12.21.2008
culmination of an education
11.05.2008
episode VII :: America can be taken seriously again...
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!
11.02.2008
music is happier
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!
10.17.2008
thanks allison...
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
10.15.2008
i can be too as well, in the end, it's all about, the objective is...something to be seen...all that really matters............
9.27.2008
trail ridge shoot
9.26.2008
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....
9.16.2008
9.13.2008
the tribe ride
9.04.2008
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!
9.01.2008
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.
8.28.2008
8.26.2008
crazy dutch architects
8.21.2008
better to see you with...
8.20.2008
omg you guys
8.19.2008
just a taste...
8.18.2008
procrastination is...well...i'll you about it later...
8.17.2008
8.10.2008
the tenth
8.08.2008
8.07.2008
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...
8.06.2008
extreme cutover is here...
8.05.2008
tech meetup @ wolf law!!
8.04.2008
eat healthy . . . drink beer
7.30.2008
jivin...
7.29.2008
trying to hold a groove...
i can sing along to jack because his range is similar to mine, so i learned a couple of his songs throughout the rest of the summer. it was rocky at first, but it caught on after a while and then just when i thought was really improving, i started devoting my time to txtbus. as kickass of a ride as it was, that year of startup life completely consumed me...no real time for guitar. and i have this thing...if i can't do something right (in this case: diligently practicing) i just don't do it all. i picked it up a few times, but usually not with much passion. it killed me, but it was a sacrifice i was willing to make...temporarily.
the summer is back and with it came a little more free time for guitar. although i have been fairly busy. i guess i’ve just made more time for it. the room upstairs really helps. i kinna monopolized it, but i think allison expected that. there’s a desk up there now so she can use it for stuff. i’ve been learning keller songs lately. i guess he’s in my vocal range too. i just never thought to play one of his songs because he’s such an amazing guitarist. i thought it might be kind of a reach. turns out he plays chords just like everyone else. his picking style is what’s intimidating. must be all that bluegrass background.
7.28.2008
wordpress is calling me back...but i am strong...
sexy silouettes...
re:creation @ Mishawaka was freakin sweet! I forgot how much I loved that venue. pretty lights haf the best set. pnuma was cool. but a little too glitchy for my taste. next time I think allison and I are gonna shuttle and camp...on the poudre!
7.24.2008
beeeeelieve it or not!!!
7.23.2008
frisbee heaven...and rainbows
sun came during a light drizzle and behold!...a double-rainbow appeareth over the trees...
7.22.2008
so...blogger...eh?
i went down to arvada yesterday to help my brother install speakers in his car. i think he thought i knew what i was doing by the way i had talked about it on the phone. but i have never taken the panelling off an '02 ford explorer, nor have i ever rewired speakers with solder (pronounced "sauder" and spelled almost like a dude carrying a gun in the sand). i only broke off a few plastic notches on the door panel. not bad for a rookie. it could've been way worse!
ok so, allison and i are going to start taking our laundry down to arvada on a regular basis, at least until we move into a place where it doesn't cost $8-10 for only a few loads. can you believe it's $2.25 to wash and dry something in my apt. complex? maybe you can and that's what it normally costs, but i think it's redic.
despite the lack of excitement on my blog in june, it was a kickass month! allison and i edited video together, we drove to austin to party it up with her friends, i stopped working @ friedrick's every waking moment of my life, and i started up a new hobby: frisbee chuckin!!! can i tell you how much i love the frisbee? oh wow, i never thought chasing plastic could bee so much fun. i try to get out there at least 5 times a week. theron and i are getting damn good. we are the up and coming disc duo, watch out!
playing music...until recently has been almost nil in my life. i just haven't made the time for it. but i now i have set aside a couple hours everyday to stop working and play guitar...and maybe sing a little. i went camping with a couple of my buddies from jive coulis. i kinna surprised myself the way i was playing that night. i was jammin like never before, guitar and vocals. it was great, but before my head gets any bigger, i'm gonna drink this delicious looking iced coffee my baby made for me...
7.21.2008
it's beer o clock at rothbury
I cracked this one at 930ish...whenever it was that I woke up that morning...
