April 23, 2009

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, abridged, 34

On the road of life, those who laugh gratuitously swallow the most bugs.

Posted by Jeff G. @ 8:35pm
110 comments | Trackback

Comments (110)

  1. Loren Heal says April 23, 2009 at 8:43 pm

    In August the breeze
    Pelts the unwise rider with
    Japanese beetles

  2. happyfeet says April 23, 2009 at 8:52 pm

    some people laugh gratuitously on the road of life and they don’t have to eat bugs cause of they transcend all that and what is zen but accepting that that person is not you*

  3. router says April 23, 2009 at 8:55 pm

    stay away from caterpillars

  4. blowhard says April 23, 2009 at 8:57 pm

    “those who laugh gratuitously swallow the most bugs”

    Great line.

  5. Vladimir says April 23, 2009 at 9:00 pm

    Full face helmet at all times. Or A.T.G.A.T. All The Gear All The Time.

  6. Joe says April 23, 2009 at 9:01 pm

    If you want to see this happen, watch America’s Funniest Home Videos. My kids watch it and laugh and laugh. But while engaged in schadenfreude in the comfort of your own home, few bugs get swallowed.

  7. urthshu says April 23, 2009 at 9:01 pm

    Gratuitous bug swallowing? I suppose that’s true, since every rider must swallow some minimum at any time, anyhow

  8. urthshu says April 23, 2009 at 9:03 pm

    Oh, and uh, now the blog’s title finally comes together with this singular post!

    Yay. I can now sleep fitfully.

  12. psycho... says April 23, 2009 at 9:33 pm

    If you go full-on BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! MOOHOOHAH!, crazy villain style, it creates a bug-deflecting pressure wall in front of your mouth.

    It’s the tittering that gets you.

  14. J. "Trashman" Peden says April 23, 2009 at 10:04 pm

    On the road of life, those who laugh gratuitously swallow the most bugs.

    and help save the World from AGW, Ommmmmm….

  15. dicentra says April 23, 2009 at 10:32 pm

    I think I heard that today was “Talk Like Shakespeare Day.”

    Did we miss it?

    I’faith, marry, I wisht not.

  16. geoffb says April 23, 2009 at 10:34 pm

    True freedom always means having to eat a few bugs, you have to hope that a wasp isn’t one of them.

  17. Tman says April 23, 2009 at 10:36 pm

    Football is but six
    teen games, Draft day is fleeting,
    Titans redemption I seek.

  18. Sdferr says April 23, 2009 at 10:39 pm

    Did someone say, hey nonny-nonny, hey nonny-nonny, hey nonny-nonny, hey?

  19. TaiChiWawa says April 23, 2009 at 10:46 pm

    When mind empty, keep mouth closed.

  20. Adriane says April 23, 2009 at 11:06 pm

    #19. Too late. We’ve already elected Obama.

    And Michelle may be waspish, but is definitely not a wasp, IYKWIMAITYSBATFIOFATCIHD.

  21. dicentra says April 23, 2009 at 11:11 pm

    IYKWIMAITYSBATFIOFATCIHD

    If you’re going to pull that kinda thing, you could at least add it to acronymfinder.com first.

  23. maggie katzen says April 23, 2009 at 11:13 pm

    what if we’re just really amused by everything?

  26. mojo says April 23, 2009 at 11:31 pm

    Sometimes you eat the bug, sometimes the bug eats you.

    Some times, it rains.

  27. maggie katzen says April 23, 2009 at 11:45 pm

    Some times, it rains.

    on your wedding day.

  28. dicentra says April 23, 2009 at 11:57 pm

    And isn’t it ironic unfortunate?

    Shakespeare’s Birthday, April 23rd. Craig Ferguson just confirmed it in his monologue. And I was watching Henry IV tonight. Total co-inky dink! Promise!

  29. dicentra says April 23, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    In other news, Frank J. figures it out: We elected Borat!

  30. Adriane says April 24, 2009 at 12:07 am

    Apologies. Attempted humor, fail.

