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October 28, 2005
iGuy iPod Holder by Speck
Wired mag named the iGuy, a rubbery iPod stand, as one of its "10 Cool iPod Accessories" in its recent one-off "Wired Test" product reviews issue. The iGuy is perfect for keeping your iPod cutely protected on the desk or table top. Created by Speck Products, the iGuy will set you back $35.00. This is one of those things that's a bit too cute for our tastes, but we like the idea. The iGuy would be a good Xmas gift for any iPod owners you may know.
Essential Links
Speck Products' iGuy
Wired Test
Posted by Thurston Ali at 01:20 AM
October 25, 2005
Mad Skull Rings
These amazing silver skull rings by Werkstatt Muenchen are practically works of art in and of themselves. The cold, hard silver adds mystique, power and style to the grim -- and highly symbolic -- skull motif. We imagine these would make perfect wedding rings for a Goth-biker couple. But this jewelry would be just as fitting and stylish paired with a black Armani suit and the right hairtstyle. Silver, like black, goes with everything.
Essential Linkage
Skull Rings by Werkstatt Muenchen
Posted by Ray Chan at 08:53 PM
Cassette Jam '05
Our pimp daddy publisher Supercore does us a solid by letting us log his post below from the Air Massive site about a Japanese site that has collected hundreds of images of various blank cassette tapes. Supercore writes ...
Among Japan's diverse multitudes of otaku collectors, the anonymous blogger who posts by the moniker Not Wild Style stands out for his exhaustive, colorful and seemingly endless online graphical catalog of various brands of blank cassette tape designs from the likes of Sony, Panasonic, TDK, AGFA, etc. The tape designs appear to be from the 1970's, 80's, and 90's. Part of "Project C-90," this mind-boggling collection of cassette graphics from the analog audio era is dubbed "Cassette Jam '05." You've got to check this out, kids!
Cool stuff! The Ape would be smiling.
Essential Links
Cassette Jam '05 - Not Wild Style
Posted by Ray Chan at 02:09 AM
October 23, 2005
Inflatable English Pub
The picture speaks for itself. We can see some of those British and Irish beer brands jumping all over this idea to market and sell their draft ales, lagers and stouts at large outdoor events. An inflatable pub could be a big hit at those massive annual summer music festivals throughout the UK. Sure, there's a big kitsch factor here, but an inflatable pub is a novel, tongue-firmly-in-cheek approach to setting up temporary shelter all in the name of getting beered out with your mates. Airquee is the British company responsible for this most swiftly portable of pubs (which is said to be the world's first). The company designs and manufactures many kinds giant inflatable objects. Airquee previously recieved attention for its "inflatable church."
Essential Links
Posted by Thurston Ali at 02:28 PM
October 22, 2005
Preview of XBOX 360 Games at Cargo
There's a slideshow over at Cargo mag's site that gives a taste of the great things to come games-wise when the new Microsoft XBox 360 console rolls out. According to Cargo, the short-list of the final half-dozen-plus titles was vetted a couple of weeks ago to attendees of X05, this year's annual European X Event for developers in Amsterdam. Cargo previews Dead or Alive 4, Kameo: Elements of Power, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Perfect Dark Zero, and Project Gotham Racing 3. Other games reported to be bundled for the XBox at launch are Amped 3, Full Auto, Gears of War, King Kong, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06, Call of Duty 2, and Condemned: Criminal Origins.
Essential Links
Cargo Mag XBox 360 Games Slideshow
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:39 AM
October 18, 2005
X-Box 360 is Here!
Guess what we want for Xmas this year? Yup, a new X-Box 360! We've been waiting for this to come out for the longest time, and now it's here -- well ... almost -- Microsoft's new gaming console was released today in Japan, but we won't be getting our paws on it here in North America until November 22. That's 36 days! (And 36 days too long!). But the timing makes sense: just in time for Thanksgiving holidays in the US of A and the start of the Xmas shopping season. From what we've been hearing, the hardware behind the X-box 360 hype is nothing to laugh at. Anyway, we swear we've been mostly nice this year, even if we were just a little naughty sometimes. But either way, in case anybody is taking notes in Redmond, we really, really want an X-Box 360!
Posted by Ray Chan at 01:13 AM
October 14, 2005
Anticon Hoodie is a Bad Mofo!
