Rice and Egg

Oden

2012-02-14T06:42:00.001-08:00

Last Minutes with ODEN from Eliot Rausch + Phos Pictures on Vimeo.

MIA

2012-02-08T13:46:00.000-08:00

Dali x Kuniyoshi

2012-01-30T13:16:00.000-08:00

Voluptas Mors, photograph by Philippe Halsman (in collaboration with Salvador Dalí), 1951

Most people know of Salvador Dali; a Spanish painter, whose imaginative
renderings catapulted the surrealist movement pre-World War II. Dali’s imagination was distinctively authentic, eccentrically unique, and far-out groovy, man! But from where did his imagination propagate? Perhaps you can find slight similarities in
Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s woodblock prints, circa 1840-ish, and Dali's collaborative work, Voluptas Mors, that has wiggled it's way into pop-culture.

Give Thanks Every day

2012-01-24T07:08:00.000-08:00

The world needs more role models, and we all need to realize we encounter role models everyday. Observe and learn from people, cultures, and nature; observe and learn from your surroundings in a positve manor.

"The greatest patience is humility. "

Miami Beach - Art Deco

2012-01-24T06:56:00.001-08:00

Shark Valley

2012-01-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

Meiko Kaji

2012-01-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

Scooters - San Francisco, CA

2011-09-23T13:59:00.001-07:00

Farewell San Francisco

2011-09-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

After a four year stint we decided to press on into familiar AND uncharted territories, with hopes of establishing a new base camp. The food options better be good...

A Summer Visit to Pensacola, FL - 2011

2011-09-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Bicycles - San Francisco, CA

2011-09-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Herbie Hancock - 1975

2011-07-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

!Quimtime!

2011-07-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

Quim Cardona; it's always a pleasure!

Magenta Skateboards - San Francisco, CA

2011-06-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

Fact; Leo Valls and Yoan Taillandier hustle hard. These men are on a mission to give back to a culture that embraced them with open arms; skateboarding. And the above-mentioned humble street soldiers have seen a good portion of the globe, having traveled throughout Western Europe, America’s west coast, and the Far East (that I ‘m aware of), which is remarkably portrayed in Yoan’s ingenious edits. As soon as Yoan and Leo arrived in San Francisco earlier this year they immediately acclimated to San Francisco’s diverse weather patterns, or lack there of, along with SF’s dive bars, jazz venues, and the famous steep streets that skateboarders gawk over. As proud Bordeauxians, this pair of scholarly gentlemen aptly represent for there home town in France and welcome all fellow comrades to come taste there wine and powerslide through their streets.

Magenta's SF Hill Street Blues from Magenta Skateboards on Vimeo.

Shun Moroi しゅんくん!

2011-06-10T12:11:00.001-07:00

This is at Shin-Yokohama skatepark, an old stomping ground of my crew's. They've expanded the park and added new ramps. I can't wait to go back...

Nina Knows

2011-06-10T12:10:00.001-07:00

Follow Nina Knows on twitter:

http://twitter.com/#!/Nina_Knows

THE UPSETTER

2011-05-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

Eastern Exposure Zero

2011-05-12T12:29:00.000-07:00

In 1996 I had just entered the 9th grade in Plant City, FL, at a high school strategically surrounded by cow fields. Upon entering this school I had been on a ten year streak of juking out defenders, eating orange slices at half-time, and drilling soccer balls into the upper 90’s. I had also been skating for about a year, really not knowing what I was doing or what actual skateboarding was. My central Floridian suburb kept me safe and secluded from urban America and the lurking street skateboarding scene. This new found interest in thrashing eventually led me astray from my traditional team sport, partly because of the lack of scheduling involved, but mainly because of schralping’s over abundance of personal freedom, much like the feeling obtained from creating art. High school introduced me to some older shredders who then popped my street-skating-cherry, in and around downtown Tampa. I quickly saw the likes of Jeff Lenoce, Chris Williams, Josh Stewart, and a handful of other locals within the city's circumference. Around this time I started my first part-time job at a bicycle shop that reveled in skateboarding. It was then that I bought one of my first skateboarding VHS tapes, Easter Exposure Zero. I quickly and completely dorked-out so hard with this nine minute video, that still to this day, almost 15 years later, while re-visiting it again for the first time in years via YouTube (17,105 views on YouTube, but I must have watched that tape 18,000+), I can almost predict what clip and or skater follows the previous clip. It’s amazing how our minds’ memory works…

Anyhow, the fact that I can watch a skateboard video from 15 years ago and still be inspired and enthused about it, because of the trick selection, the look of the locations, and the individual skate styles of those in the film (blah blah blah), sums up the argument that skateboarding is in fact an art form (at least in my opinion!); it’s timeless, much like a painting or a traditional, academic form of art.

Homemade Mac & Cheese

2011-05-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

Homemade MAC-N-CHEESE; serves 4+:

1/2 lb. elbow/macaroni pasta
1 lb. block of medium sharp cheddar cheese (shred it yourself!)
1 pint of 2% milk
2 teaspoons of REAL butter
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 cup flour
2-3 minced garlic cloves
bread crumbs
mustard
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil the pasta al dente; perhaps for 5 minutes depending on how hot your stove is. Drain the pasta and rinse with cool water. Set aside your pasta in a baking dish and focus on creating your rue.

Rue, aka gravy, and cheese (medium heat): In a frying pan, saute the onion with butter until lightly browned. Stir in the flour until it lumps together with the onions. Stir in half a pint of milk, mix well, and then add the other half. Continue to stir until the flour mixes with the milk. Add the garlic, a healthy squirt of mustard, and salt to taste, and stir until your rue is gravy-like. Add the shredded cheddar and stir until the cheese melts and your rue becomes an oozing cheese sauce.

Remove the cheese and pour over the macaroni. Stir the cheese in with the pasta and cover with a decent layer of bread crumbs. The bread crumbs keep the mac-n-cheese moist while baking. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the bread crumbs turn a light brown.

Serve with greens; keep it Southern.

Treasure Island, SFC

2011-05-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

A view of Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge

Bay Bridge

On a clear day, Treasure Island boasts some amazing westward views of San Francisco and the surrounding bay.

MASANORI URUMA 【UNBOUND】

2011-04-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

Masanori Uruma, aka "Uru"; a good friend with a powerful street skating style. Uru and I had a lot of fun in Yokohama and SFC. I miss you, man!

song: Can "Oh Yeah" on Tago Mago.

Shun Moroi しゅんくん!

2011-04-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Shun Moroi has been filming for Pursuit with Jin Nakajima. It looks as if Hisashi Nakamura will also star in Nakajima's latest film. By the looks of Nakajima's cinematography and his choice of Yokohama shredders, I am led to assume that Pursuit will be an underground classic.

Augustus

2011-04-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

San Francisco: FOOD

2011-04-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Dolce Gelato

916 Sutter St

(between Hyde St & Leavenworth St)

San Francisco, CA 94109

Dim Sum Bar

620 O'Farrell St

(between Harlem Aly & Leavenworth St)

San Francisco, CA 94109

Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin Chile Pies and Ice Cream

601 Baker St
(between Fulton St & Mcallister St)
San Francisco, CA 94117
Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA Pho Vietnam
1406 Polk St

(between California St & Pine St)
San Francisco, CA 94109

Neighborhood: Nob Hill Tommy's Mexican Restaurant

5929 Geary Blvd

(between 23rd Ave & 24th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94121

Neighborhood: Outer Richmond Ajisen Ramen

865 Market StSte C-12

(in Westfield Mall, bottom floor)
San Francisco, CA 94103

Neighborhoods: Union Square, SOMA !RICE & EGG!

homecooked

Neighborhood: The Tenderknob

Fresh Yields

2011-04-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Buy as much produce as you can from farmer's markets; support local farmers by eating healthy!

Corona Heights, SFC

2011-04-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

ななちゃん

AKA "Red Rock"

Go Pro

2011-03-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

http://gopro.com/ These cameras are amazing. I want one

I miss Japanese TV

2011-03-29T10:30:00.001-07:00

Anticancer

2010-10-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

It's about food, mental and physical activities, and a positive outlook on your life

Las Vegas is Dangerous

2010-09-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

Raoul and Dr. Gonzo in Las Vegas Painting by Daniel Bergren

The Quintessence of Continued Existence

2010-09-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

“Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest Lion or it will be killed.

Every morning in Africa, a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle; when the Sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

Harvest Moon

2010-09-22T13:13:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow the sun will pass directly over the earth’s equator and the Fall Equinox will be underway, or perhaps it will have taken place. Along with the Fall Equinox, star gazers and horizon hunters will be awed by the Harvest Moon, a concurrence that hasn’t happened in 19 years, as well as a small star-like light close to the moon; “star-like” because it’s not actually a star, but the planet Jupiter. This will be the closet Jupiter has come to Planet Earth since 1963.

“Harvest Moon” was coined by Native Americans, denoting the proper time to harvest crops and bring the yield in pre-winter weather, and to give thanks to all living things of the fields and earth that provided them with life. Let’s give thanks

Photograph by Jeff Kiessel, Ludington Daily News/AP

Bummer Summer edit

2010-09-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

Bummer Summer from Pass the Soap on Vimeo.

Two Wolves

2010-09-02T09:01:00.000-07:00

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, ' My son, the battle is between two ' wolves ' inside us all.

One is Evil. - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. '

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ' Which wolf wins? '

The old Cherokee simply replied, ' The one you feed. '

I'll Have Produce, Hold the Bug Spray Please

2010-08-26T16:45:00.001-07:00

Hiroshima

2010-08-02T16:31:00.001-07:00

Midterm Essay: 20th Century Art History

2010-07-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Fountain, 1917

The Persistence of Memory, 1931

World War I started in the summer of 1914 in Western Europe and eventually advanced to Eastern Europe. To this day, the Great War is still recognized as one of the most calamitous struggles in history. Despite the amount of countries and soldiers who fought in the World War, none can truly say that they enjoyed the battle; wars are not glamorous, and for the most part they are not constructive. Wars fuel oppression, indifferences, and murder. There have been wars throughout mankind’s history, and unfortunately there may be future conflicts and hardships. Despite this fact that war is inevitable and supported by some, there are those who denounce conflict to promote peace, knowledge, and creation. Often time’s passive conception entails anti-war ideals that are communicated through literature, visual arts and theatre, music, and art movements. Dada, or Dadaism, was an art revolution spawned from WWI in 1916 in opposition to the war. An early influential Dadaist known as Marcel Duchamp toyed with Cubism before finding refuge within the Dada movement. One of Duchamp’s most controversial pieces, Fountain, 1917, incorporated a ready-made object that would challenge academia for decades to come. Eight years after the introduction of Dada, Surrealism was introduced also out of spite towards the Great War. Salvador Dali, arguably the most famous Surrealist of all time, shocked patrons and the art community with hallucinational works that were meant to induce paranoia and connect viewers with their subconscious. The Persistence of Memory, 1931, was an early work of Dali’s that cast viewers into a dream-like plain and inspired people to seek imaginative expression beyond what the materialistic world had to offer. Fountain and The Persistence of Memory, at first glance, appear aesthetically dissimilar, but Duchamp and Dali’s main intentions were in fact very similar. These similarities mainly involve retrospection on the art works themselves and on the viewers’ psyche, as well as a counterbalance of the art community in the early twentieth century. Through this text these two pieces and their respective art-revolutions, which were both formed in response to WWI and materialism, will be dissected and summarized in search of further similarities and oppositions.

