Checkmate

This is the point in my life where I finally accept that I'm a pretty bad person.

Out of Commission

So I've been sitting around for a week and 3 days at this point and I can tell you that I have spent way too much time tooling around on youtube when I should have been reading. Video is just so much easier to process than literature. But I have almost gotten through a third of the learning spanish set I got. Which is pretty cool. Maybe by the season I will have gotten through all the lessons and can just keep reviewing and trying to speak with people. If I were working right now, I'd just go into the housekeeping lineup every morning and take notes and see what I could understand. But since I'm just sitting at home veg-ing out on the couch, I have nobody with whom I can speak.

The only thing I have to keep me company is the drumming of the dude upstairs that is trying to become a drummer. One of the maintenance guys is over re-painting my shower wall (cause the paint was coming off and there was some mold growing in there (looks like they just painted over the mold when I moved in, honestly)). So he's taking care of that and he tells me he knows the guy and he would personally go break his sticks if I called him and told him the guy's too loud. He said he's a drummer too. But a drummer of a higher caliber, I presume.




My snowboard bindings came in for the season. They actually look way more durable and less flexible that I originally thought. Which will be good if I want to get real radical and do some big stuff (as I have soft boots again this year). I'm planning on buying this capita in the 153 size. I'm seeing if my buddy Scott'll hook it up, but if not, I'm just going to pay full price on it. I got one set of black bindings and one set of purple so I'm going to put one of each color on both of my boards. My ride from last year has purple on the board too, so it'll look sick on both. I just set up my bindings to fit my new boots and I have some bad news. The purple plaid on my boots is a little bit lighter of a purple than on my bindings. I'm certain that will make my riding suffer quite a bit since there isn't an exact match ;)
I also got my gopro cameras in. If you want to buy one of the 1080p ones n.i.b. just holla at me cause I have an extra. I could get rid of it for 200 for the homie discount. I'm excited to have that to ride with this year. Maybe I can get some footage that isn't going to stay in a camera up in Minnesota (ryan shultz!!!!!) never to be seen again! I really really want to see that urban footage we filmed that one snowy night on DU's campus. The tricks weren't that great, but the potential for some really great looking background shots was way up there. Oh well.



You've been listening to Oddisee this whole time if you've been clicking on the youtube songs in here. His instrumental album The Traveling Man is a really great record to throw on if you're writing, art-ing, or just chilling. A few of the tracks are really great as stand-alone joints. If you don't want to get the whole thing, Miami, Lagos, Philly, San Fran, Stockholm, Detroit, & Chicago are my favorites. He must not have liked Paris, cause that track is the weakest of the 23 i.m.o.


I've been listening to the most recent installment of Audible Coffee the past 3 days and there are some Jams. If you want to get all caffeinated, go over to Boulder Beats' website and check out the stuff my man Kyle van Block is throwing down. Better yet, subscribe to his music-letter (kylevanblock@audiblecoffee.com) which goes out every Sunday and contains a little bit of everything in the electronic music mega-genre. There hasn't been a week where at least 3 or 4 tracks he puts up that are gems. So go check that out. My favorites are Reborn, Swedish Nights, Right Beside You, & Reach for Me. I think the one I've played the most though is the Right Beside You Remix. Wow, what a pretty DnB tune. You should also check out the original track:



It's getting colder out here. Apparently it's snowing or will snow at least a half-foot above 9500 feet in the next day. It's coming!! I'm so siked for the season to come. I mean I'm not going to be able to do anything till november (recovery time + travel) but I'm mentally ready. I was having trouble going to sleep the other night cause I was imagining standing on top of the 3 line at Keystone getting some clips. Those jumps are so big. I heard they feel really good, but they just look Uge! I watched this video:

Tall Treez Vol.3 from Martin Rubio on Vimeo.

I know I already posted this on Facebook, but this dude has steeze. And, the tricks he's doing at Key are entirely in the realm of possibility for me. Which is tight to think about.



I think today I'll watch the Life Aquatic and see if I can crank out another lesson out of the spanish set I have. Busy Day!
My sis is coming up on Saturday and I'm excited. I'll have some company and she'll probably clean my house cause she's ocd like that. Haha. It's crazy how much dust will accumulate in less than 2 weeks (since I cleaned the place with my mom before the surgery).


