These landed on my proverbial desk while I was gone over the summer courtesy of Timberland Abington and Sky of Epiphany. Timberland Abington was probably among the most refreshing concepts from a large brand that was probably hitting a bit of stagnation. Aside from these shoes, they did a great job diversifying their portfolio with lifestyle products that weren’t ugly dress sneaker joints or of course some construction boot derivative.

The Rugged Handsewn shoe came packaged with a nice canvas sling bag and polar fleece blanket(unseen, it was tough to throw it in the frame). Maybe I’m thinking too much but the polar fleece while I’m sure will be supremely warm, didn’t really fit with the heritage/vintage/”whatever you want to call it” theme. I really like the whole Vibram Christy outsole on anything upper… or I did. Not that I’m 100% on the elitist tip, it’s more the desensitization effect. It simple isn’t as exciting or cool as the first batch. Of course not to necessarily fault Timberland Abington, they have been doing a white wedge outsole since the subrand’s onset. There have been some good versions along the way involving a nice robust, off-white outsole. Starting with the eYe JUNYA WATANABE COMME des GARCONS joints last year and the subsequent wave of Tricker’s customs, but now anyone and everybody is doing it. Nothing is immune to the Vibram Christy outsole these days. But I must stay true to a pair of Danner Japan Mountain Light IIs I have, still my favorite boots of all time.

Thanks a lot to Sky and co., the whole package is pretty useful and the bag is good for lugging random stuff around. I must admit the chunkier boat shoe is tougher to pull off in my eyes… oh wait it’s just my pinner calves (I swear it’s cause I have a high calve insertion point! haha).

-Eugene

A lot of interesting stuff going on these days. From an economic and sociological standpoint, China is a continued area of fascination. The country does some things right yet the by-products are difficult to control and I’m hoping it doesn’t spiral out of control.

-Eugene

Reference
SSS – : Denotes a short article.
***: Denotes an article I found particularly interesting
Picture: self-explanatory
Video: self-explanatory

Feel free to comment below and reference the link #.

An archive of previous Link Dump’s can be seen here.

*If you’re always on the go, I’m a huge advocate for Instapaper. Basically you can bookmark links to read on your mobile device later and it can strip away all the unnecessary imagery to load more quickly.
**If you encounter a login page for a NY Times article (yes there are quite a few of them…), I highly suggest signing up for a free account or else use this dummy one I set up.

Login: tempaccountNYT
Password: tempaccountNYT

#1. Is Search Now A Strategic Industry in China?
If you look at China’s big industries, the trend has been to ensure three different entities exist. This can be seen over airlines and mobile communications. With the China government recently announcing that it will create its own search engine, does that mean that this is something of importance to the government. One would definitely think so even more so than air travel perhaps.

#2. ***Inside the Knockoff-Tennis-Shoe Factory
A very thorough look into factories that produce fake footwear. Yes it’s true replicating footwear has become an art for Mainlanders.

#3. China’s Growth Leads to Problems Down the Road
You heard about that 9-10 traffic jam in China? There are more on the way as infrastructure simply can’t keep up.

#4. ***China Passes Japan as Second-Largest Economy
A sobering look into the situation at end. While China is the second largest economy in the world, there is still room for much growth. As it stands, the US’s per capita GDP trounces China’s by a long shot, however going forward a government that calls all the shots make for some tidy decision making.

#5. Tensions Over Chinese Mining Venture in Peru
Sketchy shit going on in South America… on the surface it appears as though China is making a sincere effort to invest in the country’s infrastructure.

#6. ***Chinese Hospitals Are Battlegrounds of Discontent
Sad stories of how doctors can lose their life after being thrusted onto the scene without the proper education and training.

China Corner/

#7. Vitamin D Found to Influence Over 200 Genes, Highlighting Links to Disease | Vitamin D May Treat or Prevent Allergy to Common Mold
Vitamin D is the big deal of 2010 and 2011.

#8. The Secret Histories of Those @#$%ing Computer Symbols
Where did signs such as play, pause, on/off originate from?

#9. New Link Found Between Inflammation and Cancer
I thought these two were a given? I guess not but yeh… inflammation such as that cause by insulin can’t be healthy.

