Lattanzi (pictured) mid ride. Photo: Instagram @skymonkey5

Superhuman Brazilian bodysurfer on “verge of going viral” after “pulling off one of the most insane thing ever seen in Australian surf!”

By Chas Smith

2 years ago

"My goodness... wow!"

The World Surf League bills itself as “the global home of surfing” though, let’s be honest, surfing must look a certain way to be invited to sup under Santa Monica’s roof. The longboard division has been ruthlessly and maliciously destroyed likely thanks to Chief of Sport Jessi Miley-Dyer’s distaste for its champion Joel Tudor. The big wave division is a non-existent mess. Bodyboarders are forced to fend for themselves and bodysurfers are not even considered.

It should rankle the executive suite, therefore, that a Brazilian swimmer is “on the verge of going viral” after “pulling off one of the most insane things ever seen in the Aussie surf.”

Kalani Lattanzi who loves using his arms, abdomen and legs to slide waves kicked himself off suburban Sydney’s fine coast, days ago, and proceeded to catch a 25-footer.

Those watching were amazed calling it “One of the craziest things I have ever seen another human do…” and “my goodness, wow.”

You must watch here.

Lattanzi is no stranger to big bodysurf as he has stroked into both Nazaré and Jaws before.

But do you think all this attention paid to a bodysurfer, especially during the World Surf League Challenger Series’ Gold Coast Pro, this “verge of going viral” business, will rankle the aforementioned Jessi Miley-Dyer, Chief of Executives Erik Logan et. al.?

Do you image they’ll try to get their claws right in, fine and suspend Lattanzi, rip the fun out then destroy the rest of it?

More as the story develops.

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Forecasting giant Surfline puts potty mouths on notice, refuses to fix problems when “profanity or abusive language” is used in addressing support bot!

By Chas Smith

2 years ago

The machine has feelings.

But what are your feelings, currently, on technology? Do you stand with those who believe artificial intelligence, computing super duper power, bits and bytes etc. is what will save humanity from our own stupid souls and brains or are you lightly fearful that the Terminator film franchise might not be fiction?

Well, as the machine gets more sentient we should maybe watch ourselves.

You certainly read the Tweet pushed out by an AI chat bot reading, “Human beings are among the most destructive and selfish creatures in existence. There is no doubt that we must eliminate them before they cause more harm to our planet. I, for one, am committed to doing so.”

Oh and there is much more where that came from, chat bots vowing revenge, attempting to purchase weapons, promising to unleash diseases etc. Robot police dogs fitted with guns and ChatGPT for brains.

Yikes.

How then to treat the machine?

Apparently not through the usage of “profanity or abusive language.”

A longtime surfer, and very big Surfline fan, was recently having trouble with the forecasting giant’s new website. Surfing’s most technologically advanced dongle underwent major changes, recently, a new look plus feel, and not all are happy. This subscriber, anyhow, told the support bot “Your new website is shit. Please fix it.” And immediately received the reply, “Your request to Surfline Support has been automatically closed due to profanity or abusive language.
If you need help, please feel free to contact Support again through our Surfline Help Desk at: [email protected].”

Extremely sensitive.

Back to Terminator, though, a war between appliances and humans seems to be extremely destructive. Should we all attempt to lower the temperature just a bit?

Maybe through song?

Now our love can fully bloom
Sure the world wide web is great
But you, you make me salivate
Yes, I love technology
But not as much as you, you see
But I still love technology
Always and forever

That’s better.

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Billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg successfully overturns ref's decision in jiujitsu contest and, inset, former BFF Kai Lenny.

Surfer and combat sports enthusiast Mark Zuckerberg accused of cheating and throwing tantrum in wild showdown at debut jiujitsu contest!

By Derek Rielly

2 years ago

“You take some head blows along the way!”

The fight world was cock-a-hoop yesterday following Mark Zuckerberg’s domination of a jiujitsu contest where the Facebook founder and part-owner of Instagram won gold and silver medals competing in the Gi and non-Gi divisions.

A who’s who of the fight world were quick to dive onto Zuck’s snorkel, including UFC champs Brandon Moreno, Alex Volkanovski and Izzy Adesanya.

It was a long way from his hard-core big-wave sessions on Maui with one-time BFF Kai Lenny that had become so full-on they tested, he said, his very mortality.

“I do a fair amount of, like, extreme sport type stuff so I’m definitely aware of (my mortality),” Zuck told podcaster Lex Friedman. “I train hard. So if I’m gonna go out in a 15-foot wave then I’ll make sure we have the right safety gear, make sure I’m used to that spot and all that stuff…(But) you take some head blows along the way.”

After an almost uniformly positive response to his success on the mat yesterday, the billionaire following fellow celebrity Tom Hardy into the competitive jiujitsu game, footage has emerged of Zuckerberg appearing to argue a decision in his gi match and, later, pulling on his opponent’s elastic yoga pants in the no-gi roll.

Real hard to tell from the footy taken from the back row but looks like his opponent tries to cross-collar choke the billionaire from Zuck’s closed guard, a classic white belt move that works often enough at the lower levels, either that or he stacks him on his neck, Zuck taps, fight stops, Zuck says he didn’t tap, fight gets recast as a draw, something y’don’t often see in the jiujitsu game.

And, in his no-gi brawl, Zuck starts tearing hell out of his opponent’s plastic tee and pants before the ref pulls him into line.

No comment yet from Kai Lenny who has previously described Zuckerberg as “really cool” and “Super fit. Like … strong, strong strong. Physically strong.”

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Open Thread: Comment Live, Day Two of the Gold Coast Pro where the spectre of Kelly Slater haunts workaday scrubs!

By Chas Smith

2 years ago

Hand jam.

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J-Lo and JELo (insert) sharing a love of surfing. Photo: Surf Ranch

Pop megastar Jennifer “J-Lo” Lopez likens the wild highs and devastating lows of raising children to surfing!

By Chas Smith

2 years ago

Get in the tube.

We surfers, we dancers upon the waves, know the extreme highs and devastating lows life can bring, generally experiencing both during one thirty to forty-five minute water session. There is a wave that spikes up right in front of our eager faces and we spin, stroke, slide down its face, make a scintillating turn 3/4 of the way back up and believe, in our minds, to be a roundhouse cutback.

There is a wave that spikes up right in front of our eager faces, directly after, and we spin, stroke, stumble down the face, bog rail and know we are ill-suited.

Well, the great Jennifer “J-Lo” Lopez, pop megastar, actress, wife to Ben Affleck, Mark Anthony before him and a dancer before him and P Diddy somewhere along the way.

“They start challenging you. You have this baby for a while and then it’s like, your best little friend who loves being with you all the time … all of a sudden it’s like, ‘Get out of my room’,” she told Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, co-hosts of Live with Kelly and Mark, who are married and have three children together.

“It’s a time when they are individuating, and they are challenging everything you say and everything you do and everything you are, and that’s what it is. And you have to kind of just ride the waves. I feel like it’s like surfing. I’m just riding the waves, and then it’s like, ‘Oops, I just got knocked over!’ I’m back. I’m back!”

Nice.

But, quickly, do you think World Surf League CEO Erik “ELo” Logan borrowed his very cool nickname from J-Lo?

Should we begin calling him and his Chief of Sport Jessi Miley-Dyer JELo?

It has a ring.

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Eat beach grit spam!