Marking an important day for the history of Europe.
70 Years since the liberation of Auschwitz.
This documentary short takes you inside the fascinating world of film preservation and restoration. From Gravitas Docufilms. Featuring George Willeman, Liz Stanley, Jan-Christopher Horak, Patrick Loughney, Leonard Maltin, Hugh Munro Neely, Robin Blaetz, Allen Daviau, Anne Morra, Michael Gates, Robert A.
I see Bouldering as an art form. By watching people climb you see that they have learned to use their bodies as well as the environment to get any mechanical advantage they can find. In some cases it requires the use of a leg wedged in to a space. In other situations it involves hanging upside down and in yet another context it requires leaping and hoping to grab the next hand hold.
The video above demonstrates the beauty of bouldering. It would be easy just to show the three seconds when the person completes the move but to keep the exploration available, to show the trial and error provides us with a deep understanding of just what is required to complete certain moves.
You can watch to see where they place their feet to prepare, how they prepare their legs to provide that boost of energy, how they switch from one hand to the other and how they use limbs to get the required mechanical advantage.
You see people arrive at one hold hanging upside down, let go with their feet, swing their body around and then stabilise that position. Imagine the strength and agility required for those moves. Three minutes in to this video you see a French athlete lean his body against the wall and swing his left arm around and up to grab hold of the next hand hold. They demonstrate great skill and mastery.
When I watch these videos my desire to become as good as them increases and it encourages me to experiment more, to take advantage of the lessons that I am being taught by watching these videos. As a climbing friend says “we are all here teaching each other to climb”. This exchange occurs because we have different levels of skill, adrenaline and body size and shape. Climbing is a collaborative effort.
One of my favourite play through series at the moment is Attack on Titan by Jack Septic Eye. I haven’t watched the manga series so I don’t know the context of the series. I like this series because I find the story okay and I like the idea of swinging around between buildings and through an entire city.
When I hear of Titans I think of Greek mythology rather than Japanese Mangas. I would expect it to be about Greek gods, Titans and of course humans. In this case we’re transported to a city that has three layers of walls around it. When the Titans are hungry they break through the walls and eat the humans. The Humans were forced to retreat from the outer wall and part of the city to the inner walls.
Some people are trained to fight. They have grappling hooks, boosters and swords. Using the grappling hooks they can move from one part of the city to the other quickly. With their blades they can attack the titans and subjugate them. The game starts with a training session in some woods. When they are qualified they can protect their part of the city. They can attack the titans by amputating their legs and arms before getting the nape of the neck of these titans. When the titans are killed they vanish. There are small, medium and large titans.
I find the episodes fun to watch because I like the idea of flying across a city using grappling hooks. It reminds me of Assassin’s Creed but with greek mythology and manga lore. This isn’t the type of game that I would play but it is fun to watch. It provides for a nice moment of escapism, to forget about reality and daydream. Jack has produced five episodes so far. Two and a half million out of twelve million subscribers have watched at least the first episode. Will you be one more viewer?
Mountain biking is a sport that is growing in popularity. We see that technology is keeping up with the riders. Between suspension, specialist tires and safety equipment the sport has had the freedom to become more adventurous. Bigger jumps, more travel, stronger components all allow the sport to become more extreme.
Usually there are three ways to get to the top of a mountain. The first option is to ride up but with a mountain bike that can be tiring. I have an area where I can mountain bike near home but it’s a 12.7km ride up with a 10 percent grade. It takes two hours to get to the base. I could of course take the car up and cycle around at the top but this requires removing the front wheel and putting the seats down. Another option is to head to specialist resorts where the remontée mécanique are equipped to take bikes to the top of the slope. The third option is to walk up and push the bike.
In this video we see a fourth option. An electric mountain bike. I like the idea of mountain biking this way. I like the notion that the mountain bike will assist with getting up the hill more efficiently. Several times I have cycled up a 10% gradiant for a distance of 12.7 kilometres. With the mountain bike I use it takes 2 hours of almost non stop pedalling. It leaves me with little energy to enjoy going off road at the top. With a flyer I’d let the bike get me to the fun part and then use my own power to play up there.
I won’t buy one of these bikes but the video is interesting to watch.