Top 10 Ways to Spot an Onitsuka Tiger FAKE

Top 5 Ways to Spot a Fake Onitsuka Tiger


With the many online stores offering Onitsuka Tiger Shoes at a discount, here are 5 ways to help you identify an authentic Onitsuka Tiger shoe from the fake ones.

1. If you have a particular design you see online, visit the homepage of Onitsuka to find out if that design is there
2. I've bought shoes from multiply and ebay, and if the price is too low, less than 50 USD, that's already a red flag that you might be purchasing a fake shoe. Be wary of those sites. But do visit nordstrom, zappos, 6pm and eilatan shoes. They sell authentic Onitsuka Tiger shoes
3. If the photos displayed show logos of onitsuka on the sole, it is likely a fake one. Only original Onitsuka Lauta and Serranos have the logos on the sole. If the image displayed does not show the sole. It is likely a fake,.
4. It is hard to decipher the poor quality in stitching and materials if it is seen online, request for close up photos. The popular design of the Mexico 66 with the royal blue and red colorway is the most "faked" design of the shoe

 The above image is a fake, it is hard to tell, but if you notice, they seller does not want to show the sole of the shoe

The above photo is real, this design should have a suede heel, most of the fake designs do not have it.

This is an original and authentic design, notice the sole has no logo
5. Ultimate 81 have no logos on the sole, the shoelaces are thin compared to the fake ones

This is an orginal Onitsuka Ultimate 81, notice the quality of the laces and material, too see a fake Ultimate 81 see this

 http://cgi.ebay.ph/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=280663362295

Because Running is Personal

I've been running for a few years now. And for me, running is a form of personal freedom. I'm not out there trying to break records or meet chicks on the fly. I'm out there because sometimes in life, you just have to escape the drudgery life brings you. Whether that form of escape is an expensive vacation with friends, a day at the spa, listening to grooves in a bar with your favorite drink or something else, running for me is all that and more. Running for most runners out there is personal, you don't have to have a bunch of friends to be with you when you run, you don't have to be in a marathon to enjoy it. All you will ever need is a starting point and a destination.  Running is a lot like life, you start from point A and end in point B. Who would ever want to live life just at point A anyway?

But  you will also need the right tools and training to take you to point B.

Yesterday, I was window shopping at SM The Block and came across these peculiar brand of shoes, Somnio. It is a brand of running shoe that you can tailor-fit according to your physiological needs. Taking into consideration how you run, the arch of your foot, the alignment of your foot and your total body weight. Padded inserts and foot insoles can be adjusted to fit your left and right feet perfectly. Such great lengths to personalize a running shoe can be an unnecessary need for some. But if you're a serious runner or just someone who wants to take their running to a more personal and pleasurable level, then this shoe is for you. Running will be more comfortable and the risk of injury due to running will be reduced, providing you with more kilometers to run and more years to enjoy your running. The aim of each Somnio Running Shoe is to provide you with the perfect fit for your left and right feet, and with several adjustments and tests, this can be achieved. That's the first reason why I like this running shoe, because with all the mass production and commercialization of almost all products in the market, it's good to own something that tells you, "you are unique, that's why you are wearing this shoe".  Which leads me to the second reason why I love this shoe... I want to look cool.

You hear global brands coming out with several new technologies that will revolutionize everything, more often than not those gels, stabilizer bars, shock absorbers and air are merely empty technologies. They astound you with cool advertisements with super athletes and marketing campaigns that will entice you to purchase their product. Next thing you know, half the population will be aiming to own that same brand, with no clear value added for the hefty price. You purchase an expensive brand trying to look cool, along with a few thousand people owning the same pair with the same objective: to look cooler than you. Make no mistake about it, the Somnio Mission Control Model will make you look cool. Nothing is cooler than someone going against the tide, when someone owns something that is unique, does something that no one ever does, they will stand out. Somnio Mission Control will do this to you. It's a relatively unknown brand compared to the Nikes, Adidas and Mizunos out there. The looks on the Somnio Mission Control can rival those of the top brands, the quality is even better. The stitching is elaborate, the colorway is unique.  I like the very hard heel support they have, great for those sprint bursts towards the end of the run. Or the mesh material that makes your feet feel cool from kilometer 0 to kilometer N. But I just like it because when I get to wear it, I know and everyone will know that I did not follow the bee-line to the finish line, that I wasn't swayed by sports personalities, that I wasn't engrossed with the new (empty) technology. I like Somnio Mission Control because when you have the perfect fitting shoes that not many have, it makes you look cool. Take my word for it:  Somnio makes running more personal.

