The Gamer's Quarter

dessgeega

so i own a pair of blackspot unswooshers now! they are a fucking awesome shoe: vegan, union-made, and the soles are recycled from tires.

my first pair i had to send back; it was too small, even though i ordered a size larger than i usually wear (though most of my shoe purchases for the past few years have been of the exact same shoe, which conceivably runs large). they replaced them for free with the next size bigger. the new pair fits fine, though i think they're going to need some breaking in. i drew space invaders on them.

friday i'm going to get a chance to really try out walking in them when i head down to the village. more as it comes! in the mean time, talk about: shoes, homegrown / diy clothing, doodling on sneakers, hip vegan attire, the blackspot anticorporation, space invaders.

lestrade i believe has a pair of these. he probably kicks a lot of corporate ass. ALSO: i want to refer to the general forum as "shapermc's quarterly concern".
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ryan · . Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 999

I am unable to wear anything but plain t-shirts. For pants, I can alternate between jeans and khakis, the latter being leftover from my younger days that a bout with a liver problem, with its subsequent weight loss, has kept as a viable option. I can't stand spending money on clothes, so I wear whatever I have until it's fuzzy, faded, torn, and whatever else clothing can be before it's turned into a new dish rag.

I've often thought about making my own shirts. Not needing any designs, and the addition of a pocket at most, I don't imagine it is all that difficult. Well, I say that now, but that outfit I tried to make in home ec many moons ago came out looking like blue shit.

Independent Lens on LPB/BPS showed a Chinese factory making jeans. This has also fooled me into thinking that I could do the same for the longest time, until I realized that, repetitive emotions aside, they still have heavy machinery that I do not. One day!

Shoes are tricky due to my feet being wide. Despite their middle grade angst, vans is one of the few companies that offers a shoe comfortable enough for me to wear on a daily basis. I would go the Spartan route and build up rough skin, but I'm afraid that would lead to some sort of misunderstanding and a mental facility.
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Come to me, Mordel. We shall depart.

dhex · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:41 am Post subject:

adbusters is so good at branding it's nearly hilarious.
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ryan · . Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 999

dhex · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 am Post subject:

no i'm totally fucking serious. they are masters at this, though their appeal is limited since it's catholic (i.e. guilt-based) marketing.
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dessgeega · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:58 am Post subject:

well they know this shit inside and out. they understand the media, and the image, and they know how to use it.
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dhex · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:19 am Post subject:

they know their audience, absolutely.

i recommend borrowing but not buying whatever the u.s. name for the book "rebel sell"

it does some good analysis of why anti-brand, anti-marketing, anti-mainstream products sell so well to certain population groups. then it falls apart into boring left-right political nonsense. (the real war, as virgina postrel laid out, is between stasis and dynamism).

edit: seitan - i've had some good seitan. i've had some really bad seitan. grilled seems to be the way to go. any ideas?
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aerisdead · . Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 254 Location: Toronto, Canada

I like American Apparel because their t-shirts feel nice and they're fair trade.

Plus they're not irritatingly anti-establishment about it.

When it comes to Blackspots, if I want to buy a pair of fair trade shoes made by John Fluevog, I'll just buy a pair of John Fluevog shoes. They're only marginally more expensive and they're cooler. I think.
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aerisdead

extrabastardformula · . Joined: 08 Feb 2007 Posts: 295

Joe · . Joined: 27 Nov 2006 Posts: 179

you too can STRIKE BACK AGAINST NIKE with hipster snark. i was with them till the red spot.
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ApM · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 11:42 am Post subject:

American Apparel is, uh, kind of sleazy, though.

EDIT: Also, my favourite story about Adbusters comes from someone who worked in a bookstore where someone bought a copy of it on Buy Nothing Day. Unfortunately, she did not ask why they would do such a thing.

dhex · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 11:56 am Post subject:

Scratchmonkey · . Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 1439

dessgeega · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 12:04 pm Post subject:

you people so cynical. not that i don't agree with you, but i'm wearing awesome shoes with space invaders drawn on them right now.
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FortNinety · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 1:04 pm Post subject:

dhex · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 1:15 pm Post subject:

eh jailbait and lame is not my thing all the time but it's no more annoying than brooklyn industries. i can't even convince the wife to give the lame tops a try, which is too bad cause i think they'd be snazzy if you were drinking martinis or something out of place like that.

and i can't help being cynical, i grew up in a union household. it comes with the turkey.
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Intentionally Wrong · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 1:29 pm Post subject:

As someone who has worn home-made sandals made from tires, I just wanted to mention that I've never heard of any of the companies or organizations listed in this thread. (Uh, except for Nike.)