    IYKWIMAITYSBATFIOFATCIHD: If You Know What I Mean And I Think You Should Be Able To Figure It Out From All The Clues I Have Dropped.

    A once in a life time usage, not to mention, I’ve never heard of acronymfinder.com before now.

  31. J. "Trashman" Peden says April 24, 2009 at 12:20 am

    Finally, Grasshopper, beware: On the road of life, those who laugh gratuitously swallow the most bugs.

  32. geoffb says April 24, 2009 at 12:21 am

    I went wrong at “Able” thinking “Ashamed” and got stuck. Tried here.

  33. Sean M. says April 24, 2009 at 1:09 am

    Some times, it rains.

    on your wedding day.

    And that’s not really ironic. Unless you’re Bill Ayers, maybe.

  34. pdbuttons says April 24, 2009 at 1:55 am

    papilion
    swims back to french prison island
    to eat bugs as he shivers
    of the memory of Henry Waxmans face

  35. smitty says April 24, 2009 at 4:46 am

    #1 Says the
    August bugs are Japanese.
    Vee-Dub Toyota?

  36. McGehee says April 24, 2009 at 5:02 am

    “Laugh gratuitously”…? I am unable to parse this phrase. How can laughter be gratuitous?

    <pendant blinking>

  38. Carin says April 24, 2009 at 5:10 am

    I’m ashamed to admit it, but this book was assigned as my pre-freshman year college reading. I didn’t make it past the first chapter.

    But, in my defense, I was profoundly mediocre as an undergraduate. Once I started bartending, things went really downhill.

  39. LTC John says April 24, 2009 at 6:20 am

    “On the road of life, those who laugh gratuitously swallow the most bugs.”

    Laugh long, get free (insect) protein?

  40. N. O'Brain says April 24, 2009 at 6:44 am

    He who laughs last thinks slowest.

  41. Joe says April 24, 2009 at 7:18 am

    “I live for myself and I
    answer to nobody.”

    Steve McQueen

  42. serr8d says April 24, 2009 at 7:29 am

    What’s wrong with eating a few bugs? Or arachnids, for that matter?

    (OT, but Jeff, did you see this?)

  43. Squid says April 24, 2009 at 7:35 am

    None of the examples of irony in “Isn’t It Ironic?” are actually ironic. Which is pretty ironic, if you ask me.

    Nobody loves me,
    Everybody hates me,
    I think I’m gonna eat wormsbugs.

  44. Lost My Cookies says April 24, 2009 at 7:47 am

    He who laughs last didn’t get the joke.

  45. Tim Mcnabb says April 24, 2009 at 8:44 am

    I can vouch for that.

  46. McGehee says April 24, 2009 at 8:49 am

    <hours later>

    Oh! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

  47. N. O'Brain says April 24, 2009 at 9:22 am

    [thinks of snappy comeback]

    DOH!

  48. Matt says April 24, 2009 at 9:31 am

    Sometimes you’re the bug.

  49. Obstreperous Infidel says April 24, 2009 at 10:26 am

    “on your wedding day.”

    Testify my sister! Does sleet count?

  50. happyfeet says April 24, 2009 at 10:33 am

    everyone at the office reads Drudge so I called in sick just to freak them out

  51. happyfeet says April 24, 2009 at 10:37 am

    actually I have a cold and haven’t slept good… where are the postings today? There are many things happening in out benighted dirty socialist little country that are of concern. It’s hard to keep them straight which is why I have no time to read those pansy wankers Hot Air. All of them are pansy wankers except for Cap’n Ed… he’s just Cap’n Ed I think.

  52. happyfeet says April 24, 2009 at 10:40 am

    oh… in *our* benighted dirty socialist little country I meant. Also it appears that our Secretary of the Making Us Feel Safe is something of a silly twat. That can’t be helpful you wouldn’t think.

  53. lee says April 24, 2009 at 10:41 am

    I heard this morning a third regular season NFL game is to be played in London, and they are thinking of having a super bowl game there in the future.
    That bugs me, and I’m not even laughing…

  54. Joe says April 24, 2009 at 10:48 am

    “When I believe in something, I fight like hell for it.” Steve McQueen, Patron Saint of Outlaws.

