Author: Brett and Kate McKay

So you’ve stopped hanging out with women and started dating them. Consequently, you’ve found a woman who has become your best friend, and you know she is the one. Things have been serious for quite some time now and you’re ready to take your relationship to the next level: marriage. One tradition that has been slowly fading away from Western society is asking a woman’s father for her hand in marriage. Many argue that the whole idea smacks of sexism and chauvinism and harks back to times when women were treated like chattel. Whatever. I think it’s just respectful to … Continue reading →

The post Asking a Woman’s Father appeared first on LewRockwell.

Yesterday while making small talk with the guy working the deli counter at my neighborhood grocery store, I asked him something that made me feel like a total heel. So I felt inspired to sit down and hammer out a short and simple article on 5 questions I have found are best to avoid asking altogether, as they have a significant chance of leading to awkwardness and the insertion of one’s foot into one’s mouth. Here they are: 1. “Did you go there for fun?” This was the question I asked the deli counter guy. He had told me he … Continue reading →

The post Never Ask These 5 Questions appeared first on LewRockwell.

You’re in a public place — say a restaurant or a doctor’s waiting room — and it’s taking longer to get your food or have your name called than you expected. Your toddler is starting to get restless. And cranky. Real cranky. She’s whining and teetering on the edge of a crying fit, and the other folks around you are glancing over with irritated, disapproving looks. You don’t have any toys or books on you, making it extremely tempting to just shove your smartphone into your tyke’s pudgy little hands to instantly shut off the waterworks. But, the idea that … Continue reading →

The post 9 Ways To Entertain a Toddler appeared first on LewRockwell.

How many cold-weather coats does the average man need? There are those men, often younger, who don’t have to dress professionally each day, who try to get by with just one: a “technical,” ski/snowboard-inspired puffy jacket or parka. Such a coat works fine for outdoors pursuits and when paired with very casual clothing. But when layered over a suit, sports jacket, or even a nice sweater, the casual coat jars with the man’s dressier clothes, spoiling the overall effect of the get-up. And should the parka-only man be invited to a really swanky black tie event, he’ll be up a … Continue reading →

The post The Swiss Army Overcoat appeared first on LewRockwell.

It’s a sad fact of life in the 21st century that active shootings have become a regular occurrence in the United States. In other parts of the world, terrorist groups are using active shootings to, well, terrorize. While the media focuses on the firestorm of political debate these events cyclically create, I’ve rarely seen them discuss what people are actually supposed to do in these situations. According to the FBI, active shootings in public places are becoming increasingly common. Which means it would serve everyone to understand how to respond if they ever find themselves in the line of fire. … Continue reading →

The post How to Respond to an Active Shooter Situation appeared first on LewRockwell.

It’s getting cold out, so naturally you’ve been feeling like building a cozy fire in your fireplace – a warm, crackling oasis you can sit beside in your man chair while you read thick, leather-bound books and ponder manful thoughts. There’s just one problem: whenever you fire up the fireplace, things start out okay, but then seemingly without any rhyme or reason, smoke starts billowing into your room in plumes. You’re coughing, your eyes are burning, and everything smells like smoke. Instead of pondering manfully, all you can think is, “Why is this happening?!” I’ve had this happen to me plenty … Continue reading →

The post How To Build a Fireplace Fire Without a Smoke Event appeared first on LewRockwell.

There’s a scene at the beginning of The Bourne Identity where the film’s protagonist is sitting in a diner, trying to figure out who he is and why he has a bunch of passports and a gun stashed in a safety deposit box. Bourne also notices that he, well, notices things that other people don’t. Watch: That superhuman ability to observe his surroundings and make detailed assessments about his environment? It’s not just a trait of top secret operatives; it’s a skill known as situational awareness, and you can possess it too. As the names implies, situational awareness is simply knowing what’s … Continue reading →

The post Situational Awareness appeared first on LewRockwell.

