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Dispatches from Key West Pt. 1

Once again, I find myself in Key West, the island sanctuary of the weird. Plenty of places pride themselves on their weirdness or uniqueness, from Austin to Portland and back again. But their weirdness is homogeneous. Key West is unique in its eccentricities because it stems from the heterogeneousness of the populace and visitors. It's the prime tourist destination for dixie and middle America, and also a hub of the gay rights movement. The home of Hemingway, yet a mecca for kitsch and tackiness. A place everyone knows and nearly everyone has visited, yet is still so firmly in small town territory it seems the majority of parents are employed by the naval base. Even the weather has this duality. I'm sitting in the sun, cooking myself to a red best described as "makes fire trucks look subtle" while a fifth of a mile to my left rain pours down. 

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Are NBA superstars Cost Effective?

This is the question that compelled me to create a new metric for measuring NBA players:

Total Points Contributed per $1,000 made. 

Of course, a lot would be lost if I only measured total points. So using a pretty simple formula I came up with, I calculated total points to include the player's contribution via assists, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, blocks, steals, and turnovers. Below is the graph when the line of best fit must cross the x-axis at the origin.

Below this is the graph when the line of best fit is allowed to have a y-intercept where it would naturally fall

Finally, this the top 75 for Points Contributed per $1,000 and their names

Notice a couple things. First, there's a lot of outliers. This happens because of 10-day contracts and a minimum salary of $500,000 in a League where the average is $5,000,000. Chris Wright had a 10-Day 5,000 dollar contract and scores a few points. Due to the formula, he leads the league. I'll figure out a way to fix this later.

The other big thing is the lack of two big names in this list. Where's Durant and Lebron? Durant is at 266, Lebron 320. They're below the league average, even after removing the top 5 as outliers (that average is .441 points per $1,000, the SD for it is 0.459). Of course, that doesn't mean they're overpaid, despite what that may seem. A better way to look at it than examining the average for a league with such varied salaries is the graph. If you're above the trendline on the graph, you're justifying your salary. If you're not, you aren't. See that dot way above everyone else in the center of the graph? That's KD. A little below him and to the right? Lebron. Not to mention the extra revenue a star brings in.

Looking at the numbers again, it appears that the wisdom of the minimum salary guys in their 4-6 year area having the highest return is pretty true. That said, when you look at the chart, it becomes apparent that they're a lot more risky than someone in that $5 million and up range that the league currently hates. Sure they may produce more points per basket, but something is also more likely to go wrong.

If y'all have any questions on this, feel free ask.

Thank you to Basketball Reference and NBA stuffer for the salaries and stats respectively

[thegentlemanreadinglist]

Why Rockstar is the John Updike of Video Games

Subtitle: And why I'm not sure if that's a compliment

Yes, I tweeted this. No, I don't feel bad about stealing from my twitter for posts. I want to expand on what I said.

First, let me get this out of the way. I'm not a scholar of Updike. I've read like two of his short stories, an interview or two with him in a chapter of a book on why the universe exists, a smattering of reviews (The most influential, and what a good bit of this is based on is one by Dave Foster Wallace (no need to feign surprise), etc. Nor am I a scholar on Rockstar. I never finished Red Dead Redemption, never finished Midnight Club: Los Angeles, and barely made it through GTA V. However, that doesn't change that they feel analogous to me. 

For those who don't know, Updike was one of the great writers of that time between my parents' and grandparents' generation, providing a voice to those rebelling against the strangling societal norms at the time. His characters had more extramarital affairs then the entirety of Manhattan, were paragons of self-interest, and the protagonists were almost always male (They acted as stand-ins for Updike). It was for this reason Foster Wallace nicknamed Updike one of the three "great male narcissists" and why so many today (especially women) have a visceral dislike of the man, bordering on disgust. At the same time, he was one of the best at describing scenery, especially the details (Toward the End of Time spends something like 70 pages describing the protagonists garden). You walk away after reading one of his short stories feeling as if you actually were in that New England town (its always New England).

Does this sound anything like your favorite game company? I hope so. I have no doubt that Rockstar was influenced not only by his attention to detail, but also when he describes how he likes his women (innocent, dirty, looking up at him as they perform a lewd act). At times, both come across so hopelessly misanthropic as to be muddled (I'm sorry Rockstar, are you murderously angry at Republicans, Democrats, those Spineless independents, Communists, Fascists, those who are apathetic? The schtick gets old after a while). Both treat their penis as the epitome of evolution (Wallace quotes some critics calling Updike "a penis with a thesaurus).

