Happy 90210 Day to All!
Today is a very special day in the world of ‘90s television — 90210 Day! Get it? September 2, 2010. 090210! So let’s revisit the hallowed halls of West Beverly High and the well-worn booths of the Peach Pit with a look back at some of our favorite memories:
Once a Bimbo: When Brenda catches her on-again off-again brooding boytoy Dylan kissing blonde bombshell Kelly, she says: “If you are trying to lose your bimbo image, I honestly don’t think this will help.”
French Faux-Pas: While spending the summer in Paris, Brenda tries to snag hottie Dean Cain by pretending to be French. When he comes to LA and looks her up, she keeps the charade up until she arrives at the Peach Pit and finally gives it up when she is faced with pr
The Dark Side of Diet Pills: Kelly’s experimentation with over-the-counter diet pills lands her in the hospital. Best pal and occasional nemesis Brenda comes for a visit. Kelly looks up from the hospital bed and says: “I’m gonna live so you can’t have Dylan back.”
Dylan’s Dad: One of the most emotional and gut-wrenching moments of the entire series is when Dylan’s father Jack, a convicted felon just released from prison, is killed by a car bomb. Dylan is standing nearby and witnesses the explosion, which sends him on yet another downward spiral.
Funny Valentine: Bad girl Emily Valentine tries to take upstanding citizen Brendan Walsh down with her at an underground club one night by slipping a hallucinogenic drug in his drink. The police raid the club and Brandon is forced to flee and leave his prized car to get torn apart. The tagline for the episode when it originally aired: “Tonight, Brendan finds out about drugs and Emily… the hard way.”
David Silver Saves the Day: Oh-so vulnerable Donna is attacked by previously-convicted stalker Garret Slan. Earlier, she and boyfriend David Silver had been arguing, so he came back to the apartment to apologize. Donna tells him to leave but she keeps calling him “Dave” rather than “David.” This miraculously tips him off that something is amiss and he storms back into the apartment with a baseball bat, saving Donna.
THE UNANONYMOUS #1 MOMENT… Notorious good girl Donna has a few sips of champagne on an empty stomach (trust me, if you saw her in the mid-90s it was very empty). She gets caught and isn’t allowed to graduate with the rest of her class. Her friends and the entire student body gather outside her school board hearing in solidarity. A chant grows among the protesters, softer and first, then louder and louder, until these three words were heard across all of Beverly Hills: DONNA MARTIN GRADUATES!
What are your favorite moments from 90210?
Happy Birthday Macaulay Culkin (and some others)
There’s been a lot of attention today on the Twitters and the Facebooks and the Internets drawn to the thirtieth birthday of Home Alone star Macaulay Caulkin, starting (as far as I can tell) from the tweet from forever-young actor @GaryJBusey Macaulay Culkin turns 30 today, but I still don’t trust him to be left home alone followed by countless blogs relaying the information that Culkin will be spending his birthday “home alone” with some close friends.
In honor of Mac’s birthday, and all of us born in 1980, here’s a quick rundown of the wealth of talent born the year Reagan was elected and Lennon was killed.
January 17 – Zooey Deschanel, American actress
January 18 – Jason Segel, American actor
January 22 – Christopher Masterson, American actor
January 28 – Nick Carter, American pop singer
February 11 – Matthew Lawrence, American actor
February 12 – Christina Ricci, American actress
February 15 – Conor Oberst, American singer/songwriter
February 27 – Chelsea Clinton, First daughter
April 1 – Bijou Phillips, American actress and socialite
June 17 – Venus Williams, American tennis player
June 26 – Jason Schwartzman, American actor
July 10 – Jessica Simpson, American singer
July 20 – Gisele Bündchen, Brazilian supermodel
August 26 – Macaulay Culkin, American actor
September 9 – Michelle Williams, American actress
September 25 – T.I., American rapper
November 12 – Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor
December 18 – Christina Aguilera, American singer
December 19 – Jake Gyllenhaal, American actor
If he dares wear short shorts
As a straight man who enjoys the freedom of a pair of high and tight swimming trunks, I was heartened by recent news that Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick favors Speedos over “the surfer ones.” I have no problem with baggy surfer trunks, as long as you’re actually catching waves in Oahu or Malibu; but if the only thing you’re catching is sun poisoning at the Soho House pool deck, ditch the cargo-trunks. Somewhere along the line American men abandoned the more flattering trunks that prototypical manly men like Paul Newman (you know, the guy who, at age 80, could drive a car faster, pick up more women, and make better salad dressing than you in your prime) used to sport in their day, in exchange for the current crop of amorphous bathing sacks.
There’s still time to reverse the trend this summer. Check out these alternatives to the modern American monstrosities:
These Apolis Classic swim trunks ($99) are a good gateway for guys who aren’t ready to jump straight from those roomy board shorts into the world of the banana hammock. They have a slim, above-the-knee cut, but you’ll still feel fully-covered enough to play a vigorous game of paddle ball.
Once you’ve gotten accustomed to the slimmer look of your new Apolis, these retro trunks from LA-based Lightning Bolt are a logical next step. Their designs are still surf-inspired, but the 1970s cut is more Hawai’i Five-O than Jersey shore-style bro-trunks:
When you’re ready to take the plunge into full-on Daniel Craig territory, this square cut trunk from Tulio will send a message that you’re confident in your manhood, without landing you in Borat-territory.
‘Lit’ author speaks at 192 Books

