New from ATL-Based MC’s 4-IZE ft. Señor Kaos & Grammy Nominated Soul Singer Anthony David. It’s Produced by Locsmif (Floyd The Locsmif) who’s worked with everybody from 50 Cent to O.C. – “Hard To Quit The Rhyme” Produced By Floyd The Locsmif.

Taken from 4-Ize’s “Illuminated Animals” Project, which is available at www.4ize.com I love to hear in and out technique and they give us a taste of that. Props for that. You might recognize 4Ize from his frequent Ludacris collaborations in the past. DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD ATL-Based MC Smalleyez’ new EP.

From [09.12.16] Last Days of Ski Trip

After a week of skiing and silliness – in equal doses – I find myself in bed, recovering from repetitive strain injuries to my upper chest and hip that have added to my vocabulary such snazzy new words as “sacroiliac” and “piriformis.” Trust me; you’d rather not have a reason to know these words. I also have a 700-page book to read in about a week. Looks to be an exciting vacation, eh?

So let’s recap the last few days of Vail’s wildness, shall we? Let’s.

“Recovery Day” preceded condo pre-parties around our lodging and a “Wiggin’ Out” birthday party night, where I happily debuted my pink afro wig, in addition to lending out my wig collection to a number of my Kellogg comrades. (Speaking of wigs: News flash! Sean is on a mission to replenish and build my wig collection when he drops by Beijing next month. I am exuberant at the prospect of a flurry of new fake hair!!!).

The following day, you could tell people were beginning to lose steam as the day’s start time was pushed farther and farther back. I had a great time skiing with a new crew and pushing myself on some more challenging blues. I’ve come a looooong way from my faceplant into the ice at Sunday River circa 1996! After an apres featuring an incredible sunset, I dined with my KWEST Mystery friends at Wildflower, one of Vail’s top restaurants, for dinner. I must admit that while the conversation and company stimulated, the food underwhelmed. After dinner, at the bar crawl in Vail Village, I experienced the first twinges of my back/hip injury and called it an early night. The next day – the grand finale – saw me hitting my first black diamond, which I completed fully upright! I am the bidnezz, that’s right!

The week-long celebration concluded with a huge celebrity-themed bash. My creative condomates and I dressed up as the Muppets (I, of course, was Animal):

From [09.12.16] Last Days of Ski Trip

DJ Skribble helmed the shindig. As an electronic music enthusiast, I was a bit hesitant when I heard Skribble would be manning the decks. His moment of glory was most likely when he rocked the MTV masses at MTV Spring Break in the 1990s. Also, the Kellogg crowd isn’t necessarily the most house-crazy group of people; I was concerned that he might lose the crowd if he tried to get more Jersey Shore than recognizable party beats. But I have to hand it to him: He built a perfect set for the crowd, starting with a bunch of crowd-pleasing pop hits then moving through pop-house then old school hip hop and finally wrapping up with big room vocal house. I didn’t stay to the end (I had a call with a company at 8AM the next morning) but it was a fabulous night of music and mayhem. It is also where I danced my butt off through the pain in my hip and probably ended up in my current state as a result.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how naturally all fell into place on ski trip (this statement would most likely be strongly refuted by the hard-working members of the Ski Trip Committee). I came out of finals just wanting some R&R and must admit I was skeptical of more raucousness. But it was a blast, just the perfect amalgam of fun and freedom, rest and rabble-rousing. I, for one, can’t wait for next year.

As always, click here for pics:

[09.12.16] Last Days of Ski Trip

So here is the sequence of events:

1. I buy Adonis’ band as a plain band.  Titanium can’t be resized, so before the three black diamonds were set, I needed to make sure the ring was the right size.
2. I was off by a half size on the ring so it was sent back for a smaller size and so that the ring could get the diamonds put in it.
3. We get the ring back and it is fabulous… except that the size didn’t get swapped out. The jeweler set the diamonds in the original bigger sized band.
4. We send the ring back to get done in the right size.
5. The ring comes back in the right size, great! Buuuuut it was a poorly made ring!! There were scratches and etches all around each black diamond setting and the band was dirty or of different titanium grade because it was just not as smooth and clean looking as the previous one.
6. I speak to the manager I had been dealing with and he agreed with my observations.  Then as we talked about the next steps … ONE OF THE STONES FEEL OUT OF THE RING!!! I said “Are you kidding me?! Did that just happen?!?!” He was very apologetic and said he was embarrased.

