Four Years

I finally did it. After 18 long years of school, I have reached, well, sort of the top. I wouldn't have ever guessed in my wildest dreams that I'd be here. I knew I would have to go through all this school to make something out of my life, that's just the nature of the beast, but I didn't think I'd take this route.

Four years ago when I was applying to colleges, I had every intention of becoming a nurse. It was easy money, I'd have health insurance, and it was easy money. I didn't get into any of the college I applied to for nursing. A letter in the mail came from the art school at Rutgers, Mason Gross. It said it was not too late for me to send in my portfolio. Too be honest, I was going to accept my fate, but I talked to my dad, and he said that it couldn't hurt. I sent in my work and waited a long month. I had no girlfriend anymore, all my friends were going to college, and I had to wait.

I didn't choose art, I art chose me. I don't want to sound cocky and say I'm amazing, but I was given this skill set for a reason I suppose. I mean I wasn't ever good at anything else at school except for socializing anyway. I took the leap. I took the chance, and here I am now. I have no regrets. Why should I? In the end I did what I wanted to do and answered to no one. Even without job security, I went into this field know that I had to make something for myself. That no one was going to give me anything. That numbers and grades didn't matter, but the quality of work I put out did. The work ethic that I would give myself to put out piece after piece would eventually define me.

No disrespect for anyone that sits in front of a computer, but as a person who sits in front of a computer already 18 hours out of the day, I don't think I could do that. This degree, this moment allows me to do whatever I want to do without having to make sure it fulfills the standards for an A, or if my spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct. I did this because I would be able to do what I wanted to do, not what anyone else wanted to me do.

I can get a job, I have to. I can make money. Money is always nice. But in the end I want to put out the work I know I can put out. Money will come just as fast as it goes. I'll try not to make it primary, but of course. It will help me get the things I need to do the things I want to do of course, but I won't let how much I make define me.

Four years is a long time. I used to think it wasn't. The past four years I've learned more about myself than I could have ever thought up. You can't write a life up like this. I've been surrounded by the greatest people a person can associate with. I have a loving family and great friends to help see me through the rest of the way. When it was getting towards the end, I used to think that I would be alone after this. Truth is I'm not. I got everyone behind me, pushing me, and I will forever and always be indebted to them.

Rutgers University. Thanks for the memories. Thanks for the friends. Thanks for the ride. It's been fun, it's been great. They say money can't buy happiness, but it indirectly does. College was the time of my life.

Photographers that I love

Gregory Crewdson

Matthew Barney

Erwin Olaf

More Lauren Young

Every time I go check this blog, I see her image. Ugh So I'll bring you a video courtesy of Jacques

Oh Hello

Saw this beauty in a video by Jacques. Her name is Lauren Young. I must see more of her

All These Gaps

I;ve been really bad about blogging. I've been so busy.

Will come back strong after the school year is over.

Sorry about That

I didn't intend to go this long without a post. It might be due to that fact that I haven't had anything to blog about, or I've been swamped. But seeing how I don't do much anyway, it's not the latter.

I wanted to blog about fast foods. So I might. This blog might be void of any pictures which sucks. There are two fast food joints around me. Wendy's and Burger King. Both are cheap as dirt, but both are very, very different.

Wendy's Crispy Chicken is GOOD. Burger King's, not so much. Burger King trumps Wendy's in the JR. burger game. Burger Kings charcoal flavoring will beat any JR. burger.

What Wendy's has on top of Burger King is the awesome Double Stack. If BK puts that out, it will be ace.

Now I know I didn't mention McDonald's. That's because there isn't one close to me. But when it comes to good ol' Mickey D's. They rule with their Chicken nuggets. They beat both Wendy's and BK. I don't know why, maybe it's what they fry it in, or maybe because it's made of "real" chicken. They're snack wraps are WAY better than Wendy's too. I'm a fan of the Mac Wrap myself.

Anyway. Maybe I'll edit this and add photos. Til then Have a Happy St. Patty's Day.

Buicks Are Gudda

Tiger Woods is (was) sponsored by Buick. Tiger Woods is a player (literally and figuratively), but owning a Buick you are one too. That's the thing about these majestic pieces of metal. They are awesome. Now I don't know much about cars, but I know what I like, and the Buick, any model before they started getting way too fancy, like Lexus fancy, is awesome.

Today, as I was walking back home from class, this old guy was backing up out of his driveway. He was in a Buick. As I got behind him, he stopped on a dime. I kind of wish he hadn't because it would have been an honor to be hit by his vehicle. Double the fact that the old man driving it had a fedora on, and I'm pretty sure he was dressed ill too, it would have just made it all the more awesome. Old men drive Buicks, and old men are awesome.

