Hey, I put some new shoes on / And suddenly everything's right

 Everything is not completely right. I can't seem to find the shoes on Amazon to link to that I bought last week. 

For reference, these are them:

The inside tongue even has Zero taking a walk with you:

The brand is called Ground Up and there's quite an array of styles on Amazon for them. 

I did try searching for "nightmare before christmas canvas shoes" and came up with a different set of matches. 

I didn't realize when I bought the shoes that they were actually glow in the dark. 

Yes, they really do glow. 

I was trying to break them in last weekend and had gone outside to do something. When I came back in, I was in the garage. As the door shutting, there was a shadowing on my feet. I happened to look down for some reason, and the sides were lit up, bright enough to make it super noticeable. 

It wasn't until I got in and really looked them over, in a dark room, and saw how massively bright they are. 

The photos don't do them justice, so imagine what kind of surprise someone may have if they wear these out to an indoor black light event? What about going to the movies? Talk about a crazy conversation, especially if you're wearing them for the first time (while meeting someone else for the first time)! 

It'll be a conversation no one else probably will have, at any given point, but who knows. Some people have pretty rad sneakers they wear on a regular basis, so it would give thought to talk about it. 

Which reminds me of a neighbor who used to wear all types of Vans slip on shoes. Every day we worked together, he'd have on a differently fun pair. He was a bit eccentric, so of course his footwear would match his personality. 

I wouldn't be surprised if the guy had a glow in the dark pair. I can only imagine if the both of us showed up to work wearing something crazy, what people would have really thought about us. 

I don't think I want to know, honestly. Haha. 

Anyway, I just wanted to post something about these shoes and mention how I found out something new about them. Nothing out of the ordinary of exciting. Just a typical day in wonderment...

Stay classy

Cheers;

See also (aka post title)

* Paolo Nutini, New Shoes (track 6 off These Streets)

I want to know..

How in the scientifically minded hell, am I supposed to fit a pair of (okay, men's) New Balance 619 Sneakers in a (relatively) small Sterilite "shoe box"? 

I know my feet are jacked up, but 

The box must be for baby shoes.

Seriously/

All because I was wanting to put a pair of sneakers away in my closet because I bought a new pair today (Nightmare Before Christmas canvas shoes.. which I'm having a hard time finding it on Amazon to reference.. I mean, there is a pair of sandals that look similar to this link, but I'm not finding the canvas lace ups. There are just too many and not what I bought). 

Yes, I bought Nightmare Before Christmas shoes because I like that movie. Don't hate. There's a good story there with a decent premise and if you know, you know. If not, I'm not explaining it in this post. Go watch it with an open mind (and not while stoned or drunk. There's other films for that). 

And yes, I wear men's shoes because sometimes the width is better than the women's shoes. Plus, depending on where I shop, the styles differ, so it's hard to get something that's comfortable, economical and makes sense. 

I should probably go watch that movie... I didn't do it this year and I normally do (on Valentine's Day, of course. I'm a sucker, I know). 

But yeah... what in the crazy... is this a sign we're continually getting too big for our stuff, that we can't fit a pair of sneakers in a box? Our clothes don't fit, our houses don't fit, our lifestyle doesn't fit... things are going bonkers. 

Yet I have to go to the supermarket after I finish this post because some sale ends tonight and we need stuff for the week.

So I guess toodle doo for now!

Stay skinny.

Cheersl

"Insanity laughs under pressure we're breaking"

When you're stuck in traffic and are listening to some random station, songs tend to bleed into each other before you start changing the channel due to ads.

First I heard Queen feat. David Bowie sing Under Pressure (track 11 off the Deluxe Edition of Hot Space). Immediately following that was Aerosmith screaming at me to Walk this Way (track 03 off of Toys In The Attic). All while sitting at two 4 minute lights.

I never really understood why Aerosmith is called "The Bad Boys of Boston", when Mr. Tallarico is a native New Yorker. 

Yeah, okay, maybe they "officially" formed in Allston (the area where Comm Ave meets Harvard St. Damn I miss Coolidge Corner). But prior to meeting, they were all in different bands in  New York and Massachusetts. At some point in my life, I heard it was New Hampshire too. Or once they became a group, they lived in NH for a minute? I don't know... the full history is lost on me. I think I've heard so many things about them over the years, it started going in one ear and out the other. 

The things I do know are the facts that even before Run DMC decided to collaborate with Aerosmith on Walk This Way, it's very much a screamer-esque type song. It's throaty, it's screamy... the way Steven Tyler "sings". Very different sound than one of those "from gut" songs. Yes, he's got a powerhouse vocal range, but this isn't a smooth sailing song. It's an arena-metal-rock party song that you try to replicate in your back yard. Maybe there's a reason Sweet Emotion is another anthem from the same album. It's a "hold my beer and watch this!" bet of a record. 

