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The Tao of Wee Man – The New York Times

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B.C. skateboarder earns praise from legendary skater Tony Hawk – Hope Standard

B.C. skateboarder Andy Anderson no doubt gained plenty of fans after his performance at the Tokyo Olympics this past summer – none more notable, perhaps, than legendary skater Tony Hawk.

Hawk, an icon in the skateboarding community and the most well-known skater of all-time – his eponymous Pro Skater video-game series has been popular since its first release in 1999 – was a guest this week on the Blocked Party podcast, where he had nothing but compliments for the Semiahmoo Peninsula skateboarder.

“He’s an awesome skater… he’s doing these tricks on ledges, and he does these impossibly hard combinations of tricks,” Hawk said of White Rock’s Anderson, during a conversation with podcast hosts John Cullen, a graduate of South Surrey’s Semiahmoo Secondary, and Vancouver resident Stefan Heck.

Hawk was on the show – a comedy podcast about social media and the internet, among other things – to discuss, his experience in Japan at the beginning of the Summer Olympics, as well as his experience watching the men’s park competition from home, which is when the topic turned to Anderson.

Cullen asked Hawk for his thoughts on Anderson’s Olympic performance, and whether Hawk thought Anderson was shortchanged by the judges in not advancing to the event’s final round; at the time of the competition, many Olympic viewers expressed their displeasure with the fact that Anderson did not advance, despite being one of the most entertaining competitors in the field.

“It’s so subjective, it’s hard to say, but I thought he did well,” Hawk said.

“There’s a thing that happens at skate events where the judges will judge you against what they think you’re capable of. And so, when they see him skating in practice and they know he’s capable of these harder tricks, they’ll punish him for it (in competition). That’s not how it should be, but it happens.

“But the cool thing about seeing him was, at the end of his run, he was on top of the volcano (ramp) in the middle, and he was doing freestyle tricks. No other sport in the Olympics has someone goofing around, doing some old version of their sport, after their time is up.

“That just doesn’t happen – but that’s what you get from skateboarding.”

Hawk, 53, also said that Anderson, with his penchant for wild tricks, is the real-life embodiment of the playable characters in the Pro Skater games, noting that the 25-year-old is “THPS (Tony Hawk Pro Skater) as a real boy.”

Hawk paid Anderson the same compliment last June, in an interview with CBC, adding that he is impressed with Anderson’s ability to blend old-school tricks with newer ones.

Anderson qualified for the Olympics last spring, after a top-16 finish at an event in Des Moines, Iowa. The event was his final chance to make the Olympic cut.

Anderson turned pro in 2019, signing with famed skateboarding brand Powell-Peralta. The first Andy Anderson-branded skateboard deck that was made for sale by the company sold out in 12 hours.

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Two hospitalised after e-scooter, skateboard crashes on Gold Coast – myGC.com.au

Electric transport devices have landed two people in hospital on the Gold Coast overnight.

Just before 7.30pm on Sunday, emergency crews were called to Currumin Waters following reports a man had fallen off his e-scooter.

Upon arrival, they found a man in his 40s suffering various minor injuries after crashing the scooter along Galleon Way.

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He was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.

Just 10 minutes later, emergency crews were called to the northern Gold Coast after a man in his 30s fell off an electric skateboard in Upper Coomera.

It happened along Taryn Court around 7.35pm.

The man suffered suspected chest and head injuries and was also taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.

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Monster Energy’s Freeski and Snowboard Athletes Shine on Day 1 of X Games Aspen 2022 | News

ASPEN, Colo., Jan. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Way to kick off the most epic weekend in winter action sports! Monster Energy congratulates its team of freeski and snowboard athletes on a strong performance on the first day of X Games Aspen 2022. On day one of the 25th edition of Winter X Games, Monster Energy riders claimed a total of 8 medals (1 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze) across five contest events at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen Snowmass, Colorado.

The medal run started in the Jeep Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle final, where 20-year-old Zoi Sadowski-Synnott from Wanaka, New Zealand, took the win with a history-making run featuring double cork 1080 rotations in both directions. She was joined on the podium by snowboard icon Jamie Anderson from South Lake Tahoe, California, in second place. Anderson is now tied for most all-time medals in Winter X Games history at 20 medals overall and will also be competing in Saturday’s Women’s Snowboard Big Air event.

The podium storm continued with newly minted Monster Energy athlete Megan Oldham from Parry Sound, Canada rising to silver medal position in the Women’s Ski Big Air contest. In the creative Wendy’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck, 18-year-old Dusty Henricksen from Mammoth Lakes, California, took bronze with mind-boggling tricks under the floodlights. Next, the epic Women’s Ski SuperPipe showdown saw 32-year-old Brita Sigourney from Carmel, California, clinch the silver medal with a powerful run. Following closely on her heels, 17-year-old Monster Army rider Hanna Faulhaber took bronze in her X Games debut.

Capping off an action-filled Friday on Buttermilk Mountain, 23-year-old Ayumu Hirano from Murakami, Japan, took home the silver medal in the Monster Energy Men’s Snowboard SuperPipe final. In a major upset, his younger brother Kaishu Hirano rose all the way to bronze medal position in his X Games debut.

X Games Aspen 2022 marks the 21st consecutive competition at the high-profile resort in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Supported by Monster Energy as the official energy drink partner of X Games, this year’s event includes 100 of the world’s best action sports athletes competing for a total of 42 medals across 14 disciplines. The three-day spectacle features Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard competitions in the disciplines of Slopestyle, Big Air, SuperPipe, and the innovative Knuckle Huck, alongside Special Olympics Unified competitions.

After allowing only athletes and staff last year, X Games Aspen 2022 welcomes spectators back to competition viewing and X Fest areas amid stringent COVID-19 safety protocols. This weekend features fan activations, a festival village and DJ performances such as Illenium on Friday night. ESPN and ABC are broadcasting 13.5 hours of live competition, with 7.5 additional hours streamed live on @XGames digital channels, and all 21 hours live via the ESPN App.

Here’s how the action unfolded for team Monster Energy on day one of X Games Aspen 2022:

Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle: Monster Energy’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott Takes Victory, Jamie Anderson Earns Silver as 20th Career X Games Medal

Setting off this year’s Winter X Games on Buttermilk Mountain, the Jeep Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle final featured eight of the world’s best freestyle snowboarders. The diverse field of riders hailed from Austria, Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States.

In a 35-minute jam session, riders were looking to post the highest-scoring run on the Snowpark Technologies-designed course. As a true test of well-rounded riding skills, the downhill obstacle course featured a plethora of rails and jib obstacles at the top, leading into three consecutive jumps as the finish.

As the jam session got underway, a fresh wave of snowfall created slightly challenging conditions. But the riders, including defending X Games slopestyle gold medalist and Monster Energy athlete Jamie Anderson put on a spectacular showcase for the high-energy crowd in Aspen.

As the reigning FIS Slopestyle World Champion, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott from Wanaka, New Zealand, dropped in with a score to settle. At X Games Aspen 2021, the 20-year-old snowboard phenom walked away with the silver medal behind teammate Jamie Anderson. This year, the Kiwi ripper who already took first place at Dew Tour Copper Mountain 2021, set her sights on making history with a run that would feature 1080 rotations in both directions. Could she do it?

Turns out, she could. On her second run in the final, Sadowski-Synnott put down the history-making run no rider had landed before: In the rail section, she landed switch 270 on frontside boardslide, switch boardslide 270 pretzel and a technical frontside blunt 450 out. Sadowski-Synnott then barged into the jump section with a switch backside 900 mute followed by frontside double cork 1080 melon and a perfectly stomped backside double cork 1080 on the final hit for the win.

“The win means so much to me! Everyone was absolutely ripping, that was the sickest contest I’ve ever been part of,” said Sadowski-Synnott upon winning Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle gold at X Games Aspen 2022. “I’ve been working on this new jump combo for the whole year and I’m super happy to be able to put it down.”

Friday’s slopestyle victory marks the third X Games win in the discipline for Sadowski-Synnott, bringing her overall count to six X Games medals (3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze). In 2021, the young rider defended her slopestyle title in the 2021 FIS World Snowboard Championships in Aspen. The previous year, her breakout season won ‘Rookie of the Year’ honors in the 2020 Snowboarder Magazine Awards. As a rookie pro, Sadowski-Synnott made history by winning Slopestyle bronze at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, ending New Zealand’s 26-year medal drought and becoming a national hero.

Sadowski-Synnott was joined on the podium by her Monster Energy teammate, 31-year-old snowboard icon Jamie Anderson from South Lake Tahoe, California. Known as the most-decorated female X Games athlete, Anderson was looking for a threepeat after claiming back-to-back slopestyle gold at X Games Aspen 2020 and 2021.

But as the action in the final intensified with several riders posting flawless runs, the ‘Queen of Slopestyle’ was facing difficulty putting a perfect line together. On her first two runs, the two-time Olympic gold medalist struck out early with uncharacteristic falls. Which ultimately made her comeback that much sweeter…

On her third run, Anderson put together a flawless routine starting in the rail section with a backside lipslide fakie on the down-flat kink rail, Caballerial boardslide 270 out and gap backside boardslide 270 sameway. She then attacked the jumps by ways of frontside double cork 1080 mute, backside rodeo 540 melon, and blasted a Caballerial double cork 1080 Indy on the final hit. And like that, Anderson bumped back from eight place into a strong second-place finish!

Friday’s silver medal ties Anderson with Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris for earning the most Winter X Games medals of all time at 20 medals (8 gold, 8 silver, 4 bronze). She will have another chance to medal in Saturday’s Women’s Snowboard Big Air event, where she drops in as the defending gold medalist from Aspen 2021. Recognized as a trailblazer of the sport, Anderson won the inaugural snowboard slopestyle competition at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia and took gold in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She is set to represent the USA at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Finishing closely off the podium, 17-year-old Kokomo Murase from Gifu, Japan, walked away with a solid fourth-place finish. On her first run, the Japanese rookie stoked the crowd with a flawless run featuring frontside lipslide pretzel, 270 on boardslide 270 off, and switch boardslide 270 in the rails, followed by frontside 900 melon, switch backside 900 mute and frontside 900 tailgrab. Ultimately, Murase wanted to raise the difficulty by adding a backside 1080 to her routine but was unable to get a clean landing.

