Spirit of Akasha - Tribute to 40 years of MOTE

[Roy_Stewart]

Thats unkind and a bit bitchy Roy.

Is there something more meaningful you want to discuss?

It's an accurate observation, that's what it is.

I find that a large percentage of the cloying BS spewed out by the industry comes from gross fatsos, a causal link has yet to be established however, although alcohol is a prime suspect.

Anyway I saw the trailer ... and meh, tow the thing away please.


.

[Beanpole]

Spirit of Alaska?
What do Eskimos drink?

[Yuke Hunt]

Spirit of Alaska?
What do Eskimos drink?

Good question.

Not sure about MOTE ... but isn't Spirit of Alaska the name of some kind of boat ?

[Roy_Stewart]

Hi Steve,

You are right I was being unpleasant, I apologise for that.

I think that these days many of us are more cynical than we were in the 70's and it's hard for anyone to strike the right notes with this sort of movie, but it's still a creative effort and without creativity we'd all be stuffed, so I've changed my tune accordingly.

[steve shearer]

Good on you Roy.

[Beanpole]

Spirit of Alaska?
What do Eskimos drink?

Good question.

Not sure about MOTE ... but isn't Spirit of Alaska the name of some kind of boat ?

Probably a cruise ship for superannuated retirees.

[Animal_Chin]

Hi Steve,

You are right I was being unpleasant, I apologise for that.

I think that these days many of us are more cynical than we were in the 70's and it's hard for anyone to strike the right notes with this sort of movie, but it's still a creative effort and without creativity we'd all be stuffed, so I've changed my tune accordingly.

I'm warmin' to ya Roy!

[Karlos]

Does this mean red setters and afghan hounds will become the retro dogs of choice?

No chance there. The two stupidest canines are surely extinct as a result of their pea-sized brains causing them to run into traffic. When I was a kid my uncle had a red setter that he was walking in a local park when it just took off, never to be seen again.

I don't think I've seen either breed in years.

[Davros]

The labradoodle is the hypo krypto of the dog world, friendly fun, good with kids a tiny bit gay and everyone has one nowadays.

[Animal_Chin]

The labradoodle is the hypo krypto of the dog world, friendly fun, good with kids a tiny bit gay and everyone has one nowadays.

Think it's time I got a new board.

[Lucky Al]

I can't wait for 45 years of MOTE, and imagine 50! OMG.

[oldman]

If you show up to surf in Byron and you haven't got a single fin you're an item of abject pity and scorn. You might as well be a paedophile wearing birkenstocks and socks.

A hipsters paradise, in other words.

It's hard to reconcile SS mocking cube monkeys from Sydney when he lives in the middle of that crowd. Cube monkeys look like salt of the earth, absolute honest toilers compared to these superannuated caricatures.

[Cpt.Caveman]

So anyone else seen this film yet?

I don't believe its out on DVD yet, I think they're still trying to ride the hype for short release cimena runs.

[otway1949]

I bought the CD in the discount bin at the local music shop.
Everything seems to be derivative of something else i may have heard subliminally!
No track on the disc make me sit up and pay attention and go, YES!
Lyrics seem mumbled and muddy even when I have my superduper hearing aids in. With the I find I'd rather not listen.
Maybe when I get the video I can try for a full blown synesthesia as I watch. I no longer imbibe in THC enhancement of poor quality stuff, so my chances are not good!

[kayu]

When Alby done MOTE , it was spontaneous , honest and a genuine reflection of what was still underground at the time......no one can replicate things like that , they just happen by their own momentum , and artistic energy.

[Nick Carroll]

When Alby done MOTE , it was spontaneous , honest and a genuine reflection of what was still underground at the time......no one can replicate things like that , they just happen by their own momentum , and artistic energy.

I completely agree with you kayu.

[Cpt.Caveman]

When Alby done MOTE , it was spontaneous , honest and a genuine reflection of what was still underground at the time......no one can replicate things like that , they just happen by their own momentum , and artistic energy.

That I think, is the ironic thing in surfing right now. Very little is underground anymore, and a norm culture has been created by professional surfing. Just take one look at any lineup and you'll mostly see shortboarders trying to copy the same styles and turns of pros. Add a small fringe of people who surf differently to that, whether different in style, approach or surfcraft. Even the fringe has turned into a norm culture, with hipsterism being attached to alternative and non-mainstream surfboards, such as the revival of logging and 60's-70's fashion.

The surfers in MOTE actually were the pinnacle of surfing skill and lifestyle at the time, and had nothing to do with professional surfing. They were the norm while surfing was a hippy counterculture lifestyle. Eastern spiritualism, acid and other things were getting mixed in the surfing culture. My old man was part of that surfing culture but unfortunately caved when he decided starting a family was more important. To do that he had to get back to a normal job without traveling around for waves all the time, he didn't see how he could keep surfing without that MOTE lifestyle being part of it. His mate Sid Cassidy continued on with it and worked on some of Australias first surf competitions.


What I think Spirit of Akasha did well though, was it primary tried to answer one question: "Does the same lifestyle, values, and free spirited nature from the MOTE era still exist in the surfing culture today?". I think it did that really well. There are still many people out there who surf different types of surfboards purely for the experience, not whether it helps them surf closer to high performance surfing ideals. There are many people still out there who travel to remote locations and surf serious waves all by themselves. There are still people out there who choose to live sustainably and self-sufficiently without much money, shape their own surfboards, and go surfing. It also showed how much some of the locations filmed in MOTE have changed too, highlighting the change that happens to all things.

I reckon its actually harder now to surf for these different reasons because competitive surfing is the norm culture now. I mean, try to paddle out at any quality wave in Australia and just go straight down the line without any turns just because it feels good. Watch how many people will decide you "wasted" that wave, and start dropping in or paddling insdie you because they believe their surfing will be better spent on the waves. The definition most people have in their heads for what "good surfing" is, is completely different now to what it was then.

In the end of the day to me, any notions like that only exist in the human mind. They are not actually true or real, and only seem so because enough people think the same way about surfing to believe them to be real. Surfing really is nothing more than a person trying to stand on a moving object, which is a suspended above the water by wave energy. That is a thrill and feels good, and is also a challenge to do so. What is considered "good surfing" is whatever you want it to be, because in reality there is no good or bad surfing that exists. Its just surfing. The "whatever you want it to be" side is what Spirit of Akasha tries to show which I think is welcome in todays surfing. Surfing can be a very personal thing, a very spiritual thing, if you allow it to be. Its not a sport unless you decide it is.

[steve shearer]

so true CC, especially the closing sentence.