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Twangled Advertisers |
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Twangled Action Sports Interactive Video Magazine |
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Action Sports DVD Sale - Free Domestic Ground Shipping |
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One round Jet ski water cross on the Black River just shy of the ole Mississippi. What a sight for Racing and Freestyle. Tight course wavy bottom made for some challenging riding and high lap counts. On the freestyle side Gary Burtka continued to show his understanding of water conditions. Taking first with a routine designed to deal with shallow water. The sight required a tight course so we did not interfere with traffic on the Black River.
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The Third round of the Great Lakes Watercross Tour is heading to La Crosse, Wisconsin to heat up the waters of the mighty Mississippi on Blackriver Beach.
Come out and enjoy some great Pro and am racing and freestyle action. This first two rounds kicked off the tour in Pleasant Prairie and established some early points leaders in many top classes. Let's see who keeps those points leads, who jump's ahead, and who falls behind in Round three.
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BY DIANE GILES
dgiles@kenoshanews.com
PLEASANT PRAIRIE — With a roar, the Jet Skis of the Great Lakes Watercross Tour returned to Lake Andrea in Pleasant Prairie Saturday.
Thirty racers competed in Jet Ski, runabout and freestyle events, drawing curious onlookers to watch the fast-paced action.
Competitors raced for high points, points toward national tallies, and a possible invitation to the world championships later this year.
The event was the opening rounds of the year for the Great Lakes Watercross Tour, sanctioned by the International Jet Sports Boating Association.
It was the sixth time in five years the event has been held on the lake, race director Scott Hyke said.
One of the high points in the entertainment was the freestyle competition, where showmanship is the name of the game.
Performing tricks with names such as Suicide Sub, 180-Degree Nose Stab and The Bulldog, the riders are graded on their tricks.
Gary Burka of Chicago finished his two-minute routine with a “Fountain of Youth,” sitting backward on the nose of his Jet Ski, with the back end of the ski high in the air, sprouting water 35-feet high in the sky.
While racing on glassy waters is easier on speedsters, freestyle competitors have to dig deep for tricks.
“Doing tricks is hard on flat water,” freestyle judge Nanette Grissom said. “It’s more of a challenge.”
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Last weekend at Lake Andrea, Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin the first round of the Great lakes Tour began. Though the winds off lake Michigan were a bit cool. They were easily offset by Hot racing and freestyle action. Which included a 1 minute run off in Pro Freestyle between Gary Burtka and Mike Hoffman. Races ran smoothly and the Sun came out in full force on Sunday for round two.
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CHICAGO - With just over 2 full days remaining before the official start of the 2009 tour for Team Twangled, the excitement is starting to brew. No its isn't time for the season largest event, nor are we even really warmed up for the competition. Never-the-less, nearly 9 months of downtime between contests is sure to tarnish even the best of riders early in the season, and practice can only get you ready to a certain point. Beyond that, the practice is really getting more contests under your belt.
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Below is information on the first two events of the 2009 Monster Energy Midwest Watercross Tour presented by Sea-Doo. The Tour will once again start the season off in Walled Lake at the Bayside Sports Bar and Grille. The second event will be at the awesome Mai Tiki Resort in Oscoda that is definitely one of the best race sites ever on the Midwest Watercross Tour.
Please note the later registration times for the first two events. Registration is from 9:00 am – 10:00 am that will allow some racers to save money and drive in on Saturday morning. Also note that registration for the Harbor Beach National Tour event will be from 7am-8 am.
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The opening Rounds One and Two of the Great Lakes Watercross IJSBA Northern Championship Series at Lake Andrea in Pleasant Prairie, WI on May 30th and 31st, 2009, is just two short weeks away.
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Twangled, the original Det-Chi Video creation has now been completely uploaded onto Twangled.com.
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CHICAGO, ILL - I recently had a chance to catch up to the head of the PWC division of the APBA, Patrick Mell. Mell is in the process of making all of his final preparations for his 2009 Monster Energy Midwest Watercross Tour, which includes two APBA National Tour events which he co-promotes with long-time watercraft event promoter, Jacques Bryant. Mell has extended the invitation for the APBA Nationals to all riders hoping to include riders from distant regions or regions that do not have APBA regional events.
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As tough times in the economy add too fewer entries. This has a side effect on the sport. Fewer advancements. Little sign of Yamaha, Kawasaki or Sea doo factory teams. While the Free Ride movement has brought some renewed interest as it gets large groups of riders together at one time in one place. The advances that you see being employed were invented mostly by competitors.
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I stopped by one of my local Motor sports shops the other day. As I drove past all the Street Bikes, Dirt Bikes, Quads and watercraft I wondered how sales of the items were doing. This is a good sized dealer with good solid brands like Yamaha,Sea Doo, Artic Cat and others. As I walked into the office of my friend Rich the manager I asked him how sales were holding up in these challenging times. Both he and his salesman looked at me and shook their heads no.
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I just published the 5th chapter from the Original Twangled video. We sincerely hope that you are enjoying the free video.
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As Pro Freestyle rules evolve allowing the use of up to 1200ccs. The evolution of the sport has been uncanny. Any one that hasn't seen the footage of the World Finals can check out our video player. Look for the Rickter footage. That is only one of what seem to be a growing number of new much shorter. Much lighter. With much more horse powered machines.
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After hearing about the recent changes in some of the regional tour promoters plans, I thought it would only be right, as a journalist, to dig a little deeper and get a little more of the story for all of our readers. It is after more than 5 years and 1 failed attempt at multiple sanctioning bodies that we see U.S. promoters once again creating competition amongst themselves.
