Family Surf Sesh

A father and son surf session is by definition a special occasion; but yesterday afternoon was more the stuff that awesome memories are made of. We had a blast!

By the time we reached Bolinas, Garrett had gotten over the wake up call. It was, after all, 11:30 when he was so rudely awakened. I think a large Kit Kat bar washed down with Redbull must have helped. I hated to disturb his repose, but when I got Mary’s blog comment about good waves, I resolved that we had to hit it. And what better way to boost G’s morale from the rigors of job hunting?

We arrived at 2 for our afternoon sesh. Both the patch and the channel were looking enticing. G said he was up for the patch. Good call! After our first wave, the surf camp contingent all took the hint and went in. And magically the waves picked up! For 2 of the 3 hours we surfed, there was no one else there. The patch was our own private playground and we did frolic!

The sets just kept coming. The waist to chest high waves were sweetly shaped and were faster than usual. There were long faces that afforded us with room to carve and maneuver. The routine was ride , paddle back, turn and ride, with hardly time to recover one’s breath. Hey, I am not complaining here. It was a gas. Now and then we’d have a lull and exclaim how much fun this was.

Another highlight was cheering each other on whenever we got great rides, which on waves like these was often. Sharing the occasional family wave made it that much sweeter, as did seeing that smile on G’s face and realizing that I was smiling myself.

A few others showed up by the third hour and we were actually glad to share some waves, looking for an excuse to slacken the pace. Our limbs turned to rubber by the end and we could hardly extract ourselves from the surf. The walk back to the car was a challenge, but our sense of tiredness was a full and satiated feeling. GOOD TIMES!!

MaxWax

The surf yesterday was messy and actually so was my board. I finally really questioned why I’d allowed 6 months of wax to become layered atop my surfboard. My McTavish Original is a state of the art epoxy tuff lite board. Underneath all that wax, it looked more like a vintage relic of the 60s that had been lying dormant in someone’s garage for decades.

First Alec showed up with his own McTavish, all newly stripped and freshly waxed. Later I watched Claude remove his Santa Cruz from its bag to reveal what looked to be a showroom sheen. That’s when I resolved that my own board was screaming for a makeover!

When I got home I laid my board in the backyard under the hot afternoon sun. A tedious task was made simple, as all the wax quickly melted to a molten mess, which I readily removed. The wax ball was nearly as big as a volleyball!

I pondered why I had allowed so much wax to accumulate and coagulate. I mean I get harassed about how spiffy I keep my bikes…not just dialed in but hyper-dialed. So why all that wax and sand patina on my board?

When I surfed in Costa Rica, the equatorial sun quickly melted my board’s wax away; so I just kept a bar at the ready in my board shorts. Traction with a minimal layer of wax was never an issue. Perhaps I’d adopted a more survivalist strategy in the chill waters of Northern CA, thinking that I’d have a better chance of making it back to shore if I maxed my wax.

Well, whatever. The transformation revealed a board that, aside from a few dings, appears brand new. I’m born again, squeaky clean and 2 pounds lighter.

Take Your Pick

There he is again….. the recycling bandit probing through my can as I emerge from my door to get the morning paper. It’s trash day and the cans are out at the curb. Are they now public domain? It still creeps me out.

“Is it all right if I pick?” he asks. “I don’t love it, but do what you gotta’ do.” I reply.

He continues with his white gloves and some sort of extension pole to methodically extract his bounty. What is more enigmatic is his late model Toyata sedan, a car that looks like that of an urban professional.

I wonder if I should rethink what goes into the can. I do shred important documents; but maybe some of my correspondence needs to be trashed rather than recycled. Did he just snag the financial section? He’s probably going to review his portfolio.

Appointment With Disappointment

I'd like to shake your hand,
Disappointment.
Looks like you win again,
But this time might be the last. –Neil Young

One second you are inside this bubble, and the next second you are outside the bubble. It’s disorienting. It’s surreal. –Levi Leipheimer

Space Madness

Leave your preconceptions on the launch pad and blast into space for Moon. This is the new release from director Duncan Jones, who happens to be David Bowie’s son. So this is like Ground Control To Major Tom stuff right? Well it is a Space Oddity; but that’s really where any comparison to famous father slips quickly by.

