Category: Just Because

Jesus doesn't approve.

Source.

The only thing better would be if it was a 3-day weekend. Oh wait…

"Olyxas' brilliant double companion sun was in conjunction with the primary, two of its three moons would not rise until after midnight, and the third—the smallest—would not break the eastern horizon for an hour or more after my arrival, so that night was, indeed, very dark. As I powered down the speeder, parked, and walked out onto one of the piers, I looked up to see the hazy band of the galaxy stretching overhead in the western half of the sky from northern to southern horizon. And hanging in front of that glittering tapestry, forming a huge arc like a string of brilliant blue-white diamonds, six nearby supergiant stars curved eastward across the sky. In a later life, on a different world, I would call three of them Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, but the names I used for them then eluded me. Despite my best efforts, I was still unable to trace out any meaningful constellations upon this strange night sky, and in fact I wondered exactly what constellations would've grown out of legends and mythology if an indigenous sentient race had arisen on—instead of been transplanted to—this world." ~ From a Book I Started Writing in 1978 That Will Never Be Completed

via @mvrc.t on Instagram

No, not that kind of alligator hunting. I would never. (And it would be a little difficult in Arizona in any case.)

No, I'm talking about alligator shirts. As I wrote about a month ago, I've been picking up gently used LaCoste polos from eBay because back when they were the rage I couldn't afford them at $25 and while I probably can afford them now, I refuse to pay upwards of $100 for new one.

I noticed, however, that the third shirt I bought seemed a bit…off. The sleeves were longer than usual, the fabric thinner, and for some reason it had three collar buttons instead of two. It was obviously a counterfeit, a knock-off that had an alligator sewn on the chest, but it was not a genuine alligator. That led me online of course to do my due diligence.

There are several markers of authenticity for the solid color pique shirts, including 2 (not 3) vertically-stitched buttons on the collar, a specific location and pronounced teeth and claws on the alligator patch, a multi-language use-and-care label on the lower inside seam of the shirt, and a two-part label at the inside collar. The buttons are generally white mother-of-pearl, but they also apparently used a dark mother-of pearl with darker colored fabrics and color-matched buttons at times. So…based on all this, of the 6 shirts I've purchased, four are most likely the real deal and two (including the most recent one I bought) are most definitely not.

Caveat emptor.