I dipped. To ottawa. For World Juniors. Peace.
Back on the 6th.

Backpacks?

Eastpak x Raf Simons

From Jil Sander designer Raf Simons, has paired with backpack/luggage maker Eastpak to make the coolest bags for 2008. Under his own label Raf Simons. These large, over-sized, monochromatic colored and waterproof designs are definitely unique. I want one of these so badly.

Maharishi x Medicom x Porter bag

Three well recognized names have collaborated for an impressive collection, and not for the first time. Japan’sMedicom and Porter have teamed up with Hardy Blechmen’s Maharishi on a collection of items that features the well known camo design in a mix of grey, black and khaki.




Sleds? Wat?

Porche Design

I'm wondering if because its Porche it goes faster than...


By Ky Michaelson

Hi-Tops...


DJ AM's Air Yeezy's have my favorite colorway of the yeezy to date



Nike's Vintage Material Blazer's are looking real real good, im def getting the red ones!


Of course, Visvim Logans are beautiful.


Low Tops...


Raf Simmons is a genius...
Four colorways are seen in the Dr. Martens vintage 3 Eye model, which was the initial silhouette released during the brands inaugural production run. The collection is expected to release in the Spring of 2009 as part of their Spring/Summer lineup which should see further models as well.



I dont know how i feel about these, but im a sucker for that Chukka shape..

Belts?...


Undercover and RATS have come together on the Viper Studs collection of accessories. Seen within both the bangle and the belt are studded arrangements with matching buckles.



Belts aren’t usually too exciting, especially black leather belts. What can you even do to them? Put studs on? Okay there are probably a few reasonable modifications you can make, but the point is, there is rarely a belt I actually think is really nice. I tried on this Surface 2 Air belt at Illustrated Example the other day. It’s fresh in with the Fall line, and is probably one of the nicest belts I’ve seen in awhile. It has a D ring sort of function but instead of 2 rings it uses a classic leather loop to hold the belt back in place. I also really like the black on black with the hard wear being a matte black. The other feature I’m really liking on belts in general and this one did it really nicely is having a leather piece go behind the actual buckle area. It makes it looks more complete and there are no visible holes. Made from a rather soft leather, the belt is pretty much the perfect thickness and width as well. I’m seriously considering going back to pick it up.

As im sure many of you did, the day after Christmas, I hauled my ass out of bed super early, headed downtown in pursuit of huge deals. As I often like to, i decided to bring my camera, and document the day. However, unfortunately, it started to snow so i stopped taking pictures around oneish because i didn't want to fuck up my lens. However, it was a good day none the less, filled with spending, eating, waiting and seeing old friends. Mikey and Cookie (yeah...cookie) picked me up around 5:00am in Mikey's whip, we threw on some tunes and hit the road. To our dismay though, the McDonalds that we have come to know and love for always being open on the corner of Spadina and Queen, was, for some reason, closed. I didn't get to eat til like 12ish when my fasha scooped me up, took me to lunch and then shopping around Yorkville. Good times all around.

I personally think I have a pretty decent taste in movies, and I'm usually willing to see a movie that is a little out of my element. Although I've noticed i have a bias towards crime and action movies (GoodFellas, Godfather, Usual Suspects etc. ) I'm usually pretty well rounded in terms of films, and strongly believe in my Top Six Favorite Movies, the other night i saw Layer Cake, which is making me strongly question my order.

After seeing the latest Bond Flick, I started checking out Daniel Craig's history a little more, and found something that seems a little bit closer to his element, and is probably the reason he was cast as Bond.

Starring Daniel Craig and the beautiful Sienna Miller, Layer Cake is a 2004 British gangster thriller, directed by Matthew Vaughn. It is based on a novel of the same name by J. J. Connolly.