Not only does the film work with great visuals of moonscapes; but there’s also a taut soundtrack by Clint Mansell, who did the intensely haunting music of Requiem For A Dream.

And this is a future projection that stands apart from the usual sci fi offerings. Done on a low budget, it may lack the fireworks of the genre. Intead it is gritty and realistic, yet quite convincing with its space scenes and technology.

In Moon there is largely only one actor on screen…actually two…but they’re both Sam Rockwell. His character, Sam Bell is winding down a 3 year stint with a mining operation on the moon, when his solitary existence is confronted with a visitor….who happens to be himself. Huh?! Is the visitor an alien, a robot, a clone, or has Sam gone insane?

And if all this doesn’t sound spacey enough; there’s Kevin….Spacey that is. Or at least his voice as a Halesque robot reminiscent of 2001 Space Odyssey. But is he sinister or as benevolent as his smiley face implies?

So catch a little space madness to commemorate Apollo 11, fourty years later. “When you’re 250,000 miles from home, the hardest thing to face is yourself.”

Squirrels Gone Wild!

It's Joe Time

Wake up and smell the coffee!.... Hold up, it’s not quite that easy. There is an entire process involved here. But that sounds too tedious; so I like to think of it as a morning ritual.

Actually the ritual used to consist of a trip to my local barrista. But now I am happily my own coffee sommelier. I sound like a real coffee snob, huh? Damn straight. Yes I got tired of standing in line half awake and bedraggled, waiting endlessly while others ordered their frou frou coffee drinks. But what really changed my life was a gift from Rhio. Behold the Chemex coffee carafe.

I always start by grinding the best beans I can muster. The water must not be boiled too vigorously so as not to "bruise" the beans. First I add only a splash to allow the beans to "bloom". As they rise, I inhale the deep aroma…..country fresh, like a morning after a rainstorm. At last my brew is ready and I drink in this infusion of life blood. Let’s get this party started!

GrapeScape

Sorry Ladies...DaBlog is Taken

Chicks just dig DaBlog. It’s like that. I guess it’s cause DaBlog is in touch with it’s feelings. Like all emo and shit. Well this post goes out to one very special lady and her name is RHIO! So there it is....and I think someone is gonna get lucky tonight!

DaBag

“Dad, look at you. You’re still in your pajamas”, observed son, Garrett at 3 in the afternoon. Technically I was still in the sweats I’d slept in the night before. “Have you even showered?”, he asked. Technically I hadn’t. You see, I work at home. No, DaBlog is actually not my day job!

I produce topographic maps for a land surveying company. It all takes place by email with an occasional phone call. I haven’t even seen the boss since the office Christmas party. And no, he doesn’t read DaBlog.

The work is visual and technical, which I like. Not feeling my legs after a long session at the computer, I no like. Working from home, I love. I’m usually flexible enough to bike and even surf occasionally. The recession has enabled the fitness regimen too, though I am super busy right now.

I wonder what the neighbors must think as they see my car perpetually parked in the driveway, coming and going only with bike atop or groceries within. Guess I’m very often here hibernating.

Officer: Ma’am, what can you tell us about the suspect?
Neighbor: He’s a quiet fellow…keeps to himself….always friendly.
Officer: Hmmm…Anything else?
Neighbor: Well, he does spend an awful lot of time digging in that back yard of his.
Officer: What else?
Neighbor: Some mornings he drags a long bulky bag to his roof rack and drives off before sunrise. Wonder what the hell he has in there?

Fleeting Moment of Inspiration

I forgot to remember. Doh!

Woody David

Certs? Certainly. Breath mint, yet a candy mint. And that all important tiny drop of retsyn. Oh the “two, two, two” idiom and perhaps the ultimate synergy…..til now.

