At last, something on Livejournal I enjoyed

July 31, 2008 8:23 PM

Now I have seen a lion in a sidecar on a vertical wall of death. There are a lot of eye-popping images to be found on the vintage photographs livejournal group. The lion may be the eye-poppingest, but there's also this flattened elephant, this tiny photographer, and this soldier and dog in gas masks.
posted by Astro Zombie (43 comments total)

this is one of the 3 communities i am part of on lj. i love it.
posted by nadawi at 8:33 PM on July 31

and the old family photos from the russian members are probably my favorite part.
posted by nadawi at 8:34 PM on July 31

I've never truly lived.
posted by phrontist at 8:38 PM on July 31 [3 favorites]

Oh wow. This is fantastic.
posted by Windigo at 8:42 PM on July 31

lion in a sidecar.

and we all naievely think we are breaking new ground... we are nothing.
posted by Frasermoo at 8:45 PM on July 31 [2 favorites]

Let me take my chances on the wall of death.

Oh, and great link, thanks.
posted by Rangeboy at 8:45 PM on July 31 [1 favorite]

A link that would enable me to go back to two minutes ago, so that I can see the lion in a sidecar for the first time, again, would be appreciated.
posted by darth_tedious at 8:51 PM on July 31 [7 favorites]

That is the most convenient way to ship an elephant.
posted by Knappster at 8:55 PM on July 31 [6 favorites]

I actual feel the lion in the sidecar on the vertical wall of death image has started a shift in my life that will end up being seismic. I don't know how, but I must be the sort of person whom has a photo taken of themselves that is as astonishing.

This will end badly.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:56 PM on July 31 [7 favorites]

"This is a picture of people racing in a motorcycle and a go-cart with a sidecar with a lion in it on a vertical wall-of-death."

This is a masterpiece of captioning.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 8:57 PM on July 31 [10 favorites]

Just saw the "flattened elephant" photo... Oh no no no. No. No.

No.
posted by darth_tedious at 9:04 PM on July 31

"...people racing in a motorcycle and a go-cart with a sidecar with a lion in it on a vertical wall-of-death"

This will not end well.
posted by dgaicun at 9:16 PM on July 31

More on the lions in sidecars.
posted by empath at 9:31 PM on July 31 [1 favorite]

Now I have seen a lion in a sidecar on a vertical wall of death.

That is fucking awesome and exactly what Metafilter is for.
posted by Artw at 9:31 PM on July 31 [5 favorites]

Also: Fuck you Deathrace 2000 remake, you are NOTHING.
posted by Artw at 9:32 PM on July 31 [2 favorites]

If they crash, that's going to be one pissed off lion.

and I think this might be what the elephant picture was about...
posted by dunkadunc at 9:46 PM on July 31

Metafilter: racing in a motorcycle and a go-cart with a sidecar with a lion in it on a vertical wall-of-death
posted by bonefish at 9:47 PM on July 31

FOREVER.
posted by Artw at 9:48 PM on July 31

The best part about the lion picture, for me, is that however awesome that was for the driver and for all of us looking at the awesome photograph, you just know that that LION's mind was being fucking BLOWN.
posted by Sticherbeast at 9:50 PM on July 31 [5 favorites]

Wow, empath, that link's an FPP!
posted by bonefish at 9:52 PM on July 31

Danbury State Fair - The lion, sitting next to the driver, his mane rippling in the generated wind, opened its mouth and started letting out these incredible, stereophonic roars..
posted by tellurian at 9:52 PM on July 31 [4 favorites]

The lion, sitting next to the driver, his mane rippling in the generated wind, opened its mouth and started letting out these incredible, stereophonic roars.

Right up to the point that the lion opened its mouth even wider to consume the head of the driver, at which point the roar went from stereo to Surround Sound.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:17 PM on July 31 [2 favorites]

The lion was later found standing alone, with a tadpole in a jar.
posted by Tube at 11:44 PM on July 31

Now I have seen a lion in a sidecar on a vertical wall of death.

