April 2008 Archives

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/voteprime/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/thevoicewithin/

Have you ever walked into a store and noticed a sign that says "No Heelys"? The fact that stores even have to put up signs for this is ridiculous. Kids need to stop shoe-skating around in public places where it isn't appropriate because it is really annoying for everyone else.

I've seen kids slam into racks of clothing, fall because they don't know how to use their "cool" shoes, and run into other shoppers or pedestrians. I'm cool with kids having and using Heelys, but their parents need to teach them when they can and cannot use them. If they can't follow those rules, then bye-bye Heelys. Furthermore, kids that are so immature that they are "skating" around the mall shouldn't be unattended at the mall to begin with.

The other day I saw a sign next to an escalator warning people to use caution when wearing Crocs sandals. Are you joking? How many feet have been mutilated by an escalator to warrant a sign like this? How stupid are people? The fact that this particular brand and style of shoe was singled out is pretty crazy. Then again, the amount of kids (ugh, and adults) that I've seen wearing Crocs is huge so it's no wonder something stupid happened to someone.

What makes parents think that a chunk of whole-punched plastic is appropriate daily footwear for a child? Kids are always running around and climbing, and I wouldn't think these are the safest choice. Playing at the beach or a place where you'll want to hose them off - fine. Running around - you're asking for a fall and a possible injury. Those things don't even stay on feet securely, they start to smell despite the ventilation, and they are clunky and pretty ugly.

Crocs are everywhere. They are even sold in Hallmark stores. Why does a card/stationary/gift store sell shoes?

I know kids like things that are colorful, but I'm getting sick of seeing all those little charms that fit in the holes of the Crocs. But, I'll give that a break since I'm from the generation that drilled holes in dice to put them on the strings of our Adidas jackets.

Adults who wear Crocs is a whole other issue. Unless you have a job where your shoes are likely to get gross and need to be washed frequently, then you probably shouldn't be wearing bright, plastic clogs. I just don't get the fascination with them. What's wrong with a pair of flip flops? Are they worried they'll stub a toe? Are these things that comfortable that they'll disregard the hideous style?

The other day I was searching the internet for new, stylish glasses when I stumbled upon this contraption. Now I have seen some strange things in my day, but this is by far the most ridiculous "invention" I have ever seen. These pierced eyeglasses, invented by James Sooy and Oliver Gibson, make me wonder who would actually think THIS is a good idea?



For a quick how-to when making your own pair, (And yes, they're serious) first you need to pierce the upper bridge of your nose with a threaded barbell. Then, get L-shaped metal pieces made so that they can screw onto the barbell. Last, attach rare earth magnets to the glasses to keep them connected to the brackets.

And there you have it folks. I don't know about you, but I'm all about getting a hole drilled into my face to look cool. Sounds pleasant, doesn't it?

Since the dawn of time, there has been a great debate looming among all living beings: Who's cooler, dinosaurs or dragons? For the answer, you needn't look any further than cartoons.

The Dragons:

Maleficent - She is big, ugly, mean, and breathes fire. But, she's kind of cool since she's such a bad ass. When it comes to Disney, even the villains are popular.

Figment - If you haven't visited Journey into Imagination at Epcot, you are missing out. He's a little weird looking and his theme song will get stuck in your head like crazy, but he can fly and he gets away with interrupting all the time. When you're 6, it's cool.

Nearly everyone has encountered at least one cloud that looked like something entirely different. Bears, kittens, and bunnies are common, but what about the less conventional clouds...

Toilet Cloud: This cloud looks exactly like a toilet as seen mid-flush. The real question, then, is whether or not the clouds flush in the same direction in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

The Van Halen Cloud: The photographer, Dave Coustick, says it's an eagle, but I'm seeing Van Halen.

Spartan Cloud - In this case, the photographer (Flaminia Grubacki) saw this cloud as a person running away from something. Why not running to something? I don't know. Maybe she's just a glass-half-empty kind of woman. Either way, I thought it looked like a Spartan warrior.

Macedonian Architectural Mosaic Cloud - Credit for the original cloud picture goes to Bruce Burkman. I'll agree that they look like waves, but instead of looking like real waves, they actually look more like the wave portrayals of ancient mosaics in places like Pella and Pompeii.

Jabba the Cloud - This cloud picture by Allison Summey looks an awful lot like an angry Jabba the Hutt.

The Star Trek Cloud - Some people may say this cloud looks like a boomerang, but those people just haven't spent enough time watching Star Trek re-runs. It's very clear that this cloud is a Starfleet emblem.

And because a post on clouds just wouldn't be complete without it, here's Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now".

Some people find a pregnant woman to be one of the most beautiful sights. It is no surprise that there are lots of options for women to preserve memories of their pregnancy. Just a few ways that a woman can remember her pregnancy include photos with artistic flair and intriguing lighting, belly casts, journals, and belly paintings.

Yes, your pregnant belly can serve as a canvas. It might sound weird, but it's definitely unique and would make for some pretty neat photos. Hang one of these up in your hallway, and it'll get your guests talking.

Have you ever loved an animal so much that you wanted to be able to hug it all the time? Well, how about wear it....all the time? I stumbled across this book

This book actually teaches you how to collect your dog's fur and spin it into a yarn-like material suitable for knitting. But don't worry, if you don't like the color of your pet's fur, there's a chapter all about dying the fur to your desired color. It also explains how to take care of the clothing once you are done knitting. I wonder if a Golden retriever is hand-wash only?

