On that Newfoundland episode he even had a .22 rifle and still managed to go hungry. Any stand of trees on a downwind side of a ridge should have a few rabbits and squirrels to eat. Sled along the shoreline instead of across the open ice, and I can’t believe that he wouldn’t stumble into something edible to shoot as the days go by.

And his overly elaborate “shelters” are kind of pointless in a place where all anyone needs to do is dig a hole in the snow for a perfectly insulated place to sleep. If you are still cold, bring a dog or two in with you. Particularly in his desert survival shows, he routinely expends tons of energy (and sweat) in the hot sun building water stills that only produce a sip or two of water. Go downhill, find a sandy depression in a creek-bed with some tell-tale vegetation around it and dig (preferably at night). Odds are good you will find a usable amount of water only a few feet deep.

And while ice-fishing, pour some of that slop from the dog food meat-bucket in there to chum up the fish, who are hunting almost entirely by smell that time of year.

I don’t claim to be the greatest survivalist in the world, but these are things that anyone with a little common sense and time outdoors would know. Come on, Les. You are in the woods with a knife, gun, and tons of other gear to use. It’s not THAT hard to survive. The mountain men of yesteryear would do it for years on end.

So he didn’t like No Country For Old Men. I loved that movie. I don’t remember everything about it at the moment, but here’s my take:

Arc: High – Med - High - Low - Med (but a very cool medium).
Star Power: I don’t give a shit about star power. 7.
Mumbling Quotient: 3.
Bladder: 0 (meaning he shouldn’t have to use the washroom).
Artistry: 9.
Sadism: 3. (there’s killing, but it’s not for entertainment, per se).
Originality: 7. (this doesn’t mean much if it’s done well, original or not).
Incomprensibility: 2.
Humor: 0 (it’s not a comedy).
Scariness: 9 (but not stupid horror movie scariness; the psychopath character is frightening).
Suspense: 9 (same deal; that psychopath guy creates immediate suspense — is he going to kill someone or not? you don’t know).

He also mentions wanting to know if there’s a happy ending or not. I wouldn’t tell anyone if there’s a happy ending or not. That’d ruin the movie if it’s a good movie. I have no desire to watch movies that are depressingly realistic, because real life is depressing enough. So I don’t mind giving that away. Although No Country For Old Men isn’t the happiest story on the block, it’s still a pretty cool movie.

It’d be a real kick to go into a survival-ish type of situation with someone like this who could teach you how to deal. It’s one thing to see him do it on TV, but it’d be a whole other thing to have him as your own personal survival coach. As a poster boy for city slickers for whom a weekend of yardwork can be a challenge (although very rewarding!), I know I’m not up to the task and would wash out in a surprisingly short amount of time, but I’d still do it if the opportunity was there.