CARBIZ

Now that is a shame!

Ven, I have a lot of experience with people who just 'came out.' (I used to work on a peer support gay youth hotline.) It doesn't matter if the person is 25 or 40, if they have been in denial all their life, dating women, etc., when they finally meet a man and come out, it is literally like a moth into a buttefly. However, one of the drawbacks is that these people tend to go overboard with everything they do: drink too much, party too much, sleep around, or fall in love with every person they sleep with. Emotionally, they are very much 15, no matter what their calender age is. I think the people who struggle with it in their childhood are the ones who are vulnerable to suicide, addictions or emotional drama. Perhaps they feel they have to make up for lost time or perhaps they feel like they want to forget those 'lost' years, but I have witnessed it a lot. Some can work it out of their system very rapidly and then move on, while others can spiral into addictions and self-pity. I know where our friend is coming from, and I am trying to get him over the pitfalls. Those who never felt the remorse or tried to pretend they were straight are very rare, indeed. <-- Me

The biggest difference between now and 1979 is that today Detroit actually has some interesting small cars that they can actually sell. With the Volt around the corner, Detroit is probably better prepared for the upcoming Oil Shock than it was 25 years ago. I went from my '67 Dodge Polara to a '82 Dodge Rampage: 318 cu. inches to 2.2 litres. 3 spd torqueflight, to 4 spd stick. I survived. We will all survive. (Although I do sometimes cry myself to sleep lamenting the loss of the hardtop and those beautiful 'overhangs.')

Although the British show does have some original bits, I am not a big fan of it. American networks have a poor track record of remaking Brit Hits. Two prime examples were Queer as Folk (the 'American version, filmed in Toronto can't hold a candle to the grittier, funnier British series) and Ab Fab, which was heavily diluted into an American version with Cybil Sheppard: so bad, in fact, that I can't even remember the name of the copy.

SOMEONE CALL 9-1-1! [Rushes out to rent all the Harry Potter movies again...........]

Maybe the new BF is hanging out with my friend Sa-Sa's BF, Frank. Frank and Sa-Sa are supposed to be married in two weeks (reception at my place). Frank flew off to California about 10 days ago 'on business.' Sa-Sa (who is 29, but emotionally 15 because he just 'came out') was suspicious, but found out through a mutual friend that Frank is on vacation. Fine. I gave Frank the benefit of the doubt. I don't know him that well. They have been dating for about 6 weeks. Today, I find out (via my BF, who is closer to Sa-Sa) that Sa-Sa has sent (get ready for this) $2,500 down to Frank over the past several days. Frank had the balls today to call and ask for another $500. I had to walk away from my BF as he talked to Sa-Sa on the phone while we were in Sears this afternoon. I mean, naive is one thing - but stupid is another. The money angle changes everything. It isn't like Sa-Sa is rich: he works to jobs and is fighting to stay in Canada (he is from Mexico, go figure). I was just starting to like Frank. We have a lot in common, even though he is about 15 years my junior. However, using people so blatantly is not acceptable. No, Frank is off my Christmas card list. And I hope he stays in California.

This is delicious, actually. Ford still has not lived down its reputation of producing rusty cars - and that was 25 years ago. People can spin this any way they want: frames rotting out like this on a pick up truck is outrageous. This is not the '80s and we are not talking sheet metal problems here. This has the makings of a PR disaster worse than any Aztek or push rod engines or lack of 6 spd automatics could do for GM. But the usual suspects will spin it away.

Methinks a lot of our parents were busy in the back seat of their cars at the drive in during that first warm summer night in June! Happy b'day!

I think you and I are about the same age, but being a SF freak since I was about 14, I loathed the original series. I dragged my first real BF to see the movie at the theatre, which was bad enough, but the series, especially with those stupid frackin' robots and those smarmy little brat-kids on the show made me want to scream. I was very, very discerning for 19. Other than a few of the names remaining the same, there are absolutely no similarities between the original series and the current one. There was a rash of very bad early '80s 'science fiction' (and my quotation marks are deliberate) shows, such as Flash Gordon and 'V' - all travesties. Until TNG and Babylon 5 came along, I had despaired for mainsteam SF. Please understand that at the age of 15, I understood 2001, I loved THX1138 and Silent Running - those are the SF shows that I cut my teeth on. Even Star Wars was a bit cheesy for my sensibilities. (I forgave Logan's Run because I had a crush on Michael York, and Space:1999 had cool special effects, even if the moon would, in reality, tear itself apart leaving Earth's orbit.)

