Laguna Seca powerslide meet 2011

Toil and trouble.

Hahaha. i had a similar experiance at JFK in 08 Arrab. This year i kept my gob shut and called him sir !

Arrabbiata1 said:

Last year I waxed lyrical about the flight over, and the landscapes unfolding below; this year a photo of Iceland will suffice.



Look Pov....no ice: -

. "Can you get your hair out of yer eyes sir" he barked. "Well I had a military crew cut by the time I joined the queue - besides I think you'll find that passport's probably out of date by now" I mischievously quipped. "It doesn't say comedian on here sir...You can turn around and we'll send you straight home if you want.....any other material you wanna try out on me?" "Errrrrm...no sir, thank you sir" Exit Arrabb struggling to digest the sizeable slice of humble pie he'd just been served.

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No humble pie Arabb. sarcasm is a lost art. Thats some funny ... ..... Cant wait to hear the rest

BRAVO BRAVO!! i .... u not, i made about five attempts at finishing this below. Thank God it mercifully ended before a rather large women in front of me thought i was laughing at her. Im at the DMV today trying to renew my registration, and my iphone has just paid itself off. Hahahaha!!! ....... Arrabi the Mozart of poetry!

Arrabbiata1 said:

I guess I formed the advance party of the Brit invasion. My daughter had already arrived at LAX following a gruelling flight from Cairns via Auckland and took in excess of two hours to clear immigration. The very patient CK was on chauffeur from the outset and she was soon safely ensconced at Fort Jumkie. So leaving work I drove directly to my Heathrow hotel for my flight departing the next morning. Well not exactly directly - The Holiday Inn Heathrow is off Junction 4 of the M4 which is a strange intersection. You can see it, you come off and drive towards it but you hurtle past like a slingshot reminiscent of the Voyager probe - so tantalisingly close - but flung out into the outer reaches of the London Orbital. I knew this because it has happened before, and cursing my deficient memory corrected my course and prepared to try again. What you have to do is head in the opposite direction to the hotel upon exiting the motorway, the road then veers around underneath it and deposits you on a trajectory straight towards the hotel entrance. Checking in and satisfied by what passed for a thinly veiled but convivial atmosphere, I decided to reserve my flight seat online, but the internet was about as efficient as a late nineties dial up connection in downtown Khartoum. I asked for my credit back and instead they sat me behind the concierge desk to use the staff computer, which was great. For some reason - in spite of my attire, no one actually realised that I didn't work there, so in addition to giving newly arrived Japanese tourists directions to Madam Tussauds, erstwhile American Royal aficionados information on how best to reach Buckingham Palace by tube, and referring a complaint about the lack of towels in someones room I did manage to book my seat on the plane. Elementary error number one! I elected to, after years of David Blaine like endurance during a multitude of long haul flights, reserve at the rear of the aircraft in a spot I have previously reconnoitered whilst stretching my legs the last time I flew on a Jumbo. Although I greatly reduced the risk of DVT this nonetheless was to prove a pain in the arse upon arrival - I will shortly divulge as to why. Anyway spoke to Wills by phone who confirmed he was following me four days later.



Last year I waxed lyrical about the flight over, and the landscapes unfolding below; this year a photo of Iceland will suffice.



Look Pov....no ice: -



12698:SAM_0003.JPG]



