Edge_Of_Denim

A sweet slip-on. Sturdy. Understated. Good for walking NYC streets. I need it.

http://www.fryeboots.com/subpages/catalog-detail.asp?sn=85300&col=DBN&fcp=catalog.asp?cat=SEASONAL@sty=@gen=2@goToPage=1

Driving along the 5 in San Diego at sundown, top down, listening to Mark Eitzel and American Music Club's "Highway Five" on the disc player. Sublime.

AE Leeds with Khakis and Sammies. Frye Brando boot with Sammies.

Most of what AE does is too corporate looking for my taste, but the Leeds are boss.

LeicaLad, I cannot be the first to suggest to you that you get your experiences down on paper, or on a hard drive, as suits the present day.

I was just in Costa Rica, vacationing. We made it into Granda, Nicaragua. Trying to absorb the devastating poverty, and the beauty of Granada itself, and sensing a definite charge in the air, the possible residue of matters still not fully resolved, was thrilling and disorienting. What travel should be.

This is a great thread.

Now about those shoes...

doubletap, who/what would be a typifier of the terror wing of electronica? Would it be like some threatening Al Jourgensen Ministry-type shit?

I just got Amon Tobin's new disc- Foley Room. It has to be shortlisted for best disc of the year. The man is a trailblazer.

Actually, Zach Snyder isn't quite a rookie, he re-made "Dawn Of The Dead", which got off to a terrific start but stalled at the mall. He's also got some videos (big surprise) on his resume. So, not quite a rookie, but he's well on his way to becoming a hack. Albeit, a very rich hack. And that, unfortunately, is all that matters in this culture, anyway.

Originally, 300 is based an historic confrontation, depicted in comic form. A representation. 300, the movie, is based upon that work and depicted, through the means of latest cinematic technology, as a digitalized representation of Miller's work. Not even a film per se, but a hybrid, only recently possible. Not a representation of history. That would be something other. Already we are at great remove from any reliable consideration of history, thanks to this interesting mutation. If nothing else, 300's hyper-stylization reveals its exploitation of symbolic and metaphoric signifiers. Not to understand this is to not understand the way a film's images are to be interpreted. One can enjoy 300 at the basic level of "Duuuude, fuckin limbs were flyin everywhere!", if one chooses. And, frankly, that is the exact audience that Zach Snyder wanted and got. But to deny that there are other elements at work in 300 is to allow idiocy of this kind to propagate and flourish.

I did not pay to see 300. It's good to know people. That being said...

I think any reasonably intelligent person will arrive at the conclusion that 300 is an attempt at some kind of blatant political allegory. That being true, I find the entire effort particularly despicable: The enemy is represented as Asian, "Oriental" (I noticed some Mongol warriors), Middle Eastern, African, androgynous (Xerxes), lesbian, ugly (the "immortal" soldiers) and physically deformed (the hunchbacked traitor and the giant), all of whom are seen as irrational and superstitious. What's this? Only handsome and rational straight white men are noble? What's worse, I have serious doubts that the polemic was wholly unconscious.

Especially at the end, what with the "protecting the values, beliefs, and people of Sparta against the forces of tyranny (i.e. terrorism)" speechifying, I felt that the film was one long recruitment video for the Iraq war. Line up boys, BushCo wants You!

I wouldn't have minded this so much had the visuals and other cinematic devices been remotely interesting (or had the movie included some self-criticism regarding the glorification of war - wait- I might be asking too much here). Narration that

patronizes the audience, unnecessary slow motion ninety-nine percent of the time, fashion shoot poses, forced drama (father watching his son die, Gerald Butler's declaration of love at the end) battle scenes as rock videos, and sex scenes as future perfume ads. I can see where the movie gets its influences. It's like the whole of this wretched contemporary culture was regurgitated onto celluloid. And all without a wink of irony.

A $70 million opening weekend. More than the first Matrix took in on its opening. Good job.

Edit: At one time Michael Mann was considering an adaptation of "Gates Of Fire" by Stephen Pressfield, which tells the story of the battle of thermopylae. I'd like to see what a serious and accomplished film artist of Mann's stature would make of this epic story. 300 will inspire nothing in the long run but more idiocy.

Frank Gehry's Schanbel house http://www.kmtspace.com/kmt/gehryOne2.htm

Anyone familiar with Lebbeus Woods? He doesn't build; he's purely theoretical.

Those retro-looking plaid shirts are gerat. Price points? 45rpm, btw, increased their prices by seventy dollars. The Umi line (sauvin cotton) now breaks $400. Yes, that's right.

