It's that time of year again. I had such a good New Year's Eve last year that, statistically speaking, chances are slim it will happen again for a few more years, so this year I haven't even planned anything! I'll be out and about somewhere, but nothing major. As Patti Smith reminded us all on Monday night -- the show was amazing as always -- the Year of the Rat is about to come to an end and ahead is the Year of the Ox. Hard work is upon us people.

I wanted to take a minute, though, to say thanks to everyone who reads this blog. Please keep reading, keeping sending tips, and tell all of your friends.

Thanks to everyone who has emailed me with well wishes. It means a lot. It's made me realize I need to send more random emails of praise to designers, entertainers, artists, etc whose work I admire. We do read the emails and as I sit here in the vacuum of my 4th floor East Village apartment -- away from the actual people who make up the traffic stats for the site -- it's great to hear that you're out there, reading, enjoying, and want more.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has contributed to the site by writing for it or all of the designers and labels who have taken part in the weekly giveaways in the newsletter. It means a lot to me.

Happy New Year!! Out with the rats. In with the oxen.

I'm not much of a watch person myself. Yes, I've owned a few in my lifetime, but with the advent of cell phones, who needs one? The white G-Shock I got for free last summer was reason enough to use watch as accessory again for a short time.

Having said that, I'm not the kind of guy who fantisizes and talks about the $6,000+ watches he'll buy when he gets rich, although I think all of those guys are unemployed and probably trying to pawn theirs now anyway. When I see something hot, though, I do take notice, but the thought of actually spending over $25,000 on a watch would never cross my mind, no matter how big my bank account.

Leave it Moss to carry a watch that would make me think twice, though. Behold the Solaris reversible watch by design guru Mark Newsom for Ikepod. If you're anything like me -- which you probably aren't -- you've never heard of Ikepod. Truns out, Ikepod is a Swiss wristwatch manufacturer owned by Adam Lindemann and Marc Newson specializing in conceptual timepieces. And I thoughht he was just designing for someone else!

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I know: sometimes I sound like a broken record. What can I say?

So there's this bar in the East Village that I've walked by hundreds of times. It's got the hottest, cheesiest name ever -- Sly Fox -- which just happens to be the same name of a dive bar in my hometown when I was growing up. Finally, this past weekend, the stars aligned and a friend and I went to the Sly Fox for a few drinks.

First, perhaps it was because it was the holiday weekend, but the place was not packed at all, which shocked me. A hip dive bar that's housed inside the Ukrainian National Home on Second Ave empty? I still can't believe it. All of the good dive bars east of 2nd Ave have been so overrun it's not fun to go to them any longer.

The place totally reminded me of the Dresden Room in LA. You know the one in Swingers? While not identical, the seats/booths with their tacky patterned fabric instantly brought the Dresden Room to mind. Dive bar, but with a bit of polish from not being totally worn down over the years.

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You've gotta wonder about a band whose name is Fucked Up. Similar to bands with wolf, vampire, and other super trendy words in the their name: I just discount them without even giving them a try. I found out this past weekend when I got a recommendation from a friend about Fucked Up that he felt the same about their name, but after listening to a few tracks got over it real fast.

Fucked Up is definitely a hardcore punk band, which I definitely can get into, but usually only in small doses. There's something different about Fucked Up, though, that puts them into a new category of hardcore punk that I could listen to over and over again.

Fucked Up has collaborated extensively with other artists on record and during live performances. Hidden World features guest instrumentation from Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy, and guest vocals by Ben Cook of No Warning, George Pettit of Alexisonfire, Chris Colohan of Cursed, and Heidi Hazelton. Year of the Pig was written in part with Max Mccabe-Locos of the Deadly Snakes, who plays piano and organ on the record, and a lead vocal by Jennifer Castle of Castlemusic. Most recently the holiday charity single David Christmas purports to have guest vocals from Nelly Furtado, Davey Havok, David Cross, and Faris Badwan of The Horrors, among others.

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Japanese limited edition t-shirt gurus Graniph have teamed up with Lovefoxxx, the Brazilian lead singer of indie-electro band Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS) for two limited tee designs (retail value $40US).

Not only are these two styles not yet available on Graniph's site or in any of their retail stores, but they've given me 8 tees (1 in each style sizes XS-L) to give away this week!!! So you'll be one of the first to get your hands on one of these babies and your chances of winning are really good.

There's only one small catch: the tees are sized Japanese style, which means they run REALLY small. Checkout this page for more details on sizing and plan accordingly.

