the long and the short

two right points in two days. saturday gone fishin, mid-mornin mid-tide. walked up to the point, waited for a lull. waded out through round rocks and kelp 'till it's deep enough to paddle fins free from danger. head high take offs and clean mellow walls. trying out a wider stance and fadin slow off the top. nothin to watch but fun enough for the pilot.

today paddled out to a different right point, same size but disorganized, like my desk at work. me, blacks and our other fishin friend and later a fellow fisherman on his new trifin. I traded off my log for the two fishes for a few reelin lefts into the point. paddle outside for a couple of bigger sets on the log. drop in, bottom turn to lock the rail and walk north.

interesting switching back and forth between the long and the short. fun. water is still 0 Celsius. the vibes mostly good. all in all good to be in the water with friends, sunshine and wind, piloting surfcraft across space.

open letter to Dog the Bounty Hunter

In the spirit Foulweather I would like offer up this open letter to Mr. Duane Chapman, aka Dog the Bounty Hunter.

First off let’s get the obvious out of the way. The people who gave you a contract for your show are clowning you. No doubt. Everyone knows that the ugly ass futuristic Oakley’s and dirt rock ultra-mullet, combined with the mini feather boas hanging down your temples are only there to drive the clowns home. You see, the thing is that people probably like your show because: a. there’s lots of violence and b. because it makes them feel like their lives are more meaningful than yours and your captives. Don’t get me wrong Dog, I’m not knocking your profession. I’m sure that it’s a good gig and perhaps even a necessary public service. But is it entertainment? And the prayer circles holding hands before you spray someone with mace in the face? Are you asking forgiveness before your pre-meditated attack? I don’t know how that would hold up at the pearly gates but surely in court pre-meditated violent acts are a no no.

Not sure how the locals in Hawaii feel about you and I dare not speak for them. However, I get the sense that in your holier than thou cavalier attitude going around arresting cracked out offenders you rarely show the Hawaiian people in anything but a negative light. And there’s not a whole lot of Hawaiians on TV so this really must make an impact on public perception. I wonder if you’re considered haole offender number one? Don’t you see that it’s people like yourself who are to blame for many of the social problems in Hawaii? I’m not gonna go into a deep discussion on the adverse social impacts of post-colonialism on local cultures but you get the idea.

Here’s the bottom line Mr. Dog. You represent all of the shitty American character traits that the world loves to hate. You are loud and overbearing. You use your religion like a badge to abuse people (by broadcasting for all to see their lowest moments) who you feel are in the wrong and lesser than you. You are a bigot. You willingly make an ass of yourself and your family for a fucking paycheck. And you flaunt all of it. But the biggest offense is that you have your little contrived self-deprecating act going making us think that you are working hard to be empathetic and god abiding for the good of society. You and GW Bush are the same excepting fashion.

So please stop playing yourself. Do your work and do it well but don’t use your captives as a means to add to the bond money you’re collecting. And stop proselytizing already it’s embarrassing. Maybe if you spend more time surfing you’d be less of a kook eh bra.

the fixed gear tricks are lame rant

some subculture splinter groups are just trite and lame. take for example the fixed gear riders who perform "tricks" on their bikes. stuff like flat ground bar spins, or one footed skids or wheelies. it's boring.

why not just ride a bmx?

it's actually pretty funny, the whole fixed gear hipster vibe. there seems to be such a fashion code for dress and bike looks. yesterday here in Halifax I saw two track specific fixes with the must have docked riser bars and bmx pad on the top tube. why not? everybody's doing it.

I guess the reason I find it annoying is because it's elitist. as in 'we're cooler and more urban than you' elitist. it's the same with any other subculture I reckon -like the Gothic Dolphins displacement movement, or the SoCal I don't give a shit loggin like an epileptic movement, or krumpers in Idaho corn fields claimin it, or coffee connoisseurs drinking the dregs shit out by civet cats in some far off rain forest for $10 a cup. damn!

yeah I can hear what yer thinkin. "man this guy just wishes he was in the clique." don't get me wrong, fixed gear bikes are amazingly fun to ride. one of my first posts here was about commuting on a fix and learning to flow. but for chrisakes its still just a bike!

