COMPLETE XMAS.

Thanks Osa. This means a lot.

MYSTERIOUS RIDE.

If someone calls you up, tells you a car will come pick you up in front of your place. And they say just get in and go where the driver takes you... Would you go? Depends on who that person is I guess right? Well that's what Nike said in a very mysterious phone call one day. And as planned, a pimped out Escalade came to my office to get me right on time. I get in the back seat and a monitor flips down from the ceiling. My good friend Richard Clarke proceeds to tell me all about the new and improved Air Force 1 and the upcoming AF25. We reach our destination and GT from Nike proceeds to take me on a one-on-one tour of the AF1-25 space they have set up in downtown manhattan. The new AF1s are a major major improvement over the OG version. You may not notice a visual difference at first glance, but your feet surely will. They are butter soft inside. I'm also looking forward to testing out the AF25s on the ball court.


(I'm suprised they didn't put a hood over my head.)


(The Great Wall of Force.)


(Looks cool mysteriously floating in space don't it? I'm talking about the shoes...not Gavin.)


(The prize. Old to the new. New to the old.)

CRITICS.

A friend of mine recently brought this to my attention. I'm not sure if its directed towards me but if it is, it's poetic genius. In case you can't see it, it reads "JEFF IS A JERK"...but done using STAPLES. does that mean JEFFSTAPLE IS A JERK?! Hmmm...the artist has me thinking. Which in my mind...accomplishes what art is supposed to do.




Speaking of thinking...i recently stopped by the Wired store in soho and saw this sick game. It's called MINDBALLS. (Who said men think with their head in between their legs?) Basically you strap on this headband that has electrodes embedded into it. A small ball sits between you and your opponent. Your objective: WILL the ball into your opponents goal. You wonder if this is bullshit or not, (a la the Ouigi Board game) but it might just be the future of gaming. I better start planning NRF Mindball games soon.

ELEVEN SPRING.

I've been shitting on NYC a lot recently. But I must say, what has recently happened in and around 11 Spring St could only happen in this crazy city and it singularly personifies everything I love and yet hate with NY. On the one hand, you have this amazing piece of property in the heart of one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the world...just sitting there for YEARS; acting as a giant 6 story canvas for street artists and graf artists all over the world. Someone comes along and decides to turn it into high priced condos (bound to happen)..BUT not before letting the kiddies with spray cans and dirty fingers have one last go at it. Inside was amazing. Imagine if Jamie's brain exploded inside this building. It would probably look like this. But in typical NY fashion...the fun only lasts 72 hrs. Then reality will set in and contractors begin deciding where to place the Fresh Direct freezer in the lobby and whether there will be radiant floor heating in the bathrooms. (Sigh). The life cycle of how dope things are born and then die in NY...All within a span of a few weeks.
For as long as I have lived in NYC, I've long admired and pondered what the deal was with this building. The legend and rumors of this building reached urban myth status. I finally get to go inside it. Share it with some dope heads. Enjoy some amazing art and meet some even more amazing artists. And then walk away from it. Just another punch line this city doles out daily. But i digress! Marc and his team from Wooster Collective deserves mad respect for pulling all this together. I'm always amazed at what a passionate heart can accomplish. Supertouch took the best photos from the inside. Check it out.


Russ and Lady Pink in the ($1500/sq ft) house.
But I digress!

WELCOME TO THE SOCIAL.

Been a busy week. Since the AF25 event, it seems that the week has taken a more social turn than what I am used to. The holiday party season is upon us and people are feeling the itch to go out and have some fun. Last Saturday was the 2nd Puma Table Tennis Tournament and here are some photos fresh off the camera of Jason Lewis. When I first envisioned PT3, I was thinking it would be a nice time among friends and talented individuals. How did it become this blood sport of rage and anger??!?!


Oh yes. there will be DOUBLES.
Team Complex Mag representing in the den.
My pre-game ritual. Gotta get in my zone.
Jun from Team Staple showing great form on the forehand.


My best impression of Boris Becker.
DJ Akalepse holdin it down for Team APT.
And Lisa (Comedy Central) holding it down for the ladies.
John from Theme Mag having a good time while waxing some ass. He took the championship as part of Team Joao.


