BANNED SOCIETY

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Skate & Create

The Etnies skate & create video to me is one of the illest of them all, this is where the old meets new, where recycled old clothing can still look good with the steeze of today's skaters.

Etnies from Chris Ray on Vimeo.

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Nike Zoom Kobe VII Year of the Dragon Packaging

There are many things that set sneakerheads apart from the casual footwear consumer, but one of the more confounding traits we share is the undue attention we lavish on sneaker packaging. While we’ll readily admit the box adds nothing to the shoe itself, it is part of the larger experience. So, yes, it matters. The designers responsible for the packaging around the Nike Kobe VII System Supreme “Year of the Dragon” understand the concept, and they’ve taken the opportunity to build one of the more unique boxes we’ve ever laid eyes on. Matching colors and textures, along with a design scheme that seems to mirror the back panel of the shoe, all conspire to take this release to the next level. We sneakerheads approve. via: HK-Kicks.com

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Technicolor.

TECHNICOLOR.

In what was probably the most Instagrammed image of the weekend:

Keith Hufnagel and Haroshi presented a special collaborative exhibition with DLX, by which the Japanese artist submitted six new works of his renowned skateboard sculptures.  Taking over 6 straight months of work to accomplish, the pieces are constructed of old Real skateboard decks.  There were 200 boards involved in the process, all having being skated by Dennis Busenitz, Peter Ramondetta, Tommy Guerrero, and Keith Hufnagel himself.

Each piece represents a different skater.  This one is Ramondetta’s arm:

The method is secret, but you can see how intricate and complicated it is to create these sculptures – mainly because of the skateboard’s concave shape.  Haroshi has to be careful to relieve stress in tight spots, as you can see in some of the gaps here:

He even drew on the skater’s tattoos:

The Spitfire classic wheel is my favorite and as of tonight, is still up for grabs. (Most of the pieces have already sold, anywhere between $20,000-$30,000 each!)  I could only imagine how difficult it was to achieve the perfectly rounded shape of a wheel using skateboard noses and tails.  And the wheels as bearings was a clever touch:

So the exhibition revolves around the fire hydrant as it’s centerpiece.  This is an L.A. hydrant – he’s done one more before this, a New York hydrant.

The walls of the space are plastered in wheat-pasted posters of skaters leaping over hydrants.  Accordingly, they had an opening night ollie contest over the hydrant.

Everyone who successfully flatground ollied the hydrant signed it. Haroshi is now taking this piece back and engraving the autographs into the wood.

There are over 20,000 cubes in this hydrant:

Busenitz’s dog Gary:

The eyes move, and I like how he did the tongue.

The retriever’s head results like this in the back. Awesomeness.

And lastly, the guitar.  Yes, it works.

Huf worked with Haroshi on a pair of shoes that features this artwork:

And Haroshi also lent his hand to this Hufzinger…

…which was then photographed and imprinted on the bottom of the mass-produced version.

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HAROSHI x DLX x HUF Video Teaser Part 3

To further commemorate the forthcoming collaboration between California’s HUF, HAROSHI and DLX, we see the third video teaser to coincide with the series. The footage highlights a few original creations by Japanese artist HAROSHI, as they will then be on display during the opening ceremony held at HUF’s downtown Los Angeles headquarters. The event is set to take place on this Saturday, January 7.

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Samsung V300F Digital Camera

Samsung have revealed their latest digital camera offering, the DV300F. Featuring Samsung’s DualView technology, but also Wi-Fi connectivity, meaning you can share your photos straight away from your phone through social networks, and also save to your PC without any wires. The camera is in keeping with mimimal retro styled designs and includes 16 Megapixels, 5x optical zoom and a 25mm wide-angle lens.

One of the newest features though is the new Motion Photo feature. This allows you to freeze time around a moving subject!

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Apple wins ban of HTC Android devices at US International Trade Commission

The United States International Trade Commission just ruled in favor of Apple in its case against HTC and banned the importation and sale of HTC Android devices including the Sprint Evo 4G, Verizon Droid Incredible, AT&T Aria, and T-Mobile G2. After a lengthy review, the Commission found that HTC devices infringe two claims of patent #5,946,647 — ultimately implicating the heart of Android itself and not HTC's specific implementation. The patent issued in 1999 and, in general terms, covers a device that scans computer text for data, like a phone number, and turns that number into a link that the user can then select to perform an act, like calling the number. The requirements and language of the patent claims are obviously more complicated, but that's a decent overview of what's covered. The ITC decision now goes to the desk of the president, who has 60 days to issue a rarely-used veto; the ban itself will go into effect on April 19, 2012 to provide HTC with a transition period, and HTC will be allowed to import refurbished products for warranty replacement purposes until December 19, 2013.

