A State of Blindness

A post shared by Toddy Stewart (@endlessbummerny) on Oct 26, 2017 at 12:57pm PDT

"Apparently we live a good portion of our lives in a state of blindness, our brain enforcing minuscule moments of obscurity as our eyes scan the world around us. Evolution’s logic seemingly that were we to see every single moment as clearly as we do when we settle upon focus, we’d either be perpetually sea sick or our heads would explode from all the information."

- Toddy Stewart (of The Endless Bummer)

On Empty Streets

“Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish - a product of the demented imagination of a lazy drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found a way to live out where the real winds blow—to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whisky, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested...”

- Hunter S. Thompson

The Abundance Model | Matt Cone

My high school lacrosse coach on spreading yourself a little thinner, and for good reason...

John Calvin & Thomas Hobbes

Additional words of wisdom can be found here.

I Have Always Lived Violently

“I have always lived violently, drunk hugely, eaten too much or not at all, slept around the clock or missed two nights of sleeping, worked too hard and too long in glory, or slobbed for a time in utter laziness. I've lifted, pulled, chopped, climbed, made love with joy and taken my hangovers as a consequence, not as a punishment.”

- John Steinbeck

On Suicide

"I do not think that life should be so sought after that it is prolonged by every possible means. Whoever you are who holds this view, death is no less certain for you, even though you may have protracted your existence through foul practices or sin. Therefore let every man remember that there is no greater comfort for the soul than this, namely that of all the bounty bestowed on man by Nature, nothing is better than a timely death; and the greatest blessing is that each man can accomplish this for himself."

- Gaius Plinius Secundus

Wide Awake

"Over and over again I have said that there is no way out of the present impasse. If we were wide awake we would be instantly struck by the horrors which surround us... We would drop our tools, quit our jobs, deny our obligations, pay no taxes, observe no laws, and so on. Could the man or woman who is thoroughly awakened possibly do the crazy things which are now expected of him or her every moment of the day?"

- Henry Miller

All Men Dream

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible."

- T.E. Lawrence

The Encyclopedia of Surfing

The long awaited and eagerly anticipated Encyclopedia of Surfing is now online. Made by Matt Warsaw, the EOS is "the greatest collection of surf matter on the planet. A gigantic aqua-blue-tinged mass of history, culture, and commentary." First published on paper in 2003, the EOS online edition was funded courtesy of Kickstarter and has taken two years to complete. Featuring a plethora of images and information, videos and external links the EOS is everything we had hoped for, and then some.

Getting More Waves

"Most of the time you’re paddling or sitting, not surfing. Your skill and your wave knowledge is more important in getting into the waves and negotiating the crowds. It’s almost more important than how the board performs. If you can get into the wave, you’re going to have more fun because you’re getting more waves. But it’s not about catching as many waves as possible. It’s about progressing while being efficient at the same time. That’s my job. Get you on the board that will get you the most waves and help you have the most fun. Don’t be scared to be who you want to be as a surfer. Don’t let others push you in a direction that you don’t want to go in. Really go with what you believe in. Go with what in your heart you feel is right."

- Matt Calvani

Click here to read the SurfScience interview in its entirety.

The Infamous Austin Vince

If you're not already familiar with this fellow, allow me to introduce you to the infamous Austin Vince. Englishman. Explorer. Filmmaker. Friend. Austin is exceptional in almost every way. I met him a few years ago, shortly after I took a job at Touratech. We had sponsored his presentation at The Georgetown Stables - the same small space where my wedding reception took place. To say that what we saw was inappropriate would be an understatement. There were giant black dildos and all sorts of strap on sexual devices. Fucks flew. It was awesome. After the event, Austin and I shot the shit for awhile. He talked about all the excuses people use, the reasons they say something can't happen or why it never will. He seemed determined to tell people they should give less fucks and just go for it. It was inspiring. And we've been friends ever since. So when I saw this short bit of film featuring my foul mouthed friend, I figured I should share some of his wisdom with the world. Click here to learn more about Austin Vince.

