The Aphrodite Project: Safety footwear for sex workers

 

Aphrodite Project 's sandals are designed to protect the wearer with a piercing siren to scare off threatening muggers or attackers and a GPS-powered system so they can send warnings to police. The shoes are a new line of footwear specifically designed for sex workers. Using the latest technology, sex workers are now on par with other public workers, whose lives are valued highly because they work in dangerous professions that serve the needs of the community. The idea was inspired by the prostitutes of antiquity, who enticed clients with their flutes and sandals that left ‘follow me’ footprints in the earth.

Soap stars on serious business

Actors from Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Eastenders will be pulling on their football boots to raise money for neuroblastoma sufferer, Leighton Cook. The game will be held at Altrincham Football Club’s Moss Lane ground, in Cheshire, this Sunday (30/10/11). Coronation Street actors Ryan Thomas , Jack P Shepherd and Chris Fountain, ex-Eastenders star, Dean Gaffney and The Only Way is Essex’s Mark Wright have all been lined up to play in the game. The match has been organised by businessman Umar Kamarni, founder of Boohoo.com.

Grim find in Tulsa

When the Tulsa Police were called to the retention pond recently where they confirmed a grim find of a human foot (left) contained within a female Saucony Jazz trainer (size 9). A woman walking his dog came across the The macabre, badly decomposed foot which experts believe has been in the pond for some time. The TulsaPolice Homicide Unit released a photo of the shoe in the hope someone might recognise it.

Frank Zappa: Stinkfoot

New Shoe Exhibition: Shoes for Show: the Sculptural Art of High Heels

A new exhibition Shoes for Show: the Sculptural Art of High Heels, opens soon in London. The exhibition features a display of the crazy, beautiful and downright unwearable shoes from past to present . The exhibition's curator, Shonagh Marshall says ‘shoes can blur the boundary between art and fashion.’ On display will be Beyonce's 'medieval armour' shoes (as worn in the video, Run the World (Girls) which were created by Gareth Pugh. Also in the exhibition is a pair of gold platform sandals designed by Rupert Sanderson for Verdi's Aida at the Royal Opera House; there too is Christian Louboutin’s en pointe Swarovski-encrusted ballet stilettos; as well as a pair of Turkish bath shoes with wooden platform soles (dating from 1890). The clogs are inlaid with mother of pearl embroidery. By far the oldest exhibit is on loan from the Northampton museum's shoe collection. The "prize shoe" dates to the Great Exhibition of 1851 and is a finely embroidered shoe with four-inch heel and were made to showcase the talent of its anonymous maker rather than actually be worn.

Shoes for Show: the Sculptural Art of High Heels is on at the Loading Bay, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1, from 4 – 8 November.

Don Trousdell’s “Walk in Peace” exhibition

Nana technology : Silver Artert GPS Shoes

GTX Corporation have developed miniaturized 2 way GPS tracking and cellular location-transmitting technology platforms for integration into a wide variety of branded licensee consumer and enterprise products. Their patented Personal Location Services (PLS) platforms consist of miniaturized, always-on Assisted 2 way GPS tracking and GSM/GPRS wireless location-reporting technologies which provide continuous real-time, location coordinates rendered on Google Maps. Since launching LOCiMOBILE®, their GPS Tracking People-Finding Apps have been downloaded by over 1,000,000 people in 117 countries. LOCiMOBILE ® transforms GPS enabled smartphones into a 2 way GPS Tracking device. Location-tracking shoes have been marketed to marathon runners and children but the footwear seems idea for people with dementia who wander. People with Alzheimer Disease and other dementias often walk off and some deliberately hide due to their paranoia. GPS Shoes have been developed for this purpose. Miniature locators are inserted into the heel of one shoe and the other is counterweighed to feel balanced. The shoes work by having set perimeters called a “geo-fence,” so that the wearer can freely move around the house, around the yard, perhaps around a familiar immediate neighborhood. When the fence is broken a Google map pops up on a computer or phone to show where the person wearing the shoes is. The Nana Shoes will be on sale at a cost of $300 (US), plus a monthly subscription fee of $30 to $40.

