Dharni…

So logging into Youtube to get a tutorial to fix something on my car, I figured I’d get distracted for about 4 hours.     This little gem appeared on my homepage and I can’t help but be insanely impressed by this dude.  Check out his other vids he’s legit.

 

What is it like to be a dolphin?

Introducing the “Flyboard.” You need some serious cojones to strap into one of these (or at least a helmet). I cringed watching how close to the ocean floor these dudes were getting just waiting for one to swan dive skull first into the reef. Get me deeper water, some form of protection, a scuba mask, and I would have a ball with this thing. Pretty freaking cool.

 

NBA voiceover clips volume #5

In the wake of Melo-gate, I’ve spent an inconceivable amount of time youtubing clips of NBA fights, brawls, jawing matches and the always appreciated unintentional comedy of cameras recording what they’re not supposed to. A special shout out to David Stern for not going all Zuffa on us with the “©” and allowing us fans to access NBA clips (and rightfully so). Thanks to the related video sidebar, ITSREAL85 has just gained a loyal follower.

 

Miami zombie prank vol. too soon?

Going in I figured the whole act was staged. Took a few “victims” for me to realize that the widespread fear of zombies is alive and well in the hood. Gotta hand it to the media. No bullshit, they actually convinced Miami residents the face-eater earlier this Summer was undead. Plenty of notables in this 3:00 clip, but homeboy throwing a B-ball frozen rope at the actor before the court clears out takes the cake for me.

 

Heat Bank Heist x Legos

Don’t know how I stumbled upon this gem but I’m glad I did. Brilliant take on a classic scene. I was sold as soon as the Lego version of Bobby D walked through the door. Hilarious.

 

Air Jordan IV White/Cement vol. 2012

I’ve been going back and forth on these for the past two months and still haven’t made up my mind. Obviously, there is a lot of concern surrounding the price tag. The 1999 version of this sneaker retailed at $100.00. Fast forward about 13 years. Nike now plans to throw these on shelves as of February 18th and demand $160.00 per pair. Is inflation that much of a bitch? $160.00 for a sneaker with 1989 technology is asking a little much, no?

Secondly are the minor (major in my eyes) detail adjustments. As most people know, long gone are the days of the heralded “Nike Air” logo on the back of earlier Jordan retros. We’re now overwhelmed with jumpmen on the back of our favorite late 80’s-early 90’s J’s. I suppose I can live with the jumpman on the heel tab of the III, V, and VI. But for some reason it just doesn’t look right on the heel of any IV. Maybe it’s too bulky. Or it could be it suffers from the lack of the Air under it. I don’t know. All I do know is that it never belonged on the IV (or most other Jordans for that matter). 80’s babies agree with me.

Another obvious difference between the 1999 vs. 2012 is the shade of gray. The 2012 has more of a true cement color, which makes sense considering the name of the colorway. The 1999 had a “tech” gray which was on the lighter side. If I had to choose, I’d again have stick to the ’99 tech gray. My hope is that the above image and all other pre-release images are not how the final product will turn out. Wishful thinking I guess. These will be a game-time decision for me.

This will probably be one of the only pairs of kicks I cop all year if I decide to pull the trigger. I can’t handle the pace that Jordan Brand has been dictating for the past few years, releasing sneakers damn near every month for upwards of $160-200. The problem is the cycle will continue because Nike is making bank off these kids don’t hold back at all. I blame hip-hop 😛

 

Crush Em All Tour Review…

Just saw the Crush Em All Tour this past Monday at The Met in Pawtucket RI.  Co-headlined by Veil of Maya and After The Burial, the tour also included Misery Signals and Within the Ruins as well as Structures.  Originally I though Volumes was playing but they played select dates in order to join a different tour to promote their new album “VIA” which is sick.

I got there at the beginning of Within the Ruins set.  I saw them at Metal Fest this year, they are pretty solid. Singer seemed pissed the crowd was hardly moving but on a Monday at 7:30 in Pawtucket you aren’t gonna get much energy…  Kudos to him for trying though.

I was looking forward to Misery Signals the most as their album “Controller” is in steady rotation on my MP3 player.  They didn’t disappoint and the crowd was really into them; there were some die hard MS fans fucking shit up.  I figured they would be the best band of the night but I couldn’t even pick a favorite if I tried.

After The Burial really killed it.  Their lead guitarist Trent Hafdahl is a BEAST.  I haven’t been that impressed by a guitarist in a long time.  “Aspirations” is ridiculous live.  Both guitarists ripped on black-light 8 strings and the singer kept the energy super high.  He dedicated a song to his late mother which was so intense it gave me the chills.  The whole band was impressive.

