P.S. Check this out

I know i know i already finished this blog and the two weeks are up, but apparently the internet was down at vega and everyone got another day to finnish. So I'm gonna be sneaky and put this up!

Today my sister sms'd me from India, after looking at my blog, and told me about this wonderful product called Five Fingers.  I researched it and found out some seriously interesting and innovative things. 

Basically Vitale Bramani, the founder of the product, found a gap in the market for foot accessories. He pointed out that the typical human foot is an anatomical marvel of evolution with 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments. Like the rest of the body, to keep our feet healthy, they need to be stimulated and exercised. Many experts believe the shoes we wear not only cast the foot in a protective form, but also weaken our foot and leg muscles, leaving them underdeveloped and more prone to injury. And while there are many occasions where traditional footwear is essential for protection, safety, and security, it is equally important to stimulate and exercise the foot in a more natural state on a regular basis. 

And this is his product. its increadible.

Stimulating the muscles in your feet and lower legs will not only make you stronger and healthier, it improves your balance, agility and proprioception. I really really really would like to get my hand on a pair of these, it almost the perfect happy medium between bare-feet and shoes. I would love to know what David (the rastafarian) would think of these including the fact that they even have a line made especially for vegans using vegan friendly materials. But the thing about these are at the end of the day if i walked into a corporate meeting or something along those lines, or tried to get into a club i would definitely not be taken seriously because this is not what western society tells us is right.

over and out

finished en klaar

This is what the last two weeks shoes have looked like!

So what have I learnt over these two weeks? How has my day-to-day timetable changed or differed. Have my views of the body in a social environment switched. It has come to my attention that social norms can vary so much and in a world with so many diverse people it is bound to continue. Cultures and class play big roles in society. Not wearing shoes has made me think about how people vary so much, and how different people’s comforts and decisions can interact with each other, and become what me know as social standards.

I met interesting people, had many interactions and engaged in something I would never normally do. The foot is something that I will now forever look at in a different judgment. The piece of glass that sneakily got into my foot has formed part of it and can be uncomfortable reminder of the last two weeks.

Western society tells us that we need smart shoes, easy shoes, sports shoes, shoes that are parts of dress codes like school shoes, we even have to wear shoes whilst we drive a car. It’s almost the case that we have forgotten the initial purpose of the shoe – which has evolved at first to protect the human foot and later, additionally, as an item of decoration in itself.

Interesting shoe over here - very giraffeish

pretty siff

Ouch!

Like a glorified stripper shoe

This is too much

Old school

Surely that fish would only live for like a couple meters

The weekends events

I have to apologize for my blog entries or should i say the lack there of in the last two days. but you see i have had a lot of things on my plate. Anyway Friday turned out to be quite a crazy day. I got a phone call from my mate saying his mate from college had been arrested for buying ganja in long street and that he had to bail him out. I went along for some assistance, obviously without shoes, and got told to wait on this bench because they had to do a whole bunch of papers, talk to the detective etc. etc......

Whilst sitting on the bench this man, and i think his partner walked straight past me and the first thing i noticed was that he was not wearing shoes. I think he had a friend who was also in the bin for the same reason but whatever, he was not wearing shoes. I tried to examine this person, he had a large walking stick a bag on his back and a hat that Im pretty sure was filled with dreadlocks. He had a sense of peace about him, like he didn't have a bad bone in him, he looked like he had the craziest stories.

I approached him with a smile a asked him why he didn't have any shoes. He looked and me with a smile a told me it was cultural. I explained the whole blog thing about how i wasn't wearing shoes and we spoke about it. His name was David and he was a practicing  rastafarian. David explained to me that he wasn't wearing shoes because he couldn't afford them but it was his way to express his culture. He told me that he was closer to the earth when he was barefoot and that meant something in his life. David said that it started out being a week which turned into a month and now he said he had not worn shoes in just over 13 months which is highly commendable in my view. We talked about the positives like how feet become hard on the bottom which is the bodies way of protecting against harmful surfaces, and we talked about the sharp things that we have been avoiding. His shoes had been replaced by his walking stick which he said is with him always. The concept of the walking stick comes form a respect to Haile Selassie (revered as the religious symbol for God incarnate among the Rastafari movement) where in the election campaign of 1972, People's National Party leader, Michael Manley used a prop, a walking stick given to him by Haile Selassie, which was called the "Rod of Correction", in a direct appeal to Rastafarian values.

I find it so interesting how his man does not wear shoes just like me but for such a unique reason, as a member of the Rastafarian religious movement he has distinctive codes of behavior and dress, including the wearing of dreadlocks, the smoking of cannabis, the rejection of Western medicine, and adherence to a diet that excludes pork, shellfish, and milk. Several years ago rastafarians often referred to as "most coarse" wore rough clothing and no shoes (Encyclopedia of slave and rebellion, Volume 1 By Junius P. Rodriguez). 

This is the guy , so interesting and so glad i got to talk to him

Look at my foot!

This isn't even trying

I remember a couple times when my mum, my sister and my girlfriend have asked if i think their feet look pretty after they've painted their toenails. It's always a nice touch when a girl makes her feet look pretty, it adds character i guess. In a sense you can completely customize your feet by the colours and patterns you display on your toes. Society has completely changed the function of what the foot means. People don't look at their feet as their foot, instead they look at how their feet differ from everyone else's. 