Koyetay · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 1:53 pm Post subject:

I buy all my clothes from second-hand thrift stores. Indie cred +15!

aerisdead · . Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 254 Location: Toronto, Canada

Intentionally Wrong · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 4:53 pm Post subject:

Koyetay · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 5:15 pm Post subject:

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

I am not very particular about my clothes. I do really like cordeuroy pants, though, and I have a pair of brown shoes that are waterproof.
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Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

Koyetay · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 9:33 pm Post subject:

I never used to care about shoes, but I just recently finished hiking 300 miles of the appalachian trail and that sort of thing makes you think about feet a lot.

I started hiking in a pair of Merrel Chameleon Ventilator II's. These had, at the time, seemed like the best fitting shoe I hae ever worn. They're still pretty nice, but I won't hike in them again. In under 50 miles, I started losing tread out of the bottom of the left arch.

When I was in Hot Springs, NC, I went to the outfitter to find a new pair as my Merrels were now leaking from the multiple holes in the sole. The shoe guy at Bluff Mountain Outfitter, Wayne, measured my feet and sat looking at them for a minute before looking up and saying, "I'm sorry. You have my feet."

See, I have flat feet, so flat that my feet roll inward slightly. Fortunately, Wayne was super knowledgeable and fitted me with a pair of Montrail Comp XCR's, which fit rather nicely and offer great support.

I need a new pair of town shows, but I'm having trouble finding anything with decent support. Now that I know what to look for, I'm kinda picky about my footwear. My knees definitely appreciate it.

Lestrade

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

I only buy clothes when I happen to be in a store selling them (like, with my wife, or family, or something like Target) and I see a clearance wrack. I will then head over to the clearance wrack and get what ever looks good and fits. I'm always shocked at what's in clearance wracks.

Speaking of shoes, you know it's hard to find those Chuck Taylor Converse shoes anymore? I've been looking for them when I'm out but no one has'm anymore.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

abbadabba's in atlanta always has plenty of them. that probably doesn't help you much.
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Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

dessgeega · Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 10:14 pm Post subject:

shoe update! now that i have had a chance to really try these out.

i replaced the laces the shoes came with, which are pretty short. adequate, but longer laces are easier to tie.

the shoes were kind of stiff when i got them; after walking a bit (midtown manhattan to the village, then back) they got much more comfortable. my feet still hurt, but i was on them for most of the evening, and they are new shoes. overall analysis: i like 'em.
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Joe · . Joined: 27 Nov 2006 Posts: 179

i don't feel guilty when i wear my sweatshop shoes. i guess that makes me a bad person Sad

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dessgeega · Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 2:16 pm Post subject:

absolutely.
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Joe · . Joined: 27 Nov 2006 Posts: 179

at least i look good Very Happy

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aerisdead · . Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 254 Location: Toronto, Canada

JamesE · Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 8:05 am Post subject:

hi matthew
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aerisdead · . Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 254 Location: Toronto, Canada

sup James

What kind of shoes do you like to wear
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aerisdead

JamesE · Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 1:12 pm Post subject:

right now I'm wearing a pair of checkerboard vanns slip ons in navy and powder blue

back at the flat I have a beat up pair of entnies I'm very fond of
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Lestrade · Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:44 am Post subject:

Hey Dess, how are you likin' your shoes these days?

dessgeega · Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 10:36 am Post subject:

i am liking my shoes these days.

my laces are way too long, though. i replaced the ones that came with the shoes, which were just barely long enough to knot. the new laces are like twice as long. i ought to cut them, but the ends would unravel. tape?
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dhex · Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 10:40 am Post subject:

electrical tape.
not a lot though.

my first pair of docs lasted nearly a decade and by the end the soles were more electrical tape than rubber.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636