"How to kill a Porsche 911"

[Posted by reader_iam]

'Cause it's there, 'cause he wants to, and 'cause he can:



Me, I like old Porsches, even if the 911 isn't my first choice. (I also like old British sports cars.) Of course, likin' ain't havin', any more than wishin' is gettin'.

I meant to post this one a while ago, after my husband (who, at one time, now long ago, did rescue and restore old Porsches, as well as a particular type of old BMW, among other cars) and I had a good laugh over it. Since we laughed pretty much as hard earlier this evening, I figure it's not too late.

Plus, it's fun to read deeper meaning and symbolism into stuff, just for the heck and fun of it. Wouldn't you agree?

I Should Vote For Barack Obama!

[Posted by reader_iam]

At least according this quiz. Who knew? My fall-backs, apparently, are Ron Paul, 61.96% (gulp); Joe Biden, 57.61% (oh, man, what is this, destiny's smile?--longer term readers will get the implied chuckle); and Christopher Dodd, 56.52% (what the--?).

Well, maybe it's not all THAT clear-cut (rats, I can't just link to the results, and now I'm going to have go back and append percentages to the guys already mentioned, too, and change the punctuation of my series; huff, huff):

Middle of the Pack:
If your top choices aren't in the running, keep an eye on these candidates in 2008.
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) - 56.52%
Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel (D) - 54.35%
Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich (D) - 54.35%
Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo (R) - 53.26%
Businessman John Cox (R) - 51.09%
Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson (R) - 51.09%
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) - 48.91%
New York Senator Hillary Clinton (D) - 47.83%
Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards (D) - 47.83%
Arizona Senator John McCain (R) - 36.96%

Bottom of the Barrel:
You won't be getting on the campaign trail with these candidates anytime soon.
View/Hide Bottom of the Barrel
Former Tennessee Senator Thompson (R) - 36.96%
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) - 33.70%
Kansas Senator Sam Brownback (R) - 32.61%
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) - 31.52%

Well, the bottom-of the-barrel list is mostly right, at least, though I confess to suprise over where Huckabee fell, and I haven't seriously thought about Fred Thompson yet (because, well, it's a bit hard to do so, and he just got around to declaring, after all.)

But overall? Sigh. I guess this means I'll just have to keep struggling through this election process the old-fashioned way. No shortcuts for me!

Hat tip, QC Examiner.

Update: Not sure how this ended up back in draft. It wasn't intentional.

And In This Corner ...

[Posted by reader_iam]

My Conservative Identity:

You are an Anti-government Gunslinger, also known as a libertarian conservative. You believe in smaller government, states’ rights, gun rights, and that, as Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”

Take the quiz at www.FightLiberals.com

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Social Justice Crusader, also known as a rights activist. You believe in equality, fairness, and preventing neo-Confederate conservative troglodytes from rolling back fifty years of civil rights gains.

Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com

Speechless

[Posted by reader_iam]

Beep You

[Posted by reader_iam]

When is a horn not a horn?

Banned from honking their horns, drivers in China's commercial hub of Shanghai are switching to music or voice recordings to make themselves heard, a local newspaper reported Wednesday.

Shanghai banned honking in the downtown area beginning this month, threatening fines of up to 200 yuan ($13) for those leaning on the horn. Not even police cars are exempt, with the use of sirens banned in all but emergencies, the rules say.

Yet some drivers who still feel the need to express themselves are spending up to 800 yuan ($100) for customized horns, the Shanghai Daily said.

It said at least one taxi driver has converted his to a recording of a woman's voice saying, "Please mind the car, we are making a turn." Other horns play music, similar to a personalized cell phone ring tone.

Hey, it's Friday--come out and play! Nominate the best song lyrics, or lines from movies, or whatever for a customized car horn.

I'll start: How about a verse from Devil in my Car?


(Sorry for the quality of the video, but you work with what you can find.)