Entering X Games Aspen 2022 as the youngest female competitor, Murase already ranges among the world’s top contenders. The young snowboard phenom made history at X Games Norway 2018 as the first girl to land a 1260 double cork in competition and became the youngest Winter X Games athlete ever to win a gold medal at age 13. She currently owns 5 X Games medals (1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze). Watch out for Murase in Big Air on Saturday!

Women’s Ski Big Air: Monster Energy’s Megan Oldham Takes Home the Silver Medal

As the action continued on Friday, the focus remained on female riders in the Women’s Ski Big Air final. Eight riders competed in the 30-minute jam session, looking to build a score composed of the two highest-rated tricks. Countries represented in the high-stakes final included Canada, France, Switzerland, and the United States.

The high-energy crowd on Buttermilk Mountain celebrated every move as riders sent their best aerials over the 70-feet long gap obstacle. But with constant snow creating challenging visual conditions as well as problems building sufficient speed for high-rotation moves, it took nerves and consistency to prevail.

Dropping in as the Big Air silver medalist from X Games Aspen 2021, 20-year-old Megan Oldham proved that she has the bag of tricks and consistency to rise to the podium. After setting the foundation for a high score by landing a difficult leftside double cork 1260 safety grab (45 points), she followed up strategically by landing a rightside 900 tail grab (29 points) to climb into the lead position.

But as the session intensified, Oldham found herself leapfrogged by French rider Tess Ledeux who clinched first place by landing a double cork 1620. Although Oldham proceeded to land a clean rightside double cork 1260 safety grab (44 points) to bring her score to 89.00 points overall, she walked away with a strong silver-medal finish.

After taking the silver medal in Women’s Ski Big Air on Friday, Oldham now owns four X Games medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze) from four X Games appearances. Despite her young age, the Ontario native already holds an FIS Freeski World Cup Crystal Globe. She made history as the first female Canadian athlete to earn a podium finish at X Games by claiming Women’s Ski Big Air gold at Norway 2020.

Finishing just a few points outside a podium spot, Monster Energy’s Maggie Voisin from Whitefish, Montana, returned from injury to battle the world elite at X Games Aspen 2022. In the high-pressure final, the 23-year-old started her run by stomping a perfect leftside double cork 1260 (39 points). On her fifth and final attempt, Voisin landed a leftside rodeo 900 safety grab (31 points) for a total score of 70.00 points and fourth place.

As part of Team USA, Voisin currently holds seven X Games medals (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze). After recent podiums at FIS World Cup events, will also compete in the Slopestyle discipline on Saturday, in which she holds two gold medals (X Games Aspen 2018, Norway 2020). Voisin is currently the only American female skier to win the Slopestyle discipline at X Games. Stay tuned!

Wendy’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck: Monster Energy’s Dusty Henricksen Takes Bronze

As the sun set over Buttermilk Mountain, the crowd was treated to a unique showcase of snowboard progression. In the creative Wendy’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck event, eight riders took turns ‘hucking’ their most stylish and technical maneuvers off the Big Air ramp’s roll-over, also called the ‘knuckle’.

The rider to beat was 18-year-old Dusty Henricksen from Mammoth Lakes, California, who dropped in as the defending champion. At X Games Aspen 2021, the American snowboard prodigy made a clear statement by taking double X Games gold in Knuckle Huck and Slopestyle as a rookie.

Heading into the session, Henricksen unleashed a trick that earned him 2021’s medal: Sliding a Half Cab tail press nosegrab over the edge of the knuckle, straight into a front flip down below. As other riders unveiled their progressive moves, Henricksen stayed on top of his game by landing a stylish Half Cab nose butter rodeo 720 that had the crowd on its feet. For his final move on Run 5, the Team USA rider upped the ante by spinning a Half Cab tail press into a double front flip(!) for the bronze medal.

Friday night’s bronze brings Dusty Henricksen’s X Games medal count to 3 medals (2 gold, 1 bronze). At X Games Aspen 2021, the snowboard phenom became the first snowboard rookie to take home double gold and also the first American to win Slopestyle since Shaun White in 2009. Henricksen will represent the United States at the Beijing Winter Olympics and also competes in Slopestyle at X Games Aspen 2022 on Saturday.

Women’s Ski SuperPipe: Monster Energy’s Brita Sigourney Rises to Silver-Medal Finish, Rookie Hana Faulhaber Earns Bronze in X Games Debut

Next, a spectacular air show unfolded under the lights in the highly anticipated Women’s Ski SuperPipe final. In the 35-minute jam session, eight of the world’s best vertical snowboarders were looking to post the highest-scoring run.

The center of the action was the legendary SuperPipe on Buttermilk Mountain with its 22-feet walls and 570 feet in overall length. The exuberant crowd celebrated outstanding performances by X Games rookies and veterans in a down-to-the-wire final.

When all was said and done, 32-year-old Brita Sigourney from Carmel, California, soared all the way into second place with a highly technical run in her twelfth X Games performance. Cheered on by the spectators, the Olympic bronze medalist took the silver medal on her final run, stringing together huge leftside 900 tail grab, alley-oop mute grab, leftside 1080 safety, alley-oop switch 360 Japan, leftside 540 and rightside corked 720 on the final hit.

Friday night’s silver medal brings Sigourney’s X Games record to 5 medals overall (3 silver, 2 bronze). She made history as the first woman to land a 1080 in halfpipe competition in 2012. She earned bronze in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and will represent Team USA for the third time at the Olympics in Beijing this February.

One of Sigourney’s toughest competitors was Monster Army rider and X Games rookie Hanna Faulhaber from Basalt, Colorado. Throughout the high-energy final, the 17-year-old Team USA rider had the crowd on her side by blasting the highest aerials of the entire night in her first time competing at X Games.

Fresh off winning the 2021/2022 U.S. National Championship in Women’s Ski Pipe, Faulhaber navigated the SuperPipe at Aspen with amplitude and technical tricks. In her best run of the final, the hometown hero blasted a stylish tail grab aerial at over 18-feet high, followed by back-to-back leftside and rightside flairs, big leftside mute 720, switch rightside 360 and a massive leftside 900 safety grab on the final wall for the bronze medal.

Following her successful X Games debut, Faulhaber will represent the United States at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The young phenom already claimed second place at the FIS World Cup event in Calgary, Canada, in early 2022. In December 2021, the young US Ski Team barged into the spotlight with a breakout performance, finishing in third place Dew Tour Copper.

Also putting on a strong showing in the final, Vermont native and X Games veteran Devin Logan rose to the occasion. In her eleventh X Games, the 28-year-old freeski icon landed a perfect run including a leftside 900, huge rightside flair, rightside 540, leftside 720 and switch 540 on the final wall for a strong fifth place finish. Logan already owns two X Games medals (1 silver, 1 bronze) and won silver in Olympic slopestyle at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. On Friday, she announced that this would be her final X Games.

Monster Energy Men’s Snowboard SuperPipe: Monster Energy’s Ayumu Hirano Takes Silver Medal, Younger Brother Kaishu Hirano Bronze in X Games Debut

Saving the best for last, the Monster Energy Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe final stoked the capacity crowd on Buttermilk Mountain with a showdown for the history books. The eight-rider final, featuring athletes from Australia, Japan, and the United States, boiled down to a duel between two athletes: Australia’s Scotty James and 23-year-old Monster Energy rider Ayumu Hirano from Murakami, Japan.

Previous to competing at Aspen this weekend, Hirano had been on a winning streak that included first place in the FIS World Cup at Mammoth Mountain, first place at the iconic LAAX OPEN in Switzerland as well as the 2021/22 FIS World Cup Crystal Globe Trophy in Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe. The energetic crowd was in for a battle as the Japanese phenom started trading high-caliber halfpipe runs with James.

In his best run of the final, Hirano perfectly put together frontside double cork 1440 Indy, Cab double cork 1440 mute, frontside double cork 1260 Indy, backside double cork 1260 mute and frontside 1080 truck driver. But with James rising to the top of the leaderboard after an ultra-technical run of his own, Hirano needed a special response: He found it on his last run of the final with his notorious frontside triple cork 1440, landed perfectly for the first time in X Games competition history. But on the following wall, he lost the handle on a Cab double 1440 and had to settle for the silver medal in an epic showdown for the X Games history books.

Friday night’s silver medal brings Hirano’s record to 4 X Games medals (2 gold, 2 silver). At Dew Tour Copper Mountain in December 2021, he landed the world’s first frontside triple cork 1440 in competition. He also owns two Olympic silver medals in snowboard halfpipe (2014 and 2018). Hirano won the 2019 Japanese National Championships in skateboard halfpipe and competed in the Skateboard Park discipline, representing Japan at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

In a major upset, Hirano was joined on the podium by a rookie: No other than his 19-year-old brother Kaishu Hirano. Attacking the Aspen SuperPipe with high speed, the younger Hirano opened by blasting a massive method air at 19’4″ on the first wall, followed by back-to-back double cork 1080 and Cab 1080, frontside double cork 1260 mute and backside mute 900 for the bronze medal. Amazing start for an X Games rookie!

No stranger to high-profile competitions, Kaishu Hirano was a runner-up at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Lausanne 2020. He will be representing Japan alongside his brother in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Stay tuned for more X Games Aspen 2022! Over the course of three action-packed days, 13.5 hours of competitions from X Games Aspen 2022 will be broadcast live on ESPN and ABC, supplemented by live coverage and behind-the-scenes content across digital X Games properties. Fans can also follow the action on ESPN’s online streaming services, with select disciplines available on X Games YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter, and all 21 hours of live competitions streamed on the ESPN App. X Games Aspen 2022 will be televised globally in 192 countries and territories to more than 500 million homes.

Download High Res Photos for Editorial Use.

Visit http://www.monsterenergy.com for exclusive updates from X Games Aspen 2022 including photos, videos, and contest results as they happen. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok for exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at Buttermilk Mountain.

