Renick Woods Blog

Candles!

2011-12-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

Working on cranking out candles. Found some quotes that I think fit my thoughts on candles pretty well.

"There isn´t enough darkness in all the world to snuff out the light of one little candle."

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."

Three wave set!

Beeswax, hurricane, and multi color. Just a start.

Dream time.

Happy Holidays !

2011-12-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again. Hope all of your celebrations are great.

Starry snowman.

Playing with light

2011-12-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when there's no sun you have to look for light other places.

A swirling vortex.

Speeding lines.

Calm neons.

Winter Sunsets

2011-11-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

It may be getting colder, and the sunsets closer to the afternoon. Remember there is still plenty of beauty to see. Crisp winter sun.

Cold winter Shilshole sunset.

Making t-shirts

2011-11-12T22:44:00.000-08:00

Just ccompleted a round of new t-shirts.

In honor of the city that "had 24th worst crime rate last year, and is the 4th most dangerous city on the west coast, after Richmond, Oakland, and Compton".

Silk screened and ready to wear. I have medium,large, and XL. Selling for $10 a piece. I don't have a pay pal set yet(working on it ) but shoot me a message if you're interested and we can work something out.

More shirts on the way in the future.

Ahhh the aroma.

Free background!

2011-10-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

New desktop background! It's the Duke. Right click and save.

Still dreaming

2011-10-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

More pictures from Hawaii.

Fins and mask on the beach at Waimea bay.

Sea turtle!

Taking a breath.

Elizabeth getting done surfing.

Tropical colors.

Fire!

The Duke.

Tropical Dreams

2011-10-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Just returned from Hawaii. Here are a few pictures (more on the way)of some of the things seen and done. All I can say is I love that place. Friends, waves, surf and sun. This morning it seemed like some kind of lucid long dream than a reality that had happened. So much so that I found most of my thoughts today to be ending about still being there with my wife, on the beach, with the warm breeze,just the sound of waves,palm trees and the taste of salt on the lips.

The real locals.

2011-10-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

I was sitting around one day thinking about grumpy locals you see near the ocean. Every surf spot has at least one. The guy who just can't be happy even though they live near the ocean and surf all the time. They always seem to be swearing and wearing a frown. Hating on anyone that would dare smile and have fun with the same thing they do. It got me thinking...do the animals of the ocean act this way too? I doubt it, but wouldn't it be funny. So I thought of the loudest most obnoxious sea creatures I could in the local waters here. The kind that are always making some kinda fuss. And that's what follows...The real locals. Prints will be coming up if anyone is interested.

The stinging jelly.

The squawking gull.

The barking sea lion.

New post!

2011-10-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy end of summer but I finally have some time to get some things I've been working on up here. When I haven't been racing paddleboards, surfing, or at the gym, I've been working on a bunch of design projects. Here's a few of the latest from vidlab....

A few more for a local haunt...completely reworked the logo.Started here with loose sketches..

After going through more roughs started to dive into different looks...

Then the final they liked....

Then it was time to get the poster,Facebook, passes, web banners, t-shirts, etc etc ready....

Also been doing some work for Pretzelwagen.

Back of the Pretzelwagen.

The side.

The front.

So if you happen to see a VW van parked selling pretzels around town, make sure you stop and get one. They are delicious!! Tell em Renick sent you.

So sorry about the lack of posts...if anyone is even reading this. I've been pretty busy but will try and keep up.

Alki Races

2011-08-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

Been a little while since I've posted lately. Busy summer. Lots of racing, lots of training. Put together this quick vid of the race at Alki. Great weather, glassy fast conditions. More posts will be on the way when things slow down a bit.

Waves

2011-07-24T23:29:00.000-07:00

A quick edit of a few waves from the weekend.

