To Darrin Hudson

ROCK THE BELLS.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:32:00 +0000

A couple of days ago, Rock The Bells, made a stop in Jones Beach, New York and thanks to Urb Magazine and Guerilla Union, I was offered practically all access to the festivities.
I gotta be honest. Hip-hop shows, for whatever reason (They suck? They're lazy? I'm old?) are pretty wack for the most part. Admit it. I love the culture as much as the next guy, but actual live shows? "Turn my mic up!" "Wherez Queens at?" "Is Connecticut in the houz?" It's 98% that. And 2% dopeness...which means you're looking for a needle in the haystack. And there was definitely a lot of that here this day. But there were also a bunch of gems. Highlights below:

We got there pretty late and Mos Def was the first act I caught in its entirety. On a scale of 1-10, I gave Mos like a 5. A lot of singing other people's songs and chanting. I'm not hating because I love Mos. He was one of the first celebs to rock Staple in an ad and I helped design a lot of early Rawkus shit. Maybe Hollywood has him preoccupied. But when he brought out Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch, it was O V E R. "Simon Says", "Respiration"...man...it was a backpackers wet dream.

Then came the Wu show which was dope just to hear all these old joints. Ghost, Rae, Meth and honorary Wu-Tang/Right Guard spokesperson Redman was all present and accounted for. A lot of these photos are backstage post-act shots...I was too enthralled during the performances to shoot.

Ticallion Stallion

Pretty Tony in a pensive mood.

Dave aka Plug Two of De La Soul. Needless to say, backstage was a hip-hop hall of fame. It was pretty epic.

The highlight of the show for me was Nas. I've had the luxury of being on tour with Nas for a brief moment back when God's Son came out. No hypeman. No party DJ. No electric show. Just One Mic & Nasir Jones. That's all you really need. He killed it. But just for good measure, Sean Carter himself came out and and dropped a few verses. Amazing to say the least.
Funny story: So I was out in Denver, CO with Nas on one of his tour stops. Apparently, in the music industry, Nas notoriously travels light. While most have a dozen security...friends, fam, ho's, baby mama's, etc...the entourage can easily get to 50 people. From my recollection, Nas had DJ LES, himself and Mike B. his right hand. THAT'S IT. So after the Denver show, I was milling around back stage and Mike B. comes out of the trailer and asks me I want to hang out in the trailer. Vivid thoughts of BET After Hours and King Magazine are rushing through my head as I enter the trailer. When I get in, the aforementioned crew is sitting on chairs, sharing a pineapple. I kid you not. No ho's! No groupies! I alluded to expecting something different and Nas just said "Nah, we workin'." On the van ride back to the hotel...no music playing. No one smoking a blunt. Just some small chatter about the next day's itinerary. These dudes were on a BUSINESS TRIP. Nothing more. Nothing less. And no, Kelis, Nas did not pay me to write this. It's true. I often found Nas just typing rhymes and verses into his Blackberry. Nasir is a true poet, in every sense of the word. Like an enigma. A prophet. Someone you're not really supposed to fully understand. Anyway, just thought I'd share my fifteen minutes with Mr. Jones.

The "N".

Hov.

No More Beef. More like BFF.
Thanks again to Alex (GU) and Raymond (Urb) for the great times.

POSTALCO.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:33:00 +0000

Often when people think of great "brands", big names pop into their heads. "Apple", "Nike", "Google", "Porsche", etc... But many times, great brands can be small. The difference between a "great brand" a "great idea" is that a great brand is a business. If you made some amazing thing, but only one piece for yourself...well, you came up with a great idea. How do you produce this? Market it? Sell it? Distribute it? That is the puzzle of creating a great brand. Often in Japan, great brands beguile even the savviest Harvard MBA. Many brands in Japan take the least obvious course to success. It's hard to say exactly why. I personally think it's a mix of: A) the customer's open awareness to discover something new and interesting. And B) the maker's "craftsman" attitude towards things. As Tet likes to say "Craft with Pride".
On my last trip to Japan, I met Mike who is the owner and founder of a brand called POSTALCO. Postalco sells stationary supplies, bags and accessories. It's a small business run by him and his wife. They have a store. It's in a hard to find area of Tokyo in a hard to find building, tucked into the 4th floor. They are only open Wed, Thurs and Friday. And the first and third Saturday's of each month. But not past 5pm. Why? Because it's Japan. And they can. It's not a big business. They have no advertising campaign or celebrity spokesman. They've never had a line for a release of their pigeon-logo notebooks. But by all definitions of a "brand"; Postalco is perfect.
Over dinner we talked about the stresses of business. Growing it...nurturing it...staffing it, etc. In the back of my head, I wanted to tell him to stay perfect. Even if it means staying small. I think Mike operates his business on the perfect cusp of where "hobbies" end and "business" begins. You can tell by his output that he loves his work. And he crafts each piece with pride. For him (and the thousands of others who own businesses like Postalco), the secret to creating a great brand, is maybe to stay exactly the same.
いい「ブランド」というと、「アップル」、「ナイキ」、「グーグル」、「ポルシェ」などの大企業の名前を思い浮かべます。でも、多くの場合、いいブランドは小さい。「いいブランド」と「いいアイディア」の違いはいいブランドはビジネスになること。すばらしいものを自分だけに作れば。。。それは、ただのいいアイディア。それをどの様に生産するか？マーケティングするか？販売するか？流通させるか？それがいいブランドを作るために考えないといけないこと。よく日本では、いいブランドは頭のきれるハーバードのMBAをも欺きます。日本の多くのブランドの成功への道は分かりやすいものではありません。なぜかは、はっきりとは分かりません。僕はいろんな要素のミックスだと思います：A）客の新しく、面白いものを見つけようとするオープンな意識。そして、B)メーカーのものづくりへの「職人」意識。Tetさんがいつも言う、「誇りある技巧」。
先日、日本に訪れたとき、POSTALCOというブランドのオーナー兼創設者のMikeさんと会いました。Postalcoは文房具、バッグ、アクセサリーなどを扱っています。彼と夫人の二人で営んでいる小さな会社です。お店もあります。東京都内の探すのに大変な建物の4階にあります。水曜、木曜、金曜に開いています。あと、毎月第１と第３土曜日。午後5時まで。なぜかというと？日本だから。それが可能だから。大きなビジネスではありません。広告キャンペーンや有名人の顔があるわけでもありません。ピジョンロゴ入りのノートブックのリリースで行列ができるわけでもありません。でも、「ブランド」の定期からいうと、Postalcoは完璧です。
食事をしながらビジネスの重要点をお話しました。どの様に成長させ、育成したり、補助するか。僕の頭の中では、彼に、いつまでも完璧でいて欲しいと言いたかった。それが、小さなビジネスであり続けても。Mikeは「趣味」と「ビジネス」のちょうど境目で商売をやっていると思います。彼の意気込みから、自分の仕事が大好きだということが分かります。そして、一つひとつの商品にプライドを持っています。彼にとって（そして、Postalcoなどの企業を持つたくさんの人たちにとって）すばらしいブランドの秘訣は、常に変わりなくあり続けることかもしません。

