oh my

A man died on Christmas day at the San Francisco Zoo after being attacked by a Siberian tiger that escaped from its enclosure. Two other men were mauled before police officers shot and killed the endangered animal. They are listed in critical but stable condition. There were no signs of the tiger getting out through a door, leading investigators to believe that it either climbed or leapt out of its enclosure, which is surrounded by a 15-foot-wide-moat and 20-foot-high walls. This particular animal had a history of violence toward humans. Last year, it attacked and badly injured a zookeeper during a regular feeding. This incidenct prompted extra safety measures to be taken while feeding the big cats. The zoo, normally open 365 days of the year, is closed today.

This story brings up my love-hate relationship with zoos. On the one hand, I recognize that some endangered animals have a better chance of survival in captivity where they are protected from poachers, loss of habitat and the encroachment of humankind. But on the other hand, it's sad for me to see the king of the jungle behind bars. No man hears what the caged bird sings when he's under the impression that humanity is king. These are wild animals and though I sympathize with the victims, I'm not at all surprised when incidents like this happen.

Compared to a 6-foot-tall man, the Siberian tiger is one of nature's largest predators.

kenneth

"Cheese and crackers--that smarts."

silent but deadly

One of my favorite artists, Michael Sieben, collaborated with another artist, Jeremy Fish, on a skateboard graphic. Both dudes have been making their mark in the skateboarding world for a few years now. Sieben's work can be seen on pieces by Volcom clothing and in the pages of Thrasher, where he pens a column accompanied by illustrations every month. Within the last year or so, he's also been the sole graphic designer and art director over at Bueno skateboards which, due to a pretty unmarketable pro squad, will likely get its plug pulled. Jeremy Fish has been a fixture in the [for lack of a better term] skate-art world for a couple years now and has been lumped in with the likes of Todd Bratrud, Travis Millard and Ed Templeton. Both of these guys have unique styles that draw heavily on comic art with their thickly inked lines and outlandish depictions. I dig their stuff and I also think this board is a good representation of their respective talents. It's cool that they came together to collaborate on a piece too. The skateboard is something like $80 I think, so DON"T SKATE IT if you end up buying it.

LISTEN TO HANK WILLIAMS' song KAW-LIGA. it's really cool............

street musicians

Have you ever seen something so visually and aesthetically pleasing that you want to preserve it as it is, forever? I have. That's why I like to keep a camera handy. Lately however, I haven't kept a camera in reach and my photo productivity has declined. Sometimes I attribute this to the fact that the random happenings in my life are presenting themselves less often as things become more ordered and systematic. Other times I think that the memorable moments are becoming fewer and further between as I near the doldrums of middle age. One thing is for sure: I don't do as many different, exciting or memorable things as I used to and I'm certainly not exposed to as many things worthy of photographic documentation as I used to be. I think I'm okay with all of this though. Just about everybody goes to school, gets a job, works for awhile, retires and then cools out before dying. Maybe if I make a heap of loot soon, I can break the cycle and still do fun things while I'm young enough to enjoy them. That's the ticket! Who knows? Maybe retirement will be the best years of my life!

You'll notice the title of this entry is "street musicians." That's what I initially intended to write about before my mind took a little walkabout back there. So--back to the original topic. I've been meaning to take photos of a few street musicians that I see on a fairly regular basis. There are three in particular that always stand out to me. But alas, no pictures will accompany their descriptions.

The first one is a slight Latino man who plays the trumpet. He's often posted up on the corner of Fourth and Main. Sometimes you can be lucky enough to catch him at Third and Yamhill even though that's another guy's territory (more on him later). I once saw him all the way up on NW 23rd near Music Millenium. He plays the trumpet with one hand and waves to people with the other. Taking care not to blast a note into anybody's ear and quieting down when need be, he's pretty unobtrusive. In between rousing renditions of 'take me out to the ballgame' and 'la cucaracha,' he smiles wide and beams as he shouts "happy today!" to passing, um...passersby. I spotted him the other day in a pint-sized Santa suit and, to coincide with the change in season, he switched up his catalog and played 'jingle bells' and 'we wish you a merry Christmas.' I like this guy because he's polite and gracious. Plus, he's always smiling and waving; he's just a happy lil guy with a trumpet.

Another guy I see every now and then usually hangs out around the MAX lines on Yamhill and Morrison between Fourth and Fifth. He's a very thin, old black man with a pointy beard. He sits on a parked motorized scooter and plays either a small keyboard or this crazy little medieval stringed instrument. Maybe it's a lute? Anyway, he plugs into an amplifier and plays pretty loudly. This might be considered a nuisance if it weren't right next to the MAX, which is fairly noisy in its own right. He plays a few different songs but the one I hear the most is the theme from The Godfather. This guy doesn't engage anybody walking past or even look up from his instrument. He just sits there and plays. I saw him playing on Monday wearing an elf hat. He had a microphone this time and, with a bowed head, he held it to his mouth while playing the keyboard. Singing traditional Christmas classics, his voice was as I had expected it to be. It was soft and quiet and lacked any real sense of pitch. I like to think that he's just a bored old guy who likes to play music and earn a little scratch. I really hope he's not ill in some way or down on his luck like the next guy I'm gonna describe.

