Separated At Birth?

Tim Cavanaugh | April 20, 2005

Only semi-funny, but it's striking how sanpaku Pope Benedict Seize looks here. More proof that they don't want him around too long, I guess:

---

Thanks to Ben Schwartz.

Comments

Brian Moore|4.20.05 @ 11:17AM|#

The Emperor's red-minion-guys looked a lot like Cardinals, too.

If Ratzinger can shoot lightning from his fingers, he will be my favorite pope ever.

|4.20.05 @ 11:20AM|#

Somehow I just knew this post would be from Tim "Nearly Headless Nick" Cavanaugh before I even saw his name.

Dumb.

Jesse Walker|4.20.05 @ 11:23AM|#

Hmm -- I thought he was H.R. Giger.

|4.20.05 @ 11:29AM|#

Where can I get a scarf like that?

|4.20.05 @ 11:35AM|#

I knew he looked familiar.

|4.20.05 @ 11:46AM|#

"I find your lack of faith...disturbing."

DaveInBigD|4.20.05 @ 11:52AM|#

Anybody know what 'sanpaku' means?

|4.20.05 @ 12:21PM|#

Anybody know what 'sanpaku' means?

No.

Anybody know what the fuck the pope supposedly looking sanpaku has to do with anything?

Comic relief is always welcome in the midst of news, politics, current events etc. but there still has to be comic value in order to qualify.

Can't we just have more Paul Anka bitching out his pathetic, cowering band flunkies? Now THAT was funny. This, not so much.

|4.20.05 @ 12:29PM|#

I thought the emperor's other identity had already been discovered -- Darth Lieberman.

|4.20.05 @ 12:30PM|#

"Greetings young Catholic. I look forward to completing you confirmation. Soon you will call 'Your Holiness.'"

|4.20.05 @ 12:31PM|#

Sanpaku is a Japanese term that literally means ?three areas empty?.

I don't know what in the hell Tim means by that, but here's a link for ya'll: Sanpaku

|4.20.05 @ 12:38PM|#

Edit: "Greetings young Catholic. I look forward to completing your confirmation. Soon you will call me 'Your Holiness.'"

Need coffee.

Jeff|4.20.05 @ 12:45PM|#

He looks like Shock, the "middle kid" from Nightmare Before Christmas.
http://www.kongo.com.tw/B1/BC_05.gif

With a little bit of Uncle Fester thrown in.

drf|4.20.05 @ 12:51PM|#

i guess will's sense of humor is still in the shop.

lighten up, big guy.

if you're too catholic to think it was kinda funny, man, get some counciling or something. maybe a kitten. a baloon?

|4.20.05 @ 12:57PM|#

You know, I'm not one of Benedict's detractors or anything, but even I found that juxtaposition funny.

drf|4.20.05 @ 1:07PM|#

and, thoreau (JB/GG/Slippery Pete/Mona), my friend, you're a recovering catholic, too!

heavens!

grin.
drf

|4.20.05 @ 1:16PM|#

Last time I checked, Catholics made up about twenty-five percent of self-identified Christians in this country, with eighty-five percent of Americans identifying themselves as Christian. That means that for an awful lot of people in this country the Pope isn't as important a religious figure as the blanket television coverage would suggest.

That doesn't mean that the rest of us shouldn't be more considerate of Catholic sensibilities, and some of you seem to have been, at least partially, offended by some of the comments in this thread. I don't think anyone here posted anything for the sole purpose of offending anyone. We can all agree, regardless of faith I'm sure, that the Pope represents what freedom and tolerance means to a lot of people in this country, and, with that in mind, he should be treated with all due respect.

...Besides, I think the Pope looks more like The Abominable Doctor Phibes.

Jesse Walker|4.20.05 @ 1:20PM|#

Dr. Phibes looks more like John Bolton.

norbizness|4.20.05 @ 1:21PM|#

He's Robert Blake's older, slightly creepier brother. Trust me on this one.

drf|4.20.05 @ 1:26PM|#

"that the Pope represents what freedom and tolerance means to a lot of people in this country"

um. okay. just like how many bush supporters pretend they're in favor of limited government. yes, mr. emperor, your new clothes look great. um, yeah. i agree he represents something big to about 1/5 or whatever of americans, but if they use "freedom" and "tolerance" and expect me to respect that view. sorry. i'd probably start sweating contempt and scorn.

ken, with your thought in mind, however, i'd like to address this to thomas c. (catholic of st. ignatius) of chicago, who didn't seem to mind if one of his designs/"modest proposals" (he thought he was clever) was offensive to jews and muslims. his feeling about their offense: "grow some".