HAKONE.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:39:00 +0000

If you ever find yourself in Japan with a half day completely free, I recommend taking a quick train trip to Hakone. It's only 2 hrs away from Tokyo but worlds away from the hustle and bustle of the city. If you leave Shinjuku Station by 10am, you can go to Hakone and be back in town by 3pm the same day. Visit one of the oldest hotels in Japan—The Fujiya Hotel. Great food, service and atmosphere. It's tucked into the side of the mountain and very secluded.
日本で半日開いていたら、僕は電車で箱根に行くことをお勧めします。東京からたったの2時間で、都市の雑踏とは別世界に行けるのです。10時に新宿駅を出発して、箱根に行っても3時までには戻れます。日本で一番古いホテルの中の一つ、富士屋ホテルに行ってみては。食事はおいしいし、サービスも雰囲気も最高。山の横に隠れていて、人里離れたところにあります。

Old and historic antique shops...古く歴史のあるアンティークショップ。。。

The area is famous for its "onsen" (or hot springs). But if you don't have time to visit them, try this cafe where you dip your feet into natural hot spring water while sipping tea.
この地域は「温泉」が有名です。でも、温泉につかる時間が無ければこのカフェでお茶をしながら足湯につかることをお勧めします。

Train Culture in Japan is totally different than in America. For example, traveling a distance from New York City to Chicago would be done on a train in Japan without batting an eyelash. In America, 9 out of 10 people would fly. The entire experience is completely different I guess, so we can't be blamed.
日本の電車カルチャーはアメリカとはまったく違います。たとえば、ニューヨークからシカゴまでの距離を移動するとき、日本では迷い無く電車でします。アメリカでは10人中9人は飛行機に乗ります。まあ、アメリカの電車の環境が違うので、しょうがないかもしれません。

BACK TO REALITY.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:03:00 +0000

So now that the Pigeon madness has subsided (for now), we can return to the regular scheduled programming of "Jeffstaple: This Is Your Life!"
I didn't even get a chance to finish blogging about my last trip to Japan. Which was short but very eventful. Some highlights:
ピジョン騒ぎが落ち着き（今のところ）、通常放送の「Jeffstaple:これがあなたの人生！」をお送りいたします。
日本での滞在についてまだブログをし終わっていませんでした。短かったけど、とても内容の濃い滞在でした。ハイライトは：

First off, if it wasn't for Taku at Polyphony (makers of the Sony game, Gran Turismo) acting as host, it wouldn't have been nearly as interesting. First night we landed, we grabbed dinner with Asako formerly of Celux/LVMH, now official Lady of Leisure. After dinner we went to a rockin' party at the top of Roppongi Hills, then bailed and went to Tsutaya to read magazines till 2am because we're old and boring.
最初に、Polyphony（Sonyのゲーム、グランツーリズモのメーカー）のTakuさんが案内してくれなければ、この旅はそこまで面白くは無かったと思います。僕が着いた最初の夜、元Celux/LVMH、現レジャーレディーのAsakoさんと食事をしました。夕食後、六本木ヒルズの最上階のパーティーにいきましたが、そのあと、僕たちつまらない年寄りは、朝の2時までTsutayaで雑誌を読んでいました。

If you're a hardcore sneakerhead, you might have heard of a magazine called ShoesMaster. They wanted to do a story on the NBs that we just dropped and about my other views on the culture. It ended up being a 2hr chit chat rather than an interview...which is always better.
ハードコアなスニーカーヘッドでしたら、ShoesMasterという雑誌のことを聞いたことがあるかもしれません。先日リリースされたNBsとこのカルチャーについて僕の考えを取材してくれました。インタビューというより2時間の雑談でした。。。そっちのほうがいいですね。

