A farewell to Mustache March
General Robin Olds and his bulletproof mustache
So this whole month I’ve been unenthusiastically swept up into “Mustache March,” due to my boyfriend’s lab’s participation. According to Air Force legend:
Mustache March originated during the Vietnam War when a fighter pilot named Robin Olds grew what he called a “bulletproof mustache.” At the time mustaches weren’t allowed to be sported in the military, but Olds, who was far from home on a military base in ‘Nam, thought the stache defined his individuality, so he kept it. This occurred in the month of March 1965.
Once Olds returned home in April, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. McConnell, who wasn’t fond of Olds’s defiance, greeted him. McConnell walked up to him, stuck a finger under his nose and ordered, “Take it off.” Olds replied, “Yes, sir.”
Thus the roots of Mustache March were born. Air Force pilots now devote one month of defiance of the Air Force facial hair regulations as a way of good-natured protest, and pay to tribute to General Robin Olds.
The male scientists’ plan was a competition to grow the biggest and best facial hair in one month, but after a while most of their girlfriends and wives said “Ha ha ha that was funny but now it is time to get rid of that monstrosity.” The head of the lab got rid of his because his young daughters would no longer kiss him goodnight.
My boyfriend has been the only one in his lab still mustached for a couple weeks or so now and so is kind of automatically the winner at this point, but he has decided to hold out for the entire month for pride’s sake.
But today is the final day! I held out! I didn’t complain that much! I only started laughing at inappropriately intimate moments like three or four times! And tomorrow is my reward: the mustache comes off.
And now a celebration of the fact that it will be at least another year, if not more, before I am asked if I want a mustache ride: the top ten mustaches I am totally OK with. What mustaches do you view as acceptable?
Sailor Jerry
Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum had it’s 10 millionth bottle of rum come off the production line last Thursday. To commemorate the creation of the 10 millionth bottle, Sailor Jerry gave 
away a special edition bottle. The Spiced Rum is inspired by “Sailor Jerry” style tattoos, first created by Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins.
The Obamas head to Europe today. While some will pay attention to Barack, all eyes will be on Michelle,. The first lady is being compared to Jackie O. This is because of the amount of attention that she’s drawn since taking office. Michelle’s got that certain something that has made Europeans fall in love with her. This love persists even though she wears flats around DC. The overseas itinerary includes tea with the queen and a visit to Prauge’s Jewish quarter.
Someone else that is overseas is Madonna. She’s interested in adopting a second child from Malawi, but not everyone agrees. What do you think? And Is it okay that Miss Philadelphia isn’t actually from Philly?
This week in Philly etsy…
Philly landscape jewelry, arachnid cross-stitch, vintage lace necklaces and a notebook that overshares.
From Jen McCleary’s shop, you can wear Philly with you all the time with this pendant, made from a vintage optician test lens.
Squid gallery
Last post about the giant squid pattern, I swear. From here on out, this post will be updated with pictures of all the different squids people have made. And oh please keep sending them, I get such a kick out of seeing the little ways people tweak the pattern. It’s practically Darwinian.
Cat-loving squid from Mandy, via email
Angry-looking squid from Matthew
Bo Squiddley, by bunsen_h; and it looks like it will be in good company with a couple of other seriously dorky stuffed guys in the background. Also a new adorable 1/10 scale squidlet from bunsen_h!
From Amanda, who also made one as a boyfriend present (with the good idea of filling the ends of the arms with beads or rice)
A squid named Demsela Howard, from Marie; it was her very first sewing project (ambitious!)
Pink squid from Julie K; she says her name is Lumpy.
Amy says: “I made one out of old t-shirts because I had no fabric and an abundance of XL shirts (that were given to me by my robotics coach) that I was never going to wear. So here’s a picture of me and my squid made out of old robotics team t-shirts. I named it Robby.” Hell yeah, science girls.
