Kyle Busch is a douchebag...

Fucking Kyle Busch.
Watch this embarassing moment by the kook.

I would never let this kook take a wave on me.

Festivus Trivia!

1) In the 1920's, what was the product, called Fresca?
a) beverage
b) douche
c) preservative

2) Up to how many maggots, does the FDA allow per 100 grams of canned mushrooms?
a) 10
b) 15
c) 20


These are a couple of the questions during TP at Festivus this year.
This is what FRESCA was, and here is what the FDA allows. (thanks to thrunk for the stats on the FDA)

Gnarly!

Make Money Now!!!!

When I was growing up, I would stay up late on Saturday nights to watch the WWF. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat was my idol. I loved Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake, and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Man, Koko B. Ware, The Junkyard Dog, and of course, Hulk Hogan was the shit!
I was a total Hulkamaniac. I went to a match where he atomic dropped Scary Sheri. Oh man, I loved that shit when I was a kid.

While waiting anxiously until 12:00 midnight, I would see this guy on every other channel.
He's the best.

Giant....

Jellyfish are rad. (thanks t.o.)

Why I Love America...

Trump Rules!
I love the fact that this girl gets a "second chance", but seriously, how fricken hilarious is this story? Apparently, this girl tested positive for blow, has been known for being a super freak, and misses promo appearances frequently. I mean, come on people, who the fuck cares?!
I love that she does blow though...hahahahah!

Also, we need to start doing this kinda thing for fun!

This has gotta be one of the most classic scenes ever...
YES THATS A GUY IN A TANK TOP!!!

You're the BEST, AROUND! Nothings ever gonna keep you down!
Admit it, growing up you fucking loved this movie. I vividly remember my mom taking my sister and I to this one. At the time, I was probably a brown belt, so this movie was the shit. Lots of my friends don't know this, but I am a 4th degree black belt in HapKiDo. I have practiced since I was 5 years old, under the instruction of Grand Master Tae Man Kwon in Torrance, CA. (if you look hard enough, you may even find a picture of me when i was like 18)
He's like a second father to me and I owe a lot to him. The guys like 5'1, and he can kick some serious ass. I've seen him do stuff that you see in the movies...amazing.

Oh yeah, Yul is the man too! 2/3 finalists were Korean! Woohoo!

Frontman of famous "jamband" arrested...

This was posted this a.m. Classic picture!
I just saw Trey this past weekend at the Warfield in downtown SF. The first out of two nights was possibly one of the most boring, ridiculously lame Trey (solo) shows that I have been to. It had moments where the jams didn't bore me, but for the most part, it seemed as if he wanted to push his new album a little bit. Thankfully I went back Friday night. Not only was he on, but it was possibly one of the best Trey shows I have been too! Not only was he rippin his guitar, but the vibe in the Warfield was super stoked ans festive...and perhaps the tiny piece of paper had some influence.
Things have been a little strange since then...

Went the the GS Warriors game last night but left before Baron hit the super dramatic shot with 1.2 seconds left in the game. I was super beat and haven't been sleeping, so I didn't regret it until I came home, saw what happened, and then couldn't fall asleep until 3:45 am.

Gnarls.

Classic...
This is actually a great story about the worlds tallest man saving two dolphins from dying.
Thank god for long limbs....hey-O!

Its the end of the year, big swells hitting the entire coast, rain is falling everywhere...pretty much in the winter now. There is snow on the mountains, Tahoe looks pretty sick, but its a shame that I prob wont make it up there too much this year. Talked to some braddahs in LA last night and I am looking forward to a NYE evening of surfing when the clock strikes midnight.
2006 has been pretty fricken radical so far, and there are still a few weeks left, but I am really looking forward to 2007.
January kicks off with a 14 hour trip to New Orleans to see Jeff Tweedy at the House of Blues, and the NASCAR season starts in 65 days with the Daytona 500! I really hope that I can get 5 races in next year! Also, just got my plane tickets to NYC in February, and even with the recent turn of events, I plan to go to either Belize or Costa Rica in March/April.
End of April/beginning of March is NOLA JazzFest...so before the Summer even comes, I have an fun-packed winter and spring.

Word em up bitches.

Might as well...


Get bit by a fucking shark than a spider that makes you go through this.

Damn!

sharks are rad, but kinda sketch...

Another shark attach from a Great White in the Bay Area.
I fricken hate surfing around these beautiful animals, mostly cause they try to eat us.

the cove....

this is the local spot i surfed about 4-5 times a week, for years growing up in PV.
Malaga Cove is one of the most epic longboarding spots in the entire world...in my opinion.
There are several smaller breaks including the boneyards, ski jumps, and indicators, but when its big, you can catch a wave from indicators all the way inside.

EPIC!

Time has told...

Its over johnny...its over.

kooks...

Although I grew up in Palos Verdes and absolutely love the place, the people are total assholes and the surfers are probably among the worst. Lunada Bay gets world class breaks a few times a year and has been surfed for as long by a crew of 40-something losers known as "the Bay Boys."
Some of them shred and are epic surfers, but they are dicks. They consider it to be a local break and only a very select few outsiders get to paddle out. For fucks sake, its like they think they are all some Johnny Boy Gomes at Pipe or something.
If you're an outsider, and get through a flurry of rocks being thrown at you while trying to paddle out, you may return to your car with flat tires, a broken windshield, and most likely some kind of human waste on some part of your car. Fucking kooks.
Recently, I read a surf report that claims that some of the new school kids are starting to do this at "the Cove", also known as Malaga Cove. This is truly a historical break with tons of the old guys growing up surfing there. Now I hear its become a nightmare.

I would love to chance to paddle out one day, when there are tons of there fuckers, and have one of them threaten me as a newcomer. I surfed that place before some of these shits were even walking. Oh man, that would be some fun shit.

Fuck barneys.

Surf flicks....

There's nothing like watching some epic surf movies like this one.
Tyler is actually one of the best surfers that I know...in the entire world.
You can see him here too.

Here is some classic footage from the best surf movie ever made, and something thats coming out soon.

This one is about surfing in SoCal. Here we have one with grips of epic longboarders.

More and more and more....

Wilco and Jeff Tweedy + more....

Wilco is possibly one of the best bands on the planet right now, and their frontman Jeff Tweedy is an incredible songwriter. At my birthday dinner, I was asked what my favorite show during the past year was and after pondering, I declared out loud that it was the Jeff Tweedy solo show I was fortunate enough to see at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Amazing.
Tweedy just released Sunken Treasure, a dvd of bits and pieces of live performances on his solo Pacific Northwest tour, including parts from the show I attended.

While talking about bands with dvds, check out Okonokos. I fricken love these guys!
MMJ is awesome.

Time Will Tell...

I have been super busy the past few weeks. Since Hawaii, seems like I am playing catch up with every aspect of my life. My work is awesome and I have made some new additions that I really look forward to. Its something new, something crazy, but all-in-all, I think its something special.

Also, celebrated my 29th birthday with about 45 of my close friends. It was so epic to walk into a bar and see most of the people are friends. Headed up to a much needed weekend of pampering this weekend, but before that, I have two nights of Trey (here us one more), one of those nights are split with a local show with the Shins, the Raconteurs, and the Killers...should be an interesting night.

Lots of stuff going in the world these days as well. Today, James Kim's body was discovered. Its been a long time since a news story hit me so hard. Truely a bummer. Don't even want to really get into it.

On a more inspirational note, a client of mine pointed out this movie to me after she went to a screening last night. Woody Brown is a legendary, 94-year old surfer that still paddles out in Hawaii. Obviously he doesn't charge huge surf anymore, but at 94-years old I hope I can wipe my own ass let alone paddle out. The filmmaker made an award winning movie about old school surfers called Surfing For Life. Check em'out.

Some funny/interesting videos that I have seen recently as well:
Here is a funny guy that I saw on the web...wtf?
This is another reason that we should be grateful that we aren't from the South....actually its pretty rad.

Welcome to the real world....

