|
SubscriptionsSites I Read
|
|
|
|
| My Flickr Account
If you have time, check it out--bye!
| | |
| 2008 Boost Mobile Pro
Surfing's equivalent of the NBA or NFL season is the ASP Dream Tour. Its called the Dream Tour because it pits the world's top 40 best ranked surfers against each other around the world in exotic locations. These locations usually have a consistent wave during a particular part of the year (think Pipeline in the winter). The only such competition in the continental United States is held at Trestles State Beach in San Clemente.
This year I decided to go, and took Jane, Eunice from downstairs, and my longtime surfing buddy Corey and his girlfriend, since its free-- well kind of. The walk down Trestles along with the parking space hunt in the tiny lot across from Carl's Jr. took about an hour, with crazy territorial dawn patrollers snaking you out of that open parking spot at 35 mph in their huge SUVs. But the walk was worth it, you can understand why they don't want to build a toll-road here. Its the last true untouched beach in the OC (compare to the smokestacks at Huntington, and the Santa Ana river runoff at Newport River Jetties on 56th, or the artsy fartsy Laguna coves). Wednesday was the day of the semi-finals, and the forecast was that the south swell would peak at around 6ft to overhead+ waves. When we got there, it was GOING OFF, perfect lines, a peeling left and a super rippable right.
As soon as we walked into the competition area, I spotted this:
Noone seemed to notice him walking toward the port-a-potties. I stared at him as he stared back, and I waited outside of the bathrooms to get another shot.
Its Dominic Purcell from Prison Break! Next to him is north shore legend Sunny Garcia. You might remember him as the infamously hot tempered guy in that really bad WB reality show North Shore Boarding House.
As we sat down, we got another surprise...we didn't know which heat was up and who was going, but suddenly I heard a random guy yell "SLATERIZE IT!" and before I could react, Kelly Slater ran past us to get into his heat! For those of you who have been hiding under a rock, and are wondering the significance of this guy, go here: http://www.surfline.com/surfnews/article_bamp_400_v03.cfm?id=18571
Running after him was Corey and a swarm of rabid Japanese surfers and girls trying to take his picture.
Next up was Sunny vs. Kelly. Some serious ripping from a 38 and 36 year old, respectively.
Sunny after his heat. All smiles even though he lost. (Go figure)
After this picture, we got to sneak up next to the VIP section where the surfers get ready, snapped a photo of one of my fav surfers: Taylor Knox. Surprisingly, besides him, most surfers are around 5'7-5'10. Not too tall, because they need to generate a lot of speed for those power moves.
We didn't stay long enough to see the rest of the day, but Kelly Slater went on to win the semi-final. He then went on a day later to capture the he #1 spot and won the competition, and is well on his way to number 9 in world titles.
To end it, here is a video of him ripping in Rincon, in Santa Barbara. Once you see it you realize how good he is.
Ripping Rincon
| | |
| Summer Fun
This week has seen pretty poor conditions, and weak swells coming in. But I am thankful to live in such a beautiful place as La Jolla and enjoy the sun and the water, and the pictures turned out pretty nice (Courtesy of Joe Ho). Hopefully more to come in the future, as winter rolls around.
| | |
| Torch Song -- Stoking the Fire
Interesting article concerning the current events surrounding the Olympic Torch's protest-laden journey around the world.
Why I Carry the Olympic Torch
An another note, I found this response to what I personally believed to be a heavily biased Economist article a display of the repressed anger simmering underneath almost every Chinese person's skin at one point or another. I don't mean to say that it is right, but I do know that is being stoked by international press who really blew this situation out of hand. To understand the true sentiment of this country, one must understand the history behind it. Its really too bad that we as human beings tend to get involved into things we don't completely understand yet--that goes for the international protesters chanting "Free Tibet" who don't even know where Tibet is on a map, and the Chinese government wanting to show off how much they've improved to a world who could care less. I believe the main issue with China is one of national self-image and insecurity; I believe Tibet, along with many other internal problems in China will slowly be fleshed out after the main issue is dealt with. The response below invokes my personal frustration towards the international press, who all too often have their own agendas. Another
