Squares, Pocket Squares

Men's fashion...wait, hold on a second--

All right, I had to step away from the keyboard and get my laughter under control before I could begin typing again, anyway...

The state of men's fashion is pretty close to being at an all-time low (with maybe the '70s being the most horrid--but I'll give them one thing--they owned it, and at least tried, the male of the 2010s does not try at all). The ape creatures of the Indus (thank you, Blackadder (a hilarious BBC show from the '80s starring Rowan Atkinson)) attired themselves better than the male of the 2010s.

What do we have now but a bunch of slobs (who simply just don't give a hoot) and hipsters (who try too hard and end up looking silly)? I'll take this one-step further and say that even the men who wear suits, or at least blazers and sport coats over an honest-to-goodness button-down shirt look pretty drab and boring.

I didn't intend this diatribe, and I didn't intend to author a treatise on the demise of male fashion, my apologies. But I just can't stand how men attire themselves these days. Wow, what a digression.

Without the pocket square, this suit is forgettable.

Back to squares--pocket squares--an easy and often overlooked way to add a dash of style and catch attention. This is a way to show people you care about, and actually consider your appearance.

I've been wanting to write about pocket squares for quite some time now, and then I opened up the latest issue of The Chap (a most excellent British magazine with oodles of fun tips and advice) only to find an entire article on the pocket square.

I should have taken a photo without the pocket square to illustrate how much the simple art deco type fold I used there dressed up the suit.

Art Deco fold, I've also seen this called Three Stairs

What becomes noticeable in the closeup are the diagonal lines from the folds I used. This is a neat fold I use quite often. I call it the art deco fold, but I've seen it called three stairs. At first glance, this fold is a simple one point fold, but this is layered and adds more depth than just making a single point.

And here is a second type of fold--a four pointer.  Without getting into the weeds too much here, I am going to point out that all of these folds are not hard to achieve.

Here is a site that will give you some step-by-step instructions for folding pocket squares, from the basic folds all the way the to the more exotic: Sam Hober -- the website sells pocket squares and ties.

The material matters as well. Some folds, like the two I have in the larger photos work better with crisp cotton, while there are some puffier folds much better suited to silk.

Here is a gallery showing some other combinations using silk pocket squares. 

Notice how the pocket squares enhance the jacket they are paired with, including the smoking jacket (the black jacket with white piping with the crimson pocket square).

Pocket squares are fairly inexpensive. Here is a quick story.  A few days ago at work I wore the black suit in the photo up top to work with the four point pocket square. I didn't take the suit jacket off before I spoke to a few people I work with--and they all asked why I was so dressed up. Now, I normally wear suits, jackets, sport coats, etc, but what they noticed was the pocket square.

Fantastic Detectives: A Fiction River Anthology

I have a short story appearing in the September edition of the Fiction River anthology series--which is available now.  This edition's theme is Fantastic Detectives, edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. My story, Trouble Aboard The Flying Scotsman,  is an origin story for two of the characters in a novel I'm wrapping up.

I'm honored to be sharing the table of contents with so many wonderful writers (to include Kevin J. Anderson and Dean Wesley Smith). Of course, I've read and enjoyed the entire anthology, but one of my favorite stories is Case Cracked by Joe Cron, which is absolutely hilarious and has many laugh-out-loud moments. The stories in the anthology range from the whimsical and comedic to hardboiled and noir, but all have a fantastical element.

The anthology series (now in its second year) is available in trade paper as well as e-book. There is a subscription drive taking place on Kickstarter that offers some nifty rewards, but ends October 2nd 2014.

If you're interested, please check out the website for Fiction River, here.

A couple of sites have already reviewed Fantastic Detectives:

"Fiction River: Fantastic Detectives is a great choice for anyone who loves it when genres are swirled together. It's nominally more heavily influenced by mystery conventions and tropes, but the science fiction and fantasy elements in it are almost as strong." --Long and Short Reviews

And Keith West of Amazing Stories wrote: “Fiction River: Fantastic Detectives is a great read if you like to blend mystery with your fantasy. Check it out.”

Ready Player One

I'm a writer, well, that's my job when I'm not at my day job. I'm also a reader (and listener) of many many books, and I should be mentioning the ones I've enjoyed--at least when the mood strikes.

The book I'm beginning with is Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. I enjoyed this book so much that not only did I read it two times, but also listened to it two times.