(Hiroko of Staple JPN helping with translations, Tetsuya from NB, and Shoesmaster Team)
(Staple JPNのひろこさんが通訳、NBのTetsuyaさんとShoemasterチーム）

Discovered this really hidden obscure Japanese restaurant. Check out this door. It reminds me of "Being John Malkovich". The food was divine. I don't think I can find my way back there though...it was really hidden.
すっごくいい隠れ家的な日本料理屋を発見しました。この入り口を見てください。「Being John Malkovich」を思い出します。料理はすばらしかった。でも、またお店にいけないと思います。。。本当に隠れ家だったので。

Japan has the HatoBus...translated...it's the Pigeon Bus. I'm jealous.
日本にはハトバスがあります。。。訳すとピジョンバス。　うらやましい。

NB REED SPACE.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:16:00 +0000

Today was the first Reed Space drop. It was cool, calm and collected. (We learned from last time!)
今日がReed Spaceでのリリース初日。混乱はなく、とても平和に行われました。（前回から学びました！）

I went out the day before and gifted the campers some tees and hats. Felt bad for them sleeping out there for so long. Plus I wanted them to be fresh and clean before they came into the store...haha...
発売一日前、僕は列に並んでくれていた人たちにTシャツと帽子をプレゼントしました。あんなに長い時間寝泊りしてくれたのが悪い気がして。あと、きれいな服でフレッシュにお店に入って欲しかったので。。。（笑）

First in line at Reed Space. Look at the joy in his face. Reed Spaceの列で先頭にいた方。喜びが顔に出ています。

This trooper flew in from Puerto Rico just to get these NBs...that's love.
So we sold out in about 30 minutes. We're expecting another shipment soon though. Stay tuned! この方はNBを買いにわざわざプエルトリコから飛行機で来てくれました。。愛です。
30分くらいで完売しました。また、再入荷する予定なので、楽しみにしていてください。

Clark Kent...repping the feathers.

NB BARNEYS NY.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:39:00 +0000

In front of Barneys NY this morning...
All gone in 30 minutes.
今朝のBarneys NYのまえにて。。。
30分ですべて完売。

NB SINGAPORE.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:35:00 +0000

Time keeps ticking....and Singapore gets their New Balance booty. Good looking out for these photos! 時間が着々と過ぎていきます。。。シンガポールにNew Balanceが入荷します。

The new Flying Pigeon Tee. 新しいフライイング・ピジョン。

Great to see people walking out of the store with the shoes on. They are a great sneaker peoples...WEAR THEM! These were from the store Le Vault. 靴を履いてお店から出る方を見ると嬉しいです。みんな、いいスニーカーなので、履いてください！これはLe Vaultというお店です。

+++

Leftfoot Singapore gets their share also. Gotta love the reaction of the young lady as she checks out the pigeons. Leftfoot Singaporeにも届きました。ビジョンたちを見つけた女性のリアクションがたまらない。

+++

"Limited Edition" shop in SG also got to party it up. Another person who's gonna wear these kicks out. Thanks everyone...
シンガポールの「Limited Edition」というお店でも大騒ぎ。この人もキックスを履いてお店を後にしました。ありがとう、みんな。。。

A FALLEN NRF MEMBER.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:07:00 +0000

These were words taken from the last game of the NRF Season...the Finals at Madison Square Garden. They highlight a player by the name of Jesse Thompkins III.

....That wouldn't last long though with the explosive Jesse Thompkins (8 pts/4 rebs/2 blks/1 stl) playing the way he was on both ends of the floor, appearing to be one of the few players who actually seemed more comfortable with the longer court.....

....The inbound found Ricardo Viramontes, who looked up court and somehow found Jesse Thompkins with a pass. Thompkins caught the ball with 1 second left. When the ball left his hand, it felt as though the air in the room had been sucked out of it. The silence in the arena seemed to testify to the drama of the moment: We were all witnessing a potentially game-winning shot. The ball seemed to float towards the rim in slow motion as the Uptempo players looked on in disbelief and the Huarache players looked on in wild-eyed prayer. The entire season was a synthetic leather orb floating through Madison Square Garden. The backboard lights ignited red as the ball started to descend towards the rim. The buzzer sounded. And as the ball caromed off the backboard and Thompkins crumpled to the parquet in utter disappointment, the Uptempo bench erupted in one sudden ecstatic moment of realization: they were the new champions of the NRF....

It's fitting that Jesse took the last shot of the entire NRF Season. Today, it was informed to me that Jesse Thompkins III has passed away. Details of the cause are sketchy at the moment but it involved Jesse being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Apparently he was caught in the middle of a multi-car accident while he was out jogging....probably training hard for the next NRF Season.

Jesse's a 3 year veteran of the NRF and graduate on Columbia University. He's been with Team Huarache since the beginning under the coaching eyes of Andrew Simon. This year, they finally made it to the NRF Finals and the floor of MSG. In January 2006, Jesse was voted Player Of The Week. He had 14 pts / 3 rebs / 2 blks and 1 stl in one game.