Most of all, despite these issues (In an interview with him I read, Updike said a formula he made relates his existential dread to the amount of ass he's getting. This is as a 75 year old man), both can roll in a pile of critical and commercial success. Because what reviewer should care if they seem to think women only exist to please men, they consider castration a fate worse then death, and stopped doing anything new after a while? Look at how those blades of grass dance in the wind.

[thegentlemanreadinglist]

On the Importance of Being Casual

Let's face the facts: Almost everyone, if they follow some basic protocols, looks good in a suit. To me, casual wear says more about the type of dresser you are. What do you wear to a movie with friends? To School? Etc. Those baggy jeans and stained Tee won't cut it, even if you wear a Savile Row suit to work. 

Here, slim cut jeans and more casual shirts will be your best friend. I personally prefer darker jeans, since they add an air of formality that can bolster your look. When it comes to shirts, it's more a distinction on what looks good on you. I'm a smaller build, so I wear only slim cut shirts. I happen to like plaid, so that's pretty common for me as well. I also stick to darker colors here, but almost never straight black, since that often reads badly. A slimly cut jacket, especially of shorter length, can round out the outfit. I usually use a tweed or chord sportcoat, but work jackets can help remind people that you're dressing down, despite dressing well.

Finally, a slim tie, especially in grey, can finalize the outfit, and allow it to have a dressier feel if you're going to a restaurant or something similar. I'd recommend tying a half-windsor knot, and leaving it nice and loose around the neck. If you're wearing tweed, feel free to throw in a bow tie, just make sure you don't have too many contrasting textures, patterns, and colors. In fact, why not look at my post on bow ties too?

[thegentlemanreadinglist]

Excuses Excuses

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Just been really busy. 

Anyway, I'll try and start posting again soon, this is just so people don't think its abandoned, since its not ATM.

[thegentlemanreadinglist]

READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT

I’m a proud mama. 

[thegentlemanreadinglist]

The Weekly Listening List California edition

You can tell a lot about a person by what type of music they listen to. For example, if they listen to Brad Paisely, they probably are a classic Southern Prep type person. If they're listening to Chief Keef, they're probably high. If they're listening to nickelback, they're a serial killer, and you need to back away slowly but purposefully. Therefore, I'm going to start suggesting music for people's ipods. Some of it will be pretty mainstream, some will be pretty indie, and most will be some mix between the two. This week's will be short, but expect 5-8 songs per list

Week 1 

Music Midtown has passed. As the crushed coke cans litter the green Piedmont, and the weather starts to cool, let's look at some music.

1) Sweater Weather- The Neighborhood

With that introduction, what else would I lead with. The California band's most famous song also happens to be on the top of my playlist this week. With it's pop lyrics but slightly trippy and vacant (that will be a theme) beat, it suggests that though the surface of a person may be pretty boring, you've got to dig a bit deeper to find the interesting parts.

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

2) Welcome to my Cypher -Dahlak Brathwaite (DahLak)

Dahlak will be on a lot of these playlists. The beat on this one is pretty catchy, and it seems like a pretty standard song about how awesome everyone featured on it is. That is, until verse 3. "Everybody's a Gansta we degrading the women and some saying its dying since we be relying of gimmicks." While not a Dahlak verse, that's the kind of dig at the corporate rap that you'll find throughout his work. His slam poetry is worth listening to as well.

https://soundcloud.com/dahlak/09-welcome-to-my-cypher-feat-n-i-c-c-plus-leejay

3) The Distance- Cake

While I'm sure I could talk about the contrast between the horns, with their pep and zest, and John MCrea's unchanging near monotone voice, I'm just going to say that's its an awesome song. And they're great live. Also, like Dahlak, they're from Sacramento.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pSlu2okpqM

[thegentlemanreadinglist]

Are Dedicated Golfing Clothes worth It?

I really have little to say today. Luckily, this is a blog, where even when people have nothing to say, they still say it. Therefore, let's talk about dedicated Golf clothes (such an interesting and controversial topic, I know). For a long time, I just wore what I wore everywhere to play golf. After all, a polo and pastel shorts fall within ever club's dress code, and it was easier than changing like everyone else. Besides, it gave me a reason to laugh at people. But, I recently got some Cutter and Buck golf shirts and shorts, and I now understand. No longer do my shirts stick to me in the humid day. I can now take a full swing without having to worry about my shirts or shorts ripping because the humidity has literally stuck them to my body. Golf clothes are god-like. 

