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March 31, 2005
russians
ok, most of my life i can honestly say i've only delt with russians via the tv, movies like rocky, old cold war flicks, red october and the list goes on.
well that's changed as of this year. now i work with the russians on a daily basis. ah the humor is endless considering i spend my days in a hawaii based small gaming company that employ's chinese, filipino, japanese, korean, french canadiens, californian's (it should be a country just like texas should be) & is owned by a japanese family that has a legacy product from russia.
weird.
Posted by Single Fin at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)
freaking out
ok, i've had it. this moving shit is lame and i NEED to surf. starting to freak out and need to get in the ocean to wipe it away. but of course the trade winds are cranking in town, so the surf on the southern shore is shot. then the drive to north shore is too tight for time. not to mention work is busy, we are moving the office, & several games are due to ship soon. of course they are buggy as hell & the programmers are hitting all kinds of hurdles along the way. in retrospect i love my job & its like being a kid all the time, but i really do think my title should have been called "cat herder".
ah well, one bonus for work is that at least when we move the office we are moving down by the water. not to far from bowls, k-basen, point panic & flys. all i can think about is summer swells, dawn patrols & lunch time surf sessions @ work. i'll have to come up with some good excuses if i take a 90minute - 2hour lunch & come back sun burnt with a cat ate the mouse grin. i have a hunch though that they might let it slide a couple times consdering mgmt has hawaii surfing blood. i'm shooting for one long lunch a week. (lol)
i've already started a few surfboard rack designs for my desk so i can keep a stick on hand.
anyhow, getting up early thursday to catch some small waves with da tanker 10footer. i don't care if the wind is cranking. i'm there to earn my stripes & free my soul.
alohas
Posted by Single Fin at 01:38 AM | Comments (2)
March 29, 2005
monday night sunset
Posted by Single Fin at 10:15 AM | Comments (2)
March 28, 2005
"what a wonderful world"
aloha my dear ohana,
it's been a long time past due since i've blogged in. thoughts of you are always near and dear to my heart. i'm coming up for air amidst the the craziness of life to check in with all of you. life is good, busy as always.
what a wonderful morning i had?!! these are the days that i forever count my blessings in life. we slept in till 7am, waking up to the sun shining & the hawaiian breezes blowing into our room. it's a whole new day!!
i went for a 8 mile or so run today, testing out my new iPod shuffle that corey got me. (mahalo!!!) lots of fun...listening to some of my favorite artists...ben harper, jack johnson, cowboy junkies, brudda' IZ, deva premal, arethra franklin, van morrison, joan baez...
i decided to go deep into the valley, running through suburbia, saying hello to the little old japanese going for walks along the way. after mile 4, i come to "paradise park". surrounded by a beautiful lush forest...fragrants smells linger with the breezes. taking one mindful step at a time once i got into the forest, i came up to one of my favorite sections...the bamboo forest, standing so strong and tall, yet so very flexible and yielding with the wind. the end of my hike lead to manoa falls. she was so full of strength in her flow after last nights rainfall.
running back listening to brudda' IZ's remake of louis armstrong's "what a wonderful world"...the lyrics say it all.
okay, time to put my head down and get down and dirty...gotta clean and pack. we're relocating in our house. a good time to simplify again. i still remember when we first moved here. all we brought over was in a 4'x7'x7' plywood container being shipped across the pacific ocean. our housemates are moving out...new ones moving in. change is in the air. lots of possibilities and opportunites!!
take good care and keep in touch! feel free to drop a comment or two :)
love,
ye
aka soul sista'
ps i'll get some pics for my entry later at the beach tonight, to spice things up :)
Posted by soul sista' at 12:22 PM | Comments (2)
March 27, 2005
flowers all about our yard
no need for many words tonight. decided to take a few photo's of all the different tropical flower types in our yard. check it out...
flower power 1 / flower power 2 / flower power 3 / flower power 4 / flower power 5 / flower power 6 / flower power 7
Posted by Single Fin at 12:19 AM | Comments (1)
March 25, 2005
riding the tuna boat
just a coupla pics of some of last nights sushi. i guess here on the island it's a popular thing. so we had heard about this place & thought about hitting it on the way back from the beach. more or less to see what all the fuss was about. even back when we lived in seattle people loved this kinda stuff. my own opinion is it's ghetto, but classy in a high school lunch tray kinda way.
sushi on a moving belt wtf?
anyway check it out .
