Moustache May!

I labeled it as the "Greatest Gathering of Moustaches the World Has Ever Known." Regardless of whether or not that's actually true, this year's Moustache May party, held on May 22, 2010, was a roaring success. The weather was not cooperating all day and I thought it was going to rain and ruin the adventures, but the clouds blew away, the sun came out, and people started showing up right on cue.

It was fun to see all the different moustaches that people came up with. Rob's wife made chocolate suckers that looked like moustaches, and Janna Mills definitely knew how to rock the chocolate. Men had moustaches, women had moustaches, children and pets had moustaches, and ultimately it was just an excuse for people to get together and have a cookout. 

Todd, Rob, and Denny lookin' purdy.

Tanner Mills, ladies and gentlemen.

The happy couple. Sporting the 'staches well.

I set up a white backdrop in the garage and my studio lights and for the first two hours or so I made it a point to take pictures of the guests, but somewhere along the way I lost interest and put my camera away. Ultimately I'm really stoked with how the party turned out. A bunch of my friends drove down from Canada and Idaho, as well as quite a few making the short trek from Salt Lake City to come party like it was 1988. We gave out prizes for what we considered best 'staches:

1) Most Creative: My sister Elanor, with her "Grass 'Stache." She won some Pringles.

2) Best Artificial: Jade Magnum Thomason for his Curly Cue. A copy of Borat.

3) Best Authentic: K for the Win. His creation was absolutely unmatched. Mr. Potato Head Prize.

Next year should be even better, so we hope to see many many more people make the trek and the sacrifice to enjoy a Moustached America. We at the Moustache May party do recognize that the current system is a disincentive for the clean shaven to enjoy the Utopia that we dream of, but we just need to start small. One moustache at a time.

No caption necessary.

Jade and Marcus making it happen.

Ze German girls.

Erin and I. Her moustache is bigger than mine.

Check out the rest of the pictures on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=428023&id=737705555

May the 4th Be With You

Here we are. The 4th is with us on Star Wars Day in Newport Beach, and Mick is found in his usual position, sleeping in, despite the noise and commotion four men can make in the same hotel room. I thought that for $46 a night we'd be staying in a dive, but it was actually pretty nice. The beds weren't the most comfortable, but it wasn't really that bad. Travelodge Newport Beach. Stay there. If you dare.

The mini-fridge took a typical look as well, filled with all the essentials of life when you're on a road trip. We spent Monday at Magic Mountain and managed to ride each of the roller coasters in the park, and many of them we rode several times. I had a really good time. I got sick part-way through the day and had to sit out a couple, but my brothers rode about 25 different times. Tuesday was spent at Huntington Beach doing some body boarding and throwing frisbees. But the highlight of the day was Roscoe's House of Chicken'n Waffles.

The syrup and the gravy both finer than wine. We went to Long Beach and made the magic happen. Then we went to the beach and took some sunset photos on Long Beach. It was lovely.

Ramakrishna

HDRI has been incredibly fun lately. This dark hallways at the Ramakrishna Vedanta Monastery had an incredible amount of detail that I wanted to capture. 5 exposures later, and a little love from Photomatix, and we got some nice colors showing through on this piece.

The Vedanta society gleans their beliefs from the Vedas, which are the ancient scriptures of India, and this monastery was built in 1949, has been voted one of the most beautiful places in Orange County. We walked around for a bit, but it was actually kind of boring, and the "monks" or whatever those people were, weren't the most forthcoming or helpful people in the world. It was really old and cool though, so I enjoyed checking it out. Here's a few more pictures.