The G Manifesto

Why I love a Down Economy?

All you hear these days is Regular Guy whining about having no Dough in the Down Economy. More negative energy floating around than at Biggie’s funeral. But everything is going to be alright this morning.

As you know by now, The G is a breed apart. We got our Mojo working. G’s are kneading more Dough than Wolfgang Puck at Spago’s in the 80’s.

Sure G’s like to diss things that need dissing: Bottle Service, Mortgage Brokers, Restaurants serving crappy Dungeness crab cakes, Police, Guys wearing Glittery Christian Audiger shirts, white girls who can’t dance and favor flip-flops over high heels etc. But generally speaking we like to keep positive vibrations.

The Up Economy was cool (actually it has been stylistically, culturally and intellectually the worst decade yet, but that is neither Marinella ties nor Colombian Pies. I will address in a future Manifesto), but the Down Economy is even better:

Girls coming out the Woodwork

I am sure everyone has noticed this. Ever since the Down Economy has been in full effect, girls have been coming back like Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins. At least twice a day, I get little girls lost re-contacting me with calls and texts. It has gotten to be so sublime and ridiculous that I am actually kicking around the idea of out-sourcing to India a secretary to field all my incoming calls and texts a la The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. I think the reason for this goes something like this:

Honey dip settled for some striped shirted fool in the wack BMW whip during the Up Economy. Now “Guy” is out of work, out of dough and can barely afford his sparkly Ed Hardy shirts and queer ripped jeans, let alone a night out on the town or his condo mortgage payment. Now girl remembers you as the brutally handsome, sharply dressed G who was LA, next week MIA, the week after BA. Little does she know, as far as giving up green, “I ain’t the one”. But, I will get Brain like a “know it all”.

Heists

“Note Jobs” are up at Banks. So are “Smash and Grabs”. This only makes it easier for high-end Heistmen like your humble author to ply his trade, as police resources are being used up. Drug dealers are making more money these days, too. Independent dealers are on the rise. All the better to Standover, Oh my Brothers. If you want some pretty polly…you take it.

Public Opinion Improved

Girls are so desperate these days, you can actually, finally, tell the truth about what you do for a living. Just the other night, as an unofficial case study, I told a fly Platinum Digger with light Grey Eyes and lies, when she asked me what I did for a living I said, “I rob Drug Dealers.” The Platinum Digger actually responded, “Wow. That seems like a good job… must pretty recession proof”. In 2005 she would have been running away like Usain Bolt, had I been honest.

Wearing Flash Suits

Suits have more punch these days than Andre Berto. Everyone, and I mean everyone loves the well dressed, International Playboy/Heistman/Peoples Champ in these grim economic times.

Bring terror, like C4, and boom step in the room with a Custom one button Saville Row suit with Claret red interior, Borelli shirt, Brioni Pocket Square, Berluti shoes, and lighting a cigarette with a Dunhill lighter and you will have girls locking jaws on you like one of Michael Vick’s prized pitbulls. It’s mad Scary. Like Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”, lyrical poisonous darts or macroeconomic charts.

And with Great Britian’s Drop in currency value since a year ago at 23%, it’s about time to pick up some new Saville Row suits. Trust me, they will pay for themselves.

CASH

Having a huge Bankroll these days is more rare than the seared Ahi at Masa in NYC. So it goes without saying, that having a huge Bankroll is going to drive girls wilder than an opium dusted, bi-polar-crack head drinking Cisco waving around a malfunctioning deuce-deuce. Mascara is melting off China Dolls when you flash rolls. And I am not talking about Beans either.

Music

It hasn’t happened yet, but with tough economic times comes better music. Hip Hop has had an atrocious decade, but with DC’s own Wale and some other dope new school non-hip hop shit, I think we are going to see a turn around. Like Immortal Technique says “The bling-bling era was cute but it’s about to be done, I leave you full of clips like the moon blocking the sun”.

Wale Feat Duffy - Warwick Avenue

Money Making

Making money is actually easier in many ways in a Down Economy. Less clowns all up in the Game. Less talkers. More takers. (See The Top Ten Ways to Make Money in a Down Economy). Just don’t forget to give back to the less fortunate.