The Breathing of Eternity

“Although the rhythm of the waves beats a kind of time, it is not clock or calendar time. It has no urgency. It happens to be timeless time. I know that I am listening to a rhythm which has been just the same for millions of years, and it takes me out of a world of relentlessly ticking clocks. Clocks for some reason or other always seem to be marching, and, as with armies, marching is never to anything but doom. But in the motion of waves there is no marching rhythm. It harmonizes with our very breathing. It does not count our days. Its pulse is not in the stingy spirit of measuring, of marking out how much still remains. It is the breathing of eternity, like the God Brahma of Indian mythology inhaling and exhaling, manifesting and dissolving the worlds, forever. As a mere conception this might sound appallingly monotonous, until you come to listen to the breaking and washing of waves."

- Alan Watts

As a Whole

I think we get a little jaded. I think those of us that are over-informed need to remember that we’re over-informed. But I think we’ve all gotten so obsessed with chasing the buck and attempting to make ourselves different from everyone else that we sort of lost sight of how cool the whole activity is. As a whole, not just one little thing. And we also need to maybe take a step back for a second and appreciate it for what it is. You know what I mean? It’s rad, all categories. Bodyboarding’s rad, bodyboarders are rad - that shit’s hard as can be. You don’t believe me? Take a bodyboard out to Pipeline sometime.

- Joel Tudor

Click here to read Brendon Thomas' interview in its entirety.

Independent Temperament

"No witness is needed to one's accomplishments out here, nor an adversary with whom to compete in order to make one's effort meaningful. The activity is sovereign, complete unto itself, and hence it attracts those of a certain independent temperament. But the simple, unspoken act of sharing with a good friend the joys of wave riding adds a precious layer to the experience, like some secret trust between you."

- Allan C. Weisbecker

Full of Cotton

"There’s nothing to mourn about death any more than there is to mourn about the growing of a flower. What is terrible is not death but the lives people live or don’t live up until their death. They don’t honor their own lives, they piss on their lives. They shit them away. Dumb fuckers. They concentrate too much on fucking, movies, money, family, fucking. Their minds are full of cotton. They swallow God without thinking, they swallow country without thinking. Soon they forget how to think, they let others think for them. Their brains are stuffed with cotton. They look ugly, they talk ugly, they walk ugly. Play them the great music of the centuries and they can’t hear it. Most people’s deaths are a sham. There’s nothing left to die... We’re all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn’t. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing."

- Charles Bukowski

You'll Be Dead Soon Enough

“Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.”

- Ernest Hemingway

Total Enjoyment

"Surfing has been my life. It’s all I've done. It really doesn't matter how big or small the waves are. When you are out there surfing you are really competing with yourself. Let’s say you are in a bad mood and you go out surfing, you catch one good wave and it makes your whole day – heck, it makes your whole week. Surfing is just there for total enjoyment. It gives you peace of mind. Physically it’s good and mentally it keeps you focused. For example, if you are bothered by something and you go surfing – it’s a release. You can forget about everything. It’s just very, very enjoyable."

- Donald Takayama

Click here to read Glenn Sakamoto's interview in its entirety.

Hunger For It

"As you grow up, get mortgages and children, other things take its place. But that’s good because it makes you hungry. I am always keen to hit the water because I don’t over saturate. I never fulfill that desire to go surfing. I’ve always got a hunger for it. It’s the greatest physical pastime you can have. It’s like playing chess with the ocean, you are interacting with this incredible force of nature. You’re playing a game with it and it usually wins. But on smaller days you might get a win.”

- Bob McTavish

Gonzo

“Let us toast to animal pleasures, to escapism, to rain on the roof and instant coffee, to unemployment insurance and library cards, to absinthe and good-hearted landlords, to music and warm bodies and contraceptives... and to the "good life", whatever it is and wherever it happens to be.”

- Hunter S. Thompson

Glen Terry Martin

"Whatever you do, grab a hold of what is real simple and easy for you, and what you like. Don’t abandon that to look for greener grass. Perfect it. You have plenty of time... that’s the pleasure of life, liking what you do every day. When you like it, you’re good at it."

- Terry Martin