Politically Charged T-Shirts - Have you got yours?

The news that US government had shut down was music to the ears of one industry, the personalised garment industry. Because they have been in boom time since the announcement with a series of hilarious t-shirts all aiming at the US government and the rather crazy goings on of the biggest world super power. 

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We have seen all kinds of different take on the big political news of the day and it got me thinking, what other politically motivated t-shirts are out there and I came across some corkers. Here are my top five politically motivated t-shirts.

5. Be Green

The environment is often the easiest of political motivations, you see many celebrities adorn a green message on their top, but I like this because its subtle and the printing placement is different. 

4.Anti-Socialist

Socialism is like a dirty word in large sections of the US, thanks to a sustained belief since the cold war that it is just another form or communism. Of course the irony on this anti-Obama T-shirt is that he is not a socialist, in fact he is very much a capitalist and wants to see big profits across big companies.

3. Banksy

The guerrilla artist Banksy says things that the world thinks, he is anti-establishment and anti-capitalism defined, giving his art away for free. This t-shirt is one of his greatest works, funnily enough because he is anonymous he can't claim royalties, d'oh!

2.Free Tibet

The free tibet campaign has been around for a long time and this t-shirt is a great example of how political messages can be powerful on many different levels. Applying to popular culture but also being clear.

1. Scottish Independence

In 2014 the Scottish residents will decide whether they are to be self determined or remained governed by Westminster. This once in a lifetime referendum comes amid some of the worst economic times and sustained cuts to public spending, given the countries more socialistic views we can but hope this vote is a big fat YES!

Have you got an embarrassing political t-shirt of your own? or would you like to make one, let me know your ideas!

What happens when you force kids into stardom? Top 5

All parents want the best for their children but with stardom so coveted around the western world is it any wonder so many child stars are ending up having incredibly public meltdowns. Being in showbiz and constantly under public scrutiny is enough to send anyone round the bend but for a kid who grows up with it and then tries to navigate the difficult world of Adulthood with a back catalogue of embarrasing TV shows and music career it seems to all too often end up in a car crash of publicity stunts and media humiliation.

Our top 5 child stars gone wrong is a list of reasons why you may not wish to push your kids to that TV show audition or pay those thousands for music lessons!

1 - Miley Cyrus

Now famous for twerking with a bloke old enough to be her dad she is a constant car crash of see through dresses, bum flashed and weird hair cuts. This Child TV star who hit the big time with a long running TV show Hannah Montana is the epitimy of everything that is wrong with over sexualisation in the music business. With female stars promoting promiscuis behaviour and competing with each other to be the most outrageous it is only a matter of time before they all start just appearing naked on stage....oh wait a minute we already have Lady Gaga do that!

2 - Britney Spears

The first real disney casualty. she was the recipient of unending press speculation and scrutiny from so many different angles. Leading to a mental breakdown at a ridiculously early age and then being constantly criticised from her parenting skills, relationships or up and down weight loss and gain. If you make millions before your 18 perhaps it would be a better idea to just retire, try to find a normal life.

3 - Michael Jackson

I don't think Michael Jackson was ever a real boy, he was a product of extreme pushy parenting, from dragging him around tours across the globe to the weird allegations of his enjoyment of childrens company this guy never really stood a chance. As talented and loved as he was it was shocking to see the industry literally kill him with attention, but being so famous so young must surely then make you more peculiar as you have never had a chance to be a normal person.

4 - Christina Aguelera

The big battle of Christina vs. Britney for the adorable pop princess crown was interesting media viewing, hyped to all extremes. Looking across at Britney's career she may feel herself lucky to have not won that particular battle given the outcome for her foe.

5 - Rebecca Black

The ultimate pushy parenting comes when you decide to blow a wad of cash on your kid making a record, the record is bad and I mean really bad so your kid then ends up getting more hate mail than the leader of the taliban! This is a sure fire way to screw your kid over by pushing them hard regardless of talent, believing in your kids abilities and lying to them are an important lesson to take from Rebeccas brief fling with fame.

5 of the best ways to quit your job...go on do it now!

Gone are the days of life-long careers working your way up the ranks of a large company or local industry. People these days if they are able to get a job grow tired and bored of it moving on average every 2 to 3 years. This is in part due to the pursuit of more money but also due to the lack of staying power, let's be honest nobody wants a boss like Simon Cowell pointing out your flaws everyday, or worse a foul mouths ranter like Gordon Ramsay who will most likely send you insane with stress and anxiety.

So if you find yourself at that point in time you need to leave your job ask yourself the following question: Can you afford to burn this bridge? If the answer is Yes then here is some great ways to do it, otherwise just enjoy these nuggets of other peoples strength!