Michael Richards is a kook. A fucking barney ass, racist motherfucking kook.
Its a shame that he did what he did, but it just shows you what some pyscho people are like. His apology was garbage...fuck off dude.

He's gotta be on coke, no?

Time Will Tell...

Kauai...
My question to the rest of you is, what beats Hawaii?
Seriously, even with all the tourists and chaos, the isnas is where its at.
I met up with my folks after a long morning of travel yesterday. Finally got to the home pad and the place looks sick. Right on the beach! Literally, like 10 yards from Kalapaki Beach. So stoked. Went down to Poipu today and spent the a.m. hours snorkeling, swimming and surfing. Its about chest high right now so pretty epic for longboards. Stoked!
Pulled a super lame manuever on my first snorkel today too. A surge came through and I grabbed a rock that had some urchins underneath it. Ended up getting about 40 barbs stuck in my three middle fingers on my left hand and it hurts like a motherfucker! Urchin barbs are not epic...once they get in you, they pretty much work themselves as deep as possible into your flesh. Now, I have black spots on my fingers where the barbs went in and it will prob remain that way until they fall out or my body just eats them up.
Ew!

Anyway, Kauai is epic...i really wanna buy here.

Aloha bitches!

Hugs...

Hugs are important and people need to give more of them.
I have decided that I will no longer be giving out half-ass hugs...thanks Shindizzle.
Practice random acts of kindness!

Oh yeah, GW is a douchebag and the House is now in the lesser of two evils hands!
yay!

15 years ago today....

Wow! I can remember the afternoon press conference so well. Magic Johnson told the whole world that he would be retiring from the NBA because he had HIV. Being a diehard Lakers fan my entire life, and watching "showtime" for so many years, it was probably the single most devasting day of my life.
Thankfully, with research and medication, many folks with HIV can live totally normal, healthy lives. Thankfully, Magic has stepped up and contributed tons of money for research and eventually a cure for this disease.
Yeah Magic Johnson.

Friends Rule.....






Highway 1 Bar Tour. Tons of fun. Endless I say!

Pop music!

I used to hate it, but now i love the shit..., at least some of it.
I just threw on a cd that brought back a flood of memories in a heartbeat.
I miss LC...a lot.

Mega Ramp...

I just came across an old skateboarding legends website that I havent visited yet.
Many people outside of the skating community have never even heard of this guy, but he is possibly the sickest skater ever to live. Everybody knows Tony Hawk and some people know Bob Burnquist from the X Games...but Danny Way is insane.
Check out this footage from China, or this gnarly backside 360. He is also known for building the most insanely huge ramps ever, known as...MEGA RAMP. He just built one at Bob Burnquists house in San Deigo that cost over $250,000.
Epic.

Enjoy.

This is what you get when you eat the Golden Arches....

Dude, I almost barfed while reading this, but I know for a fact that I vurped!
(vurp - when you vomit in your mouth and swallow it again, ew!)

not to be confused....

When i said you shouldn't talk about race with people, don't let that confuse you with "races."
I highly suggest you keep talking about them...especially them NASCAR kind.
Yeah boy!

Something to think about...

People say there are two things you should never talk about with people you just meet:
1) Politics
2) Religion

I have a third...RACE! Dont talk about race....not a good thing.
Although I will never know what its like to be white, there is no way in hell a white person can even imagine what its like to be a minority. Problem is that I have surrounded myself with smart people. People that AREN't racist, but because they are smart, they think they know whats up.
Maybe some of them do, but come on...have you ever had someone make slanted eyes gestures towards you? Have you ever had someone talk slowly to you because there's just no way I know how to speak Engrish.
I am the lone asian in an all white crowd. They dont look at me as Korean, they say, but I look at myself as Korean and I think I stick out very obviously in a sea of pale skin.

Perhaps I created my own problems. Maybe I need to socialize with more asians...
We can all try and say that we love each other, color has no barriers, etc...we need to work on it big time and not pretend to think we know what its like, and instead, admit that we are all ignorant sometimes.

kooks are lame!

Obama or bust...

Everywhere you turn these days, is news about the elections that will shape the next several years in our House and Senate. Mamy states are choosing new Governors as well, including California. I fricken can't stand the Governator, but Angelides is sort of a kook himself. Its basically gonna be the lesser of two shitheads...again...as usual.
2008 is also coming into the picture now. Hillary looks really strong, but there are no clear candidates yet. Kerry says he'll prob run, Edwards should be expected as well. Then there's Obama! He gained tons of popularity after his speach at the convention in 2004, and since then has been gaining support throughout the country. But...this will stir things up for sure within the party. Will Hillary lose most of the African-American votes? Hillary will need those votes. With South Carolina being the first state to hold a primary, who will come out on top?
There is an excellent article in the NY Times and Obama's hints towards running.
I guess once they all officially announce their candidacies, we'll know.

Bottom line...F W!

The Lone Star State...

First of all, if you're from Texas, I am sorry. Really sorry. I have never had anything good happen when in Texas. Even in Austin, which is the only city in that state that isn't completely nuts. Needless to say, we all know our President is from that place too. Remember the Alamo...my ass!
I have met some great folks from there, but as a whole, that place is back-ass-wards.

There are some folks in Texas that still believe Texas to be its own Republic. Come on people!
Anyway, to show you how fucked up TX is, look at what a State run website does here.

Gnarls!

North Korea, South Korea...

With so many problems in the world today, we have recently been blown away with the news that North Korea has nuclear weapons. Can we really be that shocked?

A brief history and cultural lesson for everybody...technically, North Korea is still at war with South Korea and the United States. The Korean War never ended, and as a Korean American, I can tell you that this problem still exists, every single second of everyday. As a Korean person, I cannot look at the North Korean people as my enemy. Koreans never had the choice! The whole reason there is a North and South is because the U.S.A, and China and the then Soviet Union divided it at the "38th parallel," which is the most heavily guarded and armed border in the world.
Millions of Korean families were broken up, lost, kidnapped...not by choice, but because of political, geographical, and economical reasons. To this day, I have a great uncle that i will never meet, talk to, or even be able to send a letter to without worrying about censorship from the DPRK.
Geographically, Korea is an easy entrance way to all of Asia through the Pacific Ocean. Lying between China and Japan, Korea has endured centuries of war with both countries. There is still grips of animousity between these nations. Once the West became interested in Asia, the shit started to hit the fan everywhere. The US became interested with using Korea and other parts of Asia for military reasons. Strategically, the US and the Soviet Union (backed by China) formed a demarkation line at the 38th parallel separating Korea, into North and South. To this day, the United States and China have strategic agendas to make sure North and South will never ONE again.
Why shouldn't we be suprised about the North having nukes?
Well, we have known for over a decades that North Korea has sold arms to communist, guerilla, and outcasted nations. Having the USSR and China backing you pretty much means carte blanche. Once the Soviet fell and China became a Capitalist society there was little interest in North Korea. This left them fend for themselves with limited resources coming in as aid, where previously they lived typical Cold War communist ways. During this time, the South, backed by the United States prospered becoming one of Asia's major players. North Korea desperately wanted to get a piece of South Korea's action, so they started to trade, deal, and work even closer with sketchy countries.
During the 1990's, much of Asia suffered from a drought, but 3rd world countries like North Korea were extra fahked. Millions and millions of Korean people in the North died of starvation, and yet there was little to no media coverage of this. In the 1980's, celebrities rushed out to make cheesy songs to help countries around the world with starvation, but in 1995, not a single country but South Korea came to aid the North. Eventually, China started to send more aid, but even to this day, North Koreans have nothing to eat. Millions of tons of rice is exported weekly from South Korea and still people die everyday.
Towards the end of that decade, the US started to communicate with North Korea but due to an upcoming election, things were pushed to the side. Once Bush took office, he has basically blown off negotiations with North Korea, usually blaming the Clinton administration of ruining relationships with the North.
Why is this so important?
If the North has nukes, and their Leader Kim Il-Jong is crazy enough to see millions of his own people die of starvation while he eats like a king, why wouldn't he use it on neighboring nations like Japan, China, or even South Korea? He would. As I write this, there are hundreds of missiles and rockets pointed straight to Seoul, only a skip away. In less than 20 minutes after launch, thousands of Koreans will be dead. North Korea knows that the US (probably) wouldn't let this happen. Japan, China, Russia, the USA, and South Korea should all be shitting bricks and worried about what to do.

