Tag: Instagram

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News News Blog

BASE Jumper Plunges from Sterrick Building

CREDIT: Joyce Peterson/Twitter

Joyce Peterson/Twitter

”Three, two, one. See ya’.”

That’s what a young man in a video that first appeared on Instagram recently said before he plunged from the roof of the Sterrick Building in broad daylight.

The video surfaced Thursday. Though, it appears the original post has been removed.

But WMC reporter Joyce Peterson captured the video and posted it on Twitter. It had been viewed there more than 5,000 times as of Friday morning.

BASE Jumper Plunges from Sterrick Building

The jumper in the video has a parachute; he’s BASE jumping. This type of skydiving is different than that from a plane. BASE jumps are from fixed locations likes buildings, antennas, spans (like bridges), and Earth (or BASE for short).

The clip switches from the man’s helmet-mounted camera to another camera aimed up at him from the parking lot across the street from the building.

The young man jumps from the building, freefalls for a moment, and throws his parachute. It expands and he sways gently toward a a group of people gathered around a white truck. There’s also a stomach-flopping third angle of the event, shot down from another building across the street.

The clip is cut with a scene of a young man — presumably the same one jumping from the building — talking about the plan for the jump.

Joyce Peterson/Twitter

“We’re going to try and land in the parking lot,” the man says. “Johnny seems to think we’ll be landing in the street. But we’ll see how it goes. I’m down for whatever. I don’t think I brought the kneepads. So, I’ll try to stand it up this time.”

The video switches back to the helmet camera and shows the young man landing in the parking lot. He quickly gathers his parachute and yells to his friends, “go!”

BASE jumping isn’t allowed in most places. It’s unclear whether or not the man had permission to jump from the building. Likely not, judging from how quickly the man was racing to leave the site.

Here’s what the How Stuff Works site has to say on the legality of BASE jumping:

“BASE jumping from buildings within cities is almost always illegal. The risk of pedestrian injury and traffic disruption are too great, although the vast majority of building jumps take place at night or at dawn.

Police have promptly arrested jumpers who have leapt from the Eiffel Tower and the St. Louis Arch.”

The video isn’t the first Memphis BASE jump memorialized on the internet. Consider this one from 2011 from what appears to be the top of the AutoZone headquarters on Front Street.

BASE Jumper Plunges from Sterrick Building (2)

Categories
News News Blog

Warm Your Hands on These Social Media Dumpster Fires

CREDIT: Memphis As Fuck/Instagram

Memphis As Fuck/Instagram

Did you see the bright lights over Memphis this weekend?

It wasn’t barbecue. It’s actually the glowing lights from two Memphis social-media dumpster fires. And you should have a look.

The flames are still being fanned on an Instagram photo posted by Memphis As Fuck (@memphisaf_ck) on Saturday. It shows a orange-brown rock in some desert landscape with the words “Memphis As Fuck” scrawled onto it.

Memphis As Fuck captioned the photo (above) ”#fanart #memphisasfuck #allday 🛒: memphisasfuck.com.” And a bunch of internet people are having none of it.
[pullquote-1] “Nice job asshole! Way to really flex your douchebag muscle,” wrote macscac.

“This is fucking gross, dude,” wrote zpeckler. “Stay the hell out of our public lands if this how you’re going to behave. I hope the Coconino [National Forest] rangers press charges.”

Apparently, someone did alert the authorities.

“I have sent this over to Coconino Co Sheriff’s office,” wrote rugerandtitan. “It’s been confirmed in their county, and they absolutely want to pursue charges.”
[pullquote-2] However, Instagram user instajunk said there were more things to worry about.

“I love how all these keyboard warriors are so distraught over a scratch on a rock and choose to spend their time worrying about this when they could be worrying about something really disgusting, like the state of our nation 🤦🏻‍♀️,” wrote instajunk.

The instagram picture was posted to Reddit (where, so far, 46 comments have piled up) Saturday. A Reddit user named PublicLandsHateYou said, the photo is believed to have been taken at Grand Canyon National Park, though that has not been verified.

“National Park Service would be greatly appreciative of any assistance you could provide in helping to identify potential suspects,” wrote Public LandsHateYou. “Actions like this are what close down access to public lands. Thanks for your help.”

Wanted to know what else is Memphis as fuck? Getting busted and going to jail.

Maybe whoever scrawled the city’s gritty, underground motto didn’t know the federal government has police that really do care about stuff like scrawled rocks.

The National Parks Service’s Investigative Branch busts folks for hunting on federal lands, smuggling protected plants and artifacts from them, and, yes, vandalizing them.

