“Tradition has handed down the story of a fight over the grass growing on these disputed meadows”

This quote, seen on page 143, describes a battle between the hard working men from Amesbury and Haverhill. There was confusion about the barrier between the two towns, and since the line was drawn through hay fields which were very valuable back then, a battle broke out between the men of the two towns. Haverhill was the aggressor. When Amesbury claimed that there land was further west than originally thought, the men from Haverhill cut down the hay growing on the land before Amesbury could get to it. It only lasted one day, but there was no gunfire between the townsmen. The Haverhill men were instructed to hold their ground and with a large gang of hands, met the Amesbury men in the disputed hay fields. A violent exchange of scythes and pitchforks occurred. There were no lists of the wounded or killed handed down, but it is known that the land was granted back to Haverhill, but was not a result of the fight.         

Coming across olde events similar to this one in The History of Amesbury and Merrimac is what keeps me reading. After taking down a solid chunk of this book, I have learned about a surprising amount of these disputes, most of which occurred between fisherman. It interesting how this can seem uncivilized to us now, but be such a regular part of life back then. Issues similar to the ones explained in the book don't tend to happen that often anymore in such a nation like the one we live in,  however in many other societies that may be considered third world or simply just rural, people tend to act in a more radical way between each other when solving problems. 

Survival

While reading through “The History of Newburyport” I have come to realize that there is a strong theme of survival, and especially how the definition of that word as it relates to everyday society has changed over the years since the book was written. Today we think of survival as maybe getting by and making enough money to support a family, or maybe getting yourself out of a risky situation you got into accidentally. As I am just getting into the book and reading about the earlier years of the town of Newburyport I am getting a whole new look on the term survival. The founding of the town was a tough process, from fighting off the natives to getting swept out to sea from the harbor, the average man inhabiting the new area used to face challenges that threatened his wellbeing almost daily. Keep in mind, today, we think of this area as a relatively tame environment.

 Plum Island during these times was locally known as one of the most treacherous places. Back then it was still an island, or when the 113 bridge wasn’t present, there was no way to get back to the mainland through the cold waters and frozen marsh during the winter. While importing materials from well established places like Boston and Gloucester via ocean ships would often wreck on the island’s sandbars during harsh New England winter storms with east winds. Where do they go from there? The shore. Unfortunately, there’s not too much going on the island during this time. In fact, it’s about 2 miles until there is anything involving humans. Survival was failed more often than not.

 

 I have always felt as if it would be a life changing experience to experience real survival. Not only would it be life changing but I feel like it would teach me so much. I have my own personal theory that when the human race no longer fights for survival, that is the end of the original human race and we would then be on to a different category. The willingness to survive is a natural instinct, but I feel like it is so rarely triggered in today’s society that it may be dying off in a specific crowd of people.

At ye water side next Merrimack river over against Newbury landing place from Mr Goodings bound tree to a white oak stump about nine or ten rods and so runeing up ye hill on ye lower side to a walnut tree marked with A over a small white oak marked with an A about four rods wide ranging up ye hill between two small black oaks marked about four rods apart and so upward to a great rock on ye lower side in baileys hill two rods wide and so e town ward two rod wide through ye land of ye sd Bayley being one hundred and ten rods and one half in length so through ye land of john weeds between two great rocks about fifty three rods and half in length two rod wide and so to ye land of Goodman Haddens next ye street as witness our hands the 17th 1670. This is the plotting of a “highway” back in 1670 which is similar to the present day 95, running by then same landmarks as the new road. This part of the book stood out to me because it seemed very unlikely that anyone would be able to follow these directions. I do understand that that is how people used to talk but the fact that they were using trees and rocks as points to follow just seemed interesting to me. Whenever my father is starting up a new development he and I always go over the road plan just because I’ve always been interested in how it affects the overall look of the subdivision. Legally he and the other developers have to create a written statement similar to this on where it will run and where all of the lots will be. Instead of landmarks, they use specific GPS coordinates because it is easier for them to write those down simply because they script will in fact never be read and they already have that information in front of them. Instead of looking at the script, there large blueprints of the desired path all with specific measurements put together by the zoners.

