Oregon 2009

Caitlin and I headed to Oregon so I could marry my friends Adam and Kanani. Some old friends showed up and we made some new ones as well. Here's the slideshow until I get around to the write-up.

Dr Sketcheys...April Edition

Went down to the Elm City this past Sunday to partake in the first (of hopefully many) Dr Sketchey's Anti-Art school events. It basically a rock-concert version of live model drawing. Well, maybe not that intense, but a lot more fun than a traditional figure drawing class. Here're some flicks:


-This is pretty much where I was sitting....not sure how Linda got this shot without me realizing it...maybe before I got there?


-Kiki burying the ex...


-This one netted me some rad talking animal markers.



Then I went to Caitlin's, she made an awesome dinner, we watched some TV, fell asleep on the couch and even got to sleep in on Monday! A rad Sunday for sure.

Afternoon Snack...

Digger hooked up the cupcakes, I hooked up the coffee....perfect for a raw, cold afternoon.

Photos...Words...

I've been up to a few things in the past month or so...and I took a couple photos...


-Caitlin bought me a new thermos. I did it up promptly and proper with a few stickies...it's been carrying coffee safely in my messenger bag to work pretty much every day. Right now it's been neglected for the past couple of days in my living room and is in need of a good scrubbing...:(


-Met up at the Pan one fine evening with Tony, Tina, Schmidt and his lady-friend. I didn't know he had a lumberjack beard going...took me by surprise.


-Tony got bested by the Treasure Box game...again....


-Get up!


-Anti-Theft Device....


-Went with my boy Adam to the NYC Comic-Con. Lots of weirdos. Lots of cool geek stuff. That's Adam sitting on the panel for Hip-Hop and Comic Books along with DMC, Kyle Baker, Johnny Juice, Chuck D and James Bomb.

Caitlin and I went to Boston and saw....

-A shitty, oversized, gas-guzzling land-barge...


-The Shepard Fairey show at the ICA...


-The ocean...


-!Incredible! Thai food...


-her sister's boyfriend's awesome band...


-A shoe...


-Her super, super, sweet cat Mya.

Back home...

-Doug had his 30th...with the usual cast of characters.


-And some kind of fry tower?


-I rode to work...it rained...


-...and turned my skull sideways...

A few more randoms for you...

-Mya read me a bedtime story...


-I thought of Shawn when I saw these and had to take a photo...


-She's shy...


-Caitlin turning the tables...

Until next time...

Day Off Project

I rocked out yesterday ninja-ing some laundry, getting groceries and building a bike rack. Who needs a fancy $60 bike rack when $17 gets you a 2x4, a couple lag screws, drill bits and a few bike hooks? Gett'n rad in my kitchen:



Stoked for an "anti-Valentines Day" weekend with Caitlin up in Boston. The girl hates on the V-Day so we figured that we'd make it the most un-V-Day by staying at her Mom's place...hahahaha! Apparently she's got lots of fun stuff planned! Can't wait! Been working on getting my studio into shape, getting there, slowly but surely. I'm actually going to get to work on a piece tonight.

Rode to work for the first time in forever today! With the weather being in the high 50's, there was no excuse not to! I feel like I've got my work cut out for the upcoming cycling season...motivation to ride the rollers is pretty weak this year. I can't wait for the nicer weather!

Great Art

Jim Mahfood has one of the most powerful and touching works of art I've seen in a while. Check it out here.

Newness!

So I'm pretty much all moved. I've got a few assorted odds and ends that need to be moved over here. Planning on getting the rest of it tomorrow. Getting the majority of it all here went pretty smoothly. Moving a couple of blocks (essentially) away is fairly easy. Borrowed a truck to get the big stuff here and utilized Caitlin's legendary moving powers to get it all in.

First impressions of the new place, well, it's big. Like, really, really big! Easily twice the size and close to three times my old place. And it's fucking cold! Apparently, there's no more oil left in the tank. So that means I have to scramble to find someone to fill the tank, bleed the line and light the furnace before I can stay warm on the daily. First order of business was to get all of the windows sealed in plastic. That made a pretty big difference already. So now I'm rockin' the space heater so I can sleep comfortably, not too bad. Nailed up an old comforter to separate a couple of rooms. That seems to have helped as well. I've got a few other tricks up my sleeve, but need to really start unpacking and putting-away to get things in order. Stoked to have tomorrow off and start making my place look a little more homey.

New, Old Video

Just found an older hip-hop video I had never seen from one of my favorite groups (who may or may not be together any longer depending on what month it is).

What's New?

Lots have been happening in the past couple of weeks. I've been pretty busy with lots of stuff...so here we go:
Got snowed in with Caitlin for the initial storm. Being snowed in can be cool. Or it can suck. But being snowed in with someone is way more fun than being snowed in by yourself! We went to the grocery store, expecting to have to elbow other people out of the way...but it was actually pretty civilized. Even the bread and milk aisles were in good condition. They're usually cleaned out like people are going to be trapped in their houses for a week when the weathermen start threatening with lots of snow. Needless to say I was pretty surprised! Picked up a few things so I could flex on my stir-fry abilities (which are pretty dope if you don't know....check out this bit of radness I just made tonight:)



Then we made the best of the rest of the day, watching movies, watching the snow fall and just generally being rad together. On the way to work on Saturday, I snapped a quick flick of this little accident:



-Two poor Japanese dudes wrecked it by themselves into the metal-guard-rope thing on the side of the road. Sucks!

