YONDER BREAKS

It's a strange time to be alive, isn't it? A volatile election season amidst a pandemic, not to mention continued effects of climate change and racial tensions the likes of which we haven't seen since the 1960s. It is no secret that we are all affected by these things, and all of it seems to polarize people one way or the other. This election season I had the enlightening privilege of living in both liberal and conservative regions at the height of campaigning -- Los Angeles and two cities in The South. My biggest takeaway: so much of what we believe is based on perspective . And our perspectives are dependent on a host of factors, region being just one of them, but an influential one at that. You already know which regions promoted which party, but something I was reminded of through listening to both sides, is that there are usually good reasons people believe what they do. When we forget that simple fact, it becomes a lot easier to villainize whoever believes differentl...

Pancakes were always fun to make for me, mostly because you can pretty much add anything you want and, in the correct proportions, it will likely work out. Of course, in high school, my cousin, sister and I got a little crazy, putting random candies (notably Nerds ) in our pancakes, but still, they weren't terrible.  With our daughters, I try to keep it a little healthier, though the stray chocolate chip pancake is still acceptable and encouraged. This morning, I was making a set of nice blueberry pancakes, with a few chocolate chip cakes in between for good measure. I noticed, however, that as I scattered the materials on our pancakes, I was being much more generous with the chocolate than the berries. How are my proportions? It was a subconscious decision, but sparked an idea: how much of our lives are filled with "chocolate" and how much are filled with "blueberries?" What I mean is, is the media and content you fill your mind with life-giving or junk? Of co...

Years ago I wrote one of my favorite pieces on the joys of surfing tiny waves . All this time later, I'm still having new experiences that support the same thesis: it's not the size of the wave that matters, but the fun you can have on any wave. I decided to write on our calendar every time I surf this year, just to get a gauge of how much I'm surfing. Early in January, I wrote my first mark with pride -- a good start to the year -- and then didn't surf for about five months...I had an ear infection and some subsequent stubborn fluid in my head, causing several doctor visits, including an order to not surf until I figured it out. Follow that up with COVID-19 and closed beaches, and it's easy to imagine how such an atrocity could occur. First surf of the year: January 2nd In May my first session back was a scary night surf at Leo Carillo with my good friend Russell, which was instigated because I wanted to surf the bioluminescent algae phenomenon that was hi...

Dads are kind of dumb sometimes, right? Just look at decades of television with bumbling Homer Simpsons and selfish Tim the Toolman Taylors . They usually figure out their faults at some point and "learn a lesson," (do they?) fixing everything before the half-hour is up. Though I am a huge   Home Improvement fan, and also enjoy The Simpsons, I decided years ago that such portrayal in media was bad for dads as a whole. It kind of gives us an "out" on responsibility. "Yeah, we're all dumb, so we'll just make our paychecks and hide in the garage until...well, until it's all over I guess." Dads are much more than we are usually shown, but stereotypes are there for a reason, and sometimes even the best dad has a foolish, selfish moment. I had one of those moments recently, so I thought I'd share the tale, because it's a pitfall I see a lot of dads fall into. First iteration of our track. We recently bought some blinds that came wra...

When Katie, the girls and I moved back to Los Angeles back in 2018, I never expected to discover the strong musical community that I did. Thanks to my long-time friend and collaborator Ben Boquist , I was invited to a weekly songwriters group hosted by the talented Cortney Matz at the Hollywood co-working location, Epiphany Space . I was a little nervous to share that first night (which happened to be an open mic with a very kooky featured artist doing some sort of beachy Jim Morrison style of performing), but wanting to be bold with music upon arrival in LA, I jumped right in. The warmth and appreciation that that group presented to a stranger was wonderful. As the weeks and months went on, I became more and more involved in the group. Quickly I learned that if I didn't come with something progressive (to me, at least), then I wouldn't get much of a reaction from the group, and so I worked hard to have a new song every week. Over time, I developed a larger repertoire, and m...