Pretty Ugly

untitled

2009-12-10T22:11:00Z

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Pretty Ugly X Facebook

2009-12-07T08:33:00Z

our Facebook page: HERE

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Pieces Of Crumb

2009-11-22T18:05:00Z

I get this question asked all the time about the designs that we produce here at Pretty Ugly. Do I draw anything? No. I have never really been able to draw as well as I’ve always wanted to but there was a time in my life where I would put in some patience to doodle (and by doodle, I mean draw as well as I can) and see what I got out of the illustration or if my hand caught flow of the pencil attached to the paper.

Even though I haven’t been the illustrator I had dreamt of being, I’ve always had a knack for the culture. I’m always looking for that style that makes me zone out into what they are displaying. For the past couple of months, Robert Crumb has been the king of the mountain at the top of my list with his cartoonic realism type of style. Though Crumb has been doing his thing for many years before my time, I had acknowledged his art during my trip to Portland’s ‘Last Thursday’ celebration when I noticed a Fritz The Cat vinyl record in what turned into a snatch & grub competition with a customer of whoever was going to buy it before I even locked eyes with it.

From that point on, I was completely on a curiosity hunt on who did those types of illustrations and what that comic was all about. I had come later to find out that Fritz The Cat had come out to be this pornographic cartoon about this humanized cat who roamed the streets, searching for a job and causing all sorts of chaos throughout his journey of looking for employment. I can’t lie, everything that Fritz The Cat is about is really what I’m into. Very rebellious expression involving politics, interactions between humans in all aspects, and the law. Bold and in your face type of attitude. This is cartoon was Crumb’s claim to fame and got him into a broader audience in which led to more projects.

As my frisking got more in depth, I got to know more about Robert Crumb, searching youtube links and typing the most accurate things in search engines, hoping it’d give me the complete 411. I found a couple of videos that have him explaining his journey throughout his life as an illustrator along with the things that gave him inspiration to create the characters he did in his time. Here is one of them:

In the midst of all his sexual deviations and drug experiences, I myself hold Robert Crumb to be without a doubt one the best illustrators/cartoonist I have seen within the 20 & 21st century. As Robert continues to make noise with his collaborations with companies of this modern age in the likes of Vans and Supreme, he still holds up his dedication to being just an underground comic artist, producing comics still to this day.

CRUMB FOR PRESIDENT

God loves ya,
Be well.

Portland Plan

2009-11-21T22:34:00Z

for my university studies class, it was suggested that i attend a neighborhood/city council, or a city planning commission. i got an e-mail about the Portland Plan Workshop having one of their workshops nearby at david douglas high school last thursday-- so i decided to attend with some of my fellow PSU classmates.

to my surprise, the workshop was actually very interesting. i originally came in expecting someone to bore me to sleep, but with mayor sam adams there speaking through the whole event covering all areas about how we as a city can create a plan for the future to improve life in the portland area by 2035, it was a great way for portlanders to help address the ongoing problems and to learn more about our city.

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all BLACK everything..

2009-11-21T00:18:00Z

Sale goes live @ 12am EST on Black Friday.

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One Up

2009-11-18T20:42:00Z

Leisure For Thought

2009-11-18T02:00:00Z

I've been awaiting for this project to come together for some time now. I know myself that It can be difficult to run a company at such a young age with all the trials and tribulations that you go through learning the steps and tricks of the trades of whatever it is that you are doing, along with the process of actually getting it done. One of my greatest of friends Tim heads a ~~cult following~~ company by the name of Absolute Chaos.

It's mind blowing to have people in your generation, in your same vacinity, and to also be an inspiration all at once, in a commence of creating what you have a passion for. I got the chance to see most of this film created within the time of me and all the members be friends with each other, and there is nothing that I have seen that is like it. With the stunts that they brewed up in their minds to perform, I wouldn't do not one even if you had me hyped up on a thousand redbulls, several whippets, and pumped up by a professional stunt double. I'm always for helping my friends out with anything they are willing to put together, so in the meantime you will be seeing the transformation on our homepage to be bombed with AC defacement . In order for to me to display this, I had to beg Timmy for this teaser to show you guys (he made me clip his toenails). So without further adieu, I am proud to present you the teaser for the movie Absolute Chaos:

God loves ya,
Be well.

