life is good y'all

good beer. good friends. good life.


-- postin from twisted pine brewery, boulder. co

so. this is definitely temporary

i havent posted anything lately mostly cuz there isn't much to talk about in the life of ol rdog. I graduated school to find absolutely no work in my chosen field. I still have hope for the future but for now i'll have to be content with the warehouse blues. send some good vibes my way. I could surely use them right now.



quite a beauty ain't it? :)

this is ronnie signin off and keepin his head high. stay tuned for something really exciting!

peace

leggo my ego

guy ritchie's film "revolver" just changed my life...

the fact that i took the time to come up with a clever name for this entry and the fact that i even keep a blog in the first place is simply to satisfy my ego. the ego cares how this entry will look to readers. the ego goes back and fixes grammatical errors because it might make me look stupid. the problem is my ego is not me, it's not even mine, but.......it likes to make me believe so, and it does. my biggest fears stem from social anxiety, how and what people think of me. it's a burden i've carried my whole life. most people shed this fear when they're younger or at least learn to deal with it. i, however, attempt to deny this dilemma on a daily basis. because i'm considering revising the title of this entry i know this to be true. although i am very familiar with self-defeating inner voices, i'm not really an authority on the matter.

but...

"Behind the curtain of our intellect and emotions is our self-image or ego. The ego is not our real self; it is the image of ourselves that we have slowly built over time. It is the mask behind which we hide, but it is not the real us. And because it is not the real us, but a fraud, it lives in fear. It wants approval. It needs to control. And it follows us wherever we go.

The ego is the prison we have built around ourselves, and now it holds us captive within its walls. Any time we feel discomfort in our body, our ego, which is e-g-o or edging-god-out, is overshadowing our inner self. Fear, doubt, worry, and concern are some of the energies associated with our ego. And how do we break free from captivity? We break free by choosing to identify with our inner self, the real us.

We break free when we feel neither beneath anyone nor superior to anyone, when we shed the need to control other people, when we no longer use stereotypes or harbor extreme likes or dislikes toward people we hardly know. We break free when we refuse to follow the impulses of anger and fear, when our speech is nurturing rather than scathing, when we choose to express only our love."

...deepak chopra is...


if you haven't seen revolver, i highly recommend it. plus andre3000 is in it and i love him.

culmination of an education

last thursday (12.18.08) i put the finishing touches to my last project of my undergraduate career. all i have to say is, "freakin finally!" such a bright future awaits. i'm going to start concentrating on my craft and building a name for myself in the design community. i will focus on graphic design for the time being, seeing as it is potentially my most immediate and lucrative source of income. architecture will have to wait....for now (but i see competitions in the not so distant future). and of course, my music will remain a constant presence in the background, until i'm presented with a viable opportunity.

contract work is hard to rely on, so i will probably get a day job to keep me sane. twisted pine here i come!

i know i neglected you all, so i'll post some images of my work to prove to you i was working my ass off and not just ignoring you for the hell of it.

rTABLE (final project for Digital Design and Fabrication):

some images from my studio 4710 final (boulder event center):

more to come...

episode VII :: America can be taken seriously again...

yesterday, i watched one of the most beautiful things i've ever seen. it was the first thing i thought about when I woke up this morning. it's like the emperor has just been slain and now the republic can truly prosper as a proud nation once again. this new golden age will not be tainted with family regimes or dynasties. we've learned how to vote again...in record numbers people! i still believe that a bi-partisan system is intrinsically flawed but now with the house and senate being a strong blue majority at least something can be accomplished by congress.

did you see jesse jackson? wow, i'm not really a fan of the man, but understanding his direct association with the civil rights movement and all the history behind those eyes is enough to make anyone weep. mlk is dancing in his grave.

just for the record, i didn't vote for obama because of his skin color. that's extremely ignorant. i voted for him because the US needs a serious makeover and a stodgy gray-haired grandpa is not gonna cut it for 2009. yes he's accomplished and experienced...i don't care. policy had nothing with my vote either, because not one presidential candidate in the history of the country has lived up to all the crap they talk before they're elected. remember ol' jim carter? c'mon now. if we want to be considered a true player in the global community and not just some oppressive bully state, we need fresh young eyes...elected by the people, not corporate lobbyists.

this is merely the first step, needless to say it's a huge one with some big shoes to fill. however, the shoes he has to fill are not hand-me-downs. no. he will have to design a whole new style of footwear. kick those old kicks to the recycling bin on the curb and walk tall and proud in your new shoes, barack. show us what you're really made of...



