(David Lynch, Moby, Laura Dawn, Daron Murphy)

"I didn't want to say this over the phone, but the universe sometimes makes it difficult for people to get here." My wife, Laura, and I had just arrived backstage at the rec center of the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. And our host, a very nice man named Bob, was apologizing for the fact that we'd had to endure 13 miserable hours of economy airline travel to find ourselves in this spot.

Laura's a singer and I'm a guitarist. We'd been invited to perform a few songs with our friend Moby (that bald-headed electronic music guy) at a special weekend to raise awareness of the benefits of Transcendental Meditation, hosted by film director David Lynch. If you're a fan of David Lynch, you might know that he is hugely into TM and has been promoting its cause through an eponymous foundation for the past few years.

For those of you who've never thought to explore any of the other 10 dimensions, Transcendental Meditation is basically a relaxation technique involving the mental repetition of a personal mantra. TM was created by the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi -- the same guy who people like the Beatles, Donovan, Mia Farrow, and Mike Love traveled to India to study under in the 60s. Neither Moby nor Laura nor I had any real familiarity with TM (well, my hippie parents did have me try it briefly as a kid in the late 70s, but that's another story). But Lynch, who's a pal of Moby, thought his music captured the spirit. So he asked us to come, and there we were.

The Maharishi University of Management sits quietly among the tree-lined streets of old-fashioned, all-American Fairfield. We were staying out past the corn, just a couple of miles away, in an area called Vedic City, where houses are built to the specifications of "natural law" (kind of a TM feng-shui). The school is incorporated right into the old town. And except for the huge, gold-topped, flying-saucer-like meditation domes on the campus front lawn, Maharishi U. looks like any humble, Middle American college.

"Backstage" was a small garage in the parking lot behind the rec center whose perimeter had been blocked off with crime scene tape -- kind of like a location from Twin Peaks. Inside, David Lynch sat smoking a cigarette, fabulously suited and coiffed, like a handsome Hollywood version of a 50s MIT professor. He was surrounded by admiring members of the University, prepping him for an imminent Q&A session with the crowd of a thousand or so students and visitors who'd gathered for the weekend.

Hearing Lynch answer questions about his work and spirituality inside the auditorium, it was immediately apparent that his devotion to Transcendental Meditation is passionate and sincere. He explained that every human being possesses a "well of creativity and bliss waiting to be tapped," and TM is the way to get there. None of the audience members bothered to inquire as to how that well of bliss has translated into some of the most unsettling and psychologically violent films in recent popular culture. So I asked Lynch about this later in the weekend. "That's just me," he explained. "You don't have to go to a dark place to tell a story about one." Well there ya go!

After Lynch, world-renowned quantum physicist John Hagelin took the stage for an hour-long lecture on TM's ability to connect its devotees with something called the Unified Field, basically the primordial ooze of the universe. He showed pictures of brain scans from well-adjusted people who've practiced TM (nice brains) and from sociopathic criminals with mental problems who've never meditated (brains full of creepy-looking black spots) and explained how TM is the only way for us to engage the entirety of our mental faculties. Until this point, I'd always thought at least the better part of my mind had been functioning. Now I'm certain that is not the case.

Later that night, we took in a performance by the legendary psychedelic troubadour, Donovan, who sang hits like "Mellow Yellow," "Season of the Witch," and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" while playing a green acoustic guitar emblazoned with the image of a proud Celtic stag. Just before his performance, Laura and I played some songs with Moby, who caused quite a stir by using the "F" word while onstage. The kids loved it, proving that the "F" word never goes out of style, even amongst the enlightened.

The most surreal and fantastic moment of the evening, though, came when David Lynch was told that the kids from Maharishi High were having their prom that night, and had to miss the concert. So Lynch volunteered to go down to the prom and crown the King and Queen himself. Donovan and Moby and Laura and I went with him. And after Lynch performed the crowning, we played a blues jam for the kids, who seemed alternatively delighted and confused.

Despite the out and out weirdness of these events, I must say without any irony that the citizens of Fairfield are seriously on to something. Not only did these people know how to have a good time, but they were some of the nicest, smartest, and most vibrant folks I've met in a very long time. And whether or not it has anything to do with Transcendental Meditation, an outsize portion of them just happened to be conspicuously good looking. Deserving of further investigation? I think so.

Thank you, universe, for allowing us to get to Fairfield. Something tells me the journey has only just begun... --DARON MURPHY

READ MORE:
Cat Power purrs her way to a career high
Neko Case records an album with the New Pornographers

There was one trend glaringly absent at this year's Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan -- sustainable design. As the rest of the world is going green, powerhouse furniture manufacturers, it seems, have been slow to adapt. One exception is Cappellini, the quirky Italian company with a history of inventive design. While it hadn't greened its entire line, the company took its first few baby steps toward a sustainable future with the launch of a new project named Cappellini Love.

New York designer Stephen Burks created the project's first four pieces. Two are small tables made from recycled, shredded magazines and newspapers, which are assembled with a papier-mâché technique that uses a non-toxic, glue-like hardener.

A vase and bowl made from fragments of recycled glass and silicone round out the collection. All the pieces will be handmade by struggling artisans in South Africa. Burks has a history of working with people in the area, helping to create better sources of income, in between more glamorous jobs for companies like Calvin Klein, B&B Italia, and Missoni.

