Monday, August 11, 2008

Zen Monday: Real Men Love

Zen Monday is the day you tell me what the photo's about, rather than me telling you. My desire is to provoke conversation.

32 comments:

Keith said...

...and this is what birds think of their trucks.

Laurie Allee said...

Anagrams are interesting. The bumper sticker can be rearranged to spell: Lanes jeer volumes.

John Sandel said...

The pompatus of love appears to have given way to the cloaca of the Tetragrammaton.

Thursday Girl/Hollis the Cat said...

I think the parrots are expressing their disagreement with this person's choice of car and bumper sticker.

Anonymous said...

He know when ever sparrow falls … and drops.

dianasfaria.com said...

I'll write the first thing I thought of, everyone has their opinions... including the birds!
PS
I can't wait to look up those words Bernie wrote, I'm guessing once I know what they mean, it's going to be very interesting!
Good one Petrea!

Anonymous said...

...and Real Men Love their Vehicles.

So, is the owner a man or a woman?

Nic pic, again.

Anonymous said...

When driving through
Valleys of fear
The view behind
May be unclear.

(Myanmar Shave)

John Sandel said...

The Ghost in the machine …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdlLBWymnUA

(Sorry, off topic, couldn't stop myself)

Petrea Burchard said...

I'm going to leave it there, but here's fair warning: Bernie's post just above this might be offensive to some of those who aren't particularly, uh, anal.

John Sandel said...

Now you're scaring people. I didn't put the "scat" in eschatology!

Anonymous said...

...because eating quiche is soooo 80's...

Anonymous said...

Real men love my gardener?

Pasadena Adjacent said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
USelaine said...

altadenahiker - I wouldn't be surprised.

***

dull brown summer coat
effusive effluent gives
reminder of life

Eki said...

It makes me think, what constitutes "real man"? Is it man in the sense of human being? The opposite sex of woman? Or perhaps man in the sense of attitude?

Then it also makes me wonder, who/what organization could have made that sticker? Is it the Church? Or just some ultrareligious group of people?

The answers to these questions determine - to a large extent - what the statement means.

Great post, Petrea.

Susan C said...

My first car, a stick-shift, "unsafe at any speed" Corvair, came with a "honk if you love Jesus" bumper sticker.

I never knew if there were a lot of Jesus lovers or impatient drivers who had to wait extra long for me to find gear.

Patrizzi Intergarlictica said...

Take a load off Fanny; and (and) (and) you can put the load right right on me.



The Weight, by J.R.Robertson 1968
http://theband.hiof.no/lyrics/the_weight.html

John Sandel said...

M. Havisham WINS.

Kim said...

Oh Petrea, what thoughtful, mindful, inventive, intelligent, and funny, funny readers you have! I really enjoyed reading everyone's comments today. Being formally trained in literary criticism in my youth, I think Isabel's comment which takes us back to the source text, "Real men don't eat quiche," has much to offer our understanding of this image. And of course, Bernie's insightful comments add. . .ah, um. . . heaps, yes heaps to our insights. (BTW, thank you for warning me off the video before my curiosity did me in).
Very fun post, Ms. P. Between this and a post I read today from a few days back on Willits DP, I'm about laughed out!
-Kim
Seattle Daily Photo

Christie said...

Love it!!

Anonymous said...

One should always be formally trained in literary criticism in youth. Maturity wouldn't stand for it.

Petrea Burchard said...

I've been away all day. At times during the day I worried that I had overstepped. "Maybe I shouldn't have posted a controversial photo," I thought. "Have I left the blog open to religious diatribes, moral arguments, angry sniping? Will my Christian friends be offended? or will blog readers discuss religious history, worldwide religious conflict, etc?"

No. You are my people. You chose to discuss the poo.

Though I do echo Kim: you are "thoughtful, mindful, inventive, intelligent, and funny, funny" people.

Too many good ones to write an individual response for everyone. A few need notes, though:

If I were giving prizes (which I may yet do), Bernie would win one for use of largest, most obscure yet relevant words;

Thursday/Hollis would also win for best incorporation of local lore (google "pasadena parrots" if you don't know what I mean;

I'd also like to give a prize to Miss Havisham, for always managing to say something pithy with few words. Which is redundant. Pithy is not my forte. Did I mention I talk too much?

Eki, Real Men Don't Eat Quiche, first published in the US in 1982, was supposed to be a funny book about being macho, but is probably dated now. It made a splash back then and the phrase, if not the content of the book, has become part of our culture. "Real Men" this and "Real Men" that. Thanks to ginab for the link.

Kim, was the Willits post All Others Will Be Toad?

Ms M said...

That's quite the photo, with a STOP sign emerging from the bird-doo covered top of a Range Rover, the AAA sticker, AND a bumper sticker telling us what real men love -- I think Bernie and Altadenahiker have translated the scene very well.

Anonymous said...

Nice. I'll be presenting the kind of trophy to Miss H that Bernie K. had in mind. HAH!

USelaine said...

I'm posting this here for no good reason. Oh, and this as well. Fascinating, aren't they?

Unknown said...

I'm always quite surprised to see so many photos of British cars featured in CDP's from the States. But then we don't see that many American cars in British blogs. It's probably due to the excessive price of petrol these days.

John Sandel said...

Petrea, you're the last one I'd expect to get pithy over such talk of poo.

Petrea Burchard said...

Ms M, I agree with you, as usual.

Mary Kathleen: Ha! Remember how delicate Miss H can be. Ahem.

Elaine: birdie plumage! (You looked up "cloaca"--no, you're the type who already knew it.) Miss Havisham hangs out with royalty, don't you know.

Gail's man, until I read your comment I hadn't realized the Range Rover's a British auto. Surely it's imported to the US because Americans like big cars. And surely the Brits don't import a lot of American cars because British are too wise to buy gas-guzzlers. Perhaps we yanks are in the process of learning our lesson. It's not too much to hope.

Bernie, I believe this is the first time I've heard "pithy" and "poo" in the same sentence.

Kris McCracken said...

Of course, they love Jesus in a masculine, “let’s go out and kill stuff together” kind of way. Not in a “Brokeback Mountain” kind of way. That would be wrong.

Petrea Burchard said...

Oh yeah, Kris. You know how he and the disciples used to love to hunt and fish together and drink beers.

Coltrane_lives said...

How did I miss this one? I won't add to the "cleverity" that's already been posted. "The Band" reference gets my vote!;-)