Jesse was in the film industry. He did work for Spike Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule as a production assistant on "INSIDE MAN". He also worked on such films as "Michael Clayton", "Munich" and more recently "Definitely, Maybe". He even acted briefly on the TV Show "Homicide: Life on the Street".

Jesse and I got to working together recently as we were putting together a sizzle reel for the NRF. Basically we were compiling video and photo footage of the playoffs to create a little 1 minute clip. It's been a while since I heard any progress and I was going to hit him up this week, in fact. Truth be told, I even have a check sitting on my desk made out to his name for his video editing services. I mean....the way Jesse went...he literally had to be at that exact spot at that exact second. Maybe if the video took 10 more seconds to render...or if he re-tied his shoelaces while he was jogging...he would still be here. It's obvious someone in heaven needed him.

Rest. In. Peace. Brooklyn's Finest.
October 1981 - August 2008
Jesse Thompkins III

+++++

PS: Attached are some photos I have of Jesse. In a few days, I will post a video clip on www.nikerecessfederation.com. It's the video he showed me to pitch the idea for an NRF sizzle reel. He used himself and made it look like a video game. It was dope and it won me over. And in doing so, Jesse created a memorial for himself. We'll miss you homey.

1st NB PIGEON.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:34:00 +0000

Wow...this global release shit is fun. Now I kinda know what Steve Jobs feels like. Qubic, way the "f" out in New Zealand, was the first store that was able to sell the pigeons on their morning of 8/6/08. NZ is far away. In fact, it's the middle of winter out there right now. So crews braved hypothermia level temperatures.
すごい。。。このグローバルリリースって楽しい。Steve Jobsの気持ちがちょっぴり分かる気がします。Qubic、ニュージーランドの｢ド」田舎で最初のお店が2008年8月6日の朝にピジョンたちが販売されました。ニュージーランドは遠い。しかも、いまは冬真っ盛り。みんな、凍る程の気温を耐え抜きました。

Meet Joe Chen. The first man on Planet Earth to rock Pigeon NBs. Thanks for the support everyone! Keep the pictures coming....
Joe Chenさんです。ピジョンNBを手に入れた世界初の男です。皆さんありがとうございます！写真もどんどん送ってください。。。

NB.08.06.08.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:16:00 +0000

Depending on where you live, the New Balance Pigeon 575 is only hours away from being released. In NYC, it will be 08/06/08 at 1pm at Reed Space (Orchard Street Entrance!). Probably a bit earlier uptown at Barneys. The only 2 spots in all 50 states that will have it.
住んでいるところによってはあと数時間でNew Balance Pigeon 575がリリースされます。ニューヨークでは2008年8月6日の13時にReed Space(Orchard Street入り口)で。アップタウンのBarneysではもう少し早くリリースされます。50州のなかで、２カ所だけでしか手に入りません。

The Aussies down under will get it first and then Japan, HK, Singapore, and further on west. Please send me photos of the release form your respective region! I'll do a post later on the global release. Email them to info@stapledesign.com.
南半球のオーストラリアにいる方は一番最初に、次に日本、香港、シンガポールと次々に西へ。それぞれの地域でのリリース写真を送ってください！グローバルリリースについてまたブログしますので画像や情報のある方はinfo@stapledesign.comまでお願いいたします。

PIGEON NEW BALANCE 575.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:22:00 +0000

You don't know how good it feels that I can finally speak publicly about this project. New Balance and Staple Design have been working on this collaboration for over a year now. It was hard to keep it under wraps because I was so amped about it. But as you know, I don't want to give out any information until everything is absolutely firmed up. There's been much speculation in recent months but I am happy to be able to lay out the facts finally.
Ladies (who wear size 7 Mens & up) and Gentlemen: I present the Pigeon New Balance 575!!
やっとこのプロジェクトについて公共の場で語れるのがどれほどいい気持ちか。New BalanceとStaple Designは一年以上かけてこのコラボレーションを実現しました。僕が凄く力を入れていたので内緒にするのが大変だった。まあ、知っての通り、すべて完全に決まるまでは情報を出したくなかったので。この数ヶ月色々なうわさが流れていましたが、やっとちゃんとした情報をお伝えできることがうれしいです。レディーズ（といってもメンズサイズの7以上を履く方）・アンド・ジェントルマン：Pigeon New Balance 575をご紹介します！

Isn't she lovely?
I did an in depth interview with Woody at Sneaker Freaker so please head over and check out the story when you have a moment.
ステキでしょ？
Sneaker FreakerのWoodyと詳細なインタビューをしたので、時間がある時にチェックしてください。

Here are the latest details. (As with any of these collaborations, some information is subject to change.) The global release date is August 6th, 2008. I mentioned in the Sneaker Freaker interview that there will be about 800 pairs worldwide but the actual number is now LESS. We're talking about 650 globally. My goal was to make this release a little more accessible and try to actually get shoes on people's feet!

Here's the latest stockist info: (Again this is subject to change so call your local NB dealer before packing your sleeping bag, tent and Coleman watercooler.)
USA: Reed Space and Barney's New York only.
EU: Size (UK), Hanon (UK), Hip (UK), Sole Box (GR), Thomas I Punkt (GR), Colette (FR), Seventy Five (NETH), Sneakers N Stuff (SWD), Sole Service (NOR), 5° Round (IT), Be Cool (IT), Gamba (SP).
JAPAN: Mita, Atmos, Hectic, Stussy JPN, Undefeated, Boston Club (Osaka).
ASIA/PACIFIC: Limited Edition (SG), Vault (SG), Kin (SG), Leftfoot (SG & TP), 1001 Original Inc. (HK), Qubic (NZ), Genesis (TH), Laced (AUS), Solewhat (ML), Zzubo (KR), Sanse (CN).

