Watch Dark Knight free online

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Thoughts On Modern Rock Climbing

I was searching for sample videos from the Canon HG20 and I found by accident this video that was shot at a climbing gym in Germany (I think). If you've ever been to a climbing gym in Toronto, you know they are pretty basic. The gyms are retrofits of older buildings and you don't get much else to do except climb. The service counters sell energy bars and bottled drinks but not much else.

Neulich in Gilching from Deti on Vimeo

This gym in Germany on the other hand looks like it was built from the ground up for climbing. It has a nice little cafe overlooking the gym where parents can wait and watch their kids climb, and where climbers can get refreshments and rest. This is what a climbing gym should be! - Not using old rusty fridges that was dragged in from who knows where.

Before I get lambasted, I understand the climbing culture is very minimalistic and that some people do not want the purity and history of climbing to be devalued by commercialization. Well, the fact is commercialization of climbing is well-underway. With the increasing popularity of climbing, professional climbers that at first only garnered support from specialty climbing equipment companies now attract global companies such as North Face. We have climbing 'rock stars' now in the likes of Chris Sharma who are idolized by young adoring fans through movies and YouTube. Climbing purists can resist all they want but changes are brewing.

It's not only the business that is changing. The nature of climbing is changing too. We're seeing more focus on big power moves (i.e. dynos) which require the climber to generate momentum to gain the next hold. These all-or-nothing moves look extremely impressive on TV but climbing purists will tell you climbing is about efficiency - Yoga on the rocks.

I guess this stems from the past. Climbing equipment has come a long way. It use to be every fall had a potential for serious injury or death. But not anymore. You see professional climbers fall at the crux of their project climb hundreds of time attempting the same move with little concern for their safety.

Things were different in the past. I remember climbing at Metcalfe and expressing disbelief to my climbing partner how incredibly high the first bolts were. The first bolts were literally 30 feet off the ground. Usually, you would place the first bolt at a height that would not result in serious injury or possibly death if you are unable to reach it and fall off. My partner explained Melcalfe was one of the first areas to be climbed in Ontario and back then, you only climbed at your abilities. The height of the first bolt was to discourage anybody from climbing beyond their confidence and abilities. Things have really changed since then.

Stack the memory to the sky

The best part was when he lowered his chair... See if you agree.

Helen Keller Actress Fail

Have A Random Sight Gag

Have A Random Sight Gag

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What a guy

New song in the works

I have started the considerable job of tackling the acoustic version of the Eagles' classic, Hotel California. Go big or go home right? Here's what I am talking about:

Blog update

I've been wanting to update my blog with another guitar recording but unfortunately school's been pretty busy so I haven't had the time. I have however been practicing playing the guitar and singing at school in between studying and completing assignments. I promise when I get a bit more time, I'll put up another track.

I noticed the links for the older MP3s I put up are dead. I found another MP3 hosting site that doesn't seem to have an expiry policy. I'll re-upload my MP3s to the new hosting site soon.

John McCain is a Cylon!!!

Here's the proof:

http://www.429truth.com/2008/09/01/john-mccain-is-a-cylon/

Guitar: Quando now with vocals!

Yes, that's not a misprint. I actually recorded myself singing. It's rather embarrassing how badly I sing, but hey, you can't improve if you don't try right? So ladies and gentlemen, feel free to give me any advice on my singing. It will be much appreciated.

On the other hand, I polished up the guitar portion of Quando, Quando, Quando and added a rhythms section. This along with the vocals makes this the first "complete" song I recorded.

• Listen to Quando, Quando, Quando

Eric the Eel

Funny but true event that happened at the 2000 Sydney Olympics - swimmer from Equatorial Guinea wins a 100m freestyle heat despite having never trained in an Olympic size pool because his two other competitors got disqualified on a false start.

Guitar: Month 4 - Improv time!

I've been trying to play Quando Quando Quando from watching Youtube videos the last couple weeks. The version I'm trying to play is in a bossa nova style similiar to Michael Buble's version.

Anyhow, today after ultimate frisbee, I had some free time so I recorded a track for fun. It sounded a little bland, so I recorded a second track that I improvised. I think it turned out pretty well for a first take. Take a listen yourself!

• Listen to Quando Improv (MP3)

Land of Glen

Here are some pictures by Horace from a weekend Glen bouldering trip. Click the pictures to view in fullsize.

Aaron and I standing beside a gigantic boulder in the middle of the forest.

"To the rescue!"

"The magical forest."

"Gripped!"

"The gravity of multiple failed attempts dawns on the warrior as he raises his hand in surrender! The boulder stands rock cold, stoic over his downed opponent. As valiant and worthy as the warrior may be, pwned he was."

More pictures here...

(Photos by Horace)

Climbing at Old Baldy

Hanging out at Old Baldy.

I climbed at Old Baldy with my friends Caron and Aaron on Sunday. It was the first time we've climbed at Old Baldy this year and the first time we've been able to put our Old Baldy climbing permit to use. We were hoping to run into a park ranger so that we could whip out our permit and show it off, but no dice.

Descending Direct Pressure (5.9) after a successful clean climb. Although it appears one of my foot is on the wall, I am actually hanging under an overhang.

The hike from the park parking to the crags was quite scenic. Old Baldy is situated along the Niagara escarpment and so the view at the top of the escarpment is fantastic.