Burks says the project grew out of an idea he had "for recycling all the piles of magazines I had lying around, which I figured would make great raw material" -- proving once again that one man's garbage can be another man's treasure. --TIM McKEOUGH

READ MORE:
What keeps designer Philippe Starck's imagination running wild?
With a sustainable vision, Bronx son Omar Freilla is leading New York City's rebirth

Unless your name is Billy Ray Cyrus, your choice of hairstyle is a serious, sometimes nerve-wracking responsibility. And like any other modern man beholden to concerns not only of image but also abiding fears, warranted or not, of inevitable pattern baldness, I usually felt more comfortable quickly and cheaply snipping just a little off the top. Always better to have something to work with, I say, without resorting to Propecia or a Giuliani.

But the stylists -- yes, call them stylists -- at L' Atelier de Frederic, the mercifully quiet men's section of the Frederic Fekkai Salon on 5th Avenue, have found a way to alleviate this and most every other hair care concern. Reached by a dedicated, discreet elevator, the salon consists of but four sumptuously leathered barbershop-style chairs in a private nook not unlike most downtown bistros -- white tile walls, black trim, dark wood, stainless steel, and flat screen TVs (careful here; Troy was playing).

There, over the course of two and half hours last week, Dominick Sedita put together the most carefully considered snip and shave this writer has ever encountered. He prescribed a cut based on the interplay of facial features, hair texture, and a cowlick that has lasted further into adulthood than my mother ever predicted. He slavishly applied the finest cleansers, recommending the restoring qualities of the More line for any fellow paranoids. The shave -- a languid step-by-step process first with the grain then against -- was, in its old world decadence and tempo, the grooming equivalent of a chef's tasting menu.

Sedita prides himself on the mixture of the guy-friendly barber style (read: free Scotch) and the full-service nature of modern styling. "It's a symbol of [my customers], not just what they're wearing. I will get a feel for what their job is like, or their personality," he said of the process. "You're not just walking in, sitting in a chair, and saying 'Give me a number three,' before they buzz your head." No need for a buzzer when the man making all the decisions can wield a scissor like a surgeon and make any fears of sub-par hairstyling vanish like so much 5 o'clock shadow. --NICHOLAS MOSQUERA

L' Atelier de Frederic
712 5th Avenue, on the 4th floor of Henri Bendel
212-753-9500

READ MORE:
The Grooming Lounge brings spa service with a sense of humor to Atlanta
With today's razor technology, there's nothing dull about shaving

There must be fifty ways to enjoy Paul Simon. But with BAM'S presentation of the show American Tunes -- in which the Hall of Fame rocker collaborates with the likes of Amos Lee, Olu Dara, Gillian Welsh, Josh Groban, Grizzly Bear, and the Roches -- we know there are at least six. Running through Sunday night, the show is the final chapter of a three-part series Love in Hard Times: The Music of Paul Simon. Revisiting all of the places that Simon's storytelling has taken us through the years, the tribute moved like a straight, scenic road through the American landscape. There was no real mystery what was coming next. Still, everyone was happy to be along for the ride. By the end of the night I felt like Lincoln Duncan. A raspy-voiced Gillian Welsh sang the fictional character's song, with Simon looking on like a proud, but not too pushy, father. It was the line "just wishing I wore a ring so I could hock it/ I'd like to hock it," that made me think. I would hock it and buy another ticket to this show. There are some still available for Sunday. --LIZ McDANIEL

READ MORE:
How actor and musician Harry Connick, Jr. makes sure to find time for family
A report from the Pitchfork Music Festival

The most imposing piece of architecture along the Chicago River is the massive Art Deco temple known as the Merchandise Mart. For the next four days, the Mart will host Art Chicago (taking over one 200,000 square-foot floor). Art Chicago -- the fair in the States before Art Basel landed on a beach in Miami -- was on its deathbed in 2006 when it was revived by Christopher Kennedy's Merchandise Mart Properties (MMPI). MMPI proved it was serious about the art game last year when it scooped up New York's Armory Show and Volta, an emerging-art fair that started in Basel. The result is that if the art world has eyes, they are trained, for the moment, on Chicago.

A quick scan of the list of 181 dealers participating in Art Chicago reveals a heavy international presence. (New York-based Nicholas Robinson Gallery is bringing work from the McDermott and McGough series "Detroit" featured recently in Men's Vogue).

"The European dealers who signed up understand how extraordinary the Midwest market is better than the New York dealers," says Paul Morris, Armory co-founder who has been working with MMPI. "I would never underestimate this crowd." Nor should one underestimate the power of the Euro. --RUTH LOPEZ

READ MORE:
How one woman is bringing art-world glamour and cachet to the business of design
Richard Wright's upstart Chicago auction house puts the best of the 20th century under one roof

(Star Caliber 2000; Photo courtesy of Patek Philippe)

There are scant opportunities in life for a true watch-lover to ogle the full spectrum of Patek Philippe timepieces. But for three days this week in NYC, the most extensive collection of Pateks ever exhibited this side of the Alps will be on view on the fifth floor of the Tiffany & Co. flagship. Four hundred pieces were selected to represent the company's 169-year history -- from an 1850 pocket watch to the very first Swiss wristwatch to the Star Caliber 2000 -- many of which have never before left the land of chocolate and cheese. The exhibit opens to the public on Thursday, April 24, and closes Saturday, April 26. (Its next and last stop will be Beverly Hills, where the collection will be on display at the Four Seasons Hotel from May 16 to May 18.) Could there be any better way to squander a balmy spring afternoon? --SARA JAMES

