Allyance

I hate when something ripe goes sour. That's the only downfall to Trader Joe's. Their stuff is so fresh that you need to eat it within a couple of days so that it won't go bad and end up in the bottom of the garbage. Such is life. I really hate it when a ripe deal goes sour. For some reason, the last couple of side jobs have been too fresh and just don't end up producing anything. Must be something in the rain. I ended up doing some art for Allyance this past year and right after the work had been accepted and invoices sent, some muckety-muck pulled the plug on their offices out here and consequently my contacts on the inside. The brand had great traction. Despite that traction they decided to move on without so and so and what's his name (identity withheld and no hard feelings towards so and so and what's his name). Here's the work anyway.

Oakley Fuente Antix

Coming soon, Oakley Fuente Antix. Art by me.

Oakley Propaganda Hijinx

Coming soon, the Oakley Propaganda Hijinx. Art by me.

I did not vote this year. Before you get up in arms over this, let me
explain. I have voted in the last two elections, and each election
year I find myself, as well as everyone around me, saying "It's the
lesser of two evils" or "heads or tails" or "does my vote even count".
Sure, I think our votes count, but they don't count as much as they
used to. You hear it on the news, news anchors claiming that if they
win the electoral votes, they have the presidency. We, as
individuals, have nothing to do with the electoral college. Those
votes aren't controlled by the population at large. If they were,
John Kerry would have been president last time around. Or Al Gore by
means of the public vote tallies. I didn't vote because our personal
rights under the constitution have been diminished. It's not that we
have had rights stripped from us, but that Corporations have been
allowed to act in the realm of personal rights in regards to our
constitution overshadowing our sphere of influence as vote holding
citizens. Corporations have more money. Corporations have more man
power. Individual Corporations enjoy the exact same rights as we do
yet wield a larger pocket book and are able to lean harder than we can
as individual citizens. In 1886, Santa Clara County vs Southern
Pacific Railroad, a precedent was made holding that a Corporation was
a "natural person". Prior to this, we had checks and blances in place
protecting an individuals interests, rights and power over
Corporations. They were held in check, not allowed to contribute to
politics in any way, dissolved if they brought harm to their
community, environment or simlply grew too large or powerful. Owners
and officers were held accountable for their actions and were liable
for any harm that they may cause (No $400,000 spa treatments after
being bailed out, twice-AIG). Corporations were required to hold a
chartered purpose and any deviation of that purpose of serving the
public interest was grounds for dissolution. Through my research and
learning of these historical events and the current mess that we are
in today, rife with greed, special interests, Corporate growth and
control, that we are no longer living in a democratic society. We
have strayed so far from the ideals that founded this country. Boston
Tea Party. We dumped tons of Tea in protest of British Corporations
and their control over the colonies. And now, we sit idly by as
Corporations, our own creations, control life as we know it, pulling
the strings of our governmental puppets to achieve their own agendas.
I refuse to take part in a system so corrupt and perverted. I refuse
to take part in a government that hides behind the facade of democracy
when in actuality lives in the realm of a corporate-dictatory-monopoly
style government. Check out this linkfor more information and what we can do as individuals. Voting is your
choice, your oppinion, just make sure you understand what type of
system youare choosing to participate.

Timing

I finally got a new watch. Timepieces are a luxury to me but I always like having one good one in rotation. After almost 5 years with the same old watch it was "time". Next up, one similar to the watch above, an all time favorite of mine.

Not much to report today other than the fact that our friend Dustin will be moving in with us at the end of the summer. Another good friend to trade waves with. Should be a good time. Pretty much just trying to power through the week and survive the meetings and deadlines. Lots of small little stuff, but man, does it add up.

Olympics

Watching the summer games is a family tradition. My dad always says that it's the only time that the sport of swimming gets its due credit when they take center stage for 17 days. The opening ceremony was visually amazing, an onslaught for the senses and it's always great to see the countries walk in. It is a time of unrivaled patriotism and energy and world unity. It's too bad that we can't have the same attitude every day, every year.

