Funkengroovin - The News Only Edition

Let's see if VB gets in trouble for publishing so many photos that are not hers. The warning says "for personal use only," and she considers this blog highly personal. All the photos in today's post are from, Google archives LIFE photos -- classic wheels included, as the LA Times states. They have an amazing number of photos, some of which have never before been published. VB's thinking about having a few prints made to hang on her mainly, black and white postered walls, back in Cairo. You can search via decade, car name, country, you name it. All the photos are from archives, and here's the link to the search engine: Search millions of historic photos. Have fun!

NEWS:

BENZ BUSES, BEETLES AND BUDDHISTS
"For Shrestha, his battered German-built bus is perfect for its current job, ferrying passengers between Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, just a few kilometres away

"I've driven plenty of buses but this one still feels wonderful, despite being 11 years older than me," said Shrestha, 24, as he nosed his way into the frenetic traffic.

"Hippies brought this bus to Nepal during the 70's and sold it to locals. I heard that the interior was like a room and had a toilet.

"They used to sleep inside. The locals who bought it converted it into a passenger vehicle."

Nepal was often the end of the road for countless overland travellers who made the trip from Europe, through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India."


"The hippies and their vehicles were very exotic for me as a kid growing up near what we called Freak Street," he said, referring to the area in central Kathmandu where the hippies congregated.

For day-to-day use he drives a Hyundai hatchback but the weekends and holidays are for his cherished 1976 Beetle. He bought it eight years ago for $1300 then spent three times that much renovating it.

"When I wash and wax my Beetle I feel like kissing it. It's the shape that makes it so attractive and you can never get bored with it."

The blue and white Beetle still turns heads, he said. "You look at modern vehicles - Toyotas, Nissans, Tatas - and they all look the same.""- AFP

Same story, but more photos: Hippies' old vehicles evoke lost era in Kathmandu

16 years of cruising in Cleveland
"For the Cool Breeze VW Club in Cleveland, the breeze they refer to is not the one blowing through their hair, but the breeze blowing across their engines. Cool Breeze VW Club is an air-cooled club, meaning their members drive Volkswagens with air-cooled engines, as all the classic cars had. They also focus on street vehicles.

For more information about the Cool Breeze VW Club, visit www. myspace.com/coolbreezevw."

Is Your Car in a Good Mood Today?
"People thought cars had facial expressions. For example, participants felt elongated cars with pronouncedly low chassis or angular headlights set wide apart suggested a manly frown. Conversely, headlights with their upper edge relatively close to the middle like the Volkswagen Beetle suggested a smiling child or woman."

Oil should pay
"This is intended for the older people who were around in the 1960s. Remember the billboard on the highways that advertised a Beetle for $1,799? Remember Ralph Nader? He led the nation into believing that VW was the most unsafe vehicle in the world. Why? Because the VW was capturing the automotive market in America.

GM, Ford, Chrysler and don't exclude American Motors (Rambler), and the big oil companies ganged up on VW using Nader to bury Volkswagen...."




Obama Saves Auto Industry, to Build "Obamawagens"
"Modeled on the popular beetle-shaped Volkswagen, or "people's car," the new vehicle will feature the utility and cheapness of the original Volkswagen Passenger Cars ordered by Germany in the 1930s, designed by Porsche and built in Wolfsburg, Germany.

The two-door cars will have an air-cooled, rear mounted engine and will sell for about $2000 each, thus competing with the Tata vehicles made in India.

"Obamawagens will be made in some of the factories formerly owned by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler," said President Obama. "Imports of foreign cars will be banned.""

Canadians Start 28,000-Mile Voyage In Veggie-Fueled Van, Attempt World Record

Heading west in a Westy
"Not settling for anything ordinary, the Henrietta couple decided to take the journey in a Volkswagen bus from the 1970s instead of a typical recreational vehicle or camper.

Accompanying Josh and Kim on their travels will be their 4-year-old cat, Fink, and their appropriately named 6-year-old dog, Westy. Along the way, Josh and Kim will post pictures, videos and blog updates on the Web site www.greenbusadventures.com, which they created to keep family and friends updated on the trip."

Build Your Own VW Camper Van

You Don't Know What You've Got Till It's Gone
"Just Kampers (www.justkampers.co.uk), the insurance specialist for camper owners, has launched a home insurance policy that includes cover for personal effects away from home. Tailored especially for the needs of camper van owners, the policy is easy to arrange online, and very competitively priced. It offers piece of mind and covers multiple trips so once it's taken out - that's it, job done."

