Pedal Pushers

Well no one's really pushing, but we can hardly keep them things on the shelves. Maybe it's this guy?:



Photo by Peter Sutherland, from Pedal.

DUMBO Hearts pH Already

From an email this morning to our general box:

We are so thrilled at the thought of having your bookstore in DUMBO. We've been living at One Main for years and longing to be able to walk out the door and get a book, without Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. Thank you so much and we'll be there for the opening!


Man, we can't wait to see what they say when we actually open in September!

Great Moments in Spam vol 12

Bonnie, Caro, your sweet, sweet songs are welcome in these trying times. Trim the sails! Avast ye hearties, to the siren's rock!

Get Yer Smart On With powerHouse

Lookout! The powerHouse summer workshop series is just around the corner! We've got a killer lineup this year, with classes taught by Daniel Power (Publisher, powerHouse Books), Kiki Bauer (Senior Deisgner, powerHouse Books), Sara Rosen (Publisher, Miss Rosen Editions, PR DIrector, powerHouse Books), and Nicholas Weist (Managing Editor, powerHouse Books). And you don't even have to buy a textbook...

Mermelly We Row Along

Far and away the artist most heavily featured on The powerHouse Books' 2006 Move blog, Jeff Mermelstein is a top pick because of his intense, witty, and sometimes ridiculous imagery. His book No Title Here is an insane trip down Jeff's personal rabbit hole, to a place where monkeys are addicted to porn, armadillos are racing animals, and this kind of satuff happens. He has a show opening tonight at Steven Kasher gallery. See you there.



Click for larger view.

Start Picking Out Clothes Now

This weekend will be crazy—two parties, Brooklyn Design Fair, and a ton of other crazy stuff. First at bat is Tokion sponsoring a screening of Pedal at the Anthology Film Archives.



Then Lili Almog's show of work from Perfect Intimacy opens at Andrea Meislin Gallery. On top of all that, as previously mentioned, powerHouse is hosting Brooklyn Designs: a weekendful of homegrown, A-list genius. Whew. Dust off those party pants, 'cause you're gonna need 'em..

Business Wiretap

We had know idea there was so much philanthropy going on right under our noses! Or over our noses as the case may be. Not only is the big kahuna pretty civic-minded, but our vice principal is as well. Turns out he was on a scholarship panel for Datacolor and Parsons, as reported by Businesswire.

Great Moments in Spam vol 11

And in the body of the email?:

"Nice to see you!

I am ready to kill myself and eat my dog, if medicine prices here (http://XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX) are bad.
Look, the site and call me 1-800 if its wrong..

My dog and I are still alive :)"

Phew. Good thing the prices are okay. —pH

Exhuming the Ridiculous

It's like a special on the Discovery Channel in here!

VRAHOS needled and needled even after they evicted us from our home. We thought it would end when we left, but ooh noo. We were wrong. VRAHOS dug up some old, angry bones this morning with a letter to our lawyer Neil. They're insisting that we pay two months of rent, for a period when we weren't even their tenant! Is there no end to their pillaging?



Photo by Jonathon Moller, from Our Culture Is Our Resistance.

Vanity Press to the Max

In case you haven't noticed, we loooove to congratualte ourselves. Not to be smug, but sometimes it's entirely warranted. In an effort to document the why and wherefor, we've created a page that catalogues our awards and accolades. Doesn't it feel great to win?

Speak of the Devil

Did you know that back in the days the phrase above indicated that someone had used "the speak of the devil," meaning they spoke a person's name to conjure them into their midst? Like when pH writes Joe Rodriguez's name on their blog and he suddenly appears in the office?! Joe just got back from Estonia, where he was teaching a seminar on photography. Maybe we should go there and teach a seminar on BLACK MAGIC!



Photo by Joe Rodriguez, from Flesh Life.

Art Fag Shag Rag

"MORE PORN IN ART!" is the cry echoing across the hallowed halls of the ivory tower today, as reported on by our fave sceney journo Art Fag City. She knows that pH reps for the porn set, though, and threw in a mention of Flesh Life: Sex in Mexico City by Joe Rodriguez. Here's lookin' at you AFC:



Photo by Joe Rodriguez, from Flesh Life.

