AMPELSAND.COM

Fresh from the pages of a Japanese Men's fashion magazine...

2009-07-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

click on the image to get a close up look at the rad, streetwise fashions from Men's Knuckles Magazine

SINLESS: Summertime

2009-07-07T14:58:00.000-07:00

www.sinless.cz

I'm like a train

2009-06-17T00:47:00.000-07:00

In the Sinless inbox the other day came a letter from a production company in Spain:

(original content in Spanish)

Google translation follows:

Rob thinks you're like a train and you are a charming, intelligent and also very professional. Porfa now, look at the mail, the bread of our children ;-)

Pizza Sauce

2009-06-12T02:00:00.001-07:00

This is a rare...

(indeed only one in existence)

...bootleg of an impromptu session of the Band of And's while on tour in Italy.

Turn it up.

Bite Fight

2009-06-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

My latest little guilty pleasure...

bite me

SINLESS: Latextasy

2009-05-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Where music and passion are always in fashion.

That... and latex.

www.sinless.cz

Rock Your Face Off Mid-May

2009-05-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

Apologies to Kurosawa.

Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me

2009-04-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

and now for something completely different...

click me.

SINLESS 07: At The Office

2009-04-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

This party has a special dresscode exception: formal business attire is not only acceptable, but will earn you a glass of fine champagne...

www.sinless.cz

Visa- it's everywhere you want to be

2009-04-20T13:32:00.000-07:00

Stolen moments from Zagreb chapter welcoming party.
Names and faces have been changed in accordance with operation "Got Milk" in order to protect the innocent and maintain party lines.

Sometimes life here makes me giggle.

2009-04-16T00:22:00.000-07:00

Today on the metro I saw a rather cute girl dressed very stylishly in the pseudo-hip trends of the day. Nothing remarkable, especially in this town. Except one thing struck me as being exceptionally laughable:

She was wearing a designer mesh baseball cap.

I shit thee not, me drooges.

I have seen the uber-clean quasi-American logo-less copies of our beloved white trash icon before, but this was different. It was finely embroidered with some name brand logo, all loops and curls, you know the type. It was immaculately clean, of course. And the mesh wasn't purely transparent...it had a lining underneath. No velcro or plastic snaps either, it was fitted. It probably cost her half a month's salary.

She wore it proudly, this status symbol of current European style that is nothing more than the hat my grandpa used to wear when he mowed the lawn. As she exited the metro, I smiled at the ludicrous thought of her handing it down to her grandkid someday...

Ah, Europa...

One More Because I've Been Listening to This Stuff Non-Stop

2009-04-09T01:54:00.000-07:00

Read the lyrics while you listen. Insta-death killer combo.

I'm a Lexicon devil with a battered brain
searching for a future the world's my aim
so gimme gimme your hands gimme gimme your minds
gimme gimme your hands gimme gimme your minds
gimme gimme this gimme gimme that

I want toy tin soldiers that can push and shove
I want gunboy rovers that will wreck this club
I'll build you up and level your heads
We'll run it my way cold men and politics dead...

I'll get silver guns to drip old blood
Let's get this established joke a shove
We're gonna wreak havok on this rancid mill
I'm searchin' for somethin' even if I'm killed...

Empty out your pockets- you don't need their change
I'm giving you the power to rearrange
Together we'll run to the highest prop
Tear it down and let it drop... away...

Teen Bio-Pics and Art Stereotypes and Art Addiction

2009-04-09T01:31:00.001-07:00

Got a video store membership the other night and the first flick my lady friend and I chose was Factory Girl, the Edie Sedgwick flick that supposedly gives all the dirt on her relationship with Andy Warhol.

I had to compare the tone and style of this flick with another one that I saw relatively recently, about another one of my art heroes, which was What We Do is Secret, the Germs flick that the remaining members of The Germs endorsed (I know they supported the film because I was at the premier in LA and they were too).

It's quite interesting to me how two movies can have such similar tones and miss the mark so much about the principal characters involved, while managing to command at least some amount of respect for paying homage to these tragic characters that have so long been celebrated and mythologized in the art and music world.

There were many cringe-worthy moments in both of these movies and also moments when I knew for a fact, from reading books and interviews, watching movies and trusting my intuition that these people never really acted or felt the way the actors sold it. But it's a movie after all, and useful in the sense that people who have never heard of the Germs can hear their music and dudes who had never seen Edie Sedgwick can have a new muse.

In the end, the most fascinating thing about all of this for me is the complexity of these characters, their impact on the people around them and the mark they made on the world, which will probably endure in some form to the end of American culture.

