Sunday, July 18, 2010

From The Phone Part 2


In Texas' living room.


I went to Texas for New Years Eve 2008. I went with my Brown friend Sadaf, and my White friend Laura. Together we made an oreo.


Continuing on our Texas adventure, we discovered these coasters at a Liquor Store. Neither Sadaf nor I are Indian. But if we had Indian names...


In Texas they sell Guava / Mango flavored Pop Tarts.


At the hotel in Austin. Nash (pinball), Dusty (Texas' brother) and us did Freedom shots. It made sense at the time.


My roommate and I played a lot of Mario Kart Wii in 2008. My friend Julian made a Mii on my Wii, and this appeared one late night after completing a circuit. It's pretty spot on.


My roommate fell in love with Daisy, upon learning of her existence in a Previous Mario Kart game. Game FAQs explained the means, and we spent hours and hours trying to succeed in unlocking her. We failed, and went our separate ways for the evening. I woke up early the next morning to try again, and I was victorious. I sent this picture to her phone, so it would be the first thing she saw in the morning. Needless to say, I was her Hero.


One of the best gifts I ever received. My co-worked Nicole bought this for me, based on my love of bacon, and my namesake. We subsequently began selling it on our website. Obviously, It was a huge hit.


Omar HTL and I. A terrific gentleman. Probably at Mason Dixon. That's where most of my memories are lost these days.


Sugar Pants! We asked customers of Fred Flare to submit Valentines for charity last year. This was one of them. It's a belt, apparently.


The Menu of Kati Roll. Heaven on Earth. If you like Indian food, please seek this place out.


Caitlin Farnsworth. One of the two loves of my life. She lives over a thousand miles away from me. This was when I went out to visit her and...


Jen Polus. The other love of my life. Here we are on the Milwaukee coast. It was winter, and it was cold, but this is one of my most vivid memories of the last few years.


A mansion along the coast of Milwaukee.


An earlier doodlebug, well before I got the scanner installed at my desk.


The best T-Shirt ever made. I'm very mad that I didn't buy it, though I'm sure I could find it easily if I searched for it online.


Doubles! My mother introduced these to me when I complained that I had no breakfast options being Lactose Intolerant. This is a West Indian breakfast sandwich, comprised of a warm flatbread and curried chickpea with a splash of tamarind sauce.


This is at Sangh's on Liberty Ave, the best place to get doubles in queens (or so I'm told)


Fried Rice and Beans. A late night concoction by my roommate Cat Kim. That's what you get when you house a Korean and a Puerto Rican together for a year.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Doodlebugs: Part 1

More doodlebugs from work. People request these of me on their order forms.

doodle_harryvsgaga
doodle_liono
doodle_peewee
doodle_himym
doodle_chuck
doodle_bttf

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

From The Phone Part 1

All this iPhone 4 talk has made me less confident in my stance as a Blackberry Man. I don't think i'm switching, but when my phone told me today that it couldn't hold anymore photos, I cursed the interface and my inability to get pictures off of my phone with ease (this actually took several hours to do, ugh) but, in the spirit of nostalgia from the first day I got my blackberry curve, I present to you a series of images taken in various stages of sobriety, and over the span of the last two and a half years.

I present to you... From the Phone:


Have you ever heard of King Vitamin cereal? Neither had I. I have never seen it since this picture was taken. An obvious glitch in the Matrix.


July 4th on Eric Robert's roof. Believe it or not, I am not alone in this hot tub, meaning, I am not as creepy as I look.


From the marquis of a church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It speaks for itself.


Dharma Bar in Barcelona. Brilliant. This was sent to me, I did not take this picture.


A prototype of artificial intelligence that spends it's days walking (rolling) into mirrors at the Uniqlo in Soho. Future generations will be embarrassed to be descendent of this adorable yellow cyborg-human relations robot, much like we are of our Neanderthal ancestors.


Over a year before Michael passed away, a friend and I were shopping at Kim's video (another unfortunate loss, well before it's time), where this poster lived on the elevator doors. (see the next image)


Brown jokes aside, it's quite hard to tell the difference between the two. I'll give you a hint. I'm in 3D.


Speaking of brown people, on the same day as MJ, my friend Amanda and I went to buy LOST kubrik toys at Urban Outfitters. This is Sayid. I didn't actually buy it. We learned the hard way (quite easily) that half the fun of blind boxed toys is the surprise. Almost all of the boxes at Urban in Union Square had already been opened. After we saw them all we grew tired, and remembered that our money was much better spent other things.


Simpsons toys at Urban. Again, we didn't open these, but we did play with them quite a bit. Then returned them to their boxes and went home, having spent no money.


This was taken at Teany with my good friend Christina Lehman. I had a very enjoyable experience and planned to visit again shortly. Weeks later the restaurant burned down. It has only just reopened.


