not only do you have to be careful of how you drive, but it’s almost just as important to watch the idiots around you… i feel like people are not aware of what they are doing when they are driving… well, lemme open up some eyeballs…

cars are not toys… cars are machines… insane machines… they weigh around 2 tons and they travel over 100mph… the amount of destruction that can be done with a “small” or “compact” car is amazing…

what i’ve just mentioned is not really news to anyone who has been driving for more than a year… but i wanted to point out that we get so used to hopping in the car and just driving… not conscious of how powerful the machine we are operating really is… people get reminded of how powerful it is when things go wrong…

it’s insane to know how many cars are on the road… it’s insane that almost everyone has a car… we are insane.

think about your driving next time you get in a car… it’s more than likely that you suck at driving and are a liability to everyone else on the road… so be aware that you are driving a machine… not a car. you’ll be helping us all out…

peace and noLove…

i’ve worked for furniture stores, skate companies, radio stations, and breweries… one thing they all have in common is that everything becomes busy at the same time… going into detail about how they all became busy is not interesting (and will piss me off to elaborate on)… no matter how far ahead i got myself at each job, something new would come up… i used to get mad stressed about this fact… stressing out or getting pissed doesn’t really solve anything though… it just makes it worse and worse…

once i came to grips with the raining and pouring, which has been recently, life slowed down a bit… understanding that you can’t do everything at once was a good start… also realizing that once something is done, there is always something else that needs to be done… it’s just the way she goes… when five things come up (good or bad), just roll with it… embrace it… if you have nothing going on, you might be dead! life can bring you down, but you gotta stay positive… look at all challenges as opportunities… it’ll help you crush life.

so next time you accomplish any goal or task, look for what’s next… if you don’t, it’ll find you… stay on top of the game… win the game…

when it rains, it pours… true… pour it on…

peace and noLove…

this last weekend it was warm enough to be outside… it wasn’t quite warm enough to melt some of the leftover snow… the park was skateable, but it still had some of mother nature’s booby traps (puddles, mounds of snow, ice, etc.)… conditions were far from ideal, but being outside made everything right… a couple homies, some skateboarding, and fresh air is all you need…

being cooped up indoors at work all week sucks… getting outside gives you that feeling of being free… i have been missing that free feeling…

it’s the best when you start your session all bundled up on a winter night and end it sweating in a t-shirt… it’s also pretty sweet that when you get warmed up, you can’t stop… if you do, you freeze! that cold weather keeps you off your ass… winter skateboarding kicks ass!

all in all, we have an indoor life in the US… get up and get out before you can’t!

peace and noLove…

i went through an experience just like the one i described… leaving my hometown and heading to college was a massive lifestyle change… the amount of direction and care i received at home was nearly gone… it was up to me to take care of myself, and i didn’t know that… i learned the hard way by gaining 20 lbs. partying, eating, and playing video games… every sport and activity i had done for my entire childhood became nearly impossible… i was heavier and weaker… bad combo…

once i realized i was 20+ lbs heavier than i was when i got to college, i had an epiphany… i realized i was unhealthy, unhappy, and unmotivated… i changed my life as best as i could… i became more active… this was good but not enough… i slowly educated myself on how to eat and what i was eating… it is amazing to learn about food… especially in the US… we put some gnarly stuff in our basic foods (i’ve written about this few times before… sad.)… once i learned how to eat, my health status slowly came back to normal…

i became so obsessed with my health… i started limiting myself with what i could eat, even though i was working out and skateboarding almost everyday… i was counting calories… i was crazy… i was stressing out about my health! that is the point i am making… a healthy person is a stress-free person!

stress is the root of all evil, in my opinion… it is what slows us down in life… i was living my life as a “health nut”, but it was counter productive because i was stressing myself out with what i was eating… so, was i really living a healthy life? NO! stress trumps all other healthy facets… i believe the less stress you have in life, the longer and better your life will be…

what i am saying with all this banter is don’t bring stress into your life… stress will come on its own… if you have the ability to get rid of some stress from your life, do it… it’ll help you live a happier life! i mean, you get one shot at life… you should be stoked on it as much as possible!

