My Blog

2 new Ana Sia Mixes for download

Yona — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:48:32 GMT

Ana Sia just sent me a couple of mixes from this past year. If you haven't heard her on the Memekast podcast, get there... http://mk2systems.com/memekast/mk014 Here's the mixes she sent me, i know yousendit restricts time and amount of downloads for some accts, so get on it quick. If you miss out, send me a note and i'll load it for you. She's bad, works those beats proper and will be at LIB. dripHOP http://download.yousendit.com/03D5565E576513EA Live recorded set "get freaky afterburn" http://download.yousendit.com/750BB5AB594B432D

LA. Tonight and Saturday, i hope i see you out

Yona — Fri, 02 May 2008 22:56:59 GMT

It'll be a packed couple of days for me, but i'd love to see some of my LA family. I'll be at... Chink-O-de Mayo Friday night with a late DJ set Standard Hotel rooftop pool party noon to 8pm Saturday And DJing a 2+ hr set at Space Island Saturday night Love ya. -Yona Info below... Friday night you can find me at the Chink-O-De Mayo festival. With DC Juicy dropping a mean comedy routine http://youtube.com/DCJUICY along with musical guests Helios Jive http://www.heliosjive.com/ , Kraddy of the Glitch Mob, Evil, Blue, Seda, Braden, Oscure and more… Check the flyer. Saturday daytime (noon to 8pm) I’ll be chilling poolside and rooftop (not Djing) at the Standard Hotel for a Family Affair event charity fundraiser http://www.family-affair.org/ with sounds from Marques Wyatt and company. The Standard is a great looking spot to chill and the event will restart Sunday Afternoon with King Britt. Bring your own Nalgene bottle, we're trying to save the earth. Saturday night I’ll be DJing at Space Island for a Sanctuary event. I’ve got 2+ hours indoors, chill area with bean bags and ambiance playing you some down/midtempo glitchy badness inspired by my latest CD, Alchemist’s Symphony. Also from Amsterdam (my birthplace) C-mon & Kypski http://www.c-monandkypski.nl/ will be bringing their live show to Space Island. They play worldwide and for large venues so don’t miss this chance to see them intimate and on your turf (check their youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=UfIBQhKGUv4 ). Tasty DJ beats & treats by Braden, Pod, Mr. Caparro, Jesse Brooks, Lee Mayjahs and Azmyth. Also Vegan Tapas by Shaolin Chef. Check my pics for flyers

I'm Out of Dodge for the next month

Yona — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:03:35 GMT

My month is crazy, just thought i'd let those interested know i'll be missing till early april. I've been trying to buy a diesel truck somewhere in the U.S. and drive it back thru austin to San Diego where i would convert it to run on Waste Vegetable Oil. Long story short, trucks fell through, i had to cancel plane tickets. But tomorrow morning i'm flying to Memphis TN, buying an already WVO converted Diesel Tahoe, driving it to Austin(10hrs), seeing family and picking up my Grandmother and Uncles furniture left to me and hopefully maybe a little Real Estate research. Then 3 days later driving to SD(19hrs) for Rebecca's bday for 24hrs. Then the next day driving to Reno(12hrs) to pick up a buddy to go snowboarding, then meet Rebecca in Reno 5 days later when i drop the buddies off at the airport and take her to Harbin hot springs and San Fransisco to meet friends, then drive to SD (10hrs). Non stop driving for 3 weeks. Ugh. But i'll have a 2 door SUV running on French fry oil, that'll be nice change. See ya -Y/Jonah fun what i did with the name above huh? Now i gotta make a Sigil for it.

Doing what i love... Alchemist's Symphony

Yona — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:08:15 GMT

I spent two months making this CD. That’s visualizing, gathering, listening, mixing, changing and trying the final mix 9 times till I liked every last second of the CD. Sitting in my house listening to it after completion, feeling an afterglow of giving birth, I wondered why I do it. Realizing at that moment that this is a labor of love that no paycheck could afford. I do this because I love it. I do this because I love giving it back. In the 10 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never asked for a dime for my efforts. It’s been given for sure, but I do it cause It’s my meditation, my poi, my love, my art and it fills me up inside. All I ever really want back is to play on a system that sounds good, in front of people I love and express my sound in a way that moves people. I’ll be able to do that Friday night at Fuente (1am Sat.), please enjoy this labor of love on your drive South. Alchemist’s Symphony… Available for download right to your Computer here: http://download.yousendit.com/C02ED5D131E63EAC Up on podcollective for your streaming pleasure http://www.podcollective.com/podsounds/yona.mp3 And if you never got last years Drum & Breaks mix, here’s your chance: http://download.yousendit.com/CEC1B42D15A3F2AB (check the Pod for some amazing art as well… http://podcollective.com/ ) Kisses, -Yona

