Kickin' and Screamin'

Christmas weekend was decent. But the part about getting into a heated argument with my little brother after church and hitting on a semi-attractive woman 22 years older than me in Spanglish wasnt.

I spent those two days of it at two of my friend's house. I didn't receive alot of stuff this year other than a $75 Macy's gift card and a $50 check from my pops, but I liked watching my friends, their kids and nephews and nieces getting excited and watching their reaction as they unwrapped the presents they got. I also watched two films on TV during that weekend at their place: Horrible Bosses on DVD and A Game of Honor on my homie's Showtime On Demand. When Horrible Bosses came out during the summer, I thought that it was gonna be a piece of shit film with forced played out jokes and light bland acting. Plus I didn't like the concept of it as it came out during a time when people didn't have a job with bosses to bitch about, and those fortunate with jobs can't bitch about their bosses on their Facebook status. That was all before I watched this movie. After it finished playing, my opinion was different cause that entire film was funny as hell.

They should've made Jennifer Aniston a cameo in this flick and her acting in the movie is different as a minor cast member instead of taking lead roles as in other film. The plot of Horrible Bosses is slightly similar to Office Space, another earlier film that Aniston was also in, which relates to those fed up with their everyday jobs and the managers that signs their checks.

A Game of Honor is a documentary about the behind the scenes leading up to the annual traditional Navy-Army college football game that was played earlier this month (the same game that my homegirl Tina and I watched at Yardhouse in Newport Beach which I last blogged about). Its amazing and mind-thumping to see the new students at the US Naval Academy having to go through the intense disciplinary lifestyle and saying goodbye to their parents during the orientation. I got re-fueled alot more about responsibilities and respect from watching that documentary, from having to go defend and represent your country after finishing the requirements at the academy, as well as doing what it all takes to win a football game with your team members and showing your respect to those who gave you what you have from having to pull a lot of work and sacrifice just to put you were you're at in a fortunate position, just like the troops and soldiers have done for the past 225 years . If you're into the Armed Forces or know anyone who's served in the military and likes football, then this is a excellent film to check out. Major super props to the those in the Air Force, Marines, Army, Navy and the Coast Guard for doing so much work. I've been to military bases at Port Hueneme in Oxnard, El Segundo, Las Vegas, Sacramento and San Diego and just watching those in uniform had me thinking all the time, in a way similar to being in the same room with a traditional elder who's been alive for over so many years (at least 85) and still has perfect health. That's something you can't argue or debate about. Its untouchable. Forget money or politics in this, those are people just making lives better, and they're set for life for doing that. Again, thanks to those using their time in the military bases and the De La Torre's and Galvez's for the hospitality not just during the holiday weekend, but this entire year as well.

Another thing that was been happening throughout the holiday weekend was the release of the Air Jordan XI Concords colorway. In the last post I said that the release for this sneaker was gonna be wild with fights breaking out, AND I WAS TOTALLY RIGHT. Many people who've never collected expensive Nikes as a passion were surprised to see this occuring just for a basketball show, yet they fail to realize the whole meaning behind this shoe, not just because Michael Jordan wore it to win his fourth ring. It was the first (well second after the rare Nike Sky Force thanks to legendary east coast sneaker connoisseur DJ Bobbito Garcia from Its The Shoes) to have Patent Leather on a basketball shoe as well as carbon fiber on the bottom which has never been done before. Also, this was the first Jordan sneaker that Michael wore for his first full season in 1995 back from his first retirement. Ahmad Rashad debuted the XI's by wearing them during the Bulls playoff game against the Orlando Magic that summer before the Bulls 72-10 season on National television, which started the longevity buzz for the shoes, and in the finals during the 1995-96 season, the Chicago Bulls won their fourth title on Fathers Day that June, and it was significant for Michael cause this was the first championship that he won without his pops James Jordan to witness it, and there's a photo of him on the floor in the locker room that displays that moment. The XI's are Michael's personal favorite shoes, which makes it the most sought out Jordans of all time. That release from last Friday was nothing new. Everytime the XI's have been released (such as the Cool Grey XI from last year and 2001 when Jordan was in the Washington Wizards, the Space Jams XI re-release in 2009), there is always reports of chaos and fights in the shopping malls, but the Concords XI was another backlash.

