Tag: sports

Baby it’s cold outside

Leave a comment

And I’m not kidding! For over a month now, we in the PNW are experiencing cold temperatures that have brought on more snow flurries and sometimes dumps (even at sea level) than I can remember in… well… ever.  Bring on the cozy sweaters and mugs of hot [insert name of your favorite hot beverage here].  For me it means endless mugs of tea.

Thanks to this constant cold we’ve had a huge dump of snow in the higher elevations (just ask Northern California and Colorado residents) and that means when you live near the mountains like I do, it’s time to ski!!  I haven’t made it up to the mountain yet but maybe in the next week or two.  I can’t wait to hear that shooshing!

Snow was kind of a rarity when I was little – unless we were up in the mountains it was practically non-exhistant.  I would always do my best to leave as much undisturbed snow as possible when my sister and I ran outside to play.  Is there anything as beautiful in winter as undisturbed snow after the year’s first (and sometimes only) dump?  Or those perfect corduroy lines making their way down the mountainside when you happen to get to the lift super early and you’re the first one to leave tracks on your favorite trail?

So while you’re thinking of all that perfect undisturbed snow, take a look at this little beauty:

Beauregard, Steamboat Aerials

Don’t you just love the camera motion?  It’s so graceful.  Kind of like how I like to imagine myself coming down the mountain but often create more of a zig-zag pattern.

Here’s hoping for more good ski weather but maybe a little warmer temperature for those of us living down at sea level…

Snow Banks and Wet Noses

Leave a comment

I really have no excuse for my lack of posting since the beginning of October other than I’ve been busy and this blog took a back seat to everything else.  I’m relieved to see that several of my other favorite blogs have also been slowing down on their posting frequency and it makes me feel a little less guilty… well, sort of.

As per usual, I’m not ready to share what I’ve been working on but will (hopefully) in the near future.  It’s not entirely my fault that I’m not sharing my work at the moment – a lot of it has to do with timing with PR etc. and/or the projects aren’t ready to reveal so I’m afraid you’ll have to have a little more patience if you are dying to see what’s new.

As I’ve completely missed the holiday season, I’m going to jump ahead to one of my favorite things about winter.  Skiing.  If I were a dog, I would hope that I could have a job like this:

VITAL FILMS

If I’m ever in an avalanche or an incident that results in me buried in snow, I hope I’m rescued by one of these puppies.  Heaven forbid I’m ever in that kind of situation.  I’m just saying…

I love the use of slow motion in this little diddy.  What better way to glorify these little superheroes?  It works for humans so why not dogs, right?  Also, the camera motion with the action shots works really well here and for once I’m posting about professional skiers and their stunt reels.  I’m so glad someone has finally made a video about skiing other than a stunt reel!

I haven’t made it up to the mountains since the snow starting piling up but I’m excited to get a few trips up as long as the snow holds out this season.

I know I won’t be posting again in the next few days so I will say it now.  Happy New Year!  See you in 2016.

Coawabunga – from the air

Leave a comment

Something very strange is happening here in the Pacific Northwest.  We’re actually having summer weather and have been for several weeks now.  So much so that several people I’ve talked to are already prepared for Fall weather and the land is definitely ready for some rain – these wild fires are just plain scary. I don’t think that will be happening any time soon so for now I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can.

As anything in water sounds fabulous right now:

Steven Briand

I love all of the moving arial shots in this video – it almost makes me feel cooler even if I am sitting in 90 ºF weather.

Championship Season

Leave a comment

February, for whatever reason is blessed with several big events when it comes to trophies and red carpet events.  It’s the end of the film and tv award season, ending with the Oscars.  It’s also the end of football season, ending with the Superbowl.  The Superbowl is one of those events were sports fans and non-sports fans alike, gather, eat copious amounts of junk food and watch the TV for two reasons.  1) To watch the championship football game and 2) to watch the commercials.

This sounds silly, I know – especially to those who have never witnessed such an event.  The commercials. Once a year companies pay an obscene amount of money to show 30 seconds of advertising during peak commercial breaks throughout the game and then the public review and scrutinize them for months afterwards.  Get ready for a lot of puppies, scantily clad men and women, cars and lots and lots of beer.

Usually, I’m more of a college football fan, but when your local professional team makes to the Superbowl for the second straight year after winning the year before (for the first time ever), it’s a pretty big deal.  In fact, it’s a huge deal and one can’t help but jump on the bandwagon.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the professional football but until I started playing Fantasy Football two season ago, I’d never been this devout a fan.  And when I say devout, I mean that I pay attention to scores and best players each week, but I still don’t watch very many games.

So for those who have no idea what this game is about, here you are.  The basics of American football:

Cub Studio

Yes, the pace is a little fast, but I love the graphics and it explains the whole thing so well in such a brief amount of time that you really have to admire this little short.  I could have used this back in high school when I was moving back to the US and really didn’t have much of an idea of what happens in a football game.

I am going to miss football season when it’s over tomorrow, but then I can move on to other things. Like hockey!  And hopefully, with my fingers and toes crossed, winter will finally come and we’ll finally get our usual snowfall in the mountains so that I can hit the slopes.  This is the first time in a long time that I’m able to head to the mountains for ski season and we’re having a severe shortage of snow during this very mild Pacific Northwest winter.  Humph.