Form Follows Function: pH Hosts Design Fair

After very little deliberation, the Brooklyn Design Fair's higher-ups have decided that powerHouse will host their event in our new space at 37 Main Street. "It's everything AND the kitchen sink," says Gawker of last year's fair, and it's only gotten bigger, ahem, we mean better, since then. Check back for future updates, or visit them directly right here.

Thoughtlab 102

Photo by Helen Levitt, from Slide Show.

Not Just Another Trackstar

Remember when "Pedal Pushers" described pants, and not a group of crazed bike messengers, relentlessly promoting a form of cycling that includes NO BRAKES? Well these Pedal Pushers are supporting the premier of the documentary Pedal, which comes packaged with our epynomous book, so they're okay by us.

BlogLife

If there's one thing you could say about all bloggers everywhere, it's probably that there's nothing they love more than a giant clusterfuck. That's right, we said it. One blog links to another, who links back to the first, who comments on the link, and so on ad naseum. You get the picture. We'll to cut to the chase:

MISS ROSEN HAS A BLOG!

On the Town with Miss Rosen will take you on a behind-the-scenes, whirlwind tour of the life and times of the mad genius behind powerHouse publicity and the publisher of Miss Rosen Editions...hopefully in sentences shorter than that one.

A Fair Grows In Brooklyn

Yech. Who's writing these headlines, anyway? Anyway...

What happens when Howard Zinn and Nicole Krause get together to make babies? Or Jonathan Safran Foer and Russell Simmons? The answer to both of the above is "a Brooklyn book fair" of course. The four parents-to-be are members of the honorary committee of a new fair, projected to open on September 16 in Borough Hall Plaza. The organizers will focus the event on the indigenous peoples of our fair Kings county, everyone from Walt Whitman to Paul Auster. We hope it'll be great, not least because from now on we can always say we were there first.

Thoughtlab 101

In case you haven't been to DUMBO to see it yourself, here's how we're advertising our new space. With over 175 running feet of glass frontage, there's plenty of room for signs like this:



Photo by Helen Levitt, from Slide Show.

Overheard in New York

Sent from a friend at Publishers Weekly, who was in DUMBO recently and had this conversation in an elevator:

Guy: Did you see there's a bookstore going in around the corner?
Me: Where?
Guy: On Main. By Bubby's.
Me: Oh, no, that's not a...
Guy: Yeah, art books.
Me: Actually, they...
Guy: I can't wait. it should be awesome. it's such a greeeeaaaat space.
Me: No, see...
Guy: What a cute dog you have!
Me: Yeah, she's pretty awesome.

Guess people like them art books. And have no idea they'll be blown away by our laboratory of thought!

The Circle of Life

We just had quintuplets! To celebrate the birth of our five new babies, we're having a little discount party. If you order Gentleman of Leisure, Pedal, Perfect Intimacy, Pees on Earth, or Salt Dreams before the end of the month, you can get 20% off! Just enter the coupon code "SPRINGFLING" at checkout.

Goodnight Sweet Princess

It is with great sadness that we inform you Chimay is dead. Long live Chimay.

Answers to Questions You Didn't Know Existed

Did you know that Our Benevolent Leader, the Power of powerHouse, is a philanthropist as well as a publisher? Apparently he's spent the past year mentoring an SVA student, whatever that means. After having her brain massaged for these past 12 months, our little Eliza is ready for her close-up. Jesse Jane, as she's known around the office, has a sick portfolio of bi-coastal punks. Who knew there were punks in LA? To see the rest of SVA's graduating class, click here.



Photo by tiger victim Jesse Jane.

PD Hyman

We once knew a girl named Tara Hymen. Say it out loud and you'll get it. Tear-a... Never mind. PD, though, this guy is no joke. Not like his brother Buster. Whoa!

Grime Finds Roots, Coop

Martha Cooper and her ever-lovin band of fiesty hip hop ladies are in London today: eating crumpets, kissing the queen, screening the film Redder than Red, and signing copies of Marty's book We B*Girlz. The film is about Bubbles, legendary breaker and all-around style queen. Picture Missy with a Cockney accent and better hair and you'll get the idea. To London!