This could be a twist on the Chariots of the Gods theme, or perhaps that has been done to death. It's interesting that the actor that plays Dr. Valtar was also in one of my other favorite shows, Babylon 5. I've always thought that the new BSG was somehow in our distant future, perhaps lost colonists or refugees from our planet going POOF! However, there is a certain symmetry to their 'discovering' Earth in the past and seeding it for the future. And it would be real cool to see a Cylon/Enterprise show down!

This is the kind of 'outside the box' thinking GM needs to do more of. Not only is this a great tie-in for the Malibu, with a lot of neat information on the vehicle, but the free XM trial offer is a great idea, too. Kudos to GM. After spending a weekend with my 4 nephews, I am in awe of anyone who has the perseverence (or takes leave of their senses) to raise kids in this day and age - let alone an autistic child. Cheers to you, Reg.

I was going to mention the BW, but was too embarassed. I especially liked the alter ego character that the girl from BSG was playing on BW. And we're into the last season of BSG. I think I'll chuck the TV from the balcony once that show is over. Nothing else to watch. Something about all those shows shot in Vancouver..............

That is very interesting. The last time I was in Brazil I saw a lot of Ford Fusions down there. It would be interesting to see the Malibu and the Fusion fight head to head there for market share. It has been an amazing few years. The American dollar used to be 3:1 for the Brazilian Real, but now its 1.68. Of course, visiting Brazil is getting more expensive.

Interesting reading. I think I will forward this to the Toyota Star. It certainly ranks a little higher in the realm of problems than the gas tank sensor problems GM (and Nissan and Ford) experienced in Ontario 5 years ago (that turned out to be Petro Canada's fault, BTW) that they splashed all over the front page.

Actually, when it comes to music, I don't mind seeing old songs dusted off and re-done. There are two examples that come to mind. 1) Gordon Lightfoot did a love ballad in the early '70s 'If You Could Read My Mind.' I barely remember the song (he is a master writer, IMO), but when Viola Wills re-did it in 1980 and it became a smash club hit, I loved the song. It was re-done again in 1998 and became a club hit again. Each version has a life of its own. Another example is Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You.' Although she is an excellent song writer, her voice (to me) is like finger's on a chalk board, but when Whitney Houston re-did the song (and it became a smash hit), the song took on a new dimension. I have to say when I was younger, I used to loathe remakes, but I have grown to like many of them. The funniest one I remember was when an (now ex) BF of mine heard me playing a Four Seasons Greatest Hits Cd (my mother loved Franki Valy when I was a kid) in my car, he freaked because the only version he knew was Divine's mid-80s club hit of Walk Like a Man, not the Four Season's 1961 hit of the same song. The expression on his face when he heard the 25 year old version was priceless. With both media, I suspect our acceptance or aversion is more based on which one we saw/heard first. I liked both versions of Planet of the Apes, although the first one certainly had more impact when you didn't know the ending. But there are plenty of examples of movies that should have never been done, like the Brady Bunch Movie, Bewitched, Beverly Hillbilliies..well, actually the list is pretty endless now that I think about it. The 1976 King Kong was awful but I liked the more recent one. The new Godzilla was as stupid as the original, but with much better special effects. (Not even Matthew Broderick could save that movie for me.)

You are all fools! Don't you know this is yet another Toyota triumph? They have invented the fully biodegradable pick up truck! Within 4 or 5 years of purchase, the vehicle completely returns to the earth. No more recycling hassles. No more pesky scrapyard eyesores. The bodies and frames dissolve before your very eyes. Just add water.

Journeyman was cancelled, but we get this?

One of the few vices I don't have. I watched my sister quit for 4 years when she had her baby, then one puff at a party and she was hooked again. My ex tried to quit about 18 times in the 10 years we were together (longest he lasted was about 3 months). Usually after a couple days, I would go out and buy him a pack and light them for him because he became such a screeching banshee of a person. So, I have a lot of sympathy for smokers out there. It is one helluva habit to kick.

