The Manual Holiday Gift Guide: For the Design Junky

To the uninitiated, golf can feel like a stuffy game. There is a dress code, there is an etiquette, and you even have to be quiet. At a sporting event. For those of us who love golf (don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan but believe it is called golf because the other four-letter words are taken), we recognize golf isn’t stuffy as much as it is steeped in tradition. But there has always been one man who shirked the shackles of the tradition and disrupted the game of golf with one of the most immaculate vibes in the sport, John Daly. With his drinking, smoking, wild pants, wilder mouth, and general who-gives-a-sh*t nature, he was everything golf wanted to keep out. Now, the game embraces him and his vibe, and Topgolf brought him in to continue the disruption.

I love the vibe at Topgolf. It’s a place where you can smash a golf ball, listen to music, have a drink, and enjoy yourself with friends and family. That’s my kind of golf. – John Daly

Three blocks south of Central Park, before you find yourself lost in the hectic environment of Times Square, is a cigar lounge tucked back away from the hustle and bustle. It almost feels like a secret. A place only those in the know are privy to. Of course, if that is the intention, then lovers of this establishment will be coming for me in no time with their pitchforks. I am talking about The Carnegie Club—a cigar lounge sitting on 56th Street between 6th and 7th Avenue. From the moment you walk in, it doesn’t feel like a normal, run-of-the-mill bar. No, this has a New York feel, but a specific kind of New York feel. One that harkens back to the days of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. This feels like the Rat Pack days.

The space

We’re all out here waiting on pins and needles to see who will take on the iconic role of James Bond in Amazon’s newest movie series. All the while, 2026 is just dropping Bond project after Bond project to whet our appetites. From 007: First Light dropping for the gamers in the franchise, to King Zero by Charlie Higson and All In by Dan Jones hitting the bookshelves, to yet another project you get to sink your teeth into, Young Bond: SilverFin.

If the last one sounds familiar to you, then you are a fan of Bond on the page as much as on the screen. First published in 2005, SilverFin follows a young James Bond long before he is recruited by the 00 program. Also written by Charlie Higson, this release is a full cast audio drama set to invade yet another part of your life. And young Isaac Rouse is set to voice our favorite future Bond. And there are a few fun Bond historical connections among the cast as well.