Rickford Z. Powell: Canadian Superstar

Our boy wonder Ricknacious L. Powellot has a show up in the hinterlands opening tonight. For all you Canucks that know what's what in the big apple, swing by Brave Art in BC for booze, bitches, and good times. Can you say bitches on the Internet?

Vapors Villifies, Or Maybe Validates

Uh, thanks go to Vapors for this post. We think. Anyone know what Bruknam is?

...And we thought we were so cool.

Great Moments in Spam vol 11

So does Dork Warriors 911 protect or protect against the dorks?

Boogie Fever

pH is playing Stanley to Boogie's Livingston effective immediately: you can now preorder It's All Good on the pH website. It won't be in stores 'til October, but it's already makin' waves. Peep the pictures here, or pony up for a book and get $15 off the next time you order here.

Bunnies and Bricks

Whether Easter or Passover, it's all over and done with now...so get back to work you ninnies! Oh, except you Greeks. You all can continue to rape and pillage for a full week before taking your hard-earned break.

2 Months, At More Than 2,000 Per

It's been a slow news week around the old office, so we thought we'd take some time and reflect on this, the two-month anniversary of the pH blog. Almost 4,500 of you have visited us: at first a tremendous outpouring of support for an embattled cultural institution, and now a testiment to the vitality of our work. You've stayed through rats, spies, near-death experiences, potential lawsuits, angry machinations from the principality of Dubai, and some great moments in spam. Thanks for stickin' with, and we promise to keep delivering what you want to read and see. Like, you know, pictures of ugly drag queens.



Photo from Casa Susanna. Click for larger view.

Midnight: Man, Myth, Szichophrenic

Arlene Gottfried dropped by the office today...her book Midnight is one of the craziest we've ever published. This guy Midnight, see, was a dancer in some nightclubs...handsome, charming...and just a few years later was rescued by police when they found him at the top of the Williamsburg Bridge (not the apex: the top). Learn more about Midnight's, cough, ups and downs here.

TO TKO

Time Out New York hit one out of the park today.

Shhh! It's a Secret!

We get inquiries about books that haven't yet reached the shelves every day. It makes us feel great when people are so excited about our work that they take time out to actually get in touch. By way of expressing our gratitude, we're starting to offer preorders on select titles, with 15 bucks gratis when you seal the deal. Technically this is something we just let the artists' friends in on, but as far as we're concerned, you're a friend of ours, so...

First at bat is Lost Boys by Slava Mogutin. Slava escaped from the KGB under threats of death before the USSR fell apart, and now he's making pictures, of, well...let's just say we're not entirely surprised they threw him out. See more of the work here, or get out that wallet and preorder here.

Great Moments in Spam vol 10

Wonder the P stands for...

We Failed to Observe...

...that the Observer threw us a shout a few days ago. Sweet!

Publishers Weekly Frequently Rules

But especially yesterday.

Spoonful of Sugar

Thanks for the kind words, everyone! Below are some from our friends and neighbors at The New York Post, CNN, British Vogue, Le Book, Rolling Stone Italia, Elemental, and Morphizm...

whoa! kick ass! big congrats, that is huge!

CONGRATS! Welcome to Brooklyn. Even though we're way up in Greenpoint, it's all fam. Our landlords own tons in DUMBO, and thank goodness you are NOT with them! You guys are gonna be so happy. It's a change for the better I think.

congratulations! that's really exciting, good news.

Sounds fresh as hell! Wish I could head out to NYC and check it out.

YAYA! Congrats on your new home!!

Congratulations on your new Power Station! A lab for creative thought is just what the city needs! I wish we had had one when I was growing up. Glad to see something good come from adversity. . . once again.

Congratulations, powerHouse! Manhattan's loss is Brooklyn's gain. Looking forward to seeing the new space one of these days soon.

wow! exciting!

It is better on this side.

