September 25th, 2008
My original T-shirt designs are on sale at Etsy – details are over at my shop. Most sizes are in stock now with just a handful in each size.
I’ve discontinued some previous designs (Fountain Valley Drive-In, Lackamaroo!, and the original logo tees)… stay tuned for new designs, you never know when they’ll turn up!
Here’s what I have in stock now:
Pup ‘n’ Taco (vintage tan)
This T-shirt has the look of an old favorite, worn & washed for years. Vintage-style, heavy distressed Pup ‘n’ Taco logo on an American Apparel M434 fine jersey gym-style 70% combed cotton, 30% polyester T-shirt.
Three-color design. Shirt color: tan/brown.
Note: American Apparel garments are sized for a snug fit. If you prefer a loose fit, I suggest ordering the next size up from what you typically wear.
Pup ‘n’ Taco (vintage black)
Look like a badass in this black version. Well, as much of a badass as you can wearing a Pup ‘n’ Taco T-shirt. Vintage-style, heavy distressed Pup ‘n’ Taco logo on an American Apparel 2001 fine jersey 100% combed cotton T-shirt.
Three-color design. Shirt color: black.
Note: American Apparel garments are sized for a snug fit. If you prefer a loose fit, I suggest ordering the next size up from what you typically wear.
KMET 94.7
Rock it old school in this vintage-style distressed upside-down KMET logo on an American Apparel M434 mélange blue/navy ringer 100% combed cotton T-shirt.
Three-color design. Shirt color: grey/blue with navy blue neck detail.
Note: American Apparel garments are sized for a snug fit. If you prefer a loose fit, I suggest ordering the next size up from what you typically wear.
Kona Lanes
It may be a hole in the ground now, but we all remember the googie tiki-style destination Kona Lanes bowling alley in Costa Mesa, California. I’ve reproduced the neon sign artwork on an American Apparel 2410 fine jersey ringer-style 100% combed cotton T-shirt.
Two-color design. Shirt color: baby blue/navy.
Note: American Apparel garments are sized for a snug fit. If you prefer a loose fit, I suggest ordering the next size up from what you typically wear.
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Tags: kmet, nostalgia, orange county, t-shirts
June 1st, 2008
Good Magazine visits the eerie and inscrutable $60 million development of “Orange County” in China, just 45 minutes away from the Forbidden City of Beijing.
Complete with master-bath Jacuzzis and Hummers in the driveway, homes in this alternate-universe version of SoCal are appointed with all mod cons:
“… besides the master bedroom and a single child’s room, Orange County homes include bedrooms for elderly parents and a tiny room, about the size of a walk-in closet, for a maid.”
Or a slave, as the master of the house sees fit, I assume.
A few years ago, The LA Times ran an article on this project and interviewed Tustin interior designer Debra Newell:
“After four months in which her team of 10 designers logged 2,000 hours–twice what she anticipated–Newell says she would never do it again. ”It was a very bad experience for us,” she said. “They’d yell at us, scream at us, demand things and say we couldn’t leave the country . . . until you finish the job. “They expected us to work 14-, 16-hour days,” she added. “They had some of my designers in tears.” Newell, who charged per square foot, not by the hour, says her firm was roped into doing far more than interior design–scouring the Chinese countryside for granite and designing the wood baseboards, for instance. “We had to fly there and show them how to lay the carpet,” said Newell, who claims she still is owed $15,000 from the developer. “Also, as a woman, I was treated differently than I am here. “I think they see us as being spoiled.”"
I think the tip-off should’ve been the project’s web site which stated:
“…Picks the vertical surface, rich time felt. The body height falls, inferior feeling extremely rich, the effect was really good. The peaceful Lucy old castle resort is can enable you more to be occupied by the family, causes you to stroll in the home, engraves body that kind of not Italy new you are happy.”
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Tags: orange county
May 23rd, 2008
Yesterday, the family met up with with Dad & old buddy Chapman for what I suspect will be our last waiting-in-line event at Edwards Newport to see the new Indiana Jones flick. It was great to have everyone together again at the old haunt I’ve been visiting since the summer of 1977. Once billed as “the largest screen west of the Mississippi,” it’s still the best place to see “big deal” movies – they really don’t make ‘em like they used to.