We were elimiated once again this year by Team APT. Our new arch nemesis. This photo captures it all: The thrill of victory (Spam from APT). The agony of defeat (Jun from Staple).


Vitamin Water and Tiger Beer was nice enough to provide refreshments throughout the afternoon. Check out this Vita Water CHAPSTICK! Tastes just like the real thing. Its not for sale though...promo only. Tier Zero chapstick baby...rekanize!


Doh! Looks like I lost half a pound!

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(photo: Dustin Ross)
As if getting spanked by APT was not enough, I then had to go WORK for them! We held our holiday party there and I was on the wheels of digital steel; trying out the new software called Torq. It worked perfectly except the moment my iPod fell on the floor. I think I lost more weight in sweat right there than in 6 hrs of table tennis.

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Tis the season...for lots of goodies.


Stussy Free Trail, the black Soph models are one of my favorite Nike's of all time. The whites will make a definite run. Thank u JU and Sarah.


Honeyee x Seiko wireless sync watch. Complete with this Visvim travel watch holder made of leather suede. Dopeness courtesy of hf.


Got not 1 but TWO new phones this week. The Boost Mobile came from my man, HK at NRF. This phone has a great camera. Peep this photo I took at last week's game.

The verdict is still out on the HTC Dash. I have no problem with the phone. Its the OS, Windows Mobile. I don't what the dudes at MS were thinking. A) How could you not put a "Delete All" function in the message section? You have to delete each message one by one?! B) Pushing down on the D-Pad in most homo sapien societies mean bring cursor to end of line. Not in Microsoft land obviously. C) No Cutting and Pasting copy? huh? for real? I could go on...but I will just patiently wait for the arrival of iChat Mobile and let Mr. Jobs show how it should be done. (I hope.)

Visitors abound for the holidays.

Meet Craig from a dope clothing company called Addict.


Meet Mr. Fiasco. An MC, or so he claims. I really know he is the guy who broke into Reed Space months ago. He already had his beady eyes on these babies......



Peace Lupe! Next time u come in from the Chi, lets build.

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Oh one last parting thought. Keep April Fools Day 2007 clear and open.

AF25.

You must have heard it thru the grapevine by now. Nike last night held its Air Force 1 25th Anniversary celebration in NYC. It was a no holds barred party. Put it this way...with the gathering of folks that were there, the interior design of the space, and the hip hop legends that performed, I managed to snap off about 5 shots the whole night because I was just too flabbergasted to do anything else. Respect to Bruce Kilgore, the designer of the AF1. Wonder what he must think of all this. Heh, probably not a whole lot.


The OG birthday boy. CK+HF. The 4 horsemen of hip-hop: KRS-ONE, Rakim, Nas and Kanye. Hands down the best performance of the night was KRS. One of the oldest men in the building and he was straight KILLIN it. John Jay with Michael Lau.

RUDE TIMES.

THIS SAT: I invite everyone to come join us for Puma's PT3...The last one we did was a good ol' time. Team Rude was the reigning champ but this time is a whole different story. Core members of Rude defected and started their own team! Some other teams hail from Complex Mag, Turntable Lab, Comedy Central and Google. Spectators are welcome. Head over to NYTTF this Sat at 12:00pm.

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Speaking of Rude: I will be DJing this coming Tuesday the 12th at APT in NYC. Its all part of Staple's holiday festivities. So come out and cut a rug. I'm putting together my playlist right now but I am thinking: Carly Simon, Michael McDonald, The Doors, Minnie Ripperton, Quincy Jones, Loose Ends, Brand New Heavies, Sounds of Blackness, Ghostface, Black Moon, Jeru, Wu and Hova. "They criticize me for it yet they all yell Holla!"
RSVP.

SANTA.

When I'm traveling, I see a lot people use some pretty wack ass luggage. You see these bags rolling thru the baggage claim completely exploded, busting at the seams, dented to hell...it amazes me that people don't put their valuables in something better designed. I guess to most people, a bag is a bag. To me, the difference between a "bag" and a piece EQUIPMENT is in the details. AK just sent me the new line of Headporter x Burton pieces and I must say, God Is In The Details. (In this case, god being hf, haha.)


