Our Vainglorious Lives

I want this shirt

2011-08-18T18:54:00.001-04:00

Attention Readers:

2011-03-14T19:21:00.001-04:00

In case you haven't been able to tell, the OVL crew has decided to put the blog on hiatus while we pursue other paths. A many thanks to our readers that we've managed to maintain.

As any regular readers know, I have been into photography for a long time now. To recommend something else to read while OVL is on break, I would be honored if you could check what is now my very own photography website by clicking here.

COME ON, FEET

2011-01-28T21:09:00.002-05:00

Rush IS Variety

2011-01-23T00:19:00.000-05:00

Water Sculpture

2011-01-11T13:33:00.000-05:00

Water Sculpture from Shinichi Maruyama on Vimeo.

Skipper's Pipes

2010-12-12T23:15:00.001-05:00

Summer

2010-12-06T17:00:00.002-05:00

With winter coming up, I can't help but think about summer, for some odd reason. I can't fully dive into the Holiday cheer until exams are over or until snow is on the ground. Since neither of those have happened yet, all I want to do is be somewhere warm and huck a bmx into a pond.

First Day of School

2010-12-06T16:56:00.000-05:00

This kid is the freaking man. Probably the most badass second grader ever. Wish I was still this excited for first days of school, now I just count down to the last.

2000 fps

2010-12-06T16:52:00.003-05:00

7D 2000 fps from Oton Bačar on Vimeo.

Want list

2010-12-04T16:02:00.000-05:00

CROOK RICKY

2010-12-03T22:35:00.002-05:00

POST THIS EVERYWHERE AND SEND IT TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS. HELL YEA THIS SONG RULES

So good

2010-12-02T21:15:00.001-05:00

Teacups & Couture

2010-11-25T15:58:00.002-05:00

was the name of the blog where I found these pictures. Seemed pretty cool. Supposed to foil a burglary, but I figured Alex might find this cool.

Treated

2010-11-21T18:31:00.000-05:00

Sick riding from Atonyo. He has great flow and is super smooth. If he starts going a little faster he'll be taking over in no time.

TREATED from Sam Erickson on Vimeo.

Song of the Month

2010-11-20T16:27:00.000-05:00

Don't even question this. Just listen to this bass.

Mission Workshops: Paris

2010-11-02T15:18:00.000-04:00

This is a pretty cool video about some guys day in Paris on his bike. It's showcasing his bag because the company just opened a storefront in Paris and this is a little promo for the store. There is some interesting footage of him riding through relatively car-empty streets due to the strikes going on all over France right now, reaching the point of almost every gas station in France being completely dried up for weeks now. You can even see some people knocking over some sort of barricade in the background. Mostly this is just cool because it's in Paris, like I will be in August or earlier next year.

MISSION WORKSHOP IN PARIS from Bicycle Store on Vimeo.

Hallelujah

2010-10-28T19:35:00.000-04:00

Crushes Continued

2010-10-27T21:03:00.003-04:00

In a book store AND carrying a Times? Done deal.

Garrett's Crushes are better

2010-10-26T14:07:00.002-04:00

Idk about you but I've yet to meet a girl who not only doesn't repulse me when vomiting, but actually is comfortable enough to make it one of the funniest jokes. That is unless I'm talking about Kaitlin Olson here.

Majesty

2010-10-21T22:07:00.002-04:00

Bo

2010-10-20T22:58:00.002-04:00

He just gets BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER

French girl

2010-10-20T01:14:00.003-04:00

Cutest thing, ever, hands down. A tale of epic proportions made up seemingly on the spot.

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

Finally

2010-10-19T11:34:00.001-04:00

The House That Drips Blood On Alex Starring Tommy Wiseau
Tags: Atom.com,Atom Originals,Atom Blog,Upload Videos

Rhodia > Moleskine

2010-10-19T00:14:00.001-04:00

Wine

2010-10-19T00:12:00.000-04:00

I will be employing this technique Thursday after an exam for sure

How to Uncork a Bottle Without a Corkscrew from Hamel Family Wines on Vimeo.

Truth

2010-10-19T00:09:00.000-04:00

Crushes continued

2010-10-19T00:02:00.001-04:00

Julie Budet, aka Yelle, of the band Yelle. Watch this while you can, the other one has embedding disabled. Gorgeous, hilarious, hot French girl singing. This song is making fun of a French rapper that keeps trying to mack it to her.

