Weekend News Roundup

Anyone who has lived in Ohio, along I-75, and had to travel north towards Toledo, could not miss the huge mosque, out in the middle of nowhere. It was there when we moved to Findlay, Ohio in 1987. At that time, it must have been quite a sight for anyone traveling the highway, as the minarets could be spotted miles away. The Christian Science Monitor has an article this week about the mosque, it's history and the community.

Just like last week I have ignored articles that I just decided not to include in my post. If you have a complaint - tough! Vagabondblogger gets fed up with the news sometimes, thus leading to total frustration and temporary insanity.

Check out the Weekend News Update - Prelude, from yesterday for a few censored comics and a photo essay on the "Violent Femmes" - the Taliban's effeminate side.

For the full article, please click on the links (as usual.)

MUSLIMS IN AMERICA:

A MOSQUE IN AMERICA'S HEARTLAND

The Islamic Center of Greater Toledo, Ohio, has roots going back 75 years has shaped a faith for today.

PERRYSBURG, OHIO - From Interstate 75, the sight is striking: A gleaming white mosque with twin minarets in the classical Islamic style rises out of the Ohio countryside.

One of the accomplishments of the center as it grew over the years has been forging a flourishing community (550 families) from Muslims of 23 nationalities, as well as both Sunnis and Shiites. From the start, people were expected to keep ethnic or sectarian differences out of the mosque.

"We try to knock down this kind of division and to teach mainstream Islam," says Imam Farooq Aboelzahab, an Egyptian trained at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. The imam says he had a lot to learn himself when he arrived in 1998.

"I had to learn from the last imam how to be more open-minded, more flexible, and to compromise on little things and focus on important issues," he adds.

Abandon Stereotypes, Muslims in America Say

The United States must stop treating every American Muslim as somehow suspect, leaders of the faith said at their largest annual convention.

Leaders of American Muslim organizations attribute the growing intolerance to three main factors: global terrorist attacks in the name of Islam, disappointing reports from the Iraq war and the agenda of some supporters of Israel who try taint Islam to undermine the Palestinians.

American Muslims say they expect the attacks to worsen in the presidential election and candidates to criticize Islam in an effort to prove that they are tough on terrorism.

Ex-Diplomat Testifies for Muslim Charity

From 1993 to 1999, Abingdon was consul-general in Jerusalem, and like others he was under orders not to have contact with Hamas.

Abingdon said the Israelis provided intelligence to the CIA, and defense attorney Nancy Hollander asked him if he found the Israeli information reliable. "No," he answered, and she asked why not.

"I feel the Israelis have an agenda ... they provide selective information to try to influence U.S. thinking," he said.

CENSORSHIP:

How to access blocked websites - Top 10

Weekend News Roundup - Prelude

A few tidbits to chew on, while you're waiting for the Weekend News Roundup. Two Opus comics that were censored from major U.S. newspapers, such as the Washington Post. You never know, even the hijab or burkini in a comic strip could cause trouble. And as for burkhas, ever wonder why the Taliban demanded that women wear them? Could it be they felt threatened? You'll have to check out the photo essay below, to see where Vagabondblogger is coming from.


CENSORSHIP:
Opus, the censored comic

Opus, Burkini comic



Violent Femmes: The Taliban's Secret Photos
A Magnum photo essay. During his coverage of the fall of Afghanistan's Taliban regime in 2002, photographer Thomas Dworzak discovered a stash of pictures showing male Taliban members in curious, effeminate poses.


If player / video doesn't work you can view it at here at Slate.

Funkengroovin Wednesday - Bugs

What Vagabondblogger learned this week:
1) She should have waited another week before doing her "On The Road" post, so she could include the New York Times articles from "The Frugal Traveler."
2) Cubans love their old Frigidaires, as much as their old cars.
3) Steve Jobs sold his soul when he sold his VW Bus to start Apple. C'mon! An iCar! The idiots at VW can't get Awesome Daughter's electrical system debugged in her 2003 Jetta, and they're going to deal with all the Apple accessories on top of it?
4) Vagabondblogger's '87 VW Van (Weekender) will be up in New Hampshire with Number One Son.
5) Vagabondblogger's Awesome Daughter took Vagabondblogger's Mini Cooper S.
6) Subsequently, (as a result of #4 & #5) Vagabondblogger gets left with all the crappy cars when she returns to the States late October. I'm sure this issue, of whether the other cars are crappy, is up for debate in the Vagabondblogger household, by the people who took the nice cars!
7) Learning new things can sometimes piss off Vagabondblogger!
8) On the bright side, Vagabondblogger is getting a new pup, who can ride with her in one of the crappy leftover cars!