It's amazing how a minor design twist can turn the freindly, casual classic hoodie into a menacing piece of edgy outerware. This brilliant, yet intimidating, hoodie design by Anticon seems like a cross between something a terrorist, an alpine ski instructor and a Mexican wrestler would wear. You could put a nice grandma in one of these Anticon hoods and she'd be instantly transformed into one baaaaaaad mofo (that or total nutter). In any event, this hood is an improvement in the protect-your-face-from-the-elements outerwear department and it's sure to turn heads or make people suddenly cross the street when they see you bobing down the sidewalk in one of these.
Essential Linkage
Anticon Website
Posted by Ray Chan at 11:10 PM
Surface To Air - Storefront Logography
Here's a shot of some graphic design in the form of cool logo/symbols painted on the storefront of Surface To Air in Paris. Surface To Air (or Surface 2 Air) is an underground-ish creator's atelier, art gallery, event space and boutique all wrapped up into one at very central Paris address in a right-bank neighborhood near Les Halles. Here is a shot of the iron-shuttered, graf-scrawled storefront from across the lane. Like Colette a couple of kilometers away, Surface To Air is a small mecca of under-the-radar creative cool. More images at at sister site Global Graphica.
(Photo courtesy Ivan Corsa, Global Graphica)
Posted by Ray Chan at 10:43 PM
The Gorgeous Undertow
An interesting new music event has popped up on our radar, in part because it's going to happen at an excellent bar down the street from our old apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The event is called The Gorgeous Undertow. The bar is called Royal Oak. The Gorgeous Undertow is a kind of DJ-event and listening party, with the emphasis here on "kind of." The theme is new British music in the vein of British Sea Power, Kaiser Chiefs, The Streets, Franz you-know-who, and so on, although from a playlist on the website, there are lots of old school and not-so-new UK bands played, too, from the Who to the Smiths to Pulp to Belle & Sebastian. This obvious attempt at UK music boosterism actually sounds like a lot of earnest fun, despite the long hike to Royal Oak from all the local Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Brooklyn stations. Royal Oak is a beautiful, relaxed bar, and, actually, without being in any way overtly or intentionally British, it actually seems perfectly suited for something like the Gorgeous Undertow. If you check this event out in person, drop us an email and tell us all about it. In the meantime, check out the website - URL below.
Essential Linkage
Posted by Thurston Ali at 12:29 AM
October 12, 2005
Mini USA Launches Roof Studio
Now we really, really, REALLY want a Cooper Mini. Actually, we had orginally wanted one of those Cooper Mini convertibles, but we had some serious reservations about driving a car as small as the Mini in a nation filled with big, tall and bulky SUVs barreling down the the country's highways (not to mention the inherent safety issues with convertibles in general). But in the end, what attracts us to the car most is its style. Now with its new series of customizable rooftops, style has won us over completely. Not only can you select a design for your Mini rooftop, but you can create your very own design via the Rooftop Studio website. check it out via the link below. Cheerio!
Essential Linkage
Posted by Ray Chan at 12:52 AM
October 09, 2005
Absolut Ice Bar Opens in London
There's one in Stockholm. Now there's one in London. And soon there will be more in major cities around the world. Absolut Icebar has hung out it's Nordic shingle in the UK capital and is now open for punters seeking a taste of the world's most famous brand of Swedish vodka in a a sub-zero boite made of ice. The bar is ice. The walls are ice, The stools are ice. Well, that's the impression at least. What's more, the Icebar is filed with ice sculpture and art from some very well-known artists. It's a novel idea and a clever -- if not genius -- marketing showpiece.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 03:59 PM
October 06, 2005
Dude, Gross! Britney Spears' Used J. Crew Flip Flops!
Britney Spears is auctioning a whole lot of personal wardrobe items online in the name of charity. Among the many clothing items are several pairs of flip flops, including the pair of J. Crew flippers pictured above. Proceeds go to victims of Hurrican Katrina. The auction is admirable and generous on Spears' part, and it's a nod to her Louisiana roots. But, dude, you've got to draw the line somewhere. And that somewhere is a degree less personal and more hygenic than, say, undergarments. (Unless, of course, you're one of that subset of middle-aged Japanese salarymen with a panty fetish who pay top dollar that sort of thing.) We draw the line at footwear -- sneakers, socks, sandals, flip flops, basically anything that can be affected by fungi or become permanently malodorous is off limits. We mean, people, look at those gross foot stains on those J. Crew flip flops Spears is offering. We don't care if she wore these while gving birth to her first child last month. Hmm ... now we wonder, will there be a spike in the sale of (new) J. Crew flip flops due to the publicity of Spears' auction? And, by the way, who would have thought of Britney wearing anything by J. Crew ... it's just so not-Britney!
