Halloween 2009

Fact: It always rains on Halloween.

Who's ready to party?


I AM!!


But I need some chow first.


Dangerous: An all metal Michael Jackson tribute band. SEXAY.


@ The Emerging Artist Party at the House of Bumble.

Hello Autumn

At Prospect Park.

There's a white horse in the background.


Biking off the path.


There's geese shit everywhere. Later, as I bike, I see a bunch of them fly to the pond in V-formation.


Pretty.


Having a conversation.


I want hair like this. (The color scheme I mean.)

CMJ (Sort of)

I actually didn't go to any of the CMJ events, but I did go see three bands play: The Empires at Union Hall, the XX at the SOHO Apple Store (CMJ sponsored), and Leisurely at Shea Stadium (Mike Stroud from RATATAT was there too ♥).

@ the Delancey. (More at Brooklyn Vegan.) I really enjoyed their performance. My friends and I were lucky enough to be standing right behind the seats as we didn't have CMJ passes. The music and vocals were the clearest I've ever heard during any live show. I tried to see them again at TriBeCa Hotel, but without a RSVP, didn't get in. I did manage to have a non-awkward two minute chat with Jamie Smith (programmer/DJ) as he unloaded equipment.

Other slightly "exciting" firsts: (1) Bitched on back of a scooter. (2) IKEA browsed for our imaginary apartment.

Baltimore Nerd Fest 2009

I tagged along with the Autumn Society for Baltimore Comic Con 2009. Much B.O. was smelled (or cautiously wafted) and bouts of giggling were had. Then I creepily became DJ Fleg's shadow and a captive car passenger in the suburbs and a city I can't seem to navigate.

Cuties.


Nerd.


Freaks.


Babe.


Hot booth babe.


Beautiful sunset.


Inner harbor.


Dragon boats.


Food.


More food.


Joe and Stephen @ Developing Nations.


Henry on the rooftop.


UMaryland Mall.


Can you hear me now?


The Elephant Engine High Dive Revival.


Ewww. Flashback.

Laptop Cozy

Mac accessories are stupid expensive—why? Because Apple comes out with a new(ish) design every year, so accessory companies might as well make the most money that they can, while they can. Tekserve sells sleek *Speck hard case covers for $49. (Cheapest on Amazon is $25, but out of principle, I don't online shop for things I can accessibly buy in the city).

My cheap ass decided to make one.

I use an iSkin ProTouch Classic to reduce finger oil griminess (and crumbs).




Half stitch.

I WOULD like to get this Casauri Laptop Brief. It's mad slim and sexy ($59). Too bad I don't commute/travel with my MBP everywhere. (Boo. Hoo.)

Europe August 2009

I finally upload SOME photos. I might add a few more (later). Slideshow doesn't display captions. :( Click click through the photos for the narration!

www.flickr.com socallow's Europe August 2009 photoset

September Haves & Wants

COMP | TECH | DIGI

Vuze: The most powerful bittorrent app on earth. Aggregates torrents from the major torrent search sites. Current popular movies on DVD take less than an hour (if not half) to download. I finally got RATATAT's Mixtape Vol. 1!

My AIAIAI Y-Com headset crapped out. The mesh in the left ear bud detached and stopped outputting any sound. :( Thank goodness there is a year replacement guarantee on defects and wear/tear. Since I use headphones practically everyday, I decided to get a pair of Grado SR60i's as a buffer (also comes with one-year replacement guarantee).

AIAIAI Y-Com $70 @ dijitalfix [+] Thick cord, 5+ pairs of different bud fittings. Compatible iPhone button/microphone is VERY handy when you need to pause music and/or take calls. This is great for me because I don't have to constantly unplug the buds with my dirty work hands. Very sleek design. All in all, I have to say that the Y-Com's quality of sound is the best I have experienced. The layers of music are crisp and easily distinguishable at a middle volume and the bass is booming. They also serve as a great noise canceler at a higher volume without leaking noise pollution. *These are the headphones you really need to get if you want to be engulfed and taken away by audio. [-] The wire at the buds are slightly curved so that they can hang behind your ears, but they tend to pop off my ears. The best fitting bud fittings help prevent the slippage. Since I have used them for long lengths of time every day, I have experienced hearing degradation.

Grado SR60i $79 @ dijitalfix [+] Looks great, and it's so comfortable! It is what it is—the sound is right at the outside of your ears. Good for "background" listening and wearing for long periods of time. The cord is so thick and long that you can use it as a self-defense weapon. [-] NOISE POLLUTION!! It is an open air system, so whatever you listen to, everyone else does too. :( Not good on public transport if/when you want to be a courteous rider.

VISUAL

True Blood. Let me guess, either you haven't been watching and all your friends have been raving about it and demanding that you watch too, or you're the one that's doing the raving/nagging. I am hooked and I'm currently downloading season two. (Don't spoil it. I'll bleed you!)

AUDIO

The great thing about working in a studio with your own table and blah blah blah is that I get to listen to my music, audiobooks, and podcasts ALL day. Album highlights!