Quote Blog: Olde Language

“And if in their judgment, after due deliberation, conference and employment of adequate means of information they are convinced of the impracticability of division they will so report.” Woah, that’s a mouth full. While reading through the pages of “History of Newburyport” I have come across several first hand accounts of old town meetings, bylaws, and event and location descriptions. The ways in which the original speakers used language was far different than how people talk present day, and frankly I found it much more intelligent sounding. This is not the first book I have noticed this on. While reading other old fashioned literatures such as pieces from the puritans, old English literature and revolutionary readings it has always been very clear to me the difference in the language used. For example, the words shall, avail, adequate, and deliberation are all used in that one sentence making it seem so ridiculously formal. Not even in present day formal speakings do people use language anywhere close to as intellectual sounding. Language can have a tremendous effect on a person’s first impression. Having the vocabulary is one thing, but being able to attach words into a sentence much like the original quote makes one sound very intelligent. Alluding to a movie, Nicolas Cage states in National Treasure “People just don’t talk like that anymore” after he reads an excerpt from the Declaration. Reading this book is drilling vocabulary into my head. I know a good chunk of the words, but this book is teaching me how to use them.

Eco-Friendly Surfing

Having a topic that I am involved with, I have had plenty of room to apply board culture in my personal life. While reading my collection of books and articles, I noticed that a huge theme in board culture is preservation. So much of the production is based around eco friendly materials. There are all kinds of new technologies and such that are out and being advertised that are becoming substitutes for traditional board shaping. I have been riding this one shortboard by a local shaper for about a year now. Surfboards always end up with dings that ruin the water-tight aspect of the epoxy-sealed shape. Once you see a hole in your board its always very important to get out of the water right away to limit the amount of water that seeps in before you make your repair. As my board got older and I stopped keeping track and taking care of the dings I figured it was time to grab a new board. I have been in the market for about a month now. I used a board-building technique I learned, tested it out and such but that still remains a trial and error process to be completed. Still with a lack of a reliable board, a few days ago I picked up a board shaped by Firewire Surfboards. This is a board that can be considered eco-friendly for sure. Instead of an epoxy shell, Firewire’s TIMBERTEK technology consists of the basic foam core with a veneer width wrap of paulownia wood around the entire board. The thing looks beautiful. I have always been a huge fan of companies using wood as a primary material and I am happy to be a part of the eco friendly surfing community.

Quote Blog: The World Tour

“The answer to that question is no, surfing on the tour is not merely as rewarding as shredding with your buddies” – Kelly Slater during an interview with Stab Magazine The spot lite of surfing has shined its way over to different things over the few most recent years. Instead riders releasing photos of themselves on monster waves to gain publicity, the surfers are now all about winning the big competitions as a way to get their name out. There are many different kinds of competitions in surfing. There are ones that are only known by the local community that surrounds and those that are part of the ASP World Tour. ASP is an acronym for association of surfing professionals; this includes the top 35 ranked surfers in the world for both men and women. The world tour consists of ten stops around the world touring from east to west, visiting the all the best surf spots in the world with the ability or running an event. Because so many of the most beautiful breaks are in such rural areas and cannot provide the recourses and basic living supplies in order to sustain a world-wide competition, some spots have to be passed. An example of this is Skeleton Bay, Africa. Skeleton Bay is known as the longest ride a surfer can find; more or less an endless tunnel of water shooting left along the slanted coast of this bay. However, it is in the middle of the desert and one needs an offroad-going vehicle with additional gas storage in order to make it there. Below is a picture of surfer Koa Smith inside on of the longest barrels in surfing history which happens to be from Skeleton Bay otherwise known as the "Diamond of the Desert".

In another interview with Stab Magazine pro surfer Jordy Smith, another member of the tour, talks about his incident with the ASP officials suing him for wearing his Red Bull cap up on the podium after his victory at the Hurley Trestles Pro in California. “That’s a headline you’ll only hear in 2014” states Kirstin, a journalist for Stab. Jordy was sued $50,000 for doing so. He narrowly escaped the fine and was able to keep his well-deserved winnings. This was Jordy’s response to when Stab asked him how it all went down. “When I was standing there before going on the podium, there had been a miscommunication. I’m not too sure exactly, but if you’d signed your contracts before a certain point then you’re allowed to wear your Red Bull hat on stage. But if you have new contracts, signed after the date, you can’t. They weren’t sure about my contracts so I was like, “Dude I’m going to take part, I’m going to wear my hat up there.” Then they said, “Hey, you know you’re going to get a $50 grand fine, then? I was like, “Okay… I’m pretty sure I know what my deal is, and if you’re going to give it to me, then yeah, I’ll go ahead and take it.”” Its situations similar to this one that makes top athletes like Kelly Slater, the author of the quote above, hate going along the tour, but the recently increased fame and rewards from both tour money and personal sponsers make it all worth it. The picture below is of Jordy Smith sporting his Red Bull cap on the top of the podium victim of a champagne shower by runner up John John Florence who is one of Jordy's best friends and top competitors.

