City Slopestyle

Every time a snowstorm hit as a kid, I always had ideas of ways that I could take that fluffy white stuff, use the surroundings of where I lived, and turn it into skiing\sledding playground. I remember one instance specifically where I wanted to create a ski slope out of my neighbors roof. It had a nice long slope, and would end in a nice little jump into my back yard. I rememberr telling myself that when a big snowstorm hit, and my parents where gone, I would make my make shift ski hill. 

Well, I am sad to say, that my "roof slope" never happened. But, the funny thing about this story, is that I don't think I was the only kid in the world that had these kinds of ideas. Whether it was a ski slope, sweet bike jump, or even a narley tree hut, I imagine at least everyone of you reading, had some sort of concoction built up in your mind at one time or another.

I imagine that as a kid, JP Auclair had similar thoughts, except, unlike the rest of us, he got the green light to do just that. He literally turned the city, into his own personal ski slope. Just watch the video, it will all make sense.

This clip is form the movie: ALL.I.CAN...Enjoy!!

Real tree or Fake tree?

It's that time of year again, when we go to the back of our storage rooms, attics, garages to pull out the old plastic Christmas tree. We put it up; decorate it and that is that! But, there are still a select few, who instead of going up into their attic, they go up into their mountains to search out that perfect tree to show off in the middle of tier house.

Now, this is a subject that I am completely torn on. It took everything I had this week to convince myself to go buy a fake tree. To me, there is just something about a real, live aromatic Christmas tree. But, when it comes to convenience nothing beats a fake tree.

Take a second and take the poll at the top of the page and tell me what you think... Real or Fake?

Do you know how to GOOGLE?

So, let me ask you a question. Lets say you have to write a narley paper for school on some crazy subject you've never studied...what do you do? Answer: Google It. Or say you had some extremely yummy pie last week for desert, and you really want the recipe...what do you do? Answer: Google It. And even when you have that weird growth somewhere on your body, do you ask a doctor? No, Just Google it. It sound crazy, but its true! "Google-ing" is quickly becoming something that all of us do on a daily basis for just about everything. So, you would think that we all have a pretty sound understanding of how to use it right? Well I thought so, until I was introduce to this really cool info-graphic explaining how to effectively use Google. It goes through some pretty cool techniques to help us find what we are looking for even quicker. If the link doesnt work, just Google it.

http://mashable.com/2011/11/24/google-search-infographic/

Surprises vs. Football

What's cooler than having a bunch of awesome friends? I'll tell you what, having a bunch of friends at your birthday party! Last Saturday, my wife planned an awesome surprise birthday party for me. I had no idea what was coming. As a matter of fact, all I wanted to do that night, was go watch football.

After a wonderful meal at the Mandarin, we made our way over to her grandparents house (my weekly BYU game destination). As we pulled up, I knew something wasn't quite right. The lights were off and one of my little cousins ran outside, saw the car, and bolted back in as quickly as possible. As we walked in the crowd erupted into "Happy Birthday".Talk about a WOW moment. It was so great to see everyone and some that I was SO surprised to see! It was easily the best surprise birthday party I had ever had. It was incredible my friends would travel up to an hour and a half  just to come tell me happy birthday. I really do have some of the most awesome friends and family a guy could ask for. Not to mention an amazing wife who put the whole thing together.

So, to all my friends that came together to make the most memorable surprise birthday ever, THANKS!! Oh, and who won  the football game? Who cares.

" Think Global, Drink Local"

Mmm... bottled water. It’s delicious right? And not to mention the simplicity of being able to grab a nice pure, chilled bottle out of the fridge, drinking it down, and once your done, just throw it away. This is indeed much easier than having to go to all the work of putting “dirty ” tap water in a glass,cleaning the glass, and repeating the process every time you want more water. Sure, anyone would admit, that bottled water is defiantly convenient for us. But is bottled water really that convenient for our health, our wallet, and our environment? I always thought it was, I would consume bottled water almost on a daily basis.