Frikkin Japan

2010-10-17T19:28:00.000-04:00

My only quip with videos like this is that I can't 100% trust that the subtitles are accurate. However, sometimes, in cases like this, the subtitles are so funny that it really doesn't matter. Not to mention the kids are so dead honest that I think these may be spot on. Either way THIS IS HILARIOUS

To follow up Garrett,

2010-10-16T19:40:00.002-04:00

Here's some song of the week biz from me. It's down diggity, and this band is freaking sweet, probably one of the best 8-bit bands I've ever heard. I can't remember what band I used to listen to, Dan, if you have their stuff and can remind me of their name, I can no longer efficiently browse my iTunes because of the sheer number of songs.

Little song of the week action here

2010-10-08T02:24:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6OUPA3eadM

great guitar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G-PhTlOibI&feature=related

Skip to about 3:40 great wailing at the end

Some Foreign Objects at ya there.

Evolution

2010-10-07T21:04:00.001-04:00

This class is awesome, except for the day we had to learn about Intelligent Design. Now, first of all, the professor is a full on evolutionary biologist. We had this particular lecture to kind of get to know the opposition, you could say, to know what kind of lunatics are out there. This picture is awesome. That lecture got me fuming, seeing what sort of people exist in the academic elite (not the sciences, obviously) of this country and are openly denying evolution. What f*cking morons.

THESE ARE SCIENCE PROFESSORS AT UMASS (WHERE I AM A STUDENT). THAT IS AWESOME.

Tell em Why Ya Mad

2010-10-07T11:54:00.001-04:00

Thanks Durken

Omg Totally

2010-10-04T22:55:00.000-04:00

Reasons to Study Abroad: Paris

2010-10-04T00:03:00.000-04:00

Here are some visual reasons I'm considering Paris. Every place I am considering obviously has incredibly intricate cultural history, unique cuisine, and infinite other reasons to study there. I'm posting the pretty stuff. Kicking off a little mini-series, here they are: Reasons to Study Abroad: Paris.

Look at these kicks!

No words

2010-10-03T15:55:00.002-04:00

OH MY GOODNESS

2010-09-30T15:51:00.001-04:00

J-Schwartz

2010-09-30T02:04:00.001-04:00

Love him. Couldn't really care less about the iDrab, but this video is so great that it almost makes me want... to hang out with Jason. Nope, doesn't even make me want an iPad. Me and J-Schwartz need to chill. Especially with the Jonnie Walker red in the AM.

Mornings

2010-09-29T22:27:00.002-04:00

This dog and I have a lot in common as far as our routines are concerned.

The Gate

2010-09-29T22:19:00.000-04:00

I'm not a big horror fan, but I am a big 80's movie fan. And not because they're cool and ironic and nostalgic, but because the special effects were actually special back then. They really found a way to make fire come out of the phone in this trailer. They REALLY melted the phone. He actually hit a plastic demon doll. I don't care if it "looks fake", it actually happened- it wasn't rendered in later by some jackass sitting in front of a huge computer monitor at a design studio. If I was still a psych major I would be able to recall the terminology, but I am pretty damn sure that there is some measurable difference in your brains reaction to something that physically exists and something that is perceived or mentally hurdled over to believe it's real, i.e. CGI stuff. We have to tell ourselves "wow" or "what if", and that alone is less significant in our brain than seeing a kid smack a plastic model, because when he smacks the model, we think (whether consciously or not), "Ew, he touched it!", but if it were CGI, we think (whether consciously or not), something more like "ew, that almost looked real!". I imagine that's how that new dream movie with Leo was, I can't remember the name of it, and I wanted to see it. This is also why those old Godzilla movies where two guys are dressed up in costumes are so great. It's almost literally an episode of Barney gone terribly wrong. Anyway, rant and a half, I wanna see this movie, because I haven't.

#1 Movie All Time

2010-09-29T20:17:00.002-04:00

New Zealand in the 1930's

2010-09-28T23:48:00.002-04:00

2010-09-28T23:44:00.001-04:00

Fresh

2010-09-28T23:42:00.001-04:00

Shiba Inu

2010-09-28T22:09:00.000-04:00

Graduation present to myself for sure.

"The Shiba is a fastidious breed and feels the need to maintain itself in a clean state. They can often be seen licking their paws and legs much like a cat. They generally go out of their way to keep their coats clean, and while walking will avoid stepping in puddles, mud and dirt. Because of their fastidious and proud nature, the Shiba puppy is easy to housebreak and in many cases will housebreak themselves. Having their owner simply place them outside after meal times and naps is generally enough to teach the Shiba the appropriate method of toileting".

