Here are 10 Career Lessons I Learned From the Movies:

1. Your reputation is everything.
Trading Places: When preppy Wall Street trader Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) and street hustler Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) become the pawns in a low-stake wager between two bored old guys, they learn that your good name is a terrible thing to waste.

2. Being a beautiful woman is an asset not a liability.
Working Girl: Even in the shoulder pad and necktie world of the 1980s, prescient Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) knew that there’s nothing wrong with having a head for business and a bod for sin.

3. Be careful how you pad your resume…especially if you’re only 17.
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead: It’s one of the 10 career lessons I learned from the movies before I even had my first job. No one wants to end up like high-schooler Sue Ellen Crandell (Christina Applegate), whose fictitious CV earns her way more job than she can handle.

4. Office romances can be very dangerous.
Secretary: A perfectionist lawyer (James Spader) and his young, mentally unstable secretary (Maggie Gyllenhaal) end up in a dominant/submissive relationship that just keeps getting more intense. Even if you do play it safe and sane in your office dalliance, you can end up losing everything if either the job or the romance doesn’t pan out.

5. Your career is not your life.
The Devil Wears Prada: Although she resents working at just some fashion magazine instead of being  a “serious journalist”, Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) gets sucked into the glamorous world of ruthless Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep) and loses sight of this career lesson. No matter how chic it seems, don’t ditch your totally sweet, totally adorable boyfriend and caring friends for designer duds.

6. It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.
Ocean’s Eleven: You don’t have to be Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and planning to pull off the world’s biggest casino heist to harness the power of your networks. Keep track of who you know and you’ll always have access to the right man — or woman — for the job at hand.

7. Always keep your cool.
Grosse Pointe Blank: When career hit man Martin Blank (John Cusack) gets a job that brings him back home just in time to see his high school sweetheart (Minnie Driver) at their 10-year high school reunion, he is understandably flustered. But even with another assassin (Dan Aykroyd) and the feds hot on his tail, he proves he’s got this career lesson down pat.

8. You win some, you lose some.
The Devil’s Advocate: It’s a career lesson hotshot attorney Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) has to learn the hard way. His record of never having lost a case lands him a partnership in the law firm from hell and the devil he comes to know teaches him that winning isn’t everything.

9. If you hate what you do, do something else…as long as that something else isn’t theft and arson.
Office Space: Mike Judge’s anti-crappy-job manifesto comes with this important lesson: Life’s too short for TPS report cover sheets and flare. Too bad it takes an encounter with an ailing hypnotist for Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) to realize it.

10. No amount of career success is worth selling your soul.
Wall Street: As stockbroker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is taken deeper under the wings of corporate raider Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), he begins to lose sight of his own morality and becomes unrecognizable even to himself. Greed may — or may not — be good but hell has no fury like the SEC scorned.

10) Zombieland – Probably the most quotable film of the year, Zombieland tells the story of a geeky, young hero known only as “Columbus” who survives the zombie apocalypse (it’s coming, I swear) by sticking to a list of 32 simple rules. Along the way, he makes a friend, loses his virginity, parties with Bill Murray, and kicks some slow-moving flesh-eater butt. Not the most meaningful movie to hit the big screen this year, this fun trifle of a film reminds us to obey rule #32: Enjoy the little things.

9) A Single Man – Is there life after love? That’s the question George Falconer asks himself one morning in 1962 after his lover passes away unexpectedly. Over the course of one day, the newly single man must come to terms with love and loss to find the answer. A Single Man features a moving Christopher Isherwood story, a gripping performance by Colin Firth, and artful first-time directing by Tom Ford.

8 ) The September Issue – Director R.J. Culter’s inside peek into the making of fashion’s Bible and its inscrutable prophet, The September Issue (of Vogue, that is) is a sinfully fun documentary. Watching the real Prada-wearing devil cut down her junior staffers and get served her just desserts is as satisfying as curling up in bed with the fat, glossy tome itself.

7) I Love You, Man – 2009 should go down in history as the year of the bromance thanks to this hetero boy-meets-boy love story about L.A. real estate agent Peter Klaven’s search for a bestie to stand up for him at his wedding. Peter may be good-looking and sweet, but he’s terminally un-cool and needs Sydney to teach him how to chill and just be a dude. As Peter and Sydney, Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are hilarious, relatable, and totally (or should I say “totes magotes”?) loveable, man.

6) District 9 – A race of ten-feet-tall, preternaturally strong aliens bearing a strong resemblance to shrimp gets stranded in Johannesburg. Due to an accident while trying to relocate the creatures to a ghetto on the outskirts of town, a mid-level bureaucrat named Wikus learns the hard way what it means to be a member of the underclass. Moving between documentary-style and more traditional camera work, District 9 uses special effects to enhance its allegorical story, not replace it. As sci-fi parables of the year go, this Neil Blomkamp-helmed tale of human xenophobia, hubris, and cruelty trumps a similarly themed and more heartily hyped contender – you know, the one with the 3D picture and the 2D story.

