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cornishe

ESPN Filming BASE FJC

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This is xxxx's personal experience. If you want Miles' you just have to look for it


are you that lazy?

this is a public forum for all to read. if you slam someone here, you must be bold enough to provide facts there. honor dictates YOU do the work, not the readers.

to date, I've asked numerous times and have yet to be provided any information here. Miles' disciples simply hijack threads for unsupported attacks.

your link points to a different forum. before the author was banned, I PM'd him and asked him to discipline his posts. I said his ideas needed to be heard. I liked hearing from him. it became quite obvious that he would be banned because of his conduct. he needed to hold a more civilized tone.

if the author consents, I'm willing to post the PM.

Sangiro appears quite intent on hosting civilized conversations.

also, that thread does NOT apply to the ESPN crew filming recently. got anything to say on THIS topic?

or will you again dis-respect Miles' positive public image?
or will you simply tag-out to someone else?
DON'T PANIC
The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

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hi.

please stay on topic. it doesnt matter if it was tom, or miles, or jimmy and marta, or marty, or ryan "downplane" milliken. Think about this or any large media event being filmed with you, your mentor, your arch-nemesis, or your mentor's arch-nemesis. The answer should still be the same. Is this kind of attention something you want or not? why?


for those that realized my PMs were turned on, they are off again. you can email me or use the contact page at www.splatula.com. I really prefer not to come here because of all the clutter but the forum does capture a large population of jumpers.
Abbie Mashaal
Skydive Idaho
Snake River Skydiving
TandemBASE

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Is this kind of attention something you want or not? why?



I view this just as a high-risk jump.

in general, it should NOT be done.

the only way to contemplate it is after much study and preparation. even then, the odds remain iffy.

I feel BASE videos on the internet do NOT paint a well balanced portrait. as such, I think they harm more than help. this effort is an attempt to balance that portrait. I wish it well, and would not dare do it.
DON'T PANIC
The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

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Hairy little hand grenade-throwin Troll...

[teabag]

:P

- Harvey, BASE 1232
TAN-I, IAD-I, S&TA

BLiNC Magazine Team Member

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Hairy little hand grenade-throwin Troll...


Shut up and get back to work; you're not done yet!
Looking for newbie rig, all components...

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What does this bring, more wuffos that want to base jump or exposure that could open sites up?



Interesting statement from someone who is either owner/part owner or employed by a company that is supportive of, and provides links to, training courses for "more wuffos that want to base jump". Three out of eight sites on the Splatula links page are labeled as BASE FJC providers.

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

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Is it that interesting? It's actually four links. None of which market to wuffos. In fact, skydivers with hundreds of jumps are regularly turned down from some of those instructors.

But again, lets stay on topic. You haven't yet posted any stance on the topic of this thread. Please contribute from your vast knowledge of things you find interesting.

-a
Abbie Mashaal
Skydive Idaho
Snake River Skydiving
TandemBASE

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So what did you mean by "wuffos that want to base jump"? Your statement was in response to the film documentation and airing of a FJC that requires a minimum of 150 jumps to qualify for admission. Are the FJC's that you promote different? How so?

Regarding my stance on the issue, it's not 1983 anymore. Everybody with half a clue and a sense of adventure (a very small % of the population) knows that there is an active community of BASE jumpers. The rest of the world sees the occasional but way too frequent news blip about someone who either bounces or gets busted. What makes headlines? JA's birthday hanging from the guy wires in CA, the guy who wanted to do the ESB, Spud Head... The average wanker sees nothing but a bad image, so IMHO a show on ESPN depicting a safety-oriented, professional, FJC certainly can't hurt, and if one's goal is to open up areas like NPS, it is probably a step in the right direction.

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

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film documentation and airing of a FJC that requires a minimum of 150 jumps to qualify for admission.



To clarify:

This course has no hard and fast pre-requisites. Admission is competitive, which means that I take applications, then pick the ones that I think are the most qualified, and best fit for the course.


