Guinness Surf Record
Last week the Guinness World Records acknowledged a 44-year-old Hawaii pro surfer for catching a 78-foot wave off the coast of Portugal, saying the November run beats a 2008 record by more than 1 foot. Big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara of Haleiwa, on Oahu’s North Shore, told The Associated Press that the ride of his life [...]
We Are All Radioactive
We Are All Radioactive, a documentary series, tells the story of one seaside community’s efforts to rebuild in the wake of the 2011 disaster. Motoyoshi, a small town and surf spot about 100 miles from Fukushima, was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami, and now it’s unclear how damaging the effects of the Fukushima meltdown could be. We Are [...]
America’s Greenest Cities
In honor of Earth Day—which was founded in 1970 by Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson—the Daily Beast ranked the greenest cities in the U.S. Can you guess who won? A hint: there are lots of surfers there.
Surf Resorts?
Pro surfer Kelly Slater and Greg Webber, an Australian engineer and board shaper, are battling one another to be the first to create a surfable man-made wave. Though there have been several failed attempts at making a shreddable artificial break, Kelly Slater Wave Company in LA and Webber Wave Pool in Australia both hope to be [...]
A Sontag Sampler
From the New York Times: Art Is Boring Schopenhauer ranks boredom with “pain” as one of the twin evils of life. (Pain for have-nots, boredom for haves — it’s a question of affluence.) People say “it’s boring” — as if that were a final standard of appeal, and no work of art had the right [...]
The End of the World As We Know It?
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo. What do you think about this proposed legislation? To learn more or take action, go here.
Nosara in NYT’s Top 2012 Destinations
Now that the New York Times has included Nosara in their top 45 “Places to go in 2012” the word is out about the sleepy little surf town we know and love. What will this mean for Nosara? Will the beloved Guiones break start to look like choreographed chaos in Rincón featured in Surfer’s Journal‘s Symphony of [...]
Latest Work by Jason deCaires Taylor
Time Bomb depicts a collection of bombs and mines designed to support marine life whilst symbolizing the critical future of our reef systems and the countdown of time we have to reverse the increasing worldwide decline. The works also portray the irony of weapons of destruction being used to support and nurture life. The various [...]
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
It’s pretty easy to disconnect from the impact our plastic habit has on the environment. But when you find yourself swimming in floating bits of garbage (as I did last summer in Far Rockaway), or you see an image like the one above, the impact is immediate and unavoidable. To learn more and bring awareness [...]
Bigert & Bergström, The Last Calendar
The perfect gift for your favorite prophet! From Cabinet: When the current cycle of the Maya Long Count calendar concludes on 21 December 2012, the world will end. Of course, this is hardly the first time the planet’s demise has been prophesied. And so Cabinet offers you, doomed reader, a guide to the brief time that remains. [...]
MAKING
World AIDS Day, is December 1, 2011 and this year, it will be 20 years since the start of the red ribbon campaign. In the next two weeks at homes, cafes, subway cars, offices and institutions people will be coming together to MAKE the red ribbons with the updated version that includes a button. The [...]
NYC Trash Talk
A few weeks ago there was an interesting article about the amount of trash we create in NYC and the ways in which our recycling program lags behind other cities. “Environmental advocates call recycling the weak link in the city’s green agenda, even after legislation was passed last year to overhaul the 1989 recycling law [...]
Nautilus News
“A horrendous slaughter is going on out here,” said Peter D. Ward, a biologist from the University of Washington, during a recent census of the marine creature in the Philippines. “They’re nearly wiped out. The culprit? Growing sales of jewelry and ornaments derived from the lustrous shell. To satisfy the worldwide demand, fishermen have been [...]
Aloha State High School Surfing
Kids used to cut school to go surfing, but now that Hawaii has made surfing an official high school sport they may not have to. Earlier this week Governor Neil Abercrombie said surfing will become a state-sanctioned sport in public schools starting as early as spring 2013.
Tim DeChristopher Update
photo by Daniel Rolnik (Argot & Ochre) Earlier this month Tim DeChristopher started serving his prison sentence; he is now in a correction facility in California reportedly doing well. He writes updates to Grist blog if you want to hear from him. If you want to be in touch with him, send correspondence here: Tim [...]
Quiksilver Pro Hits Long Beach
Surfers from all over the world descend on Long Beach, LI for the Quiksilver Pro New York tournament starting today (September 1-15). The Big Apple’s surfing community has mixed feelings about the event. Check out one surfer’s opinion, Urban Aloha, that appeared in the NYT last month.
BirdScraper
Zhong Huang recently took third place in the Animal Architecture awards with plans for a BirdScraper in New York City. The massive structure designed to house birds should address the problems faced by our feathered friends. “Over 90,000 birds die every year by crashing into skyscrapers because lights inside the buildings attract birds flying right [...]
The Last Mountain
Don’t miss this moving documentary about a passionate group of citizens who are trying to stop Big Coal corporations in Appalachia. Still showing at theaters throughout the U.S. and available for purchase on DVD. “The central front in the battle for America’s energy future, with enormous consequences for the health and economic prospects of every [...]
Tim DeChristopher Sentencing
Tim DeChristopher, who was convicted by a federal jury in Salt Lake City on March 3, 2011, will be sentenced today. The Utah environmental activist who disrupted a federal auction when he bought almost $1.8 million of oil and gas leases (with no intent to pay) in 2008, was found guilty of disrupting a government [...]
Surfrider Gets Artists to Paint Epic Waves
From the LA Times “In celebration of the Surfrider Foundation’s 25th Anniversary Gala, held in fall 2009 in downtown L.A., the organization asked 25 contemporary artists to interpret 25 of the world’s most legendary surf breaks. The artworks were a part of the third installment of the nonprofit’s “Art for the Oceans” auction series.
Performa
RoseLee Goldberg, an art professor, curator, and former Harmony Hotel guest, just wrapped up her week-long performance art series in New York. Congrats to RoseLee! Check out Artforum’s coverage of Performa (ok, full disclosure: I work there). Also, what’s exciting is that, last spring, I interviewed RoseLee right in Harmony Hotel’s very own open-air restaurant. [...]
Second Chance for George: Not the Last Tortoise of His Kind
The New York Times has a great article about “Lonesome George,” who was thought to be the last of his tortoise-subspecies. Now scientists think there’s a female for him somewhere out there.
Eye Doctors and Art
Two pieces of news about eye doctors helping the world of art: 1) An eye surgeon might be called upon to remove tiny shards of glass that were embedded by careless thieves when they stole The Scream
