What is ullage?

It has several meanings: deficiency, lack, the air at the top of a bottle, the sediment after the bottle is emptied, the fumes in an engine. The Ullage Group takes it as an emblem of the other part: the contrarian, paradoxical, lost, unpopular, and forgotten.

Our founders, Anthony Matt and Doug Skinner, have been uncorking many bottles in their search for greater ullage. There are many surprises ahead. Our first public event will take place on a Sunday afternoon, Dec. 2 at 3:00, at Jalopy, in the ullagistic neighborhood of Red Hook, in Brooklyn.

The Five Sides of a Machine” will be a celebration of projected pictures: lantern slides, filmstrips, stereo images, and whatever else we can drag in there. The founders will give keynote speeches, and uncork the ceremonial ullage. Skinner will outline the pros and cons of different machines; Matt will present various stereoscopic systems. We’ll probably have some guests; and our non-carbon-based pals will include the Astroscope, the Radiopticon, the Balopticon, and other rickety gizmos that may or may not work. It’s only $5; it will be more fun than popular culture; you’ll be unhappy if you miss it. For directions to Jalopy, see www.jalopy.biz.