Music 05/31/2008

Weezer - Red Album

Wow, the new Weezer album doesn’t come out until Tuesday, and I can’t believe people are already posting it to download for free on the internet. I’m going to wait until Tuesday to buy it.

Design 05/31/2008

Carry 2 Coffees in 1 Hand

We’ve all had the pleasure of going for a coffee, when your friend says “oh, will you grab me a triple tall non-fat soy no sugar latte please?”.

Well this saves you from having to leave the coffee shop by opening the door with your back, and it looks much more stable and easy to carry than the current flat 4 compartment tray we currently get when we order more than one drink. Pretty smart, and oh so sheik.

If you can read German, there’s more information here. But when I used babelfish to translate it, I found out all it says is:

“You to it already times didn’t wish that there is a carrying bag for a Coffee 2 go? (thx leopoldogolba) Who does not know it: One carries oneself a coffee forward, but is already loaded to above eh. How is one to be able there still to rauskramen its autokeys? Now there is the answer: The carrying bag for the coffee, even directly for two!”

Which is pretty much what I said anyway.

Clothing 05/31/2008

Clae - Garvey

Apparently slip-ons are “in” this year. If you’re looking for a slightly upscale departure from the ongoing Vans look-a-like contest, these are a nice choice. I’ve owned a pair for about 6 months (since I’m way ahead of the curve) and they’re really comfortable.

I give them a big thumbs-up, and at $60 (for the non-leather ones), I think they’re quite a bargain too.

Where to Buy

Clae $60

Industry 05/31/2008

Quiksilver Launches E-Commerce Site and I Don't Care

Well one of the big stories in the surf industry this past week was that Quiksilver finally launched it’s full e-commerce site. A lot of people are pissed that this is taking money away from all of the surf shops that helped them build their brand into what it is today.

I don’t really understand what the big deal is, and here’s a few reasons why:

• Most people still like to try on clothes before they buy them. I mean really, what percentage of your clothing are you buying online at this point? I know I’m super picky about how t-shirts fit and feel, and I know most girls like to actually see how their butts look in jeans before they buy them. Call me crazy, but I like to feel how a wetsuit fits around my fat neck before I spend $400 on it.

• Let’s get real, all of the products from all of the companies are the same thing with different logos and 80’s inspired graphics on it. So what you’re buying is image. If you think Quiksilver has “sold out” because of this online thing, and is ruining their image in the core surf market, you can wear somebody else’s logo and retro 80’s graphics. Luckily there are a lot of other cool and upcoming surf brands for you to choose from, and you can buy their boardshorts at your local surf shop instead.

• Plenty of other brands are doing this (RVCA, Nixon, Etnies, No Fear, FOX...) it’s not just Quik. This is where they will all be going soon enough. It’s inevitable, things move forward, so why fight it. It’s like trying to hold on to your cassette player.

• It’s great for new brands! This will clear shelves in the “core” surf shops to make room for your cool new clothing line. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but there’s been a bit of a paradigm shift lately. It’s not the big brands that are really cool anymore. Kids who want to prove that they’re cool and cutting edge are discovering the younger brands (RVCA, Insight, O’Quinn, etc.), so it’s just up to the shops to start carrying the sub-giant brands.

What do you guys think? I’d like some other opinions on this one. Do you care if Quik has an e-commerce site now? Will you stop going to your local surf shop?

Pros 05/29/2008

Dane Reynolds is Over It.

Wow, after watching this episode of High Shredability, it really doesn’t look like we’re going to see Dane on tour for very long either. Sounds like he’s totally over it. That’s kind of a bummer. I always look forward to his heats on the webcasts. When the webcasts are actually working.

Pros 05/28/2008

Bye Bye Brucie

Apparently while we were away, Brucie Irons officially said he can’t cut it anymore is done with the tour and he’s going back to being a free surfer. Check out the interview and story by Evan Slater on the Surfing Mag site.

The Gerbil is still and insane surfer, and he’s been making it obvious for a while now that he just doesn’t give a shit about the competitive aspect anymore, so this really isn’t too much of a shock.

Design 05/28/2008

Spaghetti Bench

Wow! The Spaghetti Bench by Pablo Reinoso sure is cool!

[ via: productdose ]

Music 05/28/2008

The Raconteurs

I’m really digging the new Raconteurs album Consolers of the Lonely. It’s super-good, and Jack White is super-talented. If you don’t have it, and you’re a fan of good music, you should definitely get it. You can either buy it or maybe even find it somewhere for free. I’ll leave it up to you.

Check it out and us me know what you think.

Gear 05/28/2008

Oakley iPhone Case

Check out the industrial strength iPhone case that Oakley just came out with. It’s rugged, and can standing-up on it’s own (for watching videos).

Also, as an added bonus, it feels like you’re carrying a brick around in your pocket.

Art 05/28/2008

Wolfgang Bloch

I was just checking out the feature on artist Wolfgang Bloch on Surfline and thought I should pass it along. I’ve heard of Wolfgang, but really wasn’t aware of how nice his work really is.

The surf world has obviously embraced Wolfgang’s work (apparently there was a bidding war on one of his pieces between Slater and some dude from Billabong), and he also has a new signature eco-sandal for DVS.

Anyway, his paintings sure are nice. Click-thru to see a few more, or check out the feature on Surfline to see a whole lot more.

Read on…