BRINE TIME

Monochrome Monday (wet darkroom)

2012-01-30T06:48:00.000+10:00

Strange Days

2012-01-29T11:18:00.001+10:00

It's the middle of the day in the middle of summer and it's so dark I have all the lights on so I can see the keyboard. The rain has been non-stop for ever. It seems. A part of my old tin roof is leaking. Intermittently. But I am dry. This is Australia. Bushfires and floods in the same week are standard.

The poor weather has motivated me to once again arm wrestle the digital demons that rule my little laptop. Most of the time I don't understand the digital realm. It has its own logic and pecking order. A truce has been settled and the 11001101 army allow me to log into my own blog. Well I didn't buy my blog but I have visited it for awhile and I do feed it type and pixels. So it's mine. Like Granite Bay is mine because I have visited it for 40+ years.

Ownership is an odd concept around here - especially on Australia Day, which we just had. One of my friends once said "we don't own the land, the land owns us". Her family has been here for thousands of years. The rest of us came here on boats some time in the last 200 years or maybe even last week.

When I whinge about crowds on all manner of crafts, my friend will gently remind me that Australia ain't the same as it was 250 years ago and the crowded surf point is a metaphor for the country. We all arrived here on all manner of crafts. Hoping for a better life. There's ample opportunity for aggro selfishness or for sharing, for being well mannered or being rude.

Happy belated birthday to Australia. Here's to a better life for all of us - traditional owners, long term locals, fly-in-fly-out miners, wage slaves in the city, battlers in the bush, aliens in UFO's, nature spirits, new migrants and refugees on leaky boats.

(materials used in today's blog were sourced from Germany (cameras), Japan (cameras, film, scanner), USA (film), Great Britain (film), Australia (images, food, electricity, water), China (clothing, analogue camera), Brazil (thongs), Switzerland (watch), New Guinea (coffee) and the whole earth (air))

Ozzie Ozzie Day-1

2012-01-25T07:58:00.000+10:00

'stralia -

17000 km of surfable coastline

a lot of it at the edge of desert

Australia Day-2 (Ozzie)

2012-01-24T07:06:00.000+10:00

"TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST
SEVERE WEATHER WARNING
for Heavy Rain 
For people in parts of the Wide Bay and Burnett, Southeast Coast and Darling
Downs and Granite Belt districts. 
Issued at 4:55 am on Tuesday 24 January 2012

Synoptic Situation: At 4am AEST, an upper trough extended over the southern
interior of Queensland. The upper trough is expected to remain slow moving today
while intensifying a little further into Wednesday. Moist NE winds will
otherwise continue to extend across southern Queensland today.   

Heavy rain which may lead to flash flooding is expected in areas southeast of
about Bundaberg to Goondiwindi today; initially developing on the coast and then
spreading inland during the day. 24 hour rainfall totals in excess of 150 mm are
possible. Locations which may be affected include Hervey Bay, Gympie, Toowoomba,
the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast.

In the 24 hours to 4am AEST, Bribie Island and Boreen Point received 119mm and
107mm respectively. 

A Flood Warning is current for coastal rivers and streams from Rainbow Beach to
Redcliffe and adjacent inland catchments. 

Emergency Management Queensland advises that people should:
* Avoid driving, walking or riding through flood waters. 
* Keep clear of creeks and storm drains. "

source: Queensland Weather Bureau 24 January 2012

Monochrome Monday (Lefty)

2012-01-23T06:55:00.000+10:00

Serendipity

2012-01-20T07:11:00.000+10:00

I suppose I have neglected to post much bloggage about the body surfing element of the brine experience in the last couple of years. Laziness? Lack of imagery? Maybe it's too special and too much fun to try and package up, break down, over-analyse? I have caught gazillions of waves with just my feet and hands over the years and I don't recall it being hassle (apart from my lung capacity) like board surfing can be on crowded days. And really, some days are just more body-friendly than board friendly.

So it was serendipity when three seemingly unconnected images crossed my path this week. Working on the mono one from WA last week (top), I received a cracker from a mate's session a few weeks back and then I came across the trailer for the body surfing movie Come Hell or High Water (Patagonia/Keith Malloy). Serendipity. Have a wet weekend.

Yeah!

2012-01-19T07:29:00.000+10:00

Big Corey Harris-Wilde from the too much fun collective patiently modeling between "sets" on a flattish day in the Indian Ocean.

Back

2012-01-18T06:26:00.000+10:00

After watching the sun set into the sea every day, I'm back to where it rises from the sea. Bags are unpacked. Photos are barely sorted. Until tomorrow, here's one to mark for the east coast calendars.