It freaks me out when i think about all the issues going on in Asia. Being Asian-American is already tough in this country, but being Korean-American may be even more difficult if things keep going the way they do. Muslims faced it recently with 9/11, and its only 60 years ago that the US Government displaced thousands of Japanese-American by forcing them to abandon their lives and live in internment camps. They (US GOV) said it was for "their protection."
Fahk that. They were scared. That was ONLY 60 years ago people...think about it.

Within my circle of friends, I am known to speak my mind and its not unusual for me to make snide comments about being "white people" and how I interact with a mostly all white crew. Although I believe in my heart my friends don't look at me as "the Korean guy," I often find myself feeling out of place just because of my skin color. Obviously my social circles are a result of my upbringing, but its still something I think about. Recently, a friend had a shirt made for me that read, "from the good korea". I know he had no ill intentions of getting this shirt for me, but it made me realize the naivity about what truly is the situation in my motherland.

Get out of my way!

Surfing...hard to think of something better than it, but its tough. The feeling you get when you step into liquid is like no other. Snowboarding, skating, skiing, wakeboarding, nothing is quite the same.
Then you got longboarders vs. shortboarders...I grew up riding single fin, 10 foot boards my entire life. I can ride short, little 1 1/2 inch thick grom riders, but they aren't as exciting to me. Fishes are fun though. I want a new 6'0...sick!

Surfing has taken off tremendously in the past 30 years. Its super popular and tons of people are learning every single day. I think its great that people get to experience the same feelings I do when I am in the lineup...but...STAY THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY KOOK!

One of the biggest reasons (besides being a () in the cold water) is the fact that tons of kooks are out there, taking off when they shouldn't, having no control of themselves let along their boards, and just cause they own a $400 wetsuit, they think they rip. Recently a girl I know took up surfing. Now she is convinced that she is a surfer. Thats what we call a kook folks. KOOK!!
BARNEY GALORE! She was trying to tell me that the ocean water in SF is 65 degrees...it wouldn't get that warm here unless hell became earth. I am the last person that thinks he knows everything, but the ocean, surfing, any waterman activity, do you really think I don't know my shit?

I am not trying to be a smartass or an asshole, I just wish people knew where the fuck they fall into the world. If you choose to learn to surf, good on ya, just stay the fuck out of my way.

Here is some NORCAL footage to keep you going.

How rad...

would it have been to be at this show...thats real talk.

While you wait...

Here is a quick little piece of entertainment from our lake sonoma trip.
More to come very soon.

Getting older, not old....

There are so many cliches about life. How short it is so we should live the fullest lives possible, etc....

Well, its true! During the last couple of years, I have been reminded almost daily that I am getting older each day. Every commercial on tv tries to sell products to help us stay young. Viagra, Levitra, Cialis...all products for men to keep a boner so they feel young. Skin creams and ointments to help your wrinkles, body sprays for men to get young, hot girls...its absurd!
Maybe its been this way for years...maybe its just cause I am getting older and finding myself in front of the television each night.
Its become a problem...too many entertaining shows on tv every single night these days.
Oh well.

Hawaiian Style...

So I have been feeling a little bit lost lately. Not having the ocean lifestyle that I had growing up is starting to eat at my brain and my soul. Being a waterman is part of who I am and not being able to surf, kayak, swim in the ocean really takes its toll on my well-being. One way I have found to get me closer to my roots has nothing to do with being in the ocean though. I just found out, that I can still put my heart and mind into the ocean while playing my ukulele.

I have had a keen interest in the ukulele for a long time. I finally decided that it was time to give it a shot. Within two days I have taught myself a variety of songs and have even been able to play some songs that I never thought I would.

There's something about sitting in my room, closing my eyes, and playing songs by IZ, Jack Johnson, and other hawaiians. So good.

One day, maybe I can rip like this girl.

But...the best in the world is still Jake.

Planning for the best camping trip ever...

Well, its just sorta camping. The final preps are being planned for the 2nd Annual Lake Sonoma Flotilla. we have reached our capacity/goal of 50 people for this trip.
Planning for 50 people, let alone 50 squirly people is a VERY difficult task. Having limited spaces and locations that can accomodate that many people can be a daunting task, but knowing how much fun we are gonna have as a crew is worth every second of it!
I have reserved a private campsite that is located in a Redwood Grove and only accessible by boat. We also have 2 pontoon boats and 1 ski boat with a wakeboard, ski's, and a tube. We will def be able to get our groove on being so secluded on a lake.

I decided to bail out on Vegoose this year. Its too expensive...but the lineup looks incredible. Looks like I only have Hawaii and a possible trip to Phoenix in the plans for the rest of the year.

Haven't had much time to write lately, but its been a drama filled past couple of weeks.
Dont forget...Hasselhoff rules!

Its been a little while...

My life has been in a total uproar! Nothing bad, just craziness all around me. Pyscho ex's showing up in the most random places at the most random times...friends saying and doing crazy things...wierd events happenening around the world...loss of a friend....

Its nuts! Things were really strange for a little while in the land of Gnarlystoke. Seemed like the air was thick, constantly pushing down on me. Finally, something happened. Not a single event that I can point out, but I basically started to pull myself slowly out of the funk. Its still a process that will take time, but I am ready to face those challenges.
I plan to write more tonight, but in the meantime...enjoy!

Another funny one...

I think dance-offs are the best. A friend of mine was at Knotts Berry Farm in SoCal this weekend and witnessed some folks get it on with a dance off at the park. Nothing like impromtu dance offs!

Like this one.

Weekend in review...

Ended up going to Six Flags MarineWorld on Friday night with a good crew of people. Had a blast!
The rollercoasters were so much fun to get on. Sorta felt like the kid in my previous post a couple of times, but for the most part, we had a terrific time. I lost my cellphone though...sucks.
Good thing I had my backup phone in the car and in service by the time we go to the cars at the end of the night. Ha...what a dork I am.

Spent the day yesterday in a limo, and wine tasting through Healdsburg. Needless to say, we got hammered. Our friends J & J, took some of us to 4 wineries, and we got totally wasted. Out of 10 people that were going to the phry last night, only 1 made it out.

Today I helped out with a friend's mom's event in the SOMA area. Spent some time there and met up with some friends. I gotta remind myself to stick around when single woman are around!

Alright, closing this boring review with a funny video from American Pie 3.

Life's too short....

I woke up yesterday a.m., to an posting made by my friend in NYC. I grew up with her in SoCal and knew her family well. She let us know that her brother, a friend of mine, passed away this past Saturday and that the services would be today. Needless to say, I was deeply saddened, in a state of shock, and trying my hardest to find out if this was true.

Since graduating high school, several close childhood friends and kids in the neighborhood have passed. Most people I know can't relate to that, but growing up there has been said to even be a curse on our area high schools because of the number of deaths.

CH was truly a great person and a fantastic human being. He was a police officer for the Inglewood PD, a loving husband, son and brother. I have memories of him walking around in the same jacket all the time, a baseball cap down low on his face, and being a good guy.

Life truly is too short, and once again it takes a tragedy to learn that. Too may young folks I know have passed. It reminds me to enjoy life to the fullest and appreciate every second you have on this planet CH was only 28 when the accident happened. My thoughts are with the family...

I love rollercoasters...

This is why. (courtesy of bh)

I may love my medicine, but this is ri-cock-u-lous....

There is nothing like the love of a mother...fucker!

City by the Bay...

San Francisco is truly one of the great city's in the world. Obviously, there is nothing but New York, but for a lot of people, NYC is just too gnarly. Paris, London, Rome, Tokyo, Seoul...all major hubs around the world, but there is NOTHING like this town.