More information
Alzheimer’s Association
Silver Alert

The Muppets Trailer: Fart Shoes

Fashion shoes and sore feet

Recently a study into the footwear choices of 2,000 UK women was carried out by Hotter Shoes. Apparently 84 per cent of women wore killer heels on a night out with only one in ten admitting to be comfortable in high heels. One in three (34 per cent) of women anticipate experiencing pain from their shoes within an hour of leaving home. 81 per cent of the women poled admit to experiencing pain when wearing killer heels with almost half of those surveyed, (46 per cent), walking in comfortable shoes to meet friends, before changing into killer heels at the last minute. More than half have ended an evening bare foot and 60 per cent carried plasters because they expected a blister or cut. One in three included ‘handbag accessorie’s such as foldable shoes to change into.

Seems too supermodels are not expempt from sore feet caused by wearing ill fitting shoes. During fashion weeks unsightly plasters often protect raw heels as cuts and scabs are paraded on the catwalks along with the latest in high fashion. Catwalk shoes are mostly sample size, (normally a size 40) and unless the model is lucky enough to have the same sized feet they face four weeks of either squashing their feet into shoes that are too small, or trying not to fall out of shoes that are too big. Bruises, sprains and cuts are commonplace and make up artists are kept busy on set to cover up unsightly marks on model's feet during photoshoots.

FFANY Shoes on Sale: Today only

In honor of national breast cancer awareness month, QVC and the Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY) presents "FFANY Shoes on Sale," a charitable shoe sale to benefit research and education. Today’s (Saturday 15th October), three-hour broadcast [6 p.m. to 9 p.m. (ET)] will offer more than 90,000 pairs of shoes donated from brands such as Jessica Simpson, Nine West, DKNY, H. H. Brown, Camuto Group, MICHAEL by Michael Kors, Calvin Klein and more. Shoes retail at half the manufacturer's suggested retail price. Over the years, QVC, together with FFANY, has donated more than $35 million to the cause.

Nike plans to expand in China

Nike aims to double its revenue in China in the next four years. Currently their products are available at more than 7,000 stores in China and their plans are to grow by expanding to smaller cities. According to the company website, orders for Nike brand athletic footwear and apparel, scheduled for delivery from September 2011 through January 2012, totaled $8.5 billion. This is 16 percent higher than orders reported for the same period last year. Nike has been featuring Chinese athletes, such as Liu Xiang, the Olympic gold medalist for the 110-meters hurdle, as well as Li Na, grand slam winner at the 2011 French Open, and Yi Jianlian, the NBA player. China is the brand's second-largest market after the United States.

Good news for vegetarian SK8rs

Vegan skate shoes made from synthetics, canvas or hemp are available from several suppliers. Emerica include the Transit , Ridgemont and Reynolds Lights lines. Theses are made from 100% synthetic materials. Vans too have a variety of vegan skate shoes including Vegan Old Skool and the Canvas Authentic . IPath has a line of skate shoes made out of natural hemp and come in a variety of designs. eS has quite a few vegan. \skate shoes including The Square Two Fusion Joe Brook and the Edgar. Another source of vegan kicks is Habitat and the Vireo Vulc .

ShoesTV

ShoesTV was launched in August 2010 as the first internet-based TV site to feature footwear-focused videos with an entertainment and celebrity angle. Owned and operated by SurfMyAds.com, Inc., the site serves as an extension of the popular shoe shopping engine, myShoes.com. ShoesTV offers shoe-centric shows featuring exclusive celebrity interviews, designer profiles, red carpet coverage, industry highlights, shoe and brand reviews, how-to style tips, and much more. More than half of American shoppers research products and trends online before making a purchase, according to a recent survey released by the Pew Research Center. The new ShoesTV responds to this growing demand for an interactive style and news resource for shoe lovers. Users are encouraged to share ShoesTV articles and videos on their social networks of choice in one click, making it easier for every fashionista to be “in the know.” Additionally, all shoe lovers are invited to submit footwear news for consideration to be featured on ShoesTV. To submit story ideas, users can visit the homepage and click on the link that says, “Send us your shoe news.”

