REASON #1,032 WHY I LOVE JAPAN.

1. How much did this cost?
2. How did they not get sued?
3. Who is the evil genius that came up with this?


OMG


OMG

CALL FOR KIT KATS.

Hey everyone. Y'all know my fascination with regional, limited edition Kit Kats. So, I'm calling on all you guys to send me your respective special edition Kits Kats. Please email your jpgs to info@stapledesign.com (Try and shoot them from above on a simple white background like this.) Thanks peeps!

SWINDLE.

The new issue of Swindle Magazine just dropped and there's a great feature called "Tasty Tastemakers". The concept was shooting "tastemakers" (ew, hate that word) eating their favorite food, flossing their favorite gear. Simple. You can peep all the male members of Team Staple...Claw, you should do a female version soon so the Staple ladies can rep!


Big thanks to MOD for sending me these Tims. Yes, these are Timberlands. They come from the "suburban collection" (i.e., old white dudes) but with the right pair of denim, they are fly as hell.


Shopping at Reed Space makes people happy. Proof Positive.


Finally, dinner with Miguel, Marlene and Anthony at Bar Pitti. Turkey Sausage Pasta cannot be beat.

GLOBAL ARTIST.

Dusty from HK recently sent us our stash of their Global Artists Series and I'm pretty happy with the way they came out. We have them at Reed Space and they're already flying out...thanks to Paul for inviting me to be part of this.


While we're in HK, big up to Edison Chen...seen here bein a fool in Staple's much coveted "Communist" tee. The front reads, "I am not a communist". Needless to say, this design pisses a whole lot of people off. (As great design should.)


Dropping in from the UK, Nick from Twelve Bar stopped by the Staple HQ. Very nice bloke. We'll be seeing each other again in Berlin next month. He's the Johnny Cochran of the streetwear game.

MOIRE ID.

I really want to start using this Nike+ thing already! Nike has sent me TWO pairs of Moire's now but they're useless without Apple's electronic attachment. Grrr....this is torture. C'mon Jobs...chop chop!!


Along with the Moire's I got the AF1s that we were able to do from the Nike+Apple event. This is the color that Joli basically did for me. Not my usual preference but not mad at it. Thanks...




The t-shirt comes in a pretty dope box. Nice touch with the back embroidery detail.


Speaking of Nike...I spotted Jesse from Nike with ClawMoney hanging out in the Reed Space. (via the Reed webcam) don't be tryin to get that 5-finger discount! I'm watchin.....


AND while we're on the topic of people who's name starts with JESS...want to wish a happy birthday to Jessica White. Took her out to some soul food dinner last night in Tribeca. The old hag turns 22.

THKS TK.

Another nice package came in from Hong Kong. This time from TK...you know the man from Cream/Milk Magazine and more recently, all the dope shit he has been doing under Silly-Thing. Definitely bringin some hot shit from the Far East. Good lookin' TK! 2007....I'm ready....


Silly Thing x Undercover kicks...on the Jack Purcell tip. Jun Takahasi definitely doing his thing worldwide. Maybe something in NYC soon??


Amazing Star Wars tribute book featuring some really dope artwork. The packaging on this book is bananas. Nice......


James Jarvis x Silly Thing Amos figures. A rainbow of joy...

I wish I could read chinese...but at least I can check out all the cute chicks on TK's blog.

Mhi.

Getting back into the office and trying to sort thru the wake of being away for 2 weeks. (And recovering from my airline experience). One major package was from the good people at Maharishi. One of the most influential brands in the past decade. Big ups to Damian for the luv.


I'm now a Kit Kat Global Influencer. Thanks for the UK Exclusive! (I had a very funny good laugh when i saw this...)


This is from a while back but its a classic nevertheless and something i never had but always wanted. Mhi x Nike x Michael Lau...rocking the Wildwood ACGs.


This is an oversized Warhol x Mhi pillow. Its a banana where you can actually "peel" off the cover and expose the "meat" of the banana. It's quite phallic.


Mhi x North Face Goretex jacket in the sickest camo I've seen in a while. My only regret is that its 90° in NYC now...


Mhi Decks...Mark Gonzales, Futura and this dope UN themed joint.

DESKTOP.

Is this the future of desktop computing? I'm not sure I want my computer to look like my actual physical desk...but there is definitely some cool shit here. The end of this video has some really cool features.

REASON #492 THAT I DON'T DRINK. EVER.

