My New Favorite Movie

Anne was busy last night and I couldn't find anyone else to hang out with, so I was left to my own devices (Home Alone 4 anyone?). So I decided to rent a couple of movies that I knew Anne didn't want to see, including my new most favoritest movie of all time, Just For Kicks! If you are a sneaker freak or just know one and want to know what makes them tick, this is the movie for you. It features a bevy of wonderful interviews with sneaker culture icons Bobbito Garcia, Tinker Hatfield, Stash, Doze Green, Haze, Tommy Rebel, Run D.M.C., Russell Simmons, Bonz Malone, Udi Avshalom, and many, many more. The movie is 81 minutes long, but there are over two hours worth of bonus materials on the DVD. There was so much information presented in this film it made my head spin. It also helped me come to terms with my own sneaker addiction and the reasons behind it. I guess it all started back in 1974, the year I was born and two years after the birth of Nike, Inc. I remember as a kid copping all of the new kicks that were coming out. 'Roos were the coolest because they had that little stash pocket, but Zips had the best commercials. Back then, it seemed like a new pair of sneakers could make you run faster and jump higher. In the early '80's, hip hop and breakdancing hit BIG! Even though I grew up in Durham, North Carolina instead of the rough streets of Harlem, hip hop culture was a huge influence on my life. I used to wear my Adidas track suits and shell toes with the fat laces in a checkerboard pattern everyday to school. I had to get one of the salesmen at the shoe store in the mall to deck out my Adidas with the checkerboard pattern fat laces because I couldn't figure out how to do it myself. I was so stubborn back then that I wouldn't let my parents buy me any clothes that weren't track suits. There was a guy named Kermit who used to bring his boombox and a cardboard box to elementary school everyday so we could breakdance on the playground during recess. I guess when I turned 30 I had a little early-midlife crisis and decided to get back in touch with my inner child by collecting all of the cool toys and sneakers I could get my hands on. I'm just glad to learn that I am not alone in this endeavor, nor am I as obsessed as some of the sneaker-heads featured in the film. I am kind of sad that I had to see the movie on DVD and didn't get to see it in the theater surrounded by my peers and fellow enthusiasts. Anyway, as I said before, I highly recommend this film to anyone interested in the connection between kicks, hip hop, b-boys, breakin', and graffiti. I might just have to buy a copy of it so I can watch it again and again and again and again...

p.s. - for the sequel they need to get me in on some of that fine sneaker freak action!

Update: drop me an e-mail, either using the little "Tell me whatcha think:" e-mailer on the right side of my blog or to limited[dot]ed[at]gmail[dot]com, and I will send you a Just For Kicks goodie bag that includes background images, a screen saver, a pdf poster and postcard set, links to exclusive clips from the movie, and a coupon for 10% off anything at the Just For Kicks store.

Die Deutsche Shyster Und Dummkopf!

Native Instruments, my favorite software synthesizer producer (probably because they are the only ones that still work on my entirely out-dated G3 iBook), has just released a new hardware midi controller called the Audio Kontrol 1. You gotta' love those Germans their silly misspellings! Anyway, the Audio Kontrol 1 is a midi controller that is designed to work with all of Native Instruments' various soft-synths and other music software. It looks like a very simple controller, with a big knob on the top (who doesn't love big knobs?) and three assignable buttons below it, but apparently it is very powerful. There are also several audio inputs and outputs on the front of the device, so you can hook all of your equipment into it for your production neccessities. There are various lights on the top of the Audio Kontrol 1 to let you know the stats of everything that is connected to it and that it is connected to. I'm not sure how effective this device would be on its own. It looks like something that would need to be used in conjunction with other devices, as a soundcard-like device, but according to the Native Instruments website it is much more than just a soundcard. In any case, it is not compatible with my computer or operating system. Maybe when I get a new computer and a job as a sound engineer I will have an opportunity to use this device, but until then I think I will just stick with my Midiman Oxygen 8 for all of my midi needs.

Oddica

I got an e-mail yesterday from Oddica, a t-shirt thing/artist collective based in Southern California. I like their graphic design. Very clean, nice lines, interesting subject matter, and, of course, they print on quality American Apparel t's. Oddica has a wide variety of artists that they represent including Robert Wilson [pictured, left], Jordan Crane, Simon Noynay, Miguel Cervantes, Matt Whitaker, Stubby Pencil, Julie Hill, etc. There are really too many to list them all. One of the really nice things about Oddica is their artist profit sharing. Artists receive 41% of Oddica's net profit annually and receive royalties in perpetuity, $500 per commissioned design, 12 shirts of their design, 50 buttons, and two other Oddica shirts for each design completed. It's a pretty freakin' sweet deal. Unfortunately, they aren't taking any new artists at the moment, or I would try to sign up. But that doesn't mean you can't buy some fine, high-quality shirts from them and support your favorite artist at the same time!