(Many photos and a link to a video, that VB can't get to work.)
Volkswagen Funerals
"THE ONLY AIRCOOLED HEARSE AND FUNERAL CAR FLEET AVAILABLE FOR HIRE IN THE WORLD"

"Volkswagen Funerals fleet includes our VW Bay (camper van style) hearse, two matching classic stretched Beetle limousines which are modern Mexican Cars for reliability, and this countries only New Beetle Limousine. To keep to the 'camper' theme we have a 1963 VW 21 window Samba split screen bus and new for 2009 our bay window 'camper van' style Bus , which is perfect to follow the Bay Hearse. All cars are in matching white."

1973 Volkswagen Type 3 Squareback

Caught the bug: Lifelong mechanic has a soft spot
"When Verle Allen met Kay Wensel in 1972, he didn't know he was being introduced to the two loves of his life.
One was her. They were married about two years later.

The second was her little red Volkswagen Beetle."

Florida tinkerers building their own electric cars
"So he bought two 1965 Volkswagen Beetles for $2,000 each and spent some time poking inside them and taking measurements. After the engines came out, he and his colleagues custom-built a special mount and installed an electric motor and batteries. The entire process, from design to driving, took about three months.

Now Bourgeois drives an all-electric Beetle to work each day and said he doesn't mind that it needs recharging every 25 or 30 miles or so. That's less than his daily commute. He also doesn't mind the cost of recharging his batteries: He figures he's paying about 2.5 cents per mile, or 75 cents per recharge.

He also has started selling the conversion kits through a new company, RebirthAuto. The $7,000 kits include the motor mount that they designed, and soon will include a specially designed controller that regulates the electric power."

Wheels: Frank Zappa’s Compact Car From Hell

Study Says Cars Make Us Fat
"It would be easy to chalk this up to American laziness and our love affair with cars, but it isn't that easy. European cities tend to be compact and densely populated with excellent transit systems. American cities, on the other hand, tend to sprawl on and on and on — ever been to Atlanta? Dallas? Phoenix? — and our mass transit infrastructure generally is not as advanced, so it can be harder to get out of the car and onto a bike."

From the LA Times: 10 gifts for gearheads

Doggone it: Car companies’ pet accessories to keep animals safe
"Either way, all bets are off when the dog could roam free in the car. As one commenter said another time when Up to Speed broached the subject of in-car pet restraints, “I doubt anybody would want to get hit in the head by a dog of any size.”

Programs like Bark Buckle Up, which works with 15 auto manufacturers, teach the importance of pet safety, such as latching animals to seats for drives. And car companies have come to our aid with lines of pet accessories for both safety and messes."

(Below): That's Bob Hope with his VW Bus. VB's as shocked as you. She's not sure what to think. Very odd looking license plate, though.






Christmastime: Special Edition

Funkengroovin Wednesday - Confusion Reigns Supreme Revisited

One Thing Leads To Another


Remember this Bus?


And the blog about it:? Well, when Vagabondblogger isn't in Cairo, carousing around looking for VW's, she's in Connecticut reading. One of the new books she recently bought is, Volkswagens Of The World. Apparently some guy, Simon Glen, traveled the world photographing, and documenting a variety of Volkswagen cars and buses, and their derivatives (a little compulsive wouldn't you say?)

VB found a very similar looking Bus photo: "A 1978 Brazilian six-door Transporter Type 201 Microbus Luxo."

From there VB decided to do a more specific Internet search. Even though you can find anything you want on the web, when you're looking for something you don't know anything about, it's pretty much like looking for a needle in a haystack. So check out this Bus VB found at TheSamba.com. Very similar. It's a Brazilian six door transporter.

And, as in Cairo, when it comes to Brazilians, their VW's may not be what they seem to be. According to Malcolm Bobbitt, author of The Volkswagen Bus Book:

"...There was also a problem, in the materials sent from Germany did not always compliment production then current in Brazil. Thus, the situation often arose that vehicles that were seemingly representative of a particular era were adorned with fittings, such as doors and trim items, from previous models.

