You became a friend of ours early on, and we’d like to say thank you!

For the month of September, we’ll automatically take 5% OFF your order and every order with your account in the future.  You’ll continue to receive free shipping on orders of $25 or more and everything else that The Motley already offers.

Just enter the code “loyalty” at checkout.  It’s as simple as that.

This offer expires September 30, 2010 at 11:59PST so place your order now!

Thanks for all your continued support!

- The Motley Team

Okay Motley readers, it’s time to take a trip to the cinema. “Farewell (L’affaire),” a French film playing in only selective independent theatres, is a movie that isn’t exactly non-commercial, but a feature certainly void of any audience back-scratching. No sir, this is not a first-date sort of movie.

Director Christian Carion’s espionage thriller focuses on the clandestine meetings between two men, Sergei Gregoriev and Pierre Froment. Gregoriev, a brutish colonel in the KGB, is hopeful for the future of his son, which he believes will be bettered through the reconstruction of the Russian regime. By providing an unsuspicious engineer, family-oriented Pierre Froment, with classified Russian intelligence to relay to the Americans, Gregoriev sets into motion a plan to upend Russia in the Cold War arms race.

Farewell is strikingly intelligent and paced with a cunning tempo that immerses you immediately into the lives of our two moles. Carion moves seamlessly back and forth between both men’s personal stories, almost as if they were living identical lives. And then, when the two men meet each other, it feels as if they were never separated.

The dynamic between the two protagonists, men who are almost the antithesis of each other, fuels the movie. Their connection, despite their stubborn behavior towards one another, energizes the film. Unfortunately, the movie is a chauvinist one, in that the men’s wives, and mistress, have little to no poignant impact on the story. The women concede to their husbands after a gentle touch or loving hug. It’s as if these men of infinite forms of chivalry are loved unconditionally by their wives, even during their most unfaithful moments. Life does not work that way, Carion.

Another definite flaw of the picture – during critical moments Carion turned it down a notch, adding in the popular plot ingredients (oblivious son discovers his father’s real job thus providing him with newfound respect despite previous emotional abuse) which temporarily derail the momentum and uniqueness of the picture.

Alas, not every political thriller is “The Conformist!” And “Farewell” has an outstanding ending with an even more haunting final image. The film incorporates an unfamiliar true story with a great script and a dynamite climax causing the barometer of your bloodstream to swell to boiling. Check out the trailer below.

-Max

Apartment #1 was in Queens [Astoria to be exact] and seemed relatively safe. It had two bedrooms, one occupied by a gentleman in his 30s. The room I would be renting was also the size of a matchbox, but it did come with a nice sized closet and storage space.

Apartment #2 was also in Astoria and was close to two main roads with tons of shops. This apartment had three bedrooms and each were all about the same decent size. The only thing is that the rooms were all in a railroad format which means each bedroom is connected by a door just like railroad cars.

Apartment #3 was in Manhattan in a neighborhood called Washington Heights around 191st St. To get to this apartment, I had to walk up a steep block with no shade in the blazing sun. By the time I reached the top of the concrete mountain, I was drenched and annoyed so the room had become completely irrelevant to me at that point.

Apartment #4 I never made it to. Why? The neighborhood was dodgy and as I made the decision to stop trying to find out where I was supposed to be headed, I was the victim of a drive by! I mean, it was just a bird who decided to poo on my arm but I froze in horror and screamed all the same.

Back at my friend’s place, I thought about which apartment to choose. After a good hour or so, I decided I would move into Apartment #2 with the railroad format bedrooms. Why? Well, Astoria is a nice neighborhood.  I’m close to a multitude of restaurants and shops, the guys are nice, and the rent was the cheapest out of all four.

PS, I already have a plethora of tragically hilarious stories I could share with you, but they’d be more appropriately told over drinks at 49 Grove, a great little club I’ve found unfortunately with an insane cover charge for guys.

I took great enjoyment in watching today, a certain event that provided me a moment of most excellent mirth; Andy Roddick was defeated by the unranked Janko Tipsarevic in the US Open’s second round.

