I finished the latest issue of GQ on the train yesterday. All in all, it was a pretty crappy issue. The feature story was about about the “25 coolest athletes” of all time. The only action sports athlete that they mentioned was Kelly Slater. I have to agree with GQ on that one. But I feel like there are plenty who should have made the list, that didn’t.  Anyway, the issue got off to a bad start because there was no introductory article from Jim Nelson. Nelson’s monthly contribution is basically my favorite part of the mag.

After finishing the last article and uttering my final “meh,” I closed the magazine and looked at the back cover. On it, I saw an ad for Hennessy (above). See if you can identify the artist painting in the background of the ad image. That’s right. It’s El Mac. The videos that the ad is prompting people to watch on Facebook, are all of the Hennessy Artistry (in which Mac does not appear once, BTW). Ummmmm, check out what I covered at the bottom of that same post about El Mac. Correct, the NYC iteration of the Hennessy Artistry tour. Sometimes I feel like I’m in the freaking twilight zone, or something.

In other news, the huge ice chunks are back in the Hudson (maybe I’ll get a shot of them this weekend), but it hasn’t snowed one time yet today. Fingers crossed!

Happy Friday!

Man, I could not wait to start browsing through some spring fashion ads, this year. It has been a cold and nasty winter. Anything than can take my thoughts to warmer times, is welcomed.

Calvin Klein has kicked off their campaign with a bang, by retaining the services of Powder, to model their spring line. It looks like the guy was finally able to grow some hair. Way to go, buddy. You are looking good.

Nothing says “fall is here” like doing some pull ups in the woods, wearing only boxer briefs. I think that, in this ad, Perry Ellis was aiming for a composition that all guys can relate to. Because honestly, what guy can’t say that in all of those times they found themselves wandering through the woods alone in their underwear, they didn’t stop a few times for a quick round of chin-ups on a tree branch?

Ok, I don’t really know what happened to Guess. I used to freaking love their stuff. Reagan and I would go to their store in Roosevelt Field mall when we were first dating, and spend like 2 hours in there. There was actually one girl who worked there, that asked where Reagan was, one time, when I went to the store without Reagan. Lately however, it has been a different story. Don’t get me wrong, their jeans are still top notch, in my book. Their shirts and women’s wear, however, not so top notch these days. It looks very similar to the stuff that you would find in one of the knock off shops in Spanish Harlem, or on St. Nicholas above 175th street. Anyway, the point of this post is to address the magazine ad, more so than the direction that the brand has taken. So check out this ad. Not much different than any of the Guess ads for the past 5 years, or so, right? Blonde girl with huge hair and tons of mascara, chilling out in the desert somewhere. In this particular one, she is sans shirt. A little racy, but still in line with the whole “Guess image,” if there is such a thing. The real kicker is the dude in the picture. Or rather, what he appears to be ogling. He isn’t admiring her heels or the bootyshorts. What is even better is the expression on his face. You could almost use this picture for one of those “fill in the caption” contests. What is going though this dudes little male-model mind? “Yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh, that’s right baby, you look at the camera, I’m just going to keep staring at your chest, to make sure these don’t go anywhere.”