KILL THE ENGINE
-
My Friend Is a Poet and I Didn't Even Know It
A few months ago my buddy Dan Boehl handed me a novel for young adults that he'd written titled 'Naomi and the Horse Flavored T-Shirt.' After reading it, I checked out his website and realized that he has three additional books of poetry in print, is in the process of writing a new novel titled 'Fire Twins,' and co-owns an independent poetry press. I was impressed because most of the dudes I hang out with cite "not drinking for a couple of days" as their largest lif… Full story
-
I Finally Watched Street Dreams
Last week I reviewed a craphole of a movie called 'Hardflip.' As I mentioned in that review, I'll pretty much watch any film that has skateboarding in it, so this week I decided to watch 'Street Dreams.' I had assumed that this might be the worst film in the boarding genre, but s… Full story
-
I Finally Watched 'Hardflip'
I will watch any movie that has something to do with skateboarding. They're all terrible, but the 80s kid in me still thinks there's something cool about watching a flick that has dudes thrashin' in it. That being said, this Sunday I sat down to watch what I assumed would be the Full story
-
I Wonder If Natas Still Skates
A few months ago a new hip was built at a ditch right down the street from my house. I drive by it every day and think to myself, "I should go check that out and see if it's skateable." Well this past Saturday I finally walked down the street to check it out. What follows is how Full story
-
My Ten Favorite Things in the Local Skate Shop
There's nothing like a tail-sparking slap to the face to remind you that a skate shop is essentially a very sarcastic and opinionated toy store. Full story
-
Ten Things That Happened in Skateboarding in 2012
I thought I'd close out 2012 with a list of things that happened in skateboarding this year. I don't consider myself an expert and certainly don't keep up with the staggering skate video output the internet has beseeched us with, so don't consider this a list of the best moments Full story
-
All I Want for Christmas
Truth be told, I want absolutely nothing for Christmas. I'd actually like to get rid of some crap in my life Vs. acquiring more stuff, but for the sake of this column I came up with a list of things I'd like for Christmas. Or for the holidays. Or whatever they're calling it these… Full story
-
Remember Zulu's?
You might be asking yourself, "Why did two grown men spend their Sunday afternoon in a drainage ditch?" Valid question. Answer: Because we were trying to film some tricks for an upcoming Roger Skateboards video offering. Full story
-
Hashtag Gum Soles
Yesterday I totally shredded some ditches with two of my all time favorite dudes, the multigenerational Parsons Crew. Mike P. is pretty much a folk hero amongst older Austin skate nerds. Legendary for jumping in head first without checking the water in terms of skate safety. Full story
-
Okay Mountain E.A.S.T. Tour
The East Austin Studio Tour is a yearly self-guided tour in Austin, Texas where artists from all walks of life open their studio doors to the public. I co-own an art space/studio space in Austin called Okay Mountain, which seemed like a good place to start the tour. Full story
-
The Trading Tortoise
This past Saturday I visited DOMY Books, my local art/photography/design bookstore in Austin, and participated in an event called The Trading Tortoise. The Trading Tortoise is a traveling participatory art tour created and organized by Souther Salazar and Monica Choy. Full story
-
Your Mom Is a Nerd
Exactly one year and three days ago I did an art show with my buddy Todd Bratrud at Escapist in Kansas City and I wrote about the experience for this website that you're reading. Fast forward a year and I just did an art show with my buddy Travis Millard at Escapist in Kansas Cit… Full story
-
I Finally Got an iPhone
I finally got an iPhone a few weeks ago. Fairly positive I'm the last of my friends to get one. I think what sealed the deal was when I was out skating with some old bros and one of my unemployed/unemployable friends pulled his iPhone out of his pocket to Instagram some nonsense… Full story
-
Kill the Engine - A Review of My New Skate Video, 'Second Hand Stoke' (by Me)
It might be somewhat unorthodox—even frowned upon—to write a review of your own company's video. Or maybe the subject has never been broached, as I have a sneaking suspicion that numerous skateboard company owner's might not be able to read and write above a junior-high school le… Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Should Skateboarding Be in the Olympics?