I held off reading this for so long, and then was so pissed I hadn't tried it earlier.

Why do I enjoy this book? There are a few reasons I wouldn't--it's set in a dystopian near future, and I typically don't like that sort of thing. And then it gets sort of preachy for a few pages, but once I got beyond that section I was hooked. This one kept me turning pages long after I should have gone to sleep, and when I listened to it, I found myself lingering in the car for a few extra minutes.

The renaissance the 1980s enjoys in the book hooked me, and the story resonated with me because of all the references to things I enjoyed when I was a kid and teenager (the 80s took me from the age of 10 to 19). And while I didn't get every single reference, I got most of them. And the stuff I didn't know I looked up and found new TV shows to watch or books to read, or video games and toys to investigate.

The 1980s references are mainly from science fiction and fantasy movies and television shows, books, video games (Atari 2600, Pac Man, Joust, Infocom text adventures), tabletop roleplaying games (Dungeons & Dragons), toys, and music. Nearly the entire book is set in a virtual world (called the Oasis) where most of the population spends its time, and involves an "easter egg" hunt designed by the inventor of the virtual world that will grant the winner a prize reminiscent of Charlie winning the factory in the Willy Wonka story.  Ready Player One provided a sense of wonder I rarely feel in books (or movies) these days.

If you grew up in the late 70s and early to mid 80s you have a pretty good chance of liking this book a lot. If you're younger, but are of geekdom, you'll likely enjoy the book as well.

The Audible version benefits from the Wil Wheaton narration.

Maybe I'm a fool, but I have this book on Audible, e-reader, and paper. It's been a few months since I've read the book, but now I want to go and read it or listen to it again!

Vintage Spirits, A Drunken Botanist, And A Legendary Writer

We own more than a couple books on cocktails. None of them are what I'd call modern books with cocktail recipes such as Sex On The Beach.  No, I'm more of a purist, and would much rather stick with the old standards and even discover some drinks that have been forgotten--drinks with names like The 20th Century or Satan's Whiskers Cocktail--those drinks create images in your mind, get your imagination flowing. I'm sure most people don't think of the famous beach scene in From Here To Eternity when they order the rather pedestrian Sex On The Beach.

Here is a quick roundup of some of the books we use here at The Book House--my wife adores David Lynch, and is quite a fan of Twin Peaks, and I'm quite taken with the series as well.

Perhaps one of these books will entice you into the world of interesting and complex cocktails--a world beyond the low-hanging fruit of pedestrian libations swill.

• Hollywood Cocktails - Tobias Steed & Ben Reed

This book doesn't have a ton of recipes, but what I do enjoy are the bits of cocktail and movie trivia thrown in with each recipe. So, not only does this book serve as a wonderful resource of classic cocktails, but also movie recommendations--CLASSIC movie recommendations with the stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. Oh, there's Bogart and Bacall, William Powell and Myrna Loy, along with Monroe, Gable, and Garbo. Frank Sinatra makes an appearance along with Rita Hayworth. There are a bunch of stars and a bunch of great movies the authors pair the cocktails with. I wish I'd thought of creating this book!

• The Savoy Cocktail Book

I think I mentioned this book recently, but this is quite possibly the granddaddy of all cocktail books. The original edition was printed in 1930 and is a document of the Jazz Age and the Lost Generation. The drinks in this book were all served at the famous American Bar at The Savoy hotel in London. As in the Hollywood Cocktails book, you'll find recipes for Rickeys, Slings, Shrubs, Smashes, Fizzes, and so many other wonderful concoctions you've never heard of or perhaps only read about or seen one of the Golden Age stars sip, like the photo of David Niven above.

• Vintage Spirits And Forgotten Cocktails - Ted Haigh
  

This is truly a book of a bygone era. There are cocktails in there that have been long forgotten! But what I love about this book is the history behind each and every recipe within. There are ingredients for some of these drinks that I've never heard of, and are either difficult to track down or impossible since they're no longer made. But there is good news and some bad news: the book explains how to make some of these long lost ingredients (like very specific types of bitters, for instance), but there are a few that really aren't able to be substituted with something else. The book valiantly offers some suggestions to get the cocktail in the vicinity of what it must have tasted like say back in the late 1800s or early 1900s. This is a book for someone who wants to really learn the history of and how to mix some truly unique cocktails.