I talked to Scott Hyke the other day in regards to his decision to sign with the IJSBA as the sanctioning body for the Great Lakes Watercross Tour for 2009. This is what he had to say.
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For any of you keeping up with the free weekly Twangled segments that have been appearing, I just published chapter 4 of the Original Twangled. I know its old but its still fun! Enjoy...
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Madison, WI, April 14, 2009: Pro Tour Promotions announces the Great Lakes Watercross IJSBA Card Kick Off Deal for Racers and the 2009 On-line Registration is live on www.greatlakeswatercross.com.
Ø Every racer that registers in three or more regular classes for Round One of the Great Lakes Watercross 2009 Race Series will get their 2009 IJSBA competition card paid for by Pro Tour Promotions!
Ø The Great Lakes Watercross On-Line Registration is now live on their website. There are three different ways to register for a Great Lakes Watercross event;
§ The online registration located on our website.
§ The mail-in registration form which can be downloaded from our website.
§ On-Site Registration the morning of the event. All on-site registrations will be subject to an additional late entry cost.
For more information please go to Great Lakes Watercross Jet Ski Tour
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I hope that most of you have figured out that we here at Det Chi Video are trying something new. We are giving away our video for free. This is some great footage of some of the Liquid X Freestyle Tour as well as highlights from the IJSBA and actually some shots from the first Free Rides.
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We have added Chapters 2 & 3 to the Twangled Video Player from the original Twangled.
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Well if this isn't some of the biggest movie and video news of the year then I don't know what is.
View the entire press conference here: Allen Park Movie Studio Press Conference - Unity Studios
ALLEN PARK, Mich. - A veteran Hollywood film executive who is a native Detroiter will build a $146 million, 750,000-square-foot film, TV and media production studio factory and village on 104 acres of land at Southfield Road and Enterprise Drive in Allen Park, officials announced today.
Productions at Unity Studios will employ up to 3,000 skilled and non-skilled union workers. Unity will employ up to 83 management/operational positions for the studio and within the Village.
City of Allen Park residents and laid-off union workers from across the region will get first shot at the jobs, Allen Park Mayor Gary Burtka said.
"Unity Studios amounts to an economic development blockbuster and the best economic news announced in Downriver and southeast Michigan in years," Burtka said. "This project represents new hope and, more importantly, job opportunities for thousands of Allen Park residents and auto workers who have lost their jobs.
"We have found an economic boost in the lights, cameras and action of Michigan's newest high-tech industry."
Governor Jennifer Granholm said the Unity Studios project highlights the success of the state's efforts to attract the film industry to Michigan.
"We are working hard to build a diversified economy and create good-paying jobs for our talented workforce," Governor Granholm said. "As a result of our aggressive film incentives enacted just a year ago, we are not only bringing new investment to the burgeoning film production community in Michigan, we are putting in place the infrastructure for an industry that will support long-term job growth and opportunity in new, creative sectors."
Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano said the Unity Studios project is an important step in diversifying the county's economy.
"Our economic development team has been working diligently with Allen Park on this project," Ficano said. "We are now attempting to put together an incentive package that will create jobs in a new industry for the region."
The county is considering making a Renaissance Zone designation available for the project when all benchmarks are met by investors, Ficano added.
Unity Studios will be majority owned and operated by a group of investors from Los Angeles and Michigan, with Jimmy Lifton of California as the President. Lifton, originally from Southfield, Michigan, has been in the business of entertainment for 30 years. He has owned an internationally distributed record label, produced 13 feature films, and is Principal of one of the largest independent post-production audio studios in Los Angeles, Oracle Post. Some of the most famous and familiar TV and film industry giants use Oracle Post including Fox, HBO, NBC, ABC, Disney, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Lionsgate, Universal, Dreamworks, Warner Brothers, VH1 and MTV.
Also unique about the project: The Lifton Institute for Media Skills will implement one of the largest retraining programs ever enacted in Michigan. Out of work skilled and unskilled labor will receive on-the-set training and production experience, giving students production credits. In addition, the project will include a village where people can live, shop and find entertainment options.
"My goal was to help bring a new industry to my home state." said Lifton. "I like to think of Unity Studios as a factory in the tradition of Henry Ford's Rouge factory model. All aspects of production occurring in one location; workforce training, production, post-production, distribution and marketing. We will constantly be creating product on the lot, utilizing the Detroit area's best asset, the creativity of its people."
Burtka said the project represents a creative and progressive approach to community-based economic development and redevelopment: under the agreement with Lifton, the city will own equity in the studios. In addition, the studios are being developed on brown field property currently occupied by various buildings and open fields. As a result, it does not increase sprawl nor does it require the city and its taxpayers to shoulder significant new infrastructure costs.
"This project is an economic development win-win-win for Allen Park residents," Burtka said. "We did not need to raise taxes a penny to win this project. Our residents get first shot at the jobs, and they are owners too." Allen Park officials said the project would not have been possible without significant support from the State of Michigan.
"We offer our sincere appreciation and heartfelt thanks to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the Michigan Film Office, Robert Ficano, the Michigan Economic Development Growth Corporation, and to the state legislators who helped us put all the pieces together," Burtka said.
Additional details about Unity Studios will be released in coming weeks and months, including the start of construction, hiring, enrollments in the training institute, and partnerships with various other companies and industries in the region and state.
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Tonight I logged in to see if any of my perspective show or tour dates have been changed (promoter would prefer to coin the term updated). At first glance I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. Then, after a little more reading I noticed something that not only had I not noticed before, but that I had not read before either...
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