As the Curtiss Candy Company explained during World War II:
December 13, 2009
MEC Design takes another (eyeball) stab at the SLS AMG
via Autoblog by Jonathon Ramsey on 12/13/09
Filed under: Aftermarket, Coupe, Performance, Europe, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury
2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG by MEC Design - Click above for image gallery
Germans are generally so conservative that we sometimes wonder if their aftermarket scene exists only to provide for the anomalies that every society needs. Not many of you fell for MEC Design's first attempt at visually tuning the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, and we would have thought it was something from Tron Legacy if not for the fact of it being yellow. It appears that boys from Berlin returned to their easels and now present the MEC SLS, take two.
It's called a "style study" and to its credit, MEC has deleted the most obscene gestures from the previous rendering: the mommy-make-it-stop nose and horrendous wheels. Nevertheless, MEC's Erector-Set-and-Laffy-Taffy design ethos has only been barely restrained, and the result is still quite troubling. If you have suggestions, you can leave them in the comments section below. We think MEC is reading...
[Source: Caradisiac]
MEC Design takes another (eyeball) stab at the SLS AMG originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsCamouflaged Supercars: From Lambos To Rambos
If the point of driving a supercar is to be seen to best advantage, then the owners of these 10 camouflaged ultimate automobiles are doing it wrong. Then again, “stealth” is a relative term – and one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd is to blend right in.
Lamborghini Countach
(images via: Nico Club and German Car Blog)Supercars like the Lamborghini Countach often take their styling cues from cutting edge military vehicles, including fighter jet aircraft. With that in mind, camouflage paint jobs aren’t all that odd and may even improve the looks of some cars in the minds of some onlookers. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but when the car in question is a Countach it’s hard to make it look anything but gorgeous.
Lamborghini Gallardo, Part 1
(images via: Dominic Hyde and 6-Speed Online)This Lamborghini Gallardo comes from Sweden and its camo paint job helps it meld with the prevailing shades of a typical Scandinavian winter. One would hope the owner (Swedish pro skier Jon Olsson) respects the road conditions in winter solstice Sweden or his ride may meld a little more than he would like. The matching roof box is a nice touch by the way – it may not do much for the Gallardo’s aerodynamic profile but where else are you going to stow the skis?
Lamborghini Gallardo, Part 2
(images via: CarPictures and Autoblog)Here’s another Lamborghini Gallardo, this time dressed to kill for the 2004 Gumball 3000. This Rambo Lambowas back for the 2006 edition of the race (center, above) but is shown without the sponsor ad stickers – definitely a cleaner look.
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
(images via: Carscoop, Dub Daily andXitek)A real estate agent in Wiesbaden, Germany, must be doing very well in a down housing market to be driving a late-model Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. Then again, when one’s income depends on commissions it doesn’t pay to display conspicuous consumption. The answer? Give your ride the vinyl wrap treatment in delicious Chocolate Chip camo. If this particular Prancing Horse wasn’t General ‘Stormin’ Norman” Schwartzkopf’s Gulf War ride, it damned well should have been.
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
(image via: Autoblog.nl)This Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano was spied while parked on Croisette boulevard in Cannes. The French Riviera town is famous for supercar sightings and the owner of the fine Fiorano above was evidently looking to avoid the paparazzi. He did – his car, not so much.
(images via: Travelpod and News-Luxe)Two more views of the desert camo Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano showing its “four 4’s” license plate which indicate registration in the United Arab Emirates. No surprise there, really, but this begs the question: did the owner drive it all the way to Cannes?
McLaren P11
(image via: Easycarblog)Camouflage paint or wraps aren’t always the choice of the customer, often camo is used by manufacturers who need to test their offerings in the real world yet don’t want to let the cat out of the bag before official introduction. One of the nicest pre-release camo cloaks belongs to the McLaren P11, seen above undergoing cold-weather testing in Sweden.
Mercedes 300SL Gullwing
(images via: Sandman Files andTrendhunter)While most camouflage is used with the intent to foster stealth, this classic Mercedes 300SL gullwing coupe displays all the subtlety of an electrocuted bullfrog. Then again, the garish gullwing ’s gaudy glow comes courtesy of Nigo, owner of Japanese clothing brand A Bathing Ape. Much criticism has been directed at Nigo for this and other, even weirder creations but historians seem to be the ones most offended. Automotive purists revere 300SL’s like this 1955 coupe as one of the most beautiful cars ever designed, so wrapping one in camo is, for them, tantamount to sacrilege.
Porsche 911 Carrera
(image via: Titan Motorsports)
(images via: Web Wombat and Billy The Fish)
German vehicles in camouflage… no, it’s not the trailer from The Longest Day, just a few hobbyists seeking to conjure up a little Sturm und Drang for their civilian cruisers. Curiously enough, camo Porsches like the 997-TypePorsche 911 Carrera 4S above, center, are relatively common though the effect is more Hypnotoad than hypnotizing.