The whole damn news media was in this all over the world. I knew that there was gonna be some shit that was gonna happen, but NOT LIKE THIS! Damn, there were fools who hid inside the malls just to get this shoe, with lines formed with over a THOUSAND PEOPLE, and I'm surprised many of them have the cash to get those sneakers, yet they complain and whine about fuel prices and not obtaining a job? Shut the fuck up man. And I'm saying to those who buy the shoes just cause its hot and everybody else will wear them with no knowledge of the origins of the shoe, or Air Jordans in general. What made this shit go to another universe was that some kid lost his life for those Concords and that's where the negativity come in. Yes, they were being sold for $180 which is a lot. As a sneaker enthusiast, I'm not surprised about the price. Its all about supply and demand. The hottest shoe plus greater interest in them from the consumer generates unimaginable profits for Nike, Brand Jordan and the resellers. Now because of this mess, Jordan Brand is being viewed by non-sneaker enthusiasts as "a company that creates expensive basketball shoes that people will die for", literally. There were lines EVERYWHERE, which shows just how serious the Air Jordan XI Concords. I didn't intend on getting a pair since I paid majority of my emergency savings to help pay for my little brother's rental car but, shoutout to the people who got them and have been planning on copping those XI's for the past year. To those who've never worn or owned a pair of Air Jordans such as those not earning income or the newsmedia, talk about something else and quit expanding the negativity for the Concords. They're just shoes, and don't be surprised if the same shit happens when the Columbia XI's get released next year, the shoes that Jordan wore at the 1996 All Star Game in San Antonio that year.

Well, all this talk about the Jordan XI's bring me back to my days of smelling a brand new pair of fresh Nikes. That's pretty much the main reason why my photography business name is JustForSneaks Ent. I created it during the summer of 2006 when I was creating a screen name for my account on NikeTalk, an underground sneaker forum. The JustForSneaks Ent. name (originally JustForSneaks07) came from a DVD that came out around the time of my high school graduation called Just For Kicks, which is a documentary about the sneaker culture and the history behind it and how popular it became over the years. I took that name and switch the word "Kicks" with "Sneaks" as a synonym. The 07 was for the following year 2007 and the Ent. part of the name is short for either Entertainment or Enterprises, or both, two of my core focuses. During that time was when it was fun and awesome to buy shoes and to get reactions from them by other people. I once got a remark from my 12th grade Goverment teacher when I wore my Zoom Kobe 1's to class, and he said this during class. Great feeling. Now I hardly buy sneakers, and I haven't got a pair in two years. But then again, the recession and the price hike of Air Jordans overshadow the reason.

I've always been into shoes for a long time. Started out with a new pair of Payless shoes twice a year in elementary, then Adidas and Converse from 8th grade to the middle of 11th grade. I never liked Nikes during the 90's until I saw Michael J. Fox rock the OG 1985 Nike Bruins with the red swoosh and of course the Air Mags in the Back to the Future trilogy. I though I was shit out of luck when I realize that Nike stopped making those since they came out of in the 80's but I saw that the Nike Dunk and Air Force 1's has been brought back for people to wear again during high school, and they were similar to the Bruins since they were also from the 80's and have a big ass swoosh on it. When I saw the price for them at Foot Connection next to the Red Robin at Northridge Fashion Center in 2002, I was upset and of course my parents wouldn't copped them for me since my allowance game was weak as hell. I got my very first pair of Nikes in March 2005 for my 17th birthday, which were the Nike Franchise Low. This is what it looks like...

Unfortunately, this was the only photo I have wearing them when I was in 11th Grade. I was shooting a short film at the Kennedy High school track field with the Canon ZR80 DV camera during my filmmaking days back in June 2005 during the last week of school. My friends and I spent the entire last day of school editing it. By the way, the blue Fruit of The Loom Shirt and Puritan Khakis were both less than $15 from Wal-Mart, plus the shoes which were $35 from the JCPenney at the Fox Hills Mall my aunt got for me totals to $50. I bought a pair of Air Jordan basketball shorts for $50 in 2007 once.

