Nike SB SF Giants Dunks

The Nike SB SF Giants Dunk were released summer/fall 2010, however at that point I was occupied with other issues and was unable to buy a pair.  I didn’t even know about this pair until early 2011.  While it would have been nice to buy them as soon as they came out and wear them while watching the San Francisco Giants win the World Series; waiting until later was monetarily beneficial.  Nobody gave these sneakers much hype, so I was able to buy my pair for real cheap.  While I do appreciate buying them cheap, I also loved that the hype was low because most of the Nike SB’s that I own have risen in value over time and so I would be able to wear these without fearing that one day they would be worth more.

Not to say I’m a reseller because I don’t plan on selling mine.  I just look at sneakers as works of art and having them look flawless is my preference.  So I’m usually stuck with this conundrum; how do I wear my sneakers, and yet keep them deadstock in the box?  Of course the easy answer would be to buy two pairs, ‘one to rock and one to stock’.  However I don’t have the funds or the room to do that.  So my solution is to keep the one’s I view as art in the box, and the ones that are still nice but don’t carry any hype, worn on my feet.  The SF Giants Dunks fulfilled my need to still be able to wear a nice pair of sneakers that won’t rise in value.

In all honesty I have been buying Nike SB’s for years but have never worn a pair.  I would just buy my size and then look at them at home and store them in the box after.  I have done this similar ritual with my toy collection where I prefer to see them in mint condition packaging.  So I am now writing this blog entry a few days after having worn them for some time.  My concerns about wearing them before were that they would hurt my feet after wearing them all day.  However these concerns soon dissipated after a few hours of wear because they felt so comfortable.  This comfort is mainly due to the Zoom Air cushioning, the ample amount of space around the toe box and the plush cushioning around the ankle support and tongue.

Sure I do realize that not everyone will come to the same conclusion surrounding this sneaker, but for me the Nike SB Dunk low has felt so comfortable.  Heck, they’re more comfortable than retro Jordan’s (but that’s another subject).  For now I can say that Nike SB Dunks are the only sneakers I want to buy.  Apart from the comfort, these sneakers are also beautiful.  The Dunk provides such a vast pallet for colours and materials that unique interpretations by designers can seem endless.  The SF Giant Dunks were designed by Shawn Baravetto; Nike SB’s Footwear Product Line Manager.

Nike SB:

http://www.nikeskateboarding.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONEQ_MjmVW4

In Cold Blood

Title: In Cold Blood

Author: Truman Capote

Publisher: Random House

This book has been on my must read list for many years. I bought it way back in high school because it dealt with crime. I’ve always been fascinated with crime books and movies. The funny thing is, when I first saw it I thought it was some contemporary piece that would be similar to any drug store paper back that you find in a convenience store. But once I looked at who wrote it; Truman Capote, I just had to buy it. Besides being known for his high-pitched voice, Capote is a brilliant writer who has written other amazing novels such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Other Voices, Other Rooms.

Although this is a novel based on a true event, (the murder of the Clutter family in Kansas) Capote decides to tell it from the perspective of the town’s people and the actual murderers. Capote demonstrates his talent of how the written language can express sentiment by writing sentences that seem genius when he puts them into words. His style of writing is easy to understand and concise, which allows for characters that are believable and important to exist. While he has been criticized for extending the truth about what really happened, his approach in how he wrote his novel is what I value the most.

Focusing on the murderers of the Clutter family, Dick and Perry, Capote takes an unbiased approach to telling their story. One would assume that a story like this would make Dick and Perry into monsters that cannot be related to or understood. Yet it is Capote’s honestly that makes these characters, despite their evil deeds worth reading about. I think its part of the human condition to assume that the existence of fairness in this world should be about what one deserves. For example, people that commit a crime should be punished. However what is harder to accept is what follows, that this same criminal deserves to be judged in a fair trail. And I think this is what Capote has done, for as chilling as the violent acts have been, he has given these same individuals a chance to tell their story in a world that preaches balance through fairness.

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Blood-Truman-Capote/dp/0375507906/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305852374&sr=1-1

Toronto High Park Sakura Trees

Around this time last year I was watching the news at noon when I noticed that the weatherman was on location at some park.  I really love this part of the news because the weatherman visits many different places around the city and helps shine a light on these places so that people can get interested in visiting.  Well on that day it worked for me because the weatherman was at High Park, and was showing the cherry blossom trees at Hillside Gardens.  The trees bloom for only a limited number of days before the blossom goes away.  Unfortunately by the time I was available to go visit, it was too late because the blossoms had fallen.  So I was determined to visit the following year.

Well today was the day that I finally made it to High Park.  It was a perfect day because the weather was nice, the sun was shining and a scattered breeze allowed for the blossom petals to give a snow fall affect.  The advantage of visiting in the morning also allowed for better pictures because as the day wore on, more people started to arrive and the park seemed crowded.  While I’m not a professional photographer, or even have the right camera the beauty of the landscape still allowed me to take amazing pictures.  As far as I know the cherry trees (Somei-Yoshino) were a present from the citizens of Tokyo and they were first planted back in 1959.  While it is expected to rain this weekend and will cause most of the blossoms to fall off, I am grateful I was able to experience this natural beauty this year.

High Park:

http://www.highparktoronto.com/cherry-trees.php

Spiderman Papercraft

When it comes to superheroes, Spiderman is one of the coolest out there.  I was first introduced to him back in the 80’s when his 60’s TV show would be broadcasted in the morning.  Though the animation now seems ancient, when I was a little boy it was one of the most exciting shows to watch (along with Rocket Robin Hood and The Mighty Hercules).  I loved the theme song especially, “Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can... etc.”  Then as I got older I started reading his comics and got involved in the comic collector hype of the early 90’s.  I really loved Spiderman because there were so many things I could relate to him with.  First off his name was Peter, which is also my name (that might seem insignificant but I always thought it was neat).  Second, he loved Mary Jane, a redhead which I also share an interest with.  And third, he was a web-slinging-spiderman; how could you not like that.

Spiderman’s powers are the only powers I think that are just as amazing as Superman’s.  I mean flying is cool, but so is web-slinging.  In the spirit of admiring Spiderman I decide to undertake a papercraft version of him.  The version I found was from paperrobots1999.com, the same place where I first got a papercraft version of Optimus Prime.  This website makes amazing designs that are simple to follow that can also have hidden gems.  For example I like how you are be able to remove Spiderman’s mask and reveal Peter Parker’s face.  The only difficult part of this build was attaching the chest pieces to one another.  Once put together this papercraft can be positioned in multiple stances with various moving parts and is worth the effort to build.

Papercraft template link:

http://www.paperrobots1999.com/model07.html  (no longer working)
Try this:

https://lukebwallace.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/spiderman.pdf

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jc93vje8ZI