Pictured: Adonis

I'll try never to write another post on this inane of a subject. If I do, "put me down like a horse with a broken leg" (wastky, for those who were curious).

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Personally, I've never had many problems with my foot getting very sweaty, smelly, or snug, and I almost always go sock less. My problem is chafing if the shoe is a touch big.

Want Tip: Sockless Style Hack

It takes a brave man to rock the sockless look (even braver when he rocks the sockless look in winter time; we’ve seen it, much respect to those guys who sacrificed foot warmth for the sake of style). Understandably, there are 3 problems to overcome that are preventing more men from wearing their shoes sans-socks: Sweat, Smell, and Snugness. It’s time to hack the sockless style, and eliminate these problems.

Read More

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And That's Why...

Recently, I've been brainstorming ways to keep the blog fresh and interesting even without posting everyday or hour. This column was the breakout baby of that beautiful brainstorm, and so I think it'll be reoccurring. In it, I'll post a picture of something I, or someone I know, wore to an event, and then explain why they did so. I have high hopes for this format, for a few reasons. Primarily, it will serve to almost look inside the head of people I find fashionable (including myself), to explain why the wore what they did for an event. This should help readers (and maybe myself, as well) understand what to wear when. Also, it will guarantee posts about style, helping balance the focus.

In the picture above, we're going to look at what I was wearing. I'm the one on the far left, in the suit. The background info is that it was a family birthday dinner. While the place we were going was nice, it's not really a suit and tie type of place. However, considering it was a family birthday, I wanted to make it a little special by gussying up for the occasion. So my goal here was to balance making the night special clothing wise, while not looking overdressed. The way I did this was by substituting a knit tie for a normal tie, putting on a plaid shirt, and wearing some suede shoes without socks.

The knit tie is of course less formal, and I only used in situations like this. Classically, suits were worn with solid shirts, often white or another neutral color. By substituting the bright plaid shirt, I thought it brought down some of the formality of the outfit, and kept it relatively modern. Finally, the lack of socks with my shoes added a nice touch to emphasize the summer style of the outfit, and make sure it didn't feel like something I would wear to a business meeting.

As always, if you disagree or have a question, just comment on it. 

[thegentlemanreadinglist]

Fear and Loathing in Golf: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the Gentleman's Game

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I couldn't actually decide if I wanted to publish this piece, and I've been wrestling with whether to do so. Not many people want to read existentialism from the eyes of a younger person. Especially on a blog oriented toward fashion (I'll get back to that soon, I promise). It's also not how I feel on the course (those who've played with me know that a bad round consists more of disbelief and a stupendous amount of profanities than silent existential dread). But, in the end, the name was too good for me not to publish it. Tell me what y'all think.

Golf is one of those sports that paradoxically sound both incredibly difficult and insanely easy. Thinking theoretically, the game of golf seems like an effort in absurdity. “Here, take this club that, at most is five inches across at the face, and at most 2.8 inches in height of the face, and hit a ball that’s at least 1.68 inches across and weighs at most 1.62 ounces around 350 yards until it ends up in a hole 4.25 inches across. And do this only hitting the ball four times.”1

            To put that in perspective, 350 yards is 12,600 inches. The average fairway is 35-45 yards across (excluding rough)2. When considering the rough (as all golfers are wont to do during the round), let’s say it averages 15 yards on either side, since I couldn’t find accurate measurements for that. That means the area of a hole, ranges from 22750 to 26250 square yards. In square inches, that’s means it ranges from 29,484,000 to 34,020,000. The area of the cup is around 57 square inches.

            But watching a professional golf match is very different. An untold number of people have said to me they don’t understand how golf is difficult. After all, you don’t move, the ball doesn’t move, and the cup doesn’t move. What’s so difficult about it? It’s not like baseball, with a little ball hard enough to kill you going 98 MPH from 60.5 feet away, or tennis, with its similar speeds and distances. No one’s trying to tackle you, there’s no real rush to take your shot.

            When you begin playing, the sport seems deceptively difficult. And to the experienced player, the idea of golf being easy can literally create an existential terror.

            When my sister came home from college after freshman year, she asked me to teach her golf. This, predictably, ended terribly. She’s a relatively good athlete, and had watched golf with my dad before3. She didn’t think it would be that tough, so we set out for a day on the course. It’s only because we truly love each other that it didn’t end in arrest warrants for one or both of us.

            “Als, simply begin with the arms, then turn the shoulders (this is around when the wrists begin to truly be used, yes), then finally a slight rotation of the hips. Then release. Like pulling back a rubber band.”