peace and noLove…

i’ve lived a third of my life away from my hometown… in that time, i have learned to live a different lifestyle from my hometown… not better or worse, just different…

being away from home allows me to see the world without influence or filters… when i return home, my new ideas and beliefs are always challenged by my family and friends… it is hard to explain my experiences to them… describing how you have been influenced or affected by someone is difficult… how your beliefs have changed is also difficult to explain…

it is also hard for them (fam/friends) to understand and embrace… they have been in the same place where they may be meeting new people and doing new things, but the state of mind is constant… tolerating a different perspective is not easy… i understand that, but i don’t share that difficulty.

many things in life make no sense, but we always have to explain why we believe certain things… i don’t get that… in a world of perfect complication, i see no reason for reason… be who you are and follow through with what you believe is right and wrong… it’s that simple.

peace and noLove…

after the dust has settled, they are attempting to fix their self-made disaster… they are trying to show how helpful and environmentally conscious they are… they are promoting the region that was decimated by their oil… and their lack of responsibility… it is pleasant that they are helping promote the region, but just to piss me off they throw their logo at the end of their commercial…

what did you do? why do you deserve to use this opportunity of complete failure to warp it into the helping of the economy and environment? and promote your corrupt oil business? COMPLETE INSANITY.

have we truly lost our sense of right and wrong? this corporation should be ashamed… admit your wrong, fix it, and go on with life… trying to make a buck and get some recognition for why you did is pathetic… shame on the media as well for facilitating this type of behavior… but they have no morals, so no surprise there…

visit the gulf… it is amazing… but don’t do it because some shitty corporation told you to…

peace and noLove…

sometimes in those uninspired states, you are forced to create… it’s a kick in the ass to yourself… you dread every moment until you sit down and start chipping away at the task… once you are engulfed by the task, it’s pure enjoyment… upon completion, you have a feeling of complacency… of course it is extremely temporary, but that moment is one to replicate for sure…

there are many things to dread on a day to day basis in this insane life we lead… but if you can remember that feeling of accomplishment, it’ll make life worth it… it’s hard to sit back and smile about little things in life… but that’s what keeps us sane…

you’ve gotta get those creative juices out and then be able appreciate them… much easier said then done… sometimes you gotta be selfish to stay “normal”… we gotta express ourselves to feel alive… so, what you got?

peace and noLove…

politics is all about power, money, corruption, deceit, and control… i like this dood… he was in the thick of it at one point in his life and he is this pissed about it? that has to be significant in some way, shape, or form…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVQm-fY4qvQ

i’m not writing this to profess the obvious… skateboarding is out of control… progressing at an exponential rate… i’m writing this to talk about something entirely different that was inspired by this part… what is this new fad with individual parts? what has inspired this change in the industry? most importantly, what happened to the crew?

the first thing i thought of when i got perturbed about these individual parts was what Kalis said about filming and skate parts… the new thing is to get a big name filmer and go to “famous” spots and do something that has never been done… skateboarding (to me) has always been about rolling around with your friends and seizing the day… these new individual parts do not promote that… they promote the individual… there is no “team” vibe in these video parts…

so, who is promoting this type of individuality? you cannot blame the skater… they are only doing what their sponsors tell them to do… so i put the blame on the industry… skateboarding is about everyone. not any ONE… don’t push the skateboarding industry in the same direction as the mainstream… we need to stick together and keep this a unified culture…

we already idolize celebrities and individuals… it’s destroying society… don’t destroy skateboarding.

peace and noLove…

well, this is gonna be a noLove version for ya…

thank you:
skateboarding
Denver
Chicago
community and crisis skate shops (Parris and Fuzz)
Martin Crownover
Nuray Oruc
the noLove camp
mom, dad, april, jenny, maggie, mary
good health
noLove fans
ASF Distribution
Great Divide Brewing Company
Royal Stain
everyone that has helped build ramps
smith grinds
back tails

stay inspirational and awesome…

peace and noLove…