Untitled: The B Sides

I was enjoying a cigar outside when my coworker came out to throw out garbage and said “Oh,...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 13:40:24 -0400

I was enjoying a cigar outside when my coworker came out to throw out garbage and said “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you we’re out here.”

Bruh, it’s okay, I don’t own the outdoors, don’t be sorry.

Some Things I Take For Granted.

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 13:46:31 -0400

I’ve never not known the feeling of taking the ferry.

Things That Have Happened, Vol. I Give Up.

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 10:12:32 -0400

- I moved into a huge two bedroom apartment with a walk in closet, a full attic, and a separate sunroom for Harley’s toys, on a tree lined block with neighbors who all know each other, and cats who hang out in the block. Combine this with marrying a white woman, and I’m living the dream, y’all.

- my daughter has successfully evolved from Giant Head with Weak Limbed Body to Sentient Being with Personality. Looking for Rare Candy to level her up to Job Having Young Adult.

- I got an iPhone 5. Wait, that happened a while ago.

- winter sucked.

- I have supposed the uselessness of the phrase “o clock,” invented the word Xylopose and the phrase Slut Bonantry, dreamt the thunder dog God named Joustfurious. To the extent that Joustfurious comes up automatically on my iPhone.

- begun tentative plans to promote and monetize my artwork to some extent. Primarily promote, but if anyone wants crude cartoons of Mario characters and sad clowns, I got you.

- posted this, after thinking, “Man, what good is tumblr for if not to post? To look at cat pictures? Aww, what a cute cat.”

“Fuck the system” Feb 2013 #art #sharpie #cartoon...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:33:50 -0500

“Fuck the system” Feb 2013 #art #sharpie #cartoon #doodle #sketch

January in a nutshell.

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 23:08:44 -0500

January in a nutshell.

Good morning.

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:36:20 -0500

Good morning.

I Got a Fitbit.

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:40:11 -0500

… Mainly because I love charts, graphs, and silly gizmos. At first, I just walked as often as I normally would, which was woefully little, and what I ate, which was woefully much. It was late December, so I did what every layman does: told myself that in the new year, I’ll walk more. I could use the exercise, and I, like most, like nice round numbers.

Since the first, I leveled my goal steps down a bit and took to taking brisk winter strolls, occasionally with the family, but more often by myself. What occurred was not out of the ordinary in terms of mileage (though keeping consistent and some days far above and beyond is startling to some), but of viewpoint, seeing back alley blocks of Staten Island I previously ignored, thinking about mundane and profound, snapping a few photos where I can. These walks help me contemplate the life I really want, one where I explore more, give back, maybe help every now and again, be a part of something. One day, I’ll take Harley down similar roads and tell her things about the way the world works, simple values of time and space and presence and people. These walks resemble walks I’ve taken with others, old friends in times of deep discussion, and harken back to those simpler times.

These are walks of a man reaching some important point of his life, 10,000 steps at a time.

It goes so fast.

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 19:44:33 -0500

It goes so fast.

It’s January 4th and by now, I usually have eschewed my New Years resolution in favor for...

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 08:40:14 -0500

It’s January 4th and by now, I usually have eschewed my New Years resolution in favor for whatever in the moment vice I tried to deny myself of. This year, despite statistical observations against it, I left my resolutions simpler, vague even: DO. This isn’t a new one, but it’s the only one worth keeping another year; it encompasses a lot.

A friend and I were talking and he tells me his father had told him once, “You can be anything you want to be, but be the best. If you wanna mow lawns, do it. But be the best damn lawn mower they’ve ever seen!” And it’s indicative of how I want to raise Harley, and by extension, myself.

Resolutions are pretty cliche, but I’m enticed by even, round numbers. I admire people with passion, I have for a long time, and I’ve wished for the dogged determination to focus on one particular passion, before I realized that passion isn’t a sole treasure to find, but a method of living. Spending a good portion of my life struggling to hone a particular lust kept me from enveloping myself in the passions I already had, from mundane to creative. The people who ride bikes or open galleries may have found a passion, but it doesn’t necessarily degrade others. Francis Ford Coppola makes wine, too, aside from blockbuster classics. And he didn’t have to decide which he liked more.