One aspect of the games that I am so critical about is their increasingly eye numbing logos. There used to be a time when the Olympic committee, or whoever decides these things, actually had taste. What a monstrosity these things have become. You can see the progression from classic to modern to crap. The history of the Olympics summer games logos. From the mouth of Aaron Draplin, "It was better back then." Firm believer here. It seems as though design, in the truest sense of the word, has become jaded by the end that our capitalistic society has created. It's all about the big bucks. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for making money, but not at the expense of good design. A perfect example is this garbage. The good on the left, versus the bad on the right.

Lot's going on this week. Research, inspiration, categorizing, developing, conceptualizing. Good stuff. Gearing up for the weekend. Saturday is packed with goodies. Breakfast at the church with a bunch of the guys. Foosball, some Wii, some pancakes, some chit chat...all around good times. Then it's off to Takumi's 1970's Olympic Era birthday extravaganza. Who knows what to expect here, except good times, a few drinks, a back yard decked out for "Olympic" activities...

Meetings

There is something truly mesmerizing and daunting about sitting in meetings all day long. "Well the issue is here", "Hindsight is always 20/20" and the ever classic "Well, it was a bad graphic". Everyone has an opinion, everyone is a critic, everyone is an expert. Enough said.

Moving on...and continuing with my thought crime, I am absolutely astonished at California. So, just in case you don't live here, we're having budget issues. Much like the federal government, the State of California has racked up quite a lot of outstanding debt and are looking to right the ship. Even though the State has now collected 40% more revenue since 2004, they still can't figure out how to "live within their means" as we as citizens are expected to do. If I amount a certain amount of debt, it is my responsibility to repay said debt. I'm supposed to spend within the means of what I make and not go into the red. However, when it's our governement, they can spend an insane amount of money on bullshit programs that don't benefit the taxpaying citizens of this state. Meanwhile, our schools, emergency services and other forms of local services feel the brunt of the misappropriation of funds through cuts and lack of funding. Consider this, if you had $2000 dollars this month for rent, bills and life overhead costs and you decide to spend the money on plants, you won't make rent, and if you continue along this path, you will be out on the street. Supposedly the legislature is working on the budget meanwhile we have bills and laws being passed that prohibit the use of cel phones while driving. I can still shave, drink my coffee, pick songs on my iPod, text message and read the paper at the same time while driving and not get a ticket. Really? This is their focus? I've lost confidence. Positions of public service are designed around service. To me it sounds alot more like disservice at this point.

Tomorrow morning I will wash it all off when I get in the water. I gotta clean the "society" off me.

Back To Business

Been filling up my notebooks, pages expired, pencils sharpened, deals brokered. Lots going on, life, full speed ahead. Plenty of randomness, much like the entry above, courtesy of those good, factory type guys at Field Notes. Get over there and pick up a set and start filling them up with ideas.

This week I'm rolling up the sleeves and prepping to get design dirty. Tons of projekts to tackle, some with deadlines, some without, all fun and challenging in their own way. Got a projekt being pitched to Paramount Pictures tomorrow morning, super top secret. I'm taking a look at how we live our lives in and around our homes hopefully taking a stab at making it just a little bit better. Also on deck, some projekts dealing with time and a literary endeavor.

I took a hiatus from this blog monstrosity hoping to focus my life and find a little bit of balance. All too often, when your job is your passion, the lines begin to blur and I have a hard time turning things off when I really should. Work is work and life is life, and that's that.

Something to add to the list of lists, The Annual Report. Absolute brilliance. Feltron. Consider me stunned. Each year. Dig around in there, beautifully organized, visually appealing.

Research

I've been working on a personal project now for about two years, researching, sketching, and generally thinking about alot of stuff. Going to keep it classified as top secret, locked in the bunker for now, until I have something tangible to show. I don't want to get ahead of myself. Just a little teaser of some really great work I came across during my research. The body of work by Antony Micallef is just visually amazing. I don't agree with all of his subject matter or messages, but his technique and overall style is a treat to look at and absorb.

