Johnny Pee

December working Monday

2010-12-06T22:37:00.001-05:00

December morning 21 degrees.

2010-12-05T23:58:00.002-05:00

Dec 2, Newark and the L platform

2010-12-03T11:57:00.001-05:00

December begins with wind.

2010-12-01T21:05:00.001-05:00

November 29

2010-11-30T19:43:00.002-05:00

Sunday Morning, Bushwick Brooklyn.

2010-11-28T21:52:00.003-05:00

Thanksgave.

2010-11-27T16:02:00.003-05:00

Newark just dropped to #23 on most dangerous cities list.

2010-11-23T22:26:00.004-05:00

I'm having a show @ The Habitat...TOURIST

2010-11-18T15:21:00.003-05:00

If you have time and nothing to do except watch Palin on Dancing with the Stars, come on through. I have over 60 photos up from the Balkans, Bali and Vietnam. Also included are three maps I drew of the regions. Should be a blowout. Show is going to be up for a month so if you can't make the opening there are 29 other days you can go see it. Stop making excuses.

Mastic Beach needs....

2010-11-12T15:20:00.001-05:00

...some cash flow or someone with drive like THIS.

Sonic Youth's Washing Machine 1995 and the County Dump parking lot

2010-11-08T17:05:00.003-05:00

Look at that photo of Kim and Thurston running in the parking lot of what is now The Movies at Mastic. This photo was taken while the shopping center sat dormant after the demise of The County Dump. That place really needs to fix their parking lot. Really.

More from Ronaldino y Ronaldinos Organic Cokahiena delivery.

2010-09-30T08:39:00.005-04:00

Ronaldino y Ronaldino Beering and Steering the Carmens River

2010-09-30T08:31:00.006-04:00

Ronaldino y Ronaldino come down the Carmens River, cross The Great South Bay, paddle west to Old Inlet, set up camp in Fire Island for the night, early paddle around the Mastic peninsula and then up the Forge River. 25 miles of waterways and 2 days of muscle usage.

Short Sales = Waterviews for under $150,000

2010-08-03T10:36:00.004-04:00

http://www.retothemax.com/view/short-sales/Mastic-Beach?PageSize=20&Page=38&SearchType=407&

Think about this...waterviews for cheap, cheap, cheap. If I was doing this beach house buying thing all over this is what I would be looking into. Look at the views. Staring right at the bay, challenging Fire Island to a staring match. I'm jealous. You can literally, take your surf board, paddle across the bay, walk across Fire Island and dip into the ocean. You don't need a boat, a car, or a helicopter to be in the ocean, just large paddling muscles.

Absent worded.

2010-07-28T09:50:00.002-04:00

I haven't typed here on this white space in quite some time. No apologies since there isn't many who check in here. Been enjoying the stifling temps. Been in Mastic Beach nearly every free minute on hand, submerged in the waters whether it be ocean, chlorinated pools, rivers or sprinklers that are helping my hay-looking lawn along.

Sapa, North Nam

2010-04-17T10:53:00.001-04:00

Hanoi

2010-04-15T10:14:00.002-04:00

Overnight Train to Lao Cai, Vietnam

2010-04-14T23:52:00.002-04:00

Perfume Pagoda

2010-04-12T00:34:00.003-04:00

It will always be TriBoro to me.

2010-04-12T00:33:00.002-04:00

Perfume Pagoda

2010-04-12T00:31:00.002-04:00

April Warmth

2010-04-08T10:14:00.001-04:00

Rush Hour in Ha Noi, Vietnam

2010-03-29T00:10:00.000-04:00

S'more Vietnam Flicks

2010-03-29T00:08:00.003-04:00

...and the Montauk season saga begins...

2010-03-28T23:55:00.004-04:00

The Surf Lodge was just the first wave of the set dirtying up Montauk, here comes the other 2-3 waves.

Start paddling.

the buzz around Montauk continues to build. This summer a slew of A-list restaurateurs will join Surf Lodge's Jamie Mulholland and Jayma Cardosa in bringing in well-heeled crowds to piss off the proudly scruffy town's barefoot surfers and year-rounders.

Just back from Vietnam. My tour of duty. This is Bac Ha in the north of Viet.

2010-03-21T16:46:00.005-04:00

Kristen Bednar Paddle Out, Jan 10 2010 at Smith Point

2010-01-10T22:57:00.002-05:00

About 60 surfer paddled out in memory of Kristen Bednar.

Going through the Bali images.

2010-01-06T23:25:00.002-05:00

I have been yearning for the warmer months as my ballies run and hide. Creating my false sense of warmth is aided by going through the Bali images. Im editing mucho grande.

Thanksgiving Weekend in Mastic

2009-12-02T18:04:00.002-05:00

Was around for the holidaze. Did some thinking and drinking with the fam. Some heads rolled out from the ciudad as well with dog in tow. We hit up the woods to connect with sticks and leaves. Windy as all hell. But here are a couple visions of the path. This is at Terrell River in Moriches.

Fall Colors on the Twin Ponds

2009-10-12T11:08:00.002-04:00

Along the shores the color show hits first. The Twin Ponds sit quietly at the head waters of the Forge River.

Dan Ortner

2009-10-09T17:19:00.001-04:00

I am loving this dude's paintings.

CHECK HIS OTHER WORKS RIGHT HERE MOFO!

Andy Goldsworthy

2009-10-09T10:11:00.003-04:00

When the air starts getting crisp, for some reason I think of this man.

And if you like water, nature and art shit...

RENT THIS.

The Larcombs

2009-10-07T09:35:00.004-04:00

When I started getting into the world of surf and skateboarding it was 1989. I was just 10 years old. These two were already doing it for a few years. They taught me the ropes. That was 21 years ago. Holy shit. Time passed, love lives floated and sank, friends were buried, babies were built, miles were walked. They are still out there today, meeting up with me along the shores of LI doing exactly what we did for two decades.

Here's to two homies who never forgot where they came from.

Sunday morn, Smith Point

2009-10-05T16:30:00.002-04:00

Sunday wound up giving us a lil bit of that summer feeling back. And it delivered a little fun swell.

Jianca Lazarus

2009-10-02T09:25:00.003-04:00

I met Jianca when she was just 17 and just arrived from South Africa, skating the streets of Midtown Manhattan. At the time she was one of the only non-penis owner skateboarding with my crew. We crossed the country in a van for a Juice Magazine article that somehow she fanagled me a seat. Over the years we always kept in contact but a year here and a year there would go by without any sightings. I go to find out thats because she was fully immersed in surf culture. Here is her website. She is a great photographer.

Feeding and Fall Collecting

2009-09-30T23:26:00.000-04:00

Speaking of Jefferson, Mastic Beach

2009-09-30T23:19:00.003-04:00

Now this may or may not matter to you. It's news to me. You may not care much. You may not be happy about rainbows and glimmering bays, or hushed rumbles of the ocean. You may care more about Micheal Jacksons funeral, or making out with the TV screen when Patrick Swayze criss crossed it in the other years. But I was driving down Jefferson in Mastic Beach. Usually I would come to a rusted old gate that would have piles of shitski everywhere near. But the pavement kept going, proceeding all the way to the water. Cleaned up drastically. Finally allowing access to another piece of our fine shoreline. I'm not sure exactly who to thank but hey...Thank You.

William Floyd Estate, Mastic Beach

2009-09-30T23:14:00.004-04:00

Fdogg and I did the house tour. Such an under-used institution of Mastic. The frickin house was visited by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison for god sakes. Instead of worrying about which Desperate Housewife got Gohnorreah why not get your history on. The house is full of antiques and pieces of the time. Rocking over 200 years of Long Island and American history for that matter. 5 stars. I loved it.

Clam Bar Coming!

