My Blog Is Now On HYPEBEAST.com

Even if something is accelerating, and on fire, it doesn’t mean it’s heading in the right direction. Actually, very often, something that’s on fire, and accelerating, really isn’t headed in the right direction—at all. For it is plummeting.

Oh the blazing meteors of mediocrity. Sigh.

Back to the ground—grounded.

For one, don’t ever be too quick to pedal to a place where you find yourself peddling.

Asking for help is far different than asking for a hand out.

And when you get there, if you do, trust me, it’s not that deep—or that shallow. Ever. Everything has a fixed depth.

And a fixed worth. And a path to ascension.

Gravity.

To hear myself, I have to hold my breath under water.

If you’ve once truly loved someone, you will always be protective of them. Even if—and I find this most interesting—you now protect yourself from that person whom you once shared love.

Hands tied like laces, heart worn and leaned—like sneaker soles.

But having territory is mandatory.

Even the most decadent, multi-flavored, fantastically-packaged, marketed, and tastefully engineered cereal—is serial.

Oh, how those tan lines dance in the annuls of my summer memoirs.

Know the ledge. Knowledge.

Within the confines of your own boundaries, you can do exactly double what you’re currently doing. If you turn a jacket inside out, and expose the lining, it’s still the same jacket—just reversed. Navy on one side, gold buttons. Red floral on the other, contrast stitching.

#FragrantlyFlagrant

If you’re always trying to get shiny dimes, be prepared to be nickled—and, well, dimed.

And a 10 is only a tenth of keeping it 100.

A fraction of what I’m asking.

Real talk: my man: you won’t be the last one to love her.

Seeing things in black and white means that you’ve exercised intentionality in silencing the other flashes of color.

And like that, the rest is gone in a flash.

A chip off the old block is still but a fragment of the originator.

When your heart is catching up to your brain—which is catching up with tired.

Loving someone unconditionally is a condition. Good and bad.

Passion is the intersection between an ability and a dream.

I don’t forgive as much as I try and forget.

Being lost vs. waiting to be found.

Beyond my means by any means.

My reference set could be the set—for your set of references.

Every street runs into another.

Only one mother.

A wormhole to desire.

So this is what it feels like. Ok, thanks for the update.

The want, the want not, the apology, the interim to never again.

And beyond. Wow, that’s a long way down.

But, can we pretend?

Hi Victoria. I know several of your secrets.

I have several bags. Far too many. A big green one, fully waterproofed, LL Bean. Then a blue one for my laptop: blue ballistic nylon and black neoprene: for expansion, Head Porter. And many smaller, one for my camera, one for business cards, one for pens and pencils—another a random catch-all, perhaps for a passport. Some might say, “hey you have a lot of bags.” On the other hand, I think, “I just need protection, with every layer.” Sure that might seem OCD. However, as I look at it, I just have a high probability of getting dirty. Too late when you’re caught in crossfire.

We are all on “borrowed time.” How long would you like to extend your stay?

Mix me into a blender with seersucker, a submariner, a gray tee, white chucks, camo cargo pants, a denim jacket, and a black scarf—with white polka dots—plus some errant skulls, and an iPhone: you’d more or less have me. Just transport, the contents, in something black. And industrial. Just trying to be appropriate.

Always. A. Little. Off. Beat.

Staring is caring.

Mixed media has media—all mixed. Concentration is impossible. Distraction is the new focus.

Fewer walls, more windows. Please.

Can you please move? I’m trying to see. And you’re just looking.

After all, if it’s not battered, it’s frayed. Well, at the very least, very worked out.

But not tired.

For me, its more like “Them Weekly.” That usage of “US” is far too presumptuous.

How soon is then? We’re never there, actually, we’re always here.

Flash. Photo. Record. Post. Comment. React. Repeat.

LCKNG LTTRS? CNFSNG.

Flying first class is pretty comfortable. Yes, you get to skip the ticket lines at the airport, get free champagne (lots), and your seat reclines like a bed. But, you feel the same turbulence as everyone else—and your baggage comes to you on the same carousel.

Classism is just that: a construct of thought predicated on manufactured superiority.

Supremacy =  preSumacy

Change your ways—while you’re young. Also, Smile—like you mean it.

Engineered authenticity vs. Original Fake = Semantics Matter.

Courage lives beyond time stamps. Championship rings are only relevant until the next whistle blows.

Call shots.

Yes, I’d love to work for you. And half up front is the only way this works. We are meeting in the middle, right?