	Jay-Z | The Blueprint What can I say? I regret not going to the 09/11/09 Madison Square Garden performance. BUT, I DID see Jay and Be in person, like five feet away, at the Beach House/Grizzly Bear Jelly Pool Party in Williamsburg. (holla.) *D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune) *Off That (feat. Drake) - A list of what's IN and what's OUT.
	Kid Cudi | Man On The Moon: The End Of Day Did you see my last post? CRAZY!! (Watch Mike SHRED!!) This is his first studio album and it truly leaves me wanting more. His narrative is pretty safe—it feels like being a freshman in college and having a sense of yourself, but you're exploring and trying to get to know yourself deeper. He's the quasi-quiet blossoming foundations Freshman who writes as well as draws in his sketchbook while Kayne is the Senior Art Star who still takes Junior classes and Jay is the alumni who everyone knows and talks about ALL THE TIME. *Alive ft. RATATAT - What? I love them. :D *Up, Up, And Away (The Wake And Bake Song) - TOTAL summertime Pop song.
	3OH!3 | WANT Okay, everyone's heard Don't Trust Me. I was a little bit more curious and listened to the full album...and What. The. Fuck. Totally not expecting what Wikipedia classifies as Electronic Dance Music/Rap-Rock/Crunkcore/Crunk-Pop. Is it really crunk? Well, listening makes me bare my teeth a lot and want a full grill ever more longingly. Give it a listen(?) *I'm Not Your Boyfriend Baby *Richman - WOW. And I ain't sippin' on a mixed drink, pinkie out, lips pink, Talkin' to a rich skank filled up like a sperm bank, I'm 'a go where I always go; Drinks are on the house, Whiskey's on the rocks while your sister's on my mouth.
	The Beatles | Abbey Road [Remastered] Come Together sounds so good, I could vomit. I once thought that Aerosmith's version was better, and now I sheepishly take that back. And I officially hate MJ's version. *Oh! Darling

Kid Cudi & Ratatat, Till's NEW MUSIC VIDEO!!

Hot. Shit. (!!)




Till made this!! ♥

AC/DC @ Giants Stadium

My friend Mike D. had an extra ticket and I was like "Hey, why not?" It was more amazing than we ever expected (well, I went in blind.) There was animation, fire blowing machines, pyrotechnics, glitter confetti cannons, inflatables, and FIREWORKS (way up in the list of favorite things). All rock performers should aspire to be as awesome as them in concert. Angus Young did a guitar solo that lasted like 30 minutes—in which throughout it, I had to hold my face together with my hands because it was melting in disbelief of how incredibly awesome it was.

Yay, it stopped raining!


"1! 2! FUCK YOU!" Anvil.


The show just went on and on. Amazing.

The concert and the crowd were a whole new experience for me. There were so many "dudes". Like white dudes—drunk New Jerseyesque white dudes with conservative haircuts that just grunt and yell lyrics who would all belong at a NASCAR event if they were out in the Midwest made up 90% of the attendees. I haven't seen so many dudes crowded in one place in my life. I wished I had took pictures of just people. :(

Then on the NJtransit back, there was a dude with a RATATAT t-shirt on. It made me smile.

The High Line

Friends! Visit NYC so we can stroll through the High Line!! We'll get ice cream, take many camera-phone photos together, and end up in Hell's Kitchen, where we can dine on brick oven pizza served on mini two-tier racks or get tapas y vino(!)

Artsy.


The old and the new. All these new glass buildings = mosaic patterns.


I love brick.


You can see the Statue of Liberty from here.

Gah, Photoshop color corrections not showing up. :(

Evernote

If you're like me and you need some sort of electronic/life (now officially one entity) organization, get Evernote NOW. I was searching for Apps that I could add to my iPhone for organizing August's Eurotrip, and there Evernote was—green and FREE. The syncing is flawless and super fast. Now if Apple's MobileMe and Evernote teamed up together, would that be...heaven? I finally feel like I'm putting my MacBook Pro to use... Sad.

By the way, I currently don't use MobileMe. Apple has a 60-day trial and it's $99/year after the trial. Worth it? My life isn't chaotic and important enough for it (yet).

Slide the volume all the way up.

Rewards, rewards

After building 200 square feet of mirror tiles (and another 21 of the same pattern), I get this project:

O M G.

240 square feet of M I N I Basketweave.

Each square is 3/8" x 3/8" and each stick is 1/2" x 1.5". You've got to be fucking kidding me. What kind of person orders this?!! Seriously. Whatevs, I'm going to mosaic the shit out of this bathroom.

It's Growing

I've been growing Crocobillies again. I started last summer and after one whole year, I had only made about 5 crocs. Not good. :( So with renewed interest, I set out a plan to blow through 2oz. of roving a week. In reality, I'm only going through about 1oz. every 10 days because I'm taking the time to join them in the mass/pile. I'm already getting concerns (critiques?) about the mass and the visibility of the "center". I think each crocobilly will be more distinguishable when the glass eyes are set in. This is only about 1/20-25 of the projected finished size. Let me know what you think.

This shit is hard to photograph.


Sitting on top of a 2009 drawing.

Summer?

Well, we're half way done with July and it feels as if summer just started. Whatevs. Here's a photo dump.

In Chicago for Coverings 2009. Awesome.


To date, the BEST concert of my life at Terminal 5.


VIP baby!! Balcony, next to the speakers, above the body wave of hamsters below, crashed BACKSTAGE.


GAS 2009, Corning, NY. The Burnt Asphalt Family Barbeque Performance.


Dane revealed all his treasures to me. OMFG.


Rob's studio.


Dane and I blazed through a trail in Ithaca and ended up here.


Birthday twins!


I'm a band.


The coolest wall in D.C.


Uh, you gonna eat all that? [Chuck's Phil ♥]


Expression twins. Yay spaceships jets!!


Back from Governor's Island.


MGMT at the Bandshell. Lame.


DJ Carpetbagger and DJ Boxcuttah @ Fanny Pack!!


Waiting for Matt & Kim at Pier 54 with Liz.


After biking over the bridge to Rockaway Beach...in the rain.


It's like Cape Cod... Uh, nevermind.


Outside Pier Glass.


Watching the thunderstorms roll in from the pier.



This is what a stack of 200 square feet of glass mirra looks like... (Just in case you were wondering what that would look like.)