Modern vert and mega ramp are essentially gymnastics on wheels anyway, so why not include them? Oh yeah, that's right… because most pro skateboarders are on drugs. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Guided Tours of the Skate Spots in My Neighborhood
As a freelancer, I spend a great deal of time scheming on ways to bring in more money to my household. One idea I had recently was to start giving guided tours of the skate spots in my neighborhood. Kids are always looking for new skate spots, right? Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Trashcan Omelette
Sometimes this column is easy to write. I go someplace, take a bunch of pictures, come home, make fun of the pictures, and then I'm done. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - I Missed My High School Reunion
But I did find all of my IDs from Seguin High. I was a card-carrying member of the fanny pack/beret society. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Can't Stop Drawing Skulls
I thought today I'd get my chrome ball on and scan some of my favorite images from one of the first skateboard magazines I ever saw Full story
-
Kill the Engine: Skate it or Hang it?
This past weekend I flew to Atlanta to attend the opening of the … Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Respect Mom Butts
Back when I was twelve, I would have punched your mom in the butt if you told me that one day I'd be included in a skateboard graphics retrospective with Jim Phillips. Full story
-
KILL THE ENGINE NO. 42: I GET IT, IT'S A CAT
This past week I went to the beach (South Padre Island) with my wife and child. On our way there we passed this super crazy tourist attraction/gift shop called Bobz World and I thought to myself, "If I don't shoot enough photos in South Padre to write a blog, then we're probably Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Anarchy and Jesus Fish?
Here's some musty dusty stuff I dug up at my parents' house over Memorial Day weekend that makes me get all teary and nostalgic. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - The Weird Is Wearing Thin
Anybody got a jam box I can borrow? And some Kleenex? (For tears, not for anything gross.) Full story
-
Kill the Engine - You Never Know When Radical Is Going to Strike
We went to a skatepark and some professional-level skateboarding happened with some amateur-level photography to accompany it. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - This Looks Like a Good Place to Get Murdered
If you like looking at scenic pictures of Texas, read/look at this. If not, get back on Facebook and make a clever comment about your friend's new hairdo/tattoo/sandwich. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Hey, Hold My Beer
There's a saying that goes something like this: What do you usually hear just before somebody dies in the South? "Hey, hold my beer." Full story
-
Kill The Engine - Stop Your Whining
Skateboarders complain about skateboarding becoming too mainstream. But there's always going to be rad creative kids skating, so focus on them instead of the X-Games. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Young, Dumb, and Rad
Jeremy Fish is in Austin this week to paint over my mural (jerk). Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Generations Bridged
Instead of posting a column last week about SXSW, I thought I'd take the week off, wait for the dust to settle, and then sneak back in and blow everybody away with my mind-blowing all inclusive coverage. Full story
-
Kill The Engine - Because I'm An Asshole
My friends had a hobo art show. Maybe it represented a rejection of commercialism and technology? Or maybe they are just broke, so they have to make stuff out of trash. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Puppy at the Ditch
To me, there's nothing finer than spending an afternoon with your friends drinking beer in a ditch. Full story
-
Kill The Engine - The Stuff Nightmares Within Nightmares Are Made Of
While in Chattanooga we visited a local attraction called Rock City. The best part of Rock City was getting a behind-the-scenes tour of the workshop where gnomes and fairy tale characters are created and repaired. Full story
-
Kill The Engine - Toughest Cardigan Ever
Since it's Monday and you're trying to avoid doing your work, maybe I could help kill a few minutes of your day by telling you a little bit about the screen printing party at Industry Print Shop. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - An Interview with Mike Aho
Since I wasn't sure how well my first interview for KTE would be received by my nine fans, I didn't want to go to too much trouble right off the bat. So I just interviewed the guy sitting next to me. Full story
-
Kill The Engine - I Pierced My Nose
I left with a beard and had somehow joined a drum circle and a vegan dreamcatcher appreciation group. Strange times. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Star Trek or Mexico
Sunday was New Year's Day. And like most people, when the world sprouts another white hair in its beard, I like to celebrate by making a to do list for myself for the upcoming year. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Last Week's Column
I feel like it's necessary to start this week's column by addressing last week's column. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Who Shaun White Is