Social Inclusion Cup 2011 winners: Union SAtreet Fotball team

To celebrate World Homeless Day and World Mental Health Day, homeless people and those with mental health issues donned their football boots at Oxford’s Social Inclusion Cup. The tournament at the Warneford Hospital in Headington attracted 28 teams from across the region. Teams included the Oxford Coasters, Streets Revolution homeless club and a team from Thames Valley Police. The cup was won by the Union Street football team.

Bill Cunningham: New York

Charles McCree Presents: Project Walk a Mile in My Shoes Celebrity Shoe Auction

A potted history of the rugby world cup, the rules of the game and rugby boots Nine: Rugby Injuries

Most authorities estimate approximately one fifth of rugby injuries involve boots. The vast majority arise during the close season when payers are out of condition and find the intensity of pre-season training too much. Hard pitch surfaces account for 70 per cent of the injuries where players are wearing ill-fitting boots not suited to dry conditions. All players are encouraged to keep their fitness up during the close season. Keen amateurs and professionals usually have individual fitness programs that last throughout the year. A problem, which sometimes arises, is inflammation of the plantar fascia. As a hard, high speed, high impact sport injuries are not uncommon. Some on-the-field injuries are avoidable, or the severity decreased when players have optimal strength and conditioning to offset the effects of fatigue which pre-empt mistakes, increase player instability and affect concentration. Many overuse injuries are caused during training or exacerbated in a game, moist are avoidable with rest and recovery alongside hard, moderate and easy training sessions. Other injuries are due to mistimed or dangerous tackles and no amount of training can prevent these. Falls or hits taken in a ruck or maul happen in every game and overuse injuries or imbalances that have-not been adequately addressed will also take their toll despite best preparations. Foot injuries are rare compared to ankle and knee incidents. Boot designs attempt to reduce excess torque and twist.

A frequent complaint is lateral ligament sprains common to the position of second row forward and usually due to landing badly. Unless the injury is completely rested and adequately rehabilitated then chronic ankle strain will weaken the player. Inversion ankle sprains usually referred to, as ankle sprains are another challenge many rugby players face. The foot gets turned inwards to the ankle and this injury is found in both forwards and backs. It can result from slipping in the mud, an unbalanced step when running, side-stepping or jinking, in the tackle, or when landing from the lineout or any other jump. The symptoms are acute pain, and inability to run or continue to play. The site of damage swells, which can sometimes be, controlled a little by a high cut boot. When the injury is very minor and the ligaments are pulled but not damaged it may be possible to 'run it off'. If there is a great deal of pain and walking impossible, it maybe the fibula is cracked or broken.

Playing on muddy pitch can fatigue the player and put undue strain on the hamstring muscles. This may lead to strain caused by accelerated movement. Like all the football codes knee injuries to players frequently include anterior cruciate ligament tears, meniscal tears, medial collateral, ligament sprains, patellar dislocations, posterior cruciate ligament tears. Most of the medial collateral ligament sprains occur in rugby forwards and 60-70% of anterior cruciate ligament tears occurred in rugby backs. All other injuries occurred with equal frequency in backs and forwards.

Shoe commercials: They don't make 'em like this anymore

Gout and bad fitting shoes :Ill wedded companions

A new report in Arthritis Care & Research supports people living with gout wear poorly fitting shoes with lack of cushioning. Favoured shoes of the subjects provided minimal stability and motion control. Comfortable footwear according, Professor Keith Rome, Auckland, University of Technology, is essential for people coping with gout. Most of the New Zealand study subjects had flat feet, and many were obese and had cardiovascular conditions. Seven had diabetes. Foot pain, foot-related functional limitation, and foot-related adverse impact on activities of daily living were assessed using the Foot Function Index and the Leeds Foot Impact Scale. A podiatrist assessed the study subjects’ footwear during a typical visit to their rheumatology outpatient clinics. Subjects had not received any instructions regarding footwear before the assessment. More than 60% of shoes (30 pairs) had no cushioning at all, and another 36% (18 pairs) had only heel or forefoot cushioning. Only 13 pairs of shoes (26%) had adequate heel counter stiffness, 25 (50%) had adequate midfoot sole sagittal stability, and 21 (42%) had midfoot sole frontal stability. Twelve pairs of shoes (23%) had no fixation whatsoever. More than half of the footwear had a flexion point distal to the level of the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MPJ). In all, 60% of patients said that the cost of footwear contributed to their choice of shoes. The study is published in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes San Diego