OK, in all my years of flying this has never ever happened to me and I hope it never has to happen to anyone.
It involved this couple on the flight. The guy's TV set wasn't working properly or something and he started getting angry. I reckon (from what I understand of Japanese) that he managed to complain enough to get him and his wife 2 small bottles of wine for free. He downs them both by himself. TV still ain't working so he starts taking out his frustration on the hardware....slamming the TV back into into the armrest. He then goes to the bathroom. He returns. And continues to take out his frustration now on HIS WIFE. He pulls her by the hair down into his lap and starts whaling her on the head! It looked like play fighting and I wasn't sure if it was real or not but it was cuz he starts screaming in her ear while hitting her in the head!
He stops and some attendants are notified to try and calm him down. He is either extremely drunk or has some kind of mental disorder like Tourette's or Autism. The flight attendant then asks me (ME?!) to "keep an eye on him". (I'm sitting a row behind and across the aisle from him.) Dude then gets up and follows the flight attendant into first class section. I can't see what's going on now because they are in the galley. All of sudden she pops her head out and waves me down for help! I was like, "uh me??!?" So I run down the aisle into First and they are in a very intense screaming match. She hands me these plastic handcuffs and says if he gets out of line; RESTRAIN HIM. I was like "Umm...aren't there supposed to be air marshals or some shit!!?" But actually I just said, "OK." (Last 3 episodes of "24" and "United 93" got me amped I guess!) Two other guys came to help just in case something went down. When he saw he was surrounded by 3 guys, he started to calm himself and went back to his seat. From there, it was a tense filled 20 minutes of watching his every move. We made him understand that if he has one more outbreak, we would have to cuff him which automatically means we would have to divert the plane to Alaska or some shit. The captains and F.A.'s were torn between whether we should cuff right then and there or wait for another outbreak. I personally wanted to wait. He seemed to have calmed and with the 3 dudes all around him, there was little damage he could do. (Luckily he wasn't sitting near a door or anything.) The last thing I wanted was to divert this flight on account of a drunk ass wifebeater.
So anyway, he passes out for most of the rest of the flight. At this point, the wife has been separated and she sits in the back of the plane. About an hour before we land he finally wakes up, and for some reason, the wife comes come back to sit with him. I thought this was a bad idea. He starts at it again! He grabs her by the arm and starts shaking her...so again...we intervene. Captain comes out and explains to him once more. This time the asshole stands up and we surround him. We try and separate his wife once more and he tries to push his way thru us. That's when it got physical. 2 guys spin him around...pin him to the wall while I got the cuffs and restrained him. He was going nuts! We cleared an entire aisle and I had to DUCT TAPE his upper body into the seat WITH cuffs on! From there, me and one other guy sat next to him the entire rest of the way down.
When we landed, NYPD immediately came on board and made the arrest. Welcome to NYC muthafucka!
From there it was about an hour of questioning with the NYPD, FBI and the Attorney General's office. Gave my side of the story and they let me go. I knew deep down it was a waste of time because tonight, tomorrow, of whenever that couple was alone, it was OVER for her. Look at what dude did on a public airplane! Imagine what he does in private....She did NOT want to press charges. FBI said if she did, he would go straight to prison in NY. She said no. The typical abused woman syndrome. It was horrifying and sad to witness in real life. I wanted to beat the crap out of the guy (I DID get to use some dope Jack Bauer type choke holds on him tho. That was kinda fun.) but I also wanted to slap the wife. Some things go deeper than common sense.

As a gesture of good will and gratitude the head Flight Attendant offered me some meal voucher tickets, 1000 miles on my AAdvantage Miles account and ironically, a bottle of red wine valued at over $100. In fact, almost EVERY flight attendant offered me freebies by way of alcoholic beverages...beer, wine, vodka, etc. Finally they resorted to giving me bags of cookies and chips. Can you really blame the existence of a man like this when we live in a society where acts of chivalry are rewarded with unlimited liquor? Umm, yeah... Dude was just an asshole.

***2-for-1 BONUS!***
Not 1 arrest on this flight, but 2 kids!
So after the whole ordeal this (very heavyset) woman from First Class kept naggin me, "What happened? What's going on? Why is he doing that? What's the problem?" I guess whenever there is a crisis situation, there is always the nag and she was definitely it. Then she comes back and starts talking how courageous I was being, blah, blah, blah...Meanwhile, speaking REALLY loud, and to be honest, I thought she was gonna wake our "Ike and Tina Turner" friend up. I was just trying to be cordial...you know, grinning and nodding... Thank god a flight attendant came and told her to get back to her First Class area. Bitch comes back again! This time, she's standing up doing a little dance! I swear, you cannot make this shit up! She's like..."skwerming"...is the best way I can describe. Almost like a shivering action...but more deliberate. I was really freaked out! She gets told AGAIN to go back! At this point, she goes into the bathroom...to start SMOKING! The smoke detector goes off, they bust into the bathroom and tell her that SHE will now be arrested upon landing. REASON #314 THAT I DON'T SMOKE EITHER.

Thank god you need other people to play poker, otherwise I might be like one of these vice-ridden neanderthals.

PS: I know this story is almost too crazy to believe. So here's some evidence. Anything for Darrin Hudson!!