Eurotrash is dead

Yona — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 07:00:03 GMT

He’s been dying for some time, but I feel he is gone now. Eurotrash served me well in his time. I was originally given that name in the SEAL Teams. I had a penchant for trotting out in public areas in my speedo so naturally that no red blooded special forces patriot felt there was any way I could be a republican and I was probably bad for morale. Most SEALs loved it. Eurotrash once did a Physical Readiness Test in a speedo, striped knee socks and matching headband. He slowed traffic on the silver strand and brought his Executive Officer to tears. Eurotrash was also my code name while doing private contracting in Iraq. Nothing like hearing the radio blare “Eurotrash we’re taking fire on the roof and need you up here ASAP!” Eurotrash followed me into the Burner community and into a set of garter belts. Most of you know that time of Euro. But that Euro is no more and I don’t see him coming back. As transformation has been pulsing through me I find it’s time to bring it back to the source and let go of Eurotrash. For those who don’t know my given name is Jonah, pronounced Yona and it’s where I’m at right now. To keep things fresh and the enunciation proper I’m changing my DJ and tribe name to Yona. Come check out Yona DJing his Drum & Breaks sound New Years at Nexus. Yours truly, -Yona

Full Moon Thoughts

Yona — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 10:10:17 GMT

Please excuse my long winded tongue twister, but the moon was just such an inspiration this night. We were at sea for about a week when the most gorgeous full moon rose slowly following the setting sun. With pen and paper i stole glances at my muse to push my pen. It's a letter to all my beautiful friends who will see my face on the Playa for the first time in a long time. My Muse... The Moon The full moon pours its milky lunar light into my deep blue night of an ocean drink. Thousands of dancing points of light, gyrating amongst the seas whitecaps as if they can hear the drum & thump of my heartbeat from here clear to the horizon. This cool drink of moonlight imbibes me to wax about my journey and where I have come to. You have not seen my face since clear back to 2006 and there are yet months of moments till our eyes meet again. Then this ember I keep buried deep in my belly will burn bright and hot on the Playa once more for those who share my love. Will you recognize me? I don’t mean to imply that a tan, a beard and some new dreads are suggestions of a new transformation. I think that these differences only help me swallow my own changes. Actually, I don’t think I have changed all that much, but I feel worlds apart. I feel like an empty vessel. Excuse me while I drink in, no choke down a spilling swig of milky lunar light liquid. That won’t fill my empty vessel, but inspires me to dream of what will fill me up. In the past I would envision my transformation before it grounded itself inside of me, much like a young boy dreaming of what it will be like to wear the uniform of a soldier but not the consequences of war. But this coming transformation feels different in one small way. Gulp. Mmm, it just tastes so good when that Luna eases down my throat and my brain buzzes with finite future tingles of inspiration. I was saying that I don’t envision my future self at all at this crossroad, trade wind, lost seascape. Me envisioning my future as that Navy SEAL, Eurotrash 3.0 or that lost ocean explorer. I feel this time has stripped & lifted layers of unused, self-effacing guardian walls of dated human nature patterns. Then to purge the system of lingering mental toxins my 7-day juice fast at sea on this ship and from my vessel leaves me hungry for tasty tidbits of soul quenching life. Oh, again this empty vessel. Open to seeing, sensitive to feeling, prepared for living and ever prepared to fill that emptiness. Close your eyes and let your mind wander past the bow and you can still see that moons rippling light waves scorch and sear the nerves behind your eyelids. So instead of seeing my future self as I have done before in transformations, I now see only those next markers, those bits of information, lessons, journeys and mindful relationships I wish to create to fill this vessel. This ship – my body of lunar drinking, solar system dancing, comet tail chasing radiance. Am I different? No, I kept what I like most Is my ego diminished? I probably know myself better and so might you. Is my Vanity erased? I doubt it; I love myself more every week. This has been the oceans expansive, mind altering, energy balancing, exploration through my body’s solar system of waste station control. I can’t wait to share all these moments with you in one smile, one hug, a word from my soul or a gleam in our eyes. I miss you beautiful people and I will see you soon in the glowing haze of our Playa dreams.

