Peek-a-boo

From Bullock and Jones of San Francisco comes this heavy tie with a woven pattern of multicolored circles peeking through a red "surface" in vaguely amoebic swathes. Bullock and Jones was founded in 1853 by Frank Bullock and John Luther Jones, and survived until 2000 (after being bought by Saks) on its reputation for luxury menswear and its latter-day strong catalog sales. But this tale of corporate takeover and closure has a happy ending: the firm was bought back from Saks by the son of its former owner, and reopened in a new location. Hurrah for independent businesses!

Now it can be told

Why did I "have to" wear a Pucci tie a couple weeks ago? Because that's the day that the Greenbelt Gazette sent a photographer to my house to take a picture of me to accompany this article on Greenbelt blogs (or blogging Greenbelters). I wanted to wear a tie that would establish my credibility as a necktie connoisseur, and while there are wide differences of opinion about various collectible brands, I think everyone agrees on Puccis. The article is quite nice, not the "Local Weirdo Collects Obscure Junk" piece that I somewhat feared, so thanks to Sara Schwartz for a great story!

And speaking of connoisseurs, Mark Valentine's tales of "The Connoisseur" (collected in In Violet Veils and Masques and Citadels from Tartarus Press) are the most exquisite weird fiction of the last decade. The Connoisseur is concerned not with luxury consumer goods, but with esoteric arts and philosophies and historical anomalies, usually with a supernatural aspect. Seek out the books (both out of print) and enjoy them with a fine ale, such as my favorite, Weyerbacher Quad, for the ultimate in reading pleasure.