Yeah, it's back

What is Connoisseurs of Concrete? Connoisseurs of Concrete was a zine started by Al Cheves in the 80's. I worked on it, too, then did a few issues on my own a few years back, when life was a tornado of self-abuse, and worse still, abuse of xerox machines, staplers and Needles and Pens' shelf space.
The Primary Focus of Connoisseurs of Concrete, back in the day, was skateboarding, and all of the fun that goes with it, including some serious partying.
While skating still occupies a place in my heart that is in my personal hall of fame, I would be a liar and a fraud if I still called myself a true skateboarder. So why the name? Draw your own conclusions.
What will be in Connoisseurs of Concrete? Skateboarding? 
Well, sure, but other stuff too. Surfing. Diatribes. Anything and everything.  But make no mistake:

It will be like nothing you have ever seen.
The above image is there to illustrate a point:
The wags and toadies will tell you that it's over, that it's all been done, that nothing is the same and that everything's been ruined. Has it? It has, but only if you believe what they say.
On the other hand, you can find all the stuff that's ever been worth it, all of the beauty and adrenaline and unspoiled, original glory, but only if you believe that you can.
            People will tell you that Ocean Beach is ugly, that it's boring, that it's spoiled and foggy and cold and miserable and I just have to ask: What do you think? The above picture was taken in 1954. Could Ocean Beach be as beautiful today as it was then? To answer that question, you can either believe what you hear, or believe what you see. What do you wanna do?

Listen, as my father-in-law would say... but what follows, is... not what he would ever say. I inhabit a world ruled by water, and sometimes all I want is to be in it. If I can't be in it, I want to read about it or think about it, or worse, talk about it. That last one gets me in to trouble, because surfers talking about surfing is hard for the world to take. The thing is, non-surfers talking about surfing is even harder for the surfing world to take.
                     Isn't it cold?, they ask. My response is Isn't it embarrasing? 
"What?", they ask.
"Isn't it embarrassing walking around naked all day?", I reply.
"I don't walk around naked all day", they say.
"And I don't surf around here without a wetsuit. That's why it's not cold."
            Of course, this conversation never happened.
      But seriously, man, it's like this: surfing is full of one million amazing things. Topics about which we could talk for months on end, and yet, all non-surfers want to talk about is cold water and sharks. You wanna talk? Let's talk about traffic jams and cancer all day long. Oh, what? You don't want to talk about that? Why not? Oh, yeah, because it sucks, that's why.
        You wanna talk? Let's talk about pelicans and green glass, friend.

Walking right by, they can't, or won't, or don't want to see the beauty that lies 100 yards away.