Archive for the random thoughts category
- Graphic Design & Photography: working on photography portfolio sites for my sister and myself. it’s nice being able to design a minimal photographic site and to be able to do it twice. the staid photography-grey themed thing has interesting boundaries to explore but colours are what keep me alive. been poking into slideshowpro/director and flickrssp.
- Surf: Finally, a tiny micro-swell rolled into town yesterday, funny enough, only hitting Burros and Veneros. everywhere else, flat. so picky. But I managed to have a really nice morning cutting up the 3 footers. It’s been a month or so since the last time I could complement the waves with such nice flowing lines.
- Movies: Last night we finally watched The Devil and Daniel Johnston. insanely great music, wonderful movie. I had no idea how tumultuous his life has been, up and down and up and tail-spin. good quality documentary too. great art-direction, cutting and mixing, like a sound and audio collage. Sunshine was great for the first 45 minutes, but the only thing i hate more then horror movies are horror movies in space. terrible third act.
- TV: Watched the finale of Heroes. whoa, what an uneventful ending. Watched the finale of Lost S03, pretty freakin’ good. But if what we were watching is a flash-forward, then why is Jack’s dad still alive (inferred from Jack’s conversation with the doc at the hospital mentioning his dad). I like the flash-forward as the new flash-back idea. Watched the first episode of Nip/Tuck S04, what a bummer, that show jumped the shark two seasons ago. delete.
Today I did the unthinkable, I got braces and I’m going on 33. Why would I possibly do this to myself?
Well, the story goes something like this: although I have straight teeth, for the most part, my bite is all screwed up. Both top and bottom rows fold a little too far inward. When I was wee lickle shite, the orthodontist told my parents that he’d have to break my lower jaw and wire my mouth shut for 6 months (ala through the wire) to be able to fix my bite. Graciously my parents declined and since have completely forgotten the episode.
Recently I’ve been catching up with my dentist visits, replacing all those metal fillings and trying to get teeth fixed that through time had been ground down or chipped. The dentist said that my teeth could not be fixed. As a result of my bite, any fixes he did would come undone. So he referred me to an orthodontist and here we are. Braces. 6 months. To alter my bite, so that in 20 years I still have teeth and gums left. yay me! Let the pain begin.
So we’re at episode four, in season one of Weeds. What a great little show. I can’t believe I haven’t seen it until now (cuz, like, ya know, i’m so in the know. and all). After three episodes we are really getting into the rhythm of the show. The dialogue isn’t always the best but the scenes ebb and flow really well. The plot devices aren’t cliched or very predictable and the character development is good (although I still can’t understand why they ditched Silas’ girlfriend after episode one).
Every time the opening credits and song come on, my face lights up with glee. All the rows of houses and people who all look the same, great intro. and the theme song matches it beautifully. I had to go and find out all about the theme song, it’s called “Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds, a sixties folk singer. I love smug little songs like this, breaking down modern america in 100 words or less, written easily 40 years ago and it’s still as true today as it was back then. What a great way to start off a good show. The whole thing reminds me of the four years I lived in Valencia, as i went to art school. I’m gonna have to do some research on Malvina.
I guess I’m Floating has the Weeds theme song and several other songs used in the series as mp3 downloads. go check it out.
Help me! I’m stuck in the airport edition:
dude, that shirt you’re wearing, that disco looking, tight lycra looking shirt? it’s a rash-guard, for boogie-boarding. oops!
Currently listening to: Mala Rodriguez Jugadoras, Jugadores. super nice.
oh and you’ll be listening to Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy, all summer long, so get a jump start on it now. hyper buenisimo.
it’s official. my house is for sale. Anyone wanna own a peace of architectural history? It’s really a beautiful place.
Azteca has to be the worst airline ever. Their prices are half what the other airlines are (to Mexico City, atleast). I guess that makes up for them pushing our flight five and a half hours.
Currently reading: Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art. a great coffee-table book written by Sean Cliver. a former Powell-Peralta / World Industries graphic designer. It’s awesome seeing the art from all these skateboards in one place, all the old decks I used to own, but it’s even more fascinating reading about the insiders’ perspectives from Cliver and several other deck designers. Stuff that I was blissfully unaware of, for my 15 + years of skateboarding. Oh and here’s my first deck: Vision’s Mark Gonzalez
Anyways, Marcia wants the computer back so she can catch up to me in our homework (learning to program ruby). so I must go.
So we are going to LA today. let’s see, here’s my shopping list so far: camera grip (for shooting vertically), a light set up (!), 2 external hard drives, usb card reader, shorts, light pants, jeans, peet’s coffee, a longboard. I got champaign tastes on a beer wallet. something’s got to give.