Got Your Parent Or Guardian With You?

[Posted by reader_iam]

Rating via Mingle².

The explanation:

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
* death (3x)
* gay (2x)
* zombie (1x)

Well, I'll be ... nevermind.

Hat tip.

Speaking of "O's" And Diners

[Posted by reader_iam]

So, while I was out and away from the 'net and the tube, people started talking about the new Hillary spoofspot:


There's apparently some stunned backlash to this Althouse exegesis, mostly due to the connecting of onion rings with vaginas and (lengthwise-sliced) carrot sticks [to phalluses--like, you all hadn't already figured out what parallelism was missing in this sentence; still, for the record]. Well, I think that part of it is a bit of a stretch, though very funny. I think I'd be pretty safe betting that onions rings--the food, people, the food--have been one of Bill Clinton's favorites forever. After all (or should that be: on the other hand), remember the 1994 decorating of the White House's 22 Christmas trees (scroll down)? And just today, Bill's name came up in connection with onion rings in this story, "How to Eat Like a Politico in N.H." Also, saying that Bill Clinton--at least in this spoof video--is a better actor than Hillary is a distinction without a difference and I can think of LOTS of examples where he's done better--and even she, for that matter. But the areas covered in #1 and #2 bear some thinking about.

Or they might, if I weren't busy imagining Hillary taking on the role of Jack Nicholson in this famous diner scene...


... and trying very hard NOT to imagine her in this :
.

Oh, my. Please pass the onion rings.

Update: And now I'm thinking of that Psychodots song, from back in '94, which referenced a president's wife. (OT, but what a great show that was, up in Philly, when they played during an Adrian Belew solo tour.) An excerpt from "Moaner":

She’s a president’s wife
But no we’ve never met
Once I saw her get angry
Something I’ll never forget
Maybe it’s only a dream
And I don’t want to be mean
But I’ll be willing to bet
She’s a moaner
A mo-o-o-oaner
She’s a mo-o-o-o-o-oa-ner
Don’t ask me how I know (she’s a moaner)
From her head down to her toes (she’s a moaner)
She’s a moaner
A mo-o-o-oaner
She’s a mo-o-o-o-o-oa-ner
Don’t ask me how I know (she’s a moaner)
From her head down to her toes.

LOL. Dialing that one right up.

Denouncement Day II

[Posted by reader_iam]

A reprise, inspired by these three posts and their comments threads.

Here's the drill:

Whom or what do you want to denounce?

Denounce away/Have your say/ It's the truest blogging way!

I'll start:

I denounce the silly chickenhawk meme.

On a lighter note, I denounce heat waves that inexplicably seem to descend every time I try to hold an outside birthday party. Large, round cold-cut trays DO NOT fit into coolers! Cakes do too wilt! (So much for paying for pretty.)

Denouncement Day

[Posted by reader_iam]

Whom or what do you want to denounce?

Denounce away/Have your say/ It's the truest blogging way!

Hey, We've Been Assigned A Theme Song!

[Posted by reader_iam]

By Bill, of So Quoted. It's jazz! Good move, dude.

Bill's doing all his blogging these days via his own comments section--ask him, why don't you?--and I don't know how to link directly to a coment in Blogger (something to do with putting "#" somewhere?). Therefore, you'll need to scroll down to his 12:32 comment of today to figure out which Rich versus Roach track he picked. (On your way there, you'll see a description of his larger "theme that blog" project at 9:44 a.m. Also, don't miss the comment about the major problems with the WKRP DVD's. I am so bummed!)

So, folks: What do you think of the choice? Who's Rich? Who's Roach? (Bill won't tell.) I think we should have several theme songs around here; goodness knows I couldn't settle on just one for either one of us. Which is why I'm impressed by Bill's self-discipline.

Nominations? (Snark, if clever and, at bottom, good-hearted, more than welcome.)

Sing out, blogreaders! Playing keeps you younger.