  55. LTC John says April 24, 2009 at 10:57 am

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/24/madd-about-regulation-obama-chauffeurs-the-nanny-s/

    This would be worth a post, perhaps. Who was the troll who kept saying that the Pres was all about “expanding the sphere of personal liberty” or somesuch?

  56. Squid says April 24, 2009 at 11:05 am

    I dunno, John. Part of me wants this guy to succeed wildly. When the Feds and the local cops conspire to put everyone I see at happy hour behind bars, I think the backlash will come wid a quickness. Just keep stretching that elastic, guys.

    Now, how’s Soros planning to profit from the coming social unrest? ‘Cuz I need to get in on some of that.

  57. Carin says April 24, 2009 at 11:25 am

    Well, if there’s not going to be a new thread, I guess I’ll go scrub the shower.

    Thanks a lot.

  58. Carin says April 24, 2009 at 11:28 am

    LTC, that article did nothing to improve my mood.

  59. JD says April 24, 2009 at 11:32 am

    Motorcycle maintenance … UGH. My ’69 Harley decided that today was a good day to not start, and toast the aging electricals in the process. Fuck fuck fuckity fucking fucker.

    But it is high 70′s and sunny, and the golf course is calling my name ;-)

  60. Rob Crawford says April 24, 2009 at 11:42 am

    From the story linked by LTC John:

    Mr. Hurley is a former board member of the National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running. The innocuous-sounding outfit frequently testifies at congressional hearings as if it were a nonprofit victim’s advocacy group. In reality, it is a well-heeled lobbying shop for big business.

    The so-called National Campaign’s phone number – (202) 828-9100 – is answered by a receptionist at the public-relations firm Blakey and Agnew. Among that firm’s big-ticket clients are the traffic-camera companies Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia, Gastometer BV of the Netherlands and Lasercraft Inc. of Britain. These foreign corporations all seek to rewrite state laws to allow machines to issue traffic-camera tickets, thus reaping huge profits for the companies that operate them – including Redflex, Gastometer and Lasercraft.

    There’s another one of those public-private partnerships. A “third way” to structuring our economy.

  61. Adriane says April 24, 2009 at 11:51 am

    Al Gore avoids humiliation:

    http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/04/at-last-minute-dems-refuse-to-allow.html

    … gratuitous bashing of former US ally included.

  62. happyfeet says April 24, 2009 at 12:01 pm

    Mr. Patterico twittered cheerful news… oh. He blogged it too.

  63. BJT-FREE! says April 24, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    Ye gods, LTC John. I guess we should all be grateful that Obama didn’t pick Ralph Nader to run the NHTSA. That might keep the future astronomical price of our cars down 10%.

    Oh, that’s right, I forgot. With new highway mileage mandates those cars will be even less safe so, you know, Ralph may not be on board, even if he is a member of the Green Party.

  64. Slartibartfast says April 24, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    “I’ve been laid off,” reads the headline on the blog of cartoonist Ted Rall, president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.

    His mission was accomplished.

  65. A fine scotch says April 24, 2009 at 12:58 pm

    He who laughs last is stoned.

  66. Karl Marx says April 24, 2009 at 1:15 pm

    Yeah, but if you laugh gratuitously at yourself, along with the gods who are laughing at you as you go through all the shit they’re putting you through, it makes you feel better.

  67. Jim Ryan says April 24, 2009 at 1:16 pm

    Er, that wasn’t Karl. That was me. Karl would never say something as dippy as that.

  68. happyfeet says April 24, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    our dirty socialist smegma-laden Associated Press is actually prostrate lying down on the floor before their dipshit messiah so that they might reproduce his likeness most favorably

  69. Sdferr says April 24, 2009 at 1:26 pm

    nice shoe-shine, wot?

  70. Squid says April 24, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    Consider it a warmup for the coming photos of the sole of His shoe being ground into our collective face.