2009-09-30T23:06:00.004-04:00

Well I have nowhere to confirm this. Complete hearsay. You ain't heard it from me. But rumor has it the Smith Point Lounge will oneday house a 50's style Clam Bar. Now finally something to get excited about. After surf beach stops will never be the same. Hopefully its done right. With all that space out back, hopefully the makers of this joint are looking to the eastern most parts of Long Island for inspiration (cough cough Cyrils in Montauk) and thinking about outside dining. There's room to set up some serious drinking grounds ah la Bier Garten stylee. Hey, and if you know something more please elaborate in the comments section.

Scott Pasfield grabs another great moment

2009-09-30T09:13:00.003-04:00

My friend Scott Pasfield is a great when it comes to finding beauty surrounding in the environs of Mastic Beach. Here's one that caught me and threw my mouth slightly ajar in amazement.

Check out his blog here.

Mastic is a funny place

2009-09-23T16:16:00.002-04:00

Heres a wonderful story that takes place in Mastic in the pages of Newsday.

Read it here.

Clams, Antique Shopping and Beach

2009-09-23T09:52:00.004-04:00

Did try to surf both days labeled weekend. Yes it was clean and glassy but weighing in at knee knocker status. Still the water is beautifully warm and the summer souls have parted. Peaceful.

Did however cook-up some Manila Clams and bought a ton of antiques.

Outer Beach driving.

2009-09-16T11:20:00.001-04:00

Found this article that was a great point of view piece on sharing the beaches with fishermen.

Sharing is caring.

Now back in 1958 the beach was a much different place. Surfing was at best a seasonal sport with a handful of dedicated players on Long Island. The beaches were empty except for the main bathing areas during the summer season. Endangered plants and birds were of no concern. It’s not hard to imagine how they came up with the “keepers of the beach” credo.

A slideshow of that Surf Lodge place in Montauk

2009-09-04T14:12:00.002-04:00

This was in the NY Times.

The Habitat vs. Shirley Pool Party

2009-08-31T17:16:00.004-04:00

The ladies of The Habitat in Greenpoint Brooklyn came out to Mastic to fill the bellies with a Low Country Boil over at Carlos' pool.
Clams, corn, potatoes, shrimp, mussels and all sorts of other pieces afloat in a delicious broth. Boiled in a huge vat. Margarita machine included. Them ladies know how to do.

The Mastics is diversity.

2009-08-31T17:13:00.003-04:00

I love this place because of its diversity. While we were enjoying a Pool Party the neighbors were doing a traditional African Wedding. The dresses were beautiful.

Smith Point Locals

2009-08-31T10:54:00.003-04:00

Growing up there was SIB (Strong Island Boys), there was BWA (Bitches With Attitude), there was KOS (Kings of Style) and than there was SPL (Smith Point Locals). The three before were there to cause trouble, gangs of sorts, and the SPL was a group of kids, having fun, sliding on waves. If it was to be written, it was SPL with your house number, so the cops can easily find the graffiti maker.

Forge River Saturday morning

2009-08-24T16:02:00.002-04:00

I have been meaning to get a photo of this mofo.

Hurricane Bill looking down from Peter Beards property

2009-08-24T15:59:00.002-04:00

Here is what you missed. Sunday morning looked big and beautiful. I need to get a better zoom lens.

Return to the Sand Bar

2009-08-24T15:53:00.002-04:00

We did it again. Emily was out from Brooklyn with friends and since Hurricane Bill was keeping us ashore we got our liquid fill at The Sand Bar. I love this place. Stuck in time, only thing is when a group of outsiders walks in the record stops and than slowly fades back into a noisy bar scene. I look at it as our introduction.

Last weekend at Smith Point and around Mastic Beach

2009-08-19T17:49:00.009-04:00

Yes there was an absence of waves but the water was beautiful anyways. Here are some images collected at the most summer feeling weekend yet. The no-wave-weekend will not hold for long, Hurricane Bill is in the house now.

NY Times story of Kess

2009-08-13T12:05:00.000-04:00

Read Times story about Andy Kessler.

