STREET TUNER CHALLENGE WEEK 6
Almost half way!!
Whoa! Tons went on at Fireballed this week! Close to 25 people milled about during filming as the crew shot mods galore! (That would be Hubie and Brian ransacking the motor…)
Sound Dood, Ed, takes a break from the extremely painful job of “Mr.Boom.”
Special Guest, BIG BOY BELLAGIO came by to check out the build. You know Bellagio? Mr. “I’m the most famous dog on the planet!” And well, …HE IS! Bellagio’s been on The Today Show and a whole host of guest spots. He was even in the last ROCKY movie! I was humbled by his massive presence. And just in case you were wondering, he’s a NEOPOLITAN MASTIF and 175lbs! Big thanks to David and Chrissy for bringing him all the way from Philly! www.bigboybellagio.com
Minis EVERYWHERE! Don’t want the STC car to get lonely, ya know.
Tall guy, VANKO, came by to hang. This dood is from Chicago, via Bulgaria, and has got MINIFEVER bigtime! Welcome, Vanko!
Is that a Pizza and Taco I smell next to Shockwave? Yes, Marion’s new LIMITED EDITION 001 payed us a visit to feature on the show. No, it’s not getting more mods. It’s fast enough!!!
BF Goodrich brings it on for STC!! Wrap that rubber ’round some Konigs and you’ll be likety…
Brian from APG (www.getapplied.com) came up to do some cool Mirror Caps for the STC Pursuit. Yea, they WILL be Fireballed! (Cool mirrors add at least 50hp!)
The boys from Xsell Media did a cool Fireball Install while the car was being built. A Beatles Theme. Shake it up, baby!
Summer and her new Vinyl. It’s hot! If you want to see it in person, come to the SCMM Breakfast in Malibu tomorrow morning! Coogies, 8am!
Lighting is a big deal, as always in TV and film. Can you tell that SHOCKWAVE is smiling? Yup.
Week 7 brings…, well, I can’t say. So, there….
MOVIE SLATE.. September Update
New in BOLD…
NATION TREASURE BOOK OF SECRETS/ 12/21 ALIEN VS. PREDATOR 2/ 12/25 I AM LEGEND 2/14 AVATAR/ James Cameron TBD THE MUMMY 3 CURSE OF THE DRAGON/ TBD DEATH RACE/ TBD SUPERMAN MAN OF STEEL/ TBD WOLVERINE/ X MEN SPIN-OFF/ TBD FANTASY ISLAND/ (Eddie Murphy) TBD JETSONS/ (Live Action) TBD LAND OF THE LOST/ TBD MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE/ (Joel Silver) TBD THUDERCATS/ TBD SHAZAM!/ TBD GREEN HORNET/ TBD THE DARK KNIGHT/ TBD TOY STORY 3/ TBD INDIANA JONES CITY OF GODS/ TBD (Marion is back!) GET SMART/ TBD JAMES BOND 23/ TBD SPEED RACER/ TBD PUNISHER 2/ TBD DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL/ May 2008 IRON MAN/ TBD THE INVISIBLE MAN/ TBD WONDER WOMAN/ TBD STAR TREK 11/ J.J. ABRAMS 12/25/08 (Spock is back, folks!) MAGNETO/ TBD BARBARELLA/ TBD CLASH OF THE TITANS REMAKE/ TBD SHE HULK/ TBD ANGELS AND DEMONS/ TBD BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA SEQUEL/ TBD
TV SLATE BIONIC WOMAN SARA CONNOR CHRONICLES EUREKA (My Brother’s Show on SciFi. Tuesday Nights) ANDROMEDA STRAIN
Wow, with so many sequels, who has time to build cars?! SHEEESH!
STREET TUNER CHALLENGE WEEK 5
Week 5 for STC was off to a rockin’ start. As the components for the powerplant got manufactured, we decided to get it into paint asap. And that we did,… but first..
Mike Sullivan from MYRIDE paid us a visit to film a new series of episodes airing in a week or so. SEMA COUNTDOWN. As in, not that many days left before SEMA. This is where the STC MINI will debut, and Mike had to come up and remind us that the clock is tickin…’ THANKS A LOT, MIKE! (www.myride.com)
Then, it was off to see our painter, Carlos, at ARMAR BODYWORKS. The master painter who’s handling,… well, the painting to be exact. And, as the place was guarded by really scary women, he did just that. www.armarbodyworks.com
What color is the STC MINI going to be? I’m thinkin’ Prismatic Purple Metalflake with ghosted pink and yellow pokadots. Now THAT would be different. So,… wiped, masked and shot, it was. In all it’s purple glory. 😉
From out or Carlos’ camp came Robert, vinyl guy to the stars. (The car being the star, folks.) He and Carlos slipped, slapped and slopped the paint vinyl so that it could be masked properly. Now, since I’m a dope and can’t remember Robert’s company name, call Carlos if you want cool stuff done. 310 635 3991. Nice job, gents!
