Back ~ Strokes

via Promostyl Americas

After taking a 5 year hiatus to work on solo projects, The Strokes are back together and ready to release their 4th LP… well, kind of. The band is taking their time with this one pushing back the date every so often but as of now RCA has no official release date although rumors are it'll be out by March 22nd. Looking forward to  this release and wonder if they've kept their garage rock flavor or moved on.  Me? I'm hoping they don’t stray too far from their roots.

It's The Weekend...

Ahh the weekend.

Sometimes the best kind are the simplest...

a movie or two, a little cooking,

some R & R. and maybe a road trip.

Of course, when I say road trip I mean one that includes 

an exceptional  Bloody Mary.

One of the best I've ever had is from 

Dick's Place in Mendocino. Known locally as

'the salad', it is made with their own secret mix and enough 

vegetables to qualify as a meal.

Spicy? Hell yeah.

Dick's is one of those old- fashion saloons with 

plenty of local characters, sometimes gritty, sometimes friendly.

Road trip or not, the time has arrived

to sit back and watch the weekend unfold.
It's the weekend...do what you want.

Smoky Bloody Mary

• 2 ounces vodka
• 4 ounces tomato juice
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh horseradish
• 3 dashes Worchestershire sauce
• 3 dashes hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
• Pinch of kosher salt
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon barbecue sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped chipotle en adobo
• Generous squeeze of lemon juice
• Pinch of celery seeds
• 1 English cucumber cut into 4-inch-long spears
• 1 large green olive
• Ice

See No Evil Hear No Evil....

WORD.

Take Your Time Do It your Way

 Esquire
Time and watches, lets face it- those are two things a man
rarely can have too much of.
Let's be clear, men don't  need a lot of
accessory options:  most importantly, we've got cufflinks, 
wedding/commitment rings and watches.
BTW, for the record, sunglasses have long been elevated
above accessory level.
My first 'real' watch was given to me by my girlfriend
now wife of 31 years, it was a Seiko, brown face and band-
and I wore it down until she gave me years later,
The Domino watch from Tiffany...which unfortunately
 fell off my wrist in Paris- which fortunately we had
insurance for and was replaced
with The Atlas- a true classic.
 One of my favorite watches of late,
has been one that I bought when we were in Milan,
I think I paid 60 Euros for it but, I have gotten more
compliments from it than you would expect.
 (sport-dress/ brown black) Whatever...
The point is, it isn't really necessary to pay thousands of dollars-
for a good looking and functioning watch-
you might be surprised at what there is at the 'mass' level...
two of my favorite (retail-Amazon doesn't count) sources are
Barney's and Diesel. (Ok and Macy's, you didn't hear it from me-
but seriously,what don't they buy?)
Yes, there are technicalities such as ...
Dress
Hybrid
Sport
Chronograph
Modern
but really, go with what you like
and don't be afraid to make a statement, bold or subtle-
and remember...it's just an accessory.

Start With Typewriters
 Hey, if you're
super flush by all means- make an investment,
the choices are incredible and visual eye candy.

Sitting With Class

The Story of Eames Furniture: Marilyn Neuhart with John Neuhart - Interview from Gestalten on Vimeo.

An interview with Marilyn Neuhart, author of "The Story of Eames Furniture", and her husband John. Both have worked with the Eames Office in various capacities from the 1950s. Having been in close proximity to Charles and Ray Eames as well as the members of the Eames Office and their patron manufacturers for almost 30 years, the Neuharts had the extraordinary opportunity to absorb their stories. At their Los Angeles home, they tell the tale of working with Charles Eames in Gestalten.tv's latest look behind the Eames.

—Gestalten.tv

The Story of Eames Furniture: Marilyn Neuhart with John Neuhart - Interview from Gestalten on Vimeo.

Dive Bars And Pointy Objects

The Game of Darts

You've got to love a game in which the every man

can gather at his favorite watering hole

(dive bar) and enjoy his favorite beverage, 

catch up with friends and indulge himself with 

a sportsman's  identification..

