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Not overly appreciative of certain aspects of the forum. Despite attempting a point, I'm mostly being "amusing" however. I'm also feeling antagonistic. I heard you've got a bit of a bad rep around here

Did the mods dislike an opinion against the current system of validation? Or did the content and "pointlessness" of the later expressions in that thread not fulfill somebodies ideas of validity? I suspect the latter. Why so serious?

I'd like to say I understand your logic.

Who isn't?

Validation sucks balls. "Be like us or f**k off!". Standard social procedure.

If you setup an account with vimeo, they give you access to a download link. Creating an account takes literally 30 seconds.

What are you trying to play it on? If on the computer, what player (VLC, Windows Media Player, etc.) are you using?

That was really good - riding, video quality and editing. More please

The tune from my other vid was "Tycho - Past is Prologue" and the music from this one was for the intro, "Why and Odd Nosdam - track 04" from the "Reaching Quiet" album and the main song was, "Odd Nosdam - Side A" from "Your American Bonus".

I always find it a shame that Neil's stuff is usually exclusive to the fisheye lense. For me, his riding is appealing due to the scale of distances he can achieve. Yet I can't decipher the scale of things with the fisheye. They might be very big (yes they clearly are) but I can't actually see it as such. This is an appeal, Neil, to show things in a closer perspective to what we understand. Although presumably there's some desire to using it as you do

That's some very impressive stuff right there!

Cheers for comments again. Just got back from retreat to see some more nice words. Greatly appreciated. To answer your question Hugh, no I'm not a film student. It's just a very rewarding hobby

Ok, fair enough. I think perhaps I was a bit reactive although I still hold my points despite disagreeing with their method and some of my motivation. I just get frustrated because essentially cannabis users are hypocritically persecuted (perhaps too strong a word but illustrates a point no less) with justifications that aren't applied to other similar or 'worse' things (in some senses) such as alcohol - in the sense of views that support my potential incarceration or my becoming a 'criminal' I do take it a bit personally somtimes (although I would like not to) but mostly I just get frustrated. I have experienced plenty of people judging me and telling me that what I'm diong is wrong when I know otherwise. In fact, I've been one of those people who have told others that what they are doing is wrong in terms of cannabis and other drug usage. There have definitely been points in my life where I've just spouted off anti-drug cliches, especially before I'd even done any - I've been a parrot in that sense and still am in many other ways. Allowing myself the time to consider what you're saying, whilst still holding some disagreement, it seems that you're not, at the very least, actually so involved in parroting off cliches. Cheap shot on my part!

Very nice, I like the white/black contrast. What is the tyre on the front?

I would certainly think it deserving if you won Adam. Hope it happens

Always love these vids and this wasn't any different. Another one soon please!

Well, if drug (cannabis) usage is going to continue regardless, then why not control it moreso by legalising it? Also it's not sensible to lump cannabis under the heading "drugs" as though they all come with the same problems - this is the standard implication people make. Cannabis is definitey not like heroin. Presumably also if you're against cannabis usage in terms of its 'negative' effects on society, you're against alcohol? Statistically, a far more harmful drug than cannabis. So you have smoked cannabis and have decided based on the experience, weighted up against potential problems, that it's not for you? Well, fair enough, I'm glad you know what is right for you but this still doesn't (at least mostly) put you in a position to know what is better for other people - "There are far better things to be doing with yourself and your money. I am by no means telling you what you should be doing with your life just saying you should stop being/pretending to be so naive." - which here you are clearly doing despite at attempt to suggest otherwise. Another implicit statement, this time that somebody who uses cannabis is unaware of what they are doing but when they actually know what's going on, when they have woken up, they will see how bad this stuff is for them and naturally stop. At the moment I don't smoke cannabis, I haven't the desire as I'm focused on other stuff. In this sense, I might say that cannabis is bad for me in terms of what I want to get done or where I'm at. However, just because of this relative situation, doesn't mean that cannabis was always bad for me or now that I should say it's bad for everyone else. People are different in time and in relation to one another and different activities suit accordingly. I personally learnt so much from smoking in terms of perceptual shifts and as a consequence, relativity which has now lead me to investigate alternative states of mind and has actually placed me in a very desirable situation - I am fairly certain I wouldn't be as happy as I am today if I had not smoked cannabis. That's aside from all the fun I had with friends, listening to music, editing videos, riding my bike and so on. I probably went about my previous post the wrong way, I just get (needlessly) frustrated sometimes at the attitudes of others where there is an implicit suggestion that the activities of others are wrong when those individuals know (and who are naturally better placed to know) what is better for them. And I'm sorry mate, but as far as I can tell you were definitely trying to do that, even if you were not being explicit with it and even if you didn't realise it yourself. I probably won't reply after this as I've debated so many times around the area of drugs on this forum.