#10. Behaviors and Attitudes Towards Oral Sex are Changing, Study Shows
Ya don’t say…

#11. ***Comparison of Harvard Study Results with ChiRunning
Some interesting but simple mathematics regarding ground force based on landing zones on your forefoot, midfoot and heel when running.

#12. Bootcamp Palestine: The Manmaking Machine
How to build a tough motherfucker. No this has nothing to do with inept Filipino special forces.

#13. The Ugliest Catch
Ugly fish that are now becoming the new sport… and some don’t taste half bad.

#14.The Seven Principles and You
Seven different training principles. I don’t think any particular one is heads above the rest, but a combination is obviously the key.

#15. ***Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Much Needed Downtime | Outdoors and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain
I’ve always thought about what’s beneficial that comes from unwinding and unplugging. I definitely relate to some of the people in the articles that state that being on their phone was simply a time killer but at the root of it, new thoughts and ideas don’t have the ability to develop when you are continually being electronically stimulated.

#17. Watermelons Get Small
The big ass watermelons as we know it are being phased out in favor of small, seedless versions.

#18. ***Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?”: America’s Misguided culture of overwork
Germans work less and are more efficient… resulting in more freetime. Yes freetime makes Jack a happy boy. So what is it about American culture that results in extra, unproductive and unfufilling workhours?

#19. The Most Isolated Man on the Planet
A man in Brazil roams in a 31-square mile radius and the Brazilian government is out to protect him from any human contact. A pretty noble act given what one could do with the space he occupies.

#20. Toronto’s Backyard Axe Throwing League
Forget beersbee, throwing axes at a target is the new extreme backyard sport.

#21. The Rise and Fall of American Apparel
In one corner, you hate American Apparel for what it represents, that is… a super creepy/perverted owner. However on the other hand Dov Charney is pretty legit for apparently pushing domestic production (although they hire illegal immigrants) and offering superior working conditions in the production industry. Oh if you didn’t hear, AA isn’t in the best financial health.

#22. Does Kanye’s Twitter Mark the Death of Music Magazines?
Kanye doesn’t like giving interviews cause he gets misquoted, making Twitter his perfect platform. Tons of readers and everything he says, he means it.

#23. Grapefruit’s Bitter Taste Holds a Sweet Promise for Diabetes Research
I wonder if the bitter-compound has something in relation to that seen in bitter melon.

#24. ***Japanese Sushi Students Aim for a Job Overseas
Once an art, sushi probably cans till be considered an art form. However, it has just been fast-tracked. It’s not about 10 years now, it’s about only about a couple. However the definition of sushi will probably change as it experiences an injection of global/regional flavor.

#25. Forget Ads in Books, Lit-Lovers Face An Even More Hideous Prospect
Don’t think it’s going to happen? Ads in my e-reader. The writer brings up a good point, books like movies are things you get very much into and readers won’t like to get interuppted in the middle of their erotic thriller with a full-screen ad.

Here’s a bunch of images that I wanted to share before I archived these photos onto my external harddrive. The last of Canada as I like to say. Some random shots in Calgary (in reality only the one shot of Calgary’s greatest attraction………..), some shots of Invermere and a handful from around Vancouver. The Pride Festival took place while I was in Vancouver and I decided to not make a late entry as a participant……… haha. But regardless some really vibrant personalities out there. Conservatism and homosexuality don’t go hand-in-hand so you get some interesting characters for sure.

-Eugene

My bike literally broke in half off that little ledge behind you… stupid rental. I had to carry it like 10 minutes to Granville Island.

The World Cup concluded a few weeks ago but thanks to my boy Frank Liew and his Qubic crew down in New Zealand, he made sure to rally the troops with the involvement of the Kiwis (or Bulldogs in this case) during World Cup 2010. Qubic did things up big with a big event (seen here and a video seen here) and a commemorative dogtag. At the end of the day, New Zealand came away undefeated, but was still stuck in the first round. Regardless New Zealand made their mark. The logo was pretty solid and the custom laser tagging on the back was a nice, exclusive touch.

So when does Canada go to the World Cup?

-Eugene

Been almost a 3 week hiatus, but here you go. I sort of delayed getting back into this but I couldn’t help but clean my plate. Either my filtering has gotten better or less topics are of interest these days, 3 weeks of reading could only muster 27 links.

-Eugene

Reference
SSS – : Denotes a short article.
***: Denotes an article I found particularly interesting
Picture: self-explanatory
Video: self-explanatory

Feel free to comment below and reference the link #.

An archive of previous Link Dump’s can be seen here.

*If you’re always on the go, I’m a huge advocate for Instapaper. Basically you can bookmark links to read on your mobile device later and it can strip away all the unnecessary imagery to load more quickly.
**If you encounter a login page for a NY Times article (yes there are quite a few of them…), I highly suggest signing up for a free account or else use this dummy one I set up.

Login: tempaccountNYT
Password: tempaccountNYT

China Corner
#1. Slow Boat to China = Big Fuel Savings | Slow Ships Cut Greenhouse Emissions
This is sort of not really 100% relevant to China, but I guess a lot of shipments are from China… Anyways not everything needs to be shipped ASAP… slowing boats just means more preparation is necsesary, but it’s a win-win.

#2. ***Is the era of cheap Chinese labour over?
Super fascinating read. I’ve always thought that China’s latest uprising in terms of labour wages would mean the end of an era, but more so for the cheap goods sector with low margins. I think this sort of reinforces that, but relative to the rest of the production world, China workers STILL make peanuts.

China Corner/

Pictures

#3. David Takashi Favrod “Gaijin” Series
A series of images depicting Japanese childhood memories, but in Switzerland.

#4. ***The Rolling Stones’ Other Mick: Mick Taylor’s Substance Over Style
Deemed not cool enough for The Rolling Stones, Mick Taylor never lasted… but he was a mean guitar player apparently.

#5. Luke Ramsey + John Holinty Mural in Edmonton
It’s quite Os Gemeos-esque but gotta rep the home town.

/Pictures

#6. The Big Lies People Tell in Online Dating
Among the deception: height, how much money you make and posting up old ass photos.

#7. DETAILS: Everything You Think You Know About Mike Tyson Is Wrong
This popped up awhile ago and if you haven’t read it, DO IT NOW. Tyson seems to have a roller-coaster ride of a relationship with the public: love —> hate —> love?

#8. Logic Does Not Apply Part 2: Breakfast
More intermittent fasting support and why breakfast ISN’T the most important meal of the day.

#9. The Creativity Crisis
If the rest of the world looks to maintain a certain intangible edge over China, I still think creativity is their calling and they should pay close attention to its nurturing and development.

#10. Background Music Can Impair Performance
I hate listening to music when I work so I guess I’m better off.

#11. Phys Ed: Does Lucky Underwear Improve Athletic Performance
Maybe I should make up some lucky charm for increased confidence.

#12. Higher Education Is Overrated; Skills Aren’t
I wonder what else could I do outside of being a managing editor. I scour job ads for fun and while I realize I don’t have the necessary scholastic qualifications, I think I definitely possess the skill set. I think the world has entered a time of rethinking. Decisions made by “higher education” people predominately in the financial sector didn’t turn out so rosy.

#13. Exercise and Caloric Restriction Rejuvenates Synapses in Lab Mice
Fat gluttons will die first obviously.

#14.Speed Demons: The Domination of Sports by Blacks
A very scientific breakdown of why blacks do in fact dominate professional sports.

#15. You Scream, I Scream… at the Price of Ice Cream
When you eat that cheap (but still delicious) ice cream, know that it’s made from the dregs of the dairy industry. But $5+ for an ice cream cone is pretty expensive as well.

#16. Re-engineering the fundamental design of the gas and brake pedal into 1
Since all that pedal-related Toyota scandals, a Japanese design that has been around for awhile gains traction in re-inventing the way we interact with our automobiles.

#17. The World’s Biggest 40oz Collection

#18. What You Say About Others Says a Lot About You, Research Shows
Don’t talk shit people!

#19. Do Typefaces Really Matter?
I think typeface is highly overlooked, nobody thinks about the certain response elicited by a font style.

#20. Paper vs. Pixel – When Writing About Magazines Goes Bad
My buddy Gary once again provides a well-thought approach to his favorite magazines as well as the debate of paper vs. digital.

#22. The changing social landscape of getting by on less and being happy about it
More and more people are trying to revert to a simpler lifestyle.

