The more things change...

Yes, I'm back. The photo above was taken in one of the many department stores in Ginza. One of my favorite pics, I mean, I know it's no "Caution Tripping" sticker...but I do try to continue to improve this blog. Change is constantly happening, and for the most part, it's for the better.


I'm pretty happy with the change. I mean, the reason I bought the shoes in the first place was for the color of the laces, but the brown brings some interesting flavor to the mix. Thanks to my ex-coworker for the laces. And the shoe lace changes don't stop there.


This change was clearly for the better. I have been waiting to break out the sky blue laces for these kicks for a while. It was worth the wait. The blue really punches off that purple. I likey! OK, that is all for now, I will take a break from the shoes for a minute.

I think I have featured Porsche's on the thing more than any other car. I'm not sure why, I mean I like them as much as the next (car) guy, but I don't consider them to be heads and shoulders above everybody else. Anyways, with that useless into out of the way, here we go with another Porsche. This is a stock Cayenne. It is Porsche's attempt at a SUV. It is technically amazing, but it is one ugly mother.


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Something about the iconic Porsche front-end stretched out over that huge area. All the proportions are out of whack.


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Try as you might, you can't find a good angle. Even the 3/4 shot can't help this ugly duckling.


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The reason I am talking about this thing, is that I saw it's younger angrier sister all tarted up in Ginza this week. I am not saying all the problems are solved, but now at least it looks like it's trying...


...trying to suck innocent kids into the engine that is. Look at that front-end. At speed it must be sucking in a hell of a lot of air. Make sure to grab something bolted down if you see this thing coming. If not, you are liable to be get hurt! Oh, they cleaned up the back too.


And this thing was sitting on some serious rims. The pic doesn't really do them justice. They looked pretty bad ass on this blacked-out beast.


This whole package was put together by Gemballa. They have more aero options and various engine packages than you can shake a stick at. At the very least, they were able to take a fugly duckling and massage it enough to find it's angry younger sibling underneath.

Topic change:

My musical tastes are constantly changing, but then, they don't really change all that much: bass makes all the difference. Gimme a killer beat and I be pleased. Here is a track that is making me nodding my head at the moment. And before you think that your cpu is broken, there is no video, only audio.



That was Redman doing his thing on a track called "Put it Down". Exciting to hear some new Redman after a long wait, produced by Timbaland no less. He sounds all angry and ready to bust some heads. That beat is bringing him halfway to the brawl. Speaking of angry and vicious beats, here is one of my fav d&b tracks from 2005. (no video again, only audio)



Not the best recording of the song and I'm not sure they needed to mix into Prodigy remix at the end, but whatever. A slammin beat for sure. Props to my City Sis for introducing me to that murderous track a long time ago. And just to keep this YouTube crap going, here is some of the same track live.



That shit gives me goosebumps. How amazing would it be to here that live. The track is call Tarantula by Pendulum. They are an interesting group. They seem to be taking Drum and Bass in a new direction. D&B always seems to be changing, but it never really changes all that much. That is a good thing, I hope it never does. And with that, idea of changing, but not really, we have two more shoes to get to.


These turned out pretty well. I'm dissapointed that the purples don't match better. That, and the fact that when I wear my jeans, it is hard for people to see the purple anyways. Oh well...I know it's there. All these shoe lace changes is presenting some new outfit options. Nice. Lastly we have these.


I think these might be the best change overall. I mean, as you all know...I loves me some orange, but that white is bringing the crispness to the game. I'm not sure how long I will keep these changes before I either revert back to the previous colors or try something else. But, changing laces is almost as good as getting new shoes. Almost.

Sign(s) of the times

This past week was all about signs. Lot's of signals that spring is on it's way. I even saw my first cherry blossoms today...as seen above. In addition to that, it seemed like everywhere I went I found interesting signs. Take this for example.


This is on the ceiling as you walk down the stairs at my subway station. I saw it for the first time this week...although it can't be new. I almost tripped when I saw it. My mind nearly exploded with the possible interpretations of the text and image: stop floating down the stairs, stop doing acid, once you start tripping: STOP!, etc. I like the sticker. Its a little pick-me-up on the way to work. Speaking of subways, I had to take my least favorite train line the other day. Why is it my least favorite?


The train rolls DEEP!!! The Oedo Line. I always feel like I'm coming up from the middle of the earth. 5 floors under the street. After I escaped from the deep lairs, I snapped a (slightly out of focus in a romantic way??) picture of the famous Tokyo Tower.


For all the time I have spent in Tokyo, I have yet to visit this landmark. Oh well, maybe someday. While we are going crazy with the pics of Japan...let's talk aboutheros . In Japan superheros are everywhere: TV shows, action figures, TV ads, and on and on. Not really my cup of tea, BUT I found my new favorite:


Abacus Man! And don't forget his trusty side-kick:


Calculator Boy! They make quite a pair. Don't you hate not knowing exactly what 35% off of $125 is? Don't waste your time thinking!!! Call the Amazing Abacus Man! They guys kill me. They are being displayed at a Nissan showroom. I'd buy a Nissan, just to keep these 2 heros employed. Speaking of cars, what classic cars do these fresh kicks remind you of.


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These are a set of New Balances that take inspiration from iconic cars. In order from top to bottom, we have a Porsche Carrera.



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Next we have a Ferrari Testarossa.



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And finally we have the Triumph.