Needless to say that I refused to accept the ring and yup… it’s going back a third time.  Everything was fine up until they tried to give me that poorly made ring.  I’ll update you in another two weeks when the new ring comes in.

On the MonaVie Media Center’s Field Leaders page, there’s a listing for Royal Black Diamond Distributor Onyx Coale. On the Black Diamonds Documentary page, the video shows Onyx along with her husband Robert Addie. Yet, the listing for the video just shows Onyx. Where did he go?

Who wants to place a bet that a new Black Diamond Documentary video will be filmed soon that only shows Onyx in it?

Here’s a link to an audio recording with Dallin Larsen talking to Onyx and Robert. Will this post disappear in the future?

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With his background in design in jewellery and objets d’art, Fawaz Gruosi formed his own company, de Grisogono, in 1993 and opened a boutique in Geneva. By introducing the hitherto neglected black diamond into his jewellery and everyday objects such as sunglasses and the then up-and-coming mobile telephone, de Grisogono creations caught the imagination of the consumer. Boutiques in London and Gstaad followed in ’97 and ’98, followed in quick succession by openings in Rome, Paris, St. Moritz, Kuwait, Moscow and Hong Kong.

Gruosi’s very first foray into the watch world was his creation of jewellery watches for Chopard, one of which was the highly innovative Ice Cube Collection. With the success of that collection still ringing in his ears, Fawaz Gruosi made the adventurous decision to launch into watch production under the de Grisogono name.

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Tout fait de crystal Swarovski.

OPENINGS/ENDINGS

→ Shugo Chara! – Single OP1/ED1 – Honto no Jibun

Name: Honto no Jibun
Artist: Buono!
CD Release: 2007/10/31
Tracks:

01. Honto no Jibun
02. Kokoro no Tamago
03. Honto no Jibun (Instrumental)
04. Kokoro no Tamago (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (53.53 MB)

→ Shugo Chara! – Single ED2 – Renai ♥ Rider

Name: Renai ♥ Rider
Artist: Buono!
CD Release: 2008/02/06
Tracks:

01. Renai ♥ Rider
02. Janakya Mottainai!
03. Renai ♥ Rider (Instrumental)
04. Janakya Mottainai! (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (35.91 MB)

→ Shugo Chara! – Single OP2/ED3 – Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!

Name: Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!
Artist: Buono!
CD Release: 2008/05/14
Tracks:

01. Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!
02. Minna Daisuki
03. Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! (Instrumental)
04. Minna Daisuki (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (36.39 MB)

→ Shugo Chara! – Single ED4 – Gachinko de Ikou!

Name: Gachinko de Ikou!
Artist: Buono!
CD Release: 2008/08/20
Tracks:

01. Gachinko de Ikou!
02. Ready Panther
03. Gachinko de Ikou! (Instrumental)
04. Ready Panther (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (35.44 MB)

SHUGO CHARA!! DOKI OPENINGS

→ Shugo Chara!! Doki – Single OP3 – Minna no Tamago

Name: Minna no Tamago
Artist: Shugo Chara Egg!
CD Release: 2008/12/10
Tracks:

01. Minna no Tamago
02. Hajimari no Uta
03. Minna no Tamago (Instrumental)
04. Hajimari no Uta (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (30.96 MB)

→ Shugo Chara!! Doki – Single OP4 – Omakase ♪ Guardian

Name: Omakase ♪ Guardian
Artist: Guardians 4
CD Release: 2009/05/27
Tracks:

01. Omakase ♪ Guardian
02. Omakase ♪ Guardian (Shugo Chara Egg! Version)
03. Summer Has Come!
04. Omakase ♪ Guardian (Instrumental)
05. Summer Has Come! (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (39.64 MB)