VRAHOS Writes Poorly, Thinks Our Gallery Was Beautiful

Hey! Who knew you had to approve comments to these crazy things called weblogs? Not us, certainly, not until today. We just approved a bunch from the past two months, and two in particular caught our eye, the first of which is below:

Honestly, you are acting as if you and your beautiful gallery were part of a historical landmark. This is NYC. Working here and living here is strictly business. The sooner you realize that the better chances your cultural entity will flourish. Honestly, if you didn't sound so childish, maybe your complaints would have sounded more justified and legit. This is not a Sci-fi movie of evil-doers and the poor little victims with dreams getting crushed.
Like I said, this is New York City.
Get with the flow of things which is business, Not personal, and you will be able to have more personal happiness and freedom.
Best of luck to you, and maybe this was a blessing in disguise... if you do your research, those evil-doers are actually some of the most charitable men in the city. For every one of your wah wah cries, there are 20 people thanking them on their knees for saving them from poverty and hunger. We are talking about charity that is NOT tax deductable. That's personal... This isn't. Stop making it as it is. If you are gonna cry at this, you will have to move to Philly or something. We are a the most generous city, but in order to be the greatest city in the world we don't have time to sprinkle sugar on our conduct. Get a grip.

...so the, cough cough, anonymous poster berates us (in any number of tenses) for not digging deep enough to find out The Steves donate to charity (For which the recipients apparently, how did they put it? Get "on their knees"? Real charitable, Steves. Glad you know where the poor belong...), think we should stop "making it as it is" (Is that anything like telling it as it is?), and (wait what?) wish us "best of luck." The only thing worse than the grammar above (apart from the rampant mis-capitalization, grossly improper articles, and intensely bad agreement), is the logic!

Great Moments in Spam vol 9

Jackpot!



Rosa Parks: back from the dead, with a whole new set of friends.

We Live in Brooklyn Baby!

A little more info on the new space, located at 37 Main Street in DUMBO, so all y'all know why we crossed the river...

"I've always dreamed that powerHouse would inhabit inspirational space, a space where classical architecture mixes with vaulted ceilings and height to emphasize the nobility of man's loftier pursuits of knowledge and pleasure. Nothing in any borough comes close to the feeling that comes from what will be our new home, save for Grand Central Station," said Daniel Power, publisher of powerHouse Books. "The general vibe of DUMBO is what certain places in Manhattan felt like decades ago; the East Village and SoHo in the late 80s, Hudson Square in the 90s. In DUMBO, questions and possibilities abound; this will be a perfect place to situate a laboratory of thought, which is what powerHouse intends to do."

powerHouse Books was selected for the 37 Main Street space by Two Trees Management Co., which owns most of the Brooklyn neighborhood of DUMBO ("Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass"). The company's holdings include 13 buildings and the second largest portfolio of commercial space on the Brooklyn waterfront, which is 3 million square feet in size.

"We're excited to welcome powerHouse to our DUMBO community," said Jed Walentas, a partner in Two Trees Management. "The addition of this bookstore/creative laboratory brings us closer to the vision we have for DUMBO: an intoxicating lifestyle and environment where people can live, work, shop, and play."

Power says this is only the start. "We've only just gotten the place, and it has already paid numerous dividends in the form of future cultural collaborations with the city's leading arts entities and our corporate partners, including the most dynamic and innovative agency out there doing anything. The future is white hot, and the possibilities seem to be growing themselves."

R.I.P. 68 Charlton

Sorry to have been out of touch, but the last few days have been sheer madness. Where to begin?...

Wednesday, 3 workdays left:
As previously posted, Wednesday was largely a packing day for us back at 68 Charlton. Scarily enough, it was also a day of consultation with lawyers and leasing agents—because we did not yet have a signed lease for a new office. Just a scant 72 hours before we would be forcibly removed from 68 Charlton, and we had nowhere to go! Well actually we had picked a place but it just wasn't ours yet. More on that later. As we were frantically moving files into bankers' boxes and books into whatever would hold them, we welcomed a new friend to 68 Charlton: King. King is great guy to have around if you installed a beautiful hardwood floor into a place you subsequently get evicted from, and you're loathe to part with it. Yup; King and his team of guys were literally taking up the floorboards as we packed. We wanted to tell you then, we really did, but fear of reprisal from VRAHOS and it's dark army silenced us. At least as long as it took to get away with it!

