Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Moment's of Magic

Take a look to the right of the screen. You will notice a new feature to the BLAM, Kyle's Moments of Magic. He is mine and Sean's boss here at the shop... I know, I can hardly believe it either. He is funny, so funny in fact, Sean and I thought it would be a good idea to have updates of his twitter feed. Get ready to laugh.

Kyle and the new addition to the family, Midge.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Dead Scilence at Ampersand



Please join Ampersand for the opening of our new show, Dead Silence : 1930s Morgue Photography.

Free drinks courtesy of Ninkasi Brewing Co.

Our October show features a selection of 16 vintage morgue photographs taken by one R. Magnus, a photographer working in Hoboken, New
Jersey in the 1930s. Adopted as a general term in 1880s America, morgue replaced the coarser, though perhaps more direct, dead house, to
describe the location where the bodies of unidentified persons or those that died of violence were kept before being released for burial. Etymolo-
gically, morgue is a nuanced word, deriving its meaning from the French morguer, which denoted a place where new prisoners were held so
that jailers could become familiar with their looks for future identification. At its most basic, morgeur means haughtiness, to look at solemnly, to
defy. It’s this idea of haughtiness, of posing & posturing, of declaring your existence, of placing yourself in front of an onlooker, whether that be
a prison guard or a portrait photographer, that resonates so sublimely in these photographs. Rather, it’s the absence of such posturing that is so
mesmerizing. Less about the nuances of violence & crime in an age that paralleled Weegee's street photographs, Dead Silence focuses instead
on a singular kind of portrait photography in which the sitter no longer has the ability to declare that he is.

Hope to see you.

Myles Haselhorst

Ampersand - Gallery & Bookshop
2916 NE Alberta Street, Suite B

www.ampersandvintage.com
www.ampersandvintage.blogspot.com

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Hi Five, Japan


Usually, I am the best looking in the room. It's tough really, but today when Daisuke Yano's buddy, Teisuke Morimoto from PDW Japan, came in today, I couldn't say that. Wow, he's a sexy beast. Women followed him in off of the street. I've never seen anything like it.

We go the extra mile


Atlin and Nick used all their man power (no not that kind, prev) to unseize a stem. They are pretty buff and easy on the eyes, another reason why 21st Ave Bicycles is the place to be.

So hot it burns

I have been listening to this song on repeat for the last couple of days. It's hot.... and I am so happy that the video is super hot too. Holy shit, I love this song.

Friday, September 24, 2010

We are sooooo prooooo

Here's the deal, we're rad. I know you probably already know that seeing as how I say it all of the time and why would I lie? I wouldn't...well, not to you. Here are the new signs Sean made for the shop.


The rumors aren't true. I DO know how to read and write... kinda.

Sean is scary... scary cool.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

It's about time....


I feel like it's time to bring another person on to this wild ride and who better than my partner in crime, Sean Light. I'm sure you will think he is just as funny as I do.

Amanda: Sean, welcome. Is this pretty much your dream come true?

Sean: If it's immediately followed by me holding half a cheese burger and wondering why I've done what I'm assuming I've just done, then yes there is a good chance.

Amanda: Ahh... yes, the dreaded reoccurring vegan nightmare. In mine, it's a steak. Well, I was hoping it would be compared to your dream where instead of Jean-Claude Van Damme playing a set of twins in Double Impact, it was us.


Sean: Do you ever wake up with the feeling that you've just wasted the whole night reliving the best of JCVD?

Amanda: Everyday, but that's neither here nor there. Tell me, friend, how stoked are you to be read by the dozens of people out there who read this blog? Dozens, Sean! Don't let that freak you out. I know it's a lot.

Sean: Where's our writers? I have no idea how to answer that.

Sean: Really? You write all that stuff?

Sean: Oh... Yeah, I mean it's good though.

Amanda: Our writers are on strike. We are our writers. We are on strike.... welcome aboard.

cool like me


Just when you thought I couldn't get anymore bad ass...


....BLAM! Panther power.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Rapha after hours

After work, Kyle and I headed over to Rapha to kick it with Jeremy Dunn and Daisuke Yano. Dunn has been out and about so we haven't hung out together in a while. It was a blast. Hi five, guys. We won at having fun. What did we win? More fun.











on the 1s and 2s



Yes, that's right.. I still play on Vinyl. I found this picture of me DJing Moment of Truth's 1 year anniversary party on Jake Tong's blog. I went from painting and setting up for the last BLAM straight to the party. I pretty much kill it.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Knog takes over....

...my heart. Mike Lelliott, from Knog, came all the way over from Australia just to see me. Ok, that's a lie. He is the guy from Knog who I have been in contact with for sponsoring the BLAM, so it's super sweet to finally meet him.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

A day at 21st

Micah Fischer is came into the shop today and took some pictures of the magic that is 21st. Not gonna lie, we pretty much kill it.












