Farewell to a truth-teller

This entry was posted in culture humor media politics and tagged george carlin truth on by

One of the greatest truth-tellers of the 20th century  died last night when George Carlin succumbed to heart failure. Carlin was perhaps of the funniest humorist of our time but he was much more than a comic.  He held up a mirror to the world to expose the hypocracy and absurdity of modern life.  While some criticised Carlin for the coarse language he often used, it was in fact a tool in his verbal arsenal.  One of the long standing topics of his monologues was the euphamism.  Carlin was an advocate of calling a spade a spade, not softening shell-shock to battle fatigue and then PTSD.  He used language to describe everything from the horror of war, to silliness of the hippy-dippy weatherman, to consumerism, to germs.  Carlin has inspired the likes of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.  The world needs more people willing to stand up speak truth to power in such an eloquent manner.

What do you suppose the chances are that the media will celebrate this truth teller in the way they fawned over Tim Russert last week.  Unfortunately that won’t happen even though it should.  Carlin provided us with far more reality than Russert ever did.  We’ll miss you George.

You never who you’ll see in Yellow Springs

This entry was posted in this and that TV on by

It’s funny who you see when you visit a small town in Southern Ohio. Jules and I went down to Yellow Springs Ohio on Friday for a yoga workshop that she wanted to attend.  Jules has been there four or five times before and never seen one of the most famous residents of this small town.  It was my first visit.  Jules went to a morning class on her own while I sat in a coffee shop writing.  After about  45 minutes I looked up and noticed this gentleman standing there.  I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pics but decided not to bother him further.  You may recall seeing him previously on his former show on Comedy Central.  Dave’s father was a professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs.

Bathing birds

This entry was posted in birds photography on by (updated 6560 days ago)

As I was out working in the yard this weekend I filled the two bird baths and guess what? That’s right the birds started bathing.  As I sat on the deck this afternoon looking for subjects to write about on ABG, camera at my side the birds started to arrive.  Most of them just stood on the side and had a drink, but a big fat robin got in and started splashing around.

My latest plaything 4

This entry was posted in cars on by (updated 6562 days ago)

Here’s what I’ve been driving this week. It’s an Audi R8 and boy is it fun most of the time!  Unfortunately this particular example is fitted with semi automatic transmission that seems to try it’s hardest to make the driver look like someone who can’t drive a stick.  The car itself is drop dead gorgeous and fast when the gearbox cooperates.

Maximum Max at the TDI Cup

This entry was posted in cars family stuff racing travel and tagged max volkswagen beetle jetta tdi cup on by (updated 6589 days ago)

Max and I are in Virginia this weekend for the inaugural race of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup. You can read all about that at Diesel Forecast and AutoblogGreen. If you’ve been watching TV in recent weeks you might have seen Volkswagen’s new brand campaign featuring a series of interviews between some pseudo celebrities and “Max”. Max is the star of the ads and he/it is here this weekend for the race. Max and Max met face to face for the first time this morning. The TV Max is the one on the right in the commercials.

Cuban food in Manhattan

This entry was posted in food and tagged auto show autoblog manhattan New York victor's cafe on by

I was on the road again this week, having spent a couple of days in Manhattan covering the New York Auto Show.  I can say with complete certainty that although New York and Chicago have better facilities than Cobo Hall in Detroit, we definitely have the best show in North America when it comes to newsworthy content.  One particularly annoying aspect of Manhattan is trying to catch a cab.  Although countless taxis drive by when you’re looking for one, finding one that doesn’t already have passengers can take forever.  After the Kia reception in Wednesday night I stood out in the rain for twenty minutes trying to get a cab.  However, once I finally got one and got back to the hotel it was worth it.  My Autoblog colleagues (John, Damon, Alex and Chris) and I walked about 6 blocks to one of Alex’s favorite restaurants in the city, Victor’s Cafe.  Alex lives in Connecticut and goes into the city fairly regularly.  Victor’s is a Cuban restaurant on W. 52nd and both the food and the service were absolutely outstanding.  I had the most amazing Paella that had shrimp, mussels, lobster, and chorizo.  The coconut flan for dessert was a great finish.  Even John who is a vegan and often has a hard time finding something he likes in restaurants enjoyed the Frijoles Negros.  If you’re ever in New York and looking for a great meal, check out Victor’s Cafe.

Driving the Tesla Roadster 2

This entry was posted in cars work writing on by (updated 6678 days ago)

Last week I finally got my chance to get behind the wheel of the amazing Tesla Roadster. The Roadster is an all electric sports car with some amazing performance. I was lucky enough to be the only online auto writer to get invited to drive the car in it’s near production spec. Check out the whole story at ABG. I also have an alternative telling of the story at my day job at GreenFuelsForecast. Let me know which version you prefer. I love my job!

Busy start to the year, from Detroit to Vegas and back again

This entry was posted in cars on by (updated 6688 days ago)

The first two weeks of 2008 have been pretty hectic. I had a ton of stories to write about all the cars debuting at the Detroit Auto Show which is opening to the public this weekend. In the middle of all that I flew out to Las Vegas for a couple of days to cover the unveiling of the Cadillac Provoq concept at CES and interview several GM executives. Once I got back it was into three solid days of covering the show. Lots of photos, words and espresso. Now you to can partake in some of this fun too. If you’ve got a way with words, and an interest in the future of transportation, you can now earn some extra money sharing your thoughts with the rest of the world. AutoblogGreen is looking for some extra contributors. Check out the requirements here and if you’re interested, submit some samples to Sebastian.  If you can write and you’re more interested in gadgets, the crew over at Engadget is looking too.