| The days of wine and roses have come to an end. |
[14 Jun 2009|11:44pm] |
My days of wine and roses* have been the days of the Vorpal Space.
Red wine for the gallery functions and the countless social visits. Bottles, and cases and boxes of wine. Good stuff -- that French Syrah [best shit for under $5 I ever found], Argentine Malbec, and good dark smoky Hungarian Red. And the bad shit like Charles shaw [three buck Chuck] and the boxed stuff that I gave away free to the unwashed masses who swarmed the space for the openings.
Red roses for gallery openings. And lilies too because the make the whole gallery smell good especially in the warm summer nights. And roses for target practice in promo videos and cutting out of my assistant's teeth in circus shows.
Increasingly I am forced to conclude that maintaining a storefront is not viable. Blame the larger economy. Blame the fact that people in these troubled times seem to prioritize things like rent and food over art purchases.
A few years ago, the shows at Vorpal Space were successful one after the next, for years. Now it seems that I put up an excellent show, buy wine and flowers and generally throw a free party for the general public, only to yet again have that sad conversation with a downcast artist, about how I consider their show a success and how I like and believe in their art, despite the fact that nothing sold. I think the recent shows have been every bit as good as the old ones, but the larger context has changed.
I know that I have often featured marginalized art and that the consumers of such are often themselves marginalized and that such individuals are hit hardest when things taken a turn for the worse. I didn't get into the art gallery game to set artists up to fail. and I'm not willing to feature art I personally find uninteresting to appeal to a wider audience.
So, as of the last week, Gowan and I have moved our base of operations to a beautiful space upstairs in the same building -- over 1000 sq feet of briick walls and hardwood floors with big windows and good light -- plenty of space for receptions and parties (the invite only kind), and a big 45' long wall for art. Gowan has an excellent studio set up, and I will continue to deal in art and curate art and events without the issues of a street level storefront.
This evening I wandered around the empty shell that up until last week has been Vorpal Space. It sounded different empty -- my voice and footfalls echoed in the empty space. The walls are pocked with holes beyond counting, and from each one hung artwork. The big holes are from drywall screws to support heavy canvasses, the small holes from nails to support photographs, There are marks on the wall where the chair backs used to rub, a the patina of the floor reflects the patterns of foot traffic. During the time I had the space I watched all but a handful of art galleries in Portland fail or turnover. It was a good long run, but I am ready to move into the next phase of the Vorpal Space, and that phase is upstairs.
Gowan and I are planning to kick off our new space with a Vorpal Space retrospective featuring 40-50 pieces from my private collection amassed over the last 3 and a half years. It should happen in the next few weeks. Contact me for details.
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* The phrase "days of wine and roses" is originally from the poem "Vitae Summa Brevis" by Ernest Dowson (1867-1900):
They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.
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| George W. Bush is Officially the Worst President Ever. . . |
[04 Nov 2008|06:30pm] |
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NPR's Election Coverage on the Radio |
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According to the LA Times, as of this weekend, George W. Bush has an approval rating of of 26%, the lowest recorded approval rating of any President in the history of the United States. His disapproval rating is 72%, i.e. 3 out of 4 Americans don't think he is doing a good job. From what I hear, his activities of late have revolved around preemptively pardoning himself for his gross (not to mention illegal) abuses of his office.
Right now I'm holding my breath about the election results. . . NPR just called Ohio for Obama. . .
If things go left tonight, I'm predicting that the birth rate is is going to spike in urban areas 9 months from now, due to hookups at election parties.
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| In other news, Robot Camel Jockeys. |
[08 Oct 2008|06:34pm] |
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In response to alegations of horific abuse of child camel jockeys, robots have been built to act as camel jockeys in the notorious Camel Races in the Arab countries of the Middle East. Apparently, this has been going on for a few years now, but I find it amusing beyond measure. The robots are designed to pull the reigns with one "hand", whip the camels with the other, and shout invectives (presumably in Arabic) at the camels during the race. And, Robot Jockies don't grow or otherwise gain weight, so it is not recessary to starve them half to death like they were doing with the child camel jockies.
