Melbourne By Board

Its was way too early to be awake, but here we are at 5am in a cab on the way to Sydney Airport.
I haven’t been up this early in years.
Nick and I stashed our boards in a box, praying they didn’t get lost in a maze of multi-directional conveyor belts, and tucked to the gate. Excitement was building.

A flight, cab and train later we arrived in the heart of Melbourne to be greeted by Vault team rider and generally off-the-rails girl- Jenna Russo.

After a short introduction to the parents we dumped our gear at the Russo mansion and headed down to a local hill to begin the fun.
The road was a casual left turn into a straight away with a nearly untouched surface. It was perched at the top of a new development with a little man-made lake at the base of what was an old quarry.

The sun was setting and a full day of travel had left our stomachs empty so we piled into Jenna’s OG Merc “Bubbles” and headed to her place.

Dinner, Dinner was epic, hell I could write an entirely new blog about how good that food was. Both Nick and I were stoked – great skate, full bellies; it was definitely time for a nap.

10am rolled around and nick blasted into my room barking about wasting daylight – I was struggling for energy until we were introduced to the worlds greatest juice.
Pumped on a good breakfast we geared up and headed to a spot Jenna could see, but took us forever to find. After a few u-bolts we found the hill. A crazy steep drop into a sweeping right then left. The gradient and surface combination meant traction was a thing of the past. Nick threw down hard but the gradient got the best of him and after a few stacks and some long, long walks up we took a break for lunch.

A cheeky feed and quick review of the footage amped us up and we headed back to the quarry for some chill times and to catch a few more clips for the edit. Another day down, we loaded up on some ground breaking ratatouille and crumbed veal, smashed out the first of two sick edits and headed to the Russo band room for a jam – Jenna laid out some sweet tunes on the guitar until we were all ready to call it a night.

The day had arrived. RMIT longboardings end of year jam was only an hour away, Jenna’s wonderful mother Ida packed us a sweet lunch and we jumped into Bubbles.
The slide jam was sick, a heap of shredders threw down for one of Melbourne’s biggest events – Shout out to the RMIT boys who made it happen.

After a long day of shredding Jenna took out the girls prize and I managed 3^rd in longest stand up – not massively stoked with my performance but hey good times were had. At the end of a long day we rolled back home and relaxed with the Russo clan.

On our last full day we woke up to rain, but thanks to spastic Victorian weather, it was sunny as all hell by the time we headed into Melbourne City. Jenna had taken the day off skating to study for her last ever school exam so Nick and I cruised the CBD relaxing, throwing down some flat land and generally having a swell time.

In the late arvo we would rolled back to Jenna’s for an afternoon shred that ended up becoming one of the greatest sessions I’ve ever had – the video of said shred session can be found here –

Going on trips is always rad and this one was no different. Big thanks to The Russo’s for putting Nick and I up for the week and feeding us.

See ya next time kids, Skate Safe!

Land of No Responsibility or Consequence

We live in a world i am disillusioned with, if you have taken time to read any of my previous rant’s this is a fact by now you are well aware of.

Let me begin by saying this. My dad would always lecture me about taking personal responsibility for my actions. If I made a mistake it was my job to take ownership, apologize and repair if possible.
  When people of today’s world make a mistake, it it’s still their fault…but… the police response time was to slow, there were no preventative measures in place, more adequate signage needs to be implemented, the education system failed, more money needs to be set aside for councilors in schools to deal with issues earlier. And look I know in many cases much of the above is needed but how about a sign that says “Hey, Stop being a dick” how about a councilor that says “stop believing the world is full of Disney feel good romance” How about students shut up and listen to their teachers and parent’s actually learn to discipline before complaining about the education system. Are these systems broken absolutely, wouldn’t it be nice if police responded instantly, signs were always clear, love was always fair, people were always nice… Well its not going to happen.
The self entitled dribble pouring form high priced technology and onto social media platforms is driving me insane.
Take responsibility people, that is the fundamental difference between a boy and a man or a girl and a woman, its the cornerstone to maturity. Your actions, your problems they are your fault the only person who can fix them is you.

