The USA used to be about TCB. Our greatest moment probably came in the 40s, when we defeated two autocratic, expansionist, evil regimes on two different continents at the same time, saving hundreds of millions from subjugation and death. In the process, our economy, reeling from the depression, was given a much-needed jump-start, while the majority of soldiers who returned home formed the basis of a true middle class of folks who were neither rich nor poor.

We didn’t do all of that by spending months in Congress fiddling with bills. Once it was obvious to all that our intervention was crucial if the Allies would have a chance, we simply switched gears and got the job done. I wasn’t alive for those days, but to me they seemed simpler; more cut-and-dry. America and the Allies were good; the regimes of Germany and Japan were bad and had to be stopped. Had I lived in those days, you can bet I’d have shipped off to fight the Nazis or the Japanese with everything I had. It probably wouldn’t have even been my choice, thanks to the draft, but I don’t think I’d be bitter about it; the cause was just and worthy. I’m not buying that at present.

The single voice that America had in those days is gone now, replaced by three: the Left, the Right, and the ‘Independent’. Perhaps government was just as slow and inefficient (it was designed to be so) and perhaps the political spectrum was just as polarized back then, but for some reason it just seems to have gotten worse and worse, ever since our great victory. Perhaps it’s because technology has so dramatically quickened the pace of the economy, culture, and civilization in general. Certainly not everywhere, but certainly in the U.S. and the other big players like the EU, China and India.

At this breakneck pace, China is thriving, while America struggles to keep up due to, well, all the checks and balances China doesn’t have to contend with. China has one voice, and is speaking clearly; while two of America’s three voices are in a constant shouting match while the third, Independants, wait passively at the sidelines either out of pragmatism or perhaps simple disgust for the whole enterprise. While the shouting match is in progress, America’s decline seems assured.

True enough, we are the country of E Pluribus Unum, but politically, we are divided, not united, as our voice is. A country as huge and powerful as America cannot progress if the two sparring voices have directly opposing definitions of progress. Within the walls of the Capitol and between blue and red state lines, we have cultivated an increasingly indomitable stalemate, a state in which each disperate voice neutralizes the next, with no tangible result.

Meanwhile, rapidly developing global competitor like China is using its clear single voice to produce tangible results, and the debt we compile in maintaining our bickering, schizophrenic republic fuels their development. As our treasuries empty, theirs fill. As we bicker, they blossom. Here’s the catch of couse: America is for all its faults still a free country. Whether or not they are capable of articulating it, at least half of all America is of the strong opinion that oversocialization of government will inevitably to an authoritarian system like China’s, which many deem could quickly descend into something resembling Imperial Japan or Nazi Germany.

Regardless of the likelihood of that, here’s the America we live in: Everyone gets their say, so nobody truly wins, and everybody loses, because the country stays still and stagnates. In China, only one side gets their way, and win or lose, the country continues moving forward (in economic terms, not in human rights.)

Is there any middle ground? In America, even the middle ground takes sides. For Obama’s election, they chose the left, but presently, they seem more right-leaning, after the honeymoon gave way to the cold hard reality: America’s problems pile up faster than the government can fix them, and whatever party is in power (be it the right from 2000-08 or the left now) invariably enters a period of decline after a failing to deliver the goods. Both sides – both voices share that failure. An inability to cooperate, to compromise, to unify is what is pushing us into decline; not one side or the other; but both.

China’s inner struggle – that between the government and those opposed to the government – is pathetically one-sided affair in favor of the former. It is a country that has decided to abandon certain truths that we Americans consider self-evident in favor of unopposed consensus and unfettered progress. And progressing they are. We’ll just have to wait and see which approach will be more successful: Many bickering voices speaking at once – all flawed – versus one clear voice…also flawed.