Dada, as a cultural movement, began in Switzerland and New York City, concurrently. Dadaism was a social protest against the Great War. These counterculturalists blamed the science of reasoning for the fighting and unrest in Europe. Dada was also a means to denounce the snobbery and subjugation of the art-institution by shocking viewers with humorous and illogical pieces of art. Dadaism incorporated found or “ready-made” objects that Dada artists claimed. Dadaists either displayed their ready-made objects after slight modifications, or without alterations. This avant-garde tactic undermined traditional art and forced viewers to think differently; either scoffing or pondering. Dadaism inspired and insulted artists and patrons for roughly seven years. At the forefront of the Dada movement was Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp already had a sufficient background with traditional painting styles and his boredom with these mediums accelerated his personal drive to emphasize idea over materials. His new artistic epiphany guided him to Dadaism. Using Dada as a means of expression, Duchamp sought to challenge viewers to see things differently, to allow patrons to walk away with their own personal experience and interpretations of art, and ultimately to award artists with crucial artistic freedom; Fountain did just that. Duchamp displayed a men’s urinal turned on it’s side with a signatory “R. Mutt 1917” as a alias, which referred to a local plumbing company that manufactured the same toilet. The alias masked Duchamp’s identity when he submitted the work to an exhibition of the SIA, the Society of Independent Artists, whom he worked for as the director of installations. Duchamp was testing his fellow comrades to see how strongly they were devoted to artistic freedom. This piece caused people to debate “what is art”. Fountain stretched the borders set by art elitists and challenged a stable logical society. The “R. Mutt 1917” scribe was also a humorous joke that correlated with the renowned comic Mutt and Jeff. This was Duchamp’s means of bringing humor and jest into the art establishment.

Duchamp’s beloved Dada movement paved the way for another avant-garde Parisian artistic revolution known as Surrealism. Like Dada, Surrealism was actualized in response to WWI, and also because Surrealists felt that industrial progression was fueling a repetitious, ambiguous lifestyle overrun by materialism and lacking imagination. Andre Breton composed his Surrealist manifesto in 1924 shortly after Dadaism had subsided. Breton’s manifesto announced his intentions of a philosophical artistic approach to conveying what was once considered a subconscious state of mind; thoughts that most would not publicly express without fear of alienation. Breton intended to evoke the subconscious mind by portraying hallucinative states of illusion. These dream-like images seemed extremely real with fixed light sources, clear perspectives, and crisp imagery. Like Dadaism, Surrealism was an attack on rational society and it challenged the art-community. Surrealists promoted self-exploration by challenging viewers with surprising juxtapositions and frozen images in order to evoke paranoia and the subconscious mind. Shortly after Breton’s manifesto, Salvador Dali had fled from art academia, given up on Cubism, experimented with Dadaism, and grew a distinguishable mustache. Dali worked diligently to formulate what he called “Paranoiac-critical method”. The Paranoiac-critical method was Dali’s brain-child of accessing the subconscious mind to promote pronounced artistic originality. Dali’s method was meant to connect what is rational with what is irrational by causing viewers to experience images and places that are unimaginable in a conscious state of mind. Dali was diving deep with in his subconscious, or a dream realm, and he was determined to make his patrons do the same. Many of his famous works included images that looked like two different things that may have resulted in two different connotations, depending on how the viewers mind operated. This went hand in hand with Paranoiac-critical method. The Persistence of Memory has one such image centered in the foreground; what appears to be a white cloth draped across the earth, but with the resemblance of a nose, tongue, and eye lashes it also looks like a face melting away in due time, as if aging. Atop the cloth-like figure is one of four clocks, three of which are melting. The closest melting watch is slithering off a normal table-like surface while the other is again draped from a hollowed tree. The last clock, which lies face down is covered in ants that busily work and cluster as most ants tend to do. In the left background there is another flat surface. These two tables develop clear perspective and establish the distance between the watches in the foreground and the cliff in the far right background. This landscape with water leading up to the cliff is lucid enough to cause viewers to second guess what it is they’re viewing, and this response is exactly what Surrealists and Dali wanted.

Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain and Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory were both executed in reaction to one of the world’s most devastating wars, The Great War, and also in response to man’s industrial progression and consequential materialism. Both artists desired reactions from their patrons and the art community by displaying what had never been done before; claiming found objects as art work and painting paranoiac subconscious thoughts that most would never recall to their friends. Duchamp’s goal was to create more freedom for artists and extend the boundaries of what was considered art. Dali took advantage of these alleviated barriers by exposing the subconscious and unrealistic to the normal, sound mind. Both artists supported new creative methods that catapulted their respective movements; ready-made with Dada and the Paranoiac-critical method with Surrealism. Dali and Duchamp’s later inspirations came to them after they experimented with Cubism. On another note, both Fountain and The Persistence of Memory are dissimilar. Fountain is a three-dimensional ceramic object covered with written text most likely in ink or paints, where as The Persistence of Memory is an oil painting on a two-dimensional canvas. Fountain lacks detail and artistic skill, like that of Dali’s painting, and there is no foreground or background, psychedelic images, or landscape. Fountain’s minimal perspective does not compare with the depth of the lucid landscape of The Persistence of Memory. Although Fountain was meant for viewers to debate what is art, The Persistence of Memory seems to hint at how precious and impermanent time and life can be, and thus has a deep peculiar implication. Lastly, Fountain can have natural shadows depending on the light source above the display where as The Persistence of Memory has a fixed light source reminiscent of Surrealist paitnings.

Many people say that positivity blooms from negativity, and in the case of art movements like Dada and Surrealism sprouting in reaction to World War I, some may agree with the aforementioned. Marcel Duchamp pushed the envelope with in an art community that he felt needed more freedom of expression by presenting his Dadaist piece Fountain in 1917. He was determined to stir artistic debate and promote further creativity in a time when most were worried about the destruction taking place in Europe. His bold accomplishments, like presenting ready-mades to art academia, inspired Salvador Dali, who after toying with Cubism and Dada found himself trapped with in his subconscious mind juxtaposing the rational with the irrational. Dali’s The Persistence of Memory, created in 1931, applies his Paranoiac-critical method in terms of making a cloth seem like human skin, or was it the other way around? The Persistence of Memory perfectly captures a subconscious dream-like realm by pairing a genuine landscape with surreal melting clocks, a misplaced hollowed tree, and random ant farm runaways. Like Duchamp, Dali was communicating the importance to live boldly and creatively by accepting what may be eerie or out of place in a perfect world; a world without war and greed.

***written by A. Burgess

Surviving The Tokyo Metro; Yokohama To Ueno

2010-07-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

This would be me, as an North American Brontosaurus romping through the Far East

Elementary students in a Ueno park

I was cruising the World Wide Web when I stumbled upon a video that captured the Japanese insanity known as the Tokyo Metro system. I was immediately thrown back almost four years in time to the most memorable year of my existence thus far; 14 months teaching English in Yokohama with my wife. Yokohama is not as clustered as Tokyo, but it does boast the second largest population in Japan. Luckily for Teresa and I our commutes to and from work were civil in comparison to that of central Tokyo.
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art

On a fine winter’s day Teresa and I had gone to Ueno to see the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art. We arrived early and spent about six hours in Ueno, viewing the exhibit, strolling through the local parks and byways, and smiling at the stray cats the congregate around Buddhist temples for a free meal of compassion. We entered the Ueno train station close to 6PM on a week day, and to our surprise the station was extremely crowded with business folks, students, and house wives returning from shopping sprees. We nervously waited in line as two trains came and went with no room for the extended queue. Finally it was our turn, and like these films, we were pushed in and somewhat separated from one another. Praise the Gods and my genes for making me a foot taller than the rest of those sardines, and putting my head above the stench of sweat, blood, and tears; I could breathe! We must have been on that train for 25 minutes, riding from Ueno to Yokohama. I was paired with the fattest man I have ever seen on a Japanese train, and I could see and smell the sweat seeping through his jacket. A small woman, perhaps a solid 4’11” in height, was smashed into the same blob’s side, and truth be told she was gasping for air and did seem to pass out more than once. Because I stomp through Japan like a brontosaurus with all the black haired deinonychus running around under my stride, I was grasping the bars on the train ceiling that the locals had dreamed of one day touching (these bars are the cleanest by far, free of hand oils and cough spat spray). I could see Teresa’s buttocks mashed into another man’s groin, and despite her torture and my annoyance there was absolutely nothing either of us could do. At each stop a few people would exit the train only to have more enter, and by the time we reached Yokohama station we all emerged through the train doors like water flowing through a hose. After acclimating to the fresh air on the platform we dodged through the stairways to cross over to our local, comfy, quiet train line where the seats seemed to glisten like a misplaced quarter on a sidewalk.

Local art

Feline Refuge
The ride home

trains in Tokyo

FESN

2010-07-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

Nana ななちゃん

2010-06-25T16:51:00.000-07:00

Nana: pronounced Na-na

Shun Moroi しゅんくん!

2010-06-24T11:08:00.001-07:00

This is an I-Path Japan advertisement featuring my friend Shun Moroi. Actions speak louder than words, yah heard!?!

Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase

2010-06-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

Market Street, San Francisco

2010-06-22T15:10:00.001-07:00

Lunch break

Louisiana Hot Sauce

2010-06-21T17:50:00.001-07:00

Scotty the Body likes it hot

EATS: Tampa, FL

2010-06-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

Cephas West Indian Restaurant

1701 East 4th Avenue

Tampa, FL 33605

Grassroot Organic Restaurant

2702 North Florida Avenue
Tampa, FL 33602-1522

http://thegrassrootlife.blogspot.com/

http://www.thegrassrootlife.com/

La Teresita
3248 West Columbus Drive
Tampa, FL 33607
http://www.lateresitarestaurant.com/
Taj Indian Cuisine
2734 East Fowler Avenue
Tampa, FL 33612-6275
http://www.tajtampaindiancuisine.com/

&

Island Cuisine
2301 E Hillsbrough Ave
Tampa, FL 33610

Sorry Taco Bus on East Hillsborough Ave., but the last time we dined I wasn't into your dinner conversation...

Ode to the Gulf of Mexico

2010-06-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time...This can't be happening...

Today at 13:30 I stepped outside ready and reeling to eat lunch. I hesitated on which direction to head and where to eat when I was called upon by a lady looking for Oxfam America donations. Since I hadn’t decided on where to eat I asked her what my donation would support. She started rattling off global issues when I interrupted her with a smile; “I understand people are suffering in distant lands and I feel for them, but what about the oil gushing from the Gulf of Mexico’s bowels? What is your company doing for the Gulf right now???” Well, she of course mentioned BP isn’t doing anything, or so it seems, and in the meantime Oxfam America is educating the Gulf locals on how to handle the worst disaster of 2010 on a neighborhood level; i.e. proper clothing for clean up, educating people on the toxic affects of the oil, etc etc. So, being the believer of good souls that I am, I declined the monthly contribution option, handed her $10 cash, and quickly filled out my “one-time gift contribution form”.