            “I’m trying.”

            “No, you’re using too much wrist.”

            “I’m doing what you said.”

            “No, you’re not.” Etc. She missed the few balls, and the game became impossible. She had seen me hit, and was convinced that she would never be that good (and I’m by no means great), and began to lose hope. But she wasn’t that far off. A few minor tweaks, and the swing would have been good enough to at least play, not well, but play. But the idea of golf being easy meant the initial struggles made it impossible.

            This isn’t that different then what happens to a good golfer toward the end of a bad round. Let’s use the example of a golfer with the talent to shoot upper-70’s, who’s currently on pace to shoot 98 walking to the 18th tee. He’s been playing golf since before he was could remember not playing. The before mentioned existential terror creeps up on him if he can’t shut off every prior shot. He’s walking to the tee, thinking about the round he’s had. He knows he’s better than this. He has the ability to shoot in the 70’s, at least in his mind. He’s done this longer than anything else in life with little hyperbole. This thing that’s not supposed to be difficult, according to those who don’t play. If he can’t do this, something that he’s been doing his entire life, is he useless? After all, practice makes perfect. But he’s practiced. He’s put the work in. Hitting so many shots on the range that he couldn’t even straighten his fingers by the end. Does he suck at everything else as well? Is he then a burden? You want to quit, this thing that’s making you question your usefulness. But you love it. When you’re playing well, little is greater. But when you’re playing badly, even the good compounds the bad. You hit a good shot, but that’s what you’re supposed to do. Playing is as natural as breathing. Why shouldn’t you be hitting good shots. It just makes those bad shots worse, because you know you should be better. After all, it’s not hard.

                  If you’re thinking it’s a little overblown to have an existential crisis over that snobby game, you’re right. But just the nature of golf almost mandates that players have these crises. How it’s portrayed in media. When you struggle with something supposedly easy, it leads to new way of thinking. Whether this thinking is “poor me” or “I understand when I see people struggling with [insert a task easy for you]” is up to you. But looking at it the former only leads to greater sadness, while the other leads to the broadening of the mind, allowing the personal growth necessary to be a consummate gentleman.5

                 1) Excluding Par 3’s and 5’s, which are even weirder

2) PGA fairways, btw, are even thinner, but with more rough on the sides.

3) Mainly for Rory. It’s always for Rory. Even with 50%a guys, it’s Rory.

         A) That’s definitely a scientific figure. Peer review and everything.

4) See the note at the beginning. I’m not the inspiration here

5) I am not that, but I’m always striving to be it.

        A) Also, remember that is what this blog is about. How anyone can                  wear the latest clothes, but to also become a person worthy of                    wearing them. A person as interesting as his (or her) wardrobe So I did get it back to fashion, to a certain extent.

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Image from The Devil’s Promenade, a collaboration between Lara Shipley and Antone Dolezal. The work focuses on the Ozark Hills and investigates a local phenomenon called Spooklight—an orb of light that is often spotted on the border of Missouri and Oklahoma.

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A blurb by Alix on Magna Carta

Until recently I had nothing but respect for Jay-Z. His lyrical prowess taught me many a life lesson, mostly about my rights if the police were to search my vehicle, “the glove compartment is locked so it’s the trunk and the back, and I know my rights so you’re gonna need a warrant for that". Genius. My version of the ABCs song. 

But now that’s all changed. Magna Carta has single handedly ruined our deep and long-standing relationship. It’s a wrong not even Bey can fix. In fact, I’m drafting divorce papers for her as I type. 

I guess CEO status is the new “started from the bottom now we here" (don’t even get me started on Drake), but seriously? That whole Samsung thing was (is?) disgusting. 

To make things worse every one of my social media platforms is covered in a Jay-Z- Marina Abramovic dance-off. AND PEOPLE THINK THIS IS A GOOD THING. Thank god for the Hyperalleric headline, "Jay-Z Raps at Marina Abramovic, or the Day Performance Art Died". I thought I was going crazy for a second. Look Jay, ruin your own reputation and music for all I care, but stay the fuck away from my art icons. 

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Jacket cut impeccable

Lapel pin never lacking

The watch always an auto

Scooter Keys just out of frame

This is the life of a Euro Gentleman.

Big thanks to the guy in this photo, who graciously let me take his picture as he finished his lunch.

