Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Dream Team


One of the best things about being born in the 80’s was that I was able to enjoy the 90’s as a tween and then a teen. One of my fondest memories as a tween was being able to watch on TV the Dream Team play during the Barcelona Olympics. The individual games were nothing to boast about since the USA would cream the competition. What made watching these games worthwhile was that it was the first Olympics to feature active NBA players. Yet what took this Dream Team to a whole other level was that it had the greatest player on its roaster, Michael Jordan.

About three years ago a friend of mine told me that he went to Barcelona in 1992 to watch the Dream Team play. I then started to freak out and asked him if he took any pictures, to which he answered yes. He told me he would share the pictures with me, but only until recently was he able to show them to me. Now that I have them, I thought the best place to show case them was on my blog.


The first picture is what the actual ticket to the finals looked like, the second is of the stadium while empty and the third is of the Dream Team warming up. Unfortunately my memory of those Olympics is pretty fuzzy and I am unable to accurately recall the games that were played during that summer. From what I can tell the next pictures are of the Dream Team playing against Croatia and then of the award ceremony. Some people will recall the controversy that occurred during that ceremony when Jordan used the American Flag to cover up the Reebok logo on his jacket. The final pictures are of some other teams that played that day.

Wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_United_States_men%27s_Olympic_basketball_team

Monday, May 23, 2011

Nike SB SF Giants Dunks

The Nike SB SF Giants Dunk were released summer/fall 2010, however at that point I was occupied with other issues and was unable to buy a pair.  I didn’t even know about this pair until early 2011.  While it would have been nice to buy them as soon as they came out and wear them while watching the San Francisco Giants win the World Series; waiting until later was monetarily beneficial.  Nobody gave these sneakers much hype, so I was able to buy my pair for real cheap.  While I do appreciate buying them cheap, I also loved that the hype was low because most of the Nike SB’s that I own have risen in value over time and so I would be able to wear these without fearing that one day they would be worth more.
Not to say I’m a reseller because I don’t plan on selling mine.  I just look at sneakers as works of art and having them look flawless is my preference.  So I’m usually stuck with this conundrum; how do I wear my sneakers, and yet keep them deadstock in the box?  Of course the easy answer would be to buy two pairs, ‘one to rock and one to stock’.  However I don’t have the funds or the room to do that.  So my solution is to keep the one’s I view as art in the box, and the ones that are still nice but don’t carry any hype, worn on my feet.  The SF Giants Dunks fulfilled my need to still be able to wear a nice pair of sneakers that won’t rise in value.
In all honesty I have been buying Nike SB’s for years but have never worn a pair.  I would just buy my size and then look at them at home and store them in the box after.  I have done this similar ritual with my toy collection where I prefer to see them in mint condition packaging.  So I am now writing this blog entry a few days after having worn them for some time.  My concerns about wearing them before were that they would hurt my feet after wearing them all day.  However these concerns soon dissipated after a few hours of wear because they felt so comfortable.  This comfort is mainly due to the Zoom Air cushioning, the ample amount of space around the toe box and the plush cushioning around the ankle support and tongue.
Sure I do realize that not everyone will come to the same conclusion surrounding this sneaker, but for me the Nike SB Dunk low has felt so comfortable.  Heck, they’re more comfortable than retro Jordan’s (but that’s another subject).  For now I can say that Nike SB Dunks are the only sneakers I want to buy.  Apart from the comfort, these sneakers are also beautiful.  The Dunk provides such a vast pallet for colours and materials that unique interpretations by designers can seem endless.  The SF Giant Dunks were designed by Shawn Baravetto; Nike SB’s Footwear Product Line Manager.
Nike SB:
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONEQ_MjmVW4

Thursday, May 19, 2011

In Cold Blood


This book has been on my must read list for many years. I bought it way back in high school because it dealt with crime. I’ve always been fascinated with crime books and movies. The funny thing is, when I first saw it I thought it was some contemporary piece that would be similar to any drug store paper back that you find in a convenience store. But once I looked at who wrote it; Truman Capote, I just had to buy it. Besides being known for his high-pitched voice, Capote is a brilliant writer who has written other amazing novels such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Other Voices, Other Rooms. Although this is a novel based on a true even, (the murder of the Clutter family in Kansas) Capote decides to tell it from the perspective of the town’s people and the actual murderers. Capote demonstrates his talent of how the written language can express sentiment by writing sentences that seem genius when he puts them into words. His style of writing is easy to understand and concise, which allows for characters that are believable and important to exist. While he has been criticized for extending the truth about what really happened, his approach in how he wrote his novel is what I value the most. Focusing on the murderers of the Clutter family, Dick and Perry, Capote takes an unbiased approach to telling their story. One would assume that a story like this would make Dick and Perry into monsters that cannot be related to or understood. Yet it is Capote’s honestly that makes these characters, despite their evil deeds worth reading about. I think its part of the human condition to assume that the existence of fairness in this world should be about what one deserves. For example, people that commit a crime should be punished. However what is harder to accept is what follows, that this same criminal deserves to be judged in a fair trail. And I think this is what Capote has done, for as chilling as the violent acts have been, he has given these same individuals a chance to tell their story in a world that preaches balance through fairness.

Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Blood-Truman-Capote/dp/0375507906/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305852374&sr=1-1

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

High Park Cherry Blossom Trees


Around this time last year I was watching the news at noon when I noticed that the weatherman was on location at some park. I really love this part of the news because the weatherman visits many different places around the city and helps shine a light on these places so that people can get interested in visiting. Well on that day it worked for me because the weatherman was at High Park, and was showing the cherry blossom trees at Hillside Gardens. The trees bloom for only a limited number of days before the blossom goes away. Unfortunately by the time I was available to go visit, it was too late because the blossoms had fallen. So I was determined to make sure I would go the next year, and that time came today in the morning. It was a perfect day because the weather was nice, the sun was shining and a scattered light wind allowed for the blossom petals to give a snow fall affect. The advantage of visiting in the morning also allowed for better pictures because as the day wore on, more people started to arrive and the park seemed crowded. While I’m not a professional photographer, or even have the right camera the beauty of the landscape still allowed me to take amazing pictures. As far as I know the cherry trees (Somei-Yoshino) were a present from the citizens of Tokyo and they were first planted back in 1959. While it is expected to rain this weekend and as a result drop most of the blossoms, I am grateful I was able to experience this natural beauty this year.



High Park website:
http://www.highparktoronto.com/cherry-trees.php

Friday, May 6, 2011

Spiderman Papercraft


When it comes to superheroes, Spiderman is one of the coolest out there. I was first introduced to him back in the 80’s when his TV show would be on in the morning. Though the animation now seems ancient, when I was a little boy it was one of the most exciting shows to watch (along with Rocket Robin Hood and The Mighty Hercules). I loved the theme song especially, “Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can... etc.” Then as I got older I started reading his comics and got involved in the comic collector hype of the early 90’s. I really loved Spiderman because there were so many things I could relate to him with. First off his name was Peter, which is also my name (that might seem insignificant but I always thought it was neat). Second, he loved Mary Jane, a redhead which I also share an interest with. And third, he was a web-slinging-spiderman; how could you not like that.


Spiderman’s powers are the only powers I think are just as amazing as Superman’s. I mean flying is cool, but so is web-slinging. In the spirit of admiring Spiderman I decide to undertake a papercraft version of him. The version I found was from paperrobots1999.com, the same place where I first got a papercraft version of Optimus Prime. This website makes amazing designs that are simple to follow and can have hidden gems. For example I like how you are be able to remove Spiderman’s mask and reveal Peter Parker’s face. The only difficult part of this build was attaching the chest pieces to one another. Once put together this papercraft can be positioned in multiple stances with various moving parts and is worth the effort to build.

Papercraft template link:
http://www.paperrobots1999.com/model07.html
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jc93vje8ZI

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Redhead Wednesdays


Name: Melissa Archer
By now if you’re a slacker, stay-at-home mom, or still single and living with cats you’ve heard the news that All My Children and One Life to Live is coming to an end. This is sad news to me because I am a slacker and on my days off, I like to watch these soaps. I grew up watching them and found it a great topic for conversation when I would meet a girl that was also a fan. Though over the last few years the story lines have sucked and have felt repetitive, so I can’t really blame ABC for cancelling them due to low ratings. While I doubt I will miss watching another split personality storyline, what I will miss is Natalie Buchanan, or rather the actress who plays her, Melissa Archer. Melissa is downright sexy from head to toe; she has a pretty face, stunning blue eyes, curvaceous body and boobs (and not afraid to let them breath), full luscious lips, and best of all has long beautiful red hair. Her only drawbacks are that she’s not a natural ginger (hence no freckles), and her acting sucks (thank God for the mute button). But even those things aren’t enough for me to even want to blink when I see her; she’s just so attractive. Another attribute worth mentioning about Melissa is that she wears very little makeup and yet still looks breathtaking. I like that in a woman mainly because I’m a passionate kisser (slobber), and hate it when after kissing a woman all her makeup is on my face and in my mouth. While One Life to Live is coming to an end soon, I hope to see more of Melissa in the future by wishing her success and happiness.



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