Posterity

This the sort of stuff most people try to hide. But I couldn't help posting this evidence before crumpling and tossing it into the recycling bin.


I swear, this was one of those places that measures volume, not pitch, key, etc. I wonder what the song was? Bowie? Doors? Boomtown Rats?

V-Day

Being vegan does not mean living like a monk. On Saturday, our pals from Track+Field Bryan and Thi visited from Philly via Las Vegas where they picked up some vegan donuts (more on those later) and even brought us a dozen (including fancies).


But before we could dig in, we had to have lunch at Au Lac in Fountain Valley. Bryan and Thi had a deal to buy each other only 20 bucks worth of stuff for X-mas, and he got her a gift certificate there! Not super local for them, but it turns out Thi's birthday is a few days later; he bought her a plane ticket and another certificate. Awwww...

Wendy and I were more than willing to drive out, meet them, and make a bigger table so they could try more dishes! Since the last time I was there, the restaurant has undergone a complete makeover--substituting the old thatched booths for a more polished HK cafe look. I thought the food was pretty tasty--we had the four-person set menu, the beef salad stood out--and the desserts were good, too (crust side of a strawberry ice-cream cake, above). In my experience, sweets can be hit or miss in vegetarian or vegan joints.

Afterwards, B+T went to the beach to build up an appetite for dinner at Zen Vegetarian. I gotta go try that place.


Wendy and me? It was too early to think about dinner and too late to stick around, so we grabbed veggie ham sandwiches to go at Banh Mi Che Cali down the street on Brookhurst. Then it was off to share vegan donuts with anyone who was in our path and at home--including Wendy's brother and sister-in-law, my sister, and my mom, but mostly me.

In gauze country

Crud! After skating from the bus stop to GRHQ, I noticed that there was a bunch of gauze wrapped around an axle. WTF? I've seen tumbleweeds and shopping bags (urban tumbleweeds) in the grill of my car and toilet paper on the shoe of someone leaving the bathroom, but never this. This is like a combination of the two.

Luckily, there was no blood on it. That would have been nasty. Yes, I washed my hands after removing it/before eating.

Totally Scarfing All-the-time

Got back from Hawaii at 11:30 last night and couldn't find our house key. Crap! After a lot of digging around through our luggage--literally airing out dirty laundry for the world to see--we found the Beard Papa keychain and proceeded to get some late-night food at the Astro Family Restaurant. Nothing fancy, but a true Silver Lake landmark (if not actually a place you eat at) that's open 24 hours.


Our last meal on Kauai was at Kapaa's hippie epicenter, Blossoming Lotus. (You can't read the sign in the picture above because the aura is too bright, so you'll just have to trust me.) The place was packed with eco-tourists and locals in tie-dye and Tevas, and we had to wait for about 45 minutes. We walked around the corner for some window shopping, ducked under an awning during a short tropical downpour, and checked out the adjacent New Age art gallery (carved dolphins, waterfall paintings, and homemade incense) before ordering our mushroom udon platter and seared tofu dish.

The food wasn't bad--and the "world music" band inside was tolerable, especially since we ate outside--but the meal further reinforced my opinion that 40-odd years of hippies making meatless dishes just can't compete with thousands of years of mock meat recipes gently nudged along by Chinese monks.

A perfect reason to leave Kapaa and return to L.A. It looks like we're going to Au Lac tomorrow with some out-of -town friends...

To the lighthouse

We went on a so-called hike to the Kilauea lighthouse and it was more like a walk through the parking lot. Still, there were spectacular views of the waves crashing on the coast of the North Shore.


Too bad you couldn't actually climb to the top. In the end, the view from a lighthouse wasn't that important anyway. You can see pretty well off the bluff anyway, and who needs a better view of the paved facility?


Also, it's a bird sanctuary so there is tons of wildlife everywhere. Birds dotted the opposite cliff, and were going buckwild in the wild. Can you tell what species laid this dookie?

Honest system

On the way to the Menehune fish pond, we saw a little produce stand off the side of the road. It was totally unmanned, and meant to be patronized by the "honest system." Cool!