Avatar has a lot of problems. The humans are a bit too casually evil (or in the case of the main antagonist, a 60-year old colonel with a Jose Canseco body, crazy evil.) The scenes with hundreds of Na’vi dancing in unison is cheesy, as are many of their rituals. The plot is a bit too dependent on luck and coincidence. The aforementioned Colonel’s enormous command ship is a bit too invulnerable in the climactic battle. It is hard to imagine the enormous cost of travelling to Pandora, settling there, and building up a huge military would be offset by the monetary gains from the unobtanium. It is ultimately hard to believe that a human settlement could survive on Pandora long enough to build up such an enormous arsenal of weapons and equipment. Neytiri’s navel is too low on her abdomen. Sigourney Weaver’s Avatar looks too human. And finally, and most offensively, the Avatar title itself is in the second-dumbest font ever created, Papyrus (Comic Sans is the dumbest.) The Crocodile Hunter’s title card used this font, as did little Jimmy’s third-grade book report. You know what happened to them.

If it sounds like I’m nitpicking, I am. All of these problems added up simply could not ruin my experience of Avatar. It was as entertaining to watch as it was gorgeous to see and hear, which was very. While I was emersed in this three-hour epic, I always had the feeling I was watching the future, and not because that’s when the story takes place, but because so many new technologies were used to create it. As we’ve witnessed with films from hacks like Roland Emmerich, Michael Bay, Robert Zemeckis and David Twohy, CGI can be overused and abused. It can be used as a crutch. It is not that in Avatar. I thought it would be, but it never descends into that. The Na’vi’s bodies and faces move and twitch and look so convincing. Perhaps our brains will never be fooled into belieiving a place or animal or person in a film we know can’t exist is real, but no film before has ever gotten closer to doing just that.

Avatar also has the most love and care and attention to detail put into it that I’ve seen since the LOTR trilogy. And while some of the dialogue and acting could have been tighter, it was actually better than I expected, and far better (and more sensical) than anything recently done by Bay, et.al. James Cameron shames them all with this effort. Their voluminous spectacles of CGI wizardry pale in comparison to Avatar, not just technically, but artistically. The film made me grateful people are still around in this industry who will go the extra mile to make a film not just cool-looking, but good. People who will almost go too far. I appreciate the effort, and hope to see it again, in 3D this time.

What a surprise: the oil-producing Middle Eastern countries who make hundreds of billions of dollars just by pulling black ooze out of the ground and selling it to people are the biggest skeptics of climate change! Who’d have thunkit? Additionally, those least skeptical and most gung-ho are apparently all the tiny little non-aligned nations who consume and pollute the least - only because they don’t have the money or population to do so. They, by the way, would be fools not to use the conceit of climate change to promote their desire for the bigger nations to shell out for them. Then there are those heavy users: America, China, India – whose cultures and infrastructures are so massive and loath to change of any kind, they can’t really do anything even if they wanted to.

In America’s case specifically, our government is actually designed to move slower than the glaciers are melting, and it does. So with such difference of opinion between producers, consumers, and all the little guys, realistically nothing will get done at Copenhagen. Maybe some dignitaries will get some needed sleep during the endless 5-minute speeches by every single frickin’ nation and it’s dog. What does this crap really accomplish? Awareness? The protesters outside are already aware…

While I don’t recycle 100% of my organic and inorganic refuse or reuse my bath water like most urban Japanese, I like to think I personally have a fairly small carbon footprint. Yes I drive a car every day, but it’s a tiny Honda Civic, and you know how efficient and clean-burning they are. I also very rarely take planes anywhere, though I do take trains. My apartment’s monthly electric and gas bills are only a fraction of those of my parents’ semi-suburban, five-bedroom home in an upscale Baltimore neighborhood. I don’t live in squalor, nor in overt luxury. I feel like if every American lived like me, not only would there never have been any recession, but we’d easily be using half the fossil fuels we’re using now. The fact is, not all Americans can live like me, even if they wanted to.

