We live in the era in which our lives are run by smartphones, and I’m the first to sing the praises of — and immediately download – any app that makes life a little more convenient. When it comes to keeping a schedule, though, there’s something a little terrifying about leaving your plans for the next several months contained within a tiny, easily misplaced piece of equipment. There will always be something much more comforting about planning your life (or even your week) in print, and for this there will never be a better tool than the Moleskine notebook.
There’s a reason literary types have been carrying these in their bags since the days of Ernest Hemingway (how’s that for cred?): well-made with a classic design, I like to think this is a notebook that says, “I may love my iPhone, but I’m still a person of timeless taste, manners, and style.” At the very least it says “I am a person that remembers to show up,” whether it’s for a job interview or just a friend date. From travel guides to blank sketch notebooks their whole range comes in handy, but I’m a particularly big fan of the week-by-week planner, which leaves just the right amount of space for random notes to self, phone numbers, or a quick sketch of the bizarre person sitting across from you on the train.
One rule any transplant to New York learns right off the bat: never, ever wear flip flops outside for a trip longer than shuffling to the corner deli and back. And probably not even then. The list of reasons to avoid flip-flops in the city is long, gross, and best not dwelled upon.
This raises a major question of how to replace this go-to summer footwear, and for this, allow me to introduce you to your new best friend, the Sperry Top-Sider boat shoe. A decades-old preppy staple, boat shoes have made a huge comeback over the past several seasons, and with good reason: possibly the most versatile shoe in existence, not only do these look good on ladies and gents of all ages, they’re comfortable for as much strolling (or sauntering) as you’re capable of managing in the heat. A lot of knockoffs have cropped up with their resurgence in popularity, but don’t be fooled, Sperry always has been and always will be the gold standard when it comes to boat shoes.
For such a simple shoe there’s a huge amount in variation between style with these. So far I’ve stuck with a classic dark brown pair, but I’m also feeling this updated color-blocked pair for a little bit of a twist on the look.
And, in case you want to feel like you’re on a yacht, in Miami, or on a yacht in Miami (and really, who doesn’t?), these white ones couldn’t possibly be better:
Maybe some people enter into the world with a closet full of professional-looking attire. I am not one of those people.
Like so many others, I’m all too familiar with the classic post-college plight of nailing down a job (or at least a job interview), then having no clue what to wear. As far as I can tell, the trick is to avoid looking like you just rolled in from a night of beer pong, but not overdress like a tuxedo at a beach wedding. Until you’re a CEO, hoodies and power suits are to be avoided. And, of course, all this gets even harder when it’s 85 degrees and humid.
During my crash course in the world of dressing like a grown-up, this BB Dakota blazer has become my saving grace.
Seriously, let me count the ways this blazer is amazing: It’s long enough to work with either jeans or a dress, the grey goes with just about everything, and it’s light so I can still wear it in the summer without worrying about heat stroke. But besides the fact that it’s unbelievably flattering, my favorite feature of this is the three-quarter sleeves that scrunch up, a treatment I already inflict on all sweaters and jackets, usually to their detriment. It’s a small detail but makes the blazer great for showcasing bracelets and rings, and also makes it wearable while still a lot more serious than a shapeless cardigan. I’ve done a little more digging and BB Dakota apparently has an entire range of great summer-and-job-appropriate blazers, so I’d call this one item definitely ready to check off the “work clothes” list.
Another upside to spending endless amounts of time on the train: I get a lot more reading done than I ever would otherwise. As a non-fiction addict, though, it’s tough to choose from among the avalanche of memoirs that have come out over the past several years — trying to decide which ones are worth reading and which ones exist solely for publicity has left me thinking it may be time to retreat to fiction novels for a while.
I’m not ready to kick the memoir habit just yet, though, because I just picked up John Elder Robison’s memoir, Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s, and I haven’t wanted to put it down since. You’re more likely to have heard of Robison’s younger brother, Augusten Burroughs, who has arguably been the patron saint of the memoir trend since Running with Scissors. While Robison’s debut is a whip-smart reflection on how he learned to live with Asperger’s before it was an accepted diagnosis, it also holds a mirror up to the outlandishly dysfunctional family dynamic Burroughs first made famous in Scissors, told from the perspective of a member who was able to escape a little sooner.
This may not sound like the stuff of summer reading material, but like his brother, Robison’s sense of absurdity makes for a story that is both moving and incredibly entertaining, not an easy balance to strike. An added bonus: he spent years on the road doing tech work for metal bands, so you’ll find out what it’s like to be a roadie for KISS. Really!
To me, one of the best parts (and biggest novelties) of living in New York is that I never have to drive. On the flip side, one of the most tedious parts is spending a huge chunk of every day in transit, especially if you happen to live in Harlem when (ahem) almost everyone seems to have defected to Brooklyn. Finding ways to stay both awake and entertained has become something of an everyday struggle.
Thankfully, some of my more technologically and musically-savvy friends talked me into a pair of Sony MDR-V500 Professional Headphones right before I moved, and I’ve been addicted ever since. So far these have been sturdy enough to survive getting thrown around in my bag every day, helped me avoid unnecessary conversations on the train, and actually doubled perfectly as earmuffs in the winter. More importantly though, when I listen to music on these I notice aspects of production I’d never pay attention to otherwise and have learned a lot about music I thought I knew inside out.
