Air Jordan 4 Retro LS "Lightning"

Air Jordan 4 Retro LS "Lightning"
Tour Yellow / Dark Blue / Grey / White

So like I said yesterday, the girls at Massage Envy had challenged me to wear something I considered special since I told them the pair I wore last month wear nothing special. This lead me to pull out these Air Jordan Retro 4 LS from the "Thunder & Lightning Pack" which released as a Nike Members Only Internet exclusive in August of 2006. There were two different Jordan Retro 4's in the pack. This was the cheaper of the two pairs at $250 and included a Special Edition Jordan T-Shirt. the other pair retailed for $500 and included a Special Edition Jacket. Since I enjoy being married and living I went with the cheaper of the two shoes. Plus, the other pair are in a majority black colorway and these stand out a whole lot more. Both colorways were inspired by the colors of Jordan's Motorcycle Team. The "Lightning" shoe is currently available on www.flightclub.com for $425 - $450 while the "Thunder" shoe is $950.

This shoes is the first real Jordan Exclusive I can remember buying. To this day I don't believe I have come across anyone in Columbia who has another pair much less the "Thunders". Of course there could be someone who never wears theirs and that is why I haven't seen them. I love my shoes but I bought them to wear them so if you ever see any dirt marks or anything like that in my pics that's why. Not knocking the deadstock / ice'em guy but that's hoarding not collecting to me. Oh well, I know I kept this short but me & the wife are going away for the weekend tomorrow sans kids and we've got lots to do around here. Gotta pack, clean up for the in-laws, and plan out what shoes to take. The next three post will be interesting to do since we'll be in Charleston but I plan to get them all done. Special thanks to my mother and sister in-law for staying at our house with my kids and I'll see you guys tomorrow, Cheapsoles

Chicago Bulls Dunks a/k/a Very Ugly Clown Shoes

Nike Dunk High
"Chicago Bulls" NBA Pack
Varsity Red / Varsity Red / Black / White

Today's shoe is this extremely ugly Nike Dunk that was part of the NBA Pack Nike released a few years ago. This pair was based on the colors of the Chicago Bulls, Varsity Red / Varsity Red / Black / White. While the shoe does have some nice materials the color blocking of this shoe is just flat out ugly. They look like giant red clown shoes thanks to the lack of white or black anywhere that is visible with jeans on. The toe box is a really nice suede and the sides are perforated leather plus they have a heavy duty mesh upper but they just look like a big red mess when you wear them.

                                                                                                       Now you might be wondering why I bought them if I think they are so ugly and there are two reasons, well really three now that I think of it. First, they retail for $80.00 but thanks to the Footaction Outlet I only paid $20 for them and I can't pass up a pair of Dunks for $20.00 no matter how ugly they are. Secondly. this shoe is a perfect example of what happens when I go to the Outlet and I haven't bought anything in a week or two. I end up talking myself into some ugly shoes that I will probably never wear more then two to three times but I have to buy something so these ugly things were my best option. And lastly, the fact they are such ugly shoes intrigues me. Let's be honest here, unless you are a Chicago Bulls fan why would you ever wear this things? So that makes them kind of scarce on peoples feet around here. Well, unless your in a Blood neighborhood around here. Then you might see a few pair, they are red after all. All in all, I think this is the 5th time I've worn these since I bought them over a year ago. And everytime I think it's been with jeans and a plain black shirt. Sometimes it's easiest just to keep things simple.

Tomorrow I won't be keeping it simple, I've got to wear something special since I was challenged last month when I got my massage. They commented on the Dunks I wore last time and I replied they were nothing special so they challenged me to wear something special this time. Should be fun, till then, Cheapsoles.

Nike Blazer High, Kick Buttowski, and Phineas & Ferb

Nike Blazer High
Black / White / Varsity Red

So today's pair is this simple yet classy Nike Blazer High in a Black / White / Varsity Red colorway that retailed for $75.00. I got them for $30.00 at the Footaction Outlet about a year and a half ago along with a Roc-A-Wear red & black button up for $5.00. The shoes and the shirt matched up perfectly so it was a easy decision to add these to the collection. The shoe features the word "Titulares" in the insole of the left shoe which is the name of a documentary Nike did a few years ago about young rising soccer stars. Not really sure what these shoes have to do with the documentary since Nike did a "Titulare" Pack already with a white and black Blazer.

These Blazers have a nubck toe box, and a red Nike stitched across the heel. They also used a touch of red stitching along the side of the shoe near the sole. The inner lining is also red along with the bottom sole. These are some really nice Blazers and one of my favorite pair. They dress up really well and I've played them off with dress shirts more then once.