Andrew, Pau, Salim, Marcia and I are planning the ultimate summer mexican road trip. Following the coast south, of course, to catch the summer swells. Ticla, Pazcuaro and Puerto Escondido are on the route, Chiapas being the southern most point, where Salim’s sister is currently living. The question is 2 or 3 weeks? I think 3. To say the surf will be gnarly is a horrendous understatement. We’ll need one car for the peoples and one for the boards and gear.
Relatedly to last paragraph, Salim has the dopest invention ever. I am on a mad quest to procure one: a camping hammock, made exactly like a tent, complete with mosquito netting. How awesome is that?
I’m currently thinking: the ocean is as flat as I’ve ever seen it, the past few days. and why does the swell come up, just as I’m heading to LA. murphy is not my friend.
Currently listening to: Royksopp - The Understanding. on repeat and repeat and more repeat. possibly the best electronic dance album ever, What else is there?
My good friend, Jeremy Fels is currently in Puerto Vallarta, vacationing with his family. We hung out tuesday and I showed Him and hist sister the glossier side of local nightlife, we hung out at the decadent De Santos, PV’s answer to the Sky Bar, although admittedly we were literally the only people there. A decadence in anonymity.
Everyone in LA says it’s so warm! shah right! The warmest day in LA in the spring, is 200% colder then the coldest day in the winter here. Marcia and I are resigned to the fact that we will be icicles for most of the trip. If you can’t beat him… On Saturday, we are going snowboarding at Mountain High with Mr. Dave Swift and his lovely girlfriend, Lisa. I am Ed’s unbridled anticipation.
I blame Melvung.
Four jobs I’ve had in my life:
- Gap employee
- Camp Counselor (arts n crafts, baby!)
- Graphic / Web Designer
- Real Estate Developer
Four movies I can watch over and over:
- Rushmore
- The Big Lebowski
- Riding Giants
- Donnie Darko
Four places I have lived:
- Croton-On-Hudson, NY
- Milwaukee, WI
- Los Angeles, CA
- Bucerias, Nayarit, Mexico
Four TV shows I love to watch:
- Lost
- Nip / Tuck
- The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
- Survivor
Four places I have been on vacation:
Four websites I visit daily:
Four of my favorite foods:
- Fish Tacos at Marismas
- The Karaage Flounder at Ita-Cho
- In & Out’s Double-Double
- Roots’ Shredded Potato, sauteed spinach and roasted pineapple appetizer
Four places I would rather be right now:
- Thailand
- Katmandu
- Australia
- Hawaii
Four bloggers people I am tagging:
work. work. mo’ work. that’s the m.o.
in other news, some heavy family stuff has been going down and I don’t quite know what to say about it just yet. These past coupla weeks have been hard and long. I look forward to working less, so I can relax and get back to a normal surfing (and posting) schedule. i have a ton of photos and no time to pick through and post them.
Our project had it’s debut last weekend and we’re starting to take the wraps off it. so I’ll start posting more about it in the next few weeks. It’s really exciting and I can’t wait to share.
I love my baby.
oh what the hey!, here’s a sneak peek:
So there’s this guy, out in Punta de Mita that likes to make sculptures out of bushes, ala Edward Scissorhands. This one is a chicken.
totally (insert cuss word here) sublime.
mr. lizard is our friend, even mr. lizard knows a good color combination when he sees one:
File this under: Rediculous
You know mexican airlines have a monopoly that should be broken up, when it costs me $200 US more to fly from Puerto Vallarta to Puerto Escondido then it does for me to fly from Vallarta to New York City.
Relatedly, I hear that the government is about to privatize both Mexicana and Aeroméxico. In addition, there are several low-budget airlines that are going to be popping up, here in mexico (i’ve already started seeing signs for one called “Click”. This is a god-send. why? because it is so ridiculously expensive to travel by plane in Mexico that literally 99.9% of the population can’t afford a ticket. This issue is compounded by the fact that Mexico doesn’t have a proper highway infrastructure like us gringos do in the states. This makes getting around the country impossible.
Watching the airline monopoly die will be a big treat and will do great things for a country trying to bootstrap itself into the 21st century.
viva mejico!
I’ve been edited and tweaking the photos on my site and in Flickr. I’m wondering how they are being perceived. It takes me alot longer to edit the photos, then if i were to make simple/limited color alterations in iPhoto. The way I’m doing them is quite extensive and time-consuming, in Photoshop. I like to be able to give a set of photos another layer of emotion and feeling by tweaking the color, saturation and vignetting, but it forces me to be more select with them, only posting a few.
what do you think?
