Uniforms Are Sexy?  Who Would Have Guessed?

There's a fetish for everyone, and we mock most of them here. So let's add one more to the list. The crisp, no-nonsense uniforms worn by the crewmembers of New Japan Airlines have been much desired for decades. Of course there are plenty of imitations to be bought, but the real thing, previously worn, is considered to be worth any price. Airlines have gone so far as to add serial numbers and computer chips into the garments. So why all the fuss now, when this has been a long standing issue? Because New Japan Airlines declared bankruptcy in January and they are very worried that their laid-off workers will start selling their uniforms for profit. You can read more about it on The Australian.

Clowning Around

In the body of Florida's laws, there are bound to be quite a few that defy explanation. For example, Florida statute 876.13 which states: No person or persons shall in this state, while wearing any mask, hood, or device whereby any portion of the face is so hidden, concealed, or covered as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter upon, or be, or appear upon or within the public property of any municipality or county of the state. That said, we can now understand what the cop was thinking when he arrested 18 year old Matthew David Lopez on Tuesday. Because Mr. Lopez was walking down a public street wearing a clown mask and orange wig. You can read about his arrest here. The reader comments range from jokes about the stupidity of the police for turning this into an arrest in the first place, to those who defend the cop's actions, and those who insist that if the police want to arrest anyone for this, it ought to be aimed at Muslim women who wear the niqab (face veil).

The Season for Drunken Elves

Globetrotters Costume Party

Here is a history of The Globetrotters Club, which is still in operation today.

Shortly after their founding, in 1947, they threw a costume party, pictured here.

I hope such events are still part of their activities.

The Arts: Super Mario

Have you ever wanted to see a collection of Mario fan art that ranged from cartoonish to realist? You can find it at Deviant Art. It even has some interesting Mario cosplay & Mario as a girl art. (This website has a very lenghty and detailed copyright notice, so I didn't feel safe posting any examples here.)

The Toothbrush Brigade

My dentist has this image hanging up in his office, with the following description:

"The Toothbrush Brigade of Long Beach, California, promote dental hygiene with their three-foot toothbrushes, circa 1950. They are rehearsing for the Tenth Annual 'Brownie Button' party which will be held under the auspices of the Long Beach Dental Society as a climax to the city's Save The Teeth movement."

Alisa Chan

This young woman named Alisa Chan exhibits superior design and sewing skills. She should be applauded for her manual dexterity alone.

Child Predator Hands

I'm guessing that someone in marketing didn't fully think through the implications of the name before posting these on the website. Available at Hollywood Toys & Costumes.

Fantomas

We are approaching, in 2011, the one-hundredth anniversary of the creation of Fantomas, villianous antihero adored by the French. But something about Fantomas just doesn't translate to American tastes, and he's never been popular here.

Somehow I don't think this trailer from Fantomas's 1964 self-titled film will help win over the US audience.

Psych-Out

Once you have experienced the 1968 film PSYCH-OUT, you will be unable to return to your square, plastic, uptight lifestyle. Just the sight of Jack Nicholson's fake ponytail alone will trip you out!

All original content in posts is Copyright © 2008 by the author of the post, either Alex Boese ("Alex"), Paul Di Filippo ("Paul"), or Chuck Shepherd ("Chuck"). All rights reserved. The banner illustration at the top of this page is Copyright © 2008 by Rick Altergott.