• To Have And Have Another - Philip Greene
  

This book is billed as--A Hemingway Cocktail Companion, and is a delight to read. The author is a Hemingway enthusiast and cocktail connoisseur. There are many recipes and most of them are the way Papa would have mixed them, or at least the way he preferred them.

You'll learn a lot about Hemingway in this book--especially his drinking habits, but you'll also learn quite a bit about the history of cocktails. If you enjoy a good cocktail, and enjoy reading anecdotes about Hemingway, then you'll love this book--I enjoyed every spirit-soaked anecdote and recipe.

All right, these last two books are for those of you who want to do a deep dive into the world of cocktails.

• The Drunken Botanist - Amy Stewart

There are recipes in this book, but really, the strength of this title are the herbs, flowers, fruits, and fungi humans have bent to the creation of alcoholic substances. This book explains the chemistry and biology, and then goes on to provide recipes as well as growing tips if you want to do a little gardening and eventually use these plants for your homemade alcohol.

The author and her husband own an antiquarian bookstore in California called Eureka Books. I'd love to check it out someday!

• Bitters - Brad Thomas Parsons
  

This is a recent edition to the collection, and is called--A Spirited History Of A Classic Cure-All.  Bitters are often what make a drink, but even I thought when I first picked this up that the topic would be so narrow in scope as to make a potentially boring read. But I was wrong. This book explains how important bitters were to classic cocktails and also how bitters nearly disappeared during the dark days of the cocktail (dark decades, really--from the mid-1960s all the way up to the year 2000). The only bitters you've probably ever seen are Angostura Bitters, but today, there are many, many options. This book sheds light on Bitters, and also where to get them and how to make your own!  Huzzah!

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There you have it, six books--look them up online, or find them at your local bookseller.  Get outside your comfort zone and your standard go-to drink and give classic cocktails a chance!

The French 75 Cocktail

It's no secret my wife and I enjoy love champagne, and while we usually drink it unadulterated, there are exceptions...

The French 75 cocktail is one such exception.

I first tried the French 75 during a trip to New Orleans when I found a small, but classic bar in the French Quarter adjacent to Arnaud's main dining room, named--yep, the French 75 Bar. How could I not try the cocktail responsible for the bar's name?

The French 75 Bar, pictured above, has everything I look for when sizing up a joint to sip cocktails and relax: sharply dressed bartenders and wait staff, a clean and well-kept bar, well-dressed and civilized patrons, and ambience befitting a throwback sort of establishment, and not a hangout for hipsters wearing trilby hats, jeans, and t-shirts. A bonus for me is the selection of fine cigars on hand at this particular bar. 

Back to the cocktail: the French 75 got the name from its kick, like a piece of artillery--specifically, and I'm thinking you'll guess this one--the French 75-millimeter field artillery used in World War I.  Legend has it the drink was was a favorite of the Lost Generation, and first created by Harry MacElhone, bartender of Harry's New York Bar in Paris, France.

For those who know me well, how could I not love a cocktail created in Paris and enjoyed by the Lost Generation?

There are a few recipes floating around out there, and I prefer the one listed in the Savoy Cocktail Book which can be purchased at Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and likely many independent book shops. The book has been in print since forever, well since 1930. I, however, deviate a tiny bit from the method in that book, but only in the preparation and the type of glass.

Glorious, isn't it? All right, it doesn't look all that special, but here is what comprises this delicious concoction:

• 4 cl (1.35 oz) Gin
• 2 cl (.67 oz) Lemon Juice
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Put those ingredients (and only those, don't add any champagne yet) into a cocktail shaker or glass. Now, rigorously stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Okay, most of the instructions I've seen have you pouring the ingredients into a tumbler or collins glass, but please use a champagne flute or a champagne coupe (or saucer as they're called in the United States) like the one pictured above (from a set of Art Deco period Baccarat champagne coupes we bought in Georgetown back when we lived in the D.C. area). I think sipping champagne or any drink with champagne as an ingredient needs to be sipped from a flute or saucer.

All right, the initial ingredients are in the flute or coupe, now top off with champagne (if you want to cheat and use sparkling wine, go ahead, but I'm a purist and stick to champagne).

Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite champagne?  Or favorite cocktail with champagne as an ingredient?  My wife adores the standard champagne cocktails (angostura bitter-soaked sugar cube topped with champagne).