Mongo Angry! Mongo Smash! The Store

Montoya, Inc.

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:39:00 +0000

Montoya, Inc.

Available at Redbubble for Light Apparel / Dark Apparel

Are you seeking vengeance? Have you spent your entire life seeking out the person that wronged you in the hopes you can give them the bitch slapping of a lifetime? Have you ever blaved at cards?

Here at Montoya, Inc., our professional Revenge Business Experts are ready to help you carry out your plans. Are they good? Of course. After 20 years, they ought to be. And don’t let the fact that they’re Spaniards cause you not to take their word. The experts at Montoya, Inc. have been in the revenge business so long, if it were over, they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves.

So, call now for all your revenge solutions. Operators are standing by.

“Hello, This is Montoya, Inc.
Someone killed your father? Let us help you prepare them to die.”

Say NOPA to SOPA

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:52:00 +0000

And of course, PIPA. Though when we talk about PIPA, I think, "You mean, the hot sister?"

Seriously, I tend to stay away from politics but this is something I believe in very immensely.   Ever since the Internet came into existence, it has been an ever changing medium and tool. It can cause an uprising against oppression and tyranny, as in the Arab Spring, but it can also cause people to make complete and utter asshats of themselves... of which even I am not immune at times.

The Internet is no different than the written or spoken word in terms of its impact on culture and history. It needs to be to used for good, no doubt, but I don't think it should be subject to the kind of carte blanche censoring that these bills will allow.

Basically, these bills give the ability for someone to take down or censor information solely on one person's word, not due process or even a scant of proof. These bills leave too much room for abuse by people who can simply pay to enforce it, namely groups like the RIAA.

Now, as a designer and graphic artist, shouldn't I support these bills? Shouldn't I be glad that someone is looking out for my interests? They aren't.   I am not corporate America. I am not mainstream Hollywood. I am the enemy in their eyes.   And even if I follow the letter of the law, as I continually try to do in terms of my art, I could be subject to the whims of people without proof.

You cannot stop evolution just because it does not fit into your business model.   And the groups that these bills are targeting will simply find a workaround anyway.   Home taping did not kill the music industry just as a sewing kit didn't kill the fashion industry. The VCR did not kill the Hollywood Box Office, crappy movies did.   And the Internet, specifically Napster, didn't kill the recording industry. The only way to stop piracy is to provide a better service than the pirates. That better service needs to come in the form of delivery as well as the actual content.

For that, I say NOPA to SOPA and have a shirt design to express my feelings.

Available at Redbubble

Let's see what Hitler has to say about SOPA.

Stand up for your rights. Don't let a poorly conceived acronym strip this country of what makes it so great.

Print On Demand Designers Feel Fees of PayPal Pinch

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:50:00 +0000

As a designer, I love getting those little emails that say, “Congratulations! You just sold a design on XXXXXX”. That “DoNotReply” form letter is a welcome sight in the world of email. It means that I produced something that someone else found to be good enough to buy. It’s a validation of my efforts at being an entrepreneur.

Even more welcoming is the email from PayPal that states I’ve received payment from the Print On Demand company I’ve been using to sell my works. That means I’ve made enough to get paid for my efforts. While the individual sale is a validation for my art. The payment email is a validation of my business model and my ability to continue doing the work I love.

Quite recently, though, I was greeted with my usual email about payment and went skipping and “tra la la la”-ing into my PayPal account to see the payment applied to my balance. Unfortunately, something didn’t add up. One of the companies I use, had issued a payment and PayPal issued a fee on top of it to the tune of 2.9% plus $0.30 of the payment.

I had never seen a fee tacked onto one of my commission checks and wasn’t sure if this was PayPal mucking something up or a new policy I was unaware of being instituted.

I contacted the company and asked if they had seen this before from any other designers. They informed me that 'Yes, unfortunately, PayPal had started requiring them to issue commissions as a purchase of services, instead of a personal payment.' Seems rather silly since the company did not actually purchase any service from me. I guess you could say that, as a designer, they are purchasing my design at the cost of their base pricing on apparel or products. Still, they are not the ones purchasing the service, the customer who buys my work is paying for a service and I am splitting the cost of the item with the Print On Demand company. PayPal looks to be tacking on fees to just be… tacky.

So far, this is the only company that has been told by PayPal to do business this way. I will know more once I receive payments from the other Print On Demand publishers I use. The company that provides 50% of my commissions states on their website that PayPal doesn’t charge fees for payments. This may change or this may be a case of them being a bigger player in the Print on Demand services industry and that keeps them exempt from this ‘fee’ that PayPal levies against the smaller guy. I am currently investigating with PayPal as to why this fee is now appearing and calling somewhat of a shenanigans on their practice of not requiring a fee with payments from other sites. As an update, I submitted a request for verification on December 1st and it's now December 16th. Great customer service you got there PayPal.

Of course, I could shoot myself in the foot with this and it could cause PayPal to start charging fees on all site payments. If this is the case, I will decide on whether or not I will keep using PayPal as a payment service.

The argument against physical checks

It sucks for me, the artist, because I am at the mercy of the mail service and have to be mindful of where the mail ends up in my house as well as minding the amount of transactions I make in my account. Luckily, I think I am OK in that area. I very rarely deposit money or write checks, using the wonderful world of technology at my disposal.

