The Post-Modern Yuppie

Are you shocked at all that my favorite trench coat was found at Banana Republic? It’s been on my radar since the fall of 2009, but between it just not being that cold in Southern California, and because I couldn’t decide if I wanted to go duffel or trench, I never really got around to buying a new coat. But now that the colder weather is rolling in, it’s about time to pull the trigger.

I decided on this super versatile classic trench at Banana Republic, and with all the GAP Inc. gift cards I still have from Christmas, I can probably get it for cheap. Only, now that I want to order it, it is mysteriously missing from the Banana Republic website. So this weekend, I will likely be going to my local retail stores, searching for that coat or one like it, in my size.

Because of it’s absence, I can’t give you a link, or even the proper name of this coat. All I can show you is this stolen screen shot that shows the item on a model, that I snatched of the site a while ago:

I think I’ll skip the chukka boots and chambray shirt. Not sure where I stand on either of those.

Men's Neckerchiefs; Yay or Nay?

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:38:27 -0800

Men's Neckerchiefs; Yay or Nay?:

Shared by Tom
Nay.

That was a rhetoric question; I definitely do not need an answer as it’s an obvious yes unless of course you’ve been oblivious to recent movements in men’s fashion…

half past one

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:56:00 -0800

half past one:

by Adrian C., 20 year old guy from Brighton, England

Can t say I didn t try

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:06:00 -0800

Can t say I didn t try:

by Alex C., 20 year old Graphic Designer from Santa Monica

Quiet is the new loud

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:31:00 -0800

Quiet is the new loud:

by Flavia M., 17 year old photography student from São Paulo

Choose a century

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:31:00 -0800

Choose a century:

by Paula D., 16 year old girl from Cesis

these days

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:34:00 -0800

these days:

by Amanda D., 16 year old dreamer/artist/photographer from uppsala

Untitled

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:24:00 -0800

Untitled:

by Jen F., 24 year old I m not sure from Georgia

Satisfied

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:24:00 -0800

Satisfied:

by Doug D., 18 year old Artist from Richland, WA

Go and love some more

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:53:00 -0800

Go and love some more:

by Keiko L., 25 year old clothing designer from Brooklyn, NY

Green velvet

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:53:00 -0800

Green velvet:

by Renée S., 18 year old photographer/stylist/designer from Amsterdam

We ll always have Paris

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:39:00 -0800

We ll always have Paris:

by Annika M., 26 year old writer from Stockholm/Berlin

Rant: Print is Dying, and Esquire is Killing It.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:59:08 -0800

Last year, I was pretty put off by Esquire’s 75th anniversary, “e-ink” cover that they slapped on their October 2008 issue. It was obviously just an attempt at pretending that print media isn’t dying, but simply, adapting. A very impractical attempt at that; The battery that powered the e-ink implement burnt out quicker than they had expected, and they must have been pretty expensive to produce, because exactly NOBODY actually owns a copy of the e-ink version of the cover. It wasn’t sent out to subscribers. I didn’t even see it on any newsstands when it was supposed to be on display. All I saw was a demo video of it on Esquire’s website.

This month, Esquire announced their upcoming “augmented reality” issue. On some of the pages, you will find garish, barcode-looking elements that, when shown to a webcam-enabled application (yeah, you have to actual download and install stand-alone software) available on the Esquire website, will display on your computer screen a kind of “living” overlay of that page, with full-motion video. If that sounds gimmicky, it’s because it is. If it sounds glitchy, it’s because it very much is. Check out the demo at http://www.esquire.com/ar. Even the official demonstration video shows some serious latency that will frustrate you before you even get to try it out yourself.

I actually still have faith in Esquire’s original content. I am a subscriber. But what does it say to the casual reader when you’ve been reduced to taking whichever emerging technology that is currently the most buzzworthy, then completely and totally misusing it in order to sell magazines? What more idiotic ideas do Esquire readers have to suffer through? The “240hz Issue” maybe? Or, the “Cloud Computing Issue,” wherein a subscriber might be required to enter a new URL in their browser to read each print page? Those jokes are about as useless and cheeky as this “augmented reality” issue, and I am continually putting that name in quotes because I fail to see where exactly “reality” makes it’s debut? This is not “augmented reality,” this is Augmented Me-sitting-at-my-desk-showing-my-webcam-a-piece-of-paper-like-a-moron.

Gimmicks like this are the print-equivelent to television sitcom “stunt-casting”. Esquire’s antics can be reduced down to simply one word: novel. And I use the word “novel” here as a negative. “Novel,” like, completely superfluous and worthy of no preservation. “Novel,” as in the total opposite of “important.”

frozen golden leaves

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:10:00 -0800

frozen golden leaves:

by James P., 16 year old guy from Wales

The Post-Modern Yuppie

50s Burlesque pin up Girl

while our blood s still young

One Life Stand

Sunday afternoon walks

the little yellow flower

Spring 2010 Shopping List: My Favorite Trench