Cafe Style

So here it is..I am almost finished my cafe bike.  About a days worth of polishing and finishing and she will be ready to ride!!  

Be Back in a Minute.....

Studying for the last of my finals has my brain frazzled...I will start posting again when they are over.

Photograph by :Charles E. Steinheimer

Nirvana

my idea of heaven....an ill skate spot in what looks like a very warm climate.

snagged it from onesickrace

Know Yourself

“Do not ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

  -  Howard Thurman

Photo by D.W. Mellor, a truly fantastic visionary and photographer, not to mention a motorcycle enthusiast. 

This is one photo from a series entitled "Garvey" that  spanned almost 30 years.   

One man's trash

"Don't play with trash!"  How many times did your parents belt out that little gem of wisdom when you were younger?  Well, apparently Adrian Kondratowicz didn't take it to heart. Not only has he been playing in the trash, he has been making it art.    For his rapidly growing project, TRASH: any color you like,  Adrian has been showing people that even trash can be made into a simple sculptoric form and make a difference in every urban landscape.  

So pick a color...any color and start making even your waste eye catching.

Check out Adrian's other works here!

Giving Back

Etnies, a skate shoe company that was started by a former skater, has grown to major success and a subtle domination of the industry.  But to claim that success has gone to their head would be a downright lie.  The Etnies crew spent last weekend stamping another year of tradition into the streets of LA.  So how did they do it?  Well just ask one of the 25,ooo homeless or downtrodden recipients of a hot meal and a brand new pair of kicks.

Etnies owner and former pro skater, Pierre André Senizergues has the right idea. "In these tough economic times, there's more reason than ever to help those in need and give back to the causes that touch your heart. For me this is the Los Angeles Mission. For over 10 years my team and I have donated thousands of shoes to the homeless on Skid Row and this year will be no different. Not only because the need will be greater, but because it is this small contribution that can make a difference in someone’s life.”

So next time you scowl at a young skater for tearing up your local shopping mall or waxing your church steps, think again because they could be taking care of you one day!

Fairly Farley

These should be mandatory in every city.  Who doesn't love a little Farley in their lives?

stolen from Church of Choppers an awesome blog if you like murdersickles!!

thanks Jeff and crew

A lesson never learned

When I was younger I loved Shel Silverstein's poems.  Now that my daughter loves to read them as much as I did once, I am finding all new contextual meaning to several of  the poems. Such was Shel's genius.

So, I figured I would share two of my favorite Silverstein poems.

Enjoy and take whatever you like from them.

Listen to the Mustn'ts

Listen to Mustn'ts, child, listen to the Don'ts.
Listen to the Shouldn'ts, the Impossibles, the Won'ts.
Listen to the Never Haves, then listen close to me.
Anything can happen, child, Anything can be.

Two Boxes

Two boxes met upon the road.
Said one unto the other,
"If you're a box,
And I'm a box,
Then you must be my brother.
Our sides are thin,
We're cavin' in,
And we must get no thinner."
And so two boxes, hand in hand,
Went home to have some dinner.

....as I see it....

"A person does what he does because he sees the world as he sees it"

- Alfred Korzybski

thanks riskey whiver twitter!!!

photo by the amazing Dennis Stock.

Number one with a bullet

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not."

- Kurt  Cobain 

I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news that Kurt Cobain, then 27, had been found dead.  I had just gotten home from school and was shooting baskets in my parents front yard.  The news hit like a kick to the stomach.  Kurt meant hope for kids like me and my entire generation.  Finally, he seemed to have carved out a place in the cool kid world just for us.  His death was devastating.

Now fifteen years later, here I am still trying to find a place for myself, exactly the same age as he was when he died with a daughter exactly the same age as his.  Chills run down my back every time I acknowledge this fact.  It is strange that fifteen years later, a man who never wanted the fame he had attained has become infamous in death by those who loved him so long ago.

So, today is a day to think back to the first time you heard the Nevermind album and how ,for at least a minute, you finally felt like your voice was being heard.

