It's Official

It's official. I've legally changed the spelling of my first name to Atom. Why? Well, I've gone by that nomenclature since high school and because the wife dared me. I always complained when someone would spell my name wrong but I'd have nothing to back it up. "Dude, 'Adam' is not the preferred nomenclature. It's 'Atom' please". One relative spelled it correctly but put my name in quotes, e.g. "Atom". That was the last straw. So my wife said "why don't you just get it legally changed. Then you'll have a legitimate argument." So that's what I did. Now I've got to go through the same process every women who gets married and takes her husband's surname has to go through. I feel your pain. But I'm glad I did it. I just made the "coolness" of name permanent, legal and official. Now I've just got to wait until I shave off my beard to get a new driver's license picture. :)

reBlog from my beard blog

reBlog from my beard blog: http://tinyurl.com/beardwine

WBMC 2011 in Legoland!

The 2011 World Beard and Moustache Championships are being held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The date is to be determined. Denmark is home to The Lego Group, the company that makes the popular plastic interlocking toy bricks, and Legoland Denmark. Lego is also my favorite hobby. So combining my love of bearding, Lego bricks and traveling around Europe is a dream come true.

Beards

Check out this Rocketboom daily internet culture video on beards: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5oaT5VTgTU. It's very informative. Some of the footage is from the 2007 World Beard and Moustache Championships in England. There's no debate. Beards rock.

Into The Wild

Atom's Facial Hair Experiment
Originally uploaded by akkleis

I decided to turn my plans to attend the 2009 World Beard and Moustache Championships (WBMC) in Anchorage, Alaska into a fundraiser, dubbed "Shock's Beard Quest". My goal is to raise $2k to cover transportation, lodging and any beard-related activities. Beard Team USA is busy putting the logistics together for the trip. But it's up to the individual participants to pony up the cash. Hence the need for a fundraiser. Shock's Beard Quest has it's own blog http://shocksalaskanbeardquest.blogspot.com/. All the details including how to donate are on that site. All donations will be acknowledged on the blog and at the WBMC.

The Beard Quest coinsides with the "Facial Hair Art" exhibition at Touchstone Gallery in DC July 9 - August 2. Click on the pic for details. The exhibition is a series of pics of my different facial hair. It's the collaboration with photag artist Angela Kleis that i've blogged about extensively. It's finally time for the unveiling. Is the world ready?

At Least It's an Ethos

It's been over a month since I last blogged, so lets catch you up on me. I just celebrated my 33rd birthday. I got Mario Kart Wii and a book "I'm A Lebowski, You're A Lebowski - Life, The Big Lebowski, and What Have You." A must read for fans of the movie The Big Lebowski. If you've never seen the movie please watch it at least three times. Find out what the legion of "Achievers" already know and love. Then check out LebowskiFest. Chronic and I will be in attendance for 7th Annual Fest. If you've never heard of the movie you're a fucking amateur. Go scold yourself and get a life. Mario Kart Wii is a fun game. It incorporates the Wii style of game play into the classic game. Sixteen new tracks and 16 classic tracks. It comes with the Wii wheel, a steering wheel controller. You can now choose between karts and bikes, the first time motorcycles have been a part of the Mario Kart series. Thanks to Chronic for the great gifts.

Planning for the next World Beard and Mustache Championship (WBMC) is underway. It is being held in Anchorage, Alaska on May 23, 2009. Beard Team USA (BTUSA) wants to make a strong showing at WBMC. BTUSA wants to overtake the Germans as the most dominate beard team in the world. I'd like to compete in WBMC but it's too early to tell where my life is going to be next summer.

My upper level Redskins season ticket pair were upgraded. The seats moved from the row 2nd from the top down to row 15, one section over. That puts me farther away from the 50 yard line, but closer to the field. It's worth it, especially in the upper level. The view of the field is basically the same from either section.