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About Monster Energy

Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, it’s the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers, and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at http://www.monsterenergy.com.

Media Contact

Kimberly Paige Dresser, Indie Agency, Inc., (949) 300-5546, [email protected]

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Pupperazzi, reviewed by an actual puppy

My puppy, Cosmo, is a wilful and endlessly energetic tornado, which is usually pretty entertaining, even when he’s destroying everything, but it might be nice if he chilled out for a wee while. My latest attempt to teach this adorable but obstinate hound some focus involves putting him to work for PC Gamer. His first task? His impressions of Pupperazzi, the dog photography game.

Cosmo lets me know he’s ready to play Pupperazzi by barking louder than any creature his size should be able to manage and knocking over his mostly-full water bowl. Or maybe he just wants out of his play pen. He’s loud, he’s amped and he definitely wants to tear into something. He’s ready to be a professional critic.

First stop: a quaint beach where we get some guidance from a small dog in a little raincoat. He sits in his deck chair at the top of the beach, looking over the area like he’s holding court. He’s gently bossy, and has a surprising amount of gravitas for a furball dressed like a tiny fisherman. If it wasn’t already clear, Pupperazzi is disgustingly cute.

(Image credit: Sundae Month)

Cosmo is unfazed by this cuteness, no matter how many times I enthusiastically point at the screen. He obviously has extremely high standards. As we go through the brief tasks assigned to us by our canine mentor, however, he starts to get into it a bit more, slapping the keyboard with gusto. Could this also have something to do with the muffin crumbs lodged between the keys? Sure. But I choose to believe he’s slowly succumbing to the corrupting influence of videogames.

Pretty quickly, more dogs get in touch, giving us a long list of straightforward objectives—snap the lighthouse, find a dog on a skateboard, take a photo of a stylish pooch—that earn us gold bones. Are they solid gold? Gold plated? And where are the dogs getting them? What do dogs even need gold for? I look to Cosmo for answers. He starts biting his tail and falls over.

Gold bones can be spent on new camera filters, lenses and toys at vending machines. Fortunately, dogs are pretty generous with their gold bones, so you’ll quickly collect a lot of helpful upgrades, and a genuinely harrowing selfie mode.

(Image credit: Sundae Month)

Since Cosmo tends to enjoy loud conversations with other dogs, I’ve been preparing myself for a cacophony of barks, but he seems to find the beach and its fluffy denizens quite soothing. This is in stark contrast to the barking dog in A Plague Tale: Innocence’s prologue, which recently sent him into a frenzy for 20 minutes.

The mood changes when I start petting the dogs. Hungry for affection, a wee army of pooches fills the screen, and Cosmo is having none of it. He howls, grunts and sulks under my desk. He shouldn’t be jealous—pictures of happy dogs earn you more followers on Pupperazzi’s social media platform, dogNET, so I’m petting for clout.

Coaxing him out has to wait, as I find myself a bit preoccupied with a new filter, which is perfect for getting a classy shot of a dog on a yacht. Just look at this majestic seafarer getting ready for his picture.

(Image credit: Sundae Month)

To repair our friendship, I take Cosmo for a walk. While he’s roaming around in the grass, it strikes me how perfectly Pupperazzi has recreated how dogs move, without realistically animating them. Every pup just bounces. All four paws off the ground. It looks ridiculous, but it captures the essence of the bouncy gait that most puppies possess. It’s genuinely heartwarming to see a pooch, or better yet, a whole pack, bounding towards you, their tails all wagging.

When I try to get Cosmo’s take on the animation, he gives me a big slobbery kiss and then headbutts me. I don’t have a clue how to translate that, but he does keep staring at the bouncing dogs, transfixed, if only for a minute or two at a time. It’s very rare for him to stay still for any length of time unless he’s napping, so it’s probably a good sign.

Our striking photographs net us a whole bunch of new followers, but we still have to contend with the fickle nature of social media. Boring photos, too many photos in one day, too many dogs in the shot—they all generate criticism. I’m not convinced there is such a thing as posting too many cute dog pictures in quick succession, though followers of my real Twitter account would likely say otherwise.

(Image credit: Sundae Month)

I should probably add that this is a social media platform for dogs, not just dog photos. It’s just a bunch of dogs who want to see more dogs. Given how excited Cosmo is whenever he sees one of his four-legged pals outside, this tracks. Dogs are lovely, so even the critical comments don’t have much of a sting. It’s mostly just relentless positivity—what I think I want social media to be more like, even though I’d absolutely be bored of it in a week.

New areas are unlocked as you amass more followers, each with the promise of more dogs and weird photo opportunities. The boardwalk, for instance, is filled with dogs who’ve gotten all dressed up for a day out. Boots, sunglasses, all sorts of snazzy hats—it’s lethal levels of whimsy, primed to explode in a shower of confetti and candyfloss. Just look at this stylish pooch.

(Image credit: Sundae Month)

He even gets a stamp of approval from Cosmo, who high-fives my monitor. Then we have to take a break when he starts chewing his third ethernet cable.

Another disaster averted, we settle into a nice groove: him chilling out under my desk while I snap dogs, or sitting on my lap while I show him how to take photos. Now, dogs don’t have the dexterity to use a mouse and keyboard, but those little paws are great at moving the mouse on its own, and slapping the button to take a picture. Here’s a lovely sports-themed one he took himself. So proud.

(Image credit: Sundae Month)

Some objectives task you with improving an area, like reopening the boardwalk arcade and skatepark. With the former, that’s as simple as breaking in by jumping onto the balcony—thanks double jump!—while the latter requires some cleaning up first. Pupperazzi’s objectives are carefree doddles, but the extra goals and bump in the level of interactivity adds a welcome dash of direction and purpose to what is otherwise a very light sightseeing tour of splendid dogs.

We’re taking in the boardwalk after bringing it back to life when Cosmo starts to get extremely hyper. The lad loves a boardwalk. Unable to contain his excitement, he jumps onto my desk, gives a little triumphant howl and knocks over a glass of orange squash.

(Image credit: Sundae Month)

After the mess is mopped up, it’s back to work. We’ve unlocked a new ability, and I’m extremely eager to try it out. As well as petting dogs and giving them toys, it’s eventually possible to dress them up. See a sad, naked dog in need of some flair? Stick some shades on it! Put it in booties! Give that dog a whole new look.

Cosmo and I both appreciate the dress-up system, since I love dogs in costumes, and he’d much rather I pester any other dog with my fashion crimes.

(Image credit: Sundae Month)

We’ve got a burgeoning social media presence, we’ve reinvigorated the local economy, and we’ve dressed up countless dogs—it’s been a busy day, and the wee guy is getting antsy. It’s been hours since he last devoured a sock or knocked a slice of pizza off the table. It’s time for us to leave this puppy heaven. He gives his digital cohorts one last glance before rushing off to savage a toy cow he was given for Christmas.

Juice incident aside, this is the most focused I’ve seen Cosmo pretty much ever, so I’m counting that as a recommendation from my furry pal. And while my opinion doesn’t matter nearly as much as his, I had a lovely time, with only some wee UI niggles, like not being able to pin objectives, getting in the way of the good vibes. I would gladly spend my entire life just taking photos of excellent dogs.

All the photos you save can be found in the Pupperazzi folder in AppData. Here are a few of my faves.

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(Image credit: Sundae Month)

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(Image credit: Sundae Month)

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(Image credit: Sundae Month)

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Murder charge in skateboard beating death

OAKLAND — A man already being prosecuted in a similar but non-fatal attack has been charged with murder in the Dec. 13 skateboard beating death of a man who was sleeping on the sidewalk in the Temescal district of North Oakland, according to authorities and court records.

Joshua Stroman, 36, of Oakland, was charged Friday in the killing of 40-year-old Kenyon Graham, a homeless man who was found dead with massive head trauma about 12:44 a.m. in the 500 block of 45th Street near Telegraph Avenue.

According to court documents, Stroman was the person who called 9-1-1 to report the attack but did not give his name.

Based on the phone call and video surveillance, police determined that Stroman, who listed an address in the 4400 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way, was the alleged killer. He was arrested Thursday afternoon in the 800 block of 45th Street, a few blocks from where the beating happened. The documents say he was carrying a skateboard that police believe was the one used in the attack, as well as a cell phone believed to be the one used to call 9-1-1.

According to the documents, Stroman has admitted his involvement in the attack. Police said the men knew each other but have not released a motive for the killing.

Stroman was being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail and was scheduled for arraignment Monday morning.

According to authorities, Stroman is also facing prosecution for allegedly hitting a man in the head with a skateboard June 21 in Palo Alto, in an unprovoked attack that left the victim hospitalized. Palo Alto police said in a news release at the time that the victim, a man in his 40s, did not know Stroman — who listed an East Palo Alto address at the time — or why he was targeted.

The victim was with his mother when he was attacked in the courtyard of the Opportunity Center at 33 Encina Ave. Police identified Stroman as the suspect; he was arrested June 25 in East Palo Alto and charged June 28 with assault with a deadly weapon. At his arraignment June 29 he did not enter a plea and was placed on supervised release, according to court records.

Staff writer Robert Salonga contributed to this report.

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Richard Dilday, successful businessman who helped thousands of kids, dies at 69 – Press Telegram

Richard Dilday, who was a successful business and community leader with a lifelong passion for helping thousands of youngsters and others through the Salvation Army and Boys & Girls Clubs, has died. He was 69.

Dilday, a member of a longtime Long Beach family, died unexpectedly of a heart attack in his sleep at his home Jan. 10, according to his wife, Diane. She said he had just had a physical checkup last month and there were no signs of health problems. Grieving friends and community associates paid tribute to Dilday for his decades of servant leadership to the Long Beach community.

“Richard was just an amazing guy,” said Don Rodriguez, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach. “He was always there when you needed him. He never said no when it came to helping kids, but he always did it quietly and never wanted to take credit for what he did.”

Rodriguez said the clubs had just honored Dilday last month for his 25 years serving on the board and for developing the organization’s Youth of the Year program.