Posted by Single Fin at 07:08 PM | Comments (0)
surf scoot is ready to go....
finally the new surf board mount is ready to roll! at 2 bucks a week in gas this little mama has made my life easy. now she is going to provide me with even more ease by carting the board on the early morning sessions. all i needed to do was design a make shift scooter mount since the rack is actually a bicycyle mount. which later this summer will be used for just that on the surly. yet for now i've converted it to the scoot for easy of use until life is more stable.
anyhow it looks solid & will hold up to an 8foot board. anything after that gets a little dicey & i start to worry about wind & potholes. i did however mount the 10 footer to see what it looked like. as you would imagine it looked like the scoot was straped to the board, rather it being the other way around. i could see the newspapers now: "haole boy on moped caught in cross wind sails through 8 lanes of traffic dragging a 10 foot longboard".
speaking of weather, check last nights hazy susnet. every now & again the islands have an issue with VOG, or better known as volcanic air pollution.
Posted by Single Fin at 06:32 PM | Comments (3)
March 21, 2005
Wesssssssssst side
mantra of the weekend was all about the west side of the island.
friday night we headed out to a play about local legends rell sun & eddie aikau. great little play with so much good local style, humor & culture.
to follow that up we awoke saturday with the mission to search for the dolphins. ye & i know of a secret bay where you can paddle out on your surf boards & snorkle gear to swim around with the dolphins. so with the car loaded up we headed out for the search. a bummer thought when we arrived to discover the waves were cranking. makaha was going off with head high glassy northwest swell. the locals were already on the scene ripping it up. needless to say with the waves around the dolphins were no where to be found. we voted to go surfing to soak up some sun. after about 3-4 hours we decided to road trip to another spot down the coast. surfed another hour+ there until it was time to head home. all 3 of us were sun burnt, sore & stoked when we pulled into the driveway back home. there is just something to be said about a great day surfing with friends on the beach.
check out the pics of the day if you like:
small rollers
Julie & Ye chilling @ a vacant lifeguard tower
a true icon in the hawaii culture
Posted by Single Fin at 04:06 PM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2005
angles & light
hunting around for inspiration & a little innovation. came across this place posted above, as well as these 2 articles that i thought were kinda fun to read.
"Living small: grace-filled notes from apartments in Japan"
"Turning Japanese, why aren't we turning Japanese?"
i've been enjoying the second job that i work on the weekends. figured if someday i finally grow up, we might want to build our own place....it would be essential to know how things are built & architected. luckily i got hooked up with an architect a few months back that needed a pair of responsible hands & mind to help him on several projects. the work is a bit tough but he's taking the time to explain the in's & out's of his architectural choices. not to mention the actual building process itself.
in the past 5years i've rediscovered my romance with architecture & building useful dwellings. becoming more eager to digest concepts, information on effective - green materials. i like the idea of small space living. less is more. simple is clean. green is friendly. to know is to understand.
check out these ideas.
"lundberg designs"
both residential loft spaces are chalked full of good concepts. some of the rest of the dwellings are a bit large.
