this is fyf

Did your umbrella fall apart in the wind this morning? Maybe try the Camo Umbrella.

There is something about carrying a $3.99 umbrella that you bought from a "corner entrepreneur" that is rather disheartening, isn't there?  The worry is that you will lose your umbrella so you don't invest in it leaving you with a damp construct of nylon, aluminum and molded plastic permeating your soul with thoughts of mass suicide.

The rule with umbrellas (and sunglasses too) is that if you spend too much money on them, then you are likely to remember them.  So instead of being falling into the background of black umbrella-toys, consider standing out with camouflage.  (Ha!)  Polished maple and an industrial framework will help you remember this $204 beauty whether it be in the back of a cab or under your seat at Northern Spy.  It's made in London, and you know how it rains there so it must work, right?  Buy yours!

Colette the Artist replies to Lady Gaga's ripoff of her 1980's work.

Did you see the Lady Gaga windows at Barneys this past holiday?  Neither did I or anyone I know.  As Down with the Slant's Mac put it, "Who are they pandering to?"  Apparently though some folks did go up to Barneys and recognized what they saw.  The windows ripped of the work of Colette the Artist, whose work spans four decades.  Colette was alerted to the forgery and went uptown to discover if it was true.  Her artistic reply is in the video above.  

Picasso may have said "Good artists borrow; great artists steal" (but probably didn't).  Lady Gaga and her "body of work" is more like taking the canvas of a great work up to a subpar Canon copier and calling it art.  It cheapens the original work and states an utter contempt for art.  Gaga is a Tumblr of a human being.  

For Your Friends, the 2011 gift guide: Give Amyl

There is a personal rule about men over 30 never wearing shirts with pictures, words or logos on it.  Rules have a purpose.  In this case it is to restrict the wearing of pictures, words or logos to those which are so amazing that the rule can be broken.  Such is the case of this "Amy L Nitrate" shirt from Curateur's Luke and Rodrigo.  The recipient will receive quite a rush, no?  (And it's just $20!)

For Your Friends, the 2011 gift guide: Give Liz

Do you have a mom/sister/ladyfriend/muse that would appreciate something from the wardrobe of Elizabeth Taylor?  Maybe the pale green Valentino silk blouse pictured above would do the ticket.  Bidding on it currently stands at $150, which is a rather good price for a Valentino blouse most days.  It's part of the Christie's online collection from Taylor's estate.  Bidding ends in four days, so take a look now!

Do not go shopping at midnight on Friday.

In a move of desperation, many stores are opening Friday at midnight.  This is a time that one should either be sleeping off a meal or doing cocaine with a friend to work off the calories of a meal.  Seriously though, to rip people from their Thanksgiving holiday is shameful.  Stores such as Wal-Mart, Abercrombie and many others that are screwing their employees don't deserve your patronage.  This is all the more reason to shop with small businesses this holiday and every day.

Here is current information about Lady Gaga.

1.  Here is a picture of Lady Gaga's former residence from when she was a struggling artist living in destitution on the Lower East Side in an apartment that is about twice the size of most studios on the Lower East Side.

2.  She is doing a Thanksgiving special on ABC.  A "celebrity" chef has been hired to reproduce her family recipes.  You will not be watching.  Mary J Blige will stop by because she and Gaga have so much in common.

3.  Barneys has turned their holiday windows this year into Gaga's Holiday Workshop.  They've also emptied the fifth floor of the men's side and turned it over to Gaga merchandise.  Happy shopping.

For Your Friends, the 2011 gift guide: Give Shuffle

 

The iPhone has no place on the gym floor.  It's bulky and distracting and simply not conducive for either weights or cardio.  Go back in time to the simpler days of just enjoying your music (not the shit the gym is playing) and getting a good workout.  A tiny powerhouse holding 2 gigs of music, the shuffle is ideal.  Granted you will have to assume that the recipient has some decent headphones as Apple still has those really awful ones.  It's $49 and available in silver (and some rather vibrant colors that really won't match anything else you are wearing).  Give it to your friend that goes to the gym just to post pictures of himself at the gym to Facebook and Grindr.