ARSENAL 20/21 AWAY JERSEY CAMPAIGN

So so so good… I’ve been watching on loop since it was released.

Perfect music selection, tasteful 3D work with wonderful lighting and perfect camera movements/transitions. AND THE PAINTINGS, WOW! 10/10.

Well done Adidas-Arsenal team!

COYG

IPAD PRO 2020

*Not a tech review*. I’ve been watching and reading tech related content for well over 10 years now. As much as I’d love to approach this write-up as my own personal review, on my own little publication, I’ll show some restraint and keep this just to my train-of-thought feelings. Maybe one day I’ll let out my inner Dieter Bohn, but until then, here’s simply how I feel!

This is the device I dreamt of as a kid.

I had the OG, thicc, iPad. My dad has a video on one of his hard drives, of me ecstatically opening one on Christmas. It left a lot to be desired, like most 1st-gen Apple products. It was slow, beefy, and the display wasn’t spectacular either. But I, along with millions of others, loved it regardless.

The potential was clear to me! I remember when Apple first announced it — I was excited at the prospect of a massive touch screen with iPhone-esc apps. This excitement was too much, to the dismay of my dads friend, who after I shared my thoughts with, disregarded the iPad as nothing more than a glorified, massive iPhone. 

Sales quickly skyrocketed after its initial release. However, to his defence, he was mostly right about its functionality — the iPad was and has long been touted as nothing more than a media consumption device. 

Well, not anymore. 

I can now get everything I want done in an incredibly thin and light package — the sharp edges leave a lasting impression on my hands, long after I put it down. The iPad is now strong enough to rip through image processing faster than most thin and light laptops, while rocking 10 hours of battery life! That’s miles ahead of the 3-4 hours you get on any mechanical-fan-having-ass laptop! 😂

There’s nothing wrong with mechanical-fan-having-ass laptops! I love my mechanical-fan-having-ass laptop! But the iPad is just more... fun! It’s so versatile that it can make mundane tasks exciting. I can use a traditional mouse and keyboard... or an electronic pencil with zero perceptible delay... or... neither... when I thumb through Super Mario Maker videos in bed. 

I simply love this thing — it fits in my life perfectly. I’m grateful it exists and for the comfort and pleasure it brings to me on a daily basis.

"THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL"

My current source of inspiration is Theaster Gates.  

I’ve had to move away from my family and loved ones multiple times to try to fulfill a life of creative satisfaction and self-sustainability — however, I still have moments where I feel unsatisfied and exposed. And as time progresses and my parents age, those feelings only seem to amplify. Theaster has done the exact opposite during his career. He’s remained in the Southside of Chicago and has found great success in his local neighbourhood. Not only does Theaster challenge the notion of having to move, he’s invested and grown his local community in unimaginable ways — from converting a crumbling bank, which was a beacon of systemic oppression, into a hub celebrating black culture, to converting abandoned homes into communal spaces. 

I’ve been a believer of the saying “think global, act local” since I was introduced to this conduct in Russell Brand’s “Revolution”. What’s uplifting and boundary breaking in my mind, is seeing how that idea has been expressed and executed in such an artistic way. Seeing art have a tangible impact on his home is powerful and allows you to imagine similar actions in the context of your life too — and what change you can instil in your local community. 

“By believing in the Southside of Chicago, it’s given me the most fulfilling artistic career — it’s made me feel safe, free, and home”. 

Relics of the Future

When I pick up a Yeezy, now more than ever, they look and feel like relics of the future. Meaning they were made 100 years from now and brought back in time — they’re old and new at the same time, like a Daniel Arsham statue. 

I say now more than ever because the 350 quickly became established as the new normal within my generation. We’re now seeing a batch of new silhouettes that have captured my heart once again. 