Mary Karr at her book signing.
“I don’t like writing, I don’t like not writing, so what is it that I’m shooting for?” asked Mary Karr, author of New York Times Bestseller Lit, to a packed bookstore in Chelsea. For her, she explained it’s the act of having written, often for whole days on end – cancelling plans, not getting the mail or answering the phone, not getting on the internet. She quoted Hemingway, who said, “Apply your ass to the chair. Love your work.” We are very lucky she did just that. Lit is a darkly humorous memoir, which she describes as “my journey from blackbelt sinner and lifelong agnostic to unlikely Catholic.”
She opened by reading a section of Lit in which she and her mother, who was high on marijuana, attended an elaborate dinner with her blue blood husband and his family. “I’m telling you,” she read, “this wasp [her husband] ignores reality better than a heroin addict…plus the added benefit of the fact that he won’t try and steal your television.”
After reading for 10 minutes or so, she opened up the discussion to questions, many of which were about her writing process. Mary worked on the book for seven years, threw away some 2,000 pages, and broke her “delete” key. She mused poetically on the act of writing, which she compared to walking into a cathedral; even the worst of writers, she said, is in a conversation with every other writer, dead or alive. She said that books saved her life; she would read a book or a poem and feel “a little less lonely.”
The conversation turned to her interesting conversion to Catholicism, despite their “sodomy problem, and their P.R. problem,” she noted, laughing. Interestingly enough, she did not have a religious background – her mother had a broad, new-age approach to spirituality, while her father thought that Jesus was a trick they pulled on poor people. But Mary’s gained a lot from her faith: “It’s a big win for Jesus when I don’t want to kill everyone on the subway,” she said. Religion has helped come to terms for her past, as the “drunk mom who went to a mental institution.” She found forgiveness in religion and catharsis in writing, although, she notes, the true catharsis had to happen in therapy.
She had funny stories on the darkest of topics. While her mother was on her deathbed, she awoke to put lipstick on for the attractive Italian cardiologist. As he examined her, he pointed out her scar from having her appendix removed. “But I still got my titties!” she declared. “That is a funny bitch,” Mary noted.
Her candid humor and modesty charmed the crowd. Quoting Winston Churchill, she claimed to be a “modest woman with much to be modest about.” Her book is available at http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Lit-Mary-Karr/?isbn=9780060596996.
The stories behind Mad Men revealed
The wait is finally almost over… the new season of Mad Men premieres July 25th on AMC. It’s about time. The recently released Season 4 poster has been getting a ton of attention including this in-depth examination and search for hidden meaning from TV Guide.
But to find out the real meaning behind the hit show you’ll need to read Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America by Natasha Vargas-Cooper, the woman behind the highly popular blog The Footnotes of Mad Men.
In the book, Vargas-Cooper turns her eye to everything from Lucky Strike to Madienform, gray flannel suits to Burt Cooper’s Japonism, Grace Kelly to John Cheever — and examines iconic morsels from the show and the error. Very Short List agrees, Mad Men Unbuttoned is like a little time machine that takes us, as Mr. Draper so elegantly put it, ‘to a place where we ache to go again.’”
