So how does Qatar, a country with a population half the size of Los Angeles, end up beating out the USA as the host for the 2022 World Cup? Cash. Lots and lots of cash. Check out this amazing promo video featuring their five new soccer complexes being built for the event. It’s going to be really interesting to see how the teams perform in triple digit heat as the June-July average temps range from 106-115 F.
- Curt
So… I’ve been pretty quiet around here lately, sorry ’bout that. I’ve been “studying”–if you can call it that– for my scuba certification. It’s the first time in quite a while that I’ve had to do homework. I even have to take tests! But it’s pretty exciting… Curt’s been diving for like 8 years already and now I get to go with him! Fun times.
I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for the open water dive we’re doing in Catalina in a couple weeks…. brrrrrr. After that’s over with, tropical waters only! If you want to see some awesome pics from Curt’s previous dive trips, check out his Flickr stream.
- Jessica
oh and the picture above is from Superbomba‘s flickr.
With the World Cup less than a month away, the global hype is starting to peak. Check out this amazing commercial by Nike Football featuring all the big dogs playing on their national teams: Drogba, Rooney, Ribery, Fabregas, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo. If you’ve never watched a soccer match before, I suggest you tune in this Saturday for the Champions League Final – it’s pretty much the Superbowl for club soccer if only the NFL were an international affair and had a ton more money to pay for players (soccer players make bank, it’s crazy). So it’s a pretty big deal. Bayern Munich takes on Internazionale de Milan in Madrid – kick-off on the West Coast is 11:45am. Apprently it’s even going to be shown on FOX so everyone will get the game. Brunch and soccer. How can you pass that up?
Or instead of watching the game you can listen to Gilles Peterson’s World Cup Special mix for BBC Radio 1 where he has masterfully assembled 40 songs representing the 40 nations invited to the World Cup. Download the show here; it’s quite a treat.
- Curt
video seen on Kitsune Noir
Skateboardanimation from Tilles Singer on Vimeo.
I know I’ve posting a lot of videos lately, but I can’t help it. There’s so much cool stuff out there. So suck it up.
I found this video by Tilles (awesome name BTW) on the Vimeo Staff Picks website, which is an easy way to lose an afternoon 2-5 minutes at a time, so be careful. Even if you’re not into skating this stop motion video is a clever little piece that has a cheery pace. Having grown up on skateboarding as any good Southern Californian should, I instantly recognized where Tilles sourced a lot of these clips. Most issues of Skateboarder (at least they used to, back in the day) would include at least one spread that showed a dude doing a trick frame-by-frame and I love that Mr. Singe was smart enough to repurpose those stills for this video.
- Curt
USA! USA! USA!
Today was a good day for the good ‘ol Team USofA. Most of all, SoCal native and X-games superstar Shaun White repeated his golden Torino performance. In my eyes White is a freak in snowboarding like Michael Phelps is in swimming. In every competition, it’s his to lose. No one can beat Shaun, but Shaun for now. Congrats to Shaun and bronze medalist teammate Scotty Lago!
Plus you gotta love the Burton+Levis uni’s for Team USA. The Burton Yankee pinstripes were pretty sweet from Torino, but a Farmer Brown snowboard team on the podium is awesome.
- Curt
Image via LA Times
