Plenty of tasty posts on this; the eclectic surfer's log. Updates on current swells, upcoming surf films, news on boards and new shapes, people profiles (surfer, artist, musician, ya know), surf trip stories... The Connected Ride is open to all feedback and comments so drop-in, cutback and shred the gnar!
Ether A Slide Show & Book Signing by Andrew Kidman (with special guest Richard Kenvin, Benefiting Friends of Rose Canyon)
January 26th at 7 p.m. Patagonia Cardiff 2185 San Elijo Ave., Cardiff-by-the-Sea
Join renowned surf filmmaker, photographer, writer and musician, Andrew Kidman (maker of surf films “Litmus” and “Glass Love”), as he shares photos and stories from “Ether,” his new limited-edition book about board design and designers. This collector’s item will be available for purchase and signing following the show, as will some of Andrew’s photographic prints and art. He will also conduct a drawing for one of his prints with all proceeds benefiting Friends of Rose Canyon.
Special guest, Richard Kenvin, will also join us to screen a short surf film. This is an outdoor event so please dress accordingly. --Phone 760 634 9886 for further details.
Right now at the New Image Art Gallery in West Hollywood is the "Poster Renaissance 2" exhibit. So Sick! Featured artists include the Date Farmers, Geoff McFetridge, Rich Jacobs, Neckface, Jo Jackson, etc... With music by Party People, it definitely is a good event to check out. The exhibit is from January 5 to February 2, so get over there while you can. New Image always showcases the best so I'm sure the next gallery will be as stellar!
When Dan Malloy came back from Liberia surfers around the office were asking him how the trip was, anxiously hoping to hear about perfect waves. Dan, humble as ever, spoke well of the trip and the waves but you could hear in his voice and see in his eyes that it wasn't a typical surf trip. This one was heavy.
Dan, along with fellow Patagonia ambassador Crystal Thornburg and artist Chris Del Moro, visited Liberia last summer. And this year, we all have the opportunity to share in their experience when the film Sliding Liberia is released. Conceived of by Stanford filmmaker Britton Caillouette and Stanford PhD student Nicholai Lidow, with cinematography by Dave Homcy (Shelter, Brokedown Melody), the film now has an official Web site (be patient with the load time, it's a beautiful site that's worth the wait) and the trip itself has already received quite a bit of attention. Surfing Magazine ran a Lightbox slide show with Dan, Crystal shared some of her thoughts and photos on Mixed Plate Special, even Lonely Planet ran an article on surfing in Liberia.
The following words come from Dan Malloy. He talks about the trip, the country and a photo that was found on the blog Kevin in Liberia showing a board Dan left behind getting some use by the locals...
"Last summer I had a very rare travel opportunity. My cousin Britton has been attending Stanford studying film. There he became good friends with a guy named Nicholia Lidow, a political science major who has focused his studies on the development of nations that are currently experiencing civil war or just very recently experienced a civil war. What that means, in short, is that Nicholia has been spending all of his free time in Liberia. Although Nicholia is very serious about his major and is actively working and studying at all times, he also happens to be a good surfer, and Liberia also happens to have amazing surf.
Very few people have ever surfed the Liberian coastline. With development in Liberia halted by the vicious rule of Charles Taylor, the country has been in the midst of a gruesome civil war for the last 20 years. Under intense pressure on all fronts, Charles Taylor finally resigned. Upon his resignation, the United Nations agreed to occupy Liberia with a plan to reestablish peace. The Liberian people elected Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as their new leader and the U.N. quickly began purchasing guns from Liberian citizens to get them off the street.
Peace came almost overnight. The bombs stopped, the gunshots stopped, the fear of war was finally behind them. The war is over, but Liberia remains one of the poorest nations on the planet. Getting killed is now a worry of the past. The struggle now for the Liberian people, with a completely obliterated system, is to stay alive.
With the war over, Nicholia invited a few of us to experience Liberia with him and his local Liberian friends. He took us on a three week journey that I will never forget. This photo was sent to me almost six months after we returned. It shows a few of the local boys. When we arrived there was only one Liberian surfer named Alfred. Now it looks like there are three. That is my 5'10" Fletcher fun hog fish that I left behind. I am stoked to see that it has been getting some good use."
I'll let ll y'all know as soon as there's a firm release date for Sliding Liberia! Waitings goin to be rough...
Another Patagonia Essay from the lady-slider godess Belinda Baggs...
"Face pressed against the glass, I watch as the wind roars down the Kenting street. Sideways rain closes in and distorts my vision. The approaching typhoon brings with it anxiety but, most importantly, hope. I am in the Republic of Taiwan. This lost island paradise is home to 22,894,834 people. In most regions the country’s natural beauty has been traded to the economic devil. Oceans have been overfished; shorelines developed with fish farms and landlocked with seawalls. The beaches that do physically remain untouched are often blanketed with trash. Despite all of the madness and wrongdoing here, there is a small light at the end of a long tunnel.
Hope has arrived to a small group of local Taiwanese surfers and myself; the wind backs away and the sky clears in Taiwan’s first national park. The ocean is a deep shade of chocolate brown but no one’s spirits are dampened. This is one of those moments that we surfers live for: the joy of riding with the best that Mother Ocean has to offer. Outside, a head-high peak twirls left and winds down a perfectly arranged cobblestone point. I stroke into a nicely shaped set. Gliding along, I sweep onto a long wall and flow out onto an open face. Eventually, the wave tapers down and the lip chases me to the finish. I am deposited in the channel and left to rest. This cycle repeats, and countless hours are lost in the moment.
Locals and tourists alike watch in wonderment. Their interest in this instant is what my friends are hoping for: an opportunity for understanding between different ways of life. The message is simple, but hard for people here to comprehend: The ocean is not a wasteland, but a natural playground – respect our seas. The goal of the local Taiwanese surfers is to build awareness through appreciation. I cross my fingers in hopes that they will make a difference."
