what's up?

full moon fever

1941 pontiac hood ornament

well, we're on our way back from washington, my mom and i. driving down the 101 along the coast. somewhere in oregon tonight. giant full moon in the sky. i've got my tripod with me, but haven't really used it. busy driving on winding forest roads.

one of my new cameras is refusing to read any memory card, so will have to ship it in for service. realizing that i do ok shooting cars sitting still, and sometimes portraits. but landscapes without a tripod, pfft. i shake too much. that and i'm really trying to like the sony a6000, but i only brought one lens for it, and not the adapter to use the others on it. less pictures, more memories, being in the moment. at least that's what i'm going with.

lots of tweakers in seattle and tacoma, so didn't get all my gear out. but i have it, just in case i cross a car show, or random car in the wild.

one observation on the limited number of classic cars i've noticed driving the last week, is that ninety percent are fords, mostly hot rodded white boy style, and one hundred percent of the cars still on the road are painted with flames. the last big show of their season was last week before we arrived. owners start garaging them after that, before the rains really start. i did see a red flamed studebaker for sale.

the other observation, is that they love big trucks and muscle cars. bigger and louder the better.

so i'm going through fleetline withdrawals, and on my way to fix that, but that's still a week away. hoping to drive through giant redwoods, and stop in san fran for crab dinner, then san jose, to say hello to my future niece. after that, maybe salinas to visit deadend magazine for a tshirt.

yadda yadda yadda.

i'm sure my better half is keeping himself so busy he hardly notices that i'm gone. the house is probably cleaner than it has been in a long time.


love pontiac hood ornaments. even if it doesn't seem to be original.

48 fleetmaster

1948 chevrolet fleetmaster

beautiful chevy early in the morning. the whole reason for getting out there early.


so i am writing from a random hotel in yreka, ca, on the second night of my road trip to seattle. driving a twelve foot rental truck full of junk, back up to my daughter, to get it out of her dad's garage and storage unit.

i have my mom along for the ride. somehow, she's traveled the world while my dad was in the navy, but has never been north of san fran. so will be visiting the space needle and pike market, and try to avoid all the meth heads that stand on the corners near the tourist spots.

last year, when i was there with my better half, they were actually sizing me up to steal something, not noticing my six-five, big man glaring at them. he's not with us this trip, so will probably park closer and not walk so far with her.

first night only got as far as los banos, due to a later start than expected. had just finished loading the truck, turned the ignition and noticed the check engine light on. waited an hour to connect with rental assistance, only to be told it would be ok to drive. better safe than sorry, but seriously? the light stayed on as far as corning. truck driving fine, so whatever.

saw a beautiful old chevy drive past on the main street of los banos as i was waiting to turn to gas up the truck. didn't have a camera ready quick enough.

i've passed a number of old cars on trailers driving on the freeway. saw an old rusty fleetline heading southbound, to a new home.

anyway, driving a truck is tedious, but i'm having fun. have made it up and over a couple of mountains so far. really loving getting to greener elevations, and away from the browner hills of central cali.

going to spend a few days there, then flip a coin to decide which route we take back. i've never driven down the northern coast, so maybe that way. drive out to the pointy tip of the state and head south.

would drive to vancouver if there was time, but probably not.

time to get some sleep. tired of sitting and my hands are sore from gripping the steering wheel.

lee harvey oswald

1953 chevrolet wagon

beautiful bomb club chevy from legg lake, on the way back toward my car, only took a few more shots after this one. i remember being overheated at this point, not knowing i was already getting sick with this cold, and shouldn't have been out in the sun. needed to get back to my car, where the water bottles were waiting for me. it seemed so far away...in the next parking lot over, under the shade of a tree...an seeming oasis in the asphalt. i should have just bummed a cold one off of someone, traded for a print of their car or cash.


every once in a while i just have one of those days. sitting on the freeway, thinking random thoughts. decisions i've made and how they've affected others. past is past, but still having effects on the present. i could sit here and stare out the window and waste a lot of time thinking, but time to pack all that back into the little box in my mind, and get on with things.


they played the godfather at the little cinema up the street the other day. love that movie. had to go by myself, since my better half was taking care of his mom, who had caught our cold after all.

reminds me of the day my better half got to meet my family.

we'd all gathered at my younger brother's house in los angeles. both brothers, my sister, my parents, and the family of each all were there to put him through the inquisition.