Of course, great headphones aren’t much use without something great to listen to, and for that I’ve been completely enamored with Janelle Monae’s latest album. A P. Diddy and Outkast protege, Monae has really come into her own on the ArchAndroid, which is both a sci-fi concept album and a motown-influenced throwback. Incidentally, her songs have the kind of elaborate production that can only be done justice with a pair of good headphones. Production aside, though, the whole album is catchy enough that it actually might turn me into that person, the one awkwardly dancing to themselves on the train. And it would be worth it.
In my last post I gave you, dear reader, credit for being a smartly dressed man with a well decorated dwelling. Lets face it though, your pad might not be as well decorated as we’d like. Maybe you’re still rocking a coffee table you got for twenty bucks on Craigslist, or using that free set of crappy kitchen knives that came with the All American Meat Pile from that mail order steak company in Nebraska; you know the one I’m talking about.
Whatever the case may be, chances are you’re due for an upgrade somewhere. I’m not suggesting you cash out your retirement savings, but set aside a little dough for some of the home essentials and you’ll be good to go until you move in with a girl and she helps you realize that basically everything you own is junk and you should really just use all of her stuff. When that happens, do yourself a favor and hide the samurai sword in your golf bag; she’ll never think to look in there and by the time she realizes you didn’t get rid of it she won’t care anymore.
In the meantime, check out some of our favorite home and kitchen gear buying guides after the jump.
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You’re a modern man with a classy wardrobe and a smartly decorated dwelling, but lets face it: you don’t know jack about electronics. And who the hell can keep up with all the 3G, compact flash, LED gadgets on the market? You know you need a GPS for getting to the gym and an MP3 player for jamming out when you’re there, but there’s too much out there to keep up, and frankly its all going to be obsolete next year anyway, so why bother?
No problem, brah. We’ve got you covered with buying guides to help you figure out whats what. Check out a list of our favorite personal tech buying guides after the jump.
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A netbook computer is a weird little beast, like a 250cc sportbike or an electronic dartboard. It gets the job done, sort of, but there are compromises to be made. They’re all basically the same but with a few minor tweaks to keep in mind.
How big is the keyboard?
Netbook keyboards are usually anywhere from 80% to 93% the size of a normal keyboard and the difference can make or break your experience. If you can’t really type on the thing, you’ll never bring it with you anywhere and you’ll just be another dude reading the Times on your iPhone at the coffee house. Look for a bigger keyboard like the on the Samsung NC10 .
How much hard disk space is enough?
It pretty much depends on what you need to do. If you’re like me and you want a netbook to watch movies on a long flight to an exotic country where you’re going to shoot a million super high resolution pictures, the biggest hard drive you can get is the right one. You’ll need space for the movies and for the photos you’re shooting. In this case, your best bet is something with a 250 gb hard drive like an Acer Aspire One.
What about battery life?
Easy — the more battery “cells” the better. A big 6-cell battery, like the one available on the Toshiba Mini, should last 8+ hours on a full charge. Super long battery life is one of those things you never need until you REALLY need it. Do yourself a favor and pony up for a big battery and learn to live with a slightly heavier computer.
Timepieces make you feel like a man. They lend a sense of order and can help you out of a pinch if you’re bartering for your life or trying to win back your money at the poker table. My father is a Tag Heuer man. He’s worn the venerated Swiss luxury brand for as long as I can remember. Dude is a doctor. So for him time is precious. He needs something, weighted, balanced, and something that won’t absorb blood. Needless to say his watchbands are never leather. Dad truly respects the brand. He takes pride in the fact that he owns one. Though once, when he was extolling the virtues of owning a Tag Heuer watch it stopped cold on him. But when it did break, Heuer’s customer service was swift and thorough. Let’s say you don’t have Tag Heuer dough – these badboys start at about a grand.
The Victorinox is much more moderately priced – very few exceeding $1000. Victorinox are also steeped in tradition. The company has been supplying the Swiss Army with precision cutlery for well over 100 years. Though they are late to the game, when it comes to watches, my friends who wear Victorinox watches have nothing but good things to say about this hardy ever-growing brand. For my part, I wear a Rolex – my grandfather’s. Vintage. A rose-faced number from the 1950s. Grandpa was a grifter and a small time Detroit hood. Wearing the timepiece about carries with it a certain degree remembrance of him and his more obvious faults. You could say a lot of bad things about gramps but you couldn’t say the man wasn’t a snazzy dresser.
When I wear cufflinks I often imagine that my man Q has outfitted them with deadly lasers, two-way radios, and poison pills. Cufflinks were after all, the perfect compliment to the Cold War spy. With the terror war, agents I’m sure have ditched the tuxedo and cufflinks but that doesn’t mean you have to follow in lock-step. The right pair of cufflinks says a lot. Namely that you know how to wear these high-end accessories. If you’re not already familiar with how to wear these badboys, a couple rules of the road.
Cufflinks are only to be worn with French Cuff shirts – that is shirts that are not cut in the Oxford style. Meaning that without the cufflinks the sleeves wouldn’t button. Next, cufflinks are generally worn with tuxedos, but this is not a hard and fast rule. If you’re wearing cufflinks without a tux, it projects an air of swagger. If this is the desired effect, then you’re doing great, if not try to keep your choice of links as discreet as possible: your initials, coins, etc. But if you’re the type that feels compelled to be a conversation piece at client meetings, let loose my friend and find the best fits your boardroom rock n rolla persona.