Those who stand to lose money on climate reform have a very good motive for wanting this process to move as tentatively as possible: they don’t want to lose money. They like money…who doesn’t? I know, monks. But in any case, while tearing down all of the world’s coal and oil powerplants and replacing them with European-style nuclear plants, wind turbines, and solar arrays would definitely save a lot of oil and slow the release lot of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, actually doing this would cost untold billions of dollars, not to mention an incredibly long time, considering what it takes to build an onramp in America.

Those who are getting all angry-blooded to the point where they feel they have to get out and march and get hit by pepper spray fail to realize that it isn’t a question of the human juggernaut being unwilling to make fundamental changes to the way it takes care of business – it’s a question of being not entirely able. It is so easy to say the world will end unless we do something, but no amount of scientific research or evidence will sway some. And some on a global scale is a lot. Some is enough to stop progress dead in its tracks until some of the doomsday scenarios actually play themselves out, be it the global drought of fossil fuels in the next century or the receding of coastlines along heavily populated areas.

Having your country disappear under the ocean is a frightening prospect, but most Americans don’t even know the Solomon islands exist, and I’m willing to wager most Chinese and Indians don’t, either. If nearly three billion people don’t know – let alone care – about the Solomons’ existence, how can one expect those people to commit to change to prevent the Solomons from slipping into the sea, particularly when that change may not even prevent that calamity?

All the anger and outrage and horror stories in the world won’t change one inexorable fact: the world changes slowly. Slower than the angry would prefer. You can have a Copenhagen every month, but in the end, those benefiting the most are the translators, who undoubtedly clean up at such functions. Consensus is next to impossible between myriad factions with directly opposed positions, and that’s what we’ve got.

This is a hearty meal for a cold evening, and easy to fix since there’s no fresh ingredients (though you can use fresh, it’ll take a lot more time.) After a successful go last night, I think I’ve perfected my version of Tuna Noodle Casserole. It’s not that complicated:

1. Boil water.

2. Add egg noodles and frozen diced mixed vegetables; cook till noodles are done.

3. Add a can of cream of mushroom condensed soup to the noodles after draining them, reserving one canfull of the water to thin the soup.

4. Simmer and stir. Add some shredded chese (colby in my case), pour a generous amount of Smoked Chipotle Tabasco sauce in. Add a dash of garlic powder and black and white pepper and salt to taste. It’s ready.

5. When serving, top a bowl with those canned french fried onions for some crunch, and extra Chipotle if desired.

Everytime a relatively exciting, innovative product comes to market elsewhere in the world, there’s always some reason it doesn’t come to America, at least initially: The steering wheel has to be moved, the diesel engine isn’t 50-state legal, the seats are too narrow for fat Americans, etc. Thus Americans have been left out in the lurch from some of the finest products from their own homegrown companies like Ford and GM. Because Europeans pay so much for their cars and the fuel to power them, they demand higher quality, and they get it.

But now that efficiency and quality, not simply power and size, have become priorities for Americans as well, it is behooving automakers to bring more European models to these shores. Only one problem: the segment most in need of an efficiency overhaul – that of light trucks – is roadblocked by the Chicken Tax. Light trucks and vans are taxed 25% over their sticker price in Europe. Avoiding the tax involves ridiculous process of dismantling assmebled vehicles, shipping them here in pieces, and reassembling them – hardly efficient. This means even American companies like Ford can’t make decent profits off of European-sourced vans and trucks. If Ford can’t make good profits, they can’t run their business properly back home, and have to lay off workers to stay afloat, and so on.

So there are two good reasons to remove light trucks from the Chicken Tax: the American light commercial vehicle fleet will grow sleeker and more fuel efficient thanks to vehicles like the Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit Connect, Fiat Doblo, and Mahindra Pickup becoming cheaper and more competetive. And companies like Ford and GM that make more efficient trucks and vans abroad can make bigger profits here, which means they can stay in business, which is what everyone wants. Except Bob Corker.