It started something like this: a friend asked me if I'd recently designed some t-shirts for Target. I said no. He went on to tell me that he'd seen some shirts at Target that looked like my work. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - It's Not Magic
The four people who read my column might have noticed I was absent last week, so I tried to make up for it this week by getting butt deep into some art stuff. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Never Forget Dongs
Parodying pot culture has been funny since at least the late 70s, and it's still funny today. Mainly because every time the sun comes up a different kid turns 15. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Cut Your Arm Off
Today's blog is about the East Austin Studio Tour. Welcome. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Dreams Destroyed
Every once in a while, my week is so full of bloggable events that this column writes itself. Last week was one of those weeks. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - The Word Vagina
Scenes from an art show in Vancouver. Me: "Dude! I totally drew that t-shirt!" Dude: "Yeah, I know..." Followed by awkward silence. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Decapitated Dog's Head
I had planned on submitting a travel blog this week about a recent trip I took to Vancouver for an art show, but then I realized that this blog was going to go up on Halloween and I changed my mind. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Americans Are Stupid
Well, it's finally not hot as balls down here in Texas, which means skateboard season has officially started. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Crazy Hot Turds
Imagine being the dude who made the first skateboarding zine. You'd probably think you were pretty hot turd, huh? Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Back in the 90s
Have you ever been to an art show? Do you know what an art show is? An art show is when artists make art and then they exhibit that art and then a bunch of people put on weird hats and funny t-shirts and they go look at the art. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Television, Cults, Gyms
Sometimes this column is fairly easy to write. But sometimes this column is more difficult to write because what I want to write about requires a lot of background information and is fairly confusing. Today's column is of the background information/confusing variety, so bear with… Full story
-
Kill the Engine - The Crowd Goes WIld
I mentioned a few months ago that I have a fairly large zine collection. I also mentioned that I'll be periodically sharing some of the zines in my collection with you. So that's what's going on right now. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Doritos and Loneliness
When I started this column my intention was to write about little skateboarding missions. Hitting the short road with some buddies and checking out new skateparks in our vicinity, or maybe just rolling around old spots that we've been sessioning forever. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Screech Rules
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was in the process of moving all of the stuff out of my home office/studio and into a different room in my house. Unfortunately, it's taking a really long time because I Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Scary Skull
Last week I took a trip to Domy Books (in Austin), and while I was there I picked up a copy of WARNING: The Art of Marc Mckee. If you're not familiar with Marc Mckee, then I'm going to take a s… Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Something about Weasels
This week I made a little visit to my favorite bookstore in Austin, Domy Books. As far as I know this is the only bookstore in Austin dedicated solely to art, design, and photography. I could be wrong though, so don't quote me on that. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - The Essence of Rad
I'm currently in the process of moving everything out of my home office and into a smaller room in my house because my wife decided that my office would be better suited as a baby room. It's hard to argue with her, since the only thing I really do in my office is look at skateboa… Full story
-
Kill the Engine - Lick the Walls
Texas BBQ is serious business. People get really heated when discussing who (or where) has the best BBQ. But this isn't just a Texas phenomenon. Full story
-
Kill the Engine - The Groundhog Nation
This week I went to another skatepark... Are you starting to see a pattern here? My wife suggested that I should try to write about something more interesting than going to skateparks. So I made a list of other things I do that I could possibly write about. Full story
-
We Spoke to a Former Crack Addict About Rob Ford
Chatting with an expert about Rob Ford's crack scandal.
-
VICE News: B.C. Bud
Visiting grow ops and the RCMP to chat about weed and weed production.
-
Pakistan's Election Went Off Without a Hitch... Sort Of
Just being able to transition governmental authority without military involvement is a victory.
-
Speaking with Adam Kokesh, Before He Was Detained by the Feds
This would be the first in a series of controversies surrounding Adam and his politics.