Hottest thing on the planet

2009-11-17T03:46:00Z

It was my friend's birthday and we decided to go grab a bite to come together as a group to celebrate this good time for him and out of the norm comes the idea to try out Buffalo Wild Wing's hot wings challenge. I honestly didn't think it would be that bad because I am immune to hot & spicy things because of my southern upbringing with a lot of foods being in that category, so it wasn't in any thought of my mind that this would be tough for me at all.

We get there and settle in. The birthday boy then bribes a bet on all of us who are doing the challenge with him stating that if he finishes the entire platter while we still have at least 7 hot wings on ours, we have to pay for his dinner. Didn't seem like too much of anything, especially with the ego of most men being that we are always in for competition with one another. The competition STARTS:

I put the first wing and my mouth and tried to breathe in and I could feel disco inferno inside of my chest as I tried to gasp for air. I wasn't really into trying to pay for my friend's meal just as I wasn't trying to eat these really hot wings that I wasn't enjoying at all and not even be able to have my picture on the wall. I couldn't keep a straight face and my nostrils were flared like Marilyn Monroe's skirt. It was really a hard time. I didn't want to keep my mouth closed, I was smacking my food, anxious to get a glass of water and even worse, wipe my hands over my teary eyes.

In the end, I got through with it like a champ and excelled onto greater heights as I entered on the wall of hell's hottest. I don't prefer or recommend anyone who likes the feel of life and what it is like to lose your breath for the longest 6 minutes you will ever endure.

Look up, Marlon! Say cheese.

God loves ya,
Be well.

another quick shoot.

2009-11-09T15:00:00Z

during my weekend, i decided to do another photoshoot with my DIY lightbox. i did a shoot with one of my cheap (and crappy) telephoto lens. (BTW, the Canon 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III is not even worth the $80-100, that's how much it sucks. never buying a cheapo telephoto again, lol).

there are also some random shots i did with a H&M button-up i have, and some shots playing around with my Rosco gel pack-- using a gel holder i also made myself to hold the blue gel:

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M&W's.

2009-11-08T07:40:00Z

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New Lupe Freestyle

2009-10-30T07:56:00Z

Listen/Download

happy birthday to me.

2009-09-30T04:01:00Z

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DIY FYI

2009-09-27T05:32:00Z

recently, i've been reading on the POTN Forums and David Hobby's Strobist.com blog for some tips on lighting & off camera flash.

after doing some reading, i ran into an old post on Strobist.com in their DIY section on how to make your own lightbox-- and i finally got to making one today out of stuff i found around the house. snapped some quick shots with my cheap Yongnuo wireless triggers (aka poverty wizards-- lol) and my Canon 500D, and below are some of the photos of my setup & the results. enjoy! (& excuse the mess on my bed)

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booyawww!

2009-09-24T07:59:00Z

hello readers, i'm still alive.

i rarely blog on here, but i figured since i already have two DSLR's-- might as well get an entry in.

i'm about to start school next week at Portland State University. i'm kind of excited. i had my friend daniel show me around campus/parts of downtown today so i know the quickest way to get from point A to point B (and plus, 'cause i had to turn in my financial aid forms. lol)

(btw, the waitresses at sushi land on pearl were so lazy. and that photo above of one playing with her hair isn't helping. lol)

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Confirm the flame

2009-08-15T21:52:00Z

God loves ya,
Be well.

BALLIN!

2009-08-15T01:01:00Z

I try to at least play basketball as much as possible nowadays knowing that it is summer and this is the time to take advantage of so because the weather in Oregon doesn't stay sunshine sunny all throughout the year. With that being said, me and the homies went out today for a good game of 3 on 3 basketball.