I really loved the wheels used on older Burton bags. They were basically rollerblade wheels. So I was skeptical on these. But they are also great if not better. Grooved for a better traction grip. Smaller and harder durometer so less likely to topple over. Subtle logo details always helps as well.


Sick full lining inside the bag. Also a nice touch is the luggage ID tag. Much improved over the last "slide out" version.

Got some trips already planned for the winter so I am looking forward to wear testing this baby out.

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Attack of the Kaws Grayscale Companion! (Trying to steal shine from the 1000% Futura.)
Thanks oka!

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NRF began last night and it looks like another dope season! Too bad we lost by one point...
But it's always exciting to get the official NRF uniforms. This season's edition features a nice little AF25 hit.

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Just got my hands on a new Zune, thanks to DB at Microsoft. Form factor is quite nice as is the navigation. I'll report back if this is really the iPod killer Bill Gates claims it is.

GROHE UP.

After about 30+ listenings to Jay-Z's new album, Kingdom Come...my verdict: It's damn good. Not "Black Album" good...but damn good. The man who set trends for Evisu, Purple Label (with the logo secret), Nike Airs and Crisp Tees, Prada blouses, Gucci bras, Filthmart Jeans (ma, take them off). AND the man who successfully vanquished throwback jerseys, has started a new trend: Being OLD.
Now he rhymes about stocks, bonds, AMEX black cards, owning property, fucking off chrome rims, and having a good credit rating! Amazing!
I predict the next album containing lyrics about IRA Roth plans, 401Ks, Social Security, and the flyest motorized wheelchair made my Maybach.



Speaking of grow, there comes a time in one's life when sneakers, t-shirts and expensive denim just doesn't do it for the soul anymore. At some point you realize that the secret to true happiness is taking a dope ass shower every morning. And when that day comes kiddies, you should check out Grohe. In all my travels and in all the hotels I have stayed Grohe, makes the illest bathroom fixtures for the money. Having the right shower head and bathroom faucet will dramatically increase your happiness index. I am now in the process of converting all fixtures to Grohe. That is all. Have a day nice day.

DIGGIN' THRU.

Been traveling a lot...and lots of stuff going on in the homefront as well. That means a whole bunch of stuff collecting around my desk and in my office.


I meant to mention this before but just forgot about it. Hiroshi made a great little mix to celebrate the Reed Japan opening for us. Try and check it out if you can get your hands on a copy. It's called "Room Enough For Birds To Fly." You have to listen to it to find out why. Only available at Reed NY and JP.



When Nike JP sends you a package, its quite cute...the box top says "make customers happy--NIKE". And they certainly did when I finally got the LVMH Celux x Nike AF1s. Very clean and simple. Nike make customer happy for sure.


And in Nike Basketball news, the LB4 has dropped and I got these special edition versions...just in time for the start of Season 3 of the NRF! The case it comes in is pretty dope. Doubles as a great travel toiletry kit!


Christmas comes early from Paul Smith.


I've recently gotten into the old art of wax seal making. Manually melting wax, dripping it onto documents and then embossing it with your own custom stamp. Very zen calming and organic. I'm getting back into my Johann Gutenberg roots.

YONE RECAP.

Yone, Yone, Yone...you really know how to bring em out. MAD PEOPLE came out and represented for the opening of his first solo show in NY. This was a major show to set up. On the one hand, I am glad its finished, on the other, its sad to see Yone go back to Japan. But he definitely put his mark on NY in the time he was here. Here are flicks. Enjoy.




(The art lovers....)


(Timmy, WK, Frank 151 Crew, Kenzo, Charlotte Ronson...)


(Complete Crew, Claw $ shenanigans, Jamil GS...)


(Andre/Union, Elf, Hawaii/LTD, Melanie/Fader, Joli "R"....)


(Yone, Smiley Smurf, Elle...)


(Khairi, J. Hollister/Judy, Alessa+momdukes, Yone and Yuko...)


(Ms. Robinson, Lee, Tanya+Maripol, Spence Fuji...)


(Matt, Maze, Supadupe, Knox, Staple Angels with Yone...)


(Nico happy....)


(Ivy, Elle, Riko, BK Circus, Bettina+Sis...)


(Korean BBQ wih Yone and the Staple crew)


(Peace and thanks Yone!!!)