Share The Music
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dual Electronics. All opinions are 100% mine.
In college, I remember driving down to school with the Phantom in the car in front of me. I call him the Phantom because I did not see a head above the headrest of the seat. Even when someone is short, you always see SOMETHING, such as a bit of their hairline in the rear view mirror, or occasionally a hand on the radio knob. But NOTHING. Even while Kitt, as the car apparently thought it was, drove down the road, a hypnotic beat emanated from the backseat, even though the windows on my sweet ride, with the mysterious bumper sticker, were closed. The mysterious bumper sticker was thought to have held the hatchback together, so even though I was not a hockey fan (I liked it–I mean, it was OK, but not enough to sole-bumper sticker-it), I was one for that reason.
Miles later, I found that the Phantom was not invisible. He was merely so incredibly cool that he was laying down in the bucket seat, while he was making me lean forward in my curiosity.
Today, the beatbox beater cars playing incomprehensible music are gone, because, thanks to Dual Electronics, now you can hook your iPod up to your amplifier, control what you listen to, but also, the sound quality is much better. No more having your tonsils rattled out by the driver three miles down the road. Any lyrics or melody were obscured into mush, making any desire for delicate dinner music on the beach lilting from a mid 90s fuschia pickup truck a distant fantasy. So now, enjoy your hip hop, but also enjoy you Brahms along the Autobahn…and share with your neighbor. In other words, you can really increase your “cool factor” by purchasing an XPE Series amplifier. It truly is the ultimate Car Audio experience.
A Roman Fresco In the TV Room
On my last trip east, I was sitting at the train station. My mind was on “buzz:” that state where nothing is really on your mind and you float into a different zone and then realize you were supposed to be somewhere. I was pondering the subway tiles and marveled at how costly it would be to replace them all. On the other hand, it was genius, as they could just replace one rather than a whole panel of one got chipped or poked at.
Of course there are tons of bathroom tiles configured that way, but it all looks a little less spectacular in a smaller space, but maybe if they were glass, it would give it that punch away from the “blah” that it needed. I am more inclined to want to take those tiles and make a design. That way, I don’t have to be so exacting. It may be a bit loud for a bathroom, but on a large space, like an entry way or a living room, one could free-form an Etruscan-inspired mosaic, even snipping some of the end tiles to give them a round shape.
Somehow, the next tenants probably would not appreciate a faithful rendering of the 7 Graces or Ode on a Grecian Urn in the den. Maybe if I decide to toss away the tile snips, it will look more like “Lego Star Wars.” Oh well, I guess I’ll have to be happy with a conservative strip of color on the backsplash.
Uncategorized | Comment (0)Step Inside The Computer. But Not Like Jeff Bridges
(At left: That is the amount of staff dad needed when he first started learning how to send an e-mail-technical director, button depressor, and supervisor.)
Just imagine if you were James Bond or some sort of retro 80s cyber hacker and somehow were able to reach into someone else’s computer and move the cursor across their screen while they were looking at the screen. That would be pretty cool, wouldn’t it? Not really. It is a frightening idea that someone could do that, but what if you couldn’t access any of their files, but rather could just play a joke. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen, but there is such thing as Remote Access software, where an admin computer could be used to help out someone on a different computer.
Something like that would help out if someone was so classic, old fashioned and retro that they still use their 1940s Royal exclusively to type off missives. The computers, of course would both have to have the software. Don’t worry, you couldn’t go skulking around in just anyone’s computer, but could access files or provide remote tech support for someone you work with or a relative who is terrified of breaking their computer. I remember when my dad sent me blank emails thinking that if he talked while looking at the screen that I’d hear him and get what he said. It usually involved several phone calls, and by that point, what was the point of saving money by emailing him?
By the way, with remote access, you are pretty stuff. You will not suddenly be transported and trapped in either your computer or the others. Thankfully, there will be no Tron scenario where that guy got sucked in and had to compete with laser-trail-emitting vehicles to fight for his life. I shouldn’t say “the guy,” as it is clearly Jeff Bridges. Either way, I know I am reassuring or disappointing many people by saying that. It may take something more like a Japanese Monster Movie explosion for that to happen.