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I don't know about you all, but I'm over Swarovski. Mind you, I have nothing against the company or their product. And yes, it's great that they've spent so much money funding various art, fashion, and design projects, but, I'm sick of seeing their name on everything. They've done too much and now it's time to take a rest and give us a break. Please!!

In the interim, though, my current favorite SHOWstudio has teamed up with that company (I can't type their name again) for an online project currently on view called Christmastide.

* For those who may not know, Christmastide is real. I'd never heard of it until now, I have to admit.

In the spirit of the festive season, SHOWstudio has approached a dozen stellar examples of international fashion talent to help them celebrate Christmastide in style. Over the twelve days of Christmas - from 26 December 2008 to 6 January 2009 - SHOWstudio will showcase a selection of inspired and inspirational images proffered by their design stars, refracted and faceted as if seen through that company's trademark sparkling crystals.

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A friend just tipped me off to a site that if you haven't heard about it yet, you need to know about it now!

It's a website called Gilt Groupe. The site is home to never-ending online samples sales of highend designer clothing.

Gilt Groupe provides access, by invitation only, to Men's, Women's and Children's coveted fashion and luxury brands at prices up to 70% off retail. Each sale lasts 36 hours and features hand selected styles from a single designer. All sales take place only on www.gilt.com and the full collection of merchandise is always available at the start of the sale.

To introduce each brand, Gilt posts designer bios and reels to give you a preview of upcoming sales, must-have pieces and featured designers.

In the short time I've been a member, I've seen sales including John Varvatos, Elie Tahari, Michael Kors, Carolina Amato, Dolce And Gabbana, and Trovata.

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Everyone's favorite early 80's punk rock album cover illustrator turned big time artist Raymond Pettibon is showing at super cool LA gallery Regen Projects. The show -- Part II: Cutting-Room Floor Show -- is the second in a series by Pettibon at the gallery. It opened 12.13.08 and runs through 01.24.09.

While Part I featured Pettibon's early works, Part II will introduce recent explorations in both color and collage. Pettibon started working in collage in the mid 80's with simple newsprint elements collaged onto black and white images, and in works from 1992-93, the process became more complex. In this current exhibition the collages are extremely worked, layering images and text to produce intricate scenarios and non-linear narratives. Also on view are his powerful paintings on paper, depicting an anarchic combination of the past and present. The works suggest that although history repeats itself, rupture is still possible.

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I saw the trailer for Waltz With Bashir before The Wrestler last week and it looks so hot, but the subject matter is heavy heavy heavy.

Waltz with Bashir is a critically-acclaimed 2008 animated film directed by Ari Folman. The film belongs to a rare genre called the "animated documentary" and deals with the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre. It entered the competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, and received wide critical acclaim at its premiere, however lost in competition for the prizes despite predictions made during the festival week.

In 1982, Folman was a 19-year-old infantry soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. In 2006 he meets with a friend from the army service period, who tells him of the nightmares connected to his experiences from the 1982 Lebanon War. Folman is surprised to find out that he does not remember a thing from the same period.

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I have a love/hate relationship with Richard Prince. For the most part, I'm really into the concepts behind his work. Half of the time, though, the actual work kinda sucks. Thankfully, the other half of the time, his work -- conceptually and the actual pieces -- is amazing.

One thing's for sure: Prince is a hot commodity in the art world and has been for some time. Despite his rock star status, he's involved in a very cool, but somewhat unexpected show called She at a relatively unknown gallery in LA called Michael Kohn Gallery. I have to admit, I'm not big on the LA art scene -- my favorites are Peres Projects and Regen Projects -- so maybe this is a big deal, but I'd say someone at Prince's level being part of a show with a somewhat obscure artist who died in the mid 70's is pretty hot.

Says the NY Times: As artists' biographies go, those of Wallace Berman and Richard Prince could hardly be more different. Berman, who died at 50 in 1976, the victim of a drunken driver, was a kind of Beat guru flying just below the radar, showing his work in only one conventional gallery exhibition during his lifetime and popping into rare view in strange places: a cameo in Easy Rider; the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, where his face is wedged next to Tony Curtis's, just below Jung's.

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One of my favorite photographers -- Dean Kaufman -- has teamed up with artist Andrea Zittel on a series of photos of the austerely designed residence of MoMA curator Klaus Biesenbach for W Magazine.

"Small objects make me nervous," says Biesenbach, 42, looking around his apartment on New York's Lower East Side, which is notable for its lack of not only small objects but also large ones. The living room has no sofas, tables, pillows, books or lamps; the kitchen has no countertops, cookware or appliances, apart from a $99 mini fridge. As for beds, there is a mail-order mattress in the bedroom, but Biesenbach prefers to sleep on the one on the outdoor terrace, weather permitting.