Melinda Lankford, director of programs and development for the Salvation Army, said Dilday had supported that organization for more than 20 years as a volunteer, donor and board adviser. Lankford said Dilday was essential in completing the Donald and Priscilla Hunt Red Shield Community Center, with a gymnasium and soccer field, at the Spring Street and Long Beach Boulevard campus.

Richard Dilday. (Photo courtesy of the Dilday family)

Richard Dilday with Summer School Day Camp kids from the Salvation Army at the Aquarium of the Pacific in July. Dilday paid for their bus trip, tickets and stuffed animal for each. (Photo courtesy of the Salvation Army)

Richard Dilday with a bunch of kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach during a celebration. (Photo courtesy of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach)

“We could not have done it without him,” Lankford said.

Dilday also was instrumental in helping with the Salvation Army’s homeless shelter in Anaheim, she said.

For all of Dilday’s years of support, the Salvation Army honored him last month with its coveted Spirit of Christmas Award, given to an individual who embodies the holistic work of the nonprofit.

Marc Bonner, Scout Executive for the Boy Scouts of Long Beach, said Dilday will be missed by many.

“Richard was a lifelong supporter of scouting, having grown up a Sea Scout in Long Beach,” he said. “He lent his professional design skills and time to many efforts over the years, for which we are most grateful.”

Chris Pook, founder of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, called Dilday “a terrific person” who, along with his brothers and cousins, played key roles in the rebirth of Long Beach in the ’70s and ’80s. Pook called him “one of the Dilday dynasty.”

When he died, Dilday was president of Kardent Design, a design, space planning and project management company that formed in Long Beach in 2010. Kardent Design had been awarded “Best Places to Work” by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Richard Dilday was born July 31, 1952, in Long Beach to Richard Burr Dilday and Dorothy Dilday. His father died from burns in a backyard barbecue explosion when Dilday was 4 years old. Dilday’s ancestral family arrived in Long Beach in the 1920s with Nobel and Marie Dilday, his grandparents, establishing the first Dilday Mortuary Chapel in 1927.

In a statement written for the Salvation Army Spirit of Christmas Award, Dilday said the mortuary business “was driven by Marie M. Dilday, the matriarch of the family.”

“Widowed at age 35 in 1945, she ran the mortuary business single handedly,” he wrote. “She passed down to generations, the spirit of God, giving and love. Giving to the community will always be a Dilday family value.”

Dilday attended Los Cerritos Elementary, Hughes Junior High and Poly High before going to Long Beach City College.

While in high school, he worked in the Dilday Mortuary’s flower shop, but his heart drove him to be an artist. He graduated from the California College of Arts in 1974 with a bachelor of fine arts degree in environmental design and began his business career with Morganelli and Hueman. He worked at several other companies before joining Kardent, which serves clients throughout California and 19 other states.

His son, Rick, said his father was a talented designer, photographer and model maker and became a leader in the industry. Some of his dad’s notable projects, he said, included leading and managing the design and relocation management of all 52 floors of the ARCO Tower in Los Angeles when he was just 26 and leading the design of 27 floors for IBM Tower in Los Angeles in 1988.

Dilday met his future wife, Diane Gray, on a blind date in 1989. It was love at first sight and they married in 1991. Last month, they celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary.

Dilday’s widow said her husband explained to her how the sudden and devastating loss of his father shaped his philosophy of life.

“He would say you have to live each day to the fullest, which to him didn’t mean wild adventures but giving and loving others as much as possible each day,” she said. “One never knows how long you have to serve, give and love so he felt it best to focus on doing that each and every day.”

Their son said his father’s life motto were the words of his grandmother, Marie Dilday:

“Just show up, which meant to him that no matter what, show up and serve others in any way you can,” Rick Dilday said. “Those words were ingrained in him for as long as I can remember. It didn’t matter if you were tired, or sad or didn’t think you could do anything, a Dilday shows up and helps people.”

Rick Dilday also told the story of how he was 11 years old when his father helped him make their first skateboard together.

“That first skateboard turned into a business, American Skateboards, that my father and I worked side by side growing for nearly 10 years,” he said.

After that, he and his father discussed further projects working together.

“While he physically won’t be by my side,” Rick Dilday said, “I will carry his spirit, his love and his mission of giving with me every day.”

Rick Dilday said his father tried to improve the world for everyone he met.

He even took children from the Salvation Army to the Aquarium of the Pacific last month and spent the day with them, Rick Dilday said.

“At the end of the day,” the son said, “he made sure every single child went home with a stuffed animal they picked out.”

Dilday donated time and money to build a temporary grass field to cover the present location of the new community center gymnasium so that children would have a fun place to play. He personally went on a weekly basis to water and care for the grass to make sure it was well-kept for the kids, Rick Dilday said.

Travis Nesland, Dilday’s stepson, said what he remembered most about Dilday was “the superhuman way that he cared about us.”

Megan Kuehl, Dilday’s stepdaughter, said some of the things she loved most about the philanthropist was how he always had See’s Candies on hand, his knick-knack collection of sentimental items like surfboards and family photos, how he spray painted the lawn green, and how he drove a truck and trailer to Illinois to help her move.

Dilday’s wife called him the “neighborhood rescuer,” helping neighbors by mowing their lawns or fixing their boats. He also served on the Naples Improvement Board, chairing the seawall committee, and the Aquatics Capital of America Board. He had been working with the city to create a tribute to the 1984 Olympics sailing venue and a possible Hall of Fame display at the beach concession stand that’s under construction.

“Becoming a grandparent provided him with even more joy,” his wife said. “He was patient, generous and a lot of fun.”

Dilday also was a careful planner.

His wife said he had made airplane and hotel reservations for a dozen or so members of the family to celebrate his 70th birthday and other family members’ birthdays in Hawaii on July 31 this year.

“He was a very positive person, seeing the best in people. He wore a smile,” she said. “We have received kind words from others using words like kindest, gentlest, giving, selfless, committed, thoughtful, dedicated, amazing, the best.”

Her husband did not let a day pass in more than 30 years of marriage that he did not tell her that he loved her.

“The last weekend of his life, I can’t tell you how many times he walked through the room and expressed these sentiments,” she said. “This was totally normal behavior for Richard. I was a very fortunate wife. He loved his family completely.”

Besides his wife, Dilday is survived by children Rick Dilday, Megan Kuehl, Travis Nesland; grandchildren Sadie and Millie Kuehl and Owen Nesland; brothers Dan Dilday, Jim Dilday, John Slayton; sister Denise King; and many nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date. The family suggests that donations be made to the Salvation Army and the Boys & Girls Clubs.

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“Freedom and thrill”: The lockdown project paying homage to the rave – Features

Hailing from Newcastle, 23-year-old Jordan Taylor is on a mission to profile the most outlandish raves across the globe. “I’m a huge fan of film photography and wanted to create a central platform that incorporates my love of that with youth and rave culture from around the world,” he tells Mixmag on his lockdown project, Tough Luck. The photography platform, endearingly named after a track from a local band, displays countless photos of after-dark hedonism by photographers in London, New York, Berlin and beyond.

Taylor started the project at the height of lockdown restrictions in the UK as a way to escape back to those long-forgotten times. “I was missing that sense of freedom and thrill you get at raves and nights out, so it was a great thing to look back on and reminisce,” he said. “Quickly, I noticed that a lot of people shared the same passion as the account snowballed into what it is today. It’s great to see so many talented photographers wanting to share their work on my platform.”

Read this next: Goodbye sweetheart: Inside the emotional last dance at The Cause

Predominantly made up of film photography shots, Tough Luck grew into a compilation of squat parties, early hours afters, illegal raves and vivid documentation of youth culture across the world with shots recalling skateboard antics, graffiti artists and curbside tinnies. Although Jordan says he sometimes gets behind the lens himself, he’s “more often spotted on the dancefloor weekend to weekend”, investing into the culture he documents through Tough Luck.

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Photos from Burning Questions We Have About And Just Like That…

3/9

Craig Blankenhorn / HBO Max

OK, let’s start off with a positive: We love the new hair on Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and have really been digging some of her outfits. The pleasantries end there.

Sometime in the decade since we last saw our fierce, funny and formidable friend she apparently changed her name to Karen because that is what the show has turned Miranda into. Her first scene with professor Nya (Karen Pittman, forever deserving of more!) will go down as one of the most uncomfortable scenes in TV history, with Miranda putting her foot in her mouth more times than we could count.

Add in a drinking problem that was swiftly resolved by her just choosing not to indulge anymore (How easy!) and cheating on Steve (David Eisenberg) with Che (Sara Ramirez), Carrie’s non-binary boss who is a popular standup comedian—after Miranda was so utterly devastated when he was unfaithful in the first movie—and we are at a loss. Seems like Big wasn’t the only character to get a funeral in 2022.

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Naim Daniel not amused being accused of joining Illuminati

20 Jan – Naim Daniel recently expressed frustration over the ludicrous suggestion that he is a part of the Illuminati.

The whole issue sparked after Naim shared a photo of him with an injury near his eyes and on his arm following a skateboard accident, prompting a conspiracy theory Facebook group member to accuse him of undergoing a “soul scalping” ritual.

The post made by the netizen also shared other photos of actors, singers, politicians, and even Pope Francis himself with a similar injury on their right eye – accusing them of having undergone the similar ritual.

The accusation was first dismissed by film director Razaisyam, who said that he was the person who sent Naim to the hospital after witnessing the singer falling off his skateboard.

“Then this idiot is accusing him of joining the Illuminati and had a soul scalping with the Dajjal himself. That’s hilarious!” he added.

On the other hand, Naim himself did not think it that funny to accuse him of something that is against his own faith.

“I think the accusation is very outrageous,” he said. “Besides that, I am also surprised because there is still such a mentality among the community. How can they link me to the illuminati when I was only injured because I fell off a skateboard.”

The singer added that he will not hesitate to take legal action if such a baseless allegation continues.

