Book Smarts

Guten Morgen!  I've got the travel bug (read: hot burning desire to stay in a dreamy hotel with room service and fancy cocktails) and today's fine destination ist das Vaterland.  Germany.  Germany, people. Pack your baggies, we're about to check out the only hotel on the planet that manages to make craftiness look chic.

The Michelberger hotel was designed by a team of friends who wanted a space that would "feel like an ad agency."  Great.  But let's talk about these book lights.

Yep, thems is handmade, let's get a closer look

I see some sort of nut and bolt action and the previous picture shows some sort of wire support contraption holding the whole kitten kaboodle together.  If someone out there wants to attempt this at home, photograph your process, we'll put it on the blog.  You'll be a star and see your name in lights.  Maybe then you will have enough money to stay at the Michelberger.

Ha!  Joke's on you, the michelberger only costs 54 Euros a night, which is a good thing because this blogging thing don't make diddly.

Anyway, make a lamp, send me a picture, I'll shower you with love.  Moving on.

The Michelberger continues the book theme into one of the guest rooms

Another view of the wall of books.  Ok, this needs to be discussed.  This looks pretty awesome but have any of y'all been in a used bookstore recently?  Newsflash:  those books get moldy.  Like crazy moldy.  Like raging headache dirty hands if you touch them moldy.  So, lovely, but the, ahem, shelf life is pretty short.

I'm not crazy about this picture but this may be my favorite use of books.  I love that just the ends are used to create texture with minimal color.

So the Michelberger isn't all books all the time: here's a view of the restaurant with it's sexy concrete walls.  That wasn't sarcasm, i really do like them.  And, bonus!  no mold.

From the restaurant looking into the bar.  Still lovely.

One of the 85 guest rooms.  I really love when beds are next to windows, especially in bustling cities.

Ok, so when you dudes get back from your stay abroad, remember to toss together one of those book lamps for me, I can't wait to see your handywork!

Do Not Pass Go Do Not Collect $200

News broke yesterday that Lil Wayne will pacing the cell blog for the next year simply for following the #1 rule of hip hop:  always stay strapped.  That's right, apparently Lil Weezy was packing heat, some things happened, karly didn't read the entire report and yadda yadda yadda, Wayne is going to the big house for a year. When Erin and I emailed about the big news and the fact that it most certainly should be the topic for a blog post I think we both imagined solid gold bunk beds, diamond encrusted urinals, and swavorski crystal shanks.  Unfortunately, most of those items don't exist.  I say most because I'm sure there is a urinal out there ghetto fab enough for this post and I bet some asshat has bedazzled a shiv and posted a picture online, but whatever.  Rather than hunting down a bunch of hood cell accessories, I thought I would show you a few simple ways you can live like your favorite tiny rapper for the next year.  Because we all want to live like the stars, right?

I would suggest a few choice nights at the Liberty Hotel in Boston.  Formerly a state prison, the Liberty's lobby is very promising, however

the rooms are so normal-fancy I believe you would be insulting Lil Wayne by staying here in homage.

Instead, might I suggest the more appropriately styled Alcatraz Hotel in Germany.  Also built in a former prison, the Alcatraz promises it's guests a true jail house feeling.  No word on lock down or mandatory girlfriend status.

I get the feeling that you could really compose a number one hit single there in the room on the right.

And the hotel bar doesn't look like such a bad place to pour one out for your incarcerated homie.  Hopefully they dim the lights at night.  Afterall, this is fake prison and no one looks good with all that overhead action happening.

If you're a Lil Wayne fan who also happens to find herself looking for a youth hostel in Ljubljana, Slovenia, well then, look no further than Hostel Celica.  This former military prison has 20 rooms to choose from and guests can stay up to 20 nights.  I really want to call the one with the twirly thing on the ceiling, but the soft lighting in room #1 is where I could probably feel most at one with my teeny tiny Wayne.

If you don't have much time for travel this season but still want a taste of the prison life, you could always stock up your kitchen with the Sing Sing Tray by David Weeks.  An exact replica of the (oh, ah) trays used in New York's most notorious prison.

And just to authenticate the experience, you could gaze at these photos of prisoner's last meals by James Reynolds while eating off your tray.  Good lord, at this point you're practically carrying Lil Wayne's baby you're so connected.

I'm telling you, everyone is trying to find their own way to relate to the soon to be locked up Wayne.  Even Calvin Klein debuted his spring line in a defunct Singapore prison.

Let's just hope that CK had the good sense to tattoo some tear drops on his models faces lest he run the risk of showing poor form.

So, what do you say?  How will you be managing the tragedy of Lil Wayne's prison sentence?

Weekend Getaway

I really wish this weekend were some sort of long weekend.  I know there must be a president or poet laureate with a birthday right around now.  Let's celebrate him for crying out loud! Well, since it's only a 2 day weekend but I really want to get away, I should probably try to make this as efficient as possible.  Maybe my plane could also double as my hotel?  Yes, that should do the trick

This plane used to seat 120 people, now it's been retrofitted with a jacuzzi, 3 flat-screen tvs, a 24 hour hostess (hmmm...), a king sized bed and a Blu-Ray player

I'm pretty sure these are no longer air-borne, but it would be awesome if they were.

I'm sure someone out there has a bath / flying fantasy that this is really doing it for.

And there's that king sized bed I was telling you about.  This is really the only part that seams a little creepy to me.  What happens at night?  Do you seal up that exit door so you're just locked in the air-tight tube?  I don't know about this part.

Although playing make-believe-fighter-pilot does sound pretty awesome.

That's all for today, dudes, you go have yourselves a mighty fine weekend