Addlife CoQ10

A shameless plug, for a product we should all believe in...

Coenzyme Q10: The Miracle Nutrient

CoQ10, a powerful antioxidant, is now rapidly becoming a popular nutritional supplement for adults 40 years and above. This special nutrient is popularly known as an antioxidant more potent than vitamin E. CoQ10 has been widely recognized for its vast health benefits, primarily catering to those with cardiovascular complications. CoQ10 is a natural substance in the body that powers up the cells by transforming the food we eat into energy to sustain bodily functions to help people enjoy life’s activities. Unfortunately, as we age, our natural CoQ10 levels decrease.
In a book authored by Dr. Emil Blizkanov entitled The Miracle Nutrient, Coenzyme Q10; he equates CoQ10 to the production of energy resulting in the process of life itself, a notion which he described in the equation: CoQ10 = Energy = Life. Thus, without adequate CoQ10 levels in our body, the energy to sustain life will also be inadequate.
As an antioxidant, CoQ10 fights off free radicals or unstable molecules known to damage healthy cells and bring about different health hazards such as chronic diseases like cancer. Many cancer patients use CoQ10 as an alternative therapy as it is known to give extra energy and boost the immune system.
Addlife CoQ10 from Pascual Laboratories is affordably priced, and comes in a 30mg dosage in capsule form. It is available in Mercury Drugstores nationwide.

Of Corrupt Generals and Honor

I'd choose General Reyes over General Rabusa any day of the week and twice on Sundays. It is more honorable for a corrupt General to take his life than a corrupt General to turn state witness.

Dad

For the first time since his death in June 2006, I dreamt of my dad today. He was trying to tell me something but I still can't decipher it yet.

I miss you dad.

Successful Branding

During the 90's, a pop rap group called Milli Vanilli hogged the headlines by churning number one hits and winning grammies in the process. Unfortunately, during one of their concerts, it was discovered that they weren't the real artists who sang those songs. After the controversy, the real Milli Vanilli came out but after getting a single out, they were never the same again. But that's a good example of great branding. Pick two foreigners with weird accents that look and dance great and you'll sell albums. Just don't get caught.

However, on the flip side, Charice... a child prodigy with a great voice is also making waves in the US and even starred in a few episodes of Glee. Her music is cool R&B but she still looks like Alice in Wonderland trying to hard to dress up like Paris Hilton. I loved her song reset but when I found out that she was the one who sang it, I'm having second thoughts. Not to take anything away from Charice, she is talented, make no mistake about it. I just don't like the way she is packaged. That's probably a case of poor branding.

A Tale of Two Old Couples

A few hours ago, I was in the NAIA Terminal 3 getting ready to board my flight for Cebu when I noticed an elderly couple, probably both in their late 60's paying at the terminal fee counter. The counter girl asked why the payment for the fee was just for one person, the husband replied that he was just accompanying his wife to the boarding gates. That instantly put a smile on my face. After 30 or more years of being married, this elderly couple has never lost the romance between them. The husband was carrying the wife's belongings before he was finally stopped by the security guard because only passengers were allowed at the pre-departure area. He bade his wife goodbye and while his wife walked away, he was just standing there waiting for his wife to leave his sight. How sweet was that? One day, I'd like to be that old guy. Never losing sight of the important thing in relationships. The romance. When the hot sex is gone, the money is all spent, the body is weak and memory fails you... the romance should always be there.

In contrast, as I was in the tube, another elderly couple was just parallel to my line. I could hear the husband shouting at his wife about some misdirection or misinofrmation fed by the latter. They were traveling with another elderly couple and was also bound for Cebu. They obviously were irritated of eachother. Which is usually the case for most elderly couples. Having the romance well into your twilight years requires a lot of hard work. I began to wonder if this guy was a bad husband from the start and it snowballed and brought the couple to where they are now, both irritated about each other.

That guy can learn a thing or two from the husband who braved the hard parking, the long walk, the flights of escalators, the chaos of the airport and the check-in just to make sure his wife is safe and sound. I guess we can all learn from that guy as well.

Facebook Shutting Down on March 15- Not True

To those FB addicts out there, no man in his right mind who owns a company valued at close to PhP 50B USD will shut down a site just because it ruining his life.

The Elusive MP3

In this time and age of piracy, downloading songs from the internet, torrents and what have you, sometimes there are songs you hear somewhere and decide that you have to get that song whatever happens. But not to the point that you will actually go online and legally purchase it or even worse, go to the record bar and buy the cd copy of it.

So you search and search google, typing everything about the song just to get the chance to have it for free. You sometimes search for days, or even ask a friend from a different country to download it for you if the site is blocked in your country. And the feeling of having that song in your library is just... irritatingly sublime.

