Westbound Boarder

Do you remember those little chocolate advent calendars your mom used to give you growing up?  I loved those things, and I think for a lot of kids they really embody the spirit of Christmas (come on, chocolate santas = Christmas, duh!)

PacSun has created a little advent calendar of their own, this time for grown-ups!  It’s called the Pass It On calendar and it can be found here.  I only noticed it this morning so I don’t quite have all the details, but basically, you can head to this virtaul calendar each day to meet a different PacSun team member and “unlock” a different discount, giveaway or sweepstakes!  For example, today you can sign up towin an $100 gift card; pretty cool.

With the barometer outside in SoCal pushing 70 today, it’s nice to find some Christmas cheer online, even if it is only in the form of a calendar   Pass it on!

Right now, Rio de Janeiro is at the top of my “places to go once I have the money” list (and trust me, the list is a pretty long one) but watching this video made me want to go even more

Just a couple for you to enjoy this weekend.  TGI…S!

• SoCal Beer Pong Tourney: Damn, how’d I miss this one?! Last weekend, the SCBP (Southern California Beer Pong… Association? ) held their annual beer pong open, with a $10,000 prize purse being awarded to the lucky winner.
• Top Fives from Marie-France Roy: Pro Rome-sponsored shredder, Marie-France Roy, shares her top 5′s, including locations, tunes and moments, and Frontlipped‘s got the 411.

It’s Friiiday!  And you know what that means; one day closer to the weekend!  Here’s a few links to surf this week, highlighting some of our favorite stuff from around the Web.  Also, if you haven’t entered Westbound Boarder’s headphone giveaway yet, make sure you do so today; deadline to enter is Sunday night!

• Art Show at Hurley HQ (Costa Mesa) Tonight: If you’re looking for something to do tonight (and you live in SoCal), head on over to the Hurley headquarters from 6 – 10 to check out the Greg Weaver Art Show – art, food, friends; sounds perfect to me!
• Ever seen a skateboarding bear? This week, Bordistan reports (via 9news.com) that a Bear was seen prowling the Snowmass skatepark.  When it was found Tuesday morning, the bear looked as if it had been there all night, so authorities on the scene dropped a ladder into the skatepark to give it a way to climb out.
• Transworld Catches Up with Torah Bright: As one of the most recognized female snowboarders right now, Torah’s well on her way to the 2010 Olympics.  This week, Transworld interviewed her on what she’s been up to and where she’s headed, as well as her new Roxy clothing line launching this fall.
• KFC Now Sells Marijuana, You Say? Yeah, you heard me right.  LA Weekly’s “Squid Ink” blog reports that an abandoned Kentucky Fried Chicken in Palms has been turned into a pot shop.  Though they took down the “official” logo, the name remains in tact (ah, but it now stands for “Kind for Cures”)  Thanks @nickmendoza for the tip on this one!  Gotta love LA…

Earlier this week, Time Magazine released their list of the 50 Best Web sites of 2009.  Of course, the list contained the givens (Google, Twitter, Flickr, etc.) but one Web site stood out to me as pretty dang cool – California Coastline.

It’s pretty much exactly how it sounds.  According to Time, this Web site was compiled using only three things – a man, a helicopter, and a digital camera, and the site now contains nearly 50,000 Ariel photos portraying coastal locations up and down the CA beach line.

I decided to try it out for myself by typing in my home town “Santa Monica,” and 50 images of various locations in Santa Monica, from the famous pier to the Point Dume, popped up.

The site isn’t terribly innovative or visually aesthetic, but the idea is pretty sweet, which is likely why it made Time’s list.  Plus, it could be a really neat way to explore new territory (never been to Santa Barbara?  Bored at work?  No problem!  Go there without leaving the convenience of your cubicle.)

Another Web site that made the list – Get High Now.

(Yeah, yeah, made you click!)

Always wear sunscreen.  That’s the moral of this post (and my weekend…)

Links we love this week, and so will you!

