(Image: ByronMania)

Last evening, Mrs. E. and I attended a performance of “Guys and Dolls.” I was one of perhaps a half dozen men in a tie and the only one in a suit instead of a coat and odd trousers. Was I uncomfortable? It got a little warm during the second act, but certainly not unbearable (although a glass of chilled champagne would have helped immeasurably. Note to the Empire Theatre/Theatre IV staff: please lay on more than one bartender.)

The actors, in their authentic 1940’s double-breasted suits must have been far warmer under the lights…. And they were high energy performers, too. I don’t think it was too much to ask that we show a little enthusiasm at the prospect of a delightful evening out.

So, without further ado, a few thoughts I’ve run across on the art of dressing well.

Lord Byron is said to have declared that of the two men he admired most—Beau Brummell and Napoleon Bonaparte—he would rather have been the dandy than the emperor. As a young man, he scrupulously followed Brummell’s sartorial dicta, and was never seen without a white cravat. (Napoleon wore a black neckcloth, a habit condemned by the Beau.) Byron later abandoned his fastidiousness to the extent of having early portraits overpainted with an open-necked shirt, but for a time he embodied Brummell’s philosophy: the maximum of luxury in the service of minimal ostentation.

(From Cabinet Magazine, 2007)

And this from Richard Torregrossa of “Cary Grant Style” What to Wear to a Recession.

We’re off to the beach for a week, where I shall wear little else than a bathing suit or drawstring linen trousers and a shirt. Even I can’t pull off a sarong in North Carolina.

If the internet works, I will try and post a few thoughts along the way. Luck be a lady, tonight.

Feta Stuffed Burgers

Summer is the best time to grill out. It keeps the kitchen from overheating. And I like to grill all sorts of things. Especially fish. But when pressed for time, it’s into the icebox for some Bison meat to make into burgers.

These are stuffed with feta cheese, a little pressed garlic and oregano, brushed with olive oil, salted, peppered and drizzled with a dijonnaise vinaigrette. Fast, easy and just a touch more elegant than your average burger, they are equally good made with ground lamb.

Prep time about 5 minutes. Cook time about 6 minutes. Consumed in about the same amount of time…. delicious. Serve with a bone dry red.

(Via Stylecourt, hope that’s OK?)

I’ve given up and rented “A Dance to the Music of Time” on DVD. Somehow I’ve not been able to make the time to read all 12 novels and I’ve had the books (condensed into four volumes) for a number of years now. I am slowly working my way through “Them.” The stack of unread books in my library and on my bedside table is threatening to darken both rooms as they loom ever larger.

And yet, I buy more. Books are an addiction started early for this only child. There is simply no substitute that I find adequate in which I can lose myself. But with a 10 PM lights out policy (I need eight hours of sleep; although that is an ever-shifting target), there just isn’t enough time alone to make a dent.

So, I’m just curious. I’ll live vicariously.

1. When do you read? Do you read before bed? In the afternoon? Commuting by rail? At airports?

2. What genre do you read and what are you reading now?

3. Who is your favourite author?