This week in Philly etsy…
Today in local craftiness: a gift for a lady who loves her dog but also loves art brut, opera mustaches, wedding invitations are gorgeous if you can afford them and Washington, Washing-TON.
It may be a bit too late to get one of these for Mother’s Day, but if you’ve got a dog-lady birthday coming up in the future, send konane a photo of her favorite doggie and 60 bucks and you get a hand-painted scarf that… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but actually looks pretty modern and cool despite having a pet and its name on it. No mention is made of cat or other pet scarf portraits. Personalized dog portrait scarf by konane, $60.
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?
Intern Beth Teaches Us About Facial Hair
Some days I envy men. Pants are looser. No heels. They can pee standing up. And, perhaps most of all, they grow hair on their faces.
Imagine the possibilities Suggestive goatee trails! Over-the-shoulder-flippable beards! Curly mustachios! Beads!
Now, thanks to the folks at Mustaches for Kids, those who’ve never experimented with those pesky whiskers can grow one for the kids. M4K is an LA-based organization encouraging participants to grow their ’stache for children’s charities. A facial hair marathon, if you will. Participants solicit donations from friends and family, and once growing season is over, the money goes to causes like the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Children’s Hospital of New Orleans.
Every grower must shave a minimum of once weekly for stache maintenance. The event concludes on January 10th with a “Stache Bash,” at which time participants will be lined up pageant-style (costumes encouraged) and one lucky stache-stard will be declared s/he with the “sweetest” mustache.
And yes, women can participate.
It isn’t wrong, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s FOR THE CHILDREN.
Interested parties should arrive clean-shaven to the first organizational meeting on December 15th at Good Dog, 224 S. 15th St. For more information, see www.m4kphiladelphia.org or email stacheitup@gmail.com.
*Post by Beth Fiedorek