so last year, Dune became one of my favorite comfort movies. im not sure how a film necessarily gets “comfort” status, i guess from watching it a million times, you know it, its easy to watch…and Dunes got camp and mystery and action and cute dudes and its not too slow or steamy, just good. a favorite. apparantly the director David Lynch is completely embarassed of it though. shrug.
anyway, in these cold and (for me) confusing past months, i found myself craving this film, and remembering that i wrote a blog post on 3/17/08 for ten tigers upon first discovering this movie. there were ten tigers quickly became a primarily art/baltimore blog, and anyway i dont think anyone read this post of mine, so i’m reposting it! ha!
and may i just say, i dont think anybody can pull off “buff-twink” better than Kyle Maclachlan. ………………………. Fave film of moment: DUNE
First off, just finished watching this for the second time and am definitely in love with David Lynch’s golden boy, Kyle Maclachlan. siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh
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But it’s like he and Bruce Campell went to the same Sore Thumb School of Over-Acting. The Harryhausen-esque/early 80’s bluescreen FX don’t help either (see below). But certainly all that can be excused as charming camp. …………………
And then!, the Baron Harkonnen is a completely creepy, incestuous, letch of a villain. He cultivates diseases on his face and carries out ludicrous tortures: “We’ve brought you a little cat, Thufir. You must care for it if you wish to live. A poison has been introduced into you, Thufir Hawat. By milking this smooth little cat body each day you receive your antidote.” chillinggg……. See also: awesome trippy dream sequences, crazy mutant monster people, and a totally believable yet fantastic future-setting…think Fifth Element meets Blade Runner.
Which! totally makes sense anyway because Ridley Scott was slated to direct but dropped out to do Blade Runner instead (also interesting because Sean Young plays Kyle Maclachlan’s alien love interest). …………………………
And now that I mention Sean Young…the fact that MALE sci-fi geek is this film’s demographic is absolutely palpable. Sure, yes, all of the women characters are either Sean Young, a tough and capable yet beautiful and vulnerable warrior, or else belong to the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, which is a group of perfect beings who can mind read and use “the voice” to control people…which is cool…but basically they are witches and have been waiting for Paul (Kyle Machlachlan) to come, have prophetic dreams, become the messiah of the universe and go where “women are afraid to go…where [they] cannot see”….see the movie, you’ll get it….
Anyway, Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica, is a Bene Gesserit and is the only other female character one can identify with…but she’s certainly no Ripley. Lets just say that Glenn Close turned down the role because she didn’t want to play “the girl who is always running and falling down behind the men”. …………………
Double anyway, totally love it, will watch it a third time and probably read the book [havent read the book]…also, how bad-ass is this treatment proposed by Alejandro Jodorowsky!…
“Jodorowsky had originally planned on filming Dune in the early-’70s, and had enlisted the help of Jean Giraud and H.R. Giger to create the movie’s visual style. Salvador Dali was enlisted to play the part of the Emperor, and Jodorowsky also intended to cast his own son as Paul, David Carradine as Duke Leto, Orson Welles as the Baron, and Gloria Swanson as the Benne Geserit Reverend Mother. The soundtrack was to be done by Pink Floyd. According to Jodorowsky, “The project was sabotaged in Hollywood. It was French and not American. The message was ‘not Hollywood enough’.” – IMDB
so, i never knew it was so easy to make a gif…you can do it in photoshop <—-seeeeeeeee?
i was looking at 50 interesting wiki articles and read about raymond robinson (the green man). he was a real guy turned urban legend in Pennsylvania…and when i read it, i couldnt help thinking he looked like goofy…goofy + no eyes.
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so ive been working at the bizarre holiday market on the top floor of chop suey bookss…lookit all the local crafts we have!
anywayyy, i was browsing around chop suey and found these diabolik comics. diabolik as in DANGER: DIABOLIK, the 1968 film about a sexy thief who lives in a ritzy hideout/bachelor pad who steals incredible riches from the Italian government. so so good.
oooo! news to me: mst3000 did danger diabolik for their final episode!…ill watch it and update you!
here is the theme song…sooo smooth…
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but so the comic books…were in italian, so i didnt buy them. but i photographically documented them…check out the back covers with lady pics…
mm, i might need to buy them. theyre so pretty…here are some other scenes, i think this first one is my favorite…
when i was little, i watched True Stories in heavy rotation with Pinocchio and Yellow Submarine…its where Radiohead got their name, its where i learned to look and love…david byrne, i love you.
these are all the best parts…but you should go watch it for yourself. note: these are not the best parts, but theyre what im liking right this moment
lately ive been having dreams about house parties, birthdays and mansions, breaking into people’s empty apartments and dancing in our socks…
also been biting my lip in the same place over and over again…maybe my teeth are moving around? not paying attention while im eating?? ………………………
anyway…forever favorites JEFF were here in richmond this past weekend on tour with Shonen Knife! hurrah!