"o'herlihy architects "
my choices are the: kline residence, lexton maccarthy, fineman house
Posted by Single Fin at 04:34 PM | Comments (1)
hawaiian breakfast treats
surfed this morning at "3's" with the girls. only 5 people out including us as we stroked out @ 6am. twas an epic sunrise over the city. for those of you that don't know this...essentially honolulu sits right on the flats down on the ocean. just along the base of the mtns. so when you paddle out to 3's the view is of the entire city, diamond head & valley. 3's is historically one of the most well known breaks in the world. not to mention it's the same break the famous "Duke" surfed with all his hawaiian friends.
history lesson: Duke was a famous local guy back in the early 1900's that brought surfing all over the world coupled with the true sense of aloha.
"the ambassador of aloha" was his trademark spirit & nickname. not to mention he was a olympic medal winner in swimming.
ok, ok moving along now. after the session we cruz'd home to get ready for work. on the way i thought it might be nice to pick up breafast for the office. ironically another person thought the same thing & brought more goodies. here's some items from this mornings for breakfast...yes i know they are not healthy & not very naturopathic of me. but hey life is about balance & ye does a good job of keeping me healthy with a steady diet of tofu, fish, veggies & greens.
Malsada's
these are basically a doughnut made of egg dough. so its softer, stays warm & filled with haupia cream/custard. yummmmmy
Breatfast Manapua's
packed with portuguese sausages, scrambled eggs, chives & melted cheese. this little honeys are tasty!
Pork Hash
the chinese have made the dumpling market a wonderful thing. these little guys are like a wonton or potsitcker yet packs girth.
Posted by Single Fin at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2005
funky "soel"
check it out, some nice R&B jazz styled music. (thanks josh @ cool hunting for the hookup) if you hit "this site" you can listen for free! :-)
i don't have enough time to write a review. but one i found did strike me as pretty indepth and right on. so credit goes to the amazon guest reviewer for the next quoted snipet about this album.
"... i dont know where i'd go to classify this, but it's earthy, full and rich... very layered and has a lovingly nappy texture. organic.
if i still believed in 'neo-soul' then i'd say that this would either be 'the origin of it' or the 'elevation' to it... guess that jus makes it 'soulful'... not as 'jazz heavy' as what you might expect coming from the st. germaine camp... ummmmm, soel's album is comparable to archie shepp's 'attica blues'... contemporary to groups such as fertile ground, the pharaohs (extinct early 70's souljazz group/the roots of earth, wind and fire), gil scott-heron, alice coltrane...or imagine if cinematic orchestra, roy ayers, isaac hayes , george clinton and fela kuti all came together to create an album..."
~ amazon.com customer reviewer
Posted by Single Fin at 11:31 AM | Comments (1)
March 16, 2005
island style road trip
our friend is visiting for a couple weeks from the mainland. so we've been doing the hawaii thing. more of a day in the life rather than the touristy apporach: "much to see & much to do all jam packed into a short time frame". our approach is much slower & chill. more of a cruzing state of mind with highlights topped off here'n there. check it out, a recent trip the ladies took the other day...
North Shore is serious, be warned
localboy style finger dragging
vantage point from the co-pilots seat
ye connecting with the roots of the island
beautiful view from a bamboo forest
the ladies @ the 2nd water fall in manoa valley
julie using those rock climbing skills to go down from the water falls
Posted by Single Fin at 12:12 PM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2005
perceptions & fiber art
so today was another day. yadda yadda me me doing my thing, going to work etc. just like every other joe-smoe in the whole wide world. then when i was cruzing around the web at some of my normal web pit stops, i came across this article which turned out to be a ray of sunshine for me. for the rest of my day had then been consumed with thoughts about this one person. the concept of fiber art coming out from within a person so unconnected to the rst of us. reaching out in her own ways rather then everyday communication styles of sound, site and hearing.
the perplexing thoughts about the existance of this women, the truth being sent from her soul to her finger tips. the true form of expression in a world of of darkness. raising some serious questions in my mind of art, love, desire, turmoil, expression and soul. i think for some reason this will be with me for long long time. a gift from judith....to be discovered.
