'Since the publication of his first novel, Le Méridien de Greenwich (The Greenwich Meridian, 1979), Jean Echenoz’s reputation as a writer has described an ascendant trajectory, much like that of the space shuttle he puts on stage in Nous trois (We Three, 1992). With eleven books at the Editions de Minuit, he can now lay claim to a body of work that is as distinguished and as varied as that of any living novelist in France. It should be recalled that Minuit offered a home to the New Novel in the 1950s, launching figures such as Alain Robbe-Grillet, Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor, Marguerite Duras, Robert Pinget, and Claude Simon into the literary ether.

'Though their theories and practices of the novel are more diverse than those of their precursors, it now seems clear that the new Minuit writers, most of whom inaugurated their careers in the 1980s (I’m thinking of people like Jean-Philippe Toussaint, Marie Redonnet, Eric Chevillard, Christian Oster, Marie NDiaye, and Christian Gailly, to name just a few), have done just as much as the New Novelists in terms of rethinking the fundamental terms of the novel as a cultural form and suggesting intriguing new paths for that form. Without a doubt moreover, Jean Echenoz has played a crucial, indeed determinative role in that dynamic.

'Piano is a French novel, a very French novel. The author won the Prix Goncourt for an earlier book and this one carries hints of Voltaire and Sartre. The publishers suggest that Piano can be read as a metaphor of life and death, heaven and hell; Dante is invoked. Daunting stuff, you might think. A thin book, it comes wrapped in heavyweight literary packaging — in France Jean Echenoz is rated alongside Beckett and Nabokov. But what lies inside this intellectual bombe surprise is a sharp, airy sorbet that slips down with great ease: an existential thriller of the sort that might once have been turned into a movie by Jean Cocteau. It’s a deadpan, elegant and wittily observed tragicomedy: posh French fun.

'In Piano, the musician protagonist Max spends the first section in a state of advanced alcoholism, to conquer stage fright, and the last two as dead, from which state he returns as "Paul" to the "urban zone" of life. A dead hero is entirely appropriate to classical subjects with Greek references. One could almost say that Max the pianist makes the transition from pathos to bathos when recycled as Paul. Others will no doubt invoke Virgil as Dante's guide through the Inferno, or even Sartre's "Hell is other people" from Huis Clos - to which, apart from the claustrophobia of the concert halls where Max performs, Piano happily bears no resemblance.

'It is perhaps a reflection of a modern inability to deal squarely with death that an afterlife so eludes our conception. Echenoz has, therefore, opted for the tradition of a public life on earth, where much is achieved despite the waste of personal experience. Max's Purgatory is something to be escaped at the earliest opportunity, even when founded on sensual fulfilment rather than denial; and Hell is the ultimate inescapable place, where disappointment is all.

'Echenoz uses dollops of interior monologue, which magnify Max's neuroses. In several instances, he becomes an intruding author, injecting playful asides, which are interesting but risky, as they are not at all germane to the plot. Even so, this device contributes garnish to an enjoyable read that stands out for its good writing and inventiveness.

'Echenoz has produced a superb and stunning body of fiction. His sense of pace is flawless. His characters wander into situations of dazzling incongruity as if the incongruous itself were the first principle of the human condition -- and upon finishing Piano, his readers, both amused and bemused, may be persuaded that such is indeed the case.'-- collaged



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Gallery









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Further

'Reading Jean Echenoz'
Hallucinating Rhythm: The Parisian Dreamscape of Jean Echenoz
'The Uses of Brevity:
Valuing the “No More to Be Said” in Jean Echenoz'
'Piano' @ The Complete Review
Jean Echenoz @ goodreads
'At last - a French novel that's just the ticket'
'Anthem for Doomed Youth:” Jean Echenoz’s 1914'
'How do you read a novel in another language?'
'The “Lightweight” Gallows Humor of Jean Echenoz
'A Window Onto Comic Tedium'
'Je ne vois pas bien ma place dans les académies'
Jean Echenoz @ France Culture
'Les facéties de Jean Echenoz'
Video: 'Jean Echenoz : écrire, un état prenant'
'Jean Echenoz, auteur postmoderne?'
'Jean Echenoz: "Je ne crois pas du tout à l'inspiration, plutôt à l'obstination"'



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Extras


Jean Echenoz, entretien, Interlignes, Dominique Antoine


Lydia Davis and Jean Echenoz read at the 92nd Street Y


Harry Mathews Le son de Jean Echenoz


Jean Echenoz vous présente son ouvrage "14"



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Interview




Et la discrétion dont vous vous entouriez ? Vous êtes-vous senti agressé ?

Jean Echenoz: Pas agressé, mais simplement fatigué, éprouvé par la médiatisation que ce prix engendre. Je suis resté allongé deux jours entiers après pour me reposer ! Et la " fausse " biographie que j'ai fait paraître pour les communiqués de presse n'était pas destinée à dérouter les journalistes et encore moins à se moquer de qui que ce soit, même si cette histoire me suit encore quinze ans après ! On m'avait demandé d'écrire une notice autobiographique. Un piège narcissique dans lequel je ne souhaitais pas tomber : j'ai écrit quatre lignes, ne souhaitant pas exposer certaines choses de ma vie ni commenter mon travail, puis je me suis aperçu que cela n'avait aucun intérêt. Et comme je suis un écrivain de fiction, je me suis servi d'elle et d'une sorte de pudeur pour écrire quelque chose de totalement différent.

Le goût de l'écriture ?

JE: Il m'est venu très jeune, vers dix douze ans. Je ne savais pas du tout la forme qu'il prendrait, presse ou autre ; mais la littérature étant ce qui m'a toujours passionné, c'est naturellement vers elle que je suis allé... Je composais souvent des petits textes, des commencements de fiction, des poèmes comme tout le monde (que j'ai heureusement perdus ! Rires…) et j'avais ébauché un roman épistolaire. Cet apprentissage tendait in fine vers le roman, et mes perspectives et ambitions ont rencontré le besoin urgent de la concrétisation. J'ai alors appris que l'on devait retravailler les premiers jets, revenir sur ce qui vient sous la plume pour lui donner une profondeur et un relief véritable.

Des événements, rencontres ou influences déterminantes ?

