Better Late Than Never Part 1

I realized that I forgot to post my assessment of the blog-tracking process...more to come tonight.

This One's For The Ladies!

Wow.

Hardcore Parkour

Speaking for myself, if I see a student standing on a high rooftop with eyes set on the ground, I would assume that the pressure has finally gotten to them and they are looking for the easy way out. However, after learning about the parkour phenomenon sweeping the campus, I would have to think twice. Parkour is the art of using the world around you as a natural obstacle course. A tree is no longer just a tree to parkour participants. It is just another obstacle in the world of parkour.

Unfamiliar with parkour? Courtney Souza weighs in with a history of this up-and-coming sport.

The parkour group at UMass has yet to achieve RSO status, however they are gaining momentum. Joe Meloni was able to sit down with the Parkour President Jackie Hai for an interview.

Much like any other alternative sport, it doesn't take long for commercialism to set in. We've seen companies use skateboarding, BMX and other alternative sports to appeal to younger audiences. Here is a Toyotal Scion commercial that shows parkour. Seems a bit misleading to me...what the hell does running and jumping have to do with driving a car?

Also, Jon Pelland gives us a god-like podcast detailing what parkour means to its participants.

Convergence Vs. Convergence.

There was a great video review in the New York Times today. A.O. Scott does a video review of the film Waitress, starring Keri Russell and directed by the late Adrienne Shelley. I read Scott pretty regularly, and typically agree with most of his reviews. However, seeing a video of his review provides a better insight into his thought process. Although it was scripted, watching him as he gave his review seemed to make the review more conversational and less static. This is Scott's print review of the film


If there is one thing that I hate in life, it is people taking photos/videos of themselves. A very close friend of mine has an entire photoalbum on facebook with nothing but pictures of himself. The idea of talking into a video camera (actually just my digital camera that happens to be equipped with video) made me feel a bit wiggy. Unfortunately my camera had a limited amount of space and so I got cut off a minute or so before I was done speaking.