Google Maps adds underwater imagery – go diving in Hawaii, Australia, & the Philippines

Maps go underwater now as Google has added panoramic imagery of Hawaii, Australia, and the Philippines. From the Google Maps Blog: Find a sea turtle swimming among a school of fish, follow a manta ray and experience the reef at sunset. in the Great Barrier Reed. At Apo Island, a volcanic island and marine reserve in …

Come Hell of High Water (trailer, DVD) – documenting the culture of bodysurfing

  Keith Malloy’s debut film, Come Hell or High Water, shot primarily on 16mm focuses on the simplicity and beauty of bodysurfing. “It’s about taking a breath, and kicking your feet, in the big blue sea.” – Patagonia   The film explores the history and progression of the sport of bodysurfing and the pureness that …

Orange County has become a dominant location for Olympic athletes to live/train

There seems to be a competition between San Diego (who is sending 80 athletes) and Orange County, for the king of the Olympics:   If Orange County was a nation it would have ranked among the top 10 in gold medals at each of the past two Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Games in Athens, Orange …

Wikimedia Foundation votes to start a travel guide – as Wikitravel implodes

The Wikimedia Foundation has decided to create a travel guide in the mold of its non-profit, user-written and search engine results-hogging Wikipedia. The foundation’s board of trustees on July 11 approved a proposal to launch an advertisement-free travel guide and noted that 31 of the 48 administrators of the Internet Brands-owned Wikitravel have pledged to join forces with the Wikimedia Foundation’s …

Google Maps adds bike routes for Europe, Australia – take a trip through the Swedish countryside!

Back in 2010 we added biking directions for users of Google Maps in the US and Canada. Helping cyclists navigate the bike trails throughout those countries proved hugely popular, so we’re wheelie excited to announce that starting today, we’ve also added extensive biking data to Google Maps for Austria, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, …

Communist party in China facing public anger as corruption gets exposed

Even more interesting considering that both this Economist article and the Bloomberg exposé are currently blocked in China.   In recent years China’s leaders have become increasingly concerned that the public’s awareness of the growing wealth gap could lead to social instability. In Beijing, displays of gratuitous overcompensation are a daily reminder that some people, in …

Hot Generation! 1960s Punk from Down Under

Found an awesome punk album from the 60s, featuring raw garage bands from Australia singing about love and surfing. I put together a YouTube playlist of all the songs (but one):  

First ever video of the world’s most elusive whale

Scientists on a research voyage in Bass Straight (south of Australia) got an exhilarating surprise when they chanced upon what might be the world’s most mysterious and elusive whale: the Shepherd’s beaked whale. It is believed this is the first time the species has ever been captured on video (shown below). Since the Shepherd’s beaked …

The Hot Generation, 1967 (trailer)

Paul Witzig presents The Hot Generation, 1967. Featuring Nat Young, Bob McTavish, Peter Drouyn, Russel Hughes, Keven Brennan, Midget Farrelly, Rodney Sumter, Bobby Brown and Robert Coneeley.  

Award-winning short about legendary surfer – ‘Another Day in the Life of Wayne Lynch’

Wayne Lynch is a surfing legend, blazing individualistic pathways in both the performance and the lifestyle. Ascending during a time of great change and experimentation, Wayne took up the mantle personally, redefining what a surfboard should look like and how it should be ridden. Much of this innovation done outside of surfing’s athletic or institutional …