Nike SB Eric Koston 1 Review

One of the latest and most popular skateboarding shoes in the past two years has been the Eric Koston professional model, which boasts one of the biggest names in skateboarding. The shoe itself boasts a very impressive lineup of modern technology, most importantly its Lunarlon insoles. Apart from all the hype, I will review the shoes from a subjective point of view and talk about their practicality on and off the board.

I am sure that you already know some about this shoe if you are looking up this review. I will not explain all the technology as you can definitely do just that on the Nike SB website. I will explain the shoe in simple terms and display pictures of one of the two pairs I have already owned. I will review the overall looks, comfort, durability, grip, and overall impression.

Looks

First of all, the looks of this shoe are simple, very simple. The shoe has a low profile that is consistent with most popular skate shoes of today. The one piece toe cap, which aids in durability, also adds to the simplicity of the shoes. This low profiled toe cap also allows for the laces to sit low, which decreases abrasion with grip tape. The Swooshes on both sides of the shoe tie the tip of the shoe together along with stitching that follows through to the front of the shoe. The cup sol of the shoe has a great duel color design. One main color with another contrasting colored rubber on the outside, where the pinky toe typically sits. Overall, solid look. Almost painful to skate because they were so clean.

Comfort

This shoe is in my top 5 of most comfortable skate shoes of all time. The shoes are stiff to begin with, as with most shoes, but within a week they begin to feel like socks. I had a black and grey pair a year ago that felt like socks after wearing them for walking around a year. Sadly, the soles of the shoes broke through to the Lunarlon soles within a few hours of skating. Point being, these shoes have ultimate comfort with support from the Soles, bendable cups, and neoprene collar. Neoprene is a polymerized synthetic rubber. Lastly, the breath ability was lacking without any air holes, but this does not really matter when your trying to tre down a 6 stair.

Durability

My first pair of Kostons took up the wear and tear of walking, occasional running, and casual skating (without ollies) for around a year and a half. They skated fine until the bottom of the soles gave out, but this was due to walking not to skating. With my newer pair of Kostons, it is apparent that they have good durability. The cup soles are still intact with little to no suede laceration. The problem areas with both pairs of Kostons have been related to the laces and the collar. Laces seem to get destroyed on any shoe, so there is nothing too serious to complain with for laces. They lasted me a solid lot of hours before they broke. The collar filled with neoprene was opened up soon after the first week as the containing fabric is thin. The nollie foot got the worse part of the bargain as nollie tricks typically slide more horizontally. The cushion still exists as it is glued in, which is what matters.

Grip 

The Kostons had mediocre grip. They got the job done when it came to skating. After around two of casual skating, they lost much of their grip on the bottom. Secondly, these shoes did sometimes roll off the feet (where the sole of the foot would be placed on the side wall) if I did not land correctly. This was rare, but it did occur. 

Overall Impression

The Eric Koston 1's are a great investment. They have all the qualities of a great skate shoe. They look great when wearing board shorts, shorts, and any type of pant. They skate great and you will definitely receive compliments on them. Try to buy these on CCS or other large skate distributors as they usually have discounts for their shoes. My current pair of grey and red Kostons were only 60 dollars compared to their 80 dollar sale price. GET THESE SHOES

Internet

The Internet played a significant role in Egypt and the many other revolting countries in the Middle East this last year. Protests were triggered in Egypt, late January, where young people grouped up and coordinated on Facebook. They protested the government and the government blocked internet sites. However, citizens continued to display information online via Facebook and twitter where people from across the world watched. The revolts occurred with much influence from these social websites and the help of young people with new ideas. The internet is playing a larger role in politics than ever before and is affecting participation, especially in young individuals in their late teens to early twenties.

Political Advertising

Embed examples of political advertising from opposing candidates and explain which one you feel is most effective.

E-Commerce Taxation

Electronic commerce is trade taken place on the internet. This form of trade is hard to regulate because people can buy and sell items across states, which makes taxation difficult. There is nothing telling people where tax money should go and to how much items should be taxed. Websites such as Ebay also foster person to person trades, which produces no money for the states. 
There were $525 Million in lost tax revenues in 1999 as reported by Forrester Research. 11 years later, this number is bound to be doubled. Much more shopping is done online and much more tax money is being lost. The issue of electronic taxation is extremely difficult to regulate because of personal trades and interstate commerce.

Censorship

The most recent and noteworthy censorship issue occurred with WikiLeaks this last year. We don't hear about it as much now, but the website (which may be due to be taken down) releases countless articles about the U.S. Government and other countries. America did not take much issue with it until cables were released harming the U.S. government and employees. Countless governments are on a quest to take down the website to censor what information is released.

Freedom of speech can only be legally detained if the speech threatens national security and/or to people, such as those fighting in wars or extremist targets. The censorship of WikiLeaks is a layered problem because 1. The website can not be taken down due to many mirror sites. 2. There is no threat to national security in many peoples' eyes. 3. The site is run by people of different countries, not just America.

I believe WikiLeaks should be censored because some secrets should be kept away from the public to follow through with positive relationships with allies. However, I also have a soft side to WikiLeaks because people should have the right to know what is going on between world powers. Either way, the website is still streaming documents and is not close to being shut down. No censorship has taken place as of yet, just attempts of censorship. 

Online Print Media

One website I have just started to read is the Drudge Report. I really enjoy the simplicity of the website; a plain white background with many other links. The website updates multiple times daily and features many of the latest news stories. I believe this is one of the best news websites available, coming from a mildly right view, unlike news programs such as Fox.
The Drudger Report is one of those websites that supports the education of millions, bringing together the top stories on one simple medium.
Here is a snapshot of the website minutes ago:

How good is the media at informing the people?

Embed an example of political commentary on television and describe how it works to support or detract from keeping the public informed.


People have been bringing up the issue of Obama's birth certificate recently, most notably Donald Trump. I beleive news stations have detracted from what is really important, such as Japan's crisis, the Middle East, and our budget. However, news stations have focused in on whether a president, who has been in office for two years already, was born in Hawaii. Donald Trump gained news recognition after Obama came out with the certificate with a press conference. Here is a video retaining to the issue this last week.