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Why I’m Counting My Blessings Offline This Year

It’s difficult to stay enthusiastic through the online onslaught, but I’m starting to feel hopeful again….

Last year, as you coated your insides with moist turkey and sweet chess cake, surrounded by loved ones and problematic aunts, what were you thankful for? It’s difficult to muster genuine sadness for anyone harmed deep-frying a turkey, but last year’s reasons to be thankful were still plentiful. We genuinely didn’t realize how good we had it, did we, in those precedented times? Our ever-present 2019 ungratefulness was thrown into harsh relief this year when the coronavirus struck, stomach-churning turbulence to our voyages of personal growth. There we were in stilettos, ready to girl-boss the year, but our heel got stuck in the journey from January to December. 

Indoor months led to indoor thinking. As each of us grew intimately close with our couches, we had to survive our own brains, the eerie quiet between content binges filled with tremulous mind chatter. It is impossible to be caged without reflecting on yourself (and yes, yes, of course you can still care for other people, and wear a mask, and stop publicly socializing while the fire of a personal crisis rages within). All the things that made us feel fabulous were suddenly fallible, everything felt shallow and expendable. Social media didn’t exactly help with the gloomy worldview. The convenience of all online connection that once only supplemented a full life became the main meal. Twitter wasn’t a side dish to living, as much as a constantly replenishing buffet of polarizing views. Human connection is vital lubrication for modern life, but our joints seized every time we opened the app and fell down the rabbit hole of another public argument without speaking out loud to another human being. 

The enforced summer hibernation was full of fight-or-flight energy. Adrenaline coursing through our veins with nowhere to go. It was primal and visceral and full of “when we get back out” forecasting. There was an excitable and fleeting moment when everything was cake. This autumn is more sedate, more comatose, more hunker-down-and-wait-for-the-storm-to-pass. It is less hopeful, frankly, while we bide our time. I’m not so keen to maintain my cutting edge, to exfoliate like Pharrell (the ageless Benjamin Button of modern times), to ready my liver for a Christmas season partying like Capote. Though I’m happily distracted by cultural mulch—Orlando Bloom’s backside, Grammy nominations, Nicole’s coat in The Undoing—I’m also inundated with misery: near-constant civil unrest; climate dysmorphia; terf-a-geddon. Winter is drawing closer and it’s just going to be us and our screens, and I can already feel the usual merriment being superseded with digital comms, Santa himself coming down the chimney with an email every 30 seconds. Despite my best intentions, I’m still picking at the online scab, increasing my thirst for instant gratification. On Twitter, after crashing waves of not-great news and not-great views, I feel dejected, keen to close the app and climb back into bed and restart my day, my year, like a video game. 

It’s difficult to stay enthusiastic through the online onslaught, in a volatile and flammable climate with the viscosity of treacle. Apathy feels like death, but it’s getting harder and harder to be grateful. To sit back and survey the wreckage of the year and pick through the debris for morsels of thank you. What is there to be thankful for? What slither of positivity can be garnered from staying alive in a pandemic? Staying alive in a pandemic is a good place to start; there’s certainly merit to not being sick and de-spreading the virus. I am unfathomably lucky in other ways, too, and I’m making the time this week to count my blessings offline. Of course, I could still use a few days’ vacation from thinking about myself, but I’m starting to feel hopeful again (it’s a slow process because I keep checking my emails). I edge forward, and not to sound like a crappy positive affirmation on Instagram, you can edge forward too. Perhaps, when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s, we’ll all be able to cut open 2020 and see the cake. 

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Nike Zoom Hyperflight “Safari” Official Images Reveal Bold Print Ahead of Holiday Release

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The Nike Zoom Hyperflight is getting a bold new look, with the “Safari” colorway coming soon. We have official photos of the unique design for a closer look. The sneaker sports bright orange accents and a translucent outsold, and is expected to arrive during the holiday season at a retail price of $190.

The new version is inspired by the Safari print that is familiar from the Air Safari. That pattern covers most of the Hyperflight’s soft, molded upper, giving the basketball shoe a unique look compared with some of the model’s other recent colorways. Together, the unusual texture and pattern make the silhouette feel especially suited to the adventurous design.