Of course, Biesenbach, who is known to possess one of the keenest eyes in the art world (along with a large wardrobe of perfectly tailored Jil Sander suits), could easily be inhabiting a predictably glamorous, art-filled Chelsea loft, but he offers up a few reasons he's not. Some have to do with his background in Germany, where he was part of an early wave of settlers in Berlin just after the fall of the Wall.

Read the full article here and take the virtual tour via Kaufman's photographic eye.

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If you're in Berlin or will be passing through between 01.09 and 02.21.09, stop by Haunch of Venison to see American video artist Bill Viola's first solo show there in 6 years.

The exhibition includes the large-scale video/sound installation The Messenger (1996). It depicts the continual rising and sinking of a male figure as he slowly journeys between a blue-black underwater realm and the bright daylight of the world above its surface.

New works will also be presented from the Transfigurations series - a cyclical progression of images that describe a series of encounters at the intersection between life and death. The first in this series was the three channel installation Ocean Without a Shore (2007) created for the 52nd Venice Biennale. In Berlin the works shown will be single and multiple channel pieces, with one piece, Small Saints (2008), using six tiny LED screens, a new technology with special luminance.

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There are many things I love about New York. One being that you can "leave" New York without having to walk more than a few blocks from your apartment. The second being there are so many restaurants, stores, and bars that it's impossible to go to all of them, even the ones in your immediate neighborhood.

Case in point: Luzzos (211 1st Ave btwn 12 and 13th Streets). I've walked by this place hundreds (if not thousands) of times. I'm not sure how long it's been open, but it seems and looks like it's been there forever. I've been wanting to go for as long as I can remember, but for one reason or another have never made it in. That all changed on Saturday night.

A friend and I were going out to dinner and by the time we got out of the house, we were starving!! He's new in town, so I wanted to take him to one of my favorite spots -- Lil Frankies -- but hit with a 30+ minute wait, we decided to pass and head up 1st Ave to Luzzo's instead.

From the outside, Luzzo's doesn't do much to draw you in, if you even notice it. It looks kind of beat up and thrown back from the late 80s/early 90s and you can't even see in the windows. Once inside, though, it's another story altogether.

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I have to say this again: maybe I wasn't paying attention or maybe SHOWstudio has recently stepped up their game. Whichever the answer, they have got it going on right now with some of the coolest projects and videos out there.

Currently showing For Your Pleasure: Anthony Price. If you're anything like me, you've never heard of this guy, but when you read an excerpt from his bio below, you definitely know his work.

Alternatively referred to as rock's favourite couturier, an unparalleled master of modern made-to-measure occasionwear and the most criminally overlooked designer in British fashion, Antony Price and his eponymous creations are the stuff of fashion legend. Revered and referenced by both his contemporaries and the generations of talent that followed him, both Price and his distinctive brand of unabashed glamour and sex-appeal have defied the vagaries of fashion to consistently appeal to new audiences. Quite simply, Antony Price is one of the greatest designers Britain has ever produced.

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What's that saying: when it rains it pours?!? Looks like the Roger and Mauricio Padilha at Mao PR -- they're the ones behind The Stephen Sprouse Book -- have also hooked up with the folks at LE BOOK -- the must-have reference guide for creatives --for the New York 2009 edition of their guide.

LE BOOK announces the release of its New York 2009 edition, art by fashion "punk glamour god" and design icon Stephen Sprouse (1953 – 2004). This year marks the five-year anniversary of Sprouse's passing and LE BOOK is honored to have his work "dress" its publication, continuing a lineage of cover artists that includes Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood, Yohji Yamamoto and Azzedine Alaïa.

Sprouse is widely recognized as the "rock star" of '80s and '90s fashion.

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Anti big label, indie fashion label Wrath Arcane have hooked me up with some hot hot stuff this week: one of their super cool Assvm Pvllovers (retail value $132) and 3 pairs of Black Stretch Skinny Jeans (retail value $160).

Wrath Arcane is a clothing label with a message:

"We're tired of "BIG LABELS" (clothing companies, oil companies, governments, etc.) having so much influence on the ways that people live their lives. Wrath Arcane taken literally means "secret anger", or "forgotten rage".

We never want a model to sell our line. That's why we use the masks. Too many brands are 90% model, 10% clothing... and 0% about making our industry better."

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Perhaps you could call him the Rick Owens of his day -- the clothes aren't similar at all but the similarity in their cult status cannot be denied -- but no matter if you agree with that or not, Stephen Sprouse left a lasting mark on fashion that few are certain to forget.