Image above courtesy Camera People

The 2012 Bleach Festival runs from 11 to 17 February between Elephant Rock and Snapper Rocks. Support these artists, writers, filmers, photogs and musicians, as they thumb their cooperative noses at the GFC. Complete blurbs, bios and banter at the Bleach website.

Image above and below from the Bleach website.

Wednesday Wordage (wandering westerly)

2012-01-11T05:48:00.001+10:00

The plan for today:

land some pixels in cyberspace

percolate coffee on a gas stove

(well, reverse those two)

wash old timer body

scrape sharp object

across lathered face

taxi it to airport

spy countryside

from 400000 feet

tap toes to the Stones

and the Stone Roses

land on the other side

of this Oz island

hire a car

experience The West

back in a week

peace

textish tuesday (heat wave)

2012-01-10T07:58:00.000+10:00

Text #1 "We be stttin in the sun for last 20 minutes. Bus peeps getting edgy. 4 buses in front not moving. At least I have music. And air con. Hope you have better luck with the computer man"

Text #2 "saw the Morning of the Earth article after you told me. Mentioned Nat & Mark Warren but nothing of Queenslander MP!!"

Text #3 "Beautiful day. Crystal clear and flat asa tack. P came down yesterday and didn't take board off roof."

Text #4 "Do you have my copy of Ocean Rhythms? Can't find it anywhere"

Text #5 "Shot some iPhone video as the bus cruised through the cultural wasteland that is The Valley"

Text #6 "Happy New Year guys. I'm DYING here. Didnt get to be until 6am,,,having a bit of the hair of the dog now...hopefully it helps."

Monochrome Monday (so many passwords)

2012-01-09T06:57:00.000+10:00

Queen Mono

2012-01-07T08:46:00.000+10:00

"Unearthed by John Maloof in 2007 at a local auction house in Chicago, Maier is only now beginning to be recognized as an iconic street photographer from the 40’s, through the 70’s. A body of work that spans not only the US, but the globe, Maier took more than 2,000 rolls of film, printed over 3,000 photographs and produced more than 150,000 negatives representing the street life and architecture of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and the American Southwest, as well as destinations as far off as Manila, Bangkok, Beijing, Egypt, and Italy.

Invested in her bird’s eye view of the people who made industrious cities thrive and pulse, Maier captures gentle and poignant moments between parents and children, the disenfranchised and forgotten, in a country on the verge of social and political upheaval. Maier recorded historic landmarks and their demolition as developments were built to replace them over decades."

Images by Vivian Maier (RIP). Copyright Maloof Collection, USA. Text from Maloof Official Maier site.

US West coast exhibition at Merry Karnowsky Gallery US East Coast exhibition at Howard Greenberg Gallery.

"Maier’s ability to grab the right frame at exactly the right moment, with elements of lighting, movement and essence all aligning, is revealed in the remarkable fact that she seldom shot more than one picture of the same moment in time. An intensely private person who kept most of her work hidden, Maier also created a series of homemade documentary films and audio recordings that have yet to be released to the public.

Having worked as a nanny most of her adult life, Maier was described by those she cared for as “a free spirit, but also a proud soul,” - “a quasi Mary Poppins figure.” She was, in the accounts of the families for whom she worked, very private, spending her days off walking the street taking photographs most often with a Rolleiflex camera. At the end of her life Maier became impoverished, but several children she had cared for pooled their money together and paid for an apartment and other necessities in her later years. Unbeknownst to them, a storage locker that contained a slew of negatives Maier had secretly hidden away was auctioned off due to delinquent payments.

Maier died in 2009 at the age of 83, before the extent of her legacy had been fully understood or revealed.

The Maloof collection is comprised of roughly 90% of Vivian Maier’s work, which has been meticulously reconstructed, archived and catalogued. The collection consists of 100,000 to 150,000 negatives, over 3,000 vintage prints, hundreds of rolls of film, home movies, audio tape interviews, original cameras of Vivian Maier, documents and various other items."

Long May You Run

2012-01-06T07:36:00.000+10:00

"Rollin down

that empty ocean road

gettin' to the surf on time"

from Long May You Run by Neil Young 1976

RIP Lozza

2012-01-05T07:53:00.000+10:00

My late brother loved this spot across the road from my aunty's with an evangelical fervour. Maybe he knew we would scatter his ashes at His Spot. I think of him every time I'm out there. I tell him I'm catching a few for him as I take off over the rocky ledges. When a turtle pops up beside me unexpectantly and surprises the hell out of me, I wonder if he's come back scaring me, like when we were kids. Happy birthday for tomorrow, bro.