5) Up in the Air – Tasked with flying around the country to fire the underlings that other corporate execs are too pussy to fire themselves, Ryan Bingham is more at home in the American Airlines Admiral’s Lounge than he is in his Omaha, Nebraska studio apartment. He’s happy to lead his transient, disconnected lifestyle until two women – a beautiful fellow traveler who is his match in every way (with the frequent flyers to prove it) and a young, upstart colleague who threatens his very way of life – force him to take a deeper look. As Ryan, the ever-charismatic George Clooney flexes both his comedic and dramatic muscles and becomes this generation’s Cary Grant. A smart romantic comedy that is actually funny, this movie deserves every penny of its box office rewards.

4) 500 Days of Summer – Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom, a slightly hipsterish greeting card writer who meets, loves, and loses Summer, the girl of his dreams. This charming and original indie rom-com was practically guaranteed a spot on my list of best movies of 2009 if only for the successful use of both Hall & Oates’ “You Make My Dreams” and Patrick Swayze’s “She’s Like the Wind.” But its clever script – in which the 500 days play like an iPod on random shuffle – and a standout performance by leading man Gordon-Levitt sealed the deal.

3) The Hurt Locker – With her handheld camerawork and relentless layering of edge-of-your seat action, director Kathryn Bigelow thrusts audiences into the hot desert sun right alongside adrenaline junkie Staff Sergeant Will James and his two wary compadres as they go about diffusing bombs in Iraq. The dialog is realistically sparse, as you imagine it would be for the actual guys who have this job, and avoids preaching on one side of the Iraq War issue or the other. It’s not a movie you think about, it’s a movie you feel…in the ache of every tense muscle you’ll leave your seat with.

2) Crazy Heart – Jeff Bridges gives the performance of his career as Bad Blake, an aging down-on-his luck country musician. Part love story, part redemption song (aren’t they always?), this movie carves out its own unique place in the fairly crowded world of similar tales. That’s thanks to newbie writer-director Scott Cooper’s smart instincts to stay out of the way and let Bridges work his shaggy-haired, gruff-voiced, paunch-bellied magic. The film also features an impressive soundtrack that includes both country classics by Townes van Zandt and Waylon Jennings and new music by T Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton, and Ryan Bingham (the country singer, not the Clooney character).

1) Precious – This is the film I least expected to top my list of best movies of 2009 (I mean, if you don’t count Post Grad). A story about an impoverished, overweight, pregnant teenage girl that tackles incest, welfare, child abuse, and drug addiction, written by a woman with no last name hardly sounds like a good time. And it isn’t. Nonetheless, director Lee Daniels and his cast of talented ladies, including newcomer Gabourey Sidibe and comedian Mo’Nique in a decidedly unfunny turn, deliver the best celluloid package of the year.

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s

Crazy Heart opened at the Angelika Theatre in New York City on December 18th, and those who braved the cold were rewarded with a special Q&A session with Maggie Gyllenhaal immediately following the movie. Roxanne Downer, the intrepid movie critic for our sister site, A1 Movie Reviews, was in attendance, and she both participated in and recorded the session.

We now proudly present a Q&A with actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Only Good Movies: You’re sort of an indie poster girl, but you’ve also done some more mainstream stuff. I’m curious about how you navigate your career.

Maggie Gyllenhaal: I think I’ve been lucky enough to mostly choose things based on what moves me. I realize now that it’s a different kind of commitment to take on a tiny movie that doesn’t have a distributor than to take on a huge movie. If you do a huge movie that’s being made in a studio that has money behind it and a distribution date, all you do is go in and out. So you can read the script and go “sure, I can do that for six weeks.”

A tiny movie is going to get its money off your back. First, you have to help raise the money once you sign on, then you have to shoot it, then you have to help with the cut, then you have to take it to festivals and help get it into festivals, then you have to go and have dinner with all the distributors and get them to buy it. It’s basically like producing it, even though I haven’t ever officially produced. On Sherrybaby, for example, I felt like a producer. And I have to love a movie to take it on for two years like that. It’s a different kind of commitment.

OGM: I was very impressed with Jeff Bridges’ musical ability. I just wanted to know how that all came about, because we’ve never seen this side of him.

MG: I think it’s an integral part of him. Part of the reason my voice sounds so scratchy is that we were all up until 2 AM playing music in a hotel room after the screening we did last night, and I had to do The Today Show at 4:45. But it’s how it is. It’s how he is. It’s what he’s like.

I remember the makeup artist in Santa Fe, who was so lovely, who gave me the lipstick out of her purse, she threw this party one weekend. Stephen Bruton, who passed away and to whom the movie is dedicated, and Jeff would sit and play love songs to me. That’s what Jeff’s like. He really does play and he’s also not shy about it.