JE: Je relis certains écrivains de manière fréquente, tels que Flaubert, Nabokov, Queneau, qui sont pour moi des fenêtres importantes. La rencontre déterminante : mon éditeur. Je souhaitais publier chez Minuit depuis le début.

Vous vous êtes donc immédiatement tourné vers Jérôme Lindon ?

JE: Justement non ! Minuit me semblait tellement sérieuse, rigoureuse… Je n'osais pas leur envoyer mon travail, que j'estimais presque " indigne " d'elle, je pensais que les éditeurs ne l'accepteraient jamais. Je l'ai donc envoyé à toutes les autres maisons d'édition, et ma collection de lettres de refus était telle que j'ai pensé qu'il fallait que j'aie également celle de Minuit. La seule qui n'est pas venue…

Ecrivez-vous pour vous ou pour les autres ?

JE: J'écris pour moi en tant que lecteur. J'écris ce que je souhaiterais lire, espérant que mes vœux en rejoignent d'autres similaires. Je pense que l'écrivain n'a pas de mission précise ou de message particulier à transmettre ; il doit simplement un certain respect à l'écriture elle-même, à la fiction. L'écrivain doit offrir le témoignage d'amour de la prose et de la littérature le meilleur possible, le plus vrai, le plus passionné.

Vous sentez-vous crevé, vidé après avoir terminé l'écriture d'un roman ?

JE: L'écriture est très physique : donc crevé, mais pas vidé. La dernière version d'un ouvrage est la plus fatigante mais la plus intéressante, c'est également un temps ou d'autres idées naissent, où d'autres projets se mettent en place. Une période ou l'on se place dans " l'après ", ou, personnellement, j'essaie toujours de prendre le contre-pied de ce que j'ai dit et écrit auparavant… L'occasion de " casser une mécanique " qui s'est mise en place pour ne pas se répéter. Donc jamais de vide ; plutôt soulagé, libéré et déjà dans une réalisation future !

Dans une recherche de perfection ?

JE: Evidemment, comme tout écrivain qui se respecte et respecte son lecteur, quel qu'il soit. Je ne retravaille pas mes manuscrits avec l'éditeur, à une exception près, où il m'a aidé à revenir sur la fin d'un livre. J'en ai d'abord été catastrophé et suis rentré chez moi abattu. Je me suis penché à nouveau sur la partie en question, puis finalement sur l'ensemble. L'intervention de Jérôme et Irène a fait gagner à mon travail en qualité et en cohérence ; un bel exemple de la collaboration entre écrivain et éditeur qui porte ses fruits !

Vos voyages, source d'inspiration ?

JE: Je crois surtout à l'obstination dans l'écriture, et pas tellement à l'inspiration. Je suis parti en Inde dans la perspective d'utiliser certaines notes pour l'écriture de Les grandes blondes. En rentrant, il m'a semblé que tout le voyage n'avait été qu'un prétexte à prendre des vacances et à retrouver l'Inde, mais finalement ces écrits de deux mois m'ont beaucoup servi quelques temps après. Ce que j'avais failli jeter s'est révélé précieux.

Vos romans vous conduisent sans cesse à l'étranger, dans des périples et des endroits divers… Votre goût pour ces découpages spacio-temporels ?

JE: Cela tient sans doute à mon amour du mouvement, à mon attirance pour les départs, l'exploration incessante de lieux différents. Les lieux sont des moteurs de fiction aussi importants que les personnages ; et le découpage du temps, ternaire pour le voyage (visible dans les trois parties), binaire pour les protagonistes (les allers-retours de Félix à Delahaye) de Je m'en vais, viennent lui donner un rythme particulier je crois, même s'il n'était pas évident à agencer !



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Book

Jean Echenoz Piano
The New Press

'Max Delmarc, age fifty, is a famous concert pianist with two problems: the first is a paralyzing stage fright for which the second, alcohol, is the only treatment. In this unparalleled comedy from the Prix Goncourt–winning French novelist Jean Echenoz, we journey with Max, from the trials of his everyday life, through his untimely death, and on into the afterlife.

'After a brief stay in purgatory—part luxury hotel, part minimum security prison, under the supervision of deceased celebrities—Max is cast into an alarmingly familiar partition of hell, “the urban zone,” a dark and cloudy city much like his native Paris on an eternally bad day. Unable to play his beloved piano or stomach his needed drink, Max engages in a hapless struggle to piece his former life back together while searching in vain for the woman he once loved.

'An acclaimed bestseller with 50,000 copies sold in France, Piano is a sly, sardonic evocation of Dante and Sartre for the present day, the playful, daring masterpiece of a novelist at the top of his form.'-- The New Press


_____
Excerpts

One, slightly taller than average says nothing. Under a large, light-colored raincoat buttoned to the neck, he is wearing a black suit with a black bow tie. Small cufflinks with onyx-quartz mounts punctuate his immaculate wrists. He is, in short, very well dressed, though his pallid face and gaping eyes suggest a worried frame of mind. His white hair is brushed back. He is afraid. He is going to die a violent death in twenty-two days but, as he is yet unaware of this, that is not what he is afraid of.

*


After disembodied voices had given the countdown, the concert could begin. The conductor was fairly exasperating, full of mannered grimances, unctuous and enveloping motions, coded little signs addressed to different categories of performers, fingers on his lips and inopportune thrusts of his hips. Following his lead, the instrumentalists themselves began to act like wise guys: taking advantage of a frill in the score that allowed him to shine a little, to stand out from the masses for the space of a few measures, an oboist demonstrated extreme concentration, even overplaying it to win the right to a close-up. Thanks to several highlighted phrases allocated to them, two English horns also did their little number a moment later. And Max, who had quickly lost the scrap of stage fright that had held him that day and was even starting to feel bored, himself began to make pianist faces in turn, looking preoccupied, pulling his head deep into his shoulders or excessively arching his back, depending on the tempo; smiling at the instrument, the work, the very essence of music, himself — you have to keep interested somehow.

*


White in color and emerging from who knows where, this second figure seemed gently but firmly to admonish Yellow Bathrobe, who immediately vanished. Apparently White Silhouette then noticed Max, who watched it walk toward him, become transformed in its approach into a young woman who was the spitting image of Peggy Lee — tall, nurse’s blouse, very light hair pulled back and held with a hair tie. With the same implacable softness, she enjoined Max to go back into his room.

