The Dark, Stupid Side Of California
Here in the Golden State we’ve got some of the best driving roads in the world, plenty of race tracks to use, and a climate that allows us to enjoy the automotive hobby all year round. And that same mild climate means that cars last a lot longer here than they do in other parts of the United States.
The events? The builders? The cool cars? Yeah, we’ve got them. But the Golden State is by no means a heaven for car lovers. In fact, some might even say it’s hell. Because for as important as the automobile has been to the state, California is a notoriously unfriendly place for car lovers when it comes to legislation and emissions laws.
There are any number of complaints you could raise about how CARB, the Bureau of Automotive Repairs, and the Department of Motor Vehicles operate, but my biggest beef is with the state’s difficult and rigid emissions laws. If you didn’t know, every 1976 and newer vehicle in the state is subject to a biannual smog check that not only monitors the emissions from the tail pipe, but also any modifications or alterations made to the engine, regardless of whether they actually increase emissions or not. Fail the test and you simply can’t register your car.
(SpeedHunters.com)
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
The Results Are Not Too Suprising
Why Basketball Runs in the Family
A new WSJ study finds 48.8% of players are related to an elite athlete—that number is 17.5% for the NFL and 14.5% for MLB
(WallStreetJournal.com)
A new WSJ study finds 48.8% of players are related to an elite athlete—that number is 17.5% for the NFL and 14.5% for MLB
(WallStreetJournal.com)
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
This Is An Interesting Point Of View
Was Top Gun a Film About Music?
This week, the iconic Tom Cruise classic Top Gun turns 30. It’s the rare case of a movie that was such an omnipotent blockbuster permanently permeating pop culture that its sheer ubiquity might make its presence underrated. So much so, that anyone born in the last three decades might take for granted that they live in a post-Top Gun world, never having known one where Top Gun didn’t exist. The film itself is a perfect storm of the mid-'80s at their most '80s, celebrating big things, fast things, shiny things and still managing to ooze machismo all over my new carpet after playing the VHS videocassette of it today.
Now, there are plenty of other ways to watch Top Gun, but what would you? Top Gun became the then-highest selling video of all time, moving a Val Kilmer-cool level of 3.3 million copies by its second year on the market. A quick glance at the back of the VHS box art offers a clue as to another reason why Top Gun was such a smash and remains a cultural touchstone - the music. In quite the rare credit, beneath the director and studio name on the box itself it boards “ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE ON COLUMBIA RECORDS AND CASSETTES.” In other words, the music of Top Gun was a big deal. How big? Well, how does going nine times platinum and being number one on the Billboard charts for five weeks sound?
(OCWeekly.com)
This week, the iconic Tom Cruise classic Top Gun turns 30. It’s the rare case of a movie that was such an omnipotent blockbuster permanently permeating pop culture that its sheer ubiquity might make its presence underrated. So much so, that anyone born in the last three decades might take for granted that they live in a post-Top Gun world, never having known one where Top Gun didn’t exist. The film itself is a perfect storm of the mid-'80s at their most '80s, celebrating big things, fast things, shiny things and still managing to ooze machismo all over my new carpet after playing the VHS videocassette of it today.
Now, there are plenty of other ways to watch Top Gun, but what would you? Top Gun became the then-highest selling video of all time, moving a Val Kilmer-cool level of 3.3 million copies by its second year on the market. A quick glance at the back of the VHS box art offers a clue as to another reason why Top Gun was such a smash and remains a cultural touchstone - the music. In quite the rare credit, beneath the director and studio name on the box itself it boards “ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE ON COLUMBIA RECORDS AND CASSETTES.” In other words, the music of Top Gun was a big deal. How big? Well, how does going nine times platinum and being number one on the Billboard charts for five weeks sound?
(OCWeekly.com)
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