Getting started is usually the hardest part. Once I get going, I'm good. I don't break deadlines, although I do show up to a lot of them out of breath and carrying a bouquet. If a piece is due on a Friday, I generally spend all week long stressing, then bang it out on Thursday night into Friday morning. That's just how I roll. I don't like it much—and it can't be good for me—but it seems unlikely to change.
There are times, however, when writing comes easier. Like, say, when I have inspiration. For example, when a prominent BMX magazine intros a new product by taking shots at me. Not that anything like that would ever happen.
Look, feel free to take shots. I can handle it. When I started this blog, I realized that would probably happen. Although I'm surprised they'd come from DIG. And I'm even more surprised that they failed to do any basic fact checking. To wit:
a) I still ride bikes. Rode today, in fact. And yesterday.
b) I don't have a television in my bedroom.
c) My parents' garage doesn't have a room over it.
Quite frankly, after all those egregious errors, I find it hard to believe anything they wrote, even the stuff about whatever generic squashed and steep frame it is they're pushing now. (Since it's for the "technical street rider," I assume it's either the new Standard Bullitt, or a signature frame for Trent Reznor.)
As for the living at home thing, yep. One hundred percent true. I'm looking at it as a vacation of sorts, only one where I have to mow the lawn and occasionally go to the grocery store. The suburbs are actually a nice break after spending the last 10 years living in midtown Manhattan. Don't know what I'm talking about, DIG guys? That's fine. More likely than not—especially if the media biz keeps heading in the direction it is now—you'll find out for yourselves soon enough.
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Steven Hamilton is.
47 comments:
it really bums me out that dig would write something like that. i know they've taken shots in the past (jody donnely had a high post, but that's true, and pros getting salty about being misquoted) but this is some how too petty. that 'van homan will save us' video seems even more apt, even though it was made as a joke. dig was the magazine for riders over 20. now they do childish stuff like this.
or maybe dig is still there for the over 20s, except lowering the bar for every thick headed moron. bmx needs less dumb kids and if the magazines, even dig, aren't going to help then fuck them and let them go out of business.
I just want to clarify that it wasn't me that wrote that. I definitely am going to look into who wrote that too..
I can be certain of three things:
1. DIG has gone down hill over the last 10 years I've been reading it. But, not unlike anything decent.
2. DIG is, however, still my favorite BMX publication available on the newstands.
And 3. I love chocolate milk.
What are you on Nate?
Chocolate milk sucks.
How dare you comment on flavourd milk when you don't even drink milk anymore, you just write about it living in a flat above a chocolate milk farm!
No, seriously i cried a little inside when i read that in dig, i thought they were better than that.
that aside the recent issue is one of the best for ages, the Cardona interview is sick
I only found out about this blog because I started reading Dig again recently (I only started riding BMX again recently after a 3 year break, so all this low toptube light bike shit is a bit of a shock to me). Look at it this way, your blog will probably get many more readers because of it.
I bought an fbm marauder recently. At first I loved how light it is, but I had to send it back due to a warranty issue. I had to ride my heavy Dragonfly DFX for a few weeks and now that my fbm is back, I actually hate riding it. it's too light!!!
Don't you think whoever wrote the comment in dig may have been joking? I haven't read dig for about 5 years so I don't know, but I know they used to be pretty tongue in cheek about stuff...
dig is a joke. it went from independent bmx to factory media-same people that own ride uk then the editor went to work for nike which is why its become nike,mirra co and levi's monthly,the editor and chief photographer dont ride. so what shit can they sling?
Just to make sure we're on the same page, which chief photographer doesn't ride? I'm pretty sure Dolecki does and if it's Ricky Adam you're talking about his photos are some of the best to grace the pages of magazines. And while I agree that Dig has gone downhill from when I first started reading it, it's still awesome. It's just more "magaziney" and less "ziney"
It was a pretty tough joke, but it was still a joke nonetheless, no?
If i found out i was hated by Dig, it would absolutely make my day.
Ride next, then Time magazine.
