Sync Weekly

Archive for 2009

Howdy 2010. Since it’s not 2012/the end of the world, I guess I’ll need to buy a calendar to represent you.

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Marking X-es on my Twilight wall calendar last year was so blasé.  I’m sure you feel the same way about your 2009 Puppies of the World calendar.  In order to spice up the year that is to be 2010, I* present you with the Bubble Calendar which is essentially a sheet of bubble wrap mounted over a calendar.  In other words, the greatest scientific breakthrough of this century.

Popping bubble wrap every single day for an entire year... heaven needs to install one of these.

Popping bubble wrap every single day for an entire year... heaven needs to install one of these.

Foreseeable problems with the Bubble Calendar:

  • You won’t be able to contain yourself and all the bubbles will be popped by Presidents Day.
  • Marking your friends’ and family members’ birthdays might prove difficult.
  • Disclaimer on the website, “Due to manufacturing processes out of our control, some bubbles may fail to inflate.” **

Why foreseeable problems don’t matter:

  • It’s a bubble wrap. CALENDAR.

Interesting addition:

  • When you click “add to cart” the website automatically adds two calendars to your cart, not one.  Tricky tricky, Bubble Calendar.
bubble_calendar_2010e_m

2010 Bubble Calendar, $20.10. Comes in both vertical and horizontal 47" x 18" Available at bubblecalendar.com. They're sold out of all languages save French which I'm led to believe doesn't have different holidays than the English version. It's hard to tell since neither have Groundhog Day bolded. Nor New Year's Day. Nor Christmas Day for that matter... Oops. Okay, I see, this is actually just bubble wrap. I'm buying it anyway.

* A special thanks to Kathryn Heller for bringing Bubble Calendar to my attention.

** Bubble Calendar, LLC will replace any tainted calendar if returned within two weeks.

Delorean. Duh.

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

The Hundreds Delorean tshirt in gray, $32. Available at Rock City Kicks

The Hundreds Delorean tshirt in gray, $32. Available at Rock City Kicks

Travel back in time to buy your Christmas present early.  Run by Rock City Kicks to pick up this Delorean t-shirt which comes in gray or black.  Anyone born before 1985 will freak when they open this thoughtful, well-planned out gift you found all on your own.

They call me girl. They call me Stacey. They call me her. They call me Jane. That’s not my name. Call me Ms.

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Art as Christmas gift that could be in your hands within the hour

"Call Me Ms." Photograph by Amanda Linn, $45 unframed with matte.  Available at Gallery 26.

"Call Me Ms." Photograph by Amanda Linn, $45 unframed with matte. Available at Gallery 26.

Are you freaking out because it’s four days until Christmas and you’ve yet to find a spectacular gift/ you don’t want to waste 2 hours of your life driving to West Little Rock to search for one?  You may remember this photograph from Sync’s gift guide a couple of weeks ago.  It and others like it are still available at Gallery 26.

Amanda Linn photographs scenes she builds with figurines, dollhouse furniture, kitschy objects and anything she can get her hands on.  The results are bright, bizarre and completely desirable.  I vote yes.

Snazzy Hearphones

Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Urbanears Plattan headphones in nine audacious colors, $59.99.  Available at Rock City Kicks.

Urbanears Plattan headphones in nine saturated colors, $59.99. Available at Rock City Kicks.

Rolled into Rock City Kicks yesterday and discovered a batch of fetching monotone-tastic headphones.  Put a ribbon around the box and boom.  Gift.  Besides the packaging being genius, these headphones are actually good headphones.  I tried them out myself.  The sound quality was hefty yet crisp and I couldn’t make out what the person right in front of me was saying while I was wearing them.  Headphones that allow you to hear what you want and block out all else, not to mention they’re cute as sh*t?  Sold.

