October 23, 2012

I Was an Altar Boy

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Posted by Dr. Frank at 12:15 AM

October 22, 2012

Last call for these here shirts...

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So I still have a few Kepi / Dr. Frank shirts left, in the following sizes: M, S, and Ladies M.

The M is around 25" from collar to the bottom and 19" across when laying flat; the S is 25" x 17"; the Ladies M is a standard medium sized "girly" shirt.

$20 postpaid, via paypal, but check with me first to see if your size is still available.

Also, if you're local and planning to come to one of the November shows, I'll probably bring whatever's left with me so you could pick one up there.

Posted by Dr. Frank at 08:16 PM

October 21, 2012

Andrea

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Posted by Dr. Frank at 06:04 PM

October 20, 2012

Coming Back to You

Got introduced to these guys while in Italy last month. Good stuff.

Posted by Dr. Frank at 09:57 PM

CHi-MO

Dirk found this carved into the bar at an establishment in Quincy, MA:

chimo.jpg

I would have taken a picture of it, too.

Posted by Dr. Frank at 09:05 PM

October 19, 2012

literally the most stretched definition of “famous” one could muster

Alithea remembers me, the Go-Nuts, "You're My Hostess Cupcake," and the Cupcake Royale.

Posted by Dr. Frank at 05:56 PM

October 11, 2012

“Dude, I’m gonna break your fucking arm, then I’m gonna punch you in the fucking face.”

Prepare to be infuriated:

As a white guy who almost never leaves the house, I'm not much of a target for this kind of street terror myself, but the fact that it happens to anyone is deeply disturbing; the fact that it is condoned and tolerated by the citizenry at large is truly depressing. The cop who threatened to break this kid's arm and punch him in the face merely for looking back apprehensively (and, really, can you blame him?) should not be on the street. The city and police department that put him there and developed the policy he was pursuing should be wracked with shame and guilt, pledging reform and restitution in the face of national outrage; heads should be rolling. But, no, no one cares all that much. They're "just doing their job," as the saying goes, and thank god it's not us they're doing it to.

I hate the fact that I live in a society where the only rational way to conduct yourself is to keep your head down and pray that the government's agents don't notice you. I don't think it was always this way, but maybe I'm mis-remembering.

Posted by Dr. Frank at 11:52 PM

Doom and Gloom

Wrong or right, and for whatever reason, the Rolling Stones effectively ended for me around halfway through Tattoo You, ca. 1982; though I was aware of stuff they did after that, and even probably heard some of it here and there, my mind just didn't let it exist.

Well, that said, this is pretty darn good and, who knows, maybe it'll wind up sticking:

Posted by Dr. Frank at 10:57 PM

Power Glide Slide

Here.

Posted by Dr. Frank at 08:28 PM

Lavi

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Posted by Dr. Frank at 06:09 PM

I Don't Want to Touch Sandpaper

Posted by Dr. Frank at 04:55 PM

October 09, 2012

"Ken Layne was editor of the political disaster site Wonkette from 2006 to 2012, and invented blogging along with Andrew Sullivan"

Welcome back, Ken Layne.

The linked essay examines Andrew Sullivan's mid- and post-debate meltdown in reverse chronology. In re. the meltdown: I can't say I haven't enjoyed it a bit. After years of relentless, monotonous, hero-worshipping triumphalism, it came as a bit of a relief. It was a fall waiting to happen. However, I'm confident Sullivan's Obama will duly rise on the third day, like clockwork, and say "meep meep" or something.

Posted by Dr. Frank at 06:48 PM

Concerning Shirts

I realized I never got around to including a side-panel link to the Interpunk re-creation of the MTX "…and the women who love them" T-shirt, so I did it and it's there now. (When it says "Women" at the link that's a reference to the name not the shirt itself, i.e., it's not a women's shirt. I mean, not necessarily. It can be, depending on who's wearing it, like anything else.)

Also, I came back with small quantity of Kepi / Dr. Frank shirts -- anyone who's interested in buying one from me, drop me a line at mail@frankportman.com and we'll see what we can work out.

ADDED: thanks for the emails -- I'll figure out the costs and get back to you all next week.

Posted by Dr. Frank at 05:48 PM

Ronny

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Posted by Dr. Frank at 03:44 PM

Two Things

I don't know how many people have noticed that I've been a bit missing in action and even more reclusive than usual until pretty recently. It's a long story, really, and never mind about that. But early this year I decided to try to force myself back out into the world at least a little, resolving to try to do at least one thing, of some kind, every month. In making this plan I didn't define what a "thing" was, other than it had to involve putting on pants and leaving the house. And so far so good. One thing a month, always out of the house, usually wearing pants. (I counted the Euro Art Tour with Kepi and Stefan as two things, since it spanned September and October. It does so count. My agoraphobia, my rules.)

So here we are, and November approacheth, and I'm doing two things. On Nov. 7th, I'm on the bill with the Smoking Popes at Slim's; the Born to Quit album is being re-issued, and they're playing it live, so that should be pretty cool. So that's Thing One.

Thing Two will be a night of acoustic sets with Bobby Joe Ebola, Kevin Seconds, and Eggplant at everyone's favorite record store, 1234 Go, on Friday, Nov. 9th. Come say hello or something.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7TH:
Slim's, 333 11th St., San Francisco, CA
7:30, all ages, $15

with the Smoking Popes - details to follow.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 9TH:
1234 Go Records, 420 40th St., Oakland, CA
7PM TO 10PM, ALL AGES, $7

with Bobby Joe Ebola, Kevin Seconds, and Robert Eggplant

Posted by Dr. Frank at 01:32 AM

October 07, 2012

Marta

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Posted by Dr. Frank at 05:54 PM

Notebook

Only dimwits and pedants found communism attractive on account of its economic theory; its magnetism lay in the promise to fulfill a secular hope: a rationalist apocalypse of justice, even 'spiritual' joy in a selfless mass.
-- Tobias Churton, Aleister Crowley: The Biography
Posted by Dr. Frank at 04:20 PM

October 06, 2012

Rainbow Tree

Here.


Posted by Dr. Frank at 08:43 PM

Kepi

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Posted by Dr. Frank at 07:36 PM

What do you mean, there's no Nobel Punk Prize?

I had been planning to write some kind of post-mortem of the Euro Art Tour that I just returned from, and I may yet do one, but I don't really have it in me at the moment. In lieu of that, I posted this on facebook after the last show, and it still stands:

Well, it's hard to believe it's over, but it is. I had a great time. Thanks to Franz, Diego, lavi, Stefan, Koko, Eggnog, vanilla, the great nations of Europe, all promoters and everyone else who helped or came to a show, and most especially to Kepi who pulled me out of semi reclusivity by sheer enthusiasm and force of will. I mean, it's a bit mysterious: you bump into this guy at a show and next thing you know you're on a plane to Europe. Well done everybody. Ciao!
So it was a good time, and quite inspiring, and among the many things I learned is that it is feasible to do things like this in this day and age, that I am loved with somewhat inexplicable fervor by the Italians, and that journeyman carpenters in Germany dress like the Amish and actually "journey" -- some of them journeyed to the bar we were playing at, but, alas, I had no carpentry jobs going at the time.

Here's a report on the final date in Aachen. Jutze is a nice guy and a diligent blogger; also a recording artist and fan of books, YA, and John Green, evidently:

Worlds colliding and all that.

Posted by Dr. Frank at 06:09 PM