with this section, i hope to update at least monthly what my influences are or have been. i may also post the occasional rant...

11/14/09

i'm applying to graduate schools. my goal is to earn a teaching credential and masters degree so that i can eventually run a middle school level special education classroom. i think it would be pretty awesome and fulfilling, it was when i partially did it a couple years ago. so the process of applying to these graduate schools has been pretty tasking.

whenever i find some free time, and my brain agrees to let me enjoy it, i spend that time reading or writing mostly. i'm working on compiling my writing into a small booklet, most likely zine sized/format (although i'm kind of "over" zines at the moment, based on how cool they seem to be getting. i'm waiting for the day urban outfitters decides to sell a "make your own zine! kit", complete with pre-fab art and text that can be rearranged to suit individual taste.) my writing booklet will contain poems, short stories, photographs, and possibly some color collages i have made. the cover will be screen printed, on some thicker cardstock, or possibly on some cloth that will be affixed to a proper cardboard cover. basically, the theme of this booklet is stream of consciousness writings, appropriately titled "rivers of consciousness", as each "stream" layered on top of another makes for one giant river. pretty corny, i know. i'm ok with it though, and am pretty psyched on the booklet becoming a real physical object.

i have also been working on some large gouache paintings, which are taking influence/attempting to recreate a similar vibe to that of some of the books i read as a child: horror, mystery, and adventure stories. my parents gave me a lot of books when i was younger that were from the 1950's probably, and i remember always really enjoying the images in those books. they definitely had a huge influence on how i perceive the world (or how i would like to) at times.

some outside sources that have been influencing/inspiring me as of late: the work of georgio de chirico, j.d. salinger, the large collection of nonesuch explorer LP's i've acquired, and shortened daylight.

books: "nine stories" j.d. salinger, "be here now" dr richard alpert, "the haunted head" nick blinko, "the book of lost things" john connolly

music: unhinged - win our freedom in fire, napalm death - from enslavement to obliteration, michael hurley - blueberry wine, nonesuch explorer LP's: western africa, australian aborigines, yugoslavia, indian vocal music

09/17/09

i feel bad for not updating this in so long, not that anybody reads it anyway, i just feel like i'm not keeping consistent with myself. if that makes any sense.

life has been weird, there's been a lot going on lately. much of which has been pretty stressful. i took the day off from work today so as not to let my stress or negative vibes rub off on the students, especially the student i work one to one with, who needs as much positive energy as possible.

i've been seeing a lot of spiders the past month or so. way more than usual. they all appear to be a variant of araneidae, which are a common garden spider. i see several webs per tree or bush, with the spiders just hanging out in the center. i think spiders are great, and i love seeing so many, however, i have this feeling telling me that something just isn't right, it's like there aren't enough predators to be eating the spiders or something like that. i wonder if this is climate (change) related?

in more art related news, amigos publishing will be releasing a zine of a bunch of work i did. it should be out very very soon; kerry and nick have been working extremely hard (thanks guys!!!) i'm really excited to see the finished product, and i recommend checking out their website.

music: droneament, beneath the lake, santana, killing joke, zomes, the byrds, crass

books: "a sand county almanac" aldo leopold, "self reliance" jon yeoman, isaac asimov's "science fiction magazine"

08/03/09

well, i was in portland this past weekend visiting some friends, and i've got to say that the place is super inspiring for certain reasons, and to be honest at the moment i don't really feel like going into those reasons. it's just a super cool place, let's leave it at that.

unrelated, things not so cool:

-uninspired (uninspiring) artwork. i've been feeling this for a while now, however, it wasn't until ben what's-his-name's (of paper rad fame) interview on fecalface. he really summed it up in such an awesome way, and i really couldn't agree more. it was refreshing reading it and then feeling like i had someone who was on the same page. it seems these days that art has turned away from self expression to a trendy ass, cookie cutter sheet sold at urban outfitters, fame game that completely takes the fun out of it all. i feel like people think they can simply draw a little slimy blob monster with a cartoon face, and think they came up with something fresh and original. where's the thought? talent?

-speaking of urban outfitters: the uniform. you know it, you have seen it a million times before on the same (different) face. vans authentic, skinny jeans, AA hoodie and/or t, neon, messenger bag, fixed-gear bike. it's the uniform of the primarily white, middle-to-upper class youth army, a consuming (consumerist) culture that is a void to all things once good. such a sad sight to see.

-the internet. i have a love/hate relationship with the internet. on one hand,

(edit: i never finished this update, i think i was in a really frustrated mood and just walked away from my computer. i was planning not to publish it to my website, but on second thought, i'm not going to hide or deny how i was feeling at the time, much of which is still relevant.)

