RANDOM SNAP: James Bond's Garage

here's a nice shot of some aston martins i saw at the auto show.  no wonder these are james bond's ride of choice.

PHOTOSHOOT: NISSAN 370 Z

last week brought the turkey and the autoshow.  one car that i was really looking forward to finally seeing was the nissan 370 z, the latest in a long line of z cars.  i had seen sneak peeks and concept designs online, but i was looking to the auto show for some face to face time.  

however, my plans for seeing the new z rotating under spectacular lighting was slightly altered as i saw a yellow 370 sitting in the parking lot of a japanese marketplace called mitsuwa in torrance.  i remembered thinking, "well, that was anticlimactic."  but after some browsing online, i found that it was the test drive car for a speedhunters.com driver who was doing a review.  you can read about it here.

anyways, here are my shots from the auto show.

not too sure about those shoes though...

i hated the headlamp construction, but it is growing on me.  i like how the angle of the headlamp lines up with the aerodynamic accent in the grille.

you can't deny the aggressive stance though.

however, the taillights are not growing on me.

i read that the black square between the exhausts is for a fog lamp.  this feature was built for the european version of the 370, but the nismo tuned version that will be available in the states will have an extra brake light embedded in that spot.

overall, i think it is an improvement over the last generation z car as that one was just an amorphous blob of nothingness.  but this car does have quirks that i don't especially like.  and because it was sitting right next to its faster, prettier sibling (the gt-r), its chances of capturing the hearts of this enthusiast was next to nothing.

random snap: heels vs wheels

you're going to need more than a pair of manolos to get the win over a lamborghini, blondie.

Photoshoot: fiveaxis gs 430

amidst all the italian beauties and american muscle, the best in show for me at the 2008 LA auto show was the Lexus GS 430 by FIVEAXIS.

this beast was a perfect blend of style and power.

the orange accents on this aggressive front end could seem tacky to some, but it was a subtle not towards the racing heart of this vehicle.  the low profile and stance of this car really set it apart from all the other cars at the lexus booth.  i love the tire clearance.

the satin paint and frosted tail lights, coupled with the hidden exhaust really gave this car a classy yet aggressive look.  

this is the kind of car that you don't notice in the rear view, but can't keep up with to take a closer look.

more shots from the auto show to come.

history lesson: all my mobile devices

for those of you who know me, one of my many indulgences is to always have a nice phone.  now, this wasn't always true.  in fact, in the beginning of my phone history, i was more than content to have a free phone, but as you can see via this illustrated timeline, my fetish for sexy phones has developed into an obsession.  

nokia 3593: this was my very first phone.  i got it in college to appease the countless complaints of friends who could not reach me whenever they wanted.  before this, i was using a small piece of paper with phone numbers written on it and local pay phones to contact people on the go.  this phone was one of the first affordable color phones and survived a lot of maltreatment.  one unique aspect of the phone was the interesting keypad.

samsung x497: i got this phone for when i signed up my brother for mobile phone service when he got into college.  this phone had no spectacular features, but it was tiny and sleek.  and actually, it was one of the hardiest phones that i have ever used.  actually, i used it recently as a backup phone when i was in between mobile devices.

samsung sgh-e300: this was a phone given to me by my then, and still current romantic interest, regina.  she was on t-mobile and got a new phone when she renewed her contract.  she gave me this phone and i had it unlocked for cingular service for $10 at a chinese cell phone shop in torrance.  this was my first camera phone and i was really happy with it.  however, i lost it at the beach and had it replaced with the cingular version of the phone which i hated.  

motorola e1 rokr: since i hated the cingular branded e300 so much, regina bought me the brand new motorola e1 rokr.  this phone was the only phone on the market to feature itunes built into the programming.  this was also the phone that sparked my passion for expensive mobile devices.  ever since i touched the creamy satin plastic of the rokr, i knew i could never settle for anything that the company would provide for free.

motorola krazr: i got the krazr as a replacement phone after i gave the rokr to regina when she came over to cingular.  i had this phone before anyone.  it was imported directly from japan and came beautifully packaged in a motorola box that opened up like an origami masterpiece.  exclusive and gourmet.  however, i hated the small screen and cramped buttons, so i moved on.

cingular 8125: this was my first foray into smartphones and being a non-compromising spender of dollars, i bought the biggest and best PDA phone on the market.  the cingular 8125 featured a full qwerty keyboard, touchscreen, and even wifi accessibility.  i loved this phone and i must point out that regina helped buy it for me.  (see, she doesn't help my addiction at all)  however, like all phones in my timeline, i found something wrong with it.  after a while, i got tired of strapping a brick to my belt and opted for something a bit smaller.  actually a lot smaller.

blackberry 8100 pearl: in a drastic departure from huge pocket PC devices, i streamlined my mobile device to the blackberry pearl.  byt this time, cingular had changed to at&t and in celebration of being part of the biggest mobile provider in the US, i had to get a new phone.  once again, i did not settle, but rather splurged on the brand new pearl.  this phone featured a rolling ball that acted as a pseudo mouse on screen.  the suretype keypad made texting a breeze, but the lack of customization features as well as the support of a large pirate community left me wanting more.

