Thomas Pynchon, the writer many consider to be the best still alive, has dropped in on Kem Nunn territory with his lastest work, Inherent Vice.
The story, set in LA, follows a stoned private investigator Larry “Doc” Sportello along the streets and beaches of Southern California during the dying days of the psychadelic 60s. Featuring the alleged kidnapping of a wealthy real estate developer, Inherent Vice, like Southern California itself often slides off into the surf:
For the last few weeks now, St. Flip of Lawndale, for whom Jesus Christ was not only personal savior but surfing consultant as well, who rode an old-school redwood plank running just under ten feet with an inlaid mother-of-pearl cross on top and two plastic skegs of a violent pink color on the bottom, had been hitching rides from a friend with a little fiberglass runabout far out into the Outside, to surf what he swore was the gnarliest break in the world, with waves bigger than Waimea, bigger than Maverick’s up the coast at Half Moon Bay or Todos Santos in Baja. Stewardii on transpacific flights making their final approaches to LAX reported seeing him below, surfing where no surf should’ve been, a figure in white baggy trunks, whiter than the prevailing light could really account for. . .
We’re only on page 99, but already know that Inherent Vice deserves space on the bookshelf of any surfer who reads, and vise versa.
Former Australian Junior Surfing Champion Peter Drouyn (who we mentioned in September 2008) never felt like a “real boy or man” according to a Samantha Turnbull story on Goldcoast.com.au. Now, as Westerly Windina, the creator of the Stubbies Classic at Burleigh Head and the inventor of the “man-on-man” surf contest format talks about how becoming a woman has finally put her at peace.
Mr Drouyn no longer exists. In his place is Tweed Heads transsexual lawyer Westerly Windina who says Mr Drouyn was never a real boy or man. . . “I’d always had a deep suspicion something wasn’t right,” said Ms Windina. . . “I was always an emotional butterfly, very sensitive. My mum put high heels on me and painted my nails as a child and I was in awe of her beauty and glamour, I wanted to be like her.
If you see one documentary film this year, maybe it should be The Cove.
Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, The Cove follows a high-tech dive team on a mission to discover the truth about the international dolphin capture trade as practiced in Taiji, Japan. Utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, including hidden microphones and cameras in fake rocks, the team uncovers how this small seaside village serves as a horrifying microcosm of massive ecological crimes happening worldwide.
The Australian press is really biting into the Kelly Slater vs. The ASP Tour story. Today, The Australian surf writer Fred Pawle digs in a little deeper into the breakaway group involving the nine-time world champion, his manager Terry Hardy, Quiksilver’s Bob McKnight, and former American boxing promoter Matt Tinley, as well as their “in-principle” agreement with ESPN.
ASP chief executive Brodie Carr waited three weeks before he could get a meeting with Hardy, which happened this week in Los Angeles. Carr is not saying what was discussed but one rumour in the surfing world suggests Hardy was bullish about his ability to steal the sport away from the ASP. Other sources say the rebels have employed a team of lawyers to head off any legal challenge from the ASP. . . Neither Hardy nor Quiksilver International in the US are prepared to comment on the new tour or on rumours that McKnight and Slater have invested heavily in the breakaway group, saying a press release will be issued soon.
Read the rest of the story. It has the potential to keep all of us entertained for quite some time.
Zac Skyring, a 14-year-old surfer from New South Wales Australia was reportedly out for an early surf just south of Byron Bay when he was “thrown into the by the impact” of a “one-and-a-half-metre bronze whaler shark.” The hit punctured his wetsuit, but he later went to school according to a story in The Australian.
itness Neil Cameron told the ABC the teenager had several small puncture marks on his lower arm. . . .He says the boy and his father paddled back out to warn him other surfers of the danger. . . “His dad had the idea – he wanted to get him back in the water. Otherwise he reckoned … he’d never get him in the water again,” he said.