Okay, this guy creeps me out. It's highly likely that he creeps lots of other people out too. He is a meth-fried zombie-looking dude in a soiled hoodie and sandals who makes horrible noises on a neon toy guitar with a built-in speaker. The thing probably runs on two D batteries but he rocks it like there's no tomorrow, cranked to the max. The tiny tinny speaker doesn't make much noise to speak of, but the sounds that come out of it are probably only discernible as music to his ears. I've only seen him in one place: outside the Nordstrom on Sixth and Morrison. This guy is alone in his own weird world. He doesn't even attempt chords, he just solos like a cracked-out Jimmy Page, staring into another dimension. He's got it bad, and that ain't good.

weak sauce!

I just realized how cheap the cafeteria is in my building. They don't spring for real silverware and the plastic shit they do provide is so crappy and flimsy that it won't even pick up a reasonably sized bite of linguini and alfredo without snapping in two. It's bad enough they make everything so disposable and harsh on the environment, but now I'm forced to improvise or eat with my hands. I'm eating at my desk and it seems I'd be better off feeding myself with a ruler or a pen or something. And there's no recycling in the cafeteria! Looks like I need to go to talk to some people and affect some positive changes. Take it to the streets!

LISTEN TO LOU REED

shoooos

I dig shoes. I always have. Even as a kid, I think I was pretty picky when it came to shoes, which probably caused my thrifty parents some considerable grief. Cool shoes complete my appearance and their coolness is absolutely necessary to me. I've even gone so far as to throw shoe function out the window in favor of fashion, which I'll be the first to admit is very foolish. A good-looking shoe to me is usually pretty simply constructed; clean lines, basic colors, not too flashy. Lately however, I'm starting to deviate from those qualities and lean toward a brighter, flashier look. Though when it comes to sneakers, the outsole CAN'T be darker than the upper--that's a must. So I guess I just like what I like for whatever reason. These are some shoes I have or have had over the years.This is a limited edition Vans TNT 2. Tony Trujillo's second (or third) pro model, it's a collaboration between Vans and Tony's board sponsor Anti Hero. I'm really liking the low profile look of the vulcanized sole and even though yellow is super bright and eye-catching, I still think it's cool. They made this shoe in a mid-top too that was rad.
Vans Era. I think this was the first shoe that Vans put out in the mid 1960s. It's a classic that's currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Mine are made from leather instead of the traditional canvas. This shoe comes in a thousand different colors and combos.

I bought these shoes a few years ago in a lighter brown. They were suede. The company that made them, Savier, was an offshoot of Nike that didn't really take off. I seriously bought them only because Stefan Janoski wore them for awhile. I got a lot of use out of them though; skated in them until there were holes in the toe.

I bought these Socas by Lakai from a local shop in Eugene with money from my tax return. They were really stiff and took a long time to break in. I eventually sharpied some dark parts on the front and back of the outsole. I thought it looked cooler and had to redraw them every few weeks because they'd wear off.

Same shoe as above, different color. I still have these and I still like them. I switched out the laces and put whites in instead of reds. I've never even done an ollie in these.

The Vans Half Cab is timeless. It's been around since the 1980s and was introduced both as Steve Caballero's pro model and a response to skaters' demands. They had been cutting the Vans SK8-Hi (a hi-top) down to a mid for years so Vans decided to give the people what they wanted. This shoe has stood the test of time and been copied by every other skate shoe manufacturer. They're usually made of suede so they break in really quick and get super floppy.

I've had a few pairs of this shoe in different colors. The es Accel was my favorite shoe to skate in for a long time. It felt good on your foot and was thick enough to withstand the harsh reality of skateboarding and griptape, but thin enough to still feel your board. I wore through a grey and navy pair and a brown and tan pair. Maybe more...

This is Dustin Dollin's pro model by Vans. It's got a beefed up cupsole that looks vulcanized. They've put this sole under a few other shoes and it always works. It's even still got the famous Vans waffle grip. As an all-around shoe, this can't be beat. My first pair is on it's last legs but I like the shoe enough to buy a replacement pair.

I remember my friend John used to wear these Lakais. I liked them too so I copied him and got a pair for myself. A pretty plain shoe but I've had some good times in it. I filmed a line that I was really proud of in these shoes.

Nike SB team edition. I wore these shoes a lot but I was never really impressed with them. The tongue is huge and really puffy. The shoes wouldn't stay on my feet unless they were laced up tight as footballs so I could never skate in them. The insole got compacted very quickly and lost its cushioning. Plus they kinda pinched the sides of my feet up by my toes. Damn. These shoes really sucked. Funny though, none of that ever stopped me from wearing them.

