Orchard Camp Hike

We went on an awesome hike today with a few friends. The weather was perfect! Ok I don't feel like typing anymore so just follow the pictures to see what all happened. Sign Your Name Here
The Name's Blowtar BRO!
Some Parts Of The Trail Have Insane Vertical Drops
Going Up?
The Trail Is Right Behind Me
First Water
Pretty Cool Shot Of The Trail
Out Of The Heat And Into The Forest
Lord of The Rings Landscapes All Over This Hike
The Last Incline Before Orchard Camp
The Orchard Camp Sign, Half Way To Mt. Wilson's Peak
Orchard Camp Group Shot, Right Before The Bee Swarm
Posin' By The Mini Waterfall On The Way Back
Mt. Wilson Peak, The Destination For Next Time
Who's Missing From This Shot? Wembley & Willy Are!
Synchronized Hiking... You Saw It Here First!
The Altitude Must Be Making Her Queasy
Group Shot With A Sketchy Drop Behind Us
This Pic Shows Just How Steep The Trail Really Is
Blowtar Blazing The Trail

Killzone 2

4 years later, this game is FINALLY out! So far I'm Loving It!
There's Almost No Difference Between Game Play And Cut Scenes

A Roach In The Gym

When I went to play hoops this past sunday I thought I was the first one there. As it turned out a huge roach had beat me to the punch and was already warming up running around the 3 point line.
The Roach From Beyond The Arc

Jazz The Glass

So it looks like Stoke Films, the guys behind the Sci Fi Surf Classic, Invasion From Planet C are about to release another surf film. Only this time it's going to be a Pirate Surfing Adventure, called Jazz The Glass, instead of another space surf epic. I'm definietly looking forward to this one, as all of the things these Speefnarkle Alumni put out are very entertaining for people with a warped sense of humor like myself.

Ball Above All

A few years back a friend and I took some stupid basketball pictures so we could photoshop them. Here are the results.
Before (Yeah I've Got Hops! That's an 8 Foot Rim Suckas!)
After (Showcasing Dunks During My Brief Stint With The Lakers)

The Day We Met Da Pea

I found this video on my cell phone, and it happens to be the first time we met our now beloved pooch Wembley at the pet store...

Timeless 2 of 4

If you weren't there last night, then you MISSED OUT! All I have to say at the moment is OH MY GOD!!! Once I gather my thoughts from this phenomenal show I'll try to write something that does it justice...
Suite For Ma Dukes EP
Common, Illa J and Ma Dukes Introducing The Show
The 40 Piece Orchestra That Blew Us All Away

Late Afternoon Ride in the San Gabriels

Me Paying Tribute To Rambo With My Red Headband
Blowtar Almost To The Top
Taking A Breather Before The Descent
The Trail Marker That Looks Like A Tombstone
Ye Intruders Beware... This Trail Is One Rocky SOB

Modern Hiker Blog

Just found a cool new site called Moden Hiker, that is dedicated to hiking in the Southern California area. The site has a daily blog, a bunch of cool trail routes and pictures, so check it out sometime if you are into the great outdoors.

Firecracker Official Photos

The official Firecracker 10K race photos just got released, so if you've ever wondered what my fiancee and I look like in the midst of a 10K run, take a peek. Since I didn't shell out the 30 bucks a pop to get the official hi-rez photos from the site, these low-rez ones with burn in will just have to do..
Photography On The Run
Blast It!

Wrath

Just got an advanced copy of the new Lamb Of God album, Wrath.
I'm Going To Go See Them On Tour In April, Are You?

Macho Man Is The Greatest!!!

I can watch Macho Man promos ALL DAY LONG! So damn hillarious!

Take That Ride

Here is the latest video from Kool Keith, aka Dr. Dooom. Pretty cool!!!

Echo Mountain Trail

It had been a while since my last hike (usually I'm mountain biking), so this weekend a friend and I decided to take advantage of the small window of good weather that we got on Saturday morning. Since I live in such close proximity to the San Gabriel mountains there are a ton of different hikes available depending on what you are in the mood for. We only had a few hours of daylight and sunshine available according to the weather report, so we decided on a fairly easy 5 mile round tripper to the ruins of Echo Mountain. This is a pretty cool hike that takes you to the foundation of an old Lodge that burned to the ground some time in the 20's. Once you get up there it feels like you are in the ruins of a castle, since there are steps that lead to nowhere, big concrete slabs and pillars scattered about, and a huge concrete well that had a bunch of junk at the bottom of it. This is actually one of my favorite hikes to do, but unfortunately I always stop at the ruins and never take it to the next level, which would be the hike to Inspiration Point. Maybe sometime soon I'll try that one...
Aerial Picture Compliments Of Google Maps
Look At Me Ma!... I'm On Top Of The World
Yeah That's Also Me
Choadie Swanson

Happy Valentine's Day

PICS AND STORY COMING SOON, COMPLIMENTS OF MY FIANCEE

Friday The 13th

As you can tell from this picture of me holding a Hamm's Beer, today was very unlucky.
It's Definitely No Blatz!