Merger!

X

My Plastic Heart has bought out Sweaty Frog! All hell has broken loose! Toys are being taken out of their boxes! There is fighting in the streets! The blood is up to my ankles! The horror, the horror! Sweaty Frog is liquidating their inventory! Everything is on sale! Get there soon before it all goes up in smoke!

Bip

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New Painting

Well, it's another slow news week in terms of the Limited Ed. (probably because of how popular Don't Believe the Hypebeast has become), so I thought I would just share a picture of the new painting I just finished. It is entitled Maple View Farm Sunset and was commissioned by my second cousin and her husband. I hope y'all like it. And now that I am done with it, I am ready for another commission. Anyone out there want a painting?

So Fresh

I got a couple of e-mails this past weekend from people who wanted to let me know about their new urban gear online stores. Only one of them is worth mentioning: Urban Retro, an online store based out of the UK that specializes in fashion, art and vinyl toys. Oh boy! My favorites! Apparently the market has not become fully saturated just yet. Urban Retro is currently featuring t-shirts by the likes of Addict, Supremebeing, Yes No Maybe, Joystick Junkies, and more. They have artwork by James MacLeod, Lunartik (Matt Jones), Mal, Mnwrks, Pokedesign (Jon Ball), and Sampson Art. And vinyl toys by Touma, Kidrobot, Trexi, Andrew Bell, and Toy2r. So if you can't find it already somewhere else, check out Urban Retro and you should be able to find it there. The thing I like most about Urban Retro is the artwork that they are selling. Other than Pictures on Walls, you don't see a lot of online stores selling good contemporary urban artwork. You can also check out what's coming up next on their blog.

Believe It

Don't Believe The Hypebeast is my new favorite website. Inspired by the popularity of trend-spotting, sneaker-freaking websites such as (obviously) Hypebeast, Freshness, Sneaker Freaker, etc., DBTHb.com mocks and ridicules some of the more ridiculous and aesthetically-challenged aspects of current streetwear fashion trends. Well, it's about time. I thought I was the only one who was pointing out the ridiculousness of some of these entirely over-priced Limited Ed. products. Sure, sometimes I can fall victim to the hype as well; I often purchase the products that I make fun of for being priced out of the range of your average consumer. I am also swayed by items that are considered Limited Ed. even though they are produced by the thousands in a multitude of different colorways. Now I have somewhere else to turn when I need a good laugh over my own obsession with the Limited Ed. So check out Don't Believe the Hypebeast and have a good laugh on me.

Update: Don't Believe the Hypebeast has already been bought out and is no longer on the internet. What a shame. Hopefully, they will be back soon, better and more vicious than ever!

Thailand Video Blogs

This is the second time I have written this post because the first time Firefox crashed and I lost everything I had written and the "Recover post" button in Blogger never actually works for me. I don't know why they even have it available. It does absolutely nothing. They should put a question mark after it. It should read "Recover post... maybe?" Anyway, as I had written before (which none of you have read yet), it has been a slow news week in terms of Limited Ed. items, and Mac was a little concerned about the fact that I highlighted his drinking, as well as my own, in my last post. So he sent me a link to Thailand Video Blogs because he though Seth would be interested in it (Seth shot his first feature film, The Elephant King, in Thailand). Speaking of Seth, he just got back from shooting a pilot for a comedy cooking show entitled Cook Like a Man out in L.A. I have seen a rough cut of it, and it is hilarious. Hopefully it will get picked up soon. I think it would work great on Comedy Central. They don't have any cooking shows yet. Until it gets picked up, Seth will just have to be satisfied with the new job he just got working on the show MADE on MTV. Keep your eyes peeled for some of that good old-fashioned Grossman humor appearing on MTV soon. Now I just wish I had cable so I could watch it.

For Mac

In honor of Mac's drive home last night and how I have been feeling all day today, here's an Alcohol Tester Wristwatch. The FiT188 Breathalyzer watch from Hong Kong based A&A Product Company, LTD. (which should hit the market later this month) can apparently detect alcohol levels from 0.2 to 1.5% BAC according to Wrist Dreams, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense because the legal limit here in North Cackalacka is 0.08%. Not to mention the fact that you would die before you reached a blood alcohol content of 1.5%! The lethal dose for 50% of adult human beings, or LD50, for alcohol is 0.40%. I think Wrist Dreams may have meant to write 0.02 to 0.15% BAC. That would make more sense. The watch also measures ambient temperature with a range from -19.9 to 70 degrees Celcius. It is expected to retail for under $100 and A&A Products is currently looking for international distributors. Hopefully it will get here before Mac kills again!

