Back in the Bay

I can't explain how good it feels to be back in the Bay Area. Even though I am from San Diego I feel much more at home in San Francisco and after being away for so long I am incredibly excited about the prospect of once again residing in THE CITY. The only problem is that it is practically impossible for three guys to find a place to live. As students, most landlords are skeptical about renting to us and it seems that we being three males doesn't improve our chances either. We have scoured craigslist and the classifieds and wandered the richmond district looking for open houses but to no avail. Regardless, I still had an awesome weekend hanging out in Dolores Park, drinking brews and visiting none other that Ryan Winfield King himself: couldn't have asked for more, except maybe a house.

Here is what I've been listening too these days:

Bon Iver- Bon Iver

My Morning Jacket- Circuital

Washed Out- Within and Without

And some new stuff I just discovered:

Nicolar Jaar

Young Montana?

Hope you enjoy as much as I have!

Lovetaker

Had the pleasure of documenting Lovetaker for a couple weeks. Went down the coast and back. Early mornings and late nights with some of the best friends I have. It's amazing that I've been into these guys since I was 15. I am really excited for there upcoming album. And just from the stuff I've heard, they've got something special. Cheers boys, keep up the hard work.

1

Things haven't been going my way for awhile now. It's nice to take the small victories when they come around.

Fstr

Been grinding all week to get stuff done. Got a busy end to this month. Excited to go to Portland on Monday. Hopefully my girl Tuesday is still taking online classes.

Sunday

Dreamix

I've been taking a lot of walks lately. Trying to notice the things I overlook constantly. Listen to my favorite playlist and watch the world mold around it. I had a dream I was taking a plane to NYC. I was so anxious in the airport. I kept continuously checking the time. Like my life depended on time moving faster. Constantly rushing through the day just to sit in between two assholes on a 5 hour flight. I fell asleep on the airplane in distress. I woke up dissatisfied. Even in my dreams I can't manage to relax. Maybe one day I can learn to overcome anxiety.

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Slow Days

For me summertime is filled with days that seem to go on and on without an end. I continuously find myself inventing new ways to entertain myself, some of which turn out to be cool hobbies. This summer has been particularly slow because A) I have no job and B) I'm living at home. But I figure this will probably be the last time ever where I can just sit around on my ass, so better make the best of it. These are some things that I have amused myself with so far:

http://turntable.fm/lobby

An awesome site where you and your friends can make groups and take turns DJ-ing. Try to rack up as many DJ points as possible and drop all your favorite slaps.

Film Photography - will have pictures soon

Gardening

Studying Spanish

and of course music:

this is a track from one of my favorite skate videos of Keenan Wilson, it was in the Girl's Yeah Right video.

Gemini

Abbey went to class one day and I wandered around. I met some circus performers juggling and doing acrobatics. I don't really know if they were really from a circus or gypsy's. It's basically the same thing anyway. Watched them for about an hour until my ipod died. Then it was just 4 drunk dudes chicken fighting. Walked over to this statue and watched the water. It was so bright out I could barely stand it. I weathered the storm and melted on the steps. Oh glorious day.

Truckin'

Walt

Walt Disney is one of my biggest inspirations. Lived a limitless life spreading happiness around the world. Mr. Disney was such a magnificent human being he was awarded with; The Showman of The World Award. He is the only one to receive this honor in our history and will undoubtedly be the most deserving.

The award itself is inscribed as follows:

"In a universe of unlocking secrets, creativity, diversion and recreation become symbols of man's civilized state. To bring us to this plateau, science and religion have probed the mind and the soul. Entertainment has ministered to the emotions. Above all others in a global configuration of The Showman of the World is one man. He stands alone. His sensitivity to the visual delights is unequalled; even unchallenged. His total involvement of the family is a credo. His uncompromising wholesomeness of subject matter and presentation give a mighty industry dignity and respect and recognition. But most of all his uncanny ability to bring joy and gratification to young and old alike set him apart. He is known and loved in every land, in every tongue. He is, indeed, the first...perhaps the only...Showman of the World. He is, of course, Walt Disney."