'Consumer capitalism knows when it has a good thing going. Why limit the cosmetics, diet and surgery industries to female markets if you can convince men that their looks need constant improvement too.'  (Susan Bordo)

Personally i can't see this happening to most males, but i do think there would be a possible industry in the gay community as a lot of gay men tend to have female characteristics that they adopt. It's interesting in seeing how some people will go through so much so that they are happy with the way their feet look. Pedicure's, foot massages and most recently cosmetic foot surgery. The cosmetic foot surgery has become popular due to people’s increasing desire to opt for open-toed sandals. Previously, foot surgery was performed in response to the painful problems. But, now, the cosmetic foot surgery is performed to make the foot look presentable.

like this......!

I have to say these look like a nice pair of kickers

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

So I was chilling in spar on one of my weekly shops. In aisle 3 having a look at Mrs Ball's Chutney, I turned around and this tiny high-heeled lady happened to stand back onto my foot. Let me tell you now, she got the biggest fright when I screamed like a 5 year old just above her ear. She jolted forward and then profusely apologized but this didn't stop the pain. I swear this lady had knives instead of heels. After lipping back home I had a look at the damage and what do you know it was a wound.

Check it out......

It was really sore!

I don't wanna say it because I've been going so strong, but this no-shoes business is wearing off.  But all you on lookers, don't stress because I'll fight the good fight. I was browsing around and found this and I tell you right now, if i had these i would have worn them cause they would have inflicted some damage on that ladies heels!.........

You can get past a shoe but nobody fucks with a crocodile mouth shoe.

Really......you can't

Mondy Madness

So it's back to college after the glorious weekend,  and back to the grind stone. It wasn't such a cheerful day, clouds and rain, although i would have loved it if i had a pair of these

check them out

Cool hey

Well today I wanted to look into the luxuries of the foot. To say that I think of it, as showing-off when I'm not wearing shoes is kinda mean. But consider yourself lucky because your life would be completely different if they weren't there. Many people have lost there limbs due to accidents, disease and war. But how does the social culture view people and how do they accept there differences. From what I've experienced, I feel pity and sadness. Near where I live there is a beggar at one of the traffic lights in a wheel chair. All he has to get around is his hands and his wheelchair, but he still has the biggest smile on his face. To me this show's me that his guy appreciates life probably due to the fact even though he hardly has anything he knows what it's like to be close to not having that life to live.  

It has become a controversial issue in culture when science, technology and will-power bond together. It's been this case when Oscar Pistorius had come back to life when he had gained the legs to run again. With the talent and unstoppable determination Oscar made it to a professional level of running. Its interesting to see how different parties can either accept or deny the differences that this man has below

cbsnews.....

The IAAF ruled Monday that double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius is ineligible to compete in the Beijing Olympics because his prosthetic racing blades give him a clear competitive advantage.

The International Association of Athletics Federations had twice postponed the ruling, but the executive Council said the South African runner's curved, prosthetic "Cheetah" blades were considered a technical aid in violation of the rules.

"As a result, Oscar Pistorius is ineligible to compete in competitions organized under IAAF Rules," the IAAF said in a statement.

Pistorius, known as the "blade runner," announced last week that he would appeal any adverse decision, including taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The IAAF endorsed studies by German professor Gert-Peter Brueggemann, who conducted tests on the prosthetic limbs and said they give Pistorius a clear competitive advantage over able-bodied runners.

"An athlete using this prosthetic blade has a demonstrable mechanical advantage (more than 30 percent) when compared to someone not using the blade," the IAAF said.

Pistorius worked with Brueggemann in Cologne for two days of testing in November to learn to what extent the j-shaped carbon-fiber extensions to his amputated legs differed from the legs of fully abled runners.

Brueggemann found that Pistorius was able to run at the same speed as able bodied runners on about a quarter less energy. He found that once the runners hit a certain stride, athletes with artificial limbs needed less additional energy than other athletes.

The professor found that the returned energy "from the prosthetic blade is close to three times higher than with the human ankle joint in maximum sprinting."

Based on these findings, the Council ruled against Pistorius, seen below.

The IAAF adopted a rule last summer prohibiting the use of any "technical aids" deemed to give an athlete an advantage over another.

Ossur, the Icelandic company which is a leader in the production of prosthetics, braces and supports and also made Pistorius' blades, has said the blades do not provide an edge over able-bodied athletes.

Pistorius has set world records in the 100, 200 and 400 in Paralympic events. To make the Olympics in Beijing, Pistorius would still need to qualify for the South African team and make the qualifying times.

Pistorius was born without fibulas - the long, thin outer bone between the knee and ankle - and was 11 months old when his legs were amputated below the knee.

He began running competitively four years ago to treat a rugby injury, and nine months later won the 200 meters at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens.

Pistorius competed in the 400 at two international-level able-bodied meets in 2007. He finished second in a B race in 46.90 seconds at the Golden League meet in Rome on July 13 and, two days later, was disqualified for running out of his lane in Sheffield, England.