06/23/09

"fleshetables" by harvey benschoter:

i really love this video. it is truly inspiring and really convinced me it is time to start making my own drawings come to life. as of 2 days ago, i started one and am now on frame 3..

books: "kamana one: exploring natural mystery" by jon young, "readers digest guide to north american wildlife","the basics of permaculture design" by ross mars

06/02/09

wow, it's been way too long. i've just been super busy with a lot of things, and am just finally starting to be able to wind down. my most recent effort, a large collaborative zine featuring 22 different artists from around the country is finished and dissipated. i'm really happy with how it came out too. it's 46 pages, b/w and color, and contains a large variety of work. not to mention, it was practically free... aside from that, i've been working on a lot of drawings for a zine some friends are putting out for me on their new publishing company, amigos publishing. i highly recommend checking them out, they have some really great plans, great ethics, and their stuff looks really awesome. so far they have only put out one zine (mine will be numero dos) but the quality is so refined already, you'd think they have been doing this stuff for years.... or have they?

kristen and i got a cat in april, we named her gladys. sometimes i call her mumumau. taking care of her and learning to readjust my lifestyle to accomodate another head in our apartment has really consumed a lot of my mental energy. so has moving from the downstairs apartment to our new one.... expect to see some screenprints on this website once summer rolls around. izaak and i plan to get a setup going in either my spare room or at his pad. we'll see what happens. but it's happening...

as far as reading goes, i haven't done much of it. read about half of kurt vonneguts' "breakfast of champions", but realized this book needs to be put on pause until i can think more clearly.

music: excruciating terror - divided we fall (finally tracked down a cheap copy of the LP!!!!), gift horse - ep, beach boys - pet sounds, alton ellis, hawkwind, drone and punk podcasts...

02/12/09

01/28/09

i was walking down the road the other day and saw this huge tree that totally blew my mind. it was some weird type of pine tree where small needley branches formed cones on larger branches. it reminded me of one of those fractally broccoli's..

seeing amebix play in san fran on the 25th was one of the greatest experiences ever.

izaak and myself are going to be printing out a (color!!!) photo zine of some of our stuff. it looks so sick, i really can't emphasize how excited i am about it. not to mention we have hook ups for free color prints and copies. it is a dream come true.

music: the byrds - mr. tambourine man, morne - demo LP

books: "famous potatoes" joe cottonwood, and some books on dada

01/12/09

the past couple weeks have been moving too quickly and have involved too many changes for me to be able to slow down and appreciate the finer things. i would say that since my last post, the most influential thing for me was being able to see my family and friends back home.

something inspirational, but in a different sort of way, was finding out a picture i took was put into the liner notes of the failures l.p. which was put out by cleanplate and youth attack records. awesome band by the way.. you can maybe get a copy by going to either youth attack or clean plate

new zine in the works--a collection of art and writing by various friends and folks. should be out sometime february.

i should also mention that i've kicked my 6 month long skateboarding hiatus...

music: crystalline roses, smithsonian folkways collection of world music, totalitar - ni maste bort, walter de maria - drums and nature, nick drake - pink moon

books: "be here now" dr. richard alpert, "meditation" sri swami satchidananda, "little house on a small planet" shay salomon

12/22/08

12/13/08

at the middle school i work for, during third period i take my assigned student as well as a slew of others out on walks. this past week we have been going to this spot behind the running track where there is a huge tree. all of the students and myself climb the tree and sit on different branches. conversations are usually at a minimum due to everyone getting lost in their thoughts.

lately i've been noticing this really beautiful light coming through my kitchen windows. it happens around 3:30 pm when the sun is in a particular position where it points some rays towards a chinese maple right outside the windows. the leaves on the tree have turned a brilliant orange-red and reflect light into my kitchen, illuminating the room with color.

books: "the little school" alicia partnoy, still reading "the philosophy of kant", "indian painting: the scene, themes, and legends" john kenneth galbrath, "indian painting: the great mural tradition" mira seth, "vitamin ph: new perspectives in photography"

music: podcasts..., izaak/miguel's split cassette tape, peer pressure demo tape, les rallizes denudes - flightless bird, the birdtree - orchards and caravans, santa cruz free radio, ucsc radio station (i finally got an antenna for my stereo!!!)

12/07/08

while walking the other day, it was around 4pm or so, i noticed some purple flowers in some one's yard. the vibrancy of the color was incredible, it had this energy like a reflective surface..

some mornings, as i am walking out my front door to unlock my bike, there are some birds in a nearby tree singing and talking. i'm not sure if it's because of the level of silence at that particular hour, or if the birds' calls are echoing off the roofs of apartment houses, but whatever the case the birds have the most psychedelic sound to them. it sounds like a mushroom trip...

i am so completely inspired with the landscape of lighthouse field state park. the plant life is diverse, yet in a very dry sort of way. the grassy field is tall and yellow, the bushes are all large and consuming, and there are small groves of trees that one can walk through and hide out in like a cave. once i can get my camera back from my parents house and once i buy some film, my long term hiatus of the "travel photography"-esque photo series will be over...

books: "me++ : the networked city and the cyborg self" william j. mitchell, "integral vision" ken wilber, "our posthuman future: dangers of the biotechnology revolution" francis fukuyama, "the philosophy of kant" selected writings

music: sepultura - schitzophrenia, seht - the green morning, tarentel - home ruckus, birdsinourbackyards - low-life phase, sacrilege - behind the realms of madness