Summer In Hawaii, Must Be Nice

This is going down at the KICKS/HI Makaloa location ONLY. All sales final on sale items. Sale items are limited to stock on hand.

Purple Dinosaur Shoes

Alife has teamed up with Barney's, the upscale clothing store, not the purple dinosaur beloved by children, for a new set of kicks inspired by the all-American baseball catcher's mitt. The Soft Hand pack will be available at Barney's New York locations nationwide. And online here. Finally, shoes from Alife that I would actually wear!

Rrrnnnn-rrrnnn-rrrnnn-rrnn!

I just got e-mail from Erick Scarecrow with a sneak peak of his latest figure creation, Chelly Chainsaw [pictured above]. Looks pretty sweet and/or evil! Cute and badass at the same time? I guess it all depends on the paint job. I'm thinking white smock splattered with red, green rubber scientist gloves, shock-white hair and eyebrows, and a possessed look to the face. Hint, hint, Erick. The price, size, and release date will be announced around San Diego Comic Con.

Culver City Artalk

I got e-mail from my friends over at project:gallery letting me know that they will be participating in the Culver City Artwalk this Saturday, May 31st. They will be opening their doors to a group of collectors, friends and press for a pre-Culver City Artwalk preview of their new exhibit "insider trading", a group show of gallery represented artists. "A show curated specifically for the Annual Artwalk, 'insider trading' will showcase new work from Yoskay Yamamoto, Tessar Lo, Rebecca Urias, Nate Frizzell, Edwin Ushiro and Scott Belcastro." The preview is by invitation only, so go to project:gallery's website and sign up for their mailing list if you would like to be invited. Artists will be in attendance and there will be coffee, mimosas and pastries provided for those attending the preview.

Another Alife Courtyard Sale

These things seem to come with a fierceness and ferocity. Cash only! Get the goods while they are still hot. Here are the deets:

ALIFE & A.R.C

CASH ONLY COURTYARD CLEARANCE SALE

THURSDAY, MAY 29TH - NOON TO 7PM

FRIDAY, MAY 30TH - NOON TO 8PM

SATURDAY, MAY 31ST - NOON TO 8PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 1ST - NOON TO 7PM

LOCATED AT:

158 RIVINGTON STREET

LOWER EAST SIDE

NEW YORK CITY

CALL FOR DIRECTIONS AND MORE INFORMATION:

ALIFE: 212.375.8116

A.R.C.: 212.375.8128

Kidney For Sale

Bertie the Pipe Bomb, one of the coolest toys ever produced, has finally gone on sale. Unfortunately, I would need to sell a kidney to get one, because they are going for $300 (plus $30 shipping) a piece! Ridiculous. Of course, there are only 40 of each colorway made and I'm pretty sure Ashley Wood hand painted each one, so it makes sense that they would be expensive. Anyway, you can get them now over at Bambaland, but you better hurry, because they will probably sell out today.

On The Dark Side, Oh Yeah!

Unlike John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, this ultra-limited 8GB Darth Vader Mimobot has a lot of memory. 8GB for just $149.95?! That is ridiculously cheap for a Mimobot. I paid the same amount for a 4GB Boba Fett Mimobot just last December. Now you can get an 8GB Boba Fett for that price! Damn, prices for flash memory drop quickly. Must be the weak U.S. economy.

Just A Little Rash

My favorite Japanese watch company, Tokyoflash has got a new impossible-to-decipher LED watch in effect. And no one is immune to -- Infection! In one of the most ridiculous methods of telling time I have seen thus far, the Infection watch uses three different colored LED's to represent the time. The red LED's represent hours, yellow LED's represent 5 minute intervals, and green LED's represent individual minutes. The LED's move across the entire face of the watch, so you have to find the specific colors and add them up to determine the time. Like most of Tokyoflash's watches, Infection is more of a show piece than an effective method of telling time. Features mirrored mineral crystal lens, matching leather band and stainless steel clasp. All this for just ¥13,900 or $139.22! What a bargain!

Boot To The Head!

      Doc Martens, one of my favorite shoe manufacturers, but unfortunately not a brand that I have worn in some time, is having a little design contest. I have designed a couple of boots just for fun in my spare time. Eventually, I might do a serious one that I actually sit down and work out. Until then, enjoy these two. If you like them, how about a vote?

Sample Dample Rample I'm A Moron!

Cutest... Sneakers... Ever!

Onitsuka Tiger has teamed up with Tokidoki to create probably the cutest sneakers ever made. I don't have any Onitsuka Tiger sneakers. Or Asics, their parent brand. I wanted a pair of the Kill Bill versions, but they sold out so quickly. I don't think I could rock the Tokidoki's, though. They might be a little too feminine. Well, maybe the black and silver joints. They are pretty sick! You can pre-order them now for $130 for the men's sneakers and women's hi-tops and $120 for the women's lo-tops. They will be shipped May 22. I especially like the clear soles with the Tokidoki prints under them. Too bad my birthday isn't coming up anytime soon. Also, I don't have any more room for any more sneakers!

Projecta Selecta Detecta

I got some e-mail from project: gallery and just wanted to give them a quick shout-out. They currently have The Upside of Down, a solo exhibit of work from Yoskay Yamamoto, on display now until May 31st.

