high tide heels

so one day i'm sitting around browsing the internet- this time for my next sassy pair of kickers- when all of the sudden, i stumble across these fantastic designer fins.

in one moment, all my quandaries about how to be as beachy as possible at the office dissolved into a dream-

...there i was, sitting at some executive lunch meeting, tapping my fins on the back of my swivel chair, when i excuse my self for another cup of tea. except i don't drink tea, only coffee, well, usually. but nonetheless, the architectural insulation reps don't notice the catch, and before they know it i'm free, streaking out of the scene, straight to the beach- for a quick but chillax nooner snorkel sesh...

Butchie

The next pushie on the roster I call Butchie. It’s a rounded hammerhead that tapers ever so slightly outward from the tail to the nose. Stain and paint on the way -

Knost

The man with the plan – style hustla, Gato Heroi champ Alex Knost & his new film with Tyler Manson creapin' this summer //

99 red balloons...eerr blue.

YouTube has become as standard issue these days. Everyone's on it. Last week they announced their first annual awards. A lot of garbage won, but a brief look through the nominations, and I found this gem which was runner up in the sports category. Happy mindless movie watching all:



How many balloons of nitrous did these guys rip through to come up with this idea?

Leonardo & Co.

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci dates back to the 15^th century. Upon doing some investigative research, I learned that this burner measures in at a heaving 15’ x 29’ (460 x 880 cm). Today this piece dons the back hall of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. Judas Iscariot (snitch) can be seen in the shadows, portrayed in green and blue dress, clutching what appears to be his payoff. Shown below is the original painting and Supreme’s interpretation -

Desk Rider

B90th on the empty & draining this morning – ohh brahhhh?

Skatey № 2

The closest that I ever came to making my own skate was back when I was a grom. Being that I couldn’t drive to the beach, I needed to step up my surfing game on the sidewalk. Stoked on the OG Endless Summer and armed with my pops’ jigsaw I cut out my longboard – the material: MDF. I had big dreams of bombing the neighborhood – cross-stepping my way to every destination of choice. The basketball courts, the slushie spot – wherever; This board was certain to be under my feet. And so it goes I snapped it within the first 2 minutes of it’s existence and the dream had come to an abrupt end.

Fast forward to 2008 // As seen below – hand cut, hand sanded, hand painted. Inspired by classic surfboard architecture/design, I present my 2^nd try, no. 2 -

Pot 'O Luck

Today marks the one year anniversary of the photo seen below. The image, captured by Mike Nelson, shows Sean Kilarney steppin' up on this LI RHINOCEROS. This is surely one of the heaviest N'East bombs that I have ever seen. Top 'o the afternoon to ya lads and lasses -

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

.: // Foto Friday

During my leisurely stroll through NoLita this morning I stumbled upon some pieces of urban nature that I’d like to share with you. First up is Salix Discolor Gossypium. These things are on display & for sale on Houston b/t Bway and Crosby Street. It’s quite a spread – if you’re in the neighborhood check it out. Also, the leave mobile was hangin’ tough on Bway & Bond – yes - yes ‘yall -

Slice & Dice

Your kitchen at home is just about the best place to set up your woodshop. Where else in the house are you close enough to the refrigerator to grab a cold beer to sip on while you make those critical cuts? And what goes better with alcohol consumption than skateboarding – pretty much nothing, right? My kitchen is my sanctuary - where it all goes down. Seen below is the rough *cough// cut of my interpretation of the Krooked Zip Zinger. The goal is to create an around town monster with enough width to provide the necessary stability for constant pushing. The traditional ZZ is 7-1/4’’ wide – my model, measures in at 8-1/4’’. The ZZ is meant to ride loose – it’s a full on style machine; however, try hittin’ the gas down Atlantic Avenue in traffic on a 7-1/4’’ loosie and you may sprout a couple of extra grey ones. The length is 31-1/2’’ and I opted to reserve the length for the tail, that’s the surfer talking. More photos to follow -

Pody's Tercedes

Basically, Pody bought this car for next to nothing and it was a BEAST. This Toyota Tercel could essentially make the drive from Ewa Beach, up the H2, past the Schofield Barracks, through the fragrant Dole fields to the Kam Highway, around Waimea, past Dudeland to Ehukai on auto pilot - and many times it did. The drive itself is one for the senses. The hypnotic smell of pineapple is my weakness and it served as a reminder of where I was each and every time we made our way north.

One day in particular, it was post sesh in the Ehukai parking lot and Pody realized that he had locked his keys in the car. Being a repeat offender of that crime, I had no place, but to sympathize with my bud. There was a crew of spongers (Pody calls ‘em dick-draggers) off to the side and we decided to hit them up for their keys. It was either that or smash the back window and who had money to replace that? Not only did that dick-draggers key unlock the Tercedes, but it also turned over the motor. Pody returned the keys to the boys and let them know in his own little way that they “didn’t see anything.” What a day -

guac 'n roll

Ingredients:

• avocado
• tomato
• spanish onion
• habanero pepper
  
• garlic
• cilantro
• cumin
• lime

In one bowl, i combine coarse minced onion, cilantro, garlic, and habanero with chopped tomato. In a second bowl, i add the avocado and juice from a lime. I use a fork to mix the avocado and lime juice; this is chunky quacamole. Once the avocado is broken up, I add the contents of the first bowl and mix everything together. Add a pinch of cumin and you're donzito. I recommend covering it and letting it chill in the fridge a bit so the flavors combine, but its plenty good to eat as in.

