Get some PERSPECTIVE…
Whew… Certainly makes me think about what’s important. I’d rather not have my home destroyed to suddenly get the point of life.
Yea, we all work, we all play, we all get mad, we all have fun. But in moments of tragedy, we all work together. Funny how that happens…
Post Thanksgiving guilt…
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Okay,… it’s mean of me to do this. But, as a vegetarian… we cause trouble every now and then.
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p style=”background: #e4e4e4 none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial”>“A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird’s mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to “clean up” the bird’s vocabulary.
Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder. John, in desperation, threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed.
Then suddenly there was a total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute. Fearing that he’d hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the freezer door. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John’s outstretched arms and said “I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I’m sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior.”
John was stunned at the change in the bird’s attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot why he had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued, “May I ask what the turkey did?””
Here we go again…
Woke to a banging at the door by my neighbor. We call her the “Plant Ninja,” as she’s been seen picking weeds at 2am. Weird. Anyway, she’s screaming “FIRE! FIRE!” Instantly, my turbo spools and I’m vertical, racing down the stairs to the sound of Fire Engines and an entourage of God knows what slipstreaming past my house. 6:30am.
It’s now 9:19am and the Engines haven’t stopped. The fire is 3 miles north now and burning furiously, but heading north. Away from us. My friend, Steve has a house that’s right there. I fear it’s gone now. He’s in Bug Sur, camping, with no way to reach him.
Went up into to town to see if there was any way to help, but all we found was that the Starbucks were full. Campers, people, kids… all with nothing to do but wait.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Okay, ready? Set? CHOW DOWN!!!! I don’t want to see one crumb left, people!!!
LA AUTO SHOW/ Press Day
Unlike regular days at major auto shows, Press Days are filled with a kind of insane manicness that can only be described as… well, kind of… well, an insane manicness, I guess. Journalists are clambering to see the next BIG DEAL. And heaven help you if you’re in the way! For me, it was a day filled with real excitement and unexpected reveals. Started out the morning, I interviewed GM CEO Bob Lutz. Bob’s trying to capture more of the sport compact market and the guys from Meguiars thought I could help. So, a film crew came out from Michigan and filmed me talking to Bob. It was chill. And to my surprise, Bob was not only receptive to new ideas, but acknowledged that GM has a long way to go. The feeling was that he was on the right track, though. Good on ya, Bobby!
The day was also the big launch of the MINI CLUBMAN. Now, I tried to sneak a peek under the ClubCurtain, but Vice Prez, Jim McDowell caught me! And if there was a pokie around, I surely would have been headed that way. But, Jim was too busy with excitement as the Clubman rolled out backwards. Cool. His speech was extremely passionate. He said it was rehearsed, but I DON’T BELIEVE YOU, JIM!
Now, you know how much I dig MINIS. But, now that I’ve seen The Clubman in the flesh, and watched Jim open the back doors 23 times, I REALLY want to rock this car. There’s a kind of relaxed coolness about it. Take it for a spin, have a picnic with your honey and doggie and on the way back, scare the crap out of her on the curves! ‘CAUSE IT’S A ROCKET! ‘Course, you might get some serious dog slobber on the windows if you do that. Just a heads up. (Car is coming to South Bay MINI mid February!)
From Movie Cars, the Nissan GTR and cool concepts, the day was a big hit for all.
Designing…
…is like therapy. You get lost. And it’s in this time that creativity flourishes. Which, is why I do projects that are purely fun.
As a kid, we all loved Coloring Books, so now I do them for kids. And if you have a kid, know a kid or still want to be a kid, then check out my new Coloring Ebook, MUSCLE! C’mon, it’s ridiculously cheap, has to do with cool cars and is fun. And it makes for a cool gift for Christmas. And, for every dime that comes in, 10% goes to Children’s AfterSchool Programs! Cool.
Adventures awaits,… if you look for it.
Picture this.
Snuggled tight in my cozy bed. Warm. Dreaming of… well, let’s not picture that for now. But, as I lie there in slumberland, my wife Kathie perks awake and snags a sip of water. She rolls over, barely squinting and peeks out the window. Something catches her eye…
Stirring awake, she climbs out of bed, glides to the window and looks out to see… a red glow emanating from down the street. She gasps. At this time, I myself roll over from coziness and see her…
“What are doing?” I say.
