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Oct. 16th, 2009 @ 12:33 am umm hi
hi livejournal. i forgot about you. how's life?
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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Dec. 8th, 2008 @ 07:46 am Easter Monday
Current Location: Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City
Current Mood: nostalgic
John Lennon was shot and killed 18 years ago today. 18 years ago our lives were touched, each and every one of us living that day. 18 years ago today everything changed. Celebrities would never again trust a stranger on the street. One mad man changed it all, and for what? To retaliate for something made up.

It's very sad. I want to go to Strawberry Fields today, but I'm feeling a little ill. I hope it clears up and I can go stand in the freezing cold with hundreds of other Beatles fans in Central Park.

I want to get frostbite for John. He was truly an asshole, but he was also a hero of mine. His words changed my world, from the time I could put my own non-Fisher Price record on a platform I would spin the red and blue albums. My youth was molded by his words and visions. Even today I feel it, listening to the hours of tapes released since then. I know that his genius didn't happen every moment, sometimes he failed outright, but he never stopped believing in the message, he never stopped writing and creating.

We can all learn a lot from John Lennon.
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Summer 2004
Jun. 19th, 2008 @ 11:50 am Feelin’ Groovy (The 59th Street Bridge Blog)
Last night I left the LES on my bicycle bound for a Park Ave bar to meet some friends. One is in town from Chicago, the other is here from London. New York is a whirlwind of folks visiting, it's sort of hard to keep yourself together when the revolving door of out of towners always wants to hit up the town.

This is why every planned laundry day for the past month has been supersceeded by some sort of cool thing happening, and last night was no exception.

I didn't really get to see them long, only about 2 hours. I left work "early" (for me) which was about 8pm and rode uptown. We had a few drinks and went to I think Dos Caminos which is nearby the Blue Smoke bar I met them at in Gramercy.

We had a really good meal, extremely expensive tequilla and amazing conversation. Before long we said our goodbyes and we were on our way.

Instead of riding down the island, I opted to ride another 30 streets north to the Queensboro Bridge, AKA the 59th Street Bridge. Famous for many movies as well as the Simon & Garfunkel song named for the bridge.


I thought that bridge was cake at first but soon realized the land I was seeing coming up under my feet was not Queens but rather Roosevelt Island. So I was only about half way.

It made me feel wonderful to sweat and ride on this bridge. I had to stop a few times, not out of fatigue, but just to take in a new vista I had never seen. I've driving the bridge but I've never riden my bike across. New York takes you away with the lights and its charm, sometimes you just have to stand there and appreciate it. Every moment I am here I know it's where I am supposed to be. I felt incredible on that bridge last night and I know that feeling won't be going away, even though some New Yorkers say "oh you're new" when I talk about things like this. The urge to be pissed off all the time has not taken over, I am still a happy New Yorker, and often times, feeling groovy.

When I got across the bridge, I think it's Long Island City on the Queens side, I tried to ride down the coast line but they don't have that kind of path built.

I went across the Pulaski Bridge and through shady industrial areas just north of my home in Williamsburg. I wouldn't mind living there, as odd as it is in the industrial zone, it makes me feel like Detroit/Chicago and that just feels like home to me. Almost every corner or alleyway inspired me to come back with a camera later, maybe shoot a video or a film noir piece. The city has been inspiring me a lot lately, I've started writing regularly again and everything
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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Apr. 22nd, 2008 @ 10:52 am Bikeless again in New York (temporarily)
Tags: , ,
I bought a new bike and have barely looked back to mass transit since. A few times I was out with friends and ended up riding the subway home

It feels so amazing when you ride around New York City on a bike. Screw the cabs. Screw the traffic. Screw the MTA. I have my wheels, thank you.

Today I went to traffic court to fight a "Driving With No Insurance" ticket. It happened when I was driving to see The Strange as they were visiting Brooklyn. My passenger couldn't navigate us to them (my phone sucks) so I took my phone from her and got a ticket for using a cell while driving. He didn't see my current insurance (I had 2 , a new and outdated one) so he wrote me a ticket for that.

So now New York is not gonna fuck with me... my driving record is CLEAN.