More here and here
This is the most bizarre thing I have found on the interweb all week.
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| Back from the BURN. . . |
[01 Sep 2008|11:47am] |
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SILENCE!!! |
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So I have been back for about 24 hours now.
Gowan and I left just before the Man burned because the FIRE CONCLAVE SHOW WAS CANCELED at the last minute after being on standby for hours. Apparently the 12 HOUR DUST STORM was just too much for the organizers. It certainly kicked the shit out of the rest of us.
The return journey was somewhat protected due to DRIVING THE ENTIRE 500+ MILES AT UNDER 45mph due to a DAMAGED TIRE. Infact, the entire event was so rough on my car I expect the insurance company to total it when I make my varous claims.
But, we're back safely, so I guess that's good. And, the event itself was, of course, amazing. Details to follow.
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| Steampunk Coffee Machines, Armor and Burning Man 2008. . . |
[14 Aug 2008|05:10pm] |
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 caffeinated |
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Depeche Mode, Violator |
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So, many of you know me as a tea geek, a label I will not deny. However I'm also coffee geek. A couple days back I indulged a long standing obsession with perhaps the original steampunk kitchen accessory -- the La Pavoni Europiccola. First designed in the 1950s, this machine has been the gold standard ever since, and remains in production with only minor modifications.
Basically, it is a chromed solid cast brass boiler, with only the very minimum of modern accouterments attached. It is both refined and primitive -- when it is warming up, jets of steam shoot out of the valves, but one also is part of the collection of the museum of modern art. I first became aware of this machine during my first throes of coffee obsession in Seattle in the late 90s. Anyway, as of a few days back, I finally own one. It is one of the new millennium models with a nifty automatic pressure regulator and the larger group head than the older models. The consensus on Coffee Geek is that my obsession is justified.
In other news, Vorpal Space Has had a couple of excellent months. This month Vorpal Space has featured "Sketches of Hell," a series conceptual design sketches by my Friend and neighbor Matthew Clark. Matthew was commissioned by DC Comics to redesign Hell for the DC universe, and these are the concept drawings! It is an amazing show. Next month is a show of paintings by my friend Peter Archer. This will be his second show at Vorpal Space following the highly successful Sleeper Cells last year.
And, Burning Man prep is ramping up daily. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) gowanmetal and I are making the trip together, planning to join up and camp with the Garnish posse in BRC. She as usual, is amazing. As I write she is hammering sheets of aluminum into fully - functional armor plates to augment my standard post-apocalyptic samurai thing. Her own outfits (including a chased and repoussed copper scale armour bikini top) are pretty damn impressive as well. I'll post some pics soon. . .
p.s. I still have the same motorcycle, the NT650 GT Hawk. It is amazing and I don't think I'm going to sell it. I even bough a Corbin seat for it. And gowanmetal and I made a custom aluminum luggage panel for it out acid etched with Masonic and Rosicrucian emblems.
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| Another month, another Motorcycle. Plus new Garnish '08 Video, and misc. ramblings. . . |
[15 Jul 2008|01:11pm] |
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Vroom Vroom Vroom |
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So, in the established trend, I bring you info on my latest Motorcycle acquisition: a 1988 Honda NT650 GT Hawk -- a.k.a. the Hawk GT . This bike is nothing less than a cult classic, and quite rare to boot -- only made for three years in the U.S.. Most of 'em have been chopped into track racers, and no wonder -- it has an aluminum aishbone frame with single-sided aluminum swing-arm (licensed from ELF Racing), and a liquid cooled 650cc V-Twin engine. 58 BHP @ 8500 RPM, 43 lb/ft Torque @ 600 RPM, 410 Lbs wet weight -- 0-60 in 4 seconds, 12.7 second quarter mile.. And, widely condisered one of the most agile and best cornering bikes ever made. I have been looking for a Hawk GT for years, but finding one in stock, unmolested condition with low miles is near impossible. Again, most have been chopped into track racers -- or run hard and put away wet. My girl has less than 13K miles, all stock, and is in pretty primo shape (expecially for an '88).