They’re compatible with about any device, have a microphone for cell phone conversations and have an extra jack in the headset so someone can plug into your headphones and listen to what you’re listening to.  Per my discussion with four Rock City Kicksters, we decided the chain of listeners could go on forever.**  Perhaps that idea will spark the next Little Rock monthly dance party.  For more detailed specs visit Urbanears.com.

Jonathan Sheafe uses UrbanEars to listen to music on his iPhone.

Jonathan Sheafe uses a pair of Urbanears Plattan headphones to listen to music on his iPhone at Rock City Kicks in Hillcrest.

* i.

** We’re not scientists.  We don’t know.

Jingle Shell Rock/ Carol of the Shells/ Jingle Shells

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

shotshellslit

Screw tinsel and twinkle lights.

Merry and manly, shotgun shell lights are perfect for adding Christmas cheer to any man cave.   And, no, it’s not too late to decorate.  In fact, if you decorated before now then you’re probably not a real man anyway.  Run on over to Haus Werk in Hillcrest (behind Leo’s Greek Castle) and pick yourself up a box.

"The Real McCoy" Shot shell Holiday Lights, 20 light string (approximately 6 ft.), $24. Available at Haus Werk.

"The Real McCoy" Shot shell Holiday Lights, 20 light string (approximately 6 ft.), $24. Available at Haus Werk.

I’d like to thank Josh Blevins for the hot tip on these bad boys.  Anyone else see something of interest, send it my way at shannon@syncweekly.com.

Locally Made Gifts of Funk

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
Locally crafted gifts galore = The Green Corner Store located on 15th and Main Street.

Locally crafted gifts galore = The Green Corner Store located on 15th and Main Street.

Until today I had never visited the Green Corner Store on 15th and Main since its opening in July.  I was uncertain if it was an organic coffee shop, a small grocery or an art gallery.  It wasn’t really any of those things to my pleasant surprise.  Rather, it was something new altogether for Little Rock.  Self-dubbed as Arkansas’s first eco lifestyle store, it’s more versatile and less granola than it sounds.

I don’t want to call it a gift shop, but there are certainly gifts for everyone here.  Of course, I’m featuring the fun, funky products from the store but they carry a slew of other things including personal care products, candles and a few used books.  If you’re in want of unique, locally made, environmentally conscious gifts for people on your Christmas list, be it your boyfriend, best friend or your mom, this is an excellent place to visit.  Now let’s get down to checking out the goods.

It's by Callie mixed media necklaces, $35 each.

It's by Callie mixed media necklaces, $35 each. Perfect for: Best Friend.

Melty record bowls, $8 each. Perfect for: Boyfriend.

Melty record bowls, $8 each. Perfect for: Boyfriend.

Felt sushi rings, $12. Perfect for: Your neice.

Felt sushi roll rings, $12. Perfect for: Niece.

Erin Lanning jewelry dish, $40.  Perfect for: Me!  I can't get over how the doll hand is the ideal place to store rings.

Laura Fanning jewelry dish, $40. Perfect for: Me! I can't get over how the doll arm is ideal for holding rings.

Erin Lorenzen Heart Little Rock sweatshirt tee, $48 and canvas tote, $32. Perfect for: Brother's girlfriend

Erin Lorenzen Heart Little Rock sweatshirt tee, $48 and canvas tote, $32. Perfect for: Brother's girlfriend

Lisa James Upcycled Notebooks, Range $10-$20. This one is $15. Perfect for: Everyone.  The pages are made from old mail, greeting cards and notebook paper.  Some are good for writing on and some aren't.  That's the fun of it.

Lisa James Upcycled Notebooks, Range $10-$20. This one is $15 (Left image is the front cover and right image is the back cover). Perfect for: Everyone. The pages are made from old mail, greeting cards and notebook paper. Some pages are good for writing on and some aren't. That's the fun of it.

Little Rock-OPOLY/ No Thank You-Opoly

Monday, December 14th, 2009
LittleRockopoly

Available for $24.95 on lateforthesky.com and different stores around town. If you want to know where to get this after reading my scathing, unforgiving opinion of it, I will tell you. Email me at shannon@syncweekly.com. Otherwise, I don't want to make these stores appear silly by association.