Now for all you people who are late to the party, you guys all need to get on the bandwagon and start watching both Kick Buttowski and Phineas & Ferb on Disney XD Channel. These two shows are insanely good and feature great gags for both the kids and the parents watching with them. Especially Phineas & Ferb, they have great guest stars ranging from Kevin Smith and Seth Mcfarlane to Ben Stiller, Judd Nelson, Steve Zahn, Clancy Brown, and Cloris Leachman. Great gags, great callbacks to previous episodes, and really great movie references for the geeks out there. Trust me just give the shows a chance and you won't be disappointed. Till tomorrow, Cheapsoles

Calling In Sick, Non-Nike Mondays, & My New Blog

Puma Sky High II Vulc NPM
White / Gray / Violet / Black / Flame Orange

In case any other of you noticed, I didn't post anything yesterday because I didn't wear any shoes yesterday. I was a little under the weather and so was my wife so we both just hung around the house and took it easy. We're both feeling much better so today is back to normal. It's Non-Nike Monday and today I just grabbed a pair of Puma's out of the pile and threw them on as I headed out the door to drop my daughter off at daycare.

These Puma's are yet another pair of $10.00 shoes from the Footaction Outlet. They originally retailed for $75.00 so I figured they were worth blowing $10.00 on. Saving $65.00 on a pair of shoes will make any shoe seem worth buying. I tend to do that a lot up there but as I've said before, if I only wear them one time then I figure I got my money's worth out of them. As a matter of fact, I've had these for over a year now and this is only the second time I've worn them. Now that I look at them, I actually like them and might have to move them to the top of the pile once this little exercise is over. They're a cool, funky shoe that if you know what your doing can look really good.

During yesterdays lounging I decided to start another blog that nobody will read called A CD A Day (acdaday.blogspot.com). I was going through my CD collection on my laptop and external hard drive and I realized that I have tons of Cd's and yet I have never listened to the majority of them all the way through. And when I say tons of Cd's I am not kidding. I worked at and later co-owned a record store so I used to get everything and mostly for free. I brought home stuff I knew I would never listen to but since it was free I took it home anyways. Throw in all the stuff I have bought and it's a pretty massive collection. It got to a point a few years ago that I had to go digital just to save room. i can't have shoe boxes everywhere and thousands of Cd's too. My wife loves but there are limits. So I'm about to pop in my first CD, clean up the house, and start today's first entry into acdaday.blogspot.com. Till tomorrow, Cheapsoles

A Day Of Freedom, Women's Footaction Outlet Deals, & DTLR Polo's

Air Jordan 9 Retro
White / Black / University Blue

It's bright and sunny outside and my wife and children are going to visit her family out of town for the day so I have the day to myself and no plans. Might go visit friends, might see how the Playoff 13's and Cincinnati Griffey's sold this morning, might just check out a few movies I need to catch up on. Just going to enjoy the sun and weather and try to get out of the house. Since it feels like spring I decided to wear something in a color that always makes me think of spring and sunshine for some reason. These Jordan Retro 9's might have some black in them but the white and university blue just say spring weather to me. They were released last May 29th so maybe that's why I think of it as a spring shoe. They retailed for $150 and if your a savy Internet shopper you can actually find them for under retail online. This is another example of Nike Jordan over doing it with one particular model thus decreasing the demand for them. There were 6 different colorways of this shoe released last year, 7 if you include the Bin 23 colorway. At some point even diehards will get burnout on a model if you flood the market with to many colorways.

The 9 was designed by Tinker Hatfield and was the model that came out during MJ's baseball phase. They include the Jordan Logo on the side sole, the 23 on the back heel and were designed with a speed lacing feature for easy wear. These are also the shoes Jordan is wearing on his statue outside the United Center in Chicago.  The ironic thing about that is that MJ never actually wore these as a Bull. They were released after his retirement and before his first comeback. Some people consider this a plain and unremarkable Jordan model but it has grown in popularity over the years and is now looked at as a classic for it's simplicity. funny how time alters one's view of things.

Got a few pics of some women's shoes I saw up at the Footaction Outlet yesterday I figured I would pass along to keep you guys informed. If you see anything you want more info on just let me know. The Nike's are still 50% off up there.

They also had a few girls Polo Boots at the Footaction Outlet that I grabbed pics of too. These are 70% off right now so you might want to grab some even if your just planning to sit on them until next winter.

And finally, I grabbed some pics of these men's Polo Boots from DTLR which are on sale right now. As you know, DTLR sales at the drop of a dime so you might want to grab them asap if your interested.

Rain, Cupcakes, And NBA Trades

Timberland Woodbury
Brown

Once again, rain has canceled Nike SB Friday so instead I went with these Timberland Woodbury Boots. I got these last November from the Footaction Outlet for $60 (retail is $120) and they quickly became a every day favorite especially during the nasty weather at the end of last year. They aren't super flashy or exclusive, just a good, solid, waterproof, outdoor boot which I'll get use out of for years to come.