Thursday, 2 workdays left:
With the floor mostly gone (well the parquet, anyway—plywood in it's place) and everything packed, we were finally ready to go. Our movers came to get the essentials and most of the office was ready to fly by the early afternoon. But where were we to go? In a masterful eleventh-hour move, Daniel Power, founder, publisher, and commander-in-chief of powerHouse Books, had signed a lease for a 10,000–square foot blue chip ground floor space in DUMBO! Yes—powerHouse kissed Manhattan goodbye and fell into the welcoming embrace of Brooklyn. Only one catch, though, the space is raw, and won't be ready until fall 2006. Until then, we will be housed in a temp office upstairs. The remainder of Thursday was spent moving everything into our new suite.

Friday, the last day:
Friday was consumed by shifting furniture and unpacking computers in DUMBO. And taking everything that wasn't nailed down at 68 Charlton. Wait, scratch that. We took quite a few things that were nailed, screwed, glued, or otherwise fastened. A partial list includes: ceiling fans, sinks, toilets, some drywall, the wires we tore out of the walls, and (our personal favorite) the windows and bay door on the street side of the building. We also smashed all the tiles and put holes in the ceiling and the walls we couldn't kick in. It hurt to hurt our baby, but we built it and weren't about to let it fall into the hands of evil.

The first week out:
Things had largely been sorted out by yesterday, and we're adjusting to the new commute and the feel of our new neighborhood. Wish we could've posted something on Monday, but we had no Internet. Everything's solid now though. Even though the banner above says we were scheduled to stop this blog last Friday, we like it too much to discontinue. So check back soon: we're sure to have plenty to talk about with our new life in Brooklyn!

Great Moments in Spam vol 8

Business must be brisk in the Ultimate Online Parmaceutical game, if both PEDAGOGUES H. OBLIVIOUS and NERUDA G. ALIEN are doin it!!

Boxing Day

Well punch our noses and call us Canadian, it's Boxing Day at pH!







Photos by the mover, shaker, Nicholas Weist

LA in NYC

There's a craft service truck outside our bookstore! At first we thought that VRAHOS had already geared up their catering biz, but upon further inquiry we learned it was just there for a movie being shot down the street. They better watch out for those rats.

PpPPPpPpPPPpppPpedal!

New week, new book:



Photo by Peter Sutherland. But really—who were you expecting?

Thank God It's Friday, Sucks It's Not Monday

We thought we would die before wishing the weekend was over before it had begun. But desperate times...

powerHouse will announce our new location toward the beginning of next week. We've crossed our fingers and kissed our elbows, and the rest is up to fate.

Great Moments in Spam vol 7

Would you buy the ultimate online pharmaceutical from NARK R. NARCOSIS?!

Choking Up, Not Throats As We'd Like To

Shame there haven't been any more Mystery Plumbers around—we kind of feel like throttling someone. We've begun to pack and look for temporary office space. Eight days left and still no new lease.

Plumbing the Depths

We've been turning The Mystery Plumber (see below) over and over in our minds, and we just can't find any other reason for VRAHOS to send their odious minions that what was suggested for The Mystery Photographer. Basically the story goes, "Nefarious development corporation [VRAHOS] fears upstart publisher will leave with the ceiling, floors, toilets, and walls they built and paid for." Hmm....toilets, huh? Anyone know a good plumber?

The Mystery Plumber!

At 8:30 this morning, a man named "Peter Stephens" sent a "plumber" to "check out" "air escaping" "somewhere." All those quotes, you'd think we were at a press junket. But no, it's just a day in the life of a soon-to-be-homeless art book publisher. Why all the mystery?

Spitting Distance

That's what we're within: from sorting out a gorgeous new space. Details TBA, we're not there yet, but we're still in the market for friends and neighbors that get jazzed about converting raw space. Oops! I guess we'll just call that a well-placed leak. If you're interested, drop us a line.

Living the Dream

Hot off the presses! Hot like the desert!



Salt Dreams.

VRAHOS Hates Baby Turtles

Just conjecture, really, but we think it makes sense.



Photo by Jeff Mermelstein, from No Title Here.

14 For Us, 5 For You

We have 14 days left in our bookstore, but you've only got 5 to come and ransack our shelves: our insane sale ends on Wednesday the 22nd. We've got books for 2 dollars. 2 dollars?! That's what you pay for a pack of gum in this town!