Then, one night, my wife and I sat down to watch a movie together. We decided to watch a documentary called “Tapped”. Tapped explores the bottled water industry. It examines where they get their water, the cleanliness of it, and the effect that it is having on our environment.

I really don't want to go into too much detail about the movie, because I really want you to watch it. It lasts about 1 hour and 30 minutes, but it really is time well spent. For me personally, I can honestly say, that unless I absolutely have to I will never consume another bottle of water. Many might say, what is the difference between bottled water, and say a Gatorade? I say,can you get Gatorade out of your tap?


All I can say is think about it "Think Global, Drink Local"

Here is the link to where you can watch “Tapped” online FOR FREE!!!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/192680/tapped

FLIGHT OF THE FRENCHIES

Are you scared of heights? I'm not going to lie, I am to a certain extent. I also believe most people are as well. Almost everybody has had the feeling when they are, for one reason or another, high above the ground. All of a sudden something happens, they lose their balance or their concentration, causing them to nearly loose their hold or footing. Only to, at the last moment, regain their composure to avoid tumbling down towards the impending collision with the earth. 

In this moment you realize you have saved yourself. Your body is filled with a rush of adrenaline, fear, and excitement. For me personally this feeling is not one I usually welcome. However, to some this feeling is as addicting as any drug and must be replicated in any way possible. 

I showed you a couple of weeks ago, a man named Jeb Corliss,  who fueled this need by suiting up in a squirrel suit and jumping off cliffs. These guys, the “The Frenchies” take the same route, but mix in slack-lining, and giant outdoor swings along the way. Not only are they out of their minds, but the cinematography and the shots captured in these stunts, are in my opinion, very WOW-able.

MEDIA SLAVE

What effect does media have in our lives? This is a question that I have often asked myself. Some will argue that Media controls everything we do. Others will say, that media has an influence, but does not control who we are. I believe in today's day and age, media has a larger influence on us than any other outside source does. But, how can I honestly say that I know of the effect that media has on my life, and on the life of others? Well, I guess I could sit down, put on my science cap and do some sort of large scale social experiment. But, I'm not a scientist. So, when we were asked to choose one of two options to either A) fast for three consecutive days, from all things media (cell phones, computer, TV, movies, ect.), or journal all of our media use for three days, I realized this was my opportunity to see for myself, how addicted to media I really am.

My adventure started even before I could choose which option I wanted to try. Deep down, I really wanted to try and do a fast for three days. I believe this would more accurately represent how much, I really need media in my life, but there where so many things that I could think of that I really “needed” (a.k.a. “wanted”) to watch, or do that involved media. The sad part about all of this is that I don't even need to write anymore for you to see that I am a media slave.

I found that during these three days, I sent a total of 79 text messages. I spent 7.5 hours watching TV, 2.5 Hours listening to the radio, 2.5 hours watching a Movie, and the most incredible stat is that I spent a whopping 24 hrs and 25 Min on the computer during those three days (Mostly because of work). After adding all of this up, (not counting the text messages sent) I had spent a 34.8 hrs, on some type of media device.

When I got through calculating this number I was astounded. That means that for almost two full days out of the three, that I recorded this information; I was using some type of media device. I was also surprised to see I spent almost a complete day on the computer in a three day period. I wonder what the difference would be if someone my age conducted this same type of experiment 10 years ago. I imagine that they would not believe me when I tell them that in a three day period I spent more time on a computer than I did sleeping during those three days.

In conclusion, this exercise has opened my eyes to the influence that media has on us on a daily basis. If my days are filled with about 11 hrs of media on a daily basis, no wonder why my parents’ generation is so worried about us. I believe that the future does not hold any type of respite from the grasp of social media; in fact, I believe that its hold and influence will just continue to grow and grow. As I said before, I did not even have to gather, record, and analyze this data to realize that I am truly a media slave. And if I am a media slave, that means most likely that you are too.

RHINOS CAN'T FLY.

