It's "wholly consumer driven," said Yale Schalk, the managing editor of CounterKicks, a sneaker breaking-news site whose sock coverage, he said, exploded last year.
But Steven Boyer — who plays the lead(s) in "Hand to God," an acclaimed comedy about a meek teenager whose sock puppet appears to be possessed by the Devil — has been learning on the job.
One symbol of the dashed dreams is Pets.com, the Internet pet supplies retailer whose sock puppet mascot became something of a cult figure, making very expensive appearances as a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and in a Super Bowl commercial.
Other pieces include merino wool and silk-blend ski socks for £4.99, a steal when compared with brands whose ski socks can set you back up to £36 a pair.
For those who really want to keep track of their socks, the app also produces a range of data - checking how black they are, offering to replace worn-out socks and even finding a close match for socks whose partners have gone astray.
These two objects, Grendel's desk and the Catch-22 couch, became a daily reminder of everything occupying space in my life without serving its alleged purpose: the toaster in the kitchen that barely toasts; socks whose partners ran off years ago yet still insist on waiting, patient Penelopes, for their sock Ulysses.
Lauren, whose royal-blue socks did not quite cover her shinguards, recited what seemed to be bylaws concerning the emphasis of fun and fair play and community building.
Emily Brown, a sign-language student at Wesleyan University, talks excitedly about watching deaf poetry on YouTube, and "rhyming" words like "stars" and "socks," whose signs share a hand shape and motion.
The cover photograph depicted a partly obscured young woman who we later learn is 19 years old, but whose clothing (knee socks, kilt, sweater vest) suggested someone much younger.
