NYTimes: 365/360 - 2008

NYTimes: 365/360 - 2008 (in color), originally uploaded by blprnt_van.

This is more of a mental map - still an island. A visual correlation of news items from NYT. You can download a decade of these and print out a large 10x10 inch version. I just really love this idea.

What's this got to do with Beaches?

Well, how do you make glass anyway - with hot sand, right?
So, you can't find cooler tumblers than these Frosties from the 50's. And what better to snarf down a cool Mai Tai and a jellied-eel sandwich! The patent, frosted glass is cool, even with a Brit Ice cube - (Remember, you're only allowed one - luke warm and teensy).

Hand it to the Brits- jellied (yuck) eels

Seems like you can do eels about any which way you fancy. 'Cept none of them really quite gel with my friend Nick. Guess he's seen 'The Godfather, part 1' one too many times. 'Course the Brits probably don't remember a thing after a bellyful of that 'special' bitter and tying another one on for the 5th time in one week.

Venice Beach Skaters -LA

Serious stuff. There isn't one skater here who hasn't ruled out 'going pro'. This is more than just fun, this is all about being a class act in a beachtown community where image is everything.

Crissy Field, SF-Coastguard Station

Really. I've always loved this spot. Must have walked there a million times, and swum right there many times as well. Good ghost of the GG Bridge behind. Now there's a very handy cafe close-by with half decent cup of Java, so on those days of frozen toes, relief is a breath away. Since they smartened up the walking path to the bridge it's become very popular - but the station remains fairly anonymous.

Harrison St., SF mural

This is a cool painting covering the side of a large commercial building on my street and was inaugurated with a dance performance by acrobats suspended on cords from the roof and precariously swinging at each other like a circus act. Bit 'artsy' but really well thought out. Wonder where they are now?

Cowes, IW 1998 boat race

Around the Island on a sail boat sounds cool until you find out you're there, clawing your heaving stomach for 10 hours straight. Right about now the reluctant crew was getting mighty bored, and tired. The beer was warm, the sandwiches a mere shadow of their former glory. Unless you know a cute Mermaid, the Needles lighthouse and limestone caves are to be avoided, despite the alluring tease of nipping through the middle to cut a corner.

Appley Slip, Ryde, circa 1966

These are the days when the beach was relatively narrow and we all crowded up near the wall.
Day trippers, locals and foreign students.

Ryde, IW beach circa 1944

Blimey, Pip! - 7 miles across the Solent in Portsmouth and all along the South coast, a massive allied invasion force of US, Canadian and Brits are preparing to attack the beaches of Normandy - aren't you even a little nervous?