One more thing before I forget...

At some point in time Mario himself would have been delighted to know that Googling his name would bring up more than just a story. For him, it would have been an alias, a career, and.....well, need I say anything more. :)

The more we blog about Mario, using his full name where possible (but being careful not to over use it), and linking various keywords like Valentino Rossi and things, the more the mad Google machine reads through the algorithms here on the inter-trode and moves the most highly viewed pages to the top.

A week ago if you Googled "Mario Frassetto" this blog wouldn't have existed. As of about 5-minutes ago, we're ranked 9th on the front page.

All I have to say is bad ass! (Ah, the computer SEO geek coming out in me!) Can't wait to move Mario's blog up to the number one Google position where it belongs.

(Update: I got word that Mario's blog is ranked 8th in Google all the way over in South Africa...)

07.20.08 : A Tribute to Mario : Part 1

"And the doc-tah wins!!!
Although he is the greatest rider in the world, Valentino Rossi had yet to win at Laguna Seca. Until today! Rossi tore up the competition at the US Red Bull GP, which was a sweet victory for all of us because Mario had ridden a bike on the Laguna track. Another awesome race that Rossi made look sooooo easy!

The party at Warren's house was nothing shy of perfect. Good food, good drink, and great conversation, just the way Mario would have wanted it. I think I speak for everyone that the turn out was really impressive. It was nice to see people that haven't been around in awhile, putting faces to the names we've all heard, as well as those new faces who were brave enough to show up not having met anyone prior to today. Thanks so much for coming out! It was a great gathering and tribute to Mario. It felt really good to be in that company.

While typing this up I had a thought I wanted to share. Just for a moment, visualize that Mario was there. Standing around looking over our shoulders with a silly little grin on his face. Pointing at stuff, then making his eyes flash big for a split-second. Goofing around. Talking about the race. Somehow managing to be everywhere at once! "Dude dude dude, you gotta check this out. Are you shitting me?" Chatting it up with the ladies while having a drink. Smiling and laughing and being a centerpiece of energy. Turning to his guy friends and talking gears, music, and of course women! There really are no words to describe it, no matter how hard I try. His style truly, truly is one-of-a-kind. To the average person this list may look pretty ordinary, but to the people who knew him well, he was farrrrr from average. You could set that guy loose anywhere and he'd march to the beat of his own drum. Before you knew it, people would be picking up on the beat. I can guarantee that wherever Super is, he was making weird gestures with his hands accompanied by words that only exist in his world while we sat around and spoke his name. That right there is a happy visual, because if we had the power to see it, we would have seen it happening. You know?

Many thanks to VW for having everyone over. Great, great party.

Some other pictures from the party will be on their way up once I get a little more time to resize and whatnot, and we'll pile 'em all together. If anyone wants a full size set, let me know. A couple invites are out, so hopefully Warren and Jeff should both be writing something on here shortly as well! (Remember as Super would say, "it's all about Quality, not Quantity.")

Mario at a distance on an Aprilia RS250 at Laguna Seca:



A mini Super shrine! To the left is Mario's original "Frassetto" design in yellow, which is a modified Ferrari logo. Inside the display case is Super's Hustler Helmet, to the right is the helmet Warren bought for everyone to sign:



This helmet acts better than any card. Cheers to Warren for thinking this up. More pictures will be posted in a week or so once it's finished being signed:



Super Mario in ink on Super Mario's helmet:



A lolly with attitude! Mario (bottom left) and some of the crew on Halloween a few years ago. Apparently he wore tiny shorts to match that Baby Gap t-shirt he had on:

07.20.08 : A Tribute to Mario : Part 2

Cohost Vari, snappin' a picture of me snappin' a picture of the Halloween picture that was making the rounds:



The host Warren Sheppard, rockin' his "I Dainese Me" tee:



Autumn, Mindy, Lizzy, and Crystal:



Valentino Rossi in the lead with 4 laps to go:



Rossi takes the checkered flag, then horks a wheelie for good measure. Nice!:

I found this on Super's Myspace page

Someone posted this to his Myspace page and I borrowed it and brought it over here. It's Valentino Rossi, and I'd bet just about anything that if Mario had had the time he would have had this picture blown up and framed for his room. This was a mantra to him...

A Valentino Rossi vid, as Super would say, "The Doctor", from Warren Sheppard

This video always reminded me of how Mario would drive around a car. Thats 7 time Motorcycle Grand Prix World Champion and one of Marios idols in the driver seat, Valentino Rossi.



- Warren

In memory of Mario Frassetto.