Month: August 2011

IRISH BLACK HUMORAt the National Art Gallery in Dublin, a husband and wife were staring at a portrait that had them completely confused. The painting depicted 3 black men totally naked, sitting on a bench.   Two of the figures had black penises, but the one in the middle had a pink penis. The curator of the gallery realized that they were having trouble interpreting the painting and offered his personal assessment.   He went on for over half an hour explaining how it depicted the sexual emasculation of African Americans in a predominately white, patriarchal society. ‘In fact’, he pointed out, ‘some serious critics believe that the pink penis also reflects the cultural and sociological oppression experienced by gay men in contemporary society.’   After the curator left, an Irishman approached the couple and said, ‘Would you like to know what the painting is really about?’ ‘Now why would you claim to be more of an expert than the curator of the gallery,’ asked the couple?   ‘Because I am the artist, who painted the picture’, he replied.  ‘In fact, there are no African Americans depicted at all. They’re just three Irish coal miners. The guy in the middle went home for lunch.

Gary Nixon (January 25 1941 – August 5 2011) was an American motorcycle racer who most notably won the A.M.A. Grand National Championship in 1967 and 1968.^[1] He was also a former winner of the Daytona 200 motorcycle race, claiming a victory in the 1967 event.^[2] Nixon was also known for his partnership with legendary tuner Erv Kanemoto when they won the 1973 U.S. National Road Racing Championship for Kawasaki.^[1] In 1976 he competed at the international level, laying claim to the Formula 750 world championship until international politics denied him that prize.^[3] He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2003.^[1][4] He last resided in Maryland and participated in vintage motorcycle racing as well as testing motorcycles for the locally produced syndicated public TV automotive review program MotorWeek.

Nixon suffered a heart attack on July 29 2011 and died on August 5 from complications*************************************************

The entire racing and vintage motorcycle community morns the loss of Gary Nixon, who died today in a Baltimore hospital at age 70 from complications after a heart attack a few days ago.
In his life he accomplished so much and was a motivation to so many. The times he brought the crowds to their feet thrilled us with his competitiveness, all moments in time that will be long remembered.
Gary was a skilled opponent and a provoking team mate, those who raced with and against him, regardless of their opinion of him personally all admired him for his resolve.
In his later life he was the “Champion”, continuing to be the hard charger and always straight forward speaking his mind as he saw it. Gary attended a number of events, signing autographs and talking about the glory days of racing during the Golden Age of Motorcycles.
Gary, I’m sure you can now see how many of us were true fans and how you touched us at racing tracks all over the world. Rest now buddy, soon we’ll meet and maybe we can take a few laps together.