That kid's got stones, I'll give 'em that
October 18, 2021 6:35 PM Subscribe
You do know what's been missing in your life, right? Yep, that's right. A skipping-stone storage belt from Japan.
Yet another Batman origin story...
But really, if you did a Batman origin story that was one hour of well-lit, carefully-shot crafting, fitting, reworking, and perfecting Batman's gear with minimal dialogue, followed by a perfectly-executed but slow, thoughtful, and deliberate use of that gear (still well-lit and beautifully captured) to rescue a kitten from an impossibly high ledge (in a gorgeous scenic location) that can only be reached by someone slowly, thoughtfully, and deliberately using all of Batman's well-crafted gear... I'd watch that.
posted by whatnotever at 6:48 PM on October 18, 2021 [13 favorites]
But really, if you did a Batman origin story that was one hour of well-lit, carefully-shot crafting, fitting, reworking, and perfecting Batman's gear with minimal dialogue, followed by a perfectly-executed but slow, thoughtful, and deliberate use of that gear (still well-lit and beautifully captured) to rescue a kitten from an impossibly high ledge (in a gorgeous scenic location) that can only be reached by someone slowly, thoughtfully, and deliberately using all of Batman's well-crafted gear... I'd watch that.
posted by whatnotever at 6:48 PM on October 18, 2021 [13 favorites]
For some reason this product made me think of one of Tom Servo's business ventures.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 6:52 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 6:52 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
I think this solves the evil robot dog problem... somehow.
posted by sammyo at 6:55 PM on October 18, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by sammyo at 6:55 PM on October 18, 2021 [8 favorites]
I spent several hours skipping stones in northern MN this year and found lake superior's stones to be severely lacking compared to upstate NY's weathered bluestone, change my mind.
posted by Ferreous at 7:08 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Ferreous at 7:08 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm reminded of the glorious Thomasson thread, wondering if there is a term for something that is, if not useless, then perfectly designed in service of a useless aim.
Anyway, this is delightful and I want one. I would like to have this sense of Tactical Whimsy. Will the world, on a moment's notice and for no reason at all, suddenly need me to skip a stone? That's right: I'll be ready.
posted by mhoye at 7:36 PM on October 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
Anyway, this is delightful and I want one. I would like to have this sense of Tactical Whimsy. Will the world, on a moment's notice and for no reason at all, suddenly need me to skip a stone? That's right: I'll be ready.
posted by mhoye at 7:36 PM on October 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
You might remember Tsuchiya Kaban from that one watermelon bag and the insulated snowman carrier - also part of the fun of carrying project/series.
posted by zamboni at 8:21 PM on October 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by zamboni at 8:21 PM on October 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
Tactical Whimsy
As though Rob Liefeld had designed a character from Mystery Men.
posted by jedicus at 8:23 PM on October 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
As though Rob Liefeld had designed a character from Mystery Men.
posted by jedicus at 8:23 PM on October 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
Mystery Men costume designer looking at Liefeld's original design:
"We don't have the budget for that many pouches; we'll have to go with this..."
posted by straight at 8:59 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
"We don't have the budget for that many pouches; we'll have to go with this..."
posted by straight at 8:59 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
This rules, slater. Thanks!
posted by straight at 9:00 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by straight at 9:00 PM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
The orientation of the openings took me by surprise but was very sensible.
I was obsessed with throwing things as a kid, and often spent most of the day throwing hundreds of rocks in the dry and very stony hills only a few blocks up from my house, where I very rarely saw another human being. I didn’t throw at anything (there wasn’t much up there, and I would never have thrown at an animal); all my desire was to throw as far as possible and see the spurt of dust and dirt when the rock hit. I was too near sighted to follow the trajectory of my throws even halfway, so there was always this amazing thrill of action at a distance when the little cone of dirt shot up. I won the field day softball throw for my grade every year in elementary school, beat all the 6th graders when I was in 5th, and in the 6th, when no one else threw farther than the line of (short) trees at the edge of the playground, I threw over the trees and across the street into someone's yard, and the gym teacher who administered the event wouldn’t let me have my second and third throws.
I'm sure every baseball coach I ever had would have wished I’d spent more time trying to actually hit something if they'd known the backstory.
posted by jamjam at 9:36 PM on October 18, 2021 [10 favorites]
I was obsessed with throwing things as a kid, and often spent most of the day throwing hundreds of rocks in the dry and very stony hills only a few blocks up from my house, where I very rarely saw another human being. I didn’t throw at anything (there wasn’t much up there, and I would never have thrown at an animal); all my desire was to throw as far as possible and see the spurt of dust and dirt when the rock hit. I was too near sighted to follow the trajectory of my throws even halfway, so there was always this amazing thrill of action at a distance when the little cone of dirt shot up. I won the field day softball throw for my grade every year in elementary school, beat all the 6th graders when I was in 5th, and in the 6th, when no one else threw farther than the line of (short) trees at the edge of the playground, I threw over the trees and across the street into someone's yard, and the gym teacher who administered the event wouldn’t let me have my second and third throws.
I'm sure every baseball coach I ever had would have wished I’d spent more time trying to actually hit something if they'd known the backstory.
posted by jamjam at 9:36 PM on October 18, 2021 [10 favorites]
That is the most Japanese thing I've ever seen.
posted by zardoz at 10:18 PM on October 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by zardoz at 10:18 PM on October 18, 2021 [2 favorites]
I love that the pouches are upside-down so that a stone will drop neatly into your hand as soon as the clasp is pulled.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:50 PM on October 18, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:50 PM on October 18, 2021 [5 favorites]
mhoye: "Tactical Whimsy"
every-day quarry
posted by chavenet at 1:18 AM on October 19, 2021 [8 favorites]
every-day quarry
posted by chavenet at 1:18 AM on October 19, 2021 [8 favorites]
That is the most Japanese thing I've ever seen.
I don’t know, I could believe that Wes Anderson put him up to it.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:03 AM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
I don’t know, I could believe that Wes Anderson put him up to it.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:03 AM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
wondering if there is a term for something that is, if not useless, then perfectly designed in service of a useless aim
As a matter of fact, there is.
And here's the MeFi thread on Chindōgu (珍道具).
posted by The Bellman at 7:24 AM on October 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
As a matter of fact, there is.
And here's the MeFi thread on Chindōgu (珍道具).
posted by The Bellman at 7:24 AM on October 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
mhoye: " perfectly designed in service of a useless aim."
How is it useless to keep an assortment of skipping stones always at hand?
I can think of like 5 scenarios where that would have been useful just this last week.
posted by signal at 8:01 AM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
How is it useless to keep an assortment of skipping stones always at hand?
I can think of like 5 scenarios where that would have been useful just this last week.
posted by signal at 8:01 AM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
How absolutely delightful that the stones slide out of the pouch down into your hand and ready for action. That's beautiful!
posted by alwayson_slightlyoff at 3:45 PM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by alwayson_slightlyoff at 3:45 PM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
New D&D gear just dropped!
posted by Hermione Granger at 5:49 PM on October 19, 2021
posted by Hermione Granger at 5:49 PM on October 19, 2021
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posted by Wretch729 at 6:43 PM on October 18, 2021