So I have an eight-year old boy who is really into music and is a big devotee of all things Disney, and while he isn’t the biggest fan of the whole Hannah Montana thing he does go a bit mad for the Jonas Brothers.  I have to admit, I actually like them myself, they seem like genuinely decent guys and they actually play their own instruments, making them real musicians. 

 So as a little family outing we took him to see the Jonas Brothers at MSG last night.  We expected a lot a little screaming girls, but what we didn’t expected was just how loud and horrible that screaming would be.  Now, the (very pregnant) wife and I have been to numerous concerts throughout the years, so we were not surprised but the volume.  But oh, the screeching.  It was almost unbearable.  I know, I know, what else did I expect, but the little girls near tears at the sight of these three teenage boys.  Just a little unsettling.

Long story short, we had a great time, the Brothers actually put on a really good show, very entertaining.  But I’ve decided that I want another boy, I don’t think I could handle that sort of crazy, screeching obsession-type thing.  Just a little bit too scary.     

So, yes, we are still here, even though we haven’t posted on this blog in what seems like 6 years (ok, it’s been closer to 4 months, but whatever). Our last post was right before the last day of the New York Comic-Con and promised a full wrap-up of our experience there, so here it is:

It was awesome.

We had a really good response to our shirts and we even sold a bunch of them.  It was an insanely valuable learning experience and we’ve been trying to build off of the momentum from it.  Unfortunately, life has a way of getting in the way, especially when you’re trying to raise a family and work full-time in addition to launching an online t-shirt store.  So things got a little derailed, again, but we’re back on track and working on ways to get some more exposure for the Bouteek.

And we’ll also be posting more on this blog, so watch this space.

So I know I said there would be a lot more posts in the run-up to the New York Comic Convention, but I severely underestimated the work involved in getting ready for the Con and I’ve been too tired and time-deprived to write anything.  That being said, we’re entering the third day of the Con (Sunday) and so far everything is going really well.  The reactions to our shirts have been very positive across the board, we made a couple of contacts that could result in whole/retail orders and, oh yeah, we’ve sold a bunch of t-shirts. 

Everyone’s been great, but after two straight days of standing and selling I just want to sleep.  One more session to go, though, and then we pack it up.  The consensus here though, is that this has definitely been worth the effort and we’re going to try and start attending more and more conventions.

Full Con recap to come in a few days (after a little sleep).

So I was walking through Times Square last night, wearing our My Other Shirt is Much Funnier shirt, and there was this big commotion outside the Virgin Megastore.  Some scantily clad chicks and some guys in George Bush masks, you know, typical Saturday night stuff.  Well, it turns out they were with Idiot Ink, some company that makes bumper stickers, which I discovered when another guy, apparently associated with this group, handed me a Cheney/Satan 08 bumper sticker and told me he loved my shirt.  I was swept away by the crowd before I could say anything back, but I realized a couple of things:

• I need to wear our shirts more often, essentially become a walking billboard for the Bouteek.  After my encounter with sticker guy, I caught a whole bunch of people checking out the shirt.  I just need to figure out how to capitalize on that.
• I need to get some damn business cards printed up.  It’s so much easier to hand someone a card when they comment on your shirts than to be like “Oh, thanks.  You know, I design and make these shirts, you should really check them out at www.geekbouteek.com“. 

I also gotta come up with some tricks like those bumper sticker guys, I realize that we have not at all taken advantage of being headquartered in NYC yet.  Spring is in the air, though, so it’s time to get out and pound the pavement.

Haven’t posted in a good long time.  We hit one of those doldrums where all the other stuff gets in the way, the pressures of real-life plus a little self-doubt and a little disenchantment.  It happens sometimes and you just have to slog through it.   

The Bouteek is still alive and kicking, though, and we will be coming at you hot and heavy going forward, especially as we ramp up the the NY Comic-Con in two weeks. 

So watch this space, cool things are happening.

I’m addicted to sneakers.  I literally have dozens of pairs of Nikes, some in closets, some in storage, others randomly strewn throughout my house.  The wife is, thankfully, sympathetic (we originally started hanging out back in high school because she worked at a sneaker store.  True story).  It may seem a little strange to some, but it’s not all that unique, and while it’s true that you can find a website devoted to virtually anything, just browse through some of the posts over at Niketalk to get a feel for how devoted some people are to sneakers.  Yes, sneakers.

