Floss Angeles

Like I said earlier, I'm going to California. Leaving tomorrow. Never been to any X Games, Summer or Winter. I recently created a Twitter account. Too many social mediums out there nowadays, but I guess I'll play the game. That thing is much easier to keep on top of than this thing, so feel free to follow me...
http://twitter.com/BlakeNyman
I'll be letting you know how my first time eXperience goes. Get it? Get it? I hope so, because it was a pathetic try.

Enjoy these videos for the next while if you're not into the whole Twitter garbage.

Hellmann’s - It’s Time for Real from CRUSH on Vimeo.

The Seed from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.

BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.

And go read the Shane McConkey story in the recent issue of Outside Magazine. It really moved me. Read it here if you don't want to grab a physical copy.

Looking Better

Skanks Kill-birdie put a photo of me up on his site. We were on our way back to the States from Whistler and needed a break from driving, so we climbed a tree. Enjoy.
Banks - your photos kind of suck. Get it together!! And do you want cake or death??

Good Day

Dew Tour last weekend, headed to Los Angeles for X Games this weekend. My girl BCT aka Lynz Adams Hawkins won the women's vert contest and now I'm headed to LA to watch her keep streak fire! More to come in the next few. In the meantime enjoy this new piece for Nike...

The Road

There is some really thick thunder rumbling in the dark night. Occasional bursts of lightning give a glimpse of the rain soaked roads outside. It's a perfect setting to read Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" to. Great weather for this Utah holiday.

Zion x Spry x ++

Day two/three at Zion. A bit more hiking, some scooter action, golfing and some ostriches. Been making this a regular trip over the past few years. I think I've got one or two more in me this summer. Holler if you want to come...
Bryan at the entry rappel to Spry.


Real OG. Murdered out classics classic.


First golf game in a few years. I lost...barely.


The Ledges in St. George.


Bryan lost too. The other team cheated.

Zion x Pine Creek

This all happened a few weeks ago, but due to some camera issues, I finally got my hands on these. Canyoneering is yeeeephiiic! Hiking, slot canyons, rappelling, swimming, etc. Its just a big ol' damn adventure! I could talk a lot more about it, but I let the images do that.
And a little glimpse over the last rappel. 108' down. Good stuff.

Desktop

Computer was on the overload yesterday so I did some summer cleanup on that thing. There was some random stuff on my desktop that had caught my eye over the past while. Didn't know what to do with it, so I put it on here.

Thom Yorke


Brothers circa 1988 (guess). Notice me holding my Max doll. Cannot wait for Where the Wild Things Are!!


Noses...



Moe trees.


Gross.


Sexy.


Choe favorites.


Old timer.


Doooooomsday.

Tour de Lance

I'm guilty of jumping on the Tour de France band wagon. It would be interesting to see the viewership statistics for the Tour sans and plus Lance. I don't care if he doesn't win this time around. In my book he already proved himself with the previous 7 wins. The guy is an amazing athlete.

I've posted this commercial before and even though I've seen it plenty of times, it still has some heavy motivational power behind it.


And I'm doing a triathlon this weekend. It will be my first Olympic distance event. I've been doing a bit of training and preparation, but my focus is more like 40% physical 60% fun, so I'm not stressing too bad about it. Regardless I hope that somewhere along the bike portion of race this happens...

Alpine Initiatives

Good people. Good cause. Good goal. Good donation. Lets make it happen.
Lets help JP and friends help the kids in Africa. Follow the link to donate...

ALPINE INITIATIVES

Bangin'

Yeah, um, I wasn't going to post anymore random stuff on here today, but I just got blindsided by this guy's Bangin'!! Jeez louise.

Health Care Reform

Read this on the Transworld Blog today. GObama is trying to get those gears turning. Hope.

Pending PHIT Bill Will Reimburse For Hardgoods

The Personal Health Investment Today Act (H.R. 2105), also known as PHIT, a bill pending in Congress, would allow for customers to be reimbursed for purchases focused on physical fitness, specifically hardgoods.

According to SIA the bill would allow for reimbursement of physical activity expenses using pre-tax dollars, including snow sports activities and purchase of products that are directly related specifically to snow sports activities and particularly hard good. More “generic” products such as jackets or hats would not qualify under this legislation.

SIA is partnering with SGMA and the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity to generate a groundswell of support for this legislation NOW. For details and to send a letter of support to your Congressional representative, go to www.getphit.sgma.com. Feel free to pass along this information to colleagues, friends and family.

PHIT would reduce the costs of physical activity to encourage healthier lifestyles. This bill is part of the overall health care reform legislation that is a top priority for the Obama Administration. Currently pre-tax medical accounts are primarily used for reimbursement of medical expenses once you become sick. PHIT would allow taxpayers to place up to $2,000 a year in existing pre-tax medical accounts for reimbursement of physical activity expenses; lower costs will promote active lifestyles and improve the health of Americans.

The rationale behind the push for this legislation is simple. Healthcare spending continues to rise at an alarming rate. Medical expenditures account for 17% of the money generated by the U.S. economy. By 2015 the U.S. will spend $1 of every $5 ($4 trillion) on medical expenses.

