Design software

As a graphic designer, this is pretty much all the software I use on my Mac to do my work. Back in the day I used QuarkXpress, but that's been replaced now with InDesign. And of course Macromedia's Dreamweaver/Flash/Fireworks products got bought out by Adobe, so...

• Adobe InDesign
  
• Adobe Illustrator
  
• Adobe Photoshop
  
• Adobe Dreamweaver
  
• Adobe Flash
  
• Adobe Fireworks
  
• Adobe Bridge
  
• Adobe Acrobat
  
• Firefox

Monopoly much?

White Rock Coffee

White Rock Coffee is one of my favorite places in Dallas--that's actually where I'm at right now, typing on my netbook using the free WiFi connection. Located near the northeast side of the lake past Flagpole Hill on Northwest Hwy. Here's what I like about the place:

• They roast their beans in-house (pictured @ right center)
• They sell the house espresso beans for a reasonable $13/pound
• They pull shots with a manual espresso machine, not an automatic unit
• The nicely shaded patio is dog-friendly
• They're an independent coffee house, not a national chain

Centre

Centre is a sneaker and streetwear shop in Dallas--more specifically, at Mockingbird Station--that I hit up yesterday afternoon. Very cool little shop, you can tell it's run by some serious heads in the know. Check that single speed hanging from the ceiling, even got the deep V's on it. This place is just dripping with hipness.

www.gotocentre.com

Today's dig

Results from today's dig at the record store:

• Kurtis Blow - Tough (1982)
• Lenny Kravitz - Let Love Rule 12" single (1989)
• The Crusaders - Scratch (1974)
• The Emotions - Come Into Our World ( 1979)
• Pointer Sisters - So Excited (1982)
• Johnny Mathis - You Light Up My Life (1978)
• Jefferson Starship - Red Octopus (1975)
• Emerson, Lake & Powell (1986)
• Kristen Barry - Man of the Year (1996)

So much music to flip it's not even funny. Well, except that last one, but I'll hold onto it because I don't have much 10" vinyl, odd size. Oh and that Kurtis Blow album, woo--old school fire right there.

I am a

• graphic designer by trade
  
• illustrator when I can get the work
  
• Mac user since the early 90s
  
• weekend musician just for fun
  
• vinyl record digger and collector
  
• sneaker head obsessed with Adidas
  
• off-roader with a beat up Jeep
  
• cyclist for the exercise and enjoyment
  
• cigar aficionado cuz I gotta have a vice
  

Kamaal the Abstract

Seriously, I cannot believe I got this record. I mean it just shouldn't exist. This was supposed to be the second solo album from Q-Tip (of A Tribe Called Quest) and shoulda come out 2001-ish, but since it was so....uh, different from what the label expected, they shelved it. The label expected Tip to give em a hip hop album, but instead he delivered live instrumentation and singing.

Of course, it's been pretty heavily bootlegged over the years, and I've had a digital copy on my iPod for several years now, but getting a bootleg on vinyl just blows my mind. Picked it up from TTL and it looks like they sold out in about a day. Don't know how many were pressed, but probably not a ton.

EDIT (JUNE 28)
Well this is interesting--looks like the album is actually going to get a real release this September by Battery Records, a division of the Zomba Music Group, which is owned by Sony BMG, who also owns Arista Records, the original publisher of the album that decided not to release it back in 2001. Interesting...if they do release it, I guess I'll be buying it yet again, if only to support Q-Tip. I mean, I doubt he saw any money from the bootleg I've already got.

Wu Shirt

It's always a good day when no one lifts the package off your front porch; I always worry about that with UPS deliveries. Anyways, here's the shirt I ordered...check yesterday's Wu-Tang Clan post. I'm lovin' that sleeve detail. Impressive quality shirt.

Bring da Ruckus

Okay, so I ordered a t-shirt last week and UPS tracking says it should hit my steps tomorrow, right? Well, I'm always a bit antsy when ordering stuff online and can't wait for it to show up--guess that's because I like that instant gratification you get when you buy in a store.

But in the meantime, since I have to wait, here's the Wu-Tang Clan:

• Method Man
  
• Ghostface Killah
  
• Inspectah Deck
  
• Raekwon The Chef
  
• Masta Killa
  
• U-God
  
• GZA
  
• RZA
  
• Ol' Dirty Bastard

I'll post up the related t-shirt tomorrow.

Where I work

I'm a Graphic Designer, and this is my office at work. Since I'm a creative type person, I can kinda do some weird and wild decoration. They expect creatives to be weird. Too bad I'm not allowed to paint the walls.

My Project Studio

My creative sandbox--where I go to play, relax, and just have some fun.

Favorite Hip Hop Producers

The men behind the music:

• DJ Premier
  
• Dr. Dre
  
• RZA
  
• Pete Rock
  
• J Dilla/Jay Dee
  
• Madlib
  
• The Bomb Squad (Hank and Keith Shockley)
  
• DJ Jazzy Jeff
  
• Kanye West
  

Sneakers

This is why my closet ain't big enough. I'm not a hardcore sneaker-head, but I do own my fair share of kicks. Mostly I like Adidas Originals and some Nike. I'm also looking to pick up some ALIFE sometime soon. And yeah, I do try to hit up sneaker and streetwear shops, especially when I'm out of town.

But like I said, I'm just into them--and yeah I do wear them. I'm not a hardcore collector.

Favorite Movies

Another list of 9 favorite things--this time it's movies. Not getting real deep here, because my taste in movies ain't all that. I like Sci-Fi and action, preferably together. Natch, this has to do with me being part of the Star Wars generation. I'm pretty sure George Lucas has the rights to my childhood memories.

Favorite Recent Albums

My favorite recent albums--meaning from the past 5-ish years. Some of it might be classic material, and some I might forget about in a year or so, but for right now, this is all stuff that's in regular rotation for me.

• Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens (2007)
  
• Panacea - A Mind on a Ship Through Time (2008)
  
• Restoring Poetry in Music - Cave Drawings (2008)
  
• Jazz Liberatorz - Clin d'oeil (2008)
  
• J Dilla - Donuts (2006)
  
• Lee Fields & The Expressions - My World (2009)
  
• Common Market - Tobacco Road (2008)
  
• Jaylib - Champion Sound (2003)
  
• Madvillain - Madvillainy (2004)
  

Favorite Classic Albums

My favorite classic albums--all old stuff that's stood the test of time with me. Music I listened to back in the day and still listen to today. Nothing else in various passing fads I've been through (grunge, I'm looking at you) makes that cut. So here's my all-time classic list, in no particular order:

• Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (1971)
  
• A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders (1993)
  
• A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory (1991)
  
• De La Soul - Stakes is High (1996)
  
• Donny Hathaway - Live (1972)
  
• Digable Planets - Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) (1993)
  
• Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
  
• Al Green - Let's Stay Together (1972)
  
• Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
  

Places I've Lived

Here are some of the places I've lived. Some urban, some suburban, a little bit of country, and even a 6 square mile island in the middle of the ocean. In order:

• Oxnard, California
  
• Yokosuka, Japan
  
• Midway Islands, Pacific Ocean
  
• Stockton, California
  
• Marshall, Texas
  
• Denton, Texas
  
• Carrollton, Texas
  
• Downtown Dallas, Texas
  
• White Rock Lake, East Dallas, Texas
  

FIRST!

Yup yup, this the first post on the blog. I plan to use this space to spill whatever's on my head at the moment and not put too much thought into it. If you know me, you know what happened last time I was blogging--shit got too complex, ya know? But this time around, I'm gonna try to have fun. So here's a beer for ya, fam. Hope you like where this goes.