:: amalgam chewables ::

the new site is up. have a look-see.

theamalgamprocess.com

i love you…

-rrf

went to the T-REX sale last thursday. bought a new, better fitting but more importantly, better looking helmet. then i decided to paint the shit out of it.

its a r.e.d. helmet, mutiny model. since i found my dream goggles, i had to try and match white and chrome. i set out to see if i could get a cheap, flat white and a shiny chrome using store bought spray paint.

after seeing this, ryan and i happened upon some kits made by dupli-color. i decided to keep the chrome and see if i could put on some spectrum flecked clear coat. the results of that and a matte laquer, i would later find, completely muted the effect of the flecks. BUT WHO CARES?!?!

so i couldn’t crawl my sorry ass even in the right direction of an idea. watched TV. got drunk. yahtzee! one endless knot. a big one… no, several. down the middle. make sure your fingers plead for mercy when you design this helmet. be absolutely sure that your vision will require 5 to 6 xacto knife blades, but only use one. that way your knuckles get a work out too.

continuing with the theme and what has interested me the most in the last year, i stenciled the elephant. i couldn’t decide how stylized i wanted to try to make it. i didn’t have the patience to sketch it myself or include definition so i took the most descriptive silhouette i could find.

i quickly realized i went about this the wrong way if i was going to be too lazy to cut correctly.

i used the silver fleck clear coat over the “chrome” and probably should have put several more coats on. i effectively eliminated the gloss of the “chrome” and then diminished the visibility of the spectrum in the fleck. you can barely see it in this shot. so you can at least see how cool it almost was.

nearing completion…

it still turned out pretty nice. i’m a happy camper. and i’m sure it will be bruised and gutted 5 days into the season. i may be working on a few others as well so i’ll probably post the results of those projects as they finish.

enjoy the wait until the first of the season…

-rrf

UPDATE:

bikes are cool. gas is high. and if i can’t custom build any other form of transportation, i can at least start a project whose benefits seem limitless. no gas, no carbon, individual identity, improved strength and endurance, etc, etc, etc.

so i started as most do, with an old bike and a frame in good shape. i found myself an early 1970’s schwinn continental. baby blue.

the frame was in amazing condition but there was much work to be done. my favorite thing about a fixed gear is the clean lines and the bravery having that look demands. on a proper fixed gear bike there are no brakes. the wheel has no freewheel cog, which means the pedals are directly linked to the back wheel at all times. no coasting, no coast brake, just direct. i sent a few images of the bike to my father, who gave me his old schwinn world tour, and he immediately knew it was a continental because it was the only model they painted baby blue. he then went on to tell me when he was really young, he took apart his schwinn varsity to paint it baby blue, then boasted that he had the only baby blue schwinn varsity in history. must run in the family…

so i got to work on stripping the bastard.

the kickstand was a bitch. but i cutted it offs. the rest of the cable guides were filed down by hand until i got smart and purchased a dremmel tool, which really only assisted in taking off the kickstand barrel. once i had all the extremities filed down, i took it to get powder coated.

and then it was putting it all back together correctly. i had salvegetti’s here in denver build my rear wheel, kept the original front, and tension the chain. ordered some bullhorns and viola.

i have no idea what the gear ratio is. i kept the original seat because its comfortable as hell. eventually i’ll be changing all the black into light brown with a brooks saddle and tape as well as toe clips with light brown leather on them.

-rrf

it was a strange and moving thing, coming face to face with the nearly invisible, yet easy to live with, adversary.

i pried at the mouse using the tongs with all the sensitivity of the most skilled TV drama surgeon.

and then it happened….

that little fucking bastard bit me.  right on my left index finger.  allz i was attempting to do was free him from from the terrifying grips of the oozy, sticky and inhumane trap of torture and death to which his face was affixed just seconds before.

these “sticky traps” that catch mice without breaking their necks or crushing them or poisoning them are apparently supposed to be more humane.  i bought them with the idea that they were a catch and release type of mechanism.  i can tell you, seeing a mouse wriggle himself into a little fury pretzel and literally shit himself from fear only to become exhausted and later die of starvation is anything but “humane.”

don’t buy those traps.  if you must, buy something that kills them instantly.  if they don’t cooperate and leave after you ask them nicely [and they won’t], there’s really no other way.  i just thought i would present my disgust for sticky traps.

-rrf

i’m not sure what freaks me out the most about godwin’s law….

that there is a formulaic application of prediction and interpretation applied to an otherwise abstract notion of debate that is open to circumstantial and personal judgement…

-or-

that there is theory complied for instances in which debaters within the field of tele-presence invoke a widely considered poor comparison often enough to support said theory…

-or-

that the suggestion of an existence of godwin’s law outside otherwise unimportant web forums, web comics and other venues of the like is appropriate.

-or-

that declaring “godwin’s law” actually makes you a winner.

actually that part i get, because its funny.

-rrf

this has to be seen.

http://madhattannights.com/when-rappers-get-ahold-of-powerpoint/

if you got at least 90% of these jokes, i’d say you’re a hip hop intellectual [like those jazz bastards].

-rrf

“do work, son!”
that’s basically what i do all day. i rarely even read digg or waste time on the internets. such diligence yields a gem every now and then that i’m actually satisfied with. the denver ad club recently held the first annual “denver 50 awards” recognizing the 50 best ideas denver agencies came up with in the last year.

being so new i didn’t have anything entered, but i did build an ad for it that was ran in…actually i don’t know what it was ran in, BUT it was on display next to some amazing work. i guess this is a good step towards actually being good at what i do.

and actually, if you notice, that pattern in the background is made of the thought bubbles from the thought equity motion logo.

