So I'm sitting here all decked out in my red, white and blue. Yep, I'm rocking USA addidas, dark blue jeans, my Obama tee, red/white belt, red, white and blue socks, and my red, white and blue track jacket. I feel sort of silly, like it's Halloween again, but I'm also feeling hopefully and anxious that Obama is going to be elected President. I've been hoping that the polls are wrong, that it isn't a close race but an absolute blowout. I want to see a landslide victory.

I've noticed that I've been writing a lot of political blogs. I have to admit, I'm also looking forward to moving on from the onslaught of political news. Enough talking about changing the world and making the country a better place. I ready to now get to work and making it happen. Enough talk, let's do this.

Every so often, there are times when America must rise to the moment. Our moment is now, this is our moment. This is our time, to unite in common purpose, to make this century the next American century. Let's go change the world.

Yep, I've gotten pretty behind with blogging. I will use the excuse that I've been too busy to blog, but that probably isn't totally true. It doesn't take that much time, just energy. So I've really been lacking the energy to write. I'll say that I'm going to get back to it, as it's great therapy and good writing practice, but it's got to become habit again.

So I've almost completed one year of working for myself and the G Brand. It's been great personally, sometimes challenging financially, but I'm going to stick it out. Just starting to ramp up for season number two of Nimbus Independent, as the first year "Hunting Yeti" project is now done and completed. It went really well in my opinion, too bad the economy is going into the crapper. Should be interesting to see how much money I can raise for the new project.

So since I feel behind in posting the episodes, here they are. This fourth post is a summer surf session the crew had. The download is amazingly better than the stream, so go download it if you have time on our producer page: Rip.Tv.

So then in late summer, Chris Benchetler and Pep Fujas broke out on separate trips to Australia and Argentina filming themselves. Not as solid as the first four webisodes, but still fun to watch none the less. Enjoy.

I do have to say that the support for the project has been awesome from consumers and the industry. Let's hope that translates into good DVD sales. Seems like a lot of work completed, with more in front of me. I have to say it's very rewarding personally. Making ski films is sort of a childhood dream come true. I always loved going to the Warren Miller films.

Only three days left to the big day, election day. I'm feeling pretty good that Obama will be the next President but you never know how those electronic ballets will be counted. If you want to get almost over the top supportive of the Obama 'movement', you can download a full DJ set that mixes all sorts of political voice-overs with great songs like Pink Floyd, Audioslave, Public Enemy, Rage Against the Machine, etc. It's a really good mix, I recommend it.

To download, go to: http://djztrip.com/obama/

I think I need to create a new category and call it politics. I just can't believe the state of our country and the fact it's a close presidential race. The Dem's should be blowing the Republicans out of the water. Yet, they're not. What does that mean?

So I work for Spacecraft and we're all pretty liberal. So we made some limited edition posters featuring one of our main branding pieces, the bunny, with Obama being revealed as the person inside the suit. Obama Mania!!!

I'd like to make the excuse that the last month I've been too busy to blog. Well, it's only partly true. If I wanted to make the time, I probably could have. So this entry is to bring you up to speed on what's being going on.

First, I purchased a cool OBEY print, supposedly signed by Shepard Fairey. There is also a show going on at EVO by a local collector. You should check it out.

So I've been working away with Nimbus Independent. The DVD edit is finished and I have to say Eric Pollard is the man. So talented and driven to get things done and on time. We are in the authoring, encoding and replication phase. I'm proud to say we'll have the first DVD or ski film done for the upcoming season. It's got an amazing soundtrack and great creative. Check out the box art.

Working at Spacecraft has been a fun filled adventure. All the people who work there are great, the product is cool and the potential is high. Did some great media buys and have been in full on business planning mode. It's nice to get out of the house and go downtown three days a week.

I have a new roommate, Mark, who's moving in as I'm typing. I've being rolling solo for a while, which in some ways is nice, but I'm glad to have some company. We've been friends through the years, were in the same fraternity in college and have the same group of friends. He's also pretty clean from what I hear, so the pad should remain nice.

My buddy from Norway, Endre Loovas came to town again for the 4th of July. The man is twice my size but insists that I drink just as much. Whew, fun to go out on the town with the man. His accent draws a nice contingent of ladies. I am his wingman.

Last weekend I got out of town and rolled down to Mt. Hood. Drove down with Andy and his wife, swung by Pollard's and proofed the movie. Then after a short business session, drove up to Government Camp and checked in at the Huckleberry Inn. We were in town for the Think Thank film premier of Stack Footy. Spacecraft is a sponsor and Andy a good friend of the filmmaker, Jesse Burtner. The kids came out in force to support the project and it was fun evening. After the film we went across the street to Charlies and enjoyed drink tall boys.

