February 2024 – Page 6 – Splendid Isolation

News Roundup

February 20, 2024 Kim du Toit Bad News

And speaking of friends not worth Smirnoff:

...just for kicks, we need a couple of Christian families to ask for an opt-out too, based on… ummmm I think it’s called… equal protection?

...like ordinary old headaches weren’t enough?

...at the moment, the ANC government is too busy offering support to Hamas to worry about the White Man’s Magic.

And speaking of the latter:

…1.) I don’t think that many Pals live in Gaza in total, and even if there are, 2.)
#Don’tCare #TheyStartedIt #Fuckem.

And the Great Cultural Assimilation Project News:

...there should be a LOT more of this. (Not the slashy-slashy, the shooty-shooty.)

...could somebody pass the news on to this asshole?

And speaking of “shocking”:

...newsflash: we never are. Go peddle your panic somewhere else.

...for once, they got it right. And proud we are of it, too.

...the Catholic church was unavailable for comment. No doubt they were too busy hosting the funeral of a trannie atheist.

...her half-dozen OnlyFans subscribers must be distraught. A quick reminder of whom we speak:

No man should; but at least one man apparently has, as she recently popped a sprog:

…to prevent mass vomiting.

And speaking of the unspeakable:

...I had no idea that Pedo / Paedo World even had a hierarchy. So what’s Joe Biden’s title, then?

And in the Travel Department:

...don’t go to: 1) Monaco, 2) London or 3) New York City. Ask me how I know this.

And in today’s

...I imagine that the Hotness Competition among female firefighters is not that strong, but lessee anyway:

I guess her background as a porn actress has helped her in her new career.

And that’s the news.

Simplifying

February 20, 2024 Kim du Toit Drive Time

I have often thought that our transportation problems can be largely solved by the re-introduction of the pared-down small pickup truck, similar to the Toyotas, Datsuns and Mazdas of years past, i.e. the 1970s:

Then I came upon this article, which talks about Toyota’s current attempt to do just that, the result looking something like this:

The 70s light pickups look almost dainty by comparison, but that’s because Nanny Gummint decrees that even the simplest and most basic of cars need to have all sorts of safety equipment included. (By comparison, the earlier pickups had about as much safety equipment as a skateboard. My old Mazda pickup from that era didn’t even have seat belts.)

And as for selling such things for only $10,000? I’ll bet Mr, Free Market’s country house that not one American car manufacturer would even give lip service to the concept.

Not when a loaded F-150 sells for $75,000 and yields about $25,000 profit.

Afterthought: my last Chicago car was a Mazda B4000 (similar to the Ford Ranger of the early 1990s), and I loved it. I lost it in the Great Divorce Of 1996, and Ex-Wife drove it until (I think) 2012.

All the power I’d ever need, complete reliability, plus room for guns in the little extended cab. If I could get its clone (11,000 miles on the clock as it had when I bought it, for $9,000) I’d grab it now with both hands.

Prole Drift

February 19, 2024 Kim du Toit Food & Drink, Travels

I think it was the late (and much-missed) Paul Fussell who in one of his books (either Class or Bad ) coined the term “prole drift” to describe how American society was shifting inexorably towards the working classes in terms of clothing, manners, taste and so on. (Aside: I love books written by ur-patricians like Fussell because I’m one of them, and unashamedly so.)

So I gladly admit to bias when I read articles like this one:

Almost a quarter of the population of Marlow in Buckinghamshire are aged over 65 and many of them think a Wetherspoons pub will attract ‘the wrong sort of people’.

For Readers of the non-Brit persuasion, Wetherspoons is a massive chain of pubs found all over the place, whose modus operandi is typically to buy a failing pub (or any failing business, for that matter) and reopen it (sometimes under its own name even) as a place that sells cheaper fare — beer, wine, food whatever — to attract a large and it should be said loyal customer base. Needless to say, the toffs and trendies tend to look down on Wetherspoons because inevitably, the kind of people attracted thereto are quite definitely Not Our Kind, Dear.

So this latest kerfuffle in Marlow should be seen in that context.

As it happens, I’ve actually been to Marlow simply because in looking for a place to have lunch while on a road trip, I took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up there.

It is undeniably beautiful, as these English small towns go, but like the curate’s egg, only in parts. While the main street is lovely, there are also parts that resemble Typical Brit Suburbia (i.e. fugly semi-detached dwellings) with a population to match. Not Yorkshire Mining Town, to be sure, but not a place where Mr. Free Market would feel at home either.

Here’s what I discovered when I retraced my steps and went back up to Marlow Road (the main drag): fucking hell, it’s an expensive place to eat and drink, even by Brit standards. Worst of all, the high street pubs are of the gastropub variety — at least, the ones I looked at were — and when I finally did find a place to eat — off the main street — I ended up ordering a simple cheese sandwich, chips and a pint which still set me back close to £10 (which was a lot, back in the early 2000s, when the same meal in London cost me just under £5). I don’t remember which pub it was, but it sure as hell wasn’t The Coach (as mentioned in the article).

So I can see why Wetherspoons would choose to open one of their corporate or franchise pubs there, because if you’re not one of the Snooty Set, there’s nowhere to get a decently-priced pub lunch in Marlow. And while the Snooty Set are well represented in the town’s demographics, there is also a sizable percentage of people like, well, you and me; and that that makes for a sound business case.

Finally, I find the outrage at the “prole” Wetherspoons to be hypocritical. Why? Because on that same Marlow Road can be found a Domino’s Pizza and Subway sandwich shop.

And if that ain’t prole, I dunno what is.

Quote Of The Day

February 19, 2024 Kim du Toit Music, QOTD

From SOTI:

“The Rock ‘N Roll Hall Of Fame is as legit as the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Tangential thought: Let’s assume that you had the option of selecting the very first ten entrants — performers separate from non-performers — to the RRHOF, which would they be (order not important)?

Mine are below the fold.

Perfect Something

February 19, 2024 Kim du Toit Fine Art, Two-Minute Hate, Wokism

And another fine and wonderful thing comes under attack:

Michelangelo’s masterpiece, The Creation Of Man, on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is a symbol of white supremacy, according to one woke writer.

The world-renowned piece of art which features a white-skinned Adam reaching out his hand to God, has come under fire.

It has been called ‘the perfect convergence’ of Caucasian dominion.

My idea of “perfect convergence” would be that of an axe with this fuckwit’s head, but no doubt someone is going to have a problem with this.

Update: Never mind; it’s Robin DiAngelo. Should have known. Not even worth a rant, although I had one ready. Every time this human shithole speaks, she lessens humanity’s sum of knowledge and goodness.