Don't buy this - 12.2.08

Here comes one of the opening shots in what will inevitably become this blog's crusade against all of the dumb shit you'll be urged to buy over the next few weeks. While the fact that many of you will soon be more concerned with maintaining a minimal daily caloric intake and where to get Timmy's next shot of insulin, there are still plenty out there fortunate enough to possess disposable income. That makes you a prime target, regardless of demographic. Naturally, TheseBastards will endeavor to provide examples of shit you should not, under any circumstances, purchase. If this country's spending habits are any indication, we will be providing a valuable public service.

Our first item is a collection of six finger puppets commemorating public figures who chose, some even voluntarily, to shuffle off the mortal coil in 2008. The set, which retails for $90, includes Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Jesse Helms, Maharishi Maresh Yogi, Yves Saint Laurent, Charlton Heston, and because this is New York, Heath Ledger.

As for which luminaries made the cut, my guess is that Ledger was deemed more culturally relevant than Sir Edmund Hillary, Bobby Fischer, or hula hoop inventor Richard Knerr and that they couldn't pry Paul Neuman's likeness rights away from the salsa/salad dressing merchants.

The set is pictured below. Prepare facepalm.

h/t jsg via NewYorkology