No Tauntauns Were Hurt During The Writing Of This Post

Well, except for the one pictured above. But it's not real, so I think the title still applies.

Today is June 3oth. Last day of the month, and possibly the beginning of a long holiday weekend for some (Canada Day being tomorrow and the American Independence Day being next Monday. Fireworks, hecks yeah!) But as far as this blog is concerned, what's important about today is the last Star Wars Wednesday for a long, long time. Like, until next year if you all are lucky.

So seeing as it's the final Star Wars Wednesday, it's time to let some of the wackier Star Wars items have their moment in the sun. Especially since I would really like to get them off of my hard drive.

Every time I think I've seen just about everything when it comes to hats, things like a hat knitted to look like Princess Leia's buns comes along and my perception of "having seen everything" is blown all to smithereens.

Gotta give this lady credit, though; I KNOW I don't have the patience to sit there and knit two honkin' cinnamon-bun-like things. Shoot, I barely have the patience to write up this blog half of the time.

...You know, I can understand the logic that went into this hat. No, really; I can. Wookiees are hairy creatures by rule, and Chewbacca is no exception to said rule. So I suppose if you're going to make a hat based on Chewy, it would make some sort of sense that the hat should be just as hairy as the character is.

See, I get that. But I also get that sometimes you should just accept that the idea--while sound in theory--does not work in real life. Because that's when you get hats like the one above.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Maybe it's just the people I hang out with, but it really isn't all that difficult for me to imagine quite a few of my friends sporting this Death Star officer's cap.

Well, you know what they say. Come over to the Dark Side; they've got circular baked goods, or something like that.

Since no Star Wars post is complete without mention of that diminutive green Jedi master, here's an adorably simple Yoda hat. It's so simple, in fact, that the link will even show you how to make one of your very own.

Never say I don't give you people anything. 'Cause that would make you dirty rotten liars, and you all know where liars go. Rufus The Roommate even has a song that tells you where liars go, IT'S THAT COMMON OF KNOWLEDGE.

And that's it for today, as well as Star Wars Wednesdays. See you Friday!

Boxes, Boxes EVERYWHERE

For those of you not in the know (which is probably a lot of you, seeing as this is a public blog and I'm pretty certain I don't have the entire world's phone numbers programmed into my cell phone,) I am in the process of moving. So my life right now consists mostly of boxes. Lots and lots of boxes. To the point where I am sick of boxes and would rather just dump a decent portion of them off at Goodwill instead of dragging them to the new place, but seeing as it's not just my stuff, I can't really do that.

So since I spent a good chunk of this weekend doing the whole moving thing (as did The Husband and Rufus The Roommate, with lots of help from Whitey Ford: brother-in-law extraordinaire and his wife, Netty,) here's hat boxes. Which are much prettier than your average cardboard box.

See what I mean?

Even if they're a little on the muted side of the color palette, they're still much prettier than a regular ol' cardboard box.

Somehow, I get the feeling these were designed more for decoration than actual use, but apparently they are actually quite functional.

These are also functional, but are simple enough in design that people don't have to worry about the ribbon getting gnarly or anything.

If you really like decorative boxes in general, you should really check out this link, because basically their whole gig is making and selling pretty-yet-functional boxes, like the set above.

And on that note, Internets, I bid you adieu for the day. Hopefully, I'll be able to post once or twice more this week before the moving thing gets completely all-consuming, but we'll see. Wish me luck!

Gone To The Dogs

You know what I haven't done lately? The following:

1. A post that is more heavy on the images than the writing
2. A post involving animals, and
3. A post that is liable to irritate some folks (EX: PETA.)

So seeing how it's Friday, I have stuff to do that requires me being away from the computer to accomplish it all and the possibility of upsetting PETA doesn't really worry me all that much, today's post is dedicated to hats made for man's best friend: the dog.

For those of us who prefer to see our dogs wear bobble-hats, this site would be an excellent place to patronize.

Of course, if you'd just rather your dog look adorably similar to a snack tray, there's nothing too terribly wrong with that. This dog picture illustrates that perfectly.

...You know, sometimes I think I've seen it all, and then I see things like this. And nothing--NOTHING--reminds you that the world still holds some mystery and wonder like the discovery of an emo hat-scarf thingamajig. FOR DOGS.

This one...I don't know much else about, outside of the fact that it's a very tiny puppy in a helmet. I just threw it in here because I wanted to kill people with cute.

Did it work? No? Okay; let's try this one...

BAM! Dead from cute now?

This one is another one I don't know much about, seeing as I can't read Japanese (I'm guessing it's an advertisement for matching hats and bibs for dogs, though.) But it is also lethally cute, so here it is.

For those of you out there who do not feel your life will be complete until you can make a mouse hat for your dog, consider your life now fulfilled.

You're welcome.

And now, to finish this blog post off on a high note, I will now show you something that is either the most adorable picture ever taken or is the meanest thing a dog owner has ever done to their pet.

Behold:

Whichever side of the argument you find yourself on, you have to admit that dog's smile looks pretty darn genuine. Whether that's because the dog is really happy or is plotting their owner's demise is entirely up to interpretation.

