Here’s a quick video of me climbing a route in Grand Teton National park. Hopefully I can move a bit quicker tomorrow.

Download

Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana (Harvitronix Remix) by harvitronix

1. H2O Heli Guides, Valdez, AK

2. North Cascade Heli, Mazama, WA

3. Whistler Blackcomb, BC

4. Jackson Hole, WY

5. Squaw Valley, CA

6. Revelstoke, BC

7. Telluride, CO

8. Silverton, CO

9. Aspen/Snowmass, CO

10. Wolf Creek, CO

So I was listening to it on the way to work the other day and thought, “Hmm, I bet this would sound good with Tupac.” So I found this Dear Mama acapella, mixed ‘em up in Ableton Live, and was pretty stoked on the result.

Here it is: - Download

When simply re-posting someone else’s tweet or adding a small comment, use RT. Example:

@shay_will says: “New blog post about kittens and cheeseburgers. http://frsk.me/f4″

I want my followers to see it, too, so I tweet:

“RT @shay_will New blog post about kittens and cheeseburgers. http://frsk.me/f4″

or

“Great burgers. RT @shay_will New blog post about kittens and cheeseburgers. http://frsk.me/f4″

When someone tweets a link that you want to re-tweet, but want to write your own message (and take theirs out), use via. Example:

@shay_will says: “London Freeze results posted. http://frsk.me/f4″

I’m psyched that Russ Henshaw won, but I want to give CREDIT to @shay_will for showing me the link, so I tweet:

“Nice work, Russ Henshaw. Sick tricks. blah blah blah. http://frsk.me/f4 (via @shay_will)”

Credit is the key there. “via” is just used to show where you found the link; give credit where it’s due.

You should NOT use “via” when simply retweeting. It’s confusing. Example:

@shay_will says: “I love sunsets in Laguna Beach.”

And I tweet:

“I love sunsets in Laguna Beach. (via @shay_will)”

It reads that I’m saying “I love Laguna Beach!” when really, @shay_will is saying it. So tweeting:

“RT @shay_will I love sunsets in Laguna Beach.”

makes it clear that @shay_will is talking, not me.

After reading the message boards and some news stories, I wasn’t quite sure what was really happening, and it was clear most people were in the same boat. So on Monday, I decided it would be fun to spend my night reading a couple hundred pages of legal documents and hash out what, exactly, the lawsuit was about.

It was interesting what I found, most notably that Warren Miller himself was jumping head first into the suit, taking Level 1′s side with a strongly-worded filing. I was surprised to find that this had not yet been reported by any media outlets (that I could find).

So I put together this story, which is a brief overview all the information I could gather from the legal documents.

Then, with a little help from a friend, I was able to get a quote directly from the man himself, Warren Miller. This is what he said:

“Well Matt … I consider Josh my friend and I have been very impressed with his efforts as a film maker, and more so as a human being.  He is a very nice young man, and I was honored to oblige his request to participate in Refresh.  I have been invigorated by working with his group, whose passion for skiing matches my own.

WME made clear to me long ago that they did not want me involved in their films – so I’ve essentially cut all of my ties to them. I have a legal and moral right to freely use my name, voice, and likeness as I choose.  By suing Josh, I feel that WME is challenging my rights as a person and public figure.  I will not stand by and let a young, talented artist like Josh get shoved around by a group that, in my opinion, has no genuine regard for the fans.” — Warren Miller

I published that story here, and then social media burst into life with retweets and hundreds Facebook comments and “likes”. The story received as much traffic in the first hour as many of our stories do in their lifetime.

The most interesting thing about all of this to me is just how tight the freeskiing community is. I’m not sure WME had any idea of the magnitude of reaction it was about to face when it filed.

Ironically, WME claims in its suit that Level 1 “has and will” damage WME’s brand. Whatever damage may or may not have been caused by Level 1′s using of Warren Miller’s voice and name in its movie is now a distant problem, as the response from the community to the lawsuit is astronomically more destructive.

At this very moment in time, six billion people are doing six billion different things. Makes me feel small.

Some of these obsessions die off quickly, like boxing, while some live on, like hockey. When I dive in, I never know how long the thrill will last. The initial excitement is always the same, so it’s really hard to tell.

I’ve been wanting to race cars for as long as I can remember — always wanting to go to a driving school — but never really thought I would do it. For the last year or so, the idea in the back of my mind was rally racing.

When Peter Olenick called me up a couple months ago to say he had just bought a Dodge Neon for $1500 to rally with, I was intrigued. “You can get a rally car for $1500? Okay I’m in.” The next day, his axel snapped on a mellow turn.

Then last week, we went to the CORE track about 100 miles from here to rally his new car, a rally-ready 2002 WRX with STI engine and components. After one lap around the track sitting shotgun with Pete at the wheel, I knew that rally was for me.

Peter Olenick rallying his WRX

So last week, I took $700 out of my bank account and picked up this pimp Audi 4000S Quattro. Tim O’Neill has been using 4000 Quattros for his rally school in NH, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong.

