Seen: At Cars & Coffee, Irvine

I think this is a Deusenberg. Shot with my iPhone - not too shabby!

All the best for 2011!

Happy New Year everyone! Where were you on the last day of the decade? I was hangin' with Kobe at Staples. They made it a little too close at the end - for dramatic effect I guess - but the Lake Show pulled out the win.

Seen: At the swap meet

Cover - beveled areas stand up about 10mm

I'm certainly no true believer, but I do appreciate a lot of the art and architecture created in the name of our world's religions. Case in point: This huge - probably a good five inches thick - and profusely illustrated bible I came across at the swap meet a couple weeks back. It was in rough shape and the binding was falling apart, but that didn't take away from the spectacular gilt inlaid cover or the incredibly detailed black and white plates, most likely reproductions of etchings, scattered throughout the book. They wanted eighty bucks for it, so I just snapped a few pics with my phone. Click photos for larger versions.

Title page

R.I.P. Terriers

Just thought I'd mention how depressed I am about the recent cancellation by the bonehead execs at FX of what I thought was the best new TV show of 2010, Terriers. The show had a breezy Rockford Files vibe, sharp writing, great acting and great chemistry between stars Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James, who play scruffy unlicensed PI's turning up all kinds of trouble in picturesque Ocean Beach (San Diego), California.

That putrid shows like Dancing With the Stars continue to haul in massive ratings while the brilliance of Terriers, not to mention the recent L.A. cop show Southland, get the axe after one season is a crime against my sanity and intelligence. The final episodes of Rescue Me can't come soon enough!

Oh, and if, like me, you can't get the catchy Terriers theme song out of your head, you can get it from iTunes. It's called Gunfight Epiphany.

Edit 12-27-10: There's some rather confusing information available online, but I just saw a preview for a new Southland season on TNT beginning in January.

Seen: In the middle of the street

Sunset near my parents' house in Huntington Beach Dec. 11, 2010

Seen: At the swap meet

Ancient Scott-Atwater outboard motor - beautiful.
Print available soon through my Etsy shop.

Zero to 88 MPH in 1.21 Jigawatts

Went to check out a special screening of the fully restored 25th anniversary edition of Back to the Future in digital projection at a theater in Orange last night. Yes, it was absolutely fantastic - it really is a perfect movie. I don't think I'd seen it on the big screen since it's premier in 1985. The Back to the Future trilogy will be released on Blu-Ray tomorrow - Oct. 27th.

Eric Stolz as Marty McFly with Christopher Lloyd's Doc Brown

An interesting factoid I just learned about the movie is that Eric Stolz was originally cast as Marty McFly, and actually completed five weeks of filming before director Robert Zemeckis and producers Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy decided he just wasn't right for the role and replaced him with their first choice, Michael J. Fox, who at the time was having scheduling conflicts with his hit TV show Family Ties.

Check this blog entry [here] for some additional behind the scenes info, as well as some screen caps of Eric Stolz as Marty McFly. Hopefully someday this footage will surface, but it's been 25 years already so I'm not holding my breath. Here's the 25th anniversary release poster: