Brandon Steen, Painter

2020 was an awful year for everyone.  Besides the people we lost, society also had businesses go bankrupt and shut down, some of these places historical landmarks of the city.  Add to that the condo gentrification of the city, and Toronto has significantly changed from what it once was.  2020 has taught me not to take things for granted.  I’ve been wanting to paint city landmarks for years to preserve these places but procrastinated doing so because I’m lazy.  Thankfully I saw Brandon Steen on TV today being interviewed.  Brandon is a local artist who paints Toronto neighbourhoods better than anything I could do.  His photo realistic painting’s capture the uniqueness of the city, and feel much more recognizable than the more famous landmarks of the CN Tower, Skydome and City Hall.  Brandon has definitely inspired me to appreciate this city more than ever before.

Brandon Steen: www.steenart.ca

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury

Continuing the long list of Wii U ports to the Switch is Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury.  But unlike other Wii U ports, this version comes with additional new content which is Bowser’s Fury; a new story where you get to help Bowser Jr.

This game released on February 12, 2021.  I usually wait until games go on sale to buy them, but because EB Games (Gamestop) was giving out a pre-order bonus (gold collector coin) I decided to buy it on release.  The gold coin is beautiful and comes with an image of cat Mario, or Super Meowrio (sorry bad joke).  I’m a fan of these kinds of pre-order bonuses so of course I’m happy with my purchase.

Nintendo: https://supermario3dworld.nintendo.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F--vwbrYypE

Nike SB Dunk High Brut

The Nike SB Brut high was released as part of Nike SB Gentleman’s Pack back in 2007 and was part of the black and purple box era.  These dunk’s were inspired by Brut cologne’s bottle which features a green, black and grey colorway.  They feature a mix of leather and suede, one of the softest suede’s I have ever felt.  Other features include a shiny metallic swoosh and metallic thread on the tongue.

Unfortunately these shoes weren’t very popular when they released because some collector’s complained that they weren’t as pretty as Nike SB Hulk’s; a dunk high that also came in green.  I thought that these people were crazy, but it worked out for me because I was able to buy Bruts at retail, and then find them and buy them again for under retail.  One of the best advantages you can have in collecting is to ignore what other’s are saying and just collect what you like.

Nike: www.nike.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bro7Tkb4-xA

Nike Air Max 90 Retro 2020

2020 was a great year for Air Max 90 collectors because Nike decided to release various colorways of the retro sneaker.  Obliviously the most popular was the infrared, but for me I preferred to get the royal blue version; style number is CD0881-102.  The blue color just pops and I really like how it matches a Blue Jays fitted (these 90’s could have used a little red to match even further IMO).

While Nike did a great job on these sneakers, I still have some complaints.  First off the box they come packaged in is slim and so the shoes are literally crushed inside (though I do love how the box colorway matches the shoes).  Another complaint is the quality of materials used, they feel cheap and flimsy.  It’s weird how Nike spends all this time redesigning the sneaker but ends up using flimsy materials.  Oh well what can you do; at least they’re still comfortable to wear.

Nike: www.nike.com

YouTube: https://youtu.be/iAJIetTgjlQ