Come On People!

Only one person has gotten the right answer so far for the contest that I announced in my previous post, and it was Seth, and he can't win because he was there when the thing happened that inspired my fear in the first place. There is even a clue to the answer in the previous post. Somebody out there has got to figure this one out so that I can send them a tube full of posters, button badges, etc. from Assault! Design. Anyway, until someone guesses it, I guess I will continue to bring the latest info on the latest Limited Ed. goodies.

First up, Daily Candy had a little post on their site yesterday about something up close and personal to me. It seems that my Alma Mater, Savannah College of Art & Design, has gone and created an online retail gallery for students and faculty called, appropriately, shopscadonline.com. It is kind of scary for me to see how far S.C.A.D. has come since I graduated nearly a decade ago. It would have been nice to have such a forum to display and sell my work when I was a student there. Of course, the internet was still just a thing for geeks and nerds when I was in college. Times sure have changed.Staying on the subject of art, I got an e-mail from Michael over at Wootini letting me know about several Gary Baseman-oriented events going on in the Triangle this week. First up, Wootini and the American Institute of Graphic Arts are bringing Mr. Baseman to the North Carolina Museum of Art on Thursday, March 2^nd for a reception starting at 6:30pm, a lecture beginning at 7:30pm, autographed pieces as door prizes, and some limited items. The event costs $10 for AIGA student members, $20 for AIGA members and student non-members, and $30 for poor shlubs like me with no affiliation. There will also be an exclusive workshop with Mr. Baseman at Art Space in Raleigh on March 3^rd from 2-4pm and costs $30 for AIGA student members, $40 for AIGA members and student non-members, and $60 for everybody else. You can register here. If you can't afford to go to one of these events, you can always scoot on over to Wootini Friday night from 7-9pm for a free signing by Gary. I'm sure the stuff being signed isn't free, but if you just want to brave the long lines and get a look at Gary and his work, then you don't have to pay anything. The timeline is very strict for this event, so get there early.

400th Post!!!

Woo-hoo!!! This is my 400th post!!! Where are the streamers and confetti? Where are the noise-makers and firecrackers? I guess I will just have to celebrate this milestone by announcing my first contest! I know every other "cool hunting" website has some contest or other that they present on their site (I have won a couple of them), so now I am following suit. To pay my loyal readers back, one of you will receive a tube of goodies from Assualt! Design. To participate, answer the following question, "What is Limited Ed. most afraid of and why?" Check back through my past posts for the answer to this question, it's in there somewhere. I will give you one week to get your entries in. Here are the deets:

To enter, send an e-mail with your answer to limited[dot]ed[at]gmail[dot]com. One entry per person only, please. Entries must be received no later than Friday, March 3^rd, 2006 at 11:59pm EST. One entry will be chosen at random to be awarded the prize. Allow four to six weeks for delivery of prize. Chances of winning are approximately 1:1,000,000. Winner will be notified via e-mail. Entries are subject to ridicule by Limited Ed. and all Limited Ed. subsidiaries. Entries are subject to be posted in future Limited Ed. posts for public ridicule.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, something y'all might actually be interested in. Our good friend Bill Griffin (hey, why no link to Limited Ed. no more Bill?) over at Socialpest sent me an e-mail letting me know that they are now shipping their Limited Ed. "Sharpest" Jeremy Madl a.k.a. MAD x Socialpest hemp t-shirt [pictured, left]. Limited to only 100, these 55% hemp, 45% organic cotton t's feature a gold print design by MAD along with the Socialpest insignia embroidered on the sleeve. They are available in men's small, medium, large, extra-large, and double XL. These ones will sell out quick, so get your hands on one soon. Socialpest has other artists lined up to do more Limited Ed. t-shirts after this one, so when I know about them, y'all will know about them. Now go enter the contest, dammit!

Kick Dunny

I got an e-mail from Kidrobot (along with some pretty negative responses to my homophobic post about the Rocket Queer) yesterday letting me know about the upcoming release of the Limited Ed. Kidrobot Dunny Sneakers:

Straight from the runways of NYC Fashion Week, Kidrobot's Dunny sneakers will be released in all Kidrobot stores and online on March 2nd! These super kicks will include "Grasshopper", designed by Kidrobot's own Paul Budnitz, and "Chocorange", by sneaker designer extrordinaire Bill McMullen. Chocorange is limited to 500 pairs and Grasshopper is limited to 300 pairs.