For this 4th of July day, I thought I might list of some of the pros and cons of living in a largely rural area of mexico vs. living in big-bad Los Angeles. It just seems like the right time to make this kinda list, so here’s my random list of observances (in no way is it complete for even that well thought out):
- My electricity bill is $3.50/month. pretty hard to beat.
- It costs $3 to rent 2 DVDs for 1 night.
- Movies cost $5 bucks except on Wednesdays when it’s 2 for 1 all day long (at every movie house).
- My DSL bill is the same as it was in the states and gas costs a bit more.
- $10 buys a ton of vegetables down at the local fruteria and this feeds us pretty well. But no matter what else we buy, if we go to the regular super market it will cost at least $50
- Marcia’s VW Polo just went in for tune-up and it cost $250 dollars, for some reason I didn’t expect VW dealers to charge the same price as they do in the states.
- If you think L.A is known for it’s bling-bling crowds, you should check out our local nightclub, De Santos. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
- In Mexico it’s standard to work on Saturdays.
- Mexico has taco stands on every other block but there are no good waffle joints. period.
- I love those hot summer cook-outs with friends, it’s summer all year long here.
- $650 Rent for a two bedroom apartment, two blocks from the water is a great price anywhere, but when we lose water in our apartment complex for a day or two each month, the price seems kinda high.
- We have a thai fusion restaurant here that’s pretty good but the sushi joints here are terrible.
All in all. Both places have their good and bad points.
So I’m sitting here at my computer, it’s monday and the ‘net is dead. it’s like a ghost town. no new news, no new updates from my favorite blogs. It’s almost as if the entire U.S. took a day off or something.
Oh yeah, it’s “independence” day. ok, back to work for me!
Ok, two thoughts:
Thought number 1: I’m probably the most trim I’ve been, ever. Well, that’s a tiny fib, I was in better shape when I first got here and was surfing every day. But I’m still skinny, or at least I’m as skinny as I’ll probably ever get for my body type. But taking pilates last week and yoga this week I’ve come to realize that being skinny and being physically fit are two separate things.
Thought number 2: If you think pilates and yoga are hard in english, try it in spanish. I felt like the class clown, and i was. so much for being smooth.
I caught this image in downtown Puerto Vallarta a few weeks ago. File this one under: "Advertising concept gone awry". I wanna know which ad exec. thought that using a gothed out club chick (who really looks like your average underwear model underneath all that make-up and the fake tattoo and nose-ring and digitally enhanced breast cleavage) to sell ice-cream to kiddies was a good idea. hmm. great choice! let’s go with that!
Marcia and I have been hunting around online for projects to do together in our spare time. cool little crafty projects that we can do together and more importantly keep us away from the computer (hint, hint) and learning something new that is creative.
So I was reading Boing Boing and they had a great post on a tutorial for bookbinding. This looks like such an interesting project, is it to vain to send a booklet out to friends and family that is primarily made up of pictures of us?
check out Toby Craig’s bookbinding tutorial.
Last night I had a dream that I leased an Audi A4, for two years. And after the first day or two, I started to wonder why I had leased the car and that I didn’t know how much it would cost per month. and why I had leased a german sports car, since the town I live in is either poorly cobblestoned or just dirt. no place for a sports car. mountains of dust everywhere.
why am I remembering my dreams?
Technorati Tags: dreams
I have been having odd dreams. most of the time, I don’t remember my dreams but recently they have become lucid and memorable.
recent dreams:
1. Mom and I are walking along the cobblestoned Vallarta streets, both of us in flip-flops. We take a turn down a less traveled street and there are several foot high scorpions on the other side of the street. As we try to pass they shuffle along towards us, with their claws raised and stingers ready. Mom starts to yell and shriek. Somehow, Mom plants a foot in the middle of the scorpions and they sting and she goes down, they sting me too and I can feel the venom hitting my system, I say “Don’t worry Mom, i’m going to get some milk” and my vision starts to get shaky like a scene from a David Fincher film. and I pass out.
2. I am in a small town, seems like the town that I grew up in, in New York, but much more tropical. There are these gremliny looking creatures killing all of the townspeople. I am constantly running and dodging the creatures in the dream, finding new pathways to take so they can’t catch me. They seem to have a device they throw out into a yard or street, that locates hidden people and kills them in
dozens. I happen upon a group of people living off in a field somewhere and they communicate to me that the creatures are not harmful and that you don’t actually die, but it is some sort of re-birth or re-incarnation process and that life really goes on and once you stop being afraid of them, they really aren’t monsters.
