photo:danny lyon 1964. highway 49 jackson to yazoo city. Friday's here again. The week goes by so fast. We hope you can take some slow time to enjoy and appreciate life.

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

A "tip of the hat" to our hometown ~ Seattle.

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

We at Grant's like our females with a bit more substance. Because well, good looks nowadays are more than a dime a dozen, and of course with a credit card, it can be bought, altered, and airbrushed in an instant. Which is why I was impressed when I read this NY Times article that Hedy Lamarr, who was called the most beautiful woman in Europe in her day, was also a rocket scientist on the side. So who is this lady?

She was born Hedwig Kiesler in Austria-Hungary, the only child to Jewish parents, studied ballet and played piano before age 10, and starred in dozens of films opposite the likes of Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable. Her escape from Vienna to Hollywood is almost right out of a film  - she supposedly drugged her maid then disguised herself as the maid to escape her husband who had ties to the Nazi. But of course countless Hollywood leading ladies have seen their share of drama off-screen. What set Hedy apart from the rest of the glamour set, was her brains and extracurricular activities. Together with composer George Antheil, Lamarr came up with an early version of frequency hopping intended to make radio-guided torpedoes harder for enemies to detect. Their frequency-hopping idea serves as a basis for modern wireless technologies. So with the exception of an arrest for a Winona-like shopping spree accusation, this lady had some skills.

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

Di Fara Pizza is not fast food. It's been called the BEST pizza in New York by pizza connoisseurs, Zagat, the Village Voice, New York Magazine, New York Times, chefs like Anthony Bourdain, and your average New Yorker that loves pizza. People from all over New York and around the world make the journey to this hole in the wall pizza joint in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Midwood, Brooklyn. The average cost and wait time for a pizza is $25.00 for a basic pie that takes 2.5 hours or if you want a slice to go it will cost you $5.00 (the most expensive slice in NYC).

*note the painting of mr. demarco behind mr. demarco. look familiar ?

Di Fara has been owned and operated by Domenico DeMarco since 1964 after DeMarco moved to New York from Caserta, Italy in 1959. DeMarco is the only person that makes each pizza pie (not even his children are allowed to make it). When he's not available to make the pizza, Di Fara shuts its doors. Mr. DeMarco insists on using only fresh dough, on importing his tomatos from Salerno and his Mozzarella from Caserta, and bringing in his fresh basil from Israel. He alone makes the pizza. He works hard. He looks proud of what he does. And it shows.

Di Fara is a New York Pizza Instituion and Domencio DeMarco is a pizza legend in his own right. The trek takes 30 minutes on the Q line from Union Square. And yes it sucks to have to wait almost three hours for pizza, it's almost absurd in any other instance, but it's worth it. The time you spend waiting and watching is a pizza event.

A few things we recommend: eat before you step foot into Di Fara (you're not going to get your lunch or dinner during lunch or dinner time), order the regular pie (you don't need the extras like pepperoni or mushrooms), and eat it when it's hot. There's some great articles on Di Fara that you should read: A great 2004 New York Times article on the hard work that goes into making a Di Fara pizza, New York Time's article on the $5 price, and a Di Fara tutorial on Slice Pizza blog. Heaven!

the "best of the best" Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

Here's to a lucky, positive work week.

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

The weekend's here again. Hopefully you can turn the TV OFF, and go do something, anything else but getting brain drained by prescription medication commercials and reality shows about rich folks with too much time on their hands.

"make things happen" Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

We would like to introduce our new brand mascot ~ King Neptune. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ~ Style is Everything. New designs (including the king) and products on the horizon.

"make things happen" Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

back in the day. macintosh computers complete with floppy disk drive.

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

Anthony Bourdain's Disappearing Manhattan was one of our favorite episodes of No Reservations, not only because he took us around one of our favorite cities, but because we are supporters of restaurants that might look a little rough around the edges but come with history and compelling stories, that are family owned and operated, that have charm and character and grit, that are trying to hold on to their place in the middle of an absurdly increasing, bullying New York real estate market.

We're sad to report on this windy Monday that one of the restuarants on that list will be disappearing: Manganaro's. When Bourdain filmed the Disappearing episode, he wrote "Manganaro's is a bit of vintage Italian-America that people raised on a more al dente, post-Batali, Northern-inflected, lightly sauced, meatball-free, Italian might not appreciate. But it's a vital step back in time, another world, and an essential one to remember and cherish." We couldn't agree more. Mangaro's is an iconic New York dining spot that helped pioneer the hero sandwich, with roots going back to the 1890s, and its mere presence in a city of expensive businesses that keep coming and going without making much of a mark is irreplaceable. We just wish the brothers, whose feud is the stuff of legend and who haven't spoken in 30-something years, could have put their differences aside. That, and maybe they could have treated their customers nicer - as we found out first hand, not everyone gets the Bourdain red carpet treatment.

