Brooke Geery

The Art of the Backyard Park

It’s not that hard to come up with a list of complaints about most ski resort snowboard parks. Too crowded, too small, too many jibs, not enough jibs -- listening to many snowboarders you’d think park quality is a global crisis. But what if your local resort is hours away, and then has only limited Midwest-style park offerings? What could you do besides complain? Nick Trotochaud has an idea, and it’s called Hirschy Lab. The 17-year-old from Venon Hills, IL has, for the past four years, created an ever-growing snowboard park, right in his backyard. It might not be getting him ready for the X Games or whatever it is…
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Fan Mail (People Really do Win)

I am currently on "vacation." This apparently means I am sitting in my hotel room in Hawaii, posting this on YoBeat. I am not just posting it because it is a genuine letter from the recent winner of our Sticker Giveaway that makes us look somewhere near saintly. No, I am posting it because I awoke to find NOTHING new posted on the site. My dedicated number two is deep in finals week but seriously, I left him a well-worded draft in the back end and all he had to do was draw a few pictures and post it. That's it. I don't blame him if Mr. Richards is having…
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Scenes From Pearl Harbor

I am trying really hard at this "vacation" thing, but not posting things on the Internet is hard for me. Especially when we hit a place like Pearl Harbor and I am inspired by the most fun photo project yet. Random family portraits. These people give shooting missiles at things a double thumbs up! I'm totally looking through a periscope right now, NBD. I image this guy is making shooting noises in his head. There has to be some sort of falic symbolism reference to be made here... This is way better than actually joining the military! Kids, pay attention to the camera, not the neat spinny thing. Yes, you…
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Nick’s Good Deed

[media id=70 width=555 height=340] Sometimes in the park you run into kids who are trying to learn to ride. But sometimes, instead of being annoyed at them, why not help instill park skills and etiquette by showing them a thing or two? The other night at Mt. Hood Meadows, Nick Lipton was feeling charitable and did just that. Now I think he may have just been practicing for when he talks to girls (as they also want to learn to slide park picnic tables) but he succeeded in pissing off dad, and stoking out some youth. Fairly successful night in the park I'd say. And hey, it's like he actually…
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Ahh…. The Good Old Days

I have a confession to make. I don't really snowboard or skateboard anymore. I mean, I still go snowboarding and skateboarding, but not with the passion and vigor I once did. I guess it's a natural part of getting older, busier, more self-involved, etc., but it seems it may be time to admit this to my 9 readers (up from 7 a few weeks ago!) In high school I went snowboarding every day. Senior year I had my class schedule organized so I was done by 1 pm, giving me a few hours to get up to Killington and hike the pipe or lap the gondola. When we had to…
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Night Riding at Meadows

[media id=69 width=555 height=340] Here at YoBeat, we try to keep things fun. But sometimes, between the hate comments, and me constantly telling Nick Lipton that he is a douche bag, morale can get low. So it was time for a little team building exercise, and luckily Mt. Hood Meadows had just opened its night riding facilities for the season. With Party Time Nate in tow, a few road sodas, and the desire to get rad, Nick and I set out on Black Friday 2009 to strengthen the bond that makes YoBeat tick.
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Fail

Hello Brooke, My team just forwarded me the link to your blog and I have to admit, you do nice work.  There's a lot of really cool content, and with the season upon us, it gets me totally stoked for this winter!  That leads me to why I'm writing you. I’m part of a new social platform called Honk.com, and I think that you would really contribute to our site.  Our focus is on car-shopping, but we’re doing it in a way that’s new to this space.  Instead of focusing solely on mechanical jargon and "gearhead" lingo, Honk is social and people-oriented.  Our consumer reviews and advanced data tools help…
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Rice Junkies

3535 SE Hawthorne blvd Date of Visit: November 23, 2009 Price for 2: $16.50 The first time I went to Rice Junkies I had gotten a thai chicken wrap. I think it was an homage-order to the weird-hippie-burrito place we used to go to in Burlington, VT, because that's what I always got there. And like the food at the weird-hippie-burrito place it wasn't really that great. My main complaint people there was too much tortilla and it wasn't heated up enough to be soft. So on this visit, I figured I'd give one of the bento bowls a shot. They basically have the option of any sort of bento…
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Things I am Good at Part 3: The Internet

Part of me is scared to write this post. I think it's the part of me that sat in a college class and listened to a "real journalist" tell us that if we wanted to get a job we needed to be a little bit paranoid. But the Internet (hack, gag, blogging, but I prefer to use the all encompassing term "The Internet") is different. There is no such thing as exclusivity, and the only security you have is to do it better than everyone else. If you're like that old media part of me, you might wonder, why I would want to share my keys to perceived success? The…
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