Hundreds of walkers, including men, will soon sport women’s footwear at the YWCA’s annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event on Thursday, Oct. 20, in an effort to raise awareness about domestic violence against women. The annual event for the YWCA of San Diego County asks participants to wear women’s shoes while walking one mile in downtown San Diego to raise awareness about the issue while fundraising for the nonprofit’s programs. Last year’s event drew about 300 walkers, 100 volunteers and raised $20,000. The organization hopes to top the figures this year. Statistics show one in four women has experienced domestic violence in her lifetime. According to the San Diego Domestic Violence Council, over 5,600 calls to its hotline are made annually. Moreover, 531 women and children are in need of shelter in the region on any given day. Other statistics show that every 20.9 seconds a woman is battered and every 37.8 seconds a man is battered in the U.S.

Party on in Beastie Boys kicks

Converse have released a limited edition of sneakers featuring the 80s Beastie Boys. The shoes feature rendered vignettes of the band from photos taken on the group's 1986 Licensed to Ill Tour and shot by Sunny Bak. Predicted to sell for $200 a 10% of sales will benefit Prop 8 Films. The organization's first project is a documentary focusing on the issues of Proposition 8 and same-sex marriage around the country.

A potted history of the rugby world cup, the rules of the game and rugby boots Part Eight: The Haka

Haka is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. It was traditionally an ancestral challenge from the Māori of the North Island of New Zealand (Aotearoa). Today Haka is performed as a hearty welcome to distinguished guests, and has become associated with the All Blacks. As part of the performance, including facial contortions such as showing the whites of the eyes and the poking out of the tongue, and a wide variety of vigorous body actions such as slapping the hands against the body and stamping of the feet make for a very visual display. A variety of cries are mixed with chanted words and grunts. The haka must be performed in total unison as to do otherwise would be regarded as a bad omen.

Rugby was introduced to New Zealand in the late 1860s by Charles Monro. He played the game as a student at Christ's College, Finchley. The first union was formed in 1879 in Canterbury, New Zealand and the first international matches were played when the Australian Southern Rugby Union toured the country in 1882. The first overseas tour by the New Zealand team took place in 1884 and the team performed a haka before each match. In 1905 a representative New Zealand team, referred to as the Originals , toured Britain. During the tour a London newspaper reported the New Zealanders played as if they were "all backs". But due to a typographical error, this came out as "All Blacks". The name stuck and the national team of New Zealand have played in black shirts, shorts and socks, ever since. The Originals performed a haka before some of their matches. Later the "Ka Mate" haka was adopted by the New Zealand National Rugby Union (NZNRU ) and the All Blacks are thought to have performed it first in 1906. The Ka Mate haka is commonly said to have been composed by Te Rauparaha of Ngāti Toa to commemorate his escape from death during an incident in 1810.

The "Ka Mate" haka generally opens with a set of five preparatory instructions shouted by the leader, before the whole team joins in:

Leader: Ringa pakia! Slap the hands against the thighs!
Uma tiraha! Puff out the chest.
Turi whatia! Bend the knees!
Hope whai ake! Let the hip follow!
Waewae takahia kia kino! Stomp the feet as hard as you can!

Leader: Ka mate, ka mate 'I die, I die,
Team: Ka ora' Ka ora' 'I live, 'I live,
Leader: Ka mate, ka mate 'I die, 'I die
Team: Ka ora Ka ora " 'I live, 'I live,
All: Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru This is the hairy man
Nāna i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā
...Who caused the sun to shine again
for me
A Upane! Ka Upane! Up the ladder, Up the ladder
Upane Kaupane" Up to the top
Whiti te rā,! The sun shines!