I’m going to start this off by stating two things; 1. I believe the US gov’t monitors anti-USA conspiracy trash talking via internet blog flagging, of sorts, and 2. This is my opinion, which I am entitled to here in the good ol’ United States of America, so I’m going to disregard #1 and go with #2. I feel this oil spill crisis could have been handled long before it became the worst disaster in 2010. Now, everyone is up-to-date on what’s going on in the Gulf with the BP oil gusher, so there is no reason for me to recap what Fox News has clearly outlined. However, what I am extremely confused and irritated about is why the US Gov’t was contacting, or communicating with, the director of Avatar to set up a better live feed rather than stopping this underwater North American tectonic plate bleed??? Are they serious??? Rather than stopping the oil and billing BP after the fact, since BP can’t get the gear stick out of their arse and into drive, we’re concerned about underwater cameras!!!??? Is this a scam for people to buy more Avatar DVDs, because everyone and their momma have seen that film at least twice in the theatre!!! Seriously, there are only two words that can describe this pathetic waste of time tactic; 1. STALLING and 2. BULLSHIT. Really people, do they take us for idiots???

Right, so I gave that lady $10. I don’t give away money I work hard for unless I know it’s going to good use. Don’t get me wrong, I randomly will give money out to individuals within the huge homeless population here in San Francisco, $27 being the highest one-time donation straight out of the ATM from my account into a man’s hands, but there was good reason for that; we chatted for an hour, he told me jokes, he sang an acapella big band style, he new the year in which my silk vintage tie was produced, and he had the best schpeel for why he needed exactly $27 I have ever heard, even though it was indeed a scam. I’m not cheap with my money, I’m smart with my money; paper notes that really don’t mean squat in the grand scheme of things…what happened to gold and silver?!! Anyway, I gave that lady ten clams with the hope that it will do something. Why do I care? Well, my brother and I grew up on Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, FL. We, along with close friends of ours, have canoed the Wakulla River in Tallahassee, the Alafia River in Hillsborough county, swam at South Beach in Miami, stared in awe as we drove through the Florida Everglades, climbed through mangrove forests, snorkeled in the Florida Keys, swam with manatees, watched dolphins make sweet love, and this list could go on and on. If I made six figures a year and drove some posh yupped-out Hummer whilst my Louis Vuitton-leather enclosed blackberry rang with my the latest investment update, I would have signed up for that monthly donation, as well as donated more funds to other non-profits who are directly in contact with the Gulf borders of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and of course my beloved Florida. Alas, I am just a humble middle class citizen who wishes Poseidon would arise from slumber only to send a hurricane/water spout/massive lightning bolt straight for BP’s jugular while plugging that damned oil leak with his big toe.

…A week ago I swam at Navarre Beach and Pensacola Beach with my brother-in-law and my wife; at their home beaches. Pensacola is one of the closest Florida beach towns to that infamous oil trickle, with sands whiter than the after affects of staring at the sun for too long. It was said that their hotel bookings and seafood orders have nearly stopped and that tar balls have started to surface and wash ashore on their beaches. I’ve heard of a visible oil sheen creeping into one of their main bays. It’s really hard to believe that that could have been my last Gulf swim, free of pollution and floating aquatic corpses. And what’s even sadder is many US residents aren’t able to envision the spectacular beauty of Florida’s Gulf Coast, where the best mainland American beaches were once known to reside. All I can do now is hope that THE MAN has flagged my blog, having read my opinion, and perhaps passed it along to people who could help solve this problem…and I hope that The Gulf of Mexico will fully recover with in my life span so I may wade and swim once more with the memories of my youth.

Skateboarding in Uganda

2010-05-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Kitintale from Yann Gross on Vimeo.

Bay to Breakers, San Francisco; trois

2010-05-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

le Francaise baiser

la culotte

Madame Teresa et Madame Carrie

Madame Grace et Madame Nina

Carrie escaped London and returned to San Francisco, thus easing her mental from the pains of comprising her dissertation. On Sunday we blended in with the Bay to Breakers mayhem disguised as a few lovable, loyal French citizens, boasting a baguette with mixed drinks like cafe au lait, jus d'orange, and lait de coco (no glass or cans allowed). We decided on the French theme to make our fellow BtoB walkers, who actually are from France, feel comfortable in that 8 hours of American madness; they loved our French front.

Hey Nike, relax your corporate claws

2010-05-12T10:36:00.001-07:00

Shun Moroi しゅんくん!

2010-05-12T09:52:00.001-07:00

If I were to single out a favored human being based on the 34 year old ollie maneuver, Shun Moroi would be that distinguished soul. Shun blasts a kung-fu ollie in the greater Yokohama area.

http://www.bptrading.co.jp/mt/riders/2006/04/skater.html

Lunch #3; San Francisco

2010-05-11T17:22:00.001-07:00

Specialty's Cafe and Bakery - New Montgomery @Mission - tuna with chips $7!
Portico - Mission @1st St. - pesto ravioli with two sides - $7.95

Mondo Cafe - New Montgomery @2nd St. - turkey panini - $8.45

The Store on the Corner - New Montgomery @Minna - chicken bulgogi, home made kimchi, salad, and rice - $6.50!!!

Flames - 2nd St @ Mission - turkey burger and fries - $8

Bindi - 2nd St. @Stevenson - chicken ? curry with rice and naan - $7.25

Let's Eat

2010-04-27T12:57:00.001-07:00

It's all about the food we ingest. These diagrams do not mirror traditional Western eating habits, but the eating practices of Okinawans, those who age gracefully and have the longest life expectancies.

Both images display the same idea, however the latter is a bit more complex.

http://www.okicent.org/index.html

Lake Anza, Berkeley CA

2010-04-26T10:14:00.001-07:00

Walking to the lake; pre-swim.
Walking around the lake; post-swim.
Walking away from the lake and back to the car; post-swim.

GZA, RZA and Bill Murray : Coffee & Cigarettes

2010-04-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

"I told her lay off the dairy products, chill on the citric acid, and you should feel a little better, you know" - RZA aka Bobby Digital

True words, brother, true words.

Signify Zine: Issue 3

2010-04-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

Cover art by John Lindsay

urban energy

Leo Valls skates hard and fast

post-oil slide

As I skirted Post Street past Union Square engulfed in a mystic mist dodging tourists who staggered with their maps and SLR cameras struggling to find a heading, my elbow ached and I thought of the motor oil I slid through just 14 hours prior to my alarm sounding. My elbow was still bleeding and my hip and knee were swollen, but I’m young, able, and it amounted to a captured moment in time. Documenting a thrash maneuver is like flossing my teeth; I think about doing it, I know the outcome will be euphoric, but I don’t exert the effort as much as I should. I need motivation, either from the dental hygienist who stabs my gums and scraps my teeth, or from a friend who compiles photos, art, and text to showcase his perceptions of urban energy. Signify Zine; Issue 3 is Kohei Yamada’s most recent compilation of photography shot in both his neighborhoods; San Francisco and Tokyo.

signifyzine@yahoo.com

Super 8 Homie

2010-04-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

Live and direct from Co Co Dips. We filmed this projection on an apartment wall in 2004. Our oohs and awws can be heard in the background along with the projector reels.

2001-2003

Home of Chicken and Waffles; West Oakland

2010-04-03T23:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.yelp.com/biz/home-of-chicken-and-waffles-oakland

Shun Moroi しゅんくん!

2010-04-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

I present to you, from the shores of the Far East, a Yokohama myth, a man of sky-scraping stature who boasts a mile-long smile; my friend, my brother…Shun Moroi...in the heart of the concrete jungle.

Leave the Drama at Home, Y'all!

2010-04-02T10:20:00.001-07:00

Lunch #2; San Francisco

2010-03-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

Muffins Muffins @Mission/2nd St. --- Pho Ga $6.50
Muffins Muffins @Mission/2nd St. --- Vietnamese BBQ chicken, rice, salad $5
Chipotle @New Montgomery/Mission St. --- Taco salad w/everything $7.65

New Ming's Diner @Mission/New Montgomery St. --- rice with two choices $6.10

Sushi Bay @Kearny/Pine St. --- Chicken katsu and teriyaki bento $6

Chaat Cafe @Post/Montgomery St. --- Saag Paneer veggie combo $8.75!

Lee's Deli @New Montgomery/Mission St. --- Turkey burger with freedom fries $6.75

Lee's Deli @New Montgomery/Mission St. --- Chinese buffet with drink $4.90

---

There is reasonably priced food in downtown San Francisco; break your routine and try something new!

Persimmons

2010-03-24T09:50:00.001-07:00

Persimmons pack a mean punch, man! They provide vitamins C, A, & B3, as well as minerals like iron, calcium, and phosphorus. Persimmons also offer protein, healthy sugars, mass dietary fiber, and a vibrant orange color. The more colors you eat the better, so enjoy some persimmons fresh or dried. The dried persimmons are covered in sulfites for preservation, so just rinse it off with warm water and you’ve got a healthy snack that provides 12 grams of protein; 23% of your required daily intake from just one whole dried persimmon!

Still Existing Volume 1 Issue 1

2010-03-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

A ring-billed gull bombarded my bay windows, blocking my westward view of Twin Peaks, squawking like Twisted Sister, shrieking for attention to lessened it’s load; a message tied to her ankle as if she just flew in from carrier pigeon training 3000 years ago, released by the Persians and Egyptians themselves. As I went for the window the bird’s energy combined with my momentum forced the window to jolt back, sucking the bird into the room like Starship Enterprise’s unforeseen voyage through a black hole. She flew straight to my extended arm, perched and lifted her leg as I untied the string that had been so carefully wrapped around the message tube. As soon as she knew her mission was successful, she was off, and I watched her fly into the sunset as I held the cylinder that contained a leaflet of papers; the Floridian zine, Still Existing: Volume 1 Issue 1.

Photo Feature: Matt MacMillen

Vernal Equinox

2010-03-19T11:47:00.001-07:00

The earth’s axis has once again tilted, allowing the northern hemisphere to be closer to the sun, hence the vernal or spring equinox; March 21, 2010. Spring is here! And with spring comes 12 hour days and universal growth. Praises to the sun for rejuvenating the masses!

Hanami - Japan

Nowruz - Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Tajikistan

May Day

Kite Day - Pakistan

Holi - India

Easter

Chinese New Year

St. Helena, Napa CA

2010-03-10T10:15:00.001-08:00

183 days old

2010-03-08T10:18:00.000-08:00

Nana-chan is now 6 months old, 4-something pounds and she still eats like a bird. She had her first trim and ear plucking a few days ago

Lunch; San Francisco

2010-03-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

Muffin's Muffin @Mission and 2nd. Vietnamese chicken sandwich with a pear; $5.75
Caramba @2nd between Mission and Market. Taquito plate; $7.65
Flames @2nd between Mission and Market. Mediterranean veggie plate; $8.65
Niji Japanese Grill @Crocker Galleria. Tempura Udon; $7.65

Lee's Deli @New Montgomery between Mission and Howard. Tuna sandwich with chips; $5.25

-------

Food; the most important thing you spend your money on. Here are some of my usual lunch spots in downtown San Francisco, close to the Montgomery BART station.

