Happy New Year

Piper Heidsieck Extra Dry Champage

Toby Cecchini wrote an interesting piece for the NY Times Style section last week on sabering a bottle of champagne with an eight inch kitchen knife. I'm not sure how that got through legal but I can just imagine the hipster element tonight...What a wonderful short film it would make. Keep in mind, if you lose your thumb it's very hard to open doors.

My drill would surely be considered boring but the 850 sq feet of my apartment pretty much demand it. I like Piper Heidsieck Extra Dry and have for almost 20 years. The champer's expert will tell you that Brut is the way to go with Extra Dry being too sweet -- Maybe.

But the PH Brut is too severe for me. Like one of those rail thin women lunching at Swifty's whose eyebrows are attached to the ceiling. Meanwhile the Extra Dry reminds me of Doris Day in 1975 telling Merv Griffin how much she likes sex. I'm not suggesting my deviant fantasy is any way to select champagne but it beats losing your thumb.

I chill it in a bucket with 70% ice and 30% water. If you're in a hurry, throw some salt on the ice. It's faster than a freezer and a lot less dangerous if you're forgetful. Which I am. I'm not sure why but I always think of Tony Curtis when I open champagne. The foil and cage are fairly straightforward but trivia buffs will be impressed when you tell them it always takes seven turns of the neck wire to free the cage. Always.

Now this important. Grab the cork with one hand and the bottom of the bottle with the other. Turn the bottom of the bottle but not the cork. While turning the bottom think of Doris Day in naughty underwear. Keep a firm grip on the cork pushing against the pressure. You don't want an explosion but rather something like a nun farting in a front pew. A short 'pffst' is just about perfect.

Pour into glasses...slowly. Replace bottle in bucket. Put on Que Sera, Sera and join in me a toast...

Society's Delusion of a Female Led Utopia

          The media is getting the public ready to have the first female US president by declaring in many instances that if we had more women in power, the world would be a better place. An article from the BBC reports:

"Studies also show that women also lead differently than men. They're more likely to be collaborative, inclusive and team-oriented, all characteristics that tend to be effective, particularly in today's less-hierarchical, fast-paced, innovation-driven world. 

'I think it's fair to say that women are a little more collaborative in their approach overall, and a little less driven to conflict as opposed to driven to working out problems,"'says Janet Napolitano, the US Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, says that women also bring an inter-generational perspective to their work. 'We need to take decisions now that will make for a safer world for our grandchildren and their grandchildren, and I think women are more likely to do that when they come into positions of leadership.' "

          These are easy assertions to make when the public ignores female violence and female leadership when it comes to war times. But history can tell us otherwise, it can give us better perspective to female leadership when we analyze brutal war times in human history. A very telling study investigates female rulers from since the 15th century to the 20th century. The study called Queens let us know that this concept of female perpetual benevolence is a downright myth:

           Dube and Harish, the authors of the study, spent two and a half years collecting data on kings, queens, and wars in Europe between 1480 and 1913, according to the report by PS Magazine, covering 184 monarchs—28 of them queens—in 17 different polities. Contrary to the popular view, queens were 27 percent more likely to get involved in wars. In fact, they were more likely than kings to either start wars or continue those of their predecessors, but no more likely to be involved in civil wars, suggesting that they weren't fighting to dispel external or internal perceptions of weakness.

And while this study focuses on a time period from the 15th to 20th centuries, here in the 21st, we can get a glimpse of female brutality by all-female ISIS brigades who are killing women and torturing them. 

Source: http://bit.ly/1JIYcA0

Source: http://bit.ly/1OuQbQk

New Year's Eve Morning

Quiet before the storm.

My Boxers...

...lie perfectly content under khakis,
but under jeans, not so much.

They make it easy to pee and
I even remember a girl friend
pulling them down with glee.

Now I pull them down
I see a pudge of flesh
from 21 years
of sitting behind a desk.

Dropping them over a right knee
there's still a gash
left over from a Yamaha 600
motorcycle crash.

Freckles on my thighs
never let me lie
that some of my hidden hairs
are red.

Tartan patch boxers
stolen by a one night stand.
Quid pro quo?
I don't think so.

A sister-in-law announced
over Xmas dinner
I'd spend my last $50
on a pair of green silk boxers.

Maybe, they've been with me
since the army deemed
they fit me
but I'd add
a red Olde English
monogram.

If it's all the same
to those who bury me
I would only ask
you prepare me
in Logsdail itchy wool boxers.

An eternity
I swear...
Must come
with some debonair
and I hope someone in Heaven
will scratch me.

A 1976 Christmas - From Neiman Marcus

(click on image to enlarge)

Last year, the 1972 NM Christmas catalog was featured here to a somewhat lukewarm reception. This year, the 1986 Apple catalog I posted was seen by half of the United States and all of Australia. I don't get it but I never do. Maybe it was the Belinda Carlise video? Anyway, I blew the dust off my corporate American Express card (they'll never know) and secured this 1976 cheese extravaganza off eBay.

Christmas of '76, I was waiting for the Special Forces 'Q' course to start at Ft Bragg. I didn't know Neiman Marcus from Shinola and the same could be said about Special Forces and what it took to make the grade. Of the 88 in my class -- three got their green beenies and they were all noncoms. My class was the last to allow lower ranking enlisted (E-1 to E-4) after which you had to be an E-5 or above due to the brutal wash out rate.

It's not what you dream -- It's what you fail at that gives character. And this catalog is full of character. That's why I love it so. However, I'm not adverse to an equally cheesy music video of the era saving my ass. Here's to the 85 who failed at USAIMA and to Phil. I remember this playing in the barracks like it was...a very long time ago.

Textures

                                                                                            cushions: zara home
                                                                                            blanket: zara home
                                                                                            basket: hema
                                                                                            ph. me

If you are following me on the Instagram lately, you probably saw that I'm renovating my very first apartment and don't have any clue what it would look like at the end. Mixed feelings between Scandinavian coziness and french chicness are giving me a hard time, but hey, that's not a reason for not bringing a wire basket, fluffy cushion or a teaspoon from another country!
And before I start dealing with "which sofa is the best for me" decisions I wanted to share with you one more tip for washing (previous one is for black clothes), and this time it's all about wool and delicates.  I'm obsessed with different textures when it comes to home fabrics so I use Perwoll Wool&Silk liquid detergent to keep all those cushions and blankets soft, fluffy and in a good shape with every wash.
Just be sure to check the washing instructions from the product label before turning on the washing machine or hand washing and dry it carefully afterwards.
Now help me pin some amazing interior inspiration, meet me at https://www.pinterest.com/vanjaam/ !

Korean Street Fashion

Korean Street Fashion December 2020

Happy New Year!

Taken in Streets of SEOUL..

Photo credits; MUSINSA