UPSCALELIFESTYLES

Wild and crazy guys

The sixth (and last?) season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, out tomorrow on DVD, started strong and then became, yes, transcendent when (spoiler alert?) Cheryl finally gave Larry the boot. Unlike a certain other HBO comedy, the characters actually changed. Your move, Grenier.

Also: Tonight the network launches In Treatment, a 45-episode (!) series about a therapist played by Gabriel Byrne. (Guess one therapy show wasn't enough.) It airs every weeknight,with Byrne seeing each patient once a week. (Every 25-minute episode takes place entirely within the confines of his office.) Thinkof it as 24 for Upper East Siders.

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD
7:03 AM, January 28, 2008
Photo: Courtesy of HBO

Tags:  Media

And we thought every day was Corvette Appreciation Day
This year's hot-button political issue

Good things, small packages, etc.
A familiar-looking new soundbar from Denon

We're sure the moniker has great historical significance in Philly as well
Introducing The Waverly, Sixth Borough-style

Stuff We Like: Propaganda that satirizes itself

So I finally got around to plowing through Time's Man of the Year issue the other day (Putin! Very controversial!), and made two unexpected discoveries. One, it turns out the Russians have a leader who's capable of speaking in complete sentences. You forget how nice that is. Two, and more to the point, the official poster for Vladimir Putin's "VV" fan club—of course he's got a fan club—may well be the most compelling piece of pop art of the past ten years. That future-directed gaze, the all-knowing expression (wait, is that a smirk?), the caption that says "WE SHALL PERSEVERE" rendered in Cyrillic—who needs Warhol? I've tried, so far unsuccessfully, to find a print for sale online. All you aspiring T-shirt designers ought to take that as a challenge.

TYLER THORESON
7:00 AM, January 23, 2008
Photo: VV Fan Club

Tags:  Stuff We Like

Sir Paul's got baggage
For the man who likes to match his suitcase to his bespoke suit

Andrew Buckler brings Rock & Roll to Soho
The band, that is, at his new store

50-dollar beer, haircut included
Sharps Barber Store in London finally opens this week

Richard Branson's new Swiss digs

This just in: The Lodge, Virgin Limited's new outpost in Verbier, is set to open this weekend, following a roughly $5.5-million face-lift from its new owner. Sir Richard seems to have gotten his money's worth: The nine-bedroom chalet now offers guests access to 250 miles' worth of ski runs, chauffeur service, and even a private ice-skating rink, as well as the usual amenities (fireplaces, Jacuzzis, 50-inch plasmas). It ain't cheap—the weekly rate would buy you about ten Tom Ford suits—but at least they throw in free booze.
Chemin de Plenadzeu 3, 35,250 euros per week (currently about $52,000), Verbier, Switzerland, 027-775-2244, thelodge.virgin.com

STAFF
4:46 PM, January 4, 2008
Photo: Courtesy of the Lodge Verbier

Tags:  Travel

It's official: Gemma Arterton is the new Bond girl
So who's Gemma Arterton?

Passive, aggressive
The first media center to play both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs

Die Hard with a Necklace
Bruce Willis lets Cesare Paciotti dress him up in jewels