I’m not usually impressed by corporate videos, but sometimes a corporation gets behind a story in a video that is unshakably touching. When I caught wind of this video made by the Hampton Hotels’ Asheville branch, I wanted to check it out for myself. Featuring a boy named TJ who is better known as TJ Elevator Fan, this hotel went above and beyond to make TJ feel welcome when he visited their location. TJ has Cerebral Palsy, so everyday situations aren’t always as easy for him as they would be for you or me, but this Asheville hotel went way out of their way to make sure TJ’s stay was as easy and special as possible. Check it out.
Watch A Mountain Biker Take An 80-Foot Tumble
The Red Bull Rampage is an annual downhill mountain bike race that pits some of the best riders in the world against one another on a course that mere mortals should never even think about attempting. The competition features massive jumps, flips and other aerobatics that are definitely not for the inexperienced or faint of heart.
The scariest moment from the 2012 edition of the race, which was held this past weekend in Virgin, Utah, comes our way courtesy of rider Cam Zink, who took an 80-foot tumble after overshooting one of the jumps. Fortunately, Zink wasn’t seriously hurt, but his trusty helmet cam caught all of the action, which is pretty much guaranteed to make your stomach drop. Check out Cam’s ride from the perspective of his helmet cam in the first video below, then watch the second video to see how it looked to spectators on hand. Either way, it wasn’t pretty.
Thanks to our friends over at the Adventure Journal for sharing these great videos.
Paris Versus New York In Animation
I’ve fussed about the differences between Paris and New York several times in my writing career (hint, nobody is rude) but few things make the comparison better than a side-by-side video. Tony Miotto did a great job with this one on Vimeo. Its beauties, I think, are in the subtleties of the comparisons, the way the design at the Parisian Louvre parallels that of the Apple Store in Manhattan or the ways that Kennedy and Charles de Gaulle are circuitously drawn by wandering airplanes.
There’s so much happening that I had to watch the video several times to pick up on all of the quick comparisons. You should too. It’s a great video.
Video Of The Day: The ‘Wildscapes’ Of Wyoming
Wyoming, the least populous of all of the states in the United States, is also one of the most beautiful places to visit. The land is covered in mountains, foothills, prairies and high plains, nearly half of which is owned by the U.S. Government. Each year, more than six million people come to see Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park, making this one place where travelers outnumber the locals; just over 500,000 people call the state home. In today’s Video of the Day, Nicolaus Wegner attempts to capture the many varied landscapes of the state. Give it a look and you might find yourself daydreaming about a visit to the Cowboy State.
Crazy Video: Wild Arabic Dancing In Texas
Arab culture has an image problem. Most outsiders think they don’t have any fun. As one acquaintance informed me, “Arabs are a dour lot.”
He’d never actually hung out with any Arabs. Anyone who has can tell you that they do have a sense of fun, as this video shows. Uploader noxalicious tells us this was filmed in Cafe Layal in Houston, Texas. This guy gets so into the music that he ends up on a table shaking what he’s got for all it’s worth. I’ve seen guys dance like this at weddings in Egypt and parties in Syria, but they weren’t quite so … jiggly.
If you want some more Arabic humor, here’s a video about Saudis in Audis, sent to me by Facebook friend and British Muslim activist Shelina Zahra Janmohamed. Somehow it was funnier coming from her.