/ / / / /

Been hammering at the O as of late. Meetings, long days, lots of time in front of the machine and hardware. Got the camo netting up over my desk, finally. It works wonders on diffusing the glare that was seemingly magnetized to my computer screen on a daily basis. You can thank me later, retinas!

/ / / / /

Eric, Traci's brother, is flying in today. He's going to be with us for a week to celebrate Paisley's first birthday, get some quality time in with the family, some quality time with the Wii, and some quality time at the beach/in the water. So stoked to have him down here. Let the fun times ensue!

Guilty Pleasures/Inherited Traits

I would groan, acquire an attitude and generally complain when we would have to go to battlefields on family vacations, sit through tv shows about World War II or hear the same stories over and over. When I was a teenager, the world seemed so different and I "knew everything". Now, I am reminded daily by my wife how similar I am to my father. My humor. My nonessential detail (nonessential to everyone else but me). My love for everything military. I have camo netting over my desk at work. I have model planes flying over said desk. I have a new guilty pleasure. Blazing Angels for Wii. My wife was wonderful enough to buy this game for me, knowing that I was going to enjoy the hell out of it! And man, this game is insane. I just can't wait to share this one with my dad once they come down this summer. How funny that the circle actually comes back around to meet itself.

What's In a Name

This morning, some rather harsh news came via my mom...my grandfather Henjum had passed away lastnight. He was 92, had been married to my grandmother, Ida, for 72 years. It's all too often that when we lose someone we are overwhelmed with feelings of sadness, remorse and guilt that maybe we didn't take enough time, make enough phone calls, spend enough time visiting. While this is true, the first thing that came to my mind was what an amazing life. I remember after graduating from college, while all of my friends were rallying to far away places to party and just hang out, I chose to venture down to Arizona to spend some time with my grandparents, since they weren't able to come up for the celebration. I spent alot of time hanging out with them, talking about years past, about their relationship, about the farm that they lived on and cared after for years. I even brought my video camera down to interview them and now the responsibility falls on my shoulders to finally put that together after 8 years of collecting dust and traveling in boxes from north to south. After years have passed, my grandfather, every time I talked with him and see him, would always say how sorry he was for not going to the Grand Canyon or not doing more while I was there. "How bored you must have been" he would say to me. I would always say that I had a great time and that I just wanted to spend time with them. Now in the wake of his passing I truly feel blessed to have spent that one on one time with each of them at such a developmental time in my life. Thank you, grandpa, for being such a huge role model for me. For being a wonderful husband to your loving wife. For being a great father to your children. For being man enough to deal with your everday battles. For being a strong individual. For being a rock with Christ. From you I have learned so much, more than you will ever know. I know that you are in a better place and we will see you soon. Donald Henjum, my grandfather, my hero.

X-Games

I still have yet to see any of the coverage, but the word is out...there's definitely a buzz going on. We've had a great response about my architecture plaid at Oakley. Super proud of this one. It's definitely not a print for your every day Joe Schmoe, but I know there are definitely those rats out there that'll be stoked on wearing something that's completely different. Read more in the news section at Oakley.com.

/ / / / /

Feeding off that positive response, I'm jumping head first into our next series of projects at work. As usual, tight lipped, triple sealed, stamped in triplicate, super top secret superness happening behind those blast doors I affectionately call "the office". Word is that our fearless leader might be getting a tank on the grounds sometime soon, a Russian BMP. Here's hours and hours of links to explore at RKKA in WWII. The wishlist starts now!

Hiatus

Back to it. Picked up the wife and kid from the aiport. So good to see those two, let me tell you! Paisley loved her little elephant that I got her in Berlin, had a bouquet of flowers waiting for Traci at home. First rule of travel when you are a family man: bring home more for others than for yourself!