Speaking of which…
I’ll start by saying the first film (“Raiders of the Lost Ark,” 1981) is one of a handful of perfect films that cannot be improved upon. None of the sequels have come close by a long shot. I accept them for what they are, simple entertainment.
Now – “Crystal Skull” is not great, but it’s not awful, either. It’s neat to see Indiana Jones in the late ’50s with atomic annihilation, McCarthy paranoia, ruthless Commies, teenie boppers, and all that. The film has a lot of the elements I was hoping to see (sci-fi “Saucer Men from Mars” stuff included). There are a few great set pieces, good characters, and nothing as over-the-top as that 500-foot drop out of the plane in the inflatable raft in “Temple of Doom.” Two moments come close, but it’s hard to top that for ridiculousness.
My biggest gripe by far is Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography. He bathes every shot in this stupid glowing haze (probably added in post) that really threw me out of the story. Put it this way: he’s no Doug Slocombe.
Overall, it’s worth seeing, has some good laughs, good action, and is worth a trip to the theater. Make it Edwards Newport.
Posted in Musings | 1 Comment »
Tags: movies, orange county
April 30th, 2008
Local OC favorite honky-tonker Chris Gaffney of the Hacienda Brothers passed away at Hoag Hospital April 17 after a two-month battle with liver cancer. Rebecca Schoenkopf (former OC Weekly “Commie Girl”) has a great little Q&A with Gaffney’s longtime pal Dave Alvin of The Blasters over at Alvin’s blog.
On a tip from Pete, Kristin & I once had the pleasure of enjoying Gaffney and his band performing live at the Swallows Inn in SJC as they recorded their album “Live and then some.” He was the kind of performer who makes everyone in the audience feel as though we’re all easy friends, just hangin’ out and having a good time.
Two telling bits indicate the kind of guy he was:
1. Before his recent successes with the Haciendas, Gaffney did what he had to do: singing in local bars at night and scraping hulls in a Newport boatyard during the day, without complaint or shame.
2. The Hacienda Bros. site writes that Gaffney’s favorite time of the year was, ”April, because it always brings hope.”
Gaffney’s family and friends are hosting a memorial celebration tonight at The Cellar in Long Beach.
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Tags: music, obituary, orange county
April 17th, 2008
Mr. Frank’s sad, bad story was detailed previously here – now, a quick update to note that Frank has returned via the anagrammatic Park La Fun with a new line of T-shirts and more. Check it out.
Posted in Musings | No Comments »
Tags: design, orange county
April 1st, 2008
Hey Will Ferrell -
I didn’t really know you in high school at Uni. You were a freshman, I was a senior. I don’t think you were as scarce as Robert MacNaughton was (in fact, I think I remember you reading the morning announcements in place of Dr. Bob on occasion). But we did have a mutual friend in John Kuhel. He was supposed to come to the Madness concert at UCLA with me, but was in that pickup accident at lunch. You weren’t driving, right?
I brought a copy of their latest LP to the show and talked my way backstage, met with the guys in the band. I told them John’s accident story and had them all sign the album. Brought it to him in the hospital. Wonder if he still has it?
Anyway, I know it’s twenty-five years late, but will you sign my yearbook? My teenaged daughter thinks you’re the funniest thing ever, even funnier than Dad. And I’m pretty stupid.
Let me know where I can send it. Or I can meet you at McNulty’s, over by Danber and Build & Grow.
Thanks man.
– Dave
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Tags: katie, nostalgia, orange county
September 8th, 2006
This is the classic story of The Creative Spirit vs. The Heartless Corporate Machine.
Everyone knows Paul Frank’s freakish monkey Julius, right? Orange County-based Frank started up his business as most entreprenueurs do, out of a garage and enlisting the help of friends John Oswald and Ryan Heuser. Sounds like he picked the wrong friends. Vanity Fair has a great write-up on the situation online.