This is something that has been slowly coming to fruition over the last year, acknowledging that art and writing and cigar enthusiasm and wine and hookah and photography could all be untapped potential, could live equally in my heart. The primary goal is the fundamental knowledge of these things, aperture and aeration and alliteration and proper humidor maintenance, are all necessary for a full life, for a passion. Know everything you can, be the best you can be, only do what you love.

Things you never learn until you DO.

And the very first photo of 2012.

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:56:38 -0500

And the very first photo of 2012.

2012 throwback: Oprah.

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:55:23 -0500

2012 throwback: Oprah.

2012 throwback: nakie!

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:51:24 -0500

2012 throwback: nakie!

2012 throwback: Tommy’s wedding.

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:50:34 -0500

2012 throwback: Tommy’s wedding.

2012 throwback: Hiking in PA.

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:47:59 -0500

2012 throwback: Hiking in PA.

2012 throwback: Baby Harley.

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:45:46 -0500

2012 throwback: Baby Harley.

Somebody turned one this month.

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:58:15 -0500

Somebody turned one this month.

Morning doodle.

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 11:42:06 -0500

Morning doodle.

Lunch.

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:03:58 -0500

Lunch.

Soups and stews and chili, oh my!

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 15:51:19 -0500

Soups and stews and chili, oh my!

3 Main Types of People That Aggravate Me, Hurricane Sandy Edition.

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:20:32 -0500

1. Moreso than anyone, the people who regularly dismiss their home, talk shit and blatantly judge their peers, and generally do nothing for a sense of community in their neighborhood, and immediately become Captain Planet after a crisis. Being from Staten Island, I saw a great deal of this, and it’s a delicate situation. On one hand, it’s fantastic to see us band together and assist those who need it, but it’s hard to not incredulously sneer at people I know personally who are out and out jerks to others, or otherwise indifferent, and suddenly spearhead Operation Singlehandedly Fix SI. This is only coupled with their repetitive pats on the back and the unfortunate likelihood that in a few weeks or months, they return to a general selfishness or ignorance of a true sense of community: one without the need of destruction to help a neighbor or buy a few things for someone who might not have.

2. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I’m disappointed and annoyed with people who complain of a lack of luxury in the midst of the storm: those who openly wrote on their Facebooks and Twitters about their boredom because they don’t have cable, or their cell phone service is shoddy in a hurricane that RIPPED PEOPLE’S ENTIRE HOMES TO PIECES. This kind of selfishness is inexcusable and highlights a special type of ignorance to other’s plights. People have lost their homes, and in some cases, their families, and others have the audacity to yell at Verizon or Time Warner for lack of internet. This is doubled by people who offer the excuse that they donated their time (rarely) or money or clothing, and thereby have the right to complain; they did what they could, so what if they want to enjoy the Real Housewives?

3. Tucked neatly in between these two are those who might have helped, might have given clothes or some cash, and point fingers at those who “should do their part.” In a general sense, yes, everyone who perceives themselves as arguably good people probably should assist in some way that they can, in a logical sense (if this, then that). However, this accusatory tone of others, as though they have the moral right to demand assistance from people, is grating. This is exacerbated by people who fall into the aforementioned camps, for obvious reasons. Lead by example, and let that be it’s own moral compass, not the oughtas and the shoulds.

DISCLAIMER: This is a minority in a vast majority of people who are fantastic and did their best to help their community in the most genuine and basic sense, and this is in no way a stab against them. This is also in the utmost respect for those who lost their livelihoods in the hurricane, of whom have my sympathies. Furthermore, this rant is easy for someone who doesn’t do shit during a crisis, let alone on a day to day basis, but before the accusations start, I’ve contributed to my community in the wake of Hurricane Sandy as well as on downtime from the horrors of nature; the difference is simply not needing to post on Facebook how great I am. Do good for others, not for yourself.