One More Year Left

Today at 3:30 PM, I relinquish my title as Foster Huntington, Junior at Colby College and assume a more daunting one, Foster Huntington, Senior at Colby College. I have never liked school. In elementary school, I struggled with dyslexia and showed little promise as a student, finally learning to read and write at my grade level in the fifth grade. In order to make it, I learned to focus on the subjects where I had the potential to do well and avoid the subjects, such as spelling (I am 20th percentile speller), where my dyslexia prohibited me from succeeding. Instead of writing out homework assignments by hand, I learned to type and use a computer to spell check my work in middle school. Why fight losing battles when I can fight other battles as a favorite? My sheer lack of proficiency at some tasks and ability at others gave me a lifelong sense of humility and confidence to realize that it's okay to be different.

For the longest time, I resented going to Colby. I don't identify with many of the students blindly pursuing careers as doctors, lawyers, or investment bankers. I was frustrated by getting C-'s in my math classes despite getting an 800 on my Math SAT. I missed the Northwest's progressive attitude and recognition of passions other than the Red Sox and Patriots. However, recent conversation with my roommate Nick (follow him on twitter!), made me realize that going to a highly competitive, homogeneous school like Colby has accentuated my unique traits and forced me to pursue interests specific to my skill set.

A very smart man and mentor to me once said, "College is effectively four years of excused unemployment, so take chances and try things while you have a safety net." Taking this concept to heart, I have led an atypical college experience, pursuing many interests outside of school with the hope of finding something that I enjoy and excel at. I have sold hundreds of shoes, run a laundry business into the ground, started a website that allows snowboarders, skateboarders and surfers to define lingo, and was a signature away from dropping out of college to start a tech company with a few friends. None of them were home runs and I doubt that in my one year left on Mayflower Hill I will find my calling, but I think I am finally pointed in the right direction.

Here are some more links,
75 in Maine and a Concert at Bowdoin (Picasa),
12 PM Walk Out (Picasa).

Marlboro Miles and the Marlboro Country Store

While many people talk about how they are going to spend their AMEX points or Delta Sky Miles, more daring individuals debate the use of their Marlboro Miles. From 1994 to September 30th 2006, Philip Morris, Marlboro Cigarette's parent company, had a merchandising promotion program whereby a satisfied costumer could mail in their proof of purchase coupons (5 "Marlboro Miles" per cigarette pack), and buy various products ranging from licensed Marlboro Zippos to denim jackets and sleeping bags from the catalog or the Marlboro Country Store.

The products in the Marlboro store are an extension of "The Cowboy Code: A cowboy is courageous. Keeps his word. Pulls his own weight. Returns what he barrows. Closes gates behind him. Is always on time. Minds his own business. Sometimes exaggerates, but never lies. Doesn't cuss another man's dog." The archetypal American Man.

Everything a cowboy or cowgirl needs put in cigarette pack denomination. I would go with the Stetson, the Time Track by Swiss Army, the Canvas Coat and the Blues Harp with my stockpile of 2000 packs of cigs. I also find the satirical allusions to jail culture where people use cigarettes as currency amusing, but that's a different matter all together.

Few ideas are more American than buying products, often made in China, created as extensions of a marketing campaign with proof of purchase coupons for an expensive, carcinogenic, addictive product.

Here are some of my favorite finds from ebay,
Marlboro Swiss Army Knife (Ebay),
Marlboro Brass Belt Buckle (Ebay),
Marlboro Swiss Army Pocket Watch (Ebay),
Marlboro Duster (Ebay),
Marlboro Country Zippo (Ebay),
Marlboro Miles Poker Set (Ebay),
Marlboro Country Store BBQ Set (Ebay)
Marlboro Country Denim Shirt (Ebay),
Marlboro Country Denim Jacket (Ebay).
Marlboro Country Cook Book (Ebay),
Marlboro Stetson Hat (Ebay).

I guess a Marlboro Denim jacket purchased with six hundred packs of cigarettes is icing on the cake for a dedicated smoker.

Here are some more links,
Explanation of Marlboro Miles System,
Marlboro Country Store Goods,

Jon Patrick from The Selvage Yard and his Leather Bag

My mom doesn't hesitate to voice her opinion about my posts and who I link to. She doesn't like some of my photographs of barns, she thinks Michael Williams is a dick and that his blog is over hyped, and she absolutely raves about Jon Patrick's The Selvage Yard. On Friday I met up with JP, as Jon Patrick is known throughout the menswear and blogging world, to interview the fine gentlemen that run design at Rugby for an article in next month's H(Y)R Collective.

JP dressed as you would expect a longtime menswear veteran and dedicated style blogger to, wearing classic staples of American and British fashion. However, his leather bag "really tied the room together" adding context to his dead stock 501's and mackintosh trench.

According to JP, he "found it [the bag] rotting in the basement an old Victorian house of a friend's, probably been there for decades and it was as brittle as an old dinosaur bone. took it home, soaked it in lindseed oil and cleaned it up with mink oil and it's now one of my most valued treasures. Not sure what the initials represent, but I'm intrigued and will never feel complete until I know..."

Meeting someone after reading their blog posts and tweets for months creates a unique sense of familiarity and insight into their thoughts. I had an awesome afternoon with JP and look forward to working with him on a column for the H(Y)R Collective.

Here are some more links,
The Selvage Yard,
Jon Patrick (Twitter).

Eddy Huntington

On Thursday night I was in a club deep in Soho observing American Psycho-esque junior investment bankers mingle with gallery girls to a mix of 80's pop and contemporary electronic music. While watching the white V-neck clad Brooklyenite DJ play music on his Mac Book, a riff from Eddy Huntington's U.S.S.R. jumped out at me like Homeward Bound in the family section of a movie rental store.

My brother first introduced me to the great Eddy Huntington via a Facebook wall post that read "Dude, I think this guy is our cousin" and included a YouTube link. Intrigued, I perused the web looking for background on this once great pop sensation from the late '80s and found, much to my disappointment, no family ties but a great story.

Born in 1965 in a small town north in England, Eddy moved to London at 18 to pursue a carrier in the entertainment business. After appearing in multiple music videos as an extra, the Italian record label, Baby records, spotted potential and took him to Milan to record his most notable work, U.S.S.R. The song quickly gained traction on pop charts in the UK, Scandinavia, and wait for it, the U.S.S.R.

After touring around Europe playing shows like this for a bunch of commies, Eddy retired from the music industry in the early 90's and went back to school. Today, Eddy is a middle school principal and gives dancing and singing lessons to his students. If you read the YouTube comments you will see multiple ones like, "Hey that guy is my teacher, he's so nice." I did not make this up.

Here are some more links,
Eddy Huntington (Wiki),
Eddy Huntington Interview,
Eddy Huntington: Bang Bang Baby.