January 19, 2006
It's time to push things forward.
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January 18, 2006
Yowzers. Been awhile, huh? ...Um, you look good. Have you lost weight? We should get together sometime. Hang out, ya know?
[+] The Pittsburgh Steelers
[+] Little Italy, NYC
[+] The Ricky Gervais Show
[+] Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
[+] Arrested Development
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June 4, 2005
Interested in owning Mark Ryden's "The Creatrix?" I have an extra poster for sale. Click here for ordering information.
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February 28, 2005
What is The Creatrix?
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February 11, 2005
My posts have become fewer and fewer and my stress levels seem to be soring. I haven't exercised in months. Working hours stretch longer and a full night's sleep seems like a luxury. My body HATES me right now. H & I need a lifestyle make-over ...or a quick end to winter.
John and Carol got engaged in Brazil last week. Your super-secret exclusive club membership decoder ring is in the mail. Welcome aboard!
On the horizon: Tom and I are head to LA in two weeks to the Mark Ryden opening at the PMCA.
Other good news, B-rad Berkner landed a full-time gig with the CBS affliate in Charlotte, NC. For some reason, he can't seem to escape the deep south. You do know what this means, don't you? NASCAR, baby.
[+] New Mountain
Goats album this spring
[+] Planning a Donnie
Darko Director's Cut movie night
[+] HDTV
[+] Smoosh!
[+] Napoleon
Dynamite = Gummo-lite
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December 26, 2004
Our little holiday bundle of joy!
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December 6, 2004
Everything changes. It is the only true constant.
Let's accentuate the positive this time:
[+] Untitled and unseen new Mark Ryden print I purchased
from the Pasadena Museum
of California Art
[+] The Walkmen show
last Friday at the TLA
[+] Spending time with my 93 year old great-unkle
[+] B-rad interviewing for a job here in Philly Friday
[+] Ohhhhhhh
Jeffrey.
[+] Heather and I enjoying our clean house, redecorated bedroom, and first Xmas
tree
September 14, 2004
It's back to school time. When I was young, the fall was my reset button on
life. New grade, new clothes, fresh start. The last few weeks have slipped by
in a blur of minor summer-ending milestones. We had all the important ones;
Justin's semi-annual b'more pool party, cooler weather, and the start of the
fall soccer season. What we haven't had is focus. Time to get "serious",
get some "stuff done" and "make things happen." Can I vomit
up any more horrific analogies?
Beth and I were lamenting tonight what looks to be the inevitable demise of the 2004-05 NHL hockey season. Could this be good news for the EA Sports NHL hockey franchise? Our local gaming store might find me plunking down some hard earned dollars on the new game in a futile attempt to replicate the season.
[+] Almost done ripping my CD collection
[+] Claritin D
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August 31, 2004
H & I have decided that we want an Italian Greyhound. Now, how do we find
one?
Is this going to be my new computer? My G4 turns 5 next month. Retirement beckons for her blistering 400MHz processor and insurmountable 10 Gig drive are no longer cutting it for my digital media lifestyle.
Allergies suck. What the hell? I thought that my own personal affliction only occurred in the late spring. This week my eye are burning out of my skull and my sinuses are keeping Kleenex in business for the next millenium. I took some over-the-counter Clarinex "D" today. I was high as a kite for 8+ hours and borderline comatose for another 4.
Trip down memory lane? "PSA Anthology" sneak preview!
[+] Three dollar bags of Granite chips at Lowe's
[+] My iSkin
that will soon be delivered (I got the glowing "Ghost" color)
[+] Labor Day utopia is only days away!
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August 25, 2004
So, we "lost" our bid for our Penny; the cute beagle mix at the Montgomery
County SPCA. ...Damn.
In more pleasant news, I unearthed 6(!) Personal Soul Archive comics { See July 6, 2004 entry for more info } for which I no longer have the original art. So, tomorrow I will scan these newsprint versions in and add them to the digital collection that I am building, hoping to unveil sometime this decade.