If you’ve been following the Art of Manliness for awhile now, you’ve likely caught on to the influence that the classical cultures of Greece and Rome exert on a lot of our content. We promote an idea of “manliness as virtue” that was espoused by both of these ancient civilizations. And there’s a reason for that: In college, I majored in “Letters” — a degree program connected with the Classics Department. I studied Latin and took classes on the history of freedom in both ancient Greece and Rome. I read and discussed the Greek tragedies and even took an entire … Continue reading →

The post 8 Reasons for Guys To Study the Classics appeared first on LewRockwell.

There is a primal link between man and fire. Every man should know how to start one. A manly man knows how to start one without matches. It’s an essential survival skill. You never know when you’ll find yourself in a situation where you’ll need a fire, but you don’t have matches. Maybe your single engine plane goes down while you’re flying over the Alaskan wilderness, like the kid in Hatchet. Or perhaps you’re out camping and you lose your backpack in a tussle with a bear. It need not be something as dramatic as these situations — even extremely … Continue reading →

The post 9 Ways To Start a Fire appeared first on LewRockwell.

“The Indian, in his simple philosophy, was careful to avoid a centralized population, wherein lies civilization’s devil. He would not be forced to accept materialism as the basic principle of his life, but preferred to reduce existence to its simplest terms. His roving out-of-door life was more precarious, no doubt, than life reduced to a system, a mechanical routine; yet in his view it was and is infinitely happier. To be sure, this philosophy of his had its disadvantages and obvious defects, yet it was reasonably consistent with itself, which is more than can be said for our modern civilization. … Continue reading →

The sports jacket is one of the best, most versatile items a man can have in his wardrobe. The benefits of this piece of clothing are myriad. First, it enhances your silhouette, broadening and heightening your shoulders, slimming your midsection, and giving you a more masculine appearance overall. Second, it offers a good number of pockets, so you can lighten the load on your trousers and have what you need ready at hand. And third, it affords you an opportunity to be a gentleman; should a lady friend become cold, you can remove your jacket and lend her its warmth. Thus, … Continue reading →

Editor’s Note: Published by the American Automobile Association, Sportsmanlike Drivingwas a popular driver’s education textbook used in high schools across the county during the 1950s. It’s a gem of a book, and what’s so interesting about it, as compared to manuals of today, is the way it frames driving behavior not simply in terms of what is legal and advisable, but in the light of character traits. “The Motor Age Citizen,” the manual argues, “must accept the moral responsibility of properly using the power machines he has devised.” The excerpts below outline the “mental make-up” of various types of poor drivers, who … Continue reading →

A couple centuries ago, pickpocketing was the scourge of cities around the world. From Dickens’ London to New York City’s famous Five Points, skilled thieves practiced their craft, filching the valuables of passersby without the victim noticing a thing. In fact, that’s how pockets in clothing got their start: Prior to the 17th century, men and women alike carried their valuables in purses outside the body; they then started tying pouches inside their clothes in an attempt to thwart would-be “cutpurses” and thieves. But pickpockets soon adapted and learned how to deftly extract the goods from trouser, waistcoat, and jacket … Continue reading →

“The Anatomy of Etiquette” From Esquire Etiquette: A Guide to Business, Sports, and Social Conduct, 1954 Here are the bare essentials of everyday etiquette in everyday social intercourse – the firm skeleton which remains after all the impractical embellishments of other days have been stripped away: Your Head Take off your hat (civilian, that is) whenever you are indoors, except in a synagogue and except in places which are akin to public streets: lobbies, corridors, street conveyances, crowded elevators of non-residential public buildings (department stores, office buildings). Apartment house elevators and halls are classed as indoors, and so are eating … Continue reading →

You’re noticing more hair in your sink and in your shower. But for awhile you ignore it. Then one day you’re staring at your ugly mug in the mirror, and there’s simply no denying it anymore. You’re starting to go bald. No one has ever referred to men’s hair as our “crowning glory,” but hair loss can still be a big psychological blow to men. For many, it’s likely the first sign they’re getting old. Baldness is a subtle reminder that one’s youthful glory days are slowly slipping away. And it can make a man feel less confident and attractive. … Continue reading →