Naim shared this photo following his skateboarding mishap

(Photo Source: Naim Daniel Instagram)

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Mexico City’s Newfound Status: A Skateboarder’s Paradise

MEXICO CITY — One year ago, Carolina Altamirano left her home in Oaxaca City, Mexico, where she had been skateboarding for nine years, in search of opportunities to grow her skateboarding career.

In years past, this would have meant relocating to Los Angeles, New York City or even Barcelona, Spain. Instead, Altamirano moved to Mexico City.

“There’s a lot of skate parks, and they’re building more,” she said of the city, which has quickly become an international destination for the sport and an incubator for an impressive roster of athletes as the skateboarding scene blooms. “The skateboarding community is strong here. If you come across someone you don’t know who is carrying a skateboard, they will greet you and talk to you.”

Among them is Itzel Granados, one of the highest-ranked skateboarders in the country and somewhat of a local celebrity in Mexico City skate parks. In November, Granados, 20, finished in second place at the Junior Pan American Games women’s street competition. Before that, she placed third in the renowned Exposure skateboarding contest. She hopes to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the second time skateboarding will be in the Games.

When Granados began skating, there weren’t any skateboarding schools in the area. Now, she’s in good company. Women-led skateboarding schools like Mujeres en Patineta (Women on Skateboards) are emerging in the city, offering classes to girls of all ages from low-income backgrounds.

“The skateboarding scene is centralized in Mexico City, a city that is home to the best skate parks in our country,” Mariana Muñoz, the director of Mujeres en Patineta, said. “The social openness that exists here, as well as the women’s movement, have allowed women’s skate to grow in an unprecedented way.”

The city’s newfound status as a skateboarding paradise was hard won. Olga Aguilar, who has been documenting the skateboarding scene in Mexico City since the 1980s, said accessibility was an early obstacle. “The first problem was that it was hard to find a skateboard,” she said. “There wasn’t a skate shop. If you knew someone going to the States, you would give them money so they could bring it back. It was also expensive at the time.”

For women, skateboarding also carried a stigma that Aguilar and others have been slowly dismantling. The sport was seen as inherently male, so it was frowned on for women to participate, she said.

“We had to hide our skateboards because our mom didn’t want us to skate,” Aguilar said. “There was not a skate park at the time. In the late 1970s, there were no places to go and learn. It had to be on the street.”

The Mexican government started building skate parks in the 1980s in an effort to restore public spaces, and the tide shifted in the decades that followed. The scene is becoming increasingly diverse.

“The atmosphere changed when availability and skate shops were opening. Nowadays, there’s access for everyone to get a skateboard, and it’s not looked at as it was before,” Aguilar said.

Last year, the Mexican skater Oscar Meza returned to Mexico City after spending most of his adult years skateboarding professionally in Los Angeles. “This city is providing a real raw new generation of people really enjoying skateboarding. I felt like I was losing that in a way.”

As a teenager in Los Angeles, Meza felt some discomfort from being a Mexican skateboarder. “They thought we were like weirdos. Like you’re doing a white kid sport.” But as he has grown older, he’s watched the sport become embraced and flourish in his community. “Now it’s like you’re not cool if you don’t skate,” he said.

The architecture and idiosyncratic building styles in Mexico City make for thrilling skateboarding terrain, Meza said, though, like elsewhere, the police and security guards sometimes intervene.

“In Los Angeles, you go to a spot, and the handrails are the exact same size. Everything is so regulated. That doesn’t exist here,” he said.

As the skateboarding scene grows in Mexico City, so, too, does international interest. It has become a travel destination for skateboard enthusiasts, professional athletes and sponsors alike. In 2014, Nike Skateboarding, in conjunction with the Mexican government, built an Aztec-inspired skate park to promote access to young skateboarders in the city. In early December, Vans built a flagship skate park and event space in the Mixcoac neighborhood of Mexico City.

Granados is at the forefront, even if she hit a speed bump in the past year. Last summer, in qualifying in Rome for the Tokyo Olympics, she fell and lost her chance. “I hit my head,” she said. “Three medics told me: ‘You can’t compete. You can’t do this.’ And that was it.”

The setback has not slowed her down. She is keeping pace with the growth of her sport in Mexico City, where there is increasing industry interest and government support beyond grass-roots efforts. Granados hopes to skate for years to come, until, she said: “I break my knees and really can’t do it anymore. Until then, I will keep skating.”

And she will have more places to train, alongside a growing community of skaters like Altamirano.

“I love it,” Granados said of training in Mexico City. “It has parks for beginners to skate and intermediate and advanced levels. I think that’s what makes a skate park perfect, no? When it’s for everyone.”

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CBC Sports Oral Histories: The night Jon Montgomery shared a beer with Canada

Forbes: He did it his way, that’s for sure. He should play Frank Sinatra because he kept his cool and was Jon Montgomery the whole time.

Bannon: We were indoors and we heard this roar. We’re like, ‘What is going on? Like, what has just happened?’

Cicoria: We spent a long, long time taking photos of family and friends, and then we jumped into a truck and they took us down to anti-doping [testing].

Forbes: After the drug test, he was finally ready to go and someone said, ‘Let’s get on a gondola to go down because you’ve got to get on CTV.’

Montgomery: I was still in my speed suit having just completed doping control, done that press conference, still had my helmet. And we began to walk to the town square, where there was the broadcast stage for CTV.

All of a sudden the camera’s in your face, [the cameraman]’s walking backwards. There’s a bit of a police escort.

Cicoria: You could see the people and we’re like, ‘Holy s–t,’ where do we have to go? And so at that point, it was just like, ‘Oh man, this can be cool.’

Forbes: There’s people coming from every direction and we’re like, ‘Whoa, what is going on?’ And then RCMP start getting around Jon and us and there’s thousands of people surrounding.

Cicoria: Jon’s out in front. He’s got a flag, which he had been wearing like a cape. And at that moment, you’re just starstruck.

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The Renegade Skate-Ramp Builders of New York

Pat Smith mixing concrete for a quarter-pipe at Mosquito Beach while Max Lockhart, a skater, looks on. Photo: Daniel Karel

On a balmy July evening, Pat Smith, a professional carpenter and the owner of CODA Skateboards, was loading up his jet-black Ram ProMaster cargo van in the driveway of a Greenpoint fabrication shop. Inside the van, he’d hoisted around eight dusty bags of concrete, a stack of dirty buckets, two crusty shovels, a generator, and a portable concrete mixer. Smith, 50, was on his way to work on a public secret in the city’s skateboarding scene: an elaborate, unsanctioned DIY skate spot hidden beneath the rusty pillars of the Long Island Expressway. Because of its proximity to a fetid stretch of Newton Creek, the spot has become known as Mosquito Beach.

In both scale and longevity, Mosquito Beach is an outlier among the city’s DIY spots, which range from daubs of concrete spread across rough obstacles to fully constructed benches and curbs planted overnight in the cityscape, a sprawling circuit of ridable spaces existing in tandem with the 37 sanctioned skate parks of New York City. Mosquito Beach is rare among them, a swampy hideout with an abundance of sloped banks and quarter-pipe ramps.

While skaters typically attempt these DIY projects in relatively unpopulated zones of the city, they are — by and large — illegal, especially when built on public property sans permit. This means skaters might pour significant time and resources into building a spot only to find their work completely demolished within a day.

“I’ve probably built at least 30 spots that were gone the next morning,” said Jerry Mraz, one of the city’s most prolific builders over the past decade and a half. “A lot of other ones only lasted a week, and some have actually lasted for years.”

So what drives them to do it? “People want to leave their mark,” said Steve Rodriguez, founder of the storied New York City skateboard company 5boro. “They want to contribute to the scene, they want to skate something exactly how they want it, they want to provide another option. It’s not just one thing.” Smith, a lifelong skateboarder and former professional, says it’s the culture’s DIY ethos. “You have a desire to skate something and you’re filling the void.”

Mosquito Beach is a DIY spot filled with ramps built by Pat Smith and a rotating cast of skaters. The spot is hidden beneath the Long Island Expressway. Photo: Daniel Karel

He and a rotating cast of other skaters have steadily built Mosquito Beach for several years, walloping the expected life span of a DIY spot. “It’s un-fuckin’ believable,” said Rodriguez, who also advises the city on sanctioned skatepark designs. “I think that one of the main [DOT] guys is sympathetic toward skateboarders, so I think he’s just delaying dealing with it, which is fucking awesome. I guess he used to skate a long time ago.”

To some, it might not seem like a stretch to compare the efforts of DIY builders to those of graffiti writers — their subcultures are historically intertwined, and they both work, largely under the cover of night, on illicit projects. But Smith argues that a DIY skate spot achieves something that a graffiti writer’s tag does not — it creates a space that keeps growing and evolving. However, there is one goal that DIY builders and graffiti writers share: Longevity. And that, explained Mraz, comes down to location and luck.

“Don’t build on private property, and if it is private property, it should be something that’s very far gone,” he said. “If it’s public property it just needs to be tucked out of the way, in a spot where concerned citizens aren’t going to give you a hard time. But to really figure that out, sometimes the only thing you can do is test it by putting something there.”

Pat Smith performing a backside rock ‘n’ roll at “Pigeon Coop,” a DIY quarter-pipe in Maspeth, Queens that Smith estimates is at least 10 years old. Photo: Daniel Karel

When Smith and his friends began working on Mosquito Beach — he was tipped to the location by a coworker — they seemed to have hit on the right combination of factors. It was a trash-strewn dead end, far away from any residential buildings. So they built a a midsize quarter-pipe ramp that abutted an overgrown patch of land dividing the street from the creek. When, after some time, the ramp had not been ripped out, they started adding more obstacles.

“You put in a little augmentation and you wait, then you do a little bit more and you wait,” said Smith. “And then you wait for a little more money, more energy, more ideas.”

Smith, a self-described army brat, started building ramps shortly after he started skating, at the age of 8. The impulse was borne from necessity. There was nothing exciting to ride anywhere near his home, so he and his friends built their own obstacles. He would “borrow” plywood from local construction sites and reference blueprints found in Thrasher Magazine to turn the plywood into ramps.

