Beach Party

Come on in, Speedo wearers, the water's fine: Your skimpy little swimsuits are legal now. For more than 30 years, this quaint little Victorian-themed resort at the southern tip of New Jersey said no to "skintight, formfitting or bikini type" bathing attire on males over the age of 12.

Not at all! On the contrary, I was impishly pleased. The reactions of the public showed me that the film worked and was touching the primeval fears of the audience. The greatest thing a film director can achieve is a film that works on a very fundamental level. Besides, I also increased the pleasure in bathing for many people: after seeing the film, they even organized little competitions on the beaches to see who dared to go furthest.

The island is idyllic. White, white fine sand beaches, clear blue water and quaint little villages around the island with the best restaurants in the world. The food is mostly french, and very expensive, but truly amazing. That was the hardest part - picking the restaurant for the evening. We were about 2 miles from the Gustavia port - the main town on the island. Loaded with mega yachts and some of the best high end shopping in the world. The island is 2 miles by about 10 miles long with about 6,000 permannet residents.

The California Coastal Records Project is now online. It is a set of photographs of the entire California coast, from Mexico to Oregon, taken in October 2003. I love it.

I was surprised to find that, on the border, Mexico is more developed than the U.S.

This is Aliso Beach. The straight side. The middle. The gay side.

My favorite weekend spot is seen here.

The festival’s name is derived from the local term for sardine fingerlings, and everyone in attendance enjoys a beach party with dorome cuisine washed down by local sake, albeit at a slower pace. Other events included a Dorome Dance by the kids, a fishing boat parade, and a chin-don performance. Hey! Chin-don bands, food and drink on the beach, and women who can knock back a liter of sake in 10 seconds—I know where I’m going to be this time next year!

Seat up, Paddle up, let us go, this is the formal jargon for the peddlers when we were practicing, the team of our dragon boat club. Years after years, thousand of people had participated into this traditional water sports, and enjoy fun and exciting moment at dragon boat festival. Almost all Canadian adopt the ancient Chinese tradition of dragon boat racing as their own. Search "dragon boat" on the Internet, you’ll find over a third of the sites are from Canada. The International Dragon Boat Racing Community considers Canada a world power. Our women and international mixed team are ranked number one in the world. . We're good at it (naturally). We obviously love it..

The beaches at Cancun are the most popular among tourists of Quintana Roo. Their beauty is an irresistible invitation to a totally unique holiday. Some of the most outstanding among the many available options are: towards the north, Las Perlas, Linda, Langosta, Tortugas and Caracol; towards the east, Chac-Mool and El Rey, among others.

So what to do? I don't know how other attorneys handle it, but I know that when this stuff starts getting to me, I need a break. It does not have to be a long one, but I need to get out and spend a day with a fly rod, going for large trout or silver salmon. Or maybe with a rifle trying to get a moose or a caribou. Unfortunately, trout season is closed (as is moose and caribou and the salmon are not running yet. We have not reached breakup yet (this is where the ice goes out of the lakes), although the rivers are fairly clear. I think this is proof that I need to get a good 4-weight rod and go after some grayling. A day on a river, smoke a cigar, drink some Scotch. Don't answer the phone and think about perfecting that backcast. Just don't know how likely it will be that happens anytime soon. What other coping strategies for the stress of this job does anybody out there use?

IT looks like the rumored romance between Brad Pitt and his sexy “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” co-star, Angelina Jolie, is for real. Despite denying any love connection was made on the set of the movie — or that any romantic feelings between the two caused the split between Pitt and wife Jennifer Aniston — Pitt has joined Jolie and son Maddox on vacation in Africa. Photos have appeared in the London Sun of the couple walking on a romantic beach “in an African country,” possibly Tanzania, with Maddox trailing along. One picture...

I love this particular area of the country. If you've never been to Florida's Gulf Coast, you are missing out on some of the cleanest, most beautiful beaches that our nation has to offer, bar none. The sand is the exact same color as confectioner's sugar, and nearly as fine. The water is beautiful, crystalline blue in the shallows, deepening to a truer emerald as the seafloor drops away, as the Gulf gets deeper. And there are shallows - in many places along the Gulf Coast, you can walk hundreds of yards from shore and never get water above your waist, or you can find a convenient sandbar on which to sun your buns, look at sand-dollars, crabs, and schools of fish, or just generally gallivant around and act a fool.

In town to speak about Social Security, Bush told the crowd: “I want to thank the mayor for being here _ Lyda Ann Thomas greeted me coming in. I said, ‘Do you still have Splash Day?’”

The crowd laughed. “You have to be a baby boomer to know what I’m talking about,” Bush said. The crowd laughed again.

Splash Day once marked the end of school and the beginning of summertime fun. The city backed off from it many years ago when it turned a little too wild, says Christy Benson of the Galveston Chamber of Commerce. It later became a party day for gays and lesbians.

Sarasota Bay could become the testing waters for a floating bus service connecting downtown Sarasota, Mote Marine Laboratory and St. Armands Key.

Whether the pilot project actually casts off -- and when -- depends on the city of Sarasota's luck in securing a federal or state grant to subsidize it. The precise costs haven't been calculated, but could easily surpass $1 million.