Andy Kessler, you will be missed.

2009-08-11T16:31:00.002-04:00

Its a sad day today. Phones been ringing, texting fingers frantic, emails of forwarded articles and blogs have been reporting. I will add.

I just saw Andy in Montauk while I was out there at Ditch Plains on Saturday. I was walking off the beach saw Andy than continued on. There was a group of mid-aged men sitting over by the Ditch Witch food truck and I overheard one dude say,

"Did you just see him, he is a legend"

Dude hit the nail on the head.

Mike DeTemple in Hamptons Magazine

2009-08-11T13:33:00.002-04:00

From the Picaresque world.

Hampton Magazine jumping on the bandwagon.

Montauk Aug. 8

2009-08-10T17:28:00.002-04:00

Headed to the end of the Island for Saturday since it was flat there at Smith Point.

Ditch Plains pretty much always breaks even if its an ankle bender.

Its funny watching the in-and-out going on at the shore. A peoples feet so used to sand takes some time to overcome rocks.

Bronx Zoo

2009-08-10T17:25:00.003-04:00

So I went by the Bronx Zoo.

Bali last year

2009-08-05T16:44:00.003-04:00

photo by Steven Landau

Lately I have been yearning to get back to Indo. Even beyond the havoc it wreaked on me last year, I want more.

There's a couple reef cuts there mixed with some reptilian styles.

My longtime friend Stephen Landau from Mastic Beach met up with me in Bali being that he now resides in Singapore. The flight over is only 2 hours. How jealous I am.

The dawn patrol

2009-08-05T16:34:00.002-04:00

There is something about being in the water as the sun rises, before the sand becomes pocked in foot steps, earlier than any other soul, bobbing among clean humps of water that I just keep daydreaming about all day as I sit in front of this glowing monitor listening to the rotations of the fan, wishing those clock hands were moving as quickly towards the weekend.

Yeah right....we can be hopeful.

2009-08-04T16:54:00.002-04:00

I went to planning meetings about this years ago when Ed Gerbino was helping push a skatepark into Smith Point. 250,000$ was set aside, but where did it go? Now there is a new uprising, new place and new park in the works. I won't believe it till I see it.

Read this 'bout it.

Construction of the skate park is not expected to take very long and it could be open by the fall, Mr. Romaine said. The park could also include a component for bikers, a request from a student advisory committee that officials are looking into, he said.

My hopes are that this isn't done in a shortsighted fashion. Most likely it will be a crappy park thrown together with no one who actually skateboards driving the direction.

My good friend in Philly has been working with the city of Philidelphia to construct a skatepark right next to the Art Museum in Philly. The idea is to make a park that mimics the street architecture that skateboarders yearn for.

Check Franklins Paine.

Also this park is along the same vision.

Keep me happy among the reeds and sand.

2009-08-04T13:55:00.003-04:00

Image: Spooner Central

We're a peninsula. We are three towns mashed between two rivers and a bay to the south and further beyond we are a barrier beach with ocean slamming against that. The word Mastic scares some, disgusts others and puts question marks in place of lips among the rest. People of Shirley claim its nicer there, people of Mastic Beach are becoming a village, and well Mastic has just a great name. The letters work well together. Graphically, it works. Shirley, as a name I don't dig it, it reminds me of a nasty women wearing a 50's 1 piece bathing suit, some red sunglasses and fatty deposits where they don't belong. She has a huge rack but it's torpedo shaped. But I say Mastic/Shirley as it encompasses the tri-hamlet. Hamlet sounds quaint. The train station is named thee. People are using Smith Point now but yet rocking the same zip code 11967. Mastic has it's section Mastic Park, others claim Manor Park and when you go to the reaches north they rid themselves Mastic/Shirley all together and try to claim East Yaphank. We all come together and share the same shoreline. Smith Point is so uniquely Mastic/Mastic Beach/Shirley/Mastic Park/Manor Park, but East Yaphank you can have the middle of the island if you want it.