Smoking

With less liquid CASH around (and I don’t mean Chris Paciello’s 90’s Miami Beach Nightclub Liquid that I used to hold court at as a young Proto-type G either) girls have less money and get more fiendy for cigarettes. Which means you will have more little girls “setting out that line” at the witching hour every night. Which means you have more chances to throw Voodoo on Fly Girls. And you know I got the Black Cat Bone, mojo bag, the John The Conqueroo and I am going to mess with you. Mean Mannish Boy. Hoochie Coochie Man and all that.

Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy (1971)

Also, in the Down Economy, restaurateurs have less say on whether or not you can smoke jacks in their spots. What are they going to do? Tell you that you can’t smoke when you are their best customer? Light up. And feel the elegant nicotine high. Fly pelican fly.

Rivals

I would love to say I don’t feel pleasure in others failure. But to be honest, I do. I love to ash on my rivals mangled and bloodied bodies decaying in a 5 foot deep lime pit. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Travel

Traveling is so much easier these days. Way shorter security lines. Sick Hotels, in sick trouble, are offering rooms at prices akin to a mean streets Ghetto flop house. Even Las Vegas can be done on the cheap. Wynn Las Vegas was offering rooms for $169 on a Friday recently. I felt like I was pulling a Heist. (I don’t have to tell you I got my Encore Tower Suite Deluxe King comped. Over 2,200 square feet of Luxury, in case you didn’t know.)

And with the Australian Dollar down 28% this year, it’s time again to Swoop Girls and Influence People.

Restaurants

Getting your favorite table at a restaurant is even easier than swooping a slip-sliding Nightlife Princesses in a Down Economy. Restaurateurs even pro-bono you more. Plus, you don’t have as many Red State tourist yokels leaning over your shoulder asking, “Whaat is thaat your eatin’?” when you are trying to relax and enjoy some Foie Gras and a glass of Red.

More Foreign Girls

The Down Economy has made more Euro girls come to America (we will see if it holds up), so you can swoop way more of them without leaving the USA. They may call you a Lothario, a seductor, a séducteur or a freak but the fact remains I swoop a different fly girl every day of the week.

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA The 7th Prince
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

N.W.A - I ain’t the one

Muddy Waters - Hoochie Coochie Man (1971)

One button Suits VS Two Button Suits VS Three Button Suits

This question came from yourfavoritewritersfavoriter:

“What is your opinion of the 1 button suit?”

Funny you ask, I have been rocking tons of One Buttons lately and chopping it up like a chainsaw thru Nutella. (And I love Nutella.)

Although I am no fashion historian, I would say it goes like this:

One Button Suit: Kind of Jazz man smooth. Rat pack steez. Stylishly sleek. Good for picking up Models and Nightlife Princesses. For the Nightshift. Swooping fly girls on the veranda overlooking the Med. Suit worn not because you have to wear a suit for work.

Two Button Suit: Universal. Biz Stilo. Works well on all builds. Good all around battle tested swoop gear. Timeless. JFK.

Three Button Suit: 60’s Mod style. Good for taller cats. Can be Rakish.

Side note:

Four Button Suit: NFL wide receiver. A la Michael Irvin.

Five Button Suit (and up): Hoops. Charles Oakley.

But Like my Grandfather always told me; “Style and Taste are for men. Trends and Fashion are for the ladies.” G’s stick with Style and Taste.

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Commodores - Nightshift

Liars poker

Fontainebleau Hotel Miami Beach Back in Action

MARILYN RUBINSON recalls her stays at the Fontainebleau hotel as a series of high-fashion snapshots. There were afternoons at the cabana, “a blue hotel towel wrapped around my head like a turban and wearing high-heeled Lucite shoes,” she said. There were evenings at the Gigi Room, rubbing shoulders with New York’s dashing mayor, John V. Lindsay; and she remembers sweeping down the dramatic lobby staircase in a form-fitting, stone-colored gown. “In those days everyone made an entrance,” Mrs. Rubinson, 84, said. “I made lots of entrances.”

In that heady era the hotel was the diadem of Miami resorts, a 560-foot-long, sickle-shaped showplace dominating the Collins Avenue waterfront, where Miamians like the Rubinsons, who own a chain of clothing stores, and well-to-do snowbirds came in the winter to roost.