I'll probably make a separate blog about all the shoes that I've gotten and give you a history about them. I don't know when that will happen but probably after I buy my next pair of shoes, which is either the Zoom Kobe VII's or the Air Jordan White/Cement IV's that they're bringing back, which ever is first. The next post will give my final thoughts of 2011 and a recap of this past year, which I'll have up by the end of by tomorrow or on New Years Day this Sunday. Thanks alot for reading alot of this.

Booked and Pinned Weekend

The three day weekend was more of that minimum D+ that you had to get in order to graduate from high school. Nothing too spectacular like my friend's baby shower the week before.

Went to Northridge Fashion Center on Friday to buy a St. John's Bay black long sleeve shirt from the JCPenney there. That shit was 10 bucks and its the only place where they sell St John's Bay products, which I've been wearing for the past two years since the Lakers won their tite against Orlando. Damn, I STILL miss the NBA. But anyway, I was about to cop the mockneck longsleeve akin to the one Steve Jobs would always wear. Only difference is that his is furnished by St. Croix and that brand sells their clothing products for over $200 at least, and his black mockneck sells for $190, real talk. I'll just leave the link here to prove my point. http://www.stcroixshop.com/stcroix/product.asp?s_id=0&prod_name=Full+Turtleneck+in+Cotton+%26+Microfiber+Knit&pf_id=PAAFICGMGMCHMCID&dept_id=3032

Tried out the mockneck, then had second thoughts about it, so instead I got the long sleeve shirt instead which is closer to the mockneck. As I was walking around and leaving the mall, I've noticed that the place is now started to get more occupied with people in high school or those in college who look like their in high school. Every thick chick and boots with leggings and every thin dude there with an overpriced snapback of a team they don't even like. Obviously the mall was packed cause it was on Veteran's Day. Plus they already had the freakin' Christmas Tree and the decorations up already. I blogged about the same thing on here about early holiday decorations last year when I went to go take photos of Cindy Crawford in the Glendale Galleria, and that was in October.

I then went to the Westfield Promenade to go pick up the Steve Jobs biography book at the Barnes and Noble there. Didn't stay long, just paid for the book with a Barnes and Noble gift card I got a few weeks ago and dipped my way home. I had the e-book version of it, but it only went up to one chapter since it was a trial. The book is very addicting and like I said before, it details Steve Jobs life very deeply and I learned so much stuff that I never knew about from the previous bios and history of the deceased Apple co-founder, and the book IS THICKER THAN THE ASS AND THIGHS OF SOME HORNY GANGSTER'S TWENTY YEAR OLD EX-GIRLFRIEND IN THE VALLEY! Right now I read six chapters already and there's alot left to go.

Later on I then hit up my friend Tina to go watch a film cause I really wanted to get rid of the AMC movie passes I got last year during the holidays. We went to one of the 3 AMC theaters in Burbank and I can't remember more than one parking garage that was literally full, with no where to park. So we managed to find parking 20 minutes later and had a tailgate like dinner at Fuddruckers right next to the theater. The place was like The Habit mixed with the environment and atmosphere of TGI Fridays, which I only went to once on my sister's 14th birthday in 2003 and I don't plan on ever going back there cause their Onion Rings fucked me up that day. And what makes Fuddruckers separate from all the other burger joints (still haven't tried Unami and The Counter yet) was that you get to pick what size patty and the kind of cheese you want and then you take your burger over to a section where the lettuce, onions, tomatoes and pickles, as well as the condiments, are provided for you to prepare, which I though was cool. After we got full, we the went to the theater, got the tickets and watched J. Edgar. That movie was alright but it wasn't what I expected it to turn out. It mostly focused on the gay overtones between Hoover and his assistant Clyde Tolson more than his 40 something year stint as the first director of the then newly formed Federal Bureau of Investigation and the chronological order of the film will get confusing for a while. The film started at 9:30 and it ended at Midnight. I didn't think it was gonna be a long ass film. After that, we left and I went back to my place.