Hopefully MS Will Go The Way of “Senility”
The Vintagent-ette worked in a funeral home for a short time. No, she didn’t dabble in mortuary sciences, but rather dabbled in phone-answering. There were big record books from the turn of the 20th century in the archives listing dates, names and causes of death. The most overwhelming cause of death in 1904 was a mysterious illness called “senility.” Occasionally you saw someone die in an accident or heart attach, but senility won, or lost the day, depending on how you look at it.
Even thought some of my readers wouldn’t mind taking a jaunt back in time, I don’t think I’d quite want to live in a time where I was sure to die of “senility.” I would think my doctor, or myself, as I am ultimately responsible for my health wasn’t trying hard enough. How does one diagnose that? Are the warning signs crotchety-ness and wearing black socks with sandals? I suspect those who died of “senility” had Alzheimers or perhaps just likely died of “old age.”
One illness that I hope we can laugh at in 50 years is Multiple Sclerosis. Of course, its no laughing matter but hopefully it will be something that hardly happens in the next 40 years, or there is a simple cure where it really is no big deal anymore. There have been studies done that have suggested adopting a Multiple Sclerosis Diet. While eating a certain brand of peanuts won’t be a magic pull, it is being discovered that Vitamin D is linked. Folks living near the Equator seem not to get it, but when they venture north, or very far south, their risk increases. It is suspected that in the colder climates, we don’t get enough Vitamin D, and in fact, MS patients tend to have very low amounts of Vitamin D in their system.
Right now, there is no recommended daily amount of Vitamin D. It doesn’t seem to hurt us of we take a bit more. An Ms Diet to prevent the disease would include milk and other Vitamin-D rich foods as well as sun exposure. Of course, sunburn and skin cancer is also a risk. If you can work outside in the sun in moderation instead of sitting next to the computer it will help. Protect your face with a hat and possibly sunscreen, but if you have a low level sunscreen or no sunscreen on your body when you are out just for a short time getting the mail or walking the dog, it can help with production. Artificial tans are not fashionable, but sun in small moderation helps our bodies in ways we didn’t realize.
Uncategorized | Comment (0)Shop With a Friend
There are a few tools on the internet to make browsing for the shirt or suit or book you want to buy a lot easier. I used to use Froogle. No, it isn’t a Muppet. It was Google’s original shopping tool until they folded it into regular old Google. The downside was that if a store wasn’t indexed by Google, you just didn’t see the item at all.
Now, I have been trying out ShopWiki.com to find Clothes for Guys and Gals. There are a few major differences between ShopWiki and the old Froogle (or Google Shopping). Firstly, the stores with featured items don’t pay or jockey for rank. It is simply based on relevance. I also noticed that there is not a lot of irrelevant garbage. Secondly, there are shopping sections that feature helpful buying guides, such as a Men’s Fall Style Guide or a guide on selecting a particular type of show. That’s where the Wiki part comes in, if you were wondering.
There is a particularly helpful guide for suits that goes through all of the basics – from defining what a suit is, lapel styles, and helping a guy select a suit whether he is trendy or prefers the tried and true (shown at left). Don’t expect scholarly treatises on the state of men’s fashion, but do expect a friendly safety net for those looking to try styles for the first time.
Have you wandered around at ShopWiki? What did you think?
Uncategorized | Comment (0)The Old-New New Edwardians
If you are looking where Edwardian details in modern fashion originated, the fashion industry wasn’t inspired by a Johnny Depp and his brief return to top hats.
Nicole Jenkins, of Circa Vintage, recently brought my attention to a recent photo shoot by Ben Watts and the original Teddy boys. In the 50s and 60s, the Teddy boys took their name from a nickname for “Edward” and were throw-backs to the Edwardian era in their wardrobe choices. They wore pocket watches, waistcoats and other trappings of dandyism. Of course, anachronism is periodically shattered by the odd tattoo or piercing.
You can view more photos from Ben Watts, here, and order limited edition Giclee prints as well if you click here.
If their heyday was today, I can’t help think the lads would have been on the forefront of the Steampunk style and culture. Of course, they are minus the Jules Verne antique-futuristic mechanical gear that separates Steampunk from historical re-enactment, but perhaps that would have just been a matter of time. Instead of being solely influenced by a fashion era of another century, a style’s influence on each subsequent decade seems to sometimes simmer slowly instead of being a radical change, even if it was just simmering along the fringe.
1960s, fashion history | Comment (0)