→ Shugo Chara!! Doki – Single OP5 – School Days

Name: School Days
Artist: Guardians 4
CD Release: 2009/09/02
Tracks:

01. School Days
02. School Days (Shugo Chara Egg Version)
03. Itsuka Dokokade.
04. School Days (Instrumental)
05. Itsuka Dokokade. (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (45.71 MB)

SHUGO CHARA!! DOKI ENDINGS

→ Shugo Chara!! Doki – Single ED5 – Rottara Rottara

Name: Rottara Rottara
Artist: Buono!
CD Release: 2008/11/12
Tracks:

01. Rottara Rottara
02. My Love
03. Rottara Rottara (instrumental)
04. My Love (instrumental)
Download: Click Here (20.66 MB)

→ Shugo Chara!! Doki – Single ED6 – co ni mi chi

Name: co ni mi chi
Artist: Buono!
CD Release: 2009/01/21
Tracks:

01. co no mi chi
02. Muteki no Power
03. co no mi chi (Instrumental)
04. Muteki no Power (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (31.62 MB)

→ Shugo Chara!! Doki – Single ED7 – MY BOY

Name: MY BOY
Artist: Buono!
CD Release: 2009/04/29
Tracks:

01. MY BOY
02. Warp
03. MY BOY (Instrumental)
04. Warp (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (35.31 MB)

→ Shugo Chara!! Doki – Single ED8 – Take It Easy!

Name: Take It Easy!
Artist: Buono!
CD Release: 2009/08/26
Tracks:

01. Take It Easy!
02. Kirai Suki Dai Kirai
03. Take It Easy! (Instrumental)
04. Kirai Suki Dai Kirai (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (45.96 MB)

SHUGO CHARA PARTY! OPENINGS

→ Shugo Chara Party! – Single OP1 – Watashi no Tamago

Name: Watashi no Tamago
Artist: Guardians 4
CD Release: 2009/11/18
Tracks:

01. PARTY TIME
02. Watashi no Tamago
03. PARTY TIME (Instrumental)
04. Watashi no Tamago (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (38.49 MB)

SHUGO CHARA PARTY! ENDINGS

→ Shugo Chara Party! – Single ED1 – Bravo☆Bravo

Name: Bravo☆Bravo
Artist: Buono!
CD Release: 2009/12/16
Tracks:

01. Bravo☆Bravo
02. Winter Story
03. Bravo☆Bravo (Instrumental)
04. Winter Story (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (34.70 MB)

CHARACTERS & INSERT SONGS

→ Shugo Chara! – Character Song CD – Utau Hoshina

Name: Character Song CD – Utau Hoshina
Artist: Mizuki Nana
CD Release: 2007/12/19
Tracks:

01. Meikyuu Butterfly
02. Blue Moon
03. Meikyuu Butterfly (Vocal off)
04. Blue Moon (Vocal off)
Download: Click Here (43.50 MB)

→ Shugo Chara! – Character Song Album Best

Name: Character Song Album Best
Artist: Mizuki Nana, Nanae Katou, Aki Toyosaki, Kana Asumi, Kanae Itou
CD Release: 2009/03/13
Tracks:

01. Nijiiro Chara Change!
02. Meikyuu Butterfly
03. Happy Xmas
04. Ii koto Alice
05. Kimi no Birthday
06. Blue Moon
07. BLACK DIAMOND (major version)
08. Saikyou LOVE POWER
09. Heartful Song
10. Yume No Tsubomi
Download: Click Here (83.96 MB)

→ Shugo Chara! – Insert Song Single – BLACK DIAMOND

Name: Insert Song Single – BLACK DIAMOND
Artist: Mizuki Nana
CD Release: 2008/08/06
Tracks:

01. BLACK DIAMOND (Major Version)
02. BLACK DIAMOND (Indies Version)
03. BLACK DIAMOND (Major Version) Vocal off
04. BLACK DIAMOND (Indies Version) Vocal off
Download: Click Here (35.30 MB)

Ja ich bin neulich das neue Malolo von Burton gefahren, Länge 158cm.  Dank der neuen Rocker Konstruktion fährt das Ding noch besser, leichte Schwungeinleitung und perfekte Schwungauslösung sind garantiert.