-
In Search of Tim Dog, the Rapper Turned Con Artist Who Probably Faked His Own Death
This February, the legendary rapper turned grifter Tim Dog died. So why is there a warrant out for his arrest?
-
George's Fun Happy Place
George has a lot of problems to overcome, but he's capable of an incredible lightness.
-
Psychic Melt: The Art of Alexandra Mackenzie
Noodle faces, girls with guns, wolves, galaxies, reptiles, crystals, and more.
-
VICE News: Triple Hate
'Triple Hate' is a four-part documentar
-
VICE on HBO Outtakes: Tobaccoland
Thomas Morton gets a full smoke-therapy treatment in Malang.
-
Fringes: Deportee Purgatory
Tijuana’s El Bordo is home to thousands of heroin-addicted Mexican deportees.
-
Is War Brewing in Niger?
If the latest terrorist attack is any indication, the answer might be yes.
-
The Creators Project: Turning CCTV Footage into Art
An invasion of privacy and erosion of our civil liberties can serve as a source for art.
-
Meet the Nieratkos: Jeff Grosso Has a Beautiful Mind
Is Jeff Grosso the last vestige of free speech in skateboarding?
-
Carlos Rafael and His Fish Are the American Dream
I spoke to him about cod and federal tax evasion.
-
Pen Pals: HardWhite and Harry Potter
Little white wizards get no play in county lockup.
-
This Week in Racism: Sergio Garcia Can't Wait to Serve Tiger Woods Fried Chicken
Golf is racist.
-
We Watched the Suburbs of Stockholm Burn
Are the riots in the suburbs of Stockholm a real threat or just some bored, teenage pyros?
-
Ryan Florig Blends Skate Photography with Guns, Weed, and Fire
This Washington-based photographer thrives on the principles of street photography.
-
Facebook and Censorship's Slippery Slope
You're not in America when you're on Facebook—you're on the internet.
-
Director Alex Gibney on Hackers and Julian Assange
If Michael Moore is obsessed with outra
-
MMA's Greatest Moment (and Ben Henderson's Worst) Makes Its Way into the Mainstream
As long as he lives, Ben Henderson will never be free of Anthony Pettis’ mind-scrambling kick.
-
George's Fun Happy Place
George has a lot of problems to overcome, but he's capable of an incredible lightness.
-
What Does Terrorism Mean in 2013?
It's a difficult word to define, according to Glenn Greenwald.
-
Fringes: The Warrior State
Mexican civilians who are taking justice into their own hands.
-
VICE News: Triple Hate
'Triple Hate' is a four-part documentar
-
Pump It Up
Photos by Anna Ryon and styling by Lola Chatterton.
-
Get Rich or High Trying
The smart money is increasingly looking to marijuana as the nation's biggest new business.
-
Murderous Fanatics and EDL Idiots Brought Darkness to Woolwich Yesterday
We spent the day there trying to make sense of it all.
-
A Few Impressions: 'Leviathan,' I Love You
It holds up a mirror to nature, but this mirror came from a funhouse.
-
The Loneliness of the Village at the End of the World
Niaqornat's residents fight alcoholism and suicide as their village sinks into the Arctic.
-
Hamilton's Pharmacopeia: Tanks for the Memories
What happens to the mind, body, and spirit while inside the tank.
-
Deportee Purgatory
About 40 percent of Mexican immigrants deported from the US are sent back through Tijuana.
-
VICE News: Sisa: Cocaine of the Poor
A new drug called sisa is tearing its way through Athens' poor.
Deportee Purgatory
Welcome to Tijuana’s El Bordo 
'Leviathan,' I Love You
James Franco at the Movies 
Juggalos Are OK, Cupid
Don’t Be a Tumblr Asshole 
Get Rich or High Trying
The Coming Age of Corporate Cannabis 
Triple Hate - Part 1
The KKK vs. the Crips vs. Memphis City Council 
Rave and Hardcore YouTube Comments
They Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity 
