I have never been a NASCAR fan. For a guy who loves sports, I knew more about curling than I did NASCAR. I could never understand why watching cars making hundreds of laps was so popular.
Then I attended the 2014 Daytona 500 in Jacksonville, Florida courtesy of Lowe’s and my life changed. I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve watched each of the ensuing races in Phoenix and Las Vegas, intently. We interviewed 21-year old rookie Kyle Larson since then and my respect for him, and the sport, is through the roof.
The highlight of the trip? Meeting six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and Lowe’s driver Jimmie Johnson.
Prior to meeting Jimmie Johnson, I had no frame of reference for his level of success or how historically dominant he has been working alongside Crew Chief Chad Knaus.
It was only after someone aptly explained that Knaus is the Bill Belichick to Johnson’s Tom Brady (though they’ve been twice as successful in terms of championships) did I realize how much they’d accomplished as a team. Here’s Jimmie and I, laughing about our favorite recipes:
After I met and briefly interviewed Johnson, I was fortunate to be invited into the Lowe’s pit for the start of the race.
The thing that impressed me the most was the sound. When you’re standing in the pit, you hear this groaning sound in the distance, like a gathering thunderstorm, and then all of the sudden… BOOM! The entire field explodes right in front of you, a mix of colors and shapes that you can barely discern. Then, they’re gone again and the sound dissipates to a low hum.
With the London Olympics starting tonight with the opening ceremonies, we thought it would be a great time to dig up some never published photos from our archive of Natalie and Britney from our trip to London as part of our 2006 World Tour. We spent a day hanging out with these two beautiful models as we caught many of the sites in this iconic city, and you can see many of the London tourist spots in the background.
The first group of photos have Natalie and Britney hanging out in a classic London phone booth. Naturally these things are obsolete these days but in London they blend in as part of the beautiful architecture and scenery. We spent a lot of time in Soho so many of the photos from the first have of slideshow above are from that trendy part of town.
We made our way down to Parliament and got some nice shots in the park nearby. Later in the evening, the girls changed into heels and dresses and we went out in an area near London Bridge. The photos at dusk with the bridge in the background are great, and you can see one below with others in the slideshow.
We finish it up with the girls having fun posing in a London taxi, otherwise known as a hackney carriage. These classic taxi cabs are another site you'll see all around this classic city.
If you're in London for the Olympic Games we're sure you'll enjoy it. It's one of the great cities of the world and we loved our time there. English food isn't very good, but as a world-class city London has amazing restaurants, particularly excellent Indian food and amazing sushi. That said, the city is incredibly expensive. Don't bother going unless you have a real budget, as everything from hotels, food and taxis are ridiculously expensive.
In any event, enjoy the slideshow and the Olympics!
Here's a video compilation of our photos of Britney with Natalie as we visited some of the amazing sights in London. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more videos as we add them.
Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on social media with your friends.
“Fist Fight”
Comedy works best when it’s grounded in real situations, but nothing about “Fist Fight” feels even remotely realistic, starting with its titular premise. Most of the teachers in this film wouldn’t pass a background check, let alone display the competence to run a classroom, while Ice Cube’s hot-headed teacher would have been fired long before swinging an axe into a student’s desk. (Side note: If he was already feared among everyone in the school, what kid would think that provoking him was a good idea?) Unfortunately, co-writers Van Robichaux and Evan Susser have put so little thought into the screenplay that the movie is filled with these kinds of questions. That might have been excusable if “Fist Fight” was actually funny, but not even Charlie Day’s manic energy can save this film.
Extras include a brief featurette on location shooting in Georgia and some deleted scenes. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP
Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on social media with your friends.
“xXx: Return of Xander Cage”
Vin Diesel famously never made a sequel to 2002’s “xXx” because he didn’t believe in them, but that was before he became the go-to franchise guy with the “Fast and Furious” series, “Guardians of the Galaxy” and, to a lesser extent, the Riddick saga. However, it seems unlikely that “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” will reboot the stagnant franchise as intended, despite its blatant attempts to mimic the “Fast and Furious” films. Though it boasts the same over-the-top energy and its own multicultural cast, the movie comes off as nothing more than a second-rate rip-off with some truly ridiculous action sequences. It’s not a complete waste of time thanks to the involvement of Donnie Yen and Ruby Rose, but for a film that borders on so-bad-it’s-good territory for most of its runtime, “Return of Xander Cage” comes up short.
Extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes on Vin Diesel’s return, the supporting cast, location shooting and stunts, as well as a gag reel. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP
Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on social media with your friends.
“Gold”
Stephen Gaghan’s long-awaited follow-up to “Syriana” may not have been the awards contender that some predicted, but it’s a mildly entertaining adult drama – inspired by the 1997 Bre-X mining scandal – that boasts some great work from Matthew McConaughey. Though the Oscar-winning actor looks every bit the part as balding, potbellied has-been Kenny Wells, his performance is much more than the physical transformation he’s undergone. He carries the film every step of the way, exuding his trademark charisma to turn Kenny into the kind of loveable loser that’s hard not to admire. The movie itself has some major problems, but McConaughey is such a compelling presence, fervently chain-smoking and guzzling booze throughout the film, that “Gold” just about gets by on his performance alone.
Extras include an audio commentary by director Stephen Gaghan and a series of featurettes on the film’s origins, location shooting in Thailand and star Matthew McConaughey. FINAL VERDICT: RENT
