New Blogging Duties

So I rarely have the time to devote to this blog these days, and it looks like that is only going to be increasingly true over the next few months.HOWEVER, I will be blogging all sorts of Power Sports goodness at the new Branchville Motors & Vespa Ridgefield blog.Check it out!This way I can blog about cool scooter and motorcycle stuff during the down times at work, without violating my old-school

Rules for the Cult of Capitalism

Recently, my buddy Klint renamed his Technoccult blog, Renegade Futurist, and his focus for the blog seems to shifted some.No worries, though, he's posting some awesome stuff like this "Rules for the Cult of Capitalism":3. When the government charges for its services (taxes), this is theft. When private enterprises charge for food and rent, this is just. 4. Theft is the worst crime known to man.

What do Scooterists Want in a Steed?

Steve over at The Scooter Scoop recently conducted a survey which polled scooterists on what they would like in a dream scooter. (Though I participated in the survey, I didn't link to it, because The Scooter Scoop wasn't displaying in my browser for several days.)The results of the polling are pretty interesting. Though no brands are mentioned, the statistics give a pretty good idea of why Vespas

What is a "Honky-Tonk Dragon"?

I've just realized that we are rapidly approaching the Dragon's second birthday.And I guess it is about time that I publicly address the question of just what this blog is really about.Like writing an artist's statement, this is a project I've attempted many times, but never been able to satisfactorily complete. The working definition I've been operating under for at least the last year, is that

Scooter Rumors

2Stroke Buzz is also reporting that LML, the former Vespa licensee and manufacturer of Genuine's Stella, is going to be producing a four-stroke, manual-shift, P-series clone. Even better the scoot will be available in displacements up to 250cc!No word yet, if Genuine will be importing them stateside.I've also heard some rumors that Piaggio is at work on a similar project. I don't recall a link

Scootering in the Wall Street Journal

No less a mainstream media institution than the WSJ ran a story recently about scooter usage by suit wearing executives in Paris.For Parisians in the business world, motor scooters -- two-wheeled vehicles with engines that are generally smaller than motorcycles and have automatic transmissions -- are an acceptable means of transportation. The convention has moved into the highest ranks of some

Vitruvian Barbie by Michael Morris

Well, it seems that Michael Morris read my belated post about his recent print exhibition, and was kind enough to send me images of my favorite pieces from that show.Above is Vitruvian Barbie, which obviously comments on ideals of beauty, both classical and modern, as well as consumerism and mass production. Those themes seem pretty accessible to any viewer with a passing exposure to pop culture

Scooters and Art

Have I mentioned lately, how much I love my new job?I'm sure I probably have, but today was the best day yet at work.The day pretty much started with delivering a vintage Vespa to a customer in upstate New York. It was the first time I'd done a delivery, and I was very nervous about driving the shop truck with the hydraulic ramp. Plus, having just moved to New England, I'm not familiar with all

Online Tools/Resources for Visual Artists

So, like a relapsing junkie, or a backsliding Baptist, the Dragon has of late, resumed easel-painting in earnest. In fact, embracing this life-long obsession, has been one of the reasons why my posts have been so infrequent and brief the past coupla weeks.To laundry list and extrapolate on the reasons for my seven year hiatus from my painting addiction, would an exercise in self-indulgence which

Sexy Vespa Messenger Bag

So one of the things I'm doing at Vespa Ridgefield, is going through some of the inventory that has been hanging around too long, or worse yet, has been stuck in a corner of a basement. There are definitely some strange artifacts, and rifling through them has been kinda fun.Some items I'm putting on ebay. And I promise I won't be blogging about every obscure nut and bolt I list, but when I come

Beatle Bailey Scoots (and Bikes!)

One of the things I'm adjusting to with this move, is just how many extremely talented folks live hereabouts. Keith Richards and Jose Feliciano both have been known to show up at a local saloon's open mic, for instance.Or, these cool ads for our shop, that were tweaked by legendary cartoonist Mort Walker, creator of Beatle Bailey and Hi and Lois. We had a drawing for an original comic by Mr.

Paying Dues, or Jimmy Olsen's Blues

Well, I've progressed to working at Vespa Ridgefield full-time, and am basically loving it.I add the qualifier to that statement, because at the tender age of 36, it kinda feels like I'm starting all over again. While I enjoy everyday at work, everyday is also a reminder of how much I have to learn. The concept of the aspiring journalist starting out in a newspaper's mail room comes to mind.Which

The Scooter Scoop Sells Out!

Of course I kid!I kid because I love!The Dragon wishes extreme congratulations to Steve Guzman of the Scooter Scoop for his new job as US front man for Italjet scooters.While it has been mentioned in the scooter blogsphere that Steve is putting his credibility on the line with this development, and even Steve himself has said that he may stop reviewing other scooter manufacturer's products

Unconvential Marketing Wisdom

Slate has an interesting article up about how Starbucks can actually improve the business of local Mom & Pop coffee houses. If you think about the role of Starbucks in coffee-culture at all, you probably think that the opening of a Starbucks means the closing of a local, independently owned java-joint. And this does certainly happen, but...But closures like this have been the exception, not the

The Dragon's Portfolio and Guerrilla Marketing

I began this blog almost two years ago with intent of it being a platform for promoting my creative endeavors, as well as a tool for archiving the assorted internet weirdness that inspires me. In that time, well it's turned into something slightly different.Ironically, I guess one of the reasons for that divergent development is that I have a hard time tooting my own horn, despite that being the

Scooterlife

So for the past few weeks I have been working at what has to be one of my dream-jobs. That's right, I'm working at a Vespa dealership! Vespa Ridgefield and Branchville Motors, which are two faces of the same Janus-like business, is where I'm spending my mornings. In addition to Vespas, we sell Triumphs and Moto-Guzzis, as well as the best selection of high-quality riding gear I've ever seen under

Art and Commerce

I promised some scooter photos a couple days back, so here you go...Actually, fulfilling that pledge is only a secondary purpose of this post. The real motive behind this post is to notify the world that I now have a small select group of fine art prints available for purchase at Imagekind.And by small I mean, um... three.For the past week or so, I've been distracted from my usual quirky, snarky

Meditations of a Bibliophilic Nomad

Warning: Extremely Stream-of-Consciousness Post Ahead!Still preoccupied with the various tasks associated with moving, and therefore neglecting the blog.Moving gives life a syntax, a grammar. It allows us to gaze Janus-like at the path behind us and the road ahead.The Dragon is of course a lazy nomad. I seem to camp out somewhere for a period of years, before moving on, and have yet to find a

A Scooterist Architect's Master Thesis

Wow!It's been a little bit since I've blogged any new scooter posts, but here is a hum-dinger for all you serious scooter geeks out there.Stephanie Winters' Masters thesis for architecture at University of Cincinnati is supa-cool. (And when was the last time you heard that about a Master's thesis?) She has created a structure with the intent of being an immersive, interactive, scooterist's

DIY Publishing

DIY PublishingMicrocosm Publishing has a new mini-guide out: Let's DIY: Tips and Tricks on Organizing Zine Workshops Microcosm PublishingAT $1 somebody out there needs this.