CREDIT: DEATH IN VEGAS + IGGY POP

SILVER THOUGHT: LOVE POTIONS FROM HAPPINESS BREWERY

SILVER SCREEN. SILVER THOUGHT.

I have smoked marijuana, but I no longer do. I went to art school in the 1960s, so you an imagine what was going on. Yet my friends were the ones who said, "No, no, no, David, don't you take those drugs."

SILVER THOUGHT: ANAIS NIN

"One word I would banish from the dictionary is ‘escape.’ Just banish that and you’ll be fine. Because that word has been misused regarding anybody who wanted to move away from a certain spot and wanted to grow. He was an escapist. You know if you forget that word you will have a much easier time. Also you’re in the prime, the beginning of your life; you should experiment with everything, try everything…. We are taught all these dichotomies, and I only learned later that they could work in harmony. We have created false dichotomies; we create false ambivalences, and very painful one’s sometimes -the feeling that we have to choose. But I think at one point we finally realize, sometimes subconsciously, whether or not we are really fitted for what we try and if it’s what we want to do.    You have a right to experiment with your life. You will make mistakes. And they are right too. No, I think there was too rigid a pattern. You came out of an education and are supposed to know your vocation. Your vocation is fixed, and maybe ten years later you find you are not a teacher anymore or you’re not a painter anymore. It may happen. It has happened. I mean Gauguin decided at a certain point he wasn’t a banker anymore; he was a painter. And so he walked away from banking. I think we have a right to change course. But society is the one that keeps demanding that we fit in and not disturb things. They would like you to fit in right away so that things work now."
- Anaïs Nin

IT LOOKS PRETTY SHINY IN SEVILLE.

PAZ DE LA HUERTA IS JUST SHINY.

GEORGE SAUNDERS IS THE MAN.

Sticks

Every year Thanksgiving night we flocked out behind Dad as he dragged the Santa suit to the road and draped it over a kind of crucifix he'd built out of metal pole in the yard. Super Bowl week the pole was dressed in a jersey and Rod's helmet and Rod had to clear it with Dad if he wanted to take the helmet off. On the Fourth of July the pole was Uncle Sam, on Veteran’s Day a soldier,  on Halloween a ghost. The pole was Dad's only concession to glee. We were allowed a single Crayola from the box at a time. One Christmas Eve he shrieked at Kimmie for wasting an apple slice. He hovered over us as we poured ketchup saying: good enough good enough good enough. Birthday parties consisted of cupcakes, no ice cream. The first time I brought a date over she said: what's with your dad and that pole? and I sat there blinking.

We left home, married,  had children of our own, found the seeds of meanness blooming also within us. Dad began dressing the pole with more complexity and less discernible logic. He draped some kind of fur over it on Groundhog Day and lugged out a floodlight to ensure a shadow. When an earthquake struck Chile he lay the pole on its side and spray painted a rift in the earth. Mom died and he dressed the pole as Death and hung from the crossbar photos of Mom as a baby. We'd stop by and find odd talismans from his youth arranged around the base: army medals, theater tickets, old sweatshirts, tubes of Mom's makeup. One autumn he painted the pole bright yellow. He covered it with cotton swabs that winter for warmth and provided offspring by hammering in six crossed sticks around the yard. He ran lengths of string between the pole and the sticks, and taped to the string letters of apology, admissions of error, pleas for understanding, all written in a frantic hand on index cards. He painted a sign saying LOVE and hung it from the pole and another that said FORGIVE? and then he died in the hall with the radio on and we sold the house to a young couple who yanked out the pole and the sticks and left them by the road on garbage day.

SILVER THOUGHT

"Leave the house looking psychotic: The other day, I walked to work looking positively insane. In my fantasies, I looked like Mary-Kate Olsen after a bender but in reality I probably resembled Louis CK. To make matters more embarrassing, I was walking in boots that had holes in the sole so I was basically stumbling down the street barefoot. The whole time I was thinking, “God, if I ran into someone I know right now, I would be so mortified!” But then I had another thought. “Is a walk of shame really something to be ashamed of?” I actually think it’s the opposite. By looking disheveled and crazy, you’re basically telling the world, “I AM PERSON WHO DOES FUN, NUTTY THINGS. I AM A PERSON WHO STICKS THEIR TONGUE DOWN THE THROAT OF LIFE.” If people look at me and judge, I bet a small percentage of them is just pissed because they fell asleep to Netflix at 9:30 p.m. and wish they had a night as fun as mine!

Double the #YOLO: Have the guy at the deli ask if you’re okay. If your bodega guy is concerned, you know you’re looking rough." Ryan O'Connel

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/a-complete-guide-to-doing-whatever-the-hell-you-want/

CREDIT: CHARLES BUKOWSKI A KING AMONGST MEN.

Advice:


Dear Charles,

My son Nate wants to be a poet, like you. He’s getting bullied at school due to his sensitive nature. How can I give him the verbal tools he needs to fight back?

Worried Malibu Mom

WMM:

Everyone’s a bully in the dirty dusk light down at Mayday Malone’s. Your tender son’s getting bullied? Tell him to bring a six-pack of tallboy Budweiser into that dank locker room, crack one open like he’s the god damn captain of cock, and take a swig in front of those future used car salesmen.

Dear Charles,

I’m 26-years-old and I still live with my parents. I’m trying to make it in marketing but so far I can only get internships. How can I carve out a more lucrative and fulfilling career?