The primary contrast across the shoe is orange, used in the trim and other details. The bright color pops against the speckled base without being overwhelming. Black is also present in the design, on the glossy support structure around the midfoot and the soft leather collar. The look is topped off with a see-through outsole that adds another visual element to the overall color scheme.

The sneaker will drop with style code IZ2573-010 and is expected in men’s sizing. With a retail price tag of $190, Nike, Foot Locker, and Sheikh are among the expected retailers. As for when you can expect it, it’s likely to be the holiday season, though we don’t have a solid release date.

The “Safari” colorway comes amid a busy period for the Zoom Hyperflight. This year, Nike has revived the model in several colors, bringing a new wave of attention to the silhouette through a series of releases. Another forthcoming option is the vibrant “Green Apple” pair, also scheduled for a holiday season release.

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The Hyperflight’s history also provides context for the latest return. Jason Williams wore the model in the early 2000s, linking it to a memorable era for the sneaker. That association also helps explain why new colorways can generate excitement beyond the shoe’s look, especially for those who remember it from its previous run.

The Safari design is a definitive statement that does not change the characteristic shape of the Hyperflight. Instead, it uses the familiar silhouette as a canvas for a pattern that has already become recognizable through another Nike model. The orange accents provide a bright contrast, while the black midfoot structure and collar balance it out.

Now that official images have surfaced, sneaker fans have a clearer idea of what to expect from the holiday release. The $190 price, style code, and expected retail partners have also been identified, but a specific launch date has not been confirmed.

For Nike, the “Safari” is another way to bring attention back to the Zoom Hyperflight. One of its more distinctive new looks is this returning model, featuring speckled print, orange trim, black support details, and an icy-looking translucent outsole.

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Lil Yachty Previews Another Nike Air Force 1 Mid, This Time With Blue and Orange Stitching

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Lil Yachty has added another eye-catching design to his ever-growing collection of Nike US Force 1 Mids, this time going for a cleaner white look accented by blue and orange stitching. The rapper’s latest take on the shoe keeps the familiar silhouette. Still, it uses contrasting details to give the shoe its own identity, something the artist is known for, showing off a steady run of variations on the silhouette.

 

Dubbed the “White Contrast Stitch,” the pair features white leather across most of the upper. Rather than altering the classic Air Force 1 Mid profile or incorporating a strange material, the design uses stitching to separate the design visually. Blue stitching embellishes the leather panels, and each side of the shoe’s Swoosh is lined with orange.

 

The combo adds a subtle but noticeable splash of color to the mostly white sneaker. It’s a more muted take than some of the more adventurous pairs Yachty has shown recently, so this version feels like the more no-nonsense option in his growing collection.

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The new design adds to the long list of Air Force 1 Mid looks associated with the rapper this year. Earlier previews have featured a stars-and-stripes pair, an orange version with black stars, and a yellow colorway tied to ComplexCon. Each has put a different spin on the familiar silhouette, helping make Yachty’s run of designs a continuing talking point among sneaker watchers.

 

Earlier this year, another pair of the shoes, this time with blue and red detailing and thick white stitching, was also teased. That version is expected to launch around the holidays, but the details provided don’t confirm whether it will launch alongside the recently unveiled white one.

 

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Some questions remain unanswered about the “White Contrast Stitch” design. Nike has not confirmed any price, style code, or even whether the sneaker will be released to the public. The design has drawn attention through its online appearance and Yachty’s preview, but neither sets a launch date nor guarantees consumers can buy it.

 

That anticipation makes the latest reveal more of a first look than a proper release announcement. The white leather upper and blue-and-orange stitching are on display, but key retail details remain unknown. For now, there is no confirmed timeline for when the pair might hit stores, or if it will be offered beyond the preview.

 

Still, the design adds another variation to a collection that has featured a wide variety of colors and details. The white base makes this one more subtle, while the contrast stitching keeps it from being a straight-up all-white release.

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Yachty’s latest preview continues his ongoing relationship with the silhouette, with several other Air Force 1 Mid designs already shown this year. It’s not clear if the “White Contrast Stitch” pair will ever make it to the light of day, but it’s definitely added another distinct look to his growing collection.

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