FASCISM.

Just saw a movie last night that every person in this country (and world) should watch. America: From Freedom to Fascism. Its made by Aaron Russo, amazingly, the same guy that did Trading Places. He basically started by wanting to investigate into whether there was a law that required citizens of America to pay Federal Income Tax. He dug deeper and deeper and shit got scary.

"Determined to find the law that requires Americans to pay income tax, Aaron Russo (THE ROSE, TRADING PLACES) sets out on a journey. Neither left- nor right-wing, this startling examination exposes the systematic erosion of civil liberties in America. Through interviews with US Congressmen, a former IRS Commissioner, former IRS and FBI agents, tax attorneys and authors, Russo connects the dots between money creation, federal income tax, voter fraud, the national identity card (becoming law in May 2008) and the implementation of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to track citizens. A striking case about the evolving police state in America."

At the very least, whether you believe this shit or not, its worth discussing.
My one criticism is that the film looks like it was made in iMovie by a blind guy using MS-Word as his font organizer. Seriously poor ghetto ass production and editing. When you're dumping heavy controversial issues like this, your presentation is so important (see: Michael Moore). It's unfortuante because this guy will probably be written off as a quack due to his shoddy filmmaking. I mean, he could have called on any film major at NYU to do it better and prob for free (just for the exposure). Anyway, besides that, check it out. You will be blown away.

Then if that doesn't make you question your whole goddamn existence, watch this. Loose Change 911. Another documentary which contends the truth behind 9/11. Again, which ever side you want to be on...it's worth at least watching this and hearing one point of view. At the very least, you'll be able to see the importance of presentation when making a statement like this. This film is extremely well made. All for under $6000 and all in Final Cut Pro.

Now to play Devil's Advocate; check out this site. It basically goes thru Loose Change 911, minute-by-minute and retorts all of its claims. Interesting isn't it? You think you know something one day. The next day you think you believe something else. And by Day Three, you have no idea what to believe anymore.

THIS SPACE FOR SALE.

Its been an interesting few weeks in the advertising world. The concept of "branding" has reached new levels. Its really quite interesting to watch big companies run around looking for the next big way to attract customers. I guess like with anything else in life; the results are at times pathetic and ingenious. The image my mind conjures up is that of a frustrated magician performing tricks for a little kid. Some make him laugh, some make him scared, some get no reaction at all. But the bottom line is, there's no rhyme or reason to it. The magician has to just keep thinking of new tricks...

Some highs and lows:


The new HP TV ads are really really good. How much money does it take to get Jay-Z, Pharell, Billionaire Mark Cuban, Pro Snowboarder Shaun White, and Survivor creator Mark Burnett all to do an ad that won't even show their face? Apparently $200 million will do the trick, but I thought it would be much more than that. We do a lot of ad work at Staple and one major process for the ad agency (in this case McCann-Erickson) is pitching the client (in this case HP) on the concept of the ad campaign. The dilemma is, you can't really go and spend millions on creating it and hope the client says yes. So you have to create an "example" of what the ad will be, but try and make it so close to the real thing that the client easily understands what you're trying to do. I would LOVE to see the pitch for this campaign. It must have been pretty diffiuclt to do. Kudos to them for A) getting HP to sign off on spening millions to get these celebrities and NOT show their face. And B) executing the TV spots in the manner they did. If you think about how these are made, it must have been very akward to shoot and produce. Props to the design team...
SIDENOTE: Wonder why no women were chosen for this? I wouldn't be surprised that they decided to launch with men first because they were afraid that viewers might think HP wants you to just stare at tits all day long.

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A women recently offered up her FOREHEAD for anyone that wants to tattoo their company logo on it. The Golden Palace casino paid $10,000 for the ad space. Thumbs up for the creativity. Thumbs down for the negotiations. $10,000 to tat your head? The press they got on this blog post alone is worth more than that. Holla.

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A company (not Nike hopefully) figured out a way to laser artwork onto the side of eggs without damaging your scrambles. The first bidder came from CBS News. Guess they think while you cook your breakfast, it might trigger you to turn on the TV and watch CBS? I don't know about you but I would go out of my way to buy eggs with no logos on the side. Some things just need to be left sacred. I mean, what's next? An advertisement when I take a piss?

+++


And finally, Pizza Hut offered approx $1.25 million to put their logo on the side of a Russian Rocket being sent up to space. Get this: "Pizza Hut marketers first considered trying to put the image of the updated logo -- the company's name beneath a red roof -- on the moon with lasers.
But, after consulting with astronomers and physicists, they found that the image would have to be as big as Texas to be seen from Earth. The project would also have cost hundreds of millions of dollars." STOP THE MADNESS PEOPLE! PLEASE! Whoever manages to finally pull off putting an ad on the moon should be shot.

