Miscellaneous Enthusiasms

"Funny Little Cars"

Micro and Mini cars: tiny vehicles mostly produced in Europe 1948-65 to provide basic motorized transportation. Rarely over 12 feet long or weighing more than 1500 pounds (and usually much smaller), they almost always bring a smile to the face of anyone who sees them. There were dozens of marques; I'm a big fan of Goggomobils. So much so that a few years ago I finally bought one for myself!

My Goggo Coupe! Acquired in 2005
Gould's Mini and MicroCar Classic Photos of the local Micro and Mini Car event
Vintage Microcar Club A US national organization of collectors and enthusiasts
Bruce Weiner's Microcar Museum Probably the largest collection of microcars in the world
Uwe Stauffenberg's Goggo Site The source of Goggomobil parts and info
Boogerballs Despite the inelegant name, a very nice source of wearable small-car art
Crosley Car Club One of the few US-made minicars
King Midget Car Club The other US-made microcar, produced 1946-69

Cartoons & Cartooning

I've always liked cartoons, animated or still, and the more I learn about how they're made the more impressed I am with the skills of their creators. In 2009 and 2010 I attended the New England Webcomics Weekend, which was a blast. Watch for the next one!
Below are a few of the online webcomics I've enjoyed or am following. I recommend reading back through at least some of their archives, to get a sense of the stories and characters.

Schlock Mercenary Extraordinarily rich and amusing space adventure: "Military Humor ... Evolved"
Girl Genius "Steam Punk" sci-fi adventure set in an imagined Victorian-esque feudal Europe
Wapsi Square Strange but engrossing tale of "a girl, her dog, and the Aztec god of alcohol" in a Minneapolis neighborhood, and far beyond
Alone In a Crowd Cute, humorous & profound look at love and devotion
The Dragon Doctors Imaginative tales of a group of techno-magical healers
Dreamland Chronicles Gorgeous 3-D-like images of adventures in a fairytale world only a slumber away from ours
The Wotch Magical goings-on at a high school. Seems to be in hiatus now.
You'll Have That Gentle comic of a young guy and his wife. Now completed, alas: read the archives.

LiveJournal

These online blogs are so easy to do that I decided to get one for myself. Not that I'm likely to say anything of note in it...
"Moments of Inertia"

Updated November 11, 2010