No Umbrella News (VIDEO)

Next Issue Deadlines
Stories - May 1, 2006
Advertising - May 1, 2006


noumbrella.com




Remove yourself from our mailing list

Good Day!
This is our Holiday newsletter. It's the biggest one we've ever put out, so no need to waste space with a lousy introduction!

Recent No Umbrella Accomplishments:

Chris Hull on the Kennebec River. November 30, 2005.
Nick Callanan photo.

• Our first "No Umbrella News" segment. Thanks to Joe Hines at Go Big Video for putting this together. PC users will need QuickTime to view this video. I have to admit, it's pretty cool.
• Watch for the Spring Paddling Film Series this February to April! The series will be making eight stops at colleges throughout Maine and displaying Maine-made paddling footage to all who attend. No Umbrella has found this series to be a tremendous tool for inspiring people to paddle. So far, Teva and Northern Outdoors are our major sponsors. To bring the series to your college or to inquire about becoming a film series sponsor drop me a line. Also, filmmakers: are you interested in showing your Maine paddling film to a captive audience? If so, we will show it to over 500 people throughout our great state. We have room for two more short films. Get in touch and let's make it happen!
• New columns already lined up for next year including alpine skiing, ice fishing, small business, disc golf, creeking, beer and more every week. Don't forget, we're going to have 40-page issues next year. Yeah! (writers: pitch us your column idea! We just might publish it.)
• No Umbrella will have a Club News section in 2006, with news from paddling clubs, college outing clubs, bike clubs, and more. Contact No Umbrella today to use this great resource to publicize your outdoor club. (it's free!)
• Check out these great outdoor and Maine-related partner sites:
  • Maine Hunting Today - A site for Maine hunting enthusiasts by Tom and Steve Remington of Bangor.
  • The Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society - The most active (and coolest) Maine paddling club.
  • New England Paddlers Message Board - A great resource for paddlers of all levels.
  • Mt. Washington Valley Paddlers - A first class New Hampshire/Maine paddling club.
  • Merrimack Valley Paddlers Club - A wonderful northeast paddling club and site!

Hurricane Relief Trip to Louisiana:
First, thanks to everyone who donated to our hurricane relief trip to Slidell, Louisiana: Peavey's Store (Liberty), Freedom General Store, Bay Wrap (Belfast), Jodie Martin, Emily Horton, Andrea Clifford, Mount View High School, Paul's Hardware (Brooks), Clayton Cole, Alison Murray, Tom Kingston, Frank Callanan and Susan Morrissey, Lori Safford, Sue and Glen Martin, Ralph and Kate Safford, The Sloan Family of Buxton, Cedar Crest Motel (Camden), Dave Hughes, the Youth Alternatives Bass House (Saco), Rachel Thompson, Sadie Donovan, Sara Converse, and the many others who helped out with food and cash donations.
And special thanks to Ansley and Virginia Orfila who took us in and treated us like family while we were in Slidell.

The boys in Slidell
Virginia Orfila photo.

The trip was truly a success. Though we were just eight guys and one girl from Maine, we were able to help dozens and dozens of people in Slidell. We cut and cleared trees from homes, removed flooded debris from people's soggy houses, helped the local church to distribute canned goods to hard-up residents, and just generally helped where we could. I wish I could have stayed longer.

You can read a bit more about our trip at www.noumbrella.com/katrina. One last thing I want to say here is that I was amazed at the resiliency and cooperation of the general population in Slidell ... If it wasn't for individual neighbors and volunteers stepping up and looking for out each other, this catastrophe would have been much, much worse.

Family News:
In the spirit of the holidays (which all are about family to me), I'm going to spread some accomplishments of my brothers:

My brother Myles is ten. He visited at my house for a few days and wrote this Disc Golf report as a home-school exercise on Internet searching.

Myles' Disc Golf Report:
Topic: Disc Golf

Question A: How many Disc Golf courses in the United States?
Answer: 1668 (Source: PDGA.COM)

Question B: Are there any pro leagues?
Answer: Yes. "A player relinquishes Amateur status by registering in a Professional division with the PDGA, or by competing in a Professional division at a PDGA Tour event and accepting prize money based on place of finish." (Source: PDGA.COM)

Question C: Who invented Disc Golf?
Answer: "Early 1960's Copar Company of Chicago markets a disc called Sky Sauce that included a rulebook for the game of Sky Golf. And in 1964-1969 George Sappenfield organizes several Frisbee golf events in Southern California." (Source: http://members.tripod.com/odgc-sc/dghistory.htm)
That's my report,thank you,
Myles Safford
Kid
Earth

Way to go Myles. If you want, you can Email Myles a comment about his report.

In other family sports news, Graham Safford (Myles' older brother, 12) and his soccer team, Pen-Bay (the only coed team in the tournament), recently won a state championship in club league soccer for the U14 age group. There's some pictures of the semifinal game here. Graham is number 9.

And Zeke? Zeke is a first year law student in the midst of studying for his exams. He's doing well in his studies. Though I do have to poke some fun at him for the fact he is "all done paddling for the season." What a wimp. Must be law school getting the best of his nerves. I mean c'mon, the river has to be at least 32 degrees! We did, however, capture the USM intramural 3 on 3 basketball tournament last week, with Zeke hitting ten three-pointers in the finals. Nice work, buddy.

No Umbrella Presents A Solid Gift Option:
They get:
      >a long sleeve brown T-shirt (Zeke is wearing one above).
      >an 8-issue subscription
      >and a Kaiser Art River Card.

If you're interested in giving the gift of No Umbrella, there are four ways to order:
      Order by Mail
      Order by Phone - (207) 672-3344
      Order by Email
      Order by Web via Credit Card

Please order by Midnight on Sunday, December 18, to ensure delivery by December 23. To learn more about the package, click here.

Well, that about wraps it up. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!






Nick Callanan
Publisher/Editor


Myles Safford, Photo.