what's up?

rumble on

quick post, as my eyes are burning from staring at computer screens and staying awake too long today.

thought i’d have lots of time to work on pictures, being stuck here at my mom’s house. but nooooo. if i’m not putting in eight hours or more of actual paid work, i’m walking a dog, digging up weeds, sifting through dad’s stuff, thinking about listing said stuff online, laundry, shopping, etc. then after all that, my kid always wants someone to watch netflix with her. right now, she wants me to watch community, which i managed to miss when it was originally on. turns out it was quite funny. each episode seems to be prefaced by, “this is my favorite…”

told her no tonight, wanted to play with my pictures. she was fine with that, as she does her own art, but she has the luxury of no set schedule, no job, and stays up all night, sleeps half the day. especially today. she celebrated four-twenty a bit too happily, and at least she’s been in a good mood all day.

aside from that, being back full-time in a house i’d lived in since we moved here in the seventies is both comforting and weird. it makes strange noises. not just a settling creaking. the front rooms rumble intermittently throughout the day. sometimes the living room, but lately, mostly the garage.

i have to go out to the garage to get dog food, some random thing from a shelf or the fridge. rumble rumble. i joke that godzilla is in the attic, but manage not to be curious enough to climb the stairs out there. at the very least there are spiders up there. maybe it’s shelob, and i have no sword to face it, unless the mini sting letter opener counts.

what creeps me out, is going out there late in the evening. as you approach the door, you hear the crickets creak creaking happily. once you step foot out, and turn on the light they momentarily stop, but then get going chirping again. but often, they stop again, completely. total silence. the way animals go silent in the forest in movies, when something bad is about to happen to the hapless human among them. my mind goes to the alien queen is about to drop from the eaves in the ceiling, or the dilophosorus that bursts from my mom’s vehicle and spits slime into my eyes, blinding me and chomping on my guts whilst that dog beasts sits down the hall because he wasn’t an idiot, and stayed inside. so mad dash to get back inside the house and lock the door. lol.

seriously, though, something is rumbling the house. ex says hot water heater, which is old. but that damn thing shouldn’t rumble the whole house like that. he doesn’t seem worried enough to come check it out, and i haven’t been able to record it, as it happens on no particular schedule.

i’d like to know if the house is about to blow, since my mom’s room is the closest to the garage. maybe we’re on an unknown fault line.

the furnace is inside the house, so doubt it’s that. hopefully, we’re all still alive when this pandemic is over and rodan hatches and bursts through the roof.

here’s another car pulled from the past. 2012, original mike’s in santa ana. back when i’d be crazy enough to hit up two or three smaller shows in one day.

turns out to be a bridgetown oldie, a bit far from home, if you ask me.

lico

got chatted up by a very friendly viejito at the bomb life show in santa ana yesterday. two shows in one day, just like old times, right?

i'd seen a picture posted on instagram (hey slick51), and recognized the location. i inquired if it was from today, because i know he travels around from show to show a lot. he said it was.

i just happened to have to be in the area, so drove a little further down the street to see what might be there, though i was running a bit late for a show.

sure there probably weren't as many cars left in the lot as there might have been earlier, but plenty to shoot. i did have to get back home, so i just did a relatively quick run through.

i'd taken a picture of this freaky, different doll and the front of the car already. then a bit further down, was the viejitos tent. there sat raynbow and some other guys.

one of comes over, introduces himself and asks if i'd shot his car. says they call him lico, and then tells me the story of why. i hand him my card, he notices the back end of the fifty-nine on it, and some other car on the back of the card. then starts talking about how i should shoot the back of his car like this. has a wheel package on the back.

so he walks me over to show me what he's talking about. keeps talking while i proceed to shoot a few angles. was kind of a tight spot, against the hedge, so i sort of squish in a gap, and took this shot.

liked the little homie head on the placa.

was nice meeting you, lico.

damnit

another from the viejitos/pistoleros show. had it queued up, and apparently forgot to post it here.

i liked this car. the paint was dark and shiny enough to gather the reflections and make you want to fall into it at the same time.

really wishing that modern truck wasn't back-assed up against it and into my picture. but that's they way i found it, so there you go.

auto butchers

another from last weekend. there were a lot of really interesting cars, so deal with it.

these two are a little strange. works in progress. both are in the auto butchers car club.

i've run in to the owner of the orange '56 a couple of times in the last couple of weeks. said he'd recently had the chrome done; first time i saw it last year, at the usuals bbq, i guess the bumpers were a bit rusty.

purple car, i've never seen. not sure what that front grille is from—something being spliced and welded—but i'm almost imagining a couple of bolts on the sides and calling it frankenstein. maybe just frank.