The shack was as raw as you can get, and the dirt turn-off was a little sketchy, too. It rains so much in Kauai that there were puddles in the damp mud.


Here's a closer look at the structure. I'm guessing the produce is from the field on the left, but I can't be sure.


Apparently, the honest system is somewhat flawed. There are a few signs admonishing thieves. Are they stealing fruit or money?


If there's no one manning the fruit, how do you know what to pay? Easy. Each piece of fruit is taped with a price.


Lacking a machete to open coconuts, we elected to buy a softball-sized avocado.


It was priced at $1.25 and, yes, we paid up.


Later on, we stopped by Foodland to buy chips and a pull-top container of Embasa salsa and grab a plastic knife from the deli. (We knew we had spoons from shave ice and mugs at the hotel.)


After a couple minutes in our room, we were ready for guacamole by the pool! It was totally creamy, fluffy, and good. We felt pretty smug about the entire operation until it started raining. That's when we took our party into the lobby.


Next time you're around Lihue, look for the stand. Make sure you pay, though. Not only will you piss off an honest farmer, you might incur the wrath of the menehune...


(Above, the lake made overnight by the legendary little people of Hawaii.)

Memo to Mema

Still on Kauai. We planned on going to this hippie vegan place, but it was closed for Christmas. Instead, we went to Mema, a Thai place on the main drag of the island's East Coast.


We thought it was a good sign that the clientele was mostly Asian. Not necessarily locals, but you figure they'd all be home on a night like this.


I thought the food was quite good. A little more expensive than what we usually pay, but definitely flavorful with good presentation. The summer rolls were huge--the size of a burrito.


And then the soup bowls for our tom kha were the size of teacups. Crazy! This is where the night got a little awkward. A woman at another table complained that the tiny bowls were "ridiculous" and threatened to not come back unless they got bigger bowls. Harsh! The waitresses complied with ricebowls.


Sucks that the complaining guests were Asians. Maybe they could learn something from the hippies on the island! I totally recommend the place, but don't go if you're going to act like a jerk.

Two hotels

No more family guest house. Now we're in a chain hotel called the ResortQuest, near Kapa'a. We found it on Hotwire and it's clean and pretty cheap. It even backs up to the ocean; too bad the beach is rocky.


There's a funny mural in the lobby. I should have taken a better photo so you could see that it's about two stories tall. You can tell that the message is basically, "Come to Hawaii, imperialists!"


Except for us, there are no Asian guests at all at the hotel. It pretty weird. I feel like I should be handing out towels or leis.


Tonight there's a Hawaiian Christmas luau under a big tent. I can hear the emcees and performers right now. I hope they get paid double-time for working on a holiday.


Earlier, we drove up to the North Shore where we followed my cousin Jessica's advice to eat at The Princeville. She has pretty fancy taste so we knew it would be upscale with a great view, but we decided to go for it since most of the smaller joints would be closed on Christmas. It was a little like Vegas but not as tacky.


We missed the brunch buffet, which ended at noon, and were too early for the lunch buffet, which opened at 2:00. What's up with not serving food between noon and 2:00? Instead, we ate poolside.


You know those fast-food commercials that refer to 21-dollar burgers? This is one, in the flesh. You can't see the fat slabs of bacon underneath. (Wendy didn't eat them because she's not supposed to be eating cured meat now.) I had a 19-dollar cobb salad, which was excellent, but not quite a photogenic.


The beach was pretty, but I liked the tunnel made by trees on the way to the tennis courts.


Maybe it's because I was born in the year of the monkey.


Driving around listening to Hawaiian Christmas music was fun, too, doubly reinforcing where we were and what season it was. Not a bad way to spend a holiday at all...

Another Heroic Trio

So much good food in Hawaii, but apparently not in Kauai. When my cousin Carey returned from there, his friend from the island asked, "Did you go to Hamura's every day?" No. "You should have."


So on our first night away from Oahu, we checked into our hotel, dropped off our luggage, and drove straight back to the airport where Hamura's saimin shop is located. It was just a little after 6:00, and not too crowded (yet)


We got seats right by the kitchen and ordered two large regular bowls.


