Big in Japan: Dutch architects UNStudio's proposal for a new Japanese flagship for Louis Vuitton. Current renderings show a towering ten-story building, decked out in LV-inspired leaf insignias, with plans to include a cafe, spa, bookstore, and exhibition space. That ought to take up a floor or two. What to do with the remaining space? Our best guesses, above.
[Dezeen]
Back in 1978 (when Al Gore was just a humble member of the House of Representatives), Jack Nicholson was extolling the virtues of Chevy's solar-powered hydrogen car, which never made it to market. Watch him in the clip below—particularly about 1:50 in, when Jack gamely sucks in a bit of (carbon monoxide-free) exhaust. Also: Anyone know where we can find a pair of those shades?
[Treehugger via Gizmodo]
Spotted in the A.P.C. Fall '08 catalog: this T-shirt, which, when you think about it, is an exercise in subtlety compared to the "It's not a beer gut, it's a fuel tank for a sex machine" tee Thom Browne did for Brooks Brothers last season.
While New Yorkers have a very Vice weekend in store, Left Coasters can hit up Mini Market, a temporary boutique from Citizen:Citizen opening tonight at San Francisco's Silverman Gallery. The setup is part art show, part clothing store, with offerings from a who's who of West Coast hipsterdom: Selima et Benjamin Optique, photographer Ari Marcopoulos, and artist Luke Butler, among others. The highlight of the monthlong affair? An August 15 screening of Liquid Sky, a 1982 sci-fi cult classic about aliens and a cross-dressing heroin-addict model that the Times praised for its "sly humor and ferocious fashion sense." Sounds like Citizen:Citizen to us. (Also: Not sure how to get there? Allow us to recommend a bike.)
Mini Market, at Silverman Gallery and Look Boutique, 804 Sutter St., San Francisco, silverman-gallery.com; citizen-citizen.com
As the WSJ reports today, a just-released bottle of 2005 Château Latour—a first-growth Bordeaux from the so-called "vintage of the century"—retails for $1,950. That's enough for 500 gallons of gas or, as the Journal points out, 170 shares of GM. But is it worth it? Before you answer, consider the paper's description: "Flawless&the red wine that other red wines hope to be." In other words, slightly better than that bottle of Cavit you uncorked at your last BBQ. So how much would you pay for a perfect bottle of wine? Sound off in the comments.
File under things that could never occur today (but we wish they could): Elliott Gould's strange superstardom. Despite his nervous tics and habitual mumbling, the actor was (apparently) a hit with the ladies, becoming a huge box-office draw in the seventies by starring in Altman classics like M*A*S*H*, hosting early episodes of Saturday Night Live, and, of course, later making a cameo in The Muppet Movie. (That's not even to mention Friends, but let's forget that happened.) Starting today, the Brooklyn Academy of Music presents Elliott Gould: Star for an Uptight Age, a cinematic retrospective of the actor's career (including screenings of The Long Goodbye). The movies are excellent, but Gould's style, both on-screen and off, was truly legendary—and still is today. As the man himself once said, "Success didn't change me. I was already distorted before I became a star."
Aug. 1-21 at BAM, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn, (718) 636-4100; for screening times and dates, visit bam.org
Click here for a slideshow of our favorite looks >
Sure, more megapixels don't always mean better photos, but sometimes, more actually is more. Such is the case with Leaf's new Afi 10, a camera that packs a walloping 56 mp, Schneider lenses, and new "Verto" technology, which allows the sensor to rotate from portrait to landscape without moving the camera body. Muscle like this will cost you: The Afi 10 will retail for around $43,000 when it's released later this year, marking the next level of escalation in the burgeoning camera wars. This news comes less than a month after Hasselblad released pics of its own 50-mp giant: Consider the gauntlet thrown.
