The History of Patriotism
Matt Warshaw is a clever chap. Why he even looks like one, what with his black-rimmed glasses and salt-and-pepper buzzcut that creates the impression of a humble suburban doctor, albeit one with an awkward bedside manner.
He's prolific too; with seven books in his back catalogue, most of them weighty tomes, and a vast collection of articles, the old boy can really bang out the words.
So you can call him erudite, and you can call him hard-working, but think twice before you call him worldly...
Matt is on the publicity trail for his latest book, The History of Surfing, and was recently interviewed on Surfline. At the close of the interview the Surfline lads asked Matt: 'Is there a moment, era, person, that we all, as surfers, should feel most proud of?'
And Matt's anwer?
'Endless Summer. Curren's first wave at J-Bay. Duke's biceps. Miserlou - Kivlin's trim stance. The Merrick tri-fin. Most of Art Brewer's covers shots.'
Aww, gee whiz Matt...we all should feel proud of those things? As the author - and therefore as the authority - of The History of Surfing you're saying no-one other than an American has ever done anything that we all, as surfers, should feel proud of? At least nothing that would make a top five list?
And what's all this about including a Merrick tri-fin? How about a bit of elaboration on that one? Like, why is Merrick more important than anyone else who ever whacked three fins on a board, the Campbell brothers or McTavish who both did it before Merrick, or Simon who popularised the damn thing?
Is this a case of history being written by the losers? How to explain the oversight?
I believe some clever Septic once said, 'Patriotism is the last bastion of the scoundrel', and you appear to be running a pretty tight line here old bean. So, in the interest of parity, I offer my unblinkered and wholly-objective top five list of things that we all, as surfers, should feel proud of:
Ahem...the Duke's first surf at Freshwater Beach in Australia. Morning of the Earth premieres in Australia. Australian Peter Townend bungs together a 'world tour' and awards himself first place. Simon Anderson invents the Thruster in Australia. And the Bronzed Aussies...those guys were Australian.
Comments
Umm, go write your own book Stu - make it as bias as you want and review it glowingly here....touche ?!?
Armchair criticism is what gnaws at Australia's cultural core.....tall poppie anyone....
Dunno ethereal, stu has a point, Americans do tend to be pretty ethnocentric. In their eyes, they are the centre of the universe and the U.S. is the greatest country on the world Q.E.D.
Blame Surfline. They edited the shit out of the interview. Other items I listed as things we should all be proud of included MP's moustache, Taj's sex life, Gonad Man, winkle-spitting, and Phil Jarratt’s masterful use of the semicolon. The list goes on.
But tell you what, Stu. Instead of going back and forth here over a stupid little throwaway interview, why not actually review History of Surfing itself? Or would that be too, like, Old Media? If not, give me your mailing address and I’ll have a copy mailed off tomorrow.
Meanwhile, that “humble suburban doctor†remark? Come on. Clearly I’m going for “aging but still-cool junior college English professor.â€
Sorry Matt,
All I see in that photo is a sensibly knitted woollen top, yet a tweed jacket with elbow patches has always been my take on the 'ageing but still-cool junior college professor'. Guess I'd better update my stereotyping skills.
A review of 'A History of Surfing? Only if it comes as an eBook...
An email is on the way.
What you can't see in the photo is that I'm holding a dog-eared copy of Proust in one hand, and janging the keys to my 25-year-old Volvo station wagon in the other. Small bag of weed tucked in the back of the glove compartment, next to a printout of my as-yet-unpublished novel, and a Pavement CD.
Yeah. Cool like that.
...and Captain Goodvibes.
While we're playing patriotic ping-pong I think you might have scored a techincal foul Stu. Pete Townend is listed twice (world champ and bronzed aussies) and he's now a seppo.
Swap PT for Goodvibes, and bronzed aussies for Tom Carroll's nuthuggers and you've got my list.
stu, you guys could be brothers.
with the slight greying around the temples.
Matt, if your still here just interested why in the Peter McCabe entry you mentioned the drug time and yet in the Merrick entry you omitted his jail time?
Selective researching?
Seeing as it was mentioned in Flow I woulda thought the subject was no longer taboo.
Ahh, how the blood boils when recognition is apparently unjust. The only person who is truly qualified to give an unbiased view on the history of surfing is the elbow patched, smooth talking professor you describe, but with one distinct difference, they would have never surfed before. The person to scribe such a document must be free of all underlying local and international influence that may skew their view. They would have never experienced localised views on who is the best surfer, or what inspired their own style of surfing. It would, in fact, read as a stale prose on researched facts with no heart or soul, which is what surfing strives to keep at it's core.
Perhaps the gripe should have been with the title being a slightly misleading one, which should have read: "The History Of Surfing, An American View"
Stu, I find your journalistic views to be entertaining and informative for the most part, but this article leans towards, dare I say it, the gutter. Not your best work.
I love the author came to defend himself...you never know who's gonna turn up on the internet
you can win me back matt if the pavement album is 'slanted and enchanted' otherwise forget it
Thanks for the comments, everybody. I was buried to the eyeballs for five years doing History of Surfing This is the first time I've posted on Swellnet -- or anywhere else for that matter -- since then. As for bias...I just think its only fair that you read the book first. Yep, I'm from SoCal. Born and raised. (Although I've been in San Francisco now for 20 years.) Maybe something in my DNA that tilts me in that direction when I write. Or maybe I pulled it off. The idea with History was to spread it around, era to era, country to country. But you tell me. Read the book. If I blew it -- like I did, admittedly, with that little list for Surfline -- then let's talk.
Okay. Time to get back to work on my new project: a 25-volume biography of Kolohe Andino.
one more thing. Sorry about the price. By the time the books get shipped over there, you guys have to pay like $650 per copy. Down with American Capitalist Pigs!
Gutter journalism Cambo? You're all over the place Camboboog, acknowledging that Warshaw's list was biased but throwing around insults when he gets called out for it. Grow a brain and get a sense of humour while your there.
"Down with American Capitalist Pigs!"
You've still got some left?
I thought they all went extinct with the GFC.
I'm yet to read the book but it has been bought by children for me to get into on 25/12.
I'm expecting it to be fairly US-centric but so what? Would anyone think the same written by an Australian would be any different? It would no doubt claim we invented surfing and every great leap forward. It comes with the territory.
By the way can we lay claim to Greenough as Australian now?
And it only cost the kids $US300- take that capitalist pigs!