New Video: talking with Dallas

During my recent trip to NYC I had the privilege of linking up with the big homey DALLAS PENN of dallaspenn.com, XXLmag.com, and iNternetscelebrities.com fame. We've built in the past for various sneaker- and blog-related activities, not to mention exchanging kicks and the like, so when I was in town for about 20 hours last Tuesday, I knew I had to connect to the homey if at all possible!

We broke bread on 8th and Broadway at the famous Cozy Soup n' Burger, where we even got to spend some time talkin g with COZY'S SON, born and raised in the spot! With me moving forward in my rap career, I needed input and feedback and Dallas was quick to oblige. And you know we had to hit off the internets to say what up...

SFU Recap up on DP dot comm

Dallas just cross-posted my recap of the SFU NYC November edition tour, complete with higher-res pics than I upped. Challah back at'cha iC fam.

Downshift Session 2008 gift bag

Back in October, homeboy Dallas Penn threw down at the big Gran Turismo x Staple Design party, Downshift Session 2008. Held in conjunction with Lotus to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Gran Turismo franchise, it sounded like a straight gala affair. Regrettably, living about an hour and a half away from the city, and it being held in the middle of the week, i was unable to make the 3-hour roundtrip necessary to put in an appearance and donate some face-time to the event.

But in mid-November, on the final leg of the epic Sneaker Fiends United! NYC Tour, as we moved through the LES, from Richie's on Delancey towards Premium Laces in NoLiTa, we dropped by Reed Space, Staple's retail location. Despite keeping it moving - not stopping and copping - that day, i did mention to Dallas that staple is one of the few companies that i am constantly checking for - from the fly and well-made varsity that i saved up and waited a year to cop, to their 10th anniversary collab tees, to their recently expanding ventures into cut-and-sew outerwear, i have come to look up to jeffstaple's personally-directed and -designed brand as tracing the fine edge between being immensely wearable and playfully edgy.

Anyways, Dallas happened to have an extra Downshift Session gift bag lying around his crib, so, after some false starts and his return from a quick jaunt down to the A, I returned to my place after a Friday afternoon staff meeting to find a large brown box waiting downstairs. After some quick key work, I was opening the trademark Reed Space brown shopping bag (how dope is it that even their disposable bags are specifically designed and manufactured for them??) and found the following goodies (no CIARA) awaiting.

1) Staple Design "Alphabeta" scarf (Yellow/Brown). This joint from Staple's F/W 2008 "Only the Educated are Free" collection (the same drop as my varsity) is easily the thickest and most carefully-knit scarf I have seen on the skreets.

The scarf is a double-sided knit, in two colors, displaying all the letters of the alphabet as well as the 10 digits, with the letters S T A P L E and the numbers 1 9 7 5 (jeffstaple's birth year) picked out in contrasting colors on both sides.


Football helmet embroidery... Wish I had this two weeks ago at the Harvard-Yale game... maybe i coulda kicked it outside a little longer before finally succumbing to the cold... egchk. I am for sure packing this today when I head out for a conference in Colorado this week.

2) Downshift Sessions 2008 tee.

A tee specially printed up - designed to look like a racecar hood - with the logos of all the sponsors for the event, including Sony/Polyphony, stpl, and the Gran Turismo team. It is an American Apparel L, which means... not something I'm going to be able to pull off given my stature. But I'm sure this will come in handy some day...

3) Staple Design "Positive" beanie (Purple/whi/blk). The purple on this joint matches our bustout Season 2 Man Vs. City tee as well as the black/white/purple colorway of the Staple varsity that I copped. Similar to the scarf, this is some heavy-duty winter gear; I was rocking through the day and (even given my current depilated state) never felt the wind blow through the window.

Stay positive. +

4) Lotus booklet. Not gonna front, I am never going to own a Lotus Exige. But now I got pictures of one, and a picture is worth a thousand words...

'nuff said. - Stan Lee


Big ups to Dallas for putting me on, the Staple Design collective, and the USPS for moving packages [||] with ease and speed.

Sneaker Fiends! / Cake for Garrett / RX-7 FB

11/15 - 11/20/2008

Saturday11.15.2008

Saturday morning, after spending the prior night on-
campus, I woke up early and headed into the city for the
second installment of the Sneaker Fiends Unite NYC
Tour.


10:55 MTA commuter to Grand Central = 12:20 ETA.


This time, MC GANJI aka my b-girl homey Soyoon
rolled along to take her first trip through and around
the gritty city a/k/a The Rotten Apple. No better way
to do it than with an OG New Yorker.

Linking up with Dallas and fellow New Haven resident
Encyclopedia Black in Grand Cent, we headed uptown
to Harlem, then over to Fordham Road, BX, where
homeboy Nattiez had parked the whip and was
awaiting our arrival.


Form like Voltron (except not those wack Voltron
Reeboks... truth be told, we were clowning on Reebok
all day. Sorry, rbk).


e^b.


Soyoon a/k/a GANJI b/k/a Zoey.