3 and 4. various dreams of spiders and scorpions. mostly while in bed or in the jungle.
These dreams and my recollection of them are quite possibly stress related, which is weird to me, since I’m basically living in paradise. Things at work have been rather hectic lately, so this is probably where the stress is coming from. I’ll have to be more vigilant about finding ways to de-stress the work life. how about less work, but more fully optimized when I am working.
and more surfing, of course.
Technorati Tags: dreams
Things are starting to look up. let’s hope it stays that way.
start rant //——————
dude.
What is up with those plastic cups I see all the really pink gringos walking with on the beach with? The eponymous plastic cup, along with the complementary wristband, are dead giveaways that you are staying at an all-inclusive hotel.
It’s like crack: just don’t do it. Please put the plastic cup down.
Is it that much of a pain in the ass to not have your half cup of warm bud light with you as you walk on the beach? Didn’t anyone ever tell you that drinking and swimming don’t mix?
Let’s just get rid of the plastic cup all together and while we’re at it, let’s axe the wristbands too and if that’s ok, then lets go a step further and get rid of the all-inclusive hotel too. Trust me, you’ll be better off and you’ll make better friends.
Thank you for listening.
ps. suntan lotion is your friend.
end rant //——————
I was looking at my nightstand the other night and it seemed too crowded to fit my little 15 inch powerbook on it when I noticed that there was a pretty interesting collection of stuff that I had amassed. I love making lists, so in the spirit of a good list, here are the contents of my nightstand:
- silver specs from LA Eyeworks - “Stich” model. a great looking pair of glasses
- Nixon watch “The Key” model - good looking, dependable watch except when you have to change the time and you have to use the little key thingy they give you with the watch, god forbid you lose it or forget to bring it when you travel.
- Bathing Ape issue of Refill Magazine - probably the only person for a thousand miles with this magazine
- Step Into Liquid DVD, in-freakin-sane cinematography
- Jack Johnson’s The September Sessions DVD - great surfing trip video diary
- data DVD with 5 really good movies on it including my personal fav: The Big Lebowski, always a classic
- data DVD with every january episode of The Daily Show (i ain’t got tv, man!) and the pilot episode of Freaks and Geeks
- bunch of legal documents sent to me by my attorney in LA - yeah, at night sometimes under the covers with the lights off, i pretend to be a grown-up
- and last but not least: right-hand upper corner, a bottle of Ciel water, from the makers of coke, good water though.
- last item, not pictured: Bob Dylan’s book: Chronicles
file this photo under: “getting your crappy little point-n-shoot to do things it wasn’t meant to do”
It just occurred to me that I went through the entire holiday season without calling any of my friends in Los Angeles (or my family on the east coast for that matter!). I AM A TERRIBLE FRIEND. There, I said it. ok, I’m not gonna go and make a new year’s resolution, especially since I’ve said previously that I will do no such thing, but if I were to make a resolution, it would be to call my friends more often. one can not live on the beautiful jugo (juice) of new found love alone. friendship is important.
Friends: be expecting my call, answer the phone, pretty please.
It’s Sunday night and my sister, Beth, arrived last night from big, bad New York City. The parents had a little birthday function to go to, so Marcia, Beth and I went out to dinner at Mark’s, the local posh eatery. The girls had a ricotta and goat cheese ravioli with a great sage butter sauce. I had a macadamia nut crusted red snapper with a thai peanut sauce. It’s giving me a stomach now, so I just a had a delicious slice of apple pie and a scoop of real vanilla ice cream to soothe my poor stomach.
The point of this story is that as I write this entry, Marcia is sitting next to me on my bed, looking over my shoulder. I’ve asked her to write an entry for me, even in spanish. of nothing in particular, just to say “hi” or describe something she casually likes about me, but she’s feeling a bit reluctant and shy at the moment, so this entry will have to do. Maybe in the future she’ll outgrow her shyness and write an entry for me. Just between you and me, I hope to have her join me on this weblog thing, now and then, so we can document our life together (so far). that would be very cool and very very romantic. no?
So I guess this will have to do for now. So “hi” from me. and “hi” from Marcia. I’m gonna go now, so I pay some attention to that soft, sweet smelling girl sitting next to me.
adios,
// edmund
ps. most gringos pronounce “adios” as in “adi-os”, but it’s really pronounced like “ah-dios”. as in “to the gods” - so now you know!
