Adidas Stan Smith End of Leather?

Over the weekend I went to the Adidas store and an employee told me that the Stan Smith leather model will soon be discontinued and replaced by a vegan leather model.  I actually yelled, NO WAY, That’s BS!  He started laughing and agreed with me because he didn’t want leather sneakers to go away either.  While I haven’t even tried vegan leather sneakers, I’m sad that we won’t even have an option to choose anymore.  And since that day, I have talked to a few people who have worn vegan leather Stan Smiths and they seem disappointed by the quality. 

 

Thankfully I was able to get this last pair of leather Stan Smiths that day.  And hopefully this vegan leather phase only lasts a few years.  (Yes, I’m aware of the damage leather causes to this world from cattle ranches, so in a way I hope the quality of vegan leather improves over time so that it becomes the best material to use on sneakers).

Adidas: https://www.adidas.com/stan_smith

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkQt9PiQJmg

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