Center of the Universe, YO!

Can’t seem to stick to your new year’s resolution? Why not sign a personal contract? Stickk.com says it promotes healthier and happier living by helping people achieve their personal goals through the signing of Commitment Contracts. How it works is you place a financial wager on yourself. If you accomplish your goal (which you won’t), you get your money back (cool). If you don’t, your money goes to charity or to someone you’ve designated in advance. Sounds like a research paper to me (Zzzzzz), no disrepect to my own research department I think they’re fabulous!!!!!

Happy Friday.

Mimobot designer USB flash drives by Mimoco. They have a Star Wars series too.

Nearly a year ago I was in my old LA neighborhood doing some sneaker shopping and saw a pair of NIKE Cortez that Mr. Cartoon had design, on the tongue an Aztec temple was stiched on… damn I wish I picked those up.

This morning I read an article in the Wall Street Journal a story how Nike is tapping into lesser known influencers to designs their shoes, Brazilian muralists Os Gemeos (which means “the Twins”) have also been tapped to design shoes for the swoosh.

I just read this in the Dailyvista today–

In an effort to broaden its international market, sports apparel giant Nike announced its agreement to acquire United Kingdom-based Umbro PLC for $582 million, according to the company.

The Beaverton, Ore.-based apparel and shoe maker said that the acquisition will be a part of the company’s plan to gain a stronger foothold in the global soccer market. Nike has recently been expanding aggressively outside the United States to increase its presence on a global scale.

In the first quarter, Nike reported revenue grew by 22 percent in the Asia-Pacific region and 16 percent in Europe, compared to 2 percent in the United States.

Umbro, based in Cheadle, England, designs, sources and markets soccer-related apparel, footwear and equipment sold in more than 90 countries.

Together with its 45 international licensees, Umbro supplies uniforms to the national teams of England, Ireland, Sweden and Norway. It also outfits six English Premier League teams and more than 100 other professional international teams with soccer gear.

Nike announced its intentions to operate Umbro as an independent, U.K.-based subsidiary, much like the company’s Converse brand.

Taxi drivers are striking because they don’t want expensive GPS systems installed in their cars. Besides the cost, drivers are protesting their lack of privacy. Personally, I’m protesting the GPS system because it sucks! Here’s a snapshot of the “expensive GPS” while on I-495, aka the Long Island Expressway.

The blue circle represents the taxi and according to the readout, we’re driving through a cemetery. While on Lexington Avenue it thought we were on Park Avenue. At first, this wasn’t surprising as the GPS in my own car isn’t perfect when among tall buildings. The only time the taxi one was accurate was when we were at a stop light in Queens, away from skyscrapers. So, to recap: It doesn’t work when you’re moving and it doesn’t work when you’re near buildings …(??)… way to go TLC!

If you loved the colorful bouncing balls and the building exploding with paint, you will love the play-doh bunnies. Filmed in New York City, Center of the Universe. Click here for the video

So, this is my first time blogging and I decided to write about my favorite place in New York: BAM. I have been a patron of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) for the last five years. I am in love with the architecture of their two performance spaces and movie theatres. Even better, I am in love with the performances that they offer. Recently I saw Ewan McClellan in a performance of King Lear and this weekend I will see the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan for the third time. The link will take you to a video of their most recent work: Wild Cursive. The first time I saw the group, they danced in a rice-covered stage and treated the performance space as a giant Zen garden. During the two-hour performance, one monk meditatited while a stream of rice streamed from the ceiling onto his head. At the end of the performance, he was left standing in a mountain of rice. Last year, I saw them perform a piece called Moon Water. In this piece, women danced to the random sounds of cellos on a black stage flooded with water. The illuminated ripples of water enhanced each tiny movement of their feet. This Saturday, I will see them perform Wild Cursive. In this piece, they will dance in-between large rice paper tapestries as black ink drips from the ceiling of the stage. I would encourage anyone in the New York area to check out this amazing dance company and support my favorite New York venue: BAM, YO! Click here to watch a video of Wild Cursive.