Pics of the new scoot

As promised here are some photos of my new (to me) 2005 Piaggio BV200. Not a lot of modifications to this beauty yet. Lucked out, and we had OEM side-cases, a wind-screen, and a top-box in stock.
The windscreen can be adjusted to two different heights, and has two parts to the shield, so that buffeting is reduced. The screen was pulled off a crashed bike, and required some sanding to remove scratches on the clear portion.
The BV didn't have any mirrors, so I ended up using some stock Moto Guzzi mirrors (currently found on Brevas and Norges) along with some SW-Motech mirror wideners.

The side-cases we had in stock were Royal Blue, while the scoot itself is Imperial Blue. The two shades are pretty close... good enough for now. The top case was Platinum, but we actually had some Royal Blue touch up paint in stock, so I painted it. I used three tiny one ounce bottles, and didn't quite get the full tone match. It is still a little lighter than any of the other pieces. Oh, well it fits the ten-foot rule, and is a good excuse for a custom paint job at some point in the future. I dipped into the collection of stickers I have been building for several years to personalize the top case a bit.
One more serious mod I did do was adding LED running / brake / indicator lights to the side cases. The lights turned out really well, and really increase the visibility of the scoot.

New Scooter!

Here's to my new-to-me scooter, a full dress 2005 Piaggio BV200 I picked up for next to a song and some sweat equity. It's deep blue with sidecases, a topcase, and windscreen. 16" wheels, front and back disc brakes, and a liquid-cooled, carbed, 200cc single cylinder four-stroke engine. Power outlet and light in the underseat compartment.

Straight Eurotrash pimpin, y'all!

While I was troubleshooting and reassembling the BV, I made a few minor upgrades. As you probably assumed from the previous paragraph, I painted the topcase. I added Add-More lighting LED running lights-brake lights-turn signals to the sidecases. After losing two scooters to being rearended, I prefer to take some extra precautions.

Though I have owned more powerful motorcycles, I think this is the most badass scooter I have ever owned. I had the P200, but what it may have had an edge in power, the BV makes up for in advanced engine design, brakes, wheel size, and suspension.

I'm currently trying to come up with a name for the it.

A scooter with a history like this one, deserves a name.

It had basically been given up on and left to be a donorcycle at the shop I work at. Turns out all it needed was a new radiator fan... well and few parts which had been gleaned off of it, like a fuel pump.
Luckily we also had near-color matched sidecases, a top case ( in another color), three bottles of touch up paint, and a take off adjustable windscreen. From my studying of piaggio color codes, I have three different parts in two different paint codes. But in certain light, it looks to me like three different shades of blue, not two. Ultimately, this will be my excuse for airbrushing the bike. I'm already making sketches for potential themes, even though I know that wouldn't happen until late next winter.
Still, a name might give the paint theme focus.
But knowing me, I won't come up with a name until I've painted it.

The themes I'm currently most seriously considering are either a Doctor Strange theme, or a blue fox theme. Though I am still open to inspiration. Any custom paint wouldn't begin until next winter, in any case, so I have plenty of time to brainstorm.

Regardless, with the new Italian scooter, I'm going to make a concerted effort to be more active in local scootering. So stay tuned here or the Branchville Motors blog for info on scooter rides and meetups in the Fairfield and Westchester County area.

Oh yeah, and photos of the new scoot are coming soon.

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 work ethic.

See you over there!

The Devil is Real

I was watching "Walk the Line" with Zoe the other day... and the scene where Johnny is talking about playing Folsom, and the record execs are telling him his church going audience won't approve... And the man in black says, "Well then they ain't real Christians." I've been thinking about that, and about how my Mama has always claimed religion would be alright if more Christians were religious the way the Man in Black was...

Mulling all that over, and then I find this awesome song, by probably the country's most under appreciated songwriter, Kevin Kerby... vocalizing thoughts that passed through my stoned teenage mind loitering in this exact same church parking lot twenty years ago...

Damn, Kevin, we don't deserve ya...