“You have to stay in here,” she said — moreover in Peggy Lee’s voice. “Someone will be here to see you soon.

“But,” started Max, getting no further, as the young woman immediately negated this incipient objection with a light rustllng of her fingers, deployed like a flight of birds in the air between them. When you get down to it, she did look phenomenally like Peggy Lee, the same kind of big, milk-fed blonde, with a fleshy, wide mouth, and excessive lower lip forming the permanent smile of a zealous camp counselor. More reassuring than arousing, she exuded complete wholesomeness and strict morals.

*


As nothing special is happening in this scene, we might take the time to look closely at this ticket. There's actually a lot that can be said about these tickets, about their secondary uses - toothpick, fingernail scraper, or paper cutter, guitar pick or plectrum, bookmark, crumb sweeper, conduit or straw for controlled substances, awning for a doll's house, micro-notebook, souvenir, or support for a phone number that you scribble for a girl in case of emergency - and their various fates - folded lengthwise in halves or quarters and liable to be slid under an engagement ring, signet ring, or wristwatch; folded in six or even eight in accordion fashion, ripped into confetti, peeled in a spiral like an apple, then tossed into the wastepaper-baskets of the metro system, on the floor of the system, between the tracks of the system, or even cast out of the system, in the gutter, the street, at home to play heads or tails: heads magnetic stripe, tails printed side - but perhaps this isn't the moment to go into all of that.