In the excellent book Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and The Germs, the story of The Germs is told by the people who were involved and watched the rise and fall of the band first-hand, in interview form. You can see conflicting stories about Darby right beside each other, contradictory stories about the development of the band or the recording of their first LP or even the date of their first show.

All of this misinformation and disagreement lends itself to the Darby myth, which continues to grow. Likewise with Andy and Edie. I find it unfortunate, however, that these filmmakers so often gave in to stereotype and cliche and failed to portray the real essence of who these people were. I also find it amazing that, given the body of work they left behind and the amount of information they gave about themselves in print, in music and in film, we still know relatively little about these enigmatic art masters dude.

Risk Update

2009-04-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

Game: Command Room Risk
Participants: Inkfan, Hot Dog, Mondego, Grunther, The Revelator
Venue: Letna Beer Garden

Winner: Mondego (Third Consecutive Win)

I don't normally do a lot of commentary on these Risk updates. However, because this was the first time someone pulled off a hat-track, and it was me, this time I will.

The game started off strangely, as Hot Dog was immediately sitting on a large number of cities. This could have been particularly helpful to his cause as he could have tried for the 'Control 8 Cities' objective, but he was unable to do so and these cities were quickly controlled by other players.

Another way this game started strangely was my initial position in relation to the Revelator in Australia. We fortified other countries but went ass out in Australia, with me in Western Australia and Rev in Eastern . We fortified over and over during the initial fortification process and then placed our capitals in each of those territories, side by side.

The Rev had the right idea, especially given this was his first go at Command Room. The dice, though, were not with him, and soon I controlled his capital and the rest of Australia, which set the tone of the game. Little was heard from The Man in Black for the rest of the game.

After the first few rounds, Grunther managed to impress everyone with his consistently bad rolls. If I rolled a 4, he rolled a 3. If I was defending and he rolled a 6, I rolled a 6. If the Rev rolled a 2, he rolled a 1. Better luck next time, Doc.

Hot Dog played the smartest and most consistent game at the table, aside from me. He almost prevented my winning a few times and he was on the right track as far as my strategy went. But he just couldn't hang. No objectives earned, no players killed, no nothing.

Ink Fan made a run at the 'Control Europe' object and got stroked. He then sat demoralized and dejected throughout the rest of the game.

I win.

SINLESS 06: 2 days left...

2009-04-06T01:27:00.000-07:00

You don't want them to dry out, do you?

www.sinless.cz

dream communication 02

2009-04-02T08:55:00.001-07:00

.start message:

He is older, but not old. His full grey beard makes him look older than he is. He’s huge, a wide giant of a man. Strong powerful hands, lined with age, leathered with exposure, and calloused with use, tell the stories of a working life. He is wearing furs- I’m guessing he’s a trapper. He has eyes so clear blue they are almost silver-white…something like water in a porcelain bowl. He is a kind man at heart, but there is something inhuman about him, something feral… He is likely part animal somehow… he would rather be with them, than with us.

And he is with them.

We are in the wilderness. He is trapping animals, but not harming them. I watch him intently, trying to figure out what he’s doing. He never speaks to me. Never looks directly at me. Perhaps I am not really here. The animals fear him. Hate him. He is after all, human somehow…and this is their world. I watch and I realize he is feeding them some kind of drug. He is putting them into a deep sleep. He is studying them. He is trying to find out how much of this chemical or herb makes them sleep and how deeply and for how long. Perhaps he is a pioneer of animal research. Testing the mountain lion is a tricky affair. How to be sure he’s really asleep? How to be sure such a clever animal is not pretending? Over and over again…trapping different animals, testing them, letting them go. He always errs on the side of too little drug, rather than too much. The wildcat escapes too soon. The peacock is high as fuck…and happily singing along to a late-night television program about being high as fuck. The monkey actually wants to be dosed. Not so much that he will fall asleep. He just wants to be high too. He gets let out of his cage, he’s not going anywhere.

This trapper has a daughter. Maybe ten years old. She is in the cabin. She is very sad. Freckles and ginger brown hair. Big blue eyes like dad…but richer in color…age has not paled them yet. But they are wet with tears. It is cold in the cabin…so terribly cold. This has been a particularly harsh winter. Feels like mom isn’t here…anymore. Not for a long time. This girl has no right hand. It appears to have been cut off. Cleanly. And healed over. The left hand is bandaged up. The frost on the window makes evil and beautiful patterns behind her bed. Father has tears in his eyes too...almost. He says something hopeful. It makes the moment even worse. She already knows what’s coming and his words make it all unbearable. Her tears fall like big and heavy, wet and cold. The frost makes evil and beautiful patterns on the bandage. The blackness is almost visible beneath the bandage. The dead blood will continue to creep. The trapper does not hesitate. He raises his knife. It’s so fast you can’t even see it. She screams in pain and agony and utter sadness.

