Product Review: Weyland-Utani, Building Better Dogs

Sponsored by Weyland-Utani Corp, this collar from Quantum Mechanix is basically one huge in-joke for fans of the Alien films. The collar is made from a light, fast-drying material and is very comfortable. It bears the slogan "Building Better Dogs", a fun take on the fictional company's "Building Better Worlds" slogan. This arrived in our very first Loot Pets crate from Loot Crate, and
may be an exclusive item just for subscribers.

Photo by Erin Koski 

 I love subtle fandom humor. Not everyone needs to get it, and most won't even notice. Once in a while though, someone will happen upon it and really see it for what it is, and it will make their day.

I have a Miskatonic University parking pass sticker on my dashboard, down at the bottom where most of the local colleges require their parking passes to be places. It's subtle, and most people see it as just another parking sticker. However, someone with enough familiarity with the works of H.P. Lovecraft will recognize it as the fictional university mentioned in many of his stories. Hopefully they will get the same sort of gleeful "I GET that!" feeling I do when I see a Black Mesa bumper sticker.

So clearly the Weyland-Utani Corp collar is right up my alley. It bears the brand of a fictional megacorporation with tendrils touching every industry, so of course Wey-Ute would make dog collars. They make everything else, right?

Pros: Light, comfortable, and the dark color doesn't show off the dirt. Adjustable enough to fit everyone but Ru. Is a level of geeky rarely attainable via pet attire.

Cons: The light and comfy material probably won't look this awesome after a lot of heavy duty wear.

Bottom Line: It's so geeky, and so subtle that only other geeks will get it!

What's the geekiest pet item you own?

LootPets January: Invasion!

We got our second Loot Pets box by Loot Crate, and the theme this month is Invasion! There is so much awesome packed into these subscription boxes, it's difficult to convey. It's clear how much thought has gone into each and every item in the box, and there's something to love about everything. Even stuff Brisbane can't have is wonderful in one way or another.

There is an exclusive X-Files t-shirt designed for Threadless. Yes, those are UFOs abducting people. Ru is going to look smashing in this shirt as soon as it gets warm enough for him to stop wearing sweaters and enormously fluffy coats.

That 6' Space Invaders leash is by A Crowded Coop, a company I was previously unaware of. It turns out they make practically all of the cool geek and pop culture stuff out there, like Ru's Star Trek Collar, the Original Series communicator poo bag dispenser that lives on my purse, and a ton of the awesome stuff found at ThinkGeek.com.

Our last box had some awesome stuff by Quantum Mechanix, and this month we got a Battlestar Galactica disc that's just the right size for Sisci. We've been working on our disc skills, and this is a nice one to toss without worrying about it bonking into something.

The Invasion of the Sweet Potato Crisps are by Loving Pets, they're definitely more like puffed chips and less like dried root vegetables. Normally I would be grumbling about getting sweet potato treats now that I know Brisbane is also allergic to sweet potatoes, but Loot Crate is forgiven because of the illustration on the bag. It features flying alien sweet potato crisps frying people with their laser eyestalks. The crisps themselves are wavy and unlike anything I've seen before. Sisci is willing to eat them, so hopefully they won't go to waste.

The last thing in the box is a silver flying saucer Loot Pets collar charm. These things are wonderfully collectible. Actually the boxes themselves are pretty darned collectible, too. The inside is printed in a matching theme, it's almost like finding a handwritten note from my mom in my lunchbox (Note: My mother never actually wrote me lunchbox notes, and I packed all my own lunches anyway, so this is pure speculation). The boxes are just the right size for storing various odds and ends. Thank you, all you passionate geeks who invented the Loot Crate concept, for these small but significant details that make your subscription boxes extra-special.

LootPets: We Got a New Subscription Box

I had decided we were done with subscription boxes for a while, but then I heard about the Loot Pets box by Loot Crate and lost my mind. I mean look how cool this is! Loot Crate does subscription boxes for geeks and gamers, with fandom-related goodies. For those unaware, I am so geeky that I've read the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft, seen every episode of every iteration of Star Trek, and own the original three Star Wars films on laserdisc. That's right, laserdisc. Clearly the Loot Pets box was made just for us.

The theme this month is Galaxy! We got:

A Hypergalactic T-shirt by Loot Crate Labs, with planets and satellites and snowflakes and a lovely blending of space and winter. I had some trouble picking out the shirt size because Ru is so long and slinky. I love the length of this shirt on him, but it is very wide. I may dust off my sewing machine and sew a dart down the belly to improve the fit.

We also got a Founding Member Collar Charm, for subscribing to the first-ever Loot Crate for pets. It's a gold rocket ship, so much more awesome than the usual bones and hearts.

There's a collar branded Weyland-Yutani, the scary corporation from the Alien films. Instead of the company logo, "Building Better Worlds", the collar says "Building Better Dogs". It's by Quantum Mechanix. This collar will fit both Sisci and Brisbane. This is definitely one of the coolest things in this box, it's so awesome I can't even stand it. I adore subtle fandom fun, this is why I have a Miskatonic University parking pass sticker on my car.

The Firefly Troublemaker Dog Dish is the other super awesome item in our box. It has a non-skid ring on the bottom and is dishwasher, microwave, and oven-safe. It's a nice size, small enough for a big Ru bowl but big enough for Brisbane's dinner most nights. This one's also by Quantum Mechanix, makers of accurate, awesome, and sometimes delightfully subtle film and tv series goodies.

The last thing in here is a bag of Galactic Snaps Dog Treats by Loot Crate Labs. They are made from freeze-dried beef liver and nothing else, so Brisbane gets to have some!

Overall this is basically the best subscription box ever. I guess it's more for me than for them this time, given that there was only one bag of treats and no toys in there, but I'm sure they'll be something squeakable or throwable or chewable in there next month.

What's your favorite geek fandom?