[thegentlemanreadinglist]

Why Watching Movies with the Sound Off is the most interesting album released on June 18

            Miller’s new album is fucking weird. I mean that in a great way. I love it. It also confirms, for me, something, that I’ve suspected Mac is for a long time: a post modern-man. What is a post-modern man? Someone who revels in post-modernism. What is the post-modern movement? That is something many long essays have been dedicated to solving, so I’ll try and summarize what it is to me. First, there is nothing true. Everything is subjective and subject to change. So post-modernism means post-modernism is subjective. Which leads to the idea of absurdity. PM accepts and utilizes the absurdity of everything, especially life. There is an acceptance of advertising and popular culture, yet at the same time a hatred of it. Since everything is subjective, there is no real meaning to life, which leads to an emptiness. And it wrestles with both being accessible and readable, while still conveying something deep, meaningful, and extremely personal. Finally, it tends to be highly critical of itself and its contemporaries, and uses irony to hide the fact that it cares.

            Let’s start with the beats on Movies. Listen to how sparse it is. While it is experimental in the same vein that Macadelic with the sound, there is a deeper reason. It always feels like something’s missing. Listen to “Watching Movies” again. At the start, it feels like it will be a classic bumper, a la “Donald Trump” or “Loud”. While “Loud” did have a little less in the way of sound, it’s not the same as “Watching Movies.” It seems to almost have something missing, at least to me. It’s still the bumper, but not quite there. He never raises his voice. This is pretty common in the album. Something is missing in Mac’s music, almost representing something in his life missing. When discussing the line in S.D.S where he says, “been contemplating if I still believe in truth,” he says on rap genius that he doesn’t know what it or isn’t true, and to make what you want true. He wrestles with religion in the album (mentioned later), and it appears drugs aren’t filling the void of having no correct answer creates.

            Going back to the issue of how his voice is on the album. It’s distant and soft. While some may interpret it to be a purely aesthetic decision, when looked at with a critical eye it suggests something different. No matter what he says, his voice doesn’t change. “I burn down a city when I’m unconscious.” He’s talking about how hot he is, but that’s still an interesting lyric to say with no emotion. He’s detached, and refuses to show any real emotion, because "what does it matter?" Even when the lyrics don’t, his voice through the album conveys a nihilistic attitude. He’s hiding behind irony. TV has used the irony in inherent when the images and sounds of something contrast, as Foster Wallace (I’ll refer to him a lot, because he wrote often on popular culture and was a far superior writer than I) discusses eloquently and at length in “E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction.” Miller is doing a similar thing here, and it seems to fit him quite well.

            I want to jump quickly to the idea of this balance between conveys something personal and painful, while still making it marketable and aimed at popular culture. For evidence of this in post-modernism, look at David Foster Wallace. “Consider the Lobster” is an essay about a lobster festival in blue-collar Maine. It was relatively short, and should have been straightforward. But he still talks about whether lobsters feel pain, how he deals with it, and what type of tourism he prefers. Miller has obviously struggled with this balance. He released his most experimental work before this, Macadelic, as a mixtape free to the public, yet his debut album was often criticized for not venturing into new territory. It’s almost as if he feared people buying something they didn’t enjoy. Not so with WMWTSO. The most “fun” song on the album is his collaboration with Tyler the creator, and even says the song is one for him to have fun on. Still, when he finishes, he admits that he’s still depressed about his girl, and nothing has helped. In this easy, pop-oriented song, he’s still conveying something intensely personal. He needs to write about his problems as catharsis, yet still sell records to make enough money to keep up his life style that allows him time to write the songs as catharsis. It’s cyclical, but Miller seems preternaturally good at it.