Little Rock-OPOLY. I assume this product was created and manufactured for folks who are on a desperate gift hunt for people they don’t know much about.  They see “Little Rock” plastered on a box and think, “Well, hey, Shannon lives in Little Rock and she likes games;  I’ll get her this.  She’ll love it! What with all the clever allusions to the city of Little Rock that I’m sure are all very accurate, this lucid interpretation of the city will make a great addition to her game closet.”

Please, please, do not buy me this. Or for anyone else unless your intention is for them to re-gift it to a non-mutual friend.

At first glance I thought the box made the game seem fun and cute because everything familiar seems fun and cute in the beginning, but then I looked closer.  The properties aren’t neighborhoods rather they are Little Rock institutions like the Arkansas Queen (which is in North Little Rock).  Evidently the grouping of these properties are not required to make sense.  One grouping contains the following: Little Rock Zoo, Big Dam Bridge and the Peabody Hotel.  The only thing in common between these three is that they all have duck inhabitants.

A section of the board and look at a property card and "contingency" card.

A section of the board and look at a property card and "contingency" card.

Upon further googling I found this which is a call for opinions on how to create a game that represents the city of Little Rock.  I’m unsure where the person got the original institution ideas but I would guess poor internet research supplied 97% of them.  Luckily some people commented with helpful suggestions like, “NLR is a separate city not a neighborhood in LR.”

Lateforthesky.com makes an -OPOLY game for anything and everything including Horse-OPOLY, Grillin-OPOLY and Canada-OPOLY.  Friend and frequent commentator on this blog, Johnnie owns Earth-OPOLY.  It’s been sitting in his car trunk, unopened, as long as I’ve known him.  And even though I know these things are worthless my heart still skips a beat when I read Dino-OPOLY and Monsters-OPOLY.

Game Details

The Pieces: They’re the same for most of the City-OPOLY games and include a High Five, Big Smile, Heart, Pretzel, The Dog and Old Shoe.

Utilities: Greek Food Festival and Riverfest

Railroads: Cantrell Road, Chenal Parkway, Markham Street and Kavanaugh –They got this one right.

Property Groupings:

Little Rock National Airport and River Rail Trolley –Both are transportation.

Arkansas Queen, Cajun’s Wharf and Riverfest Ampitheatre –All on the river. Okay, I’ll buy that.

Little Rock Zoo, Big Dam Bridge and Peabody Hotel –???

The Rep, Old State House and MacArthur Park –They meant the Arkansas Arts Center rather than the Repertory Theatre.  Too bad they blew it.

Robinson Center Music Hall, Little Rock Central High School and War Memorial Stadium –Um. All have football? nope.  All have “events.”  Eh, yeeeah. Good enough.

Arkansas Arts Center, Museum of Discovery and Clinton Presidential Center –All museums… though the AAC shouldn’t be here, perhaps the Historic Arkansas Museum or the Arkansas Studies Institute instead?

Riverfront Park, Quapaw Quarter and Arkansas State Capitol –Which landmarks and areas did we forget? Oh I know, we’ll put them here.

Metropolitan National Bank Tower and La Petite Roche –I guess I never realized how important the Metropolitan National Bank Tower was.  It is tall.

As you may have noticed, Flying Fish isn’t in any of these groupings.  That’s cool since it’s logo is on the cover of the box.

Sea Monster inspired gifts. Oh yes. The gift guides begin here and now.

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

In honor of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, I offer you gifts for seafaring folk.

Floatsam & Jetsam Pygmy Seahorse Ring, $120. Available at catbird.com

Floatsam & Jetsam Pygmy Seahorse Ring, $120. Available at catbirdnyc.com

Royal Kane Great White Shark Pillowcase Cover, $10.68 for one.  Available at artfire.com.

Royal Kane Great White Shark Pillowcase Cover, $10.68 for one. Available at artfire.com.

