Friday, October 2, 2026

October 2 - Jack

Jack left on a cold, dark night, telling her he'd be home.

Fought the tide throughout the night and vanished among the foam.

He's walked these shores for 20 years,
washing the sand with his spectral tears.

Searching the shores, for his Becky-oh.

A tender touch, her gentle kiss,
How he longs to take her hand in his,

And lead her away to unseen shores.

He's been washing the sand with his spectral tears,
searching the shores for these long years.

And he'll walk the sea - forevermore.

Till he'll finds his Becky-oh.

He'll find.  His Becky-oh.

He'll find.  His Becky-oh.

Becky-oh.

Becky-oh.

Becky-oh.

Ahhh, Jack.  
Immortalized in song, but nobody ever bothered to hear his side.
Sinéad knows the tune! (link)
Mwahahahahahaa! *snort*

Tales from the Other Other Side of the Sty:



Thursday, October 1, 2026

October 1 - Humpty Lumpty

As all the King's horses and all the King's men solemnly withdrew..

"I'll help", said a wizard, all crooked and thin,
Who gathered the pieces and stitched them with skin.
He worked through the night with needle and thread,
Then the town crier cheered, "Humpty's not dead!"

The crowd gathered closer, delighted at first,
But their faces went pale and they quickly dispersed.
Where once there was eggshell, now Humpty had meat,
With big beady eyeballs and two hairy feet.

Though Humpty was Humpty, still whole deep inside,
He'd seen in their faces, the wizard had lied.
He stared at his body, and started to bawl.
Then slowly began climbing back up the wall.

Poor Humpty!  Seems that repair job wasn't all it was cracked up to be!
I guess you could say his makeover went over ... easy!
Mwahahahahahaa! *snort*

Tales from the Other Other Side of the Sty:



Wednesday, September 30, 2026

September 30 - The PigKeeper

Well, well, well... Look who's here.

As the spirits begin to stir for October, I'd like to welcome you to Tales from the Other Side of the Sty.

I'm the Pigkeeper - part gravedigger, part storyteller, and I'll be your ... somewhat reliable narrator. 

For the next 31 days, we'll meet ghoulies and ghosties, monsters and mysteries, and hear strange little tales from the places that were better left buried.

So grab a shovel - because what would be the fun in THAT!?

Mwahahahaha! *snort*


Tales from the Other Other Side of the Sty:



Tuesday, September 29, 2026

September 29 - Tuftex Cameo


Tell yo brother, yo sister
And yo momma too
'Cause we're about to throw down
And you'll know just what to do

~ Cameo - Word Up!

I feel like blush is such an important color in a kit, and for the rest of my days I'll be searching for that perfect replacement to Qualatex blush.

Tuftex Cameo is very close in color (comparisons shown on the blog).  It inflates super soft and pliable with a lot of surface area for a sidewall bubble, which should probable be part of any standardized latex testing going forward.  There were no shocking pops or random deflations.

Overall impression was that it would be a pretty good blush replacement .. for 260s.  I don't think Tuftex does other twisting sizes (yet?) though.




Other color day balloons:


Monday, September 28, 2026

September 28 - Tuftex Sea Glass

Tell me I'm wrong or that I'm insane
I'm looking for truth, not someone to blame
All I want is to live as clear as sea glass

~ Heather Nova - Sea Glass

Tuftex Sea Glass is simply another name for light blue.  They are being playful with naming again, because it's not the color of sea glass which (to me at least) would be a transparent darker color, likely green.   

These balloons inflated pretty fat and were not super tough, many things got a slow fracture leak at a twist location.  

Overall impression of Tuftex Sea Glass?   I wouldn't say they were bad, just that they were not very good.  Alas, poor Yorrick, these are not for me.

I like to limit myself to one "ugh - are you kidding me?" deflation per bag.




Other color day balloons:



Sunday, September 27, 2026

September 27 - Celetex Red

They say, "Freak"
When you're singled out
The red ... It filters through

~ Chevelle - The Red

After a first experience with Celetex balloons, I really wasn't looking forward to cracking these open.   

I tried not to go into the experiment with a negative perspective ... but it was quickly reinforced.

In 4 words (5 if you count the contraction) - I don't like them.

There is something off about the latex feel of every Celetex balloon I've twisted, there again is a lack of friction to hold my pinch twists -- and many of these balloons reverse inflated.  

I was happy be done with them - and feel like I want a bit more of a break before I try the last color I bought from them.

Overall assessment, no.  Just .. no.




Recent "color day" balloons:



Saturday, September 26, 2026

September 26 - Tuftex Hot Pink

Hot pink volcano in the heart of the tornado
Is shaking the lemonade tree
Hot pink forest is backed by a furnace
That boils the lemonade free

~ Meat Puppets - Hot Pink

Hot Pink.  Fssssssssss!   Ow!

What can I say really that I haven't already about having multiple pinks?  It's a color group I don't dip into much ... though this is a much richer color than what I would consider basic pink.

I guess if I ever were to want multiple pinks in my kit, this would be a pretty good alternate/accent for anything that needed them.  (Poppy the Troll? Pink hair on a pink pony?)  

Overall impression - they're not making into any sort of final round here.



Other color day balloons: