Recommended Viewing | 2008 Guardian Challenge - Photo Highlights...

Well, better late than never. ;P It has taken me months to sort through the 1000's of photos that my good friend, local designer and fellow blogger, Doug Fedrau (aka 'The Orange Kid') took at the 2008 Guardian Challenge - Kyokushin Karate Knockdown Tournament.

I'm very happy to say that (I think) I've managed to sort through the lot and have selected the 'highlights' from the semi-contact and full contact action to share with you.


Please feel free to check 'em out on my Flickr account... you can see the semi-contact highlights in the semi-contact Flickr set, here and the full contact highlights in the full contact Flickr set, here - enjoy!

A huge thanks to Doug (and Rae) for taking the photos! On behalf of the Guardian Dojo... many thanks! Cheers!

Questionable(?) Quotes from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics...

LOL... I just had to share these nine quips/quotes/comments made by NBC sports commentators/athletes during the Beijing Summer Olympics that they'd love to be able to take back:

1. Weightlifting commentator: 'This is Gregorieva from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing.'
2. Dressage commentator: 'This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother.'
3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: 'I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.'
4. Boxing Analyst: 'Sure there have been injuries, and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious.'
5. Softball announcer: 'If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again.'
6. Basketball analyst: 'He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces.'
7. At the rowing medal ceremony: 'Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of the British crew.'
8. Soccer commentator: 'Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field.'
9. Tennis commentator: 'One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them... Oh my God, what have I just said?'

...too funny IMO! I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I did. Thanks for sharing Rob - cheers!

Recommended Viewing | Father & Son Ironman...

This is a truly incredible, inspirational, and deeply touching story/video, that I just had to share with you all:

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'. The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'.

They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together.

One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' too.

For those who don't know, the Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island. Father and son went on to complete the race together... the video has been embedded below.


If you're unable to view the embedded video, you can also view it here:

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513

I encourage you to share this truly incredible story with all your friends and family. Thanks to Sensei Diego Beltrán for sharing this incredible story with me. Osu!

An Afternoon at the Races...

Well, it's another beautiful spring day in Manitoba today, as we Canadians continue to enjoy the Victoria Day long weekend. This afternoon was spent with some friends, lazing around at the Assiniboine Downs, Manitoba's home to live thoroughbred racing action, with a history of over 50 years.


These few pictures were taken with my new Canon Powershot SD850 IS. Although, I'm sad to have to give my Sony Cybershot DSC-W100 an early retirement, I'm looking forward to using some of the new features on this camera. Such as, more experiments with the 'stitch assist' to create neat panoramic shots... my first attempt (a combination of 4 images - you can see the seams) is shown above. Next time, I'll be sure to use a tripod, and be a bit more weary of moving objects... like my ghost horses? ;)


I have to say, it never ceases to amaze me at how diverse the track audience tends to be... anyhow, a good time was had by all, I actually won my quinella with the two horses (4 and 9) shown above! Hope you're all continuing to enjoy the weekend - cheers!

Shot of the Day...

It's a beautiful spring day in Manitoba today (albeit with the occasional shower, and rather gusty/cool winds), anyhow I hope you're all enjoying the Victoria Day long weekend (at least, so far)!


I had the opportunity to get in a quick round of 9-holes this afternoon with some friends from back in college. The shot above (taken after teeing off on the 8th hole), is not staged in anyway, that's how the ball actually landed... stuck in the tree. It deserved to be photographed.


The 'shot of the day' honors goes to Raelene Hanna, friend (rookie golfer), fellow designer and the current GDC Manitoba Education Chair. For being a good sport and posing for this shot, we decided to not make her play the ball from where it lies. ;)


Check out Raelene's Typographic Book project (in PDF form) from college (the Avenir spread from the book is shown above), which recently resurfaced as a result of the Frutiger posting here - enjoy!

COOL! PSYOP - Adidas "Together"...

The incredibly talented folks over at PSYOP have gone and outdone themselves again with their latest project for Adidas. Working with the agency TBWA/China they've created an amazing piece called "Together", it's the anthem spot for a four spot campaign... the concept, Olympians literally being supported by their countrymen. You have to watch it! See more of PSYOP's works on their website at http://www.psyop.tv/ - cheers!

Via Motionographer... see the original post here.

COOL! New Zealand All Blacks Rugby 'Haka'

I recently came across a picture of the New Zealand All Blacks performing their traditional 'Haka'. The image was so visually striking that it piqued my curiosity enough to do a quick YouTube search. I was delighted to see that there were numerous videos of the All Blacks performing the 'Haka', very cool indeed. I know that I wouldn't want to be on the opposing team trying to stare them down... Check out the video on YouTube.