The past couple of days have been spent cleaning and packing as I'm moving come January 1st. The new place is super dope and it's just down the street. Great neighbors, great space. Should be great overall. I can't wait to have a room that's a dedicated studio. Should be pretty rad! I've got some good plans for the new place! However, I do hate packing. And cleaning. They suck. But the upside is that I'm trying to throw out as much crap as I can so I have way less to pack. The more that goes into the garbage bin, the less that has to get unpacked.

Xmas is in a couple of days and it's tough to get in the spirit when I have so many other things going on. Looking forward to having Xmas off to continue packing. I'm staying home, resting and packing. Can't wait to get more work done. On the art front, I've got a couple of holiday pieces in the works for family, working on the new Pedal Power shirt designs, finishing up jeresys for the Scorchers, and getting a few new Ghostship hoodies worked on. 2009 is looking to be a dope year. Snapped a cool artsy photo the other day just before the big snowfall...enjoy!

Weekend Fun

An awesome weekend for sure! C and I headed up to Mass MoCA on Saturday. We made the long drive up, and were amazed as we started our trip through the Berkshires. As you probably know, there was a bitch of an ice storm that has left many residents of NH, as well as MA and VT with no power. We saw some of the aftermath. The tree-tops glazed with a coating of light reflecting ice. It wasn't too bad as we were heading there. We got on the twisty, windy road of RT 2, and as we crested the mountain, it was markedly more drastic! Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING (except the road) was crusted with ice. There were lots of road crews out chainsawing trees so they wouldn't break and fall on cars driving past. It was pretty amazing. Beautiful for sure!

So we hit up the MoCA and saw lots of cool art. Some exhibits were better than others, but if you've never been, you should hit it up to see the building itself! It's located in a reclaimed factory building. Lots of big windows that let in plenty of light, and lots of cool architectural stuff going on. If it weren't so far away, I'd definitely have a membership. So much fun to visit!

We hit up Northampton on the way home for some burritos, used books and shoe shopping. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything I liked. Oh well. Also on the unfortunate tip, is the fact that I left my camera home, so no rad photos of the ice-trees. Next time....

Excited for the Weekend!

-art'n the place up w. a photo of my fridge.

Anticipating an awesome weekend! Heading to the Market tomorrow to pick up some extra hours tuning boards, mounting skis, and generally just being a shop rat (listening to loud punk rock, making crude jokes, trying not to inhale too much wax smoke, talking about life w. Joe and Aaron, etc). Having dinner after work with a beautiful girl and then causing some trouble? Sleeping in late on Saturday, going into work late (cause I stayed late tonight), Scorcher's meeting that evening. Staying with one of the boys in New Haven, Raf's cooking us breakfast Sunday AM, then heading up to Boston to terrorize with about 7 other team guys. Poker Run race in the afternoon, free beer, burritos and roller-races that evening.

This has all the makings of an epic weekend for sure!

Making Up for Lost Time...

Experimenting w. my little point-and-shoot.


-the 'mandatory-myspace' photo?...


-I think this reflects how tired I was when I shot it fairly well. hahahaha!

Thanksgiving.

I took my camera with me and had the best intentions of shooting during the holiday. But the overwhelming urge to relax caused me to forget it in the car when we got to my sisters. So you're left with mostly artsy-fartsy shit from my car ride. Enjoy!

:)

The Sweetness.

Yep.

November...YIKES!

Damn. I've really slacked off here. I've been pretty busy I guess. Racing has kind of burned me out. I won't lie. I got sick for about a week, and then took another week to totally get back to 100%. There's nothing like getting sick to really take the wind out of your sails....that's for sure! So riding to work has pretty much been my time on the bike for the past couple of weeks. I had put some gears on the cross bike to help me be a little more competitive on the flats. I've been finishing up in the middle of the pack still. Pretty much in the same place where I was finishing with on gear. So for the race this weekend, I think I'm going back to one cog. Just have fun. No worries. Have a good time. Heckle the shit out of everyone else. We'll see how it pans out. Ghostship is sponsoring the CT State Championships so I have to make time to get some shirts done this week...in my new studio! So stoked ot have a place to work now (outside of my living room).

I've been pretty busy with making art as well. I just have some pieces in the Game Over show @ No Regrets Tattoo/Art Gallery in Naugatuck. Dougy-fresh and I went to Eliza's wedding on Saturday and then high-tailed it up to the gallery to take in some culture. I could only get a couple of photos because we got there so late (damn you LI ferry!). The show runs for another couple of weeks so get on over there and check out some of the rad stuff!




-awesome block Super Mario figures! these guys stand about 2 feet tall or so.




-Life-sized Mario Cart. Super dope! I wanna see a motor in that thing!


