Category Archives: products

August 4, 2009 · 11:06 pm

Supa Dupa Dread Kit

supa-dupa-dread-kit

Finally! A product that produces clean healthy dreads. How did I possibly live without knowing about his product? Take a little visit over at dreadheadhq.com and you will laugh out loud, “We are not just the owners of Dread Head HQ… we’re also clients”. Hmm, was that not the Hair Club for Men tagline?

I found this in Lake George of all places. I posted this picture on Facebook and immediately had two comments from people who had to own this product. Go figure, who knew it would make such a nice gift?

Back to the sales pitch. You have to love this one:

At DreadHead HQ we eat, sleep and sport dreadlocks….we love’em and we want to spread the dreads, letting people know just how much butt dreadlocks kick; as a hairstyle, as well as a lifestyle. We want people to know how enjoyable and rewarding it is to rock their own well maintained dreadlocks.

Um, how much butt dreadlocks kick? Yeh, that would be a nice suburban white kid’s take on a symbol of the Rastafari movement. Perhaps a little too heavy a diet of Bob Marley whilst in the crib? Come to think of it my daughter loved him as a kid. She used to go to sleep listening to Roots Rock Reggae on more than one occasion. And now that I mention it my son has a painting of Bob over his bed. And they did have a Jamaican nanny for many years.

Wait a minute, maybe I should have picked up a few cases of this stuff. You never know when a set of dreads might sprout in this very house.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

1 Comment

Filed under carry a camera, music, products

Tagged as , , , ,

August 2, 2009 · 9:22 pm

Prozac Country

prozac-don't-worry-be-happy

Sometimes you are driving down the road, you are weary from a long trip and the conversation has long since died down. Then out of nowhere a visual gift is placed before you. Sometimes your husband points it out and then actually thinks that he is not obligated to turn that damn car around and pull over so you can take the shot. (guess who won that argument).

I kid you not, my friends, no retouching here. This is not one of those funny church sign generator images. This is the real deal.

Stuck in the worst kind of traffic on the way home from the Adirondacks, we took a side route and ambled upon someone’s front lawn with this sitting on it. Talk about the mother of all lawn ornaments. This blows away the frogs and bunnies. If you don’t believe this is for real, take a drive down route 199 in Milan, NY and you will find this yourself. It is between the Rhinebeck Bridge and the Taconic State Parkway.

After a 5 hour drive one could surely use a million milligrams of Prozac.

(please note the Keep Out sign in the bottom left corner, guess that means they don’t share)

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

5 Comments

Filed under absurdities, carry a camera, humor, photography, places of interest, products, road signs, road trip

Tagged as , , , , ,

July 28, 2009 · 10:51 pm

The Vixen Manual

vixe-manual

Oh yeh, this is what I am talking about, Vixen how-to on the subway. I could not resist this shot. I love the guy in the window. He is looking like someone who might just be in need of a vixen. Hey, let’s be honest, what guy isn’t. This is some scary stuff.

Since the image is small, let me give you the selling points (with commentary of course):

A vixen:

1) Knows how to flirt (lame, most women know how to flirt)

2) Never lets him see her sweat (I believe this was stolen from the Dry Idea deodorant commercial, not all that sexy if you ask me)

3) Can stroke his… ego (subtle… oh, puh-leez!)

4) All of the above (falls kind of flat here, I was looking around for a #2 pencil on this one)

How about these credentials:

From music video eye candy to domestic diva, there isn’t a relationship Karren Steffans hasn’t had. (ew! perhaps I went to far with my imagination on this one)

Oh, best part… available in hardcover and as an eBook (would that make it SOFTware ?)

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

2 Comments

Filed under absurdities, carry a camera, marketing, New York City, products

Tagged as , , , , ,

July 24, 2009 · 6:46 pm

Recession Rosaries

recession-rosaries

Yep, you can’t go wrong with these babies. I give a lot of credit to this vendor. These are a nice blend of recessionary reaction, trend appeal and religious affiliation.