Wednesday Wordage

2012-01-04T07:25:00.000+10:00

Some time ago, I picked up a neat game called "what's your story?" by Corban & Blair. Essentially it's a bunch of cards that have diferent questions on the back. You shuffle and then pick one to share with a group of friends eg card might say "my best holidays have been . . ." and you tell a story about that and then your friends add their adventures. It's a great concept for sharing a yarn and for elderly folk to engage with younger folk - everybody gets to share a tale or three.

Now they have a travel version of the card pack with questions like "Who has been your best travelling companion?" It reminded me of hitchhiking and some of the strange characters you meet - and sometimes escape from, like this one night I was trying to get from Lennox Head to Ballina.

After the usual theatre where cars would slow down as if to give you a lift and then take off after you run up to them while yelling abuse, one pulled over with a bloke at the wheel and a very pregnant, chatty lady in the front. "where you heading? Ballina. Hop in."

We were in the middle of nowhere on a dark road in the middle of the night when it dawned on me that the guy was not fit to drive and I resolved to get out of there as soon as some semblance of civilisation appeared. Luckily there was an all night style fuel stop/diner on the outskirts of Ballina. I said farewell to the couple and thanked them for the ride when the very pregnant lady hopped out as well.

I didn't recall them having any harsh words and this was no place to give birth. She tells me then that she was hitchhiking to Sydney and was glad to get out of that car. I wonder what became of her and her baby?

Textish Tuesday (Singles Only)

2012-01-03T05:57:00.000+10:00

Text #1 "Went to beach today. Didn't drink enough water. Got a monster headache. Think a bit of sun stroke."

Images c/- Burleigh Boardriders

Text #2 "I got in trouble for buying Cheerios because the boys think its unhealthy. I blame you."

Text #3 "Massive yesterday. Good today with 3 - 4 foot. Crowd factor - psychotic, but still got some good ones."

Monochrome Monday (MMXII)

2012-01-02T10:44:00.000+10:00

Happy MMXII.

May it bring you

many pleasant surprises.

Storm Bird x Ants

2011-12-30T07:38:00.000+10:00

Ants and storm birds are the long range weather forecasters here - foretelling rain, hail and boxing day sales. The storm birds are going nuts this morning, warning of plenty big rain.

But the weather is perfect. (At the moment)

Double double (exposure in camera)

2011-12-29T09:28:00.000+10:00

Foam Symmetry Review

2011-12-28T08:30:00.000+10:00

Harrison Roach (above) is a phenomenal surfet on long, short or wood. So I was happy to see him on the cover of Australia's latest surfing magazine. It's a bold move, putting your time and money into establishing another surfing magazine at anytime, let alone in these post-GFC, post-analogue, post-post-modern, post-Elvis times.
But that hasn't stopped Justin Bevan delivering Volume One Number One of the mag foam symmetry.

I can't show any photos from that issue as the editor's words are quite clear: "Copyright is reserved and the scanning of pages to be placed on websites or blogs is prohibited". (And as one who has had their own images infringed upon - karma will get you - I take these things seriously!) I can tell you the production values and Oz print job are sumptuous. I can tell you that after flicking through its 77 pages that I wanted to grab my old film cameras and go shootin and loggin at the same time.

I can tell you that Issue One does not appear to have any shots of WCT type shortboarders shredding Pipeline/Off-da-wall/MystoIndo/Todos/Chile/Superbank/Jbay.

I can tell you that the mag is planned to be delivered quarterly and you can subscribe for four issues for $35Au. If I was a surfin sista, I might be disappointed. Then again maybe not as the shots of all the fellas are pretty impressive. BUT (and this is my only beef) where are the sista surfers, guys? There's a double page hang five of Kassia Meador and a half page shot of Sasha Leitmanis and that's it for the girl surfers.

But don't let this put you off. It's early days for these ultra-hip media-mogul sliders. Get yourself a copy and make up your own mind.

Monochrome Monday (Mum's country)

2011-12-26T09:04:00.000+10:00

Seasons Greetings

2011-12-23T07:46:00.002+10:00

Seasons greetings

to all of my brine

brothers and sistas.

It's been nice

hanging with you

in 2011.

Solstice

2011-12-22T06:36:00.000+10:00

Those versed in the ancient arts of alchemy, astrology and astronomy will already know that today is our solstice - a time of potent portents when powerful forces are unleashed by the universe. Strangers perform random acts of kindness. Wallets get opened inexplicably. Plastic cards are exchanged for righteous fins, ballads, booze and wax.

And all around Christmas trees an office photocopiers, there is talk of spinning weather systems, spinning waves, spinning politicians and the existence of global warming, Jesus and Santa.

No matter what you believe, I hope you have a brilliant Christmas and a healthy and harmonious New Year.

