If Looks Could Kill - Graphic Art & Design

by Angel of Malevolence. I totally dig this, she totally captured my essence. I especially like the blackened eyes peering from the darkened sockets, complimented by the undead pallor. :)

Along the horror vein, a limited number of VIP passes remain for the impending Texas Frightmare Weekend, get in while you can, the Guest List is an exciting one, for any horror fan. I nearly passed out when Sid Haig and Bill Moseley were added - as if Doug Bradley and Ken Foree were not reason enough to attend! *swoon*

In other news, Hannibal Rising opens this weekend. I find myself actually wanting to journey out to see it in theaters, instead of waiting for the DVD as I typically do.

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 )

It seems that little is known about the inner-workings of the man. Here’s what I found interesting:

• His staff labored at the rate of one second of screen time a month during production of Sleeping Beauty - a direct result of his scrutiny and high aesthetic standards.
• He did not go to his father’s funeral, a man described as “cold, rigid and judgmental”
• Pinnochio lost money and Fantasia bombed (in terms of cost vs. box office payoff), thereby eliminating plans to collaborate with Salvador Dali. God-effing-dammit!
• During WWII, Disney made mostly military training and propaganda movies. (See bizarre, child-friendly Mickey Mouse gas mask, shown above.)

Source: this article about this book I would like to read.

Chainsaw Revisited

It’s amazing how many people do not know the true events the movies are loosely based upon - Ed Gein and nothing more. Watching the interviews of local people in my area, most believe there actually was a family of nuts nearby.

Look for more horror-tinged posts as Halloween draws nearer. I am savoring and luxuriating in all the ghostly and horror-themed programming.

Off to work on a seance themed piece! A devil doll is in the works as well. I may offer her up for grabs, unless I become too attached. Pictures to follow when finished.

*** Please DO NOT HOTLINK TO MY IMAGES ***

Just finished watching The Notorious Bettie Page, recently released on DVD. I was marvelling over the mediocrity of Gretchen Mol playing Bettie, unable to figure out why she was cast until the bangs were cut and the clothes came off.

From there, it was at least visually stimulating, re-enacting many of her famous photo scenes. They nearly lost me earlier in the movie with a fake slap and recoil so badly acted that it makes professional wrestlers look like polished actors with finesse in comparison.

The storytelling is far from compelling, but this is still one I will add to my collection, since it involves Bettie Page and pin-up girls photography.

I also like that the movie portrays her as unrepentant for her cheesecake photos, even after she finds the Jeebus, fiercely declaring that Adam & Eve were nekkid, until they came into sin and were banished from the Garden of Eden - it was then that they wore clothes.

However, at the same time, they also showed that when she stopped modelling was when there was controversy over these photos and their “appeal to deviants,” and felt personal shame after overhearing the case against her photographer, Irving Klaw, in court. I wish she would have perservered, stigmas and religious fanatics be damned, but I suppose this was right for her.

I’ve seen recent interviews with her as an older woman now, and she insists on full shading obscuring her face and body from the camera as she spoke with her soft Southern voice. I think this adds to her iconic legacy in pop-culture, insisting on being remembered only as she was at her prime.

Unfortunately, there was a 1972 mugshot that did no justice to maintaining that memory. The woman in the mugshot has no spark, just joyless features vaguely reminiscent.

Today, at work, it was brought to my attention that I “hold back,” that I don’t jump in and add to conversations. This has been a recurring theme all my life. As a tot, I got in trouble for not wanting to say goodbye to creepy friends of my parents. On a kindergarten report card, Miss Nancy commented that “Amy needs to share more of Amy with the rest of the class.” In high school, I was called to the guidance counselor’s office for “being withdrawn” in my classes.

I have always been a quiet person. Being an artist, I am extremely visual, so words often fail me. More accurately, I have a hard time verbally expressing myself and besides, I can tell when people don’t get it or don’t give a shit and it makes me falter, because why continue past that point?

I prefer to observe and listen. You learn a lot that way. I’ve learned that I dislike most people. That causes me to have even less to say, because chances are, no one will enjoy it. Normally, when I refrain, it’s because I have a stake to protect: employment, education, quality of living, et al. I’ve always gotten flack for just wanting to be left alone.

It’s just me, that’s how I am. I live in the Redneck Republic of Texas. I’m a flaming liberal where EVERYONE approaches under the assumption that you naturally share their beliefs. More often than not, I don’t. My head nearly ruptured during the last two elections. At my last job, the group went out to lunch, and our manager asked each of us how we spent Easter Sunday. EVERYONE had gone to church, until she got to me. >:)

I think it’s inappropriate to even ask, because I assure you they DON’T want to know what I think about their god and what they do in his name, the so-called “sins” they commit freely every day, smugly knowing they can merely ask forgiveness and be absolved. I also loathe being judged, so unless asked, I refrain from saying anything on the topic.

On a secular side-note: This article is interesting - not that I consider myself an atheist. It would be upsetting to consider humans as the pinnacle of sentient life in the universe. In relation to yesterday’s post, I have my own abstract theories that comfort me. Mind you, I inflict this upon no one.

Back to the reason for this post, I work to live, not live to work. I do it so that I can afford the home that I savor and the education that I love the shit out of (but don’t have time to savor or even fully explore). Not to mention my own creative endeavors, I seldom have time for them. All work and no play makes Amy a dull girl.