23 September 2011
Farewell San Francisco
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...
21 September 2011
20 July 2011
06 July 2011
10 June 2011
Magenta Skateboards - San Francisco, CA
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!
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...
16 May 2011
12 May 2011
Eastern Exposure Zero
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.
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.
03 May 2011
Homemade Mac & Cheese
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
A view of Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge
Bay BridgeOn a clear day, Treasure Island boasts some amazing westward views of San Francisco and the surrounding bay.
23 April 2011
MASANORI URUMA 【UNBOUND】
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.
19 April 2011
Shun Moroi しゅんくん!
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.
18 April 2011
San Francisco: FOOD
Dolce Gelato916 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
Chile Pies and Ice Cream(between Fulton St & Mcallister St)
San Francisco, CA 94117
Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA
Pho Vietnam1406 Polk St
San Francisco, CA 94109
Tommy's Mexican RestaurantSan Francisco, CA 94121
Ajisen RamenSan Francisco, CA 94103
!RICE & EGG!Fresh Yields
Buy as much produce as you can from farmer's markets; support local farmers by eating healthy! 07 April 2011
29 March 2011
21 October 2010
27 September 2010
23 September 2010
The Quintessence of Continued Existence
“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.”
22 September 2010
Harvest Moon
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
20 September 2010
02 September 2010
Two Wolves
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. '
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