Song of the Week: Balmorhea - Harm and Boon

2010-09-28T19:46:00.000-04:00

Three exams this week, physics lab, and recovering from being sick; all of these can only lead to one thing: some killer clean tunes with absolutely no vocals. Enter Balmorhea. I found this band thanks to Last.fm, which is WAY better than Pandora. Seriously, not only is Last's music much more diverse, but they haven't yet sold out to the disgusting extent that Pandora has to the point of interrupting your sonic experience with soda advertisements. Screw that. Pandora Sucks.

How about this band though? They're from Texas. That's about as far as I read into their description. This is a song of the week, not VH1 behind the music. Plus, I have actual work to do. Listen and enjoy. Relax. I'm trying to. Balmorhea helps.

Viking 1

2010-09-28T18:59:00.002-04:00

JFK @ NASA

2010-09-28T18:56:00.002-04:00

XB-70A

2010-09-28T18:54:00.002-04:00

Aurora Australis

2010-09-28T18:50:00.000-04:00

Pierre

2010-09-28T10:04:00.000-04:00

Reading

2010-09-28T00:59:00.001-04:00

Jaws: The Bruce

2010-09-27T11:50:00.003-04:00

As we all know, or may not know, the name of the shark that was built for the movie 'Jaws' was named 'Bruce', after Spielberg's lawyer. Watching the movie recently had me realize how freakin huge that puppet was. After searching around for a little bit, I found some footage and picture evidence of how big the shark really was compared to it's human creators. I don't care how harmless and fake this thing might be, if I saw this in the same body of water as me (whether I was on a boat or not), I'd shit my pants... or try to ride it.. maybe both. And let's not forget Robert Shaw had to put himself into the mouth of the animatronic beast while it was flailing around half in the water/half in the boat. I don't think I could ever do this.

Also, an added goodie to the mix is the real-time filming from 1989, it's great to see someone actually wearing 80's garb without trying to be ironic.

The Universe

2010-09-26T22:36:00.000-04:00

Why would you EVER accept something as simple as the creationist explanations for how this came to be when it's SO much cooler to accept what we DO know and continue to try and find out MORE

This Week In A Few Photos

2010-09-26T10:46:00.000-04:00

Night of relaxation; entomology; Anthony Braxton and Taylor Ho Bynum; trying to catch leaves as they blew off trees.

Crushes Continued

2010-09-25T16:35:00.002-04:00

Whoa.

Roots

2010-09-25T16:33:00.002-04:00

Weekend

2010-09-25T16:32:00.001-04:00

Song of the Week

2010-09-23T16:54:00.000-04:00

It's not so much the song, because I could have just posted the official video. It's THIS PARTICULAR footage of the song live that freaking KILLS IT. First of all, world record crash cymbal height and overall tightness on drummer John Stanier. Second, amazing song writing and musical capability on lead singer/guitarist Tyondai Braxton, whose father is a famous and acclaimed Jazz/Creative musician, who I personally borderline despise. His more traditional jazz work is fantastic, but I saw him and Taylor Ho Bynum doing some SERIOUSLY avant garde jazz and I just wanted to kill myself the whole time, it was horrible. It would have been a waste of money if it was FREE, you get my point? Anyway I'm rambling, here's that sweet Battles video.

Global Climate Disruption!!

2010-09-23T16:00:00.002-04:00

My new drawing genre appears to be horror/psychological thriller.

Idk where this came from, and I definitely think its pretty creepy, but I really like it.

This couple here are partaking in some sort of ritual sacrifice, and removing each others eyes. enjoy?

Pokemon Sex Ed

2010-09-21T14:16:00.002-04:00

Pretty impressive

The Jersey Shore

2010-09-20T20:14:00.000-04:00

If I only ever post about it once, this would be what I'd post. Oh wait, that's what I'm doing.

Billy Dee

2010-09-20T11:31:00.001-04:00

Lifestyle

2010-09-20T00:11:00.000-04:00

Signs

2010-09-20T00:06:00.000-04:00

My grandma has a sign like this from the ammunition company Remington Arms, where she worked for essentially her entire adult life. It was hand made in the late 1800's and when her bosses office was getting renovated after she had been working there for a few years, they replaced it with a newer sign and he let her take the old one. I'm so impressed being able to see how this stuff is made, and especially that the craft continues today.

David A Smith - Sign Artist from Danny Cooke on Vimeo.

Sk8 Japan

2010-09-19T21:10:00.000-04:00

Probably the best sk8 video I've seen lately. Incredible filming, editing, and of course skating.

Weekend Photos

2010-09-19T21:08:00.000-04:00

Here are some photos from this weekend with the DSLR. Comments appreciated.