Woke up late as usual on Saturday. My friend's band Aftergloam was scheduled to perform at this small venue right across from Amoeba Records, but the show was cancelled at the last minute sinced it rained that day. I REALLY wanted to attend and I enjoy watching the homies Tianna, Elvis, and their new members Kimi Quinn and Albert Rubalcava putting those instruments to work. What made the day much worse was that the internet/phone service was cut off from my place in Sylmar just like that for the entire weekend. I lived in Sylmar for 13 months and this was the first time that ever happened. Usually when the service is down, one of my housemates has a short cut sneaky way of getting it working, only this tine it didn't budge after we spent the day trying to fix it. But I didn't really need to upload or download anything right now. I spent the rest of the day reading the Steve Jobs book and watching some pro-wrestling DVDs with my housemate for the rest of the night until I was tired.

Then on Sunday, I went to Lee's 4 Cocktails to watch some NFL games there and to digest the unlimited Pepsi and hot dogs that was provided (thanks again Dafnee). The Niners/Giants game in the afternoon was the game of the week. Unbelievable that San Francisco is 8 and 1 with their sixth straight win and I can't say anything about the Indianapolis Colts. On top of all this, the Oakland Raiders are first place in the AFC West, something that I haven't seen in a LONG time. I didn't watch the Sunday Night Football game between the Jets and the Patriots cause obviously tom Brady knows that First place of the AFC East was at stake and didn't want his team to lose three in a row, so I knew that they were gonna win over New York.

That's the end of my three day weekend. It looked like I did alot, but in person, it wasn't that much. Now I have another appointment meeting this Thursday, so I hope this one doesn't get fucked up in the last second like it did two weeks ago. Other than that, thanks for your time reading this and have a excellent rest of the week.

Free Mason

In the next 17 years, Mason Dash Disick will have to deal with his "Baby Gap" pinstripe suit swagger and unique creative photoshoot concepts with his extended family like this one for Holiday Year 2010 until he becomes a legal adult. They need to hire me in the future.

By the way, Khloe Kardashian-Odom looks hot in that portrait, yet her husband had to be photoshopped in this cause he had practice at the same time. This shows that Digital Imaging is legit.

The Best Photographers Don't Rest on Winter Break

Yes, this is gonna be one of the most fuckin' slowest two weeks in the year. While everyone is traveling and taking a load off to be with their families this week, I'll still be working on a lot of editing instead, including planning for my new website. Enjoy your holidays, or vacation for those who aren't British.

Driving that Holiday Road Again

Yes, I saw Christina Aguilera last week in Hollywood getting her star in the Walk of Fame and yes, I randomly got pulled into a VIP section at the Saddle Ranch at Universal Citywalk to party and take photos of a dude who's celebrating his graduation from a Barber College.

Those two were probably the most interesting things that happened to me last week. I was gonna write about all that in detail this past Saturday using the Double space outline, but it didn't look great. So I erased everything that I spent 70 minutes typing and manually separating the lines, along with the photos I was gonna add. But honestly, I don't really like to post photos that much on here, except for only just out-of-the-blue one liners that I made up dealing with that particular day's current events.

Anyway, I finally checked out the Los Angeles Auto Show this past week. There were some positives and some negatives. The positive parts were the females showcasing the new cars being displayed. They looked attractive, as well as some of the whips. One of my favorite cars that were on the showroom was the Nissan Ellure concept sports car and seeing the Lexus LF-A in person for the first time. The also had this custom made fine tuned two door Toyota Camry that was inspired by NASCAR. Another car that they had on display that I liked is the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, which is the FASTEST domestic American sports cars in the world. The engine, which you can see through the small glass on the hood only on the ZR1, is the LS9 Supercharged V8 that goes to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. That's FUCKIN' QUICK FOR AN AMERICAN CAR!

This is where in the negative comes in. You can sit inside majority of the cars the had at the event, but not cars like the ZR1, along with the Audi R8 and the Nissan GTR. I wanted to sit inside the ZO6 Corvettes instead, but there were too many fuckin' people wanting to take turns. That was the same for the 3.8 Liter Hyundai Genesis Coupe V6 and the 2011 Nissan Maxima, two of my other favorite imports. I mostly sat inside some Infiniti models, the new Acura ZDX crossover SUV, and pretended like I was driving manual on a Honda Civic two-door coupe. They also let people test drive some cars from Fords model line. They had all of the cars they produced, including a 2011 Mustang that was customized with aftermarket rims and other parts.

