Mark Webb Does Impossible Stuff on a BMX Bike
Being old and out of touch with the BMX world, I’ve never heard of Mark Webb. But after watching this video, I’m convinced he’s gotta be the best rider around. Any one of these tricks could be amazing “video-enders”; I’m not totally convinced that all of these tricks are possible (even though I’ve watching it a few times already). Watch and see for yourself…
BMX Movie Database
If you’re an olde-tyme BMXer like me, you’ll find the BMX Movie Database a great timesink. It’s a collection of (mostly) older BMX videos put online, and it’s cool to watch some of my old favorite videos again — the Baco videos, Ride On, Style Cats — that are currently tucked away in a box (not that I have any way to watch those VHS tapes anyway).
It’s interesting to see again the progression of videos from slick-but-soulless professionally-produced videos (like 101 Freestyle Tricks), to fun but ugly homemade videos that highlighted underground riding, to the more modern professional videos well-made by riders (including tons of Props and Road Fools). You can also watch the movie Rad, if you so choose. Not all videos are complete, but there’s definitely enough to keep you entertained for hours.
Related: you can watch “Wire: 1989-1995” here, which is a a compilation of the riding videos I made so very long ago…
Friday
It’s sort of depressing having the Steve Jobs post sitting on my blog, so it’s time to move on. Since I don’t have anything specific to say, I’ll just celebrate the fact that it’s Friday with this video.
“Wire: 1989-1995” Video
Between 1998 and 1995 I made four BMX videos featuring New England riders (who, somewhat understandably, were under-represented in national media coverage). About 10 years ago I took those videos and compiled them into a single “best-of” video, which is infinitely more watchable than the originals.
The quality is pretty low since they were recorded on VHS (the first couple videos were even edited using two VCRs) but if you like old school riding — some of which I think still holds up today — you’re in luck. I uploaded them to a Wire Video channel on Vimeo, but here are all five sections right here:
Miss USA Didn’t Evolve from Apes
Well, at least 44 of them didn’t.
”I don’t believe in evolution”? We should teach “both sides of the story”? How is evolution considered a religious issue? And when did the Bible become a science book? And why does nobody understand the word “theory” in the context of science? And why did I actually watch this entire stupid video? (I can answer that last one: my irrational enjoyment of irritainment.)
At least Misses Connecticut, California, New Mexico, Vermont, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and South Dakota gave somewhat reasonable answers.
GOP: Super-Rich > 9/11 Responders
Apparently, the super-rich are highest on the Republican’s priority list, even higher than the 9/11 first responders they claim to love so much. “Since when does the Republican party make 9/11 first responders stand over in the corner with the gays and Mexicans?”
Can it be more obvious that Republican’s core principle = money? (And if it’s not, they’re sure going about things the wrong way.)
Human Parking Cone
SNL is hit or miss (OK, lots of misses) but the “human parking cone” was one of the funniest things I’ve heard in a while.
Ugly URLs, Hand Models, and the Costanzas
Roger Ebert has a pretty active Twitter account with often interesting links. However, I noticed that links to his personal Sun Times blog sometimes have ugly or bizarre URLs. This one was especially bad, with the page being not-quite-HTML-code for four nonbreaking spaces (emphasis mine, obviously):
blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/strange-3/nbsp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp-my.html
I wasn’t sure what point I was going to make with this, other than it’s bad SEO practice to have poorly-named URLs … not to mention it’s almost impossible to tell anybody that link short of of copying and pasting. So let me switch gears to what’s actually on that page:
It’s an interview with a hand model — and she’s pretty cocky about them (almost comically so) — whose hands have never seen the light of day for 15 years. She doesn’t do anything with her hands — no cooking, cleaning, sports, gardening … not even opening windows — and she wears gloves everywhere she goes. It kind of blew my mind; check it out at Ebert’s ugly-URL page.
And of course, that interview only reminds me of George Costanza’s similar modeling career.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: The rich are waging war on America
Finally, a politician that doesn’t sound like a clueless idiot in the pockets of corporations. Not surprisingly, he’s an Independent. For all our sakes, I really hope his colleagues listen to him.
Many of my Republican colleagues tell me, “Oh, I’m so concerned about our record-breaking deficit… But wait a minute, it’s very important that we give over a 10 year period $700 billion in tax breaks to the top 2%.” We’re concerned about the debt, we’re concerned about the deficit. But we are more concerned that millionaires, people who earn at least a million dollars a year or more, get on average $100,000 a year in tax breaks.
Whether you’re Democrat, Republican, independent, or not interested in politics, watch this:
Danny MacAskill Makes Trials Riders Look Rad
Years and years (and years) ago my brother & friend used to make fun of trials riders and their stupid little hopping around “tricks.” Today, trials rider Danny MacAskill is easily one of the best riders I’ve ever seen.
There’s a new video of him, and not only does it feature some of the most amazing bike control you’ll ever witness (the dude will rockwalk drop-in off of anything!) but it’s beautifully shot and edited.
Find me on…