It's important to note that the ITC issued an exclusion order and not a cease and desist; HTC's current products already on US shelves will be unaffected. However, exclusion orders are generally broadly worded and aren't limited to any specific products — so we would expect Apple to use this ruling to go after all Android-based HTC phones, from Android version 1.5 all the way up to and including 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

It's a significant victory for Apple, especially since it can presumably now attack every other Android manufacturer with the same patent and its first favorable substantive ruling on the merits, but the ban may not ultimately have any real effect on consumers if HTC and Google can develop a patch that works around Apple's two specific claims. And indeed, that's what HTC is promising to do — here's the official statement we just received:

We are gratified that the commission affirmed the judge's determination on the ‘721 and ‘983 patents, and reversed its decision on the ‘263 patent and partially on the ‘647 patent. While disappointed that a finding of violation was still found on two claims of the ‘647 patent, we are well prepared for this decision, and our designers have created alternate solutions for the ‘647 patent.

Update: HTC just revised its statement on the case, saying that Apple's patent covers only a "small UI experience" and saying it will be completely removed from HTC phones "soon." We'll see how quickly that happens; any changes would have to first be deemed compatible with Android by Google and then approved and pushed to customers by HTC's carrier partners.

We are gratified that the Commission affirmed the judge's initial determination on the ‘721 and ‘983 patents, and reversed its decision on the ‘263 patent and partially on the ‘647 patent. We are very pleased with the determination and we respect it. However, the ‘647 patent is a small UI experience and HTC will completely remove it from all of our phones soon.

For its part, Apple is just repeating its previous statements on the case:

We think competition is healthy but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.

We've asked for clarification on whether Apple will pursue further action against Android 2.3 and up; we'll let you know if we hear anything.

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The Hundreds x Diamond Supply Co. “Forever Summer” Road Trip to SF

The project between The Hundreds and Diamond Supply Co. has generated a lot of buzz in the world of streetwear. While some collaborations seem unnatural or forced, the strength of this mash-up is the background and similar sensibilities both brands have endured over the years. Los Angeles based filmmaker David Gallardo, accompanied representatives of both Fairfax-based brands on a road trip up to San Francisco to spread the word and throw a party for the “Forever Summer” collection. The select few who made the trip were able to take in a multi-faceted affair including the obvious roadtrip and a musical performance by San Francisco-rooted rapper Alexander Spit. Interlaced with sights and sounds throughout the trip, Bobby Hundreds provides commentary on the whole collaboration.

The Hundreds x Diamond Supply Co. "Forever Summer" Road Trip to SF from HBTV on Vimeo.

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The Most Expensive Car Accident Ever?

A warning to fans of the Prancing Horse, the content of the following story might be too graphical and emotional for some, viewer discretion is advised. Aside for a string of auto  insurance frauds (like the Texan who intentionally drove his Bugatti Veyron into a saltwater marsh), a massive 14-car pile up in Japan this weekend might just be the most expensive auto mishap ever, at least for 2011. While en route to a super car  gathering in Hiroshima, one of the Ferrari veered off on the highway. A “pin-ball effect” ensued, resulted in eight wrecked Ferraris, two Lamborghinis, and a few Mercedes. No one was seriously injured in the mayhem though we cannot say the same about the owners’ wallets.  The price-tag of the damages is estimated at over million dollars and likely to increase.

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Apple Grand Central Store

After much speculation, Apple has finally announced the opening of its new Grand Central Station flagship store in New York City. It will be one of their biggest stores and once again the company has managed to choose a spectacular and special spot for one of its stores.

The store will open its doors on December 9th, 2011, at 10 AM. cannot wait to see it!

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Diamond x The Hundreds Forever Summer Surboard

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Curren$y and his Streetwear History

Now this post isn’t an original idea. I was looking through Complex today and saw that they did a little breakdown of what streetwear Curren$y has wore throughout his career. Thought I would take a couple of their examples and post them on here. Curren$y has always been known for helping get smaller clothing brands off the ground so here’s a brief history of what he’s worn.

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HUF Holiday Warehouse Sale

HUF is having a Holiday Warehouse Sale this Saturday, November 26, at its HUF Headquarters in downtown Los Angeles from 10a.m.-6p.m. Up to 80-percent off HUF clothing, hats, footwear, accessories, samples, and much more.

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iPro Lens System for iPhone 4/4S

he iPhone photography industry never ceases to release better, more advanced, and sometimes exceedingly strange accessories. On its own, the iPhone is already a great camera—the iPhone 4 sports a 5-megapixel sensor while the 8-megapixel iPhone 4S also got an optics boost to capture sharper, better-lit images. But there’s always room for improvement. Schneider Optics, a professional lens manufacturer, has released the iPro Lens System. This all-in-one accessory includes a wide-angle lens, a fisheye lens, a specially designed iPhone case, and a lens case that doubles as a handle and tripod mount.

