You Gotta Read

Night before last Mr. Shawn Corey Carter put on a show at a little place called Carnegie Hall(yes, named after the original Carnegie Deli owner Andrew Carnegie) in New York City. Apparently it was a good show because on the rise publication Gentlemen’s Quarterly sent Jayson Greene to cover it. They even purchased his ticket for him(these magazine thingys must be catching on). Click the picture above to read his report which includes the full set list. I’m hoping they’ll release a DVD of the whole affair. Not because I want to hear the music, but because I want to see how many elderly people’s heads exploded by the end of the night.

In all seriousness, Jay-Z is the fucking man, period.

And, We’re Back.

Well that was a nice little hiatus from the internet. To say I was on a living spree would be an understatement. The holidays back east we’re entertaining as they’ve ever been. Another year gone by, many lessons learned, much knowledge accrued. Pretty excited to see what 2012 holds for This Nice Life and Nice Life Apparel. For the clothing line, many new influences to channel and collaborators to work with. The expansion into accessories is going to be a fun one and I can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on with all of you. For this site that has become such a bigger part of what I do than I could have ever anticipated, can expect to see new features as well as upgraded versions of the old standbys. More voices will be coming to the site as well as the highest quality original content. One of my goals is to get more feedback from you. What do you like about This Nice Life? Where can we can improve? I’ve got big plans for the site and I can’t wait to start setting them in motion. As it says in the header, this site is about life “from mountains to metropolis.” A place where the best cultural aspects of rural life and city life meet. I believe it doesn’t have to be one or the other. You can live a city life in the country and live a rural life in the city. It’s about how you interact with the community you’re a part of. That’s how I’ve come to think of this site, a community. I hope you’ll continue to enjoy being a part of it and that in the coming year, it in some capacity makes your life just a bit nicer. Whether it be a product you didn’t know about before seeing it on Today’s Most Wanted or just laughing at a One Word Film Review, I hope you find what you’re looking for when you choose to spend some time here. That being said, there are some things I won’t be posting anymore. I’m not going to say right now what they’ll be, you’ll either notice their absence or you won’t. As I said before I really plan to have the site as original as possible and for that to happen some things have to go. However there is this thing called Tumblr and you can head on over to ThisNiceLife.Tumblr should you want pure visual stimulation without all these annoying word thingys. So I think that should about do it. You’re caught up, you know where I’ve been and what I’m planning. Truly hope you’ll come round to visit a bunch this year and that you’ll bring some friends with you. The door is always open and it’s always great to see you.

Cheers,

Andrew.

You Gotta Read

The FIS has made the formal decision to continue screwing snowboarders keep TTR out of the Olympic qualification process. It comes as no surprise as the FIS nor the IOC gives a shit about snowboarders rights or even acknowledging it as a sport. To them it’s just another sources for them to draw ad revenue from. While I support my many friends who are professional riders (many of them veteran Olympians) I don’t support the Olympics. They’re a sham. A sad example of how something that is so good in theory has been dragged through the mud by greedy assholes hiding behind closed doors. Don’t just take my word for it though, read what Terje has to say right HERE.

 

 

You Gotta Read

Not the redhead that everyone wants, but the redhead we deserve.

 

If you’re not an avid snowboarder you probably don’t know who Patrick Murphy Moore is. That’s too bad because he’s one of the most interesting personalities in our little world. I’ve known Pat since we were groms both tossing ourselves down the icy runs of the east coast for a shot a winning a snowboard that was too big for us. Now he’s one of the most prolific athletes on the scene, pulling down that Red Bull money. Pick up the November 2011 issue of Snowboarder Magazine(the snowboarder’s snowboard magazine) and read his interview. Not only is it one of the most interesting interview’s run in a snowboard magazine lately, it’s one of the most interesting in ANY magazine. If you don’t snowboard I think it’s even more important for you to read the interview because Mr. Moore, he’s one of a kind and I can’t think of a better ambassador for our sport.