The place filled up pretty quickly--a mix of locals and tourists. You can identify the latter because they have sunburns and ask for menus.


No, the broth is not vegetarian. But I ate it anyway after reclocating the ham and fishcake to Wendy's bowl. What the hell. It was Christmas Eve in Hawaii and the handmade noodles were damn good.


The bowl is salty, so I had to go order some local soda...


...and a slice of lilikoi chiffon cake. The waitress thought they were out of cake, but there was one in back that never got picked up! Super light, and a perfect way to end our first meal in Kauai.


Two leftovers from Kailua. Here's the new brand from "Famous" Amos, who sold his recipe and his name but loved cookies so much that he started a new project. Ang and Carlos went to the new shop and brought back a sampler. Greg says he saw Amos walking around Kailua with his watermelon-patterned gear. I just ate the cookies. They're a little thicker and softer than his "famous" recipe, and maybe even better.


On the way to the airport, we got some futomaki from Don Quijote. The super-store location in Kailua is way more organized than the one in Honolulu, but still kind of ghetto and super crowded--especially on Christmas Eve. Food-wise, there were also huge trays of mochi for New Year's. Everything was dirt, dirt cheap, and not bad at all.


Coming up on Dec. 26, the mega-store will sell fireworks, too! We're going to miss out on that carnage.

Christmas Eve

It's December 24, and we're on vacation in Kauai. Away from work or family, what's there to do? We went to the light festival near the airport in a government building.


Basically, it's a bunch of Christmas lights all over the place--on the trees in the front yard and all over the building's lobby. It's low budget and will never be compared to the Crystal Cathedral's "Glory of..." spectacles, and has a definite local and crafty flavor to it.


Trees are hand-decorated by students, although there were a lot of pieces made by "aunties."


I thought this Hawaiian-looking Santa nutcracker was pretty cool.


Many Christmas trees were adorned with beer cap decorations, but the one that celebrated Hawaiian cowboys were even better.


Wendy felt a little weird about posing with Santa (I didn't), but she was okay with the snowman.


Yes, it was a little tacky, but the kids get a pass for the holidays.


And Saoirse's fourth birthday, too! Mele kalikimaka and happy b-day.

Ant x Elaine

Another day in Oahu, another day feeding our faces. The main event was cousin/ex-GR softballer Anthony and Elaine's non-wedding reception at The Willows. It was a banquet facility with tons of our favorite relatives, excellent food, and a cool island vibe, as well as Hawaiian Christmas carols in the background. Only a jerk wouldn't appreciate something as good as this.


The vegetarian dish entailed a bunch of grilled vegetables, which were quite tasty. I liked the dessert table, too. You can't beat fresh pineapple on the fruit plate, unless it's supplemented with various cakes and pastries.


Wait, there's something even better. All of the cousins on my mom's side were together for the first time in a while--or at least the first time with Lucia--so we took a family portrait. I was bummed about leaving the GR at the office, but the Lumix's wide lens came in handy for this shot.


Afterwards, I had convinced my family to go to Waiola for some shave ice. (It was just a mile or so away.) We got some others to go as well, including the guests of honor, Ant and Elaine. Greg got the azuki bowl. Hard core! Also, check out his daughter Saoirse in the post-lunch, pre-shave ice food coma.


After that, a bunch of us went to Waikiki to rent boards and go surfing. As usual, I did a lot of paddling, kneeling, and sinking on waves that didn't quite break. But it was all worth it when I convinced our driver Carey to drop by Leonard's on the way out for malasadas.


Carey got some plains and I got a dozen filled ones. Saoirse already liked donuts, so we knew the custard-injected Portuguese pastries would be a religious experience for her.


With dessert out of the way, we got plate lunch from Gina's for dinner. The line to the counter never vanished, and most of the customers were locals who phoned in their orders. The women at the cash register knew we were rookies, but still loaded us up with food. No, there isn't that much when it comes to meatless dishes at any Korean place, but we some veggie bip bim bap and potato croquettes (in addition to the fried chicken and meat jun) which did us right.