Every time I see a Buick I think that the guy driving it has his life in order. Not a lot of people drive Buicks. They don't think they are cool enough. But when I see a dude in one, I think "That guy doesn't mess around. He chose that stallion to ride and he's sticking with it. Get the fuck out of his way". Buick is regal. Bosses drive Buicks. Fuck Mercedes, Lexus, and BMW.

Bros drive bimmers, women drive Lexus, and Mercedes aint worth the trouble. If you have heavy nuts, or you're a bad ass chick, you hop in a Buick and people stop to let you cross the street.

See this Roadmaster. It's name says it all. Yeah undercovers might roll around in this whip, and that's sick. If I had this, I'd want every mother fucker to slow down and be careful that I'm not an undercover either. It scares people. This is the model that I almost got hit by.


Station wagons are sick regardless of the brand. This station wagon is a station wagon about all station wagons because it is a Buick. Fuck yeah it has wood side paneling. It's not anything to pussy foot around with though. It's a land yacht. It makes excuses for no one, and if a neighborhood knows this bad boy lives on the block it gives it extra space for parking. Shit it deserves to have a drive way. Not because it's big, but because it doesn't fuck around.


And the Buick Grand. Vin Diesel made this kitty purr in Fast and the Furious. It is sick. I don't know how else to fucking describe it.

My Oldest Brother

I have to older brothers, both of which I can talk to about different things. I have Arnel, my 23 going on 24 year old brother, who I can talk about all things nerdy from comics, to toys, to video games, to porn and hell even to girls. And then I have my oldest brother Eric. He's 28 and I can talk to him about sports, popular cultures, women, relationship problems, food, movies, music and of course clothing. And because this is more of my personal fashion/style blog, I'm going to discuss the latter brother's impact on my style choices, as well as my personal relationship with him. It's an homage I suppose. This takes nothing away from Arnel though as I love and appreciate both of my brothers equally. Eric has affected both of our style choices throughout the years so this is a dedication to him.

Eric was born in late late 1981, I was born mid 1988, we're six and a half years apart, and I'm six and a half inches taller than him (depending on the shoes). Due to the age difference, when we were younger, he was going through his "I'm a teenager, I do what I want" phase, while I was going through my "toys, video games, scraping my knees" phase. Regardless of the age difference, a tell-tale sign of us being brothers was me wanting to do things like him. Mainly in regards to dress, and also in the womanizing area.

Eric moved in with my grandparents early into his high school life based on certain events, so that kind of killed a lot of brother relationship that we'd catch up on, but even when he lived an hour and a half away, we were connected by style. He was going through a ghetto phase. He wore big pants, timberland boots, bubble vests, and fitted hats. Basically looking like 50 cent or a member of Dipset. And because he did that, I did that too. He was popular, he was cool and had friends. I wanted to be those things too. It worked. Plus hip hop was really big then, and everyone did I guess.

As the years went on, he went to college and got more Abercrombied out. This is an area of my brother's style that seemed to not match mine. Granted I was getting his hand-me-downs still, I didn't quite really get into the bro/frat scene. My area of style that didn't match what my brother was doing was my "scene/emo" fashion, which in retrospect was pretty retarded. My last year of high school and first year of college style was pretty dumb actually. I blame girls, and music. Girls and music. But anyway.

Before the whole scene phase I had, Eric started working in high-end retail stores. Specifically Dolce&Gabbana. He started reading GQ, he started giving a damn how he looked pretty much. More now than ever. And this came towards the advent of the "metrosexual", I know he hates that word, but when that word came about, there was no way really to describe him other than "metrosexual". People try and use that word now, but it's stupid and doesn't have the same effect as it did in 2003. But yeah, that's when I stopped wearing jeans four sizes too big for me, and shirts three feet longer than than should be. I went more fitted, granted if I can pull pictures up from that time, I looked sort of stupid. I tried doing my hair like him too. If he wasn't rocking a shaved head like he does now, he did something. Faux-hawk.

I want to skip the whole scene phase I went through because it's pretty embarassing, but there was an area where Eric got really big into sneakers, so I did too. I spent a lot of money I didn't really have on sneakers. I mean he could afford it, he had a job. I had a silly after school job that pretty much went to retarded colored clothing and sneakers. But even when Eric was working at SCOOP NYC, and I was doing dumb emo things like wearing make up, I still saw what he wore and still thought it was cool, and wanted to wear stuff like he did, but I had a girlfriend. And you know. That flew out the window.