Gold Octopus Cigarette/Credit Card/Business Card Case, $48.  Available at CosmicFirefly.etsy.com.

Gold Octopus Cigarette/Credit Card/Business Card Case, $48. Available at CosmicFirefly.etsy.com.

Lobster Bag, $. Available on etsy.com.

French Pet Lobster Tote, $12. Available at Xenotees.etsy.com.

Moby hoodie, $30. Available at squidfire.com

Moby Cat Hoodie, $40. Available at squidfire.com

Sea Monster pins, $5. Available at etsy.com

Sea Monster Pins, Set of 5, $5. Available at essentialmonsters.etsy.com.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
Sense-and-Sensibility-and-Sea-Monsters-books-to-read-8050908-400-610

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters. $12.95, available at most bookstores. Click on the image for insight from Winters on the process of writing this book.

While in New York this past week, I had the pleasure of attending a reading of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, the latest Jane Austen mash-up from Quirk Classics which first produced the bestseller, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Sea Monsters is rumored to be funnier as well as more heavily decorated with unsavory creatures than Zombies.

The reading was at Bluestockings, a progressive bookstore located in the Lower East Side.  The crowd was timely, attentive and eager.  When we arrived slightly after 7 p.m., which was the event’s start time on Facebook, all the seats available were occupied.  We stood there weighing our standing-room-only options with hands full of delicious, hot coffee from the bookstore’s cafe when employees began shoving chairs in small empty spaces for our sitting pleasure.  Shortly thereafter the reading began with authors Ben Winters and “Jane Austen” reading three passages from the book.  My favorite part being the words, “fishy face fingers,” to describe the guy on the cover’s mug.

I included audio recorded with my iPhone below; one passage is awkwardly split in two sound bits.  Enjoy.

MSeaMonsters1

MSeaMonsters2

Co-authors Jane Austen and Ben Winters with Athgard Claw-Fangler, a sea monster at a reading in Blue Stockings bookstore in the Lower East Side.

Co-authors Jane Austen and Ben Winters with Athgard Claw-Fangler, a sea monster at the Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters reading in Bluestockings bookstore, Manhattan.

The hearth of Hoth, a Tauntaun carcass

Monday, December 7th, 2009

This model looks remarkably like my neighbor, Josh.  Image from ThinkGeek.com.

Here you see "Luke" warming himself inside a Tauntaun sleeping bag. This model looks remarkably like my neighbor, Josh. ThinkGeek.com, $99.99. On Backorder.

If you’re like me the first thing you think when looking at this sleeping bag is, “Why is that guy dressed like a pilot in a dinosaur sleeping bag?”  But, if you’re more like my brother Kell, then you immediately think, “Oh my god, a Tauntaun sleeping bag!! Why didn’t this exist when I was a kid?”  I suppose the rest of this post more so applies to the second kind of folk but for you others, the attention to detail of this invention is pretty awesome so stick around.

A Tauntaun is a creature that lives on planet Hoth which plays a vital role in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. In order to keep Luke Skywalker from freezing to death, Han Solo cuts open a dead Tauntaun and shoves Luke inside for warmth.  And thus the inspiration for this sleeping bag which includes a saddle feature, plush head that doubles as a pillow, a Tauntaun-guts-print on the inside of the bag and a light saber zipper pull to simulate cutting the creature open when you climb inside.

Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Tauntaun.

The inspiration: Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and a Tauntaun on Hoth.

This product is currently on backorder but ThinkGeek.com states that if you order now, your bag will ship by December 7.  Also, only two Tauntauns allowed per customer.  Sorry cub scout leader Joe.

Full-body view of the Tauntaun sleeping bag available from ThinkGeek.com.

Full-body view of the Tauntaun sleeping bag available from ThinkGeek.com.

My favorite part of this video featuring the sleeping bag is when Han Solo looks from Luke to the Tauntaun and you can see the electrical outlet in the background.