The time has come, the Super Important, World Premiere of ‘Townies Don’t Surf’. We failed mightily in securing a good viewing venue. Apparently the best surf video to come out of Mar Vista in the last 9 months doesn’t seem to carry much weight around these parts. Apparently, all the theaters are busy showing “Real Movies”.
Not to worry though, this will actually make for a good old fashioned Hootenanny at our humble residence. We will be hosting a viewing party at Beethoven St. this coming Saturday from 6:00pm-10pm. Whiskar will be provided to all guests, in jars.
Anyone in attendance is encouraged to bring a jug of their favorite moonshine, a few cold ones, or if you run over some meat on your way here, we can throw it on the grill. We will be BBQing at around 6:00pm.
There will be two showings of the film.
First Screening 8:00pm
Second Screening 9:00pm
Bowling 10:00pm
This will be a townie themed hootenanny, so dress appropriately. If anyone has a friend or two, bring them, as long as they’re kin!
Afterparty
We have three lanes reserved at Mar Vista Lanes at 10:00pm for those interested in throwing stones.
If you’re having a little trouble getting excited about a surf movie, made by two guys who don’t surf that good, maybe a few tarp tasties will get you in the mood. Scratching!!!!
Mission Accomplished. Well done gentlemen. It was a very enjoyable weekend and I thank everyone who made the journey for the first ‘new’ LA meeting. To those Ministers and Jew who could not be with us, you were missed.
IFS Meeting, check. New CB trophy, check. ‘New and Improved’ Anthem, check. Beer and Whiskey consumed, double check. Super Bowl Party, check.
**Member of the Month: The Minister of Letters**
Notable Accomplishments: New CB Trophy, “In the face of adversity you suck, fuck you.” Complete with top hat/wand emblem, and drama dancer guy. But perhaps the strongest addition from Letters was the newest edit of the IFS Anthem, a copy of which should live in your email inbox. Amazing, simply amazing. Well played Baggs, you deserve it.
**Continental Breakfast Award: The Minister of Art and Design**
Notables: Totally spaced on planning the meeting place. Managed however to come through in hospitality points, and was rewarded with the appropriate CB award love. Honestly, the CB trophy is awesome, and its been unofficially decided that it must be awarded to a member present at the meeting. It’s simply much more fun to award to someone who’s there.
Worthy of Note: Jimmy made a strong appearance in the middle of the MOM acceptance speech, stuck around for a few cold ones, and a little pin killing. GCross made a strong appearance for the weekend, proudly proclaiming as a guess, “The ‘Minister of Defense’, maybe?”. Difficult to argue there’s a strong case for that one. Something to ponder… If you’ve yet to meet ‘G’, he’s a friend from home (Chico, CA) and is a ‘Real American Hero’, a US Marine. A welcomed guest at any future IFS meeting.
Full Blood Ed, managed to drunkenly yell Anchor Man quotes across the bar. Lexicon was kindly removed from the bar for refusing to bribe a bouncer. Athletics was kindly asked to leave the bar because of inappropriate head gear, and a ‘snippy tude’. MOM had a few too many early, and tried to keep it together for the remainder of the night, nice. Glory spaced, and Nova spent.
The following are a few gems from the weekend. I’m thinking of making a run as the new MoPhoto, I got a little extra time on my hands, and no life, why not?
First and foremost, everyone please look at the post below to M&T’s latest version of the IFS game, ‘Flappy Does Adventures’. Its awesome. Be good ministers, comment on how awesome it is.
Yesterday was a sad day. Dels Saloon closed its doors for good. The landowners have opted not to renew the lease, not because the bar was losing money, but the owners of the building opted instead to open a swankier, more overpriced and likely douchier bar in its place. ([Story](http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/restaurant-openings-and-closur/dels-saloon-closing/)) If they put in another Busby’s, I’ll likely fire bomb it.
A few ministers may remember the days of Franklin St. It was a quaint ‘little’ apartment in Santa Monica, where a numerous ministers and friends resided. It was a great house, until it was overrun with tropical parasites I brought back from the jungles of Panama on a research trip. Whoops. Many football games were watched, beers consumed, and meals enjoyed. One time, I even threw the Minister of Athletics in the shower with his clothes on, closed the shower door, and turned on the water. Pow!
The standard operating procedure after any Franklin St. gathering was the obligatory trip to Dels Saloon a few short blocks away. It was an easy jaunt down the street, especially with the help of a few ‘road sodas’. If you never made it to Franklin St. and consequently Dels, you missed out on a lot, and you probably suck at life.
Dels Saloon saw the likes of an epic Karaoke crooning battle between the Minister of Letters and our ‘close personal friend’. There were also less epic although equally amusing karaoke attempts from others, no shame at Dels. There were chance encounters with truckers, hipsters, blue collars, students, old fashioned drunks, and even the occasional random hook ups with strangers. There was the occasional daytime cocktail, which were far outweighed by far too many instances where we were the last ones being shooed out the door, with full beers in our pockets for the walk home. Through thick and thin, Dels was the place, our place.
