As Dane Reynolds pointed out to us yesterday on Instagram, there is a new film coming out called, “This is Us.” It is about the boy band One Directions and the trailer has 11 million views — so it would appear they’re doing quite well. Psyched for them. Funny, the concept isn’t much different than ours either, only we go to bullfights and shit.
Like this one here. Wade Goodall, Noa Deane, Brendon Gibbens and Dion Agius went to this local bullfight in Spain when the waves went flat in France. We brown bagged it with a few beers and watched some local madmen jump over, tease and dance with the bulls. And while many of you may have already fake read Hemingway’s classic story The Sun Also Rises, it’s always nice to chew on an excerpt from Hemingway. He knows how to describe a bullfight. Maybe even better than me.
So to recap: I’ve mentioned Dane Reynolds, One Direction, bullfighting and Ernest Hemingway in 3 paragraphs. I’m clocking out.
Excerpt from Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises
“My God, isn’t he beautiful?” Brett said. We were looking right down on him.
“Look how he knows how to use his horns,” I said. “He’s got a left and a right just like a boxer.”
“Not really?”
“You watch.”
“It goes too fast.”
“Wait. There’ll be another one in a minute.”
They had backed up another cage into the entrance. In the far corner a man, from behind one of the plank shelters, attracted the bull, and while the bull was facing away the gate was pulled up and a second bull came out into the corral.
He charged straight for the steers and two men ran out from behind the planks and shouted, to turn him. He did not change his direction and the men shouted: “Hah! Hah! Toro!” and waved their arms; the two steers turned sideways to take the shock, and the bull drove into one of the steers.
“Don’t look,” I said to Brett. She was watching, fascinated.
“Fine,” I said. “If it doesn’t buck you.”
“I saw it,” she said. “I saw him shift from his left to his right horn.”
“Damn good!”
The steer was down now, his neck stretched out, his head twisted, he lay the way he had fallen. Suddenly the bull left off and made for the other steer which had been standing at the far end, his head swinging, watching it all. The steer ran awkwardly and the bull caught him, hooked him lightly in the flank, and then turned away and looked up at the crowd on the walls, his crest of muscle rising. The steer came up to him and made as though to nose at him and the bull hooked perfunctorily. The next time he nosed at the steer and then the two of them trotted over to the other bull.
Bullshit rodeo in Spain durring filming for This Is Us: France Collected Thoughts 054
Nate’s Back where the water is warm Collected Thoughts 123: After a stint in CA, Nate’s back in the tropics
“Man, it’s nice being back in the tropics…” —Nate Lawrence
Yago Dora, Indonesia, 2016 Collected Thoughts 122
“There was a time in my life that I could do nothing except think about Macaroni’s. Like every day I would think – how am I going to get there. I think Yago thought the same thing on our trip. He was on another boat trip and was supposed to hop straight onto ours. It…
Kolohe Andino, Bali 2013 Collected Thoughts 121
“Nobody’s perfect, and we love that.” —Nate Lawrence
Dion Agius, Hossegor, 2015 Collected Thoughts 120
“I first saw Dion on the cover of Transworld Surf magazine. It was a D.Hump flash photo that popped Dion onto the map in America. He was young. He was Australian. That was pretty much all I knew about him. Fast forward 12 years and still, a lot of people don’t know much about Dion….
Collected Thoughts 119 Nate Lawrence mind surfing Indonesia
“I always look at photos of Greenbush, and wonder why the guy isn’t taking off behind the peak…” —Nate Lawrence
Collected Thoughts 118 Stretch Surfboards shaping room, 2013
“I’ve always had a fascination with surfboard shapers. Mainly because they are really weird and mostly crazy. And I like crazy. Growing up in Santa Cruz and visiting a few of the local shapers, I started to see some similarities. Empty cans of Coors Light. Photos on the walls of mostly naked women and day-of-the-decade…
Mason Ho doesn’t have bad surfs Collected Thoughts 117 with Nate Lawrence
“Does Mason ever have a bad surf? Nope.” —Nate Lawrence
Dane Reynolds, Honest in Chapter 11 Collected Thoughts 116
“If you haven’t already watched Dane’s new film, Chapter 11, go watch it now. It is one of the most honest pieces on surfing that I have ever seen. As a huge fan of Dane Reynolds, I have liked almost everything he has ever been involved in. First Chapter. Young Guns. His section in Campaign…
When Obama got Elected Collected Thoughts 115: Nate Lawrence’s view from abroad
I was in Senegal, West Africa when Obama got inaugurated for the first time. There was a sense of excitement and joy wherever I traveled for that next year. As an expat living overseas I had been saying I was Canadian when people asked. It was the safe thing to do, especially in Muslim countries…
Frame Grabs aren’t taking over. Yet. Collected Thoughts 114: Nate Lawrence on the new Canon 1DX Mark II
I recently saw a photo from a Canon event where editors from Surfing Magazine were giving a talk. A big pull quote was streaming from a projector saying, “THE DIGITAL CAMERA WAS JUST A TEMPORARY BRIDGE FROM FILM TO FRAME GRABS” —Peter Taras There’s been a bit of talk recently about Canon’s new 1DX Mark…
Gunner Day Driving Through Indo Collected Thoughts 113: What makes this kid any different?
So you’re 16 and an up-and-coming professional surfer from San Clemente…so what? There are a lot of those. Like a lot. T Street looks like an Olympic training ground of fluorescent wetsuits these days. So what are you suppose to do to stand out in the surf world? Is it the QS grind three to the beach and a…
Luke Hynd at The Bush Collected Thoughts 112: Timmy Ridenour talks about shooting Greenbush from the water
I would like to tell you about me being scared. And the dangers of swimming 8- to 10-foot Green Bush at close proximity to the reef with a very large camera. I assure you it’s a scary place at any breakable size and I was scared. But in the split second this photo was taken…