            While we’re talking about the intersection of music and money, let’s focus our attention toward the influence of pop culture and advertisements in his music. In the Wallace essay mentioned above, Wallace discusses an U.S. literary movement called hyperrealism or post-post-modernism or image-fiction. From what I gleaned, it seems to be obsessed with the popular culture around it, and is so focused on it that it becomes a criticism of our obsession with it. This is because the references to “low” culture and how we know them should make us feel uneasy, and therefore have us question our habits. I want to make a similar argument with Miller and misogyny. The entire album, like all of Miller’s work, is littered with misogynistic lyrics and images. This is no different than most other rap albums ever. However, I think Miller is doing a similar thing to Bay Area artist Raphael Casal. Casal has full on attacked misogyny in popular culture and rap before, with his poem “Ken and Barbie 101” and the song “Misogyny.” However, that proved ineffective. So what he did, ingeniously, was to start to fill his lyrics with the misogyny. For the unattuned, it would mean nothing, just a continuation of the anger toward women that they’ve come to expect in rap lyrics. But for those who know better, or truly listen, it’s something very different. The reaction becomes visceral. The lyrics become repulsive, and you begin to see Casal as a hypocrite. And that’s what he wants. Rap has this perverse hatred with women, yet most of rap is centered on women and their bodies. Casal is embodying the hypocriticalness of rap, and illuminating the problems that it faces. I think Miller is trying a similar thing. Look at “Angels (when She Shuts her Eyes).” It is a relatively sweet song. But at the same time ”I fine with just good b-cups” is an actual lyric. It seems out of place, and I think that’s continued on WMWTSO. But it’s not only aimed at the misogynistic tendencies of rap music, and it’s not only Miller. Tyler, The Creator joins as well. This type of unease is exactly in Tyler’s wheelhouse. While he aims some of it at misogyny, he also saves some for popular culture. “Then we jet to Fatburger, ordered some Big Macs” Tyler raps energetically toward the end of his verse. At first glance, this makes little or no sense. Fatburger doesn’t have Big Macs. In fact, why even use Fatburger? Maybe because Ice-Cube, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G, and the Beastie Boys mentioned it in their songs. Tyler probably knew this. What he’s doing here is referencing other people referencing low-culture. Doesn’t the question of where you know this much about fast food cause a little discomfort? That’s the point, along with absurdity.

            The absurdity of this line brings up the penultimate piece of evidence, which is the absurdity of the entire album. The lyrics are at times flat out insane, and the boasts overly grandiose. Miller embraces the absurdity, and lets it shape the sound of the album. And this is not limited to the brags and boasts on the record. Rather, it extends to the idea of modern religion, and his spiritual struggle. Examine “Aquarium” for a moment. It opens with a joke. Then it talks about angles, then bounces to his dreams of “Latin queens.” Then it gets serious again, as he mentions he like to pretend that we know what happened way in the past, but he recognizes that this is absurd. That entire layout is absurd. Why not separate the totally different ideas and thoughts onto separate songs? The answer is because then it wouldn’t truly recognize the madness and absurdity that it life and the mind.

            The final thing I want to examine is Miller’s self-criticism. He finishes “Red Dot Music” with an outro by Loaded Lux that absolutely blasts Miller’s new work. I would bet, however, Miller wrote that entire outro. It’s vicious, attacking his name, his style, his physical strength, his lifestyle, and his music. Most consider that it’s simulating an older fan of Miller’s criticisms. However, I see it differently. To me, its Miller’s criticisms of himself, especially when he was in the throes of addiction. He wanted to destroy himself, and thought of himself as less than nothing. It’s rare that someone would publically give himself such flagellation. He couldn’t break his addiction, so he was weak. He couldn’t please pitchfork, so he was cheesy, etc. At same time, the record attacks rap music in general, as in “S.D.S.” when he says all y’all’s songs are sixteen’s and a hook.”

            To conclude, I’m going to consider this his debut album two years too late, and Blue Slide Park an unfortunate mistake. It represents a lyrically strong, though at times repetitive writer, an excellent producer able to work with others, and an artist struggling with his place in history. There are some misses on the album, ( I have no place in my heart at the moment for “Goozebumps” or “Gees”), but I’m already running long, and this isn’t a review. Overall, he’s definitely a post-modern man, under my definition.

[thegentlemanreadinglist]

How a preppy gentleman dresses in Europe.

Glasses: Oliver Peoples Riley R 45mm (can't find them on their website)

Shirt: Jcrew light weight slim fit cotton shirt in "summer sorbet" (http://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/shirts/washedfavoriteshirts/PRD~50196/50196.jsp?color_name=dublin-green)

[thegentlemanreadinglist]

15 Things Every Gentleman Should do Before He Dies

1) Visit Wimbledon

2) Drink a bottle of wine older than him

3) Visit the Masters

4) Drive a car made before man walked on the moon

5) Own a Bespoke Suit

6) Read all of Infinite Jest, Remembrance of Things Past, Finnegan's Wake, or Ulysses

7) Go to the Kentucky Derby

8) Drive on a Race Track

9) Own a non-Quartz Watch

10) Watch Every Single James Bond (Bonus points for back-to-back).

11) Learn to tie a bow tie, as well as the pratt, half-windsor, windsor, and four-in hand.

12) Have a discussion with someone about philosophy.

13) Smoke a Cuban Cigar

14) Attend a scotch tasting

15) Read this blog.

What do y'all think? Agree Disagree?

Totally stole this picture.