#23. The Essence Controversy Is More Than Skin-Deep
The black female-centric Essence magazine recently hired a non-black chief editor, aside from the obvious skin color issue, what other problems surround the choice?

#24. Black Jews Will Save the World
In Israel lay a small community of black Jews who practice their own form of modified Judaism.

#25. Interval Training Doesn’t Work
I was on the HIIT bandwagon for awhile, while I’m not totally off, it’s perceived strengths get a thorough bashing here.

#26. Inside Apple’s Antenna Design and Test Labs
They forgot the testing function “hold iPhone 4 here”.

It’s been a minute since I last posted anything. As I spent the last few weeks in Canada, updating this site become more of an after-thought. Now that I’m back in Hong Kong, the hot and humid weather may very well keep my standing behind this desk. A grip of packages awaited me, perhaps none of them were as highly anticipated as this one. Once again, my boy Tim Yu gave me a great opportunity to test out the latest subline of Nike Football boots dubbed the Elite Series. Essentially, they are somewhere along the lines of a top of the line performance boot under commercial availability. That’s not to say many of the offerings you see out there now aren’t top of the line, but the Elite Series looks to take things to the next level mainly with its re-engineered boots and price tags that have never been seen for such a widely distributed line. Lightweight is the key characteristic throughout the line. I won’t bore you with the details, many of which can be seen over at the Hypebeast article I wrote.

Colorways are probably the most dominant aspect of this shoe. None of the models are new so no surprises there. Each have enjoyed their own respective inline releases. The colorway in which the Elite Series was launched took place on the world’s second greatest footballing stage, I say second cause I think Champions League football is a bigger deal… monetarily and skill wise, but that’s up for debate. The colroway is absolutely ridiculous. The pairing of the neon orange and metallic-esque faint purple was an instant favorite for me and personally the follow-up Elite Series colors have been pretty unremarkable in my eyes. From a scientific standpoint, the colorway is allegedly created in a way so that it is instantly recognizable which is good and all, but what if a good chunk of the opposition are wearing these boots as well?

A pair of CTR360 Maestris and Mercurial Vapor Superfly II WCs were both included in my box. I’m more than familiar with the CTR360 Maestris as they’ve been my boot of choice for most of the latter half of last season. However, the last two pairs I had were probably sized too small but these will probably work out just fine with the .5 size increase. The Mercurial Vapor Superfly II is an interesting boot, especially with the dynamic front studs which can instantaneously sense the need for grip and determine the adequate stud length. Unfortunately, they fit pretty small and I can barely cram my foot in. I’ve never really worn a “speed” boot, so I guess I’ll just have to wait. I must admit, the adiZero looks real cool as well and I’ve heard good reviews.

Anyways, there’s more pictures than anything here… I’ll give the CTR360s a spin on Wednesday. I’ve previously had good things to say about my regular CTR360s, but we’ll see how the new Elite Series versions go given that the fit should in fact be better.

-Eugene

The boot bag is quite nice I must say.

I’ve been MIA with these over the last little while. Went to Berlin for Bread & Butter so that sort of threw a kink in things. So here you go, perhaps the most picture-intensive Link Dump yet. I’ll post some pictures of the Berlin trip in the next little bit here.

-Eugene

Reference
SSS – : Denotes a short article.
***: Denotes an article I found particularly interesting
Picture: self-explanatory
Video: self-explanatory

Feel free to comment below and reference the link #.

An archive of previous Link Dump’s can be seen here.

*If you’re always on the go, I’m a huge advocate for Instapaper. Basically you can bookmark links to read on your mobile device later and it can strip away all the unnecessary imagery to load more quickly.
**If you encounter a login page for a NY Times article (yes there are quite a few of them…), I highly suggest signing up for a free account or else use this dummy one I set up.

Login: tempaccountNYT
Password: tempaccountNYT

China Corner

#1. China Fears Consumer Impact on Global Warming
Despite China’s admirable efforts (yes I am praising China) of investing in greener fuel options, demand simply can’t keep up at the current pace.

#2. SSS – Spending for Stability in China’s Far West
Socioeconomic stability has been shambles in China the last few months, with more troubles on the way. The Western parts of China are especially susceptible to unrest due to the fact that there is a division of ethnicities including the involvement of Tibet.