I rode from downtown Brooklyn into Manhattan this afternoon. It's such a beautiful ride... I love the way it makes me feel when I am on 2 wheels. I know I am not active enough, so this is my release... from stress, from whatever... just me and the road.. and about a million cabbies trying to kill me ,but whatever...

Now I have to wait until Thursday to get my bike.. It went in for repair.. I had intended to drop it off when I flew out to Las Vegas but I just ran out of time. So now I'm back here in the city and stuck on 2 feet.. I'm glad I can walk acrosss the Williamsburg Bridge to get home, I don't have to ride the subway if I don't want to.
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Summer 2004
Nov. 23rd, 2007 @ 01:57 pm My Totally Awesome Day Off
Thanksgiving was my first day off from work in 3 weeks. I am with friends in Gorham, Maine, just outside of Portland. Tomorrow I head to Boston. As amazing as it is to love your job so much you don't care how much you work, it is nice to get away and have some real fun and adventure.

My last blog was while heading to Maine just before Halloween those long 3 weeks ago. And here I am back the first chance I get!! I love to come up here, to get out of the city, to see nature and spend time with my friends. It doesn't hurt that Boston is a quick jump away either.

The fast pace of Manhattan leaves me yearning to get away. For the time, it seems only the night time is the right time to be in Manhattan. I work afternoons so I don't have to deal with the morning crowds, and my work is a short walk from my home in Brooklyn.

On my last trip to New England I spent time in Salem and it draws me back again. Tomorrow I will have an adventure in Bean Town with my girl Natalie and we want to play among the Wiccans.

i want to see Salem graves. I want Clam Chowda in a bread bowl at Quincy Market and I want to see the Autumn colors of Boston Common, I want a beer at Cheers and I want to drive my cah on cobblestone streets made wide enough for 2 horse drawn carriages to pass in the night.

Sometimes you just wanna be a Tourist even if you've been and done that thing before. I have always had a love affair with the city of Boston, it is such a wonderful place to spend time.
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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Oct. 27th, 2007 @ 11:55 am If I Ever Maike It To Maine Today
some one in conneticuit died on the freeway. cars have flipped. all lanes are closed on 95.

I misjudged my secret shortcut (highway 1) and assumed I was already past the point. not true. so now i sit in a mile of traffic, 50 miles from Brooklyn and 3 hours into my trip.

It's raining hard as I sit and watch the world melt through my window. My wipers are off and I just sit here hoping an off ramp comes soon. If I ever get to Maine Krystal will cook me dinner.

I can't complain, life is good. I'm alive, I live in New York City, I have the best job in the world and I own a car and travel where I want to. I am truly happy everyday.
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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Oct. 8th, 2007 @ 02:22 pm New York By Numbers
Number of hours to drive from Chicago to Grand Rapids to Detroit to New York City: 24 (I slept twice)

Number of tickets I got speeding the fuck through Ohio: 0

Number of tickets I haven't yet paid from the last time I sped through Ohio: 1

Number of beautiful Brooklyn women that gave me a REAL phone number at a bar tonight: 1

Number of red lights I illegally turned right on because it's legal to do that in EVERY other city in America: 24

Number of hookers that interacted with my posse trying to make money off us: 1

Miles between my home and my job: 1.7

Length of the bridge between my home and my job (Williamsburg Bridge) 1.4 miles (7308 Feet)

Number of disgusting wet things I saw on a sidewalk and thought "What the fuck is that?" : 5

Number of gorgeous women in Brooklyn that almost caused an accident because I got distracted while driving: 14

Number of states I have driven through since leaving Chicago: 7

Number of Brooklyn streetcorners I took photos of because it was the inspiration behind Walk Away Renee: 1

Number of ways you can drive down that street: 1

Number of famous people I have met: 5

Number of days I have been a New Yorker: 1

Number of people that live in my city: 8 Million
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Vegas Winter 2004
Sep. 28th, 2007 @ 11:59 am Goodbye Chicago
This is my last weekend in Chicago.



1 Year, 4 Months.

That's how long I got to spend in Chicago.

I came here because A) I love Chicago B) I didn't think I was ready for the film industry in New York City and C) I hate Los Angeles

I have learned in the last few months that not only am I ready to live and work in New York City, but I am HIGHLY employable and some of the best companies in the business think I would make a great asset.

