Cars are an obvious focus of aesthetic fascination, so I'm sure (as I said here) that I'll be linking to this guy in the weeks and months to come, especially if he has lots of pictures. However, the bit I read today at CarBlog that really hooked me was about the art, if art it be, of signing autographs:

… The way it worked out this year, I spoke with not one but three pretty famous car guys at the NAIAS this year.

First, I was coming or going to somewhere and stopped by the Bentley stand to get another look at the Continental GT. The hood was up and three men were discussing the engine compartment. It didn't take me long to realize that the guy with the Ford pin was Sir Jackie Stewart, three-time Formula One driving champion and inspiration for a million bad vocal impressionists ... "this is Jack ... ie Stewart". At a break in their conversation, I asked him if I could trouble him for his autograph on a Bentley press cd.

Now some guys have class. …

Digression about somebody else with class. Then back to Jackie Stewart.

When I asked Stewart for his autograph, he whipped out a Sharpie and graciously signed not one but two Bentley press cds in a beautiful, distinguished autograph. The Sharpie and legible autograph are not a coincidence. Eoin Young described how Stewart refined his autograph and why: "He felt that if someone granted him the honour of asking for his autograph, it should be worthwhile, and he practised his copperplate autograph. No disinterested squiggle, looking away, talking to someone else, here." …

Interesting. Sharpie, presumably, is some kind of fountain pen, yes? I'm a total keyboardhead myself. I used to be able to hand-write but it's almost gone now, for all but scrawled notes to myself.