stanton avenue - albert olexia

Some of you know that my grandfather passed away in 2006, and that in his honor i wrote a folk song. I recorded it in early December in Nashville with Justin Loucks. My grandfather and I used to sing folk songs together, so it was a fitting tribute and a song that effortlessly came out on the day I heard of Grampy's passing. It's a sad story, but it's also a meaningful and joyful tribute to a man who lived until the ripe age of 87, went through a war, was the son of slovak immigrants, and who became the mayor of his town Mingo Junction, which he affectionately called the Queen of the Ohio Valley. It's called Stanton Avenue, the street where Grampy spent his first and last days. I think he would love it.

You can listen to it here.

denver OR what makes the world go round

we took the public transportation to denver.
you might say it looks like the future, or a great
album cover. ha, if you want to use it as your
album cover, let me know.

we're lucky to have an amazing bus system
in the front range area, so going to denver
is quite easy. and like all public transportation,
we are fortunate to have a nice colorful cast of
entertaining people. this time my sister and
i were accompanied by three alternative
college kids. not your frat stars, but rather
morepunk rock semi-hipster but not pretentious
type guys.oh, and they were wasted and standing
above jenna and i while we snapped pictures
and had a great time. so, through the adventure
of the bus system, we made some friends.
public transport might not give you lifelong
friends, but the joys of temporary friendships
are what make the world go round.

after going to brooklyn's in downtown and meeting
my co-workers, imbibing in some makers mark, and
noshing on some appetizers, we made our way over
to the denver nuggets game. in case you are
clueless about the nba, the nuggets have two of the
most entertaining and successful players in the
league: allen iverson and carmelo anthony.
and in a sports league built on entertainment,
we don't have to settle for second rate stars
in denver. we have a.i. and melo.
check out melo below, finishing up a dunk.
in the hype of the nba, it's nice to have guys who live up to it.
you could say they also make the world go round.

we made it back to boulder at 2:30 am and had some
delicious sandwiches at jimmy johns.
i swear the beach club on thick sliced wheat bread
could give a challenge to anything else
claiming to make the world go round.
even melo and a.i., even temporary friendships.

peace.

the melodica - reggae in your jeggae

to add to the many hobbies i already have going, i decided to purchase an old-school instrument used in dub reggae in the 60's and 70's. it's called a melodica and was popularized in reggae by an artist named augustus pablo. jump on itunes and check out his stuff if you haven't already. it's super relaxed dubby instrumental stuff. anyway, the melodica is a small keyboard with a mouthpiece on one end. so, you blow into it and play some notes and out comes the reggae.

with the melodica arriving shortly, and the arsenal of percussion and ukulele i already possess... i have a feeling there will be some rasta jam sessions in the near future.

here's a mini set list i'm thinking about (w/ some of my favorite songs... download on itunes at your own risk... but you will love them):

burning spear - slavery days
bob marley - stir it up
the abyssinians - satta massagana
augustus pablo - east of the nile river
danny livingston - reggae in your jeggae

also, check out the above video to see the melodica in action with the uke. my melodica is the exact same model, except it is green like jamaica.

peace.

the flatirons - winter oh seven

"winter's run"

"winter's glaze"

"winter's fog"

"just winter"

by rusty.



i promise i will post a proper blog sometime soon,
but here are some pictures i shot this afternoon.

whygo.com

If you need some inspiration to travel, check out whygo.com. Everyday they feature a travel-related quote or a picture of a far away land. They featured another one of my photos, seen above. It's nothing special, just a shot with the lomo fisheye. Scroll through the quotes, you'll be traveling before you know it.

"A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent (which I cannot deny myself to be without being impious) will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place."
-Mozart

I.J.R.

Here's a portrait of I.J.R. that I took.

briguy, what do you think of the shots?
what can i do to make them better?

-r'fari

"yep" by thomas campbell

Above is a snapshot of my new painting. To say the least, I am completely stoked to have some original art by Thomas Campbell. The brownish sketches are a silkscreen on giclee paper, and all the color you see has been painted by the artist. I first discovered Thomas Campbell after watching a surfing documentary he directed called "Sprout". Sprout is an incredible movie that aims to show "how truly lucky we are to live in the lush life of the ocean experience, and to emphasize all the diverse possibilities we have in accessing this fountain of youth". He's a dreamer, surfer, and he has the best narration voice ever. Trust me, go find this movie, have some good beer, and totally veg out.

Thomas Campbell makes art that is dreamy, whimsical, and grateful... which is why I like it. In 2006 he was featured in the New York Times, and I am completely stoked to own a cool piece of art such as this. Check out the video on youtube for a bigger take on his work. Elements from my print/painting are seen in this overview of the exhibit "Beautiful Losers".