Still need more Mad Men in your life and on your computer screen? You can download two Mad Men wallpaper designs for your computer: What’s in Don Draper’s Desk and What’s in Joan Holloway’s Purse.
Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders or Books-a-Million.
Tell someone what you really think
The amazing SomeEcards.com have joined forces with the equally amazing Shit My Dad Says to bring you the perfect sayings from Sam Halpern fit to match any occassion (birthday, wedding, farewells, new baby and more).
Visit the Shit My Dad Says at SomeEcards.com store and let the truth be heard. Some choice examples:
Oh, and don’t forget to buy the # 1 New York Times bestseller Sh*t My Dad Says book.
Pork or Porky’s?
In today’s New York Times dining section, Oliver Strand writes about an emerging trend in bachelor/bachelorette parties: a focus on food over fondling. Men and women out to celebrate their impending nuptials are leaning towards a night of satisfying their appetite for good food rather than their libidinous cravings (like the Spotted Pig feast pictured above), with elaborate tasting menus, exotic locations, and even impeccably orchestrated do-it-yourself meals.
As a 30 year old in the heart of prime bachelor party-attending years, I’m familiar with this trend as well. For my friend Matt’s recent stag party, the only instructions we were given were to arrive at an appointed spot in the late afternoon with a pocketful of cash and an empty stomach. While I entertained thoughts of an evening of being hand-fed by buxom handmaidens in the champagne room at Scores, the reality was even more fun. Instead we boarded a party bus, well-appointed with a pony keg and a mixologist, and embarked on a 4-borough chowhounding adventure. Lead by our knowledgeable host for the evening, Famous Fat Dave, we feasted on everything from a roast beef and gravy hero at Brooklyn’s legendary Defonte’s Sandwich Shop to a Murder Burger from a bodega in Harlem.
For my bachelor party a few months later, my best man stopped at nothing to create an unforgettable barbecue. Twenty carnivores congregated in a Williamsburg loft to take down pounds of grilled and smoked meats (procured at the nearby Marlow & Daughters butcher shop) like bourbon-smoked pork butt, sausage wheels, 3-inch thick pork chops and some other stuff I don’t remember (read on). Word to the wise: a gluttonous evening of pure protein followed by unlimited Irish Car Bombs does not make for a pleasant morning after. For God’s sake, remember the carbs.
While this new wave of stag and hen parties likely won’t overtake the traditional route (hey, you’re still allowed to eat bacon after you take your vows, so there’s less of a forbidden feel), a well-planned night of gustatory excess is a solid option. Just don’t tip your waitress in singles.
Kate Spade’s New “Book” Bag
We publishing folk may be known to carry books around with us, but Kate Spade is taking the idea to a whole new (and fashionable!) level!
Coming out this August will be an adorablenew line of ”Book of the Month” clutches. The bags will feature completely original “cover art” based on classic novels, including: The Great Gatsby, Emma, The Importance of Being Earnest, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities.
Retailing for $325, one new “book” will debut every month as a kind of fashion “book-of-the-month” club.
Of her inspiration for the bags, creative director Deborah Lloyd said: “We wanted to pretend we had our own publishing house.” She hopes that women will not only wear the bags, but display them around their homes as if they were actual books.
Definitely puts a new spin on the phrase, “required reading”.
Makeup inspired by Alice in Wonderland

