Interesting Shit that I'm Too Lazy to Write Anything About: May 13, 2011.

Tour Mark Zuckerberg's $7 Million new home (it looks like a Vermont B&B for seniors...)

The Icon's Guide to Sunglasses (featuring Steve McQueen, Robert Downey Jr., Marcel Mastroianni, and even the Secret Service)

Wall Street Journal article on retail reward programs: Why Pay Full Price?

Study finds world luxury market to grow 8%

The 50 Most Stylish Musicians of the Last 50 Years

Will Smith as lead in Tarantino's Django Unchained?

Interesting Shit that I'm Too Lazy to Write Anything About: April 29, 2011.

Today I'm starting a new column whose title should be pretty self-explanatory.  In the spirit of said new column, that will be the extent of it's intro.  Enjoy.

Shit You Should Be Aspiring To: Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4.

 

Lamborghini has launched its campaign for its newest beast, the Aventador LP700-4.  The '700' stands for 700HP.  Check out the debut commercial below.  It's awesome in every way (except perhaps the car's colour...)

Shit You Should Be Aspiring To: Ralph Lauren's car collection.

"They are like parts of me..."  In his soothing voice, Ralph Lauren narrates this short clip depicting some of the more than 70 cars in his collection.  The video is a promo for a special exhibit at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris called The Art of the Automobile: Masterpieces from the Ralph Lauren Collection, which will run from April 28 to August 28 and showcase many pieces from RL's collection.  Check out the video after the jump.

Good to see things are slowly getting back to normal...

The Survey of Affluence and Wealth, conducted by American Express Publishing and Harrison Group, has found that spending on luxuries is set to rise by about eight percent this year, reaching $359 billion in 2011.   The survey did not include travel and vehicles, and polled only the wealthiest ten percent of American families; those who enjoy a discretionary income of six figures or more.  Those ten percent account for about fifty percent of all consumer spending in the country.  

For more details, head over to Pursuitist.

Shit You Should Be Aspiring To: The entrepreneurial success of Tony Hsieh

There was a great article in the New York Times a couple of days back on Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com, the online shoe retailer that grew to success under a business model of providing free shipping and free returns to its customers.  Hsieh sold Zappos.com to Amazon in 2009 for $1 billion, a tidy sum that he added to whatever stash he had left over from his first enterprise, LinkExchange, which he sold to Microsoft for $265 million when he was the tender age of 24.  Champ.

Head over to nytimes.com to check out the story; it's definitely worth a read.  Or, if you prefer, you can go right to the source; Hsieh wrote a book called Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose that spent almost six months on the NYT bestsellers list last year.  Get it here.

Shit You Should Be Aspiring To: A place in Monaco

Bloomberg has named Monaco the world's most expensive place to live for the third straight year.  If you want to buy an apartment or a house in Monaco, it'll cost you an average of over $65,000 per square meter.  London was the second most-expensive, at just over $56,000 per square meter.

Start saving up your ducats.

Helpful poem to remember the difference between 'whiskey' and 'whisky'.

 

There is always confusion surrounding the two alternative spellings of that glorious golden liquid we all know and love: whisky versus whiskey.  The discrepancy is often attributed to regional differences, in a manner akin to the Canadian and American variations on the spelling of the word colour / color, but there has never been any consistency regarding when each variation applies.  Well, ponder no more, for today we're going to clear this important issue up for you.

Photos from the Sharp S/S Book for Men launch party in Toronto.

On April 5, 2011, Sharp Magazine for Men held a launch party for its new Spring / Summer edition of Sharp: The Book for Men.  The party took place at Origin in Toronto, and sponsors included Grey Goose, Glenlivet, and Peroni.  Check out more photos after the jump.

American Express Platinum Card continues to spoil its members.

As if all the benefits this plastic beast already offer weren't enough, American Express has announced that they are adding several additional perks for international travelers.  Robin Korn, Senior VP and General Manager of Consumer Charge Cards, noted that “with the launch of these new benefits, combined with the suite of existing ones, the Platinum Card is truly the passport to a premium travel experience."  No argument here.