move over

ahhh, the holidays. time of brotherly love. can you feel it, driving through the parking lots at the mall, everyone waving the one finger salute in peace and love, while they angle for the closest parking space? mouthing two short words; i'm thinking possibly 'love you,' but i can't be sure. yes, i don't go to the mall during the holidays and post xmas sale season, there's just too much friendly repartee for me to handle.

move over. exactly what i'm thinking when i'm driving down the freeway. little old ladies, get out of the way, captain insano, get away from me. just want to get where i'm going in one piece.

happy whatever

i'm baked. i mean, i spent all afternoon, to past midnight yesterday, baking stuff for family members. hope they don't tell me they're on a diet this year.

every year i make a batch of vinegar taffy for my dad. something his mother used to make for him. never knew her, but he looks forward to that stinking bag of taffy every christmas. and following most every christmas, he has to make an appointment at the dentist to have a crown replaced. until a couple of years ago, when he decided to superglue the damn things into his mouth himself. hasn't lost a crown since then.

well, this year, i had to make the stuff twice, and both times, it just didn't turn out right. sure it's taffy, chewy and soft, but this stuff should be hard, yet soft (hmmm, ahem), and it should shatter if you hit it right. i'm blaming the new candy thermometer i had to get, since all my own stuff is still in my house, where my kid is now living.

so my arms are tired from stirring batter, shredding stuff, and pulling taffy. at least i didn't burn my hands off this year. so i'm thankful for that. and my better half took his first try at pulling taffy. something about lots of practice pulling...something...that's what he said.

new life

here's another of the few images i took from the showlow's st hilary show. don't really pay attention to low riders unless they have some exceptional, eye-catching something that compels me to stop.

there weren't too many at the show, at least that i noticed, being lost in a reverie of old chevys. i liked the artwork on this one, and that it was low enough i didn't curse the day for not bringing a ladder to get it. per their facebook, the club has reformed from a long ago disbanded group.

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so i took a week off with my better half, on a road trip from san diego to sausalito, with stops in between, celebrating our fifth anniversary. makes it difficult to post without a computer, and from an ipad or iphone, formatting is a bitch. i managed to only post once while on the road, and have since fixed what was screwy with the previous car post.

i did check for car shows, but only found one near us in san diego, and didn't want to drive over to oakland for another at the end of our trip. i'll post a few pictures from san diego soon.

taking the day off to sleep in and take care of laundry, etc., after the eight hour drive home yesterday. not looking forward to going back to the office tomorrow. it's always such a shock to get back into the swing of things, that we really only take time off once a year or so. i think they managed to get by without me, but hopefully they missed me anyway.

here's a shot from pacific grove, up by monterey, at sunset. nice, but needed some clouds or something. it was very windy, other than that, a pretty average sundown.

how much is too much?

i gotta think there is a point when one should stop. think michael jackson and his face nipping hobby, until his nose was practically falling off without the tape on it. what's the point of tweaking your face, if you're always covering it up with a mask?

i think there was a time, that this car would have been just fine. new upholstery, more than enough decorative vents on the hood, along with a chromed grille and wheels. that would have been nice and clean.

but it seems like a crazed pinstriper got set loose on this puppy, and went mask crazy with his mad airbrush skillz. and the glitter bomb. so much stuff globbed on, that there seems to be bubbles and creases on the paint. what causes that? a build up? almost like the decals we'd put on model airplanes as kids, and didn't squeeze the air out from underneath. you can kind of overlook it because the darker patterns distract the eyes, but still...wait a minute. is it just one of those car wraps, poorly applied, with some mad photoshop skillz killin it? that would be cheating, now wouldn't it?

could be worse. could be a honda with a big whale tail, all lowered in the front and all pimped out, windows tinted black. and an engine that sounds like the squirrels are going full tilt on the wheel that doubles as an engine. and big ass speakers in the trunk and sub woofers in the doors, rendering the passengers sterile with the sonic boom of the crap rap playing inside...oh, sorry. thinking of a car i passed on the street not so long ago. pfft.

