It is time to take a look back at the most viewed stories of the last half of 2008 (we went online July 1, 200). The posts listed below are ranked by the number of pageviews each received. Follow the jump for the complete rundown:
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Foursquare Outerwear has voluntarily recalled 1,300 hooded jackets after it was discovered that they could be dangerous to kids.
The jackets have a drawstring through hood which poses a strangulation hazard to children. In February 1996, CPSC issued guidelines (pdf) to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled on the neck and waist by drawstrings in upper garments, such as jackets and sweatshirts.
No injuries have been reported.
[Link: Consumer Product Safety Commission via Washington Post]
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When 21-year-old snowboarder James William Martin’s abandoned Ford Explorer was found in the Mount Seymour parking lot on Tuesday officials believe he had already been missing on the mountain for four days, according to a story in the Vancouver Sun.
Search efforts were hampered Tuesday by hazardous weather and snow conditions. North Shore Search and Rescue did a sweep of the area from helicopter, but didn’t spot Martin. A foot search was too dangerous Tuesday because of avalanche risks, police say. . . .Police were calling Martin’s friends, family and employers Tuesday to see if he may have made it off the mountain without his vehicle. . . .“There’s a slim chance that he came down the mountain with a friend and left his car there, but we’re getting a dead end everywhere we look,” Rozon said.
Hopefully this story doesn’t end like the one last season at Wolf Creek.
[Link: Vancouver Sun]
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Fuel TV is finally living up to its potential with the recently release news that the cable channel will be broadcasting the 2009 Mavericks contest live on the Internet and in HD.
We’re excited about working with Mavericks to create a truly historic event—the first live webcast of a surfing event in HD over the Internet,” said Gene Pao, Fuel TV Vice President of New Media and International Development. “The quality of the viewing experience will really be unmatched anywhere online in the action sports world. This demonstrates that Mavericks is a true leader in bringing the best possible action sports experience to fans, and Fuel TV is proud to be a part of it.
The event goes off with only 24 hours notice sometime between January 1 and March 31, 2009. This should be good: especially since we threw the box in on cable months ago.
[Link: Fuel TV/Maverickssurf]
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Seven snowmobilers are now confirmed dead and one other man is still missing after two avalanches buried them near the town of Fernie, British Columbia.
The bodies were found late Monday afternoon as searchers plowed through avalanche debris near Fernie in British Columbia’s Elk Valley, about 550 miles east of Vancouver, said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Chris Faulkner. . . . Eleven snowmobilers were hit by back-to-back avalanches on Sunday. Eight were buried but three from the group clawed through the snow and reached safety. . . . The snowmobilers were well-outfitted, dressed warmly and many had the proper safety equipment,” said Faulkner.
The names of the deceased have not yet been released by the RCMP.
[Link: Associated Press]
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An avalanche this morning at 9:30 AM blasted right up to the back door of the Bridger Restaurant at the top of the Bridger Gondola at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, according to a story from the Mercury News.
Resort spokeswoman Anna Olson said Monday’s slide happened shortly before the ski area was to open for the day. Some resort employees were in the area at the time but no members of the public. . . . “An immediate search took place and everyone was accounted for,” Olson said. “The incident is under full investigation.”
This avalanche run only two days after a skier died in an in-bounds avalanche at the resort.
[Link: San Jose Mercury News]
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Skate artist/designer Randy Laybourne will be premiering a new collection of 20 20×20 inch pieces in a show at Swiv Tackle Circus in Oceanside, California on January 17, 2009 from 6 – 10 PM. The evening will features music by DJ Blackass and friends and Stone Brew will be served.
For those of us who have collected Randy’s smaller works, it going to be great to seem them on a larger scale.
[Link: lookforwardtothepast.com and swivtacklecircus]
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He’s been seen sporting 1.20.09 stickers for awhile now so it should be no surprise that Jake Burton Carpenter has anted up a $50,000 donation (the maximum allowable) to help Barack Obama kick off his presidency in style, according to a story in the Times Argus.
Five residents have given more than $150,000 in recent weeks to the Democrat’s Presidential Inauguration Committee, the body that oversees the ceremonies and celebrations surrounding the Jan. 20, swearing-in process. . . . Jake Carpenter of Stowe, the owner of Burton Snowboards, gave $50,000 to support the inauguration as did Bill Stetson of Norwich, a prominent Democratic fundraiser.
Talk about giving back. . . Google CEO Eric Schmidt and cofounder Larry Page only donated $25,000 a piece.
[Link: Times Argus]
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The New York Times jumps on the age old pool skater mantra: disasters mean more empty pools with a story on how the increase in home foreclosure is doing just that.
Across the nation, the ultimate symbol of suburban success has become one more reminder of the economic meltdown, with builders going under, pools going to seed and skaters finding a surplus of deserted pools in which to perfect their acrobatic aerials. . . . In these boom times for skaters, Mr. Peacock travels with a gas-powered pump, five-gallon buckets, shovels and a push broom, risking trespassing charges in the pursuit of emptying forlorn pools and turning them into de facto skate parks. . . . Some skateboarders use realty tracking sites like realquest.com and realtor.com to find foreclosed houses with pools, while others trawl through satellite images from Google Earth. On the Web site skateandannoy.com, where skaters trade tips about how to find and drain abandoned pools, one poster wrote about the current economic malaise. “God bless Greenspan,” the post read, “patron saint of pool skatin’.”
It’s nice to know that no matter how bad things get, skateboarders will continue to feast on the corpse of suburban excess.
[Link: The New York Times]
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Thrasher Magazine Photo Editor Michael Burnett has a new book out that is a collection of “photos of a summer’s worth of exotic skateboarding trips [Russia, China, Skatopia] focusing on what goes on between the tricks. Also includes a short story involving ice skaters, shabby bedding and Boris Yeltsin look-a-likes.”
According to the emerica blog it also features:
Random boob signings, ass grabs, public urination, cop confrontations, face-stuffing, product tosses, local culture and so much more–not to mention plenty of pyromania and stripper pole shenanigans at Skatopia.
Click here to buy a copy with PayPal.
[Link: Emerica Skate]
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