Erstmal dachte ich dass das Board etwas unruhig wird, aber nix davon zu spüren. Auch switch kein Problem.

Ich bin die letzten Jahre mit dem 2007 Malolo gefahren und das neue Malolo mit dem ICS System fährt eindeutig besser.

Gefahren bin ich das Board mit der neuen Burton Co2 Bindung, sie ist der Hammer beste Kraftübertragung, super Dämpfung und leicht ist sie !

Burton Malolo

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

By dragon lady (south carolina)

love the earrings -especially like the screw back on them-I don’t need to worry about losing them

Back when I was learning to lead belay (and climb multipitch routes), one of my guides told my classmates and I that we needed to go get daisy chains and belay gloves before he’d let us lead belay: a daisy chain so that you can attach yourself to an anchor (although now I typically anchor with a clove hitch on the dynamic rope and have my daisy as backup) and gloves to make you more likely to catch a long fall when the force could otherwise start ripping the skin on your palms (yes, the thought of that makes me cringe, too).

The belay gloves are especially relevant for someone like me, who has small hands and often belays someone heavier than myself and I’ve continued wearing them most of the time. I’ve found that they help me when I’m dealing with the extra friction when top-belaying with my Reverso, and they help keep my hands a little more rope-grime-free (because when my hands get all rope-grime-y, I’m even more likely to accidentally get rope grime all over my face).

So over the past ~6 years I’ve gone through 2 pairs of Metolius Climbing Gloves, which are leather 3/4 finger belay gloves (I wear an XS). I’ve been pretty happy with them, except for the fact that sometimes the internal seams can really rub on the backs of my fingers (non-ideal when the cracks you’re climbing are doing that too).

I recently received a pair of the new Black Diamond Stone Gloves, which are also leather 3/4 finger gloves (again, I wear an XS in these also). I’ve been using them for the past couple of weekends doing short multipitches and cragging and overall I’m very happy with them, although there are a couple small issues you may want to consider, depending on what you plan to use your gloves for.

Black Diamond Stone gloves in black (photo from Backcountry.com)

When I first put the gloves on, I noticed that they already felt nice. My previous gloves have always been a bit stiff at first (which makes the whole seam-rubbing-on-fingers problem worse), but these were good right away. They fit me a little tighter than my Metolius gloves, but the Metolius ones were always a tad big anyways. I have the gloves in black, but they also come in tan. The black has been nice in this cooler weather, but for warm weather uses I imagine the tan might be preferable.

The 3/4 finger length gave me good dexterity (a lot of full-finger gloves are too long for my small girly fingers), while still providing my hands with some warmth (which is another reason I like to have gloves with me). The gloves have a nice big (yet fairly low-profile) velcro strap to help with the on/off. They have worked just fine for standard belaying and rappelling and I don’t see any reason to switch back. The gloves are very well made and I think may be lighter than my previous gloves, which are both nice features.

Here’s how the gloves look on my hands. Note how the leather doesn’t really cover 3/4 of my fingers…

There were a couple of small issues:

• The fingers are not quite as long as the fingers on my Metolius gloves. This means you have to try a little harder to keep the rope in your palm and not rubbing against your fingers – so these may not be the ideal gloves for aid climbing, where you have a lot of rope-pulling to do.
• As you can see in the picture, there are holes in the straps. I assumed these were loops to clip in to when I want to put my gloves on my harness. So far they haven’t been as well suited to this purpose as the loops on my Metolius gloves. I also discovered some small loops on the inside of the glove that I guess you could thread a small loop of accessory cord through to make your own clip-in loops, but I still don’t know how well this would work. Basically the main annoyance is that the two gloves don’t sit in quite as low-profile a manner as I’m used to when they’re on my harness.