There's nothing wrong with it. I like the group. They've got pretty ace singles and just as many rarities. I just had a moment this morning where one song led to another and by the time I got to work, I felt like I should have driven down Route 24 at 65mph where my starting point was Route 9 in Brookline and I ended at Silver City Galleria in Taunton. Instead, I was traveling some construction zones in Fort Myers that I'd rather not be in anymore. 

I guess I need to keep trying for a two dollar lottery ticket... 

Oh, and Rachael informed me her book is out on Kindle in 10 days... so go order it and read it. It's for a good cause.

Cheers;

More?

Well, apparently the mushrooms are turning again, because my mother went outside to check on something, comes back in the house and tells me the fungi are brightly colored this afternoon.

I grabbed my (discontinued) Canon EOS Rebel T7i, popped on the regular lens, and went outside. I pulled the plant into the sun to get a little more light on the growth, but it didn't totally help, as the leaves were giving off too much of a shadow in places. 

Again, I didn't grab a macro lens because I didn't want to then have to do a full set up (tripod, etc). I wanted to be quick to be back in as we needed to work on something else in the house. 

But with out further ado, slightly edited (auto tuned with sharpen) photos:

Oh, and a random side note: I started watching United States Of Insanity yesterday.

 According to Amazon, the description is:

“The World’s Most Hated Band,” notorious rappers Insane Clown Posse, find themselves as unwitting warriors for the First Amendment after they and their one million die-hard fans (called Juggalos) are labeled a gang by the FBI. With the help of the ACLU, the band fights to uncover the reasons behind the designation and get removed from the gang list as their fans begin to losing their jobs, have their children put into protective custody, and face jail time — all because of their musical tastes.

 I'd call it a music documentary because it's a mix of interviews from various sources, including ICP. 

I  am not a real fan, but I've known people who are casual Juggalos as well was real major tried and true 'Los and 'Lettes. I've got a copy or two of Psychopathic Records musicians, but I don't go around saying I am a follower. I'm far from it, but this is a different insight about how the FBI was quick to label the fans a gang. I can see the point that ICP was trying to make in defending themselves and everyone who listens to them, and there are several good points that are made. 

There are comparisons to how the fans wear the Hatchetman symbol to real gangs (Crips, Bloods, MS13) that wear certain colors or sports logos. Juggalos are not out there doing complete malice like the groups on the FBI list, but because one or two bad eggs are the ones who started the government watching them, it's hard to not pigeonhole everyone else. One of the things that was said was there's some rapper that's a huge gang member (not Snoop, but someone in the new millennia), so what's to say his fans aren't in that style of gang? What if all the people who show up are that affiliation? What do you do then? Every time something bad happens at a sports stadium - fans fight fans... are those gang members fighting each other for the love of the team? If Juggalos are being threatened as something evil, shouldn't everyone that follows anything? 

I know I'm not writing clearly about this, but again, I'm not all the way through the film. It's one of those food for thought situations and I wanted to bring it up. Guess I should go finish it...  

Cheers;

Groovy

 Yesterday my mother went to water some of the plants out front, as we were changing the filter in our refrigerator (we've got one of those "on the door ice maker / water stream" things and it requires a filter change every 6 months to a year). So she was taking the ice from the bucket and using that as plant food. 

While I was trying to flush the water line with the new filter (because the filter comes with charcoal you have to get out before using it), my mother comes in the house and says "you know that big plant I have out front?". I said "yes", and she tells me that "there are some psychedelic mushrooms growing in it". I asked her how she knew, and she said "because they're bright yellow". I just laughed and said "okay...".

This morning I went out to check to see if she was really seeing yellow mushrooms. Yea, they're not super crazy bright or colored, but they're definitely different.

Upon talking to a couple neighbors who are in the landscaping business, these mushrooms are called "Florida mushrooms" and don't last but a day or two with their brightness. Otherwise they start fading, which my mother said is what they're doing this afternoon. 

I tried a couple different settings on my Canon EOS Rebel T7i (which is "Renewed on Amazon" or with bundles) - Landscape mode, close up mode, no flash, with flash. I then threw them in to Photoshop, just to sharpen them up a little and put my name on them. 

Editing them out, I probably could have used a macro lens to really get in there, but I wanted to be in and out and not try to play any games since I didn't know how safe these things really are.  I mean, the plant is dying in spots, so these mushrooms are doing something special in the pot. There's obviously a lot of moisture and little sun to make them grow, but how okay is it to stick a camera in there and get super close? 

So I got as close as I wanted to, which means parts came out blurry with the regular lens. I am fine with it. It's not like I'm going to be cultivating fungi any time soon and have it work a room. 

Pictures or this is all for naught:

Guess that's it for now. Stay cool, man.

Cheers;

By the way, have you pre-ordered Rachael's book yet???