I remember Janet! Janet came up recently in a discussion. I wonder where Janet now stands about print? Back when the original thread was posted my favorite drugstore news stand was a 30 foot long aisle, 6 or 8 levels high on each side. SEVERAL HUNDRED titles. I stopped by the other day and it has been downsized to 2 6 foot shelf units with tons of filler. It was hard to even find an automotive title left on the stand. BTW, I still dig the video.
Ryan, you should be really proud of how you responded to Janet. I remember very well the fallout on both sides and he totally deserved it. Those Janets are the same ones who would not help us at all when we were first starting out building cars and hated us when we showed up at shows. The same Janets that refused to acknowledge that our stuff was cool until the masses deemed it cool, look who is copying our style of builds and driving prices up through the roof on parts and projects. The predictions you posted 20 years ago came true and are valid. You can grow old and not have a dog in the fight so much now but don't ever give up the angst and punk rock influences for fighting the good fight.
Love the video, love the music! You have owned your role in the matter. Time allows us to revisit stuff, sometimes with different perspectives, enjoy it for what it is/was.
Still a cool video. I recall your original Jalopy Journal post about this and can't believe it was eleven years ago already! In A Nut Shell… | The Jalopy Journal The Jalopy Journal
I remember this like it was yesterday…….or maybe it was the day before! No harm at admitting your growth….it’s called Life.
I remember reading Janet's letter and thinking to myself who the hell does he think he is?, I was reading all the magazines back when he may have been a mover & shaker with the readers of these publications but it had been years since they catered to my ideas of hot rods and custom cars. I was constantly criticized about what I considered to be old school building styles, I didn't get on board with all the suspension updates or Easter egg colors, billet aluminum, tweed interiors and graphic circus wagon street rods even by my own club members. When I discovered the Hamb I realized I wasn't the only one that felt I wasn't being served by the big publications, How dare Janet come here and tell use we are wrong because we don't jump on the circus wagon trend or follow his idea of one size fits all piped piper mentality. I don't say it often enough but Thank you Ryan for all you have done to promote and preserve the hot rod & custom car eras we enjoy on a daily basis. HRP
Bottom line, you’ve brought hot rodding to its roots by gathering a group of like minded individuals here. The traditional resurgence was ignited by your fervor, patience and dedication. I couldn’t see any other personality who could have accomplished this.
"Simple Kid"?!!?! Simple kid that knows how to build his own site, manage a complicated SQL backend and high availability, block probably constant attempts to defraud and insert malicious code from external parties, server/software patching, migrate every few years when you kill your prior host, establish a largely loyalty based monetization scheme that doesn't make it feel like you sold out - just paying the bills - for which there are no doubt many actual bills. ...and nevermind the fucking neverending moderation that must happen behind the scenes so knife fights don't erupt at the next car show, or that the underlying content of this site never gets compromised...and always remains respectful of what came before. WTF this guy. How about he takes responsibility for not having the sense or capability to extend his antiquated medium into the modern space? Why is HE letting it die? ...and instead lashing out at you/us? Get off your ass and evolve...or die. HOT ROD your damn business model grandma - don't bitch from the pits about why YOU'RE left in the dust. You complimented the medium and here it evolved. If anything you may have bought them extended relevance. Especially since their readers are by and large here too. Not the HEARTBEAT SALMON PASTEL WIDE RADIAL guys, but the other ones that matter. The best shit in this country has always come out of garages. Cars, music, moonshine, ideas (and large computer companies)...you name it. This site still comes out of your garage. He wrote that message in a creaky chair from a corporate vantage point. He was scared and didn't know what to do - he turned bitter trying to find the cause. He should have just asked for advice...or a partnership. I think you showed restraint.
I had to go back and read all of the original blog, to get up to speed about all of the "hub bub" that Janet "muck raked" up in the first place ! Pretty amazing to read all of those replies from back in 2010, and in comparison to today's H.A.M.B. world, there is a lot of consistency as well, that is very PRO H.A.M.B. So to @Ryan, bravo on the cool video you put together, the content is spot on, and my favorite parts are the scratching of the tone arm, excellent choices of music and the vintage footage of such cool vintage cars, people, events etc, etc . A single picture can convey, what a million words cant, so this is for " Janet " So keep up the good work @Ryan , and thanks for providing us all, a great platform to participate in and on! The words and pictures, on our glowing computer screens, is like silent radio for the eyes, and with the advent of things like " vimeo " and " youtube ", we now have the luxury of a hot rod time machine, in a video and audio sense!
I have not thought about Janet in ages. That was not long after I discovered the HAMB. I was usually way out of touch with car trends and felt like an outcast I learned of this place. This pretty much sums it up when I found the HAMB. So, thanks Ryan for being the Anti-Janet.
For years I always felt left out. I was always the kid that liked old stuff. I was never into new stuff and I always felt different around my piers. Noone around me understood my style and i felt alone in my little world. I never liked the RR style, never liked ls swaps, never cared for ac, cruise control, big wheels etc....Not that I have anything against them, just not for me. But then....BUT THEN, I found the HAMB. I fit right in here. I'm super grateful for this site and I really enjoy it. My kind of people.
^ THIS! Right here! The world has forgotten about Janet. It don’t mean nuthin except a damned cool video came out of the deal.
I have had a few interactions with some of the membership here which could be compared in a way to this situation and I reconsidered my thoughts to some and reached out via PM as I felt heavy handed or hypocritical in my comments... Some forgave others not so much...but I tried and am forever trying to say things in a positive light...but sometimes you just have to own the moments and go out for a ride and rumble... I was out today having a 1963 timewarp...felt good...real good... Video rocks...and how about Mr Assslide...couldn't pay me enough to do that......crazy hoodlum... Worse yet the promoters who think up these crazy acts that border on death...let's pay this guy $25 to near kill himself...maybe that was Evil Knievel before he got into Motorcycle Jumping...
Young lion finding his roar / Old lion trying to keep his roar...... In both cases - In a nut shell / In another nut shell....
I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THIS CRAP iS ABOUT. I JUST DRIVE OLD JUNK AND HIT CARS WITH HAMMERS. WHY AM I YELLING?
That's only partial yelling...you have 1 small i...watch the video it's a pleasing mix of go fast...It's all a foggy memory to me now too... Doh!!...on to Spam patrol...
You do not know how right you are. I totally forgot who the prick was. Sent out a couple of texts to friends that were in the middle of it back then. He/they have completely forgotten who it was. Funny, I remember the folks I worked with 35 years ago whether I liked them or not. Janet? nobody from the trenches back then even cares......
I just want to say thankyou for being stubborn and sharing this video .... totally worth my time to watch
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