Sneaker Con went down again last Saturday, May 22nd, and it was yet another great success. The venues for this event have been progressively larger, as demand for this unique showcase/marketplace in New York City was a family affair of sorts with heat on the feet of young and old. From vintage Baby Jordans to kids Zoom Flight 96s to all manner of Air Jordan models–both retro and original–those who attended the event represented the sneaker game well. It is always nice to see the original models, next to crispy retros to get a feel for the changes in the models over the years. As you scroll through this rich selection of kicks, it’s nice to see many brands represented from Asics to adidas, who themselves had a table at the event. The organizer of the event suggests that there was over a million dollars of footwear on the feet and tables at this one-of-a-kind event. If you have even a slight interest in kicks, this gallery of Sneaker Con 2010 feet will be sure to amaze you.

Last year, So-Me, James Jarvis and Delta were the first artists to get on board with “Malibu By U”, a special edition Malibu Rum which allows the consumer to customize their very own bottle for a truly limited edition version. These artists created art work for the bottles and 100 bottles of each design was made available to the public. This year, taking the baton from So-Me, James Jarvis and Delta, are Jimi Crayon, Pinky Tesfay and MNKY. These three artists will be creating special art work in various locations around London, providing sources of information for all to customize their own bottle of Malibu Rum.

The comments just kept coming, everything from “…have you been hacked?!?!” to “HOW DO I ERASE THIS ANNOYING…”, in all caps. This morning, search engine giant Google launched its first ever playable Google doodle (on its search page) in celebration of PAC-MAN’s 30th anniversary. Created by Marcin Wichary, senior UX developer and Google doodler Ryan Germick (yes, that is his official job title), enjoy this FREE 8-bit fun for the next 48 hours! And as any die-hard gamers would expect, the duo also included an Easter Egg – Click on the “Insert Coin” twice and Ms. PAC-MAN will join in the hunt for those pesky critters! You could control PAC-MAN with the arrow keys and Ms. PAC-MAN with WASD keys.

A young boy from a small town dreams of becoming a professional skateboarder. He wants to live, eat, breathe, sleep everything skateboard. In a serendipitous coincidence of good fortune, not unlike Charlie who went to visit the Chocolate Factory and became Willie Wonka’s heir, this amateur skateboarder heed his calling of Machotaildrop, one of the greatest skateboarding companies of its time, in hope to turn pro. However, like everything that seems too good to be true, they usually are. Starring éS professional skateboarders Rick McCrank and John Ratray, Machotaildrop is a fasinating tale that will resonate with all skaters out there, and proceed to melt the audience’s mind. This film, written and directed by Corey Adams and Alex Craig, will premiere at the Prince Charles Cinema on June 3. Tickets are available at Slam City Skates now, and this is something not to be missed by anyone who skates, loves skating, or simply loves Willie Wonka.

In North Hollywood, skaters and 7-Eleven share an interesting bond. Perhaps as a pit shop of refueling after pushing for hours on end, falling, crashing, trying and succeeding, or perhaps as a hangout to get a quick blast of air conditioning before heading out in the sun again, the 7-Eleven on Magnolia Boulevard across from the North Hollywood Park is quite popular amongst skaters. In paying homage to the sport of skating and skaters, 7-Eleven has revamped the popular Magnolia Boulevard store into an Urban Skate Store with the help of professional skater/reality show star Rob Dyrdek of MTV’s Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory. Also, across the street, Dyrdek had opened a “Safe Spot Skate Spot” location in the North Hollywood Park, so skaters can have a safe place and good equipment to perfect their craft.

One of the most clandestine graffiti artist in the world, Banksy, has been uncharacteristically exposed in the spotlight with the artist’s directorial debut, “Exit Through The Giftshop“, and he has been traveling through stateside in promoting his film. While Banksy made his way through New York City, he didn’t forget to leave a few traces and tags of thought for the city, which had since then sparked quite a graffiti war, once again proving the volatile and ephemeral nature of the world of graffiti. Pieces showed up last night around downtown New York City, in Chinatown, SoHo, Financial District and across the bridge in DUMBO. The Chinatown piece has been verified this morning, and since then, folks armed with Sharpies and spray paint have decided to add their own two pence and brushstrokes to these pieces.