As simple as it seems, there is actually much to consider.

Equipment

Technique

Stance

Rules

Betting 

"As with any sport, people develop their own ways

 of adjusting technique to what feels comfortable for them."

via art of manliness and wikipedia

Throw in some confidence and know how

add a beer or two and  James Brown on the jukebox

and you've got the makings for a  respectable

winter weekend pastime.

It's The Details

So far the streets in Florence and Milan
have not disappointed.
Filled with color, patterns, textures, accessories...
and most importantly-
details.

via Tommy Ton for GQ

Punk: Attitude And So Much More

Shock value, thumbs up to the status quo,

embracing independence and of course...

anarchy.

Some of the best music to come out of 1980's (give or take)

was born from the Punk  movement.

And now, with the re-issue (DVD) of

Don Lett's feature length documentary

Punk:Atttude

Now, we can look back on the explosive movement

through the sounds and cameos from legends such as

Sex Pistols,Jello Biafra, Chryssie Hynde, Jim Jarmusch, 

David Johansen, Henry Rollins, and Siouxsie Sioux and more. 

Culled from interviews with dozens of performers---including Henry Rollins, members of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones (well, Tommy, at least), MC5, New York Dolls and more---Punk: Attitude does an excellent job of respecting its founders. 

A mountain of vintage concert footage and printed material helps to establish a real sense of history here, from classic album art to footage of rare performances.

Read a review of Punk: Attitude, listen to Don Letts’ BBC radio show, watch the film on Netflix, or buy it on DVD.  via Flavorwire

Top Shelf: Custom American Clothing

It's easy to be romanced by the heavy hitters

of handmade clothing, especially with the likes of

Brioni, Kiton and Saville Row, at the top of playing field.

In the world of handmade clothing, there are actually many players 

with no fine less passion and commitment.

Since 1976 Top Shelf has been a staple for tailoring

 in Minneapolis and is one of the largest sellers

 of custom clothing in America.

Tell me about the history of Top Shelf.
JM: I started the business with a young lady that I 

graduated tailoring school with, Suzanne Murphy

 who stayed with the business for 33 years
of the 34 we’ve been open. 

What is the most important thing about a tailored suit?
JM: There are a lot of different angles that can carry

 equal importance on building custom suits. Fit is 

certainly an important expectation. Selecting
the right cloth for the purpose of the suit is

 high on the list of what is most
important. And lastly, designing the details

 of the suit to flatter the wearer
has to be done with careful thought and consideration. 

To do all this right,
we need to be good at collaborating with out clients.

View the Slideshow of Flickr here.

For the full article with  founder

Jon Meegan by Kelsey Johnson

visit Secrets of The City

RIP

“If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for– he isn’t fit to live.”

-

–Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sunday Night Quarterbacking

And by quarterbacking I mean 

dishing it with Joan Rivers and Billy Bush

while watching The Golden Globes.

Aaron Sorkin, whose accomplishments 

from A Few Good Men to The West Wing

and now with The Social Network,

is expected to fair pretty well.

But let's face it, what we all we all really tune in

 to see, is the red carpet - the disasters, the successes

and the not so in betweens.

Go ahead, you watch your Sunday Night Football, 

but I will be planted on the sofa, champagne in hand

along with a cheat sheet (it's still early in the season) 

and a checklist.

It's the weekend- do what you want.

Black Is The New Red

Money.

Whether you have a lot or a little,

budget gurus at all levels

will first remind us that budgeting is our 

first line of defense and most effective weapon

for fighting debt and planning our future.

Let's be honest, budgeting is not the most fun part of having 

a paycheck, but whether you're

22 or 56, the best way to get in or stay in the black AND 

grow our money, is to have and follow...

a plan. 

This one comes compliments

of J.J. Burns & Company via Men's Health.

Step 1:  Track Spending

Writing down every purchase can grow tiresome. Simplify the process by paying all your bills online through your checking account and making the rest of your purchases with a debit or credit card. Do this for 3 months.