Top Two

It's definitely teaser season. I love it. Even though I was skiing less than a month ago, these always make me ready to get going again. Argentina? Chile? New Zealand? A little trip is sounding more and more appealing...

Absinthe Films has always been that company for me. Every year I get super antsy to see what they're offering up. And great to see former compadres of mine getting it done in there. Good work Bode and Phil.
Forum has had a big growth spurt on me as well. Always psyched to see what kind of wizardry Pat Moore has been toying with and I think everyone in the know can definitely agree that their eyes will be curious to see what type of realness Jake Blauvelt serves up as well.
So here we are with those two gems' previews. Hope you get the same feelings I get.

Neverland by Absinthe Films from Absinthe Films on Vimeo.

Forum Forever Trailer from Forum Snowboards on Vimeo.

Contrast

One of the most rewarding parts of my ski career thus far was seeing this teaser for the first time. Eric sent it over a couple weeks back and I've been anticipating its release since then...so here it is.

Go to Nimbus Independent for more videos.

I could not be happier to be working with these guys and call them my friends. Now I guess even more anticipation will build as it gets closer to September and finally seeing the final product.

If you want to read more about Nimbus, the film or an interview from the crew, follow these links.

Nimbus Independent
Freeskier Magazine release
Newschoolers Nimbus interview

Alice

How crazy is Alice in Wonderland?! I haven't watched it in years, but this little video had some nostalgia to it. That crazy walrus leading the young clams away, he's creepy. Those dancing cards are scary. And the Mad Hatter and his rabbit sidekick are nuts. Can't wait to see Tim Burton's rendition of this next year.

Needle x Haystack

I've been assigned a task. My objective is to single out that one. You know, the type of ONE that you'll know once you hear it! I'm currently searching through all of this to find the one...I need to trim the fat with my itunes. Ugh.

BATB II

Iiiiits baaaack!!! For the following lots of weekends I know which corner of the internet I'll be paying attention to (even though its pretty much an already daily habit). We're already a few weeks in and there have been some good battles, but I was psyched about todays. Kerry Getz vs. Gilbert Crockettt. Kerry G is my choice, but no spoilers...

Painfulin

Anyone follow what she is talking about??? Let me know how far you make it before you turn it off and can't handle hearing her anymore...

A Little Less Personal

I've been having a great time outdoors lately. Plenty to share with you, but I instead will keep plugging my blog with random stuff like these videos until there is a rain storm or something that keeps me indoors for longer than an hour.
Enjoy these.

Synesthesia from Terri Timely on Vimeo.

Le ballon
by ddbparis

Shepard Fairey from Arkitip on Vimeo.

remanence : variance from Samuel Cockedey on Vimeo.

Extra Ordinary

Joel Jah Raven came to Utah last February. Never met the guy, but had heard great things. He came and stayed at my house and he was probably the best guest I had all winter (You're welcome back anytime Joel!). But inbetween his little Utah trip he has been working hard with his Canadian counterparts up in their Kootenay's playground. Joel is in the process of polishing off his upcoming project Extra Ordinary, but to tide us all over until we can see the whole thing, he provided this glimpse...
Thanks Joel! Really good work. A definite standout in comparison to the other ski film offerings.

Courtesy of Newschoolers.com

3 hours 38 minutes

9, 9 in the final set. My moneys on Roddick.

*update - Roddick lost. Rad to see Federer take down Sampras though and become the worlds greatest tennis player ever. Better luck next time Andy...at least you get to go home with Brooklyn every night!

Hippieism #1

Found this little thought on my friend Ingrid Backstrom's blog. Instead of paraphrazing it, I'll just c & p the majority of her post...

"...This first article, entitled It's Time to Learn From Frogs is about the connection between a type of chemical (widely used in non-organic agriculture and industry)--known as an endocrine disruptor--and all sorts of messed up birth deformities being found in fish, reptiles, and increasingly, humans. I had heard for a while that one of the main chemicals used in antibacterial hand-sanitizers (purell, etc.) and soaps had a similar effect, and sure enough, as this second article states, it turns out that that's exactly what they're talking about.

So, what can we do to minimize these effects and insure that the next generation doesn't grow up all hermaphrodites (like what's happening to the frogs!)? For starters, wash your hands and dishes with regular soap and hot water! Studies have found that a 30 second hand wash with natural soap and hot water has the same effectiveness against germs as anything that says "antibacterial" on it. Choosing organic products & doing your homework on foods and products makes a huge difference--many pesticides and chemicals used in growing and making our foods contain endocrine disruptors. And I guess trying not to use as much plastic when buying or storing foods; as a suggestion, I try to wash out any glass jars from stuff I buy, and re-use the jars instead of plastic. Pickle jars are big and work really well--but I usually soak them in soapy water overnight to get rid of the pickle-y-ness."

So there it is. A proper little piece of advice for you and me. Every now and then I come across an environmental article that strikes me. Thought I would share one of those Hippieisms with you all.

Ret Rer Rinto Rour Reart...

Kids are funny. Especially Asian kids singing The Beatles.