Where else do a million people (half in drag) get together on the streets, on Halloween to celebrate? Where else can you find the world class skiing/snowboarding within a short car ride, surf the biggest, gnarliest wave in North America, and cross one of the most beautiful bridges...all in one day?

Its always been known to be "liberal" but I think we are more progressive!
Golden Gate Park, Crissy Field, the Presidio, Alcatraz, Transamerica building, Coit Tower, Twin Peaks, the Castro District, Ocean Beach...its all unique.
We also have great restaurants!

SF ROCKS!

Public Pools...

I grew up swimming me entire life. Literally, 4-5 hours a day, for over 13 years, and YES! I pee'd in the pool.

The ultimate funk...

During my times of "funkiness" i have decided to take a second and try to think of some of the great things in my life and things i love(not in any particular order):

1) Lifeguarding
2) my Health
3) delicious wines
4) my friends
5) the beach
6) my wonderful hat collection
7) hawaii
8) pancakes
9) the smell when you get off the plane in hawaii
10) holding someone you love close to you
11) sunsets
12) sunrises
13) moonscreen
14) herb
15) swimming
16) my car...betty
17) diving in the ocean...being underwater
18) durango, co
19) paris, france
20) train stations in europe
21) NYC
22) NASCAR
23) Surfing
24) surfing in hawaii
25) books
26) peace
27) conversation
28) magazines
29) watches
30) cool shoes
31) my ipod
32) boardshorts by TM
33) Fishing
34) camping
35) learning something new everyday
36) pharms
37) cid
38) live music
39) road trips
40) romance
41) beautiful glass pieces
42) museums
43) dolphins
44) sharks
45) jellyfish
46) oysters
47) the grateful dead
48) wilco
49) campfires
50) my guitar

ok...that helped.

One of the best bands ever...

This was shown at the 20th Anniversary show in Boston, 2003.

Loss of a friend...

Eric from Boonville was a good pal. We first met at the Boonville BeerFest, introduced by a dirty wookie. When I first sat down with E, he shared his talents with the entire group. Everybody there was so impressed with how friendly and "kynd" he was right off the bat. He was a big fan of the Boonville AirBand and loved the outdoors.
Last night, Eric fell over. He cracked his head and is no longer with us.
He was a good pal.
E is survived by his little brother, Sean, aka...Pink Lemonade-O.
Eric...you will be missed by all!

The laughing yogi....

I wish I could be this happy.

Crikey! Weekend in review...

Ended up having a pretty good weekend. Went to Lake Nacimiento and ended up spending 80% of our time in the water. The weather was at or above 100 degrees during the day time and freezing at night. No needs to go back to that lake, especially since it was as trashy if not trashier than Clear Lake.

There is something to be said about the "Lake" culture. I realize that most Americans probably live closer to lakes than the ocean, so they gotta take what they can get, but wake boarders (wake spongers!) and lake folks are just sketchy. The second night, a group of younger, tatted up, white boys that were a mix between gangsta and punk camped right next (basically on top) of us. Our campfire was a couple feet away and we can hear everything they were talking about. It was the first time in a long time that I wanted to kick some ass and beat the living shit out of them, but the fact that there was a bunch of woman and some people that didn't know me that well stopped me. These guys had the nerve to make racist comments about Asians right next to me. Looking back, I am glad I didn't let myself get too caught up in their ignorance, but they still deserved to get their asses kicked.

September is already looking to be a fun packed month. May have a friend visit from LA, have a WineGuzzler event on the 21st and Moe. the 22nd. Michael Franti and Spearhead have their annual Power to the Peaceful concert in GGP this weekend, and I want to get to Monterey and Humboldt before the month is over. Also have a quick trip to Las Vegas, via San Diego in a couple of weeks. Then October is filled with some exciting things as well. I am still on the fence about Vegoose, but the Lake Sonoma Flotilla will be incredible. Oh yeah, also just scored some Black Crowes tickets at the Santa Cruz Civic sometime in the next couple of weeks for an unannounced show.

Summer is NOT over!

Lastly, really sucks about the Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Who would have "thunk" that he would die from a stingray of all creatures? Guess it its true what they say...When you play with fire, be ready to get burned. Regardless, its a shame and sad.

The Goose is LOOSE! And Treadmills....

I am still on the fence about Vegoose this year...but I think the lineup looks great! The Roots, Tom Petty, The Black Crowes, Mars Volta, Mike Patton!
Less hippie is ok with me right now.

Check it out!



Also, I will admit that I watched some of the MTV VMA's last night and the band OK GO did a live version of their treadmill video.
Here is the original one more time for you to enjoy!

If only the Grateful Dead or Phish were still playing...

Gosh, the days of touring around the West Coast seeing my favorite bands. Dead back in the early 90's was so fun. Trips to Eugene, Las Vegas, and the always fantastic of a dump, the LA Sports Arena. I remember after Garcia passed, I gave Phish a shot at Compton Terrace, saw them at Santa Monica Civic, Ventura, the Greek in LA, Shoreline, on and on and on.

I just wish I had one of these back then!

Guess I can always use it for NASCAR!

(thanks to (to) for letting me use that wonderful discovery of a link)

Even though...

A bunch of my friends are currently playing in the hot desert sun of Black Rock City!
Honestly, I think the idea of Burning Man is awesome, unique, and pretty much fantastic in its own ways, but a lot of people don't feel the same way. Maybe its ignorance? Naivity?
Regardless, everybody needs a way to express themselves.

So, now that I gave Burning Man its props...I thought this was pretty funny.
You may have to live in San Francisco to truely appreciate it, but its still funny.

Why we are the best... (sounds cocky, I know)

I just received a sheet of all the stats the Los Angeles County Lifeguards had for the month of July 2006. These are the stats for the entire County...including 70 miles of coastline, and Santa Catalina Island.
Check it out:

Attendance: 13, 886, 272
Prevents : 300,314
Ordinances: 93,741
EVR: 4,264 (Emergency Vehicle Response)
Medical Assists: 4,963
Rescues: 3,622
Agency Assists: 1,456
Boat Warnings: 1,005
Boat Distress: 176
Boat Value: $11,701,800
Missing Persons: 475
Resuscitations: 475
SCUBA Attendance: 16,030
Drownings: 1
Body Recovery: 1

Numbers that the whole agency are very proud of.

The Endless Summer...

I wish! So, this weekend is technically the end of Summer...whatever. Luckily here in the Bay Area, we get an Indian Summer in September and October, so the best weather should be coming up. Who knows though, the whole planet was fucked this year and weather patterns all over were screwed. Fingers crossed that October is nice!

I have been driving around the whole state the past several weeks like a mf'er. Up and down the 5 will make you go nuts, but at the same time, it was very therapeutic for me. On this past weekends trip to SLO, had lots of time to think about shit in some enjoyable scenary. At least it didn't smell like cow shit the whole way.

Looks like I am gonna go camping this weekend at Lake Nacimiento (back down to SLO!). About 14 of us are gonna go down to San Luis Obispo County, fish, boat, kayak, canoe...so much fun.

Sort of a funky time in my head right now. Half of my crew is headed to BRC for the week. Two of my closest are leaving for their 2 month honeymoon as soon as they get back. Also, I made a really good friend in (ng) and he just moved back to Detroit to finish school. Good fricken guy and we used to gtalk all day so its wierd. Still trying to stay positive but sort of super stressed about work as well.

Been planning the 2nd Annual Lake Sonoma Harvest Moon Flotilla as well. Got 3 boats reserved, including 2 pontoons and a ski boat. Also reserved a group site for 50 of us to party....all by ourselves. Already have 27 onboard and looks like more and more are gonna join up each day. Stoked!

I have decided that this year, I will try my best to get back into the ocean. Even though its butt fucking freezing out there, i need to start surfing, paddle boarding, rowing....something. I also plan to travel to LA a little more. Its easy for me to just jump in the water there, in any conditions, and enjoy myself.