Even if you knew nothing of his early Day Glo designs, velcro closures, and downtown club runway shows, if you're anything like me, I'm sure you've got an image of his 2001 graffiti sprayed bag for Vuitton -- commissioned by the not yet demi god of the fashion world Marc Jacobs -- etched into your brain."

Stephen Sprouse's initial Day-Glo bright, sixties-inspired, graffiti-printed fashion collections for men and women wowed fashion editors, store buyers, and fashionistas alike, but he always had mixed business success. His initial collections (1983 - 1985) were huge critical hits, sold at only the best stores. His 1983 collections were sold exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman and Henri Bendel in New York City on a small scale."

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Good friends photographer Alex Freund and fashion stylist and editor Lisa Mosko have added a new job to their CVs: Editors-In-Chief of a new, high-end American fashion magazine -- Gravure -- that's just released its latest issue. Lovers of black and white fashion photography will be especially pleased with Gravure and of this issue.

Years of working in the industry in has given them a very keen sense for fashion and the contacts they've made given the fledgling publication entree into worlds that only New York fashion insiders have. When your first issue has a Karen Elson cover shot by Ellen von Unswerth, you know you're off to a good start!

Gravure #3 includes original contributions from a Jenny Gage & Tom Betterton, Deanne Cheuk, Kent Baker, Alex Freund, Pascal Aulagner, Todd Cole, Rachel K. Ward, Rodarte, Kai Kühne, and others.

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You know it's rare for me to post samples sales, but I've been doing it a bit more as of late given the state of economy and, if someone sends me something super hot, I can't pass it up.

At what I hear was the sample sale to end all sample sales this past fall, cooler-than-thou New York showroom 495 News knocked 'em dead with pieces low, low prices, including $10 Cheap Mondays!! Well, they're at it again.

All you dangerously thing guys and girls out there listen up: certain styles of Cheap Mondays skinny jeans are back for the amazingly low price of $10. $10! Less than the price of a glass of wine or a bowl of ramen, but you guys don't eat anyway.

And that's not all. Also from Cheap Monday, you'll find faux leather shorts and skirts for $40, leather elbow length gloves for $30, men's striped sweatshirts for $35, and dresses for $35.

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It's been a big month for London's Black Peter Group. Their debut LP It's Still Fucked Up drops on 12.22.08.

For those who are are unfamiliar, "Black Peter Group is a New York / London based band fronted by multi media artist Gio Black Peter, who plays Rudolph in the recently-released Bruce La Bruce film Otto; Or Up With Dead People. They make booty bass electro. What does this mean? Nothing. Because they don't let labels restrict them from making hits like It's Fucked Up!- a fusion of hillbilly 2-step and punk. Or for that matter Goody Two Shoes, a cover of the Adam Ant 50's inspired rockabilly pop, which suits Gio's distinctive vocal perfectly."

Read more on the band's MySpace.

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It was just last month that I stopped by Agentur V's press days in New York and saw some amazing stuff, including the line of women's accessories that I raved last month by Canadian designer Arielle de Pinto. Check out that piece here.

Now in a matter of a few days, I've gotten two emails regarding de Pinto's collection and its arrival in New York shops.

First up, No.6 & Arielle De Pinto invite you to join them on 12.17.08 between 5-8 pm for an exclusive one night sale. View De Pinto's hand-crocheted jewelry and one of a kind pieces during an incredible sale of up to 50 % off on new designers, No.6 collection dresses and clog boots with an additional 10% off already marked dow vintage 25 %. Don't miss it.

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I found out something interesting on Saturday night: what was once one of the hottest clubs in town -- Life -- is back as Le Possion Rouge. Back in the day -- the mid 90's to be exact -- Life was one of the hottest tickets in town, but got shut down because the spill over of unruly patrons on Bleecker Street was public enemy #1. Thankfully, though, it's back and will host the DFA Holiday Freakout.

In case you don't know, DFA is hot: think LCD Soundsystem, Black Dice, Hercules and Love Affair, Holy Ghost!, and it looks like they've added Hot Chip to their line up.

I'll let you in on a little secret: their holiday party rocks. I went two years ago when it was at Studio B and had the best time. The music was amazing. The crowd was amazing. It was just a great night.

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One of my favorite designers, as if you haven't figured it out by now, is Martin Margiela, who just moved his London shop across the street.

The first stand alone Maison Martin Margiela shop in London on Bruton Place is making a move but only across the road to Bruton Street. In an 18th century building, seven 3D silver letters spelling out WELCOME in the window invite people in. This former furniture store, once covered in gaudy fake materials has now been stripped back to reveal the original details of the building – mirrors, glass, moulded ceilings and a dome.