And that's it for HH this week. See you Monday!

Star Wars Wednesday

Okay--for some reason, Wednesdays this month have turned into Star Wars Wednesdays. Not entirely certain how the heck that happened, but when I was looking over the blog last week, it was hard to ignore the fact that every single Wednesday has had a Star Wars related hat.

I suppose it says something about my own self-awareness, as that it took about three weeks for me to catch on to this, but hey; at least I caught on eventually. No gold stars for me, but I think that is at least deserving of a cookie.

So to heck with it; for the rest of June, I am just gonna flat-out declare that Wednesdays are Star Wars Wednesdays. And what's more, I'm gonna look at stormtrooper hats today. You're welcome to join me, if you wish.

First up, a rather lovely knit one. Not entirely certain how the pattern works, but once again, I don't knit. So maybe one of you knitters out there can make sense of the directions for me.

How's about a customizable, printable paper stormtrooper helmet, huh? Not only are they lightweight, but they're also recyclable! How green can you get?

Maybe it's just me, but isn't the very notion of a steampunk stormtrooper helmet like crossing the beams of geekery? Or did my prior statement just do that?

See you Friday, folks!

I'm So Tired

Ah, mass transit. Oftentimes, you are the highlight of all civilization; allowing large groups of people to travel from one point to another in relative comfort (and if you have the big bucks, in style as well,) allowing all of us the ability to visit distant friends/relations or just to go out and explore the world better. This is especially true if you have to catch connecting flights, trains or buses; when it all works out like the schedule says, it can feel like the whole travel industry has been greased by the gods, and nothing could work more smoothly or more simply.

And then there's times like yesterday, when travel loses that divine angle and resembles instead a house of cards, and when mistakes happen, they don't just collapse. Nope. They get blown to smithereens. BY LEAFBLOWERS AND TURBO JETS.

Needless to say, I didn't get home until very, very late last night, which means I am freakin' exhausted today. It also means that I didn't get a post prepared for all of you today, but I did find a hat that reflects how stinkin' tired I am right now:

Ain't it cute? Kinda wish they made one for adults, 'cause Patrick Stewart knows I could have used one yesterday.

There will be a better post on Wednesday, I promise, but right now I need to go serve a certain travel agency a tall, cool glass of Act-Right Juice.

No Butterflies Were Hurt In the Making Of This Post

Allow me to share the thought process that went into today's post.

Crap! I need to come up with a post! Hmmm...let's see. What to post about today? Well...

*looks back over this month's posts*

...Jeez, did my subconscious declare this Star Wars month or something? Okay, never mind that; what haven't I posted about this month?

*looks again*

This month seems to be a little low on the fluffy and light side. And I'm in a bit of a rush, so I need to crank this out and get going. So you know what that means: FASCINATORS, HO!

And just for the sake of something different, it's gonna be butterfly fascinators. 'Cause who doesn't like butterflies?

Note: A lot of butterfly fascinators look a lot like a bunch of butterflies decided to rest on your pate, like this one. The colors may differ somewhat, but the effect still looks the same.

However, there are those out there that are a little less on the "naptime at the butterfly house" side of things.

Like this one, for instance. It's still got butterflies, but it doesn't look like you're going to be an extra in A Midsummer's Night Dream anytime soon.

...Remember what I said earlier? Yeah, it still applies.

Well, Internets, that's it for this week. I know today's post was a little on the short-and-rushed side, but that's because time is of the essence and I really need to get rolling. So until next week, this is HH, signing off.

R2-D2, It Is You!

As some of you might have noticed, I am a bit of a Star Wars geek. This probably has much to do with the fact that they were some of the first movies I ever saw as a kid (thanks to a borrowed VCR,) and either due to the lack of video selection available back in the early-to-mid-1980s or because my parents wanted to get us hooked while we were young, I watched those movies quite often.

Well, those and The Ewok Adventure. Yes, I admit it. Shut up.

So seeing as I've already done posts on hats in the form of Yoda, Darth Vader and Boba Fett, it only makes sense to do a post on my favorite little robot, R2-D2.

You're welcome.

Gotta give Carissa credit on this one: the level of detail in her knitted hat is freakin' amazing.

Just don't ask her to knit one for you. Seriously: just don't.

Since baseball caps rarely get showcased here, you should take that as a hint as to how awesome these New Era caps are.

And since we're on the subject of baseball caps...

...How can you not love this one? It's got R2-D2 at all sorts of angles and stuff! And you can customize the colors of the hat, so it's not just paper-white!

And lastly, there's something to be said for this one. And I would totally tell you what it is, but it's hard to translate high-pitched squeaking into a coherent statement.

And on that note, I'm out. 'Later!

Over The Rainbow

If there's one thing I think we all can agree on, it's that there's nothing prettier than a rainbow. Especially right after one bad mamma-jamma of a storm, be it thunder or just rain; the sun shining through as the drops fall away, leaving a beautiful arc of colors across the sky. It's like a reward for dealing with the nasty weather that just passed.