[+] Revisiting PJ Harvey's Is
This Desire?
[+] Good interview with
J. Robbins on his new band, Channels
------------------------------------------
August 24, 2004
After 8 days of on and off CD ripping, I have yet to even hit 10 gigs. Currently,
I have ascended to 7 gigs loaded to my iPod so far. This includes me jumping
on Jason Santa Maria's
mac at work and quickly grabbing albums off his iTunes like a fat kid locked
in a candy store. Scary.
In sad news, Sue lost her father on Monday. My heartfelt condolences go out to her and her family.
Thursday night, John and I will be supporting the Black and Gold here in Philly for a preseason game. I will be curious to see how the Philly fans react to the return of Duce Staley.
And for those who might be keeping score, Lowe's has WAY more selection than Home Depot. You can tell I am now a homeowner.
[+] Yard work as Zen
[+] Freaks
and Geeks DVD
[+] A possible MHS 10 year reunion in the works?
------------------------------------------
August 19, 2004
PHP? Formmail? What do I look like, a programmer? Actually, with some
much needed guidance, I was able to hack together a working form submission
functionality on my low-budget, no-frills freelance project www.autobytech.com.
This was a really good things for me to do once all the frustration wore off.
I had never worked on this side (the dark side?) of web design before and it
has given me the confidence to prod further into the thick muck of html coding.
Like my good friend Monica, I am now a proud owner of a very shiny and very dense gadget: the iPod. My free time for the next 3 months will be spent ripping my CD collection and attempting to fill up 40 Gigs of digital void. Why did I make this very impulsive purchase? I realized that my AIWA car CD player has an auxillary port on the faceplate. Therefore, this piece of shit CD player will have skipped on me for the last time.
Heather also made a wee minor purchase: a slick, new Jeep Liberty in my favorite color black. She will look good in it as she drives up to the new hotel when she starts her new job next week.
[+] Getting rid of clutter around the house
[+] Pink Floyd's Animals
<--- My new favorite 'Floyd album
[+] Easy Star All Stars Dub
Side of the Moon
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August 1, 2004
It's been awhile since an update. In all fairness, things have been keeping
me destracted, both in front of and away from the computer. Between work, freelance
jobs, soccer games, and cross-state drives, my precious little free time has
been like gold.
Last weekend, I took a Saturday trip to John's apartment in the Harrisburg area. In an attempt to reconnect to long neglected mother nature, we hiked a short section of the Appalachian Trail from Duncannon, PA to "Hawk Rock." (Sorry, my camera battery was dead so I'm linking to someone else's pictures. You can get the idea of what we were looking at via them.)
Wednesday night, my sister, John and myself met up around 5 and headed to Lincoln Financial for the Manchester United vs. Celtic soccer game. Thursday, John and I headed for Pittsburgh where we hit the Pirates game at PNC Park. When that was over, we lost a few hours in the 222 Bar. After many beers, a few strange conversations with locals, and a blurry meal at Atria's we made out way to a tailgate party in the parking lot of Heinz Field. A hastily downed beer and some photos with John's friends was all we had time for before the 8 PM start of Chelsea vs. Roma. Our fourth row seats midfield proved to be unbelievable. Chelsea provided a well played game and put 3 goals in the back of the net.
I arrived back in Havertown today around 3 PM to Heather who might had forgotten what I look like if I didn't return sooner. My surprise waiting for me at home? An inch of water in the basement.
------------------------------------------
July 19, 2004
Ten miles. Today, I ran ten miles. ...Yes, I can't believe it either.
...No, I am not crazy.
Despite what my post from last week says, my employer TMX has finally exorcised its lousy logo. Here is the future. I can't believe it is actually happening and I'm really jazzed it is my design.
[+] PJ Harvey
Uh Huh Her
[+] Baja Fresh's Chicken Baja Burrito
[+] Heather gets a vacation! Kennywood
here we come!