[Dvice]
Williamsburg's chattering classes have their weekend cut out for them: Vice celebrates its annual photo issue tonight, presenting an exhibit of previously published works. Among those included are Dave Markey's seminal shots of the SST Records punk scene from L.A. in the eighties, and Patrick O'Dell's pics of the Girl and Antihero skate teams from a recent tour of the Northwest. Things only become more hipstery on Sunday, when Vice Records bands the Black Lips and King Khan & the Shrines play a free show at—where else?—McCarren Park Pool. Expected to attend: plenty of porkpie hats, some of them worn by those who think No Doubt is a ska band.
August 1-31, Vice Gallery, 99 N. 10th St., Brooklyn, vice.typepad.com
The Ewan McGregor documentary Long Way Down, thankfully, doesn't dwell on how he tumbled from Trainspotting to The Island. Instead the ten-part mini-series follows him on a 15,000-mile, 20-country, 85-day motorcycle odyssey from Scotland to Africa. Expect hyenas, pyramids, and male-bonding over BMW R 1200 GSs. Sound familiar? It's a quasi-sequel to his 2004 London-to-New York journey Long Way Round, and we all know McGregor would never make a sequel that disappoints (gulp).
Saturday, August 2, 9 p.m., Fox Reality Channel
High on the list of things you should never have to say to a ticket-taker: "In search of a midnight kiss, please." But it's worth stomaching that exchange to check out In Search of a Midnight Kiss, Alex Holdridge's sweet (if poorly named) indie drama. The festival-circuit darling, a misanthropic romance, waxes lyrical on the confusions and charms of Los Angeles, where loner Wilson (Scoot McNairy) chaperones cranky Vivian (Sara Simmonds) around after she answers his Craigslist hater-seeks-hater ad. The dialogue sometimes falls victim to mumblecore's whiny self-regard, but the star of the show is Tinseltown herself, a vision in sooty black-and-white. It's a cinematic postcard: In short, wish you were here.
Remember those stylish city-themed fixies we told you about last year? Well, Specialized just announced three 2009 additions to the line: Tokyo (above), Vegas, and San Francisco (both below). Each is decked out to evoke its namesake's style—Sin City gets cards and poker chips, for instance, while Frisco gets psychedelic lettering and graphics. (Stereotype-busting, we know.) Our favorite, though, is the Tokyo, which features kanji lettering alongside a handsome red, black, and gold paint job. The new models also get a useful upgrade—new carbon-fiber forks that help make your ride vibration-free. And despite the criticism lobbed at the '08 NYC version—painted to resemble a cyclist's mortal enemy, the taxi—it sold well overseas and is coming back for '09.
$880, specialized.com
Five things worth knowing today
- Lollapalooza, that diminished but somehow still annual summer tradition, begins today in Chicago. For those inclined to softer fare, there's the Newport Folk Festival, which we expect will be heavily bearded.
- Williamsburg's Monkeytown reopens with a screening of Vice's Daft Punk movie, Electroma.
- The Berlin International Beerfest begins in Germany.
- Today in 1936, late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent was born.
- And today in 1981, MTV began broadcasting in the U.S. with the music video for The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star." Have things improved since then? You be the judge:
Malin+Goetz recently gave its Chelsea apothecary a face-lift (ahem) with the expansion of a 200-square-foot perfumery. The brick-walled space includes a 20-foot perfume bar—made from blackened Douglas Fir wood—where you can sniff through signature M+G scents as well as store-exclusive, hand-poured perfume oils. Treats for your other senses include eight LED screens that stream live feeds of founders Matthew and Andrew (Malin and Goetz, respectively), their dogs, and even M+G employees at work in the lab. Rest assured, then, that it's okay to be, uh, nosy.
