Fiji Cyclone

From Pacific Longboarder News:

Fiji Cyclone Death Toll Rises Wednesday, 30 January 2008Half of Fiji’s population is without power and water and tourists remain stranded after a category two cyclone hit the country, killing at least six people.About 450,000 people are without basic services after Cyclone Gene hit on Fiji’s second largest island Vanua Levu and the tourist hub of Nadi on the largest island Viti Levu on Monday, causing flooding.It struck the Mamanuca and Yasawa Island groups, popular with tourists, on Tuesday.

Pacific Longboarder News / Reviews / Events

Trestles Still Threatened

Save Trestles - Arnold Don’t Surf

Surfers everywhere should be aware of this example. Get together and try to stop the threats car driving economy makes for wave accesability, or the waves themselves. When fuel has run out (it will, Irak democratic or not, China alone will use up more oil than you can imagine soon), at least the surfbreaks should still be ridable. Trestles is one of the great classic surf spots in southern california.

Beach Blog » Blog Archive » Toll road meeting relocated due to expected high turnout – OCRegister.com

The Cruise of The Snark at LibriVox

The first book I ever read featuring the topic of surfing is going to be available as a free audiobook at LibriVox. It’s The Cruise of The Snark by no other than the great Jack London. I am listening to the surfing chapter A Royal Sport right now.
I must say, since English is not my first language, while I can understand all the spoken words, it’s still hard to follow. He’s reading a little fast, and doesn’t get you  into the mood too much. I hope these free offers don’t discourage professional efforts. I would think surfing literature would make great audiobooks.

A Royal Sport
audio (Jack London)

The Cruise of the Snark at Amazon

Design Police

Design Police | Bring bad design to justice.

My dayjob is freelance graphic-designer. I see a lot of really bad design – sometimes there doesn’t seem to be a designer involved, not even a bad one. Those folks who “design” without being designers won’t understand what these stickers are about, very unfortunately!
Found via Spreeblick

Exotic Guitar Scales

One of these days I have to learn them all, hopefully I already do some of them, without knowing their names. Exotic scales are what sets Surfmusic apart from earlier forms of instrumental rock’n’roll, and connects it with jazz (like early George Benson and Gabor Szabo) and Exotica.

Moderate Drinking and Active Lifestyle = Health

From BBC News website article:

A little alcohol ‘can be healthy’
Beer
Experts warned that over-indulgence could pose severe health risks
A little alcohol combined with a healthy active lifestyle may be the best recipe for a longer life.

A European Heart Journal study suggests the combination can cut the risk of heart disease.

A Danish team found people who led an active lifestyle were less prone to heart disease – but the risk was cut still further if they drank moderately.

However, UK experts warned people should not be encouraged to drink, as too much alcohol can be very damaging.

Physical activity has shown greater benefits to heart health and overall health in previous research compared to drinking alcohol
Ellen Mason
British Heart Foundation

The researchers followed nearly 12,000 men and women for nearly 20 years, during which 1,242 died from ischaemic heart disease (IHD).

Link

Jet Set Planet

Here‘s a great little regular music show you might find entertaining:
Jet Set Planet

A program of space age era instrumentals, TV Jazz, and other related music, featuring dismissed, forgotten, or otherwise marginalized vinyl LPs from the record bins of Thrift Store USA.

* Exotica
* Crime Jazz
* Lounge and Cocktail music
* Big Bands in the Stereo Age
* Ping-pong percussion
* Bongos. Bossa Nova, and Latin tunes
* European and American soundtracks
* Jazz for swingers and soft-core sensualists
* E-Z & Sleazy Listening
* Rock-Gone-Wrong
* Juvenile Delinquent music
* the Now Sound
* Songs of the Jet Set
* the Schreee of 10,000 strings
* and Spy jazz

Chart Sweeps at YouTube

From the days A&Rs would do the occasional string arrangement. The Billboard Hot 100 sounded different. This particular one from 1963 reminded me of the days I did full song chart themed mix tapes of, say, summer 1964, southern Calfifornia local radio charts music. That way I had a nice helping of surf instros, among their contemporaries. I would pop it in the car-radio-tape player, blasting out of 2 sixties Dual speakers in the back of my beetle on the way to St. Peter with my 9ft board on the roof. You never know what it feels like until you try it.

kfxm/kfmen radio blogspot