Maximの February 2015 の目次

INSIDE WILDEST WEEKEND GETAWAYS ADAM SCOTT BRINGS THE FUNNY DISSECTING THE DAYTONA 500 THE POWER OF THE PICKLEBACK It begins at a San Francisco stoplight, when a sun-kissed brunette rolls up next to the 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT S I’m driving. “Oh, my God. That car is so beautiful. What is that?” Not five minutes into our drive, the car passes its first test: Women dig it. Mercedes’ absurdly photogenic, long-nosed newcomer gets A’s in other critical sports-car exams, too—from acceleration to clock-ticking laps at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. But the shift-and-brake world is only concerned with one question: Is this German freshman really in the same league as the classic Porsche 911? In truth, it’s a trick question. As only the second car fully designed by AMG, Mercedes’ performance division,…

Say there’s this woman. You went out twice. (Or was it three times?) Maybe you’re just not feeling it, or perhaps she has an unsettling fondness for obscure emojis. Whatever the case, things didn’t work out. But she’s already neck-deep in your digital business—thumbs-upping your Facebook statuses, sending you Snapchats of her parents’ engagement photos. This used to be unavoidable. But breathe easy, fellas: There’s a new crop of privacy apps built for the sole purpose of keeping snooping exes, serial oversharers, and even the prying eyes of the NSA at bay. Here are four downloadable ways to watch your back. PROTECT YOUR MESSAGES The last thing you want is for your outgoing correspondence—be it topless ex-girlfriend selfies or important business details—to be stolen. Send texts through Cyber Dust (Free,…

THE PROFESSIONAL COMPANION GoPro Hero4 Black Don’t call it an action camera. The GoPro Hero4 Black edition is a cinema-quality shooter that just happens to mount to your helmet (or anywhere else). Measuring 1.6 by 2.3 inches, the latest iteration of the polycarbonate-encased Hero films in both standard and 4K formats and features a blazing processor that buffs up frame rates. There’s no screen, so you can’t eye your playback, but the crisp, hiccup-free footage wowed testers, as did the ability to adjust exposure settings and film both time-lapse and slow-motion shots. It’s a must for any serious adrenaline junkie. $500; gopro.com THE EYE IN THE SKY 360fly Every action cam uses a wide-angle lens; only this one captures the entire 360-degree scene. The easy-to-mount four-ounce orb is equipped with…

AS THE SON OF BOOTLEGGERS IN DEPRESSION-era North Carolina, Junior Johnson learned all the tricks to building a humdrum-looking car with the muscle to outrun any police cruiser. He took that knack for subterfuge to the region’s dirt tracks, where every grizzled gearhead lived by the same credo: If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’. Johnson adopted a different view. “If they ain’t got a rule for it,” he says, “how can they say you’re cheatin’?” Over the next four decades, the driver and team owner gave the guardians of NASCAR an awful lot to dislike about his cars—though rarely for breaking a rule. Nothing (at the time) said you couldn’t get your vehicle up to the required pre-race weight by slipping a solid-lead helmet inside it. Or by filling…

I’M IN A WAREHOUSE LOFT IN WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn, a few nights before Halloween, sitting uncomfortably between my friend Erica to my right and a naked couple struggling to have sex on the eight inches of available ottoman to my left. Erica and I are doing a rather heroic job of shifting our gaze to just about anywhere in the room but at our feet, where a pretty brunette in what’s left of a Dorothy costume (ruby slippers) services a grinning, half-naked cowboy in a Stetson and not much else. Beyond them, a few dozen beds lined up like some kind of Hieronymus Bosch version of a Sleepy’s showroom play host to sexual situations of varying size and gender combinations: girl-boy; girl-girl-boy; boy-girl-boy; girl-girl; girl-girl-girl; and, on the large, sweat-drenched mattresses…

MARK CUBAN HAS JUST FINISHED eviscerating a contestant on the reality show Shark Tank, for which he works as one of the judges, or “sharks,” who listen to pitches from aspiring entrepreneurs. I can’t divulge what the contestant was pitching (not before the episode airs), but suffice it to say, it’s an idea with a good shot at winning him buy-in. For a guy known for his outspokenness, he is often a quiet presence on the Shark Tank set, sitting serenely in a riveted red-leather armchair, jotting his thoughts in a notebook, occasionally making a pained expression, squinting, or pursing his lips. He doesn’t have an especially good poker face—or maybe he’s broadcasting his thoughts for effect, so he doesn’t disappear from the cameras completely. Either way, Cuban tends to…

DAYTONA 500’S WON 7 RACES LED 20 LAPS HE LED IN 1964 RACE 184 YEARS BETWEEN WINNING RACES (1964–1981) 17 MILES FINISHED 12,150 NFL PLAYERS WHO SERVED AS HONORARY RACE STARTERS: TROY AIKMAN, TERRY BRADSHAW, JIM KELLY, DAN MARINO, RAY LEWIS, BRETT FAVRE, AND KEN STABLER. SEVEN ONE…

In director Matthew Vaughn’s new spy thriller, Kingsman: The Secret Service, a brilliant but rebellious punk (Taron Egerton) is whisked out of the slammer by a veteran spy (Colin Firth) and inducted into a powerful, way-secret organization. Soon, he’s up to his earbuds in save-the-world global espionage. Being a British superspy, he also learns how to dress well, shoot with sniper accuracy, and detonate explosives hidden in lighters. Sound familiar? Kingsman is just the latest in a long line of spy flicks about scary secret orgs and the innocents pulled into their webs —with no Q or Blofeld in sight. Here are the best of the non-007, licensed-to-kill bunch. SECRET ORG The 39 Steps, duh. WHAT IS IT? “An organization of spies, collecting information on behalf of the foreign office…

