Those Really Cool Novelty Ties

A cool guy wearing a Superman Tie

What kind of man would wear a Spiderman necktie? 

Maybe he doesn't want to wear a tie but the boss said he has to or he isn't employed.  So he chooses to wear a tie that illustrates his interest in superheroes, or wildlife and that's the solution. Conversation or novelty ties are welcomed by men who  do not want to wear a traditional conservative necktie.  It is a means of being a fashion rebel or sorts.  To be individual - the man who just does not want to be a dressed like most other men.  

For restaurants the food theme neckties like Tabasco Ties or coffee themes make the perfect uniform.  Maybe a young man would rather wear a Star Wars necktie to the prom to be different. Some guys will only wear certain themes which becomes a style trademark like sports themes that they are quite popular for being so consistent in such unique fashion accessorizing.  Women who work at the Cheese Cake Factory or IHop are required to wear ties and they’ll be very stylish with a Mickey Moose, Looney Tunes or maybe a Marilyn Monroe tie.  Believe it or not the right one will earn better tips.

Cheese Cake Factory Waitress
and James Dean Tie 

In the past these fun ties were easy to find.  J.C. Penny’s, Sears, and other department stores offered them as did specially retailers and mall kiosks.  Up until 2000 there was no problem finding neckties that were for the most part unusual.  That changed when the casual dress phenomenon caused the big department stores to cut back on neck wear as valuable shelf and floor space commanded much more popular apparel. Without the big chain retailers stocking inventory the manufacturers and designers just could not produce the collections that in many cases demanded royalties.  Then came the economic troubles of 2008 which caused great reservations in spending.  That was the final blow for the hold-outs which saw the end to almost all novelty theme neckties.

Now that they are collector items where does a man find the ties that they are so fond of.  The answer s the Internet as a few web retailers had made a niche for themselves and for now at least there are some sites with many novelty ties for sale.   Neckties are the number one Christmas gift for men and at least for many like teachers or a basketball coach, novelty neckties make a perfect gift.

Collector Novelty Ties at www.nicetiestore.com/

Conversation Neckties

My Favorite Tie Today - Surf's Up Hawaiian Necktie

Hawaiian Surfing Necktie

Surfs Up!  Those were the good old days when all I had to worry about was if I had wax for my surfboard.

In the 70's my entire life was dictated by one thing, surfing.  That is why this killer Hawaiian Surfing Tie is my favorite tie today.  Besides having wax for my surfboard there were three other details that had to have my attention.  First and foremost there had to be surf. In Southern California that is almost a given with some exception.

A swell traverses the ocean thousands of miles finally reaching a 

continental shelf or island and for a minute or two creates a 

fascinating display that often becomes the thrill seeker's ride 

on a plastic hydrosphere; the surfboard and the surfer

The were two other very important things that ruled my life.  The wind could really mess up my day if it was on shore opposed to being off shore. The best waves to ride are what surfers call glassy - smooth with great form.

Usually in the early morning the wind is light and almost always off shore until around noon unless there was some strange weather system. Then late in the afternoon if the wind did come on shore there was the afternoon "glass off."  That was usually around 2 hours before sunset which would mean a morning surf session and and afternoon surf session.

The other very important factor was the tide.  Depending on if it was low or high, the tide would determine where I would venture into the Pacific to ride some waves.  Surf breaks are dependent on swell direction and the bottom or sea floor; a reef , sand bar, an underwater shelf, an angled shoreline or a point that would oppose the swell direction. A high or low tide will favor surf depending on the contour of what's below the surface.

As swells reach the shore line the lower portion of the wave starts to drag on the bottom which creates a vertical steepening of the waves amplitude or height and the wave length or the distance between waves.  The velocity of the wave decreases as the effect of the drag on the lower part of the wave as the waters depth becomes shallower.  If there is off shore wind then the upper part of the wave experiences drag by the resistance of air turbulence.  The wave radically changes as it reaches the shallows eventually cresting and spilling over creating ride-able surf. On a great break the wave will take a distinctive form breaking from in one direction or perhaps peaking and breaking in two opposite directions; rights, lefts, or peaks.

