Four Bottles is Three Bottles to Many.....

Early today I was reading some of the typical men's magazines and websites and I started to see a similar trend between all of the publications I came across. I was specifically looking for some information regarding cologne and what I found was typical and a little bit aggrevating. Most of the reviews and suggestions that I read were highly unrealistic. What I mean is that many of the articles suggested that every guy needs to have at least three or four different bottles of cologne. Not three or four bottles of the same so that when you run out you have a fresh bottle waiting for you, but three or four completely different scents all for different parts of your life. Look, I am all for having variety and for being prepared in any situation you might find yourself in. If you have read any of my previous posts than you would know that Iam constantly making suggestions. However, this four bottles of cologne nonsense is one piece of advice that I just cant get on board with. I think, at most, two different scents would be appropriate. A conservative, musk/wood blend with hints of citrus or fruit for the office and something a little sweeter and more bold for going out. Thats fine---but personally, I stick to just one. I like to have a "signature" scent. Something that those close to me know I wear, and I wear it in small amounts. I understand that maybe the guys with the highest concern for fashion and current trends might have four bottles of different cologne in their bathroom but that is not what most carry. Could you imagine traveling like that? A guy should never have more toilitries than the woman in his life and rolling with four or five bottles of cologne probably puts you pretty close to what shes packing. Something I have stressed over and over again in this sites early history is to be timeless and to not waiver with the trends. Pick a great scent and stick with it. Wear it correctly and switch it up....after your bored of it or find something better. Dont switch it up as you move from the office, to the gym, to the restaurant, to the bar.....its doing to much!

Still Looking for your signature scent? Heres some suggestions:
1.Kenneth Cole Vintage Black:


2.Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit De L'Homme


3.Tom Ford Grey Vetiver

Listen, Learn and Laugh-In Person, With A Real Person

Over the past few days I have had the pleasure of meeting and speaking to a few experienced and high powered people. Included are the former Director of 3 of the largest hotels in downtown Atlanta, the former President of a large multinational firm and a marketing director. What did all three meetings have in common? It made me realize that actually meeting people face to face and just listening to their experiences is one of the most beneficial and entertaining things you can do. The people that I met had story on top of story, both funny and serious. Too often though we are victims of technology (funny because this piece of technology I am writing though is allowing me to voice this opinion) and it has made us bad listeners. We just don't have the patience for it. If we are actually meeting someone face to face most of the time the person on the other end of the table is to busy calculating what they want to say next that they miss what you are trying to say. People are the most valuable tools we have and we should appreciate them more. Not only that, but just spend some time listening to people. Its intriguing, and educational. Meeting someone and connecting with them is like plugging your laptop into the Internet....you are instantly tapped into their stories, their contacts, their experiences, and their advice. Why wouldn't you want to have as many of those connections as possible? I say we need to take the time to meet more people, and listen to what they have to say and what they have to offer. You never know how they could help you, how you could help them, or what you might learn in general. I was laughing my ass off at some of the stuff I was hearing....and if that's all that I got out of it (which it wasn't-there was much more) then so be it, I am ok with a new friend and a laugh

An Afternoon Salvaged Thanks to Chet Baker and Miles Davis

Well needless to say that since today is a National Holiday (Happy MLK day everyone) last night resulted in a spontaneous Sunday night party which, is my favorite kind of gathering. Anyways, a little to much Jameson on the rocks and about four hours of sleep made getting started on my day today a little tougher than usual. Even though I didnt have anything to directly report to today there still was some catching up to do to get ready for the rest of this shortened week. The one thing that got me going and kept me going? Miles Davis and Chet Baker. Iam not saying that jazz music is appropriate for every setting but there are plenty of opportunities to really get into the music. While sitting at my desk and working from home I put on some Baker and Davis and it really elevated the experience. It took what would have been a pretty mundane task and made it relaxing and enjoyable. Something about the tone and the pace of the music made sitting at a desk responding to emails and reading about CRM (customer relationship management) enjoyable. If your not familiar with jazz or with the artists that I mentioned above then I suggest experiencing it ASAP. Next time your sitting at home working, or cleaning or just relaxing go to pandora and create a Chet Baker station and just let it play. For twenty something-year olds like myself I feel that jazz may be an unexplored genre of music and underappreciated. The lack of words lets you do some thinking on your own and also to personalize the listening experience. Its uplifting to so when your a little tired and hung over its the perfect remedy to get through your daily tasks....plus its not bad for back round music at a party when you decide to get back on the horse and pour yourself another drink.

Eat Great At Home: The Underrated Meal

Unless you are a huge culinary fan and enjoy cooking at home ( which many people are due to the popularity of shows like Top Chef and avid viewers of the cooking channel) making meals for yourself can seem like a huge undertaking. What should you buy? Where should you buy it from? Do you have the time to cook and clean up the kitchen after a long day at work? All these questions tend to lead people to settling for a quick fast food meal or spending tons of money eating out. Well, I have a great solution for those who get intimidated by the simple task of cooking a meal for themselves. Enter the Flat Iron Steak. This cut of meat is often overlooked by those that feel the Filet is the only way to go and that eating a steak is only for special occasions. The Flat Iron steak is more similar to a Ribeye in nature. Meaning it has a higher fat content and while, not being as tender, provides more flavor (in my opinion). Anyways, the Flat Iron doesn’t look like your typical steak and you don’t eat it in the typical way either. You slice it against the grain so you have flavorful strips of steak to enjoy. Furthermore, you don’t need a grill to cook it up. I live in the city and don’t have the luxury of a grill but this steak does great in the oven. Broil it at a temperature of 500 degrees for about six minutes on each side for a nice medium rare. I recommend medium rare because this steak is not as tender as other cuts. Also, one Flat Iron can easily serve two people however if its just you then save what you don’t eat and throw the strips on a sandwich for lunch the next day. If you are going to be enjoying this underrated cut of meat for dinner, than I recommend pairing it with a few red potatoes and some mushrooms, both of which are extremely easy to prepare. Not only is this meal easy to prepare but it is also cost effective. Your local grocer probably offers the Flat Iron for between seven and twelve bucks and mushrooms and potatoes together will cost you, at most, six bucks. One last note, no seasoning is necessary on this meat. Salt, pepper and cook is all you have to do. Eat great at home, don’t be intimidated. Washing it down with an ice cold beer never hurt anyone either…..

Quick Buy List for Your Convenience:

Flat Iron Steak
Red Potatoes
Mushrooms
Salt/Pepper
Butter (for cooking the shrooms).
Beer (optional, but not really…)

"Dont Mistake My Pocket-Square As Weakness"

Just a quick thought today. Earlier, I was walking in downtown Atlanta wearing a simple black blazer, white shirt, and a pocket square. I noticed that people were staring at it as if they had never seen one before, or just had no clue what a piece of fabric was doing in my jacket pocket.Now, I feel that this story may be unique to Atlanta. If I were walking down a street in New York sporting a pocked square that would be average. I would actually probably blend in. However, Atlanta is a little bit different than that. What this quick story ultimately got me thinking about was the fact that so many guys think that dressing well means that they are soft. Or that only women should care about how they dress. Whats really funny is that the same guys who feel this way are the same guys who will wear Christian Audigier and Ed Hardy. Yea, because sparkly lions on your shirt is way more masculine than a slim tie/shirt and a nice pair of jeans. Oh and speaking of jeans, yours have rhinestones on them.....very manly of you. All I am saying is that guys need to stop being afraid of looking nice. Its a respect thing, for yourself and others. Who knows it might even help your game out this weekend.....unless you plan on "fist pumping" in the club all weekend..

