Month: July 2013 (Page 12 of 13)

Red Bull Wake Open 2013: Wakeboarding like you’ve never seen before

July 3, 2013 / Tom Edwards

Competitive wakeboarding is a sport that is still in relative infancy. Sure, we’ve all seen decked-out wakeboarding boats being trailered around on the freeway (you may even be an active participant in the sport), yet this year’s Red Bull Wake Open is sure to blow the doors off any preconceptions regarding wakeboard competition in the United States. That being said, make your July 4th week truly epic and complement it with a live viewing of the competition as it airs on July 6th, 4:00 PM ET on NBC.

Wait, so what’s up with the Red Bull Wake Open?

For starters, take a jam-packed Tampa Convention Center, throw in Red Bull’s presenting prowess, then try to imagine a giant floating skatepark with 36 of the world’s greatest wakeboarders battling it out for overall victory – a win that can only be accomplished after remaining on top for all three of the stages: Boat, Big Air and Park.

Red Bull not only raised the bar for wake contests during last year’s inception, but shattered it, dishing out some of the most exciting competitive wake footage ever televised. This year, as goes Red Bull tradition, the event looks to reinforce its dynamic approach to the sport and provide yet another launching pad for the best wake athletes to showcase their skills.

Competitors aren’t limited by a particular discipline, so unilateral domination will be a distant prospect. Who wants to see one guy crush the field in a focus he dominates anyway? Yeah, me neither – doesn’t make for the most exciting TV. Instead, riders will have to exhibit their skills in each of the three stages, allowing for major comebacks and other unpredictable elements to take place. The eventual victor will truly be the most well-rounded wakeboarder in the world.

Chatting with #1 Ranked Phil Soven

Before getting into any competition or sport, it’s always good to hear from the guy/girl at the very top, and we had the chance to touch base with Phil Soven. At just 24, his wakeboarding resume is more decorated than that one neighbor who takes Christmas more seriously than you ever thought possible: 4-time Pro Tour Champion, 3-time King of Wake, 3-time World Champion and 4-time World Series Champ.

As if his ruthless winning wasn’t already sending enough shockwaves through the wakeboard world, his life off the water definitely has. In 2012, Phil took his ambitions into the homes of millions as his reality show, “Wake Brothers,” blew up in popularity through MTV. Adding to his notoriety, Soven then made the decision to break ties with his longtime sponsor Liquid Force and ride for the smaller, rider-owned company CTRL.

Interviews, Recreation, Sports

Phil Soven Phil Soven interview Red Bull Open 2013 Wake Brothers wakeboarding

Looking the part when on the road

July 3, 2013 / Bullz-Eye Staff

Anyone buying a new car is to a large part drawn by the aesthetics of the vehicle. They want a car to look the part and drive responsively, rather than just being a one way ticket to functionality. This is also true when we’re traveling, particularly on business trips.

Lifestyle

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Make It Masculine: Bathroom Design Ideas for Bachelors (and Marrieds!)

July 3, 2013 / Bullz-Eye Staff

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Whether you are designing a bathroom for a male client or you are a man overseeing your own bathroom décor, rest assured you have many more design options today than the traditional “stark minimalist masculine” bathroom of years past. The truth is some of the world’s most innovative, creative and popular interior designers are men. It’s possible that you can have very masculine bathroom décor while enjoying luxury and style in your personal bathroom space. You may enjoy one or more of these popular styles for masculine bathrooms — or you may choose to incorporate ideas from each style to create a hybrid décor distinctly yours.

Theme Color

Often the best place to start — before even selecting your overall décor concept — is with simple elements such as color. For instance, if you favor a traditionally masculine dark or earth-toned color palette, add in a splash of a “theme color” such as red, forest green, bright blue or yellow. You may want to use this theme color just once — such as with a piece of wall art — or several times, such as with accent towels and area rugs.

Innovation Meets Function

One way designers are currently approaching bathroom décor for men is to incorporate innovation with functionality. For instance, if you love having the latest gadgets, why not create the most modern bathroom imaginable — complete with flat-screen television embedded into the wall space, a European sauna that includes a shower and seating area, a surround sound stereo speaker system that connects to your iPod and similar elements? For best results, choose a black-and-white or neutral-tone theme that is easy to maintain so you can spend maximum time enjoying all your gadgets in your ultra-modern bathroom.

Earthy and Sustainable

One new bathroom trend that is gender-neutral is the sustainable bathroom. You can install eco-friendly options for the bathroom vanity, the fixtures and furnishings and the lighting. If you have kids, this is a great way to teach them about what the planet needs and how each person can help. If you are single, it just feels great — and makes for interesting conversation with guests. You can select certain sustainable pieces (such as a low-flow toilet or “green” light bulbs) or go all out and completely “green up” your bathroom space with recycled materials and bamboo storage cabinets. Either way, the result will be a bathroom space that you can feel great about.

