written by: Allison, who else here would miss Heath Ledger

As the critics and those with “the trained eye” have said -Heath Ledger’s performance in Batman, The Dark Knight, was amazing. I’ve loved him since his first movie that I remember, interestingly enough titled, A Knight’s Tale.

With Christian Bale as Batman (after his first role as Batman in the 2005 Batman Begins) and Morgan Freeman’s dry yet comforting soul and Maggie Gyllenhaal as the female in the love triangle, this film really had it all. It was everything they said it would be.

I don’t want to give away the movie, that is not my purpose here, if you want to know the details call me or Google it for yourself or go buy a $10 ticket , $6 popcorn and a $4 2-gallon diet coke and sit back and feel the darkness that is The Dark Knight.

Warner Bros. initially created their viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight, developing promotional websites and trailers highlighting screen shots of Heath Ledger as the Joker. After Ledger’s death in January 2008, however, the studio refocused its promotional campaign. 

Before I saw the movie I saw my brother’s friend wearing this shirt:

I did not know what it meant until I saw the movie. In this politically and emotionally charged election year, an image like that could mean anything. And maybe, just maybe, that was the idea. Maybe a fictitious character is better than the real-life options…. but I am  not saying anything. I pay for my $4 per gallon gas once a week like everyone else.

The Dark Knight was long, almost 3 hours but it never felt like a 3 hour movie – I just wanted it to keep going!

I love that people can get lost in a story and focus on the big screen for a few hours, its as if everyone in the theater is part of a family that is all entangled in watching the same drama unfold before our eyes.

As far as summer movies go, I’m pretty caught up on them all, we’ve seen just about one movie every weekend for the past few months. That is a ton of movies I realize, but its also a great way to beat the heat for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon. I could do a write-up for tons of movies, from What Happens in Vegas with Ashton and Cameron to Iron Man, Hancock, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Wanted (awesome flick), Indiana Jones -Part 4 lol and of course Sex and The City. I saw that on a sneak preview (free tickets!) with my friends before the rest of the world even saw it.

Sometimes watching movies, especially ones like this – not comic book movies – but good guy vs. bad guy – or a movie like Wanted  (with Angelina) it makes me wish I was part of something BIGGER.  I have a proclivity to be caught up in the emotion of the movie… and no, it doesn’t make me want to rob a bank, maybe I just want a little drama in my life. But honestly, we have enough drama dealing with our typical day-to-day activities. Sometimes I want to feel like I am part of something bigger, and then I have to tell myself that I am part of something big. We won’t know how big for many years  now, that’s all. Basically life is what you make it ~ if you want it to be big it will ~ but not by sitting on the couch LOL.

Now obviously Angelina won’t come whizzing by, and pick me up and put me in some high-speed car chase with rapid gun fire, and I am not going to buy an old car that is actually a transformer that was sent to save the earth, but for 2 hours a week, its nice to watch it happen.

by Tim Davis
JC Field Trip Planner

“Hey Andrew, can you tighten my slipper a half turn?” A common question we have all asked or heard at one point or another at a race track. What is so important about this question, here, in this race report, right now? Well, I posed this question to Mr. Moore at the track Friday, from the driver’s stand, across the track, with 10 other cars running, at a moderate level somewhere well below what you would call shouting. And he heard me. Perfectly – from his pit table – another 20 yards from the track. Did I mention this was an electric only event?

What a provocative title to a blog. Electric racing is back, and it is bringing back the old school racers with it. (notice I spelled ’school’ without a ‘k’ in that context) It was not long ago when attending a regional or national event and racing electric meant tons of work, cutting motors, breaking in brushes, cycling batteries, traying batteries, repeaking batteries, blah blah blah. With the brushless and lipo revolution sweeping the nation, I’m here to report that this motor and battery maintenance hassle has ended.

This past weekend the JConcepts team headed down to the second round of the JC/RCSignup.com Super Cup event in Coral Springs. We gathered the troops at the JC factory Friday morning and loaded what Andrew called “a ridiculous amount of RC equipment” into the trailer. It had been a while since I had been to the Factory on a normal business day, and I was pleasantly surprised to see things humming along nicely. I have witnessed the birth of this company from the first B4 body for the ‘03 Worlds, watched the company progress through the various stages of growth, the excitement of the BJ winning the stock nat’s in ‘04(who knew what else was to come after that). The wild growth rate that JConcepts has experienced with the apparel and tire/wheel lines, has forced them to upsize the factory once again. The currently JC facility is spacious, well organized and state of the art in every way.

