LALIFE

ALIFE LA STORE OPENING PARTY
Live from New York, it's LALIFE.
This Saturday, September 1st 2007, from 7PM to 10PM.
451 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles

With DJ MUGGS & DJ SQUEEK E. CLEAN

Cocktails provided by 10 CANE RUM

RSVP required at: lalife@alifenyc.com

Do You Even Remember The 80's?

I do! It was a time when Ronald Reagan ruled the Earth with an iron fist. A drowsy, forgetful iron fist full of jelly beans. Snow drifts of cocaine flooded the financial district of Wall Street. Art was considered a good investment. Clothes and hair were puffy and fluorescent-colored. Women's shoulder pads resembled those of football linebackers. And music was composed entirely on keytars.

Well, now you can relive those glory days, at least musically, through my friends over at Turntable Lab, because they got a boatload of 80's 7-inch records in stock. Nothing says, "the 80's" like the warm, scratchy sound of 7-inch vinyl. And what a selection!

For just $4 a pop, you can get 7-inchers of [pictured above, left to right] The Cars classic Shake It Up (Cruiser b-side), Blondie's sexy Call Me (Instrumental b-side) (anytime, babe), Hall & Oates unstoppable I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) (Unguarded Minute b-side), the cover of the Willie Nelson song Always On My Mind by the Pet Shop Boys (Do I Have To? b-side), or Synchronicity II by the Police (Once Upon A Daydream b-side).

And I know This Beat is Technotronic by Technotronic (Rap To Beats b-side) was released in 1990, but it is still a classic 7-inch for just $4! How can you pass these up? Add 'em to your 80's dance party and you will be the hit of the scene. Radical!

New SxB x BxH Skull Kun DX

Secret Base has new pictures on their website of what appears to be a new Limited Ed. spike-helmeted Skull Kun DX figure and t-shirt set [pictured above] in collaboration with Bounty Hunter soon to be available. The Skull Kun is one of the coolest Japanese vinyl figures ever made! Previous renditions of the figure are extremely rare and run up to $300 on ebay. Unfortunately, I am not too infatuated with Secret Base's new Flash website because I can't use really bad machine translation to find out what the Japanese says. If someone out there who reads my site can also read Japanese, please translate for me so I can present the information to the rest of my readers. I can, however, read that the set will cost ya' ¥16,590 or $142.59. That's expensive, but these Secret Base Skull Kuns don't come around often.

Update: I inquired already and they are all sold out in Japan.

Oh Happy Day!

The iPhone has finally been completely SIM unlocked! As soon as iPhoneSIMfree.com starts selling the software, you will be able to use the iPhone with any wireless provider, foreign or domestic. The only thing that doesn't work is visual voicemail, but who cares? Everything else works and that is AWESHUM!!! Now I just need $500 to buy a refurbished 8GB iPhone.

[via Engadget]

Update: Well fuck! None of this matters for me anyway because I use dumb-ass Verizon (I need to get a new network) which uses CDMA instead of GSM, so my phone doesn't even have a SIM card in it, which makes all of this excitement moot. Assholes!

Every Night And Every Day

This Friday at the myplasticheartnyc gallery. Night & Day. You stole my poor heart away. New works by Sket One. 6-9pm. Runs until Seth's birthday. 210 Forsyth St. 150 black-flocked "Oil" figures available. I am tired, sad and a little bloated. Enjoy!

Sick Balls!

I would prefer if it wasn't just a Michael Vick Dog Chew Toy but the real individual for dogs to chew on for a while. Sick balls indeed! What a douche.

I Wish I was In Hawaii

Aloha my hoapilis. Just another haole here letting y'all know that there is a sale on at Kicks/Hi this week. 20% off of the entire store*. Going on through this Friday, August 24th at both the Ward and Makaloa locations of Kicks/Hi. Mahalo and kipa hou mai.

*Excluding selected products and new releases. Watch John from Cincinnati.

Graffiti Fetish

Here to fully satisfy your graffiti fetish is the latest creation from UK artist, INSA.

This Limited Ed. 8" INSA Dunny is dapped out in a custom hoodie and adorned with INSA's trademark high heel pattern. Limited to 1800 pieces, the INSA Dunny comes in pink, and 1 in 6 is the special white chase edition. Get yours for $49.95.

Insa will be at Kidrobot NY on Thursday, August 23rd from 6-8PM to sign this limited piece.

* No cameras will be permitted at this event.

Why Do They Do This To Me?

