More Parkour - David Belle
June 7, 2006 | 7 Comments
Over a year ago Casey showed us a video about le parkour which was so fascinating I must have watched it 20 times. The main subject of this video is David Belle and thanks to Google Video, I’ve found more videos than you can shake a stick at.
David Belle, creator of parkour claims his motivation is in the freedom he finds in parkour. Basically this extreme sport runs under the concepts of free running through urban environments utilizing paths less conventional.
As a quick side note related to some details discussed in his biography, Belle’s father was in Vietnam and then became a firefighter. I couldn’t help but think of my brother. If history repeats itself does that mean my brother’s son could become like David?
If you have any doubt or questions about parkour, watch this professionally edited and choreographed David Belle chase scene:
Another professional video, this one for BBC One, featuring Belle’s commute home:
There is another group called the Yamakasi who practice a similar physical discipline. One difference between this and parkour is a greater concentration on freedom of motion as opposed to the quickest path from A to B. Apparently there was a Yamakasi movie?
Here’s a great video from the French TV station TFI with English subtitles that follows David for most of the 10 minutes, but includes the Yamakasi in the middle. A lot of the stuff shown and discussed here helps to explain Belle’s motivations.
Another video which is long, 8 minutes or so, but repeatedly awesome:
A bit shorter, but enough “holy F!” moments to make it worth a watch:
One of the things I find very exciting is when the routes change unexpectedly, or something about the route is surprising. For example, a guy starts to climb a bus stop, but when he reaches the top slips through a gap instead of jumping on top. Another example is when a guy jumps a gap and plants securely on a rail instead of clearing it. These moments give me chills.
If you’re anything like me you can’t get enough of these videos, so here’s a list of some others I love:
Hilarious Nike Advertisement
The best parts from the TFI video to a Super Mario Brothers theme
Original video Casey showed me
An American off to a good start
An Estonian dude
Tags: advertisement, david belle, estonian, freedom, hilarious, nike, parkour, sport, sports, super mario brothers, video, yamakasi
RFID Will Be Unavoidable
January 29, 2006 | 8 Comments
In response to my RFID Fears, Jon commented about being able to “zap” RFID as a solution:
Look at the bright side. Electronic devices fail. Sometimes on their own, and sometimes with the help of a little device like this.
This is cool, but short sighted.
Currently a lot of work is going into getting RFID into US Passports. Most proposals so far have failed and we keep getting a delay on the inevitable here, but that’s one you won’t be able to zap. How long before state drivers licenses follow in those footsteps?
American Express has an RFID chip in it, probably zapping that would be bad if you care about the card, me I just switched away from the damn thing. But, if other CC providers get in on the game there may be nowhere to switch.
Or how about Speedpass for the gas station?
Or how about EasyPass to get through toll booths faster?
It’s very important that we realize these things are going to enter our lives on the basis of adding convenience. You’ll be promised a discount, or the ability to do something faster/easier. One potential big market is in replacing the stupid customer appreciation discount tags we all have on our keychain for grocery stores.
The reality is RFID is coming, we’ll all have a few tags, and the potential misuse of this is tremendous.
Tags: american express, credit card, easypass, freedom, passport, passports, RFID, speedpass, toll, toll booth