Andy Roddick, the only player with no class on the ATP tour, has a history of barking at the umpires and affirming false American stereotypes. These stereotypes include indefensible arrogance, mindless acts of buffoonery, and a tennis game that is dependent on a heavy serve. All but the latter, I would argue, are invalid, but they are all characteristics of the infamous, Andy Roddick.

So thank you, Janko Tipsarevic, for giving me a moment of such overwhelming glee that I know, up until tomorrow’s sunrise, I will live and sleep with warm gaiety.

-Max

Are you a student in Public Relations or Internet Marketing? Have you interned at a firm, but felt like your thoughts were thrown by the wayside? Do you have a growing interest in start-ups and men’s lifestyle? Are you passionate about Digg and/or run your own blog?

As part of the team, you’ll stay on top of our press hits, reach out to new media contacts, and create press releases for our new products and events. Being our PR Coordinator means knowing about things before they happen and generating a lasting and exciting buzz. Being part of The Motley team means that you’re part of something revolutionary.

The low-down: We’ll be straight up – We’re looking for someone who really wants to be part of our team – part of something that is up and coming. The Motley has been around for less than a year and the buzz around our company has been overwhelming. We’re based in Los Angeles, but you can really work from anywhere. There is no pay, only experience, free products and goodies that we’ll send you every now and then. We want someone who wants to grow with us. We’re looking to build a long term relationship.

Are you still interested? Send an e-mail to Matt – matt@themotley.com with a resume and tell us why you’d like to work with The Motley.

This is a mere sliver of his non-MMJ projects:

Side Projects:
Monsters of Folk (w/ M. Ward and Conor Oberst)
Producer and musician on Dear Companion (w/ Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore)

Guess Appearances;
“Shame, Shame” (w/ Dr. Dog)
“St. James’ Infirmary” and “Louisiana Fairytale” (w/ Preservation Hall Jazz Band)
“Goin’ to Acapulco” (w/ Calexico from the Bob Dylan documentary, I’m Not There)

Solo Work:
Tribute To (George Harrison Tribute Album – ATO Records)

Check out my favorite song from the MMJ show on Friday.

…and you can put down the weights —you’ll not yet need them. We’re still ramping you up on functional fitness basics.

This go round: The Perfect Push-up (as demonstrated by lil’ Simon of San Diego’s Crossfit Invictus).

Of all the movements you can perform using just your own body weight, the push-up is the pinnacle of multi-joint upper body exercise.

The Push-Up is an essential strengthening and conditioning exercise and paves the way for heavier weight bearing activity such as the bench press. This one exercise helps strengthen stabilizing muscles, build the shoulder girdle, biceps and the chest, further develop core strength in the abs, and stretch the biceps and the back.

As an example, I’ve opted to put you on to an OPT video via the folks at Optimum Training (click this link to view). They show a clean demo on the Perfect Push-Up. We start with a modified version of the push-up and then we show a regular version of the push-up.

A couple of ground rules though:

1. Keep hands underneath or slightly behind your shoulders. If you’re doing wide-grip push-ups, then keep the hands on the same parallel as your shoulders.
2. Plank or straighten the body as stiff as a board. DON’T LET THE HIPS SAG. [INVERSELY, DON'T STICK YOUR BUTT UP EITHER.]
3. Tighten the abs throughout the entire movement; this helps to stabilize the hips (and keeps them from sagging) while building core strength.
4. DON’T LET THE HEAD SAG; neutralize & straighten the head & neck. Look forward.
5. No shallow push-ups. Lower the chest ALL THE WAY TO THE DECK [Read: Floor] and then push through the saddle of the palms until the arms come to full extension at the top of the movement.
6. Do the exercise properly. Don’t cheat yourself.

The game is to see how many you can do before sacrificing the integrity of the form/movement. Build on your progress incrementally. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

The same is true for your upper body—it takes time to build, kids.

How many did you do? Post comments—I’m interested.

Have fun with this until we work with next week’s exercise; your favorite I’m sure: The Pull-Up.

Daily Ritual : I brush my teeth and wash my face twice a day, but other than that, I like to practice spontaneity.