Obama’s catching a lot of flak for his new Afghanistan strategy. Libs are angry he’s sending more troops, Cons are angry he isn’t sending enough, and wants out in 18 months. My initial take is one of unsurprise. It’s fair to say most of the people who voted for Obama didn’t know who they were getting, or that they’d get someone who’d end all wars instantly. These people were misinformed, and in any case are just plain impatient.

He threw his political opposition a bone. That’s what the Afghan surge is. To those who wanted it, enjoy it, don’t stick your nose up. Because frankly you’re lucky you’re getting 30,000 additional troops and not nothing. As Bush II made wars and messes worldwide, Obama is at least trying to end wars and clean them up. The argument that the enemy will wait us out is scurrilous, because the only timeframe they won’t wait out is forever, and wars can’t last forever.

Sure, I’m a bit annoyed Obama didn’t just say screw it and order his generals to start packing – such a move would surely burnish his cred as an imminent Nobel Peace Laureate. War is hell, and we have enough hell on our own home soil. War can’t be used as a crutch to make us feel safer, because having troops in those areas doesn’t make us all that safe, it just makes them unsafe. Furthermore, our fighting force is entirely volunteer. That is, thousands of Americans for myriad reasons – be it honor or paying for college or because their father did it – decided to volunteer to fight for America. Those soon-to-be 100,000 troops in Afghanistan equal 0.032 percent of our population.

So if the war is so necessary, why are so few Americans fighting in it? There are estimated to be 120,000,000 males and females age 18-49 deemed “fit for military service.” What do those other 119,900,000 people know that the troops don’t?  What are those millions doing, when they could or should be fighting? Well, many are griping about the war we’re not participating in, and worried about their jobs and health and family. But mostly they’re just living their American lives, something an active soldier can’t do because they’re constantly in mortal danger in a foreign land. Occupying and holding random countries simply isn’t fair to a volunteer force.

In my view, human soldiers became obsolete long ago. Robots can bomb and kill in our stead, as needed. They’re just slogs, bogs, quagmires, doldrums of death, seas of irrelevancy. So I say end them all. If an individual or group wants to attack us, our presence in any number of foreign countries won’t change or affect that desire. There’s no chivalry in conflict between nations or entities. Wars like WWII were good and righteous and decisive, but such wars will never come again. Borders are too gray; the world is to heterogeneous. Wars don’t work anymore. It’s time to abandon the notion that they ever will again.

So I wrote about 15 vehicles I’m looking forward to in the next 1-2 model year cycles. Here’s 5 I’m decidedly not looking forward to. I’ve eschewed photos, because I don’t like these vehicles.

BMW ActiveHybrid 7 - Being touted as the “most powerful hybrid luxury sedan,” which is just plain silly. Mating a twin-turbo V8 to an electric motor is an insult to the V8. Charging more than $100K is some majorly un-German craziness. It isn’t even original; the completely-useless Lexus LS600hL has been on sale for going on three years now. I like the normal 7, but this is a distraction.

BMW 5-Series GT - When I think of a Grand Tourer, I think Ferrari 612, Maserati GranTurismo, Bentley Continental, Aston DB9, but the last thing I think of is a five-door hatchback, which is what the 5-Series GT is. So why is this frumpy monstrosity called the GT? You’d have to ask the product developers that, and I’m sure they’d give you a lengthy, logical explanation that won’t change the fact that they’re wrong. The 5GT is even more dizzyingly pointless than the X6; a car that has actually grown on me it’s so strange. But this car isn’t strange. It’s pretending to be something other than a tall hatchback when it’s just a tall hatchback. There’s no mania; there’s no innovation. Did I mention it’s quite ugly?

Hyundai Sonata - Every time a new Sonata comes around, Hyundai steals all the latest trends from everyone. There’s nothing wrong with this; all automakers do this (the Chinese more blatantly than everyone else), but the most egregious copycat in the USDM is Hyundai, who doesn’t really make the cars their own. I’m quite convinced Toyotas have more soul than Hyundais. Any new Hyundai that looks like it will be successful is one more victory for these soulless minions of orthodoxy. And currently, Hyundai and their Kia cousins are winning the War On Soul, at least in dealerships. They are cars made by people who don’t care about making cars, and they are purchased by people who don’t care what they’re driving, as long as it drives. Don’t let the swoopy lines fool you; this Sonata is more of the same. It is the Anti-Kisashi.