.... if mccain had won, he probably would've had a coronary from the shock and then palin would have been the effective "president" and that my friends would be enough for this young american to hand in his citizenship and ship out to south of the equator.

but that didn't happen...so.......... YES WE CAN!

music is happier

architectural design has its beautiful moments. but a large percentage of said trade is filled with stress and an overwhelming amount of social responsibility.

i went to the jason mraz concert the other night. live music fills my heart up like a party balloon and keeps me warm. hearing music and especially playing music is like a gift to my soul. something in me transforms when music is present and this feeling is probably not something i'll ever get from architecture. goethe said that to him "architecture was frozen music." this quote has never resonated with me as much as it has within the last couple weeks.

architecture is a visual art and relatively static when compared to music. but it also has more of a sense of permanence and omnipresence, whereas music is more of a series of temporary experiences. regardless, i have felt chilled in my design these last few weeks before midterms. music is my white pony, always tempting me to ride away into the harmonic sunset and never look back. architecture is city of glory i must navigate and conquer before i can follow the sun.

talk to me in december, when i start my perpetual winter break.

check out pretty lights' new album!

thanks allison...

an excerpt from my new favorite feel-good song:

You're just dodging all the friendly fire
You're never dressed in the right attire
You miss the start of every game
You're my flame

You make hay when the sun don't shine
You don't need a dollar, you don't need a dime
You burn at both ends and still you're fine
You're my flame

zero 7 - the garden

i can be too as well, in the end, it's all about, the objective is...something to be seen...all that really matters............

architorture is love. we can all agree on that. if you can't then you don't love me. because i am architorture...........in its purest sense. i embody the willingness to sacrifice life and love for design itself. this is not unique and i do not propose to be special. those whom give themselves to their craft know this. what you make...what you produce...what you design...is................YOU! you cannot escape you. you is you. u is a letter. you is a noun. ewe is a noun. You is a pronoun. I am a ProNoun and so can YOU. y i o u an explanation is simple. i am a human and you can as well.

trail ridge shoot

we drove up trail ridge road yesterday to finish out cameron and christina's engagement photo shoot. allison did an amazing job directing them and making them feel like a loving couple. the images she got are really sweet too! but I'll let her show u those...

dude......starstruck....

michael fuckin franti!!!!! he's the one standing up in the light blue back there. I was just mindin my own business havin happy hour with friends and then franti just crosses the street right in front of me. I could barely contain myself. I can only imagine what I wouldve done had it been Keller, or Britney....

how did u get to Colorado little guy?

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the tribe ride

ok, allison and i have talked about it, for us tribe is on a decline.  the last 2 or 3 shows we've been to have lacked the original magic we felt when we started this ride a few years ago.  we always have a good time because all of our friends are there, but the music used to be the main attraction.  i just think when i find myself sneering at the songlist of a "favorite" band then it's time to move on.  

tribe, it's been real, but peaceblaster is......yikes. 

i will see you in another life when we are both cats or until you come out with another album on par with artifact.  good luck.

fire!!!

some moron across the hall from me started a grease fire and blew up their kitchen.  three fire trucks along with half of the boulder police force showed up at my apt. bldg. last night around 9:30.  needless to say it was a little unnerving.  i didn't have time to put away any computers or grab the cats.  i was outside for 3 minutes before i decided to ran back up and put the laptops under the couch, but when i opened the door for the 4th floor i couldn't even see my apt. door because there was so much smoke.  my heart sank...  thoughts started racing:  did the sprinklers go off?  is there smoke in our place?  do my cats hate me now?  turns out my apt. was not affected at all and it remains the island retreat within a sea of crappy apartments.

who the fuck cooks with grease?  that's some country-ass shit!

my stoic girlfriend...

nah, i just caught her in between smiles, but for some reason i really like this photo.

we waded across the treacherous boulder creek and made it with all our portable electronics still in tact and safe from the evils of h20.