The test drive part should've fallen on the positive category, but again, too many damn people wanted to drive the Mustang as opposed to the other cars, including the new Ford Taurus SHO, which stands for Super High Output. I only drove two cars, the F-150 and the Taurus SHO. The F-150 felt like driving my mom's Ford Explorer, except that this truck is a bit larger, and it had a lot of options that should've been a comeback of the discontinued Lincoln Mark LT pickup, which was also made by Ford. The Taurus SHO was a very awesome car. The black girl who was instructing the test drive with me inside the sedan made it more awesome, and made the ride more comfortable by driving over 300 horses on the Streets of LA around the Staples Center and the Convention Center. That car is very underestimated, even though Ford discontinued it back in 2006 and brought it back last year as part of the Detroit company's rebuilding process.

When we got back to the Convention Center, the line for the Ford Taurus SHO was LONGER than the line for the Ford Mustang, and I can see why from the test drive I just did.

I didn't stay too long for the entire convention cause I wanted to get back to the Valley before the traffic got ridiculous on the freeways and all the roads. Unfortunately, I spoke WAY too soon. The freeways were getting packed and all the streets and roads were on a gridlock. No surprise here, cause that means the unofficial start of this holiday season which will last until January 2nd, since New Years Day counts as it. Theses photos I took below was when I was on Foothill Blvd coming from my place in Sylmar heading to my pop's house in Granada Hills for Thanksgiving. Later on that night, I went to Nicole's place for a little pre-Thanksgiving housewarming party.

By the way, Thanksgiving went well yesterday. Mostly family business obviously. Spent majority of the time watching movies on Netflix with my cousins. The thing I didn't like that the movies weren't available in High Definition, but the quality is still decent. It was fun though. Plus, I just found out that my pops got Toy Story 3 on DVD the day before. I wanted him to get the OG version on VHS back in 1996, but he only rented it. I remember playing it like 10 times on the weekend that he rented the home video cause I was VERY addicted to that film that time. I had all the toys from Burger King and this one kid at my school had a 1996 Toy Story calendar that had me in amazement. Unfortunately, my parents wouldn't buy it cause that shit was $14.95 plus tax, which is expensive for a calendar. I haven't seen the third one yet, but I'll give it a chance when I get the time since I saw the first two both in theaters on its original release dates in 1995 and 1999. Many people, including some dudes, told me they cried at the end, but to me, that's sounds bullshit.

By the way, fuck Black Friday. That shit is one of the core reasons why that many people don't know the true meaning of the holidays. Hell, there were fools camping outside Wal-Marts for 24 Hours celebrating Thanksgiving out in the damn cold before the store opens. And why the fuck is it opening at midnight? I remember going with my moms to Wal-Mart back in the day around my Junior High School years for black friday. We got there when they opened at 6 AM and escaped the store with EVERY ITEM that was on sale. The crowd wasn't that crazy when we got there. Now when you go there, its like camping out for a pair of limited Air Jordans in 2005 or a meet and greet to see the main cast of The Twilight Saga or some shit like that. Every year, there's at least 10 stores in Southern California that has a news story about some pregnant mother getting into a fight with another pregnant mother or a some old dude getting ran over by crowds and fight breaking out. Yet, the recession is still going on and I think they should have these type of prices everyday instead of the day after Thanksgiving. But again, those greedy white-collar corporate suit bastards want more money, which is what the holidays are now mostly about in certain people's minds. I really don't like talking about this every year, but its very obvious as you look around. If I lived in small town that I've never heard of before, then this whole holiday shopping (I don't like to say Christmas Shopping cause not everyone is Christian) frenzy would be completely foreign to me. Now I have to endure this holiday marketing crap until the first week of January.

One more thing before I forget. This may sound very juvenile, but MILEY IS NO LONGER UNDERAGED!!!! Is that why their parents were splitting up? Now all the single thirsty dudes of all ages will get to sleep very well. Hey, its a fact. I'll let these photos I didn't take make you decide.

365 days difference

Sylmar Christmas social 2008

Sylmar Christmas social 2009

Same hairstyle, less breakouts, only difference is that one of me has a job. Damn, what a year. Thank you LORD