what's up?

uptown

so while i haven't had the energy to get out to any shows lately, i did walk uptown today for lunch. pretty fortunate that whittier is a popular place for low riders, and i can pretty much count on at least one car cruising by the house on the daily.

usually post walkabout cars i spot on my instagram, since all i have on me at most times is my phone. not much lately, since i've been out of town a lot, but posted a fifty-six bel air today. i drove past a thirty eight chevy out on whittier blvd, i didn't shoot it. being in a moving vehicle kinda makes it a bit difficult, though i have been known to pull over and walk back once in a rare moment.

anyway, this here car is from uptown, but on purpose. once upon a time, there was the low down in uptown store on the corner, and a couple of times they invited their friends to town for a little car show action. usually until the cops showed up and mentioned the fact they hadn't pulled permits or the neighboring businesses didn't appreciate the type of crowd or just the crowd that came with the cars.

if this is the car i'm thinking of, i believe it's sailed off across the ocean, to japan or australia or some other far away place. shame. it was such an interesting car.

deferred

i guess my impromptu roadtrip will be put off until the end of the month, or even to next month. looking forward to it even less them, as the weather will only get worse through oregon and washington. i wonder how much it is to just ship a car north. or my ex could just fly up and find something local, but he doesn't have time or trust the cars up there for some reason.

at least my boss is cool with whatever i need to do, whenever i need to do it. so many things intersecting, i don't know how i'll get through, except to just do it.

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pretty bel air out on the street at the old memories' pancake bfast a couple of months ago. almost kinda want one, just this color. but then i remember i'd rather have a fleetline.

oh my

i went to my mom's the other day after work. she was sitting at the kitchen table chatting with my brother, who was sitting opposite at the table. the day's mail was strewn about on the table in front of them.

my mom must be on someone's list. she gets tons of catalogs, especially when the holidays are coming. you know the type: miles kimball, lillian vernon, sharper image...? so there's several laying on the table.

i'm just standing nearby, leaning on the kitchen counter, listening absent-mindedly to their conversation, while flipping through a magazine. don't even remember what they were talking about, and it really doesn't matter.

i happened to look up at some point, took a minute, before saying, "what the eff mom, what kind of catalogs are you getting now?" they stop talking and look at me.

i point at a catalog laying open in front of her. the two page spread displays a selection of 'muscle relaxers.' no, those are definitely an assortment of dildos, vibrators, and cock rings.

she looks at it and sort of shrugs. she doesn't really get what she's looking at...ya, she is that 'innocent.' my brother, though, he starts giggling and goes off on a routine of jokes, totally leaving whatever topic they were discussing in the dust.

grabbing the catalog, we realize it's just those two pages. the rest of the pages are filled with kitschy junk you would expect. after explaining what they are to her, she was just like, "oh my!" as she realizes pretty quick what they are selling.

my brother meanwhile starts talking about the various models, and for some, starts rotating his body, in a rendition of whatever movement is promised by said model. he's very good at physical comedy.

at some point we tease that maybe she thought they were just dog toys...at which point my brother starts running around, a perfect portrait of my daughter's doberman, who'd just been there for the past week. he's a teenage dog, tall, gangly legs, long head and strange eyes. the dog bounded about the house, not quite able to put on the brakes on the linoleum flooring, or getting all up in the food on the counter, as yes, he is that tall.

my brother skittered across the kitchen and bumped right into my mom, still playing the part of the dog. it was just a bizarre scene and turn of events, and definitely livened up an otherwise boring day.

nice back end of a classic ford, back from the beginning of the year. clouds are sort of similar to what's floating outside right now. i should have gone out to a show somewhere, but i've got other things on my mind just now.

sweet

saw this truck at the dia de los muertos show last month. that paint is so cherry red and delicious...so appropriate it's in front of the candy store.

my kid had spun out on the freeway on some ice last month, and insurance totaled her car. her dad has been looking for a decent used car for her—he said on friday that he may have found one. i'd previously offered to help drive it up there, but now he can't get the time off.

so i may be taking a not completely unexpected road trip north to washington state this week. just wasn't expecting to have to go so soon. i guess i'll have to tell my boss as soon as i know for sure.

then i need to get a one-way ticket back asap, before the price gets much higher.

my brother may go, or i'll just drive it alone. either way, i like being on the road. he's gotta be back by a particular day, cuz he needs to get somewhere else, so timing will be tight.

just saw my kid last week, and pretty much will be handing over the keys, and maybe get a meal, then outta there, and back to work by monday.

they've said i need to use my vacation time anyway.

