From the archives: 4-20-05

Old but still applicabale as Mario continues to try and convince us that he has all of the answers!


I never thought I would ever say this but it time for Mario, yes Mario Andretti to take a vacation. Time to quit meddling in the IRL/CCWS controversy. Time to leave the racing business to them. One of the greatest racing drivers ever should leave the new business of racing alone and let open wheel racing evolve as it will.

I had the opportunity to listen to Mario twice, both times at Road America, and each time I came away thinking, boy Mario has an opinion about everything. Both times he dominated conversation to the obvious dismay of the other panelists.

Yes he saved the 2003 Road America event………or did he, now I wonder. Mario is becoming a lot of hot air.

Mario go make wine or something or if you really want to become involved dust of the old wallet and buy your right to interfere.

We still love you …….for now!

The Glass Quilt a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle was created By Oakland artist Ron Dolce. He spent 18 years adhering the glass mosaic to the body of his Volkswagen, and each colored piece of glass is carefully hand cut and glued onto the VW body using 100% silicone adhesive. When he got a dent in the front of the car, Ron simply re-applied the mosaic over the impression. The detail of the glass does an excellent job of disguising the dent. When I met Ron at Art Car Fest 05 in Berkeley, he said that to truly experience this car you have to put your hands on it, otherwise you cant connect with it on a deaper level. Ron thank you for your dedication and commitment to your art, a true classic VW. To book this car for your next event go to Art Car Agency.

Erik and I took a NYE ride today, scoping out the route I'll be taking to work this year. Learned a few useful tips:

1. With lobster gloves, it's impossible to give the finger to a driver who nearly runs you off the road.

2. Whenever possible, always draft behind Big E. It's like riding the wake behind an ice breaker. But you need to be very trusting - you can't see where you're going. At all.

3. Just take the damn lane.

4. Heat up your water (but don't run hot tap water) for your bottles. The water was actually still warm by time we got to Northbrook, believe it or not.

5. Starbucks in the North 'burbs have lots of room for cyclists to lounge and warm up. Everyone else uses the drive-thru. Our gear was everywhere.

6. Once again, the ride to work will take as much or less time than if driving or using public transit.

7. Having Superdawg on my way home from work is going to be the greatest thing ehvahr!

Photo courtesy by Harrod Blank
David Crow from Seatle created this Red Stiletto using parts of a Honda motorcycle as a way to make up with his girlfriend. I met David at last years Art Car Fest 2007.

Photo courtesy by Harrod Blank

Harrod Blank created the world famous Camera Van, a 1972 Dodge van that is fitted with 2,500 cameras. The project begun in the fall of 1993 and was finished in 1995 after much trial and error designing and perfecting this creation. Most of the cameras don't work but some do and actually take pictures of people as the Harrod drives. He created the car to be able to record peoples candid reactions to his Art Car. He has taken more than 5000 photos of people around the world. The word smile on the roof is created by in Kodak Instamatic Cameras. The Camera Van is currently at Art Car World Museum - Douglas, Arizona. For bookings, exhibitions, and licensing go to Art Car Agency. Harrod also published the book Art Cars and created two other art cars called Oh My God! a 1965 Volkswagen Beetle and Pico De Gallo 1963 Volkswagen Beetle. Thank you Harrod for your passion and dedication to this art form, you have inspired many of us to follow our dreams.

Yarn Phone

This is Tim Klein and his 1967 Imperial Crown covered in Yarn. The name of the car is The Elements. He is also the keeper of the Art Car Calendar which is a list of all Art Car events taking place around the country every year. Thank you Tim!

This Weigand’s Floppy Disk Car, a 1998 Honda Civic covered with computer keys and floppy disks.
She wanted to create a whimsical art car so she used floppy disks that were both very cheap thing to acquire and would not add any significant weight to it. She found the disks at thrift stores and in peoples storage laying around taking up space. She had the car for a year before she started gluing the disks on. She also painted each disk and covered every visible surface of the car. The windows are covered with keyboard keys, covered the dash with sheets of old punch cards, adhered “esc” keys to the door locks, glued processor chips to the hubcaps and added a personalized license plate that reads “DISKDRV.”
She likes the attention she gets, but her least favorite comment is “You must have a lot of time on your hands!”