Getting Intimate with Perfect Intimacy

This morning we finally received copies of our new book Perfect Intimacy. Nun it up if you wanna.

Great Moments in Spam vol 6

Three precious gems, all in a row:



Terminus B. Assess, Jumbling A. Bedecking, and Galechka: we salute you!

We Live for this Sh*t!

From a former intern, near and dear to our hearts:

I LOVE IT ! I read every post .. and it is oh-so-fab. (I'm definitely a fan!) Thank you for keeping me in the loop when I'm out of town ..

xoxo, SC! —pH

Money Makes the World Go 'Round

VRAHOS and Dubai's wet dream:



Photo by Steven Katzman, from The Face of Forgiveness.

EWWW!!!

Paint us yellow and call us Nancy—one little rat and whole office empties out. Well it wasn't little, actually: it was HUGE! And it was INSIDE! You heard it here first....The rats have been spotted in the inner sanctum of powerHouse Books. Which will soon be Il Cantinori Jr. Good thing we'll never eat there.

Dubai+VRAHOS=Bad News for pH

An interesting theory just arrived via email: what if VRAHOS is in league with Dubai (see below)! Seems crazy, right? Well think about it—is it really out of the realm of possibility that a crazy development firm that is trying to remake New York in its own image would take up with a principality that is trying to terraform the entire world!?

Breaking—DUBAI HATES POWERHOUSE TOO!!

Just received this from Bryan Adams, who is in Dubai right now:



Apparently, our content is "inconsistant with the religious, cultural, political, and moral values of the United Arab Emirates." Sweet!

Almost There

We've got only eighteen more days in our handmade bookstore and gallery on Charlton Street, but we're closer and closer to finding the perfect new home. As previously mentioned, we're simultaneously trying to build a brain trust while we're at it—populated by artists, architects, and other creative types who are interested in helping us build out a mystery space. If you fit the bill—drop us a line.

Great Moments in Spam vol 5

Skinny cooks can't be trusted? Good news for Molto Mario.

Prisoners' Weekly

Check out the review of Thomas Roma's In Prison Air that just went live at our fave industry rag Publisher's Weekly.

pH Authors Revealed

Mark Cohen, author of Grim Street, and Isabelle Storey, author of the forthcoming Walker's Way, at the opening of Introductions by John Szarkowski. Photo by the sensational Nicholas Weist.

Blue Monday

Ever heard that New Order song? It pretty much captures how we feel right now: a little giddy and a little sordid, but mostly like we wanna dance. Things are heating up on the new space front.

Hot Like Fire 4

Photo from New York's Bravest.

Hot Like Fire 3

Photo from New York's Bravest.

Hot Like Fire 2

Photo from New York's Bravest.

Hot Like Fire 1

Photo from New York's Bravest.

Hot Hot Heat

Our little drama this morning got us thinking about firemen. What a neat job!



Photo from New York's Bravest.

Questions Without Answers

What happened this morning? The fire department dudes disappeared as quickly and mysteriously as they came. Well they didn't come mysteriously—we called them—but they sure did leave quick. Anyway the banging stopped, which is all we really cared about anyway.

Firemen Still Shafted

Those hot numbers with large hoses (yikes—spring must be here for real!) are still behind our wall. Behind our wall? Was that inneundo, too?

We Called the Fire Department

They're checking it out now. Nail biter!

Bang Bang

Clang. Wham. Boom. Either there's someone stuck in the elevator shaft that shares a wall with our gallery, or VRAHOS is trying to literally demolish us. This started about fifteen minutes ago—we've called the old super and the next step is the fire department. We'll keep you posted.

Pied Piper Nothing

One down but thousands to go. Good luck VRAHOS!



Photo by Boogie.

A VRAHOS Family Outing

Photo by Jeff Mermelstein, from No Title Here. Click for larger view.

Cease What?

We received this via email from a friendly lawyer this morning:

I read the blog and was curious about the threatening letter to Neil regarding "misstatements" made by a powerHouse representatives about the VRAHOS company and others apparently involved in the eviction and redevelopment of the property. I could not figure out from the blog or the letter to Neil what the alleged misstatements were. Did anybody tell you? Or is it a big secret in order to make the threatening correspondence more mysterious? It is too common for lawyers to gloss over the theory of wrongdoing and skip to the parade of horribles that will occur if the recipient of the lawyer's letter does not comply with his request.

