stick out your chest: the book Chavez gave Obama

and not your ass

OK so some people think that the Hawaiian surf culture can take localism too far. that they use violence too easily. but what else is a people to do? the video below is very interesting and features a member of Da Hui reading an open letter to the people of Tahiti encouraging them to stand up against Billabong and the ASP and demand to be able to take a greater part in the contest both as competitors and organizers.

why? because it is their land, their wave, their culture, their capital interest and their sovereign right. I truly and sincerely hope that the Tahitian's take heed and move to force the ASP to comply.


this brings me to another point. I have often lamented here that the internet has questionable benefits in terms of human and personal relations. but the same way as Da Hui video will influence many so has the photo and story of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez gifting a communist book to America's Barak Obama.



the book is "Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent." in the book author Eduardo Galeano explores the "various facets of Latin American history according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation."

exploitation may seem like a harsh word to some North Americans, especially if you are a good law abiding citizen who works an honest wage and takes care of his family. but we need to open our eyes to the vast desert of social and environmental destruction which we are leaving behind in our wake of over consumption.


Chavez is brilliant in this public propaganda stunt. by this simple gesture he will effectively educate thousands of Americans in the way of economic and military exploitation that the US has been so successful at inflicting on Latin America. I hope that the Tahitians too will take back what is rightfully theirs and demand a major share in the earnings of the western companies who are exploiting Tahiti's natural resources.

reggae vibes de pon blogger

for all you lickele reggae vibes fans don forget to check pull up selecta for the best in old and young reggae videos

learnins

go and come

drove 710 miles from Fenway stadium in downtown Boston to our front door in Halifax yesterday. this morning the rising sun shone through my window at 6:30 waking me before the blasted beeping nightmare of an alarm.

I'm glad to be back in Canada where the greater good of the people is valued above that of the individual. thanks Canada for having me.

so I leave you with one of Canada's grandest musical performers

new hampshire beach break

B and I drove for 10 hours yesterday and arrived at our friends house just as the tide was going low. I suited up quickly and grabbed my fish and ran the two blocks to the beach. I had not surfed a beach break since New York last fall. the waves were small and a little weak but two or three turned out to be fun. I'm not one to complain about rideable surf. it was fun to be in slightly warmer water and to surf with no leash without fearing the rocky shores like back home.

I walked down this morning at sunrise hoping that there may still be a small pulse left. no luck. but I did find this nice video clip for ya. not sure what the soundtrack is but it sounds like Orange 9mm.


Fresh Fruit for Rotten Vegetables from Surf Craft Media on Vimeo.

first light sessions

12' @ 12 seconds
high tide
water temp 35
southwest wind
southwest swell
found shelter
but a bit drifty
did the walk back up the point a dozen times
rode a 5'11" twin for the first time
on my backhand
goooood times
in the water at 6:15
back to the car at 8:30
early bird scores
every time
seen

hey -if yer reading this and you live here then you should give 'er

three days

Rain is softly pattering outside as the low moves over the mainland. I sit at my desk, organizing my thoughts for the days toil. But I keep slipping back to feelings of paddling through ocean swells. I surfed three days straight. The first day in stormy overhead peaky surf, the fog so thick that the usual indicators were hidden on shore, forcing me to sit closer to the boils on the takeoff zone than I’m comfortable doing. A few late drops combined with several beatings made for some good cleansing after a weeks work. As the fog lifted in the early afternoon it let the onshore winds in like opening the flood gates, killing any hopes for those that waited.

On Sunday I rose an hour before my alarm was set. I was on the road by six, trying to make it to the lookout spot by first light at six seventeen. The fog still present but not dense enough to ward off the southwest winds, I coasted down the hill and up the coast looking for shelter and size. Nothing. Finally, I drove back to where I should have started and found an inside section perfectly sheltered and peeling. Mostly chest high with a few head high sets, I shared the drifty peaks with a small crew as they rinsed the previous night’s revelries by immersing themselves in the still icy cold Atlantic.

Yesterday the receding swell granted me another small window of opportunity. This time the waist high waves came scant, but clean and perfect as they wrapped into the bay. Just two friends and I shared the little jewel. Off in the distance we would see the plumes of breaking waves over a shallow reef. In the bay the wind was calm and the sky overcast. The grey light making it so that the steely colour of sea surface and grey clouds blended, camouflaging the tiny pulses until they hit the cobblestone bottom and stood for a second before crumbling into mellow shoulders. I surfed for over two hours, mostly on the eggy thruster which at 5’10” and foiled makes me feel like I can turn like never before.

On the bus ride to work this morning I stood and held on to the railing and the bus bobbed up and down on soft air shocks over the winter’s rain filled potholes. I could feel the muscles on my back and shoulders repairing after so much paddling. I look around the bus and wonder how many of my fellow passengers communed with the elements. I sincerely hope that the number is higher than my cynicism will allow me to guess at. I don’t feel disdain or pity for them if they are sedentary. I only wonder why? Why would we live in these amazingly tuned and functioning bodies and not learn to use them to move through space with the grace of birds and fish? And why did I leave my bike at work forcing me to take this blasted bus.

picaresque trailer 2009

this is the only film that I've been really excited to see. DeTemple is stylish. D$ has surfed with him in overhead Southbeach mackers and seen Mickey pull into tubes like the A in Manhattan. and for those of you who think that riding lonboards is for pussys -let's meet at the point on heavy single fin logs on a head high day and see what a gwaan.

seen.


