Well, these certainly put anything I’ve worn to shame.
My personal favorite:
Check out the 2008 World of Wearable Art costume contest winners.
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Any music post seems dreadfully incomplete, due to my incurable music obsession. But here are a few fun things.
I’d first like to share some fantastic vinyl art I found over at LP Cover Lover:
I think any commentary would only detract from the image here, so I’ll just let you absorb it…
Hm. Androgynous sorcery.
I hate to think of what unsavory things Dracula may be whispering to her:
Hooray for the Netherlands…
Soul Dracula is my favorite:
As far as I can tell, THIS is Soul Dracula (don’t miss this video). Could there be more than one disco vampire? For the record, a “disco vampire” image search is completely unspectacular…I tried.
And if you’re on a last minute search for a Halloween Party Soundtrack, have no fear…SheWalksSoftly is here to help:
Digital Meltdown has uploaded an amazing selection.
The Manchester Morgue also specializes in horror soundtracks. Some really rare ones turn up here!
3 Disc Halloween Mix: V/A- One Stop Halloween Music Shop
Some score/soundtrack material: V/A- History of Horror, 2 discs
And some Motown oldies: V/A- There’s a Ghost in My HouseI have plenty more Halloween mixes of deathrock, psychobilly, doo-wop, etc (along with countless classical horror scores). I’ll gladly upload them if anyone is still on the lookout for tunes.
I’m sneaking in one more song: Now I’m Feeling Zombified by Alien Sex Fiend. This band is just a delightful carnival of b-movie horror aesthetics.
(I still thank Ronnie for playing ASF albums in their entirety on his radio show many years ago when I was searching everywhere and couldn’t find them in stores).I leave you with my favorite vintage horror theme song: THE BLOB. It’s just so smooth and catchy! I dare you not to shimmy, tap, snap, bob or twist.
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Amidst the Halloween posts, I thought it would be refreshing to explore the ghosts of another culture.
In mid-1870’s Japan there was a brief circulation of nishiki-e; colorful woodblock prints, generally depicting the shocking crimes and scandals featured in newspapers. However, many told stories with a more supernatural bent. There was a swift government ban on these “unreliable” information sources, but a number of them were collected and preserved.
This print shows the ghost of a disgruntled candy store owner who grew ill and died after falling deep in debt to his neighbor, the owner of a successful tempura restaurant. The ghost has returned to settle the score.
This print shows the restless ghost of a woman whose husband neglected her so much that she fell ill and died. Upset at the way he was raising their young child, she returned from the spirit world to complain in his ear while he slept. The baby woke up and began to cry, so she cradled it in her arms and began to nurse it. When the man awoke and screamed at the sight of his undead wife, she vanished.Many more colorful prints, along with their anecdotes here.
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Here is my 2008 roundup of favorite Halloween culinary atrocities from Cake Wrecks. Enjoy the wrong!
Let’s start with some fiercely baffled spiders, shall we?
This poor bastard is…arachnologically wrong, having only six legs (though that may be the least of his worries):
And onto some pumpkins…
The above is actually the Krispy Kreme seasonal donut (for the record, they couldn’t make a Krispy Kreme so ugly that I’d refuse to eat it):
At first I thought the “face” was mold or burnt patches:
More misery…
I’m not sure what’s going on in this cake. There appears to be a small army of cake dolls who’ve been decapitated and had their heads replaced by giant eyeballs…yet they cling tenaciously to their old plastic heads for good measure:
And now some ghosts…
Um, is this even work safe?
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Curious Expeditions posted a fascinating legend about Gloomy Sunday, a song written by Hungarian composer Rezső Seress in 1933. It is about a man who loses his lover to an untimely death and plans to commit suicide in order to join her.
“Hauntingly beautiful, the story goes that the song was so sad, so depressing, so completely soul crushing, that upon hearing it even once, Hungarians were driven to suicide. And not just a few, during its era, hundreds of suicides were attributed to the melody.
The legend grew. One story went that a young paperboy who had everything to live for heard the song in passing and immediately threw himself into the Danube. Rumors about the song that hypnotized any who heard it into walking straight out of the first open window became became so pervasive that Hungary is said to have responded with a nationwide ban of Gloomy Sunday.”
That being said, you can listen to the song here if you wish. I actually find it quite beautiful.
I always do a bit of extra searching beyond my original sources, and I discovered that Sarah McLachlan does a cover of Gloomy Sunday, also posted on youtube.
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I definitely recommend taking the two minutes to watch this incredible stop motion animation of a pumpkin carving itself (stay for the ending, too).
I had this bookmarked from last year, so some of you may have seen it…I just couldn’t resist.
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Here’s another one to give you nightmares, kiddies:
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This is already my favorite time of year, and injecting a little geekiness just sweetens the deal.
I couldn’t find many robots, which leads me to believe I should tackle the subject matter in my pumpkin carvings next year.
I’m fascinated by the game Portal, but refuse to play because it makes me dizzy and highlights my lack of spacial thinking skills. The plot is wonderful (especially the promised prize of “cake and grief counseling”). I have a special love for the Weighted Companion Cube.
Even non-gamers must admit that this is some fine work:
Yes! The Homestar Runner cast!
Who made these…and why don’t I know them?
(I used to have a really great pumpkin picture of the MST3K bots…but I can’t find it)I like to call this one Techno Pumpkin:
And although this is not a “geek” design, it’s just too amazing to leave out (I’m haunted by its semi-realistic eyeballs):
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Meet Damar. He’s awesome. He speaks like a record played backwards (I love the way he says his name).
I don’t think the record collection of Satan himself sounds creepier than this little feathered fellow.
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At Mama Tried studios, renowned tattoo artist Scott Cambpell uses his talents on more than human skin.
The pieces are very well done, though I can imagine each one requires a lengthy effort.
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