Remakes Are For The Lazy

Its officially hump day and I hope everyone out there is having a great week. Mine has been filled with meetings, and plenty of cocktail outings so needless to say, I am having a great week. What I have for you below is from a contributing writer to the Modern Gentleman cause. Mike Wiley specializes in film reviews and critiques and does some script writing of his own with partner Derek King. These guys are great and you can expect big things from them. Anyways, Mike wrote a great article which I am showcasing below. Enjoy, I think he's pretty much right on.

This morning was pretty much like any other morning. I was out a little late the night before, I had a little too much to drink, the morning is really the early afternoon, and I am on Rotten Tomatoes checking out what new movies are coming out and whether or not I want to go see them. After stumbling through a few suspiciously but ultimately falsely titled articles, I came across the trailer for Hollywood's newest 70's classic big budget remake: The A-Team. Complete with "The Hangover's" Bradley Cooper, "District 9's" Sharlto Copley, the resurgent Liam Neeson, and Rampage Jackson of UFC fame rounding it out as Baracus, a role that sent a similar wrestler, Mr. T, to international stardom.

The trailer was pretty much as expected; a lot of really tightly shot action footage of extremely fit dudes and sleek cars and neato technology on top of some kind of needle thin plot loosely based on the television series. After it was over, though, I sat there thinking to myself: What are they going for here? And when I ask that question I don't mean what's going to happen to the character's through out the story, I mean what is the over all mood the audience is going to leave with, because there are a lot of directions one can take a 70's big budget remake. It can be tongue in cheek, where the audience and director are both sort of in on the fact that this is just a remake and shoots for a nostalgic type of melodrama and comedy, or it can take itself as serious as malaria and try to reboot an action franchise for the next generation of movie goers. Or it can fall any where in between, which is what brought me to my ultimate revelation. I don't really like any type of remake. I can't name ONE remake that has made me feel like my life was better for having watched it. I have never learned anything from a remake. I have never had a good conversation about a remake, atleast not a good conversation indicative of a good movie. I don't like them. They never seem to make much money at the box office so it seems like I am not alone in that sentiment. What I can't really figure out is why producers continue to greenlight this crap.

Now if you really wanted to get nitpicky, you could technically label Transformers and Batman as remakes, two of the most popular and successful movies ever, but one was guaranteed to sell, and the other one never really wasn't cool or went out of style. Transformers gave you that brilliant eye candy that can only be achieved through state of the art, computer animated robots. The kind of brilliance that gives every male from 6 to 36 a boner despite having one of the most atrociously written scripts on the planet. The kind of brilliance that guarantee's 300 million plus domestically at the box office. Transformers could have sold that many tickets even if it was helmed by apes, and that is not a shot at Michael Bay. Not really.

Batman is and always will be awesome. Period.

Now with those out of the way, what are we left with? Charlie's Angels? Charlie's Angel's Full Throttle? All those movies did was help McG ruin what could have been a fantastic Terminator reboot. But DAMNIT, there's that word again: reboot. Remake, Reboot, Retarded. For me it always comes back to the same problem. None of these movies know where they are going. None of them have an identity. They are a hollow shell of something that was rich, but could only be rich once. Something that was only rich the first time around, and nothing else could ever replicate that single experience. I imagine the writers and producers all sitting around, confusedly tossing ideas back and forth to one another and still arguing over the same problems and plot points. Should this be comedic? Should this exist in the same universe? Should we make Starsky and Hutch secretly love each other that way but never realize that love because their love of justice supercedes it? Overall, no conclusion they come to is going to make it live up to expectations. Movie goers are going to see the previews for months, building up plenty of nostalgia which hopefully bleeds over from the original generation's fan's to their kid's. The movie will open to a moderately to extremely successful first weekend, then everyone will realize it's not what they expected or a steaming pile of crap, and it will fade into the infinite darkness that is forgotten cinema.

