The Slanket

According to the website, the Slanket is "a Gigantic fleece blanket with loose, oversized sleeves so you never feel constricted and you have total control of how to use them, while staying toasty ... The slanket is great on a couch, a chair, in a hammock, on your bed or anywhere else you care to take it."

"What the slanket is NOT!!
It is not a poncho!
It is not a Robe!!!!
There is no hole for your head!!!"

Wow, I guess they really don't want us to confuse it with a poncho. Okay, so it's "NOT A ROBE!!!!"

They don't have to be so emphatic about it. Believe me, we'll take their word for it. This actually looks like a cool way to geek out with your laptop while staying under the covers.

[Slanket]

What's With all the Designer Hoodies?

Sure, trendy clothes are cool, but the designer hoodies are getting a little outrageous already. What ever happened to the standard pullover displaying the typical college Alma Mater?

This Leroy Jenkins pukefest masterpiece is reversible and goes for a mere $220. I thought hoodies were supposed to be cheap?

What's next? Designer socks for $50 a pair? Whatevs.

10 Cars That Should be Remade Today

To put it simply, car manufacturers need to wake up. Especially American car makers. Detroit continues to slip in the ratings. Unbeknownst to them, this has little to do with the quality of the cars they are producing. After all, most people these days don't keep their cars for more than 5 years anyway. Why would quality be a factor to such a fickle market?

Lately, most people buy cars for the coolness factor, as well as to satisfy their need to reminisce. Good design is what sells cars today. On that note, here are several cars that manufacturers should be focusing on. Because if the reintroduction of the VW Bug and the Mini Cooper are any indication, there are several models that have attained an archetypal status with the consumer. These cars, for whatever reason, hit a mark with buyers. People like them. And the quicker these cars are remade, the more succesful the car makers will be.


10. Toyota MR2 (80's model)
Who knows what fueled the success of the 80's MR2's. They were not especially fast. What they did do was capture a certain post-modern flavor that people liked. The angular body and the pop-up headlights were charming. This car looked fast on a budget. The rear engine was a nifty novelty that survives well into today with their slightly larger Spyder model. The compact nature of this car made for fun driving. With today's safety features, it would be a certain hit.

9. Jaguar E-Type
On the higher end, but a definite remake candidate for the same reason as the MR2. It was fun to drive. And nothing seemed to exude style as much as the Jaguar. Since the US now owns this brand, it would be wise for them to can the Oldsmobile-looking thing and roll an updated version of this out for all those new Wall Street high-rollers.


8. Citroen DS
Perhaps no car on this list screams to be remade as loudly as the Citroen DS. This car drips class. With today's safety features, the Citroen could be the new American family car. Just look at the comfortable interior with that enormous, panoramic view. Who wouldn't enjoy a roadtrip in a car like this?

7. BMW 2002
Yet another masterpiece of engineering. The BMW 2002 was the most affordable BMW around. As such, it functioned as a gateway to the higher end models. Is there anything being produced by BMW that fits this function today? What made the BMW 2002 so great was a solid, quality interior. The simplicity of the engine is well-renowned to this very day. Remake it, dammit!


6. The Honda Civic (1977)
Nothing could tear into the youth market better than an ultra-mini vehicle like this. With today's tech, a car like this could be made that got 70+ MPG. So where is it? Spare us the bright plastic and aerodynamic shell of the modern Civics. This is what we really want! Only more modern.


5. VW Bus
Do some people not learn from their success? VW, perhaps moreso than any other car maker, seems to understand the zeitgeist of car making. After all, this is the company that has given us the Bug and is currently rewrapping the Golf in shiny new metal for our consumption. But this all really begs the question: why haven't they remade the BUS? Sure, there might be safety issues, but with today's modern airbag systems, this car is begging to be remade for a new generation that has lost touch with the smell of patchouli. Just think of what you could do to this car with some tinted glass and 20" dub wheels.


4. Pontiac Trans Am
Because every man in his 30's wants to relive Smokey and the Bandit. There is no car that oozes cool moreso than the 1977 Trans Am. I don't know what drugs the people at Pontiac are on, but they clearly need to dump the ugly G series and get back in touch with the 70's. note: okay, so the Solstice is hot; don't let it go to your heads.

3. Honda CRX
Why ruin a good thing? The Honda CRX got killer gas mileage and it was zippy as all get out. Whoever decided to kill this model should have been given the hara-kiri treatment. Not only would CRX's make great tuner cars, they would appeal to students who want cooler alternatives than their parent's hand-me-down minivans. The CRX is a truly hot car that is begging to be brought back from the dead to reclaim its place in the pimp pantheon.

2. DeLorean DMC 12
Too bad DeLorean had that coke problem in the 80's. But if his "issue" was the inspiration behind the DMC 12, I forgive him. Because there has clearly not been a car made since that is this far ahead of its time. There was a reason it played center stage in all those Back to the Future movies: because it looks like it should have been made today, not back in the 80's. Gull-wing doors, aluminum stainless steel exterior, this car should be remade just to show it can be done even better with today's technology. In fact, I dare you to try!