Teresa Mariko Morton Burgess

2010-02-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

Yoko and John, Halloween in San Francisco 2009

Since October of last year, since the ceremony that declared Teresa and I to be companions of love, life, and union, there has been a general question that many people have proposed; “How is married life?” Usually when this inquiry is presented I wish I could phone Scotty on the Enterprise to beam me out of there, and I know when Teresa gets this same query her yawn is wide and lengthy. But we understand conversation is an exchange of ideas, opinions, and investigations, so we usually smile and say “it’s great, it feels the same, but Adam now wears jewelry, hahaha”, and later we laugh about the stereotypes we face as a some what younger married couple. Either way our bond is ours, and what we get out of it is between us, and that’s what makes it special. Regardless of the verbal and sometimes physical abuse (joking…but for real, hehehe) I receive from Teresa, I will always be there by her side because she completes me with her smile. Here is a glimpse into our family of 2.5.
Mrs. Teresa, I remember first seeing you in the downstairs bar at The Castle in Ybor City, Tampa, FL. I was with C-Note and Headly Lamarr, drinking Newcastles and shooting the breeze, wrinkling in the smoke from Headly’s cigarette, when you appeared in an ill-lit alcove while Neil Young played in the background. Both my comrades pointed you out and C-Note was actually on his way to say hello and then introduce me to you. However, one of you’re associates was thrown out like an old mildewed sponge, a sponge that was oversaturated with alcohol. My chance that night was gone, but I had remembered your face and knew there would be another convergence. As fate, or the Gods, luck, or the hands of time would have it, I later ran into you at Tre Nasty’s brother’s party, after you invited yourself inside and mingled naturally amongst strangers. I then swayed in your direction, caught your glace and said “hello”, and thus we were acquainted. So, let’s start things off with recalling first impressions of meeting me, your husband; did my height cast a warm shadow that seemed to swallow your being, perhaps my golden locks appeared angelic backed by a slight sparkle from my pearly whites, or maybe my voice was soothing and my laugh comforting? Or did you think my face was extremely greasy and my frame unfed and malnourished, or perhaps my feet seemed clown-like and my arms too crooked?
Who is C-Note and Headly Lamarr? Do you mean Craigery and Smashew? Yes, I made up the name Craigery; sorry Craigery. This is what happened to Love at First Sight. First, we went to the Lesbian bar and drank many Long Island Iced Teas compliments of the sexy lesbos of Ybor. We danced to techno, drank out of a Buddha, Jordan made out with a lesbian with gigantic boobies and she of course showed them to us; yay. Somehow we stumbled into the Castle and shortly after our friend GiGi was getting manly, angry, and belligerent thus we got escorted out of the dingy palace. Right when I was about to step outside and back to the grimy streets of Ybor I heard my name from the distance…Teresa… and I saw Craig and Matt at the bar…and some other guys. Ok so I don’t remember seeing you, however if it wasn’t for my transgender friend Giovanna, aka Joseph, you would have never seen me.
I’m assuming the next night was Friday night, since nasty college nights are on Thursday nights. I guess on Friday night my buddy Petey aka” my stalker” had a Birthday party at his apartment which was coincidently next door to” Tre-Nasty” or Ashley’s brother’s apartment. I’m confused, does Tre-Nasty mean Ash tray? Anyways, I had enough of the jock DB atmosphere and I ventured out alone to the other festivities around the apartment complex. Then I stumbled upon Ashley’s Brother’s apartment because it had the most guys there hahahaah; sorry Adam. Right when I was beginning my entrance, I here “Hey I saw you at the castle last night.” Thinking to myself “great sloppy cantankerous me of course you remember” My next thought was why was this guy screaming at me? And Wow he’s tall, and very white; yay? A few years later I find out he’s just a loud talker. But he got my attention, we started talking, I don’t remember what, but I bet Adam still remembers. I think what sold me was his NIKE AIR JORDANS

Hawaii 2009

Right, well after meeting you and viewing a samurai movie at the old Tampa Theater on our first date, which was merely by coincidence and had nothing to do with your cultural composition, there were a few situations that I clearly recall in the first few months of our initial dating experience; you served me rice and eggs with soy sauce for breakfast, which seemed extremely odd compared with eggs, toast, potatoes and ketchup. You’re roommates at the time were, how shall I put this…huh… they were very eccentric and at times did not consider other people in the house that may have been trying to sleep at 2AM. You were, and still may be, a very scary driver, and when I would leave your apartment after staying the night and of course sleeping five feet from your bed on the floor, my friends would always ask who possessed a feminine smell, and at the time it was little ol’ me. These are just a few things I remember, so thinking back to the first few months of us dating, what memories are you able to recall of myself and my infamous posse? I remember the first night you slept over and the next morning I had to leave early for class but my roommates were so shocked because not only a stranger was walking through the house, but a STRAIGHT man was walking through their house. Hahah Also, I can recall our first couple of dates because I wrote to Daniel talking about you. I wrote to him “I met a boy; he’s blonde, he’s sort of cute, we went on a date the day after we met, I think he’s obsessed with skateboarding, he doesn’t eat meat, nor does he use a microwave, he doesn’t use soap or shampoo but he’s not smelly, his tattoos are sexy, he lives in a dodgy apartment, he hasn’t graduated yet nor will he finish in the near future, he’s sweet and somewhat naive, I think I really like him. .
Your infamous posse? I remember you hid me from them until I turned 21! Ya I remembered don’t deny it. Your friends are like caricatures FYI.

Odowara Castle, Kanagawa, Japan

Lake Ashi, Hakone, Japan

Mrs. Morton Burgess, as most of our friends know, we lived and worked in Yokohama, Japan for 14 months. I have consistently referred to this existence experience as a pivotal moment in my life for numerous reasons; Uno. I approached traveling differently since my shred-plank was left behind on most of our journeys. B. Not being able to fully communicate with every human who I came in contact with was humbling. 3. Traveling throughout Japan and a wee bit of Asia was fascinating and left my travel urge pulsating, wanting to see more of the world. IV. There were beer vending machines. So, my wife, do you feel the same way as I do about that time in our lives, or was Asia too much of a man’s world for a strong, independent American lady like you?
Living in Japan WAS a pivotal moment in our lives; I really loved you but I wanted to know if Japan would make us or break us. I’m sure you remember that we left on strange terms; you can explain later. When you travel with someone for that long you truly get to know that other person especially when they are vulnerable and out of their element. But, I was so happy when you visited Okinawa with me. You met my entire family, you prayed at my family shrine, we played in the rice fields, and you slept in our haunted hut with ghosts and mosquitoes. It was blissful. But yes I was ready to leave Japan. I was tired of being a second class citizen because I was woman, tired of stinky salary men, and tired of my deathly allergies!

Koh Pha Ngan, Gulf of Thailand

San Francisco After Nihon we moved to San Francisco, on the liberal Left Coast. SF, CA is renowned for the early establishing population of gold diggers during the late 1800s California Gold Rush, the Beat Generation’s 1950s San Francisco Renaissance, an influx of flower toting hippies during the 1967 Summer of Love, gay rights, feminism and Black Power movements, mass immigration resulting in extremely diverse demographics, steep hills and an almost ever present fog, Victorian and Edwardian architecture, the Golden gate Bridge and cable cars, and on a more contemporary note, the fact that there are more dogs than children with in this seven mile by seven mile city by the bay. I am extremely happy that we both decided to make San Francisco our current home, so how do you feel about living in the Bay Area?

I love San Francisco; it’s beautiful, diverse, and insane. I’ve met some really great people here that I will know for a very long time. I’ve become more mature in San Francisco even though we still go out all of the time and act as though we’re still 18 years old. I’ve learned to be more patient due to all of the homeless people and talkative strangers. My palette is spoiled with great food and cultural activities.
But in the end my heart is still in Florida; but I will wait for you until you’re ready to go home my love.

Pre-Lady Gaga concert, SF, CA

I am very thankful of all the travel we’ve done together, memories we’ve made in distant and foreign lands, holidays and birthdays spent overseas, and any mention of future voyages with your hand in mine. You have seen more of this world than I, and sometimes our desired destinations can be different. Where would you like to travel in the future and why, and what country do you want me to experience with you that I may have previously declined?
My dream is to go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reefs. First, tell me where this is located? Haha. I want you to get your scuba license so we can go on a one week scuba diving boat trip in either Thailand or Australia. Basically, we would be fed by a personal chef and go diving all day long; you would love that right? It amazes me how you bomb the hills of SF and you’re scared of the deep blue ocean. (Editor’s note: I am not afraid of the ocean, just lazy about getting certified. I was swimming before I became potty trained!)
Also, I want to go back to Italy and see Venice before it sinks; we can check out the Church with the chopped off hand relic, drink café Lattés with whole milk, and eat pasta all day long; it would be suuupa romantic.

Mother Teresa, you’re definitely an Italian Renaissance nerd, you are a fan of symbolist painters like Odilon Redon and Gustav Klimt, you’re itunes collection “smells like teen spirit”, you watched every episode of Daisy of Love, and you sleep with your iphone under your pillow. Your interests span from the Middle Ages to contemporary history, you are a Nineteen Nineties pop culture know-it-all, and the 3rd millennium has captivated you with its ever evolving technological ramifications.
Do you have a favorite Renaissance painter or masterpiece? I love Michelangelo’s sculpture of David because you resemble it; big head, little body.

If you could purchase any piece of modern art what would it be? Manet’s Olympia 1863: teenage prostitute, scandalous slippers, wretched kitty, fruitful flowers ect...amazing

Who are your top three 90’s musicians? Belinda Carlisle (l987 does that count?)
Madonna

Lisa Loeb(God I love Lisa)

Which characters on Daisy of Love did you think were the funniest, best looking, and most sincere? FOX, whom you saw at Urban Outfitters!! London, and 12 Pack. Hahah loved that show.

And what non-existent iphone application would you upload if it were available? A live video stream of my puppy so I can watch her 24 hours a day

And lastly, you are the best cook who has consistently fed my belly next to your aunt Keiko. I, on the other hand, am a mere Kitchen-boy, an assistant to you, the head chef. I prep food and wash dishes, clean the table before and after meals, and only I have taken out the garbage for the past six years. However, sometimes I do come through with a decent meal, and occasionally it’s completed and ready to serve in less than 60 minutes. What Kitchen-boy dish is renowned for its flavor, and has there been a meal that made you lick your lips and say “hot damn, that was a good meal, Kitchen-boy!”?
I was talking to my girlfriends about this yesterday at a dinner party we went to and I announced to everyone that Adam cooks great Thai dishes! Is it because we eat Thai every other day or I bought a very instructional Thai recipe book for you?
Nonetheless, you have mastered the Thai Curry. Great job Kitchen boy!

Kitchen Boy and TMMB

Fumihiro Kato

2010-02-18T16:25:00.000-08:00

I discovered this artist randomly and its safe to say that I'm captivated by his color schemes and use of patterns and lines.

http://www.art-kato.com/index.html

Nana on LSD

2010-02-11T12:24:00.000-08:00

Is that a wig you're wearing? That's not a wig, that's my dog!

DJ C-NO aka Legs Calves

2010-01-30T09:13:00.001-08:00

My brother DJ C-NOTE, aka DJ Craig Kaths, recently discovered a Vestax PMC 25 mixer in the streets, which is where his analog tracks acquire inspiration and form; in the cutty cuts of Brooklyn, NY.

ROCKERS!

2010-01-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

In the last post I included a clip from the film Rockers, a 1978 film by Ted Bafaloukos. This film stars numerous reggae artists that were merely musical divinities with no acting backgrounds; artists like Big Youth, Burning Spear, drummer Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, Gregory Isaacs, Dillinger, and Jacob Miller. A majority of the scenes and backdrops were the actual residences, hang-outs, and recording studios of these irie gentlemen. This film showcases reggae culture at its prime. If you haven’t seen Rockers, I-man suggest you hunt down a friend of a friend of a friend who may have a burnt copy, and check it out. SEEN

song by Peter Tosh "Steppin' Razor"

Do That Dance, Man!

