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.

merciful

so i hung out at the broiler for a few hours. its a different crowd now than there used to be. the vibe is different. maybe its just me. maybe its just the cold, or the holidays. i really intended to stay later than i did, but i just wasn't feeling it. 

there were a couple dozen cars there. some of the new clubs tend to gather in front of their cars and don't move. kind of bovine, just standing there. i didn't feel like out-glaring them out of the way, so i skipped them. shame.

i'd already spent time shooting cars i'd taken before. mainly, if they were in a different location, or the light struck them different than before. fricking richard's car got in a few shots, but i'll pretend it isn't there, since it doesn't exist in my universe.

sometimes, you just need to look at something differently, and it will be a lot more interesting. i've shot this one before, but i wanted to get some of the roof, then noticed the neon, then the sky, and angles and colors. just wished that the soccer mom van and other newer cars were not there, since they were hiding some other nice old cars.

this one seems to be for sale now; tiny tiny "for sale" on the window doesn't really scream that you're trying too hard.

chillin’

so i had some vacation time saved up, and i've got the week off. end of the world coming, so why not chillax? end of the world is my mom's birthday. is there some significance in that? lol.

its been raining off and on, and i love that. been sleeping in late. went to a movie today. saw the chevy at the havana house yet again. totally going to get my camera next time and shoot it. though i know i already shot it at the whittier uptown show. but different season, different light, could be pretty awesome. i'd ask your permission, but it stinks in there, and hey, you're out in a public parking lot.

thinking about driving out to pasadena tomorrow. maybe go shoot some flowers for a change. still a little bit of space on the hard drive. deleted some stuff from 2010, so some miniscule bit freed up.

also will probably end up in downey tomorrow evening. try to be there before sunset, maybe stay a little later, since hey, i don't have to get up at freaking 4:30 in the morning. all depends on what shows up. and how much my better half whines about me being out. he worries sometimes.

anyway, not going up to see my daughter, flights are too expensive...she'll have to wait until april. thought about driving to san fran for a couple of days, but i'd have to go alone, which i've done several times before, but i just don't feel like it this time. and it's raining up there all week so whatever.

here's a detail of the airbrushing on the shade thing from this awesome pontiac.

delayed gratification

there's something to be said for waiting. "all good things take time." "everything's eventual." there's the an-tici-...pation. a delicious, squirrelly itch, which you're sure will never end. sort of like love.

i suppose that there are a lot of pictures i take, that will never get posted here, mostly due to a lack of time and attention. and i apologize to any of the guys who have waited endlessly to see their car here. really, if you've been waiting that long, i wonder why you've never bothered to send me an email to ask about it. otherwise, i'm left to my own devices and whims as to what i post. and i hear that a woman's heart is a mysterious thing, at least my better half has me thinking so. let me know when you have me figured out, d. 

some days, i have no idea which car i want to post, i love them all. other days, i just want to delete them all, and go in search of new cars and new shows. and then i have days, sitting here, worrying how many more can i play with before i run out of space. come on after xmas sales! i need new hard drives.

anyway. taking a break from the legends of san pedro, to post one from the other show i went to that day. i found the token lifestyles car, of which there seems to always be one or two, at some of the better advertised shows. always immaculately painted, pinstriped and/or airbrushed. this one just seems so bright and cheerful in the craptastic background of santa ana. not one of my favorite chevys, but i liked it nonetheless. why ask why?

legend in his own mind

i really liked this truck, but i didn't like the location when i got there. sun was rising, and it was next to a light pole, with a big, strong shadow across the hood. and a group of guys that were standing around in front of it.

so i walked away from it, and started shooting the other cars, the ones in better locations.

still frustrating was that from the good side of a car, there was the tent, or people, or the public bathroom, and from the other side, my shadow would fall across the cars, unless i got down low enough.

sometimes patience will solve a problem. i went back to this one before i left, the sun had moved, the guys had moved a little farther away. i didn't like what was on the other side of the truck, but i did like the palm trees. so there you go.

notorius

ya, not so much into these kind of cars, but i can appreciate a good paint job or pinstriping. bright, sunny, hot day, so it kind of blows out the glitter paint on the roof, but i did like the pinstripes. and that's all i have to say about this. it's late, it's raining, and i'm tired.

oh, and btw, happy bday to angel...your facebook page keeps reminding me...gotta kill off that feature. that and "other people you might know..." thanks zuck. ttfn.

wonderful pointy things

here it is. again. little dvill. also from the last uptown show. his club helped out with the early, so freakin early, set up of the show. no crowds. no stark shadows. only thing better than the early morning light would be the misty fog of past years shows.

have always, always been fascinated with this car. all the pointy wonderments on the back. it could take out an eye or a kneecap. or enable self-neutering.

the ghostly flames on the front. the paint so polished, you could stare at it until you felt like falling down the rabbit hole.

he's been hiding this puppy, preferring his shiny lincoln this past year. thankfully, he has people. and those people helped bring it out for the show.

temptation

i've posted this truck before. it really is extraordinary. paint, pinstripes, and engraving. really interesting airbrusing.

this was last month at the viejitos show. then i ran into it again earlier this month at the latin gents show. second time i've spoken to the owner, though i doubt he remembered the first time out at santa ana the previous year.

anyway, at the gents show, he asked if i could take a picture of his truck, specifically from the side and above. best i could do was get up on a curb. he and his buds were sitting in chairs in the sweet spot for taking the shot from, due to the location and sun angle.

i've said before, that i shoot them as i see them, and i didn't feel like getting a bunch of guys to move out of the way, even after they asked for the shot. if they can't think of it themselves, i'm not going to bother to tell them. they did move a little bit out of the way, but i still wasn't going to be able to get the shot they asked for.

should trust the photographer's eye, and even then, they don't always get the perfect shot. because he asked to see other shots, i'm posting a few here. i've got a few more, but not liking them enough to post, which i could say about most any of the cars i shoot.

i don't like coffee

can't stand the smell of it. can't imagine how foul that inky molten sludge must taste as it scorches down your throat. flavored varieties just add an overtone to the stench below.

no thanks. i prefer my caffeine cold. gimme a coke anytime. though, if you think about it, is probably just as bad for you. rusts nails and stuff. wonder if it would remove tarnish off of silverware?

anyway, besides the point. these cadillac guys are almost always here at bob's. they play musical chairs with the parking spots. this one got lucky tonight, out from under the roof of the drive-up, and below the neon. and just a hint of the last of the sunset. and the white paint really reflects all of that color back.

haven't been there in over a month. now the time has changed, and it gets dark early. in spite of the longer drive from the new office, i still got there about five-thirty. apparently, still too early for much to be there, but i just didn't feel like waiting. going to "bed" "early," if you can call nine-thirty early.

racy lacy

got things to do this evening, so quick post.

saw this tangiers club car "moded" at the showlows show at st hilary's last month. one of the few cars i shot that day. as always, couldn't get all the detail of the paint job, particularly on the roof. maybe i'll get a ladder for xmas, if i'm a good girl. what fun is that? and then i'd have to get a little red wagon to pull the thing along, or persuade a big guy to carry it for me... >:)