Malin+Goetz, 177 Seventh Ave., (212) 463-7368, malinandgoetz.com
To create its uniquely thick and soft jersey knit—so beloved by Nike that it used it for its new Sportswear collection—Japanese company Loopwheeler uses machines called "loopwheels" (get it?) that date from the twenties. Only a handful still exist—and while the material they produce is incomparable to modern knits in terms of hand and durability, they can only make a meter of fabric per hour. (That's just eight sweatshirts a day.) For fall, Loopwheeler has expanded beyond its usual fare (think zippered hoodies) into varsity jackets (pictured). Like most of the brand's products, they're limited-edition—by definition.
loopwheeler.co.jp
The canvas shoe has been a staple of China since the Cultural Revolution (which is to be expected when millions of factory and mine workers wear 'em). Shanghai-based sneaker brand Ospop has been replicating the Eastern classics for the past year, but has just expanded their colorways (pictured), timed, no doubt, for that little sporting event next week. The appeal's in their simplicity—and the company's scholarship fund, which sends promising high-school students to college. So if you want to help China get to the superpower stage a little faster, you know what footwear to buy.
$76 per pair, available at ospop.com
Coming to the state where everything's bigger: the guy who made jeans skinnier. Hedi Slimane is among the notables with work in Sehnsucht (Aspiration), a gallery show opening tonight at Dallas gallery Light & Sie. (That's his untitled Plexiglas print pictured above; other artists include Vanessa Beecroft, Jeremy Kost, and Thomas Ruff.) The ex-Dior Homme designer is also scheduled to make an appearance at the opening—but let's hope he goes easy on the BBQ during his stay. Given he famously inspired Herr Karl to slim down, we'd hate to see Hedi go the other way.
Sehnsucht (Aspiration), tonight through Sept. 6, Light & Sie, 129 Leslie St., Dallas, (214) 745-2255, lightandsie.com
[via The Cut]
The Danish audiophiles at Jamo just introduced the R 907, the "little brother" to their famous R 909 speakers—still among the most stylish things in the world, if you ask us. Happily, they've kept the same overall aesthetic (not to mention the booming, low-distortion sound), but they've shrunk it down in size—the new model's three inches shorter, two inches thinner, and six pounds lighter. At a still mighty 47 inches tall—and $9,000 per pair—they ain't exactly desktop speakers. Expect them later this year; expect angry calls from your neighbors shortly thereafter.
Oldest rule in comedy: There's nothing funnier than a sober discussion of Iran's nuclear policy. Well, you're in luck: Fresh off his interview with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Brian Williams makes his first general-election visit to The Daily Show, rekindling his unlikely-buddy-chemistry with Jon Stewart. They make a good pairӣat their last showdown, Stewart asked the anchor, "Are you biased for Obama because you're sexist, or for Hillary because you're a racist?" Williams' response: "This is why I drink."
11 p.m., Comedy Central
Just when we were getting used to an HD universe, Meridian comes along with a 10-megapixel digital projector—which, the company claims, produces a resolution five times as dense as HD's. Better yet is the powerful (4,000-lumen) xenon lamp, which is key—as anyone who's ever suffered through an underlit movie at a shitty theater knows. But don't dust off your Blu-ray copy of Vantage Point just yet: This thing retails for $185,000, or about the same as an F430. For now, we'd rather take the car.
Average cubicle dweller, circa summer 2008 Following a recent Sunday Styles story on how to get your hands on the summer's most stylish shorts (take pants, cut horizontally), today our pals at The New York Times tackle the issue of whether you can actually wear your new pair of truncated trousers to work. Their answer: yes, at least based on the experiences of some New York fashiony types, one eccentric older gentleman, and some pretty badly dressed ad execs in Salt Lake City. (For the record, Gawker has already made fun of the story.) At the risk of belaboring the obvious, I gotta chime in as well. On the topic of shorts at the office—don't be that guy. (Okay, if your "office" happens to be the insular little echo chamber of editors, assistants, and retailers who populate seasonal menswear collections, you get an exemption. But it's a grudging one. As Tyler Brûlé recently observed in the FT, Milan this season was brimming with "legions of U.S. fashion editors living out second childhoods in shorts, blazers, bow ties and penny loafers—a look which is fine if you're trim and 19 but rather tricky to pull off when you're over 40 and sporting a paunch.")
Yes, guys, I know it's hot out, but maybe it's time to take some inspiration from the actual residents of Italy (which, in terms of weather, ain't exactly Alaska). As Mr. André 3000 puts it in an upcoming 10 Essentials (check back on Monday for more), "Anywhere I can jump off a plane and spot a gent in the summertime looking cool as the winter is a place for me." Esattamente.