It sucks for the Print On Demand company because I am burdening them with having to physically print out a check and pay postage, rather than direct deposit electronically into an account. Now, in the case of my two biggest Print On Demand partners, I am not as concerned for them. They are huge corporations that have means necessary to do this.

However, I do use a couple of smaller businesses and I want them to do as well as possible. Go Small Business! The one in question did not seem to feel any more burdened by issuing me physical checks. They only require minimum payment of $50 and issue a $2.00 check fee to send me one. I would rather give them $2 for my check instead of giving PayPal 2.9% plus $0.30 on every payment amount. I could receive a physical check for $500 and only have to pay $2.00 for it vs. paying $14.80 for it to be sent electronically.

This is one of the reasons why I quit doing business over eBay. The fees kill the ability to reasonably price anything. In order to make a profit you need to account for listing and payment fees and that ends up pricing you out of a sale on some items. Back in the days when I was skirting the edges of PayPal rules and did secret e-card auctions, I would end up losing a lot of money to fees for items that had multiple purchases at the tune of $1.00. 33% of my efforts went to PayPal and an additional percentage went to the fees to list the items.

So, PayPal is nothing new in my world. They're a business and will continue to do what it takes to make money for their service. Of course, they can be a bit douchey when it comes to their fees. Look at what happened with Regretsy, this year. That doesn't mean we have to play their games.

Just recently, I was a part of a huge giveaway and thought it would be nice for us indie design brands to take up a collection to get something nice for our organizers. I put out the call to the others to give what they could, without being too crazy... it is Christmas, after all... we all have to take care of our own as well as each other. Anyway, the money came flowing in and after doing some quick math, something wasn't adding up. PayPal siphoned off a bit from a few of the payments because of the type of payment the issuer made.

So, as a business owner, always pay attention to your account and always be careful when using those little radio buttons on the payment portion.

The Full Mongo Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:42:00 +0000

Here it is... my interview day from The 12 Days of Christmas giveaway.

From TeeGazette:

What makes you so angry? Or is that all rumor.

My pants are too tight and I don’t get enough fiber. Kidding.
I am a big ball fluff in real life, most of the time. ‘Mongo Angry…’, the blog started as a war cry against the ridiculousness that has become pop culture these days. Remakes, adaptations, and a lack of original thought in Hollywood and the media has made this child of the 80s rise up and shake his meat hook at them. Shirts were kind of a byproduct of trying to express my love for dying childhood memories.

Tell us more about the person behind Angry Mongo!

Oh, that’s all boring stuff. It’s the same old story; actor turned bartender turned corporate lackey who turned a silly idea into a pretty decent side business. For realsies, I live in the suburbs outside Pittsburgh with my wife and daughter, hold down a desk job by day, and by night wreak havoc on the Internet with a mouse and a basic grasp of third grade English.

Is there a particular design you are most happy with that you have created?

Oh, now, I love all my children equally. *wink* Actually, the latest, Riverbottom Nightmare Band, is particularly gratifying in that I took a considerable amount of time on it. I am admittedly, not a good artist and I didn’t cheat or use tricks to achieve the look. That was down-to-the-pixel-level clicking that took a lot of late nights to finish.

Do you have any designs soon to be released in 2012?

I’m still trying to gather a few more ideas for a line of designs called ‘Brews of the Bard’ which will combine my love of Shakespeare with a fictional line of beers.

What designs have you created recently?

Flash 2.0 and Silly Walk Sign are the latest but I’ll probably crank out a couple more before the year’s end.

If you could win any t-shirt from the brands involved in this giveaway who would you pick?

Any one of those awesome brands would be a win in my book.

Who are your favourite friends on Twitter?

I have friends? Did you know about this? Why doesn’t anyone tell me these things? Seriously, I have a lot of great ones that have been quick to reply or RT a lot of stuff. I see no need to bring them down to my level by naming them. They’ve suffered enough.

What present do you want Santa to bring you this Xmas?

Some talent.

12 Days Of Christmas Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:59:00 +0000

It’s on! The 12 Days of Christmas giveaway has dropped like a fat man down a chimney. 12 days, 48 brands, 12 winners, 4 shirts to each. Get on over to The Tee Gazette and check it out. Each day is a different theme with different brands. I’ll be posting up a link to my interview on my day. You will have the chance to win four shirts, including one of mine. Rules are simple; comment, tweet, like, share. Do that and you’re in like a present under the tree.

Click the image to go to Tee Gazette and get in on the fun.

2nd Annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:50:00 +0000

Everyone, I wanted to give you a heads up that in 2 days I will be once again participating in the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway.

Last year, I joined 11 other shirt and apparel designers to give away a shirt a day plus stocking stuffers. It was a blast to be a part of such a great group of people. If I haven't said it before the design community has been fantastic and welcoming to this old schmoe. I am just as excited this year, if not more so, because there are 4x the amount of indie shirt brands and more prizes to give out. Here's the list from the Tee Gazette's official announcement.

48 indie t-shirt brands;
4 surprise event participants;
12 lucky tee winners;
2 lucky bonus winners;
12 days of winning;
over $1000 USD in prizes!