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I like the idea of these. Click HERE for more info. I always have a soft spot in my heart for New Balance. There are some nice details: the perforated leather toe box, the gauges on the insoles, the red patent leather at the heel to replicate a brake light, and really dig the metal lace holder. But, I'm afraid I think they could have done a bit more with the shoes. More metal?? I'm not sure. I think its great, but it could have been fantastic. Whatever the case, New Balance has been experiencing a re-birth as of late for sneaker heads. As for me, I have with them the whole time. If I were to get one of these, I would have the black ones inspired by the Ferrari. As for the cars, I would go with the Porsche.

Oh, and speaking of kicks. I picked up one shoe related item last weekend. Peep this.


It is a sneaker coloring book! Can you stand it. As soon as I saw it I knew that I must poses it. That turned out to be easier said than done, since they only had a sample copy available. But after some panicked communication they tracked one down at another store. One 10 minute train ride later, and it was mine.


I had mad love for coloring books when I was growing up. Tons of cars and trucks colored in to the very best of my feeble abilities. This book was done by N8TVE. I have no idea who they are...but they produced a killer product. I have colored one already. Check it out.


Yeah, that's right, I made photocopies of it, so as to not ruin the book. Crazy? or Crazy smart?! I chose to color the Reebok Fury first as a prayer that I find mine! I had a pair a long time ago...and they have up and disappeared. Not cool. Anyways, as this post is continuing to do, speaking of coloring stuff in.


I guess some things are universal. Never a huge fan of the teeth blacking on posters...but I guess it does serve it's function in society. No harm, no foul.

And lastly today. A special shout out goes to a gal who just might be working too hard.


That's my City Sis. And today is her birthday. Happy B-day!!! Wish I was there to give you a big hug and celebrate. That, and buy you some more kicks! Have a great day and keep kicking ass and taking names. No...not taking names....taking NAPS!

Tidbits #06

Hey everybody. It seems like I'm posting once a week. If I had my druthers...it would be more. But, that's life. Something I haven't posted about lately are my outfits. But don't worry...I'm still






That's the Beastie Boy's line...not Beatles (from No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Speaking of hip-hop. We all know of the various beefs between various rappers, past and present. Well, if you didn't know, producers thought it looked like fun...and they want to get in the game. I give you Timbaland vs. Scott Storch. Up first is Timbo's new song "Give It To Me" from his new album.



I really like the song. The video isn't much to look at...but it is way better than the train wreck coming up next. In Timbaland's verse in "Give It To Me" he calls out Scott Storch, aka "The Piano Man". Timbo says that he is the real producer, and Scott Storch is just a piano man. But first, truth be told: I'm a sucker for a Timbo beat. He has worked with tons a big artists...and the results speak for themselves. Anyways, for your viewing pleasure, Storch's response.



If you can stop laughing at the ridiculousness of that atrocious video...the song is terrible. Weak beat, silly insults, no-name artists: embarrassingly bad.

Gee...I wonder who will prevail in this ridiculous word/music battle.

Next!

Speaking of famous people (Timbaland...not Storch) I came across some interesting pics of Anthony Kedis.


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And this one too...


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Who knew Anthony had such good taste in sneakers? If you care, here are better pics of the shoes he was rockin'


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These are Nike Air Ones in an interesting colorway. This colorway is is called "Un-Mita". The "Un" meaning that they are not the original ones, which can be found HERE. These are the other pair.


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These are Adidas Metro Attitudes in the "All Odd" colorway. My City Sis was all about these shoes about a year ago. I liked them then and now, but not sure I could rock them. Some people can and other people can't. Oh and by the way, I will be seeing Mr. Kedis in person very soon. My girl and I are going to the Red Hot Chili Pepper concert in Tokyo Dome at the end of this month. Never been a huge RHCP fan, but I certainly like them and am excited to see them live.

Let's get to some sights around Tokyo...shall we? And as usual we can start with some automotive jewels. What's this?


One of my favorite supercars ever. One that never got the love or respect it deserved. I see them in Tokyo sometimes, but not as often as I would like.


It is a Honda (Acura) NSX. This was subtly tricked out with a new paint job, custom exhaust system, and badass black wheels. I have always had a soft spot for black wheels. Seeing them on this rare car was certainly a nice way to start the day. During the afternoon in Ginza I came across this peculiar guy.


It is a Citroën DS. I have seen maybe 2 or 3 before this one. But this one was in perfect shape, not a mark on it anywhere. It is such fascinating looking car. It is being parked in Hermès flagship store in Ginza. I was glad I caught it out in the open before it got hidden away again. Lucky me.

Speaking of peculiarities, living in Japan, I come across some interesting uses of English. I know there are entire websites devoted to these things, and I'm not all that into it. But this, discovered by my girl, made me laugh.


So on the first floor we can see a place with a red awning. It is a beef bowl take-out joint. What piqued my interest was the restaurant on the 2nd floor named "Wednesday". Why Wednesday??? Are they only open on that day? That is the owner's favorite day? Do they have awesome specials on Wednesday? It is killing me. I want to know. I will try to do some more investigation and get back to you.

That's all I guess. Congrats to my City Sis and Brother for picking up some new kix over the weekend. (Country Sis...it's your turn next!) I know it must have been hard without me there to help. But you did well!!! [City Sis shoes & Brother's shoes]

Breaking News: Timbaland has a response to Scott's silly diss song. Click HERE to hear it.