they played my new favorite richmond venue the Plaza Bowl, duck pins! ten dollar pitchers! lazer lights! fried snacks!
its a good time.
here is the boys’ss tour blog .….………………..
through various means of facebook perusing/stalking/snooping, i discovered an illustration by an artist new to me…Justin Wallis.
the above image is currently my desktop background, and Justin is currently my imaginary boyfriend.
did you guys notice the ganguro up in the top left corner?
anyway, Justin, or MILKBBI is a cutie who makes marker illustrations with sticker embellishments. he often works with multiples and always with good fashion sense. ……………………… more art stuff: just saw Kimsooja on art 21, and i keep thinking about her piece “Respirar – Una Mujer Espejo / To Breathe – A Mirror Woman”…Kimsooja worked within the Palacio de Cristal of Madrid to create a space of sanctuary. the artist laid mirror on the floor and translucent diffraction film on the windows and a recording of her own breathing played throughout the building.
here is her artists statement …
and here is an animation of the space with sound…
pretty awe-some. i need diffraction film for my windows…
incidentally, meditative is one of my favorite words to say, when you say it me-DIT-ta-tive
just me and my lamp, havin breakfast…
i found this article on SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder…
now i know this term gets bandied about rather freely and that there are some people that get a legitimate clinical taste of it, but certainly everyone feels a little SAD and hates waking up in the dark morning…
the author of this article reports on scientists that believe that the symptoms of SAD, like fatigue, difficulty getting up in the morning, difficulty concentrating, a reduced sex drive and an increased need for sleep may all be programmed biological responses…
Our earliest ancestors made it through dark winter days by imitating the animals who hibernated during the cold, food deprived months of winter. It made sense, during prehistoric winters, for humans to spend more time sleeping and avoiding activities that would burn up precious calories. Carbs provide a good source of energy to combat the cold and are easy to digest. These were the most sensible foods to crave.
Besides taking many calories, in pre-birth control days, sex invariably lead to babies being born. Those who experienced a lower sex drive in winter produced more offspring who were born in the spring and summer months. These babies had a greater chance to survive.
its interesting!! we’re all animals…
other scientists talk about the involvement of Melatonin which is part of the process that sets our biological clock…morning sun signals your brain to wake up and get going but if theres no sun in the morning, you dont release it!…or whatever.
so thats why theres a big push for sunlamptherapy…
she certainly looks sunny…
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so heres some ska revival Madness to help you pickitup pickitup pickitup pickitup…haaaaa awful
i think Madness lives in the same neighborhood as The Young Ones… love you Rik Mayall…
“los alamos” william eggleston (he comes into play later) ……………………………..
so! i took a plane ride to nashville for halloween! i got to see so many old friends and we all had so much fun.
i was really in love, i gotta say.
i stayed with elle and ben and we went ALL OUT for costumes. i think collectively we used at least 50 hot glue sticks.
ben is noah’s ark, elle is simon AND garfunkle, and i am a mummy, keepin it classic… obviously, elle won halloween…
ben bought thrift store grab bags of random happy meal type animals to use for his costume and ended up with about thirty different kinds of bears. so, since we needed another costume for halloween eve, i cut all their heads off and made necklaces for me and elle…we thought maybe we were bear maulers…rather than being mauled BY bears….get it!?!?
also, i cant make a scary face to save my life… ………………………………….
so after all the costume days, we were treated to a lovely dinner party and a viewing of william eggleston’s Stranded in Canton. in 1973, the photographer eggleston used a Sony portapak to film his friends, drunk, on quaaludes, geeking (thats biting heads of live chickens folks) and just partying beyond all compare. eggleston says the film “isnt about anything but itself.”
the portapak was the first portable video system, eggleston put an infared pick up tube in his in order to pick up light in dark clubs. it created a really haunting effect, makes skin look “translucent“. anyway, the whole thing is on youtube, definitely watch it! …………………………………
other stuff happened, its all on my flikr.
and then! i went back on the plane home to richmond…i had a three hour lay over during which i listened to the interview collages of gregory whitehead.
my favorite so far is Dead Letters, and includes excerpts from a broad range of discussions, about phantom limbs, the handwriting of hitler, napoleon’s penis, the actual color of dinosaurs, and memorizing the illiad in its entirety…
you can find all of them for free online here…. ……………………………….
bonus, my hand at eggleston…
first some non sequiturs….
do you find yourself attracted to a certain color in all forms for a time?
do you find yourself taking advice from pop songs?
like baz luhrmann’s sunscreen song…
recently heard for the first time in 10 years at a spin the bottle party…
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i found this archive of every playboy centerfold ever… this one and i had found another but i think maybe it got taken down…i dunno.
i think the photo above is my favorite, thats yvette vickers, miss july 1959. its such a good scene, she looks totally hung over but getting the party started again. love it.