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so, a few things happened today. had the day off as my memorial day, since i had to work on the actual holiday. you'd think, yay, three day weekend...get the hell out of town! right? right?

but no. family stuff going on, so not taking any long weekend trips for fun or vacation anytime soon, unless i go on my own. and just when work is telling me i have to take some time off...vacation balance is too high.

shit happens. we're dealing.

didn't go to any car shows today. could have. three or four, if i'd wanted. told myself, i'd get up real stupid early tomorrow, and drive out to one instead. hard drives are filling up anyway.

oh, bit of good news. found out i got five pictures in the oc fair. and realizing i should trust my first instinct when sifting through pictures. i usually pick too many, then ask my better half to help narrow down the selection.

he gives great critique, honest opinions. but there is always one or two i felt strongly about, that he wasn't quite sold on, that i enter anyway, and they've gotten in. same this year. he doesn't care, he's happy for me.

there was something else, but i can't remember what it was now. whatever.

rusty crusty

so we've been busy dealing with a family emergency since sunday. i've been working from home, and making daily visits to the hospital. not sure what will happen when they get out, and how we will work around that, but will worry about it, when we have to worry about it.

pretty tired, so i'm not going to write a lot tonight. i put a crap iphone shot of this car up on my instagram, and people seemed pretty interested in it, so put this one up tonight. i like this shot from my camera better.

not the first time i've posted it...put it up last year, but nobody really noticed. that was a bright, sunny, hot day versus this shot, early, overcast and cool.

one of these things is not...

this truck isn't particularly one i'd normally shoot. it's got a lot going on. it's not a classic classic that i prefer. the colors are kinda, shall i just say vomitous together, but that's just me. they go, but not my favorite design.

i thought it was the same truck i saw being pinstriped a couple of years ago. yes, it was; that was the only picture i entered in the fair last year that got a ribbon, even if it was only honorable mention. again. i recognized the pinstriping on the back end. nice to see the completed design. pinstriping is cool. that's why i shot it in the first place.

and interesting angry orchard beer pull for the stick shift.

psycle

this was a pretty awesome bike. may be a standard issue harley, but the airbrushing was really interesting. so maybe the praise should be thrown more at the artist.

ford

another pic i told the owner i'd post for them. was either this, or a sideview. since i just posted one of those for the other guy, putting this one up. shiny, shiny car. for whatever reason, didn't see it in the parking lot, so didn't shoot more of it.

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woke up with a headache, so skipped going to pomona this morning. maybe next month. now if i can just make this headache stop, i could go for a walk. late for lunch...i'm sure that's not helping.

valspar

woke up early and headed to original mike's for the pistolero's / viejitos show. was wonderfully overcast the whole time i was there, so i'm hoping the pictures will be good.

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was a bit confusing, because when i got there, the lot was full of porsches, with the cars i was looking for sitting on the street. guys were saying they had double-booked shows.

perhaps it was just their regular saturday morning coffee meeting. if not, it was the weirdest show i've seen...none of them were out looking at each other's cars...they were all inside eating/meeting. it was like a damn porsche dealer lot; full of carreras. all the same, all different colors, all packed together.

i spent the time shooting what cars there were on the street. got some good pictures, up against the buildings, and the fire station.

whatever. my guys started moving into the lot about nine, more as the porsche party broke up and started to leave, one by one. i followed them in. shot them again...different location, different light.

more cars showed up, plenty to keep me happy. cars reshuffled several times as spots opened up, and clubs parked together. shot them again.

only a couple of guys inquired about my pictures. so i'll start with them.

don't think i've seen this plymouth before. i liked it up against this paint building, the colors matching the car almost like they'd matched paint chips. what is that...PMS 188 or 201?

on my way out, this freaky monkey thing was at the entrance/exit, a bizzare greeting to all those that enter. certainly was creeping out a little girl, who did not want to pose with it for her mother.

nomadder what

stopped by original mikes yesterday, on my way to my parents' house. still hadn't made my dad his xmas taffy. it's his annual thing. first time i didn't have it ready for him on xmas day in like, forever. just ran out of time. figured i'd just make it at their house, it would be as fresh as can be.

i got there, and he had the idea in his head to use some of it to make popcorn balls. wtf. couldn't argue it out of him, so why not experiment.

i boiled up a double batch. he popped a bag of popcorn. burned it. he can't hear it stop popping, didn't notice the smell. so he did another, and i told him when to take it out.

i poured about half of the sticky tar into the bowl of popcorn. told him to let it cool a bit, so he doesn't burn his hands. typical guy, doesn't listen. he only waited a few minutes. then started shaping it into balls.

it worked in theory. it formed into balls, and held the shape. only when he was done did he realize he hadn't separated out the unpopped kernels.

the rest of the taffy, i pulled after it cooled off a lot. still not sure that it turned out as brittle as it should have been. either way, brittle or soft, he usually ends up each new year with a dentist appointment to reglue a crown or two, and has been known to use super glue or epoxy to do it himself. but he wouldn't have it any other way.

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oh, and the lot was pretty full at original mikes. got there at almost one. lots of hoods up, so that winnows down the selection i'll bother with. this one had the hood up, and there was a group of people up at the front. so screw'em, i just pushed in on the part i like anyway, and ignored the parts i don't care about.

on 56, 57, 58, 59 chevys, it's all about the back end anyway. i'll shoot them, no matter what's going on up front.