Each year, at this time, everyone seems to become a music expert. Or movie-slash-book critics. Or fancy themselves as political pundits, and put out their - as if it were the only one -sardonic, cynical, sarcasm laden and authoritative "best-of" and "top-10" lists. Most are not worth the bandwidth I spent downloading them. Although I do have two or three friends who's guidance always puts me on the right foot at the beginning of the annual path: I always reset my musical compass to Mat, Lou, and Tankboy's compilations.

I hold no such illusions for myself, however. So I offer you, again, my 2nd Annual "The Best That I Could Do" list.

But first, I would just like to say this about my very brief Christmas break. It is far, far, FAR better to give than to receive. I say with complete deadpan expression, because, quite frankly, I give far better gifts that I recieve, with a couple exceptions. Katy's wine decanter - thank you VERY much, baby - and the gift card to Performance I got from my dad. Now of course, I am being quite facetious, because I did get a couple sweet ties as well (and I don't mean to sound ungrateful), but really, when you are effectively on the road at Christmas, staying at a relative's house because you didn't have the time to go all the way back to Alaska, you are basically an interloper into some other family's Christmas. And it puts things into perspective.

A perspective that is cauterized quite dramatically as I fell asleep in a tipsy haze next to a roaring fire in a quiet room, only to be jerked awake by an in-law (my uncle's wife's sister's husband, to be exact) jokingly playing with my hands like a puppeteer trying to get me to do jumping jacks after informing that they were going to open Christmas presents now...on Christmas Eve. At midnight.

You would have safer luck poking a chained-up grizzly bear with a stick, my friend.

And it just wasn't the same. Christmas Eve is for wine, dinner, conversation, laughter, reminiscing, and anticipation. Anticipation to be broken only after walking groggily around the kitchen, making coffee, waiting for everyone else to come downstairs...and then stalling, laughing as your little sister screams at you to "hurry up, Brian!"

I opened two nice gifts, and had perhaps my first beer ever whilst opening Christmas presents, but it was better to see everyone open mine. And all of it galvanized in my brain that I need to be HOME next Christmas.

Enough of all that. 2007, you will be missed and fondly remembered. I give you:

2007: The best I Did and Could've Done. In chronological order - they're all equally important.

1. Superbowl Sunday

It was a greater day than Christmas. Even with the eventual outcome. I'd cleaned my apartment to a glistening shine, set up bloody mary fixings and snacks, and had music DVD's playing in between various movie marathons on cable all day as friends stopped by, either for a visit, to stay and watch the game. By time the 1st quarter was over I had more open bottles and half consumed bags of chips on my coffee table than if we had been tailgating at Soldier Field itself. Completely blasted for the ignoble end to the Bear's surprising season, I said goodbye to the last of them, and about 4 hours later I was woken up from my snoring on the couch by a very strange noise emanating from my bookshelf. Actually the noise had been manifesting itself in my fitful dreams for quite a while now, but it had finally made it to the forefront of my conscious. It was Lisa's cell phone. It rang again and I got up to inspect it. Her ex-boyfriend. He'd been calling that whole time and had left maybe 10 messages. It took a lot of will-power not to answer it.

Honorable Mention: Feb 1st, The Double Door

2. February 21st, 00:15: Bologna, ITA

I had just gotten off the shuttle bus in from Forli Airport, after having arrived from London around 22:00. Mat was due to pick me up when the bus arrived around 23:45, but now he was beyond just a little late. A feeling that was intensified by the fact I had no phone and no conversational Italian. I walked back and forth across the courtyard of the Bologna Central Station, and in and out of the depot. Trying to be in 4 places at once, worried I would miss Mat in the looming shadows on the cobblestones. I had a phone number, but wasn't sure where the country code ended, and I had no change for the phones. And couldn't get my credit card into the slot. I went outside again, gathered up my courage and said to a gruff looking gent sitting out by the fountain, smoking a cigarette, "Escuse, poso usare il suo telefono, per favore?"

"No," was the only reply.

I hung my head and cursed. What now? My only hope was that Mat would just evenually show up...I mean, where else was I going to go? And at that moment, across the plaza, I recognized the shuffling gait and the headphone wires coming up out of the coat, coming towards me.