------------------------------------------
July 14, 2004
The weekend could not come sooner enough. Of the last 72 hours, 50 of them have
been spent in the office. No joke. ...And I still have Thursday to get through
and a large chunk of the TMX Healthcare site to design and begin to encode.
Today, a new TMX logo was railroaded through creative. The accidental execution
was based off a half-assed idea that never really came to full fruition. It
was actually in the discarded scrapheap of cast-offs from earlier crits about
a month ago. Unfortunately, with only a few hours to work on it, the mark lacks
the mustard to really make it stand out from the crowd. Someday, we will look
back on this week and laugh.
------------------------------------------
July 6, 2004
July is off to a fantastic start. Wonderful news came down from the Kerry campaign
(in the wonderful city of Pittsburgh, no less) as they named John Edwards of
NC to the Democratic ticket. For me, this was the BEST choice Kerry could have
made. As a wealthy Northerner, what better way to round out the ticket with
a young, charasmatic, well-spoken, Southern trial-lawyer? I CANNOT WAIT to see
him chew apart and spit out Darth Cheney when debate time rolls around.
Also, I ran a very surprising 6 miles today. This is only the 3rd, maybe 4th time I have ever made the 6 mile mark. I accomplished this very casually today too. At mile 3, I was gliding along and basically said, "Hell with it. Let's see how far we can roll today." Unfortunately, I WILL be paying for it tomorrow morning.
Harry Potter 3 was ok.
Spiderman 2 was good.
...and Fahrenheit 911 was devastatingly wonderful. I have never experienced any piece of medium that pushed and pulled at my emotions like this documentary did. Crying like a baby during some parts yet laughing hysterically at others, this Patriotic rollercoaster should be mandatory viewing for EVERY SINGLE CITIZEN OF THIS COUNTRY.
In a fit of inspiration, rummaging through the dark archives of my life, I discovered the original artwork from my short-lived comic strip in the Drexel University paper, The Triangle. Tomorrow I will scan them in, and hopefully have them posted up here in the very near future. Those of you who have known me for awhile will obviously be reminded of the really sad and very ridiculous drama surrounding the death of Personal Soul Archive.
[+] Running 6 miles today.
[+] My 90's Britpop-only mix CD I made last night
------------------------------------------
June 29, 2004
Where the hell did June go? At this rate, the leaves will be falling soon. Am
I feeling signs of getting older? Are the years just "floating by?"
EKK!
Anyways, on the radar currently is the up coming July 4th holiday. Not surprisingly, I have been distracted by the house and therefore planned nothing for this extended holiday. No guests, no beer, no fun? ...No, I need to remedy this. How about an flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants stab at gathering up some people this weekend? Anyone down?
Tonight I got a heads-up from fellow interactive designer and Drexel alum Eric Zempol about a Yahoo Drexel Design Students usergroup. Bravo! I am anxious and excited to think this might take off and result in some awesome circle of contacts, possibly a few nights of happy hours, and a re-found sense of Drexel Pride!
To flame the fire of my BritPOP raging inferno, here is the Guardian UK's Top 100 British Albums of All Time.
Didn't see Fahrenheit 9/11 yet.
[+] The Glenlivet French Oak Cast 12 year single malt
[+] Freaks & Geeks: The
Complete Series
[+] Craig Wedren's new
acoustic song (MP3 file)
[+] First Friday this week?
------------------------------------------
June 14, 2004
Tired. Two weeks since our move, the amount of time, effort, and sweat has already
been more than I could have ever imagined. Despite the never ending boxes and
STUFF, the place is coming together. Last night, I hung BLINDS for the first
time in my life. Although the event was dripping in banality, my overriding
feelings were pure elation. I think what happened was somewhere in my mind the
"adult" switch kick on. Truth be told, every day here has been exciting.
To counter-balance all this joy is the fact that Heather continues to work like
a fiend. This unfortunately leaves me with many quiet nights working on the
house alone.
