Old Signage

I'm pretty sure this is from post '89 but it is still quite cool. The business has long been NFG

Art with a silent "F"

Some graffiti on the wall of an old stairway. Translation: Yes! This is what I want! To change the view of culture! But one thing I want to avoid at all costs; to meddle in the works of others. Viteslav
So of course to get his point across he has to vandalise a beautiful stairway in the middle of old town. Twat!

Dig it

The Czechs are really good at ripping up the roads. They do it quickly and efficiently from 7 in the morning and are usually done by 3 in the afternoon so the workers can get to the pub early.
Then the problem arises as to who is supposed to put it all back together again. This job takes a bit more skill and therefore takes a bit longer. I think the average ratio is about 1000:1. So it took them 8 hours to rip up the street outside my flat in order to install some gas pipes for the street lights and it should take them about a year to finish the job.

Czech Cops on Bust

The cops were trying to bust up a bathtub speed operation when the guy in the back said "no hang on, it's us" The driver hit the brakes, the shit in the tubs in the back spilled into the gear in the tubs in the front and a whole conflagration ensued. The cops still say that it was a faulty cigarette lighter but we know better! Wages still quite low for those guys!

Good Luck in Mala Strana

These are the four big toes of the statues of men who hold up the entranceway to the Romanian embassy on Nerudova street. If you touch all four toes while on the way down the street it is supposed to bring good luck. Never worked for me in 15 years but maybe I'm a bit hasty. Maybe I'm asking TOO much.!

Leaving Rubin

Walking home. I live at the end of this tunnel where the bright light is. Rubin, the student theater bar sometimes stays open until the wee hours. This was one of those nights. They have a piano down there and this evening a Czech student was playing piano when a young American broke out his trumpet and started playing. It was fantastic, almost magical; like hearing Chet Baker or Miles Davis. Some people get all the talent. Anyways it was so good that we stayed till the end

Mad Swedish Chef

Whatever you do, don't go in the kitchen!!

Beets

A sea of beet root on the side of the road in Moravia. Other than ending up as the ubiquitous "obloha" on main dishes all over the country I have a sneaky suspicion that a lot of it goes into alcohol production.

Tatra

Tatra has been around for a long long time . They built the first Bug and still win the Paris Dakar so why the hell are they in trouble. Some Yanks took it over and stopped making the cars. What a shame because they made some great cars. Jay Leno even has a Tatraplan. Apparently there are a few rolling around LA since the 50s when they were imported for some futuristic movie.

In the Country

You ready? Let's get the hell out of Prague

WTF

That's the way it looked to me and I'm stickin to my story!

Charlie from Nigeria

This is Charlie from Nigeria. Never learned his second name but he worked with us for a long time at the Iron Door. In fact he helped me put together the whole inventory system and as a result all the staff were so scared shitless that we started to make money ass over tit. So "thanks" Charlie wherever you are. Also interesting about Charlie is that he was working part time at the Nigerian Embassy in Prague when some old Czech guy came in and shot the commercial attache. The old guy had been fleeced to the bone by some Nigerian 419 and then came down to the embassy to sort it out. Charlie was sitting there when the old Czech guy stormed in, went past him and started shooting. Killed that Commercial Attache dead in his tracks.
And Charlie, if you see this blog, once again, thanks for the Hippo mate!

Detox Sleep Problems

I made a short film of me trying to sleep last Sunday after a heavy weekend of debauchery. Click on link below to see the film.

http://www.wimp.com/dognightmare/

Briketa in the 90s

Here is Honza's drawing of the scene from my story about being in Briketa that morning when the girl walked in. Same morning that I met the Yank who wanted to hire the hit-man to kill someone I knew. Strange place. Go down a few pages and you will see a picture of Briketa as it is today. Story coming in soon to be released book. Keep checking

Tall Chic

An oasis amongst the detritus

Train out of Kladno

Get the fuck outta here FAST! OK so I figured out who it was. It was Wittgenstein's father Karl who built Poldi Kladno Steelworks at the end of the 19th century. This man, although not only a powerhouse of the Austro-Hungarian industrial movement but also a friend of Carnegie, Klimt and the Vienna secessionists, has more or less been relegated to the dustbin of history. 3 of his sons committed suicide and one went on to become a famous philosopher.

Candle Factory

This was the building in which myself and Terje from Norway had the candle factory. It went ok for a while but ultimately met its demise because we couldn't get along too well. Two Alpha males in one round building! Sounds like a joke. Anyways we parted ways and didn't speak to each other for a long time. In fact I think we still don't speak that much. Oh well!

Poldi Kladno

The old Poldi steel factory in Kladno. This part of the factory has long been abandoned but was a great place for us to go to on a photo shoot with the class. I used to run a little candle factory in one of these old buildings. The story about this industrial enterprise from its foundation in the 19th century I will investigate but I know the owner was the father of one the 19th centuries great philosophers. Can't remember whether it was Schopenauer the mysogynist or Nietsche the existentialist. Will update.

New Year's Eve Day

Both me and Karol trying to get the buggy full of booze back to my flat for the party. Only had about 50 m to go but people kept stopping and taking pictures. So we broke down, said fuck it, had a beer and a smoke and then carried on. Then carried on till the next day. I still have a hangover from that night. Oh and funny story. As I was getting ready for the onslaugtht of people to the party the day before I opened an old box and found the original cotton butcher's coats that you can see in my profile picture. Still even fit; almost!

Self Portrait before shredding

Early in the morning before heading out to go shred at Pitztal. Got my anti-freeze whiskers goin. Used to grow the beard up in the Klondike when things got cold but haven't much since. It grows all the time so why not let it grow? See what happens!

Pitztal Machines

Some of the machines that keep the glacier running

Pitztal

Up in the austrian Alps at Pitztal. Went down after lunch on the second day, dropped my board off at the Pension, grabbed my camera and went back up the hill to shoot some pics. Then went down to some bars in the village where they kept feeding me schnapps when they found out I was from Canaduh. They like people from Canuckistan over there.

About the photography

I just wanted to point out a couple of things about my photography. There are two general types: good and bad. The good stuff I take when out with intent to shoot and I have with me a digital SLR Nikon D50 with a 18-55 zoom. This camera takes good pictures and I am usually sober while doing it. The bad pictures and usually out of focus ones are taken with a crappy little "point and shoot" Olympus FE 330. I take that little one with me all the time and leave the nice one at home. I am afraid to take my Nikon out when I go out partying because I'm gonna lose it. I know myself too damn well. So to conclude I am sorry about the state of some of the photography but I suppose its better than (like in this blog) nothing.