Toyota Sienna - Oh, JOY OF JOYS, finally, a new Sienna! Isn’t it exciting! Yes, I just said Toyotas have more soul than Hyundais, but keep in mind wallpaper paste has more soul than Toyotas. Everything’s relative. If you blink anywhere in America, in that fraction of a second you will probably miss at least fifty Toyota Siennas driving by. They don’t have a monopoly on minivans thanks to the Honda Odyssey and Chrysler vans, but they seem so much more ubiquitous than anything else on the road, especially in the ‘burbs. Look in any school or church parking lot; most of the vehicles are huge (mostly Toyota) SUVs, and Siennas. Siennas the color of refrigerators…or oatmeal. The only thing different about the new Sienna is that it looks a tiny bit scarier. But I don’t care.

RAM – Bad marketing can ruin good vehicles. With the new Ram, that’s exactly the case. If you’ve watched any TV in the last few weeks (football in my case) you’ve seen the new Ram ads. You know, the Dodge Ram? Dodge’s best-selling vehicle? Well, it’s not a Dodge anymore. It’s just…RAM (No one really knows why) now.  And apparently, its “tank is full”, whatever the hell that means. The trucks themselves aren’t bad, but the marketing is Atrocious with a capital A. The ads are some kind of overblown Walt Whitman poem recited over a slideshow of iconic images like Einstein, Muhammad Ali, and dirty hands. This is way beyond patronizing, way beyond pandering. The ads take themselves and their product way too seriously. Way. It isn’t just like this for Ram, though. Jeep ads are way too preachy and holier-than-thou, too. You’d think a company just bought by the Italians would put a little more style and creativity in their marketing materials. So far, they haven’t.  

When Martin O’Malley decided Baltimore was a bit too small-time for him, Sheila Dixon eagerly succeeded him as mayor of my hometown. For all the scuttlebutt about infidelity and annoying Irish Rock music, O’Malley was a pretty good mayor in my opinion, and while I haven’t lived in Baltimore for the extent of her tenure so far, I have no reason to believe the first female mayor  isn’t doing a good job, too.

But now she’s been convicted of a misdemeanor. It’s nothing big; nothing to do with paying off drug lords or getting in bed with developers or tainting the water supply. It’s much more petty than that. She embezzled $500 in gift cards meant for charity. That’s all the jury convicted her for.

Considering the awful economic situation this past year, Dixon has held the city together and prevented the kind of advanced decay larger city like Detroit faces. Even during her campaign for election to the office of mayor, a cloud of alleged corruption has floated above her. This is nothing special for a politician (and it’s not like she “palled around” with evildoers like Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright, right? I kid.)

I’ll admit I’m a bit surprised a Baltimore city jury found Dixon guilty of anything; they are notoriously forgiving for whatever reason. But most of all I am disappointed that Dixon did not simply fess up to this transgression and apologize from the get-go. $500 is less than the cost of a stop sign.

True enough, there were other allegations of fraud and corruption in this case, and it would seem that this one conviction is meant to deter Dixon from future naughtiness. Here’s hoping. But rather than confess and seek forgiveness from a forgiving city, she felt it more prudent to put her trust in the illusion that because she is powerful, she can get away with anything, especially petty things. One must lead a city fraught with crime by example, not by committing one’s own crimes with impunity. It isn’t like everyone isn’t watching; she’s the mayor for gosh sakes.

As to her future as mayor, it would seem her days are numbered. The state’s Constitution calls for removal of a public official who is sentenced for a public office-related crime. Since she’s guilty, I assume she will be handed a sentence of some kind, which means she’s out, and City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is in.  It’s a shame for Dixon, but once you’ve lost the trust of your citizens, you cannot continue to lead them. And I really doubt losing that was worth $500 in Best Buy merchandise.

