philly

Skankage

With the warm weather comes out the über skankwear out in Olde City. It is very much in full gear already.

Oh the skankage.

New Balance 992

While I was picking up a new pair of boots, I noticed that New Balance has a new update to their 99x lineup, the 992. I was a huge fan of the 990. I had a pair and when they moved onto the 991, I bought up another pair of 990s because they fit my flat and wide Flintstone feet better. But when the time came for a new pair, I had to go for the 991 as I could not find another pair of 990s anywhere. The 991s fit okay, but not as well as the 990. So now, I'm due for another pair of running shoes. I think this is my second pair of 991s right now so I'm due for my fifth purchase of a 99x series shoe. I swear by them. They are the most comfortable and supportive sneaker I've ever worn.

And at City Sports, they have this deal where if you buy any shoe, you can purchase another shoe [which is located below a physical line on the wall] of equal or lesser value for $30. They're selling the 992 for $120 or $130 and the 991 is one of the below-the-line shoes which sells normally for $110 and would be $30 if purchased along with a new pair of 992s, so $150 - 160 for two pairs of incredible running shoes.

At first glance [I didn't try them on], they're aesthetically different in several ways. They've added several clear plastic elements one on the encap below the heel and another one covering one of the Abzorb bubbles. The middle eyelet is separate from the rest, I think that's different and will result in a slightly different feel on the bridge of the foot and the torque-ing of the entire shoe [upper and lower]. Most noticeablely is the changed sole traction pattern. I may be heading back there soon to pick up this deal.

City Sports is also having a buy one get one free sale on their winter accessories: gloves, hats, mittens and balaclavas! I've always wanted a nice balaclava. Lady and I may have to go in on some winter goods together.

New Boots

I mentioned that I very much needed a new pair of boots [on sale for $65!] to replace my eight-year-old boots that have served me well. Yesterday, after work, I headed over to City Sports and picked up a new pair of North Face boots pictured above. They are waterproof. They are warm. They are comfortable. They are grippy. They got me to work today dry and slip free.

You've served me well my old Timberland boots, but your leakiness is just too much for me now. My cold wet feet cannot take it any longer. You've been with me from NY to Beantown to DC to Philly and everywhere in between. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

My old boots will be given to charity. Rittenhouse Sports Specialties [1729 Chestnut St 215.569.9957] takes shoes in any condition and recycle them to the homeless. I hope that they can add a strip of silicon sealant to the edges. But some shoes is better than no shoes. If anyone has some old pairs of shoes, bring them on over to Rittenhouse Sports Specialties and don't let them go to waste.

South Koreans: Sooo Cool

The NY Times tells me that my people are soooo cool and that China's youth, hundreds of millions strong, all wanna be us. Who's the real Slim Shady?

"We know that the products at Korea City are made in China," said Wang Ying, 28, who works for the local branch of an American company. "But to many young people, 'Korea' stands for fashionable or stylish. So they copy the Korean style."

Ha.

American Apparel in Center City

The new American Apparel on Walnut/16th Sts is getting closer to opening. I took this shot Monday night. American Apparel has an interesting way of treating their workers. Their mission statement.

The one in Sansom Commons [Sansom/36] is already open.

Lost My Beloved 555 Soul Hat

That's the hat in question. I lost it tonight on my way home from Drinking Liberally at Tangier. It fell out of my back pocket somewhere on Pine St between 17th and 13th Sts at a little after 8.30p. Why was it in my back pocket? I was getting hot with that fine fine wool hat on my head. No I wasn't stumbling in a drunken stupor, I only had two drinks over two hours. It just fell out of my back pocket.

I went back to look for it after I got home and noticed it was no longer in my back pocket, but it was gone within the ten minutes it took me to backtrack.

I've had that hat for about five years. It's my favorite hat. It was the last thing I bought at my beloved Canal Jeans Co. in NYC [before I moved to Philly] before they closed down. Now that space is occupied by a soulless Bloomingdales and 555 Soul no longer stocks this model.

If anyone out there found it, please let me know. I love that hat. If a friend of yours starts bragging about this awesomely cool hat that they found on the street tonight, it's mine! Please, please, please get in contact with me.

I also put up a posting on Philly Craigslist.

Woe is me.

ReeDas?

Adidas is close to buying out Reebok so says this NY Times article.

Adidas-Salomon is near a deal to acquire Reebok International for about $4.4 billion, executives involved in the discussions said yesterday. The transaction would reshape the sports footwear and apparel industry.

The deal, which was being negotiated late last night and could be announced today, would give Nike its first formidable competitor in more than a decade. A combined Adidas-Reebok would control about 20 percent of the market, but would still remain behind Nike, which has about a third of the $145 billion worldwide market.

Yet another super-conglomorate. Just what we need.

I weaned myself off of Nike after seeing the documentary The Corporation [which I highly recommend to anyone and everyone], but I still do own quite a bit of Nike gear. It doesn't make sense for someone of my financial status to just throw away everything he owns because he's made a decision to stop buying from that company for whatever reason. I just don't have the money right now to replace the clothing. But I will at some point. And the clothes will become threadbare as well. It's a tough process to buy things for ethical/moral reasons whatever your personal reasons may be. Whether it be because the store you shop at is a big liberal donor and you're a neo-con or vice versa. I stopped shopping at Urban Outfitters for that reason. They stopped carrying my favorite clothing company [555 Soul] a long time ago so that was a hefty push in itself.

At the same time I want to support local business. I also want to support companies/people who are in favor of sustainable industry. And to look good, or decent. It's tough to get all of these things checked off for every purchase I make, but I'm taking baby steps. You gotta start somewhere.

Adspace Baby

My favorite part about the Inky's article on the adspace baby is at the footer [is that the right word?] of the article:

To find the auction on eBay.com, enter the search words "ad space" in the category "everything else." Contact staff writer Amy Rosenberg at 215-854-2681 or [email protected]. Inquirer staff writer and "Blinq" blogger Dan Rubin contributed to this article.

emphasis added on my part. Awesome.

Books From the Logan Square Fair

Lady and I headed to the Logan Square Fair to pick up some cheapo books that the Friends of the Free Library were selling in their tent. It was rainy and some of the books were unfortunately wet, but most of them were just fine.

I picked up five hardcovers which rang in at all of $10. What I got:

1. A 1949 hardcover edition of George Orwell's 1984
2. A National Geographic Society book called Nature's World of Wonders, 1983
3. A Kodak book on photo: The Kodak Library of Creative Photography: Mastering Composition and Light, 1983
4. A portrait photo book from People magazine: Favorite Pictures, 2000
5. Another portrait photo book from USA Today: Portraits of the USA, 1986

There were tons more books to go through, but we only put one hour of change into the meter and they were closing up for the day as well. Lady made off with a cardboard box full of books totalling $20.

Another trip back later Sunday?

If you do go, be forewarned. It is more disorganized than the Strand if you're familiar with that train wreck of a treasure.

Shopping at THE MALL

Saturday will consist mainly of an outing to THE MALL. If you can't fathom what I mean by THE MALL, maybe you're better off for not knowing. Lady needs some new duds and THE MALL is where she wants to go. And me, being her chauffeur, will take her there.

I don't like going to the mall, let alone THE MALL. Hopefully, I'll make it out alive.

I'm going to bring along my camera [as usual] to see if I can find some out of the ordinary mall shots in THE MALL.