As have I. And I am so glad I did!
posted by Wolof at 12:45 AM on August 1

Lion in a Sidecar:

1 oz Cognac
1 oz. Triple Sec or Cointreau
1 oz. Lemon or Lime Juice
1 Lion

Shake ingredients with cracked ice. Strain onto a vertical wall of death.
posted by trip and a half at 1:43 AM on August 1 [11 favorites]

... you just know that that LION's mind was being fucking BLOWN.

Sidecar + Vertical Wall of Death = acid trip for Panthera leo.
posted by bwg at 2:19 AM on August 1

MetaFilter: vertical wall of death
posted by bwg at 2:27 AM on August 1

Every morning at the zoo, four dedicated workers start the day by carefully inflating the elephant.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:33 AM on August 1 [1 favorite]

I love how calm the lion is. He looks like a dog with his head out the window, only without the flapping ears and slobbering enthusiasm.
posted by DU at 4:13 AM on August 1 [1 favorite]

Seriously, imagine the awe and wonder you would get seeing this as a 12 year old, I can't think of anything as awesomely cool as a lion riding the death-wall. Oh how I yearn for the days before multiplexes and video games, where being a kid meant adventure and discovery!
posted by Vindaloo at 5:58 AM on August 1

Oh fluffy, windblown lion you are now my desktop background.
posted by likesuchasand at 6:37 AM on August 1

I've seen a wall of death up at Laconia,NH during motorcycle weekend and even without the lion it is amazing!
posted by evilelf at 6:55 AM on August 1

Yea, DU, that lion is leaing right into the wind, man, he LIVES for this shit!

Great post!
posted by snsranch at 8:14 AM on August 1

this is a top post
posted by baker dave at 8:27 AM on August 1

My eyes are in love with this post.
posted by jessamyn at 9:17 AM on August 1

I have always loved that lion in the sidecar photo, because in my mind it raises so many wonderful questions, like at what point did the driver decide that he wasn't being stimulated enough by driving sideways on a nearly vertical track and that he needed to raise his stakes by having a wild animal in the car with him? And then, how many animals did he go through before he felt he had hit on a winner with a lion? Are there photos of drivers with crocodiles in sidecars? Or maybe bears?

Or, was there no scaling up to this point, maybe he just one day showed up at the track with a large carnivorous cat in the car with him and everyone just sort of said "Ok, I guess we are doing this now."

Either way, it's always been an inspiration to me; no matter how good I am at what I'm doing, I'm not so good that I couldn't be made better by having a giant cat with me.
posted by quin at 9:18 AM on August 1 [3 favorites]

Seriously, imagine the awe and wonder you would get seeing this as a 12 year old, I can't think of anything as awesomely cool as a lion riding the death-wall.

The good old days weren't really gooder, they were just differenter. For instance, imagine the awe and wonder today's 12-year old feels seeing youporn for the first time.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 9:52 AM on August 1

Wow, disdain for livejournal. How original, how breath-taking!

What a way to cripple an otherwise excellent post.
posted by Eideteker at 9:58 AM on August 1

See, this is what I needed to complete my day: a cute monkey picture.

Thanks!
posted by 1f2frfbf at 11:23 AM on August 1

Wow, disdain for livejournal. How original, how breath-taking

I legitimately have never seen anything before that I liked on LiveJournal, but, if you want to enterpret that as a cheap shot and feel it somehow hobbles this post, by all means do so.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:31 AM on August 1

You know if the Bat-Pod had had a sidecar with a lion in it everyone in the world would have gone to see The Dark Knight... instead of just three-quarters of them
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:02 PM on August 1 [1 favorite]

And they probably would have seen the movie three times within the first two weeks, instead of twice.
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:09 PM on August 1

Time to email everyone I know.
posted by you're a kitty! at 2:49 PM on August 1 [1 favorite]