  71. Slartibartfast says April 24, 2009 at 1:39 pm

    He’s a giant of a man.

  72. Cowboy says April 24, 2009 at 2:27 pm

    Happyfeet:

    OT, but if you still have your cold, I have a recipe for very yummy Thai Ginger soup that always makes my colds at least feel better.

    Email me at matfisher at hotmail dot com.

  73. Swen Swenson says April 24, 2009 at 2:55 pm

    Okay, put down the rheostat and back away from those electrodes!

  74. dicentra says April 24, 2009 at 3:06 pm

    Word on the street is that Oprompta isn’t going to let the prosecutions go forward (and when is the expiration date on that?), but the fact that the U.N. is drooling over the prospect has got Charles cheesed off, at least. He may not be a TEA partier, but he’s no Oprompta fan, either. So the loss isn’t total.

    In other news, Dennis Miller is ready to throw Oprompta under the bus. Dennis has been way too eager to give Oprompta the benefit of the doubt IMO. It’s like the frog saying he won’t suspect the scorpion is poisonous until he’s actually stung.

  75. happyfeet says April 24, 2009 at 3:17 pm

    emailed – that sounds really perfect

  76. N. O'Brain says April 24, 2009 at 3:56 pm

    Liked the Dennsi M. Interview.

  77. Dan Are says April 24, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    “…actually prostrate lying down on the floor before their dipshit messiah so that they might reproduce his likeness most favorably”

    I saw that pic and threw up in my mouth a little, HF. I guess for them, the direction of Mecca is to wherever Barry O is standing.

  78. dicentra says April 24, 2009 at 4:24 pm

    Where are our bloggers: Dan, Darleen, Jeff, et al.? I mean, I understand that Jeff doesn’t feel like posting sometimes, but all three? Same day?

    Maybe they’re busy cursing themselves for missing Talk Like Shakespeare Day yesterday.

  79. Mikey NTH says April 24, 2009 at 4:29 pm

    He who laughs last is the chief mourner at his arch enemy’s funeral.
    BWA-HA-HA-HA-*choke*gasp*cough*cough*cough.

    (Outliving your arch-enemy frequently means you got to go back to the Old Super Villian’s Home afterwards. Now to complete transfering my diabolical mind into a younger body…*snooze*.)

  80. geoffb says April 24, 2009 at 4:36 pm

    “Consider it a warmup for the coming photos of the sole of His shoe being ground into our collective face.”

    Ah, but in the very book, upon which this post is named, it is shown that the cure for writers block is to focus in on the very smallest thing and describe it thoroughly.

    Expect entire novels exploring the numerous particles of dirt embedded in Obama’s sole or soul depending on your politics.

  81. Dan Are says April 24, 2009 at 4:41 pm

    Maybe Chris Matthews can revisit the O!induced sensations in his leg, the trilogy of that should sell on the east coast.

  82. router says April 24, 2009 at 4:45 pm

    i’m happy that O! burned 9000 gallons of fuel in honor of lenin’s birthday

  83. Dan Are says April 24, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    i’m happy that O! burned 9000 gallons of fuel in honor of lenin’s birthday

    What, are you suggesting a black president can’t be a hypocrite? His people spent 400 years in chains…I mean people with his skin color spent 400 years in chains…and republicans can be hypocrites but not…I mean WHITE republicans…

    Ah, hell with it, my tongue’s stuck in my cheek.

    RACIST!

  84. serr8d says April 24, 2009 at 5:11 pm

    Where are our bloggers: Dan, Darleen, Jeff, et al.? I mean, I understand that Jeff doesn’t feel like posting sometimes, but all three? Same day?

    Hey, this was a perfect day, at least here in Middle Tennessee. Especially on the lake. I don’t blame ‘em for bailing.

    Dan is still on the road? It’s a long way from Jacksonville to Vermont. I’d hate to run that gauntlet. It’s bad enough from Nashville through Atlanta; driving all the way up that east coast must be a nightmare.

  85. Cowboy says April 24, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    Sorry, feet, wrong address–try mathew1421 at yahoo dot com.