Dallas and Nattiez, indigenous NYers.

After trekking all day and staying light on the copping, we headed
uptown to Harlem's Vault, where Dallas had a connect.


The store was still decked out from the previous week's winter ACG
launch party. Real talk, Nike is pushing this ACG line hard in the
urban markets this quarter: from Dr. Jays to Vault, nearly every
location we rolled through had ACG gear and kicks on blast, specially
those ACG boots.






Batman FS-001's on display.




Art of the Vault.


After much deliberation, Soyoon copped her first ever
pair of Nikes - a premium looking little pair of Women's
Dunk Lows. With perforated toebox material and
solid color blocking, these were a good call on her part.


Vault - where Harlem stays laced.


GANJI also copped a tee and some other
miscellaneous materials from Vault, leaving her toting
around a satisfyingly weighty bag.


After Vault, we headed down to the L.E.S. to hit up
Richie's on Delancey and also my SoHo regular come-
ups, Staple Design's The Reed Space (Chinese-run and
-owned baby!!).



After Reed Space, we dropped by 169 Bowery, site of Reebok's new pop-
up shop in support of their relaunch of the Reebok Pump. Despite our
crew's general distaste for Reebok, we thought we would give them a
chance to shine and win back our affections.








Despite the colorful interior design, the kicks were a generally
lackluster lot. Nice try, Reebok; maybe next time. But you only get
so many next times.

We finished up the tour at NoLiTa sneaker boutique
Premium Laces, where Dallas got footage interviewing
the manager and we got a chance to see some super-
exclusive kicks in person.


KAWS 1 World AF-1.

Despite their seemingly boundless selection, the prices at
Premium Laces were, fittingly, premium, and so we all
took a pass on that one.

Premium Laces, though, was only a block and a half
away from one of my other key SoHo retailers, the US
Uniqlo flagship store; bidding farewell to the rest of our
retinue, Soyoon and I headed there, where I copped a
down jacket and flannel on the low, in preparation for
the upcoming winter months.


Dinner on the train back. After napping an hour and a
half, we were back in New Haven, leaving only a quick
trek back to campus through the sudden downpour,
and the shuttle back up Prospect St. to my door.

Sunday11.16.2008



Having previously missed a celebration of Mr. Garrett Fiddler's born day,
Joe Oh and David Lee came through with the hand-decorated cake. A
small group of us made it over to BK after dinnertime to present him with
the token of our affections.




Saying some suitable words.




Praise team buddies.




Happy birthday.

Thursday11.20.2008

I saw an early-80s model RX-7 FB on the road and had to stop to
pay respect where respect is due.




For those of you who still don't know, I used to drive
- it's still with my parents, under new ownership - the
late-80s model of this car, the RX-7 FC3S S5.

Sneaker Fiends Unite! - The Hunt...

Dallas just upped a new guest blog from me, filling in the remains of this day:

SNEAKER FIENDS UNITE! - The Hunt...

(welcome and ayooo to any new visitors via D P dot comm)



"...Two weekends ago, I in the company of a few others of select character, hit up a Saturday morning road trip. The destination: Clinton Premium Outlets, on Exit 63 of Interstate 95. Other than a quick excursion into the ‘Lo store (more on that later), the objective was clear and distinct: Nike Factory Store...."

Extra flicks not used in the story:

Super clean.

Even the soles are stylin on em.




The Jurassic Parks aka Jay Peezees.




Pebbled premium leather.

Baptism / The Crib / Studying

4/27 - 5/8/2008

Sunday4.27.2008

_Anne's Baptism!_

At Trinity Baptist Church's Sunday morning service.












Another KAMA sticker. Dude is going all-campus, it's a good look.

Tuesday4.29.2008

Dallas dropped me a package [||]... dude knows how to keep it
moving, for real.


Check out the thoroughness: dude is a true geek down to the STAR
WARS stamps.


That he do.


Chyea!


Studying with Mo in the Golden Center. Place is the truth.

Friday5.2.2008


I told you, all-campus. Sign at the corner of Beinecke.

Tuesday5.6.2008


KA sticker, posted in front of Yale Law School.

_The Crib_

I took my suitemate Po-Han up to the top of Science Hill to check
out the house I'm living in for the next year... It's a good look.


Living room 1.


Living room 2.


Kitchen room 1; pantry.


Kitchen room 2; sink.

Kitchen room 2; oven.


Common bathroom 1.


Bedroom 1.


Bedroom 2.


Bedroom 2, angle 2; full-wall cork board.


Bedroom 3.


Bedroom 4.


Bedroom 4's bathroom.


Bedroom 4; full-size mirror.


Entry wallpaper... chyea!


Entryway chandelier.


The view up top... picturesque.

Thursday5.8.2008

_Philosophy Department Party_

My department had an end-of-the-year party, sending
off my advisor, Michael Weber, to his new position
in Michigan.


Shelly Kagan, talking about Professor Weber.

I should have gone to more of these. The food was good as a mother.