Follies of the Mad Men #89

This detergent turns ragamuffins into altar boys.

Ready, Aim , Fire!!

What do we do to eliminate "spillage" and "misdirected flow"? Click on the link for a full report:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121310977

Or just watch the short:



Good news for those with bad aim -- stickers for your home which glow in the dark.

Just remember, someone is paid to research these important discoveries!!

Dreaming Of A Weird Christmas!

Christmas is nearly upon us, so the time is at hand where every mall has a Santa in residence, waiting for America’s boys and girls to sit on his knee and make their demands known. But while our own little angels are of course clean and fragrant, who knows what those grubby urchins in front of you are spreading! So this year several professional Santa associations are calling for hand-sanitizer to be installed at grotto entrances and have asked congress to put “Santa” on the priority list for H1N1 vaccinations. After all, you have to look after your elf (Telegraph).

Not requiring a flu jab, but in need of a facelift, was the 66’ fibreglass Santa that has been the centrepiece of Auckland, New Zealand’s Christmas pageant for nearly 50 years. With a droopy winking eye and a gesturing mechanical finger, the jolly red giant was beginning, in the words of one local, to “look a little creepy.” But not anymore, as NZ$100,000 have been spent refurbishing the big guy ahead of this Sunday’s grand unveiling (Reuters).

Someone definitely not in need of a facelift is the recently announced “Hunky Santa of 2009.” Los Angeles mall the Beverley Center first introduced their hunky Santas nine years ago, swapping abs and pecs for the beard and britches. This year north-pole toting poseur is James Ellis, who hopes to encourage people to live more healthily and wants to be a role model for kids by parading his festive physique in a fur-trimmed red vest (LA Times).

All of which is not the sort of thing you’re likely to see during Raleigh, North Carolina’s Christmas parade. So worried are parade organisers that the little ones might be confused by two people dressed in red that they have banned “Mrs. Claus” from participating in costume. They have even asked attendees not to wear Santa-hats in case it distracts attention from the “real” St. Nick (WXII12).

And further killjoyery (?) this week from the Employers Forum on Belief, which has advised company bosses that to close their office over Christmas might be construed as discriminatory, since non-Christian employees must use annual leave for their religious holidays. Instead of emphasising the holiday’s religious nature, say the EFB, management should focus on the cost-effectiveness of the closure as a majority of staff would be absent anyway (ILM).

More >>

Follies of the Mad Men #72

This one's just for Patty, who registered discontent with our exclusive concentration on the female form!

VD Film

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."

Follies of the Mad Men #67

[From The Saturday Evening Post magazine for November 10 1962.]

Does putting Listerine in a fancy decanter make it taste better? Isn't this like packaging Preparation-H in a golden snuff box?

Haley Hogan

Thanks to pal John Crowley, I've learned of the existence of Yale performance artist Haley Hogan, pictured to the right. The image is taken from her blog.

One of her prior performances is described here.

Let me give you an excerpt (click to enlarge for readability):



Haley's newest piece is Text Me. Touch Me.

Text Me. Touch Me.

a performance art piece from Haley Hogan & The Interventionists

Yale University Art Gallery Lobby

thursday 7 may 2009
ongoing from 5 until 8 o'clock in the evening
reception simultaneous


During Text Me. Touch Me. the artist will lie in a bathtub for three hours, submerged in clear plastic bubble machine prizes containing text messages she received from men. The installation confronts issues of isolation, passivity, and disconnected intimacy in the age of contemporary hypermedia. Visitors are invited to engage with the piece by extracting the text message spheres from the bathtub and taking them home as intimate relics of the performance. The installation questions the mediation of personal digital assistants, wireless internet, and the omnipresent media, in relationships. It raises questions about the artificial nature of sexuality in the modern age.

See you all there!

Water-Saving Shower Curtain

Here in Southern California we're facing water shortages, so Elisabeth Buecher's shower curtain could come in handy. It helps save water because it "slowly inflates around you while you shower. It leaves you only a few minutes to take your shower before trapping you."

She calls her overall philosophy of design the "design of threat and punishment." Sounds kinky.

I have to admit that the idea of installing her shower curtain in the guest bathroom of our house, and not warning guests about it beforehand, is very tempting.

(Warning: One of the images on her page may be slightly NSFW.)

The Bicycle Shower

Combining your workout with a shower could save some time, I suppose. Though I'm not sure if that was the intended purpose of this invention. From the Chicago Tribune, Jan 18, 1903:

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.