Legend.
July 1st, 2009
An old ad. But one that deserves repeating.
Aquarian Wall: Solo
June 29th, 2009
One of the two brothers that I have done many many walls with is soloing the Aquarian Wall on El Cap right now. For those uninitiated, soloing does not mean that he is climbing without a rope (that would be free soloing), Peyton is climbing with a rope (and a whole load of stuff that he has to drag behind him the whole time).
Hopefully he has lots of water because Tom is reporting that it’s above 100ºF in The Valley right now. Good luck and be safe Peyton, we’ll be watching you. (Thanks to Tom Evans)
That familiar twinge of sadness
June 25th, 2009
I just found this video from Patagonia. The two main guys in the film are Johnny Copp and Micah Dash, the two climbers (along with photographer Wade Johnson) who died in an avalanche while on expedition in China. Rest in peace Johnny, Micah and Wade.
Fanfarlo and the $1 album
June 12th, 2009
Fanfarlo might be my new favorite band. Occupying a space somewhere between The National and Beirut, the music is just plain pleasant to listen to. Plus, their lead singer, Simon Balthazar, looks very similar to Ira Glass, how could they possibly fail?!
Oh, and did I mention that their debut album, Reservoir, is only $1? Yup. Marketing genius. You can buy their album through July 4th on their website for just one dollar.
This is the power of the internet. A relatively unknown band can release an album and then offer at as a loss leader for a limited time to build a base and get some buzz. I mean, I’m taking the time to write about it, aren’t I? How many others are doing the same? A quick Google search shows 1,670 hits for “Fanfarlo Reservoir $1″. On the first three pages, every entry is a blog post. I think their tactic is working.
Though, as my wife pointed out, it’s a foregone conclusion that the band can’t suck. This is true, but not as true as you would think. Because, niche as it may be, there is a market for sucky music. Remember, all it takes is 1000 true fans.
Though, these guys definitely don’t suck. So I think they’ll have no problem coming up with 1000. In fact, I think they’ll collect quite a few more than just 1000. I believe we’ll be hearing quite a bit more from Fanfarlo in the future.
Jonny Copp’s body recovered in China
June 7th, 2009
Really sad news. One of the climbing community’s best.
Hopefully they’ll find Micah and Wade…
Kutiman – musician or producer?
June 7th, 2009
I don’t think that anyone can argue that this guy has talent. Sorting through all of youTube to come up with hundreds of clips and then stitching them together to create an entirely new tune is nothing short of genius.
Where I get tripped up is in trying to explain to people what is going on. Is Kutiman a musician? Or is he a producer? Does it even matter?
We, as humans, love to classify things. Love to create order where there is none. Putting a name and a definition on something gives us the feeling that we have controlled the situation, somehow contained the chaos inherent in the universe.
It makes me wonder, are we capable of enjoying anything for the simple fact that it exists parallel to ourselves in that fleeting moment? And as new age and zen as it may sound, I believe we are not only capable, but we are at our best when we do achieve that moment.
The moon in HD
June 6th, 2009
Via Kottke
HD video of the Moon from 13 miles above the surface taken by Japan’s KAGUYA probe. The probe’s orbit has been decaying since it began circling the Moon and will crash on the surface at 18:30 GMT on June 10.
360º
May 27th, 2009
From last weekend at the top of Dragon’s Tooth.
Click the image for the giant version
Dollar Rede$ign Project
May 21st, 2009
Such a cool site. Lots of new ideas on how to completely redesign American currency. Here are a few of the more notable ideas:
(via kottke)