*

p.s. Hey. ** EmptyFrame, Hi. Well, of course it's weird, sad to read your enthusiastic comment from before the Scotland results. Urgh. It's always so hard to know/say what France thinks about anything since its name and borders don't enclose a monolith, obviously, and I don't how one would suss 'secretly pleased'. People I know here were very interested in the Scottish independence vote and supportive of the Yes side. Oh, you know, that Le Pen lurking like a shark thing is so overblown by the media outside of France, as scary as her slice of support is. It's interesting the fantasies, both pos and neg, that France inspires in the non-French. But, you know, I have this anti-generalization mindset, for better or worse. My understanding is that there are some kind of distribution deals in place for our film in the US, France, and I think in Germany, and I think the rest is a wait and see thing depend ending on how the film is received at festivals and what offers come as a result. There's a question as to whether the amount of actual, shown sex in the film, which is so much less than we had originally envisioned, will prevent it from getting a release in the UK, given the struct rules about such stuff there. We'll see. In any case, it's for cinema release, theoretically at least. Art cinemas at most, I would guess. No, the film was more clear-cut in script form, and it became much more abstract and impressionistic during its realization due to Zac's very poetic visual notions. Working with Zac on the film was a sublime, unmatchable experience, and we're already working on two more collaborations, a book and a screenplay. Hard to compare it to working with Gisele. It was similar but also very different. Love to you too, man, and hugs about the disappointing referendum results. ** Scunnard, Bjork to Blatz, ha ha. It's weird how the strictest and most basic of structures can cause hallucinations. Good question about Blatz. You've got me. I forget a lot that Blonde Redhead used to be so good. Recent stuff by them sounds bland as shit to me. The Faint! I have this huge guilty pleasure love for their song 'Agenda Suicide'. Wow, I don't think I've listened to The Residents in maybe ten, fifteen years. Curious how that holds us. My instincts gather that their stuff doesn't hold up at all and that they probably sound like a transgressive Weird Al Yankovic now or something. Right now I'm tracking down someone to organize the film's raw footage so Zac (and I to some degree) can start editing in about 3 weeks. Sad about the Scotland thing. Or at least sad from over here. ** Gregoryedwin, Hey! It's very cool thing to see you in here, man! Wowzer! Sure, ask me via email, and I promise that I will even look for it, open it, and respond swiftly, which is not something I'm normally good at. So ask away! So good to see you! ** Damien Ark, Hi, Damien! It's so weird when Blogger erases comments. It does that once in a while, and I have no idea what the problem is, and people with blogs always complain about that to the Blogger higher-ups, and it never gets fixed. Yeah, definitely, of course, and a big please about you writing something for here whenever you want and in whatever form you like. I'd be totally happy, honored, etc. Thanks! ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. Yeah, Graeff was quite the character. Thanks for the link. Everyone, if you want to dig further into Tom Graeff, Mr. Ehrenstein provided a link to the Queer History Project page on Facebook where there's stuff about him. I will tell Christophe that, and he'll be very happy, I assure you. Cool! I hope someplace has the brains to publish it. ** Tosh Berman, Hi Tosh! Aw, thanks a lot, sir. I certainly can and do say the same about your place! ** Bill, Hi, Bill. I hadn't seen that. Cool. Everyone, d.l. Bill offers to link you over to a cool thing called 'These Portraits Of Moroccan Hipsters Are More Nuanced Than They Look'. A tap on those words is recommended. I hate when chaos isn't useful. Chaos really should behave itself and use its considerable powers for good. Sorry to hear that. What are you seeing and what are you preparing? Possible to say? ** Kier, Kier! You're there and here at the same time! Nice that you're hanging with Ottar. Jazz club, terrible band, hm, yeah, let me know how terrible it was. I think 'Homme au bain' is on DVD in the US. Hold on. I'll check. Yeah, here. How did you end up spending your night? My day was pretty uninteresting to describe. I mostly wrote emails and made phone calls trying to find that person we need to do the film footage organizing job. I'm hoping to get helpful responses today. I worked some on my novel and on Gisele's new theater piece. I continued the planning for Zac's and my NYC/Iceland trip. This favorite artist of mine asked me if I would write a recommendation letter re: his application for a Guggenheim grant, and I said yes, of course. Yeah, it was just one of those mostly stay at home and do regular stuff kind of day. I'll try to be more interesting today. Oh, you bet, about the alert on your show. Everyone, and especially anyone who's in or near Oslo, Norway, d.l. Kier aka the great artist Kier Cooke Sandvik is in a super interesting sounding group exhibition called 'Unshelling and Shelling Again', and it opens tonight at a space called Diorama, and if you're incredibly lucky enough to be able to go, do so, and here is all the information you need re: getting there and when and so forth. So, you no doubt had a very, very interesting day today and night tonight, and please tell me all about it. Love from Paris and me! ** Sypha, Yeah, the Jesus as hunk painting seemed like it was everywhere at one point. Think I'll skip the Butler then. I'm sorry about the pain you're feeling about your ex-friend's further removal from you. Hugs. ** Cal Graves, Hi, Cal. I like your poems a whole lot. All of them even. They're super smart and graceful and surprising and complicated inside and weirdly, beautifully calm on the outside in this really intriguing way. Thank you, and it'll be great to get to know more of your work! Maybe you saw that the awesome Chris Dankland mentioned really liking your poems yesterday too. I can't remember much about 'Europa', but, yeah, 'El Topo' is very trippy. His film 'Holy Mountain' is too, if not even more so. Good cannibal movies ... hm, wow, I can't think of anything really great. I mean, the obvious ones like 'Cannibal Holocaust' and 'Ravenous' and 'Sweeney Todd' are cool. When I was working on my novel 'The Marbled Swarm' and researching cannibal stuff, someone recommended two cannibalism movies that he said were really gruesome but fun, and I never actually watched them. According to my notes, their titles are 'Human Pork Chop' and 'The Untold Story - Part 1&2'. Have a good day! ** _Black_Acrylic, I'm so sorry, Ben. I was really hoping. So many of us were. I hope you're doing okay. And I hope that, mere compensation though it would be, that the Cameron government ponies up with empowering stuff. Hugs. ** Steevee, Hi. Oh, cool, I look forward to both of your articles a lot! ** Delilah Hannu, Hi, Dovey! It's really lovely to see you! Thank you so much for thinking of my humble blog and speaking of Antonio's incredible importance to this place, to me, to us. I miss him and think about him all the time. Oh, that amazing video! I'm going to embed it for everyone. Everyone, Delilah Hannu is the mother of the late, extremely missed artist Antonio Urdiales, one of the most genius people I've ever known in my life and, for a long, amazing time, a regular and extremely important member of the commenting gang here. She linked us up to a great, crazy video Antonio made for this blog a few years ago called 'The Weaklings', and I'm going to embed it at the bottom of the p.s. so all of you can watch it. Thank you so much, Dovey, and I send you such great respect and love! ** Misanthrope, Hi. 'In that way', hm. Okay, if you say so, buddy, ha ha. Cool, I'll go look at the tiny little football guy running around minuscule-y as soon as I get the hell out of here. Thank you for it and for your diligence. ** Chris Dankland, Hi, Chris! Thanks a lot for reading Cal's poems and for speaking to him! Cool, yeah, that Andy Pratt album is a lost, overlooked classic, I think. His best by far. So glad you liked it. You're interviewing Alissa Nutting, very cool! Yeah, I get so stressed before I interview someone, and, like, whoa, so much so when it's someone I really admire. I mean, I had the chance to interview my god Robert Pollard for BOMB at one point, and I was so intimidated that I wound up canceling out, which I, of course, have forever regretted. In my experience, the pre-stress almost always ends up being a phantom fear based on trying to imagine and pre-determine what a one-on-one will be like, and it's never the scare-fest it seems like it would be when the interviewee is a victim of that weird, distorting combination of fandom and general self-doubts. I don't really going into interviews with a philosophy or anything. I will say that, for me, in-person interviews tend to go much, much better than phoners or interviews by email. And I think my luck there is really specific to me, and it has mostly to do with the fact that the people I interview often have a pre-set idea of what I'm going to be like based on my books and stuff, and then, of course, I'm nice and pretty un-intimidating in person, and I think that kind of surprises and confuses and relaxes them in some weird way that makes the interview/conversations go kind of smoothly and easily. That's my theory anyway. Look, you're a super-smart guy with a totally unique mind, and I swear to god if you just ask her questions that you personally are really interested to hear the answers to and avoid that thing where you construct questions based on what you think an interviewer 'should' ask her, it'll go great. And she seems really cool and nice whenever I see her presence do things in social media. Don't sweat it, really. Awesome if 'TMS' has invaded your dreams. I kind of wanted it to have the possibility of existing outside of itself and becoming a labyrinthine construction of the reader's autonomous imagination. Like, you know, a drug or something. Anyway, thank you, very cool. Let me know how the interview goes, if you don't mind. How is your stories-writing going? ** Rewritedept, Hi. Mm, maybe next week would be better. I really need to find and hire that guy, and it's not proving to be as easy as I hoped. My day wasn't boring, but, if I tried to describe it in detail, you would probably be bored. GbV split again? That's news to me. Oh, I don't know, it's all and always very fluid in that camp, so who knows? ** Hyemin K, Hi. Cold sesame noodle is the Bresson of edible substances in my book. Especially Szechuan style. It's totally okay about the post. Your own work is the infinitely more important thing. Thank you kindly for buying those books. I like 'Jerk', but I think the theatrical adaptation I did with Gisele is much better than the original text. ** Jeffrey Coleman, Hi, Jeff. I was happy to have the band camp links. The more the merrier, for sure. Thank you again a lot! ** Okay. A bit back in time, Chilly Jay Chill asked me if I had done a post on Jean Echenoz, and I realized that I hadn't, so I did, thanks to CJC. Echenoz is a big, respected deal in France, but he's a lot less known elsewhere, and he can be pretty great, so I hope you like discovering him, if you are a discoverer, or seeing the props, if you're already a fan. See you tomorrow.


ijĒŞǙŞ ҚĦŖİŞŢ aka Antonio Urdiales 'The Weaklings'

'Jerry Lewis is the only American director who has made progressive films. He was much better than Chaplin and Keaton. He could have made marvelous movies, but he won’t now…because of the time in which he is living. If he had lived during the October Revolution, he might have made a magnificent movie.'-- Jean-Luc Godard

'The setting: a small movie theater on Paris’s Left Bank, not far from the Latin Quarter as well as the chic stores on rue de Grenelle and boulevard Saint-Germain. The time: 14.00 on a recent Wednesday afternoon. The scene: 25 or so people lined up in the hot July sun waiting for tickets to go on sale for the inaugural screening of an actual two-week Jerry Lewis film festival. Today’s movie is The Nutty Professor—or Docteur Jerry et Mister Love, as the 1963 film is known in France. A Jekyll-and-Hyde takeoff, it is widely regarded as among Lewis’s finest works as writer-director-star. The ticket queue is well behaved but palpably eager.