Welcome to H2uhO. Or H2 - oh no! We will be looking at water sports activities that go wrong. There are a bunch of folks out there that get in trouble on the water and this will be the place to find out more about them, There is trouble not just on the water but in the moutians ,streams, rivers and in your own hometown. What the heck we may even post info about tuff luck in space. If something goes wrong, you can find out more about it here.

Seattlest learned to sail at the Center for Wooden Boats' sailing school last summer, and en route to each lesson we tromped past the work-in-progress Pirate. Since we are plum ignorant about wooden boats, the Pirate inspired us to think things like, "Wow, uh, that one looks kinda un-done."

Last year, my senior class and I traveled down to the south of Thailand for our senior excursion, kayaking and snorkeling at some of the tourist islands in Pangna, Phuket, and Krabi. Below are pics of the islands and the Andaman Sea, taken just a few months before the tsunami hit.

Continuing south we will check out the famous 17-mile drive of Monterey, the beaches of Big Sur, the famous Hearst Castle in San Simeon, and the beautiful coastal city of Santa Barbara. Then it’s on to L.A. and the famous beaches such as Venice, Newport, Manhattan and Laguna.

Wind continues to be a factor in the overall fishing, however, the marlin show has been extraordinary for this early in the year. It is unusual to have enough fish at this time to actually get enough shots to merit attempting the flyrod. The yellowfin tuna have appeared and the catch numbers are climbing every week. What is missing is the sardina and mullet usually found along the beaches. Of course, that not only makes the beach fishing tough, with no bait for chum on the boats, it changes the strategy dramatically for the fly-rodder.

As best as I can tell the photos were taken at least 2 years ago in the fall. I like this photo because you can see people sunbathing on the Diag.

I'm trying to imagine my father on a topless beach, and I'm having a hard time picturing it. Not because dad's a prude (quite the opposite, actually).

It's because I can't imagine him being able to control himself. I'm picturing something akin to the behavior of the Anaheim Angels Rally Monkey. If the Rally Monkey was randy. And touching himself. In places we won't talk about.

The problem is, Miss America may have seen its day. Women in swimsuits competing for scholarship money used to be exciting TV. (Remember how I Dream of Jeannie's Barbara Eden wasn't allowed to show her belly button while wearing her genie ensemble because it was considered too risque?)

Well I've had quite the week. Josh's brother and his girlfriend came down to visit from Alaska for a few days. That was fun because we got to do a bunch of touristy stuff that we never do. It's pretty easy to take Santa Cruz for granted when you're here everyday so it's nice to have to get out and do fun stuff. We took them to Natural Bridges to see the butterflies but they were all gone. Then we took them to the pier to see the sea lions and what do you know, they were gone too. I couldn't believe it! There's ALWAYS sea lions!

I wish I was there once again. My good friend Whisky is in Turkey now, and I imagine will soon be following a similar trail to the Gallipoli beaches as I did. Though I have done it before it seems to me that this pilgrimage is something that can be done again and again. I hope to stand on those beaches once more in the years again.

Now guests at the Waikiki Parc Hotel can get a sneak peak inside the surfing mystique with the appointment of the property's first-ever Director of Surfing, Hawaiian Fire's owner Garrett Valles. Valles will serve as the perfect ambassador for hotel guests looking for a truly authentic surf experience as they are introduced to the sport's rich culture and history.

This unique and exciting appointment will give Waikiki Parc guests access to the best and most secluded surfing spots on Oahu as well as teach them how to master this ancient sport of Hawaiian Kings. Waikiki Parc guests will receive transportation to and from the remote and semi-private Kalaeloa Beach, surf amenities (soft surfboard, a leash, reef shoes), a shade tent with chairs, and a two-hour lesson. Hawaiian Fire maintains a three-to-one student teacher ratio or better, making certain students receive personal attention in the water. One-on-one lessons are also available. Prices start at $119.00 for a three-hour experience.

I’ve been telling Jesse for a week or two now that I want to go to the Tulip Festival that goes on just a little south of here, and yesterday was the first day our schedules coincided. We invited my brother and his girlfriend Brittany along, and they wanted to come as well, so we packed into Jesse’s car and made a day of it. The tulips were fabulous - all the different colors lined up in the fields were breathtaking, and spending time together was hilarious. Andrew and Jesse both have a sort of dry, sarcastic wit, and Brittany’s just sweet and fun. We ended up spending time at the tulips and then headed back up toward Bellingham to scout out a somewhat uninhabited beach a friend told Jesse and I about. After sunbathing for a while (all four of us crammed on a little blanket in the sand got some funny looks from the few passersby we encountered), we went back to my place for pizza and the four of us split up for an hour or so before meeting back at a movie theater to see “The Interpreter.”

Our more action packed days included scuba diving and Nate got his PADI certification (so Garth - this means you are coming to meet us in Vietnam, you realize. We will do some scuba, OKAY?) Other highlights included the Full Moon party which was a sort of wannabe Burning Man, but with more cops and Europeans. And some Thais. We actually found some good drum n bass and some bad hip hop - but it was more than welcome. The setting was beautiful, on the beach nestled between two outcroppings of rock and a big moon overhead.

