Sunscreen

No, this is not Jody Foster in the poster. This was done in 1953. It wasn't until Jody Foster did a commercial in 1963 that she joined Coppertone.
We used 'nosecoat' by Coppetone growing up. It didn't work at all. We experimented with zinc oxide, but it would just take off the skin of your nose.

The New York Times had an article by TARA PARKER-POPE last spring to tell us what is what about sunscreen. It was called The Numbers Game

Her Research showed that the number really were irrelevant. You just have to use about a shot glass of sunscreen for it to do any good. We tried it and it was too much. However if you use sunscreen you are in better shape than the people that don't use it. If you like a certain sunscreen whether it is Bull Frog or Alligator it is good, because you are using it. If one is 45 and the other is 80 there is really no difference according to the Authors research. It is all about just putting something on.

My mom convinced a group of us in Santa Cruz that the sunscreen would keep us warm on our faces in the 48 degree water and near freezing mornings. We bought it and used it religiously. I have been lucky not to have any legions, but I get checked yearly.


I put in the Sunscreen Song for good measure.

On the Beach

Lucas getting ready for his heat with Coach Liz.

My problem with the ISF contest season this year is that the Middle School contest and High School contest are on the same weekend. This makes for a marathon session of two days at the beach watching. I bring my board, but usually am too swept away in the competition to surf. This week was complicated by my second bee sting in so many weeks. The doctor medicated me into some benadryl and pain pill stupor and I was ready for the end. Hence my reference to the 1959 movie On the Beach

Making matters a bit worse was the contest site at Ocean Beach 'Avalanche'. The water quality makes Cardiff at low tide seem like pure spring drinking water. This together with the 'dog beach' scene made an interesting mix of odors.



But enough about me. Here is the report. The waves were firing each morning a bit bigger on Saturday for the High School Contest. Then low tide came in the afternoon making for some pounding walled up waves. Lucas was 'one and done' eliminated after standing up after the horn. The good news is that he has made the A team, the bad news is that he has to surf as a freshman against the other A teams. Heavy competition but pretty exciting to watch the talent of the High School surfers.

Logan did well blasting his way through the first heat and getting eliminated before the semi's. He caught a bomb on the first wave of the contest in the first heat and rode it to the sand. He paid me back for all my whining over the weekend. My inner stage mother was quenched. There is something to learn form the experience. At this age the kids need to learn how to lose with grace and win with integrity.

Will I blow off the next contest and drop them off.......not a chance!

Bee dilemma

So for the last two weekends the bee's have had it in for me. Last Saturday BANG right on my hand which quickly puffed up like a polish sausage. Being a hypochondriac I spent the rest of the weekend in some kind of benadryl stupor.

Last night I went into the spa and again I was hit on the back of my arm. This time I pretended that it didn't happen until around noon when I was at the High School surf contest and my right arm was doing a Popeye the Sailor Man thing.

So off to Kaiser where they quickly medicated me and gave me the good news that the reactions will become progressively worse.

I am going to pray for forgiveness and charity to Ah-Muzen-Cab. The Mayan Bee God will surely help me.

"The Finest Surf Film Ever Made!"

Towards the end of 8th Grade I cut school with the rest of my Friends from Mark Twain Jr. High School in Venice. We left around Noon to show up at the Santa Monica Civic about 1pm. It was the event of the year.

Five Summer Stories was premiering.

I don't know how it had so much hype back then without the help of the Internet, twitter, facebook or cell phones, but we were on it. I remember waiting through my classes for lunch with my co-conspirators with the excitement of .....of...well going to my first Surf Movie.

My sister was there of course. She was two years older and much cooler than me and had no time for me and my fledging surf buddies. Some, who would become future skateboard celebrities, some would become junkies and some would reach some form of normalcy although we came from Venice. We sat on the cement parking lot in front of the Civic for almost 8 hours waiting for this movie.


At the time I was a grom with little talent for surfing, but the virus had taken. It is hard for me to understand just how stoked I was for the event. We had no money whatsoever and had to pool our resources just to make a few runs to the local liquor store for chips and sodas. I think the entry was $3 a veritable fortune in the day but I had my ticket and went in.

Unfortunately, the band 'Honk' played before they played the movie. We wanted surfing on the giant screen, not a concert so they were booed off the stage. We did not put the music to the movie or the sound to the surfing until we saw it. (We would all pay good money for their album soon thereafter).


During the movie, Anton and I sat next to some girls about our age from the exotic town of Culver City. We were in heaven. The movie delivered. The first shot of Pipeline had us all standing and screaming.

We got to see John Lamb's cartoon in the film


Later I would surf with John for several years before someone told me he did the animation for the movie. John is an original Avocado local. I was an interloper but he and the crew welcomed me in to share some waves at his spot.

In the end we spent the summer pursuing the Culver City girls and surfing small terrible waves of Santa Monica/Venice trying to show a bit of style. Every take off was Pipeline, and every pose was our imitation of Lopez in two foot closeouts. It was wonderful................

San Clemente

So talking about turns and breaks, brings me to Saturday that was my finest day as a stage mom. Logan absolutely went for broke. He made his first NSSA final, with full bragging rights and a shiny trophy to take home.


Logan looking self satisfied next to his friend Jordan on the right.

My schedule was as follows:

6am leave for San Clemente, we stayed until
2pm when the finals where finished. I was then stung by a bee which brought on a benedryl stupor.
6:30 the twins 16 birthday extravaganza
8:00 Awards ceremony for Speech Tourny

Resolved

I have been getting into the debate world as a good stage mother. So here are all the debate terms that you never wanted to know and were not afraid to ask:

LD: Lincoln Douglas debate format

AFF: Affirmative

Neg: Negative

Hit: When you go against an opponent. 'I hit him in the Long Beach Tourney"

Spreading: When someone talks very fast to get their facts out from Speed Reading.

Turn: To get an advantage and win a point from your opponent

Speaks: Speaker Points which are awarded during each round and are used to determine winners

Lay Judges or Mommy Judges: Amateur judges that do not understand the rules

Breaking, to Brake: To Advance to the next round


Lucas and Elliot Turned their opponents on the aff and neg rounds and were able to break to Win the whole tournament for SDA!

I saw this last night

This was the Stranglers with Dave Greenfield who was a classical trained musician who played Harpsichord and synthesized it. For some reason it reminds me of skiing. I spent a good deal of time on the mountains when I was younger. This was part of the soundtrack of my life at the time. I however never moved to snowboarding and find the ocean much lower impact on my energy, psychie and wallet.

There is a good part of the movie Snatch where this song is put in for a fight scene.