Crabby

2011-12-21T05:55:00.000+10:00

Textish Tuesday (Barabajagal)

2011-12-20T06:55:00.000+10:00

Text #1 "Just sittin on the lawn in freemantle park havin an ale with K waiting for grinspoon and then inxs to come on Happy days!"

Text #2 "Feet numb. Just spent the last four hours in the rain. BEST SURF EVER and now to ingest calories."

Text #3 "Still at markets. Lots of hippies and music"

Text #4 "Surf update. It's on an awesome bb brothers. Lines of swell as far as the eye can see....so will anyone else be crook tomorrow?"

Text #5 "Well comrade it's blowin a grey gale here in the land of smoke and mirrors. Hope you can find a few sheltered waves."

monochrome Monday (black is the new grey)

2011-12-19T06:15:00.000+10:00

Long & Short

2011-12-16T07:10:00.000+10:00

Rough & smooth

2011-12-15T07:25:00.001+10:00

Town & Country

2011-12-14T07:32:00.000+10:00

Normally, I try and live in the "here and now" and enjoy every moment, but this morning, I can't wait for today to be over. I'm off to the big city for a three hour series of interviews as part of hustling up a better job.

I spent a fair chunk of last night worrying about interviews, instead of dreaming of nice uncrowded walls.

I must have got some sleep in there somewhere, because in the middle of a cranking Kirra-like right the alarm went off.

Wish me luck or say a prayer for me. Thanks.

Textish Tuesday (13-12-11)

2011-12-13T07:12:00.001+10:00

Image above by Mark Lobo of VonVintage

Text #1 "Not big. 3 feet. just in the middle of nowhere. no one out"

Text #2 "Some nice small water at OV headland this morning. hope the stitches go well."

Text #3 "Hey neilo how's the face? Hope it's OK. Got some good waves yesterday at karamas."

Text #4 "If you pitch your tent they will come. Just got in from an excellent session on the point."

monochrome Monday (It's just a shot away)

2011-12-12T06:29:00.000+10:00

Xmas Shopping

2011-12-09T08:35:00.000+10:00

Watching

2011-12-08T05:43:00.000+10:00

watching the waves
watching the watchers

Hughie Don't Surf

2011-12-07T05:50:00.001+10:00

Hughie don't surf no more. In fact he never stood up on a board like the Duke. He preferred to glide along the wave unencumbered by fibreglass and wax. He taught me to sail a boat, to spot a rip, to draw and sang me to sleep with ancient Irish lullabies when I was a kid. Happy Birthday Dad (RIP).

Tuesday (Texting not driving)

2011-12-06T06:50:00.000+10:00

Text # 1
"Scarey surf by myself yesterday at W Head. Tiny wave on The Point"

Text # 2
"A good question. I don't think you would like the answer"

Text # 3
"Accident on O St gridlock. We are stuck near R. Start walking. We have not moved for 10 minutes"

Text # 4
"Gave K the mat. She says thanks and chucks ya a couple of shuckers!"

Monochrome Monday (Aqua tints)

2011-12-05T07:09:00.001+10:00

Summer Koan #5 (in A minor)

2011-12-02T07:09:00.001+10:00

the hum of air con

eye gouging shimmer at dawn

"Hello Summertime!"

Confession

2011-12-01T06:13:00.000+10:00

Confession.

Surfing was not

my first love.

No, my first love was a 24" bicycle with a foot brake and no gears, belonging to one of the kids across the road. No bike helmet. No footwear. No worries.
I'm still riding a bike with a foot brake and a 24" tyre on the back - except the tyre is a big fat 3" cruiser variety!
"Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race"
HG Wells

Big Bubbly Bender

2011-11-30T07:18:00.001+10:00

So. You have the big Christmas bonus from an appreciative boss and want to spend it on something more worthwhile than a big bubbly bender? Then, here's a few ideas:

Surfrider Gift Membership

Medecins Sans Frontieres (doctors without borders)

Or support your local artistic community - shapers, sculptors, painters, writers, poets, minstrels and, dare I say, photogs who want to shoot a little more than weddings and corporate cheese.

Edwina Corlette Gallery presents - The Art of Xmas until 17 December 2011. (featured artist here - Julie Patterson)

And if you want to mix it all up and still taste the bubbly, try Noosa Longboards Xmas soiree this weekend - bubbly, books, boards and more.

textish tuesday

2011-11-29T07:26:00.000+10:00

Text # 1
"Yeah you better be into r and b and hip hop by the time i'm back. and house!"

Text # 2
"Time for you to go home and be a productive member of society again"

Text # 3
"Expect to hear that you jogged home in preparation for Maldives"

Text # 4
"Worked from home yesterday and surfed K's . South swell and north winds, perfect arvo"

Text # 5
"Your handwriting analysis fails dismally. Did you have a nice time at X?"