There I was, minding my own business when, ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz……… I fell aseep in the MINI and got MASKED IN!! SEE WHAT HAPPENS ON THE SHOW, AIRING OCTOBER 17TH!!!
Interviews went well, but Carlos was nowhere to be found. Grrrr… Think he painted himself onto the roof somehow. (I though it was a bit bumpy.) But all went well! NEXT WEEK,… MOTOR MAYHEM!!
And in case you want a MINI. Best thing to do is get one here at this quiet little website. www.miniusa.com And say hi to Jim McDowell while you’re there. He enjoys cookies, nights on the town in his Red MINI with Black roof and likes to sing karaoke during polka competitions at MINI HQ. He and Andrew Cutler have cleaned up on that competition the last 3 years. Go get ’em, boys!
GOLD MEDAL WINNER!
This weekend was a very unusual success. As I’ve mentioned in the past, Martial Arts is a big Fireball activity, and Saturday was no different. It was the Fifth Annual BATTLE OF L.A. featuring some of the best formalists and fighters in the country. And to my utter surprise, Bride of Fireball Kathie competed in Forms (Kata), Weapons and Board Breaking, taking home 3 FIRST PLACE MEDALS!! Yikes! Kinda made me all warm and fuzzy inside to know that my wife is such a badass.
And as The Fireball, I got a chance to MC the event and judge the competitors. From kids to 9th Degree Granmasters, the action was top notch and full of surprises. Even my stepson Sean was surprised! Actually, he was in awe at the really cool orange shirts that the judges had to wear…
Congrats to Kathie for kicking serious hiney this year!! And if you’re interested in improving self confidence and shifting your life into high gear on all levels, then Martial Arts is a great way. www.battleofla.com
Life Rolls On…
For most of us, getting around is easy, but for some, they’ve got serious wheels to help them out. Don’t you wish we ALL had wheels?
Here’s a shot of my buddy, Dave King, son Austin and Al Merrick, the world’s best shaper of surfboards. Dave and his son are involved with LIFE ROLLS ON. A foundation for those with cool wheels… Link to the right. HIT IT!!
STREET TUNER CHALLENGE WEEK 4
Week 4 is wrapped,… and the strain is setting in. Tons still to do for the next 9 weeks. And we’ve taken on an extra battle, so it’s not going to be enough to just build the MINI. But we had some really cool things that happened this week.
1) FT preparing templates for the… ?
2) Bride of Fireball, Kathie, creating a mockup of the… ? CRAVENSPEED? Don’t they do MINI stuff? HECK YEA!!!!!!!! But now we’ve created something REALLY spicy… www.cravenspeed.com
3) An intense brainstorm session with the boys as they hover over the… ? WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!!!!?
4) Sponsor shoutout to BIOMETICS! How else do you think we are keeping our energy up? Twinkies? www.biometics.com
5) New owners of the FIREBALLED! LIMITED EDITION SHOCKWAVE #001!! Marion and Yvette. (If I spelled that wrong, Marion, then I owe you a Twinkie..) They bought the last LE for Series 1 on Wednesday from Amanda at South Bay MINI. If you don’t Marion, her company is EZ DAYS. Check it out at www.ez-days.com These guys are cool, and now they’re Fireballed Cool! Watch the tickets, Marion!!
6) What? Men in HJC Helmets? Why? What the heck fur? We’ll, Cars ain’t the only things we race here at Fireballed… But you’ll have to watch the show to see who wins, and who gets spanked…
7) Now here’s something. We absolutely CANNOT reveal this gentleman. He’s our SECRET WEAPON. So don’t ask. We WILL have to flog you. But in case you’re wondering, this man holds a BIG secret….
8) Andy Limon. The myth. The man. The Aerospace Engineer? He’s got some hidden tricks up his sleeve even HE won’t tell us. Something about a L.A.C. Living Aerodynamic Compounds. Nanotechnology, I suppose… “YOU WANNA PUT THAT WHERE???”
That’s it, folks. See ya!
And the BUILD goes on…
Even though we only shoot on Thursdays for STREET TUNER CHALLENGE, the week is filled with other challenges. Spent the day traveling the valley, from CINEMA VEHICLE SERVICES to WARNER BROS STUDIOS. At CVS, we discussed a variety of unique things that we’ll be going on the STC MINI. Did I say unique? Well, my buddy Ray Claridge’s eyes bugged when we told him what we’re building… He said…
“YOU’RE BUILDING WHAT?!!”