Creativity: A Theme of Board Culture

Society has come up with all kinds of labels and assumptions for those who consider them to be a part in board culture. Some may be false, but the outside community’s take on the themes and vibes that come out of this lifestyle are completely accurate. One thing that I noticed is that all of these themes can also be qualities of humanity. Creativity is one of the themes that come to mind when thinking of these board sports. Surf Craft does an excellent job visually and literally explaining how creativity is involved with surfing in specific. There are two main ways that it can relate: First, a high level surfer has to be creative in which the way that he portrays his style along with being innovative and original with his maneuvers; second, and most evident in the book, is the creativity involved with creating new shapes and concepts when it comes to surfboard creating. This could be a whole array of things. A fin adjustment, volume increase in a specific area, radial changes to the rocker or concave (vertical/horizontal curve) of the board, materials, weight, width or even the length of the board are all extremely common change applications to board creation. Since surfing has been a progressing sport for so long now, there are all kinds of different board types that suit specific conditions and purposes. Want to have stability and speed on a choppy wave but you don’t want to ride a board that feels like a longboard? Of course! Make the tail of a board the shape of the tail of a fish so you have the volume in the back that keeps your speed but still allows your tail to sink and slice through the rough water! Live in an area with steep-faced waves that seem to move sideways too fast for how much room you have to pump to generate speed? Sell your tri fin board and pick one up with a quad-fin setup so you can lock yourself in the sweet spot on the steep face and thrust your way horizontally across the wave to beat the whitewater! Not only does this book explain what can differ between all surfboards both conventional and nonconventional, but it also describes there applications to every-day riding. Photo: Lost Surfboards This book is also filled to the brim with information on surfboard shaping history. From ancient finless wooden planks to the modern dual hulled thrusters this book covers almost all shapes of surfboards, body boards and kneeboards that I have ever came across in my solo research. Along with all of these shapes, the book also goes on to describe the shapers themselves who have come up with these ideas and expressed their own creativity. The photo above taken by Craig Richardson is of shaping legend Jon Wegener. Jon's work is widely recognized thorughout the community and generally consists of modern approaches on ancient finless surfboard styles.

Quote Blog: Innovation

“This was a shape that would change the progression of surfing forever.” Something I can proudly say about the action sport industry is that besides the medical and military systems, this industry is one of the most innovative in all of America. These boardsports progress in skill level like nothing else. For example, in the X-Games 6 years ago the winning trick for big air snowboarding was a switch (opposite of normal stance) rodeo seven. This is essentially an off axis slightly inverted 720. Now, just 6 years later in 2014 I am on first name basis with at least 4 people who can do that same trick on the same size jump. Going back to my chosen quote, surfing used to be something completely different than what it is now. It used to be a fameless activity where people would just cruise down the side of some beach brake in Malibu, traversing up and down the face of the wave on these long heavy single finned boards. The timeline of different shaped boards is directly correlated with the progression of the sport. Once people started to venture off crowded California beach breaks in search of double overhead tubular reef breaks, it was brought to many of their attentions that the boards that they were riding simply could not comply with what waves the athletes wanted to ride. The next generation of surfboards that would redefine the sport as a whole was these pointed nose, narrow hulled boards with increased volume for more buoyance which would allow riders to catch the same waves at the same time that they used to, but still have the maneuverability of a shorter board. These boards came in lengths around 7’6”, a whole foot and a half longer than what the pros are riding now. After these came the modern shortboard. This shape came directly from the advancement of skill level of all the pros. These boards are thin, short, very pointed nosed and have 3, 4 or sometimes 5 fins, differing from the traditional single fin style surfers rode for hundreds of years. They require twice the precision, twice the balance and twice the creative mind because now launched surfing’s innovation phase. Riders could now squeeze themselves into fast turbulent barrels, air out of the wave performing 360s, flips and grabs to an astonishing level and could dig the narrow side rails of the board deep into the face of the wave to carry out sharp turns that could send walls of spray 6 feet in the air. This was the shape that would change the progression of surfing forever. Along with these spotlight shapes came the hard work of thousands of shapers trying new ideas that made surfing a little different, or shaped boards to fit a certain areas typical conditions. The book where this quote came from “Surf Craft” does a phenomenal job describing all of these interesting concepts famous shapers came up with and prototyped. One shape that really caught my eye was the planing hull board, shaped by a famous Japanese shaper. All this board was made up of was a foam block. He called it the “lord board” as it could reach speeds and make sections miles above any board of its date. It was 4’8”, very wide and finless. It displayed the textbook volume ratio of a planing hull. Below is an image of the difference between a conventional short board and a planing hull board. This has inspired me to try it out. Currently in my basement I have a hollow wood rib frame almost ready to glue down the veneer. I am beyond excited to ride this thing as I have never constructed my own surfboard before.