And here are the rules:

There will be ONE winner each day;
Each daily winner will receive a prize pack of 4 t-shirts;
Each daily giveaway will be open for 24 hours, beginning at 12AM PST and ending at 11:59PM PST;
Winner(s) will be announced shortly after the daily giveaway ends;
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway is open WORLDWIDE – Anyone, anywhere can enter;
There will be a TOTAL of 12 lucky tee winners, each winning a prize pack of 4 themed tees;
Winner(s) have 24 hours to claim their prize, otherwise a new winner will need to be picked

And once the specifics are nailed down you can enter via:

Twitter
Facebook
Tumblr
Comments via TTG

Good luck and stay tuned!

Think Geek Air Swimmers

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 22:16:00 +0000

Click image to go get one.

From ThinkGeek...

We'll admit it. We saw that viral video of the kitty getting spooked by the RC flying shark and we went scrambling to get the digits of the folks who made them. Lo and behold, we found they made a Clownfish too!

RC flying sea creatures are perfect for doling out justice to fish-stalking kitties or just scaring the pants off the guy in the next cube over. (If you wear headphones and have your backs to us, you're just asking to get pranked.) The AirSwimmers RC flying sea creatures stalk through the air with incredibly smooth and life-like motion. Fill your AirSwimmer with helium at the nearest party store, florist shop, or grocery store that carries balloons. (Or use the helium tank in your friendly mad scientist's lab.)

The AirSwimmer's body is made from a high-quality, durable nylon material that will stay inflated for weeks and can be refilled over and over again. Grab the infra-red remote and you can guide the shark or clownfish up, down, and 360 degrees around. Product Specifications For Ages 3 Years and Up RC flying inflatable AirSwimmer toy Hours of flying sea creature fun for the whole family Durable, high-quality nylon material will stay inflated for weeks Simply refill with new helium when the AirSwimmer doesn't fly anymore Remote functions: Climb, descend, and tail fin control for turning

Range: Up to 40 feet
Includes Shark or Clownfish and infra-red controller

Requires 4AAA batteries (not included)

Requires helium (not included, find it anywhere that sells balloons)

Length (with tail): 57 inches

Height (with fins): 36 inches

Note: Not to be used outdoors

Zazzle Black Friday Deals Extended Until 8pm PST 11/25

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 20:55:00 +0000

Use Code ZBLACKFRIDAY to save on the following:

$5 OFF t-shirts

Law & Onomatopoeia

$3 OFF mugs

Honey Badger Dont Care

50% OFF cards & invitations

Winter Carriage Ride

20% OFF mobile cases

MacReady's BBQ

FREE SHIPPING (on orders of $50 or more)

FREE 2-DAY SHIPPING $39.95 $19.95 for a year of Zazzle Black 2-Day!

$3 off during 'Black Weekend' Sale At Mongo Angry Mongo Smash's Skreened Store

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:02:00 +0000

You can have your Black Friday sale, because over at my Skreened Shop, I am going to drop prices on all my stuff by $3.00. Three Days, Three Dollars. Now, you don’t have to go out and fight the masses at Walmart or at the mall. You can sit around in your pajamas… though I’ve seen that at Walmart a few times… and get all the funny shirts for your family and friends, discounted for the entire weekend.

Hell, you can sleep in, watch all those back episodes of Parks & Rec or CSI, and then eventually get around to shopping on Sunday and you’ll still save at my store while retail outlets clean up the blood and shredded Snuggie bits. And while they raise all their prices back up and sit around to count their money, you can continue to shop for less, only risking an advanced case of carpal tunnel, which you were well on your way to getting after completing all those Lighthouse Cove quests in Farmville…. ahem, just guessing.

So, surf on into Angry Mongo’s Skreened store and save some time and money. I’ve got plenty of great designs in a lot of different colors and styles for you to stuff their stocking with on Christmas. Here's just a sampling of the latest designs to be added to the store.

The Flash

USB Hero, Bazinga!

Riverbottom Nightmare Band

Those hoodlums from Riverbottom got their own edition of the popular video game.

Brute Squad

Man in Black Protection availble, I mean it. Anybody want a peanut.

Venger

NANA-NANA-NANA-NANA-NANA-NANA-NANA-NANA-VENGER!

And There Was Much Rejoicing

yay...

Dapper Darth Helmet Wax

Even when I'm 12 parsecs from everywhere, I never forget. I'm a Dapper Darth Man.

Winter Is Coming

A cold front has been spotted on Stark Doppler, Winter is coming for Westeros.

Dr. House's Horrible Sing-a-long

Dr. Horrible Meets Dr. House

And, don't forget my number one seller...

Honey Badger Don't Care

He's just a nasty ass hungry badger.

White Friday Sale: 50% off Zazzle stuff for 4 hours

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:04:00 +0000

From Zazzle…

50% Off T-Shirts, Mugs,
Cards, Invites, Wrapped
Canvas, Calendars, Mobile Cases, Ornaments,
Necklaces, AND Keychains!

Use code: FFHSHUGEDEAL

It's the last big Friday Four Hour Sale of 2011 and we're going out in style! Starting right now, you have exactly four hours to save 50% on t-shirts, mugs, cards, photo cards, invitations, wrapped canvas, calendars, mobile phone cases, iPad cases, ornaments, necklaces and keychains from Zazzle. Shop thousands of designs in our marketplace, or craft your own unique gift with our easy-to-use design tools. Now's the time to save big!

