The last truly beautiful watch that Omega made, as far as I am concerned, dates back to the mid-90s when they came out with a chrono and date watch that for some bizarre reason they named the Dynamic. I say bizarre because in the 60s they had already come out with several designs of their well-known Dynamic including a unique version made for the Italian market of the Chronostop (modeled after watches used by race car drivers to get lap times using their left hand while steering with their right).
There are absolutely no aesthetic commonalities and yet these models represent moments in which Omega bravely strayed from their standard issue Constellations, Seamasters, Speedmasters and Devilles. This watchmaker has had its ups and downs with designs (among other things), but these are watches that have made me look back at all the designs it has come up with to see what other “surprises” I might find.
There is just something about motorcycles that I have always loved. I have never owned a real bike and have only ridden a couple of times (as a new dad it has dropped down my list of things to do). I have had plenty of mopeds, scooters and large cylinder “mono-gear” bikes, but they don’t really give you that “total biker experience”. By which of course I mean the Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando and Easy rider experience of the open road. I have had my fair share of dodging in and out of city traffic and short forays to the countryside and beach, but never the hardcore road trip. I can imagine it is not a glorious as what is seen in the movies because after a couple of hours on the more comfy two wheelers I have ridden on the back spasms and sore rump are no laughing matter, but that still doesn’t stop me from wanting to do it at least once.
Having no really useful mechanical knowledge of motorcycles (not the kind that would help me if one broke down on me on the road), I do, though, fantasize about which one I would buy if I ever I wanted to scratch that itch. Without hesitation the first one on my list would be a Triumph Bonneville. I love the simplicity of the T120 from the 1960s.
Or maybe I just want an excuse to use a Barbour or Belstaff jackets for something other than a rainy day commute.
A dad can dream can’t he? Or I could live vicariously through any of you that actually have a bike and use it to get away on the open road once and a while (or even for a less idealized daily commute).
There is something about licorice that makes me become a little kid again. I love all sorts of licorice from the pure to the sweet and everything in between. I still buy the Haribo wheels and slowly unravel them while I eat them. I bite off the head of the licorice fish first. There are all sorts of rituals that one has especially as a kid when eating ice cream or cookies or sucking on lollipops and to each their own, of course. I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks in one of the world’s top producing licorice regions in the South of Italy and discovered yet another way in which to enjoy licorice.
Amarelli has been a licorice producer since 1731 in the southern Italian region of Calabria. They make pure licorice squares (not for the faint at heart), anise infused, mint coated and several other methods. Their packaging is still the same and is exquisitely retro. What I had never tasted before and was told is harder to find when you leave the region are their “Sassolini” (pebbles). They are anise infused licorice covered in a hard sugar coating (like Italian almond “confetti”) made to look like the pebbles common along the coast of Calabria. After the sugar slowly melts away in your mouth you are left with the savory licorice and anise flavor that lingers even when it is all gone. If you have an Italian specialty store nearby you might ask to see if they have some and if you are a licorice lover then you are in for a treat.
The last truly beautiful watch that Omega made, as far as I am concerned, dates back to the mid-90s when they came out with a chrono and date watch that for some bizarre reason they named the Dynamic. I say bizarre because in the 60s they had already come out with several designs of their well-known Dynamic including a unique version made for the Italian market of the Chronostop (modeled after watches used by race car drivers to get lap times using their left hand while steering with their right).
There are absolutely no aesthetic commonalities and yet these models represent moments in which Omega bravely strayed from their standard issue Constellations, Seamasters, Speedmasters and Devilles. This watchmaker has had its ups and downs with designs (among other things), but these are watches that have made me look back at all the designs it has come up with to see what other “surprises” I might find.
