Koobdizzle...fo' shizzle.

Koob vs. Food

2009-06-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

On memorial day weekend, we decided to take Jane up on one of her invitations to St. Louis. We headed out for a road trip to spend the weekend with her family. They were great hosts, complete with Pho, Heineken, and most Yiknamese chit chat than I've done in the past 3 years. It was a great time. I've been watching a lot of travel channel lately, mainly Anthony Bourdain, Dhani Jones, and Man vs. Food. It just so happened that I saw MvF St. Louis a couple nights before, so visiting at least two of these spots were on my list.

First stop was Pappy's Smokehouse. Now that dude Adam from Man vs. Food came here and ordered a "Big Ben" on the show and it looked delicious. I tried to order one for myself, but the wife said we should share. I was a bit upseat about this... but she couldn't be more right. I need to challenge Steve or Pete to try and dust this thing. The foods great, and the ribs were the best I've ever had (I still have yet to try the perfect rib though). Let's get down to it already... Ladies and Gentleman I present to you the 6+ pound meadly of meat, the Big Ben:

[Big Ben part 1: A full rack of pork ribs, and 3 chicken leg quarters]

[Big Ben part 2: A pulled pork sandwich, and beef brisket sandwich (50% of the meat has already been eaten before taking this pic]

[Big Ben part 3: Sweet potato fries, deep fried corn on the cob, cole slaw, and potato salad]

After our meal, the dude was cool, and took us to the back and showed us his smoker named Walter (it even had a wood carved name plaque). He's got a lot of passion for his food, and here's where he breaks it down.

[Pork shoulders deluxe]

After all that meat, it was time for some sweet. We headed to the Crown Candy kitchen where the Man vs. Food Malt shake challenge went down. This place was cool, it was a real deal old school candy kitchen and ice cream parlor open since 1931.

[Mmmm... chocaolate malt made with home made ice cream]

If you ever travel to a city in the US, I suggest checking out the Man vs. Food site for some local joint reccomendations. It was an awesome road trip weekend out to see Jane's family... although almost all my pics seem to be only of the food joints we went to! I guess I checked out with a major case of Man vs. Food coma.

[One of the few pics without food: Su, Linda, Addy, Jane]

2 random car pics

2009-05-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a recent pic of the SC. I wanted to go for a different look, so now it's on gunmetal CE28N's. I definately like the look a lot more since its alot less flashy. Not to mention, it no longer looks like it belongs to a 55 year old rich white lady.
Went to a MR2/Old school Toyota meet yesterday. One of the guys took this pic. It's a little dark, but I like it. It definately shows how much my regular camera sucks that's for damn sure.

From LA to Chicago

2009-05-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

So a week after Nhan and Linda visited, some of the Cali homies came out. It was a good reunion for all of us. Pee came up from North Carolina which was crazy since i haven't seem him in years. Jojo also came up with Amber who me and Su got to finally meet. It was a great time, and it felt like how it used to be back in the days. It's jsut a shame that Justin and Sarah were supposed to come but had to cancel last minute. You guys were deinfitely missed! A few snaps from the trip.
[Jo, me, Jules, Pee, Steevo atop the Signature Room]
[Amber and Jojo in front of the John Hancock]

[Pee's version]

[Walking down the Mag Mile]

Nhan and Linda

2009-05-09T10:32:00.001-07:00

Nhan and Linda finally made the journey to the Midwest. It's always fun to see what people like to do when they travel. Nhan and Linda are the types that like to try as many of the local food joints as possible. Food bring people together, food is the way to a man's heart, and most importantly, food is delicious. It was a great time with Nhan and Linda here, filled with good eats, Hot I Met You Mother marathons, and the clicking and clacking of back to back to back Street Figther 4 battles. I think the night Sagat and Ryu developed a grudge match, the match counter went to over 50 straight of this one matchup. Anyhow, a lot has been going on in the part 2 months, and I never got to post these pics that I stole from Nhan. We'd love to see you guys back, and this time, we'll take the pics of the Bob Chinn's feast. 3 lobster tails, 12 oysters, a prime rib, a ribeye, 2 orders of king crab legs, and 3 mai tai's: 3 people. We can't wait to have you guys back!
[Nhan and Linda cheezin and freezin]
[What dreams are made of, Al's Beef]

[This is how Nhan would dress for work in Chicago]

[Justin met us up to wait in line for over an hour for duck fat fries]

[Justin was right, it was good, but not 1 hour in line good]

Today was a good day.