Designed with a similar premise to the Maison Martin Margiela store in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, furniture and architectural elements have been salvaged making the space a mix of old and new. To magnify the space even more, all surfaces are either silver or white and walls are covered with a glass partition that has been treated with a light filter.

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I've been to almost every cool large city in the US, except New Orleans. I've heard all about it from people who have visited and lived there, but for some reason, I've just never visited.

A good friend from New York -- Jac Currie moved back to New Orleans last year with the intentions of opening a store, but instead bought one of the most storied dive bars in the Big Easy. If you know anything at all about me, it's that I loves me some dive bars, which means that a visit to the bayou is in order in the very near future.

The bar is called The Saint. Quite fitting for a bar that one customer says is like like rolling around in an ashtray in a 5 star review by the NY Times.

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Maybe I wasn't fully paying attention or maybe SHOWstudio has recently kicked it into high gear, but their latest forays into fashion video musn't be missed.

First, it was the Nick Knight/Ruth Hogben film Insensate, featuring pieces from Gareth Pugh's collection, and now the duo have paired up again on Make Up Your Mind, featuring a duo of female models and the surrealist Wig Coat from Margiela's Artisinal line from his Spring 2009 collection.

"There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in proportion, or so the saying goes, and indeed what stranger proportions have been seen in recent years than those proffered by Maison Martin Margiela, whose stock-in-trade seems to be calling into question those ideals of beauty previously considered irrefutable."

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Avid readers of this.hearts.on.fire. will know how much I love what used to be a DVD fashion magazine named FLY. If you read my post on 10.03.08, you'll know that FLY is still in the game, but is no longer a DVD only fashion publication. FLY has morphed into FLY16x9, a full-blown, online media channel providing original editorial content in the form of moving fashion films! Sick.

Unveiled October 3 2008, with a soft launch during Paris Fashion Week at the Hotel Marignan, FLY16X9 opened with the enigmatic Shadow, a Louis Vuitton film directed by Danish filmmaker Noam Greigst. Check it out here.

FLY16X9 has given FLY the ability to distribute original content each month to it's global network of subscribers. FLY16X9 delivers an enhanced web presence optimized for direct distribution of high-resolution art and fashion films to computers, iPhones and other video-enabled PDA's portable music players, and the upcoming generation of web-enabled televisions.

Just launched this past Wednesday December 10th: co-founder Stephen Blaise's film My World exclusively featuring the designs of Prada.

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I was just checking out a gorgeous collection of accessories by German designer Julie Menthel called Feathers, a collaboration with Berlin-based Greek designer Kostas Murkudis.

Menthel studied fashion design in Florence for two semesters and went on to continue her studies at F.I.T. in New York. Menthel worked for Anne Klein as an accessories designer for three years before freelancing as a consultant in jewellery design for Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. After two years of consulting she applied for a one-year course at Central Saint Martin's where she got accepted and moved to London in 2000. She's now based in Berlin, where she launched her own line in 2005.

Quite ther CV, I must say. When you see her collections, you'll see how Menthel skillfully mixes old world elegance with a hip twist -- steel mesh -- to create a line that defies categorization.

The Feathers collection is by far my favorite.

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It's the time of year when we all start thinking about people other than ourselves. Hard to believe, I know, but it's true. My friends at Humanity Ink have graciously given me 8 tees (retail value $40 per tee) from their awareness raising collection to give away this week.

Humanity Ink is a t-shirt label with a social conscience, designing shirts that bring attention to causes such as World Hunger, the genocide in Darfur, and breast cancer awareness. Despite covering such weighty subjects, the tees are made of super light cotton that's soft to the touch with that worn-for-years feel from the very first wear.

Check out the styles below.

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Keith Haring fan and gallery owner Jeffrey Deitch has a book out about the late, great New York graffiti artist entitled quite simply Keith Haring. It's a must for any serious fans of Haring and a great gift for all art lovers.

Closely based on Haring's own concept for the monograph he wanted to publish before his untimely death, this volume represents more than a decade of research and contains a wealth of unpublished photographic and written material including drawings, studio photographs, and journal entries.

Including extensive previously unpublished texts, interviews, and visual material from the archives of the artist's estate, this book traces the arc from Haring's early subway tags, to his poignant work on social issues as diverse as AIDS, illiteracy, and apartheid. So much more than a tribute to the artist's work, Keith Haring vividly documents a very particular time in the social history of New York City. Andy Warhol, Kenny Scharf, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Madonna, Fab Five Freddy, Jellybean Benitez, and many other legendary characters are here, bringing to vivid life this richly creative time.