Since 2005 they have occasionally performed a new haka, "Kapa o Pango". The words are more specific to the rugby team and refer to the warriors in black and the silver fern. The new haka does include a controversial throat cutting gesture which has met with several complaints from opponents. The All Blacks did use the "Kapa o Pango" haka before the French match on the 24th September 2011. The French had previously ousted New Zealand at the 2007 World Cup.


Kapa o Pango kia whakawhenua au i ahau! All Blacks, let me become one with
the land
Hī aue, hī!
Ko Aotearoa e ngunguru nei! This is our land that rumbles
Au, au, aue hā! It’s my time! It’s my moment!
Ko Kapa o Pango e ngunguru nei! This defines us as the All Blacks
Au, au, aue hā! It’s my time! It’s my moment!
I āhahā!
Ka tū te ihiihi Our dominance
Ka tū te wanawana Our supremacy will triumph
Ki runga ki te rangi e tū iho nei, tū iho nei, hī!
And be placed on high
Ponga rā! Silver fern!
Kapa o Pango, aue hī! All Blacks!
Ponga rā! Silver fern!
Kapa o Pango, aue hī, hā! All Blacks!

Christian Louboutin Exhibition: Design Museum, London 2012

An exhibition celebrating Christian Louboutin, will be mounted at the Design Museum , London next year. The exhibition will feature the burlesque artist Dita Von Teese, in recognition of the influence of showgirls on his work. The deginer, aged 12 hung around stage doors of the Folies Bergère , before being accepted into an internship there. Young Loubine made tea and stitched on buttons and feathers and to impress the showgirls drew personalised fantasy shoes for theor deleight. The exhibition will also feature Louboputin’s other love, the trapeze. The 2012 exhibition maks the 20th anniversary of the designer’s first small store in Paris. He now sells all over the world and has three stores in Moscow. In 2007, Christian Louboutin collaborated with the film-maker David Lynch on Fetish, an exhibition of his shoes in Lynch's photographs. The subjects are depicted as erotic sculptural objects including ballet pumps made vertical by an impossible heel, or shoes with heels projecting inches beyond the sole.

A potted history of the rugby world cup, the rules of the game and rugby boots Part Seven: How to choose rugby boots

The rugby codes are the only football codes where the rigors of play and the different positions determine need for special boots. No other team sport holds this unique position. Despite the popularity of the sport little published research is available on ruby boot design. At first sight rugby boots look similar in shape to soccer shoes but are quite different on closer inspection. Whilst the latter has evolved to improve foot performance especially during kicking episodes, the latter has been developed to reduce injuries.

Always choose football boots that fit properly. They need to provide adequate support and are suitable for the playing surfaces. Never choose boots only because they look cool or have a well-known brand name or favorite player endorsement. No boot has ever won a world cup and players stand out because of their ability rather than the boots they are wearing. Professionals choose footgear based on the position they play, the shape of their feet and their running style. Ideally rugby boots should fit snugly and feel comfortable. There should be no need to break them in, a common myth. Insufficient volume can result in minor traumas such as blisters and corns. Forwards rely on lower body strength to provide the power in scrums, rucks and mauls; they need additional support around the ankle for extra protection to help prevent foot injuries. The kickers prefer a right fitting boot because it gives them a better feel for the ball, while props will favour a high ankle cut for extra support in scrums. It is a good idea to wear the same style socks you will be wearing on the pitch when you are trying on a boot for size. Choose soft uppers to accommodate your foot shape, this will prevent potential injuries and also maintain the suppleness by following the manufacturer’s instructions.

Australian Foot Health Month 2011 - Diabetes: Counting the Costs

Australian Podiatrists are putting pressure on the federal government to win a better deal for people living with diabetes. Currently people coping with chronic disease and related foot complications can, through Medicare-funding, visit the podiatrist free of charge up to five times per calander year. The Australasian Podiatry Council want to extend this to a minimum of 12 visits, in keeping with intensive care need. The public health campaign now under way takes the form of community service announcements for radio and television, urging people with diabetes to maintain foot health vigilance. The 2011 Australian Foot Health Month campaign links with the theme Diabetes: Counting the Costs.