In Cuba, a Politically Incorrect Love of the Frigidaire

Before he disappeared from public life, an ailing Fidel Castro enlisted the prowess of Chinese industry last year to get rid of some of the most resilient totems of American imperialism: Frigidaire, Kelvinator and Westinghouse refrigerators from the 1950s. The government acquired more than 300,000 new Chinese replacements as the centerpiece of a project to improve energy efficiency in a cash-starved country and eliminate what Mr. Castro called “dragons which devour our electricity.”

But the vanquishing of these refrigerators (along with some Soviet models imported in the 1970s) has caused some wistfulness and angst here. In their decades of isolation from the American economy and from global prosperity, Cubans have been taught to take pride in the way they have kept grandiose old mechanical marvels running — ancient Cadillacs and Russian-built Ladas included.

The Chinese model makes less noise than the Frigidaire. And like many other refrigerators in Cuba, it already has an affectionate, if mocking. nickname: “Llovizna,” or “Drippy,” because of the moisture that accumulates on its shelves.

The island’s economic isolation, compounded by a United States embargo in place since the early 1960s, has made a necessity of preserving technology from before the revolution. Inspired by the ingenuity it took to keep American refrigerators working so long, a group of Cuban artists last year transformed 52 of them into art. They put on a show called “Instruction Manual” that was a big hit in Cuba and is making the rounds in Europe this year.

Ernesto García Peña, a painter, turned his into an eroticized female image. “In this heat,” he explained, “the refrigerator is almost worshiped for its role as an absolute necessity of modern life. We treat it with very special affection.”

The Frugal Road Trip

After 11,000 miles and 26 states, the Frugal Traveler columnist tries to coax his Volvo across the finish line.

Best-Laid Plans

But if even the best-laid plans go awry, then this one — more half-baked than best-laid — may have been doomed from the start. The car I found on Craigslist was a 1989 Volvo 240DL station wagon, which seemed like a fine choice, especially for $1,600. It was spacious, safe and praised as a workhorse by everyone I spoke with.

“It’s a Volvo — can’t kill it,” said my mechanic, Jerome Vasconcellos of Ludlow Garage on the Lower East Side. He then proceeded to make $1,104.88 worth of repairs: a new timing belt, new valve covers, new brake pads, a new compressor. Still, with his words ringing in my ears, I figured these would be the last fixes necessary.

So Many Roads, So Many Suggestions

As Matt Gross traveled across the United States, he asked online readers of his column to suggest places he should visit as he made his way west. Here is a sampling of what some readers had to say.

Sideshow:

Across the U.S.A. in Twelve Weeks

Some highlights from the Frugal Traveler's great American road trip.

(There was no adjustment in color here. This is actually how it looked that night.)

And the latest must-have? An office on four wheels

Now the iCar could become the Next Big Thing: essentially an attempt to create an office and entertainment centre on four wheels, further blurring boundaries between work and private life.

It would be an intriguing marriage of two popular icons. Steve Jobs sold his VW Bulli minibus 31 years ago to fund his fledgeling company, set up in his parents’ garage in Los Altos, and apparently maintains an emotional connection to the discarded VW van.

Vintage Reds on an Italian Canvas

There are five shades of red on Nick Ericson’s Alfa Romeo GTV6 — the fourth he has owned since he first grew to love Italian cars.

Slideshow








U.S. Automakers Could Use a Gadfly Like Axel Friedrich

He drives German automakers crazy. His latest antic was to hire four engineering students to reduce the emissions on a Volkswagen Golf without undercutting safety or performance. Trouble is, he did this without the approval or the knowledge of Volkswagen's management. The students cut the car's emissions by 25 percent. Axel Friedrich is one of Europe's top environmental regulators. The point of his project was that while great attention gets heaped on alternative fuels, hybrids and electric cars, there are simple, practical ways in which car makers can cut emissions across the board today. And radical changes in existing engine technology aren't necessary. In a seething rebuttal, Volkswagen complained that "there is a big difference between laboratory cars and mass produced cars." Volkswagen has a point.

Drive your car to death, save $31,000

NEW YORK

(CNNMoney.com) -- By keeping your car for 15 years, or 225,000 miles of driving, you could save nearly

$31,000, according to Consumer Reports magazine. That's compared to the cost of buying an identical model every five years, which is roughly the rate at which most car owners trade in their vehicles.

In its annual national auto survey, the magazine found 6,769 readers who had logged more than 200,000 miles on their cars. Their cars included a 1990 Lexus LS400 with 332,000 miles and a 1994 Ford Ranger pick-up that had gone 488,000 miles.

To have much hope of making it to 200,000 miles, a car has to be well maintained, of course. The magazine recommends several steps to help your car see it through.


