Hi,

I dont write much on here anymore. I write better when im bitter. Lately i’ve been happy.

Today one of my good friends sent me a link to an interview. I just watched it, it blew my mind. Because until now i’ve never heard a story told like this from someone who has died and come back.

It has made me want to write something.

I didn’t stumble across death like Ross Capiccioni did and for that I am grateful, very grateful. But so much of what this guy says I can relate too. I dont think about it much and I dont talk about it much, because it upsets my girl and I dont know if what I remember is real or parts of stories other people told me?… You know when you have heard a story so many times that even though you weren’t there you have painted the picture of it, and now it feels like you were there? No? Well, I am a little strange I guess. I came across death through a massive cardiac arrest. It came not from boozing or fiending or from being unhealthy, it was just a ‘bad luck from birth’ sorta deal. In short, my girl saw me purple, my whole body, face, purple. The medics almost gave up on me, said I was too far gone to bring back. I was choppered to Brisbane, I spent two days wrapped in foil on a bed of ice. My loved ones were told that there is a good chance I wont make it, if I was too live that I would likely be disabled in some form, speech, sight, movement and so on. Fortunately, I did survive and recover and until this moment I hadn’t really given what happened the respect it deserved. I am one of the luckiest people alive, because I am alive. The doctor’s told my mum that the odds of me living and recovering the way I did were about 1 in 50,000.

No idea why I would write this, but there it is. No, Actually, I do know why I wrote it. Ross Capiccioni’s story hit me hard. I guess this is me letting go of a little bit of whatever it i’ve been hanging onto.

Everyone wants to be comfortable. Comfortable in your own skin, comfortable in your new jeans, comfortable in life. In general, comfort involves letting your guard down and sinking into the situation and enjoying it. Comfort is great, I fucking love being comfortable, but never get too comfy. That comfortable little rug can get pulled from under you at any time. I have had some great oppurtunities in life, ones that I have worked hard to get, ones that have given me experience and provided some amazing times. But recently I realized that never ever take anything for granted… I try to avoid any negativity when ranting on RV, but here and there something negative can have a positive taint to it… a balance… I guess what I am trying to say is. Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Life was never meant to be easy. Money does not grow on trees. But the sun always shines, sometimes its just hidden behind the clouds for awhile.

Keep smiling. RV

If you’re bored maybe there is something wrong? I would die for a moment of boredom these days. Fuck, just lie on the grass and stare at the sky, thats got to be better than a chunk of boredom in your day. I used to get bored, because I was waiting for something to happen I guess. Nothing ever happened. You have to make boredom go away. You gotta make something out of nothing. If you are really bored, maybe think about that band you listened to too much in Highschool. Find there album and play it loud as fuck. There is no chance you can be bored singing the lyrics to a chunk of your highschool days.

What happened to the Stone Temple Pilots?

There is a whole lot of good that has come out of Creative Destruction. We have had a hell time travelling the world, meeting new people, seeing new places, but one of the best things to see is the progress of our mate Duncan Macfarlane.

You cant leave him alone with his camera for a second. He will self portrait the shit out of himself

I first got a look at Duncan’s photography through Stab Magazine’s little weeds project. There was a lot to like about the project, and amongst the masses of creative kids there was a handful that were truly ruling. There was the winners, and they surely deserved their spots. The likes of Riley Blakeway, Mike Jennings and Matt O’Brien. But it was this hobo looking kid and his camera that slowed down my clicking… ”Hold up right there… Shit, I dig this guys stuff… I fuckin love bluebottles”…  As Creative Destruction took flight and we headed south for Chapter 3, we teamed up with Surfing World magazine. I spoke with Vaughan about what photographer we could get onboard, Hilts was our obvious choice. Outside of his skills, Hilts brings the high vibes to the road. We wanted to build Creative Destruction around the Good times. But Hilts was out, loaded up working with Rasta… We were kinda stumped. Vaughan mentioned some old salts from around the area, but I took a gamble and threw out Duncans’ name. Vaughan was all about it and within a few days Duncan was crashed on the couch alongside the pen-weilding city cat, Mike Jennings. We were out on a limb with 2 of the new kids… One had a beard of pubes that belonged on the front porch of a 70′s porn actress the other rocked up with himself and his healthy head of hair. I liked them both… After a few days of sleeping on the couch, sleeping in the back of my wagon and all without a single whinge, I started to realize how much of a trooper Duncan was. He was bringing the good vibes that CD relied on. More importantly he was nailing shots. Surf shots, land, water. Scenics, Lifestyles. The kid was here to get the job done and everyone agreed that… ‘this Duncan kid is alright’… Since then we have had Dunk’s onboard a few trips and he has been consistently sharpening the tools of his trade, to a point now where has been handed Surfing Magazine’s Follow the light award. So on behalf of all us ratbags here at Runamuk Visuals, Congrats mate.

Here is the collection of photo’s that won Dunks the award.

I wonder what would happen if everyone just did what they wanted?

Right now, I could happily shit my pants, but my girl would think im a grub and I’d have to deal with the result eventually. There is only so long you can leave a turd in ya pants. But my son does it all day and he’s ruling, he thinks its great! Take the concept to a bigger scale. If everyone in the world who was currently doing something they didn’t enjoy just stopped and started doing something they did enjoy I wonder what would happen? after a few days, a few months, a few years… I reckon it would be amazing.

Anyhow, I better go to the toot

There’s nothing quite like free shit.

There’s two sides to the concept. There is the item itself which is great, but its the gesture which I love the most. Not like the local Radio station giving out choccy milk on the side of the road, that’s free shit at its lowest. The best free shit comes without an agenda, its just free.

