I was down at the Junkman's Daughter's Brother here in Athens (the store of random junk), and what do I find?
I suppose you've all heard of Hello Kitty? Well they had a basket of tiny little hello kitty recorder/whistle thingies! It's an octave above a regular D whistle. Totally nuts! I wish I could scan it for you, but I don't have a scanner. It's red plastic anyhow (they had some pink ones too). Yes, of course I bought one. It was like $1.85 I couldn't resist...
Beware. Hello Kitty is one of the evils of this world, along with Snuggle. Japan has much to answer for.
Speaking of cool shops like the one you mentioned in Athens, in St. Paul we have The Axman. One day I was foraging around and came across a box of saps (of all things) with "God Bless You" stamped on them! My head nearly exploded from cognitive dissonance.
I still have this vague regret that I never bought one just for the irony of it.
Tell us something.: I've been playing whistle for a very long time, but never seem to get any better than I was about 10 years ago. I'm okay with that. :)
Also known as a "blackjack", a small leather bag filled with lead shot and a handle usually also of braided leather. Used for inducing sleep in sometimes hostile circumstances.
I haven't seen one of the whistles yet, but I have seen Hello Kitty toilet paper.
Still, nothing compares to <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/9938/ar ... ">these</A> Hello Kitty items. (the link above is not appropriate for children, don't say I didn't warn you)
[Raindogs] The ones you see wanderin' around after a rain. Ones that can't find their way back home. See the rain washes off the scent off all the mail boxes and the lamposts, fire hydrants. – Tom Waits
On 2003-02-02 17:18, raindog1970 wrote:
Still, nothing compares to <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/9938/ar ... ">these</A> Hello Kitty items. (the link above is not appropriate for children, don't say I didn't warn you)
<P>The unmentionable you've linked to above is actually available for about 1400 yen (that's about $12.00 or so US) pretty much anywhere in Japan, and can be purchased with a related array of hygiene products. (They make great gag gifts for foreigners.)
<P>On a slightly more serious (but no less OT) note, the company that owns the Hello Kitty image and licenses related products recently turned down a merchandising op for HK letter openers, because they could potentially be used in a violent fashion. Make love not war, I guess. //grin//
My sister-in-law is Japanese, and I love the crazy stuff that Nation come up with. At present she's over with her 3 year old daughter in Tokyo, because the daughter (my niece, Amy) is due to be in a TV show. It's a bit like Barney, except...
1) The child must be aged 3-4 years
2) Each child is only on one show
3) There are hundreds of children in each show
4) they dance around and sing the same songs in every show
5) it's considered a great honour to be invited to be in it
So Amy is not due to become the next Japanese child TV star or anything, but they both stayed over an extra month just for this event, so it must mean a lot to them.
As we say in Britain (thanks to Buffy), go figure...
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that schwing
A sap is like a blackjack, except it's flat. The ones I mentioned would have been perfect for my late uncle Peter, a sweet man, utterly nonviolent, and a very devout member of the Russian Othodox Church; that thought immediately occurred to me when I saw them!
Seth, The Axman in St. Paul is on University Ave. just a block or two west of Snelling on the northeast corner. You can't miss the sign; free parking can be dicey some days, though. Happy hunting!
[Raindogs] The ones you see wanderin' around after a rain. Ones that can't find their way back home. See the rain washes off the scent off all the mail boxes and the lamposts, fire hydrants. – Tom Waits
Wow! Things for hitting people on the head with have so many names: cosh, sap, blackjack, truncheon, nightstick, baton, sheleleigh. Probably other names too.