There were a number of anomolies concerning Brazilian-built Transporters in respect of styling arrangements being peculiar to other models. Hence, some Bay Window Microbuses were fitted with side and rear windows of a pattern similar to those seen on the Split-Screen Samba. Specific to Brazilian production was a water-cooled Bay Window diesel-engined model, complete with an external radiator fixed to the nose of the vehicle."

If that's not bad enough, according to Simon Glen (the dude who traveled the world):

"In 1975 its successor, although fitted with a single carburettor, 1600 twin port engine, and looking like a second generation Type 2 from the front, was really just a 1957 Type 2 with a second generation, one piece wind-screen, front panel, front doors, and dashboard fitted to the front. From the front doors back the body was still the first generation shell, which was how it remained in production until 1997! ...From 1976 the 1600 twin port engine was standard and there was a 'Luxo' model of the Microbus with a unique arrangement of doors on both sides....." (Photo below)

It's pretty obvious that the section between the two side doors was welded onto the bus, in the photo VB took at the Car Market. It's not a very good job either. That was never an issue. VB wanted to know where the hell these guys got this idea from? (Dangling, VB knows this.) So, she found out. And as odd as she and The Boss Man thought Cairene VW's were, apparently it's a worldwide phenomenon.


TheSamba.com got their photo from an old car site in Japan. This site has some amazing VW's and their uses. For those photos go here. VB's fave is Heidi Pizzaria, which you can get to by scrolling down. They've even installed a brick oven!






Check out the labels under the photos called "cut," which gives you inside views of the Buses. So, VB is adding these two pages as links, since they're totally awesome! This site will keep you busy for hours. Also, when you scroll down, and leave your pointer on one of the cartoons it will show you the actual machine. VB thinks she wants to start a traveling hookah / sheesha business now - discussions are in progress with the kinder.


For views of other rare Buses:
Dream bus for VW fanatic, has an article and photos about a restored 1953 Samba.


And things get stranger. Would you use a bus as a trailer? If so, take a look at DoubleDutch Bus. Unfortunately, their link "It's genetic" is only in Dutch, but you'll get the picture. They provide many photos, and some explanations in English, with a post of how the trailer came to be, but again, only in Dutch! Pictures abound, and if you're like VB, then a picture speaks a thousand words, and what else do you need, huh?



NEWS:

Conocophillips Corporate Archive -
William Stout, left, with a Scarab.
A Visionary’s Minivan Arrived Decades Too Soon

"Built by a pioneering aircraft designer in the 1930s, the Scarab was a milepost on a road not taken.

On a rainy day in 1936, Mr. Stout and his Scarab visited one of the new cottage-style Phillips gas stations, at Third Street and Keeler Avenue in Bartlesville, Okla., in the heart of the oil patch. A Phillips executive greeted him; in the background of a photo from that day, bystanders look skeptically at the vehicle shaped like a loaf of home-baked bread. The tall, mustachioed Mr. Stout is wearing an overcoat in the photo, and looks like a scientist from one of the “Thin Man” films of the era.

The Scarab’s layout is worth a second look for designers working to pack maximum utility into modern vehicles. It can be seen as the forerunner of the Volkswagen Microbus, the Renault Espace and other one-box designs.

By 1935 he was publicizing the Scarab, which took its name from the beetle held sacred by ancient Egyptians. Its layout was like that of the VW Beetle, however greatly stretched: engine in rear (a Ford V-8), housed under a vast curve of complex grillwork. Mr. Stout praised the car’s aluminum construction and hoped to build 100 a year. He courted Philip Wrigley, of the chewing gum empire; the tire magnate Harvey Firestone; and Willard Dow, of Dow Chemical."



Worried about cats crawling onto your engine to keep warm in the winter? Well then, don't go to New York City, where you will find Under the Hood, a Cozy Rat Retreat.
"It turns out that rats, of which New York City has an ample supply, love to cozy up inside car engines this time of year.

Ignition wires seem to be a particular favorite, he said.

Mr. Gruber, who often finds telltale chicken bones and candy wrappers, said he sees cars with the problem about twice a month; they have often been parked near Riverside Park.

Paul D. Curtis, an associate professor at Cornell University who specializes in wildlife management, said rodents in general tend to be attracted to plastic tubing and wires. “They do need to chew constantly to wear down their incisors,” he said, “and there’s something about the texture of the plastic that they really like.”