I've had my fair share of experiences and I wouldn't even consider myself as a music junkie. But I am proud to say that in my collection of over 1,200 mp3's, I have a selection of songs that can never be ripped off the internet again, such as:

1. "Bakit ba ganyan"- duet version of Vic Sotto and Dina Bonnevie's classic
2. "Little Paradise"- released by The Dawn sometime in the late 80's
3. "Loving You"- from the late great Francis M's first album "Yo", a classic tune sung by him and his wife Pia Arroyo
4. "Stolen"- by Dashboard Confessional the International version with a female singer singing some parts
5. "And So I Know"- a b-side from Stone Temple Pilots
6. "Either Way"- by the Generationals, the song played in the opening credits of "going the distance", nice catchy tune
7. "6 Underground"- umbrella girls remix, another hard find

I'll try to post more songs if I recall the mp3's I searched high and low for. If you need to download any of these mp3's just let me know.

Rave: What's the Deal with Underwear?

A little bit of history, I used to wear classic briefs until the end of gradeschool. As I entered highschool, when Mark Wahlberg was known as Marky Mark and when Vanilla Ice used to show off his boxer shorts while wearing oversized jeans, I knew I had to switch to boxer shorts to keep up. Fortunately, my dad has several pairs of unused boxer shorts in various prints. I got into boxer shorts well into my early employment. I used to love the feel of freedom and it seems like there was always a cool breeze down there.

A trip to the US changed all that. I was introduced to boxerbriefs in 1996 and started wearing them in 2003. It's a hybrid, I get the no non-sense serious underwear guy look of the boxer while getting the proper support from a brief. It was the best thing.

I still have my boxers though, but I only wear them to bed. My boxerbriefs, well, let's just say I can't get enough of them. I even set aside the good pairs for the weekend, and wear out my old pairs during the weekdays. I have different colors and patterns and ironically, even if I know that they won't be seen by the outside world, I even try to pair them up with what I would put over them (i.e. blue jeans would go well with my striped blue boxerbriefs, etc.)


Is it just me? Or do other guys do that as well?

The Perfect 8

My favorite columnist, Mark Macapagal, who used to have column in the defunct Manila Times would always astound me with his thoughts on life. He is more popularly known for writing the column "The One That Got Away" which is usually republished in various blogs.

But there is one particular column that captured my imagination and approval and I haven't seen it ever since Manila Times shutdown a few years ago. It was entitled "The Perfect 8". As much as I want to quote him in verbatim, I'll just try to recall the geist of that column.

In your life, you meet a lot of people from the opposite sex. You rank them superficially from 1-10, with 10 being the highest. You would usually meet a lot of 5's or 7's. You meet 10's and wonder if this 10 is really perfect, perfect for you that is. He mentions that a 10 could be more eye-candy than anything. Being in a relationship with a 10 can actually be tough. You often wonder if you deserve such a beauty, you wonder what people think about your relationship (i.e. who got the raw end of the deal), you would wonder if it would last (esp. if you don't consider yourself as a 10), you'd wonder "what if she meets another 10?". Basically, you'd miss your peace of mind.

Like most of us, 10's are really nice to look at, but an 8 is a keeper. An 8 is not beautiful, but she is cute, she would have angles that would make her a 10 and you continue to search for those angles as your relationship progresses. She has her own imperfections and you would gladly accept them since you're not perfect yourself. You won't wonder if she would dump you for someone else since she won't be surrounded as much by admirers. You keep your peace of mind, that's why she's a perfect 8.

That's pretty much the message of that column, if you have a copy of that, I would be eternally grateful if you send me one. In the meantime, goodluck searching for the perfect 8.

Rant: Gyms and the people in them

I've been working out regularly for almost 10 years now, and I've grown accustomed to the hidden social networking area we call gyms. There are different types of people in gyms, and the different times that they would go there:

1. The Morning Risers: Pretty much the senior citizen group, they would usually work out between 6-8am and they would do this regularly. They are there for conditioning and actual training. Or just to prevent an early death. They have their own network of other more mature gym rats. They are present all year-round. (Sign: they read the paper while on the bike)

2. The Gym Rat: They are either self-employed or unemployed and they would work out for at least 2 hours between 10am to 3 pm. You would see them every other day and they like working out alone, not talking to anyone during their routine. (Sign: they have an Ipod strapped on their arms)


3. The Barkada: You can see them after-office or after-school hours, they usually come in groups of three or more and spot eachother up. They are a loud bunch and enjoy socializing with other barkadas. They thrive in very tight environments and don't mind talking about their personal lives out loud. (Sign: Groups of three in not so athletic clothing)