最新の情報はこちら。（コラボではよくありますが、これらの情報が変わることもあります。）世界リリース日は2008年8月6日。Sneaker Freakerとのインタビューでは世界で800足といいましたが、実際はもっと少ないです。世界で650足です。僕の目標はこのスニーカーをもう少し入手しやすくして、実際みんなに履いてもらおうと思っていました。

取り扱い店は以下の通りです：（また言いますが、変更になる可能性がありますので、寝袋とテントとColemanのクーラーを用意する前に近くのニューバランスディーラーに電話してください。）
アメリカ：Reed SpaceとBarney's New Yorkのみ。
ヨーロッパ：Size(イギリス）、Hanon（イギリス）、Sole Box(ドイツ）、Thomas I Punkt（ドイツ）、Colette(フランス）、Seventy Five(オランダ）、Sneakers N Stuff(スウェーデン）、Sole Service(ノルウェー）、5° Round （イタリア）、Be Cool(イタリア）、Gamba（スペイン）。
日本：Mita、Atmos、Hectic、Stussy JPN、Undefeated、Boston Club（大阪）。
アジア/太平洋：Limited Edition（シンガポール）、Vault（シンガポール）、Kin（シンガポール）、Leftfoot（シンガポール＆台北）、1001 Original Inc.（香港）、Qubik(ニュージーランド）、Genesis(タイ）、Laced (オーストラリア）、Solewhat(マレーシア）、Zzubo（韓国）、Sanse（中国）。

The Flying Pigeon T-Shirt will be available at select locations. フライイング・ピジョンTシャツは限定された地域でのお取り扱いとなります。

Stay safe and have fun guys...Remember, it's only a sneaker. Peace.
くれぐれも気をつけて、楽しんでください。。。ただのスニーカーであることを忘れずに。Peace。

JAPAN OBSERVATIONS.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:51:00 +0000

Some observations from my second home. 僕の第二の故郷からいくつかの観察を。

Want to know what a culture is really into at any given moment? Look at the relative messiness/cleanliness of magazine stacks. 今のカルチャーで何が流行っているかを知るには？雑誌の積み重なり具合、きれいか乱雑かで分かります。

Considered design. Lamps built at the perfect eye level for privacy control. 考えられたデザイン。プライバシーを守れるため、ランプがちょうど目線にあわせて作られている。

Great meals can be had for any amount of money. ¥100 or ¥100000. おいしい食事がいくらででも食べられる。100円でも100,000円でも。

Tokyo has its fair share of dark back alleys. 東京にも暗い裏道がたくさん。

DJs in high heels and Dior dresses are not uncommon. ハイヒールにDiorのドレス姿のＤＪも珍しくない。

Hardest working mofo's in the world. 奴らは世界で一番の働き者。

CHUCK OR KEEP?

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:33:00 +0000

Here's a bunch of CDs I just picked up while traveling abroad. Yes, we've come to that point in world history where the compact disc has become a dinosaur relic. So I just bought all these CDs at the legendary Dance Music Records in Shibuya. One of the last great stores for vinyl and mix CDs. Hell, they even have mixtapes!! I hope they don't go the way of Manhattan Records or Cisco. I digress. So I've copied the CDs to my iTunes Library. And I've also synced them to my iPhone.

The question begs: What do I do with these CDs?

Do I stuff into my luggage and bring them home? Do I chuck them? Practical-Jeff says throw them away as I will most likely never open the cases again. Sentimental-Jeff says keep them so that one day when I have a 47-room castle; I will have something to put in my Library Room.
I'll let the readers decide. Help me out here.
海外出張中に買い集めたＣＤです。そう、今や世界史の中でコンパクトディスクが恐竜の化石のような存在になってしまいました。これらすべてのCDは有名な渋谷のDance Music Recordsで購入しました。いまだ残っているレコードやミックスＣＤが買えるいいお店。ミックステープまであるからね！Manhattan RecordsやCiscoのようにはなってほしくない。ちょっと本題からそれました。なので、これらのCDを僕のiTunesライプラリーにコピーして、iPhoneからも聞けるようにしました。

すると本題は：これらのCDはどうするか？

バッグに詰め込んで、家に持って帰る？それとも捨てるか?　実用的JeffはもうこれらのCDケースを二度と開けることは無いから捨てるべき、と言う。センチメンタルJeffは47部屋のお城を持つまで待って、図書室におけるよう取って置くべきと言う。読者に決めてもらおう。どう思いますか？