(The First Swiss Wristwatch; Photo courtesy of Patek Philippe)

(La Madonna della Sedia; Photo courtesy of Patek Philippe)

Fifth Avenue at 57th Street
New York, New York 10022
212-755-8000
Store Hours
Monday-Friday: 10-7
Saturday: 10-6
Sunday: 12-5

READ MORE:
ToyWatch might just be the next Swatch
After perfecting the cufflink, Taffin turns its attention to the wristwatch

(Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction, John Varvatos, and Slash of Velvet Revolver)

Designer John Varvatos proudly took the stage at the restored site of the former CBGB last Thursday night.  Varvatos was celebrating the opening of his new concept store in what formerly  housed the iconic underground music club. "I'm not sure who had more fun -- the audience or the musicians. The power of rock 'n' roll showed its face here tonight," he exclaimed at the end of the evening.

The crowd was an intriguing blend of the old and new -- from the likes of Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash (formerly of Guns N' Roses) and acclaimed rocker Joan Jett to actors Bobby Cannavale and  Zoe Kravitz. Eventually, the huge group converged in front of the stage in what looked like a refined mosh pit.

Many of the 600 guests in attendance made remarks about how the venue hadn't looked this good in years. The original CBGB closed in October 2006 and, after many years of wear and tear, the space was in less-than-stellar condition, as can be seen in the small framed picture of the old stage just inside the store.

An avid fan of CBGB, Varvatos toured the space shortly after its closing and wanted to do his part to restore it. He decided to renovate the former club, preserving many of the original features, including the black ceiling, the awning over the entrance (which now reads "john varvatos 315 bowery" instead of "CBGB") and the walls that are covered in 33 years worth of stickers, fliers and graffiti.

Along with the cultural history that covers every square inch of the store, Varvatos has designed a limited-edition collection of his clothing to be sold only at the boutique at 315 Bowery. In addition to these rare finds, the store, which opened earlier this month, features vintage clothing, records and audio equipment, music memorabilia and books, some of which come from Varvatos's personal collection.

A handful of protesters proudly stood outside on the balmy evening, waving their posters with statements like "down with $800 pants" and "Luxury Out, Music and Community In." Despite the naysayers, many of the icons that performed at the event were quick to praise the designer for his preservation of the space. "We needed someone like John Varvatos to be the glue to pull something like this off," said Clem Burke of Blondie.

Varvatos has done a remarkable job restoring the historical space, but the creative accents he's added make the space even more eccentric. A shrine to the original CBGB, complete with candles, sits just inside the store, and a miniature replica of the Statue of Liberty stands in the window. Lady Liberty's flame has been replaced with a red light bulb, however; perhaps a nod to the alternative freedom of expression that CBGB will always represent. --BRANDON FELDMAN

READ MORE:
Cake's album of covers takes on everyone from Barry White to Black Sabbath
The ten best dressed men of Oscars past, including Steve Carell in a Varvatos suit

(Fromage de Tête "Gilles Verot" at Bar Boulud; Photo: Eric Laignel)

Eating terrine is a good excuse to enjoy a surprising amount of different meat in one bite. At its best, terrine is better than the sum of its parts. You can learn why from a master in the new cookbook Terrine, by Stéphane Reynaud, a French chef and author. Reynaud has the ideal pedigree -- he comes from a family of butchers and he grew up eating terrine everyday. His recipes are simple enough -- the most difficult part of the process may be asking your butcher for two pig's snouts for the pig's head pâté. If you prefer food with less of a flesh-like color, Reynaud also includes vegetable and dessert terrines. All you need is a ceramic dish -- or even a preserving jar -- and a dash of fearlessness.

For those not inclined to sink their own hands into chicken livers, try Bar Boulud, a standout addition to the Daniel empire and supreme terrine destination. It may be located across from Lincoln Center in New York City, but the restaurant's soul is all Southern France, home of Daniel himself and the birthplace of terrine. You can make a meal of the charcuterie plate, which, on a recent visit, offered different terrines containing everything from rabbit to guinea hen to veal to braised beef cheeks. The Pâté Grand-Mere (with chicken livers, pork and cognac) looks unremarkable and like every pâté you'd had before; the difference, however, is that probably it's better than any one you've ever tasted.

All this is courtesy of the charcutier chef, Sylvain Gasdon. The terrines are laid out in a glass case for your inspection, and once they're paired with good bread, a few cornichons and a hearty glass of Rhone you're in business. You may want to save room for a lighter than light Croque Monsieur and a winning Gateau Basque. It's peasant food taken to the level of high art. When you finally make it outside, you might have to walk a few blocks before you know what hit you. --DAVID COGGINS

(Dégustation de Charcuterie from Bar Boulud; Photo: Eric Laignel)

READ MORE:
Why wild boar is the king of pork
A new crop of Manhattan restaurants is reinventing the hamburger