One of our favorite books this year is Camille Rose Garcia’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. So when we saw the video tutorial below–posted on YouTube by Haleybean–we were super excited. We asked Haleybean to tell us more about why she chose to create this makeup tutorial inspired by Camille’s incredible artwork.
I recently did this make-up tutorial based off the cover art that artist Camille Rose Garcia did for a rendition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. To start with, Alice is my all-time favorite piece of literature so I’m always on the prowl for different ways people find to interpret the Alice stories. I was in a bookstore one day and saw Camille’s work and fell in love with it immediately. She presents Alice in a way that is so new and original it’s ridiculous. She holds true to the story while bringing in her own fresh new take on it.
I started google-ing more of her art and I really enjoy her work. I regularly do my make-up tutorials on YouTube, I have been doing so for the past 2 1/2 years or so and I get most of my inspiration from artwork and movie characters alike; I automatically pulled inspiration from Camille because it has all elements I love and presented me with the challenge to take in her interpretation and do something completely different to add that Haleybean twist to it.
If you liked my video be sure to check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Twitter or check out my Facebook page.
Why Pearl Jam matters
Its taken a week to wrap my head around Pearl Jam’s show at Madison Square Garden on May 21st - and to get my voice back to normal. Without a doubt, Pearl Jam always puts on an amazing show. Though not seeing them for several years (after seeing them a dozen times in a few short years with the exception of Eddier Veder’s solo acoustic show), maybe I forgot how incredible a group they are.
So…my thoughts on why Pearl Jam matters….
- Ed’s ever-present bottle of wine on stage to, you know, keep his throat from getting dry
- Tribute song, “I’m Open,” dedicated to Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States
- How Eddie still acts amazed when he stands on stage and lets the crowd sing “Better Man” to him
- The crowd clears out for bathroom breaks during a “popular radio song,” (ie “Daughter”) but no one moves when he stands on stage and talks to the crowd
- No matter how massive a Pearl Jam fan you are, you will hear at least one, possibly two, songs you don’t know
- No matter how massive a Pearl Jam fan you are, and how many times you’ve seen them in concert, you will hear at least one song performed that you have never heard them perform live before
- After doing this for twenty years, the band still brings it like its their first concert and keeps it going like it might be their last
- Because even though they will forever be linked by time and place, Pearl Jam is not Nirvana, which is a good thing for both bands
As incredible as the show was as a whole (I would have paid just to hear Eddie belt out “Neverman”), the show was stolen when Eddie invited Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses) out to accompany him on “Hunger Strike.” Watch that performance and sometime around 45 seconds into it Bridwell seems to realize what he is singing and who he is singing with. The only thing better than the look of awe on his face is the look of pride on Ed’s face.
Pearl Jam, Madison Square Garden, May 21, 2010
Main Set:
Corduroy, Hail Hail, Do the Evolution, Worldwide Suicide, Got Some, Breath, Nothingman, I’m Open (Dedicated to Howard Zinn), Unthought Known, Grievance, Amongst the Waves, Present Tense, Not For You/Modern Girl, Push Me Pull Me, Rats, Daughter/WMA, The Fixer, Why Go
Encore 1:
The End (w/ string quartet), Just Breathe (w/ string quartet), Slow Lukin (w/ strings), Black Red Yellow, Sweet Lew, Given to Fly, Spin the Black Circle, Rearviewmirror
Encore 2:
Wasted Reprise, Betterman, Black/We Belong Together, The Real Me, Hunger Strike, Alive, Kick Out the Jams, Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner
The Kid
Dan Savage writes the sex column, “Savage Love,” that appears in newspapers across the country. It’s a wonderful forum on politics and relationships (a recurring joke throughout the show) but Savage is at his best in his two books that document the relationship between he and his partner lover boyfriend husband and their decision to adopt a child, their son D.J.
In the off-Broadway show Savage’s story (adapted for the stage by Michael Zam) is strong but the music (by Andy Monroe) falls so very flat. I don’t remember a single song from the show, and there were many. In fact, I left The Kid singing songs from another show. The cast, however is really delightful and more importantly brings Jill Eikenberry to the stage. Remember her? From LA Law?
She plays Savage’s mother and has the one song in the show that could be memorable. But it’s not. She’s still amazing. Give her an award.
Bottom line: read his books. Both The Kid and his follow-up The Commitment. And, what the hell. See the show too. And watch the New York Times video of it. And spay and neuter your pets.
Friday Round-up
A couple of things to think about:
At long last, a tutorial on the space shuttle toilet (via VSL). Remember: “Alignment is important.”
Completely unrelated, our friends at Partners & Spade were instrumental in founding th
e new NoHo Design District in Downtown New York. As part of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, the district is throwing a neighborhood kick-off party this Saturday from 7-10 pm. With retailers like The Smile, Billy Reid, Oak and the aforementioned Partners & Spade, NoHo is one of our favorite places to shop.
Here’s how to get there.
A how-to for him and her
HOW TO KEEP HIM ON A SHORT LEASH and HOW TO STAY OUT OF THE DOGHOUSE are two new books of indispensable advice for her (the former) and him (the latter). You most certainly have an upcoming occasion for which one or both would be appropriate gifts: an engagement party, wedding, bridal shower, Father’s Day or a 60th Anniversary Party (it’s about time someone taught Grandpa to “master the distinction between lingerie for her and lingerie for you).
Created by the dynamic team at Partners & Spade, illustrated by Jason Polan, and coming it at an affordable $15 each, you can’t afford not to buy these little gems.


