Keep watching....
Keep watching....
Bugs, Snakes and Lizards, Oh My!
Happy.....Halloween.....Everybody!
(SaturnCast - I was thinking of you when I posted this)
Boo! .:. Tigger!
Click Image To Enter Gallery
Last Saturday was the seventh annual Los Angeles Dia De Los Muertos Festival at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA.
20,000 people made their way into the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to gaze upon some of the most creative and beautiful altars dedicated to deceased loved ones. Frankincense and purple sage resins filled the air with a sweet smoke. This year's festival had more altars than years past. I saw more creative altars. The festival attendance grows substantially larger each year. It has become very popular with the L.A. gay community. One bummer this year was the banning of open flame of any kind. Every "light" you saw was a small LED light posing as a candle. Evidently, last year a small child got hurt in some way because of an open flame. It is too bad, the flickering lights from the candles had such a beautiful and tranquil effect.
The girl in the image above stood there for a long time. One was encouraged to go up to the angel, write down one's biggest wish, and then she would read it out loud to the audience. She was pretty cute, as well. She reminded me of Bjork.
Around Halloween time, one
childhood fictional character that sticks out in my mind
is....Witchiepoo. You
remember, Witchiepoo. She was the lovable, always frustrated, crazy
and hyperactive witch in the HR-Puff-n-Stuff show.
If you are a Gen-Xer. you
probably remember HR Puff-n-Stuff and the other shows from
Sid & Marty Krofft. Can you remember, every Saturday morning,
staying glued to the TV from 7:00 to 11:00 AM, watching shows,
like Land of The Lost, Wonderbug, Lost
Saucer,
Dr.
Shrinker, and one of my
all time favorites, Electra Woman & Dyna Girl. That show use to crack me up as a kid. It was
"cheesy" at the most extreme. The only thing I liked about the
show, was their costumes (of course, I'm gay and those costumes
were fabulous), and how every moment when Electrawoman and Dyna
Girl spoke to one other, they always referenced their words to
something "electric" or "atomic". "That's Dyna-Riffic
Electrawoman!" "Holy Power Watts, Dyna Girl!" "Ultra-Power Outage
Bummer Time, Electrawoman!"
Watch The Original TV
Intro!
Gurrll...you gotta love those
outfits?
Well, back to Witchiepoo. I always
thought Witchiepoo was good at heart. She tried to act tough, but
deep down she was just a big softy. She had a very funny laugh,
HeeHeeHeeHhheeee! Witchiepoo wasn't too bright either. I mean, how
many times can Puff-n-Stuff, Jimmy and Freddie Flute escape from
her castle? She wasn't working with a full deck. I guess that is
why I love her so much. And why did she want Freddie Flute so
badly? He wasn't that much to write home about. Was she going to
sell him for the gold? I mean, Freddie Flute's biggest talent was
to sing very high notes to make dungeon bars shatter and crumble,
aiding in castle escape attempts made with his friends. Outside of
that, all Freddie Flute really could do, was sing. Oh, I almost
forgot, he does says, "Oh Jimmy!", about a million times during an
episode. I now wonder why Jimmy liked Freddie Flute so much? Maybe
the "magic flute" had some other valuable talents?
Before I go, I would like the reader to watch Witchiepoo competing
in a Halloween Witch Talent Show Contest, facing celebrity guest
star, Cass
Elliott, of the
California Dreaming Mamas & The Papas. And yes, I am a big fan of the Mamas & The
Papas. At the time of this filming, it was still the late 1960's.
Peace & Love, and all that stuff. Everything was psychedelic,
positive vibes, Free Love.
Turn on, Tune In & Drop Out kinda of times.
Enjoy Cass Elliot as she sings the 1960's feel good ballad,
Different.
When I was a kid, this movie scared the shit out of me!
I was convinced the Antichrist was
on his way.
Even today, I still get chills watching it.
(and yes, I like the original version better)
Another You Tube band tribute gallery.....this time we pay tribute to the ever talented, electronic music masters, New Order.
I was able to find quite a few videos. The videos range from New Order's first album, Movement to their latest 2005 album, Waiting for the Sirens Call. It is a very broad range of the many styles that New Order has developed over last 20+ years.
Well, here is a good video sampling of New Order doing what they do best, making great electronic music.
Don't forget to get your treats before you go.
