(rice.edu): We left by separate doors
Into the changed, other bodies
Of cars, she down Cherrylog Road
And I to my motorcycle
Parked like the soul of the junkyard
Restored, a bicycle fleshed
With power, and tore off
Up Highway 106, continually
Drunk on the wind in my mouth,
Wringing the handlebar for speed,
Wild to be wreckage forever.
More motorcycles in literature. I remember this one vividly from HS. Reminded me of my red Vespa. . .
(motorcycles.about.com): “Motorcyclists have fun with Haiku.”
(virginiawind.com): “In today’s WalMart, traffic jam, stoplight world, cars seldom crowd the redline of our adrenaline meters. Conversely, motorcycles are emotion machines. Motorcycles are thrilling. At the risk of getting too self-indulgent or high-minded, for those that ride them, motorcycles are a metaphor for life. What’s important is not the destination, it’s the trip. Cars are about getting someplace. Motorcycles are about motorcycling. Lives without such a thrill aren’t real living.”
In honor of “Bikes, Blues & BBQ” week here in NWA, here is an interesting motorcycle site.
(bikepsych.com): Many riders have an deep need to feel a release from the boundaries of the human body and to express the self as something powerful and independent, almost animal-like. On a bike one becomes like a Centaur : half human, half animal.
(yahoo news) : The difference - which remained even when researchers accounted for factors such as age, economic status and race - may have something to do with the way people get around in more spread-out cities. “People drive more in these areas; they walk less,” said Roland Sturm, co-author of the report by Rand Corp., a nonprofit research group.
I wonder at what point garages became architectural features of homes? I mean the ubiquitous “two-car garage” where you are basically driving inside your home. I’m guessing all those tract homes from the GI Bill had limited lot space, so a detached garage wasn’t possible. What we need is something to get us from bed to the car without touching the ground, and then big “auto malls” where you just drive around and people bring you stuff to your window. “Welcome to the Gap! Please merge right.”
This is my favorite camera. Given the complex clockwork mechanism that drives the F2, it’s safe to say that it could not be built today, from an economic feasibility standpoint. I wonder if, like mechanical watches, there will ever be a renaissance for mechanical cameras. I’m sure everyone thought the quartz watch was the end of the mechanical watch industry, too, but the past decade has proven that prediction false.
(nikon.co.jp): As mechanical cameras go, the F2 is regarded as the most efficient and powerful SLR camera. Perhaps the most accurate evaluation of this huge project from the past is a recounting of its own history.(mir.com.my): As more and more F2’s found their way into (and falling out of) professional hands, people quickly discovered the most touted F2 virtue — its earthshaking reliability and solidness.
(clickmt.com): It’s official: bicycles are the new black. To Britain’s monied and middle-aged male business elite, concerned with consuming the beautiful things in life, two wheels and a frame have unexpectedly become the most desirable object of our time.
I’ve noticed a few execs in the company I work for are into cycling. I think part of it is a power thing. To some people it sounds impressive that you rode a 100 miles in a day. It’s also a team sport for many, so they get to feel like they’re contributing to something (possibly in a more meaningful way than their work environment allows).