Read more and buy the books:
Let the caged bird fly
Little Miley Cyrus proves she is all grown up in the music video for her new single, Can’t Be Tamed. The video — which is somewhat reminiscent of Britney at her peak (in a good way) – has a darker, almost-goth aesthetic and the former Disney superstar writhes around in a skimpy leather feather-y outfit, channeling a bird trying to break free of her cage.
According to the label, Can’t Be Tamed is “a self-empowering song in which Miley asserts that she has to stay true to herself in relationships, and it is sure to become an anthem among her legions of fans around the world.”

Sure. Whatever the sociopolitical implications of that message may be, she looks good, the song is catchy, and I’m on board.
(The album Can’t Be Tamed will be out on June 22.)
Our Aesthete in New York Magazine

Further substantiating his role as an aesthete, Theodore Bouloukos, our Aestheticism columnist, found himself in this week’s issue of New York magazine.
Read Theodore wax poetic about the charms of his Carnegie Hill neighborhood, the importance of all-night restaurants, and his belief that, “Dissolute behavior in a coat and tie is always more amply forgiven,” at NYMag.com.
photo credit: Andreas Laszlo Konrath for New York magazine
Spring for these: Field Notes Packet of Sunshine

At least in New York, spring has sprung. Well, it was 93 degrees in Central Park yesterday, so technically summer has sprung. You get the gist.
I’m a huge fan of Field Notes notebooks. Like all great brands, they took something super simple (the notebook) gave it a really great design makeover (rounded edges, stellar retro typeface, rotating collectible color options) and a few nice features (grid lined paper, a 5″ ruler in the inside back cover for emergency measurements) and soon gained a following. The idea was to update the traditional agricultural memo book for the modern notebooker.
Hickoree’s Hard Goods, the best hard goods store you’ll find on the web, just got in a limited supply of Field Notes’ “packet of sunshine.” The packet–designed like another one of my favorite fetish items: vintage seed packets–contains three bright yellow memo books and a small bag of American “Crackerjack” marigold seeds with planting instructions. Back in Wisconsin, we used to line the garden beds with marigolds because of their purported rabbit repellent properties.
I don’t have a garden in Brooklyn, but if I did, I’d plant the heck out of some marigolds and carefully jot down their daily progress in my Field Notes. I’d probably even use the handy ruler to measure them. You should too.
Make yourself a dang quesadilla!
I was once a lone wolf: a man who appreciates the art of cinema, but is equally as passionate about all things gustatory. The modern world just isn’t meant for refined Renaissance men such as I, I would lament. Then Urban Daddy tipped me off to this new website. A place where those who watch Billy Madison and think, “How can I recreate that extra sllllllloppy Sloppy Joe sandwich for my own enjoyment,” or, between fits of uncontrollable laughter, wonder, “Where can I get my hands on some of that My Big Fat Greek Wedding bundt cake,” will be enlightened.
Rejoice! There are others like me! Now I’ll know where to turn when my next viewing of Napoleon Dynamite evokes a full-on cheese quesadilla hankering: movierecipes.net.
A new interview with Jon Naar
Thanks to the folks at Wooster Collective for creating this excellent video of legendary photographer Jon Naar discussing the reissue of his classic book THE FAITH OF GRAFFITI.
Learn more about the book here.
Plugged Out

I know you usually spend Friday nights catching up on all the Your It List reading you missed during the hectic week, but we’re going to ask you to make an exception tonight. Sure, it may be ironic, but this blog–a blog that relies on modern technology to pay the bills–is asking you to switch all that tech stuff off for 24 hours.
Starting at sundown today, the folks at the Sabbath Manifesto are asking all of us to observe a National Day of Unplugging. Yep, that means no phone, no computers, no Blackberrys, no Sidekicks until the sun sets on Saturday. None of that stuff that is turning our brains to oatmeal and shrinking our attention spans to nil. Hell, half of you probably didn’t even read this far (word #132) into this post. For those of you who did, I challenge you to watch this how-to video (all 3 minutes of it!) from beginning to end:
Now hurry up and make plans with your friends and loved ones for tonight and tomorrow, because there shall be no Twitter, no Foursquare and no texting for 24 whole hours. Perhaps this movement will re-kindle the age old tradition of booty telegramming. Only time will tell.
The Bee’s Knees
Jeans tucked into boots is a great look. What’s not a great look, however, is the awkward bunching of denim at the knees when you try to stuff not-so-skinny jeans into boots. That’s why I was so excited to read about The Küza Strap on racked.com– it’s a device that holds your jeans neatly in place while you pull on your boots. The straps come in fun designs like Preppy Chic, Earthy Bohemian, and The Socialite, and for the Spring they are launching two new designs: Eco Fashionista and City Slicker. Though you’ll probably retire your winter boots soon, these straps are perfect for use in rain boot season! The Küza Straps costs $16 per pair and are available exclusively at Shop Küza. And, if you order now and enter “spring10″ at checkout, you’ll get 10% off your next order.
Detailed instructions below:



















by teaming with the famed literary landmark, 


tory may have been sullied in recent years by the likes of Old Navy cargo pants and wrinkle-free Dockers (could there possibly be a more depressing modifier than “wrinkle free”?), but it’s time to welcome them back into the fold of dependable, classic men’s casual wear. Khakis do, after all, have their roots on the battlefields and the support of solid dudes like Miles Davis, Hemingway and Picasso.
ncy. They look like pants that Whitman or Daniel Plainview would be comfortable carousing in.