"What's so ludicrous about windsurfing?" asks Real [a Slug Man expert]. "It's effete -- which is another way of saying it's feminine." Yet guys are forced to contend with such inane stereotypes. (Have you ever tried windsurfing? It's about as easy as riding a shark.)

He makes it sound like South Beach circa 2005 is Cuba on a bad day. Are things really that bleak for poor Octavio? Let's read further and find out.

- Once applied, lipstick will never rub off. Even while scuba diving.

This past Sunday was such a beautiful day that I just had to pull my 14-foot inflatable catamaran-kayak out of the closet, toss it into the back seat of my Neon, and head a half-mile down the road to Lake Carnegie. Engineered specifically for Princeton’s crew team, Lake Carnegie’s shallow calmness makes it one of the best rowing lakes in the world.

There were a few other kayakers out and about. These two are rowing past the Harrison Street bridge. The “BRING IT ON!” sign is a challenge to those schools who might dare to go up against the Princeton University rowers.

About a half mile past the dam, we came across our first bridge to cross the river. This bridge was plenty high enough to travel under. I think if we do this trip again, this bridge will be the place to launch at to avoid having to contend with the dam. After this bridge, we paddled for another hour and a half or so and then stopped for lunch. Finding a place to stop for lunch was not easy. Most of the banks were very steep… making it difficult to stop and get out. We finally found a small creek off of the river. We paddled into the creek and found a place to get out. We sat there and ate our lunch. Mine consisted of a tuna lunch pack, an apple and a kudos bar. You definitly develop an appetite paddling for hours. We walked around shore for a while and check out the big deer tracks, and then got back into the canoe.

“Pollution from runoff and combined sewage overflows, both of which occur after rainstorms, make it unsafe to take a small watercraft like a canoe out on the portion of the Mystic that flows through Somerville for a couple of days after a heavy rainstorm,” he said.

Casio announces the G-Shock GW-400CJ-1JF. The Radio Wave controlled wristwatch is aimed at water sports consumers. The new Casio G-shock features a vibrating alarm to be felt by the wearer even in noisy conditions.

Paden said the billboard will not be near the Shafer home and he also has written Orange officials, urging them to adopt an ordinance that prohibits chaining dogs or limiting the length of time that a dog can be tethered.

“The fact is, an unprovoked attack is a calling card of a chained dog,” Paden said.

In Virginia, only Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Northampton County restrict chaining, according to PETA. Norfolk and Northampton limit chaining to 12 cumulative hours in a 24-hour period, Paden said, while Virginia Beach limits the practice to three hours.

Chaining restrictions have spread across the nation in the past few years. In early 2003, about 40 localities had adopted such ordinances, Paden said. Today, 68 localities have them on the books, he said.

Oh, where to begin with all the fun preppy bathingsuits this year? You have several (somewhat diverse) sources for preppy swimwear and zillions of choices of colors and styles. Let’s start with J.Crew’s adorable seersucker set. Pieces are sold separately with a hipster tie bikini ($34); french tie bikini top ($36); and matching bikini skirt ($38). My previous rantings (see earlier posts) about the perceived decline of J.Crew quality notwithstanding, I HAVE found their swimwear to be well-made in recent seasons.

At the beginning of the 19th century, sail was supreme. The leading manufacturers of sailing ships were unassailable, their coffers overflowing with cash. Steamships were pathetic little river runners. At the end of the 19th century, steam reigned supreme, and not a single dominant player from the early part of the century made the transition. Their culture simply wouldn't allow it--they were sailing ship manufacturers, not steam ship builders.

What a week!! Last week, I went to 3 different beaches: one in San Juan,Batangas, one in Subic, and one in Puerto Galera (White Beach!)..

So, we checked out early *eeek* and came to Kuta, pretty much the tourist place. It’s fairly busy, but not as bad as I’d thought. Loads and loads of bead shops, cheap food (almost thai prices!) and we found a decent hotel with aircon, tv and nice bathroom for less than where we were staying before (11 pounds a night here, 12 at the other place). Now Emily doesn’t have to inspect the bathroom for unwanted creatures before she uses it haha!

There are lots of people here for surfing - I think I’d like to come back here and stay longer, learn to surf and explore the island more. The locals seem nice and friendly like Thai people, but it’s too early for me to say I feel entirely comfortable here yet!

Man, what a day. Just sitting here on Neal’s boat, Jacqueline, and waiting for him to get here. Should be a perfect day for sailing on Lanier, nice and warm with a decent breeze. Also nice to have a break in pace from the pressures of work.

I went sailing on “The Boate” yesterday in the San Francisco Bay, thanks to the wonderful and gracious Cap’n Eric Haller. MJ and Chris were also in attendance, and we shared in an amazingly great, beautiful, and exhausting 10 hour day.

If you and, let us say, your sister, are trying to carry a kayak with no handles, such that you must each cradle one end and move along in an ungainly shuffle, it is wise to refrain from cracking jokes at every second step, because otherwise you will have to stop at every third step and hastily lower the kayak to the ground before you drop it from laughing so hard.

It will also take you forever to carry the kayak from the clubhouse to the waterpolo pitch, and everyone will wonder why you took so long.

