pretty pleasing in pink

Someone I know who recently attended a business seminar said that their speaker gave them a very important success tip: "There is a particular shade of pink which, if worn to a business proposal presentation, would ensure the wearer of an approval."

Since I make a lot of sales/advertising/creative pitches myself, I scoured the Internet for pics of men in pink, so I could get an idea of what shade that might be. Check them out:

Players in Pink: The Catani Football Team (above) and the Middlesex Country Cricket Club (below) dress up in support of breast cancer awareness.

Posing in Pink: Men on the street, from Asia to the U.K.

Pop Group in Pink: Japanese boy band Arashi during their Around Asia Tour 2008.

Prickly in Pink: Sprockettes (All-Ladies Mini Bike Dance Troup) tees look cool on angry-looking guys.

Pumped-up in Pink: Wrestler Dave Batista at WWE's Diva of the Year 2009 (where he did a "Kenya West").

Prisoners in Pink: Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph Arpaio introduced pink fashion to disgruntled inmates.

Baby pink, medium pink or hot pink? Which shade made you like (or trust) the wearer more?

The way I see it, any pink shirt can make a tough guy look tame, and a hardened criminal appear harmless.

But beware, it can make guys look downright silly, too!

(Top Pic) The pink Fujio Akatsuka Bearbrick was created by the Beams retail chain in Japan to promote Mangart Beams T, the new line of Manga-inspired Tees at their concept shop in Daikanyama, Tokyo.

The bear is based on the Iyami character created by Fujio Akatsuka (1935-2008), a famous Japanese manga artist. You can check out his official website here.

Bearbrick pic by Yours Truly / Other pics from weeklytimesnow.com, dailymail.co.uk, bamboolounge.friedeye.com, a-man-fashion.blogspot.com, ynaoblivious.livejournal.com, sprockettes.org, wrestlegasm.com, themormonworker.wordpress.com

series 23: the price of love

Q: What happens when you fall head over heels in love with a Bearbrick collector?

A: You develop an undying devotion to Bearbricks, too!

That's what happened to my friend O. And every time he would visit his new found love in Hong Kong, he would also make a side trip to Mongkok, scouring toy shops for the cutest, latest, or rarest bears. In less than a year, he amassed quite an impressive collection! However, he had to $$$pend a fortune in blind boxes to complete his Series 22, and ended up with a lot of unwanted duplicates. He shrugged it off and said, "That's part of the fun, isn't it?"

But when he learned how much I was paying my fave eBay seller for a complete Series 23 (total of twenty-eight pieces, with all the secrets bears), his eyes suddenly widened, his jaw dropped, and he blurted, "That's half the cost of what I had to spend for Series 22!?! Forget blind boxes – get me an entire set, too!"

A real good deal. Now that's real fun! :-)

Upper row, left to right:

Basic (@ Metallic Coupe Blue)
JellyBean (Green Cream Soda)
Pattern (Andy Warhol)
Flag (Thailand)
SciFi (Fringe)

Bottom row, left to right:

SciFi (Real Steel Atom)
Secret SciFi (Real Steel Zeus)
Animal (Rune Panda)
Secret Animal (Rune Cat)
Hero (Sonic the Hedgehog 20th Anni)

Upper row, left to right:

Cute (Rilakkuma)
Secret Cute (Rilakkuma)
Artist (Muveil)
Secret Artist (Muveil)
Artist (Mishka)

Bottom row, left to right:

Secret (TMT)
Secret (Mawaru Penguin Drum)
Secret (Cha-Ken)
Secret (Oakley Frogskins)
Secret (Heather Grey Wall/CashCA)

Not the same banana: the fruit on the Warhol Bearbrick is uniquely transparent – you can peep inside!

Pics by Yours Truly / Copyright Bearbrick Love January 2012