It's just shear cosmic destiny that the only place I didn't "know somebody who knows somebody" is now my employer.

Will I miss the people of Chicago? Yes
Will I miss the jazz/blues scene of Chicago? Yes
Will I miss the midwest? Yes

But most of all.. I will miss La Bamba



My girlfriend, Sue


Lake Michigan


Dining above the Gold Coast


West Town / Kinzie Industrial Corridor


The architectural visions of Meis van der Rohe and Frank Llloyd Wright and Prarie School students



I will also miss being so close to Detroit, Grand Rapids and Milwaukee for some of the best folks in this world come from those towns as well.
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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Aug. 19th, 2007 @ 05:00 pm NYC Bound - Day 1 - Detroit
Yesterday I had planned to ride my bike on a tour of Chicago I researched and created. I was going to go with Jess but she didn't wake up in time due to a late night out. By Noon I just decided I would meet up with an old CMU friend, Bryan who was visiting Chicago for the weekend and then drive to Detroit.

I took him down Madison but we saw no brunch so I figured we could check out Roosevelt or Taylor (Little Italy) It was nearby so I took him to the site of the O'Leary barn, the origin point of the 1871 Chicago fire.

I had been laughing that I always take guests to the same 3 brunch spots and I haven't found anywhere new that I was into in a long time. So we went random, I saw Demitasse on Taylor St and we tried it. IT WAS AMAZING there was so much good food to choose from it was really difficult. Then B picked up the tab, what a guy!!

The drive home was cake, I dropped crap off at my parents house then headed to Music Hall to see The Strange play. PARKING WAS NUTS. There was nothing, all my secret spots I had over the years weren't open, anywhere else was 30 dollars. I think there was a Tigers game and a Lions game (oh my!)

I gave up. I left to go to Theatre Bizarre. I love this community. The folks that set up Bizarre are unlike characters you will meet anywhere else. A close-knit band of misfits, engineers, philosophers and artists who all go to burning man festival every year.

I hung out there till the wee hours, tried to go see Paul Z on my way home but couldn't find it. Passed out and slept ALL DAY.. now its 5pm, I'm going to go see my sister Debbie and then get on the road to Manhattan. I have 3 interviews this week and a couple meetings with Nice Shoes, who doesn't need help but Joe wants my face seen around more so when he says "lets get Dan in here to help with his job" people will know who that is. They are expanding, it won't be long before they need help, it has taken about 2 months to build a relationship with Joe and he sounds like he is really trying to get me in the door, but his hands are tied at the moment.

I don't have a place to stay until Wednesday so I am going to get a room in Jersey, The Bronx or Brooklyn somewhere and use that as homebase until my friends have room for me. Lots of visitors to NYC this week so all my friends are either too crowded to accomadate or just gave birth LOL.

I will return to Chicago an employed New Yorker, and get back to that Manhattan island full time after Vegoose Festival on Halloween.
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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Jul. 19th, 2007 @ 07:35 pm LJ Chat
I just figured out LJ has a chat, and it's now on my Adium.. does anyone actually use it?
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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Jul. 17th, 2007 @ 09:04 pm where do i belong?


i went out on the fire escape a few minutes ago. just got off work. rode home on the bike. went really slow. i am slowing down in general. when i first moved here life was moving fast. new job. new city. new friends. (and old ones too)

i left my body. it's happened before. not for a long time. i stared at the skyline and i rose above it all.

the first time it happened was at power middle school. between classes. i left mr. greens science class and the noise and commotion of people moving from class to class didn't effect me. i floated through it all. i saw myself there, walking amonst all these other kids my age. i knew i was different but not exactly how. i knew i was smarter but didn't exactly apply myself. i knew i was bigger than that small town but didn't know what that meant.

i felt alive. it was the first time in my life i realized i had a soul. i had a spirit. i had something more than flesh, bone, organs and electricity inside my body. there was me in there and i was different than everybody.