The concept for the upside of down is inspired by Yoskay Yamamoto’s own need to express his emotions, personality and frequent feeling of self-doubt. Yamamoto feels as if he is always in a battle with himself or his alter-ego known as “Inskay.” The Japanese word “Yo-“ translates to “light” while “In-“ refers to “dark,” which is where we find YO-skay and his internal struggle with IN-skay. As an artist and as a person, Yamamoto feels this constant struggle of light and dark within himself.

As you may notice by reading my blog, I am a big fan of Asian art and especially anything involving coi fish, so I really like Yamamoto's work.

Keep an eye out here for more from project: gallery.

Chocolate Up That Bacon!

This product is definitely NSFJ (Not Safe For Jews) but still looks delicious nonetheless. That's right, it's a Flying Chocolate Pig! From Vosges Haute Chocolate, this sequel to Mo's Bacon Bar contains applewood smoked bacon, Alder wood smoked salt and deep milk chocolate. Each solid, 1.2 oz. Flying Pig arrives nestled in its own mini lavender box embellished with a lavender cord. It's making me drool just thinking about it. Sweet and savory, salty and chocolaty, meaty and delicious. Here's what Katrina over at Vosges has to say about her inspiration for the combination of bacon and chocolate:

I began experimenting with bacon + chocolate at the tender age of 6, while eating chocolate chip pancakes drenched in Aunt Jemima® syrup, as children often do. Beside my chocolate-laden cakes laid three strips of sizzlin' bacon, just barely touching a sweet pool of maple syrup. And then, the magic—just a bite of the bacon was too salty and I yearned for the sweet kiss of chocolate and syrup, so I combined the two. In retrospect, perhaps this was a turning point; for on that plate something magical happened, the beginnings of a combination so ethereal and delicious that it would haunt my thoughts until I found the medium to express it—chocolate.

From there, it was just a matter of time…and what began as a love of salt and sweet quickly unraveled into an obsession. No sooner could I wait to unveil the royal coupling in solid bar form, a deep milk chocolate with bits and pieces of applewood smoked bacon and just a sprinkling of Alder salt. Really, what doesn't taste better with bacon?

My sentiments exactly.

For all of my Kashrut brethren out there, check out Vosges' Chocolate Covered Matzos filled with Charoset, yum.

King Of The Fairies

My favorite Japanese watch provider, Tokyoflash, has got a new watch in stock: the Oberon SS [pictured above]. This stainless steel version of the popular Oberon watch features three rings of blue LEDs; the outer ring represents the hours, the middle ring represents individual minutes and the inner ring represents ten minute intervals. With a press of the single button, the time is displayed, and with a second press, the date is displayed in a similar way. At ¥15,900 or $159.25, this watch is a little more expensive than what I remember of Tokyoflash's prices, but then again I used to buy watches from them before the US economy went in the crapper. I guess I won't be getting any new watches any time soon. Luckily, I have five or six already to keep me company.

Yo Left, Yo Left, Yo Left, Right, Left!

After much anticipation, Wootini is thrilled to finally announce the 2008 Left Field Project “Right to Left” tour. They’ve been working on this show for over a year now and have spent many sleepless nights putting together the perfect roster:

• Andy Howell


• Brian Flynn


• Andy Mueller


• Morning Breath


• Ethan Anderson


• Dustin Koop


• Andrew Pommier


• Duane Fernandez

Along with the show, Left Field Project will be designing a zine and screen printed posters. If you want one, you best make your way to the Grand Opening at each venue.

The tour will kick off in North Carolina, May 9th at Wootini [Carrboro, near Chapel Hill]. The tour will then make its way 1122 miles over to Tulsa – Oklahoma. Following the Tulsa show, they will then jump on the I-40 and make the 1738 mile trip to San Francisco. More details:

North Carolina: [May 2008]
Wootini
200 North
Carrboro, NC 27510
http://wootini.com
*Opening show will be Friday May 9th

Oklahoma: [June 2008]
Artifacts
819 E. 3rd Street
Tulsa, OK 74114

California: [July 2008]

Super7
1628 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
super7store.com

Movin' On Down The Road

Chapel Hill Comics is moving about as far as I just moved. And like me, they have a ton of toys and comics to move. If I have any advice to give, it is to hire movers!

Dumm

Holy Sh*t!

Secret Base King Walder Skull Brain! ¥4980 or $47.51 direct from Secret Base! This is as close as Japanese Designer Vinyl Kaiju toys come to perfection.

Dangerous

The fact that there is an Alife store is going to be dangerous for me when Anne and I move out to LA. Very dangerous!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTTY G!

Today is my cousin Scott's birthday! Yeah! He is one of the four or five people who read my blog on a regular basis, so he gets a special post in honor of his birthday. Also, in honor of his birthday, he will be receiving a sweet-ass pair of Limited Ed. Adidas Superstar Jam Master Jay kicks [pictured above]! Freakin' awesome! I'm not sure if Scott is a big Run DMC fan, but if he isn't, he should be, 'cause he grew up in NYC and Run DMC are the kings of New York! Anyway, happy birthday Scott!