He moved to New York City in 1997 to work in web design, and fell in with a group of skaters that included Andy Kessler, a godfather-like figure in the city’s skate scene. Kessler — who passed away in 2009 — was responsible for what Rodriguez referred to as “the first DIY in the city,” a spot in Riverside Park on 109th street, which Kessler successfully lobbied to have anointed as an official skate park in 2005. Smith, like many skateboarders, considers Kessler an idol, and spent several years helping him build sanctioned parks throughout the city.

Meshing with the city’s skate royalty also gave Smith a bird’s-eye view of local DIY builds. Of them, one of the most memorable was on North 8th Street in Greenpoint, just off the East River. Rodriguez helped build the spot’s quarter-pipe, and even took his wife there on their first date. “It was the weirdest, most awesome public mixed-use space. There would be dads teaching their kids how to ride bikes, there’d be dudes doing drugs, there were actually some brass bands that would rehearse,” he said. As for how it came to be, he said, “There was this guy named Dean. Rumor has it that he won the lotto and paid for the DIY stuff with those winnings.”

From left: A quarter-pipe built against a pillar beneath the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Photo: Daniel KarelConcrete slathered across banks in Chinatown, Manhattan. Photo: Daniel Karel

From top: A quarter-pipe built against a pillar beneath the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Photo: Daniel KarelConcrete slathered across banks in Chinatow… more From top: A quarter-pipe built against a pillar beneath the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Photo: Daniel KarelConcrete slathered across banks in Chinatown, Manhattan. Photo: Daniel Karel

Another local DIY landmark lies under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Mraz built most of its well-worn obstacles, often by himself, between 2005 and 2010, and much of it is still around. “At one point I had six, maybe seven ledges there, and a bunch of various other dinky quarter pipes,” he said. “Most of the stuff I thought was cool is long since torn out, but a couple of things remain.”

Other spots, like a pair of curbs slapped onto an embankment near the Green-Wood cemetery, a series of smoothed-over banks in Chinatown, and obstacles built near a Restaurant Depot in Brooklyn have also joined the pantheon of memorable local projects. But the scope of the DIY led by Smith under the Long Island Expressway feels of another caliber entirely.

Near the entrance to Mosquito Beach, Smith parked his van beside a pair of Jersey barriers placed by the city in May. They were installed following a deadly car accident in which a driver, with two passengers in tow, plowed through the dead end around 5 a.m. The car missed every DIY obstacle before launching into a tree and then into the creek. All three passengers later died. The tragedy seemed to foreshadow the end of the spot, but, several months later, the only changes included the new barriers and a lone streetlight. Most skaters stayed away for a while; this was Smith’s first time back since the accident.

With the help of Nick Boso and Max Lockhart, two skaters in their 20s, Smith unloaded the van, fired up the concrete mixer, and began working on a quarter-pipe that would rise up on the new barriers. They worked at a relaxed place, a benefit of the remote location. It was Lockhart’s first time building with Boso and Smith (“These are the best dudes to learn from,” he said), and he took turns with Smith drawing buckets of water from the creek nearby. While they waited for the concrete to turn the consistency of thick oatmeal, Smith wandered around, picking up trash. Compared with the surrounding street, Mosquito Beach was tidy. One of Smith’s friends had even trimmed back the hedges hanging over the obstacles.

“Cosmetic work is part of the process,” he said, a cigarette hanging from his lips. “Picking up bags full of dumped garbage filled with maggots is also part of it. It’s not always glamorous.”

When the generator ran out of gasoline, they mixed the remaining cement using shovels. Soon their hands and clothes were dusted gray. Around 8 p.m., with darkness settling over the street, they flung the last of the concrete onto the quarter pipe, still only a rough outline of the final design, and decided to call it a day.

Smith knows that what becomes of Mosquito Beach is likely out of his hands. But that doesn’t dampen his impulse to keep building these spaces. Leaning against the partially completed quarter-pipe, Smith surveyed the day’s progress with a smile.

“This shit is addictive,” he said.

A DIY spot built near a Restaurant Depot store in Brooklyn. Photo: Daniel Karel

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San Mateo County History Museum to revisit dark chapter | Columnists

It was one of the darkest chapters of America’s homeland experience during World War II.

The forced internment of 120,000 West Coast Japanese Americans remains a stain on the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt to this day. San Mateo County was not immune to his February 1942 decision (which was eventually given the OK by the U.S. Supreme Court).

According to records provided by the federal government, what was then the Tanforan Racetrack in San Bruno was utilized as an assembly/transit center for 8,033 individuals scheduled for relocation, primarily to an isolated camp in Utah.

Of those, 870 were reported to be residents from the Peninsula. Roosevelt’s order came in the wake of the December 1941 attack on American Army and Navy bases, including Pearl Harbor, in the Hawaiian Islands by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

Roosevelt’s internment mandate, Executive Order No. 9066, controversial then and now, lasted until the end of the war in the summer of 1945.

Eighty years after those thousands of Japanese American men, women and children were forced behind barbed wire, the San Mateo County History Museum in downtown Redwood City is preparing to open an exhibit of photographs taken by Dorothea Lange.

The eight large black-and-white photos depict everyday life as the relocation effort proceeded. The exhibit also will feature a rendering of a new internment memorial and statue planned for the Tanforan site, which currently houses a shopping center.

The exhibit is scheduled to open to the public Feb. 1 and run through April 10.

MINI-PARK VANDALISM ADDRESSED: A year ago, we noted that a new mini-park/scenic walkway created by what is now Meta Platforms (Facebook) was no sooner opened than vandalism had commenced on the property.

It was unfortunate. Unthinking skateboard enthusiasts appeared to be the primary culprits at the site, located on the Bayside Burlingame-San Mateo border.

Now, measures have been take to alleviate that problem. Protective metal rods have been attached to wooden benches that had been used as handy skateboard ramps. Graffiti is being kept to a bare minimum. Security has been upgraded. Warning signs have been posted.

In all, the pleasant amenity opposite Coyote Point has been improved. The effort seems to be working.

GENETIC FACTORS SCORE AGAIN: Never doubt the influence of genetics. Just look at that teen football star at the University of Georgia, which captured the national championship vs. Alabama last week.

Bulldog freshman tight end Brock Bowers has strong bloodlines and they course through San Mateo County. His mom is DeAnna Earsley, an outstanding softball pitcher at Carlmont High School in Belmont in the 1980s and later a standout at Utah State University.

She met her eventual husband, Warren Bowers, there; he was a football player for the Aggies. Their union has produced an all-American. Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise. The family lives in Napa.

WELCOME TO PARADISE: Travel, even during a pandemic, can be broadening, or at least a welcome change of pace. A recent vignette at San Francisco International Airport summed that up in a nutshell.

In SFO’s Terminal 3, the local home of United Airlines, a seated and masked young man looked around and asked your correspondent in a somewhat befuddled tone, “Is this San Francisco?”

Great question. Technically, yes and no. SFO is owned and operated by Burlap by the Bay but it’s located in San Mateo County. We gave the guy a “yes.” We aim to please. Oh, and welcome to paradise.

TIME TO GET WITH THE TIMES: Police in robust Redwood City reported that a citizen recently complained about a man screaming obscenities while grabbing his crotch out there in public on James Avenue.

Apparently, the concerned individual who called the cops has not been paying much attention to a particular form of popular “music” being performed these days.

Where is Snoop Dogg and his many hip-hop minions when we need them? Time to get in tune with the times, bro.

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La Palma police blotter, December 24, 2021 to January 12, 2022

The items shown below are selected from the logs of the La Palma Police Department. The police blotter is not a comprehensive listing of police-related incidents in the city, and no inference of guilt is implied in showing any item in the La Palma police blotter.

December 24, 2021

Disturbance (Subject) – 11:42 a.m. – Centerpointe Dr. – A disruptive subject was reportedly attempting to provoke a fight with security. Party advised and will comply. Petty Theft – 9:24 p.m. – Centerpointe Dr. – The caller reported the possible theft of a fold-up tent. Police contacted two subjects. The reporting party desired prosecution and signed a Private Person’s Arrest. The subjects were positively identified. Both subjects were arrested for petty theft. One subject had an additional warrant for failure to appear on a misdemeanor charge.

December 25, 2021

Suspicious Subject – 10:01 a.m. – 5600 block of Orangethorpe Ave. – A subject reportedly tampered with the mailboxes on the east side of the complex. Police were unable to locate the subject. All the mailboxes were secure.

December 26, 2021

Pedestrian Check – 12:55 a.m. – Houston/Orleans – During a pedestrian check, police conducted a search and subsequently arrested a 45-year-old male subject for possession of unlawful paraphernalia. The subject was booked and then released on citation. Petty Theft Report – 1:45 a.m. – 5400 block of La Palma Ave. – The business reported the loss of one can of bear. The subject, who claimed he was a police officer and had possibly been drinking, was last seen traveling towards Central Park. Report taken.

December 27, 2021

Trespassing – 12:53 a.m. – 5400 block of Orangethorpe Ave. – A subject was reportedly refusing to leave the business. Police arrested a 34-year-old male for felony trespassing. The subject was transported to Orange County jail.

December 28, 2021

Traffic Collision – 5:02 p.m. – Walker/La Palma – A driver involved in a traffic collision fled, and police pursued the subject. A felony traffic stop was conducted in the 8100 block of Regency. A 68-year-old subject was arrested for evading a peace officer. Counseling – 5:35 p.m. – 5900 block of La Palma Ave. – An 11-year-old was reportedly crying in the business. The reporting party was concerned with the subject’s parents fighting. Police determined that there was no crime. The parties were counseled and the subject was released to her grandmother who resides in Buena Park. Incident Report – 9:32 p.m. – Marview/Walker – A power outage occurred throughout the city after a transformer blew in the city of Buena Park. Traffic Signal Maintenance was requested for a signal that would not reset at Marview/Walker. There was a hanging wire, possibly charged, in the 5500 block of Thelma. A live wire was reported in the 5400 block of Cuba as well. Southern California Edison notified.