Salish aboriginal legends indicate that there has been a large sea creature living in south central British Columbia's Lake Okanagan long before the arrival of the white man. According to folklore, the lake monter was originally a demon possessed man who murdered a local man named Old Kan-He-K (who lent his name to Lake Okanagan). As punishment for the homicide, the gods turned the murderer into a sea serpent who would be stuck at the scene of the crime for all of eternity. Out of fear that the creature, known as N'ha-a-itk, would rise out of the...

Sitting atop a knoll on Dewey Lake, a “country retreat” awaits guests in the Irish Hills of Southern Michigan. The Irish Hills is a jewel nestled amongst clear blue lakes, red barns, botanical gardens, and quaint towns. This century-old home, furnished with antiques and original kerosene chandeliers, has five guest rooms, each with queen bed and fireplace, and one with jacuzzi. A large deck and glass enclosed porch provide a pleasant place to enjoy a full breakfast or to just relax. There are paddleboats, canoe and bonfires by the lake....

This weekend saw us practicing canoe polo again, on Saturday and Sunday.

Me demonstrating the superglue-butter method of paddling (feathered blades) to the intrepid canoeists, with some of Valletta in the background.

It has come to my attention that it would be a possibility to entice the nubile girls we are after to post bikini pics if perhaps others were to do it first, specifically me and possibly others of the brotherhood as well. Now as I am not sure about this and I have been pondering it for well over two minutes I figured I would make a post and see who amongst us is game for the challenge. Either others of the brotherhood or women who would take that challenge. Long live Solitarianism!!

As it was going to be a long Easter weekend, a group of us decided to go to the beach in Tauranga. Boasting to be one of the best beaches in New Zealand, we set forth on our journey with high expectations. Even the weather focus of “Light showers on Saturday and Monday, HEAVY rain on Sunday” did’nt dampen our spirits.

Half an hour later I lost the rest of my puritanical culture. When in Rome, I thought, and unclipped my top, let it fall to the side of my towel. I sunbathed topless the entire week, even nude on the more secluded sand dune beaches, let the light and water kiss my body, wondered at the ways I felt more free, more myself. I ignored the Fish and Chips, too, when me and my tanning Ta Tas hit town, found the odd Spanish dives serving boiled and salty potatoes with spicy mojo sauce, paella with sausage and mussels, odd stews and breads. And after such...

The Pumpabike (£445) claims to offer the most exhilarating ride at high speed, as well hours of pleasure. How nice! Basically, the Pumpabike is a lightweight contraption that can be used in a wide variety of water conditions. If you enjoy water sports and like to have fun while you exercise, the newly-released Pumpabike is sure to turn heads at the lake or beach as you cruise at speeds up to 18 miles per hour! The best thing about the device is the way you operate it by bouncing up and down in the...

We were expecting it to be colder, so we wore jeans and t-shirts, and were quite disappointed that we didn’t wear our swimsuits. Oh well, hopefully there will be time for another excursion, maybe after exams.

That night we discovered what Utila was all about as we talked with several people who were scuba diving instructors or who took frequent vacations to the island. The majority of the people who live there have a passion for diving and for drinking. This is an everyday occurrence. As I talked with one of the guys I asked him if he could choose to do anything in the world, what would he do. He told me that he loved how he was living his life on the island, and would choose to do the same for a long time....

I awake with a smile; my naked day lies before me. My nudespotting holds no discretion, though females would be much nicer to view. I start with a sojourn to a nude beach on the outskirts of San Francisco. Normally, this would be a place bustling with major nude activity. One problem: It's a cold-ass day at the end of winter. Everyone at the beach is fully clothed. Some wear ski jackets.

A 54-foot fin whale that washed ashore in the Sandbridge section of Virginia Beach on Easter weekend died from injuries sustained in a collision with a ship, according to results of a preliminary necropsy.

Mr Bray said he hoped to have another try at the voyage, and is also planning a kayak voyage across the 66-mile Bering Straits, between Alaska and Asia.

We had a lot of fun – interesting cliffs, lovely deserted beaches (so you don’t need swimwear) and sky-blue sea, Great cave (60 minutes of caving up to 90 meters below ground, 700 meters long, we were alone in it, it was absolutely quiet and dark in it - they lent us just helmets and torches), several wineries - what a nice region!

i recently returned to the USA. And 2 days ago made it back to my home in St. Louis. New Zealand was wicked awesome. I ended up traveling with my friend Tim for a month in our car and it went very well. All around the south island, seeing the sites, whitewater kayaking and rock climbing.

After that I made it to the Bliss-Stick kayak factory on the north island. I worked here for about 3 weeks doing some good ole fashion manual labor of making kayaks. As well I started doing the flash content of their webpage. There have been quite a few things set in motion, and hopefully within the next week some of the major flash changes will go up. You can see the latest snapshots of the work im doing on the site here.

My mother describes the knitted swimsuits she used to wear as a girl. Something like this, I wonder, but with a cap?

I did it.

I faced the looming three-way mirrors and the harsh fluorescent lighting to try on swimsuits. And not just “swimsuits” but (gasp!) bikinis. Which I haven’t dared even try on for years.