2009-05-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

Yeah yeah, I've been super busy lately and reformatted my computer, only to find out my photoshop disc is missing. Sadly, I didn't know any other way to resize pics, so I didn't update the blog. Well... I found some free microsoft image re-sizer, and I guess it'll do for now. So what's happened since my last post... hmm... Nhan and Linda came to Chicago, Steve, Jojo, Amber, Pee, and Jules also came to visit... I went to cali a few times... I still like Al's Italian beef sandwiches, CE28N's we put on the SC, and the MR2 finally made it back from the paint job. Today was a good day.

Rome-ing Around

2009-02-16T19:28:00.001-08:00

When walking through Rome, we came across this cool little farmer's market. This dude likes knows meat and cheese more than you do.
Some weird centipede shits for sale.
Outside of some republic building in Trevi plaza, people put a bunch of personalized locks on the fence. I have no idea what is means, but it looked cool. On our last day of the trip, we hung out in Trastevere, which was packed with people. It was a nice ending, and hangin on these steps was a cool palce to reflect about the trip.
And lastly, I snapped a pic of the only MR2 I saw in Europe. Too bad it was stock, na.

For the glory of Rome!

2009-02-11T19:08:00.001-08:00

Our next part of our trip was a quick flight to Rome. After a small baggage issue with Air Italia, we were on our way to the hotel to plan our next adventure. We laid out a map, and started planning what to see and routes to get around. First up, the Coliseum. Once you get here, you can help but think of Maximus in Gladiator. Dudes getting served in this joint like WWF Saturday Night's Main event.

Here's the Roman Forum which is directly across from the Coliseum. In the center of the picture is the most famous of the 3 arches, the Arch of Constantine. It looks much like the one above, but is definately is worse shape. How all this stuff is still standing, let alone how it was built back then without cranes, and Bob Vila's, I have no idea.

[The next day we went to Vatican City. I've always seen it on tv, but in person its huge.]

[Heres a pic of the ceiling inside the Vatican]

[Dispite the drizzle, thre's nothing like having breakfast in the courtyard surrounding the Pantheon]

[The most famous fountain in Rome, and an awesome kick it spot. Fontana Di Trevi]

I think that's enough with the landmarks. Some of the most fun we had was just venturing through the streets and different hoods. Hopefully I can get off my lazy bum and post those pics soon too.

French Grub

2009-02-10T18:05:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the French eats and tasty treats we came across while in Paris. We were lucky enough to be there in the last days of the Christmas market where there was all kinds of food to try. Just resizing these pics made me take a break to visit my fridge before posting. Enjoy!
[In addition to Creperies, there was this churro maker. In Paris they call em Chi-Chis... hehe...]
[This is a huge wok of Potatoes, cheese, and bacon... and that's the hand of the guy who will take your life, should you reach into his wok.]
[Serious Sausages.]
[Meat, cheese, chives, repeat.]
[Leave it to me and Su to try a pho joint in Paris. Yeah, it may not look like pho, but it sure doesn't fucking taste like it either!]Lastly, I present to you, the legendary "Royal wit Cheese." They had a bacon option, so I thought why the heck not. Exuse me, are those chicken wings I see on your menu? Well shit, lemme get those too! Sadly, that is really the size of the MAXI fries and MAXI drink. The look on the lady's face when I asked if there was a bigger soda was priceless.

Paris Part Deux

2009-01-28T18:36:00.000-08:00

We met some cool people at the subway station while getting death threats by a drugged up fuck. Jonah, from Belgium, and Helena from Ingle-wooood. They were cool peeps and we hung out with them at Sacre Coeur. We then made made plans to meet up at The Louvre the next morning.

People say you can spend the whole day at the Louvre, and their right. There's no way you can see everything here since the place is freakin huge. There's works from all over the world from China, to Rome, to Egypt. It's kinda crazy when you think about how much of this stuff was just plain "stolen" from these countries in the past. Anyway, we decided to get to the Mona Lisa first since it would draw the biggest crowds later in the day. I have to say, the most famous portrait in the world didn't really impress me. Maybe its just because you've seen it so much in your life, you can't help but be jaded. Not to mention I can get a bigger one at my local Ikea, and even touch the thing if I wanted...

