Required Reading: The William Brown Project
October 03, 2011, By Craig J. Heimbuch 0 comments
Ever come across a book or a movie and think to yourself, 'damn, I wish I could be that guy'? It's because he's doing it, living the life you had pictured yourself living before—before a wife, before kids, before a job—you realized that the chances of being independently wealthy are pretty slim and that the life you wished you had is pretty much unhavable, not the way you imagined it anyway.
I've got a bunch of people who fit this bill for me. Indiana Jones, he's one. James Bond is in there. So are some of my favorite authors: J. Maarten Troost, Anthony Bourdain, Tony Horwitz and Bill Bryson. Usually, they live big. They travel the world and have adventures. They are sort of like me, but also not.
Until recently, these characters (and let's call them that even though they are, in some cases, actual people) existed almost purely in books and movies. It was only recently that I found a blog that made me do some man-swooning. The William Brown Project is mostly photos with some extended art lines describing things, but it is, in short, awesome.
The blog is the pet project of New York-based photographer Matthew Hranek, who lives his life by the code of adventurers and explorers. At any given time, he might be hanging out in Greece, browsing odd shops like a little sailing and dive store in New York, working on his Upstate farm or browsing rural shops and restaurants in search of meaningful food. He has amazing taste in food, clothes and literature and tends not to sit still for very long.
But, perhaps more than that, Hranek pays attention. He pays attention to the details. He knows what he likes—Rolex Submariners, literature, good clothes, better food, surplus and sunsets around the globe. And I dig it.
It's a nice escape every morning after fighting through traffic and finding my way to my desk. It's good browsing late at night when the kids are in bed and my wife is watching "Dancing with the Stars." It's also just good daydreaming, imagining what life could be like. Hranek is living it, doing it.
And I kind of hate him for it...in the best possible way.
BONUS READING:
Hunter, Angler, Gardner, Cook is a James Beard Award-winning blog written by fisherman, gardner, hunter and cook Hank Shaw. It's honest to goodness good food from start to finish, tuna to tartare. Totally entertaining and a great resource for the man who has an inkling to cook. I highly recommend it.