Do you live for a photo op, or for the opportunity to take a photo?

My dad used to tell me that he saw the world as a big picture “filled with shapes.” So strange: I see the world the same now as well. In this way, I think that perception can be genetic. Well, maybe more a part of who we are than we know. After all, we have souls, right?

Colors run deep, many which we never show to the light of day. After all, our blood is really blue—so we think.

And yes, we all bleed the same. Illegal to Regal.

Create something. Then you’ll have something to stand up for. Conversely, you’ll have something that can stand up for you—when you can’t talk, or aren’t around.

Don’t watch me and don’t watch TV.

You are the company that you keep.

Love and hate. Hate and love. Love to hate. Hate to love. Love. Hate. Late.

Cat and mouse sounds a lot different when it’s rat and kitten.

And yes, I missed you too. Badly.

No ceilings.

I’ve just been too busy recently to take things too seriously. Little time for rumination. However, as for being too serious, well, that’s not just of recent.

It’s interesting. Several of my friends have turned their profile images on a variety of digital platforms to an all-black color block. I, on the other hand, want to turn my apartment all white. Maybe we’re speaking the same language—absolute zero can be expressed in a variety of colors I suppose.

Moods are often best-expressed in color.

It’s interesting how life churns in a cyclical current of cause and effect. When money goes out, money comes in. If you extend your hand, you will get one in return. If you turn your back to someone, they will walk away too. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, we inch ahead a little too.

I hate running in circles.

If you’re at a job that you hate, get up and leave. You’re likely unhappy where you are and will never be promoted because, well, after all, your performance probably sucks at that job because you don’t care about what you’re doing.

So why are you there? Still?

If you are willing to do something for free, you must really love it. Now what if you worked hard enough at it to make money doing it?

It is never too late. Don’t wait until you literally have no time left.

If you decide to work for yourself, and you’re broke or unhappy, it’s your own fault. You manifest your own destiny. Deal with it. If you’re reading this, you have a web connection. ANYTHING is possible.

Being “in debt” vs. being “highly leveraged.” It’s interesting how life is often a matter of semantics.

Taxes…

I really appreciate hand-written notes. I’ve recently received several. My handwriting, on the other hand, is barely readable enough for addressing envelopes.

Something tells me I need to step my game up.

Introducing two friends of yours whom you consider to be entirely too talented has to be one of the most exhilarating experiences in life.

Please keep me looped in.

Seeing is not believing. Not for me. Believing, on the other hand, can bring to life what can—and can’t—be seen. I’d rather feel than see.

Volcanoes are erupting. The world is shaking. Our planet is really not happy with us.

Once family, always family.

Even fool’s gold has luster. Just pay fair market value—always.

Get yours.

Saying no is more powerful than saying yes.

If someone gets over on you, they will get theirs. What goes up and over, must come down. And something might not brace their fall.

Recently, I’ve been trying really hard to speak extra kindly to people when I’m really frustrated. Sure, it’s partly passive-aggressive. I don’t know, I just want to get whatever is frustrating me—over with.

If I ask you “how have things been going” I’m asking you about your personal life, not about anything related to a 401K or bone-colored business card. Me, yes, I am asking you how YOU are.

If I actually apologized, I really meant it. If I have seen you, and you could have and didn’t, you haven’t—and you should.

Sometimes the only validation that you need is knowing—that they know. An then of course, knowing that they know, that you know too. Vindication, especially when the most personal, that’s shared in total privacy, can have the magnitude of a thousand screams.

Go here.

An eternal thank you to Kevin Sintumuang at GQ for holding down a friend–like solid friends do.

Expect “a post a month” from me on my new sneaker column for GQ called “Sole Searching.”

You can check the first installment HERE.

To me, it’s all about “small victories.” And to write about the object of my most-addictive consumer addiction, for my favorite magazine, is, well, much more than a small victory.

It’s an HONOR.

Respectfully,

SWG

1. The best life stories take a little while to come together.

2. I live, more or less, like a nice run on sentence; it’s all about the perpetual semi-colon.

3. It will take twelve months for today to pass again. There’s a lot of regeneration that will go on from now until then.

4. That said, time doesn’t wait. Now or never. Always. Go.

5. Is it better to invest in unsigned talent, or jump off a dock, paddle hard, and get on a boat that’s already sailed? I’d rather navigate my own kayak, I suppose, than sleep in the life boat of a cruise ship.

