insignificant thoughts » Me Stuff

The Art of Buying Supplies

Vinny — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:49:54 +0000

When I was a kid, we used to go to the local guy to buy art supplies. It was a big local chain and the supplies weren’t exactly priced well (in fact, they were a total ripoff), but they were the only game in town. I wish places like Jerry’s Artarama were around because my parents probably could’ve saved a fortune on art supplies!

Art Supplies are a much more competitive business now, thanks to internet companies being able to compete with local art supply stores. I know this doesn’t sound like a good thing, but think about it… Are the items at the local guy priced to benefit you or him? Just as much as your “local guy” wants to make a buck, you have every right to save a buck or two, and with Jerry’s Artarama, you’ll probably save even more than that.

Jerry’s Artarama carries a full line of supplies for every type of art you want to indulge in, whether it’s sculpting, charcoals, or even gold leafing. In fact, since 1968, Jerry’s Artarama has been saving people bucketloads of money on their art supply needs, and in 2010, from their 80,000 square foot warehouse in Henderson, North Carolina, they service 200,000 customers world wide.

Now of course Jerry’s is a business just like others, but they also have no problem giving back to their customers. Every day they post a new art lesson on their site, in video form, for free. Take a look at the one that’s up there as I write this on how to put fallen logs in your landscapes. I think it’s pretty cool that they not only sell the supplies, but they’re willing to help you get the most out of them.

Does your local guy do that?

Cool. Does your local guy do that for free?

Probably not.

Oh, and one last thing. If you spend $175 on supplies, the shipping is on the house (for more details on shipping times, click here).

Bottom line: if you need Art Supplies, head to Jerry’s.

Gotta Be More Careful

Vinny — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:26:37 +0000

I am a sunglass addict. I readily admit this. I used to buy cheapo deluxe sunglasses, but got more and more into higher end brands (Bollé and Maui Jim, for example).

My first pair of Maui Jim sunglasses got busted when I left them sitting on an end table in my living room and Patches knocked a pile of picture frames over onto them. Buh bye! They shattered like nobody’s business. $180 sunglasses down the tubes.

My second pair was in my jacket pocket at the Audience Conference in November. I picked up my jacket along with my camera equipment when I was leaving and they must’ve fallen out. Guess what? I never recovered them. Another $180 down the drain.

Right now I’m wearing a pair of Bollé Anacondas. They were significantly cheaper, and if I do happen to smash them or leave them behind at a conference, at least I can take comfort in the fact that they weren’t $180!

In the future, I’m going to try and buy cheap wholesale sunglasses, though. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have a few dozen pairs knowing the invariably bad luck that follows me every time I buy a pair!

Movie and Pizza Night

Vinny — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:33:10 +0000

Last night was another one of those “it’s way too damned cold to go outside” nights, so Beth and I stayed in and ordered pizza and watched a couple of movies.

First up? The Final Destination. Beth and I are big fans of the Final Destination movies. They’re ridiculous, improbable, silly, and over the top, and they’re a hell of a lot of fun to watch. This one was no different. There’s constant tension as you wonder how and when the character on screen is going to die. You know it’s coming, you just don’t know how. Throughout the movie, you can tell that it was meant to be in 3D, but it was still pretty enjoyable as a plain old DVD.

Then we checked out Netflix Online to see what was available, and we settled on Cat’s Eye, a Stephen King movie I’d never heard of. It was originally made in 1985 and it’s basically a story of a cat that moves from one “scene” to another. There are three short stories in the movie, and the cat is involved, somehow, in all of them, on its trip to Wilmington North Carolina for the final story. The first two stories? Believable if not a little silly. The third? Way out there into Stephen King land. Either way? It’s a nice 90 minute diversion from the real world and I’m glad we settled down to check them both out.

Never Moving By Myself Again

Vinny — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:33:23 +0000

When Beth and I moved into our current apartment in April of 2005, it was the second time we had moved in 4 years. The first was when we got married and moved to the Bronx (well, I moved. She lived here anyway). I had the bright idea that, since we were both moving out of our parents’ houses, we could get away with doing the moving work ourselves without hiring one of the myriad of local movers in the area.

Dumb. Effing. Idea.

I will NEVER do that again. My father, buddy Eric, and I did all the moving. First from my parents to my new apartment (Staten Island to the Bronx) and then from Beth’s parents’ apartment to our new apartment. Three men… No worries!

Never again.

Next time I’m going straight to Hire a Helper and hiring a team of New York movers to help me move from where I am to wherever I end up going (and, if I move to Texas like I always say I want to, they have Houston movers also). Why?

Well, for one thing you get a bunch of companies to choose from, and not only do they have names and contact info, but they have reviews from customers who have used them, and you can book your move and check out right on the site.

Or you could be dumb like me and say “Nah, I’ll do it myself.” Me? I’m saving my back, legs, and arms next time. When it’s this easy to find someone to lend a hand (or do all the work, depending on your level of laziness!) it’s silly to do it on your own.

My Morning

Vinny — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:38:35 +0000

Reposted from this morning in higher quality.

– Posted with Stuffr! –

My First Blog Post

Vinny — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:04:04 +0000

Wow… It’s kinda cool what you can find. I don’t have the original Movable Type database, but Archive.org has all my original blog postings…

Nearly 8 years later, I’m still asking that same question…

Dad’s 61st Birthday

Vinny — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:40:15 +0000

Grandpa’s 85th Birthday

Vinny — Sun, 24 May 2009 23:16:34 +0000

Vegas Vacation, 2008

Vinny — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:55:42 +0000

Dad’s 60th Birthday

Vinny — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 03:25:29 +0000

Just trying out my Motionbox account.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Vinny — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 19:43:04 +0000

It’s a few days late, but it’s the first time I’ve been with my family since my birthday

Sing to me, people! from vincenzof on Vimeo.

Churn Churn Churn

Vinny — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 02:15:14 +0000

Technorati Tags: loren feldman, 1938 media

Our New Godson!

Vinny — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:14:45 +0000

David Talks About Jacob

Vinny — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:56:47 +0000

Technorati Tags: david, jacob, cute

Kitteh #2

Vinny — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:09:52 +0000

Patches has an adopted sister now

After trying for years to get one cat, the wife caved like a house of cards and let another into our home.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Pandora, thusly named because we couldn’t decide whether to name her Panda or Oreo.

Cute, isn’t she?

Technorati Tags: pandora, cat, kitten, cute

Time To Do The Dishes

Vinny — Tue, 22 May 2007 03:08:54 +0000

Time To Do The Dishes from vincenzof on Vimeo

Technorati Tags: vimeo, video, time lapse, stop motion, video

I still have next to no voice…

Vinny — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:22:21 +0000

Ya know, I missed a lot of cool shit that went on this weekend with this stupid cold. I mean, I had to go shopping and all, but if you listened to Friday’s podcast, you can hear me coughing up a lung and losing my voice as the show went on…

I know this probably means nothing to any of you, but I felt the need to bitch.

The Road Home

Vinny — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 14:36:06 +0000

My trip home at 6x normal speed. Music by Beat Control @ Magnatune.com.

Technorati Tags: road home, video, driving, magnatune, beat control

Morning Traffic

Vinny — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:31:35 +0000

Just a quick video I shot while sitting at a stand still on the Bronx River Parkway a few weeks ago.

Morning Traffic on Vimeo

Technorati Tags: video, traffic, bronx

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Vinny — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 15:01:29 +0000

Today, Patches turns 1! She’s a year old today!

Join me as I take you through her time at our home…

Patches Turns 1 on Vimeo

Technorati Tags: patches, cat, kitten, calico, cute