty materialism of the modern Yank society. I can’t help but think that Christopher thought of his college education as a pointless formality he conformed to on behalf of his parents before he went on his travels. But it’s open to interpretation.
Christopher had $25,000 in his life savings. He saw this as more of a burden than a privilege and therefore deiced to donate all of this to the charity Oxfam International. After this he began his travels, across the vast country that lay under his feet. The traveling was a new start, a new life, away from materialism and for this he decided to use a different name, ‘Alexander Supertramp’. Our traveler made his way through the extremely warm Arizona, California and South Dakota, where he worked at a grain elevator in search of new experiences and new people. It was belived that while working this life as a grain elevator he met what you could describe as a father figure who only encouraged Christopher’s imaginative and curious part of his personality. He alternated between what could be described as settled periods, in which he conformed to normality and often worked a job (to earn some of that precious money), and time spent as ‘Alexander Supertramp’ living with no money and hardly any human contact at all, sometimes even being a proper caveman and foraging for his food in the wild. During these wilderness periods Christopher survived several dangerous and exiting trials, such as losing his car in a flash flood (which would of broken my spirits) and canoeing down remote stretches of the Colorado River down to the Gulf of California while being chased by the authorities because it is illegal to do so, which is something I would love to be able to do. He hardly made any preparation throughout his adventures and took pride in what he was achieving.
Christopher had always wanted to have an adventure in the unbearable lands of Alaska in which he would only use what the land could present him with while being far away from any help. He would however keep a journal documenting everything from his physical condition, the weather and anything he was experiencing spiritually. This way of surviving is something I am extremely impressed with. I think it shows such aspiration and imagination in our modern world. I can barely imagine life without the internet, never mind not having easily accessible food heat or entertainment! It wasn’t until April 1992 that he eventually hitchhiked to a part of Alaska to start his adventure.
After a few days hiking around this new Alaskan wilderness Christopher was in his dream. He found an abandoned bus deep in the Alaskan wilderness which was used as a hunting shelter. He converted this bus into his Alaskan home and finally was able to start living off of what only mother nature could provide. Christopher hardly had any equipment to help him survive. All he had was:
-10-pound bag of rice
-Remington semi-automatic rifle with loads of ammunition
-Book of local plant life and several other books
-Some basic camping equipment.
He was extremely inexperienced as a hunter but was fairly successful in hunting small game like porcupines and birds. With the book on local plant life, his thoughts were he could use it to identify and find all the possible edible plants he was surrounded with.
Christophers journal has 189 days worth of entries. The 189 entries range from the completely awesome to the completely grim with all of Christophers experiences and luck changing fortunes. The following July, after living successfully in his bus home for several months, he decided to leave, but found the trail back blocked by the un passably high Teklanika River. Much, much higher than it was when he passed it at the start of his Alaskan adventure. This meant he was trapped. After all his exploits living off the land away from everything he despised in the modern world, it was the very thing he desired stopping him from returning. This was bad news, Christopher was losing lots of weight and started to deteriorate.
Christophers final words in his journal were added on August the 12th. In these final words he added the torn final page from Louis L'Amour's memoir, Education of a Wandering Man with the words:
"Death's a fierce meadowlark but to die having made Something more equal to centuries Than muscle and bone, is mostly to shed weakness. The mountains are dead stone, the people Admire or hate their stature, their insolent quietness, The mountains are not softened or troubled And a few dead men's thoughts have the same temper."
On the other side of the page, Christopher added:
"I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"
Christophers body was found in his sleeping bag inside his bus home weighing hardly anything. Later it was discovered that Christopher had been dead for more than two weeks and the official cause of death was starvation! This starvation was brought on by incorrectly identifying an inedible plant which made him violently ill.
The story of Christopher’s is an inspiring one, and extremely sad. The journey has been told in many forms, word of mouth, television, books and most recently film. I can now add this feature to the list, although I think if you wanted to experience the story in its most pure form I would recommend the film ‘Into the Wild’ and the book that accompanies it! He was a true traveler and a real inspiration to millions.
The story of Christopher Johnson McCandless is what I would describe as a deep, meaningful and emotional journey of self discovery and realisation of which I derive pleasure and inspiration. And if it wasn’t for the very thing Christopher was trying to get away from I would never have heard it. I stumbled across his story while killing time on my computer at home, a computer made by a large corporate company being driven by the idea and realisation of making money. A computer of which I am ashamed to admit spend too much time in front of buying into the idea of money making, becoming famous, pointless conversations and all other types of materialistic desires which drive the majority of us in today’s society. A type society that Christopher Johnson McCandless wouldn’t want to be a part of as it has no real meaning or sense of achievement, other than that of one-upmanship and boastfulness. Nevertheless I am a part of it and am making to real effort to leave.
The whole world, weather you like it or not, is driven by the idea and desire of money making. Money allows people to live the life they see in all the glossy magazines, allows people to buy all the things they may not need but want, allows people to travel anywhere in the world and stay in absolute comfort while doing so and most shockingly, and against the key lesson we’ve all been taught growing up. Money makes people Happy. Happy whit a capital H. Money ‘can’ buy you happiness. It can buy you anything you want. Christopher Johnson McCandless left all of this behind on his journey.