A man is only as good as his word, as his practice, as his performance and talent. But what makes a good man better than the next, especially on court, faced with overcoming two other men– himself, and his opponent? For the world’s greatest soccer players in the decade, Nike Mercurial cleat has been there for the heroes of speed, including Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Franck Ribery, Daniel Alves, Mesut Ozil, Didier Drogba and Robinho. The cleats and the men of unparalleled speed and skill are reanimated by Croatian artist, Danijel Zezelj, in Nike Stadium’s new campaign, Heroes of Speed. Zezelj and illustrator Paolo Sabellucci created an animated trailer documenting ten memorable soccer moments by the Nike Mercurial athletes to celebrate the decade of innovation, legend and talent of both the athletes and the Mercurial. Check out the microsite which not only features a trailer, but also gives a pictographic timeline rundown of the evolution of the perennial Mercurial, the men who donned them, and an augmented reality lookbook which enables the viewer to animate each athlete with a special code embedded in the lookbook.

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries”– Aldous Huxley
“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of seeing how things may be, to see them as they are”– Samuel Johnson

There is an irreconcilable difference between travelers and tourists. Tourists see, and travelers understand. A foreign land will leave a irrevocable impression on a traveler and vice versa, but a tourist is likely to make a bare graze. As any seasoned traveler will tell you, to truly understand a new place, one requires not simply an open mind, but often, the luxury of time to experience a full cultural immersion. As such, when Wallpaper* embarked on a journey of depicting the glories of Brazil as best and detailed as it possibly can, the influential arts, design and style magazine decided to move its headquarters to the beautiful city of Rio and Sao Paulo for a month, for its Born In Brazil issue.

The Born In Brazil issue follows upon the award-winning success of the magazine’s Made In China issue last year, and has decided that Brazil, as the host of the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics, is the country to see, to experience, and to be. After an extraordinary month of eating, drinking, sleeping, shopping, conversing and breathing all things Brazil, the Born In Brazil Issue has finally wrapped and launched with three covers (including one limited edition cover designed by Brazilian artist/sculptor/photographer/muckraker, Vik Muniz). To celebrate the launch, *Wallpaper joined hands with Carlos Junquiera, owner of New York City’s Brazilian contemporary luxury furniture showroom, Espasso, to host a launch party for the epic issue.

In these days men are not only defined by their intelligence, experience and their sartorial presentation– he is also defined by his dwellings. As such, living and working space is fast becoming one of the most important reflections of character, and should be decorated accordingly. Cappellini and Walt Disney Signature have partnered up to bring the happiest place on earth to an upscale lifestyle with a collection of limited edition signature furniture which debuted at Milano Design Village last month.

With a happy and affable name like “Friends With You”, it is safe to believe that the charming creative collective is ready to extend its hands to everyone in the world. But before that, Friends With You are already fast friends with Pharrell, thus supported by N.E.R.D. and BBC/Ice Cream. In their steadfast friendship, Friends With You has customized a stately Rolls Royce drop-top convertible with its signature joyous and colorful graphics. Veering away from the formidable and looming royal nature of the Rolls Royce, the playful characters and graphics give the ride an intriguing edge for N.E.R.D.’s “Hot N’ Fun” video. Friends With You definitely took “Pimp My Ride” to a whole new (And accessible and friendly) level. via: BBC/Ice Cream

Journey– the physical act and course of travel from one place to another, in a romantic sense, embodies more than just moving from point A to point B. For Louis Vuitton which started out making suitcases that accompany men on their spiritual and physical metamorphosis, journey is a hefty word laden with experience, meaning and growth– it is an emotional experience that can and often lead to self discovery. For a few years now, Louis Vuitton has been working on the Journeys campaign with renowned photographer, Annie Leibovitz, and has shot some of the world’s leading personalities including the man who brought the former Soviet Union Perestroika, Mikahail Gorbachev, French actress Catherine Deneuve, actor Sean Connery and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones. This year, keeping in line with the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Louis Vuitton has worked its Journeys campaign with soccer legends Zinedine Zidane, Pele and Diego Maradona.

If you have been to 95 Wall Street in New York City, whether in attempt to secure a lease or just to visit a famous Philippe Starck building, you would know that feeling of recognizing something indescribably Starck. The dark opulent marbled interior is set off with interesting sculptural busts, chandeliers and intriguing paintings mirrors the peculiar twisted opulence in French industrial designer Philippe Starck’s work on products and spaces. And if you think 95 Wall Street or the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles are strange, amplify that uncanny feeling three0-fold (or more), and you can kind of grasp what Philippe Starck’s home in Paris is like.