but if i were to consider form and style and artistic merit of a photo, this one of anne fleming, miss september 1955, is pretty sophisticated…
around the 60s, the girls get more naked, the scenes are have a little more depth to them, the outfits are definitely more interesting…gwen wong, miss april 1967
then in the 70’s, girls start doing normal things naked. like…out in public. patricia mcclain, miss may 1976
and then in the 80’s, girls get a little fantastical. marlene janssen, miss november 1982
and then the 90’s and 00’s are trashy, gross skanky trash.
no need.
except for the 2002 one with dita von teese. DUH ………………………………….
here are some more of my faves… carrie, miss june 1957
hope carlton, miss july 1985 (my birthday!)
jayne mansfield, miss february 1955
sharon johansen, miss october 1972
priscilla wright, miss march 1966
pj lansing, miss february 1972
majken haugedal, miss october 1968 (more hair inspiration. yes my fashion heroines are centerfold queens)
oooooh morrissey…you charming man you
this video cracks me up, no way hes gonna let up on those flowers.
but i am digging his whole “elvis presley says give peace a chance” vibe …………………………………
speaking of booooys, my dear friend Jamie Felton is similarly boy crazy 4ever. she recently made a piece for her sculpture class highlighting those who loomed large in her romantic life. the installation is a collection of cactuses each bearing the name and date of a crush. the biggest cactus is Elliott Smith. there is also a recording of myself relating an epic break up story to jamie playing on the radio in the bottom right of the installation. the story and scene are at once sentimental and ridiculous, funny and heartbreaking. drama drama drama.
here is Jamies flikr with more installation shotz ……………………………………
seeing jamies piece made me think about my own crushes growing up. i think some of them still resonate in my boy choices today. also im not sure why, but i had a lot of animated crushes….
donatello…the smart one
the tin man…the sentamentalist
drop dead fred…the goofy showboat/double sexy lisped accent
starting to reread Dorian Gray…might start over a second time rereading it in order to put little asterisks* by the good parts and critical comments in the margins…cause this time its MINE, not a library book. love him.
apparantly they made a Dorian Gray movie….?
i dunno, it looks epic and sexy and romantic and all, but it doesnt seem like they stuck to Wilde’s original dialogue. we’ll see, im not all that excited about it. WHATEVS prince caspian, you are a FAR cry from the dorian of my dreams.
if anything you look more like oscar wilde honestly… ……………………………………………..
but speaking of forever young and the beauty of youth…
im pretty sure im behind on this but have you heard of Tavi, the style rookie?
very intelligent and detailed blogger, this girl is cute to the maxxx, and 13 yrs old…
and goes to fashion week and has been on the cover of POP twice… this is her blog…this is her flickr…
shes so imaginative and fun. everyday is for costumes and layers and layers and diy!
…………………………………… ps: i think my fall look is going to be “fashion recluse, danes to silverstone“…
that gets bigger…its an important graphic. little edie, angela from my so called life, and cher from clueless (aduh!)…all divas, all layers, mixing graphics etc.
grunge socialite daddy’s girl turned hermit/aspiring angst urban professional/dramatic at heart, jaded sweetheart attempting lift-off <—-all me
pps: the hbo grey gardens was pretty amazing. drew barrymore and jessica lange were awesome! costumes were lovely…and the characters were neither bastardized nor reinvented…the story was touching and sad without being over the top dramatic. much better than i had feared … .………………………………….. bonus: color theory obsession incarnate, Heal’s pantone kitchen sets, for my future barbie dreamhouse…. img src craftzine
so i finally checked out Spike Jonze’s blog, we love you so. its sort of a influences database concerning Where the Wild Things Are (much excitement). its a pretty lovely collection of thoughts and references. Spike mentions a new kid’s book by Dallas Clayton, self-written/illustrated/and published wow wow. it makes me feel guilty about growing up. above is an image from the book, “An Awesome Book“…peruse the whole thing online heere.
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also enjoying the blog missed connections. Sophie Blackall illustrates craigslist missed connection posts as one would a romantic fairy tale. of course she chooses proper interesting posts, not those “we made eye contact at the library. if you think this is you, tell me what i was wearing.” bs.
everyone makes eye contact no one remembers what you were wearing.
this is definitely the most interesting meme referenced art ive seen in a while. and it reminds me of Cardon Webb’s flier redesign project Cardon Copy…
img “borrowed” from The Daily What
he’s like a graphic design robin hood. he finds dismissable, generic fliers selling things, wanting things, lost cat etc, and replaces them with his own work.
i dunno, i just think its interesting to see artists responding to our current culture. missed connections and homemade fliers are all about getting the attention of other people; about selling yourself and your idea. Blackall has found the stand-out posts on missed connections and turned them into illustrated sonnets, into sentimental and intimate scenes worthy of a reply. Webb, meanwhile, reimagines dull, hastily created tear-offs as visually exciting, attention-getting posters.
both artists are reimagining the half-assed dreams of others, rendering them more sincere and complete. i like it.
Fave film of moment: DUNE