THE ABUSER. After I duct taped his ass to the seat. You can't see but I also cuffed him as well. This is after I put my elbow into his Adam's Apple a la Jack Bauer.


The "siutation room" at JFK. Spy cam steez.

MASK.

The same things that make Japan so great, are the same things that make Japan so utterly WEIRD.
Read this. And form your own opinions. I do not want to pass judgement.

TRAVELIN' MAN

I head back to NYC today. I am now preparing my mind for the culture shock that inevitably ensues upon entering a shitty ass New York Taxi and getting stuck on the BQE in traffic.
Airports, in general, are the worst amalgamation of annoying people ever created. I'm in the airport lounge right now listening to 20 of the most inane conversations ever. Thank god for my new headphones.







Before I left, I had a chance to catch up with Hiroshi (who's been traveling a lot himself) and I'm glad to report he is now back in action on the blog front. We had some excellent sushi in Ginza. Some of the best Ikura (salmon eggs) I have ever tasted. A hallmark of a good restaurant? Wasabi is actually handmade. It doesn't come out of tube.
Then we headed back to his place to catch Japan's World Cup game vs Croatia. (0-0) Followed by the new film, United 93. A very, very freightening film. Very well made though.



Check out the rear navigation system on Hiroshi's Mayback. Makes parallel parking a breeze. Looks like a nuclear submarine radar screen.





Yonehara and I were almost leaving at the same time so I stopped by his office to say my last goodbye's. He is off to a Freshness Mag event in Thailand. Thanks again for everything Yone! You a genius!!

ASAKO TOKI.

Sometimes, I have to laugh at myself. Why am I COMPLETELY obsessed with Asako Toki? Is it her voice? Her backup band? Her choice in cover songs? Her engrish?! I have no idea. I just bought ALL her cover CDs called, STANDARDS. There are 3 of them (or at least I have found 3 of them.) I love you and your haunting/disturbing/addictive voice, Asako. AND of course...she blogs.

BLUEPRINT VOL. 1

You know how they say the best laid plans start out on a cocktail napkin? A glimpse into the future...Fall 2006.


Caught up with DJ Muro and his crew for some drinks and ideas...thoughts...concepts...revelations...music and visuals tend to stir up the craziest visions.


Miyoshi-san...also an old friend from way back. (making a fucking hilarious face). Some pretty good chicken curry in Daikanyama. Still looking for that grimy ass curry though. If anyone has recommendations, please let me know.


Maya Lin is from HK. She does a high end dog collection called Precious Rogue. The details she puts into the designs are pretty insane. Cashmere sweaters for dogs? Cuff links? Polo shirts with Swarovski Crystals? Just bananas...you gotta really love your mutt to buy this for them. But I hear its a huge market...


Someone in Japan figured out a pen for people who like to hold their pens really close to the tip...but hence, blocks whatever it is they are writing. How amazing! A simple gel implanted angular adjustment and voila...It sort of feels like holding a Sumi Brush to write...kind of cool. I was flabbergasted when i saw Yukari using it..but apparently, I was being a stupid American because they are available at every Tom, Dick and Harry drug store.


And 1 basketball must not be doing so well. They have started a floral shop division here in Japan. Needless to say, Stephon Marbury is NOT the spokesperson.

COOKE'S HEAT.

Just spent some World Cup time at Fraser's very nice crib in Japan. He let me rummage thru his closet and see what goodies he has. Some pretty nice shit. Speaking of shit...when was the last time you seen a piece of shit on an Air Max 180?


As you can see, Fraser's hair has regrown nicely; so place your orders now for the new batch of Footscape's.

S+M.

Everyone, meet Sakiko and Maria.
Ladies, meet my blog.
Everyone, these are very, very cool peoples...treat them nice...

Umm, I really, really, really wish I could explain the purpose for us meeting...but i can't. And worse yet, it'll be at least a month before I can share the news with y'all. But trust...it will be worth the wait.

Oh, here's Maria's blog.

KID + PLAY(FORD).

I finally had the pleasure tonight of meeting Ewan from Playford Equipment and Okazawa from CLS/Honeyee. Ewan is a charismatic halfie and he was mad cool. We know lots of people in common and actually met 10 years ago on one of my first trips to Japan. We've both come a long way. Okazawa is a deep, serious dude. Keep a look out on some stuff they are working with Levi's on. Big thanks to Mike for making the introductions...



Oh and check out Okazawa's phone. In case we Americans thought for one second we had some dope cell phone technology coming out...this should shut y'all up. Vodaphone's new cable TV/phone joint...complete with SWIVELING WIDE SCREEN ratio aspect and SUPER ill clarity. It even has a little antennae. We can't even watch live TV on our phones yet. They are already on friggin' HD.



