Rim Semiconductor Company (fka RSMI)

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Crystal blue persuasion

http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2003/08/08/surf/index_np.html

This summer's crush of surfer stories -- on MTV, the WB and in the new "Step Into Liquid" -- have their dorky moments, but they evaporate when we watch someone ride a big blue wall of water.

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By Heather Havrilesky

Aug. 8, 2003 / It's been the season of the surfer. Shows about surfing have sprouted up all over the place, from the WB's "Boarding House: North Shore" to MTV's "Surf Girls." And now, almost 40 years after his father's classic movie "Endless Summer" delivered surfing to the world, we have Dana Brown's documentary "Step Into Liquid," which explores wave-riding experiences across the globe, from braving massive waves 100 miles off the coast of San Diego to gliding in the wake of supertankers in the Gulf of Mexico. Like baseball, Elvis Presley, and the supersized nacho platter, surfing has cemented its place at the center of American popular culture.

Considering what a small fraction of our country's population has actually surfed or even watched surfing competitions on TV, what can explain the allure of surf culture to the masses? Are we pasty, overworked outsiders, straining for a glimpse of that soulful, carefree, sunny life that's just out of our reach? Or do we just like looking at big waves and little bikinis?
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