You’ve seen George Costanza as Larry David’s alter ego. You’ve seen Larry David as himself. But now , you can see Larry David doing Woody Allen. Hey, Whatever Works definitely works.

Why Does DaBlog Blog?

We get a lot of e-mail responses here at DaBlog, which don’t always make their way into the actual blog format as comments. So all the staff here at the World Headquarters of DaBlog (ie. the voices in my head) just thought it would be fun to share some actual excerpts (no shit, these are real). So next time you wonder why we do it; it’s for the little joys of this kind of reciprocity and the sense of community that evolves from DaBlog!

So here ya go:
>I don't have a blog...At least I have a BlackBerry.
>I may start a blog, if I can find a place where time stands still.
>You got too much time on your hands.
>How the F do you comment on that Blog?
>AMEN
>Cool blog! But where are the hot babes?
>Now that's nasty!
>Some funny stuff.
>This is all new stuff to me and I will check it out more thoroughly but right now I have to take my mom to get her hair cut.
>still quite technologically challenged when it comes to internet
>Dude, not hangin' in a crispy way (or wave for that matter)!
>Am enjoying your ruminations via the blog..
>You are the one of prolific creativity.
>I appreciate the second photo--girl in thong on surfboard.
>Personally, I enjoyed the humor of the Q&A about Da Blog.
>worried that your creative blogness had evaporated.
>Matt, we and the world need to know your opinion on everything, no matter how mundane and insipid they may seem.
>you have entertaining things to say regarding current events
>it's a good way for your friends to continue to get to know you
>impressed with your ability to navigate and retrieve things for your blog from the Internet.
>just slogging around

Hella Funny

I’m still not sleeping all that well. Not since I saw Drag Me To Hell! (What better way to for a good dad to share Father's Day with his son?) This movie reaches beyond ‘over the top’. I know you must be thinking how could director, Sam Raimi ever surpass Evil Dead 1 thru 3? Drag Me To Hell leaves the traumatized viewer only one way out…full on laughter. It’s a stylized dark comedy, with an ending that rivals Carrie (I’d hate to spoil it for you). Don’t even wait for the DVD, as it’s a must see on the big screen. And, oh yeah, I wouldn’t piss off any gypsies!

Blog On, Right On !

WOW. Seems like DaBlog has just exploded!! Who knew? There have been responses from Calif. to Oregon, all the way to PA. There is even international exposure in Italy.

I just hope I can sustain the same level of scintillating creativity and intense emotional outpouring and not hit that dreaded wall of blogger’s block. So, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Ringo said it best... “You got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues and you know it don’t come easy.”

Shout Out

A big shout out to Lukey Lou, Jesse, Rod and all those third graders!

Pailin is Bailin'

Wonder what will surface? How 'bout that sex tape with Joe The Plumber?

Go Astana!

I grabbed a shot of Levi & Lance at this year's rain soaked Amgen Tour. Faaasst! Some early training for tomorrow's Tour de France.

Mirror Man

As I sit here icing my iliotibial band, I wonder if I should have danced around the living room like that. Couldn’t help myself as I replayed Man In The Mirror again and again. And that Billie Jean remix. Shamone!

I know, I know. Michael Jackson was a mixed up and misunderstood guy. He did possess some true inner beauty though and his genius cannot be denied.

I tell ya, I actually choked up when I first downloaded Man In The Mirror and gave a listen. (How ironic the title) I guess his estate can sure use the download royalties, what with a 500 million dollar debt. I’d find it hard to spend 5 million, let alone 500! Actually I could have used the 99 cents I spent with iTunes; but it was worth it.

My first reaction to the Michael news was genuine sadness. Such a loss, such an icon, such a tragic figure. Ever striving for love and addicted to plastic surgery. Dude had his face dialed in but had to keep going. So sad. And the chicken hawk charges…we’ll never really know what or who went down.

We loved him and then we loved to dis him and fixate on his weirdness. Now we love him again posthumously. Soon we’ll speculate again on all the strange news that emerges. His music will endure and as for the man, he now truly resides in Neverland.