modern music never grabbed me. sure i listened to color me badd, weird al, madonna, the fat boys, the fresh prince and whatever was on the radio but it didn't to to me what it did to the other kids. i found what i was looking for in vinyl. my moms vinyl. i heard people singing english but using weird words that only make sense an ocean away. i wanted to be on that ferry 'cross the mersey, even if i wasn't sure why. i wanted to let him take me down to strawberry fields. i wanted to say goodbye to ruby tuesday.

i never found the people that fit me in those schools. with the exception of mike martin, gordon pon and jaime thomas i don't talk to anyone from my graduating class. the farmington friends i have now weren't even my friends back in high school. our relationships blossomed later, in my college years.

i found something different in those days. it was text on a computer screen. tyrone. hannibal lekter. shadow. violent femme. debaser. sir robin. unknown. kat. mel. xavier. we talked every day and my world opened up. we dialed house to house from mere neighborhood blocks away at first but it spread from there. we set up mail networks that crossed international borders. we created our own place where we could be together no matter how far apart we became.

all the computer activity certainly helped my career along because i am a natural at almost any digital interface these days. i can walk up to a system i have never seen before and tell you 3 days later how you can make it work better. i could tell you sooner but i wait 3 days to be sure i see the whole picture.

my mad computer skills brought me into film post production. sure i enjoy shooting on set but i'm a geek at heart. i belong at a keyboard and mouse. beyond that i'm not sure where i belong.

i thought chicago was it but it's not anymore. everytime i look at that skyline my heartstrings play the true chicago blues. i came here on a whim. trying to prove i could bounce back quickly and find an amazing place to be. i lucked out. i have worked at 2 of the best places in this city. i have found one of the best spots to live. i met a cousin who is just wonderful and is like another piece of myself, i could talk to her for hours about anything. i am close enough to detroit i can go back whenever i want easily. i bought a bike in march and have rode it every day since, over 6 miles a day and it makes me feel wonderful. it makes me feel alive. chris wirth told me years ago how great it felt and i didn't understand.

now the only thing i wish i could understand is where do i belong. do i belong here in chicago? i'm making good money now, not just freelancing but perma-lacing, this place wants me, i could do whatever i want. i could make a name for myself here. i could work under 2 incredible editors who do a lot more than 30 second commercials. they do documentarys and weird creative internet videos.

do i belong in manhattan? where my work would push boundaries and rival the world in terms of what can be done in motion graphics, storytelling and editing. do i belong in manhattan where i would struggle to make a name for myself in a town where people have no idea who i am or where i came from.

the more questions i ask myself, the more questions i have to ask.

walking away from chicago right now is a tragedy. i haven't done what i came here to do. i haven't been who i needed to be. walking away now gives up something forever and i will never get it back. i won't ever know what it was but it will slip away from my reach.

and yet the same can be said for manhattan. how quickly i forget how it felt being there. how quickly i forget my soul was completely recharged on that island. it didn't take a truck hitting me to feel alive, i felt it the moment i could see the empire state building. i knew it was where i need to be.

above the earth i floated. staring at myself on that fire escape. watching the sunset in the reflection of the tallest building in north america. the shadows grow into darkness just as my life has. i don't know where i am going. i don't know where i belong. i don't know answers and theres no one to ask. it all comes from me. i have to know at some point. it's more than just a phone call coming from a company with an offer. it's my life and i have to live it.

i must return to that island. i have a new life there and i want to start living it as soon as possible.
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Summer 2004
Jul. 10th, 2007 @ 01:51 pm Chicago Landmark to be destroyed.
Farewell Car-Ka-Bob. We hardly knew ya.

Make way for a WALGREENS

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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Jul. 6th, 2007 @ 09:52 am (no subject)
I had an amazing night at the John Hancock Center last night. Two wonderful girls and a million laughs at the Signature Room and Lounge.

I have fallen in love with Chicago all over again. I hope this summer lasts forever.




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european trip wales ireland uk holland
May. 14th, 2007 @ 05:54 pm Detroit Bound
Hey Detroiters, I am gonna be in the 313 for the next two weekends...

What's happenin?
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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Dec. 1st, 2006 @ 12:12 pm Chicago Winter # 1
Well this day marks my first true winter day as a Chicago resident. I am used to the cold and it will actually be a bit more mild here than it was in Detroit and Grand Rapids.

