Skunk’s Solo Musical Album: Nemobird – Wormhole Life Support
Wormhole Life Support – a musical project for fun and free distribution.
Tag: SCUL
SCUL is a Boston-area bicycle chopper gang that builds and rides mutant bicycles, chopper bicycles, and tall bikes.
SCUL was founded in Boston in 1995. It is organized in a paramilitary fashion with a hierarchical ranking structure, distinct naval/space terminology and a sci-fi atmosphere. Members adopt pilot names and ranks are reset each year. Advancement criteria involve riding modified bicycles of varying difficulty on rides and taking on tasks.
SCUL conducts “missions” every Saturday night starting at 10:30 PM from April Fool’s until the Saturnight closest to Halloween.A typical mission involves routine patrolling of the local “star-systems” (cities), getting high fives from civilians they pass and crushing discarded soda cups on the street. Occasionally, they will stop to hone their “flight skills” with some friendly bicycle derby. Centuries (100-mile rides), Intergalactic and Interuniversal Missions (across state or country borders) have also been completed.
On August 25, 2005, the Coolidge Corner Theater premiered the film SCUL: Operation SuperPosi. SCUL was featured on the PBS television show Design Squad in an episode called “Skunk’d” (named after Skunk, the founder and fleet admiral of SCUL).
SCUL is composed of four divisions, SCUL Prime of Somerville, Massachusetts, the Star Chaser Division (SCD) of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the Rural Combat Division (RCD) which is based in Maine, and the Southern Beta Division (SBD) of Providence, Rhode Island. Currently SCUL Prime and the Star Chaser Division are the only active divisions.
SCUL is housed by Somerville hackerspace Artisan’s Asylum where it maintains a bicycle repair and modification facility, and members offer classes in welding and bicycle maintenance.
Somerville Scout: Spaceships and Superheroes: Somerville’s Twist on a Biker Gang
Somerville Scout reveals the inner workings of Somerville’s venerable bicycle chopper gang: and there’s a lot more to it than you may expect.
Venerable Boston-Area Sci-Fi Fueled Bicycle Chopper Gang Seeks Recruits To Share Glory and Adventure
Want to join a bicycle chopper gang? Read on, fellow space adventurer!
SCUL Mission Debrief: Operation Dawn Patrol
This is a video by SCUL pilot Acehole, documenting Operation Dawn Patrol – stardate 160814 – a 3 a.m. mission to witness the dawn at Castle Island. Quite beautiful! Read the full mission report on scul.org.
Talk at the Robbins Library: Space Exploration by Bicycle: the Adventures of SCUL
Wednesday, May 11th: 7:00 p.m.
Robbins Library
700 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington MA […]
SCUL Flight Formation Drills
Believe it or not, SCUL pilots often hone their chopper-handling skills from time to time. We had the pleasure of being followed by camera-toting drone owned and operated by one of our newest recruits, f-stop For more information visit The Friendly Skies on scul.org.
Somerville Bicycle Committee Presents: Bike Talk at Aeronaut Brewing Company
It was a real pleasure to speak of the amazing group of pilots known as SCUL. I went over the influences, history, and philosophy evolving over the nineteen seasons of hundreds of epic adventures.
Double Vision: Talk at 13 Forest Gallery
Back in August I gave a talk at 13 Forest Gallery about my childhood, starting and growing a bicycle chopper gang, and the evolution of the Astrobot as a species designed to live through the ages. It was a real pleasure to have such an engaging and provocative dialogue with the folks who came to the talk. Gallery hosts Marc Gurton and Jim Kiely are always going out of their way to help everyone feel welcome and at ease.
Talk: The Evolution of a Bicycle Chopper Gang: Leadership, Management, and Teamwork for Fun on a Saturday Night
When I started a bicycle chopper gang nineteen years ago, I had no idea it would become anything more than a light hobby. As SCUL approaches its twentieth orbit, it’s time to look back and reflect on how we have evolved into an important part of this incredible culture we have in the City of Somerville.
Boston Globe: Community Raises $17,000 to Help Somerville Icon Fix Teeth
The fundraiser to help me out with my teeth has gained even more momentum: Steve Annear from the Boston Globe came along on a SCUL mission to get a sense of what the community I belong to.
A Maker Tale: Podcast Interview
Jacob Larocca and Robert Masek from A Maker Tale got me to sit still for an hour to talk about bikes, art, making, managing, and foolish endeavors.
SCUL at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem
Back in May the friendly neighborhood chopper gang infamously known as SCUL received a transmission from Soniya Tejwani, the Museum Educator at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, inviting us to participate in event called B.Y.O.B. or Bring Your Own Bike night, on May 15th from 6-9 p.m. While typically we ride on Saturnights, we were excited to travel to a system we had never chopped, and to be involved with something as grand as this event was an offer we couldn’t pass up.
Motherboard: I Infiltrated a Mutant Hacker Bike Gang
It’s 2:00 AM in the morning on a Sunday in Boston, and I’m watching a gang of bike hackers climb a 25-foot bandsaw once used to cut lumber for sailing vessels. We’re in a desolate section of the Charlestown Navy Yard, where the massive Tobin Bridge looms overhead like an approaching supercell.
BDC Wire: On a Mission with SCUL, Boston’s Oldest and Most Mysterious Bicycle Gang
It’s just shy of 22:00 (or 10:00p.m. in civilian time) and Fort Tyler is humming. Pilots are running ships through pre-flight checks, the navigator and tail gunner are intently hunched over a large tactical map, and the flatscreen readout on the wall slowly ticks towards 22:15.
Fun with Colors
Working in raw steel is pretty monochromatic. I love going big with color whenever I get the chance.
SCUL Calendars: Time capsules of a Bicycle Chopper Gang
I’ve been designing and producing SCUL calendars annually since 1998, the first of which was inspired from a calendar I saw when I worked as a finisher at Merlin Metalworks in Cambridge, MA.
WERS: Fleet Admiral Skunk of SCUL
Tejas did a fantastic piece on SCUL for WERS 88.9 FM on Sunday, May 19th, 2013. Here’s the clip for the archives.
Engadget: hacked bicycles
Engadget stopped by our secret HQ to give an inside peek into the life of the SCUL chopper pilot.
Making a Superhero Mask
Making a proper mask is tricky. Here’s how I made mine.
2011 SCUL Calendar Photo Shoot
SCUL puts out a calendar every year. Many of the photos used in the calendar is shot during missions, however it’s helpful to shoot in a more ‘controlled’ environment.
Hallowheels 2011
Hallowheels is a SCUL tradition.
Mad Rabbit
This is a new prototype for low power lightening field for a ship. 300 LEDs lasted the entire mission.
Knightsaber Maintenance
One of the el drivers shorted. Must have been that battle with the sarlac on tatooine.
Cloudbuster Repair
Last season the ole’s Disko-Deth-Stah mast suffered from severe radiation exposure, and froze to one solid hunk of iron. Alphamission is upon us, so it’s scramble time until Sunday!
Iron Cog 2009
The Iron Cog Award is the highest honor you can receive in SCUL. It is typically given to only one pilot once per season. Each Iron Cog trophy is different. I try to make each trophy suit the pilot. Sometimes they spin dangerously, and sometimes they are on fire.
SCUL: Maggot Dinners
It’s the last week of SCUL season, and there’s a lot to keep my busy. A great deal of it is classified, but I can talk about the two Maggot-dinners I’ve had.
SCUL: Admiral’s Log: Wrapping up the Season
MRC was very productive. DubbleU replaced the sonic disruptor dishes on Cloudbuster, and Treekiller upgraded the laser mounts for the Disco-Deth Stah. We also replaced some of the mast. Leotard got Lazarus put back together again: no small feat considering it split in two mission before last!
Speaking at Nubtalks MIT
Yesterday I gave a talk on SCUL at Nubtalks, putting cool people in a room together since 2008. The talk was entitled: The Dirty Secrets of Miracles – What it takes to keep a bicycle-nerd-gang in the air.
Counterpoint: Cambridge Bicycle Posse
Captain’s Log, Star Date 11.03.01 mark 11 hours. Having found myself in uncharted territory, I latched on to a passing band of marauders who allowed me to accompany them on their own mission into the Cambridge System.