Sri Lanka

Yona — Mon, 14 May 2007 17:16:56 GMT

We arrived in Sri Lanka about 6 weeks ago to have a new sail built. My thoughts wondered upon what interesting adventures and sights this island held as the island came in sight. Well I’d be lazy if I said there was nothing to be gained here but there was not much. There were some highlights and interesting footnotes. My mother flew out to visit for a couple of weeks. It’s special to be able to travel a country this far off the path with my mother. One night reading a book while my mother slept peacefully in bed I watched her and had a warm moment thinking that this is the woman that gave birth to me. We take things for granted sometimes. Other highlights… I choreographed and performed my own crocodile/shaman dance for our ships performance. I hung out with 70 elephants in a river, saw monkeys everywhere and bats with a 4-foot wingspan. I Djed at the local uptown hotspot and had a great night bonding with most of the crew. It was nice taking over the club for a night and freaking the locals out with some really crunchy energetic tunes. And honestly had a pretty decent time everywhere I went. If you have a positive attitude you’ll have a positive time. Sri Lanka is in a civil war and shows the signs of a weak economy and an affected people. There are only two ports our ship could Moore in protected and one of those is a battlefield. So we stayed in the capitol city of Colombo and their commercial port. We are the only private boat in here surrounded by huge cargo container ship loading and unloading their cargo 24-7. The water smells of and is a raw sewage dump; I live in a world of shit. Every night the patrols drop depth charges to keep enemy combat swimmers in fear of having their organs ruptured. These depth charges make the inside of our ship sound like a huge hammer is ramming the outside while a shotgun blast fires off inside. I sleep on deck every night because the heat and mosquitoes are too oppressive below, but topside I deal with monsoon rains almost every night, light and port noise. Right now my mattress can be squeezed like a sponge and a cup of water will drain out. But hey, if your soaking wet from rain, you’re probably not soaking in your own sweat. A few weeks ago the Tamil Tigers did an air raid to blow up some oil tanks a few kilometers away. The port is also the Navy Command Center and therefore has a large military contingent. At 2 in the morning during Sri Lanka’s world cup cricket finals match about 15 anti aircraft guns lit the sky with thousands of tracer rounds all around our ship. The closest gun was about 40 meters away on a Navy ship moored next to us. I sat on deck and explained to the crew what was going on and answered a lot of tactical questions. About 20 minutes after the first volley of rounds a civilian airliner came into view and the whole port tried to take it down. It was obviously civilian with the blinking strobes on it; luckily they did not get shot down. War has never been very discriminatory. When I could smell the gunpowder off the guns there was a visible shift in my arousal level. It was an interesting step back into the battles of my past. I guess you can take the soldier out of the war but not the war out of the soldier. I took some video to the end of the shooting and loaded it on youtube. You can see it at… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1c12o-64Vs This country is better off and nicer to visit than some I have been too but is not going to be on my revisit list anytime soon. It’s been stressful on much of the crew’s mental state and energy levels. It seems to have the ship in a gloom of depression most days. But how can we have such amazing days without the dark days. Three weeks at sea towards Indonesia are only a couple of days off and the last sea trip was pure bliss. I feel like the stark comparison of Sri Lanka to the open sea will burst my chest open. I’m looking forward to being able to swim again, silence, sleeping dry and sailing. I’m looking forward… Always forward and never back. I’m sure I’ll have some introspective thoughts for you by the time I reach land again.

