Results tagged “useful” from Overlooked

The list of endangered species is growing, and--as we all know--it is becoming harder (and harder) to get your hands on a good, rare bird. There is a solution to this problem. Although my bird smuggling experience has not spanned seas, I have fallen upon an object that facilitates avian obtainment--and since I love to help my fellow criminal--I've decided to pass my knowledge of this object along to you.

You will succeed in your plight of bird entrapment, but please do not disclose your successes to me. What you wish to do with an endangered animal is not for me to know; my only concern is that you get it. I do not wish to read about your plans of trick teaching, and I do not want a copy of your famous Goosepacho recipe--no matter how yummy it is. Just take the advice below, and you'll have your Goose before you can whisper "bump it."

The "Bumpit"--n. a plastic hairpiece, not to be confused with pump it: to amp up the volume, e.g. "pump it up!"; bump (1): to accidentally hit someone; or bump (2): a soon-to-be celebrity child--was created for style, but soon became the smuggler's golden (or nude-ish colored) ticket. The Bumpit's extended, half-moon shaped band allows you to create a large space between hair and Bumpit, cradling the bird within. A middle head position will provide a front hair mass to sweep over both Bumpit and bird--this will allow you to sneak past any airway security, or zoo personnel.

How you will appear to others.

An Inside View.

I understand that the above bird looks a little anxious. If you are fearful of a bird squawking giveaway, simply slip a tranquilizer in their feeding time crackers, and you're good to go. They'll stay nestled in your Bumpit hair-cave, and you'll get away with your bird-loot. "But is it stylish?", you ask. The Bumpit looks great on all types of hair, and all types of Janes--it's not just for glamorous models. Watch the video below to see how Big Happie Hair can contribute positively to your image, your self-esteem, and your animal heist.

Are you a frazzled parent struggling to properly clean your house? Have your children gotten too comfortable with their pampered existence? Why should they have it so good, anyway? Look at them, sitting there, watching reality television and gobbling down snacks while you ruin your knees vacuuming up crumbs and cat hair.

Why, when you were a kid, you had to walk 10 miles to school - in the snow, uphill both ways, and barefoot. Those ungrateful little bastards should be thankful they even have these microfiber cleaning slippers attached to their fat, privileged little feet. As long as they're walking that well-worn path to the refrigerator, they might as well pick up a few dust bunnies along the way.

Break the cycle. In the end, they'll thank you for all that character they've developed.

You know those annoying friends that always have a camera with them and snap away despite your best protests? That's totally me. Thanks to the digital age, my habit has become something of a problem, given that I no longer have to buy film or wait for it to be developed. On my recent 10-day vacation, I took approximately 500 photos, and had I not been limited by battery power, there surely would have been more. You get the picture (har!!!).

Unfortunately, despite my love for photography, I have never had formal training - I dropped the class in high school because the lens on the family camera would basically come off in my hands. Furthermore, these days, it's far too easy to be lazy and let the machine do all the work: there's virtually no need to learn about apertures or F-stops. Even though I have grandiose visions of myself wielding a high-powered model, there is so much to know, and I am intimidated by artistic and financial failures of epic proportions.

My compromise to myself was this little baby above, the Lomography Diana+, a reproduction of the 1960's cult classic. The medium format (120 film) camera is crafted entirely of plastic and was originally considered as a toy, but its dreamy images and unpredictability quickly made it a favorite among art students. Since it has three different aperture settings, variable shutter speeds, and a pinhole option, it seemed an appropriate way to learn a bit more without breaking the bank.

So far, I can say with complete certainty that it's true love. The learning curve is not steep at all: I took one practice roll before leaving for vacation to get accustomed to the manual shutter, and on the very next shoot, I was able to capture the image at left (like what I did there with the egotism bit?). A lot of the images on the film are vignetted, evocative of the silent film era, but the camera is also prone to light leaks, which can either enchant or annoy, depending on your aesthetic (they can be prevented by covering the seams of the camera in black electrical tape). The camera also does tend to advance by itself, so if you don't want double exposures, you'll probably want a protective bag.

The only other difficulty is finding 120 film. In New York City, I have only been able to find it at photographic equipment stores, most of which have limited hours. I either have to plan ahead or order online and wait for delivery. Sadly, I was planning on snapping some photos this past weekend at the stunningly decrepit Coney Island but was not able to get to the shop on time.

In spite of any inconveniences, I think the Diana+ is pretty wonderful. I'm a nostalgist at heart, so loading film and hearing the crank of the manual film advance is just so marvelously novel to me, and the images really do make you feel like you're looking back in time. If you've never used a toy camera and you're curious to learn more about the photographic process, the Diana+ or the Holga 120N are both an excellent place to start.

Since we actually *buy* some of the stuff ShopWiki indexes, we figured we'd point out a genuinely useful product, not that an alpaca doesn't have its uses.

I bought the Eagle Creek Pack-It Folder 18 based on the recommendation of a friend who also works at ShopWiki. We were at a wedding in D.C., and I watched him pull this thing out of his backpack. Inside was a two-piece suit, a few dress shirts, ties, and other more casual clothes. He was like some sort of magician. Meanwhile, there's my burdened self, having driven down from New York with some big-ass piece of luggage or other.

The folder comes with a big plastic card that you fold your suit/shirts/etc. around. Instructions for folding are printed on the card; you remove the card after each item is folded. After everything is folded up, you Velcro the folder shut, and toss it in a large backpack / carry on suitcase. Upon arrival, you might need to press your suit, but you'd probably want to do that if you packed with a standard garment bag.

Eagle creek makes these in a few different sizes, depending on how much stuff you need to lug. Since I've bought mine, I haven't had to pack a garment bag once.