Dave Arneson has Left the Prime Material Plane

As is my wont of late, I am late in this post in observation of the late Dave Arneson, who failed his last saving throw versus Cancer earlier this week.
This means that the two main minds behind the origins of Fantasy Role Playing Games, have left us.
I know there were some issues about Dave not feeling he got his due credit for his role in the creation of Dungeons & Dragons, though for me personally, I always remember his name being right there on the front of my rule books.
Fare the well, Dave.

Now here's hoping Ken St. Andre will still be with us for awhile.

Scooting Again!

And Hello again!

Well, I have to plead fatherhood for the umpteenth time on my lack of posting recently.

But it is Spring, and I have a new (to me) scooter.


It's a 1992 Honda Elite 80. This little beauty came into the shop as a trade-in on a new Vespa, and I just couldn't bear to see him go to the wholesaler. So, I sold my Honda Magna 500, and bought this little guy. Probably the best downgrade of my life.

The Elite was a very faded Honda red when I got it. So the first thing I did was paint it white, with just little black along the bottom edge. Originally, I was planning airbrushing a 70s / 80s starfighter theme, you know along the lines of an X-Wing or Colonial Viper. But once I realized how much time such a project would likely consume, I decided to just emulate that vibe loosely with some hand-cut reflective vinyl. Not the showiest custom scooter, but I'm pretty happy with it.

I think this scooter lived most of its former life at a marina or making trips to the beach. The red paint was extremely faded, as was all the original black plastic and rubber. I decided that I liked the "patina" of dark grey plastic, rubber and vinyl, so I've left those parts alone.
Oh yeah, that cup-holder? It came with the scooter, and probably one of the things that endeared me to it.

Besides the painting and reflective vinyl, which the flash photo above illustrates the effectiveness of, most of my other customizations to date are also pragmatically centered on increasing visibility. After loosing my second scooter to being rear-ended, I have decided that I'd take as much control over being seen as possible. So I added a Givi topcase with an integrated brake-light, and a "Stopper" license plate brake-light. All-in-all I'd say it makes a big difference.


My last electrical upgrade was a volt-meter with integrated clock, thermometer, and black-ice warning. I thought this was almost a silly add-on at first... just a way to make it more retro-sci-fi, but I am finding that it is really nice to have all that info on the dash.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Elite 80, Honda made them for 22 years, from 1985-2007, so there are a lot of them out there and lot of replacement parts. There's not much in the way of performance upgrades, though Battlescooter has a few. Their exhaust is much nicer looking than the stock pipe, but I'm really not interested in making the bike louder, and the general consensus is that these bikes are best left alone, providing years of trouble-free reliable use as long as one does basic maintenance and accepts them for what they are.

For me, right now, what this bike is, is perfect. So far I've gotten an indicated 49mph on a long straight-away (and tucked, of course), but really I'm rarely on roads where I need to do 45. Most of my territory is 25 -35 mph zones, and the Elite can usually hold at least 30 even on the worst hills I face. I'm getting 100mpg, so it's great for commuting. Plus it is very light and maneuverable.

So for a new dad, who does most of his scooting between work and home, with the occasional run for small errands, the Elite is perfect. I hope to post some resources for near-vintage Japanese scooters, and a meditation on the safety differences between scooters and motorcycles, soon.

The Dragon's Unexpectedly Cute Spawn

Yes, I know I promised to keep the baby blogging to a minimum, but I've got relatives crying for blood over the lack of baby pictures.
Besides, just look at this cutie! I know drag queens who would kill for those lashes.

Amongst the overwhelming flood baby shower gifts, and even enough hand-me-downs to cloth an Appalachian village of infants and toddlers, was a 10 mega pixel DSLR.

One of the other productive things I've been doing, is working on an actual website for my artwork and photography and such. It's still a little barebones, but there is a gallery of baby photos. All the other galleries are public, but I've decided to require a password for access to the baby photos. I mass emailed a bunch of folks with the password, but if I neglected to send it to you, or it got caught in your spam filter, let me know and I'll send it to you.