The next day we hooked up with Christina and Lindsey and went for a hike to a beautiful waterfall. It was great to get some exercise and be in nature. Check out a few of the pictures.

That's about it for now. Just working all weekend on film tour, the film itself, business planning and catching up. Too much to do, but it's better than being bored.

The withdrawal from skiing can be hard during the summer, especially the first month after lifts close. Luckily Nimbus Independent is here to make it just a little easier with the release of their third “Hunting Yeti” webisode.

This latest installment has a fun, end of the season feel. Watch as the Nimbus Crew packs up their gear and heads out for some volcano camping on Mount St. Helens and Mt. Hood. Nothing like campfires, hot dogs and PBR during sunset sessions. Then there’s playing on a cornice, doing natural wall rides. Also check out Chris Benchetlers neighborhood as the group converges on Mammoth Mountain, meets up with Garrett Russell and gets laps in at Snowboarder Magazines Superpark.

I have to say Eric Pollard, the Crew and I have been working hard. We just finished tons of forms, copy writing, the teaser, box art, print ads and a big PR kit. Well, I still have a little bit to do but we've accomplished a lot in the last couple weeks. The teaser and a bunch more information will be posted in another two weeks. Have to let webisode 3 breathe for a little while. On behalf of the Nimbus Crew, we hope you enjoy the latest installment.

Webisode 3, Part 1:

Webisode 3, Part 2:

To view the webisode in all it's glory, go to our producer page at www.rip.tv/nimbusindependent and you can download it as an iPod or HD computer version. It has more footage and a full credit run.

I always park a block down from the Pike Place Market whenever I go to the Showbox. I just enjoy walking through and watching all the people. Even when it's closed, there are still tourists on the upper street walking along or getting a cup of coffee. I've taken the traditional picture of the Market sign with the clock at the main entrance, but saw this electric coffee sign and thought is was another cool backdrop.

My friend Joel got some tickets to go see Moby at the Showbox, when offered a ticket, I couldn't say no. I haven't heard any recent Moby music, but I respect what he's achieved. The concert was on last Sunday evening and he didn't go on until eleven forty five. If I had known he was going on so late, I probably wouldn't have gone.

The Showbox was packed with a good crowd. It was an older crowd, more people my age. Lots of lovely ladies, including a couple that I used to work with at K2. All in all I'm glad I went. I need to see more good music and I do enjoy dancing. Still can't believe how many people go to a concert on a work night.

If you live in the northwest, chances are you've seen it. You just didn't know what it was. Look around and you'll see the iconic symbol of an old Tucker snow cat. This image was made into stickers and placed all over Seattle and other cities to bring the magical feeling of the mountains into the city. The idea behind this was that an image could contain intrinsic value and could affect humans on a sub-conscious, archetypal level. It's safe to say the stickers were a hit.

As different people joined the movement, the stickers organically spread out around the world. It's amazing the different places you may spy one of the many Spacecraft stickers. I was at a friends wedding last summer, deep outside of Winthrop at a horse ranch. Beautiful setting, miles from anything and there it was on the back side of a stop sign, bam, a Spacecraft sticker.

But what is Spacecraft really? It's a vision of creativity, purpose, and the blending of different themes by an artist whose communication medium just happens to be stickers, posters, hand knit beanies, t-shirts, sweat shirts, jackets, belts, wallets, bags, and other collectables. Which to me is interesting coming from an industry that's similar but sort of in reverse. Where other companies are manufacturers first, who then hire artists to create designs for their products. I would compare it a little to street graffiti artists. It isn't about money, it's about sharing art and a creative vision with people. It's an answer to the question of how to display ones work and reach as many people as possible. I really like the Spacecraft look and feel. It combines natural and man-made elements from where water touches the shore, into the city and onward into the snow covered mountains. It's a totally unique blend that's hard to categorize, so I'll stop trying.

So who's vision is it? The artist who took that iconic picture of the snow cat, Stefan Hofmann. From what I know, Stefan took what was an idea or art project and it sort of organically turned into a functional, profitable business while maintaining creative integrity. He draws influence from life, with sports like skateboarding, climbing, surfing and snowboarding to experiences traveling throughout Asia and exposing himself to other cultures. Then somewhere along the journey Stefan meet Sarah O'Brien Parker and together they put together a capable crew, sharing their creative vision for the last six years. Spacecraft has two space stations, one in Seattle and another in Bali.

Check out the Bali office, now that's a great work environment.

It's an amazing story, one which I can barely scratch the surface of in a blog. I guess I just like companies with a true and meaningful purpose. I'm drawn to brands that are a mixture of art, fashion, imagery, sport, community, and culture. "The Story" is explained as the following: "Spacecraft is cultural mythologies. Spacecraft is visual propaganda. Spacecraft is dreams and reflections. Spacecraft is Godzilla reruns, spicy noodles, jet-lag, peeling waves and 18 inches of fresh snow. Spacecraft is a story in progress. Spacecraft combines recurring characters, themes, images and ideas to create an ever-changing, ancient narrative that hasn't been written yet."