And for Ray to say that was a true statement of being on the right track. Now, at WB, I headed over to Construction Services with my brother Ethan. There, we met Ron Stansberry. A true MINI FIEND. Not only does he love MINIS, but HIS reaction to what we were building was…
“YOU’RE BUILDING WHAT?!!”
So, I picked up a huge Banner of what the car looks like, having been printed on the WB Massive Printer, and Ethan and I head off to lunch at the commissary. Tacos. Yum.
While I did that, the boys at the shop skirted the South Bay for parts to… uh, ….well, let’s just say that were on a hunt for UNIQUE parts, too. Diggin’ it…
Hey, has anyone downloaded my Coloring Book yet? COME ON! You know you want to color!!! And it’s only a buck and a half! Doh!!! www.drivewithpassion.tv
DRIVE NOW!!w
www.cinemavehicles.com
DRIVE WITH PASSION goes live!!
Brand spankin’ new! Proud to announce my new website, www.drivewithpassion.tv A true driver’s site with all kinds of goodies coming. But for now, check out my new EBOOK, “DRIVE WITH PASSION” and Coloring EBOOK, “MINIROCKETS BOOK 1!” A great guide for traveling cool roads for adults AND kids!
Check it our when you can and let me know what you think!
www.drivewithpassion.tv
STREET TUNER CHALLENGE WEEK 3
Done!
Special thanks to BREMBO, H&R, KONIG, CRAVENSPEED, MEGUIARS, ARMAR, WHALEN SHIFT MACHIINES, HJC and INVIDIA. Everyone wants to be on “THE WORLD’S FASTEST TV MINI!!” (Don’t forget that you can too, at www.stcmini.com) Ok, so it’s still in peices, but it’s gonna be speedy, thanks to THESE boys. More sponsors headin’ our way! So, WEEK 3 went off without a hitch. As you can see in the photos, well,… there’s not a lot to see, but that’s ’cause WE CAN’T SHOW IT! But, we CAN show the fun stuff and the people involved.
Press release went out this week from MINIUSA, thanks to MINIUSA dood, Andrew Cutler. See it here… www.fireballed.com/news
So, now we’re in for it, for sure. Products are gettin’ smacked on this MINI at lightning speed. Not only did we have the MINI coolness goin’ on, but my buddy Chuck brought in the World’s Coolest Hot Rod, ROD RIGUEZ! Yea, it’s a sick machine, yo. That’s my son, pretending he’s actually gonna drive it….not.
The SUPERMINI is like a whirling dervish of mod coolness, sitt’n there next to the World’s Fastest Street Mini, WIDOW. (See below as Jeff Stracco took it for a spin. His knees were quakin.’) But the SUPERMINI is now BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. Well, at least behind THE RED CURTAIN, thanks to my son and my wife, Kathie. So, no lookies no more.
Check out the cool new HJC MOROSPORTS HELMETS! SCMM guru, George Marsh got an inside scoop at these new MINI TARGETED helmets. Thumbs up! See the BEHIND THE SCENES on MYRIDE.COM this October. And standing in unison is Tom Tran from INVIDIA EXHAUSTS, Dr. Fuh himself, Brian White (Now known as THE BIG HURT!) and Carlos from ARMAR BODYSHOP. Our unbelievable painter who’s gonna make this car OUTTA CONTROL!
Lighting is such an important element for interviews in film, and the boys at WAS PRODUCTIONS are experts. Check out the shot of the M600. So, hiccups aside, we enter into WEEK 4, countdown to the race and SEMA. Special thanks to all those that have gotten on board at STCMINI. Don’t miss the boat, uh… MINI. Be a part of history and see yourself travel the world!!
www.stcmini.com
“Every great acheivement is born out of struggle.” NAPOLEON HILL
Stracco gets FIREBALLED!
There we were, minding our own business when,… THWACK!
I get a call from MINI USA Product Manager, Jeff Stracco. “Hey Fireball, I’m in town and wanna come by. NOW!”
Ok. No problem. Hide the MEGA-NITROUS bottles, stow away the Stracco Muscle Suit that we play with and put out the Stracco Action Figures with Arm Pounding Action. 45 minutes later, Stracco is sitting in the Studio Shop.
Inside scoops from MINI? Of course, but for Fireballed Eyes Only. I can say that MINI is planning a MINI SEMI. …Not. And I’m not supposed to mention that MTTS 2010 will be from London to the Antarctic. Yee, I’m so there…
So, sittin’ around with the great Stracco begged the question… What would happen if we put a MINI USA Executive into a 514whp Fireballed Street MINI? Well,… WOOO HOOOO!!!!!!!!
In Jeff’s words… “That was fun.”
