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Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-03-21 22:42:45 +0000

Fascinating trip to Foxwoods Saturday night. I learned that I have no need to gamble there or even go there ever again. Never. The place simply sucks: it reeked of cigarette smoke, had no good food, felt like a cheezey Mid-West mall, $25 minimun black jack (therefore I didn't play), reeked of cigarette smoke, no sports bar inwhich to watch the NCAA basketball tournament (which is the reason we went down there), horrible music, poorly lit, and it reeked of cigarette smoke. Yes, I still had fun; tough not to, with 6 college buddies. Yet overall I give the place a "D", and I was thinking about the "F", but I played roulette for a solid hour and had some fun, and my friend Josh Sobeck (who came to the infamous FS 500) was the shooter on the craps table for over an hour. He rolled like 80 rolls w/o a 7 nor a 11, and the pit boss came over, watched him throw a couple times, and then checked Josh's hands. Pretty cool. It's also fun to be surrounded by 80% Asians (Chinese mostly); that doesn't even happen in Chinatown anymore. My friend Dylan actually asked a desk clerk if there was a Asian convention in town. He's from Texas; it was a bit embarassing. Interesting discussion on the drive back about "ring tones" for cell phones. I was not aware of this, but a ringtone is not in MP3 format, and infact its own thing. People will appearantly gladly pay $2.50 for a ringtone of their favorite song, yet are becoming more and more reluctant to pay 99 cents for a non ring tone song. I guess in Europe, particularily in Skandinavia, people have dozens of rings for different incoming numbers. Josh Walker was telling me that when he was consulting for Sony Music, he was told this year they will spend more money on developing ring tones, than scouting talent and advertizing MP3s and Itunes combined. Since I do not have a cell phone, all of this is foreign to me, but seemed like a giant step backwards. Thoughts...?

Posted by bizquig3000 on 2005-03-22 00:07:54 +0000

Um... Morgan's got the theme from the OC as her ringtone. Not "California" by Phantom Planet, but the OC's themesong. Go figure. Can't find any Instruction ringtones, tho.

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-03-22 02:45:38 +0000

I truly believe you should never hear anyone's cellphone ring. Period. Vibrate. Pocket. I hate everyone who's fucking phone and gay ass ringtone to which I am subjected. And they pay for that shit... I suppose it helps to distinguish the assholes from the sucker assholes.

Posted by frame609 on 2005-03-22 03:01:30 +0000

I got 'Beat On The Brat' for free, but only because 'Tom Sawyer' sounded like shit. All Ramones songs kinda sound like ringtones anyway.

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-03-22 03:14:16 +0000

sucker asshole

Posted by G lib on 2005-03-22 14:31:16 +0000

10D, The 'pocket' option is often not an option for the ladies, and vibrate doesn't work in the bag. I have been trying to get into the 20th century by downloading a new ringtone because mine isn't loud enough, and I don't like the louder ones that come with my phone. AND I'M NOT APOLOGZING! ________________ Like, totally!

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-03-22 14:50:10 +0000

sucker asshole with impractical wardrobe

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-03-22 17:05:57 +0000

"often not an option for the ladies" Is that G with a stereotype? Wow....

Posted by G lib on 2005-03-22 18:44:41 +0000

Dawn, I wish that you had caught me perpetuating a stereotype, Dawn, instead of relaying the sad, sad reality of American Society. . I don't know if you know that it's been my lifelong dream to have a "work costume"/uniform that I could wear to work multiple days per week and still manage to be socially acceptable, leaving my creative clothes purchasing for my free time wear. . In fact, I think that my favorite work costume was from the time that I worked making tea for the BBC in Plymouth England. Every day they gave me a fresh baggy brown with light blue pinstripe housedress (just below the knee) and an similarly-colored apron to wear. The thing was UGLY, but I LOVED it. I could roll into work after an hour of sleep, look like hell, but still have an acceptable, clean, fresh outfit to wear that I didn't have to decide on. My love for this outfit was so great that I 'acquired' one when I left that job. . The truth is that the American Women's pants and skirts are not as uniform as mens' pants. Men's pants (almost) always have a pocket in which to put one's phone or wallet. Women's clothes are frequently not made that way. Either they are too tight-fitting, the pockets are too small, or they are completely pocket-less. Women can't rely on having a specific spot to put their wallet, keys, or cell-phone every day. . Hence the purse. . Hence the annoying cellphone ring. . Hence the sad, sorry state of gender roles in the United States-- it's all due to the pants. . Don't I wish you could be right, Dawn. (x-posted in my blog) ________________ Like, totally!

Posted by tgl on 2005-03-22 20:54:44 +0000

How about a collar that electrocutes the user when there is an incoming call?