Sneakers are rarely associated with geeks, despite the fact that the words (almost) rhyme.  Which is why it’s especially cool that PC Mag put together this list of “Sneaks for Geeks”.  Now, some of them are just for show and are more oddities than anything, but it’s still a pretty neat compilation.  My personal favorite is the Megatron Nike Free, although it’s a Transformer and not a real sneaker at all.  Of course, if you just absolutely need to have a pair of Optimus Prime sneakers, you need to pick up a pair of these Nike Air Trainer III’s.

Ok, a bit more in the promotion department (I swear I’ll write some real posts soon).

Our wonderfully pink QT-Pi shirt is now listed on T-Shirt Countdown and we need all the help we can get in moving it up the charts.  Please exercise your franchise and vote for our shirt.

(Here’s a pic if you don’t remember what it looks like).

Click HERE for a direct link to the shirt on T-Shirt Countdown.

Many thanks in advance.

Ok, so here’s a little bit of shameless self-promotion, which in all honesty, is one of the reasons for this blog’s existence.

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and no matter what you actually think about this holiday, if you are in a relationship with a special someone, especially is that someone happens to be female then you know that you have to step up and seal the deal on the 14th.  If and if that person happens to be a geek (in which case you’re very lucky, indeed there’s no better way to express your feelings than with one of our cool girlie geek shirts. 

If you want to get her something totally unique, check out our QT-Pi and geekissexy shirts. 

And we have several other really cool women’s shirts that you can check out here. 

Throw in a dozen roses or a box of chocolates and you should be golden.

What is the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything

42, of course.

As in Super Bowl XLII.

See, it all makes perfect sense now, doesn’t it.  I mean, seriously, if you are at all a sports fan, then you know this feeling.  Well, you might not actually know it, but you have dreamt about. 

Your team has made it to the championship game, against all odds on the most improbable of playoff runs, and stands as the final obstacle to a team trying to make history and complete an undefeated season, a team that had officially entered the conversation as the best team ever.  And your team goes out and plays the game of their collective lives, knocks around the league MVP and pulls off the spectacular upset.

Except, in this case, it’s not a dream.  It actually happened last night, the New York Giants actually upended the New England Patriots in one of the most thrilling football games I’ve ever seen.  And I would have said even if I weren’t a huge Giants fan.  It was just a vastly entertaining and exciting game.

How on earth did Eli get away from the rush and make that pass to David Tyree?  And if that wasn’t the greatest catch ever, I don’t know what is.  I mean, he caught it with his head.  HIS HEAD!!!

Now say this to yourself:  Eli Manning is the Super Bowl MVP. 

ELI MANNING IS THE SUPER BOWL MVP!!!

Can you believe it?  I can’t.

Actually, I think I finally can.  It only took 24 hours.

The downside (or upside, depending on the way you’re looking at it) is that there is absolutely no way this can ever be topped.  Maybe matched, although highly unlikely, but never topped. 

I think I can deal with that.

So there’s an article in the New York Times (you can read it here) that basically provides the proof, in the form of sales numbers, that the video game market is started to trend more towards casual gamers and less towards the hardcore gamer that has kept it alive for so long.  This really isn’t news, what with the insane popularity of Nintendo’s Wii console, but it is interesting paired with the top 10 video games, in terms of sales, from 2007.   

Couple of things:

1.  It’s kind of nice to see video games being reported in the Arts section of the New York Times, lends an air of credibility to the whole thing.

2.  I don’t know exactly how I feel about all of this.  There is the gamer part of me that really doesn’t want the product to be diluted for the masses, although with quality products like Guitar Hero, I feel like that might actually be less of a concern as more often than not popularity results from quality.  But the economic reality is why would developers put so much time and effort into creating the best games possible when they could simply shovel out another collection of mini-games for the Wii and potentially have a top 10 game.

3.  Games like Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 were huge games last year and figured prominently on this list, and I can tell you that those games are not for your grandma or Aunt June.  Geared more towards hardcore gamers, these games are cooperative in that you can play with and against other people online, but they are by-and-large still single-player experiences.  You’re still playing by yourself, it’s just that you’re playing against other players instead of AI-driven opponents (and often having to listen to them prattle on through your headset). 

I am happy that games in general have become more mainstream and (in some cases) accessible.  It’s cool to get the wife jamming on Guitar Hero even if she still claims she doesn’t understand what going on in Mario Party.  Although in all honesty, I can rarely figure out what’s happening in that game myself.  I just hope, like many other gamers, that this trend towards casual, accessible games does not lead to fewer quality games like Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Bioshock.