countdown

world series, game seven, playing in the background. my sister-in-law is a serious fan of the dodgers, and she's been terribly silent and avoiding the tv a lot this game. previous games have been a roller coaster, with her screaming and moaning, depending on which way the scoring was going.

fifth inning now. was uptown a little bit ago, and all the bars with any sense and tvs are packed—one bbq place uptown is absolutely empty...don't know if it's the food, the booze, the mangagement, or lack of a tv being the reason...i've never actually set foot in there. and they really are never busy...how do they stay open?

also now the countdown has begun for dad's date with destiny and a surgeon. got his first set of tests done yesterday, and a date for the first procedure coming up in a couple of weeks. after that, heart surgery of one sort or another.

my younger brother has been in town for almost a month, as he was here for his anniversary, then stayed on, expecting things to have gotten rolling much sooner. he's anxious to get home and see his kids, but now his wife is coming back to town next week, and is talking him into staying for at least another couple of weeks. basically, he's bored, and would rather be bored in his own house, with his kids and his dog.

told him i'm rearranging my schedule, so i can get dad where he needs to go for the next part.

i may need to get my gall bladder out, but that can wait...that doc wasn't seriously concerned about it. i'll see about that when i can't just ignore that ache any longer. more important stuff going on, and ain't nobody got time for dat.

hhheeeyyyy!!!

owner of this pontiac always greets everyone with an enthusiastic "hey!"

as part of the host club's membership, he was busy running around, directing cars, and making sure everything was good. there was no worry there, things seemed to be very well organized, and parking was better than the year before.

i really like this picture. the car balances out the building behind, and all of the angles and perspective. could just be that i like the car.

seventy-sixers

antenna balls. could say he's got balls for the post title, but i've probably already used it before.

this car belongs to tj friends car club. they pretty much fill up this section of the elks lodge parking lot for these past couple of years. mostly convertibles, they were booked for last year's whittier uptown xmas parade, chauffering all the pretty, pretty princesses and bigwig city butts down greenleaf.

not sure if this car was there for the parade, but i probably already told the story about that day in another post.

owner of this car stopped for a quick chat at this show. asked me to shoot his car. i liked the back end the best, of course. so, there you go...

down, boy

owner of this car asked me to take a picture of it. i took a few.

being that it was wedged in pretty tight between the others, i like this view best. maybe i'll put up another angle when i have time. family in town, things to do, going to be away from my computer for a couple of days...the usual excuse for not posting.

i really don't like the hoods up, hence the pinstriping on my hat, but since the guy asked, and it was a nice car otherwise...

boo

got home from work late yesterday. didn't sit down, which made all the difference in me staying put versus heading over to frisco's trunk n treat show. really wanted to sleep.

traffic getting over there was a bit challenging, but it ended up being worth the drive. the lot filled quickly, cops showed up, but i hear everyone behaved, so it didn't get shut down. i was there for about two hours, until costume judging and trunk n treating.

lots of cars decorated with lights, spiders, cob webs, and skeletons. not this one. i've seen it elsewhere, but never really met the owner until after this shot.

i suspect those are just lens flares above the car, but who knows...maybe they're ghosts...

new day

sitting in the dark, waiting for my workday to start. contemplating the next few days.

my daughter is coming down to visit for the next couple of weeks, with her boy toy and one of her dobermans. she's leaving the albino one back at home. trying to find a new home for it...if you're interested in an untrained, unhousebroken sweet rescue dog, let me know.

i have a few doctor appointments coming up, so hoping to figure out whatever my issues are. hoping it will be just a take this pill and you'll be just fine, but that's probably too easy a fix.

at least it's relatively quiet at work. rare couple of weeks that i'm not busting my ass juggling projects. it won't last, so trying to enjoy that. have had to shoot several portrait/headshots, which mostly have turned out ok. will need to get a roll of gray background paper on the xmas list, and a dedicated room to set up some lighting...just making do for the time being.

people just don't sit still looking pretty, like a car, so it's been a bit challenging for me. different camera settings, with a camera i'm not completely familiar with. it's all good. keep learning, i guess.

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last few shows i've been to. have chosen different times of day, just for the challenge of pushing the camera to see what i see. mostly i get sunrise shots, like this one, because i'm out trying to get the pictures before the sun brings the heat.

slightly easier than the evening shots, where the camera settings just have to get dialed up to where i can still get an image and not have it too noisy without a flash, or the exposure so long, that people tend to just walk through the shot thinking you're not doing anything.

this picture kind of has an african plain feeling, but those porta-potties kind of ruin for me.