I like these sneakers, and not just because they combine my love of toys and sneakers with my obsession with everything Limited Ed. I also like the look of them: the two stripes going across the side that resemble the ears on the Dunny figures, the fat, old skool, skate sneaker flavor of them; and the color of them: orange, brown and green are my three favorite colors. They will be available four days before my birthday, so seriously folks, if you need an idea of what to get me that I would really love, but never actually wear, these kicks are perfection!

More Like Rocket Queer

Ah, those loveable gays, I just can't help making fun of them! Anyway, now that I have gotten that homophobia out of the way, Ningyoushi has a pre-order on their website for the Limited Ed. 12" Medicom Real Action Hero Rocketeer v.2 figure [pictured, left] for the Disney movie, The Rocketeer, featuring Jennifer Connelly's enormous breasts. Now that makes me feel more like a man! Anyway, this is something for all of you Rocketeer fans out there, which apparently there are a lot of since the demand for the original Rocketeer 12" figure caused Medicom to make a version 2. This version apparently has more posability and accessories. Hooray! It doesn't say on Ningyoushi's website how limited these guys are, but I'm sure they will sell out quickly. The perfect addition to any 12" collection... just like me.

Kicks, Kicks And Pics Of Kicks

Well, it's Monday again, and once again it seems like the weekend just flew by. Weekends never seem to last long enough. I never seem to get enough sleep over the weekend. I never seem to have time to catch up on personal projects over the weekend. I only worked on the Prime Building website for about two hours this weekend, but I had hoped to have it finished by the end of the weekend. I should have it done in the next couple of days and then it will be available for all the world to see.

Anyway, onto the Limited Ed. I got e-mails from Assault! Design, Alife Rivington Club and Proper over the weekend letting me know about all of the upcoming shoe and shoe poster releases of late. First up, Assault! has new Limited Ed. United Colors of Air Force 1 poster [pictured, right], postcards and button badges available. The poster is similar to the United Colors of Dunk poster, but features the 110 colorways of the Nike Air Force 1 and the shoes are facing the opposite direction as the ones in the Dunk poster. Assault! sent me a few of their posters, and let me tell you, each of them is a very high quality product (I am planning some kind of contest to give them away to some lucky, loyal readers). I'm sure the new AF1 merchandise will sell out quickly, so get it while it's hot.

Next up, the Alife Rivington Club has some new Limited Ed. Nike Air Max kicks coming soon inspired by one of Japan's leading soccer teams, the Kashima Antlers:

In a tiny, ancient town in Japan, samurais still exist. But instead of swords and spears, these warrior’s weapons of choice are swift feet and an intoxicating style of football imported from South America. They are the Kashima Antlers—the rebel team of Japan’s professional soccer league. Counting a hardcore following of punk motorcycle gangs among their many fans, the Antlers wear their reputation for being on the fringe of culture as proudly as they do their uniforms.

Personally, I prefer the Kashima Antlers Air Max 360's [pictured above, left] for their buttery-soft leather, laser-cut uppers and patent leather trim. The release date for these is being kept a secret for obvious reasons, but as soon as I know it, I will let y'all know.

And lastly, Proper has several new shoes in stock including new Limited Ed. laser cut, one-piece Nike Dunk Lows and Highs. I prefer the lows [pictured, right] to the highs, but I always prefer low-top kicks. The only time I wear high-tops is when I am wearing hiking boots (which I wear to work because they are warm and my office is cold) or when I am actually playing basketball (which I haven't done in years). The lows are just classier looking and the darker color matches more of my wardrobe. Of course, I won't be buying new shoes for a while. My birthday is coming up two weeks from today, so if anyone needs a present idea, dope kicks are always welcome.

Six Degrees

Sorry about no posts since V-Day. To answer your questions, no, I have not been laid-up in bed trying to recover since then. Anne and I had a very nice V-Day, I prepared an herb-crusted salmon with asparagus beurre blanc ala Emeril Lagasse and she made a lovely green tea cheesecake (she didn't think it turned out that well, but I have been eating it all week and it is delicious and almost gone). I have not written anything since Tuesday because I have been spending every spare and waking hour working on a Flash website for Prime Building in Raleigh for my sister's (and now my) friend Eva. The website that I linked to is not the Flash site, which is only about half done. I have spent about twenty hours on it so far. It is a lot more work than I originally thought it would be, but it is worth it. The template that I am working from is only six pages long, but the actual website needs to be at least seventeen pages, so I had to create quite a few pages from scratch. Anyone who works with Flash knows this can be a serious pain in the butt. Anyway, now that I have gotten all of that off of my chest, I can get back to the task at hand.