Overall, I’d say these are great for most cragging and multipitch uses. The gloves are well-constructed, reasonably lightweight, comfortable, and easy to get on/off. For any routes that could involve more hauling and aiding, I’d probably recommend going with something a little more heavy duty and with longer fingers.

Any thoughts about other brands or styles of belay gloves?

Lizzy

Full Disclosure: Black Diamond provided these gloves to DreamInVertical in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed above are my own and reflect my experience with these gloves.

For more Sweet Gear reviews from Luke and Lizzy check out our Gear Reviews page.

After testing out the Acrteryx R320 I was interested in trying out the competition. Right now I am testing the Black Diamond Chaos with the Kinetic Core Construction. So far I’ve mainly been cragging but it went up the Freeblast twice back in October. After a bunch more pitches I will be doing a full review with a comparison against the R320.

The BD Chaos fully loaded on Hidden Arch in Joshua Tree

I just bought a pair of La Sportiva Speedsters so I will be contributing to Lizzy’s review so we can get a dual perspective on this new soft soled slipper. Expect this in the next two months after Lizzy and I have a chance to go bouldering on real rock.

Lizzy and I have been climbing multipitches for a while and have found that in some situations hauling the pack can be ideal for the follower. After putting holes in many of our packs we have recently switched to using the Metolius Haul Packs when we want to haul.

A mess of gear and the yellow Metolius Shield Haul Pack

On the Original Route on Rainbow Wall I hauled a Zodiac pack, 15L, and on El Captain we used the Shield, 31 L, as a sub bag. These bags still look great after 10 and 22 pitches of hauling respectively. After a few more trips I plan on publishing a review and a few hauling tips.

Also I  think it would be nice to provided a summary of the summit/ follower packs that Lizzy and I have used. My current favorite is the Black Diamond RPM which is a bit on the large size (26L) but compacts easily and holds weight really well.

Walking across the Mammoth Terraces on El Captain with the Black Diamond RPM pack.

After much searching and frustration with outdoor clothing companies, Lizzy has finally found a pair of non-cotton, non-yoga-style climbing pants that fit her in addition to providing sun and bug protection. After a few months of testing for durability Lizzy will be writing a review of the Columbia Womens’ Trekster pants. Also, Lizzy has been using the new Black Diamond Stone gloves and should have a review of them out shortly.

I have a pair of the Black Diamond N-Force Ascenders and will be doing a comparison with the Petzl Ascension.  After using the BD ascenders 4 days straight on Freerider I have a good idea about what I like and what doesn’t work.

N-Force in hand, ready for El Captain!

For other Sweet Gear reviews make sure to check out the Gear Reviews page.

Cheers,

Luke

Okemo

You don’t really have to worry about unskiable black diamonds at Okemo:  the entire mountain qualifies as intermediate in my book.  Okemo’s idea of a difficult trail is to let it go ungroomed and thereby grow a field of moguls.  But even on those trails there’s generally a groomed corridor down the side.  This is truly a “family” mountain, with no dangerous steps, and lots of signs saying things like “Slow Down” and “No Jumping.”  It’s the kind of place where mothers feel safe letting their 10-year-olds go off by themselves.

I skied Okemo at the most family of times—midweek during presidents’ Week vacation—and I got to see first-hand how experts move battalions of skiers up and around a mountain.  The key, was lots of machine made snow;  all the slopes were open, which meant that skiers could spread our evenly across a wide area.  Also, the two quad chairs at the bottom of the mountain quickly moved people to a place where they could ski to three other lifts, including the superfast Northstart Express detachable quad.  I also noticed, first with irritation but then with growing admiration, that the snow near the lifts was left purposefully ungroomed, There by decreasing the velocity of all those eager kids zooming in for another run.

The entire mountain really qualifies as intermediate, so it was difficult to pick favorite runs.  The trails are packed closely together, so sometimes I set out for one trail (say, Jolly Green Giant) and ended up on another (timberline or Sapphire).  All are skiable for intermediates, and all lead eventually to the bottom, so there was no problem in taking a wrong turn.

