don't call it a gift guide

Would never dream of telling someone what to get their sweetheart for Valentine's Day, but can't deny this fits with the general color scheme...

Red Label Filson (zipped or no zip) tote (produced in association with the great Namnamica a while back), sold out almost everywhere, but Hilton's Tent City in Boston has them, and less expensive than anywhere else on the planet. In black too.

A big fan of Hilton's generally. See my visit from 2010 here.

turn the collar

Great photo right? Turning the collar on a shirt used to be common practice. Unstitch blown out collar, flip it over, restitch. Any right thinking person could/should be able to do this themselves... on a rough work shirt maybe. This first time I took it to a local magician, who turned the collar and went the extra mile with some stitched tape backing on the (now) underside. 10bucks well spent I think; included a heavy starch press. Bingo.

gift for the young sir

I am guessing that a good portion of the readers are in the young-married/friends-having-kids zone. Even if not, going to give this tip out for free and you can tuck it away for later.

You will inevitably get asked to celebrate the arrival of A.N.Other's bundle of joy at some point, and if they are good friends of yours it is even harder to pick the perfect gift for the young whippersnapper. When my godfather was in this situation he decided to give baby 10e a pair of monogrammed cufflinks. Sort of like giving the new mother a bottle of champagne... (one of Oma's tricks). Anyhow, we have taken this trick and housed it in the stable of good calls. Can't recommend it enough.

doorstop

Had a brainwave recently to buy some doorstops and re-purpose them as bookends. LightBUlb! Pops reversed the idea and used an old suitcase as doorstop. Just use any small vintage leather traveling cases you happen to have around... Nassau sticker optional.

fridays are tie days -keezer's

Do you like ties? Older ties maybe, handed down from professors in nearby Cambridge (MA) or tweed ties from Irish-born grandfather's? How about deadstock bow ties from Ralphy or local stitchers in seersucker or silk... I do, 9bucks for the below ($7 if you use the eternal 20% coupon).




Huge props to Jamie at TheStandardEdition for rekindling my interest in Keezer's; a clothing reseller in Cambridge (Central Square) that may be best known for its tuxedo rental. Pops told me about it years ago and it is my secret weapon for buying tuxedos... they have vintage stock with braiding or grosgrain everything, shawl collars, extra ribbon inside the hem... You knew about that trick right?? They have them. Get a knockout vintage tuxedo for less than $100.

Keezer's also has sportcoats (next on the list) and some shoes too but the genius call by Jamie here is for ties. Those older ties I mentioned -$1. The new ties -$4.50 to $15. Photos below from Jamie's visit; read his thoughts here.

thrifty shopping tip -shoe trees

Can't remember the shoes these supported when I saw them... but even if you aren't wild on buying secondhand shoes, worth it to peek over at the shoe rack at your local thrifty -if you see some wooden shoe trees then chances are you have a winner.

These happen to be from the Rochester Shoe Tree Co. (now based in NH not NY as these came from). Founded in 1922, Rochester Shoe Tree Company is both the oldest and largest shoe tree company in the world, [now -ed.] manufacturing all of its cedar products in Ashland, New Hampshire.

tip -la marca

One taster noted; "as prosecco goes this is one of the better inexpensive ones." Agreed. A more than dependable $10 (if you are lucky) sparkling we just found. Very pale color with tiny bubbles. In Somerville you can get it here.

drink responsibly

If a busy bartender; who has worked in Boston's Combat Zone and now long nights at Redbones, can spare 15 seconds to snip up the 6pack handles then I can too. Really, it takes 15 seconds. Cut all the retaining loops. Won't minimize landfill (actually can you recycle these?) but makes sense to do... Sidenote; recently saw another excellent doc from Vice on plastic garbage in the ocean. Garbage Island.

games -act your age

Couple of good games to keep in the back pocket for Halloween, or a small person's party. I would never use these as an activity for adults. Oh wait...

Game 1. Race; eat a cracker then whistle.
You could use 3 saltines, or these excellent ribstickers below from The Vermont Country Store. We call them excitables.

"Before the water cooler and copy machine became the places for informal discussions and idle talk, people would hold their casual conversations at the "cracker barrel". Further reading.




