MTV shoes

On Sunday there was an article in the SF Chronicle about MBT shoes. Of course, now I am sitting here in a pair. Perhaps I should call this blog "Synthetic Footwear"?

The article made it seem like these are magic shoes. They firm your butt, tone your legs and abs, solve your back and knee problems, cause you to lose weight, give you good posture, and are incredibly comfortable in the process. So I went online, Zappos of course, and researched them for a long time, bought a pair. They didn't fit (these things run really small), so, at 4:30 PM on Monday I ordered another -- and they arrived on Tuesday. We love Zappos.

The reviews in Zappos were out of this world, and now I know why. They are sooooo comfortable. Teetering on them is really fun. And they're ugly as all getout: They've got these huge, weird soles -- it's a little like wearing platform shoes with squishy heels (hence the negative heel). Since they're rockered, you roll heel-toe really easily, which is how the good posture thing happens. Hey, this is California where you can wear anything you like. So maybe I'll wear them with a suit.

I have to be careful not to just roll to my toes and walk on them (really defeating their purpose). I'm a toe-walker. My mother used to express concern to the doctor, who expressed concern in turn, that I didn't walk normally, that something was wrong with me. Of course, when the doctor said, "Let me watch you walk across the floor," I walked with my whole foot they way they did. I passed the intelligence test.

My toe walking was a solo source of shame until I lived in Toronto and noticed my friend Emily walking on her toes. She told me it was a sign of genius. I knew I got something right with that intelligence test. Now I share Emily's diagnosis with all my friends with toe-walking kids.

Quick quiz: what were those initials again? MTB? A gasoline additive (really, MTBE). MVP? They're going to have to change the name.

... no, they've done something even smarter. They sponsored links that come up if you google MTB.