Timms spring/summer 2011

It seems that in every Timberland Boot Company collection, there's at least one boot I really dig. This time round, it's this snazzy pair of lace-ups which has caught my eye.

Via Hypebeast

Headline of the week: Tired Gay succumbs ...

While not quite the stone-cold classic that is legendary cricket commentary gaffe 'the bowler's Holding the batsmen's Willey,' recent Reuters headline 'Tired Gay succumbs to Dix in 200 meters' has a certain ring to it.
Photo credit: Reuters/Steve Dykes

Via Al Shux

POPPIN' - Cork helmets

I love this cork-covered bicycle helmet I just peeped over @ style-setting blog Selectism. It's designed by a dude called Kevin Goupil. While I severely doubt it offers much in the way of real bonce protection it is quite a looker. The design is based on old French army helmets - no great surprise there given it has an odeur of WWI trench chic.
It turns out Gallic fash hse Lacoste have also produced a lovely cork helmet. This one is designed by Kyle J. Ferguson with eco-credentials firmly in mind ...
Comprising sustainable materials like organic wool, thermoformed bio-plastic, low-density cork and soy-based foam, Ferguson's helmet is, in his own words, "well-suited to leisurely rides around town, running errands, or commuting."
I (and prob Geoff Boycott too) particularly like the herringbone tweed covering.

Photo credit: Kyle Ferguson

War on Terror update ... duck, the Taliban are training monkeys!

Truth be told, my Taiwanese is a little rusty (recently I've been concentrating on getting my cello grade 8) but it seems to me that the Taliban are training monkeys (see below vid). With this is mind I do not leave the house without a six-pack of 'distraction' bananas. Stay safe readers

Via The Huffington Post

Second has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with First Loser.

There is a crackpot theory doing the rounds that Switzerland are the true World Cup champions because they were the only team to beat Spain in South Efrica. It disregards the fact that the Swiss were pants for the rest of the tournament and failed to even get out of their group.
By somewhat similar (twisted) logic, had Holland actually won the World Cup, the whole country would have melted down into one massive skunk-fuelled space rocket of orange gouda, departed earth and landed on a planet where even the libraries bang out euphoric, uplifting dance music at vol 10. I mean check out how pumped they are to lose the final ...

One again, this comes courtesy of ArchBlog editorial assistant Stu Forsyth

Sewer Abuse > 'Fatbergs'

Hate your lousy job? Wish you were outside in the park working on your man tan? Wish your office had more windows?
(Dude), it could be worse. So much worse.
Spare a thought for Mr Danny Brackley, head sewer flusher for Thames Water who is heading up an intensive 2-month sewer clean-up operation under Leicester Square where there IS ENOUGH LARD TO FILL NINE DOUBLE-DECKER BUSES according to Thames Water. According to a TW release (yup, even sewer sweeps have hard-working PR arms these days), "the putrid fat build-up is the result of years of 'sewer abuse'" ie when anyone anywhere puts anything other than loo roll, poo or water down and around the bend.
Anyway, the subterrainian sitch has got so damn critical that unless the hardy flushers roll up their sleeves, all the Italian tourists, one-legged pigeons and cartoonists (who make Leicester Square so amazing to visit) will be drowning in 'upsurge' (my coining).
Back to the gargantuan task facing the flushers ... once they've smashed down the FOUR-FOOT WALL OF SOLID FAT that blocks the entrance, they'll be taking powerful jets to hulking fatbergs of HARD FAT THAT HAS SET AND GONE OFF. Per Brackley (see vid below), this fat can be so hard it breaks shovels when attacked.
The moral of this story; next time you're in the loo of one of those many overpriced eateries in Chinatown think before you vom up your Peking duck and flush it down with a few earbuds. Think of Brackley and his team of flushers.

ps I wanna go down there with Werner Herzog and make the most hardcore arthouse film ever seen.

Decaf for Mel!

I'm not one to comment on other people's relationships but I do feel Mel Gibson has one or two 'issues' to work through with his (ex?) missus Oksana.
While it may very well be very true that he "bends over with his balls in a knot" to make their relationship work, I'm unconvinced that he's being entirely reasonable when he SCREAMS "you have no soul" and threatens to put the "cunt" is a "rose garden".
As we all know, arguments can erupt over the smallest things. In this case, Oksana seems to have 'upset' Mel by sleeping through their shared appointment in the jacuzzi. Clearly quite a transgression in Tinseltown.