My dream of becoming a helicopter pilot is now one step closer to reality. Check this out: http://www.acecraftusa.com/index.html. With the GEN H-4 I'll be flying in no time. It's the world's smallest co-axial helicopter ever made! (that actually flies). It is an ultralight one-man helicopter. It's small enough to keep in my garage. My commute would become a lot more interesting.

Rock stars ask for some stupid crap. Wedgie threats and fat roadies highlight this hilarious Foo Fighters rider: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0513081foo1.html. I love the Foos. A laid back band with a great sense of humor that really rock. Speaking of rock, we saw The Black Keys at the 9:30 club. Heavy Sole.

One last thing. High gas prices have people dusting off there bikes or buying new ones. Will we see a sea change in personal transportation? I hope so.

Hirsute Pogonologist

Atom XIV
Originally uploaded by akkleis

Yup, another posting about facial hair. Beards are in vogue. Facial hair is everywhere. An article in TIME magazine, a segment on CBS's Early Show, the Republic of Movember, a mirror.

On Thursday Feb 21, there will be a segment featuring Beard Team USA's trip to last year's World Beard and Moustache Championships in England. I'm a card carrying member, even though BTUSA doesn't have membership cards.

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a charity event held during November each year.At the start of Movember guys register with a clean shaven face. The Movember participants known as Mo Bros then have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their Mo (Australian slang for moustache) and along the way raise as much money and awareness about male health issues as possible. I'll grow a mustache for charity.

When I started growing my beard back a year or so ago it wasn't because it was a new fad. I am not trying to make a statement. I just didn't want to shave my face anymore. Could I be a trendsetter and not know it? I was the first dude in my high school to have the 90210 "Dylan sideburns". I guess you could say I'm an artist and my medium is facial hair. Or you could call me a hirsute pogonologist (a.k.a. shaggy beard scholar) if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

The Mustache Is Making A Major Comeback

Atom II
Originally uploaded by akkleis

So says MSN's A-List. I'm partial to the beard, but as you can see from the picture, i've grown a mustache. I look really horrible in this picture, and the hair lip certainly doesn't help. But this mustache turned into the handlebar, so the effort was worth it. My wife would disagree. Is it spelled mustache or moustache? The A-List had a couple of interesting links. First, the Top 15 mustaches in Rock History. All in all a well compiled list. The one glaring omission is Lemmy from Motorhead (see pic that is not me). Second, the American Mustache Institute. My blog wouldn't be complete without the beard index's fraternal twin, the official AMI mustache guide. There are even rumors of an animated series based on John Oates' (the lesser half of Hall & Oates) mustache. I've finally found my calling-growing beards for the enjoyment of everyone, including myself. All is right with the world.

Beard Index

My friend sent me the beard index. Now I have reference material. I think the next beard for me is the Hulihee. My friends and family are starting to jump on the beard bandwagon. It's going to be a crazy ride...

Facial Hair Art & Beard Team USA

Atom III
Originally uploaded by akkleis

I came up with this brilliant idea while I viewed a friends photography art exhibit of "facial hair art". I would grow a beard, then cut it into a specific style. Then my friend would come take a picture of my facial hair. After a series of shots of different facial hair "configurations", as I like to call them, the pictures would become her next exhibit at an art show. The idea was genius. It was one of the very few good creative ideas I've had in my life. Wouldn't you know it, my artist friend thought it was a brilliant idea. It's a collaboration.

It turns out the pictures have had themes. The one in this blog entry is a Teddy Roosevelt or 19th century safari expedition theme. It was my first Rollie Fingers style handlebar moustache. Check out what the collaboration has produced so far-http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelakleis/sets/72157601595879753/

In the midst of all this, I read an article about the World Beard and Moustache Championships and Beard Team USA. I thought to myself "what a coincidence. Here I am working on a facial hair art exhibit and there is a competition out there for facial hair. I must find out more." Well I did, and now you are looking at the newest member of Beard Team USA. The next championship is May 23, 2009 in Alaska. That's plenty of time to grow something curly and crazy for the competition. For more details on the World Beard and Moustache Championships and Beard Team USA visit http://www.beardteamusa.org/.