/ / / / /

Allianz Stadium. We saw this on the way into Munich from the airport and my heart began to race. Maybe on the off chance, I might be able to sit in one of those seats and marvel at the skill and finesse of real football. Didn't want to get my hopes up too much so I pushed that idea into the depths. Olaf, our marketing manager for Germany, was nice enough to dig that dream back up for me and lined up box seats for Curb and myself to a friendly between Bayern and 1860. It was a couple of days late, couldn't quite sneak that one in before the big three oh, but hell, I'm already started on the things to do before you turn 40 list. I love crossing that shit off. Emotion, energy and loud. This stadium was alive with fanatics, chanting across the pitch at each other, singing their team's song, whistling at horrible calls. It was incredible. Thank you Olaf!

Ready for "Home"

Germany is absolutely breathtaking for me. Historically. Because of family roots. Stunning. I spent my birthday, yesterday, wandering the streets of Berlin, soaking it all in, snapping photos of a church which had been decimated by the allied forces in World War II, the remaining section standing as an eerie reminder among modern shopping centers made entirely of glass and steel. Also a sobering moment was spent at the Berlin wall, or rather what is left of it. I walked slowly along the length of one section left intact, complete with large displays depicting the history and horror of a time we'd all like to forget but shouldn't. In between these briefs moments of focus, my mind remained on my wife and daughter, praying for their safety, for their sanity in the absence of the other member of our family, me. I thought that I could power through this trip, stay focused on shopping the market, studying and consume myself with my work at hand. The first week went well, jumping from country to country, airport to airport, store to store. Daily, I checked our family blog for new posts, but then it got to the point of checking it to secure my sanity in missing seeing them, missing hearing them.

/ / / / /

Now, I have only a couple of days left on the trip, the last leg, the kick, the sprint. Just powering at this point, trying desparately to reach that light. Desparate to reach the "home" that is my wife and my daughter. The comfort. The community. The family. The love.

Thurenger Style

First of my family to set foot back on the soil of the motherland. First from my family to eat Thurenger Style Brauts. Thurengen is the town where my dad's side of the family is from and the Brauhaus that we went to for dinner, serves their sausages and brauts in styles conventional to certain areas in Germany. So very cool. Very proud of being able to cross some more things off the to-do-before-30 list. Squeaked that one in there just in time.

/ / / / /

So glad to be towards the end of the trip. Very excited to be in Germany, but definitely looking forward to getting home. I've looked forward to getting back ever since I've left, but never before have I missed my life as much as now. I miss my wife and baby girl. Missing everything that is what surrounds me on a daily basis. I feel very forunate and blessed to have been able to go on this trip. However, I am looking forward to holding Paisley and kissing Traci. Until then, more shopping in yet another city.

London-Day 1

Charming. Quaint. Just like I imagined it to be. Freaky. I guess all of those viewings of 28 DAYS LATER and 28 WEEKS LATER stick with you. Imagery that sears itself into your brain, just ride the tube from Heathrow to downtown and you'll know what I'm talking about. Freaky.

/ / / / /

Kicked the bug's ass. Got it good. So glad to be over that stomach-whatever-the-hell-it-was sickness. Redeemed myself in burger choices today...had the third best burger ever, only to Solly's, WI, and A's burger Dana Point. Had to reclaim that mishap in Barcelona. Proper! Rallied around our hotel and found some really cool shops, Big Ben, Parliament Houses and tons of little corner pubs. Every corner, there's a pub. Every one! Lots of shopping to do in the next couple of days. Taking notes. Taking tons of notes.

Bonjour, Merci

Gone are the radiant mediterranean sunsets. Welcome, grey, rainy skies. Paris. After hopping into a taxi at Charles de Gaul Airport, I sat wondering, when does Paris end. How large is this city? Large rectangular boxes run the length of the streets, adorned with ornamental design which is both quaint and overpowering all at once. Chimney stacks reach humbly for the depressed sky.