'Whetting our appetite, a handbill for the retrospective quotes Robert Benayoun, film critic and director of the documentary Bonjour Monsieur Lewis, on The Nutty Professor: it is a work that “confirms” Lewis as “not only a corrosive satirist but . . . an audacious colorist, and a bold juggler of sonic effect.” A catalog, written by the film historian Emmanuel Droux, author of Le Cinema Burlesque, pokes fun at critics who cite this movie as the masterpiece in Lewis’s oeuvre—as if there were only one! That said, Droux notes that The Nutty Professor“remains a staggering film,” so much so that even Americans, despite their inexplicable aversion to Lewis, seem to appreciate it. That is true: Eddie Murphy remade the picture in 1996, successfully enough that a sequel followed in 2000, and a third has been threatened. In 2004 the original was added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Register (though it is possible this was merely a harmless sop to French sensibilities at a low point in Franco-American relations).

'The Parisians outside the theater are happy to share their own enthusiasm for Lewis’s work. I introduce myself to one elderly, stylish woman—unabashedly gray hair, nicely coifed—and explain in my infantile French that Americans are fascinated and amused by the French passion for Lewis and would she be so kind as to explain why this passion persists. “Pourquoi?” she asks with a shrug. “Pourquoi?” The question lingers in the air, rhetorically, philosophically, as if the answer were both obvious and beyond words.

'A younger woman—silk scarf despite the heat—answers me in English. “Because he is funny,” she says with a smile and an infectious laugh. Bien sûr: That would be my answer, too, if I agreed with it.

'A middle-aged man—cargo shorts, mandals—is eager to talk “Jerry.” He praises the director’s technical innovations, including his pioneering use of video playback; bemoans older prints of the films in which Lewis’s mewling nasal-isms were dubbed into French (“You miss the nuance—it would be like for you hearing Gérard Depardieu in English”); and speaks knowledgeably about even the more obscure corners of the filmmaker-star’s oeuvre, including The Day the Clown Cried, an unfinished and rarely seen Holocaust-circus drama.

'The man turns to his wife, and in French, as best as I can make out, they discuss the perfection of a particular camera movement from The Ladies’ Man (1961), which is also on the festival program. “Jerry is one of the best directors of the 1960s,” the man then says to me in English, summing up, a hint of emotion in his voice. “I put him with Godard and Leone.”

'The tickets finally go on sale, and we file into the theater. By the time the lights go down, the auditorium is a third to a half full, maybe 120 people; not a Cannes premiere, but not bad—even in a country with nearly 11 percent unemployment—for a Wednesday afternoon.

'I have seen The Nutty Professor before and am not a fan, though sitting among this audience, in this city, I hope to discover whatever it is that has previously eluded me. I do like some of Lewis’s earlier comedies with Dean Martin—try Artists and Models or Hollywood or Bust, both directed by Frank Tashlin—but most of his work as a director and solo star I find . . . well, unfunny, I guess I’d have to say.

'The humor continues to elude me this afternoon but no one else: the audience laughs appreciatively at even the corniest gags and most belabored slapstick, digging deeper now and then for scattered belly laughs and guffaws. One woman gasps “Non!” in pleasure-pain when the director telegraphs an impending pratfall involving barbells.

'I half-get the intellectual appeal: as a director, Lewis takes the kind of formal experiments Hitchcock loved and applies them to comedy. The Nutty Professor, for instance, has some nice bits involving exaggerated sounds as well as long silences. Lewis’s gags may not make you laugh, but you can unpack them—the ones that involve more than him crossing his eyes—the way you can unpack a Hitchcock camera move, a Godard edit, or the color of a Douglas Sirk set.

'Speaking of which: this has been advertised as a restored version of The Nutty Professor, but the hues are wan and bleached out, lacking the acrylic, color-wheel pop I remember from previous viewing—and as my friend on line pointed out, with Lewis “everything is about the color.” A New York audience at Film Forum, say, or Lincoln Center, would be screaming at the projectionist and demanding refunds. But the Paris audience doesn’t seem to care. Bathing in genius, even improperly filtered genius, appears to be reward enough. Or maybe Jerry intended the hues to be wan? A reflection of the colorless, dehumanizing modern society that is the comedian-trickster's foil? Anyway, lights up. Applause.'-- Bruce Handy



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Further

Jerry Lewis @ IMDb
The Official Jerry Lewis Comedy Museum and Store
Jonathan Rosenbaum 'The Lewis Contradiction'
'Was there ever a man or movie star less ordinary than Jerry Lewis?'
'Repelling Rejection, or: The Disappearance of Jerry Lewis, and Some Side-Effects'
'You Have To See… The Ladies Man'
'METHOD TO THE MADNESS OF JERRY LEWIS'
'Digging Down Deep: Jerry Lewis in Conversation With Peter Bogdanovich'
'OF JERRY LEWIS, THE FRENCH, AND AN UNDYING MYTH'
'11 Facts You May Not Know About Jerry Lewis'
'"The Jerry Lewis": The Untold Story of the Beastie Boys Single That Never Was'
King of Comedy: The Jerry Lewis Page
'Jerry-atrics!'
Book: 'Why the French Love Jerry Lewis'
'The Ramones on the Jerry Lewis Telethon'
Jerry Lewis Fans Forum
'Jerry Lewis and Love'
JERRY LEWIS FOREVER JOURNAL



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Martin Scorsese, Jacques Rivette, Louis Malle, Luc Moullet, Orson Welles, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Jean-Luc Godard reflect on Jerry Lewis



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Jerry Lewis interviewed by Dick Cavett



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Jerry Lewis Teaching Filmmaking at USC in 1967



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Jerry Lewis talks about filmmaking on the Belgian TV show 'Close Up' in 1965





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'The Total Film-Maker, Jerry Lewis’ book on filmmaking, is taken from 480 hours of audio tape, recorded as Jerry taught filmmaking at the University of Southern California, 1970. It’s considered one of the best books written about filmmaking ever. It was printed in 1971 and has been out of print since then.'-- Cinephilia and Beyond





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13 of Jerry Lewis's 13 films