I just figured only friends and family needed access to a soon to be vast archive of baby photos. Plus, my buddy Sky caught some flack for posting an innocent photo of his twins naked in their wading pool, a while back.... and well, I guess a little online paranoia is not a bad thing.

So while Honkytonkdragon.com is not fully functional at this time, there are some cool pictures up over there, mostly things I've posted here in the past, but collected all in one place. And there is more to come, of course. And if you have the misfortune to be one of the dragon's friends or family, and want to bask in the glory that is little miss Zoe, drop me a line, and I'll get you the access info.

T C and Me: A Little Rockumentary

Yet another documentary on the coolest little music scene you've never heard of, this one about the Rockingest of the Little Rockers, TC.

I can't wait to see this one, TC is one of those characters that once you meet him, he's burned into your psyche. He changed the way I looked at Metal (the man is like a Man-O-War song made flesh) and the way I look at shoes. Plus in the above preview, there are some clips Vic Wiley... Bonus!

TC, here's hoping Odin's smiling upon you.

Thanks for the tip Bircho!

New Ride

So after the dust settled from my crash I was of course looking for a new ride. Like I mentioned in the post about the wreck, insurance paid off well. From that angle, the timing of the accident was good, prices for vintage scooters have been crazy this year. The flipside of that was that prices were higher on scoots I was looking at for a replacement. On top of everything else, some unexpected expenses came up, so I was looking at being bike-less for some time.
Work was becoming like the torture of Tantalus, being surrounded by beautiful bikes, all of which were out of reach.
A rider without a bike, looks at anything with two wheels like a single 19 year old boy looks at anything with two breasts. I should stop with that analogy before I get myself in trouble, but you get my point.
One day this 1985 Honda Magna 500 came in as a trade-in. I interrogated all the guys in the shop about it, and they all had good things to say. And perhaps most importantly, it has a big wide flat surface on the top of the tank, which will be a great place for some custom paint.
So for around $600, including tax, title, and increase in insurance, I made the shift from scooterist to biker. The change hasn't been all that easy, though. First off, after over two years of scooter blogging, it almost feels like I'm betraying somebody or some ideal, by moving to a motorcycle.
I'm liking it though. Jes's mom asked me early on if I was comfortable with the bike, and I had to say, "No." It's bigger, faster, and more powerful than anything I've ever ridden. That's intimidating but it is also making me a better rider. The Magna also a tachometer, and oil temperature gauge, and watching those as I develop a feel for the bikes gearing and torque is also improving my skills. I hadn't really considered it before, but I think I was getting complacent with the P200. There wasn't much I could do on it to push my skills, besides long distance riding and pushing crazy fast cornering, neither of which I'm going to be doing with a newborn at home.
I've got some thoughts along these lines, which I will share with you more in the future. In particular I want to ruminate on the endless debate of which is safer, a scooter or a motorcycle.
In a similar vein, last week I took the Magna on the I-84 for the first time. It was just for a couple miles, but I was able to shift into overdrive, or 6th gear, and cruise at 60 mph at only 3500 rpms. Heh, this beast doesn't even redline until 12000. Definitely a different creature altogether than the p200.

Faster than the Speed of Life

Twenty-two years old
walked like an old man
good leg pulling the bad

life is quick
when that cage
has your name on it

he could limp
and he could fly
flying is faster

mangled flesh
and mangled steel
broken and empty

he left flying
and he won't have to limp
no more

flying is faster
when that cage
has your name on it

flying is faster
faster than the cage
faster than the speed of life

I'm still playing catch up on the blog posts, so pardon my tardiness in dedicating one to Orin. About two months after my crash, and a couple miles south on the same road, one of my co-workers had a worse accident while road testing a bike.

I miss him.

CRASH!

