Brain Fart - Random Thoughts of the Week

1. Underrated Hotties - To me, listening to a women's voice is kind of like tasting a fine wine. When drinking wine, there's all sorts of subtleties and different flavors you can take from just a small taste. When you listen carefully to the tone of a woman's voice, you get all kinds of tidbits like hints to their personality, intelligence, their sense of humor; tons of things. That's why this week's underrated hottie is Iranian actress Golshifte Farahani, the actress from Body of Lies. She's just got that voice that's so calm, smart, and caring. Not the typical singer's voice, but that's why she's underrated.

2. Songs in my head - Ever get those same songs that pop into your head whenever you feel a certain emotion? Here are some weird songs that I always start whistling or humming when these specific feelings happen:

When I feel happy - "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands"
While rushing to get somewhere - "Chariots of Fire theme song"
When I hear some really good news - "Indian Jones theme song"

I have no explanation for this other than these songs must have been burned into my memory at a young age...so wierd.

3. Why I Cliff Dive - Most people think thrill seekers are just stupid psychos that do crazy things. I like to consider myself an intelligent thrill seeker. When I cliff dive, I feel emotions and sensations that very few people ever feel. It's like doing the impossible. It's like hovering in that instant before death, and living to tell the tale. Standing on the edge of that cliff, nothing else matters. All those petty concerns and problems that take up brain-space just disappear. Being on the brink of death actually forces you to put your entire life and all your priorities in perspective within a matter of seconds. In that moment, you are in another dimension altogether. You become Man in its most raw form; un-polluted by modern society; the form that Man was originally created to be. There are no societal concerns. There is no money. There is no drama. There is only good, bad, life, death, and survival. It's like rebooting your brain to the days of Adam and Eve. There are not many greater feelings on this planet. It is a shame the majority of people do not get to experience this feeling.

Spotlight - "From Birdmen to Autistic Savants"

("Spotlight" posts are my attempt to introduce you to intriguing people, events, or things around the world that you'd probably otherwise never have heard of. Enjoy!)


Dan Osman - wikipedia

I stumbled across the late great Dan Osman while watching this video of beautiful female rock climber Natalija Gros posted on Digg. Dan was an Asian American climber who played a large role in popularizing free-solo rockclimbing (climbing without any gear). He was known for living a bohemian lifestyle , rarely working, and living in a tree house for months at a time. He died in 1998 at age 35 while performing a controlled free-fall jump at Yosemite National Park when his rope failed. You can watch the story of his last jump here, but the video that motivated me to post his story on my blog is this amazing footage of him speed-climbing Lover's Leap in California. Simply mind-blowing:





Wingsuit Flying - wikipedia

Wingsuit flying was started in the 1930's by "birdmen" like Leo Valentin, who created wings from canvas, steel and wood, and were able to glide in the air for miles. Apparently 72 of the 75 original birdmen died while testing suits. While at the Circuit City in Chinatown DC I saw a special on tv about modern birdmen who now use a safe and reliable wingsuit designed in Europe in 1998 that have made Wingsuit Flying a popular new extreme sport. Dare devil Swiss Wingsuit flyer Ueli Geoenaghatz raced a passenger plane from mainland Ireland to the Aran Islands. The 17.6 km journey which normally takes the Aer Arran passenger plane 7 mins travelling at an average sped of 130mph was beaten by Ueli in a wingsuit as he reached speeds of over 200mph. Here's part of the special I saw:




Autistic Savants - wikipedia

Those suffering from some sort of autism who also possess very rare forms of brilliance or mental abilities. I came across this term when I saw the movie Rain Man on tv tonight, starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. Daniel Tammet is one of these modern autistic savants. In his mind, he says, each integer up to 10,000 has its own unique shape, colour, texture and feel. He has described his visual image of 289 as particularly ugly, 333 as particularly attractive, and pi as beautiful. 6 apparently has no distinct image. Tammet described 25 as energetic and the "kind of number you would invite to a party"... He holds the Eurpean record for reciting pi down to 22,514 and possess a unique ability to learn new languages, which he proved by learning Icelandic in one week. He's also creating a new language called Manti, based on Estonian and Finnish.