I typically receive around 30 applications for the 4 or 5 spots in the course, and historically a typical student that I accept has closer to 1000 skydives than 150. In this course there was one student who was actually right around the 150 skydive mark, but he had significant additional canopy flight experience (resulting from the fact that he has been flying hanggliders and paragliders for approximately as long as I've been alive).
-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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why is everyone trying to beat up on Tom A?
Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

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The problem isn't a good or bad representation of BASE in the media. If we, as BASE jumpers want to change it, get over the "look at me" factor that we all have, and stop posting your cranes, buildings, and towers on youtube, so that fascinated whoffos and skydivers get these wrong impressions with. Go downtown and help old ladies across the street with your rig on. Take the extra time to talk politely for 3 minutes and answer all the dumb questions that people from all over the country, when they visit the Perrine, have. They'll go back home and tell stories, show pics and videos back in whatever city they live.

We have, or had, Stunt junkies, which portrayed professional BASE jumpers as highly-trained experts, capable of doing seemingly impossible things because they have the skill to do so. And Eli is a skydiver and BASE jumper, and being the host, could keep it going in a positive light direction.

The problem that lots of BASE jumpers are having with Tom's ESPN involvement is several fold. Tom is for all practical purposes a has-been. He might be a nice guy, but he has a long history of making significant mistakes and lapses in judgment, causing himself to almost kill himself three times. He hasn't jumped in, from what I hear, four years, and his background in BASE has been widely dismissed by most as exaggerated. He might have lots of "knowledge", but as we all know, there are plenty of opinions in BASE, and Tom's "knowledge" is based on his opinions, and oftentimes, not widely accepted. Perhaps sometimes completely inaccurate. He is a very intelligent, articulate, and personable guy, who can be presented well. However, and I don't want to speak for others, rolled into Twin Falls after he quit jumping, with the intentions of becoming the "voice of BASE". He has been improving his image, and creating himself as a household name, being the only moderator on dropzone, unfairly banning opposition and applying the rules from this internet forum (lets all remember this is just the internet) differently to those who are friends or not pro-Tom. Not to question his intentions, Tom has been teaching FJCs for no cost, which would make me like him as a newbie, as opposed to spending $1200 or spending months or years chasing a crew around and putting in groundcrew time. Also, by making the free course seem to be as highly sought after as acceptance into the US Air Force Academy, he has created the illusion that Tom is the Alpha male in BASE.

There are several ways to improve the public's perception of BASE, if that is your intention. But to attempt to gain free advertising to your FJC by inviting ESPN, which as far as I know, primarily shows BASE jumpers going into buildings, dams, and generally getting seriously injured on RealTV style shows. I was trying to think if I have ever seen anything positive from them about BASE, and I have seen tons of near fatalities sensationalized on the network. If you like Tom or not, and know him well or not- his intentions are unknown to all of us. Yes, he might be doing a great job teaching all these new jumpers, and flooding the market with newbies coming back to your neighborhood, creating pro-Tom internet jumpers to solidify and/or improve his reputation or image within the BASE community. Tom does not have any control of the outcome of the segment, and if it was a written article for ESPN.com, as he claims, they wouldn't have sent out 4 videographers with the producer, writers, etc, for 8 days, and had side floating videos of the students jumps. On top of talking to one of the camera guys stating that it was for a new show premiering in October.

Tom might be a nice guy, but as he is "improving the perception" of BASE, he is also satisfying his ego and getting the TV air time that he craves. He can't jump a semi off Greenie, or jump a dirt bike from 150', so we'll just secure the Perrine FJC monopoly using an hour-long network program, encouraging non-jumpers and 100+ skydivers to get into BASE. What ever happened to having it on the dl, and earning and working for it, instead of having it advertised to you?

