The Lonely Cache
Posted on September 7, 2024 by Bruce

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1984

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Bruce
1984Sorry, I know you would think that MINIon #1984 would wear a black t-shirt, sport trendy glasses, and talk about thinking differently. Then again, maybe you thought MINIon#1984 would have something to do with a cage that had rats in it War is Peace, etc… nope. Would you believe that MINIon #1984 is in the Navy?  I was given these rather cryptic instructions – “Navy Dixie Cup” and a Neckerchief.  Not having served in the military, (my father wanted each of his sons to be John Wayne and therefore a true American hero- one of my brothers did fly with Brian Williams and Seal Team 6 in Afghanistan from what he says, besides that we got nothing) I decided that teaching kids in this day and age was an heroic enough effort. So I made a Mr. Salty MINIon… You know my grandmother had a massive jar of pretzels in her house- mmmm… pretzels.  

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1971

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Bruce
1971There are some MINIs that people recognize from a distance- MINIon #1942’s Clubman is one, and MINIon #1971 is another- something about the swimming lane markers. If you missed seeing their badge on the road, it was really tiny near the license plate if I recall, it was really hard to see it.  Maybe they were just embarrassed to be a part of our merry little band.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1969

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Bruce
1969Ground Control to MINIon #1969… I always liked playing around with spacesuit designs, especially the 1950’s B-movie variety.  If I remember correctly, this started out as a “just for fun” design, figuring that someone might like it.  I picked 1969 since that was when David Bowie released “Space Oddity” and a few guys flew out to the moon and set foot upon our closest celestial neighbor.  I picked the bright colors from Robert Heinlein’s “Destination Moon”  in which each astronaut wore a different color so they could be recognized in space.  Hey!  It won the Academy Award for Best Special Effects in 1950, so no complaints about the cheesy dialogue. As for the actual MINIon #1969- that’s another one who I missed due to leaving the party early.  I’m hoping some event this year, or MTTS 2016 will change all that.  

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1963

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Bruce
1963aSometimes I just doodle things, and sometimes a MINIon really does capture their MINIon’s likeness.  I met MINIon 1963 at the opening party in San Francisco and frankly is was pretty easy to doodle a MINIon in a beret instead of a fez. Being an old MINI owner having motored since 2005 and gone on some portion of every MTTS, I discovered it was easier to meet new people since there weren’t that many people.  As the events have grown, many people drive with their friends (people they know from home). I, on the other hand, prefer to travel with my friends – who are people from all over the place and kind of avoid the people I can drive with every weekend.  That’s how the MINIons started and that core group has grown and grown, with its own splinter groups that join for a few miles, and move on.  We gather at breakfast and at our destination, I kind of wish there were more destinations so I could get to know everyone better.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1950

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Bruce
1950Good Grief- as a cartoonist where do I start with this one?  As a kid I was raised on Charles Schulz.  I remember seeing an interview on TV growing up and saw how his characters could just pour from his pencil- that became my goal to be able to draw that fast… If you’ve seen me draw- I’m still too slow. One of the highlights of MINI Takes The States 2014 was a visit to the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa.  I was amazed and in awe of everything I saw and what a great person Schulz was.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1945

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Bruce
1945OK, I’m a comic book guy… while working on designs I figured for a Coast to Coast trip I needed Cap to be the sentinel of liberty that he is.  As you may have seen some MINIons do not wear fezzes but I really liked hiding the MINIon logo in the costume.  No this is not that horrible pocket universe where the “A” was replaced with an eagle, nor is it the horrible alternate reality where all the Marvel heroes are actually apes. When you aren’t active on Facebook, it’s hard to get on board with stuff like badges. Especially when all the planning happens online.  So MINIon #1945 was one of the extra MINIon badges given out to a MINIon who missed the boat, or was frozen in ice, until MINI Takes The States.  I think everyone realized that Being an American Icon, did come with an abundant knowledge of trivia.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1931

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Bruce
1931“It’s alive! It’s alive!” Sadly, this poor MINIon hasn’t gotten much love.  This MINIon was called “sickly” and was originally MINIon #1313 (the Munsters lived at 1313 Mockingbird Lane).  The MINIon # was altered to 1931 (the year Boris Karloff’s film was made.)  Maybe if I added a daisy with a few missing petals he would seem more appealing.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1904

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Bruce
1904Those people who know me, know how I really like Science Fiction, it has been my preferred way to escape the real world since I was a kid.  I remember watching old serials with Buster Crabbe, and the classic B-movies of the 50’s.  I watch Star Trek, even have scars from watching a Labor Day Weekend Marathon having moved a TV outside so I could get some sun (2nd degree sunburn). Then came Star Wars… Like most kids in the late 70’s that shaped my life, until George Lucas ruined it for me.  I had my view of the world, I had nostalgia for Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi.  Then George Lucas decided to “thrill us again” with the prequels- shedding light on how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader… those films don’t exist for me, after waiting in line for the first showings of each film I decided that I liked what I saw as a kid.  I know some people liked those films, and I’m fine with that.  I’m entitled to my opinion, just as they are entitled to theirs.  I had walked away from Star Wars and had embraced the Roddenberry side of the Force.  So when I was asked to create a “Padawan Jedi” MINIon I had to smile and bite my tongue. 🙂