It began as an experiment in family relations: Boston native Lewis Cutillo was living in Milan with his somewhat distant cousin Franco Gazzani, whose father had spent decades fashioning made-to-measure shoes for friends just for fun (even their hobbies are chicer than ours). To the business-minded American, it made absolutely no sense. Less than five years later, Cutillo and Gazzani's Bontoni shoes have quietly worked their way into this country's most elite retailers -- including Bergdorf Goodman and San Francisco's Wilkes Bashford -- and onto the feet of an equally elite clientele. Cut from Italian leather and hand-dyed for seven days, the shoes boast details like perforated cap toes and personalized etched soles that Cutillo says render them "sexier and sleeker than most, yet classic enough to be worn 50 years from now." A single pair can take up to 14 weeks to make (fitting alone takes 45 days), and sell for $1,050 to $12,000. "Many of our clients have as many as 13 to 15 pairs," says Cutillo. "But since everything is done by hand, there are truly no two pair alike." When asked, he declines to name the company's boldface fans, although moments later slips Jerry Yang, Tom Brady, and Arnold Schwarzenegger into conversation, without the slightest hint of foot in mouth. bontoni.com --ALYSSA GIACOBBE

Related: A look at Bontoni's spring/summer 2008 collection

READ MORE:
Long attached to the loafer, cordovan experiments with new mediums
John McEnroe's prized Nikes kept the tennis bad boy on his toes

(Cy Young Single Signed Baseball; Est. $8/12,000)

All baseballs may look the same, but that doesn't mean they're equal. Take a ball signed by Jackie Robinson (estimate $15,000-20,000) or signed by the pitcher with the most wins in history, Cy Young, ($8,000-12,000), both of which are available at the Sports Memorabilia and Cards Auction at Sotheby's on April 24. New York Yankees fans -- perhaps the least suffering but most insufferable fans in sports -- always seem to get the breaks, and they're in luck again here. There's a bat Joe DiMaggio used in the 1947 World Series, which the Yankees won against the Brooklyn Dodgers when Robinson was a rookie ($60,000-80,000). There's also Mickey Mantle's own 1953 Yankee team panoramic photograph ($15,000-25,000), signed by every player, even the batboy.

(Circa 1933 Lou Gehrig New York Yankees Road Jersey; Est. $150/200,000)

There's a road jersey that belonged to Lou Gehrig (estimate $150,000-200,000) from around 1933, when jerseys were still flannel. And perhaps best of all, there's Joe DiMaggio's rookie pinstripe jersey from 1936. Joltin' Joe, Number 9, centerfield. Nothing needs to be added ($250,000 and up).

(Joe Frazier's robe from "The Fight Of The Century," Frazier vs. Ali, March 8, 1971; Est. $10/15,000)

Finally, if you prefer a sport with a little more contact, consider the robe that boxer Joe Frazier wore into the ring at Madison Square Garden in 1971, when he handed Muhammad Ali the first defeat of his career. Those were the days when boxing was boxing -- all you need to know about the fight are a few of the people sitting ringside: Hefner, Sinatra, Streisand. --DAVID COGGINS

(Joe DiMaggio's 1936 New York Yankees Rookie Home Uniform; Estimate in excess of $250,000)

(Mickey Mantle's own 1953 Yankee Team Signed Panoramic Photograph; Est. $15/25,000)

READ MORE:
Baseball rookies who lived up to their potential, and those who didn't
The ten greatest sports rivalries

(Photo via dradamsfilms.com)

Singer-songwriter Ryan Adam's greatest strength or Achilles' Heel (depending on whom you ask) is that he is too damn prolific -- often releasing a few records within the space of a year. Turns out this is an asset when it comes to blogging, as Adams, 33, single and embracing his sobriety, sometimes posts several times a day. At D.R. Adams Films Inc., Adams chronicles his shopping and museum trips around Manhattan, publishes his poems, and displays a profound fondness for fashion and comics. He also posts short films like History Lesson and Margaret that nod, slightly, towards Woody Allen's neurotic characters, and, finally, he uploads song demos, whose topics include, well, making demos on a Saturday. The only danger of Adams slowing down is his own attitude -- he says he "hates" blogging and has hinted that he may even shut his site down. Jeff Johnson caught up with him.

From reading your blog, it looks like your life is pretty fun right now. You're making music, art, poetry reading books and going shopping. It's a position a lot of people would like to be in.

Do you really think that? I don't know that my life is any different or any better than anyone else's. I think most people have a daily routine or a job that they enjoy more than people imagine. I've had a bunch of different jobs. I once worked at the end of an assembly line for frozen bread. It was really heinous, but there was something about it that I dug. There was repetition and we could do what we wanted half the time, just as long as we paid attention to the assembly line.

I'm saying this from the perspective of someone who reads your blog at my desk at work.

I work 9 hours a day! [emphatically] I have to do a lot of work, not only on my songs, which sometimes take a long time, but then I have to travel to show them off. You know, musicians don't ride around on jumbo jets with our names painted on the side, or have helicopters like in the videos. We ride planes like everybody else. And we do it for nine months to a year and a half and it messes you up.

There was a line in the short film you posted, History Lesson: "Making it work, isn't that what being grown up is all about?" I found that funny, but a lot of what's on your blog is about trying to be at peace with yourself after a turbulent last couple of years. Does the blog help you?

Uh, no. It's just quicker. If the blog itself is a blank page, its capabilities for uploading a movie or music or poetry or photographs of art -- if it's a place for all of that to be joined together as one piece, then I guess the blog itself is an art form.

A multimedia journal?