So Eric got a job working for Antenna Magazine. He got all this cool stuff, so he shared the wealth. He was rocking Crooks and Castles, and 10 Deep. So I did too. I mean maybe it was because of his job that he did, and maybe he liked it too. He got more shoes, and I got more shoes. He wore fitted hats. I wore fitted hats. It was like follow the leader, or Simon says. But thanks to Mad Men, and the boom boom boom in vintage clothing, and more awareness of fashion photo bloggers like the Sartorialist, Eric's style changed. Clean and cut, the new gentleman.

He has the money to dress as cool as he does. He wants me to dress cool too and will help me out on certain pieces, but because I don't have a full-time job, I can't be as cool. While he sits more on the new gentleman side, I am more on the Buschwick Neo-hipster side. Although, I'd rather just say fuck it and wear suits all the time. I'm still in school and am a hands on student, so I can't get my slacks too dirty. But anyway, I'm digressing.

I actually really don't know where this blog turned. In the end it's an appreciation for my brother's style choices, and how if I had the bankroll to do the same, I would. I mean I don't want to be his clone or anything, but if I lost 30 pounds, I could start wearing his clothes. Don't really know how that's possible considering our height difference, but still.

This is my brother in the white blazer. I don't know who the other schmucks are, but I guess they have reason to have their photo taken.


My brother works with a lot of streetwear dudes, and this is from Slate at the MH booth. He's dressed up, he means business. He could be wearing a t-shirt, fitted hat, and sneakers, but he's not trying to push a clothing line. He's hustling. People take you seriously when you don't look like an asshole.


This is Eric at Christmas. I wore a sports coat, jeans and wingtips, he decides to wear a suit. I ain't mad at that, but I was on point and he was just a point or two better.


I don't know who's wedding this is, I'm not sure if I was alive. But here is Eric in a tuxedo. maybe my dad picked it out. It has tails. It's cool. I don't know how often people would wear tails nowadays when getting a tux, but you can see the swagger being emitted, even at a young age.


Ok maybe style just runs in my family, but after my dad got all fat, and my mom got all slouchy, someone had to carry the torch, and Eric took it upon himself to do that. Sometimes we steal my dad's old clothes because he can't fit in them anymore.


Eric is my brother and best friend. He dresses cool, has a cool job and lives in a cool area in Jersey City. We both come from a working-class family, we're both hustlers. He's pretty much helped me to wear I am now. When I get rich and famous, I guess I can start carrying him on my back.

When I talk about my love for video games and stuff, Arnel's homage will be next.

I wish things were cheaper again

Went through old news papers and saw this ad for a shoe. Granted I don't know anything about the brand, or the making of shoes themselves, but the price always seemed too good to be true. Granted that 20 dollars was a lot back in the 60s, where this ad comes from, and with inflation the price would be the price of shoes now, still, looking at 20 dollars for shoes is so sweet. If I had a time machine I would go back to the 50s and 60s and load up on everything. Bad scan but if you enlarge the picture you can read the shoes description.

Photo Front

I figured I should litter my blog more with photos. so here are more recent ones. You can see the full sized versions at my flickr.

When Vices Were Virtues

While I was bored at work I decided to go through old news papers. And by newspapers I mean the school news paper. I wanted to see what kind of photos were in there, and what the people were wearing back then. Because I wasn't able to get a good scan of any of the film, I looked at the ads. I was looking at the Rutgers Targum back in 1954, and instead of just seeing old college history, I saw sweet old cigarette and beer ads.

The 50's seemed really cool, y'know? People cared how they looked, people smoked and drank freely, it was cooler than the 60's. The only thing I can't really get down with is that I probably wouldn't even be allowed to go to school in America. Remember the whole segregation deal? But if you can look passed that, you'll see that the 50's were pretty sweet. Just watch Mad Men or The Animated Bat Man series where it seems like it takes place in the 50's.

I just absolutely love that these vices were advertised in college newspapers. I mean, I know EVERYONE was smoking, and this probably came way before all the bad stuff came out about cigarettes, but still. These ads are a lot cooler than the ones I see in the school news paper nowadays.