Bentley Continental GT
(images via: German Car Blog andAutoblog.nl)Conservative, classy, traditional… they go with Bentley like tea with crumpets. Just the excuse to turn the tables and bring forth the Bentley Continental GT camouflage edition. Sporting a somewhat unsubtle camo scheme that probably looked a lot better on a Hawker Hurricane, this battle-ready Bentley was snapped on the streets of Berlin. No word on if the camera’s lens survived the encounter intact.
(image via: Zimbio)Don’t like the look of the camo Bentley? Count your blessings because there are worse fates suffered by the stately English make: such as the cotton candy catastrophe above. Who would be rich & tasteless enough to commission, buy and drive a pink Bentley? If you answered Paris Hilton, step up and collect your prize… and form a line to the right, everyone.
Burberry Maserati
(image via: Geekologie)Good Lord, they’ve gone to plaid! Last and least, we give you the Burberry Maserati, just the thing for stealthy shoppers with low taste on the prowl for high-end luxury goods. Though it may not be a classic camouflage pattern, the well-known Burberry tartan can be considered a form of urban camouflage made possible by the advent of CAD vinyl wraps – what, you thought somebody (with OCD) actually painted their Maserati Quattroporte to look like this?
Camouflaged supercars seem to be the coming thing, which bodes well (or unwell, depending on your point of view) for everyday drivers who want their rides to stand out from the rest of the herd. Do you see a pattern here?
Millennium Falcon Bed guarantees you don't get laid...
Kayla Kromer was featured on Neatorama about a year ago for her Hamburger Bed. Now she strikes back with this must have bed for any Star Wars fan. Featuring working headlights, starfield projection, and hidden compartments, its cockpit can also hold action figures (although the two she picked are, indeed, sacrilege). I like the radar dish pillow.
Hundreds of billions in crime money knowingly laundered by banks during cred...
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on 12/13/09
The Observer reports that an estimated $352bn of drug and mafia money was laundered by the major banks at the peak of the credit crunch, while regulators turned a blind eye, since the highly liquid criminal underworld was the only source of the cash necessary to keep the banks' doors open. As Charlie Stross notes, "A third of a trillion dollars is a lot of money; it's enough to fund the US military invading another country halfway around the world, or a manned Mars exploration program." Charlie goes on to mention that now that these narcobucks "aren't neatly bundled up inside the mattress any more; they're in the system," that there's $0.3 trillion sitting there, nice and legal, entering the investment world. Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisorAntonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were "the only liquid investment capital" available to some banks on the brink of collapse last year. He said that a majority of the $352bn (£216bn) of drugs profits was absorbed into the economic system as a result...
"Inter-bank loans were funded by money that originated from the drugs trade and other illegal activities... There were signs that some banks were rescued that way." Costa declined to identify countries or banks that may have received any drugs money, saying that would be inappropriate because his office is supposed to address the problem, not apportion blame. But he said the money is now a part of the official system and had been effectively laundered.
"That was the moment [last year] when the system was basically paralysed because of the unwillingness of banks to lend money to one another. The progressive liquidisation to the system and the progressive improvement by some banks of their share values [has meant that] the problem [of illegal money] has become much less serious than it was," he said.
(Image: Money, Money, Money, a Creative Commons Attribution image from borman818's photostream)
Previously:
- Scambaiter takes on the "United Nation Money Laundering ...
- Meth dealers laundered drug money with comic books - Boing Boing
- Boing Boing: Berlusconi used Hollywood studios for money laundering
- Boing Boing: UK tax experts warn of virtual world money laundering
- Man detained, threatened and abused by TSA for flying with $4700 ...
Posted via email from realthinktank's posterous
Mark Mawson's underwater paint pictures
via MAKE Magazine by Sean Michael Ragan on 12/13/09
Mark Mawson takes lots of cool pictures, but I am particularly charmed by the simple beauty of this floaty paint in water series. [via Neatorama]
Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Photography | Digg this!Posted via email from realthinktank's posterous
Obama Slams "Fat Cat" Bankers In 60 Minutes Interview
Great thought process...give a kid a bucket of candy and then be angry because they eat too much of it? We (well the last Prez) decided to give failing businesses money...our money.
Various heads of American banks will be heading to the White House on Monday to discuss lending and pay, and it would seem that their host -- the President -- is none to happy with them.
CBS News: In an interview with "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft, the president went after what he called the "fat cat bankers on Wall Street." He said bankers have not shown "a lot of shame" about their behavior and outsized compensation despite the bank bailouts and economic downturn.
After stating that the financial crisis was "caused in part by completely irresponsible actions on Wall Street," Mr. Obama suggested that some banks paid TARP bailout money back to the government specifically to free themselves from government-mandated constraints on executive compensation.
"I think in some cases that was a motivation," said Mr. Obama. "Which I think tells me that the people on Wall Street still don't get it. They don't get it. They're still puzzled, why is it that people are mad at the banks?"
After stating that the financial crisis was "caused in part by completely irresponsible actions on Wall Street," Mr. Obama suggested that some banks paid TARP bailout money back to the government specifically to free themselves from government-mandated constraints on executive compensation.
"I think in some cases that was a motivation," said Mr. Obama. "Which I think tells me that the people on Wall Street still don't get it. They don't get it. They're still puzzled, why is it that people are mad at the banks?"
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