No! Blogging, first of all, is kind of bizarre and I hate it. I was so put off by the idea of creating a blog, the only thing I could do was make one. So I conceptualized it. I look at it as one piece of art.

Do you feel you're in a period of hypercreativity?

I don't feel like it's hypercreative. I haven't changed in terms of my artistic habits, ever. I have a life that doesn't involve art, but that part of my life usually is about watching movies, reading, or going to see art.

Does being sober help?

Yeah. [laughs] It's nice not to be, like, poisoned.

Did you put as much energy into getting drugs as you do into the projects you're doing nowadays?

I didn't really put any focus into getting drugs at all. It was easy. I decided that it just didn't have any relevance in my life any longer, mainly because some of my more in-depth ideas people would just [respond], "Oh, he's high." But those ideas were all legitimate. I worked sober 10 fucking years! I didn't stumble into grace. I took my beatings and lashings. People have discounted more of my records than said any of them are good. Even though I know the truth. I know that the work speaks for itself.

Do you edit all of your own films?

Yes. I started making movies because I'm sober, and on tour there's a lot of time. Our buses roll at night, so we don't hang and party. To occupy my time, I decided that I'd learn iMovie really well. And I'm still learning it.

Would you like to make a feature film one day?

That would be great. I'm weary to say that I'm ever going to be able to do that. I've read quite a bit about Woody Allen -- not just his books, and his plays, and I go to see his plays whenever I can -- but about how things went for him and it seems to me that when he was able to make a movie a year, start at the same time every year, and be the director and producer of those projects, that's when his genius outed itself in its complete form. I think that's because he was taking the ultimate risk. And there was no one to say what was film and what wasn't. And I wouldn't do it unless I had that same opportunity -- and there are tons of people who want to have that same kind of control over their films and are more advanced in their processes than I am.

Are History Lesson and Margaret homages to Woody Allen?

Not really. More an excuse to hang out with my friends. Those were all made in an hour, with a Sony digital Elph with 3.1 pixels, which is horrible. The camera I'm shooting [with] is smaller than my back pocket. Style-wise, there are definitely going to be Woody Allen influences, because in my opinion he is a master. But I don't know if they're homages to him. In both, I was trying to tell a story about a woman and her relationships [with] herself and sister and the world.

Margaret came from the perspective from a woman I was introduced to, Cate Holstein, the fashion designer, who I met through Philip Andelman, a wonderful photographer. He's incredible. He makes videos for Jay-Z, and he's my muse for filmmaking. I think I actually just make them to see what he will say. But they're not masterpieces. It's not Masterpiece Theater. It would be a lot different if I had to say, "Oh Keanu, we have to take a fifteen minute break so I can charge my Elph." I unfortunately don't have that problem.

READ MORE:
A visit with the singer-songwriter Neko Case
The Beastie Boys can't, won't, don't stop

Pity the lowly sock, forever doomed to sit at the bottom of the fashion food chain. Other accessories have their moment in the sun: the tie that completes the outfit, the belt that sports a vintage buckle, even underwear gets to star on the occasional billboard. Laurie Mallet, president of Ozone design, has had enough. "For too long the sock has been ignored by the world of fashion. We are going to change that."

It's big talk, but Mallet has never been one to aim low. Raised in a fashion family in Paris, Mallet moved to the U.S. as a young adult and in 1976 she went into business with Willi Smith, a young African-American designer. The pair went on to build Willi Wear from a $4,000 investment into a $40 million business and won acclaim for their innovative sportswear and integration of fashion and art.

Mallet's latest venture is Ozone Design, which she founded with her partner Peter Rittmaster, a world champion yacht racer and industrial designer. Rittmaster brought a unique perspective to the work of sock design. "I'm used to building ships," he said. "So when designing a sock, I built a 3-D model, and I started drawing right on that."

The result was a designer sock that will strike any business traveler as obvious, and brilliant. The sock has a dress shoe printed around the foot, so while the rest of the world is repeating the awkward ritual of passing through airport security in stocking feet, you can follow procedure and keep your style intact. Just be sure to alert the guards to you clever ruse.

Ozone has also continued the Willie Wear tradition by producing several dress socks that combine fashion and art. When Chrsito did the Gates project in Central Park he came to Ozone for specially commissioned socks. The polka dots on Ozone socks are not just a pleasant pattern, but a adaptation of John John, now on display at the MOMA, by Damien Hirst.

Along with high art, Ozone also does the American vernacular. Inspired by the custom motorcycle builder, Ozone has created a set of dress socks that work as well on a bike as in the boardroom. At a recent Harley-Davidson rally in Cincinnati, Ozone sold out of both pairs. "These bikers came up to us, and they wanted the socks, but they didn't admit it," says Mallet. "They would wander off, then come back in a hour and buy a pair 'For the wife.' Of course, they always bought them in men's sizes."

When Mallet talks about her dreams for socks, people often ask her what all the fuss is about. Most of the time no can see your socks anyway. "Fashion is something you do for yourself," says Mallet. "Of course, when other people get a glimpse, that is exciting. But I prefer the idea that socks are your secret weapon." --BEN POPPER

READ MORE:
Nike upgrades John McEnroe's prize tennis shoes
Passport covers to soothe the anxieties of a well-traveled man

The green lawns surrounding the Menil Collection in Houston will never be the same. After months of excavating, they are now home to three huge and rare Michael Heizer "earth sculptures." It is the first time a major work of Heizer's -- described by Menil director Josef Helfenstein as "the most under-recognized major artist in America" -- has been unveiled in America since the opening of Dia Beacon five years ago.