It figures: Just one day after we run a big story on digital convergence—you know, merging your computer with your home theater system—LG announces that its BD300 Blu-ray player will stream Netflix movies. Hey, we're not complaining: It's a nice little 'tweener for those who still buy DVDs but still want to stream Netflix's 12,000-strong catalog over the Web (without buying the fugly Roku). Look for it in stores later this fall, when it will retail for under 500 bucks.
[Yahoo!]
During his 50 some years in the business (many spent as the legendary Nudie Cohn's head tailor), Manuel Cuevas has outfitted the Rat Pack, made black suits for Johnny Cash (and gold lamé ones for Elvis), and founded Manuel, his eponymous Western-wear staple. And while he still oversees the brand's traditional line, Cuevas recently hired former Armani fashion director Wilfredo Rosado to serve as creative director for its new Designer Collection. What to expect: luxury fabrics in classic (but subtly tweaked) shapes, including an unstructured suit (pictured) made of blended twill. What's the blend? Paper and cotton. We know what you're thinking: Yes, it's washable, but no word on if it's recyclable.
John Warwicker isn't a member of British electronic music duo Underworld, although he joined them briefly in the early eighties as a video DJ. Nevertheless, the three have been making art over the past 25 years, and tomorrow, they're bringing the show to New York. Beautiful Burnout Art Jam features painterly travel photos taken on tour by Underworld (pictured), sound installations, video work, and performance art—which became a sort of rave of its own during last November's edition of the event in Tokyo. "In 16 hours we painted a 150-by-25-foot mural with 15,000 people watching us," says Warwicker. Claustrophobic types shouldn't worry: They've adapted the project to fit a space that doesn't host auto shows. "It's like a river that gets squeezed in a current," Warwick says. "We're building up a ton of energy."
August 1-15, Jacobson Howard Gallery, 33 E. 68th St., New York, (212) 570-2362, jacobsonhoward.com
Five things worth knowing today
- What's old is new again at Hippiefest, which comes to Waterbury, NY, today with Eric Burdon and the Animals, the Turtles, and one of the guys from Cream. (Sorry: It ain't Clapton.)
- Across the pond, Billy Bragg, Martha Wainwright, and Noah and the Whale hit the Cambridge Folk Festival.
- The History Channel's The Works explores one of our favorite subjects: beer.
- Today in 1970, the British Royal Navy ended its centuries-old practice of giving sailors a daily ration of rum.
- And today in 1963, British DJ Fatboy Slim was born. Below, some of Slim's biggest fans: Spike Jonze's Torrance Community Dance Group.
Requried viewing: Hoop Dreams, Steve James' '94 doc on the hopes and fates of Arthur Agee and William Gates, two Chicago teens with dreams of playing pro ball, and the realities—exploitation, competition, and isolation among them—that attend the journey from talented kid to superstar pro. What's new? The Academy Award-winner and acknowledged sports-movie classic is now free: Today Hulu CEO Jason Kilar posted it in its entirety, along with a lengthy tribute, on the site's blog. There goes your last excuse not to (re)watch.
[Hulu via IFC.com]
Given the vibe of Nikki Beach in Miami, the international brand's new Turks & Caicos location didn't seem all that alluring, despite the islands' other charms. But a visit last weekend to the recently opened resort proved us wrong—it's hard to argue with Bulgari bath products and beachfront opium beds (even if—ahem—opium wasn't on the menu). Other amenities included the usual: Think poolside DJs, VIP cabanas, and a limo stocked with Veuve to pick you up from the airport. Relaxing, sure, but still in keeping with the brand; unless you like your kids to freak out with the go-go dancers until 4 a.m., we'd recommend saving the family vacation for the Ritz Carlton (opening in 2009).