(My favorite New Order video? ... Confusion. Great song. I love that classic, old school drum-beat machine sound,)
I completely
identify with Linus. He is the eternal underdog. He means so
well....but usually gets the bad end of the stick.
Well, Linus
Van Pelt, I
still believe in "The Great Pumpkin"!
The
Peanuts,
The Great Pumpkin special was such a much looked forward to October
treat. I watched it many times during my childhood. I always knew
that when I say The Great Pumpkin on TV, Halloween was not too far
away. I still watch it. It brings back such good memories of
Trick-or-Treating around my neighborhood. Hearing the same urban
legends each year, the razor-blades in the apples (I never got any
apples?), needles in popcorn balls, drugged candy...every year you
heard them, but did they ever really happen?
I guess my gay gene started early because I thought Halloween was
better than Christmas. And all of us know that Halloween is the
official gay holiday. I loved Halloween night! I remember coming
home and separating all my Halloween candy into neat little
groups...one chocolate bar pile, one hard candy pile, one pixie
stick pile, caramel candy pile, etc...and throwing out any candy
corn! Yuck..I hate candy corn!
The whole week after Halloween, you were totally amped out on
sugar. Did you ever take your Halloween candy to school and trade
with your classmates?
The
Shamen
Where have all the
Phorever People gone?
For those of you that don't know, I am a huge monster sized fan
of electronic music. Trance, techno, acid
house, psy
trance, industrial, ambient, experimental music, anything electronic, I love it.
It has become a mad obsession for me to collect as much available
electronic music that I can. My music library is now over 80 GB. I
had to buy a separate hard drive to store all those files.
Electronic music has been around since the 1970's. Early groups
such as Kraftwerk, The
Human League, Tangerine Dream, Joy
Division, The
Buggles all
paved the way for what we now know as electronic music. I started
my electronic music collection in the fifth grade and am still
adding to it currently.
One
particular period of electronic music I would like to zero in on,
is the early 1990's. The birth of electronic dance music.
The early 1990's was still basking in the rhythms of acid house and
your run of the mill diva house
music of
the late 1980's. Hip
Hop was in
its infancy. In 1991, I discovered a new electronic band,
interestingly named, The Shamen. I learned they were the artist of
the latest supersmash top ten single, Move Any Mountain. I was transfixed with this new
sound, a wonderful blend of house music and techno. Shamen's sound
would later earn the name, Tech-House. The early 1990's was also the
birth and heyday of techno. Techno quickly became a new genre in
electronic music. And I was there to witness it all, in its juicy
and aural deliciousness. I went to many raves during those years,
doing things that I probably shouldn't of. I had a great time
partying with other Gen-X'ers enjoying altered states of
consciousness, as the big group of trippers we were.
The Shamen steadily became a prodigy in this new electronic dance
music invasion. Other great bands that have quoted The Shamen was a
great influence on their music include, The
Orb,
Orbital, Meat Beat Manifesto, Future Sound of
London, 808
State, Leftfield, and Moby. Shamen's album,
En-Tact
(1992), is
a work of art. The next album, Boss Drum
(1993), had
a string of hits in England and America. The Boss Drum album
introduced me to psychedelic author, Terrence McKenna. McKenna had a voice over on
track, Re: Evolution. McKenna soon became one of my most beloved
authors. I can thank The Shamen for that.
Some controversy surrounded The Shamen in 1993. The Shamen
track, Ebeneezer Goode was the number one hit in Great
Britain at the time.
The track had a rather interesting chorus:
".....he's good,
he's good, he's Ebeneezer Goode"
but
it also sounded like this.......
"......Eeeeezz
good, Eeeeezz good, he's Ebeneezer Goode"
The claim by many was that the "Eeeeezz" are a direct reference to
the drug, Ecstasy. Ecstasy was about ready to
explode on the club scene in early 1990's. The Shamen neither
confirmed or denied the drug reference validity. If you listen to
the lyrics, he seems to support the drug reference. Just switch the
name "Ebeneezer Goode" with the word Ecstasy, and you will see what
I mean.
In honor of The Shamen, I have created a You Tube gallery on my
blog. There are some great Shamen videos posted. Go check it out.
If you look hard enough, you will see that I have left some gifts
for you in there.
Enter The Shamen
Gallery
Last
Friday's Real Time With Bill Maher
New Rules segment, and the final monolog were exceptionally good.
