Monday funny...

Fulla holes...

Lightening holes are just plain cool:

Dream car of the week...

How about a slick lil' 1957 Chevy 150? Decide for yourself:

Playin' the drums...

6 years...

"On my order, coalition forces have begun targeting selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war."

- George W. Bush
March 20, 2003 to the American public

It has been 6 years since that sentence was spoken. I have had friends and children of friends serve in Iraq. This video is from one of them. It is compiled from his personal pictures and video.

NOTE: It had a copyrighted song so youtube muted it.



The fire trail at the end of the video is from one of their vehicles being hit and leaking fuel.

Dream car of the week...

This lil '55 Chev is sinister, 'nuff said:

HAMBANDY...

Andrew Roger Boyd Paul Dunn

(February 8, 1995 - March 17, 2009). Passed away peacefully in the arms of his family on March 17, 2009, age 14 years. Leaving behind his loving parents Rosanne and Chris and big brother Matt. Left with cherished memories are grandparents Margaret and Boyd Baker, Ruby and Paul Dunn; great-grandmother Mary Randell; uncles Bob (Gail), Roger, Tony (Glenda) and special cousins Robyn and Bobby. Also left with special memories are a large group of friends and relatives. He joins in heaven his great-grandfather Pearce Randell. In his short life Andrew became an inspiration to many who knew and loved him. He was always generous with kindness and consideration of everyone. He was the proud recipient of Scouts Canada Jack Cornwell Decoration for bravery and courage. Andy was a HAMB member and was thrilled to be given his own hotrod by his HAMB friends. He loved the outdoors and spent his best days there with Dad, honourary Uncle Don and friend Josh. Andrew will be greatly missed. Resting at Barrett’s Funeral Home, 73 Commonwealth Avenue, Mount Pearl from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday and from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. on Thursday. Funeral Mass will be celebrated from St. Edward’s Parish, Kelligrews at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, March 20, 2009 with interment to follow at St. Edward’s Cemetery. Flowers are gratefully accepted or donations in Andrew’s memory can be made to the Janeway Foundation or the Canadian Cancer Society.

To all the lassies and laddies...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lost...

or completely found?

As I have mentioned on here before I love surfing the net and looking at old pictures of people. When I saw this picture I thought it was amazing. There is so much spoken without even a word.

As I look at this photo I wonder if she is in thought on wether to look at the map to find her way or throw out the map, because she has inadvertently found her destination...

Heaven is 400,000 sq ft and painted blue...

Or so it seems if you are sporting a XX chromosome.

So it has ben almost a year and a half since I first mentioned our new house. In that little blurb I joked about how Shannon wanted to go to Bed, Bath & Beyond and IKEA. Well yesterday I caved and we went to both - and a couple more. Now Jay Leno claims IKEA is Swedish for 'junk", but I came home and Googled it and come to find out it is Swedish for 'man torture". Did you know their motto is "IKEA - Helping woman oppress men since 1958".

If you have not been to one of these stores, but it looks like one is in your future I suggest you have the Mrs. check you into the little jungle playroom, order some "room-service" from the little cafeteria place, and settle in because you're gonna be there for awhile.

When I got the idea of taking her there I had no idea it was a three hour process to decide between a blue duvet cover or a red duvet cover. I didn't know it was like Who Wants to be a Millionare, and she was going to have to use her life line. Caiti - help a brother out and answer the phone next time. I learned duvets are a major commitment, but honestly I am not even sure what a duvet cover is. And as I would like to have this question answered more importantly I would like for someone to explain to me why everything I purchased yesterday from this Swedish store was manufactured in China or Mexico.

Traditional Speed and Kustom...

Jim Aust of Rod & Custom, Goodguys Gazette and the Rodder's Journal magazines and current owner of So-Cal Speed Shop Los Angeles launched his new on-line automotive e-magazine tonight and it is phenomenal. Congrats and best of luck with your newest venture Jim.



Check it out here.

Ron Kellogg Photo Archive...

The KELLOGG AUTO ARCHIVES is a collection of over 1 million negatives, rare movie footage that covers almost 100 years of motor sports, automotive production and design. As a young man, Mr. Kellogg fell in love with the automobile, owning over 300 cars, and having a few coach built cars in the last several years, design has been at the top. At age 16, owning an XK120 Jag Coupe in high school helped the fire inside for more speed and style. Ron Kellogg would attend all the races he could, Sports Cars, Indy Cars, Sprint Cars, Midgets, & Stock Cars. Seeing history in front of him with his camera in hand this period of time must be saved. As time went on it has become a search for the best that I could afford to purchase as much from those professionals that made their living from the sport of racing. After over 60 years, the time has come to share this treasure of images, from such greats as Dean Batchelor, the Dean standard that all great photographers try to follow, WWII Hero, Hot Rod driver, builder, and designer, author, book publisher, and if you win “The Dean Batchelor Award” by the MOTOR PRESS GUILD, you have arrived. Next we have Ralph Poole and Jack Brady, these too are in a class by themselves, considered the ANSEL ADAMS of motor sports, images to make a grown person feel like they're in the action; and then there is Dwight Vaccaro, an official photographer for USAC from 1955 to 2003, what can be said about a treasure of 200,000 plus images of races and drivers thru that great time when a driver was the major force in a race cars performance.