Outside the monkey is high as fuck. He is sitting next to the peacock. They are swaying together and singing and watching tv.

We got the wildcat again. Is he really asleep this time? The hunter’s hands venture nearer. The hunter’s exposed fleshy hands go towards the cat’s neck, towards his mouth… Just got to get this collar around him…

:end message.

The Greatest Parallel Parking Job of All Time

2009-03-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

Make/Model: 1996 Ford Escort, hatchback
Driver: Danger
Location: Rybalkova Street, Praha 2
Time: 9:58am
Date: 27/3/2009

Getting a spot on this street is usually very difficult. So I was quite excited when I saw a spot right there, seemingly the exact size as the length of my car.

I had no idea I was about to perform the greatest parallel parking job of all time. There is literally a centimeter of space on each end.

That's how it's done, bitches.

*Note: the guy coming out of the house was in complete and total awe of this parking job.

Some British Shit

2009-03-26T02:18:00.000-07:00

It's hard for me to think of something that I care less about than the contents of this speech, but he's a cute little guy and I really like his diction.

SINLESS 06

2009-03-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

www.sinless.cz

Time to Rock the CASBA!!

2009-03-24T02:27:00.000-07:00

Never again. Never again.

As history has taught us, these heavy words should be heeded. The Citizens Against String Bowling Association needs your help. Sign this petition to help us say "Never Again" to String Bowling, an injustice which has robbed too many a crown, too many an hour from the lives of those it has duped....

Yahoo!'s Top 100 Films to See Before You Die

2009-03-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

While most people don't consider Yahoo! the definitive source for news these days, occasionally, while checking my email, I do bump into a random thought from them that I consider notable.

Take today's Top 100 Films to See Before You Die, for example.

I haven't seen a many of the films on this list, yet, and I have seen a good portion of the others. But, like any Top Films list, it's completely subjective, and I feel there is no better forum to vet this list than right here among the Ampelsand Movie Staff.

Talk among yourselves....

1) What's missing?
2) What has been woefully included which ought not be included?
3) What's the best of these 100?
4) Snow White?
5) etc.

I'll start off by commending the inclusion of Goldfinger, as their reasoning echoes my very own when included in Danger's Desert Island Showcase list many moons ago. The first great Bond film which set the precedent for Bond films to come.

Homework Assignment

2009-03-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to post a short story in the comments section of this post that is 500 words or fewer in length.

It can be on absolutely any subject and in any format you choose.

Be An Illegal Immigrant for a Day

2009-03-21T01:09:00.000-07:00

In El Alberto, a small village over 1000km from the border between Mexico and the US, tourists can pay to experience what it's like being an illegal migrant. Jo Tuckman joins a group as they attempt to enter 'America'.

I bet they blog about that experience on blogger, facebook, myspace and twitter.

John Smith is: crossing the Mexican border into America!
10:56pm · Comment · Like · Share

The Wild Boys' Flu

2009-03-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

Danger had it.

Zlato had it.

Mondego had it.

The Revelator has it now.

If Gruntboy aint got it yet,

he should come on over to mine

so i can breathe on him.

Approximately One Week in Prague

2009-03-19T13:24:00.001-07:00

I've been working my god damn ass off and right now, our stolen Internet isn't functioning very well. I think the people we were taking it off of finally got wise and really and truly changed the password for good. The funny thing is, my roommate initially got the password to the network from some guy who was over at our apartment partying at our place. They were bitching about not having stable Internet and so he looked around stealthily a few times, leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, "Don't worry about it..the password to our network is 24chdg66g"

So the long and short of it is, I'm on another network that allows me to use the net, sort of, but it takes about fifteen minutes for one page to load. It would a lot more time economical to just forget about doing anything online until I had a more stable connection, but that just wouldn't feel right.

This week feels like a blur. I haven't had one moment to actually relax, what with the Wild Boys summit on Tuesday, hanging out with my lady friend and working like a dog. I have had time to learn that a whole lot of people are getting fucked on visa applications to the CZ right now, perhaps including me, and this has changed my mental landscape significantly.

Anyone who knows my story would know that it would be grand irony indeed if for some reason I were unable to live here because of visa considerations, considering I've already had a visa once and was in the process of completing the process one other time. I've tried to be very zen about the entire thing during the last few days because I haven't received any concrete news about anything regarding my actual visa. But the outlook looks grim indeed.

One part of me says it's pointless to worry, one part of me says that the things we worry about rarely happen and another says I can sense my immigration doom ahead of time with precise prescience.