It means buying books and letting them pile up unread. The word dates back to the very beginning of modern Japan, the Meiji era (1868-1912) and has its origins in a pun. Tsundoku, which literally means reading pile, is written in Japanese as 積ん読.
March 27, 2020
Live Deliberately
This fella has the right idea: get the motorhome packed, hand a ‘sled on the back, and head into the back of beyond until this all blows over. As Thoreau said: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
February 18, 2020
Poetry in the Garage
Just ordered this small book from Etsy of a collection of motorcycle inspired odes. It’ll make a change from the oily thumbed workshop manual…
January 29, 2020
Rubeus’ flying motorcycle
Amusement Ride | more excitement and fun from the further escapades of the Harry Potter world. This time a roller coaster utilizing Hagrid’s Triumph sidecar outfit as the carriages. As we know I’m sure it’s not as good as the real thing…
January 11, 2020
Arboreal Adventures
Walden Wanderin’
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms…
Henry David Thoreau
November 5, 2019
Hey Ridley, you got any Beemans?
Herding Cat | Today is playwright Sam Shepard’s birthday. Born in 1943 he acted in, wrote, directed and won numerous awards for dozens of plays. I remember him for his role in The Right Stuff as iconic supersonic pilot Chuck Yeager. Shepard died in 2017 aged 73
September 28, 2019
The Triumph Chronicles
Space Man | peering over the ‘bars like some Ray Bradbury character a modern desert sled pilot scans a desolate horizon and aims the Triumph Scrambler towards a distant point in the future.
September 23, 2019
Ads
39 Years Ago | Recently my family acquired a stack of old Classic Bike magazines from the Eighties. A few made it back to the States from our recent trip to Scotland. Here’s a typical classified back page where information on parts, repair, sales were a key part of vintage motorcycle restoration and maintenance. Remember this is a generation before the all seeing and doing InterWeb. The monthly magazines were essential reading for the enthusiast.
August 10, 2019
42
Six by Nine | I managed to get a spin on the Tiger yesterday going between project locations. Weather was perfect and a quiet backroad empty of traffic.
May 25, 2019
Read all about it!
‘Zines | Whatever your interest there is a magazine for it. And, in the specialist topic of motorcycling, there are sub genres covering everything from custom, classic/vintage, off road, on road, Day-to-day riding, travel & adventure. We have a great magazine store in Evanston with a great selection.
May 14, 2019
Ralph
The Mouse and the Motorcycle | I need to conjure up a children’s book like this one… adventure for a diminutive rodent mammal. The original tale was written in 1965 by Beverly Cleary.
March 28, 2019
Amphibian Rider
Poop-Poop | one of the great environmental books to read is Kenneth Graham’s tale from the riverbank: The Wind in the Willows. Mr Toad of Toad Hall always finds the adventurous side of life as can be seen in the latest animated offering being released this summer. In the trailer he’s haring along a country lane on a vintage motorcycle only to come a cropper.
“The Open road, the dusty highway, the heath, the common, the hedgerows, the rolling downs; Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that’s always changing! ” Toad
March 11, 2019
“…I’d rather be happy than right any day.”
Slartibartfast | The renowned Magrathean planet designer who won awards for his coastline design of the Norwegian fjords. These are roads I would most certainly like to travel upon with two wheels.
Today -11th March – is interstellar Towel day; being the birthday of Douglas Adams (1952-2001)
January 6, 2019
Do or Do Not… there is no Try
Resolute – It is typical of the New Year for us to put on the mask of Janus and look back at what we achieved (or not) the previous year and thus look forward to the coming twelve months and make a determination of what we want to achieve. Usually in an effort to better ourselves; and, in a way, make this time we have count. Me? I’m not a big one for ‘resolutions’ but it’s fun to think of things that you would like to try and do. A list you ask? Well, here goes:
- Write/Illustrate a children’s book.
- Ride the Triumph Tiger more.
- Sketch more.
- Ride the Lake Michigan loop.
- Fettle the Bonneville for occasional vintage runs.
- Get the Cub out onto some off-road shenanigans.
January 2, 2019
R1-D1
I, Robot – in 2017 Yamaha displayed their autonomous riding motorcycle being hurled around a racetrack at speed. Today is the 99th birthday of science writer Isaac Asimov who created the three rules of robotics:
- First Law – A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- Second Law – A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- Third Law – A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