Don't miss Bill Maher's final words at the end of the video
segment.
Bill makes some very factual observations and points about being an
American living in today's society. He gives the audience something
to reflect upon about how our own misguided actions sometimes works
to our detriment.
Yah,
Yah, I know....I'm like overdosing everyone with You Tube videos
this week. I promise, I will get back some control soon. But today
is today....and I found another gem on You Tube. I was really
excited to see this particular scene in a much beloved childhood
movie, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971). I have read
all the books. I thought it was such a great story about finding
ones self. One particular scene in the movie has been my all time
favorite.
The Psychedelic Boat Ride....
Now a funny thing about this scene is that has disappeared from the
current showings of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Yes,
it has been cut out of the film. This just makes it more alluring,
more mysterious, more sinister. Why?
If you have forgotten the scene, here is a quick synopsis. The
scene starts in the Candyland Room at the beginning of the journey
in the factory. Two Oompa Loompas power this mysterious paddle-boat
into a forbidding tunnel. As they enter the tunnel, they are
initially greeted with darkness. but all that is about to change.
Willy Wonka directs the Oompa Loompas to paddle faster and faster
as he chants in a psycho schizophrenic type of way. As the boat
barrels along the chocolate river, images begin to appear on the
walls of the tunnel. Some really unpleasant close ups of giant
bugs, ravens, snakes, caterpillars and, of course, Mr. Slugsworth.
Everyone starts to freak out like they were having a bad acid trip.
But the biggest freak was ole Willy himself. Imitating sailors,
singing like a madman...."We don't know where we are going, or the
rivers flowing...". I know you remember. Then in a crescendo of
craziness, bright colors, icky bugs, Willy flipping his lid, it's
over.
This scene is very strange. Even as a child, I was quite stunned to
see the Psychedelic Boat Ride. It seemed so dark and sinister. I
thought it was the scene that struck out the most in the
movie.
Why was it cut? Was it satanic, demonic? Was it too much like an
acid trip? ( I am an expert in the for-mentioned, and yes, I would
say it is like an acid trip ), Was it too pagan? Was it too scary
for children?
I suspect it was a little of all of them. It appears the director
liked fucking with his audience. Either way, I am glad I finally
found this little gem of a scene again.
Here it is. Are you ready to take a trip?
"You're going to love this, just love it"
A
Very
Trippy
Boat
Ride
The
Psychedelic Boat Ride never truly went away. I used to see the
scene looped and projected at underground raves. This just proves
my acid theory....
Willy Wonka was a big tripper.
Ghost
This picture was taken 2 yrs ago
at the Los Angeles Dia De Los Muertos Festival. The head is really
a 12 ft statue, along with 12 others that line the main hall in the
Mausoleum at the Hollywood Cemetery. His facial expression caught
my eye. He seems on the verge of weeping.
There he stands, quietly and motionless, in the Hall of The Dead
gazing into the abyss.
The Ghost.
Lucky
Number
(click image for higher
resolution pic)
One of the great
things about living in Los Angeles is all the different cultural
festivals that you get to attend throughout the year. Let's face
it, Los Angeles is one great big international melting pot.
One festival that I never miss is the Los Angeles Dia De
Los Muertos Festival held each year in Hollywood
Forever Cemetery. Dia
De Los Muertos, or in english, Day of The Dead
is a celebration held each year on All
Saints Day,
either November 1st or 2nd.
The
Hollywood Forever
Cemetery hosts this annual event on the
weekend before Halloween. The festival is held in the
cemetery at night. At least 200 handmade altars to deceased loved
ones line the small roads in the cemetery. Original Day of the Dead
art is projected on to walls of massive crypts. The mausoleum is
the location of a Dia De Los Muertos art show. There is so much
traditional mexican food served, you won't go hungry. Lots
of roasted corn...yummy! You can even get
grasshopper tamales (no..I have never tried them). Day of The Dead
is a time to celebrate the lives of those who have departed this
world. There is a large row of vendors and artists selling their
goods. This festival has gotten very popular in the last few
years...over 3000 people crammed into the cemetery at last year's
celebration.
Since I have been attending the Dia De Los Muertos festival, I
kinda see it as my traditional Halloween activity. I have such a
great time every year.