UPDATE:
KARMA WINS: 29 seconds into lift off, the Russian Rocket exploded. Hope Pizza Hut got a refund on that one!

MOO.

Mary, Mary...why ya buggin? Mary gives Nico a little head massage...and as with most people...is obsessed with the new Staple Spring 2007 catalog.

Meet Mary. If Mary lived in China, she would be working in a sweatshop banging out 1,000 pairs of kicks per day. But rather, she chose to live in NYC...and instead, bangs out countless of magazines. She currently occupies hi-posts at XXL, Mass Appeal and the soon to be released Missbehave Mag. She's also done time at EgoTrip. A master of the English and Cantonese languages (and hell, maybe Korean too?) she is definitely one of the smartest cookies I know.


Thanks to JU for hooking me up with this PSG France football jersey. Very dope LV-esque colorway with monogram as well.


I think Levi's opens a new US Flagship store this weekend in Union Square. If you're in the area, check out the art installtion by my friend Yukari Kono. She has some really incredible works of art and Levi's contracted her to do these dope pieces. They're both beautifully executed and they represent the brand well. Job well done...


And finally, we just wrapped up the PT3 Singles tournament. I finished in the Quarter Finals...but it was pretty awesome. When we gather all the photos, I'll do a proper post, but for now...here are the final standings. Congrats to Miles at Psyop for pulling off the victory.

REED BLOG.

While I was away...Mr. Reed went and started his own blog.
Not bad rookie. Keep up the good work.

SH-TT.

I am still on table tennis fire from the weekend. I entered a tournament this Monday at Soho House and made my way thru 20+ players to make it to the finals only to lose in the deciding 3rd set. It was a fun, friendly atmopshere and some really good competition. I think they are in training to put together a team for PT3. I hope my streak stays alive till this Saturday's tourney.


In other workout news, I broke out the Nike+ set for a little late night run. This thing is truly an amazing invention with some future applications that are basically "sky's the limit." It worked flawlessly. My only comment would be that the nikeplus.com interface is a little confusing. Especially in trying to form a Challenge Race to your friends. As you can see, I ran pathetically for 2 miles. Jeez, I am so out of shape. The Nike+ system has a feature called "The Powersong". Basically you choose the song that gets you most amped up (My current: 99 Problems: Jay-Z/Linkin Park Mix). When you hold down the center button on your nano, The Powersong comes in and it should give you that extra push you need. As you can see from my chart, it gave me a little extra push, then reality set in and I took a nosedive. I was running so slow at one point, the computer asked me if I still wanted to continue with my workout! How insulting! I was like "I AM working out bitch!" Other than that, a device that can get people off their ass and working out is a miracle if you ask me. Props to Nike and Apple for making it happen.

UPDATE: I set up a Challenge Race to see who out of my friends could reach 100 miles first. Stash is currently in the lead (are you cheating??) with Jerry a close second.

UPDATE II: For those who cannot run in Nike's, there a Nike+ hack that allows you to use the system without wearing Nike's. Check it out here. Long live all you Brooks fans.

DRIVE BY.

This past week, we got a bunch of visitors in town dropping thru the office.


The Woodsman himself, Woody from Sneaker Freaker came thru to show us an advance preview of his new issue before doing his Alife launch with Lacoste. Congrats Woody, this is the best issue yet. And how hot is his EKIN t-shirt!!?! (Ahem, XL, hint, hint)


Eug and his lovely lady Laura also were in town from SF. They even dropped by to show support at PT3. Then came thru Reed Space to pick up some souvenirs for Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive. OK, well maybe not them but Eug IS an industrial designer for none other than Apple Computers. Imagine if your portfolio had an iPod in it? If I was the interviewer, I would just close the book and say, "OK, How much do you want?" Eug is also a very good DJ...we sell his mix CDs at Reed.


Witness the people behind Team Graniph. If any of you have ever been to Japan, you'll know Graniph as one of the coolest t-shirt design stores over there. They have 50+ stores over there and we have done some design work for them in the past. Check them out. They might be coming to a neighborhood near you soon!


This past weekend, I helped my mom move to Weekawken, NJ...a lil closer to the city. I would never move back into Jersey, but damn, the commute ain't so bad. A $6 Ferry takes you there and back in 12 minutes. The only commute that I wish was actually longer than it is.


