THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE T-SHIRTED

Oh wait, it will be, according to T-post, "the world’s first wearable magazine". According to its press-released raison d'etre:

Every six weeks, subscribers receive a new issue in the mail. News story on the inside. Artist interpretation on the front. All-around conversation piece.

There are t-shirts that can inspire a conversation. And there are t-shirts that can inspire a movement. T-Post was created to do both. With T-Post, it’s not just what your t-shirt says about you or the artist who designed it, but also what your t-shirt says about the world. More than just a fashion piece, T-Post uses great design as a subversive tool to instigate meaningful thought, conversation, and action. It’s a communication experiment that typically begins with a compliment like “Nice shirt!” and continues with the wearer explaining the interesting news story behind the design.

Newspapers are having a tough enough time staying afloat, what with that pernicious, youth-driven blogosphere mucking things up, and also that whole banking problem. But instead of mourning the death of paper, are we now supposed to mourn the death of actual information, transmitted in comprehensible, fact-driven sentences? Are T-shirts really the way of the future for delivering news among malnourished European hipsters? And remind me, how is wearing a pretty T-shirt subversive?

Sure, provocative T-shirts have gotten some students in trouble at school. And some are perversely funny. But really, how many friends would you be able to keep if you launched into a comprehensive explanation of just what the cryptic, weird-looking face on your shirt meant?