The title refers to the human social strata, especially in the British crime underworld, as well as the numerous plot layers in the film. "The Layer Cake is a metaphor for different levels of British society, whether it's the crime world or anything else", says director Matthew Vaughn. "The movie's about showing how drugs are everywhere and it doesn't matter who or where you are, you're only one person away from drugs, scoring drugs or being involved with criminals. There's a speech at the end of the film where Temple uses Layer Cake as a metaphor for life and how you go up and up and up from one layer of the cake and to the next."

The film centers around an unnamed cocaine dealer in the centre of London played by Daniel Craig (known in the credits as XXXX or Mr. X as referred to in the movie). Craig's character has established a successful business buying, cutting and selling cocaine by using intelligence and self-control to avoid the largesses and gangster behaviors associated with the business. Having made his fortune through hard work and great care, he plans to retire from the drug industry for good.

As you would expect, drama ensues and Daniel Craig manages to get rid of everybody in his path. Filled with great casting, great action and a sexy scene with Sienna Miller & Daniel Craig, Layer Cake is for sure one of my favorite movies out there. Number Seven Maybe? Maybe even number six.

Check out that scene...




p.s...
on this foggy, rainy, dreery day, the song of the day is Rainbows by Madvillian

So, I've been bouncing around for the last few days, from house to house, dinner to dinner, aunt to uncle, friend to friend, filling myself with turkey, potatoes and everything else that is essential with Christmas, therefore i haven't been able to post much. Since I left my memory card at Geoffs, I can't take pictures of the chirstmas swag, but there were hundreds of presents under the tree at my Dads this morning, and it was for sure a good day. I'm not going to get into present details, but it was a good day for sure. The only bitch is is that most of my closest friends have gone away or are going away to Collingwood or Cancun or other places like that, so I'm layin low for a few days it would appear. And then on the 31st, i leave for Ottawa to check out the World Junior Hockey Championships. Pretty stoked. Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Christmas, all that shit.

Cheers, Peace & Love.

p.s... for those that know, I got some original KAWS artwork. By far one of the greatest gifts ever. Sorry, had to brag.

Paper Wars represents a selection of internationally recognized artists and designers contributing their efforts to a special project featuring militia aesthetics within innovative and precise paper design efforts. Amongst the pieces created was a paper Mills Bomb, which was initially conceptualized in 1915 by golf club designer William Mills. The design reflects an amazing replica of the “pineapple” grenade used by armed forces world wide. A further look into the other works and more information can be found at Paperwars.com.







Check out the rest of this incredibly interesting project at PaperWars

Nike Air Max 90 x Vinti Andrews Pit Bull Dogs



Having gotten a taste of Vinti Andrews’ surgical creativity just recently with her Windrunner project, Vinti Andrews’ customization skills are to put use once again on two different Nike-themed dogs. A life-size pit bull was created thanks to the help of the NIKEiD Studio in London and features a number of different Dunk colorways to create a menacing Dunk Dog. The other one features another pit bull comprised of various colorful Air Max 90s including the CMYK, Carnival and King of the Mountain models. The Air Max 90 Dogs are available for sale at Loveless in Aoyama, Tokyo.

taken directly from Hypebeast

Robot Dog....wat?



The walking robot dog Larry surely stunned each passerby with its massive build and the fire spitting. Made entirely from scrap, the robo-dog has a Citroen 2CV engine fitted inside the metal frames. Constructed to ably walk on its front two legs, Larry has two tires stitched in place of the hind legs. Built to perfection in about four weeks, the robot also uses an old Feat car gear box to dress up the legs, while for the head a Citroen 2CV engine is used.

50% Off the entire site plus a $25 gift code in January. Karmaloop will also donate 5% off every sale that uses the "Yeezy" code to the Dr. Donda West Foundation.

www.karmaloop.com

So, I've been talking to people about the holidays and shiz, and it seems that alot of people are having movie marathons, and staying in whole days and nights to watch movies, however most of the movies are either doo doo or sappy christmas movies. So I'm going to share with you guys my list of top SIX movies. I say six because i wanted to do five but couldnt narrow it down. While your checking out the list, how about listening to "My Favorite Things" by Coltrane, Hmm?