Can't shop right now? Worry not! After four hours have passed, you can still receive 20% off t-shirts, mugs, cards, photo cards, invitations, wrapped canvas, calendars, mobile phone cases, iPad cases, ornaments, necklaces and keychains for the rest of the weekend. But be sure to act soon!

From Me...

Get a jump on Black Friday with what I’ve called White Friday!

Honey Badger Don’t Care shirts 50% off

Honey Badger Dont Care by Mongo Angry Mongo Smash

Puss in Boots iPhone Case 50% off

Puss In Boots Poster by pussinboots

More iPod touch cases

Winter is Coming shirts – 50% off

Winter Is Coming by Mongo Angry Mongo Smash

Zombey Road Shirt 50% off

Zombey Road by Mongo Angry Mongo Smash

We Are The 99% at 50% off

We Are The 99 by Mongo Angry Mongo Smash

Designated Texter iPhone Case 50% off

Designated Texter by Mongo Angry Mongo Smash

Deathly Hallows iPad Cases 50% off

Harry Potter 7 Part 2 - Harry vs. Voldemort by harrypotter

See other iphone cases

Harry 8 by harrypotter

Nothing Beats a Pittsburgh Girl Shirt 50% off

Pittsburgh Girl by Mongo Angry Mongo Smash

Winter Carriage Ride iPad Case 50% off

Winter Carriage Ride by Mongo Angry Mongo Smash

Winter Carriage Ride Christmas Cards 50% off

Winter Carriage Ride by Mongo Angry Mongo Smash

MacReady's Deep South BBQ Shirt 50% off

MacReady's BBQ by Mongo Angry Mongo Smash

World’s Greatest Final Boss mug 50% off

World's Greatest Final Boss by Mongo Angry Mongo Smash

Star Wars – Original Gangster shirt 50% off

Jabba the Hutt: Original Gangster by starwars

Lightning McQueen kids shirt 50% off

Lightning McQueen 5 by disney

Browse other Lightning T-Shirts

Congratulations To The Mongoween Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:10:00 +0000

It was a great week for Mongoween. I had lots of great tweets and posts about Halloween and the winner has been contacted and the prize pack is in the mail.

Congratulations to Allison Saurino who tweeted her entry. She will get her ghoulish prizes by Friday.

Mongoween Giveaway 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:09:00 +0000

It’s that time of year and do I have some treats for you.

Last year, I had a kick ass giveaway for Halloween and this year, I’m doing it again. The Treat Bag is overflowing with goodies and the winner will get the following.

Choice of either a Zombie Food Pyramid, Kill The Brain And You Kill The Ghoul or Zombey Road shirt.
MacReady’s BBQ Apron for cooking up aliens, flamethrower optional.
A Silver Shamrock keychain. Just don’t wear the mask when you see the commercial.
This Is Not a Horcrux mug. Yes, I’ve may have given a part of my soul for a cup of coffee in the morning but that doesn’t mean it has to be destroyed.
$20 Gift card to Skreened. You can use online or at their store in Columbus, OH.
Killer Klowns From Outer Space DVD.
Michael Jackson 25th Anniversary of Thriller (CD+DVD).
The usual creepy crawly extras.
???? It’s a surprise!
???? Another surprise!

There are three ways to enter, which means you also have three chances to win.
Just answer the question, "What's your favorite scary movie?"

Comment in the comment section answering the question.
Like MAMS on Facebook and comment on the appropriate post answering the question.
OR Tweet, “I’m entering the #Mongoween giveaway for chance to win a bunch of treats http://bit.ly/nuthVQ”

The giveaway runs from October 14^th at 11:59 PM EST to October 23^rd at 11:59 EST.

UPDATE: Due to a shipping snafu, Killer Klowns DVD will be delayed. I apologize 1000 times over. However, I want to get the bulk of the prize pack to the lucky winner out by Monday and to make amends, I'm throwing another DVD into the mix as a bonus. In fact, one of the entries sparked the idea. After all, what's better than having one killer clown movie to give away?

Two!

Mongoween Giveaway Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:33:00 +0000

Last year, I held a Halloween giveaway that went quite well. I gave out a prize package of about 10 items that were themed around Halloween including two shirts, the Zombie Survival Guide and a signed photo from an actor who has been in great horror films like Dawn of the Dead and Silence of the Lambs.

Last year's Giveaway Post

I’m doing it again and by the end of the week, I will be putting up the actual entry posting and then we will go from there, so stay tuned.

This year I am looking to give away some more Mongo Halloween/Horror gear, another DVD, another CD, and some other stuff.

Keep coming back for more.

O Vader, Where Art Thou?

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:42:00 +0000

Vader. He is the man of constant sorrow. He’s seen troubles all through his days.

Dapper Darth Helmet Wax

Now available at Skreened and Red Bubble.

One of the biggest thrills of doing shirt design is to try and find two polar opposite themes and just smash them both together. Hopefully, the result is something that plays well on a shirt. Better yet, is when you see the design and your mind wanders off into the madness of how really close those two opposing ideas are.

There is a lot more going on between O Brother Where Art Thou and Star Wars than you can imagine. Just take a look at the next two weeks after the end of A Hew Hope.

I could just imagine… and I hope someone actually has the brains to make a video of this… Darth Vader walking into some Podunk outer rim shop to get parts for his busted up Tie Fighter and some Helmet Wax. The shopkeeper tells him that the parts are not available and won’t be in for a while. After handing the Sith Lord a can of FET Wax, Vader gets testy. Saying he doesn’t want FET. He’s a Dapper Darth Man. When the shopkeeper, again, tells him that in order to get Dapper Darth he’d have to wait, Darth goes off on him.