Classic Rustic

With the classic rustic bathroom style, you can incorporate elements like reclaimed wood, an original iron stove (for heating the bathroom in winter), natural stone instead of a traditional counter and floor tiles and lanterns rather than modern light fixtures. This gives your bathroom an early American log cabin look and feel that combines well with the more masculine décor overall.

Combination Styles

There are several popular combination styles that maintain a masculine atmosphere while incorporating elements of decadent luxury.

• Art deco with minimalist modern. Incorporate the traditionally masculine minimalist (or functional) bathroom space with a few art deco touches — a cubist painting, a stained glass window (also helpful if you want more privacy), bolder tile or wallpaper designs, or an innovative light source.

• Renaissance with Early American. If you love early American and European clawfoot tubs, Renaissance torches and period oil lamps yet also enjoy the simple living of early American settlers, try adding a signature piece from each period — such as lighting your bathroom with a series of electric wall-sconce torches and putting a clawfoot tub in the room’s center as the design focal point.

• Zen with sustainable. With this décor theme, combine open shelving made of sustainable bamboo materials with the elements of a traditional Zen space — running water, natural stones, clear glass paneling in the shower. Use black with neutral tones for the color palette.

These five bathroom décor concepts easily reflect masculinity while still adding in all the luxury, creativity, innovation, beauty and enjoyment a well-designed bathroom space has to offer.

About the Author: Matthew Long lives in a penthouse with two full baths. During a renovation last year, he decided to go with a luxury-meets-minimalist approach that earns him rave reviews from house guests.

Lifestyle

bathroom décor bathroom design bathtub beauty creativity design home projects innovation luxury masculine masculine atmosphere masculine bathrooms masculine design masculinity ultra-modern bathroom

Movie Review: “The Lone Ranger”

July 2, 2013 / Jason Zingale

Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, James Badge Dale, Barry Pepper

Gore Verbinski

It’s no secret that the key to the success of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies was Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, so you can understand why Disney would be so eager to build another potential franchise around the actor. They’ve even brought back director Gore Verbinski and screenwriters Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio in an attempt to recapture the success of those films. As a result, some people might be tempted to describe “The Lone Ranger” as “Pirates of the Caribbean” meets the Wild West, and quite frankly, they wouldn’t be too far off. Disney’s big screen adaptation of the classic radio serial is like the “Pirates” movies in many ways, and unfortunately, that includes the bad along with the good.

The year is 1869 and the first transcontinental railroad is nearing completion. As Texas-born attorney John Reid (Armie Hammer) travels home from college, his train is attacked by a band of outlaws who have come to break their cannibalistic leader Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) out of custody. John joins his brother Dan (James Badge Dale) and the rest of the Texas Rangers to track him down, only to be ambushed by Cavendish in the desert and slaughtered like cattle. Left for dead, John is nursed back to life by a Comanche Indian named Tonto (Depp) – whose life he saved earlier on the train – at the behest of a white spirit horse. Both men want to bring Cavendish to justice for their own reasons, so they decide to team up, with John donning a mask to hide his identity. But on their quest to take down Cavendish and his men, the pair uncovers a larger plot involving railroad tycoon Latham Cole (Tom Wilkinson) that could spell trouble for the native tribes.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Armie Hammer Gore Verbinski Johnny Depp The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger review

Movie Review: “Despicable Me 2”

July 2, 2013 / David Medsker

Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Ken Jeong, Steve Coogan, Benjamin Bratt

Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud

When it comes to filmmaking, there are multiple types of chemistry. The one most often discussed is the chemistry between actors; when it’s good, it can make good movies great and even unwatchable movies tolerable (say, Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler in “Just Go with It”), but when it’s bad, it will consume all living things on the screen (Jennifer Aniston and every other co-star she’s had in the last 10 years in movies not named “Horrible Bosses”). The other, arguably more important bit of chemistry involves story lines. 2011’s “Despicable Me” was about 45% villain plot, 45% foster parent plot and 10% minions. Now, of course, the minions are stars, so they get more screen time in “Despicable Me 2.” And the movie suffers because of it.

That’s not the only reason the movie suffers, mind you; the villain story isn’t as compelling, they lean really hard on the bathroom jokes (the “dart” gun from the first movie makes multiple appearances here), and for a movie that is supposed to have a mystery angle to it, everyone hides in plain sight.

Gru (Steve Carell) has quit villainy in order to be a good father to adopted daughters Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Elsie Kate Fisher), but he is soon recruited by the Anti-Villain League, due to his expertise as a bad guy, to track down a new super-villain who has stolen a serum that turns its subjects into indestructible monsters. The AVL tracks the serum to a local mall, and Gru, with the help of AVL agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), go undercover to find out which merchant is hiding the serum. The girls, meanwhile, want a mom, and pressure Gru into dating, while Margo falls for a boy, something Gru is not remotely prepared to handle in a way that doesn’t involve the words “Freeze ray!”

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Despicable Me 2 Despicable Me 2 review Kristen Wiig Steve Carell