James Mays AutoCar feature IS awesome!

I’ve basically been attached to Top Gear through my TV (New invention, I’m claiming it) the entire day, while the Cape Town weather thunders and goes mental. It’s just so good to sit inside and do nothing, but absorb Top Gear! I always read the columns of Jeremy Clarkson, and laugh at The Hamster, but I rarely look for anything more on James May, or “Captain Slow” as he is called. James always puts out dry humour on the show, and he is the composed one on Top Gear. But I found something that you are going to love! I found it via WikiWikiCool.

James May worked as a sub editor for AutoCar magazine, but he was fired from his position there. Enjoy this!

At the end of the year, AutoCar put together a “Road Test Year Book” Each spread featured four car reviews and each review started with a large, red, drop capital letter. James May had to put the entire supplement together which he said was extremely boring and took several months: James went on to say:

“So I had this idea that if I re-edited the beginnings of all the little texts, I could make these red letters spell out a message through the magazine, which I thought was brilliant. I can’t remember exactly what it said, but it was to the effect that ‘You might think this is a really great thing, but if you were sitting here making it up you’d realise it’s a real pain in the arse’ It took me about two months to do it and on the day it came out I’d actually forgotten that I’d done it because there’s a bit of a gap between it being “put to bed” and coming out on the shelves. When I arrived at work that morning everybody was looking at their shoes and I was summoned to the managing director of the company’s office. The thing had come out and nobody at work had spottedwhat I’d done because I’d made the words work around the pages so you never saw a whole word. But all the readers had seen it and they’d written in thinking they’d won a prize or a car or something”

Ha

Ha ha

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa!

Let’s have a look, shall we? I think we shall!

“So you think its really good yeah you should try making the bloody thing up its a real pain in the arse”

Personally I think this is one of the best things I have ever heard. I know how bad sub editing is just from studying it, I cannot imagine how boring it must be to do it for a living! So to add some magical humour like this, esecially when you’re James May, is nothing short of AWESOME.

James May: Old School Cool

I mean, I’ve just watched James May getting driving lessons from Jackie Stewart, and it’s crazy to know he got there from his raddening days at AutoCar magazine.

I think it’s marvellous, James May is rad and that is a fact that you cannot deny!

Nice!
Sean Lloyd

Editor