I guess that's it from me. I'll leave you with this:

I'm a Sucker for Pumps!

-T

BONUS:
Schoolcraft - "Here In The Dark" by Schoolcraft
If you haven't heard this song yet, you need to! And you need to dl it on his soundcloud.
Here In The Dark - Schoolcraft

Big 10-4

I've been working what seems like alot recently. I guess if it were to be a normal 9-5 for 40 hours I'd feel it would pass faster maybe? Or at least not make me as tired? Dunno. But anyway, I love sleeping. Bad habit to get into, but I don't have anything else going on. Maybe I'll kick the bug when I have basically 3 weeks in bed recovering from the lack of bone spur I will have on my heel in a 12 days from now.

Hope you're listening to the song at the top... So jazzy. I love pandora recently. I've been finding some hot jams just chillin at the house listening to tunes and reading. That's one of them. I can't find a decent quality mp3 on the interwebs so until I can find one you'll have to just listen to the youtube version. Sorry.

I've been watching alot of movies recently. Most of them are good i.m.o., but I'm not a really good judge as I am admittedly a fan of most movies I've seen. Even more than with music honestly. I can find something I like in just about every type of movie. With the exception of horror and grindhouse type shit. For example, John was watching "Hobo with a Shotgun" a while back and from what I saw, I was really really close to throwing up. That's not a movie; that's pornography. But anyway, I saw Black Swan. Great movie and thrilling. I was on the edge of my seat nearly the whole time. I thought some of the characters like the mom were really unbelievable, but I guess that's just cause Natalie Portman's character was insane. I watched No Country for Old Men last night. I was actually pretty bummed on it after reading the book. I guess that's to be expected... Sheriff Bell in the book was simple but smart and just a really great guy all-around. In the movie I felt he was made to be simple to the point of being stupid and alot less introspective and kind. Oh well. I'm sure I'd feel the same way about Watchmen if I had read the books. I think I'll watch O Brother Whereart Thou today. Havent seen that one the whole way through and I really like The Oddessy by Homer so I'll check that out. I also saw Inception for $10 at wallyworld before I got a haircut. So I picked that up. Have to watch that again. On another note, The Royal Tenenbaums is probably my favorite movie. I like everything about its quirkyness.

That was a jumbled stream of words. Sorry about that.

There's alot going on in my brain these days that I'm not willing to put up on this shit. Maybe I'll be able to tell somebody when I go see phillip in atl and joe in nyc. I leave myself feeling pretty retarded about stuff alot and I know what makes me feel like that and I need to stop. At least I can always get krunk with things like Drankenstein Vol 2. I love the Mike Jones jam in here. But the best is Luda's Satisfaction and Boozie's Ratchet. The latter has a beat that should be illegal. Way too krunk. Next time I go out I'm going to do the dance too.

You should listen to this and follow the link at the bottom if you want a 320 version:

Don't Go (MJ Cole Remix)

Birthday

Hello everybody. I just turned 23. It feels similar to 22, but with more health. And more soul...like the song you're listening to. Groovy. Scope their other stuff. Reminds me of a Kev Brown beat. Maybe it is. I didn't look it up.


So I feel like birthdays are really anti-climactic these days. They don't mean as much anymore. Not that they should either. The best part of mine was seeing the family come up for the weekend before. I got really tired as a result, but it was great to see them. People always say family is the most important. They're right.


I'm going out to shoot some goals in a minute but I have to post a few epic house jams first.

Freedom - Alex Lamb ft Christina Skaa
I heard this on the satellite radio a while back in dallas and took a photo of the car's screen. Going through my photos I decided to dl it and see what was up. It's a classic vocal house jam with uplifting lyrics and pretty standard chord progressions that make you feel happy.


This Moment feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn (Prog Mix) - Nic Chigall
KvB just posted this one as a classic that he missed out on. I hadn't heard it forever so it's good to get reminded. Again, I really do get almost all my music from this man, so you should check out the boulder beats site and get added onto his mailing list. If the last one was happy, this one is euphoric. Enjoy!