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Leave it to the boys at Odin to come up with a twist on a hackneyed concept creating something fresh and new: the Pop-up Factory.

This Friday through Sunday, Entermodal will be taking its production out of the studio and onto the road, erecting the first, Pop-Up Factory: Manhattan. This factory will exist for three days only within the walls of the Soho location of Odin, and will be a small-scale version of Entermodal's working studio in Portland, OR. Designer/Owner Larry Olmstead is packing up his custom tool set, a century old stitching horse, and a selection of never before released leather options, colors, and linings.

The entire Entermodal production team will be on site, working around the clock-cutting, sewing, and hand stitching each bag and wallet that was ordered for a holiday delivery for their two men's locations as well as the new women's boutique: Pas de Deux. Additionally, Entermodal will be releasing the Spring 09 collection early, exclusively, at this event.

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Fellini fans listen up: 1974 Oscar winner Amarcord, which has been tauted by many as one of his best films and by far the most visually rich, is playing at Film Forum now through 12.16.08. Even if you've seen it before, you'll want to see it again as they're showing a newly restored 35mm version. And you thought Amarcord was just a store in SoHo.

Amacord is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale that combines poignancy with bawdy comedy. It tells the story of a wild cast of characters inhabiting the fictional Borgo based on Fellini's hometown of Rimini in 1930s Fascist Italy. Amarcord (a m'arcòrd) is Romagnolo for "I remember."

Fellini's ultimate work of reminiscence unfolds against the spectacles of Fascism in a completely imagined — and Cinecittà-created — world, across four seasons during the 1930s, with vignettes of town life and its inhabitants: the Fascist parade; the central character "Titta"; the catastrophic family trip to the country; bombshell "Gradisca"; the fat boy who hopelessly longs for an unobtainable young virgin; the local tobacconist, sporting the most mountainous breasts in the whole bosom-oriented Fellini oeuvre; and the sudden appearance of a peacock in the square amidst a freakish snowfall.

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I wasn't joking when I said that the guy from my UPS Mailbox Etc store was really into the fact that I'd gotten an invite for a party thrown by Moncler. I didn't even know what Moncler was. He pulled their site up on his computer and instantly, I recognized the white jackets from last year's collection.

I'm guessing that the line is known in popular hip hop media, as this guy is super stylish and really into that scene. After doing a bit of research, it seems as though Moncler is not only way bigger than I'd imagined, but they're also trying to make inroads in other markets as well. Not only did they do the Moncler Toy Benefit with Stuart Semple at Art Basel Miami last week, they did a collaboration with Junya Watanabe -- which I have to say are some of the most boring coats shown on their site, but nonetheless -- sell the line at Colette, and have a secondary women's line called Gamme Rouge that's more Viktor and Rolf than Patagonia.

And let's just say as stylish and cool as these jackets are, they're not to be taken lightly. They will keep you warm. There's no question about that.

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I am DYING to see Mickey Rourke's comeback in Darren Aronofsky's latest The Wrestler, which has played to rave reviews at film festivals and won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, is opening in select theaters on 12.17.08.

Back in the late '80s, Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey.

Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life -- trying to reconnect with his daughter, and strikes up a blossoming romance with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei).

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Given my super busy schedule this holiday season, I've not had time to sit down and write out a gift guide like I'd hoped to. Given the current state of the economy, though, having cool paid projects to work on is a blessing, so I'm not complaining.

What I've decided to do is combine two stores' gift guides -- Project No 8 and Oak to be exact -- with a few items of my own to give you the this.hearts.on.fire. officially unofficial 2008 Holiday Gift Guide.

You'll notice both stores have both divded their offerings into price range categories to make it easier to shop for those of us who have a certain budget per item in mind.

10. Natalia Brilli Origami Necklace $110
9... Margiela Blue Velvet Replica Sneakers $415
8... Jane D'Arensbourg Pyrex Necklaces $20
7... Control DVD $11.49

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Despite my relatively close promixity to PS1 (actual train time from the East Village to LIC isn't great, but it seems so far for some reason) I don't make it as much as I should or would like to. A friend tipped me off on a show that's currently up -- Norwegian artist Børre Sæthre's Greetings to Futures Past -- that he said I have to see. After checking out the info online, I'm definitely going to check it out.

Sæthre's work engages and alters the immediate surrounding architecture while guiding visitors through fairy-tale imagery and seamless futuristic design. Each room transports the viewer into otherworldly scenarios in which Sæthre's use of materials divorced from their previous contexts, such as acoustic tiles, and LED lights, function as compositional elements within this totalizing installation.