The new installation was no easy feat, combining the egos of two major art world luminaries: the museum's architect, Renzo Piano, and Heizer, a loner who rarely leaves his home in the Nevada wilderness. (He communicated with the museum by phone.)

Each sculpture is 50 to 60 feet long. Along with Double Negative -- a work that came two years later -- they are the culmination of Heizer's efforts to make sculpture that "removed" substance rather than adding to it. The other six in this now wildly famous Nevada Depression Series were made of wood. They have since disintegrated back into the Nevada desert. Heizer's great work -- nearing completion in eastern rural Nevada -- remains City, one of the largest contemporary earthworks projects ever constructed. (It's about the size of the D.C.'s National Mall.) But the artist, who Helfenstein describes politely as "not a friend of too many human beings," does not welcome visitors. So the new installations give his works something quite rare: accessibility. Maybe Heizer will now finally become "recognized." Even deservedly popular. --DAVID HAY

(Photos: George Hixson)

READ MORE:
New York curator Michael Govan heads west to sculpt Los Angeles
Architect Steven Holl sheds light on his new subterranean marvel

The connection between a Paul Frankl mirror, a Karl Springer glass chandelier and the Eliot Spitzer sex scandal is not immediately obvious, but when the designer Alexander Gorlin was asked to create a vignette using the works on offer at this weekend's 20th Century Two-Day Modern sale at Sollo Rago, suddenly these disparate elements came together. A number of top designers, such as Amy Lau, Juan Montoya, and Steven Sclaroff, took the challenge, but Gorlin's timely take on Spitzer's indiscretion stands out. Gorlin transformed his 200 square-foot blank canvas into a room at the Mayflower Hotel and called it "Client 9," casting a pair of male and female Leo Sewell sculptures as the supposed sex-seeking New York governor and his infamous Jersey call girl. A Jean Royère daybed covered with a white goatskin is well placed, calling to mind fancy things that seem, well, a little cheap. If you look closely, you'll see the face of the man is a dartboard. And as stationary and erect as it is -- one can't help but notice -- it makes quite the easy target. --LIZ MCDANIEL

SOLLO RAGO
"Modern Masters" on view April 5-11
204 North Union Street
Lambertville, NJ

20th Century Two Day Modern Sale
April 12-13
Doors open at 9am

(Photo via wynnphoto.com for Sollo Rago Auctions)

READ MORE:
Before his untimely death, Jason Rhoades completed Black Pussy, one last work that defies everything sacred
Brooklyn's Barnaby Furnas transforms bloody chapters of history into Hollywood spectacle

When it comes to the fragrance industry, the bottle is everything. Currently, two of fashion's biggest powerhouses, Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel, are demonstrating the importance of packaging with their drastically different approaches to limited-edition scents.

For a special series of L'Homme, a floral and spicy cologne, YSL recently commissioned world-renowned architect Jean Nouvel to design the bottle. Nouvel, the first architect to venture into the world of fragrance, says that the bottle represents "masculinity, luxury and preciousness." Its tubular design is enough to give Freud that knowing smile. Indeed, Nouvel says he wanted "a clear-cut shape, so it would easily fit a man's hand while still stimulating many different aspects of his imagination."

While YSL's bottle is eye catching, if not a tad bit impish, Chanel is taking the polar opposite approach for its Les Exclusifs de CHANEL, a small collection of rare scents. Chanel is adding Sycomore, a bold and straightforward woody fragrance, to the 10 other bottles in the collection. The plain design is said to represent the scent's purity and the brand's simple luxury. Jacques Polge, the "Master Perfumer" for the House, describes Sycomore as "something without ambiguity."

Ambiguous or not, both smell handsome to me. --CHLOE KAMARCK

READ MORE:
The darker side of teeth bleaching
Portugal's oldest soap company cleans up

Hudson Morgan's teeth whitening chronicles in the current issue have me on a smile-brightening kick. For the soap-and-water types who consider bleach in the mouth overly toxic, the Rozenberg Dental Day Spa offers an alternative: Dentabrasion. This treatment uses a milder sodium-bicarbonate pressure system to remove stains, plaque, and debris -- along the lines of a carwash for your face-grill. This is a more mellow upkeep procedure that will be no means yield blinding results. But it's fast (20 minutes) and painless too, you can have it done over a lunch break and still have time to eat white food. --TASHA GREEN

$125 at Rozenberg Dental Day Spa,
45 W. 54th St., nr. Fifth Ave., Ste. 1B; 212-265-7724

READ MORE:
Men's Vogue looks at the latest in teeth whitening products
Close shaves no longer require getting a lather

Man Ray's silver chess set, owned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is an iconic work of early 20th century design. The story of its journey to that museum involves all the elements of a good chess match -- power plays, deception and reversals of fortune.

Man Ray, an American ex-pat born Emmanuel Radnitzky, began his chess career in Paris, playing against his fellow art provocateur Marcel Duchamp. Man Ray was mediocre at chess, but was quick to see its artistic possibilities. In 1926, he was introduced to the wealthy Maharajah of Indore by Henri Pierre-Roche, a French diplomat and avid collector of both artwork and other men's wives.

