Blackspot Sneaker V2
April 6th, 2005
Adbusters-founded company Blackspot Sneakers has released their second line of shoes, the v2; with soles made from reclaimed tires, and badder-ass styling than the classic v1, they seem to be doing pretty well as an anti-corporation. The v2 also retains all the great aspects of the v1, such as union manufacturing, organic “ingredients”, and of course, a shareholder vote in the Blackspot company. I’m buying a pair right now for my mom.
Popularity: 3% [?]
April 7th, 2005 at 1:38 am
This is great! ...I noticed that there’s a lot of TVs on this blog….Adbusters is also sponsoring TV Turn-Off Week, April 25-May 1st.
http://www.adbusters.org/metas/psycho/tvturnoff/
April 7th, 2005 at 8:42 am
Yeah, we have a particular interest in TVs, design-wise. Though to tell the truth, I don’t own one, so TV Turn-Off Week won’t be hard.
Actually, wait – does this mean I can’t watch online versions of Family Guy and the Daily Show?
April 7th, 2005 at 12:30 pm
I don’t think TVs are inherently bad. They have great value in being a form of media that is far and wide reaching. ...it’s just that there’s so much bad television programming out there…
Programs like Family Guy and the Daily Show are suprisingly intelligent and I personally think that TV turnoff day needs to be taken/performed with discretion, just like everything else in life. It’s hard and fast rules and inflexibility that leads to irrational action.
TVs are also obviously display technology that can be used for non-broadcast use, such as showing photo/slides, movies/films, or as a larger computer display.
...so, turn off your tv if you have one, and have a dinner conversation instead of a silent meal staring at the boobtube.
April 7th, 2005 at 12:47 pm
huh huh… boob tube.
maybe TVs have made me stupider…
April 7th, 2005 at 8:29 pm
I don’t think it’s necessarily the type of television programming that causes us to ask for a Turn-Off-Your TV Week so much as it is the realization of how much our society has grown around and been stifled by the TV.
On that note, last month I saw a bumper sticker that said “Kill Your Moniter.”
(oh, and jeff: “stupider” is not a word.
April 8th, 2005 at 12:20 am
well hold on a durn tootin’ moment – sure there’s lots of time lost in front of the tube, but there’s also a lot of good – I remember a couple summers ago I worked at a patent firm, and in my researches I found the issue of RCA Journal that followed the invention of the TV. Pretty weighty moment – and the president of RCA wrote a letter in the front about how it was the beginning of a new type of education, new possibilities of communication and bringing diverse cultures together. Now, we can look back and laugh at that, but we can also look at things like NOVA, or Ken Burns, or even fictional but wonderful programs like Sesame Street or The Twilight Zone. I don’t think it’s right to heap the blame on the content providers; viewers are just as culpable for the dearth of good programming. Maybe Al Gore’s channel will begin to change that? Who knows?
April 8th, 2005 at 4:47 pm
all very good points. like most things, TV can be used for good or evil.
TV can effectively spread information, stories, art, and ideas to millions. It is itself a social commentary and to ignore it is to miss a large part of our society.
But, it’s also worth mentioning that psychologist like Thomas Mulholland have also shown TV to inflict brain activity similar to that of being comatose. There have also been loose connections made between TV and violence, obesity, and the loss of family values.
While this may not all be true (and most-likely not to the degree which the media has been emphasizing them), it is worth noting that there may be such a thing as “too much tv.” And when American households are averaging 2,800 hours of TV a year, maybe it’s about time for a break.