I was scanning all of the blogs that I check on a daily basis and something caught my eye from Josh Spear's blog. It has to do with something close to my heart, North Carolina State University's Six Degrees Magazine. Six Degrees is close to my heart because I applied to the NC State design program way back in the stone ages (1992), but went to Carnegie Mellon University instead. I did take an aesthetics class at NC State while I was taking a year off from school (ironic, huh) back in 1994. Anyway, Six Degrees is a print magazine where students can show off and share their design work with the world. Now why didn't I think of that? Of course, I probably know at least one person that worked on the publication through my various associations in the North Cackalacka design world. You can purchase a copy of the 'zine here or other Six Degrees merchandise, such as t-shirts, mouse pads, magnets, tote bags, journals, and postcards, here. They also have a blog, but it only has three posts so far. Hopefully they will start updating more often now that the print version of the 'zine is available.

Happy VD!

It's Valentine's Day, and as far as I can tell, I have no venereal diseases! I love the way both of those things have the same initials. It makes so much sense. Anyway, in honor of Valentine's Day I have rounded up some Valentine's themed items and sales. First of all, Oobase is having a Valentine's Day sale today with all items up to 30% off. Woopeedeedoo! I don't think I would buy that kind of toy for anyone for Valentine's Day. Now this kind of toy someone might find useful and entertaining on Valentine's Day.

            

Alright, enough of that stuff, but keeping on the toy tip, Kidrobot has these two Limited Ed. V-Day themed KR figures, Love [above, left] and Hate [above, right], that I blogged about before. But this time I have pictures. They're pretty cute toys for V.D. and there are only 1000 of each of them, so they qualify. If you are not into giving your sweetie a toy like this for Valentine's, you could check out one of the many anti-Valentine's-themed t-shirts and clothing available on Cafe Press. If you are interested in giving your honey-bunny a widdle teddy-weddy bear for Valentine's, may I suggest this 'Stop the Spread of VD*' Teddy Bear [pictured, right]. Also, because I am so happy to have a girlfriend on this Valentine's Day, I have put all of my love-themed t-shirts on Cafe Press on sale for their base price. I won't be making any profit on them. I will have to raise the price back up tomorrow, however, because my computer died last night and I will have to make a bunch of money to buy a new one. I might have to set up a donation program to try to make some money to buy a new computer. Anyone out there have any freelance graphic or web design work that they need to have done? Anyone need a t-shirt design done? I recently did another new t-shirt design for my friend Ryan for the band Eyes to Space, if anyone wants to buy one of those. Anyway, pictures of my love-themed t-shirts and the Eyes to Space t-shirt are below. Enjoy.

    
    

New T's

    

In honor of Valentine's Day coming up next Tuesday and because Cafe Press is having a contest to win an iPod, I designed a couple of Limited Ed. Valentine's Day t-shirts. They are based on what loves feels like. The men's t-shirt is titled True Love [pictured above, left] and features a pink soldier pissing a rainbow onto a heart and the women's t-shirt is titled Puking Butterflies [pictured above, right] and features, appropriately, a girl puking butterflies. That's what I think love feels like, but I'm a pretty weird guy, so it might feel different for other people. Anyway, Cafe Press is having a sale from now until Valentine's Day where you can get $5 off of orders of $50 or more by entering the code CUPID5 and $10 off of orders of $100 or more by entering CUPID10 when you checkout. So basically you get free shipping if you order a whole lot of t-shirts and other miscellaneous junk. The contest Cafe Press is having gives the person who sells the most Anti-Valentine's Day themed merchandise a free 60GB iPod. The two runners-up get a 4GB iPod Nano and a 2GB iPod Nano respectively. So everybody buy my t-shirts so I can get a free iPod. Also, buy them so I have enough money to pay for dinner with my girlfriend on Valentine's Day. Come on people, help a brother out. Click on my face above the links to see the rest of my Limited Ed. Cafe Press t-shirts and merchandise.

