Nuts

“That squirrel really kicked our ass.”

This American Life, Act 2, Squirrel Cop.

Want to know what modern Britain is? Goes something like this: “If there is a smell that defines Britain today, it is not roast beef or fish and chips, nor wet earth or the greasy scent that floats up from the pavement on a rainy day, but the distinctive aroma of cheese and onion crisps. This is the smell that permeates our pub carpets, bus seats and cafeterias, that lingers lovingly on the nation’s snack-troughing fingers and upon its breath. The flavour was introduced in 1962 by Golden Wonder, and although it has witnessed various permutations, from mature cheddar and red onion to sour cream and onion, it remains, in its purest state, the most popular crisp flavour in Britain. Its longevity is testament not only to our curious palates but to our enduring love affair with crisps.” That from today’s Guardian. (Full story.) Myself, I was always a Smokey Bacon or Ketchup man, myself, but I always had a few packs of cheese and onion in the cupboard.

God Save the Queen.

I’m not sure when I came up with the plan, but it goes something like this, as I get older I will slowly start to refine my dress. I think I was ten. I envisioned myself wearing only suits by the time I was 40. These past few years I’ve watched my closet evolve from three pairs of jeans and some T-shirts to French Cuffs and Dior.

While living in London I would walk down Oxford Street and see them. Guys my age, impeccably dressed, but not in the least snobbish. Ok, maybe a little snobbish. But they had every right to be, because they had something else, a knowledge of LIVING. These guys had an awareness of things that was reflected right down to the buttons they chose for their jackets. They had a passion about living.

I look at fashion like Anthony Bourdain looks at food. He puts it this way, “You don’t collect and cook recipes, or compile dining experiences, like a butterfly collector. You must enjoy what you’re doing. If there is any real sin in the culinary universe, it is the sin of snobbery…You need passion, curiosity, a full spectrum of appetites. You need to yearn for things…I am deeply suspicious of any cook who is less than enthusiastic as well about sex, music, movies, travel - and LIFE.”

For Christmas I was given Alice Cicolini’s amazing book, The New English Dandy .

The book has this to say about getting started:
“Most tailors will outline the required contents of a basic bespoke wardrobe for first-time customers. Terry Haste, managing director of Huntsman & Co, Savile Row, suggests the following for aspiring gentlemen: ten daywear suits, to include one single-breasted, one-button suit in charcoal - grey worsted wool, one stripe and one plaid; three sports jackets, one single - breasted, one button jacket in tweed, and complementary trousers, to include grey flannel and whipcord; one dress overcoat; two day overcoats, one single - breasted, the other double breasted; two evening wear suits and one evening tails; and one mourning suit.”

Now, I think I’d be down about $50,000 by the time I was done with this “basics list.” (If I was lucky and cut a lot of corners!) The list toward the end gets to be slightly unnecessary. I can’t think of a day when I’ll ever need a mourning suit. I do agree though that my closet could benefit from a good foundation. As with anything, it really gets fun in the details like the choice of fabric, color, cut. I respect a label, but I’m not a slave to it. I know that when I go to Dunhill I’ll find craftsmanship and an attention to detail. Paul Smith also, but with a flare. I don’t just want to wear a suit, I want it to have a POP.

Ah, to be a rich man.

“Bears clinch division title with defeat of Packers

…the Bears clinched their first division title since 2001, securing a first-round bye and a home playoff game as they swept their archrivals for the first time since 1991.”

Relic

STOPSMILING is the best magazine on the market right now. Case is point, this interview with Ira Glass.

This just about sums up how I’ve been feeling the past week or two.

Superwolf, “I Gave You.”

Every year about this time we pull out the festive Graceland in the snow and play all the Elvis Christmas songs.

Happy holidays from Squirrel on Squirrel everybody!

I have a newspaper clipping on my desk. It’s yellowed and slightly folded in spots. I’ve had it for years. I’m going to have it framed in a small shadowbox so that it’s preserved. I think it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever read in any paper I’ve ever picked up.
It reads:

HE’S A HERMIT BUT HE’S NO CRAB
The latest scientific expedition to find a Chinese Big Foot is over.
Surprise. No Big Foot.
But the scientists did find a hermit.
Wang Qingdao, 74, went to live on a mountainside in the Shennongjia nature reserve as a young man. He built a home of stones and wood and lived on grains and vegetables. He has a tiger for a friend, according to the scientists.
He asked politely if the scientists could please get lost.