“Why, this place is a geographical oddity. 12 parsecs from everywhere.”

I imagine the scene ends with a dead shopkeeper on the floor.

But, perhaps Darth doesn't lose his touch of the blues and eventually, on his death bed he decides it's time for one last jam session...

Did Yinz Feel That - Pittsburgh Earthquake Shirt

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:22:00 +0000

So.... we had an earthquake on the East Coast, which rarely happens. I totally missed the shaking but my wife called me at work to ask if I had felt it. It was a 5.8 magnitude quake in Virginia.

People as far North as Boston and as far West as Michigan felt the tremors due to how shallow the quake struck.

Being a Pittsburgher, the typical response was, "Did Yinz Feel That?" So, now there's a shirt for the occassion.

Did Yinz Feel That?

Get it from Mongo, Angry! Mongo Smash!

Deck Your Walls With YourDecoShop

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:33:00 +0000

As we near the tenth anniversary of 9/11. It’s hard to not still feel a sense of sadness over those events. Being an hour away from Shanksville, PA, I challenge anyone to go there and not walk away with a lump in your throat. Feelings of sorrow aside, there is a company called YourDecoShop, that makes some awesome wall mural decals and you can get them to decorate your own abode.

Here is a perfect example of posterity with a silhouetted skyline of NYC with the World Trade Center towers still standing. You can get the decal in varying sizes from 23.6 x 7.9 inches all the way to 141.3 x 48 inches.

Click on the button below to head into their site.

Angry Birds iPhone 4 Cases

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:32:00 +0000

AngryMongo promoting Angry Birds? How could he not?

Angry Birds iPhone 4 Cases

The funny thing about smartphones is that we most often use them for their smart capabilities rather than the phone capabilities. And if we were to run a program and make a pie chart of the ways you use your iPhone 4, we're going to bet that a large slice of that pie involves the various Angry Birds games. What would happen if you were to damage your precious Angry Birds playing device? THE HORROR! Don't let that happen! Protect your Angry Birds device with one of these officially licensed Angry Birds iPhone 4 cases. They're made of hard plastic for maximum impact protection and are available in three different designs featuring the birds you love. The case features holes to let you access all the important buttons and ports on your iPhone 4. It's the perfect iPhone 4 case for the Angry Birds addict in your life... you? Product Specifications Hard plastic iPhone 4 cases for the Angry Birds fan Officially licensed Angry Birds product Features holes to access all your buttons and ports Very low profile, won't add unnecessary bulk to your phone Three models available: Red Bird, Yellow Bird, Black Bird

Harry Potter Marauder's Map

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:38:00 +0000

Harry Potter Marauder's Map From Thinkgeek

Click image to buy from ThinkGeek

We think every office could benefit from a Marauder’s Map. Just think about all of the awkward situations that could be avoided if you knew where everyone was at all times. For starters, Lumbergh would never ask you to work on Saturday. You could conveniently arrive in the kitchen when nobody’s using the microwave (or when that cutie from Accounting is there). Best of all, you’ll know when your boss has left the building so you can scoot home early on a Friday unnoticed. But for now, you’ll have to settle for this really amazing map of Hogwarts, prepared with love by Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. Sneak around the halls of Hogwarts with your own Harry Potter Marauder's Map. This highly detailed replica is printed on quality parchment paper and is a whopping 72 inches wide when unfolded. Product Specifications Marauder’s Map of Hogwarts School as seen in the Harry Potter films Sneak around Hogwarts with Harry and friends Detailed replica printed on high quality parchment paper Measures approximately 15.5” x 72” open and 15.5” x 8.25” folded.

The Deathly Hallows Shirts

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:58:00 +0000

Here's a problem for all you Muggles out there.
How do you make a Harry Potter shirt sell in a world where sites have multiple tees with the same design?

Well, if you find out the answer, let me know. Until then, I give you two of my own takes on the Harry Potter series. "Not A Horcrux" and "The Deathly Hallows."

This Is Not A Horcrux

The Deathly Hallows: White

Both are from my Skreened store.

Of course, if you want more 'official' gear then here's a couple of items from Zazzle.

The Battle of Hogwarts by harrypotter

Snape 2 iPad Case by harrypotter

House of Re-Animator

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:47:00 +0000

I've never actually watched House and have only seen a few of the Re-Animator movies, but I thought they needed to be on a shirt together, Cthulhu be damned. So... I give you a mash up of Drs. House and West.

House Re-Animator - Mongo Angry! Mongo Smash!

At Skreened.

Fun fact about the shirt design:

I designed the whole thing in white and then duplicated the layers that were going to be green. The underlying layers were blurred and then I used the 'glow' effect in Paint.Net. Lastly, I changed the colors to that neon green color on both the top layers and bottom layers.

Unfortunately, I felt a little bad about having to muck up the design with the syringe, but I felt it needed to be there to connect the idea back to Lovecraft and the Re-Animator series. Otherwise, it may have been to obscure of a concept. I think I might do an additional without the syringe for the pop culture elite.