A classic dive bar, Dels enjoyed a brief run of popularity with the younger folks after a brief cameo in a popular movie. Occasionally you’d even spot an attractive female there, **occasionally**. That was rarely the focus, and that’s what made it great. Dels Saloon was a great place to share a drink with friends. A true staple in the IFS diet from 2006-2008.
Last Night, there was a gentleman, a regular, who stood up on top of the bar and hushed the crowd to make a toast. He started slowly and worked up to a yell, “This bar is the greatest, goddammed, fucking place….in America!” Cheers erupted from the crowd. I laughed, but didn’t disagree. Last night I had trouble thinking of a better one, Turnpike IHOP, perhaps.
The following is a mini photo essay from the last night at our beloved Dels. Single Tear.
Dels Saloon. Rest in Peace.
Beloved Ministers,
I have a proposal for you…. I propose we hold our annual Super Bowl Sunday party in sunny Los Angeles, CA this year. The reasons for this change in tradition are two-fold. One, the Santa Barbara chapter has graciously allowed the flappies to descend upon the quaint seaside town every year and it is time the favor is repaid. Two, We have a nice place, with a rooftop deck and a HD TV, perfect for such an event.
We can discuss the specifics through this post. However I propose an official flapjack meeting either the Sunday of the game or the previous Saturday. There’s a nearby IHOP and I will look into whether or not they serve beer, we may need to explore the space on that one.
We have the capability to BBQ on our spacious rooftop deck, and we have a solid kitchen for the preparation of serious game time munchies.
As far as accommodations are concerned, we will NOT be running a Monkey Motel at Beethoven St. I feel as we are getting a little older, crashing on couches becomes a little ‘IV’, and I’d prefer to keep our house as the game time venue, not as lodging for broke ministers. You stay classy ‘Beethoven Street’. There are numerous economic and luxurious Motels/Hotels ranging from ([spend like Finance](http://www.super8.com/Super8/control/Booking/property_info?propertyId=14189)) ‘Super 8′ options, to ([spend like Nova](http://jdvhotels.com/hotels/venicebeach/erwin/)) beachside accommodations. There are also a few local Ministers who may open their homes to rambling travelers. It might be nice to do a little of both, get a nice beachside party room, and a couple economy ‘barracks’ to house the troops. There are numerous bars and restaurants nearby where the flapjacks lads and friends can go to ‘make party’.
This brings up a few issues which I would appreciate a little assistance in organizing.
1. The Meeting. Will we make an official IFS meeting out of this event? There are numerous local pancake houses, and I think we need to have a meeting. Maybe a local minister could help me do a little research into a good venue.
2. The Food. With the Rebbi on the East coast, we are left to fend for ourselves. Photo/Wine, your lovely lady friend is an expert in game time eats. Could we try and coordinate an attack that would combine some external side dishes with some in-house BBQ?
3. The Help. True to tradition, we need some help serving drinks. Ideas? Glory? Should we do some reconnaissance work in the local establishments?
Please post comments to provide feedback and input on this event. I look forward to seeing you all again, very soon. Good Flapjack!
Let me paint you a picture…
This past Saturday night the Ministers of Health, Letters, A&D and MOM were accompanied by two lovely young ladies to the [Third Annual Christmas Sweater Festival](http://www.theelrey.com/view-details.php?id=467), a Charity Benefit for Teen Impact, a program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for teens and young adults with, or recovering from, cancer. Hosted at the [El Rey](http://www.theelrey.com/index.php) Theater in Los Angeles, CA.
The show was headlined by ‘The Deadly Syndrome’ a favorite local band of a few IFS members. The Drummer for ‘The Deadly Syndrome’, Jessie Hoy is a Gaucho alum and longtime friend. I don’t go to many shows, but will rarely miss the ‘Syndrome’ at the El Rey.
In an intermission period between bands, an ugly Christmas sweater competition was held. Various hipsters donned skinny jeans, tight sweaters, some carrying Christmas ornaments, some lit up by Christmas lights, some wearing full Christmas regalia, complete with red pants, sweater vests, and bow ties. There was even a bear who had a shirt on that read ‘Beary Christmas’. Strong showing. Then there was MOH, unshaven, non-skinny jeans, beer in hand (the only one on stage drinking), beer buzzed grin, and cloaked in the most glorious Christmas sweater Los Angeles has ever seen. While the sweater itself was lovely, complete with Christmas trees, Santa Claus embroidery, etc. The Coup de grâce were the buttons on the sweater, which were actually JINGLE BELLS. POW!!!
The judging went in two stages, the half-wits and the fashion challenged were unceremoniously herded off the stage to boos and angry fist pumps. Health easily made it to the final round of judging, where Mr. Hoy would present each competitor to the crowd and listen for applause. Then the highly accurate and highly scientific applause ‘o’ meter was used to precisely determine the strength of each Christmas Sweater, based on audience acceptance. Letters, A&D, MOM and two lovely ladies spearheaded the ‘Bells’ (As in ‘JINGLE BELLS’) cheering section. When the MC and Mr. Hoy came to Health and presented him to the crowd, and jingled his ‘Bells’ into the microphone, we erupted in applause, cheers, and drunken shouts of “THE BELLS! THE BELLS!!!!!”. The applause ‘o’ meter spiked and hipsters everywhere cowered behind their PBRs.
