a couple of years back, peter stormare–actor of stage and screen who’s been in everything from fargo to minority report to the animated transformers series to prison break–did a series of ads for volkswagen, with him playing a german scientist helping drivers “un-pimp” their cars and replace them with finely-engineered vw’s.

how does this connect to you, the current or prospective online college student? two ways.

peter stormare playing uli kunkel playing karl hungus in the big lebowski.

first, the ads are funny, and you are funny, too–you have a great sense of humor. and don’t worry, nobody’s saying you have the quote-unquote great personality of someone who’s not physically attractive; you are funny and cute, and people like you. just as people like these ads.

second, earning your degree online is the educational equivalent of un-pimping your ride: it’s a streamlined experience of high performance, particularly in the way it keeps you moving efficiently toward your degree, without the distracting bells and costly whistles of the full, on-campus college experience. from the moment you’re out of the gate, being an online college student is about learning and performing in as smooth and unobtrusive a way possible. you might call it german-engineered education. (that’s a bastardization of the term itself, but not a serious one; ve are of ze opinion dat ze phrase german engineering is an american-made marketing phrase, roughly as meaningful to germans as french fries or toast or tickler is to french people.)

here’s the first one.

if you’re a fan of cohen brothers movies (you like not just Fargo but the big lebowski, wherein stormare plays uli kunkel as well as uli’s “acting” character, karl hungus) you may think of him as german, but peter stormare is swedish. swedish! like, the most peaceful thing you can be. but in addition to playing crazy germans, he’s mind-blowingly good as a gangster over 20-some episodes of prison break; and he’s been a major theater actor on both sides of the atlantic. his imdb page currently has EIGHT films in pre- or post-production.

and: if you like hearing Peter Stormare say oh, snap! … you’re not at all alone.

the moral of the story, as always: un-pimp your education, get your degree online without giving up your current job, and get into the career you want.