5.30.2008
. . . and the livin's . . . life
i'm really excited about this summer. so many possibilities! my design career is blossoming. i love it. i've definitely got my work cut out for me. but i've always believed being too busy is better than not. keeping my mind occupied is extremely important to me. my brain is dangerous when idle. if i don't continually activate my mind with creative processes, evil thoughts begin to creep in...
peer is blowin up! friedrick is making sales calls at montana hospitals all this week and the better part of next week. he and his dad are apparently really kickin ass in those board rooms. even though i also have a vested interest in his success, i really am happy for him. he needed this trip, not only to nurture his relationship with his father, but also to boost his confidence. i've been giving him a hard time lately. my frustration and animosity toward him has clearly been evident these last few weeks. i wish it i could say it all stemmed from something other than financial expectations...but i can't. i know nothing was ever promised to me. that's just start-up life and i have to suck it up. my problem is that i promised myself much more by this time '08. i know things will eventually pan out for all of our benefit. that's the thing about true patience...there's no set deadline. things will happen when they happen. my duty to myself and my sanity is to abide until the time comes to partake in the fruits of my labor.
the or peer website is really shaping up. my experience in web design is kinna backwards. i learned how to build flash sites before really learning html and css. there's still a lot to learn, but i have a lot of confidence in my self-taught crash course. the most powerful thing i've learned about coding is that most of what you want in a website has already been done, in some form or another. you just have to learn where to find it and mold it to your own specific design and functionality. the internet is my friend...
4.27.2008
it's mine though...
i'm an apple whore...
4.24.2008
5th element
the ancient chinese believed that the universe was composed of these five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. they are both consequential and antithetical: metal begets water, water begets wood, wood begets fire, fire begets earth, and earth beget metal; and, conversely, metal overcomes wood, wood overcomes earth, earth overcomes water, water overcomes fire, and fire overcomes metal. to a large extent, the Feng Shui theory is a and application of the dynamic relationships of the five elements.
4.02.2008
summit 08
my buddies for back east came to hang out in good ol' Colorado. i realize i said i'd write over the break, but we didn't have wireless up there. i know...barbaric...right? anyway, we had a great time at the condo, which was a lot bigger than i imagined. i wanted to invite more of my friends from boulder, but i already felt a little intrusive when i brought my brother and derek. either way, we all got plenty of riding and partying done. now all i need is a break to recover from break. funny how that works.
we got some wicked footage from the helmet cam that danny brought with him. ok so, danny told me he was bringing this rig that mounts a video camera to a snowboard helmet so that it can take a first-person shot going down the mountain. he sent me a youtube video of an example and i truly thought he was joking. i shoulda known better... of course danny would fabricate a nifty mounting system. i told him he should consider starting an industrial design firm... guess what, that's right....he's already planning it. i can't win with this kid. but hey man, you'll know what i mean when i say, "you're welcome..." -love allison and ronnie, mostly allison.
luke said something on the last day they were all here that has stayed with me since. he said he wished that we could be "real" friends. "...we could just come over to each others' places after work and talk about philosophy, drink beer, and just plain hang out. " i have a solution, luke. yall should just move out here...out here, where the air is fresher and grass is greener, and vegetation is....well...browner, but the sky is definitely bluer. of course, it's not really that simple. moving sucks. but i know what you mean, luke. i miss the old days too. but without the distant memories of the old days, the new days would start to get old. by the way, luke is badass rider now. seriously, he's improved like 400% since the last time i saw him. he was rippin it.
it's hard to believe my buddy tyler is a teacher now. he teaches US History to high schoolers. talking to him about his job, i never realized how much someone in his position goes through on a day-to-day basis. i wanted to go back in time and apologize to every young teacher i pestered in school. knowing "Mr. Redes" outside of school, i think he'd make an awesome teacher. he's always been a chill guy. but i imagine one must behave a little different in a classroom setting. i just sent some of the stuff tyler left here back to his place in Norfolk, Virginia. it's strange how many times i've heard the word "norfolk" since they left. but this is probably because i now know how to pronounce it correctly. phonetically it looks more like this.....nahfuc. i can't quite seem to get it though, because i know you shouldn't feel like you're cursing when you say it.
jason and nick were great new additions to the crew. jason is super fun and crazy like luke, and nick...nick is a badass. i respect him. thanks nick, for taking care of all of us drunkards. he took some great pictures of the trip while we were all much too inebriated to concern ourselves with posterity.
allison would have definitely felt out-numbered had lauren not been there. it worked out beautifully that they were the only girls there and happened to have comparable ridin skill levels. allison got really comfortable on her board this week. she's movin like she wants it. it's great. i love seeing my students improve...
tyler should definitely get paid more for his job. all teachers should.