Veil of Maya is a band I never really got into but live they were great, very technical. Sometimes it takes seeing a band live to get into them.

I would definitely HIGHLY recommend both this tour and seeing any of these bands perform outside the tour.
The Met is also a decent little venue.  Lots of pillars so I can’t see any great pits going on here (the circle pit attempt was interesting) but spacious with good sound and a nice deck for smokers.  Too bad Pawtucket is a fucking shithole!

 

Air Jordan V Black/Metallic Silver-Fire Red tomorrow 8.20.11

This sneaker/colorway combo is in my top 5 as far as Jordan brand kicks go. A lot of sentimental value here. I can still visualize them worn by the older kids on the first day of school back in 1990. Never actually owned a pair until many years later and instead settled for a pair of maroon VIs from JCPenney in ’91. I’m sure a lot of people have their recent retros in rotation or stored away carefully somewhere. For those that don’t, the “Metallic Vs” retro once again tomorrow for a hefty $150 + tax (no tax on clothes in MA :P). Good luck to everyone.

 

Kimbo makes quick work of James Wade in boxing debut [video]

Kimbo Slice is a bona fide hustler. Started out as a high school and college linebacker, but was denied by the Miami Dolphins in his only tryout with the team. Discovered that football wasn’t his calling, so he took to the street earning e-props as one of the best alleyway brawlers. Meanwhile, he was up to his elbows in ass as a bodyguard for the Reality Kings porno dudes. MMA promoters finally discovered him and paid Kimbo to put his street skills to the ultimate test (something the entire MMA world was calling for). He squeezed as much out of mixed martial arts as he possibly could and now he’ll probably live out the remainder of his athletic career beating up tomato cans while the world enjoys the show. That’s what I call the American Dream.

 

watched The Cove (2009) for the first time…

A couple months back I read a pretty amazing news story about a pod of dolphins in Ireland that unsuccessfully attempted to rescue a construction worker that fell into the ocean. It got me googling for related stories. Somehow I was directed to a review for the The Cove. It’s a couple years old but sounded really interesting. The documentary tells the story of Ric O’Barry and his dream team group of animal activists as they attempt to shed light on the sickening slaughter of dolphins that occurs every September in Taiji, Japan. I was blown away. It’s easily up there with Hoop Dreams as one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. Combine an animal-liberation message with a spy thriller and a touch of conspiracy and The Cove is the result.

 

A. Samuels is “Livin De Life”

55 year old casino executive Allen Samuels has one of the best mid life crisis’ going. Now he just needs to learn how to dress. I don’t know why but I actually enjoyed this tune. Dude is sending a positive message and gloating about shit he’s actually done. Good for him. Now stop it.

 

The scene from Concepts last week (Ray Allen XIII release video)…

Most people agree that this sneaker will go down as one of the worst releases in recent memory. People (specifically resellers) camping outside every Boston sneaker spot for close to a week made it next to impossible for diehard Celtics and Ray Allen fans alike to get a chance to own this limited piece of history for retail. Here we are about a week later and the only way you will be able to find them is dropping upwards of $1,000.00 on ebay. Nearly 6x their retail value. No thanks. Producing a few more pairs and spreading the release out a bit would have at least given us a better chance to scoop. Good looking out Nike/JB (sarcasm).

 

This dude has to be dead right? (warning: not for the squeamish)

1. KO’d by a swooping sucker punch
2. Swan dives face first into the concrete
3. Takes brutal soccer kick to the head
4. Followed by even worse head kick while downed

The KO punch could be perceived as fair since the fight was not 1-on-1 to begin with. The 3 kicks while he was unconscious were 100% cowardly however. Cool of his boys to stick around while he was getting bludgeoned.

 

Check out this gnarly dirt jump bail

I never knew BMX’ers could get the speed wobbles. This chick proved me wrong. Good thing all her friends were so concerned. Oh wait…

 

Paul Williams returns to the ring for 1st time since being brutalized by Sergio Martinez…

I’m not gonna lie. When I saw Paul Williams hit the deck after Martinez caught him with that monster overhand left, I wasn’t sure he’d ever be the same. It brought me back to when Antonio Tarver basically ended Roy Jones’ career back in 2004. It’s not easy for a boxer to recover from such a devastating knockout. Especially someone like Williams. He makes his living off of fearlessly pressuring his opponents. Now he knows he’s vulnerable to the big shot. Makes me wonder if he finally took the time in camp to work on using his height and reach to his advantage defensively speaking. I hope so. It pains me to think that a fighter with all the physical assets in the world would want to continue slugging it out with fighters when he has the tools to meticulously pick them apart. Tomorrow night boxing fans will learn a lot about what the future holds for Paul Williams when he takes on the undefeated Erislandy Lara on HBO.