Now I am one to bitch and moan -this course is  a joke, this tutor is a moron. At times I’ve even felt disadvantaged by my tutor, by the silly technical restrictions of a project, by money. But ultimately the only thing I’m restricted by is me.
The only thing restricting you, pulling you up and causing issues is yourself.
So take responsibility.
But more than that, be aware of consequence.

I have made and broken friendships over this, Not only do you need to take personal responsibility but you need to take responsibility for the repercussions of your actions.

Consequence is always right behind the door your about to push open, and like any survival horror game will tell you, there is something behind it waiting to claw you a new face. A – Pay attention, B- Take responsibility C- React appropriately, please remember opening the door and emptying your shotgun magazine into anything that moves is not reacting appropriately.

Left for dead analogies behind; people who read this, chances are you are a well rounded, mature individual already as your in my circle of friends (see what i did there) but for those of you who aren’t, please get your shit together. 

I’m sick of living in a world where individuals aren’t responsible, a world where there is always a system that failed them or a policy that wasn’t in place or a fence that wasn’t up that should have been. Every INDIVIDUAL mistake made in this country spurs a committee of red tap waving fun police who piss safety protocols down people’s throats until every drop of potential enjoyment has been drowned in a sea of red tap and paper work.

So please do me a favor the next time you make a mistake, pause and think, Am I at fault?
YES, now go fix your mistake before the local homeowners association can meet and discuss mandatory warning sings be placed on any hard or mildly firm or potentially not soft, dust free, choke prof, water resistant surface.
Like usual I wrote this late a night in a hurry, so feel free to list my many spelling, syntax and grammatical errors below. Please also feel free to notice me not caring.

P.S
If your one of those people that feel the need to call the police because people look like they might be having fun outside and that’s potentially dangerous avoid reading my next blog post…

 

 

A Tone of Hate

Watch this first
Racist at Station.

Now I’ve never been one to mix my words to make people less offended by my opinion – If you find yourself offended I have two things to say -
A – Lets discuss it, best way to solve conflict is to understand the motivations and opinions of all parties involved.
Still offended at not willing to offer rational critique?
B – Grow up, don’t read it if your not willing to be mature.
Now onto our racist friend in the video above.
While his ignorance is clearly his biggest issue, my largest concern is the attitude he represents. I’ve seen it on both sides of the racism sword and in both situations it has been the catalyst of damaging behavior.
“This is my land, you stole it” represents the views of many extremist Maori and Aboriginals.
“This is my land, go home” or “your not Australian”  the view of many extremist white Australians.

Frankly the over the top national “pride” of some people in this country is sickening and I’m not just talking about white Australians.

What I find funny is until I’ve started talking, these people think I’m Australian, in actual fact I’m a Kiwi born and raised kid with a Lebanese mother from a family that migrated to Australia and a NZ European father. This guy and sadly others are convinced being an Australian is dependent on white skin alone.
If you live here, if you call this place home, you are Australian. If someone disagrees, they need to re-think what it means to be Australian – Like our friend in the video above.
People in our society should be free to do what they want in their own homes, Provided they don’t negatively impact people around them. But with the mix of culture we have in this country its bound to happen and in those situations its important we remember the knife has two sides and they are equally sharp.

This guys racism is built from media stereotypes, ignorance and a good diet of bigotry.
I fear more of these people are springing up in response to the riot in Sydney. When people wave signs saying Sharia law will dominate Australia its hard not to bite back, just as when people say “go back to your own country” its hard not to bite back. But if we keep biting each other we’ll all end up in a multi-generational bitch fight.

How do you think countries in the middle east became the way they did? Constant civil wars, military regimes, invasions, mass killings. Its peoples immature and irrational inability to live with people of different views. There is a militant arc of extremists within every sub-group of humanity, how in the hell do the majority, supposedly rational people, allow a few loud idiots to continue to lead us to self destruction. Humanity is its own worst enemy and if mother nature doesn’t bitch slap us into extinction we’ll do it ourselves.