For more check it out here

Powerwheels...

Got a project for the bro-in-law. Ryan gotta any motors layin' around?

Jim Diest Memorial Services...

On Saturday March 14, 2009, 10AM to 1PM there will be a Family and Friends Viewing and Memorial Service for Jim Deist at:

Burbank Worship Center
222 E. Victory Bl.
Burbank CA 91502
818 -848-5501

Also, there will be a Memorial Service on Wednesday, April 8, 2009, 11AM at:

NHRA Museum
1101 McKinley Av. (off Fairplex Drive)
Pomona CA

Dream "old school" super car of the week...

The last couple of weeks I have strayed from the norm with these posts. Last week with the M80 concept truck, and this week with the Lamborghini Countach. I remember the first time I stood next to one of these as a pre-licensed teenager. It was white just like the one pictured below, and totally unlike anything I had ever seen before. Needless to say it may be "dated" now, but it will always have a place in my heart.

Project X...

It has been the subject of more enthusiast magazine build stories than any other car and has graced the cover of Popular Hot Rodding (PHR) countless times. It even played a supporting role as the supercharged transportation in a movie for Tony Danza and Michelle Pfeiffer.

The car is Project X, the most famous 1957 Chevy ever built – and rebuilt. Since its debut in PHR more than 40 years ago, Project X has served as a rolling, evolving test bed of high-performance parts and a bell weather of automotive culture trends. But while this perpetual project car has never absolutely been finished, it has undergone several complete rebuilds – transformations that have contemporized its performance and styling.

Jim Diest passes...

Racing safety and equipment pioneer Jim Deist passed away this morning. His involvement in all types of motor sports was from the heart. The many lives that were saved through his equipment and safety development speaks highly of his dedication for all racers.

Barbie's 50 and my daughter is probably gonna want this...

Press Release

Fiat 500 makes headlines once more, as befits an authentic Made in Italy icon. This time it’s an original Fiat 500 show car dedicated to the most famous fashion doll ever: Barbie®. This exceptional vehicle, created by a partnership between the Fiat Centro Stile and Mattel, will be given officially to Barbie® on 9 March next, at her fiftieth birthday celebrations in Milan.

It’s a fashionista car but quite tongue-in-cheek and with lots of charm: just like Barbie® herself. The gleaming paintwork resembles varnish and definitely makes for a shock effect, achieved with deep lacquered colour using ultra fine aluminium plunged in deep, up-to-the-minute pink. The seating is upholstered in strikingly soft fabrics: silver laminated Alcantara® is not only trendy but plush to the touch and its glimmer bounces as far as the roof panel. Then there are mats enhanced with natural silk yarn and sleek viscose, not to mention lip glosses in brilliant colours stored in the glove compartment, plus a LED-decked vanity mirror to ensure perfect application. And there’s more. The car has more features than a crown has jewels! Crystals sparkle on interior bezels, hubcaps, outer window mouldings and antenna and even outline the doll’s famed silhouette on the pillars. Lastly, this Fiat 500 show car also has its own glossy cover, featuring the distinctive Sixties version of the Fiat 500 and a Barbie® autograph.

The latest Fiat 500 show car will appear in public for the first time on Monday 9 March, from 6.30pm onwards, when it will race through the quintessential streets of Milan’s fashion district. Barbie® will be aboard and she’ll have her own special driver: Ken, of course. On arriving at the entrance to La Rinascente department store, in Piazza Duomo, Barbie® will leave the car and walk the unique pink carpet created just for her. The band Nena will be playing live in the background, reviving some of the most famous pop songs from the fifty years of the legendary fashion doll’s existence.

Roberto Giolito, creator of the Fiat 500, had this to say about the Mattel-Fiat partnership scheme: “All-American Ms Barbie® already has a number of ‘transport solutions’ available, like thundering GTs and motor homes with endless accessories. So if she’s spotted a 500 and wants one as a gift for this landmark birthday, it’s a signal typical of modern times that there’s a renewed need for dreaming the simple things in life, which give so much, allow us to lighten up, thrill who’s born beautiful or just feels beautiful, but doesn’t have to prove anything. After all, Barbie® already has everything. Sleek Barbie® is a looker, smart enough to listen to everyone, a universal ambassador opting for a car that never divides but frees everyone from having to declare their social status. The new 2009 version celebrates her birthday with a model that offers a better view of the sun and the stars, all the better for continuing to dream, especially daydreams.”

Birthdays...

So today I am "half way to 70" as my wife put it, but look who's turning:

70



60





55



50



45



40

Yeah, I took it...

What do ya think?

Dream "concept" truck of the week...

The Dodge M80 concept was introduced early this century. It never made it into production and all I can ask is why not...