Another article, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles: "60 Years VW Bulli - The Book" goes to print, (about the Bulli Anniversary bash in Hanover, which VB posted here,) is in the news again. Unfortunately, if you get on the sales website, You can't even find it, anymore. VB was able to locate it it in December, but mailings were not offered to U.S.A. residents. If anyone has a heads-up on where we U.S. citizens can purchase the book, or what's happened to it, please let VB know. She was hoping to get a copy, and is very disappointed by the lack of availability. VB just loves how the media announces this stuff, but doesn't follow up on ordering information. BTW, this is exact same article as before (you'd think the news media could come up with an updated version. What's it been - Close to one month?)

Great Site:
Ever wonder what movies and TV shows your favorite car has been in? Well, now there's a database available: Internet Movie Cars Database. You can search by make or do an advanced search by model. Surprising information including photo shots from the actual scenes.



Blink 182-First date (Check out the split-window featured in the video.)

Funkengroovin - Playing With Pictures

Check out DUMPR, and see the awesome things you can do to a photograph. Below are some examples. The first photo is the original VB used for the other manipulations. They offer more possibilities and you can load the photos either from your flickr account or from your desktop.


Original


Alien Vision - Invert:


Alien Vision - Volcano: (Psychedelic!)


Rubik's Cube:


Photo To Sketch:


Amazing Circles: VB likes the chrome edge.


HAVE FUN!

Weekend News Roundup - Prelude

stop the clash: Stop The Clash Of Civilizations

Politicians, Dress Codes, and Losers

I like reading certain political blogs, which I don't list as links.
Crooks and Liars is one of my favorites and I found this little gem on their site. Marie Claire Magazine is at it again. You'd think they'd quit after the article on hijabi-style clothing and shopping for abayas in Dubai. Some people accused them of supporting the Islamofascists. Now they've exposed Mike Huckabee for the true fundamentalist conservative he is (I know, "surprise, surprise"). Apparently Mike Huckabee has a problem with mini-skirts (can you believe that - a man who does not like mini skirts?) and he has a definite opinion on how women should dress. That's cool (also annoying as hell), but as a politician, he should keep his mouth shut on that front; the same goes for Jack Straw and Tony Blair. Tim Gunn, though not a politician, can express his opinion all day long and I'll listen intently, just like I do to his podcasts. Since I'm a big supporter of free speech though, I say let these two-bit politicians throw in their two cents!

Rachel Maddow's Campaign Asylum- Huckabee Mini-skirt Madness

I don't believe wearing a hijab should be outlawed (as in the French system) and I also don't believe it should be forced (as in Iran, Saudi Arabia). I don't think anyone has any business dictating what a woman should or should not wear (although Trinny and Susannah are experts at dissecting a woman's pathetic sense of style). I've worn a mini-skirt in my time, and I used to keep a hijab and abaya in my car when I lived in the U.A.E., "just in case" I might need it as a cover up, particularly when dealing with the police. The last thing you want, is to be in a traffic accident in your mini skirt, shorts, tennis skirt, etc. when you're just driving up the road on your way home from "the club" or a day at the beach. (I learned my lesson after that experience I had wearing an "OUZO" tee-shirt in a traffic accident.)

There are women I see and define by the way they dress, i.e. low cut jeans, ass antlers peeking out, bare midriff with showy belly ring bling, super tight tee = skanky. I don't care if the girl is a virgin, she still looks skanky. Oh and those sweats just spell out L-A-Z-Y to me! Anyone who's seriously working out / exercising does not wear sweats all day, particularly ones with a butt logo. Look, I may hang out in my P.J.'s half the day blogging (pajamahadeen?), but I don't go to lunch, out shopping or to school / work in them. And if you're a parent who hangs out in your sweats - take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Do you really think you look attractive or even desirable as a friend (or a parent)? Are you wondering why you can't get play-dates for your kids? You all look like losers! So to all the people who dress like that, keep doing it, because it just makes my life easier, gives me something to talk and harp on about and just makes me feel so much better than you! At least I change my clothes before going out in public (and I brush my teeth).

Oh yeah, and something else I noticed about those sweat-pants ladies - they're the ones who drive around parking lots, circling, crawling up your ass, trailing you, looking for a parking spot close to the entrance. Maybe if they got some exercise, such as, actually changing their clothes, and a little walking (like from a farther parking spot) they wouldn't be so embarrassed or (again) L-A-Z-Y or do I mean, just plain S-L-O-P-P-Y? Might I add, that when you do that, you're contributing even more to the Greenhouse Gases - just thought you losers might want to know.