6. The more I have, the more I have an aversion to more.

7. I can always have another good friend. That said, I don’t need anymore acquaintances.

8. Sorry, I’m really maxed out.

9. Who you’re with is a reflection of who you are.

10. Being alone, when entirely intentional, is as good as being with the most dependable–and certainly with many fewer variables.

11.We all have tendencies that are beyond our immediate control. Wrestling with these personal joneses, at least for me, are the most honest conversations I have.

12. Just because you didn’t get caught doesn’t mean people don’t know.

13. I didn’t know that “timing” could be a real reason not to fully commit to being with someone until I said those words to someone else–and meant it.

14. Having said that, you don’t really know if you can be with someone until you’re with them.

15. If you know yourself, you’re ready for someone else to fully know who you are.

NFN.

Even the menacing golden eagles of Kazakhstan can be tamed. And they are used as weapons.

Not all birds float in flocks. Some birds can kill a fox. A heightened perspective can in fact defeat even the most mighty of the cunning who are always looking sideways–to cover their tracks.

I often spin myself into a succession of sharp whirlwinds (read: the bags under my eyes). I have to remind myself that even the Bermuda Triangle is a finite vacum. You can only ingest and internalize so much before you rupture.

Every once in a while you just have to say “No.” The ability to reject is the ability to protect.

Sometimes I wonder why people get tattoos on their necks. On the one hand, I think “well, you’re gonna regret that when you get older.” The other part of me thinks “when I’m older, maybe a neck tattoo would remind me that I was young–while I was still young.”

Cuts are only skin deep. Scars are forever.

When you decide to give openly, don’t be surprised when, one day, something you held close might just be gone–not borrowed.

Because I don’t tread carelessly, I reserve the right to be very picky.

Playing hard to get doesn’t mean that you won’t get got.

When you loan friends money, give with the expectation of never getting it back. It’s about being able to help; it’s not about getting back your “paper.”

No matter the amount of time that passes, time can’t heal the actual action that creates hurt. It can only render our senses complacent; perhaps it increases our ability to rationalize that which was–into that what we wished it was. Or maybe into that which it could have been.

History is spontaneity rendered into a linear line of truth. Reformists posit their stance thereafter.

Don’t be “too aggressive at the start.”Don’t fall victim to “too little, too late.” Rock right in the happy pocket in the middle. To date: this medium is the forever impossible.

As a zero sum dialectic kind of end: you either build or you destroy. The middle ground is just us deciding to use nails either as tools that effect adherence, or as sharp daggers to draw blood.

Maybe it’s not that deep.

My light burns bright, check your photometer.

FROM ADIDAS…

adidas Originals is kicking off 2010 by welcoming you to the neighborhood, the street where originality comes to life as artists, athletes, and celebs celebrate their style. Everyone’s invited to our street corner along with some special guests, who traveled from a galaxy far, far away to launch a year’s worth of celebrations.

Star Wars and adidas Originals have officially joined forces in our most colossal collaboration to date, bringing you a striking collection of sneakers and apparel inspired by the characters and crafts you’ve followed for a lifetime.

The most iconic moments and beloved figures from the Star Wars saga are translated to the streets, telling their creative story across a forceful collection of adidas Originals footwear and apparel.

Celebrate this powerful alliance to the beat of a new and improved remix of the Imperial March, as Vader and the Stormtroopers land on our street corner greeted by Snoop Dogg, David Beckham, Calle 13, DJ Neil Armstrong and Daft Punk representing their originality. No matter which side of the Force you’re on, believe the hype, this year is going to be massive.

Great job KENNA (@okkenna), LUPE (@lupefiasco), and SANTI (@santigold)!

Tweet them some congrats; they deserve it!

How the team got to the top (more videos to come…)!

DAY 1:

DAY 2:

DAY 3:

DAY 4:

DAY 5:

“We can’t plan life. All we can do is be available for it.” -Lauryn Hill

Several weeks ago, my mother was in ICU. It was scary. It was long. It brought a lot of things into perspective for me–especially at the end of 2009. Maybe you’ll take something away from my observations. Maybe not.

1. Having a good sense of humor is invaluable in times of distress and anxiety. Laughing always makes people feel better. Sometimes you even have to make yourself laugh. And then there’s the whole tactic of self deprecation. That one proves effective, often.

2. There are people who really help people for a living. This is pretty admirable. It really makes me think about my life.

