Check out this sneaker hybrid that Japanese shoe source Mita and Nike dropped before the final cut. The Jordanesque black/red sample of the Nike Air Force I Insideout is not available but don’t worry, Mita is selling the black/green and black/purple versions.

Info/Image: Kix-Files

Kid Robot has reached their toy craze pinnacle with their book I Am Plastic.

The book has the feel that they are to be the center of the room. In reality a smoking “Dunny” is bound to be the point of focus in any setting.

Written by Kid Robot founder and creative director Paul Budnitz, but Kid Robot is far from his only venture. He’s worked as a photographer, a film maker, and a screenwriter. Budnitz has owned three businesses and even worked as a database programmer writing engineering software.

If you’ve been in a Kid Robot store more than once you know that almost no two are alike, so the book is a must have for collectors and fans globally. Each and every creation has a different back ground that anyone who spends long enough looking at can see in the sparkle of every Dunny’s eyes.

Personally I’m a Tofu-man fan, because he’s has a bite out of him, and really you know he’s saying “I don’t taste so good”.

Available November 2nd, this “hardcover museum quality” book is 360 pages of designer toys from around the globe.

That’s today at Kidrobot.com.

Toys don’t really court much in the way of controversy, mostly because at the end of the day they’re just toys. There’s not too much to really get worked up about. But even a toy can raise some objections – Tristan Eaton’s Yo Momma being a prime example.

Making her debut at Comic Con earlier this year, the first edition of this figure was a woman of colour. A resplendently pregnant, baseball-bat toting, cigarette-smoking woman of colour no less – complete with removable baby accessory. Like pretty much everything Mr. Eaton has a hand in, she sold out in no time at all. But there were some collectors who saw the figure as little more than a derogatory stereotype of African-American women.

Taken in isolation, I can see where they’re coming from. However, the Comic Con edition was just that, the first version of a whole host of planned colour-ways that will span every colour and creed. As to the character herself, she is one Tristan’s painted for many years, and from his point of view was in no way meant to be a slur. Far from it, he sees her as a tribute to the struggles single mothers face.

It’s good for art, be it a painting or a toy, to challenge. To make people think and question their own perceptions. While I can understand people’s reactions to Yo Mamma, what puzzles me is that there are other figures that have never had similar objections leveled against them. One that is far more contentious, in my humble opinion, is Tim Tsui’s DAPE range.

In the early eighties, football or soccer, depending on which side of the Atlantic you’re on, had a real problem with racism. Black players regularly endured monkey noises and having bananas thrown at them. Although far rarer these days, unfortunately these actions still occur. Earlier this year, the Cameroon-born Barcelona striker Eto’o walked off the pitch during his club’s game against Zaragoza after enduring 75 minutes of monkey chants.
Against this sort of backdrop, blending a strong symbol of black culture such as hip hop with apes just seems a bit crass. Don’t get me wrong – I’m in no way claiming Tim’s a Nazi – or even that these figures are intentionally racist. Apes were all the rage in design for a long time, in the same way rock seems to be the weapon of choice these days. It’s more that by combining our simian friends with blinged-out hip hop, I personally find the connotations uncomfortable.

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m reading too much into them. But as they say, perception is reality. And if a lot of the figures in the toy world are essentially caricatures of contemporary life, should people not think a bit harder about what and how they caricature?

Nokia is on a warpath for the ears, eyes and minds of the gadget fiends. Clearly, its new boom box is testament to this. With sleek, minimalist design, clean lines and transparent casing, Nokia has laid the ground for portable music that can be shared outdoors. Taking a cue from the pod people, Nokia has also interfaced the boombox with its line of mp3 phones and put design as a priority.

Info/Image: Coolhunter

Continuing with the retro trend, New Balance recently released a new color palette for the classic 1500- tan, brown and light green. The shoes, also called “Peanut Butter” come with 2 sets of laces and are available at We Sold Out.

Info/Image: We Sold Out

While Gucci and Dior may wrap buckets seats as pricy interior car fabrics, Bathing Ape managed to drape itself over the exterior of a new hot pink
Bugatti Veyron. Considering the price, it’s not likely that you’ll see it driving next to you but maybe we’ll see it in Lil’ Wayne’s next video.

Info/Image: Complex

Raising the dead is popular this time of year. And if you’re into sneakers, it’s a most-common phenomena – commonly referred to as the “re-issue” or “retro”. But there are some kicks that have yet to be resurrected, for no apparent good reason.

So grab the Book of the Dead, bury ‘em in the Pet Semetary or just start an e-mail petition – however you do it, here are four “dead” sneakers that deserve to live again.

1. Nike Air Zoom Flight ‘95

This joint wuz distinctive when it first came out and remains so today. The bugged-out pods of carbon-fiber at the rear of the shoe are a technology that has never been repeated since (note: Nike did a similar-looking joint back in the early millennium – but the pods weren’t carbon fiber). Many NBA players got nice in them: Timmy Hardaway, JKidd and Damon Stoudamire, to name a few. It even had a high-top version, which got a lot of play on the ’96 Georgetown team. I got a pair of OGs in white/blue, but the black/grey/white colorway remains the elusive pearl….

2. adidas Stan Smith EL

I may be insane, because this shoe apparently never existed. At least, I’ve never found it online. But I used to own ‘em. In ’92, I visited relatives in Seoul, Korea. As a major sneaker-manufacturing center, kicks – bootleg and legit – were plentiful and varied, in color and styles. In one of many booth/shops, I found the Stan Smith EL – part of the adidas originals line (which included the Superstar, and possibly the Cross Country, but I’m unsure of the rest).

The EL wuz a beauty: rich burgundy suede(!) with black metal eyelets, a black sole, and black heel tab, featuring the adidas tre-foil and the words “STAN SMITH EL.” The tongue’s black tab also read “adidas: STAN SMITH EL.” But the best part wuz this: each “stripe” was not one, but three perforated lines (the OG Stan has three “stripes”, each one a perforated line). Also, the EL featured a lower-than-normal starting point for the eyelets, as well a minor toe-piece, where the original has none. Anyone who has a pair to sell (size 12) or just to show some pix of, lemme know!

3. Reebok Rafter/Reebok Kamikaze

Though it pains me to do so, I must admit that even a company like RBK occasionally gets it right. Here are two cases, the first of which is the Reebok Rafter. This was probably one of the cleanest modern-era b-ball ‘boks of all time, and Reebok has had some doozies (Shaqnosis, anyone?). Simple design, with tastefully minimal logo at the ankle, plus a lace-toggle at the back – one of the few shoes to rock a toggle since the Jordan V and VI. Reebok also got right with Shawn Kemp’s first signature joint, the Kamikaze. A ’94 release, pre-round-laces, this joint is still sweet, with its triangular sections and rugged appearance. Though perhaps as busy as the Rafter was simple, the Kamikaze still rocks, especially the Sonics colorway.

If these joints bring back fond memories, or even entice your curiosity, let’s bring ‘em back! I dunno whut we gotta do – e-mail petitions, letters, protests – but these joints need to see the light of day again. The Stan Smith EL alone is worth it.