Tomorrow, we depart Oahu. No more guest house in Kailua. No boogie boarding every morning and no more trips to Honolulu for shave ice and malasadas. It's off to Kauai--not known for food (except for maybe Hamura's saimin)... I'm not going to be picky, though. I just hope something is open so we don't starve on Christmas!

Robocon x Olene

Last week, I asked Robocon if he'd be free to hang out when we were on Oahu. His answer (in more words) was: "Busy, lotsa family coming in, getting married to Olene!" So we said, "Congratulations, have a great week, and we'll catch you next time." Then he pulled a fast one and invited us to their reception at the Waikiki Yacht Club!


We didn't see Elmer Fudd, but we did see Kamen Rider V3 and Yongqin. V3 was helping out with taking pictures. What's up with Hawaiian bots and photography? We also met a bunch of relatives on both sides--all awesome people, and the makings of an awesome extended family.


So far, Giant Robot has been responsible for two weddings that I know of (one is mine). When Robocon made a short, informal speech, he mentioned how he and Olene met on the GR boards and pointed out Wendy and me. Part of me wanted to make a speech or toast, but I wimped out. Of course I thought of all these things I could have said as guests were leaving.


Morgan is Robocon's two-year-old niece. She's going to be an excellent pool skater, just like her dad, and she's totally down with cake. This was made at a place called Little Oven, and it was quite good. I had two-and-a-half slices. All the food was great, but it's always dessert that makes the final impression.

Tomorrow we attend the second wedding reception of our trip: this time, a cousin GR softball team alum!

Plantation

On the way from Waikiki to the North Shore, you pass by one of the slickest tourist traps outside of Hilo Hattie's. It's the Dole Plantation, and I actually like it. You can buy all sorts of Dole stuff--not just canned fruit, dried fruit, sauces, salsas, and T-shirts, but also the whip that they sell at Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room.

The demonstrations are actually kind of cool. One employee showed how to cut a pineapple, and then added li hing to it!


The shirts that have the Dole logo on it are simple and nice. But the best ones of all may be the UH shirts in honor of the unbeaten football team's upcoming bowl game!


The Dole spot is clean and new and runs like a well-oiled machine. Next door is a low-budget alternative. Not only do you not have to pay 6 bucks to go in the maze, but there are cut-outs!







They've got a $8.50 all-you-can-eat Hawaiian buffet. Damn! Too bad the trucks are so close...

Back in Hawaii

Yesterday we got to the airport at 6:00 a.m. for an 8:30 flight, being on a plane for six hours, and arrived in Oahu--starving!


Right in between our two immediate destinations (Shimazu Store/B&S and the Academy of Art), we found a Thai restaurant that had some serious Bangkok style. The front had a roll-up garage door and the eating area was wide open. It wasn't super spicy but it was quite good.


Later on, we went to the farmer's market in Kailua (on the other side of the island, where we are staying). It was in a small section of a shopping center parking lot. Not big, but the selection was quite good.


In addition to organic produce there were curries, lumpia, coffee, cookies, and ice cream. There were two guitarists' singing Hawaiian Christmas carols, too! But the most impressive part was the flowers.


Out of 20 tables or so, there must have been 4 or 5 flower vendors and they all sold different varieties.


The tropical weather allows local growers to sell the best of everything for pretty cheap. I wonder if the humidity allows cut flowers to last longer out here, too?


It had a real cool vibe with not much repetition or junky stuff... Check it out, right by Long's until 7:30 p.m. on Thursday nights.

An open letter to Councilman Eric Garcetti

Like many Silver Lake residents, I have been reading up on the Silver Lake reservoir and its future draining due to carcinogens. It sounds like a huge project, but I'm glad it's going to happen--especially since so many of us walk around it on a daily basis. (We see progress on the new path everyday, and look forward to its opening!)

On a side note, it occurred to me that this would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for resident skateboarders to enjoy the reservoir's drained, paved banks. Of course, the conditions of the surface would have to be studied, insurance disclaimers would have to filed, and so on, but I think this could be a really special event that would underscore the uniqueness of the neighborhood and its support of cool culture.