Painted Nights

Yona — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 09:31:11 GMT

Written while out at sea last month… Let me paint this for you. This morning I woke and felt the need to spend some personal time. I repainted my nails, touched up my dreads and layered eyeliner and green eye shadow. Better to see this day through painted eyes. Sunday at sea… Tea at four with silence for your thoughts for 45 minutes. A pack of dolphins show up to play around the bow. I slip down to the anchor and dip the bottom half of my body into the sea with them. I tie a line near the bow and sink beneath the sea as we sail towards the setting sun. The dolphins are already moving onto their next journey, but I hear them underwater chatting about the strange ship with eyes they just passed. For 30 minutes I bounce below the water and drag underneath as I try to peer the 15,000 feet to the bottom. Endless blue cut with sunrays, glimmer back at me. Charged, I dry off and put some Dead can Dance music in my ears and sit on the bow for the sunset. I haven’t seen land in a week, a ship in 4 days and the ocean stretches endlessly before me. There is no good description for the sunset and sea painted before me, but what it made me feel was complete release. Release of my thoughts, release from my life and the view rushed forward on the swell of the sea and filled me up till it poured out my eyes. I haven’t dropped tears of joy for the ocean in 18 years and I remembered what this love felt like. I sat there till the dinner bell rang let it soak into me. In after dinner speeches I spoke of my moments above and below the water’s surface and of the silence I was going to keep all day tomorrow to study myself. Sometimes the quieter the mouth the louder the thoughts. After every ones speeches I sat back on the bow, my feet dangling over the water. No moon and a sky full of stars made it seem like we were floating through space. The bioluminescence made all of the waters movement turn into glowing diamonds spilling everywhere. The bow splashes and tumbles diamonds forward into the darkness also leaving a long trail underneath the water billowing along the keel like a magic powder that keeps us floating through outer space. My eye catches two trails from up forward like two torpedoes flying in to sink our spaceship. The torpedoes of bioluminescence were jetting a 12-foot trail of diamonds underneath the water and then split the bow each corkscrews port and starboard and rejoin playfully heading west with us. Two dolphins overlap each other toying with the bow telling me my spaceship is too slow for their evolution. As quickly as they come they are gone trailing out, I watch their light fade to the deep. I’m left with the night and the ocean rushing me as the bow rolls up and down with the swell. My soul is hungry for another moment with nature’s torpedo. A favorite song Yulunga starts in my ears and my thoughts are answered by the most graceful, playful and jet-propelled dolphin I’ve seen. The dolphin does S curves below my feet as I laugh and howl to him. 20 minutes he stays, dances and paints the sea with his diamond trails. Not that all this wasn’t enough but the atmosphere drops a meteor right down into the ocean right in front of me blazing the sea with light for a few seconds. I can’t remember a moment where I’ve felt so full of my environment that my skin can barely contain it. I’m gushing… Overflowing…