“Everyone who was anyone was there,” Mrs. Rubinson said. “People wore black tie and jewelry. Everyone was young.”

And everyone lived large at the flamboyant resort, conceived from its outset to evoke a modern Versailles. “It was the place for entertainment, for glamour — an icon even among the locals,” said Cathy Leff, the director of the Wolfsonian museum of design here. “Even now if one asks, ‘Within the city of Miami Beach, what is the most important landmark in the popular imagination?’ it would be the Fontainebleau.”

Can an icon of the past be restored to its former glory? New owners and architects of the Fontainebleau have invested $1 billion to buy and restore it in the conviction that it can. Its original fusion of Modernist rigor and Hollywood cheek, dreamed up by the maverick architect Morris Lapidus, was derided as Bronx baroque, until the singular style of Miami Beach was rediscovered by the Ian Schrager generation.

“In its day in the ’50s and ’60s, the Fontainebleau was state of the art in glamour,” said Jeffrey Beers, the New York architect responsible for an extensive update of the interior. “We would like to restore that in spirit.”

When the refurbished resort is officially unveiled on Nov. 14 with a series of parties and a taping for television of a Victoria’s Secret fashion show — perfect! — visitors will be able to judge for themselves if the mission succeeded. Even recently, as the hotel was still a construction site, it was clear that the old duchess had flounced out her skirts.

“How many places like this can you go in America that are not in the desert?” said Jeffrey Soffer, executive chairman and majority partner of Fontainebleau Resorts, which is building a Fontainebleau in Las Vegas. Indeed, as he strolled the raised oceanfront walkway that overlooks the property, it was obvious the resort had much in common with over-the-top hotels on the Strip.

Mel Dick, who moved to Miami from Brooklyn in the ’60s, visited on his honeymoon. He recalled being drawn to a sign outside the hotel barbershop that beckoned, “Come and have your shoes shined by the former lightweight champion of the world.” It was Sidney Walker, known as Beau Jack, recalled Mr. Dick, a wine company executive. “I sat down in the seat and I gave him five dollars. I told him: ‘I don’t want you to shine my shoes. I just want to look at you.’ ”

Source

I love the Fontainebleau Hotel and I can’t wait for opening day.

My Grandfather had sparred with Beau Jack in NYC when they were both youngsters. I remember my Grandfather (old-school G and head breaker with IRA connects) told me a story of how he saw Beau Jack shining shoes at Fontainebleau Hotel.

After saying hello to his old friend, my Grandfather offered to shine Beau Jack’s shoes. G move to the fullest.

Respect.

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA Your favorite International Playboy’s, favorite International Playboy
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Scarface-Maria Conchita Vamos A Bailar

Is the Art World’s Bull Market Over?

Everyone who is anyone in the art world was in London last week for a series of sales and fairs.

The trouble is, too many collectors left their checkbook behind in the clearest sign yet that the global financial crisis has finally caught up with the art world. Experts warn that things are likely to get tougher.

A far bigger test for a market which had largely defied the gravity of economic gloom comes next month, when Sotheby’s and Christie’s, the two dominant auction houses, hold major sales in New York. The Art Basel Miami Beach show follows in December.

“Now is not a brilliant time to be selling — people are facing such a complicated financial situation they are not prepared to do anything,” said Philip Hoffman, chief executive of the Fine Art Fund Group.

“The market place is much tougher, and in light of what’s happened in the financial markets, the art market cannot be immune to it. Liquidity is tighter everywhere.”

Source

Art world’s test

I think Sotheby’s and Christie’s will undoubtbly be effected by the Down Economy.

But like anything, if the price is right, now is the time to be buying.

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA Your favorite International Playboy’s, favorite International Playboy
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Guest Manifesto: ENTER ACTION WITH BOLDNESS

By DevX

(Click Here for The G Manifesto’s Best Halloween Costumes to Swoop Girls)

(Click Here for DevX’s Guest Manifesto: Bold Men CREATE Opportunities)

Most men are born timid, chances are — you were too. Most societies across the world today have promoted a culture of political correctness, conflict aversion, trend following, and a desire to be liked by all. And this isn’t entirely a bad thing. Going down this path will get you an OK house in the suburbs with a plain wife, 2.5 kids, and a dog named Spot. If this is a lifestyle you desire, stop reading now. For my real and aspiring G’s, please continue…

Bold Men Have Wills of Steel

One of my favorite UFC Fighters when I had time to watch TV was Tito Ortiz. The guy was a beast unleashed and if you had the misfortune of getting in his way when he was on a rampage, you were going to pay. He had a quote, which I try to live by that says: “RESPECT: I don’t earn it; I just fuckin take it!” But even as much as I admired the rawness of this cat, there’s another lesser known UFC Fighter who was a true man of boldness. Lee Murray. Let that name marinate for a bit.

