5/2-5/8/22
I banged through 1,302 authentications last month…I’m cooked. This is going to be a semi-short newsletter (with like no pics) but I’m still going to hit the main points…
Releases this coming week:
Nike Presto ‘Hello Kitty’
If you’re new to sneakers (or don’t pay attention to the obscurities) you might not know that the original ‘Hello Kitty’ presto is like one of the most sought after OGs of all time. There was a story a few years ago about some dude finding a pair in a thrift shop and selling it for around $1800 if I recall. It’s cool to see they’re going to see a wider release.
Jordan 1 OG High ‘Stash’
I like the *base* shoe, and even the little *fanny pack* thing looks kind of cool. Am not totally sure what would go in there (other than the obvious), but I like concept shoes if only because they open peoples minds to what else can actually exist. Reminds me of that lady on Instagram who does all of the ridiculously functional clothing. I’m pretty burnt out on Jordan 1 high’s though.
Reebok Answer IV ‘Only the Strong Survive’
Reebok has such a rich history from like one specific period of time…it just kinda sucks that they just have to keep digging in that bag. I had this exact pair, wore them 4-5 years, and then I remember I selling them on eBay on a Sunday right before a road trip from Tahoe to Seattle…I packed them up and ended up dropping them off at some random post office in like Weed, California. ‘Only the Strong Survive’ was on sole/insole the OG Answer IV’s and I think it’s a reference to a tattoo that Iverson might or might not have had. I’m not totally sure (and I didn’t fact check), but this is easily in my top 3 Reebok basketball shoes.
Adidas x Jeremy Scott ‘Wings 4.0’
Again, concept shoes. I like JS concept shoes even if they’re absurd and should never be worn by anyone. I like that the wings are pretty much backwards on these. I once had the ‘ASAP Rocky’ pair (black Wings) and ended up selling them to a photographer in South Africa for some video shoots. I always wanted to put a map up (in my house) with a pin drop for every location I’ve ever shipped shoes to…
A few highlights of my ‘consumerism’ this past week…
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, the Otherside drop dominated all NFT news the whole week. Just a wild drop, wild release. I even dipped my head into some of those twitter spaces listing to the pre-drop discussions…cringeworthy. I was lucky enough to pull a couple.
I found another Roy Bomb that I pulled the trigger on immediately after seeing it. Like absurdly fast. Plain background, green sticker (10% royalty share). I’m going to be the number one holder of Roy bombs one day.
I pulled the trigger on yet another NFT redeemable for a good friend. God, I sure hope this project doesn’t turn out to be a rug.
Shoes: Dunks, Dunks, & more Dunks
I don’t know what happened this past week, but I ended up with NINE pairs of dunks in hand that I didn’t have the week before…and I only bought ONE. Shoutout to everyone sending me free stuff! If dunks are on their way out…this is my time to shine :)
Things I worked on this past week:
NBA One Day (cards): I got a chance to go over final review for the typesetting of the NBA One Day cards…this is a big task and if there are errors in the set, they almost exclusively fall on me. So I checked and double checked. Fingers crossed!
IG: I made a connection with a really dope artist who uses sneakers as his medium…we spoke a bit about a potential card collab and I have a few ideas that I haven’t yet vocalized. I’m gonna let it shake out a bit before throwing my wacky ideas out there…
I get caught up in the fervor of this post…I wasn’t really trippin until I noticed that like 1/4th of the comments were addressed towards me. So…it took me a while to write, but I came to a few of my own conclusions and posted them. Unfortunately, I don’t think that even 1/10th the amount saw my post as saw his post. Whatever, I’m gonna keep doing me.
Snowfall season 5
If you haven’t given ‘Snowfall’ a chance yet I’d recommend it. Season 4 got dark. Season 5 got REAL dark.
Ozark series finale (season 4 episode 8)
I didn’t know there were multiple episodes to the finale…I just thought it was one more episode. And I suppose I would have been ok if it just ended after that episode because it was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was a bit slow, but it really really drew me in. I’m super curious as to how they decided on this as the final form. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen an episode of anything that took one of the greatest rap albums of all time (‘Illmatic’) and weaved it in (as the soundtrack) so perfectly. AND it had a cameo by one of my favorite rappers. And that ‘I don’t sleep’ line? Gold. Even if you don’t care for the show, this was one hell of an episode.
Donda part 2
This is my favorite Kanye album since Yeezus. Pretty sure of it. I’ve listened to this one at least 50 times so far. And it STILL hasn’t been officially released outside of the stem player. And 50 spins for any album is a lot for a guy like me.
Craig Robinson on Smartless
Lots of funny stuff on this episode…I was cracking up in my car listening to the discussion about ‘Killing it’…when that Bateman guy gets to grilling someone he is just as good if not better than Arnett.
I read a couple of interesting articles this week:
and
Crypto is winning, and Bitcoin diehards are furious about it
But neither of them are really ‘news’ in the conventional sense.
I’d give the ‘story of the century’ crown to the Otherside drop. If you have no idea what it is…this article explains it all pretty well. It is WILD how big of an impact this group has had over the past year…several thousand lives changed for the better…
Have a good week!