Lastly, WineGuzzlers last week was a MAJOR success. Steve with Roshambo Winery came down with some delicious wines that he shared with the entire group. Had a Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament and 34 people participated. Our friend (LG) won the tournie which was followed with a 13 wine tasting. This months theme was Syrah! After the tasting, we all headed down to an art exhibit/party going on, on the 5th floor. All I really need to say is that Vodka drinks after drinking wine for 5 hours...not a good idea. But, it was free booze so all 50 of us went down to enjoy the rest of the night. All-in-all, we had a fricken blast!

Under the Sea....

For the first time in years, I was able to go snorkeling this past weekend. Many of you have been lucky to have been diving or at the very least snorkeling. I grew up in a home where SCUBA was a big deal. My dad actually wrote did tons of research on SCUBA and was pretty well-established in the diving world of Southern California. I mean, I have seen a book he wrote strictly on the propeltion of fins for diving.
Although I was not certified, I did lots of diving cause my dad trained me to dive from an early age. Some people may say thats sketchy, but he was very experienced and knew exactly what he was doing. I never did anything to gnarly though.
If you have never been in the ocean and had the opportunity to explore, you must! Its truely the only place on earth where we can go and actually totally "submerge" outself into a whole other world. Amazing! How lucky are we?!

Check out this soundtrack...

I know some people aren't into soundtracks at all, but I previously mentioned that I was looking forward to this one.
The Last Kiss is the new Zach Braff (Garden State) movie and the soundtrack is awesome.
I got it last night and love it already. So good!

Back to reality today...I just want to thank the United States Government and the State of California for stealing all of my money. Thanks a$$holes.

Wrappin up my Summer in the South Bay...shark attacks...conclusions....

What a way to wrap up my Summer in the South Bay with 3 days at Cabrillo Beach! I ended up having to work a night shift with some guy that I used to be "friends" with. Eventually, he freaked out cause I was close friends with his GF at the time, basically the guy is a kook. Anyway, he ended up being as gnarly as expected.
My second two days were at Rancho Palos Verdes Beach. Its the new one near Trumps course. This place is fricken sweet! A handful of swimmer each day, mostly jsut people with dogs. Its a secret spot for dog owners and the only dog beach in all of LA Co., for now. I did so much awesome snorkeling, swimming, hanging with close friends....Mellow was good for me, but it was still super duper exhausting sitting in the sun all day and walking down the gnarly cliffs.
I got off work at 7:00 pm. after a 9 hour shift, and ended up just charging back to SF. Bruteskies!

Woke up with the shakes so i decided to work from home. So tired.

**side note**
Ran into a fellow lifeguard that I haven't seen since we were 14 years old. We swam against each other at major meets across the country, and we both tripped out for like an hour. Ends up, after we both went to high school, both of us got into good music and starting socializing outside the swimming circles. We have many friends in common from his hometown (Phoenix) and he told me a gnarly story. A girl that I used to um...date...got attacked by a shark with her brother while spearfishing in Florida. She almost got her arm taken off until her brother (mutual friends again) fought the thing off. She is ok, but had to get grips of stitches!
Gnarly!
Good thing that in the history of LA County, we have never had a single shark attack!

A brief history lesson....

While working today at Bouff Tower at Cabrillo Beach, I was approached by two men, older, one with a video camera. They introduced themselves as filmmakers that making a documentary of the Angels Gate Lighthouse in San Pedro. They asked me what the ruins at the base of the cliffs at Cabrillo Beach were, and I told them the story about the place. They were super stoked about all the shit I knew and asked me tons of questions.

I thought I knew a little more about the history of the neighborhoods, but these guys knew a ton of awesome stories about the history of San Pedro, Palos Verdes, Long Beach, etc.... After talking for about half an hour,(tells you how mellow my day was!) I found out that in the late 1800's, a ship carrying gold for Wells Fargo, and a few sketchy businessmen, sank shortly after leaving the docks. The thing basically blew up after catching fire, and all the gun powder was set off. Most the crew were killed, but many members of the crew survived and documented what happened. Ends up Wells Fargo lost only a few thousand dollars, but as these guys did their researh, they found out that supposedly a $100 million in gold was onboard that vessel. These guys even were able to get in touch with the historian for Wells Fargo, and several other family members of big name families (Banning, Huntington, etc...) and confirmed that nobody really treid to retrieve the gold because they didn't really have the technology to do it back then.

Ends up people forgot about the gold, and eventually, the United States Gov't made/built/created an island and the Port of Los Angeles right on top of the ruins. There is $100 M that nobody will ever see...

CRAZY!

Relating to a previous blog, today I got to see something pretty neat. Personally, I have been fortunate to have been on the set for a few tv shows, movies, and commercials. The people don't really affect me, but todays set was amazing. The funny thing is that I am not a huge fan of this series of movies, but ships amaze me! Pirates of the Carribean III is currently being shot in various places, but THE BLACK PEARL was directly right behind my tower and today had some awesome stuff going on. The Black Pearl is built on top of a barge and although it can move and is the water, th barge is tied to the docks. The ship was HUGE and looked so neat somewhat up close. As I glanced at it with my binoculars, I can see guys with cameras hanging from the rafters, filming inside the ship. The coolest part was that there were a dozen + boats with huge fog makers blowing their creation in copious amounts! Enough to make the ship almost disappear. Amazing. I have sailed several tallships in my life, but the faux Black Pearl is fucken ginormous.


Quick SoCal History notes!
* Did you know that Long Beach was a city created by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce?
*Did you know that Long Beach was once the richest city in the World?
* Did you know that 4 people were killed by bears in Palos Verdes during 1920-1922? 4 more by mountain lions!
*There is a tribe of native people, approx 2000 bc, that lived on the same land that I am currently typing from. Many folks thing they were aliens.
Hahaha! Seriously!

Hines Ward...

I am not a huge Steelers fan, nor do I like them just cause they just won the Super Bowl. Actually, two of my closest friends in the world are HUGE Steeler fans, and a close friend of mine growing up is a starting Outside Linebacker. Clark has a fuckin Super Bowl Ring! It still gives me chickenskin when I think about it. So stoked for him cause he is truly an awesome guy and I can't think of anybody that was so stoked about football.

Anyway, Hines Ward is in the news again. This time its to bring awareness to the biracial community. Hines is half african american, and half korean. He was actually born in Seoul, and after winning the Super Bowl, he immediately went out to the motherland. Good for Hines Ward too!

SoCal baby...

Recently, I have been feeling a little bit "out of it" due to my recent trip to LA. Now I am back and looking forward to finding some stoke while I am here. I am searching hard in my head, in others heads, and from my peers about something I can do in the Bay Area that will keep my heart and soul with the ocean. I really miss being a waterman.
Outrigger canoeing seems like the logical choice, but the SF Club seems to be run by a dick. Maybe I should go to the Sausalito Club. I had no intentions of seriously competing, but perhaps I should join Sausalito's team, and race against SF, and kick their ass! That would be sweet.
As popular as Paddle Board racing has become, I think its super boring, way to gnarly on my back, and I don't really need to try and act macho by doing it anymore. Its nearly impossible to get a dory boat even though thats my passion, so I gotta make some decisions soon!

On the long drive through California, I came to a decision about one thing for sure. Since I have several wetsuits (diving and surfing), and I have fins and a snorkel, I am gonna invest in a hawaiian sling and hunt me some fish. Its obviously gonna be tough to free-dive in the Bay Area, but maybe this will encourage me to get south more...even to Central California.

Tomorrow, I have a pretty mellow day at Cabrillo Beach. Its called Jurassic Beach cause at the beginning of summer, usually the old school guards like to work here. It will be a day full of working out, swimming, rowing, and hopefully surfing, but very doubtful for that one. Saturday, I get to work about 200 yards away from my parents place. Its not even a lifeguard tower! Recently, Donald Trump purchased the gold course my folks live at, renamed it Trump National Golf Course, and spent grips of cash remaking the 18th hole. (It previously sank into the ocean, so Trump got a sick deal on the land) Since its a public golf course, the County of Los Angeles is requiring him to provide public access to the beach down below. Its hardly a beach, the water is cold, and I hardly expect to have a single person actually swim in the water. I dont have a lifeguard tower, and sit on a log with an umbrella propped next to it. Ghetto! I am super fired up though! I decided to go shopping for the sling tomorrow am, and doing tons of diving and hunting this weekend!

