Alfred Eisenstaedt

A man that shot some of time’s greatest photos, most of his work is recognizable just by glancing.

Gonzo

Finally, the documentary/biography on Hunter S. Thompson is released. It’s set to hit most theatres and art houses on July 18th, check your local listings.

Woolrich’s Woolen Mills Line

Once again, the folks over at Woolrich pull out another incredible looking line for the spring season next year. Their fall 2008 selection which was featured here is something I am definitely looking forward to picking up in the months to come. The spring ‘09 season looks to have a large dose layers and lofty, light-weight jackets, scarves, and madras. Thanks to Selectism.

Vacation Guide: A Day Of Shopping In Miami Pt. 1

A few months ago, I ventured back down to Miami to visit again after a little over a year from living there. In that year, the Miami Beach shopping experience changed quite a bit. Funny how things work that way. Anyway, onto onto the review.

I suppose the best place to start would have to be Lincoln Road. I’m not sure how long it is, but it takes up about 5 to 6 blocks of shopping on both sides with the middle as a common area of sculptures, palm trees, and seating areas. Littered among the many shops are also restaurants and a few bars. The best place to start on Lincoln is on the western most side working your way east toward the beach. The strip is full of the normal shops you would expect to see such as French Connection, Penguin, Gap, Banana Republic, and so on. I’m going to give a short overview of the unique shops, restaurants, and hotels to make sure you don’t miss.

1. Basic - This is a store that I frequented a lot while I lived in South Florida. At the time, it carried much more of a T-shirt street culture kind of aesthetic with a few unique pieces thrown in. On the left side of the store is a  long rack of shirts, jackets, and pants that included Varvatos, Y.M.C., Surface 2 Air, and many others. The middle of the store is a few large tables scattered with the enough coffee table books on art, photography, fashion, and bio’s to make your head hurt. The right side of the store is full of shoes, accesories, and a listening station for music. The back of the store is probably the best part, espicially if you’re into Japanese toys in the vein of Kid Robot, Kaws, etc.

2. What’s great about Basic is the fact that right next to it are another two great stops. One being a fantastic book store/cafe called Books & Books that houses the best of the best in worldly literature and periodicals. The food and drink isn’t bad either, a great place to read and relax.

3. The third spot right next to Basic and Books & Books is an authentic German bar and restaurant called Hofbrau Munchen. You can drink out of a 32oz glass mug while eating a healthy dose of sauerkraut and brats all afternoon. I never did eat the food, but I’ve heard it’s great for the one with a German heart.

4. Moving on to something either I never noticed before while living in the area, or it just opened in the last year. As I walked upon it and saw it, I swear it must of looked like Christmas to a young child for me. Napapijiri, the premier scadinavian outdoors company that makes me weak in the knees. Their fall and winter lines are fantastic and some of the best manufactured textiles I’ve seen and worn. Of course, a store in Miami had quite a different feel than I’m used to, but nontheless they had great articles with a nice store outlay.

5. Finishing off the best of Lincoln Road brings us to the South Florida Art Institute which I would liked to stay quite a bit longer, and maybe next time I can get a actual tour. It’s a great place that displays artists work spaces to show projects in the making. There’s a lot of great things to be seen depending on what you enjoy. Personally, it was a breath of fresh air from the tourism, humidity, and inflated prices in Miami.

6. Now as your approach the end of Lincoln Road’s shopping district, you’ll notice the quality of places of interest start to dwindle. Once you reach Washington Avenue, go ahead and pass it for the time being and keep walking straight toward the beach. This line of hotels are some of the best of the larger ones on Miami Beach. While I could give a quick run down of a few notable ones, I figured I’d show my personal favorite just because of the unique style. I’m talking about Madonna’s Delano, a classic piece of art deco real estate with a relaxing vibe. Upon entering you will notice a long corridor with flowing white curtains on either side draping over pool tables, cut away bars, chess tables, and many seating areas dimly lit. While exiting through the back of the lobby, you come upon an outdoor restaurant which is actually very good the time that I had it. Continuing down the stairs and into the courtyard, you will find a pool different than the rest housed with chairs bolted down to be able to sit in the pool. On either side of the pool are little bungalows to be rented with tv’s and couch. On the other side of the fench, is the famous Miami Beach. I would of taken a lot of great photos, but I understand if you’re actually staying there…someone walking around taking pictures of you trying to relax is not the most favorable thing. I ran into this problem quite a bit, which is understandable.

That ends today’s overview of west Miami Beach, someday soon I will continue the look down the rest of Miami Beach with the do’s, dont’s, and must-see’s of the area.

Diane Arbus

One of the 20th century’s greatest photographers. She was reknowned for taking shots of normal and socially maladjusted citizens and framing them in scenes of unrest.

Madchester

Madchester was a late 80’s and early 90’s phenomenon that gripped Manchester, England and changed the music landscape up til present day. Rising out of the acid fueled rave clubs from London to the Northwest, it not only took it a step further beyond the dance music of the 80’s. It combined it with the sounds of psychadelic pop American bands of the 60’s and funk groups from the 70’s. Bands such as The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, Inspiral Carpets, Happy Mondays, and many others that took dance and pop music to the threshhold while still maintaining creativity and underground status. Eventually as the middle of the 90’s grew near, the genre soon faded and gave rise to what is now known as Britpop which houses such names as Oasis and Blur as the heavyweights that continued til the end of the 90’s.

The Stone Roses - Waterfall

Happy Mondays - Stinkin’ Thinkin’

Jason Pierce

Jason Pierce (often reffered to as J. Spaceman) is the mastermind behind Spacemen 3 of the 80’s and Spiritualized from the 90’s to present day. Spacemen 3 took the post-punk psychadelia deep into a world unto it’s own. Moving beyond Spacemen 3 in the late 80’s, Jason Pierce took his psychadelic roots and put them into a mix of shoegaze, gospel, and pop regalia. With Spiritualized’s latest release, Songs In A&E, comes a whole new generation of music, influences, press, and fans. Here’s a new fantastic interview that displays his changes over the years as we see him grow from album to album. Spiritualized is currently on tour so don’t miss an unforgettable show.

…the old records are what they are, and they’re all little time capsules. They all take you somewhere. I think good records — if I’m allowed to say they’re good records — they distort your sense of time, you can lose yourself in records.”

Spacemen 3 - Revolution

Spiritualized - Run

When Do You, As A Man, Cry?

The Art Of Manliness brings another incredible dive into the do’s and don’ts of living life as a male. While it’s a mix of a funny take on when to cry, and when not to cry; it also hits a more serious side on the reasons and instances when it has happened to you in your own life. Have your times been okay or downright questionable?

Choose DIY And Wonder Who The Fuck You Are On A Sunday Morning

A continuation of Ewan McGregor in his finest role, Trainspotting.

Tilburg’s Dutch Brown Ale

After tasting a delicious beverage such as Tilburg’s the other day, via my best mate Sean; I gathered I’d begin another quest of hobbies and review food, drinks, and other edible products that normally aren’t consumed by the everyday man, woman, and child.

With that being said, Tilburg’s is a basic Brown Ale that has a rich sweet taste to it without a strong caramel odor. It is also much smoother than I’m used to with european brown ales such as New Castle, which was my choice before this wonder. Brown Ales are normally great for winter by my standards, but this one can easily be taken on a hot summer day.

Another fantastic part about it is the art work on the bottle, it’s a piece depicting hell by Hieronymus Bosch. It’s quite strange and morose at first glance, but it definitely gives it character compared to most beers I’ve consumed. Here’s the full canvas, notice the the piece of it at the bottom right corner. Quite fascinating.