Pro surfers who don't surf anymore??

[oldman]

....... They are elite sports people and you know what you have to do to be an elite sportsperson? .........

There's a lot of wisdom in there Dino man. To be the top you have to be a fruit loop obsessive compulsive of the worst order, as well as having some god-given talent. It's surprising that there are some elite athletes who seem to be able to be great at what they do, but still be human. I think we will see less and less of that as the price to be 'the best' keeps getting higher.

As for Nick C writing up Lisa A's life, now that could be interesting. She has always struck me as being the most interesting and down to earth of surfers. Certainly the most interesting female surfer, in my uninformed opinion, and probably very few male surfers more worthy of being written about.

I met her once on the northern beaches. Said hello, had a quick chat. She was very sweet in person, and for mine she is the best sort to come through women's surfing. Sorry if anybody is offended by that totally sexist remark appreciating her physical form.

[Laurie McGinness]

Of course this might all change when LA reads the ms!

This hits home for me. I've just had a very unfortunate experience along these lines....I was working on a book about a friend's experiences in Aceh during the tsunami and its aftermath. We recorded about twenty hours of interviews and I worked up about 50,000 words but when he read it he flipped and refused to go on. The whole text was based on his account but when he saw it he lost his nerve! I hope you have some kind of contract with Lisa!

[Nick Carroll]

for mine she is the best sort to come through women's surfing. Sorry if anybody is offended by that totally sexist remark appreciating her physical form.

Yes, well fortunately I am immune to any such foul sensation

Lisa's very attractive and she sure doesn't mind men but to me she's like a fellow surfer and it'll be a cold day in Tahiti before I lust after one of you lot.

Laurie I sympathise, perhaps your friend will regain his nerve, it can be quite a shock seeing your experiences transferred to the solidity of print.

[munch]

for mine she is the best sort to come through women's surfing. Sorry if anybody is offended by that totally sexist remark appreciating her physical form.

Yes, well fortunately I am immune to any such foul sensation

Lisa's very attractive and she sure doesn't mind men but to me she's like a fellow surfer and it'll be a cold day in Tahiti before I lust after one of you lot.

Maybe it's cause I'm right footed and she's left footed but she looks alright to me



p.s you must feel the cold more than others nick knack

[oldman]

I love it.

What were they doing, making a bust of their bust?

Where can I buy one!

[munch]

I love it.

What were they doing, making a bust of their bust?

Where can I buy one!

and they got busted doing it

[Laurie McGinness]

.......living in hope Nick!

[bombora]

Anyone read more than a paragraph or two in ANY surf media about Occy ditching the older woman who supposedly supported him through the fat couch potato period, only to vanish from the scene after his title, replaced by a far younger gal? Surfers _ even good bloke legends _ self centred? Never.
Oz surf journalism, with a few notable exceptions, is hagiography.

[Nick Carroll]

Anyone read more than a paragraph or two in ANY surf media about Occy ditching the older woman who supposedly supported him through the fat couch potato period, only to vanish from the scene after his title, replaced by a far younger gal? Surfers _ even good bloke legends _ self centred? Never.
Oz surf journalism, with a few notable exceptions, is hagiography.

Most perceptive Bombie. If you're still on tour at that age, you're emotionally stuck. I reckon this is a given. Yet most surf journalists are stuck right there with 'em -- or even worse, they LIKE being hagiographers. They just want to be able to call the top surfers "mate" -- though they'll never be their mates for real.
Re self centredness, well it's not always what it seems either. Occ's ex Bea was too grown up for him really, she's a smart woman with a history all her own. You might ask why she chose to hook up with a couch potato and help drag him to his feet. That would be a question with its own thorns sticking out all over the place.

[collnarra]

Yet most surf journalists are stuck right there with 'em -- or even worse, they LIKE being hagiographers. They just want to be able to call the top surfers "mate" -- though they'll never be their mates for real.

This isn't confined to surf journalism. Most 'trade' writing (music, automobiles etc) is hagiography, advocacy, what have you, because the writers know which side their bread is buttered on. They want the perks, the access and the easy stories.

Whether this serves the interests of the readers is something else altogether.

On the subject of biographies, it's also worth noting that it's reasonably hard to write a decent one while the person is still alive. Writing about the dead is much easier (unless, of course, you're writing about James Joyce. His grandson, who controls Joyce's estate, essentially refuses all requests to access or quote Joyce's materal, letters and so on. And he's not afraid of wheeling out the legal cannons to take shots at people that try. The New Yorker has an interesting piece about it in the current issue. http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/060619fa_fact )

[jay spence]

I wouldn't have minded being the plasterer the day the above photo was taken. Looks much nicer than most building sites i've worked on!