When we first started doing press for this movie it wasn’t supposed to come out now, and it was put out as a surprise to all of us. We flew to L.A. to do this press junket. One of the things we did was this big Hollywood party that was supposed to be for Jeff’s 60th birthday. And half an hour into the party, Jeff is playing guitar and Ryan Bingham is playing the songs from the movie, and everyone is having a good time.

OGM: I was curious about the role music played on the set. Did the director give you anything to listen to?

MG: I was born here [in New York] and grew up in California and have lived here for almost 15 years. So there’s no reason I should like country music, but I do. I like a weird mix of people, because it just came out of me. But I didn’t know who Lefty Frizell was. Stephen Bruton, who was T-Bone’s [T-Bone Burnett] partner, he was on the set all the time, and I ended up getting into some interesting conversations with Stephen, because I think Jean does know who Lefty Frizell is and is really a fan of Bad’s music when she goes to meet him and really does know about country in a way I didn’t. So it was great to know someone who can give you playlists, but I know that Jeff had a different relationship with the music than I did.

Question: How do you think Jean is different from other characters you’ve played?

MG: Jean is so soft and vulnerable. Some of the movies I made when I was younger, that I am really proud of, I thought the idea was just to be as strong as possible. I thought that was the idea of my life. I thought that was the most interesting thing to watch onscreen, just to be fierce and a powerhouse. I don’t think that anymore [laughs]. I think, somehow, I knew that in making the movie before I knew it in my life. I keep bursting into tears all the time on this press junket. I think Jean is gentle and braver than me in a way, in that she is so feeling.

OGM: How did you prepare for the scene where you reject Bad? What were you thinking of?

MG: We shot the movie so fast, which, for me, is much better. I think it was about five weeks, maybe slightly more. All the stuff in my house was the first couple of days, so that scene on the bed when he’s writing the song, that was the first day, and that scene we shot on the third day. I mean, it was crazy. We had no time to warm up at all. Although, I find when I have time to warm up, it doesn’t help me.

I think when you have Jeff Bridges, who is brilliant, genius, and you have a script that’s really good, especially in the sense that most of the scenes could be about many things. It could be played many ways, could meander through many feelings. If you have that luxury of working with someone who’s up for anything, and a script that can be about many things, you don’t have to make choices, really. You have to know about what you’re coming in with and the basic actor sort of things, but that’s all you really have to know.

It’s funny. I watch that scene, and I think, “Oh, I wish I hadn’t opened the door.” But I think that’s what Jean wishes, too. I also remember that every time we did a scene, every take was drastically different. And I remember one take Jeff improvised and asked me if he could touch me, and I didn’t say anything and I just kind of looked down, and he didn’t touch me.

So how did I prepare? I just tried to go in with very little expectation of what the outcome of the scene would be.

OGM: How do you approach dealing with a first-time director who is so young? And how long did it take you to trust him?

MG: I think everybody’s different. I know Jeff went into it wanting to really make a connection and open his heart to Scott. Jeff was our king, he was our leader, and he tried to encourage that kind of relationship with Scott.

To be honest with you, when I read the script and saw who was in it, I felt some kind of pull towards playing her really strongly. I would do anything with Robert Duvall and Jeff Bridges in it. And Scott was really the only wild card. I think what I wanted to be sure of when I first met him was that he wouldn’t get in my way. That’s not ideal – I don’t want that to be the way that I work with a director. But that’s how I went into it. I was like, “I don’t need you. I think I can do this without you.” I had Jeff, and I knew immediately that he was going to be my mirror, and he would see if things were working or not. I didn’t need two people to do that.

Look, I’ve worked with first-time directors where I was so proud of the movie, but we fought all the time. And I’ve also worked with people who have made brilliant movies over and over again. What happens with new directors, sometimes, is that they get so scared they decide before they get there what the scenes are supposed to be about, how they’re supposed to play, how you’re supposed to respond, and that’s the death of it. In my experience, so far, people who have more experience don’t do that as much. But Scott – and I was pretty hardened and didn’t think I would be opened – he peeled me open like an onion. And that’s what I always want.

I remember when we were doing the first interview scene, and it was very sexy. We had already shot a week of really intimate stuff and we were letting all that intimacy into that first scene. It was really working, and I really felt it. But in one take, Bad started hitting Jean too hard and it was like, if that had happened it would have been over. I felt disrespected, like he wasn’t paying attention to me, and the scene just died. It was really super-subtle, but Scott came in and he knew exactly what happened and knew why, and then I just loved him.

Only Good Movies: Splinterheads, that’s a pretty specific, unique group of people to build a film around. What made you decide to do that?

