Parkour & Freerunning.

Often the subject of ridicule, I had always viewed parkour and freerunning as somewhat ostentatious, that is, until my fifteen-year-old brother plunged into the sport and truly revealed its merit. 

Jacob, doing a front flip off of a table.

Parkour and Freerunning, as I soon learned, have very different objectives. Good old Wikipedia verifies that Parkour is more genuine in purpose, for the athlete strives to get from point A to point B in the shortest time and distance possible. This means, of course, climbing ten-foot walls, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, scaling edges of buildings, you name it. Freerunning, in contrast, has a somewhat similar objective of travel, but rather the priority is to look as cool as possible along the way, pulling tricks such as front flips, tunnel flips, and gainers off of the walls and roofs that they just climbed. An article on HubPages.com says it perfectly, Parkour focuses on the fluidity of movement, while Freerunning zones in on the creativity.

One thing that the sports do have in common, however, is that the successful athlete need be in top physical shape. Not anyone can catwalk a stairway railing or leap like a long-jump olympian.

The innovator of Parkour, George Hébert, observed indigenous peoples in Africa and admired their natural physical strength, brought upon by mastery of their environment. The word Parkour literally means, in French, “by means of course.” Ironically, however, as Parkour has progressed from a fitness strategy, to war tactics and finally to a personal sport, It has become more rebellious, as the setting is now urban and violation of social rules- such as the correct way to treat a brick wall, for example-is the hub of Parkour’s uniqueness.

My younger brother has, many times, been scolded for treating an urban setting like an obstacle course.

“I was trying to teach my friend, Tony, how to vault over a wooden railing, when a woman asked sarcastically if ‘this is our house.'”

Admirably, he has brushed off any criticism of his widely unrecognized passion. However, He became interested, ironically, through the ignorance of his generation.

“People used to shout ‘Parkour!’ in jest, so one day I decided to look up some Youtube videos,” Jacob says after landing a perfect tunnel flip on the trampoline.

The beauty of both Parkour and Freerunning, however, is that these are two sports that are non-competitive in nature. Several athletes in one space will notably encourage and teach their fellow athletes, rather than criticize or boast. My entire family looks forward to experiencing this environment in a couple days, when we will travel to Tempest Freerunning Academy for Jacob’s 16th Birthday.

RC Plane Piloting.

The inspiration for my career came from the passion of my best friend, Justin.

I went to stay with him in Carlsbad, California, Which is on the coast in San Diego.

I always knew that he flew planes, but when he placed his large glider into my back seat with care, I realized I had never before experienced this hobby of his.

We walked along the cliffs, the sun shining with midday pride, and the breeze whipping our curls around our faces.

“The wind’s perfect,” he said, with gusto.

We shuffled towards a small group of elderly men, controlling planes of all makes and colors with oversized remotes. They all hollered Justin’s name as we approached; it turns out that he’s a celebrity amongst the RC plane pilots.

I stood and watched the men chuck their planes off the cliff, smoothly take up their remote, and toggle the controls as their heads moved in sync with the loops and swoops of the planes.

These pilots are wind-whisperers. They know which direction and speed is perfect for each particular plane, and as they fly they let their planes suspend in the air as if time were standing still, only to let it fall and catch it as if they control the breeze under its wings.

Justin has a permanent smile on his face as he propels his masterpiece through tunnel spins, large loops and stalls. As the planes pursue each other, I am reminded of kite-fighting that takes place in locations such as Kabul, Afghanistan, where hundreds of children gather to clip the wings of their opponents until they are the sole flier.

However, the men here laugh and smoke on their cigars as they fight their planes, running to retrieve their planes from the rocks along the cliff and hoping for little injuries.

“Want to meet Orin?” Says Justin, after effortlessly catching his plane that was just hurtling towards him.

Orin, another friend of Justin’s, had a home chock full with any plane or part that a pilot would need. He had copious projects in progress, and Justin roamed through the bins and around the shelves full of materials, conversing lightly with terminology that I couldn’t begin to explain.

As Orin spoke, he stood by a graveyard of parts including  materials that must have accumulated both a large quantity and cost.

It was fascinating to listen to the pilots speak about their passion, and although I had far to go before understanding the terms and concepts of this vast hobby, I was inspired.

RC plane piloting requires profound talent and dedication. I realized on this summer day that there are incredible hobbies and passions on the planet- and even in our community- that are not recognized nor appreciated, and for this reason I want to dedicate my life and career to discovering these passions, and shedding light on their beauty and merit. No matter what a person is zealous about, I feel that if they choose to spend their time on this earth enjoying and exploring this passion, it should be recognized.

