Monday, November 22, 2004

Disturbing trends

In the last week, I have become aware of two disturbing trends. I felt it my duty to alert you all, so that you can be on the watch for these changes.

Trend 1: Men in women's pants. I mean this in the literal sense. Last week, the local paper published a two page spread about a weird new fashion trend. According to this paper, it is now very fashion forward for men to wear women's jeans. The story is that men's jeans are simply cut too baggy for many people's taste. Men who want a more snug fit are forced to buy from women's stores.

The three DJ's on the morning show the next day were really shaken up by this newspaper story. They asked local listeners to call in with their opinions. Most of the grown-ups that called in thought this was bizarre and disturbing. However, one young teen told the radio audience that most of her male friends wear women's jeans. Rumor has it that there has even been an outbreak of this in the Banshee's own family -- not from a direct relative but from a boyfriend of a relative.

Trend 2: Partially opening cards. Today I was in the Hallmark store to scout out Christmas cards before the pickings got slim. I don't think that I am alone in finding joy in using the cards I receive as a key element of decorating. However, that might be a problem this year. There are quite a few cards this year that only partially open. Only a small cut-out opens or there is a large size difference between the front and the back. They are sort of half-opening cards. The main point here is that they will not be able to stand up on mantles or TV tops. If you ask me, this is not a positive step forward in the field of Christmas correspondence.