Decided to go with the store bought frosting for my cupcakes I made yesterday for my son's school. I'm just not a huge fan of homemade frosting, just tastes off to me for some reason. I did make a slight modification to my cupcake recipe yesterday and according to the reviews was a good change. The original recipe called for a cup of buttermilk which I changed to applesauce when I first used it. Yesterday I changed the applesauce to fat free yogurt and they turned out great. They just have a unique flavor to them that really sets them off. Frosted half of them with chocolate icing and the other half with vanilla icing for those weird people who like vanilla for some reason. Cakes are always supposed to have chocolate frosting. The cake can be vanilla but the frosting should always be chocolate. Always. Hopefully they won't poison anyone tonight at Family Fun Night at my son's school. And hopefully we'll win some prizes in the Bingo games tonight too.

Now as for yesterdays trades, loved what OKC did but not sure about Boston, need to see how that plays out before I pass judgements. The Memphis / Houston trade was a sneaky little deal which might work really well Memphis if they continue playing as well as the have been. I see the point of what MJ did with trading Wallace and that trade really helps Portland. The Bobcats needed to be blown up or they would just flounder in the 7 - 8 seed area forever. And Portland really strengthened their team with a great complimentary player in Wallace. As for the rest of the trades, they same to have been made just to have been made. Typical NBA GM moves, just do something to fool your fans into thinking your doing something.

Oh well, later this afternoon I'll be throwing up something on all the women's shoes at the Footaction Outlet plus a few men's Polo Boots from DTLR so make sure you come back and check it out, Cheapsoles

Cupcakes, Air Raids, And My Big Debate







Nike Air Raid
Black / Medium Grey / White

Today's shoe is the Nike Air Raid, Nike's outdoor basketball shoe from 1992. This pair is from 2008 which is the last time they were retroed. This is another of those shoes from that early '90's era of shoes which I loved in high school but couldn't afford and had to have now that I can afford them. These retailed for $95.00 at FootLocker which is $5.00 more then they were when Nike retroed them in 2003. This is the original colorway model , Black / Medium Grey / White.

The story behind the Air Raids actually begins with Reebok. Reebok had just released their Blacktop collection and Phil Knight told legendary shoe designer Tinker Hatfield to design an outdoor shoe for Nike. Tinker went to the playgrounds and asked players what they needed and designed the Air Raid as a result. Spike Lee was hired to promote the shoe and Tim Hardaway was used in the ad spots. Due to Spike's upcoming film Malcolm X some people wrongly assumed the straps across the shoe were in homage to Malcolm X but they were really just a design feature to stabilize the shoe.The ads for the Air Raid were crazy with lots of loud colors and one spot even featured a direct lift of a scene from Spike's film "Do The Right Thing". Some people refer to the shoes as "Malcolm X" and some people, like me, simple call them the Tim Hardaways but neither is technically correct. The shoe had nothing to do with Malcolm X and Tim Hardaway never wore them on an NBA court. These shoes were designed for outdoor use and literally say so on the back heel.

I know I said yesterday I would try to get some pics of some women's shoes from the Footaction Outlet up today but that was before I volunteered to bake some cupcakes for my son's school so I'm spending the day baking in the kitchen. And I make my cupcakes from scratch not from a box so I actually have to put in a little work. The only problem with making them from scratch is the mess they create. But thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law I have a great food processor which made the mixing alot easier then it used to be. Just have to decide if I want to use store bought frosting or make my own. I'll let you know tomorrow.

The bigger issue I'm debating is on what wall do I want to put the NOS (new old stock) Powell Peralta '91 Steve Caballero "Mask" deck I just got in. I have about 7 skateboards hanging on the walls in the room over the garage (my room, or at least that's what my wife likes to pretend it is) along with various items leftover from my days as a record store owner. On the back wall I have 3 Powell Peralta reissues on one side of the window and 2 vintage decks (a Steve Saiz Powell and a "Jinx" Vision) on the other side. Just trying to decide if I want to keep all the vintage decks together or do I want to put the Caballero "Mask" on the wall beside the Caballero "Dragon & Bats" reissue. I have pics below so maybe you guys can offer some advice. Plus if any of you guys have some decks in decent shape laying around feel free to let me know. Would love to add more so the wall. Till tomorrow, Cheapsoles



Powell Peralta Reissues
Vallely, Caballero, & "Bones" Rodriquez (clockwise)



Original Powell Saiz "Totem Pole"
And Vision Marty "Jinx"

Original Powell Peralta '91
Steve Caballero "Mask"