Steve Irwin Would Be Stoked... For Real

Repost from Yahoo.com:
http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92308/?fp=1

A record-breaking stingray capture, by the numbers:

1 rod and line

90 minutes for one British biologist (with help) to reel in the freshwater fish

13 men to drag said fish onto a boat

125 pounds—that's the difference between the stingray's weight at 771 pounds and the previous record rod-&-reel capture of a catfish

The Thailand capture of the massive female stingray was part of a program to tag such Maeklong River residents. The captive, part of a "vulnerable species" listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, measured a hefty 7 feet by 7 feet. That doesn't include the 10-foot-long poisonous tail.

Such creatures are dangerous, of course: Famed Australian TV personality Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin died from a stingray barb at the Great Barrier Reef in 2006.

The numbers currently put one Ian Welch on the world record books. (Pictures of Welch posing with his female companion can be found here.) The stingray's resistance nearly dunked Welch into the river, and he was literally saved by the seat of his pants when a crewmate grabbed his trousers.

Another reason that this marine fish is so huge: She's pregnant. (Cue soap-opera gasp.) After she had been towed to the bank (too big to be onboard the boat), she was duly marked, had DNA samples removed, and returned to the river whence she unwillingly came. Welch gave her afarewell smooch, then spent the rest of the day with a cold beer and memories of her.

By the way, one number isn't known: the exact stingray population count, which has shrunk 20 percent in the past decade. With this lady's help, at least one more will be added to this number...and with a tale to tell.

This Song Is Called Selkies.

This is Between The Buried And Me. These musicians are AMAZING! They don't play wickedly fast metal or anything, they just play really well done progressive songs with hints of death metal and plenty of exploration into experimental metal styles. This song is called Selkies: The Endless Obsession and it's off of the album Alaska. It's amazing because if you were to play this live version next to the actual album cut, it would sound almost identical. They play with huge a passion for musicianship and technicality; something hard to come by these days. The second half of the song is filled harmonies and beautiful melodies; a style they mix very well with the more raw death metal they play oh so well. I know it's a long one and I have been blowing my load all over this introduction but try to watch/listen to the whole thing. You won't be sorry when Paul Waggoner performs one of the most emotion filled solos you might EVER hear. (And I back that with complete confidence!)

Enjoy!

The Avett Brothers - St. Joseph's

This is pretty much the coolest thing ever. Hanging out in a gondola and having the Avett Brothers sing me a private mini-concert is a wet dream that will never come true. These guys are some of the best songwriters I have ever heard. And they're amazing musicians; they can switch between banjo, guitar, drums, piano, harmonica, etc. They are currently touring with the Dave Matthews band (boo) and coming out west hopefully soon. Anyway, enjoy the video.

Recently Strange Pics

Dave made a trip up north; in fine form of course.Pretty girls were there.And Jason got a new Myspace picture.The environment was friendly.Maybe a little too friendly?But then the Avett Brothers showed up and distracted from the weirdness.
And Ken made it.Even Peter stopped by.Friends embraced each other.

And there was hugging.

And cuddling.

Extreme cuddling.

Then Hank found something to drink.

It was delicious.

Then Hank got silly...And nobody knew what to expect next.Then this happened.I guess Hank wasn't thirsty anymore.

And we found him here the next day.

Flail To Fail

The first historic installment of EPIC FAIL.

Round One:



Round Two: