Gearheads of War

Every year, the highlight of my summer is watching the X-Games. There is almost nothing I enjoy more than watching these guys attempt crazy stunts.  I have my favourites in almost every competition.  I'd have to say my favourite "sport" during the X-Games would probably be Moto X, followed by Skateboarding.

Yesterday, after waiting all summer long, the X-Games finally started.  The two events I watched yesterday were the: BMX Freestyle dirt finals, and Vert Skateboarding Men's finals.

Skateboarding Vert:  I was really, really hoping for a win by Bob Burnquist or Bucky Lasek, but Sandro Dias (who won first) really impressed me also.  [Bob took second, and Bucky took third.]

BMX Freestyle Final: I'm not a big fan of BMX, but I found this event pretty entertaining. I don't know many BMX riders (minus the big names: Dave Mirra, Mat Hoffman, Ryan Nyquist, Jamie Bestwick), but I was quite impressed by the not-so-well know riders.  Tragically, Dave Mirra isn't competing in anything this year due to an accident during practice. He was in the hospital for two days.  Anywhoo, Corey Bohan took gold; Ryan Nyquist took silver; and Anthony Napolitan took bronze.

TODAY the two competitions they showed were: BMX Vert Finals, and Moto X Best Trick.

BMX Vert:  They showed some pretty crazy stuff, but I wasn't all too thrilled to watch. Especially after they announced after BMX Vert they would show Moto X Best Trick, one of my favourite events. Chad Kagy got first; Jamie Bestwick got second; and Simon Tabron got third.

Moto X Best Trick: This event was one that I was just... completely ecstatic about. I had been hearing all day that my favourite Moto X star (Travis Pastrana) was expected to attempt the Double backflip, which has never been done in competition.  The event started out with a bang, despite the fact that some poor kid (Remi Bizouard) attempted a 'heart attack' but had a horrid landing, and was taken out of the event.  After watching Brian Deegan, Nate Adams (two of my other favourites), among a few others, it was FINALLY Travis Pastrana's last run.  My heart was beating fast, my dad and I stared at the T.V. hoping and wishing that he could pull it off.  I've got to say, it was the most beautiful trick I have ever seen.  It was executed perfectly. He's landing was gorgeous. I literally yelled, "OH MY GOD!"  It was just... magical.  It was great to see everyone in the stadium just go wild, and his own little celebration jumps.  This is the reason I watch the X-Games.

Anybody else completely obsessed with watching 'em?

I love music.  No really, I don't think I would be alive without music constantly playing.  I would just wither away.  I fall asleep to music; I wake up to music; I sit at the computer all day with random bands playing... I'll even sit in the middle of class, singing along to my favourite songs.  I'm not a single genre kind of girl either, oh no.  I listen to tons and tons of different bands.  What bands do I turn my ears over to?  Take a look at my top ten played bands for the week on last.fm (http://www.last.fm) :  

1. Bishop Allen
   
2. The White Stripes
   
3. Cake
   
4. I'm From Barcelona
   
5. The Boy Least Likely To
   
6. Modest Mouse
   
7. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names
   
8. The Mars Volta
   
9. James Blunt
   
10. Destroyer

(Listen to these bands, guys.  They are all incredible!)

I'm also such a big nerd that I download music from video games  (Kingdom Hearts, Katamari Damacy, Hideki Naganuma[JSRF]) , movie soundtracks   (Wicker Park, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean) , even music about BOOKS   (Harry and the Potters, Whomping Willows, Draco and the Malfoys).  Pathetic, isn't it?  I just can't seem to get enough. Although, ironically, I'm not too fond of playing music while gaming, unless its multiplayer. I like to focus on the storyline, and actually pay attention to what I'm doing.

Anywhoo, what kind of music do you all listen to?  Do you pop anything special into your computer or stereo while gaming?  Do you have any favourite soundtracks to games? Favourite bands? Recommended bands?