The Ben From Brazil

Latest Update: October 5, 2006

By Ben Marcus

7:16 AM THURSDAY THE 5TH OF OCTOBER, 2006

Up and at em. Just sent an advertising pitch to the lads at BIC surfboards. They have a Wahine model I saw on Surfersvillage.com and thought they might want to advertise.

Last night I sat at Diedrich’s and wrote profiles for Jon Jon, Brad Gerlach, Greg Long and Layne Beachley. So that is 12 down and 8 to go. I will write 4 this morning and 4 tonight and that will be that.

When I got home I did that quick travel thing for Trans World Surf, and I hope they like it.

Which 4 this morning? Sofia Mulanovich will be one and I should throw in a longboarder or two. Maybe Kassia and Joel Tudor?

Might meet with Allen Sarlo this morning about his documentary. I went by there last night between 9:30 and 10:00 but he was already out. He is leaving for Fiji tonight. I would love to see his Frequent Flyer statement. He is always hopping planes.

Rosaldo just emailed from Brazil hoping I can get my Visa on Monday and get there ASAP because there is a children’s holiday on the day I want to arrive and that might cut down the crowd. I told him I could Fed Ex him the DVD today if he wants to start showing it.

Today I have to go to Santa Monica to pick up those Bootlegs That Shall Not Be Named.

I also have to start putting the price labels on the covers of magazines and sending them out in bunches of 25. I am lagging on that.

And today I am going to try to have time to work on The History of the Surfboard. Right now that means stealing from as many sources as I can find: Articles in The Surfer’s Journal about Dick Brewer and Simon Anderson, Surfline profiles, excerpts from The Encyclopedia of Surfing, information from online, anything I can get my hands on. I use all that to make some kind of timeline of events then once it’s all in their raw I go back and smooth it out.

I need to send Chapter Seven to Bing Copeland, who is usually good about answering fast. He might be in the middle of his migration from Sun Valley to Baja right now.

Okay just sent that email. It went like this:

Bing
  A publisher in Minnesota has asked me to write a History of the Surfboard.

   We are going to use boards from Fernando Aguerre's collection as a timeline, along with other historic photos.

    The publisher wants only 25,000 words, which is a little silly. Right now I have a huge document that has stolen from every source I can get my hands on. It's probably 125,000 words and growing.

     Once I get it all done I will go back and whack it down to 125,000, but I also want to keep expanding the larger document. Once I get the big version done, I want to send it to everyone from Woody Brown to Joe Quigg to Bing Copeland to Randy French to Stretch and have everyone chime in with additions, corrections and deletions and eventually produce a whopping big, complete History of the Surfboard that doesn't leave out anyone or anything.

    I have attached Chapter Seven, which goes from 1960 to 1967. This chapter focuses on Dick Brewer and George Greenough, and tries to include as many others as possible.

    Mark Fragale is sending me information on why the Bing Pipeliner was such an important surfboard and I might make that a sidebar.

    But any time you can dedicate to this will be appreciated, and all comments, deletions and additions will be considered.

    Thanks.

There is that Norway surf movie tonight and I wouldn’t mind surfing and I have to bring that new Goodwill chair up and also use that vacuum cleaner and I have to worry about money and paying the Cingular bill and AAA and Charter and there are a million other things to worry about before I go, so I’d better get going.

I’m going to work at Diedrichs again. I buy a coffee and use their internet. I was there last night with all the Usual Suspects, the biggest bunch of LA wannabe bologna artists the world has ever seen. These guys have nothing going on but they talk all day about producer’s meetings and the stars they made.

Annoying, but I just focus and work and nod.