For more information, visit nikkibeachhotels.com
Our Olympic fever is slowly turning into an Olympic allergy, but there are some bright spots amid the buildup to 8.8.08. Case in point: Lesser Panda, English artist Sarah Morris' show at London's White Cube. Her abstract series 2028 [Rings] (pictured) is inspired by both the Games' logo and Beijing's famously congested traffic circles, resulting in a frenetic, dizzying panorama (not unlike the cityscape itself). Bored with the People's Republic? Try Morris' film 1972, a treatment of the Munich Games. Something tells us her take's a touch subtler than Spielberg's.
25-26 Mason's Yard, London, +44-020-7930-5373, whitecube.com
Sanyo just updated its portable (and waterproof) HD camcorder line, Xacti, with the HD800. The camera still shoots in 720p, but now sports an 8-megapixel censor and a 5x optical zoom inside the same light, slickly designed package. It's out this fall—still beach weather in our global warming age—for about $460.
[Gizmodo]
M3 fans probably winced a little during last fall's Tokyo Auto Show when BMW re-introduced a sedan version of its famously speedy coupe. (The move was probably inevitable, given Merc, Lexus, and Audi were already making 400-hp four-doors.) Now Bimmer has given the M3 a face-lift—or more accurately, a rear lift, given that all of the minor upgrade is in the back. (Most noticeable are taillights borrowed from the 328i and 335i.) A step in the right direction, we suppose, but something tells us the purists still won't be satisfied.
[Autoblog]
Fresh from his recent show at Colette, designer/illustrator (and Shepard Fairey protégé) Eric Elms arrives tonight at Nike iD's former design space in NYC. Details on the Nike Sportswear-sponsored affair are scant—an homage to the locale's former incarnation as an appointment-only footwear speakeasy, perhaps. (Note that the invite's zipper motif cropped up at the Colette show, too.) That said, this wouldn't be a bad one to take on faith: Elms has had a hand in designing for and with Supreme, Panasonic, aNYthing, and Neckface. Not bad for an up-and-comer—but then again, even his college thesis wound up in the pages of I.D.
255 Elizabeth St., NYC
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruki Murakami's memoir about competing in the NYC marathon, may be the best book on the topic since Diddy Runs the City: The Novelization, but there's tougher fare to be found in Ahead of the Curve. Philip Delves Broughton's account of his experiences at Harvard Business School, also out yesterday, explores the hidden machinations of modern finance and the sometimes foolish behavior of those who'd like to become Masters of the Universe. (Spoiler alert: Expect to read about a booze luge.) The journalist doesn't explain how to fix the housing market, but does make a convincing case for the positive qualities of ruthlessness. In other words, the perfect beach read.
$17.13, available at amazon.com; What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, $14.28, available at amazon.com
There's a new way for some to cool off at Coney Island this summer: torture (and no, we're not talking about the sideshow). As part of Creative Time's series of projects at America's scariest amusement park, artist Steve Powers (a.k.a. ESPO) unveiled his Waterboarding Thrill Ride last weekend, an animatronic installation where viewers can pay a buck and step up to watch a mannequin endure the time-tested torture technique. For those who'd rather see the real thing, later next month Powers and several lawyers (funny guy, that ESPO) will be waterboarded by a professional; video from the show will be available at creativetime.org. The crowd will no doubt be filled with media types, but presumably Christopher Hitchens won't attend—we suspect he's already had enough.
There are plenty of artistically pervy lensmen of our own right here at home (Richard Kern and Terry Richardson spring to mind), so why bother with Nobuyoshi Araki? Well, for one, he's more efficient: Over his 40-year career, he's released over 250 books. His latest is Araki Gold, a new volume of almost entirely unpublished work assembled for an Italian exhibition earlier this year. The tome's divided into chapters like "Ginza" (vintage street scenes); "Bondages" (naked chicks, all tied up); "Love Stories" (naked chicks, some tied up); "Tokyo Diary" (naked chicks, cats); "Flowers" (somehow equally lewd); and "Polaroid" (even more naked chicks). Dick and Terry had better get a move on.