or maybe 'ol Chinasky was right when he said: “To do a dull thing with style-now THAT'S what I call art.” bastard.

here's some fun fixed gear triockery for ya

quiver

my quiver has changed and morphed quite a bit over the past two years. when I started this page I had two Neilson's. now I have one remaining and in between that two more. not because I don't love Tom's shapes but because it's hard to get them up here in Canada without spending a ton of dough on shipping, especially for a log. probably the number one reason that my boards have changed over time is the fact that I've improved a bit. here's my first quiver shot form 2006. and here's one from last summer.

first up is the Rocky McKinnon log. dims are 9'6" x 23" x 3". single fin, t-band stringer and heavy heavy glass. so far I've surfed this baby cordless only and plan to keep it that way. It's the best longboard I've ever had and really digging it on the perfect little point waves here.


below is my shortboard and most used sled. I went from a 6'4" EPS Neilson FFF to a 5'8" x 2'5" Tim Stamps quad fish. although the green machine was rad, ultimately it was too buoyant for my weight and I couldn't sink the rail on turns. I stepped down to the 5'8" quad and it's been steadily improving my surfing. this beasty flies, especially going backside. surfed it from thigh high to way overhead and never felt life it wouldn't work -my magic board.



finally the mini-gun -made in 2003 specifically for Oregon from a green Clark blank, with a deep single concave and it's about 2.5 inches thick. I rarely use it and haven't used it now in over a year and really for the waves I frequent it's not necessary. B did the stencil and art direction so we keep it around as an artifact/art piece.


there was an interesting article written by my mate D$ on Phoresia.org a little while back about having a two board quiver. I've been surfing on and off now since around 1994. at first I floundered on a 6'4" Quiet Flight for a couple of months and then bought my first longboard. my surfing evolved from years of skateboarding and from riding longboards. I ride mostly off my front foot, with a narrow stance and basically just like to go fast. surfing helps to keep the type II belt around my waist to a minimum. and the two board quiver allows me the freedom to not have to struggle with what board to surf and just go out and surf with no doubts. as long as surfing is fun I'm on it.

after one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say 'I want to see the manager'

william s. burroughs

flow like chase

last friday was not as good as I'd hoped. gale force offshore's aren't uncommon with nice long period waves. figures. looks like another storm is coming at weeks end. keepin my fingers crossed cause it feels like a while since I've had a solid session.
found this photo on msw taken by frenchguy. I was out there at the time of the photo. there were some good lefts, fast down the line.


if I could flow on water the way chase hawk flows on land... no brakes, no corrections, just smooth lines.

I'm on it

Waves Eastern Shore - eastern half
Issued 05:00 AM AST 13 February 2009
Today Tonight and Saturday Seas 2 to 3 metres building to 3 to 5 early this afternoon then subsiding to 2 to 3 overnight. Seas subsiding to 2 Saturday afternoon.

Foul Weatehr on Kurungabaa

check out the little piece about Foul Weather on Kurungabaa. It's here kurungabaa.wordpress.com/2009/02/12/foul-weather/

Kurungabaa is a great surf journal from Australia. Check it out.

an dis wan goes out to me lickle B.

versions - "Let Down" by Radiohead

I love Radiohead. It seems that the more I listen the more it emblazons into my psyche. here is the original Let Down. The Easy Star All-Stars recently did a cover of this song with the golden voiced Toots. You can here that version here: Easy Star All Stars, Let Down.


and in other Easy Star news, the band is releasing their third tribute album. This time a Beatles tribute covering the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It's due out April 14th and "features guest vocals from an impressive list of reggae, dancehall and dub greats including Steel Pulse, Matisyahu, Michael Rose (Black Uhuru), Luciano, U Roy, Bunny Rugs (Third World), Ranking Roger (English Beat), Sugar Minott, Frankie Paul, Max Romeo and The Mighty Diamonds. The first single, “With A Little Help From My Friends,” featuring Luciano, will be released as an iTunes exclusive February 10. It will be paired with a b-side dub version featuring the legendary U Roy." bumbo clot bwoy!

phelps, kellogs, SNL, hypocracy

I'd like to dedicate this here clip to tres arboles who wrote a great rant about Kellogs dumping Phelps for smoking weed.




legalize marijuana already. this is getting ridiculous. the United States has more people incarcerated than any country on earth. yes even more than the axis of evil communist countries. of course business being business and profit margins the main priority, jails are a "good" way to make money. bullshit.