[This was one of my favorites. This chick looks like a rogue.]
[Hercules about to serve that serpent. Dirty chinese snakes have it comin' Wen.]
[The Venus de Milo]
Those little chess piece looking guys down there represent servants. Back then, if you were the man and got mummified, they would make little chess pieces of your servants to bury with you so they could serve you in the afterlife. I dunno about you, but that's fucked up for the servants.
For the last part of the Paris Trilogy, I'll be posting the most exciting part of the trip. The food! Hopefully I can stick with this updating bug...

Paris part 1

2009-01-26T18:29:00.001-08:00

Its been pretty hectic, and I haven't had time to update the blog. I really don't have time to do it now either, but some of the homies mentioned that I never update, so here it goes. After sifting through hundreds of pics from our euro trip, I'm going to have to break up my posts in scetions. Hey, my life's pretty boring, so Imma have to milk this vacation for as many blog entries as I can get! After a long 10 or so hour flight, we arrived in Paris just in time to ring in the new year. After a quick ride on the metro, (and not really seeing anything cool up until this point) we come up from underground Paris to see a blue lit Eiffel Tower. It felt like our trip officially started, and we rang in 2009 with an ocean of people under the tower as the stars faded out one by one. I'd have to say, it was a pretty fucking cool ass moment. Here's a few pics from the trip. I feel like I can write a paragraph about each one, but my falling eyes, and lack of sleep are catching up to me.

[Monte Marte was a cool looking town with cobblestone streets]
[Sacre Coeur, a ridiculous amount of stairs to finally get up here, but the view was worth it] [Vule Vuvu Che Avey Gua bitches! ] [The Notre Dame Cathedral. this architecture is unbelievable]
[Gotta have crepes in Paris right?]

Chowduh

2008-11-22T12:38:00.001-08:00

During this week I had a business trip to Boston. Sorry for the pic quality, but it's all taken from my phone. When I landed, there was this pretty cool vending machine with $450 Shure head phones, ipods, and psp's. This may be old news, but shit, it's the first time I've seen it, so I snapped a pic.
I've never been to the area before, but was excited to see what the New England area was all about, and most importantly, try some New England clam chowder (or "chowduh" for you Bostonians). After meeting a lot of great people from our Ashland, MA location, we ventured off for dinner. We ate at Legal Sea Foods, where I tried my best to get a taste of Boston in one night. To start, I had a cup of their famous clam "chowduh" which has been served at the last 7 presidential inagurations.
It was tasty, and definately the best "chowduh" I've had. This one even beat out a place called Chelsea's, which was my current favorite. Masaki would take me there whenever we met with AL from Options, and their chowder is gangsta. Anyhow, Legals beats them out with more of a seafood taste in the broth, and fresher clam meat. Next up, was the stuffed Lobster florentine...
As my friends from the area advised, I happen to be there during the peak lobster season. Whaddaya know, must be my lucky day. The meat was sweet, and stuffed with spinach, shrimp, cheese, and breading. The best part, was the tail meat was still in tact. Its like getting a 2 for 1 deal on this bad boy. And last, we have dessert... I was so full from all of the food already, but Sandy and Kerry said, "Do you want the full Boston experience or what?!" So i took their advice and ordered the Boston Cream Pie. I'm not usually a dessert guy, but this thing was awesome. I just wish I had more room in my maxed out tummy to finish it.
So my less than 24hour trip to Boston was great. We got the work done, got to have some drinks, and a great meal. This was the best meal I had in a while. Not only was the food excellent, but the company made it a great time as well. Good thing Steven and Kammi's pot luck is tonight... I'm hungry than a mutha feezy now...

Super Turbo

2008-11-20T16:03:00.000-08:00

So after playing SF4, and counting down the days till February 17th so I can get my fix... It looks like I'll have somethign to hold me over. Capcom made it official that Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will be release on PSN November 25th and Xbox live on the 26th, with an official price of $14.99.