Game 2. First one to blow a bubble wins.
Must use an old school tough-as-boots gum, e.g. Double Bubble. (DB is held up as the first bubble gum.)


Game 3. This two stepper puts the cat amongst the pigeons...
Have an apple dunking area. Dunk for apples. Next have a deep tub (at least 6" deep) with a few inches of flour on the bottom, and some spearmint leaves or similar candy hidden in the flour. Immediately dunk for those. Sure your face is essentially caked in paper mache for the rest of the night, but it is fun...

tip -home grown family harvest red

Not a farm as such (more a vineyard), and not related *ahem* to good old boy homegrown; Home Grown Farms Family Harvest Red, table wine, is a new find. A $12 red around here. Deep rasp'/blueberry color, biggish, slightly rough, "field blend" of syrah, barbera and petite sirah grapes from California.

I'm not one to carry around tear out cards from the Wine Spectator (further reading, fantastic, from The Trad). I'm more in the M category of "Infuriator" red wine drinking... Home Grown Farms is miles above that though. Santé.

[Update: had written the above post while watching the Farm Aid concert the other night. Then Neil Young started into Homegrown, as below. Further reading via All Plaidout.]

tip -barbour

I fully support one of the planks of the recent "buy American" movement; that is to buy goods from their original manufacturers. Boots and blankets should come from Minnesota, camping gear from Oregon (or California) and moccasins from Maine. Plus, coats come from Dakota and pencils come from Pennsylvania... Right?

On that tack, a few months back The Trad revealed a nice tip on the ACL boards that should have been obvious but wasn't... when buying British goods, especially nicely aged stuff like say, a Barbour jacket, use British eBay. Bolt of lighting time...

"Ahem, a small word of advice that’ll save you a couple hundred bucks – - Go to Ebay UK for your Barbour. Dirt cheap and beat to hell for about $50. Throw in shipping for $30 and you have the real McCoy with distressed character." -Tintin (The Trad)

Excellent advice. Took a little watching but managed to snag a "BARBOUR BEDALE Waxed Country/Riding jacket 38" for 12 pounds sterling, about $20. Insane. Have never owned one until now; in the UK a Barbour has some slightly loaded social conortations (i.e. you may be an upper class twit / Hooray Henry / Sloane Ranger / Yaaah) but no doubt that is just my insecurity showing. Fine, fine piece of kit.




Related tip from Oma that I won't need this time: Distress a Barbour to avoid the ignominy of appearing to have a new one... elastic bands wound round the arms and leave it in the back of the car for the dogs to trample on!

Now the big question.. do I rewax it and go through all that or just wear it as is...

tip -glass jelly (jell-o) moulds

Glass jelly moulds were v popular in 1900's Britain and have proved a funky dustcollectorcollectable in our place. Throw a few on a coffee table. Kid friendly. Not. Good thing they are relatively inexpensive.

Sidenote: Recently followed through on a great tip gleaned from the ACL comment boards a while back. Paid huge dividends. Will break that out later this week.

Purchase this at Steptoe Antiques.
Again at Steptoe's

Purchase now on eBay
Again on eBay.

3 free tech nuggets

You may know these already, but if not they are wicked useful. And free.


Switch audio file converter. For Windows or Mac. Convert audio files from many different file formats to mp3, wav or wma and more.


Audio Hijack. Record any audio. Freeware (for Mac) records for up to 10 minutes and is great for snagging movie dialogue to add to mixes etc. The old logo was much cooler...

VLC media player. Multimedia player and multimedia framework capable of reading most audio and video formats as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs, and various streaming protocols. Put a copy on a USB stick and carry this free dvd player (also takes dvd screenshots).

tip -codorniu pinot noir rose

Not sure why all my tips and finds tend to be cheap booze... but Sis just put me onto the above sparkling. Codorniu Pinot Noir Rose NV. Others describe it as "surprisingly dry", with a "citrus finish". Much more common in Britain it has to be said but available here too. $14 range. Cheers.