Consumer Reports' "Good bets" for making 200,000 miles: Honda Civic, Honda CR-V, Honda Element, Lexus ES, Lexus LS, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Highlander, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Prius, Toyota RAV4

Consumer Reports' "Bad bets" for making 200,000 miles: BMW 7-series, Infiniti QX56, Jaguar X-type, V8-powered Mercedes-Benz M-class, Mercedes-Benz SL, Nissan Armada, Nissan Titan, Volkswagen Touareg, V6-powered Volvo XC90

Tagged: 10 cars with bad reputations

Tagged: Nerdy - AMC Pacer

Tagged: Unreliable - Yugo

Tagged: Dangerous- Ford Pinto

Tagged: Ugly - Pontiac Aztek

Tagged: Unreliable - Chevrolet Vega

Tagged: Nerdy - AMC Gremlin

Tagged: Dangerous - Corvair

Tagged: Boring - AMC Matador

Tagged: Ugly - Edsel

Tagged: Pathetic - Chevrolet Chevette




Question: How many new Beetles were used in the making of this video?
Barenaked Ladies - Call And Answer

Weekend News Roundup

What can Vagabondblogger say? It's the same old hypocrisy, from the same old guys, isn't it? Let's not dwell, but enjoy a bit of comic relief instead. So, before moving on to the headlines, please take a look at a Little Britain skit. As for the travel bit from Russia: Traveling to any ex - USSR country, traveler beware! This story is not an isolated event, it is a procedure many have been through, albeit some, without the jail time. Which leads us to Putin, who's got the whole of Russia, if not parts of the ex-Soviet Union, under his thumb. I'm sure there are bits and pieces I've missed this week, or possibly purposely ignored. Please, send your complaints through the proper channels.

In Dog We Trust: Japan's Childless Turn to Canines

Dogs now outnumber children aged 10 and under in Japan -- there were 13.1 million dogs in 2006. As the number of humans shrink, the dog population is growing, research firm Euromonitor says, and so is the market for dog-related products.

It is one of the many shops that provoke the ire of animal welfare activists such as Briar Simpson, a New Zealander who works for Animal Refuge Kansai, Japan's largest animal shelter.

She says some of the dogs in all-night pet shops are used in elaborate con schemes: a hostess will ask her wealthy, drunken lover to buy her a little dog; the next day, she will bring the dog back to the shop in exchange for cash. The shop keeps a cut.

BOOKS: (reviewed previously in the NYT)

'Down the Nile': Traveling by rowboat down the world's longest river

Add to that a passion for the Nile. "The Nile was the longest river in the world," writes Mahoney. "It rubbed against ten nations. Some 250 million people depended on it for their survival. It had fostered whole cultures and inspired immense social and scientific concepts." What adventurous memoirist – particularly one seeking a topic for her next book – would not wish to ride on its back?

Egypt is a country, she tells us, in which sex outside marriage is "strictly forbidden." And yet, she says, "I had never visited any country in which sex had so often arisen as a topic of conversation."

How religion forges global networks

Much has already been written about the arrival of world faiths and how they are reshaping the American religious landscape. But in God Needs No Passport Levitt brings a fresh perspective, one that suggests the current debates are out of sync with reality. The true picture, it turns out, is both unsettling and encouraging.

The transnational lifestyles that Levitt explores are criticized by some Americans as disloyal – "like polygamy." Muslims especially have been looked upon with suspicion since 9/11 for maintaining such ties. But those of any faith who live transnationally are the face of the future, she contends.

"I always tell people from Muslim countries, none of you have ever really tested Islam as it was meant to be tested – as a pluralistic religion that ... accepts everyone for what they are," says Imram, an American Muslim. "America is probably the most Islamic country in the world even though it is not a Muslim country, because it has the principles an Islamic state is supposed to have.

TRAVEL:

Tourist in Russia Stumbles Into a Legal Predicament

Roxana Contreras is stuck in Russia accused of trying to smuggle cultural treasures out of the country after she purchased souvenirs worth $20 from a street vendor.

“We understand that she didn’t know, but that’s her problem,” Ms. Osennyaya said. “We have a saying,” she said, “Lack of knowledge does not free one from responsibility.”

Aleksei A. Andreyeshev, her lawyer, said he was equally puzzled by what he described as court officials’ capriciousness. In a telephone interview, he said that prosecutors had been unavailable and that the judge who will decide Ms. Contreras’s case hung up on him when he asked about the details of the hearing.

“He just threw down the phone and didn’t give me any information,” Mr. Andreyeshev said.

Oksana A. Romaneko, a spokeswoman for the court in Ramon, where the hearing will take place, would not provide information about the case. In a faxed response to questions, she said, “Any interference in the affairs of the court can be criminally prosecuted.”