Off Season Football

First off, let me give my congrats to the Saints and the city of New Orleans for their first Superbowl ever. In a way it was a win-win for the Manning family. And with that, I would like to say fuck you to both teams for boring me to tears with the performances they put on the field. But with that being said, thank you to the Steelers and Giants, champions of the past for giving me two back to back excellent games. Mayb

The trophy for the Superbowl is called the Vince Lombardi Trophy. I don't think that does him enough justice. I mean Bill Belichick could have tied the record or IS it a record, so would you have to maybe think of renaming the trophy to the Bill Belichick Trophy? That thought seems redundant, but what I am trying to get at is that to honor Vince I was spoiled and expected better. Now off to my point.e Lombardi and coaches of the past properly, LET COACHES NOW WEAR SUITS. I'm sorry that REEBOK or NIKE don't make suits so that you won't be making any money from licensing, but I'm pretty sure you can hit up Van Heusen or Joseph Abboud and strike up some deal with them to tailor suits for NFL coaches. I mean there are 32 teams, that's only 32 suits, that's less tailoring than an Indian Wedding. THINK ABOUT IT GOODELL.

With suits, the coaches wear team pins and NFL pins. YOU CAN SELL THOSE PINS AT ANY SPORTS STORE! People will by pins. Everyone loves pins. Do you know how classy the side lines will look with guys like Sean Payton or Ken Whisenut running up and down in suits. Screaming curse words and kicking dirt? Look at it this way, the NBA coaches wear suits and they look like fine, stand-up guys. I mean you might need to make EXTRA big suits for guys like Rex Ryan or Tom Cable, but William Taft was a big dude and he was PRESIDENT of the USA for crying out loud. You'll find suits for big guys, don't worry.

When Mike Nolan was coach for the SF 49ers and I think for two weeks he wore a suit, and he was fined by the NFL. Seriously. He was trying to do YOU guys a favor and you fined him. Cool.
This screams tough. Granted the suit might be a tad bit too big, but it screams out bad ass. He's a defensive minded coach too. It's like getting your ass kicked by a guy in a suit. Do you know how cool it is to fight in a suit? I mean, it looks really cool in my head, and in movies. It would look just as fly on the sidelines.

Coaches of yesteryear have looked so fly. So fly it puts most dudes to shame. Vince Lombardi. Just look at him. He's probably thinking "Look at me coach my way to a fucking championship looking dapper as fuck. Oh, in a few years a fat dude will be wearings a sweater vest and a white turtle neck (Rex Ryan). Fuck that". I mean sure you'd need a restriction on how to wear suits. Like a number of buttons, pin stripes, can't be pastel, the lapels need to be a certain width, and so on, just to prevent it from looking like a ghetto prom, but it will be good. It will be extra good for the sport.

The NBA has it's players before and after games in business wear, after games the NFL has the players in business wear. Have the coaches who represent a billion dollar company within a trillion dollar industry wear suits. I can't take a dude seriously who is dressed up like a dad who coaches a Little League Team. THINK NFL.


"Don't think about any gatorade shower you little shits"


So NFL, if you really want to honor Mr. Lombardi, make it a rule that the head coaches need to wear suits. The offensive and defensive guys not so much because they are either in booths or no one really cares, but a Head Coach, next to some of his players are the face of the franchise. Seriously, it would be so fucking cool.

Clarks Wallabees

I don't know the color. Probably a browns beeswax-ish type. It doesn't bother me too much, I paid $2.50 cents from them at the Salvation Army.

I go through phases where I will wear a certain pair of shoes/boots/sneakers for about a month or so. And while it doesn't seem all that unusual, if you were to see the amount of footwear I have, you'd understand. Up until January, I was wearing these vintage knockoff Red Wing boots, but when I got back to my apartment in New Brunswick, I decide to give the Wallabees a little bit of action on the track.

I know this isn't some new revelation or anything, anyone who has a pair of Wallabees can tell you the same thing (especially Ghost Face Killah), but have you ever walked on clouds? Yeah, that's what these feel like. Some people may not agree, but god the crepe sole on these bad boys is to die for. Aesthetically, I like Clarks desert boot more, mainly because I stopped wearing square toed shoes in freshmen year, and after I realized Sketchers and Diesel Shoes weren't cool anymore. But these are awesome, a classic.

I have a heavy foot. Actually I would like to think I have uneven legs do to shitty posture, so when I walk the left side of my shoe fades down, and because I'm flat foot, the balls of my feet on the sole of the shoe start to fade as well. I have been wearing these Wallabees for a good 3 weeks straight now and to my surprise the crepe has been holding up pretty well. So well in fact that I decided to give my chocolate suede ones a ride too. I'm wearing them right now. I don't need to wear my Dr Scholl's inserts in them because they just feel that comfortable when I stand and walk around. And they also give off the illusion that I am two inches taller than I actually am. I've worn them around my family and I feel like a giant next to them.