/ / / / /

Still trying to kick this stomach bug. Not sure what the heck is going on. Might have been a fated dinner. Might have been the water in Barcelona. Might have been, might have been. Powering on. Going to kick some ass. Mosied around the city about yesterday. Found the Eiffel Tower just where they said it would be on the map. Found alot of other cool, abnormally large buildings with crazy details in gold. Such a deep sense of history over here. Brings back memories of exploring civil war battle fields with the pops. Cool stuff.

Visited the famous French boutique Colett. Crazy, minimalist design, very sparse. Karl Lagerfeld was there, in all his obscure glory, complete with assistant and personal fit model. Checking it out. After that, attempted to get something in my stomach, definitely fared better this time, but still not quite right. Figured I'd go a safe route and order a club sandwich. Leave it to the French to put egss on there.

/ / / / /

More shopping today. Because Paris is so big, everything that we have on our hit list is so spread out, making for a very long day. Hopefully my box of Maalox holds up.

Bread, Butter, and Street Performers

Day 3-Travel
It's about a quarter till 4 am here in Barcelona. Had a little bit of a rough run towards the end of the day yesterday, something definitely not agreeing with my angry stomach. Got a great nights rest, though, after an hour of very strenuous activity. Thanks, stomach. Muchas gracias, mi estomago! At least I have plenty of time to get my things repacked, together, categorized and downtstairs.

/ / / / /

The trade show was packed. Various languages, various styles, various points of view. One thing is for certain, they like to smoke cigarettes. Didn't see anything earth shattering, nothing that really blew my mind. Definitely some really cool stuff, though. Lots of notes. Filling up my field notes notebook real fast. (Thanks Draplin and Field Notes)

5 things that I could do without for a very long time:
1. Cigarettes (Not like that's going to happen anythime soon the way this trip is going, smoke stacks!)
2. Dirty Mustaches
3. Shiny Down Jackets
4. Faux-Hawk/Mullet Hybrids
5. Rainbow Dude In a G-String (Enjoy those mind altering substances and tourist Euros!)

Barcelona Day 2-Work Station

Day 2, the start. Got another decent nights sleep last night, not much on TV over here except for the odd fire alarm over the economy back home, the politics and which blind person is leading which, and of the course the "extreme" weather and the state of "global warming". All funny stuff in my opinion.

/ / / / /

Even though I am over 5,000 miles away from home, without the two loves of my life, my wife and baby girl, and without all the comforts of home, this hotel is surprisingly warming to the soul. In a town that consistently blends historical architecture with avant garde design, the AB Skipper Hotel is a minimalist marvel blending clean geometric architecture with warming hues of dark reds and dark greys accented with a sublte cream and beautifully thought out sections of wood grain. Wonderful stuff. Definitely a "must stay" on my list of hotels.

/ / / / /

Part one of two of Trade Show Extravaganza. Off to breakfast.

Barcelona Day 1

After almost 16 hours of travel logged, I finally got to stretch my legs. Curb and I galavanted around the Gothic district for a good eight hours today, zig zagging down narrow streets that can't even fit the width of a car. The alleys dart this way and that, with no apparent rhyme or reason, every corner twisting you and turning you. Very easy to get confused and lost in the old town maze that is Gothic Barcelona.

/ / / / /

1. Ate the absolute worst hamburger in the history of mankind this afternoon.
2. Got a huge blister on the ball of my foot (jet lag affects more than just your sleeping).
3. Smelled every smell in the olfactory spectrum.
4. Drank my first Guiness in Europe.
5. Kicked the stomach bug that has been ailing me since Tequila Sunday with Traci and Pais.

/ / / / /

Tomorrow, off to Bread and Butter. Should be a good show, looking forward to seeing the best of what Europe has to offer. Interested to see the various points of view presented and who will be showing. Chad gets in tonight. Off to dinner. If it was anything like lastnight, should be good.