Yup.
I hate to report that one of the reasons my posting has been so sparse lately is that Quell was totaled a little over two months ago.
Fortunately, I was pretty much unscathed. The incident occurred at low speed, and I was wearing good gear.
At the instant of initial impact until I had pushed the scooter out of the middle of the road, every curse word I know, and a few I made up on the spot, went through my head. By the time I'd
secured the scene, I'd realized that I was OK, and with a new born at home, that's what mattered most.

I'd been making a right into the parking lot of Weir Farm National Park, and the driver of the Jeep behind me looked away at the wrong moment. This indiscretion aside, the driver was a stand-up guy, he admitted his mistake to the cops, and showed genuine concern over my well-being.

Luckily, my insurance company paid current value for the Vespa, which turned out to be about three times what I paid for it just two years ago... Unluckily... well that's another post...

Notes from the Dragon's Cave

Yes, I realize I've fallen off the face of the earth.
It has been a crazy Summer, what with Zoe being born, and working at a scooter dealership during the busiest year of scooter sales in American history. There have been some other developments in last couple months which I'll catch y'all up in due time.
I've managed to squeeze a couple minor creative projects into my schedule, and I hope to posting some images of those soon as well.
The first couple of months with Zoe were pretty intense. We had some periods of extreme colic, which pretty much meant that I was spending most of my free time bouncing our little bugaboo, so that Jes could have at least a few hours every day with lessened screaming. There is no way for me to describe the daily lessons I have been subjected to on unconditional love.
I really don't want this blog to become a baby-blog. But parenthood, combined with the realization that the big 40 is sneaking up on me, has caused me to be more introspective in my few private moments, and I would like to share some of those meditations eventually.

So anyway, more to come soon.

Buddha's Mom Wants to Know Why He Never Calls

My recent post Buddha was Deadbeat Dad has elicited more thoughtful responses (three!) than just about thing else I have posted in over two years of this blog's existence.
I feel little bad that the angle I took in that post was a little of the devil's advocate. At the same time, well, it got at least three people to thinking and writing, so whatever.

Above is a picture of Hui Neng, a pivotal figure in the development of Chan and Zen Buddhism. He is, of course, ripping up sacred scrolls. His point, supposedly, was that enlightenment is not to be found in texts, but in reality. Such is the inspiration behind such Zen mottos as "Mistaking the finger for the moon," and "If you meet Buddha in the road, kill him."

Sure this is all well and good, but how does it relate to parenting? More specifically, how does it relate to the secular spirituality of parenting?

My point in declaring Buddha a deadbeat dad, was in a way, to kill the Buddha in the road. True enlightenment is not dependent on weekend retreats, or even dedicating a half-hour a day of uninterrupted time to zazen. True enlightenment comes from being aware of where you are RIGHT NOW. That can be, as Robert Anton Wilson would have said, "Right where you are sitting now." It can also be awareness of yourself as you deal with a difficult client or co-worker. It can be the zen-like adrenaline high that comes from operating a scooter, which Steve Williams often alludes to on Scooter in the Sticks. Or it can be the awareness that your every action, every word, every subconscious attitude is being absorbed by the sponge like wailing infant, screaming inconsolably in your arms.

This concept of Buddhism being merely tool which is to be discarded once it has served its purpose is one of the most alluring aspects of it as a philosophy. Most religions and philosophies seem to want to rule your life, to become irrevocably integrated into your entire existence. Buddhism, like all great teachers... and most importantly for the purposes of this post, like all good parents, has its own obsolescence as it's goal.

There is definitely more to be discussed on this issue, and I welcome your thoughts.

If Buddha had a Scoot

Fatherhood has put a serious dent in my blogging, but not in my thinking, the B.S. -ing philosophizing part of my brain has gone into overdrive, I just have little time to record it.

Recently though I received the following email from Booboo Tannenbaum, and I thought I should share it. I'll comment on it in more depth in a later post.


Dear Honky-Tonk Dragon--

I bounced onto your website the other day while doing a search on a
winter Dianese jacket that my husband is crazy about, but obviously
can't afford ($1200?! zoinks!). But right away I fell in love with
your blog.