CENSORSHIP:
Russia Arrests 10 in Slaying of Outspoken Journalist

Swiss Court: Yukos Case Is 'Political'

The decision, disclosed on Thursday, said that Russian authorities' pursuit of what was once Russia's largest oil company had a "political and discriminatory character . . . underlined by the infringement of human rights and of the right to defense."

The legal actions against the company were organized "by the powers in place with the goal of putting to heel the class of rich people known as 'oligarchs' and sidelining potential or declared political adversaries," the ruling said.

Arrest Ordered for Russian Oil Entrepreneur, a Critic of the Kremlin

Mikhail S. Gutseriev, a former owner of Russneft, published a letter last month critical of the government on a company Web site and in a Russian business newspaper.

Funkengroovin Wednesday - On The Road

Vagabondblogger often sees VW's when she is on the road traveling around Cairo. One of the things she hates is when the windows of her own car, get in the way of a photo. It's also annoying to have a camera that won't take the picture right away. So, since the title of today's post is "On the Road", here's all the VW photos I practically missed - the ones that got away. Let's just say the eye is quicker than the hand, and the damn driver won't slow down for Vagabondblogger - Sheesh!

Oh and this week, due to the overwhelming excitement from the news media about Mad Men, today's blog includes more "style" and "fashion" than usual (how could that be?)


Road Rules

Aug. 13, 2007 issue - Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" gets the full 50th anniversary treatment next month, and both cheerleaders and hand-wringers acknowledge that it radically changed American culture—somehow or other. True, the National Quiet Desperation Index has only risen since 1957, and if the book's exaltation of junker cars and diner food had really taken hold, we'd have fewer SUVs and fast-food franchises. But "On the Road" showed, and continues to show, generations of young readers a more intense, more passionate—and more closely examined—life. Some who've busted out to live it themselves died on the streets. Others have refreshed the American sensibility, in music, art, fashion, or in simply learning to kick back and take pleasure in pleasure. This book has stayed, as one of its early readers would say, forever young.

Turns out Vagabondblogger is a trend setter now too. Don't say I didn't tell ya to watch the show.


'Mad Men' sells the '60s with authenticity

AMC's period drama Mad Men (tonight, 10 ET/PT), set in a Madison Avenue ad agency in spring 1960, is a universe on the precipice of revolutions, from social to racial, political to sexual. And those threads of change are carried through in the details, the carefully researched artifacts of the era, some evocative, some barely remembered. "When you look in the past, everybody knows the broad strokes," says prop master Scott Buckwald. "It's the little slices of life that make the difference." USA TODAY dusts off a handful of the items in Mad Men's attic.

Volkswagen 'Beetle'

Mad Men angle. "No chrome, no horsepower, foreign, ugly," says art director Salvatore (Bryan Batt), looking at a VW ad. "I guess they went with their strengths."

Infestation. Before Toyota, before Honda, this was the import invasion. The Volkswagen (the descriptive Beetle wasn't officially acknowledged till 1967) was economical, reliable and adorably homely, soon to be embraced by the counterculture even as it was rejected by the establishment. The ironic, understated ads were as revolutionary as the auto. In 1960, 127,000 were sold in the USA; by 1970 they were selling more than 400,000 a year.

Insect aside. Prop master Buckwald says they pulled the ad from an old issue of Life, tinted it and rebound it in another magazine. And it turns out on the series that the neighborhood divorcée, Helen Bishop (Darby Stanchfield), drives one, which will do neither's reputation any good.

A Return to That Drop-Dead Year 1960
By RUTH LA FERLA
Published: August 23, 2007

To a style aficionado, “Mad Men” is that rare TV show in which an ashtray, a lipstick or an aerosol tin gets star treatment.

Magic Bus: Project VW reveals hidden surprise

For the owner of a 1958 double panel restoration project, the drug connection hit a little close to home. When checking out the undercarriage of his new purchase, TheSamba forum member Joshua B. found 14 LBS of marijuana stashed away. While we can't provide an exact street value of such a find (if you can, let us know in the comments) we can assume that it's a hell of a lot more than the value of this rusted out old groove-mobile.

Check this picture out:
The Billiards Table Volkswagen Bus seen at the Woodward Dream Cruise

If you are a surfing dude but also a great fan of billiards, then it seems as if all your dreams can be answered as at the recent Woodward Dream Cruise event visitors had the chance to see a Billiards Table Volkswagen Bus, man this VW Camper come Billiards Table is so cool.

The Virtues of Avoiding Interstates

Many connoisseurs of the highway are championing the use of slow roads — back roads with scenery and history — instead of faceless Interstates.

The List:
Scenic Roads That Deserve a Detour

Here are some slow roads with special attractions.