National Parks Service

Investigators are now looking for whoever carved “Ferny and Nicky” into a ruins at Tumacacori National Historical Park in Arizona. In 2016, Casey Nocket was sentenced to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service for drawing and painting on rock formations in seven national parks in 2014.

National Parks Service

And, it looks like Victory Bicycle Studios removed a Saturday post that also sparked a roaring fire. The photo showed a cycling jersey printed with a handgun in the rear pocket. Printed on the pocket is “Memphis” in a graffiti print. The post was captioned #memphis.

Victory Bicycle Studios

Bob Nelson wrote, “Good shop. Lousy taste.”

Daphne Maysonet wrote, “Ew, god, fire your marketing and design team. This is so embarrassing it’s hard to look at: creatively lazy AND cheaply produced. Looks like y’all just collectively read a definition for the word ‘subversive’ and landed on this. Lol. Cringeworthy af.”

[pullquote-3]
Some liked it, though.

Douglas Loreman commented, “Change it to a Glock and I’ll take 2!”

Since you can’t see the post anymore, check out some of the many comments below.

If you see any raging social-media Dumpster fires blazing, let me know at toby@memphisflyer.com.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

The Perils of Social Media

CREDIT: Inox269 | Dreamstime.com

I shouldn’t do this, because it’s already scary enough. Not being a morning person, by any stretch of the imagination, and having a brain that has a lot of trouble shutting down, I wasn’t really all that surprised the other morning when I — after having been up for a good while, mind you — walked into my kitchen, peered around to make sure it was raccoon-free, bumped my head on the cabinet door, placed my coffee into the microwave to reheat it, and typed my debit-card PIN code into the timer.

And then just stood there, wondering what had gone wrong.

Obviously, I am suffering from some kind of disturbance of the brain (we won’t even go there), but I am chalking it up to information overload due to social media, print media, broadcast media, email, Gmail, snail mail, instant messaging, Google alerts, Facebook and Twitter notifications, push notifications, LinkedIn requests, LinkedIn endorsements, Facebook messages and friend requests, and … well, the list goes on and on. AND ON.

Inox269 | Dreamstime.com

I’m not sure if this onslaught is my fault for becoming involved in some of these things. I got something called a “pingback” for the first time the other day, and I just walked out of my office and smoked half a pack of cigarettes.

It’s mind-boggling to me. I rarely use my personal Facebook page but checked it recently for something, and there were over 500 friend requests. So sorry if you sent one to me, and I never responded — if, that is, I actually know you. For the most part, the requests are from people I have no recollection of ever meeting. Same with LinkedIn. Who are you people? I mean, thanks for the requests and endorsements, but who in the hell are you? Same with Facebook and all the other channels. I don’t want any more friends than I have now, so shoo!

But back to why I mentioned I shouldn’t do this stuff: Mainly, it’s because I don’t really have anything to say or write — except Happy Birthday to my little baby friend Tereus of Ballinger’s Gas Station fame, who weighed approximately a pound and a half when he was born almost a year ago and is now wearing clothes for 24-month-olds and turns 1 next week. It was a long story about a city coming together, and if I know you, I’ll happily explain it to you in person.

I don’t have anything to say or write, but I do have a lot of questions this week, and I ask anyone reading this to feel free to contact me via any means you like to help me understand some things.

First off, why is everyone crapping broken bottles about Hillary Clinton’s emails? Who cares? I’d say her emails are her business. Yes, even as secretary of state. We are dealing with a country that is ignorant enough to consider letting Donald Trump take office as president, so why should anyone need to know what’s in her emails? They don’t deserve to know and they probably wouldn’t understand them anyway. If the GOP wants to go through some emails, let them go through mine. Let them read about women who want to meet me, cures for erectile dysfunction, what J.C. Penney Home has on sale in its “designer” department, which animals are being slaughtered, which petitions need signing immediately or the world will end, why I should join a dating service, and how many times a day the Jenner family takes a dump. They can have full access.

Speaking of which, and I have asked this many times, would someone please tell me who the Jenner family is? I applaud Caitlyn for her sense of humor and her incredible self-marketing strategy in the midst of having a sex change, but who is she? Was she some kind of athlete? I still have no idea.

What exactly are we going to do if the aforementioned Trump should actually, miraculously, and bizarrely be elected as president? I haven’t really given that any serious thought because it seems so absurd, but he ain’t slippin’ in the polls, and it looks like everyone else is. Tea Party freaks: How do you think this is actually going to work if he is elected? Do you honestly think this reality show host can successfully run the country? I’m serious. Get on the comment field online at the end of this column and explain this to me.