2011 Summer Giveaway Winner Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 22:00:00 +0000

That’s it! We have a winner in the Angry Mongo Summer 2011 Super Deluxe Awesome Show Giveaway!

I wrote down the entries, in the order they were given, into a spreadsheet. I, then, took the total number of entries and added that into the True Random Number Generator at Random.org. It spat out a single number and that belonged to...

Joby Franczek (@baldfatguy) who posted that their favorite vacation spot was Sun Palace, Cancun.

Congratulations!

The 2011 Summer Giveaway Banner

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Click to for details!

AngryMongo Summer Giveaway 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 22:05:00 +0000

The official start of summer is almost upon us and I thought it was time to have another giveaway.

What do you have to do?

You have three ways to enter and three chances to win.

Simply answer this question: “What’s your favorite summer vacation spot?”

Post your answer in the comments section of this blog post.
Like and Comment your answer on this post on my Facebook page.

OR…
Tweet “I’m entering the @AngryMongo Sumer Giveaway for a chance to win some great prizes. #AngryMongoSummer”.

You don’t need to tell me your vacation spot on Twitter.

What do I win?

Here is the prize package:

One winner will get the following…

A Doodle speaker with the new M.A.M.S. logo from Zazzle and OrigAudio.

The AngryMongo Logo on a Doodle Speaker

by Mongo Angry, Mongo Smash!

Three DVDs pulled from the vault of 80s Summer Awesomeness

Meatballs

One Crazy Summer

The Great Outdoors

A shirt with a design of your choice from one of those movies. (There are four designs to choose from.)

Camp Mohawk

Camp North Star

Lobster Log Restaurant
(On the back of the shirt.)

I Ate The Old 96er
(Says "I Ate the Old '96er" on the back)

That's five big prizes, plus I'll throw in some other fun summer stuff that will bring the total to ten items in all. (The Prize Pack from the Halloween Giveaway came with some plastic creepy crawlies in the box as well.)

How long do I have to enter?

Giveaway runs from Midnight, Friday June 17^th, 2011 and running through 11:59 PM, Friday June 24^th, 2011.

That’s it. Have fun and good luck!

Fine ass print:
Only one entry per person, per method of entering. (i.e. One post here, one on Facebook, and one Tweet). Open to all human based lifeforms, no bots please. Do no spam the comment box, it's tough to get that shit out of the cracks. All movies are on DVD format and are assumed to be brand new per Amazon. I will inspect all items before shipping. Shirt prize will be delivered separately and may come from an alternate store based on availability and sizes. If there are any defects with the shirt, please contact me to arrange for a replacement. By entering this giveaway you, the entrant, consent to sharing your name and answer with the Internet. I will not publish any personal information like email or shoe size, but I do wish to share who is the winner of the giveaway. All eligible entries will be assigned a number. Winner will be picked at random based on the number of their entry through Random.org. Bribes are accepted but it will not increase chances of being picked. Offer not valid on Pandora, Narnia, or Dantooine. Are you actually reading this? If you are I'd like to take a moment and ask WTF was up with CatDog? Seriously, dude. It was a dog and cat head on either end of the body. How did it relieve it self? Did it lick the other face? How could it breed? OK, I'm done. You're still reading, aren't you? You're expecting more goofy stuff to appear like at the end of the TV show or movie aren't you? I'm not your puppet. I don't just randomly decide to type stuff in a vain attempt at being humorous. That would be lame and a complete waste of both our times. I've got things to do. I have a life. I have a job. I don't have time to just type out stuff like, "I just heard that book read by Samuel L. Jackson and it was hysterical." That would be uber lame. You know what else is lame? Using the word uber. I once read an interview with Megan Fox where she used the word uber like four times. Totally lame. It's no wonder she got the boot from Transformers 3. Really done, now. I mean it. This is the last thing I am going to write, here. OK, I lied. I have this itch that... kidding. Thanks for reading. >:(

A Beard Is a Party Down Below

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 23:38:00 +0000

One of the things I wanted to do with this blog is give tips to both designers and entrepreneurs as well sell my own shirts. I've been a bit lax on the tips posts.

So, I'll combine a tip on how to design and profile a new design all at the same time.

One of the latest designs I came up with was an attempt to meld typography and pop culture aspects into one. Beards are a fun thing for geeks to discuss as in Epic Beard Man or Brett Keisel. Maybe it's a man thing or just a silly thing to love. In any case, beards are a party down below.

I started to think about the phrase attached to the mullet, "Business up front and party in the back." I thought about applying that idea to a beard and ran through my head, "Party down below." Of course, I wasn't the first person to say that phrase but not a lot of people applied to a shirt design.

Along with the phrase, I wanted something fun to use as the delivery method for the phrase. I began playing with different elements of how to design a beard with the phrase involved. What I settled on was that the phrase could be the beard. Then came the hard part; how do I draw that?

first attempt at Beard Party

I drew a common looking beard, nothing realistic and then tried to draw the letters into the available space. I played with different brushes and effects in Photoshop before realizing that it would be simple in Paint.Net, my go to paint program.

Better attempt using Outline Object tool

In order to achieve the effect, I simply used Microsoft Word's Word Art tool to draw the phrase in a curve above and below, using the available space of the beard. But I didn't like the overall effect. It didn't have texture or the appearance of a real beard. Then an idea struck me. If I was using the available space, anyway, why not just build on the words as the actual beard? Then, all I did was continually add Outline Object until the consistency was just about right. Lastly, I cut out a mouth area between the words.

