You’re getting a super sneak peek at Nike 6.0’s neat space-themed Explorer Pack scheduled for release in January 2010, though we wish it were coming out now ’cause of all the moon-landing anniversary talk in the air that has us feeling space-y. The Nike 6.0 team went to NASA HQ to get inspired for the design of the collection, even going so far as to tap astronaut Buzz Aldrin to help devise the galaxy print. It adorns everything from the Galaxy hoody to Triad backpack. I especially love the tee (sorry, not pictured), which is printed with the world-famous image of Aldrin from the Apollo Moon landing. There’s also another jacket in white, is waterproof and has special details, like zip pulls and Velcro straps in red and blue to correspond to the left and right sides—all in direct reference to astronauts’ space suits. Pretty out of this world.
Though they’ve been described as a militant Islamic punk band, there’s a much more satirical quality to the subject matter of The Kominas songs than first meets the ears. Moreover, it’s not exactly punk. After an album that musically sounds like something between Fresh Fruit and Rotting Vegetables and Mr. Bungle’s California, the kids from Boston got a loud response, if not a varied one, from those listening. The band’s renegade shows in Pakistan were aimed at one end of the polarized population; common people and not the social elite, those whose affluence allows them time for music. Their intentions sparked controversy, to say the least. With the innaugural tour and album behind them, the Kominas are currently on the road for a second round of intelligent yet fist pumping shows. And yes, a second and equally shocking album is in the works.
For a full history of the Kominas, their influences, and the beginning of the burgeoning Taqwacore genre, check out their wikipedia page, or simply google their name for all the press. Tour dates are on their Myspace.
My pal Jeff Staple just announced the launch of reed pages, his magazine venture. I’m always impressed with him and his ability to spread his mission and ideas across all mediums from consulting to apparel, digital, and now back to the basics of awesome print and paper (this looks so good, I’d categorize it as a book). And anytime he launches something new, I think about a good way I can bring it to my own readers.
So, to celebrate the inaugural Issue 1, we’re going to giveaway a year subscription. It’s pretty simple.
This quote appears in the premier issue of Reed Pages. Fill in the blanks below and you win.
“New _____________ is okay but why does it have to be so ugly? The ___________ and ___________ should have to answer to an aesthetic community board that won’t let them build awful ___________.”
Comments will be held for moderation, and we’ll approve and pick the winners Friday! Good luck!
Most basketball sneakers nowadays look like they could just as easily be hi-tech astronaut footwear as gear that will give you that edge on your baseline layups, but before the days of LeBron James and even Air Jordan himself, sneakers were not exactly items so flashy that you’d get mugged for wearing them. Hearkening back to simpler time when kicks were still kick ass, but a lot less flamboyant, PF Flyers has bottled (or shoed) the essence of long ago NBA great Bob Cousy with their reissue of the Celtics legend’s 1956 sneaks. While they make look like they’re more suited for taking a walk to your nearest subway line than spotting up from the 3-point line, there’s an NBA hall-of-famer or several who would probably beg to differ.
Brandon Chang, Co-founder of Greedy Genius dropped us a note with a preview of his latest creation– dubbed the Ocean Runner shown here. Nods to nautical inspiration, Brandon says it’s inspired through our travels.A mix of classic American, Asian and European style infused with independent street culture taste. Pretty classy.
If you've seen images at the Whitney, SF Museum of Modern Art, or Minneapolis' Walker Art Center (or the Magnum Photos archives for that matter), the shots of photographer Alec Soth may have caught your eye. The Minnesota-based artist's photos are colorful yet haunting, and his most recent frameset, shot in the days before President Obama's inauguration are no exception. “The Last Days of W†is a visual critique of the impact that the outgoing head of state had on Americans — from mothers of Marines to religious imagery in offices. The show opened with an exhibition in Zurich and is now being featured in a self-published softcover book that serves as a celebration/requiem for President Bush, who once uttered that “one of the great things about books is, sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.â€Â What else would you expect from locations like California's Camp Purgatory and Detroit before the promise of the automaker bailout?
The morning got off on an artistic note and included Ed Ulbrich who showed some dazzling film special effects from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love wooed the audience with an “a cappella” (read: no slide support) walk-through of her creative process while Margaret Wertheim amazed people with her crocheted great barrier reef art installation, which strangely and coincidentally unlocked mathematical secrets. Later Daniel Libeskind took us through a juxtaposed architectural vision and thoughts behind the new Freedom Tower. Shai Agassi who abruptly left SAP to follow a vision on shifting the world to non-petroleum transportation showcased his recent partnerships with both Renault-Nissan and various governments. Sarah Jones brought her multiple personalities to the stage and entertained everyone while poking a little fun at highbrow TEDsters.
Later in the day, TED 2009 Prize Winner Jill Tarter, introduced remotely by Sir Richard Branson and Al Gore, asked everyone to collaboratively find extraterrestrials which was actually rather well received. Sylvia Earle who is collaborating with Google Earth to map the world’s oceans gave everyone a good scare showing that fish populations have been depleted by 90% because of pollution and commercial fishing since 1900. Between Jeremy Piven’s mercury poisoning and this revelation I am going to reduce my sushi intake starting today. Accordingly she asked all of us to ignite public support for a global network of protected marine areas. The response was overwhelming. Jose Antonio Abreu in Caracas who created El Sistema and helped musically inspire impoverished children and bring them out of poverty also received acknowledgment today.