Furtive display devices create glimpses into idiosyncratic worlds inhabited by poised animals, oddly disjoined from the overall décor to create awkward sites for voyeuristic activity. Read more about the show and see photos (also shown below) here.

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Anna Kustera's got a secret: she's very fortunate to have access to famed, yet obscure Swiss photographer Karlheinz Weinberger's estate and all of his photos, from which she's curated a show entitled Vintage Prints: Belts, Jackets, Couples and More.

The show opens tonight from 6-8pm at the gallery. Anyone with an interest in photography, especially photograhy of a highly stylized group of people bordering on indie fashion photography, won't want to miss this show.

Karlheinz Weinberger (1921-2006) worked by day for most of his adult life in the inventory department at a Seimens-Albis factory in Zurich. In his free time, however, he escaped this monotony by immersing himself in photography. In the late 1940's and 1950's, Weinberger spent weekends and holidays (in Italy mostly) shooting a variety of scantily dressed male "athletes" as a member of the underground gay club Der Kreis.

In 1958, Weinberger met members of a small band of teenagers and began photographing them both at his home studio as well as at the public parks and carnivals where they gathered.

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There's a certain chunky, gay blogger whose musical taste is pure shite. Not surprising, given his site and everything about him is too. I stopped reading it a few months back, because I just couldn't stomach it anymore, but like an addiction, I had a hard time quitting the habit. I won't go into too many details, but let's just say the words "lowest common denominator" come to mind and I'm definitely not alone in my opinion.

Any band or musician he covered, I instantly discounted and never thought about again. The guy's just got bad taste. Most of the time, I know I was right. One time, though, I was dead wrong and missed something amazing.

How'd I find out? I have an assignment to interview Justin Tratner of Semi Precious Weapons for CITY's Spring Fashion issue and asked for a promo copy of their debut EP We Love You to listen to to get a better feel for who he is/they are creatively. DAMN was I ever wrong. SPW fucking rock!

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I must seem like a total addict of all things PUMA these days. I covered my new favorite sneaker style -- the PUMA 917 Mids -- a few days ago and have Tretorns (now owned by PUMA for those who didn't know) as the giveaway in today's newsletter. I'm not being paid big bucks by them -- although I'd sure like to be -- I just happen to like a lot of stuff that they're doing, which rocks.

So there's this thing called the Details Block Party, which I usually get info for and have covered in the past, but for some reason haven't heard a word about this time around. Given the invite I just got from PUMA, which says Details Block Party at the top, I'm assuming it's happening this weekend.

The PUMA Black Store -- which is full of incredibly hot shoes, clothes, and even bikes, is having an event this Saturday in conjunction with the Block Party that you should definitely checkout.

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My friends from Tretorn are back and you won't want to miss this week's giveaway: for him the Hockeyboot Puffer (retail value $90) and for her Sofie Mid Vinter W (retail value $80). Both super hot styles.

The men's style is so hot, I want it for myself. I haven't seen anything so cool for any other line and until I popped into the Tretorn store in SoHo a few weeks back, didn't even know it existed. Once I saw it, I knew I had to get my hands on a pair for a giveaway. It's slim like a sneaker, but the quilting makes it a boot and perfect for winter wearing. Available in black.

Same goes for the Sofie Mid Vinter W, the suede women's sneaker that's lined like a boot with fuzzy faux fur to keep your feet warm when it's cold outside.

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Ju$t Another Rich Kid has a new line of custom made tailor-made, slim-fit dress shirts out that are hot.

Never happy doing things the conventional way and wanting to highlight the line given the sheer number of designers making button up shirts these days, designer Ken Courtney has teamed up with a handful of his favorite photographers, who have chosen their favorite design from the line and photographed it any which way they want.

The results are as varied as they are amazing -- from portraiture to fashion, action to art, and a pic of an almost naked guy going crazy in Palm Springs.

Due to an instance of last minute family emergency, six photographers became five but the name of the original name of the project remains. Thankfully, you can also see the missing shirt online as part of the Ju$t Another Rich Kid Fall/Winter look book, shot by Clayton Cubitt.

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There's a few hot new shows that opened last night at the Swiss Institute you need to check out!

First up, Boutique Cabaret Voltaire. Cabaret Voltaire (the band stole the name from them not vice versa) is one of Switzerland's most vibrant contemporary art spaces, programming shows and events in the old town of Zurich (yes, it was also the birthplace of DADA back in 1916).

The storefront is an unconventional boutique with a selection of objects, editions and fashion selected by Andrea Roca. For the entire month of December, Boutique Cabaret Voltaire will present some of the most exciting products from small creative industries (fashion, housewares, jewelry, magazines & books, and artists' editions) across Switzerland and Europe.

