Merch Box and Some Tiddlers

So I surfed this past weekend. Generally LA beach + weekend is to be avoided, but there was talk of it being 'good' and even some mumblings about 'size' and 'south filling in, crowds at points'. so when I found a window in the AM I went for it. The 'size' was knee to thigh high breaking in knee deep water with a few waist high set waves- clean little waves to be sure, but little. I cursed the teller of tales and the fact that I hadn't got around to throwing a mat or a paipo in the truck for these sort of days, but having blamed other people and my equipment decided to go for it. I'm a surfer I told myself, we're meant to be into this wholeheartedly, big days, little days- it's the love of the glide and the ocean and the culture. The waves were working on somne level as there was a 1/2 mile string of longboarders down the beach, but I managed with a bit of a walk to find a nice little corner and sure enough there were some clean little ones. It was all about a low center of gravity and finding that line, turns were a bit pointless but you could slide one into the sand with care. I started realizing how much I like turns as opposed to sideslipping up and down the tiny faces. I rode a few on the knees to keep it interesting. I found going straight is more fun on the backhand, little dropknee tucks into the shallows. I scored a macker, legitimate belly high wave and managed something close to a turn at least, from the bottom of the wave to the top and back to the bottom, nose changing direction and both rails used at least a little, and decided to quit on that high point. Where am I going with this? Well, some days you just need something else to do, and I found so fun stuff while unpacking the merch box. Above you see copies of "___", fresh from Australia, numbered zine/DVD editions for $30. There's also 'Last Hope' DVDs ($25) and Kidman/Brown Birds CDs ($22) for your audiovisual pleasure. Literary action too- signed copies of Patrick Trefz's 'Thread' ($30), the last few copies of the wonderful 'Kook' newspaper ($6) and Jim Newitt's brilliant little 'Point Never' zine ($8). As the temperatures cool, there's even a few lightweight hoodies to keep you comfy while imbibing all this culture- Swift and Simmons designs, only $30. Postage is included on all this stuff because we like you, and you can order by emailing to info@foamandfunction.com. I'd also like to direct you towards Foulweather. Pete sent a couple of his zines and they are really fantastic, totally worth your support. Very simple, just non fiction writings on an oceanic theme, but exactly what a zine should be- entertaining, engaging and personal. $5 and you're set, it's an absolute bargain. Sorry for the mercenary nature of this post, but honestly these are all things worth supporting. This is the creative edge of the culture asserting itself on it's own tiny scale. None of the people doing this stuff have house on bluffs somewhere or take long exotic boat trips with the proceeds of self produced films or zines. This is simply done for the love of doing it, and I'm glad these folks are out there.