I co-edit and helped start a magazine called Giant Robot, which has L.A. roots as well as a shop in Silver Lake's Sunset Junction. Perhaps with the magazine's readership, store's customers, and support from like-minded friends in the community, I can help make this happen.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. You can reach me at this email address or on my cell phone: 323-570-XXXX.

Thanks!


Martin Wong
Giant Robot magazine
Silver Lake resident since 1997

Pop the question

Did I blog about how my brother-in-law proposed to his wife? He made a pop-up book. The story is now up on Robert Sabuda's Everything Pop-up site, and it's got pics, too. The detail of his work is incredible, and there's no way Cathy could have denied him.


While on the subject, I happened to be at the GR store yesterday when Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy arrived. Holy crap! If you're name isn't Cathy, this could be the sweetest pop-up book ever.

New skate spot?

The buzz around my neighborhood is that the reservoir in Silver Lake has to be drained because it contains carcinogens. Same goes for the Elysian reservoir. Not good, but you do what you gotta do. It's for the kids.

The real question, originally posed by my friend Ken, is whether the paved banks will be open for skateboarding when drained. Who can we contact at city hall about this?

24 + 852 = 876

Where do I start with this? I could mention Prodip (ex-LMF, now with Michael Lau), who made the excellent art on the skate deck. Or I could talk about 24 Herbs, the HK rap group whose debut album the limited-edition board commemorates. (The group, which features our pals Conroy, Kit, Phat, and Brian, just opened for Mobb Deep in Hong Kong.) Then there's Brian's HK-pride shop/brand 852, which helped make and sells the board. And is that Sam "The Man" Lee sitting on the bench?

Damn, that's a spiderweb of connections to GR. Someone give me a pencil so I can chart it out.

The goods, the bad, the ugly

Another weekend, another load of stuff out the door. Here's a list of possessions that I no longer posses. Above is a Snoopy snow globe. It used to the a rotating music box that played "On Top of Old Smoky," but the bottom part fell off. I refilled the globe with clean water and found a home for it.


I tossed a bunch of posters and printed goods, but I had to shoot these before recycling them. This was given out to hockey fans at the Fabulous Form when Gretz returned to the Kings lineup after an extended period on the IR.


It turns out that Wayne getting rest wasn't a bad thing. Luc, Kurri, Tomas, and others kept the squad in the hunt, and the team wound up doing deep in the playoffs.


They made it all the way to the Finals, where they met the Habs and the rest was history. One curved stick short. I'll never forget that season, or the times I got to accompany my friend Joy to Section 12. (I kept all the Section 12 newsletters.) When the Kings get back to the Finals and I'll get more of these at Staples, right? Right? Right?


If we had a Giant Robot Museum, this would go there. It was a gift from Tae Won Yu, a Halloween costume he gave me when he stayed at my house. It's been collecting dust for a decade, and now it's going to the catbox in the sky.


I gave away all my Simpsons paraphernalia. There was too much to catalog, but I especially liked this toy from Winchell's. There's a retractable cord connecting the stack of donuts and Homer. Pull them apart, and Homer crawls toward the treats. This and other objects are being added to a fellow Simpsons fan's collection.


Ideally, I would give all my old magazines to the new library that's being built around the corner from us. But that will take forever. Check out the dayglo gear and directional shapes! Now the pages of shred are being shredded!


Finally, all my Dreamcast games, guns, shocks, and memory cards. What a sweet setup. I don't know how many times I stayed up late playing House of the Dead 2 with my friend Yvonne (1/2 Bird 1/2 Girl). Finding a friend who had a system that was wrecked by a disgruntled ex made parting with this a lot easier.

Paper, scissors, rock

One of the nice things about Print Gocco is that the box has a handle, so you can carry it around like a suitcase. Wendy and I brought our kit to Angelyn and Carlos' house for collaboration on a top-secret project (and also so we could eat their leftover pizza from Casa Bianca).


This was the first time for Angelyn and Carlos, but they picked it up really fast. Wendy and I just kicked back! Actually, Wendy says I put too much paint on the screens so I was better off away from the project.


My main task was to keep Lucia occupied, away from the scissors, glue, and ink. After she went down, we broke out cupcakes. Yeah! Now that's my idea of a hot Saturday night.