[Lucky Al]

can't believe this damn fine thread has already reached its fourth page and i've only just noticed it today. what a read! some above posts make me wonder when surfing will ever have a hero like muhammad ali who'll say something even remotely like 'why should i go ten thousand miles from home to drop bombs on poor brown people in vietnam when the real enemy of my people is here? i will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality.'

[chrisb]

can't believe this damn fine thread has already reached its fourth page and i've only just noticed it today. what a read! some above posts make me wonder when surfing will ever have a hero like muhammad ali who'll say something even remotely like 'why should i go ten thousand miles from home to drop bombs on poor brown people in vietnam when the real enemy of my people is here? i will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality.'

Good point. Interesting how Ali's detractors called him a coward for not fighting the VC. Like doing 16 rounds against Smokin' Joe was gutless

This topic has metamorphosized somewhat but has become more interesting, especially with this week's news about respected journalist Chris Masters' bio of Alan Jones...... Can't wait to read it - thanks ABC for not publishing and thereby generating all that extra publicity it deserves.

[ether]

This topic has metamorphosized somewhat but has become more interesting, especially with this week's news about respected journalist Chris Masters' bio of Alan Jones...... Can't wait to read it - thanks ABC for not publishing and thereby generating all that extra publicity it deserves.

Yeh, I'm with you on the Jonestown book, been hanging out for that one for a while. Can't imagine a better person to write it than Chris Masters either....well, maybe David Marr. Looking like essential reading for Sydney people I reckon.

[Nick Carroll]

Yeh, I'm with you on the Jonestown book, been hanging out for that one for a while. Can't imagine a better person to write it than Chris Masters either....well, maybe David Marr. Looking like essential reading for Sydney people I reckon.

But the right wing can't character-assassinate Masters the way they would've Marr.

One feels the wind changing at the moment in Oz doesn't one. Two months after Rupert Murdoch casually tells journalists in NY that maybe it's time soon for John Howard to quit while he's ahead, the Sunday Telegraph gets a "SCOOP" involving an ex-minister's recall of Johnny's and Pete's secret conversations about leadership. Yeah, right.

[loco4olas]

One feels the wind changing at the moment in Oz doesn't one. Two months after Rupert Murdoch casually tells journalists in NY that maybe it's time soon for John Howard to quit while he's ahead, the Sunday Telegraph gets a "SCOOP" involving an ex-minister's recall of Johnny's and Pete's secret conversations about leadership. Yeah, right.

Ah NC, good to see the the big picture is not lost in the minutia of daily news-too bloody right about the 'scoop'!

Matt

[ether]

Yeh, I'm with you on the Jonestown book, been hanging out for that one for a while. Can't imagine a better person to write it than Chris Masters either....well, maybe David Marr. Looking like essential reading for Sydney people I reckon.

But the right wing can't character-assassinate Masters the way they would've Marr.
.

True, he's definitely more of an on-the-record leftie, with a history of attacking the right, but then Masters is a 40-year veteran of the ABC, the ultimate left-wing incubation centre according to the Howard cronies. I just meant it would've been a nice progression for Marr considering his book, 'the high price of heaven', circa 2001/2, and then exposing of 'cash for comment' during his reign at Mediawatch. But either way, it's awesome subject matter, and I reckon Jonestown will be a cracker of a read.

[buzzy]

I definitely agree with thr relative authority of Masters over Marr. I have no time at all for Marr, but much time for Masters.

Having said that, it's nigh on impossible for us to meaningfully discuss a decision taken by the ABC Board in a case such as this in an information vacuum. As inevitably occurs, and with all due respect, we fill that vacuum in accordance with our biases.

I found it interesting to see Marr's so called insightful knowledge of Board goings on pretty much entirely discredited, and Carlton's unseemly rush to indulge in speculation about Jones' sexuality (which is hardly news in any event). As others have observed, I wonder how Carlton would have reacted if the speculation was aimed at one of his luvvie mates, or maybe Cheryl Kernot? Funny how the self descibed "principled" fail their own tests when pressed.

And in any event it's a bit of a storm in a teacup, surely? The book will still be published and Masters will be paid more than he would have been by the ABC. The Board would've known another publisher would take it on. It's far from censorship.

So far as Murdoch dictating Howard's retirement is concerned I think,. with respect, that's far from the case. After all, Murdoch all but campaigned against Howard the election before last. He hardly dictates Howard's policies. Indeed, Howard was always perceived to favour Packer in media policy.