Friday, February 1, 2013

Eye On The Prize




 Some of you  might of missed some of the odd little news bites this week,  amid all the controversy surrounding the commercial that may or may not be offensive to Jamaicans. (For what it's worth, I don't find it offensive but to be fair, I am not Jamaican.) The pure genius of  the Volkswagen advertisement is  that it got aired a gazillion times prior to the Superbowl so everyone could weigh in on it appropriateness.  Whether people find it politically correct or not doesn't diminish all the exposure it got in the process. 



Even the Jamaican government has weighed in that they do not find the ad offensive.  Overall,  most people find the sound of the Jamaican accent makes them happy.

Sooooo...this week, in the spirit of competition, TAOBC is awarding prizes to our "odd news" participants.




This is My Happy Face

 A Tennessee man was arrested last Friday evening after shoplifting nearly $1200.00 worth of merchandise from a Walmart.  Jason Archer was stopped by stored security but tried to make a run for it when police arrived.

Walmart Shoplifter
According to the report, Archer attempted to strike the officers and a scuffle ensued. He was taken to jail and processed. 

What are the odds that a shoplifter would get a retired Walmart logo on his body while stealing from a Walmart.  Karma really has a sense of humor.


But in case you are wondering, why this only received a 2nd place award.....


This is the picture that would of taken the 1st prize trophy home....assuming, of course he got caught at a Target store.















What a Helpful Victim

Randolph Bean of Oviedo, Fl. pulled over to the side of the road to text his wife when two would-be carjackers approached his yellow Corvette.


While one man pointed a gun to Randolph's head and forced him to the ground the other carjacker, hopped into the driver's seat.

The confused driver started yelling "How do I start this thing?"

Randolph said he told the guy four different times that he would have to push in the clutch as it was a standard transmission.  At one point the gun-holding thief yelled to his buddy "It's a stick shift!"

Ultimately, the robbers took  Randolph's keys and wallet and fled.

Randolph said his first thought was "I guess we don't have driver's ed in school anymore because no one knows how to drive a stick", he told myfoxorlando.com. "And my second thought was "Don't shoot me because you can't start my car!.  I am really trying to help you out here."

These carjackers need to rethink their choice of occupations...or learn to drive a stick shift.


31 comments:

Just Keepin' It Real Folks said...

I knew I needed to teach my son how to drive a stick shift just in case college doesn't pan out for him. If he turns into a car thief he wouldn't run into the trouble those other dudes had.

Cheryl P. said...

Agreed...you just don't know when a person might need to steal some transportation. I learned how to drive on a stick shift but if someone held a gun to my head and told me to drive one...I'd be dead.

Anne Henderson said...

Stick shifts seem to be going the way of rotary dial phones.
High-end performance cars still have sticks - but only rich old people can afford them and apparently, know how to drive them.

Cheryl P. said...

Yes, stick shifts are no longer in vogue on anything but a sports car and possibly large trucks. I am in real trouble if there is some emergency that would require me to drive one. As a teenager, I could grind the gears on cars badly enough that it would make grown men cry.

lisleman said...

Now you are touching up mug shots? What level will you stoop to for a laugh? Yes that mug shot is not the happy face of Walmart sales.
Dumb criminals are funny. The scary part is the guns they often bring along. It would have been pushing it but I would be tempted to ask if they knew how to use the gun.

Cheryl P. said...

It turns out that there are no levels that I wouldn't sink to, if I was thinking something is funny. The problem is that others might not share my warped sense of humor.



I agree...dumb criminals are VERY funny. I wouldn't be a brave victim though. While that would be a great line (asking them about the gun) with my luck they would say "here let me show you how proficient I am". (of course, that is assuming they know the word "proficient".

lisleman said...

I think your warped senses are fine. Do you have a favorite comedian?

Jo-Anne said...

Dumb idiots are so funny if only they didn't have guns, well it would be funnier if they shot each other while trying to figure out how to start the car but maybe not for the car owner as he would have to clean up the blood from his car..............now even if they managed to get the car stated they wouldn't had got to far as they wouldn't be able to change gears without stalling it................

Cheryl P. said...

No,I don't have an absolute favorite comedian. I find a lot of people funny. Sometime even when they think they are being "normal".

Cheryl P. said...

Yes, I would agree that if someone has a gun they are taking the joy out of the situation, You have to wonder how stupid these carjackers were not to figure a high performance car wouldn't have a standard transmission in it.

Nicky said...

I guess he should be grateful he wasn't at the Piggly Wiggly.


Car jackers who can't drive stick. What is this world coming to?

Cheryl P. said...

I think that would be fun if he was as the Piggly Wiggly...just because that is so much fun to say. Are there Piggly Wiggly's in Canada???



The quality of thieves seems to be going steadily down hill, don't you think?

Riot Kitty said...

Did you see that some group tried to sell a G-rated ad for porn for the game? Kid you not!

Cheryl P. said...

