I feel like a good person

I was driving home from Patrick's Friday morning and was literally a block away from my house when some old lady ran out into the middle of the street to flag me down. On the verge of tears, she explained to me that her friends up in the apartments across the street had been "very, very rude" and about how she "simply wouldn't take such treatment" so she had left.

Sometimes, being that loser with the camera is a good thing

Friday night, after a week of hell at school and work, I decided to unwind with some friends by seeing a No BS show at The Camel. For those of you that don't know, the No BS brass band is an eleven-man group comprised of 4 bones, 4 trumpets, a tuba, a kit, and a sax. Now anyone who has any experience in musical arrangement might be asking right now, what the hell does a group like that play? After 3 years of attending their shows and events, I honestly couldn't tell you.

National Young Readers Week

Today, in celebration of National Young Readers Week, the Peer Mentors club at Maggie Walker took a half-day trip to near-by Lakeside Elementary to get some 1st graders into the reading spirit. After splitting up into teams of two, each team took a class. I was paired up with my boy Connor.


To get things rolling we introduced ourselves and read a book to the kids out loud. Connor and I chose Brother Eagle, Sister Sky. A classic, I know. For first graders, some of children were surprisingly perceptive of the underlying message of wildlife and environmental conservation. Shit, when I was kid, I thought it was about the badass eagles and wolves. After the book we broke out the arts and crafts to make bookmarks. Each kid got a scratch-away rainbow bookmark and a sharpened wooden skewer to draw on it with. Not sure who approved that. Here are some kids and their art.

"The Carter" Documentary

Okay, so I tend to stay away from music posts, especially rap; because I definitely don't know as much as I should. However, If there is one thing that I think most people can agree on for our generation is the fact that Lil' Wayne has completely changed the game. He is an artist who went from nothing to everything in, I don't know, a years time? Also, Love him or Hate him, you have to respect his love for Supra's.

Anyways, it is very rare that we ever get an in-depth look at such successful artists. I am certainly hoping that this documentary will give us this. I mean come on, he has more money than God and yet he gets high off of cough syrup. So look out for this documentary, it is definitely setting itself up to be big.

Oh, and anyone else find it hilarious that all the fan shots are of little white girls?
via HighSnobiety.

BMW Motorrad 6 Concept

You have 2-cylinder crotch rockets and you have 4-cylinder power bikes and THEN you have the BMW Motorrad 6. The entire concept of the Motorrad 6 was to design a bike that was (obviously) sexy as hell, and then throw in a 6-fucking-cylinder engine. What you need to understand is that BMW straight-6s are already notorious on CARS. We can only fantasize about how it will fare on a bike. The concept so far is very reminiscent of the EfficientDynamics concept unveiled three months ago in it's sleek, aerodynamic design and colored highlights. It's powerful, it's gorgeous, and, hopefully, it's coming soon.

Supra Blue Mesh Vaiders

Once every few years, a sneaker brand gets it right. They come up with a release so attractive, so well made, so wearable, that it sends ripples throughout the footwear industry, causing the entire production game to change. In my opinion, the latest addition to these paradigm-shifting shoes is the Supra Blue Mesh Vaider release of April this year. To this date, the "Blue Meshies" are my favorite Supra release to date, and in my top five favorite sneaker releases of all time. I've been broke and slowly going into debt for the past year, but that didn't stop me from copping a pair as soon as I could spare the cash. They were just too beautiful, seemingly composed rather than stitched together in some Chinese factory. The Vaider model is a gorgeous design in itself, but it's the material and color that make this release truly art.

Blue, as bold a color as it is to work with, is artfully tamed by selectively using it to frame the profile of the shoe (laces, tabs, toe, heel and sole highlights) rather than blanketing the upper. The upper, in turn, is kept neutral and strong with dark grey suede and lighter grey mesh to provide balance and foundation. All of this is placed upon a white pedestal of a skate sole to complete the process. The greys actually cover the majority of the shoe, a feature often looked over because of how dominant the primary blue accents are which just go to show how compositionally genius this sneaker is. The designer managed to give the feel of a single, powerful color, which turns out to not even be present on most of the shoe, while restricting it just enough to keep it from overpowering the entire piece.

The result is a bold, yet easily wearable hightop sneaker, something that we see so infrequently these days. For the longest time, it seemed like the sole goal of sneaker brands was to put out the most offensively colorful eyesores of shoes which, realistically, could only be effectively worn with an outfit that you'd have to go $300 out of your way to match them with. So abused was this effort that it eventually became fashionable just to wear sneakers that clashed hopelessly with whatever else you were wearing (you've seen those kids around). Thankfully, it seems like those days are coming to an end, and that wholesome, good looking shoes are making a comeback with brands like Clae, Supra, ALIFE, and Vans leading the way.