Brant Sersen: I came up with the idea after visiting a carnival in upstate New York. I was there with a friend of mine who was visiting from England, who had never been to an American carnival before. It was pretty late at night and I guess there weren’t that many people at the carnival. So a lot of the carnies, the splinterheads, were sitting around not doing much. One of them said to us, “Hey, come play my game. Pop three balloons in a row and win a big, cuddly bear.” And we were like, “Nah, that’s okay.” And the guy was like “I’ll make it interesting. If you pop four balloons in a row, I’ll give you $50.” It ended up being a scam – I won’t get into the details of it – but within five minutes, my friend had lost $50 in this little gambling deal.

Anyway, I loved this carnie guy. I was so impressed by the play of words and how he was a really entertaining person. It made me just open my eyes and see the carnival a little differently than how I remember going as a kid. So I went back the next night, it was their last night. I walked around and filmed a bunch of the carnies working and I started interviewing them. I spent a year going to different carnivals and learning as much about the carnival culture as I could and started writing a film about it.

OGM: It sounds like you really built off your background as a documentary filmmaker.

BS: Yeah, I started out in documentary film. And my first narrative film (Blackballed: the Bobby Duke Story) was a mockumentary. Going from documentary to mockumentary was a great transition into narrative film making for me. Splinterheads was a straight-up narrative film but I guess the legwork was similar. I probably have enough footage that I could make a mini-documentary that I could put as a DVD extra.

OGM: How long was it between that first encounter and when the script came together?

BS: I would say from when I first had this idea to when I turned in a written script to Atlantic Pictures, it was two years. I probably spent about a year researching and then it took me – because I had a day job working at Comedy Central at the time – another year to write the script.

OGM: A year of visiting carnivals?

BS: Doing the research was really difficult. It was difficult to get information out of these guys. They didn’t want to, like, talk about it. What I learned was that a lot of these guys were fugitives. Some of them hide out in carnivals because they travel so much from town to town that they can assume these different names. And they are paid all in cash. Sometimes there are drug problems. So it was definitely difficult to get real information.

OGM: It’s interesting that you talk about the grit of the world, but Splinterheads is basically a sunny, lighthearted romantic comedy.

BS: Yeah, at the very beginning I could have very easily gone the very dark, thriller-drama route. But that’s not what I write. At least not right now. I always see the funny in moments. And these carnies are funny, especially the guys that call themselves splinterheads. It’s a real art, and you have to be really charismatic and likeable to lure people to your games to play. They’re putting on a show for you. They’re trying to make you laugh.

OGM: Another unusual element is Galaxy’s geo-caching hobby. How did that wind up in the film?

BS: When I was writing the film I wanted Galaxy to have something that set her apart from the other thick-skinned rough and tough carnies to give her a little bit of a softer, nerdy side. I wanted her to have a hobby that she could carry along from town to town, wherever she went. And I remembered that Chris Lechler, the film’s editor and co-producer, had started doing a documentary on geo-caching in 2004, right when GPS technology started being widely available. People were hiding these little things called caches in the woods or other areas and then they would leave on a website the latitude and longitude coordinates of where this thing is hidden so that others could find it. I started playing around with it and it just seemed to work. Suddenly, she was a treasure hunter and it showed a different side than just being this hot blonde. And it ended up driving the story.

OGM: You’ve assembled such an unusual cast of characters from Galaxy to Bruce to the Amazing Steve. What about these quirky people appeals to you?

BS: I have a problem writing normal characters. I love very rich, colorful, unpredictable characters. I love characters that walk to a different pace than the rest of the world. They come off as strange but they’re people who have really good intentions and good hearts. But my intention is not to consciously make a really crazy, quirky character. I’m attracted to interesting settings first, and then I research the setting, and I see the people that are in the setting.

OGM: And how does that play out when you go to cast the film? How did you know Rachael Taylor would be Galaxy?

BS: At the time, Rachel, Thomas [Middleditch] and myself were at the same agency. They told me that she had read the script and really took to the character. It was something a little different for her, especially coming off Transformers and Bottle Shock. So she called me from Australia and we had the greatest conversation. She really got the character and injected more of the Galaxy character into the movie than what I think was originally in the script. After that, I didn’t even hesitate. It was like, if we can get her, we’d be lucky. And then the rest of the casting was built around her.

OGM: I heard there was originally supposed to be a big star playing the Amazing Steve.

BS: Jason Mantzoukas was my first choice. Then, at some point, Rob Schneider read the script, really liked it, and wanted to be a part of it. I don’t know him personally, and I’m sure he would have been great, but it was sort of pushed on me. It’s a catch-22 in the film business. You need big names attached to your film so that you can sell your film or raise money. There are certain people who want to see big names. They want to be able to slap Rob Schneider’s face on the cover of a DVD in India and be able to sell it. And it’s not always necessarily the best decision. You have to give and take a little bit.