Via Stu Forsyth

40 lung busters a day!

I'm aware the Indonesian smoking baby has been doing the rounds on the net for a few weeks but I've only just checked it out properly. You could say I'm picking up fag ends by posting this vid now. Whatever - ArchBlog readers need to see this. Make sure you watch through to 3 min, 18 secs to see how the cheeky chappy lugs round his fags in his wifebeater ...

Via CBS

Tasty Kicks: Nike Air Royalty Macaroon

It's less and less that I see new Nikes that I really like the look of. But I have to give it up for the Nike Air Royalty Macaroons which recently dropped @ Offspring on Neal Street. They really do look like (per the hype blurb) 'a batch of french macaroons fresh from the oven of a Parisien bakery'.
They make me wanna go straight to Gallic macaroon overlord Laduree (Burlington Arcade) and nail a few handfuls of their outrageously delicious pistachio-flavoured 'roonies.
Photo credit (Nike shot): Edward Chiu (via Hypebeast)

Gaza's network of tunnels

The blockade of the Gaza strip by Israel is a pretty emotive subject. What one might call a political hot potato. Its legality is endlessley debated.
What doesn't get much of a mention is the plight of the Stakhanovite Palestinian donkeys who work underground in the 1000 14km-long tunnels which run below the border with Egypt. These trusty workhorses lug essential supplies into Gaza every day thereby keeping Gaza's 1.5 million people alive. I think there should be statues to honor these beasts who risk hoof and hind daily to feed the people.
Check out this Economist vid showcasing the amazing work of Belgium photographer Bruno Stevens

UN peace-keeper chic

For some time now I've been on the look-out for a new bicycle helmet. Until recently I'd been struggling to find what I want; something hopelessly dorky and vaguely reminiscent of what a UN peacekeeper might wear.
At long last, my search is over. I am the proud owner of a Bern Watts lid which I'm so besotted by/with I find myself wearing indoors (earthquakes can strike at any moment).
It's clunky & not very breathable but still right up my strasse. I opted for the gunmetal grey color (below) but it's also great in white for the full-on Italian cop look. I've no idea if any of my readers are skaters/snowboarders (hands up!) but I'm told it's also ideal for those rad pursuits.

Available from Evans Bicycles in Chiswick as of last week

Play soccer: Go to hell

Not everyone in the U.S. is charmed by the World Cup, which is currently unfolding in South Africa. Check out what this red-state redneck thinks of the beautiful game.
He warms up by reminding us that it's no coincidence that soccer, socialism, sodomy and satanism all kick off with a 's' (spooky). Other highlights from this mad rant are his theory that Barack 'Osama Homo Bin Laden' wants the entire population not to be able to use their arms (like in soccer), before warning that when the UN forces 'come marching with their jackboots' to invade America (!) "you're just gonna have to stand there armless watching America die in front of you."
There's a distinct possibility that this is a parody (I mean he's called Billy Bob and he's wearing a John Deere trucker hat) but you never know ...

Via Huffington Post

TUNED IN! Lil Ayman

Living in Shepherd's Bush, I feel great affinity to most things Arab. While moutabal remains my firm favourite Arabian delight, I'm seriously digging this Arab hip-hop track I was turned on to via Cassette Playa's twitter. It's delightfully sleepy and ideal listening for a sunny day like today.

Via Cassette Playa

GIMME: Mark McNairy New Amsterdam spring/summer collection

Given I'm a sucker for coloured soles, I love love love pretty much all these Mark McNairy wheels.

Via Hypebeast

Travelling is an art

Every person I've ever met who travels loads takes time to bore me with their particular tricks of the trade. A few things always come up. Fresh fruit in tupperware. Evian spray. And YOUR MOST COMFORTABLE CLOTHES. It's a good point; only an amateur would wear ball-hugging skinny jeans rather than slouchy (horrible word) trackie bums.

But some are so obsessed with their image that they disobey rule number 1. That's why they fall flat on their face in airports.

Photo credit: Russell Clisby