The recession is technically over and before long, companies might actually start frakkin’ hiring people for jobs again…that is, if this isn’t just a financial bubble prefacing a double-dip recession. Naked short-selling aside, the auto industry is reaching into the future with great abandon, apparently unconcerned enough with the shakiness of the recovery to pump out some new, interesting, and in some cases, downright spellbinding new cars, trucks, and what-have-you. There will be new marques to choose from, as well as new forms of power. Here are fifteen such vehicles I’ve selected that I’m looking forward to. Complications notwithstanding, all of these should be on the road in the next year or two, if they aren’t already.

1. Buick Regal - An old name gets slapped on a new, very German car that is gorgeous and may actually be fun to drive as well. Moreover, it apparently will be powered exclusively by four-bangers. Not only is a high-performance version possible, we may (fingers-crossed) even get a wagon version, which would be awesome and hilarious at the same time: Buick wants younger buyers, so is a relatively big FWD wagon the way to go? For me, maybe.

2. Cadillac CTS Coupe - The latest and perhaps best iteration yet of 21st Century Cadillac zaniness. Art + Science Fiction. And the first hard-roof coupe from Caddy in seventeen years. It looks like nothing else on the road and has that same concept car aura of the new Camaro. Because its a bit smaller than the sedan, it should be faster too…which brings me to the V-series version, which is also coming.

3. Chevy Cruze - Chevy wants a “flawless” unveiling for the replacement for the boring Cobalt and its clone, the Pontiac G5. Looks to get 40+mpg on the highway. GM going small and Direct Injection with engines. Forget the Volt, this thing is important. If Chevy can’t steal some sales away from the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla with this, all is for naught.

4. Ferrari 458 Italia – A new Ferrari is like a new American fighter jet – really expensive, unobtainable, and almost pointless even – the F450 hasn’t aged a day – but nevertheless more than welcome. It looks and sounds the business, and with tons of F1 tech in it, it will most certainly drive the business too.

5. Ford Fiesta - It’s coming. How much different it will look from the European one isn’t known, but Ford has been without a small car since the Kia-based Aspire, which was pathetic. The Fiesta hopefully begins a trend of “cheap but not rubbish” small cars by American carmakers (unlike the awful Chevy Aveo, the only subcompact any of the Detroit 3 currently sell.)

6. Fiat 500 - Fiat Group bought Chrysler, which is awesome because it means Italian cars that don’t cost six figures will again be sold here soon. In Europe, the 500 is extremely popular, and also re-skinned as a Ford Ka, but in America the Nuovo Topolino will be sold at Chrysler dealerships, giving that sinking ship a badly-needed small car. It should sell well to people who want a car that’s cheaper and cuter than a MINI and fresher and more fun than the aged VW New Beetle. Also, it’s Italian. ‘Nuff said.

7. Lexus LFA - The most interesting Lexus ever. Not saying much, but the amount of labor and attention to detail that went into this taut driving machine cannot be overlooked. Neither can the $375,000+ price tag. Lexus will still lose money on every one they sell. One of only two radial carbon fiber looms in the world weave the A-pillars together. A manically-anal-retentive gearhead’s wet dream, this.

8. Mahindra Pickup - This awkward, dowdy pickup will likely beat the Tata Nano as the first Indian vehicle sold in America. It runs on diesel engines, which I love, and is tough, durable, and no-nonsense (well, except the optional chrome grille.) It should also be cheap. Hopefully the government will permit their sale, because they can do the same farm and labor jobs as much larger American pickups but are far more fuel efficient and take up less space.

9. Mitsubishi Outlander - If there was a Comeback Crossover of the Year category, Outlander would win it hands down. While its European cousins the Peugeot 4008 and Citroen C-Crosser were brought to market with bold, in-your-face looks, The Mitsu was plainer than white bread, and more forgettable too. That ends immediately with a menacing new face with an Evo-inspired grille, more power, upscale-r interior, and very untrucklike road manners. In other words, it’s better in every way.