Picaresque Trailer 2009 from High Seas Films on Vimeo.

two growllers

propeller IPA growler -best beer in town

and the growlers her command accoustic version

un-skunked

well after a hella sprint home on the mighty Cross Check after work yesterday I loaded up the blue flame still breathless and tried to beat rush hour traffic and the fading swell. I surfed for a couple of hours with some local heavies. even though the waves had dropped a bit and the peaks were shifty everyone seemed genuinely happy to be surfing on a Tuesday evening. local shredder Nico was out makin it look easy as usual blastin 360 grabs way up above the lip. other certain individuals were pickin off mackers from outside on quad fishes and snappin turns under offshore groomed lips. I got a few little ones on the 5'10" Stamps skillet which by the way is about as fun as a case of beer on a Wednesday night with an empty belly and a get out of work for a day pass. got home to turkey dinner with B and E and the in laws, enjoyed a couple of fine bottles of Keith's finest, and went to bed at 10. all in a days surf eh.

the latest issue of SBC Surf is out and this time it's packed with content. quite a few travel stories including gnar backpacking back country surf adventures. there's also some loggin photos from local lumberjack and Californios. I was able to somehow squeeze two little pieces in there. they are at the newsstands now so whateryawaitinfor?

tuesday email to D$

wind 23G31 N 32/33 9' @ 10 seconds


"yo

faaack. we're getting hammered by a fucking snowstorm. I busted my ass preparing everything for a DP this morning. woke up after restless sleep - [I dreamed that B was gut shot in a war and refused to get treatment] - I checked the weather and the roads were sketchy as fuck and the offshores gusting to 50 knots! back to bed. then I got up again had coffee and checked the work email and by boss is mad. then I shoveled for about a half hour, showered and rode my bike in. the ride was OK 'cause it was snowy and not icy. I had to get on a main road towards the centre of town and got fucking sprayed with dirty salty diarrhea like snow all over my jeans -why I didn't wear my rain pants is beyond me. I get to work and realize that both sets of car keys are in me jacket which means B and her visiting parents are stuck at home which in turn means that it's unlikely that I'll be able to go for an evening surf as they'll need the car. foiled again. skunked. office working is for people whose passion in life is not dependent on the weather."

pull up selecta!

started a new page over the weekend called Pull up Selecta. I'll be posting pure reggae vibes from youtube. reggae music is my favourite musical genre and I can't really say why. it's sorta like having a magic surfboard, it just feels right. so I'll try and cut down on videos here on KuYah and instead post them on Pull up Selecta.

respec every time

do it how you want

 

 

 

 

knee high to as big as it got and often cordless, buddy's one board quiver fit perfect on the side of his bike with tent and other living needs.

beachies

really looking forward to 5 AM dawn sessions at this spot inna couple months

wednesday II

blacks tuckin in.

photo cred. here

Dubcast #14 long time no dub

tek it easy man.
Dubcast #14 long time no dub

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all day surfing wednesday

here's JB making the best of a Wednesday morning. Doc posted up on the bank and took a couple of shots before suiting up. secret spot all the way. I'd have to kill ya. we surfed three hours in the morning then changed out of our wetsuits, had some lunch and watched the waves. then it was back in for another two hours. super heavy off shore winds all day. good times had by the small crew and I'm a tired one now. making some rose and prosciutto sauce with penne for B and then it's off to bed.

protec yuh neck bwoy

Marine Forecast
Winds
Issued 03:00 AM ADT 24 March 2009

Today Tonight and Wednesday Gale warning in effect.
Wind northeast 35 knots increasing to 45 early this evening then backing to north 35 Wednesday evening.


Waves
Issued 05:00 AM ADT 24 March 2009
Today Tonight and Wednesday Seas 3 to 4 metres building to 5 Wednesday morning.

listen to death

first I read about on Foulweather and then I saw it at Matt Chester's space -two of my favourite social critics. so it is that I pass it on...

death -what ever the hype that comes now what was done was done and that is what it is.

what it is

work

over the years I've had lots of jobs. always avoided restaurant work. wouldn't have the patience with someone being rude about their steak. here's a list jobs I've had.



- Printing press assistant on a 1910’s three color press
- Grocery store clerk
- Landscape worker (several years)
- Children’s librarian assistant
- University library clerk
- Construction worker (several years) building foundations, carpentry and renovations
- Customer service –phone and Internet
- Land surveyor – rod man
- Truck loader for a shipping company
- Community organizer
- After school program manager
- Peace Corps volunteer
- Administrative assistant
- International development organization administrator
- Free-lance writer

in an ideal world I would wake up early as I do now. make breakfast and coffee for B and look after the dog and other morning activities. then I'd go for a surf. after surf I'd do some writing for a few hours. have some lunch and perhaps do some gardening or tidying up around the house. go for an afternoon glass off session. make a nice dinner for B and in bed by 10. perfect. nice to dream no?