If you like this idea, there is a site that shows you just how to spin your own yarn. Just make sure to complete step 1 thoroughly. "Clean the entire amount of dog hair again with a mild liquid detergent or dog shampoo and lay it out to dry." You don't want any fleas to get mixed in there!

However, for those of you who are not into the whole create-your-own-yarn fad, you can have it made for you! VIP Fibers is a company that will spin the hair into 100% animal hair yarn! Simply save all your dog's hair and send it in. Somehow this whole idea freaks me out a bit. I love my pets and all, but I'm not about to go wear his shedded dead hair. Ew. I guess it's really no different though than wearing wool sweaters. Apparently Chow chow fur sweaters can go for upwards of $600.

Now for all you cat-lovers out there, fret not. You can make clothing from cat hair as well. Suzanne Owen, a woman from Lakewood, Colorado made her own cat hair cardigan sweater. How lovely is this?

I just have one thing to say. When my cat gets wet, he smells bad, so watch out for them rainstorms!

If you're the stereotypical urban hipster or Abercrombie and Fitch-wearing, live in the suburbs and work in the city kind of guy, heading out to a rural dive bar can be a recipe for disaster. All the same, you might someday find yourself in need of a drink in an unfamiliar country setting, so you should be prepared. Having worked in a small-town bar, I can say with some authority that these tips will help.

Photo Credit: Ardvaark

1. If you pop your collar, you will almost definitely get punched. Unless you're wearing a black leather jacket and riding a Harley (remember that Japanese bikes don't count), there's no excuse. The motorcycle guys don't have an excuse, either, but they're usually scary enough that it doesn't matter.

2. Avoid eye contact with any man who appears to be wearing steel-toed construction boots.

Photo Credit: Sin_Agua

3. Ditto for guys wearing real spurs.

Ever have trouble finding the right gift for that special guy in your life? Well fear not, because I have the answer for you. Buy him a big ole pair of Manties! No, I'm not kidding. Well, okay, sort of. I found these on a website dedicated to frilly male underwear.

Check it out for yourself. For only $10.95 apiece, your guy can own one of these sexy lil' things.

Now, I get that some men want to wear fashionable underwear in colors other than white, but seriously... these? They're even too feminine for ME to wear, and I'm a GIRL!

But don't fret. If your guy isn't into the frilly, lacy stuff, they still have the moderately male-ish type of underwear. Available in high cut as well!



Manties are available in plain, bows and roses, lace, lace and bows, fancy, embroidered, and day-of-the-week embroidered.

Just imagine him struttin' around looking like this:

A lot of the customer feedback here at Vat19 makes us smile, but it never makes us laugh out loud. Until this one.

It looks like this kind lady ordered a Charging Station through our Amazon storefront. The product is designed to organize, charge, and store personal items like cell phones, mp3 players, keys, and wallets. It's actually quite handy.

As for her feedback...we'll let that speak for itself. For those of you who aren't totally in the know, you may need to reference this Urban Dictionary link to figure out what the heck we're laughing about.

We all know pretty much any image can be created and altered with Photoshop. Sometimes the image looks so real you don't even have a suspicion it's a fake. The SelfKiss collection is an impressive example of Photoshop magic used to create photos of people kissing themselves.

Pupsam's website is in French, and the translated page isn't so great. But, the general idea seems to be that these photos capture a single moment of a kiss that will never exist, since it is impossible for it to ever happen.

It probably took a lot of time to make the two photos mesh so well together. If you don't have hours of time and you don't have hella Photoshop skills, maybe you could buy yourself a Gorillapod, set the timer on your camera, and make out with a mirror. (I kid, I kid! Please don't actually do that.) For those of you with an identical twin, don't get any incestuous ideas. Gross.

Call it creepy, narcissistic, homosexual, or whatever else if you want. But, after looking past the unusualness, I actually think these photos are creative and intriguing. It's interesting to see differences in posture, facial expression, hand placement, degree of closeness, lips together or apart, tongue in or out, eyes open or shut, clothes on or off, etc.

You can see 27 SelfKiss photos at Pupsam's website. You know you're curious.

Most people who venture into the world of online dating are perfectly happy with something like Match.com or eHarmony (despite the fact the eHarmony is well-known for rejecting people for things like homosexuality or lack of religion). You take 1800 pictures of yourself, choose the two that make you look halfway normal, write a few words about how you like funny people who love life, and you're off.

But what about the people who won't find their matches on Match.com? Although I've never really been on the market during the online dating era, I've certainly enjoyed an evening or two perusing profiles with friends. What I saw was hardly representative of the world as a whole.

Where were the obese, the midgets, and the amputees? What about the inbred cousins looking for cousins, or the guys with one regular arm and one teeny tiny little mutant arm? Or the creepy 65-year-old diaper fetishists with cabins in Everglades and bodies beneath the floorboards? It was truly puzzling.

So puzzling, in fact, that I set out to find the sites that cater to, shall we say, atypical markets. I've detailed my findings below, though I'll warn you now that some of the sites are not safe for work (or your stomach).

Pierced Passions and Tattooed Singles - If you're the type of person who views your body as a canvas, this is the dating site for you.

Best introduction line: Why don't you come back to my place so I can show you my new tatts (or piercing)...

No Longer Lonely - Do you ever wish you could just die? Do you hear voices? Do you ever feel like you just can't get clean enough? No Longer Lonely is the perfect place to find someone equally disturbed. They provide a place for mentally ill people to find their mentally ill partners - and what could possibly go wrong with that?

Best introduction line: Hey baby, what's your medication regimen?