-rrf

…its time for your 2 week review.

yet again, it seems as though i’m playing catch up with the most absurdly construed notion that i should be required to maintain some consistency with blog entry. i doubt very much anyone is pacing back and forth in front of their computer, intensely refreshing this page, anticipating the very moment this entry is published.

if that’s you, you should get some sleep… its a school night.

however, there may be some interest to the content in this entry. as it is a catch-up, so too it is filled with color photos!

the bussy-ness that has engulfed my life both stems from work and recreation; lucky for me, these both produce fun. the weekend before last, i flew to nyc to oversee the “creative execution” of the collateral and booth design i produced for the ‘07 boards trade show.

hitting nyc was like meeting up with an old friend…especially when i came face to face with the subway and its smell [for serious, i love the smell and i’m addicted to the subway… you know this]. made new contacts, new friends from canada [no idea what it is with me and canadians], visited my old favorite spots, missed chance for a trip to budapest because my business cards weren’t ready yet, when to an argus private party, and flew hungover…both ways. show went off successfully and the superiors were pleased.

the reason i was hung over on the flight to nyc was the result of a halloween party we had the night before. i went as steven gerrard [but forgot my captain’s armband as an EPL fan pointed out to me].

we had prostitute cops, maverick, a mauled boy scout, ernie els’ caddie, oh and space ghost too. all to be seen in the podcast episode approaching completion.

and now i’m famous.

mat tress organized a volleyball game in wash park in honor of the 70 degree sunday we had the pleasure of enjoying. interested in the record breaking temps, the rocky mountain news sent out a photographer to document what people would ordinarily be doing on a nice day. with the sun in perfect position, and our location away from any shade-giving trees, he thought our group would make the best chance to do just that.

so far no one around the office has done anything with the easily downloadable image from the paper’s website. ole’ ryodine thought i looked like i was “doing a really intense jig.” which, pretty much….i do. the best part was in the time that he spent there, everyone’s game elevated instead of shattered. it actually became a match that didn’t hurt to watch. also, when shooting from atop a cooler down the length of the net, the photographer perfectly captured mat tress stuffing the shit out of me. the only block he happened to have up to that point, i might add. in his defense, he eventually stuffed all of us at least once.

fortunately, i was redeemed by the actual article in the paper. that’s mox’s head. the back of it. and finally, when stopping by my old place of business as a “server” at tambien, i asked to be allowed to take one of the sugar skulls for decorating for the day of the dead and do my own. inspired by damien hirst, i opted for the “bedazzled” look as pointed out by one of the girls. don’t know how many little sequens i used but i put every one of those mother fuckers on by hand. and in a straight line. so far it hasn’t been stolen.

i think we’re close to being caught up.

-rrf

this last week involved a substantial amount of work and consumption…as well as spending. i thought a brief photo essay would encompass most of what i saw and did but some extra explanation is necessary for each happening.

truthfully, there’s not much to say other than, “i still aesoped the fuck outta tha rock.” a great, great performance from one of my absolute favorite artists. from his latest, he performed, keep off the lawn, none shall pass, catacomb kids, dark heart news, bring back pluto and coffee.

midnight madness at the esquire on 6th and downing has proven to be a fantastic film series. previously shown were beetlegeusse, the darjeeling limited, ghostbusters and shaun of the dead. this past weekend featured “daft punk’s electroma.” see the plot summary here. the dynamic and feel of the film is a direct offshoot of the duo’s conceptual designs and dichotomous existence between the human condition and robotic behavior; the filming started shortly after daft’s shooting of two music videos for their latest album. the ultimate conflict within the film shows the two main robot characters trying to achieve a human presentation but without any success. the most interesting part of the theme are the prevailing emotions governing the behavior of the robots. human in their motivation and defeat, they fail to achieve the look of humans and are devastated by the outcome.
to save you the money and considering the unlikely hood that this film will be shown in your area, here are some extra links to clips from the film on youtube: partial of the opening sequence, 3.5 minutes of walking, the burning man [an amazing 3 minute clip]. while there are several more clips on youtube, i’m reluctant to include them. the film doesn’t feature music from daft punk’s commercial albums and the fanboys that have posted these clips thought it a brilliant idea to bastardize the imagery by laying their own soundtrack over it.

at any rate, if you get the chance to see it…i would say go if for no other reason than its limited release.  that and its got robots in it.

-rrf

everyone should be well aware by now about my history in regards to michael jackson’s status on my list of “people of which i have strong opinions.” similar to tom cruise, i supported MJ as long as i possibly could. i even took up defense against some of the most compelling [albeit, far stretched and sometimes vulgar] arguments. i finally had to give in and not support the current station of MJ’s career a few years ago, but all of that defending was not without good reason.  he will always be the king of pop and a performer who’s performances have shaped the landscape of today’s concerts, concepts and rhythms.
therefore it stands to reason that i would be fairly more critical of homages paid to him by other artists. JT isn’t a blatant attributer…i recently saw chris brown’s performance for the ‘07 VMA’s, having not heard anything about it beforehand. after seeing it, i couldn’t believe there was no one that had repeated how incredible it was. interjected into the performance was the choreography from “billy jean” from both the video and previous live performances.

i’m sorry i keep passing on youtube links..it seems lame but this performance is by far the best thing i’ve seen on MTV…probably ever. he’s SO spot on, sharp, crisp. and the kids are damn good as well.

-rrf