I simply wonder how Tom would have responded to MilesD teaching a ESPN televised FJC. Nobody could argue that Miles is a very personable, highly experienced and talented BASE jumper. And current. And he has more connections with far more powerful forces in television and marketing. He would have easily been able to coordinate, smooze the cameras, and portray BASE in the positive light. But he didn't. Nobody else did. Nobody else needed the attention, in such a huge way, to compensate for something that they once had.
Gravity Research Institute

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What do you mean hasn't jumped in years? i think this is inaccurate. in fact i know it is. I saw him jump less than one year ago (the last time i saw him).

if you are implying that he hasent pushed the "envelope" or traveled significantly to jump, remember he has a toddler in the house and that changes your life. does that make him any less a teacher, I wouldnt think so. I know plenty of instructors in different arenas who havent pushed their personal boundries, yet maintain an excellent teaching credential.



nic

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Can't jump the Perrine because of a toddler? Isn't Miles a TF local, and doesn't he have two toddlers?
Gravity Research Institute

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Can't jump the Perrine because of a toddler? Isn't Miles a TF local, and doesn't he have two toddlers?

And wouldn't that be a personal decision between a father and mother instead of grounds for commentary or one-uppedness between one base jumper and another?

Not knocking you... I'm the first to admit that I know neither of the jumpers in this discussion and I don't have a place to comment either way. I just don't think this is a remotely valid point to make [regardless of who is involved].
I really don't know what I'm talking about.

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I havent been in TF for a year, but at that time i did see him jump, i think i have it on video. from that time on i cannot comment.

Not that he has to answer but why not ask:

"Tom are you current?" or "Tom, on average about how many jumps do you usually do a month?"

I can recall Tom jumping in, 2005, and 2006, and maybe in 2004 (my memory on this one is vague, but unimportant) with my own eyes. So your "four years" is wrong. And if that is a major point in your argument, well....

But Tom can defend himself, so i'm out.

nic

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Tom might be a nice guy, but as he is "improving the perception" of BASE, he is also satisfying his ego and getting the TV air time that he craves. He can't jump a semi off Greenie, or jump a dirt bike from 150', so we'll just secure the Perrine FJC monopoly using an hour-long network program, encouraging non-jumpers and 100+ skydivers to get into BASE. What ever happened to having it on the dl, and earning and working for it, instead of having it advertised to you?


any thoughts on people seeking publicity for BASE other than Tom? do they "crave" attention as well?

how about the other FJC instructors who openly advertise their courses?

how about the jumper busted at the ESB (possibly rattted out by a member of the production staff documenting the jump)?

how about the other jumpers who are sponsored by business to attract attention?

do you feel as strongly against them as Tom, or is Tom somewhat special? (I'd really like to know.)

I wish they all had kept it on the dl.
all of them.
we are in agreement that this production is full of peril. we differ in that I'll wait until I see the final product before making harsh judgments.

also, jumping and teaching are distinctly different skills. look at pro football in the US. know any coaches that were once all-stars? any?
DON'T PANIC
The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

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i have nothing against either Tom or Miles. just to clarify, Miles did do a fjc for television, it is currently airing on an hd sattelite station.
and really, this miles vs tom vs ? vs?.. is getting really fuckin old.Is this really all you have to contribute?

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If Tom A hasn't jumped the bridge in 4 years, then who was I jumping with less than a week ago? You need to think about your harsh accusations... besides who takes someone serious with "Hoes, bitches, sluts, and beer... " as interests ?

ps. I had well over a 1000 skydives, bought my own base gear, flew from South Africa and paid for my FJC with Tom A last year. In my opinion he has only done good for our sport.

BASE 1157
Regards

Arnie

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I saw Tom Aiello make many jumps at the GoFastGames(He get's invited every year), including a cool intentional cutaway with a Sorcerer. That was definitely within the last 4 years.


Caylor
"It takes a big man to cry, it takes an even bigger man to make that big man cry"

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Hopeless...



the way you like it?:)
DON'T PANIC
The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

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