1. Toyota Supra (Mark IV) 1993-2002
Who knows when Toyota lost their minds and decided to abandon this great vehicle to leave behind the crappy, gutless Celica. Ever since, however, tuner fanboys have been pining for the glory days of the Supra. Rightfully so. The turbo version of this car could do 180 MPH with all stock parts! This car is one of the most popular tuner cars available. For under $1000 US, the stock horsepower could be cranked up from 320 to 500+. If anyone ever offers to sell you one, snatch it up real quick like, as they are rare. Toyota stopped producing these in the US in 1998 and cut off production in Japan in 2002.

These are just a few of my personal favorites. Do you have any? Let me know in the comments.


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Gruesome Adidas Design

These are some ugly-ass fashion-challenged Adidas. T-Mac VI Allstar Colorway series.

From Kix Files.

For the discriminating baller. And preppy clowns.

I'm seriously disappointed in Adidas. I've always had a preference for their cutting-edge design, but this is just ... awkward.

Nike Polka Dot Hoodies

I wonder if little kids had to hand-paint each dot on these in some Shanghai sweat factory?

Seriously, these look pretty cool.

Seen on Hypebeast.com.

Beautiful Umbrellas

Oregon natives don't use umbrellas. You can always tell who isn't from here when you see one being used.

But this lightning and gust-proof umbrella caught my eye. Produced by Gustbuster®, it's the kind of umbrella I would buy, were I some sort of wimp who couldn't handle the Oregon rain.

TV: Project Runway Shocker

First of all, this is clearly one of the best 2nd Generation Reality TV programs being produced. I'm not, however, certain that last night's finale did justice to the designers who didn't win.

Jeffery presented his work first. He had an awesome collection, granted, but it would seem it looked much better up close than from a distance. Some of the garments looked like they had been produced from curtains and tablecloths! Of course, the zipper work was immaculate, and some of the leather pieces he--ahem--created were truly admirable. There was a question that was brought up in the last show by his competitors of whether or not he had done all the stitching himself. And though the producers did an exhaustive accounting of his receipts, there was one item that remained questionable AND he went over budget by $200! To be frank, his $8000 collection did not look like it was worth that much. The theme of his collection was disjointed and it didn't even reflect his Rock and Roll spirit very well.

Uli's collection was perhaps the most surprising. She gets all her inspiration from her tropical environment in Miami (we've heard this 10 times before, on every previous show, in fact). Her whispy collection was at once youthful and beautiful. She got a little carried away with the hippy prints, which may have cost her the competition, but her cuts and stitching were clearly the best of the three. There was a certain creativity to her collection that the other three designers lacked. And her outfits were utilitarian as well. One could see her models in a number of different environments wearing what Uli created. Personally, I thought her outfits shined above the rest, and though I don't like her very much, I feel her collection was the strongest.

Laura presented her work, which was astonishingly beautiful, composed mostly of evening wear, with ornate, ultra-chic cocktail dresses. This collection actually had a theme, but it felt a bit antiquated, and old fashioned. I could see someone wearing these outfits in the 1930's or the 1950's. Not so much today. Although, celebrities on their way to the red carpet would be wise to contact Laura. Her collection looked like it was worth $30,000. Not bad on an $8,000 budget.

Finally, Michael, oh Michael.... His collection, much like Uli's, was chasing after this trendy Urban Safari theme. Uli did it ten times better, though. Michael, who was probably the most talented designer this season, proceeded to have a showing that flopped. Where Uli created elegant, airy pieces, Michael devolved into ghetto-fabulousness. Not only were his clothes a bit tight and hoochy, but he had the worst models of the bunch! These were clearly dresses made for strong URBAN women (or should I just say black women?) The skinny, pale, sad-looking models that strutted his stuff did it no justice whatsoever. His work was sexy and sultry, but the models couldn't make it look good. He needed a troupe of chicken-eating sisters to parade his gowns, instead he ended up with heroine-addled, bulimic, half-asleep chicken heads. And though he won the popular vote by the viewers (and even the crowd's approval at the show), his clothes were clearly not something the average white female could pull off without a few random implants.

Anyway, Jeffery won. Don't ask me why. Uli's collection made his look sophomoric. But oh well.

Project Runway 3 Finale Michael Knight

Oh no he didn't!

Laura Bennett Project Runway 3 Finale

Laura's elegant collection looked like it was worth ten times her budget.

Uli Project Runway 3 Finale

Uli's collection was sharp.

Project Runway 3 Finale Jeffrey

See for yourself. Jeffrey's collection is a bit scattered.

Advances in Litter Box Tech

"Oh yeah, well when I was a kitten, I had to poop in the dark, freezing cold basement litter box!"

If only we'd had one of these back in the day, all fancy and stuff. Hell, if you turn it around, most people wouldn't even know it was a litter box.

More nifty pet products.

Website: ColorJack

I really like ColorJack for choosing colors. Not that we use much color here at the Propaganda Sifter, but it's certainly easy to use and contains a vast amount of information. Worth checking out if you do anything with color (from printing to photography to web development).