Last week was the Drexel University's College of Media Arts & Design Graphic Design Senior Show. It also marks the 5th anniversary of my completion of my design degree. I was discussing with some of my fellow classmates that continue to attend these events with me about how much easier it would be nowadays to be a college design student. With the internet broadband, computers incrediably faster, desktop printing infinitely cheaper, and digital cameras prevolent as bookbags, resources to complete a project are never a hurdle in bringing a concept to fuition. Of course, I will NEVER view this opinion with a designer over the age of 30. I'll start hearing terms like "meat loaf" "marker comps" "photostats" and "typographers." (Yes, there were people whose job was solely setting type.) So, to those young punk designers coming up, I say this: Zip discs, drives and the click of death, "Power" Macs with numbers in the 6000s, Fiery's @ Kinkos, Shooting and developing film, and Super 77. Oh wait, that's still around.
[+] Matt Pond PA Emblems
[+] Walking in my neighborhood
[+] New season of Six Feet Under
[+] Record shopping with B-rad on a sunny Saturday
------------------------------------------
May 26, 2004
Dawn of the Dead is one of the best horror movies ever made. It makes me proud
to be a Pittsburgher.
Ok, so this is probably my last update before the move. I will definitely be
out of commission for a few days, if not a week, until I am set up again in
Havertown.
[+] A new house!
[+] Shopping for new stuff tonight!
------------------------------------------
May 17, 2004
Packing sucks. Ok, I am excited about our impending move but when I
pack, the realization that we have waaaay too much stuff smacks me
in the face. Honestly, being a packrat is something I fight constantly. Maybe,
a losing battle?
In good news, soccer has been going well. In stark contrast to my early season ineffectiveness, the last 3 games have seen me produce 5 goals and 3 assists. I feel in much better shape now and have a lot more spark in my legs. What was a helluva lot of fun it was playing under the lights the past two Wednesday nights! It brought back bittersweet memories of MHS and fall evenings in the Big MAC. Fall of 94 = a few of the best months in my life.
[+] BBQ
Saturday
[+] The
Mountain Goats The Coroner's Gambit Maybe a new all-time
favorite album?
[—] Driving back from Torre-Lazur Friday afternoon = 3 hours.
[+] John, if he goes to the Channels
show Monday
[+] The Office, Season
Two
------------------------------------------
May 11, 2004
To start the night off, I cut my final car payment on my Grand Cherokee. Boo-yah!
After that, I continued the slow, arduous process of packing up our apartment.
Tonight, I tackled my fiction bookshelf and some decorative odds and ends in
the living room. Keeping me motivated is the thought that in less than two weeks,
Heather and I will have our own house!
In GREAT new, Justin & Melanie will be back in Philly the first week of
June. With H working lotsa hours at Baja Fresh and Melanie starting law school,
J and I will have mucho time to be boys again and catch up on lost time. It
is really a great thought having him back in town. Part of my life here in Philly
was missing when he left for the west coast. J, I welcome you back with open
arms!
My night continued on with Errol Morris' The
Fog of War. Brilliant movie. I had no idea who Robert McNamara was
but this documentary is a crash course on him, his policies as Secretary of
Defense, the Cuban-Missle Crisis, the Vietnam War, and his 11 lessons of war.
Recommended viewing in this unsure wartime climate we live in. My own personal
verdict is still out on McNamara. The picture McNamara lets Morris paints of
him is a intimate journey of personal interpretation and outright stonewalling.
I see more non-fiction reading in my immediate future. Oh, the doors we unwillingly
open...
[+] Pulling out my old hiphop CDs
[+] PJ Harvey new single, The Letter
[+] Sideshow
[+] Packing?!?!?
------------------------------------------
April 30, 2004
My lack of updates is directly related to the amount of sunshine lately. Speaking
of shining bright, last night the TMX creative team stole the show at the Philly
Gold Awards. Fifteen lil' gold bricks went home in our arms. Kudos to Kev
and his LG Mobile Phone site. It is really beautiful and well deserving off
all the accolades it pulled in last night.