I support Michael Phelps. He's an amazing athlete. Oh and in case you didn't know, marijuana is not a sports enhancing drug. who gives a shit if Phelps wants to get stoned.

scary fast in the alpenrose velodrome

I rode the Alpenrose velodrome once with my friend T-Bone. We were newly arrived in PDX and we knew that one of the few outdoor velodromes in the US was but a short drive from downtown. Alpenrose is made out of concrete and I think it's one of the steepest tracks around. the day we rode it there was no one around but us. the track was a little moist. I got clipped in first and started down the straightaway. as soon as I hit the first bank I got nervy and drifted down to the flats without making it around. I was deflated and surprised at how intimidating it was.

of course T is and always has been ruthless. he's also got legs like Christmas hams. he hammered down the straight and went into the first bank with plenty of speed. as the bank curved he climbed higher and higher up the wall, his body almost perpendicular to the ground 8 feet below. after T's feat I had to commit. speed is the key and an even spin. fixed is a must as your cadence has to be smooth. my heart in my throat I charged again through the first turn and tried not to think about slamming. I made it around but not very high up. still the feeling was great. I realized two things by the end of our one hour trip the velodrome. I was in shit shape and it's much harder than it looks. you also need a bigger gear than you would use on the street. I wish we had one in Halifax.

thrillin in the phillipines

choreographed dance seems like a good prison activity.

mini simmons vs. what?

everyone's been raving about the mini-Simmons and it's had me thinkin. some prophesy that it's the next big thing. but what about this little clip from 2006 of a guy ripping a board that's shorter than the mini simmons and with no fins? it's a very similar outline with a wide tail.


I had a feeling the Simmons was too good to be true when I saw the video of RK surfing an alaia. he does that really well too.
you can get a top quality finless biscuit (aka sponge) for under two bills or a mini-simmons for $1,050.00. either way you won't be able to dominate on either one unless you can surf as well as RK.

lust - surf history in NS

this is abstract. however if you like film, surfing, eccentricity, anarchy then is is worth it.

plants and animals, bye bye bye

skunked

Today I woke up early and fought with the layer of ice enveloping my car. Then I scraped and picked at the knee high wall of frozen snow and ice blocking my driveway. After a sketchy ass drive I arrived at the first lookout point. The parking lot was completely iced over and I was worried about driving the blue flame in. I parked on the edge and slid down to take a look at the bay. It was big and disorganized still, even though the wind was practically dead. The bay had big sets closing out the a-frame and the point. Further down I could see sets hitting the other headland, some wrapping and pitching like some far off wave in the south pacific. But it was too big and shifty to make the solo walk and paddle. Water dropped down to 0 C. (32 F.) and the air temps are down to about -9C. Way outside you could see huge sets feathering on an outer reef. The swell is supposed to be straight out of the south but it almost seemed like it had some east in it.

The next point looked a little better but for a pre-work session it looked questionably rideable. The waves were breaking inside but off the headland. Again it was super shifty and it seems like the angle was wrong or the swell just needs more time to get organized. Skunked! I couldn’t believe it. After a second looksy I sucked it up and started the drive back home. The roads were just as bad as before except now there was the morning traffic rush. The worst part about getting skunked on a weekday morning is having to drive back into the city with rush hour traffic –especially the morning after an ice storm.

Now I sit here readying myself for a full days work. I’ll try and not think what the other point, that misto one that works like a machine on this type of swell, and how it’s probably overhead and barreling. I’ll try and pretend like the waves are terrible all day and I’m not missing anything. But you know how it is, I’ll sit here the whole time brooding about how I got skunked cause I couldn’t wait a little longer, or drive a little farther.

Today is three years since I started Ku Yah. Thanks for reading along all this time.

style: mad man spencer

found this over at happy feet

quiver check: skates

45" log, 28" convert concave banana cruiser, 8" blank and clay wheeled roller derby circa early 60's.


"what?"

chinese new year dinner for E