Dumbest Thing I've Ever Heard (About Surfing)

The picture comes from the "Things I Hate About My Flatmate" blog. The blogger ended the blog and said, "Feel free to take the pictures and use them for any purposes you like."

I have nothing to report since I haven't been out. I went to my break on Tuesday. It was dead. The parking lot was practically empty. Although I could have made a run to Sunset, I decided it was safer not to press my luck. I needed to go to the bank, go to the post office, hit Target, and prepare my lecture for that afternoon. I'll have to wait until tomorrow for another session.

Up until a few months ago, a show called Longboard TV was regularly shown on Fuel (a cable channel for "action sports" enthusiasts). Obviously, that was a show for me. I've seen every episode at least three times. The show always featured an interview with a well-known longboarder. (I didn't say "famous longboarder" because I don't know that any of those folks who ride longboards are, in fact, famous.) Well, there's one interview that stands out in my mind. A well-known female longboarder said something like, "A woman shouldn't try to surf like a man. A woman has to use her grace." Okay, I don't know about the rest of you (especially if you are not part of the longboard tribe), but that is the most inane thing I've ever heard anyone say with respect to surfing. How does one "surf like a man"? How does one surf like a woman? I found this comment particularly irritating. The woman who said it is not at all graceful or dainty. She walks the board as if she's walking on hot coals. She's so damn tentative that it's almost painful to watch her surf and she moves like she's got a stick up her butt. Yes, her skills are worthy of envy. But the girl lacks style and, for me, that's what surfing a longboard is all about—style. So what was she trying to say? The women who surf with style, the ones who can step up to the nose without hesitation, surf like men? My favorite longboarder (Alex Knost) is a guy who is not very big. He steps lightly as he moves up and down the board. Is he surfing like a woman? I don't think so. Kim Hamrock, a former women's longboard world champion, is this tiny, muscular woman. She puts a hurtin' on a surfboard; she charges hard and steps up and down the board with authority. Is she surfing like a man? I doubt it. My question, as always, is: Why do people say so many stupid things? Oh! Here's another stupid thing I've heard yet another well-known female longboarder say: "I'm voting for President Bush because he likes to pray." Mind you, I'm not even criticizing her politics. I'm criticizing her logical reasoning (or lack thereof). I don't care about politics. All those people in Washington look and act the same to me. But couldn't this woman at least address Bush's record on the environment, weigh the benefits and disadvantages of having him in office, and then decide why she would re-elect him? (Stepping down off the soapbox.) Okay. I'm done.