PURSUIT OF AIR

HIS AIRNESS

MAMBA FOREVER

MUHAMMAD ALI

Dame D.O.L.L.A.

The First Rule of Peace Club Is You Don't Stop Talking About Peace Club

I always loved the soap bar graphic from Fight Club. Putting the name of the movie on the bar was such a simple, brilliant bit of visual branding for the film. The movie title was never carved on the soap that appeared in the movie, but only used for marketing purposes. And in that context, it turned into something else entirely. For me, it's one of the things that helped turned the movie into the iconic film that it is. The image of the movie is so strong and solid.

Obviously using the device of carving words into soap has been used over and over again ever since. The other day the bar floated into my mind again, and here I am adding to the endless stream of pop-culture remixes. I guess my mind was reacting to the black and white, us versus them state of the world right now. So I put together a few pixels of art to remind us all to come together, while also referencing one of my favorite films of all time. Peace Club, talk about it, share it--and if you are so inclined, wear it.

Peace and love. Oyl.

Visit the Oyl Shop to see sizes and colors here.

Here Comes Rui Hachimura...

With everyone in NBA circles focused on the hype around Zion Williamson, I think people might be sleeping on Rui Hachimura. While he was a very much heralded lottery draft pick (the first player from Japan to ever go that high) he wasn’t necessarily viewed as a slam dunk. He was seen as athletic, unselfish and pretty much viewed as a defensive specialist. However, this is a guy who has shockingly only been playing basketball for about seven years. And given the leaps he took at Gonzaga in his second and third years, it’s not ridiculous to imagine another leap or two from what we’ve already seen. With his play in the recent FIBA world basketball championships, he showed that he could carry the offensive load, and at times even dominate. This was something he didn’t need to show on a more balanced Gonzaga offense. But now that he has shown the ability to dominate on both ends of the court, I expect his stock to rise even more. There will always be an adjustment period for rookies as their bodies get used to going against much larger and more athletic players. But the flashes Rui has shown could turn into something truly special once he hits his NBA stride.

Doc Gooden

Doc Gooden by @oyldraws

Western Conference Finals!!

As a lifelong Portland Trailblazers fan, playoff success is usually a once a decade luxury. 1992 saw us battling Michael Jordan and the Bulls on their path toward eventual immortality. 2000 saw us on the cusp of returning to the Finals, only to experience one of the most brutal collapses in sport history in the final 12 minutes--rolling out the red carpet for Shaq and Kobe's Lakers to startup their dynasty. The next decade was filled with scandal, catastrophic injury and unending heartbreak.

Phew.

I'm just going to enjoy this moment. Who knows what happens from here. But the Portland Trailblazers are heading back to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 19 years. Being a sports fan is a relative experience--and as a Blazermaniac, this moment means something. Because in those moment, the dream is alive in Rip City. 

The city of Portland has a long memory. Our basketball heroes (and villains) become local folk heroes that stay engrained in our consciousness. Each season brings another ring around the shared tree trunk of Portlandia. We mark time with the ups and downs of the Blazers. In this moment, we will wax poetic. We'll focus on the rainbow and not the rain. Because in this moment, we are one of four teams left with a chance for glory.

So here's to Dame Lillard, CJ McCollum and our entire band of merry Blazers. It sure has been a long strange trip. Next stop, the Bay to face the seemingly invincible Golden State Warriors to see who rules the West.

Go Blazers!