Araki Gold, $34.65, available in September at amazon.com
The ancient French port city of Le Havre isn't a major tourist destination (yet). But all that may change in the course of the city's revitalization, which includes a little help from France's favorite son, Jean Nouvel: His Bains des Docks, a Roman bath-inspired aquatic center, is now open. What that actually means: a serene megacomplex in austere white, punctuated by a riotous wall of Lego-like color blocks, complete with saunas and Olympic-size pools. Mediterranean excess in an oasis of French calm? Guess that's the lusty Roman aspect.
Quai de la r…union, 76600 Le Havre, France, (011) 33-02-3279-2955, vert-marine.com
Five things worth knowing today
- Gen Art's Shop NYC sale comes to Manhattan, offering deep discounts on Hyden Yoo, Barking Irons, and T-County—just be prepared to fight through droves of ladies.
- Adventurous eaters can make their way to Montana's Testicle Festival, celebrating the gourmet preparation of...well, yeah.
- Less-adventurous eaters are advised to try the Maine Lobster Festival, also beginning today.
- Today in 1975, Teamster advocate Jimmy Hoffa disappeared.
- And today in 1950, Frank Stallone was born. Worst musician in pop history? Just maybe:
When Super launched last year, the Italian brand's sunglasses were immediately snapped up by celebrities who love acid colors. (Yes, that means Kanye.) But there's more going on here than just flash: The handmade acetate frames allow for intriguing design (exposing layers of color when the materials are cut down, like in the ones pictured), and all the glasses have Zeiss lenses. There are, of course, more understated options available than the ones pictured here, but if rainbow's your style, you'll have to wait until next February, when these will be at Barneys, Steven Alan, Oak, and others for $160.
Umpteenth time might be the charm for Brit rockers Primal Scream: They've canvassed as many styles as they've had albums, careening from the acid-washed Screamadelica to the grinding XTRMNTR, only to find themselves, on today's Beautiful Future, taking a page from the Duran Duran playbook. Speedy New Wave, likely or not, suits Bobbie Gillespie and friends—it's hard to argue with party fare like "Can't Go Back" (below). Could it be that they've been a pop band all along? Difficult to say, but if recording a Fleetwood Mac cover (from Tusk, no less!) isn't an out-and-proud declaration, what is?
We know it's been open for about a month now, but pictures from inside the renovated BMW Museum in Munich just surfaced over at Dezeen. From the looks of it, the place is definitely (still) worth a visit. Not only does the product remain striking—though, sadly, we're told you can't drive 'em home—the Guggenheim-like redesign (by Stuttgart studio Atelier Brückner) is perfect for showing off the wares. Speaking of, there's lots to see: The museum houses more than 125 exhibits. And if that's not enough, you can walk over to the nearby Welt—or just remind yourself how cool it is here.
Probably unrelated, but you never know: Loopy Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell's claims that UFOs have landed on Earth, and the season premiere of the Sci Fi Channel's Eureka, a quirky comedy about loopy geniuses and government cover-ups. (If the timing strikes you as odd, perhaps it's time to take off the tinfoil hat.) The show follows U.S. Marshal Jack Carter as he investigates a top-secret town full of quantum physicists, genius kids, and wacky inventors. Mad Men it ain't, but X-Files fans could do worse than to tune in: The series is certainly less disappointing than Mulder and Scully's last iteration.
9 p.m., Sci Fi
Just announced: two worthy cameras that are going for reasonable prices—Pentax's Optio E60 for still photos and Toshiba's Camileo H10 for video. At $140, the Optio (pictured) is a 10-megapixel gadget that comes equipped with face recognition and digital shake reduction, and is a pocket-friendly one inch thick. The Camileo, $350, shoots in HD and also boasts a 10-megapixel CCD and stabilization (pictured below). Professional-grade they're not, but, hey, neither is your kid's school play.
It's a big week for aviation enthusiasts: Yesterday, spaceman-to-be Sir Richard Branson unveiled WhiteKnightTwo (pictured), his long-in-development carrier aircraft that will ferry SpaceShipTwo (and a host of amateur astronauts) into the stratosphere. Reserving a spot will cost you, of course—tickets are $200,000 and require a 10 percent deposit—but we'd bet Branson will at least throw in some peanuts for the trip.