So while the elbow rubbing and hob-knobbing continues, there is clearly an underlying level of tension on the many global crises that exist right now. The good news is that the TED community is pretty powerful and may just figure out how to crack the code on some of these enormous issues
I love collaborations. There’s no denying it; when two brands I admire come together, the result is something that is bound to land on my wishlist. Though a far stretch in terms of brand identity contrast, the second in a series of collabs between streetwear brand Lemar & Dauley and skate brand DC have yielded some interesting results. Based on the DC Admiral, the guys at L&D brought a nautical theme to the design, in both a regal and casual sense. Fabrics and materials found on sails were used as inspiration, yet the hi-top silhouettes and contrasting patterns and materials definitely scream beach city. Perhaps, something you’d might see on the boardwalk in Venice or New Jersey. Other interesting touches include a plate engraved with Braille as well as reflective tape. The shoes dropped on February 1st and retail for $150.
Just a quick morning eye-opener. Supermodel Gisele Bündchen gives us a sneak peak at the Spring 2008 line from Rampage, a design house set to unveil its entire inaugural line in various cities — as well as in its online store — in the near future. For now, we get a handful of videos of this bombshell making their clothing look really, really good. We’re glad to see that at least one of the Brady-Bundchen power couple is getting some work in.
Five Locs is a brand new urban streetwear brand based in Atlanta. Yet another independent purveyor of original gear, the Five Locs logo features a silhoutted dome-piece with some gnarly dreads jutting out. The bold emblem is the chest design of their inaugural line of T-shirts, which keep it simple and come in black, white and green. Speaking of inaugural, the brand has its own Obama tee, boasting some ill artwork and the slogan “400 Years in the Making”. They’ve come through with a great initial concept and a dope site to go with it. We’ll surely be keeping an eye on these guys and awaiting new gear, soon to come.
If you’re not already completely absorbed in this morning’s inauguration activities, jump over to SpeechWars and check out their graphs of different words our nation’s Presidents have spoken in their Inaugural addresses – from women to union to world to evildoers (oh, wait, that’s not one) and notice any trends that may have occurred due to such powerful cultural changes caused by the civil rights movement and the rise of feminism. What Obama will say, we don’t know – strangely, unlike CNN we didn’t receive a copy of it – but we have a hunch the word “hope” will pop up more times than it did in the last eight years.
Back when IWearYourShirt.com launched, I swooped in and grabbed today’s date – January 20th. I thought I’d send him some clever Obama inauguration T-shirt to sport proudly for me, but truthfully I never got around to it. Then I thought I’d send him a ridiculously small tank top, and never got around to that. It also crossed my mind to buy a shirt and have my sweatiest friends work out in it, zip lock it, and send that to him. That too never happened.
And then I realized, I’d make him go shirtless on a cold winter day and just asked him to write “Obama” on his chest in lipstick or something. Tape and sharpie had to do, but it worked I suppose.
All in good fun of course. He took the joke very well. Be sure to check out his video and live-cast later today — very funny.
People are bound to have a spectrum of reactions to the Inauguration Day proceedings, so if your gut is telling you to react by buying toys, it’s ok. Barack Obama’s message inspired an unprecedented array of art toys in 2008 from action figures to vinyl busts. Now’s the time to stock up. Wizard Sleeve Toys is having a one-day 20% off sale to celebrate the inauguration of our 44th president. Whether you go in for urban or herb-n art, here’s your chance to pick up an Obama action figure at a reduced price. Just enter “NEWPREZ” at checkout.
We’ve written about the music of Daft Punk, Barack Obama action figures and Daft Punk designer toys, but I never imagined I’d have the occasion to write about all three in one post. In the latest mashup of politics and pop culture, UK DJ/producer Adam Freeland remixes Daft Punk in a video animated by the progressive directing team, GOLD. The stop-motion music video is meant to function as a celebration to commemorate the upcoming inauguration of Obama as the 44th president of the United States. While plastic Obama makes an appearance, designer toy fans will be interested to see Qees, Be@rbricks and other mini-figures getting down on the dancefloor. How many items from your own toy collection can you spot in the video?
Last year, you sported Obama tees, held BBQs at your pad to get likeminded voters together, and threw a giant party on election night – with extra champagne on hand to drown your sorrows should the other guy win. But all of that is passe now that Obama is just days from being inaugurated, so you’ve got to find a new way to show your support. We think this skateboard will do the trick. Designed by illustrator Oliver Barrett of Go Media, this board that has been emblazoned with the President-elect’s mug serves as both wall art or, if you don’t mind a few scratches, your Democratic transportation around town. If you want it, snag it quick, because like tickets to the Inauguration, these 800 decks will go fast.
People are bound to have a spectrum of reactions to the Inauguration Day proceedings, so if your gut is telling you to react by buying toys, it’s ok. Barack Obama’s message inspired an unprecedented array of art toys in 2008 from 