December 29, 2021

Counseling – 10:00 a.m. – 5400 block of La Palma Ave. – The caller advised that a regular costumer had been leaving notes for an employee. The employee had provided photos of one note. Police contacted the subject, who admitted to leaving the note for the female employee. The owners of the business did not want the subject on the property, and the subject was advised regarding trespassing. Citizen Assist – 10:52 a.m. – 7792 Walker St. (La Palma Police Department) – Police were requested to assist with a car seat. Assisted. Identity Theft Report – 3:44 p.m. – 4700 block of Windsong Ave. – Approximately ten phone lines were opened under the company’s name, and the reporting party’s name was used to authorize the lines. The reporting party reported to the telecommunications company directly, and the requested that the RP file an identity theft report. Report taken.

December 30, 2021

Disturbance (Subject) – 10:36 p.m. – 7800 block of Walker St. – A female and a male were reportedly yelling at each other. Police arrested a 47-year-old female for domestic violence. One subject was transported to the hospital.

December 31, 2021

Area Check – 1:29 p.m. – 5400 block of Orangethorpe Ave. – A subject in a silver Isuzu Trooper reportedly ran a red light at Walker/Houston and drove on the wrong side of traffic. Police were unable to locate the subject. Counseling – 3:43 p.m. – 5200 block of Pembury Dr. – A safe was reportedly found open with no loss. The reporting party believed that their brother might be involved. Burglary report taken. Assist Outside Department – 7:56 p.m. – 7100 block of Tiara Ln. – Orange County Fire Authority responded for a male subject not breathing and possibly deceased. The coroner was notified. Report taken.

January 1, 2022

Hit and Run – 4:35 p.m. – 5600 block of Oak Dr. – A vehicle hit the caller’s planter at an unknown time in the last few hours. No vehicle was seen or heard. Report taken. Counseling – 11:02 p.m. – Undisclosed location – A male subject with a baseball hat reportedly approached the door at approximately 2 a.m. several days prior and was seen again at 3:37 a.m. today on surveillance. Extra patrol checks were requested.

January 2, 2022

Welfare Check – 10:39 a.m. – Sommerset/Orangethorpe – A subject was reportedly laying on the sidewalk with his legs hanging out in the street. The subject wanted to be transported to the hospital for being sleepy and drunk. The subject was transported to the hospital per his request. Suspicious Subject – 1:46 p.m. – 5800 block of Warwick Cir. – A subject was seen on a doorbell camera checking the side gate and front door of the residence. The subject was gone on the arrival of police and there was no sign of forced entry to the residence.

January 3, 2022

Vandalism Report – 9:09 a.m. – 7800 block of Walker St. – There was reportedly damage to the front door, possibly from a pry bar, from an attempted burglary. No report desired at this time. Traffic Collision – 5:35 p.m. – 8100 block of Walker St. – A grey Honda Civic hit a fence. The elderly female driver was breathing but not responsive. Police responded and found the female conscious and breathing but confused and possibly having a stroke. OCFA responded and the subject was transported to the hospital. Report taken.

January 4, 2022

911 Hangup – 6:06 a.m. – 5300 block of La Palma Ave. – A female subject called 911 sounding confused and not sure why she was in a care facility. Police made contact with the patient who was confused and had dementia. Dead Animal – 9:08 a.m. – 8000 block of Janeen Cir. – A caller complained that they reported a dead animal and it had never been removed from the street. SEAACA advised that they had a staff shortage. The reporting party was advised that SEAACA would respond as soon as they were able. Transient – 11:41 a.m. – 8400 block of Moody St. – A transient in the parking lot was reportedly chasing passersby and laying in the parking lot and throwing items at vehicles as they attempt to park. Party advised and will comply.

January 5, 2022

Disturbance (Subject) – 1:30 p.m. – 5200 block of Banbury Cir. – A female subject was reportedly screaming into a neighbor’s garage camera and hitting it. The female also stated that she was going to kill the neighbor. Police conducted a patrol check in the area to locate the female. A reporting party stated that the female was screaming at the park. Police located the female southbound on Walker from Crescent. She advised that she did not need assistance and returned to her residence on Sprague. Disturbance (Family) – 8:30 p.m. – 5300 block of Niguel Dr. – The reporting party’s father was reportedly throwing objects at the RP’s mother. The subject had been drinking. After contacting the subjects and conducting interviews, it was determined that the subject was breaking his own property and no crime had been committed. Party advised and will comply.

January 6, 2022

Disturbance (Subject) – 2:30 p.m. – 7900 block of Walker St. – A patient admitted for intoxication and had been released was refusing to leave regarding alleged loss of money. The money was located in the trash. The hospital refused to give the subject a bus pass. The subject waited in the police station lobby for his grandmother to pick him up. Traffic Stop – 10:37 p.m. – Walker/Crecscent – During a traffic stop, police conducted a search and subsequently arrested a 30-year-old male subject for possession of unlawful paraphernalia and a bench warrant for failure to appear on a misdemeanor charge. The vehicle was impounded.

January 7, 2022

Welfare Check – 1:52 p.m. – 8000 block of Swan Cir. – The caller requested a welfare check on elderly tenants who usually pay rent on the first of the month and had not paid. The caller was unable to make contact by phone or by door knock at the residence. Police made contact with the female half, who advised that the male half was extremely ill and they were aware that the rent had not been paid. Transient – 8:07 p.m. – 5000 block of La Palma Ave. – A transient was reportedly going through paperwork that was in trashcans and had gone through trashcans the day before. Police subsequently arrested a 30-year-old male subject for appropriating lost property. The subject was released on citation.

January 8, 2022

Petty Theft Report – 9:13 a.m. – Centerpointe Dr. – Property was reportedly stolen from an unlocked vehicle. The loss included car keys, residential keys, a purse with a driver’s license, medical card, credit card, and checkbook. The property was later found and it was determined no crime was committed. Suspicious Subject – 4:52 p.m. – 8152 Denni St. (Denni Park) – A subject was reportedly standing on the back of a vehicle, possibly attempting to climb the fence. It was determined that the subject was flying a drone and it got stuck in a tree. The subject was warned.

January 9, 2022

Counseling – 11:22 p.m. – 5500 block of Conifer Dr. – The reporting party advised that a subject texted her through an app despite the fact that she had a restraining order against him. The male subject stated that he was going to go by the residence. Report taken.

January 10, 2022

Suspicious Subject – 6:19 p.m. – 5100 block of Verner Dr. – A male subject with a shopping cart was possibly looking into vehicles. Police contacted the subject. They performed a search and conducted a field interview. The subject had a bleeding injury to the right hand but declined medical attention. Citizen Assist – 7:27 p.m. – 5600 block of Orangethorpe Ave. – The reporting party requested assistance with resources regarding their son possibly having mental health problems. Police made contact and determined that hte son was sad due to recent family circumstances. Resources provided.

January 11, 2022

Vehicle Burglary Report – 8:58 a.m. – Denni/Montecito – A vehicle parked on Denni St. was burglarized between 5:30 p.m. and 8:45 a.m. by breaking the passenger-side window. Missing property included a phone charger, cell phone holder, personal toiletries, and a skateboard from the trunk. The loss was valued at $75. Report taken. Vandalism Report – 8:01 p.m. – 7821 Walker St. (La Palma Recreation Center) – Graffiti was reported in the men’s restroom on the large stall. Report taken.

January 12, 2022

Counseling – 8:33 a.m. – 7900 block of Birchwood Cir. – Counseling requested regarding a possible scam phone call from the Border Patrol. A female called the reporting party twice stating that the Border Patrol would be en route to her residence to contact her. The reporting party stated that the female knew detailed information about her and would like to speak with an officer. Counseled. Health and Safety – 7:23 p.m. – 7900 block of Walker St. – A patient reportedly had crystal meth and a nurse confiscated the substance. Report taken.

January 13, 2022

Welfare Check – 12:23 p.m. – 5200 block of Bransford Dr. – The caller requested a welfare check on a male subject that the caller believed had been drinking and may also have mental health issues. The caller heard loud screaming and saw the male. Assisted. Disturbance (Subject) – 12:59 p.m. – 5200 block of Bransford Dr. – The male subject was reportedly outside again and running up and down the street. Police made contact and searched the subject for weapons. No weapons were found. The subjects father arrived at the location.

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See it: French bulldogs practice skateboard tricks at Brooklyn parks

BROOKLYN — Skate parks are popular attractions in neighborhoods across the city. People of all ages enjoy them.

At some Brooklyn locations, some French bulldogs have been hitting the hot spots.

Chico Blanco is a 1-year-old French bulldog. He and his family live in Crown Heights.

Julian Dickens and April McCarthy are training their dogs on the boards. The breed has a talent for the sport.

They’ve been amassing support at various skate parks and on social media.

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Best Places to Visit in Georgia: Most Beautiful Beaches, Parks, & Trails

If you’ve ever been to The Roof at Ponce City Market or taken a ride on the SkyView Atlanta Ferris wheel, you’ve undoubtedly seen one of the most gorgeous views of the entire city. And while both of those incredible skyline views are absolutely breathtaking, they’re just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all of the beautiful places spread throughout the entire state of Georgia. From the coastal wonders near the Georgia/South Carolina border to the astounding beauty of the north Georgia mountains, there are countless cities, towns, landmarks, and nature areas that you have to see for yourself to fully appreciate. Grab your cameras and get ready to explore the most beautiful places to visit in Georgia.

Druid Hills Despite being smack dab in the middle of the city, the Fernbank Forest is a worthwhile—even if not 100% free—retreat. Access to the self-guided nature area beyond the WildWoods area is included in admission to the Fernbank Museum, and the 65-acre old-growth forest is open year-round. In addition to being so unbelievably beautiful that you’ll have to second guess that you’re in the Fernbank Museum’s backyard, the Fernbank Forest preserves the home of various birds, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals, so depending on the time of the year, you may also see some cute native animals, too.

Amicalola Falls State Park | JayL/Shutterstock

Dawsonville Georgia’s natural waterfalls are all sights to behold, and although we can’t decide whether or not Amicalola Falls qualifies as the state’s most beautiful waterfall, we can safely say that it is its tallest. The 729-foot-tall wonder alone is worth the one hour and 15-minute drive, but there are also plenty of other things to do while visiting, such as ziplining, GPS scavenger hunts, guided hikes, and fitness trails. Keep in mind, however, that certain trails at Amicalola Falls State Park are temporarily closed, so make sure you check out the area’s website before visiting for the most up-to-date information.