Another first sewing project! “I thought I’d send a picture of Sir Squidimus (named for Sir Didymus from Labrynth) along for the gallery of squids. Oh, and my sister made a squid, too (she made her own pattern). His name is Carl and he’s the one made with the Yoda fabric.”
Sheik Yerbouti made Cthulhu for a friend for her birthday.
Another squid for a friend (SquEd, made for Ed)… with the addition of googly eyes!
Veronica made this big green guy for her kids.
Squid-Billie, by Nicole. I love the HUGE EYES!
Oh god, this is my favorite one yet: “My name is Billy Arrowsmith. I made my own squid as a present to my wonderful girlfriend Julie, for our one-year anniversary of dating. She was, if I do say so myself, very pleased with it. Even if her parents think I’m a little bit weird.” Well done, sir!
Where The Wild Things Are
Get your Monday started off right by watching the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are. The movie doesn’t come out until October, but You’ll be excited after watching. Promise.
Did you hear about what happened to the Shamwow guy? Pretty ridiculous, but also entertaining.
While the MTA in NYC jacks the price of the monthly pass, there’s actually some good news from SEPTA. They’re rolling out an “Independence” pass, which gets you unlimited rides for a day.
Gotta go and can’t remember where the nearest restroom is? Or, maybe you never knew where it was in the first place… In either case, Charmin has introduced the website Sit or Squat to help you find the nearest loo. You can load the application onto your Blackberry or iPhone as well, so you’ll never have to search for the lavatory again.
Savage Garden: week 3
Sadly, most of my spinach seedlings, which I loved so much mostly because they were my first sprouts, succumbed to this:
I have gathered from online that problem is that the seedlings, despite being underneath a damn skylight, are not getting enough direct light (12-14 hours per day).
Free Stuff Friday: MAC Eye Shadow in Sugarshot
Back for another round of Free Stuff Friday. This week, we’re giving away an eye shadow from MAC Cosmetics. Though the only photo we could find was of this blue shade, the product is actually a gorgeous golden-y taupe color.
So how do you get it? Send an email to epalan@philadelphiaweekly.com with the subject line “FREE STUFF FRIDAY!” In the body of the email include a link to the funniest cat video you can find on the internet. We’ll post the winner’s video in our Friday Catty Hour before we head out for the weekend.
Fab Philly
Looks like our neighbors to the north finally realized how awesome Philly is. The Ottawa Citizen ran an article on some of the things that make Philly shine.
Even with the glimmering review of the city, some attractions went undetected to the Canuck author of the article. It’s really not his fault though, some things that make Philly shine aren’t as prominent as others. Consider the hidden old Metropolitan Opera House on North Broad Street.
Something that probably should remain hidden is this new Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr Ad featuring Padma Lakshmi, host of Top Chef. Padma pretty much makes out with a massive burger in this one. I’ve seen Padma in person. She’s beautiful, and funny. This ad? Not so much.
To literally spice things up, The Indian restaurant with home delivery, Tiffin has created a line of spices. They are available at different locations in the city, including Foster’s Urban Homeware. Yum.
Lastly, to send you off into the weekend in style, online luxury fashion retailer Net-A-Porter has just rolled out an outlet partner site. Told you it was a buyer’s market.
Why? Because who really wants to shop for socks
Today, in odd press releases:
For an annual fee of $89, “sockscribers” receive three pairs of high-quality socks every four months for a total of nine pairs. So no more time wasted matching socks.
Each product is thoroughly tested—3 pairs of “test” socks are produced from every shipment of yarn that arrives at the factory in Northern Italy. The rest of the yarn shipment is stored until the test socks are extensively examined and put through 20 wash cycles. Finally, the test socks are compared to socks from previous series for wear and color fading. The socks are woven on CNC operated weaving machines, developed by Blacksocks to ensure maximum tightness and guarantee a longer sock life.
Sockscribers have the option of calf socks, knee socks, athletic socks, ski socks or cashmere silk socks.
Quirky? Yes. Convenient? Very.