To use the iPro Lens System you need to snap on the included iPhone case, which is compatible with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. The right and left sides of the case feature threaded inserts for you to attach the handle. The case is made out of molded plastic, and is very stiff—initially it seems impossible to put on and take off. It turns out you need to attach the lens case handle to the right side of the iPhone case and then apply leverage while popping the phone in and out. Schneider Optics provided these instructions to Macworld, but have not yet included them in the system’s user guide. Once you know this, however, the entire fitting process is very easy.

Once you have the case on, you can mount the wide-angle or fisheye lenses onto the iPhone camera. The back of the case features a bayonet mounting system, which lets you easily twist the wide-angle and fisheye lenses on and off. The same mounting system is located inside the lens case, to keep the lenses secure. It’s a well-designed system that does a good job of keeping lenses on the case, even with some heavy shaking.

In our photography tests, the iPro Lens System’s lenses produced sharp, high-quality images. The wide-angle lens is perfect for people who take a lot of landscape shots, or just want to be able to capture more in one photo. While the iPhone 4 camera alone captures a 62-degree field of view, the wide-angle lens makes it possible to capture an 86-degree field of view. The difference is even more noticeable when shooting video, where the wide-angle gets a 70-degree field of view compared to the iPhone’s 46. Shots are crisp; there’s very little distortion and absolutely no vignetting. (Photos below were taken from the same distance at the same angle.

No lens Wide-angle lens Fisheye lens

Obviously, the fisheye results are the more extreme. The lens captures a 160-degree field of view in still camera mode, and 120 degrees in video mode. My only problem with the fisheye lens is that the vignetting is not completely symmetrical: One side of a shot has slightly more vignetting than the other. But image results are super crisp, and overall it’s a great lens. Another cool feature with the iPro Lens System is that the lens case handle also functions as a tripod mount. The bottom of the handle has a 1/4-20 attachment point, compatible with any standard tripod.

This level of iPhone shooting doesn’t come cheap though. The iPro Lens System is a whopping $199, almost three times the cost of the comparable olloclip, and $30 less than the super-sturdy OWLE Bubo mount. Granted, the iPro Lens System’s image quality is superior to all other iPhone lens options I’ve seen. Plus, you get a decent case and a handle to steady your shots. It’s also portable: In my days of reviewing the iPro Lens System, I kept the case on my iPhone, and carried the lens case with me in my bag. Whether Schneider Optics’ iPro Lens System is worth the money depends a lot on what you use your iPhone for, and how often.

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Aether Appearl is unveiling their new concept shop The AETHERstream!

Aether is unveiling their new concept shop, the AETHERstream on Friday, October 7th, at 8207 W. 3rd Street. The AETHERstream is a 34′ PanAmerica Airstream and will be open from 11:00am – 7:00pm seven days a week. It’s beautiful and will sell key pieces from the Fall 2011 collection. The AETHERstream will reside in Los Angeles until November 1st, when it will relocate to New York for November and December.

Aether teamed up with Paris-based designer Thierry Gaugain to create the ultimate shop on wheels. After finding the ultimate RV, Aether completely gutted the interior and redesigned it from the floor up. Jonah and Palmer searched the world for a designer who could translate their ideas and desires into a design concept. Thierry Gugain understood what they were trying to accomplish and brought the design project to life. Thierry spent the last 15 years working side-by-side with Phillipe Starck, and has designed a multitude of interior spaces, appliances, motorcycles, and yachts.

The AETHERstream flooring is 11” reclaimed oak floor from Carlisle Wide Plank Floor. The sofa and table are custom made by Environment Furniture, who uses sustainable harvested wood and the reuse of otherwise discarded materials. Most props and other furniture were purchased at the Paris flea market.

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Gorillaz x Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Hi

Today Converse announced the launch of their newest footwear collaboration with the Gorillaz. Launching in February 2012, the styles from the collection combine the iconic Chuck Taylor All Star silhouette with the band’s legendary graphic images. Award-winning designer and Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett has designed exclusive prints incorporating elements from their ground breaking artwork. Each design melds their diverse backgrounds and unique influences to create a revolutionary collection. The partnership with Gorillaz will also include a Converse “Three Artists. One Song” music collaboration that will coincide with the launch of the collection

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I Phone 5 Concept Idea See threw

Probably one of the illest Iphone Concept ideas ive see thus far.

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DIAMOND SUPPLY CO. FALL 2 NOW AVAILABLE

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trendingit:

Diamond Supply co. fall 2 line now out for preview!