Times weighs in on Hamptons spilling into Montauk

2009-08-04T11:42:00.005-04:00

Photo: NY Times

Another story about the grotesque Hamptonizing of Montauk.

That g'damn Surf Lodge is being blamed.

Read this caca.

A male friend who shares her rental house in Southampton had warned her on a recent Saturday night to wear flats to Surf Lodge, the trendy new nightspot for the Hamptons crowd. But she was not the type of woman to have packed party shoes without heels.

Another shlock of shit.

2009-07-31T16:44:00.001-04:00

This is retarded.

NY Times is schlocking another horseshit story about the popularity and ruining of Montauk.

Read this barf here.

Celebrities are being invited to store their boards at the club, where the staff members will keep them in slots marked by name placards. Already there are dedicated pegs for “Jimmy Buffet,’’ “Karen Lauder’’ and Jon Bon Jovi’s son “Jesse Bongiovi” (though, as of this week, those slots remained empty).

Dear and Yonder

2009-07-31T15:18:00.003-04:00

Made it out to the Mollusk premiere of Dear and Yonder. I expected to trip upon a crowd of 50 at most, as in every premiere past, instead the street was packed to the bone with mucho peeps. All the usual faces were peppered throughout the crowd filled in with many new heads that came for the Paper Magazine and Roxy sponsorship of the event. I didn't get to sit and delve to far into the flick with my main concern of scoring a pink bracelet to get a free-flow of liquid gold. Acquired, the rest of the night ended up with multiple visits to the beer line.

Go to Endless Bummer, Toddy posted a lil movie bout the night.

All in all, it was a fun night there.

Dans Paper Cover

2009-07-31T09:10:00.002-04:00

Cover by Michael Paraskevas

I was only 9 I think, my first footstep into the nude beach. When you walked west along the crashing shore, following the footsteps of all those with boards clenched under their arms, the crowds bathing suits starts lessening. My mother would bring us to the break that was than known as "Bagels" to watch over my brother and I as we bodyboarded 5 to 6 hours straight every chance we got. She sat there engulfed in a ring of nudity, eyes peeled on her two sons, afloat among 2 footers to hurricane swell. The sandbar showed up year after year among the nudies. The nudist community is forced to mix wih these sandbar chasers. Its startling when you are out among the outer-break line-up, and a fully bronzed muscle man floats by on a bodyboard wearing nothing. Two cheeks surfacing like sperm whales. One-upping us clothed ones with use of rudder.

I remember Dave Mims of Autumn Skateshop flying a kite, we must've been 16, and one such Bronzeman, as we coined the fully tanned nudies, yell over to us while stroking his hardened piece, "Don't just stare...Join the show"

And that asshole up there on the cover, I hope he never joins my show.

Effing Bluefish bite?

2009-07-29T09:26:00.001-04:00

Surfers were attacked.

"At least two surfers near Sagg Main Beach in Sagaponack were taken to Southampton Hospital on Friday afternoon with severe bites to their feet, and several other people in the water suffered less serious bites to their feet and hands from bluefish that were feeding on a large school of baitfish pushed toward shore by storms."

Read the rest of the article.

Sunday fog on the beach

2009-07-28T14:05:00.003-04:00

By the house it was clear but as you passed over the Smith Point Bridge the air became heavier and shrouded in fine liquid pellets carried among the intense heat.

Open letter to a friend...