DDML, those boots of yours are seriously gorgeous. Good work. Which last was used in their construction? And I'm not a fan of Redwing, but those that you posted, Greg, well, I could get behind them. How many times can one say it: This thread kills.

Adam at Alden of Carmen says the AF61 will shortly be discontinued http://www.alden-of-carmel.com/index.cfm/Shoes-Cigar_Shell_Cordovan_Plain_Toe_Blucher_Oxford_171.htm

It's a beaut.

Why do you suppose commando soled shoes of this type aren't available at the Alden shops here in NYC? I just want to wear nothing but cordos forever.

This thread will never die. As Martha says, That's a good thing.

From AOC's website:

"Recently, a good customer of Alden shoes offered these care tips for brand new shell cordovan shoes, in order to help protect the leather from water and other elements.

Using a fine cloth, apply a very thin layer of paste wax (not cream) on the shoes. Rub this paste wax in very carefully for about 5 minutes. Wait 1/2 hour and repeat process. Then wait another 1/2 hour, and repeat process a third time.

After this, dip the same fine cloth in water, and rub thoroughly in a cicrular motion until the shine begins to appear. (The cloth should not be really wet. The cloth should just be dipped in water for a very short time, so that the cloth is damp.) But if you rub thoroughly you should see a very thin film of water on the leather for a short time.

When dry, brush with a soft horse hair brush, then polish with a soft cloth.

For cleaning the shoes, use a damp cloth to remove dirt and dust, and a dry cloth for buffing the shoes. This is all that is necessary.

Repeat this polishing process a few times a year, only when necessary.

This process should help guard your new shell cordovan shoes from water and the elements."

Since the conditions outside for most of us suck, but you still want to wear your cordos, what'd'you think?

Whatever happened to D'Angelo? He on the pipe, or just doing the artist-as-recluse thing?

I went vibram sole on both of mine. NYC streets will kill a nigerian's shoes. You know, Alden of Carmel has a shell cordo blucher w/commando sole. Is that what you've got, DDML? Yeah, baybee. Number three in the crosshairs.

Miz/Viv, I hear ya both. Your logic, as Spock would say, is impeccable. My g/f herself believes it is better, if one can, to spend more on an item of quality than less for something inferior. She doesn't begrudge me nice things, it's only when I begin piling up things that she'll make the observation that I'm being indulgent. She's funny: When I mentioned Samurai 710 she looked at my stack of jeans and said, sarcastically, "Oh, yeah, you've got alot wear on these". If I just lay low for awhile I should be able to go for pair number three with no problemo.

Cigar would definitely be the color. The investment argument is my best hope. But since I've had my Leeds for only two weeks and my chukkas I bought in November, I really should wait some months before going for number three. Or else, as they say, relations between nations may become strained.

Women's Sugarcane bootcut at Self Edge.

Familyman, excellent purchase. I love that cigar color. So rich. But my g/f has warned me that with two pair of shell (#8 & black) in my closet, "You'd better not even think of buying another pair!" Someone up above wrote how he played the, "Oh, these? These are old", act on his significant other. I've used that before. I don't think it will work this time. She's drawn the line.

So I'm asking myself, would that crepe soled number be a reasonable substitution for those Rickson officer boots? I just got me a pair of AE shell Leeds. Shoes are catnip. Not sure about a crepe sole though...

That second outfit: Klaus Nomi's dead, right?

The 710's are billed as "slim", right? They don't look like a particularly slim cut model. From the knee down they look slimmer, but in the thigh there appears to be more play than in so-called "slim" jean. The 505's look slimmer. Didn't the poster say he went up one size? Maybe that's why?

I think I see what you mean, Jinx. I got a 36" inseam and I wouldn't mind if they lost a half inch or more. I'll do a second hot water soak soon but I'm not expecting to lose much from what I've picked up.

There's more of the white core visable in the Denime than in the Sam's and in my Sorihako. No visable fibers, and such. But they are very well made. I like them, it's just that those Sam's are another game, entirely.

LeicaLad, got a link?

Whatyousaid.

Jinx, I was reading your blog and I must say I don't follow your criticism of the BK post-soak.

I've been neglecting my slim cut Denime (thanks, Jinx, for tipping me to them) black since hooking up with Sammy. Its a nice pair of jeans, but it can't compete with Samurai's dye-job and detailing.

And what's more, they're good for guys who're looking for more inseam.