Seriously, the only knock I can find on these guys is that when I step on a crack or uneven cement on a side walk my ankle will turn in. And I know that should be like a MAJOR thing to worry about, but it's not like it happens all the time. It's more when I'm running. Oh yeah another thing, don't run in these things unless you're trying to get mugged for them, or while in them. These shoes are supposed to make you feel like Jesus and that you're walking on water. There's only a few times where you get to feel like Jesus, and when you have these shoes on, it's one of them.

I prefer the ankle length one. The ones that drop below and look more like no show socks with a plat form I'll say no to. And I'd suggest people say no to as well. I don't know my reasoning for it. Maybe it's the ankle thing, but you get the point. I'll probably never spend full price on them only because I was spoiled greatly by the price I got them for at the Salvation Army. I got my second pair for half off retail too. So yeah. I'm laying in bed wearing these. They have become like slippers.

Dating a Porn Star

Would you? A common question I ask amongst my male friends, and my answer is, I would. I would totally date a porn star. But not just any porn star, but Tori Black. Maybe Stoya as well because she fill my archetype of the type of female I am attracted to, but more specifically Tori Black. Why her you ask? Because Tori Black does not look like your normal porn star. You might be able to find a handful of women in the industry that don't look like your average porn star, but you might not find one that looks like she belongs in the Miss USA pageant.

Tori Black is gorgeous. She is a terrific performer, yes I say performer, and if she wasn't in this specific area of film, she could do Hollywood film based on her looks alone. There are plenty of A-list actresses getting by on their looks alone (Megan Fox), so I don't see where the argument should be if she could act or not. The mass majority of people would find Tori Black attractive, even if they knew what her profession was. Her beauty has you look passed what she's doing.

Jeff Koons was married to a porn star and he put out some of his best work at the time. Her fucking other dudes on camera had no effect on the work he put out. She was his muse. I'm not saying I would date Tori Black for my own personal goals, but it would be nice to have my own personal Venus de Milo. But a hotter one. Andy Warhol's muse was a whore (Edie Sedgewick), she was boning Bob Dylan, and that effected him. (Now while that might not be 100% true, based on the movie Factory Girl, he was all pissy about it). Why because her fucking wasn't emotionally detached. Which lays out the most important thing about dating a pornstar.

All the fucking that they do is emotionally detached. And it's not like they are fucking EVERYDAY. They fly out to L.A., home of the porn, shoot three scenes, make three thousand smackers, and go back home and chill. Granted they might do that 3 to four times a month, but still, it's not EVERYDAY. Plus, the guys in porn are slim, it's not like she's fucking every John Doe who manages to keep it up for 20+ minutes. It's strictly business. Beej here, missionary, doggy, cowgirl, reverse cowgirl, sideways and money shot. No intimacy, no nothing. And because she's a performer, it's not like she MEANS the things she says like "fuck my pussy harder" or "I love your big dick in me". It's all a front.

The other thing about Tori Black is that she's no racist. I've seen her bang plenty of black dudes in her earlier days, so it's not like she has anything against skin color. I'm brown, might not be hung like Cockzilla, but still, there is a slight hope that she might be attracted to me as well. They say that when you do interracial, you're not worth as much in the porn industry, but in my heart you are. In my heart, you are. So what she's been impaled worse than some of Vlad the Impaler's foes. So what if her eyes get wide at the sight of an 8 inch soft wiener. Wouldn't yours? It's all business.

Dating a porn star, you know they are about the emotional aspect of it as well. They aren't dating you because you are ripped and have a big schlong. They get those dudes during their 9-5. The time they are with you is for the emotional and mental comforting. And it's not like they WON'T fuck you. They probably will, and it will mean more because the love is there. You know? That emotional chemistry. For once during their week, they can have normal sex. They don't need to take a giant load to the face. And they'll be glad that the sex doesn't have to last more than 15 minutes to meet a time goal. But it's all emotional. She might fuck other dudes but it's not cheating. Plus if you knew she was fucking other dudes before you started dating her, it wouldn't be cheating anyway. It's when she gets an emotional attraction to someone else is when she's cheating. See Cyclops and Emma Frost.