Oh I also forgot to show off my new Util+Key that Hiroshi blessed me with in Berlin. Its a knife/screwdriver/can opener tool that disguises itself as a simply key so you can bring it onto airplanes with you and terrorize fellow passengers. Awesome. Wish I had this a few weeks ago.

PT3 PHOTOS.

Some more great shots from PT3 courtesy of Jason G. Lewis.
What is this, Wimbledon?!?

PT3 RESULTS.

Throwing together a table tennis tournament without any prior experience is really tough. In fact, there is simply to way to account for everything that will happen. But I must say, with the help of rude, Puma and everyone else involved, the first ever Puma PT3 was a major success! I couldn't believe the number of people who just came to watch and hang out! I think everyone had a good time. Especially the players. With free flowing Tiger Beer, Vitamin Water, all you can eat chinese sweet buns and on-staff maseusse, you'd think everyone would be fuckin' around. Hell NO. The competition was intense and heads were crazy serious! Lots of cussing and blaming paddles...haha. "Spam" from APT even took a major vertical dive and ripped his pants clear off! After the dust settled, Team RUDE took the first ever Team Championship defeating Team PSYOP 3 games to 1. Congrats to Tyler, Dustin and Khairi for the "W". Team Staple on the other hand didn't have as much luck. We were eliminted in the Quarter Finals by Team APT in a gut wrenching Game 5. I was "en fuego" though. I'm not too proud to say I swept every opponent I played 3-0 and didn't drop a set the entire day. I just hope my play keeps up for next week when we do it all over again and crown a SINGLE INDIVIDUAL CHAMP. The best 32 players will enter to do battle in a single elimination tournament. Come out and root me on! Some great photos were taken and after we have them all sorted, we'll post. Stay tuned.

PT3.

Oh yes....my dreams have come to fruition.
About a year ago, I rediscovered my love for the game of table tennis.
I started playing. Training. Working. And Talking.
Talks got bigger. And bigger. And bigger.
Allies were formed.
People kept talking.
And now my dream has become reality.
You can join in my dream tomorrow.

I (along with Puma and Rude) am proud to present PT3! The 1st ever Puma Tables Tennis Tournament!
See the likes of Spike TV, Comedy Central, The Fader, Turntable Lab, APT, Theme Mag, Gabe Urist, Giant Step and of course Team Staple battle it out for the cup!

I invite everyone to come watch.
Sat July 22nd, Team Competition
Sat July 29th, Singles Competition
NYTTF
384 Broadway Lower Level (@ White St)
Chinatown, NYC

Peep the site.

PARTING SHOTS.

The only kicks I picked up the whole trip: New Balance 575 Trail in some sick EU Colors. Good lookin out to the guys at Solebox for helping us out! Thanks for the franks!


Staple and The Hundreds were invited to make some Nike IDs at the Berlin Studio. The lovely Bianca helped us along the way. (They still got the Air Collection available! yesssss....)


The Germans party like its 1999. Every fucking day. Coming home at 12 noon is no big deal. Actually leaving your flat on Friday and coming back on Sunday is no biggie either. So as they say...when in Berlin...party as the Germans do. Kojiro (Fragment), Atsuko (Headporter) and Shin (Stussy JPN) were staying WAY past their bedtime. The crowd was alive. Club Rio is a pretty dope space to throw a party. Part outdoor rave, part seven rings of hell. Swan (Patta) and friend having a good time. Hiroko and Nicole/BBB sharing some secrets...on what I would imagine is dirt on me.


Shiro Shiro means White Castle in Japanese...but this spot could not have been further from the American version. (No sacks here!) Another dope Japanese restaurant as recommended by Bianca who is quickly becoming the Zagat's of Berlin.


Nicole introduced me to PAN-ASIA...yet ANOTHER Japanese-fusion restaurant in Mitte (Am I actually in Tokyo??). The space this restaurant occupies is GINORMOUS. Nothing like it could possibly exist anywhere in the tri-state area. In fact, its entrance alone is bigger than most Manhattan eateries.


Ever feel Punked by T-Mobile? Well Germans think so too so to hell with it; they just named the entire company T-Punkt!
Michael K and I enjoying an excellent lunch outside of Casa 103.
Julien from his Radisson room.
Gallery 95...in the back of Nort Berlin. An incredible space brought to you by the creative folks at Lodown Magazine.

TERRA-FIRMAMENT.

Witness the birth of a nation.
Jorg/BGHD and Errolson/Acronym have come together to open the shop Firmament in Mitte/Berlin. The shop is an amazing space and has great atmosphere. Definitely the spot to check out when you're in town. Props to these hard working guys for making it happen...

