This month, our Book-of-the-Month selection was Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription by William F. Buckley, Jr. As regular blog readers now, I often lament how toxic our political discourse has become of late, so it was with much trepidation that I selected a book by someone as "ideological" as Mr. Buckley. But in the wake of his passing, it was amazing to see how many "liberals" had effusive praise for William F. Buckley, Jr. the man. While they may have disagreed vehemently with his views, he had a joie de vivre that made him admired by friends and foes.   

Besides, Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription is hardly a "political" book -- it's more a compendium of correspondence between WFB and readers of the National Review, guests on Firing Line, and politicians ranging from Richard Nixon to Ted Kennedy. There are two things I enjoyed about the book: (1) Buckley's infamous wit, and (2) the sheer volume of handwritten correspondence that Buckley must have engaged in over his lifetime. While I would consider myself "above-average" in terms of the number of notes I write, that isn't saying much these days.

So...in the interests of encouraging an old school form of correspondence, we have a quick little promotion. Handwrite us a note on your own personalized stationery postmarked by Monday, April 7th, and we'll send you back a small token of our appreciation (a double-secret bonus will be included if you're stationery is letterpressed, and triple-secret bonus if you bought it from us!).

I try not to be the type of person who complains that "Things aren't made like they used to" -- it strikes me as a complaint of first resort by change-resistant curmudgeons. By and large, innovations in materials and technology improve the products we use, often at a lower price (most electronics would be good examples). But there is a product near-and-dear to my heart that I am giving one last chance. 

For the past 23 years (that I can prove with photographic evidence), I have owned a pair of all-white adidas Stan Smith sneakers. I have always felt that a pair of plain white sneakers were a staple of any gentleman's wardrobe, and it was really only a matter of whether you preferred Stan Smiths, Jack Purcell's, or K-Swiss Classic Tennis Whites. I probably wore the shoes 100 days a year, and they handled whatever was thrown at them. That included, on more than one occasion, a recreational soccer game if I didn't have cleats. For most of those 23 years, a pair would last me at least a year, if not 2. It wasn't till they were grey beyond recognition that I would step up and buy a new pair.

Last year, a dear friend bought me a pair for my birthday (exactly a year ago today). Within 6 months, and without being subjected to a soccer game, the top of the shoe popped apart from the sole. I had never had a pair "break" like that. Last week, relaying the story at Michael Toschi HQ, I picked up the Michael Toschi SUV2. I was about to write about swearing off Stan Smith's forever when a package arrived from the same dear friend with a brand new pair. If they perform like those of my fond memories, I'll forgive and forget the last one. Otherwise, I guess I'm one step closer to becoming a grumpy old man.

Give Sony credit for internalizing the lessons of the wars of yesteryear. Believe it or not, it was 30 years ago that Sony’s Betamax format was defeated by VHS even though many technophiles still believe it was the superior choice. Many argued that it was the release of adult movies on the VHS format that seeded the market with players, and eventually dealt the death blow to Betamax (that is a hotly contested point, however [pun intended]).

Fast-forward to 2008 and Sony – and their high-definition video format Blu-ray – has won the war with HD-DVD (Toshiba, the creator of HD-DVD officially discontinued the business on February 19th). This year got off to a bad start for HD-DVD after Warner Bros. committed exclusively to Blu-ray in January, and February just got worse as Netflix, Best Buy, and Walmart announced they would no longer be supporting the format. Sony also moved quickly to line up exclusive studio support and advertised heavily.  But perhaps the biggest key to Blu-ray’s victory was Sony’s inclusion of it in the PlayStation 3 video game console.

No matter which format you supported, the resolution of this “war” can only be viewed as a good thing for consumers.  Customers no longer have to buy a video player knowing that certain movie studios would not be releasing their films on it.  Ending this customer confusion about which format to back allows all of us to get back to what is important - watching our favorite movies in a better way than ever before.

The benefits of high-definition video are numerous: a crisper picture, more immersive sound, and the integration of bonus features which can be updated over an internet connection.  

While Blu-ray supporters and high-def movie fans can celebrate the end to the format war, it may still be some time before HD movies hit the mainstream.  Blu-ray now faces its toughest battle yet - overtaking the juggernaut of DVD.

This blog entry was brought to you by loyal customer & Book-of-the-Month member, Kevin Carpenter.  

Admittedly, one of the issues with a Book-of-the-Month Club is you have to read a whole book each month! I thoroughly enjoyed February's selection -- Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster by Dana Thomas -- and yet I just finished it this weekend. The basic premise of the book is that large luxury houses like LVMH or Gucci Group, in their quests for corporate profits, have sacrificed much for the bottom line. In some cases, it might be lesser materials, outsourcing production to lower-wage countries, skimping on packaging, or otherwise deviating from the original quality that made many brands the household names they are today. The book is filled with interesting anecdotes and statistics, that at alternating points make you long for "luxury" and disdain it.