Tell the truth - The temptation is of course to lie and say your pleasant goodbyes to those people who used to say good morning to you but had no idea what they did for a living, get your crap bottle of leaving wine and then sail out the doors with a smile on your face. But why should you have to pretend that it's ok, why not just blow your load and tell everyone the truth, "thanks for the work but I'm no longer deemed good enough bye!" That is exactly what Groupon CEO did when he penned a letter to staff saying "People of Groupon, After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding — I was fired today."

Write it in a cake - Penning your letter of resignation can be tedious, the fine line between bitter honesty and polite sentiment. Most letters don't come as a surprise, if you are at that stage then others around you have probably already told your boss you are miserable, either in an attempt to get your job or simply because the brown stain on their nose was rubbing off. Baking a cake is a win/win situation, people get a nice cake, you get to say goodbye in a tasteful way! (get it TASTE-full)

Do it on Social media - Facebook has often gotten employees in trouble with their bosses, forgetting they are on your friends list is a bad mistake to make. 

But if you intentionally quit your job on Facebook it will go down in history and get the gossip going around the water cooler. Being able to say what you want is always easier in written format, the lack of instant reply lets you get out all your grievances in one go. But remember anything written can be saved and used against you, so don't be asking for a reference any time soon.

Just go AWOL - After a particularly hard day at my catering job during my University days I decided I wouldn't go back, to be honest I was on my fifth shot of tequila when I decided, knowing the chances of me waking up the next day were slim so there would be no way I was going in. 

The boss was a dragon, the type of women you see in Victorian period dramas directing all those house maids and servants around. I just never went back in, having another job in the next week I figured best to just never mention I was already employed around the corner. About six months later I received some back pay (minus the cost of my uniform that I had never returned) and that was that. Being a Uni job it wasn't really something I was relying on for references but to my surprise there was a glowing reference from my boss, so perhaps they realised the errors of their tyrannical ways and hopefully it made some future employees life a little easier.

Do it on National TV - Being a journalist and having morals doesn't usually go hand in hand, but this video shows how damaging it can be to your boss to quit in front of the customers. Especially if there are thousands of them watching you. Making a public stand can actually open doors of employment up elsewhere creating a mini-celebrity persona for you. 

So that's it, you have now got a way to quit your job, if only you had a sure fire way to pay your bills then you could use one them tomorrow!

Stag do T-Shirts....The Rules!

The stag do t-shirt is a must for any bachelor celebrating their limited time before marriage, as a memento they are great for the group and can really help start the fun. As part of the best man's responsibilities the stag do is the main one, forget remember the wedding rings if you get the stag do wrong you will go down in history as a lame best man. So start things off with a bang with your t-shirt design but be careful not to get it wrong. Here are some tips about how to get it right!

Avoid offensive language

Nobody wants to see offensive language and if you are likely to come across the general public it could land you in a lot of trouble, a funny nickname might be hilarious to your friends but don't fall foul of the authorities by branding your top with rude words!

Cater for your group

You may find the group is a large mix of ages, some will be used to wearing t-shirts but older gents may prefer a nice polo shirt, although it is more expensive it will certainly be received better if you cater for this preference!

Keep your activity in mind

Getting into a club with a t-shirt branded as Boys on Tour may be like a Mission Impossible film, so unless you are Tom Cruise you may wish to tone down the message, a subtle left hand breast design for a weekend clubbing would be great, but a weekend away at a festival go all out and get those designs big and bold!

Make them personal

There is no point in getting simple designs, make them memorable, and ensure you personalise each one to your party, a simple name badge can help the party flow as the group may have some members who don't know everyone, certainly a better way than the awkward "Whats your name again?" Conversation killer.

Make sure the group wear them!

If they are hideous no one will wear them, so make sure the gang are all happy with the design, that is apart from the groom, you can set him apart with a garish and bright top which will leave nobody mistaking who he is!

If you want your own personalised stag do t-shirts why not check out the great range on offer at Dunbar T-Shirt Shop. Great priced packages available for all budgets!

Advice you already knew and probably didn't need....again!

If you consider the volume of searches for most topics which go through the search engine Google each and every day, you could be forgiven for thinking they somehow have a monopoly on internet content. Whether you are a fan or not, Google don't do things badly, they have the best performing search engine, the fastest growing social network and a raft of other services which are being gobbled up by the internet savvy at every turn. 

So what next for this behemoth company? Well my two cents says that if they were to really want to attract the best to their shores they could simply run a lottery each and every day, it wouldn't even need to be a particularly complex or exciting code rich service either. Here is how Google has the power to make you rich overnight.