2010-01-25T12:39:00.000-08:00

SHAQUEEFA

2010-01-23T18:53:00.001-08:00

Ashley Albritton, aka Tre Nasty, bsts; Tampa, FL 2004

When I had a car and was willing and able to lug around a 35 mm Canon AE-1, the required camera for my high school photo classes, I shot photos of my friends thrashing. Enjoy these memories

Tre Nasty, alternate angle, bsts; Tampa, FL 2004

Tre Nasty, kickflip; Tampa, FL 2002

Tre Nasty, nose grind; Tampa, FL 2000

Tre Nasty, suski; Tampa, FL 2001

Tre Nasty, switch 50; Tampa, FL 2004

Steve Brandi, fakie shuv-it; Tampa, FL 2004

Adam Burgess, wallie; Miami, FL 2004, photo by GRUNDLE?

John Gow, switch nose slide, Tampa, FL 2004

Ian Gow, ollie; Tampa, FL 2003

Collin Gow, aka GRUNDLE, bs 5-0; Miami, FL 2004

Cory Hainline, aka CoCo T, blaster grab; Tampa, FL 2001

Grant, AZ loc dog, suski; Tampa, FL 2004

Mark Munniger, kick flip first try down 16, stuck it four times(every try) and broke his whip; Flagstaff, AZ 2003

Abdias Rivera, overcrook; Tampa, FL 2003

Curbs in the Burbs; Alameda, CA

2010-01-18T11:57:00.000-08:00

John Linny is a wizard of craft and creativity

Love and Compassion

2010-01-15T11:44:00.000-08:00

Conquer the angry man by love.
Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness.
Conquer the miser with generosity.
Conquer the liar with truth.
The Dhammapada

Thank you Yuri Shibuya

1/2010

2010-01-13T22:43:00.000-08:00

Carlo poppin' bottles
That's right, we are lucky men
The Year of the Tiger commenced with what was an easy, memorable night out; a quick walk to Carlo’s crib, champagne with vodka and cranberry juice, some classic soul tunes, and three grown women rolling around on the floor just as the ball dropped screaming indefinable bits of what we thought was the native dialect. Carlo, Trav, and I just sat back, watching and smiling, and we never made it out to the Mission where we hoped to dive into a bar that wasn’t charging $40 to cheers your glass at midnight; amen to plans that didn’t pan out.

Pre-floor layout
With the coming of a New Year means my lady turns over another leaf and continues on recalling her birth, hence her Continuation Day celebration, or what most people refer to as “my birth day!”. Rather than taking her to the Olive Garden and whispering in the waiter’s ear to serve her a scallop cupcake and rally the troops for the ever-embarrassing birthday chant, I decided to surprise her with a trip to the arctic, or what non-Floridians call Colorado. Jean’s birfday happens to be a few days after Teresa’s, so I thought it’d be appropriate to get her man’s-and-‘em in on the surprise. And so Trav and I did what suitors do; we put up the cash and then called the boss-women and told them our ladies would miss a few days of work. It’s good to be a romantic…
T-Money is a true Floridian, and J-Kim is Laker fan?
We stayed in Boulder, CO, a small country college town that reminded me of FLA’s capital, Tallahappy. The first night we arrived it was 9 degrees!!! I motivated the mob to walk a mile in the cold to a Victorian themed bar for micro-brews and fried foods; praise the gods for the invention of snow pants! Upon walking into the bar we were all mistaken for four Stay Puft Marshmallow peoples. After the walk back we hit the hot tub with cocktails and proclaimed the tub as our savior and a must for nightly indoor acclimation.
Estes Park was our next destination for another micro-brewery, grazing with the local elk herds, and a 10 degree drop in temperature once the sun set behind the Rockies.
SZA, T-Money, J-Kim, Camtron, T-Rav
Micro Brews are a must in the CO
The Vail seen from the bar
OK, so this trip marked numerous personal records for me; 1. The coldest weather I have ever experienced. 2. The furthest inland I have ever traveled within the good ol’ US of A. 3. The most snow I have ever witnessed and come in contact with. 4. The first time I tried snowboarding/snow-butt-boarding. 5. Possibly the most food I have consumed in a weekend.

Senju Kannon

2010-01-13T15:56:00.000-08:00

Senju Kannon, or 1000 armed Kannon; Kannon means “the One who sees and hears all” AKA Lord of Compassion/Goddess of Mercy/Kannon Bodhisattva

The Year of the Tiger

2010-01-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

The Year of the Tiger commences on February 14, 2010 and ends February 2, 2011. The tiger is the third sign of the Chinese Zodiac and it’s also the sign for bravery that is thought to keep away the three main tragedies from the household; fire, thieves, and ghosts.

Tigers are physically powerful, gracious, independent, and bold. They are loving and kind but also selfish with short tempers. They seek attention and power and can become envious in a relationship. Their quest for excitement leads them to take risks with a daring, noble grin. They are natural leaders, protectors, and protestors, and their personalities are charismatic, outgoing, and straight forward.

The Year of the Tiger is the third year in the cycle of “Heavenly Branches”, and it is called the “Yin”.

Daydreams of Distant Lands

2010-01-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ok ok, this is the last post on how much I loved Barcelona. TRAV DIGI took this photo of my wife and I on top of Park Güell.

Dear Travis and Anna,

Anna, thanks for accepting, feeding, and sheltering Travis, and allowing him to sleep on the floor next to your bed. We hope to see you this year, The Year of the Tiger, in San Francisco. Travis, we met almost 15 years ago and our bond as friends has stood the test of time. Thanks for being there, my brother, my friend.

With love and respect,

T & A

Indispensable 35s

2009-12-30T10:39:00.001-08:00

Teresa, Jean, Mariana; SRQ, FLA
Scotty The Body & Scotar Jones
Juan Paul & El Cuerpo
SF, CA
SF cable cars

Montserrat, Barcelona

worship the sun

Nana-chan

2009-12-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

Behold! What you are gazing upon is a fine canine specimen known as a “Yorkie-poo”. A Yorkie-poo is half Yorkshire Terrier and half Poodle; in this case half Toy Poodle. The parents of this puppy weighed in at an average of 4.5 pounds each, and their offspring currently weighs 2 pounds at four months old. Her name is Nana, and she is a new member of our family; Thanks Old Saint Nic!

Let’s see what cards this pooch is bringing to the table.

Yorkshire Terriers are a small breed of Terriers that came from Yorkshire, England. Yorkies are bold, active, non-shedding dogs that are are extremely affectionate in their first 2 to 3 years of existence, and so they love to cuddle.

Poodles are natural retrievers that are renowned for water working, or rather working in water, and the name Poodle is an English word that means to “splash in water”. Unlike most dogs who have two coats of hair, the Poodle has one thick curly layer of hair that is minimally shed. Poodles are apparently the second smartest breed, next to Border Collies, which makes them easy to train, easy to socialize with other beings, and they are eager to please their parental units.

Winter Solstice

2009-12-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

“Man, I can’t get out of bed, what’s the deal?” This was the second thought rolling through my largest organ after I snoozed my alarm and stared at the ceiling around 6:45AM this morning. Despite the fact that 6:45AM is somewhat of an early time to rise, it seemed a bit colder and darker today, on December 22nd. The reason for this slight change in temperature and prolonged darkness was because of yesterday, the Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice doesn’t just promote a large gathering of pagans and non-pagan spectators at Stonehenge, it marks the first day of winter when the earth’s axial tilt is furthest away from the sun. This means the northern hemisphere will start to have shorter days and longer nights, and if we lived in less than modern times we would have slaughtered all our livestock to conserve farm food and stock up on meat, and the fermenting of wine and beer would have come to a halt just in time for the cold winter season. The Winter Solstice, along with it’s twin sister season, Miss Winter, marks a time of rebirth and merriment, hence international winter holidays and the celebration of a new year; a rebirth of the sun.

Druids at Stonehenge on Winter Solstice

Pagans and Mother Earth

Surya; Hinduism's solar personification

Caribbean sun god

osechi; New Year's food

Amaterasu; Shinto's sun goddess

Uno mas de Barcelona

2009-12-16T08:58:00.001-08:00

As Iman mentioned in a previous plug on our travels in Barcelona, Mother Teresa and I were fortunate enough to have beautiful friends living a stones throw away from the apartment we occupied. Travis and Ana, a sun fried Americano and a fearless Finnish matriarch, were our revered comrades who clarified where to buy El Raval’s best bagets, wine, and shawarmas. Another month of November passed and I was reminded of the need to look forward. Teresa, Carrie, Ana, and Travis helped me devour fresh seafood, more wine, and an amazing chocolate cake, and the local Barca couple even bought me this perfect Continuation Day gift, a Clint “The Squint” Eastwood mask. It’s scary how well it fits my mug. If you fancied our photos from Barcelona, check out this link for more...TRAV DIGI

Photowerk Service Announcement

2009-12-14T14:30:00.000-08:00

This just in: Artistry auditors working for the USA, United Supporters of the Arts, have pinpointed an urban shutterbug who’s managed to stay underground for quite some time. His whereabouts seem to be flagged in and around the central west coast of Florida, and this aesthetic assassin has been spotted skirting Tampa’s main port and dodging blue coats in downtown. The USA needs all the help that can be mustered in tracking the next crafty tread of this depiction composer, a one Mr. K. Stone.

Please view these examples of his work to recognize his creative outputs, as well as the listed links to lend a hand at keeping up with this subterranean photo safari that lurks with flare and camera.

http://tenseventyfive.blogspot.com/

Read this interview to understand our freelance assailant, Mr. Stone; http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/entertainment/related/C913/

Barcelona

2009-12-09T23:10:00.000-08:00

Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

Barcelona is definitely alive and well; a city full of strapping energy and vibrant colors, good eats and sweet pastries, café con leche, street performers, Roman ruins, Gothic cathedrals and churches, and fresh bagets, seafood, and olives so tasteful that dousing your being in their leftover fluids sounds like a plan worthy of pondering and executing.