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The Bell Boy (1960)
'The Bellboy opens with a comically defensive apologia-cum-defense of the film's alleged "plotless" nature via Jackie Mulchen (actually character actor Jack Kruschen), the "executive producer in charge of all productions" at Paramount, who describes the film as nothing more complicated than "the diary of a few weeks in the life of a real nut." In retrospect, the nod toward modesty that kicks off Jerry Lewis's career as a director is probably a punchline in itself, as The Bellboy clearly sets a standard of self-involvement and examination in Lewis's work that is so successfully hermetic that it scarcely needs the approval of the audience. (In fact, the film's centerpiece scene portrays Lewis conducting an imaginary orchestra in front of a vast ballroom of empty chairs, in effect suggesting that all the cinema of Jerry Lewis needs is Jerry Lewis.) The Bellboy is nearly silent, in what could easily be taken as a nod toward French comedy titan Jacques Tati, though Lewis centralizes and foregrounds his cinematic alter ego (the bumbling, premasculine social misfit) whereas Tati spent his career trying to move himself back into the fabric of society. It could more likely be that the silent schematic is merely one characteristic of a cinematic work by a man intent on stripping away all elements that might distract from his more immediate themes: celebrity solipsism, as well as the havoc wreaked on solipsism by the intrusion of an alter ego. (It's a theme that would eventually be refined and partially sterilized in The Nutty Professor.)'-- Paste Magazine



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The Ladies Man (1961)
'Whether you’re a fan of Lewis’s eccentric comedy or not, this film is worth watching for its legendary “dollhouse” set alone, supposedly the largest built by that time (it occupied two Paramount soundstages), and still one of the most elaborate ever constructed. Within the film, the dollhouse is an all-female boarding house, where Lewis’s character (the woman-hating Herbert Heebert—obviously a stab at the recently published Lolita) rents a room for reasons quite frankly unimportant (i.e., so that there can be a movie). Once ensconced, Lewis restlessly mines the cavernous interior for jokes (did you see the part where he splits into four, four minutes into the above clip?) as well as metatexual play. Unsurprisingly, that set inspired homages in several other films: Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin’s Tout va bien, Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and others.'-- Big Other



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Jerry Lewis on "The Ladies' Man"



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The Errand Boy (1961)
'The perfect companion piece for Jerry’s directorial debut The Bellboy, The Errand Boy is both its mirror and its opposite. Again, we’re given a minimally-plotted series of outrageous gags riffing on the misadventures of a lowly schlemiel in a big, pretentious institution — but whereas The Bellboy was a quiet film, a silent film homage in an environment of luxury and relaxation, The Errand Boy is more like a noisy, manic film shoot wrap party capturing all the crazed energy of the biz. It’s also Jerry’s love letter to filmmaking — shot all over the Paramount lot, it’s a virtual documentary of the industry that could have been called “A Day at the Studio.” The film gives you riffs on every aspect of filmmaking, from ADR sessions to test-screenings, and every profession is gently mocked from the mailroom shlubs all the way up to the starlets. A rollicking, raucous, timeless romp!'-- Cinefamily



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The Nutty Professor (1963)
'For decades, Jerry Lewis has been the butt of jokes having to do with the French. Despite his particular genius onscreen, and his technical prowess offscreen as an innovative Hollywood director, most Americans have written him off as if to say, "if the French love him so much, they can have him." Even Lewis detractors will begrudgingly admit that The Nutty Professor (1963) is a good and funny film. Lewis plays a dual role as the nerdy weakling Professor Kelp and the arrogant, super-cool nightclub lizard Buddy Love, after the professor invents a formula to make himself stronger and more confident. Mostly he does this to impress his unbearably adorable student Miss Purdy (Playboy Playmate Stella Stevens, in her most famous role). Lewis presents the film with a bright, bold color palate, emphasizing primary candy-store colors, but darkening them for the appropriate moments, such as the first (fairly frightening) transformation sequence. His eye for visual and aural humor really comes out here, as in the sequence when a big buffoon of a student stuffs the professor onto a shelf. We hear the stuffing and the tinkling of glass, and then the student walks across the frame, giving a slow reveal to the visual payoff. Lewis also shows a genius for silence, timing long, quiet moments before a gag, such as visiting the dean's office and sinking into his soft leather chairs with a withering sigh.' -- Combustible Celluloid



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Jerry Lewis on 'The Nutty Professor'



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The Patsy (1964)
'In one of the most self-reflexive films in the Lewis canon (originally conceived as a sequel called Son of the Bellboy), The Patsy chronicles a young bellboy chosen at random to be transformed into a famous actor, Pygmalion-style, by an out-of-work entourage who just lost their movie star employer in a freak accident. What transpires is a stage-by-stage satire of the Hollywood machine, and some of Jerry’s best signature fake-bad performance pieces — a hapless and hilarious attempt at lip-synching, the ultimate cringe-inducing, cricket-chirping standup act, and a singing lesson that literally brings down the house. Here, Jerry’s perfectionist nature also shines, as the famous “vase” sequence is a master stroke in physical timing — requiring weeks of rehearsal just to stage himself catching a plethora of falling vases in mid-air a fraction of a second before they would smash on the ground. The last of Jerry’s big-budget Paramount pictures, The Patsy closes out an era in style — and with plenty of deep laughs.'-- Cinefamily



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The Family Jewels (1965)
'In his Senses of Cinema profile on Jerry Lewis's directorial career, Chris Fujiwara notes that The Family Jewels is something of a transitional film between Lewis's classical period and his diffuse, presumably more uncontrolled films. Considering that it brings back a reasonable facsimile of Dr. Julius from The Nutty Professor, it occasionally plays like the extended version of his film-capping curtain calls. In a storyline that dangles perilously over the edge of cutesiness at a number of turns, Family Jewels centers around a rich, recently orphaned girl, Miss Donna Peyton (Donna Butterworth, in a thankfully unsugary performance that's half precociousness and half tomboy), who will inherit her family's $30 million till if she successfully chooses one of her six uncles to be her new father. Like Nutty Professor, the film's premise seems to center around a very clear set of narrative rules, but they are all but undercut in the first scene by the notion that Donna's most suitable guardian is her family's chauffer Willard (Lewis, who also plays the film's parade of six uncles). The two exchange hugs, kisses, in-jokes, and every other possible iteration of filial love to the extent that the film's eventual plot outcome is as devoid of "suspense" as possible. This accounts for the vaguely funereal tone of the film, set clearly by the scene Fujiwara isolates: the desultorily contemptuous monologue spoken by Donna's Uncle Everett (in clown make-up) about how much he loathes his audience, "squealing brats" all of them.'-- Slant Magazine



