Fakie News
A rambling collection of things that stoke us
The Last Defender Ever
Antti Autti - Mini Pipe Dreams
One summer my sister and I were living in Wanaka, New Zealand. We were half way up the access road to Cardrona and the ski reports were playing. "At the Remarkables we have 20cm of fresh snow, at Coronet Peak we have 15 cm of fresh snow, at Treble Cone we have 25 cm of fresh snow" and then they get to Cardrona and simply say "at Cardrona we're open." It turned out to be an accurate report but as always their pipe was a blast. Antti Autti is one of my favorites and this is a nice reminder how awesome pipe riding without judges can be. - Seth
That’s a big problem if what you really want from a black hole is a photograph. By definition, it’s impossible. All light getting sucked in means no light reflects back—so a black hole is invisible, across the spectrum. And, duh, invisible objects don’t show up in photographs.
A Clip from Easy Rider 1995
With a brief Gaetano sighting at 2:28
Punk and Hardcore Fliers, Zines and Ephemera
Having just spent some time in the old CBGB, this was timely. Check out the slideshow of all the fliers, zines, and such over at worldsbestever, see the show in person, or go buy some of the artwork at printedmatter.
Greenland’s Endless (for Now) Landscape
Photo: Tiina Itkonen
“I felt the colors were so beautiful, I needed to use color film,” she said in a recent interview from Finland, where it was minus-23 degrees Celsius. “All the blue lights in Greenland. It was very special.”
Momentum - 1999
This video was a bit under the radar. It features some pretty epic riding by none other than the Huffman brothers. Also this was to my knowledge the only time that Michelchuk was in a video. Remember as you watch his ender that this was in 1999.
I have this very distinct memory of Sylvain skating a flat bank that’s part of a dam. Behind the spot is just this insane mountainous landscape, to the left is a river with kids fishing, to the right are wild horses running through the steppe, next to them is a herd of goats that a shepherd is tending to, then you look up and there are golden eagles flying overhead.
Parks is a world class drummer, but the album displays a side of him less interested in drum chops and fills, and more a core philosophy that thrusts musical ideas into action.
The NASA Graphics Standards Manual reissue.
We think this manual and others like it—regardless of the organization—are a beautiful example of rational, systematic design. The NASA manual is one of those examples that sets the standard for design excellence—a document well worth preserving for the future as a learning tool, a gorgeous object, and a moment in design history.
Air pollution in Asia may be changing weather patterns in the United States.
Researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have found that aerosols from across the Pacific strengthen extratropical cyclones—a type of storm system that drives much of our country's weather.
Back in 2006 I drove a 1989 Ford Fiesta from London to Ulan Baatar. Somewhere in Kazakstan, I was filling up the pile of shit when a fleet of fully kitted Land Rover Defenders rolled up with a slew of deep pocketed adventurers. One of the guys jumped out in his adventure gear and stared at my pile of shit and then at me in boardshorts and flip flops. When I told him that we had driven from London and were heading to Ulan Baatar, he only replied "in that?" and then walked away, hopefully questioning his manhood. To be honest I would have definitely preferred a Defender for that journey and find it sad that after 68 years of pure bad-assery the legend is coming to an end. RIP. More here.
-Seth