2012 Olympics Bay Sweater

With the 2012 Summer London Olympics now underway I went to my local mall to buy some Olympic gear.  The official sponsor for team Canada is the Bay, and they have been doing it for many years now.  I love the quality of their stuff, and their styles.  I picked up this red hoody that comes in this bright red color that catches the eye.  The material is nice and thick, so it will keep me warm in the fall and winter.  I plan to wear mine with a jean jacket and a pair of khakis.  I also love how they added these Canadiana patches that remind me of summer camp from my childhood.

The Bay:

www.thebay.com

The Dark Knight Rises

What an incredible movie... not just a movie, but an experience.  I waited almost 2 years for this movie to come out, and it was worth the wait.  In fact about a year ago, when the first trailer released I made a promise not to watch anymore trailers or read anymore news about this movie because I wanted to be surprised when I finally saw it. This was a difficult task because there were times that I would watch a clip online and then turn away, and I would get goose bumps.  But today I finally saw the Dark Knight Rises; I waited until Sunday to watch it because that’s when my friends would be free to go with me. 

My first impressions are that Nolan didn’t disappoint at all.  In fact just like the 2nd movie was to the 1st, the 3rd movie completed the 3 series of movies by adding more depth into the story of Batman.  I felt that the movie was long, but I also felt it was necessary because each scene was crucial.  The length allowed us to see more of Batman and Bruce Wayne.  In the past, this was one of my pet peeves, that we only saw them both for a little while, while the villain enjoyed more screen time.  But in this movie, we really got to know Bruce Wayne, and it renewed my passion of Batman.  The action scenes were exciting, and the movie had great surprises (thanks to ignoring online gossip for the last year).

The acting was also amazing as well, and I thought adding Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon-Levitt was a great addition to the cast.  Bane on the other hand was alright, though I would have preferred him to have caused more destruction in the city.  Hopefully this is not the last Batman film for Nolan, but if it is the Dark Knight Rises will be an incredible masterpiece to have finished the story of Batman with.

Nike SB Batman Mid Dunks

The Batman Mids were part of the gold box era, an era that many people disliked but that I loved.  At the time, Nike SB was releasing great sneakers, and there was always something to look forward to.  In 2008, the Batman SB’s were the shoes I wanted the most.  I wanted the shoes because I’m a Batman fan, and also because the colors used are very nice.  The colors on the sneakers resemble more of the Batman costumes used in the Justice League.

What makes these dunks extra special was that they were released as mids, which meant they came with a strap.  I love straps, to me it makes a sneaker extra special.  Another nice feature about the sneakers are the extra pair of yellow laces included.  When you add those, the sneaker looks even better, and I’m glad they were included.  My only complaint about the sneaker is that they can crease easily, but other than that the sneakers are beautiful.

The Nike SB Batman Mid dunk was released in 2008.  The colors used on the dunks are grey, black and yellow, and the materials are a mix of leather and suede.  They were made in China, the colors were designed by Shawn Baravetto, and its product code number is 314383003.  My pair are deadstock, and are a size 10.5.

Nike SB:

www.nikeskateboarding.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=543vMjZVmlc

DunkID

The Dark Knight Returns SB Dunks

I love the classic Batman costume with the navy blue, cool grey, and hits of yellow and black.  So I decided to make a Dunk with those same colors and name it the Dark Knight Returns SB Dunks (named after one of my favorite paperbacks).  The materials will be similar to the Nike SB Jedi’s, in that it will be a mix of thick full grain leather and smooth suede.  I also made it a mid SB with yellow laces, so that the SB logo on the strap can match in yellow.

Jor-El SB Dunk

I was watching a show called Hollywood Treasure, which featured the costume Marlon Brando wore on Superman: The Movie.  I found out that his costume was made out of some kind of suede or silk material that would reflect light, and that inspired me to make the Jor-El SB Dunks.  I made them Hi Dunks, with a black swoosh, white mid-sole, and black sole.  The most important part of this sneaker would be a material similar to the Jor-El costume, but it would be suede and some kind of 3M reflective material kinda like the Jordan V green beans.

Soul Glo SB Dunks

You know I still remember the first time I heard about Coming to America.  I was going on vacation and in the airport lobby they had the movie poster.  It was a picture of Eddie Murphy standing like a giant in New York City.  The poster was so cool, I even took a picture beside it.  Last week they were showing it again on TV.  Watching it inspired me to come up with this sneaker.  It’s called the Soul Glo dunks, which feature full gain leather in a colorway similar to the Soul Glo commercial but with a black streak coming down the sides.

Michael Jordan Olympic Jerseys

One of my favorite sports to watch for the Olympics is basketball.  This is because since 1992, the NBA has allowed active players to join the team.  This was a fantasy come true for many fans because it allowed the greatest players in the world and some of all time, to join a single team.  This definitely was a dream come true for the 1992 team.  The only other time I saw a team as great as this was with Los Galácticos in Real Madrid during the mid 2000’s (although that team was terrible at winning).  The 1992 Dream Team however, was flawless and went beyond everyone’s expectations.

A few years ago Nike released a retro version of the Dream Team jerseys of many of the top players on the team.  I of course went for Michael Jordan’s jersey first, and was amazed at how much quality Nike put into these jerseys.  To begin with, they are made out of polyester, which I love because they tend to last longer because they are a tougher material.  Everything on this jersey is also stitched on, from the number #9 (that Jordan wore), to the name on the black, and even the tags on the bottom.  I also love how Nike even used gold thread on the jersey, especially in the Nike logo.

I bought the 1992 Dream Team jersey first, and then waited a few months to buy the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics jersey.  I was reading a book at the time called “Swoosh: the unauthorized story of Nike”, that mostly talked about how the Olympics was a big deal for Nike, and how Michael’s success in the 1984 Olympics helped Nike grow even bigger.  I felt a connection to this jersey when I saw it because I felt like this was the one that started it all (of course you could say that about a lot of his jerseys).  This jersey is also made with the same top quality that was used in the Nike Dream Team jersey, the only difference is that I bought the navy blue version.  These jerseys are my favorite jerseys in my collection because Nike did an excellent job on them, and I hope they keep doing jerseys like this in the future.

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N32qeFSKWk4

The Dark Knight Rises

Just one week left until the dark knight rises...  Will Bane break Batman's back?

Toronto Blue Jays Jersey

For most sports fans, getting a new player traded to their city means they can go out and buy that players jersey.  But for me, having a player traded means I can go out and buy the jersey of their former team on clearance.  This is what I was thinking when I heard the Toronto Blue Jays were going to change their uniform.  I would be able to buy the old uniform on clearance.  I have a place I go to that sells Blue Jays merchandise, so that was the first place I looked.

I was lucky because I was able to find the jersey I was hoping to get.  The version I bought is the white one, with the word ‘jays’ written across the centre.  ‘Jays’ is a patch that is then stitched on, so it will last longer.  The jersey was made by Majestic, who has the MLB licence and who has been making really good quality jerseys for years.  The jersey was made in Korea and is 100% polyester.  Other features I love about the jersey are that it uses this shinny silver string (thread) on the patch and that I was able to get a jersey without a name or number on the back.

Toronto Blue Jays:

www.bluejays.mlb.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqsAsOsk8S8