I Want A Harmonica For Hanukkah

Via Gizmodo this morning comes this Six-Sided Harmonica from Hammacher Schlemmer. Now, if you know anything about the Limited Ed., you know I am quite proficient when it comes to the mouth harp. I have three of them in different keys: A, C and G. This six-sided harmonica, made by the renowned Hohner instrument company (founded in Germany in 1857), comes in C, D, F, G, A, and B-Flat, blowing away my harmonica menagerie with a single rotating breath.

According to the Hammacher Schlemmer website, "Tremolo harmonicas employ two reeds per note, and each harmonica on this instrument has 24 double holes for a total of 48 reeds per harmonica that produce a warm vibrato characteristic of the world-famous Hohner sound." Blues luminaries from Howlin' Wolf to Junior Wells have used Hohner harmonicas throughout their careers, and this unique musical instrument has been in continuous production since before 1900. Each comb, or central air chamber, of the six-sided harmonica is made of maple for a rich, full tone. The harmonica can be played in its unified wheel-mount form, or dismantled for individual play.

I wonder if Stevie Wonder ever got his hands on one of these bad boys? Now that would be some sweet sound. If anyone needs a Hanukkah present idea for me and has almost 300 bucks to drop, this is the harmonica I wantica.

Another Michael?

Nike has teamed up with another Michael, not Michael Jordan this time, but Michael Lau, for the official opening of the Nike Hong Kong Flagship Store and Kix-Files has the whole story.

According to Kix-Files, Nike Hong Kong proudly announced that the opening of their flagship store will occur on Friday, September 29th, along with the release of the Holiday 2006 Sport Culture Collection. To highlight this memorable occasion and to present the strong fusion of sport and culture, Nike invited renowned Hong Kong designer Michael Lau to unveil his famous Gardener series with the addition of three entirely new Gardener figures. All of the 106 Gardener figures will be dressed in Nike Holiday 2006 outfits and exhibited at the Nike Hong Kong Flagship Store exclusively until October 21st.

Also, Nike will celebrate their first collaboration with Michael Lau with a special sale of Limited Ed. Gardener Meets Nike collectible series [picuted above] starting at 1:06am on Saturday, September 30th. The collectibles, which will cost $1,999 Hong Kong (or $256.66 American), feature a pair of wood grain Nike Dunk Low SB's, a walnut shoe box, a 6" walnut colored NY Fat Michael Lau figure, and a wooden mini skateboard sneaker tag. I'm not sure how many will be produced, but my guess is that it will be under 500.

Nike will also produce a series of three Limited Ed. t-shirts in collaboration with Michael Lau. There will be a Gardener Meets Nike woodgrain t-shirt featuring a walnut mini skateboard tag and mini t-shirt for your NY Fat figure for $569 Hong Kong ($73.06 American), a Running Gardener t-shirt in white and a Running Krylon t-shirt in black, each for $499 Hong Kong ($64.07 American) and each featuring a mini t-shirt for NY Fat. Pictures of all three can be viewed at the Kix-Files blog.

All in all, it looks like a lot of money could be spent in Hong Kong this weekend. And I get paid at the end of the week! Somebody call my travel agent and get me a ticket to Hong Kong! Just kidding, I can't afford this shit. And even if I could, I don't have enough room in my apartment for any more collectible sneakers and toys. Sorry Nike and Michael, maybe next time.

The Nike Hong Kong Flagship Store is located at Shop 38-40 Manning House, 48 Queen’s Road Central in Hong Kong. Call Hong Kong +852 2526-7620 for more information.

Sock Monkey Dreams

I'm feeling a little less depressed now than I was this morning, so I have decided to write another post. I got an e-mail this afternoon from Wootini letting me know that the authors of Sock Monkey Dreams will be at a book signing this Saturday, September 30th from 12-6pm at Wootini in Carr Mill Mall in Carrboro. There will be lots of sock monkey goodies available at the signing. So get there and get down with the red, white and brown!