Size Matters

I have been very lucky to be blessed with what some people have referred to as a "donkey dick". Some people even think of me as the younger, taller, more handsome Ron Jeremy (just compare the picture of me above my links with the picture of Ron from Wikipedia). I have never had any problems with women in bed, it has always been getting them into bed that has been difficult for me. Unfortunately, this is not the case with everyone. Some people are not as "gifted" as I am in the pants, but now they can pretend to be with the new condom brand Huge. They are standard size condoms (which are damn tight on me, ha ha!) but come in an extra-large box with the word 'Huge' prominently displayed on the front. A good way to advertise if you are the kind of person who walks around with a box of condoms stapled to you lapel (i.e. TLC from back in the day). Maybe the kind of thing that would help me get women into bed in the first place (just kidding, Anne. You are the only woman I want to get into bed). There are three different quantities: the Nightcap (a pack of three), the Weekender (twelve), and the Extended Stay (thirty-six), depending on your plans (and stamina).

[via Daily Candy]

Flash In The Pants

I know I'm mixing metaphors a little with the title of this post, but I have done so many and it is hard to come up with new titles every time. Anyway, I was trying to catch up on some e-mails this afternoon and I noticed I had received one on Sunday from Tokyo Flash about two new watches they have available. First up is the Limited Ed. Fusion DT1 Watch [pictured, left]. This is a cool looking watch that is a fusion (hence the name) of a LED and LCD watch. Apparently it is very easy to read, with the dots around the outside ring of the watch representing the hours, the inner ring represents the minutes, and the dots in the center count up and down for the seconds. The Fusion also displays the date and has an alarm function as well as icons for all of the functions and different light up patterns which display a different light sequence each time you press one of the buttons on the watch. The watch comes in silver and black and costs only eighty-five bucks.

The other watch they e-mailed me about is not quite as interesting or remarkable as the Fusion Watch. It is the Limited Ed. Infinity Optics Ultra-Violet Watch [pictured, right]. The concept behind this watch is an infinity mirror, in which an image is repeated in the mirror inifinitely, d'uh. The watch crystal is a one-way mirror, so the electroluminescent hands and hour markings are reflected infinitely into the face of the watch. The watch also contains a mini-blacklight to illuminate the hands and face of the watch in dark conditions, like at a club where you want to impress some girl you just met who will think you are a total stud for showing off your cool watch. Trust me, it works. The Ultra-Violet watch runs only fifty-nine bucks, so even if you don't impress that hotty at the bar, you won't be dropping a fortune showing off for her.

Also, props and a big shout out to Jay "The Jenius" Melamed over at www.kvetchthis.com for showing his love for the Limited Ed.

Bondage

Sorry I haven't posted anything in the last couple of days. I have been chained to my desk here at work training the person who will be taking over my job when I leave. I'm just a temp, so I often have to train the person who will be taking over for me. Hopefully, someday, I will temp for a job that I actually want to do on a permanent basis, and then I will apply for the job and hopefully be the most qualified person for the job, and then I won't have to train my own replacement again. Anyone know of any graphic design jobs available in North Cackalacka? I'm not too particular and I work relatively cheap. I also do freelance work. I'm also a professional gigolo, so if anyone needs any of that kind of "service" I'm available for that as well. Alright, now that I am done with the silly entertaining part of my blog, onto what people are really interested in: the toys! I got an e-mail (maybe four) from Kidrobot yesterday letting me know that they have yet another new toy that they are getting ready to release. This urban vinyl toy thing is really getting out of hand. Places like Kidrobot are starting to flood the market to the point where, even though each piece is very limited in its production run, there are so many different new figures us collectors don't know what to do. You can't collect all of them, unless you are a millionaire with an entire wing of your mansion dedicated to the housing of toys, so I guess you just have to decide which ones you prefer and forget the rest, which can be quite difficult for us obsessive/compulsive types. Anyway, the new Limited Ed. 10 Inch Frank Kozik Bondage Smorkin' Labbit [pictured above, left] is quite adorable (for a character clad in "leather" bondage gear) and would make an excellent addition to any collection, mine included (I don't have any of the smorkin' labbits and this one is probably my favorite so far). Unfortunately, I can't afford to add any new toys to my collection, and because only 400 will be produced, this one will probably sell out before I get my greasy mitts on one. The Frank Kozik Bondage Smorkin' Labbit will make its debut on Monday, February 13^th from 6-8pm at Kidrobot San Francisco with a live signing by the man, Frank Kozik himself, in person.