I was pretending to lose my balance, but instead it looks like I've gone insane.

The climbs we tried were okay except for Direct Pressure. When we got close to the climb, we ran into two climbers that were just leaving. They had thought about climbing it, but abandoned it because they didn't feel confident.

When I got to the base of the climb, I realized why. For Direct Pressure, where we belayed is actually 3 meters off the ground at the edge of the drop. To reach the first bolt, the climber needs to traverse over the drop. If the climber fails to reach the first bolt and falls (or the bolt fails), the climber would fall 3 meters onto jagged rocks and pull the belayer down along with them.

We looked closely at the climb and decided we could do it. It was very nerve racking but we all focused and managed to clear the first bolt on our attempt.

However, the climb posed another problem. Although the face of the climb is mostly vertical, the base actually angles outs. So if you fall far enough, you could land hard on your feet.

That's what ended up happening to Aaron. He was attempting a harder route that started the same way as Direct Pressure. When he reached the crux of the climb, he tried a few moves but was unable to clip into the bolt. He yelled 'take!' for me to reel in the slack, let go of the wall, fell around 3m and landed on one of his heels hard.

Aaron's nasty bruised up heel.

Fortunately, he didn't break anything and only ended up with a bruised up heel. We talked about the incident afterwards and we both agreed we followed standard controlled lead falling procedure. It's just the climb really sucks.

(Photos by Aaron)

Guitar - 2.5months

It's been 2.5 months since I started teaching myself the guitar. I think I'm making good progress. Here's a short clip I recorded today. Same set up as last time.

• Blackbird

I found this free audio mixing program: Audacity. It'll give me more control over my recordings next time. I'll be able to mix in multiple tracks too - perhaps I'll sing in my next clip! Or perhaps not...

Return to the Glen

Aaron heel-hooking the overhang on the "mushroom" boulder.

My friends and I returned to the Glen to boulder again. Along the way, we made a pit stop at Longo's and bought lunch and snacks. The cheese I picked up was delicious! This may become a custom for me - cheese and climbing. I also couldn't believe how big the Panini I bought was. Must have been the size of an entire pie.

It was a pretty good day of climbing. Not too many people in the park because the rain was threatening throughout the weekend. We were lucky and didn't get rained on. I managed to complete most of the problems I tried and I didn't aggravate my finger joint injury too much.

Jake performing the crucial knee bar manoeuvre on Knee Bar.

I really should do some lead/top-rope climbing outdoors soon. Bouldering is a lot of fun but I have to make use of my lead permit at Old Baldy before it expires at the end of the year.

Summary of problems attempted:

• Warmup Boulders (V0-)


• Knee Bar (V3)


• Opposite Knee Bar (V3?)


• Fly Wall Part 3 - Standard (V0)


• Fly Wall Part 3 - Right of Standard (V2 - sit start)


• "Mushroom" Boulder (V?)

(Photos by Aaron)

Bouldering at The Glen

Aaron successfully sends the ultra-high 23ft tall Flywall boulder.

This past weekend, I went bouldering at Niagara Glen with my friends. The Glen as it is commonly called by those familiar with the park is downstream of the falls along the edge of the rapid river. It is a popular hangout for climbers locally as well as those south across the river from the United States.

Prior to the trip, Aaron painstakingly converted a website about Glen climbing routes into a 150+ page PDF book. I asked the guys that work in my company's print shop to make 2 copies in black and white but the main printer was down. So instead, they had to print it out using the colour printer! If this was an official transaction, I would have been billed $100 for each copy.
Luckily, I only promised coffee.

The trip was fantastic due in part to great weather. The air was cool and crisp and even the bugs left us alone. We all completed some challenging climbs but we also all left with unfinished business. I'm already thinking about a return visit the weekend after. Or maybe a visit to Old Baldy instead to do some lead climbing... Anyhow, cheers to the start of the climbing season!

Playing the guitar - 1st month

I'm teaching myself how to play the guitar. Here are two short songs I recorded today.

• Jazzy blues


• Tears in heaven

Stay tuned as I hope to be posting my progress regularly.

Equipment:
The guitar that I am playing on is the Yamaha FX310A with a bridge pickup.

I recorded the songs by connecting my guitar to my computer soundcard's Mic-In jack using a 1/4" to 1/8" audio cable. It's a cheap setup, but the recording quality isn't great since the mic amp is pretty weak. I'll probably invest in a USB unit with a stronger amp in the future.

Black Dog

This song rocks.

ROFL instructions

As there is some confusion as to how 'ROFL' is executed, I would like to refer you to this handy instructional card that you can print out to refer to quickly. I suggest you laminate it on good quality bond paper to ensure it's always available when you need it.


The instructional card can be sized to fit your needs. For instance, a poster size version can be conveniently affixed to the wall beside your computer where the chances of performing 'ROFL' is most common.

A wallet size version of the instructional card can also be very handy when you are on the go. For example, you are at a local bar and an attractive lady strikes up a conversation with you. You have a couple drinks with her and get to know her better when she suddenly says something very funny and you have to respond appropriately with the 'ROFL' manoeuvre. Simply open your wallet and repeat the instructions on the card to guarantee the evening continues succesfully.

You can avoid a socially ackward situation by having an instructional card ready to perform 'ROFL' quickly and correctly.