Dunny Series 3 Trading Party Pics

I know I said I would have these pictures up two weeks ago, but better late than never. Kidrobot already has some pictures from all of the Dunny Trading Parties across the country and in Canada, including a few of me from the Wootini party, but they don't have these pictures:

This will probably be the only post I do today because I am a little hung over from the Unknown Hinson concert at the Local 506 in Chapel Hill last night. Maybe Mac, Cameron or Ryan will have pictures from the concert available soon. Until then, you can look at pictures of Early Cuyler from Squidbillies on Adult Swim and imagine it is Unknown.

Wow! Another Post!

I just wanted to give y'all something else to read today in case you were getting bored this afternoon. I have plenty of work to do, but there are so many cool things going on in the world of Limited Ed. that I had to let y'all in on it. First of all, Moog has a new Limited Ed. t-shirt [pictured above] available in honor of the fact that the Little Phatty is finally in production. The t-shirt says "Phat Crew" on the front (something I'm sure everyone wants to be associated with), "Sonic Infinity" and "Little Phatty, Analog Synthesizer" on the back and features an illustration with a DJ, a keyboard and break-dancers; reminiscent of the Get Fresh Crew of the early 1980's. Pop-lockin' beats from Korea, b'yatches! This t-shirt is alright, but I would prefer to have the keyboard it is associated with much more.

Secondly, the Limited Ed. Kaws x Reas Twins figures have finally arrived in stores. Sold Out is the first online store to send me e-mail letting me know that they have them in stock. They have the brown and pink variety available. Then Kix-Files sent me an e-mail letting me know they have the special Glitter Bitch edition [pictured above] available. Dirty! These will go fast, so get your hands on them while you can. That's all for now. Maybe more later.

Comic Con Exclusives At MPH

Alright, I have been getting some complaints from my regular readers about how I haven't updated Limited Ed. in a while. Well folks, I've been busy... so sue me. I guess I will just have to make it up to y'all today with several good old fashioned posts. First of all, My Plastic Heart is selling several Comic Con exclusive toys that they brought back for everyone who couldn't make it out to San Diego this year. Unfortunately, several of them (the ones that I wanted) are already sold out. But you can still get your grubby little mitts on some cool never-to-be-seen-again exclusives like the Limited Ed. OX-OP Scary Girl figure [pictured top, left] by Nathan Jurevicius. It is ten inches tall and will run you about a hundred bucks. That's only ten bucks per inch. Cheaper than a penis enlargement and twice as fun! There's also the super-cool Limited Ed. Kaiju Magman figure [pictured top, right] designed by one of my favorite toy designers, Touma. He actually has a couple of cool Comic Con exclusives available through My Plastic Heart; the other being a signed-in-the-box Knucklebear figure [not pictured], but it appears that it is already sold out. I also like the Limited Ed. SDCC Sweet & Sour El Panda figure [pictured bottom, left] and the Limited Ed. David Horvath Kaiju Mothman figures [pictured bottom, right], but unfortunately both of those are all sold out already as well. Oh well, I don't have any money anyway, so what difference does it make to me? Maybe someday I will have the respect I deserve as a Limited Ed. blogger and toy companies will send me samples to review. That would be sweet! Until then, I will just have to keep the complaints (and blunts) rolling.

Bloggin' From The Front Desk

One of my co-workers has been out of the office sick most of this week, which has given me the opportunity to bone up on my front desk skills here at the clinic. Unfortunately, this does not afford me the time to properly participate in blog posts. I have already been delayed in writing this post a couple of times this morning, so I will get down to the nitty-gritty.

My favorite online watch shop, Tokyoflash, has gotten their grubby little mitts on a new Pimp watch known as the Jive Turkey [pictured, left]. Now where I come from, no one would intentionally call themselves a jive turkey, but this watch makes it cool to be jive. Or hip to be square. Turkey! The new, Limited Ed. Pimp Jive Turkey watch utilizes several refractive mirrors and a coated convex camera-style lens to create the illusion that the LED's are moving off into the distance. Apparently, the effect is pretty amazing, and combined with the trademark Pimp animated display, it's a real psychedelic effect, "No drugs required." Although they are encouraged. On a recent trip to a bar, one of the employees of Tokyoflash wore his Pimp Jive Turkey watch and was approached by no less than three women asking about the watch and he even received a free drink when he allowed the bartender to try the watch for a while. Amazing! Now, what would you expect to pay for a watch like this? $500? $350? Well, you can get it now for the bargain basement price of just ¥15800 or just $135.⁵¹! But wait, there's more. Not only do you get the watch, but it also comes with a case and instructions in both English and Japanese! Truly astounding!