Off the Road

Hey, Jack Kerouac, I know you dressed like a bum, but a shop in Soho is selling your boots for $475

So maybe, given your late-in-life embrace of capitalism, you'd actually endorse that Hogan merch (especially if you got a cut of the profits). In any case, as so often happens, you're worth far more dead than alive. Want to really spin in your grave? Check this out: Johnny Depp once paid $15,000 for an old raincoat of yours, and $10,000 for a tweed overcoat.

Six Days On The Road - Dave Dudley

Funkengroovin Wednesday - Preview

While I was perusing the submissions for the YouTube Democratic Debate last month, I happened across this video. It was not included in the debate questions, but it is an interesting video. Even though this is a Funkengroovin Wednesday "Preview" it really has nothing to do with tomorrow's post. Sorry folks, but I've been waiting for an opportunity to show this, and have an excuse called "Preview".

We thought about getting some solar panels for the roof of our van to help recharge batteries (like the one for the fridge), plus miscellaneous items (computers, that sort of stuff) that need recharging. If anyone has tried using solar panels - please let Vagabondblogger know.

Solar panels were under serious consideration with us, until we moved to Cairo last October / November, when pretty much the '87 Van and '65 Bug situation came to a standstill. That's one thing about living overseas - there's some stuff you actually enjoy working on, like your cars, and some you don't (like making a rock garden, which we delegated to Number One Son). Unfortunately, all hobbies go on the back burner for a while.

I know people read this on Wednesdays, almost only, and for once, please provide feedback on any experience with solar cells / panels on a VW Van.




Solar Powered Car

Weekend News Roundup No News Is Good News

Vagabondblogger is not in the mood to review all the lousy news this week. It's just the same old shit again, anyway.

So let's pretend that there's NO NEWS!

Let's watch this video and have a laugh instead.

What To Do With Leftover Dog Food

FEED IT TO THE CATS!

It was great in the spring, when I would go out on the porch with a cup of coffee and my computer, accessing the wi-fi, reading the news, blogs, or just surfing the Internet. Then one day, my seat was usurped by little tom cat. It took awhile until I figured out his gender. He's quite small, somewhat scared of me, but he was scared shit-less of Doggie (may she rest in peace). As it turns out he's an Egyptian Mau a color they call mish-mish (apricot).

When we first moved into our apartment in January, cat perches were everywhere. That changed with Vagabondblogger Doggie's arrival. Several of the make-shift perches were removed. Still, a few remain.
In the winter / spring feral cats were everywhere in the yard - on the perches, on air conditioners, on the grill cover - literally everywhere!

There are several other places for this tomcat to perch (other than on my chair.) He could sleep on the little tree platform, built by the previous apartment dwellers; or the perch on the fence (yes, that's a wire hanging down and I have no clue what that is for.)







After Doggie passed away, I decided to try and make a new friend. It hasn't been easy. He's feral - runs and hides when anything threatening happens. He still hisses at me, even when I feed him. It's been a little over a month, and I can walk out on the porch without him raising his cackles, and jumping out of sight, like a freaked out tiger. Now, he sits and looks at me like, "you're invading my space." And quite a space that is. If a big, bad ass cat comes into the yard, he's on that shaded and roofed porch so fast you can't say WTF! He's afraid of the girls, even the one that bats at him without claws drawn! He's such a pussy it's embarrassing to even admit he lives here. Still, we have a neighborhood of visitors every-so-often, and I scat the big ones out of the yard. They're obviously getting food elsewhere.


So here's what's going on in Vagabondblogger's yard:

WELCOME TO THE CAT HOUSE!

At first I thought kitty was just a small cat, like some of the ones we used to see in Abu Dhabi, but as time has gone on, I think not - not anymore. Not after meeting the parents. At least I think these guys are the parents.

I think this is Big Momma. She showed up while we were grilling out sausages (they always draw a crowd). She spotted Doggie (may she rest in peace,) and then looked over at Baby Boy, and then she tried to stare me down (bitch)!

I'm thinkin' this is Daddy. He sleeps on the air conditioner, just outside the living room window. He also shows up when we're grilling out. And has been caught sleeping with Big Momma on the grill cover in cooler weather. He's as skittish as the little boy. He generally runs from everyone and everything, unless he's perched high atop a fence, looking down on you. He and mama both look like Egyptian Maus from what I've been told.

Everything was fine and dandy, until this little miss showed up. Suddenly one day, she hops over the fence, prances onto the porch, and starts meowing. That could be due to the fact that Number One Son and Awesome Daughter were feeding little tom cat leftover bits of smoked salmon! Her neck had a large scratch going down the length of one side, and one of her legs was also scratched up a good bit. I must have "sucker" written on my forehead, or an invisible sign reading, "major pushover here". Needless to say, she's very sweet, but I am concerned about her safety. She's a mix - part Mau and part something else. She and the little tom cat play well together.