Thanks Kurt.     Enjoy a clip of my favorite Nirvana song.

One more for the road....

I stole this from barstool romantic !!!   an awesome site

Be Back Soon

Off to Detroit for the weekend to watch the hometown hopefully snag a NCAA title!!!!!

Up and Up

 

"The growth of understanding follows an ascending spiral rather than a straight line"   -  Joanna Field  The photo is part of the collection of Belgian born photographer, Martine Franck.  Aside from being one of the most talented female photographers of the 20th century, Franck was also the second wife of Henri Cartier-Bresson.  Talk about a power couple.   More of her work can be found  here.

Lost at Sea

If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.

-  Lewis Carroll

Soul Man

      April 1st, 1984 was undeniably one of the worst days in musical history.  In a sad turn of events, Marvin Gaye was shot dead at the young age of 45 during a heated argument with his father.  The world lost a musical pioneer that day and soul music would never be the same.  25 years later, Marvin's music has touched millions of listeners who may have not even known what Motown was.  His influence can still be found in almost any contemporary R&B singer.

    The infectious soul in Marvin's voice still remains just as fresh and relevant as it was 25 years ago.  We all would be a little better off with a little Marvin Gaye in our lives.

   This is one of my favorite Marvin Gaye tunes.  Enjoy.

Relax

"There is nothing that can give us any direction except our own mind. We need to give it the possibility to relax, to stop thinking for a little while, to have a moment of peace and quiet, so that it can renew itself. Without that renewal of energy, it decays just the same as everything else does. If the mind is taken care of, it will take care of us."

         - Ayya Khema

Photography:  Walker Evans

All Hail Hillman

Hillman Curtis literally wrote the book on media design and he hasn't stopped the train since.  Not only does Mr. Curtis still dominate the world of web design, he also has started writing/producing some of the freshest short films out right now.  Also, over the past several years Curtis has also produced several insightful "behind the scenes" artist series.  

The Lawrence Weiner series is my absolute favorite.  Who else could make a self-rolled cigarette look so cool?  

Hillman Curtis

Take Me For Me

" I don't do what I do in order to make people like me, or to prove something, or to be the best.  I do it for myself"

-  Josef Koudelka

Photo by: Henri Cartier-Bresson 

Even Legends Die Some Day

Legendary female photgrapher and native New Yorker, Helen Levitt, passed away this week at the age of 95.  Levitt, a self-reliant rebel from Bensonhurst , embodied the no-nonsense New York attitude in her body of work spanning from the early 1930s until the mid 1980s. 

 

Levitt opened the eyes of America to the sullen corners of Harlem and the Lower East Side in a style reflecting her influences, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Walker Evans.  In a showing of loyalty, Levitt stayed true to her native city only straying a handful of times to photograph in Mexico City.  

Levitt earned her photography bones unabashedly navigating the mean streets of some of the early 20th century's toughest neighborhoods armed with little more than a camera and an uncanny eye for compsition.   Levitt chose to buck the high gloss world of gallery art instead finding her voice and fame in the dramatic faces hanging on every marginalized corner living out an surreal drama of poverty and city life.

Even at the age of 95 I can't help but think that a spirit like Helen Levitt has passed too soon.

Her work can be viewed here.

Dream On

Finally the full scope of Maurice Sendak's wildly popular childrens book, Where The Wild Things Are, will be realized in living color on the big screen.  Thanks to the imagination of director Spike Jonze and a all-star cast featuring Paul Dano, Forrest Whittaker,and Catherine Keener,the child in all of us will once again be lost in the world of gentle giants and moonlit adventures.

For the handful of those unlucky individuals who didn't get tucked in to bed listening to the tale, the story follows Max a young boy who ,after being sent to bed with no supper, creates a world in which he becomes crowned king of the monsters.

Check out the trailer to see what all the hype is about.  Spike is a genius, but judging from the two minute teaser this may be his magnum opus.

The magic starts October 16th of this year at all local theaters.