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JERRY LEWIS directing 'The Family Jewels': tribute



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Three on a Couch (1966)
'“There couldn’t be two Christopher Prides,” is one of the first sentences with which Jerry’s character introduces himself. That Pride is an artist given to masquerade and manipulation for reasons of the heart once more underlines the prominence given by Jerry to parallels between his film incarnations and his real-life situation. Overall, Three on a Couch may not be Jerry’s greatest achievement, but the touching and even the dark parts of his shenanigans resonate. Despite a few quintessentially Lewisian detours into the crazy—for example, an incredible, incoherent monologue in entomologist disguise, consisting of perfectly timed rapid-fire half-sentences nervously delivered with utmost conviction—this is the first of his directorial efforts for which he takes no co-writing credit. The screenplay is essentially a typical farce, obliquely reflecting that boulevard theatre perennial Boeing Boeing, the film adaptation of which Jerry had co-starred in a year earlier. Three on a Couch follows Jerry’s deliberate divorce from the “kid” aspect of his persona, already announced in many ways with The Family Jewels. As Pride, he is the romantic lead, whose mounting hysteria is purposely more interesting than anything relating to the three dream-lover types (plus one’s sister) that he impersonates, which register almost as sarcastic self-parodies (cigar-chomping cowboy, nerd scientist, etc.). The film builds to a climax with an extended party scene, but Lewis replaces Blake Edwards’ elegance with his own impressive, increasingly oppressive and nightmarish arrangement of frenetic comedy via crisscrossing encounters. Also worth noting is that the multiplication of Jerry here is a ruse, just a series of performances, and not some surreal proliferation as elsewhere. Stalwart supporter Kathleen Freeman, usually suffering sensationally at the hands of Jerry’s slapstick, is even allowed to switch sides for once—while Buddy Lester climbs new peaks of inebriated inspiration, including an unforgettable cab-door slow-burn—then saves the day after Jerry’s trick has been exposed and only the threat of suicide remains. A work of disconcerting containment.'-- Cinema-scope



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The Big Mouth (1967)
'If Thomas Pynchon were a filmmaker instead of a novelist and had directed only The Big Mouth, he might have understandably left it at that—so we should be grateful Jerry stepped in and continued. In the film, individual identity implodes (its arbitrariness, a key Lewis theme, becomes fully threatening) while paranoia is rampant, possibly even inevitable as the only sane reaction to an insane world governed by unspeakable forces—no wonder Jerry as Gary Clamson gives up speaking as the narrative progresses, amplifying the link to The Bellboy with its (almost-)mute Jerry and vacationland premises, this time San Diego in full colour and turned completely sour. Mild-mannered bank examiner Clamson’s annual fishing holiday disintegrates after he (literally) reels in his gangster double and is given a treasure map, which Fu Manchu-type enforcers (ridiculous fake beards included) try to retrieve, resulting in three nervous breakdowns, each hood frozen into an eternal stage of comedy: a dumb dog, a stooge (Larry Fine), and a Buddy Lester showcase of twitching nerves and garbled speech. Police are of no help, but suffer their own breakdown, sidetracked into debating the meaning of their own codes; an FBI agent turns out to have long retreated into mental collapse. Jerry disappears into disguises (Kabuki in Sea World?), but there is no refuge, only hysterical extension (as in the Möbius strip chase moment and the good ol’ leg-stretch gag) or elliptical reduction, as overall breakdown leads towards wanton aggression in all directions. (This is especially true of the finale, in which several protracted showdown possibilities—helicopter rescue; then Clamson cornered by gangsters on the shore only to be saved by the unlikely reappearance of his double—are telegraphed via a handful of quick shots.) Meanwhile, Robert Aldrich’s house composer Frank De Vol strolls around to intermittently interrupt the proceedings as narrator, madly dashing off in the end to expose that he’s not wearing trousers. Painfully funny indeed, The Big Mouth precedes Preminger’s Skidoo and Edwards’ The Party by a year, and like those films is a visionary splintered-society satire cutting through delusions. (What’s real? Advertising and Col. Sanders, who appears in an otherwise pointless cameo.) Only complaint: it should be longer.'-- Cinema-scope



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One More Time (1970)
'Understandably, but unfortunately, neglected even by Jerry enthusiasts (and not included in the retrospective, but unearthed on an old VHS tape), this is the only film Jerry directed without starring in: a sequel to Salt and Pepper (1968) with Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford as the eponymous groovy-guys duo drawn into a murder plot. Which brings us to the problem with the narrative (much more pronounced here than in Three on a Couch), which weighs down the film with exposition and weak comedic banter, filmed competently enough and allowing for occasional auteurist insights. (There’s a good reason why Jerry usually prefers a freewheeling structure.) But the interest lies elsewhere, in digressions like a butler serving a meal so slowly that inserts show Lawford growing a beard, flowers withering, and white streaks appearing in Davis’ hair, or a non-sequitur trip to the cellar leading to a monstrous line-up unique in horror history, as Davis’ Hammer pals Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing cameo unbilled in their signature roles. Sudden urges for punchy visualizations are welcome, but rare: at a funeral, the leg-parade of hot black-clad groupies sidetracks an assassin’s cross-haired gaze; a weird explanatory flashback while looking at the painting of a castle (the corresponding picture-postcard view on film comes with the end credits). But Jerry is always tickled by performance, notably Davis’ songs and comedy routines, which obviously cannot compare to the Jer. His actors put on acts for each other (a costume party included), and Jerry lavishes the insistent attention on them that he usually centres on himself. It is at times hard to bear, leaving the audience with a koan to contemplate: What’s Jerry without Jerry? (A bandleader’s voice.)'-- Cinema-scope