Back in 2002, outside a London nightclub, Tito and Lee exchanged words, which eventually led to blows. Tito let out a left-right combo which both missed Lee. Lee then followed up with a 5 punch combo that knocked Tito the fuck out. COLD.

If that was the end of the story, he’d be an interesting side note in UFC history. But its what Lee did after which really impressed me with the strength of this man’s character (whether you agree with the DIRECTION of his character is another matter altogether).

In 2006, Lee was the alleged (ha! I love this word) mastermind behind the 53 million Pound CASH robbery from a British bank (about $100M US). He then fled to Morocco, which coincidentally(?) has no extradition treaty with England. The British gov’t has been coming after Lee since the robbery, but the Moroccan gov’t has steadily refused to give up Mr. Murray. (Side note: There are two women I have ever met that have given me the “Thunderbolt”, one was Moroccan.)

Lesson: I’m not recommending anyone going out and pull heists. Most people who try this would probably drop the ball and end up behind in the back seat of a squad car. What I DO recommend is that you find where you have an edge and adopt a mentality with an will of steel that was required for Lee to pull off what’s he’s done…while he was STILL in his 20’s. You have to have an unbendable vision of what you want, and anyone that stands in your way has to be dealt with accordingly.

Caution: Boldness without planning, boldness without information is leveraged stupidity. Do NOT do this. This is like doubling down when you have no edge. You will lose. Notice that Lee had a well executed after plan. Unlike many of the smash and grab low level criminals you find in major cities, he didn’t go back to his apartment or his mom’s house. He got out the country and went to a non-extradition country.

To win at chess, you have to see several moves ahead and anticipate your opponent’s move. If you don’t have the wisdom, the time, the STRENGTH OF WILL, and/or the balls to do this, stick to Checkers.

Source: Story adapted from 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

By DevX

ill bill & the beatnuts - yae yo

Down Economy hurting Luxury Hotels

Even as midprice hotels began losing business this past summer, luxury hotels continued to fill their rooms. Companies treated the hotels as perks for top executives and quality locations for high-level business meetings. And many leisure travelers considered a stay at a top hotel - even for a couple of days - to be worth the cost.

Times have changed.

Since mid-September, almost in parallel with the stock market turmoil, demand for high-end hotel rooms has plummeted. Patrick Ford, president of Lodging Econometrics, said that U.S. luxury hotel-room revenue rates “slowed in mid-September and really ratcheted downward during October.”

Revenue per available room, the standard measure of performance, dropped 14 percent at upscale and luxury hotels in the week ending Oct. 18 over the comparable week last year, according to Smith Travel Research. For hotels in general, the decline was about 8 percent.

Source

This is a good thing.

I was at the Bellagio in Las Vegas for the first time last week (I typically stay at Wynn or THE HOTEL). I had to say there because I was invited to a meeting of Democratic heavyweights there. Bill Maher guest speaker. Chilled with Maher a Spearmint Rhino for a little too.

Bottom rooms were like $159 a night (of course I didn’t stay in the “bottom room” and it was pro-bono, but that is neither Google Stock nor Body Rock).

Super cheap. Motel-like prices.

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA Your favorite International Playboy’s, favorite International Playboy
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Mos Def, Q-Tip & Dash - Body rock

Will Savile Row Survive the Down Economy?

We asked Anda Rowland, owner of Anderson & Sheppard, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, what the outlook is for the Row’s traditional tailoring firms.

“We are still getting new customers and many enquiries, but it has to be said that London is not really in the mood to spend and people are traveling [to London] less,” Rowland tells Luxist. “Luckily, despite the turn away from ‘bling’ spending, there has been a renewed interest in goods that have an underlying value, which is perceived as more solid and easier to understand and to explain to the customer. There is a shift from the ‘Because I’m worth it’ attitude towards one questioning ‘Was it worth it?’”

