Friday, November 26, 2010

Thursday, November 25, 2010

No Thanks...

A dead cop? J.F.K? Elvis, The biggest thief of all? No Thank you Sean Gallagher, No thank you.. Though I am thankful for Henry Rollins, And Sailor Jerry is cool.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Old news related to new news related to bad news....

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Tatoosdays of old...

I live on A little street in A solid working class neighborhood in South Philly, most families have been on the street or in the neighborhood for generations. In these types of neighborhoods throughout the Philadelphia area there are lots of old timers that carry on their sleeves the glory days of yesteryear. Yeah we have all seen the Rembrandt tattooers of the world with their magazine tattoo pieces and trophy winning tattoos, but the tats that really interest me are on the arms of neighborhood guys, that have stories behind them, or just symbolize a specific era...You know the tats I'm talking about, the Taz's, the yosemite sams, the hot stuff devils, the kid slugs, the naked women,girls names, the executioners, the crosses with the 3 dots above, the hearts and name banners, the playboy bunnies..etc etc..These are the iconic tattoos that hold stories of the America we know gone by...A few of our fathers or maybe even uncles have these tats, and its fun to ask them what they mean and why they got them, because you know A good story would follow. Well, On that block that I told you in South Philly that I live I have made friends With an Old timer that lives on my street, and has for over 70 years. He still drives a hot rod, and works on it himself, still collects and builds model cars in his basement ( another hobby that is non existent)! Bobby is his name, and we always chit chat when we see one another he was always into motorcycles, hot rods, and trouble. Right from jump street I hit it off with him because he is covered in tattoos, and I showed an interest in his tats the first day we met. He has great stories about each one too. Here are A few of his tats, done by Sailor Eddie, Philly eddie, and Dracula.

Kids names never go out of style...Sailor Eddie

Own Last names remain too...Dracula

If you had this tat back in the day im pretty sure you had A rep to go along with it...I can't see some Urban Outfitted sissy scene kid rocking this tattoo and taking him serious.

This tattoo is way bitchin'... His boy thought he had got the coolest tat because he got one that said "Saturday night's alright for fighting" So he had to top his boy and went and got this one that says "Any night's alright for fighting" ..

drunken mouse..Philly Eddie

Sailor Eddie

The Boston Strangler

Andrew Tony

Monday, November 22, 2010

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Celebrity Buff Squad

Getting rid of gang graffiti














yeah boy





In 1959, I purchased a new BSA Spitfire motorcycle from Paul’s Cycle in St. Paul, Minnesota. The spitfire wasn’t just a fast motorcycle it was also a very beautiful motorcycle, with it’s chrome and red gas tank and to top it off it came from the factory with racing straight pipes! It seemed like every time I pulled up next to another motorcycle at a stop sign I would get into a drag race, so I figured I had better start taking my speed addiction to the local drag strip before I ended up with a pile of speeding tickets.

The Triumph and Norton motorcycles usually dominated the 650cc class at the local drag strips. When I showed up at Minnesota Dragways with my BSA Spit fire everyone was surprised, including myself when I beat all of the Triumphs and Norton’s that showed up that day. I ended up winning a first place trophy the first time I raced the bike. I raced the bike for two seasons dominating my class. I also won the Minnesota Dragways motorcycle points race.

I wanted to do something a little more challenging so I decided to build a dual engine drag bike using two 1959 BSA 650cc.Spitfire engines. Forty years ago I didn’t have the tools, money or the ability that I have now, but I still managed to build my drag bike on the dirt floor in the basement of my old farmhouse where I lived. I started the season out by entering my drag bike in the GSTA Car Show and won first place in the motorcycle class.

I named the motorcycle the Centipede because of its long wheelbase and the four exhaust pipes that looked like legs hanging out the side of the motorcycle. Back in the early sixties they didn’t have wide racing slicks for motorcycles. So I settled for a four inch MH slick. The first time I ran the bike it handled horrible. When I shifted into forth the bike slid all over the track. When I came back to the pits. Ron Braun came over to me and said, "You should rename the motorcycle the Widow Maker". Because of the way it handled I ended up making a number of modifications to the frame and changed the gearing to the bike. I started out in third gear so I only had to shift once. This made a big difference in the handling of the bike. I won a few trophies with the bike but I was hoping that it would be a lot faster.