"Judith Scott (born 1943 - spring 2005), a fifty-five year old woman with Down's Syndrome, has spent the past ten years producing a series of totally non-functional objects which, to us, appear to be works of sculpture, except that the notion of sculpture is far beyond Judith's understanding. As well as being mentally handicapped, Judith cannot hear or speak, and she has little concept of language. There is no way of asking her what she is doing, yet her compulsive involvement with the shaping of abstract forms in space seems to imply that at some level she knows. Judith possesses no concept of art, no understanding of its meaning or function. She does not know that she is an artist, nor does she understand that the objects she creates are perceived by others as works of art. Whatever she is doing she is definitely not concerned with the making of art. Unmistakably she is working, and working hard. Her formidable concentration surpasses that of most professional artists."
- excerpt from scott's gallery site, posted via boing boing
Posted by Single Fin at 06:11 PM | Comments (2)
March 14, 2005
slacker
yes yes, i know. the blog needs some love right now. i want to toss up some entries, but i've been swamped with both jobs. not to mention ye has been busy with friends in town as well. on top of that the roomies are moving out & a new pair are in the process of moving in. the bikes are in the midst of repair, ugh! the scooter's new side mounted surf rack is in multiple sections & not attached.
then to taunt the issues even more some nice swells have been rolling in & of course i've been missing them due to a hectic schedule.
time...i need more of it. DAMN work!
ok enough blabbering about nonsense. more to come monday.
alohas
Posted by Single Fin at 02:16 AM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2005
paris to nice
another chilly day for the boys in france. the race is called "race to the sun". yet really with the exceptional cold snap that has hit in the region the race should have been called "race to the warm team bus".
for all you non-fanatic fans out there. lance and the discovery team started the race, then lance dropped out after 3 stages. to cold and starting to fight a onset of a sickness. i guess when your the 6time tour de france champ you get to pick and choose the battles worth fighting. therefore leaving the race to folks like vicente reynes. a win for vicenete is much more fun to watch in a race like this, than to watch lance or boonen win another stage.
( vicente reynes (illes balears) celebrates his first pro win )
in other news: george h is showing some sweet spring clasic form with a solid win at kuurne-bruxelles-kuurne, belgium. the sprint battles have started. cipo is back with his 189 win of his career @ the milano-torino, italy. alessandro petacch slaps back with an out of the gates stage 1 win at 40th tirreno-adriatico, italy. which the race at stage 4 is being held by robobanks oscar freire.
people are getting stoked for the milan san remo race in about a weeks time. the spring racing season has sprung!
today when i ride to work i'll kick the ipod on & pretend i'm bob roll acting out a 3rd person win as a tour of italy champ. my italian may be bad, but it's all about the daydream & mantra as i crest the hills.
alohas
Posted by Single Fin at 09:40 AM | Comments (0)
March 08, 2005
party wave....all aboard!
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"More than 40 surfers are claiming a new record in Australia after all climbing on a giant surfboard to ride a wave. A crowd of around 5,000 people were on the beach in Queensland to watch the surfers cram onto the 12.2m-long board.
The board was so big that it took 20 people to carry it into the sea and 100 to wax it before taking to the waves. The record still has to be confirmed by the Guinness World Book of Records, but it should beat the old record of 14 surfers on one board in the UK in 2003.
The record attempt wasn't without drama though, as one of the fins broke just after they started.The head board builder Nev Hyman, who the board is named after, told an Australian newspaper: "It was the best four minutes of my surfing life".
"I don't think anyone has had more fun on a wave like that since the dawn of time," he added. The surfboard is now going to be taken around the world to raise money for tsunami survivors."