Paddle to Port Orchard

2011-07-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I haven't been updating this as much is the warmer weather. I won't go as far to say it's been great but it's improving. Hopefully if it keeps up we should see summer by August. Last year I had been eyeing a route that I wanted to paddle. Shilshole to Port Orchard. Seemed easy enough, just long. My first attempt at this went not as planned at all. Winds that day didn't want to cooperate in any way, blowing from the south. I was basically paddling into a 15-20 knt head wind the whole time, and fighting a little current. I made it about half way and couldn't continue. Exhausted and frustrated I had to stop. This year I wanted to try it again. So I got my friend Sam to pilot a boat, grabbed everyone that wanted to go on the boat, and tried it once more. This time things went as planned with no winds on the way there and sunny skies. Dolphins swam by in the shipping lane, seals everywhere, friends and my wife encouraging me to hold pace, it was great. Held a 4.5 average pace. Hit around 5.5 in some spots. Got to PO in about 3hrs 15 min(give or take a few). On the way back the winds picked up and we were able to drop sails and cut the engine. Couldn't have asked for a better day. Thanks to everyone who came along! I hope you all had as much fun as I did. Big thanks to Sam for getting the boat. Thanks to Taryn for taking the pics. And special thanks to my wife for all the support and belief in all of my paddling adventures.

Flying along with Seattle in the background.

Sweeping glass

Finish and done.

Aliens like the water.

Happy crew!

Smiles and the finish. Love you wife!

My route.

Where have I been?

2011-07-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

Very busy couple of months. More will be up about that in the next few days. In the mean time enjoy a free background!

Downwinder

2011-06-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

For a little while now I had been looking at an Edmonds to Shilshole down wind run. Looked like a lot of fun on the map, I had no idea how much fun it would be. I waited for some sun to show, and got Shawn Jennings to go with me(after some harassing). We launched under crystal clear blue skies and mountains in the backdrop. As we launched a bald eagle flew bye just above eye level, around 25 yards away(give or take). Amazing. I've often seen these while on the water but never this close. We both headed for open water and the wind picked up at our backs. Next thing you know we were connecting bumps to the end of our route. We actually put together a few rides that were probably around 10 secs. Just flying along the top of the water. One of the best runs I've done. Can't wait for the next one! Hopefully get some more people on it! When all was said and done I saw one of the biggest sea lions I've ever seen, schools of fish, and got yelled at by a grumpy fisherman! Couldn't have been better.

This is how we roll.

Shawn around mid paddle.

Shawn again.

Picture in the news

2011-06-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

Got my first picture in the news today. Thanks to Travis Mayfield and Stoke Harvester for making this happen!

http://ballard.komonews.com/news/business/new-business-gets-ballardites-water-keeps-owner-flip-flops/644606

Painting with light.

2011-05-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for some sun and some clear non rainy nights when I could go practice some light painting with my camera. Wednesday and Thursday allowed me to be able to do this. Set out Wednesday and had equipment problems due to user error. Finally figured out what was going on Thursday morning, and went back Thursday night with much better results. Turns out one of the settings I had my camera on were messing with the remote timer. I Shot late into the night and here are a few of the following results. Even though Wednesday night had some frustration Thursday more than made up for it(gotta put in the work for the results right?). Can't wait to go out and do some more.

Electric man

Surf van from the future

Lighthouse background

2011-05-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

Another free background for your viewing pleasure. Just right click and save.

Watercolor effect

2011-05-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

Had a fun time with my wife doing a photo shoot. Actually these are from a few different shoots, but I used basically the same effect on them. Wanted to get a watercolor feel. I think the two hit the spot pretty well. Then I wanted to see if the same could be done with words. That came out pretty good too.

Watercolor 1

Watercolor two

Similar effect but with words.

Yesterdays paddle

2011-05-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

Finally got a new racing board after saving for a good while. Tried it out the other day with Mrs.Woods and J Brown. Super fast and glides on any bump. Can't wait for some races! Big huge thanks to Stoke Harvester for helping me get the board/ Few pics from the paddle..more to come.

Elizabeth strikes a pose.

Jon chillin while Elizabeth does a sun dance.

Elizabeth paddling in the sun.

Sunsets

2011-05-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

Just a few images from some of the sunsets going by here in the Northwest.

Loving the colors of spring!

Paddle Training

2011-05-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

With the weather getting better every week, it's time to start getting longer distance paddles in. The sun is up longer and the winds are usually not too bad. My friend Jon and I did this route this last Sunday. Nice 9 miler(give or take a quarter or less)to give you a little burn. Good stuff!

9 mile route in red. Fun!

More Stoke!!!!

