Rollerblading In London

The Contrast Collective just released a stunning perspective video focusing on the rollerblading scene in London. Shot in monochrome with some high speed cameras (Including a Phantom Miro), this incredibly surreal blading video offers some absolutely gorgeous shots of historic London. Instead of focusing solely on the rollerblading crew, Rollerblading In London is filled with fleeting moments that really elevate this video to another level. A spider slowly crawls away in the distance, a pigeon seems frozen in time as a rail is being grinded, a lethargic fox peers out from a grate. Absolutely amazing.

Portrait Of A Kendama Samurai

A kendama is the Japanese equivalent of traditional skilll based ball and cup toys, in which the goal is and always has been the same: Catching one object with the other. This Matthew Ballard directed short goes into the portrait of Iijima Hiroki, a professional Kendama player who talks about how he brought his love of dancing and Kendama together to create an exciting new hybrid.

Iiji discusses his thoughts on the past, his craft and his attempts to redefine the future of freestyle Kendama, which fits the same fun sport niche as Hockern (Freestyle Stooling). Intimate and heartfelt, I loved this little portrait of someone small with some truly big ambitions.

LED Surfer

Ever try snowboarding in the dark? Aside from being insanely dangerous, the thrill of rocketing down a hill with only a few feet of visibility is pretty intense. Fashion photographer/filmmaker Jacob Sutton directed this experimental shoot featuring pro Artec snowboarder William Hughes using a custom made LED suit, and it's nothing short of mesmerizing to see the light diffusing through the powder kicked up by the board at night.

The Podium Waltz

These animated clips are taken from Daniel Hanai and Bruno Carneiro's documentary titled A Valsa Do Pódio (The Podium Waltz), which chronicles the story of the Brazilian runner Terezinha Guilhermina's exploits in the 2012 London Paralympics.

Visually impaired, she used the help of a guide to allow her to compete within the various sprint events, ultimately winning two gold medals and becoming a world record holder for the 100m sprint. The clip above captures a rather dramatic moment in the 400m final, in which an injury puts everything in jeopardy. Daniel Bruson was tasked with creating animated sequences to show off what the experience was like from Terezinha's perspective, which I believe he captured very effectively.

Japanese Baseball Stadiums Have The Coolest Jumbotron Animations

Japan's love for all things Baseball never ceases to amaze me, the amount of love and dedication put into the sport by many citizens is unlike anything I've ever seen. With the amount of love received by almost the entirety of Japan, it's no surprise that the sport is far more of a visual spectacle than other places in the world. The above animation showcases a variety of visual indicators shown throughout the games of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, and it's damn amazing. 

It's incredible to imagine an animation like this playing on a Baseball stadiums giant Astrovision screen, especially when compared to stadiums in the United States with simpler, less stylized animations. There's a few sporting events I'd love to see around the world, but Japanese Baseball has always sat comfortably at the top of my list.

Avengers Olympics 2012!

(Via)

How are the Olympics going? Despite the fact they are happening in my country I've never been a sports person. I watched 20 minutes of the opening ceremony, saw James Bond being wacky with the Queen and went back to watching the Daily Show. Though if you could combine another popular franchise with the Olympics, wouldn't you rather mix them with the Earth's greatest superheroes?

This selection of work by Deviantart user Scargeear is a look at the Avengers sports sequel I would be invested in. Avengers at the Olympics does seem slightly unfair, though.....But who is doing what event? See after the break!

The 8-Bit Olmypic Games

This fine pixelated ode to the Olympics by Flikli covers over 35 different disciplines, ranging from archery to water polo, complete with a fitting Commodore 64 era soundtrack. There's nothing like an 8-bit sports montage to get you out of the house on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Foosball : The Teaser Trailer

Academy Award-winning Argentine filmmaker Juan José Campanella (best known for the thriller El secreto de sus ojos, or The Secret in their Eyes) is making his foray into animated films with Foosball (also known as Metegol). The film is about, you guessed it, foosball. The tabletop soccer players come to life to assist an underdog when he needs to go against a pro soccer star, in an attempt to save his village.

I'm getting some initial Toy Story-esque vibes (not a stretch, I know), but for some reason I have a feeling that will probably not be the case. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking, only time will tell. That is, if we get a US release date, which we don't at this point in time. However, since a English-language teaser trailer was released for a film that will reportedly be in Spanish, I have high hopes. We'll keep on eye on this, and update as we learn more.

Epic 4,000 Person Dodgeball Showdown

I really have to say that these folks have the right idea. This gathering of 3,975 people (Not counting a ton of people who just decided to join in later) faced off at Thanksgiving Point, Utah for a Red Vs Blue showdown. Not sure if this broke some sort of record, but I absolutely had a blast watching this. I did not see a few hundred referees in the mix to make sure people weren't ignoring blows, but who cares..It was all in good fun. Bottom line is: Dodgeball is awesome, and we need to see a global professional league emerge for the sport.