Photo by Terricia Soyombo, via dcist
 
As far as cults of personality go, Americans simply don’t have the panache of say, North Korea; It’s not really our fault—fanatical idolatry just blooms more lushly under fascism. Regardless, when we do manage the odd hothouse icon, our graven images are something to behold.

Now, I’m leaning towards towards the car in the video below because I’m a fan of both Crown Vics and terrible airbrushing. My background in the milieu trends more towards bald eagles and herds of wild horses crossing shallow yet tempestuous streams at a full gallop (rather than civil rights leaders and centrist presidents), but airbrushed American flags definitely hold a place in my tacky heart. The actual airbrush skill isn’t exactly refined, but I think it adds to the charm.

The newcomer above however, spotted in DC, is so sleek and modern. It even has the hashtag “#obamascar” on the side; I like that it knows how to network. And from a logistical standpoint, how do you even chrome a whole car? There’s also the subversive aspect of putting Obama’s face on a Cadillac, which became racist code for the layabout poor, post-Reagan. This is clearly a car of conscious liberal dissent—a big shiny “fuck you”—which I like.

As a composition though, I feel the polish of the chrome car can’t match the humanity of airbrushed Obama car, so I say airbrush wins. Plus the chrome car reminds me of the Enola Gay, with the president as pin-up nose art. Maybe they can use Obama Chrome as the visual inspiration for our next line of drones?

But what say you? Is it worse to be a low-rent cheesy, or a really well-executed cheesy? Which is the ugliest Obama car?
 

Billy Gibbons Painting by Eileen Martin from Fine Art America

This is taken from today’s Guardian newspaper’s Film & Music section, which has been guest edited by David Lynch, and it makes for one of the most bizarre “music” interviews ever published:

Gibbons and Lynch – but mainly Gibbons, with the occasional “Doggone right” and “Exactly right, Billy” from Lynch – are talking about the beauty and power of industry. About the roar of factories, the growl of engines, about how the clang and clank speak to something within us. We’re meant to be talking about the block and tackle pulley system, but it’s pretty clear from the start that none of us can sustain a conversation about that, and so the block and tackle is just the key that starts the motor that in turn drives our discussion down the highway.

For Lynch, in any case, the block and tackle seems to be as much metaphor as literal device. It’s a system of pulleys, designed to enable a person to lift a greater weight than they could unaided. The pulley was invented around 2,400 years ago by the Greek philosopher Archytas, a scientist of the Pythagorean school (he’s also thought to have been the first person to invent a flying machine. Bright boy; his mother must have been proud). Then Archimedes realised the simple pulley could be expanded into something with even greater power – the block and tackle system, which he designed to help sailors lift ever greater loads, according to Plutarch. Thousands of years later, the basic system is unchanged: the block is the pulleys – the more pulleys you put in the block, the less the force you need to apply – and the tackle is the rest of the of the apparatus.

“I heard about the block and tackle and I’ve seen it work and it seems so magical,” Lynch says of his fascination. “It’s connected in my mind with the American car” – one of its common usages is to lift the engine block from the body of a vehicle – “and it’s kind of perfect that Billy talks about it. Billy had got a kind of guitar power – I always like the idea that his guitar is gasoline-powered.” That’s not quite the only reason Gibbons is joining us today. When Lynch originally asked for a piece about the block and tackle in this week’s Film&Music, we pointed out that the section dealt with film and music, rather than physics and mechanics. Lynch, though, was insistent. OK, he said, if you’re only going to do it if it’s got a film or music angle, then you can have ZZ Top talking about the block and tackle. And here we are

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Read the full article David Lynch and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons dream about machines over at The Guardian.

 
Good gravy! Methinks Canadian car dealership Dale Wurfel is kind of pushing it here. Really, Dale Wurfel? Really??? 
 
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
‘Stuffed Girl’s Heads! Only $2.98’

(via The Hairpin)

 
A rat rod is an old car or truck, usually from the 1920s thru to the 50s, that’s been stripped down and rebuilt using parts that date from the same era as the original automobile. A rat rod may be seriously stripped down, without hoods or fenders. They’re the punk rock rods of the hot rod scene, expressing the individuality of their owners. Aesthetically, the more rust the better.

I shot these at The Lonestar Rod And Custom Roundup in Austin this year. Music is by The Damned, Mink DeVille and The Modern Lovers.

A lot of a young cats in the Chicano community in Austin are rat rod aficionados.

The first video features a particularly groovy rusty rat rod tricked out with hydraulics and a Jack Daniels bottle containing radiator coolant. This is a low rider for people with exceptional style.

The second video contains rat motorcycles and more rat rods.

 
More rat rods after the jump…