BONUS
I said i'd get funky so here's a 9th beat that will break your neck.
Take You There (9th Wonder Remix) - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
I want to see his documentary sooo bad.

THE WONDER YEAR TRAILER from Pricefilms on Vimeo.

The Terror

Listen to this while you read:



Been a while since I wrote anything here. I guess that's just how it goes.
I watched Shaun White win the x games gold in skateboard vert. Dude is clutch. I guess since I'm kinda over skating, I don't really feel the need to watch the x games anymore. Oh well. I don't have to listen to their announcers bro-ing it up anymore...



I played kickball today with people from the Ritz up here and I came to a really harsh realization. No matter how well I perform at a public event like that, I am incredibly anxious. Looking back over the last 3 years of my life, I have become more and more socially awkward. I get nervous when people are looking at me to the point of shaking and feeling nausea. I don't know why this is starting to happen to me, but it's really painful. I feel like it will eventually only lead to two possible places: one, I will continue to seclude myself until I have reached full social recluse status, or two, I will slowly go insane. Both of which are terrifying and depressing. I hate being around people sometimes. All people. I just want to disappear completely. Some days it's much worse than others, but I always seem to have a growing fear of saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, or generally just upsetting others...to the point that this is taking a tole on my psyche. I don't want to end up alone, but I feel more and more apt to as the weeks tick by. I've realized that I only like doing activities that I can do by myself (biking, snowboarding) I like being around people in those activites most of the time, but I also know that I can do my own thing, I'm in control of my own destiny when I'm doing them, and I'm not going to let anyone down but myself. To be honest, I'm afraid of this steamroller of mental incapability that is slowly affecting me more and more.

So there, I said it. If I come off as distant, that's why. And i'm sorry, but it's something that I really need to have time to figure out.


Also, I wish to god that this Argentinian girl I have a somewhat ridiculous level of desire to be around would hurry up and get the the US. That or I could fast forward to November 21st. It seems like that date is one of the few things I have set in stone.



My parents are coming up to visit with my sister next week. Unfortunately, I have to work the whole time they're here just because I didn't get to the request calendar at work in a timely manner and two other guys are on vacation during that time. It sucks. All I want to do is hang out with them up here. Family has definitely become much more important to me during the time I've slowly been going insane.


This song is beautiful and you will like it. Sorry to kyle who I seem to steal everything from these days.
Promises (Myon & Shane 54 Summer Of Love Mix) - Andain


This last one is fantastic if you're perhaps dealing with some introspective bullshit like I am:
Video Tapez (ft. Del the Funky Homosapien) - AmpLive

Teva Games

I really like this video despite how messed up it is.

I admittedly haven't really watched too much of the teva games this weekend, but what I have seen has been pretty cool. I've preferred sleeping and sitting around. But in my defense, I did make the trek down to Denver for my friend Jason's last art show. That always takes it out of me. But now I can say I have some original art in my house that isn't mine. This is a turning point in my life.

I have a few songs to post before I head down to the games to see if I can come up on some more swag. Then off to the Ritz for another boring afternoon of much more not-parking than parking.



First song I kinda stumbled upon last night while looking for some info on Adrian Lux. I have recently remembered how much I like all of the tracks I've heard from him and was interested to know more. By the way, you're listening to Teenage Crime by him if you hit play on the embedded video.

So this one is called Can't Sleep. It takes a little bit from the original, but marcus schossow has created a really intricate synth line that is insanely great. The only problem that I can find with the track is that it isn't blended really all that well. Its like having a super good idea and not being able to make it 100% relate-able. Whatever, it's still awesome. Enjoy.
Can't Sleep (Marcus Schossow Remix) - Adrian Lux




And for something completely different, check out this ridiculously mellow version of the Jess Mills (might know her from the song Fighting Fires by Breakage) track, Vultures. Thanks to MJ Cole for coming through for me again.
Vultures (MJ Cole Remix) - Jess Mills

I've been listening to a pandora station called MJ Cole radio at the ritz when it's really dead and I've decided that I'm going to own a lounge sometime in my life. It'll be close to a club but more chill. And will have only classy-looking drinks. And will have fishtanks for walls. And will play drum&bass stuff that's more chill and lounge-y. And it will be called "Undefined."

