spring is nice

if it weren't for such a disastrous winter, spring wouldn't be so appreciated. here in boulder we now have had a taste of what is to come: sunny beautiful days in the 60's and 70's. i must say that i am completely stoked for the spring and summer in boulder. to be honest, i don't think you can beat colorado at this time of year anywhere else in america.

first off, the temp is usually perfect... almost always in the 70's and low 80's in the summer. it's perfect. sure, it might warm up to the nineties for a couple weeks in august, but you still have those cool evenings and nights.

second, there is no humidity to be found. this is no ohio or tennessee summertime. no days of 90% humidity where you can slice the air, forget about it!

thirdly, we get as many sunny days as southern california. however, we have no traffic problems, no overcrowding here on 9th street, and our roads and sidewalks aren't flooded with trash.

so there you go, spring and summer do not get better than when in boulder. this wonderful weather calls for some outdoor activities, so here is what i have going on right now:

i'm still training for the boulder bolder 10k run. running has been a good experience for me. i'm up to running 2 1/2 miles or so, and not feeling like death is imminent. I've also found that everytime jay-z's "show me what you got" comes on, i develop a running swagger and feel like i can go another mile... sometimes i swing my fists or move my head back and forth like muhammed ali... or at least i run with gusto until the song finishes. but then lupe fiasco, kanye, or keane comes on and i kick it in gear once again.

the other current activity is gardening at the community garden plot. i've already spent several evenings enjoying the sunset and working hard unloading compost, digging beds, and preparing to have one kick-ass organic garden. peppers, tomatoes, and other assorted veggies will once again be in abundance for summer '07. i could go on about the importance of peat moss, organic soil, compost, and sheep shit... but i will spare you.

there it is... going to call it a night early and rest up for the next couple days. tommorrow, dinner with jenna at frasca for her birthday, then to see raq at the fox theater with friends. on friday, jenna's birthday party at d'napoli's bar. should be an epic night. wait, definitely will be an epic night. no question.

peace
-rusty

southern cali trip

Until I write more about my trip to California,
here are a few pictures from the voyage.
-rusty

"a deceptive hue"
this was taken in manhattan beach as the sun set over the pacific ocean. the glow was magnificent, but notice the golden brownish color over the water. that's what you call smog, blown in from los angeles by the santa ana winds. how delicious.

"the dream"

a vw bus, parked at swami's self realization center (a center for eastern monks), and looking over the ocean. i can guarantee this is someone's dream and they are living it. notice the seahorse on the door. rad.

"the end is near"

as if you needed to know that the road ends here. but it's more than the road, it feels like the end of the world. it kind of is though, in a way. it's the end of america. that's what i loved about living on the coast, that feeling of being on the edge, perched west with nothing in sight except for the mighty ocean.

"encinitas 101"

southern cali has it's high points and low points, and i think encinitas is one of the best things around. it's like lemonade on a hot day. encintas embodies the socal beach town. yes, it's busy these days. but man is it chill. and the fish tacos at filibertos... don't get me started.

"the learner"
after all the scenery pix, i figured it would be best to show you one of our nights around 2 am. so, you say "learner" is not a word? well, the definition is above. i have a feeling this is going to be an album cover. just imagine "the learner" hand written in the top left hand corner. "the learner" might learn the hard way, but he learns in the process. sometimes the process is several pitchers of stella for two, sometimes it means scheduling a 7 am hike after a night on the town. both things "the learner" does and kicks ass doing them... even if it hurts. "the learner", don't forget it.

stanton avenue - albert olexia

Some of you know that my grandfather passed away in 2006, and that in his honor i wrote a folk song. I recorded it in early December in Nashville with Justin Loucks. My grandfather and I used to sing folk songs together, so it was a fitting tribute and a song that effortlessly came out on the day I heard of Grampy's passing. It's a sad story, but it's also a meaningful and joyful tribute to a man who lived until the ripe age of 87, went through a war, was the son of slovak immigrants, and who became the mayor of his town Mingo Junction, which he affectionately called the Queen of the Ohio Valley. It's called Stanton Avenue, the street where Grampy spent his first and last days. I think he would love it.

You can listen to it here.

denver OR what makes the world go round

we took the public transportation to denver.
you might say it looks like the future, or a great
album cover. ha, if you want to use it as your
album cover, let me know.

we're lucky to have an amazing bus system
in the front range area, so going to denver
is quite easy. and like all public transportation,
we are fortunate to have a nice colorful cast of
entertaining people. this time my sister and
i were accompanied by three alternative
college kids. not your frat stars, but rather
morepunk rock semi-hipster but not pretentious
type guys.oh, and they were wasted and standing
above jenna and i while we snapped pictures
and had a great time. so, through the adventure
of the bus system, we made some friends.
public transport might not give you lifelong
friends, but the joys of temporary friendships
are what make the world go round.

after going to brooklyn's in downtown and meeting
my co-workers, imbibing in some makers mark, and
noshing on some appetizers, we made our way over
to the denver nuggets game. in case you are
clueless about the nba, the nuggets have two of the
most entertaining and successful players in the
league: allen iverson and carmelo anthony.
and in a sports league built on entertainment,
we don't have to settle for second rate stars
in denver. we have a.i. and melo.
check out melo below, finishing up a dunk.
in the hype of the nba, it's nice to have guys who live up to it.
you could say they also make the world go round.

