Bad news first: this video takes way too f%#$ing long to load.

Now the good news, wait for it to stream and you’ll see why it took so long. This video, of BASE jumper Tedd Rudd, and released by InfinityList, may very well provide you with a compelling reason to get up, leave your office job, buy a wing-suit and jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

There are tons of BASE jumping videos on the net. And while many of them are good, few are done with such artistry, and magic, as this, what some folks are calling “the best BASE jumping video ever”. Would I go that far? If not, then pretty darn close. This is one exhilarating video that captures the essence of life, of majesty, of all that’s amazing and worth living for. In short, it’s really f*#king cool. And the music rocks.

Sadly, it looks like the star of the film, Tedd Rudd, pulled a Point Break and recently died doing what he loved. Well you know what? For this amazing video, and the journey he straps us along for, I think it’s safe to say the guy lived a life that most of us can only dream about. Rest in Peace Tedd Rudd.

Are you ready for Experience Freeedom?

Here’s one that’ll make you soil your pants, especially for those of us scared of heights. A nice, visual collection of videos from five of the world’s scariest skyscraper rides.

Of the videos featured. I’d say the Macau SkyJump is the most intense. The CN Tower EdgeWalk is way higher, though I’m not sure which is scarier, the view or the American Idol-worthy song and dance she performs as her tail hangs precariously over the City of Toronto. Note to self: ask Simon Cowell.

Dean Potter just keeps being Dean Potter. The American climber, mountaineer, BASE jumper and general alpine bad-ass has done some freaky things over the years. He slack-lines, he climbs mountains without safety equipment and he base jumps, including this record setting jump with a wing suit.

Turns out Dean’s not one for sitting on his duff at home watching re-runs of Gilligan’s Island, cause he’s at it again. This time he crosses Yosemite Falls on a high line, as the wind ravages above and Yosemite Falls rages below. And he talks a little about what he does, and why he does it.

Cojones, Dean. You got a big set of ‘em

Yosemite Falls High-Line from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

Dog Power!!! Base Jumping is an art form and, done correctly, is one of the greatest thrills of life…so why should humans get all the fun? A couple of Norwegian girls and their pooch Aro a spunky terrier, had nothing better to do one day, and Aro seems to show an affinity for parachutes and video. That’s a recipe for an awesome Base jump if there ever was one.

Something tells me this wouldn’t have worked if Aro was a basset hound. Watch his tail wagging before he jumps, and those crazy Norwegian girls cheering when he lands, also with a tail wag. Too cool.

Where do people think up this stuff? We’ve seen guys jumping out of planes in kayaks, people waterskiing behind great white sharks. And now, in perhaps the best-looking video ever, a skier makes an absolutely sick cliff jump during an avalanche.

Truthfully, I think somebody was sitting at home one night, took acid and thought this one up. But I’m glad they did because this video is absolutely freakin’ gorgeous, shot in glorious HD!! A bit of a corporate plug, I admit, but will blow your mind none the less. Matthias Giraud is this week’s hero.

I honestly think that beavers and BASE Jumpers have a lot in common.  A beaver looks at a pond and thinks “I am so gonna dam that pond.”  A BASE Jumper looks at a huge building and thinks “How quickly can I jump off that bad boy?”

Of course, the bigger the building, the better the rush…and bragging rights.  In this case, it’s the GM Building in Detroit.  I really hope you’re not scared of heights, cause when they pear over the top before they jump, it’s,uh, really f%$&ing high.  But that’s what BASE Jumping’s all about baby!

By the way, notice how they drive away in a Ford Truck after this amazing jump.  I really hope an executive from Ford sees this video, cause they’ll piss themselves laughing.  And you know what?  If I’m the CEO of Ford, I’m giving them a new Mustang for this!

Cojones, boys. You got brass balls.

Any video with Dean Potter, high altitudes and no safety harness is gonna be good and this one doesn’t disappoint.  Dean Potter is the American daredevil I blogged about a year ago, and he has a curious habit of climbing mountains without safety equipment, and either jumping off it, or slacklining it (tight-rope walking without equipment) and then BASE jumping his way down.

This video includes footage from his world-record BASE Jump in 2009, with a wing-suit.

I am really at a loss here whether Potter, or Felix Baumgartner is the baddest of the bad.  I take comfort though in knowing that there are guys like this with more testosterone than any reasonable guy should have.  Guess I’m not the only one who took Point Break way too seriously.  Bodhi would be proud.

Get ready for some air time!  This video has some seriously amazing, if not demented jumping, from planes, ramps and things that make you go Boom! when you land.  You might recognize some of these jumps from some of my earlier blog posts.  There’s a bit of corporate plugging going on in a few stunts (drink Red Bull!), but you have to give it to them, they know how to put on a good stunt.  Jumps five and two are my favourite.  But number one is definitely justified as being the bravest, most hardcore jump of all time.  And for that, I tip my hat to Joe Kittinger.

After watching this video I realized three things.  First I am glad to have Norwegian ancestry because if YouTube is correct, Norwegians have mastered the art of skiing and BASE Jumping and have cojones big enough to fit in a dump truck.  Two, this video, of Norwegian daredevil Halvor Angvik speed flying (if that’s what you want to call it) in Wengen, Switzerland this year is amazing, and three, I am definitely asking Santa Claus for a wing-suit for Christmas!

More wing-suit footage here of several fliers jumping off Monte Brento in Italy in preparation for The Asgard Project, in which the same guys jump off Mount Asgard in Nunavat, Canada.  I love the high def footage of these guys flying through the Italian mountains and the speeds these guys reach.  Moments like these make you realize that life is a celebration.  And Planet Earth is your cathedral.