Don't look forward to the 7 hour drive home starting at 8:00 pm on sunday night though....


Did you love G.I. Joe as much as I did growing up?

Soundtracks...

Growing up, there weren't too many soundtracks that stood out to me and impacted my life. These days, I almost feel like some soundtracks are made straight out of the book of my life!
I guess it started when the "Singles" soundtrack came out. Probably one of the best compilations for the 90's rock/grunge/alt. scene in general. Everything from Pearl Jam to Smashing Pumkins. Good stuff. Lately, I haven't been listening to as much jamband stuff. Its all sort of blending into each other and honestly, I find myself getting bored easily.
Now days I think simple is better. The best soundtrack that I can think of in recent years is easily the "Garden State" soundtrack. Simply put...really good shit. The Shins, Remy Zero, even Coldplay got so much attention from this soundtrack was released. There is an awesome article in last months Rolling Stone but only in the print form, not electronically. Zach Braff, the director and actor in "Garden State" and "Scrubs", is also set to remake "Open Heart". Its a remake of a gnarly danish movie from 2002 that is about how a wife's life turns upside down after her husband suffers paralysis from a car accident. The soundtrack is supposedly sick!

I find that more and more awesome music is being played through soundtracks. Actually, its not a new phenomenon considering that smaller, independant bands tend to sell their rights at a way less price to the movie folks, but even tv show soundtracks are incredible. (While watching an old episode of CSI, I heard Zero 7/Give It Away...a beautiful song.

Keep your ears peeled! There is so much good music in the world!

Birthdays, canoes, rivier and MEGA-CHILL....

After being in LA for 6 whole days, I find myself in a confused state of mind. I feel like I should be at the beach saving lives, I also feel like I should be in SF enjoying my City life. Sort of a super wierd, surreal feeling I haven't had to really deal with before.
I planned on going canoeing with friends a few days ago and up until the last second was unsure about how I really felt about going. Ended up getting up to the campsite early saturday am, and as soon as I saw some friends, I knew I would be around for the weekend.
Once again we camped at a private campground right near downtown Guerneville. Let me tell you, camping at private campgrounds is NOT the way to go. Too many rules, too many people, and the "trashie" factor is never too comforting. In anycase, the campground was right next to the river and with 20 friends, you can't really go wrong.
It was also our friends (to)'s b-day so we had even more to celebrate. We arrived a little late, and after waiting for the entire group to ge to the start location, our trip began.
I ended up sharing some tiny litte thingies with everybody and we all had a wonderful time down the river. Most of the day consisted of floating, drinking, paddling, floating some more, drinking some more, and finally towards the afternoon, working our asses off just to beat the head wind. SO BEAT!
No fires at the campground but were broke open some wine and more drinks and ended up having a good, early, fun night.
Went to a few wineries today. Roshambo as always took excellent care of my group, and Iron Horse was nice. The view was incredible, but the young pourer was a cocksucker. (LOL!)
I am a huge fan of the delicious crushed, fermented grape juices at Roshambo.

Finally got home now, have been sleeping on and off all afternoon, and will prob end up staying up for the rest of the night...great...

I still think ball chaffing sucks, and now I must decided if I go to the races in FONTANA or not....

Here is a quick game that is coming out....looks fun but are kids really gonna be allowed to play this shit?

Something fun to get your through the day...


courtesy of my friend (ss).

Give this a whirl.

MOVIE REVIEW: TALLADEGA NIGHTS-The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
(The clips in throughout the blog are not in the movie, so even if you click them, it wont ruin the movie)


Honestly, I am not the biggest Will Ferrell fan at all. I thought Anchorman was not just bad, but pretty fuckin horrible. BUT....I was looking forward to Talladega Nights for about a year now.
Regardless of a few of my concerns before the movie, I knew I was prob gonna see this movie a few times anyway. I was worried that the trailers showed all the funny stuff, Will Ferrell in general, the ridiculous story, etc...

Well, went last night and the movie is fricken hilarious. Obviously a lot of the funny stuff was from the trailers, but there was so much more as well. I think I giggled the entire time.
Maybe its the fact that I love NASCAR, but I thought it was a pretty classic movie. Bored a couple of times, but that could've been due to the pre-show session wearing my tired body out.

Go see the movie, its worth it...especially if you get the student discount.

Last thing...I knew there was a reason why I always like Dale Jr.

Back to life, back to reality....

For the first time since I moved away from the South Bay, I must admit that I miss it a lot right now. At the same time, it was the first time since 1999 that I actually spent almost an entire week there. Being able to work 54+ hours in 5 days, having my toes in the sand at all times, and the HOT SoCal sun beating down on me was sick! I wore boardshorts the entire time, and probably only had a t-shirt on for about 5 hours the entire week. I was able to throw myself back into the lifestyle i used to live, completely, fully, and without any concern. Saw most of my close friends, but not all of them. Kept running into a few kooks over and over too, which is inevitable i guess.

Now that I am back in SF, its time to spend a few days catching up at work, and getting my head on for a few days before I head back to LA for another quick round of gnarliness. Can't decide if I should camp tonight, tomorrow night, both nights, or at all yet. Looks like I wont have a single weekend in SF for the month of August, so spending some time here would be nice. I think I have to skip wine-tasting on Sunday regardless though...I wanna watch a race.

Couple of fun things for you to do...play this kinda gross but funny game.
Check out this rad mocumentary.

Day in review...Part Deux

Started off with a fuckin insanely dericious burrito from Dos Amigos in Hermosa Beach. The best breakfast burritos ever!
Headed to Manhattan Beach but hit some gnarly traffic...I dread LA traffic. Got to the beach on time though (phew) and opened up to find out my Permanant (Supervisor) was a good friend of mine. It was overcast and hazy, with super pinner surf, and the wind was a little bit chilly. Started out a great day.
By 11:00 am, the swell started building again, the tide was going out, and the rips started pulling balls out. First rescue of the day ended up being a Jr. Guard that just finished his morning session, and was hanging out with his family. Got stuck in a super duper fricken huge rip that was easily 250 yards out. Took me a second to get to him, then swimming him out of the rip took another 5 minutes, then into shore was another 5 minutes. He was a super good kid, probably would'nt have drowned, but at the same time, he probably would have ended up shark bait if I weren't there. I then got back to my tower to find that a cadet would be helping me. Hannah was awesome, smart, and she is gonna be a really great lifeguard one day.
Second rescue came late in the afternoon. Cadet was gone, the beach was started to get crazy again, 25 year old male, stuck in a gnarly gnarly gnarly gnarly gnarly rip. Had to request for backup from Baywatch cause it was so far out. Got to him and it took me for-god-damn-ever to get him into the beach. To the point where my neck is FUCKED up with a rash, cut to shit, and chaffed from the strap on the rescue can. Guy was cool though and really really needed my help. He was def gonna be a goner if I was about 5 second late. Epic!
Only shittie thing is that my body is sore as shit and I can hardly walk straight. Super tired...actually exhausted. Can't even put links in my blog right now...

btw...ball chaffing sucks!

One of the best parts of LA....

Besides the perfect weather, awesomely fantasmic beaches....

THE MEXICAN FOOD!!!!!
I heart mexican food from LA.

Weekend in review....

So I am down in the hot hot hot hot heat of Los Angeles. Not sure why its the city of angels, cause 10 mins after getting in my car, I almost go right out of it to kick some guys ass. Hollywood, wannabe motherfucker cut me off, so i road his bumper. Then he abruptly hits his brakes and pulls over to the side really fast. Basically, I think the asshole thought I would pass him, so thats probably why he started shouting shit out the window. Well...I didn't pass him, but instead slammed my brakes on and started to get out of the car to scare this guy. Then, the pussy rolls his wondow up and starts begging me to not do anything to him or his car. Fuckin cocksucker.

