Big Sur Jan 2015

We went up to Santa Cruz for the weekend to try and find a place for Sara - she's starting a post-doc up there soon. We drove through Big Sur on the way back. I had my new 300 f4 af lens and had fun shooting the elephant seals in San Simeon. Full album here {there's a sequence of a seal flipping sand that is kinda cool}.

 willow

lots of sleeping going on

some fighting

some waving

some exhaling -> blowing sand

hearst ranch zebras

RIP Nelson Mandela

I lived in SA 1987-1989. I remember talking to the other kids in school about apartheid. Everyone agreed it was wrong, but they were worried that a switch to black rule would result in mass killing of whites (as had happened in Zimbabwe), so didn't know how/when apartheid could end. It amazed me that he was released from prison less than a year after we left. And not such a bad transition to full democracy given the history of SA...

two nice NPR remembrances of him. one, two

Patagonia Worn Wear

They've been doing nice things with encouraging people to buy less new stuff. I'm not sure how that works with them sending out catalogs once a month but whatever.... Here's a link to a nice little movie about some people and their old used Patagonia clothing.

Ninjas / NPR

heck yeah

as a side note, when I lived in Kommetjie way back when, the house of one of my classmates was used for filming the 80s classic American Ninja 2. The fights on the beach were also near his house. Motorcycle chase was on the highway on the west side of the Cape Peninsula.It's already a classic 80s camp movie, but the South Africa connection puts it over the top for me.

Ocearch

These guys put tracking devices on great whites. I saw a blurb on them on CNN because a shark they are tracking was just off of a beach in Florida. Their website is pretty interesting, kinda cowboy science, but not too out of hand. The track for the shark "Madiba" off of southern South Africa is crazy, she goes from a little north of Cape Town all the way over to Port Elizabeth. Very cool.

'88 Mercedes

Good article about a guy and his truck -- with 820,000 km on it...

Wind, Sand, and Stars previsited

I finished up Wind, Sand, and Stars a couple of months ago but never got around to writing up a post. This story on CNN today is pretty similar to one of the stories in that book, except Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was able to walk out to safety. By the way, Wind, Sand, and Stars come out #1 on a list of adventure books by Outside Online. Others in the top 5 included the Snow Leopard and Desert Solitaire, so pretty solid company.

Desert Getaways / Outside Magazine

cool places, but seems like they recommend yuppie hotels...

Susanna Hoffs / Bangles / OnionAV

Seriously, this is an awesome interview. For some reason I associate their song 'Eternal Flame' with surfing Outer Kom in Kommetjie, South Africa. I listened to top-40 radio when we lived there, but I don't know why Outer Kom is the mental image....

Hendrik Coetzee / Outside Online

Really fascinating article. He was a kayaker who pioneered alot of routes on rivers in Africa.

Time Travel Theoretical

Interesting hypothetical question on the OnionAV today about where and when you would like to travel to. Me. J-Bay (surf spot in South Africa), anytime before the present. Ideally a long time ago when there would have been critters to see, too.

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton / Congo Rover / NPR

I loved the series she did last week. 5 stories were played on Morning Edition, but they don't appear to be archived in the normal way. This is the official website for the trip. Here are some behind the scenes stories. Blog posts: intro, day1, day2, day3.1, day3.2, day4.1, day4.2, day5. And here is a follow-up interview.

Dave Matthews / NPR

Good interview with Dave Matthews this weekend. Best part is it allows me to relate not 1 but 2 stories. Kevbo and I saw them opening up for Phish in 1994. The whole opening band thing, especially for a Phish show, is kinda lame. We weren't all that impressed. He also has a South Africa connection, and made a comment about apartheid there, racism in America that I've made before, but less eloquently:

What it made me notice is, coming back to America, that it was the same here. One of the gifts living under the oppressive regime of apartheid was that because bigotry was so glaringly obvious there and because it was so, it was so unsubtle, then coming back to America, suddenly I think it opened my eyes to just how ingrained bigotry and fear and conformist we are here, you know? We pride ourselves in not being all those things. It's really, in my opinion, I think, it's a fight that you have to have sort of against a nature that is inside of us, to fear things that we don't know.

Holland vs. Spain

Ennnnnnnnnnnn VVVVVVIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVOOOOOO!!!! con Univision.

The naranje are all orange today.

Great save by the dutch keeper off of a header 4' in. Spain looking aggressive. Rough game since then. Holland just had a nice cornerkick play, but the guy with great position swung and missed. Bizarre.

Halftime. Hope we aren't looking at PKs. The whole Zidane getting tossed and then PKs thing in 2006 was terrible.

2nd half a little cleaner. Both teams missed pretty good opportunities in the first 13 minutes. Better game in the 2nd half for sure. Good chances everywhere. I can't believe it's still nil-nil at 90'. Man, plenty of chances in the 1st extra time, too. Spain is diving all over the place now. Sure Holland is dirty-ish, but Spain is out of control. I think Holland is playing for PKs after the red card. I dunno about that goal, I think there was an offsides just before. Spain might have deserved to win, but I don't like how they played that 2nd overtime. C'est la vie.

