singin' the blues

getting late, and i still have stuff to do before zeebertime.

so i just want to add another to the teenie peenie collection. not because of the car—it's beautiful; but because the owner is so special he has to park just so, and in a handicapped spot. given, it's a car show, and maybe parking rules don't apply, but do you really need to take up this much space? the other owners know better than to bash into your car—they don't want you to bump into theirs either. you should be more worried about the crowds of people peeking in your windows, with their kids and keys and purses so daringly near your paint job.

that's hot

this bucket was from early in the year out in norco. back when i used to have to drive out to riverside pretty regularly. lots of pictures, and i've been reviewing files to try and free up space on my drive, and found this one. figured it was time for something besides a chevy. i think that's the owner in the picture. didn't say anything, just sat there while i did my shots. seemed pretty happy with himself.

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didn't go to any shows at all today. my better half treated me to the brian setzer orchestra show last night at the hollywood bowl. how long have i lived in california, and i've never been there? didn't realize so many people could be jammed onto a hillside.

was a great show, with the ninety-six piece symphony orchestra behind brian. the light show and fireworks were pretty cool. some of the acoustics were sketchy, and the music seemed to be playing down in a hole. one of the few concerts i've attended that didn't take three days for my ears to stop ringing, but still, glad to have been there.

i guess one of the big features of the bowl is that you can bring your picnic basket and booze and lounge about the area and in your seats before and during the show. all that is well and good, but not being drinkers, we had to smell all of our fellow show goers' open glasses of vino throughout the show. so nauseating. never could understand how people could drink that piss. it's nasty. i've tasted it, and i suppose i just never had those friends that i had to pretend to enjoy the taste of alcohol in front of growing up. actually, mostly didn't have friends, but did get to observe others making asses of themselves.

anyway, my better half put us up in a hotel nearby, so we didn't have to get stuck in the log jam of drunk winos after the show. thanks, d, you know how i hate sitting in traffic.

well, we enjoyed the show, the hotel, the air conditioning, and stuff. we had decided not to do the show in pasadena and hadn't brought the cameras on purpose, but had left others as an option. we slept in, then stopped over at the hilton by universal studios and ate the buffet for brunch. got too hot outside to bother with norwalk, and then got too sleepy to go to lakewood in the evening. and somehow, i'm ok with it. pretty awesome weekend, considering.

kismet

so, my betatted friend, you found me at bob's today. and there you were with your car. the stars must be aligned.

i recognized that pin up girl on your arm right away, when you caught up to me to point your baby out. i liked this shot best. maybe should have waited for the sun to go down a bit more, but didn't want to take the chance of people and cars getting in the way.

maybe when it starts getting dark early, i'll shoot it again, and see how it looks under the overhead lights.

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so this weekend, what would you recommend: the pharaohs show in norwalk or the cruzn for roses in pasadena??? gonna be in hollywood anyway, could easily do pasadena, though i did that one last year. i've seen pharaohs cars before, and they're cool too...oh too many choices living here in socal.

powerful mach I?

still being kept from lifting anything more than what seems like a toothbrush. yes, my better half is very diligent about sticking with doctor's orders. i feel fine, and he says he wants to keep me that way.

so, in spite of ruby's show going on this evening, the most he would offer is to let me follow him around and watch him take pictures. i countered with, he could be my camera boy, and carry the tripod around, and set it up for me, and just let me focus and push the button. pfft. stalemate.

i've decided recovering from surgery is like going to a very loud concert, where your ears ring for days afterward. go to too many and you damage your hearing. then one day you wake up, you're all fine. so, i guess my ears are still ringing. but it was just one concert, i mean surgery, so i'll be ok, right?

but it's ok for me to work late. just slaving away in front of hot computer is ok. then i needed to eat dinner, so i went to disneyland. day before labor day weekend, and an hour and half before closing, not really that many people there. ate clam chowder overlooking the water in DCA, and left just as the color sprinkler show was starting.

then drove out of the parking structure just as fireworks were starting. why is it people in cars always act like they've never seen them, and randomly stop on the road to look up. hey, i'm driving here...move it.

hey ace, this one's for you. didn't quite catch the pearlized paint job, but i guess it's ok as is.

dia de los thunderbird

yes, it's a real eye-catcher. kinda ugly, but outstanding pinstriping and airbrushing job. i like the skulls pinstriped inside, out, and on top.

weren't too many of the pimped out low riders at the show this year in whittier—apparently they're still pissed off by their exclusion last year. i've heard that the idiot that vetoed them last year is no longer on the committee, but his asshole-edness has continuing repurcussions. thanks dickwad. eh, excuse my french, or something.