3. The lack of importance in having “exclusive sneakers” is really magnified when dealing with the realities of a hospital. Seriously. Material possessions can make us smile, or feel unique–for fleeting moments. But they can’t heal wounds. That said, several male nurses in hospitals in upstate New York are “sneaker heads” and were, yes indeed, jacking my fresh.

4. This is what we are serving today for lunch. If you don’t like it, maybe you’ll like dinner. You’ll probably be hungry enough then not to be so fussy.

5. Coffee quite possibly was invented to keep people like me stay sane, awake, and happy when my brain tells me otherwise. Whiskey mellows me out and makes me able to sleep when I can’t seem to otherwise. At times, neither in moderation. At times, both in moderation. And at others, both at once.

6. Guns should never have been invented. Anything that guns do “positively” could likely have been done with our hands, a big stick, or a sharp rock. At least then–you’d get some face time.

7. There is a higher power in life. Whatever you call this power is up to you. Faith is up to us.

8. When you see an 80 year old wife sitting next to her 80 year old husband, hooked up to a breathing machine in ICU–both in silence–you’ve seen Love. One day, I’ll play one of these roles, if I’m so lucky.

9. When you’re in a bed all day, being moved to a room where you can see the sun is like seeing life again–for the first time. Nature is a free gift of unquantifiable power.

10. What if being able to walk ten feet was your ultimate goal? Let’s readdress several of our life priorities (*see again #3, perhaps).

11. There are many things I need to take less seriously. Yes, seriously.

12. If my parents are arguing again, that means they’re strong enough to fight. This is certainly a good thing–in most cases.

13. Patience is often a virtue. Then there’s “hurry up and wait.” Either way, the reason is coming.

14. Whoever invented the machine that performs cat scans is really smart. If you read this, please let me know how I can return your favor. Thank you and good day.

15. I wonder how many people like my mom this doctor has saved? He’s already saved her twice in the last five years. We need more people like doctors.

When life is tough, someone likely has it worse.

This is really true.

So let your friends help you get strong, and in turn, help someone else stay up. Karma turns her hands when the time is right.

When we choose to help others, we might think that we’re just sharing kindness–a gesture that’s unique to us and that other person.

But to the Universe, that larger collision course of cause and effect, ebb and flow, loss and gain…what we do is actually bigger than all of us.

For  it is destiny.

1. I’m glad I didn’t work on Wall Street. I probably would have turned into a big asshole.

2. I wonder what would have happened if I would have become a high school english teacher? I probably would be less of an asshole than I am now.

3. I’m not trying to hide. I’m not trying to stand out. I’m trying to be neutral: camo goes with everything.

4. I’ve found love. I’ve lost love. I’ve searched for love. I’ve been blinded by love. I’ve found clarity in love. In the end, ain’t no love lost. I am a lover.

5. Obama happened. And I cried.

6. I’ve more or less tried everything that I’ve wanted to try professionally.

7. I come from a successful blue-collar family. I will always be scrappy. But I went to private school and a really expensive liberal arts college so I know how to politic–with intelligence.

8. You never know when you’ll find a new life-long friend. I’ve met two people this year that I will talk to forever, unquestionably. We are souls, not people.

9. My parents never hit me. I will never lay a hand on my children. Force doesn’t mean harm.

10. Sometimes friendship is an upward battle. Some people need some convincing. I’m learning to ask more questions, especially after this last year. People deserve friendship, they aren’t donated it.

11. In order to trust someone, you have to trust them.

12. Don’t run from your problems. You can never escape your own knowledge that you’re lying.

13. Return favors. If you don’t, you’ll start having to ask for them.

14. Find a mentor. Find a passion. Stay dedicated.

15. Be creative, every day.

16. Both of my grandfathers were very solid men. My dad honors his father and protects my mom like her father would have liked. I’ve had good examples.

17. If you make a woman pay for dinner you’re a serious loser.

18. If a woman cooks you a meal, you owe her a few meals.

19. I don’t agree with violence but I will always respect the courage of those who are willing to serve our country.

20. I will not settle in a city. But I will never sell my apartment in Manhattan.

21. Standing around in a club with rich and/or famous people was cool–before I knew rich and/or famous people. If the lights were turned on, and the music shut off, it would get really awkward, really fast.

22. The coolest dinner conversation that I’ve ever had was with Steve Nash, Jay-Z, and my best friend from high school.

23. Coffee is bad.

24. The Sunday New York Times and coffee is good.

25. I am a Scorpio. I am an only child. Hi, my name is Sky.

26. I’ve NEVER cheated on a girlfriend. Yes, I am not lying.

27. There are friends that I should spend more time with. There are “friends” that I have that are really just “people I know.” Recently, especially around my birthday, I’ve realized that the friends I’ve had since a teenager–will always really know me and love me.