The lead up to this was the essential viewing Friday Belt series over at The Trad...

tip -peterson of dublin

Photo via Georgetown Tobacco
In 1890, Charles Peterson developed the Peterson Patent System - a graduated bore in the mouthpiece helps to collect tar and moisture in a reservoir and away from the bowl of the pipe. The shape of the "P-lip" vulcanite mouthpiece, invented in 1898, is designed to direct the smoke up and away from the tongue, reducing "tongue bite."

I don't have any solid stats in front of me, but I would bet that pipe smoking has slowed, in the way that using hair jelly or carrying a penknife and pocket handkerchief have slowed. Pops has smoked a pipe forever, practically a trademark, but I still cringe when I see most other people smoking a pipe, especially those under say... 40. Seems a bit of an affectation; along with dandy canes and capes¹.

Peterson of Dublin (with their trademark silver band) make many entry level pipes that are not the object of desire for collectors, but if you have a pipe smoker on your gift list the trick is this; at your reputable tobacconist (e.g. Leavitt & Peirce in Harvard Square) ask for refurbished Petersons. You may have to ask, they are often kept out of sight. Half the price, better aged and in the preppy tradition of fixing something to reuse.

The refurb is usually a complete restoration so you can rest assured, and goes something like this:
* Replace Stem
* Open airway to approx 5/32”
* Refinish rim - remove all charring, rerusticate (if appropriate)
* Strip, sand and restain pipe bowl
* Remove carbon from tobacco chamber, reround pipe bowl and finish
* Sanitize entire airway and freshen

Incase anyone cares, Pops smokes Balkan #2.


¹The absolute worst though is the contrived tapping down of your pack of cigarettes. Please stop, it is the immediate sign of the look at me smoker. Sure they are not good for you -to put it mildly- but I actually love seeing someone genuinely enjoying a cigarette (hi sis), and need to be restrained when someone starts this whole slapping the pack on your palm dance for 5 minutes... if you want to smoke just freekin smoke your cigarette.. or is that a mating call for other greeks?? It is not the 1920's... your store bought cigarettes are not going to cascade tobacco when you pull them from the pack. Both barrels if you have no idea why one would even engage in this behaviour and are tapping the bottom of the pack -thus loosening the tobacco more!

tip -remington fuzz away

My new best friend. Yes it could have been in diamond plate/carbon or slightly more masculine colors...but pills and fluff now cower at the ear splitting whine of my first de-fuzzer. Turn back the clock on that thrift store buy and rock it to the library/cocktail party. Feels almost as good as getting shoes resoled. Thx so much N.

tip -white horse

The brother put me onto this. White Horse is a bit of a dark horse (horrible phrasing) in the good/breakfast whisky department. Contains 40 percent malts including Talisker. White Horse gets its distinctive taste from the Lagavulin content. Nae bad...and very *ahem* economical as well.

tip -segura viudas

Once more, thanks to sis for this tip. $10 sparking here, and to use a well worn phrase, "eminently quaffable". Segura Viudas, cava basically. Just got a write-up as part of a larger article on inexpensive bubbly. Consumer Reports via Liqurious. As with Russian Standard, the bottle art and label may not inspire, but proof is in the pudding.

tip -russian standard

This stuff looks horrendous, with its faux Russian stylings... and the blurb is a bit heavyhanded; "combination of traditional wheat taste—from the hardy winter wheat of the Russian steppes—and remarkable clarity—from the soft glacial waters of the frozen north" but it is surprisingly good. Really good... by that i mean super clean silver-bullet taste. And it's cheap, like the budgie. Russian Standard Vodka.

Put onto it by Sis, of Cambridge Wine Society sommelier fame and longtime restaurant manager.

tip -loakes

From our man in London (OMIL). "great find .. there's a creaky old shoe shop on Camberwell Road .. closed most days, never has any customers. always ignored it but was walking past in pishing rain today .. fkcin classic footwear at bargain prices .. knocking out Loakes brogues/boots for £90 sheets. £140 online. nice touch. Love the byline - brogued boot with a substantial goodyear welted sole

Time to stimulate the local economy = brogues + boots and see if I can get a nice price on an old pair of monkey boots (school keepers kryptonite - those black soles are lethal to nicely buffed gym halls)."

all thriller and no filler. thx OMIL.