Valleys and Troughs

Bear Gryllls raw animal medley, including the infamous goat testicle.

One of our favorite aspects of Man vs. Wild, and the reason we'd pick Bear Grylls above Survivorman Les Stroud any day of the week has always been the stiff-upper-lip British pluck with which he will eat literally anything he finds, be it living, dead or of indeterminate status. Stroud's greatest claim to glory is that unlike Bear, he allegedly does all his own camerawork. Which does impress. But would he give himself a fetid-water enema if trapped on a raft in the ocean? We can't say for sure. But Bear Grylls would. The best part of the above video is the glimpse of the crew's perspective - "definitely needs... more garlic." If we ever find ourselves trapped in a remote wilderness, we will only momentarily hesitate before chomping down on some goat balls. Oh, and the fetid-water enema, just in case:

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Best video ever. No, really.

We have actually been trying to work in the above video - which we will say without hyperbole is the single-greatest video we have maybe ever seen, and if you have a few spare minutes in your day (and who doesn't, really?) you would do yourself a disservice not to watch it, for it will expand your idea of what the human body is capable of - for quite some time, but the moment just never seemed right. Well, that moment is upon us. Mashable, "The Social Media Guide," rated the video - following trials rider and superhuman Danny MacAskill through the streets of Edinburgh for Inspired bicycles - as the single-most innovative viral video ad of 2009. Impressive, but it hardly sums up the mind-bending awesomeness of what this man does on a bicycle, nor the sheer beauty of the cinematography and soundtrack (The Funeral by Band of Horses). Well, if this hasn't convinced you to watch the video (or watch it again, if you've already seen it), we can't imagine what will. It is truly epic, one could almost say life-affirming, and we hope you enjoy it.

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Highlight of the night: falling with style.

Capping off the day with one last valley, the above is a pretty spectacular short video of a guy jumping from an eight-story building to the roof of another, smaller building. We haven't been able to find out who this is or why he did it, other than to prove to the world that he has balls of solid steel. Assuming it's real (we've been fooled before), pretty epic stuff.

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via 30hours

Highlight of the night: unimotorcycle.

That is the Uno Bike, a one-wheeled electric motorcycle that operates along similar gyroscopic principles as the Segway. So yeah, that's happening. It actually exists, instead of mouldering in the purgatory that engulfs seemingly all concept vehicles, thus we are maintaining today's theme of delivering on futuristic visions. Which brings a nice closure to the day, we feel. The only drawback, if it can really be called one, is that at speeds above 20 mph a second wheel extends forward for stability. Which is probably for the best. The future... is now?

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via gizmodo

Sully Sullenberger saves lives, gets laid.

Sully Sullenberger is responsible for one of our favorite stories from the past year, the famed "Miracle on the Hudson," in which he coolly landed his ailing plane in the frigid waters of the January Hudson, saving the lives of everyone aboard and forever etching his name into the annals of badassery. Turns out we are not his only fans. From an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer:

"He doesn't know I'm going to say this, but I had joked the other day that ... the hero sex really helps a 20-year-old marriage," wife Laurie Sullengerger said.
"Rock star sex," Sully said.

Rock star sex? Sounds about right. Looks like there will be plenty of mustache rides to go around in the Sullenberger house this holiday season. We certainly can't think of anyone who has earned it more than the captain, and we salute him.

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via NBC

UPDATE: Kiteboarding is the future - VIDEO.

Earlier in the week, we brought to your attention a story about two men, Jake Scrace, 25, and Lewis Crathern, 24 from West Sussex - that's England, by the way - longtime kiteboarders who finally jumped their local pier after waiting three years for ideal conditions: 40 mph winds. We now have the video, which really speaks for itself. If you are not completely astounded by this, slap yourself in the face, and watch again.

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