But back to Tori Black. She's amazing to look at, has a killer smile, and a body to die for. So what if she might get implants down the line. She'd be doing it to reach a broader audience. And because she's a porn star, she'll mainly be recognized by guys, and because she's not in the Hollywood business it's not like she would be recognized right away. So you wouldn't have to worry about getting too much attention when you are out with her. And what I'd keep in mind is that just because she fucks a lot on camera, doesn't mean she'd fuck any dude off camera. So worrying about attractive dudes trying to scoop her up at a bar would be silly. She gets paid to get with guys like that, why would she do it for free? Plus I have an amazing personality, I don't see why a girl would want to leave that for some dude who looks like a guy she works with.

I mean just look at that smile. How can that not make your heart melt?


Look at that body. Granted I am not a big fan of the decal on the bath suit, it's not what I'm ONLY paying attention too.


She cleans up well. This might not be your prototypical dress you'd see during the evening gown section of the Miss USA pageant, but you know if she wanted to, she could KILL it.


Oh she fucks on camera for a living? Looks like your average college student to me.


Tori Black is also my age and 3 months younger than me. So what she's 21 and doing porn. When did you start having sex? So what she's fucked a lot of guys. How many girls do you know that have fucked a lot of guys, and not for professional reasons either? She's good at what she does. She seems like she'd be a terrific date, and that I could make her laugh. Oh she was also 2010 AVN Female Performer of the Year. If it so happens she wants to give you more than just your regular love making, she could give you the time of your life. AND I'd be able to be her date to next years AVNs. People would be like "Damn Alan, you got the hottest porn star girlfriend". and I'd be like, "Thanks, bro".

Miss Black, I salute you. And if by some chance you google your name and this blog post comes up and you read it. Shoot me an e-mail. I live close to NYC which is better than L.A. anyway, and I wouldn't mind at all accompanying you to L.A. to shoot any scenes. I think you're swell.

Last Night's Party

Once you've seen one Merlin Bronques' photo you've seen them all right? He seems to be THE party photographer, not taking anything away from Driven By Boredom. Bronques photos go beyond the NYC hipster night life and into cities all over the world. Granted they might all be the same photo different person, but there is something about it that makes me keep checking his site out.

I for one am more of a fan of his Drive-By series where it is shot with film, and granted they look like everything Terry Richardson will shoot, there is something still alluring about it. Maybe it's the titties, maybe it's the choice of his emaciated models. I don't know. But when I look at the titties I see coming from Driven By Boredom, or any party photo site for that matter, I think trash. Not like purposely done trash, but trying to avoid looking trashy trash. Meanwhile Bronque stuff looks a little more raw, like he's aware of the trashiness, but because of some of the natural light, he's aware that it won't be TOO trashy. I like titties by the way.

He's probably aware of the skills and techniques of photography, but with his style he knows that he doesn't need it. I really can't get over his Drive-By Series. My favorite one is this. Maybe it's the fact that in part of the series, he has the nude model just kind of show off her lack of, or small breasts in a New York City street, or maybe because both parties don't really care. I'm not sure.

I've also noticed that once my blogs reach a certain point, and I haven't made my point yet, I get tired and start rushing it. Whatever. I would have posted some of the pix as an example, fuck it. I just will. These aren't my photos.

LastNightsParty.com

Put it away, Pharrell

I for one am all about the mustache. I think the black man looks good with a mustache. There are certain things that black men can pull off that no one else really can. That is a bald head (see Michael Jordan) and a mustache (see Carl Weathers).

Pharrell has been praised for his style/fashion choices. I might not be a fan of his clothing line, but sometimes I'll see decent pieces and I'll even have to give it up to him. Now there is nothing wrong with what he's wearing, but once you see his shoes, you'd agree with me that there are certain things that even a black man can't pull off. Moon boots.

I mean, moon boots are cool if you are a Hot Topic frequenter, you attend raves and have a plurspace. But other than that, moon boots are never cool. You're not Napoleon Dynamite. You know what. fuck it. I can't even talk about this anymore. I'm just disgusted that Pharrell ruined a decent outfit with atrocity on his feet. He should know that shoes can definitely make or break an outfit. In this case, over and over and over and over again, no matter who you are. It definitely breaks.


Photos from Hypebeast, by Karl Hab.

Mister Mort is better than The Sartorialist

The link to his website is on the right hand side.

I'm not writing this blog because he happens to be a friend of my brother, or because I am trying to get into his good graces. I am writing it because his stuff is better than that of the Sartorialist. Now while they may photography two different things, essentially they are all the same. Mr. Scott Schuman goes around taking pictures of what he perceives to be very well-dressed people. Mister Mort goes around and takes pictures of people with great articles of clothing on. The beauty of Mister Mort's models is that they are usually old dudes, and we all know that old dudes wear the sickest shit. For instance, this old dude. He looks like an Old Sherlock Holmes still kickin' it. I mean I could only hope to dress well as this dude. And if I did, it would because I would have bought his stuff from the local Goodwill store after his passing.

