Hear Me Roar, Bitches

Love Dusty, love this song.

Together

Frank, Dean & Bing

I am feeling really unmotivated to go out shooting anything - Ohio winters are ugly, white-skied things, and I don't like taking ugly pictures on purpose. I am working on other things to shoot, but I've had one illness after another since November, and just don't have a lot of energy to play around with the camera right now.

So here's a video just so you all don't forget me in the meantime.

Dusty Springfield - Spooky

Siiiigh. She is so perfect. Ok, the hand gestures are a little much, but the hair! The makeup! The dress! I'm not in love with the skirt part, but I'd wear the hell out of the top. And that mod light box she's in!

Oh, uh, right. The song's named "spooky" so it's totally thematic. Enjoy! (Especially you, Karen. I just have a hunch about that.)

The Cat With Hands

I posted this during October last year, so it may be "cheating" to post it again. But it's so good and so creepy and there are people who come by here now that didn't a year ago, so here it is.

As the blurb on the youtube page says, "Directed by Robert Morgan. More info on his films here."

Happy early Birthday Chris

Instead of singing happy birthday to you, I will let Sammy Davis, Jr. sing you something you'll find more entertaining.

Videos

I don't do this often, but sometimes I just have to share things that amuse the hell out of me.

This first one is a well-edited mixture of an old Ricardo Montalban Cordoba commercial and well-chosen scenes from Wrath of Khan. By the time the classic "soft Corinthian leather" line rolls around, you'll be howling.



And this one is a fun envisioning of what the opening credits to Star Wars would have looked like had Saul Bass done them.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Well, this is it. The big day! It's hard to believe this Halloween month is already almost over, and yet I can't wait until I can post a picture of anything I want ... :)

If you go to my Flickr site, You'll see this photo of a very well-known family crypt in Green Lawn Cemetery; it's not only the largest private crypt in Columbus, not only the resting place of a rich and prominent Columbus family, but also ... it's supposedly haunted!

From Andy Henderson at Forgotten Ohio (that link will take you to a page devoted to this crypt) "They say that, if you knock on the mausoleum's door, the spirits will respond with a knock of their own--and, if they're particularly active, a more substantial manifestation."

Well, neither my friend Susan nor I knocked. We didn't need to; for the first time I've ever seen, the inner door beyond the gates was ajar! I don't know why, but I don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I DO, however, most certainly look a gift mausoleum in the door. Or, uh, something.

So here it is, the interior (or part of it, anyway) of the Hayden Mausoleum:



As you can tell, I'm pretty excited about finally getting a decent peek inside.

And now for the musical portion of our program, what else for today but
the Citizens of Halloween with "This Is Halloween."

And here's the video of it, because it just doesn't get any better than this.



Finally, here is my Halloween "Mix" for 2007 - really, it's just every song I've posted this month, plus a few extra goodies thrown in.

Dane's Halloween Mix 2007

Thanks for all the fun this month, everyone - I enjoyed every post I read, every comment I read, every song I downloaded ... I appreciate both my visitors and my fellow bloggers.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Its The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

Thomas Edison's Frankenstein

From a link on one of the blogs of the Halloween-a-thon (I wish I could remember which, and when I find it, I'll give credit), Thomas Edison's 1910 version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Yeah, Thomas Edison.

The monster's creation is really sort of gross, and simply, but creatively done. Once finished, the monster seems more obnoxious than anything else. Whiny, argumentative, nagging, petulant ... not exactly terrifying.

The ending doesn't make any sense either. But this is a thrill to watch for two reasons; because it's Thomas Edison's take on it, and because the visual aesthetic is a joy, whether you're a historian or a steampunk, horror, science fiction, or silent movie fan.

The Raven, Vincent Price, and the Muppets

What do they all have in common? Well, just this post, really. And YouTube.



The Raven, as told by Vincent Price

I wanted to put up a nifty tribute (like the Stephen King one from a few days ago) to the man - they're all over YouTube - but for two things. One, none of them were quite what I want out of a tribute to him, and two, the Stephen King one used Thriller, I don't want to post another video that uses Thriller. Guess what the best ones used? Yeah. Granted, it's appropriate, but geez.

(In case you're not sick of "Thriller" yet, here it is.)

But I did find this. The colors have faded, and the sound is terrible, but it is Vincent Price. Performing The Raven. For Halloween. What, I was gonna pass this up?

And I simply must share this: I found this initially at Armagideon Time, one of the very cool blogs I've found through the Halloween-a-thon, and thought, "YES! I must swipe this and post it for my very own!" only to find that The Retropolitan (another very cool blog I found on the Halloween-a-thon) swiped it first thing this morning.

Ah well. No post meant as a virtual hug for Vincent Price can do without posting it, so here it is anyway.