I am lucky enough to get a few free magazines sent to me each month. I love magazines, the better the magazine the better the morning shit. simple. Of these mags there is one that has become something I collect. They have their own pile, I love the little fuckers. They are Surfing World. It has a lot of heart and no bullshit. The advertising is minimal yet remains relevant to the content of the mag to an extent where I actually stop and look at them. Each edition feels like a much loved project and every element is there because it was intended to be.

Fuck I can ramble… The other day the latest one got stuck in the good side of my letterbox and landed on the ground on the bad side of my letter box. Ive barely made a start, but I know its a corker, the team in it is rad, the surfers, the writers, the photographers… It is  a Book that I reckon you can read by its cover, here’s proof

Look at the thing… So good to see pulled back photos again

Other than the magazine itself it comes with Mooney and Jimmy K’s new flick. Its a joyous little video and they have continued to tell a story like they did in their debut film. Jimmy’s really got himself a style and its needed to set yourself apart from the Rat race. Props Jimmy! Monkey Mountain also comes strapped to the mag, a film by Maria De Jesus Gonzalez and it comes from outside the box of your usual surf video… Some of it I loved, some of it got under my skin a tad, but it was refreshing and different and there was some amazing waves in it… I think its the sort of film that I will watch in a years time and say… ‘I was tripping back then, this thing is unreal‘… But until then hindsight remains a motherfucker.

I reckon it’ll be the best 12 bucks you’ll spend this week.

I woke up this morning. Drove to the beach. Walked the path and stood on the same crest and looked at the ocean the same way that I did with my Dad most weekends. It wasn’t til hours later I realized its 3 years since he went to heaven. Hey Dad, you should see how beautiful Ana looks with our little bub in her belly. Love ya. x

If you havent told your oldies you love em in awhile, give em a call, let them know you do. x

I usually avoid the big issues.

Not because I dont care… I care a bundle, but until I have the power to do something im not willing to sit back and preach… Preachers shit me. I can look at the traffic this place attracts  and we have been bumping well over 1000 unique visitors per day for months now. I think we have got to a point where this little place on the internet can be used to help change things for the better.

Earth does not need us to survive, yet without Earth we cannot survive. We need to start looking after the place. We are currently the biggest pest on the planet.

Fuckin’ Suits

My mum is something special.

She never followed the crowd. Her life came from her creativity. My earliest memories of mums creative ways, come from when I was about 6, Mum would be down stairs of our old Queenslander in Southport cutting out patterns, she would then do hand-drawn artwork on chamoi… I didn’t know shit but what mum was doin was way ahead of her time, I do remember her picking up an Australian Fashion award and getting to sit in the girls change rooms out the back of the catwalk though… Little did they know... I remember one fashion show mum put on when we lived in either Lennox or Ballina and it was to the ‘Love Cats’ by the Cure… It was bad ass… Mum Ruled way back then and she still does now… Against the grain is the only way my mum strolls… She bought fresh fruit and Vegtables to Hastings street and fuck she put the toffee noses out of joint… ‘Get rid of this market lady’… But Mum loves a battle, she rarely loses, she will scare the shit out of you if you dont have you dont come prepared to scrap… I know that all to well, fuck we’ve had some gnarly scraps… 2 weeks of silence, then we laugh and get over ourselves… But this fresh fruit and veg came in the form of a little Cart surrounded by a beautiful little English garden, at the time I thought it was kinda wack, but in hindsight it was fucking amazing and just another feather in mums cap, or chopstick in her hair…

Today we had breaky together on the deck, she left a handful of photos and all my old report cards. This one above is so real I almost remember the day… I’ll never be able to find a pair of boardies like my star shorts.

Love ya Mum, I thank you for a lot of things but its the creative and passionate elements of my brain I owe you for…  Love Jacko xo

The RV review… Who would of thought that we would have the audacity, the hide, to critique stuff… Stuff? any stuff, good stuff, tastey stuff, comfy stuff, entertaining stuff… morsels, trinkets… Anything that we stumble upon in our day to day lives…

I payed $40 for a terrible piece of steak a week ago… So this concept (if it can be called that) comes in spite of a terrible piece of steak, a carboard like steak, damn! the Royal Mail would lay down a better slab of beef than that unnamed (Quamby) place… We will avoid dabbling with the negatives, instead focus on the daily moments that can turn a bad day good. Negativity is rife, so the RV Review is going to flow with happy joy, glorious fucking happy joy… Then again, a bad steak is gonna cop it.

Bean Drop… Dunks put me onto the best coffee in my home town today. A blow-in from Sawtell took me away from my routine, my morning comfort zone of Tewantin’s Gloria Jean and into a fine little place at the lower part of Noosa Hill.

I tied up my dog, no dramas. 1 point. Service with a smile. 2 points. Regular Cap for $3.50. 3 points. Table top Space Invaders. 4 points. Damn fine coffee. 5 points.

A note from Dunks: Try the Bagel with cream cheese & jam

5 STARS.

In theory I dont know what 5 stars really is, this is the first time i’ve put a figure on something like this. However, I love coffee, I love coffee in a sad way, I think about it before I got to bed sometimes. I’ve travelled to a lot of countries in the last few years and fuck it, im putting this mornings cuppa right up there with the best, im stoked to know there is top coffee just down the road… Chopper once said, and he said it well. ‘Credit where credit’s due Jimmy’. So the Bean drop sits at 75 Noosa Drive, Noosa Heads and it is now the highest mark of the RV review.

“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King