But maybe Producers know this about remakes of already popular work. in fact, I'm fairly certain they do. They know that no matter how much time and effort they put into making this movie good, they will atleast make a little bit of money off of the movie with a sleek ad campaign at Taco Bell. Ultimately they could make a trailer's worth of decent footage, fill in the rest with home movies of the cast and crews baby showers and holiday vacay's, and it would technically still turn a moderate profit. Think about the last remake you saw and I think you will agree with me. In fact, here is a list of recent remakes that come to mind that were built up for months but ultimately let me down: The Omen, Dr. Dolittle, Flubber, The Avengers, The Brady Bunch, Mr. Magoo, George of the Jungle, Thunderbirds, Hold on let me catch my breath... Bewitched, The Producers, G.I.Joe, Cheaper by the Dozen, Charlie's Angels 1 and 2, and the list goes on. Hollywood is even churning out a remake of the 1980's Patrick Swayze cult classic "Red Dawn", which if anyone thinks about for half a second will realize that story is no longer culturally relevant and if Communist's did parachute in and invade the heartland of America, images of our missiles flying up their asses would be all over Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter before all of the soldiers had even jumped off the plane.

Now this means one of two things: Either the producers and writers are going to write the same story only this time it will come off as a steaming pile, or they try and write a different story, using the franchise name as a way to sell tickets, and it still comes off as a steaming pile. It is lose lose for the movie goers and just down right selfish of producers. Is there really a lack of decent original material so drastic we had to turn to "Red Dawn"? Really? I just don't believe it. I refuse to believe it, and with the recent success of Avatar (a completely original work), you shouldn't believe it either. Remakes are for the lazy, and the blame falls on both sides. I think as a lover of the cinema I will no longer see remakes of anything from now on. If everyone takes this mentality and starts asking for more from directors and writers and producers, then they will have no choice but to deliver. Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over, hoping to get different results. If that is the case, then I don't see how you can define continuing to produce remakes as anything other than that: Insanity. I invite you to take this pledge with me, and hopefully we can stop the nonsense, stop the insanity, and create a much more productive, enjoyable, and memorable movie experience.

Sincerely Yours,

Michael Wiley

The Power Of The Local Pub

The quote that follows this post below is a great one and is perfect for what I wanted to talk about today. I think every man needs to have his go to pub or his neighborhood bar. A local bar to a man is what a psychiatrist is to a patient or what a salon is to a woman. Its where you feel comfortable. Its where you can go by yourself and enjoy a drink and good conversation. Its where you can go when you are stressed out and feel your trouble melt away...even if they only leave you for the duration of your cocktail. I recently went to my favorite neighborhood bar and there was such a warmth there and friendly atmosphere I just felt like I was at my second home. Now, I dont frequent this bar everyday but its always there for me when I need to get out and get away. Its amazing what a good drink, a good bar tender and a good atmosphere can do to lift up your spirits for an evening. I really do belive that every man should have his favorite local bar and support it. Its such a great benefit when you have found your local spot and it doesnt have a mandatory monthly fee or membership dues or anything like that. Its just there for you whenever you need it. A true Modern Gentleman always has his favorite hide away. Its like the old quote, "Behind every great man is an even greater woman". I would like to ammend that quote and say "behind every great man is an even greater woman and behind both of them is a fantastic pub".

Quote Of The Day: January 10th, 2010

There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern.