Monochrome Monday

2011-11-28T06:35:00.000+10:00

Them

2011-11-26T08:15:00.000+10:00

It's not always about Us.

Sometimes it's about Them.

The rugged and buggered,

the disadvantaged and homeless,

the broken hearted and hungry

the poor and lonely.

Most of us can give something back - a wave or a smile to a stranger. Moy Sweetman went a few steps further and set up a charity - Frangipanni Dreams - devoted to looking after the her fellow travellers in the Sunshine Coast community.

This project has no source of funding from the government. All finances come from fundraising activities and the donations of food and goods by the local community.

Tomorrow, the fundraising takes a different path (as surfers often do). This time it is for Moy, who needs a kidney transplant and her beautiful benefactor Tommy, who is donating one of his own kidney's to improve her quality of life. Details below.

Frangipani Dreams Giving Hope Incorporated is endorsed by the Australian federal government as a Deductible Gift Recipient under Subdivision 30-BA of the Income Tax Assessment Act, 1997.

If you would like to contribute some time or money to the Sunshine Coast community, the contact details are below.

Frangipani Dreams Giving Hope Incorporated

P.O. Box 2080,

Noosa Heads, Qld. 4567

Telephone Number: 0432 404 722

Caffein, craziness and commuting

2011-11-25T06:59:00.001+10:00

It's been a crazy hectic week. I feel like I've been hit by a bus.

The only things that have kept me going during these surf doldrums have been great coffee, witty colleagues and my bad dress sense.

I believe a road trip might be required.

Have a great weekend, wherever your woody takes you.

Us and Them

2011-11-24T18:52:00.000+10:00

Was going to do a post about Pink Floyd's 7 minute wonder "Us & Them" but the Google Gods (or faux google hackers) wouldn't let me in to my own blog. This is kinda what you woulda shoulda got about 12 hours ago.

"Us and them

and after all

we're only ordinary men"

Pink Floyd 1973

Me

2011-11-23T05:38:00.000+10:00

slow talking old timer
down the back of the bus
listening to an iPodsky
dreaming of waves
and trapping light
in little camera boxes
and trapping words
in little notepads

probably dribbling

forgetting to remember
hearing couplets

ageing as we connect

Random Texts (must be Tuesday)

2011-11-22T05:58:00.000+10:00

Random Text #1

"U need htc not iphone.

iphone is 4 sheep

u r a goat"

Random Text #2

"hey mate

at margaret river

god it's nice surf

gunna get some good shots"

Random Text # 3

"Kirra it's back

Offshore 3 o 4 ft

and peelin

no crowd"

Random Text 4

"Up at 6

wind was blowing here

and forecast was 4

strong winds so bailed -

but beautiful calm day now -

think i blew it"

Random Text 4s

"Great session this morning

at Ocean View

P christened his mal.

Still clean as we sit on the deck

watching it"

Monochrome Monday

2011-11-21T06:23:00.001+10:00

Space Truckin

2011-11-18T07:01:00.000+10:00

Today's pics,

from top to bottom:

Deep space.

Spaced out.

Open space.

Head space.

Art space.

Space truckin.

Have a grand weekend.

keep on truckin.

Out of Jail

2011-11-17T07:46:00.000+10:00

Ding Washing

2011-11-16T07:45:00.000+10:00

These hot northerlies are not much use for surf. But they sure get the washing dry and the solar powered ding chemicals working pronto. Board below had an altercation with some coral. They agreed to disagree. Ding repair pending.

Coolum x Cokes

2011-11-15T05:22:00.000+10:00

Coolum Bill threading his seven footer through the coral reef at Cokes and post surf stoke back at the harbour.

Monochrome Monday (Must be)

2011-11-14T06:35:00.002+10:00

Keepin it green

2011-11-11T07:02:00.000+10:00

Hope you have

a green weekend.

Kind of Blue

2011-11-10T06:59:00.001+10:00

Strictly Commercial

2011-11-09T06:40:00.000+10:00

There's a cornucopia of television beamed into the Brinecave, free-to-air from both the commercial networks (with sundry banal advertising saturation) and from the government run channels. The latter often gets an unfair description as stodgy, elitist or just boring.

Fortunately, the good folk at the Australian Broadcasting Commission have decided that surfing history, may be a part of the artistic and cultural evolution of the "youth scene" and have promoted a brilliant surf exhibit at the Museum of Sydney called Surf City based on their scene. According to MoS's blurb:

"Boardriders, shapers, writers, cultural stirrers and everyday waxheads with attitude and sun-tanned bodies shook up the conservative city and created a new culture of freedom and hedonism."

