If Looks Could Kill - Graphic Art & Design

It is now thought that he may have been poisoned by spiritualists, psychic mediums whose claims he’d debunked, even mocked - profusely.

There has been much speculation surrounding the death of Harry Houdini on Halloween of 1926. Now, his great-nephew wants the body exhumed to answer questions that persist.

• No autopsy. Appendicitis triggered by a gut-punch was accepted as cause of death.
• Death certificate filed post-burial
• According to forensic pathologists, the certificate listed his appendix on the left side (it’s on the right) and found the diagnosis listed “very unusual.”

On an aesthetic note, I love this photo of him, always have, from a visual and symbolic perspective of a man straining to escape from under lock and key, the chains that bind, but also because he was an all-around bad-ass.

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Far too frail, Spain has disallowed use of lithe mannequins in stores because it “contributes to eating disorders.”

Personally, I don’t get it. Clothes, fashions, etc. look BETTER on physically appealing specimens - it helps move product. If an enormous ass is devouring the seat of some pants ‘tween its massive cheeks, it’s less flattering to the clothing, thereby potentially affecting sales. I’m being extreme though, their mandate limits it to Size 6 and up, which isn’t big at all. I just get riled when people imply that the media is responsible for girls’ feelings of self-loathing.

What I dig about this article, is that “designers will standardize women’s apparel so a given size will fit the same way no matter who sells it.” YES! Do this. I hate shopping, and if sizes were universal across designers it would make life so much easier!!! Do it to shoes too, then I can order everything online and never set foot in a store again.

Futuristic Badassedness:

To get a better idea of the shapes of Spanish women’s bodies, the government is employing some heavy technology. Using laser-fitted booths that can take 130 measurements of a body in 30 seconds, the Health Ministry is fanning out across the country to assess the sizes of Spanish women.

I demand an uprising, we require this in America, too - the standardization of sizes, that is, NOT the banning of mannequins!

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Kat Von D is a hellaciously talented tattoo artist currently on the TLC show Miami Ink. She’s opening her own tattoo shop, High Voltage Tattoo soon! Creator of absolutely stunning portraits carved into flesh, which you can see here.

You can see my piece above featured prominently on the Official Kat Von D fan club on MySpace, which got me an illustrious spot in their Top 24 friends. Probably would have done a portrait of her eventually, as I totally dig feisty chickies who have their own thing going and she is fierce! This just gave me a reason.

It’s beyond my comprehension, how she creates these masterpieces on human flesh with blood gushing over her work all the while. I find Miami Ink to be a fascinating study. I love hearing the customers’ ideas, how the artists work with those concepts and placement with consideration for body contours. I love seeing them trace it out and ink it. Of course the end results are most gratifying, when the customers love it, but I am fascinated by the whole process.

Also, peep the gallery for this and other work in the Design section. Don’t forget to nab some icons too, devil chickies, mermaids and creepy dolls abound!

A higher resolution version is up in the gallery if you’d like to peep it. Green doesn’t translate well to RGB, at least not the warmer olive tones I used in the original, hence the limeyness of the final piece shown.

My cherished fiend, Angel of Malevolence, broke this sad news to me:

Canadian-born, Yvonne De Carlo - more widely known as Lily Munster - died on Monday, January 8th, 2007.

Abandoned by her father at 3, her mother worked as a waitress to support them. She encouraged her lively and entertaining child, who often staged impromptu neighborhood plays, with dance lessons.They moved to Hollywood when she was 15 to pursue fame, then back to Canada, returning in later years where she did achieve notoriety.

I would love to find a copy of this movie, American Gothic, one of her later movies about a lunatic family.

( Story | Images | Biography )

Do you know who this woman is?

Since the early days of the internet *shakes cane* I have searched for a decent image of the face behind the voice of my favorite cartoon character ever…

Denise Poirier, voice of Aeon Flux! Aeon Flux has the most expressive and melodious voice of any female cartoon character - low, sultry, antagonistic. Denise nailed this character and I was pleasantly surprised to see a visage as lovely as her voice. :)

The monosyllabic grunts, sighs and other Aeon sounds were actually done by Drew Neumann’s (the soundtrack creator’s) wife. Might I recommend that Drew Neumann’s EyeSpy Ears Only: Confidential while I’m at it? I bought this some time back and it’s actually the soundtrack to the Aeon Flux cartoons, just with no specific reference to it for legal reasons. It’s a hypnotizing listen.

Might I add that I am especially fascinated with creator of the Aeon Flux series, Peter Chung. He is able to imply incredible intricacy with the simplest of lines, his unusual perspectives and mannerist style proportions (elongated limbs and spindly creatures) - you know when you are watching something that is his. I love it.