If you have a blog with adsense or a business listing on google, they could drive literally millions of visitors to your site. The way they could do this is by utilising the already existing keywords your website or listing has signed up for. Ranking you first for a day would drive the volume of traffic that would be life changing. This would happen one of two ways, the number of ad clicks on your blog would sky rocket and you would be rich, or alternatively you would generate the kind of sales that only Amazon enjoy. This overnight success for your business could really change lives, giving something back to the millions of Google users at no cost, like a lottery with the cost of either time or money spread across millions of other people. 

The publicity factor alone in a stunt like this would be so earth shatteringly positive that people who shun Google for their dodgy tax evasion and questionable monopolisation of the internet would simply forgive and forget. So Google, why not make everyone's life a bit more exciting and perhaps show some love back to the little fish of the internet?

In reality this is unlikely to ever happen because corporate entities have no moral conscious and care so little for the individual they may not even notice when they destroy your rankings due to a human error. Any advice you have been given about ways to make money online, by either writing content or selling goods has led you here to the truth of the matter, to the only advice you will ever need to hold onto as you furiously attempt to escape your day job for the promised land of self employment, working from home!

 To be successful in both making money from writing online, or selling goods through a website:

- Write shit people enjoy

- Sell shit people want to own

Good luck

How to get the best Uniforms EVER!

At school everyone used to hate wearing uniform, it was the ultimate defiance of authority to leave you top button undone. If you were lucky you could just about stomach that neck choking tie until second period by which time it was either tied round your head to make you look like some cool School Rambo or stuff so deep in your bag it was wrapped round those egg sandwiches mum made you that you couldn't eat in the canteen because everyone would accuse you of farting.

But when you enter the workplace all that changes, if you like your job the uniform is worn with pride, if you hate it then it is worn like a death row inmate dons a jumpsuit. If you own or run a business there can be an alternative, make your uniforms cool, get your employees to help design them or perhaps just rip off a cool idea you saw on TV. There are a multitude of companies who stand above the rest when it comes to uniforms and here is a selection.

Embrace your inner geek

The Oregon Ducks new season uniform is like a dark stormtrooper!

Imagine you have spent ten years building your own business, well you probably already feel a bit like the emperor fighting against those pesky Jedi knights. Why not just go the whole hog and have your staff dress as stormtroopers. Depending on the work involved it may be a bit uncomfortable but i'm sure there will be a compromise.

Go Ultimate Sexy

 

Hooters uniforms are small! But women still eat there!

 Going sexy may put off some customers but it will attract more than it will lose, the biggest thing to ensure is you don't turn your business into a lap dancing bar. Also remember people like to use their imagination, the topless hairdressers which lasted not even a year in Paisley may seem like a great business venture but it isn't! And the sexier you go the more muscle you need to keep your customers in line!

Make them look important

Making your staff look important is a must for certain types of work, you will find hi vis vests or accessory belts do the trick very well. That bright yellow jacket makes people associate with authority and can make your employees jobs a lot easier!

Use your colours wisely

The colours you choose are important, really they are. The problem with bright uniforms is it makes people want to look away. The other problem with bright uniforms is that they don't last very long, a bright yellow may turn into a mustard mess and you have just blown your annual budget on those nicely tailored garments. Ensure your colours blend naturally with your logo but you don't have to go overboard, a three or two tone design is sufficient.

Make them funny

If all else fails why not just go with humour, if your customers are laughing then their guard is down and your staff can get that sale, even if they do look like clowns! 

Why not print your own work-wear designs today!

Keep Your Van Gogh I'll have a Movie Poster!

One day you wake up and realise you are indeed an adult, it didn't happen over night but your discovery of the event will hit you like a blast of cold air. When you are young it's often easy to think of those rebelious thoughts, I'm never getting old! When in reality the number of complaints you make each day increases, you find yourself craving things from your past and you realise everything that is popular today is crap compared with your youth. 

As computer technology and art evolved so quickly since the 80's you will find that you aren't like your parents or grandparents, with their twee house decor and old fashioned dress sense. It's more common now to see middle aged men playing video games and wearing baggy jeans, this is their generations old age, filled with rock music and grand theft auto.Which has led to an increase in the types of art you will find in most homes, personally i avoid art preferring photography of places I love, signed memorobilia and of course Retro Movie posters. 

This type of art is a throwback to the days of posters hanging your bedroom wall, but instead of being the offcasts of your local cinema or video shop, or perhaps purchased from that once great shop Athena they have been digitally printed using a myriad of the available online places.

Here are some cracking examples that may take you back to those glory days of video rentals and the invention of microwave popcorn:

And to go one further you can even now get any image printed onto a t-shirt, hoodie or other garments...even a mug!