The NT650 GT was one of the first naked V-twin sporty standard bikes on the market -- way ahead of its time. The Suzuki GT650 and the Ducati Monsters are mere copies -- this is the original made over 10 years before them. It is my favorite bike ever. I think I'm keeping this one for a while. . . although I might have to paint it black. . .
In other news, the gallery is doing well. Check out www.vorpalspace.com for more infor on shows and whatnot.
I am increasingly excited about Burning Man, and have all sorts of plans for this coming Burn. . .
In that vein,, kingneptune has posted the 2008 Garnish Conclave proposal video! Check it out at www.garnishfire.com. It features a number of performers from a variety of locations, including me. The clips of me are surprisingly decent, given that I lit up for the first time since Buring Man last year to participate in the video shoot. It was more fun than I had expected it to be. . . Perhaps I'm not quite over fire afterall. . .
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| update. . . |
[13 Jun 2008|02:08pm] |
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Vroom Vroom Vroom |
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To those few benighted individuals who still read my increasingly irrelevant blog, I offer the following excuse for my neglect: I have been busy.
Among other things, there have been a series of great shows at Vorpal Space, with more greatness to come this summer season. Also Vorpal Space has partnered with Gowan Metalworks, who has set up a small but full featured Goldsmithing and Silversmithing operation in what used to be the bar area of the gallery. Gowan makes amazing traditional jewelry, and the highest quality body jewelry which I have ever seen. Check out her work here: www.gowanmetal.com.
I have been doing a surprising amount of antique weapons dealing out of the display cases in Vorpal Space, I have features sharp dangerous things in the cases since the beginning, not only due to my own proclivities, but also as a connection to the name and Jabberwocky poem. Some of the the current lot (mostly vintage Malaysian and Balinese pieces) are damn cool:
 
I love buying and selling sharp pretty things. . .
I am part of a proposal for a Major Consulting Project, which if we get it will make me incredibly busy for months and pay me more money than I have made since the lawfirm days of old. I am especially excited because it is working for a great non-profit whose mission is incredibly worthwhile. Wish us luck.
I have bought and sold 5 or 6 motorcycles since I last blogged on the topic. . . Apparently, I get bored easily (and the VF750c Magna was a bit heavy for around town). . . Anyway, the current bike is pretty awesome -- a 1978 Honda CB400t Hawk II. The Hawk II has damn impressive specs for a vintage bike: 370lbs, 395cc (OHC, 3-valve parallel twin), 5-speed, 43HP, tops out at 110mph, and gets 50mpg. Light and agile with plenty of power, this little guy has been restored and Cafe'd out. Cafe treatment includes: super comfy custom seat (built on the original seat pan), vintage wire wheels (instead of the ugly stock mag wheels), custom vintage TT style drag racing pipes w/ spring clip mountings (loud), an even older chrome fender w/ support bars and fabricated bracket mounts, a chrome headlight visor, lower "Super Bike" touring bars and billet aluminum bar-end mirrors, and a bomb proof "paint job" which is actually industrial grade truck bed liner (which means that I could probably lay it down without messing up the "paint"). And it runs like a top -- a 30 year old bike which starts on the first kick!
Question: should I get a little vintage Bikini Fairing for it, or leave it naked?
The various occult and esoteric projects are going well. Our new Masonic Lodge focused on esoteric research received a charter from the Grand Lodge. And, a paper which I presented to the Rosicrutian College a few months back, is being considered for publication in a national journal. Other publications have expressed interest in it, should that one not decide to publish it, so apparently my career as a writer on such topics is progressing.
