My thoughts are with my friends. And one of the ways I can respect them is by working. You can also help by supporting Shane McConkey and Riley Poor
People 'round these parts call me Party Nate, 'cause I'm generally the last to go home. Maybe that's a defense mechanism. I protect myself, at a cost, from lying alone in bed and thinking. But every moment of every day I think about too much.
Anyway, here we are at 4:30 AM, on day 10 of JOSS and once again I'm obsessing. And I needed a break. So here is the team I'm so lucky to have joined this year. Lucky in talent. Work ethic. Creativity. And in the intangibles that make someone, or something, special.
Last year, Ryan Runke set me up to go to Michigan with a John Cavan and couple shreds (Yan Dofin and LNP) for the Rome Snowboards production No Correct Way.
Shots that didn't get published, might as well see the light of day somehow, right?
So that video is, as they say, pretty good. And Ladyhawke should be called Ladyhawte. And speaking of hot, I'm really enamored of the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, It's Blitz!
Two nights before my grandfather died, last summer, I saw Karen Oh, of the aformention Yeahs, play a tiny show at Union Pool. I sat in the corner thinking of my grandfather--one of those odd little moments that will stick in my brain until I'm gone from this world.
A couple weeks back I saw this blog post, by one of the former editors at Gawker. At first I shrugged it off, appreciating the cynicism but the disaffection of it got to me. And I thought, there is another option. Sure, everyone will leave the messy bits and embarrassing hidden life suddenly illuminated by some relative or friend sorting through a pile of unpaid bills, saved scraps and frantically saved pieces of lost love. But there are people who leave another legacy.
I've been reading Under the Volcano for about four months now--so painful and close, still so ridiculously sparkling in its description and language that I can't, or won't, possibly read more than a few pages at a time. And I'm already, barely a hundred pages into it, going back and re-reading passages. I think I already linked to the New Yorker article about the death of Malcolm Lowry. And a sordid tale it is. But this thing he left behind is great and beautiful and has meaning.
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I wrote that a while back, then my friend Erik killed himself. And in the mourning of our friend, I cannot process what it all means. But uncertainty is the currency of my life.
I have memories of the great times with Erik, and I will cherish those more.
I have friends who are still here, and I will savor each moment with them.
I have opportunities in my life, and I will seize the experiences.
I will not live my life, rather I will create a life for myself.
No updates, tons of work on portfolios and the like. I'm in Silverton with Peter, Symms and SImon waiting for it to snow. Also, of note, I'm going to JOSS in Norway and Sweden, and everyone knows I love Sweden. Unfortunately my team from last year disintegrated so this year, I'm with Simon Dumont and Tom Wallisch. Cannot wait!
Peterman.
Dumont.
Signs.
Updated: Forgot to put this photo up. Favorite of the day. Jake, taken by Simon.