The best surf breaks are the result of waves that are moving with great velocity in deep water and abruptly reach a shallow reef, sand bar or rocky bottom.  That sudden drag on the bottom or sea floor causes a loss of velocity changing the wave amplitude ( height of the wave from crest to half way to the trough ) and wave length ( the distance between waves ).  This radical distortion of the waves physical properties changes its shape creating a casting out of the excess energy that can no longer contain the wave amplitude creating a tubular or hollow area as the eventual cresting and breaking signifies the collapse of the wave and the displacing of its energy in the form of "white water" or turbulence that is all that remains of the wave as it dissipates towards the shore.  The initial cresting and breaking of the wave is the point that the surfer lives for. The experienced surfer knows how to be in the right spot at the right time to catch that perfect wave and very much like ballet uses the energy that is displaced to surf with individual expression.  To realize how sensational surfing is make sure to watch the HD BBC Video below.

The anatomy of an ocean wave

When a wave crests the the surfer and surfboard are propelled towards the shore by means of gravity and the failure to resist the energy in the wave. The gliding of the surfboard on the waves surface is aerodynamic hydroplaning that is affected by lift and drag and influenced by the surfer weighting and un-weighting that leverages the direction of the surfboard. The surfer uses the surfboard fin on the bottom of the board that creates drag and as well stabilizes the surfboard causing it to track similar to an airplanes elevated fin that causes drag affecting the direction of movement.  The boards foiled shaped edges further control the direction of the surfboard while the surfer compensates for gravity, the force of the breaking and depreciating wave length or velocity and the changing wave amplitude or shape in addition to drag caused by the water rushing up the surfs face as the wave passes through the water or the energy that is being displaced by the crest of the wave or the spilling over energy - in the form water collapsing.

The experienced surfer harnesses what Newtons Third Law of Physics explains - for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  The modern surfboard is basically a hydrodynamic plastic foil that has enough buoyancy to float while the surfer alters the dynamic of how the surfboard reacts to the changing shape of the waves amplitude or face and height of the wave and the waves length or trough and the wave velocity.

Wave riding is no easy thing to master.  Just learning how to paddle the surfboard and staying balanced takes getting accustomed to let alone how to effectively get past the breaking waves to reach the line up, ( where the waves begin breaking ).  It takes a great deal of time to become aware of how waves break, how to catch a wave and where to catch it.  Imagine a downhill ski racer trying to deal with the ever changing shape and contour of the mountain while staying balanced on a surface that is not still and not falling off - there is no straps or foot holds.  One thing is certain; when you catch your first wave even if you fall off quickly you'll be hooked.  From than on it is just practice and figuring out how to steer the surfboard while reading the shape of the wave that is a head. Developing reflexes and the skills needed to become a master of surf beyond novice takes a lot of trial and error.    

When a surfer paddles out to the line up the other world and all the toils of life in this crazy Industrial Age - driven by Neo Classical Economics does not exist. Being one with nature is the only way to illustrate the feeling of surfing, waiting for the next wave in a very peaceful and non stressful state.  I remember vividly a school of about six dolphins were surfing a wave with me while I surfed alone at Beacons in Leucadia California in light rain riding waves about head high.  I was so careful not to get too close but they were playing with me - real masters of surf - I was feeling like one of "The Golden Ones" what a friend often said; he coined the phrase describing our crew of Miami Bred Surfers.

Unfortunately the counter culture and life style of surfing conflicted with my desire to be a professional photographer.  When I look back now I deeply regret abandoning surfing.  I guess I could start again, however it takes a lot of strength and stamina to paddle out to the "line up" let alone paddling into position to catch the waves at the perfect sweet spot.

