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     |  ___________     _/_/       | |  \ \       _/_/       ___________  |
     | |              _/_/_____    | |   > >    _/_/_____               | |
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     | |      c   o   m   m   u   n   i   c   a   t   i   o   n   s     | |
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     |____________________________________________________________________|

  ...presents...    Zen of Skateboarding, Part 2: Revelation
                                                         by Thoai Tran
                                                         06/01/1996-#319

             __///////\ -cDc- CULT OF THE DEAD COW -cDc- /\\\\\\\__
               \\\\\\\/  Everything You Need Since 1986  \///////
  ___    _   _    ___     _   _    ___       _   _      ___    _   _      ___
 |___heal_the_sick___raise_the_dead___cleanse_the_lepers___cast_out_demons___|

     I searched long and hard for the elusive master, the only one who can
enlighten me about skating.  I had watched countless hours of video footage and
absorbed countless photographs of skaters and skating, but I needed to find
meaning in the one thing that I had dedicated my life to.  Yes, skating is
fun... it is indeed exciting.  It is a test of adrenalin whenever one pushes to
the furthest limits.  But there is something else as well: a sublime and
profoundly beautiful element that goes deep into the soul.

     I searched long and hard for someone who can explain to me this beauty, so
I could finally be in complete harmony with myself and with my art.  My
searches all ended in failure.  I sat contemplating where I would go next, whom
I could talk to.  A voice was suddenly heard.

     "You seek for the master who can tell you what is beautiful and sublime
about your art?  Imagine a painting that is on display in a museum.  A passing
viewer finds it beautiful by appreciating the overall images and their
metaphorical representations.  Another individual notes the techniques and
appreciates the smoothness of the strokes, the detailed lines, the blending of
various colors to give the perfect shades and contrasts.  It has been said that
a masterpiece has so many elements to appreciate.  Some elements may be
manifested immediately after a quick glance, while others may be revealed only
after a closer and more scrupulous look.  You who seek meaning and beauty in
your art must realize that the collective elements that you find beautiful may
not be shared completely by another individual.  Hence, beauty is a subjective
phenomenon relative to each individual."

     "Your skating is an art.  Like that painting, skating has so many elements
to be appreciated... old school, new school, vert, street, freestyle, downhill,
and so on.  Each individual may find all, some, or just one of the elements
beautiful.  But remember, you who seek meaning in your art, remember that you
should never look down on something that you may not love or appreciate,
because that something is part of the collective beauty that is appreciated by
someone else.  Furthermore, remember that no one can ever explain to you what
constitutes beauty.  No masters, philosophers, or even the professionals who
have been idolized for many years.  You seek for the master who can enlighten
you about your skating?  You seek for the master who can explain to you what is
beautiful about your skating?  Seek within yourself."

     So spoke the master within myself.
     .-.                             _   _                             .-.
    /   \           .-.             ((___))             .-.           /   \
   /     \         /   \       .-.  [ x x ]  .-.       /   \         /     \
 -/-------\-------/-----\-----/---\--\   /--/---\-----/-----\-------/-------\-
 /         \     /       \   /     `-(' ')-'     \   /       \     /         \
  WORLDWIDE \   /         `-'         (U)         `-'         \   / WORLDWIDE
             `-'                     .ooM                      `-'     _
      Oooo                                                            / )   __
 /)(\ (   \ Copyright (c)1996 Thoai Tran and Cult of the Dead Cow    / (/ \
 \__/  )  / All rights reserved.  Award-winning CULT OF THE DEAD COW \   ) \)(/
       (_/     is published by cDc communications, P.O. Box 53011,    oooO  _
  oooO         Lubbock, TX, 79453, US of A.  Edited by Swamp Ratte'.  __   ( \
 /   ) /)(\                                                          /  \  )  \
 \  (  \__/        Save yourself!  Go outside!  Do something!        \)(/ (   /
  \_)                      "THE COW WALKS AMONGST US"                     Oooo

