Luther Billis leaves his island retreat to sit for the Papa.

During a recent and rare visit to the coast, Monster Billis sat for the Papa at his studios to produce this portrait.

AAF IN COLOR

Courtesy of 'Photo Hound', The Papa shares with you this great pic of AAF aviator in color.

PT BOAT SKIPPER CAPTAIN STORM NIPS THE RISING SUN

Once again our indefatigable Skipper, Captain Storm takes on the pride of the Sakura Fleet armed only with his Thompson and his wooden leg.

Ancient Hawaiian Surf Prayer

Arise yea great surfs from Kahiki

The powerful curling waves,

Arise with pohue hue,

Well up, long ranging surf..

Lord Byron

"Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean -- roll!

Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;

Man marks the earth with ruin -- his control"

Lord Byron.

The Sea is my Brother

Jacket Kerouac circa 1942.

Rising from the ashes of post World War II conformity and suppression in a blaze of spontaneity, experimentation and alternative thinking, the Beat writers instilled a way of thinking that was as radical as the literary mode carrying it. Now, we again need a movement that will reinvent radicalism and counter the conformity which surrounds us. Now is a time when literature, culture and society so desperately need to rise from the uncertainty created by straddling the ideologies of both post-war and mid-war thinking. We need to rebel against the suffering and lost identity created by the unification and degradation of economies. We need to stop living with moral, social, political and even environmental confusion. We need a new Beat generation.

The Papa's take on this is we need to counter the conformity of the surfing's Kremlin and reinvent ourselves in the image of our outcast forefathers!
The Sea is certainly the Papa's brother but he claims no linage to the industry that alienated his heroes.

PAPA found the Selvedge yard but has the Selvedge found the Papa?

Hey Folks if you haven't read the Selvedge yard then you should. There's so much incredible stuff out there to absorb but only so much time to acquire it. The Papa appreciates that every time you believe you have a handle on COOL you turn a corner and there's a whole new universe out there to understand. This site is a must to read, packed with so much reference, essential to the essence of the vibe.
Man, the Papa will be tied up for weeks working his way through this one.

Vintage Leather Jacket update...

As a struggling artist and part-time shopboy the Papa laments the day he returned from Tokyo and stopped recieving those mega paypackets to help the Japanese develop replica vintage. However as a vintage sartorial enthusiast the Papa always tries to keep up to date with what going on up there in Sakurasville. This posting is a few choice selections from the FEW.





As you would expect these jackets are absolutely beautiful but we tend to think of the Japanese as the only ones capable of producing such exacting replicas... The Papa begs to differ! Papa Nui would enjoy taking this opportunity to introduce to you, David Himmel, Vintage dealer from Toronto Canada. A giant in supplying vintage to the world, David has realised a dream to reproduce insanely gorgeous leather jackets. His inspiration is drawn from a lifetime of collecting leathers and his particular angle is to recreate the kind of jacket George Raft would have worn in his truck cabin in the filming of "They Drive By Night". He has also worked successfully with Hollywood to ensure their historical research is correct on such projects as the film 'Amelia'(Amelia Earhart)which will grace our cinemas soon.



Keep an eye out for David's work by following his magnificent blog, 'The Art of Vintage Leather Jackets'. Of course none of this traditional craftsmanship comes cheap but if you have ever come to the conclusion that you need the 'ONE' leather jacket of your lifetime then perhaps you need to be talking to David. David's attentiveness to the miniscule details that define the Zen of making leather jackets is second to none.

Mini Simmons USN styling

The Papa is once again inspired!!

Papa Nui's pal, Mr Fishfry, has agreed to help the Papa shape a new board. The object of this activity is to expand on the Papa's facination with the 1940's and in particular the board designs of vintage surfboard guru, Bob Simmons. The period following World War II was a time of great experimentation in surfboard design and Simmons was one of those remarkable surfing free thinkers who during the war worked for the Douglas Aircraft Company out in Santa Monica. He applied to surfboard design the technology and materials that he was exposed to at the plant and in conjuction with his enlightenment via a US Navy publication by one of the finest US naval architects, Lindsey Lord, a PHD from MIT who did an intensive study on planing hulls, Simmons was able to introduce this unique hull idea to surfboard design. The Navy had sought an ideal width and length shape for quick lift, maneuverability and speed. Lord maintained the study was solid information and a new, not previously known, naval science. The book was full of graphs, complex equations and recommended a new material to strengthen lightweight planing hulls; fiberglass and resin. The form developed was simple parallelism, with an ideal length-width ratio number called aspect ratio, used in wing design...From experimenting with this new technology Simmons influenced surfings development like few have ever done. It has been said that the greatest single contribution to the evolution of the modern surfboard was the introduction of the light board by Bob Simmons.
Todays take on Simmons' revolutionary developments is the Mini-Simmons, a cut down board applying the same principals from the vintage aquatic US NAVY technology.
It is this little baby that has the Papa so fired up! Pictured below is a beautiful example pulled from Tristan Mausse's blog "Mini- Simmons World Religion" and shaped by Paulo Jacinto. Reader's of PAPA NUI SAYS... will be familiar with the Papa's 9'6" sea-log shaped by Dain Thomas of Sea Surfboards and appreciate the connection between this beautiful little Simmons and the Papa's invasion barge board he uses regularly.

Obviously given the Papa's particular take of surfing, the Olive Drab resin tint on this Mini-Simmons is a must. But to personalise it even further the Papa feels a wartime stencil print is in order.
This print is based on Jack Kerouac's US NAVY service during the war.
Now as the summer is fast approaching and the beach breaks beckon, the Papa must get busy. But what shorts to wear while riding the Simmons? Should it be the olive green Birdwells or the khaki Under water demolition team numbers?

Finally is there any more seaworthy hat to keep the sun off the Papa's brow than a drab version of a traditional Dixie cup!