biased article by Economist! Why didn't you mention the pro-china
protesters which greatly out numbered tibetan protesters!! 100,000
followed Da lai, but over 2 million stayed in tibet and enjoyed their
much improved lifestyle.
good poem but require some knowledge in history to understand:
What do you want from Us? - A Poem Dedicated to the last 150 years
of this planet. By a Slient, Silent Chinese. === When We were called
Sick man of Asia, We were called The Peril. When We are billed to be
the next Superpower, We are called The threat. When We were closed our
doors, You smuggled Drugs to Open Markets. When We Embrace Freed Trade,
You blame us for Taking away your jobs. When We were falling apart, You
marched in your troops and wanted your fair share. When We were putting
the broken peices together again, Free Tibet you screamed, it was an
invasion! ( When Woodrow Wilson Couldnt give back Birth Place of
Confucius back to Us, But He did bought a ticket for the Famine Relief
Ball for us.) So, We Tried Communism, You hated us for being
Communists. When We embrace Capitalism, You hate us for being
Capitalist. When We have a Billion People, you said we were destroying
the planet. When We are tried limited our numbers, you said It was
human rights abuse. (TBC)
When We were Poor, You think we are dogs. When We Loan you cash,
You blame us for your debts. When We build our industries, You called
us Polluters. When we sell you goods, You blame us for global warming.
When We buy oil, You called that exploitation and Genocide. When You
fight for oil, You called that Liberation. When We were lost in Chaos
and rampage, You wanted Rules of Law for us. When We uphold law and
order against Violence, You called that Violating Human Rights. When We
were silent, You said you want us to have Free Speech. When We were
silent no more, You say we were Brainwashed-Xenophoics. Why do you hate
us so much? We asked. No, You Answered, We dont hate You. We dont Hate
You either, But Do you understand us? Of course We do, You said, We
have AFP, CNN and BBCs What do you really want from us? Think Hard
first, then Answer(TBC)
After reading this response, what is your personal response? If you are Chinese American, how does this current controversy affect you and to what degree? Thoughts are appreciated.
| | |
| The Evolution of the Surfboard and My Obsession:
Most of you know how much I love surfing, but one thing that I love about surfing is the anatomy of the surfboard and its customize-ability. I collect, buy, sell surfboards like crazy, I've gone through almost 30 of them so far trying out new things and learning to fix them up. Some people collect dunks, some people collect stamps, I collect surfboards. Here is my post dedicated to my obsession.
Surfboards were traditionally made with koa wood back in the days of King Kamehameha and before, which each one weighing 30 lbs or more. These tankers were in essence huge planks of wood, had no fins, and were hand shaped. You've seen them on those old birthday cards at Papyrus with the '50s surf bettys in front of a 10 foot tall longboard.
 
Duke Kahanamoku, "The Ambassador of Surfing", with his koa surfboard...then and now.
But since the 1950s up until now, surfboards were shaped with polyurethane foam blanks and then glassed over with fiberglass. These became really popular due to their lightness and responsiveness, but the downside is they are prone to dinging, as fiberglass isn't the strongest thing in the world. The upside is, you can get any shape you want from a custom shaper. I got an inside look in a custom shop recently, I'm telling you, making surfboards is not hard, but making a good one isn't easy.
 
Al Merrick (arguably the world's best shaper) with a surfboard foam blank, and a finished Al Merrick "Kelly Slater" Model in the shop.
But since the 1980s, shapers have been busy in their workshops concocting the newest formulas for a ultra fast, light, responsive and flexible surfboard that doesn't ding or break as easily as a traditional fiberglass board. They have come up with everything from carbon fiber to epoxy to even kevlar...But so far, nothing has been able to mimic the insane flexibility of the fiberglass surfboard. But hey, at least they look pretty.
An Aviso Carbon Fiber Lost Quad Fin surfboard, just came out a couple of months ago
Here is my current collection:
My current go-to board, a 6'2 Uncle Mike Swallowtail (traditional PU foam and fiberglass):
 
| | |
|
|
sdzbwxp wrote: