Order of the Fez

Yankee Doodle Fezcast

The engineer/producer for this program (#1) proved once again that he cannot talk and engineer at the same time. He/I botched the audio several times so FFWD through those if you can.

Meet #30 (Paul Roe)

I jammed my way into some very crowded Metro cars to make my way down to M Street (Washington D.C.) where Paul Roe [Fez #30], the owner of British Ink was taking part in an art exhibition called Artomatic.

Paul was doing pre-session consultations while his colleague, Cynthia, hummed away on a guy's right bicep. He squeezed me in for a chat and I even got to sit in the tattoo chair.

The interview ran just under 12 minutes and I couldn't find two to trim so I could post on YouTube as a single file. So it's a two-parter.

Meet uub (Fez #26)

In a recent video-gram, I encouraged members to share a bit more about themselves. The original Petition of Worthiness is often short on background. I hope others will follow the lead of #26.

"I guess I'll go ahead with a little "about myself" since most of the fellas seem shy about it. First let me say I'm excited to say that I've received my official Order of the Fez fez emblazoned with my number, 26 (or double trouble as I like to think of it). I don't think I've seen any finer fez than those crafted by our own brother Jason, aka the Fez Monger. I dare say that this fez is more than a fez, it's a work of art, a fashion icon, a prime piece of pop culture... or something like that.

Now the about me. I was born and raised in The Bronx, NYC. People often don't believe me because I don't have a Bronx accent, but I'm guessing that's because I was in the north-western part, very close to Manhattan and my parents probably would have thrown me out had I come home with "dees, dems, doze" as part of my dialect. I've since lived in Staten Island, Manhattan and finally I'm here in Brooklyn, which is what I consider to be the finest borough of New York. Lots of spirit, attitude and heart.

I'm a gadget and art junkie. I love computers, specifically the Mac OS -- how would I have found the Order had it not been for my trusty Mac? I stand in awe of those minds that invented computers, put together a network that the world could jump onto and communicate with each other about everything. Simply amazing. My other love is of what has been termed "lowbrow" art. I follow the work of the artists Tim Biskup (I've never seen a painting of his that I didn't love!), Gary Baseman, Brian Taylor, Dave Pressler, Brandt Peters and quite a few others. I have been collecting their work for a bit of time, and my walls are pretty crowded at this point. You can see some of the work on my flickr stream.

Let's see... what else can I say? Oh, yeah, I'm proud to say that I'm a member of the Order of the Fez Group on Fezorati -- only one in three of you can say that!

Aside from that, I spend my time working in a Bat Cave. It's not Bruce Wayne's cave, but it's something like that ;-)"

Your Sister,
uub

"I'll bet you guys don't even really HAVE 30 members"

Alright, I'll say it. It pains me to see these other fez groups with more representation (on the Fezorati site) than The Order of the Fez. I know, I know... there are no obligations or duties or responsibilities associated with the OOTF.

But where's your competitive spirit lads (and lassie)?! Gad, we are 30 strong but only 10 of us could find the time to register? You see what you've done don't you? You've turned me into a nagging shrew. Now I'm your mother (or mum for you brits).

But you've got your busy life to lead and all your friends and such. No time to do this one little things for the OOTF. You just go out with your pals, I'll just put my head in this oven and turn on the gas.

First Dutch Ukulele Festival

"Your (recent) message struck home! How do you get to know your brothers but by the sizzling of their tassels and the actions on a normal working day.

Doctor Dick (Fez #18) and I (Fez #17) attended the First Dutch Ukulele Festival last week (not exactly a normal working day though) and had the pleasure of exercising the musical direction of the Hotspot Ukulele Orchestra."

Thank you Doctor Dick and Professor Peter for this wonderful contribution to the blog. Look forward to similar submissions from other members.

A message from fez .01

PS: If you happen to browse back through previous posts you'll notice a shit-load of busted image links. This is the result of criminal laziness and zero foresight on my part. I moved another blog from Typepad to WordPress and screwed the pooch. If I live to 106 I'll probably get these fixed. Probably.

Ukes, fezzes & beer

"Recently me (Drew #23) and Phil #9 got together for a bit of ukulele playing and fez wearing fun at our local pub. The music and fezzes went down well, and so did the beer. I thought you may like a photo for the blog."

And you thought right #23. Would love to have more photos of members. Wait, that didn't sound right... well, you know what I mean.

PS for Phil: Your mum called and she needs her tea cozy back.

Time for a new group photo

We've added to the membership roll since this group photo was taken. I hope I have the Photoshop file somewhere so I can update with new members. Slightly different version.

Fezorati: "network for Fez Collectors, Fez Enthusiasts, Fezpians and Feicians"

Brother Jason (Fez #13) has set up a "network for Fez Collectors, Fez Enthusiasts, Fezpians and Feicians" over at Fezorati.com. He describes it as "an open network for the promotion of the modern fez lifestyle, its many subcultures and the people and groups that choose to wear the fez."

Well, that's the Order of the Fez all over. He's add all the fun tools that I've been to lazy to attempt so I encourage you to get on over there and join the OOTF group. There are two others with 14 and 12 members respectively. Only four our tribe. I'd really like to get all 30 of our members signed up so I've selected one of you (at random) to give full-body, hot oil massages to everyone who signs up at Fezorati. The masseuse has requested anonymity.

These are not my legs

Okay, the simple truth is I feel guilty about not posting in a while and this is the best I could come up with. Courtesy of Photofunia.com.

Fez #30: Paul Roe

Dear Sirs,  I happened upon your site and was delighted to discover a group of such amiable chaps. My name is Paul Roe and I'm the owner and operator of Britishink Tattoos in Washington DC, I am British and have been living in the USA for some 18 years.

I recently purchased a very fine Shriner fez and cannot take it off my head, I am hoping to join the order and wondering why I hadn't Fezzed up before, it feels so right.

If there is anything at all that I need to endure in order to qualify please let me know,

At your service,
Paul Roe

A fine fez, indeed. And you wear it well, Paul Roe. And your willingness to endure "anything at all" to join our order is just the sort of spirit we look for. Welcome aboard and congratulations on securing one of the rare and mystical "Fez Numbers That End In Zero."

I'll rewrite the OOTF bylaws this evening, making it a requirement that all members get their fez tattoos at your shop (any discount, of course, would be at your discretion).

Make him welcome all.

Fez .00001

PS: Is it just me or does "Amiable Chaps" sounds like a line of gay casual wear for cowboys.
PPS: Paul's flickr stream and a bit of video.

Fez #29: Jon Grigalunas

Wanting to form a Fez Society I was pleasantly surprised to find this order. Someone who has done the work for me, I am so very pleased.

In my quest to bring more people into the Fezfold I have made it my mission to purchase and send three or four Fezzes each payday to share the joy of wearing this noble headgear.

Seeing myself as the Johnny Appleseed of Fezdom I hereby apply for membership in the Oder of the Fez."

Sincerely,
Jon Grigalunas

Join me, Brothers and Sister, in welcoming Jon to the Order of the Fez. (Let us know your location, Jon, so we can stick a pin in our Google map).

Jon apparently go got wind of the Skin the Newbie initiation/hazing ceremony and shaved his head as a prophylactic measure. We'll need to come up with something different for Jon. Suggestions welcome.

Fez the First

Professor Peter puts OOTF in Wikipedia

Professor Peter (#17) noticed there was no Wikipedia entry for The Order of the Fez and quickly corrected the oversight. Not sure how long it will remain so I grabbed a screen shot for our archives.

Custom OOTF fez from Fez-o-rama

The Fezmonger (aka Jason Rogers) has set up an order form page for those who might like to order a custom Order of the Fez fez. We've added a permanent link to the sidebar.

These provide hours of fun as strangers stop you on the street to ask what the number means. If you have purchased one of these beautiful head-warmers, send us photo.

Fez #8 has a new CD out

Howlin' Hobbit anchors the string section (okay, he IS the string section) of the band Snake Suspenderz ("hot jass and hokum" Ewww.) and they have a new CD called "Serpentine." (#8 is second from the left)

We'd like to share more of this kind of stuff from our members. Don't be shy. Let us know what you're up to. And if you'd like to help promote #8 and his band, you can embed this little player on your blog. The flash player stopped loading for some reason but you can find links from the Hobbit's blog and the band's website.

Twitter assignment

I'm pleased to report that eight of our members (almost one-third) can be "followed" on Twitter. Not as scary as it sounds. And to demonstrate how Twitter works, I'd like for each of our Twittering Fezzes (not a bad name for a rock band in a gay bar) to find at least one occasion to post in the coming week. It can be pretty much anything but a fez connection would be cool.

For example, #15 could Twitter a photo of his new/old Shriner's fez; #16 could tell you about his new espresso machine; #13 could share photos from the Dance-a-thon and so forth. But I'd like for you to add #OOTF to end of our post.

In the mean time, if you'd like to see what some of the Brothers are up to, check out their Twitter pages. For example, I am at http://twitter.com/smaysdotcom. #7 is http://twitter.com/planetnelson ...and so on.

• Jamie Nelson #7 @planetnelson
• Howlin' Hobbit #8 @howlinhobbit
• smays.com #1 @smaysdotcom
• David Brazeal #4 @dbrazeal
• Jason Rogers #13 @fezmonger
• Taisir Yanis  #16 @coffeezone
• Tom Boman #15 @tboman
• George Kopp #14 @gerogekopp
• uub #26 @uub
• Professor Peter #17 @pevalphen
• Drew Barcode #23 @twentythree

OOTF Update: 03.16.09

Well, shit! I've got some kind of mental block because --once again-- I mixed up #28 and #27. My apologies to both. You two can work out who should be most offended.

Fez #28: Dennis Klothen

"Hello, hereby I apply for membership in your most noble ORDER OF THE FEZ. As you can see, I am proud owner of a fez, and even better, I have a tattoo of a tapir wearing a fez.

To the history of my fez: I am co-founder of a discrete society called Societas Tapiri Occidentalis. As every decent discrete society wears Fezzes (or at least should do so) we decided that the fez could be our only hat of choice and I was chosen "KEEPER OF THE FEZ".

Unfortunately I live in Germany, which is a fez-wasteland, where you only get cheap fezzes from costume stores, so I contacted a hat-maker and started manufacturing fezzes with him for our society members- (I made about 15 red felt fezzes with black tassely by now, and I really like doing it).

And as our heraldic animal- the Tapir- is the king of animals and the fez is the sultan of headdresses, I chose to get a tattoo combining both. (It was made by a tattoo artist whom I gave a fez as a present)

I wear my fez as often as I can. During society meetings (of course!), at work, at home, at the university. I just enjoy wearing my fez.

I wish you all the best and hope that this is sufficient to become a member of the most noble ORDER OF THE FEZ

yours sincerely, rev. Dennis Klothen

Damn. One more "Reverend" and we're officially a religious order. But the pipe, tiki drink and tattoos clearly identify Dennis as OOTF material. We're a little uncertain about his loyalties as a member of a member of STO (Those fuckers!), but trust his first allegiance will be to our order.

So give it up for the Reverend Dennis Klothen, Fez #28.

Fez of Hope

When I couldn't find an Obama Fez to commemorate my first and last presidential inauguration, I called on the Fezmonger at Fez-o-rama, who graciously consented to create the first (and probably last) Fez of Hope. In the spirit of bipartisonship, my friend George (#14) tried it on (with Taisir #16 looking on)

Fez Fuzz Face Ritual concludes

Fez #3 (Dr. Everett Mobley) lives in a part of the midwest that was hammered by a wicked ice storm that knocked out power to hundreds (thousands?) of homes and businesses.

"I had made a vow not to shave until the power came back on.  Today, at noon, 14 days precisely, electricity returned to the old homestead. Here are photos that clearly document why I do not wear any type of organized facial hair. (Day 7 and Day 14)

It just so happened that on day seven I was royally tired of wearing my knit toboggan cap and donned the fez for a change.  So, tonight, before shaving, it seemed appropriate to take the day 14 whisker picture a la fez.

Your servant,
Everett Mobley
Fez#3

Great to have #3 back on the grid. He's got a little Jack Nicholson (The Shining) going on in that latest photo.