A moment of silence

Last Thursday at the Jay Sean, Ludacris and Flo Rida concert, there was supposed to be a moment of silence for something to do with the cricket, but no one could hear over the craziness of the crowd no one heard what the Cricket man was saying and ignored him, so for a whole minute, he stood there, on stage, face down, silent, while the crowed was screaming. 

Dr. Martens pics

Are these the boots for you? In 1945 Dr. Klaus had a skiing accident while in the Bavarian Alps, during the healing process of his foot, Dr. Marten designed an air-cushioned sole. Using old rubber tires he constructed soled that had air trapped within closed compartments. He then showed his engineering friend Dr. Herbert Funck and together they decided to start creating shoes. Not only did the shoes help to fix Martens foot, but they started to sell incredibly well in Germany, which is when they realized they needed a factory if they wanted to keep selling and producing. At first, most manufacturers rejected this idea, who would want to sell a faulty shoe? Although, the R.Griggs group located in the village of Wollaston in England, decided to go along with the idea by creating the first work boot with a revolutionary sole. The first Cherry red work boot was created on the first of april 1960 and was named 1460 (1/4/1960). When they were created Dr. Martens were named “Dr. Martens” but to sell the product better to the British population, they named it “Dr. Martens.” 

Why should we? During this time in Britain, the teenager was only just born and was starting to differ from children and adults. Children starting to rebel against the rules and they’re parents creating a whole new definition for that age group. This is also when a new group of stereotypes came to place, including the rebels and the skinheads. Doc Martens were a huge thing in the rebel culture they meant a whole new thing to the rebels than they did to the working class. To the working class they were good reliable boots, while to the rebels they meant a symbol of freedom, rebellion. This picture is a classical example of the rebellious teen type, spikes and doc martens creates the perfect rebel image.

Black and white or Technicolor? Doc Martens started off as boots for the working class, Policemen, mailman, factory workers – the real working class of the 60’s. Then when the rebels started to take them on they were classified as a new type of shoe – Their shoe. But in the 80’s girls started wearing them, they wore them with dresses, jeans, skirts – they turned doc martens from being a warning sign to a fashion trend. Dr. Martens shoes have become very popular over a range of subcultures since they moved to England. In the 1960’s they were worn by mods and then got picked up by punks, goths and metal cutures in the 1970’s.

Doc Martensis widely recognized as referring to shoes made by a company called Dr. Martens. This company grew out the invention of air-soled boots created by Dr. Klaus Maertens. The boot’s official birth date is considered to be 1 April 1960. Dr. Klaus Maertens is often described as an innovative and creative man. He is the designer of a pair of boots that gave rise to a company which has been widely recognized for decades. Although the company’s name, Dr. Martens, does not provide an indication, credit is also given to an English family bearing the name Grigg. This family believed in Dr. Maertens' product, acquired rights to produce it, and did so on a mass scale in England. This greatly increased the popularity of Dr. Maertens' invention. The first style of boots marketed by this brand is known as the 1460. They were eight eyelet work boots suited for various industries. Since they offered both comfort and durability, they grew in popularity among the working class. This included policemen, postal workers, and factory workers.

The air soles were only one of the trademarks of Doc Martens® boots. Another was bright yellow stitching around the soles. The boots also left a unique footprint. Working class people were not the only group to admire the boots. In the 1960s and 1970s the boots were widely favored and purchased by subculture groups such as skinheads, punks, and Goths. For some groups, the boots served as something like a trademark. This trend carried on for decades and the original design of 1460 is still popular among some groups.

For many people, the name Doc Martens® conjures the classic 1460. As time passed, however, Doc Martens® expanded to refer to a wide range of newer styles for men and women. The options of boots became much more diverse. The offerings also grew to include casual and dress shoes.