2011-04-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a really busy past couple of weeks for me. Designing logos, editing photos, printing hoodies, getting in lifting at the gym. I'm getting much too little sleep. But things are getting done! Here are some pics of the new Stoke Harvester sweatshirts hot off the press. I've heard when you wear one of these you don't age.

Stoke!

Shawn printing like a mad man

Hot off the press!

Red!

Black

Spring is on the way!

2011-04-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

Seems like the sunny weather is finally starting to get here(even though it's raining now). Finally the temp is starting to get warmer on paddles, and the wind is dying off. A few pics from a recent sunny weather paddle.

Jon's brand new board(on the right).

Launching point.

Jon paddling across the channel.

Sea Creatures that lie below the surface!

Spring time background

2011-04-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at this so if it doesn't work bare with me. Went to the Japanese garden a few days ago and shot some pics. It's late and I'll get more up in the next few days. You should be able to right click and save as background if you like. Spring is almost here!

Leroy Grannis

2011-04-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

Found out the other day that Leroy Grannis died. It's always a little sad to think that someone who inspired you has passed. Found this photo of his, it's one of my all time surf favorites. The color, mood, body language. Everything about this picture makes me want to go surf. I think that's what makes a good surf photo. If after looking at it for a few seconds you want to run out the door and jump in the ocean, it's done correctly. Thanks Leroy for all the great images and inspiration.

Pictures of the day

2011-04-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day

2011-04-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

Surf board leash

New website is up!

2011-04-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

Finally got my new website up and running

www.renickwoods.com

Time lapse photography

2011-03-03T20:44:00.000-08:00

First attempt at some time lapse with my camera. Very cold northwest sunset.

New Intro

2011-02-28T19:11:00.000-08:00

New Intro for my blogs(audio done by my good friend Levi at Black Belt Mastering). Getting up to speed on website and should be posting some new info here(yes it's been forever).

Field of Screams promo video

2009-04-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

New promo video that I and Levi Seitz put together for Field of Screams upcoming season in 2009. Scary..........

VidLab posters

2009-04-22T22:03:00.001-07:00

A few posters I designed for Vidlab. I went in a mystical island direction.

Hoopfest Tanks

2009-04-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

Starting to get ready for Hoopfest. This year we(the team) decided to do custom tanks. I came up with this, heres a sneak at what they should look like.

St. Patty Day Dash

2009-03-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

So it's been a little while since I've posted here. Ok a long while. Just been busy. Hopefully people are still checking in here.

What going on? Well about 2 weeks ago my good friend Bob and I ran the St. Patty's' Day Dash. For those who don't know what that is it's a 4 mile run(about) through the city. This year the course changed, and honestly I don't like it nearly as much. The old course went down Mercer and onto Aurora, through the tunnel and out onto the viaduct, ending at the stadiums. Which was great because you got to run along the waterfront and have the whole city on one side while the sound was on the other. Great run. This year you went the other way on Aurora heading north towards the bridge then did a u-turn and came back. Still fun but really boring on the way back. Hopefully next year the course will be back to normal. But with the planning that's going on for the viaduct I don't know if that will happen. Also maybe some more people will run it with us(Bob and I).

Here's some quick video I got. None of it is actually running(to difficult to film and run at the same time)but it's got the snow that greeted us in the morning,the crowds, and Bob finishing.

Can't wait till next year!

Painting a surfboard

2009-01-25T22:56:00.000-08:00

A quick video on painting a surfboard to appear like wood. This was done with acrylics and a Iwata spray gun. The wood grain is kinda hard to see due to the compression of the website (lots of macroblocky goodness), but it's there.

Snow

2008-12-18T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like the snow finally hit early this morning. I woke this morning to find it coming down pretty steadily. After checking the the wsdot website, and watching the news around 5am I decided that I didn't want to go anywhere. Actually what really motivated me to stay put was a phone call from a co worker saying he just drove by a huge pile up. It snowed through most of the day, so there was only one thing to do. Go enjoy it! This video is a quick little wrap up of the goings on today. The only thing that I didn't take some footage of was sledding. With rumors of more snow on the way, maybe I'll have that up in a day or two.

New shirts

2008-12-17T21:58:00.000-08:00

I've got most of my logos done so now I'm starting to put up some other designs. Take a look if you get the chance.

