Tragic Toons

Wings by Eric Morin

I got an e-mail from Chapel Hill Comics letting me know that they are having an exhibit beginning this Friday of the art of Eric Morin. The show is entitled Tragic Toons and the opening will run from 6-9pm this Friday, February 9th. Eric is a very talented artist who creates art full of dark humor. Chapel Hill Comics will have digital prints of many of his images available for the low, low price of $10 each. Refreshments will be served.

The Police Are Coming!

Not the ones with batons and guns who run amok blowing up outdoor LED street advertisements in Boston. And not the ones led by Sting that will be performing at the Grammy's next weekend, either. I'm talking about The London Police, the Dutch street-art ensemble. Their first toy is a vinyl interpretation of their iconic Lad figure, which has graced cityscapes all over the world, and will be released at New York Comic Con February 23-25. You can pre-order the figure from My Plastic Heart, who collaborated with The London Police on its creation, and pick it up at their booth at the NYCC, or you can just order if for delivery after the event (it will ship on the 27th). The figure comes in two versions, wink [pictured above] and smile. Each set includes one Lad, one Dog and an interchangeable head in a box designed by The London Police. Each version is limited to 100 pieces and will run you $95, unless you are willing to pick it up at the NYCC, in which case it will run you only $85!

Adidas x Fafi: For The Ladies

I know I don't post a lot of stuff for my lady friends out there, so here's a post just for y'all. Adidas has just announced their partnership with world-renowned street artist Fafi for theirAdidas Originals Fafi Sleek Collection. If I was a girl... Okay, let's not go there. Anyway, the Adidas Fafi Sleek Collection contains several tops and a couple of pairs of sneakers. My favorites are the Fafi Bolero Hoodie [pictured above, left], because I'm partial to pink, and the Sleek Fafi Pro Model sneakers [pictured above, right], because they match the Bolero Hoodie so nicely. Maybe Anne might find one of these cute items under the tree this Valentine's Day. Wait, there's no Valentine's Day tree. I guess that's what you get when you grow up Jewish, mixing up all of those Christian holidays. St. Valentine's Day is a Christian holiday, isn't it? Or is it a Hallmark-created holiday? Whatever, just check out the Fafi Adidas stuff and enjoy the snow outside. I know I will, here at work.

All Gone!

I got an e-mail this morning from We Sold Out letting me know about a new book that they just produced in association with La MJC, Indesignwetrust and colette entitled All Gone: The Finest of Street Culture 2006. According to the e-mail All Gone is a tribute to Limited Ed.! I'm flattered. Okay, so it is not a tribute to me, it is a tribute to limited edition sneakers, designer toys, tees, skateboards, and collectibles. So it is a tribute to me!

All Gone features the work of 180 designers including A Bathing Ape, Acapulco gold, Alife, Amos, aNYthing, BBC, Bounty Hunter, Clot, Crazy Smiles, Crooks & Castles, DC Shoes, Dr. Romanelli, Futura Labs, Huf, Ice Cream, Jordan, K-Swiss, Mad Hectic, Mahatoys, Married to the Mob, Medicom Toy, Neighborhood, New Balance, Nike, OriginalFake, PAM, Puma, Reebok, Revolver, SBTG, Silly Thing, Span of Sunset, Stüssy, Supreme, That's Them, Twelve Bar, Undefeated, Vans, Visvim, W)Taps, and many more (there are more?).

All Gone is a hard cover book containing 178 pages with English text only, stickers and poster included. It is limited to 500 copies and will run ya' €30.00, so get out there and get a copy quick before they all disappear. If you were wondering, here's another good birthday present idea for me, seeing as how my birthday is coming up in a little over a month. Better hurry!

Update: All Gone is literally all gone! It has sold out already. That sure was quick.

Kidrobot x Tilt x JB Classics!