Enjoy your day and get out and bike or something!

Crunk Juice

So I've been sitting on a few songs recently that are "the bomb-diggity" and simply need to be shared. One of them is from my man Kyle who you can keep up with here.

This dude remixed what is, imo, a pretty boring and melancholic original. But the electro-pop beast he created is more gummy bear than grizzly. Just take a gander. You'll love it. I promise.


Here's the link for the song.



Recently i've been Really into the mellower side of DnB. I simply can't get enough. You would think that a genre that's built around having essentially the exact same drum line playing in every song would result in a monotonous mess. Wrong. Also, i've found that i'm infatuated with the UK garage sound incorporated into different genres. If you want a pretty good example of a UK garage-type beat, listen to my favorite r&b beat ever:
So here's the actual song I wanted to post. It's a MJ Cole joint that has received a fine DnB treatment by Logistics:
Take a ride on the wild side.

And you can dl it here.




Other than the music, nothing's really going on. I've applied at 5 places and haven't heard anything back from any of them yet. So finger's crossed on the job hunt front. I've actually been pretty lonely up here in Vail since most of the people I hung out with during the year have either disappeared on vacation or have moved away for the off season and summer. But...I think ill have some bike riding buddies here in a few weeks when it FINALLY stops raining and snowing. It's getting kind of ridiculous. Never-ending winter would be better if you didn't have to go to A-basin to enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, I love a bay bay, but the drive is pretty lame at a good 45 min each way.

Tonight, I will eat pizza. And it shall be awesome.


BONUS:
I'll go ahead and throw in a bonus track too that I originally heard from this pretty sick ski video:

Two Days in the Pipe from UA MTN on Vimeo.

I'm God - Clams Casino

Back It Up

Enjoy this song. I know I do. It's a remake of a classic '95 house jam by Robyn S:


I love the build section at 2 min.



So my Hawaii trip was pretty awesome. I didn't start off on a great note seeing as I had to work till 11:15 the night before I had a 7am flight from Denver to Dallas. But after dealing with the travel and exhaustion, I was happy to arrive in the sunny humid climate of the mellowest place I think i've ever been to. We had some great sushi at the meet and greet the first night too.

The next day I went ziplining with a pretty good crew of alcatel people. There were 8 ziplines that were progressively longer and steeper that went back and forth over this canyon. Overall a good time.

The next day was the team-building day. Somehow, I got sick between the hours of 9am and 1pm and could not participate. Go figure. I proceeded to sit in the sun and then get a haircut.

Tuesday me and my dad went with the surfing group to try that out. I would say that even though snow>ocean, I was glad I tried it. I have an interest to try it again but with a shorter board. The 10ft+ learners board that they had us on was good for a first time go, but ended up being more work to paddle out and to turn around to catch waves. My legs were also rubbed raw by sliding up and down the board to turn it. My weak ass skin was not ready for that.

Wednesday, we rented a jeep and drove around the island to Hana. We did the route the opposite way that they recommended so we could cut out the traffic issues. Good choice. And we were able to stop at the 7 pools and hike up to see all of them plus this huge 300ft+ waterfall at the top of the trail. Truly epic. The hike led us through 3 different climates (one of which was a bamboo forest. really cool.). Definately the best thing we did in HI. And the radio station that we listened to most of the way was just steady rockin some island reggae jams. Made for a good relaxing drive.

Thursday we didn't do anything. Just sat around/in the sun until the flight at night. Which was a major pain. We got into dallas at 5am friday morning.


I was happy to be in the muggy and not sunny D-town for easter cause I got to spend time with the family as well as a few friends.



Coming back up to Vail after the Hawaii part especially has been really hard. The weather sucks and the mountain is closed so I can't use the fresh snow that keeps falling. I'm honestly ready for the summer season to roll in.

Now to find a job so I can sustain myself. Good luck to me!




This last song I'll post is a Really deep trance track. Kinda describes the melancholy of the season. And it's dedicated to miss L.A. (who I still think about far too much for somebody I don't even know how to contact).

Eighties Ghost (AVB Mashup) - Deepsky VS Yilmaz Altanhan