Nike SB Purple Safari

The Nike SB Purple Safari Dunk is probably one of the most flamboyant sneakers I have ever bought.  Anyone I show them off to thinks they’re ugly and feminine.  The varsity purple and semi-cheetah print is a real eyesore.  The last person I showed them to even went so far as saying they look like something Justin Beaver (yeah I know I spelt it wrong) would wear.  And yet I still bought them.  I think there comes a point in every collectors life when they ask themselves; am I buying these because I like them or because of the brand?

Luckily I don’t have to stress over this question very often because I shop at outlets and buying something on clearance will always keep me satisfied.  Yes, I’ll admit it I don’t think they’re one of my favourite sneakers and I probably did buy them because they were Nike SB’s (I would have passed on them if they were regular Dunks).  Yet I’m happy I own them because they are Nike SB’s.  To me, SB Dunks are the best shoes ever made.  They are incredibly comfortable on my feet, and they look amazing when I wear them.  Simply put; they represent a signature of quality from Nike.

While I don’t usually wear flashy sneakers like this, the Purple Safari Dunks still have many qualities that I admire.  The varsity purple suede is the first thing I must talk about.  It is this bright color that changes tones depending on the light source that shines on it.  In a brightly lit room it is illuminating and in a dark room the tone is mute and becomes a pastel purple.  Then there is the leather toe box and sides that use the cheetah print.  Up close it is very interesting to see because it looks almost lased on.  My only complaint about the use of this leather is that the shoe doesn’t provide any air holes on the toe box for breathability.

The Purple Safari SB’s were released around February 2011.  They featured Nike’s new and improved version of the Dunk.  While I usually hate change in classic sneakers, this is an upgrade that I really welcome from Nike.  Supposedly the sneakers were inspired from the TV show ‘Eastbound and Down’, which feature Kenny Powers who owns a Jet Ski with a similar colorway to the Dunks.  Hopefully Nike SB will continue this trend and make more TV inspired shoes; I’m thinking Dexter, Breaking Bad, and The Sopranos just to name a few.

Nike SB:

http://www.nikeskateboarding.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uht5jUw1iiI

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

I love Christmas.  I dive in deep into the whole spirit of the season, and make the most of the holiday.  I enjoy the snow (from inside), the food, the lights and decorations, the music, and especially the TV shows and movies.  I make it a tradition each year to watch certain TV shows and movies about Christmas.  High on that list each year is a Charlie Brown Christmas special.  I have been watching it since I was a child, and continue to watch it.  For me, it just isn’t Christmas without these shows.  They bring me comfort by bringing back a lot of old memories.  Needless to say I am a fan of the Peanuts cartoons.

Earlier this month I was walking through my local mall and I was fortunate enough to find this amazing Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  It is an exact replica of the tree shown in the cartoon.  I was excited because I always felt sad for the weakling.  A good TV show or movie has this power to get you emotionally attached to its characters.  They can make you cry, smile or even hate certain characters.  Charles M. Schulz made me feel sorry for the tree, and yes, even cry joyfully when in the end all the children gather around Charlie Brown and start singing Christmas carols.

The tree comes packaged in a triangular prism box, and includes; the tree, a wooden stand, a blanket, red ornamental bulb, and batteries.  The wooden stand blew me away because it includes a music box that plays the Charlie Brown theme.  The stand also has a very cute Snoopy drawing that is stamped on.    With the memories that I share with this cartoon, this tree is a welcomed addition to my Christmas collection.

Peanuts:

http://www.peanuts.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSXDc5OQw3U

Playstation 3

One of my favourite stores to shop at is Shoppers Drug Mart.  Since the late 90’s it started a points program that lets you collect points to get free stuff.  Though it is a pharmacy, it also sells a lot more different kinds of items besides medicine, such as food (bread, milk, eggs), make-up for women, electronics (cameras), and seasonal items.  I usually plan a trip there on certain days when they give you more points for your purchases (20x’s the points).  The point of this blog post is that within a year I had enough points to get a free PS3. 

Now, I haven’t played games in years (only very causally).  However this year I did make an attempt to play because I bought a Nintendo DS.  I take the subway a lot, so I needed something to do on the train besides fall asleep, or read a boring book.  The DS became the perfect boredom-breaker for me because I was able to play easy and quick games such as Lego Batman, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, and of course all the Mario games.  Then when the opportunity presented itself this month for me to get a PS3 for free, I jumped at the chance.  I am excited I got it because I will finally have a Blu-Ray player, and also be able to play all the new games I have been hearing about for years.  Of course the first game I want to play is Batman.

Sony Playstation:

http://us.playstation.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNbKJkaeEt8

St. Louis Cardinals Pujols T-Shirt

We’re currently having such a wonderful autumn that I’m glad I don’t have to suffer with the cold. I usually bundle up with a half dozen sweaters when it’s freezing outside. The advantage of this weather is that I can wear and show off my t-shirt. Today I am wearing the World Series Champions Cardinals t-shirt. I bought it for retail $25, and got the Pujols version. I don’t normally buy retail but I was caught up in the Finals excitement. It was worth it though because everywhere I go, I get a thumbs up.