What could be more sick than a pair of bubbly blue Limited Ed. Kidrobot x Tilt x JB Classics Sneakers? Not a whole lot in my opinion. I have always been a fan of the blue suede, or nubuck leather, in this case. I am speechless at the sight of these bad mama-jemma's. All I have to say is, I have a birthday coming up in less than two months, and I know a few people who like getting together to buy me sneakers for my birthday, hint, hint. *Cough* size 12 *cough*. Anyway, I'll go roll up my tongue and put it away now. These mighty kicks will be released January 25th for $220. Whew.

Toys For The Broke

Coolhunting had a little blurb on their blog today about Readymechs, created by Portland-based design group Fwis. They are clever little paper toys that you can construct yourself at home with a little paper, a computer and color printer, some tape or glue, and about fifteen minutes. Series 002 of the Readymechs has just been released and there are some really cool ones available for download. These little fellows remind me of the work of Shin Tanaka, one of the best paper toy makers around, but you can actually download and make Readymechs yourself. My favorites from Series 002 are Tentaclopse [pictured above, left] and Ripsey [pictured above, right] because I love pirates. Arrr Matey!

Dunny Party Reminder

Just a reminder that the Azteca Dunny Release/Trading Party will be going on from 6-8pm tonight at various toy store locations across the country. Our very own Wootini will be up and running despite the dusting of snow we received this morning. So come on by and get your Dunny fix on. Refreshments will be provided by Pacifico! I will be there wearing my orange, brown and black Dunny sneakers with a slight limp. Also, don't forget your mask!

Update: Check out my pictures from the Wootini Azteca Dunny Release Party on Kidrobot's website here.

Broken Toe

I broke my toe at work on Monday while helping a co-worker move some furniture. A shelf that she had precariously perched on top of a pile of furniture came crashing down on my foot and broke my right pinkie toe. It is completely purple now, but I have it taped up, so it isn't going anywhere. It is just a hairline fracture, so I should only be out for three or four games, not the rest of the season, luckily. I will take some pictures of it later so I can gross y'all out. It should be healed in four to six weeks, but until then, I would appreciate any sympathy I can get. I have no shame.

New Toys At Kidrobot

Kidrobot has some new toys in stock for 2007 including the Mad Villain toy from Madlib, MF Doom and Stones Throw Records that I espoused in a previous post. The toy comes in both Green and Grey versions, will cost ya' $34.95 (not bad), features movable arms and wrists, and comes in a deluxe box covered in art [pictured above with figure].

Kidrobot is also getting ready to release their next series of Dunnys, the Azteca Dunny Series. There will be Dunny Trading Parties at various toy stores across the country, including Carrboro's very own toy-lovin' jewel, Wootini! The trading parties will take place next Thursday, January 18th, from 6-8pm. You can download a copy of the Dunny checklist here for your collection purposes.

Kidrobot is also sponsoring a Dunny Coloring Contest! You can win a Piñata stuffed with Azteca Dunnys by coloring a Dunny Wrestling Mask and bringing it with you to one of the Dunny Trading Parties. You can download the mask here.

iF#@kin' Wanna' iPhone!!!

Why oh why did I have to get a new phone already? I should have known that ol' Stevie J would be announcing the new iPhone at the MacWorld Expo2007. And what an announcement! This thing is freakin' sweet! I am sitting here in a pool of my own drool over the wide 3.5-inch 480 x 320 touchscreen display with multi-touch support and a proximity sensor to turn off the sensor when it's close to your face, 2 megapixel camera, 4GB or 8GB of storage, Bluetooth with EDR and A2DP, WiFi that automatically engages when in range, and quadband GSM radio with EDGE. Somehow, this whiz-bang of a gadget runs OS X with support for Widgets, Google Maps, Safari, and iTunes. The 4GB iPhone will go out the door in the US as a Cingular exclusive for $499 on a two-year contract, 8GB for $599. Ships Stateside in June, Europe in fourth quarter, Asia in 2008. I might have to find some way to get out of my contract with Verizon in June and scootch over to Cingular so I can get my grubby mitts on one of these. Or I might just wait for the second generation version. I'm sure people will kill to get their hands on one of these. I know I have would.