Then this one showed up. Her stomach was flopping on the floor and we realized she must've just had kittens - literally "just". I may have shooed her away previously thinking she was a fat well fed cat, saving what I had for the smaller guys.

She's aggressive and stingy with her food. She's here all times of the day, stashing huge amounts of food in her mouth and running off - we suspect, next door (I spied her hopping over our fence, running through the driveway and then hopping over the next villa's fence). I was told by the gardener, that an American woman who lived there before, fed all the cats, morning and evening. She moved, and a French family is living there now, but are not interested in the cats.

We're all wondering where the kitties are hidden. She has beautiful eyes. She's also looks like a Mau mix.

Little tom cat and missy both let her have her space for fear of a major clawing. We are waiting to see if this new mama brings the kittens over to eat. I would like to have the guys rescued while they're young enough to possibly get adopted.

Vagabondblogger has a puppy on order and we're desperately waiting for the bitch to go in heat - "watched pot never boils." It's another field Springer Spaniel, who will probably scare the crap out of these vagrants. The puppy won't be arriving in Cairo, until January, so these guys still have time to hang out.





If you're interested in more about Egyptian Maus (which you can adopt - they do overseas adoptions) - check out this link:
Egyptian Mau Rescue Organization (E.M.R.U.)

A petition against the poisoning and shooting of cats and dogs in Cairo.
STOP EGYPTS SLAUGHTER OF CATS AND DOGS

"**UPDATE: Today May, 14, 2007. An american named Andrea had her dogs shot and killed on the street of Cairo early this morning. Others strays were also killed. We were told by the police not to call and complain and it will be their mission now to keep shooting the dogs!
WE NEED HELP THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT STOP THIS SLAUGHTER!!"

I personally witnessed the shooting of about five dogs and a few cats, in public during broad daylight, just beyond my yard when living in Baku, Azerbaijan. I was told that they would shoot my dog, as well, if she were outside on a "Dog Call" day. Men in black leather jackets, riding in black Mercs would grab the dead animals by the tail and fling them onto a three sided flat bed truck. They had also been seen beating strays with baseball bats, in public, in front of well known western businesses, just as people were arriving to work.


Many Azeri neighbors in Baku had pets, but there were quite a few feral cats and dogs roaming the neighborhood, in addition to what we referred to as "wild dogs," roaming the hill behind our apartment. Still, I wonder what's more uncivilized - the strays roaming the streets, or the practice of publicly executing animals for all, even young children, to see? It is, unfortunately, a method used in many countries.

Some photos from a book, Cairo Cats, can be found here. I just ordered this book from Amazon.

Ancient Egyptian Cats

On the streets of Cairo, saving the gods' cats

The Egyptian Mau resembles a tabby but is distinguished by black spots on its body instead of stripes. It is believed to have descended from the African wildcat, a close relative of ancient Egyptian domesticated cats, and also bears a characteristic 'M' marking on the forehead, black ringed tails and legs and a black stripe down the back. Their large gooseberry-colored eyes have a perennially worried look. Intelligent and somewhat mischievous, they are also the fastest domestic cat, clocking 36 mph.

"They are extremely intelligent and they know what they want and are extremely affectionate toward the person they have a relationship with," explained Van Den Bossche.

Somewhat of a testimony to the Egyptian cats, here at Eye on Cairo blog (now defunct): 27 Days and a cat:

On one of his first days here, he figured out how to jump on top of the refrigerator and open cabinets from above. He approaches household objects with an engineer-like curiousity. Recently he's decided, for example, that it would be more interesting watching water go down the bathroom drain if he removed the metal cover. So every night he sticks his claws into the cover and slides it off the drain. When the shower starts up in the morning, he runs over to watch the water pool before it disappears.

BTW, No! Vagabondblogger is not turning in to a cat lover! No Fucking way. I just think it's nice to be kind to the animals. Besides, I hate to see all that leftover dog food go to waste.

Funkengroovin Wednesday - I Watch TV, So You Don't Have To

Anyone who has read this blog knows that Vagabondblogger is addicted to TV, as well as VW's. So why is Vagabondblogger using a Funkengroovin Wednesday to talk about television shows?

I watch it, so you don't have to, that's why.

Before going into my newest and latest discovery, most readers know how important iTunes and the new Apple TV are to me. Suffice it to say, they are as important to Vagabondblogger as the very air she breathes! You may be asking, what does Vagabondblogger download and watch from iTunes? Vagabondblogger's downloads include: 30 Rock, House, The Daily Show, Colbert Report, Charm School with Mo'Nique, I Love New York, The Black Donnellys, and now, Mad Men. (Yes, Vagabondblogger likes just about anything - considering it's not like the repeats running here in Cairo, which are, at least, four years old!)

