Okay, now I feel like an ass for talking trash on that stupid "Save the Earth" shirt yesterday. Fine, I guess I like dumb saying tees. I mean, who doesn't like a laugh!? Can't I have this one thing and still keep my semi-unique semi-semi-ironic cred? Well whatever! I bought this at like JCPenny or some other brand name department store. I thought it was the most clever thing I had seen all day and felt that it somehow expressed my feelings toward the world in general. It was a must -but also an impulse-. If you want to get one now they don't sell them much any more so you need to do a bit of searching, or just go here:
http://www.streetlegaltshirts.com/sl06tg383.html
Another reason that I was drawn to this shirt is it's generic style and amazing quality. I got this shirt a long time ago, when I was having a hard time finding really great black graphic tees. The strong colors and simple design fit very well in my growing collection. Because it was from a big department store the fabric is nice and heavy and the ink is like triple thick. This is similar to the print jobs that were done on the Pac Man and the Scooby-Doo shirts from before. The thick ink stays on the shirt very well but makes the front kind of stiff when wearing it around, also -as you may be able to see in the picture- when stretched or bent it breaks. Like physically breaks, the ink separates from itself and a little black line appears, you could pick it off like a scab if you wanted to.
The picture is really simple. Reminiscent of a caution sign or a user manual, in orange it has a nondescript "human" playing some type of video game using an arcade stick. That is one of the nice features about it, it could be an old game, a new game or something in-between -the picture is not detailed enough to make a call-. Though the TV itself is most certainly a CRT -complete with generic rabbit ears-. Surrounding the "sign" is a rounded edged box and the words "Not now, I'm busy" in grey. Anyone who has been "in the zone" or worked on a game for hours/days/weeks knows this feeling. This is a gesture not of disdain but more closely related to putting out a fire, placating someone while you do was has to be done, Right Now.
This was one of those shirts that when I bought it I wanted to wear it home. I probably wore it the next day or even that afternoon, and probably a few days after that. The saying was just one of those things that everyone knew about but it didn't really dawn on them as memorable saying until this shirt started making the rounds. It's really a great piece to wear around parents or teachers, they know the attitude that comes with this quote. And, if they've heard it more than a few times, seeing someone wearing this can rub them in just the wrong way; hilarious. Around other gamers, this is probably a staple by now.
Like I said, when I got this home, I was super stoked to wear it, so I did, a lot, while I could. I got a lot of good laughs and people asking where I got it. I quickly found out that a whole bunch of other gamers -new and old- really liked this shirt too! What can you expect from a shirt that is sold at major retailers though... Since the shirt basically started out mainstream it hit it big and my biggest problem with it now is that seriously everyone has it. I only try an wear it now if I am not going anywhere or literally know everyone at the place I am visiting that day -to ensure no one else is going to show up with it-. Go to any anime/gaming/comic convention and I can guarantee you'll see one of these. At one point I was in a room with three people wearing it at the same time. *sigh*
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