Where to drink in Bucharest

If what you drink is more important than the decor, it's quite simple: Flair Angel. A while ago, five of the best Romanian bartenders thought about having a place of their own, up to their high standards of bartending. Meet Marius Gogoasa,  a.k.a. ObyWan, Costin Bucur a.k.a. Creasta, Adrian  Caradeanu a.k.a. Postasu, Ionut Ivanov a.k.a. Lipoveanu, Valentin Luca a.k.a. FlairManiac. We are talking Mount Olympus here: Vali is one of the best bartenders in the world, as confirmed at the The Roadhouse Flair World Finals, his friends coming close by.

So get there. Ask for a drink. Watch the show. Sip it. And you just had one of the best drinking experiences in the world.

What to have (III)

 No, seriously, this is a pipe, made by the best Romanian pipe maker out there - Rolando Negoita.  

Atelier 7, from the Art Deco series.

Where to go

Istoria în 192 de imagini. Afişul polonez 1917 – 2007

O expozitie buna, un pic prea centrata pe posterul social si propagandistic si mai putin pe posterul de film/teatru, care a facut celebra scoala poloneza. Oricum, de vazut. O mai gasiti pana pe 8 ianuarie la Muzeul Naţional de Artă al României, corp Ştirbei (str. Ştirbei Vodă 1-3, intrare prin dreapta Muzeului).

What to have (II)

A wonderful, oversized rusticated Moretti pipe.

DIY: Improvising a tamper

Like the most of you, I have developed this special ability of making my pipe tampers disappear into thin air, from time to time. Let me tell you one thing: while stupidity kills, simplicity and improvisation keep you alive. And the best way to improvise on the go is to base your solution design on widely available resources.

If you need an instant pipe tamper, just get a coin and a paperclip.
First, fold the paperclip.
Second, insert the coin into the grip.

Here you go, you have an instant pipe tamper, just light up and have a smoke... Merry Christmas and... matches, anyone?!

How to sell shoes

How to kill Claudius

What to have (I)

Pereche de pipe Peterson din perioada pre republicana (1906, ca sa fim mai exacti). 

Jocul numerelor (II)

8 din 10 femei si-ar schimba samponul in Fa Nutriskin. 

Si totusi de ce nu o fac, domnule copywriter?

Gand cu Osama

Daca Osama bin Laden ar fi jucat intr-un musical, stiti cum s-ar fi chemat?
Unora le place Hajj-ul!

All rejoice!

Scrie pe cer e pe short list la Golden Drum :)

P.S. (late edit) Cineva in mod cert nu a tinut pumnii, altfel nu imi explic cum am pierdut. Ia, aratati palmele, sa vedem cine nu are semne rosii ...

Jocul numerelor (I)

Aplicator magic dublu. Gene de pana la cincisprezece ori mai voluminoase.

Steve McCurry: a retrospective

Holy Grail

"...In the mid-1930s, a legendary soft-focus lens, the Thambar 90mm f2.2 was designed, and made in small numbers between 1935 and 1949, no more than 3000 units. It is a rare collector's item today."

Why should you use film

Damn good news

Ricoh's GXR, one of the most versatile systems out there just got better. The company just announced a M-Mount module ($649) that houses a 12 megapixel APS-C size sensor and of course, a Leica M-Mount to attach your favorite Leica glass. To complement the manual nature of Leica-style shooting, they've added various new features including a focus-assist function for increased manual shooting accuracy. Available this September. 

What does it mean, in the long run? That Fuji, along with other competitors, will do the same and most probably will have to do it quite quickly. We should get prepared for a Fuji X200 / X300 for Christmas, I reckon.

Holy Grail (The cut throat edition)

"...Wilkinson-Latham contacted Charles Rose, head of the experimental workshop at Wilkinson Sword Company's factory in Southfield Road, Acton, London W3. He charged Rose, and the firm's foreman   grinder, Mr. Martin, with the task of producing three prototype Fairbairn-Sykes knives.

Of these three prototypes, one is known to survive. Fairbairn kept it with him until the day of his death. From 1942 to 1960, he carried it in an OSS All-Ways scabbard. This scabbard, known among OSS trainees as the "pancake flapper," was designed by Fairbairn for the OSS and manufactured in the United States.

Wishing to spare the collector the nuisance of counterfeits, we will omit giving a detailed description of this prototype, save to say that it has distinctive features in common with the other two prototypes.

Of the two remaining specimens, one was presented to Sykes and is presumed lost. The other was retained by the factory. It was, in time, given to Wilkinson-Latham's grandson, Robert, when the latter was eleven years old. A year later, Robert traded it to a school chum for a bayonet. We may set our fancy to work, and imagine this unique specimen resting in the collection of some fortunate, although unknowing, knife collector."