BERLIN PT. II

One thing that really suprised me was how good Japanese food was in Germany. I mean, where the hell is the nearest body of water anyway? The first gathering at dinner saw Bianca (Nike BER), Simon (Stussy UK) (thanks for the AMOS Simon!), Jesse and Fraser (Nike), Hiroshi, Errolson (Acronym), and Julien (Nike FR). There is just something really cool about Japanese women speaking English with a German accent.


After dinner, we headed into Hiroshi's suit to check out next season's Tier Zero product. Hiroshi serenaded while Jesse did a lil Show and Tell. Can't show anything, but I can say prepare for some HEAT this holiday.


The next day was the more formal showing of the collection at Casa 103, which is sort of the equivalent to NYC's 255 Studio...only like, 10 times bigger. Sarah from Colette and Chris from Nort on hand for the preview.





The next night, Nike and Being Hunted hosted a dope ass party at Casa 103. Fraser, Michael K and Eric from NYC were on the wheels killin it all night long. One of the best party's of the year.

ICH BIN EIN BERLINER.

I've heard and read from several different sources the story that John F. Kennedy made a major German language blunder in his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in Berlin, Germany. The story goes that he should have said "Ich bin Berliner" ("I am a citizen of Berlin"), and that "Ich bin ein Berliner" really means "I am a jelly doughnut." Nevertheless, after spending the past week in Germany, you can either call me a Berliner or a jelly doughnut and I wouldn't mind either way.





The main purpose of this trip was to hold court at Bread and Butter. It was great to be able to link up with other industry heads that I usually don't have time to see at home. But what was even better was all the different people that were in town at the same time. World Cup, BBB, Love Parade (ahem), and the incredible weather just made Berlin the place to be.
(l-r): HF heading in to check out the Nike EU Collection, Steven Vogel and Nicole who made the Street section happen at BBB. Big Up to you guys for everything! Kevin Ma / Hypebeast, Yoske / Maker of the Koi Asics, Nike Amsterdam designers, Jesse, JU and Fraser enjoying the Staple Spring 2007 catalog (Note Fraser's cup holding technique!), Mr. Vogel and yours truly, Nick Jackson / Twelve Bar (can't put down that catalog!), Hiroko (STPL JPN) & Tetsuya from New Balance Japan, Jagger / Surrender, Allen / AKA, and Damien / Twelve Bar.

DAY B4 GERMANY.

Just one day till I head out to Berlin and Bread and Butter.
Bread and Butter is basically a fashion tradeshow. A fashion tradeshow is basically where clothing companies go to pimp their wears. The big one in America is MAGIC and ASR (for action sports.) And the big boy in Europe is Bread and Butter. First time for Staple so it should be at the very least educational if not profitable (hopefully).


Just had a quick meeting with my man Dao-Yi of Arrive Miami to discuss some future upcoming projects. Crazy cuz Dao and I have known each other for over 10 years now. Known before "jeffstaple" was born and I was simply Jeff Ng. We were hocking sporting goods equipment at Paragon while both of us were attending NYU. We've always kept somewhat in touch over the years and I've been keeping one eye on his successes over the past decade. From Bobbito's Footwork, to some modeling, to Mecca, to Sean John, to Arrive, to Lock & Key...the man has been making moves every since. Great to be working together again. This time, without asking people what size their feet are.

DEJA VU.

There was an excellent article in last week's NY Times about a mental condition in a small percentage of people in where they experience the sensation of Deja Vu constantly throughout their lives. One patient found newspapers and television overwhelmingly familiar. She even had to quit playing tennis because she claimed she knew the outcome of every rally. Another turned in his library card because he felt he had read every single book on the shelves already. Makes you wonder how doctors know they are the ones with problems and not everyone else in this world. Read up.

Speaking of Deja Vu...I was able to catchup with a lot of old friends this past week. It was like a big reunion all week long.


I've known Neal since middle school and he just recently popped this bad boy out. Well, not him, his wife. But regardless, the kid is mad cute.


Yukiko is an interior design genius and she helped to create the original Reed Space design. We went to Parsons together.


Melanie (far right) was one of Staple's first designers and she now has her own line of hi-end leather bags and shoes. We had lunch with 2 friends who specialize in commercial retail real estate. Jay and Beth are good people to know.