My 25th birthday party. Nicky, and Sadaf reacting to drinks, and to each other. The photos I didn't take of this night involve me on a mechanical bull, and making other bad decisions.


Mo Shoes! I think this is on delancy street. This was after brunch. I don't know if it was a sober one or not.


A stolen shot of me at another brunch with Nicky and Texas and others.


I don't know when this was taken, but I like to think it corresponds with the previous photo. Here's the scenario I like to imagine: We are all eating at a bike shop / italian restaurant. Texas steals my phone and takes a photo of me and then herself to show the parallels in the space, both indicated in the emotional attitude, race, and scenery. If only...

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Doodle: Sad Keanu



So I have been doing a lot of drawing as of late. The madison assignment came at the perfect time, as I feel I have begun refining my abilities. I was even commissioned to design a few pieces for a friends apartment (pictures when I have them). This is an homage to the internet meme 'Sad Keanu' which I'm borderline obsessed with.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Attack Of The Blue Goo! / Blue Goo Strikes Back!



Eric Miller and I made this using a LEGO branded stop motion animation camera from my job. I quickly fell in love with stop motion animation, though these fourteen seconds of animation took well over four hours to produce. Respect to all animators out there. Keep fighting the good fight.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Merch Guy


Back in 2004, when I had a mohawk, I designed merch for a band called Madison.

Well, I actually did more than design merch for them. I tour managed them, I videotaped their shows, I sold merch, I took photos. I stage managed, all for free. I would feel slighted if they weren't the reason I began touring in the first place. Actually, I owe them. They are the reason I travelled the world, met the people I did, and had the best five years of my life.
I got a call from their ex-bass player Jonathan, who now plays in Meg & Dia, and he told me they are reuniting for a show on July 31st. In an attempt to make my existence more poetic I asked if I could design a piece of merch for the show, and luckily he obliged. This is an homage to one of my more popular designs for them. I am also designing a poster for the show. I'll post that as soon as it's done.

Masterpiece



Anyone who saw Toy Story 3 this weekend can vouch for how amazing the short "Day & Night" was. I might go as far as to say it was the best PIxar Short I've seen. See Toy Story 3 in theaters, in 3D, and even if you don't like the movie (you will, don't worry) you will at least love this.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

In Defense Of An Episode (The Night I figured Out LOST)

I finally get it. I'm not supposed to get it. Wait, what?

"Lost Episode 6x15: Across The Sea" was a tougher puzzle to solve than the last few. But what did it all mean? All season I have been saying something to the doubters/haters of the philosophical brilliance of the Flash-Sideways method of story telling, but didn't know what i meant until now: It's not what they answered, It's what you were hoping to find out.

Who knew that I had it figured out all along?

After last night I am certain that Lost isn't telling a story as much as it is philosophizing on the way things are. The island, as a cork, is after tonight, an even more fascinating metaphor for what the island is... for what the world is for some people. Is it a coincidence that we didn't see this "Source" light go out when Man-In-Black was thrown into the abyss, and that the Cork and Light metaphors don't really line up? Not at all, but I'll explain that later.

In Across The Sea, Lost attempted to tell us that from now on, and since the beginning of time there has been a struggle between those that have found purpose in the stories we have been told (Jacob,) and the quest for future purpose (man-in-black.) The idea of finding purpose in what you are destined to do, as opposed to making your own. Which one is right? The answer just might be that there is no answer. Or neither. Both seem to be directionless, according to Lost, or at least a means to a life of unfulfilled. Hardships woven together, in a tragic inability to let go. Maybe we are supposed to accept what we are given. Or maybe some truth lies in the age-old adage "If we can't learn to live together, we are going to die alone."

I'll admit. I didn't like the episode at first. But upon comparing some of its coarse thematic elements I found a pretty reasonable parable.

Like many parents in LOST, It seems the nameless adopted mother, to Jacob and the nameless Man-In-Black was a bit crazy. A Rousseau. A Claire. Hell, even a Christian Shepard: A parent who had an overwhelming impact on the beliefs of her children, albeit on a more subconscious level. And even If we are meant to believe this is as far back as we will ever see in Lost Mythology, it was implied that she was born to someone else, just as her mother was, and her mother before her. All of this, is part of a vicious cycle. Did her mother mess her up? Is the the product of a similar long con?

Whatever her actual story, she divided her beliefs into two very separate, but equal view points: Jacob, the one who was meant to be born, the one with a pre-determined name and a predetermined existence, and the one who was a mistake, an accident and therefore special. Against his will, MIB was treated as someone who was not meant to be, and therefor had a purpose exterior to that of the island world. This wasn't a problem until they the kids discovered there were other people out there, Across the Sea. But metaphorically speaking, there was sin across the sea. Sin continued to come to the island, and fight and kill, and corrupt. Jacob and MIB needed a purpose to stay pure, or not fall from grace, or more literaly, leave the island. In order to ensure their directionality Jacob and MIB were shown a... fountain of light?