10. Nissan LEAF - Though being heralded with far less pomp and circumstance than Chevy’s $40,000, four-seat Volt, Nissan’s electric car for everyone will likely beat it to dealers. It also aims to be cheaper and more practical. But yes, it does somewhat resemble a parrotfish.

11. Saab 9-5 - The first all-new Saab seemingly ever, the new 9-5 flagship will go on sale when new sort-of owner Koenigsegg, figures out exactly how they’re going to make it. While there’s nothing groundbreaking here, the new 9-5 marks a return to more of that Saab quirkiness that was mostly lost during GM rule, when marketers thought comparing a TrailBlazer clone to a fighter jet would make people want to buy the 9-7x.

12. Scion iQ - While not a 100% sure thing, it is likely Toyota’s teeny-tiny iQ will come to America as a Scion, since they’d prefer young, hip people buy it than the average Toyota customer, who is about 75. While perhaps not as miniscule as a Smart, the iQ is better packaged, has at least one back seat, doesn’t look as stupid, carries Toyota’s vaunted reputation for quality along with it, and won’t be quite as overpriced. Hopefully its axles won’t rust away after three years!

13. Suzuki Kisashi – Suzuki’s had a bit of a raw deal in the U.S. as purveyors of stretched Equinox clones and dull-as-paste, chintzy Daewoos. The homebuilt SX4 shook things up, being the cheapest AWD car as well as the cheapest with satnav standard. They take it up a notchwith the very Japanesey Kisashi, a smart, Jetta-sized sedan that bucks the more-is-more trend and goes instead for driver involvement and all-around quality. Suzuki’s marketing sucks, but hopefully this will sell well, because it looks to be a fine car and a bargain to boot.

14. Toyota/Subaru Compact Sports Coupe - Pretty much nobody needs a sporty coupe more than Toyota, except for maybe Subaru, so the two decided to save some time and develop one jointly. I’m looking forward to their final results. So far we’ve only seen the Toyota version in concept form (and monkey-butt red metallic paint.) The Subaru will likely be larger and of course feature standard AWD. The last Subaru coupe was the epic-but-pricey SVX, while Toyota’s Celica died a slow death. Here’s hoping they have better luck with what will be far superior machines.

15. VW Golf TDI - What was the Rabbit became the Golf then the Rabbit again and now the Golf again. Golf Mark VI is more refined and mature Golf ever, and so is the TDI’s diesel engine. Not only that, the TDI is fun. Fun to dart around in. Which means even if you have to drive a little further to find a diesel pump, you’ll be grateful. And it gets 30 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. The Mercedes SLS AMG.
Gullwings = WIN.
Q.E.D.

Not content to begin the week venting dourly on such a dark topic as healthcare, I have decided to release the fifth and newest incarnation of my website, Renaissance Road (styled as RENAISSANCE ROAD.) The release is premature; due to freelance projects that take priority (and lack of motivation) progress up until now has been slow and much of the site is still under construction. However, prior to last week, there hadn’t been a major modification to the site in more than a year, which is, well, frankly ridiculous.

This new version tones down the look to a muted palette of grays with green spot color, letting gallery items take visual center stage. Logical organization remains, with navigation paths being built at the top of each section as you dig deeper into the site (a site map and footer are coming as well.) A projects page lists all of my…projects, while an art page lists a bunch of galleries with different kinds of…art. The music page, strangely, lists music. Like I said, logical.

And unlike the old page, which, while pretty, was all in flash and a bitch to quickly update, I’ve employed templates, scripts, and style sheets that will make updates quick and easy, which means hopefully I’ll be better at actually making them. I’m glad a gust of wind came out of nowhere and motivated me to pull the trigger; there isn’t much up now but stay tuned, as this will be the best re-paving yet. And no sinkholes.