NIGHTS of COLUMBUS...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:

(photo by Erkuden Sakana)

Canada's postal workers are on strike. And despite the National Post's groundbreaking article, wondering if, in the age of e-mail, texts, and twitter, anyone will even notice, the absence of mail does infact affect many, including the M.S.Co.

(The news)

With much of the Company's work in progress stuck in transit, this marks yet another week that the M.S.Co. has failed to induct a single illustration into it's archives. A real thorn in the sides of those members hung up on routine and craving the bureaucratic sense of completion that accompanies the christening of finished drawings and voting on which ones make the cut. Needless to say, this only adds fuel to the harrumphing at M.S.Co. Headquarters.

But it isn't just Company protocols being hindered by the strike. This month's shipment to the Company's mail-order subscribers is also being held hostage by the striking postal workers; as are various, prints, cards and commissioned portraits purchased from the M.S.Co. through its Etsy shop and various other channels.

Even orgonite dealers are being affected by the strike

Rest assured, the Company is taking measures to minimize the impact of this hold-up. The wheels of production do keep turning, despite delays in the postal system. In the meantime, however, the Company has closed down its Etsy shop until further notice.

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Meanwhile, south of the border, the touring misanthropes have pitched their camp in Ohio. The away team is on a procurement mission, combing Columbus' legendary thrift stores for much-needed supplies, and stocking up on pipe tobacco at Smokers' Haven.

(pressed and sliced flakes of delicious, delicious tobacco)

This is one of the Company's preferred brick and mortar tobacconists. Owner Premal Chheda's passion is pipes, and his shop caters primarily to enthusiasts of the brier. There is even a workshop in the back, where pipes may be brought in for repairs and refurbishing, and celebrated pipe maker Bill Shalosky can often be found hard at work on his handmade pipes.

(photo by Cottonwood Fields)

The Smokers' Haven gang was kind enough to bring the misanthropes in after hours. This week's away team meeting and illustration session was carried out in the indulgently smoke-friendly luxury of the the store's smoking lounge.

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THIS WEEK'S PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
Number of illustration initiated: 43
Number completed: 10
Number inducted: 0
Carried over to next week: 27

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HEART and SOLD...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:

"Menin Hertz..." by the men and women of the Company

As the great beast January draws to a close, the members of the M.S.Co. turn their jaundiced business eyes to Valentine's Day. A heart-warming respite from the most frigid winter month.

In its continuing endeavour to reclaim the kissy-faced Hallmark holiday for perverts everywhere, the Company has voted in favour of hocking their seedy wares at Come As You Are's ever-popular Erotic Arts and Crafts Fair. The misanthropes had a great time at last year's event and are very much looking forward to peddling their smut at the Gladstone Hotel once again.

(M.S.Co. perforated Valentimes cards to hand out to all your reprobate classmates)

Already, the Company's newly instated Manufacturing Division is hard at work putting together extra naughty message cards, dirty prints and risqué matchbooks for the show. Patrons can also expect a fresh batch of seasonal specialties, such as the ever popular Valentimes Goofy Cards perforated card sheets.

Erotic Arts and Crafts Fair
Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011. Noon – 8pm
Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON
Facebook Invite

Incidentally, for those who have been inquiring whether Reverend Aitor will be drawing Unflattering couple's portraits again, his answer is a resounding "Nope." Not this time.

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"Drinking Because of You" by the M.S.Co.

Also slated for next week: the Company has decided to host Valentine's Day open house at the M.S.Co. Clubhouse. Expect the usual mix of live music, moonshine, readings, screenings throughout the day, along with an exhibition of original art revolving around the themes of love, sex, loneliness, and the like. The public is invited to bring their old love letters, diaries, and photos for show and tell and/or the heartbreak bonfire. There will also be a topically appropriate secondary exhibit for any and all comers to partake in.

(photo by Rufus Spaulding)

A routine dumpster-diving expedition recently yielded a motherlode of Sexy Doodle Pads. Thousands of them. What the Parkdale Animal Clinic was doing with so many of these, and why they were discarded is anyone's guess, but their loss is the Company's gain. The plan is to wallpaper the Clubhouse maze with as many filled-in sexy doodles as possible, but the Company can't do it alone. Inspired in part by Paper Boy's communal art wall exhibition, the misanthropes are opening up the project to the public.

One done, thousands to go. Won't you please help? (photo by Becky Johnson)

Complimentary pads have already been sent to the Company's subscribers in a supplementary mail-out. Anyone else interested in filling in some sexy doodles in advance of the Valentine's Day exhibition is welcome to contact the Company, or pick up a pad or two from the M.S.Co. booth at Saturday's Erotic Arts and Crafts Fair.

"St. VALENTIMES' HOME for the BROKEN HEARTED"
OPEN HOUSE AND MAKEOUT PARTY
Monday, February 14
M.S.Co. Clubhouse
Toronto, ON
Doors open at 2pm
Festivities begin in earnest at 9pm

As always, a modest supply of moonshine, beer and spirits will be available for purchase, by donation, but all are welcome to bring their own refreshments.

* * * *

THIS WEEK'S PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
Number of projects initiated: 29
Number completed: 20
Number inducted: 11
Carried over to next week: 1

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BUTTON FLY TRAP...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:

(photo by Arthur Corey)

Another instalment of the Company's subscription service is packaged up and ready to go. This month's mail-out includes a little something different: venus fly trap buttons. The Museum of Natural & Artificial History's Head Curator and Chief Botanist have been collecting and pressing the dead leaves from the carnivorous plant exhibit for some time, waiting for just the right project to come along.