However now I don't drive, the bus driver does all the steering for me, so its really not that bad.

Out on my balcony (fire escape) I snapped these photos this morning.





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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Nov. 12th, 2006 @ 11:13 pm Chicago; inspire me!
OK so we are moving my workplace and I want to paint my room something cool.

if you think of any cool ideas that would work with this theme, please tell me!

Chicago Inspired )
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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Sep. 9th, 2006 @ 04:00 pm i love myspace
best myspace message of the week:

I think I sent you a picture of my pussy last night. Whatever. I would have probably done it sober too.
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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Sep. 4th, 2006 @ 01:09 am Marvin The Robot - Music Video Stills
Man I had so much fun today. Too bad I have to wake up before DAWN to complete shooting more footage of Miles.

I have been running around Chicago shooting video for the Marvin The Robot track "Fear and Loathing of Los Angeles" today, a Columbus, Ohio scene favorite. Ironic because recently I've been singing this little tune a whole lot, wondering how my friend made something so silly into something so catchy!


Stills )
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european trip wales ireland uk holland
Aug. 27th, 2006 @ 01:29 am leaving home (reprise)
Well today I packed up a ton of shit. I took down almost all my posters...I need my favorites with me in Chicago.

Then I hung out with just my siblings tonight. We had a blast. I didn't drink 'cause I gotta be up WAY early tomorrow morning to get this big ass truck from the rental place.

I was a bit sad I didn't go to The Heidelberg Project today for the 20th anniversary festivities. My animation mentor had to ditch me due to family shit and work shit so I didn't even get to see him. He was my ride .. It's weird to go from a city where you don't need a car at all to being stuck in the suburbs of Detroit with no wheels.

My room is very depressing. I left a bunch of really old posters on the walls. Like stuff from before 1993. I never took posters down, I would just put new ones over old ones, so it was pretty funny. I was really into Cindy Crawford from like 1990-1992 but I eventually covered up her face with like comic book shit. It's silly cause like it's this hot model body poster from 1990 but like Ghost Riders flaming head on top from 1995.

Now its almost all the race car wallpaper. That fucking wallpaper was my surrounding environment from 1980 until about 1995 when I pretty much had every spare surface on that wall covered with poster.

Tomorrow my dad wants to come to Chicago with me. He will be a big help because I really get tired often lately and a 6-plus hour drive with a big ass truck isn't exactly my idea of fun. It's not like you can go 90mph in a huge truck.

I'm used to driving a tiny ford focus... the Focii as I call it. Being high off the ground is a strange experience plus having all that weight is a bitch to control. I hope the weather is good tomorrow... I really don't want to drive in the rain. Now that I drive once or twice a week I pretty much don't like driving.

Mrs. Swelstad I understand you now. Sorry for giving you shit when u ditched the VW Bug... I get it now.

When I leave tomorrow, all that will be left is mostly trash or physical representations of memories I am not ready to deal with yet. As I come home to visit I will have to chip away at these things.. throwing more and more of my life away or deciding to keep bits for future reference.

I love Chicago. I know I won't be there forever... but it's exactly what I need right now.
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Summer 2004
Aug. 25th, 2006 @ 10:37 am blocked!
3 days into MySpace detox and I am hurting. Can I make it to September?

Ha.. well here's something entertaining... someone I know in real life blocked me on AOL IM but didn't delete me from MySpace. Weird.. I can't imagine what I did to piss her off. Maybe I'm just annoying.

But I'm wondering.. do I confront her about it when I see her at a party again.. when she asks "how are you" do I just say "what do you care, you blocked me."

I met her on Craigslist in June and we talked about making movies and doing creative ventures over email for a few weeks, then someone introduced us at a party and we realized we already knew each other online.

Then we hung out at a few other parties that same weekend. Later that week I asked her out to see a movie or hang out on AIM a few times. She's always in a bad mood, she works like 3 jobs and that was about it. I didn't keep asking and now that I went online on my "hidden" AIM I see she's online and I'm like "I haven't seen her online in a while" but before I message her i switch back to my normal AIM and boom. she disappears... which only happens if you block someone.

apparently I'm creepy... or something.
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Vegas Winter 2004