Check the museum site here.

Check the ABC's tight little video here. Stomping optional.

Bristol x Brine

2011-11-08T07:20:00.001+10:00

"I lived up at the Cross in a cheap hotel for a month and then found an apartment at North Bondi. I loved it and would have stayed there for life, but then I remarried and had two kids and I've got parents who are getting older here in England, so that's why I'm here." Geoff Barrow of Bristol trip-hoppers Portishead on why he lives there and not at the beach. Either way. they make beautiful sounds and play the Harvest Festival circuit later this year.

Monochrome (Mobile) Monday

2011-11-07T06:24:00.000+10:00

Motivation

2011-11-04T07:41:00.000+10:00

Get out.

Get wet.

Don't get too wrecked.

Have a great weekend.

Prone Science

2011-11-03T08:13:00.000+10:00

I know a little about the science behind (air) mat surfing.

I know mostly nothing about the art of body (boogie) board riding.

It looks like a ton of fun at times.

Especially when you're gliding over a shallow coffee rock ledge.

The BIFF is Back

2011-11-02T05:53:00.000+10:00

I would like to think

that followers and lurkers

of this blog

are caring and sharing

types of surfers.

Keen to share waves

design ideas and

other happening info.

Like the BIFF

Brisbane

International

Film

Festival

For the next 10 days

the BIFF

is showing a ton

of celluloid wonder,

from the silent to

the psychedelic eras -

enough to make any surfer

as happy as a pig in Brine.

All images this post courtesy of BIFF - from top to bottom: BIFF logo, Bob Evans - High on a Cool Wave, George Greenough - Crystal Voyager, Tony Edwards - Captain Goodvibes. BIFF on!

Kool x Kool

2011-11-01T05:50:00.000+10:00

electric

kool aid

acid test

Monochrome Monday Monarch

2011-10-31T05:50:00.000+10:00

Equatorial Reef Shack

2011-10-28T06:59:00.002+10:00

Most nights we would anchor

on the calm, western side of various atolls

where expensive holiday accommodation abounded.

But come morning,

we would up anchor to spend a day

in a reef pass with views like this

from the porthole.

The afternoon ritual consisted of

lazing on the top deck at dusk

sore and surfed out

in a post-session daze

waiting for the tropical light show.

The shooting stars were a bonus.

Birthday Boy

2011-10-27T06:00:00.000+10:00

Ceramic artworks by

Australian - Thai artist

VIPOO SRIVILASA

exhibiting at

edwina corlette gallery

17 Oct – 5 Nov 2011

Life in the Jungle

2011-10-26T07:56:00.001+10:00

"Somebody's got a knife
You better get yourself a gun
The junkie on the corner
He ain't havin' any fun
He just might decide to kill you
And you won't be the only one
That's life in the jungle"

from Life in the Jungle by John Mayall

Art will set you free. So they say. In downtown Medelin, Columbia one woman is doing her bit to channel youthful energy away from guns, drugs and death. BIG shout out to Tatiana Gomez of the Bestia Extraña Gallery, book, music, apparel and Toy store for providing inspiration to emerging artists as well as community spirit and pride.
If the GFC has left you in some resemblance of financial health, pump some money into the creative economy and the folks that sculpt clay, canvas, sound or foam.

deus ex board swap

2011-10-25T05:30:00.005+10:00

The blurb from the Deus Ex Machina moto-surf crew reads:

"When: Saturday, October 29 · 10:00am - 5:00pmWhere: Deus Ex Machina Motorcycles, 98 - 104 Parramatta Rd, Camperdown, Sydney NSW 2050 Australia.

Marty Worthington has just been confirmed for live custom surfboard sprays, Teal Nippard will be wittling his famed wooden alaias, live airbrushing by Tony Airspeed, Andrew from Grown will be showing off his hand crafted timber surfboards and Graeme from Bing Surfboards will have all his latest foam mowers on show. Plus Jeff's collection of surf memorabilia and vintage bric-a-brac, Dan's retro surf wears, Mex's surf art, posters and groovy gear plus much, much more."

Some worthy Worthington art from the Hot Buttered days.

Image from :Board Collector blog.

Monochrome Monday

2011-10-24T07:07:00.000+10:00

Out of tune

2011-10-21T07:12:00.000+10:00

Album of the week is The Beagle and the Dove by the John Steel Singers. I had a good listen to this CD last night on the big Denon and was magically transported away. It's one of those albums that you discover you like the more you play it.

I would be playing it again on the commute today but I have lost my iPodsky and a good pair of noise cancelling headphones. So I am tuneless. Instead having to be content with the existential banter of my fellow wage slaves.