We just got back from spending the long weekend at Myrtle Beach. We had a great time and managed to stay ahead of Hurricane Francis! By the time it reached us we were on our way home and it was downgraded to a tropical storm so we just saw a bit of rain and wind. It followed us home and now we're getting a lot of rain and wind here too!

The show was well attended but I thought there were fewer people than last year. Tackle manufacturers were also thinner on the ground than before. It was good to meet all the other coaches and a chance to do some valuable networking. As a result of a chat with Ian Welch of RMC Angling, I hope to be fishing for catfish on Split Lakes at Yateley this summer.

the lake was huge!! i couldnt believe it. the thing that sets this lake apart from other lakes, is that the local people here live on it. not near it, but on it in houses on stilts. there are several small villages in different parts of the lake where small communities of people live in these above water homes. everything they do is actually on the lake. even their gardening. they have these huge floating gardens where they grow tomatos, onions, flowers, and other crops. it’s amazing to see these gardens, rows and rows of different...

Courts sided against MTBE producers in two California settlements that put the big producers on edge. In 2002, seven companies, including ChevronTexaco and Lyondell, settled for $69 million to clean up MTBE in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Then in 2003, 18 companies, including Exxon Mobil and Shell, settled a suit brought by Santa Monica, Calif., agreeing to spend at least $200 million on a filtration system to remove MTBE from the city's water.

When your having a bad day, I always say think of Chickens in Bikinis. For some reason I think a chicken in a bikini would be quite hilarious. I mean after all why would a chicken need to wear a bikini. Over a few years it became a saying of mine. But finding a picture of chickens in bikinis is hard. So my sister drew me this.

She figures this is what chickens would do on a beach vacation.

Like any woman, I've had a conflicted relationship with my body. But, I've seen what's out there and, frankly, I'll take not quite filling out a sweater any day over most of the options out there - from leaky silicon implants to big breasts that look more like they belong on the business side of a cow than in a v-neck sweater. Comparisons like that, though, are as much a part of the problem as anything else. At some point, we've got to stop looking to the television and the promenading beach girls to get our sense of what's ok. I don't know how we get there, but high risk breast implants certainly aren't the right direction. Why can't everyone be 30? It's the trauma of youth that makes us all this crazy...

Most thoughts people do not think of sailing as a high tech activity. I mean, look at it, you are using a principle that has been in effect since before the Egyptians were kings. You take a sheet and you hold it up and let the wind blow you around for a while. Well, That is not why people sail, and I know that the previous statement is an over simplification of the experience of sailing.

Sailing has come a long way from the time of sextants and other navigational devices. Even though people still use compasses I didn't see any of the officers of the Navy use a Sextant to find out where we were on this blue marble called Earth, when I was in the service. Within the last 10 years the government has allowed the private sector of the world to use their Global Positioning satellites. Thus allowing people to start tracking where they are and where others are, by using GPS, or Global Positioning Systems. There are as many different styles...

Today we're heading up to Lake Tahoe, for some snow action. It's gonna be fun. It's been rainy the last couple of days but warm enough and rain here seems to equate to snow at Lake Tahoe so it's all good.

This was another pairing of Errol Flynn with Basil Rathbone - they would match swords in The Adventures of Robin Hood that same year (as in Captain Blood, from 1935; Govindini and I have actually been to the spot in Laguna Beach where they filmed the sword-fight between Flynn and Rathbone in Captain Blood ). This is a good place to mention that Flynn and David Niven were living together at the time in a bungalow on the Santa Monica beach - a bungalow they referred to as “Cirrhosis By the Sea” (they were both...

Over the weekend, Little Sis and I went kayaking on Saturday with one of the coaches, so that she could learn how to paddle, and on Sunday afternoon we had our first canoe polo practice. One of my friends from Uni brought three of his friends, so we had enough to play polo with. The wind was blowing a gale so I thought the coach would just give us a training session on land, but noooooo... lol... but he had us use the waterpolo pitch, which is the same size as a canoe polo pitch is supposed to be. It was sheltered enough that surface of the...

Surprisingly enough, only one person got hit in the head by a paddle, even though sometimes we had three or four kayaks all struggling for the ball... not surprisingly, I was the offending player... *sigh*

the next morning we were up at dawn, and on a bus towards the Brazil/Guyana border by 7. it was probably one of the more interesting border crossings i have ever made, though the crossing from Israel to Jordan rates first because of the starkness of the desert and all of the automatic weapons carried on both sides of the barbed wire fences. his crossing was quite opposite, with the bus stopping for us to get stamped out of Brazil, and then carrying us only a few hundred meters more, to a muddy river. nonplussed, we jumped into a canoe, and the...

Actually, thinking about web viewable satellite photos, it's a short step to imagine sat-porn. I predict that within the next five years someone will write pattern recognition software that looks for naked sunbathers and serves them up to adult amateur sites. Of course, if that happens, within six years someone will be marketing a sort of one-way reflective sunbathing pavillion that allows sun through, but is too shiney for cameras to see through. Just a thought, but don't say I didn't warn you…

Anyway, the product image itself shows a girl in a bikini on the little screen. Sunbathing. With her top down. So they're not exactly relying on your imagination to figure out the potentialities.