One Day at Sea

Yona — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:11:22 GMT

One Day at Sea I am woken up at midnight to take the next watch. The night is quiet as our ship gently rocks forward on the swell. I have a four hour watch till 4am and I know it is the best time of the day for my thoughts. I share these hours with three others, it seems we all are deep in thought or personal projects. Natalie writes out the news off the radio for tomorrows meeting, Federica works on sewing the crocodile mask for my upcoming Sri Lanka performance, Eddie sits quietly on the helm keeping our course tight and I sit on deck peering into the oblivion of stars, just incase one turns out to be another ship. We spent 12 days without seeing another ship and land even longer. The hours pass with little talk as the pressure of the wall to wall stars drowns out most everything. 4 am comes and I lie down on deck for my first 4 hours of sleep for the day. Some people sleep in there bunks but I only sleep on deck with the ocean as my bedroom. I wake to the sudden slowing of the ship, I move aft to see what is wrong. The boys are actively grunting their approval as they haul in fish after fish. A wahoo, a tuna, and some other strange fish are on deck soon to provide fresh sashimi. I help clean one in hopes of shedding my city boy traits. Time passes and the boys all leave the stern as I’m still cleaning a fish. I look up and see the line bouncing and I walk back and calmly drag up what feels to be just a guppy. To my surprise up I pull with no pole, hand over hand, the biggest catch of the day. I kill him as quickly as I can and realize this is the first animal I’ve killed with intent. I remove the guts and the head and cut him into large fillets. Three of us take bites out of the fish right after I remove the head, freshest sashimi in town. Later that day I fry some up to complete the cycle, I accomplish a goal I’ve had this entire journey. My next watch starts at noon, I take an hour to clean myself and read a bit. My noon to 4 pm watch is my second watch of the day and will complete my 8 hrs for the day. Having this schedule means that if I want to sleep 8 hrs I will have to get a nap in the day. As I only sleep on deck and the sun doesn’t allow me to sleep I usually do without a nap unless I just exhaust myself into slumber. Nearing the end of my watch we heave to and let the ship drift. Our acting class starts and I spend an hour working on my crocodile performance. For the Sri Lanka performance I creep onto stage as an Egyptian looking shamen and transform into a crocodile and later move to kill a girl by the water. It’s a hard adjustment for me to be so open and alone on stage, but channeling a warrior comes easy. We take a swim stop after class and I dive into the deep, 15,000 feet of deep. The Blue doesn’t stop and it seems rays of light beam up at you from the abyss. I climb the ratlines of the main mast and I get some goading to match the record jump height and I head to the top. I get some yells from below that the two people that made this jump before had wetsuits and booties on, I only had my speedo on. Some say don’t do it, some say you go for it. Looking down I realize I really better jump out and away to clear half the ships width. I look towards the sunset, breathe it in and drown out everyone’s voice. I remember what it feels like to step into something that whispers back no and I push away from the top of the mast. I realized at that second how much I missed that calm moment before an unknown and I thought of Kyle in Iraq. The water rushes towards me, I plunge under and as I float to the surface and I make sure my naked bum is the first one up for my friends. It’s getting dark and we set up for dinner, the ship will stay drifting through dinner. During dinner there is a group silence and I get to enjoy the sounds of the wind, clanging ropes against the mast and the splash of water against the hull. The water is reasonably calm and you can see a decent reflection of stars in the ocean, let your eyes rest lazy and it’s as if we are drifting through space. Dinner ends, the watch starts sailing again and I bed down for 2 hrs of sleep (6 hrs of sleep a day) before my day starts again. Every day holds some change and new experiences. During the Equinox we stopped the ship and had a party that night with dress up and make up. There is a wonder and flow out there that can’t be properly described. Once you get out to sea you are a part of a machine that can’t stop and its purpose drives all your senses. My 3 weeks at sea left me on such a spiritual high that Sri Lanka pales in comparison now. It’s hard to concentrate when I know I have another 3 weeks at seas enroute to Indonesia coming soon. I posted some pics in my photos from this trip.

Out to sea

Yona — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 16:03:55 GMT

As my amazing friends return from the wonders of Fuente I will have set off for a 3 week open ocean journey to Sri Lanka, just off of India. I thought of you all today waitng for 20 Meats set to start while i was under the ship scraping barnacles for 4 hours. I missed my people, but i know i still have you. Thailand has been a good setting for my soul and mind to regain its balance. Far from balanced… The open ocean promises to stir up some good deep thoughts with its endless expanse and hypnotic flow. I’ll see you on the other side. -jonah