Yup. VRAHOS and their minions are just rattling their (tiny, tiny) stick. Also today, many thanks to Gawker and their many stalkers for this post.

VRAHOS Hates(/Secretly Loves) pH

For all y'all newcomers, here's a round of catch-up. VRAHOS, a meglomanaical development corporation, evicted us last month—giving us almost no time at all to pack our bags and get the hell the out of the gorgeous gallery and bookstore that we built with nothing but our bare hands and some sweet-talking at the bank. Last week, they served us with a cease and desist, attempting to halt our publishing this, our blog, and violating our right to free speech in the process. Recently, we received another letter of interest, addressed to one "Charlton House." powerHouse. Charlton House. Too close for comfort, we think. They can take our name and our building, but they'll never lose the rats.



Photo by Slava Mogutin, from the forthcoming powerHouse Book Lost Boys.

Last Month's Party

We're terrible about loading party pictures: but here's one you should really see. Legendary curator and three-star general arbitor of taste John Szarkowski at our opening for Intoductions by John Szarkowski, a show of work by Helen Levitt and Thomas Roma (behind John and to the left).



Photo by the inimitable Mike Hartley.

Weekly Dig Digs Us (Weekly)

This came to us from a friend at Weekly Dig:

Maybe VRAHOS could cease sucking ass?

Excellent point, friend! In other news, we took a look at a stunning space yesterday, and we're still looking for conceptual partners to help develop whatever we end up doing. If you think you fit the bill (intellegent, interesting, and knowlegeable about, you know, build out and stuff) let us know.

Great Moments in Spam vol 4

Again we need a Ruskie. To talk to SKATER H. UVULA!

Postscript: The emails above and below—yeah, they're real.

This Is the Anthem

Best Song Ever. Best Mag Ever. Thanks for the post Anthem.

Sucking 'Em Dry

Scraps from a VRAHOS binge 'n' purge? Which leader of an NYC cultural institution haven't we heard from lately?...



Photo by Jeff Mermelstein, from No Title Here.

A-List LA

Ashlee Simpson outside The powerHouse Library at The House of Flaunt, Oscar weekend. More about our fabulousness to come, but snack on this for now:



Photo by Jim Jocoy.

We're Not Alone

Our friend Bill writes to inform us that we are not the only impressive but oppressed arts institution:

I read with chagrin your message about certain developers not only trying to evict you but also trying to muzzle your right to free speech on your blog. I'm an artist who lived and worked for over 15 years at the 111 First Street building (aka The Art Center) in Jersey City. During our last 4 years there, we spent a great deal of time organizing ourselves to fight eviction. Our landlord, a part owner of the WTC and a billionaire, threw the kitchen sink at us in order to make our lives as miserable as possible. His tactics included hiring Jersey City cops to patrol the building complex and arrest tenants whenever possible; an arson; vandalism to tenants' cars; mass demolition of empty studios engendering unhealthy conditions for all tenants still in the building; and an attempt to get us to cease and desist making ANY references to him on our website or we would be sued. Although we finally lost our fight to avoid eviction and were forced to leave the building on Febuary 28, 2005, we still managed to fight off his control-freak tendencies and have kept our website open with the help of our lawyers. With the demise of 111 First Street, Jersey City lost the largest concentration of artists in the State of New Jersey to high-end development, profiting only the developer. Despite all our efforts to convince city officials and others that people in the Arts are also developers, developers of culture, they ultimately turned a deaf ear and a blind eye. At its peak, the 111 building housed over 120 artists. When we went to court, there were barely 50 of us left. Unfortunately, our experience is not unique; it's shocking how ubiquitous this practice is now throughout the country, if not the world. It is said that "money talks and bullshit walks." Not anymore. "Money and bullshit walk and talk together." Good luck on fighting The Plague.
Regards,
Bill

Read more about it here. Solidarity!