POTTY MOUTH.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:16:00 +0000

I am slightly obsessed with toilets. Actually the entire bathroom experience intrigues me. It's one of the few places left on earth where you are really YOU. Nothing to cover you up. Nothing to make you pretty. Just straight reality. In fact, this privacy allows us to do our most base and primal things...whatever they may be. It's the one thing that links all of us no matter where we sit on the social ladder. This becomes apparent to me especially whenever eating dinner at like, a 5-star establishment. Everyone is trying to be on their best behavior and very proper. Then someone excuses themselves to the bathroom—for fifteen minutes. We all know he/she just went to the bathroom to drop a deuce. But it's like the elephant in the room. No one comments or remarks because at any given second, YOU could be that person. I just find it funny that in one room we're having escargot, and 15 feet away, dude has his pants around his ankles and moaning "Gnnnnnnn" with a turtle tail coming out of his butt. Anyway, when I'm on the road, the concept again comes into my brain. I think because you're then forced out of your natural bathroom routines and cycles. Every bathroom is a foreign one...even a beautiful one in a nice hotel...though it still requires some settling in. Small things like the height of the toilet paper dispenser from the ground requires some getting used to. Younghee Jung works at Nokia and her job seems to be simply observing humans. I wish she would blog more, but she's like the GZA of the blogosphere. Short on quantity. High on quality. Check out her post on global toilet culture as well as the PPT she has posted for downloading. You can read it while you're........nevermind.
僕はトイレに少し夢中です。実際に、トイレの中の体験すべてに興味があります。この地球上で実際、自分が本当に自分でいられる数少ない場所です。隠すものは何も無い。きれいに見せられるものは何も無い。真っ向の現実だけ。まさに、僕たちの根本的で根底的な事が。。。それが何であろうと、できるプライベート空間です。僕達の社会的地位がどうであれ、みんなに共通している唯一の事です。これは、特に5つ星のレストランなどで食べている時に明らかになります。みんな、とてもお行儀がよく、とても礼儀正しくしようとしています。すると誰かが、トイレに失礼して、15分後。　みんなその人がトイレで大をしたことに気づいていますが、知らぬふり。誰も何も言わないのは、それがあなたにも起こりうる事だから。ただ、一部屋ではエスカルゴを食べている間、5メートル先では誰かがパンツをくるぶしまで下ろして「んんんんんん」と踏ん張りながら、おしりから亀の尻尾を出していることを考えるとおかしくてしょうがない。とにかく、このコンセプトは特に僕が旅の中よく頭の中に浮かびます。たぶんいつもの慣れているトイレとお決まりの手順と違う事をしないといけなくなるからだと思います。すべてのトイレが異質。。。いいホテルのきれいなトイレでも落ち着くには時間がかかります。トイレットペーパーの地面からの位置など小さなことに慣れるのにも時間がかかります。Younghee Jungさんはノキアで働いて、人間観察をするのが彼女の仕事らしいです。もっとブログを更新してほしいけど、彼女はブログ界のＧＺＡです。量は少ないがクオリティーが高い。彼女の世界のトイレ文化のブログとダウンロードできるＰＰＴもありますのでチェックしてみて下さい。それを読みながら。。。あ、いや、なんでもありません。

MICHAEL CHANG.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:45:00 +0000

This was one of those days where you ask yourself "Is this really happening? How did I end up here??" I posted a few weeks back that I was a big fan of Michael Chang. He was actually a childhood hero for me in some ways. Growing up, he was one of the few (maybe the only?) Asian athletes I could look up to. Anyway, it was a small passing mention in a larger post about George Lois, the creative vision behind those old Reebok Pump commercials. Well some people over at Fila I guess got wind of this and invited me to Michael Chang's induction into the United States Tennis Hall of Fame! (Fila is the sole footwear sponsor for the USTA HOF.)
It took place up in Newport, Rhode Island...where actually the U.S. Open used to be played before moving to Queens, NY.
この時ばかりは「これは本当に現実？僕はどうやってここにいるのだろう？？」と自分に問いかけていました。数週間前に僕はMichael Changさんの大ファンだった事をブログしました。彼は僕の子供の頃のヒーローでした。小さい頃の僕にとって、彼は尊敬できる数少ない（もしかしたらただ一人の）アジア系のスポーツ選手でした。とにかく、ブログの内容は昔のReebok PumpのＣＭのクリエーティブビジョンを作り上げた George Loisについての大きいポストの中の一文にすぎませんでした。それをFilaにいる方たちの耳に入ったのか、僕はMichael Changさんのアメリカテニス界の殿堂入りに招待されました！（Filaはアメリカテニス殿堂の唯一のフットウェアスポンサーです。）場所はロードアイランド州のニューポート。。。US Openがニューヨーク州のクイーンズに引っ越す前に開催されていた所で行われました。

The first day involved a VIP dinner at The Marble House. This place barely qualifies as a "house". The backyard alone was about the size of Union Square Park in Manhattan.
初日はThe Marble HouseでVIPディナーが開かれました。ここは「ハウス」とは言いがたい。裏庭だけでマンハッタンのユニオンスクエアーパークぐらいの大きさでした。

Who remembers Nick Bollettieri? He is probably one of the greatest tennis coaches of all time. I was about to join his tennis camp in my youth also. Chang, Agassi, Martin, Courier...all his proteges.
Nick Bollettieriさんを覚えている人？たぶん彼はテニス界の最高のコーチだったと思います。小さい頃、彼のテニスキャンプに参加しようと考えたこともあります。Chang、Agassi、Martin、Courier。。。全員彼のプロテジェたち。

(Right about now is where I asked myself, "Where AM I??")
(ここら辺で自分自身に「僕はどんなところにいるの？？」と問いかけている時）