One Time Only

Sorry for no posts so far this week. I have been very busy at work and have been feeling a little under the weather (bored and lonely), so I haven't felt like posting anything. Also, there really hasn't been anything to write about. This isn't even really news, it's just the new Limited Ed. "One Time Only" Nike Air Max 360's that were announced a couple of weeks ago and are just now filtering their way down to stores. They will be available at the Alife Rivington Club, my favorite sneaker boutique in New York Shitty, starting this Saturday, September 30th at 9:00am for just 360 minutes. Alife will have all 16 styles of the "One Time Only" Nike's, including the Originals Pack, the Deluxe Pack, the Clerk Pack, and the Air Woven Footscape Pack. I prefer the fine quality brown leather of the Deluxe Pack the most. The "One Time Only" Air Max 95 360 [pictured above, left] are my favorite. I also like the Clerk Pack version of the 95 in its "Bacon" colorway [pictured above, right]. If you want a pair of these oddball kicks, get to Alife early, because there is no doubt going to be a line around the block for these. You can see the rest of the "One Time Only" Air Max 360's here.

Well Then Scratch!

I got an e-mail from Itchy Handz Custom Sneakers yesterday letting me know about their services. Apparently, they only customizes Adidas sneakers. Itchy Handz is made up of Creative Director, Paul T. and Art Director, Bernard Broughton. Collectively, they have over 40 years of experience in the creative and music industry. In terms of the craftsmanship, all of the designs are hand-painted and finished with Itchy Handz special concoction to keep the shoes from deteriorating in the rain and to help avoid stains. They only have five different designs on their website, each one being one-of-a-kind and most of them having already been sold, but they will create custom sneakers directly for the customer. My favorites are the Itchy Camo^TM design [pictured above], but they have already been sold. You can contact Itchy Handz at itchyhandz@mac.com for your own pair of customized kicks or whatever else you would like them to customize.

Woohoooooo!!! This is my 500th post!!! I didn't think it would take this long, but it has finally come! In celebration, I am going to go to services tonight for Rosh Hashana! Shana Tova everybody!

Kidrobot Klothing Kollection

Kidrobot has just announced their new apparel line which will be premiering on September 28th from 7-9pm along with the relaunch of the Kidrobot NY store. The event will be hosted by Swizz Beatz and will feature toy and apparel give-aways! The new clothing line features super Limited Ed. hoodies, shirts, bags and more! The new apparel line will be available at all Kidrobot stores and online beginning on September 28th and will be available at select retailers including Barneys New York later this fall. Unfortunately, I'm not really feelin' the all-over print hoodies. I think they look pretty cheesy, like something little kids would wear. Of course, with them being produced by a toy store, maybe that's the whole idea.

Happy Birthday Seth!

Today is my brother Seth's birthday! He is 31 years old today! So, in celebration of that, I am going to find 31 things that I think he would appreciate for his birthday! 31 is not really a historic landmark in terms of birthdays. Thirty is the big one, the one where you realize you aren't a kid anymore. You must put away childish things and become an adult. But 31, not that special. The next big one isn't until 40. Which reminds me of a bit by Patton Oswalt, who I saw on September 10th at the Comedians of Comedy show at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro. He was talking about how there are about 21 birthdays that should be celebrated, the rest are no big deal. The first nine, of course, because you are a kid and should have birthday parties. Ten, of course, because you are entering double digits. Eleven and twelve are not important, but thirteen is because you are finally a teenager (and you get to have your Bar/Bat Mitzvah). Then the next one is sixteen, because you can drive. Then eighteen, because you can vote and go to war. Then nineteen, because it is your last year as a teenager. Twenty, because anytime you enter a new decade you should celebrate. Twenty-one, for obvious reasons. Then you don't celebrate again until thirty. Then forty, fifty, sixty, etc. until you get to ninety. If you live that long, you get to start celebrating every birthday again, because you don't know how many more you will have. Also, laws stop applying to you after you reach ninety. At ninety-five, you are allowed to steal anything you can carry. At one hundred, you are allowed to kill anyone, as long as you don't use a weapon. If you can kill someone with your bare hands at one hundred, no jury in the country can convict you. And if you are killed by a one hundred year old person, then basically you deserve to die. Anyway, now that I have recounted Patton's entire bit, I will get onto the Limited Ed. items for Seth.

