AdamSmith

Ding ding ding! Same audience reaction when I saw it. (Unicorn -- it was Groove Tube, not Kentucky Fried Movie.) Now, bonus question (I really can't remember): Was it Groove Tube, or instead Tunnelvision, that had the parody Vietnam-war news report about fighting in the towns of Llongh Whang and Suc Much Dik? Or was that in Kentucky Fried Movie?

Almost as funny are those Kannon Mills beach towels the natives are wearing.

What else? The hallmark of Star Trek The Original Series. What they could get away with, broadcasting to '60s TV sets with rabbit ear antennas!

Just retrieved this memory. When I was eight and this Star Trek episode aired, I was distinctly conscious of ogling the guy, not the girl... ...Vaal was not the only one hungering that day! http://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/behindthescenes/publicity-vaal.jpg

One of the great pleasures of going off Facebook -- no longer having to read my female runner friends' interminable posts about hamstring strain, nipple chafe, vulva-lip burn...

Friends who live there report the same thing: The local people, including the local authorities, have little tolerance for anything that would threaten the tourist or expat trade.

I keep reading the thread title as Bonded trusted escorts. Now there's an idea! http://i1.wp.com/www.suretybonds.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/How-to-Obtain-a-Surety-Bond.jpg

That would indeed be interesting. I know a bunch of U.S. expats who live there and have never had a moment's trouble.

Hubby and I had a weekend seaside home full of antiques and art that we rented out by the week using Homeaway and VRBO. Over eight years, renting it out a few weeks each summer brought in over $100,000, with never a speck of trouble. Pricing it at $3600/week and taking a sizable security deposit may have helped screen out the riffraff. And having a housekeeper whom guests knew would be there to see them in, and again to see the place as they checked out. Life can be a lot more enjoyable if you approach risk by realistically assessing and mitigating it, not straining to eliminate it at any cost. The gentleman in black with the formaldehyde pump will help us out with the latter only too soon.

http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000DmSwjh2LQqU/s/900/720/Banx-Cartoons-Punch-1984-07-11-17.jpg

Granted most anything can make headlines. Does that mean much? I only meant that once the part gets into the hands of the professionals in Toulouse, any such sham would be pretty quickly detected.

Most every aircraft component bigger than a rivet is what manufacturing industry calls a "serialized part": Each individual part bears a unique serial number used to maintain a traceable log of that part's lifecycle, from manufacture and quality inspection throughout its service life. It would have to be a rather insider job to credibly spoof that serial number on this part.

Actually on Friday for once! One of the most absurdist & hilarious of 'em all...