Samsung Blackjack II: i actually had this phone in both colors.  i had the wine red originally, but traded it in for the piano black version after i kept getting dropped calls.  this phone is actually great for texting, but because it was a smartphone version of windows mobile and not the full on version, i was limited in the software i could install and the customization aspect of the device.  the cingular 8125 had opened me up to a world of cooked roms, customized operating systems and a slew of pirated software and i missed that in both the pearl and the blackjack ii.

AT&T Tilt: to satisfy the cravings for customization and pirated games and applications, i revisted the large powerhouse offerings of HTC and picked up a Tilt.  this phone did not disappoint.  it had a great keypad and a tilting screen.  and the ability to change the interface however i wanted was very satisfying.  however, as the price of the phone began to drop on ebay and craigslist, i knew that i had to sell the phone quick if i wanted to get any decent return for my toy.  i actually sold it for more than i bought it via craigslist and began another search for a new phone.  during this dark time, i reverted back to basics and slid my sim card into the x497 until i found a diamond in the rough.

samsung eternity: this phone is my current phone.  and since the sgh-e300, i have never been more satisfied with a mobile device.  this phone features a vibrant touch screen with haptic feedback technology as well as an accelerometer.  with 3g connectivity i can surf the web in full html and the expanded 4 gb memory allows for hours of songs and movies.  the phone is very intuitive and i'm completely content with all aspects of this device.  it's thin, sexy and eye catching.  a perfect device...until the next sexy phone comes out.

random snaps: ends of the spectrum

this past weekend brought a wide variety of shots, and these two epitomize the concept of being on opposite ends of the spectrum.

First: The seriousness that is conveyed by the smokescreened sun brought on by the California wildfires.

Last: The comical irony behind the fact that a name like this will never lead to a successful company.

distractions, distractions...

i should be practicing my fingers to the bone right now, but i couldn't help but once again marvel at the magnificence and sheer beauty of the Alternity Nissan GT-R Convoy transformer that I preordered a few months ago.

random shot: visting the woodshed

severin reed frommy old band, "almost ready" used to refer to practice sessions as woodshedding.  i guess it comes from the references to whipping unruly children in the woodshed.  here's a shot of me whipping paris in the woodshed.

the &^$%*ing caprice

niccolo paganini's caprice no. 5

this particular transcription was done for guitar by virtuoso yngwie malmsteen.

wish me luck.

UPDATE: page 1 done and done.

a photo journal entry - a spooky, foggy morning

here are some spooky, foggy pictures i took on a spooky, foggy morning.  in light of halloween being tomorrow, i think they are very apropos.

a spooky, foggy road.

a spooky, foggy path.

a spooky, foggy fence.

a regular tree that is neither spooky or foggy.  it's just a regular tree that i took a picture of on a regular morning.

random snap: nice backsides

i was rearranging my room and got my axes in line for a nice shot.

politics vs patriotism

this past weekend, i filled out a voter registration card.

i'm not all into politics, unlike someone we know, but i do care about my country.

i don't claim a side, democrat or republican, but i am a patriot.

ozzy the dog - post wash photoshoot

ozzy, my rescued american eskimo, was way overdue for a bath/detailing.  and i know i might be bias because he's my dog, but he's super good looking.  all you kids with weird pit bull mixes, slobbery and smelly boston terriers, and tiny rat dog chihuahuas need to step aside and make way for the best looking dog around.

it was hard to get him to raise his ears like this for pictures.

eating a treat.  look at how he holds the treat with his paws like a person.  super smart and super cute.

definitely a blood

looking like a bleached, pensive fox

tastes good

the best dog ever.

the stowaways - the mission log of my gundam recon unit

two gundams hid in my backpack to run a recon mission of my classroom.

i tried to put them back inside, but i was threatened by the GOUF Custom and his gatling shield.

here's a better look at what i was up against.  note the dagger in the rear of the gatling shield weapon.

heavy artillery.

an impressive stance for a gundam.

posing next to a similarly colored beverage can.

the hyaku shiki kai gundam also came along for the recon mission.

one of the best looking paintjobs around.

heavy artillery: dual beam gatling guns.

the hyaku shiki, being the pretty boy of the team, is forced to lead the recon mission by the GOUF.

mexican standoff with the benq projector

discovery of the largest pencil ever

"how the hell can we get up there?"

military domination of the supply table