From The Soul

I got an e-mail from my cousin Scott informing me about a new online sneaker store that he recently discovered (well, I'm not sure if it's new, but it's new to me) called Snug. Of course, I can't read the Japanese, Google translator was absolutely no help and I don't know if they ship to the states, but they do have these dope Limited Ed. De La Soul Dunk High Top SB's [pictured, right]. I love the Dunk SB's because they are old skool but contain the new skool soul of a zoom air insole. They even have my size, Japanese size 29, and are only ¥32,800! That's $275.47 for us round-eyes. They also have the De La Soul Dunk Low Top SB's [not pictured] for only ¥29,800 or $250.28, very close to the Pick Your Shoes price of $249.99 for the same pair (Pick Your Shoes doesn't have the De La Soul Dunk Highs). They are a little too "bright banana yellow" for my taste, though.

           

Right now, in honor of Valentine's Day in less than two weeks (they sure start advertising these made-up holidays early), I have been thinking more these Limited Ed. Valentine's Day Nike Air Force 1's [above, left] and Dunk Lows [above, right]. The Air Force 1's have a lovely embroidered rose on the heel [below, left], a rose on the insole, and heart-shaped perferations on the toe. Adorable! The Dunks have a rose on the insole and "I love you" with a little heart repeated across the toe and heel [below, right]. Very cute. If my girlfriend were as big a sneaker freak as I am, I would think about getting her a pair of one of these. She would probably take them out of the box, wear them around and get them all dirty. How disrespectful.

The Kuggs Are Coming! (All Over My Face)

I got an e-mail this morning from Andrew Yip at Blackwater Toys, a new toy company that has just produced its first toy, the Kuggs. Their website is still under construction, but they sent me a press release with images and descriptions of the Kuggs, so I'm going to share them with you, my loving audience. According to Andrew, "Kuggs are cute little beings that are being oppressed by the Bagless who control their lives." Suggested retail price and production run have not been finalised yet, but they should know by March. They will be debuting the Kuggs next week at Toy Fair 2006 at the Javis Center in New York. Their booth is number 5859 for anyone up there who will be attending the event. The two things I really like about these toys are the endless customization opportunities and the little magnetic train that it can hold in its magnetized hands [pictured above]. I also like the train packaging [pictured below]. Very "NYC". Anyway, enjoy the pictures until March when I'll find out a release date, price and availability for them.

You Can Pick Your Nose

And you can Pick Your Shoes, but you can't pick your shoes' nose. That's because shoes don't have noses, silly. But they do have soles (soles, souls, what's the difference?), so if they are good, they go to heaven. And Pick Your Shoes has some really good new shoes in stock. First up, in honor of Superbowl XL (40, not "Extra Large", although that would apply as well), Pick has these sweet Premium Nike Air Force 1s featuring what appears to be real pigskin football leather and faux patent reptile leather. These Asian quickstrike imports also feature a goal post on the tongue, a ref on the insole, '06 on the heel, and are Steelers' black and yellow and Seahawks' green. You will have to pay a premium price for these premium kicks, but if you are a real Steelers/Seahawks fan, it's definitely worth it.

Speaking of worth it, I first saw these Limited Ed. P-Rod x Futura Zoom Air Elite SBs as part of Paul Rodriguez's kicks collection on It's the Shoes with Bobbito Garcia way back in August, but I never thought I would see them available for purchase. But here they are, in all of their glory. Unfortunately, at the price they're going for, I won't see them anywhere near my feet anytime soon. And since only 500 pairs were released worldwide, I don't think I ever will. They are super-sweet, though, and my birthday is in about a month, so if any of my rich relatives wants to get me a pair, my size is 12.

Even Worse

Cool Hunting had a post yesterday that I somehow missed about the release of David Flores' new Kidrobot Dunny figures, Bad and Evil [pictured, left to right]. I like the use of gold and silver in these 8" Dunnys that will be available from Kidrobot on March 9^th, but the continuous contour drawings that Mr. Flores is so fond of remind me of my basic drawing classes at Carnegie Mellon University, and thus fill me with dread. Maybe that's why he titled them "Bad" and "Evil". It's not that his work isn't well executed, it is just that it is basic and simplistic. It's the kind of thing anyone could do with the stained glass filter in Photoshop®. Even Cool Hunting acknowledges its similarity to stained glass. Flores is quite prolific, though, producing skateboard designs for Deluxe, Shorty's and Stereo, as well as working with clothing lines XLARGE, Stussy and Recon. He will also have his own vinyl toy, Konartis, produced in association with Kidrobot and available in May. "Konartis", huh? Sounds like "con artist" to me. I guess you have to have some sort of gimmick to make it as an artist nowadays.