4. The Hearthrobs: The darling of the gym, they usually work out alone during the peak hours and they savor all the attention given them. They wear really tight clothing to reveal their assets and do a lot of cardio. (Sign: Tanktops for men, leggings for women)

5. The MILFs: Usually seen during the early morning or peak hours, wears tight clothing, indicative that they are either separated or just not happy with their marriages. Does a lot of cardio and attends the belly dancing classes (Sign: Leopard print clothing)

6. The after-holiday gym rat: They are usually the new members, checking in at the gym and working out regularly during January to March, either getting ready for the beach season or just wanting to burn the calories piled on during the holidays. After which, you never see them again, until next year of course (Sign: New member and strictly follows a program)

Revenge on an Ex

Speaking hypothetically of course, let's just say you were going steady with someone for a few months and then you realize that he/she was already cheating on you a few months into the relationship. The sad thing is, you only found out from the partner of your S.O., who happens to even be married to someone else. How do you handle it?

a. Cry buckets of tears and drink buckets of booze until the pain goes away
b. Give them a kiss goodbye and wish them the best
c. Plot a revenge and go on with your life

Well for the peace-loving, a and b are the only options. For those who chose "C" we are on the same boat. We are the people who value the "last laugh", we know what our worth is and we wouldn't take such a beatdown without giving them a harsher beatdown in return. In this day and age, you should be careful because the internet just reveals everything about you. Making all of us prime target for "revenge".

So the "dumper" dumps you, for a married person. The hardest slap on the face right? And you are probably reading this because you want to plan a revenge. Before I continue, let me just say that if you plan to do this, you must overpower your conscience from getting the best of you. If you can, then you can do this as planned.

1. Change your contact numbers, resist from keeping in touch with the dumper at all costs.

2. Flirt with the "dumper's' friends, I am sure you've met his or her friends and you can tell if someone out there has the hots for you, if he/she does, play along with it making sure the news reaches the dumper at the soonest possible time. If sex is involved, I say go for it and make sure the dumper finds out about it. If you can't hack the sex part, I suggest a little smooching would suffice.

3. Once the news gets to the "dumper", he/she will try to contact you and confirm such an incident. Resist temptation to talk to him/her or you will never be able to finish this list. Keep him or her hanging.

4. Repeat step 2 to as many friends possible to get the news across. This is soooo easy for guys.

5. Now, this is the evil part... ruin the dumper's reputation by accessing all his or her friends in their respective social networking sites, preferably family and workmates who have no idea what they have done and spill the beans (i.e. I am cheating on my husband/wife with this girl), send out anonymous faxes to his or her office.

6. Spill the beans to the one cheated on. Befriend the husband or the wife who have no idea that they are being cheated on. This will require a lot of guts since you might be breaking up a family. If you have the chance, try to get the one cheated on into bed.

7. If you are able to do 5 and 6 successfully, get ready for hell because your ex and the one he/she dumped you for will be after your insides. If you're lucky (which depends on the success of your 5 and 6) they would break up and would beg you to go back into the relationship. In which case, you would decline, because all you really wanted was the "last laugh".

Moral of the story is....Screw me once, I screw you multiple times.

Good luck!

The First Day

The sad thing about long vacations is the dreaded night before going back to work or school. You have days of unlimited fun, without a care in the world because you have no deadlines to worry about, teachers or bosses to be scared of. You meet friends, drink to your heart's content and get back out there actually enjoying life. During Christmas of 2010, I just hung out with my highschool friends, family, played tons of golf and put my work laptop aside but open just downloading torrents. I even found the time to upgrade my personal mac laptop into a Snow Leopard. How cool is that.

Everything was going well....until the dreaded night before going back to work (which actually happened last night). I just ate at my favorite persian join to comfort me. Still didn't work though. Until I created a mindset, that vacations can only be cool, if you have the dreaded monotony to return to. So I am glad I have that monotony, it's better than being unemployed. Imagine being on a longer than usual vacation, not that fun is it?

A lot of you will be experiencing that after the longer holidays but the most important thing is to ensure that the fun you had during your vacation was more than enough to over come the dreaded night before going back to reality. I made sure I did, hope you guys did too.

It's been a while...

I started this blog to help me get over things I should be getting over with. Funny, after my first post I never really posted again. Probably got myself busy from living the life. Now I kinda forgot how to feel forlorn. Happy New Year everyone.... take care of 2011, she's still young and needs proper nurturing and I promise you, she will take care of you in return.