380, 700 V3, Foam Runner, Quantum, all show a Unique mixture of materials, cohesively morphed into almost human-like shapes. Patterns and weaves I’ve never seen before in a shoe — or anywhere for that matter. I feel like I’m holding the physical representation of a new idea — they feel like they’re not from this planet. The name of the first 380 shoe would imply this to be true.

Image courtesy of Forbes.

“It’s a painting… it’s a spirit… that’s inside of it that’s now translated into these miniature vehicles.”  - Kanye West as he stands over hundreds of past, present, and future Yeezy shoes. 

What Football Means to Me

I dedicate this to Russell Brand. For when I was young and distracted, his book Revolution rekindled my love for sports… Even though he’s a West Ham fan… ;)

Nothing is more consistently communal than sporting events — nothing.  

I grew up loving a wide range of sports. However, when I moved away from home at the tender age of 18 to study, life become blinding and I couldn’t focus on much of anything else.

I’m 23 now. Life can be just as glaring but I’ve learned to cope — I’ll leave it at that in hopes of saving the existentialism for the evening phone call with my mother. Sports, once again, play a huge role in my life, but for different reasons than before. When I was growing up, I viewed sports as a way to fit in — I now see it as a way to connect with a deeper, more emotional cause — and what’s more impassioned than Football?

The singing, the banter, the visiting supporters not being allowed to sit amongst the home fans (a completely foreign concept to western sports goers). It all just feels, and seemingly means, more. I just finished watching a mid-season game between 10th place (hurts to even say) Arsenal and 11th place Newcastle. Two struggling teams in the middle of a season in the NBA may very well be a fight in who can lose faster than the other, as they “tank” and try and get the best possible draft pick… (My second favourite sport. Still valid criticism). Though in this Football match, there were no shortage of headlines, narratives, passion and intrigue. Flags flying high and fans singing loudly.

The entertainment and tribal aspects of Football are obviously damn fun at times. But that’s not what brings me back and has me so incredibly hooked — it’s the fan analysis videos on YouTube, Twitter blowing up after every goal. Seeing and feeling the same things as so many strangers around the world can be incredibly moving. 

I will 100% cry at my first Arsenal game — no shame.

My Love For Objects

Dedicated to anyone who’s ever put their heart into making a physical product for the greater good of humanity.

I love objects.

We have a limited amount of time on this planet — and in this limited time, during a capitalistic golden age, we’re surrounded by objects. If I spend the majority of my day in this limited life that I live surrounded by things, I want those things to inspire me, bring me some sort of joy, improve my life or mood in any way. 

I grew up naturally drawn to objects around me, a sort of compassion I was only subconscious of — I wasn’t self reflective enough to notice as a child. I definitely have the same sentiments as back then, only now I’m better at putting words behind these ethereal feelings. I used to be mesmerized by the clay flowers my mom used to make, obsessed with the scroll wheel on my first iPod, and protective of my devices, as they never went missing, scratched or shattered.

Upon further self reflection as to why I’m drawn to objects on a more emotional level, I was glad to discover it had nothing to do with materialistic gain or status feculence — I love my general release sneakers as much as my most limited and rare pair. For me it’s the thought, or perceived thought and attention to detail that fills me with hope and appreciation. When I hold my iPhone I feel the advocating passion of Steve, Jony, Phil, Scott, Tim and CO as they all wanted to provide a world changing tool for everyone. When I touch a pair of Yeezys (yes, touch. I still can’t afford a pair… I know what you’re thinking, the wallet and necklace were both gifts), I can almost hear Kanye yelling “FUCK YOU” to the fashion industry in every interview for a 2 year span, until he got the manufacturing agreements and the respect he wanted. 

That all sounds quite contrived and quasi, but on a spiritual and subconscious level, I genuinely believe it. I fear that putting this out into the world may bastardize my feelings, but my hope is some can relate to this, or at the very least I manage to encourage someone to look at the objects around them on a non-material level.

Feel the love to live the love! 

WELCOME

I shall be posting whatever my heart desires here — stay posted :).