This is a can of worms that would be best left closed. But that would be so unlike me! Here is the world, according to Carbiz: 1) Alcohol (and other substances) were invented so ugly people can get laid, too. Not original, but true. 2) A 'relationship' doesn't even start until about year 4. Before that, you are still getting to know each other. There could possibly be positions not tried yet. 3) Those who claim sex does not matter are either a) lying b) ugly or c) don't really know what sex is. 4) Monogamy is highly over-rated. We are supposed to be dead by 30. That is in our genes. To presume someone you met at 20 will be with you by 50 is naive at best. 5) The majority of people who claim they have never cheated are either a)lying b) couldn't find someone willing to cheat with them or c) don't have the time. 6) Want to be happy for the rest of your life, then make an ugly man/woman (or man-woman) your wife. The gay world is littered with the wreckage of bitter souls who sought refuge in a 'meaningful' relationship, only to discover that they don't really exist. I have never understood why gay people collectively have fought for right to be recognized as the same as straight people. We are not, nor should we aspire to be. The divorce rate is sitting at 55% for a myriad of reasons, but I will wager that almost none of those relationships had decent sex going on inside of them. Marriage as an institution is morally bankrupt; a quaint idea which has roots 10,000 years old - as if things haven't changed since then. If we are to move forward through the 21st century, we are going to have to find a way to make relationships (plural) fit into our busy lives, or die alone. It is estimated that we will have 6 careers during our life - why would we expect anything different for our sex lives? Now before I get flamed for my above comments, think long and hard. This is far more than gonads and harmones. However, we deny our inner animal at our own peril. Of course it is more difficult for gay relationships to work - the temptations are everywhere! When is the last time an attractive woman lured a man into a public washroom and gave him a BJ? And before the straight folk get on their high horses and wrinkle their noses at how repugnant that would be - how many straight guys, married or not, would not be tempted by said situation? Oh, that's right: the double edged sword that she would have to be a slut to be willing to do that, and therefore undesireable. Vegas would not exist if I am not right. As a society, we need to wake up about sex, celebrate it and learn to fold it into our lives. Throwing hissy fits or going into fits of depression because the BF/GF/wife or whatever didn't come home or smells of someone else's cologne/perfume, etc. is not going to get us anywhere. Whether one has an 'open relationship,' 'don't-ask-don't-tell-Fridays,' engage in threesomes, wife swapping, key parties, or whatever else may float one's boat, the secret to happiness is to find what works for YOU and stick with it. Oh, and get to the damned gym: stop whining because the wife got fat and dumpy. Take a look in the mirror.

:rotflmao:

Hmm, it seems that Fiat has hit upon an easy way to make money. Didn't a Memorandum of Understanding cost GM $2 billion to get out of?

Well, as long as you're not bitter. I think you handled that with maturity and grace. I still have foot marks on my back from guys climbing over me to get to my (EX) BF. He was 23 and I was 30 when we met. He was hot, the sex was great, but the problems were many. Current BF (6 years) is a saint. He can count the number of guys he has slept with in his life (he is 38) on his hands ( a feat that I could not have done after the age of 17). I am much happier now. Maybe it was his Jehovah's Witness routes (yeah, I can pick 'em) or maybe it is the fact that for the first year we were together he barely spoke English (Brazilian), but he is so laid back, so honest, so frighteningly easy going - well, I know Mother Theresa died after he was born, but I think her spirit somehow infused into him. Anyway, enough about me...so, what do you think about me? (To coint a phrase from one of my favorite movies.) Seriously, back to OC's drama...............

AAA or AA batteries? And you said GM would never iron out the battery kinks! I have a detailed '59 and '60 Impala convertibles on my window ledge. I'd love to have more, but I'd probably be divorced. I'm itching to add some late '60s Mopar models to my collection, but the couch is not a great place to sleep.

I am not going to get on my high horse here because I know only too well how sex and passion die after 5 or 6 years (BF and I are going to hit our 6th anniversary in a few weeks and our sex life is down to once a month), but if there are that many question marks at the BEGINNING of a relationship, then it bodes horrible for the future. The first year or so of being together is full of puppy dogs and cotton candy - yours sounds more like the beginning of a weepy Barbara Stanwyck movie. (And if you don't know who she is, I am stripping you of your license!) I hope you can work things out, but if I were you, I'd be stocking up on kleenex and lorazepam.

Over all, I like the look of the vehicle, but Honda is cutting corners in places they shouldn't. Did you get a load of how much the rear struts intrude into the trunk space? The front turn signals are in completely the wrong place (you can't see them until you are literally in front of the car!) The engine is noticeably louder than other company's offerings. For my size, I like the seats better than the Malibu - well, at least in LS and LT form: the 'ultrasuede' seats in the Malibut 2LT are a lot nicer than the Accord's. Still, the Accord sits well on its own and for those import humpers that won't even consider offerings from other manufacturers, it will do just fine.