perfect gift

H.E. Boucher: live steam-engine boat replica model

talking about shackleton and all… how beautiful is this? i want this as bad as i wanted that kiki de montparnas harness. the 36″ model boat is made by h.e. boucher, inc., madison avenue, new york, circa 1920. the manufacturing label is on the stern and also on the boiler. the boat is constructed out of wood, and has a live steam engine complete with original pressure pump. it also has a screw down rudder to set the course. ships ahoy. by dd

CATEGORIES: eye candy, lovely, objects, perfect gift

perfect lovers: felix gonzales torres vs. tobias wong

the original “perfect lovers” by felix gonzalez-torres, 1991. these two identical, adjacent and battery-operated clocks were initially set to the same time; but, within time, they will inevitably fall out of sync. so true.
‘perfect lovers’ by tobias wong. two commercial clocks outfitted with atomic radio receivers which automatically synchronize to the U.S. atomic clock and tells time accurate to 1 second every million years.

it’s funny, just yesterday we were speaking about tobias wong. a love/hate discussion, as one can imagine. in the end, we do love his work, and his ‘devil may care’ attitude in a sea of self-obsessed and self-serious artists and designers.  the two works may appear the same, they even bear the same title; however, i can’t say that wong has stolen anything here as the “idea” is altered which is far superior than the form.  in his own way, he is crushing the romantic notion of felix gonzalez-torres, where the clocks/lovers sadly fall apart in time. tobias’ version flexes its middle finger to all that is sentimental and romantic in the coldest and most rational way of all… the atomic clock. as KL suggested maybe he’s testing our knowledge? he could have credited felix gonzalez-torres for the inspiration… but that would be contrary to this icy-cold-world idea. by dd + kl

CATEGORIES: art, perfect gift

Lagavulin 21 Year Old Single Malt

one of my favorite drinks is the lagavulin single malt. the 12 and 16 year old are amazing and less contemplative; however, the 21 year old will require some thinking if not on the complexity of its aroma, then on its price… it is not an everyday whiskey, as the taste and aroma are quite distinctive. that said on certain nights, it is a rather necessary item. the aroma is smokey as in most islay malts but lagavulin has the strongest peat flavor of all. its dry, complex, notes of sea-spray-from the island no doubt, are perfectly matched by the slightly sweet accents of sun-dried grapes (derived from pedro ximenez cask-wood in which this special edition has been double matured in). its really a drink to ponder on and get lost in…

56.5% natural cask strength, one of only 6642 bottles, distilled in 85 bottled in 2007. available for $662 making it a rather special gift. by uh

CATEGORIES: perfect gift, what to drink

“made like a gun, goes like a bullet”




my first decent couple of bucks is going to be directly invested in a royal enfield! i’m dreaming of it at night since my father told me once that the motorbike that “O’rence” is riding in lawrence of arabia is this very one.

i love everything about this brand from their history, to their logo, to the look to the end of the story… and what they still produce is still the same than it used to be non-like mini, fiat 500 and so on!

royal enfield was the brand of the enfield cycle company, a british engineering company. notable for producing motorcycles, it also produced bicycles, lawnmowers, stationary engines, and even rifle parts for the royal small arms factory in enfield lock. this legacy of weapons manufacture is reflected in the logo, a cannon, and their motto “made like a gun, goes like a bullet”. it also enabled the use of the brand name royal enfield from 1890. in 1955 enfield of india started assembling bullet motorcycles under licence from UK components, and by 1962 were manufacturing complete bikes. the original Redditch, worcestershire based company dissolved in 1971, but enfield of India, based in chennai, continued, and bought the rights to use the royal enfield name in 1995. royal enfield production continues, and now royal enfield is the oldest motorcycle company in the world still in production and bullet is the longest production run model.[1] by pp’

CATEGORIES: bikes, perfect gift

rickenbacker: let’s not forget this baby (legend)

the uber cool and under-rated george harrison with his rickenbacker guitar… lennon was great but after him, it’s george… then ringo… and maybe then the other one.


while on the topic lets not forget the Rickenbacker, ugly yes, but amazing too. if it was not for the love of vintage gretsch, the rickenbacker would surely be a second for me. by dd

CATEGORIES: music, perfect gift