This brings me back to the importance of the Blue Meshies. Since their release, brands all over the spectrum have begun to take cues from their success and emulate everything from their colorway to design, from fellow skate brands like éS and DC to Lacoste's high fashion sneaker branch. While these attempts may not produce the same quality results as the original Supras, they are a sign that the sneaker industry as a whole is taking its first steps toward true aesthetic fashion and away from a socially-dictated fad. From these beginnings we can predict with some confidence that in the years to come, sneakers of much higher quality and beauty will start to emerge from all parts of the spectrum. I can't fucking wait.

Paul Litchfield of Reebok on the Pump 20 Mechanism

The new Reebok Pump 20s are set to drop midnight on the 20th to celebrate Reebok's 20th anniversary of their Pump collection. This video is a short explanation of the pumping mechanism by Paul Litchfield, vice president of advanced concepts.

Did It Again remix - Shakira feat. Kid Cudi

Shakira has just put out a new remix to her single, Did It Again, this time featuring Kid Cudi. It's uptempo and has consistent bass hits on the 2 and 4, definitely intended to be a club banger. Cudi's verse is actually more of a tiny cameo than a feature, but I can't imagine the track would sound better with more than that anyway. Though my girlfriend is always trying to get me to listen to her, I've never been a Shakira kind of guy. On the other hand, the song isn't a hard listen and she IS a fine Colombian goddess and I could always use more pictures of those on my blog.

Download Did It Again remix - Shakira feat. Kid Cudi

Recession Proof - Emilio Rojas

Today, my boy Ese brought it to my attention that I've been bumping Emilio Rojas on the senior commons speakers and hyping the kid for a minute, but I've yet to put his mixtape up on my blog for download. Well, here it is. The one and only Recession Proof tape, Rojas' finest work to date. For those of you that haven't allowed yourself to become acquainted with this up-and-coming Brooklyn emcee, this mixtape is a great introduction. And it's free.

01. Intro (Produced by M-Phazes)
02. Keys To The City
03. On The Ave (Feat. Fashawn) (Produced by M-Phazes)
04. Just One Night
05. Young, Fresh & Fly (Produced by Illmind)
06. Here I Am (Feat. Mela Machinko) (Produced by Khrysis)
07. Let It Out (Bounce)
08. Dont Go (Feat. Mela Machinko) (Produced by DJ Noodles)
09. 585 (Remix) (Feat. Hassan Mackey, Black Sinatra, L.I. & Nikal Fieldz)
10. Murder (Feat. Donny Goines & Mela Machinko) (Produced by Illmind)
11. 10 Player Commandments
12. Way She Moves (Feat. Stat Quo & Marvin Priest) (Produced by M-Phazes)
13. Free

Download Emilio Rojas' Recession Proof

Supra Skytop 2, A First Look

Supra has finally released the first images of the much-anticipated Skytop 2s. The pictured pair, featuring a light red with gray-gradient colorway, is part of an exclusive release of 600 individually numbered pairs. They will drop at Colette on November 21st where Chad Muska will be in-house for signings. I love the shape, especially the added height, but some of the design seems a little busy. The horizontals just clash where the original Skytop vertical stripes complimented, but that could just be this colorway. My friend Dalton made the good point that those stripes would seem much more natural with simply stitching separation rather than a color difference. I’m also not sure what to think about the new Jordan 6 style tongue hole. In my opinion it would have looked better with a tall, Vaider-esque simplified tongue, but I may just be being conservative. I'll wait until a full release happens before I make any final judgments about these.


Pics from Hypebeast.

Sorry guys

My life has been pretty stressful recently and I just haven't found the time to work on any blog posts. Don't get it twisted, I don't have writer's block or anything. I'm actually facing a surplus of material I want to write about, it's just that school and work have me by the balls right now, and if I didn't neglect my blog I probably wouldn't have three A+s, three As, and a B considering the four APs and dual credit class in my course load, not to mention working every day after school and having to worry about college apps. I'll do my best to get a few good posts in this weekend.

- Erik

PS: Have I ever mentioned how beautiful Richmond is during the fall?

Daddy, where do V10 carbon fiber pillars come from?

This is a video of one of the two existing rotary carbon fiber weavers in the process of churning out a carbon fiber A-piller for one of the new V10 Lexus LFAs, Toyota's latest supercar model (pictured below). Not particularly interesting for any other reason than that it's a visually stunning process. Enjoy.

Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind video

Here's the video to what some people are calling NYC's new hip hop anthem, Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind (dir. Hype Williams). While I may not agree that it trumps its original namesake, Nas' N.Y. State of Mind, it is without a doubt a well done song. Jay-Z is spot-on with his lyrics on his own New York experience and Alicia Keys drops probably the best vocal chorus I've heard this year. The song accomplishes its goal of painting a descriptive and evocative picture of life in NYC during the 80s and 90s and Alicia's descending piano chord progressions coat the entire thing in a very nostalgic feel. The video itself features pictures and video clips of various locations and landmarks throughout NYC's five boroughs from iconic Rockefeller Center and Times Square to less recognized locations like Jay's Sports in Harlem.