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth...

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth (March 4, 1932 – April 4, 2001) was an artist and cartoonist who created the hot-rod icon Rat Fink and other extreme characters. As a custom car builder, Roth was a key figure in Southern California's "Kustom Kulture"/Hot-rod movement of the 1960s. He grew up in Bell, California, attending Bell High School, where his classes included auto shop and art.

Roth is best known for his grotesque caricatures — typified by Rat Fink — depicting imaginative, outsized monstrosities driving representations of the hot rods he and his contemporaries built. Although Detroit native Stanley Mouse (Miller) is credited with creating the so-called "Monster Hot Rod" art form, Roth is accepted as the individual who popularized it. Roth is less well known for his innovative work in turning hot rodding from crude backyard engineering where performance was the bottom line into a refined artform where aesthetics were equally important, breaking new ground with fiberglass bodywork.

Wow...

One and a half years, almost 10,000 hits, and just short of 300 posts.

And now you know the rest of the story...

Broadcasting pioneer Paul Harvey dies at age of 90

By RUPA SHENOY, Associated Press Writer – Sun Mar 1, 8:16 am ET

CHICAGO – Paul Harvey, the news commentator and talk-radio pioneer whose staccato style made him one of the nation's most familiar voices, died Saturday in Arizona, according to ABC Radio Networks. He was 90.
Harvey died surrounded by family at a hospital in Phoenix, where he had a winter home, said Louis Adams, a spokesman for ABC Radio Networks, where Harvey worked for more than 50 years. No cause of death was immediately available.
Harvey had been forced off the air for several months in 2001 because of a virus that weakened a vocal cord. But he returned to work in Chicago and was still active as he passed his 90th birthday. His death comes less than a year after that of his wife and longtime producer, Lynne.
"My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news," Paul Harvey Jr. said in a statement. "So in the past year, an industry has lost its godparents and today millions have lost a friend."
Known for his resonant voice and trademark delivery of "The Rest of the Story," Harvey had been heard nationally since 1951, when he began his "News and Comment" for ABC Radio Networks.
He became a heartland icon, delivering news and commentary with a distinctive Midwestern flavor. "Stand by for news!" he told his listeners. He was credited with inventing or popularizing terms such as "skyjacker," "Reaganomics" and "guesstimate."
"Paul Harvey was one of the most gifted and beloved broadcasters in our nation's history," ABC Radio Networks President Jim Robinson said in a statement. "We will miss our dear friend tremendously and are grateful for the many years we were so fortunate to have known him."
In 2005, Harvey was one of 14 notables chosen as recipients of the presidential Medal of Freedom. He also was an inductee in the Radio Hall of Fame, as was Lynne.
Former President George W. Bush remembered Harvey as a "friendly and familiar voice in the lives of millions of Americans."
"His commentary entertained, enlightened, and informed," Bush said in a statement. "Laura and I are pleased to have known this fine man, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
Harvey composed his twice-daily news commentaries from a downtown Chicago office near Lake Michigan.
Rising at 3:30 each morning, he ate a bowl of oatmeal, then combed the news wires and spoke with editors across the country in search of succinct tales of American life for his program.
At the peak of his career, Harvey reached more than 24 million listeners on more than 1,200 radio stations and charged $30,000 to give a speech. His syndicated column was carried by 300 newspapers.
His fans identified with his plainspoken political commentary, but critics called him an out-of-touch conservative. He was an early supporter of the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy and a longtime backer of the Vietnam War.
Perhaps Harvey's most famous broadcast came in 1970, when he abandoned that stance, announcing his opposition to President Nixon's expansion of the war and urging him to get out completely.
"Mr. President, I love you ... but you're wrong," Harvey said, shocking his faithful listeners and drawing a barrage of letters and phone calls, including one from the White House.
In 1976, Harvey began broadcasting his anecdotal descriptions of the lives of famous people. "The Rest of the Story" started chronologically, with the person's identity revealed at the end. The stories were an attempt to capture "the heartbeats behind the headlines." Much of the research and writing was done by his son, Paul Jr.
Harvey also blended news with advertising, a line he said he crossed only for products he trusted.
In 2000, at age 82, he signed a new 10-year contract with ABC Radio Networks.
Harvey was born Paul Harvey Aurandt in Tulsa, Okla. His father, a police officer, was killed when he was a toddler. A high school teacher took note of his distinctive voice and launched him on a broadcast career.
While working at St. Louis radio station KXOK, he met Washington University graduate student Lynne Cooper. He proposed on their first date (she said "no") and always called her "Angel." They were married in 1940 and had a son, Paul Jr.
They worked closely together on his shows, and he often credited his success to her influence. She was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1997, seven years after her husband was. She died in May 2008.

From a young age I heard Paul Harvey on the radio. I remember my father always used to have to tune him in. I think it was because of Paul Harvey that I know what JB weld is AND all of it's possibilities.

Afternoon AM radio will never be the same. So for one last time "Good day"...