On the Real Meaning of Hobbies + What Caught My Eye (No. 55)
Hobbies are a strange little thing, aren’t they? I’ve had many — documented most — and forget about them just as quickly. Take, for instance, my stint in embroidery. A metal tin sits in the spare room closet, full of needles and loose threads (I’m sure there’s a metaphor there). Watercolours, too. I loved painting little croissants in the margins of my notebook for about eight months three years ago. But who has the time? Who has the energy? Who even cares half the time? Not me, not me, not me.
I think my way of hopping around things — and losing interest just as quickly — is a core tenet of my personality. I never spend too much time on one topic when I read without getting deathly bored. I always bemoan the fact that I can’t stick to one language to save my life. I’ll begin a subscription to a magazine only to cancel a month later, realizing I never really cared about Japanese interiors the way I had tricked myself into thinking so as I put in my credit card. And with people, in interactions, I can tell how often I am one-foot-in-one-foot-out of every conversation I find myself in.
Perhaps, now that I’m writing this, it’s not so much about the start of something new, it’s about the exit. A freedom to leave, to abandon, to outright quit, is a comforting thing for me. Beginning anything is just the means in which I can control when and how it all ends. I wouldn’t put it past myself to be so manipulative.
This is all to say I have been wondering more about the why behind my interests, what I do, what I buy, what I read, and where I put my time. I have a camera in my shopping cart on eBay and I’m sitting here thinking if it’ll be something that collects dust in a metal tin alongside those expensive watercolours I had to have and the cookbooks I collected for years and the Game Boy which was going to keep me busy. The answer is most likely, of course, because there is a fickleness to my character. It has, quite frankly, been annoying me lately.
Anyway, there you are. A bit more about me. Have a lovely Sunday.
And to wrap this newsletter up and get you to the good part, I’ll tell you how I’m spending my day: I am at my office, writing up an article about Finland for Robb Report. But I’ll only start it once I walk over to the dollar store to buy a pair of slippers, though. My landlady didn’t turn on the radiators for the weekend and I just can’t seem to get the chill out.
Forbes
I briefly mentioned this last month, but I’m now a regular contributor to Forbes online. Right now, I’m the only dedicated menswear writer for the site. Once I get my sea legs with the tone of the publication, I think I’ll have a lot of fun telling the story of brands I like, reporting on trends in the market, and giving some style advice. You can follow along below. I currently have two articles up, but more to come.
Read: Here
HBO’s Dune: Prophecy
I would never classify myself as a sci-fi fan, but I do like Dune. I think it’s more about the world-building aspect of something so expansive that intrigues me more than, say, the flying ships and and sandworms and all that. This weekend we watched the first episode of HBO’s prequel series and so far, so good.
Watch: Here
Between the Temples
I don’t know if I liked this one, I have to be honest. But, by definition, What Caught My Eye isn’t always what I enjoy, now is it? It definitely had the spirit of an early-aughts indie film (my bread and butter), but the story trailed away into something less charming. In fairness to the film and director Nathan Silver, I do think this is, in part, because this is a very culturally Jewish film with a lot of in-jokes of the religion I probably just didn’t get, not being Jewish myself. It’s been fun to trace Schwartzman’s career over the last two decades or so, but Carol Kane brought an endearing element to the film I enjoyed much more.
Watch: Here
Mahashmashana, Father John Misty
Full disclosure: I’ve not listened to this album in its entirety yet, so if it’s shit, don’t blame me for putting it here. With that, it is queued up on my Spotify to listen to throughout the weekend. I’ve been a fan of Father John Misty for years, not least for his lyrics and references to type of Los Angeles that resonates with me: that of Joan Didion and Eve Babitz and the Manson Family and Chateau Marmont.
Listen: Here
The Bible of British Taste, issue 3
As a well-documented Anglophile and with 87% of my Ancestry.com DNA to back this up (thank you very much!), I’m excited for the third issue of The Bible of British Taste magazine to be out. I’ve followed their Instagram for ages, but having a physical copy of the brand is, somehow, more special. I’m simultaneously devouring and savouring it all at once.
Buy: Here
ROTERFADEN’s Taschenbegleiter LTD_008, Large Size
Readers with good memories will remember that roughly a year ago I introduced this brand (and ended up consulting for them for a bit to get more into the US market). I got their A5/medium-sized Taschenbegleiter. Well, I’m back to say I’ve bought another. This time the larger sized notebook holder that fits A4-sized notebooks. I’m currently obsessed with these flimsy, cheap and unlined A4 notebooks from Amazon that I can just chickenscratch in and throw around my bag without a care in the world. With only 30 sheets/notebook, I run through them quite quickly; which, in a weird way, is liberating to not be so attached to a notebook for months and months.
Anyway, I got this Taschenbegleiter to keep three notebooks in at once, because I always have something to scribble and, unfortunately, I don’t want my work notes to mix with my freelance notes to mix with my call notes to mix with my newsletter notes to mix with my reply-back email list to mix with my….you get the idea. So this will act as a sort of mobile office, with an iPad tucked in the back and all.
Buy: Here
Rowing Blazers x La Veste Women’s Cashmere Snail Sweater
Rowing Blazers always does collabs well. Their latest with La Veste is no exception. Sadly, this sweater only comes in a women’s size, but I do love those little snails just roaming around the front, don’t you?
Buy: Here
Billie Todd The Gregor Aran Cashmere Sweater
Another newsletter, another bit of cashmere. Like a stray kitten, I don’t go looking for them, they find me. But I have a few Billie Todd sweaters and hope to add this Aran sweater to my collection. A few years ago everyone was obsessed with that cream sweater from Knives Out and before that Billy Crystal’s in When Harry Met Sally, so I consider this a rural Pennsylvanian’s spiritual brother.
Buy: Here
Ambar Hot Water Bottles
While I grew up in a heating pad-loving family, I’ve always been partial to a hot water bottle. First, because I’m easily distracted and worry about burning down the house and second because I think there is a more natural warmth to a bottle. Mine is a basic grey wool cover, but I’m loving the contrasting colorways by Ambar much better.
Buy: Here
RadioHut Bluetooth-Converted Vintage Radios
There is an irony in the fact that I like the idea of radios but don’t actually listen to them that often. I’ve said it before, but I cannot write with any background noise. And since most of my workday is writing, you can see the issue here. But that doesn’t stop me from admiring these radios. The company (coincidentally Pittsburgh-based) takes vintage radios and retrofits Bluetooth technology to be able to stream from my phone. I love the idea of recycling defunct technology for modern usage — and it doesn’t hurt they look great, too.
Buy: Here
The new FJM does not disappoint.