When it comes to myth, superstition and complete bullshit, there is as much circulating about alcohol as anything else. So, despite constantly hearing whispers about the health benefits of red wine, it’s one of those ‘facts’ we’ve always chosen to half-believe.
Antioxidants – don’t know what they are. Reduced rates of cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and heart disease – surely not. Resveratrol? Is that even a word?
A French study published in Cell reports that mice given resveratrol (at doses equivalent to slamming roughly 8000 bottles per day) become more athletic, as assessed using tiny mouse treadmills. Treated mice can run twice as far, and have reduced heart rates compared to controls.
Actually, a whole history of the popularization of the ‘red wine good for you’ theory is given here. In a surprise twist, from 1992 until now, the theory has traveled the opposite road to most similar hypotheses. Rather than being a solid theory, slowly eroded by science into ridicule, it started is life as the crackpot ravings of drunken Frenchmen and then built up a weight of scientific evidence.
Just as lovers of ‘imperials’ and ‘pencils’ are disappointed when their creations are simply described as ‘moustaches’, so must those brandishing classic afros be upset when their styles are described as, well, simply ‘afros’.
To help our curly African brethren (oh, and of course, our similarly-blessed Jewish friends) educate the less enlightened, this hair care products advertisement from a 1970s copy of Ebony magazine shows you every afro you’d ever need to know.
In a sad act of music elitism (of which we have to admit we’re guilty), some just feel compelled to buy vinyl copies of landmark releases, life-changing modern classics and, of course, the kind of tragic junk store crap that never made it as far as tape, let alone CD.
And then we buy an Ipod.
Which is where Seagrand’s (prestigious brand that it is) Genesound will come in handy. From all reports, it takes the beautiful, organic, analogue recordings you hold so dear and rips them seamlessly into the heavily-compressed digital copies you’re actually more likely to get around to listening to.
We’d like to give you all the deets here: price, availability, this, that, the other – but who knows. The product website is totally in Japanese (obviously), so all we know is the Japanese
This is relevant to either of several types of people: those who buy too much booze, those who drink too little booze, and especially those who do both.
While we’d like to think we love all our alcoholic purchase equally, there’s always something or other sitting at the back of one’s liquor cabinet that may, or may not, have been there too long. So we reluctantly welcome this list of what to toss out and what to keep (and for how long).
It’s the kind of advice you don’t want, but really need:
DIMPLE
What is it? A blend of malt and grain Scotch whiskeys.
What the expert says: “It’s faded a little bit, not a lot; 10 to 20 percent on the aromatics and the flavor. You can still tell it’s Scotch. And some people might like that, though. It tastes a little smoother. It’s past its prime, but some people might not mind. Certainly drinkable.”
Expert assessment: Faded but fine
It’s also helpful for clever liquor facts – Crème de Grand Marnier lasts twenty times longer than Midori. Madness.
We’re the first to admit that there’s nothing new about the Mayback Exelero, in fact it’s almost been two years since its unveiling.
But here’s the story of the 700hp V12 concept from German tire manufacturers Fulda: its history, its design, and its blistering speed.
And watch as it turns heads driving the streets of Düsseldorf’s ‘fashionable’ areas. Yes, fashionable in Düsseldorf. Obviously something was misinterpreted between the German and English DW journalists…
For those who speak Dutch, this will be a super treat for you. For the rest, it’s Dutchness probably makes it even more amusing.
Sure, you could go to their website to find out what exactly is so special about these umbrellas (it does, thankfully, include the phrase “Plays with the wind, never goes inside out”), but this video should really tell you all you need to know.
Traditionally, we’ve been obsessed by the stylechoicesofJamesBond, but there’s something about the understated, utilitarian accessorizing of 24’s Jack Bauer.
After all, while Bond has the regular luxury of fopping around a hotel room while having his tuxedo pressed and his chrono recalibrated with gadget after gadget, Bauer never stops until some ‘crisis’ is averted (although who knows what he does for the other 364 days of the year), and his gear needs the same kind of tenacity.
There’s the the backpack of $2 Shop chips and battered old playing cards that you sling along to your buddy’s place when it’s time for poker, and then there’s the Dunhill Tradition Touring Poker Set.
Inside the exquisite leather case is the enormous aluminum chip shoe housing Alfred Dunhill chips, as well as Motorities playing cards and a couple of dice for your troubles. Just looking at this creation gives us the immediate urge to lose lots and lots of money.
And much like the Brooks Brothers poker set we covered last year, if you’re wondering how much it costs, then you need to improve your poker a lot to afford it.
A new year means a new Malt Whisky Yearbook – the definitive guide to whisky shops, whisky sites, whisky books and, well, whisky.
2006’s Yearbook was a smash success, and this is sure to follow suit. There’s statistics (of what, we’re not sure), plenty of photos, a retrospective on the whisky year that was and features by a barrel load of whisky celebrities.
And at only $27.50 including shipping (from its only retailer in the US), it’s a must-read for who drink a lot of malt whisky.
And likely to be that one-eyed reading required when you’ve been, like, drinking a lot of malt whisky.
When it comes to myth, superstition and complete bullshit, there is as much circulating about alcohol as anything else. So, despite constantly hearing whispers about the health benefits of red wine, it’s one of those ‘facts’ we’ve always chosen to half-believe.
Just as lovers of ‘imperials’ and ‘pencils’ are disappointed when their creations are simply described as ‘moustaches’, so must those brandishing classic afros be upset when their styles are described as, well, simply ‘afros’.
This is relevant to either of several types of people: those who buy too much booze, those who drink too little booze, and especially those who do both.
Traditionally, we’ve been obsessed by the 
A new year means a new 