Anylitical Blog 10/2/14: Earth Connections

While turning over the pages of Kook: What Surfing Taught Me About Love, Life, and Catching the Perfect Wave for a few days now, I've learned about all of the different kinds and stereotypes of surfers from a first hand account in southern California, the Mecca of board culture as a whole. Reinforcing my previous opinion, the text of this book clearly displays the fact that all who surf surf for a different reason; each who surfs finds a different high from the sport, and each who surfs goes about the sport in a different way. There are those who are aggressive towards others that get in their way, and, there are those who go out of their way to make surfing a more enjoyable experience for others. One section in my readings introduced a new idea to me, and idea that relates all surfers to others. Each rider has a very unique and strong connection with mother nature. Why is this? Isn't the majority of the surfing crowd just a bunch of people who chose adrenaline over the SAT's? Well, the answer to that question is yes; although that goes to show how important the activity is to their lives. This raises the question: why is it such a crucial part of their lives? This is, in my opinion, because it is such a direct contact with earth and what it has to offer us.

Photo: Parajape

 It was no shock to me when I read that the Surfrider Foundation was responsible for the second largest Clean Water Act in American history. Those who surf truly know how amazing the earth is because we use it in such an amazing way. Treating such a powerful force as the ocean is in such an enjoyable and expressive way is what makes a surfer so incredibly humble to mother nature. The Surfrider Foundation is an organization based out of Oregon that takes steps not only to preserve what hasn't been touched but to rehabilitate the areas that have. In Kook, the author goes on to describe how a portion of California's coastal wetlands was approved to be slated and used as an area for marinas, ports and high rises along with southern California's 85% of coastal wetlands already lost to development. This lagoon known as Bolsa Chica was part of the Pacific Flyway, the worlds largest north/south bird migration route in the planet. In 1997, the Foundation "stopped the project and got the state to put up $91 million to restore the marsh and to widen a cut through the beach to increase crucial tidal flow." At 880, it has been one of the biggest and most successful coastal wetland restoration projects in the country and as both preserved and and reestablished a stepping-stone in the flyway for migrating waterfowl. As the industry that follows board culture gains more popularity and wealth, it is easily foreseeable that those involved in the lifestyle will use their earth-minded heads to take steps in creating more funds and actions to preserve and revive the acres upon acres that they share a special connection with.

Bolsa Chica Wetlands

Photo: Ed O'Donnel

Quote blog

“Kook means ‘beginner surfer.’ It is not a neutral term; it carries a slug of derision, a brand for the clueless, for those without hope, without grace, without rhythm.” _______________ PG. 1 ____________ The board sport world is known for its language. Instead of sounding like chatter around the cafeteria, any event in this industry has this one tone of voice that everybody shares, and it is chalk full of new vocabulary. Terms such as gnarly, spitted, stoked, shacked, pitted, groms, bunk, sesh and shredded are often used all in the same sentence. In my opinion, this is a very notable quality of the action sport industry as a whole. Going back to the word “kook,” everybody is a kook at one point. Similar to other sports, in surfing, kooks are often ragged on, called out and sometimes are punished if they disrespect another surfer of higher ability. In all honesty, it is very comparable to hazing. The faster the kook phase passes, the better. This is all based on natural ability for the sport, as well as a conscience for general respect. With the term kook comes the term kook move, which are actions often carried out by kooks. Examples of kook moves are dropping in on a wave that someone else is already “shredding,” getting in someone’s way on your paddle back out to the lineup (where people wait to catch the waves), and claiming every wave that rolls into the lineup. As a novice surfer develops into a real surfer, he or she goes through goes through their kook moments, and they stay in your mind to remind you what is right and wrong throughout your entire surfing career. 