Essential Linkage
Spears Opens Closet to Help Storm Victim [AP/MetroMix]
Britney Spears Official Website
EBay
Posted by Thurston Ali at 08:20 PM
October 05, 2005
Skrecs Laces Are Da Bomb!
Laces, dude! Laces! Okay, when you're trying on or buying a new pair of kicks, the laces are usually an afterthought, if you think of them at all. But it's amazing how the wrong color laces can mess up the style of a rockin' pair of sneakers. Conversely ( hehe ... "CONVERSEly ... no pun intended, we swear!), patterned or colored laces like the ones by Polish company Skrecs, pictured above, can make the look of some sneakers really pop on the street. It's really a matter of finding the right combination of shoe and lace in terms of color, material, pattern and design. Personally, we think the Skrecs skull-and-crossbones in black are da' bomb! ... That's right, bi-aaaahtch ... you heard us correctly ... DA BOMMMMMMB!!!
Essential Linkage
Skrecs Laces Website [Polish]
Posted by Ray Chan at 10:52 PM
2005 Tokion Magazine "Creativity Now" Conference
Tokion magazine, you've come a long way. (You're one of our favorite mags of all time, too.) The magazine's third annual "Creativity Now" conference is coming up this month. There's nothing quite like this weekend marathon of speaking events, panel discussions and performances. Scheduled for October 15 and 16 at Cooper Union in the East Villlage, in New York, Creativity Now is like a state of the union and seminar by some of the leading creative minds in film, music, design, fashion and art -- in short, pop culture at the underground, overground and all around. Among the long, long list of speakers included this year are filmmakers Todd Haynes, photographer/videographer Doug Aitken, comedy writer/producer Neal Brennan, and comic actor David Cross.
Essential Linkage
Tokion Magazine "Creativity Now" Conference 2005
Posted by Ray Chan at 10:32 PM
October 04, 2005
Opus Foosball Table
Table soocer never looked so good. Seriously, the design is so sophisticated here that it takes a serious bite out of the geeks-with-beer factor that, unfortunately, reflelcts way too much of the hardcore foosball demographic. The Eleven Forty Opus foosball table, in addition to its Wallpaper magazine-worthy style, boasts excellent craftsmanship and a clever degree of detail. Individual players are based on and accurately resemble real international soccer stars like Dutch sensation Edgar Davids. Heads of additional well-known players can be substituted in by attaching them to the player bodies on the table. Neat-o, daddy-o!
Essential Linkage
Eleven Forty - Opus Foosball Table Website
Posted by Thurston Ali at 12:02 AM
October 02, 2005
We Are The Superlative Conspiracy to Open New York Store
Crazy-hip and awesome style brand We Are The Superlative Conspiracy is about to open a shop in New York City in a space on Lafayette Street, between Prince and Houston streets. Pictured above is the future home of WESC in Soho. The shop will join a row of stores that cater to essentially the same consumer crowd -- Supreme, Stackhouse, G-Star, Brooklyn Industries and Triple Five Soul.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:34 AM
Spiewak - The Last Word in the Hipster Parka
It's fall, finally. It could have come sooner; this past summer was one of the longer, hotter and more humid seasons on recent memory. And now that it's really gettin' chilly-chill, we've realized that a marrow-freezing, blizzard-filled winter is just around the corner. Yup, time for a new coat. But not just any wool full-length will do. Not after the last two brutal New York City winters. This year we're updating the winter wardrobe with a heavy-duty parka. We've had our eye on this Spiewak parka for a while. Once we put it on, the deal was sealed. It's warm, thick and it comes with a fur-lined hood. This thing is good enough for arctic conditions. And since one of our friends has now convinced us that Iceland is worth it as a bona fide travel destination, we will REALLY NEED this parka. (Sure, we're rationalizing the expenditure.) Spiewak makes tons of different heavy-duty parkas and coats. And Spiewak being an ol' skool NYC brand, we're happy to spread the wealth in our adopted home.
Posted by Ray Chan at 11:06 AM