School of Vintage, or, Buy Old Things

     Jeannine and Erin have started a blog for their Etsy site, on which they sell vintage clothes and housewares and whatever else they want to sell. You can check out the blog HERE, and if you ask me I'll tell you the items I have on consignment there, so you can buy them and make me a rich man.
     Old things are better, and that broad-sweeping generalization is not just a nostalgia or a vain reminiscence of bygone times, but a fact, for the most part. Take a Pyrex bowl, for instance:

     I use this bowl, not this exact bowl, but a bowl just like it for oatmeal every day. The pattern and colors are really interesting(look for the Spring Blossom Green series Strange Flora Surfboards, coming soon), but really simple all at the same time. No superfluous details or extravagant hyperbole, just a plain bowl with a simple floral design. But these old bowls feel good to hold, and as far as the bigger mixing bowls and all that, they just work better. Mix something, a cookie batter or anything, in a plastic bowl, or even a metal bowl, and then mix something in an older, heavier Pyrex bowl. Feel the difference.
    Also, show this to your grandparents, or even parents, and chances are they will recall this or a similar set with fondness. When we are older, will we remember that plastic bowl from Target or that metal bowl from Walmart? I can tell you we won't. It'll just be another thing we had that was cheap and got dirty and old and broke and we bought a new, shinier, plastickier(sic) one. That's one of the things I like a lot about old things:  they represent a time when industry attained, for a brief, magic instant, the ability to create things of quality and substance that would be not only remembered, but used to the highest degree of their intended function, for decades and decades. The same could be said for old surfboards, glassed heavy and made to last. This is before everything became disposable.

    So, I'm done with that, now go to their Etsy site and buy things. If I ever sell my Skil 100, it'll be on there, but I never will, so just buy something else instead.


Sometimes, this is one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs. Joan Baez tries to ruin this version, but it's still alright. The album version, on The Times They Are A-Changin', is much better. Seek it out.

Long-Awaited Update: Creatures, Photos, Flora, and a Planer

 

      First of all, public apologies to those who are waiting for boards from me. It's been pretty busy lately what with moving and getting the new house set up and liveable, but now that we're completely out of the other house (as of last Saturday) I have more time to focus on getting things together at the new. The main reason I have not been able to start on any boards is the shed, as shown above. That space in the back, the area with stacks of shingles and 2x4s, is going the be the shaping/glassing shop. I need those materials to make the shop, and while I don't plan on getting the interior done before I start shaping, I do want to get it watertight. The roof is fine, better than the house, but the siding was just old cedar planks, with gaps between up to half an inch. Not the best condition to build a board in.

     So that's part of what I've been doing, cedar-shaking the shed. I've got the one side done, and part of another, so really there's not too much more to do. I also put that new door on. So, I appreciate the patience on the parts of those waiting for boards (namely mark, ryan, and that low-down Rooster), and I hope to start the first board within the next two weeks. Once I start, it'll be quick, because I have all the materials and everything, it's just a matter of doing it.

     Here's a quick gardening tip: Dip the roots of the plants you transplant in water before you plant them. The above four squash plants came from the same four-pack. They were planted at the exact same time, with the exact same potting soil, and in the same size containers. They get the same exact amount of sun, and they are watered equally. The above photo shows two who were fortunate enough to have their roots dipped in water. They are basically Audreys three and four, with gigantic leaves, thick stems, and a healthy, vibrant green color. So big they almost look mutational. The second photo shows the two lowly squashes who were robbed of the silver spoon of water on their roots, and have suffered throughout their youth. They are small, weak, and have a pale green/yellowish hue to their leaves. I feel bad for them, as they are suffering as the result of an experiment. I had to move because the first two got so big they were blocking their sun. It's a hard world for little things. 

     We only were able to plant things in containers this year, as we had no time to clear any garden space in the ground. But we've got a lot growing and most of it (aside from the two sad squash) is doing well. We have Strawberries (see above), four varieties of tomato, six pepper plants (one cubanelle, one jalapeno, and the rest are Italian Fryers), eggplant, watermelon, cucumber, cilantro, rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, and lavender. There are also four cantaloupe awaiting planting, and four mint cuttings I am trying to get to root. It's really amazing watching these plants every day, seeing them change from morning to evening, or even hour to hour. Most times people thing of plants as being void of activity, but they are really very kinetic, they just seem to operate in a different temporal plane. But I look forward to watching the flower below become a delicious tomato. 

    In surfing news (this was a surf-centric blog at one point, right?), I've been able to get out a few times in the morning on the new board, and it's pretty fun. We had a good steady run of solid swell a couple weeks ago, and I was able to get out for some of it, as well as the weaker days we've had in the past week. The board definitely works for smaller stuff, what with the boxier rails and more volume, but I'm still getting used to it, especially on weak mushy rights (which are backside for me). It definitely comes to life when there is some power behind the wave. I can't wait until late Summer/early Fall when there are some nice north swells and the WJ starts working (hopefully) like it did this Winter. This board will fly on long, speedy lefts. 

    Also, in other surfing news, I went out last Wednesday morning with boardshorts and a short-sleeve wetsuit top. It was cold. I will stick to the 3/2 for the time being.

     Yes, there is still more! A recent acquisition: a 5.5 amp Skil 100 power planer. This has been the "industry standard" for surfboard shapers for years. From the Clark Foam Hitachi Planer Manual: "Since it was introduced in the 1930s, the Skil 100 Planer had been used for almost all surfboard shaping." It was discontinued in 1988 when Skil decided to withdraw from the power planer market. Thus, while other planers are available, the Skil 100 is highly sought after by shapers, and they regularly demand prices exceeding $500 on eBay. This is the reason I have never actively sought one, aside from checking craigslist from time to time or keeping an eye out at yard sales. But, as luck would have it, my Dad was talking to a friend of his who used to make boards in the 60s and early 70s, and mentioned that I was making surfboards, and he said he had an old Skil planer that had been in storage for 30 years that he would dig up and give me. So, here it is. A beautiful piece of American machinery. Here's a fact, cliched but true: They don't build things like they used to. 

     Look at the abdomen of this large black spider and notice the crude skeleton. I poked it with a stick and it did not budge. I hate it when things like that stand up to me. It's creepy, because it's like they know something you don't. 

Almost through with this marathon post. Minor Threat is one of the relatively few bands from my youth that I still listen to and really enjoy and find relevant. While I still like all Minor Threat, the late period stuff (as late-period as you can get with a career spanning from 1980-1983) is some of my favorite. This song, "Salad Days," is from the Salad Days 7", recorded in 1983 but released in '85. Like a number of hardcore/punk bands' end-of-the-line songs (think Youth of Today "Disengage" and Gorilla Biscuits unreleased "Distance"), this song hints at new musical directions, and also has a tinge of regret and sadness to the lyrics (even if, in the case of "Salad Days", the sadness is a bit sardonic).