Under the surface of every word I write is a tone of hate, sounds quite bad when i say it like that but I am well and truly fed up.
People are either to PC to actually combat the issue or they are so apathetic they take no notice and continue on their ignorant way.
I’m beginning to think I’m one of the few rational people left on this rock. How did this happen?

How did the middle class become so quiet, so uninterested?
How did we allow our news media to get to the state its in?
How did we sit by as our country’s government dissolved into a preschool sand-pit where insults and personal attacks are more important than policy.
How do we allow people to voice their opinions unchallenged?

Where is the debate? the public forum?
Where are the real issues, when can whats best for the country become more important than what will I get voted in for.

Now don’t you dare turn around and blame the media, the media is a mirror built from money and designed by advertisers to show you what you want to see.
This country cares more about Master Chef than political debate.
Big brother is more controversial than SOPA ACTA and PIPA most people in my second year Media degree didn’t know a single thing about them yet could all talk about Kristen Stewart big break up.

To put it frankly – everyday I wake up with less faith in humanity. Less and less faith each day.

STOP BEING SO APATHETIC, learn about your world, learn about its issues and start making changes to try and fix them,
I’m not always in the know about every issue but I try, and that’s all I’m calling for,

If we don’t stand up to this extremism  it will consume the masses like a poison.
If we could all just accept the three following points the world might just have a future.

1 – Acceptance. People will always be different to each other, different views and opinions, its fine to disagree and even better to debate, just don’t force people to agree with you and accept it when they don’t, Don’t go out to deliberately hurt people with conflicting views to yours and take it with grace and maturity when people do.

2 – Care. Start giving a shit. Seriously,  If you don’t take personal responsibility you will never get anywhere and only drag other down.

3-  Be reasonable. give the benefit of the doubt and balance your needs with the needs of others. Stand up for an old lady on the bus, wave a thank-you when someone lets you in at an intersection and even more importantly remember your actions effect others.

If we could all just follow these points the individuals in our society who hold opinions like our friend in the video would slowly disappear.

Informative not spiteful,
Rational not reactive,
Calm not aggressive.

Now believe me I’m not one of those we can all be friends theirs no need for violence people and while everyone deserves a shot at redemption those who continue to behave badly deserve a firm slap to the face by a wall of sharpened lead. I shall leave you with this final example -

Lets say our friend from the video goes on air or write a blog about how all the immigrants should go home – should this guy be shot…No, should he be bombarded with logical and rational critique of his uninformed opinion…yes.

If he was to make a movie insulting the religious beliefs of others should we riot? No, take it on the chin, responding calmly to people’s insults makes your argument stronger and shows you are secure in your beliefs.

If he was to go out and actively hurt people based on race – we should lock him up, if he continues to do so we throw him in a hole and leave him their while i don’t believe in the death penalty I think their should be harsh prisons and no bail or parole for repeat violent offenders.

And that about sums up my energy for today.

Rage Quit

Let me start with this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOsEScxzqck

at 0:23 note the pole thrown at the cops -
following that some bloke explains the protest is defending there prophets honor.
0:35 some angry kid shoves the camera
At 1:13 between the line of police you’ll see a man trying to push through with a very small boy held in-front of him.
lets be honest there not off to a good start – and after re-grouping at Hyde Park they form skirmish lines, throwing bottles and charging at police.

More detailed coverage here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg0OMM2T1qQ ;

Now as most of you know I’m a fairly angry individual – I’m very passionate about my rights, I’m very passionate about the rights of others – Free speech, freedom to peacefully assemble and make your opinion heard.
It appears this was certainly the case at the beginning of the day -large groups assembled, families, children, people chanted and shouted but as the day went on the peaceful attendees seemed to depart and were replaced by an angry and violent mob.

This is some of the more violent footage, I believe some of this is from the US embassy many with covered faces and banners claiming they will not stop even if it costs their lives… - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0DZVK5HbTo

I’m glad many Muslims have taken to FB and Twitter to remind the rest of the world this is a violent minority. However the actions of the few are so bloody loud no one can hear the words of the many.