   

First off, I know Seth wants a new pair of kicks for his birthday. So, in honor of his birthday, Alife has revealed their new Fall 2006 Footwear Collection. According to their e-mail, "This season's footwear has been completely rebuilt from the outsole to the upper. Hand-made in Brasil, features include natural gum rubber proprietary outsoles, premium material uppers, contoured footbeds and full leather linings." They are featuring the Everybody Flood sneaker [pictured above, left], an Everybody High sneaker re-interpreted for the rainy season with a gusseted tongue, a rubber toe cap and a splash guard that wraps around the entire shoe. They also have the new Everybody Low Mini Argyle sneaker [pictured above, right] available. These kicks would look good with a pair of golf knickers, some argyle socks, an argyle sweater, and a Kangol. Alife sneakers are available at the Alife Rivington Club at 158 Rivington Street in New York.

Winter will be coming soon, and along with Winter comes cold. And what is better in the cold than a phat goose down jacket? According to Sold Out, the specialist of extreme cold weather outerwear is Canada Goose. They have been manufacturing outerwear in Canada for 45 years (older than Seth). Sold Out is selling the Canada Goose Black Parka [pictured above] through their website for a mere €539.00 or $683.03! Pricey! (Canada Goose jackets are about half-price if you get them on this side of the Atlantic)

Nextly, Seth, and everyone else for that matter, would greatly appreciate the thought and care that goes into a Turd in a Box [pictured above] for a birthday present. Who doesn't love turds in boxes? I know I sure do! The nice thing about a turd in a box is that it is such a cheap gift. Only a few British Pounds and it is yours... or whoever's you want to send it to.

Well, if you count the sneakers, knickers, socks, sweater, Kangol, goose down jacket, and turd in a box, that's seven items so far. I just need to find twenty-four more things for Seth in the next twenty-four hours or Jack Bauer will explode! Wish me luck. And while you are at it, wish Seth a Happy Birthday!

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

   

I got an e-mail from the very creative toy artist Tony Shiau, a.k.a. Nakanari, letting me know about an upcoming exhibit entitled Peanut Butter & Jellyfish beginning on Saturday, October 14th celebrating the opening of Orlando's new design studio Me Llamo Jellyfish. The exhibit will feature work by Kelly Aponte, Nakanari, Dave Quiles and Julius Santiago. Nakanari is the founder and creative director for the new Me Llamo Jellyfish studio (located at 2295 Santa Lucia Street in Kissimmee, Florida) and has some new work, including a nine-inch Yeti NakaBUD figure done in collaboration with Jamungo [pictured above, left], for the show. Four customized Boblbee bags [pictured above, right] will be sold at the exhibit to benefit the local Florida furniture and clothing bank Mustard Seed. You can get more updates on Nakanari and the Me Llamo Jellyfish studio from their blog, or check out the press release for the Peanut Butter & Jellyfish exhibit here. So, if you are in the Orlando area in October, go check out the exhibit and take some pictures for me.

The Snakes Are Back

Our unresponsive friends over at Cool Hunting had a little article yesterday afternoon about some new Limited Ed. Snakeskin Wallabees from the Tannery in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Now, I'm not a big fan of anything that comes out of Bean Town, I prefer my kicks strickly NYC, but these are some pretty sweet foot warmers, and just in time for the fall (of society). Started as a concept back in 2005, made from dyed Python skin and designed by Bean Town-based Soldier Design in collaboration with Tannery co-owner Tarek Hassan and Clarks Footwear, there are only 15 pairs of these seriously Limited Ed. Wallabee's available and they are only on sale in the Tannery store, not on their website. So if you are in the Boston area (Franklin) pick yourself up a pair and style them with your snakeskin jacket like Nicolas Cage in Wild at Heart.

The Legend Of The Mini-Donk

Once upon a time, there was a young gentleman named Josh who was stricken with the unfortunate illness known as Multiple Sclerosis. The only thing Josh wanted more than anything in the world, other than to be healthy again, was a helper donkie. But Josh did not know where to find a little miniature donkey buddy. So he and his friend Limited Ed. went online to search for a mini-donk. They searched and searched and searched until they finally found Big Woods Farm, a national champion quality miniature donkey breeder. And the glorious donkeys of Big Woods Farm roamed freely across the Chapel Hill prairies and went on competitive pleasure rides and Josh and Limited Ed. rejoiced in what they had found. But then Josh had to convince Tina that they needed to share in the pleasure of mini-donk ownership, and Tina was not pleased. Not even by the cuteness of Punkin Pye or the talent of Poncho. Even Poncho dressed as a clown [pictured above] was not cute enough to persuade Tina to let Josh purchase a cute little helper donkie. And so Josh went through life without a helper donkie, relying on his two parakeets, Pretty Boy and Lolita, to comfort him in his hour of darkness. But the story doesn't have to end there. For only a couple thousand dollars, you could help Josh fulfill his dream of mini-donk ownership. Won't you please donate today?