Yeah I know that sounds pretty deep, but pretty cool too. It has passion and purpose. It's a strong brand, surrounded by and made up of good people with an outstanding product. That's why I'm so excited to have the opportunity to work for Spacecraft. The G Brand has partnered with Spacecraft, which now becomes my second client. I'm so happy to be focusing my efforts on Spacecraft and Nimbus Independent, it's a career dream come true.

Check out the following Spacecraft video. Click HERE to check out their website.

History has been made. A black man has clinched the democratic nomination for the President of the United States of America. I will admit, I lacked some hope in the beginning, that Barack could beat Hillary Clinton. I just didn't think it would be possible. But what appeared impossible, became possible. The Obama team still has a long and hard road ahead of them, but I believe he win the Presidency.

I think it's not just the fact a black man won the nomination, but how he did it. He appealed to Americans of all races, not just African Americans. Granted he could position himself this way because he comes from a multi-ethnic background. If Barack hadn't had a white mother, it would have been more difficult. But he didn't run as a black man, he ran as an American with a diverse background.

Obama's campaign has inspired me to get involved in the democratic process. Look out friends, I'll be talking a lot of politics and looking to debate our countries issues over a few beers or at a barbeque. I really hope he wins.

There is an opportunity for Americans to openly discuss the state of our nation. We could have some of the most important and healthy discussions that we seem to have avoided the past decade. We have two very different candidates running for the top office. We need to stay focused on important issues and not get side tracked by spinsters and the media focusing on 'reality show' type drama. I don't want to hear about McCain having lobbyist on his team, what preachers endorse him, or the trials of Obama's church and pastor. As citizens, we need to try to keep ourselves and the media focused on what's important.

Okay, so what's important. We need to talk about the war in Iraq and America's standing in the Middle East and world, we need to talk about health care, the economy, our education system, fixing our infrastructure, the environment, mass transit, balancing the budget, homelessness, poverty, border security, our military and veterans and equality for those living within our borders.

How I would love to see Obama, if not somebody just list and state our countries problems. Although Obama is inspirational in his speeches, we need to define our failings and problems. How can we begin to address what needs to be fixed until we define the problems. To agree as Americans what the biggest problems are. That will unite us, to fix what's wrong and establish common goals. We have had eight years of mistakes, compounded by propaganda and misinformation that will be very hard to fix. It won't happen quickly. It has to be fixed from the top down and the bottom up. We need the president, politicians and people to create a movement. We need to have somebody like Obama build the bridge, inspire a nation and bring about positive change.

Funny, as I write this I could go on for a long time. But I keep hearing the voices of friends who recommend I stay away from politics on my blog. Why? Let's not fight over the issues, lets discuss them openly and challenge each other on our beliefs. Educate yourselves, pick up and read both candidates books. Just become active in the process.

I think I have almost all the gadgets and electronics I need with the addition of my new digital camera. I just got the Canon PowerShot G9 for my birthday. It was on the top of my wish list. I love taking photos and want to expand my know-how. This camera will be the next step in my photographic progression. Hopefully you'll see the difference in the imagery I post.

Eventually I'll get a few of the accessories, like extra lenses and flash. Hmm, I think I'll go on a urban hike this weekend and test out the camera. Maybe I'll go capture the Seattle classics. Stay tuned for the results.

Clean is an opinion. To each and every one of us there are different levels of clean. I find I go from weekly, sort of all over cleaning sessions to sometimes tackling deep cleaning projects. It's that deep cleaning time.

Yesterday I cleaned out the oven and fridge and then was getting ready to sweep and mop when I noticed the amount of dust on my fake tree. Hmm, how would I dust off all of those leaves? What would be the easiest method?

I decided to take all the leaves off the tree, wash them off in my salad spinner, and lay them out on towels to dry. Then re-attach them to the branches of the tree. I didn't realize how much work and how long that would take. Turned into a three hour process. Now this is what I consider a 'deep clean.'

Then of course it was also a challenge to put the leaves back on. They weren't even all the same. Some where smaller than others, some had brighter green leaves and some had more or less leaves per stem.

So taking a methodical approach I started at the bottom, branch by branch and worked my way up the tree. Only to find that I had lost a few stems through the years, as when I ran out of leaves, the tree was bald on top. So then I had to rearrange them and thin out the bottom to the top.

Although the tree is fake, it's now looking healthier than ever. Combine that with the Pine Sol tree scent from having just mopped the floor and it almost seems real. So that's my version of doing some serious cleaning. Hopefully I won't have to do that again in a few years.