Very straightforward flight - into LAX right on schedule, but this is LAX and it's a ....... to get through - particularly when you've been sat at the rear of a Boeing 747 and find yourself absolute dead last in the vast resultant queue to clear immigration. Coupled with the other passengers that had disgorged from my aircraft, there was also the entire human cargo of an Air New Zealand 777 which had simultaneously been herded sheep like into the same pen. We progressed about as convincingly as Toni Elias's 2011 season, and having watched the customs and immigration information video for the hundreth time it was only then I spotted in the section about Global clearance/entry much to my amusement an American girl who I'd dated in Oxford the previous month and I recalled was actually in Santa Monica at that very moment. She had been through a very harrowing divorce and took all manner of bizarre modelling jobs to make ends meet. I previously spotted her in one of the Sunday Supplements and I .... you not on a cereal packet! I also amused myself during this time watching my bag repeatedly come around the carousel until that too ground to a resounding halt! As usual I digress....after what seemed like a period of geological time I had advanced with glacial like slowness to the forefront of the queue and I was summoned to the booth and handed over my passport. Elementary error number 2, no matter how disgruntled you are - never cheek a US Immigration official. Firstly they are unlikely to understand English sarcasm, and secondly they have very pertinent powers which can prove to be quite a significant obstacle when you are attempting to enter their country should they take umbrage to your misplaced attempts at irreverent humour. "Can you get your hair out of yer eyes sir" he barked. "Well I had a military crew cut by the time I joined the queue - besides I think you'll find that passport's probably out of date by now" I mischievously quipped. "It doesn't say comedian on here sir...You can turn around and we'll send you straight home if you want.....any other material you wanna try out on me?" "Errrrrm...no sir, thank you sir" Exit Arrabb struggling to digest the sizeable slice of humble pie he'd just been served.

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chopperman said:

Hahaha. i had a similar experiance at JFK in 08 Arrab. This year i kept my gob shut and called him sir !

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It seems us British guys all tried the charm with the Immigration officials. When I landed in JFK to get my connecting flight to LAX, I cooly approached the young lady on the immigration desk....



She says " is your visit for business or pleasure ? "



I said " My business is pleasure " and gave her a coy smile....



She says " Do you want to turn around and go straight back home ? " ( I think she would have added the word Arsehole on the end if she was allowed to )



I squeaked " No Ma'am "......



I was already preparing my next line.......



" Please don't send me home, oh please...I will be a good boy. No more witty comments...Please don't send me home...Someone is coming to pick me up. I was only being friendly, please don't send me home. I love America.....Please the 'special relationship that the UK and America has '....Please don't send me home "



Not sure the " I am damn near Royalty line would have worked either " hahahaha

Arrabbiata1 said:

Elementary error number 2, no matter how disgruntled you are - never cheek a US Immigration official. Firstly they are unlikely to understand English sarcasm, and secondly they have very pertinent powers which can prove to be quite a significant obstacle when you are attempting to enter their country should they take umbrage to your misplaced attempts at irreverent humour. "Can you get your hair out of yer eyes sir" he barked. "Well I had a military crew cut by the time I joined the queue - besides I think you'll find that passport's probably out of date by now" I mischievously quipped. "It doesn't say comedian on here sir...You can turn around and we'll send you straight home if you want.....any other material you wanna try out on me?" "Errrrrm...no sir, thank you sir" Exit Arrabb struggling to digest the sizeable slice of humble pie he'd just been served.

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You being a smart arse? I don't believe it... US Customs Agents not tolerating it? Again, I'm shocked. Funny thing is, I can visually see this happening.

Willski said:

the 'special relationship that the UK and America has'

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Little does she know...

Willski said:

It seems us British guys all tried the charm with the Immigration officials. When I landed in JFK to get my connecting flight to LAX, I cooly approached the young lady on the immigration desk....



She says " is your visit for business or pleasure ? "



I said " My business is pleasure " and gave her a coy smile....



She says " Do you want to turn around and go straight back home ? " ( I think she would have added the word Arsehole on the end if she was allowed to )



I squeaked " No Ma'am "......



I was already preparing my next line.......



" Please don't send me home, oh please...I will be a good boy. No more witty comments...Please don't send me home...Someone is coming to pick me up. I was only being friendly, please don't send me home. I love America.....Please the 'special relationship that the UK and America has '....Please don't send me home "



Not sure the " I am damn near Royalty line would have worked either " hahahaha

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You should have slapped that ..... around the face with your British passport while saying " im English, thats damn near Royalty, now stand aside you stupid America ex potato eater".

A few random pics before i get back to my story.