Now, with the help of super-star buttoneer Sweetie Pie Press, the Company has begun production on a series of 1" buttons for the Museum's gift shop; many still contain the remains of the insects that met their untimely demise in the leafy jaws of the voracious dionea muscipula.

Audrey 3, the Company's pet fly trap (photo by Anahí Coria)

Naturally, these buttons are available in only limited supply. The traps are harvested only after the leaf dies, so as not to cause the plant harm.

* * *

dionea vs. caterpillar

Incidentally, many of the plans in the Company's carnivorous collection, including the fly traps, pitcher plants, and some of the sundews are soon to enter their winter dormancy. Visitors to the museum have two weeks to see the current botanical exhibit before the the hibernating plants are hidden away until the springtime. Plant feedings can be seen Saturdays at 3pm.

* * * *

THIS WEEK'S PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
Number of projects initiated: 29
Number completed: 19
Number inducted: 5
Carried over to next week: 0

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HOT TIME IN THE OLD BROWN TONIGHT...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:
Chicago is calling. The Company is snaking its way North again, but not before stopping back in Louisville for a taste of hot brown -- a not so distant cousin, it would appear, of Pittsburgh's own turkey devonshire.

(Kentucky hot brown)

For the uninitiated, a hot brown is an open faced sandwich consisting of turkey, ham, tomatoes, pimento and shredded parmesan drowned in mornay sauce and topped off with bacon.

* * *

(photo by Reverend Aitor)

The misanthropes checked into the cheapest motel room they could find in the greater Louisville area for another Sunday meeting of protocols, tour planning and infighting before bedtime. A fair amount of time also had to be put into preparing merchandise for upcoming shows and store visits, as inventory has been decreasing steadily along the way.

A Party, Spoiled limited edition assembled print by the M.S.Co.

* * *

The final instalment in this season's Epistolary Subscription Service will be shipped out first thing Monday morning. Bowing to increasing demand, it was reluctantly decided this week that the number of available subscriptions for the coming season will be increased to ninety-nine.

portrait of the Company's beloved bailiff

Meanwhile, in an effort to tide the project's loyal followers over until service resumes in October the Company's Communications Officer will begin posting excerpts from T-Bone and Cotton's notes to Headquarters, here, on the web log.

(Route 66 map courtesy of playa.info )

The pair intends to break away from the main convoy after next week's congregation in Chicago. From there, they'll make the pilgrimage along their beloved Route 66 all the way to Los Angeles, where they are scheduled to deliver Screaming Hellhogs Eat Shit and Die to it's rightful owner.

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CAMERAS IN ARMS...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:
Headquarters has just received word of a most generous surprise, courtesy of our Hollywoodland benefactor.

For those of you not currently subscribed to the Misanthrope Specialty Co.'s Epistolary Service, below is a taste of what you're missing. The following is an excerptfrom the e-mail T-Bone sent this evening.

(photo by T-Bone)

"I'm staying in an ugly little place just outside Rolla, Missouri. Hiked into town for a beer and a couple of tins of beans to cook on the hot plate. When I came to in my room I was greeted by two things I knew weren't there before I left. The ominous stink of fresh bug poison and an equally ominous cardboard box placed in the exact center of the room.

(photo by T-Bone)

"I sat on the lumpy bed for what must've been hours. A tin of beans in my hand, breathing in the insecticide fumes, staring at the plain brown box with no return address or markings of any kind. Ready to smash it into the carpeting at the first sign of sound or movement from within."

And that's all you get from the horse's mouth. Rest assured, the box that had Mr.Bonaparte so perturbed contained not bad news but great news.

(photo by T-Bone)

As it turns out, T-Bone's new friend tracked him down to his motel and had a gift couriered over to further assist the Company in it's motion picture-making endeavors. A vintage Bell and Howell 16mm camera is nothing to sneeze at.

(photo by T-Bone)

The Company wishes to publicly thank Mr. Busey once again for his invaluable allegiance to its cause. Much of what's to come would not be possible without him.

It should also be pointed out that T-Bone would never have gained entrance into Busey's world had it not been for that fateful night that Mr. Van Hest helped him and his comrades interlope their merry way into that L.A. party this past summer. For this he, too, is owed a world of gratitude.

* * *

TADDLE TALE...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:
The Misanthrope Specialty Co. wishes to announce the release of a new print this week, starring none other than the nameless girl with the empty fishbowl.

"Lost In Taddle Creek" by the members of the Company

Our blindfolded heroine holds a special place in the Company's collective heart. She hearkens back to one of the very first Sunday session, in 1999, when the Company was still unnamed, incomplete and based in Miner's Prayer.

Was she ever so young?
Our recurring redhead in her first incarnation, ten years ago

She's turned up again several time since then, in a variety of incarnations, but had somehow eluded being shared with the public at large. What better way to celebrate her tenth birthday than by commemorating her with her own open run print?

Our 5x7" print is printed on light blue "ocean mist" card stock. Subscribers to the Company's Epistolary Service can expect their copy in the mail shortly. The rest of you can procure this item via the Company's Etsy shop for a measly $4.99.

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