In this installment of the man files that has turned into just examples of manly activities instead of instructional posts we have chainsaws, off road vehicles, sports cars, and bob.
Bob using a chainsaw. did you ever think you would see it in your lifetime?
bob looking like some kind of f'd up euro lesbian. In our defense we had to just wear watever outdoor gear there was in the closet from 30 years ago.
my dad was probably pretty concerned about bob's wet noodle arms.
ladies? any takers? this is what a man does. he drives off road vehicles. this is a T-rex but spelled weird like Tyrx or something hooked up to a cart.
the 4th hay field where my dad has a shooting range.
we used to sled down this treacherous trail lined with thorn bushes on both sides. I'm old now so there is no hitting the ramp at the bottom and flying in the air and slamming down hard and being instantly ok.
the canisteo valley
trouble on the trail! quick boy fetch dad because we can't fix sh!t !!
our dad fixed up this British triumph spitfire a few years ago. why couldn't they have this when we were in highschool?
Last country breakfast, sausage gravy and biscuits, hash browns, buttermilk pancakes
fox mask from that 1000 red torri gate shrine in kyoto that we forgot to give bob.
my communication arts 51st annual illustration award
ren and stimpy seasons 4 and 5 dvds i got for xmas.
this will be maybe the 3rd book i've read since highschool following his previous book "guns, germs, and steel". both are highly recommended by bob which is why i read them. i can highly recommend too.
senior portraits
unfiltered sake i got for my parents from japan. they started drinking sake. i like that they have taken a liking to some of the stuff from my travels.
Korean dance masks i bought them 10 years ago in Seoul
the tunnel and weave polls in action, ala best in show. my mom is all into this now. these dogs are a little big for this.
Brody's canine good citizenship badge because he went to obedience school. Ok on to the NY posts next!
The Man Files - Part 2 and Post Xmas
Family Portrait Shoot - Client: The Raishes
So for this shoot our client was the Raishes, a powerful family from Steuben county in upstate NY. They wanted a family portrait because it's been a good 20 years since they've had one taken. They called on us because of our eccentric tastes and we delivered.
Assisting on this shoot was Bob.
wardrobe and makeup: Jason and bob.
Catering: Bob's Vegitarian Catering LLC
Creative Director: Jason
Location: The Raish residence, Canisteo, NY
The final result
earlier you saw the pic of us at salvation army hunting for the perfect wardrobe for this shoot. we got lucky and found 4 perfect sweaters. We bought 4 pan clip lights from walmart. we bought various wattage bulbs from lowes ranging from 150 -300 watts. We bought some wispy white fabric to diffuse the lights. we bought a queen sized top sheet and a box of RIT dye from walmart and basically tie-dyed the sheet and bleached it again afterward cuz it got too dark. So much effort but I'm happy with the results.
the backdrop drying in the basement overnight. Bob had no faith in this but we did it bob!
check out our super ghetto lighting rig. the diffuser fabric is taped to the ceiling with painters tape and string.
the fussy "stars" demanded their own trailers. they got this.
We went with Bob's Vegetarian Catering on this one. They do a decent job although the service could be friendlier and have a more positive attitude. Guacamole, veggies, various cheeses and crackers, pepperoni, mango, tomatoes, spinach dip....
bob's vegetarian portobello mozzarella basil bruchetta
Bob's mozerella something and something pizza. good job bob, the client was pleased, the pizza was good. so we will consider your catering services again in the future.
who looks the most fab? I think Mrs. Raish has the best sweater. it's got beaded and sequined snowflakes. props to assistant Bob for hunting that one down.
our last family portrait had dogs in it. this is many years and rounds of newfoundlands later
its funny to see that this is going on in our living room.
bob loves this pose. i haven't had time to process all the photos yet.
yes we did cut our sleeves off
this is so awesome and gross
i asked bob if i should lighten this photo and he said no, if you're going for the post photoshoot dark and creepy and rapey feeling then you've nailed it.
one more time, are there two brothers that are more the Korean embodiment of Tom Cruise and Leo Dicaprio? Are there?
