That’s My Name, Don’t Wear It Out

⚠️ This post is more than five years old. Links may rot, opinions may change, and context might be missing. Proceed with cautious optimism.

I know I’m not the only Sholin around, but there aren’t many of us. Discounting for the moment the various English spellings of Shaolin, as far as I know, there’s two brands of Sholin in the U.S. – one from the old Baltic parts of the Soviet Union, and one from Sweden. (Think “Sjölin”).

Until today.

Now I know that my last name appears to be a registered trademark in certain parts of the world, due to the amazing Sholin Blocks, a sort of concrete block retaining wall system which allows space in the blocks to grow plants out of, thus “greening” the wall. Cool. I guess.

But I’m all about tearing walls down, man. (Say it in a stereotypical hippie voice, and I promise it’ll be funnier.)

Right. Well, whatever, I guess it could be worse. At least it’s not Sholin Toilet Seat Covers.

The truth is, I once accidentally registered for a conference representing “Sholin Industries”. There was a space for “organization” and I didn’t have one, so what was I supposed to do? It was one of those Required Fields we all dread in online forms.

At least Sholin Industries isn’t trademarked yet, so the dream is alive.