Ricky Adam still rides too! Perhaps not as much as he might like, but he stills has a roll around too.
Also, there should be a divide between 'Dig' the mag and 'Dig' the website. There definitely isn't the same time and care put into the online side, which isn't surprising as it's not their main 'product', for want of a better word. They're still the best magazine around, with the majority of the best photographers and the best writers. It sucks that they've lowered themselves to petty sniping, especially as it seems fairly out of the blue.
I have an idea who it might be, but I don't think it'd really be fair to point fingers without actually knowing for sure.
I know you are never gonna get around to printing any shirts, but if you do please make a "Van Homan will save us" one. Thanks!
wV brosin
why don't you make that shirt? there's nothing stopping you.
ricky adam does not ride-and really never did.he may tell the new riders he did but ask of the older people who have been around.
who cares if ricky adam rides? he's still the best bmx photographer. even though dig isn't as good as it used to be, it's still head and shoulders above every other bmx mag.
chocolate milk is made from the milk that has blood in it
How ironic that people are now discussing who from Dig rides.
Seriously, Mr. SPRFLS, all they did was take a stab at you. Get over it, you stab a lot of things you don't like. As far as I'm concerned, you're overreacting, and you should probably treat this like having your own medicine. As for "dig being the over 20s magazine", that is bullshit, and all that stuff is why BMX is so divided these days.
Someone just told me about this, so I'll further clarify. One web product review does not represent the viewpoint of every person who works for/ contributes to a website or magazine.
I've known Russ for years, and have ridden the Banks with him a bunch. I don't necessarily agree with everything he writes on this site, but he's a friend of mine, even if we haven't seen each other in a few years. I also work at Dig.
Russ, my e-mail is rob@digbmx.com. I would have e-mailed you directly about this, but I don't think I have a current e-mail address for you.
As for Mr anonymous's constructive comments, my e-mail is above if you want to discuss any issues you have with the content of the magazine.
Russ, apparently I'm blind and didn't notice your e-mail in the mission statement. Hit me up.
-Rob
'why the 4 pegs black bike rider wont like the contest'
'how to be the coolest kid at the contest'
Weak that whoever wrote it is too much of a pussy to put their name to it. What kind of "journalism" is anonymous?
As for "dig being the over 20s magazine", that is bullshit, and all that stuff is why BMX is so divided these days.
No, that's just simple logic. Different BMX magazines are targeted at different people, which is a good thing, and is also why they're not all exactly the same. Even comparing Ride UK and Ride US you can see they're targeting different readers, and Dig is doing the same. I'm fully glad there's a mag like Dig out which does put more effort into articles. I'd imagine their less hectic bimonthly printing schedule would probably play into this, as they're able to spend longer creating articles, but it does generally mean their content is way, way better.
Oh, and:
Seriously, Mr. SPRFLS, all they did was take a stab at you. Get over it, you stab a lot of things you don't like.
Russ generally points out things he doesn't like in terms of products and maybe actions a company are taking. I don't really remember him specifically launching a personal attack on any company owner? Especially without actually knowing their circumstances in the first place. Similarly, Russ is 'just' a blogger online - Dig are a well-respected BMX publication. There's a difference there in terms of what people expect people to produce, and how people will take what they produce.
I like Dig, but, to be honest, I think I would like anything that isn't the current mess that Ride (US) is. It's like I can't tell if it really is a good magazine, or if the crap next to it on the shelf at the bookstore just makes it shine brighter. Does that make sense?
What I'm saying is that we've got to raise the bar collectively.
I love Steven Hamilton.
That is all.
Digahole asked “What kind of "journalism" is anonymous?”
Up until recently, almost all of it, well print at least anyways. Bylines are a mostly modern constructs.
I don’t think the Dig dig is that bad, it was just generic nerd type insults that people through out when they can’t come up with something original.
But I’m enjoying the vitriol of sprfls fan boys, who would have thunk it!