Last year, the shop’s founder and owner Mike Martino, along with his wife Caryn, joined forces with a local marine biology teacher to initiate an informal kayaking program for local high school students. For months, before Hurricane Ivan hit, 15-20 students would show up at Eco-Beach’s doorstep bright and early every Saturday morning, grab a sea kayak, and head for the water.

“They would come back exhausted…sometimes so tired they were practically falling over,” said Martino. “It was great. They got to enjoy nature and, at the same time, build their self-esteem…without spending a penny.”

Martino was amazed that the students showed up time and time again, not to mention at 7 a.m. on a weekend. “These kids were go-getters,” he said. “And, that’s what education is really all about…showing up, trying new things, and being persistent.”

And here's one of many pictures I took of Lake Tahoe from above 17,000 feet.

Crowds in Daytona Beach, Fla., enjoyed Bike Week’s messiest event in March of 2004 as women wrestled each other in a giant pool of coleslaw, according to Local 6 News. Sopotnick’s Cabbage Patch bar in Samsala sponsors the annual coleslaw wrestling matches as part of the Bike Week motorcycle festival that draws hundreds of thousands of bikers nationwide to the Daytona Beach area. The women who enter Sopotnick’s event wrestle each other in bikinis and less for a grand prize of $500. However, most of the...

The Beach Book is a collection of short stories from Melcher Media. But this is no ordinary beach read - it's waterproof, impervious to UV rays, greaseproof and stain-resistant. It's the latest in a series dubbed DuraBooks which use plastic resins rather than wood pulp or cotton fibers to make pages. The book is sewn together in a patented process that involves special thread and glue.

In addition to beachcombers, the company sees a market for bathtub readers, like myself, who they claim "often won't take a good book in with them for fear of destroying it." (I've never suffered from this particular form of anxiety however.)

So we've been in Ton Sai...it's apparently supposed to have one of the top 10 beaches in the world......it doesn't.....they lie. But then again it was hit by the tsunami so maybe that's why it doesn't look so hot anymore. This place is rock climber's paradise. From all over buff girls who could break my poor asian fram and toned europeans come to this place to test some of the best cliffs in the world - which is true. As for us??? We drank buckets. Mormo doesn't drink so he has Mormon mixer's...which is a cocktail of redbull and other strange liver...

When I used to live in San Diego, we would often end up at one beach or another in the summertime. One of the beaches was in Coronado. On the way from the parking lot, which was really the side of the road in suburbia, you had to walk thru some strangely shaped dunes. I remember onetime someone remarked that these oddly shaped dunes actually spelled out a word. I didn't actually believe them, but in typical Jason-fashion, I perpetuated the myth to others.

The moshing was fun, but you don't really get to enjoy the music when you’re at the area I'm at, unless your right by the barrier, as it provides you with support. I busy watching for people running into me during the mosh, at the same time from above, watching out for the damn body surfers. The body surfers always end up kicking you in the head/face when you least expect it. I really don't mind the body surfing, but some people just shouldn't be up there. If your too big, please don't body surf.

I'm actually surprised by the ratio of body surfers, I thought it'd be like a 9:1 ratio of guys to girls, but it turned out to be more like 1:1, an even number of girls went over my head as guys. It honestly makes me wonder, who really gets that violated up there, guys or girls. The girls seem to fly across fast to the front, while the guys slowly traverse atop the crowd. The audience where I was, had a majority of guys. Guys grab don't they? ughhh, I mean there was some fine ladies surfing up there. The guys that were body surfing above me were huge, damn; I'm just a small Asian boy in the middle of this massive crowd (I heard the crowd was at about 7,000 in capacity). At one point, I got fed up, and just tossed one of the surfers on the ground, he had probably 100lbs on me, so there was no way I would of been able to even keep him up there (for some reason space started to open up around me) even if I wanted to. The space that was opening up, was well... for the mosh-pit of course haha, oh man its fun in there, just running into people getting pushed around for no reason at all.

More coverage is the trend and swimsuits are starting to take on the look of streetwear. TNA and Salinas have brought out a cute, little, “skirtini,” that covers the bum nicely and goes great with a little cami for a day in town.

One-piece swimsuits are such a cut-up this year, just as they were last season. That fun, “monokini,” look, with cut-out sides, is hotter than ever. But seriously, look for some great, one-piece swimsuits that you can actually swim in. Hey, even us fashionistas have to keep in shape somehow.

My last day in Sydney (Saturday) was 30C (AND ITS Autumn !?!?)....so went to Manly Beach, with a german girl (Steffanie) that I had met. Enjoyed sunbathing and swimming in the sea....Which was good.....was sad to leave the Pink House....vowing to return soon (looked up on the internet at a cheap flights site and found a flight from London to Sydney for 410 (pounds !!!).....Sydney here we come !!!

“It is always pleasant to see young women sunbathing topless, provided that the women are attractive. But ironically, mainly elderly ladies sunbathe topless. This looks disgusting", says officer Ionut Polesku patrolling the beach in Constanta.