Come back next week for the first of the “Championship” series.  Until then… GO HAWKS!

Ohana :: On Ice

Leave a comment

It always amazes me where we find our families, biological or otherwise, even if it’s only for a few hours a week, a week here and there, or everyday.  One such place for me has been with my teammates.

Teammates is a very broad term as I’ve found “family” with teams of people that I have worked with (even if the project is a short one), on a sports team or with people at school. I don’t always keep in touch with all of them, usually those that are most important to me, but the memories of those times with them have a special place in my heart.

Tony Franklin

I love this film because of the ebb and flow of the family unit.  They accept new members and lose others but for one day a week, they are a family even if they don’t know each other’s names.  That’s the cool thing about family – there are some things that just don’t matter.

Escapade :: What is Adventure?

Leave a comment

When I was little, I would ask my dad to take me on adventures.  He would always return my request with “what kind of adventure?” and I never quite knew how to verbalize it.  I knew that scaling a mountain or hand to hand combat with pirates was probably not an option for a quiet Saturday afternoon.  But I always had this image of what adventure was.  It was probably due to me watching too many Pippi Longstocking movies as a kid.

That image of “adventure” has never really been realized, even when I’ve been in exotic countries, climbing mountains, sailing the oceans or zip lining through rain forests.  These have been fantastic adventures and I would never trade them for anything but I’ve never gotten that thrill that I was looking for.  I guess I did when I was in a rafting accident in Ecuador but I really don’t want to repeat that again.  So I suppose I just need to appreciate the experiences more as I go through them and not expect something out of the ordinary to happen because I’m probably already doing something extraordinary.  At least for myself.

So while I’m thinking about adventure this month and I STILL can’t really define what that means to me, I came across this video that lends perfectly to my quest:

Kalum Ko

The lighting is beautiful and the images crisp, all while showing off how beautiful the Pacific Northwest is.  Lovely.  Plus, it features my new obsession with stand up paddle boarding, which I have yet to try, skiing and a few other outdoor sports that I love.  So content wise, there really isn’t anything to dislike.  But even more appealing is it’s challenge to the viewer to embrace life and adventure- whatever that definition might be.

So now that I’m all enthused, I’m off for the weekend to try to find some sort of new experience that I can define as an adventure.  Preferably without pirates commandeering my ship and probably without the need of an ice axe, but you never know…

The Breach at the Galway Film Fleadh

Leave a comment

Back in July, The Breach had it’s world premier at the Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland.  Now if you remember, I’ve been working on various aspects of this film for several years and I’m excited to finally share the official trailer:

The Breach Film

 

I’m also excited to share that the film has already won an award and we have many screenings yet to come:

BREACH-LAURELS

This project has been an on going for me and it’s hard to believe that it’s finally ready for people to see.  I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities that the director, Mark Titus gave me throughout the process.  I’ve learned a lot and I’m so proud of the team of people that have made this project what it is.  Congratulations everyone!

More screenings coming in the future – schedules will be posted here and at www.thebreachfilm.com.

Feet Up! :: Baseball Borders

Leave a comment

There are a lot of things that I love about summer- for one thing I’ve really been enjoying the warm temperatures and the sunshine!  One thing that really stands out to me though is baseball season.  Baseball is one of those things that is always on despite the time of the day or where you are in the country, so it’s kind of hard not to associate summer with the all-American pastime.

And, I come from a family that loves baseball. When I was little there was always a game on at my Grandparents’ houses.  If it wasn’t on the TV it was on the radio or someone was checking out stats in the newspaper every morning.  I guess you can say I didn’t have a chance with all that exposure- I can’t help but like it.  I’m sure it could have gone the other way, but I’m glad that I didn’t end up hating it.

A few months ago, a friend of mine posted this article from the NY Times and it caught my eye:

baseball-zips2

click here for the full article

I had never really thought about the geography of a team’s fan base before.  With globalization and the movement of people, it’s not at all unusual to see people supporting teams from other parts of the country, or the world, than the area that they are currently in.  If you click on the link and actually use the interactive map, it’s amazing how a block here or there can change a fan base.

Now I know this has nothing to do with film, but it does have to do with documentary in the wider term of the word.  It is documenting something about the U.S. and its love for its national sport.  One thing that I find so fascinating (and terrifying) about it is that the whole thing was put together by people’s preferences and location on websites and facebook.  There’s Big Data for you…  So perhaps we do stay in our little corners of the world when it comes to baseball and we haven’t yet roamed quite as far as I had assumed.

If you are one of those crazy baseball fans out there- enjoy the rest of the season!  It’s the perfect reason to put your feet up at the end of the day and enjoy a cold drink.

Wanderlust :: Making the most of where you are

Leave a comment

After my rather whiny post last week I think I’ve gotten it out of my system.  Don’t you hope!

Now that we are well into May I feel like things are looking up.  The promise of day trips to the mountains and adventure lingers in the air- summer is rapidly approaching!  This makes me happy just thinking about because maybe soon the weather won’t be so grey. Yahoo!

I found this video that made me appreciate the ability to be outdoors even when you live in the city.  I really don’t have room to complain because I live in a city that is sparsely populated compared to NYC but I was inspired none-the-less.

indoek

 

Happy nearly-Summer!