2009-07-21T17:45:00.006-04:00

Dear Pee Pee Ticket Maker,
I am over-joyed with the relieving of yourself that you did Monday morning into the LIRR ticket machine. I was on step 3 to my Monday morning routine of returning to the city so I can partake in the workforce. I just got dropped off by my mother so I can board the 7:37 to Penn Station. I was a few minutes on the late side so I was rushing just a bit. In this forward moving fury I ran over to the ticket machine to make the purchase. I slid my debit card into the slot, typed a few numbers, looked down to notice a dollar coin on the floor, waited through the "printing tickets" message on the foggy screen than stuck my hand down in the ticket trough. But instead of pulling dry tickets and a dry hand out my hand was coated. Coated in a liquid, warm to the touch, filling the four inches of depth. The tickets were floating, all $34.50 worth in your beautiful urine. I want to take this time to thank you for letting me and many others who were already so happy that it was Monday morning get this hand bath. I want to thank you for making me smile till I got to a bathroom to soap off your waste. You are a prize to this earth and the world needs to stop and look to the skies and thank the lord that you are equipped with that fleshy instrument between your legs just so you can inject it into a LIRR ticket machine ticket trough. I sit here at work a day later after recollection and think about you, pants half-massed, waist pushed against the machine, filling 'er up for my enjoyment. Its fantastic.
Sincerely,
Herman

The skin of Mr. Mastastico

2009-07-20T16:56:00.004-04:00

Mr. Mastastico has some beautiful work covering his back and amazingly buff chest. Here's his back I grabbed while he was naked in Smitty's parking lot.

Dinner at Toddy's in Mastic Beach

2009-07-20T11:39:00.005-04:00

Saturday cruised through Toddy from Endless Bummer's house for an evening dinner party. Hinging on the mexican theme, the food was dope. Great conversation with a whole group of new friends who are all week-ending in Mastic. I am excited to know there is a household local that includes interesting people rolling through.

Here's some shottys from the night.

A close to another weekend.

2009-07-20T11:34:00.002-04:00

It was another great one. A sizeable swell graced a morning sesh with Toddy and Thad. Fun stuff.

Digging...

2009-07-16T14:54:00.003-04:00

Today, on this Friday eve, I am looking through forecast's containing sun and water. I keep jumping back to Hiroshi Sugimoto's images to build the anticipation even more so.

Watch Out!

2009-07-16T09:08:00.002-04:00

From Endless Bummer

2009-07-15T17:43:00.004-04:00

The other day I met up with Toddy out among the shitty mushie swell at Smith Point. As I was walking back to the car, Toddy was armed with a fine machine. A Hasselblad . And here is the results, and I especially love the loupe stylee.

Camping...doing it right

2009-07-13T13:14:00.003-04:00

Photo: Nicole Orlando

A few friends of mine were up in the Catskills a couple weeks ago. I always regret not going after the fact because of photos like this. I was moseying the shores of Mastic while they were rolling KEGS into the woods. This KEG made it via my good friend Nicole of THE HABITAT, she grew up with me in the mean streets of Mastic. She spent a night alone with this guy awaiting the arrival of all the other friends. It's a mirage to see this after a long days hike, only this turned to something tangible.

July 11th and 12th

2009-07-13T10:49:00.005-04:00

Surfed a bit. Met up with Toddy of ENDLESS BUMMER for a messy morning sesh. Did a lot of house chilling. A few friends from the city rented rooms, Scrabbled late night. A surfcaster threw in right where everyone was surfing of course. Sunday evening surfed in skins. Perfect.

That there clock...I bought in Sarajevo, its from a bombed out home from The Balkan War.

A friends dope surf mobile.

2009-07-13T10:44:00.003-04:00

When I see this I get giddy. I need something of this sort. I've also been thinking of getting a moped with surf racks.

1Q84

2009-07-09T13:23:00.001-04:00

Haruki Murakami. I love him. Can't wait till 1Q84 is translated to English.

Anna Wintour expanded her Mastic Crib

2009-07-08T16:33:00.008-04:00

Anna lives in one-a-the most beautiful parts of Mastic. Its known as Old Mastic. It upholds its woodsy LI feel when this area was carpeted in estates of a richer city-folk. Anna hit up a little upgrade a few months ago. I wish others would follow this fashion icon and start bettering their places. The car on the lawn is pretty sweet though.

I wanna see Anna's spot in person.