This is the Emerica KSL Dos shoe. I had to order this shoe from a shop because I couldn't find it anywhere. I accidentally ordered it a half size too big so I don't wear it as often as I'd like. Like the Vans Dollin, it has a cupsole cleverly disguised as a vulcanized sole. See, people like the look of the vulcanized sole but it offers little to no protection from big impacts like the cupsole does. That's why I'm always impressed when I see some dude in the magazine jumping down a big gap or rail with thin little vulcanized soled shoes--it means he's either a dummy who doesn't give a shit about session-ending heel bruises, or it means he's a very good and confident skateboarder who lands his tricks in just a couple tries.

I liked this shoe when I bought it and I'd buy it again if they still made it in cool colors. I wore the hell out of these shoes and skated them until they were tattered. It's the Emerica Reynolds 2 and it's way cool.

The Nike SB Dunk Low. A basketball staple throughout the 1980s, the Dunk has since been adopted by the hip streetwear scene. When Nike tried again to get into the skateboard market (after Savier's failure), they came correct by bringing the dunk. Nike upped the cool factor by producing shoes in limited quantities thereby making each pair somewhat exclusive. I'd had my eyes on dunks for a long time but could never get my hands on a pair I liked before they sold out or ended up on ebay for triple the original sale price. I lucked out with these.

Adidas Rod Laver. These tennis shoes have been around for awhile now. I wanted a pair when I saw Max Fisher wearing them with red laces in Rushmore. I wore one pair out, got another pair and stopped wearing them.

Another accel. I couldn't find photos of my colorways on the internet. They've been making this shoe for a long time and they switch up the colors every season.

These are the first Geoff Rowley pro models from Vans. I bought these and didn't wear them for a year. I always liked the shoe but it took a year for it to look cool on my foot. It's really awesome to skate in and it doesn't use any materials from animals--totally synthetic leathers.

I bought these shoes in grey after winning half off a pair of Reeboks on a sratch it coupon.

These are my other dunks except mine are royal blue instead of navy. They're really tall.

A classis adidas shoe, the gazelle has been a favorite of mine since middle school. I wore adidas all through my younger years, I always liked the plain black with three white stripes. When I saw a pair with green soles, I couldn't resist. A few weeks later, I was playing soccer in them and jammed my toes pretty bad. The nail on each big toe eventually turned black and fell off.

I won a DVS Shoes contest and got all this stuff associated with Keith Hufnagel, one of their riders. I got two pairs of his pro shoe, the one above and another that I gave to a friend, some skateboards, trucks, wheels and shirts. Free stuff is awesome. I wore these shoes for a long time, I loved them. But now I think they're really puffy and make my feet like spaceman feet or something.

Styles change and colors fade but I will always like shoes.

nature's fury

The state of Oregon is making national headlines for braving the gnarliest storm the west coast has seen since the infamous Columbus Day Storm of 1962. Rivaling that storm’s strength, this one is being called a mid-latitude cyclone. Meteorologists say it began as a series of converging typhoons before mixing with hurricane-force winds over the Pacific Ocean. Energized with cold air from Alaska, the storm brewed into a force to be reckoned with by the time it reached shore last weekend. It ended up leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Rivers and streams swelled with heavy rains before jumping their banks and flooding towns. Homes were devastated by winds, erosion and falling trees. The storm also isolated small coastal communities; fallen trees and flooded roads made escape nearly impossible as power outages hindered communication and rescue efforts. Even though the gusts reached speeds upwards of 120 mph, the sustained winds of 60-75 mph were particularly damaging. Such force wreaked havoc on trees, their grip on the earth weakened as a result of being rooted in soil that had been softened by more than 10 inches of rain. To be sure, the effect on the people affected is not to be overlooked. Five have died as a result of the storm thus far and many more have been rendered homeless. Perhaps most notable among the casualties was Oregon’s largest living thing: the sitka spruce tree in southern Clatsop County. Estimated to be about 700 years old, the tree’s top half was snapped off after being pummeled by the relentless winds. At seventeen feet in diameter and 206 feet tall, the tree was the largest of its kind and a draw for tourists. Now that the worst of the storm has passed, I’m reminded of Neil Young. He sang: “you are like a hurricane, there’s calm in your eye.”

Stormy weather was always cool to me. We had a forested backyard growing up and I remember looking out the window at the gently swaying tree trunks as rain beat against the glass. I remember the groaning sound the trees made as they struggled against the wind. I remember the limbs and debris that littered our deck and yard after a big storm. It was awe-inspiring to see the raw power of nature at work. I took a trip to the beach one spring break during my college years and experienced a serious storm. My friends and I were drinking beer in the house as the storm grew in intensity. Eventually, we elected to put on slickers and struck out for the water line, fighting the swirling wind every step of the way. The waves were breaking higher than I'd ever seen and the rain was falling horizontally. We were forced to shout to be heard above nature at full volume. I just laughed. When we returned to the house, exhilirated from our foray into the belly of the beast, the power went out. We lit candles, played charades all night and had a great time.