Yin and Yang

It has been some time since my last post. The surf has been good, work is always present, and soccer is year around. The surf really started happening on Thursday last. I caught south-swell Sharks with a small crew and had a great time on the SB. Friday the south swell filled in with head-high and over-head sets. I took the quad out and started my session by pearling up to my jaw on a great set wave at the Hook. After I regrouped, I had a great time - mostly at Sharks. It was likely all those at the Hook that saw my awesome display of pearl diving considered me expendable. On Saturday I decided I would brave the morning crowds and get some more of the "best internet swell of the year". Surfed Sharks and caught some bombs and caught some close-outs. I also caught several glimpses of black covered asses before getting blasted. After Saturday's soccer match I needed more surf - so I suited up, grabbed the quad, and bailed to Sharks. It was great - plenty of waves, small crew of friends, and no east wind. I surfed until the moon rose over the beaches. Soccer consumed Sunday - I tried to repeat Saturday evening but showed up in my suit to howling east wind. Got good waves Monday and Tuesday as the south simmered down and a west swell filled in. Today I took rest. Since I last wrote, I heard from several folks regarding the surf school issue. Some great ideas, but generally two schools of thought. The Yin: 1) surf schools offer instruction and management - else, a bunch of idiots with foam boards, or possibly hard boards, and no instructor; and 2) what's going to fill the surf school void if they were banned? More foam board rentals and hard board kooks; and 3) just lay the law down like its always been done. The Yang: ban surf schools from premier spots. Fortunately, the harmony of Yin and Yang has been the first step towards a reasonable solution - the middle ground. Communication has started between concerned surfers and the surf school owners. It appears we can work together to live together. The start was positive - more communication is slated for the future. Some other things caught my attention. Flying under the radar - especially since Katrina$$$$$ - is the news that Israel, already getting $2.3 billion a year of our tax funds, is asking for another $2.2 billion to develop areas where the 8,500 folks that left Gaza will be located. We're cutting benefits to the most needy, funding an insane war, Social Security is supposedly hurting, Katrina$$$ and Rita$$$ are going for same-sex marriage, and we're going to give $259,000 per person to Israelis who are going to the West Bank and expand settlements in violation of UN mandates and the infamous "Road Map". Dude, seriously! Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Bush (Republican) strategist, came up with tremendous insight after touring the destruction by air. He noted "they're (homes) simply not there...I can only imagine what Hiroshima looked like 60 years ago". A natural disaster for sure - but a hurricane comes with warning, cities that lie in the hurricane highway can have specific building codes, evacuation procedures, and other precautions. The nuclear explosion at Hiroshima kept on killing for decades after the blast, there was no warning, no idea of the destruction, and was a man-made nightmare. The comparison by Mr. Barbour is small minded to say the least. It's no wonder folks in Mr. Barbour's camp advocate for more nuclear weapons and preemptive use of atomics. There's no sense of scale. I've got a start on the gallery - I have more stuff to upload - but time is another matter. Anyway - email your pictures - stories - and I'll post. Meanwhile, I will continue to dribble out what I have as fast as the surf will allow. The picture above shows the Palestinian view of freedom on a canvas of captivity. See ya in the water -  ¶ 12:17 AM 2 comments

 

Building Culture

Surfed yesterday at the Hook - on the glide. I had fun; it was a beautiful day on the bay. Of course the session was not complete until I got hit by a stray surfboard. This time it was the board of a friend who was hacked by a third party. J-girl -no worries, the pain is almost gone (just kidding). In what could turn out to be a step forward, a meeting between the surf school reps and surfers is scheduled for the middle of this week. If you have any ideas you would like to share - let's have them. This is no time to let an opportunity for open discussion breeze by. I have already received some emails that take a serious look at the situation and offer some solutions. Let's build culture. Unfortunately, recent events make our concerns very small. But, if we can make headway regarding our small problems, there's hope that people can make headway on big problems - just break it down. The recent catastrophe in the Gulf has provided the media with plenty of destrucoviews, real chaos TV, and survivors: the masses. Something to think about - although American TV et al have somehow neglected to show it, the same views and situations shown of the Gulf natural disaster are common place in Iraq and Palestine - the main difference is that the disasters in these parts of the world are man made. Dude, seriously. Please check the latest link addition on the left side of this page for some words and pictures from eastside folks who saw for themselves. Let me leave you with this - today our military sealed the deal with GW for preemptive use of atomics. That's right, based on our infallible intel, we will know where to lay the atomics before someone gets us. Consequences can't be seen in the brilliance of all that power - atomic power - at the finger tips of GW. Have you seen Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Precious bodily fluids?  ¶ 11:41 PM 2 comments

