Listen: Sade

 

more about “Listen: Sade “, posted with vodpod

If any of my readers are familiar with the Broccoli estate, please suggest that Sade perform the next Bond theme. I’d appreciate it. 

Listen: The Best of The Neptunes

Billboard magazine named The Neptunes the “Producers of the Decade”.  Anytime people start giving people superlative statements it gets on my nerves, so I’m not engaging that directly — but it’s a valid argument. 

What matters, my ninjas, is that the announcement has given birth to a double-disc mixtape of some of the lesser known, but still fantastic tracks The Neptunes dropped over the past ten years. Go on and get it and set your Christmas parties off right. (Courtesy of Get Right Music). 

Bless yourself: HERE. 

Movement: How to eat sushi like James Bond.

Movement: The Impossible Cool

The following images are from The Impossible Cool… 

And what is The Impossible Cool, you ask? 

It’s a tumblr with iconic photographs of iconic people. It doesn’t add up to very much, but it’s a very good way to waste a little time on the internet. 

Bless yourself: HERE. 

(note: A reader (quoted below) suggested that my statement “it doesn’t add up to very much” was offensive, while I still believe it’s a pleasant diversion, rather than a meaningful exploration of the personalities on display, I certainly don’t want to bemoan another’s effort. And as I have posted it here, it is still recommended.) 

Listen: Katy Perry Acoustic

Katy got miffed at me because I compared her to Megan Fox. This is my apology…and independent of that, she lays it down something fierce. Girl can sing, my ninjas. Girl can sing.

Drink: The Chloé-Jasmine

The image above is of my friend Chloé-Jasmine Whichello (photographer unknown). In response to my post about vodka, she shared her “Notting Hill Favourite” with me. 

The Chloé-Jasmine a.k.a. Smirnoff Watermelon Martini 

1 1/2 ounces Smirnoff Watermelon Vodka 

Splash of cranberry juice

Splash of sour mix 

Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a watermelon sliver.

When a British model suggests you try something…you at least have to do it once.

That’s the law in any civilized society.

Photography: Paris 1962

One of my oldest friends, the impossibly beautiful and eternally unsinkable Anna Abrams Cohen, posted this to her facebook page, and it deserves a second mention here. 

The photographer is Tom Palumbo (1921 – 2008) who among his many accomplishments worked as a staff photographer for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar in the Jon Hamm days when fashion magazines documented culture instead of denying its’ existence. 

The documentary images are from Paris in 1962. 

The BHP suggests that you put on some cool-era Miles Davis and bless yourself with the rest of Tom Palumbo’s time capsule…

…HERE. 

Drink: White Russian

 

I’m about to start heavy work on a story that takes place in Moscow and what better reason to find the best recipe for a White Russian that I can deliver to you ninjas. The following comes from my friend, prodigious Manhattan bartender and professional secret-keeper, Selina.

Selina has lied to me about other things, but never about liquor. Enjoy…

1 1/2 ounces vodka

3/4 ounce Kaluha 

3/4 ounce heavy cream 

The above post-image is a beautiful cover to the Penguin Putnam U.K. reissue of Ian Fleming’s Bond novels, designed by Michael Gillette. They’re all gorgeous, so I’ll continue to post them here over the course of the month…

Photography: Tilberg vs. Kudacki

Tasha Tilberg by Paola Kudacki

History: Esquire and The Kennedy Dynasty

There’s no question that in the next thirty to forty years a Negro can also achieve the same position that my brother has as President of the United States.

— RFK, 1961

Currently, Esquire Magazine features an online archive of photos and quotes from the Kennedy dynasty. If you’re at all interested in the human side of modern history, it’s worth your time. 

Bless Yourself: HERE.