Photo: Ed O'Donnel 

Like all other surfers, I have gone through some pretty humorous kook moments. Moments that I would now call myself out on, openly laugh at or pick fun at the action with the guy straddled on his board the left of me. One time out at Jenness beach, I was getting a little bored with the lameish waves rolling in to the crowded beach, and a little agitated by all of the surfers around me. I knew of this spot from a buddy on the north point of the beach called Straws. Straws is a reef break, meaning that the break is formed from a steep change in seafloor elevation. So I got out there after a long 15 minute or so paddle through deep water. Instead of a beach break most reef breaks, including Straws, have only one spot you can drop into the wave, and these kinds of drop-ins are brutally tough for a beginner surfer mainly because it requires precision that only experience can get you. It was my turn in the respected lineup, I paddled into it and got spun tail over nose as the lip of the wave brought me from its 6 foot peak to the two and a half foot deep water below, head first. I was laughed at, actually called a kook and I went back to the beach break. Anyways, everybody goes through this phase, but the reward of such a technical skill such as surfing makes it much worth it.

Photo: James Kelley Photography

Analytical

The motive behind all progression is passion. It’s no coincidence these two words sound alike; people that have a passion for a specific sport sacrifice spending time on things that score results on paper for time spent doing what they love. When people follow their passion, they noticeably get better in their field and truly push the boundaries of the activity, while at the same time pushing their own personal boundaries. One of the questions I developed as part of my quarter plan was, “What fuels the drive to push the limits of his or her sport?” This question can easily be answered by passion. And with recent changes in the board culture industry, people can now be supported both physically and financially to follow their passion. Yes, this may seem like a dream come true and these athletes have it too easy, but at this point in the standings of action sports the athletes have to risk their lives, no questions asked, in order to make a name for themselves. The few athletes that find true success through actions sports aren’t just dedicated adrenaline junkies either. These men and women are artists, and have trained themselves to carry out a skill at such an intensely high level. In “California Surf Project” the passion for surfing is completely evident. Both men possess jobs and are part of the community. Regardless of whatever was going on with their lives at home, they decided to abandon it for 65 days to travel down the California coast in search of new waves. This is noticeably passion driven due to the fact that surfing was more important to them than moving their life forward. They weren’t junkies, their life was on track, but for some reason they decided they needed to test themselves. As their journey went on down the coast, they ran into situations that would turn most around. These include getting almost attacked by a rag-tag skate clan, extreme/extremely expensive car malfunctions, and an inspiring stack of parking tickets. Playing it by ear, making day-by-day decisions the two surfers carried out their dream and found themselves a great deal of personal success. They discovered new surf spots that are now publically known and are used to practice on by hundreds of surfers every day. In conclusion, the “California Surf Project” was a successful passion driven adventure that helped advance the sport of surfing.

Analytical Post 9/19/14

The change in ways which professional action sport athletes go about their lives on a daily basis, aside from average skill level, is one of the ways that the change in a sport can easily be recognized by. Now after reading "Lords of Dogtown", I have been able to get a strong grasp on how this works, and, what causes the change in the athletes' lifestyles. "Lords of Dogtown" is a book written purely about the roots of skateboarding. This is done basically by following the lives of the Z-Boys (original skateboard team riding for Zephyr Skateboards) as they gain fame by pursuing their passion. This novel is a prime example of power corrupts. From these so called corruptions, it is extremely easy to tell how the sport of skateboarding itself changed throughout the 6 year span that it took the crew to make a name for themselves. Known as the "most aggressive skate crew on the planet", as skateboarding magazine titled the Z-Boys, the group ended up splitting in to separate paths. Tony Alva, widely recognized as the most talented skateboarder of the bunch, ends up signing with G&S Skateboards and leaves his crew behind. With a new signature skateboard out named after him, financial support and his name on headlines of newspapers, Tony begins to lose his roots with his original crew, and tension increases between everyone as a result. While some supported his decision others like Jay Adams, another former member of the Z-Boys, let their stubborn attitude and one-tracked mind take over and develop a close to hatred relationship between those who left the original crew and those who stayed.