Before starting off, went to Sentosa Tanjong Beach yesterday with Edwin, Daniel, his friend, Winston and Arnie. Some coincidences happened, as well a little unhappiness arose but didn’t make it a point to sound out, especially billing matters for both lunch and dinner. I’m so sick and tired of the way they split the bill, especially how ‘ahem’ (shan’t say who) handle the process. Next time, I’ll make it a point that I sign the bill, they split the cost and pay me instead. Sigh. Although on dutch basis is good,...

Least physically challenging: sunbathing on Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia

Least physically challenging: sunbathing on the beach in Kaiteriteri

We picked up the rental car and headed from FT Lauterdale to South Beach. It was raining but warm. After we dropped our stuff off at Jason's parents condo we headed out for some dinner and beers.

The next few days were, awesome, sunny, warm, perfect beach weather. Oh yeah did I mention the beaches there are topless, another perk. We came home one night after an after party at Denny's as it was already gettign light out. Going to bed at 6:30am to get up at noon, is rough, but all good hard work has it's rewards. Other Highlights included gettign thrown out of a bar after we gave one of Jonathans army buddies a drink. But we snuck him into another bar Saturday night. We also met these two really cool chicks from Long Island, who were awesome to hang out with. Sunday night they came over for some Beer pong and a couple games of asshole.

After several days in Hua Hin, I went further south to Chumpon, where I took a boat to the tiny island of Koh Tao, in the Gulf of Thailand. I had visited this place two years ago, but lots had changed. It was much busier now, many new buildings and additions to hotels, and a new moron element: lots of young, male tourists, speeding on their rental motorbikes or trikes or even motorised skateboards on the narrow path in front of the beach. Or perhaps it’s just that I’m getting older. The beach was still wonderful, and the scuba diving...

During our time in Orlando, my family and I visited Sea World. At the manatee exhibit we were shown a brief film whose opening scene showed an American Indian paddling his canoe through pristine waters while the announcer informed the audience that the Indians "lived in harmony with nature."

i discovered the only thing more painful than a bikini wax this afternoon while lying on the table...a bikini wax while being forced to listen to sarah brightman.

With 10,000 acres of vineyards, farms, beaches, parks and forest, Pelee Island is almost any visitors dream island. Even though it is the southernmost inhabited point in Canada, over half of the 50 American states are north of Pelee, including Northern California. Pelee Island is on the same latitude as the prestigious wine regions of the world, including Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and Napa Valley, California. High winds blowing off the lake, a high number of frost-free days, and a deep soil base insure prime growing conditions for...

Other activities include fishing, trails for hiking, long sandy beaches and camping. A number of Bed and Breakfasts and restaurants are also available.

Anyway, here are the two photos I posted last night. The first one is a sunset from our last evening there. The sunsets over the ocean were really incredible, and they were different every evening. They were also really fast and I had to shoot quickly before the sun disappeared over the horizon. I probably looked a bit maniacal, alternating between taking photos low to the ground, or halfway in the water, or above the water trying to catch the reflection of the sky, or trying to get a shell or something in the foreground. In the end, many of the pictures came out looking pretty cliche. But I got a few I liked, including this one.

Paradise lost? No longer. Home to dramatic cliffs that plummet hundreds of feet to white sand beaches and aquamarine seas, the Channel Islands offer visitors the chance to experience pristine, undisturbed serenity only miles from the California mainland’s shores. The Channel Islands National Park and Marine Sanctuary, unique in its isolation from society, celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year as the nation’s 40th national park, inviting visitors to explore its sea coves, kelp forests and trails while...

Also, the game requires none of that exhausting tromping through the sand and horizontal diving stuff that all those hard-body volleyball players who flock to the Chicago beaches choose to endure. (And, frankly, who intimidate the few remaining molecules of athleticism right out of me). In fact, I don't think I'm going out on a limb here when I say that shuffleboard requires almost no cardiovascular fitness.

i dont know what it is about being home in Virginia Beach that drags up old wounds, old fears, old selfish desires to be seen and noticed and recognized.

Myrtle Beach is affectionately refered to by enlightened South Carolinians as "The Redneck Riveria." Alas, I am there.

A few obesrvations from my informed perch:

1. There are more American flags here than you can throw a stick at.

2. Should you decide to throw said stick, you will pummeled.

3. Sticks do not come cheap.

4. A rich redneck is still a redneck.

i don’t know how far back this tradition actually goes, but i vividly remember a weeklong trip to myrtle beach following my college graduation. i got scorched so bad one day that every called me the Lobster King. A few years ago, i spent a warm April day putting together a new basketball hoop…shirtless. 3 hours later i realized my mistake. That night was painful. The following night was one of the worst of my life as the itching was so bad i literally slept about 2 hours total.

Over the past few days we've had a lot of great papal trivia. There's the picture of John Paul II skiing; the stories of sneaking off to kayak during his pre-papal days; and the sinister vested interest of CBS News in having the pope die this year (run with it, NRO!).

My blog — without notifying me or asking my permission — made a decision based on poor impulse control and weak moral fiber and decided to run off for Spring Break to Daytona Beach with my Jeep and my wallet.

...on the other hand, I'm recalling one long-ago trip to Daytona Beach myself where good taste and/or discretion wasn't necessarily available on the menu.