Meanwhile, at the EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, WI, one entrepreneur took the NYT for a spin in his new (actually functional) jet pack. The result? A slightly shredded tree—but also renewed hope that the product will soon be available for $100,000. Reports the Times, "Mr. Martin [the New Zealander inventor] has somehow made the future look both sleek and nerdy." Flying's great and all, but for our spare hundred grand maybe we'll just take that Cayman and call it a day.
Sure, Cocksucker Blues has its adherents, but let's face it: After the Maysles Brothers filmed the band in Gimme Shelter, the competition for best Rolling Stones doc ever was pretty much over. Still, the Stones kept (stubbornly) kicking out the jams, and in 2006, Martin Scorsese took a stab at the crown: His doc, Shine a Light, out on DVD and Blu-ray today, features the usual material, plus guest-star turns from Christina Aguilera, Jack White, and Bill Clinton. The home-release's extras are worth seeing—a few more songs, and a behind-the-scenes featurette—but the ones you'll really want to see are on YouTube. Below, a few of our favorites from their oeuvre.
This Friday, the ever-expanding Freemans empire gains yet another outpost: a second barbershop in Manhattan's West Village. The 750-square-foot space, principally run by Sam Buffa, will feature the same services as the original, but double the capacity with eight chairs. It also has the famous Freemans attention to detail, replicating the look and feel of a thirties men's club locker room (what, you expected Euro-disco?). Think salvaged Appalachian oak floors, a hair-washing station made from a slate sink found in an old garage, and (of course) era-specific vintage chairs, originally designed by the legendary Theo Koch. For those who come in too sauced to notice, there's the "Hangover Remedy," which, according to newly minted manager Shorty Maniace, involves a rose-water rinse followed by a steaming hot eucalyptus towel wrap (but, unfortunately, no hair of the dog). See below for pictures of the space when it's empty; it won't stay that way long.
5 Horatio St., New York, (212) 929-3917 (not yet in service), freemanssportingclub.com
Casio G'zOne just unveiled its latest rugged cell phone, and the tough little bastard actually looks kind of great. Dubbed the Boulder (because they're Buffalos fans, presumably), it comes with outdoor-friendly features like GPS, an LED lantern, and, our favorite, a digital compass on the outside. It'll withstand the usual shock, dust, and water, and is available now in black or orange (as rugged gadgets often are).
$130 with a two-year plan, verizonwireless.com
[Gizmodo]
Back from the dead: a growing list of books long out of print, courtesy of Faber Finds and Internet-enabled publishing on demand. For the series, Canadian typographer Marian Bantjes designed four "vocabularies" by theme to serve as the design elements (one for nonfiction, one for fiction, one for art, and one for children's books), which a software program automatically compiles into a jacket. The result—a unique look for each edition—makes for a book that you can, in fact, judge by its cover. It might even be better than judging it by its content: Unless your tastes run to noncanonical Welsh historical romances or the lives of mid-century English conductors, you'll why Faber's offerings fell out of print in the first place.
[PostSpectacular via Creative Review]
We'd call it the Prius of desktop computers, but it looks better than some Toyotas: Still, Dell's new Hybrid mini-PC is both tiny and eco-minded. About the size of a dictionary (or the like-minded Mac Mini), it's available in seven finishes, including the suddenly trendy bamboo. Just as importantly, it doesn't suck under the hood: dual-core processor, a solid 320 gigs of space, and decent optional upgrades like a Blu-ray drive and a TV tuner. It also comes with a "recycling kit" to help you safely dispose of it—presumably for when the mini-mini-Hybrid is inevitably released.
$500, available now, dell.com/hybrid
Before it closed in 1988, Michter's in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, was the oldest licensed distillery in America. Pretty soon the last remaining inventory of the oldest pot-stilled bourbon around—its rare 16-year sour mash—will be history as well. Labeled A.H. Hirsch Reserve, a few single bottles of t
