Anything and Everything that is cool, hot, fresh and classic.
What’s the highest you can jump a motorcycle out of a quarter pipe?
Ronnie Renner and the Red Bull Experiment decided to find out, and on July 11, in front of thousands of fans on the Santa Monica pier, he sailed some 59’2” trough the air and upside down to set a new world record:
If you were among the more than eight million people that helped Firefox set a new world record on Download Day 2008, then it’s time to start tweaking and tuning Firefox 3 to match your needs.
The first stop on your customization journey should definitely be at Lifehacker’s Power User’s Guide to Firefox 3, which digs a little deeper into the program and uncovers shortcuts, tweaks, and even Easter Eggs in the Mozilla monster.
Are you ready?
I’ve talked about Chuck Palahniuk’s Snuff before, but now that his some of the book’s marketing is starting to see the light of day, I thought it was worth a revisit.
If you remember, Snuff is about Cassie Wright, a porn priestess who intends to cap her legendary career by breaking the world record for serial fornication.
To give Cassie’s character a little more believability, two videos were created to promote Cassie’s previous work:
The Wizard of Ass - Dorothy is Not a Virgin Anymore:
and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Bang:
Don’t you wish every book’s advertising was this…interesting?
[Via: Sand & Cotton]
Simon Dumont recently set the world quarterpipe record for skis with a corked 900 tail grab that sent him 35 feet above the lip of the ramp.
Though that sounds impressive enough, it’s tough to really grasp what 35 feet looks like until you can see the vid:
Crazy!
At the Crusty Demons Night of World Records, six new records were set, including Robbie Maddison setting the longest distance ever jumped on a motorcycle record with 351 feet.
To put that in perspective, he hit the ramp at over 100 mph, and rose more than 70 feet in the air before heading back towards Earth.
Other records broken include the longest backflip ramp to ramp by Cameron Sinclair at 129 feet, 7 inches, the longest mini bike distance jump by Brent Brady at 104 feet 7 inches, the longest distance jump ramp to ramp by a quad by John Guetter at 176 feet 11 inches, the most swords swallowed by Chayne Hultgren at 17, and the heaviest weight lifted while swallowing a sword by Cheyne again at 20.1kg.
It must have been quite a night!
[Via: Autoblog]
I watched two fantastic (and fantastically different) documentaries this weekend, so I’ve decided to make this post a hybrid review of both.
First, there was The Bridge, a morbid (and controversial) yet fascinating look at those that decide to end their lives by jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge.
For a year, director Eric Steel aimed his cameras at the majestic and iconic bridge, capturing nearly two-dozen suicides and an equally high number of prevented or failed attempts. Switching between long, beautiful shots of the bridge and close, almost biographical shots of those teetering on the edge of life, it juxtaposes the two sides of the bridge perfectly, and you find yourself engulfed by a landmark with a personality all its own.
The Bridge also features interviews with the friends, family, and loved ones of each jumper, and attempts to explain the story and the history of those featured. You slowly begin to understand a little bit of what each person was going through, and you can see their affect on those around them.
And then they jump.
If the thought of watching someone end his or her life in front of an unknown eye disturbs you, then this film is definitely not for you; but if you’re interested in trying to understand what someone goes through at the lowest of lows, then I can’t think of a better way to do it.
Second, there was King of King: A Fistful of Quarters, a humorous and touching look at those that have decided to dedicate a part of their lives to becoming the best in the world at their classic video game of choice.
The two “stars” are the perfect poster children for a hobby that only a select few find excitement in. Steve Wiebe, the family man who sits in his garage and games away while his family stands by and supports his quest, goes against Billy Mitchell, the long haired hot sauce salesman who has held the title for over twenty years, yet struggles to live up to the crown that he has placed upon his own head.
Though a film about video game records doesn’t exactly sound like an attention grabber, this film manages to capture the heart and soul of each gamer through interviews and over the shoulders in a way that draws you in and makes you a part of the action. You feel for the two men and their quest (along with the handful of supporting characters), and you begin to understand how these games can become a symbol of something more than just the record.
[King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters]
Chuck Palahniuk is definitely my favorite author, so when I read the summary of his upcoming book, Snuff, I immediately hit the pre-order button:
Sounds like another bestseller to me.
Here are two pictures that tell quite a tale:
The first is Gibson and Boo Boo, the world’s tallest and the world’s smallest dog, meeting for the first time in Sacramento, California for Guinness World Records Day, 2007. On his hind legs, Gibson stands at over 7 feet tall, while Boo Boo checks in at just 4.9 inches.
The second is the shoreline of two Dutch North Sea islands after six containers of bananas fell off of a cargo ship during a storm and washed ashore. After the spill, the shoreline was bananas, B.A.N.A.N.A.S.
[Dogs Via: Spluch]
[Bananas Via: Yahoo!]
I am now officially jealous of Ken Block.
After getting to jump his rally prepped Subaru WRX 171 feet for a new world record, he got to jump it over 70 feet in the snow for the cover of Snowboarder magazine.
The stunt was performed at New Zealand’s Snow Park Record, and used a specially prepared 55-foot ramp to put him alongside some very brave snowboarders during the jump.
I just hope Space Jam’s “I Believe I can Fly” played over his stereo the entire time.
Markus “Hercules” Stoeckl doesn’t like going slow. Weighing in at 220 lbs., and standing 6’4” tall, it’s easy to see where he got his nickname from.
Recently, Markus set a new record for the world’s fastest mountain bike by going 130.7 mph down the side of a 45-degree mountain in the Chilean Alps, smashing the previous record by 14 mph. To add to the excitement, Markus had to hold his breath for the entire 40-second run to prevent his helmet from fogging up.
The only question is: How did he stop?
[Via: Neatorama]