Why are Memphis drivers even worse now than they have ever been, and why is there so much more traffic in the city than usual? Memphis has always been so famous for its horrible drivers that it’s almost boring to talk about at this point, but why is it worse than ever? Is it the bike lanes, interstate construction, younger drivers, more drivers, the new flyovers (and who designed those)? Am I the only one who is noticing this? Does anyone else not see people driving 60 until they come to some train tracks and then come to a complete stop to ramble inch-by-inch over them and then floor the accelerator back to Autobahn speed on Southern, where the speed limit is 35?

Whatever. Just text me several hundred times with your answers. Or send me a notice on LinkedIn. Or via Facebook Messenger. Just don’t do it early in the morning.

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

On Instagram, the Smart Meter/Zimm/Forrest conspiracy, and TEDxMemphis.

CREDIT: Susan Ellis

Bruce is out for the next two weeks, so I’m taking over the column. I know! Listen, no one is sorrier about this state of affairs than I am. You’ll just have to bear with me. Stop struggling. It will only hurt a bit.

And, so, a few thoughts and observations …

• Bruce mentioned in this space last week that when the graves of Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife are dug up, it’s going to cause a national stink. But what he doesn’t know and what I’ll tell you now is that the graves are already empty.

I’ve already mentioned my personal conspiracy theory on Twitter, but it bears repeating here. Stay with me, as it’s complicated: Several weeks ago, the city issued a press release that a backhoe had been stolen and was last seen at 3 a.m. (3 a.m.!). The city asked for any information on the missing backhoe, knowing full well that MLGW’s smart meters had meanwhile told Zimm the monkey how to escape the enclosure in the Memphis Zoo and, furthermore, told her how to elude capture. So while we were all fixated on the monkey, the city used the “stolen” backhoe to dig up the grand wizard and his wife. When the coast was clear, Zimm was finally nabbed. That Zimm has been kept out of the public eye since means that she knows too much.

• I know all the winners of this year’s Best of Memphis. Well, not by heart. One upset surprised me. You can check it out when the Best of issue hits the stands September 30th.

• Cotton candy grapes … I don’t … I can’t …

• The other day I was working the front desk when a woman called in who wanted to talk to someone about Elvis. I told her it was a broad topic, could she narrow it down? She said the history of Elvis. I transferred her to a coworker.

• I’m about a third of the way through Andy Weir’s The Martian. Really enjoying it so far. Soon to be a major motion picture.

• I recently joined Instagram. The account’s devoted to my dog Janet. (That’s her pictured at top.) I read somewhere that Grumpy Cat has made something like $100 million, and while Janet is no Grumpy Cat, I thought maybe she was worth a fraction of that. I only have 10 followers, so I’m thinking I might have possibly been unrealistic. In any case, @janetellisthedog.

• A couple weeks ago, my mother sent me 24 dish towels. Seriously, I have no clue, except that I’m now set in dish towels for life.

• I followed Saturday’s TEDxMemphis on Twitter. The theme was “What’s Next.” Lots of enthusiasm. A few of the highlights of many I gathered from Twitter were Todd Richardson’s “Civic pride produces economic development”; Marco Pavé’s call for more support of the arts; Melissa Sweazy on free-range parenting; and Kimbal Musk’s “Obesity is not a barbecue problem” and “real food is the new internet.”

It was hard to get the full context of TEDxMemphis via Twitter. So, what’s next, Memphis?

Categories
Art Exhibit M

Wednesday Coffee Break: Follow These Memphis Artists on Instagram

Are your social media feeds full of Content™ but low on original artwork? Yes? We are here to help. Follow these Memphis artists on Instagram. 

Sweet Spot #nogimmes

A photo posted by @mae_aur on

Wednesday Coffee Break: Follow These Memphis Artists on Instagram (3)

Mae Aur’s (@Mae__Aur) clothing collaborations with Ben Moss (@Flare_Le_Slurp) take place in a 1960’s girlhood bedroom acid dream. 

Wednesday Coffee Break: Follow These Memphis Artists on Instagram (5)

Weird body combines by Frances Berry. The beach, Marilyn Monroe, red nail polish. 

Wednesday Coffee Break: Follow These Memphis Artists on Instagram (4)

The Collective (@thecltv) are visual artists and activists who post pics from awesome art shows and networking events. 

Coming soon… Finger necklaces! #porcelain #ceramics #babycreep #finger

A photo posted by babycreep (@neekralah) on

Wednesday Coffee Break: Follow These Memphis Artists on Instagram

This is Nikkila Carroll, i.e. Babycreep, i.e. @neekralah. Her babycreepy ceramics are sold at Five in One on Broad Ave, and she posts in-progress shots on her ‘gram. 

