The surf industry is at a crossroads. Surf culture, in all of its iterations, is no longer purely about the “stoke”. In the 21st century, it’s all about the Benjamins. This is what happens when a sport is co-opted by Corporate America. Money is mistaken for culture. The ubiquitousness of Billabong and Quiksilver bear this out. Those who once believed surfing would be immune from the taint of money and all that’s required in its pursuit are now fearful of what the future holds for what were once considered the backbone of American surf culture: the local shaper and the local surf shop.
About: Mary M
Surf Report: Would You Buy a Surfboard at Costco?
February 22nd, 2008 Written by: Mary M · 16 Comments
→ 16 CommentsTags: News · local news
Job Testing - In Pursuit of Civil Servitude
February 18th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · No Comments
Last Saturday, several hundred people gathered bright and early at Fairfax High School. They dutifully stood in a long, snaking line before being escorted, in small groups, into classrooms normally occupied by bored and restless teenagers. Once in the classrooms, the hopefuls prepared themselves for the worst: the dreaded civil service examination.
On this day, it was the position of Management Assistant that brought the throng of hopefuls out into the cold morning air. As he watched noticeably agitated drivers circle the school’s parking lot (which happened to be full) 10 minutes before the start, one man remarked that he had given thought to ditching the test, but knew he would be unable to lie convincingly when his wife asked him about it once he returned home. What he failed to mention was the Management Assistant position was worth a few hours of discomfort on a Saturday morning. Management Assistants, as all of the assembled knew, eventually become managers whose titles begin with words like “Chief” and “Director”.
→ No CommentsTags: Editorials · Local Politics
Surf Report: Our Contribution to the Plastic Continent
February 15th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · No Comments
When it rains it pours . . . and sends greats heaps of plastic debris into the ocean via our county’s storm drains. Many people don’t realize that the Los Angeles rainfall season runs from July 1 to June 30, thus the measuring for city’s rainfall totals begins in mid-summer. In the last seven months, Los Angeles received almost as much rain as it did during the previous complete rainfall season. The precipitation was a godsend for this city, with its overabundance of lawns and gluttonous greenery. Unfortunately, the rains spelled disaster for our beaches.
After the most recent rainstorms in January, the banks of the Ballona Creek flood control channel were covered with litter. (One can only surmise that other channels were also lined with trash.) The birds and other indigenous wildlife could not escape it. The trash was everywhere.
An inquiry to the County of Los Angeles about the problem resulted in the following response from Gary Hildebrand of the County’s Department of Public Works:
→ No CommentsTags: Environment · News
Unhand That Filet O’ Fish!
February 12th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · No Comments
It’s that time of the year again—the 40-day period that begins with soiled foreheads and ends with sighs of relief when Easter finally arrives. Oh, yes, Lent is here working its magic. Serious Catholics, among others, must adjust their eating habits over the 40 days; no meat is eaten on Fridays. What’s a carnivore to do when meat is verboten?
If you happen upon a California Fish Grill on a Friday night during Lent, or on a weekday during the daily lunch rush, you need look no further for a decent, reasonably priced seafood meal. Their menu is varied enough to please almost any seafood lover who is either unable or unwilling to foot the bill at places like Ocean Avenue Seafood or The Lobster. The ocean view at Gladstones and Neptune’s Net far surpasses what you’ll find at California Fish Grill. The food does not.
→ No CommentsTags: Food and Drink · Restaurants
Unhand That Filet O’ Fish!
February 12th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · No Comments
It’s that time of the year again—the 40-day period that begins with soiled foreheads and ends with sighs of relief when Easter finally arrives. Oh, yes, Lent is here working its magic. Serious Catholics, among others, must adjust their eating habits over the 40 days; no meat is eaten on Fridays. What’s a carnivore to do when meat is verboten?
If you happen upon a California Fish Grill on a Friday night during Lent, or on a weekday during the daily lunch rush, you need look no further for a decent, reasonably priced seafood meal. Their menu is varied enough to please almost any seafood lover who is either unable or unwilling to foot the bill at places like Ocean Avenue Seafood or The Lobster. The ocean view at Gladstones and Neptune’s Net far surpasses what you’ll find at California Fish Grill. The food does not.
→ No CommentsTags: Food and Drink · Restaurants
Surf Report: The Smackdown in Del Mar
February 8th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · 1 Comment
On Wednesday, February 6, the California Coastal Commission met in Del Mar to vote on the proposed extension of the 241 Toll Road. Environmentalists and surfers throughout the state waited for the decision with bated breath. The Transportation Corridor Agencies group (TCA) had already turned Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s head by offering the state $100 million, supposedly to mitigate the damage the toll road extension would cause to San Onofre State Beach. The governor proved that he could be bought; he announced his support for the toll road extension soon after revealing the state was in the throes of a budget crisis. (Question: Isn’t the TCA a special interest group? Question: Didn’t Arnold rail against special interest groups when he ran for office? “Special interests cannot buy me. I have enough money.”) [Read more →]
→ 1 CommentTags: Image Gallery · Local LA · News
Creating a Culture of Incarceration?