Why do these sneaker companies continue to produce these beautiful collaborations when they know I can't afford them? Just look at these gorgeous Limited Ed. Sneakers 'n' Stuff x Puma Clydes [pictured above in all of their glory]. What a magnificent example of design and craftsmanship. Made of premium Swedish reindeer leather (they also make good eatin'), with the lining inspired by the traditional settlers of Sweden (the Sámi people), a virtual cornucopia of different color laces, a traditional Swedish carving-inspired lace decoration bead, a velour drawstring shoe bag, and 5% of the revenue going to Sáminourra (Sámi Youth), it is a shame that these are so expensive, but it makes sense (I guess). If you want a pair (and you are limited to one pair per person) they will run ya' €171.94 or at today's exchange rate, a whopping and totally out of reach $232.23! That's €8.60 or $11.61 for the Sáminourra for each pair purchased. Which is the only reason I would ever buy these kicks (yeah right! I would get them for their aesthetic value if I could actually afford them, then I wouldn't take them out of the box for a year, and when I did I would get all bummed out when they got the first little bit of dirt on them and I would spend hours trying to make them look new again, only to be dissatisfied by my efforts.).

Right On

Proper may be in the process of revamping their website, but that doesn't mean that they aren't still in the business of selling shoes. And to that end, they are still sending out e-mails letting us mere mortals know what's available just beyond our reach, out in LA, a million miles away. They have the new Adidas Fall 07 Consortium Collection [pictured above] available at their store. I like the look and materials of the Consortium Collection. Very retro-modern with high-quality materials and interesting themes, like the Insect Pack featuring the Lady Bug Forum Low, the Reptile Pack with its Gator Gazelle, and the Hidden Message Pack with the Sign Language Metro Attitude. You can also check out the collection over at Solebox Berlin, but unfortunately they are only available in-store there as well, so looky-loo but no touchy-poo. I am still on the search for places to get these online. When I find 'em, I'll let y'all know.

Update: They are also available at Sneakers 'n' Stuff in store only!

Peter & Dex Made Some Art

Pink Ghost presents Peter & Dex (Made Some Art) opening September 1st. Awesome photography and illustration. More info coming soon!

Can't *cough* stop *cough* coughing *wheez*

Round One

Alife has just collaborated with Puma on a classic Limited Ed. First Round NY high top basketball sneaker from the Puma archive [pictured below]. The Alife version is executed in premium Nubuck with a tonal gloss print. They are produced in both white and black; both colors feature a custom woven label on the tongue, four different fluorescent patent leather stripes, custom footbeds and ten pairs of laces: five thin and five fatty laces. They will be available starting this Saturday, August 18th, at ten locations worldwide: the Alife stores in New York, Los Angeles, and Vancouver; Slammin' Kicks in London, Patta in Amsterdam, Colette in Paris; Black Chamber in Singapore; Highs and Lows in Perth and Provider in Melbourne, Australia. According to the e-mail it seems that you will also be able to get them from the Rivington Club website, but that information has yet to be substantiated. Check the website on Saturday to find out. Until then, you can just look at all the pretty pictures. (There will also be matching t-shirts available at the Alife NYC and LA stores)

Not Dead Yet

I'm not dead yet, so I will write one more post. It appears that Span of Sunset has the Limited Ed. Secret Base Chrome All Starz available for purchase. These guys are pretty damn sweet, but will run ya' $75 each. If you are rich and can afford to buy the whole set of six, then you will save $30, what a bargain! The set includes the SB Skull Bee, Skull Brain, Skull Mantis, Damage Brain, Pumpkin Head, and Barbarian. The pictures aren't that good, but if you are familiar with Secret Base then I'm sure you know what they look like. Now I am going to go puke and pass out.

Death Warmed Over

Uuggghhhh... I feel like crap. I have had a summer flu since Friday. Summer is not a good time to be sick. It is too freakin' hot outside to be sick. I had to go to a wedding on Saturday, which would have been a lot of fun, but I just felt like shit the whole time. Well, now I am back at work and I have a ton of stuff to do, so I will keep this short. Why didn't anyone tell me that Threadless was having a t-shirt design contest for the movie Eagle vs. Shark, a movie that my brother's production company, Unison Films, produced? I like the winning design [pictured above], but shit! If I had known there was a contest going on I would have designed a shirt that didn't look exactly like every other shirt on Threadless (I guess 12-year-olds all have the same taste). Anyway, I am going to go home and pass out now. Go see Eagle vs. Shark so my brother will have money to produce his next movie.