The ride down to Coral Springs was quite uneventful, the F350 with the cruise set at 80 just chugged along like a 18 double on 7 cells. We made it to the track in great time, thanks to Jason making some excellent traffic decisions. When we pulled into the track, it was instant flashback for me. I grew up racing in south Florida, and Coral Springs was one of the premier tracks for us, where we could always find a deep field of 2-wheel modified. I last raced at Coral Springs in 1994, and 14 years later, nothing had changed. The 2-wheel mod class was as deep as ever. In fact every class at this race was jam packed with talent. 103 entries for a single-day state race – with a gas race in Tampa the same weekend pulling 70 entires on its own – 103 entires is making a statement that people are ready to run electric cars again.

The track was in excellent shape, an amazingly fun layout with no step downs, X-jumps, flaming rings of fire, or windmill obstacles. Just a nice flowing layout with nice singles, doubles, elevation changes, rollers, off camber sections, etc.  We used to call these offroad tracks, and it was nice to see one again. Qualifying got off on Saturday morning on a damp and tacky track. The JC team ran a few different tires, PW and I ran Goosebumps on the J-82’s and 2-wheels, while Andrew and Jason ran Double Dee’s on everything. The JC tires were so dialed, we nearly completely sold out of the stock that we brought to the race. The morning track with Goosebumps was so much fun with the J-82. It was full punch, crazy traction, and roosting the length of the straighaway.  Did I mention this was an offroad race?

One cool thing about this race was the number of fast young guys out of Ocala. They come to these races in full force, and are super competitive. For the last few years, Electric offroad has been dominated for the most part in the U.S. by “The Ryans”, referring to Cavalieri and Maifield. After this weekend, It seems to me like in Florida, we are about to have “The Zach’s” I have raced with these young guys a few years ago in Ocala at the NewRed indoor track, and knew they could drive an RC car, but to see the improvement in all the Ocala young guns is impressive. The Ocala RC scene is turning out rc drivers like UNC turns out power forwards. I can’t wait to race mod with all of these guys.

So many of these race reports spend lengthy amounts of page space attempting to recount the small events that make up and exciting race, “Joe took off, Joe checked out, Joe bobbled, Mike got by,Mike/Joe wins!” I’m not going to provide that for you here, I’m going to give credit to the Coral Springs crew for putting on a great race. It should be awesome to have the 2nd Annual JConcepts Clash there in December – www.rcclash.com . And I’m going to give credit to Zach Genova and Zach Mote for laying it down in the stock classes. These guys can wheel a car…I’m looking forward to seeing them in Mod. It was great to have such a strong contingency of  J82’s – people that drove them were impressed, and we sold all the conversion kits we brought to these test-drivers. We took tons of pictures and video, and full race results are available on www.rcsignup.com . See everyone at the next one!

JC Rock Rash

23 entries for the first meet – great turn out!

Great location!

Written by: Paul Wynn

I must admit that I really never saw myself doing anything like this; R/C Rock Crawling?? I mean driving an r/c car at a snail’s pace on a bunch of rocks…come on!!!
Well, all I can say is, WOW! My first crawling event (well gtg) competing and hosting was simply amazing! This truly is a social event that is about having fun, and it really brought me back to my grass roots of r/c.

Several times Jason and I tried planning a road trip to attend one of these gtg/comps just to observe, but work and our race schedules have been so hectic it seemed impossible. So after several failed attempts I decided to host our very own gtg here locally. After many e-mails/phone calls with Scattman aka Matthew Tiller and Speedracer19 aka Donnie Jackson; we at JConcepts were set to host our very own Rock Crawl event!

With internet guru Andrew Moore (non world champion) and the rest of the JC crew we promoted the event via the forums. Not knowing what to expect regarding entries we were pleasantly surprised with one of the larger gtg’s in Florida; an unexpected 23 entries!

By 10:30am we had our drivers meeting and were ready to hit the rocks. Starting with course 1 of 3 (supposedly the easy course) everyone lined up their rigs. By the 2nd gate everyone quickly realized there was nothing easy about course 1. Regardless, everyone gave it their best shot, and not 1 person complained. At this point I realized right away everyone was here to have fun! Something like this would have certainly become a problem at any race, off-road or on-road.