February 6th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · No Comments
One of the most daunting tasks a parent will ever face is finding an acceptable daycare for her children. Kidshealth.org advises parents to “ensure that [their] child is safe and happy in a child care environment that is fun, educational and nurturing.” Child development experts in both the public and private sector share this sentiment. Why, then, would a state-licensed daycare facility surround itself—or, more specifically, its play yards—in barbed wire?
The daycare in question is not in Fallujah or along the Gaza Strip. It lies in the heart of a middle-class black neighborhood here in Los Angeles, a neighborhood that Wikipedia describes as “one of the wealthiest majority-African American areas in the United States.” View Park is considered one of L.A.’s best-kept secrets. Lying 20 minutes away from almost everything (the beach, Downtown, Hollywood and the South Bay), View Park defies all of the stereotypes Los Angelenos hold about black neighborhoods. It experienced “white flight” in the early 1960’s. Interestingly enough, white homeowners are now returning, having realized the home prices there are more affordable than they are in more well known areas. View Park is a bona fide neighborhood; the folks at one end of a block probably know the names of the majority of the people on their street. Neighbors actually wave and speak to one another (which is more than can be said for many other neighborhoods in Los Angeles). A friend who grew up in, and still lives in, View Park once described it as “Mayberry”.
→ No CommentsTags: Editorials · Health · Living
Surf Report: Must Everything in this State Be For Sale?
February 1st, 2008 Written by: Mary M · No Comments
Perhaps this is all part of a modern-day Faustian drama. Our protagonist, a character with aspirations to rule a feudality whose laws prevent outsiders from becoming king, orchestrates a deal with the devil for both his soul and the souls of the people he currently governs. By the time President Arnold Schwarzenegger takes office in 2013, the citizens of California will all have gone to hell . . . in a handbasket personally delivered by then-Governor Schwarzenegger.
If the governor has his way, the California he extols in television ads will cease to exist before he leaves office (ostensibly to make a run for the White House). After years of neutrality on the issue of the extension of the Foothill-South Toll Road in Orange County, Governor Schwarzenegger recently expressed support for the measure.
→ No CommentsTags: Environment · News
Local Poltics: Oh, Governor Schwarzenegger! You Slay Me!
January 28th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · No Comments
When Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released his budget for 2008 to 2009 earlier this month, it was met with an outcry that has yet to abate. Because the state is $4 billion to $6 billion short of the projected revenues for 2007 to 2008, there is now a $3 billion shortfall in the current budget. Schwarzenegger expects that deficit to increase to $14 billion by June 2009 if the state fails to take measures to rectify the problem.
The governor proposes to reduce “almost every state program” by 10 percent next year. His justification? “It spreads the pain evenly and equally, and it protects vital services.” Therein lies the rub. The vital services for which funding will be reduced have little or no bearing on the wealthy. His proposed cuts primarily impact the middle class, the poor and the elderly. The purpose of this article is not to argue for punishing the upper class for their financial successes, but rather to call the governor to task for asserting that his cuts equally affect all of the citizens of California.
→ No CommentsTags: Editorials · Local Politics
Surf Report: Surf Reporting At Its Finest
January 25th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · 3 Comments
A surf report is a surf report is a surf report. Los Angeles, like so many other coastal cities and towns all over the country, boasts numerous websites that provide a once or twice daily description of the waves at the more notable breaks. The typical surf report usually sounds something like this, “1 to 2 foot with poor shape but expect it to clean up a little with the tide change.” Such information is helpful to surfers, albeit for a small window of time since the tide, wind and current often change quickly. A report given at 6:30 a.m. is of little or no use to someone sneaking out of work for a 10:00 a.m. session. As a result, surf reporting is a thankless task. Surfers are more likely to curse surf reporters than to praise them.
→ 3 CommentsTags: Local LA · News
Photo Essay: Sunday Morning in Leimert Park
January 21st, 2008 Written by: Mary M · No Comments
→ No CommentsTags: Image Gallery · News
Surf Report: Aloha To You Too, Grand Poo Bah!
January 19th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · No Comments
Aloha To You Too, Grand Poo Bah!
Imagine yourself sitting out in the lineup on a warm July morning. Much to your chagrin, L.A. is in the middle of another flat spell. There is almost no swell in the water. You paddle out anyway to catch what few thigh high waves might roll through. Watching the horizon, you laugh to yourself because you know no one will yell “Outside!” during this session. It’s calm and quiet, a good day to enjoy the beauty of your local break.
Then you see something strange out of the corner of your eye. Was that Santa Claus? Shaking your head, you wonder why anyone would buy a red wetsuit and imagine the Santa Claus jokes that guy will endure wherever he goes surfing. The quiet is now broken by the sound of laughter and many arms paddling out to the lineup. What the hell? You finally turn around . . . and there are no words to describe what’s paddling toward you.
→ No CommentsTags: Local LA · News
