Gear Patrol

The outdoorsman on your list is easily identifiable: he’s rarely home and smells faintly of man sweat and wood smoke when you do catch him between excursions. His particular passion falls within an extensive of range possible pursuits (noodling for catfish, anyone?), but one thing is for certain — he does them outside. His look…

We’ve all got one. Maybe it’s you: The mediaphile in the family who’s impossible to shop for because he has it all and he’s seen it all — twice. His TV? Projected. His surround sound? 9.2. His wardrobe? Needs work. His love of movies and music has been fueled in the past by those enabling…

“Time and tide wait for no man”, wrote Geoffrey Chaucer. We spend our days clamoring after bigger homes, nicer cars, the ultimate vacation spot — and time keeps ticking, someday getting the better of us. Death and taxes, as they say. Every so often, in the stillness of the night, we think about the legacy we’re leaving, about what will remain that has our name stamped on it long after we’re food for worms. Discomfortingly, it seems little will. Even in the world of architecture, with varied and vast creations across the globe, it’s a constant struggle to keep many historic buildings intact or to actually restore them to their original glory. Some survive, and many of those buildings aren’t even a century old. Others fall, their legacy continued only in photographs or history books.

The straightforward instruments used to harvest grapes by hand haven’t changed much through the years: A pair of picking shears (sharp and oiled, please), a generously proportioned basket and, God willing, decent weather and bottomless espresso. The process itself remains just as simple an affair. Choose a starting point within the grapevine row, look for mature grape clusters, aim shears slightly below the attached stem — snip — gently place cluster into basket. Repeat until basket is full.

In the world of exotic Italian automakers, the Lamborghini name needs no introduction — especially with the legacy of V12 superbeasts like the Miura and the Countach. Such icons adorned the walls of many a high school boy’s room just a few decades ago, and still ring true in our memories as a couple of…

I’ve gaped at car chases, grinned from ear to ear over sly one-liners and left theaters flushed with the gory glory of Daniel Craig’s stone-faced massacres. No arguments here: theatrical James Bond is the perfect feel-good character for a whole sect of males. Cars, women, subterfuge and wit — that’s not a hard pill to…

And so James Bond reluctantly retires his Beretta 418, in .25 ACP — and takes up the Walther Polizeipistole Kurz (police pistol, short) as his issued weapon, in both the original novel and the movie. Ian Fleming had Bond’s original Beretta catch in his holster in From Russia, With Love ; but in 1956 he…

For our last Hunting eBay post (for now), I’ve turned the focus to cameras. When it comes to photography gear, eBay is packed with listings — occasionally even leaving you wondering where to begin. But even if you’re the type who likes to dig around eBay for store-beating deals on DSLR kits and lenses (free…

What are as stunning as the women Bond has not-so-lasting relations with? His cars. Some — like the quintessential DB5 — we worship; others — the horrid AMC Hornet X Sedan, for example — are as tempting as having your privates divided by a laser beam. We decided to take a closer look at the…

Every guy has dreamed of living the Bond life at some point in time. What man wouldn’t want to drive missile-equipped Aston Martins, blow through government slush funds on the tables of Monaco and spar with Grace Jones in bed woo every striking woman in a 200 mile radius while drinking the finest champagne? Practicing…

Every kind of meal has its own purpose, its particular ritual and significance. Burgers are meant for tailgating; road trips run on fast food; French restaurants seem fit for special occasions like anniversaries and third dates where you’re really trying to get some. Chief among dining rituals is the steakhouse dinner, when friends and colleagues…

We’ve been blessed with a very high quality supply of meat in this inaugural Month of Beef, but the reality of life is that there isn’t always a Wagyu beef cache and a hot cast iron pan in arm’s reach — especially on the road. We wondered, is it possible to get a good steak…

There’s a bit of dialogue in Casino Royale, the 2006 reboot of the James Bond movie franchise, when Vesper Lynd thinks she has Bond figured out, right down to his watch: “Rolex?” she asks. “Omega”, Bond replies. “Beautiful”, Lynd assesses. Those three words sum up 50 years of Bond and his wristwatches. They also have…

We’ve given you a beef baptism in buying beef online, the rules of store-bought beef, beef’s lesser-known cuts and even beef you can drink. Kicking things up a notch (BAM!), let’s explore the breeds of cattle that end up on your plate — putting a face on things, so to speak. Get your breed on…