Speaking of tech, I went to the Apple store today to pick a new pair of headphones to replace the stock iPod ones. I heard they actually damage your ears because they are so shitty, you end up having to max out the volume on ur ipod, which can damage your eardrums. Ironically, more powerful headphones are better for your hearing. I intended to get some $50 joints but then the sales girl, Waka convinced to get these Ultimate Ears headphones for $250!! Bananas..but they are so f-ing worth it, you will never go back after using them. I highly recommend em.

THE +81.

Just got back into Japan...for what feels like the 800th time this year. Ah well, big things require attention to detail..so be it. The night I landed, Yonehara, the illest photographer this side of the GMT asked me to come out for a bit. I was crazy tired from the flight but thought it would be to go out for a few mins. Little did I know, when Yone says "10 mins"; it means 2 hours. When he says "one last drink", it means for that particular minute. I gotta say though, it was good cuz we covered mad ground in a relatively short amount of time. Just didn't want to get home at 2am is all.





First stop was to visit Jun from Undercover at his newish gallery, Zamiang. Pretty cool Sue Rynski photo exhibition opening night party.



From there, we stopped by a few more parties and then ended up at this Nike x KDDI World Cup Art opening. I really have no idea what it was for but nonetheless, it was Tokyo at its finest. Just your average fly ass artwork, big money corporate sponsorship, ill ass dj, beautiful women, Tokyo type party.



World Cup has started and every Japanese person in this country has and will, become a stupified zombie for the next few weeks. They are completely obsessed with the sport. I personally, am not the biggest soccer fan in the world. I feel like in America, we're just letting this pass us by...like the metric system. Why does the world love it except for us? Anyway, every restaurant in Japan televises games. People watch games while they fuckin drive. Its god damn dangerous.



I just thought this was cool. An official Volkswagen dealership that only sells vintage VWs. They have the original bugs, the VW Van....everything in mint condition of course. Japan is dope.

TAG REED.

Back a few weeks ago, I mentioned that we just wrapped up the art direction and design of Puma's new futbol book, THE AFRICAN GAME. Well, it only makes sense that we use Reed Space as the launch pad for the event. Here are the details. Space is mad tight so RSVP early.

THE HARDWARE.

So the 2nd season of NRF has come to a close. Congrats to Team Generation for repeating as NRF champs! That only means one thing: As the champs, they get to have one catered night all to themselves in the Nike 255 ID Space. The whole team gets to make a team colorway of an AF1 Low which means there will only be 10 of those in existence.



Speaking of hardware, check out my belt buckle which was custom made as a gift to me from Osa of Complete Technique and Jerry from Staple. I've had it for quite some time now but it recently needed a touch up and repair. Shit is lookin brand new now. Thanks Osa...



Also got some fresh ass softwares as well this past week.
Nike recently made these customized "O"fficial Soccer team jerseys. I've seen a stash/nort one but I'm not exactly sure who else got blessed with one. Anyway, the Staple/Team USA one just walked in the front door. We got #97, which was the year Staple was founded. OH shit, next year is the 10th anniversary of Staple! Wonder if I should, do something special for it.......



And finally, good lookin out to EDC and Kevin from Clot who sent me this dope package. A Clot x Lacoste Polo Shirt and their recent Levi's Union Rail collaboration. (I love it when designs have a deeper meaning that goes beyond just the product.) These are guys are really raising the bar out there in HK/China. Bigger things to come for sure.

BUTTER. FLY.

I just invested a great deal of money into a high end table tennis racket. There's a big tournament I'm organizing this summer and I need all the help I can get. If it weren't strange enough that I dropped 2 bills on a ping pong paddle, I just ordered this online: Yes, a spray cleaner with squeegee and sponge applicator! (This is some Global Influencer cleanser right here yo.)


AK just sent me over some nice new luggage in the form of a Headporter/Burton oversized backpack. The fabric features embedded steel wiring to make cutting the bag open virtually impossible. Also check out the Headporter x Nike+ Nano holder...can't wait for this shit to come out so I can start running.


Finally, peep these kicks. To me, one of the best shoes to come out this year: Footscape Wovens. Just genious. On the left, you have the "Richard Gere's" aka "Hamsters" aka Hideout exclusives. On the right, you have the "Fraser Cooke's". They are made using hairs cut from his own head! MAD EXCLUSIVE. It takes 4 months to make each pair because his hair has to grow back each time. Good lookin out on the goodies, JL.

NEW ERA TIMES.

Check out this week's Sunday New York Times Magazine from Rob Walker. Rob is quickly becoming the Professor of our generation. He observes us from above like specimens in a petrie dish..never interacting, just making detailed records and notes. This week, he dissects my ass along with two of our clients, New Era, makers of the 59FIFTY, and Gabriel Urist...master of sneaker bling. A good read. Wish it was like 3 pages longer....