Posted by rladew on 2005-03-23 16:10:43 +0000

At risk of being labeled "Sucker Asshole", these are the ring tones, when I very rarely have my phone on ring, that I have enjoyed: -A Midi "C.R.E.A.M" -Miles Davis's 'So What' -A Midi "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" ..... _______________________________

Posted by pamsterdam on 2005-03-23 16:11:57 +0000

I generally try not to buy trousers/skirts/cardigans without pockets, but when I do wear non-pocketed items of clothing you can bet your sweet ass that I have the ringer on my mobile. I agree with G that women's clothing is often more aesthetically-focused than practicality-focused. For example, the wonderful work trousers I got at Ann Taylor over Christmas which - I realised when I got them home - have FAUX-POCKETS. I swear to God. Faux-pockets. So the trousers [i]look[/i] practical yet stylish, but are actually just stylish. Were they just saving fabric? Or perhaps the manufacturers were worried about bum-bulge (the pockets in question were pretending to be on the back of the trousers)? Very disappointing. I mean, do men's trousers ever feature faux-pockets? I ask you. Jesus H. Christ on a motorbike.

Posted by rladew on 2005-03-23 17:09:50 +0000

If others dont make clothing that you guys desire, maybe a practical solution would be to make clothing yrself or at least find a friend / tailor saavy in clothes making- maybe you've hit on a good idea for a new business? ...just a thought _______________________________

Posted by Honar the librarian on 2005-03-23 17:39:21 +0000

Even if homemade clothes were feasible (which they so aren't), I'm not sure how much effect this would have on the fashion industry. I think there is an entire section in "backlash" dedicated to the fashion industry and their continued insistence on making clothing that women don't want, demonstrating their failure to change even given declining profits, and I think that since then (late 80's/early 90's), women's clothing retailers/designers profits continue to shrink.

Posted by G lib on 2005-03-23 17:49:54 +0000

Some facts to back up Honor's statement: 1. Good cloth can be expensive (yes, I have spent time in cloth stores) 2. Patterns are either frumpy or expensive (I know this for a fact) 3. Tailoring is very expensive (even if you have a friend do it) because wages are high in the US. 4. Knitting clothing takes forever (I even knit) 5. This is exactly the reason why clothes are made in sweatshops. ________________ Like, totally!

Posted by G lib on 2005-03-23 18:15:37 +0000

PS: (read further only if you want to read a rant...) . This is something that I've spent a lot of time thinking about. I actually (even though you would never know it) am very picky about clothes, and view clothes shopping as a very political activity, both in terms of gender and economics as well as human rights issues. . Yes, this makes me a REALLY boring person to shop with-- wanna go with me? . Here's my solution to the whole deal-- the best solution that I could come up with, to have the least impact, look relatively socially acceptable going to work in a female-dominated environment, and not hate looking in the mirror. . I get the bulk of my clothes either thrift or at Mimi's ladies' clothing swap. The rest (mostly things that can't be bought thrift, such as black shirts and underwear-- a girl has to have some standards!) come from the discount rack at discount stores such as filene's basement. It is unlikely that the company isn't making any profit off me, and furthermore, I try (most of the time) to see where they are made-- avoiding the worst offending countries. . All of my clothes that I buy new (except for interview suits) are machine washable, and relatively loose-fitting, and as comfortable and basic as possible, so that I don't have to keep going back to the store week after week as styles change, or spend 8 million dollars on dry cleaning. . "How, Glib", (you ask), "do you manage to look professional with all of these restrictions?" . I wear a lot of loud thrift scarves that have a overpower the fact that I'm wearing a skirt made out of sweatshirt material, or a thrift-store shirt obviously from the 1970s. I wear nice necklaces that my grandmother gave me when she died. I buy expensive European shoes that last a while. I get expensive haircuts. . And most importantly-- I live with P.Chippy! This in itself makes all of my clothing sin null and void. I had to coerce him into buying his first pair of non-hiking boot shoes since 1985-- in 1998. ________________ Like, totally!

Posted by pamsterdam on 2005-03-23 18:47:13 +0000

...a good thought. And I've toyed with the idea before, but I don't have the capital or the design-savvy to be able to actually pull it off. I do have a friend who's recently started making 50's style cowgrrrl shirts and selling them on eBay (called "Little Sure Shot", Annie Oakley's nickname), but for her it's just a hobby, and it is just cowgrrrl shirts. I do like the idea, don't get me wrong, but you'd need someone with money to invest, someone with the ability to design and make the clothes, and someone to handle the marketing side. Obviously you'd have to work your way up from making clothes for friends/acquaintences, to selling on the internet, to selling on consignment at boutiques, to opening a boutique, to franchising...

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-03-23 19:07:43 +0000

Why don't you just get one pair of carhartt's (the flannel lined are a good choice if you're getting just one pair) and wear them every day. Fuck fashion. I have 6 useful pockets _and_ a hammer loop.

Posted by G lib on 2005-03-23 19:20:38 +0000

10D- Good idea! I'll just get a job at the Carhartt(tm) archives! ________________ Like, totally!

Posted by tgl on 2005-03-23 20:07:00 +0000

Have all of you forgotten my utterly hip, completely comfortable, exquisitely style (albeit without pockets) jumpsuit I made for the Pimps 'n' Hos Party? I must admit, I did sweat a little while constructing it.

Posted by rladew on 2005-03-24 21:50:33 +0000

so we should just be mad at the "man" for making clothing we dont want? Dont buy it. Vote w/ yr dollars and if the economy agrees with you, problem solved. If not, change it yrself - add competition to the marketplace! _______________________________

Posted by frame609 on 2005-03-25 07:41:20 +0000

One a somewhat unrelated note, my Hawaiian ex- is getting a lot of press for knitting a uterus. No shit.