Want some hair on that head? During the 80’s skinheads became very popular throughout Britain, they took on a similar style to rebels although as the name indicates, they either shaved off all their hair or made themselves look like they had a dead squirrel on their heads (Like Mats, M5). The rebels also used doc martens as a way of communicating, although they said, “fuck off” the colour of their shoe laces would tell a story, White laces meant hating cops and power,  Red laces meant that you were always up for a fight, Blue meant that you wouldn’t want to “fuck” with him and yellow laces meant that you have killed a cop. During the 60’s when Doc martens were at their height of popularity you weren’t aloud to wear white laces unless you wanted to be pulled up by the cops. Pete townsing from ‘The Who’, wore doc martens to his gigs in the 70’s and he knew, that by wearing doc martens he was showing a power that he could not hold.

Authentic Doc Martens come with a lifetime guarantee. This means that if he chose to, a person could keep a pair of these shoes for the rest of his life. This is possible because the company promises to always repair or replace them. Beginning as a comfort shoe made by an injured doctor, Dr. Martens have been popular with various subcultures for nearly 50 years. Initially available as red work boots, the variety available has expanded greatly and continues to be popular.

Doc. Martens First paragraph

Ain't No April Fool. While Dr. Martens are known as a distinctly British boot, the original doctor was German. Dr. Klaus Maertens invented the shoe's signature air-cushioned sole with the hope of improving Germany's standard-issue WW II army boot. Maertens sold his patent to a British shoe manufacturer in 1959. One year later, on April 1, 1960, after the addition the classic yellow stitching and trademark AirWair tag to the back of the boot, the first pair of Dr. Martens hit High Street. The cherry-red, eight-eyelet boot became a fast favorite of blue collar Brits, adorning the feet of factory workers, postmen and police officers.

Doc Martens

50 years of Dr. Martens
Hooks:
These Boots Were Made for Moshing
The Doctor Is In

James Dean and Marlon Brando

DAY TWO: LIGHTHOUSE HILL

Walking down Commercial Street, the beggars, the shops, and the side streets – India. It’s a beautiful place when you search and find the beautiful things, but when you just walk on by, you see what India has become, what Indians have become – beggars, liars, thief’s. Take cheap DVD’s for instant, they are filmed at the cinema’s, burned onto cheap DVD material, and sold to the public for a third of what they usually would be; Just as Xerox does with his books. I would have been shocked if I did not live in India about the Lawyer and the policeman breaking Xerox’s legs. I was disgusted at what they had done, and still believe that they had no right to do it, they may have been upset about him selling a banned book, but the law did not give them the right to break his legs, instead of getting drunk and being complete idiots, they could have stayed sober and taken him to a higher authority, or even addressed the books on what to do. My favorite part of this chapter was when Xerox came back on his crutches, with his daughter and broken legs and stood up to the policemen by saying that he was going to climb that hill, that he was going to get back up there with his daughter and sell him books, no matter what the law thought/said about him. He wanted his father to be proud of him, a man who could not read, selling books; Ironic. 

“DAY ONE (AFTERNOON): THE BUNDER”

Corruption is the main theme in this “chapter” it is seen everywhere in India although we never really talk about it, I really like the line in the book “Corruption,” Abbasi said. “Corruption. It’s like a demon sitting on my brain and eating it with a fork and knife.”

“The Bunder” reminded me of all the crazy silly things that Indians do that we don’t necessarily need but want: Fine patchwork, Jewelry making, Painting, Cleaning, Teaching, Pot making etc. To live in India has helped me to picture these stories a lot more than if I was still a snobby little kid from Australia. I wouldn’t have believed that any of these things were true and that everything was fair and equal, which we know, it is not. Driving home at night past the teahouses in Bangalore, you see men sitting around like Abbasi and his friends, with there tiny little white plastic cups filled with milky tea. Although when reading this “chapter” it reminded me of walking through my old street in Australia although when I thought about it deeply, Indian streets and the image I had in my mind, were completely different. Although I have not been to Kittur so I cannot completely imagine the town layout. I sometimes stand out on my roof as Abbasi did and look out at the view, how far I can see, the trees, the people, and the planes the cars, the noise. Sometimes I just sit up there and listen to everything that’s going on.