Part of the huge Benito fan club

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Some exotica i found in the campsite

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Who this loser

12708SC_0029.JPG]

Who's this dude sporting the cool sunglasses

12709SC_0024.JPG]

Benny's seat

12710SC_0411.JPG]

Yanks like there trucks big, real big

12711SC_0571.JPG]

Willski said:

It seems us British guys all tried the charm with the Immigration officials. When I landed in JFK to get my connecting flight to LAX, I cooly approached the young lady on the immigration desk....



She says " is your visit for business or pleasure ? "



I said " My business is pleasure " and gave her a coy smile....



She says " Do you want to turn around and go straight back home ? " ( I think she would have added the word Arsehole on the end if she was allowed to )



I squeaked " No Ma'am "......



I was already preparing my next line.......



" Please don't send me home, oh please...I will be a good boy. No more witty comments...Please don't send me home...Someone is coming to pick me up. I was only being friendly, please don't send me home. I love America.....Please the 'special relationship that the UK and America has '....Please don't send me home "



Not sure the " I am damn near Royalty line would have worked either " hahahaha

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Something doesnt sound right. When you say you gave her a " coy smile" did it by any chance look like this



12714:kingpin_lin.jpg]

povol said:

Something doesnt sound right. When you say you gave her a " coy smile" did it by any chance look like this



12714:kingpin_lin.jpg]

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povol said:

Something doesnt sound right. When you say you gave her a " coy smile" did it by any chance look like this



12714:kingpin_lin.jpg]

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I love that film Pov..Kingpin

Willski said:

I love that film Pov..Kingpin

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When i was trying to find a picture of a 2 finger salute, the first thing that came to mind was that nasty ..... in Kingpin. Googled Kingpin Movie and hit images. Low and behold, there she was.

One major facet of travel is that it removes you from home. That may sound a tad axiomatic, because obviously in the physical sense this is true, but it also tends to transplant you outside of your individual circumstances and situation..both geographically and mentally. In that sense you are very much looking back in from the outside which facilitates objective thought and appraisal. It enables you to transcend your day to day life and break from the constraints and rigmarole which tend to condition us all. For a short period of time you can transcend your familiar existence which opens possibilities and encourages introspection. You feel free, as though you have escaped transcended and been liberated from all attachment obligation and responsibility that binds you to a place. This is why travel is a truly liberating experience - it encourages new experiences and suggestion, and is why so many insist that it broadens the mind. In reality you are temporarily compartmentalised in a bubble floating out of the real world, and when the bubble bursts unless you are of a highly parochial nature it feels deflating - like you come down with a bump when you eventually return home. Driving to Heathrow the day before a warning light on my dash was persistently blinking at me. This has been the case for weeks, an although I rifled through the manual in a forlorn attempt to ascertain what this means (unwilling to shell out for a plug in diagnostic), I hadn't yet fully understood what was causing it nor had I attempted to eradicate the problem - most likely a dodgy lambda sensor which is a common fault on my make of car. during the last few months I have come to regard it as a metaphor. All of us would like to cruise along through life without a problem, but that little warning light always pops up at some stage. You can carry on driving and choose to ignore it as a trivial distraction hoping it will go away...indeed it may amount to nothing but the possibility that something can or will go wrong is always there. I guess it depends on an individuals relative sense of optimism. But for now that light was extinguished and irrelevant, I was removed from my problems and my world back home was seemingly on pause.



