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Canary in a Coal Mine: An Environmental Manifesto

Etymology An allusion to caged canaries mining workers would carry down into the tunnels with them. If dangerous gases such as methane or carbon monoxide leaked into the mine-shaft, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners. Noun canary in a coal mine A warning of danger or trouble yet to come. Synonyms miner’s canary (Source: Wictionary) I have long been aware of the role of the Ocean in the Ecosystem, that is the environmental engine of Spaceship Earth, and realized my Tribe was a canary in the coal mine of industrial development, by virtue of being

A California Opus

Chapter 5 in the California Series. I have not always lived in California. My Dad was going to college on the GI Bill in Milwaukee Wisconsin, at Marquette University. I had never asked him why, being from Hawaii, he chose the Mid West. He met my Mother there. That was where my two Brothers and I were born. We were sick a lot as infants. The family pediatrician had told my parents that our Hawaiian genetics may have been to blame, as we did not tolerate the cold of hard, Midwestern Winter very well. In fact, I ended up in

Liberty and Independence Day

Chapter 4 in the series on California Liberty is an interesting Philosophy. Wiki explains it here. What separates the US from many other nations that have existed, is a history which has repeatedly illustrated that freedoms and liberties can never perpetually exist under rule of mortal men, as they are endowed by our Creator. What is right, wrong, and moral comes from the teachings of God. Not from sinful creatures that gain Govt power and force others to accept their twisted perversions of rule. Liberty is a Godly principle. I live in a State that perhaps has done more in

World Oceans Day

This is another in the blog series on California. Ch 3. Today is a movement generated day called World Oceans Day. You can read about it’s History here. More years ago then I care to admit to, I had a couple custom board shaping appointments with two men. One board was for Tom Pratte. The other was for Reed Wolpert. As we chatted together in two separate shaping sessions, both men told me about a concern that they had. They each saw California as being engaged in a very dangerous trend. It was the walling off of the Coastline by

Apocryphal Wave

California Series Ch. 2 Maybe it is the surge in weird news. Maybe it is being too closely informed of the goings on in Ventura City, where I live. But I found myself at a bit of a loss when I heard of the latest greatest mean spirited shenanigans of some local politicians. It was so depressing that these elected officials could treat the people I live with so poorly and with such disrespect, that I found myself in a cave today. So while I was in there I did some Art. In this blog are three images, and they

A Day at the Beach

My parents moved to California when I was four. It was at that time when I saw my first surfer gliding to shore on the South Side of the Manhatten Pier. We lived in a walk up a couple blocks from the beach. I have no idea why a four year old would retain such sharp memories. I can only assume he was getting his foundation tutored to him by the land and sea. In the years since, I have seen a LOT of change in this State. My understanding of the place comes from a deep connection to our

An Easter Aloha

One of my areas of interest has always been to learn about the mindset of a people, living in a place that modern man now frequently refers to as paradise, which caused that race, a nation of free human beings, to accept the slavery that comes with the embrace of a religion. I am writing of the Hawaiians of course. To me, the use of the word, “slavery”, it really is not as antithetical to freedom as one might suppose. To be enslaved implies a certain ownership of us by something, or someone else. In a conversation with the writer

BMX

I had been immersed in a swimwear shoot and building more imagery was the last thing on my list of things to do. But Hans call came on the heels of a 16 hour day on the computer and the passage of a cold front which left a rather dramatic sky. So I made my way out to Chez Rathje, and their private custom BMX track which somehow, had not only survived the torrential rains here on the coast, but now had a couple new ramps as well. With Spring in full bloom we managed a quick shoot with the

GMAC

Garrett MacNamara and I have been perpetually bumping into each other for over a decade now. He and I for many years, just seemed to always be in the same place and time to see the ocean and weather coincide to produce some remarkable moments. He surfed. I shot. AFterwards we both laughed. “Wow, you were there”. We finally exchanged phone numbers a few years back. I will not say that having the digits made things any easier to connect, but it sure makes for an extra few moments to share our very unique lives together. I doubt that

Robb Havassy: All Access Pass

The spacious meeting hall is filled with the hustle and bustle of the curious, the sage, and the uninitiate, there on invitations from various cognescenti in the Chinese marketing and fashion world, to view a first of it’s kind offering by a new American designer, and Surfing cultural icon, Artist Robb Havassy. The show is the unveiling of the Artist’s Lifestyle and Art based apparel line: Havassy! The seating which wraps around the reflective stage fills, the lights go to spot, the music pumps up, and this video begins to show on the facade at the back of the runway.

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