Top 10 Movie Speeches

A Time To Kill was on TV this past Sunday.  Matthew McConaughey's closing argument in this movie is phenomenal.  I was so inspired I decided to go through my top 10 favorite movie speeches.

1) A Time To Kill - closing argument:

 
 2) Any Given Sunday - Peace by Inches:

3) Scent of a Woman - Ending Speech:

  
4) Wall Street - "Greed is Good" Speech:

  
5) Ben Affleck's Speech in Boiler Room:

  
6) Good Will Hunting - NSA Speech:

7) The 25th Hour - Monty Brogan Monologue:

8)Braveheart - Freedom Speech:

9) Shawshank Redemption - "Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying.":

10) Apocalypse Now - Col. Kurtz's Anthropological Understanding:

What did I miss?

Quick Trip To Newport

I shot up to Newport this past Saturday, looking for some waves and to learn a little about shaping surfboards.  I didn't get the waves but I got to meet Neil Toracinta, talk to him about the board he's going to make for me, and get an idea for how that process works.

Brent (old roommate) and I drove over to First Beach to scope the swell.  We surfed here the last time I was in Newport and it was going off.  Unfortunately, this time around the waves were pretty much nonexistent.

Surfing was out, so Brent and I drove over to meet Neil.  We pulled up to this shady garage, boards everywhere, and out pops this kid from a red pick up.  Hoody, flat brim, board shorts; standard bro.  He brings me into his shop and we start talking.  Neil works out of this grandma's garage.  He started shaping boards for a school project when he was a junior in high school and he's been doing it ever since.  Born and raised in Newport, he grew up in a tight-nit surfing community among titans like Ian Walsh.  He's only 20 but he's very professional and a master of his craft.            

All Neil's boards are made with polyurethane blanks.  This is the material at the core of all surfboard.  It gives it the buoyancy you need to stand up on the water.  The process starts with dimensions; I'm looking for a 5'11 x 20 x 2 3/8 board.   He'll enter these numbers into a computer program, which will create a stencil he can use to shape the blank.

From there you add whatever graphics you want (paint, stickers, etc.), a few coats of polyester resin, drill in the fin plugs, and sand it down.  It sounds pretty easy but it is truly an art.  

 

I'm pretty excited about this board and I'm especially happy to be supporting a local shaper.  Would you rather have a mass produced board made by somebody (who probably doesn't surf) in China or one by the guy down the street who goes out whenever he can?  Surfing is a very personal experience.  You have to talk to a surfer to find a shaper.  In the end, the relationship you establish with a local shaper strengthens and deepens the relationship you have with the sport.  

 Watch a surfboard be made in 5 minutes:

 

Cat Friday

Enjoy.

Man vs. Wild

 

Not exactly the Patagonia R4 but I will say it's a nice fit.  This guy definitely caught me a little off guard.  It's even in the commercial but I didn't think this crazy English man would really gut a baby seal on television and wear its skin.  I could only think of a few people who have done this and I'm pretty sure it wasn't ok.

Wall of Water

 

This is a cool angle and one that I have never seen before.  Sion Milosky makes surfing look pretty easy, especially when it looks like the world is caving in on him.  I'm hoping to rip some turns like this pretty soon. 

Gear Battle

I'm a bit of a gear head.  I have an addiction to steepandcheap.com and every time I step into a EMS, Patagonia, etc. I immediately feel the need to buy something.  What's worse is I'm drawn to the most expensive products.  In reality, a two layer Gortex shell is going to keep me dry all day but I usually convince myself that there will be some doomsday scenario where it'll be totally worth the extra $100 for a 3rd layer.  While I've fed my addiction over the years I've become familiar with the materials used in performance clothing.  Gortex, eVent, and c_change are (in my opinion) the best on the market right now.  However, I've never really dug into the detail.

Here is a quick rundown of what you want to consider before buying performance outerwear:

Membrane vs. Coated

This guy is a crumb but start listening 30 seconds in and stop listening at 2:58.

Bottom line: It's worth the extra money for a membrane jacket.  It will keep you dryer for longer.

Water Repellency

Whether you're walking down the street or your in the middle of the backcountry, no one wants to be wet.  When considering the fabric you want use in your battle against mother nature, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with levels of water repellency.  To measure a fabric's ability to block water, testers will pour water on the fabric until until it seeps through (shocking).  They measure this property in 1000's of mm (Example: you'll see a jacket described as 10k waterproof, that means 10,000 mm of water was suspended above the fabric before water seeped through.)  Typically, any fabric which can withstand 1,000 mm of water pressure prior to leaking is considered waterproof.  Mid-range shell fabrics tend to hover around 5,000 mm and anything over 20k is going to be considered top of the line. 

Bottom line:  If you're doing anything more than walking the dog in the rain, look for material that is 15k + waterproof.  

Breathability

If you only cared about protecting yourself from the elements, you'd wear a rubber jacket and be done with it.  But when you're being active (skiing, hiking etc.) you sweat and rubber does not breathe.  Suddenly, you're a walking sauna and whatever you were doing isn't so fun anymore.  Fabrics like Gortex, eVent, and c_change repel water but also allow your water vapor (sweat) to escape, keeping your body dry.

Crumb #2.  Testing the rate at which water vapor is transferred through Gortex and eVent.

Bottom Line: It is rumored that eVent is more breathable than Gortex.  This video shows very little difference.  I personally don't know, I've really only used Gortex.  An interesting alternative to consider is  C_change.  C_change independently reacts to changing temperatures and activities.  Depending on the situation, breathability or heat-retention increases or decreases.

Pat's Picks:

Mammut Adrenaline Jacket, Gortex Pro Shell:

Rab Latok Jacket, 3 Layer eVent:

Cloudveil Koven Jacket, 3XDRY (C_Change):

I hope this was informative and you stay dry.

Maru Cameos on Cat Friday

This Japanese sensation is quite the handful.