Now in addition to the gameplay true and intact to Super Turbo, there will also be a rebalanced mode which reblances characters which are said to be lower or bottom tier characters. Now, I'm an avid Deejay, Zangief, Ryu, and Sagat fan, and welcome all of the "rebalances" that Capcom has made. Its great to hear that they finally 2nd dread kick so that it actually comobs most of the time, and Zanigief's headbutt hop now goes over low moves, and recovers almost instantly which is perfect for an SPD. Its going to be a good time next week. Hopefully me and the homies can hang with the all 10 year olds who sit at home and play video games all day. We're old school... Polk High, 4 touchdowns in one game status. Put yer quarter up, my bear wrestling russian's got a piledriver with yout your name on it.

Footrace photo

2008-11-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

So I was browing around the net, and came across this picture. I don't know the details of the story, but I think this is an awesome shot. I hope that no one was hurt here, so I'm going to go ahead and assume that this dude just has 2 cars and the go against that MR2.

Distractions

2008-10-23T20:23:00.001-07:00

So right about now I should be packing for yet another Cali trip (Nhan & Linda's wedding). Problem is, I'm a bit distracted as the wife came home with a suprise. The Work XD9's that I ordered from Wayne and Howard came in for the MR2. So rather than packing socks, and undies, I've been unpacking the wheels, and making a mess before I leave. I'm pretty excited to get these on the ride, but for now I'd better get back to packing...

Chicago Marathon

2008-10-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

So this past Sunday was the Chicago Marathon. I had never gone before, but we had a friend running in it this year, and wanted to show her some support. Me and Su parked the car and split up. She took a cab to Chinatown to try and meet up with Jenny, and run the last 5 miles with her. I on the other hand, took a stroll to around town since I had a few hours to kill. Everytime I walk around the city, I'm amazed. I mean, honestly, this place is fucking beautiful.

[The Dharma Initiative in disguise]

Finally, I walk my way over to the last corner of the marathon. I sit and wait while hordes of people finish the race. Big people, small people, short people, tall people. Seeing these people at the end of the 26 mile run is pretty inspiring. Its gotta be tough, and you probably have like the craziest battle inside mentally to quit. I know that this race passes right by Al's Italian beef. Even if either me, Steve, or Justin had the balls to run this thing, it'd be over right then and there at Al's with a large combo beef, hot peppers, and fries.

Anyhow, I finally see Jenny and Su running up the street. I jump in and take some photos and we both cheer her on to the finish. Great job Jenny Jackabeezy we're proud of ya!

Patapon

2008-09-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that lately I don't play video games as much anymore. I still buy the big games when they come out and give them a shot, but they rarely keep my interest long enough for me to beat them. Grand Theft Auto 4, Call of duty 4, Metal Gear 4, Soul Calibur 4... (whoa, there was a fuckload of part 4's this year...) they were all cool I guess. But I have to say the best game I played all year wasn't even on PS3 or 360. It was on PSP, and with an MSRP of $19.99. The game is called Patapon. If you have a flight or trip coming up, I strongly suggest you either download the demo on PSN, or fork over the twenty smackers for a good fun/cheddar ratio.
Its a game where you enter commands to the beat like a rythm game. A certain pattern causes your army to rush, retreat, guard, move, and attack. You start off with like 2 of these little shits, and they throw some dinky spears for dick damage. As play you can get more guys to your army, and in all different types of classes. Archers, big ogre club swinging dudes, grunts, etc. What makes the game fun is that you can pimp out you little soldier dudes with some buff ass armor, and shit like swords that set the enemies on fire. I know this sounds pretty weird, but somehow, the music, rythm, fighting, and upgrading just works. It's definately the most innovative game I've played, and for the price tag, it easily wins as the best game I've played on 2008. Don't get it twisted, these cute little fuckers will burn the house down when you mob up 15 deep while catching fever mode.

Patapon 2 comes out in a couple months, and like after beating the demo, you can transfer your save file for some special weapons and such when you start. The best thing is that Patapon 2 will have a multiplayer mode it battle it out. Pon-Pon-Pata-Pon bitches!

Viva la Mexico!