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on another note, my better half finally got a call on wednesday, with the opportunity to get into LAX and shoot pictures of the shuttle, up close and personal, before they moved it out. ya, we know a guy...

any other day, he'd have been there, no question. but it was our fifth anniversary, and told the guy, on this day, he just couldn't. of course he didn't mention it, until it was too late to go. i would have told him to go ahead, or else take me with him. errr. figures he'll see it at the museum eventually, and we'd seen the one out at dulles before. guess he has his priorities straight. i think i'll keep him. happy anniversary d.

de la chica

sorry i can't chat tonight. gotta get to bed, but wanted to at least post a purty picture. this one belongs to one of the ladies at the viejitos show. she came over and chatted for a minute. beautiful car...so jealous.

ttfn.

little mermaid

i was just reviewing some of my older photos, looking for something i might have been keeping for a later point and forgot about. i think this one qualifies.

i posted the front end a couple of years ago, then forgot about it. it happens. i have a lot of pictures, as occasionally someone will comment on whether i have enough yet. well, no. i may be close to filling my hard drive up, but can you really ever have enough? i'm still learning and having fun with your cars and my camera.

this was from 2010, when the whittier uptown was still a decent show, overflowing in excellence of all types of cars, low riders included. while some of the lifestyles cars showed up this year, this one wasn't one of them. the few that were there had their hoods up, and had a crowd around them each time i walked by. in fact, i only shot one of them, and i'm not all that thrilled with it.

this one, i found early in the day, and far enough up the street from the main intersection, that there were few people in the way. though i did go back for more later in the day, and ya, more people.

the car is impressive. the paint finish is luminous on these candy cars, almost like you're staring into a pool of water, and you may fall in. interesting airbrushing and pinstriping on many of them, in interesting locations on the cars. liked the mermaid on the back end of this—wonder if its a portrait or just the typical fantasy girl guys wish they had.

tail dragger

another of the early arrivals at the whittier show. location would have been perfect, if the neon theatre lights were still on.

i think it's a ford. didn't have the entry form on the window this early, and forgot to check it later. what do they call this finish...brushed metal? twisted steel & sex appeal? nah, not twisted, that'd be me. sex appeal, i guess it's interesting enough.

is it a sign?

i didn't sleep well last night, and had a hard time staying awake today. yet here i am posting, early for me anyway.

picked up my pictures from the fair today. only had one offer to buy one, and that turned out to be more of can you take a picture of my car inquiry. about what i expected. oh well, they look ok hanging on the wall here. left the honorable mention ribbon hanging on one of them for now. i'll pull it off before it gets too dusty, i suppose.

here's another lifestyle car. hiding in the shade on a hot day. unintentionally caught a religious symbol by the car. maybe it's a sign?

walk this way...

the continuing saga at work of too much overtime, and not enough sleep. today, i'd intended to go to the broiler. left work a half hour later than normal—told them i just was done for the day, i am fried—and headed out.

what a difference thirty minutes makes in the traffic. i was screwed, mainly because someone had decided to occupy the same lane as another car on the freeway in santa ana, so went surface streets. normally it takes about forty-five minutes to get home; took two hours, and after sitting all day, followed by a long ride home, i just couldn't bear to drag my butt to the show. telling myself i'll go to ruby's on friday. most of the work will be done by then, so shouldn't be a problem leaving on time toward the end of the week. and the tradeshow will be over by mid next week, so i can get back to posting more regularly too.

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here's a beauty from the SFV show. there was a plethora (a plethora?) of cars, and many clubs were represented. i've loved these candy colored lifestyle club low riders since i first saw a bunch at the uptown whittier show a couple of years ago. hoping they'll show up again next month.

they had a bunch of their cars parked under the shade of the solar panels. kinda mutes the colors, but not by much. saa-weeeet. and i'm an id...forgot to note what kind of car this is...lincoln? chevy? buick? whatever.

only got a few other cars—which i'll get to eventually—because of the heat, but i hella wish i'd stayed and got so many more. next time...

shooting star

catch a comet by the tail, but not in this case. i liked the front end better.

rare day at a car show lately. family and work priorities finally gave me a brief break. this show in paramount has started up again for the spring/summer season. never are too many cars here, and the cliquish (as i was told by an unnamed acquaintance) group are always bunched up in front of the main circle of cars, in front of the trophy table. kind of like the oscars, they vote each other the awards every week, even if one of them doesn't bring their car or arrives late...or so i was told.