Twins Enterprise The Franchise

I wanted to start posting my hat collection on here, so I’ve decided to start with the hat that started it all for me; The Franchise made by Twins Enterprise.  It was around the mid 2000’s when I first discovered the hat.   Before that I owned a couple New Era fitted’s but I never wore them much.  I wasn’t much of a hat guy because I never felt comfortable with how they looked on me.  Yet in the back of my mind I dreamed of what the perfect hat would look like; it would be preppy in style, the body would be canvas-like material and the brim would be easy to bend.  I also dreamed that it would be a Yankees hat, because I loved New York at the time (the city not the team, lol).

Then one day I was walking around the mall when I discovered the hat that I was dreaming of inside of a hat store (Hat World).  Not only was it better than what I had been dreaming of, but it also looked good on me and felt comfortable.  The only problem was the price, retail was $32 Canadian.  I had never paid that much for a hat, so I had to pass on buying it.  Yet, when I met up with my dad and I told him about the hat, he immediately gave me the money and told me to go buy it.  I practically flew to the store to buy the hat because I wanted it so bad.

Ever since that day I have loved the Franchise hat, and have been an avid collector of the style.  However, this first hat is the most meaningful hat in my collection not only because it’s the most comfortable hat in the world, but also because my dad bought it for me.  And even though it is now torn, dirty and stinks it will always be my favourite hat.

Brand: Twins Enterprise (’47, ’47 Brand)

Style: The Franchise

Team: New York Yankees

Additional: Made in China, 100% Cotton

Twins Enterprise (no longer available)

www.twinscap.com

‘47:

www.nineteen47.com

’47 Brand:

www.47brand.com

Nike Air Force 1 Papercraft

The Nike Air Force 1 papercraft is a very special papercraft for me because it’s the one that triggered my interest into papercraft as a hobby.  I love it because it mixes my love for sneakers with the joy of constructing something from paper.  The template was created by Shin, who is also a sneaker head and has done various other papercrafts.  The best part of this build is that it only requires one sheet of paper, so it’s really easy to do.  First off what you want to do is cut each piece individually neatly.  Trust me the cleaner your cut, the better the final product will look.

You might want to cut out two copies of this template because it can get a little confusing.  That is unless you follow my video and see which pieces are glued on to one another first.  After I cut each piece I also like to fold the creases so that once they’re glued you won’t have to do it.  Once the major pieces are constructed the final piece is the laces.  I like to take my time here by cutting and gluing each string individually.  When it’s complete it gives it a nice 3D look to them.

If someone were to ask me what is the best papercraft to start with, I would say this is an absolute must.  It’s not easy, but the final product is so rewarding.  While, Shin has done many other shoes since then, this is still his best work.  I’m still hoping though, that one day he might want to do a Nike SB model as well.  If not, I will attempt to create one myself.... err... but don’t hold your breath, lol. Till then I will keep doing this same model, but in different colors.

Nike Air Force 1 template:

http://www.instructables.com/files/orig/FUU/RPWY/FM2KBS4W/FUURPWYFM2KBS4W.pdf
Shin’s Website:

http://shin.co.nr/

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LaOcCfV9oA

Nike LunarGlide

During the Spring of 2008 Nike had a huge presentation (Innovation Summit) about the new products and technologies it intended to showcase for the Beijing Summer Olympics.  After reading the book “Sneaker Wars’, I came to realize how important the Summer Olympics are for the sports industry.  Basically it is a time when the whole world is watching, and if an athlete wins gold the products that they wore will also be winners in retail (people will buy them).  What better way to show people the quality of your product, then by making sure the gold medalist is wearing them.  Of course that was a bigger deal a couple decades ago when Adidas and Puma were fighting one another for global dominance of the sportswear market.  Today Nike is king by covering almost every sport imaginable.

Being at the top means, Nike must be cutting edge and inventive in the products they release.  I’ve always loved this about Nike, they just seem to be so far ahead of the competition with their designs and quality.  While retro’s are nice, new sneaker technology is what gets me most excited.  For that presentation what had me most jaw-dropping excited was a material called Lunar Foam.  It was first used by NASA on the space shuttle seats, and would now be used as insoles for running shoes.  They would give the sneaker less weight, and be able to absorb more shocks from running.  Another new innovation was Flywire.  It consisted of using very complex sewing machines to stitch on a long piece of thread that was aesthetically very simple.  The thread was called vectran, and was very strong and flexible.

I wanted to get a pair of Nike’s that featured Flywire and Lunar Foam as soon as they hit retail stores, but unfortunately they never released in Canada until later.  When they finally came to Canada, I waited until they went on sale to purchase them.  My first pair are these LunarGlide’s.  I have since been able to use them for a couple of weeks now, and I really love them.  The Lunar Foam did give me a little pain on my left foot initially because I wanted an arch support, but eventually my foot got used to it, and they now feel comfortable.  This really impressed me about the Dynamic Support system on the shoe, which adjusts to the foot as it moves.  The Flywire was also a concern initially because I always assumed the thicker material (such as leather, or nylon) would be stronger.  Yet the Flywire has not only held up better, but has also given my foot more breathability.  The LunarGlide also carries the Nike+ symbol, signifying that you can install an ipod sensor in the sockliner to track your calories.  This shoe features the best of Nike and I highly recommend it.

Nike:

http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/products/lunarglide?blogSource=en_US

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpvP0g_O4Z8