28. If you can talk you can sing, if you can walk you can dance.

29. Family first.

+++

Recently I noticed a Hummer in the parking lot of a Goodwill location. Almost involuntarily, I smirked. This reaction was not particularly surprising — least of all, I would guess, to whoever owned the thing. Lots of people judge not just Hummers but also the people who own them, right down to their fundamental morality (and thus whether their presence at a Goodwill is smirkworthy), and do so with no information beyond the existence of this large, gas-guzzling object. Some observers even record a pithy summation of those judgments in the form of a mean note left on the vehicle’s windshield. Or if the owner is present, the critique may be manifest as an obscene gesture, a diatribe or both. Plus, of course, there are Web sites devoted to Hummer hatred. Among the material goods that people are willing to see as reflecting and embodying very specific aspects of their owners’ identity, the Hummer looms large.

Hummer owners surely know that an audience of smirkers and note-leavers judges them as callous earth-killers or worse. Just as surely they must ascribe different meaning to their consumption decision. A recent article in The Journal of Consumer Research takes the unusual step of trying to articulate the Hummer fan’s view of the world and himself. It draws on material found online as well as interviews with 20 or so devoted owners conducted by Marius K. Luedicke, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Innsbruck in Austria and an author of the article.

Hummer loyalists come across as a beleaguered lot. Less predictably, Luedicke and his fellow authors, Craig J. Thompson and Markus Giesler, argue that Hummer drivers position their ownership at the center of a “brand-mediated moral conflict” in which Hummer enthusiasts are not only innocent but also heroic. Conflict with vehement critics turns out to play a key role, with the Hummer owner casting himself or herself as a “moral protagonist” who must, according to this theory, “defend sacrosanct virtues and ideals from the transgressive actions of an immoral adversary.” And what sacrosanct virtues would those be? To oversimplify a bit: American exceptionalism, rugged individualism, love of the frontier, community and freedom.

One owner’s comment from the forum of an anti-Hummer site probably falls right in line with critics’ judgments: “I want to continue living in an America where we all have the liberty to drive the biggest, ugliest gas-burning monsters that will fit on the roads.” (Recall that, in 2001, Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, asserted that prodding the citizenry to conserve energy runs counter to “the American way of life.”) The additional twist is that those who disagree are enemies of freedom itself: “Open your minds and hearts, and live and let live.” Another fan makes an even more nimble rhetorical leap: “Grow up and join us Americans that believe in our freedom. . . . Stop trying to oppress others that don’t share your beliefs, color and religion.” Thus the debate is reframed, the journal authors write, as one between defenders and destroyers of personal freedom. Hummer owners are not just right; they are righteous.

This attitude is positioned as descendant from classic American myths — John Winthrop’s vision of the City Upon a Hill, endlessly besieged by outsider foes who hate our freedom but are invariably swept aside by the forces of destiny itself. Clearly this involves ascribing meaning, motive and morals to Hummer critics, who are portrayed in the comments that Luedicke collected as narrow-minded hypocrites — particularly those who drive a Prius, or as some Hummer fans call it, a Pious. Getting down to details, enthusiasts point to volunteer groups that team up in their Hummers to clean debris from highways, or even help the Red Cross in disaster situations by way of the Hummer Club’s HOPE (Hummer Owners Prepared for Emergencies) program. In this way, they see themselves as caring for the land and acting selflessly on behalf of the community. A somewhat-related buy-American argument will presumably fade if G.M. completes its reported sale of the brand to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company.

The traditional explanation for an object like the Hummer — big, flashy, expensive to acquire and maintain — is that it’s a conspicuous status symbol. After all, consumer goods are often thought of as projectors of meaning, tools for individuals to send signals to onlookers known and unknown. Surely that theory is incomplete. The Hummer carries meaning, all right, but what it exemplifies is how wide the gap can be between what the owner and those onlookers think the meaning is. And while it’s an extreme case, it’s hardly a singular one. Probably we all send signals with products — your Birkin bag, my Levi’s, everybody else’s iPhone — that fly so wide of the mark, we’d be chagrined to learn just how differently the members of our invisible audience receive them. Probably we don’t want to know. And neither, I suspect, do Hummer owners.

Wow. Sound Clash.