We never really doubted that our readers could find better stuff than we do, but the things that have been popping up on our Showcase have been putting some of the team (ok, mostly just me) to shame. Topping off the list of good stuff from this week is the glow-in-the-dark limited bike from Brooklyn Machine Works (so rad); the curious and amazing Beach on Wall project; the DUO x Rogue Status Pivotal bike seat (which has definitely made its way around the internet- good for them); and the new Maps album, We Can Create, that sets the mood for summertime relaxation even better than the three mojitos you’ll probably down while listening to it. If you still haven’t gotten to know our Showcase, click on one of the Kohler + JS boxes floating around the site — it will take you to a page where you can share your finds with us and other readers for a chance to, well, share (because sharing is nice), and to win some gift certificates from Spout. Thanks for the contributions so far, guys, you’re on fire!

This morning, I got another one of those friendly emails Amazon likes to send to remind me that they know me…maybe even better than my mom does. Like enough to know that even though I say I don’t care about Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and even though I hate that parts of my friends’ souls were erased once they started working there, I’m still absolutely, 100%, about-to-bite-my-hands-off-antsy for HOOPLANENTICS to come out. After all, why else would they think I had any interest in a book that a) will probably turn me into a blood-sucking monster; b) will then encourage me to celebrate the fact that I’ve turned into a blood-sucking monster; and c) isn’t even going to wind up on my doorstop until two thousand and freaking eight? I never told anyone that I wanted to apply CP+B’s crazy “Hoopla” theory to my life — in fact, I don’t even think I knew that was a possibility until this morning- and, for the love of GOD, do we really want more than one Alex Bogusky running around?

Anyway. Just because you should know; it’s coming. As of January 2008, we will all be able to turn ourselves into Hoopla for a very reasonable price. If you’re into that, of course. And no, I didn’t pre-order HOOPLANETICS…. I, um, thought I should read their other book first.

Pete Maravich, Nate Tiny Archibald and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wore Pro-Keds. In the days before Nike and Michael Jordan cornered the basketball shoe market and athletes were still allowed to have a personality, Pro-Keds were some of the most stylish athletic shoes on the market. When the shoe market changed in the Eighties and Nineties, Pro-Keds lost their spot on the court, but, like their classic shoe brethren the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, Keds have recently been revived by a craving for all things vintage in the hip-hop community (as well as a certain nutritionally-deprived star of The O.C.).

Since 2005, when Damon Dash, head of Rocawear and urban entrepreneur extraordinaire, took charge of the Pro-Keds brand, the shoes have been designed and marketed more towards people who want to look good in their sneaks than to those who want to increase their hang time and draw heavily from both pop and everyday culture. Most recently, Dash has reoriented the brand towards the vintage styles that put it on the map in the first place. If the technicolor shoes pictured above aren’t your style (check out this video of Dash showing off the box that comes with the Skittles shoe. Yep, even the box looks tasty), then you can stick to the more refined look of these classic Royal low tops. Visit the Pro-Keds website to see all their latest, and try not to drool all over your keyboard.

–Dan Steckenberg

Before reading further, please take stock of your past and current employment situation. If you an obnoxiously rich heiress whose most taxing chore will be deciding on your outfit for the after-party (or the after-after party), or anyone else fortunate enough to have avoided a 9-to-5 job, skip to the next post. Now, for all of the rest of us poor bastards seeking relief from the tedium that is our daily lives, Chicago’s Three Walls has an upcoming exhibition inspired by the infamous day job that may do the trick. Three Walls is a nonprofit organization focused on providing education, workspace, and exhibition opportunities, to emerging artists — and fans of same — within contemporary art. The upcoming show, “Day Jobs”, will feature photography, drawings, mixed media, and sculpture by artists Tim Best, Kyle Brumfield, and Japeth Mennes, some of which directly references the soul-crushing world of watching the clock for a living. You can also take comfort in that fact that the three artists featured in the exhibition, like us, have to grind it out during the week to support their true passions.

RIOTTT, the sneaker-obsessed online community that’s been killing it with their cutting edge music/art/street fashion coverage, have recently launched a brand new contest in celebration of the Air Force 1’s 25th anniversary. 1THOLOGY, the Nike-collab page of the site that allows RIOTTT users to show off their sneaker collections, hunt down hard-to-find AF1’s, and otherwise interact with fellow sneakerphiliacs, is now host to a new section dedicated to the Top-25 AF1’s of all time. Each of the shoes have their own profiles and discussion boards, allowing fans and owners to discuss the mythology of the shoe ( i.e.; What do you know about the shoe that other people don’t? What makes it so awesome? Would you want to “retro” it?). This format allows die-hard fans (or quarter-assed ones; whatever) to share the “story” of the shoe- which is often written after their production. The sweet, sweet kicker to all of this is that the creator of the best AF1 story wins the opportunity to design two super-limited Nike-ID AF1’s… which sounds pretty good, eh? It looks like all you have to do to get in on the action is register as a RIOTTT user (if you haven’t already) then drop your brains on the message boards. Easy. Now do it.

Related: Nike’s Air Force 1thology

I’m not dead. Actually, if this is what dying feels like– consider me a goner. This place is like heaven on earth! While I apologize for the radio silence (the internet is terrible on this side of the world), this has been an incredibly rejuvenating time away from the blogosphere. It’s so great to see the site in such great shape– kudos to the whole team for working overtime in my absence. When I arrived, I spent a few days in Bali, both in Kuta on the beach and then traveled into Ubud where I was exploring villages and artist communities on an eco-cyling tour, as well as the sacred monkey forest (it makes a zoo look pitiful, pictures coming soon). I just arrived a hop, skip and a jump away from Bali in Java– the place where my Father setup relief camps literally this time last year, after the massive earthquakes rocked this otherwise incredibly peaceful region. Tomorrow we rise at dawn to visit Borobudur, and then go for a long drive into the middle of the jungle to Bantul, near the epicenter of the recent earthquakes, to play games with the children and check the progress of my father’s past relief work. My brothers and I are spending our two nights here at Amanjiwo– easily the nicest home away from home I have ever seen. Zagat gave it the highest honors with second in the world for an overall ‘extraordinary to perfection’ rating– this place makes The Four Seasons look like a Marriot– full review and pictures to come when I get to solid-internet ground. I’ve got lots to report on, great gems I’ve discovered and more when I’m back stateside!