• Skate Week Recap: We just wrapped up Skate Week this morning here at Westbound Boarder, and what a week it has been!  From top skate shops in Portland to how to choose your new ride, Danielle brings you the 411.  Check out a recap of this week’s best skate week articles here.
• Top 25 Young Surfers: This week, Surfer Magazine released their list of the Top 25 Young Surfers in the World.  The list is great, and features the inspirational stories of all 25 surfers and how they got into the business.  Only one problem – not a single female is profiled in this list.  If you were to add just one to this list, who would it be?
• Axe Commercialization, Will Ya?! There’s a debate going on over at the HUCK blog on pro riders giving in to the monetary commercialization of the board sports industry, this time with skater Ryan Sheckler’s recent appearance in an Axe body spray commercial.  Check out the convo and leave your thoughts.
• Women Talk Sports: This week while surfing the net, we came across an awesome network of blogs called “Women Talk Sports.”  It was started by three female athletes (including one of my colleagues over at Edelman!) and aggregates the best of the best from around the net.  Whether you want to read about female athlete’s personal basketball adventures or BMX riding, this network likely has a blog for it.
• Costa Rica anyone? Vancity Allie posted some awesome pics of Costa Rica; almost as good as being there! (Almost…)
• Interview with Leanne Pelosi: At the top of her game is the World of female snowboarding, this flippin’ chick is on fire.  Check out her recent interview with Transworld here.

I’m right here!  Did anyone ever play that computer game Carmen San Diego when they were younger, or am I just old?  Anyway, I wish I was traveling around the world, like Carmen, but sadly, I’m not.  In fact…

Remember a few months ago, when I wrote about safety on the slopes, so you don’t all go breaking your limbs and such?  Well, apparently I should have taken my advice to the streets, because over the weekend I went ahead and broke my hand!  OK, well that’s just the easy way to describe it, but what I really broke was all the fingers (minus the thumb) on my right hand.  The pinky and rings are clean breaks, the pointer is just a bad sprain, and the middle is broken in several different places.  Super.  That’s a way to put a damper on the fourth, huh?

OK, so I’m sure you want to hear the story…  Well, there’s two versions (per the recommendation of, well, everyone I’ve talked to), and I’ll start with the embellished version: Bar Fight.  A really big one.  Actually, this mean girl spilled her drink on me, and in a nasty rage I totally took her out, and her boyfriend too, and her three annoying friends, and then there was a fire in the bar and 20 screaming children were trapped behind the huge bouncer who fainted from the fumes, and the bartender tried his hardest to put out the fire, he really did; he grabbed a hose, but instead of spraying water the hose spouted out gallons of Jose Cuervo Patron (there was no water in this bar) and just made matters worse!  Naturally, I quickly dropped what I was doing (b**** who started things on the ground in tears, BTW) and ran to the group and saved all the children, and then went back for the bouncer too, and saved the day.  Deep Breath.  I was a hero; really.  (Oh, and I even saved the girl I took out moments earlier.)  Really, I’m lucky I only have a couple broken fingers.

OK, do you want the real story?  Really??  Well, I tripped on a curb and fell.  Plain and simple.  It wasn’t even a cool fall; it was more of a “thump.”  I did break a nail, which I was of course upset about, until I realized I broke all my fingers along with it.

So there’s my story, and I’m sticking with story A.  It actually dawned on my mom today that perhaps I’m not unlucky, I’m just “accident prone.”  What the hell does that mean?!

Anyway, in case you were wondering where I’ve been lately, there you have it.  With only one hand, too!  And I think there’s a moral to this story somewhere?  Look where you walk, maybe?  Trim your nails before you trip?  Don’t be stupid (??) ?  Hm, we’ll work on this one and get back to you…

Our favs of the week… again!

Off Season Training: This is a great article giving you snowboard training tips you can do during the off season.

Racing in Times Square? Heard about this little video from Red Bull the other day.  Doesn’t really have anything to do with board sports, but definitely worth a view or two.

Vancouver’s 2010 Olympics Struggle: Recession? Looks like the Olympics aren’t even immune. 

LA Candy: OK LC.  Come on; a book?  Really?!  Unless Speidi gets eaten by a shark, I’ll leave that one on the book shelf.

That’s it.  Our picks of the week.  Check ‘em out, and if you come across anything that should have made the ist, just add the links in the comments below.

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