The following day, we were graced with just P E R F E C T weather. I mean really epic conditions. And it was just the right setting for an exhibition match between Michael Chang and Todd Martin (who looked like he could have been Chang's grandpa.) Seeing these 2 guys play on the original grass courts of the U.S. Open was just unforgettable.
次の日、最高の天候に恵まれました。本当に申し分の無い天気。そして、Michael ChangさんとTodd Martinさん（Changさんのおじいちゃんぐらいのお年に見えました。）との親善試合には最適。US Openのグラスコートでこの二人のプレイを見られたことは一生忘れません。

And Chang still has all the footwork from his youth...just longer shorts!
そして、Changさんは若かれし頃のフットワークも健在。。。ただし、昔より長めのショーツ！

A million thank you's to Fila (MH & LM) for this amazing experience.
このすばらしい機会を与えてくれたFila(MH&LM)に一万回のありがとうを送ります。

A IS FOR...

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:12:00 +0000

ANTE UP.

This is perfection. これは完璧です。

Thanks Sarah.

INSURGENCY.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:33:00 +0000

Awesome illustration from Fogelson-Lubliner. It's from the New York Times regarding an article about US-Iraq occupancy. This would be a really really cool t-shirt.
Fogelson-Lubliner作のヤバイイラストレーション。ニューヨークタイムスのアメリカ・イラク占拠の記事からです。これは、凄く凄くカッコイイTシャツになると思う。

MAYER.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 06:19:00 +0000

As some of you might know, John Mayer has been doing a worldwide tour. He recently made a stop in NY and did a performance at Jones Beach. The weather wasn't kind to the 15,000 or so rain soaked fans, but they stuck with John to the very end. Thanks to the all-access pass I was blessed with (thanks John and Tony!), I was able to check out the show from behind stage, side stage, front of stage and above stage. It was an awesome live show.
ご存知かもしれませんが、John Mayerさんは今ワールドツアー中です。最近は、ニューヨークのジョーンズビーチでコンサートをしました。天候は集まった15,000人の観客には優しくなく、雨のおかげでファンがびしょ濡れになりましたが、みんな最後までJohnを離れませんでした。オールアクセスパスを持っていたので（ありがとう、JohnさんとTonyさん！）ショーをバック、サイド、フロントステージと上からも楽しむことが出来ました。最高のライブでした。

The VIP Pass...Artwork by Kaws. VIPのパス。。。アートはKaws作。

The rain soaked audience. 雨が観客をびしょ濡れに。

Post show late night dinner at Tao. ショー後のTaoでのディナーにて。

BOOTLEG.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:08:00 +0000

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. I tend to agree for the most part. But I must admit that when you're the victim of it, it does smart just a little. Some of these are just downright hilarious.
模倣は最高の形のお世辞といいます。だいたいの場合は同感です。ただ、自分自身被害にあうと、少し考えさせられます。でも時にはおかし過ぎて爆笑してしまうのもあります。

I mean, at least this took a "little" bit of skill. They had to change some of the letters around and stuff.
これはほんの「ちょっと」だけスキルを必要としました。文字を少し変えないといけなかったので。

In trying to keep positive, I guess there is room for more than one positive social contagion. But damn....Change one word! And then you have the nerve to say "ORIGINAL DESIGNS"?!?
ポジティブな考え方からすると、「a positive social contagion」は一つ以上あってもいいかもしれない。でも、一言くらい変えてもいいと思う！その後に「ORIGINAL DESIGNS」と書ける神経が図太すぎる！

They booted two legs with one stone here. Staple and Medicom. Bootleggers and designers should collaborate more. See when I did this be@rbrick with Medicom for our 10th Anniversary, it didn't even occur to me that we should do a tee. It's actually a good idea!
ここでは一石二鳥ならぬ、一石二レッグ。StapleとMedicom。ブートレッグ業者とデザイナーがもっとコラボをすればいいのに。僕が10周年記念にMedicomとベアーブリックを作ったとき、Tシャツをやるアイディアは浮かばなかった。実際いいアイディアです！

Staple Design is available for proofreading as well as design services. Please feel free to contact us.
Staple Designはデザイン以外にも校正チェックを行います。お気楽にご連絡下さい。

SIGNS OF THE OLYMPICS.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:33:00 +0000

The fast approaching Beijing Olympics is playing out like the coming of the apocalypse! The Times just release some interesting facts: 33,000 exterminators have been sent to battle a locust infestation in northern China in hopes of heading off a migration to Beijing during the Games. What else can go wrong for Chinese Olympic officials? There was the uprising in Tibet. The earthquake. Beijing's choking air pollution. The massive algal bloom that threatens the Olympic sailing competition in Qingdao. So why not a plague of locusts? Mongolian herdsmen will assist the army of exterminators by sending their chickens into the thick of it. One herdswoman explained that her 50-odd chickens could eat more than 100 locusts a day. Let the games begin!
日に日に迫っている北京オリンピックの前にアポカリプスの到来のような事ばかり。The Timesはちょっと面白い情報を掲示ました：中国北部のイナゴの異常発生がオリンピック期間中に北京に移動する前に駆除をするため、33,000人の害虫駆除業者を送り込みました。中国のオリンピック委員会が頭を抱える出来事はこれからもどれだけ起きるのでしょうか？チベットでの暴動。地震。窒息するほどの大気汚染。セーリング競技にも影響が出でてしまうチンタオでの藻の異常発生。今度は厄介な大量のイナゴはいかが？モンゴルの牧者たちが害虫駆除業者を手伝うため、飼っている鶏を放つそうです。ある牧婦は自分の飼っている50羽の鶏は一日に100匹以上のイナゴを食べられると主張しています。これにて大会の開幕を宣言します！

