crackerCAM-new zealand and tahiti

crackerCAM was on location in new zealand and french polynesia in early december. this cracker spent almost three weeks touring middle earth where i hiked along snow capped peaks, feasted on pb&j lunches, and nearly drowned in a river. won’t lie, it was a great time. the icing was a four day stopover in tahiti where i was fed grapes by a polynesian swimsuit model. ok, now replace “grapes” with “saltines” and “polynesian swimsuit model” with “unshaven bboy”. a truly once in a lifetime experience.

check out the rest of my pics here.

Don’t Drink and Drive

Growing up in suburbia, I always found it odd that my friend Chris’ house was exactly the same floor plan as David’s (which was great when you needed to find the bathroom) –

This low-income housing project in Ixtapaluca, Mexico City has certainly taken that to the next extreme.

Imagine having a few beers at the local Cantina and then trying to figure out if you are in the pink with dark rose section or the near pink with medium rose section…and then you have to ask yourself “crap, am I door #2,387 or #2,388?”

This brings back childhood memories of the one thing that all Architects have in common before they can even pick up a pencil: Legos. Or maybe this whole thing is just a SimCity screenshot.

There is actually over 10,000 homes in this project – amazing.

Now I know why birds sing…

Sure, hotel food tastes like paper, the towels smell like dry dog food, and darn cleaning lady always knocks on your door at 6 in the morning (which is OK, because the phone starts ringing at 4 in the morning) – but who ever said business travel always had to suck?!

With a few days out on Hawai’i, I was able to escape Saturday morning to jump out of a perfectly good airplane over one of the most incredible sights I could ever imagine.

Everyone has always heard that you should never videotape yourself having sex – but now I add to this and tell you never to record yourself jumping out of an airplane for the first time at 14,000 feet – if you ever wanted to know what your face looks like, I will save you the embarassment:

After this, I really wish those childhood dreams of me being able to fly were true – just wait till you see the whole thing: my gumming flying out, my flailing legs, the ‘holy sh!t’ looks in my face, fist bumping, my butt skid landing, and for some reason I had my horns up for most of the freefall…

crackerCAM-las vegas, NV

crackerCAM was recently on scene in las vegas for our founder’s 21st birthday. the crackers rolled deep in blazers and triad tattoos as they strutted down the strip in search for $5 blackjack tables, stripper trading cards, and teenage cuties that had accidentally strayed from their families. days were generally reserved for relaxing by the pool (read: gay action in the pool), while nights took a more festive bend towards socializing at the strip’s hottest bars and inappropriate behavior at the tables. sure the club lines were longer than breadlines during the great depression and a dinner at subway runs the same as one at per se, but it was worth it to hear neal say “best night of my life”… every night.

UPDATE: check out the Slideshow. – Nghia

Friday Flashback : The Gremlin

Today, especially in the Northeast where cars last as long as fashion trends, you don’t see many older cars around. Out West, you can still find mint rides from the 60s and 70s with original paint since the weather is fair and they don’t have to use salt.

I was just thinking about all those older cars I used to see growing up, like the AMC Gremlin. Man that thing was fugly! But when I look at it now, it’s kinda unattractively hip. I could see one of those mustache toting hipsters in Williamsburg cruising around blastin Bloc Party in one of these.

This reminds me of a song from one of my favorite old-school political rappers, The Coup. The lyrics just crack me up…

The Coup – Cars and Shoes (Sample mp3)

crackerCAM-austin, tx (ACL)

crackerCAM was on location in austin, tx for the three day austin city limits music festival . shit was the bomb! sure temperatures exceeded 105 and the occasional dust cloud made breathing painful, but where else can you have the sounds and energy of coldplay, bloc party, and arcade fire race through your body while feasting on salt lick bbq and admiring scantily clad females (dark sunglasses=must have)? where else can your two stella artois and coke tab come out to 4 fucking dollars? and where else can you find that many scantily clad females… wait, mentioned that already. anyhow, not in nyc. word is bond.

Mr. Manners – Road Trip Rules

Mr. Manners and other CU members will be heading out of town this weekend for a final beach extravaganza. Since I’m one of the few who has a car in this metropolis, I feel it would be fitting to talk about some rules of the road…road trip rules that is:

• Shotgun can be called by anyone, as many times as they want, BUT it can only be called when the car is in full sight by everyone. I don’t care if you’re a girl or you have freakishly long legs, that motherfucker beat you on call so quit crying.
• Once shotgun is called you still have the opportunity to get ahead of the rest by calling ‘window’ or ‘not bitch’. Of course we all know how much the bitch seat sucks total ass.
• Shotgun must never fall asleep and is required to navigate. He/She may have control of the stereo, but this may be overridden by the driver at anytime.
• On the way home, don’t just get in the car and fall asleep like a deadbeat. Bust out some of those old jokes and keep the driver awake.
• Singalongs are totally cool if you have a decent voice. Don’t front, you know Roxanne rules on the road.
• Always offer to pay for gas and for snacks. The driver is taking your monkey asses along and putting wear-and-tear on the car and this is the least you can do. With the prices the way they are today, you better believe you’re paying.
• You can eat as much jerky and slim jims as you want and throw those wrappers anywhere. But when you leave the car, your trash is your responsibility.
• If you fart, claim that shit. I hate when someone rips and doesn’t fess up. Be proud, it’s you’re mark.