But in the 25th hour, it didn’t work out with him. And I went, hey, how about Jason Mantzoukas who I wanted from day one? And Jason was awesome. He jumped in a van, didn’t even read the script, and was like, okay, what am I doing?

OGM: How did you find Jason and Thomas?

BS: I frequent the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and they both perform there. I love fresh faces. What’s great about that is you’re not thinking of an actor’s role in a different film when you watch my movie. So with Thomas Middleditch, no one’s ever seen him before, so he’s Justin when you’re seeing him.

OGM: I know that Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) released his sophomore follow-up (Gentlemen Broncos) just last week. Do you think there’s more acceptance of this kind of offbeat comedy in the wake of those films?

BS: There are so many comedies out there that are generic feeling. I like something with a little style. When you watch a Jared Hess movie, you know it’s a Jared Hess movie. He’s a great filmmaker, and he’s doing movies that no one else makes. He has his own voice.

OGM: Do you think about being compared?

BS: After Blackballed, I was compared to Christopher Guest because I did a mockumentary, and I was like really guys? I shot a movie for $30,000 in three months, just on the weekends, in the pouring rain. This time around, we’re getting comparisons to Adventureland because it’s a theme park. But they are totally different movies. I’m just writing what I think is funny.

OGM: Who are your influences as a writer and as a director?

BS: Well, he’s not a comedy director, but my all-time favorite is Terrence Malick. Every single one of his movies I die for: The Thin Red Line, The New World and I can’t wait for The Tree of Life. Wes Anderson has definitely been an influence on me. I absolutely loved Rushmore. Christopher Guest. Best in Show is one of my favorite comedies. The Coen Brothers are geniuses. Ricky Gervais is a hilarious comic and writer. Larry David consistently makes me laugh. Adam McKay, Paul Thomas Anderson.

OGM: What’s next for you?

BS: I’m working on two writing projects right now, one with Thomas Middleditch, actually. The other is in a familiar world that you will see differently after you watch it. That’s all I can really say for now.

OGM: So you open at how many theatres on Friday?

BS: We open at one theatre, the Regal Union Square in New York City and if we do well, they’ll keep picking us up. Then on November 13, we open in Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon.

OGM: Are you hoping for a little Paranormal Activity activity?

BS: (laughs) That was a phenomenon. I don’t expect that at all. But it would be cool to break even. It’s a fun movie. You’re gonna laugh and have a good time. Hopefully, you’ll walk out smiling, and that’s all that really matters to me.

At an increasing number of communities around the world, spa-going is now spa living.

A spa residential community has more to offer than merely access to spa services close to home. Whether it’s an apartment complex or a suburban enclave of timeshare condos, an urban high-rise or a rural villa, spa residential communities have a central common theme: They’re dedicated to integrating spa concepts—such as healthful eating, medical supervision, life coaching, and organized athletic activities—into multiple aspects of residents’ lives.

Since the trend first emerged more than a decade ago, spa residential communities have proliferated. There are now more than 75 spa residential communities all over the world catering to a variety of residents: businesspeople, young families, and active retirees, all of whom share an enthusiasm for wellness.

Although they all incorporate spa concepts, properties differ from one another in many ways, giving each community a distinct character. Some, such as South Carolina’s Cliffs Communities, were already impressive real estate developments that added spa facilities and services. Situated in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, within a 57-mile radius of one another, the eight Cliffs Communities feature three wellness complexes staffed by preventive-medicine experts and three expansive spas. The properties also offer access to five golf courses (two of which are Jack Nicklaus signature layouts), stables, health clubs, and restaurants serving cuisine prepared with ingredients from their on-site organic farms.

Elsewhere, residences have been introduced by established spa brands. Canyon Ranch Living provides the philosophies of the renowned Canyon Ranch destination spa in several residential locations: gracious Massachusetts duplex townhouses, rustic Arizona desert ranches, and a recently opened beachfront condominium complex in Florida. Canyon Ranch Living Miami Beach has an impressive 70,000-square-foot spa as its centerpiece, and residents can enjoy numerous other amenities in the high-rise, including a climbing wall, group fitness classes, and personal training sessions.

Similar spa-living developments are cropping up all over the world. In the northern Italian village of San Casciano dei Bagni, the natural thermal springs have been visited by those seeking relief in its healing waters for thousands of years; but Fonteverde Natural Spa Resort’s complex of 14 ecofriendly apartments is a modern take on a time-honored practice. Banyan Tree Residences now also has villas and apartments—in addition to East-meets-West spas with extensive hydrotherapy options—at its resort properties in Thailand, China, Indonesia, and Mexico.

Wherever spa-centered communities pop up in the future, one thing is certain: The ones that flourish will be thoughtfully planned and wonderfully innovative places that help their residents bring wellness concepts home to start or continue a healthy way of life.