So thank you, Justin, for helping me discover what I want to do. Keep on flying.

 

Shoegaze.

Shoegaze is an entrancing and somewhat emotionally stoic genre that seems to be influenced by a combination of the psychadelic and grunge movements. Described as a post-rock genre, this genre has produced bands in the early 1990s such as the British Chapterhouse and the famous My Bloody Valentine (MBV).

The music has a sort of atmospheric vibe, due to the distortion, reverb and effects produced by guitar modification and plenty of effect pedal-use. Actually, the heavy use of the effect pedals are what inspired the name of this underground genre; many of the guitarists would gaze towards their shoes as they constantly were working with the effect pedals.

Shoegaze is recognized by an overwhelming curtain of effect-laden guitar sounds, minimal percussion, and often drawn-out vocals. Fitting adjectives would be “fuzzy”, “cloudy,” or “warped;” I would call it “staring at the ceiling” music, while ironically, the gaze is on the shoes. Fittingly, a later alias of shoegaze is “Dreampop.”

It is argued, and I agree, that shoegazing is less a musical term but rather a philosophical one. The philosophy of the genre prioritizes the feel-good, the vibe. Artists obviously focus on the sound of the music and the atmosphere it creates through the waves that encircle the listener, rather than focusing on the message of the song. For this reason, the culture of this short-lived genre is fascinating.

Through attempted research on a culture of shoegaze outside of the music, I did not find much. Many attest to the fact that shoegazers dressed in “grunge,” and due to the fact that they were submerged underneath the emerging grunge and rock genres, shoegazers did not seem to have a distinctive cultural identity.

However, a nickname to explore is “The Scene that Celebrates Itself.” I decipher this name as a commentary on the politically apathetic goal of the shoegaze “subculture.” During this time, bands such as the Sex Pistols and Nirvana released songs such as “Anarchy in the UK” and “Smells like Teen Spirit,” while underground shoegazers were worried about the feel-good and the degree to which sound can be manipulated.

I learned in my cultural anthropology class that the right-brained, the arts, remain on the outskirts of society and tend to be the rebellious social commentators; while politics, sports and the sciences- the left-brained, build the center. Without one or the other our culture would be flat; the arts both interact with and rebel against the politics that govern us. Without the arts, we would have no voice, and without the core, we would have no structure. My point is, those arts that truly make a commentary and rebel tend to be the most popular.

In conclusion, shoegaze is a unique genre that did not have much of a chance to be recognized. It did not support or rebel, it just was. Celebrating the sound, shoegaze shows us that sometimes, ignorance is bliss, and it’s alright to stare at the ceiling.

Sources: http://pseudonymous.hubpages.com/hub/What-is-Shoegaze

http://altmusic.about.com/od/genres/a/shoegaze.htm

Lightshows.

When “lightshows” are mentioned to many members of my generation, forbidden images of kids with wild eyes and pupils the size of marbles flash into one’s mind.  This fascinating- expression, if you will- is done by artistically brandishing an array of glowing items: from glow sticks to flashing bulbs, but the most common are white gloves with flashing devices in each of the fingers of the glove. As the artist moves to the music and the atmosphere, he or she craftily switches the modes on each of the devices back and forth from strobe, solid, or any speed of flashing and color change.

Not anyone can become and “lightshow artist”, however. The patterns and gestures that the artist does with their hands to create the psychadelic performance take much coordination, timing, and practice. Each show has a theme, too, depending on the song chosen.

The above photo is a true shot of a close friend of mine receiving a light show from an incredibly talented artist. He turns off the lights in his room, leaving only the glow of the computer screen as it streams out the symphony of shoegaze (which will be explored in a later blog) music. He advises his spectator to sit upright and cross-legged, for he will be soon be in his own universe and needs a particular space to perform his routine.

There is no rehearsal prior to the show- only true talent “vibe-ing” out to music. And just like any performer, the artist loves to strike the spectator with stupor. The experience is oddly intimate, which I observed during my first light show session. The artist is nearly straddling his or her spectator, giving them a show that, under certain drug-induced circumstances, gives them pleasure. 

After receiving a light show from an acquaintance under the moonlight, he told me of a rave at which he gave three hours of lightshows, non-stop. 

“I seriously just passed out when I was done,” he said as he compared techniques with his friend.

The craft can be exhausting, but a true artist is always practicing and urging their friends to sit, stare, and be entertained. 

Although experimentation with drugs is generally identified with selfish intentions, the customs that come from the experimental cultures on the fringes of society are beautiful and unique.

Check them out, you just may want to learn the art!