Monthly Archives: July 2013

What we’re wearing this Summer– SeaVees Baja Slip On

A go anywhere beach sneak, the SeaVees Baja Slip On is the perfect casual summer shoe in our opinion.

In addition to its classic Cali surfer good looks, the Baja’s light and comfortable, breathes well and offers good support and width, even if you’re out pounding the pavement all day. It comes in a variety of cool colors and, best of all, you can just toss them in the wash after you’ve abused them and they’ll come back looking nearly new.

A bit pricey for a sneaker at around $80, we think the amount of use you’ll get out of them in all sorts of summertime situations is still worth it.

It can also be found (sometimes on sale) at Zappos.com.

What we’re listening to now: The Rifle’s Spiral by The Shins

The lead off track from The Shins oddly unloved 2012 album, Port of Morrow (we really like the 80s vibe), “The Rifle’s Spiral” gallops out of the gate with irresistible pace and a calliope of retro-space age sounds.

Somewhat impenetrable, impressionistic lyrics (not a new characteristic for Shins’ frontman James Mercer) contribute both emotional punch and disorientation, as the song rushes by at a fleeting yet expansive 3:30. A great way to start an album. And the day.

Plug it into your Pandora or download it from iTunes or Amazon.

Sad news from Bklyn: RIP Colin Devlin, Owner of DuMont & Dressler

Woke up to this awful news this morning:

DuMont Owner Colin Devlin Commits Suicide

Mr. Devlin was a pioneer in the Williamsburg food scene, which is to say the whole back-to basics, farm-to-table movement. His excellent restaurant Dressler on Broadway near the Williamsburg Bridge just shut down a few weeks ago due to a failure to come to terms with the landlord on a new lease (i.e. the rent was going up, up, up). It was an absolute shock, like someone abruptly tore away part of the fabric of the neighborhood, and there was a feeling of genuine loss. Not to mention it was always extremely busy with locals & tourists, so it seemed extra hard to fathom.

I never met the man but I’ve eaten at all of his restaurants (DuMont and DuMont Burger are still, I sincerely hope, going strong) and not only was the food great and the experience fun but they played an important part in my wife & I falling in love with this ugly-beautiful part of Brooklyn.

When they write the epitaph of the inevitable decline and loss of identity of Williamsburg caused by ever-escalating real estate prices and uncontrolled development pushing out the middle and artisan class to find cheaper housing and work space elsewhere (as is happening in so much of New York City), the sad and lonely death of Mr. Devlin may well serve as a symbolic turning point: the Beginning of the End.

Our sincere condolences to his family, friends & employees from all the folks here at MFL. May you have the strength to carry on.

*Update: NY Times article here.

Website of the day: Gearpatrol.com

If you’ve got a hankering for adventure and the finer things in life, a wide range of experiences and interests, Gear Patrol is for you (http://gearpatrol.com/). Designed to appeal to your inner James Bond/triathelete/race car driver, etc, Gear Patrol is packed with adventure vacations, fine spirits and awesome gadgets.

As a really good example of what these guy’s are doing (and at the risk of stepping on Graham’s turf), check out this fantastic mini-documentary on the iconic Porsche 917 prototype: Faster. Farther. Porsche 917 (Click it, man. You’ll thank me later.)

These are definitely our kind of guys. In fact, I’ve just added them to our links page. But be forewarned: the site is huge with a ton of cool stuff. You could get lost in there for days so it can definitely cut into your productivity. But what a way to while away the hours until your next adventure.

Vintage Watch Collecting: The Rolex GMT-Master

First let me say that I am definitely biased: My first Rolex was an old reference 1675 GMT-Master from the late 1960s that I won on eBay before I knew anything about vintage watches in general or Rolex history in specific. But I was lucky because the watch turned out to be both A) genuine and B) a totally awesome choice for a noobe. Here’s what it looked like…

1.9milGMT-12copy

And here’s why it’s a great choice for the guy who just got his first really good payday or bonus:  Continue reading →

What we’re listening to now–Next Girl by The Black Keys

Heavy elctro-blues men The Black Keys know how to construct hooky but rugged tunes that do not get stale because they are not that sweet. “Next Girl” from 2010’s “Brothers” is good example of their gritty but pop-savvy sensibility. Check out the lyrics, wah-wah and thump. And remember, fellas: The look of the cake, it ain’t always the taste…

Plug it into your Pandora or download it from iTunes or Amazon.

Ads that confuse us–Gillette Body Grooming

OK call me old school but this Gillette Body Grooming commercial kind of pisses me off:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXzdbr7HvAc

Let me get this straight: According to Handsome Boy Modeling School there, us guys are supposed to Gillette-style our bodies according the whims of whatever hottie comes along? What if I get tired of the “hairless” chick and make a play for the one who likes the hairy chest (but not the back*)?  Guess I’m screwed then, right? Talk about a moving target! I’m gonna have irregular patchy fur all over my body if I listen to this pretty boy’s advice.

Nuh-uh. I don’t give a rat’s ass if that is Kate Upton and Hannah’s hot and Genesis is probably a bit of a freak. “Grooming” my wonderfully hairy bod to please some high maintenance babe ain’t gonna happen. Love the hairy chest rug or leave it, darlin’, and do not even say a word about my legs or I’ll send you back to momma. If a relationship starts with body hair demands, where is it going to end? (Hint: your nuts/her purse.)

Riddle me this, Gillette: are these demanding diva’s gonna make Superman shave his chest, too?

Kal-El ain’t shaving nuthin’, baby!

Yeah, didn’t think so.

*Admittedly, I have yet to meet a woman who “likes” a hairy back–sorry, my wooly friends. But I’m sure she’s out there…she’s just maybe in Turkey or something.

 

Tip of the Day: Take the time to iron, ya lazy bastard

Look, you’re not in college anymore and no one thinks it’s “cute” when you shuffle into work or the bar with clothes that just came off the bedroom floor. You’re a young man trying to make a name for himself in this world.  Look the part.

Now you could send everything to the dry cleaners.  But that would cut down on beer money. Maybe you have a man servant to take care of such mundane tasks or you send your clothes home to momma? Maybe you have a throwback 1950s June Cleaver wife who will gladly do it for you (yeah, that’ll last). In any case, we here at MFL prefer self-reliance even for the boring stuff.

So unless your work calls for overalls or a hazmat suit, take 5-10 minutes to iron whatever you’re going to wear, even a T-shirt and jeans. If there’s something that’s just too much of a PITA to deal with like linen, then sure, take it to the dry cleaners and have them do it for a few bucks. Same goes for your fancier dress shirts if you’re worried you might burn through them while you’re busy texting. But mostly you’ll do fine, lazybones.

Some helpful hints: Continue reading →

Cars we want–2014 Corvette C7 Stingray

The Stingray’s back and coming soon to GM showrooms near you:

And we want one (euro snobs need not read on).

C7 Stingray: 6.2L direct injected small block V8. 0-60 in under 4 secs. 26mpg (believe it when I see it). MSRP $56.5k loaded. Aluminum and carbon fiber up the yin yang and magnetic ride suspension. Sounds like a bargain and I have a feeling it’ll be hard to come by without a wait.

Check out the official site: 2014 Corvette Stingray

And an excellent photo gallery and rundown from the boys at autoevolution.com

Place your orders, muscle car fans. And can we please have some of these in the new United Sports Car Racing series?