Banyan Tree Residences (Bangkok, Thailand)
Banyan Tree Residences in Bangkok rises 61 stories above Sathorn Road in the heart of Bangkok’s business and embassy district. Created by Architrave Design & Planning, the residences’ 24 two-bedroom apartments have both Eastern and Western influences throughout. All have state-of-the-art appliances and floor-to-ceiling windows with city views. Six on-site restaurants satisfy any palate. Owners can also access the award-winning Banyan Tree Spa and its 16 treatment rooms, beauty salon, meditation sphere, and fitness center, where yoga, meditation, aerobics classes, and a lap pool are available.

Canyon Ranch Living (Miami Beach, Florida)
Canyon Ranch Living—Miami Beach has a 70,000-square-foot Canyon Ranch Wellness Spa with 23 treatment
rooms, a Finnish sauna, and experience shower rooms. Condominium residences—ranging in size from 720 to 3,585 square feet—are housed within the historic Carillon Hotel, which dates from the late 1950s. All of the hotel’s public spaces have been restored and preserved by the Rockwell Group and include a two-story nature-inspired lobby. Residents have access to the fitness center and rock-climbing wall, advanced integrative and preventive medicine, and traditional spa services and amenities.

Cliffs Communities (Lake Keowee, South Carolina)
The Cliffs at Keowee are a collection of three gated communities on the shores of South Carolina’s Lake Keowee, whose waters are fed by Appalachian streams. Owners of the 250 planned 1,800- to 4,600-square-foot residences—at Keowee Springs, Keowee Vineyards, and Keowee Falls—will have access to an 18-hole Tom Fazio–designed golf course, the state-of-the-art International Golf Institute, and a full-service marina. Spa and wellness services include body-age assessments, personal fitness prescriptions, nutrition and lifestyle consultations, as well as traditional spa services.

Fonteverde Living (San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy)
Located in the heart of Siena’s countryside, the residences at Fonteverde consist of 14 apartments designed by Florentine architects and furnished in modern Tuscan style. Each ecofriendly apartment incorporates solar panels and thermal and acoustic insulation, and features a terrace or private garden. Designed to be a no-hassle vacation home, the residences have day-to-day management—from cleaning and stocking with supplies to unpacking bags and ironing—overseen by the Fonteverde staff. Owners may choose to rent out their apartments through the residence-hotel program.

When in Rome—or a Roman spa—do as the local spa-goers do, with our primer on local spa etiquette.

A trip to the spa should be a relaxing, rejuvenating experience, but uncertainty about etiquette and local customs when visiting a spa overseas can be enough to get you all tied up in knots. Here’s a sampling of what you need to know when visiting spas around the globe.

Nudity
What to bare and where is probably the aspect of spa-going that causes guests the most anxiety. Understandably, being undressed with someone you’ve just met can feel awkward. It certainly doesn’t help that customs regarding nudity at spas vary from country to country.

In the United States and the United Kingdom, spas go to great lengths to maintain guest modesty. Therapists will step out of the room and give you ample time to disrobe and get comfortable under a sheet. They’ve also been trained in the art of draping and tucking the sheet to leave only the body parts they’re working on exposed.

In parts of Western Europe, nudity in a spa’s public areas is frowned upon. As Alexandra Obermair, a marketing manager at Italy’s Terme di Saturnia Spa & Golf Resort, explains, “In Italy nudity is a no-no—we are a Catholic country. People don’t even go topless in the saunas, steam baths, or thermal pools.”

This is less of a concern in some parts of Central and Eastern Europe, where attitudes about the naked human body are more casual. In Germany, for example, it is considered unhygienic to enter the (often coed) sauna, steam bath, or massage area with your swimsuit on. The theory is that toxins released during a treatment or while perspiring may get trapped in clothing. In these towel-only areas, guests are strongly urged to sit or lie on a towel. But wear anything more than fluffy terrycloth and you may be politely asked to leave.

Coed vs. Same Sex
If the idea of nudity has you running scared, take comfort in the knowledge that, in many locales, single-sex treatment areas or hours and same-gender therapists are the norm. You’d be hard-pressed to find a coed hammam in the Middle East, unless you’re at a hotel or resort that caters to tourists. Otherwise, spa areas are strictly same-gender. And, even though in a separate area, men must cover up, per Islamic law
(women are free to go naked).

The Finns, whose sauna rituals include nakedness, birch branches, and families with small children bathing together, would likely be embarrassed by a visit to the mixed-sex saunas of Central Europe. In Scandinavia,
public saunas have separate sections or different hours for men and women. According to the Finnish Sauna Society, if men and women want to mingle during their steam bath, they’ll have to do so in a private sauna.

