grog blog

2008-04-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

muddin' OR the jeep ad

2008-04-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

We finally found a couple of big 300 gallon tanks to use for our rainwater collection. We rented a trailer and drove 2 hours to Spokane to get them. We loaded them in the trailer and when we tried to get back on the road we got stuck in the mud up to the top of the wheels. We had to call a tow truck to get out. After he pulled us out (did not take much). I floored it past the tow truck to get through the rest of the field, When I looked back he was not moving and spinning his wheels. So we traded places and my little jeep pulled the trailer, and the tow truck out of the mud.

2008-04-02T14:56:00.001-07:00

i can't make this stuff up

2008-04-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

this is an unmolested screenshot from my gmail account... note the # of spam emails... the power of google compells you...

mojo hates jehovah's witnesses

2008-03-01T15:11:00.000-08:00

not only does she bark furiously at them - she destroys their literature...

first ride

2008-03-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

the roads are finally clear, even though there are still piles of snow on the ground. so I brought the bike out of her deep sleep today, complete with her new seats that i made during the long time off two wheels. felt good to ride again, though a bit brisk...

** update ** Glad i came back when i did it just started to snow again...

truck die, no come back

2008-02-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

RIP, you were a good truck.
fortunately i only paid $500 for her in the first place, and sold it for $200... so not too bad...
now we are really yuppie scum, bought mel a Volvo cross country turbo wagon for Valentines day... she loves it, I can't drive it because i feel like a soccer mom.

feels like summer

2008-02-18T12:42:00.001-08:00

got to un-thaw for a minute in Santa Barbara on a photo shoot. sun good.

facebook

2008-02-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

sorry pretty much abandoned this page for facebook - but a few updates will follow

wally-world

2008-01-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

found this on our local website, gotta love this town. we have not visited wally-world much this last year, for a very few (I counted 4) one item no-one-else-that-is-open-on-a-sunday-has-it things (like bubble lights for the christmas tree). And the results from these trips... inevitably disappointing, cheap products that don't last for shit, scarily bad customer service and a lingering headache that appears upon entry to the store.

i'm with this writer, with a little forethought, better planning and a willingness to make *gasp* 2 stops in town 2008 will be entirely Wal-Mart free for us. I encourage you all to do the same, believe it our not I think it is easier to do this here than it was in Dallas... at least we HAVE stores that are not chains...

How to Avoid Wal-Mart

mooooose

2007-12-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

just got back from a whirlwind holiday in texas. it was good to see everyone and good to be back home amongst the snow and large wild animals (photo from kitchen window)

beirut

2007-11-20T16:39:00.001-08:00

with a heavy cultural patina in eastern europe, france and otherwise abroad beirut encapsulates something remarkable in two equally strong back to back albums. syrupy gypsy lyrics backed with a cacophony of strings, accordion, horns and Zach Condon's trumpet sound like what i can only imagine paris feels like.

available on:

for a sample you can check out live performances on KEXP:

And 2 songs off of the "song of the day" podcast:

lol

2007-11-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

just watch.

animal collective

2007-10-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

if they might be giants and some martians had a campfire sing-along this is what it might sound like. it might be art, it might be pop but either way its really good.

available on:

last ride...

2007-10-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

sorry to say this weekend was probably the last ride of the year. and what a beauty it was - wish we had pictures to share, but i am sure we will do this one again...

View Larger Map

okkervil river - stage names

2007-08-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

representing austin texas stage names (and predictably the dramatic, facetious opener "our life is not a movie but maybe") single bemoan the lack the the usual epic story-lines, plot twists and dramatic cinematography in daily routine of what will schreff calls his "mid-level band".

available on:

grog commute

2007-08-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

key stats:

11 miles
15 minutes
1 stoplight
1 scenic highway
2 lanes
3 views of schweitzer ski resort
0 traffic (except the occasional deer, moose or tractor slow down)

start: driveway...

turning out of driveway: views of ski resort in distance...

riding the highway: lots of bugs

end: covered parking and private entrance

bright eyes - cassadaga

2007-08-09T17:45:00.000-07:00

omaha’s connor oberst's latest attempt is pleasently confused, perhaps almost spiritual in an ecclectic-crystal-swinging kinda way with a gloss of indie-pop over muddy depths. not surprisingly inspired (in part or whole?) by the town of cassadaga florida.

available on:

who's house? grog house..

