Two snowboarders and a skier were reportedly in the Gore Mountain Range when they triggered a “Class 3 Avalanche” on January 16, 2009. All three men were buried for at least an hour before one managed to dig out, according to a story in the Aspen Times. They survived thanks to a device called an Avalung.
According to the report, the longest and deepest burial lasted 2 hours, 15 minutes (determined with the aid of digital photo time stamps) under about 7 feet of snow. . . . Other than a guardian angel, Sawtell believes one thing the men had going for them was preparation. All were equipped with the standard backcountry snow tools of avalanche beacons, shovels and probe poles. . . . But perhaps equally significant was they all had an AvaLung, invented in 2000 by Denver psychiatry professor and backcountry skiing enthusiast Tom Crowley. Black Diamond spent a half-million dollars making the design practical, and the version on the market now — AvaLung II — came out in 2001.
The house in Karuizawa, Japan is called Shell, and it was designed by a Japanese architecture firm called Artechnic. . . Approaching the house. Anybody remember the elliptical transition fad on vert ramps?
We’re kind of surprised that Pierre Andre doesn’t have something like this hiding in the hills above Sole Tech.
On a trip back to the US after playing Korea with Metallica, Tool’s Adam Jones was in the Honolulu airport when he felt a tap on his shoulder according to an interview in Guitar World’s April 20, 2009 issue.
After we landed, I was getting my luggage and I felt this tap on my shoulder. It was Kirk [Hammett, Metallica’s guitarist], and he said, ‘Are you the guitarist in Tool? I love your band. Would you like to come to dinner?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah!'” . . . “He lent me a long board and took me out to this spot where all the old-timers surf. I’m from California, so I’ve never had to paddle 30 minutes anywhere. [laughs] And you have to go out real far in Waikiki to catch the good waves. My arms were getting so tired, and I was so worried I was gonna look like a pussy!”
We all know the feeling Adam, we just never talk about it.
One of modern art’s most persistent supporters is controversy. And Shepard Fairy has drummed up his fare share during his rise to fame as the Hope poster boy.
LA Artist Mark Vallen’s has posted an essay titled Obey Plagiarist Shepard Faireyin which he breaks down much of the Obey art and shows exactly where Shepard is boosting his images.
Fairey has developed a successful career through expropriating and recontextualizing the artworks of others, which in and of itself does not make for bad art. Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein based his paintings on the world of American comic strips and advertising imagery, but one was always aware that Lichtenstein was taking his images from comic books; that was after all the point, to examine the blasé and artificial in modern American commercial culture. When Lichtenstein painted Look Mickey, a 1961 oil on canvas portrait of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, everyone was cognizant of the artist’s source material – they were in on the joke. By contrast, Fairey simply filches artworks and hopes that no one notices – the joke is on you.
We don’t disagree with Vallen, but appropriation is kind of Shepard’s whole point. And to miss that is to miss out completely on the “pop genius” of his work. Shepard did it. It caught on to something in pop culture and now he’s getting collected, shown, and paid. Isn’t that the way art is supposed to work?
You just never know the truth these days. According to a video posted on Thrasher Magazine’s website, Editor Jake Phelps says he “was fired yesterday” by High Speed Productions. Here’s what he had to say on the video clip:
Well I guess the who’s hated list that caused a lot of shit. But I got fired yesterday, I guess I’m going to have to keep skating more. . . . I don’t hate anybody. And I love everybody. Let’s all just keep skating. . . . If you have some more questions to ask me maybe I’ll tell you, we’ll go in a van on the road somewhere and I’ll tell you some funny stories and that will keep you occupied. . . . I’ll keep my own opinions to myself. I’m not a jock. I’ve done a lot of drugs. I’m just a regular guy and like I said, “The Truth Hurts.”
Though we know a lot of people who would celebrate Jake Phelp’s firing, we’re not going to start putting our party kit on just yet. . .
We’re not the biggest fans of the super-extreme RedBull thrill-fests, however, the Snowscrapers event is looking pretty legit, especially since Fuel TV is going to webcast it live and in HD this Thursday afternoon.
On Thursday, February 5th, 17 of the world’s best snowboarders will compete in New York City for their piece of the massive $100,000 prize purse at Red Bull Snowscrapers. Riders will rip against the majestic backdrop of the NYC skyline in the East River Park from 6-9 pm and it’s all being webcast live in HD on FUEL.TV. Don’t miss this one!
Plus, if it’s on the web and in HD, we’ll pretty much watch anything.
A 17-year-old Japanese exchange student who went missing at Idaho’s Bogus Basin Recreation Area on Sunday was found at 11 AM on Monday by a motorist. The kid had walked approximately 20 miles during the night.
“It appears he is fine. As far as I know, there was no medical attention needed,” said Rogers, who noted that the boy could have easily suffered hypothermia from exposure to sub-freezing temperatures all night . . . “He is extremely lucky to be alive,” Roger said.
Austrian rescue crews are losing hope in the search for a 31-year-old snowboarder who went missing on Saturday in the Upper Austrian Krippenstein, according to a story in the Austria Times.
The man, 31, from Gloggnitz in Lower Austria, was snowboarding with friends but failed to appear at their pre-arranged meeting point in the afternoon. The other snowboarders sounded the alarm. . . . Rescuers have been unable to look for the man because a warm “föhn” wind from the south has raised the danger of avalanches in the area. Rescuers would face too high a degree of risk if they went up the mountain.
X Games Senior Vice President Rick Alessandri, is pretty happy with the “cross-platform” ratings of the Winter X 13. “The continued growth across all our multi-media properties is a testament to the passion, athleticism and drama the X Games athletes deliver each event.”
But according to a story on TVbythenumbers.com the TV ratings really weren’t all that strong, though it’s hard to tell with all this “best ever” lingo:
Television: Winter X Games 13 was ESPN’s highest-rated and most-viewed Winter X Games in history. The eight telecasts averaged 942,000 homes, up nine percent from 2008. Young male and people demos were up double digits from last year. Three of ESPN’s eight Winter X Games telecasts, delivered over a 1.0 rating this year –Friday prime time, Sunday afternoon and Sunday prime time. Sunday night’s 1.3 rating and 1,242,210 homes makes it the highest-rated and most-viewed Winter X Games telecast ever. ABC’s Winter X Games 13 telecast on Saturday averaged a 1.2 household rating and 1,376,481 households.
Just for comparison sake nearly seven times as many people watch Extreme Makeover on ABC TV and 14 times as many people regularly watch American Idol. The Portland Summer Dew Tour event that aired live in August (albeit with the Olympics for a lead-in) got a 2.7 rating.
No matter where we were on the floor at SIA it seemed like our conversations were constantly being drowned out by the music pumping from the Skullcandy booth. The Omatic Snowboards booth was right across the isle from Skullcandy and here’s how Todd Richards was taking it. . .
Two snowboarders and a skier were reportedly in the Gore Mountain Range when they triggered a “Class 3 Avalanche” on January 16, 2009. All three men were buried for at least an hour before one managed to dig out, according to a story in the Aspen Times. They survived thanks to a device called an Avalung.
