Sports Illustrated: (Sports)Man of the Year

SI announced Drew Brees, Super Bowl XLIV-winning quarterback of the New Orleans Saints as sportsman of the year for his efforts both on and off the field. The accompanying article by Tim Layden does a great job of describing why Brees is known by some in the Big Easy as "Breesus." Truly an athlete to admire.

Below also is a clip SI produced with some interviews and other footage from his philanthropic activities.

How Hulu Came to Be

Interesting article from Fast Company (November 2009) on how Hulu was developed, Jason Kilar was recruited and what the networks really thought about the initiative.

Check it out HERE.

New Museums in the Persian Gulf

I'm back! Read a great NYTimes article on new museums in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar designed by famous architects such as I.M. Pei, Jean Nouvel, and Norman Foster.

The goal apparently is to make these destinations in the Middle East into hubs of culture and art "showing a way toward a modern society within the boundaries of Islam."

Check out the article HERE and a great interactive feature HERE.

Nouvel in particular sparked some interest after seeing a CBS News piece on him and his new work in New York City. Check out the clip HERE.

Does Language Impact Experience?

The New York Times Magazine this week published a great article on language, revisiting the issue of whether your mother tongue affects your thoughts, impacts how you approach the world or informs your experiences.

The article was adapted from Guy Deutscher's upcoming book "Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages." It was pretty interesting and mentioned some of the points and examples brought up in the Economist article (on language difficult) I posted HERE.

Bottom line is that language does have some impact on how you orient the world and what sort of information is required or processed at a given point in any experience or conversation. Yet the conclusion remains that people are also fully capable of adapting, learning new things and reasoning outside their native language.

Check out the article HERE.

Persons of Interest: Tosh and Welling

The New York Times recently featured articles on two pretty interesting people. The first is Daniel Tosh (of Comedy Central's "Tosh.0") and the second is Tom Welling (of CW's Superman show "Smallville").

The Tosh article I found interesting because I recently started watching his show. He basically takes YouTube videos, put them on TV and comments/mocks/redeems those featured in the clips. It's hilarious.

The Welling article described how the actor decided to move into a new role of developing entertainment for television having spent 10 years on the CW sets and in tune with what that demographic is looking for. He's executive producing a new show about cheerleaders called "Hellcats."

Check them out here: Tosh and Welling

NYTimes Profiles: Perry and Fieri

The New York Times recently did profiles on two of my favorite people: Katy Perry and Guy Fieri.

Check them out here: Katy and Guy

Paris in Film

New York Times film critic A.O. Scott reminds readers why Paris will always endure as the ultimate film setting.

Check out the article HERE.

Why Did Alex Bogusky Leave CP+B?

BusinessWeek did a short article and shed some light on why Alex Bogusky left the agency he helped catapult to the forefront of the industry. Known for breaking the mold, the team at  Crispin, Porter + Bogusky brought us the "subservient chicken" for Burger King and "I'm a PC" for Microsoft Windows 7.

Recently, Bogusky announced he was leaving his position as creative director at CP+B (or more specifically his role as "chief creative insurgent" at MDC Partners) to focus on his own endeavors.

Check out the article HERE.

Herzog & de Meuron Parking Lot? Yes.

A few weeks ago, the New Yorker featured an architecture review on a new parking lot in Miami Beach designed by the famed firm Herzog and de Meuron. They're also responsible for the "Bird's Nest" developed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Allianz Arena for football in Munich.

Reviews for the design were positive, though personally I think the project looks unfinished judging by the pictures. Their other work is really impressive so I'll have to trust the experts and maybe see it for myself one day.

Check out the article HERE. A short video clip below:

Ryan Murphy Profile

The New York Times did a great profile on Ryan Murphy, creator of Glee (and Nip/Tuck) and currently making the press tour rounds as director of the upcoming moving Eat Pray Love.

Check the article out HERE.

Navy Building in Paris

The New York Times had an interesting article on what the French Navy is planning to do with their official offices now that they're in the process of relocating to a new facility.

Check it out HERE.

The Future of Condé Nast in This Man's Hands?

Gawker recently brought to my attention the man in charge of Condé Nast's digital magazine development: Scott Dadich. Billed as the "savior of the company," Dadich first conceived of the Wired app for the tablet computer (see YouTube video below) and is now responsible for overseeing all of CN magazines' digital future, something I'm extremely excited about.



The Gawker post links to the New York Observer profile found HERE.

Confessions of a Sportswriter

Earlier this year (March 2010) I read a great article in Sports Illustrated written by Frank Deford on his career as a sportswriter. Deford is a prolific writer for SI and has published many well-regarded books on sports history. His account is sincere, insightful and really interesting.

Check out the article HERE.