During an Ayurvedic program in India, you may be asked to bare all but can expect that a therapist of the same gender will perform your abhyanga and shirodhara services. More than modesty, the motive is the effectiveness of the treatment—in this case, keeping guests’ energy in proper balance.

Special Cultural Traditions
Many local healing traditions have gained popularity in spas around the world. If you choose to experience these treatments in their native lands, it’s good to be mindful of their cultural significance.

Take the onsen, or Japanese hot spring. In that country, bathing is an artful ritual that is not to be confused with cleansing. It is customary to scrub down thoroughly—using soap and water from wooden buckets outside the onsen area—before entering the tub. Called hadaka no tsukiai (which translates as “naked communion”), bathing in an onsen is not about solitary relaxation. It is polite to smile, bow, and speak when spoken to. The interaction is as much part of the experience’s healing powers as the thermal waters.

At resort spas in Mexico and Central America, the temazcal is a pre-Hispanic native tradition popping up with increasing frequency. Facilitated by a guide, or temazcalera, this sweat lodge ceremony usually incorporates spiritual elements—including chants, prayers, and songs—that honor the four elements of nature and a mother goddess. It is purported to heal illnesses ranging from sinus infections to arthritis. For this experience, you should dress in loose, comfortable clothes, drink lots of water afterward, and refrain from strenuous physical activity until you’re done sweating.

Gratuity
When your spa treatments are over and you’re feeling great, you’d probably like to show your thanks by leaving your therapist a generous tip. However, though leaving a 15 to 20 percent gratuity in an envelope at the front desk is commonplace throughout the Americas and Europe, in some Asian countries, tipping is a little trickier.

According to Marie Harrison, spa director at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, in Hong Kong, there is no standard tip amount. “We inform our guests that gratuity is not expected in the spa,” she says. “If guests want to offer, then we leave [the amount] up to the individual.”

Elsewhere in China, South Korea, and Japan, hotels and resorts strongly discourage tipping. To offset this, many establishments will include a 10 percent service fee on the bill to be divided among the entire staff. In that same spirit of sharing, many spas in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand prefer that gratuities be given to the staff as a whole. Your spa journey did, after all, require a team effort.

General Dos and Don’ts
Bear in mind that all spas are unique, so always call ahead if you’re unsure about protocol. Still, some rules are inviolate from Austria to Zambia, and everywhere in between.

DO arrive on time, if not early. Jillian Wright, owner of Jillian Wright Clinical Skin Spa, in New York City, laments the late guest who saunters in late. “If our therapist is booked back to back, it’s going to cut into the client’s treatment time,” she says.

DO cancel appointments with plenty of advance notice. Last-minute cancellations will probably incur a charge, which can be as much as the total cost of the treatment you missed.

DON’T receive treatments while ill. Your sea salt scrub won’t feel good if you’re suffering from the flu. If you’ve got a longer-term illness or chronic condition, such as eczema or a heart condition, or if you’re pregnant, let the spa know in advance. Your treatment options may be limited for your safety.

DO leave your cell phone, BlackBerry, and laptop at home (or in your room). You’re supposed to be relaxing, remember? And you certainly shouldn’t be using them in the spa and disturbing other guests.

A Moveable Feast: Years of cooking on the go leads to a rare treat indeed.

For an admittedly nervous flyer, Laurent Tourondel sure knows his way around a galley. Maybe it’s the year the chef behind the popular Manhattan eatery BLT Steak spent cooking up cabbage and potatoes in the French Navy. Or his later tour of duty in the early ’90s as the chef aboard the Honey Fitz, the legendary private yacht that once belonged to the Kennedys. Or maybe it’s just in his genes (although a certified Xanax flier himself, his father was a private pilot).

But the 42-year-old native of the central French provincial town of Montlucon is a firm believer that the size of the flavors need not be constrained by the headroom in the kitchen. “At first, it’s intimidating because the space is so small and narrow you don’t have access to an open flame,” he says. “But with really amazing ingredients, you can cook anywhere.”

These days, Tourondel is hardly pressed for counter space. After stops at an upscale private club in London, the famed Paris bistro Ledoyen and Caesar’s Palace, he now has 11 (soon to be 13) signature BLT restaurants. (The acronym stands for Bistro Laurent Tourondel, not bacon, lettuce and tomato.) In addition to the current locations in New York, Washington, D.C., San Juan, Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and his latest in Las Vegas, the Scottsdale and Miami BLTs are due before the end of 2008.

Just for old time’s sake, though, Tourondel agreed to head back into the galley to offer up this recipe for Steak Tartare. “I’m not really into what I call fashion cooking, but I don’t consider this traditional comfort food either,” he says, explaining the simplicity of the dish. Here again, he says, the secret is in choosing the finest ingredients, such as premium filet mignon and extra-crusty French bread. “If you put it all together on the plane so that it’s still moist, it’s an amazing thing.”