The Maharajah wanted pieces of art that juxtaposed the historical and the contemporary. Chess, a game that originated in India, made the perfect medium for this project. Man Ray designed the Maharajah an oversized set of silver-plated pieces which, according to art historian Larry List, combined "the rigor and geometric discipline of Cezanne with the high style of Art Deco."

Man Ray made three complete sets, one for the Maharajah, one for himself, and one for incorrigible Roche, who, during the subsequent decades, continued to play games of his own. The culmination was a torrid Parisian love triangle -- the inspiration for the Truffaut classic Jules et Jim -- between Roche's and his good friends, the novelist Franz Hessel and his wife Helen.

In 1947 Helen Hessel left France for New York. As a parting gift Roche gave her his copy of the silver chess set. A year later, broke and desperate, Hessel wrote to Man Ray for advice. It is unclear what response she received, but a few months later she sold the silver set to the Museum of Modern Art. The price: $250.

It's tough to imagine every getting a deal that good again, but the newly issued replica at the Francis Naumann Gallery, in a limited lot of ten numbered sets, has a lot to offer. The set is 240 ounces of solid silver in total and the pieces come in a straight-grain walnut case with a walnut and maple board.

Most importantly, you can actually play with this set. In 1945, when Man Ray sent his personal copy to a gallery, it came with a letter explaining that the set was not for chess, a point he emphasized by screwing the pieces to the board. But the message also said that he wanted to create a version for gaming, inspiring his trust to create this smaller replica, based on measurements he sketched in the letter. --BEN POPPER

Price -- $60,000
francisnaumann.com
212-472-6800

READ MORE:
Putin's Kremlin can't squelch the former chess champion
Kasparov vs. Karpov -- one of Men's Vogue's 10 best sports rivalries

The house that Benjamin Button re-built is on the market for $3,200,000.

Two years ago, the grand pile at 2707 Coliseum Street in New Orleans's Garden District was a rickety heap hidden away on a leafy block, just around the corner from Lafayette Cemetery. Then the director David Fincher, out scouting locations for his upcoming film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and near the point of building something from scratch to suit his needs, spotted the house's gables through a row of crape myrtle trees. The gothic-arched windows were half-shuttered, and the house itself was literally topsy-turvy: a classic Louisiana cottage (circa 1830), raised onto an 1890s Colonial Revival, with a front porch and precarious-looking balcony that were badly in need of shoring up and a fresh coat of white paint. For Fincher, it was perfect -- just the place to leave a bearded baby on the doorstep. (The tale of Benjamin Button -- inspired by Mark Twain's toss-off about how the gods had gotten it all backwards, with the toughest part of life coming at the end and the cushiest at the beginning -- follows a baby of threescore and ten," born with "dim, faded eyes," a need for a walking cane and a taste for cigars who then proceeds to age in reverse.)

No one was at home that day when Fincher came calling, but the location team soon tracked down the owner: 87-year-old Mary Nell Porter Nolan, a 1930's "Maid of Cotton," who was once asked to make a screen test for Paramount Pictures -- the studio Fincher just happened to be working with. Miss Porter demurred on that screen test. But this time, after consulting with her children and grandchildren, the matriarch agreed (for a hefty fee, of course) to lend her home to Hollywood.

During filming, the manse, kept within the same family since 1875, was given a much-needed facelift, and now the 7,800 square foot space gleams, with six bedrooms, six bathrooms, central air, music room, library, reception hall, "and much more," according to the Sotheby's listing. Of course, the fact that Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt have idled in those rooms will be the biggest draw for some. "It's huge added value for sure, but we want to be subtle about it," real estate agent Dorian Bennett says. "It's a great house by itself."

And prospective buyers will have plenty of time to close a deal and move in well before the film's December 19 release date. --VANCE MUSE

(Photo via dbsir.com)

READ MORE:
50 movies that influenced men's style
New Orleans's Chris Paul is the most electric NBA player you haven't heard of

An impressively large and youthful crowd streamed down 21st Street for the opening of Piotr Uklanski's first Gagosian gallery show last Thursday, and wandered through the exhibition's corkscrew layout with expressions of bewilderment and wonder. "I feel like I'm in a haunted house," said one woman, walking into a dark room filled with gold-tinseled figurines of Polish Cathedrals.

The show, titled Bialo-Czerwona ("White-Red"), displays all of Uklanski's most endearing qualities -- his bombast, wicked humor, and perverse take on pop cultural iconography. A soaring rainbow of crockery rises up a wall opposite a fascistic aquiline statue; a raised brass fist stands surrounded by blood-spattered canvases. But unlike Summer Love, Uklanski's recent Polish western film, Bialo-Czerwona never feels contrived or jokey. The fascination with Polish identity -- a subject Uklanski has never before addressed so directly -- creates an unlikely continuity that delights even as it haunts. --NATHANIEL RICH

March 27 to May 17
Gagosian Gallery
522 West 21st Street
New York, NY 10011
Tel 212.741.1717

(Photos via gagosian.com)

READ MORE:
China's Zhang Huan leads his nation toward a new cultural revolution
Art duo McDermott and McGough refuse to live in the present

It's tough to be cynical about Bryan Adams's outlook these days. In his familiar rasp, on his newest record 11, the craggy-faced, London-based Canuck tells us: "The heart is like an open hand, holding out and healing. "Then swelling strings. And someone somewhere in mom jeans is feeling frisky. Sorry. For those of us who were introduced to his work via Martha Quinn and MTV nearly a quarter century ago, and a bit bummed when early rockers like "Cuts Like a Knife" gave way to mush like "Heaven" and his 1991-smash "Everything I Do," 11 and its sentiments assure us that the man remains frozen in soundtrack-love-song-mode. And no one nearby seems to be waving around even a warm hair dryer.