Sketch

2008-12-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

Ok it's been a little while and I haven't been posting. Heres a quick sketch of a goldfish I did with watercolor.....

More updates on the way.

T-shirts

2008-11-14T10:39:00.001-08:00

I know you were thinking how could this day get any better? Well I have your answer. You can now buy RenickWoods.com t-shirts. Theres a few up now and more on the way. I'm not marking them up at all so the price is what the cost is to make em(even more the reason to grab one). So help support an artist with some advertising while looking good.

Sketch

2008-11-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

Another ocean themed pic....

Pumpkin hunting and Halloween Video

2008-11-02T15:30:00.000-08:00

The video to the previous post....

Pumpkin hunting and Halloween

2008-11-02T00:49:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago Travis put together a trip to the pumpkin patch near his parents house. After a great ferry ride in the morning and a short drive up the hood canal we arrived at their house. I want to say thank you first to Travis's parents for letting us come and have such a great time in their home, and second to Travis for putting this together. Also I want to say thanks for everyone that came along. It wouldn't of been the same without all you guys. That being said we set out in search of the best pumpkins we could find after piling into Travis dads truck. That's eight people in one truck. Arriving at the farm we were greeted by a tractor that pulled a huge cart behind it out to the pumpkin patch. It was a bumpy ride(you can see this in the video) but fun. Once out in the field we all found some good pumpkins for carving and rode back. On the way back the was a field adjacent to the pumpkin patch full of cows. One of the cows found a hole in the fence and decided to go for it. This in turn created a whole stampede of cows running straight at us looking for food. It was pretty funny, and I've never seen cows run so fast. Those things move when foods involved! After buying our pumpkins and piling back into the truck we were welcomed back to Travis's parents with encilandas. After stuffing myself with too much food we all played a game of cranium. Sadly all good times have to end sooner or later and after the game we (Elizabeth and I) had to head out. On the way back we got to see an amazing sunset in the hood canal on the way home. All in all one of the best days of fall I've ever had. Fall colors, pumpkins, fall sunset, cool crisp air, and good friends.

Halloween has now gone. But I have pictures of the pumpkins we got!!!!!(and some video). Here are Elizabeth's and my jack o lanterns. We had about fifteen trick or treaters this year. Which is nice to see people still actually going out and exploring the neighborhoods for candy.

What a great October!

Haunt part 2

2008-10-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here's the second video I did for field of screams. I got the raw footage, cut it, added the effects, and then pieced it back together. This video plays while you wait in line to get in, an orientation video if you will. One thing that gets lost on here(the blog due to the recomp of the video) are the scratches and dirt I added in to make it feel more gritty. The sound is a little hot and cold but that was part of the wanted end result.

Sketch

2008-10-21T19:01:00.001-07:00

The sketch.....

and the final....

Haunt

2008-10-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

One of the people I work with runs a haunt out in Snohomish called Field of Screams. I've been fortunate to have been asked to do graphics for a lot of the promo. Check out the website( http://www.stockerfarms.com/page9803.asp?pid=13455&tid=13455 ). If you get in the Halloween spirit and want a good scare, go to the best haunt in the area. Here's one of the promo videos(more to come).

Sketch

2008-10-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

I've been super busy with a ton of work this week and last(more posts on the way). This weeks sketch a quick fun shark.

The sketch....

...and the final.

Shawn Kemp

2008-10-05T00:54:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite videos with one of my favorite players. No one could dunk in traffic like the Reign Man.

New Shoes

2008-09-23T21:57:00.001-07:00

Saturday I picked up a new pair of the newest top Nike shoe, the Hyperdunk. The hype behind these was that they are the lightest basketball shoe ever made. I'm usually never one to believe the hype till I try it out. To many gimmicks. If you can jump, you can jump. Shoes won't make you Jordan or Kobe(if that's why you're buying shoes you need to invest some money into seeing a shrink instead). Playing ball is the only way to get better. Shoes won't change a thing.

That being said the advertising behind these(which has been pulled but can be found on youtube) is that you'll be dunking all over the place. Just about every Olympic basketball team had them too. Different countries all had their colors. So I was intrigued as to how good of a shoe they were with so much advertising and money put into it.