Steak Tartare

8 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
5 tablespoons red onion, diced
2 tablespoons rinsed capers, chopped
3 tablespoons cornichons, chopped
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon tarragon, chopped
1 teaspoon chives, chopped
1 anchovy filet, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 pounds filet mignon, very cold
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
French bread, sliced and toasted

In a bowl, combine the mayo, mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire, Tabasco and mix thoroughly. Stir in onions, capers, cornichons, parsley, tarragon, chives, anchovy and garlic. Remove beef from fridge (it should be very cold). Using a meat grinder with large holes, grind beef. Place meat in a bowl over a larger bowl of crushed ice. Fold in mayo mixture until blended. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with toasted bread.

(originally published in the August/September 2008 issue of Private Air.)

The $1.3 Million Vacation

If you’re bored with the links at St. Andrews and Pebble is passé, one California-based company thinks it has the golf vacation for you. This past spring, food-and-wine events impresarios Angel’s Share began offering a private jet golf vacation through Asia that may just be the most luxe — and priciest — golf excursion of your life. How pricey, you ask? How’s an even $1.3 million sound?

Designed for a group of four (although more can be added for an additional, ahem, cost), the Asian golf outing begins aboard a luxuriously appointed Gulfstream G550. The private plane — yours for the two-week-long trip — first touches down in Bali, continues to Malaysia and wraps up in Hong Hong. The itinerary is, of course, fully customizable.

“It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip,” says Mark Russo, the former brand ambassador for McCallan who founded Angel’s Share in 2001. “We’re offering experiences you just can’t get on your own.” Exper­iences like, for instance, a stay aboard a 172-foot yacht originally built for the Emir of Bahrain as it floats in the Andaman Sea. Or an unforgettable day on the greens at the Nirwana Bali Golf Club, followed by dinner with Bali’s Prince Rai Girigunadhi at the Royal Palace, capped off with a helicopter trip over emerald rice terraces to a remote Balinese village. Those types of experiences.

Iron Man Air

In Iron Man, when billionaire/genius inventor Tony Stark is kidnapped by baddies who try to force him to build WMD, he develops a suit of armor to fly through the sky like a missile. In Private Air, when the editors ask Phil Saunders, the concept co-designer behind all of the movie’s gadgets, to dream up a conveyance for battling the evils of commercial aviation, he develops this baby.

The 38-year-old Canadian says his sub-orbital private jet is an homage to the Piaggio Avanti (which his real-life aeronautical engineer father once flew during test flights), souped up with scramjet engines and a broad skylight for excellent views of earth when the plane rolls to inverted position at its zero-G apogee.

“It would be great for impressing your passengers,” Saunders says. And readers.

Da Bears

In Katmai National Park on the Alaskan peninsula, spring begins in June. That’s when the icy landscape starts to break up and droves of Pacific salmon — sockeye, chum, pink, silver and Chinook — navigate the long distance from the ocean to the tundra’s thawing tributaries.

Ask any experienced fly fisherman, and he’ll tell you: There’s fishing, and there’s fishing in Alaska. And if the 900-pound grizzlies that can be seen tearing into that rosy salmon flesh all summer long could speak, they would certainly agree. But not all lodges set up to access this mating, fishing and feeding frenzy are created equal.

Standing a cut above the rest is Kulik Lodge, a riverbank enclave located squarely in the middle of nowhere. It’s one of three renowned Anglers’ Paradise Lodges that opened in 1950, when Ray Petersen, a pioneering bush pilot and avid fisherman, set up the first tent camps to drum up business for his burgeoning airline.

These days, accommodations at Kulik (now run by Ray’s son Sonny) are 12 comfortable, modern, two-person cabins spread out over 100 acres. Top-flight amenities include a native-spruce great lodge with a grand-stone fireplace, five floatplanes, 30 boats, an accomplished chef, sauna, full open bar and all the Sage rods, Ross reels and Simms waders you’ll ever need.

You’ll know you’re headed for something special the moment you abandon the last thing resembling a road for 60 miles and board the lodge’s eight-seat Piper Navajo at the King Salmon Airport.

A 30-minute flight takes you over a kaleidoscope of forests, lowland marshes, snow-capped mountains and mile after mile of gin-clear, gravel-bottomed rivers, then deposits you at the intersection of Nonvianuk Lake and the Kulik River, where the enormous rainbow trout are so spirited, their jumping actually makes the waters look as though they’re boiling.

Afterward, you’ll be paired with a guide who will wake you each morning at 5 a.m. to take you to your fly-out destinations — up to another 100 miles into the wilderness. But don’t be too proud to have him stop at least once, just 25 miles away, at Brooks Falls, otherwise known as the Greatest Feeding Grizzly Show on Earth. “It’s so clichéd,” Sonny says.  “We were in a Geico commercial, for God’s sake.”