 

You Gotta Read: GQ Blogger Showdown 10

 Any debate that generates comments as great as the one you see pictured above has to be worth reading right? Glad you agree. Click style guru Mrs. Skelton’s comment to read the excellent debate between 10 Engines’ James Fox and An Affordable Wardrobe’s Giuseppe Timore on whether any man can pull of cowboy gear. I don’t really have an opinion one way or the other. If you’re putting it on for you, more power to ya. If you’re putting it on because you think rocking western gear makes you appear more “manly”, you’ve got bigger problems than what you’re wearing. I just can’t stop laughing at the idea that western wear being influenced by Ed Hardy is somehow better than high rise Wranglers, fringes and pointy toed boots. If there’s one thing all fashion bloggers can agree on, it’s that putting on the Lone Ranger’s duds would be far better than putting on an Ed Hardy get up.

*When is GQ gonna get smart an start taping these showdowns? Give Don King a call, he’ll promote it. Better yet maybe Wooster should, he’s the Don King of the fashion world right?

 

 

You Gotta Read

While I agree with much of what Cord Jefferson writes in his article, “I’m Glad We Didn’t have Facebook or Twitter on 9/11″ I think he missed a huge point that I would like to make. The reason I’m glad we didn’t have either of these social media outlets is that instead of letting it all out online we let it out to each other. We banded together as a community in the real world, not the digital one. Without going to the rabbit hole too much further I’d just like to make the point that while Facebook & Twitter certainly have their many uses, a substitute for real social interaction they should never be. This might seem quite obvious to many people(of a certain age) but all you have to do is look at the increasingly lackluster social skills of the younger generations and it becomes apparent that there are going to be some problems down the road if things don’t change. I urge you to read the article(click the pic above) and then I urge you to discuss it, with friends, in person or even on that old phone thingy. I realize it may seem hypocritical of me to say all this being that I’m reposting the article and distributing it through Facebook & Twitter but I’m not condemning social media, just saying that they are not now nor will they ever be a substitute for the simple everyday interactions we can have with those around us.

Cheers.

You Gotta Read

 Already Been Done has some words with Mr. Earl himself, Jason Lee. Click the pic to read one of the better interviews I’ve read with just about anybody lately.

You Gotta Read

 While flipping through GQ earlier I the above image caught my eye. It’s a shot from one of my favorite action movies, The Rock directed by the one and only Michael Bay. Though I enjoy a good popcorn flick as much as the next guy (SHOULD), I do admit to Bay Bashing more than a few times in my life. Yeah Pearl Harbor sucked but the majority of fault lies in the casting department on that one. The Island, Transformers 2? Both forgivable in my book. With Transformers: Dark Of The Moon coming out today (I’ll be going tomorrow and plan to do a full experience re-cap) I’ve heard more than a few people in various public places talking about how Bay sucks and his films are awful. Well people, you’re still talking about him aren’t ya and you’re also making yourself look stupid. So don’t be one of those people, click the pic above and read GQ’s excellent article featuring words straight from the mouths of the impressive list of actors with whom Bay has worked. Above all remember this, who are we to shit talk a man with 8 blockbuster films(one flop) and the most epic Meat Loaf music video of all time under his belt.

You Gotta Read

“ Jacket Not Required” via The Wall Street Journal.

There are so many good points made in this article I don’t even know where to start. I should say that my initial reaction is that on a whole it addresses only a small part of a much larger problem, many guys aren’t growing up and being men. At 25 I’m smack dab in the middle of this problem and I’m not saying that I’m part of the solution or anything.. Lord knows I like ratty Vans Authentics, a pair of jeans and a t-shirt more than anything. However when the occasion calls for it I’m more than happy to don the appropriate attire that tradition suggests. I don’t believe it has anything to do with economic status or breeding as some do. I believe the lack of desire to “dress up” for many guys stems from the fear of “joining the herd” and essentially losing one’s youthful style. To them I would say look at the number of guys in the midwest dressing like surfers thanks to mall culture or number of guys in major metropolitan areas dressing like lumberjacks(a romanticized version anyway, I know reals ones who’d laugh at the urban idea of a lumberjack). If you want to stand out and impress(a boss, a date, parents, you name it) you don’t rebel and underdress. Set yourself apart, don that slim suit and own it like the man you are damn it. Dip your toe into the sartorial world. Check out How To Talk To Girls At Parties, Gilt Manual, A Continuous Lean, The Trad, and 10Engines. These sites ought to get you started and while I don’t always agree with the ideas they put forward, they’ll damn sure get the wheels turning.

You Gotta Read

 Important facts you can throw out at your next dinner party.