Samuel Johnson
1709-1784, British Author

Everyday Items Every Man Should Have

The other day I joined a good friend for lunch to catch up on what has been going on in each others lives. All together the lunch was pretty standard and it was an enjoyable break from the normal day to day grind. However, as we were closing out our lunch and walking to the door my friend stopped to sneeze and pulled out a handkerchief. I immediately took notice of the simple piece of fabric and said, "How long have you been carrying that around?" His answer was simple and straight to the point, "I always have". The reason I bring this up is because it is such a small accessory but yet it was so strange to see someone in their mid to late twenties using one. It got me thinking though about the things that used to be standard for every man to carry. Back when it was customary for every gentleman to carry a handkerchief it was simply second nature to have one. In the same way that we would never walk out of our houses without our blackberry's or ipods there were certain things that a man never left home without. The kicker is that they always had a purpose and I was amazed at how effortlessly my friend (a product of the eighties) kept one and used one. A man should always have what he needs to conduct himself in the right way and he should never have such items as simply for show. For instance, my grandfather always has carried a very small pocket knife in his front trouser pocket. Its so second nature to him that I am sure he forgets its there but it never fails, whenever I have been around him there has been a need to use it and he pulls it out effortlessly and puts it back away as if everyone carries such equipment. My point is that so many of us younger guys have forgotten the "code" of what it takes to make sure you are always put together. Here's a quick list of the things that I think every man should be carrying on him.

1. Handkerchief. No one wants your germs and no one wants to see your nose running. Use one and don't display it. Keep it subtle.
2. Quality pen. Simple enough. You need to sign a document, write a phone number down, make a quick note to yourself. Its a simple item that can make a pretty bold statement about you and your taste.
3. Small pill box. A man should never be "whiny". Keep a small pill box on you or in your briefcase or messenger bag. Have a headache? Don't complain about it, do something. Keep some Advil in there and maybe some heartburn meds. Especially if your headed straight to work or any other plans straight from a long night out.
4. Quality watch. Not every situation allows you to pull out your phone to check the time. Its a great fashion statement and its useful. Your standing on the corner and a beautiful woman asks you for the time....don't fumble in your pockets for your phone. Effortlessly pull your sleeve back and give a quick response. Plus, you never know who you might impress with your choice of watch. These things can make a difference.
5. A sleek wallet and always keep some cash on hand. To many times I have made the mistake of not having cash for a valet or to split a check with a friend. A simple leather wallet of high quality will do the trick and a twenty on hand at all times is a good standard to follow.

A Tip of the Hat to Texas and to Garrett Gilbert

As you may or may not know, this blog comes to you right out of Midtown, Atlanta. With Atlanta being a major city in the South that means it is impossible to not get caught up in college football hype. Personally, I am an NFL fan (Steelers all the way...a true fan not a bandwagon fan). Either way, I knew that I would find my self at a party for the BCS National Championship game and I would have to choose sides seeing as how I dont have a loyalty to Alabama or Texas. Due to the fact that I have more friends and family ties to Alabama I went with them. Needless to say (if you watched the game) picking Alabama was the right way to go. However, I just wanted to give a "tip of the hat" to Texas's second string true freshman quarterback. The last game this guy probably played was in high school and here he finds him self running into the game on the second drive and it is up to him to win the Nation Championship game. Talk about pressure! Garrett Gilbert (Texas second string QB) started out a little shaky but by the second half he was confidently completing passes and at one point got the game to within three points (21-24). Now, Gilbert was unable to finish what he was thrown into and Texas did eventually lose but lets give Gilbert some credit. The guy stepped up to the plate when his number was called. I am not sure if we will be seeing a lot from Gilbert in the future but he handled himself how this blog believes a Gentleman would. Step up, do your job, dont complain and give it all you got.

Away We Go! I just broke a bottle of Champagne on my laptop.....

Have you ever met someone who has that impossibly cool way about them? Its a subtle confidence that is contagious. Its walking into a room and capturing it in a completely unpretentious way. Its not being to good for some and only associating with a select few who share your interests. Its about being a conversationalist and being able to get along with anyone, no matter how different you may be from each other. Its looking good without looking like you tried.Its being worldly and having a wealth of knowledge on a wide variety of subjects. That is what embodies the Modern Gentleman and that is what this site represents.Please note, I am not claiming to have all these qualities. This is going to be a journey to become that Modern Gentleman and also a learning while doing experience for me. Hopefully this will be an entertaining,enjoyable,and informational experience for you. The end goal? Finding a sense of whats good in a confident yet subtle way...in every area of life. So welcome and I hope you enjoy whats to come.