generally, he handled it all fine; as a group, we conspired to act like kids and embarass my mother. my better half had given each of the us "kids" little tubs of putty "fart" stuff, instead of bringing a bottle of wine or somesuch greeting gift. we had been in the backyard, on the little porch, high up on the hill. my mother climbed the stairs and approached and wondered why we all looked so guilty. we all hid the stuff behind our backs, like little kids. 

she wondered what we were talking about. my younger brother started babbling about something or other, while he randomly pushed on the putty he had hidden in his pocket, which occasionally blew off with little "noises." she stood next to him, and kept tapping him on the arm, thinking he hadn't realized that he was farting in front of the new guy on the block.

then my older brother got in on the conversation and making the fart noises with his putty behind his back. then we each did.

she got so flustered, and then yelled at my brother for giving the stuff to everybody, and what would my better half think? my bro exclaimed, "but greg gave it to us!" the rat.

but to get to the point, on how the day relates with the godfather.

at the end of the evening, family pictures were to be taken, for the rare occasion of having everyone together. my mom's camera was plopped upon a tripod, and the different permutations of family were planted in front of it.

the youngest grandkids chased each other around when not posing with fake smiles.

at some point, my better half was behind the camera, while a bunch of us were getting into position. i remember my younger brother was walking toward us, when from the side yard, my nephew launched a nerf rocket at his sister, from one of those larger size nerf blaster guns.

well, it missed the intended target, but from very close range, it whacked right into my younger brother's nuts. he instantly hit the ground howling. well, he dropped to his knees, making a silent 'o' face, grabbing his jewels, and then between clenched teeth, said, "what a day i'm having!," then keeled over.

his son stood for a moment, then dropped the gun, and walked away, around the corner of the house. (looking back, in my head, the music started playing, and the newspaper clipping reel began...)

meanwhile, we all stood laughing at the situation. my older brother leaned over him and asked, "you have any mountain dew left in the ice chest? don't move. i'll get it."

he is seriously in pain, and we're all just cracking jokes. even his wife doesn't really bother to help him.

as it turned out, my better half had at the critical moment, fired off at least a three shot burst on the camera. it had perfectly caught that lee harvey oswald moment in a series of shots, from the firing of the gun to that moment of impact, and the beginning of the fall. we all got a peek at it on the back of the camera. it existed. it would have made a great xmas card.

day was over, we helped him up into the house, and everyone eventually headed their separate ways.

my better half called my brother the next day, to see how he was doing. his wife answered and said his testicle retrieval operation went well. [one of her rare jokes] my brother answered in a high pitched voice, playing along, of course. size of a grapefruit he said, spending the day with an icepack. needless to say, the nerf gun disappeared.

but the next time i went to visit my mom at her house, and asked to see all the pictures she had loaded into her computer, that series was mysteriously missing. she denied they ever existed. doesn't remember it happening. shit. i wept. they had been perfect.

i should have snagged the memory card.

and now if you ask him about it, he has selective amnesia, and denies it ever happened.

poltergeist

1949 chevrolet deluxe

the cruise was pretty free form. the invite/announcement said all types and models were welcome. 

makes me imagine tangina, the short, old woman psychic in poltergeist, calling to the spirits, "Cross over children. All are welcome. All welcome. Go into the Light. There is peace and serenity in the Light." at the entrance booth, letting any and all cars into the park.

there was a newer model mustang parked next to this lovely car. i cropped it out. at least i had a little room to do so.

-----

back in la casa de big pixel pusher. good to be here. thought i had another week, but i only have four days, then i'm off on a road trip. so i've spent the morning making some plans. just gonna wing it on the way back, not on an airplane, in a car. no specific destinations, just going to drive, and stop when i find something interesting.

taking my mom for the ride. not sure that she can do a hell of a lot, but she's never been to washington state, so it could be fun. she isn't helping to decide on where to go on the way back, so i'll probably just flip a coin and go.

still not home

harley davidson

i hear my mother-in-law closely avoided a trip to the emergency room, having borderline pneumonia. she seems to be responding to the same type of meds my doctor gave me, so i'm hoping to go home tomorrow. i'm a little tired and dizzy, but i'm on the mend.

ventura nationals was today. i've never been, but i'm seeing some remarkable pics other photographers are putting up.

again, an old pic, from a whittier uptown show a year or two back. a harley is a harley, but some catch my eye more than others.