BBC UK ~ 3/8/05
Posted by Single Fin at 11:22 AM | Comments (0)
surly
ok ok, after a brief break from cycling it's time to get back in the saddle.
i spent the weekend getting the surly cross cleaned up & ready for action. need a few more odds & ends but essentially she is ready to roll for the road. prior to the cleaning it still looked like a seattle bike with the road grit, triple cranks, cross brakes, monster fenders & lights. more of a rolling german military looking bike than a cross bike. anyhow, i trimmed the excess off her & have started thinking about just picking up some parts & making her a single speed.
poking around the surly blog last night looking for various parts. also trying to dig up some info on the new bike the boys have been working on over the winter. low & behold the "pug" has been built & demo'd. (w/ some beefy 3.7 tires!!!) damn it looks fun to ride.
all i can think when i see this is the song by sir mix-alot: "baby got back"
Posted by Single Fin at 10:36 AM | Comments (2)
March 07, 2005
sunset & yoga
sunset yoga pose 1
sunset yoga pose 2
sunset yoga pose 3
Posted by Single Fin at 10:23 PM | Comments (1)
matisyahu
great artist hitting the waves. not sure if some of you like rap (old skool ska style with solid beats, lyrics, stand up mic'd & laying words that make sense to a more beat box style sound), reggae & world music? if so then hit this site & wrap your ears around "matisyahu".
not that this matters but the trippy thing is that he's a hasidic jew reggae rapper. my first thought was sure man...whatever. but after a few turns in the ipod i've really gotten dialed in on the beats. (my choice is "king without a crown")
his message is clear & of course there are undertones of his faith. but it's about his talent & creative courage that strikes me as a great cd to spin in the collection. expecially in today's society of mtv clear channel sell outs.
"This young, unique musical phenomenon put on an incredible show and deserves much credit for his talent, stage presence, and courage, as he truly embodies the credo that with positive intentions and love, you can accomplish anything."
~ The McGill Tribune (1/2005)
Posted by Single Fin at 05:18 PM | Comments (1)
M3 (monday morning mantra)
alohas,
i love monday mornings! mainly due to the fact most people are still sleeping & it's a good chance to drop in the water for a morning session & sunrise. ye & i were dragging a little @ 530am when we awoke to head out for a dawn patrol session. especially after yesterdays session on the east side of the island, over by china mans hat. geez it's a long paddle to the outside reef, which is at least a 1/2mile one way. but the waves were stoke & when a good set came in the lefts are sweet to cruz on. ye gets the "charger" of the day award. she took some sweet drops into the wall & ripped along the shoulder with some nice cut backs. even the local boy short boarders where hooting as she screamed by. i think we surfed for about 2hours, so the paddle in was painful & exhausting. we did see a couple good size sea turtles though. on that note last week i caught a few minutes of some whales spouting their blow holes. then this morning ye & i were on our way in from the session & she said she had seen a dolphin jump out of the water.
pretty good stuff right there.
a nice swell is on the way for tuesday & wednesday. suppose to be 4-7feet on the sets.
more to come later...
Posted by Single Fin at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)
March 04, 2005
new tunes from the land of aloha
"jack" has just released a new album. the type of music that is just nice on the ears.
not only is he a talented musician, but also a pretty damn good "surf film producer/editor". adding to the flavor is the fact he's a north shore pipeline ripper. known to frequent the lineup at all the world class breaks up on the north shore where he grew up & currently lives.
the website has some free tunes for you to play as well
Posted by Single Fin at 12:28 PM | Comments (3)
March 02, 2005
sweet surf'n beach ride
i've been looking for a side mounted surfboard rack for the moped. found this bike as a demo showcase ride on a surf rack site. i bet a rig like this gets stolen as soon as the owner drops into the water for a session. damn locals here would have this stripped in no time.
Posted by Single Fin at 04:35 PM | Comments (0)
got gas?
the humor is endless, it really is.
Posted by Single Fin at 01:08 PM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2005
surfs up
a little sunset action for all you folks on the mainland. wish i had some surf pics to post. the south shore has got a little bump this week and a nice swell has arrived from the cook islands. skipped out of work an hour early so i could head out for a sunset session. nice to be in the warm water and paddling for some head high waves.
write more later...
sleepy time.
Posted by Single Fin at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)