I also really like the song for your new daughter, Zoe, that Mark
Hinkley sang at your baby shower from your most recent post. Thanks a
bunch for sharing it, and congratulations on this transformative and
joyous new stage of your life.

While reading through the recent entries, you had one in May about
Buddha being a Dead-beat Dad. I read it about a week ago, and it's
been kicking around in my head for the last few days especially. I
know you weren't attacking Buddha, Buddhism, or religion in the post
itself--in fact, I quite agree with you completely that our families
are especially ripe circumstances for us to recognize and work with
the challenges of our egos, or our self-centered thinking. And I hope
you don't think it's presumptuous of me to write you about this
(especially if you're not interested in further conversation about
it), but the Buddha's teaching are all about the middle way, or the
"Middle Path".

Buddhism doesn't advocate withdrawal from the world, but recognition
that the world does not exist as we think it does. The Buddha's
teachings are very staunch in advocating the dangers of extremes--even
his years of ascetecism, before his enlightenment, are examples of how
dangerous and damaging living in circumstances of extremity or
polarity (whether physical, emotional, or intellectual) can be. In
this way, most Buddhists would say that the path of the Buddha, the
middle way, is about being *in* the world, but not *of* the world.
It's like when you're out in your scooter in bad traffic--it sucks,
and you could let that ruin your day (be *of* the world), or you could
let go of the busy traffic, the heat, the stagnant air. What can you
really do about it but control the way you think about and respond to
the experience? You could be mad and angry, but who suffers for
that--just you and your ride, and anything else in your day or your
life that you let that anger infect. (The Buddha said that being
angry is like holding hot coals with the intention of throwing them:
the only one who is hurt is yourself).

So, in regard to the Buddha and his family, I wanted to send along a
short but (I feel) edifying from a text that discusses the Buddha's
spiritual path and responsibilities as it relates to his family, wife,
and child:

.........................

The Buddha experienced his worldly life as a prince, husband and a
father before his renunciation and he knew what married life entailed.
Some non-Buddhists say that Prince Siddhartha was selfish and cruel
and that it was not fair for him to desert his wife and child. In
actual fact, Prince Siddhartha did not desert his family without a
sense of responsibility.

He never had any misunderstanding with his wife. He had same love and
attachment towards his wife and child as any normal person would have,
perhaps, even greater.

The difference was that his love was not mere physical and selfish
love. He had the courage and understanding to detach that emotional
and selfish love for a good cause. His sacrifice is considered the
more noble, because he set aside his personal needs and desires in
order to serve all of mankind for all time.

The main aim of his renunciation was not only for his own happiness,
peace or salvation, but for the sake of mankind. Had he remained in
the royal household, his service would have been confined to only his
family or his kingdom and that is why he decided to renounce
everything in order to gain enlightenment and then to enlighten others
who were suffering in ignorance.

Thus one of Buddha's earliest tasks after gaining Enlightenment was to
return to his palace to enlighten the members of his family, including
his wife and son. Buddha served his family and paved the way for their
salvation, peace and happiness . Therefore, no one can say that Buddha
was a cruel or selfish man. With his high degree of spiritual
development, the Buddha knew that marriage was a temporary phase,
while Enlightenment was eternal and for the good of all mankind.

The Buddha knew that his wife and son would not starve in his absence
and that other members of his family would willingly look after his
dependants. When He gained Enlightenment, he was able to give his
family something no other man could have given, namely the freedom
from slavery to attachment.

............

The context in which I tend to think about it is like this; think
about the love you have for your spouse, and especially for your new
baby girl. Now imagine that you feel that kind of deep,
indiscriminate, selfless love for all other living beings,
including--and this is the hard Hard HARD part--people you have
difficulties with. This was the path of the Buddha, to attain
enlightenment for the benefit of all other beings, and to cultivate
love and compassion for everyone, everyone, by eliminating the mental
obscurations which prevented him from experiencing the wisdom of an
enlightened mind. Then, having attained this, he dedicated his life to
teaching others how to do the same.