Dream Weaver, a winding dipping trail at the top of the south Face Quad, a far distance from the base lodge, and Nor’Esater, a long, wide, straight shot reachable from the summit Lodge but not directly under a chairlift where jeering pre-teens might make fun of the falls.  In 1996. A new series of trails will open near solitude Village, at the complete opposite side of the mountain from the South Face area.  Word is that condos at solitude are selling fast.  Ludlow 802-228-5222 ● 800-78-OKEMO/802-228-4041.

Visual source:  aacexchange

Courtesy blackdiamonds.co.uk

To some, Friday the 13^th can be a day associated with bad luck and black cats – to others, it’s the luckiest day of the year!  For me, it’s all about black diamonds! Today’s fashions in jewelry include these black jewels and some are even set in black metals!! The dark side of Bling!

I can’t remember a previous time when black diamonds were really all that popular in jewelry.  There were dark stones – dark red garnet, hematite and marcasite – set in Victorian jewelry and many times worn during a time of mourning.  But now we see contemporary designs using dark metals and black diamonds following the themes of Goth and Vampires! It’s not just for mourning anymore! You can have some fun with this!

 Twilight and New Moon are two recent books and movies that make death seem like a pretty fun option!  Someone has even created “Twilight jewelry”!  So why don’t you  scare up your own dark delights today – first, take a black cat for a walk under a ladder – and then go shopping for some black diamonds. Create a whole new meaning for Black Friday!!  Have a great weekend….  Dii

The statistics show that Denmark is voted as the happiest place to live on earth (ok, I just read this in every single guidebook, but I don’t know where the statistics come from). My first impression: people seem really mellow and happy, and this city is quite pretty with the canal and colorful architecture!

Amélie was supposed to join me for the trip, but upon arrival at CDG airport, she said she left her passport at home. Friends, CDG airport is 45+ minutes away from Paris. She wanted to try catching the next flight to join me, but I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to happen because flights were already so expensive when we booked our tickets weeks before. Needless to say, it didn’t work out. When I got off the plane in Copenhagen, I received a text from her, “Sorry I can’t join you anymore. All flights are at least 700 euros…” We had to cancel the twin room we booked and I needed to look for a new hostel to stay.

This is the joy of planning trips with people and one reason why I enjoy traveling by myself.

Despite the little change in the itinerary, luckily HI had some beds available (all other hostels were full). It turned out to be pretty clean and nice with a good location, and I ended up meeting many friends here.

Some of my favorite sites are:

Rosenborg Treasury

This castle locates in King’s Garden. The castle itself was small – I walked around quickly and wasn’t too impressed until I got to the basement, where the treasury was at. My jaw dropped with the fine craftsmanship on guns, swords, and other accessories. Then there were the crowns, blinding everyone in the room. The jewelry to go along with the queen’s crown was so stylish and beautiful. A girl next to me spoke out what I’m sure everyone in the room was thinking, “Oh, my, god. Imagine born to be a princess!” No wonder people say that Danish people are stylish – they have been for more than 400 years!

The Royal Library (AKA Black Diamond).

I love The Royal Library’s modern architecture! It’s called Black Diamond because of its shape and color from outside. It has a really nice view of the canal also. Photography exhibitions and concerts are regularly held here.

Guard Changing at Queen’s Palace

Maybe these guards won’t be so happy if they hear me say this, but they are so adorable with the rhythmic steps and gestures! The guard changing takes places at noon everyday. The police clears the road for the guards to go through, but generally they aren’t too strict about standing close by or taking pictures.

The Little Mermaid

Of course, a must see in Copenhagen, as cheesy as people might say. The Little Mermaid has gone through a lot – apparently she was decapitated a few times. She is going to Shanghai this year for the international expo! I wonder if they are taking the stone she is sitting on as well…

—

I spent about four days in Denmark, and I even had enough time to travel to Helsingør and Fredensborg also. Copenhagen is a nice city that I would drop by again perhaps as a part of a whole Scandinavian trip (I say that because there are some cities that you see and know you probably won’t go back).