As we learn from Adams's lyrics on 11, the women he encounters have got a way. And a smile. And this turns him inside out. He can feel it in his bones. And he knows it in his heart. In addition, Adams's women move in mysterious ways, and it's a mystery how they know every part of him. If pressed, they can teach him to fly on broken wings, if he and other guys aren't drawn to them first like moths to a flame, or the women themselves don't fall to earth like angels with broken wings.

On "Walk on By," the most organic-sounding song on the record, which is hustled along with a simple little acoustic guitar loop, one of these women leaves a sleepy little town for the big city lights. By actually encouraging her to do so, Adams shows a maturity usually not displayed by the three or four thousand other male singer-songwriters -- like Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 -- who have generally tackled this same subject with the bitterness of a lover scorned. But by the time Adams looks outside of his bedroom and the near-claustrophobic cocoon offered by personal relationships, it's, well, a bonus track, and that's too bad. "The Way of the World," is the lone dispatch from Adams (who has done a lot for global charities over the years) that reveals a knowledge beyond crushes and heartache. On a side note, it would also be wrong to not give props to "Oxygen," which is propelled by some truly meaty drums.

In the end, 11's relative toothlessness is probably only disappointing to people who won't be listening to it anyway. But it is a slight bummer, knowing that Adams, who's shown creative hunger in other disciplines, doesn't display the same ambition in crafting his music. Over the last decade, he began shooting dramatic portraits, mostly, of extremely beautiful women (many of whom don't have wings, at least visibly), while also shepherding fallen angels to safety. Over the Christmas holiday, Amy Winehouse was invited by Adams to get her act together at his Caribbean villa ("Flower Grown Wild," one of 11's more rockin' songs, was even rumored to be about Winehouse, which, if it's true, is an odd portrayal -- one where she rides Greyhound buses and lives in the Hollywood Hills).

It's not like Adams hasn't been called a sap before. Though I doubt from the view in his mansion (one where another fallen angel, Lindsay Lohan, slipped after a shower and needed stitches in her shin) paid for largely, one imagines, by all those chart-topping chivalrous cinema ballads, those criticisms sting. Yet, even by 2002, Adams's motion-picture magic touch had diminished somewhat, with him writing songs for a film about an animated mustang.

At the end of the day, if he's a sentimental populist, fine. No one's suggesting a record with a lutenist a la Sting, or even getting symphonic like Elvis Costello, or Paul McCartney or even, good lord, Billy Joel, but some of us do remember a time when Adams, swinging his Rickenbacker in an empty swimming pool actually espoused the joys of breaking up. --JEFF JOHNSON

READ MORE:
Singer-songwriter Neko Case teams up with the New Pornographers
The Beastie Boys can't, won't, don't stop

With the growing allegiance to head-to-tail eating -- think of the transatlantic cult of London's chef Fergus Henderson -- it was perhaps only a matter of time before a New York restaurant made its way to the end of the swine. Yet it's still a surprise to come across the nine-course tasting menu (graciously priced at $40) at Hakata Tonton, a tiny restaurant in the West Village, whose principal ingredient is tonsoku, that's to say pig's feet.

If you're feeling bold, chef Himi Okajima's simple grilled tonsoku can't hide anywhere on the plate.  It's a bracing combination of crispy skin, rich pork, and, there's no other way to say it, rather gelatinous extras.  Oh, and Okajima doesn't feel compelled to cut off the toenail, that's there too. More timid souls can opt for the fried rice, which is airy and cuts the intensity of the tonsoku.  This is not food for the faint of heart; on a recent night, a couple perused the menu -- the woman was an avowed vegetarian -- and beat a quick retreat.  Hakata Tonton certainly has its rewards, but, as a friend said, "It is a particular taste." The easily frightened need not apply. --DAVID COGGINS

READ MORE:
Wild boar — what the Italians call cinghiale — is the king of pork
Amid the wine boom in Walla Walla, a lively culinary scene is fermenting

The New York International Auto Show has been in a rut lately. Detroit is still the biggest game in the States, kicking off all things auto in January. Then, in early March, Geneva steals any thunder that's left. By the time the press gets to America's least friendly car town on in late March, there is hardly any news to break. But there were a few rides that stood head-and-shoulders above the rest, including a couple exciting birthdays. Here is my top five from the floor of the Javits Center.

Land Rover LRX Concept
This boldly reimagined four-by-four, which should get 50 miles to the gallon thanks to its turbodiesel hybrid engine, was issued to celebrate Land Rover's 60th anniversary. The LRX is the only concept vehicle I've included on this list since, considering the positive reception it received and the recent purchase of the company, along with Jaguar, by the Indian company Tata Motors, there's a very good chance you'll see the LRX cruising Santa Monica Boulevard in a summer or two. This smaller, lighter, more streamlined SUV is the future o