NIKE AIR KUKINI

COMPANY: Nike
STYLE NAME: Air Kukini
ALIAS: None
COLOR: Cool Grey/University Gold-Black
STYLE #: 104209 071
SIZE: US 10, UK 9, UR 44, CM 28
COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE: CHINA
DATE MANUFACTURED: 03/01/2000
CONDITION: B-
ACQUIRED: Paragon Sports, NYC
OTHER COMMENTS: As I sift thru my collection, I realize some shoes are like tattoos. Meaning; some kicks mark a particular chapter or era in your life. The whole aesthetic of the Kukini was that Late 90s/Early 2000 craziness. Kukini in yellow worked in 2000. But not in 2007. I cherish them away. These are such comfortable shoes. They are part of the Nike Alpha Series which led the way in experimental footwear. This definitely was experi-fucking-mental. The follow-up Kukini's just never lived up to this forerunner. (Even with the help of those cool ads with the water faucet running thru them.) For a while this was my official shoe for going to Six Flags Great Adventure. Now they reminisce over you.

ROCKETS RED GLARE.

How do Americans like to celebrate major events? Why...by blowing shit up of course! It's what we really excel at. Kimou was kind enough to open up his rooftop in Williamsburg (yes, I actually went to Brooklyn.) so I could view the festivities. He has an amazing home and view of Manhattan. He also has a dope family. Allen from AKA was also there and I soon realized I was missing the accesory du jour: A Kid. (not even close!) But it was a chill 4th of July in the city with a great fireworks show.


Kimou + offspring


Allen + offspring (matching outfits!)


Spread love it's the Brooklyn way...

2 TREATS.

Stopped by the office today (even though its a holiday) and found 2 treats. One in my mailbox. One in my inbox. The one in my mailbox was from TK in Hong Kong. He sent me the new Headporter Camera case he just did thru Silly Thing. I'm about to get a new camera too so I can't wait to break this beauty in.



And in my inbox was a gift from Osa at Complete Technique. Some sneak previews of his recent photo shoot with Urban Latino Magazine. Can anyone say "BLUE?" Blue bikini, blue iPod, and the bluest eyes since Sinatra. Holla.

KOBAYASHI IS A BAD MOFO.

I'm looking forward to catching tomorrow's annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest.
In case y'all don't know, 5'7" 140lb Takeru Kobayashi is the fucking Michael Jordan of this sport. He has been undefeated on American soil since July 4th, 2001! No one has even come close. We're talking 400lb American beasts. Its sad when us obese Americans can't even win at eating! Argh...
But this year, we have the Great White Hope. Meet Joey Chesnut. He has eaten 50 hot dogs which would have beat "Kobe" last year...so tomorrow should be a real weiner showdown. Sports is a beautiful thing.

LTD.

Not to sound like a gay male model diva or anything, but photo shoots are really tiring! I empathize with models (and Edison, ha!). I just went thru 48 hours of straight video and photo shooting and it was grueling. You'd think just standing there would be simple work. But its not. Photographer is telling you to look here, there, everywhere, away, at the camera, down, up, angry, smiling, content, thinking, pensive, pissed...its like, "SHUT UP!!" I don't fault the photographer at all, he is only trying to make me look my best, but nevertheless, its rough. That's not to mention the waiting around for the crew to set shit up. The first video shoot was for a quasi-documentary. I can't reveal many more details but it will be released this Fall. The second was for the upcoming issue of LTD Magazine. "Hawaii" Mike's creation was one the forerunners of bigging up this culture we live and love. Prps to Mike...I managed to kill some time by shooting the people who were shooting me. I like giving them a taste of their own medicine.


"Hawaii' Mike Salman


Pretty sick camera. It's like the complete antithesis of a digital camera. It's take one shot, then takes about 5 mins to set up between each take.


"I'm ... too sexy for this shirt."

QT POOL.

New Yorkers cherish bodies of water. For the most part, they are mythological fantasies. So when someone has access to a pool, its usually a good place for a party. Res Magazine held a party there the other night and it was pretty wild. DJ Language was behind the wheels and ladies were getting wet. Can't really get much better than that!
My homegirl Hiroko was in town from Japan. Her and I are working together on some big things in Japan. Stay tuned...


Another visitor from Asia was Sean from Nike HK. Caught him on the webcam visiting Reed Space.

MORE TAG.

A few weeks ago (while I was in Tokyo) Reed Space held a book launch for Puma's THE AFRICAN GAME book. I didn't have the pleasure of attending but the photos that my table tennis partner Dustin Ross took were pretty dope. Hopefully he'll post the rest on his site one day. They are worth checking out.


Also want to wish EJ (one of my snowboarding cronies and co-founder of Inforngraphic) a happy 3-0. Him and his lady, Michelle (founder of Sushi Pups) hosted a partay at their crib in Hell's Kitchen. More cupcakes than the free world ever needed were on hand.

3.

Oh yes.
Spiderman 3. The trailer is sick.