Beyond the Oyster Juice

American Public Media reported this morning on French President Nicolas Sarkozy's move to measure public levels of "ennui."

From Mad Aaron Filipi!

Ennui, for all you non-Frenchies, is basically the French term for boredom. Sarkozy, according to the story, wants to ensure - given France's recent move beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - that national success doesn't lead to too much Anglo-American-style happiness. He said his intention is to "Keep France French."

To me, and other westerners, this blows my mind. Temper success and happiness? Seriously? But the story went on to quote a Washington-based Bureau of Labor Statistics suitor who said Sarkozy's move is actually very interesting, and that measuring "idleness" is a real and important thing. 

Okay, anyone who feels 100% ignorant, at this point, raise your hands. I got both of mine raised; I never knew there were such things as idleness studies. One question: do those ever get done, or do they just keep going? 

Aaaaaanyway. All of this got me thinking about the Western version of ennui - going slow. It's not quite "boredom," but just slowing down. Out of the blue, the Mad Gringo in me called out, "SEE….the French get the value of idleness and going slow…why is it taking you so long?" 

So, I cried uncle, loosened my tie, threw on my "Go Slow" shirt and asked an innocent passer-by to snap a photo. 

Ennui! Or, Go Slow!

    

Love it!

MG

A Group Deal on Women's Tees

Greetings!

The voting on women's tshirts is over!

I'll admit. They are lighter, softer, brighter than I expected and look great on Chica Andrea!

Here are 4 of the top vote getters in each color:










That's Sunset Umbrella in Pink, Go Mad in Mocha, Fishies in Blue and Windsurfer in Black.

These are now on sale for $24 each in these and other colors. Only at Mad Gringo.

Then I started thinking. . .wouldn't it be better to stuff all 4 in a bag at once? And if I'm going to do that, why wouldn't I start out by rewarding everyone that voted this last week?

So here's the deal, ladies.

If 50 of you commit to geting all 4 of these tees this weekend, I'll ship them out at the low low price of $49. Including shipping.

Follow this link for more details:

Mad Gringo's Buy 4 Group Deal for Women's Tees

Or find the deal on Facebook.

You know the drill. Tell your friends. Tell your enemies. Tell anyone who'll listen that they need to get their torso into a Mad Gringo Women's Sheer V-Neck Tshirt.

The world demands it.

Hey, who says I don't listen?

Go slow.

MG

Mad Gringo Weekend Madness

Greetings!

In this issue:
* The Sweepstakes has a winner
* Mad Gringo's new tshirts hit the rack
* Mad Gringo runs a weekend sale
* Mad Gringo needs input on Women's Tshirts
* Salida

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THE SWEEPSTAKES HAS A WINNER
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My 10 day foray into Sweepstakes has ended and a winner was selected on Wednesday.

Congratulations to Mad Sally!

Mad Sally had the privilege of selecting the other Grand Prize winner and picked her neighbor. He must be the luckiest man in the world.

(Welcome to all of the new subscribers who came via the Sweepstakes. If you're thinking "What the ?!!?" you can click on Unsubscribe down below)
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MAD GRINGO'S NEW TSHIRTS HIT THE RACK
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If you have images enabled in your email you can take a peek at a few of our awesome new tshirts that are in stock and ready to ship.

We're cranking them out as fast as we can to get ready for the summer.

Paired with the worlds most amazing Go Slow tropical shirt, you'll be the big man on campus. If you're still on campus.

Speaking of campus.
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MAD GRINGO RUNS A WEEKEND SALE
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I visited wayward daughter at school last weekend. Those kids seem ready for Spring.

I want to be ready for Spring. I want you to be ready for Spring.

To make that happen, I'm running an amazing weekend sale. This weekend. And I'm being lazy about it.

Sitewide. 23% off everything. Discount automatically applied at checkout. (STEP 5 of checkout)

Why 23%? Change of Latitude. Tropic of Cancer. I need sun.
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MAD GRINGO NEEDS INPUT ON WOMEN'S TSHIRTS
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The Facebook crowd has narrowed the type of tshirt I will be making for women in the coming month.

If you have an opinion on the graphics or colors to print, weigh in on the Poll.



Mad Gringo Women's TShirt Poll

We'll take the top graphics and top colors and mock them up early next week.

Why next week?
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SALIDA
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Because it's like 60 degrees in Omahahu today. I'm taking the rest of the afternoon off.

Go slow.

MG

Still Time to Enter the Mad Gringo Office Toy Sweepstakes

3 quick notes.