Step 2: Analyze Your Expenses

At the end of 3 months, take a look at where your money went. You can do it the old-fashioned way, with a notepad and your debit- and credit-card statements. Or you can sync your cards with Quicken or Mint.com. "Not all budgets are the same," says J.J. Burns, eponymous president of the wealth-management firm. "They vary according to lifestyle." So find your economic status below, and compare your spending.

Step 3: Build Your Budget

Now that you know how much you're spending—and should be spending—you can build your budget accordingly. The easiest approach is to create an Excel spreadsheet with columns for budgeted and actual expenses in each category you want to track. A lot of people go crazy with this, trying to track every last item (lunch, beer, concerts). That's tedious. Our advice: Use the five categories below, and within these categories list all the expenses you pay online from your checking account (so your rent or mortgage payment falls under housing, cable television bill under pleasure/personal, and so on).

Suds and Then Some

Clipper City Brewing Company

Smoke On The Water Porter

From  the small craft breweries in so 

many towns across the country and consumers

taking up the craft in their own kitchens (and blogging)

to the hit show Brewmasters, you'd have to be 

living underneath a rock these days 

to not know there is beer phenomenom underway.

And with that said...

Flavorwire  pulled together some brews 

inspired by Famous Musicians...indeed, there's more to the 

Pale Ale than meets the eye.

Dogfish Head Bitches Brew

Miles Davis

Lagunitas Brewing Company

Wilco Tango Fox Trot (alt -country)

Terrapin Brewery

So Fresh so Green (Outkast)

Bottoms up.

Royal Finesse

The Look: Royal Flash: The three-piece suit, a favorite of monarchs and kings of industry alike, reigns again. (Accessorized, naturally, with a Windsor knot.)

The Guy: Golden Globe Best Actor nominee Colin Firth cuts a swath at the Paris premiere of “The King’s Speech.”

The Details: As everyone from Tom Ford (who designed Firth’s suit) to Tommy Hilfiger can attest, in a season focused on fit with finesse, it’s all in the tailoring.

via The Moment

"(We)tell our kids to value learning and to reach for the stars, to work towards a better life while not forgetting where they come from. And always we hear the same mantra repeated acrossall socioeconomic classes: I want my kids to have it better than I did.

How is it then, that being smart, well educated, worldly and cultured is a bad thing?  Striving to achieve great success though hard work and dedication is a positive trait, but actually achieving it seems to be negative. Appreciating different cultures, expanding one’s horizons and enjoying the finer things in life are portrayed as an abandonment of “real” America.

We question and challenge each other and each, hopefully, walks away with a better perspective on life. We celebrate craftsmanship and individual style because to us, each represents an expression of personal achievement. We are not happy being provincial and holding to a tunnel vision of the world."

Excerpted from Off The Cuff

A Century of Style: Ermenegildo Zegna

The subtitle of a lavish new book on Ermenegildo Zegna – An Enduring Passion for Fabrics, Innovation, Quality and Style – is an apt description of the Italian luxury men's fashion house's core values. Celebrating the famed firm's 100th anniversary, the book from Skira is divided into four chapters – Mind, Hand, Style and Environment – exploring the origins and values of the brand and the four generations of family members who have made it a success story while remaining committed to the concept of "ethical expansion". As evidence of the latter, Ermenegildo Zegna is donating 20% of the retail sales of the book to the children's educational charity Care & Share.

Each chapter is introduced by noted international writers and accompanied by images that retrace the history of the Zegna brand, from ad campaigns to previously unpublished images. "Today we celebrate one hundred years since the foundation of our Group and we look towards future global developments," notes the company's CEO Ermenegildo Zegna, "as it is our duty to continue to represent the values of excellence and Italian quality all around the world. This is the heritage that our grandfather left us: savoir faire in craftsmanship, entrepreneurship and loyalty to our ethical founding values.".

via Luxist