Above sequence image: That is me surfing Apple Bay in Tortola the British Virgin Islands in 1978.  Apple Bay was cake walk compared to Cane Garden Bay which was a very testing point break that broke in less than 12 inches of water on a razor sharp coral reef just about five yards or so from rock shore line.  This was the perfect place to mount a cannon to fend off Pirates - that citadel is still there today. By the way I mastered Gun Point at Cane Garden Bay which was a 100 yard line drive attack that was unforgiving. Getting tubed was un-avoidable if you were to catch that wave almost too far back which I did every time like Muhammad Ali would have done "floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee."  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the travel aspect of the surfer life style.

Necktie Label - House of Stoke by Joseph Mackie

Now, about that Hawaiian Surf Board Tie. When I was selling ties at the Too Sexie Tie Cart at the Irvine Spectrum Center, Joseph Mackie, a really crazy guy found my kiosk and sold me hundred and hundreds of custom Hawaiian Ties that he made from Hoffman Hawaiian shirt fabric bolt ends and remnants. It was such a novel idea that his Hawaiian necktie creations won the acclaim of Playboy Magazines top Christmas gift ideas in 1999, House of Stoke by Joseph Mackie.

So with all that said along with the scientific explanation of the dynamics of surfing it is rather easy to understand why this Surfing Necktie is my favorite tie today.  To view our collection of Joseph Mackie Hawaiian Print Ties please visit Nice Tie Store.



HD super slow motion video of big wave surfer Dylan Longbottom in a 12 foot monster barrel - the first shots of their kind ever recorded.  ( watch in HD )
About the program: 

$100,000 Camera Captures Slow Mo Surfing, From Underwater For the upcoming BBC nature series "South Pacific," filmmakers rigged a TyphoonHD4 to shoot above and underwater HD. Shooting a frame rate 20x the speed of normal HD  (I'm assuming that's somewhere around 480fps if the standard HD cam shoots at 24fps),  this camera/documentary was apparently the first to capture the underwater spiraling vortices of huge waves at such incredible quality. Cameraman/technician Rudi Diesel calls one moment in this clip "probably the best shot" of his life.

Click here HD: Super Slo-mo Surfer! - South Pacific - BBC Two

  

My Favorite Tie Today - Edvard Munch The Scream Art Necktie

Edvard Munch "The Scream" art necktie 

"The Scream" by Edvard Munch; what it means may surprise you. He felt something more than a hundred years ago that frightened him about our species and our world's future.     

"The Scream" art tie has always been one of my favorite art neckties, and one of my favorite paintings as well. I had always wondered what Edvard Munch was thinking when he created "The Scream." Was the character screaming because he was a spook or was he spooked because he saw a spook. It was that intriguing question that was the cause of my fondness of the artwork besides its sensational composition, unique impressionist style and a dynamic use of colors.

He was born in 1863 in the village of Adalsbruk Norway later moving to Christiania now called Oslo and the capital  His father was a military doctor which provided a low salary which caused conditions of poverty and stress for the family. Great tragedy struck when he was just five years old; his mother and favorite sister died from Tuberculosis. To cope with his anguish he started to draw and create artwork. As a young teen he began to paint with oils developing his remarkable style.  After one year studying engineering at a technical school he decided that he would be an artist enrolling in the Royal School of Art and Design of Christiania.

Edvard Munch

Early on he mastered portraiture, however some of his works were not fully appreciated being considered as extreme impressionism.  Influenced by Manet and later Vincent Van Gogh his style of painting was Naturalism and Impressionism. Entered as goal in his diary he wrote, "in my art I attempt to explain life and its meaning to myself."  

When he was asked about the Scream Munch remarked that when he was walking along a road in Oslo overlooking the Oslofjord at sunset he heard the scream of nature. He had become disillusioned about politics that he felt was allowing the degradation of the environment by the modernization of civilization and the irreversible harm that nature was being subjected to by man's careless ways of the industrial revolution.  He had become rebellious against the establishment and Neo-Classical-Economics which was considered an insulting description of the Industrial Age and the Industrial Age Banking System that regarded profit above all else especially the conservation of nature.  It is not such a stretch to conclude that "The Scream" was meant as a vanguard of what Munch had become so troubled about. He had become part of the Bohemian Movement at the turn of century.  Like many artists of the era he was disillusioned with his world.

