picture picture – Such Luck – Skating Curbs & Eating Tacos

Weather:
Heat rash hot.

Here are a small number of things that I’ve recently enjoyed and I believe are worth your time. Also some other noteworthy occurrences.

I had a chance to see Bing’s movie Minding the Gap when it was at the Doc fest and I loved it. Allison saw it with me and talked about it for days afterwards. The only bummer was every person I told to go see it couldn’t because it was only playing at fests in other cities. My friend Sam even texted me after seeing it in Utah telling me that he got to check it out there but still I couldn’t talk to anyone about it or tell people where to find it. That all changes in August when it gets a wider theatrical release and also becomes viewable on Hulu. It’s an outstanding piece of work. Please do yourself a favor and take the time to give it a watch.
I have a lot of friends who make really great music. Since I am musically unmotivated and uninvolved I like to leave it to the experts. Nate’s new band Compressions reminds me of tapes I’d dub and trade to friends for other awesome hardcore tapes. Thundershirt is staffed by of Suhail, Tim and Nick. No vocals but plenty of surfish metaling.
It’s with a sad heart I pass along news of two fantastic small businesses closing their doors. Yeah Boardshop served Chicagoland well for 10 years. The only bright spot I can find is I may get to skate with Steve more. The wonderful Little Paper Planes is also closing after 14 years. Running a small business can be a 24/7 job. Most small business I interact with only have a minimal amount of employees and usually the owners are trying to run social media, interact with customers, deal with permits, pay bills, taxes and payroll, do everything just to keep the doors open another month. Net time you’re out buy something from a store you love. Or if you’re an online shopper buy from them that way. Support the businesses you want to see open so they can continue to exist.
I’m a big fan of Ann Socha’s truck paintings. She recently put everything up on a site which makes it easier to appreciate online.
The loft may have seen it’s final session but Uprise is still going strong. Real made a board and short documentary to celebrate everything they do.

This was something I made for a skate related film fest. It didn’t end up there but I still had fun putting it together and I really like it. It was a simple concept. Pushing around the city put you never see an actual skateboard. Alex with the assist.

I’m slowly working on some new shirts for the summer. Hopefully there will be some trips. For now please enjoy the spring iteration of Signal.

Some recent collage work.

Not certain where this is going.

It’s still new.

Got a few more in progress.

All of these photos were taken March 20th – June 20th.

For some reason it feels like it’s been a really long spring.

Some of that is due to the weather fluctuations.

It can feel like every different type of weather is happening in a week.

I’ve also been dealing with some family loss.

As I get older it happens more frequently. Unfortunately I have to assume this will continue.

Since I’m in the thick of things I have a little advice for everyone out there.

Try your best to get your thoughts, wishes, important information organized and orderly.

I know it’s not something anyone wants to think about on a daily basis and there’s always a reason to put it off but I also know that trying to figure all that out while dealing with shock and sorrow and mourning is awful and overwhelming.

I also recently learned that an old colleague ended her life.

I hadn’t seen her in five or six years and I always had great memories of when we worked together but I know she was struggling for the past few years.

I’ll be honest that’s a real tough thing.

Did I do enough? Should I have reached out?

I don’t have the right answers. I can’t fix everything for everyone.

All I can say to her or anyone else is don’t kill yourself. Please. Please please please.

Depression is brutal and I would never wish it on anyone and I know it’s hard to see things ever being different but things will get better.

Nothing is that final. Nothing is irreversible. There’s always another path to continue moving forward.

Continue moving forward.

Life can be a strenuous struggle but every second is amazing and there’s always a possibility for the world to be joyful and wonderful and perfect. I know sometimes it’s really hard to see.

So if you’re reading this and you’re hurting just know that in all seriousness I want you to stay alive. Please stay alive. If you’re struggling reach out. Like I said I don’t have the answers but maybe together we can try and figure it out.

In the context of everything else I’ve written so far this might seem light but for me it’s not. I’m also really missing my cat Chorizo.

We had to put him down after over 20 years

He used to nestle up next to me whenever I was home.

He was almost sneaky about it.

I’d be working on my laptop and I’d move and he’d give me a gentle meow because I disturbed him and that’s when I’d realize he’d come out of nowhere and smashed against my side undetected.

We still care for two cats and I love them enormously but I wish he was still here.

Wow this post is really turning out to be a downer.

Besides death I’ve also been thinking about time famine a lot.

It appears that technology may not have freed up any time in our lives.

Instead it has filled us with possibilities, distractions and opportunities.

What if you could read any book?

Watch any movie?

Listen to any song?

What if you could write a book, a song, make a movie on your phone?

Shouldn’t you be doing that all the time?

I’m trying to spend more time not thinking about all these possibilities but instead just being thoughtful and focused on the current thing that is happening.