The running was tight between THE BELLS, the Bear, and some hipster with a crappy sweater decorated by 6 Christmas lights (whom ‘THE BELLS’ cheering section booed ruthlessly). After double checking the applause ‘o’ meter, and a seemingly endless deliberation, the judges emerged to announce ‘THE BELLS’ as the winner of the Ugly Christmas Sweater competition! Everyone was sobbing, hugging, kissing and popping bottles of the finest Champagne, we had done it!!! Victory!!!
Below is a picture of the champ and lovely lady #2, post victory.
The show was a raging success, and Health was a local celebrity for the remainder of the night. Before long ‘[The Deadly Syndrome](http://thedeadlysyndrome.com/)’ came on a rocked a strong set for all the Holiday revelers. Including the following song Eucalyptus:
I would highly suggest this band to friends, their first album ‘The Ortolan’ was great, and their new album will be out in March. Next time they play in LA, we’ll make a post about it, and while I cannot guarantee such a grand spectacle, I can promise a good rock show and fun times with friends. Good Flapjack.
All hands on deck! Apparently there is a surplus supply of Budweiser beer in Santa Barbara, the town is literally drowning. All available men must report for duty immediately, to save the town which has given us so much.
“Thirst for Bud!”
The recent earthquakes in West Java and Sumatra followed directly on the heels of ol’ Glory and my path through surf paradise. Literally 4 days after A&D and I departed West Java a 7.0 earthquake rocking all the beach communities we were vacationing at. Our friends were all fine and no one was killed in Cimaja village where we were staying, however many perished in nearby communities. ([Story](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_West_Java_earthquake))
I left for Padang, West Sumatra and our surf charter was based out of the regional capital which was just hit by a 7.6 earthquake killing an undetermined number of people. ([Story](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Sumatra_earthquakes)) We left our Aussie boat captain, his Indonesian wife, daughter (6) and son (2) at a hotel approximately 2 weeks ago and have not heard anything about their well being.
The people of Indonesia are a warm and welcoming people. Almost everyone we met on our travels was stuck in one of the hardest hit zones of one of these two quakes and have been dealing with the aftermath every since. We literally dodged a bullet and I consider myself lucky.
Anyway, Indonesia is hit hard by these natural disasters on a frequent basis and it throws the country back from its progress into poverty and despair. The Muslim extremists thrive on the poverty and ignorance of the country’s indigent. Indonesia is the worlds most populous Muslim nation and also serves as a model for moderate Muslims, despite fringe groups. But the world needs Indonesia to be a stable, democratic nation. They have a very pro-American president, SBY who is very popular. Anyway, these recent events touched me deeply and I felt compelled to donate to Surfaid, a non profit group which brings relief to these areas. If you want to toss a couple dollars toward the relief effort, please do. Thanks.
[Donate Here](https://www.kintera.org/site/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp?c=ekLPK4MOIsG&b=288182&en=njJRIXMFJaKKLXPMLhJKLXOFJdKZLiNQKbJQKaOTJkIUK5PPKxF)
Today Ol Glory and myself will be traveling back to the Indonesian archipelago to fill up on our share of tasties. It’s been a long time and we’re hungry. In fact we’re so hungry we could eat the ass out of a dead rhino, Utah! Two!
This is stimulating, but we’re out of here.
Stand firm and make the next post and a special prize (undetermined) will be awarded to you. Warning: The prize will match the post in effort. A bad post = bad prize. Oh, and ultimate power reserves the right to delete a really bad post.
Yesterday Ol Glory and I purchased two tickets from LAX to Jakarta on August 14th. The two self-proclaimed leaders of the Outdoor Adventure Squad are going back to Indonesia to catch a couple tasties. If any soul is brave enough to join us, I wholeheartedly encourage you. Dan?
The following video is from a little malaria infested island off the coast of Java we may try and get to. Wish us luck.
Health on Sitting, Waiting, Wishing Everyone's been talking about the old man's balls.... intentionally or not
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT9FPYt7na0
Health on Sitting, Waiting, Wishing It's hit the 2000 milestone.. I keep posting the link all over ESPN.com articles. This thing has to take off eventually. I just can't wait till Letters gets on Tosh.0
letters on Sitting, Waiting, Wishing most of it made its way onto the airwaves in one minute chunks... glad you guys like it. its almost at 1,400 views... if you have a facebook, share it, and we'll see what happens. in flapjack related news:
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-35558454
mandrew on Sitting, Waiting, Wishing Nice work!! Was that piece made for the SB airwaves, or just for fun?
M+T on Sitting, Waiting, Wishing Awesome. You sound really good, but now I can't shake the image of Favre's balls.
Rousing on Sitting, Waiting, Wishing You sound fucking great Baggs. Strong lyric jam and nice Big Ben reference slam. Great work!