Elemental So Hardcore It's Mental

Received this a few days ago from our friends at Elemental Magazine:

So it goes on and on! Hey, don’t worry, you guys are really in the club now. Elemental has been pseudo-served with more letters full of useless legal jargon than we care to remember. Luckily the top brass over here know their legal ins and outs like the rosy side of their hands, and we are never shook by any of these letters. Of course, when the Marshall shows up with that magical paperwork, it’s a different story. But until somebody serves you with a court date, SCREW EM!!

Thanks guys! We agree completely.

RAT FOUND DEAD AT 68 CHARLTON

We told you there were rats, and here's proof.



It's from our friend Amy, who writes: "I am attaching a picture I shot right outside your space during last years' portfolio review. Let me know if you want a print and you can leave it for the new tenants to hang in their kitchen." Great idea Amy—I'm sure they would love a copy of A PICTURE OF A DEAD RAT OUTSIDE THEIR FUTURE DINING HALL.

You Like Us, You Really, Really Like Us!

As you may have noticed, we love to talk about ourselves. That love is second only to when other people do the talking for us! Props, then, to the illest online anthology of emerging art, Beautiful/Decay, who sums it all up with "One of the best things that ever happened to photography was powerhouse Books." Ain't it the truth.

And who could claim true excellence without a mention from the world's best progressive culture monthly, BlackBook. Those tastemakers' tastemakers cited us twice in two weeks—many thanks and fierce admiration, BB!

The VRAHOS Family Tree

A few days ago, we showed you Son of VRAHOS. Today, we are pleased to present MOM OF VRAHOS!:



Photo from Casa Susanna.

Les Fleurs du Mal By Any Other Name...

It's confirmed....The New York Times reports VRAHOS will take our space and the better part of our name (scroll down for the item).

Funny how the Grey Lady keeps coming up.

VRAHOS Steals Space, Identity

Thank you all for the tremendous outpouring of support you have sent over the last three days. You can rest assured that while VRAHOS may be able to take our space, we will never let them touch our first amendment rights. We believe that free speech is all-important, so even though we think it's tremendously shady, we will only use our own right to say what's on our mind to fight the latest insult that's been added to our injury. Over the weekend, we received a letter addressed to, you guessed it: Charlton House.

powerHouse. Charlton House. Ain't nothin gonna help, VRAHOS—your tarnished soul will never be cleaned by appropriating our shiny name.

Gagged But Not Bound

Wait just a damn minute! You may have noticed that we've been out of touch for a few days—mostly because VRAHOS SERVED POWERHOUSE WITH A CEASE AND DESIST!! That's right folks: our little blog, a simple forum for us to keep you apprised of how our punk but prominent, bootstrapping but bullied publishing company has been savagely and heartlessly tormented by a predatory development corporation, finally got their attention. Over the past week we've had our lawyer pick through its contents, and he sees no reason why we can't keep posting. And we shall. Without further ado, the letter:

Dear Neil: I have been informed of, and I have personally seen, multiple misstatements by or on behalf of Powerhouse Books relating to Messrs. Pappas and Tzolis and Vrahos LLC. These misstatements are, in certain cases, targeted at their present and future customers. Accordingly, Messrs. Pappas and Tzolis, and Vrahos LLC, protest such misstatements, and reserve all rights against Powerhouse Books, Powerhouse Cultural Entertainment Inc., Daniel Power, and all others who have made or facilitated any such misstatements. Such rights may include, without limitation, the right to assert causes of action for defamation and intentional interference with prospective business advantage; and the remedies may include, without limitation, consequential damages for loss of business. Powerhouse Books, Powerhouse Cultural Entertainment Inc., Daniel Power, and such others are hereby directed to cease and desist immediately making any such misstatements. To the extent that Powerhouse Books, Powerhouse Cultural Entertainment Inc., Daniel Power, and such others have used Internet web sites, blogs, or other means of communication that are continuing to publish and/or republish such misstatements, they are hereby directed to remove such misstatements immediately from all such web sites, blogs, and other means of communication. Please call me on Monday, February 27th, to confirm that you have informed Powerhouse Books, Powerhouse Cultural Entertainment Inc., Daniel Power, and such others of this email and that they have complied with it.

Observe This!

We noticed this a little late, but The New York Observer Real Estate section was kind enough to mention us the other day. If you ever need to know anything about the goings-on of the cities' groundskeepers, the Observer is the first place you should turn.