Ahhh, AND they make the perfect gift.

I should have investigated them further to see if there was anything different about them. I wonder if they had some recession specific markings or maybe it was just a tag. The tag would make more sense. We are in a recession you know, need to watch the bottom line on every SKU. And surely you don’t want to be left over with heavy inventory once the recession breaks.

Perhaps they could expand their products with another current event driven line like Swine Flu Rosaries; great for the religious school market. They could package them with a plaid surgical mask and a little bottle of Purell. Great Back-to-School gift item that no kid’s backpack should be without.

Sorry, it is quite obvious I have been in marketing and promotions for way too long.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

Leave a comment

Filed under absurdities, current events, health, humor, marketing, photography, products, religion, signage

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

July 18, 2009 · 10:25 pm

Michael Jackson Trading Cards

micheal-jackson-trading-cards

I saw these at the Brooklyn Flea last week. I got so caught up in taking pictures of everything I saw there that I totally missed the opportunity to buy these. What a great find.

I wonder if there are cards of Michael through the ages. It would be kind of cool to frame 10 cards that show the transition of his face from one era to the next. When they flashed the ‘Thriller Michael’ on the news I was taken back by the way he looked. Still black, he was going through his Diana Ross look alike phase then.

I wondered about these cards, so I did a little digging. Of course someone bought the url michealjacksonfuneral.org (there is a vulture born everyday) and there is a post under the ‘cool stuff‘ section that featured some of them. Seems they were made in the 80s. There are a bunch on ebay and shopzilla. The price is still low but I would imagine with time an unopened pack from this era will be worth something.

Guess I should go back and pick some up.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

1 Comment

Filed under carry a camera, photography, places of interest, products

Tagged as , , , ,

July 2, 2009 · 5:52 pm

You are who you are…

you-are-who-you-are

… when no one is looking.

I love this message. If I had only one lesson to teach my kids in life I think this might be it. That and how to hold who that is and be that way all the time. What is harder than being true to oneself? Ok, getting a bit heady from a beer ad prompt, but hey, that is what advertising is supposed to about.

Nice work, Heineken. (no, they are not a client).

This, coupled with my family’s favorite TV spot of the year, “Let a stranger drive you home” renews my faith in standout creative. (W+ K did the TV spot, not sure on the outdoor). Go ahead, watch it even if you have seen it before. I LOVE this! Seriously, who does not love the cabbie? You have to smile when you watch this.

I thought this would be a nice way to kick off the holiday weekend.

Now be careful out there.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

7 Comments

Filed under companies, products, video

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

June 26, 2009 · 8:42 pm

Pick Your Nose

pick-your-nose_2

Once again, I am jealous of a product name and sorry I did not come up with it. Both the item and the category are brilliant. A little further online digging and I came up with these, which are just as clever.

Pick Your Nose Cups are hysterical. What kid would not love to drink out of one of these. And Party Animals is the perfect name for the series.

Do you think the idea for these came one drunken night when someone was drawing on all the cups at a party? For those who do not know, I went to art school. Stuff like that happened all the time. We even went through a Christo phase when we wrapped peoples’ cars while they were sleeping. I think we wrapped the trees and the front door too. I need to find those pictures.

Now you can understand why I am so envious when I see a product like this. Surely I should have come up with this idea. Although I don’t know how lucrative they were because if you will note the price tag, I found this at Home Goods and they were only $4.99. I need to be careful at these places, I was snapping away all sorts of funny pictures and I think the staff was starting to get weird about it.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

5 Comments

Filed under absurdities, carry a camera, humor, products

Tagged as , , ,

June 23, 2009 · 8:54 pm

Would you buy a used vacuum?

Jana is moving into a new apartment in August and we are busy shopping for all the domestic items we can think of. We have become involved in a bargain hunting game with her roommates and their moms. Today I found a really inexpensive vacuum at Target and was so excited about it. I know, scary that a vacuum excites me. Actually that kind of sucks. (sorry)

We were talking about it at dinner and Gary suggested that we could get a much better quality vacuum, used on Craigs List. By the looks of the Madison page for vacuums, he is not wrong.