Strange things going on at Richard Kevnin’sHydrodynamica web blog including Carl Ekstrom shaping boards with no fins, Derek Hynd at Windansea on Sunday night, and looking forward into the past. Everything you know about surfing may be wrong. . .
Volcom had a very large stone balloon that flew for a short while over the streets of Nikeington Huntington Beach, California during the Hurley US Open of Surfing. But somehow it “mysteriously” floated away (who would do such a thing). Now Volcom wants it back.
The balloon was seen last at the US Open in Huntington Beach on Saturday July 25th. The rope mysteriously broke and the balloon took off into the sky. . . Volcom is giving out $250 + a box of Volcom gear for the person who finds the balloon and gives it back. If you find the balloon, please contact us at 949-646-2175 and we’ll hook you up.
Those in Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Anaheim or Placentia (or Pamona or Fontana for that matter) might want to look around in the yard a little. Then again, it may be all the way to Salt Lake City by now.
[Update July 29, 2009: According to sources, the Volcom balloon is now in the possession of the Huntington Beach Police department. After the rope was allegedly cut the balloon drifted to 17th Street where it landed on a residence. The occupants believed that a plane towing a banner and dropped it on their house so they called the police.
Now, the Huntington Beach Police department along with the FAA are allegedly beginning an investigation into exactly who put numerous small aircraft and passenger jets in danger by cutting the the balloon free from the roof of The Closet.]
This morning while writing a post about how good and timely Transworld Surf’s coverage of the 2009 Hurley US Open of Surfing was this year (they had winning photos up minutes after the fact) we popped over to the site to find it completely down for the count. Like, blank white page. Then a while later there was a black page with some old content on it.
Turns out most of the Transworld Media sites were down this morning including Snowboarding, Skateboarding, Surf, and Motocross. As of 11:30 AM PST most of the sites were back up, however, it appears to be from a backup made on July 22, 2009. Most all the US Open content from the final four days is gone.
We’re guessing there are some pretty pissed people right, especially those who labored night and day all week to get it all up. [Link: Transworld Surf]
Ogle Vision video was shooting footage of Elite Helicopter Charters off-shore near Pepperdine University in Malibu, California when they spotted a 12-14 foot great white shark, according to video featured on Surfline.com.
Thursday, July 23rd saw the beginnings of a pumping south swell — and a white shark spotted about 300 yards off Malibu. This is on the heels of many sitings at both San O and Sunset Beach in LA.
Watch the video, the thing is huge and just cruising offshore. On the up side we humans wouldn’t even be an appetizer for a great white this size. We’re hoping we’re just not worth the trouble.
If we were writing a surfing screenplay there would have been no better story than Brett Simpson’s march to the title at the 2009 US Open of Surfing. In a final with very few waves and in front of what will likely be the largest live surfing event crowd ever, the local surfer rocked the world by edges former world champion Mick Fanning to take the $100,000 check in only his second ASP WQS win ever.
Simpson was pretty much beside himself after getting carried up the beach following the finals. “I’d like to thank everybody. You guys are awesome. All the support has been just amazing. Every time you think you’re a little bit tired just t energy level goes up a even more just from hearing everybody,” Simpson said from the stage. “I’d like to thank them and Bob and Paul and everybody at Hurley. It’s my main sponsor and they put on an awesome event. And Rob mentioned they should put in $100 grand and they end up doing it and I end up winning it so it’s even more better.”
Mick Fanning was a gracious in his defeat as he was committed to winning the event. “Brett I was there when you just missed out on qualifying, an mate winning in front of your hometown crowd is amazing,” Fanning said. “I am so stoked for you mate. That’s awesome.”
Brett said that the single most important thing to his win was sleeping at home and being able to run his normal routine even though a contest was going on. He was stoked. “It’s a dream come true,” he said.
Thomas Pynchon, the writer many consider to be the best still alive, has dropped in on Kem Nunn territory with his lastest work, Inherent Vice.