Those islands out there in The Twin Ponds

2009-07-08T16:15:00.002-04:00

I use Barnes Road often to leave Mastic. Its a road that has maintained the country feel that I believe most of the Mastic Peninsula probably once wore. Its winding with not too much construction. At its start, it has two ponds straddling each corner like two ballies straddling a shaft. Lately, as I drive by I noticed two islands out there, now I have found who is responsible.

Fireworks and Mastic

2009-07-08T13:24:00.002-04:00

Photo Jay Rooney

It seems almost that fireworks are legal in Mastic. They are everywhere. No need to gander at Grucci's display. Just walk the streets in the Mastic's and there will be plenty of show going on around you. The recession-proof hobby of a pyromaniac.

...and she burns...

2009-07-08T13:19:00.002-04:00

Here is the aftermath of tiki-torch fluid to the crotch area and being packed with a load of firecrackers.

The campfire

2009-07-08T11:54:00.001-04:00

Photo Jay Rooney

I love sitting by this bitch. Every Saturday night it be ripping with faces from all over the world sitting at its side.

Whoa! The town actually did something!

2009-07-07T15:40:00.002-04:00

Newsday photo

Of course there has to be a detail that would make you say "WHAT" otherwise it wouldn't be in true Mastic nature.

The son had to threaten the father with a hammer. And what the hell is someone collecting so much garbage for. I hear of this in the city happening in the past, Mastic today mimics many of the cities past problems.

City dudes on sand

2009-07-06T17:38:00.005-04:00

Pic 1- Erica Recto, fashion designer for a lot of cloth you sheath your body in.
Pic 2- Jim Kim Miyagi, Art Dealer of Fine Art.

The Burning

2009-07-06T15:17:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine always brings a friend that we sacrifice to independence on The Fourth. This year Hillary went up in flames. Now this is not a political statement. Its just that Bush's head was 25$ and Hill's was only 20$.

Prior to nightfall here, you see custom made jeans and Velour Dior top.

Forge River and Smith Point at Sunrise

2009-07-06T14:00:00.004-04:00

Friday before the crowd from the city arrived I had a day of quiet in Mastic. Went down to the river with some coffee to see the tranquility. Hopped in car to hit a dawny session at 6am down at Smith Point. Was some amazing lighting show going down. They even brought the smoke machines.

The Fourth in Mastic

2009-07-01T23:34:00.003-04:00

I've done it all for the Fourth. When skateboarding succumbed most of my time, I always went to Philli, skated, drank alot and watched the firework show at the Art Museum. I did the Brooklyn rooftop party, I went to Summerstage to see Sonic Youth and was a peice of the family party population on numerous occassions. No celebration matches the excitement and rawness the holiday takes on in the streets of Mastic. Theres a lawlessness that most other places has lost. Smoke sheathes the streets and it seems like everyone has recieved "THE LIST". I grew up with THE LIST as a staple piece of 4th ettiquette. In the weeks leading to that special celebration, a photocopied-a-million-times sheet shows up in your mailbox. On it lyes some of the finest firework names. You circle and than get THE LIST back to your source. The explosives show up. Mastic turns to a complete warzone during the Fourth. I watched from Fire Island, looking back at the mainland where Mastic/Shirley juts out into The Great South bay and watched the greatest firework show ever. It was a poormans paradise in flames and sporatic performance as far as the eye can see. Mastic knows how to do The Fourth of July. Be careful out there.

Lets burn some shit.

Hope I stumble upon something like this again.

2009-07-01T18:10:00.004-04:00

Last year I stopped over a friends house where I caught word down at the beach that there was going to be a pigroast. A few of us went and devoured pig parts. I found this on the information super highway, a photo of the pig post-pieces.

Check out Grocery Guys blog for some good stomach pleasing reads.

Scott Pasfeild got the greatest image ever taken in Mastic Beach

2009-06-30T09:58:00.002-04:00

LOOK AT THIS!

Check out Scott Pasfeilds BLOG

He took an amazing series of photos of the rainbow that graced the waterways of the Tri-Hamlet last Friday.