My 1984 Audi 4000S Quattro

I brought the 4000 in to Slipstream Autocare here in Boulder to give the car a once-over and, as luck would have it, the head mechanic and owner there is an ex-pro rally driver! He’s the man. We talked about rallying, and how I wanted to track the car, and he was stoked. We took out the air conditioner and some other useless components, added some critical skid plates, and we were off to the races.

Getting sideways at the track

My good buddy Digi Dave and I hopped in the car this morning and headed due middle-of-nowhere to the CORE track. The place is awesome. It’s basically a farm field converted into a car-junky’s Disneyland. It has a 2.3-mile rally track, a rally cross track (which is where these photos and video are from), a rock-climbing area, motocross area, etc. It goes on forever.

So with my new $700 car (with an extra $1,000 of repairs), we set off. About a quarter mile in to the 2.3-mile track, I rolled my foot for a heel-toe, and nothing happened. “Dave! I think the gas pedal fell off!” We pulled over, borrowed a zip-tie, re-attached the pedal, and were back at it. Somehow, my 25-year-old car didn’t have another hiccup the entire day. It was smooth as butter.

So much dirt! The 4000 doesn't care.

Driving around corners at what feel like death-defying speeds (even though we’re probably slow as shit relative to good drivers) gives me the same thrill as jumping off a cliff or skiing deep powder. It’s actually quite a similar feeling: big grin, adrenaline pumping, edge-of-your-seat-OH-SHIT-am-I-in-control feeling. I highly recommend anyone who gets a rush from pushing themselves in any sport to try it behind the wheel of a car… in a controlled track environment, of course.

The 111-bhp engine of the 4000 is shockingly quick.

I can’t wait to get back out there. But it will have to wait, as tomorrow, I’m going to Laguna Beach for a week, kicking things off with my first flying lesson. This is shaping up to be one hell of a weekend.

Photos and video by David Amirault

Rallying the 1985 Audi 4000S Quattro from Dave Amirault on Vimeo.

OMG! I didn't even notice that I parked on the curb. -- Heather

Bethany -- aka I love bows -- doesn't believe in authority, such as lines painted by The Man.

Top Five, All-Time Freeskier Interns:

1. Lester
2. Char Mar Super Star
3. The CryerYeller
4. Yess
5. The Worst 2
Honorable mention: Nick Mercon

Top Five, All-Time Freeskier Interns-at-Large:

1. Brian Schroy
2. Well, Schroy is the only one we’ve ever had…

My server has been dead for the last couple weeks. Total fail and pain in the ass. Had a harddrive corrupt on me and spent days restoring my site and my friends’ who I host here, such as peterolenick.com, rileypoor.com, aftworldtour.com and a host of others. Needless to say, I received a lot of strongly worded e-mails and voice mails about the matter. Sorry everyone. We’re back online and rolling like a champ!

So in lieu of releasing a new mix, I stumbled upon this gem courtesy of Vice mag.:

A Mixtape for a Friday

Other than that, I’ve decided to make some big changes in my life. Such as joining Twitter (you should follow me to make me feel more popular), and making a list of important things I need to stop doing in my life. See below.

Let’s see, what else… FriendBeef.com is making some progress. We have the core code written… just waiting for Dave Levin to start pulling his weight and finish the CSS, then I need to code some more functionality. Let’s say, I hope to have the Alpha version up and running by August 1. To get into the Alpha release, you’ll have to come in through ShayWill.com, ’cause he’s the man.

Speaking of Shwill, I’ve been spending lots of time hanging out at his frat house on the hill. It’s not really a frat house, but Willis really makes it feel that way. Good times. Too much partying. For instance, the other night, I figured it would be a good idea to leave Shay’s place at 3am and walk 4 miles to the office. Not sure why I didn’t go home… but I was determined to not be late for work. So instead, I slept AT THE OFFICE until 11am. I’m really good at living.

Let’s do some favorites…

• Favorite Twitter Celeb to follow: Tom Morello
• Favorite photographer to follow: Nate Abbott
• Favorite competitor to follow: CKO
• Favorite blog: Shay Will
• Favorite song as of this moment: Soulsavers – Kingdoms of Rain
• Favorite guitar chord progression: C, Em, Am, F, G (Bright Eyes – A Scale, A mirror…)
• Favorite Freeskier intern: Brian Schroy

Ending this crap with some of my favorite quotes from the last month:

“I’m not ashamed. It’s better than peeing on yourself.” – Angeli VanLaanen

“You gotta let her know what kind of guy you are, so they know what kind of girl to be.” – Mad Men

“I can’t do that anymore. I got one in my eye and one in my throat.” – Michelle Parker (referring to smoking a loosy American Spirit)

“Living like there’s no tomorrow because… there is none.” – Mad Men

“… but we hope to inspire all of America to band together and make our nation a little bit less of an embarrassing, disgusting shithole.” – The Onion

That’s all I’ve got. Thanks for stopping by, and I’m feeling motivated to get back on the bloghorse, so new mix coming soon. I promise.

Love,

Matt.