Confessions of a Watch Geek

  • 📰 NewYorker
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 71 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 32%
  • Publisher: 67%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

Gary Shteyngart’s year of getting deep into perlage, three-quarter plates, and micro-rotors.

I was obsessed. And I had time to indulge my obsession. I believe that a novelist should write for no more than four hours a day, after which returns truly diminish; this, of course, leaves many hours for idle play and contemplation. Usually, such a schedule results in alcoholism, but sometimes a hobby comes along, especially in middle age. For us so-called W.I.S.

I spoke with Clymer at Hodinkee’s offices. After I launched into a long soliloquy on a certain Zenith gold-filled chronograph, he said to me, “Wow, you’re in deep.” I took this as a huge compliment, but it was also a sign of how my life was unravelling. Hillary Clinton had just collapsed at the 9/11 ceremony, FiveThirtyEight was showing the election tightening, and my shrink—also a watch nut—had just been telling me about the toll the election was taking on his patients.

As the election approached, I started going to meetings of the Horological Society of New York. On the streets of Manhattan, I never have any idea which celebrity is which—they all seem to be Matt Damon—but at the Horological Society I could identify all my new heroes, many with full, Portlandian beards, across the vast hall of the library of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, in midtown, while they waited in line for their free coffee and Royal Dansk butter cookies.

I started looking at the Air-King’s frantic second hand for hours, and listening to its serious ticking, which sounded like a surly boxer before the first round. When I was a kid, in the eighties, Rolex was shorthand for “yuppie.” To console myself that I had not become one, I thought of all the rap lyrics featuring the brand. “Girl you look fine / like a wide-face Rolex, you just shine,” Biggie Smalls rapped on “Fuck You Tonight.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

GeoffBoyardee

Brilliant!

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 90. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

The Biggest IPOs To Watch In 2022Reddit, Trump Media and $109 billion private equity powerhouse TPG. Experts say poor returns and regulatory uncertainty could linger for companies listing on exchanges this year, but that won't necessarily slow the breakneck pace of companies going public—for better or worse.
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »

How to watch ‘The Weather Channel’ online without cableThe Weather Channel is the home of 24-7 weather coverage, along with tons of original programming. Here's how to watch with a free live stream. Check out Stream the Weather Channel, Msnbc, and CNN live.
Source: njdotcom - 🏆 282. / 63 Read more »

Watch the new trailer for Freeform series 'Single Drunk Female'It's hard to be a person. That's the takeaway from the new trailer for 'Single Drunk Female,' premiering later this month on Freeform. Newsworthy because...? A nice engagement present for Ms Scott would be a Master Card or Visa with at least $250,000 credit limit, and then dinner at Bandera on Michigan Avenue
Source: ABC7Chicago - 🏆 284. / 63 Read more »

Janet Jackson Addresses Super Bowl Scandal in Doc Trailer: WATCHJanet Jackson’s upcoming documentary addresses the Super Bowl fallout and the Michael Jackson abuse trial. So glad to finally hear her speak. WEROCKWITHJANET2022
Source: etnow - 🏆 696. / 51 Read more »

The Weeknd Announces Album Release Date, Teases New Music Video: WATCH.TheWeeknd is dropping his fifth album DawnFM this Friday, and we just cannot wait! ⚡️🎧
Source: etnow - 🏆 696. / 51 Read more »

Top 5 cryptocurrencies to watch this week: BTC, LUNA, FTM, ATOM, ONECan Bitcoin start a new up-move in January, pulling select altcoins higher? Alts like $LUNA, $FTM, $ATOM, and $ONE may benefit from a $BTC spike. My favourite blockchaingame has to be Starbots_game Its the first-ever robot battle NFT game and it has amazing and unique features such as: -Play to Earn -Customizable weapons -Flexibility -Strategy GameFi PlaytoEarn Blockchain Cryptocurrency
Source: Cointelegraph - 🏆 562. / 51 Read more »