I’ve been fascinated with the recent spate of watch robberies that all sound connected and also have the makings of the next big A24 favorite if it turns out the people committing the crimes are prep school kids from Manhattan or strippers who went to prep schools…in Manhattan. The most recent feels like maybe something different from the first two: it took place inside the Williamsburg Sezchuan spot Birds of a Feather, and only a couple of phones were taken. The one thing it had in common with the other two robberies was a watch was stolen. What sort of watch, I don’t know, but the other two robberies—which similarly saw a couple of unidentified guys stick people up then hop on scooters and take off—took place in Manhattan. Those robberies took place last December at J.G. Melon and then earlier this month at Carbone. The watches were valued at $30k and $100,000, respectively. I’d heard some people say the timepiece ripped off at Melon was a Rolex, but I haven’t seen confirmation of what kind, but the watch stolen outside of Carbone was a Patek Philippe, and the robbers did the heist just before 9 on a Tuesday. Those two crimes feel somewhat connected. You can read more about it at Eater, but my guess is either the robbers are being tipped off that there’s a watch worth tens of thousands of bucks in an establishment by somebody who works there, or they just know people who wear watches that cost 30-100 grand eat at places like J.G. Melon and Carbone. Either way, I can’t wait to see how Dick Wolf turns it into an episode of Law & Order.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Andre Agassi lately. At first, it was the news that Nike would be putting his Air Tech Challenge 2 “Hot Lava” sneakers back out later this fall, but then it started again after I watched Federer: Twelve Final Days. I kept thinking about how funny it was that Agassi was literally the guy who got me into tennis simply because I thought he looked cool, but Roger was eventually the guy I gravitated towards because he also looked cool, but also because when he started his ascension I was beginning to understand nuance. I could watch tennis and notice little things that made me get the bigger picture. I’d never dare write some David Foster Wallace essay on Roger’s game, but whenever I go and reread “Roger Federer as Religious Experience” I’m reminded of how Federer was the first player I truly watched. Every move was fascinating to me. Agassi was purely aesthetic, and that’s really what got me into tennis. It was all about the looks. Federer was the personification of that. Everything about him was regal. Nadal had some of that sweaty dirtbag feel that Agassi had, but he was still a sweet Spaniard. Serena Williams combined tennis and fashion on the court with some of her outfits. But for my money, besides Michael Jordan, nobody caught and kept my attention like early-1990s Agassi. The whole Hot Lava look was maybe the peak.
The other reason I’ve been thinking about the Hot Lava Nikes again is because it’s silly to me that a shoe was re-released and is about to be re-re-released. It’s almost like we’ve gone as far as we can with the whole sneaker thing with all the corny new colorways and collabs, and all we can do is appreciate the handful of true classics.