Sunday, July 27
Festival time
My man Boba Fett welcomes you to another installment of my blog. Its a Be@rbrick that came a free gift with Pespi Nex. Confession time: I hate Pepsi, and I really don't like Coke too much either...but it was worth the price of the soda to get the free gift. And other thing, I don't love Be@rbricks all the much, but this bounty hunter special came out pretty dope. Shout out to John at Super Punch who was interested to see the finished version.
Mid-summer in Japan means fireworks and natsu matsuri. And since I am not waiting all day in the hot sun to see some fireworks, this leaves the local summer festival.
With my old job, I would always miss the party...but happily I was able to go this year. (By "go" I mean walk through the tiny park filled with the local community on my way home from the grocery store.)
It was a nice thing to see. I was also happy by the way the pics turned out. I tried a bunch of settings and ended up with something kinda cool...in my opinion.
Well, on to other things.
This is the poster that Mita Sneakers used to announced a special edition that they designed with Asics. The images of the shoe were the first I saw and they looked promising. Even from the drawings, I was already leaning towards the black ones - call it growing up, blame it on the new job, who knows - but these days I like a bit more subtle look.
On the day they were to drop I woke up early to snag me a pair. I think I was at the shop a bit before 11 a.m. (they open at 10 a.m.) and if you were in the Ueno area around that time, I was the tall white guy walking fast and trying not to run. I'll admit it, I got all worried at the last minute that the black one would be sold out.
But of course, all was well...and it looked like I was one of the few people interested in the release. The one thing that made me hesitate before pulling the trigger was the patent leather. I have never had patent on a shoe before, and I am still getting used to the idea.
The ripstop nylon toebox saved the shoe for me. I mean, the mix of materials is quite interesting. I mean, the tongue is a quilted nylon with the inside being some felty kind of thing. It sounds bad, but its actually really well done.
And as you can see, it's only on the toe and the heel of the Gel Lyte III's. And I looked past it - to the split tongue, the specked outsole and the braided laces. And I love the electric blue highlights that add a nice contrast to the overall darkness of the shoe. Last pic here, I promise.
And there you have it folks, my latest pick up. I have already worn them a couple times and they are very comfortable. If you like them...head HERE to get yourself some. But hurry, they don't have many sizes left.
MUSIC
I don't have much this week. Just one clip and one mix. Clip first - an oldy but a goody. This track has turned up an a bunch of the mixes I have been listening to lately and I simple love it.
I give you Poison Dart the Bug featuring Warrior Queen.
The mix is from Nick Catchdubs of Fools Gold fame.
Monday, July 14
Pay attention people
Some street art I ran across in Harajuku a while ago. Always nice to see a little creativity popping up in unexpected places. Always puts a smile on my face. In certain areas in Tokyo, graffiti everywhere. But one thing you very rarely see is graffiti on trains. One reason is that they if there ever is any...they hold the train in the station. See HERE for an example.
But the other day I found some etching on the windows of the Yamanote Line. It was the first I had ever seen.
Not sure why "VEGAN" chose such a lame name...but I thank him for reminding me, if only for a moment, of all the time I spent on the trains of NYC. Those windows were often so scratched up you couldn't see the grime walls! For shame!
I will use the pic above, possibly THE most boring picture ever posted online, serve as the intro for my latest pair of shoes. Those of you who have been paying attention will remember that I teased you with a receipt a short time ago. Well, here is what I bought.
They are a pair of Visvim F.I.L. Jokhang's. Most of you are scratching your heads right about now. That's all right. It's not the most famous brand in the world. They have been on my radar for awhile, as a step away from sneakers, but staying within the streetwear spectrum. The company doesn't have a full on website. The designer, Hiroki Nakamura, is part of the Honeye collective and the site carrys news and some products.
As you can see, the F.I.L. of Visism F.I.L. stands for Free International Laboratory. And if you think that sounds all fancy, wait till you here the name of the name of the Spring/Summer '08 catalog. "Dissertaion on the Future Relationship Between Materials and Technologies in Product Fundamentalism"
So yeah, with a catalog title like that, you know them shits is gonna be pricey. And boy were they. But, I justified it as a grown-up shoe, not just another sneaker. And again, for those of you who are paying attention, just might be sensing a hint of a moccasin in the design. For the catalog: "The fusion of the 1/2 California construction used for running shoes and the self-customizing foot-wrap of the Native American moccasin crafting featureing our original engineering updates with custom outsole and midsole components." And that people is just the first paragraph describing the shoe.
So basically these are handmade with the best materials by people who spend way to much time thinking about what makes the best shoe. Japan being Japan, of course the company has a cult following, and there stuff is hard to get. Visvim makes clothes and bags, like $200 button-down shirts and $700 backpacks. And me being me, I love it.
So, I like them. They are amazingly comfortable and breathable in a way I didn't expect for a suede shoe. Of course all the people that see them don't like them much at all. So it goes. Feel free to tell me just how you feel about them, cause you know I wouldn't hold back.
MUSIC
.
This is L-VIS 1990's album preview. It's exactly how my girl reacts when she hers some of the dubstep I have been listening to lately, except for the dying part at the end of course. But maybe it would happen if I made her listen long enough.
This is N.E.R.D.'s track Spaz. It's the best song I have heard from them in a long time. "Everybody Nose" is alright, just gets annoying really quick. Maybe that's the point...who knows. (achoo, achoo)
Amazing stuff from Africa again with DJ Mujava Kwaitodance's number “Township Funk." Not new apparently, but still a banger, even if it does go on a little long.
Later
Thursday, July 10
Spend, spend, spend!
As promised, no longer just a boring shot of the sky to get us going. This time I give you a "trying-to-be-arty" shot of a new building in Ginza. I like the twisty-ness of it, plus the reflection of the sign on the left. And since I started in Ginza, I might as well keep it going on the commerce tip.
This is my new Porter pass-case. I had been wanting to get a leather case for my commuter pass for a long. And partly in celebration of getting a new job, I treated myself to this little piece.
It was not cheap, but I am kind of obsessed with perforated leather and I dropped a chunk of change on it. But each day I get to use it and it makes me smile. Actually a couple weeks back I dropped a boat-load of money in a matter of hours.
It was fun, but now with the empty wallet ain't so fun. At least I used cash so I don't have to live in dread of some massive bill coming. And some how that bill is always more than you think it should be, every time! I guess that is one advantage of using mostly cash in Japan – no bill shock.
Eagle-eyed readers (viewers?) will notice a large Undefeated purchase in the pic above. I will share that one in the next post. (I think)
One more example of out of control spending.
Ever seen a baby-blue Lamborghini Murciélago? It was a first for me too! Maybe first and last? I mean how many Lambo owners can reject the factory options and go for the customizing route? One more look?
I say the color works. Thoughts?
Lastly, tell me, is it wrong that I like this song, even though it is basically an add for _______. Can you figure out what its for?
Santogold, Julian Casablancas, and N.E.R.D. Produced by Pharrell
The song was produced by Pharrell for Converse. I want to dislike it for its so thinly veiled corporate message, but I like the song. (Shrugging my shoulders)
Later
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