I think this might
be Madge
Weinstein's distant
cousin...
(but.. of course, it
is the ever fabulous Mink
Stole in John Water's -- Pink Flamingos)
Tortured
Souls
(click image for higher resolution pic)
Well, it is my favorite time of
the year. Autumn. In the spirit of Fall, I have decided to post
some past Halloween artwork that I have created over the years.
Throughout the month of October I will post some examples of my
digital artwork. I hope everyone enjoys them.
The first
posting is titled, Tortured Souls. I created this image a couple of
years ago in the midst of a very hard major depression episode.
Much of the imagery of this piece is a visual representation of the
horrors of living with the disease of depression. Depression makes
you feel like a trapped and tortured soul. Funny though...I have
created some of my best art pieces when I was really
depressed.
(All digital art
pieces were created using Adobe Photoshop CS and Corel Painter
8.0.)
Quite by accident, I stumbled
across the electronic music group, Flunk. I was doing a search in
the iTunes Music Store and stumbled across them searching for New
Order. You will see the connection in a moment.
Flunk is a Norwegian electronic band
consisting of members producer, Ulf Nygaard, guitarist Jo Bakke,
drummer Enik Ruud and vocalist Anja Oyen Vister. They have a very
unique sound. Guitars mixed in with break-beats and other syntheee
delights for your listening pleasure. It is hard to describe
Flunk's style. Flunk incorporates a little bit of everything from
the vast umbrella of different genres and sub-genres that define
today's electronic music. Imagine combining the styles and sounds
of some of electronic music's best and most influential bands such
as, The
Orb,
The Future Sound of London, 808
State, Orbital, Underworld... and a lot of
Bjork.
Six Seven Times - Flunk
The lead vocalist,
Anja Oyen Vister is a dead ringer for Bjork in her singing style.
She has that breathy, ethereal nordic goddess voice. If you enjoy
electronic music, I would recommend the following Flunk tracks
available for a cheap download (0.99 cents) at the iTunes music
store:
1. Blue
Monday (Jori Huikkonen Remix #2) - an amazing cover of New Order's,
Blue Monday.
2. Blue Monday (Rune Lindbæk Loves Manchester Mix)
3. See Thru You (The Cinque Cento Remix)
4. Play (Athome Project Kanskjedeterhåplikevel Remix)
5. Magic Potion (Prins Thomas Short Version)
Love Action (I Believe In Love)
OK..I have been singing Human
League's early electronic music masterpiece, Love Action (I Believe
in Love) in my head all week.
I remember it like it was yesterday. The year 1981, and a very
younger Tigger starting the seventh grade found one of his most treasured album of all
time, Dare - from the Human League.
Flash forward in time to two weeks ago....
I got to see the Human
League perform at
the Hollywood
Bowl, along with two other
major new wave groups, ABC and Psychedelic Furs.
ABC opened the show with mega hit, Poison Arrow. ABC played for a
good hour. Martin still sounded great. On next...the Psychedelic
Furs.
I was never a huge Psychedelic Furs fan. Lead singer sounded a
little flat. Gave a good performance.
But the big treat of the night was the final act....Human
League!!!!!
I felt like I was in seventh grade all over again. Human League was
awesome! Phil and the girls sang great. Phil still looks great!!!!
at 51 yrs. old. He is now bald, but he still is incredibly sexy.
The show was so awesome. I loved the all white set. It had a
"Matrix" computer sterilization feel to it. The show was not a
disappointment to the 15,000 fans that packed the sold out show.
Phil was definitely working off the crowds energy. And the crowd
saw that in the outstanding performance Human League gave that
night.
The Freak Network is here!
A new website is in town. The Freak Network is a collaboration of
some very freaky podcasters that have brought all of their unusual
and obscure talents together in one feed for your selfish
pleasure.
Think of it as if John Waters got all his best friends together to
podcast.
Big Sur, California
Click Image To Enter
Gallery
About two weeks ago, I took a very beautiful road trip up the
California coast to Cambria, CA. Accompanying me on my journey was my
very dear friend, Claudette.
On our travels, Claudette and I traveled up the coast on Pacific Coast Highway to Big
Sur, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Hearst
Castle and Cambria.
I took a lot of pictures of the trip. Big Sur has a very "hippy"
"feel good" feeling to it. Very new-agey.
I really had a great time on this trip.