Sea Caves

Yona — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:08:58 GMT

How can I can I share all this beauty unfolding before me with my friends? This I was thinking as I was swimming through another sea cave. Well I can try… I started out two hours before the rest of the crew woke up, about 45 minutes before sunrise. Sometimes it’s hard to get some time onboard so best while everyone is sleeping. I had asked a friend to join me the previous night for this excursion in the small boat as I had seen some spots I wanted to check out on the island we were moored next to. The sky was just starting to to turn from black to deep blue as I accelerated to speed boat around the East side of the island to catch the sunrise. The cliffs rose above us 1000 feet and we could skirt them closely, sometimes jutting under stalagmites bored out by the sea. Found a small beach with some cave entrances and pulled the boat ashore. The sun was not ready to give it’s painting so we set to exploring the cave. Caves and small islands are everywhere in this part of Thailand so I did not expect any big adventure. As we walked deeper into its belly the darkness slowly wrapped us. The dry sand turned to thigh deep water and fluttering noises zipped by us barreling further into the cave. Deeper still and I look up to see the hanging bats tentively waiting my next move, one makes a break for it and they all release from the ceiling and swoosh by me, fluttering my skin as they head towards the deeper cave walls. The natural light gives way to total darkness and I turn on the headlamp to go deeper. The water is to my waist and I have to hunch down to squeeze deeper. Up ahead light seeps in, I think it must be another beach. I make it to the cave opening and walk out into a sprawling wilderness of trees and plants dotting the sheer walls jutting back up to the sky. I’m in the middle of the island and have found a forest about the size of two football fields covered in excessive beauty. I take photos but think to myself that it will never convey this moment. I’m completely surrounded by the mountain with only a view 1300 feet straight up to the sky that is just now getting comfortable with its light blue brush strokes. Back through the cave we leave the flashlight off and enjoy the 10 minute walk in complete blackness, feeling along the ceiling for head knockers. The cave opening invites us like a bright bulb in the distance. The sun is halfway off the horizon as my partner goes for a swim and I sit on the beach and soak in all the flow of the ocean and the sun pushing rhythmically towards me. We set off again the boat flying by cliff walls and overhangs, the weight of stone seems to press on my chest. We travel in silence as no words are deserving of this moment. I pull my boat up to a sea cave that is peaking a little light through from it’s inner depths. This one is only accessible by swim so I leave the boat outside and we dive into the 85 degree water. Having the ocean swell push me up and down as it tries to squeeze me under the caves ceiling is comforting as I almost want it to close entirely and send me into an underwater search. But it squeezes me out the other end and again I spit into the belly of the island though this time I am in my own private lagoon surrounded by sheer cliffs dotted with plants and trees successfully etching out a living amongst the sky bound walls. Lying back, all sound silenced by the water, I float face up as my surroundings seem to melt into me. Life is good… I’m sailing South, moving slowly towards Indonesia. -Jonah

In the Kitchen

Yona — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 08:21:42 GMT

Eating food is the body’s necessity. Three times a day onboard we make meals and feed the crew. To be honest my biggest apprehension when I arrived is having to cook meals for the crew to enjoy. Their enjoyment depends on my skills in the kitchen and my practice is rusty if actually non-existent. Dinners here are cooked with 2 or 3 people sharing in all the preparation, cooking, cleaning as well as creating a theatre skit to entertain the 14 crew members. It’s at least a 6-hour process after a full workday. A few days ago I got put on the breakfast and lunch duty. This is a full day process from 6:30 am till about 4pm. All apprehension was gone and I spent the day in my Speedo behind a hot diesel stove in a cramped kitchen. I remember the movie Like Water for Chocolate and imagined that my sweat dripped a bit into my dishes and in turn injected my love and attention to this meal. What a wonderful experience, being plugged into my ipod and disconnected from the world around my kitchen. But even more of a treat was cooking an excellent chili stir-fry with vegetables never seen in an American grocery, couscous and salad. Compliments flowed in and it was quite the shock to even myself when I tasted it for the first time and it was good. It’s good to learn and appreciate al these new things. Not only can I scrape the hull, repair a hole in the deck, raise the sails, work the anchor, but also I can cook an excellent meal for those who depend on me to quench their hunger. -Jonah