3. Rome: The very next day

We'd arrived in Rome, found our hostel, and had just gotten off the train at the Colossi station on the Roman subway. We scaled the stairs, and the exit to the street approached. As we walked closer to the doors, Mat looked back at me, and just as I saw It, I realized Mat was watching me to see my expression.

The phrase, "takes your breath away" is a much overused cliche, not be redundant, and has virtually no meaning in 90% of its use. But it was the only way to describe my reaction to the sight that greeted me as I walked out the doors of the subway station acrosst the street from the Roman Colosseum. I had expected a long walk, across a field, dirt parking lots, and a wait, that it wouldn't be very big.

The Colloseum filled up my entire field of vision and my lungs filled up with air. A gasp it was. And I held it. Just looking up, my eyes getting wider. It was right across the street. Made of actual stone. With the actual grime and dirt and age and wear and wonderousness of two thousand years. The gladitorial contests. The Fall of Rome. The Dark Ages. The Crusades. The Inquisition. The Renaissance. The Enlightenment. Napoleon. Two World Wars and the ravages of Fascism. Modern Life.

And it was still there. The Collesseum had stood there all that time and been witness to all of that history. I let my breath out and walked across the street.

4. April 28, Milwaukee, WI: My First Bike Race

It took enough courage just to join the damn team. Let alone ride in a race. But as Mat says, "There's nothing worse than regret." My only goal was not to finish last. And try not to get dropped. I didn't finish last and I almost stayed with the pack the whole time. I finally got dropped on the second to last lap and finished with some very encouraging words. You can read the full recap here. Big thanks to all my teammates, especially Luke and Jeff H., for all their advice and encouragement throughout the year. If it weren't for them I wouldn't be getting ready for a second season right now.

5. May 26th: Washington, DC.

I'd flown out to visit my friend John for a weekend. Nothing big, just to say hi and get out of town for a bit. We had some drinks, saw some monuments (The Jefferson - "what was Lincoln too busy?!" - Memorial is my favorite) but the highlight of the weekend was the morning run John and I went on through the Mall that Saturday morning. It was humid and cloudy as we stretched out in the parking space in Foggy Bottom. We headed past the State Department, and then paused for a moment at the Lincoln Monument before running up the mall, past the Smithsonian, through the commencement ceremonies of George Washington University out the lawn of the Captial, and by time we reached the Capital steps it was a glorious sunny day, and we stopped again to take in the view. I love DC. I think it's because I never saw it in person until I was 30, only in movies and pictures. And instead of being a let down, it was everything and more than I could've hoped. Much bigger in real life. Breathing, living history. All the barriers and security checks aside, so much it you can walk right up to, touch and smell and feel.

6. June 14th: STOP!

The truck didn't see me in the bike lane in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and the next thing I know I'm on my skinned hands and knees using my tongue to make sure I still have all my teeth. I spent virtually the entire evening at Norwegian Hospital in conditions that made the climatic scene in "Jacob's Ladder" look plush, but in the end I had no broken bones, and even my new racing bike was in perfect condition. The next few days very pretty painful but I was racing again soon enough. I just received my settlement check about 3 weeks ago, however. Ironic considering who I am working for.

Honorable Mention, August 6th: The Orphanage

We played a gig down in the heart of Bridgeport, away from the areas the northsiders only know, west of familiarity, deep in the roots of the southside. There was no booze, no smoke, no noise. Only open minds, artistry, good food, and genuine appreciation.

7. August 23rd:The End of the World

I watched those massive storms that afternoon roll in from the 7th floor of the Wrigley Building. I don't think I've ever seen the sky get blacker and more menacing that fast. Seeing the rain come down that intense and the flags that stiff makes you appreciate the indoors for sure. I'll never forget hearing the sound of that thunder, ripping apart the roiling clouds right on top of the lightning.

8. August 27th: "You're Fired"

Enough said. No, really.