Having left the airport I was soon spirited away by the shuttle bus to my nearby hotel, elementary error number three...another Holiday Inn. It wasn't great, but it was adequate. Having freshened up, I resolved to get online again to check my emails and to message Jum (my phone is not configured to work abroad). I paid for the online facility only to discover that as in London, it too didn't work. I immediately got a refund, and told them that I really needed to get online, whereupon the duty manager apologised profusely and without hesitation directed me to guess what...........the concierge desk!!! For the second time in a little over twenty four hours I found myself in between the various tasks I had to do online, meeting and greeting guests on behalf of Holiday Inn Hotels. I directed one family to Redondo Beach, and told another the best route to The Greek Theatre - and even drew them a map. I have no idea what was on, if anything, I didn't ask...it wasn't my business, I was simply manning the hospitality desk. My career as a hotelier was abruptly over as soon as it began when the real concierge emerged from the rear of the building having finished a cigarette and looked somewhat put out at the presence of this impostor in his seat. Felling like Leonardo DeCaprio in 'Catch Me if You Can' I thanked the manager and skulked off to my room having been rumbled and because by this time it was something like three in the morning GMT and I felt as though I was standing on the deck of a small boat anchored broadside to a large swell - you know that giddy feeling that jet lag leaves you with. Actually I have never found going west a particular problem because you can bank time - it is due east that eats up the hours and is the real killer.



Another thing about travel is the tendency to be afflicted with constipation. I believe this to be symptomatic of jet lag, but despite my longing for some action on the bowl - nothing was forthcoming. By God was I to rue this desire within a few days!!!



Next morning I awoke very early and decided to stroll the few blocks from my hotel up to Century Boulevard to retrieve my hire car. It wasn't supposed to be picked up until 11.00a.m. and I sauntered nonchalantly in at 6.45a.m, but this wasn't a problem in the slightest. I have found that you don't tend to encounter anywhere near the frequency of jobsworth's that you do in the U.K. where they are ubiquitous. Sure they can be sticklers for rules, regulations and absurd legislation but if you go with the flow - I find it is easier to get things done than in Britain. The office was empty at that time and they seemed very pleased to see me, within ten minutes I was offered the keys to a Nissan or a Chevy. Damn, I was Stateside - it had to be the Chevy! Elementary error number 4....never hire a vehicle without first having an inkling of what it looks like. I collected my luggage from the hotel and briefly went online over the road at an internet cafe, and then shot off up Highway 10 chuckling behind the wheel of my newfound comedy car as I cruised towards Jumkie's.



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I made the same mistake at Valencia. I hired a "chevvy" and got a piece of .... an old lady would turn her nose up at . As for living in a bubble and leaving all your worldly problem behind and forgoten. Thats a good holiday mate.

If I had to summarize the Power Slide meet-up experience in one brief sentence it would be something like this;



It was like going to a happy, surreal plane of existence where all my favorite Underground comic book or South Park characters came to life in three dimensions and partied with me for a week.

Keshav said:

If I had to summarize the Power Slide meet-up experience in one brief sentence it would be something like this;



It was like going to a happy, surreal plane of existence where all my favorite Underground comic book characters came to life in three dimensions and partied with me for a week.

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Roll on Texas. I hear you can play with machine gun's there

'Keshav' timestamp='1313101241' post='290193']

If I had to summarize the Power Slide meet-up experience in one brief sentence it would be something like this;



It was like going to a happy, surreal plane of existence where all my favorite Underground comic book or South Park characters came to life in three dimensions and partied with me for a week.







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Zap and Big ..., used to hang out at head shops and read that .... back in the 70's.



So who was Zippy the pinhead

Who was Eggs Actly



Who was this guy



12722:Zap.jpg]



Had to be Roger with his mammoth RV

povol said:

'Keshav' timestamp='1313101241' post='290193']

If I had to summarize the Power Slide meet-up experience in one brief sentence it would be something like this;



It was like going to a happy, surreal plane of existence where all my favorite Underground comic book or South Park characters came to life in three dimensions and partied with me for a week.







-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zap and Big ..., used to hang out at head shops and read that .... back in the 70's.



So who was Zippy the pinhead

Who was Eggs Actly



Who was this guy



12722:Zap.jpg]



Had to be Roger with his mammoth RV

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Zippy The Pinhead was a character who was so freakin' bizaarre that I wasn't really sure I got him - except if I was really high.

Eggs Ackley was a minor character who appeared a few times in R. Crumb's great story.

And the image above was the "Keep On Truckin" guy or maybe an early predecessor of him.

Speaking of comic book characters I thought I'd put up some manipulated portraits from the meet-up. Here's #1.

more familiar faces....