GRANIPH AWARDS.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:54:00 +0000

Our friends in Japan, Graniph recently held a worldwide design contest. They received more than 15,000 design entries from all over the world. From these, they selected 1 Gold Prize, 10 Silver Prizes, and 19 Bronze Prizes. The results were recently posted on their site. We're working to get some of these over at Reed Space shortly so stay tuned!
僕達の日本の仲間であるGraniphが最近ワールドワイドのデザインコンテストを開催しました。世界中から15,000以上のデザインエントリーがありました。これらの中からゴールド賞一つ、シルバー賞10個、ブロンズ賞19個が選ばれました。結果は彼らのサイトで公開されました。これらのデザインをReed Spaceでも扱えるように努力してますので楽しみにしていてください！

The results: (結果発表)

GOLD: Cho Jo Tzu (Taiwan)

SILVER: Chan Man Sing (Hong Kong), Justin Sereni (UK), Joe Rogers (UK), Maurice Uzzan (Italy), Monsieur Nils (USA), Rik Lee (Australia), Ryoko Takabatake (Japan), Klara Petra Szabo (Hungary), Tomoe Miyazaki (Japan), Vicky Lao Wai Kei (Macao).

BRONZE: Alison Michiko Fairbairn (UK), Choho Hatake (Japan), Daichi Hosoya (Japan), Emily Beamer (Canada), Hisasing (Japan), Kana Osada (Japan), Natsuki Ando (Japan), Rieko Toyoura (Japan), Sei Shimura (Japan), Sonja Ahlers (Canada). Su Qin (China), Takeshi Tsunemoto (Japan), Tomohiro Tezuka (Japan), Valentina Venturi (Italy), Yashka

(The USA needs to step up the design game! We only had one silver medalist! Hope we do better in Beijing.)
(アメリカのデザイン界はもっとがんばらないと！アメリカからは一人の銀メダリストしか出ませんでした！北京ではもっといい結果が出せるといいですね。）

HFNY.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:00:00 +0000

For those of you that wonder if Hiroshi is OK (since he is not currently blogging), I am pleased to report he is fine and well. And if David from Kangol has his hat off, you know some serious work is going down!
HF and I in attendance at the Mandarin Oriental.
ヒロシさんの安否を心配されている方（最近ブログ更新をしていないので）、彼は無事で健康であることを報告します。そして、KangolのDavidが帽子を取っているということは、真剣に仕事モードであることが分かりますよね！HFとマンダリンオリエンタルにて。

WOOSTER COLLECTIVE.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:54:00 +0000

(Kostas Seremetis)

The Wooster Collective was founded in 2001. This site is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating ephemeral art placed on streets in cities around the world. The founders are Marc and Sara...two of the coolest people on earth. True patrons and supporters of the arts. They recently held a salon in their office. A get together for art collectors, gallery owners, artists and fans. Special guest speakers included Kostas Seremetis, Christa Carr of Taschen Books and Matt Barber of Paper Monster. The crowd was intimate, intelligent and cool. I'm looking forward to the next one!
The Wooster Collectiveは2001年に創設されました。このサイトは世界中の都市で見かける短命なストリートアートを集めて展示しています。創設者はMarcとSara。。。地球上で最もヤバイ人たちの中の2人。アート界の真のパトロンとサポーター。彼らは最近オフィスで、サロンを開きました。アートコレクター、ギャラリー経営者、アーティスト、ファンなどの集いでした。スペシャルゲストスピーカーは、Kostas Seremetisさん、Taschen Books のChrista CarrさんとPaper MonsterのMatt Barberさん。集まった人たちは皆親しく、聡明でカッコイイ方ばかりでした。次も楽しみです！

(Marc and Sara, center stage)

(Kostas, Jamil GS, Matzu, John Lee, Nathalie, WK...in the house.)

(Kostas again)

BBB by LOMO.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:33:00 +0000

Wow...a tradeshow looks so different through the eyes of a Lomo Camera. For this past Barcelona Bread & Butter, we scoured the halls with our colab camera and here's some of the dirty work. All these were shot with the Staple x Lomo Colorsplash Camera. (No post-Photoshop work was applied to these shots.) You can get the camera and book at Reed Space or through Lomo.com.
ワォ。。。Lomo Cameraのレンズを通してみるトレードショーは凄く違って見えます。今回行われたBread&Butterでは、僕達のコラボカメラをもって展示会場をうろうろし、こんなものが出来上がりました。これらはすべてStaple x Lomo Colorsplash Cameraで撮ったものです。(あとでPhotoshop処理は一切していません。）このカメラと本はReed SpaceまたはLomo.comで購入できます。

QUIET VILLAGE.

noreply@blogger.com (jeffstaple) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:18:00 +0000

Thanks for the recommendation FC. This is a really dope album. I suggest you get this CD.
FC、薦めてくれてありがとうございます。これは凄くヤバいアルバムです。このCDをゲットすることをおすすめします。