Indeed, it is a shame that marketing has devolved to the point where so many companies bastardize certain words that they eventually become meaningless. "Concierge" is a great example. The "concierge" in your office building paid just slightly more than the rent-a-cop is not a concierge. If you're lucky, they can point you to the restrooms, but they certainly aren't getting you a table at a trendy restaurant or court-side tickets to the game. "VIP" is another overused-&-abused phrase. As Seth Meyers & Amy Poehler pointed out on SNL in the wake of the Elliot Spitzer scandal, "Anything that has the words VIP in the title is not for VIP's" [clip here]. And so it is with "luxury" too.

The iPhone photo taken for this blog was at the Las Vegas airport in mid-February as I was knee-deep in the book. The store advertised "Luxury for $10", and included jewelry, scarves, and leather goods. Without sounding snooty, it seems impossible that any of those items could be both luxurious and under $10. That got me thinking, "What on Earth could be a luxury product for just $10?" If a true luxury item is sold at some multiple over the regular version of the same item, there are very few products that could make the cut. And I'm willing to offer a $50 On The Fly gift certificate to the commenter on this blog that comes up with the best product idea. My entry? A toothpick made of cocobolo.

Bill Clinton, David Beckham, Jay-Z, and Prince Michael of Kent walk into a bar...

Actually, why even try to finish that joke when the title of this blog is already so clever. It's based on an article I wrote for the Financial Times noting the recent resurgence of thick tie knots. While big, thick knots have been the norm in Italy for the past few years, the trend has slowly crept stateside. It was something I noticed but didn't feel the need to write about until I saw Bill Clinton stumping for Hillary with a giant orange knot under his giant red face. Given the absolute lack of personal expression in most politicians' wardrobe choices -- navy suit, white shirt, red tie anyone? -- it struck me as something worth investigating. You can read the article in full here.  

How to tie it

The fashionably fat tie knot can be achieved in two ways. The first, and easiest, is to buy a tie constructed of a thicker material. The second, opting for the full Windsor tie knot, might require a bit of practice.

Here's how: Drape the tie round your neck so that the wider blade of the tie is about a foot longer than the narrow blade.

Loop the wider blade under the narrow blade on your right side. Slide the wider blade under the narrow end. Bring the wider blade over the knot and under the narrow part on the right side of your neck.

Pull the wide end down and cross it over the narrow blade. Bring the wider blade under the narrower part of the tie on the left side of your
neck, then slide the wider blade tip through the knot. Pull the wider blade down. Tighten the knot snugly against your neck.

Way, way back in 2005, when gas was only $2.50/gallon in California, I wrote of our adjacent neighbor -- Club Sportiva. Club Sportiva was the first "luxury carshare" concept, started back in 2003; today, clubs like it are popping up all over the country. In late 2005, On The Fly moved in next door to Club Sportiva, and the two companies are separated by a gate that is left open all day so Club Sportiva members can peruse our merchandise, and our customers can ogle their cars. 

But thanks to the growing legion of readers of our blog, Club Sportiva has offered to let me take some of their cars for a spin in exchange for mentioning Club Sportiva six times in a single blog. Club Sportiva. Done. The first car up was a 2006 Aston Martin DB9 in navy blue with whiskey interior.  

Let's get one thing clear: I am not a professional driver. I barely know how to pop the hood on our company SUV. If you want a detailed descriptions of horsepower or torque or reliability, you best find another blog. I will approach these cars from the perspective of someone who will appreciate how the car drives, how it looks, and who looks at you in it. Sound narcissistic? I've been called worse.

The Aston Martin DB9 is a huge car. But to me, that is quintessentially Aston Martin. The new, smaller Vantage could easily be mistaken for a Toyota sports car to the untrained eye, whereas the DB9 makes a clear statement. For this reason, I actually regret not wearing something a little more bold; I opted for a safe Fairway & Greene golf shirt & vest, Bills Khakis Chamois Cloth pants, a Mulholland Brothers Hippo Duffel in Bridle Tan and a pair of one-of-a-kind Michael Toschi wingtip prototypes to match the interior of the car. The sound of it helps as well. The engine is louder at 20 mph than at 80 mph, and it's loud in the best way possible (the beautiful roar made me snicker at the Lexus-like commercials showing a driver in the car unable to hear anything outside).

The ride was surprisingly smooth, although I enjoyed more like someone scared to death of crashing his friend's car than an owner. It accelerates well, although the paddle shifting is not as responsive as other systems I've driven in the past. Fear of fishtailing kept me from testing its cornering capabilities, but a reasonable 180-degree long, curvy onramp near Candlestick Park had me driving faster than all the traffic on the freeway way before having to merge.

Of the entire inventory of cars available to Club Sportiva members -- and you'll see the rest in the coming weeks -- the DB9 has always been one of my favorites. Driving it only reinforced my opinion.