I put together a slideshow of our Africa time when I was at SDSU and did a 'Geo-jaunt' talk. These 2 slides were my best joke: top is an African Wildcat at Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, December 1988, bottom is my brother's American Housecat, Nike, at our house in Monterey, California, circa spring 1991. Love her facial expression.

Uruguay vs. Germany

Watching at school on a terrible feed via channelsurfing.net. I don't understand why ABC isn't webcasting the games they do. With broadcast tv going away a year ago or whatever it's totally lame. Good game thus far. Meh, video is getting too many hits, lagging, switched to ESPN radio. Oy vey, the radio guys are Americans. This is horrible. Germany just scored and the announcers didn't seem to realize it happened for about 5 seconds. Univision.com. Heaven. I love spanish speaking announcers! GOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL 1-1. The announcers are going batsh!t crazy.

Such a fun game. It's clearly raining like crazy, I loved playing in the rain, slide tackles become so fun. Lots of chances everywhere. Forlan just went for the goal on a corner kick, just missed. Both teams are attacking. Swing and a miss right before halftime for Germany.

OHHHHHHHHHHHH. Uruguay should have just scored. FORLAN is amazing. Gorgeous cross by the defender, gorgeous goal. Germany scored on a pretty cross + header. 2-2. Good game. Schweinsteiger in spanish is 'el Capitan Schwiney.' Epic.

How did Germany not just score?? They got one, definitely deserved. Sloppy play in the box by Uruguay. Oh man, #9 for Germany has missed 2 gimmes now. Suarez dive. Forlan to tie it in stoppage time?? He hit the crossbar!!!!!! Really fun game.

Yikes, only 1 game left. Gonna have to drop a bunch of Africa pics.

Kruger, December 1988

Moremi National Park, Botswana, July 1988

Chobe National Park, Botswana, July 1988. Elephants came through the campsite (no fences for the campgrounds in Botswana!), and a baboon stole a loaf of bread while the car was open when we set up camp!

Cry for Zimbabwe, eh?

Vic falls, Zimbabwe, July 1988

Kommetjie, '88 or '89

Germany vs. Spain

Ok, I've been convinced that it isn't fair to blame the German futbol team for WW2, especially since half of their team are Turks or black dudes, so I'm happily rooting for them. Plus I hate Spain cause of the Chile game. That said, thus far Spain has had the chances. The Ozil dive in stoppage time was a little embarrassing. Spain is playing really well I must say; should have scored. Germany just missed a gimme, too. Spain's goal was gorgeous. Now we see if all of those 4 goal, piling on games meant anything for Germany. #18 for Spain is an idiot -- should be 2-nil. Well, Spain deserved to win. I'll be pulling for Holland in the final, but I respect Spain more, now. They played good soccer.

In acknowledgment of Spain's passing ability, God Help Me Pass, Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, January 1988

Holland vs. Uruguay

Here comes Forlan who's control is velvet and instant. Seconds later, bad pass by him, turnover, 1-0 Holland; an amazing goal. Forlan got the equalizer with a pretty goal, too. Good game. 2nd Dutch goal was a bit hectic with rebounds and players in the way. The dude who screened the keeper was even. 3rd goal gorgeous. Oh my 3-2 in stoppage time. Uruguay had a shot there at the end, dangerous cross. Good Game.

UCT campus (the game was played in Capetown)

Games Today

Frankly I'm not too interested in today's games. Don't like Argentina or Germany, though Germany piling on 4 goals seemed unnecessary and not classy. Watching the Spain/Paraguay game right now and I'd love if Spain lost. OH MY GOD. 2 PK saves in a row ~62nd minute. Oh this game got good! Spain hits the post twice, the 2nd time it goes in. I wish I worked blue on the blog.... I hope and pray Uruguay or Holland wins the tournament.

Hyena, Kruger, Desember 1988

Uruguay vs. Ghana

I don't know who to root for. Uruguay has played great soccer. Ghana is the only African team left. I think Uruguay is the better team; we shall see. Ghana got lucky at 17th minute. Oooh Ghana, tough luck. Again! Ghana playing well. Lugano comes off, he's hurt. Fucile down hard. Hmmm, he recovered awfully fast. Bicycle kick! -- that would have been the goal of the tournament. Muntari - what a goal! Forlan is a stud; 1-1. Both goals have come as if the ball was directed by a remote control. Forlan is amazing, Suarez should have scored off of that cross. Ghana is dominating overtime, but still 1-1. I think we're going to penalty kicks. Oh My. Missed PK at the end of overtime. Shootout. The guy who missed it at the end nailed the first one in the shootout. Que terrible! 4-2 Uruguay advances.

My dad chimed in that the full name of the Ghanaian guy who helped at our soccer practices when I was a kid is Eric Boampong. Ghana played so well. Pity the 2 teams I liked the most had to play against eachother in the quarters.

Kudu silhouette, near Punda Maria, Kruger National Park, December 1988. I think I've put this pic on the blog before, it's one of the few from our time in Africa that I took, very proud of this image....

Portugal vs. Spain

A very interesting match geographically. I think Spain are punks, but the main guy for Portugal is not entirely an angel. Spain would seem to be the best divers in the tournament: that red card was pathetic.

Campground in Tsumeb, Namibia. Bleak.