The spamstorm seems to have abated so I'm going to switch comment moderation off again and see what happens.
favourite shoes
I'm 40 years old and I've just decided that these are my favourite pair of trainers of all time. It used to be a pair of bright green Hi-Tecs I had when I was 13 but now it's these. And it's kind of chastening to think I'll probably never get another pair as good. Even if I bought another identical pair they wouldn't really be the same.
Seb from Nike gave them me. (One of the very few free things I got from Nike.) Maybe 6 or 9 months ago and I've worn them almost every day ever since. Which I know is a hygiene no-no but I don't care. And though I don't skate I love the fat paddedness of them. Very comfy. (Probably not the word that Nike Skate will push to the fore in the marketing, comfy, but they are buttery comfortable.)
But the best thing about them is they've been designed to be old. They age gracefully. (OK, that wear on the heel probably isn't planned but I like the effect). The uppers aren't some perfect shiney colour that will be imperfect within a second of hitting the street. They get better with age. And that texture on the swoosh rubs off if you skate a lot, it's like a badge of honour. They're like a craft trainer or something. Anyway. Thanks Seb.
what? and masses
The always watchful Freelance Fred points at this Coke job ad. Which makes you go; what?
Whatever that job is (and the description doesn't make it a whole lot clearer) I want it. I want that title on a business card. But it reminded me of a splendid quote I found in The Long Tail (more of which later) :
"There are no masses; there are only ways of seeing people as masses" - Raymond Williams.
Brilliant. There should be more Marxist critiques of quant methodologies.
giving back
Hello. You lot have been very good to me recently, with all your thoughts and suggestions in response to my questions, so here's a giving back plan. I'll undertake to write 500 words in response to the first question posted in the comments on here, after a certain arbritary time each week. (And I'm planning on a decent 500 words; words strung together in an argument, not just 500 words from a random word generator.) Is that worth having? I don't know, but it's what I have to give.
This week it's the firsts question posted after 10am British Summer Time on Tuesday 1st August, which I know gives an advantage to the Europeans in the house, but hey, those are my peeps.
bonfire of the bathroom
I met Neil Boorman of Bonfire Of The Brands fame today. What an excellent fellow. He's going to let me record an interview with him to post on here sometime so if you've got any questions or thoughts for him stick them in the comments.
Talking to him reminded me of a thing I did once - take a picture of every brand in our bathroom - it was up on the blog in the early days but I took it down for some reason. So, for any newcomers who are interested here it is again. With over 70 brands in such a small room it really makes you think about how pervasive they are. (Sorry about the photo quality, this was a couple of cameras ago.)