A Beard Is a Party Down Below
by Mongo Angry! Mongo Smash!

There you have it. It's a very simple process that can be used to do a lot of different words as shapes.

The Instant Millionaire: There Is a Good Reason Why You're Not One

noreply@blogger.com (Mongo) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:53:00 +0000

It has been awhile since I did any posts on the business side of being an entrepreneur or self employment. I apologize. I’ve been busy with real work and… Minecraft. [hangs head]

I thought I take a few minutes to give the new-to-self-employed-home-business-entrepreneur crowd a chance to get a few bits of wisdom from the old Mongster. Remember as always the following things.

1. I am not a rich business owner promising instant wealth.

2. I don’t have a business degree.

3. YMMV - look it up, learn it, live it.

Six years ago I started entertaining the idea of a home brew business or I should say, ‘I started entertaining the idea of making more money with little effort.’ I failed, miserably. A byproduct of those early searches moved me towards IFWs. Incentivized Free Websites are a way to bypass normal channels to get things, even money if you choose to, but yield almost a 1 to 1 ratio of work to profit. So, I got in, got my free PS3 and got back out. Well, actually, to be truthful, I got my $100 PS3 and got out. I don’t even know if they still hold the same quality and value that they did when I was using them. I’ll have to check that out. All I do know is that I stopped putting effort into them and they stopped producing results. That was enough for me to leave them alone.

Next I started the blogging gig, for which I am still involved with, today. It was more an exercise in writing about pop culture. I was looking to hone my writing skills and maybe test the waters of making money with an Internet based business.

Have I made any money because of my writing? It’s debatable. The money I make from my other business could be directly related to blogging, in some way. But to tell you the truth, I have never seen one check from Google Ads, Amazon, or any other monetized portion of my blogs. Once again, not a lot of effort on my part yields not a lot of money on theirs. I think you can see where I am going with this long assed rant.

Then, one day a Mongo shirt was sold. I couldn’t believe it. I started putting a little effort into doing Print on Demand t-shirt sales. I translated the blogging about pop culture into design shirts around the subject. Lo and behold, a little bit of effort yielded some results in a couple of checks. A little more effort, a little blogging, a little social media interaction and a few bigger checks came through. I thought, “Hey, this working thing is um… working.”

Over the last three years, I have made a lot of progress and for what it’s worth, I’ve been able to increase my gross shirt income to five figures, which is actually double what I made in my first year. I also learned a lot about taxes on self employed business models. I must figure out how to get my cable, Internet, and Entertainment Weekly subscription as a write off for 2011.

Throughout that journey, I never forget where I was six years ago, listening to radio ads and get rich quick Internet schemes looking for the one that would be legitimate.

The truth is, if it’s a radio ad that talks about making instant millions or starting your home business with ‘My free informational CD’, chances are, the only one making any money is the guy in the ad. First of all, anyone that tells you that they will send you a free CD is lying. Actually, let me rephrase that. They are giving you a free CD with stuff on it that costs you money, later on. In fact, you may not even get through the call before they start asking you for your credit card information.

Red Flag Number One

There is an old saying, “Give me five bucks and I will tell you the secret to becoming rich.” Are we getting it, yet? Let me slow that down for those of you playing at home. The secret is getting someone to give you the five bucks and then telling them to do the exact same thing to someone else. After enough suckers cough up the five bucks, you are rich.

Don’t get involved with a group that wants money or your credit card information up front. Reputable talent agencies, of which I’ve dealt with, will always take a cut of the final profit. Don’t ever think your little angel will be a famous star if you have to sign something and give that guy in the room at the Motel 6 a check up front. That is a sure scam. Just like someone telling you that you can make money or become rich just by getting their ‘Free Informational CD’. Even those companies that operate legitimately in this manner provide you a clear indication of how much you will have to spend up front not after your credit card has multiple charges on it.

Red Flag Number Two

That free informational CD. That seems to be the common thread through various scams. In fact, the most current one I’ve heard involves a company called DVDNow which offers you the chance to make money in the Movie Rental Kiosk Business. They offer you the ‘Free CD’ and will probably end up charging your card if you either don’t cancel ahead of time. And anyone who has gone this route can attest to the fact that trying to contact a live person in that tangled mess of a phone tree is damn near impossible. It’s almost set up to have you miss the deadline which is exactly how they become rich while you waste your time on gimmicks and shoddy equipment or services. Besides, I’ve been to their website and I can tell you this, you buy the equipment, you buy the movies and then you rent them out wherever you can set up your kiosk. In fact, they don’t even give any kind of pricing on their website.

Red Flag Number Three

I call this one the ‘Charlie Sheen Rule’. After you end up on the hook with a scam businesses, the help and warm fuzzy they showed you before, disappears. As Charlie Sheen pointed out to a heckler who wasn’t happy with Sheen’s one man show, “Sorry, dude, already got your money.” You may be able to get your credit card company to initiate a charge back or refund, but that takes time and you still have to pay your bills and won’t have a newfound stream of income coming in to cover it.