we made it back to boulder at 2:30 am and had some
delicious sandwiches at jimmy johns.
i swear the beach club on thick sliced wheat bread
could give a challenge to anything else
claiming to make the world go round.
even melo and a.i., even temporary friendships.

peace.

the melodica - reggae in your jeggae

to add to the many hobbies i already have going, i decided to purchase an old-school instrument used in dub reggae in the 60's and 70's. it's called a melodica and was popularized in reggae by an artist named augustus pablo. jump on itunes and check out his stuff if you haven't already. it's super relaxed dubby instrumental stuff. anyway, the melodica is a small keyboard with a mouthpiece on one end. so, you blow into it and play some notes and out comes the reggae.

with the melodica arriving shortly, and the arsenal of percussion and ukulele i already possess... i have a feeling there will be some rasta jam sessions in the near future.

here's a mini set list i'm thinking about (w/ some of my favorite songs... download on itunes at your own risk... but you will love them):

burning spear - slavery days
bob marley - stir it up
the abyssinians - satta massagana
augustus pablo - east of the nile river
danny livingston - reggae in your jeggae

also, check out the above video to see the melodica in action with the uke. my melodica is the exact same model, except it is green like jamaica.

peace.

the flatirons - winter oh seven

"winter's run"

"winter's glaze"

"winter's fog"

"just winter"

by rusty.



i promise i will post a proper blog sometime soon,
but here are some pictures i shot this afternoon.

whygo.com

If you need some inspiration to travel, check out whygo.com. Everyday they feature a travel-related quote or a picture of a far away land. They featured another one of my photos, seen above. It's nothing special, just a shot with the lomo fisheye. Scroll through the quotes, you'll be traveling before you know it.

"A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent (which I cannot deny myself to be without being impious) will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place."
-Mozart

I.J.R.

Here's a portrait of I.J.R. that I took.

briguy, what do you think of the shots?
what can i do to make them better?

-r'fari

"yep" by thomas campbell

Above is a snapshot of my new painting. To say the least, I am completely stoked to have some original art by Thomas Campbell. The brownish sketches are a silkscreen on giclee paper, and all the color you see has been painted by the artist. I first discovered Thomas Campbell after watching a surfing documentary he directed called "Sprout". Sprout is an incredible movie that aims to show "how truly lucky we are to live in the lush life of the ocean experience, and to emphasize all the diverse possibilities we have in accessing this fountain of youth". He's a dreamer, surfer, and he has the best narration voice ever. Trust me, go find this movie, have some good beer, and totally veg out.

Thomas Campbell makes art that is dreamy, whimsical, and grateful... which is why I like it. In 2006 he was featured in the New York Times, and I am completely stoked to own a cool piece of art such as this. Check out the video on youtube for a bigger take on his work. Elements from my print/painting are seen in this overview of the exhibit "Beautiful Losers".

ode to someday records

many of you remember someday records, the indie label started by myself, jess, and steven. well, although we didn't sell a million records (ok, we didn't sell 5 thousand), i must say we were well ahead of the curve. today i was listening to my xm radio and they played the bees, who were featured on our "under the needle" soundtrack released 3 years ago. in addition, all of the artists featured on our compilation are still touring musicians and half of the artists have record deals. not too bad!

my town is a wonderland

So here's a little update as to what's been happening...

1. I saw My Morning Jacket at the Ogden Theater in Denver. Just when I haven't seen the Jacket in over a year, they swing by and once again put on the best show I've seen in ages. It reminds me of that epic night in Birmingham with Saliba going apeshit. Saliba, you out there? Anyway, MMJ are unstoppable. They are the best American rock band in concert. Can anyone dispute this?

2. In other music, I purchased The Slip's new album, Eisenhower. I really really dig it. "Children of December" is a great jazzy indie rock song, and "If One of Us Should Fall" is a classic anthem song. You just want to hear them both on repeat. If you're a child of December you will especially appreciate The Slip. You will indentify, you know, when your birthday gets the shaft b/c it's around christmas.

3. The Bolder Boulder. It's America's biggest 10K run - with 50,000+ people. Well, I'm going to run it this year. It's Memorial Day weekend (late May) and the Boulder Creek Festival is also the same weekend. If you're a runner or if you're not (like me), this is a great opportunity to come to Boulder and visit! Consider that an invitation. Run the race with me!

4. A wild winter. We have had so much snow and lots of crazy wind. Usually winters in Boulder are mild, but I guess this is the harshest winter in 20 or 30 years. It has snowed every week for the past 4 weeks. Picture above is near my house, facing the South with the Foothills to the West.

Peace...

the flatirons in the new year

"flatirons winter '07"
by rusty.



i took this picture last week after our third
big snowstorm.for those out of town, the
flatirons are part of the foothills before the
rocky mountains and they hang directly above
boulder. they are jagged mountain faces that
look like upright irons.chief niwot, an american
indian from years past, said that if you ever see
the sun rise on the flatirons and behold the orange
glow above town that you will never leave boulder.
that's the curse of the flatirons.

my house is about a 1/2 mile
from where this picture was taken.
hope you like it!

click to enlarge.