Anyway, Friday night, went to Intercrew and met up with some of my closest friends. Got to even see a bunch of folks that I didn't care too!
Intercrew as a major success with Hermosa Beach winning the title. Saturday, worked at North Pier Manhattan Beach, where my close friends (mn) and (en) brought their awesome son, Jack, but lets backtrack a few hours...
Wake up butt ass early, head down to Manhattan to get the truck ready, and I get a call over the radio about CPR in progress in Hermosa. My captain and I take off, ends up the guy was alive, and with a heartbeat, but his breathing was shallow and weak. Wasn't as crazy as I thought it may have been. The call said that people were doing full-on CPR on some dude!!!! Gave him some O2, and after about 10 mins, he came to. Ends up the guy was PISS wasted, passed out from drinking too much, and went face down in the drop zone. Was face down (not ass up) for about a minute we assume.

After 9 hours on the beach, with the 6-man volleyball tournie going, and huge surf, I headed to work the Taplin for the rest of the night. South Bay won!

Sick! The bell is back home in the South Bay, where it belongs.

Last night, around 11:30, got a call from my friends (mn) that came to the beach earlier. Asked me if I knew about the guy that almost drowned...(not quite a drowning at all, but due to his drunkeness, he did swallow a ton of water, but nothing in his lungs), and it ends up the guy is someone that he knows closely. The patient is in ICU, just becaus he ingested large amounts of salt water, but he is gonna make a full recovery. Small world huh?

Today was hell. Worked from 6:00 am, until about 3:00 pm. Set everything up for the pier-to-pier swim an paddleboard race. Then had to lifeguard the finish of the swim. No joke, 6-8 foot, gnarly faced, walled-out, fucking big ones pounding the beach. 890 swimmer entered the race this year. We ended up only having to make one rescue...and all swimmers finished.

All in all, the only word to describe the weekend...EPIC.

LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA.....

So, for being someone that says I don't like Los Angeles anymore, I am sure looking forward to my trip this afternoon down south. Tonights Intercrew, tomorrow Taplin and the rest of the Surf Festival events are gonna be so much fun. The only thing I am worried about is the fact that I hear Hermosa Beach picked my name and they may be short handed tonight. I already told the Hermosa Captain that I would NOT swim, paddleboard, or surf ski...so that leave rowing or running. HA! Ain't gonna happen!

I am looking forward to seeing all my old lifeguard buddies and just throwing myself into the South Bay scene again for a few days. Taco Tuesday is gonna be in full effect as well!
Tonights schedule...arrive at LAX 6:15 pm, get parents car from Lot C and go straight to Torrance, go to my buddies (NUT) house to make a drop off/pick up, meet my other friend (js) near Ave. C for tonights Intercrew, then head to Kincaid's to see a (rm) and have adrink while he bartends, finally heading over to see Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby with (js).
Thats my plans for this evening. Gnarls!

I am gonna go visit my gramps tomorrow am, then work an long day, finishing up with officiating the Taplin Relay tomorrow night. Sunday am, gotta head to the pier to pier swim and paddle races as well. So much fun.

I really look forward to the weather and the surf. I hear its still nice and hot, and the surf is pretty good for the summer. I think Autumm has arrived early this year...better plan on it being this way for a while since we suck. Can't wait to get my toes in the sand tonight! Can't wait to surf with some old braddakine.

My stomach is churning with excitement!

btw...anybody wanna do this dance with me?

Carroll Shelby...

So I may heart NASCAR, but I am not a mechanical buff or anything. Cars don't interest me that much. I can change a tire, change the oil, even had to flush my radiotor one time...but thats about it. A buddy of mine that loves cars, is the personal assistant to Carroll Shelby.
He gets to take all the cars out for a ride, and he gets paid to just fuck around basically.

Thats a mechanics dream job right?

Just thought I would share this thought because my friend called me last night to tell me that the 2007, Shelby Mustang was just delivered to the house. #13 off the line!

Thats pretty rad. Oh yeah, check out these dumbasses!

URBAN TRIBES...

So, I started reading this book randomly after picking it up at the bookstore, curious because of the title. After reading the back, I wasn't really sure wtf the book was really about. Regardless, it seemed like something I could appreciate so I got it.

The author Ethan Watters writes the book while living in San Francisco, and being non-fiction, this further intrigued me. Ends up, he coined the term while writing an article for a magazine.

So you ask, what is an URBAN TRIBE?

Well, I am still reading it so I cant give you a total definition, but my take is that is about how our generation has formed communities oof single, like-minded people, that provide the comforts of almost a family-like feel. (look here for a MUCH better idea)
My interpretation of it is basically a group of "single" people that have for one reason or another have not married yet. Its not about being just a group of people that enjoy the same bands, or enjoy reading the same type of books...its much more than that. Its about people (like me) that choose not to marry, have children, "settle down", because of our careers, our dreams, our crazy lifestyles.

Being single these days isn't that tough. Even more strange, my group of friends consists mainly of couples...like 90% of us. Now, people are starting to have kids, twins, etc...are you kidding me? I have no false illusions of being single. I am NOT single because I want to "play the field" or date several different women. Due to my career, I will be moving away from the Bay Area within the year, and unless the woman of my dreams comes into the picture, I dont think its fair for me or my potential partner to have to deal with something long-distant. Also, its not as if I am conscienciously choosing to not have a relationship, I just don't need one. Does that make sense.
I find that even though many of my friends are married now, our URBAN TRIBE is so single friendly because most of us were single when we first met. There is never pressure to go out and get a date for a party, or to show up at a show with someone in hand. The sense of community, family, friendship and loyalty all serve as an almost surrogate partner. Strange...but true!

I looked back at the past few years and realize that I am notorious for dating woman that don't live near me. (1500 miles away, 500 miles away)
WTF!
I think a lot of it has to do with that fact that I need more space than I realize. I know that I can be a needy fucker sometimes, but I am pretty independant and like to be able to do my own thing. Don't get me wrong, I love being in a relationship, but I dont really wanna waste my time searching. I dont really feel the need to...Maybe subconsciously I get involved with these woman because I know I dont have to check in with them, or worry about what they are doing. I always end up breaking up with them, and then feeling like a dick for doing it, but then I tell myself I wont get involved with the whole long distance thing anymore. Fucking lame...

Nowdays, I dont really think about relationships as much as I think about other things...

Hahaha.
Do you belong to an Urban Tribe?

Fuckin NASCAR! Even I suprise myself sometimes....

So, some of my friends in LA wonder, "What the fuck is up with James and Nascar?"
My answer...its the shit!
My passion started as a joke. Skins and I used to go fishing a lot and I would talk in a trashy, white, southern accent. I would say things like "Fish aint bitin boys! We should pack up and go watch the race!" Being IGNORANT and not knowing anything about the lifestyle, I mocked it. After some time, a friend (do) came with us and joined in on the joking. He suggested we sit down one weekend, pick drivers beforehand, and just watch a race. In my own head, I knew right away that I wanted Tony Stewart. Didn't know the car number, or anything about him, but I knew he was a "bad boy".
The stars and planets must have been aligned, because that night, ESPN had a special with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Daytona, FL. He walked up the bank that his father Dale Earnhardt died, turn 4, last lap of the Daytona 500, Feb. 2001. In order to walk up the track, he had to use his hands to balance himself off the track. The banks (turns) are up to 36 degrees. Cars have to travel over 150 mph just so gravity doesn't flip them over...all the while, driving 2 inches from the guy next to him in a 4000 lbs. car! Thats nuts!
So, with that segment of ESPN, I became an addict. The next day, we sat down and watched a race and within weeks, we were learning the about NASCAR.
My first race was in Sonoma at Infineon, one of two "road tracks" on the circuit. (Watkins Glenn being the other). Very dramatic race and TS won! So stoked!
Since then, I have travelled to Las Vegas and Phoenix and am gonna git me sum tickets to the Daytona 500 in 2007.
I am constantly telling my friends how much I hate corporate america, but yet, I am the biggest NASCAR slut of all time. If you only knew one thing about NASCAR, its probably the fact that each car is covered in sponsers. Home Depot, Lowe's, Budweiser, Miller Lite, Tupperware, Tide, Jack Daniels, etc...covered!
It cost up to $40 million to run a car for the season!
At the same time, NASCAR uses 1200 tires a weekend, and gallons and gallons of leaded fuel. That shits horrible for the enviroment! What am I to do?