The night before, Wendy and I went to Chinatown to celebrate her uncle's birthday. After eating a ton of food at Golden Dragon, we heard a ruckas coming from across the street.


It turns out there was a party at Ooga Booga. We went up to check it out and say hi to Wendy or Amy Yao. Didn't see them, but we did hear some rocking tunes by Abe Vigoda (the band, on the balcony, above).


Inside, we bumped into Tim Koh, who just finished a tour with White Magic and is chilling until 2008.


It was also cool to see Katie and Chris. There are a ton of people that I see on Sawtelle all the time, and it's great to see them when hanging out, not on the clock. But why is Katie always eating whenever I see her?

Return of Ray

Ray Barbee's playing a free show in L.A. tomorrow (Friday) night! It's at the WeSC shop on Robertson. I was under the impression that it was a fancy brand but Ray assured me that they're super cool and kick back. Can't afford Van Halen tickets? This is the place to be.

Lo-tech extras

The clean-up continues. My current dilemma is what to do with old devices. Check out the VCR. My parents bought it for my Popo in the late '70s or early '80s so she could tape Chinese soaps. After college, I wound up with it. The top-loading style is awesome and so are the light-up channel numbers. Can the Mondrian-style buttons be beat? (I had this cleaned out and refurbished, and it still works. The wired remote doesn't need batteries, either!)


Go right past the VCR or LD player and look at the receiver/amp on the bottom. It's a Harman/Kardon Thirty Three that my dad bought new, my brother took to college, and I somehow inherited. It's highly sought-after by audiophiles. The lamps work and everything. Great, warm sound.

These are very cool pieces, but they are taking space. What should I do with this stuff?

Next installment: Zines and magazines.

Porchkill

Don't blow this up or scroll down if you're squeamish. Last night I went out to fetch laundry from the dryer and found a carcass on the side porch. It was really disgusting, but it could have been worse. It was dry--almost rubbery--and there weren't any insects or rodents in sight.

It wasn't until I shoveled the body into a bag that I could tell it used to be a skunk. Funny thing, it didn't stink. It smelled kind of like raw chicken. If I ate poultry, or maybe even meat in general, I probably would have been traumatized.

Actually, I think this sort of thing happens pretty often to people with pets. Cats bring birds. Dogs bring whatever. But we don't have pets. Odd. I'm not going to obsess over how the body got there, but I am prioritizing mowing the lawn. Recent rain means the backyard has gotten pretty grassy. I've got to control it becomes Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.

Best Busy People

Yesterday morning, Wendy and I were crossed the street and saw Bret in his car, on the way to his design studio where does work for Rasa Libre (above), Ipath, and other clients. It's not that big of a deal to say to a friend at the crosswalk, but it sure makes a big city seem smaller. Actually, I've been seeing a lot of people in Busy Town over the last two days.


Last night, Wendy and I went to ChopChop on La Brea to say hi to Thy (rhymes with tree), get a cut, and see her segment on E! Channel. A crew had come by to ask her for the scoop on getting movie-star looks for holiday parties. Crazy, huh? Unfortunately, we missed out on the piece but Wendy got a pretty rocking 'do.


This morning, I met the Saelee Oh and Jill Bliss at Intelligentsia Coffee in Silver Lake. Actually, they got tea, but it was my only chance to meet Jill since I couldn't stay for the entirety of their collaborative art show opening at GR2 and their schedule has been pretty packed. (Tonight they're going to the Björk concert!)


Later, I booked down to the JANM where Eric and I were interviewed for an Orange County Register article about GR. We thought it would be cool to have pictures taken at the 50th issue/Biennale show. Outside the show entrance, Eric was recognized by fans and forced to eat homemade mochi! (Not really.)


Here's GR's main man at the museum, Clement, with Ellyn, the reporter. After our chat, she actually drove to Sawtelle to check out the shops and even visit our office. We don't let just anyone into our workspace, but she seems all right.

Now it's back to work, alone again. Me and the computer. And you reading the blog...

