Bomb Cyclone Detonates on Santa Cruz Coastline

Devastating Damage from Massive Waves and Wind

The power went out last night as the winds picked up and uprooted trees around the county. This morning, I set out and witnessed the arrival of one of the biggest swells this town has ever seen. Howling winds and massive waves combined to batter the coastline, hurling driftwood at curious coast dwellers. Rocks and mud were chucked at joggers as the Sea showed its wrath.

Waves Pummel the Wharf

For a short time, I was able to check out the storm from the Santa Cruz Wharf. Pretty quickly, the police showed up to evacuate the premises. Elsewhere in Santa Cruz County, the Capitola Wharf had a section taken by the ocean, and the Seacliff Pier had a big chunk disappear.

Swollen San Lorenzo

The river was raging with fury to the sea, lapping the shoreline as it ran. Just a wild day of energy here in Santa Cruz. It’s going to take some time to assess all of the damage, and longer to recover.

Beauty and Carnage after the Storm

New Year Day in Santa Cruz

The year started out with a perfectly sunny and gorgeous day here at the top of the Monterey Bay. I headed down to the San Lorenzo river mouth, to see what had washed up and was amazed by what I found. The sheer force of the flooded river brought a wild tangle of driftwood and trash to the shoreline.

Puddles, Textures, and Color

While the shoreline was a havoc of debris, some puddles had remained closer to the Boardwalk providing the perfect opportunity for some reflections. Even when it is closed, the Boardwalk is an epicenter of fun, emanating joy with the cacophony of colors. There were also some amazing textures left behind in the sand, showing how strong the wind and waters were.

You Can’t Outdo the Ocean

Never to be outshined, the waves were perhaps the most beautiful things I saw as I explored Main Beach. I used my long lens to capture some of them breaking with the Lighthouse in the background. Flocks of birds were enjoying the surf, and they made the photos that much cooler.

Prints from this series are available! Email jakejthomasphoto@gmail.com to purchase your print, today!

Such Stuff As Dreams is Cap

The greatest lines in Shakespeare’s The Tempest happen after the worst part of the play. You have to understand the context to get why this is a funny line to quote. Prospero has just entertained his daughter’s future husband with a supernatural show. It’s the play’s Fantasia moment. Prospero has been orchestrating this whole scam perfectly up until this moment when he remembers that Caliban has bribed the sailors to try and kill him and he stops the show suddenly.

I had forgot that foul conspiracy of the beast Caliban and his confederates against my life.

This is strange. Your Father’s in some passion that works him strongly.

Never till this day saw I him touched with anger, so distempered.

You do look, my son, in a moved sort, as if you were dismayed. Be cheerful, sir.

This is the exchange that happens before the strange rant Prospero deliver about the temporary nature of things. He is trying to distract Ferdinand from the red flag of his weird mood change. It is within this context that he says the famous quote.

We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded with a sleep.

Prospero’s anger leads to a dramatic speech he used to try and hide his rage. It isn’t a philosophical reflection delivered in a soliloquy. It is a performative speech designed to hide his true intention. Such stuff as dreams is cap.

Funner Summer

Progression is fun. Creating is fun. Earning the respect of your peers is fun. Playing in a well-matched game is fun. Fun is one of those subjective words that is only known through experience. We know when something was or wasn’t fun. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a fun one. Wasn’t he?

What is the nature of fun? How do we “have” it? Is it related to happiness? Is it a byproduct of an activity or a goal? Is it meaningful? Am I a robot? Fun is so central to being human that it is hard to see. From your perspective, fun is natural.

Fun is the using your imagination to play a game. We pretend that we are something else. The surfer rises above the wave. The painter is coated in layers of color. The baker adds the perfect frosting lettering. In the process of doing the thing we become the action and that feeling of flow is fun.