the ingredients...that habanero can't be trusted! Its gotta napoleon complex

end result, goodness. ps - that medallion looking thing in the top left corner of the picture is in fact a popener, more info on that here.

shooting 'blanks'

fresh off an all american bender friday night (bud bottles and jack daniels); main man and freshmode OG dougie P, along with my wburg loftmate W and long time ace Dave, stormed Mollusk like Normandy Saturday afternoon. Doug's mate joey clams sold us some blanks and we were off to Satriale's, errr, dp's Carroll Gardens crib for a gang meeting, complete with power saws. Here's a few pictures of the gang in action.



(dp getting all christopher moltisante with the circular saw before he cut it out with the band saw.)



(dp and W - this is architect music.)

More updates to come.

Special thanks to clams, the dude who suggested nachos and nick nice for the beers...

CDR

For all the Helvetica heads out there - Christopher David Ryan is a graphic artist working here in Brooklyn. Shown below are images from his Silent Films series. His work is available for purchase on his website Atmostheory.

hells kitchen

I love shit like this. Instead of knocking down the old buildings they built onto it. Some people say it don't match, I say to them fuck you my clothes don't match and I'm doing just fine.

Canard Confit: Part Deux

I'm cruising in blogland - conditions are double overhead and I'm in the foamball with mind blowing surf porn and I see this flick. Vasco of Nereuskinesis and his 7'4'' Albatroz shape inspired by the CC Slider Glider.

Mobbin' it in PT

















Nice lines

The inspiration: CC Slider Glider

// Feelin' Right Friday

Lis On The Mind

So I received word from Clams that the BioFoam blanks are on the way. I have never shaped a board before and I'm really pumped on the idea. For my number 001, I have decided to go with a Lis inspired twin keel fish. The double-foiled, salvaged Brazillian Walnut keels will be hand shaped in my kitchen. At first, I considered sending the board out to be glassed, but my friend Alex persuaded me to do it myself. He also blessed me with some good advice: one pass at a time. What thou does to one side, thou shalt do to the other - thanks Alex, I'm amped to say the least.

The most important thing about this project for me will be sharing the finished project with my cousins, Ariel & Andrew. These super groms are complete rippers and it's time that they start to expand their horizons - style ReDefinition. Hopefully this works - I've got my fingers crossed.


Shown Below: Steve Lis + Kneeboard, circa 1973 - photo by Warren Bolster















// UPDATE **

Grey Ghost Customs & Rockapulco All Star Joey Clams settin' it off. Seen here somewhere in the N'East hustle with his peanut butter rip stick. Joey does not overlook any detail. His boards are built with flex and durability in mind.

day turns night.

All I ever wanted was to pick apart the day
Swallow up the pieces
Spit 'em at your species
Reachin' the city of lost barnacles and leeches
Night-light got me when the daylight went to evening
Night (Light) Day (Light)..
- aesop rock

sunset over tribeca taken from nolita

supreme team

it seems every year at this time notorious downtown skate shop Supreme bombs downtown with a poster campaign. I figure they try and get the masses pumped for spring time. This year their they got none other then famed new yorker, Kermit the Frog. Lets hope this goes over better then Mike Tyson last year.

Lafayette Street across from Petrosino Square.

Vertes

I'm pretty much addicted to ffffound. It has tons of rad images updated every few minutes - it can keep you busy for hours. Here's an image of some classic architecture that was posted earlier today. It reminds me of the old Led Zeppelin posters. It's fitting for the ambiance here in New York City this morning - damp and humid. Speaking of... WAVES this weekend for all of you sick shred heads out there. Keep your eyes on the wind - LB & Compton Saturday straight over to the dirty-dirty Sunday (GROUND SWELL) - FRESSSSSSSSSSH.

** UPDATE 16:58 EST // mtkg dirty-dirty thumping -

// TURBO DIESEL

You know you're in deep when your brain doesn't activate in the AM without the assistance of sweet, sweet caffeine. The headaches, the fog - let it pass with a cup of NY's finest. I present to you my top (3) locations for that fix -

3. Mud Trucks - You see them on the street, big, orange, veggie-powered coffee trucks. My favorite location - Astor Place. Smooth and flavor packed. Buy a bag of beans, get your coffee on the truck.

2. Jack's - My downtown staple. It's not just the top notch coffee quality, it's the staff, it's the music - every time I leave the joint, I'm in a good mood. Jack's is located downtown by the South Street Seaport - 222 Front Street (b/t Beekman & Peck Slip) and also in the West Village - 138 W. 10th Street (b/t Waverly Place and Greenwich Avenue)

1. Gorilla - I limit myself to Gorilla coffee on the weekends. Luckily it's a mile walk from my front door or I'd probably be a lot more neurotic. The line can extend out of the front door to the corner - this place is a straight up crack den. The coffee is super rich, period. Do not consume this on an empty stomach or you will most likely have heart failure. Walk there, run back - 97 Fifth Avenue (corner of Park Place) - Brooklyn