In more Kevin news, Sideshow
launched last week also. This will be a portal for us TMX'ers to get our design
rocks off and really show what we are capable of doing. As of right now, the
TMXinteractive website shows work we did about 3 years ago. Sideshow puts a
current face on the talent we have in house today. Hats off to Kevin, Jason
Santa Maria, and Terry Wall for making it all happen.
[+] Ureal Tournament 2004
[+] Philly Gold Awards
------------------------------------------
April 20, 2004
I've started casually working on a new design but inspiration has been light,
as of late. With our impending move and working being overly taxing, the last
thing I really want to do is sit down in front of a computer screen in the evening.
For you, my loyal readers, I will soldier on. ...All 3 of you, I mean.
In other newsworthy tidbits, B-rad is back in the 'burgh and Johnny is making a trip west to celebrate Dr. Gonzo's graduation from Pitt. Surprise guests include Como via Boston and Despy via Chi-town. Oh, the mayhem to ensue. Please, please, PLEASE -- take pictures!
[+] The
Office Season Two on DVD finally
[+] Warmer weather has sorta arrived
------------------------------------------
April 12, 2004
I want to thank Heather's family for a very nice Easter Sunday and extra thanks
for extending the invitation for dinner to Beth. It definitely made these exiled
Pittsburghers feel at home. Speaking of home, here
are more shots of our upcoming home-to-be.
[-] Really shitty weather
[+] Talented designers
and great ideas (plus merchandise!)
[+] The new logo project I'm working on for M.Reid's Culture
[+] The new Modest Mouse single Float On
------------------------------------------
April 6, 2004
So, house-hunting took a total of, ohhhh, 5 days. Barring a catastrophic inspection,
June will find H & I living here.
[-] Weird stomach virus we both have been fighting
[+] Lamplighter Tavern, Havertown PA
[+] Pink Floyd Atom
Heart Mother
------------------------------------------
April 3, 2004
Spring has officially sprung, in my book at least. Although, snow is forcast
here (!?!?!) tomorrow, at 4pm 14-year-old Freddy
Adu makes his professional soccer debut for the MLS D.C. United. This marks
the youngest American to ever play a professional sport. I am excited at the
possibility of witnessing the maturity of our very own Pele in-the-making. With
the National team fairing well and U.S. born players making their marks in high-profile
clubs all over the world, we might be witnessing the coming-of-age of American
soccer.
My own club game was cancelled for tomorrow due to the unusually cold and wet weather. Eh, that's better anyways. I can get a few more days of jogging in before the pain starts next weekend.
The RIAA can eat it.
Help
save our country.
[+] 1. Bloody Mary's and sleepy Saturdays
[+] 2. Planes Mistaken For Stars WEDNESDAY!
[+] 3. Xiu Xiu Fabulous
Muscles
------------------------------------------
March 30, 2004
House hunting is actually kind of exciting. Heather couldn't come with me tonight,
but I met with our new realtor and is giving me the crash-course in the "vicious"
home-buying market in the Ardmore/Havertown area. The sooner we find a home,
the sooner I can get a dog and name him "Milo."
[+] 1. so far, our new realtor: Fran
[+] 2. Tickets to Man U vs. Celtic here in Philly...
[+] 3. ...then, tickets for Chelsea vs. Roma in Pgh!
(Road trip, John!)
------------------------------------------
March 28, 2004
Polishing off an entire bottle of wine on a Sunday night is not the best way
to "start the week."