Categories
Art Exhibit M

Best Art Instagrams of the Week: Flyer Round-up

Wondering which Memphis-based (or Memphis-originated) artists to follow on Instagram? Allow us to help.

Filmmaker and sculptor Brian Pera (@brian__pera) is currently in production on a film project dubbed “Sorry Not Sorry”, featuring fellow artists Terri Phillips and Joel Parsons. 

Best Art Instagrams of the Week: Flyer Round-up

[jump]

Johnathan Robert Payne (@johnrobertpayne) and D’Angelo Lovell Williams (@limitedomnishit) collaborated on a series of photographs and drawings that were on view at First Congregational Church earlier this week. 

Thank you to everyone who came out tonight! It meant a lot to @limitedomnishit and I. #roomtolet

A photo posted by Johnathan Payne (@johnrobertpayne) on

Best Art Instagrams of the Week: Flyer Round-up (2)

Kong Wee Pang (@kongweepang) and Jay Crum (@crumjay) installed “Walking Eyes”, a collaborative series of works on paper and fabric, at Crosstown Arts. 

Best Art Instagrams of the Week: Flyer Round-up (3)

Memphis-bred cartoonist and illustrator Derrick Dent (@dentslashink) lives in New York now, but that hasn’t changed his quick draw style. 

Avoiding any copyright issues, I'll just call this People Folks of New York City Place.

A photo posted by Derrick Dent (@dentslashink) on

Best Art Instagrams of the Week: Flyer Round-up (4)

Another Memphis trained artist-to-watch: Rhodes grad Esther Ruiz, whose glow-y neon sculptures are making waves in NYC. 

i've been in here 13 hours, last one

A photo posted by @esther___ruiz on

Best Art Instagrams of the Week: Flyer Round-up (5)

Hamlett Dobbins (@hamlettdobbins) is making colorful and wonderful summer drawings. 

Summer drawing 2015.

A photo posted by Hamlett Dobbins (@hamlettdobbins) on

Best Art Instagrams of the Week: Flyer Round-up (6)

Think your Instagram should be featured on our weekly art round-up? Let me know: eileen@contemporary-media.com. 

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Why Nobody Can Pay Attention Anymore

There’s a pile of books beside my bed, most of which I’ve started, few of which I’ve finished. The last book I finished was a short novel that was compelling enough that I actually went to bed early and finished it over the course of a week earlier this month. But that’s rare, these days.

I’m a fast reader, and I used to immerse myself in a book until I turned the last page. Lately, I’m more likely to start a book, set it aside, and never get back to it. My attention span isn’t long enough to get me across Lick Creek. I’m running out of bookmarks.

Distractions are the new, you know… whatever. Go see some live music, and half the audience is holding up their phone to put a video on Facebook instead of actually listening to the music. Go out to eat, and you’ll often see two people at a table staring at their phones or taking Instagrams of their food, instead of talking and eating. Walking in the woods, communing with nature? Hey, look at that maple foliage! I need to get a picture of that to share. Watching the Grizzlies on TV? It’s a lot more fun if you’re on Twitter, too. It’s called double-screening, and the attendant GIFs, snarky tweets, and Vines just add to the experience. Did you know they’re now calling Jon Leuer “Tennessee Dirk”?

Information is served to us like a vast, weird, never-ending buffet where the Cheetos are next to the prime rib, which is next to the gummi bears. Here is a small sampling of Tuesday’s headlines on Huffington Post: “Missouri Declares State of Emergency Ahead of Grand Jury Decision”; “Adrian Peterson Suspended for Rest of Season”; “Japanese PM Calls Special Elections as Country Slides Into Recession”; “Hacker Group Goes to War with KKK”; “Why We Never Got Those 250 Emoji We Were Promised”; “You’re Buying Your Sheets All Wrong”; “The Three-Minute Skill That Will Totally Change Your Breakfast”; “Legendary Photog Snaps The World’s Most Beautiful Women (NSFW)”; “GOP Hires Constitutional Lawyer in Obama Lawsuit.”

Where to start? Sure, I need to know about what’s going on in Ferguson and in Washington, D.C., but I’m curious about that secret breakfast skill. And I certainly don’t want to continue buying my sheets all wrong. And I wonder just how NSFW those pictures are… Oh wait, I just got an email. Hey, someone wants to be my friend on Facebook. Oops, need to answer this text, first. BRB. Oooh, puppy video!

Whew! It’s an ADHD world, but I really want to reconnect with that pile of books. Maybe it would help if I started live-tweeting as I read them?