First, I'm fascinated by Charlie Sheen. His "I have tiger blood and Adonis DNA" comment is something I wish I was clever enough to have come up with.

Second, you have until Friday at 5 to put your entry into the Mad Gringo Fabulous Office Toy Sweepstakes. I meant to send you an video of the toys in action, but I've been distracted. The Humping Dog USB alone is worth your time to enter, and there are more prizes included. Plus, you can send a second prize to your friend of choice!

I love it.



Third, do you want to hear the most annoying sound in the world?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cVlTeIATBs

I thought you'd enjoy that. Turn up the speakers on Bill from Finance's computer before sending him the link. He'll thank you.

That's all I have for you.

Enter the contest via this link: http://wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/99376

Send it to a friend too. If they win, make them send you the Humping Dog USB. It never gets old.

Go slow.

MG

Thirsty Thursday Announcement

Greetings!

In this issue:
* Mad Gringo's in the news
* What is Thirsty Thursday?
* Mad Gringo Sunglasses
* Exit

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MAD GRINGOS IN THE NEWS
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Young lady Mad Kate Middleton quit her job last week. Presumably to follow her inner Mad Gringo and make a man out of William. Reminds me of "quit your job" scenes from movies. Your inspiration before moving to Mexico.
Movies About Quitting Your Job
My favorite is Fight Club. Quitting and extortion. Living abroad takes cash.

Speaking of cash. Has anyone tried this yet?
Not a beer snob? Bargain brew can save you some cash.
At less than $4 a six pack it sounds like a perfect beach brew. No more worries about your cooler getting stolen.

Speaking of the beach, did you know that if you're a bus driver in Maine, you can transport beer legally?
Beer found by students on school bus sparks look at loophole in law
The lesson? Don't leave it in the third seat.

All this talk about quitting jobs and beer has me thinking about Thirsty Thursday.
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WHAT IS THIRSTY THURSDAY?
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Thirsty Thursday. Thursdays always remind me of Jay Z.
  (a young Jay Z in a tropical shirt)
Throw the word Thirsty in front of it and I think of a Speedy Mad Gringo sale. Specifically, Thursday from 2pm to 5pm CST.

I polled a few dozen FB fans for their favorite color. Green won. So I'm picking a green shirt and it's going to be almost 60% off for 3 hours.

It normally sells for $49 but tomorrow from 2pm - 5pm CST it will be on sale for $20.

Why 3 hours? Because Skipper says so. Why Thursday? Because it's almost Friday.

Tell everyone you know. I'm checking the warehouse tonight to see which box looks fullest. That will be the winner.

Mad Miguel will put it up on the MadGringo.com site tomorrow and the price will turn on around 2pm CST.
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MAD GRINGO SUNGLASSES
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Does Mad Gringo have a line of sunglasses? Not yet.

We do have some killer shades from the guys at Ocean Eyes. The most popular have been the Mad Gringo wants to be in Bimini Polarized Sunglasses.

They come with their own padded case. The kind with a zipper. And since they're polarized, they'll keep the glare on Ben's bald head from distracting you.

Only $29.99
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EXIT
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I don't have anything else for you. It's supposed to be 60 degrees or so in Omahahu tomorrow.

I may have to take a long walk.

Go slow.

MG

$9 Mystery TShirt Sale

Greetings!

I know it feels like all I do is pump out sales these days but this one was really a bribe.
It's happening because we ran past 1700 fans on Facebook this week. About 2 weeks faster than I expected.



And I promised the FB peeps that once we hit 1700 I would resurrect the $9 Mystery Tshirt Sale.


You pick your size. You tell me how many you want. You send me $9 plus shipping. I pick the tshirt from my seemingly endless supply of tees. I hand them to Short Lynda to box and ship. 5-7 days later you get the goods.

It's simple. Like me.

I didn't want you to miss out on it.

Go slow.

MG

Mad Gringos in the News - Logo Hats on Sale

Greetings!

Quick note. After all the fun with tshirts and the like, I've neglected to keep you informed of some of the important news that floats across my table. Let me do that now.

* Mad Gringos in the news
* Happenings in Omahahu
* Get a hat. Or two.

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MAD GRINGOS IN THE NEWS
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As I was digging the Slow Rover out of a snow bank (I had to disconnect the 4 wheel drive - long story) this came into my virtual mailbox:

Mad Ben noticed we still doesn't have any representation on the Smoking Gun Hawaiian Shirt Mug Shot page.
Hawaiian Shirt Mug Shots
I'm pretty sure I shouldn't encourage you to try and get there, but I'm ready to tell everyone in case you do.