Mid way through Course 2 the “pizza guy” aka Robin Carrasco (on-road racer) from Pasta Vino came by to check things out. Robin’s pizza is famous amongst the JC crew and now others got a chance to experience some of the best pizza around. Damn good pizza Robin, thanks again!!!

Course 3 turned out to be what I would consider extremely advanced. This was a great opportunity for Scattman and Speedracer19 to show off their rigs. Course 3 provided us with the quote of the day “you either have a dig or wish you did”. Wonder how many digs were sold on Monday…LOL

Thanks again to everyone that attended and gave us a chance to host our first Crawling Event!

Event: Hot Rod Hobbies Offroad Shootout
Location: Hot Rod Hobbies – Saugus, CA
Dates: June 27–29, 2008
Website: www.hotrodhobbies.com
Vehicle Class: Electric Offroad

The Hot Rod Hobbies Shootout has quickly become one of the most prestigious electric off-road racing events in the U.S.
Hosted by Jimmy Babcock’s Hot Rod Hobbies in Saugus, California, the event draws top U.S. and international drivers and racing teams for a week of intense competition.

This year’s race served as an unofficial warm-up for the upcoming ROAR 1/10 Electric Offroad National Championships which will also be held at Hot Rod Hobbies in August. With a dry, black-groove–type surface, racers were challenged by the fast, yet technical layout. Throughout practice, the triple jump along the back side of the track proved to be the most difficult jump on the track and had the potential to shape the outcome of the event.

As qualifying started, drivers Ryan Cavalieri and Ryan Maifield propelled themselves to the top of the standings in the three modified classes. Joining them at the top of the standings was Jared Tebo. With a TQ in each of the three classes these three drivers were poised to battle it out for the overall victories in the prestigious modified classes. Ryan Maifield tested and raced the unreleased 3017 JConcepts Bar Code 2wd front tire and 3020 4wd front Bar Code in white and orange compound. Maifield’s qualifying times were impressive as were the performance of the Bar Codes as Ryan layed down several TQ runs between the 2 popular classes.

As anticipated, the trio of Maifield, Cavalieri and Tebo battled it out for the top spots in the modified classes as the main events began. Maifield took advantage of his TQ position in the modified truck class and won the first and second main events, leaving A3 to decide the remainder of the podium. Maifield topped off his winning T4 truck with the new JConcepts Illuzion – Hi-Flow body.

1. Ryan Maifield
2. Ryan Cavalieri
3 Jared Tebo
TQ – Ryan Maifield

In 2WD, TQ Cavalieri piloted his B4 to the top spot in A1; however, in A2 he was challenged heavily by the B4 of Maifield who eventually took the win in A2. This set the stage for a classic Ryan vs. Ryan battle in A3 with Tebo having an outside chance at the victory. At the tone, the three competitors dropped the rest of the field behind and set a blistering pace not wanting anything to do with the other seven A-main finalists. With only a few laps remaining, a small bobble by Cavalieri over the triple jump gave Maifield the opportunity to slip by and take the overall victory. Maifield topped off his winning B4 buggy with the JConcepts Illuzion – Hi-Flow body and 6.5″ high downforce rear wing.

1. Ryan Maifield
2. Ryan Cavalieri
3. Jared Tebo
TQ – Ryan Cavalieri

Not to be left out in the TQ party, reigning 4WD World Champion Jared Tebo started from the pole with his B44. A rough start to A1 found Tebo shuffled to the middle of the pack from which he could never recover. B44 teammate Cavalieri found himself in the lead and never looked back, taking the A1 victory. For A2, again the trio of Tebo, Cavalieri and Maifield found their way to the front and battled it out for the A2 victory. These three drivers were setting a blistering pace and with less than two laps left in the race Tebo had to retire. With Cavalieri out in front by a few seconds over Maifield, Pudge was able to back down the pace a bit and take the overall victory.
By the virtue of winning the first 2 mains Cavalieri was able to sit out A3. Maifield jumped into the early lead with Gardner and Amezcua in 2nd and 3rd. The battle was for 2nd as Gardner, Amezcua and Tebo switched positions numerous times while Maifield just crusied on to the A3 victory. TQ Jared Tebo and 3rd place finisher Ryan Maifeld chose to top off their ultra quick B44’s while racing and debuting the new Illuzion – B44 – Scoopless body. Ryan Maifield’s A3 victory came using the new JConcepts 3020 Bar Code 4wd front tire.