At the time there wasn’t much off the counter speed equipment you could buy, but I ported and polished the heads and put in high compression pistons. This added more speed to the top end. One night at Twin City Speedway Clem Larson, a friend of mine asked me if he could ride the bike. He was about twenty pounds lighter then I was so I was anxious to see if his weight deference would increase the speed of the bike. Clem was an experienced rider but when he shifted into forth gear he stuck his foot in the rear wheel and flew off the bike. He could have been seriously hurt if not killed. Clem ended up with a few stitches in his foot, and a lot of road rash. The motorcycle did not come out as well. The throttle was wide open when Clem came off the bike. The front motor blew a rod right thru the case and the frame was destroyed beyond repair.

In the spring of 2001 I was having a senior moment and I was thinking of the good ‘ole days when I remembered the time I was racing against Roy Egaberg, who was a dear friend of mine. I never really knew how old Roy was until after the end of a race when Roy came over to me and said, "Ky I am getting to old to do this stuff". I jokingly replied, "So how old are you Roy?" And Roy said, "Fifty-eight years old". I was in my early twenties, and when I heard his age it sounded to me like he was as old as Methuselah.

Well I am now sixty-three years old and I still fell pretty young. I thought I would take back the good old years and build another BSA 650cc dual engine drag bike and race it a few times so I could have the same thrill, like my friend Roy Egaberg had. I went to a couple of auctions that were put on by the Midwest Motor Cycle Auction and bought two complete 1957 650cc BSA motorcycles. This time I had a little more time, money and mechanical ability. I wanted to build this motorcycle like a piece of fine polished art. Something I could be proud of when I am still on this earth and something my family will be proud of when I pass on. The primary cases, chain case, valve covers, rocker oilers and gas tank are made out T6-6061 highly polished aluminum. All the nuts, bolts and hardware are either chromed or polished. The Takesago aluminum rims were respoked with stainless steel spokes and fitted with Dunlop tires on front and back. The Lucas magneto armatures where rewound and modern condensers where installed. I purchased and polished two new 376/17 Amal Monobloc 1 1/16" Carburetors. The frame was painted corvette yellow with a dash of orange. I used two different sets of Siamese Exhaust pipes so the carburetors would not hit the pipes.

I spent six months building the bike. I called up my long time friend Ron Braun, who was in charge of the floor plan at the car show and I said, "Ron, I am going to ask you a question I asked you forty years ago. Where are you going to put my bike in the GSTA Car Show?" Of coarse he didn’t remember so I had to refresh his memory. When he did remember he got a big laugh out of it. Well I entered the GSTA show and won first place, just like I did forty years ago! I’ve been asked by a number of my friends are you going to race the bike this summer? Only time will tell.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Frieday

For those who can't or don't want to cook this Thanksgiving, KFC is offering a Deep Fried Turkey. Pre order yours today!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Appetite For Destruction

















Went over to Iguanas the other day for dinner. Iguanas was featured on Man v. Food and is home of the 5 lb 18" Burritozilla. It costs $18.75 and to some that may be an arm n leg but that's exactly what you get. Here's some photos I found online of some people with their Burritozilla's..










































































































































N.W.A.'s Appetite For Destruction..

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

PUBLIC SCHOOL : Lesson in Colaboration



Saturday, December 4th, the Masthead Print Studio will be hosting a one of a kind art show with 12 pairs of unlikely tag teams colabin on pieces far and wide. Each pair will be doing a screen print or two, which im psyched on. Screen prints are an afforable one off piece of art for all to enjoy. I will be colaborating with Ed Kelley of the No Divison collective. I hope everyone else will be as pleased as I am with what we have done so far.

Please come out and support. Thanks.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Doo wopian era....

Over the summer on A family week stay in Wildwood, New Jersey my wife and I woke up early so we could drive around and photograph all the old Doo Wop era themed motels, and inns that characterize the landscape of Wildwood, New Jersey. In the 50's Wildwood was the East Coast's place to be. From the late 1940s through the 1960s, the "Five-Mile Beach" prospered in the Post-World-War-II economic boom. The middle class was growing and they loved their vacations at the Jersey Shore. Tourists flocked to the sprawling beaches and amusement piers that made this island famous.
Even more famous was the night life. The Wildwoods' entertainment scene earned it the nickname the "Las Vegas of the East". It is the birthplace of Bill Haley and The Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" and Chubby Checker's "The Twist." Places like the Riptide Club, The HofBrau and The Bolero hosted many of the era's great performers. The old signage and architecture is too cool, each one has it's own gimmick or theme designed to create fantasy enough to lure the average family or traveler in for A stay. This style of signage and architecture has gone by the wayside in recent years due to new development and newer technologies in the sign trade. In your travels it is fun to take notice of your surroundings and even dream back to the time in which they preospered and pinnacled. Here are some of the pics we took, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. What more can you ask for neat fonts, themes, and gimmicks, without all the smoke and mirrors of corporate America. Viva Americana luxuryana...