This isn’t going to be a self righteous piece of writing in which I will tell you how to live your life, and how the world we live in is a materialistic one and we’ve lost our way as human beings. Because its not. We all realise where our downfalls are as a modern society and accept them. As we should. Instead this is a piece of writing about a true traveler leaving this world behind and entering into a new one where he encounters what I would perceive as true life but am, to be honest, too scared to search for myself.
Who is our traveler? He is Christopher Johnson McCandless. He grew up in Virginia which is located in Fairfax County with his sister Carine, his mum Wilhelmina "Billie" Johnson and his dad Walt McCandless who worked NASA as an antenna specialist before starting a very successful consultancy company with Christophers mum. His parents were the epitome of the modern society I’ve described and were driven by image and making money with their company. At school he was perceived as an intelligent athlete and was a member of the cross country team. Signs of his unique mind were pretty apparent as even at a young age he recommended to all his cross country team mates at his school to treat their running training and events as a spiritual exercise in which they were "running against the forces of darkness and all the evil in the world, all the hatred."
He graduated from high school in 1986. The grades he had achieved enabled him to attend university. Christopher graduated from his University in 1990 where he majored in history and anthropology. The upper middle-class background Christopher was brought up with and the academic success he achieved had hidden his growing contempt for what he saw as the empty materialism of the modern Yank society. I can’t help but think that Christopher thought of his college education as a pointless formality he conformed to on behalf of his parents before he went on his travels. But it’s open to interpretation.
Christopher had $25,000 in his life savings. He saw this as more of a burden than a privilege and therefore deiced to donate all of this to the charity Oxfam International. After this he began his travels, across the vast country that lay under his feet. The traveling was a new start, a new life, away from materialism and for this he decided to use a different name, ‘Alexander Supertramp’. Our traveler made his way through the extremely warm Arizona, California and South Dakota, where he worked at a grain elevator in search of new experiences and new people. It was belived that while working this life as a grain elevator he met what you could describe as a father figure who only encouraged Christopher’s imaginative and curious part of his personality. He alternated between what could be described as settled periods, in which he conformed to normality and often worked a job (to earn some of that precious money), and time spent as ‘Alexander Supertramp’ living with no money and hardly any human contact at all, sometimes even being a proper caveman and foraging for his food in the wild. During these wilderness periods Christopher survived several dangerous and exiting trials, such as losing his car in a flash flood (which would of broken my spirits) and canoeing down remote stretches of the Colorado River down to the Gulf of California while being chased by the authorities because it is illegal to do so, which is something I would love to be able to do. He hardly made any preparation throughout his adventures and took pride in what he was achieving.
Christopher had always wanted to have an adventure in the unbearable lands of Alaska in which he would only use what the land could present him with while being far away from any help. He would however keep a journal documenting everything from his physical condition, the weather and anything he was experiencing spiritually. This way of surviving is something I am extremely impressed with. I think it shows such aspiration and imagination in our modern world. I can barely imagine life without the internet, never mind not having easily accessible food heat or entertainment! It wasn’t until April 1992 that he eventually hitchhiked to a part of Alaska to start his adventure.
After a few days hiking around this new Alaskan wilderness Christopher was in his dream. He found an abandoned bus deep in the Alaskan wilderness which was used as a hunting shelter. He converted this bus into his Alaskan home and finally was able to start living off of what only mother nature could provide. Christopher hardly had any equipment to help him survive. All he had was:
-10-pound bag of rice
-Remington semi-automatic rifle with loads of ammunition
-Book of local plant life and several other books
-Some basic camping equipment.
He was extremely inexperienced as a hunter but was fairly successful in hunting small game like porcupines and birds. With the book on local plant life, his thoughts were he could use it to identify and find all the possible edible plants he was surrounded with.
Christophers journal has 189 days worth of entries. The 189 entries range from the completely awesome to the completely grim with all of Christophers experiences and luck changing fortunes. The following July, after living successfully in his bus home for several months, he decided to leave, but found the trail back blocked by the un passably high Teklanika River. Much, much higher than it was when he passed it at the start of his Alaskan adventure. This meant he was trapped. After all his exploits living off the land away from everything he despised in the modern world, it was the very thing he desired stopping him from returning. This was bad news, Christopher was losing lots of weight and started to deteriorate.
Christophers final words in his journal were added on August the 12th. In these final words he added the torn final page from Louis L'Amour's memoir, Education of a Wandering Man with the words:
"Death's a fierce meadowlark but to die having made Something more equal to centuries Than muscle and bone, is mostly to shed weakness. The mountains are dead stone, the people Admire or hate their stature, their insolent quietness, The mountains are not softened or troubled And a few dead men's thoughts have the same temper."
On the other side of the page, Christopher added:
"I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"
Christophers body was found in his sleeping bag inside his bus home weighing hardly anything. Later it was discovered that Christopher had been dead for more than two weeks and the official cause of death was starvation! This starvation was brought on by incorrectly identifying an inedible plant which made him violently ill.
The story of Christopher’s is an inspiring one, and extremely sad. The journey has been told in many forms, word of mouth, television, books and most recently film. I can now add this feature to the list, although I think if you wanted to experience the story in its most pure form I would recommend the film ‘Into the Wild’ and the book that accompanies it! He was a true traveler and a real inspiration to millions.
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