The Amerivespa 2006 site has been updated with a more-or-less final itinerary. Amerivespa is the official national Vespa Club of America rally, and will take place July 27-30 in Denver, CO. Online registration opens on Saturday. Registering online gets you more swag for your money, joining VCOA saves you $10, as well as four issues of American Scooterist and other good stuff.
Motorcyclist Airbags
I’m not quite sure how much motorcycle airbags would help the chap in the video who is riding a sports bike in a t-shirt, but you can’t help the low levels of common sense in some people. Still, great to see this idea/technology put into practice. Personally, I would forget I’m wearing it, and end up looking much like the Michelin man after I forgot to unhook myself.
Kalaisha Watrous Fund
Portland, OR, scooterist Kalaisha Watrous was seriously injured in an accident on Wednesday. Her club, Twist and Play SC, has set up a donation fund and a site with donation and contact info and news about the crash. 2sb’s fingers are crossed for Kalaisha’s speedy recovery.
Honda unveils new Forza
Honda announced yesterday that their popular-but-unavailable-in-the-US-what-else-is-new Forza 250 range of scooters has been updated for a May release. Aside from cosmetic improvements, it’s been fitted with a seven-speed, three-mode Honda S-matic motor. Sounds a bit cooler than the Reflex.
Do you Ikoo?
I found this on a British forum today, it seems like something you’d maybe keep in the trunk of your car for a dire emergency rather than the urban assualt vehicle they are hyping it up to be. Either way, it’s an interesting and fun looking little electric scooter: Do you Ikoo?
Resolved! And Redesigned (a little)
Still no email, and member login is a little wonky, (try clearing your cookies and cache if you’re having problems), but last night we shuffled the layout around a little, and everything else should be working fine. Please post a comment to let me know if you notice any problems.
What Rocks Us: Stereolab
Stereolab:
“Super-Electric”
from the Black Sessions (French radio?)
Alfredo and I went to see Stereolab last week (thanks Alf!), and while the show was really really great, it was the first time I’d seen them without guitarist/backing vocalist Mary Hansen, who was killed in a bicycle accident in London in 2002. The band bravely and wisely went on without her, replacing most of her vocals with french horn and trombone, which works amazingly well. I only recognized a few songs they played, it was heavy on the newer stuff, which, again, is all very good, but their spiffy professional musicianship now lacks the slacky, noisy indie charm of their first few records, in the same way that today’s Belle and Sebastian just isn’t the same as “Lazy Line Painter Jane.” Both bands have always been tight and densely layered, but both have mellowed out sonically with age.
So in tribute to Mary and the concert last week, here’s a great live version of their first Too Pure single, “Super-Electric,” with Lætitia and Mary on vocals, from French radio circa 1993. It was my favorite Stereolab song until Vina and I decided to get married while “Jenny Ondioline” happened to be playing.
Scootermatik Customshow 2006
About a billion photos from a German custom twist ‘n’ go show. Neat! Thanks, Myk Brooke.
Best… Bust… ever.
Nestled within the usual ads for yarn and alternative menstruation products, the April/May 2006 issue of Bust features a story about “biker gangs” for women. Though it covers bicycle, motorcycle, and scooter clubs, the Secret Servix SC monopolized the bulk of the text and photos, along with the Baltimore Bombshells and a couple other girls’ clubs. If that’s not enough to get you running to the newsstand, you also get Gretchen Mol convincingly dressing up like Bettie Page, and a story on comics artist Julie Doucet. Nice! Janel clearly made the right choice hiring Vina as her publicist.
TAG’s “What Scooter?”
TAG (formerly Twist and Go) magazine has a What Scooter? Database that appears to be carefully updated with all available UK-spec models. A great reference if you’re looking for a new scooter, but don’t get your hopes up if you live in the US, many aren’t available here. Thanks, Dave, for the link.
Vespa sponsors Dubai Fusion Fest
Without getting too political, reading about an event like this provokes a lot of thought, for me anyway, about the war in the Middle East and the Dubai port deal. Drop iPods, not bombs.
Townsend Kids’ Vespa shirt
If you’re into scooters, skateboarding, rock and roll, and heavily-branded sportswear, and have kids, check out Townsend kid’s clothing; their mod Vespa shirt is on sale right now. That reminds me, they sell Hurley kid’s shirts at Costco:
Vina: “We should get this for Liam“
Bryan: “He doesn’t even know what Hurley is.”
Vina: “Just tell him it’s a skateboard shirt”
Bryan: “I don’t think Hurley even makes skateboards, they just make shirts.”
Thanks for the link, M5.
The Baron in Spring
Believe it or not, Gary Charpentier’s Baron 150SX ran like a top all winter. I think Gary was even a bit surprised, what with naming his blog “The Baron in Winter.” So he ran a contest to re-name the blog. I won’t spoil the results, you can read about the name change here.
Do’s and Dunst
Kirsten Dunst doesn’t seem to have the same two-wheeler aptitude as Reese. Thanks Professor Matthew. (Anyone out there looking to hire a professor?)
Pimp my Vespa?
From a Globe and Mail story about the new “MTV Canadia:”
“I joked that … we’re going to see Pimp My Snowmobile,â€? Mr. LeBlanc says with a chuckle, a reference to the popular MTV program Pimp My Ride in which old cars are restored and customized to hip status. It may not be that much of a joke. Mr. Schwartz notes that MTV in Germany has a version called Pimp My Bicycle, and in Italy they’re developing Pimp My Vespa.