Well, one thing is for sure right now...I heart NASCAR.

Mel Gibson is a dick....

So, I am not here to bitch about the Catholic Church, or traditionalists, or even Christians at all. This is all about Mel Gibson, and what a cocksucker this guy is.
One of the worlds great questions is: Why do so many people die in the name of religion? I mean, lets face it, more people have died in the history of world due to religion and religious wars. Its happened amongst the Christians, Muslims, Jewish people, Buddhist, ete...Even in the United States, many religions were thought to be "witchcraft" for years. Thats a whole different topic about how hypocritical our country is...

Basically, my biggest problem with dicks like MG is that they don't practice what they preach. Aren't Christian people supposed to love everybody? Isn't all about forgiveness? Love? Helping thy neighbor?

So Mel Gibson gets pulled over doing 87 mph, in a 45 mph zone. Dick manuever right there. Then he proceeds to chew out the arresting officer with anti-semitic bigotry? Who the fuck are you? Just cause the guy makes millions and millions of dollars does not give him the right to be high and all-mighty over anybody...let alone because of their religion or nationality. Hollywood has always stood behind MG. When his movie Passion of the Cheebas came out, nobody (but STERN!) really talked about what a freak this guy is. You know, his beliefs basically say that his own wife wont go to heaven when she passes. I mean, wtf?
You have to check out what Traditionalists are all about here.

Basically, this guy is a hypocritical, self-righteous, ignorant Fuck.
So is Tom Cruise...

I honestly can't believe that I am excited to see this...
What can i say?
Well, some say NASCAR isn't sport...
They're right!
Its a lifestyle...hahaha...did I just really say that?

Go see this movie.

Cliques....

So, I think its human nature to form small groups in society, even within larger circles.
For example, when you were in high school, there usually were several small cliques, even among the general population. Like...there were always the surfers as a whole, but usually a few small close knit crews were among that larger crew. A fuckin clique...you get it.
Well, being a grown ass man, its a trip to see how much that takes place in my group of friends. Its ridiculous! To the point where its become totally obvious to a lot of us. Funny thing is, I dont think the clique-y ones even know they are that way. Honestly, you may be thinking, this guy is lame for giving a shit...but i write this as humor, as well as a rant.
Now that I bitched about them, I will admit that I am myself...a member of....the NOMA crew! Either way, doesnt bother me too much except when they bitch to us. My closest friends in SF are all on my team anyway!
CLIQUE OLYMPICS, COMING IN NOVEMBER!

So, you may be asking...why would JP always be flying to LA to lifeguard? How cool can it be? Is he like...baywatch?
You see for yourself...

weekend events...

Another great weekend under the belt. Sort of feel like this is the final hoorah for a little while. I have 30 days to get 10 working days in on the beach this summer. I waited until the last minute. This means I am gonna have to skip out on some weekend activities in the Bay Area. Its ok though, cause I need some time in the tower. They can assign me to Dockweiler, Del Rey, Manhattan, or Cabrillo, I dont really care. Ideally, they will stick me at Cab, so I can kick it with some of my old buddies and where I can enjoy some ocean workouts.
The engagement party for (bh) and (bw) went very smoothly Couple of friends from Seattle and San Diego suprised all of us too, which was a nice bonus. Didn't go out Saturday night though....ended up feeling a little down and out, so took it easy.
Woke up early on Sunday am, cleaned the shit out of my room and apartment cause the rents are gonna be crashing in my room for 6 days. Sketchy! Had to make sure that I got any incriminating evidence out of the room. Then went to a going away party for (kgk). Bittersweet night. (kgk) is simply one of the most wonderful, fantastic people I have been fortunate to meet. She makes other people feel happy and good, which is important, and she is a rockstar without a doubt. If we knew each other when I was a rockstar, we would have torn this town a new one! She is gonna be in SLO, and working with inmates at a medium security prison. Fricken shrinks....
I wish her the very best...and SLO is only like 4 hours away.

This leaves me with the idea of friends. What is a true friend. I always talk about how rad my friends are and how much I love them. I am lucky because my group is so huge and tightly knit...but how many of them would sacrifice something for me? When I truly think about it, I am sure more than what I believe would do it, but it also points out to me who I really care about and to what capacity. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to talk shit...just saying that friendship is not something that should ever be taken too loosely. Emotions, feelings and the human pysche are too valuable to take friendships lightly.


I've got a box full of letters
Think you might like to read
Some things that you might like to see
But they're all addressed to me

I wish I had a lotta answers
'Cause that's the way it should be
For all these questions
Being directed at me

I just can't find the time
To write my mind
The way I want it to read

You'll come back again
And I'll still be your friend

~Wilco, Box Full of Letters, A.M.

friends, food, and grips and grips of....

So, I organized a small gathering of like-minded people at the girls house. 22 people came over to enjoy the fruits of the earth, enjoy each others company, and create clouds so big that walking into the living room felt like you were next to a fog machine!
Started off with the endless mission for parking in SF. The DPT needs to get something figured out for some areas. We need public parking areas! Anyway, its part of the life up here so what can you do? Walked into their apartment and immediately, the aroma of fresh baked goods hit me like a brick upside my head. I LOVE that smell. After about a half hour, pretty much the whole crew was there. Let the tasting begin! The schedule was as follows: Endulge, endulge, Dinner, endgule, endulge, endulge, dessert, endulge. 5 different fruits to taste, plus dinner and dessert in the mix!

Started with a tasty Durban, next was the AK, for dinner we had delicious tacos and burritos! Next up was the Misty, NL x K, and finally Sour D. So yummy! Personally, I liked the SourD the most. At points, I felt as if I were back in high school...but I knew what to expect. So much better that way. Ended up being to one that distributed the fruits so it was tough to really sit back and enjoy (just like my wine tastings) but I really enjoy it at a different level. Its awesome to see my friends having so much fun and sometimes being on the outside is better.

After all the "tastings" we decided to use to remaining fruits and create a fruit salad. The mixture was delicious and only prolonged our joy from the previous couple of hours. Next up was dessert...everything you can imagine. It was truly paradise for us "like-minded" folks. Specialty's Cookies, home made cookies, (to) made some fantasmic peanut butter cups as well.
I gained like 10 lbs. from dessert alone.


Afterwards, reality set in again pretty quickly. Gave my buddy a ride home and to help him shave his head. Very surreal, but at the same time, the most reality I have experienced in a long time. Next up on my agenda...(bh, bw) engagement party on Saturday. Sunday is BBQ day...and salty balls. I gotta finish making it tonight!

Everybody, ask me about salty balls.....

celebrity run-ins....


so growing up in LA, i was surrounded by "famous" people. I knew every single Raiders head coaches kid from the days of Mike Shanahan. Art Shell's son Chris was a close buddy of mine. We used to party at the Shell's house often. I packed my first dipper of mint Skoal at the Shell's place. Tons of athletes live in my hood. Howie Long, Lyle Alzado, half the lakers, Marcel Dion of the LA Kings, etc...

My freshmen year, I went to Palm Springs for Spring Break with a group of my friends.
We ran into Wayne from "the Wonder Years". My friends and I were heavily under the influence, and they convinced me that Wayne called me a derogatory name. What did i do you ask?

Thats right! I kicked his ass! Ended up getting in heaps of trouble (that i talked myself out of) and went to the "tank" but got out in just an hour. To this day, even though I know that Jason Hervey never said a peep to me, I think he is a kook.

Good times...good times....