Ten years into a hugely successful run, opening retail stores in some of the swankiest spots around and engaging the interest of red-carpet celebrities, street-level teens, and everyone inbetween, Oswald and Heuser apparently got tired of Frank’s arty-fartsy ways and fired him.
“He had the best situation ever,” Oswald says. “He didn’t have to come to the office, he got paid exactly the same as we did, and we’re the ones who did all the work. He didn’t do anything…”
Yeah, he didn’t do anything except mastermind the entire venture — a business 100% based on Frank’s creativity. Here’s where Paul Frank made a crucial mistake, one too many creatives make: he didn’t educate himself enough about the business and legal side of things to protect himself. As it stands right now, Paul Frank is out of the business he founded with his two ‘friends’, he is no longer able to market any items featuring his original, creative designs, or to even use his own name on any products. That’s the killer for me — his own negligence led directly to the loss of his creative identity. And at the end of the day, that’s the only thing an artist has.
Posted in Musings | 1 Comment »
Tags: design, orange county
July 18th, 2006
All through the fall and winter, Kristin and I enjoy what has become the “house cocktail” – a Maker’s Mark Old Fashioned – as the mood strikes. But when summer rolls around in all its triple-digit glory, we like the Caipirinha for its lightness and simplicity without sacrificing flavor (or impact).
Made with the Brazilian sugarcane spirit cachaça, the taste winds up in a unique middle ground between a Daiquiri and a Margarita. Easy to prepare (as long as you have decent limes), the only challenge might be finding the cachaça. I’ve always been lucky at the amazing Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa.
RECIPE:
Caipirinha
1. Chill an Old Fashioned glass in the freezer.
2. Press and roll a lime on the counter to soften it up, then slice into eighths and place the lime chunks in the bottom of the chilled glass.
3. Pour 1/4 ounce of simple syrup over the limes.
4. Muddle the limes thoroughly to extract the oils in their rinds and all their juice.
5. Fill the glass with crushed ice.
6. Pour in two ounces of cachaça.
7. Stir well and enjoy. Put on some Elis Regina, Gal Costa, or Astrud Gilberto to complete the mood!
Posted in Bar & Grill | No Comments »
Tags: cachaca, cocktails, lime, music, orange county, recipe
July 6th, 2006
From the photo booth at Knott’s Berry Farm. The roller-coasters are too much for me. Funny thing, I remember going there in 1979 and riding Montezooma’s Revenge 21 times in a row with Gary Call (it was a weekday and there was literally no line). Now I can’t handle it even once, the dropping really bothers me.
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Tags: family, orange county
June 5th, 2006
I’ve created a batch of Google Earth placemarks chronicling the lost haunts of my youth in Huntington Beach and neighboring Costa Mesa, California. I know there was a Naugles somewhere close by (Brookhurst & Hamilton, maybe?) but I can’t remember where.
Take the full tour (you’ll need to have the free Google Earth application installed to open the KMZ file). A few of my favorites are highlighted below.
Fountain Valley Drive-In (gone)
This is where we saw “Birds Do It, Bees Do It“, “Doc Savage” and other classics. We were forced to use a little plastic ‘potty seat’ if we had to go during the movie (Dad didn’t want to miss anything). After the movie was over, he’d dump it out onto the gravel behind the Country Squire. |
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Kona Lanes (gone)
Classic ’50s tiki-style bowling alley, right next to the Ice Capades Chalet where my sisters took ice-skating lessons (I could never get the hang of it)… and the legendary Music Market I came back to while in college to blow every last nickel on obscure vinyl. |
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Edwards Cinema (gone)
At Harbor & Adams, this theater’s sign used to be an amazing lightshow of sparkles and spinning asterisks. My sister called it the “Cinnamon Center”. |
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Villa Sweden
Home of the world’s finest carrot & raisin salad. And the blind pianist who played “Greensleeves”. |
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TG&Y (gone)
My sisters & I went here together on Saturday mornings. They bought the latest 45s featured on 93 KHJ and I bought a giant Pixy Stix, then hit Glee’s Party Shop next door for Mad Libs and worthless junk. |
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Tags: family, nostalgia, orange county