  86. router says April 24, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    looks like chuck is siding with cair:

    CAIR and Charles Johnson have demonstrated again and again that they are not interested in truth and accuracy, but only in character assassination and defamation of their perceived “enemies.” It’s interesting, also, that they increasingly have the same enemies. How proud Charles Johnson must be, to see his defamatory material once again picked up by a Hamas-linked group! This is getting to be a regular gig, eh, Charles? Maybe you can start drawing a nice regular check from Riyadh!

    ?

  87. dicentra says April 24, 2009 at 5:28 pm

    Charles is siding with CAIR only in Robert Spencer’s mind. According to LGF today, Spencer is speaking at a conference featuring European right-wing parties.

    Like I said at the pub, the right wing in Europe is closer to being racist than the right wing in the U.S. If Vlaams Belang is pushing amnesty for Nazi war criminals, I can’t get behind that for one second. Not one.

    And Charles just posted a story about some moron who said he was going to turn a tea party into a bloodbath. The FBI nabbed him after he tweeted it.

  88. dicentra says April 24, 2009 at 5:31 pm

    In other news, my brother knows the lefty dewd what “infiltrated” Falwell’s uni and didn’t find weirdos. Said the guy is pretty OK.

  89. router says April 24, 2009 at 5:42 pm

    d you be lizard?

    The background is this: I was invited to speak in Cologne, Germany, by the group Pro-Köln. Johnson, who sees neo-Nazis hiding under his bed and behind the shrubbery, showed himself in top form, and immediately decided that this group must be neo-Nazi as well — despite the fact that real neo-Nazis despise and repudiate them for their pro-Israel stance.

    ?

  90. router says April 24, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    the right wing in Europe is closer to being racist than the right wing in the U.S.

    because nothing says right wing than bnp which is a socialist/fascists party

  91. router says April 24, 2009 at 5:51 pm

    I think Charles is right to be suspicious of European nationalists, because they do often keep one toe in the racial supremacy pond.

    or maybe the some white people in europe don’t like the idea of being overrun by brown people by the actions of white people in europe who are progressive? and by the way what do you think of rev jerimiah wright’s black supremacy or zimbabwe bob’s?

  92. dicentra says April 24, 2009 at 5:53 pm

    WAS a lizard. Charles banned me a few weeks ago.

    despite the fact that real neo-Nazis despise and repudiate them for their pro-Israel stance

    I don’t know the details about Pro-Köln. They might not be racist. They might not be neo-Nazi. Charles is unusually “sensitive” about that thing.

    But to say that X cannot be bad because other bad people hate them means nothing. It’s like the Lefty argument that Fascism couldn’t be a phenomenon of the left because Fascists and Communists killed each other.

    It’s also stupid to say that Charles and CAIR are “on the same side” if they happen to oppose the same groups.

    If Robert Spencer and Charles can’t stand each other, so be it. I doubt either is being entirely fair to the other.

  93. dicentra says April 24, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    router

    Please don’t be accusing me of whatever it is you’re accusing me of.

    or maybe the some white people in europe don’t like the idea of being overrun by brown people by the actions of white people in europe who are progressive?

    If the white Europeans have a problem with the brown people because they’re brown, then that’s racist. If they have a problem with the brown people because they are radicalized Muslims, that’s entirely different.

    I the U.S., we can accept immigrants as long as they’re cool with the American Dream or are willing to embrace American principles. You don’t have to be a certain color to be a bona-fide American: you just need to dig the ideas that founded the country. (Or if you don’t, put up, shut up, and obey the laws.)

    In Europe, they distinguish themselves by their ethnic/historical/ancestral roots, and they’re also still very class conscious. Europeans don’t seem to have a problem with putting brown-skinned people in the lower classes and letting them stay there.

    Europe’s problem is that they abandoned any pretense of upholding any standard of what constitutes civil society. They can’t tell the aggressive Muslims to knock it off because they’re so multi-culti they can’t bring themselves to insist on certain kinds of behavior.