Rupert Murdoch's Empire

A while back I read a great article in Vanity Fair on Rupert Murdoch's media empire and the internal family dynamics of News Corp. It was written by Michael Wolff, also author of a 2008 biography of Murdoch titled "The Man Who Owns the News."

Really interesting stuff - check it out HERE.

The Past, Present and Future of Hermès

The name Hermès conjures images of premium quality leather goods, clothing and home furnishings. It's iconic H and orange-colored boxes are instantly recognizable the world over and the brand is renowned for its heritage, elegance and workmanship.

My experience with the brand is primarily related to the well-made silk ties, scarves, and leather handbags (think Kelly and Birkin) which have featured prominently over the years on various family members of mine. In light of my recent post about the WHY-Yachts Hermès/Wally collaboration I did some digging on the brand and wanted to share some interesting links and articles.

First is a New York Times Magazine profile of Pierre-Alexis Dumas, current creative director at Hermès who is on a path to reorient the brand for the 21st century with ambitious plans to go beyond the basics. Originally founded to produce custom horse saddles, Hermès has carved out a niche for ultra-luxury goods over the years. Dumas' future plans include extension into previously unconquered territories such as aviation, yachting, furniture, custom menswear, etc. The feature online is actually pretty cool and functions like a magazine where you can scroll images across your screen.

Check out the NYTimes Magazine piece HERE.
Vanity Fair did a great profile in 2007 on Hermès found HERE.
WSJ featured an interview with Dumas on "what's next" for the brand HERE.
AOL's luxury content vertical Luxist, has Hermès coverage found HERE.

WHY Yachts - Ultra Luxury

I had heard about this before (in one of the Niche Media magazines like Hamptons, Gotham, or LA Confidential I think...) but I recently saw another short blurb about this in the Four Seasons Magazine. It detailed a joint venture between luxury goods maker Hermès and Wally Yachts (artistic directors and CEOs pictured above).

Essentially a floating, super hotel/yacht this sleekly-designed minimalist vessel embodies everything you would imagine a collaboration between two of the most premium brands in the world would develop. Eco-friendly, expansive, and very elegant the WHY yachts (currently in production; only artist renderings are available) are works of art and engineering mastery.

Check out the WHY-Yachts website HERE.
A brief WSJ post about it HERE and a DesignBoom article HERE.

Tel Aviv a.k.a "The Bubble"

Last year, Conde Nast Traveler did a piece in their June issue in honor of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Tel Aviv, Israel. It was a really great account of life in the city and how it sometimes seems a world away from the Israel you see and hear about in the news.

Famous for its Bauhaus architecture, Tel Aviv is known as a beach town and a hot tourist spot given its position on the Mediterranean Sea. It blends multiple cultures well and has a very cosmopolitan, worldly feel. The city is well-known for its nightlife and restaurant scene with 10pm the usual start time for most late-night activities.

Given its isolation from the politics in Jerusalem and other areas, and the "pleasure-seeking" mentality of most if its residents (and visitors), the city has become known as HaBuah, or "the bubble."

Check out the article from CN Traveler HERE.

Rediscovering Classic Europe

I recently reread an article from GQ (August 2009) which featured a great travel piece on rediscovering classic Europe and doing it in a similar way many students did at some point in their lives - backpacking on a budget.

Though most people who revisit the area can afford slightly better accomodations than a standard hostel and might even be able to bring along a legit suitcase, the idea of doing things off-the-cuff, relatively inexpensively and truly making the cities your own is still very appealing.

GQ featured 20 rediscovery tips including:

• rent an apartment, not a hotel room
• bring a blazer; you get treated better with a jacket on
• eat straight from the local market
• visit "second cities" - they're less crowded and often just as interesting (if not more so)

Check out the feature HERE.

New Hotel Life in NYC

New York Magazine recently did a piece on the new wave of "boutique" or "lifestyle" hotels cropping up around the city. The headline for the article is "Checkout Time is 4AM" and profiles some of the great hoteliers developing unique spots around town geared to the young professional looking to hang out and party in style...all night long.

A few of these spots include The Standard, Gansevoort, Gramery Park, Ace, Bowery, etc. - the list goes on. They are spaces that take design and aesthetics into serious consideration and truly reflect (and in some cases create) the downtown vibe. They embody the "hotel-as-nightlife" experience and have been very successful in attracting true New Yorkers, not simply tourists visiting for a weekend.

Three men in particular are at the forefront of these developments: Andre Balazs of the Standard Hotel, Ian Schrager of the Gramercy Park Hotel and Michael Achenbaum of Hotel Gansevoort. Each property is truly distinct and takes advantage of its locale. They've created environments that foster "personal interaction," which in this day and age of digital friendship is really interesting and under-appreciated. These players are fastidious with their designs and leave no minute detail untouched. Andre Balazs in particular is so stylish he was recently featured in a Brioni ad campaign.

Check out the NYMag article HERE.