My heart got broken a little today.

It happened while I was returning from a quick visit to the convenience store this afternoon. On my way back to the office, I spotted a Maserati Quattroporte sitting in traffic as I walked by. It's striking how big and gorgeous those things are, all elegant understatement and flowing lines.

I was admiring the huge tailpipes and thinking of what a wonderful, muscular sound it must make when the light turned green and the car surged forward. And that's when my heart broke.

The engine was ailing and the car wheezed like an asthmatic fat kid as it moved.

Maybe it's because the great sedan looks like a battleship rather than a sleek athlete, but it really can't suffer the indignities of such infirmities. Suddenly, I noticed it was covered in winter road grime and had a clunky satellite radio antenna on the roof. The magic was gone because an inattentive owner has dishonored such a beautiful example of the carmaker's art.

At least I still have those memories in Italy of sailing down the Passo Falzarego on my bicycle, coming around a bend and suddenly being confronted with that huge, aggressive grille and only having time to register the signature tridenta emblem as I dodged him and he me before that silver Maserati was behind me. Seeing a Maserati at home on its native soil on a twisty, mountainous road is like seeing a cheetah hunting in the wild. You know you've seen something special!

CDs listened to today:

• Janet Jackson: Miss You Much
• John Mayer: Heavier Things (EP)
• Alfred Schnittke: Symphony No. 8
• John Adams: Grand Pianola Music
• Beastie Boys: Ill Communication
• Remy Shand: The Way I Feel
• Cuong Vu: Vu-Tet
• Ludwig van Beethoven: The String Quartets, disk 6
  
• Nick Didkovsky: Amalia's Secret