Young, Unsure Marketer

YUM:

Careers are for women and sociopaths. The only honest way to make a living and still call yourself a man involves a blank piece of lined paper, a ballpoint pen, a tall glass of whisky, and the company of young whores. And a gun to shoot yourself if you ever think of entering the bourgeoisie nightmare factory they call a marketing office ever again. Don’t come here white-knuckled and knee-deep in cold sweat and cowardice and ask me about a career. Put a pen to paper and prove you’re worth the toilet sheets you use to wipe your taint.

CREDIT: BROOKLYN LEATHER

Not many pieces of furniture evoke the thought "I want to F*** on that."

I had the pleasure of meeting Ted Nemeth and perusing his glorious portfolio. The amount of detail that goes into each and every piece is absolutely mind blowing.

Click + Drool

SHINY PLACE: NEIGHBORHOOD CUT AND SHAVE, NYC

Neighborhood Cut and Shave is truly alternative to the more ubiquitous high-end Manhattan salons. The sound of class jazz and the fragrance of hot Bay Rum-soaked towels fills the air as master barbers and stylists give amazing classic cuts and shaves. For more information and to make an appointment visit: thecutandshave.com.  

SILVER SHOES

SHOES SO IMPORTSANT THERE ARE LAWSUITS OUT ON THESE.WORN BY ARIEL PENZER.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT: WOLVES AT LE SOUK, NYC

IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE: MARKKO DONTO "THE WOLF", 

FIRE BREATHING POI DEN MOTHER EXTRAORDINAIRE, 

RICHIE RICH, ROSS HIGGINS, BELLY DANCER: CHRISTINA, 

ERICA A. FISHER, & ELIZABETH HEISS

I'M SHINING A LOT OF THINGS.

Get ready to see some sparkle...

AN ENTIRE BOOK FULL OF STERLING SILVER THOUGHTS: THE ELEMENTS OF F*CKING STYLE

A surprisingly useful grammar book from the cofounders of The Fucking Word of the Day (thefuckingwordoftheday.com)*

The examples of proper usage are priceless & unforgettable. Here are a few of my personal favorites:

-"A decent homemade sex tape requires three things: good lighting, attractive participants, and a tripod."

-"My date, who had seemed listless and uninterested through dinner, perked up as soon as I broke out the cocaine."

-"Commas are fucking fun..She's got fake tits, nails, and hair."

*Aside: see also thefuckingweather.com

"...THE PEOPLE WHO TALK THE MOST UNDERSTAND THE LEAST"- PAUL KRUGMAN

Continue reading his column in The New York Times on the "Debt Crisis" in the USA:

www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/opinion/krugman-nobody-understands-debt.html

And his blog: krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/

MANIA: IN GOLD WE TRUST

"When the economy goes to pot, we the people place our faith in one indisputably sexy commodity..." - Wells Tower of GQ

OLD SHINY DAYS: CIRCA 1952,"MR.POTATO HEAD" WAS "FUNNY FACE MAN" AND MADE OF METAL.

"The earliest boxed set, Mr. Potato Head #2000, featured a package with goofy vegetable faces and says that you could use any fruit or vegetable to make a funny face man. The original price for this Mr. Potato Head in 1952 was under one dollar!" - via. MrPotatoHead.net

See video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBGxCJQkNUc

"SO THIS IS THE NEW YEAR..

And I have no resolutions for self assigned penance or problems with easy solutions."

- Ben Gibbard (DCFC)

Here's to 2012 being full of Silver Spoons & Shiny Things.

LET'S MAKE BELIEVE THAT WE ARE WEALTHY

I HAD MY iPHONE STOLEN FOR CHRISTMAS...

So sorry for the MAJOR delay in posting. Someone hijacked my iPhone 4 right before it was about to die. I am constantly on the go and use my iPhone for social networking. My former "operating system" was a no-longer-portable MacBook from 2003, a prepaid AT&T Pantech faux blackberry that doesn't recieve texts, and a record player...did I get a time machine for Christmas? Santa, was I too naughty this year to be able to communicate with anyone?

No problem. I am back in action. iPhone in hand.

Photo via. iphonemofo.net

CREDIT WHERE IT IS DESERVED: GREAT PEOPLE. GREAT BEER. GREAT FOOD.

I was extraordinarily lucky to sit in on an episode of Beer Sessions Radio at Roberta's in Brooklyn.

"Beer Sessions gets into the holiday spirit by breaking into some vintage beers, including beers from friend and late co-host, Ray Deter's collection. Joined by Tom Peters (Monk's Cafe), Mike Battaglia (Total Beverage Solutions), and Ed Berestecki (Mugs Ale House), Jimmy Carbone breaks into old school Thomas Hardy, Traquarhouse and George Gale beers. Later on the show, a friend from across the pond calls in; Jon Bexon, head brewer at Green King Brewers in Suffolk, England whose "Old Crafty Hen" won the 2010 Grande Monde Medal. The group talks vintaging techniques, blending and aging, and the criteria for a good session beer."

After the show, we all enjoyed food from my favorite Bushwick pizza establishment, Roberta's. Then we headed to Mug's Ale House in Williamsburg.

Learn more about the beer and listen to the show here: http://www.heritageradionetwork.com/episodes/2065-Beer-Sessions-Radio-Episode-90-Old-Guys-Old-Beers

SHINY PLACE: SAM'S RESTAURANT, EAST HAMPTON.

CREDIT WHERE IT IS DESERVED: THE SHINIEST GIRL I HAVE EVER SEEN GETTING OUT OF A TAXI.

THERE WERE SILVER SPOONS AND SHINY THINGS AT THE GANSEVOORT HOTEL