#3. ***Chinese Factories Now Compete to Woo Laborers
Once having the upper-hand, factories now have to change up their gameplan and tactics to bring in new workers who once were at the mercy of their employers.
China Corner/

Pictures

#4. The Big Picture: Summer is Here
There hasn’t been much summer in Alberta.

#5. ***The Big Picture: 2010 World Cup Comes to a Close

#6. The Big Picture: The Festival of San Fermin, 2010
(Running of the Bulls in Spain) Interesting comments at the bottom. At what point do we respect the customs of others that don’t fall in-line with our own?

#7. SSS – Stephanie Casper: Knitted Meat
Crochet “meats” your favorite animal goods.

#8. treehotel
A glorified but still very cool treehouse.

#9. SSS – The 1940s TVA in Color
What’s it like black & white blue-collar photos are injected with color… it looks no different than those on the workwear tip haha.

#10. SSS – Carlos Enriquez-Gonzalez Hermaphrodite Monster
Self-explanatory

#11. SSS – Jello Cup, For Real
An edible cup that serves to not only hold the contents of your beverage but also provides a delicious treat.

/Pictures

#12. ******Taking the Mystery Out of Web Anonymity
This has long been the problem of the web. Anybody can serve as anybody creating a number of problems. You see it all the time in Hypebeast comments, people “hiding behind their computer”… it’s gone on too long and I think there has to be some sort of accountability for both security and general advancement of the Internet.

#14.Powerlifting for Sport: Why Your Athletes Should Be Doing It
When is moving heavy weight not fun too?

#15. ***For Speediest Athletes, It’s All in the Center of Gravity
Forget the “extra muscle in the calve” fallacy involving blacks. Apparently Asians would be great swimmers… if they were taller.

#16. How Microbes Defend and Define Us
I swear 2009/2010 has had non-stop talk about the role bacteria plays in our lives. It seems like good health comes down to a proper interaction of bacteria.

#17. Defiantly, Panasonic Pushes a Vast Catalog
Some brands have a product list you can count on one hand, others not so much and Panasonic is one of them. For them, it’s about hitting markets… from every direction while trying to do so without losing focus.

#18. SSS – The Man Who Invented the Vuvuzela
The man behind the most loathed piece of plastic ever shares his happiness with the world embracing the Vuvuzela in some form or another… he ain’t mad he’s still poor as he raises 9 kids haha.

#19. ***The High Cost of Sporting Glory
The World Cup, the Olympics, all events that really bring into question the economic costs of holding these massive sporting events. But at the end of the day, maybe making money ISN’T at the top of the list so much as having the honor of being associated with a World Cup or hosting an Olympic.

#20. Kitchen Myths
Common kitchen tips which really serve no (or a different) purpose.

#21. SSS – Phys Ed: The Men Who Stare At Screens
I’ve seen this article re-posted quite a few times and it talks about how us as a society sit too much for our own good and will pay for it with poor health. It also mentions that exercise can’t alleviate these problems that we’ve created for ourselves. Now, I think that the exercise aspect CAN alleviate health problems associated with sitting too long however, it comes down to intensity. I’m pretty confident than while those in the study mentioned they had gone to the gym or exercised, the intensity is probably laughable. If you actually push yourself in the gym, I can see the effects become evident… that means not just going for a walk on the treadmill @ 0% incline while reading a magazine.

#22. Cheating is Institutionalized
I’ll admit, cheating rarely if ever came across my mind during school. However, it seems as though many of my peers would systematically engage in cheating which is rather astonishing. I guess for me aside from being a loser and a nerd for not trying to get a leg-up, I can’t really explain why people haven’t been convinced that cheating is bad.

#23. Cathay Pacific Bringing 50mbps, Wifi, Live TV and in-flight calling
I am flying Cathay from now on!

#24. ***Video: The evolution of humans thanks to high-fat diets
I’ve never been one to shy away from high-fat diets and this video does a good job of discussing the evolution of man and the rest of the animal world while practicing high-fat diets.