Tea is still a focus -- I have found a good local source for Chinese stuff in the outer PDX. They don't speak English very well, but via pointing and pantomime we have developed something of a rapport, and I'm getting great hookups. I gave away about a third of the enormous bag of Oolong I posted about back in February. The remaining 60 or so pounds I traded for a .5 carat Diamond. No shit -- apparaised and everything. Now I have this big bling, which I am at a loss to find a use for. . . I suppose it is a good problem to have. I'll probably let Gowan make it into something.
And, Artemis, as always, is good. Apparently, I am as well.
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| Portraits! |
[13 Feb 2008|04:28pm] |
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M.I.A. -- Jimmi |
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So last night I did an extended environmental portrait shoot with the incomparable Steve Lenz. The results speak for themselves (even as raw proofs before Steve works his photoshop magic):
Damn. I especially love the ones with my Nagamitsu katana (and yes, it is a real one -- signed, appraised, etc. . . For the obsessively hardcore, I will reassure you that I only clean it with a white silk cloth, the black silk was just for the shoot.).
I wish I always looked like this. . .
In other news, I have been:
- Finalizing the spring and summer calendar for Vorpal Space -- the emerging lineup is damn impressive. I love my art gallery! And, I just signed my third year's lease on the space, so expect more to come.
- Playing board member on the inceasingly contentious OTCTNA Board. Can you say fireworks?
- Ever increasing involvement in my Masonic and other Occult groups. . . I'm due to present a research paper to a well respected Occult research "college" next month, and I'm still researching and writing it. Hopefully it will go over well enough that I will be invited to publish it in the journal of the college.
- Wrenching on and playing on a variety of motorized toys including yet another racing scooter (this one is designed for offroad use and goes 45mph-- it's going to Burning Man!), as well as the mirco-light NS50f racer and my trusty VF750CD Magna cruiser. Lets hear it for good bike weather. . .
- And, of course, hanging out with a variety of old and new friends, in a variety of ways. . . good times.
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| Probably not what Motorola had in mind. . . |
[18 Jan 2008|07:03am] |
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Aphex Twin -- Cliffs |
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The Razr doesn't have as many features as some of the fancy new phones out there. But it is sleek and compact, constructed of metal, and perhaps not surprisingly has remarkable balance:
I don't think you could do this with an iPhone. . .
And, now you know what I do when I'm bored. I take random household items and make them into performance props. . . You should see what I can do with the kitchen knives. . .
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| Bonus! |
[10 Jan 2008|02:44pm] |
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wired |
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So, I have been in Boston/Natick doing a consulting project at a military research facility here. One of the groups on base is the DoD's Combat Feeding labs, and they gave me some samples of what is quickly becoming my new favorite snack -- STAY ALERT "Caffeine Supplement Chewing Gum"
This is some serious gum -- 100mg of caffeine per piece. The caffeine absorbs through the gums and other oral membranes almost instantly -- far faster than via the stomach. It is, apparently, only available to military and security agencies as of now, making the box they gave me an even cooler score.
Having sampled the best of the world's exotic energy supplements, including Black Black the notorious Japanese caffeinated chewing gum, and all sorts of grey market stuff from Korea and Thailand, I am forced to conclude that this stuff is much better.
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| Fireninja in Boston January 7th-10th, and other misc. updates |
[06 Jan 2008|09:34pm] |
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So, I'm in Boston from the 7th-10th of January. My days will be spent working on a consulting project, but my nights are relatively unspoken for if any of my East Coast peeps happen to be in that vicinity and want to meet up for a drink or whatnot. This trip promises to be incredibly boring, unless I cross paths with old friends.
New Years was fun. I met up with a close friend for a drink, and then went to a big Burner warehouse party. Good conversation and good other interactions, with old and new friends
The submissions for the Alchemy show at Vorpal Space were fantastic -- every piece is solid, which makes me, the curator, very happy. And, the reception was great. Thanks to everyone who came by to drink free wine, eat crappy snacks and look at great art. For the rest of you, I encourage you to come by before the end of the month to check it out.