I have to give thanks though. Friday I accompanied Jeff Foster and Will Redmond
to Torre Lazur's east coast headquarters in upstate New Jersey. First of all,
it was great to get out of the office and begin to fill the shoes of a proper
Art Director role. I conceived the concepts, faciliated their execution, saw
their fruition ~ why wouldn't I support the Executive Creative Director for
the pitch? Woohoo. What a great day! Meeting the CEO and the "Lazur"
of Torre Lazur (1.5 billion dollar yearly billing) was definitely worth the
buzz. Discussing web-standard philosophies in the meeting? To quote a long-running
commerial, "Priceless."
Also, I need to extend an warm, welcoming hello to anyone who find this extremely modest site via the (gasp!) Marshigh.com website. Great idea! Expect my name to be the first "Class of 95" entry soon. Thanks for the plug, John.
I'm trying to talk Heather into starting a blog. Where else
is a former English major supposed to get out her inner demons? ;)
[+] 1. Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind
[+] 2. Revisiting
a nice Chianti
[+] 3. Revisiting The Charlatans UK Some
Friendly
[+] 4. Spring weather
[+] 5. TGUK's Guilt
Show !?!?!?
[+] 6. Ink and water brush work
[+] 7. Biondo final logo
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March 25, 2004
The Panthers bowed out, I missed the ADCP event, and my alarm will be going
off at 5:30 tomorrow morning. Helluva way to end the week, ya know? I'm looking
forward to a nice, quiet weekend in order to get alot of freelance and chores
accomplished. (maybe some work on this website too?) Hopefully, a good bit of
running will get mixed in with the warm weather too.
Top 1 of the Moment:
1. Unkle Never
Neverland
------------------------------------------
March 24, 2004
"I hate jogging. You know why? Because it's the joggers who always
find the dead bodies."
- Dave Attell
The sick thing is that I recalled this quote this morning as I rekindled my on-and-off relationship with exercise. The target: three miles of trail next to the Schuylkill River. The good news? Mission accomplished. The bad news? What churned my stomach was this story I read about an hour later. I missed being the possible "finder" by about 12 hours. Sad. ...and very "Twin Peak-ian"
On the lighter side, tonight I met with Jay Walsh, my accountant.
Man, I love that guy! When tax time rolls around, he has made me a happy man
for the past two years.
Top 4 of the Moment:
1. GO PANTHERS
2. Tomorrow night's ADCP Event
3. The Tax Man
4. Descendents Cool
To Be You
------------------------------------------
March 22, 2004
So, I FINALLY figured out my iframe nightmare. Basically, ANY html programming
to me is like summoning the unholy. Late at night, quietly swearing into my
monitor (as to not wake the slumbering fiance), the elusive Magic Programming
Fairy never makes a visit. Quietly passing by my poorly-lit, makeshift office,
never to stop by for quick enlightenment... These are the pains of self-taught
coding. Nights like tonight reinforce the complete estrangement my left and
right brain maintain. Their grudge is deeply rooted. So, now that my knowledge
curve has lessened (but pain threshold remains high), expect a REAL site in
the next, oh... lets say season.
Top 5 of the Moment:
1. GO PANTHERS
2. www.zappos.com
3. Savannah mayhem pictures: Mine
& B-rad's
4. The prospect of house hunting soon
5. www.thetalentshow.org
------------------------------------------
February 22, 2004
How much more of this springtime tease? Fifty degrees today and sunny skies.
I stayed in and finished my freelance work.
Top 3 of the Moment:
1. F hardness Venus drawing pencil
2. Fifa 2004
3. "It's alright, it's okay, there's something to live for... Jesus
told me so!"
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February 17, 2004
Finally. After about 2 years plus of owning chriscashdollar.com, I
have FINALLY put something up. Anyways, look for frequent updates, pictures
from upcoming trip to Savannah with my great friends, a blossoming portfolio,
and constant news on what it is like to be engaged to my wonderful Heather.
Top 5 of the Moment:
1. Franz
Ferdinand "Take Me Out"
2. AIGA:
Professional Practices in Graphic Design
3. Bootleg Sifl &
Olly
4. Unreal Tournament 2004 Demo
5. Maritime
signs to Desoto Records