1. Ryan Cavalieri
2. Travis Amezcua
3. Ryan Maifield
TQ – Jared Tebo

Photos and report courtesy – Brent Thielke – Team Associated

Products in focus –

0062 – Illuzion – T4 Hi-Flow body
0050 – Illuzion – B4 Hi-Flow body
0061 – Illuzion – B44 Scoopless body
0051 – Illuzion – B44 Hi-Flow body
0027 – Illuzion – GT2 body
0117 – Illuzion – 6.5″ HD rear wing
0108 – Illuzion – 7″ HD rear wing
3016 – Bar Codes – 2wd rear tire
3017 – Bar Codes – 2wd front tire
3020 – Bar Codes – 4wd front tire

So the new iPhone has been released, along with the new updates. The updates are cool, so I had to wait an extra day to download it, no big deal. Should the fact that I had no phone service for a few hours yesterday bother me ? Or the fact that I didn’t go to lunch yesterday for fear I would be out of touch with the world for too long while my phone was dead to the world?
But alas it came back to life a few hours later and now today, Saturday, I am able to see what a lot of people saw yesterday.
Apparently when everyone who had an iPhone tried to upgrade yesterday.. Or buy a new one it must have been too much for the iTunes servers.
(btw I am typing this on my
“old” iPhone….. I love it!)

My brother works for XtremeMac, see Imation press release…… if you don’t have an XtremeMac Tuff wrap case for your iphone you gotta get one, puts those incase little things and other brands to shame.

I admit it – I have dropped my phone, not that I am a clutz but I am typically trying to do or carry to much at a time… And its been known to fall, but with my Tuffwrap cases I don’t worry about it, totally protected.

As my brother works for XtremeMac, I am blessed with company goodies.
I tell people I am sponsored by them. Free cases when I need them, an arm band for the gym,, cases for my friends’ iPhone or itouch.
Originally he started with special cases for my iPod nano. I have a Chicago Bulls case for my nano -how cool is that.

I have so many requests from drivers who wish to be sponsored, a little insane sometimes. But that means people love our products!
It is naturally a nice feeling to be sponsored or to get “free” stuff, but not everyone can be sponsored. There is only so much one company can handle obviously – unless that company is Nike perhaps? Giving free Jordan sneakers to players for every game prob costs less than free RC tires per race.

Being “sponsored” by my bro I do my best to spread the word about the products. I’ve given out cases, arm bands, pumped up people about the products. I think i’m a good rep – I promote!

Given the nature of the products and type of people that buy these- the iPhone, iPods, these people talk about what they have – there are so many web sites and chat forums devoted to ipod/ Mac ptoducts perhaps it would behoove XtremeMac, now part of Imation, to give out free stuff- heck – pick up a team. If only they had t- shirts. Its not much different from sponsoring a skate or surf team – except there is no competition to take part of ….. Hmm have to create one…..

Even the iPhone itself… When it first came out many people had never seen it before. I could be in line at the post office or other places and I’ve offered to hand over the phone for some stranger to get a closer look at it. Ya know – no one ever took me up on the offer?
Afraid to touch it it seems…

So people have asked me – are you going to get the new one?
You know a big feature they put on the ‘08 phone – a black or white backing on the phone…. Ohh la la I – and none of my friends with the great cases never, ever see the back of our phones…. Unless I am changing my case to color coordinate, during the NBA playoffs I was sporting the green to show a little Celtic love.
Thanks to XtremeMac. Hi Travis! And Darren, Denise, and Robert – my new friends I met at my brothers wedding. Hi guys- loved your office ! (I don’t think Robert works there but he was at the wedding so sorry Robert, you got grouped in). Thanks to my brother- in-law, Ryan, the fabulous bartender with mad mix skillz, it was the best wedding I’ve been to since, hmmm, Betty and Todd’s reception (2006) was a great time too…, the one thing in common- I can not count the number of drinks I had at either wedding! LOL

So I am still discovering all the new toys and gizmos available on the iPhone updates and the new App store – I can’t wait to uncover something else new and useful! Like now posting blogs from my phone!
Look out! Random postings here we come!
Now I can post and send pics right from the track! Or from a wedding or a bar or the beach or the airport – who knows!!!

Visit us on the web at www.jconcepts.net and www.ifmarworldchampion.com

Sent from my iPhone