#25. ***Why I Turned in my iPhone and Went Android
I’m telling you people, Android will crap all over the iPhone platform soon enough. (Not talking so much hardware vs. hardware, but platform vs. platform)

A particularly bad PR experience awhile back prompted me to write this. Now if you work in the PR industry, don’t necessarily be offended cause I’m far from singling you out, I’m just out to represent the perspective from somebody from the “other side”. Over the last 3 years or so, I’ve had more than my fair share of people hitting me up in regards to whatever new product/event have you. It’s been an ongoing analysis as to what are the key elements to an efficient way to communicate what you’re peddling for your own brand/client. The Internet is still a phenomenon that some people still don’t grasp or understand, and I don’t blame them. The platform is so complex that previous approaches and standards just don’t carry-over. While it’s hard to teach a dog new tricks, just like anything you do, continued and sustained success comes when one is at least be receptive to the changing landscape. That means trying to learn something new since previous ways of the past which may have worked in PR 1.0 and the print world simply don’t cut it. The initial drafts of this definitely came across as ranty and straight-up hating and maybe it still does… maybe I should of left it the original way for comedic value but I’ve toned it down a bit.

Subject
You’d think this one is self-explanatory, a subject refers to the focus of the email. So in saying so, “hey” or “what up” doesn’t constitute proper use of the subject field.

The Blind Carbon Copy and the follow-up Carbon Copy
Please don’t make my email in plain view to somebody I don’t want seeing it. Mind you it’s not hard to find my email, but I get enough senseless crap for mixtapes as is.

Proper Addressing
I’ll be honest, I feel a lot more guilty when I get an email that addresses me by name and I don’t reply. Don’t send some generic introduction, even going a little bit further and addressing by first name goes a long way. It’s just anytime you virtually open your mouth on the internet, if you utilize names, people take you more seriously and perhaps even a bit guilty to hastily delete.

Imagery
Would you send a print magazine a 200 px wide image? No? So don’t send me some tiny ass images that will look pixelated and terrible if I up-size to a larger but still very much reasonable 620 pixel width. But ideally, if you go with sending something 1200 pixel wide it is never a bad thing since there’s room for cropping and what not. Please don’t give me some bullshit like “I don’t want to overload your server” so I sent you these 200 px wide images. Also, why bother asking people to email back if they need larger imagery? Most email clients allow you to receive relatively large files. Gmail which most people use allows for up to 25 MB. Do everybody a favor, re-size your images to 1200 px wide, Save As Web in Photoshop @ 100 and things will be much more efficient.

Copy/Press Release
Don’t like it when people mis-interpret or mis-appropriate your product? Well offer some basis to what the product represents and what it’s all about. Even if the “blogger” you are sending the information to is super lazy, at least the press release they copy and paste will have all the pertinent information regarding the product’s description.

Release Date/Price/Retail Location
How are people supposed to cop your shit if you don’t provide the bare necessities?

Name Your Files Properly
Nothing irks me more than this. All of a sudden if I have a mulitude of email attachement downloads for the day on my desktop, the last thing I want to do is have to click “untitled-2.jpg” to see what the file is all about. Is it that hard to have a consistent naming to all the files? Sorry, but “Spring Collection” or generic “Press Release” folder means jack shit to me as well… how about BRAND – SEASON – YEAR. If I have to go the extra step of having to un-zip something to see what’s inside, yet more time wasted.

PREVIEWS
Ok this one is a selfish request… it helps me make the decision of deleting your email that much quicker. That is when you send an email, have a teaser picture at the top so that people know exactly what you’re presenting. This way I don’t have to go through all the previous crap to know that I should have deleted your email from the get-go. Or on the upside, if I know exactly what I’m dealing with, I’ll know whether it’s of importance to post up right away… or else risk having me forget about it and then see it the next day where it’s probably “dated” news (yes unfortunately 24 hours does make a difference).

It bothers me when I make simple suggestions to these PR people to facilitate the process. I’m often on a 6 to 12 hour time zone difference so by the time I get your email and have to ask for different images etc… there goes pretty much the whole day. Being from an older PR generation isn’t necessarily the problem, but the inability to change with the times and constantly adapt to do a better and more efficient job IS a problem. The ignorance of the old school means that the realm of online marketing is still perhaps one generation away from realizing its full potential. The 30-somethings and up that are running the show right now need to either get with the times or be replaced by the 20-somethings (in ~5-10 years time) that DO understand how things are working.

-Eugene