A city and sea view from inside one of the towers at Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia's ceilings are something like 60 feet tall
Looking up a staircase in the tower as we ascended for what felt like 20 minutes
Spain has fathered amazing artists like Antoni Gaudi, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miro, and Barcelona was the city that made their creative insights fly high like the local parrots that squawk at bystanders from the palm trees. I couldn’t help but sit in silence, basking in the architecture, sculptures, murals, and mosaics, and feeling an artistic itch that annoyed me to search for a medium to release the over abundance of imaginative influence that engulfed my bag of bones. It’s no wonder that the entire population of Catalonians favors their beloved gifted artistes, especially Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi’s masterpiece, Sagrada Familia, can be seen from almost all view points in the city. He started working on this grotesquely magnificent gothic church in 1883, and it is expected to be completed in 2030. Park Güell is another brilliant gem that Gaudi worked on from 1900 to 1914. In my opinion, this park is a monumental perfection. It’s off the weathered saturated tourist path and it offers magnificent views of the city and the Mediterranean Sea while luring gypsies and musicians who serenade the masses with sweet harmonized sounds that perfectly fit Gaudi’s organic architecture and mosaic overlays. And, there is no admission fee. On the roof of Gaudi's Casa Milà, aka La Pedrera, built 1906-1910
La Pedrera
La Pedrera

Overall, Barcelona is as good as all may have heard or foretold, and it’s not surprising why the Romans conquered this skirt of land almost 1600 years ago. Thank you Travis and Anna for exploring with us. Oh Barcelona, how I love thee, that lively vivid city by the sea, whose salt and wine remind me of glee. Cathedra de Barcelona, aka Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, was completed in 1450. Eulalia is a co-patron saint who was said to be a young virgin who suffered martyrdom during Roman times in Barcelona. The story suggests that she was thrown into a public square stark naked by the Romans and an inexplicable snow fall in mid-spring covered her naturism. The aggravated Romans enclosed her in a barrel with inner protruding knives and blades, and proceeded to roll the barreled virgin down the street. Her body is enshrined in the cathedral’s crypt. That church is eerie
Carrie, Teresa, and Anna; of course Travis and I roll with the most beautiful women
Ms. Carrie, thanks for coming from London to hang out in Barca
Tapas
Bagets, cheese, olives, and fruit; a magnificent meal
Did I mention how good the bagets were? Eating while freezing on Montserrat's mountain peaks
Carrie asked for a quick massage from Teresa, and it looks like it hurt
Of course we drank sangria
At the oldest bar in Barca, absinthe's ~90% alcohol gave Trav and I a new perspective on Tom Petty's greatest hits
Barcelona's labyrinth
Even close friends square up at times; SZA SAD vs. Travis Digital
The bar closed at 3AM, so street beers kept our engines fueled; Me, Trav Digi, Dallas, Mother Teresa, and Satu
The Maritime Museum has this wooden submarine on display
El Raval's finest indian cuisine and strangest mural at Punjab The Mediterranean Sea provides the best sea salt; Tarragona seaside
Gaudi's Casa Batllo, built in 1877, mirrors his love for nature and water therapy
Gaudi's Park Güell, built in 1900-1914, overlooking Barcelona
Me mate Travis and his lovely lady Anna at Park Güell
Park Güell

Park Güell's gypsies and onlookers

This was our last escapade, a night of flamenco at Jazz Si. Jazz Si is a bar where music students play each night. Friday is flamenco night and it was packed to the rafters, filled with two types of smoke, and the Spanish vibe was more than irie, it was Catalonian.

Dont' Get Slept On

2009-12-07T21:59:00.001-08:00

Back in the Bay Area after a two week binge in Barcelona left me thinking of wine, gothic architecture, olives with anchovies, vivid mosaic tile configurations, and a city that does not rest unless it’s fiesta time and friends have congregated to devour tapas and discuss life, leisure, and futbol. Man, talk about experiencing the dark side of the moon, swimming up stream, or wagering on the heads side of the coin when you usually go for tails on a coin toss; that’s Barcelona for you. This photo, shot at 4:23 AM, was my way of coping with the pleasurable madness Barcelona is infamous for, and so I slept in this position until I was told to go lay on a normal plateau. Thanks, Teresa and Carrie, for looking after me and making sure I had more fun than the rest of our barrio, El Raval. Thoughts on Barcelona are soon to come after my acclimation is complete.

Mike, Wayne, and Joe

2009-12-06T07:37:00.000-08:00

The brilliant producers of Steve and Craig Food just blessed me with this fine edit of three legendary men of the twentieth century. Sit back, size up the ThinTube screen to your liking, and soak it all in, baby.

Espana

2009-11-19T12:07:00.000-08:00

BCN

Hail fi me bredren! Iman and Iqueen gwon Barcelona, Espana haffi crucial times inna distant lands. Iman and fi me bredda bout to haffi bashment and mash it up. Give thanks and praises to di upful vibes. SEEN! FORWARD

Scotty's Body

2009-11-13T16:10:00.000-08:00

Scotty “The Body” Conley is my homie, and when my friends are happy I too feel blissful. Scotty’s phone pocket-called me a week ago, and instead of hanging up on my call he related his current position in time and space and what he had accomplished thus far on his mission. I applauded his efforts and looked forward to viewing his southern experience. After surfing through interlinked hypertext documents I visited Steve Ayer’s site, http://sayersphoto.blogspot.com/ , and decided to expose The Scotty Conley Experience.

Body boneless; FLA

read between the lines

you got to read the labels

Classic form, well played

Soy Panday

2009-11-10T12:12:00.001-08:00

Cheeky Sarah by Soy Panday, a favorite of mine

Monsieur Soy and Mr. Lindsay; Tokyo 2008

Soy Panday has one of the best names I have ever read, typed, and vocally communicated. With a name like Monsieur Soy Panday, people are sure to store, retain, and recall some bit of information regarding Monsieur Panday. Whether this retention involves his warm laugh and accent, his artistic fabrications, his dance and skateboard moves, or the flowers that spew from his mouth when he serenades his brothers and sisters with his mother tongue, Monsieur Soy is sure to be commemorated. On top of his admirable persona, Soy’s relation to Roy Sunday is desirous, the scar on his neck received when courageously fending off a Bengal Tiger from devouring a frightened child is praiseworthy, and his angelic hair reminds me of the boy in Gustav Klimt's Mother and Child.

Soy's ink and dance manoeuvers are second to none

Mr. Panday, I met you and your mate Mr. Feil in Japan through our buddy Mr. Lindsay. I believe that was your first visit to the land of the rising sun, and you were staying with an ex-missus while escaping Europa. The day we met one another, Mr. Feil was so excited to be a foreigner in the East, embracing his loud use of obscenities, drinking beer where he pleased, and frolicking gaily hand in hand with Mr. Lindsay, that I was momentarily stunned like an armadillo caught in an oncoming car’s high beams. My rudimentary numbness was due to my personal assimilation, the blending of my Floridian cultural characteristics with that of my new home in the Far East. However, our first engagement was fun, refreshing, and loud. Coincidently, we both planned a Japanese sabbatical a year later and our time together was conspicuously amusing, and I then became fond of your dance moves. You then went back to Japan for a third time in the Year of the Ox; 2009. What about Nihon draws you back again and again, and how does it compare with the rest of the world that you’ve been ingenious enough to explore?

First of all, I must say that I can perfectly understand why you got so very fond of my dance manoeuvers; they are quite honestly among the most visually pleasing body movement ever executed by a human being. With that said, there is indeed something about Nihon that keeps me going back. I find big cities very inspiring, and Tokyo is undoubtedly gigantic, and there are therefore an almost unlimited supply of very interesting spots. The people, I must say, are another really big part of my coming-backs. Everyone I have met there was outrageously nice, motivated, understanding and supportive. From an outsider’s point of view, there seemed to be no negativity whatsoever. Their skate culture is very interesting too, as the country is very traditional and peculiar, while at the same time being very “Americanized”. They take what they see from American videos and make it their own, and the result is what Japanese skateboarding means today, an upgrade of the NY-style of skating, just more fun and less serious. Japanese skate videos are definitely very inspiring to watch.
Apart from the skateboarding part, Japan is quite inspirational for art too, as there is a high tradition of design. They have mastered the art of simplicity and subtlety, and pretty much everything is beautiful. It seems that everything has been perfectly designed, well thought of, not overdone. Nihon is definitely one of a kind.

a Monsieur Panday original piece

Parisian culture incorporates opera houses, ballet, both classic and modern, and theatre, as well as independent film festivals. I’ve also read that Parisians tend to follow America’s Hollywood cinema, and that the French cinema ranks second to the United States of freedom fries. When you were growing up in Paris did the abundance of entertainment options have an effect on your acting interests, and what French and American movies, as well as directors and actors are you keen on?

I’ve always loved watching movies, and I’ve also always loved “acting”, doing little improvisations and stuff, although I never went as far as taking acting classes, mainly because skateboarding was taking all my time. But I couldn’t really tell you where that comes from. I think it does come from fighting off shyness, trying to create a different character was an easy way for me to communicate with people. As to what I’m keen on, damn, there are so many. I don’t consider myself a true connoisseur, I actually am pretty easy. Beside being one of Roy Sunday’s biggest fans, I really like Wes Anderson’s movies, I’m a big Zucker-Abraham-Zucker fan (“Airplane”), I really like old gangster movies, like old DeNiro and Al Pacino, the classics…Nothing too crazy in my tastes, I pretty much like everything, every genre… as far as France is concerned, I really like Les Nuls, Le grand détournement…

is Soy acting or skating?

Usually in large metropolises, specific ethnic groups merge together for obvious reasons; language, food, cultural customs, holiday festivals, and symmetrical fornication. Let’s discuss your neighborhood. I remember you mentioning you lived in an Indian neighborhood of Paris, am I right? Have you always lived in this specific vicinity, and if not, why did you decide to make it home base? Also, I’d like to know if growing up as a Hapa, half Asian and European, were you ever scrutinized for being so charming and good looking?

I have actually not always lived in Paris, I moved around France a bit before settling here about 8 years ago. My brother had been living here for a year or two before me, in a different neighbourhood, but yes, as soon as I moved here and with him, we relocated to the Indian part of town. Not because it was the Indian part of town, just because it was a good location, close to many train lines, and pretty cheap. And so I could go eat Indian food every other day at this one restaurant, hahaha. It’s a really cool part of the city to live in.

As far as my Hapa upbringing, hell yes, I mean, if that word actually exists! Actually, thanks to my devotion to skating and my shyness, I didn’t learn about the concept of girls until I was old enough to have kids of my own, hahahaha. Ok, maybe things weren’t that bad, but they really weren’t that good either. Luckily for me, I later realized being shy was rather stupid, and I stopped. That’s when the scrutiny began…hehehe.

Mr. Lindsay and I were discussing life and leisure over a few glasses of Crème de cassis and a plate of Quiche Lorraine, while basking in the tunes of Brigitte Fontaine and critiquing the original painting La Toilette by Edgar Degas that Mr. Lindsay bartered for last month by exchanging one of your illustrations. While our intellect soared high above the heavens and peered down upon the earth, our extreme mental capacities spotted you devouring a strawberry and nutella crepe. Our ascended psyche descended back to Mr. Lindsay’s flat and we were then reminded of your contagiously blissful manner. Mr. Lindsay then disclosed the secret of your master’s degree. Of course this chapter of the Panday saga did not faze me because I know how accomplished and civilized a man of your stature is, and forever will be. What did you study at your institution of higher education, do you use this part of your intellect now, and what knowledge do you prefer to absorb in the present moment? Also, if you ripen into an apprentice, what would you contemplate and who would be your mentor?

Let’s start this one by being very honest: there was no strawberry in my strawberry and nutella crepe. A man of my maneurism would never dip into this nonsense of a nontaste. As far as my education, I studied Business and Econimics, and I guess even if I don’t really use it, being that I don’t work and have long ago prefered to choose to follow the less profitable path of the ‘artist’s’ life, I guess it has developped my intellect. School basically enables you to learn how to read and write properly, to understand and analyse, not only what’s going on in the current economy, but things in general. It trains and sharpens your understanding of things, and what I came to understand about business and economy quickly applied to everything in my everyday life, to my skating life, to my love life even. In a way what you learn mainly, if you’re willing to look a little deeper than what you’re tought and to read between the lines, is to understand the human mind.
As to the second part of the question, I am an apprentice right now. I am currently trying to learn how to paint, following advices from my master, Marke Newton. And closely looking at Gustav Klimt’s paintings to try and understand his technique.

Soy, you are French, and Americans love the French for some reason. What French stereotypes would you presume the citizens of the Land of Freedom hold in regard to your fellow countrymen and women, and what are some predictable stereotypes that your comrades maintain about us over here in the land of the brave? And finally, when visiting the good ol’ US of America, have you experienced any cultural tension or shock, and did all the women discarded their clothes at the first perception of your magical accent?