Like you said in your comments, "coming to terms with that which is
bigger than ourselves" is of immense importance in this life. In this
way, the Buddha had to think "bigger than" himself, his family, his
wife, his child. This is not to diminish their importance to him, but
to emphasize the great responsibility he felt for helping all other
beings, that in previous lives they had also been his family--mother,
father, wife, son--and that he owed them all the benefits of his
liberation and enlightenment, too.

For the last 2600+ years, those who have studied the Buddha's
teachings (the Dharma), are still benefitting from his teachings;
finding at least peace of mind and sometimes--as in the example of the
Dalai Lama--working more largely for peace in the world. If nothing
else, we owe the Buddha's wife and son so much gratitude for their
patience (another teaching of the Buddha's) during the years of his
absence while working toward attaining enlightenment.

Self-sacrifice is hard. But when it helps others, somehow it gains new
value and meaning. Especially when there's love involved, and a loving
compassion that wants others to be free of all suffering. But you're
about to have a chance to practice some self-sacrifice with your new
Zoe, and I have no doubts that it will be Worth It. :)

All best wishes,
Booboo Tannenbaum
Alabama (a different kind of honky-tonk, no?!)

Booboo also wanted me to mention the quotation about Siddhartha Gautama comes from here.

Zoe Read Armstrong Auerbach

That's right folks, the Dragon is a daddy!

Jes had about 31 hours of early labor and about 2.5 hours of active labor. The attending midwife and nurse both were amazed at how quickly and smoothly Jes delivered.

Mom and baby are both recovering fine, thanks for asking.

So far Zoe has been a joy. She is a calm, curious infant whose most frequent expression is dubious but observant.

Though I son't intend to make this a baby blog, I'm sure more details will come.

For now we'd like to clebrate Zoe's arrival with song.

Isn't she lovely?



or for those you are the freakier side of reality, how about how about East German Punk Diva, Nina Hagen's trippy song celebrating the birth of her daughter Cosma Shiva?



And last, but certainly not least, I'd like to share the song that local Redding musician Mark Hinkley performed for us at Jes's Baby shower.

Zoe's Song

May you be blessed with loving kindness,
May you be well,
May you be graceful and at ease,
May you be happy.

May your first sight be of your family,
May you reach out,
And keep your family close to you,
May you be happy.

May your first steps grow strong and steady,
May you cry out,
Then may learn to sing of love,
May you be happy.

Scooter Punk Kids Fabrics

Sorry about the long hiatus from posting... strangely, my instinctive response to Jes's swelling belly has been to spend all my free time either in the studio, or curled up on the couch with her.

This morning though, I was searching for some unique cloth to make a baby sling out of and found this great baby-mod print. It's cotton thermal, so I don't know that it would be good for a sling, maybe a hoodie?

Love and Marriage, American Style

So this past weekend, Jes and I attended the wedding of one of her childhood friends. Perhaps you can tell from the photo above, it was a little non-traditional.
Still, it was the most beautiful ceremony I have ever seen.
The ceremony was a mish-mash of Wiccan and Native American rituals, which was surprisingly poignant and non-New Age-y.
With the recent developments in California about gay marriage, I feel like I should share some deep sociological and spiritual insight, but really I have none.
I mean, I am about to have a child with the most amazing person I've ever known, who also refuses to marry me. Perhaps that shows her good sense, or perhaps it only attracts me to her more, in the Groucho philosophy of not wanting to be a member of any club which would have me.
Jes throws out a lot of varying reasons for not wanting to get married. At this point, I'd like to have the symbolism of the ritual, and to celebrate our love with friends and family, but it would ultimately be merely symbolic.
I guess I have reached the point where I think that the gay marriage issue boils down to a church and state issue. If a certain religion doesn't want to marry gays, well they don't have to. But their views shouldn't influence the state's stance on the matter. And ultimately it is in societies best interest to allow gays to marry to raise children. I think that by the end of this century this will be as self-evident to the average person, as the stupidity of segregation and racism was at the end of the last.
All I know is, I have a daughter on the way, and my deepest hope for her is that she can be as strong, intelligent, brave, and caring as the women I met this weekend, both gay and straight. And that if/when she finds another soul with whom she wants to share her life, well I'll be fortunate enough to witness a ceremony as touching as this.