Monday, September 13, 2010

Bo and Arrow's Rebel Freedom Run: the untold story

Labor day weekend Arrow and I went on an epic adventure filled with miles, blood, turf wars, cannons, and PB&Js. Join us as we regal stories of the Rebel Freedom Run.

Bo: Here we are outside of Arrow's. It's a grand house that he can't really afford so he took up an older mistress a couple of months back who supports him. She's 86 and lives with her daughter because her dementia is a little out of control so she just signs here social security checks over to him. Once you get over the huge age difference and the fact that she never remembers him, they make a pretty cute couple.

Arrow: She has a name Amanda, it's Barbra... and to be fair, it's a purely physical relationship. Our arrangement is mutually beneficial. I don't see whats wrong with that.


Bo: Tell me a little bit about Beast War, Arrow.

Arrow: I'm not sure if I should reference Maximum Overdrive or The Dirtbike Kid.

Bo: Well, maybe we should start by saying that Beast War is the bike... not your leg.

Bo: We made it to the top of this very steady, very long hill to find these kids with their lemonade stand. It was perfect...almost too perfect. Arrow gave them a five spot and in exchange they gave us 2 dixie cups filled to the brim with Country Time lemonade. Needless to say it fell short of being refreshing. Just when I was about to ask for a refill their dog tried to attack Arrow.

Arrow: Not even, that was a cup that the give old people their pills in! My financial adviser told me not to do it but these little bastards are asking to be driven out of business. We start construction this week. It's called RĂªve Tueurs Artisan Lemonade House. We have real cups.





Bo: Arrow, you are a handsome man. One might even say majestic.

Arrow: I'm just as scared of you as you are of me.


Bo: I am not sure if the results have been posted yet, but I won the 2010 Peanut Butter Banana Challenge. I am sure you will read it in all the papers. Newsweek probably.


Bo: Wow, I am a sexy beast. It's hard, you know... being so attractive. It's not as easy as one would think. I am constantly breaking hearts and turning down movie roles. Arrow, you can relate. What's it like for you being so dapper?

Arrow: Well really it's an investment in my future. I mean I have to comb my hair, like a lot.


Arrow: For as much as I love Beast War, I know he longs for the life he used to live before I brought him in.

Bo:I think it's worth mentioning that pictured above was our first camp site, Prison Camp. Here is where a band of prison escapees set up camp. They were going to live off the grid and start a new life next to their trash pile. We arrived during a tire burning ceremony and Warlock, their leader, challenged us to a duel. Arrow set the stakes high and said if we win the camp is ours.... for good. If we lose we'd have to give them all hand jammers. Of course we won, being that we are kung fu masters. I had to register myself as a deadly weapon. After losing his beloved Prison Camp, Warlock tried to work out a time share arrangement. I kind of felt bad for the guy, but hey... thems the breaks.


Bo: If you would've told me at Prison Camp that just down the road Sam Elliot would be serving me breakfast I would have called you a lying prick, but sure enough, there he was never letting my coffee cup get less than half full. I told him I loved him in Roadhouse. He told us to enjoy our run and gave us a heads up of a water fall up ahead. He said it was a great to pull off and chill.


Arrow: All I could think about was that if it weren't for all of my dumb neighbors, my backyard could be this nice too.

Bo: I think you need some grass first.


Bo: Here's Sam Elliot's waterfall retreat.

Arrow: Nature can really lend you an insight if you let it. Shimano, I think we have an idea why Sram might be edging you out, so we wrote you an ad campaign. Send us money.




Bo: Arrow and I stumbled upon this fine BMX track. Fully loaded, Arrow was shralping the berms and shredding the gnar.


Bo: America stuff.


Bo: Here is the official Pacific Northwest Welcome Wagon.

Arrow: It's one of those viking mini vans. They show up, unload the kids and slash their own tires to let the locals know that they have come to take their manual labor jobs and rent houses formerly occupied by the natives. Native Astorians, not Native Americans








Arrow: This guy was really concerned about bears.

Bo: We gave him chamois cream.





Bo: Tell me what you loved about this guy.

Arrow: He is the ultimate embodiment of an unavoidable death. I wish I was him.
Arrow: I got really excited about this...





Arrow: ...and it simply did not disappoint.


Arrow: Bo did not like this guy. She gets pretty upset when I mention him.

Bo: Dude was so fat he had problems taking a knee to load his gun!!Plus, that is not historically accurate. Supplies were scarce and many soldiers starved. How is it that tubby here, with limited supplies, could tip the scales at 350+? Here he is robbing a fellow confederate soldier. He's probably the Southern Jerky Thief I learned about in history class.



Arrow: You'll get 'em next year guys.

Arrow: It says end of the trail, but it wasn't.

Bo: There was more wind and hills in store for us.





Arrow: Hey, where the hell was the picture of me hugging the confederate flag?

Bo: Next to my nightstand.



Arrow: These probably smelled really good...

Bo: I have a rash.