Stereotypes, damn, there sure are a ton of those that travel back and forth. French people, on top of being as charming as they’re dirty and smelly, are usually thought of as being rude and hateful towards Americans I presume. Which is of course completely false, unless you are in Paris and yes, everyone is quite rude. Hahaha. Or unless you are indeed a loud American. Americans, as well as Brits, do have a tendency, and at this point this is no longer a stereotype but a truth, hahahaha, to be loud. I’ve actually seen that first hand in many countries I’ve visited, touring with fellow American skaters, and have felt embarrassed more than once that our group was being super loud in the quietest of metros and trains…
As to women discarding their clothes at the first perception of my french accent, let me tell you a funny story. Well, I at least think it’s funny. Anyway, I was at a halloween party in Philly with Jack Sabback and Bobby Puleo a couple years ago, we had driven to Philly for two days, pretty much only for that party. Of course the goal was to try and not stay at Jack’s old place, as it was cold and uninviting, at least less inviting than a night at a lovely girl’s apartment. So anyway, we were at this massive party, and since everyone kept telling me that every American girl was easily charmed by French accents, I spat out my Frenchest tongue to a beautiful girl. We chatted for about 20 minutes when she said she had to go to the bathroom but would come back straight away. At that moment she disappeared not only from my direct neighbourhood but also from the party. Vanished. It was late, or actually quite early in the morning, and I was tired and over it, and I abandonned the useless French accent to tell a friend in my regular not so French accent that I was hungry. A no less charming girl then walked towards me saying, “you’re hungry? Come with me, we’ll get you something to eat”. I was a little puzzled but followed her outside, where I thought she was going to take me to a sandwich place close to the party. Instead we walked for a little bit, and she said “there’s this diner there that’s open all night long, and it’s really convenient, because it’s right by my place…” The accent thing hasn’t yet worked for me once.

check out Soy's current works by clicking this link: http://soypanday.carbonmade.com/

Live, Laugh, Love

2009-11-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

"Laughter is the shortest distance between people." - Victor Borge

"Laughter can be more satisfying than honor, more precious than money, more heart-cleansing than prayer." - Harriet Rochlin

"He deserves Paradise who makes his companions laugh." - The Koran

"Time spent laughing is time spent with the Gods." - Japanese proverb

“The highest forms of understanding we can achieve are laughter and human compassion.” – Richard Fenyman

Brett "Maiximus" Davis

2009-11-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

Brett Davis reminds me of an Andean Condor; they both have wing spans larger than seven feet and they skirt the coasts of Central America. The Andean Condor is the largest flying land bird in the Western Hemisphere and Brett is my largest friend in the Western Hemisphere. Brett’s desire to hunt for pristine beaches with surfable waves, meat on sticks, and contently delighted locals could parallel the Andean Condor’s sporadic bouts of foraging for food and their preferred perches in the raw Andes. In flight, an Andean Condor gracefully glides in circles, riding the wind, propelled by natural forces that have the power of destruction. Brett, like the Andean Condor, floats atop a natural substance stylishly, poised with agility moving in oval-like patterns, to and fro, while in control. The oceans, Brett’s favored transmission mediums, also have the power of summoning large volumes of water and displacing them in harbors or on beaches, reeking havoc and devastation, similar to it’s sister’s temperament, the wind. Other than admiring Brett for his animal instincts, I also respect him for the man he is, any advice he’s given me, and for letting me rent a room from him for next to nothing. Mr. Davis, I hope to be on the beach with you sooner than later, basking in the sun, enjoying the ocean, and living for the moment.

Mr. Davis, I have bombed hills on my skateboard with the aid of gravity and my massive 160 pound frame, and easily clocked 30 mph, or 48 kph, with tears lining my face from the increase in wind pressure on my fair green eyes. My steel framed bicycle weighted with my sack of bones and propelled by the inertia from my chicken legs has more than likely topped my thrashing speed, thus thrusting me forward in time at a decent pace of about 40 mph, 64 kph. Both speeds have been experienced on concrete in San Francisco, and for most of the journeys I was in complete control. However, I have never been launched in to motion by a disturbance in space and time via the transference of energy, or simply put, a surface wave. You on the other hand have experienced all aforementioned means of transportation. What country’s coastline and ocean delivered the largest wave that managed your being, how lofty was it, and what was that feeling like? Also, have you ever been tickled by a 3 layered rack of teeth, sharper than razors and blood thirsty, backed by eyes as black as onyx with a body mass reaching up to 16 feet in length?
If my memory serves me correct, I would have to say the last trip to El Salvador 2 years ago would claim that title. It was a solid 8ft+ wave and perfect. I pretty much said a “Hail Mary” and went for it and somehow didn’t drown. Last winter in PR the waves got pretty big too. I just remember feeling like I would never get to the bottom of the wave and that it was definitely the fastest my 200lb frame has ever moved as a result of Mother Nature. As for close encounters with Florida’s state fish, there have been a number of close calls. However, this year there has been an overabundance of baitfish in the water so I feel like the odds are in my favor. Until I lose an appendage I am going to just assume it was a sea turtle. Ignorance is bliss.

Brettacus, you have been exploring Central America and the Caribbean and from what I can recall you’re having an irie time closer to the equator. I on the other hand have only been to Tijuana twice, for a total of 10 hours, which is not quite centralized enough to even remotely claim as a stopover to the Americas’ intermediate. Let me recap what I’ve collected on Tijuana; Tijuana serves staple Mexican food and beer, taxis are said to be equivalent to pharmaceutical depots, and the nightlife is saturated with fallen women, dancehalls and hideaways, and cheese. Does this brief description sound similar to what you’ve experienced down south, and what about the Americas’ mid section are you keen on?
Central America is pretty much all the same. Greedy crooked police that have no problem telling you your tags on your rental car are expired… $20 later and you are on your way, questionable drinking water, tasty tall cans with names we gringos just can’t seem to pronounce correctly, and just an overall great time. I think what keeps me coming back, aside from the tasty waves and amazing beans and rice with every meal, is how simple life is. It makes you realize how much we don’t need the strip malls, rare Nike collabo dunks, and LCD TV’s in every bedroom/bathroom in your overpriced home tucked away in the gated community, in order to be happy. The focus is more about family, friends, and enjoying life. I love how some of the poorest people living in tin shacks maintain such a strong pride and genuine love for their country and would give the shirt off their back if they felt you needed it.

Your current family, on the books, is recorded at 2.0; Brett + Riley (0.5) + Bella (0.5) = 2.0. When I was first moved in with your family, your children were so excited about me returning home that they would nip at my ankles and shower me with licks. Then after your dogs were acclimated to my scent and the soothing sound of my voice, they fought one another to receive my attention and a possible place on the couch next to my warm skinny leg. Other than devoting equal amounts of attention to your kids, what are some obstacles you’ve encountered since becoming a parent, and were these hurdles expected or unforeseen?
No doubt they are strange dogs! Corgis are affected by a form of dwarfism, which is so random. My biggest obstacles have really been trying to pawn them off on one of my friends when I need to go out of town and really understanding what it is they are trying to say when they just stare relentlessly at you; “Do you want me to let you outside so you can eat dirt or are you wondering why your arms and legs are so short and you are covered with hair?” All valid questions. These dogs were a gift in every sense of the word and I am very fortunate to have such amazing roommates who never seem to mind the fact that they have to sleep and eat all their meals on the ground.
A few weeks ago you sent me an email stating that you were going to a Motorhead concert, you’ve also recommended a Bob Marley biography, and prior to that I remember listening to Boogie Down Productions in your whip. I just mentioned three dissimilar musicians spanning three diverse music genres, and all three artists come correct with clout respective to their styles. So, if the readers don’t realize that your taste in music is wider than a Blue Whale’s belly, they better pick up a whale watching book and do the math. With that said, are you looking forward to any new releases, concerts, shows, or do you have any new or old musical interests that you’d like to mention?
I like music in all shapes and forms most likely due to growing up watching skate videos all day which allowed me to be exposed to a wide array of music. From Neil Young to Nasty Nas, it’s all good. I can identify so many periods of my short existence on this earth to different albums/songs. Lately I’ve been pretty psyched on the new Raekwon album and I recently saw the Iron Maiden “Flight 666” documentary, which was time well spent. Thank God for Iron Maiden! Unfortunately, I really can’t think of anything that stands out with the exception of the classics. I guess I am still a bit keen to the 70’s era Classic Rock (Sabbath, Stones, etc), 80’s Punk Rock/Metal (7 Seconds, Bad Religion, Samhain), and late 80’s early 90’s Hip Hop (Gangstarr, Hiero, G Rap). Not to say there hasn’t been anything good since then it’s just I always find myself going back to the albums that have stood the test of time.

And finally, Mr. Davis, your couch was lucky enough to be included in some fine conversations amongst a solid group of individuals. Topics ranging from art, hurricane forecasts, music, horse shoe throwing techniques, shoes, beer, stories of getting kicked out of the Czar, parasites, surfing, 48 hour trips to the Left Coast, YBor drama, thoughts of opening retail stores, skateboarding, and more parasites. Out of all these amazing dialogues that I participated in or listened to in an inebriated state, one topic that was drilled into my mental was your prophecy of retiring around the age of 50. The current demographics and statistics point to a retirement age of 65, and even at 65, white men, such as you, will most likely live to be 75, on average. Therefore, if you retire at the youthful age of 50, it will be as if you just got out of school again, and everyone asks “so, what will you do now?” So, Brett, what will you do when you retire?
The state of retirement in the US does tend to keep me up at night. However at the age of 50 I see myself swimming through stacks of Benjamin’s since I plan on winning Powerball in the very near future. As Craig would say, “ballin!”. I can pretty much guarantee I will be located somewhere in a tropical environment, hopefully with a hill nearby to bomb and a beach with people selling chicken on a stick. Where I will not be is the suburbs, prison, Pinellas Park, or trying to keep up with the Joneses.

T&A Union

2009-11-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

Marriage is a social unification or legal contract between individuals that manifests kinship. When thinking of genealogy, or the ol’ family tree, marriage can represent anew branch reaching towards the sun, seeking fresh air and desiring growth. This cultivation of new bark and boughs can represent two people maturing and flourishing with one another, and possibly sowing the seeds for future twigs, branches, and leaves in an upwardly course, in a direction of development.

I asked Teresa to grow with me, to weather the storms and to reach for the Sun, and she said yes. So just for clarification, the T&A branch has sprouted with unmistakable growth.

Look out for a Momma T interview, coming soon…

The Adventures of Kingsley Ned Zissou

2009-11-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

Kingsley, Falcor, and the Childlike Empress, aka Moonchild
Kingsley, Cheshire Cat, Cabaret Lady, and Ms. Mad Hatter
Lucky Asian Cat, The Childlike Empress and others

Teletubby and Kingsley networking outside the bar

fellow deck hands hard at work

Los Muertos y Kingsley

???