Between 1893 and 1910 he created four versions of the work as both paintings and pastels giving all of them the title in German that was unmistakable "Der Schrei der Natur" ( The Scream of Nature ). Considered by art historians an icon of modern art "The Scream" may also be an icon of a political agenda that even to this day has not fully become understood or acknowledged.  He was not alone in his fear that the very existence of the human species would become endangered and all life of our planet could face extinction due to the revolution of the Industrial Age.

In his diary in an entry headed, Nice 22 January 1892, Munch described his inspiration for the image:  He exclaimed that he heard the scream of nature due to what he felt was the result of the irreversible harm caused by Industrialization.

"One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out over the fjord—the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The color shrieked. This became The Scream."

The Scream Masterpiece by Edvard Munch

The forth version of "The Scream," a pastel 1895 was sold for $119,922,600 at Sotherby's Impressionist and Modern Art auction on May 2, 2012 to financier Leon Black, the second highest price of an artwork sold at auction ever. For an artist that had been criticized and misunderstood like many other masters of the Impressionist Period his works have defined the era. He hated to part with his art work, calling them his children.

Art historians have said that it was emotion he wanted to depict. "It's not the chair that should be painted," he once wrote, "but what a person has felt at the sight of it." "The Scream" is just that and may become recognized as more than a sensational work of art with great emotion but a warning that a threatened nature's scream unheard and without care would one day become more of a cry.  In Norwegian is "The Skirk" translated as "The Scream" but in English "The Shriek" but has also been known as "The Cry."

Our civilization is facing the sixth Mass Extinction that has been recognized as at least a half a century in progress with a great acceleration taking place at present.   An abrupt climate change is very likely to occur within the next 5 - 25 years caused by run-away global warming, the result of an increase of green house gases like carbon due to the Industrial Revolution and the use of fossil fuels.

The rise in the average temperature has caused the Permafrost to melt in the Arctic which is on the verge of releasing hundreds of giga tons of Methane, a greenhouse gas hundreds of times more threatening then Carbon Dioxide.  The result will be average temperatures rising from 4 to 8 degrees above the period before Industrialization possibly by the middle of this century or sooner.  Sea levels will rise caused by the melting of the Arctic Ice Cap displacing billions of people followed by the loss of Habitat.

When you view Edvard Munch's mater piece "The Scream" consider that the screaming of nature that he felt may be "The Crying" of nature that the human species will hear within 35 years.  The potentially irreversible global climate changes that may cause the extinction of the human species in our life times is being predicted now.  In that case I would venture to say that "The Scream" has a priceless value and should our species survive, or if not; future intelligent life will value Munch's intuitive way of making an emotion of art a dynamic warning of unthinkable catastrophe - the Apocalypse of life, more over intelligent life on Earth most definitely a precious and rare occurrence in our Universe.  

Checkout Edvard Munch Art The Scream Tie at Nice Tie Store

Art History Online, Edvard Munch - The Scream (1893)

Wikipedia.org - Edvard Munch The Scream

Smithsonian.com - Edvard Munch: Beyond The Scream

Extinction Event - Global Warming - A special segment of “Last Hours,” the frightening reality of global climate change, narrated by Thom Hartmann and Leonardo DiCaprio.


     

Not another Sexy Necktie Knot Lesson

Yes I am afraid so.   How to tie a tie with April.  

I retired April from the blog some years back and decided this evening that that decision may have been a bit rash.   She has a rather special way of teaching necktie knotting.  As she says, "Maybe your dad should have taught you how to tie ties, but today I will show you."   I can guarantee that your father would never have been able to teach you how to master necktie tying like April does.