Well that could actually be blamed on the fact the government won't legalise it and thus allow for control over it by more reputable sources. You also mentioned that there are 'better' things to do than smoke weed, in comparison to other "anti-social" behaviours. Better is a relative statement, thus what is better for you (not smoking weed) is not neccesarily better for somebody else (smoking weed). Personally, at the time I was smoking weed I found plenty of benefits, one of which was opening my mind a bit and realising that we all like different things and that's just the way it goes. To be honest, really you need to have smoked weed to actually make a meaningful statement about wether it is a good thing for you or not. Sometimes the benefits (the experience) can outweigh the problems (health issues). You need to know something about the former to really make any meaningful statements about the latter. For instance, old women that tell me I'm going to break my neck riding trials. Yes, that's quite possible and I have hurt myself many a time but weighed up against the actual experience of riding trials, this potential problem is worth chancing - overall trials is a good thing for me. I don't know anyone who lives the 'perfect' life, without an activity that comes with problems. Consider the idea that you might just be parroting off ideas given to you at an age where you were impressionably vulnerable.

Cheers for the very pleasant compliments chaps! Regarding viewing issues, I shall make a smaller version over the next couple of days and upload it somewhere - probably also to vimeo. It's a .wmv though, so I guess perhaps your best bet is with media player. It looks like the vimeo player scales the video down for streaming, is it ok in that? Adam, can't make tomorrow unfortunately. Standard lady commitments. I haven't really riden for that long either as my back has been too painful Thursday maybe?

I don't entirely understand what you are getting at. Could you please elaborate. But in actual fact, with reference to your last statement, the reality of non-dual awareness, in making you realise the connectedness of all things has the opposite effect. You're not exactly lonely, when you realise that the people you thought were separate to you, are also you. In fact having the misconception of being separated from everything else is a far more lonely idea. Correct me if I'm wrong but this is the perception that existentialism focuses on. All is existence, but this is realised only when we see no all because all is a dualistic way of experiencing. You really have to try and get some sense of the reality with which the words are trying to indicate. In Buddhism, they say that when the finger points to the moon, it is the moon we are supposed to see. Don't mistake the finger for the moon.

James had the carbon for a week or two and it's now been passed on to Jack Meek. Amazing ride. Not sure about the no sound on the download. Anyone else had a problem? What video player are you using? Standard, one mistake per video on the "www.tartybikes.com". Sorry Adam Cheers on comments chaps.

Word up trials Homies, Film of James Porter riding in Swindon and Oxford, from last weekend and the weekend before. In terms of filming, I much prefer the state of my video from the previous one. Managinng to get more colour and sharpness into the shot. Also the camera angles, steadiness (mostly) and smoothness has, I think, improved. Helped by the addition of a tripod. Editing was a bitch this time round. I really struggled to find music that I felt went with the riding. James having such a relaxed style made more upbeat music not acceptable. In the end I chose some 'sureal' hip-hop and frantically completed the edit in about four hours. Some of the editing I feel is a bit sureal to match - I do like the sureal. Finally, I've managed to sort out a few compression issues from last time - I was exporting at the wrong frame rate last time Oh and one more thing, might as well let you know that I'm in the process of making a trials film to put onto DVD/Blu-ray. Details will follow after I've managed to get a job and get some more filming done. It's probably going to be called "Physics of a Bicycle". Anyway, enjoy! GETsureal-ish Please download if you can! Quality is immense and can only really be appreciated running off mediaplayer, VLC, etc.!!! Ben

It depends on what religion you are talking of. Science simply cannot say where thing came from, nor really can religion (the religions I am interested in, don't even try to say anything about it). I actually think it's nonsensical to talk of "something coming from nothing". There no experience that indicates such a thing can happen. Rather existence (and also by definition) always is, always has been and always will be. Again, questions such as these come from dualistic confusion, I think. If anyone is interested in dualism and the confusion it causes, check out the works of Alan Watts or Ken Wilber for a good introduction. I spend a lot of time reading so if I do know a range of words that's the reason. And if you think I am intelligent, it just comes from the fact I usually spend several hours each day reading. I think anyone else would be able to put across the same ideas if they looked into the same things to the same extent.

I would pretty much agree with that. I am a perennialist who believes that the true intention of religion (and probably all motivations regardless of how they manifest) is an aiming toward the same thing, essentially non-dual understanding (god if you will although it's a dangerous word to use because people are so reactionary). The idea of the Hindus is that we're delibrately playing this game whereby we confuse ourselves, throughout a cycle which will eventually lead us back to an understanding of the nature of things - they recommend giving the most respect to those individuals who have confused themselves the best; they are playing the game to its fullest! We are all the same existence, something which is impossible to grasp when you see existence in terms of individual, separated parts. As we are all the same, we are everything and we create all moments, all happenings, then really we are all god.

Well, to be honest, I'm taking other peoples words on it, although I rationally understand its validity. Supposedly we can have experiences (non-conceptual experiences) that will make understand the point I'm getting at. The reason I meditate and practice all that other "hippy" stuff is just so I can attempt an understanding of our situation.