"When I heard the learn'd astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars."
- Walt Whitman
Hi. Seems that the fates are still conspiring against me. My schedule has opened up a bit, allowing me some time to surf. Unfortunately, the past few days have been a wash. Conditions, at least as I see 'em, have been lousy. Wind, fog, slop.
I thought to ease my pain by watching Step Into Liquid this past weekend. Beth had taken Lucas up to L.A. see her folks, and after a lackluster session on Saturday (high tides = mushy gutless surf, although it was good to hang with a couple of friends), I thought I'd live vicariously through the people on the TV. About ten minutes into the flick I realized that I had, in fact, seen it before. Back when it was called The Endless Summer and The Endless Summer II. Dana Brown is the fruit of Bruce Brown's loins, and clearly the old man's filmmaking style is in the son's DNA. And not in a good way.
I couldn't quite put my finger on what I didn't like about the movie, until the other day, when a Greyboy All-Stars track found it's way to the top of the iPod Shuffle rotation. It hit me that the old quote about explaining jazz could - and should - be applied to surfing. The biggest problem with Step is that which imbues all surf film and writing: the attempts by surfers to explain the Whole Surfing Thing. We're treated to pros and amateurs, oldtimers and groms, all basically saying the same thing: "It's like you're one with the Ocean and Nature and God and the Dolphins and you feel this energy and you're part of this culture blah blah blah bullshit bullshit bullshit." It's an old and tired approach, and completely unneccesary. Anybody asks me why I'm into the whole thing, I tell 'em this: "Try it."