“Too good to be true” is a cliché, but clichés only get to become clichés by being a true statement in the first place. Whenever you hear those commercials or see the catchy ads that promise wealth from a seemingly obvious outlet, it’s because they know their audience. People who don’t need the money usually don’t fall victim to the ‘Get Rich Quick’ types of scams. The companies figure that the unsuspecting person is in a bad way, financially, and they can use enticing and attractive promises to help you. In the end, they are only interested in getting your money, not helping you get other people’s money.

Don’t be deterred, though. If you want to start your own business, do it. But remember, it takes effort. Frankly, if you want my honest opinion, do what you know. My mother has a little side business that does some private party catering. She does all the work herself and always has people recommending her for Christmas cookies or small weddings. She has to turn people away who have been referred to her because she doesn’t have the resources to do huge parties and a lot of orders. She knows her limits and operates within them.

Another example; I have a friend who does wonderful cupcakes. These are not just yellow or devil’s food with some simple icing. These are fancy cupcakes with various flavors and some real care put into the decorating. She is a full time RN and mom that has this little side business. She recently got a promotion so she can’t see herself doing the cupcake thing full time. She’d have to do way too many cupcakes to compensate for the loss in salary from her job. But, eventually she may decide to expand. The point is she isn’t making millions off of her business but she saw a niche that she could get into and put forth as much effort as she wanted out of it. It’s not a get rich quick operation. It builds clientele and credibility and small streams of revenue.

In my case, after giving up on trying to get rich quick, I went with what I knew how to do. I started using PODs to sell funny t-shirts and used social media tools, like this blog and twitter to promote it. I also relied heavily on a wonderful peer base of other designers that were more than gracious enough to get the word out. I did what I knew and it has paid off over time.

The key takeaway is ‘over time’. If you want to build up a successful business it takes time. Now, timing factors in a great deal. There are tons of success stories that involve having the right idea at the right moment. It’s not that I want to sell you on the idea that you will never make a million dollars in a small window just by being lucky. It can happen. Then again, do you play the lottery? Have you ever won the jackpot? ‘Nuff said. There isn’t a lot of skill in winning the lottery. It takes luck. But, like business, it takes persistence. You can’t win if you don’t play.

Some of the greatest ideas started out in someone’s garage or on a cocktail napkin. Yet, for every one of those brilliant, million dollar ideas, a million other dollar ideas failed. You never hear about the failed businesses. You’ll never hear them from people trying to sell you on the get rich quick method, either.

No one wants to hear the truth when it comes to making money. They just want the cars and luxury oceanfront homes and are more than happy to sell you the idea of becoming just like them. Yet, it very rarely works out that way. The funny thing is that I am constantly telling people what I do. I shout it from the rooftops. I continually post on my Facebook page about huge orders. Why? Well, it could be a little bit egotistical, I admit. However, for the most part I am trying to share the success with people who want to take that plunge into POD designing. I want to give them the encouragement to try. If the world’s laziest designer can do it, so can they.

I’ll give you one last example of someone who made it big doing the home brew route. Amanda Hocking is a twenty something novelist who has become a millionaire by selling eBooks on Amazon. I can see your mouth is already watering and you’ve stopped reading my stuff and started writing the great American novel. Well, hold up on that.

She’s famous because she is successful. Again, you don’t hear about the other millions of writers that cannot sell a single piece of work, regardless of their talent. Amanda’s success hinges on two very important factors. She sells her books electronically on Amazon and writes in the genre of paranormal romantic fiction. To put it another way; if the solar system was made up of writers, she would be Earth. Everyone else would be Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and the rest of the planets. I would be Pluto.

Amanda writes in a genre that is really popular and sustainable. My wife owns a ton of these types of books. They are literally stacked three feet high on the night stand next to our bed. Between Twilight, True Blood, and The Vampire Diaries, the genre is doing well. The other thing going for Amanda is that she can deliver a repeatable process very cheaply. There is no printing. It’s all electronic and the cost is substantially less than printed books. Earth. It is the distance from the sun with the right mix of minerals, chemicals, and gasses perfect for supporting life. Amanda even dispels the magic of her fame by saying she went a long time before she sold anything. It wasn’t an overnight success. But it does give you something to think about in terms of self publishing. But her business model probably only works in the electronic, self publishing, format. No publishing house would be able to replicate her success and profit through traditional means. Yet she has recently inked a deal for a hardcopy novel and is in talks about doing a film based on her works.

Still, I know some businesses that lost their luster when they went big time. In fact, I know of one in my area that I was attracted to because of its home grown, grass roots business model. I continually tried to get a job there to no avail. Then, they got some big time investors and now share ownership of the company with a board on the west coast. They’ve pretty much moved everything out to the Bay area. Now, they are relying more on technology than they were on human involvement. After promising no layoffs, they ended up laying off a dozen employees. That may not seem like a lot but when you only have 250 employees, that is like 5% of their workforce. I’m not saying it is a bad company. It’s just different, now. Call it sour graps but that trendy, indie business model just mirrors everything else in this world that seems broken in business.

My philosophy is that if it isn’t broke, why fix it? Just ask my mom. Just ask Amanda. Just ask me. I’m not ready for overnight success. I want to be around for awhile. Don’t get me wrong. If I made a million dollars from my shirts, I wouldn’t complain. But once I hit that milestone, where do I go? This is why I would have never made it in business school. I would rather build out than up. I would rather have sustainability over profitability in the long run. Then again, I also put forth very little effort and am reaping the benefits. I’m better than an instant millionaire. I am the lazy success.