Mariners of different millenniums

Those guys again

V and K

a bunch of jokers

Behold a Drawing of a Pale Horse

2009-10-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

Rice and Egg: Textual Digestion compiles expressions in natural language that represents distinct and differentiated concepts that are meant to inspire thought. One concept that has been consistent on Rice and Egg is the “interview”, and anātman is usually the interviewer. However, the tides have turned…

Click this link for the Adam Burgess Experience: Behold a Drawing of a Pale Horse

SAMHAIN; All Hallow's Eve

2009-10-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

Halloween is a black and orange day that traces back to Celtic cultures’ festival of Samhain. Samhain roughly translates as “summer’s end”, and it was celebrated to welcome the darker half of the year by parting with the lighter half. The Celts believed the border between this world and the Otherworld became frail on Samhain, and thus allowed spirits to pass through to either side. This belief parallels the tradition of wearing costumes. By wearing a costume and disguising oneself as a spirit or demon, the Samhain participant would then avoid harmful and harmless spirits by being cloaked in masquerade. Bonfires were prevalent, food storage was imperative for the coming winter, and traditional characters like vampires, werewolves, devils, zombies and goblins were portrayed. I remember Halloween.

Cheers

2009-10-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

Beer is the third most consumed liquid on planet earth. It’s the world’s most ancient and preferred alcoholic libation, and I love beer. I will drink whatever beer is available, provided it parallels the weather and the food it’s enjoyed with. I prefer a lager on a hot summer day or with fried foods, and bitter hoppy flavors at the bar or in the cold. However, when I am in the mood to consume brews that really satisfy my palate and take a swing at my sobriety with mighty force, I seek ales, stouts, and the all mighty IPA. At the moment, my three beloved beers are: Lagunitas Lucky 13, a Red Ale; 8.3% alcohol per volume, Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale; 5.6%, and Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo Extra IPA; 7.2%.

Please enjoy responsibly.

Comatosed

2009-10-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

little brother

Roy Sunday siesta

Linny was last

My brothers and I were weak in the knees but eager and tireless to keep moving forward; vitality at it's best. Linny manned the computer and the controls and Roy Sunday was relaxed at his brethren's side, slouched casually, with no pants, just baby blue boxers and a shirt, wearing his spectacles, enjoying the moment. The hands of time symbolized the hour of the ox and I couldn't keep up or follow any longer. I slumbered latently, pausing to regain myself, to restore the oxygen in my blood stream with heavy deep breathes, my consciousness became suspended. Subsequently stirring and becoming alert and attentive, I noticed Roy was dormant a few lengths away. As the sun launched above the tree line, the evening rolled back through my psyche and my wits were regained. A pen found my grasp and skirted the surface of a journal. Roy was logged and Linny was noted to be next on the list as an unsuspecting sandman.

Gin Ho Le; Nectar of the Gods

2009-10-15T12:52:00.000-07:00

Alice teaches me 5,000 year old traditional Chinese medicine

With autumn under way and winter approaching, I think it’s time for the world to spread the good word of an easily infused, throat soothing, vitamin C packing, hot elixir that is sure to throw up 300 Spartan-like shields against any bird, swine, giraffe, aardvark, or humpback whale influenzas. Personally, I’m not into the flu-shot remedy gimmicks that can now be purchased in airport terminals or at Wal-Mart. I believe in seasonal foods, herbal concoctions, and advice from knowledgeable Chinese ladies (pictured above) who have studied and created herbal mixtures with their own hands and in their own kitchens, with their mothers and grandmothers.

All praises to the interconnected power of oral traditions!

I know give to you what Juan Ponce De Leon was searching for in northern Florida almost 500 years ago, a simple libation that will help, heal, and keep your hard earned clams where they should be; in your pocket and away from the pharmaceutical conglomerates. I now present to you, my brothers and sisters, “Gin Ho Le” (as in Ginger, Honey, and Lemon) [gin-ho-lay]***

GinHoLe

-8 oz. boiling to hot water
-Graded ginger (don’t be afraid to drink it); to taste
-Honey; to taste
-Fresh lemon juice with a sliver soaking and floating, to taste

Autumn foods:
Carrot, Chinese Cabbage, Pumpkin, Sweet potato, Lettuce, Lotus Root, Turnip, Shiitake mushrooms, Apple, Pear, Grape, Fig, mackerel, Salmon, Oyster, Pacific Saury

Winter foods:
Carrot, Daikon (white raddish), Chinese Cabbage, Rutabaga, Celeriac, Turnip, Brussels Sprouts, Pumpkin, Beetroot, Parsnip, Red Cabbage, Leek, Cabbage, Shallot, Pear, Tangerine, Sea Bass (Grouper), Scallop, Pacific Yellowtail Tuna, Pacific Cod, Monkfish, Halibut, Lobster, Mussels, Stone Crab

***There have been no recorded side effects and or over doses of this magical potion, so please gulp until your body and mind are content.

Dustin Eggeling

2009-10-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

legal

freedom

Dustin Eggeling was a little teen-ween when I first encountered him. He seemed ahead of his crowd, as calm as they come, and he always looked me dead in the eyes when we exchanged words. I believe we met close to eight years ago and since then he’s grown a solid foot in height and he now stands tall and firm, no longer looking up at me, but sharing a collinear gaze with me. Funny thing is, many times in the streets of SF people asked if we were brothers; perhaps not by blood, but by friendship and interests. In a day and age when most of the local population is led astray by the mass media, distraught with fear in their eyes and trembling knees, Dustin is fighting back, defending himself with his mental. The world needs more urban ninjas who aren’t disinclined to sharpen their swords with a progressive intellect. Dustin is the next squadron leader.

Mr. Dustin Eggeling, you just turned 45 minus 24 years of age, which makes you legal to enter casinos and gamble, purchase and drink alcoholic libations, labor as a prostitute in Nevada, pay for, own, or rent a hand gun, obtain fireworks in New Hampshire, and get married without parental consent in Mississippi. Of course all these laws are American, and served up with freedom fries, a quarter pound heart attack with cheese and bacon, and an extra large diet coke, with a chili dog for desert. How does it feel to be officially authorized, and do you consider our legal age laws, whether it be 16, 18, or 21, to be archaic compared with other countries’ laws?
I made it, my greatest accomplishment yet. My parents were so proud. I’ve been partaking in drinking and gambling years prior, which actually mildly manifested in your USF residence with Scotty and Robby. I’ve been steering clear of quad stack triple pound heart explosion combos that result in unexpected symptoms, yadadamean. It’s same as it was before, lots of leisure lurking for sure. Laws in general hinder more often than help, in any country. I got a 130 dollar ticket for not wearing a seat belt in the Bronx during rush hour traffic. The police officer and his fellow officers parked there cars on the side of the road and were walking on foot through traffic writing tickets for not wearing seat belts. Serve and protect? The scams and breaks that corporations, Wall Street, bankers, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies get away with are some of the biggest robberies. When you control the money you control the laws. Laws are another profitable business.
Now that I’ve got your marbles rolling about, churning that buttery intellect in your cranium caldron, please enlighten the masses on your most recent scholarly scrutiny concerning the universe, and the globe and its inhabitants; a theory, or a solution, and the Eggeling eagle eye evaluation.
Since the industrial revolution we have destroyed 50% of the earth’s biosphere, plants animals and everything in between. This earth is a living organism that has been around for 4.5 billion years, give or take a few. The earth has been absorbing our poisons and pollution into the ocean like a sponge. In our life time 90% of the coral reefs will die out and 80% of the world’s edible fish will vanish. The human civilization is raping this earth for what it has to offer. Taking out all the natural resources the earth offers bottling them up for profit then creating mass waste and burying it back in the ground. The earth works like a human body. Imagine an organism lands on you and sucks all your vitamins and nutrients out of your body and all you’re left to eat is trash, outdated electronics, and chemicals amongst other garbage. Humans on earth are as to fleas on a dog, if we keep up these habits we will be scratched off, if we are not off-ed by our fellow humans first. There is no argument that we are heavily over populated and measures need to be taken, but creating never ending wars and diseases only creates more problems. It’s a problem that needs to be taught and learned through mass education, but the franchise owners know that uneducated people are profitable and if people learn too much the franchise will lose its customers and go out of business. To advance as a civilization we need to start living off a resource system and abolish this monetary system driven by materialistic greed and power which creates ever increasing debt. It is much easier said than done because we have already dug ourselves so deep in the land fill.
Dustin, you grew up in a household of golf orbs, golf wands, with golfing blood relations. Therefore, it’s safe for me to assume you could whoop my arse in a game of putt-putt. How often to you get on a golf course, where has the game taken you in terms of travel destinations, and have you ever drove a golf ball off a sea cliff or coastline that landed in an innocent whale’s blow hole causing it to beach itself?
Golf is the illest outside of skateboarding, it’s so relaxing. I started when I was 2 to 3 years old when my dad cut down some old clubs to my weef specifications and I was sold. I played from 3 until about 13, almost every other day until I found skateboarding. Then I didn’t play for 5 years but now I try to play when ever I can. Growing up, my dad has been a rep for various golf companies and my mom played on the LPGA for 30+ years so I was always around it. Traveling with my mom on the LPGA growing up took me every where, almost every state in the United States, plus Hawaii and Canada. I think that’s where I developed a yearning for traveling. I am looking forward to going back to Tampa so I can play. We had a chipping range at the Shaqueffa Mansion (RIP) complete with glass, tires, bottles, signs, dressers, and bottles, but that’s a wrap now. I never made it in a blow hole, but I did make a hole in one when I was 11. That was off the chain, the dude in the club house gave me free lunch…Hyped.
The last time my anatomy was adjacent to your bag of bones was at a San Franciscan junction. We milled about, drank some brewed battery acid, mashed down the concrete jungle byways, and discussed a few interesting reads while trekking up non-thrashable inclines. Most of the dissertations you mentioned were non-fiction. Have you happened to leaf through any works of fiction that you were keen on, and if not, what non-fiction texts would you recommend?
I haven’t really been up on any fiction lately, I would like to though. Holler acha boy with some suggestions. I have actually been slacking on reading since I’ve been up north. I’ve been doing a lot of intranet lurking, and I’m currently reading a book titled total freedom by J. Krishnamurti, which is real sick. He was an early philosopher that dismantled his congregation of followers because social structure is a product of a conditioned mind, and a conditioned mind can never be free. A book I would always recommend is Behold a Pale Horse by William Cooper. He was in the Navy and CIA for 20+ years and writes on his discoveries. The book was published in 1988 and you can see his claims happening in present day. He was deep in the rabbit hole. I’m glad he got it published before he got silenced (RIP)
As fore mentioned, we last saw each other on the Left Coast, both of us affirming that there is indeed a gold rush in these hills. You then fled for Florida and after a stint in sultriness, you departed on the back of a steel albatross to New York, New York; the metropolis so nice, they named it twice. As a young man on a mission with lack of superstition, I commend you for your back bone and offer you the Metal of Youth, for time served and lessons learned in the field. How have these temporary residences treated you, and what type of berserk bustles have you witnessed in two of the busiest tourist trap hubs in the land of freedom?
I like to move around; a change of environment is healthy to me. If I stay in one place for to long I get burnt out on it. SF and NY are the best the United States has to offer for the life style I choose. Both are opposites though; SF is smaller and slow paced. I lived in the Tender Loin for 5 months which was constant entertainment, as you know; full of tweakers trannies, makers, shakers, and takers. I love it. I’d rather live in the TL than anyplace else in Frisco. Well, maybe the mission because that’s a pretty prime location. I miss the hills and I can't wait to go back and bomb Clement. Hill bombing is the purest form of any high I have ever had. NY is the illest though, it’s so big, so much to offer and there is always something going on. There is an open bar almost every night some where and the subway will take you anywhere with the quickness. It’s a playground for a skateboarder, anything you want. I can’t really put it into words, it’s just something you have to experience and I hope everyone gets too at least once in there life span on this planet.