STRETCH

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ALIEN VISITOR

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Kirk Gee was kind enough to place his Mick Mackie flex-tailed mutant into my "care" just in time for the fun run of SoCal swell week before last. Rode the shit out of it...
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Blue EVA on the deck side, carbon fiber panels on the bottom.
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...Along with others who it was mercilessly passed along to in the lineup, I'd have to agree that it's capable of generating more speed than I've felt on most any other board. On a few waves I actually had speed induced wind blowng past my ears while pumping down the line.
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You can feel the extra acceleration the tail is providing, without its actual flexing feeling odd while riding.
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I'm 5'8", 140-5ish Lbs., so at a length of 5'9" with that plan shape the board is in general too big for me. Basically, the plan shape in that length puts the wide point of the board too far forward for my weight/stature/habits, and I have to concentrate to keep from digging the inside forward rail during cutbacks. BUT the unbridled down the line speed, and accelerated projection into hitting the lip has been a cinch to tap into. I can easily tell that if it was scaled down for my size it would be ALL TIME for me.
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Jeff Beck, who is more of a weight that matches the dimensions of the board, was hooked after his first couple of waves. He rode it for over an hour, noted how fast it was, and exclaimed that he was wrapping round turns into critical areas of the wave that he usually has trouble pulling off— said he could feel the acceleration that results from the tail pins snapping back to their original rocker at the end of a turn really helping his performance. Jeff's a fairly reserved critter, and there's few times that I've seen him express more outward excitement than the day he sessioned the Mackie.
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Thanks tons to: Mackie for the madness, Kirk's generosity and work to get Mick's boards to the States, and Andrew Kidman for bringing Mackie's work to my increased attention through the book Ether.
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I TOOK MY POTATOES DOWN TO BE MASHED

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Well, that big dumb blonde
With her wheel in the gorge
And Turtle, that friend of theirs
With his checks all forged
And his cheeks in a chunk
With his cheese in the cash
They're all gonna be there
At that billion dollar bash
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
It's that 700 billion dollar bash

Ev'rybody from right now
To over there and back
The louder they come
The harder they crack
Come now, sweet cream
Don't forget to flash
We're all gonna meet
At that billion dollar bash
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
It's that 700 billion dollar bash

Well, I took my counselor
Out to the barn
Silly Nelly was there
She told him a yarn
Then along came Jones
Emptied the trash
Ev'rybody went down
To that billion dollar bash
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
It's that 700 billion dollar bash

Well, I'm hittin' it too hard
My stones won't take
I get up in the mornin'
But it's too early to wake
First it's hello, goodbye
Then push and then crash
But we're all gonna make it
At that billion dollar bash
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
It's that 700 billion dollar bash

Well, I looked at my watch
I looked at my wrist
Punched myself in the face
With my fist
I took my potatoes
Down to be mashed
Then I made it over
To that billion dollar bash
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
It's that 700 billion dollar bash
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THE SUN IS STILL THE CENTER (Eye On The Ball)

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Driving out of the tract this morn, passed by this flag. Seemed to fit the mood of current events. Stopped and got out of the car to snap a photo... the first thing I felt was the heat of the sun on my shoulders... it felt as good as any other day.
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Jumped back to the wheel and passed by two old timers, dueling in the shade, surrounded by a mess of crap made in...
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A short mile away the beach was socked in with a heavy fog— but even though hidden, you know with confidence the Sun is still there.
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LOST SOLES

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HOURGLASS FIGURE

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A friend, Steve Knox, over in the islands has been putting his time in experimenting/riding hourglass plan shaped boards over the last couple of years.
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While over there a year ago, I got the chance to ride a few waves on one— Didn't feel a compromising absence of rail as one might expect.
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The latest, seen here, shaped by Joe Gray:
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5'10" • 16.5" • 15.5" • 16.5"
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Glassed and ready just in time for a trip to Tavarua.
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GREASY BREAKFAST

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Early mornin' bilge dumpin into the lineup. Gotta love duck diving in water slicked with the smell of fuel and oil... plus a few hearty gulps.
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GROM MOMENT

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Hey grom, where's your board? You forget to strap it down?
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'Grom Moment' image ripped from Grateful Dead's Europe '72 album.
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MAN NEED WAVE, WAVE NOT NEED MAN

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A few works from the DEEPER VISIONS series by 'One Drop' Mollie.
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MILLION BRIGHT AMBASSADORS OF MORNING

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Cloudless everyday you fall upon my waking eyes
Inciting and inviting me to rise
And through the window in the wall
Come streaming in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning
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—Echoes
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RICHARD WRIGHT 1943-2008
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THE EMPTY CHAIR & DISGUISED TEARS

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Only had time for a quick one-piss-in-the-suit session on the way to work— suit up in a frenzy, run mach-speed across the sand, paddle hard, take a leak, luck into a fair share of waves in just minutes, then rush out.
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Exiting the water I witnessed a group of people helping a "disabled" man put every thing he had into each slow, short, fatigued step down the sand bank toward the surf.
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A few tears made it past my effort to hold them back, but no one could see them. They were disguised by my surf wet face.
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Even with all the help exiting the surf, his legs gave out a few times landing him in the water, but he kept at it.
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PRONE ORCS JAMBOREE

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More pics from the 11th:
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THE MORNIN' GROPER

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Stevesy's new love affair, the only redhead in the lineup at a well known valley brothel.
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Stevesy caught in the act— giving those thunder thighs a good early mornin' groping a few days ago.
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More pics of the pair sexing the waves at Shelter blog.
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DIM DAYLIGHT AT THE EDGE

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In the dim daylight at the edge of darkest Mordor, a journey seasoned Frodo
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and his ever faithful companion Samwise
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press forth into the lawless land of the All Seeing Eye,
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and unruly Prone Orcs...
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Battle weary, yet not given up, Frodo is forced to leave his trusty Samwise behind and chance his fate that the cunning Gollum
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will help him sneak through
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the tight, overlooked, murky crags to the heart of hearts where he must forever rid this world of its precious.
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