Various cities The Flint River is the second-longest river in Georgia, and it stretches from Clayton County to Decatur County in Southeast Georgia. The 344 mile-long river makes for a gorgeous waterfront picnic or cookout, and for those who know how to swim, the Flint can be the perfect destination for a scenic kayaking or canoeing trip as well. Either way, the Flint River is a lot more stunning than its name would suggest.

Cloudland Canyon State Park | Gabriel Quiles/Shutterstock

Rising Fawn In the northwestern corner of Georgia, near the Alabama border is Rising Fawn, and there, you will find the Cloudland Canyon State Park. With over 3,500 acres, Cloudland Canyon is a sprawling open-air space that features far more than your typical state park—we’re talking thousand-foot deep canyons, sandstone cliffs, caves, waterfalls, cascading creeks, dense woodland, and plenty of wildlife. If there’s one place in Georgia where you can be certain that you’ll be able to reconnect with nature, Cloudland Canyon State Park is it.

Driftwood Beach | Kevin Ruck/Shutterstock

Jekyll Island Even though temperatures have been exceptionally chilly as of late, a trip to Jekyll Island’s Driftwood Beach, one of Georgia’s most stunning beaches, may be exactly what you need. Yes, it’s nearly five hours from Atlanta, but its iconic driftwood and tree-clad shores are definitely worth the drive. Driftwood Beach’s unique, otherworldly scenery will make for some pretty great photos and some truly unforgettable memories.

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Lookout Mountain | Sean Pavone/Shutterstock

Lookout Mountain Right near the border of northwest Georgia and Tennessee is Lookout Mountain, and one of its prized locations is Rock City Gardens, which rests atop the mountain. There, visitors can marvel at ancient rock formations, lively gardens, and breathtaking panoramic views. In light of COVID-19, timed-entry tickets are available for patrons, making for a safer and more social-distanced experience for those witnessing the wondrous beauty of Rock City Gardens.

The Greenbelt Trail | Venuz/Shutterstock

Carrollton If you love the BeltLine but desperately need a switch of scenery from the city, head west to enjoy Carrollton. There, you’ll find the Carrollton Greenbelt, an 18-mile shared-use path designed for pedestrians, bikers, and skaters. It claims the title of Georgia’s largest paved loop trail system, and—like the BeltLine—the Carrollton Greenbelt brings together neighborhoods, commercial areas, city parks, and even the University of West Georgia’s campus, making it easy to explore the rest of what Carrollton has to offer as well.

Tybee Island | John Wijsman/Shutterstock

Tybee Island About four miles south of Tybee Island is a secluded nature preserve called Little Tybee Island. In addition to being so close to one of Georgia’s most beloved barrier islands, this gorgeous getaway is twice Tybee Island’s size with far fewer tourists. Little Tybee Island is only accessible by boat, but once you make it there, you’ll be wowed by its serenity and natural beauty.

Radium Springs | Jazmine Thomas/Shutterstock

Albany You probably weren’t thinking about taking a road trip to Albany prior to this, but the southwest Georgia city boasts one of the seven natural wonders of Georgia: Radium Springs Garden. This magnificent landmark is one of the state’s largest springs, and it’s known for pumping out tens of thousands of gallons of strikingly blue water every minute from an underground cave. There’s also plenty of history surrounding Radium Springs Garden, so a trip there would be both awe-inspiring and educational.

Anna Ruby Falls | Andy Montgomery/Flickr

Helen Since the drive from Atlanta to Helen takes a little under two hours, a day trip to North Georgia could be just what you need. The town’s unique charm will surely draw you in, but the mountains have plenty of outdoor activities awaiting you, from hiking to tubing. At the moment, you can’t fully experience Brasstown Bald—the highest point in Georgia—because the recreation center there is currently closed for the season. However, you can still bundle up and take a paved one-mile hike at Anna Ruby Falls that will take your breath away.

Cochran Mill main falls | David Grano-De-Oro/Shutterstock

Chattahoochee Hills Waterfalls. That’s it. That’s the tweet. But seriously, Cochran Mill Park is an 800-acre wonderland tucked towards the bottom of Fulton County. In addition to housing waterfalls like the gorgeous Henry Mills Falls, Cochran Mill Park boasts historic mill ruins, plenty of forest and riverside trails, and rare flowers that are native to the park. Thankfully, It opens 30 minutes prior to sunrise and closes 30 minutes after sunset, because experiencing a sunrise/sunset by Henry Mills is unmatched.

Lake Allatoona | Rob Hainer/Shutterstock

Northwest Georgia The serenity and simplistic beauty of a lakefront is a joy to experience, from fishing or kayaking to swimming or sunbathing. Skip that haunted lake off Highway 85 and instead take 75 to Allatoona Lake. The 12,000-acre body of water crosses into multiple counties, and its shorelines have several outdoor recreational activities available. TV buffs will also be interested to know that Allatoona Lake is actually one of the filming locations for Netflix’s sensational lakeside drug drama Ozark. Thankfully, it’s a far safer and more serene place than Ozark makes it out to be.

Meeks Park | Richard Elzey/Flickr

Blairsville On the western outskirts of Blairsville sits Meeks Park, a huge outdoor recreation complex that’s intersected by Butternut Creek and Nottely River. The park boasts a dog park and several recreational amenities, such as batting cages, a skateboard park, a community pool, and a basketball court to name a few. However, the most scenic (and socially distant!) are the creekside hiking trails, canoe and kayak areas, and the Grist Mill Waterwheel.

Andersonville National Cemetery | Nagel Photography/Shutterstock

Andersonville Although Andersonville National Historic Site requires a two-hour southbound trek from Atlanta, the trip is well worth it because the historical site provides both a lesson about the Civil War-era South and an open-air respite from the city. In addition to housing the National Prisoner of War Museum (which has finally reopened at reduced capacity), The Andersonville National Historic Site features a national military cemetery and an abundance of gorgeous green space.

Hurricane Falls at Tallulah Gorge | JayL/Shutterstock

Tallulah Falls At 1,000-feet-deep and nearly two miles long, Tallulah Gorge is the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi. More aptly called Tallulah Gorgeous, the site sits right next to a nearly 2,700-acre Georgia state park. With six waterfalls, which cause the river to drop 500 feet over one mile, an 80-foot-high suspension bridge, and ample hiking and biking space, it’s literally breathtaking. Tallulah Gorge is one of Georgia’s state parks that are experiencing large crowds, but social distancing is still being strictly enforced. As a result, prepare for potential wait times and entry limits.

Arabia Mountain | Sean Pavone/shutterstock

Lithonia Arabia Mountain is one of only 49 National Heritage Areas in the country, i.e., places recognized by Congress as sites where historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes. What you’ll appreciate most, though, is its starkly beautiful granite landscapes, incredible, awe-inducing views, and dozens of brilliantly colored rare plant species. If a more serene place exists, we haven’t found it yet.

Flickr/JR P

Pine Mountain A public garden and resort on 14,000 acres of beautiful Appalachian foothills near Pine Mountain, Callaway Gardens is teeming with gorgeous views of multiple multi-acre kaleidoscopic flower gardens, and much more, including some legit golf course action, too. Practically all of its indoor and recreational activities have reopened as well, so don’t forget your mask while enjoying all of the experiences that Callaway Gardens has to offer.

Morningside A true hidden gem tucked away by the CDC, Morningside Nature Preserve is a secret even to many who live in the neighborhood. It’s a great place for hiking, trail running, walking, letting dogs frolic, or simply forgetting that a huge metropolis is hidden behind the lovely trees, trails, brush, creeks, suspension bridge, and sandy beaches. Seriously, you’ll feel like you actually got away without ever really leaving the city.

Flickr/Kevin Trotman

Cartersville This 54-acre site is the most intact Mississippian culture (a mound-building Native American civilization) site in the Southeast, and it features six earthen mounds, a plaza, village site, borrow pits, and a defensive ditch. Artifacts at this archaeological site include huge, hand-carved stone effigies that still have some original pigments. No doubt: This is one of the coolest history lessons you’ll ever have.

Dahlonega Nestled away in Dahlonega is a Montaluce, a stunning winery (and upscale restaurant!) that offers not only artisanal wines, but also breathtaking views of both the North Georgia Mountains and the sprawling vineyards responsible for all that sweet vino. It also offers events such as deluxe wine tastings, nature hikes, tours, holiday festivities, and more. Splurge on a meal and at least a case of wine.

Okefenokee Swamp | Vadim 777/Shutterstock

Waycross The largest intact freshwater and black water wilderness swamp in North America, Okefenokee Swamp has to be seen to be believed. It’s full of vegetation and animals you’ve probably never seen before, like alligators and cranes. Check it out via paddleboat/motorboat on water trails that are the sweetest way to explore the indigenous creeks called “The Land of Trembling Earth.”

Providence Canyon State Park | Sean Pavone/Shutterstock

Lumpkin Yes, that’s in Georgia. While much of the state thinks little, if anything, south of Atlanta is noteworthy, Providence Canyon State Park proves them wrong. The 1,000-plus-acre park contains Providence Canyon, which is known as “Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon” because the massive, up-to-150-foot gullies resemble the real thing so closely. They definitely look like nothing else you’ll find in the Peach State.

St. Marys Step off the ferry on Georgia’s largest and southernmost barrier island and you’ll immediately feel like you’re on your own private beach, where you can swim, take quiet strolls, fish, and bird watch. Do this all amidst ancient, twisted trees, lush vegetation, similarly ancient turtles, and beautiful roaming wild horses. The best part, especially for anyone who’s sick of Atlanta traffic? Cumberland Island is a car-free zone. As the pandemic continues, Cumberland Island regularly makes important changes, so check out its website for the most up-to-date information on closures and openings.

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Joshua Robinson is an Atlanta-based contributor for Thrillist. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter at @roshrisky.

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