The Corner.

Just like the topic of good old M. Night around the workplace, my honorable co-workers seem to have issues with yet another hero of mine, U2’s The Edge. Recently, they spent an afternoon poking fun at a man who’s overcome so much—being in Bono’s shadow all the time, enduring the “Numb” video, and of course there’s the pilgrim hat and pony tail.

Now, The Edge (and yes, his mother does call him that) is a lean, mean, guitar-playing, falsetto-singing machine. I love this guy for several reasons. For one, he—like Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive—adheres to my theory of the uniform. The Edge always perfectly pulls off the beanie, graphic tee, boot cut jeans, and black low top Converse All Stars. I swear this guy keeps a little Guatemalan lady in his closet who knits him a new perfectly fitting super-beanie on a daily basis.

The Edge is also what I’d call a fairly humble dude. How do I know this? First the guy seems to have no prob constantly stepping back and letting Bono do his thing. Second, he totally has sentiment; I mean to this day, he plays the same signature Gibson that you see him rocking in U2’s very first music video.

Let’s face it, the only thing that’s kind of weird about the guy is his nickname, and the only thing that’s weird about the nickname is the The. All I’m trying to say is that if it was just Edge instead of The Edge my feisty co-workers wouldn’t have a problem (but you’ve got to admit that Edge just feels like it’s missing something). I do know this: a couple weeks ago on MLK Day, when my bro reminded me to crank up some Pride (In the Name of Love) for the crowd—I didn’t hear any complaints.

I also didn’t hear any complaints when I showed the dudes this video. I caught a peek of this vid at the gym last week. I was listening to my Shuffle, when I caught a glimpse of it on the screen. I didn’t even know it was a U2 video, the visuals just compelled me to plug my earbuds into the gym’s sound system. Everyone I’ve shown this video to has claimed that it’s, and I quote, “the best music video ever”. It’s definitely an editorial and archival masterpiece, and easily ranks with the best of music videos.

Last week, a friendly neighborhood co-worker oddly referred to me as The Corner. I responded with an obligatory “Huh?” and he proceeded to explain, “You’re like two Edges coming together.” Now I don’t know if it was meant to be a slam or what, but I’m pretty sure I’m gonna take it as a compliment.

The Ultimate Sleeper.

While walking down a dirt road in Upcountry Maui one day, a mud-covered 1985 Volvo 240 Turbo Station Wagon came barreling down the valley; complete with windsurfing gear strapped to the roof and four locals packed inside. And thus began my love affair with wagons.

Station wagons, or “tourings” for the European types, come with a fairly hefty stigma. Thanks to flicks like National Lampoon’s Vacation and soccer moms nationwide, wagons are seen as lumbering, fake-wood-paneled, car-sickness-inducing behemoths. Well, I’m here to dispel the myths and introduce you to the Ultimate Wagon, the Ultimate Sleeper if you will.

In the auto enthusiast world, a “sleeper” is defined as an unassuming car that blends into traffic, but is a beast within. On Tuesday, January 9th, while Steve Jobs announced the iPhone from stage at Macworld, another landmark for humankind was made when BMW released the first official photos of the all-new M5 Touring. Imagine a 5.0 liter V10 wagon for a family of five—with 500 horsepower and a 0-60 of 4.5 seconds.

Anyone who knows me, knows that for like the past 7 years, whenever I’ve been asked what my dream car is, I’ve immediately responded: a BMW M5 Wagon. Well, it looks like my dream’s becoming reality, at least for likeminded wagon fiends in the UK. That’s right, there’s still no official word whether this family-sized speed demon will be finding its way across the pond. But you know and I know that where there’s a will there’s a way.

Now there’s just one little snag called the price tag. A base level M5 Sedan currently starts at a whopping $82,500! Now add on the cost of the wagon, a 530xi Sports Wagon is exactly $2,400 more than its 530xi Sedan sibling. So we’re talking a bare minimum of $84,900—ouch. And that doesn’t even include the cost of smuggling it into the States, not to mention switching the steering over to a left side driver, argh. So when it all comes down to it, I guess dream car remains just that.