Have you ever wanted to know what it feels like to fly? I have. Everyone can relate to that child hood conversation with your friends which usually started out with the question, "If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be?" There where always the easy answers of lion, tiger, and for me personally, I would always try to push my opinion, that being a Rhino would be the coolest thing ever.  However, there was always that one kid who would have the right answer. He would say something to the effect of, "I would like to be an eagle so I could fly." No one could ever compete with his answer.


I think everyone at sometime in their life has had that dream where they are soaring above everything without a care in the world. I think it would be safe to say that Jeb Corliss has had that dream a couple of times. Jeb Corliss is a professional base jumper, skydiver, and wing-suit flyer. The things he does on a daily basis certifies the the human need for the feeling of wide open spaces, freedom, and space has fueled us to do anything necessary to get the feeling of flying. In this video Jeb has taken it to a completely different level. This WOW Moment is dedicated to you Jeb for proving to me that flying is way cooler than being a Rhino could ever be.

THE MORMON MAFIA?

Illustration by Brandon Bird

With all the opinion that has been past around in the past week surrounding the comments made by  Rev Robert Jeffress calling the Mormon faith, "a cult". I think it is  applicable to write about something that somewhat applies to the stew that mixes politics and religion.The basis of this post comes from articles that were written for CNBC’s website, and Business Week magazine. Even though the articles have nothing to do with Mitt Romney's political race, I do think that these articles could change the outlook that many have when it comes to  Mormons. I think its safe to say that many have a certain idea of what people think a Mormon is, and who Mormons really are.

One of the ideas portrayed in the articles,  is the tie between young men serving missions, and the adapting those skills into the business world. According to CNBC, in summer of 2010," 31 graduates of Brigham Young University (BYU), a Mormon stronghold, will work at Goldman and Sachs. That is the same number as those from the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania." Those familiar with this group of Mormon businessmen jokingly referred to them as the "Mormon Mafia". Many influential people in business,and political sphere (John Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Jet Blue CEO David Neeleman, Jon Huntsman..among others)  can tie many of their successes back to having acquired skills on their LDS missions that would later help them become future political and business leaders. As the article states: “When you’re selling religion door-to-door,” one hedge-fund manager, who is a Mormon, told CNBC, “it makes every other business enterprise easier in comparison.”’

The article published in business week, states: “The Mormon Church is 181 years old, and its adherents compose less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, according to a 2009 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS). Yet Latter-Day Saints hold, or have held, a seemingly disproportionate number of top jobs at such major corporations as Marriott International (MAR), American Express, American Motors, Dell Computers (DELL), Lufthansa, Fisher-Price (MAT), Life Re, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Madison Square Garden, La Quinta Properties, PricewaterhouseCooper, and Stanley Black & Decker (SWK).”

My hopes are that these articles, have at least in a small way, changed the public opinion as to who the Mormons are. In my opinion, we are a productive, hard working ,group of individuals who believe in God, and are not afraid to say it. With the upcoming political events, the next year will be an exciting time for us “Mormons”, and I can only hope that we will not back down from who we are and what we believe.


And as for us being a "Cult."... Come on, get it right we are a "Mafia"

The links to these articles are below:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/37872991/Mormons_Wield_Influence_in_Business
http://www.businessweek.com/magazin

The WOW within sports.