Walt passed away two months after receiving this. What a beautiful way to go out.

4th

It's almost that time of the year again. The 4th of July... Arguably my 2nd favorite holiday. The 1st being half Christmas which was celebrated yesterday actually. Really not sure what I'm going to do. But whatever it is I will be partying. This picture was taken in a bar in Hollywood last 4th. She was getting down. We all took turns after hula-hooping. Apparently I have no rhythm for this. It's strictly for cute girls and hippies.

Filler

It's pretty true what they say. You don't know what you got till it's gone. Right before I go to bed I think about how good I had it. Like when I was having a bad day and somehow you knew to call me and make me feel better. Always listening to my dumb stories, then begging me to tell you about them again. I could lay in bed all day and tell you about the things I could barely say aloud. I took this picture on a train to San Diego last summer. The further away I got, the more I realized I was going the wrong direction.

?

Deny everything.

Wandering

When you are blind high it is close to impossible to read. Well, at least for me. I had no business in the bookstore. Especially when all the words are in Spanish. You start to feel like you are doing brain surgery trying to decipher the fiction from the non-fiction section. Met a pretty girl at the register though. If I could communicate better I'd of asked her to tapas. Next time...

Harmony

Just saw this guy the other night. He performed an incredible show in a 14th Century Church in the heart of Barcelona's Gothic Quarter. Honestly it was guitar playing like I have never seen nor heard ever before. His fingers moved over the strings as smoothly as a dancer, yet he commanded the guitar like a general. His picking was unbelievable, and he played every song with his eyes completely closed as if the instrument had become a part of him. Listen and enjoy.

The future 2023 A.D.

Be apart of everything you can.

Sundays

Risky business

It was 5pm and we were getting up from a nap. Evan and I had scored 2 tickets to El Clasico in Madrid. We had to rest up for what was ahead of us. I had just seen a Champions league match in Barcelona and was defiantly on a futbol tip. I had told everyone who cared about it that I was going. The only reply I would get was, "Do not wear Barcelona colors". I was set on staying neutral up until we were about to leave. Then Even and I made the executive decision. "Fuck it, we only live once," he said. Next thing we know.... Barca jersey's, capes and scarfs on our heads. We even had extra glow in the dark glasses from the night before. Our friends wished us good luck and we were off. The metro wasn't was bad as we thought it was going to be. Mostly just dirty looks and "Puta Madre" under peoples breath. A couple of Barcelona fans came up to us and asked us what we were doing. Didn't really have anything to say but, "Viva Catalunya". Catalunya is the region where Barcelona is. Huge rivalry between Madrid's region obviously. So we get off the metro and it starts. A group of about 25 guys start chanting behind us. Nothing too bad. But then we hit a problem. We had planned to buy beers from the street vendors. But with so many cops around the game no venders were around. That forced us to go to a local Madrid bar to get drinks. As we walked away from the stadium through the ally's things got tense. More yelling and cursing. Then we came cross a bar with a take-out beer window. While ordering a man came up to us and asked us if we thought it was a joke. I don't speak the best Spanish so instead of talking to him I told him to get out of here. After getting our beers we began to walk back to the stadium. Right then Even gets his with a rock in the middle of the back, and one rock hums by my head. This really escalated everyone else. Soon enough we are running down the street being chased by grown ass men hurling rocks. While mobs of people are screaming in our faces. Right when we are about to reach the stadium a Madrid firm is waiting at the end of the street. Probably about seventy strong. They notice the commotion coming through the crowd. They attempted to close off the gap but we got through. We had to run to a platform surrounded by cops. Never been so happy to see an officer of the law. So there we were. Stuck on a platform with 2 liters of beer. I don't think I realized how drunk I was, just kept going. There had to be at least 30 people who came up to us and amended our spirit. Asking to take pictures with the craziest dudes there. By this time we could barely form sober sentences and were no longer afraid of the firms. We met this guy from Baltimore.(Pictured above) Said he was a huge fan and was stoked to see some American's killing it. Drank a beer with him while we waited for the game to start. We drunkenly found our way to the Barcelona fan section. Finally we were with our people. The game was amazing. More than I could have hoped for. It was a 1-1 draw. I think if Barcelona had one we would have died leaving. Luckily it it ended how it did and we made our way back to the flat. I fell asleep in the taxi with a smile on my face.

