I'm visiting the South right now. It's interesting how many references there are to the Civil War. Here's something I saw that I thought you might enjoy:
Don't laugh at our Civil War monuments. If Lee had listened to Longstreet and flanked Meade at Gettysburg instead of sending Pickett up the middle, you'd be paying taxes to Richmond instead of Washington.
That's worth memorizing.
Batt did, however, settle the matter out of court by paying an undisclosed six-figure sum to the John Cage Trust in September, 2002. He said, "We are...making this gesture of a payment to the John Cage Trust in recognition of my own personal respect for John Cage and in recognition of his brave and sometimes outrageous approach to artistic experimentation in music."
Pictured above: A recent performance of Cage's 4'33"
Clothes don't make the man, but people do judge a book by its cover. You figure it out.
When it comes to clothing, the last thing that most men think about is their shoes. I'm not going to tell you what kind of shoes to wear (black oxfords, no toe cap please), but I am going to tell you to keep them looking sharp.
I once read that you should polish your shoes once a week. Right.
I have a better idea: polish them every time you wear them. Use an inexpensive "instant shine" sponge. It keeps the dust off and it gives your shoes a nice glossy appearance. It takes 10 seconds max and people will notice.
In a 2002 research paper titled Cryptology and Physical Security: Rights Amplification in Master-Keyed Mechanical Locks, AT&T Labs researcher, Matt Blaze, described weaknesses in most master-keyed lock systems, such as those used by offices, schools, and businesses as well as by some residential facilities (particularly apartment complexes, dormitories, and condominiums). These weaknesses allow anyone with access to a key to a single lock to easily create a "master" key that opens every lock in the entire system. Creating such a key requires no special skill, leaves behind no evidence, and does not require engaging in recognizably suspicious behavior. The only materials required are a metal file and a small number of blank keys, which are often easy to obtain.
For more information on the paper and what prompted the author to make the information public—as well as the response that he received—go here.
Lost in Translation is a fantastic movie. For those of you who have seen it, you will recall the scene where Bob (Bill Murray) is acting in a commercial for Suntory whiskey. The Japanese director—who doesn't speak English—becomes increasingly more frustrated because Bob won't follow his instructions. It's not Bob's fault, the translator is incompetent. Here is the script for the scene with the director's part translated into English.
DIRECTOR (in Japanese to the interpreter): The translation is very important, O.K.? The translation.
INTERPRETER: Yes, of course. I understand.
DIRECTOR: Mr. Bob-san. You are sitting quietly in your study. And then there is a bottle of Suntory whiskey on top of the table. You understand, right? With wholehearted feeling, slowly, look at the camera, tenderly, and as if you are meeting old friends, say the words. As if you are Bogie in "Casablanca," saying, "Cheers to you guys," Suntory time!
INTERPRETER: He wants you to turn, look in camera. O.K.?
BOB: That's all he said?
INTERPRETER: Yes, turn to camera.
So, you read Dress Smart Men featured in a previous post and now you want to go out and buy some new clothes. Where do you go? I recommend Jos. A Bank (pronounced Joseph A. Bank or Joe Bank).
Why? Because they have a whole line of wrinkle-resistant clothing called The Traveler's Collection—suits, jackets, pants, dress shirts, and polo shirts. The clothes are made from all natural fibers that are specially treated. (Note: I couldn't tell the difference between their shirts and my Nordstrom shirts by look or feel.)
So why pay big bucks for clothes that you will have to launder or dry clean every time you wear them? Why not just throw them in the washing machine and dryer and skip that pesky ironing step? I bought the shirt shown here, washed and dried it with the rest of my clothes, and it came out looking nicer than the shirts I had just picked up from the laundry. And it still looked better after having worn it all day.
Now, you may miss the "special treatment" that the laundry offers: cracked buttons, mispressed seams, and stapled paper ID tags, but I won't.
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