2007-08-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

part 2... the crib

Ok these first pictures are from when we moved in back in march... still some snow on the ground back then. But no worries its been in the 80's and 90's for the last two months... I'll let mojo show you around...

This is my crib - my people bought it just for me. Come on inside.

This is the living room - its where my couch is...

...and the stairs to the bedroom where I sleep.

so you've seen my house and my couch... now you have to get out of here...

grog work

2007-08-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

sorry been gone long - just got internet at home - dialup only but internet at least. Me divide my update up into a few parts....

Part 1 work...

Work good. never a dull moment. been working on too many things to mention or list here but grog favorites have been working on the creative direction for Spring, Summer and Fall 2008 and our Manhattan flagship store opening at 68th and 3rd (which is this week). me have pictures of the barricade that grog design for the store while it under construction - by far the largest project grog ever do - 20ft tall and 300 feet long... its freaking huge...

Overdue update...

2007-08-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

Melissa is finally up here in North Idaho and settling in, she is a nanny this summer for a family who has an organic farm up the road from us. We are working on getting her own classroom together but progress has been slow so far. I am doing quite well at work and have been keeping busy working on the house and property. We have had a few visits at our new house, but always welcome more. It is really quite spectacular up here, in any season I have seen so far. This summer has been warm and dry – 80’s and 90’s, even some 100’s off and on but the lake, trees and the mountain rivers keep us cool.

Willie Nelson in his infinite wisdom decided to have his 4th of July Picnic out of Texas for the first time in 20 years or so... At the Gorge Amphitheater, not 3 hours from us in Washington. So of course we went and saw the man himself perform.

radio silence

2007-03-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

grog no dead.
grog move into house.
grog get married.
grog no have internet access at home yet.

grog post later.

ghost rider - stop sucking

2007-02-21T17:55:00.000-08:00

no. no. no. no. horrible. no. no. no. Spawn, Punisher, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Gigli. All works of cinematic genius compared to this pile of dog puke. It seems like they skipped the whole re-make process and just lifted the dialog and storyboard straight from the graphic novel. Needless to say apart from the printed page, they loose something, like their not-suckiness. The resulting cinematography, if you can call it that, is as awkward as a newborn fawn with bun-gee chords wrapped around its legs. And the dialog is as worthless as that last metaphor. Tim would even hate this movie.

I want to find who is responsible and do donuts on their lawn with my harley, kick over their mailbox and throw a dead shark through their window.

*g

ted leo and the pharmacists - shake the sheets

2007-02-12T23:25:00.000-08:00

uncompromisingly pop and politically savvy. the bar stool politics and philosophy are crafted into a insidiously hook filled tightly produced sound. lots and lots of talent and caffeine involved in this album.

available on:

house

2007-02-08T22:39:00.000-08:00

*gulp* grog no want jinx anything but it looks like close on house in march. 5 acres of aspen and old growth pine, good house just remodled. it terrifying.

grog simple caveman brain no understand 100 of the 4000 pages of document gorg read and sign so far, hope they not too important. no expect large charity donations (charles...) from grog for the next... um.... 30 or so years either. If you not bought house yet this may help understand grog terror. take car. take price. multiply by 10. scream.

*grog

blue scholars - the long march

2007-02-02T21:29:00.000-08:00

this dynamic seattle duo fights top-40-hip-hop-mediocrity with super human rhymes and a utility belt full of beats. A free download of their remix of "Inkwell" with the Modest Mouse track "Float On" can be found here (isn't that nice of them...)
available on:

whirrled news tonight

2007-02-01T23:19:00.000-08:00

Grog never watch network news. Soap operas have better reporting and closer to reality. Tonight was an exception: Two stories caught me.

1) Mooninites invades Boston. (and for sale on ebay)
2) Grogs alma mater does good.

(ok... so me tipped off to watch tonight...)

