Some bouldering around Manly

Some bouldering around Manly
Originally uploaded by duncanmacinnis

A few crags in and around Manly that aren't in the guidebook. There's a bunch of stuff being discovered at the moment, and if you don't know the right people you just don't know about them. Hopefully people will stumble upon this head out somewhere other than Sissy or the Frontline.

Xtra Normal

I converted a gmail chat conversation with Nick into a video with Xtranormal:



In conclusion: eat a dick, Nick.

Havana Cultura

Gilles Peterson's latest project aims to showcase Cuban music beyond Buena Vista Social Club. Some jazz, some funk, some hip hop and a bunch of other stuff in the mix. Get a taster here.

Goals

Short-term goals (this year):

30 push-ups
30 v-ups
20 pull-ups
15 knees to elbows
3 minute plank
150 squats
Run this in less than 20 min.

I started the Plank Challenge (see how long you can hold a plank position) with Mitch and some of his friends. I thought I had reasonable core strength from climbing, but I was wrong, so wrong. I managed 2:04 and was dieing - Mitch's mate Pete busted out 4:04, and Mitch said he was aiming for 5 min plus. I dread to think what his brother Fran is going to do. Anyway, it's good to have something to aim for.

I tried to do a half-Chelsea the other night. A full Chelsea is:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats
on the minute for 30 minutes.

So my plan was to do that for 15 minutes - a total of 75 pull-ups, 150 push-ups and 225 squats. That was my aim, anyway. I made it to 7 minutes doing proper pull-ups, 8 minutes doing proper push-ups, and stopped after 10 minutes, thinking my delt's would explode. So yeah, that shit is hard. I'll get better though.

Mitch put together this fitness standards spreadsheet (kinda stolen from CrossFit Seattle), which I'm using as a guideline. I'm also running pretty well at the moment, and am happy with my climbing. I'm also going to start playing Ultimate Frisbee with Steve on Monday nights. Good times.

TOTD: El-p - Tasmanian Pain Coaster

This was the first track El-p played when I saw him play in February. Dope album, dope track. Word.

What they don't show on TV...

If you google "what they don't show on tv", the first hit is my flickr photo. Why the fuck anyone would be googling that, I don't know. Flickr stats, an endless source of entertainment.

Benchmark

I'm trying to add some stuff other than climbing and running into my weekly exercise stuff - mainly in a CrossFit kind of vein. So my new benchmark is:

250 m run followed by 3 times:
10 pullups (strict - no kipping)
250 m run
15 pushups
250 m run
25 situps
250 m run
50 squats
250 m run

Today it took me 28:36. Running after 150 squats hurts. I'll add more when I can be bothered.

Go and skate into an AIDS tree, you motherfucker.

Thanks to Mitch for passing this on.

International Observer

Where do I start with this guy? Formerly signed to Richard Dorfmeister's (of Kruder and Dorfmeister fame) epic Different Drummer label, formerly of the Thompson Twins and formerly of New Zealand, Tom Bailey has a new album coming out. Rad. I first saw them (they were "them" back then) play all back in the day as support for Lee Scratch Perry, and their "We Know" popped up on the ever-awesome Kog Records (now apparently defunct) compilation, Dub Combintions 3. I then picked up their "All Played Out" album in a mess of other super stuff, on the cheap from Real Groovy Records in Auckland. His music is on a digi-dub kind of tip, and very, very good.

Where was I going with this? I can't remember... oh wait, I remember now - new album. Sweet.

9a Big Wall

Spaniards Iker and Eneko Pou have climbed a 13 pitch route in Picos de Europa, Spain, with the hardest pitch going at 8c+/9a. It's called "Orbayu" and is protected by "some original bolts, but most of the rest are wooden pitons, copperheads, micro-friends and nuts..."



Badass? Yeah, just a bit.