2008-09-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

So yesterday we just got back form our trip to Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya. It was awesome. This was our first time here, and its definately a different Mexico. Its not like the baja regions (which are awesome as well) where there's just sand and dirt. This Mexico is filled with lush jungles, humidity, and lack of tacos. I should have known about the taco thing, as I didn't remember seeing the Mayans rocking a pastor rotisserie in Apocalypto.
First we went Xcaret which is an awesome spot. If you're in this region I highly suggest you hit this place up for an experience buffet on everything local. You can see the local animals, swim through submerged caves, scuba, snorkel, jungle trails, even sit back on a beach and do nothing if that's your thing. We then traveled to Chitchen Itza on the hottest day of the trip. They don't let anyone climb on the Ruins anymore which sucks, but makes sense. Tourism seems to be the big revenue generator for the area, and they need to make sure it stays that way for years to come. Not to mention, how many people probably fell and tumbled down the stairs like a chinese gymnist.
After a hot sunburn filled day at the Ruins, we finally get to Ik Kil the "Sacred Blue Cenote". In Mayan times, these was their only resources for fresh water, and they also represented the entrance to the underworld. This place was badass. Its like straight out of a movie, and the waters are cool and sweet. There was something uplifting about climbing the stone stairs and taking a dive into the blue waters that I can't explain. This and scuba through Barracuda reef definately stand out as my favorites.
All the clothes are washed, the luggage stowed away, and even went into the office only 6 hours after getting home. The daily grind is back in full effect. With a handful of new memories and experiences, it definately makes it a bit sweeter. Viva la Mexico.

Bolt

2008-08-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

Saw this video about Usain Bolt's pre race finish celebration. For some reason, I thought it looked a little different on TV, but then again, it's prolly just my imagination.

Jimoto Special

2008-08-22T21:20:00.001-07:00

With the MR2 finally here, it's been like a damn Delorean equipped with the flux capacitor each time I sit in it. I guess its because it seems like I've been out of the aftermarket industry forever. The countless builds you see, all the experiences you have, and most importanly all the friends you make are awesome. Now that I work at a normal nine to fiver, I truly envy those who do what they love for a living. I mean, sometimes the money might not be the greatest, but its definately worth it. When going to "work" becomes more like meeting with your homies, talking about car shit all day long, selling some parts, going to races, doing some tech calls, and wreching on your car afterhours with all the tools and resources you can dream of... it really doesn't feel like "work" anymore at all.

A huge part of these years was hanging with the homies. Fucking around, building cars, eating, track days, street racing, and did I meantion eating? Well the biggest thing I miss everytime I jump in the MR2, was chillen with the crew. We were the young fucks at the time, and back then you respected the OG's, something alot of these new school fucks know nothing about. Well, enough of that. Here's a few memorable pictures from back in the JMS days. JMS for life.

[Shits not a game. Someone left home hurt, pissed off, or humiliated every single day.]
[260lbs plus of airborn jumpkick action. I still can't believe it...]

SW Fanboy

2008-08-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

Back when I was 16 I remember selling Tomogochi's (JDM giga pets) at different malls like Montclair, Ontario, Irvine, etc. It was probably the easiest job I had, as they pretty much sold themselves. What was cool, was that I made enough to buy myself a 91 MR2 turbo. I remember going with Andy down to Hollywood and picking it up. After hours of trying to work a deal, around 9pm the car was mine. Half way home on the 60, Andy hits his hazards, and pulls over on the freeway. "wanna go to the street races?" "sure." That night was probably one of the best nights of my life. It was the begining, first night really driving stick, and first night at Etiwanda in my own car. Launching like a dumbass at 6,000rpm, and thinking I'm a fucking "racer". I beat a white DA GSR with a K&N intake and a flowmaster that night, and shit, it may be small pickins, but gimmie a break, it's 1996.

[What it became in 98: Built motor, FRD widebody, Kandy lime gold paint, show fag spec.]
So I eneded up selling the car shortly after and was never satifsfied since the shit was cursed with problems (purely my ingnorance of maintenance) and rarely ran. I guess I was trying to re-live some part of my youth in buying another MR2 recently. I'm sure many of you feel the same way about the first car you owned, and I plan on cruising this thing with Su when we're 50.

[Don't let it fool you, this shits beat! Zip tied bumper, bad wiring, krylon paint. Not to mention, I'm not a fan of this BA Baracus A-Team shit.]