2007-01-25T19:07:00.000-08:00

i just caught up on LOST... if only HBO and showtime would get on itunes i wouldn't need cable...

the hold steady - boys and girls in america

2007-01-18T17:25:00.000-08:00

Bruce Springsteen isn't dead. But if he were Craig Finn (lead vocals/lyrics) would be his unfashionable, anachronistic reincarnation. This power-chord infused yet cognizant album is well worth getting into despite (or because of) its essence as the kind of music you can picture the teenage protagonists cranking up in the 6x9's in their Dodge POS and driving down Lake Washington Blvd.

brrrrrrr

2007-01-16T19:41:00.000-08:00

this past weekend grog direct photo shoot, cold photo shoot, very cold photo shoot. The photographer and camera man were from LA and they froze almost as fast as their cameras.

*edit* im not just a newbie to the high was 8 and the low was -1...

*g-g-gg-gg-ggg-grrooog-gg-g-gg

junior boys - so this is goodbye

2007-01-09T13:21:00.000-08:00

ok - its not my usual fare but i have to say this album is captivating. It's hard to describe the precise, lamenting, rhythmic pop that is almost disco - but without being icky... but i guess i just did.

available on:

mojo's photo-tour of sandpoint

2007-01-07T12:15:00.000-08:00

this is my couch

here is me walking my human

sometimes we walk into town...

i like town - there are people and things to smell

here is me striking a pose on the trail

sometimes we go to the dog beach...

happy trails...

new years

2007-01-04T19:06:00.000-08:00

i like snow
*mojo

roots - game theory

2007-01-03T21:15:00.000-08:00

heard this today, fantastic. if you don't think there is good hip-hop out there you listen to the radio too much and mtv is not a good source for "new" music. this should cure you.
available on:

woot contest #104

2006-12-29T10:50:00.000-08:00

work is quite slow today - as you might expect being the friday after xmas and before new years. grog fighting with mortgage people over house. decide to put off everything till grogette return form rome. grog will entertain home buying advice if anyone has.

since grog bored grod enter photoshop contest at woot.com - a great site if you don't know it check it out. me buy roomba not to long ago for half normal price - it work good. but more on that later...

*grog

sufjan stevens - songs for christmas

2006-12-22T20:58:00.000-08:00

a very good album even for those of us that are not big christmas music fans. sufjan has put out a self-made cd for the last few years for friends and family. this release allows us in to his circle of trust, a good place to be.
available on:

*g

bah humbug

2006-12-13T22:08:00.000-08:00

grogette and i just collectively our lack of seasonal spirit has been due less to the chaos of the move and the ache of being apart and more form one simple missing piece to our twisted sense of yule-tide joy.

the solution arrived today courtesy of Netflix.com (mecca of the lazy) the greatest christmas movie of all time: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

grogette sez -
it just isnt xmas till I hear "Shitter was Full!"

house-ing

2006-12-13T17:52:00.000-08:00

one of the big reasons we moved to the middle of nowhere was because where else in the world can you find land 15 minutes from your work at a reasonable cost... here are a few we are looking at:

_________________________________________________

and if you are wondering - yes I am trying to entice more people to relocate here...

*g.r.o.g.

i da ho

2006-12-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

greetings from sunny Idaho (not kidding here -- its cold but sunny and beautiful).

grog, mojo and jeep make it up here (2000+ miles in 2 days and change) but jeep broke after 2 days of 4-wheel drive and snow. take jeep to shop - week later jeep fixed and grog 1200 shiny pebbles poorer.

so its been a while since me live in small town so me no have internet yet - (tribulations with DSL) - I will break radio silence once I am back online - for now THE internet cafe hosting this session...

*g

food...

2006-08-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

A few excerpts from the chapter entitled “design” in Daniel Pink’s
“A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future”

A London Business school study shows that for every percent of sales in design, a companies sales and profits increase an average of 3-4 percent

“Design is the principal difference between love and hate” - tom peters

“The nonpartisan investigation (of the 2000 election) found that what determined who would become leader of the free world wasn’t an evil Supreme court or recalcitrant chads. It was bad design.”

“... Design is a renaissance attitude that combines technology, cognitive science, human need, and beauty...”

“the MFA is the new MBA”

“design is a high-concept aptitude that is difficult to outsource or automate – and that increasingly confers a competitive advantage in business.”