Mad Men ("Where the truth lies,") on AMC Thursdays at 10:00 PM EST / 9:00 PM CT. A new series set in the early 1960's about men, who work for an advertisement agency, and their families. Robert Morse owns the company and has the final say in all things impotent (no, that's not a spelling error.)

So, what's my point?

The ad men in episode 3, are obsessed by a VW ad in a magazine! They don't understand it - it's confusing them. How can a car company get away with selling cars in an ad titled "Lemon"? The audacity!


Remember, these were the days when it was acceptable for pregnant women to drink, and smoke in public. Cocktails were provided during meetings (pitchers of Bloody Marys), a martini lunch, and more after work drinks were de riguer. (How did they ever get any work done?) Women went to college to prepare themselves for marriage, not jobs (see - Mona Lisa Smile.)

Not only was it okay to drink and smoke during pregnancy, it was a good idea to have seconds too. (Um, yeah, I made it black and white cause it looks better, and that's what a photo from that time would've looked like.) It was also okay to:

• Let your kids run around with a dry cleaning bag over their heads (just as long as they didn't muss up the clothing.) Suffocation was not an issue back then.
• Slap a child upside the head in public.
  
• Then ask if he wants "some more."
  

When someone asked, "Have you seen the candidate?" A wife replied, "We haven't decided who we're voting for yet."

Oooo, and the WASPY behavior - let's not go there, okay?

In episode 3: (Vagabondblogger also takes TV photos, now.)

Quotes here are from the AMC's summary:

"Don, flipping through the latest issue of Life Magazine, happens upon the latest Volkswagen ad: a black and white photograph of the car with the word “Lemon” in bold letters."

Here's a better pic of the original ad, which you can read, as well.

(Oh, Paleese, show us again! Cause we are all clueless!)

"Although the meeting was to discuss Secor laxatives, constipation, oddly enough, isn’t on their minds. The Volkswagen ad, however, is. The men debate whether the copy was a brilliant piece of advertising or whether the ad detracted from the product. “Love it or hate it, the fact is, we’ve been talking about it for the last 15 minutes,” Don says."

(And, now show it again! Gotta show it to the big boss too, for god's sake! Really, a VW ad! How fucking important could that be?)

HOW FUCKING IMPORTANT IS THE VW AD?

(Not only does Vagabondblogger ask the important questions, she does the damn research for you, too.)

From murketing.com a blog post titled “Mad Men” Musings.

"The angle part is that the campaign gave a new image to a car that, as Mary Wells summarized in her memoir, had previous been seen as “small,” “ugly,” and “a Nazi car, too soon after the war.” This is alluded to in Mad Men; one character mentions that last time he’d seen a VW, he was throwing a grenade into it."

Let me add to his description: the "grenade" comment was made while the guys were drinking at a birthday party, and find out that the hot new divorcee in the hood, who was seen driving a Beetle, would be joining them. The hostess even drives by the divorcee's house (that would be episode #2 ) and, yes folks, the bug is parked out front. Ahh, those were the days - when there were no seat belts, so the kids could flip-flop all over the car.

The Cheshire Group Inc, Corporate Communications:

"The VW campaign of the 1960s was considered by most experts to be the best in the history of advertising. Gone were the lush settings, the artfully elongated automobiles, the beautiful models. In their place stood the "Beetle," unadorned and unretouched, and almost always in black and white. Most important, ads like "Think small" were achieving record readership scores. Simplicity was proving to be a virtue and relevance a far more powerful persuader than empty flights of fancy."

Top ad campaign of century? VW Beetle, of course

"However, one campaign did much more than boost sales and build a lifetime of brand loyalty. It's the 1960s ad campaign for the Volkswagen Beetle. The ad, and the work of the ad agency behind it, changed the very nature of advertising--from the way it's created to what you see as a consumer today.

What made the VW Beetle ad campaign so radical? Ads before it were either information-based and lacking in persuasion, more fantasy than reality, or relied on the medium's ability to deliver repeated exposure.

Beetle ads, though, connected with consumers on an emotional level, yet also conveyed a product benefit in a way consumers could relate to. Plus, the ads were breathtakingly simple.

Two famous print ads illustrate this. One featured a small picture of the car with the headline "Think small." Text highlighted the advantages of driving the small Beetle versus a big car.

The other presented just the car with "Lemon" in bold type. Ad copy explained that the chrome strip on the glove compartment was blemished and had to be replaced. The take-away was obvious. If this was Volkswagen's idea of a lemon, the Beetle must be a well-built car.

The Beetle ad campaign also stands out for its use of television, which was in 90 percent of homes by the mid 1960s. It may have been a grainy, black-and-white image, but the emotional connection between car and consumer was picture-perfect in Beetle commercials like "Funeral."

