Messer Chups from St. Petersburg had great melodies and were a sight to see. Notice the Betty Page lookalike bassplayer! I don’t think I heard them play one major chord, which is radical, while lacking the concept of contrast to keep things interesting… BUT they had a collection of snippets from b-movie videos as a stage backdrop, which put those sexploitation and horror flicks to good use.

La Popuna from Brazil mixed very varied influences, from latin american and caribbean dance music to punk, some surf and what not. Very entertaining, but demanding on several visitors of this event.

Scholastic scientists ignore Thor Heyerdahl’s publications to the point of constant embarassment. For example the sewn plank canoe mentioned in this article is found along the way from the Pacific Northwest to Hawaii, Micronesia, Melanesia and New Zealand. These places surround a natural ocean route, described by Heyerdahl in the 1950s. Many ethnical and cultural evidences can be found of contact with pacific indians and polynesian people. And I would expect excactly that from people populating almost every significant island in the polynesian triangle. Why should they stop there? The Americas are hard to miss once you enter the Japan current. Remember Johnny Depp drifting out in a canoe at the end of Dead Man? If redwood lumber was taken to Hawaii by stream, why not canoes of coastal settlers? Maybe the occasional dead Northwestern indian’s canoe landed in Hawai’i front tip first – they would have regarded him a god! Hawaiki!

Did ancient Polynesians visit California? Maybe so. Scholars revive idea using linguistic ties, Indian headdress Keay Davidson, Chronicle Science Writer Monday, June 20, 2005 Scientists are taking a new look at an old and controversial idea: that ancient Polynesians sailed to Southern California a millennium before Christopher Columbus landed on the East Coast.Key new evidence comes from two directions. The first involves revised carbon-dating of an ancient ceremonial headdress used by Southern California’s Chumash Indians. The second involves research by two California scientists who suggest that a Chumash word for ‘sewn-plank canoe’ is derived from a Polynesian word for the wood used to construct the same boat.

Did ancient Polynesians visit California? Maybe so. / Scholars revive idea using linguistic ties, Indian headdress

Myspace.com Blogs – It’s ass kicking time! – Surfrider Foundation MySpace Blog

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From Wrecking Crew News:

Hi Wrecking Crew supporters!

After playing to great response at SXSW, Buffalo, Nashville and Seattle Film Festivals (see reviews), we are thrilled to announce that ‘The Wrecking Crew’ documentary will have it’s Los Angeles premiere on June 28th, 2008. The film will play under the banner “Movies That Matter” as part of the Grand Performances Program in downtown LA at 350 S.Grand. Ave.

This is a free, outdoor festival-style screening under the stars. You can bring a picnic, deck chairs, blankets and even white wine, they don’t allow red wine as it can stain the granite in the Festival area. If a picnic is not your speed, there are some great restaurants in the area. Even though tickets are free, please make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to eat and find a place to sit. Don’t forget a chair or blanket.

We are also very honored to announce that the presentation of the film will be followed by a live performance by Wrecking Crew alumni Hal Blaine (drums), Carol Kaye (electric bass), Don Randi (piano) and Chuck Berghofer (upright bass). Vocals by Julia Fordham and other guest aritsts.

Please Help Us Spread The Word. Its Very Important That Musicians And Music Lovers Know Of This Event. Thanks For Your Support.

I wrote a bout the Wrecking Crew movie here earlier.

These quotes are from a recent interview Evolution of Media made with Chico Hamilton, who happens to be one of my favorite drummers.

…I hear many drummers today, who have amazing chops, but who ultimately leave me cold because they never settle down long enough to get a pocket going, to keep some time. Some consider it old fashioned, but for my own listening pleasure, I enjoy hearing a band that swings. I think you will enjoy it too.

I’m told that people still dance to my music in nightclubs. There’s no greater compliment than that!

…But I can tell you one thing that I do know, which is that if this ‘so called’ industry becomes more about the format, than it is about the music, then it’s a dead end industry.

Chico Hamilton on iTunes and MySpace

Here’s a quote from 70percent.org:

The TCA isn’t done with their toll road through Trestles yet. They’ve successfully appealed to the US Fish And Wildlife Service to reject the findings of the Coastal Commission. There is some insight into how the agency has been infiltrated by capitalistic pigs on the erBB. Keep fighting.

70percent.org » Blog Archive » The TCA Thinks You Are Lazy And Powerless

older articles 1, 2 and 3.

From the Honolulu Advertiser:

Great to see this kind of historic footage come up. Makes me wonder what other pioneering locals captured on super 8.

Along with Biarritz in France, Newquay in Cornwall was one of surfing’s first footholds in Europe. Believe it or not, but lifeguards on the northsea island of Sylt surfed by that time as well. Getting boards from France and one guy making a surf trip to Cornwall, about the time this video was shot.

Found via BoingBoing:

Leaping Eagle Ray Kills Woman In Rare Accident
MARATHON (CBS4) ? A woman died in a freak accident in the Keys involving a sea creature on Thursday, but she wasn’t even in the water when it occurred.

Jorge Pino, with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said a woman was on a boat with her family off Marathon when an Eagle Ray jumped out of the water next to the vessel Thursday morning. The animal reportedly struck 55-year old Judy Kay Zagorski who fell backward and suffered a severe head trauma.

read more here: cbs4.com – Leaping Eagle Ray Kills Woman In Rare Accident

Thursday, 14 February 2008
Japanese ‘Yakuza’ gangsters have launched a campaign of intimidation to force a media blackout on the furore surrounding the country’s killing of dolphins and whales, it was claimed yesterday. Australian surfer Dave Rastovich attracted world headlines after he and conservationists including actress Isabel Lucas travelled to the Japanese fishing village of Taiji last year to protest at its annual dolphin kill. Rastovich, the global face of surfwear giant Billabong Australia’s environmental campaigns, said the multi-billion dollar Japanese surf industry had been experiencing the ‘heat’ for his anti-whaling activities. He said he had been told of intimidation from Yakuza thugs – the feared Japanese mafia – who had been visiting Japanese surf shops in search of the outspoken activist. ‘These are the goons from the fishing industry who are visiting surf stores intimidating people and threatening to punish them financially,’ Rastovich said.

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