Thanks to Troy, Eric, Pete, and Rob, the car is back in healthy shape. With less than 500 miles on a freshly built motor, ugraded turbo, IC, fuel system, tune, etc., the car is ready to go, and currently on a truck to Chicago. I'm pretty excited for it to arrive, as I haven't had a turbo car in a while. With the engine out of the way, now I can start making the bitch lighter, stiffer, and a bit prettier.

[Cosmetic shit stacking up in the house.]

[Waxed SC after cleaning the garage. She won't be getting any love for a very long time.]

MGS4 Revisited

2008-08-15T17:28:00.000-07:00

MGS 4 has been out for a while, but being a fan, I can still feel like talking about it. As many of you know, I am a huge fan of the Metal Gear Solid Series. From MGS 1 thru 3 I've usually taken off of work on release day, and don't come out until I'm done. So MGS4 was no different. Kojima on a new system, a BD50, and millions of fans eagerly waiting like a family skipping Thanksgiving to sit in line at a Wal-Mart on Black Friday. This game could have gone either way. Kojima can be a genius, but he can also be a total fucking weirdo. So does the game deliver? Yes...and no.

Graphically, its truly a sight to see. I'd have to say that nothing I've seen graphically comes close. From the amount of detail on Sanke's Octo-camo, to the depth of the enviroment and the events happening around you. The more you play, you are constantly amazed by the way something looks, sounds, or what you're doing. I was thinking to myself, "whoa, this is fucking crazy." through so many points in the game. Truly it is totally on a different level when it comes to game production. So is it they best in the series? No. I can say that confidently. The game definately has its moments especially with Snake crawling though the microwave scene. The best part in the game by far, was the final battle with Liquid Ocelot. What makes this scene so great was because it brought all of the MGS music memories back, especially when the "Snake Eater" track came on. While that was awesome, it meant more hearing that tune while CQCing The Boss, then popping a cap in her ass point blank in the middle of the field.
In closing, MGS4 is an excellent game that truly puts an end to the Solid series. It rewards its fans with exactly what we look for in a Metal Game... it just doesn't do it as well as some of its predecessors. In order by rank: MGS3, MGS1, MGS4, MGS2.

[Who's your daddy Snake? Big mutha fuckin Boss, that's who.]

MR2 Projectors

2008-08-12T18:28:00.001-07:00

Today, after selling some old GS parts I had laying around, I decided it was time to dump more money into my MR2. The SW body style is over 18 years old now, and even typing it makes me freak out on how old it is. I always thought the MR2 body style was ahead of its time, and aged very well, I mean, its no fucking fountain of youth like the FD, but the shit still looks damn good (well to me at least...). Anyhow, one thing that really shows the Age of the MR2, is its flip up style headlights. Bulb and housing in one nifty package for $4.99!

Well, times they are a changing. Today I finally ordered a head light conversion from an MR2 tuner in the UK, Rogue Systems. I figured it'd be a good idea before our US dollar plummets any further. The kits include everything you need to update your SW's lights. Lowrise mechanical parts, 4 Hella free form projectors, and Hella HID ballasts and bulbs. I've seen the kit in person once before, and by far is faded up all other MR2 headlight conversions I've seen, from PJ's piaa setup in 95, to show feezys and their FTO swaps.

[Rogue Sytems Quad HELLA Projector conversion]

[Half Rogue, half brick]
[Some SW with the HID kit]

Home Theater

2008-08-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

After months of debate with deciding if losless audio was worth it, I decided to take the plunge and get rid of my still almost new recevier (no lossless support) , to take the pepsi challenge for myself. The higher bitrate DD and DTS tracks on bluray were awesome, but i felt like they could be so much more. The legacy dvd codecs end up sounding like MP3's in comparison, but is the jump from high-res DD and DTS to Lossless worth it? In one word, Fuckyeah. Poeple sometimes think loudness is quality, and this isn't what makes lossless great, its the ammount of depth and immersion the lossless track has. Uncompressed, bit for bit audio straight from the studio master is the real deal. If you're on the fence with making the jump, as long as you have decent speakers, its worth it.

One of the things I most was excited for in buying our home was building a home theatre. Well that, and building a garage. I'm by no means an audiophile or videophile, but definately a huge enthusiast. Within my budget, I'd have to say I'm pretty damn satisfied with the setup. I've probably gone to the movies 3 times in the past 2 years, since watching movies on a huge ass screen with shit resolution is not my cup of tea. Not to mention the people talking, cell phones ringing, and sticky floors fucking up your new shoes. Anyhow here's some pics of the current living room, and my attempt at creating a theater that doesn't overpower the room asthetically.

