Kickstarter can give you...a kickstart. Duh.

We just found out about Kickstarter, a funding site for artists, do-gooders, filmmakers, musicians, writers—anyone who creates stuff that generally requires money. Thinking about a higher-level, long-format skydiving video? Are you a photographer who wants to start exhibiting your aerial shots? A group from the DZ planning to go volunteer in Haiti but need cash to buy supplies? Got a story to write about BASE jumping? Or, do you want to do something completely unrelated to aerial sports? We guess that’s allowed, too.

If you have a project you’ve been itching to make, give it a shot and let us know! We think skydiving, BASE jumping, paragliding, speed riding and anything else that happens in the sky is just ripe for an artistic takeover of the world.

PS – The January/February issue of Blue Skies Mag has a kickass article on making the greatest skydiving video in the history of the universe, by the one and only Melsinore. Combine that with Kickstarter and you could be the next James Cameron.

PPS – Our N3A contest deadline has been extended to February 15 by popular demand, so get going on those pull alarms!

The band Nada Surf had a video contest: create a video to their new song “Weightless” and winner gets $3,000! Well, here, let the dude tell you himself:

Skydive New England’s Sean Rogan (featured in the November issue of Blue Skies Mag!) won second place for this video that we think you’ll like:

Because we know 1) he’s still alive, 2) he’s a member of the Flying Elvi, which is the perfect disguise, really and 3) it’s the King, for crying out loud!

From the Camden Macarthur Chronicle:

Dad Russell Brown, an instructor at the skydive centre, said his daughter had been “bugging” him for ages to do a jump.

“She basically comes to work with me; I knew she had the maturity and understanding to know what she was doing,” he said.

While the legal skydiving age in Australia is 14, Elise took advantage of a trial by the Australian Parachute Federation and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

So what do you guys think; is nine too young to understand the risks of skydiving?

We all have to do it. Also known as “sucking it up and going to a job you may hate to pay the bills,” but that doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. Some skydivers do have some pretty sweet ways to pay the piper, though. If you already have your October issue of Blue Skies Mag, you know how North Carolina jumper Tommy Raymer does it—by building transmissions for a NASCAR team.

Next month, we’ll introduce you to Sean Rogan, skydiver and guitarist for Big D and the Kids Table, a ska (stroll?) band that just got off the Vans Warped Tour. Until then, enjoy the latest from Big D!

Download audio file (Jonay_Ft_Jasmine_Kara_-_Skydiving.mp3)

Download Swedish DJ Jonay’s song “Skydiving” here: http://jonay.com/Jonay_Ft_Jasmine_Kara_-_Skydiving.mp3

The song was created in response to an online poll and Jonay used feedback from the dropzone.com community to write it. He’s also given his permission for the song to be used in tandem videos.

Send your skydiving videos using Jonay’s song to kolla@blueskiesmag.com. Our esteemed panel of judges will award the best video one brand-new, never-worn Blue Skies Mag t-shirt of the winner’s choice.

A compilation of July contributors’ favorite skydiving songs – enjoy!

Man, we are really in the thick of putting the July (pre-second) issue together. If it wasn’t for music, I think I’d have gone crazy by now, so of course I’ve got a little playlist of “magazine launch anthems” going. I won’t bore you with the details of what each song means to me personally, but you can probably figure it out.

Kolla and I were talking about this little magazine, and how it’s just a runaway freight train. We couldn’t hop off now if we wanted to (and we don’t!). It feels like it was born to fly, just like the first song. If you don’t like country, don’t close the page yet! There’s a little something for everyone in this one:

Here are some of the things we’ve got coming in the July issue: a feature on skydiving’s superwoman, Valinda Mitchell; rigging by Mike Gruwell; 4-way/competition tips by Steve Hamilton; a tunnel comparison chart by Ari Perelman; a week in the life of Eric Deren as he films the upcoming 3D movie Human Flight 3D; a review of new iPhone skydiving games; and an introduction to the 4-way team we’ll follow to Nationals, PACK’D. Including, of course, the snark and sarcasm, beer and boobs we’ve promised all along And more of Sunman than you’ve probably ever cared to see (this was not the kind of nudity we had in mind when we planned the magazine, but we’re nothing if not equal opportunity givers).

I really really really really (really) hope you guys like it.

Oh and before I forget, send your news to lara@blueskiesmag.com!