*G

unintentional humor II

2006-07-16T13:47:00.001-07:00

"the clams of maria montessori"
- i think she meant claims, but you never know, Italians like the seafood...

"self-drought"
- nicely said.

"psychic devotions"
- its supposed to be psychic deviations but grog like this much better - i think this person is building a temple to miss cleo. Its not like this is in an obscure footnote either - this is the title of the paper...

*call me now!

unintentional humor

2006-07-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

recent typos from teacher's papers in a training class:
"umbilical cod" & "sea section"
- apparently a nautical theme for birth

"a souperior being"
- must be a disciple of the f.s.m.

"so sorry for the confusion, and please excuse the incontinence"
- colleague writing to apologize to grog for screw up, hope you day gets better, bob.

*grog

two wheels good. four wheels baaaad.

2006-07-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

part one:
grog drove grogette cage (thats what motorcycle people call a car) to work all last week. Amazing how that change grog outlook on day. moreso than usual grog feel like cog in machine - not unique snowflake.

part two:
The Seven Commandments, Animal Farm's original Constitution
1. Whatever goes on two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes on four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.

The Seven Commandments, after the pigs' "revisions"
1. "Four legs good, two legs better!"
2. No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.
3. No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.
4. No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.
5. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

part three:
propaganda is to politics
as
marketing is to products

*g

I am so over workohol

2006-07-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

grog recovering workoholic.

Once upon time grog work very hard, long hours for startup.
promise of grand payoff is enticement, but come at sacrifce of life.

grog like life. now work for fortune 500, they pay, not promise.

point? grog have none. just reflect on last year - happy with change. not working as hard, make more and have time to go to Willie's Picinic.

now if grog just was not in dallas...

*grog, soccer hooligan

appealing, on so many levels

2006-06-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

have not seen gnarls barkley's performance from MTV movie awards.

both internal nerd and music geek will be happy, + intro from borat.

mono - DOH!

2006-06-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

Lyle Lanley: Well, sir, there's nothing on earth Like a genuine, Bona fide, Electrified, Six-car Monorail! What'd I say?
Ned Flanders: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: What's it called?
Patty+Selma: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: That's right! Monorail!
[crowd chants `Monorail' softly and rhythmically]
Miss Hoover: I hear those things are awfully loud...
Lyle Lanley: It glides as softly as a cloud.
Apu: Is there a chance the track could bend?
Lyle Lanley: Not on your life, my Hindu friend.

Actually the track - or something - actually did bend on the monorail in seattle, so we couldn't ride it. bummer.

more pictures here...

mr. grog goes to washington

2006-06-22T18:38:00.000-07:00

just pictures for now - more later...

grog

cave

troll

food

david hasselhoff

F.Y.P.M.

2006-06-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

grog freelance for living. in case want to know it really like this (thanks to tim for sending).

and if person who wrote this need job - email grog, grog hire...

grog no name names but a lot of this sound way too familier...

Retarded Clients and their business ventures..

Date: 2005-12-14, 1:08PM EST

What is going on? Did someone hand out laptops and wifi to a short-bus full of 'entrepeneurs'?

These are the kinds of postings populating CL (Craigslist)...

"Want site done just like Lavalife. Limited Budget"... sure.. no mind that it's taken years to make that a multi-million dollar site... I'll build one just like it for you on the weekend... for a few hundred bucks!

"Design my portfolio".."For your portfolio"... hmmmn? Design you a portfolio.. to build my portfolio... Genius.. why didn't I think of that sooner. Why bother designing for money when I can fill my 'portfolio' with someone elses never visited, weak-ass content.

"Designer needed. Low budget. Must be reliable, fast and professional." Thanks... for all the project details I mean... It's always good to know the parameters when starting such a dynamic and life-altering project.. and to have bullshit standards imposed by some idiot with no idea what he's talking about.

"Photoshop Guru... or any post with the word Guru in the title"... you want a guru, go shove a holistic herb up your 5th dimension ass cause your in dreamland if you think a frickin' 'GURU' is going to accept any project for less than $75/hour and at a minimum of 5 billable hours..paid upfront.