9. September 9th: The Illinois State Team Time Trial Championships, Utica

I have never dug deeper to finish a race than on this day. I won't go into detail since you can read all about it here, but crossing the finish line, I had gained a newfound sense of accomplishment, and pride, in myself and for my teammates. As well as a lesson in not judging a book by its cover. Let's call him Peter (ha ha, Peter). At first he may have rubbed me the wrong way, as normally I'd normally not have much in common with a brash guy like him. Bragging, a lot of swagger (not that he doesn't back it up - 3 wins I think this year?) and not a lot of restraint, shall I say, in public speaking, is a nice way of putting it. He was really jumping at the bit during training and at the start of the race to go fasterfasterfaster. And when I got into trouble at the beginning, I expected he was going to want to move on, leave me to get dropped, to finish as best as possible. Yet, at those darkest moments in the time-trial, gasping into that headwind and redlining, it was Peter who was at my side, drafting for me leeward, and telling me, "it's ok, Brian. We've all been there. Don't feel bad." And then Peter, Jon, and Leonard brought me back and we finished with a very respectable 7th place in the open men's open division. I can't wait to do this race in 2008.

10. September - December: "You're Hired" x 3

There's sort of a lot to this one so I have to lump it all together. Waiting tables and working retail at a presitigous wine store before finally starting my new full time gig has given me a lot of perspective on my life and career choice moving forward (although, obviously not that much since I'm still blogging at work - but really, I am one of 3 people in this entire cube bank this week - this place is a graveyard today). It all really is a balance between play and work, between enjoyment and the recourses you need. That's all I'll really say, but even so, I really enjoyed the change in pace. And by that I mean working for cash and learning a lot more about wine and people.

And for those of you who are still wondering how that bottle of 1986 Chateau Chase-Spleen turned out? Amazing. Here's the thing about pairing wine and food: each should be good enough on it's own. So that when you have the two together, you are struck by the realiztion that something was even missing from either. It should go together like a puzzle piece. And that bottle of wine and beef stew I enjoyed with friends that evening in Evanston was just that. The wine coming apart at the grains just like the beef stew, and those aged, wise tanins just below the surface of the almost disapated acidity meshed oh-so-perfectly with the brown sugar and cinnamon of the gravy.

Thanks 2007. You - and everyone and everything in it - were gravy.

Ciao.

Mirror Image art car was created by Dennis Clay when he attached two VW beatles together. This car is represented by the Art Car Agency

Mirrormobile was created by Bob Corbet by attaching sheets of mirror to the outside of his Osmobile.
This car is represented by the Art Car Agency

Miss Vicky - artist Dean Pauley, St. Louis -
photographer Maurice Roberts 1997

This car is represented by the Art Car Agency
Scot "Extremo the Clown" Campbell

This car is represented by the Art Car Agency

The Love 23 Art Car was created Kathleen Pearson, a station wagon covered in a lot of toys and pez candy dispensers on the roof. Nice outfit as well.

by fciron

This car is represented by the Art Car Agency
Buick of Unconditional Love was created by Philo Northrup

This car is represented by the Art Car Agency
By Slim Sirnes

Here is a few Art Cars from last years Huston Art Car parade, enjoy

Eartha Karr created by Blake More is a beautiful 1978 Mercedes 300CD running on Bio diesel. Blake is also a dancer, writer, artist and has an amazing list of accomplishments. This picture was taken during Art Car Fest 07 last year and I am looking forward to seeing her again in 08. There are not many Mercedes Art Cars out there, hers is truly amazing.

The Radio Flyer Art Car was created Art Baker and his cousin, Bob Castaneda, in 1996 as a way to get a laugh and to "make people smile." It was It was built in 1996 from a 1923 Ford T-bucket and it is a regular at all the Art Car Fest events. I recently found a great story of the creation of the Radio Flyer written by Eilene Spear for the Davis Life Magazine called the Wagon Man, check it out.

Disappointed with the boring styling of conventional cars, Terry Axelson designed a vehicle with more personal appeal. Powered by two legs and a three-speed transmission, the Banana Bike can reach speeds up to 30 miles per hour. This Fiberglas and steel Art Car regularly cruises the streets of Sunnyville, California, where it is sometimes taunted by shouts of "Peel out!" Pictured in the Banana bike is Chuck Cirino of Weird TV, a show specializing in alternative culture.