I ♥ Turntable Lab

I have been a fan of Turntable Lab ever since I visited their Manhattan store back in December of 2003 when Mike and I were up in New York for Jeweltide. I was really impressed with some of the recording equipment and the wide variety of records they had available. I got a copy of a De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising remix record for Ryan "Spaceboy" DeBord there. They have a ridiculous music selection and some pretty incredible accessories for the DJ and audiophile set. I recently got a couple of art related items from Turntable Lab and decided to join their e-mailing list so I could relay new items to my blog readers (that's you!). It isn't really music related, but in their most recent e-mail, Turntable Lab announced that they have the Limited Ed. Shadow Conspiracy x Invisible:Man 24" BMX Cruiser [pictured above] available on their site for $699. That isn't cheap, but this is a pretty sweet bike. The finish on the Cruiser is matte black with black gloss decal artwork by Ronnie B and Andrew Lee. It is limited to only 300 units so they will probably disappear pretty quickly. And if you live in New York and get one of these badass bikes, don't park it on the street or yours will disappear pretty quickly as well. Also, don't forget to check out all of the new arrivals and other vinyl that Turntable Lab has to offer. I had to navigate away from their website because there is just way too much music there that I want.

Sick!

Nike Blazer Mid SB Shogo Quickstrike at Kix-Files Online Shop. What more is there to say. Oh yeah, they don't have my size. Suck!

Liberty Shines Brightly, Indeed!

Awesome! A sweet looking figure and glow-in-the-dark to boot! You can't beat that.

Che Trooper

E-mail this a.m. from Span of Sunset informing me of Limited Ed. Urban Medium Che Trooper Gold Bust SOS Exclusive [pictured above]. Only five made. FIVE! Signed and numbered. But it is $160. Exclusivity has its price. Too tired to write more.

Eat Up, B'yatches!

Pink Ghost would like to invite you to Eat Up, a solo exhibition of new works by the talented Helena Garcia, opening Saturday, August 11 from 8-10pm. Helena's work includes cute illustrations of subjects as unusual as rocker pandas and music loving monkeys. There will be cupcakes, coffee and awesome music! Pink Ghost is located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, home of all things Spring Break*, WHEEEEEEW!


*Wild Girls of Makos actually filmed in Orlando, Fl.

Colette 10th Anniversary Be@rbrick

This special edition 1000% Be@rbrick [pictured above], created in celebration of the French urban retailer Colette's 10th anniversary, and available at Sold Out is a pretty cool concept, with the retailer's dates, logos, and artists represented, but at €350.00, you gotta' have something beautiful and handmade for me to get excited over. Thanks Colette, and a happy anniversary to you, but next time don't just get your artists to sign the toy, have one of them do a sick design for it also.

Toypunks Trailer

Yes, yes, YES!!! I can't wait to see this movie! I think I just pissed my pants a little in excitement. Here's what Toypunks has to say about it:

Toypunks Volume 1 will take you in-depth with Hikaru Iwanaga of Bounty Hunter, who mixed punk and toys over a decade ago to create the top fashion and toy brand in Japan. In turn, he unwittingly gave birth to the designer vinyl movement. Frank Kozik, Hiddy Kinoshita of Secret Base, Balzac, Isaac Ramos of RFSO, Carl Kent-Smith and many more make guest appearances while offering insight on the culture.

Toypunks Volume 1 goes on sale on November 15th 2007 at toypunks.com and select retailers worldwide. Each subsequent volume of toypunks will focus on a different creator while exploring the cultural connections between toys, punk and street fashion on a global scale. Expect loads of extra features, interviews and outtakes on each release. Please contact justin@toypunks.com for ordering information and inquiries.

Finally, a shout out! Last week we premiered the toypunks trailer at Isaac Ramos' party during San Diego Comic Con and it was a blast. Isaac knows how to throw a party! Thanks to Carl Kent Smith, Chris Kohler, Paul Kaiju, Pete, Mike Le Merde, Jeremy of Mutant Massacre, Glenn and Lisa Pogue, Gargamel (skate to live), Paul, Skylar, Missy and the whole RFSO crew for being cool and to Isaac for being the glue! Check out Isaac's new site at www.realfanshitonly.com.

I don't know if I can wait until November 15th. I guess I will just have to be satisfied watching the trailer until then.

[via Toybot Studios]

Land Shark, Ma'am

I got e-mail from KICKS/HI this beautiful morning informing me of their new official All-State Champion team, the "TigerSharks". In order to clothe the team, they have created a "TigerSharks" New Era cap and matching t-shirt. The caps are either black with green or black with red accents and the t-shirts are black, white and green [pictured above]. The caps are lined in satin in their respective accent color, as you can see from the bottom picture. The caps and t-shirts will be available at both KICKS/HI in Hawaii and Saint Alfred in Chicago starting this Saturday, August 4. They will be available for phone orders starting on Monday, August 6. Check the websites for digits. I dig this "TigerSharks" gear, it reminds me of a mix between the land shark from SNL back in the early days and the Le Tigre logo, with a little of the old ultra-violence thrown in for good measure.

The Walls Belong To Us

I know the above looks messy (stupid lack of formatting in Blogger), but if you are up in New York tonight and want to check out some amazing graffiti, don't miss this event.