I love trash

This weekend, I tossed a bunch of snowboards. It wasn't easy. I didn't merely use them for transportation, like a Norwegian person might use skis to get to school. They were used for fun in places like Utah, Washington, British Columbia, and Oregon. Mostly, Mammoth, and every time (except for one business trip) with family and friends. But I gotta make space, so out they go--relics of old technology as well as time capsules of things I was into or what certain friends were doing.


Take this Santa Cruz ASR, for example. Obviously 158 cm, and it had this assymetric sidecut, which was novel at the time. (The backside edge was sharper than the frontside.) It's circa the mid-'90s, as you can tell from the Alphanumeric clothing sticker on the top and Down By Law band sticker on the stripe. I just reconnected with Alyasha a couple months ago, but I wonder if Dave Smalley is still making music? Also, check out the second-generation GR stickers, Mad Girl style.


I popped the rail, probably on a rock in Wrightwood or someplace, so this board is not only old but useless. (Santa Cruz had its own binding system, too, so those units can't be used anymore, either.) I really loved the board, though. It had tons of pop and was super stable going fast--a huge improvement over my first board, a Sims ATV with neon green designs and bindings.


I bought this 158cm K2 during lunch break at McGraw-Hill the day before a trip. It must have been in the very late '90s. I had a feeling it was a piece of junk, but I couldn't afford a better one, I needed a new ride, and it was the most basic-looking board at the shop. I got the Swami sticker from Apollo at a RFTC show. My friend Wing gave me a bunch of Enjoi propaganda when we was working on one of the company's skate videos. Even before the top layer of the nose and tail started disintegrating, it felt like it vibrated a lot on harder surfaces. Too light, too flimsy.


This is purely cosmetic, but it's a sign of hack workmanship, too. Interestingly. my first pair of skis were some K2 rentals that my dad bought for me back in 5th grade or so. I rode those to the ground, too. I learned how to P-Tex, edge, and wax on those K2s. (I saved the bindings on the K2 snowboard for parts.)


My pal Bret got me a deal on this 162cm board sometime in the early 2000s. The Sims board was a little longer and stiffer than what I was used to, and sometimes I never touched down between moguls. But it could really haul ass on the flats. I got the Noise Conspiracy and Hives stickers after the bands played together at the Roxy. What a show. The Noise Conspiracy were great, as always, but the evening belonged to the Hives and marked their arrival in the U.S.


Another fucked-up rail. Stonehenge stood intact, but the edge could not be fixed.


Here's my last board, a 158cm Sims Custom. These are pretty much the Honda Accords on the slopes. Solid, dependable, versatile, and everywhere. The Margaret Kilgallen sticker shows that I acquired it sometime after GR37 (Summer 2005). I got a slight deal from FTC, who where the neighbors of the first GRSF shop. Kent reads GR and does a great job at FTC and SOH, and I was happy to buy some goods from one of his shops.


I wrecked the board's base about a year ago on an early-season trip to Lake Tahoe with Dan and Lisa (look back in the blogs). I tried in vain to fill the abyss, but it was too deep for P-Tex.

Finally, my old boots. I got these 32s at a Chick's outlet in Orange County. By far, they were the lightest and highest-tech boots I had worn. (Previously, I had leather Airwalks and Burtons... old, wet, stinky technology.) They were also the stiffest--almost like ski boots. I had to cut off the tips of the insoles because they were tight and never stretched out, so my toes always felt like they were hanging off. I still got black toenails! But they performed really well, so I dealt with it. Last year, I retired the leaky, crumbling boots and got a really good deal on these comfy-but-high-end Nitros. Now I wonder why I suffered so long. It didn't hurt at all to let these dogs go.

Dang!

Congratulations to one of our favorite indie comics artists Martin Cendreda and his designer wife Jenny Suh on their newborn little girl. Margot (a.k.a. Maisie) was born on December 5 and weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz.


We visited the heroic trio last night and brought some cream puffs to help speed the new mommy's recovery. Jenny does the mothering while Martin handles the Beard Papa duties. Perfect!

All Rise

Although I got to see Pegboy, a permutation of Naked Raygun, numerous times in the early '90s, I never got to see the original Chic