Alright,
#1. Goodfellas

"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster." -- Henry Hill, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1955

Goodfellas is a 1990 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi. The film follows the rise and fall of three gangsters, spanning three decades.

"we always called each other good fellas. Like you said to, uh, somebody, :You're gonna like this guy. He's all right. He's a good fella. He's one of us.: You understand? We were good fellas"

The film was nominated for six Academy Awards but only won one for Pesci in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category. Scorsese's film won three awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and was named best film of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the National Society of Film Critics.

Featuring Robert Deniro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci, Goodfellas is able to embody all that is Gangster, and recieved #2 on AFI's list of Gangster movies.

I Don't know why i love this movie so much, and I can't describe the plot to you because i dont want to ruin anything, but i have yet to meet someone who has seen this movie and hasn't liked it. In a word, its AMAZING. The dialogue is excellent, the acting is excellent, the cinematography is excellent, the directing is excellent, and it features the quintessential cameo of Samuel L. Jackson (playing Stacks Edwards) that seemingly every successful movie needs.


#2. Blow Up

Blowup is a 1966 British-Italian art film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and was that director's first English language film. It tells the story of a photographer's involvement with a murder case.

Without spoiling the movie too much, basically its about a professional fashion photographer beginning his day after spending the night at a doss house, where he has taken pictures for a book of art photos he hopes to publish. He is late for a photo shoot at his studio with a famous French fashion model, which in turn makes him late for another photo shoot with many other models later in the morning. He grows bored, leaves the shoot and goes out for a drive. Wandering into Maryon Park he sees two lovers and takes photos of them. The woman is nettled at being photographed and chases him down back to the studio. After they have made love and she has left, he wonders what is on the film, and becomes inquisitive enough to make numerous blowups (enlargements) of the photos, which seem to reveal both a body lying in the grass and a murderer hidden in the trees with a gun, but the photos have been blown up so much, it is hard to understand what can be seen through the very rough grain of the black and white film.

I dont know what it is i like so much about this film, just the whole mystery of it, the way its shot, and the whole theme of photography. That, in addition to the minimal dialogue and controversy that surrounded the film, gives off a great movie. For sure a must see.



#3. Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs is the 1992 debut film of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It portrays what happens before and after a botched jewel heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast with Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Quentin Tarantino, Eddie Bunker, Chris Penn and Lawrence Tierney. Tarantino also has a minor role, as does criminal-turned-author Eddie Bunker. It incorporates many themes and aesthetics that have become Tarantino's hallmarks: violent crime, pop culture references, memorable dialogue, profuse profanity, and a nonlinear storyline.

The film has become a classic of independent film and a cult hit. It was named "Greatest Independent Film of all Time" by Empire. Reservoir Dogs was generally well received and the cast was praised by many critics. Reservoir Dogs often criticized for its high degree of violence and profanity, and audience members reportedly walked out during an infamous torture scene (which might I add is amazingly brutal)


The film opens to eight men eating breakfast at a diner: Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker), Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney), and his son, "Nice Guy" Eddie (Chris Penn). Mr. Brown discusses his comparative analysis on Madonna's "Like a Virgin" and Mr. Pink expresses his anti-tipping policy until Joe forces him to leave a tip.

From there, the film follows a robbery, and although you never actually see the robbery, you get a pretty good idea of what went down from the dialogue between the characters as they wait for help in an abandoned warehouse.

This film, if you like action, set the standard for movies containing robbery and violence, and is often used as a bench mark for movies with such themes. Straight up, its amazing and you'd have to be some sort of schmuck to not want to see it.

#4. Blow

Alright you goonies, no real need to get into explanation about this one because im guessing most people have seen it. If you haven't seen it, go see it. Johnny Depp at his finest. Go see it, now.