Bruise Control

Montpellier is For Lovers - Extreme Sports Lovers

Xtreme Sports Lovers

Nokia FISE is the largest extreme sports festival in Europe (en francais, the Festival International des Sports Extrêmes.) People of all ages are invited to explore extreme sports such as BMX, skateboarding, rollerblading, wakeboarding, skiing, snowboarding and motorcycle freestyle. The participants are both the world's top professionals and amateurs.

With one out of two residents under 35 years old, Montpellier, France is at the top of the list of places you don't want to miss for partying and all-around fun.

As a result of the city's long university tradition, nearly 70,000 students live in the immediate area. Thanks to this vast influx of youth culture, there's an abundance of festivals, cafés and other encounters just waiting to happen.

The FISE 2008 event just concluded, but if you want to plan for next year, follow the link: FISE events. If you don't speak French, here's the 2007 Nokia FISE video. These cool images can be understood in any language.

Thanks to Mark, who quit his day job to travel, and blogs about his 2008 exploits.

Heal Bruises Fast : Test Bruise Preventive : Skeptics Wanted

Bruised Foot

One of the obstacles to preventing bruises is remembering to treat the injured area immediately. I recently bruised the top of my foot when I scraped it against a bar stool and didn’t notice the bruise until the next morning.

At first I thought the pain and discomfort were due to a tight shoe. But when I looked I saw a purplish-green bruise covering half of my forefoot. I remembered, then, the contact I made with the metal brace of the stool the night before.

I tried to forget about it since I wouldn’t be home for several hours nor able to apply the bruise preventive I have at home. Because the NoBruise! product works best when applied right away, even I was skeptical about any benefits a full 24-hours later.

When I got home from work, I rubbed the moistened towelette on my bruised foot and sat with my husband on our patio exchanging news of the day. About an hour later, I went into the house to start dinner and looked down at my foot. Son-of-a-gun if the swelling on my foot wasn’t gone and the bruise reduced by half!

I applied the bruise preventive again and then once more before going to sleep. When I woke up the next morning, I swear the bruise was reduced further and I felt not the slightest twinge of pain.

I now carry NoBruise! towelettes with me wherever I go.

Xtreme Paintball Looks Like Extreme PAINball

Paintball Bruise

After viewing these images of paintball bruises, I think that Fox Sports Net needs to rename its paintball fan program from Xtreme Paintball: Beyond the Paint to ... Beyond the PAIN.

I'm not especially fond of pain, so the goofy grins these guys sport makes me feel a little quesy.

Brought to you by your friends at bebo.com, a social media network where friends share their lives and explore great entertainment (or pain, as the case may be.)

I don't think you can really prevent bruises when playing paintball. In fact, I think bruises are worn as a badge of honor, hence the silly smiles. But applying NoBruise! towelettes to the injured area will certainly help reduce swelling, pain and the length of time a body part remains bruised.

I recommend packing a box of bruise preventive with your paintball gear next time you hit the field.

Paintball Fans See Paintball Play at Highest Level

Xtreme Paintball

PbNation, under its National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) forum, highlights the second season of Xtreme Paintball: Beyond the Paint, the popular show airing again on Fox Sports Net starting July 1, 2008. The series takes paintball fans behind the goggles and into the personal lives of men and women who play paintball at the highest level.

Beyond the Paint appeals to the most passionate paintballers, attracting over 1 million+ fans last season. It features action from the NPPL tournament, with a unique approach to highlighting the key moves and strategies of each game.

According to the National Sporting Goods Association, the sport of paintball is the No. 1 extreme sport, and the only team "extreme" sport, in the United States. With 10 million participants, it's more popular than BMX, skateboarding, waterskiing, snowboarding, surfing and wakeboarding.

Visit the Xtreme Paintball Sports League for paintball tournaments in your area.

When Dude-y Calls

Dude. This One's For You.

When my son refers to me as "dude," I admit it's a bit jarring. That being said, I do appreciate that almost everything in our culture can be reduced to its "dude" essence.

Personally, I'm a beer snob (only imports for me). I am a follower of pop culture, however, and always enjoyed the Anheuser-Busch commercials, especially the old "Bud Bowl."

Their latest beer commercial series, Dude, will live on in cyberspace thanks to places like YouTube, My Space and facebook. According to The New York Times, during the N.C.A.A. men's basketball championship tournament, "Check Your Dudeness" was the most downloaded application at facebook.