"Need Help... must have site completed by tomorrow morning!".. well holy shit.. did you ever fuck this up... and if you want one of us to parachute in and save your dumb-ass.. all while working on the stinking pile of visual polution you cheaped out on in the first place... you better have that finger on the Paypal button... and be prepared to shut up and stay up late with us. --Fuckup.

The holy grail of CL creative posts......

"Can't afford to pay much but if this goes well.. will have projects for you in the future".. oh really.. wow... when.. let me get my 2006 scheduler... I can't wait...a whole nother project with a budget of shit.. and I get to wait a whole 4 months for it.. let me clear everything I had planned in my life next year to be sure I can accommodate you.. you fucking jack-ass.

PAY....PAY PAY PAY you cheap fucking degenerates. This is not a fucking charity site. You want a business... be a professional. You want something for free... ask your fucking parents... you want miracles done for no money.. go to church.

Enough already you pathetic dip-shits....

*grog here mos def say live by two words, "Fuck you, pay me"

preschool for marketing

2006-05-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

grog want to use grogette's experience teaching toddlers in corporate life.
grog particularly interested in using on marketing people but would work on anyone.

Important phrases for use:

"Jimmy, it appears you have urinated on me again. What should we be doing instead."

"Susie, i can not understand 'Bwagganaaaaaaaa SHfooooomb' - I need you to use your words to tell me whats wrong."

"Bobbie - I can't help you right now Freddie is covered in feces."

"We don't push. Pushing hurts."

"I really like the powerpoint you put together, did you make that for your mommy?"

"My name is grog, not 'meanie' or 'stupid'."

"Johnny, can you put away your work when you are done?"

"Can we use our inside voice please?"

* G-unit

fun with phonics

2006-05-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

grog pee self laughing - try dialectizer on your blog... or cnn... or...

* GROG SLAP FRO!

Grog find new religion

2006-05-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.venganza.org/

* Grog love internet.

corporate censorship

2006-05-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

grog hate corporate firewall. grog favorite sites blocked. grog no design good without entertainment.

GROG SMASH WALL!!

grog plug sites grog no can visit. hope readers make up for traffic grog no provide to fine companies:

www.kexp.org - grog primitive vocabulary no can express how fucking awesome this station is... grog is card carrying member even though no can listen at work
www.harleydavidson.com - grog say harley davidson is case study of brand loyalty... what other logo people tattoo on body?
www.woot.com - grog enter photoshop contest, no win, but buy stuff anyway.

* grog feel better now.

Ceci n'est pas une caveman

2006-05-10T07:52:00.000-07:00

some wonder what grog look like - me post portrait. * grog

caveman dating?

2006-05-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

grog offered interview for art director for a dating website.

simple caveman internal monologue questions viability of another instinct-driven-time-saving-web-based-thingamajig even if help people make two humped dinosaur.

conversely, it is a dot-com and has advantages over the monolith that is grogs current employer

aside: grog may be caveman but grog no stupid enough to mention employers name. grog may think corporation stupid for not having flash on website until april 2007, but grog also know IT/Security is bored and overpaid.

* grog

Grog make new art

2006-04-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

grog make dadist/performance art. make art show. MAKE ART SHOW!

show called bang head on keybord: a retrospective

here piece called "can't find create art button"

__________________________
| rhegtuioahgds |
| sdg ysj923u80 |
| 2$897sdahkads |
| %*&YHjksadkla |
| aa./.,./lasjd |
| kalsjdklsdfds |
| |
_________________grog_____

you like? for sale.

grog art show also include more in series, like:

"stupid computer"
"you want me to do what"
"you can do that in an hour right"
"our budget is getting kinda tight"
"can i have this in blue"
"stupid computer #47"
"no coffee"
"microsoft"
"yeah, i'm gonna need you to move your desk again"
"yeah, i;m gonna need you to work on saturday"
"my cubicle is eating me"
"mouse droppings"

watch artforum for show dates and times.

*grog

Grog need time off from cave drawing

2006-04-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

uh, me no know why t-rex design not producing higher ROI metrics.

* grog

Subject: Re: friday

2006-04-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

Grog wake up.
Grog ride harley.
Grog design.
Grog get paid.
Grog go home.
Water from sky fall on Grog.
Grog sleep.

* grog repeat.