Today I woke up and was focused and determined to find my reading glasses somewhere in the train wreck that is my room. Before I started I spent some time with my girlfriend Aimee, took an Adderall and began my search. I tore through my room looking high and low moving my desk, bed, drowers and everything else in my room as if i were practicing Feng Shui and then finally after about 10 minutes of searching I discovered a treasure buried deep in my closet...
Today, on a day which would have otherwise been considered normal and plain, we celebrate a great accomplishment. Not because I found my glasses but because I found something much greater, After much coordination of the thumbs and sore knuckles, yours truly, Jac has rediscovered AND conquered Mortal Kombat!
That game was ridiculously hard for how simple it seems it should have been. I don’t even remember being able to beat it as a child so today rings true as a great moment in history for me.
Friday night was spent at my work honoring the ancient tradition of “wiff-waff.” The sport in which two human beings stand across from each other in death defying competition, sending a small white sphere hurtling back and fourth over a four inch net, precariously bouncing back and fourth until one sad mortal makes a mistake and causes their existence to be meaningless by allowing the ball to fall to the ground. We came, we saw, we conquered. These are the moments that try men’s souls. Though we did not walk away victoriously, we walked away with our souls. The sport to which I am referring is Ping Pong. Game on.
The funny thing about friendly competition is that the smallest trash talk can change the game completely. We decided to play a few singles matches to 21 (win by 2) The winner of the match was rewarded with a free shot at the losers chest...heres a few of the good one.
Although we were all unsucessful at hitting each others chests, you can see we managed to hit other places of the body with ease. Check out the welt my buddy carl got on his dome. Ping Pong balls are surprisingly painful.
I am far from a sneaker head anymore. I couldn’t tell you anything about the latest Nike SB release or what Jordan Brand is doing these days to ruin their fine tradition but that doesn’t mean that I still don’t buy shoes when I see them. I somehow stumbled across these over the past few days and leave it to Vans to completely handle the job correctly, and what do you know...they made it in my favorite color. Well done.
In the recent world of music blasting fourth from the speakers of my room, good old fashioned boom bap Hip-Hop has been in high demand. Sometimes I get into these streaks in which I just need to hear the most loud, often belligerent, and straight up rap possible. For me, straight up rap doesn’t mean I turn to a Biggie CD or a classic Nas album, in this case it means I turn to newcomers to the genre, Dom Kennedy and Pac Div.
DOM KENNEDY
Dom Kennedy’s newest tape "From the Westside with Love" release just a few months ago and due to a great review from the brother Brandon(!) I picked up the tape for review. I could not be more happy in my decision. Kennedy has one of the most layed back, graceful voices to lace a rap track in years and whether or not he stuns you with his lyrics you will no doubt leave a listening session with at least four phrases to raise your ego in the face of any situation. Dom is the kind of rapper who effortlessly laces beats in a manner that makes listening to his tape an absolute pleasure, I’ve found the soundtrack to my summer.
Pac Div In continuing with the trend of tracks that can knock off the door off of the room I would be remiss not to bring up the goodness Pac Div (Pacific Division) have been pushing out lately. When the Pac Div first released I was immediately a fan. This brand is about enjoying the good times given, and Pac Div make the perfect soundtrack to that lifestyle. With that being said, there were doubts initially as to how Pac Div would survive in the genre, and as to their ability to continue to produce. Well, their latest material should have every doubter silenced. Not only have they managed to retain their vibrancy and childlike playfulness while gracing the beat, they have evolved their style into a complex blend of beat riding euphoria that will have you doing the “Mayor” across the dance floor all over again.
There are certain days in the Summer when you simply are not allowed to have plans. You roll out of bed sometime around 11:48 to the sound of your cell phone ringing underneath your pillow. You probably fell asleep in the same clothes that you were wearing last night, and most likely you were planning on sleeping off whatever night time antics occurred the previous evening. The cell phone has very different plans however, and is absolutely relentless in requesting that you open your eyes.
When you finally get around to finding the phone and picking up the call, without doubt it is one of your close friends who, unlike you, is already wide awake and in front of your house to pick you up to head down to the beach for the rest of the day. Because it is far too early in the morning to formulate any sort of effective argument as to why you can’t go you roll out of bed, you throw some water on the face, bruth your teeth and proceed with going downstairs, grabbing a poptart, throwing on your summer shoes and jumping into the car.
The reason for my narrative (Besides the fact that I just like writing a whole bunch with a generally uneeded amount of extravagance and fluff.) is to speak on the idea of the “summer shoe.”
When Summer comes around there quite simply isn’t time to be sorting through a box of sneakers trying to find the perfect SB or latest Jordan offering. When it comes to the Summer schedule there has to be a shoe that gets worn absolutely every single day regardless of the destinanation and without a second thought. The shoes will usually start off the Summer in great condition: brilliant color, fresh laces. Than by the end of the season they will most likely be fully destroyed with holes, rips, tears, stains, and exsisting in a completely different color than the one they started as. It’s all part of the beautiful process that only comes about in Summer.
I ordered a fresh pair of Vans Chukka Del Barco's a few weeks back and they finally made it through the eBay commute and to my front door. There they sit primed and clean for the moment, completely unaware the amount of pavement, skateboard grip tape, grass, sand, and utter life that they are about to come into contact with over the next couple months.
i'll leave you with a classic to get your summer started. stay safe people.