Russ, take solace in the fact that they're hanging on your every word, apparently, like the idiot "dead blog" posts that turn up here. if your opinions bother people that much, it says more about their weakness than anything else
maybe it's time to consider reallocation of our advertising budget?
tom, add russ to the pro/bro team and put him in an ad?
can he barhump a 720? if yes, he's in!
i don't know, but if not, i bet kp could. make that an ad.
NOIR: I think I made it fairly clear in the initial post that I expect to get hit back. It's part of the game. Hell, this whole site is opinions, some more half-baked than others. Didn't expect this kind of thing from DIG (dot com), though. Particularly in a new product intro—one that I hadn't even talked about. Wonder what the Federales thought?
Rob: I'll talk to you.
Tom: I could probably do a 720 if you spotted me the 7. Talk to my agent.
Sorry folks, but even in its heyday, the writing in Dig struck me with its similarity to the one liners in fortune cookies. In the past, the layout and design was truly interesting, and much of the photography is still the best in the biz, but there's a collective vibe about the editorial in Dig that makes me feel like I'm being talked down to... and I am absolutely not okay with that. I really thought the magazine started as a reaction against that kind of shit.
Whatever, I'm old, broken and totally washed up.
All frothing and kidding aside...that frame looks like garbage.
Russ, I have a TV in my room. If you ever come to Tennessee, we can sit in there and watch Food TV and post on the internet. It'll be a blast.
Or it will be gay.
Your choice. Right up until the chloroform makes it my choice.
The comments on Dig aren't any more or less developed and thought out than anything posted on this blog. Russ, you've been doing some shallow blathering about things you don't know much about so don't go and hold digbmx.com to some higher standard because it's a media job. How much longer are you gonna wait for the writing thing to start paying you again? There are plenty of good jobs in the BMX industry but you have to have some creativity and the ability to see what the market wants to spend money on... Oh, nevermind.
I like both Dig and Russ. Dig is and remains the BMX mag for grownups, for better or worse.
Word verification: dratstic. My new favorite word. Shit be dratstic.
Dig is pretty much just photos of Sandy Carson with the head cropped off, taken by Sandy Carson.
P.S. yes i like Sandy, but you know what I mean...get over it.
dbz, maybe it feels like dig is talking down to you because you're older than you once were. i get a little of that feeling when i read issues from almost ten years ago. we've grown up a little, which is fine. still, i'd rather have dig than ride us. (also, i'm glad faction burned itself out but that's a different issue).
slo, i think dig has made self referential jokes about that in issues. don't really care because that taj cancan cover is like that and it rules.
exactly, which is why it's funny. at least they can poke fun at themselves too.
and taj is a beast!! :)
Russ, if you sold some shirts, you could blog more, worry about deadlines less and ride bmx more....
Russ moves BMX.
Russ moves BMX.
Russ makes bmx move
if there is anyone with any nutsack left at Dig, please tell us who wrote it
at the lbs i work at i opened every copy of dig and spat in it,
i wiped my nob on one too.
dont worry though, nobody ever buys a copy anyway.
I read that Brian Tunney wrote it. I never met him, maybe he's a nice guy. I heard that he left Dig for ESPN; I guess they pay a lot more. But I find it ironic that amid his newfound wealth for essentially doing the same thing Russ is doing here for free, he cuts someone down who's in a less fortunate situation. Fuck that.
And the Tony Cardona interview in the new Dig is amazing, that guy rules. He is what BMX should be about, not all this drama bullshit.
Dig is pretty much just photos of Sandy Carson with the head cropped off, taken by Sandy Carson.
P.S. yes i like Sandy, but you know what I mean...get over it.
Sandy doesn't work for Dig any more?
I read that Brian Tunney wrote it. I never met him, maybe he's a nice guy. I heard that he left Dig for ESPN; I guess they pay a lot more.
Tunney's had Digs at SPRFLS from the Eclat site before, but he's not part of Dig any more. Without wanting to name names, I have a feeling it was one of their younger writers. Disappointing that they don't have the courage to stand by what they wrote, but that's the internet I guess.
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