The sad truth is, no-one who insulted Muhammad was hurt only innocent people who mostly likely haven’t seen the video in question.
The only reason people heard about the video was because people were protesting against it in other countries…
I guess a few important lessons need to be learnt here.

1) If somebody offends you, responding in a violent way will only strengthen their argument.
2) These people were a minority (however the more this happens the harder it is to convince the public of that fact)
3) Anti-Muslim protests will most likely follow this and I fear a repeat of earlier events, I hope the media deal with this in a mature way – I hope people can as well.

This was the police media response - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK1_NJs-7hM
Frankly I think the cops did a very good job.

The Zeitgeist Movement: WAKE UP TO REALITY

The Zeitgeist Movement makes some (in my mind) massive oversights in their model for a  resource based ecconommy.
How do you hold to the population cap? Who’s idea of intelligently managed are we going to follow? I agree over population is an issue but without getting into some form of eugenics its imposible to regulate populations in a humane way, what do we do with those who disagree with the rules and regulations of our society? who makes those rules and who ensures those in power don’t twist the “Statistical facts” to change the distribution of resources for there own gain?

“Proper Decision Making is a purely technical process of logical assessment of a given set of variables and hence can only be based on upon tangible, technical referents.” (TZM faq)
Logical and technical process? Who’s idea of Logic is followed here? These people are naively of the opinion that the millions of Muslim people will abandon there religion (more specifically the way there religion governs there societies) to join a global community?

What about people who disagree with this logic? What do you do with them?

Even if we take the concept of currency away, we have not, and cannot take away the concept of power. the concept of “Science as the Methodology for Governance”.. I just don’t get it? How can science rule the fine line between murder and self-defense? How can science regulate itself in an ethical (not necessarily logical) way? Who comes up with these ethics?
How is the power of governance awarded, monitored and controlled? I agree most people are to uneducated to make decisions that control the governance of  society, most are to stupid to even vote logically. But who am I to say that? Formal education isn’t everything, I would say empathy is but where does that fit in to this world of statistical fact and science driven decision.

How are the emotional needs of people taken care of in this world view?  How would I get a wedding ring? would the all be of the same value (a just and logical system) but one I could never agree to) Who decides the value of items? in a resource system when the item is not a pure resource?

And more importantly – if all labor is automatic and there are no military what do we do with the uneducated? How does a professional athlete comapre to a a scientist?
Will they live in the same sized house? will the houses be allocated biased on what the offer society? Who deems these things? What if i don’t like how it looks (some people like and dislike some designs how do our logic driven scientist leaders govern that?

It seems to me the The Zeitgeist Movement believes in a strict policy of education and eugenics that would slowly breed out people who don’t tow the line, people who want the biggest house (or simply competitive people like me that want to be the best)

The Zeitgeist Movement is simply Marxism with a few alterations (in bold)

1. No Money or Market System
2. Automation of Labor
3. Technological Unification of Earth via “Systems” Approach.
4. Access over Property.
5. Self-Contained/Localized City and Production Systems.
6. Science as the Methodology for Governance

And just as Marxism did TZM will fall to the same lynch pin…Human beings are not always logical, we are emotional, we have needs beyond our actual need, we want…and until you can breed the want out of humanity (believe me that would take a lot of education and eugenics over centuries to happen then this utopia you people want is going to remain out of reach.

Please people redirect your enthusiasm and try to make small steps with short term goals.

I hate this planet for what its become, mostly because of what it could be – Everyday I read the news and it angers me. I want, more than anything for this world for these people to realize the demons they have become, always consuming for there own gain, never thinking about others, selfishness and self entitlement are rife among even the youngest of children.
My mother taught me to share with my brothers, my religion taught me that you are all my brothers and i try my best.

How about for now we focus on convincing people to be kind, to consider the ramifications of there actions, to think about sustainability to recycle, to support stem cell research, to support companies building alternative fuel vehicles. Lets start with that, rather than pushing people to extremism and resource based economies,  lets just fucking try to push people away from apathy, simply having people care about politics would be a good start.