We have made it to Herbert Bay, where we plan on drilling our second core. When I stand on deck and close my eyes I feel like I am on the shores of Lake Superior. A brisk breeze blows through my hair, and the sound of waves lap along the side of the boat. My face is warmed by the sun, which for the first time in four days, has shone through the clouds.

When I open my eyes, I see a most desolate landscape. The bay we are in is surrounded on three sides by cliffs ascending approximately 1000 feet, almost vertically, from the sea. There are the occasional small black beaches and I can see nine glaciers which terminate at the water's edge. The cliffs are topped by massive continental glaciers that cover about 99% of the island.

This is the first time since we left Maxwell Bay the sea has been calm. Today in the protection of the bay, only one foot swells greet us,and the wind blows at 20 knots. Through the deep blue shimmering water the occasional whitecap breaks the surface. Above the mountains, the sky is pale blue. A few cumulus clouds float overhead, while the ever lingering cirrus clouds hang in the eastern sky.

- Some really incredible beaches! One in particular: Playa Rincon, was absolutely gorgeous. Huge long beach, difficult to access, and as a result, very few people about. We saved this for our last day, on the 24th

Now we are home, and im very happy because i am back with my Alias DVD´s!!! its also just that much closer to Mallorca beach vacation!! well im goign to run along now and go swim suit shopping, so i hope everone has a nice weekend. there will be more pictures up soon.....peace out!

I don't know what the first guy is doing, but it was crazy looking. First, it was so windy that I had to brace against a rock to stay standing. It wasn't so much cold as it was windy. These guys are hardcore. I want to try it! Windsurfing always scared me, but I guess it may be easier than surfing. I don't know, I'm sure there is some lame debate about it. Either way, it was rad to see so many people. More photos came out of this, but these were two favorites.

We're considering Kiteboarding for our summer outdoor sport research project. If you're not familiar with it, kiteboarding (also called kitesurfing, or just kiting) is a "fusion" sport combining elements of surfing (done that), wakeboarding (check), and windsurfing (well, once). Local organization Seattle Kiteboarding Center has classes, rental gear, and bucketloads of enthusiasm to share with beginners. And lucky for you,...

The general wisdom is to start small at nearby beginner-friendly locations like Golden Gardens or Richmond Beach before one makes the pilgrimage down to the Mecca of kiteboarding/windsurfing known as Hood River. Seattlest has a friend-of-a-friend (and who doesn't?) who is an avid kiteboarder, so we'll see how much trouble we can...

Sprawl is a bit of a sore point for me. I come from a city (Virginia Beach) that is essentially a giant petri dish of sprawl gone wild. I’ve seen what can happen: overpriced, shitty homes in crowded subdivisions, overtaxed transportation systems, packed schools, local businesses pushed out in favor of mega-chains, loss of community identity. And now it’s coming to the area I live in now. All over hills are being leveled for subdivisions and mega-stores. Strip malls are popping up like weeds. I imagine if we end up leaving this area, the coming sprawl monster will be a large factor in our decision.

Follow these steps:

1. When at the beach, go only to beaches where topless bathing is permitted.

2. At such a topless beach, find a place to station yourself near several topless women who can all be seen with one glance.

3. Maintain observation of your "indicators" as long as you are on the beach.

If you detect an earthquake via the indicators, run for higher ground.

Of course it's also a very popular topless beach. So off we went, meter in hand, to prove that gravity did indeed still work. Ya know, for science.

Read on for more pictures and a story of the trip to Point Venus and beyond.

100 year old Jantzen Swimwear of Portland Oregon shocked swimwear buyers by the re-introduction of its classic ‘30s vintage swimwear for both men and women for the 2006 season. Desiner/Spokeman Sam "Speedo" Bulger said "The suits look depression era but are perhaps the most technologically advanced suits on the planet.

Call me even more naive, like the time he talked me into going to a nude beach with him, just friends and all, was I really so naive to not recognize his interest? And he did look great nude.

Today we're heading up to Lake Tahoe, for some snow action. It's gonna be fun. It's been rainy the last couple of days but warm enough and rain here seems to equate to snow at Lake Tahoe so it's all good.

That's the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains "in the back yard." Lake Tahoe is just on the other side.

Six cities, including Orlando and Daytona Beach, are asking for a combined $200 million to help build facilities for the Orlando Magic, NASCAR, Florida Marlins and three spring-training teams.

You see, about nine years ago, when my husband and I were going to school at Sam Houston State University, a friend of ours convinced us that we should go on the Kinesiology departments midnight full moon canoe. At least once, a month since time and SHSU began, the Kinesiology department has been going out on to the lake in Sam Houston State Park to canoe, with however many students signed up for the misguided adventure. Well, now we all know that if anything weird or bad is going to happen, if I am present and accounted for, then it will happen...

Because I was bored out of my skull by the fact that I was ironing for so long, I began to actually listen to the lyrics of the songs playing. And the Beach Boys came on, telling of how it would be so much ‘nicer’ if the couple could stay together, as a couple, all the time. I used to think of the song as just a little ditty with a not-particularly-catchy tune, but perhaps I was wrong; it’s got a lamenting side to it which is skillfully disguised by upbeat, smiley singing. It’s a fresh look.