Miss Vicky - artist Dean Pauley, St. Louis -
photographer Maurice Roberts 1997

Miss Vicky

This 1965 Dodge Dart has been shortened over 3ft and literally cut in half. It was created for 1960s pop star artist Tiny Tim who was famous for the song "Tip Toe Through The Tulips". It was hand painted with the song in mind and named "Miss Vicky" after his first wife, who he married on the Johnny Carson show on Dec 17, 1969. Tiny Tim rode in this car in 1995 in which he served as grand marshall in the Soulard Mardi Gras parade in St. Louis, MO.

Owned by:
Dean Pauly, St. Louis, MO

Joe Gomez of San Antonio, Texas, relates that "One day when I was in bed, I dreamt that I was building a wrought iron car. I woke up, ran to the kitchen and got some paper, and started sketching. My wife thought I was crazy . . . . Everything on this car is handmade, nothing is factory. It took me a little bit better than nine months. The reason I chose the Volkswagen is because the motor's in back -- otherwise I'd have all the fumes in front." The car brought more customers to Gomez's wrought-iron company than he could handle, and he soon retired. He later found out that two other people have made wrought-iron Volkswagens!

The Stink Bug
Carolyn Stapleton
Orlando, Florida

What do you get when you mix; a classic VW Beetle, thousands of used cigarette butts, dozens of tubes of silicon caulk, gallons of clear sealant with a desire to "make a difference"? The "Stink-Bug" that's what! This funky 2000 lb. Mosaic of art, aversion therapy and tribute employs the most insidious form of "litter" around-- cigarette butts. Stretching the definitions of "Art" and "Artist Materials" Carolyn Stapleton has resurrected her previous artcar "Litter Bug" into a rolling, stinking, coughing memoriam to Smokers and non-Smokers alike. Yes, it really coughs! You can read the Stinkbug's whole story at www.thestinkbug.com

Hamburger Harley
by Harry Sperl
Daytona Beach, Florida

This is Harry's hamburger motorcycle. It is complete with mustard and ketchup bottle shock covers, fries, shake, and steam coming off the stack of meat and cheese. Originally from Germany, Harry feels the hamburger is Americana and an icon of the United States. He also loves to eat hamburgers one of his favorite meals. You can get better acquainted with Harry at his website at www.burgerweb.com

Harrod Blank's 1965 VW bug is called O My Gawd after people's reaction to it. (courtesy of Harrod Blank)

Larry Fuente of California converted his 1960 Cadillac into a Mad Cad car by gluing jewels, beads, female mannequins and plastic ducks on it. (courtesy of Harrod Blank)

I found this beauty at Top Speed, a Lamborghini Art Car. First of all its probably the fastest art car out there and second it has the most incredible art work done to it. A bold car made more so with fantastic tribal looking art, almost primitive and savage, in a good way. The only problem is that it's too fast for most parades, most art cars out there have an average top speed of 55mph and a 0-60 in about 15 minutes with all the stuff glued on and sticking off the roof rack, the rest off us would be left in the dust as you took off.Overall a very nice and sweet ride!!!!

This isn’t the first time I have asked this question. What exactly is the CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES mission? I’ll bet if you asked a dozen fans you’d get a dozen different answers, same is likely true of a dozen CCWS employees. It is unthinkable that CCWS employees wouldn’t know what the company is trying to accomplish.

So for 2008 I will once again lay out what I think should be the next (should have been the first) step for the business of CCWS. You cannot start to fix something if you cannot identify the problem. It is my opinion that CCWS is broken and surely has been since the CART bankruptcy. Since the three amigos raised this Phoenix from the ashes the single biggest disappointment to me has been inconsistency. As far as I can see they have not been able to describe what it is they are trying to accomplish.

This is why I ask, what’s the mission? If a business is to be successful it must have a mission, something everyone in the company can grasp and work towards. A simple mission statement can achieve this and more. The Best Care in the Air, my favorite mission statement which just happens to come from favorite airline is simply perfect. It easily fits on the back of a business card and describes what the company is trying to achieve. How could anyone in that company get it wrong?

Simply put if you don’t have a stated mission how can you ever expect to achieve it? And to me Champ Car feels like a company without a mission.

A mission statement can become the most important sentence a company will ever pen. Every business decision must be tested by the mission statement as to relevance. If some department manager is trying to run his own agenda you will soon know, when his decisions are put to the test. Every budget, every hire, every fire, even salaries must meet the relevancy test. When this is done from the top down you will then have an organization in which every employee is working towards a common goal.