Want godlike control over all the speakers in your home? You’re in luck: Creating an interconnected music system has never been easier. There’s a boom in whole-home units, families of speakers that link over wi-fi, pair with your smart devices, and allow you to stream one song in all rooms or a different one from each. Each system features three or more variously sized units (sold separately); use them to piece together an arrangement that suits your sonic needs. Just be sure to align yourself with one that’s right for you. And don’t let all that power go to your head. 1 SONOS All hail the (still) reigning champ of whole-home audio. Sonos’ system has been around the longest and still offers the largest configuration (there are four speakers, from…

“COPS DON’T CARE THAT I’M a MODEL. I HAVEN’T TRIED the SQUISHING-the-BOOBS THING TO GET OUT OF a TICKET YET. MAYBE THAT’LL WORK NEXT TIME.” “I WAS TRYING TO KISS HIM AND BE friendly, but he wasn’t into me at all,” recalls Lisalla Montenegro Wilson of her Valentine’s Day date from hell two years ago. So what kind of guy spurns the advances of a 5’9” Brazilian supermodel—one with a figure flawless enough for Victoria’s Secret, a face worthy of Maybelline, and a smile straight out of our dreams? Turns out: the kind with feathers. “We were doing a shoot in Brazil with a huge parrot,” she says, “and he bit me! I screamed: ‘Get this thing out of my hand!’ ” Not to worry. Since then, the 26-year-old has…

When Goodfellas blazed its way into our lives in 1990, it was a revelation— a gangster film flush with brilliant humor, killer dialogue, and yes, style. Twenty-five years later, we can’t help but admire that sensibility, the pull of those well-tailored basics embodied in these sleek modernday bomber jackets, polos, and suit trousers, rocked by neighborhood pals who look every bit as sharp and stylish at the end of the night as when they sauntered into the bar. But make no mistake: This is not some retro trip; it’s just how guys roll.…

BEACHCOMB LIKE BRANDO Tetiaroa, French Polynesia This remote atoll in the South Pacific served as Marlon Brando’s private escape hatch/love nest for four decades; now it’s the ultimate tropical paradise in which to channel your inner Colonel Kurtz. Brando (who died in 2004) made plenty of native conquests here (including his third wife), and THE BRANDO resort, which opened last year, captures his legendarily hedonistic ethos. On TETIAROA, a series of pristine islets engulfing a gorgeous turquoise lagoon, you and your posse can overtake its secluded three-bedroom villa (about $11,700 a night). Eat just-hooked fish at Michelin-starred chef Guy Martin’s LES MUTINÉS. Liquor up at BOB’S BAR on the beach, or at your own private poolside. And if you crave eye-popping island idylls, take an exotic-bird-watching trip, snorkel pink coral,…

STEERING CLEAR Built-in GPS projects turn-by-turn directions onto the display, so you don’t need a separate navigation device. TINT CONDITION Push a button and the Skully’s visor switches from an eye-defending dark to a clear view ideal for night riding. SIGHT SEER A rear-mounted camera sends a live, 180-degree feed, eliminating blind spots—and the need for a rearview mirror. When you’re riding a motorcycle, focus is everything. Even a quick glance at a mirror is enough to send you skidding. The Skully AR-1 is engineered to keep your pupils on the road. It’s the first helmet with a built-in heads-up display: Projected onto the right-hand corner of the visor is live footage from a rear-mounted camera that shows the road behind as well as your blind spots. Also shown: speed,…

JABRA SPORT PULSE WIRELESS These buds are impervious to sweat, come packed with powerful Dolby sound, and read your pulse: Tiny light sensors detect your heart rate via the blood flow in your ears. The buds are comfortable and accurate, and an accompanying app chronicles your stats, tailors programs to fit your needs, and plays nice with such fitness apps as Runkeeper. $200; jabra.com LIFEBEAM HELMET It’s always been tricky figuring out just how hard you’re really working out on a bike. Using tech developed for fighter pilots and astronauts, the LifeBeam helmet features optical and motion sensors that, along with a suite of processors, track your vitals. As you pedal, it logs beats-per-minute and calories burned, sending them both to ANT+ and Bluetooth devices. $229; life-beam.com MIO LINK Already…

BEER THE BREWER Jim Koch CREATOR, SAMUEL ADAMS I started home brewing with my dad in the 1960s, before it was legal. Back then it was tough to get supplies, but my dad was a brewmaster—in fact, five generations of family members were brewmasters. Other people would throw a football in the backyard; my dad and I brewed beer. After home brewing was legalized, I started playing around with it again. I bought my grains and hops from a guy who sold supplies out of his garage. You’d call him and say, “I’m coming over in an hour. Could you open the garage?” The quality was spotty, particularly of the hops. Generally, they were the brewers’ rejects. It was challenging, but I had a passion that went back 150 years.…

I’ve dated everything: every nationality, race, religion. Guys in a band, an actor, a chef, a financial adviser. I don’t discriminate when it comes to that. Your new show, The Messengers, is out this spring on the CW. The story seems a little complicated, so why don’t you give me the elevator pitch: It’s what meets what? I play an astronomer who watches a mysterious object plummeting from the sky. When it hits, my heart stops briefly—I die!— and when I come back to life, I have this special power. It turns out there are five other people like me, also with gifts, and then we have to basically save the world from an impending apocalypse. So, it’s Lost meets The Matrix meets The Walking Dead? I would say The…