But seriously! A used vacuum?! Doesn’t that have kind of an EW factor to it? Danny thought by buying a used one we ran the risk of purchasing a vacuum that had been used to pick up poop. Hmmmm, can you pick up poop with a vacuum? Maybe tiny poop, like mouse droppings or maybe even some kitty litter encrusted cat feces. I was thinking that in a college town vomit would be more likely. You know, the kind that hardens a bit overnight on the rug and then you sprinkle some baking soda on it and then try to vacuum it up. What? Does it sound like I have experience with this? Maybe.

We were 3 to 1 in our family, opposed to the idea of the used vacuum due to the possible ickification of it. We decided to ask friends who stopped by our table on their way out ofthe restaurant. They were split. Surprisingly he said no to used while she is a big fan of Craigs List and was in favor.

We decided the only way to settle this was to bring it to the blog for a poll. So, even if you are a lurker, please cast your vote as this is of dire importance to national security. Or maybe we are just curious.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

5 Comments

Filed under absurdities, homeowner, humor, Jana, polls, products

Tagged as , , ,

June 5, 2009 · 9:06 pm

I Bring You the Mangroomer

ManGroomer

Yes, my friends, this is one of those items you do not just pass by at Bed, Bath & Beyond. You must stop, pull out your camera and get a shot of this baby. Prominently displayed, I might add. Probably as a Father’s Day promo.

My favorite part of this package is, of course, the circled areas. Note that this is not even remotely anatomically correct. Perhaps this should be called the Eunuch Groomer.

Of course I had to hop over to their website for a little more info. They sport the tagline of the month: ‘Maintain Yourself’. Oh, how I wish I had written that one.

They also make the ‘essential do-it-yourself electric back shaver’. For whom? A double jointed gymnast. How the hell are you supposed to reach your back with this thing? Oh wait, I believe it has a ‘fully extendable and adjustable handle’.

And thank goodness they have a companion nose and ear hair trimmer.

But my fave remains the Private Body Shaver. If you click on no other links on this post you must click on this one for it is the FAQ section on this product. My fave? #7. Does the MANGROOMER Private Body Shaver work for tall and large men?  I don’t get that, do tall guys have surpersonic personal hair?

I would have loved to have been in the focus group for this sucker!

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

9 Comments

Filed under absurdities, body image, humor, products

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

June 3, 2009 · 4:51 pm

Pii Pii for the Wii? No way!

Yes way. Thanks to a client, this was brought to my attention (yes, my clients are as warped as I am). The Japanese, being big fans of both penises and toilets, have developed a peeing game for the Wii.

Girls strap on the belt harness and insert the Wiimote to play the game.

Here are some of my favorite product features (with commentary, of course) from the thinkgeek post about this product:

• Video Game for Nintendo Wii Provides a Virtual Peeing Experience (the perfect gift for the girl who has everything, including a bad case of penis envy)

• Amazing Realistic Pee Fluid Dynamics (you have to watch the video to fully appreciate this. BTW this girl really sucks at this game)

• Over 100 different peeing environments with multiple toilet and urinal styles (lovely feature)

Oh, and this one I love:

• Up to two players can compete with dueling pee streams (sword fights for girls, how inclusive!)

The text on the packaging boasts that this product ‘promotes good bathroom skills and allows women to experience for the first time the pleasure of urinating while standing’. Funny, I have always told my daughter that the only thing that she could not do that boys could was pee standing up.

I guess those days are over and we have finally reached true equality. Now we can pee on the damn glass ceiling if we want to.

You go girls!

(as an aside, today someone referred to me as ‘the diva of the absurd and silly’. I am happy to carry that title proudly)

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

 

5 Comments

Filed under absurdities, games, humor, marketing, products, trends

Tagged as , , , , , ,