In-N-Out Burger is something of a cult to those living outside of the chain’s west-coast bubble, proselytized by endless waves of sunkissed acolytes devoted to spreading the good burger word. Their brief testaments, filled with whispers of “animal fries”, “secret menus” and multiplied stacks of beef and cheese, speak of a fast-food paradise whose divine…

Editor’s Note: There comes a time during the Month of Beef when you’ve eaten so much, so indulgently, that you’re down on the floor, slamming your palm, shouting “uncle” to visions of uncooked ribeye. That’s before you’ve even talked about bone marrow. We were damn near that point, so we called in the reinforcements. Jodie…

It doesn’t feel like that long ago when adding aftermarket amplifiers, separates, and elephantine subwoofers (remember the Bazooka?) seemed like the right thing to do to your car. We’ve come a long way since then; and when we checked in with the families and friends at the office, not one could even recall the last…

Much has been made of the rising use of American drones — both as a weapon in the counter-terrorism fight abroad and in support of law enforcement and border integrity at home. References to science fiction-run-amok quickly come to mind (HAL 9000 of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the namesake Terminator, EDI of Stealth), and the…

For the third Hunting eBay I’ve turned the survey to menswear. It’s worth noting my submission into the vast world of fashion comes with a note of diffidence — style is highly subjective, and there’s no shortage of highly tuned eyes on the vast array of good things out there for a man. So instead,…

We see color all around us: on our screens, big and small and in real-life. It’s the norm. Black & white, however, evokes an emotion. With less to consume and consider, we begin to see drama, contrast and subjects. For our fifth Sharp Shooter article, we’re tackling the process of shooting black & white photography….

The Beef Council successfully hijacked America’s dinner plans in the early 90s with one simple phrase. Now, we’re executing a hostile takeover of your bar with just two simple words: “beef drinks”. Yeah, you heard us — that same intoxicating meat flavor that works wonders on your taste buds at mealtime is just as delicious…

There’s something to be said for the adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. We believe in it. Meat plus bun plus ketchup is a very good meal, indeed. On the other hand, anyone who’s walked into Mr. Bartley’s Gourmet Burgers in Cambridge, MA, and sampled the brain-thwacking assortment of burgers, can surely attest…

Ah, the meat cleaver. Bucking the tapered and svelte designs of traditional blades, these husky boys of the knife world were developed for one singular purpose — to serve as the machete of the kitchen. Their fatter, squared-off business ends bring added weight and toughness to the task of dismembering, leveraging sheer momentum to breeze…

If you’ve been following our Sharp Shooter series, you’ve already learned about the fundamentals of DSLR photography along with tips to better capture the area you live in, even at night. But how about when you’re camera’s accompanying something like a vacation — or better yet, an adventure? In this fourth installation, we’ve lined up…

We promised to leave no steak unturned during our month of beef, and we’re men of our word. As it happens, beef’s got a thespian side that The Academy repeatedly fails to acknowledge. Our budget for gold statues was blown on jerky and skillets, but that won’t stop us from proposing a new award category…

Lino Manfrotto was an Italian photojournalist in the late ’60s who hated lugging cumbersome lights and poles on location and at his studio. From desperation comes inspiration, as they say, and today Manfrotto is known in the industry as producing some of the toughest and lightest photo and film gear essentials. Equipment matters, and Manfrotto…

Ground beef has fallen on hard times in the public eye. It started with the October 3, 2009 New York Times cover story, “The Burger That Shattered Her Life” about a woman infected by E. coli from a frozen Cargill burger patty. Since then: more stories, many recalls, and debates about the safety of “pink…

You can purchase nearly anything online in the year 2012. Jeans and vintage watches, virtual assistants, unicorn head costumes for Halloween (a guy we know) — even brides, though it’s a rather complicated transaction (again, a guy we know). Beef is no exception. From traditional mail-order companies like Omaha Steaks to farm-direct sellers like Crystal…

Update 2: Well fellow Beefeaters, it’s been a long and arduously delectable Month of Beef. You’ve learned how to braise, order beef online and match your cut with your preparation. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed yourself, tried new things and maybe even gained a few pounds of beef weight. What you’ve also done, for the benefit of…

Editor’s Note: Last year, the Department of Defense spent $707 billion in defense, over $1 trillion when accounting for other departments like FBI counter-terrorism, Energy, and NASA — not to mention interest. It’s a colossal sum, and an equally imposing topic to cover — we’ll leave it to you to pick a front-line news spin….