Club 8 - Spring Came, Rain Fell

I just love their bossanova/indie pop vibe and breathy girl vocals. If you are in a band and you want me to like your music, just get a girl to sing about the weather and I will likely love it.




Also ask a poetic question like "Are we still nowhere?"

My Favorite Japanese Cars

I've always loved VWs and other European things, but lately I've been really interested in Japanese cars. Here are the ones I love:


Toyota Celica - first generation. Every time I see one of these I like it more and more. My neighbors a block away have one under a tarp. I passed one every day going to work. They look like Mustangs in 2/3 scale. The headlights look awesome. This car just looks fantastic.



Miata - first generation in British racing green. I've always liked Miatas. Ever since I read Kafka on the Shore I wanted one bad. They're rwd. They're dirt cheap. I'm not crazy about convertibles but I love this small car.


Nissan S-Cargo. A freaky psychedelic reinterpretation of a Citroen 2CV delivery van. It's name means "Small Cargo." Also it means snail in french. This car rules.



Nissan Pao. Another one made at the same time by Nissan at their Pike factory. This looks like a Mini, a Renault R5 and a VW Squareback, but made cheap and awesome. This does retro right. This car looks like it's made out of plastic, but it looks 200% better than any new car sold in the USA*. I wish I could rock one of these now.


Toyota Land Cruiser circa late 1970s. How could you not like the original Toyota Land Cruiser? This vehicle is so boxy and awesome. The rear windows are so fantastic. One time in Costa Rica I got picked up hitchhiking by a Land Cruiser like this full of nuns. I've wanted one ever since (the Land Cruiser).

* - maybe new Porsches still look better.

Vespa flashback, summer of 2005

After I graduated college in 2005, I took a road trip from my parent's house about an hour west of Albany, all the way across Massachusetts, to Rhode Island on my poor-running 125cc Vespa. Here I am mid-trip stopping for lunch in one of those college towns sort of in the Berkshires. I wish I could remember where it was. It might have been Northampton or Amherst. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was. I remember I had directions written on masking tape on my speedometer. I didn't keep track of how many miles, but there's no way it could have been less than 500. I went to a scooter rally in Rhode Island and rode a 50+ mile ride that Saturday. So, the entire trip was most likely more than that. I had a great sandwich for lunch at some organic food co-op type place. I put my camera on timer on a picnic table and took this shot. The shirt says "Geneseo" something or other, one of my many free Geneseo shirts I picked up as a student there. Those Pumas I'm wearing wore out and got thrown out after I used them while washing dishes in a restaurant about 2 years ago. The Vespa and helmet currently sit unused in my garage.