"First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible professions or studied actions. A man's look is the work of years; it is stamped on his countenance by the events of his whole life, nay, more, by the hand of nature, and it is not to be got rid of easily."
William Hazlitt

I've written about hijabs and I feel equal time should be devoted to other clothing styles, as well as opinions. Thus the video about Mike Huckabee's fashion preferences. I'm interested in fashion and sometimes wonder why people dress the way they do. I, myself, can be quite judgmental about it, no? I was one of the ten finalists for The Project Runway Ultimate Fan Blog last season. I was addicted to Project Runway when I moved back to the U.S. from Baku, Azerbaijan, where the sense of fashion was, well words cannot describe - just look here on Carpetblog. You decide for yourself. See if you can come up with a description. (Is it truly S-K-A-N-K-Y? Or possibly ex-Soviet Republic s-k-a-n-k-y, as in taking it to a new low?)

Now you may ask why I, someone who is obviously a fashionista, was not picked as "The Official Fan Blogger". Well, the decision was based on how many votes you got from all the friends of your friends, persons within six degrees of separation, and the rest of the freaking world. It takes a village to elect the Project Runway Ultimate Fan blogger, don't you know. To tell the truth, I was lacking in friends - okay, I admit it! I have no friends! (Yes! I'm a loser too. Boo-Hooooo)
Here's what the e-mail said:

Subject: Project Runway Ultimate Fan Blog Contest
Good news -- you're in!
We are pleased to inform you that you are a finalist in our "Project Runway Ultimate Fan Blog" contest.
We sifted through scores of entries and would like to offer our congratulations, you're in the top 10.
Finalists will be announced later today, so you can see your submission and check out the competition here:
http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/fanblog/
BravoTV.com readers will be able to vote for the winner through Monday, August 7.
Here's what we suggest: Send this to all of your friends, tell them to vote for you and then tell them to send it to all of their friends. Make it work, and then just sit back and wait. You can check the website on the morning of August 9th to find out who is auf, and who is the winner of Project Runway's Ultimate Fan Blog Contest.
Good luck!

http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/fanblog/

Since I'm pretty much living overseas, in Cairo, these days, and have to watch many of my favorite shows by downloading them from iTunes, I have to find other ideas to fit my fashion appetite into my blog.

I highly recommend trying out for the Project Runway Fan Blog if they have another contest for it this season. My only advice is to write it up immediately after watching it (possibly taking notes, so you don't lose any of those snarky thoughts in your head) and forget who's who. I should have just called Jeffrey "Tattoo Guy" last year (bottom far right photo), instead of trying to remember his name. Trying to remember all the new names will just drive you batty and make you lose your concentration. Fourfour usually has excellent reviews of each episode. His are the best! (Do I sound like I'm over-anticipating here?) I may have to get a subscription for it on iTunes, and not to let it take over my other blogging interests.

I'm having a hell of a time not commenting on VH1's Flavor of Love's Charm School starring Mo'Nique. She's the host - no loser here. The contestants are the losers from the Flavor of Love (that's so lowdown it's scary), and it's one cat fight after another! I just love Mo'Nique's description of Brooke's (aka Pumkin's) behavior at a party as "slutacious." And that had nothing to do with the way she was dressed, since Mo'Nique picked out the dresses. I love Mo'Nique!


I guess we're all a bunch of losers (skanks, whores and sluts - in men's eyes) regardless of what we wear,say,or do, (like I care); but Mike Huckabee and his ilk will be the major losers (personally, I think he is already) particularly if he doesn't keep his mouth shut. I hate it when a man tries to tell women how to dress. Really, is it for me or for you, honey?

I dress for myself, sweetheart.

Hey, even Ann Coulter (who's in love with Joe McCarthy) wears minis (talk about skanky assed mega, ass backwards thinking, WTF?, losers!)



















The damn fonts on this page are (I fucking swear) driving me crazy!!!!!

hometownbaghdad

I just added a new link to my favorite blogs and sites list. I learned about it from Salon.com (which requires a subscription) and I like it so much I wanted to share a video, and I hope to turn others on to it too. This is just one of many videos posted on the site, giving visitors a taste of what's happening in Baghdad, from a youthful viewpoint. Some are funny and not at all political, but this one is.

"Liberation"