Mastic during a real summer weekend

2009-06-29T14:41:00.003-04:00

So I finally experienced a real summer feeling weekend. Surf Smitty's 5:30 am on Saturday. Little mushy but fun none the less. Beached a bit. There was a rainbow Friday and the entire sky turned pink turning the rainbow pink.

Sighted in North Shirley

2009-06-29T11:45:00.003-04:00

Three generations working together. Mother and grandmother stand atop the deck of a house in bad disrepair, lawn unclipped, terrible vinyl siding dangling. Both women are enlarged in modern obesity standards falling on the wrong side of the determining weight. They stand cross-armed staring down on their also chubbed-out teen aged daughter who is running on a 1980's issued treadmill.

At least the daughter has two to look up to. Keep running.

Hvarski, Croatia

2009-06-24T17:14:00.001-04:00

Hvar Croatia

2009-06-24T13:28:00.002-04:00

Overheard in Mastic Part 3

2009-06-22T10:35:00.004-04:00

I started out early this morning. Got to Mastic/Shirley train station 10 minutes till departure, 7:47am train to Penn. Get dropped off in front of the ticket machines just adjacent to the shuttered Station House that hasn't had open doors in decades. A 30-something-year-old-man was posted on his Huffy BMX bike just in front of the ticket machines. We squeezed between the dude and the machine to make a ticket purchase.

Dude on bike " Yo I am inna situation right now, can I get 5 dollars to buy wipes for my baby?"

So I respond, "No, I need the money to buy a ticket."

Dude kicks back, "How bout a dolla den?"

I just giggle as another woman approaches to buy a ticket from the next machine.

Dude kicks it to her, " Yo, you single?"

Whats the baby momma gonna think?

To roll around Forge River

2009-06-19T09:18:00.004-04:00

My phone rings as I am purchasing some friend's wedding clothes.

"John do you want this fold up kayak boat thingy that I have right here for 75$?"

" I don't know, ummmm, does it float. What does it look like?"

"I talked the dude down from 150$"

Brian proprietor of Mastastico sends me this here phone image. And from that moment on I will roll the canals of Forge River. Easily carried to waters edge, just gotta purchase 1 more paddle.

Thanks Bri for negotiation power now there is a new addition to the ocean house.

Clamming on Gull Island

2009-06-15T16:12:00.006-04:00

Nick and Scott, Mastic Beach inhabitors, took Fdogg and I out to Gull Island via boat. Gull Island is a sand bar that gets a larger waistline as the tide lessens just inside the Moriches Inlet. Its a surreal situation because you are literally surrounded by bay and we had it to ourselves. We dug and raked the bay floor and collected a bucket load of clams and steamers. At home that night I masticated those shelled creatures. Awesome Saturday. Thanks dudes for floating us out there.

Check Scotts Blog HERE.

Mandom weekend, Moscow, Pennsylvania

2009-06-10T19:21:00.004-04:00

Mastic, I'm coming soon.

2009-06-10T13:57:00.004-04:00

I am sitting in this seat, post street-meat ingestion. I hear rumbles within. I worry about my visit to the bathroom and the havoc that may occur. My mind is in tangles. It should be engulfed in work but it won't go off topic...Mastic. I want to get to the beach, and let my epidermis make contact with sand and water. I was away for awhile, tramping through The Balkans, so I haven't been where I feel most comfortable in a month. Also last weekend I went to a farmhouse out in Pennsylvania to shoot a .44 Magnum and ingest massive quantities of liquid gold. I need my summer to begin. From here on in its weekends in Mastic. Call me if you know me, the bonfire will be ripping every weekend night.

PS. If I remember, I will post pics from last weekends Mandom weekend in Penn. Some funny shit.

Mostar Hercegovina

2009-06-08T12:16:00.008-04:00

Mostar, Hercegovina was the most war torn city I went through on this trip. 50% of the city is still in ruins. The Old Bridge was just re-built in 2004.

Sarajevo, Bosnia

2009-06-05T10:26:00.002-04:00