-My main piece for the show. Ink wash on 140lb fine watercolor paper. 18"x13.5". Framed. $200.


-Woodman from Megaman II. One of my favorite games growing up. This is my favorite of the series of 3 I did. 4"x6". $50.


-Fireman from Megaman. 4"x6". For sale. $40.


-Bombman from Megaman. 4"x6". For sale. $40.

Discount if you want the entire series of 3. We can talk.

After I dropped Doug @ home, I trekked back to M-Town and hung out with Digger, SA, LT and Deanapar, had a beverage and watched Brock Lesnar pound on Randy Couture. A great fight and a packed Saturday for sure!


-SA and Deanapar taking it all in.

I've also been working with everyone I ride with to organize our club, The Scorchers, a bit better. We've got tons of great ideas floating around and we're all working really hard to make them realized. Got some shirts to work on this week and racing on Saturday. Then I've got a couple more pieces in the works. No rest for the weary!

Finally Home!

Thank God I'm finally home! Another Vegas trip for the books. This year pretty much wore me the f*ck out. Not being a big drinker, or a big gambler, there's not a whole lot there for me to do. Oh yeah, I should also mention that I had very little expendable cash for this trip as well.

Well, the show was a good time. Got to see all the new bright, shiny bike goodies for the upcoming season. Made some new friends, visited and caught up with some old ones as well. Things that really stoked me out? Working along with Rickshaw on an upcoming custom one-off bag, pretty much all of the new BMX stuff. Looks really, really great! Had a good time laughing at the Dean and Digger Show...pretty much the whole trip. Got to race my cross bike on Wednesday night under the lights of a giant soccer complex. Super fun! Well, minus the crash that knocked me out of the first place spot (which I should have taken due to the one lap rule that I didn't know about til the next day!....damn my honesty and niceness!) and left a decent patch of skin on the pavement at about 15mph! Ouch. Randomly ran into Stevil Kinevil and hooked him up with his shirt. Watched Lance get shelled (he crashed in the same place I did! Rad!). Went to some randomly weird bicycle/urban fashion show and made fun of everybody...we've got it on video. I'll post that up later.

Those are pretty much the highlights for me. I didn't drink nearly enough coffee...had my head in a serious fog for the better part of the trip. I did shoot some photos, though. Click the photo below to head to the slideshow....since it sucks to try and post everything here. While I had fun, I think that this is my last trip out to the desert. That city definitely wears thin with me. Now, STOKED for the cross season and getting my art on! Lots of shirt ideas, getting the press warmed back up!





-Best Dressed for sure! photo by Jason Patrician

Vegasvegasvegasvegasvegas.....

It's that time of year again. Our annual trip out to the desert. We're shipping out on Monday and will be back on Saturday evening. Tony and I are registered for the cross race on Wed night, there's a great movie premier lined up that night as well. Digger and Deanapar are pretty much in drunk mode already...we should have some great stories, photos and videos this year! Oh yeah, Jason P is meeting up with us on Tues or Wed. Going to try and take it easy for the first couple days so I can stay fresh for the race. I don't travel well. I'm hoping for some good sleep to get well rested. Have to try and acclimate to the dry air as well. Bringing a bottle cage and bottle for the race. I think it'll be so dry that I'm going to need to actually drink during this one. Wish me luck! We'll see you when we get back!

Catching Up To Do....

Well, I was planning on heading up to Boston to meet up with the rest of the crew, but after thinking long and hard, decided to stay put this weekend. There's sooooooo much I need to get done around here. And after I pay for 2 days worth of tattoo convention tix, gas and food $, that'll cover the cost of shipping Ms. Surly out to Los Vagrants (and then some!). I know I'm missing some great fun, but I'll have my week out in Vegas! So in the meantime, shirts are getting screened, friends are getting visits, and I had a little time to upload some photos from some recent adventures. Check out a few of my favorites:

First up, my Sister got married about a month ago...


-Chill'n w. Pops...probably one of the best self-portraits I've ever taken.


-Ma Dukes and myself.


-My Mom and my Niece.


-My Sister with her daughters.

Click here for a slideshow of the rest of the photos...

And Secondly: Trek flew a few of us from the shop out to their Trek World convention a few weeks ago. Fun times! Some more fun photos:


-The crew ready for an evening of beer, brats and skidding Limes...hahahhahah!


-Spence gett'n live....


-Don't let the cup fool you (he was refilling mine), he finished that himself....Digger on the loose....

Trying to remember what I had promised.......after swearing not to have a drop of beer until after XcrossX season...oops.








-what can I say?

See the rest of the set by clicking here. As always, good times! Should have some more rad photos and even some videos in a few weeks after Vegas. We're heading out from Monday to Saturday (ugh...gonna be total zombies by the time we return!), the longest stint we've done there so far. We're going to the big bicycle convention, Interbike. Tony Tyrant and I are registered to race in the Industry Cup cyclocross race, CrossVegas. We're renting ourselves a "molester" team van, and rocking out to brutal metal for the entire night...if we don't get arrested, we'll have some amazing stories!