The Firing Line

Say what you want about hipsters and American Apparel but Vice magazine’s web counterpart VBS.tv is pumping out a plethora of quality content. Series such as Epicly Later’d, Inside Afghanistan and the previously posted Vice Guide to North Korea are prime examples of the site’s approach to web programming.

Spike Jonze, of music video and Jackass fame is the site’s creative director. His influence can be seen in the sites visually comfortable layout. The backdrop looks like something from a hipster flat, a white brick wall with bookcases strewn with film cameras, CDs, and records. Advertising banners are perched on the bookshelf or plastered up on the wall like posters. The sites video is framed in the middle of the layout to look as if it is playing on a wall mounted flat screen TV. This setup is aesthetically pleasing because it creates a vibe that feels less like the Internet and more like real life. You are still staring at pixels but the atmosphere created by the home decor is much more comfortable than what surrounds the Youtube screen.

The following episode of Americana is one of the most interesting produced by the site. It offers a peak into gun culture through the lens of a New York shooting range called the Firing Line.



I personally found the conversation with Peter Stechler and his young grandson Tommy the most interesting. Tommy, who appears to be about eight or ten years old, mentions that he shot an uzi. In the wake of the accidental death of and eight year old who shot an uzi at a Westfield, MA gun show last October this was alarming.

Tommy and Peter also show the difficulty of passing on safe gun ethics with the following exchange:

Interviewer:What do you like best about shooting?

Tommy: Well, I’m not a black belt yet and I need to defend myself with a gun.

Peter: (Reservedly interrupting) No, you can’t do that.

Tommy: I’m just kidding, but still, its just its fun.

Updates: Gatorade and Co-Housing

After Gatorade jumped into the action sports realm last January by inking Chaz Ortiz and a slew of others to endorsement deals I was curious about how deep their commitment would be. They are playing the part well, signing on as title sponsor of the Free Flow Tour, the Dew Tour’s amateur series. They will also be the title sponsor for the Winter Free Flow Tour which launches next season. Details are not tied down yet but a Transworld Business interview with Alli Sports marketing director BJ Carretta revealed the following:

We’re going to have some East Coast events, one or two Midwest, Rockies, and then West Coast. Then the finals will happen at the Toyota Challenge at Northstar-at-Tahoe. The overall winner gets placement into the next year’s Winter Dew tour.

From the same interview Carretta says “It will be all the same disciplines as the Dew Tour.” No word on whether that means just slopestyle and halfpipe for snowboarding or if that includes skiing.

In other news this NYT piece on co-housing reminded me of earlier posts on Communist fashion and the evolution of American living arrangements. Housing cooperatives, communities where participants have individual homes but share common facilities and services, are garnering increasing interest in with the slumping economy. As we slip further from the Cold War it seems Americans are becoming less averse to practices formerly seen as Communist.

“For a long time we’d always be referred to as ‘communes for the ’90s’ or ‘the new commune,’ ” said Mr. Ragland of the Cohousing Association. “But increasingly people are seeing that it’s really just a new type of neighborhood.”

The similarly community minded Zipcar service, which offers members car rental on demand is making buzz with its new iPhone app. From Farhad Manjoo:

When you need wheels, load up the program to find available cars displayed on a map around you. You can pick a car you like and reserve it right from the phone. That's when the real fun begins. As you approach the Zipcar lot, you find two buttons on your phone: honk and unlock. Yes, your iPhone can now double as your car keys. (I guess that means if you lose it, you're doubly screwed.)

Who knows if America can get over its Communist stigma but it appears that some are increasingly open to collaborative functions.