A long time ago the Sartorialist used to take pictures of cool people in New York City. Suddenly, homeboy is the biggest thing since sliced bread and he's off in Australia taking pictures of people in swimming trunks that us people here in the cold could give two shits about. It's like, "Cool bro, we have hundreds of people g'd up from the feet up and here you are taking pictures of half naked men and women proclaiming that they are dressed well". That's what made me sick. Everyone knows that fall and winter are the best times to dress because of the different ways of layering. But there that dick is taking pictures of people half naked.

Another thing that I used to admire the Sartorialist for during my naive days was thinking that his photos were merely just like "Hey can I take a picture of you"? Kanye West ruined that for me when he was like "I never had someone take a picture of me and tell me to pose a better way for lighting". This is coming from Kanye West who's posed for magazines a million times before. What an idiot. And another thing. The Sartorialist goes and takes pictures of celebrities like Kanye West. Of course Kanye West dresses well. With the money he has he can have TWO stylists.

But back to Mister Mort. I like the way he goes about things because dude sees articles of clothing people are wearing and seems to be like "yo I like your sweater, can I take a picture of it"? And from what I've heard he doesn't carry around a Canon 5D and ask people to walk around a building for a better lit shot. I men nice and simple is the key. Runways and fashion magazines make for the nicely lit shot. The streets is where it's supposed to look casual, candid and chill. I digress though. The article of clothing stuff. For example,this sweater.

If you just go on MisterMort.com you'll agree with me. The photos he takes is just like "yo picture"? and they almost always seem to be normal people, or just people with the illest shit on that makes you want to go thrifting to find at least one of the pieces you saw on the website. Hell, it might even make you want to kill your old man just to inherit his clothing collection. But my favorite is the perceived realness of the photos and how the people wear and look in the clothing.

Look at this guy, if I didn't know any better I would think he was a bum, the clothing rack in the back makes me think otherwise, but it doesn't take away from what the dude is wearing. If homie was in Washington Square Park I would think he was a bum. The best dressed bum I have seen in my life. There seems to be nothing really sartorial about him at all, just a dude wearing what he likes photographed by someone who appreciates the article of clothing.

Mister Mort, if you're reading this. The Sartorialist sucks and your website is better and more interesting than his. Even if you don't update as frequently.

And on a plus side, homie has me wanting to wear camo pants again.

*pictures from http://www.mistermort.com

Can't be taken seriously with a point and shoot

Now I understand that Mr. Terry Richardson has been making a career off of point and shoot photo ads for major magazines and clothing lines, but I am not Terry Richardson. This isn't an angsty blog about how people won't respond when I try out my party pictures with a point and shoot instead of a DSLR. This is a blog about how people respond better when they have 3 pounds of metal and plastic pointed and focused in their face.

Bringing around my camera has lead me to meet some of my closest friends but when I bring out my camera, I can't do what everyone else is doing. Getting completely trashed. So when I put it away, I went for something more conventional and brought around a smaller, more convenient Canon point and shoot. Needless to say, aesthetically I got the same results as every other party photographer, but when it came to photographing strangers at parties, I would get less of a response.

Point and shoots are pretty intimate. Regular people carry them around and at parties they take pictures of their own friends. Not strangers or anything else, but the group of people they are with. I found this happening to me, and it's a good way to organize my night, and piece certain things together, but my bigger camera was what lead to my "popularity". Well, at least given in the "hipster" sub-culture in New Brunswick.

Now I'm thinking, "maybe I can just start bringing around my weight again", but I'm also graduating, and I don't want to worry about damaging my equipment, and I don't want to be just like everyone else at parties in New York. So what might be the next best thing?

The Canon G10. Fuck the G10. I like resolution. I want to see every single pixel. I don't care for high ISO or a swivel screen. Plus I'll probably but a flash on this bad boy. Now this all requires money. But the G10 isn't your normal point and shoot. It has manual controls, which I love, AND it has a hot shoe for flashes. A flash alone on the camera makes it serious, and people will be more responsive to me taking pictures. Plus it will scores some points with minor originality. I know people walk around with their G10 and take party pix, but they go about it the dumb way and have stupid lens converters on them. With the wide angle and telezoom on this bad boy you don't need any stupid converters.