The swim

Yona — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 01:49:29 GMT

Saturday morning and I awaken to a full red sun. One of last night’s drunks (Jay) is taking a pic of the sun before he passes out cold. Almost 3 hrs till breakfast and I have enough time to make the swim to Koh Lon Island. It’s a 3 ½ mile swim roundtrip and it’s gonna take a couple of hours to complete and leave me a little time to explore the deserted beach. Swimming the channel this early means it’s quiet except for a few huge freighters. I get into a rhythm and start to zone out looking into the deep. Twice a week we gather on deck as a group and meditate for 45 minutes and I find swimming is the best medium for my mind to find oblivion. Trevor once told me that meditation is like sitting in space with thoughts flying by… Sometimes you grab a hold of one and go with it for a spell. But when noticed it is best to let it go and sink back into oblivion. Thoughts come and go and I also get some of my best soul searching from this time but often I clear my thoughts and sink into the green. I notice after a while that my breathing goes from once every 4 strokes to once every 8 strokes. I wonder if my heart rate slows. A long hot zap streaks across my mouth as another jellyfish shocks me awake. My two weeks here has taught me there is nothing I can do, because reacting is only for reactions sake, the jelly tentacles are long gone. 15 minutes after the sting, the pain has floated away. Back to the strokes… Back to oblivion… I hear the low roar of an engine somewhere; check my flanks and it’s another curious Thai wondering what a crazy farang (foreigner) is doing in the middle of the sea. They wave, I wave back. Almost an hour has passed and the coral reef comes jutting up below me. 150 yds of shallow water to skim, scratching my chest, as I pull along with my arms. Finally I walk ashore onto 500yds of pristine, uninhabited beach and island. The beach is inaccessible by boat due to the shallow coral reef and there are no roads coming off the backside. I lay fresh footsteps down the beach peering into the jungle looking for my way in. The crabs have taken this beach over. I find packs of up to ten shell backed crabs mingling on there private beach. When they see me coming they stop, curl up in there shell and roll down the beach a bit. Seems like a faulty safety mechanism when you see the movement of all these shells rolling around. I find one crab desperately trying to replace his shell for a baby coconut, definitely gonna be the Rasta crab of the beach. I find another coconut with about 7 crabs in there partying away. I pick up the coconut and all crabs but one roll up into a ball. The bulldog crab comes to the doorway like he’s never seen a human and gives me the stink eye for bugging his brothel. I let them get back to their party. Further up the beach I find a high tide creek bed that gives me my bare feet access into the jungle. Quickly the sounds and light change and the jungle absorb me. I wish I had time to climb further in and find some secrets. Walking further down the beach I come across a nice find. A great little bungalow hidden just inside the trees, only a few years, old built with the hope of making a little café on a secluded beach. The owner sat at the edge of his cafe and painted the view he saw and then hung it framed in coconut tree wood. The hopes and dreams of someone once here now being swallowed by the jungle for lack of access to the beach by the 100yds of shallow coral. I follow my footsteps back down the beach. Soon those too will be swallowed by the tide and it will be as if I was never there. I skim the coral and head back out to sea. Swimming back across the channel I dodge speedboats taking tourists out for diving. They look and point like I might be lost or in trouble. The ocean lulls me into a rhythm and I meditate on the deep green ocean. Oblivion…

From Thailand

Yona — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 13:11:41 GMT

So i sat down a few times and wrote a bit of a jornal of my time onboard. I've only been here about 5 days but it seems i've filled alot of experiences my time. As it is not even 8 pm i am ready for bed and can hardly keep my eyes open. Part of that being that i woke up and swam to another island before breakfast. The swim took about an hour and a half and i didn't get a chance to explore these uninhabited beaches. I made it back to the ship just in time for a quick bite and a 2 hr acting class. I suppose i will need to explain some of the ships functions in a future email, but for now it's not the standard routine. Before i reached the ship i got to spend a wwonderful 2 weeks in Chiang Mai Thailand with my Mum and we made a nice trip up to Pai. Just the perfect mountain spot to dislodge yourself from the world a bit. The highlight being able to see an elephant bathing in the river from the open door of my hut on stilts. I'll send more as it develops and pics when someone takes one of me.... Jan15, 2007 Day One When does the journey begin? When will it end? Maybe every step is another portion of our journey. At sunset I stepped aboard the Heraclitus at anchor out in a bay in Phuket. I got a quick tour of the ship and most of the crew went ashore to enjoy themselves. I settled into my 6ft by 3ft bunk, pulled out some pics of my friends (thanks Turo). The beds are called Paradise Alley, definitely too hot to sleep in this alley. Made my way to the bow and settled in for the night. A light breeze, a gentle sway and a sky full of stars lulled into thoughts of home. Waking up from a night spent under the stars, the sun breaks my slumber. Only enough light to shadow the horizon. Breathe it in. Go to my bunk, grab the camera and take a pic to have that moment in my pocket always. Put on the speedo, slip on the fins and take a swim. Going nowhere… Just 45 minutes of sunrise from the sea. Back on deck letting the first rays of sun warm me up. Drip dry before the crew has even woken up. A first sunrise… One more step… Jan17, 2007 Hands sore. Hair salty. Wet, always wet. Water is more a part of every moment than I can ever remember. Didn’t take long. I readily jump off the small transport boat to walk up the beach. Pay no mind that your shorts or shirt will get wet again. Something is always wet. Sit in it, stand in it, jump in to cool off. Don’t forget another sunrise swim to a secluded beach. Enough time to take a little private walk in the fresh morning sand before I gotta swim back. My first two days I spent time chipping away deck steel and concrete rot in the mornings. Grinding away at paint and concrete to get deeper into the soul of this ship. Feels good to give my sweat to this Lady. I think if I give enough she may give me her secrets back. I spend the afternoons on scuba underneath her hull scraping her clean of barnacles. This job was supposed to be done next week but I volunteered hoping to get at it before it was given elsewhere. I can’t think of a better way to spend 3 hrs than underwater working my shoulders into jello. This old lady tears some skin away from my ankles but it gives me a reminder anytime salt water touches me. Reminding me I’m alive here. Breathing in life a little slower. Jan18, 2007 Another wonderful day of hard work, muscles failing me before it’s over. Darkness comes. Dinner was 30 minutes of silence on deck. Carpets laid out, four lanterns and eating with only our thoughts as company. What a nice way to do things once in a while. You can hear birds chirping in the hills. You can hear the light rattling of the ships ropes and chains, the sea pushing her to make her own song. I closed my eyes and blessed my food and shared good thoughts for Vincent, Mum, Sinclair, Rebecca, Carissa, Trevor, Kat and finally Kyle and that he may come home safely. I’ve never blessed my food before and it was good channeling all these people into my area to share this meal with me(thank you Vincent for the inspiration). After dinner we read from a passage in a book. I wrote a poem earlier in the day to share my thoughts of this passage. Some people expressed their thoughts of this passage in dance, theatre, poetry and song. New things. Always room for more firsts… The pic is from my first sunrise onboard and from the spot where i slept that night. -jonah