Oh, and I hope she rides off on a Vespa, like these two brides did... (hey, we all have our prejudices.)

The Dragon's Fragile Personality Shatters Yet Again

I guess I mentioned I have been painting quite a bit lately, and when I'm not painting, I'm researching painting and art links.
So the time has finally come to spin off another blog, the new one is called Ben Artstrong, and I'll be blogging more there about my painting projects and the rants they engender.
It's strange, Honky-Tonk Dragon began as a place to gather links and such for a graphic novel project which quickly ran into technical difficulties. But as that project derailed, I began posting about scooters, steampunk, and other topics. The blog took on a life of it's own, and Honky-Tonk Dragon became a character with a voice of his own which I came to appreciate, and classify as "lifestyle for weirdos."
Contemplations on art, and results of my own art making seemed to fit with that theme somewhat, for awhile. But lately I feel like they have been interfering with one another. Honky-Tonk Dragon seems more suited for ruminations on the fringes of pop culture, and when I have the inclination to write more seriously about fine art and aesthetics, it just doesn't seem like quite the right fit. Which means I end up not blogging about things which would fit in well on the Dragon, and not writing about the artistic subjects either. My hope is that by splitting the blogs, my online writing will increase.
I'm sure there will be instances where I will cross post, such as when I finish the current revisions to Quell, the Steampunk Vespa. But all in all, I'm hoping this expansion will help you the reader find the type of posts you are looking for quicker, as well as more effectively promoting my artistic endeavors.

Buddha was a Dead-Beat Dad

I've long been fascinated with Buddhism, and to this day my life is enriched by wisdom gleaned from its philosophy, and by its existential technologies.
But I have a major problem with the mythology and base theology of Siddharta.
I won't get into all of that here, but Buddha's abandonment of his family troubles me. Especially since, the more I contemplate the changes parenthood will bring to my life, the more I see that being a parent can be one of the most profound spiritual experiences a person can face.
I was about to say that it would take a saint or a buddha to be the perfect parent, but when you look through the stories of holy men and women throughout history, and throughout the world's various spiritual traditions, you will find a lot of brave souls who are willing to face hunger, persecution, and total humiliation and negation of the ego. But most of these folks draw the line at reproduction, and like Buddha, when they do reproduce, they'd rather face the aforementioned trials rather than face the day-to-day realities of parenthood. Heck, even Gandhi was supposedly a terrible father, who spent his time fasting, organizing, and such, denying his affections to his wife and children.

I am sure that I won't be a perfect father. There will be times when I will be selfish, inattentive, cross, and distant. But already, just the concept of fatherhood, and the realities of Jes's swelling belly and digestive difficulties have me examining myself, and thinking about what kind of example I might be to a rug rat.

I've always thought that religion should ultimately be a way to connect with that which is bigger than oneself. Having kids... well, it may not be the infinity of the cosmos, but it's sure bigger than anything I've faced in any tangible way...

Insert Apologies for Blogstipation Here

Well it's been a crazy coupla weeks for your humble Dragon.
Work has been insanely busy, and my Mom came out for a visit, which is why I haven't posted in awhile.
When I've had a rare moment to myself, that wasn't spent staring at the walls and catching my breath, I've been painting and researching painting.
I finally was able to chat with the infamous Pirate Papa for a bit recently, and that was good.
Anyway, I've got a chance tonight to catch up on some posts I've been stewing over for a while, so look for much new stuff in the next 24 hours.
Also I'd like to send sincere apologies out to folks I've neglected to respond to, through various digital channels over the last couple weeks. Nancy Frieko, I swear that review is coming forthwith!