Crushin'

2010-09-19T21:03:00.000-04:00

Kurtis Blow

2010-09-19T21:01:00.002-04:00

Old school hip hop/funk is blowing my mind. Kurtis blow is the freaking man. There are some super fresh outfits in this video not to mention dance moves, and incredible delivery from Blow. Is that Jay Z in the shades at 3:23?

Soap

2010-09-15T20:34:00.000-04:00

Asian supermarket. $0.99

A Brick to the Head

2010-09-15T15:32:00.001-04:00

would've capped this video off nicely.

"The power of music"

2010-09-15T13:13:00.000-04:00

Can seriously bring people together. This is amazing.

Lenszooka

2010-09-13T22:34:00.002-04:00

Crushes Continued

2010-09-13T21:53:00.002-04:00

This is probably my #1 "celebrity" crush

No one

2010-09-13T21:47:00.003-04:00

on Earth can say they saw this coming. NO ONE.

2010-09-13T21:33:00.000-04:00

THE F--KING KING

2010-09-13T21:18:00.004-04:00

nothing touches this man.

Summer events

2010-09-13T12:17:00.000-04:00

Reason for my hiatus #1:

"My Photography" Addition

2010-09-12T16:27:00.001-04:00

I usually like to shoot film on my dad's old camera. If you read this blog at all, you probably can tell. However, the price of buying and developing film constantly, not having a flash, not being able to instantly see my results and change settings so make sure I don't lose the opportunity for the photo all together, and the sheer sentimental value of the camera itself that scared me away from bringing the camera everywhere and shooting everything led me to work my freaking butt off this summer to end up with this:

This thing is the freaking BOMB. Look at it. Just look at it. Damn. Too bad I had to take a photo of a sweet camera with the not-sweet original iPhone 1 mp camera. This will be producing LOTS of content you'll see on here soon enough. More to come. A couple teaser photo's after the JUMP.

HOSTAGE CALM

Return from afar

2010-09-12T16:09:00.001-04:00

I'm back. We'll catch up in a bit. For now... appreciate this. HOLY HOTNESS.

Finally

2010-08-28T15:16:00.001-04:00

Bubbles

2010-08-24T12:38:00.000-04:00

WANT

2010-08-24T12:24:00.000-04:00

Huh.

2010-08-24T12:20:00.000-04:00

Alex: age 65

2010-08-23T09:39:00.000-04:00

Marta from Arrested Development

2010-08-18T12:25:00.004-04:00

Leonor Varela is the Chilean actress who played Marta on Arrested Development. From Wikipedia I gathered that her largest roles in film came in the 90's and culminated with Blade II. =P

But it really doesn't matter because...well you see.

If I Wanna like Van Halen, I'll fucking like Van Halen

2010-08-12T14:28:00.002-04:00

BBQ'r

2010-08-11T15:24:00.000-04:00

Ugly Baby of the Week

2010-08-11T11:33:00.001-04:00

Pretty Awesome

2010-08-09T11:45:00.001-04:00

MUST WATCH NOW.

2010-08-09T11:39:00.000-04:00

Shake Them

2010-08-04T22:59:00.000-04:00

So I have been on an un-announced but nonetheless obvious summer hiatus. I'm spending time skateboarding, or at least I WAS until I crashed my bike and royally F'd up my knee. I just saw this and absolutely had to post it.

Sketches of Summer '10

2010-08-02T18:20:00.002-04:00

These are my projects so far this summer. They all definitely lack the critique and eye of other artists, and have been a venture into independence in art for me. Basically at school I was surrounded by other students who could give little tips and crazy ideas of where to go. But All summer, I've been pretty isolated. So all of these represent what I produce without the opinions & influence of others. Overall I'm happy and impressed, but I feel that they land at about 75-80% of perfection. I'm excited to get back to school and have some teacher tear them apart.

Alex showed me skateboarding movies this weekend

2010-08-01T17:56:00.002-04:00

The Violent Femmes-Add It Up

Not completely my style, but I did feel nostalgic because I remember this song in an old skate video. Idk what one, or when it was I saw it, but it did happen.

...And these guys are weird. Maybe a little cool, but weird.

Spacey's the shit.

2010-07-29T11:41:00.002-04:00

Just wait for the Christopher Walken impression.

2010-07-10T15:21:00.002-04:00

Boiz

2010-07-10T15:19:00.002-04:00

2010-07-10T15:18:00.001-04:00

Solace

2010-07-10T15:17:00.002-04:00

Roll 18

2010-07-05T13:15:00.000-04:00

Museum, good weather, skateboarding, holiday, fireworks. Boom.

Oh, Herro.

2010-07-03T14:54:00.000-04:00