The first thing I noticed as I opened the box were the clear sides of the shoe. Looking closer you could see the threading that ran through it. Interesting. The next thing that really struck me was when I pulled one out of the box how light it was. The ads weren't joking, it was light.

But I still didn't have it on my foot. So I slid em on and laced them up. Stood up and walked around to get a feel. Felt pretty good, a little stiff but that would go away in a few games. Most shoes need some breaking in anyhow. So I bought them and walked out the store.

The real test was last night. The first on court testing. They didn't fail. In fact they've got to be one of my favorite pairs I've ever had. They were grippy but not overly so. The had some ankle support but not to much so they stayed loose. They also were really cushy for being so light. Two things that I thought would happen were one, they wouldn't absorb impact being light, and two the material the sides were made from would either be weak and scratch and scuff easy or too rigid. They were perfect and in all honesty it felt like I was barefoot.

I'd highly recommend these shoes to anyone playing basketball. They easily surpassed my expectations.

Sketches

2008-09-19T17:40:00.001-07:00

Another sketch. Quick little color one I call Dave's Wave. Beginning of a wave breaking, so many possibilities.

More testing with the Water Housing

2008-09-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

So the last few weekends of summer where on the way and I wanted to test out my water housing a little more before going into the ocean with it. This is at my favorite pool. I'm not going to say where it is, because anyone who knows me most likely knows where it is. Not as much swimming, just kinda seeing if it works at different depths. And the results were pretty good. Also a new intro. Please excuse the blocky-ness of the video. Underwater doesn't compress all that well.

Art and Sketches

2008-09-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

Another part of the reason I started this blog was to get myself drawing more. In recent years(about the past two) I haven't been drawing enough. So one of the topics I thought would be fun is a weekly, or bi weekly sketch. Nothing to fancy just some quick ideas. Here's the first couple with more to come.

Elizabeths Birthday Party

2008-08-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

The video everyones been waiting for......

Swimming

2008-08-28T17:10:00.000-07:00

I picked up the Flip water housing recently. Actually after seeing that they made a water housing for the flip for not too much money, I thought about buying it for months. I finally picked it up about two weeks ago, and after testing it in the sink I took it to the pool. Now was the real test. Would it leak!? I was hoping the answer was no. Turns out it didn't and there was no distortion of any kind from the housing itself. It worked great. The shots in this aren't the greatest. I need to find a way to anchor myself to the bottom and shoot from there so I'm not so close. That'll happen on the next test run....

What Happened?

2008-08-26T00:21:00.000-07:00

So summer seems to have come and gone. Some people have been asking why I haven't been updating my blog. Well for one I told myself I'd do this when I found the time and would make sure it would stay a fun project. I didn't want to feel that I had to do this. That brings me to the fact that I've been working some pretty long hours, trying to finish a backyard patio, and have several freelance projects on the table all at once(as I write this I'm working on one). I'm also trying to squeeze in time to share with my wife, and some time for me to just relax. All in all it's been a really, really busy summer.

What has happened? Well my wife had a birthday(Video will be going up later tonight). In July some of our friends planned a party in which we rented out the Baltic room. Did I mention it was a surprise? We all met at Christopher's apartment and waited....and waited.....and waited a little more for her to show. Then SURPRISE!!!!! As she walked through the door of the apt the look of shock was something that words can't describe. Later that night we proceeded to dance, laugh and just have fun at the Baltic. Thanks to everyone for everything that they did. It was great, and couldn't of happened without you guys!

Elizabeth and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary this august! We made reservations at the Salish Lodge right next to Snoqualmie Falls. It was one of the best places I've stayed. They had a list of sixteen different pillows you could choose from if you didn't like the one that came with the room. Sixteen! Elizabeth ordered the lavender pillow, and I tried one called the Zen, I believe. Elizabeth's obviously smelled like lavender, mine had magnets in it that were supposed to help your neck or back. Can't tell if it helped but I slept great. Our room was so nice. Fireplace, jacuzzi bath, french doors that opened to the back trail to the falls. Just perfect. The lodge itself was just as nice. It's whole interior had a wood/nature look and smelled like fresh cut lumber. There was room service and a spa(we didn't try either but maybe next time). It was definitely a five star accommodation. The next day we woke up and hiked down to the falls. It was easy going down(it's all downhill) but the way back was a little tougher(uphill). It was well worth the hike though, and if anyone is looking to get away for a weekend, I would recommend this place easily. Even though the place was so nice the best thing about the whole weekend was getting away with my wife and not having to worry about, or do anything.