tail end

1960 cadillac coupe deville

i'm at my mom's, locked in my old bedroom, enjoying the snot-filled end of a bad cold. the possessed lucifer voice is losing it's grip blow by snotty blow. note to my better half: "bow to me faithfully, bow to me splendidly," morbid angel, god of emptiness. go listen to that song--that's what he thinks i sound like. watch the official video, the quality is so much better than others. i'll add the link when i get home to my computer.

doctor says its just a cold, and i just have to suffer through it.

work is piling up at the office, and i will be slammed from whenever i get back, through my road trip time in a couple of weeks. joy.


was going through old pics last week, and had this one waiting to post. shot at the pomona swapmeet a couple of years ago. just love the pointy fins and the twins.

once, twice

1937 chevrolet

i vacillated about leaving the house today. i had missed shows yesterday, and i just really wanted to shoot some pictures.

so finally i headed out about nine. thought maybe some cars would show up early at the legg lake end of summer show, which seemed to be a somewhat impromptu get together. didn't really seem to be sponsored by any particular club.

got there pretty quickly, only to find nothing. i mean, the cars there were just regular cars, owned by people walking the lake or whatever you do at a park that early.

i pulled up to the booth to inquire about a car show. lady pulled out her clipboard, which listed two birthday parties and some other event not involving classic cars.

so i turned around, she wouldn't let me pull through and come back out again. didn't trust me, wanted her six dollar entry fee.

was kinda bummed, but knew for sure the cadillac fest was setting up in the city of industry. drove over there and parked on the street nearby. sat for a few minutes, enjoying the air conditioning. watched a couple of caddies cruise by. they were the newer models, post seventies, not what i really wanted.

decided to drive past the lot to see what was there, spying other parking spots for me if i wanted to stay.

i saw only a few classics that i'd bother with, a few with hoods already up. i hadn't eaten breakfast and it was already hot out, so decided to bail.

after breakfast, headed back home.

my phone reminder about the legg lake show went off at noon. by one i had decided to go back, though i really wasn't feeling it. i really can't handle the heat, and don't particularly like the harsh shadows of midday in my pictures.

i went anyway. drove by on the freeway, so i could see into the park, to be sure there were cars there this time. there was, so took the next exit.

parked under a tree, in the next parking lot, in the shade. pulled my gear and headed over. there was a row of cars already, so i just started at the closest car.

halfway down, was already feeling the heat. realized i forgot the sunscreen, and was baking to a nice red glow while simultaneously having a hot flash. such fun.

i'd left my water back in the car, and considered buying or bumming a bottle from someone i knew there. decided to wait out the hot flash, keep going, then turn around and head to the car. i did end up skipping a lot if cars.

got back to the car, the water and the air conditioning. saw more cars and cycles arriving, but that was ok. there are always other shows...

----

i liked many of the shots i took, so i closed my eyes and randomly picked one to put up. lots of beautiful bombs out today. glad i noticed the post about the show.

didn't make it

1957 cadillac

thought about going to a show today. really i did. went so far as to get my cameras out, format cards, and clean the sensors.

was literally ready to walk out the back door, when the front doorbell rang. better half's nephew, wife, and year old kid had arrived from northern california. so, nixed that plan. it was already after one anyway, and hot.

i think they plan on going to disneyland tomorrow, so maybe i can get out to the show at legg lake for a while in the morning.

better half took himself to the doctor this morning. they gave him some kind of antibiotic, so he sick for reals. he still managed to walk uptown for breakfast when he got back. ran into a couple of people asking if i was going to the show today, but he had to tell them he had no idea, since i hadn't mentioned anything to him.

-----

saw this beauty at the sultans' show earlier this month. love those bullet tail lights, though from what i've read, didn't show up until nineteen fifty-nine models.

peekaboo

1964 chevy impala

i think there has only been one time i've ever seen this car not under a pop up tent. it's a historical car, so sure, they want to protect it and the paint job. the one time it wasn't, was probably five years ago, at the broiler. late in the day, i think it was surrounded by people. i'd have to sift through my hard drives to find it.

typically it's also surrounded by admirers and photographers. found it very early at the imperial's hawaiian gardens show last month. still was under the tent, so i only bothered shooting the front end. i'm guessing when it got pinstriped and painted, the chrome was off, otherwise, why does that squiggle go beneath it?