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

via:the new yorker Uh, politicians, let's make sure we're cutting the right things.

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

the king and his HD (Hound Dog hog). jason j's: 1950 Styleline and 1954 210 coupe. An era lost in time......

supreme recent works: 1949 chevy by circle city, paint by harpoon. photo:jt

mr.fortier's new project: 1947 chopped fleetline. a blank canvas, what color would you paint it?

"Vintage Gold" of great interest.

~Back to the Future Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera on view now at the Brooklyn Museum.

“There were details, accidents of light, which I'd missed when I'd been able to make only quick sketches of a setting. For example in Rob Shuffleton's barbershop in East Arlington, Vermont: where Rob hung his combs, his rusty old clippers, the way the light fell across the magazine rack, his moth-eaten push broom leaning against the display cases of candy and ammunition, the cracked leather seat of the barber chair with the stuffing poking through along the edges over the nickel-plated frame. A photograph catches all that.”—Norman Rockwell (1960)

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

Word of advice: If you want to avoid a hack job barber, word of mouth is always gold; and once you find that golden barber, please tip them well for a consistently good cut and service - they're hardworking folks that need your support as well.

Now, we know that a lot of people are struggling in this economy, and some days (or months) are better than others, so if you've been going to a regular barber for awhile and only entrust your hair with them, let them know that maybe for the time being you won't be able to tip them as good as you used to because you're struggling financially and that it has nothing to do with their service. Remember, not everyone out there is a cold-hearted a**hole. But if the barber gives you a hard time about tipping a few bucks less while you try to get your feet on the ground again, then that's your que to move on. 

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

keith, tina & david livin' it up in '83. via bob gruen. drinks are on us jack. the shining

a few too many for commander bond - sean connery

The weekend is here, you worked hard, enjoy.

~Cheers Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

Depending on your location, Mt. Rainier can at times seem so majestic and deceptively close, and other times so mystical and far away. But no matter the angle, or the kind of day you're having, you'll always stop to enjoy the view.

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

class of 1967, wheaton high. young john belushi arts & cults. sal dali & man ray

2 dons: bobby and al

know your rights. cheers ~ joey strummer

persons of great interest.

cheers. Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

via:10engines For some people, it's just another Monday.

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

Hit the town the weekend is here.

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

boston 1949 photo:cornell capa via life/time inc. photo:tony linck via life/time inc

You're just like crosstown traffic So hard to get through to you Crosstown traffic I don't need to run over you Crosstown traffic All you do is slow me down And I'm tryin' to get on the other side of town - J. Hendrix Crosstown Traffic 1968

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA

self portrait the godfather by al hirschfield

great comedians - w.c. fields, charlie chaplin, buster keaton & groucho by al hirschfield

self portrait

A barber chair just gained legendary status. And it wasn't in a barber shop. It was in the home of Al Hirschfeld.

Albert "Al" Hirschfeld is considered one of the most important figures in contemporary American caricature. He's best known for his simple black and white portraits with exaggerated faces, using a minimum number of lines. Hirschfeld had his quirks, like eating with his left hand, but drawing with his right. But his best quirk of all was that he immortalized these Broadway stars and celebrities while seated in a barber chair. But since his death in NYC in 2003 - just five months shy of his 100th birthday - the legendary barber chair's been collecting dust in his famous studio, and his widow recently decided to donate "his throne" to the Lincoln Center branch of the New York Public Library, where it will be permanently installed, along with his century-old drafting table. His widow said, "I thought this library was the right place for his work. He lived most of his life in New York. His main focus was New York City and the theater . . . his personal vision and style was something I felt belonged in New York."

Mr. Hirschfeld called his barber chair "the last functional chair" because it could go up, go down, swivel, and recline. His widow described his barber chair as "a predecessor to the ergonomic chair."  Since he spent practically every single day drawing, he needed to find the most comfortable chair and found it in an old-fashioned barber chair at a used furniture place on the Bowery for $3, but by the 1990s the chair was falling apart (all that remains of this original barber chair is the base, and is on display at the Manhattan gallery of Margo Feiden). He finally agreed to replace it with a new barber chair that had been used in a shop in the Chrysler Building.

It took eight men to get this barber chair down the four flights of stairs from his East 95th Street apartment while black liquid dripped from the chair, apparently hydraulic fluid leftover from the Chrysler Building shop. Check out this article and video.

It's been years since his passing but his art and the barber chair lives on in new places. If you live in New York, check it out, along with a rotating selection of his drawings now on display. His drawings can also be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water-based pomade made in the good old USA