Thank you for your continued tenderness, affection, insight, generosity, trust and discretion. I've recently started referring to the experience as "Educating Paloma." lol You've taught me so much and I'm a better person because of it. Cheers!
Matthew Shuter of Somerset, England has found an untapped niche. He bought a 1989 Daimler hearse and vinyl-wrapped it "to look something like the scenery from the Beatles' film Yellow Submarine." He figured, right about now, hippies would begin needing 'one final ride' and why not have them go out in a style to which they've become accustomed? You can read more here and visit his website here.
My fav twitter citizen is 29 year old Justin who lives with his 73 year old father. Justin only tweets things his dad says and his dad is frank and dry. Better yet - Justin's just closed a book deal from his tweeting. He started tweeting Aug 3 2009. Wow - that's fast.
Here's a sampling.
"Your brother brought his baby over this morning. He told me it could stand. It couldn't stand for shit. Just sat there. Big let down."
"I just did an hour on the gym machine. I'm sweaty and I have to shit. Where's my fannypack, this workout is over."
Once again, I find myself hesitating and yet ultimately capitulating to write about something that wouldn't be "polite dinner conversation." It's regarding drunk driving - sort of.
To varying degrees we each hate and fear drunk drivers. Given. But as a responsible pub proprietor, how do you educate a patron that maybe he's had too many cocktails to drive? You let them play while they pee. (I warned you!)
Bathrooms in several Frankfurt bars have been installed "pressure sensitive inlays set within urinals, enabling users to play while they pee." A screen comes on in front of the urinal with a driving game. To turn the car right, you pee right; to go left, you pee left. Did y'all get a poor score? Then you're probably too drunk to drive. Brilliant and disgusting at the same time. More info here
After a stiff scotch on a rainy night in a remote cottage, it can be amusing to imagine "leaving it all behind" (and by "it all" I mean material possessions and money - certainly not family and friends :) and venturing off into the wilds of the countryside. Daniel Suelo did just that in 2000 and currently lives in a cave, completely outside of the economy. I'm intrigued. He's been blogging about his experiences here, with the help of free internet access at public libraries. That fact suggests he's not journeyed too far off the grid but his story inspires a sort of primal wanderlust in me I thought had vanished. You can read more about his remarkable story in Details.
With the upcoming release of the Star Trek movie, I've naturally been thinking about flying cars. YIPPEE! Ever since I saw a Harrier jet take off from a San Diego base, I've been lusting after the idea of VTOL - Vertical take off and landing, and there's car that can do just that. SKYCAR Cruise above the fray at 275 mph. Burn ethanol (or any number of other fuels) at up to 20 mpg. 750 mile range. Fly up to 36,000 feet. Need I say more?
A great website for determining cab fares in a smattering of major US and European cities and beyond. I hope the site keeps growing and adding more destinations. Love it. World Taxi Meter
Every Friday night, dog lovers gather round the glow-box to see the newest episode of the "Dog Whisperer." And every Saturday morning, the household's Fido is shocked by the change in behavior of the pack leader (ie his owner), armed with a couple of new behavior modification ideas. Shorter leashes, controlled growls, less eye contact, foreign hand signals, a reprimand for something formerly OK. Thankfully, resolutions may be quickly forgotten and the weekend only lasts two days, so the furries can retreat back to their loud, hedonistic ways on Monday, as the pack leader heads out to earn more cash for kibble. So - how do the critters cope with this startling weekend chaos? Easy - they just "close their eyes and think of England." :b
I may not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier but I just heard for the first time the phrase "Chindia" during a radio interview with a sociologist. The interviewee went on to explain "Chindia" as representing the emerging middle classes of India and China. (Thank god - he felt the need to explain it or I would've felt like a real dolt having to google it later.) So ummm I was ok with Bennifer and Brangelina because those phrases germinated from celeb mags and you gotta hook that audience with cute phrases - the literary equivalent of shiny, bright things. And - the phrases each only represented 2 people. But when clever people, referring to more that 1 billion people, start imitating the writing styles of gossip columnists - specifically the Indian economist, JairamRamesh (yes - I googled after all) who is credited with coining the phrase - I start to sweat ... and I'm actually more bothered by the fact that I don't know exactly why this upsets me so much. *sigh* I have no answer.
and oooooohhhhhh how I wish I could play on one of these. An all-terrain concept vehicle called the Hyanide - designed by Oliver Keller and Tillman Schlootz.
It was a clash of cultures when I noticed an incredibly beautiful young Japanese woman wearing a surgical face mask, strolling down PCH. In Japan, it's common to wear a face mask when one has a cold, in theory to protect others from your germs. In SoCal? Ummm, errrrr .... not so much. I almost, ALMOST pulled over to tell her this but then my light turned green and I had to get going. Oh well. Happy New Year!