pic by fredrik skogkvist
Talking about the apocalypse is so hot right now. Be it scientific (climate change) or spiritual (2012), it’s as if a life-erasing calamity will be knocking on our atmosphere shields any second. Say the worst does happen – the Sun sends a microwave message warning that it’s gonna throw a tantrum a bit and we’ll all perish within the next ten years. With our planet headed toward certain destruction, the only option left is to #getoffearth.
Old Domke ad. Strike that pose.
I’ve been working on the last essay of the term for a few days now. Blogging seems to be a therapeutic activity though.
Harrison Boyce and I have recently spent a fair bit of time discussing the design of bags. Yesterday he emailed me a 9mb zip file containing nothing but pictures of bags and I had a blast going through them today. My focus is on bags that strike a nice balance between function, weather-proofing, and (what I think is) timeless style. Wanted to get some thoughts onto screen, so click on for some bag porn.
Steven Hamilton, sequence taken from his Ride UK interview
Cory Beal recently sounded off his frustration on facebook and twitter saying: “Is pegless street even a style of riding? Sometimes I feel like it’s just less tricks.”
A blogger for thecomeup, I can only imagine how many bmx videos he must go through a day. The repetition is understandably grinding at his nerves as he continues in the FB comments with “[c]an’t even count how many web videos are just barspins, whips, and tuck no handers.”
No one can blame him for this as there’s been rash of videos with desperately imitative riding lately. The limitations to these three tricks is pretty disappointing given that this form of riding has produced a wealth of innovative and important video parts. Here’s a compilation of videos that hopefully inject a breathe of fresh air into the pegless atmosphere.
I’m a sucker for extended single takes, and this scene from Children of Men is absolutely riveting. It’s provoked praise for its technical prowess and criticism for being technically show-offy, but regardless of what camp everyone is in it’s pretty much impossible to talk shit on how plain awesome this scene is.
The cinematography in this movie has always given me a hard on, and today I stumbled across a few links that shed light on the astounding lengths and ingenuity used to create this magic.
Toothpicks, 2008 by Chris Jordan – Depicts one hundred million toothpicks, equal to the number of trees cut in the U.S. yearly to make the paper for junk mail.
Lately I’ve been especially conscious on the build and quality of the things I buy. This article nicely summarizes why we need to go back to making good, strong products that will last. Have been having a lot of fun visiting MEC and army surplus stores lately just to check out the design of things.
As for the article’s philosophies. Even if you take away their ‘it’s for the environment’ argument, the benefits still outweigh this cluttered, non-nonsensical form of disposable consumer culture we’ve created.