LES Photo Courtesy of dav.d photography

This weekend, I was a personal witness to an amazing WOW moment. This moment, was within the closing minutes of the game between USU and the BYU. I don't want to spend to much time talking about how the game ended up, and how it got to be that way, because i'm pretty sure that everyone knows exactly what went down, and how it went down. No, today I want to talk about the wow-ness that lies within the emotion of being a spectator of a sport, and a team, that you love. Whether it be Football, Basketball, Bad-mitten or Curling, there is always a turning point in every contest that brings out the emotion of the fan, good or bad.For many, this is defiantly a love-hate relation ship. In this particular instance on Friday, I was on the love side of the relationship. With only about 1 minute, and 30 seconds away from accepting the ensuing defeat to yet another one of our in-state rivals, the shame dissapointment was setting in, the fact that I was witnessing the defeat first hand was even more dis-heartening. But then it happened, The turning point that every fan hopes and prays for as the time is ticking away and their there team is down. The feeling in the stadium turned from disapointment and frustration, to pride and relief. The wishes of many where granted, while on the flip side, many fans hearts where broken as they where hit in the face with a right hook fist full of defeat. Sports are a medium in which the spectrum of emotion can be changed quicker than any other I know. For this reason I love it, but for the same reason, I Hate it . And that's why these types of finishes, good or bad, will always make me say WOW.

Living Simply.


Recently I have become interested in the idea of “living simply”. Sounds easy right? I’d imagine it to be much harder than we think. I think throughout my blog post this idea of living simply might come into play more than once. This week  I want to visit something that defiantly fits into the category of living simply. At the bottom of my post there is a video I saw on the Today Show that absolutely BLEW my mind. It is the story of Scott and Béa Johnson, a family otherwise known as the “zero waste family”. This family believes in taking it upon themselves to do their best to create zero waste. As you’ll see, they do a very good job. I believe it is very important to take care of our planet and that it is our actions which often times have adverse effects on our planet. Here is where I pose the question, is what they are doing really necessary? I’m not sure it is and I’m not sure it isn't. Could you imagine a world were in six months the total waste we create could fit into the palm of our hands? It’s hard to deny that our planet would be a completely different place to live. Do you think the majority of people are acutally ready to live like Scott and Béa? I know right now I’m not and honestly I don't know if I ever could be. Only, I kind of wish I was. Do you?

9-11-01

This day as it does every year, brings back the thoughts and the memories of the tragedies of 9-11. I dare say that there has been no other event in the history of our nation that had been more dreadfully surprising to us than the events of that day. From the Tragedy of 9-11 we saw unity and trust in our fellow men and also our God. Although this day is a solemn reminder of what happened, I believe it is necessary for us, as a country, to remember those who served and gave their  life that day, but to also remember our God who has always kept a watchful eye over our beloved nation.

Recently, President Thomas S. Monson wrote a piece for the Washington Post in solemn commemoration of that day. Along with his piece we find pieces by the Dalai lama, Tony Blair and other religious and world leaders. Through these articles we find not only common ground with our fellow beings, but also a faith in something that is greater than ourselves.

You can access President Monsons' piece as well as all the others that wrote through this link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/911-destruction-allowed-us-to-spiritually-rebuild/2011/09/08/gIQAbkjKCK_blog.html

My first "WOW"

To kick off "THE WOW", I have no choice but to start with the first and the ultimate WOW moment of my life .This moment took place when my awesome wife said yes to my proposal for marriage.This alone makes me say WOW on a daily basis. Everything from the way we met (EFY..ya i know right..) to the the fact we just celebrated our 1st year anniversary, makes me say "WOW". She is the greatest, and I love her.

Yep..I know..shes a babe.

Alright now that I got the cheese cut, it's down to business. You will come to find  throughout this blog what my likes (outdoors, sports, photography, ect..), dislikes ( e.g. Lady Gaga, Alarm clocks), and LOVES are, which includes anything having to do with water. This leads me into my "WOW" post for today. The past year or two I have taken part in some pretty rad slip and slide events with my in-laws. One that stood out in particular was a 100ft monster of a slip that carried you briskly down a nice long hill. This was a blast! However, I naively thought to myself that this could never be out-done or even replicated. But then, like a slap to the face, came along this awesome video from the people at Vooray. It features a slip and slide\ jump combo that is truly beautiful.Once you behold what I have dubbed "the neck-breaker", you will not only want to hurl yourself 40ft into a lake, but you will also understand why I now concede the slip and slide crown to the "neck-breaker". Once again, I bow down to you Neck-Breaker, you truly are the king of the slip and slides.