Surf Fridays!

Sign, 1969

Travel brochure, ca. 1916

Magazine advertisement, 1939

Postcard, 1962

Travel brochure, ca. 1924

Book cover, 1915

Children's book illustration, 1936

I am daydreaming about surfing Waikiki Beach. I went there in May of 2006 and had the best, longest surf ride ever. I was smiling to myself, passing other people in the water, smiling at them. I will never forget that moment and feeling.

I must have been radiating good vibes and the aloha spirit! It makes me understand why it's so important to do what we love because that's when we pass on the stoke so naturally. That's when we share the aloha feeling to others, without even trying. And that's when love makes the world go around.

There's a new surf movie called Finding Aloha.

Finding Aloha marks a cinematic convergence of body and mind. It contains dynamic action footage, some of the most stunning ever to appear on film, but it is also a testament to the human spirit. Armed with both qualities - physical prowess and a gentle heart - these adventurous athletes find the key to harmony in the Hawaiian islands. They discover, and nurture, aloha.

As the film depicts, aloha can be a simple barbecue on a Hawaiian beach, graced by laughter, generosity and a visitor's respect. It comes easily to anyone who spends a lifetime sharing, giving and raising a family. It forever evades the rude, the insensitive and the arrogant. Countless water-sports athletes, particularly surfers, have gone to Hawaii with a warrior's mentality. Knowing the best spots are crowded and fiercely protected, they try to barge in, impose their will, take what is not rightfully theirs. They will find no aloha.

Aloha has its roots in patience and understanding, a feeling that there's always another wave, that it might be more worthwhile to make a few friends along the way.

Check out the rest of the story summary chronicling big wave surfer Dan Moore, Layne Beachley, Mark Anderson, Jimmy Hall, Laird Hamilton and Tahitian surfer Vetea "Poto" David.

It premiers in Pacifica, CA on March 27th, with Dan Moore attending for Q&A. For those in the SF Bay Area, check out the Pacifica Beach Coalition for details. See you there!

Much Aloha to you.

Surf Fridays!

Hi there! Well first, to those friends who live in LA, Jay and I decided not to come down this weekend for the TOMS Sole Surfing art show. Oh how we wanted to! It's a bit close to the holidays and we are thinking of our budgets. I thank those of you whom I was hoping to meet there and buy you a beer - one day it will happen, for sure! And man, I hope everyone near Santa Barbara is doing OK with those fires.

So to make up for the fact that we aren't heading down south, we are going to be with you in spirit by going to a rad show called LA Paints at the Oakland Museum. I want to see the work of The Date Farmers up close and personal. They are the two lads responsible for this awesome piece of work (which I first noticed on Quality Peoples).


Also, we are going to surf a fun spot in Santa Cruz (I haven't been in the water for too long). I hope I can still paddle. By the way, I should get this off my chest. You know I write about surfing all the time and it appears in my artwork - I feel it is in the core of my being, the passion I have for everything about it is so strong. But, I'm not very good at it. I also don't feel like I'm a natural, which makes it a little worse. However, it is one of my life goals to be good at it one day, with grace and tricks and toes on the nose (all 10). I want to feel on the surfboard the way I do when I paint. I know that as with many things in life, it is mainly a matter of simply carving out the time and doing it.

Last night, I watched a movie on PBS. It's called Of Wind and Waves: The Life of Woody Brown. Have you seen it? It made me laugh and cry and I watched in amazement as I learned all kinds of things about this man that I never knew before! For example, I never knew that he built the first modern catamaran to take tourists on rides off of Waikiki Beach or that he was one of the first five or six people on the planet to surf Hawaii's big waves.

In the documentary, Woody talked about surfing Oahu's North Shore: "I always wanted to challenge death. I loved to get just as close to death as I possibly could and then dodge it. That was my thrill in life." He followed that statement by a hearty laugh.

Woody is featured in one of my favorite films, Surfing for Life - where one of the interviewees says, "I don't think you can ever be too old to be stoked". Woody passed away in April this year at the age of 96, and surfed until he was 90.


This brings me to cool Aussie Mick, of Safe to Sea - who reports that his award-winning film Musica Surfica is finally available for us on DVD! You can order it here.

Have a good weekend everyone. Remember, you're never too old to be stoked! Check it out.