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.

hora lay

ok, i'm going to try and post this from my ipad, since i've got the time now and was too tired last night to post it.

waiting to meet up with family to take by son out for his birthday. where does the time go? as it is, it's more and more difficult to get an hour of his time as he's been a bit busy lately. when your kids grow up, you take the crumbs they throw at you and tell youself that's plenty. my daughter is a whole other adventure, and being in another state, an even rarer occasion.

as i said, starting to get to the shows again. tried to hit up one that still shows on the schedule yesterday, but when i got there, the parking lot was spectacularly empty, as was the restaurant associated with it. not even sure it was even open for business anymore.

i digress. found this lovely tbird at the broiler. again, i think perhaps i need to stay later to see if many more cars eventually show up. there was some sort of award on the dashboard, and i can't read it from this angle. i suppose it says something to the effect of, "you have a really nice car."

and while i'm pondering life and everything, can someone tell me why "old guys rule?" i can think of lots of ways they might be good for something, but an equal number, if not more, of reasons why it blows to be an old guy. how my mind wanders...

times are changing

as i've been saying, my life has been getting very busy. not clearly an absolute yet, but i may soon also be packing all my worldly possessions up and stuffing it into storage. nah, i'm not going anywhere else, everything's fine. change of environment, sort of.

had hoped to get some pictures yesterday at fuddrucker's in el toro, and drove over there, but since the weather has been overcast and sprinkly, there was just a couple of newer corvettes and a 1930's ford. didn't get out of the car.

today i intended to try a new sunset show in laguna niguel, but figured since you really couldn't see the sun, and would have been colder near the coast, figured it wasn't worth the drive yet.

so, i'm really hoping the sun is out on friday for the first ruby's show of the season this friday. i'll be there, won't you?

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found this one from the easter show over at fuddrucker's in lakewood. i think i've mentioned in another post, that there wasn't much at this show because of the holiday. i'll have to go back again soon on a typical sunday. i've heard it can be a very busy show, and more cars equals more to choose from. lots of practice, only makes you better, and i've been out of practice. 

how was your day?

so i haven't been posting as often as i think about posting. my life is a bit busy right now, as i've been saying previously. and it will continue to be so for at least the next month.

today, i intended to get to a car show before a baseball game. i didn't quite get out of the house as early as i had thought i would, but i did manage to make it to original mike's for about 20 minutes before i had to scram.

got there almost an hour after it started. probably a good three-fourths of the cars had their hoods up, but it was a decent turn out, at least compared to the last few times i'd been there. i didn't have time to find owners and look longingly at their pretty beasts until they got the clue, so i shot about a dozen others that were ready to go.

this one had the door open, but i haven't seen one of these before, and it didn't bother me as much as an open hood would have. not sure if that's the owner there. i think he threw something into the car, but people throw flyers and stuff into cars all the time. he wouldn't get out of the shot no matter how much i stared, so there he is.

and of course, as soon as i called it a day, packed up and about to close the trunk of my car, in drives an oh so bitchin old mercury, clean, low, pinstriped...perfect. pulled into a parking space, sat for a minute, then backed up and left. why, oh why...followed it down the street a ways until i had to turn left, and he turned right...

fine day

in spite of being unable to get out to all the shows i'd like, my kid has been kicking ass in baseball. in fact, today, he went to bat five times: 3 singles, 1 double with an rbi, and one intentional walk. ya, i missed the game because of work today. sucks.

found this one out in riverside. got there early because the show started only an hour before the game was to start. kinda stalker like. was waiting for something interesting to drive up. several plain, but very nice old cars, but i wasn't interested in shooting them. but since i'd already spent a while here, and time to leave was looming, i figured i might as well get the camera and shoot at least one.

i did end up taking shots of about 5 cars before it got too late. nothing special, but i'm just making a record that i was there.