And, I got another dangerous motorized toy in trade for the way overpowered racing scooter (see entry for Nov 16) which I hurt my knee on last month (see entry for Dec 3). I still have one of the little GoPed stand-up scooters, which I will keep for use at Burning Man, but the racer was just too much. So, it is gone. In exchange, I got something really cool:
It is an incredibly rare Honda NS50F -- only available in the US in 1990. There a perhaps a few thousand in the states. Since then they have become quite coveted in the small cc racing scene. . . It is a 49cc liquid cooled 2-stroke. The little thing is a full featured track racing motorcycle -- not a pocket bike -- it has 6 gears, dual drum brakes, all the basic instruments and signals, etc, etc. Tops out about 50ish, 'cause is has an after-market sprocket which shaves off some top speed in exchange for torque in the low range, but stock can go over 60. It weighs 180 lbs, so it is extremely agile. Word is that you can drop a Honda 125 right into the frame with no mods needed -- apparently this gives it an insane and dangerous amount of power. . . But, as for now, the law calls it a moped, so my friends who don't have endorsements can ride with me. It will probably be matte black soon. . .
Dammit this is turning into a motorized toy blog.
Oh well, back to packing for the Boston trip.
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| Back in the Saddle Again |
[31 Dec 2007|12:40am] |
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 good |
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Aphex Twin -- 73-Yips |
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Tonight the rain finally let up long enough for me to get out on the motorcycle. Between the weather, various injuries, and personal drama it had been almost two months since I rode my beloved Magna. I was half afraid of issues starting her. . . but, she started right up.
Sometimes, I miss my stylish vintage bikes. They looked great, got no end of props from hipsters and old biker dudes, and gave me an excuse to wear rocking vintage cycle gear. . . But then I remember the countless hours tinkering on them to make 'em run right, the finicky nature of machines older than you, the never-ending issues with 40+ year old parts wearing out, and the near impossibility of replacing them. I always had to have at least two of them to ensure that one would be working at any given time. I don't miss that.
So, I armored up and cruised all over the city, ostensibly searching for an open Chevron station (I'm picky about what I feed my baby. . .), but really just enjoying being out on the bike again. It was great. F'ing cold, but great. There were no other cars on the road, and the city seemed abandoned -- I assume is everyone resting up for tomorrow's debauchery.
A midnight ride has done wonders for my mood. . . and spring is not so far off. . .
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| The goat-play of life |
[28 Dec 2007|07:56pm] |
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 . . . |
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Autechre -- Incunabula : Eggshell |
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Sometimes, someone else nails my mood better than I can:
"Modern literature is devoted, in great measure, to a courageous, open-eyed observation of the sickeningly broken figurations that abound before us, around us, and within. Where the natural impulse to complain against the holocaust has been suppressed—to cry out blame, or to announce panaceas—the magnitude of an art of tragedy more potent (for us) than the Greek finds realization: the realistic, intimate, and variously interesting tragedy of democracy, where the god is beheld crucified in the catastrophes not of the great houses only but of every common home, every scourged and lacerated face. And, there is no make-believe about heaven, future bliss, and contemplation, to alleviate the biter majesty, but only utter darkness, the void of unfulfillment, to receive and eat back the lives that have been tossed forth from the womb only to fail.
In comparison with all this, our little stories of achievement seem pitiful. Too well we know what bitterness of failure, loss, disillusionment , and ironic unfulfillment galls the blood of even the envied of the world. Hence we are not disposed to assign to comedy the high rank of tragedy."
Joseph Campbell -- The Hero with a Thousand Faces In other news, I have survived the holidays, and am preparing for the January show at Vorpal Space. The theme of the show is Alchemy, a subject near and dear to me. I have high hopes for it.
And, of late I have been walking without need of a cane, crutch or brace. The knee, apparently, will be ok.
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