8am

wow i totally made it to an 8am class today. i'm way super-d-duperly proud of myself.

crazy dutch architects

MVRDV is one of the firms on our class list.  i like the project of theirs that i've dubbed the "jenga" building in taipei.

UN studio is another one on the list.  UN-fold-STUDIO is one of my favorite coffee table books.  marcel also suggested some readings from one of my favorite architectural journals: praxis.  

i feel ahead of the curve.  yeuh boy!  you gotta own it!

unmitagated audacity...

great googly moogly!



zappa for president!

studio before sept.: clean and stress free

soon there will hundreds of angry, sweaty, tired children in here:

better to see you with...

snapped this one in the optometrist's office.  this is my optomap.  i have healthy eyes if you were wondering...

omg you guys

dude...songsterr.com

if your a long-time internet guitar tab junkie like me...you'll appreciate the magnanimity of this site.  holy crap...

so there is an online jam room, but it's definitely lacking compared to what i had imagined an online jam room should be.  there should be a community of online musicians who can create "rooms" where they can play music live.  other people can then listen and/or play along.  the people who create these rooms should have the ability to choose whether or not to listen to people jammin with them.  talk about a billion dollar business idea.  amateurs could end up playin with super badasses and not even realize it.  that would be sooooo awesome...

just a taste...

the rest of the show is on its way...

i like to think i've sung this one better before, but it still had lots of energy.

lucy...you have some 'splainin to do...

aww......lulu can shake a paw

procrastination is...well...i'll you about it later...

i've learned a few things about procrastination recently...the hard way of course.  my glasses broke...twice.  the first time was the other night at sundowner.  my left "temple wire" just snapped when i tried to take them off for a second.  and then just yesterday the right one broke the same way.  i took them into pearl vision today and found out the 1-year warranty was in fact up.  it was almost as if the manufacturers specifically planned for them to destroy themselves just past the warranty's expiration.  hmm...  anyway, i have needed contacts for a while but have been putting it off until the last possible moment.  well...needless to say that moment came to me in a snap...literally.  so i conned the optometrist into giving me a free pair of loner contacts until i come in and renew my prescription.  new glasses come in next monday and i'm gonna stretch these contacts for 3 months and buy more online with the copy of my old prescription.  

the second part of the story has to do with h&r block and a bunch of money, but i won't bore you with the details.

so i guess what i'm really trying to say is :: i didn't really learn anything.  ha!

no but seriously, take it from me.  don't wait until you have been literally blinded before you decide it's time to take care of yourself.

colorado never ceases to amaze...

drove up past ward yesterday to brainard lake.  i'm totally going back there sometime.  it was absolutely gorgeous.

Christopher Pieper (aka...crispy tits)

it's hard to beat pitchers of pbrs @ the dwnr...mmm

jive coulis (feat. ronchron)

what an amazing feeling...

who better to capture such a moment than my better half...

the tenth

derek leaves for illinois today...sad day. my brother mickey just left for college yesterday. for some reason around this time every year, people in my life leave me.  ha!  maybe i'm just super aware around my birthday.  anyway look how cute:

we got back from the mountains today around 1:30.  i headed to twisted pine a couple of hours later to jam with the jive.  it was really fun!  i feel like we have the keller song nailed and the random improv seshes with pete were super sweet!  

we're opening the set with my keller song and then i might play with them on another track.  

wednesday night (8.13.08) @ the fox...yeuh

chipmunk heaven!

ok, so i've never so many friggin chipmunks in my life!

you just got killed by a daewoo lanos, mofo...

i snapped this one in the theatre last night @ the 9:35 showing of pineapple express. the iphone gives whole new meaning to the term "flash photography". ha!

holy crap james franco was an f'in riot. i was privy to some more of his work on "funny or die". it's so great to see A-listers making low-budget indy films and turning them around for 10s of thousands of dollars...not to mention the publicity. hilarious...

extreme cutover is here...

yay, my latest creation is live!  i made a website for martin-group's promo project called extreme cutover (parody of extreme makeover: home edition).