No...I missed that.. Seriously nothing surprises me any more!! .At 3.8 MILLION dollars per 30 second spot that company must be moving a whole lotta porn to be able to afford a Super Bowl ad. If you think about the millions of viewers it probably would reach of few new customers.

oldereyes said...

Believe it or not, I haven't seen this commercial. In general, I REALLY dislike Volkswagen commercials but the one I laugh about has a father teaching his kid to throw a ball, except Dad does what we used to call "throws like a girl." The slug line is "giv your children something useful (presumably a VW). I can't remember a Super Bowl that I was so disinterested but I'll probably watch to see the ads.

Kathe W. said...

sheesh.....where did our sense of humor go? I found nothing offensive about this ad- what's not to like about encouraging people to be happy fer crying out loud. Now for the diots who don't know how to drive a stick shift? They are simply shiftless morons.
I love your blog- makes me laugh and turn my frown upside down! Cheers!

Cheryl P. said...

The dad's throw is laughable. I am rarely interested in the actual Super Bowl game but do enjoys some of the commercials. The one thing that makes this game sort of interesting is the coaches being brothers. Talk about some serious sibling rivalry. Bet next Thanksgiving dinner will be interesting at their house.

Cheryl P. said...

I agree whole heartedly about people losing their sense of humor. Must everything have an agenda that they have to pick at.

"Shiftless morons" hah...good one!!
I am so pleased that you find some humor in my posts Kathe...that makes me happy.

Annmarie Pipa said...

love the Target logo!!

meleahrebeccah said...

"Shoplifting nearly $1200.00 worth of merchandise from a Walmart. "

That's a LOT of fucking merchandise. Seriously.

And I am DYING laughing at the "Target" picture. BahahHAhHAhH

*****

And, I think it's HILARIOUS they couldn't steal the Corvette because they didn't know how to drive stick-shift.

Cheryl P. said...

Thanks Annmarie...why is it we never hear of things happening odd at the Target stores. I am sure things happen there as well, although doubt if people leave with Target shaped bruises.

Cheryl P. said...

Yes, what would one take that would add up to that and still be concealed. Or maybe that is what got him caught as he was carrying out a 50 inch LCD TV set.
These articles never fill in all the blanks for me.


That is really a horrible career choice for these two. They need to rethink what they might do that doesn't require driving.

luvbeingagrandpa said...

hands down the baby Clydesdale growing up and "loving" his trainer / owner...Kind of like my wife's cats....well at least one of them anyway...

Cheryl P. said...

The Clydesdale commercial was my favorite as well...Budweiser usually has one really good commercial for the SB. As for the cats...everyone needs a cat that tolerates them.

abeerfortheshower said...

If you're going to jack a sports car, you should assume it's stick shift... right? Who wants to buy an automatic Corvette? That seems like sacrilege to a car guy like me.

Also, if doing accents is offensive, we should sue the guy who plays Rick on The Walking Dead. He's British, but he does the role in a Southern accent, which offends me as a stupid American.

Wendy said...

I Love driving stick shift. One feels 'one' with the car. Hum, I too thought that all Corvettes are standard, since,after all, it is a cool sports car. Maybe these robbers were brain blinded by the bright yellow. Bit dim-witted potential car theives.I don't think they really have much hope as criminals. Maybe they could try becoming driver instructors first....

Cheryl P. said...

I am not a car person and EVEN I KNOW that most high performance cars would have a stick shift.



I really need to see The Walking Dead at some point as I have no idea of what it's like. As a Southerner, I think trying not to sound stupid while talking like a hick is rather difficult. After years of perfecting my Midwestern accent and trying to keep my southern drawl on the down-low, I only give my stupidity away by what I say, not how I say it.

Cheryl P. said...

I am jealous that you are proficient at driving a stick shift. I kind of, sort of remember how the clutch works but it's been a long time so I probably would make some painful grinding noises and stall the engine.

I thought that was the case, also. I would of thought all Corvettes were standard but I guess for woosie types they can get an automatic. The article saying you could get an automatic went on to say they don't fare well.



I think these two thief need to not have any career choices that deal with being intelligent. Surely there is something that requires very little thinking on their part.

meleahrebeccah said...

I'm laughing at your use of the term "career choice" - lolz

winopants said...

Not that anyone would steal my cheapo car anyways, but I do feel good that's it's a stick, and people hardly know how to drive these anymore.
How is it even possible to steal 1200 dollars worth of stuff from walmart, without having at least two carts full??

Cheryl P. said...

I am impressed that you can drive a stick shift. A few years ago, I got it into my head that I wanted a refresher course to relearn driving a standard transmission. I couldn't find a friend that owns one.



I was puzzled by the $1200.00 amount as well. What would be worth that much at Walmart that would be able to be concealed. Hard to walk out with a 50 inch TV. But he was caught so maybe he was pushing a cart full of stuff and thought he could just wheel right on out the store....which resulted in him having a happy face on his face.