If you would rather have your tunes live and free, then get to the Peregian Markets after show - all ages, dogs, smokers, locals, tourists kicking back on a Sunday arvo. You might see my mate H selling wooden barrels or even Coolum lad Luke MacDonald, guitarist from the John Steel Singers.

Boat x Boogie

2011-10-20T06:29:00.000+10:00

What crowd?

2011-10-19T06:18:00.000+10:00

Carefully crafted and edited surfing imagery sometimes belie the fact that just out of frame are four potential drop-ins and several boatloads of surfers all jockeying for the one prime take off spot. But once you get a wave to yourself like this, the stoke factor is ratcheted up several notches and makes the flights, the cost, the wobbly boat and suspect food all worthwhile.

Juxtaposition #9

2011-10-18T06:34:00.000+10:00

Monochrome Monday

2011-10-17T06:38:00.000+10:00

Anchor Anchor

2011-10-14T07:20:00.000+10:00

Have a great weekend and may your anchors and fins bite, when required.

Green Flash

2011-10-13T06:29:00.001+10:00

Most afternoons

we would anchor

somewhere safe

head up to the roof

have a drink

talk story

and wait

for the sunset show.

We were

never disappointed.

Once I thought

I saw

a green flash

just as the sun

wobbled beyond the horizon.

Dirty big shark

2011-10-12T06:44:00.001+10:00

One morning we were anchored in the deep pass between Pasta Point (above) and Sultan's reefs. The surf guide had told us not to paddle our boards across the channel from our boat to the reef (200 - 300 yards) because it was at least 100 feet deep and there were tiger sharks and other critters down there.

Well, we followed that instruction pretty closely - until this one day when a huge whale shark appeared out of the depths and in a lazy mood started doing a few laps under our boat. Almost everybody donned goggles and fins and joined the beautiful leviathan before it returned to the other sharks down in the inky blue black. Even the Maldivian crew. I don't recall the surf guide getting wet in the channel, though.

BIG shout out to our shipmate "Rimo" who shot the pic below.

Byron Bay Surf Festival

2011-10-11T06:53:00.000+10:00

"The festival is non-competitive and

will bring together people

that want to celebrate surfing

and the associated culture

of art, music, film, literature,

surfboard design and

environmentally friendly and

sustainable surf craft."

Byron Bay Surf Festival website

Mono Monday

2011-10-10T10:45:00.000+10:00

Cokes

2011-10-07T11:17:00.000+10:00

My cabin buddy, Bill Macdonald exiting the foam ball. This spot is called "Cokes" after the local factory. We had a cultural tour of the local village in the hot Maldivian heat for an hour or so, ending in the gift shops - the only time our feet hit land in nine days (apart from the coral!)

Young x Fever

2011-10-06T10:04:00.000+10:00

In the liner notes of his 1977 anthology album Decade, Neil Young stated that he wrote "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" while delirious in bed in Topanga Canyon with a 103 °F (39 °C) fever. So I'm making an effort to land some type here despite feeling the same on a cold, wet spring morning. I can barely click the mouse. Don't know how he did it.
Pic below is our surf guide from last week, Stumpy. He sure could sniff out the perfect take off spot and find the odd Maldivian barrel as well. I can't sniff anything at the moment. Lasted two days on The Commute before succumbing to some sort of energy sapping, nose/throat/head cold bug thing. So grateful it happened AFTER the trip and not during.

Mal (dive) Mal

2011-10-05T07:01:00.000+10:00

Pirates

2011-10-04T07:13:00.000+10:00

Mono Monday

2011-10-03T11:45:00.001+10:00

Just got an email from one of my "shipmates" asking this question, "Why is my office swaying?" After a week on a boat riding currents and waves in the Maldives, I'm in the same boat, so to speak. The wooden kitchen floor is gently swaying back and forth like our galley. Great mates. Great trip. Some memories to share over the coming weeks.
Public confession of dropping in once. Thanks Bill. What a wave!

Lynette Lingard is Legend

2011-09-24T04:44:00.000+10:00

Lynette Lingard is a legend and well deserving 15 minutes of fame on this little briney blog. She has single handedly herded a bunch of disorganised surfers, ranging in age from 18 to 59, to all get on the same plane and join a nine day boat trip through the Maldives. Starting in a few hours, when the sun comes up. I am honoured and humbled to be joining these mates I have known - some like Lynette's husband since we were both in the fifth grade. Lynette I tip my suns smart hat and my cup of mocha to you!
Back in 10.
Days.
Blog is having a holiday too.