Before Bed : I try to fall asleep to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Facial Cleanser : Billy Jealousy White Knight

Facial Moisturizer : Brave Soldier Solar Shield SPF 28

Soap : Irish Spring Original

Shave Cream : Cremo Cream

Candle : Havana by Archipelago

Styling Product : LS&B 85 Karats Grooming Clay

Last Song I Had Stuck in My Head : The Dawson’s Creek theme song

Favorite Book : The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Favorite Movie : The Godfather

Last Movie Seen : Oldboy

Last Place I Travelled to : London

A Place I’d Like to Visit : Yosemite

An Icon I Admire : Albert Einstein

Clockwise from Top (Click on name for link):

Billy Reid 54 Bond St. @ Bowery, East Village, NYC – Named by GQ as the Best New Designer in America, Billy Reid’s style is Southern dapper gentleman meets urban prep.

Cockpit USA 652 Broadway @ Bond St., Greenwich Village, NYC – Military inspired casual wear from Naval officers’ bridge sweaters with brass buttons to WWII leather tanker jackets.

Opening Ceremony 35 Howard St. @ Broadway, SoHo, NYC – As NYC-hip as it gets! Great finds from some of the most influential designer labels today including Alexander Wang, Rodarte, & Dunhill.

Odin 750 Greenwich St. @ 11th St., West Village, NYC – A NYC staple and a great collection of the latest in menswear including 3.1 Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, & Thom Browne.

Camouflage 141 8th Ave. @ 17th St., Chelsea, NYC – Men’s boutique featuring a great selection of in-season high fashion items including Etro, Marc Jacobs, Helmut Lang, & Burberry.

202 by Nicole Farhi 75 9th Ave. @ 16th St., Chelsea, NYC – An incredible ‘lifestyle’ concept by London-based designer Nicole Farhi featuring apparel, homewear, and a chic café/brasserie all in one location. Definitely worth a trip whether for a poplin shirt or a full English breakfast.

Scoop Men 430 West 14th St. @ Washington St., Meatpacking District, NYC – Trendy fashion from a vast selection of well-known labels including Rag & Bone, John Varvatos, Spurr, & Gilded Age.

Topman 478 Broadway @ Broome St., SoHo, NYC – The Men’s store to famed UK label Top Shop brings you the latest trends at an affordable price.

Lets stop overdosing on pre-season football and baseball wildcard races, and talk some tennis. Roger Federer is number two in the world. Not many people know that. A couple weeks ago he was number three. My friends, it saddens me to say that Roger Federer’s era of utter domination, opponent humiliating, overdramatic victory back flops has come to an end.

Federer just won the Roger’s Cup, but a serge in power is beginning to take over on the ATP tour. Robin Soderling, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Thomas Berdych have become pioneers of a new trend in tennis strategy: hitting through the opponent.

Like most everything, tennis is cyclical. Federer brought an element of finesse to the game which dominated players dependent on power. Specifically, Roddick. But now, players like Soderling have built up enough upper body strength to dominate points in the middle of the court. Federer cannot keep up.

Nadal, however, can and will continue to. Right now Rafael Nadal is the absolute best player in the world. So look for him to make a deep run at his first US Open championship. He is a fierce competitor with the power of the strongest players in the game, mobility like the great Patrick Rafter, and technique comparable to Federer’s.

Let’s get down to the predictions.

My dark horse pick for a deep US Open run is David Nabaldian. Finally back from injury, Nalbandian has upped his game to a level on par with the top five. He has a tournament championship this season and has competed admirably against Nadal, while dominating other high ranked players.

My pick to win the US Open is Robin Soderling. Soderling lost in two straight grand-slams to Rafael Nadal but performed valiantly in both matches. He’s hit a bit of a slump, but Soderling seems to get better and better in every Slam event. The hard court should suit his game and well, I just got a feeling about this one. Soderling has put in the work, and he’ll see it come to fruition in the 2010 US Open.

The first round of US Open starts this Monday, and if you have never followed it, start now. We are entering a more field-friendly era. In other words, an era where Federer and Nadal aren’t winning every time. So check it out, tennis is a lot more fun than people think.

Oh, and for ultimate glory:

Soderling over Djokovich in 4. Thats the word.

-Max