Imagine a funeral procession as the voice of the deceased bequeaths his fortune. To each, from his wife and sons to business partners who were wasteful with money, he leaves nothing.

But to the tearful young man in a VW Beetle at the end of line, he says: "To my nephew, Harold, who ofttimes said `A penny saved is a penny earned ... and it sure pays to own a Volkswagen' ... I leave my entire fortune of one hundred billion dollars."

Year after year, the VW Beetle ad campaign conveyed its message of frugality and sensibility with a clarity and emotion the ad world had never seen before.

It's not hard to imagine what happened next. Ad agencies up and down Madison Avenue began imitating the DDB approach to ad making. It became a movement that industry professionals now refer to as the creative revolution. It was in this period in the 1960s when creativity counted most.

Many great ad campaigns have come along since 1900. However, none made a greater lasting impact than the Beetle ad campaign. The industry trade publication, Advertising Age, named it No. 1. It gets an equally strong endorsement here as well."

Free-Essays. com, says:

"One of the most successful ad campaigns of all times happened to be an automobile advertisement. The campaign was for the original Volkswagen Beetle. Everyone recognized the Volkswagen advertisements of the 1960’s. “Volkswagen ads have won a list of prizes longer than an account executive’s expense account.” According to Huston Horn, “They are talked about at cocktail parties, read aloud at the office water cooler, analyzed and dissected in college term papers…” (qtd. in Nelson 225). The beetle is back. So, how are the new Volkswagen advertisements? The new magazine advertisements are relief to the tired eyes of the average magazine onlooker. Most of the ads today are full of clutter, vast amount of colors, and enough print one could mistake the ads for an actual article; the Volkswagen ads have only one sentence, an occasional a small picture of a beetle, and a refreshing solid white background. These advertisements are not simple though; a mastermind has created them. The new ads, as the original ads, deserve to have college term papers written about them. In the November 2000 addition of George magazine, a Volkswagen ad was the centerfold. The advertisement appears to be two blank white pages at first glance. Once one looks at the advertisement though, one notices a sentence at the bottom right-hand page that says, “Just thought we’d give you a moment amid the political hoopla to think about those issues that matter to you.”

The VW Beetle ad was so popular National Lampoon published a take off of it (they were sued by VW too.) See the full ad here.

So, who's the person who came up with this totally insane idea for the VW ad?

William Bernbach

"After Bill Bernbach's death in October 1982, Harper's told its readers he "probably had a greater impact on American culture than any of the distinguished writers and artists who have appeared in the pages of Harper's during the past 133 years." Sixteen years later, Bernbach's impact continues undiminished. And today he emerges as No. 1 on Advertising Age's 20th century honor roll of advertising's most influential people.

Was it only yesterday that a "new" Volkswagen Beetle campaign appeared, one that proudly recalls its Bernbach lineage? Talked to advertising's creative stars lately? Or their mentors? It is still, "Bernbach, Bernbach, Bernbach." His influence is alive and well and ready to help lead the industry through the 21st century.

Bernbach insisted on first learning how his client's products related to their users, what human qualities and emotions came into play. Then the challenge turned to deciding how best to communicate those elements, in TV and print, and capture the consumer's understanding and support.

This is the process that spawned a new genre of TV commercials: Volkswagen's "Funeral" and "Snow plow" stories; "Mamma mia" and "Poached oyster" for Alka-Seltzer; "Visit to Grandpa" plus Laurence Olivier for Polaroid; "Italian wedding" for Rheingold beer; "Mikey" for Life cereal; "Gorilla" for American Tourister luggage; "Card game" and "Sharing," with Jack Gilford, for Cracker Jack; "Burning egg" for GTE; and stop-motion "Contrasts" for Jamaica Tourist Board. This latter technique from art director Bob Gage would shatter Hollywood's hold on the TV commercial "look." DDB's reel became an awesome advertising engine."

This is the guy that the characters in Mad Men would like to copy. Needless to say, Vagabondblogger totally loves Mad Men. How long will Mad Men last? (See, I do ask the really important questions.)

Not long enough for Vagabondblogger, that's for sure.

If you like all things VW, then you'll enjoy this too.
LINKS FOR OLD VW ADS:
Volkswagen Bus Ads
Volkswagen bus ads and manuals on-line
Remember those great Volkswagen ads?
Classic VW Volkswagen Beetle Ads (VW would never accept this redundancy.)
Beetle Advertsements, from TheSamba.com
Vintage Volkswagen Television Commercials


And, one of the various ads we own:

Since we're talking advertisements, TV, and it is "Back To School" time (and back to work from the summer vacation), I thought it would be cool to see how a TV ad is made. So here's: The Making of Rubberband Man (Includes bloopers, screen tests, and scenes not included in the commercial - all to the music.)