Long Grain

2011-09-23T08:28:00.001+10:00

One for my colleague Gina, who is managing the chaos while I'm on holidays. And to all the other smorgasboarders out there, have a great weekend. (Forecast for Male 28 degrees C)

Short Grain

2011-09-22T06:33:00.001+10:00

soon to leave in search of some uncluttered, whackable walls

Multigrain

2011-09-21T06:52:00.000+10:00

Kneelograin

2011-09-20T06:55:00.000+10:00

"The whole discussion of whether an image is manipulated or not is an outdated one that belongs in a photo department at a newspaper in the ’90s. I think it’s more interesting to observe our overflow of images and the fact that every man can call their self a photographer. Out of all these images, how much can we absorb and how much will we forget?"

photographer/artist Peter Funch 2011

This post dedicated to Queensland DisAbility Action Week and the surfers with disAbility and still charging no matter what. Legends!!

Mono MOnday

2011-09-19T07:32:00.000+10:00

Namesake

2011-09-16T07:56:00.000+10:00

Album of the week is solo effort The Cat by Ben Salter, guitarist, keyboarder of Aussie bands The Gin Club and Giants of Science. Most notable for the saxophone performances by one Julien Wilson, namesake of that Coolum pro surfer and ambassador of the "swoosh" logo. What namesake would you choose to change your name to (or use as an alias/pseudonym)? Slater? Wilson? Wright? Andersen? Petersen? Greenough? Simmons? Moondoggie? Gidget? I personally like the sound of Batman Brine, Duke Drouyn or Velzy Petersen.

Today's post is for my brine brother "H" (pictured surfing and with bug), who is hauling one of his many VW's somewhere between his bushy digs in the Noosa hinterland and the crispy burbs of Melbourne. Travel safe mate.

Abstract resin tint art work taken at Casa HV is by H's fave shaper Ian Chisholm of South Coast Longboards. Have a colourful, glassy weekend (it's Spring after all)

Boss Car

2011-09-15T06:30:00.000+10:00

The Boss said I could borrow her car to go to the surf shop. She doesn't surf but said it's got roof racks.

Windy Wednesday

2011-09-14T06:47:00.000+10:00

Sometimes, when the tide intersects with the offshore wind, small, blissful moments appear before our eyes.

Two for Tuesday

2011-09-13T06:35:00.000+10:00

Who would have thought that millions of people around the world would be fascinated by the way the sun reflects off a dead object for millions of years? But if you witnessed the pumpkin coloured full moon setting in the pre-dawn chill this morning, you would have been in awe as well. Beautiful and yet "Same as it ever was" as the Talking Heads sang many moons ago. Reassuring in these crazy times.

Mono (chrome) Monday

2011-09-12T07:07:00.000+10:00

Of time and tide

2011-09-09T06:01:00.000+10:00

"But if in your thought you must measure time

into seasons, let each season

encircle all the other seasons,

And let today embrace the past with remembrance

and the future with longing"

from The Prophet by Kahil Gibran 1923

Have an enriching weekend.

Fitness

2011-09-08T06:19:00.002+10:00

People tell me that there's a place in the world for SUPs and that they are great for developing fitness, especially on small days. I thought cycling, running, yoga, skateboarding and weights would be enough to supplement fitness on flat days. People tell me that the SUP design has a lineage going right back to The Duke and the Waikiki beach boys of the 1920s. I see a clever marketing ploy to increase sales revenue for merchandisers. I see bloated boats spoiling the aloha in the line up. I must be a slow learner.

The Humble Bottom Turn

2011-09-07T06:27:00.000+10:00

Here's saluting the humble bottom turn. Not as popular in the mags as the impossibly deep fish eye barrel over razor sharp coral or the tow assisted air boost. But usually the first critical step towards maximizing Stoke.

RIP Kyle

2011-09-06T06:17:00.000+10:00

Kyle Burden

gone at 21

Another shark attack.

Wrong.

Thoughts and

prayers to you,

your family

and mates.

Mono MOnday

2011-09-05T06:34:00.000+10:00

Igloo

2011-09-02T08:02:00.000+10:00

I thank the god of my choice that it's Friday. A hard, stressful week and bugger all sleep (no thanks to my noisey neighbour and her middle aged pals who should know that most school kids and workers are probably attempting to sleep in the middle of the night.)
Luckily I have the elegant post-punk, pre-grunge tunes of The Screaming Tribesman to amp me up. (The coffee isn't working.)

On a brighter note there's a fantastic exhibition of wooden surfboards at Artisan Gallery in The Valley. Too tired to write - some pics below. A well written review can be located at Grant Newby's wonderful wooden surfboards site. Have a considerate weekend.

Fishermen

2011-09-01T06:39:00.000+10:00

HUGE shout out to a couple of fishermen, who also cut a mean arc through the brine.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYs Gary and Mark.

Hope you get a few uncrowded waves.