Read more here.

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If you've been reading this blog for a while now, you'll know my tendency to discount bands whose names I'm not crazy about for one reason or another. I could write down all the reasons or give you lots of examples so you could try to figure it out yourself, but I won't. Just take my word for it. I'd love to say that usually it's a good trick, but I keep finding out that it's not and I just have to live with it.

Case in point: I've been receiving emails about a band named Subliminal Girls for a while now. Let's just say they made their way to my deleted emails box without much trouble. Last week, I got an email from my buddy Stuart (Semple) with info on the group and emailed him back "This is you?!?" When I found out he was involved, I did a little more research and found out that the Subliminal Girls rock! They're a band out of London that Stuart is working with that are doing quite well.

"The band contain ex and current members of The Art Goblins, Rhesus, Ciccone, Video Club, and many more. They are signed to Weekender Records and have supported The Bravery, Jamie T, The Rumblestrips, Klaxons, and Babyshambles." Read their full Wiki here.

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I knew something was up when the guy who works at my UPS Mailboxes Etc store took the time to actually acknowledge me. "Sorry to snoop, but I noticed you got something from Moncler". The name didn't ring a bell, so I opened the cool envelope with a hand-sketched creature on it to see what was up.

Turns out my friend Stuart Semple has teamed up with Italian fashion label Moncler for an Art Basel Miami project involving the company's mascot The Moncler Duck.

The Moncler Duck has been transformed into a large fibreglass artwork measuring 160 cm in height. This high impact three-dimensional structure has then been passed over to British artist Stuart Semple for interpretation.

An ironic and irreverent exponent of Post Pop Art, Semple was given complete creative freedom to embellish the surface of the Moncler Toy in his own inimitable style: it features a snapshot of a mountain landscape, reproduced in black and white pixels and hand drawn by the artist, with splashes of colour that recall the Painting Action.

The Duck Toy will be presented by Franca Sozzani, chief director of L'Uomo Vogue, during the Art's marathon in Miami next week.

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As I walked down 11th Street on my way home last week, I noticed that Odin's concept shop DEN was all covered in paper. Last shop over. New shop on the way.

Unsure what it was, I patiently waited until the paper was removed from the windows and the new shop was born. I was in hurry yesterday and didn't get to stop in, but saw that the ever changing pop-up shop of clothing and footwear had been reborn as a book shop called ARTBOOK@DEN, which runs now through early January 2009.

Artbook, a partner company of D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc., offers curated selections of new and rare books at special venues like Den and Visionaire, at art fairs like the New York Art Book Fair, Art Basel Miami Beach and The Armory Show, and at cultural institutions including P.S. 1 and the Bronx Museum. Artbook's new state-of-the-art online bookstore launches in Spring 2009.

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A friend was over the other day with a pair of sneakers on that I fell in love with. At first glance, I thought they were a pair of Common Projects or one of those other fancy hipster Euro brands that look so hot, but will set you back $200+ per pair. I was really shocked to find out they were by PUMA and had to do some investigating.

What'd I find out? They're the 917 Mid and are priced so reasonably ($55-60), you should really get two pairs at once to avoid not being able to get them again when your first pair wears out. I already can't find the all white ones on their site, if that's enough to motivate you to do as I say.

The 917 Mid takes design references from the original Speed Cat Mid and Future Cat Mid. Since the style was inspired by motorsports, it was named after the Porsche 917, driven by Steve McQueen in the classic 1971 movie Le Mans. This material version in distressed, 2-toned canvas with synthetic leather overlays.

Hot. Hot. Hot.

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Who said shoulder pads would never make a meaningful comeback and be done so well that you'd want to wear them again? It was probably me one night when I was drunk, but, clearly, I was wrong. Leave it to a Swede to bring back the best of the 80's, albeit with a twist, and make shoulder pads hot once more.

Swedish designer Ann-Sofie Back is one of the most subversive and feted fashion designers working in London today. Since launching her own label in October 2001 at Paris Fashion Week her brand has gone from strength to strength and is now positioned as one of the key names of European design.

Fred Perry has commissioned Back to develop a capsule range of products for the brands sixth women's Blank Canvas. The collection blends classic Fred Perry product with the signature Back aesthetic and silhouette; merino wool knitwear and fine pique polo shirts and dresses are key styles in three colours - black, mustard and turquoise.

Back draws her inspiration from products and issues that make her feel uncomfortable. The reverse shoulder pad, a design feature that runs through all of the collection, is a manifestation of that inspiration and is also found in Back's catwalk collections. The reversed pads in the garments create a sloping shoulder, the opposite of the 80's fashion cliché of power dressing.

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