Speaking of crime, the space I used to inhabit in work world is getting smaller. Cubicle space shrinks 50%:
Shrinking Office Work Space
How would I fit my hammock into 150 square feet?

My brother in law UFB's Green Bay Brewing Company is going to have beer served at the White House Super Bowl Party
Hinterland's Facebook Page/Post
We're still waiting on word from them about our suggested Tropical Shirt theme.

And how's this for news?
25 Drunkest Cities
Omahahu #7? It would explain a lot. . .
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HAPPENINGS IN OMAHAHU
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Big news here.

It looks like we're getting a Mexican restaurant in Dundee within 50 steps of MG HQ.

Yep. I can smell it already. Oh, and Mad Gringo is merging with our favorite boys clothing company, Wes and Willy.

I smell matching Tropical Shirts for Dads and their boys. For the Kenny Chesney concert on May 8th.
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GET A HAT. OR TWO.
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I've gotten into the habit of giving you a small reward for reading this far.

Today, it's the Mad Gringo Logo'd Perfect Beach Nap Cap.

                   

Yours through month end for only $11. Click here.

It makes Mad Miguel happy.

Go slow.

MG

Name the Shirt Dammit Contest Winner announced (early)

Winner! Winner!

Two things for you today.

#1. We have a winner for the Name the Shirt Dammit! contest.

Sand Hot

Congrats to Mad Kevin! He gets the first one off the press.

But his work isn't done. Now we need to pick a color. (See, I told you my job was grueling)

Poll here: http://apps.facebook.com/my-polls/damntshirt-color


Once that's done (Friday) we'll be ready to print 'em up and put them on sale for a kind price.
(I played tennis with a hippie last night. Everything was "kind")

#2. TIME FOR MAD GRINGO LOGO POLOS! 

  

These will ship on Friday (or Monday). They look awesome. They're on sale.

These will be regularly priced at $39.00 in February, but today they are only $27!!

And here's a deal for ya. Buy all 5 colors in one size and get them for $99. That's less than $20 each.

(Chica Andrea's out of the office until then. We'll get permission later. You just need to buy a bunch of them to make it look good.)

SHOP NOW.

Go slow. Enjoy your Wednesday. Don't keep us a secret.

MG

Name the Shirt, Contest

Greetings!

In case you missed it on the Mad Gringo Facebook Fan page, we had a big sale for a few hours last Friday and sold out of the El Chapin shirt. (except a few Mediums)

That led to a lot of feedback on embroidering the bulletproof polos:

(it was so well received that we'll have them for sale starting next week)

This got me thinking. . .what else can you direct your pent up energy at? How about naming some tshirts and writing some captions for them too?!?

Here's your shot. On the Mad Gringo Facebook Fan Page you'll find a tshirt with Mad Gim doing his best "white man overbite" dance moves. I want to know what you would name the shirt and if you would add a caption, I want to know that too. It's a contest. Here's the tshirt I want you to play with:

Image 1 is the plain graphic.
Image 2 has the Go Slow tagline on it.
Image 3 has "dance advice" - my go to phrase when pressed on what I do for a living.
Image 4 has the "more ice" tagline because Mad Gim looks like he needs to water down his drink.

The winner's design will be chosen based on Facebook feedback and will be put to press when voting is done. The winner gets a free shirt. And a hat. And bragging rights.

What if you don't have a Facebook account? No worries. Just send your entries to Mad Miguel. (click here)

Someday we'll have a place for this on our website but until then, Facebook is the easiest way to do it.

You can bump up your vote by having all your friends/family/co-workers/minions go to the page and vote for your entry.

Contest ends 1/21/2011 and the tshirt will be available for pre-order at that moment. At a nice price.

Go slow.

Update on the Facebook Like Contest

Update on the Facebook "Like" contest (for those who care to know).

Chica Andrea is winning the over/under on total # of Likes (we're just under 150) and here are the top Like getters:

  Jade Scorpion 13 "Likes"




  El Chapin 11 "Likes"




  Tortuga 10 "Likes"




  Radiate 7 "Likes"




The winner of this event goes on sale this Friday from 10am to 4pm at a crazy low price. $11. After that, we're heading to the bar.

There's still time to "Like" the goods. Andrea's not sweating it yet, but at 300 total likes I win. I like to win.

And thank you for the 5 reviews left on the site. They have all been very nice. (I'll put up some negative ones to balance things out)

MG

(the $15 off coupon is still available if your shirt doesn't win - PLEASECLICKLIKE - expires Friday at midnight)
(check out the new shirts we have on the site too - KokoBerger and Mad Gringo Omahahu Luau Tshirt)