A vestige of evolution

Until today I never thought about the similarities between a tie and my pinky-toe.
They're both good for nothing. A tie is the only piece of menswear that doesn't have a function but to get in your soup. Your pinky-toe serves no purpose other than get caught by the bed frame leg, or a cabinet corner.

Ouch!!!!!!

Evolution hasn't gone far enough yet to get rid of either one. Some fashionistas say that a tie is the only piece or wardrobe that expresses a man's personality. Do you agree?

My pinky-toe has a lot of personality since it broke in a crash against a door edge.

#%€^*!!!

Does it make sense???

Lately I’ve been fascinated with our need to communicate without words our views on politics, religion, sexual preference, social and moral issues, financial and social status, family composition, etc. I guess this is nothing new, since from the beginning of times ancient cultures used body decorations, garments, and accessories to establish their position in their society weather it was their cast, their share of power or their civil status.

Nowadays we do it using our bodies (tattoos), our clothing (showing off the brand), our homes (see Mc. Mansions) and especially our cars.

I want to start a section in my blog presenting the most interesting messages that we see in cars. Therefore I’d like to request from you, my reader, to e-mail me your pictures of some of the bumper stickers and/or plaques you see around in cars. Notice also, what brands have the more signs (most Mercedes, Jaguars, or Bentleys don’t have any. Why?)

It’s very easy, just get close (but not too close) pull your phone and click. Remember, don’t text and drive….

See for instance this picture:

Does it make sense?

Defying Gravity

I think it's fortunately a dissappearing trend, however when I see pants defying gravity I can't help but wondering why is there a need to show the underwear and Walk like a Geisha, with small steps so that the pants don't just fall freely on the floor.

I miss suspenders...

Say what...?

It really bothers me when someone calls my machine and leaves me an impossible to understand message that I have to play over and over again to try and figure out what it was that he or she wanted.

So, here are my rules for effective voice messaging:

- Greeting (good morning, or afternoon)
- Identify yourself (my name is so and so)
- Say your message concisely and slowly (don't just keep a conversation with yourself)

blah, blah, blah, blah....
- leave your name again and your phone number
- I usually repeat the phone number to make sure the person gets it

And don't think that I'm obsessive-compulsive. It only seems that way...

What's it for?

Going to the gym very early in the morning has a lot of great advantages (I know, if you're not a morning person, blah, blah, blah). One of them is to watch people sort of in their basic appearance, before showering, getting dressed, wearing mousse, make up, etc.

One of the fashion statements I don't understand that early is the wearing of hats (baseball caps, visors, sky caps, etc.). To start with, at 5:30 am is still dark out, so no sun protection is necessary. Second, we're indoors, so no rain protection necessary. One could think that it's a solution to unruly hair, right? Now, explain to me this middle aged skinhead guy that wears a visor backwards placed in a dorky fashion in the middle of his head...(see illustration)

Any comments, fashionistas?

How'bout some tea?

Sometimes I sit to watch TV in my comfy chair. The space is great. A nice family room opened to the kitchen. But, but, that may become an issue.

When the supersonic electric teapot is turned on in the kitchen a gradual shushhhhh starts barely audible to become a "white noise" background that erases any vestige of sound in the TV. For more than three minutes I have to resource to my undeveloped lip-reading abilities.

"you know that shushhhhhhh yesterday. When shushhhhhhh was completely shushhhhh, they did shushhhhhh on...

I hate that shushhhhhh teapot!

In the parking lot

Driving to go grocery shopping can be an adventurous enterprise. Have you noticed the danger of abandoned shopping carts that roll by themselves toward the center of the driving area between rows? It happens often with strong winds, or when people are in a rush or when people with bad pitch-calculation sense (!) leave them precariously abandoned.

Sometime it happens while the “customer” (I hate that word) leaves the loaded cart unattended to try and open the trunk or the car door. Those loaded carts can be pretty heavy and run fast to bang against another “customer’s” car, hopefully not yours. Bang!

It's not you, it's me...

I know what you're thinking. It's the cheesiest line ever.

But I'm not trying to break up with anyone. It's just me talking to my cell phone.

See, I hate cell phones. They're a big annoyance hidden behind an immense convenience. In spite of myself
I've grown dependant on it and now looking at the little red blinking light has become a sort of an obsession that makes my heart rate spike depending upon the time of day (or night) that I glimpse at the blinking light.

That's why I say that it's not the phone's fault, but mine for letting it dominate me.

Can we start a selective "go back" movement along the lines of  the "slow food" movement, or free cellphone weekends?

Sorry, I have to go. The light is blinking. I must have a call, a message, a pin, an e-mail or a what's up message...

Clear Vision

I thought that my rearview mirror had transformed itself into a magnifying mirror. I could almost distinguish the pores on the face of the guy driving behind me (it’s always a guy).

That wasn’t the case, of course. It was that the guy was driving so close to my rear bumper that it felt like he was going to roll over my car roof to go ahead. Swinging left and right, he was looking for a minuscule opportunity to squeeeeeeze between two cars.

Vrooom, Vrooom!

I hate tailgaters!!!!