Hitman

If you were a child of the 80s like I was, then chances are you probably were a fan of the WWF at one point or another. With ridiculous characters such as Randy "The Macho Man" Savage, Ravishing Rick Rude, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and the Ultimate Warrior constantly pummeling each other and doing all sorts of crazy antics, how could you not love it? I guess my interest in WWF and wrestling in general started to dwindle as I was going into high school, but still I always had an appreciation for what I thought of as WWFs heyday. To this day, I still crack up every time I see an old Ultimate Warrior or Macho Man WWF promo on youtube, and I still even talk about some of the ridiculous events that happened in the mid 80s like Roddy Piper and Rick Rude's epic steel cage match where they both racked their nuts about 5 times a piece before one of them finally climbed out of the cage and won the match. Ah... the memories. Anyway, it just so happened that a few months ago Bret "The Hitman" Hart came out with a book called... you guessed it... Hitman. Well actually the full title is Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World Of Wrestling. The funny thing is that I was NEVER a fan of Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Jim "The Anvil" Neighthardt, Jimmy Hart, Owen Hart, or any member of the The Hart Foundation for that matter. In fact, I HATED these guys. However, this book seemed appealing to read. Why you ask? Well mainly because it dealt with the era of WWF and wrestling in general that I used to be interested in, but also because this book wasn't another Vince McMahon sanctioned piece of crap that the WWF released to glorify and promote itself. If I read about wrestling I want to know the dirt! Like why did Rick Rude drop dead of a heart attack, how did Jake The Snake become a crack head, how much 'roids was everyone doing, and what it was like backstage and all that. So far Im about 100 pages in and it's delivering as promised. Also it has given me a new appreciation for Bret Hart and the work he did back in the day. So to make a long story short, read this book if you used to like the WWF when you were a kid. It will take you for an Irish Whip down memory lane and then knock your socks off like being on the wrong end of Earthquake's finishing move...
The 80s Were Soooooo Ridiculous!

GU

In search of a new "energy" product to help me through grueling runs, hikes, bike rides, basketball games and workouts in general, I decided to try a product called GU after seeing it in both my favorite local running and biking stores. All I have to say is WOW! Not only does this stuff taste way better and have about 1/4th of the calories that a power bar does, but it also gave me a super clean energy boost like no other. Unfortunately I think I'm addicted now so I'm going to have to buy this crap in bulk or else its gonna cost me way too much!

Resistance 2

This is the latest game on my plate... Resistance 2 Fall Of Man. Play it!
I Love Shooting Space Aliens In My Free Time!

Making A Statement

So about a week ago, when Bynum got injured I may have been so caught up in the devastating moment that I predicted immediate doom and gloom for the Purple and Gold. Fortunately I couldn't have been more wrong! In what has to be the biggest statement by any team so far this year, the Lakers took 6 in a row on the road, Kobe had an insane 61 point game at Madison Square Garden (in which he took out both Bernard King and MJ's previous records), the Lakers won in Boston snapping the Celtic's 12 game win streak, then they topped it off with an insane come from behind win in Cleveland where the Cav's were only a measly 23 and 0 so far this year! INSANE!!! So in honor of the awesome streak here are some pics...
Phil Congratulating Koke On The Record Setting Night
Odom Was The Hero In Cleveland

2009 Firecracker 10k Run

My fiance and I as well as my parents, and 3 of our friends ran and walked the 31st Annual Chinatown Firecracker 5K/ 10K. It had been pouring rain all week, but lucky for us we pretty much had great weather during the actual race. Out of about 3800 contestants in the 10K my friend Jeff and I finished in the top 20%, clocking in with 54 minute and change 10K's so we were both stoked. He beat me by about 20 seconds, but I had a major whiz on deck I had been holding since before the race even began so that's my excuse... haha. My fiance did great also and ran it in just over an hour. After the race we all met up at the beer garden and had some ice cold brews in the 40 degree weather and then took the metro home. It was definitely a fun event and we will be back here next year doing the same thing all over again.
Rise And Shine
The Crowd Begins To Thicken
The Furious Five
No Need To Run The 10K When I Can Carry You
Carrie & Danielle (But Not In That Order)
Munson Vs. Grunson
The Finish Line
Our Reward For Running The 10k