Art.Engine produces phenomenal sound, Ferrari-style
By Ann Wycoff
FOR THOSE WHO COVET one-of-a-kind expensive toys, the Art.Engine audio system will skyrocket to the top of your must-have list. Design genius David Wiener, who has worked on products ranging from aircraft to furniture and fashion, has teamed up with Ferrari to create the ultimate music machine. Available in a splashy selection of Ferrari design colors, a single tower delivers technologically superior sound, whether you prefer ambient tunes or blow-the-roof-off-the-house rock and roll.
FRIENDLIER SKIES
By Laurence Liss
If you travel for business or take a laptop with you on vacation, you know the drill: Unpack your computer and send it through the airport X-ray machine in a gray bin. The task is not difficult, though it is irritating, slows down the line, and, if you’re like me, tends to result in shocking your computer with static buildup from the rubber conveyor belt—which doesn’t extend the life of the machine. Passing through security just got a little easier with the introduction of checkpoint-friendly laptop bags and cases such as Pathfinder Luggage's new line (pictured at right). The policy started several months ago when the Transportation Safety Authority (TSA) asked luggage manufacturers to design cases for laptops that by nature of their material and the location of their compartments would be effectively transparent to X-ray machines. Only a handful of manufacturers (Mobile Edge, Briggs & Riley Travelware, and Targus, to name a few) were able to produce a prototype that met the TSA’s specifications.
By Kent Black
THE TIMING OF OUR June/July feature on an American working in the Republic of Georgia, reveling in its trout fishing and viticulture, could hardly have been more unfortunate. The moment my staff and I heard of the Russian invasion of the country, we all said a silent prayer: first for the Georgian citizens, and then that we weren’t responsible for one of our readers blithely tramping into the country, Winston rod in hand, coming face to face with a Russian tank.
By Kent Black
YOU KNOW THOSE LITTLE CARDS that have become ubiquitous in mega-hotel bathrooms—the ones that offer you a partnership with your hosts in the environmental movement if you make the “green” choice to re-hang your towels for a second night? After reading those cards, have you muttered to yourself, “My God, what an irrefutable pile of BS!”?
I’m with you, pal.
By Kent Black
FOR THIS ISSUE, I was planning on writing a classic Letter from the Editor. I figured I’d get my picture taken in some elegant library wearing a tweed custom suit, possibly with a silk Lanvin waistcoat and a pair of tortoiseshell glasses with fake lenses perched on my nose. I’d be reclined in a leather club chair with a snifter of brandy at hand while I puffed away on my bone pipe carved from the knee of a giraffe I’d mud-wrestled during a tribal initiation ceremony in Bozoland. Not sure what I would have written about ... maybe Really, Really Deep Travel Thoughts.
By Laurence Liss
Several months back, I got a pair of El Naturalista's Viandante urban walking shoes, and, without a doubt, they’ve drawn more comments about my sense of style than any other article of clothing I've worn. Frankly, I’m the kind of guy who chooses shoes entirely based on comfort—not necessarily a great idea if you’re trying to win cool points. But the fact is, from a pure comfort point of view, I'd buy Viandantes again in a heartbeat.