Product Reviews

It’s happened to all of us: You’re at a party where you only know one person—your ride. You’ve tried to make conversation a few times, but nothing’s really clicked, so you’ve found a spot in the corner to wait for your ride to finish socializing. You’ve had about five drinks at this point and two plates of pretzels, just to look like you’re occupied. You reach into your pocket for your phone to look through Instagram, text absolutely anyone, play Tetris—anything to keep from looking like a loner—but a surge of panic rushes in when you see a “1%” in the corner. Noooooo!!!!! Enter Powerocks Rose Stone. This colorful block will fully charge your smartphone three to four times over, so you don’t have to experience the horror of low battery life ever again. Though there are definitely smaller and lighter portable chargers out there, this one boasts enough power to charge your phone and tablet at the same time—which is the biggest perk for me, not because I own a tablet, but because the two USB ports will draw friends at this lonely party of mine. I even use the Rose Stone when I’m too lazy to get out of bed and plug into the wall. The “Mysterious and cool LED indicators” were incredibly confusing to figure out at first (“mysterious” is not how you want to market any technological accessory to anyone other than James Bond), but after using it a couple of times, I figured out what the manual was trying to tell me. The charging capabilities also dwindle quite a bit if you’re using your device while it charges, so keep that in mind if you intend to share with your new party friend. –Esther Meroño

If you’re an obsessed fan of anything pop culture, most likely, your eyes are glued to the 24-hour T-shirt websites, looking for the latest designs. Of course, there are occasions where you miss an awesome shirt and can’t snag it again at most websites. Redbubble is one of the few places you can go online to locate hundreds of these designs going back as far as three years. Pick your favorite geeky show and you’ll find something here in multiple sizes. Breaking Bad, Back To The Future, Community, Sherlock, Game Of Thrones, Adventure Time, Futurama—the list goes on and on. Some of the spiffy shirts I got were a gray Doctor Who shirt with the last 11 actors’ silhouettes (perfect for any companion) and a red and purple Donnie Darko shirt that looks awesome no matter what point in time you’re in. All shirts and hoodies are comfortably crafted by American Apparel (no sweatshop workers)—the only downside is the price, which ranges from $18 to $30 per shirt, depending on what you want. That’s literally just the price you pay for being late to the game or procrastinating on the short-term websites. –Gavin Sheehan