Digital Digest (01/06/11)

The Best Of The Web

Sport

The world’s first BMX triple backflip

After several months of intensive training, a 24-year-old New Zealander, Jed Mildon, has succeeded in his aim to land the world’s first BMX triple backflip during the Unit T3 BMX Jam in Taupo, New Zealand. This video gives a rather giddy helmet’s eye view of the death-defying stunt and slow-motion footage of the extraordinary leap. ind.pn/BMXTrick

Space

Watching Earth rotate

Since Copernicus and his revolution in astronomy, we’ve known that the Earth is in motion while the Sun and stars are relatively constant, despite it appearing to be the reverse to the human eye. This beautiful time-lapse video shows what it would look like if we could see the sky as it really is – with the stars static and Earth rotating. ind.pn/RotatingStars

Health

Bad health blues

Artwork Jamal had always wanted to be a successful musician. Then he began to suffer symptoms of schizophrenia. Now, overweight and suffering a catalogue of ailments, his blues renditions have succeeded in making his dream a reality. The Los Angeles Times’s Esmeralda Bermudez reports on Jamal’s extraordinary life. ind.pn/healthblues

Transport

The real pain of the daily commute

Research suggests that people with long commute times suffer from disproportionate stress and dissatisfaction. Now a team at Umea University in Sweden has found that couples in which one partner commutes for longer than 45 minutes a day are 40 per cent likelier to divorce. Slate reports its findings. ind.pn/CommuteHell

Music

White Denim’s ‘D’ major

Austin rockers White Denim have a new album, D, out on 6 June and NME is streaming the album in full on its website. The band’s new, powerful sound, comes from adding a second guitarist to their line-up. Listen to a preview of the fantastic new album here: ind.pn/WDStream

Celebrity

Farrah’s tangled legacy

It has been over two years since the Charlie’s Angels actress Farrah Fawcett died of cancer – but the legal fight over her legacy – the film that documented her last months (Farrah’s Story) continues to rumble between NBC and Fawcett’s circle. The New York Times’ Jim Rutenberg reports on the fallout. ind.pn/ffleg

Food

A palatable barbecue for vegetarians

For vegetarians, it’s a common dilemma. You’ve been invited to a barbecue, but you’re not sure there will be anything there that you can eat. Do you go for a flabby, frozen veggie burger? No need, with this selection of mouth-watering suggestions courtesy of Jezebel. ind.pn/vegbbq