It’s been a while since I wrote a silly post in this category and tomorrow’s a public holiday here in Malaysia, so here a few examples of some of the totally crazy and awesome stuff you can buy from Amazon.com. If you go check these out, please remember to read the user comments. It’s all part of the fun! Pictured above is the JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/Tank which can be yours for a mere US$20,000.00. Unfortunately, it is not road legal, nor does it come with any actual weapons.
Thinking of Christmas presents? If it’s someone who is frequently on the road, the Laptop Steering Wheel Desk might be a novel gift. It can instantly turn your car into a mini workspace. I’m sure nothing can go wrong with this invention. Disregard all the customer submitted photos on that page.
Finally, Amazon.com even sells fresh whole rabbits. Perfect for those moments when you need to hold a Satanic ritual at the last minute and you can’t find an appropriate sacrifice in time. Warning: buying one of these as a pet for your children would be a bad idea!
I’m pretty sure The Sycologist’s faked Andy Warhol prints would make this list too if it were on Amazon.
This chart is the funniest thing I’ve seen so far this week. You can view the full version of it here. To be fair, it’s just something the Republicans cooked up to mock the Democrats’ plans to reform healthcare in the U.S., so it’s meant to be frighteningly complex and byzantine. Even so, it’s clear that the health care system is a huge mess that I wouldn’t want to be tangled in. I’m a libertarian, but healthcare is one of those things that I think government should provide, at least at a basic level, and for this at least, I’m glad that we have, if not exactly good, at least fairly decent public hospitals here in Malaysia.
I managed to resist the urge to post about this outdoor treadmill when it first got posted on QT3, but the ropeless jumping rope has pushed me over the edge. Basically it seems to be a matched set of two weighted jumping rope handles with fancy electronics embedded to count your jumps and calculate how long you’ve been jumping. Except that it doesn’t have an actual rope connecting the two handles, so you won’t need to worry about tripping, or getting your rhythm wrong, or maintaining proper form. Because, hey, actually jumping with a rope is too hard and simply jumping in place without any equipment is just stupid.
Someone posted this in QT3 in a thread to discuss news of workers rioting at a factory in the U.S. after getting news of being laid off. It looks more like an environmentalist revolution than a socialist one to me though. Enjoy!
Just because I haven’t posted a frivolous picture in a while, here’s one that I picked up from QT3. I have no idea what is going on or where this is, but you really have to wonder whether that lone driver there is brave or recklessly heading towards something everyone else is desperate to avoid.
I spotted this from a thread in LYN. Check out these reviews of Proton cars by UK-based Top Gear. They seem to really, really hate the brand.
We don’t know what Malaysian motorists did to upset the gods, but it must have been something pretty serious, judging by the punishment they seem to be getting. Still, at least the domestic audience thinks this stuff is the norm – what on earth do they think they’re doing bringing it to the UK? Walk away.
The Economist, one of the most influential and respected news outlets in the world, is well known for its concise and informative writing style. Regular readers however will note that there’s often an element of dry wit as well, and at times even a touch of whimsy.
One recent article presents an excellent example of this sense of humour at work. Inspired by the new president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed’s public musing that his country should set aside a portion of its revenues from tourism to buy a new homeland to replace its islands that are expected to be engulfed by rising sea levels, The Economist has extended the idea as a solution for all kinds of problems. Note the following line:
China could stop making aggressive gestures towards Taiwan and buy Malaysia instead. It’s already run by Chinese, so they’d hardly notice the difference.
I would imagine that the Malays would be none too amused to read that but you really have to credit those crazy editors at The Economist for their imagination and creativity in coming up with this wild scheme.