3.20.2008
stir fry and smoothies
my friend julia turelli came to visit me in boulder the other night. i was worried that we wouldn’t have anything to talk about, but it was like no time had passed since the last time we hung out. she drove from golden to seek advice and consolation. she’s concerned that she might be experiencing an episode similar to what i went through a few years back. though this might be true, i think she just needed to talk to an old friend. i told her that she just needs to be aware of drastic changes in her attitude and suggested that she not seek an intrusive solution like mood-stabilizers or antidepressants. instead i recommended that she just remember to eat right, sleep and get plenty of exercise. these 3 things cannot ever be replaced by any amount of medication. i told her she just needed to remember there are people who love her very much and she had always been a great friend. we all need that.
zach clanton and his buddy simon came to our place last night to chill and shoot the breeze. of course we got to talkin about shreddin pow. he has over 90 days, 78 of which are back country. needless to say, i’m seriously envious. he’s totally livin the dream. utah gets all the snow… he said the music scene is almost non-existent though. i think i could give us shows for a season or 2 of epic pow… as long as i can play my own music. zach comin to visit is a great omen. i feel allison and are about to embark on the next phase in our lives. shreddin pow and being artists…for a living. i’m excited!
so, about the title of this blog…i recently realized that i am like a stir fry of different skills, strengths and weaknesses. the whole of which, is much greater than just the sum of its ingredients. my social life is like a smoothie of friends and relationships. once it’s had time to blend and mix, it’s impossible to separate the medley of fruit and juices. everyone is in every spoonfull. there are sometimes stray chunks, but for the most part, all my friends are affected by even the smallest things i do. i realize this is just another way to explain any holistic philosophy, like relativity or systems theory. but my way is more fun.
see yall on the mtn…
3.18.2008
shan wai yu shan...
i can’t wait to go ride with my homies next week. they come into town on friday night. allison and i are going to pick them up from DIA. I don’t know where were we’ll all spend the night that night, but i’m shootin for my dad’s. since the divorce, danny usually sees my mom when he comes to town. besides i think my dad and maryann would be cooler with us hangin there for an evening. it’s also closer to our final destination…las MONTANAS! i can’t wait to hit that pow . i heard it’s been absolutely epic lately.
allison is going to learn so much this week. and not just about shreddin gnar… i’m so excited for danny and my boys to finally meet my girl….fo real… last time the Clemson Crew was here, they barely spent anytime in boulder, and allison was too busy with class to come up and ride. so, needless to say, this next week has been highly anticipated.
i don’t think it’s hit me yet that i’m going to be missing an entire week of work. i haven’t taken a real vacation since last year around this time. from mexico to frisco… sun to snow… sand to pow…
zach is coming to boulder this week… i wish he was coming next week so i could actually take off work to chill. mickey also wants to ride later this week. sigh…my FRIENDS::POWDER-DAYS ratio is a little unbalanced… oh well, always room for improvement, i guess.
random quote time:
wise old theron say...shan wai yu shan ....in chinese, this translates to:
"Beyond this Mountain...there is always another..."
we might have to come back to boulder for a minute to meet with hannah and the production crew about Extreme Cutover. no big deal though, allison and i have already decided it’s totally worth missing 1 day of ridin to possibly make a few grand, not mention the opportunity of a lifetime!
eventhough i will be chest deep in gnar cherry pow next week, i will still do my darndest to blog everyday about it.
check out this sexy kodak moment:
3.15.2008
not much today...
3.14.2008
dreamers' disease
You've got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up, You've got a reason to live
Can't forget, You only get what you give
love that song...very poppy, but awesome. barhop promo event tonight @ the sundowner. i have a good feeling about this one. barhop is about to pop. we're gonna sell it, retain part ownership, and just watch it grow...mmm baby. this could be the night that launches us into tomorrow. i'm very excited! allison's gonna be there snappin photos for the social networking aspect of the website. the part of the site hasn't yet been implemented. but i've been thinking about it for a while. it's gonna be sweet when it's done.
tonight is going to rock! i love hangin with my friends and showin'em what i do all day that makes it so i can't chill like i used to. i miss those days. but that's why i keep working so hard right now. i want those days back...forever.
3.13.2008
movin forward...
on a happier note, i sent the budget to hannah yesterday and she already replied this morning. it looks like the project is a go, but their deal with the company in minnesota fell through. i know the energy behind the project is still goin strong and i have confidence that Martin-Group will find another company to make this work out, no problem. this might actually work out in our favor, mostly because of allison's class schedule. if the project gets pushed back a few weeks, it will put us right after finals during the production phase. that would be perfect, because by then allison and i will both have more time and energy to devote to this. it's gonna be great!
.::Martin-Group's Website::.
3.11.2008
new territory...
chillin@t-house
hi again...
a little window into my world:
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/772760]