Zero Style Engineering by Shinya Kimura

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Japanese born Shinya Kimura creates beautiful custom motorcycles. He’s best known for what is referred to as ‘Zero Style’, a concept that can be traced back how to save money on car repairs to the Japaneses aesthetic tradition of wabi sabi:

A Zero-style bike is typically based around a rigid gooseneck, a pre-1984 Harley Davidson engine, springer front end, spoked wheels and often includes parts of the bike remaining in bare metal. The inspiration came from wabi sabi (austere refinement) and the beauty of the raw materials and incorporating the essence of wa (harmony) into his designs. (source)

Something beautiful for your Saturday afternoon.

Free Diving into the Abyss: Underwater Sinkholes

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A blue hole is an underwater sinkhole formed in the ice age by weather conditions beating against what was then a shallower ocean. At 335 meters, the deepest blue hole recorded is in Mexico and the second deepest is Dean’s Hole in the Bahamas at 202 feet (source). Sink hole jumping is popular among a particularly daring group of underwater free-divers who get their kicks from jumping head first into

these deep, dark caves without any kind of breathing support or equipment. It already sounds scary, but wait … there’s more: “[in blue holes] water circulation is poor, and they are commonly anoxic below a certain depth; this environment is unfavorable for most sea life, but nonetheless can support large numbers of bacteria.” (source) A variety of fossils have been found in Dean’s Hole including the remnants of crocodiles, tortoise and even a human tibia.

A number of free-divers have jumped into these gaps in the earth and have reached incredible depths considering it is all done with one breath:

  • William Trubridge – 86 meters
  • Herbert Nitsch – 120 meters
  • Walter Steyn – 100 meters

Recently, the above video was made documenting a jump by Guillaume Nery from France. There is a disclaimer on the Youtube page to clarify that the video was created with artistic intent and has been edited. Even so, it’s pretty fantastic – and absolutely terrifying.

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Passion for the Pong

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Last year a group of youngish New York hispsters (and actress Susan Sarandon) opened what appears to be the world’s first nightclub devoted to the sport of ping pong. SPiN, located in Manhattan, ensures exclusivity by having a niche group of members who pay $650 per year individually or $900 for a family to be afforded access to the club during special member-only nights. Non-members can also book tables and use the club during weekly open-house hours. According to their website,

SPiN New York is a 13,000 square foot table tennis social club on Park Avenue in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. The club offers unparalleled table tennis courts with Olympic quality cushioned flooring and 13 individual tables, including a stadium-like center court. In addition, SPIN New York houses a pro shop, lounge, bar, private room … and over a dozen internationally known professional coaches and players who are available for private and group instruction.

One of these coaches is Wally Green – a 20 something, freestyle rapper and ping pong savant. He is one example of how the profile of ping pong has evolved from that of the bow tie wearing Forrest Gump to a new breed of young, hip urbanite. Although some of the old pros like Marty Reisman (pictured above) still chew up the tables, you are more likely to run into the likes of the Beastie Boys or model Verionica Webb tossing back a martini while hitting the ball back and forth in their Vans and Manolos (respectively).

Image of Marty Reisman (table tennis champion) by Tyler Askew of Maround.com.