Weekly Roundup: Cripples In Space Edition

No, that's not a super-cool guitar strap featuring the OG Space Invaders on the outside and LIME GREEN on the inside. It's what's called a 'gait belt'. Crippled people and the elderly use them to safely position limbs during transport. It was a very thoughtful gift, but it's not exactly cheering to need it. "Alright, Invaders --- let's get this leg in the tub and then DESTROY THE WORLD!"

Oh well. Could be worse. As some of you know, Magnus Walker lost his wife two days ago. I didn't think that fellow was capable of having bad luck. But what did they say on Dune? Fortune passes everywhere. Here's hoping Magnus finds a way to deal with his sorrow and move forward.

Alright, let's see what we have for you, the loyal and exceptionally discerning reader, this week.

After teaming up with "Mental" Ward on both the R&T team and our RX-7 effort for last weekend's AER race, Bark collaborates with the Sky Pilot himself one more time, in a quick piece on what you need to know before going racing.

You can also find Bark on TTAC this week, relating a dismal Z-car rental experience and wondering about the future of Nissan.

At R&T, I took a look at the Cadillac ATS-V and placed this 464-horsepower, Camaro-platform rocketship in its proper context: next to the 1979 Eldorado, of course.

For the end of the week, I tried to share with you the reasons I keep racing even though I don't always win.

This week on TTAC, I did what ended up being a two-part "No Fixed Abode" about the idea of the Universal American car: both Part 1 and Part 2 take their titles from the same Fiona Apple song. This was a bit of an experiment on my part, to see the the Best&Brightest at TTAC would prefer to approach my long-form opinion pieces a thousand words at a time instead of all at once. In this case, at least, the evidence wasn't overwhelming in either direction.

If you follow Bark on Instagram (@barkm302) you know he had a rather fascinating week, so make sure to check R&T in the upcoming weeks for more news on that. As for me --- I'm on bed rest for the next six weeks. It's the kind of bed rest where I still go to work. More like a "fun rest" where I need to rest from doing anything enjoyable.

One last thing: If you were amused by the shirt I'm wearing in the trophy-presentation picture on R&T, definitely check out my friend Matt Grayson and his very own Rolling Heavy Magazine. You won't regret it. Matt started getting hardcore into vans when he almost lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. I'm wondering if I should follow him. At the very least, follow Matt on Instagram and see all the great photos of the tatted-up alt-models wearing his "Vanties" and whatnot.

There's something cruel about the fact that I was born too late to really enjoy the Seventies but too early to enjoy the West Coast Seventies revival. Oh well. At least I have my Space Invaders cripple belt!