And what the hell, as long as we're on the subject of Vincent Price and Muppets, here's this:


And that was as lengthy a post as I've done in over a year. Whew! I'm so damn glad my blog isn't one of those writing-type ones. I enjoy reading them, but I don't know how y'all do it.

Vincent

I've watched so many Vincent Price movies in general, but especially this month, and read enough about him, that I feel almost as though he's an old friend.

No matter how hideous he looks onscreen, no matter the depth of his terrorizing someone, no matter what a bad, bad man he's portraying, there is always something about his characters that's compelling and sympathetic. I think it's because in real life, he was such a sweet person, with such a great sense of humor, that often, that sweetness and humor snuck through into his performance.

The above is a 5:52 short by Tim Burton about a seven year old boy who wants to be Vincent Price. It's a cute homage, and thoroughly in the Halloween spirit.

Best part? It's narrated by Vincent Price himself.

Night of the Living Dead

George Romero's Night of the Living Dead
Yep, the entire movie. Enjoy!

Stephen King Tribute

I found this on You Tube, edited by a "NarugiSharpshooter" for a class assignment; I think it's an absolutely genius job.

Warning: there are (of course) moments of grue and gore. If you're squeamish, you may want to skip this.

Silver Shamrock

The Cat With Hands

by filmmaker Robert Morgan.

3 minutes, 33 seconds of stop-motion creepiness. Enjoy.

Happy 40th, Harry

I really have nothing original, deep or worthwhile to add to the discussion about the other significant anniversary today marks, so instead I'll turn to something lighter.

My favorite musician turns 40 years old today. Happy birthday, Harry. Here's to at least 40 more. And selfishly, a whole lot more cds.



A Wink & A Smile

You Didn't Know Me When

This Guy's In Love With You

Way Down Yonder in New Orleans

Nowhere With Love

Video - Klaus Nomi, Lightning Strikes

If you'd like to know more about what the hell is going on here, here's his Wikipedia entry.

The short version is this: he was a German New Wave artist, active from 1981-1983. That alone should explain things, really.

God, I miss the '80s. I miss everything being this weird and utterly without explanation.

Enjoy Klaus's rendition of Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes."

oh my nola

oh my nola is out on the market. If you like Harry, you'll love it; his big band takes on music associated with New Orleans. I've listened to it without skipping a track maybe 20 times since I got it.

Track listing:

1. Working In A Coal Mine

2. Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey ?

3. Something You Got

4. Let Them Talk

5. Jambalaya (On the Bayou)

6. Careless Love

7. All These People (Original Recording)

8. Yes We Can Can

9. Someday

10. Oh, My Nola - (Original Recording)

11. Elijah Rock

12. Sheik of Araby

13. Lazy Bones

14. We Make A Lot Of Love - (Original Recording)

15. Hello Dolly

16. Do Dat Thing - (Original Recording)

Word to the wise: if you don't mind spending your money at WalMart, get it there. Their version contains a bonus track, "Take Her to the Mardi Gras."

The video for "All These People":



A live video for "Yes We Can Can" at Amazon

He has another one out as well, Connick on Piano Volume 3: Chanson du Vieux Carre; watch this space.

Freaks

Filmed in 1932, Directed by Tod Browning Also Known as, "Forbidden Love", "The Monster Show", "Nature's Mistakes", Is in Public Domain.

Freaks is something special. It was the followup effort by Tod Browning, the man who directed Dracula, and instead of the guaranteed smash everyone had every right to expect from him, it was banned almost immediately upon release.

It's actually an eye-opening look at again, how humanity can adapt to anything and create families of disparate groups.

And of course, there's the ending with Cleopatra's ... diminished circumstances. And the scene where "they accept her they accept her one of us one of us gooble gobble gooble gobble."

It's only an hour and 5 minutes with not a minute wasted. Watch. You'll be glad you did.

Pic, Music, Videos - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Abandoned caretaker's house
Woodlawn Cemetery
Zanesville, Ohio

Download a zip of every song I've uploaded this month right here, here, & here (Three separate zip files).

The Abominable Dr. Phibes Movie Trailer

The trailer for one of my favorite horror movies. Enjoy the old school gore!

Dawn Of The Dead Trailer

WARNING: EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF VERY OBVIOUSLY FAKE GORE.

This is my favorite of Romero's zombie movies, and not for any of the reasons people usually mention about it being an allegory of consumer culture.

No, personally, I would love to live in a mall. In fact, one thing I love about the movie is that it's surprisingly warm-hearted toward its protagonists and optimistic about humanity's ability to both adapt to any situation and forge familial bonds from disparate groups. Living in the mall is part of that -- the four heroes enter that mall panicking and helpless, but some time later, they've adapted the mall offices into a cozy three bedroom apartment and have bonded as a family. They use every inch of that mall's space as creatively and cleverly as they can. They never stop training or planning, and they never give up.

All this, good writing, and some damn fine gore, sometimes even delivered with humor. What more do you want?