Mix It Up

The Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission will be hosting the Mixed Media in the Triangle Invitational Show beginning this Friday, September 15th and running through November 20th. The opening reception is Sunday, October 1st from 2:30-4pm and will be held at the Chapel Hill Public Library at 100 Library Drive, off of Estes Road in Chapel Hill. The exhibit is curated by Luna Lee Ray and will feature the work of Ashlynn Browning, Carol Owen, Charles Linwood Hart, Charron Andrews, Ellen O'Grady, Hunter Levinsohn, Jane Filer, Joanne Andrews, Katherine Armacost, Kathryn DeMarco, Madonna Phillips, Nancy Marple, and Rita K. Spina. Refreshments and music will be provided.

Three Is The Magic Number

I got three e-mail announcements today from three different toy stores, so you know it's going to be a good day (even though there is construction going on in my office that is making me crazy!). First off, I got e-mail from My Plastic Heart letting me know that they have quite a few new toys in stock, including the Limited Ed. Asteria Lion figures by Hong Kong artist Alice Chan. Alice Chan is a celebrated illustrator and has worked with such brands as Anna Sui, Colette, and Adidas. There are three different versions of the Asteria Lion, Mimi, Creamy and Cool [pictured above, left, and already out of stock]. The figures stand 6.5 inches tall, come with a knife, a diamond accessory and an island base and are limited to 500 pieces total. MPH also has the Limited Ed. 8-Inch Yeti Qee by Tim Biskup, the 5-Inch Labbit Packs and the Kidrobot Fatcaps Series 1 [DEPH version pictured above, right].

Speaking of Fatcaps, the second e-mail I got was from Kidrobot letting me know the secret location of their Pirate Store in New York, where The Paint Ball will be held tomorrow, September 8th, from 8-11pm. The Pirate Store is located in SoHo at 281 Lafayette Street and The Paint Ball will feature an abundance of huge custom toys, live painting, and free giveaways, drinks, and music. Nick Catchdubs will be spinning as long as the drinks are pouring. In addition to the beats, the first 200 people to arrive will receive a free Nico Berry FatCap, an exclusive Pirate Store release.

And the last e-mail that I received was from Wootini letting me know about their next upcoming exhibit featuring Ron Liberti and Doug Barker [poster pictured above] starting tomorrow, September 8th from 7pm until the keg runs dry and they kick everyone out. The exhibit will run through October 10th. The opening will feature a live performance by Dan Melchoir and The Gondoliers (formerly the Spinns). I plan on being there to support my cohorts in their efforts to subvert the dominant paradigm. Join me if you dare!

Say Hello To My Little Feet

My favorite online shoe retailer, Pick Your Shoes, has the new Limited (quickstrike) Ed. Nike Air Force 1 Low Premium Scarface kicks. Every wannabe gansta' wankster with a Scarface poster on their wall and a copy of the Scarface Special Edition DVD from here to Miami is gonna' have to get a pair of these so they can stand in front of their mirror and do their best (worst?) Pacino impression. It's just a movie, rappers, get over it. It's not often that I will dis' on a pair of sneakers, but aren't these a little too obvious? And they aren't very attractive sneakers, either. Maybe if one shoe was white and the other was black with red laces in them it would be a little better, but that would be something you could do on your own without Nike making a quick buck off of it. Like back in the 80's when kids were rocking two different color Converse Chuck Taylors because of Soleil Moon Frye on Punky Brewster.

If you live out in Long Beach, you can also pick up a pair of Scarface Air Force 1's at Proper.

Gayest Toy Ever!

I try to be a good liberal and not say anything homophobic (yeah, right), but this has got to be literally the gayest toy ever. I mean, it's a Freddie Mercury figure from the band Queen [available at Ningyoushi.com, featuring motion-activated sound]! The only way it could be more gay is if it were a Paul Lynde or Lance Bass figure. I would buy a Paul Lynde figure, though, if for nothing else than its kitsch appeal. But I'm not so sure about the Freddie Mercury figure. People might get the wrong idea if I had Freddie on my bedside table. And he's eighteen inches tall! That's way too big to fit up my ass!

I did have a mustache just like that at one point, though.