The Man Files - Part 1
This is the first of what was supposed to be a 7 day series of learning how to do various manly things. "How to be a Man" was supposed to have us riding the preverbal shotgun with our dad, Bob Raish Jr., for 7 days of testosterone, posturing, machismo, and general knowledge that every man is supposed to know but doesn't because we are generation Y and we are a bunch of big baby man adults that are always spoiled for choice and have had the luxury of living a soft life. Do you think Bob Raish Jr. had problems like wether or not this cheese is from free range, grass fed cows? or what he's gonna do about that scandalous picture he got tagged in on facebook? The changing landscape of society has rendered us way less manly than our fathers. That's why we couldn't even complete this blog series. There were several factors that de-railed our plan. 1. Bob refused to shoot a gun. 2. NY winters are not so nice (this week it was 19 F/-7C in the daytime) so this made us think twice about doing any outdoor activities. 3. We got really sleepy and lazy. Because of this you won't see any shooting various guns, changing a tire, snaring a small animal, changing oil, scaling a fish, setting a bone, gutting an animal, starting a fire, hot wiring a car, syphoning gas, etc....
This is our dad, Bob Raish Jr. He served in the US army, was president of the sportsman's club (gun shooting club) in our town at one point, annually hunts, guts, and hangs North American White-tailed deer, remodeled our whole house, drives a 4 wheeler, had to sell his Harley because of his stupid kids, owns the full range of power tools, and has a full mustache and beard. I would say that is pretty manly. That is why it is so funny because we are the opposite of that, especially Bob (vegetarian, left wing, pacifist, 140 lbs). Our dad's various manly professions have been electrician, electrical inspector, and electrical trades instructor. He loses points in this category because these jobs are skilled instead of being stereotypically manly like smashing rocks or something. but they are still miles more manly than an illustrator with dainty soft artist hands or a mathematician with dainty soft math hands.
This is bob. just look at him. We're in trouble. he's equipped with some of the tools of man. a staple gun, a tape measure, a pencil, and needle nose pliers.
this is me trying to lift a huge entertainment center and it going nowhere. remember fellas, don't lift with your back now.
So today's "How to be a Man" project is a speaker wire repair operation. The dog chewed through the speaker wires so they have to be spliced together again and installed nicely into some kind of special speaker wire connection wall socket. Typically the domain behind a TV/entertainment center with all the thousands of wires and plugs is the domain of the man. Good luck with that Bob.
down to the basement we go, another typical domain of the man, to follow the trail of speaker wire.
i had to crawl in this creepy crawl space once when i was little, for some home improvement project and saw the red eyes of rats peering back at me. awesomeness.
a hole had to be drilled through the floor with a power drill to accommodate the speaker wires.
there's nothing in this picture Jason you might be saying. and yes there isn't. i have taken a picture of faint sound. how many of you out there know that part of your job as a son is to wait attentively on the other side of a wall to see if you "hear something/see something/feel something" while your dad is on the other side with power tools or fishing something between the dry wall and insulation and 2x4's. This is usually followed by faint scratching and your dad getting really mad.
real men bleed on the job.
finding studs in the wall. we didn't learn this skill, i'm just frontin'
cutting drywall. this step has serious implications if you F-up
many skipped steps later and here is the final product, the speaker wire connector wall outlet thing. We basically stood around for an hour after being bored after 2 minutes while our dad did everything.
another manly activity, sharpening knives on a stone and leather belt with honing oil and then cutting the hair off your arm to test the sharpness. I don't even have hair on my arm.
another manly activity, grilling steak. seasoning optional but welcome.
So we didn't really learn that much because we're generation Y and have the attention span of a 6 year old at best. So i hope you will enjoy the rest of our examples of manlines as opposed to how to be a man series.