As for anyone complaining about having to watch another sexy tie tying video - my advice is to go see a "shrink."   Frankly it is quite hard to imagine that anyone would want to complain about this tie tying video, never-the-less there will be one guy's wife or girlfriend that will be unhappy.  And that is simply - tough luck because the complaint department is out of town. It is not impossible to file such complaint but you have to go to Las Vegas to find the guy.  He has not been around for many years - like 20 or so.  It is a really long story but you can read a story about him here. What's the Difference Between the Men and the Boys?  

He won't be hard to find because he a a rather dapper gentleman who wears suits and ties religiously.  You will have a picture of him on the post I have referred you to.  Last I heard he is in Las Vegas and although there are a lot people in Las Vegas and a lot of dapper men wearing suits and ties there is only one Viking from Iceland named Thor Fredrickson there.   

He should not be so hard tio find - I understand he is very popular in Vegas and everyone who is anyone knows him.

The Sexiest Necktie Knot Lesson Ever

Try to argue that neckties are not sexy - I dare you.

OK, maybe I tricked you but that is how convincing someone to watch another necktie knotting video is done.  Best of all you may learn to love ties after you learn how to tie a necktie as illustrated by this very sexy model.  

Learn To Tie a Tie

The Romantic Way to Tie a Tie - The Windsor

On this page, you will learn how to tie the Windsor tie knot using our easy to follow the diagram. Plus read the romantic story about the Duke of Windsor and why this fashionable tie knot is named after him. And we've included the Complete History of Neckties

The Duke of Windsor tying the tie 
knot inadvertently named after him

click here - The Complete History of Neckties from 200 B.C.

click here - The Romantic story of a king who gave up the Royal Throne for love - The Mystery of the Windsor Necktie Knot

Please review the easy diagram and instructions to master tying the Windsor Necktie Knot below.

When you tie this knot this way it goes on and off easy - no inner knot remains when you loosen this knot by carefully pulling the knot down the narrow tie length.  Step # 7 & 8 are going the opposite direction from how the Duke of Windsor demonstrated it in a 1936 photo sequence. That reverse of direction makes the difference and makes the Windsor Tie Knot a horrible task to master unless by accident you have made this tie knot the easy way as illustrated below.

The wide blade of the tie does all of the work.  Start by turning your collar up and drape the tie over your shirt and neck with the wide tie blade near your knee - either just below, just above or right at your knee cap.  This is the most important step as it is this calibration that determines how much length of wide blade of the tie you'll need where the end result will prove the correct length of the tie to complete the knot.

The Duke of Windsor tying his necktie named after him in a very confusing way so that non-
blue bloods would dare to look so dashing

This will take some practice to get it right as it will calibrate the length of the tie so the wide blade covers your waistband when you are finished. Everyone has a different size neck and torso so you will have to find the "sweet" spot to start your tie-tying.  That spot is where the wide tie blade is in relation to your knee.

The ties slip stitching is against your chest with the front or face of the tie showing. As mentioned you may need to practice several times so you are starting with the wide blade of the tie at the right place. Carefully fold the tie without twisting, tightening the wrapping tie length.  After the final step just draw the knot up to your collar while holding the narrow blade of the tie.  A little adjustment may be necessary to shape the knot into place and to possibly create the dimple in the tie just below the knot.

You are welcome to print the diagram for later use if you like, ( it is formatted to fit on 8.5X11 paper ). Tying ties is really not so hard if you know the easy way to do it. Our Windsor Tie Knot lesson is simple - with a little practice, you will be a pro at it. Your necktie knot should have an automatic symmetrical shape and a very sexy dimple in the length of the tie just below the knot.

The Easy Way To Tie The Windsor Necktie Knot Diagram

“The apparel oft proclaims the man,"  William Shakespeare - poet, and dramatist,  from Hamlet - trending 1564 - 1616.“

Jeffrey Hunter
Nice Tie Store


  .. Google +     Jeffrey Hunter – Neckties by Nice Tie Store