"With lack of a clear, true meaning of the sport, surfing served as a source for adventure over the coarse of the trip" This quote, found in the "Humboldt" section, is reasonably self explanatory and does not really have any hidden meanings. Although it is one without much literary intelligence, it still retains a stiff meaning that any surfer can relate to. Yes, of coarse, people surf for the fun; but to get the most fun out of the sport in its entirety, one must use his/her surfboard as a symbol for exploration. This could mean many things; finding new breaks along secluded parts of the coast line, or base an entire trip around it, similar to the way that the two men in California Surf Project did. The author here is trying to capture what being a die-hard surfer in California is truly like. With rural coastline stretching for miles at a time, surfing can be used much more as a tool for adventure than it can in say, New England where no matter where you are on the coastline there is some sort of structure obstructing the coasts naturality. Regardless of being in New England, I can personally and truly say that I do use my surfboard as a source of adventure. Here in northern New England, the only undeveloped spots along the coastline that haven't really been discovered by surfers are hidden in state reservations. By passing the legal boundaries, however, I have found at leased 3 spots along the coast of the Plum Island Reservation that break and barrel far better than the spot where everybody goes easily. I always seemed to be fearless to cross these boundaries. I feel that as long as you're respectful to the protected environment which you are entering, leave no trace and don't "accidentally step on a piping plover" you have the right to cross those boundaries. And, that is where you will find the strongest connection to nature.

Quarter One Plan

Topics in Literature Quarter Plan Board culture, the atmosphere and lifestyle of all of the board sports, has become a large part of my life throughout my high school years. To stay interested during this quarter, I have chosen to study this topic because simply, it's a part of me. With the passion I have toward these sports, I am hoping to accumulate more knowledge of the culture and lifestyle that follows the sports around. This includes legends, competitions, stories and those few moments where someone pushed the limits to turn their sport into what we know it today. The books that I have chosen have been carefully selected, ensuring that they are informational about the culture of whatever sport they involve. Three Essential Questions What fuels the drive to push the limits of his or her sport? How has the recent change in media affected the progression of the sports? What is to expect in the near future for these sports? California Surf Project: 176 Pages Dogtown, Legend of the Z-Boys: 256 Pages Surf Craft: 176 Pages

"They were so ruthlessly aggressive, they were more like a street gang than a skate crew"
Pg 67


The realism of this statement is completely evident in the context of this book. As the novel follows the Z Boys lifestyle, there are countless events driven by violence generated from the crew themselves. One, for example happens when the Z Boys lose to the more publicly known skate crew sponsored by G&S, a company that will in the future steal Tony Alva from the Z Boys due to a stellar competition result in San Francisco. The Z Boys themselves come from a small skate shop in northen california, mastering the surf/skate lifestyle. Coming from such a small background, the Z Boys were known for beinging what some may call "un-professional" behavior to large professional events. This reputation was never forgotten, this was because of the constant instances in which the team would get disqualified from a tournament, get into fights with other skate gains, or lose the rights to utilize local skateparks.
The ways of these riders at of such a different nature than people around New England, or at this point anyone in the industry.  The surf/skate world at a much more mellow state now then it ever has been. There's nothing even close to what  it used to be, instead of aggressive skate groups there are individuals that are more focused on pushing the sport than stealing the fame. Also, with new funding the lifestyle does not need to be fought for, it can be more or less bought. Large companies such as Red Bull pretty much pay for athletes to live the life. Skatings not how it used to be, whether the change is for the good or bad  it will never be the same as at rag tag roots.

First Post

My name is John-Luc, I'm a senior in high school and i am attending an english class titled "Topics in Literature." In this course, we choose a topic to read for the quarter, formulate 3 questiones that we keep in mind throughout the entire reading and then create a blog discussing what we have read. As a reader, I have a wide variety of strengths and weaknesses. Lacking a strong interest for the activity, I often find it difficult for myself to get passionate about what I am reading at the time. Along with this issue my attention span toward the book Iim reading is very short. There are so many times that I have found interest in a book and then not be able to finish it due to a short attention span.