On Thanksgiving, I drove to New Jersey to shoot Don Bosco Prep School play St. Joseph’s for Nike. Although it’s difficult to rank, Don Bosco is considered by many to be the best high school football team in the country. One of their sophomores, Jabrill Peppers (18), is all but certain to go pro and is being heralded as the greatest athlete to ever come from that part of Jersey. I think he scored four touchdowns in their 45th consecutive win that day. Although I still don’t totally appreciate the game, I loved the spectacle and the different stories and emotions that spiral around high school football. All of which was further contextualized by an feature article about Don Bosco’s team in last week’s New Yorker. It’s a good read, though not your traditional underdog story. Altogether, Don Bosco made me not hate football. Go Ironmen.

Cold, snow, more snow, boogie board, San Francisco, shot down, Bush – “Comedown”, Baker Beach at twilight, WSJ day shifts, “Finding Emilie” on Radiolab, last minute to trip to India, Nike, cricket, life lessons from Ben Dietz, missing Tahir, The Forever War, next stop Brazil, Rio at night, server switch nightmare, Cameron takes care of me, acai bowls, boat down the Amazon, floodplains, Sabá, sleeping in hammocks, avocado and guarana shakes, water buffalo, Mubarak ousted, Danilo and Matt move to Humboldt Hollow, 31 hours to New Zealand, surf contest, Corey Lopez, surfing Rere rockslide, retracing old steps, sleeping at the playground, double-kink, Scientology, family I’ve never met, retirement plan, first niece, soccer stadiums, Milan, Madrid, Glasgow, London, royal wedding party, FT meet, Fleetwood Mac – “Everywhere”, photojournalists killed in Libya, understanding mortality, Annelise’s welcome home dinners, press pass, 36 hour relay race, Alex Welsh is a trooper, Lil’ B, The Daily, Catskills, Tree of Life, the usual hustle, Sarah MacLachlan and Run DMC, House of Vans, LOOK3, crystal cave, Austin, Pure X, Sleep ∞ Over, Silent Diane, Barton Springs, Topo Chico, Elias runs Austin, Pandora stock, brutal breweries, rogue Williamsburg bridge dance, crush on Lexi, comparing notes with Mike Belleme, sweat, summer camp revisited, moon shadows, momentary Amsterdam, delicious meal at Marius, Carolina cabin, waterfall in the backyard, Jacob Biba’s stunning performance, high-octane, Turtleback Falls, Bust Ass Falls, Courthouse Falls, Babel Towers, Hallie is a friend forever, Chubaby11, sad music DJ set with van performance, Outfield – “Your Love”, friends, nostalgia, feeling old, feeling young again, Vic Blue moves to NY, Pukk, Calexico, Rwanda cycling in the New Yorker, can’t see Bon Iver through the fence at Prospect Park, old skate videos, Liz + Joel, hurrican’t, AARP, 9/11 Memorial, third macbook of the year, Erik + Carrie, Kari in DC, Mustafah bails, corn maze, Newfoundland, Creators Project, proper printer, epic Ariel calls, $10,000 for Craig Murphey Benefit, Mom goes vegan, treehouse, Occupy, street style, Morning Benders move back, Sweet Tooth “No Light” video, peanut butter tofu, Al Sharpton, romantic void, Wylie + Claire, Sleep No More blew my mind, Don Bosco Prep, Friendsgiving gone awry, FCUK, Miami, night swimming, Mojo and Pei Pei, Whole Foods in Austin, double lunch and double dinner in SF, Flore, holidays parties, Ben Ritter’s Nirvana cover band, Babe Island Christmas card, yuppie appliances, ghost town. A damn good year.