[Samsung 67" 1080p, Onkyo 606, KEF's, PS3 for Blu/music/pics. ]
[Next up will hopefully be a credenza to make the tv look more like furniture, rather than a bestbuy display.][KEF front and surrond channel wiring done through the walls.]
[ISF certified calibration.]

Chris and Su Est. in 2008

2008-07-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend was the happiest day in my life. Probably the biggest cliche I could say, but honestly, it was. I finally got to marry my bestfriend of over 10 years. That was just the start of everything. It was nice to see so many of our closes friends from Cali and Chicago come together and support/witness the day. I guess the feeling of seeing all the people who have touched your lives through the years come together and hang out together is something I can't really descibe, but its definately unreal. I don't have any funny, or sarcastic things to say. Simply put, this past weekend was badass. Thanks to everyone who attended, and those who were there in spirit.
[Some clowns at rehearsal]
[We clean up pretty good.] [Steve's JMS limo service]

[And just to make this post a bit more manly, here's the last seconds of this double double's life before Steve killed it in 3 bites.]

Forza Motorsport

2008-07-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

So I was looking at some old pictures on my computer, when I came across these Forza pictures I made for Nhan, Moltz, and Pete. I kinda wish I copied all the pics over before selling the 360... What pisses me off is that I don't even have pictures of my cars. Nor the XS R32 that I spent so much fucking time on trying to get the shit right. Anyhow, here's to having too much time on my hands.

[Nhan's DC circa 2002]
[Moltz Mans 13: For someone who eats so much count chocula, he's pretty pale in this pic.] [Pete's FD: This was one memorable fucking day.]

It's a celebration bitchez!

2008-07-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

So now I'm literally down to just days before my wedding day. I'm really looking forward to the whole experience. First off, my fiance did all of the wedding planning which is crazy. I thought, what's the big deal, pick a place, taste some food, pick a DJ, and get a photographer. Well, it turns out that its a bit more involved that than that, and she did a kick ass job. I pretty much get to show up, see the homies, and party my ass off. Now, I may not have had much interest in the color of the flowers, the programs, center pieces, cake stand, cake topper, various color swatches, bows, candles, etc. (yeah, it's that fucking detailed and dim sum....), but I do care about the place we have it at. I moved to Chicago, so the wedding's in Cali, and we picked an awesome Venue, the Historic Mission Inn in Riverside. We looked at place after place, where we could get hitched within our budget. Once we got a tour of just how how much depth and history was here, all bets were off. We've been eating here throughout the years, but never knew just how badass this place was inside. They also have the best $9 blueberry pancakes you'll ever have (Yes, $9 fucking dollars for 2 pancakes).

To all of our family and closest friends who are attending, get ready to party your ass off, as our DJ is Alan Meade (one of the founders of No Doubt).

Tactical Fireworks Action.

2008-07-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

I know I'm about 6 days late for the 4th of July, but hear me out. Do you know why at any given time of year, you hear someone firing off some picolo petes and bottle rockets? Because they fucking rock. And because they fucking rock, I'm bringing this old video back into rotation. Credit goes to Moltz for Speilberging this video in the first place. Enjoy.

First things first.

2008-07-10T18:53:00.001-07:00

I have given into the blog gods. After reading friend's blogs (eric, greg, tosh) I remember a time of my life when all that mattered were cars, friends, and food. That's just how it was. Working 9 to 5 to pay for car parts was just a way of life. One day, I (and help from the homies) made the JMS site which was where we used to post up all the bullshit we did during the week while working as the "young fucks" in the aftermarket parts/tuning industry. I miss those days, and the only thing documenting it was wiped due to a computer crash. Things are diffrent now, I'm older, wiser, but definately lazier. Rather than make a website to document my life, I'll settle for this blog. I hope I can keep it entertaining, but at the end of the day, if you're not entertained, you can take your pick of one of the 50 kajillion blogs out there...

This blog however, has a picture of the last living piece the the JimotoSpecial.com website. (R.I.P. circa 2002)