    So they resort to what they know: France for the French, Germany for the Germans, Denmark for the Danish.

    Dude, read America Alone. It’s all there.

  94. router says April 24, 2009 at 6:04 pm

    It’s also stupid to say that Charles and CAIR are “on the same side” if they happen to oppose the same groups.

    old chucky is a musician type living in laid back la la land so he’s cool with:

    ‘Pick the Target, Freeze It, Personalize It and Polarize It.’
    – Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals.

    ?

  95. Carin says April 24, 2009 at 6:05 pm

    I’m so bored I could bake a Red Velvet Cake if someone hadn’t ruined it by telling my how many calories it had.

  96. Carin says April 24, 2009 at 6:06 pm

    You know what is low in calories? Angel food cake. But, you know, it’s like eating air.

  97. router says April 24, 2009 at 6:07 pm

    If the white Europeans have a problem with the brown people because they’re brown, then that’s racist. If they have a problem with the brown people because they are radicalized Muslims, that’s entirely different.

    what if the ruling class are white people progressive who want to inflict their experiment on fellow white people citizens without their consent?

  98. dicentra says April 24, 2009 at 6:11 pm

    You know what is low in calories? Angel food cake. But, you know, it’s like eating air.

    Pour on mashed strawberries and low-fat whipped cream. Eat eat eat.

    Look, the sunspots have disappeared. Its not as active as it was, and it looks like we might be on the verge of another little ice age. Fat is nature’s ice-age survival mechanism.

    IYKWIMAITYD.

    router, be more specific about what you mean. It looks like you don’t get what I’m saying. Or vice-versa.

  99. router says April 24, 2009 at 6:18 pm

    d,

    the euro state and the O! state are similar. just a thought from a “bitter clinger”.

  100. geoffb says April 24, 2009 at 6:19 pm

    Red velvet cake is a holiday gathering type thing so make one for a group to eat. Thin slices if calories are a problem. Last one we had went to a church supper. I was lucky to get a piece of my own cake.

    That page I linked to had Red velvet cupcakes and Red velvet cheesecake too. You gain weight thinking about it.

  101. pdbuttons says April 24, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    i’d rather be read
    than be on this dead thread
    fire in the bush..
    i mean-fire bush
    no wait/ the spanish inquisition
    should fire bush..
    no wait..
    fire in a crowded movie theater doesn’t give u the right
    to torture
    ginger-kids

  102. dicentra says April 24, 2009 at 6:35 pm

    router: I’m bitterer and clingier than you and I still don’t get your drift. Whatevs.

  103. router says April 24, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    d,

    I still don’t get your drift.

    look chuck does the alinsky thing with spencer, geller, gov. eliminate the competition like O! did in il senate race. ok the eu and the O! are going for a progressive transnational state. ask koh. the people of france and ireland voted against the eu. the proggs ignore them. the O! is using reconcilliation to force america into nationalized health care and cap and trade. the proggs are in control. the “right wing” chuck johnson decries is a side show.

  104. router says April 24, 2009 at 6:52 pm

    no one can deny that chuck is a progressive.

    evolution check.

    b/c without evolution as their bible the progg narrative falls apart. “climate change” is funny in the same way. there’s no disagreement to it.

  105. pdbuttons says April 24, 2009 at 6:57 pm

    sorry for the tangent[tangerine]
    it came out of the blue…

  106. pdbuttons says April 24, 2009 at 7:54 pm

    sky blue popsicles
    taste like vanilla..
    orange-ya gonna ask me how i know?

  107. pdbuttons says April 24, 2009 at 7:55 pm

    i gots most flavored nation status!

  108. serr8d says April 24, 2009 at 9:09 pm

    sorry for the tangent[tangerine]

    Tangerine Dream: Love on a Real Train

  109. Seth says April 24, 2009 at 9:17 pm

    Yes, but bugs are high in protein. So, you know, Atkins!

  110. maggie katzen says April 26, 2009 at 11:48 pm

    But, you know, it’s like eating air.

    sweet, sweet air. It’s better than stage fog, I know that much.

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