For to long massive co-corporations have controlled the media and dictated opinion to us, before we can change before we can educate we must convince people were worth listening too. Welcome to the attention economy where political news and decisions that directly impact your lives are seconded to a teenage, lip-sync, auto-tuned, whining and self entitled   twat.

In conclusion
The Zeitgeist Movement:  WAKE UP, smell the air, doesn’t smell good does it?
Your lofty ideas are fantastic, but they will never become a reality, they argue against the most basic human drives of competition. people were wealthy and poor far before we knew what currency was. Power existing far before currency did. Corruption is at the heart of the human soul and no new economic system can change that.

Welcome back to reality, please help make it a better one now rather than aiming so far in the distance no-one can keep up.

A Journey through creativity

wow - 
So this has been quite for a while, Uni work, work and other such nonsense has stolen most of my time away from me. Mostly I’ve been photo blogging on Tumblr – http://jrhskate.tumblr.com/
 
As some of you may know I work for Skateboard Express doing a mixture of marketing and design work. 
We have a range of new board coming out over the next few weeks and Info will be up in here as well as my tumblr 

More reviews are coming once my assignment load is less intense - 
 

Happy Skating

 

Doesnt Matter got pike

Welcome back to another episode of the mo-jonny show. today we bring you our thoughts on the recent-ish-ly  released Omen Pike.
this is a two part review, starting off with mojuu-raptors hunter-killer thoughts.

As my human associate sleeps I type this out to you. now i dont need to babble out the dimensions of the board to you, do your homework! but my opinion on how the specs FEEL is always open for you to read.

The biggest feature for me was the TRUE, flat top w. I may remember wrong but the killswitch was said to have *flat top* w in its release video a few years back. Omen’s rendition of flat top w feels right. with  my us9 size feet, i can find a cosy spot to lock the balls of my feet between the w and the drop during pushing, almost like that gap was molded to trap my foot in there.  during the ever important sliding moments, the w gives you good geographical markers and is effective at acting like w-cave.  i found the micro-drop to be fantastic, between that and the concave, you’ll find a zone of no-cave. you can use this to wedge your feet against the concave where it begins to aggresively take off again.

having run this board on paris and caliber 44′s DT style, i found the paris to be nice, no wheelbite issues. great for people who are fans of high angle trucks. on cali44′s you will very easily get railbite issues, and maybe wheelbite depending on wheels/bushings.

all up, i thought i found the last board id ever buy. but alas! TIS TOO LONG.  for a raptor, standing a mere 175 human cm tall, the sweetspots on the deck for my feet are too far apart to feel comfy. and so im sigining off for the hurn to round off this review. end thoughts for raptor? feels slick under foot, but forces feet to be too far apart

Hello Peoples this is Jonny now, OMG a review within a review, review-ception

Anyway, I have to agree with the Raptors thoughts above. I got on this board and was SO excited big locked in pockets easy to push.
I started with it dropped through on Paris and quickly moved it to top mount and I rode and rode and the more I rode the lower my stoke factor went, at 41″ long its a big board, even with the tails taking up a few inches the platform is still (slightly) bigger than a Nemesis, and even that’s to long.

I would like to say for people 5ft 10 and up this will be a really nice board or if you want a longer board and enjoy the wider stance you’ll love it, really useful yet small tails, fantastic concave just (for me) 3 Inches to long,
When/if a mini Pike comes out I will go nuts! especially if its a tad stiffer. The pike did have some flex. Very noticeable when you stand right in the middle but in a normal stance its quite a subtle give this I liked to a point… The board got a little weird to tuck on cause my back foot was right in the heart of the flex zone. Don’t get me wrong this board is very stable at speed and has 0 torsional flex it just takes some getting used to.

All in all we both like the boards design features but its a few inched to long for our tastes or rather our stance.
that said it has such a nice concave if your taller or like standing wider you’ll love this board.

Happy skating,

Jonny and Mojo