8 Ways to Sunday

Inspired by the hit MTV series “Pimp My Ride,” people all over the web are pimping out just about everything you could think of — from burgers to browsers and blogs, even religion.

• Burger King’s German web site wants to pimp your burger.
• A whole lot of people are pimping out their blogs. MT users may want to check out Movalog for some good tools and tips in this direction. My fellow WordPress users are advised to check out the “Design and Layout,” “Plugins,” and “Advanced Topics” sections of the WordPress Codex.
• Jason Kotke is pimping out his Movable Type back-end, and has inspired at least one other person to do the same.
• Web browser aficionados shouldn’t feel left out: you can pimp your Safari or pimp your Firefox, too.
• Google Search: “pimp my *”

By far the best “pimp my [ blank ]” item that I’ve come across is Rabbi Marc Gellman’s article “Pimp My Faith” at MSNBC.com. It’s a good article in general, with an unconventional take on religion and pop culture. The money quote in the second paragraph, however, is priceless:

I hereby proclaim the Gospel of “Pimp My Ride” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” What I see in these two shows is a saving radiant glimmer of how television married to compassion (and a blown 450cc short block engine) can produce programs that are both hip and healing, both popular and profound.

(Props: Jay Allen, who inspired the “pimp my [ blank ]” idea with this post)

Pope Bono I (artist’s rendition)

In the hopes of meeting some new people, I set up a profile at ConsuMating.com. While I’ve been flattered to discover that at least one fellow ConsuMating member would “do” me, I haven’t yet heard from anyone interested in the “friends or online buddies” checkboxes that I ticked when I joined the site.

Oh well. Just like the tests are really the best part of OkCupid, I’ve quickly discovered that the weekly question is the best part of ConsuMating. The trick is getting on it early, when you can still stake your claim on a witty response.

This week’s question was “Who would you pick to be the new Pope?” My answer:

I’m going to go with Bono. People seem to love recommending him for jobs he’s unqualified for lately, like heading up the World Bank*, so why not? His father was Catholic, so he at least has some background. Besides, it’d be a kick to hear him do the liturgy in Latin to the tune of “Discotheque.”

It’s official, folks — the campaign starts here. Should we start a petition? Make up a bunch of t-shirts with Bono in a pope hat and big sunglasses? I’m open to suggestions on this, but I think he’s the man for the job!