All I'll need is this, a used canon speedlite and then I'll be good. I can put it around my neck or in my pocket. I don't have to worry about people spilling beer on it and I can leave my workhorse of a camera home for studio shit, or when I'm going out with the INTENT to shoot. but in the mean time, I could just lug the G10 around and use that for random moments or parties. Done.

Maybe you're thinking "But Alan, isn't the Canon S90 a lot smaller and more convenient and have the same manual controls as the G10"? Yes. But the hot shoe plays the biggest part in the party photog scene. The S90, while it is a superior camera in terms of convenience, it lacks the strobing versatility that the G series offers. They are both the same price, and I can so SO much further with the G10 in terms of what I want to do. So there you have it.

This doesn't mean I don't love my Nikon DSLR, I just don't want motherfuckers "accidently" getting their booze all up in the nooks and crannies of it. And Canon makes better pocket size cameras anyway. I still love you though , Nikon.

Update On The Photo Front

I really should start planning out my photo shoots instead of just snapping pictures. But I'm more about energy and less about concept I guess. These are just two of my more recent ones.

flickr.com/alanedward

Twilight

I have never watched the movies, nor do I have any plans of watching them in the future, I just have a crush on one particular female in the series. She plays the glittery Ed Cullen's sister, I don't know her character's name but I know she is Ashley Greene. I know this not by the movies, again. I know this because of the wonderful thing called the internet and the wonderful invention of webcams.

Ashley Greene got a little too trustworthy with on ichat and decided to send her n00dz or I guess dance n00d. But anyway, they got out. I'm not here to show you what her tits and airgina look like, you can do that yourself. I'm here to simply talk about my appreciation for the physical aesthetics of this woman. Now I've seen how they did her up in Twilight and can I add that they made her look like an asshole. I mean she's still gorgeous though, but she looks like a complete dickhead. Fuck the costume director of that movie.

I don't care that her septum looks deviated all to hell, there is something about her. She is like a youthful Kate Moss or something. But enough of my banter. I think this photo is from Interview Magazine. Andy Warhol does something right even in his grave.

Lets Talk Awesome

And by awesome, I mean this vest.


This isn't Mary McFly's vest. It is my dad's. From possibly way before he had kids. I just got off the phone with him and asked him it's age and he said possibly late 70's or early 80's. He owns a lot of clothes and he's getting old so it's understandable that he doesn't know how old it is anymore, but still. Of all the great things I have taken from my dad that no longer fits him, this is the best.

I remember when I first discovered it in high school, I had no idea what to wear it with. It didn't seem to match with anything I owned so my appreciation for it was never really there. I'm not saying Back to the Future started anything with it, but as my style has changed, I've learned to value it more. It's so sick really. Sometimes I'll just want to wear it while laying in bed or washing dishes. It's so cool. And to me it doesn't seem novelty at all, and I know I'm not gonna see some turd on Lafayette Street rockin' the same thing. Even though I don't care about exclusivity and all, it's just nice to know that I'm the only bad mother fucker in SoHo.

Anyway, this piece is awesome, and of course I'm gonna rock it like Marty McFly with the denim jacket under it. Wouldn't you? I need some new booths with this mother fucker though.

Class of 2010

It's finally sinking in that when I return to school for the Spring 2010 semester that it will be my last semester of my collegiate life. It is kind of surreal, you know? Honestly, I can remember the day I first stepped foot on campus. My girlfriend at the time had just been picked up by her parents around 10pm the day before and I was so nervous that I didn't sleep at all. I paced up and down my block chain smoking whatever cigarettes I had bummed off of people. I was all packed up in an assortment of cardboard boxes and giant black garbage bags.

To think that in the Fall of 2006 I was a freshmen and that in the Spring of 2010 I will be leave really scares me. I understand that four years isn't a lot, but in those four years two of my favorite sports teams won the championship in their respective leagues, and I saw a black man become president. Never in my life could I have dreamed the things that have occurred in college. If you told me when I was graduating high school the things that I would do when I got to college, I would have laughed in your face. It's amazing how much has happened in 1,460 days. The people I've met, the relationships I have built have made more of a lasting impression then those that I had in high school.

The adult world scares me. I won't have health insurance, I might not be able to find a stable job, and I'll be away from the people that I have become close with. Granted I am not that far away, but I am not as easily accessible as I am currently. I can say that I'm scared. I am not trying to hide anything. But I will not let me being scared effect how I go about my life. Maybe scared might not be the best word to use, intimidated is better. If I can kick down the door to the real world like I did college, I will be fine. I'm banking on it. I trust myself to be able to do it. Four years felt like an eternity, but I have to say what's up to the rest of my life.