Asked about the influx of money from emerging markets, “Speaking for Anderson & Sheppard, we have not seen a growth in customers from Russia or from the UAE,” she replies. “We have had more press interest, but it has not filtered through to visits yet. China and India are growing markets [for us] due, perhaps, to a historical familiarity with the history and tradition of Savile Row.” As for the future, “I have heard from the other tailors that they believe that their trips abroad will be more and more important over the next couple of years,” Rowland says. “They feel that customers will be traveling far less and that overseas service will help them to keep the workshops busy and running efficiently.”

Summing up, Rowland, who inherited the business a few years back from her father, is optimistic. “As a relative newcomer to this industry where most houses are at least 100 years old, I am reassured by the reaction of most tailors who say that their firms have seen it all several times before,” she tells us. “I can imagine that for many of the big designer brands that are much younger, it is harder to be as quietly confident as we are on Savile Row.”

Source

With the falling pound, it is time to pick up some more Savile Row Suits.

Worth their weight in Gold in a Down Economy. A flight to quality if you will.

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA Your favorite International Playboy’s, favorite International Playboy
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Miles Davis - So What(1964)

De La Soul - Shopping Bags

De La breaks it down for the suckers.

De La Soul - Shopping Bags

De La Soul - Shopping Bags lyrics

Her frame goes beyond thick, she got you stunned
Living it up off the pop hits
Like a dame on a Bond flick, she’s not the one
To give it up ’til you cop shit
Just because she’s stacked right, she got your soul
Her every wish you now obey
You should be on that act right, but she got control
She say jump you scream, “OKAY! I’M RELOADED!”
N*#ga you shooting blanks
Trying to front like you got game
Her crib is sugar coated, like she lootin banks
But it’s your wallet she done claimed
When the limit of your plastic, reaches the end
You start paying for your time
She’ll be in it for the last bit, of money to spend
HA, HA, HA And you’ll be left with dimes
While she filling up

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA The Seventh Letter
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Huge diamond could be a Record Breaker

A diamond unearthed in the southern African nation of Lesotho could yield one of the largest and highest quality round polished diamonds.

Experts in Antwerp, Belgium who analyzed the 478-carat stone determined it to be of the highest color grading available for a white diamond.

“What makes it more remarkable is the color and quality of this stone,” said diamond consultant Neil Buxton.

The diamond is a D color, which is the highest possible graded color you can get, and there is a chance of getting a 100-carat plus round stone with the highest color and clarity rankings.

The diamond, which was found in September, ranks as the 20th largest rough diamond ever found, but is not the biggest ever taken from the Letseng Mine, which is co-owned by Gem Diamonds Ltd. and the Kingdom of Lesotho, a country of 2.1 million that is surrounded by South Africa.

Two bigger stones — 603 and 493 carats — were found in the mine in 2006 and 2007, respectively, the company said. A 601-carat diamond was mined there in 1960.

Source

The biggest diamond ever found so far is called the Cullinan diamond - which is part of the British Crown Jewels - and is measured at more than a staggering 3,100 carats.

The Rest is Up To You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA The Game Doctor Spock
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

Huge diamond found

Bottle Service Update: Half-bottle service in Las Vegas

One of my droogs just sent me an article about Bottle Service in Las Vegas.

New York-New York Hotel & Casino’s new nightclub — ROK Vegas — will offer half-bottle service when it opens to the public Labor Day Weekend. It’s billed as a Vegas first. Half bottles start at $175, plus tax and gratuity.

The idea is to “enhance the VIP experience by offering guests more choices for their tables,” according to press materials, plus give nightlife lovers a more budget-friendly club option.

Source

To me, this is hilarious; a budget conscious option for Nightclubs. I predicted the demise of Bottle Service and “Bottle Service Guy” here: Bottle Service: America’s Nightlife Nightmare and here: Outlook for 2008. So long, Goodbye.

What’s next? Selling bottles by the quarter bottle?

How about just selling it by the drink?

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA The Seventh Letter
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

So long, Goodbye. - Joe Budden