Plastic cutting board.

About a year ago we designated this cutting board as our “onion and garlic” board, leaving our wooden cutting board for everything else. This was a necessary step because I couldn’t stand it anymore when my apples tasted like garlic after slicing them.

Well, this guy is now warped, which makes cutting difficult and dangerous at times. We have another plastic cutting board that took a back seat once this board went into heavy rotation. Looks like it’s his time to shine.

Pearl Jam Ten Club analog membership.

This means that I’m remaining a proud and participating member of the Pearl Jam Ten Club, just switching my membership from the analog option to the digital option. So I’ll still get everything listed below except items listed in the PLUS category.

This was a difficult decision, because I really enjoy sitting with the hard copy of DEEP, and I was hoping to have a record player again someday and breaking out the vinyl. But I’ll allocate the funds to live shows and live the experiences that way. Over the past 21 years the band has given me infinite indelible sonic and visual memories that I always have with me. They live in my bones and in my soul.

See you guys out there in the fall…

ANALOG TENCLUB MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES:
Analog Level $40

– Full Website Access
– Exclusive Streaming Content
– Ten Club Single MP3
– Deep Magazine PDF
– Members-only Contest Eligibility
– Members-only Merch Discount Events
– Access to Members-only Merch
– **Access to Fan Club only Ticket Pre-sales

**You must be an active paid Ten Club member as of the pronounced deadline to be eligible for any current pre-sale opportunity.

PLUS
– Free Bootleg Download- Coupon code listed in “My Membership”
– Limited Edition Vinyl 45 Ten Club Single
– Limited Edition Hard Copy of Deep Magazine
– *Limited Edition Membership Item – This will be something new each year!

Certificate of Appreciation

I received this in 2002, after visiting my friend Phil’s middle school class in the Bronx and speaking with his students about life as a filmmaker.
The first thing that stands out in this memory is the metal detectors and level of security maintained at the school. I grew up attending public school, but we never had this degree of security and law enforcement. In all fairness, the visit was a year after 9/11, but Phil said the school was always like this. It still creeped me out to feel like I was in lockdown.

My talk was mediocre at best. I wasn’t inspiring, but nobody threw anything at me so I must have engaged them enough to tolerate my blathering on about jobs and commercials and movie sets. In the years since that visit I’ve done much better at giving advice about living and working in “the business”.

That afternoon was also my first realization of how screwed up our education system is in this country. Phil showed me the books that the students used (and often shared), which were mostly tattered, and also informed me that the teachers were responsible for buying their own supplies, which I never knew. I also came to understand how these students did the bare minimum because very few of their teachers cared. They were underpaid and under appreciated, and unfortunately the students suffered.

I’ll never comprehend how we can spend trillions of dollars on wars and other interests outside of this country, while our own people wither and waste away due to apathy and neglect.

Bowls for pipes.

Well, I thought it appropriate that I should get rid of something related to 4/20, so here are two bowls. I don’t have the pipe they belong to, but I’ve been hanging on to them for years, probably so I could use them to build a makeshift pipe if needed. I’ve been on hiatus for two years now and don’t really see myself ever using these, especially because I own a vaporizer.

Happy 420 everyone!

Tamrac photographer’s vest. Brand new.

Although about 10 years old, this vest has never been worn and still has the tags on it. Things are a bit tight right now, so I’m going to put it on Craigslist for $25.

I never wore this because I would have constantly felt like I was on safari. I’d like to constantly be on safari now…