better half definitely is sick. drove home early from work to take him to some doctor out in arcadia, only to find out they had no more time for patients for the day. we'll try again in the morning.

i'm still not as sick as he is, but i suspect it will hit me full force before the end of the week, just in time for labor day.

no style

1954 chevy

this is a telling of a chick problem, so dudes should probably tell themselves, who gives a shit, and move on. enjoy the picture, and get on with your day.

shiny car, sitting on the ground. maybe it'll lay an egg. i'm in a mood.


one of those rare weekends, where there were no shows on my calendar, no work to be at the office for, no shopping to do, and a crap load of pictures waiting to be seen. so i had set up an appointment to lop my hair off, or probably just nip the ends, and color it to a deep red, sort of like the color of this car.

i had only found a new hair stylist after a year of not going, and the previous one ghosted from the profession. true, i don't go very often, but this last one had already switched salons, and kept me updated, so i thought i'd found a good one. even if i had to drive out to brea.

when i called thursday for an appointment today, i thought the phone breaking up was the only issue in understanding what i needed done. set it for noon, so i could sleep in. also because they're in a freakin' small parking lot with a damn coffee drive-thru, so early morning means no parking.

i went a bit early, so i could grab some lunch on the way. not enough time, so i stopped at a subway. bad idea. got there just before a pack of soccer kids showed up. looked like there had already been a food fight there before i arrived. all the tables were fairly dirty, with drips of mustard, mayo, or crinkles of lettuce on the table or seat.

i suppose i should have been more paranoid about the bins of meats looking a little too "sweaty," and cheese looking a little too dali, but i went ahead and ordered. found a relatively clean corner of a four-person table, and took a few bites of the sandwich. they'd overloaded on the mustard, and it squirted out the other end. it hit the table, and not my clothes, so whatevs. realized i wasn't that hungry, at least for a subway sandwich, and randomly wondered why i hadn't just searched for a jersey mike's. i threw the food away, and headed to my appointment.

found a decent parking space in the front corner, the caffeine rush over at the coffee shop. 

entering the salon, the young nymphette at the front desk greeted me and asked how she could help me. "i have an appointment with fiona*." she looked at me blankly, like "wha?" i wondered if her head would whistle if you blew in her ear.

she said, "fiona* was no longer with the salon. what was my phone number, it wasn't in the computer, or they would have called to let me know..." "how long has she been gone," i asked. another stylist came over to see what was going on, and said, "about a week, week and a half, but they had another stylist that could help me."

i asked why, since i had only booked the appointment two days before, the bimbette answering the phone didn't mention it, and also that i had given her my number at the time, so i called b.s. on not having the number in the system.

anyway, they had scheduled me with someone for a haircut. i met her assistant, who seated me in the chair, and brought over the straightjacket, i mean the black gown to keep the mess off your clothes. then the stylist is there, with some high falutin' name that no one can pronounce, and profusely apologizing for the whole mix up, but trying to give me confidence that everyone in the salon were artists.

so, i started to tell her that i usually have fiona* color my hair red, and then i just wanted the ends cut. i never decide to chop it short or keep it long until i'm actually in the chair. depends entirely on my mood at the time. apparently, my subconscious wants to keep it. still curious how long it will get.

my mom has a picture my brother took of me when i was maybe a freshman in college, and he was taking a class in high school. i'm looking over my shoulder, so cliche. it shows how long my hair was then. i'm still about four or five inches short of that now. i digress.

the unpronouncably named stylist, flustered, says they had only booked enough time for a haircut, and they were all busy. almost thought she was going to offer up another stylist for the color, but no, they were all busy. she offered to just do the haircut, and book a color at another time.

reiterating that i don't usually have free time to do this, much less the fact i hate dealing with hair stylists in the first place. i said i preferred to get both done at the same time, and i only wanted a trim, not a cut. asked if she wanted to reschedule several times, and i don't know if she wasn't hearing me or just not paying attention, but i managed to just leave with nothing to show for it, but a bad lunch and a quarter tank of gas less.

so i'm just pissed, but not pissed. my hair is as untamed as it would have been, just not red, which was what i wanted more than the trim. and i need to find another stylist, so it may be a while.

and then my stomach started to rumble in an unwelcome sort of way, so i quickly sped directly home to deal with the aftermath of that sandwich. it all comes out in the end.

*names have been changed to protect the innocent.