"grow some" if you're insulted, tom.

should we not have made "challenger" jokes ("no, bud light"), either? if we're not out to insult anybody, don't intend to insult anybody, but sensitive people get insulted, what, we should watch out? i recognize that sentiment from college with a different, leftie, slant.

the pic at the bottom of the page of the good Doctor is hilarious. check out "somethingawful.com" they're sure to have fun stuff on their photoshop phriday

:)
drf

|4.20.05 @ 1:35PM|#

"...i agree he represents something big to about 1/5 or whatever of americans, but if they use "freedom" and "tolerance" and expect me to respect that view. sorry. i'd probably start sweating contempt and scorn."

Subtlety doesn't translate well in this medium. ...Maybe I should have used italics?

...the Pope represents what freedom and tolerance means to a lot of people in this country, and, with that in mind, he should be treated with all due respect.

...blah blah blah The Abominable Doctor Phibes.

drf|4.20.05 @ 1:39PM|#

:)

sorry - i should've known, from your posts. hrumph.

you should've heard the conversation i heard yesterday about the old one (i'm in chicago, if that would mean anything, demographically): "and he brought down communism"

all "due" respect given. nice. excellent!

cheers,
drf

The Wine Commonsewer|4.20.05 @ 1:51PM|#

and here I thought that 'Sanpaku' was just a gibberish lyric from an old Michael Franks tune.

|4.20.05 @ 1:58PM|#

Well TWC, I'm glad I could enlighten you, although I remain in the shadows...

|4.20.05 @ 2:14PM|#

Lowdog's link indicates that "sanpaku" is generally associated with fatigue, ill health, being accident-prone, etc.

|4.20.05 @ 2:22PM|#

I've always heard sanpaku associated with psychopaths.

Jeff|4.20.05 @ 2:42PM|#

Anyone know if Poetown ever aired?
http://www.popetown.com/

|4.20.05 @ 3:01PM|#

and, thoreau (JB/GG/Slippery Pete/Mona), my friend, you're a recovering catholic, too!

*chuckle* I am a practicing Catholic, not a "recovering" one. Clearly you know nothing abou the English language!

And how dare you accuse me of being Mona! That's it, I'm canceling my subscription!

OK, just kidding :)

drf|4.20.05 @ 3:06PM|#

whoops make that "practicing".

and as for english, you're right there, too. but if you want to know about the walrasian equilibrium, seemingly unrelated regressions, box-cox transformations, ramsey/rebelo models, or edgeworth boxes, i'm hoping to know a bit about those... :)

and have you heard from lefty?

amicalment,
drf

DaveInBigD|4.20.05 @ 3:34PM|#

Oh, after that link and a couple of others from google-land, I think I get it. Sanpaku means that you see the whites under the eyes. This happens if your eyes are looking up relative to your face. If you're hanging your head because of fatigue, or shame, or whatever, the whites will show under the iris if you're looking strait ahead. The eyes are turned upward because the head is turned downward. Also if you're tired, or drunk, your face slacks off, so you're even more likely to see whites under the iris.

So the Japanese noticed this and use it as a linguistic shorthand the same way we would use 'haggard-looking' or s 'long face'.

DaveInBigD|4.20.05 @ 3:39PM|#

Or just crazy-eyes.

|4.20.05 @ 5:02PM|#

Sanpaku refers to eyes in which the whites are visible on the top and bottom as well as the sides. The literal translation "three areas empty" refers to that condition. "Wide-eyed" or, as DaveInBigD points out, "crazy eyes" are colloquial approximations in English

hsidney|4.20.05 @ 5:06PM|#

i said it first!

|4.20.05 @ 6:33PM|#

I second what Mr. Moore said.

Best pope ever, but only if he can actually shoot lightning from his fingers. That would be a pontifex maximus I could really get behind!

QFMC cos. V

T-Pott Dome|4.20.05 @ 11:44PM|#

This is the lamest Pope-joke blog I've ever seen.

|4.21.05 @ 8:02AM|#

We always called those doll-eyes. I think it was from a movie ot tv show reference.

GForce|4.21.05 @ 1:43PM|#

Dr. Phibes looks more like John Bolton.

...or Kerry. Some John, at any rate.