The School of Life

Their is nothing like a trip to the Sahara Desert to force you to completely reorganize your priorities in life. Recently my friends and I took a trip to Morocco and decided that because we were in Africa probably only once in our lives, it was necessary to go to the desert. Little did I know this desert adventure would turn out to be something so incredible.

After a ball busting 2 hour camel ride into the dunes, we made it to camp. We dropped off the camels and immediately hiked up the biggest, baddest dune we could find. Barely able to walk straight and with my calfs burning I reached the summit and felt like I was on top of the world. To the west was the sun setting over the desert, with an overwhelming expanse of sand so large that I can't even begin to describe in words. To the east was exactly what you would expect, more desert. Dunes and sand for as long as the eyes could see.

We returned to camp after sunset where we chatted with the indigenous Berbere people of Morocco, discussing desert life, culture, languages and shared stories of our travels. This is where I began to understand the peaceful, tranquility of the desert. One of our guides, Ibrahim, told us his story; he described to us his life as a desert nomad, living in the dunes, exploring the Sahara and experiencing the raw, breath taking wonder that is the desert. We asked him "do you ever get lost amongst the dunes?" He replied smugly, "do you ever get lost in San Francisco?" I said "touche Ibrahim, touche." Then we asked him, "do you ever wonder about life outside of the desert?" He answered, "Never, I love my life here. I have drums to play, plenty of rice to eat, and I meet interesting people every single day." Ibrahim had never gone to school one day in his life and yet he could speak Berbere, French, Spanish, Dutch, German and English. He knew more about history and different cultures than all of us combined and yet had never read a history book nor written one essay. He said he went to a different kind of school, he called it ' The School of Life'.

Fascinated with Ibrahim, we all wanted to continue talking to him but he told us that first we needed to eat and after that play music and if their was time, we could talk more later that night. After a delicious dinner of rice and turkey stew we all sat down in a circle and Ibrahim and his friends brought out their drums. They played their traditional songs and we laughed and danced to our hearts content. Then they gave up the drums to us and asked us to play our countries traditional songs. I was starting to realize how this school of life worked, as I myself was currently sitting in the classroom. First our Mexican friends sang some traditional mexican songs and we tried to make up a drum beat to them. Next, it was time for the American kids to take the podium. We weren't prepared at all... None of us could think of one song that we all knew and were brave enough to recite. It was a shame. I guess we failed that class. Feeling our embarrassment Ibrahim picked up the drum, put it in my lap and said PLAY. With no rhythm at all I started banging on the drum, my face lit up like a kindergartner. I guess I have a long way until graduation.

Around 1 we were told that we should quiet down as to not wake other people in the camp and so we headed for a nighttime hike up the dunes. As we got to the top it was so windy that we couldn't even open our eyes without getting whipped by the sand. We descended the mountain and headed toward camp to go to bed. But little did I know class was not over and their were still many lessons to be learned. While laying down outside underneath the stars Ibrahim and his friends told their favorite jokes. We talked some more and gazed at the sky. He told us about ancient Berbere nomads that used the stars to navigate their way through the desert, as it was often too hot to travel during the day. I couldn't help but think of all of the nomads and traders that had passed through this very desert long, long ago. I fell asleep, finally with all sorts of thoughts running through my head.

I couldn't wait to tell people about this... the most interesting lecture I had ever heard.

Right behind my favorite place to eat in Berkeley (Brazil Cafe).

Here

After the long awaited inter-web launch, we are here. Who are we? That is a good question. An art collective incorporating all mediums. Consisting mostly of short stories, music and photographs. No, we are not a clothing company. No, we are not a drug front. Just a collaborative effort to push something we think is cool. So from this point forward, hello.

-W&C

New spring ad in Sioux magazine.