Really? Yeah, I thought it too. So, that's it? I thought it was a cork, or I thought there was a pocket of electromagnetic energy. Or Blah blah blah. Well, before we get deeper, first think about all of the other purpose fulfilling reveals of Lost:

They ware shown a puddle full of light. But what about when Alpert needed one, he saw a cork. Locke needed one, he found a hatch. Desmond needed one, he pushed a button for three years. The men of faith on this show have found ways to direct themselves to a greater purpose. Meanwhile, the empiricists have seen the same things and found ways to destroy those men. In other words A Jack for every Locke. A smokey for every Jacob. Forget not that all of these people are the victims of their own predecessors attempts at predestination.

So who is right, you ask? Was Smokey lying to everyone all along? What's the deal with Walt? Was he special? What was the point of the Hydra island? Was Charlie supposed to die? What are the rules that Ben and Widmore are playing be? Is it a cork? Is it just an island? These are all important questions... After all Maybe it is just a fucking island. Maybe it's not. Maybe it's all self-proposed purpose. Maybe it is special. Maybe it's all what you make of it. Maybe they'll never tell us.

That last maybe was a joke. They definitely won't tell us.

Wait, what? I thought you figured it out? Why won't they tell us?

Because maybe that's the point. These vagaries, these mysteries are all open to interpretation by the two sides to the same coin. Or better yet because no one knows the answers to these questions. These narrative decisions are no mistake. It is interesting to me to think that the nameless antagonist idea now is fundamentally clear as an narrative choice. It meant something. At their core, Jacob and Man In Black are the exact same person. Born on the same day from the same woman, but they are two completely different people. One has a name and the other doesn't. One has a purpose and the other one seemingly doesn't, but it is merely the opposite purpose of Jacob's. The nature vs. nurture argument is prevalent here. It seems that nurture prevails as the problem in this instance. The Man in Black feels betrayed the most by a mother that won't let him explore his potential, his roots, his origins, and even though Jacob is granted the ultimate responsibility, and eternal life, he is downtrodden, and feels that he is loved the least.

Can or Will the Man in black get off the island? No. In the same way that Jacob never achieved his ultimate goal: To prove that man is a pure soul. We have all been asking, and discussing some of the oldest questions, and debating mysteries that cannot, and will not be solved. There are no answers, only questions. And every question will only lead to another one, and while that was a brilliant writers trick, it says a lot about their seemingly aesthetic choices over the years. All of the unanswered questions finally begin to propose a bigger thematic idea: Which one are you? Are you an empiricist or a man of faith. Someone who finds truth in answers, or truth in experience. Rewards in exploring, or in soul searching. I never questioned this before. If you were to ask me yesterday if I was a logical person, I would say yes, but after this episode, after seeing how I've viewed Lost the last few years (hell, even this season) I think I might be a man of faith after all. Believing that ultimately there is a purpose for my being, and that the questions, however big they may be, are not a means to any end.

It is unfortunate that half of Lost's audience are empiricists. I learned this the hard way by watching half of the audience from my weekly viewing storm out upset. Upset that they did not leave with more answers than they did. But as we approach the finale and the creators propose Radio silence after the finale, I think maybe the joke is on us. No matter the reaction, it's the discussion they proposed from the start. It's all a game, between Light and Dark. Faith and Empiricism. No side is right or wrong, they are two completely different ways of looking at the world, and if we cannot learn to accept that our ability to see the world in either way is no fault of our own, but the way we are raised, then we are going to continue to hate, fight, and corrupt each other in ways that lead us nowhere. Or maybe each go around is just progress (Jacob's words, not mine)

Friday, January 29, 2010

Like you had to remind me...



I opened my most recent netflix to continue numbing my Lost inspired separation anxiety with The Wire: Season 2 (amazing show, btw) and this is what I see.

If you haven't seen this image, you can find a higher resolution one here... no spoilers, but it does contain every single cast member from the show's history.

Lost Premiere week fun:

Lost Trivia @ Professor Thom's

Lost Premiere event @ The Bell House featuring a live performance by "Previously On Lost"

Thursday, January 28, 2010

My Year On The Bike



On January 1st, 2010 I started writing a novel, taking part in a delayed version of Nation Novel Writing Month. The challenge being: write a novel (50,000 words) in 30 days. Today, I have completed the challenge. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and the beginning of a whole new chapter (no pun intended) of my life. To all of those who have asked, yes, you will eventually be able to read it, but it is far from done. I am going to take some time off to celebrate, and then get started on the second draft of what is now being referred to as: "My Year On The Bike." More soon.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

AWK

Apparently Andrew W.K. is not real. He is an idea manufactured by a committee. Also, there have been several AWKs, and the one we have right now is not the same one from 'I Get Wet.' I feel a little disenchanted by this. I don't know why.

Read more about it here...