So who is responsible for developing the mission statement? The man in charge who every that is, it is ultimately his responsibility. I would think the owners of the business would drive this issue and make sure that their subordinates live by it.

All departments in the company can have mission statements and they should dovetail nicely into each other and the company mission statement. This can even make planning easier by separating the must haves from the discretionary.

All employees should have written goals and objectives that will all fit together as one and drive the company mission. They would be developed from the top down so that there is no doubt about the reason for having them. When I read the lowest level employees G’s and O’s I should be able to then read his managers and see how they are intertwined and so on up to the top.
A tightly organized company like this is more likely to be successful than a loosely organized one like I see in CCWS.

So Champ Car, WHERE IS THE MISSION STATEMENT?

All I can say to say to this is "Darn It!!!". I had this idea about six years ago when I was contemplating creating an art car. Cover the entire car in reflectors of all kinds and then some, but I didn't have the reflectors to begin with. Actually there was this guy who had covered his entire front yard and fence with reflectors but the neighbors asked him to take it all down. So I figured at first that he would let me have them to put on my car, but he did not, so I moved on. This car is definitely a night job.
Photo found at Fightin' Mad Mary's blog.

Tips On How To Save Money On Car Insurance
By Charles C.

Some things in life are free. Car insurance is not one of those things, and it can be rather darn expensive. Here are some ideas on how to save money on car insurance.

Depending upon what state you live in, having car insurance may not only be a smart way to protect your car, it may also be the law. Certain states require that drivers carry insurance on their vehicle, and for good reason. Car repairs can be very expensive, and most people do not have a few thousand dollars set aside just in case of an accident.

Since car insurance is something we need to spend money on, we should try to save money while we're doing it, right?

Here are a few tips to help you save money on your car insurance bill.

1. Get quotes from more than 1 company. You are severely limiting the money you might save by signing up with the first company you get a quote from.

2. See if your employer has any special relationships that might entitle you to cheaper insurance. Some companies that are only available to groups have incredibly attractive rates and is a great way to save money.

3. Some companies offer percentage discounts for a good driving record, good grades in school, and defensive driving courses. A defensive driving course might cost you a few hundred bucks, but it might save you multiples of that over the next few years. Check with the insurance company to see which programs qualify for this discount.

4. Make sure your motor vehicle record doesn't have any wrong information. Identity thieves have figured out that it is not too difficult to get their moving violations on someone Else's record.

5. Carrying a higher deductible, for example $1000 instead of $500, can lead to lower rates. If you are not prone to having accidents, a higher deductible might be a good choice for you to save money.

6. If you have a teenage driver, consider having them get their own policy. At least get quotes to compare whether they are adding unnecessary expense to your rates.

7. Move to a rural area. This is probably not a viable option, but car insurance does vary heavily by area and state. More densely populated areas oftentimes have much higher rates than rural areas.

8. If your vehicle is completely paid for, you may only need to carry a minimal amount of insurance. Check with your insurance company and state laws to see if you're required to carry coverage such as liability, collision, or comprehensive coverage.

9. Some car insurance companies will give a discount if you have an alarm or theft-deterrent device installed. If your car doesn't have one already, consider getting one.

There you have it. A few free tips on how to save money on your car insurance. Some may work for you and some may not, but you won't know if your getting the best rate unless try to implement some of these tips. Good luck in reducing your car insurance bill!

Would you like to save money on car insurance but aren't sure how? One way is to get a free quote from a few different auto insurance companies. Try it for yourself. Get a free car insurance quote in 5 minutes or less at http://www.saveOnCarInsurance27.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_C.
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Yvonne Millner of Hopkins decided one day to give everyone a smile by creating a happy face on her 1996 Mitsubishi Mirage using nail polish. She has painted designs and slogans all over the car, including an American flag, a palm tree, and the phrase 'hang loose'. Milner has so far used about 112 bottles of nail polish to make her creation. That's a great way to use up all those nail polish bottles laying around, I know because my wife has a whole box of them she hardly uses. Yvonne I would like to welcome you into the Art Car World, you definitely have made a good first impression, and we hope to see you driving in the 2008 Art Car Parade season. If you'd like to help with her art car email Millner to donate your extra nail polish bottles.