Eurotrash Drum & Breaks CD

Yona — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 23:24:36 GMT

Just wanted to throw out the latest Cd if some of you guys didn't get it. I gave out a couple hundred at the Static Lounge and Lost Toys Parties. This download is good for 5 days and doesn't have the songs track marked. If you want to be able to have it with spaces between the songs check with Turo, Rebecca, Big D, Rick Morales and maybe they can burn you a copy. Actually check with a bunch of people. http://download.yousendit.com/D363B08F0D132C74 I won't get into Thailand just yet, more to say later. I miss you guys. -Euro-

Eurotrash bids farewell

Yona — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 03:28:54 GMT

Some of you know I have been putting my energy of the last few months towards joining a sailboat for an extended journey. Well my time has come and I have been accepted to join this crew of 14 aboard the Heraclitus. The Heraclitus is an 84 ft Chinese Junket style sailboat that is currently sailing from Indonesia to Thailand where it will dock for a month of repairs and upkeep. I leave San Diego on December 30th to make my way to Chaing Mai, Thailand where my Mother lives to visit with her for a week before I meet with the Heraclitus. The day before my birthday on February 7th we sail West to India, the final destination being Greece via the Red Sea with stops along the way where we find desire to land. In all honesty I do not know much about this journey, but that it will take more than 6 months to complete. I intend to send reports of my travels and give everyone an idea of what I am up to and how I am living. So for many of you the next time we will see each other will be the Burn 2007. My last gathering before I leave will be in LA at the Island of Misfit Toys party (I’ll post more later). Please come say goodbye and I’ll try to make a new Eurotrash CDs for everyone’s Auditory fix while I’m gone. Kisses and Spanks, -Euro-

We're on the Playa

Yona — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 03:40:08 GMT

Hey guys. JAmes Sin and i are here. Sin is rcving texts on the playa but can't reply. Email is spotty, but here. And it's refreshing and amazing. Hurry up and get here. Weather was perfect today, pantie weather. Lisa or Rebecca bring me some Peanut Butter and sugar free syrup please. Love and hippie shit... -Euro-

Camping at BM

Yona — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 18:21:45 GMT

So i just learned the Turtle will be absent from the Burn. So be it. Where does that leave us? Talking to Big D this weekend he expressed an interest in being close. All of us being close. I've heard whispers all year. How do we do it? I'm really digging my new friends from L.A. and i would love to have a SOCAL group living close to each other. Maybe we all dig in close to a Pangea setup. Maybe we pull together around Shangri-la. I just wanted to put that energy out there and hope some ideas come out and Manifest some connection for the Burn. I like you guys. Anyway we've got to put Sinclair up somewhere, she'll wander around like a lost kitty on the Playa unless we create a home for her.