It was such a tiring game with none of us having to really do anything all summer. No cardio, no walking, not even moving from couch to couch but besides the point. We played a good first game and by the end, all of us were huffing and puffing gasping for air.

Nito doesn't seem to be looking to well after that first game.
Robert just chilling, awaiting for the next game to come so he could show off his skills.
In between the time we had to catch out breath, some of the guys wanted to show their dunking skills of on an 8 foot rim that really no one plays on but the little kids that go to that elementary school. I know, such a shame!

Once the game was over and our chest felt concaved like a pothole in the road, we headed to the nearest corner store to grab a drink.

Juan takes his Arizona iced tea very seriously, so watch out.

God loves ya,
Be well.

Be all you can be

2009-08-14T20:08:00Z

Today I met Mike and his significant other dwelling in the mean streets of Rockwood. As of now, Mike serves time in Afghanistan right now and is back home to spread his wings a little bit and letting his loins hang for a bit before he has to go back to protecting America.

I have the utmost respect for people like Mike. Putting the time you could be out doing whatever it is, on what it is you want to do it on, to make sure that the place you call home is safe and sound. He was a really cool dude. Very outgoing, seemed really humble and outspoken. We spoke for a little bit on his adventures he has had since he's been back home. We live in two different parts of Oregon and to his knowledge, it is hot and humid by where he is which is ironic to me because he is closer to the mountain. As to where I'm at, it doesn't look so well and the temperature is very low. Use the photo I took of Mike as an example. All in all, he is a great person. I hope to see Mike more to chop it up before he leaves off to fight some more.

God loves ya,
Be well.

More bounce to the ounce

2009-08-14T18:57:00Z

God loves ya,
Be well.

Midnight Lurkers

2009-08-11T23:57:00Z

God loves ya,
Be well.

Off the hiatus

2009-08-09T19:35:00Z

I have been away for sometime picking my nose (then licking my fingers), growing my hair, getting the corns off my toes, silently farting next to anyone I stand by and moving once I have a sniff of any raunchy scent that is around me so I can blame it on any bystander that is near, but now I'm back.

About a year ago, I had went to this event that is held on alberta called "Last Thursday". I had been drug down there from my good ol' pal Casey Parks which was on her job of finishing the story we had in the Oregonian. While we were there awaiting for some photographer to show up, I started just snapping pictures of anything that caught my eye at first hand. There had been this clown-looking lady that had walked in front of me and was charming a baby in a stroller that was strollin' passed. The father of that child was this guy named Michael.

Here is the picture I had taken:

Now lets fast forward about a year later. Michael has been keeping track of everything we've been doing since he had found out about what we do here at Pretty Ugly which is around the same thing that he does. Michael is apart of compact disc and dvd manufacturing company called Cravedog which is ran here in Portland. Michael got in contact with us and asked up to come to the cravedog studio to come discuss what we've been up to for the last year, about the shirts we released, and normal chitter chatter that all men do when they are amongst each other.

I was really tired going into this meeting and had never actually seen Michael indirectly before so I was confused on who was who. The office space there is very well spread out and the vibe in there seemed really fervent and everyone seemed to be very respectful knowing I was walking around like a lost 3 yr old looking for who Michael was. After being lost and directing on where to go, we found Michael.

The hangout with Michael was really different because it was talking to someone who is a fan of what we do also who take care of clients of the same thing that we do. Michael was a really kind guy and gave us a ton of free stuff to take on the journey back home with us from some of the bands that he has helped design or make packaging for. After having a convo with Mike, myself and Phillip ventured around their office space. They had a party the night before we had go to the office so there had been silly string everywhere, puke on the floor, and passed out drunks laying in random places (iKid) but we checked out the area. Really inspiring. I enjoyed looking at the vinyl and action figures on the shelves but mostly the photography on the wall that they had.

God loves ya,
Be well.