 

Media Filter - or - Culture Jamming

I last wrote as an embedded correspondent in LA, and did not get back into town until Monday. Down in LA, the surf picked up on Sunday. I got head high south swell with the masses at the Bluffs. The wind was down, surf glassy, and the smog thick. By the way, it's no longer the Bluffs - instead it's Dog Beach - and believe me, there were almost as many dogs as people on the beach. It's nothing like we know at the point - "the masses" doesn't do it justice. Anyway, I got some waves, but each wave left me thinking of home. I raced home and got some fun waves at sharks on Monday, second bowl held on Tuesday, and then it was back to sharks on Wednesday. I stayed out for long sessions - like a hungry traveler who's not sure about his next meal. I stuffed myself. I got a chance to catch up on the news regarding the "surf school's uncool" rally, and participants felt it went well. Unfortunately, the word I got from the general community was not as positive. Out in the ether, the rally was perceived as whining from a petty, unorganized group of surf grumps. In one specific instance, my best friend was told by another who saw the media coverage that "the petty whiners were a joke". My friend explained that the cause was a serious one - regarding safety and respect for the sport. Once illuminated, the person was more sensitive to the cause. It made me think that we didn't do a great job getting the message out. Two questions came to mind. One, was there clarity in the message? Let me say that in one photo sent for me to post, I noticed a sign held by one of the marchers that read "If you ride a foammie, you're not my hommie". It garnished a chuckle, and surfers are clowns, but was this the message? It was like jamming culture jamming. If you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao..........Two, did the media repeat the message, or did the media filter distort the message for their own agenda? - like ratings, watchability, reality TV, something for the sponsors. Can you trust the mainstreamedia? I think not. What's the alternative? First - clarity in communication. What are the problems with surf schools? safety? Respect for surfing culture? Unnecessary overcrowding? Are the issues defensible? What about the surf shops who rent the equipment and point their customers down 41st? If it sounds like a lot of work - I think it is. Second - can we cut through the media filter and talk with the school owners and instructors? If we come up with a solution together - maybe we make progress on the safety issue, respect issue, and crowding issue - but there is still the shops - and like the schools, they're in business - generating tax dollars for the county. It's a complex situation that needs clear communication, and if communication doesn't work, then maybe some civil disobedience will. What about holding a refresher course right in the middle of every surf school session held within a two week period, with the threat of continued interference until a deal is sealed. We may lose some surf time, but what about shifts? Anybody for an LB session on the shoulder of the surf school shoulder? What about approaching the students and letting them know how we feel. Make them feel uncomfortable about what they are contributing to, and how they could change it - like learning to ride white water at the beaches. In a way you can't blame the students. They watch TV, see that bitchin SUV, unwaxed boards, beautiful people, and say "that's for me". Culture jamming that stream of advert is a challenge - but that's what we got to do.  ¶ 12:38 AM 1 comments

 

Labor Day Weekend

Well, it's the end-o-summer weekend usually kept for the festivities at sharks. Instead - the tide dominates. I left town for another soccer expedition; I've been L.A.ed again. Down in Surf City - Huntington Beach - for the soccer - not surf. Brought my stuff and proned on several weak south swell sets - waist high, but blown and closing out. No wetsuit - the water was great. Tons of bait fish, and I saw a cuda spilt the bait ball. The smog is really bad with not much wind - it's choking me. We've got it made at home. I realized while driving with the masses that we live next to a National Park - Monterey Bay - just like living next to Yosemite. I hope all goes well with the "surf school's uncool" rally. Last time I was out - Thursday - I got hit hard in the thigh - I'm limping now. I'm sure the idiot was a graduate. No visual with this installment - I'm L.A.ed - Rally Boyz!!!  ¶ 1:36 PM 0 comments