“Holy crap!” She replies. THAT, snaps my nappy red head outta bed and I launch next to her. We both shift to see better revealing a …
…House on fire. Flames shooting over 100 feet high. My eyes bulge like a Pug after a Peanut Butter Sandwich feast! I race to the phone and frantically dial 911. Then, like she just got stung by a swarm of drunk beach bees, Kathie flips on her clothes, grab my keys and says “Hurry up!”
Once again, my wife has me bolting on to another adventure. This time. in the middle of the night. Oh, did I mention it’s 2:10am? So, like I have done every other time, I try to keep up.
5 minutes later, we’re standing at the house as the flames curl and whip into the air. Embers reaching 200 feet. Now, not being a Fireman, I don’t have a clue what to do. But, within about 30 seconds or so, in come the heroes. 3 engines, 1 ladder, 4 police cars, 1 paramedic and an ambulance. Man, all I brought was the Mach 3…
It’s now 7:38am as I write this. I don’t know if anyone was in there. But my heart goes out to those that lost that treasure. And honestly, all those that lost what they did in the fires of California recently. So, today I declare as being First Responders Day. November 7th. Give a wave to those in uniform. Show them that you believe in them and that a smile is the one thing that keeps them going.
And some day, they may be called upon to save you…
Cheers to the little guy…
It’s not that I love small cars. It’s not that I like the fact that small cars dart and weave like go-karts. It’s not that I don’t have to carry a lot of crap. It’s that small cars are always considered the underdog.
I grew up as an underdog. Freckles. Glasses. Target on my chest. Getting picked on and cornered was a daily grind. Something about being different was what scared people. THEY wanted to be different too, but somehow, they were just them. The fact was, we were ALL different. Some accepted what they were earlier than others, some never got it. But, if you were different, you got hassled. So, … I took karate.
It made me feel better. Stronger. More confident. And trust me, with MY face, I needed all the help I could get. But being small stayed with me. To this day. I’m, say, 5’9″ or so. Medium frame. Freckles, glasses, modified target saying “Take your best shot and see what happens.” Not that I’m a badass or anything, in fact, I’m just the opposite. I learned to fight so I wouldn’t have to.
Small. It’s cool. But, seeing as how much I love cars… ANY cars, being small and powerful is a state of mind. Packs a large punch. Like a Habanero. A WaterBug in your pool.. ouch! A rubberband snapped to the inside of your armpit. Or,… a 500hp MINI. Or ANY small car for that matter.
Being small is where large things come from. Appreciate it. Even an Oak Tree was a seed.
Revel in your smallness. Even if you’re tall, YOUR seed was tiny, too.
SEMA Day 3! The Wrap Up…
Day 3 of the SEMA SHOW was super dooper cool. More rides were revealed in the furthest corners of the halls, along with some rather shall we say, REALLY BAD CARS. We now have a segment on MyRide called “That Ain’t Right,” so check it out. Seriously bad vehicles and some bad hairdoos. BUT, all in all, there was coolness all around.
From Hot Rod Lawnmowers and 600hp Quads to SuperBikes and even a Pimped Mercedes C111, (Looked like poo) even the Hankook Tire Girls and Gosia from Millusions were enjoying the show. But the BOOGER AWARD goes to the guys that built, well, the absolute worst car in the show. THEY DIDN’T EVEN HAVE A SIGN! CamermanDan shows it off best here. It was awesomely BAD.
What will next year bring? CARS of course, you silly! For all the SEMA Vid Coverage, scan MyRide. (Sorry if I made a fool of myself, but hey, it’s what I do!)
SEMA Day 2!
While the MyRide team filmed, edited and uploaded MASSIVE content, my cameraman Dan and I hit the show in full force. All new cool things appeared in front of us at lighting speed. Awesome cars like Pimped Zambonies, awesome Konig Girls that come in 3’s, cool products like ANY COLOR YOU WANT WHEELS and Movie Cars like the BANDIT!! There is no way to see everything in this show in a week.
New vids are going up on MyRide as fast as we can shoot ’em, (And the boys are pretty quick!) so keep checking back for new crazy segments! And don’t forget to create YOUR profile!!