So thats pretty much about it. Other than that just like I said above working a bunch, trying to get the backyard done. So theres an update.....hopefully I won't let things go this long again.

Hoopfest 08

2008-08-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

So finally a new post. I'm not dead, just really busy. I'll report more on that in the next post soon. Till then heres the footage from hoopfest.....

Sunday Basketball part 2

2008-07-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

More sunday hoops...

Seattle Supersonics

2008-07-03T19:44:00.000-07:00

This is a day I knew would come, but I was hoping against all odds wouldn't happen. The Seattle Supersonics are moving. I guess the biggest thing I feel is dissapointment that the whole situation got so ugly, and then the city itself flopped. Dissapointed that contracts don't mean a thing to anyone with enough money. Dissapointed that the city actually had a chance to prove that it wouldn't flop, and take a stand on something(guess I'll still be waiting). Disappointed that people are right the NBA doesn't care and screws the fans. Disapointed the city and some people don't realize what thier losing.
I agree that the stadium amount asked for was insane. I don't agree that the city and the owners did everything they could to keep the team here. Any owner asking for the taxpayers to build the most expensive arena to date, and not pitch in a cent of his/her own money is crazy if they thought the public would get behind this. Especially when they are a millionare to start. That was just plain ignorance on the part of the new owners. But the things said by the city and it's unbending stance toward Howard Schultz were wrong also. Things could have been worked out. Nick Licatas' comment makes me wonder how he holds down the job he's lucky to have. "Sonics provide "close to zero" cultural value". Really? How does this guy have a job when he's supposed to represent the people of seattle, not himself? It's not the comment itself that made me upset, but the fact that you'd have to be so close minded to assume such a thing. And yet there he is a Councilman. No amount of apologizing can make me believe you didn't mean that. So theres one liar.
The next person thats hard not to blame for this whole mess is Howard Schultz. Selling the team to an out of town ownership(which I could tell from day one didn't want to stay here) then trying to sue them is just lame. C'mon Howard, we all know you looked for the quickest exit when selling. If you in all honesty could say you believed Bennet well, that gives me hope to be a millonare myself, if you could do it. I've got some great land in florida to sell ya. Right on a swamp er I mean with a water view.
Lair number two.
The next is Mayor Greg Nickels. After stating that the he was willing to do anything to keep the sonics here, it turns out he lied too. Wow what a surprise. I never believed this from the get go, and he proved that all he can do is cave in like he always does.
Lair number three.
Next is David Stern. I shouldn't even capitalize his name. Way to go Mr. I used to think that to be a head of a major corp you needed to be able to think on a higher level than a goldfish, but he proves me wrong. After arguing that the key was unfit with or without a remodel, he turns around today and says that if the key gets X,Y, and Z it will work. Did I miss something? Wasn't that the whole basis of your arguement? Now after you move the team to one of your best friends cities you say the key could work! Are you kidding!?I'm not a business major but I know that the city of Seattle has a much higher advertising market than OKC. So it just goes against all logic that you would piss off a decent size fan base and move a team to a lower market. Guess what David? After this seasons playoffs(Celtics and Lakers) I swore if the team moved I was done with the NBA. You've run a great league into the ground. I can catch the highlights. Not one more cent into your greedy, corrupt hands.
HUGE Liar number four.
Then theres Bennet. Who in all honesty was so transparent from the get go it was hard not to see this thing coming. You just don't buy a team and tell it's fans you're doing everthing you can to keep it here without pitching in any money. Your breath must smell from all the BS you spew. I feel bad for your wife. You actually said you felt hurt that the people of seattle didn't believe you that you didn't want to move the Sonics? I guess we know a snake in the grass when we see one. The saddest thing is you didn't even earn the money you got to buy the Sonics, you married into it.
Lair number five.
Last theres the chunk of people in Seattle that wanted nothing more than to piss on someone else's parade. Yes as I stated before paying for the whole and, or the most expensive arena is nuts. I never thought we should do that. But as soon as there was a whisper of a new stadium some Seattle residents went on a witch hunt. "Sign this paper". "No money towards a new staduim, not one cent!"." We have more important things to worry about". I'm still waiting for that list. Yes Schools are important. Roads are important. Mass Transit is important. But it's not like the Sonics were whoring money from those things. If we had a new arena little Timmy would still have school books. Our freeways would still be just as clogged if we don't(as you will see). I for one am sick and tired of study after study on roads, or transit etc, wasting money to get zero results. Then turning it over to a vote. Can I sign a paper somewhere to get that barred? So when exactlly will the "more important things" be addressed, cause I sure don't see anyone heading up a movement for them.
I've heard people say players should put some money down towards the stadium because they make enough. Yes they do make a lot. Yes it is for playing a sport. But if someone where to give you millions for doing something you're good at, are you telling me you wouldn't take it? You can't blame em for that. Heck I'd even take half thier salary. I think anyone who says different is lying. So imagine for a second that your work came to you and asked that you pay one or two paychecks towards letting you work in the building you work in. It's kinda silly.
Seattle has always been a city that has had something for everyone it seems. Arts, sports, parks, trails, clubs, shops, etc. The list goes on. One of the reasons it's so great to live here is the diversity. There are so many things to do for so many different people. This is part of the reason it's so hard to take this news. It seems that a part of the Seattle public seem to think that what they do in thier spare time is better than what others like to do in thier spare time. Which is just not true. That and Seattle is so easy to part with a big part of it's history. While we may get a new NBA team, and they may have the colors and logo, it's not the Sonics.