Of course, the problem with rainbows is that we don't get them as often as we'd like. Think about it; you've probably lost track of how many days (or weeks, depending on where you live) you've spent watching it pour down rain, but can probably count the times you've seen a rainbow on one hand, maybe two if you're lucky.

So guess what kind of hats we're going to be looking at today?

I have to admit, I like the different textures of this hat.

The nice thing about rainbow-colored hats is that you don't have to stick strictly to the ROYGBIV arrangement of the colors, as this one shows. You can rearrange them into whatever order you want and it'll still turn out pretty.

You can even jazz it up with a big 'ol flower if you want to, as seen here.

But, as always, there's nothing wrong with keeping it simple, as this hat proves.

So what's keeping you from enjoying a rainbow today?

This Is Grandpa's Hat

As a little kid, my grandmother used to entertain my sisters and me with a rhyme about hats; about Grandma and Grandpa's hat, to be specific. Like most rhymes for children, it involved the use of silly voices and some symbolic hand jive, but for all its simplicity, we would often ask Grandma to tell it again. (Hey, it was the early '80s; Nintendo hadn't been invented yet. Cut us some slack.)

Basically, it went a little like this:

These are grandma's glasses.

This is grandma's hat.

This is the way she folds her arms

Just like that.

These are grandpa's glasses.

This is grandpa's hat.

This is the way he folds his arms

Just like that.

Now, the reason I bring this up is that when doing the gestures to suggest the appearance of "grandpa's hat," Grandma would hold her hands in such a way as to suggest a rather tall hat (think stovepipe top hat.) As a child, this struck me as an exaggeration on Grandma's part, as that the only hat I had ever personally seen Grandpa wear was a flat cap and those suckers are not exactly known for being tall.

Then again, Grandma didn't wear hats at all, so maybe that should have been a clue that I wasn't to take the rhyme as gospel. However, that didn't stop me from wondering why Grandma didn't adjust the hand jive to closer reflect the truth as her granddaughters saw it.

So today, we're going to look at Grandpa's hat. Because I'm feeling a little nostalgic.

Flat caps seem to go by a variety of names: driving cap, Jeff cap, and--in this particular instance--Mikey cap. Not entirely certain why, but a flat cap by any other name would still be just as flat.

...Somewhere in England, a dead Bard is probably whirling like a gyroscope in his grave over that last bit. But as long as he doesn't rise from the grave to exact revenge, I think I'm okay.

For those among us who like our hats a little more along the lines of fun, how about a patchwork plaid flat cap? C'mon--with all those different colors, that hat is bound to match just about everything in your wardrobe.

Of course, if you would rather just have one kind of plaid, there's a flat cap for you, too.

Heck, if you like a blown-up houndstooth-check flat cap, there's one for you. As an added bonus, this one and the one above it are both made by the same haberdasher, so give the link a click, will ya?

This dude is not my grandpa. However, you cannot deny the dude looks pretty fierce, so rock on, Old Dude. ROCK. ON.

And on that note, this is HH, signing off for the weekend. See you Monday!

Wherein I Pose A Question Of Sorts

Hypothetical Situation Time: Let's say your partner is talking about getting a motorcycle. Having a healthy sense of trepidation regarding the subject (fueled by reports on the news as well as thinking back to Driver's Ed in high school,) you state that if they are truly serious about getting a motorcycle, they must wear a helmet when they're riding it. Being the reasonable sort, they agree to the stipulation and even go one better; they're willing to let you help pick the helmet they're going to wear.

So, Internets: Which helmet would you pick?

Will it be Spider-Man?

Iron Man?

Or Boba Fett?

Speak up! Inquiring minds of an entirely hypothetical kind want to know!

Go Get Yourself Some Cheap Sunglasses

As mentioned before, summer doesn't technically start for those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere until June 21st. However, since we also have things like the unofficial start of summer (Memorial Day weekend in the States; not sure about elsewhere--maybe you folk are more patient than us and actually wait until the 21st,) we can easily ignore that pesky date and get our summer on well before nearly the end of June.

Which is why today I've decided to do something a little different and focus on those other all-important summer accessories: sunglasses.

Hey; if you're going to the beach, what could be more natural than a pair of starfish sunglasses?

For those of us whose love of Legos is still going strong, why not get a pair of Lego Sunglasses?

I'm not entirely certain why we've become so enamored with sunglasses you can't see jack out of lately, but I have to admit that these gold babies right here are probably the prettiest I've seen of the impractical-yet-fashionable kind of sunglasses.

Ray Ban, that most venerable of sunglass purveyors, offers this Color Your Own Wayfarer set. Which--I have to admit--is very cool in a doodle-on-your-Converse kind of way.

I can't be certain, but I'm pretty sure I had a pair similar to (if not exactly like) these back in 1989. Didn't McDonald's or Burger King offer these as promotion for Back to the Future: Part II?

In any event, I still like 'em. Now if only I could get those suckers in prescription-strength, I'd be all set.

So, got any cool sunglasses you'd like to share with the class?