Cool Hunting
| 30 August 2005view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Tube 2 NYC, London and Paris
by Josh Rubin
Tube, the absolute best subway mapping program for the Palm, has been updated to a significantly new and improved version. Incorporating subway lines and station information with either a system or street view, Tube even includes route planning and timing information to figure out the optimal series of connections during any time of day.
Sporting Green: RECYCL'art
by Josh Rubin
Recycling cell phones is as easy as finding a designated drop box in one of hundreds of Whole Foods stores nationwide, but when it comes to athletic gear, re-use options are much more limited. Until now, worn out cleats and basketballs were either bound for landfills or had the slim chance of finding a second life as a donation. RECYCL’art, an ongoing Japan-based project that pairs emerging artists with celebrity athletes, puts environmentalism at the forefront by reinventing clothes and equipment as art objects. In a traveling exhibit directed by Yuko Tamae of the IGFY Corporation (a company devoted to environmentalism in sports) along with curator and art critic Junji Ito, the venture explores the artistic potential of castoff sporting goods to raise ecological awareness, specifically among sports fans.
Pair-o-deez
by Josh Rubin
I've only been collecting sneakers for a few years, but have already amassed many a proud pair. I wanted to show them off and asked my friends over at Youth of Tomorrow to lend a hand. They came up with the brilliant concept of a memory game. We even went so far as to produce both printed and on-line versions. The decks should be in soon, but the site is up now.
Pair-o-deez is a sneaker memory game featuring 28 of my favorite pairs. Once you make a match you'll get detailed words and pictures. The first 50 people to finish the game will win a free deck. To claim your prize, take a grab of the screen that says you won and email it to pairodeez [at] coolhunting [dot] com along with your name and shipping address. UPDATE: The first 50 winners are in, but don't let that discourage you-- it's fun!
Tokyo Bound
by Wendy Dembo
On a recent trip to Tokyo in addition to the new cool stores, there were some cultural practices that stood out.
When people are sick, or avoiding pollen they wear facial masks. I was in Tokyo at the beginning of Spring (just before cherry blossoms, needless to say, my timing is always off) and everyone was wearing them. It is totally normal. And in front of the subways, girls on the street were handing out facial tissues with advertising (for porn, new stores, fragrances, etc) on the packages. It is the perfect pair for the sneezing set - masks and tissues.
Everyone knows that you can buy used girls' panties in vending machines, but if you aren't into that, there are some other goodies. Some machines sell helpful things like batteries and beer 24/7. But the best machines, which are all, over sell hot and cold drinks. Press the red button for a sugary hot milky tea, or the blue one for a refreshing ionized water (below, left).
The Japanese are really into French Cuisine. There are fancy French restaurants and bakeries all over Tokyo. I swear, it is almost easier to get a good croissant there than here. So it makes sense that Hello Kitty's new "friends" are the "Sugar Bunnies," who are French pastry chefs. They are little cute bunnies, one the color of white flour and the other the color of wheat. Hopefully, they will encourage kids to bake (above, right).