I'll miss the Sonics as a fan. The dunks by Shawn Kemp. The excitement that swept up the city when they were on a run to the championship against the Bulls. Going to games in the wet windy winter with my wife, or friends. Mostly though I'll miss the Sonics because Seattle just doesn't seem like Seattle without pro basketball.

Hoopfest 08

2008-07-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hoopfest seemed to come and go this year. The weather was once again right around the 100 degree mark. In other words, very HOT! The games broke down like this.....lost our first one by a point in OT. The next two we won, and made it into Sunday. The last game we played we were ahead by 2 with 30 seconds left. The other team threw up a prayer fade away double pump 3, and it went it to tie it up. So we rolled into OT again. Lost that by a point and ended our run. Very frustrating to say the least. Anyways big thanks to my team mates for playing and letting me play with them too. Here are some pics of the action. All pics were shot by Daniel Brunner

The other team that we had did great the first day. Won both thier games and got into sunday easily. The next day they lost their first one, won the next, then lost one after that.

It was fun but we all wanted to get further than we did. Oh well next year. Video will be coming in a couple days.

Skating

2008-06-12T21:31:00.001-07:00

Theres nothing like waking up in the morning and hitting up some skate parks. No kids around yet, warm weather(still waiting this summer), and just your friends. These are some of my friends on one of those mornings.

Basketball part one

2008-06-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

I'm lucky enough to know some people over at a gym on the eastside that let me come and play ball with them. This is some footage from last Sunday. Good games, good people. Big thanks to my friend Carlos for getting me in the door there, thanks to the people who play, and continue to let me play there. Hope you enjoy.

Also thanks mom for the RI jersey, as can be seen here. It works great.

The first blog

2008-06-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

Ok so I decided it was time to start a blog. Some of my friends have been doing it (ie http://travismayfield.blogspot.com/) so it seemed like a fun idea, and worth a shot. My wife recently bought me a flip camera for my birthday(thanks so much babe!!), so I was ready to shoot footage. With a little editing I put my first clip together below. Thanks to Levi for doing the sound on the graphics. He's the man, check out his wife's blog which he sometimes contributes too http://comeandseetheseitz.wordpress.com/. This is from my birthday a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to my lovely wife for putting the party together. Also thanks to everyone who showed up to celebrate with us. Hopefully a fun time was had by all. Don't ask me what is happening in this clip, it's some of the most random conversations I have ever seen. But some how it works. I still don't know how I caught it on film. I'm just glad I did. Thanks again everyone for coming. Enjoy the clip.