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Which Way to The Front? (1970)
'Probably the most sustained demonstration of rhythmic brilliance in Jerry’s work. He starts out bored at a board meeting, sucking on a pacifier, as palpable exhaustion, even despair, hangs over his richest man in the world, Brendan Byers III, and his staff. These protracted silences are followed by an increasingly breathless movement to a pile-up of rat-a-tat pseudo-Teutonic gibberish, mostly—but not only—by Jerry himself, who is seen preparing by listening to “Music to Mein Kampf By.” Confronted with the draft board’s rejection (the one word that the supercapitalist cannot bear), Byers III insists on “every man’s right to be killed fighting for his country.” The year is supposedly 1943—the insert of the date itself a quiet joke in the opening scene, with decor, attire, haircuts, etc. undisguisedly contemporary, as are later stylistic choices like transition swish-pans and punch line freeze-frames. But how far can you be from Vietnam? The absolutely idiotic yet stroke-of-genius coda even continues (ending) the war in Asia, Jerry-trademarked buck teeth and all. Before that (and long before Tarantino), this Jewish retribution fantasy updates the old Nazi impersonation shtick to The Dirty Dozen (1967) times: buying his own army, Byers starts a private war, leading first to his German double Field Marshal Kesselring, with everybody in the platoon getting to strut their version of his silly walk, before Kesselring is captured in a surreally spasmodic scene, then abruptly replaced by Byers, causing a topsy-turvy confusion. (Soon after, Jerry-as-Byers-as-Kesselring mutilates/decorates a German soldier bearing Lewis’ own birth name, Levitch.) As a finale, there’s the uncanny meeting of finance and Führer, who first performs The Great Dictator (1940) ballet in slow motion, then does a satchel-with-a-bomb exchange pas de deux with Jerry. Which way to the Clown? The mind boggles.'-- Cinema-scope



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The Day the Clown Cried (1972)
'Jerry Lewis has sworn repeatedly over the years that he would never let the 1972 movie about a clown who led Jewish children to their deaths during the Holocaust, which he directed and starred in, see the light of day. In the film, Lewis plays a down-on-his-luck German circus clown named Helmut Doork, arrested after drunkenly mocking Adolf Hitler and placed in a concentration camp awaiting trial. He later boards a train headed to Auschwitz packed with Jewish children, and, once there, is forced to perform for them, Pied Piper-style, as they are led to the gas chambers. Helmut joins them in the gas chamber in the film's final scene. The unseen film, its premise seemingly ripe for epic failure, has grown into a cult-obsession for cinephiles over the years. Those few who have seen it say it is as bad as it sounds: "You're stunned," says comedian and The Simpsons voice-actor Harry Shearer, who has seen the full film, of the movie's awfulness.'-- The Hollywood Reporter



"The Day the Clown Cried" Making Of Footage


Jerry Lewis answers THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED question



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Hardly Working (1980)
'What a comeback: “Jerry Lewis Is Hardly Working,” is the pun in the credits, and the shorter, lesser US cut is even front-loaded with a montage of signature moments from earlier films, set to the famous typewriter sketch accompaniment, as if Jerry needed a reintroduction after a decade of big-screen absence. Made on the cheap and on the spot in Florida (closing a circle with The Bellboy), this may be the most melancholic film in the Jerriad despite numerous uproarious bits like the Japanese chef assault. In The Family Jewels, Jerry’s classic clown make-up masked the bad, here it can no longer mask the sad: Bo Hopper, insecure circus performer, has his brief moment of affirmation, then the banks close down his tour. “There is no place for clowns in this world,” Bo later muses (except for politics, he adds: Hardly Working was released first in West Germany 11 days after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, and over a year later in the US), and his attempts to gain employment are inevitably foiled by a natural penchant for disaster (demonstrations range from elaborate slapstick at a gas station to an off-screen symphony of shattering glass as he’s shown out of a mirror factory). Applying himself as a mishap-prone postal worker, Bo gradually manages to fit in, until he succeeds with a postal delivery tour de force of mechanical precision—he’s become a cog in the machine, but realizes it will cost him his soul. It’s the outsider’s fictional last stand in a real landscape of economic decline, still saturated by commercial content, with Jerry’s generally overemphasized product placement reaching the point of inversion: the world itself has become a billboard. It’s product as magic potion, as phrased in the opening narration of The Errand Boy (1961), whose depressive undertow has spread outwards from Hollywood to conquer the Earth. Down to Jerry’s disappearance into the landscape in an undistinguished last shot, this would have been a perfect final film.'-- Cinema-scope



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Cracking Up (1983)
'Thus, inevitably, he made another, making the ever-present concept of suicide in Jerry’s films (literally or artistic, attempted or accidental) the through-line for a last loose, soaring series of sketches, stripped down to essentials. Jerry—”Who else?” asks the credits, while Marcel Marceau beautifully sings the main theme—plays Warren Nefron, first seen failing to end his life (loose noose, etc.) until a gunshot is discharged into a TV set, which shoots back: the world reclaimed as stage for a final performance, including a bit of bank-robbing turned musical show for the surveillance camera, or minutes of meticulous slipping and sliding on squeaky furniture and a red studio floor in the office of a psychiatrist whom Warren regales with his grotesque family history reaching back to 15th-century France. There are further misguided suicide attempts: dousing himself in gasoline, Jerry casually searches his pockets only to realize he has forgotten a lighter, then stoically wanders off in wet defeat as the wind whistles. Ultimately redemption is glimpsed, although the rest of the world is instantly engulfed by chaos again. A tacked-on last scene shows Jerry leaving a screening, asked how the movie was: “It’s really good, you know!” The only possible shortcoming, as pointed out by Jerry expert Chris Fujiwara: “Too entertaining.”'-- Cinema-scope



the entire film








*

p.s. Hey. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Yeah, Antonio was brilliance central. I hope your confab at the pub with your fellow artists lifted your spirits and unearthed a great way forward. Exactly, about the voting stats. It's like in the US where you can't help but twiddle your fingers waiting for the geriatric Far Right majority to meet their fantasy Maker. I haven't seen anything in the news about that rioting. Weird. Maybe there will be by the time I finish this. Jesus, why were they rioting? I mean, they won, right? ** David Ehrenstein, I know, I know, Antonio, yeah. I saw your email upon awakening, and I'll get it shortly. Thank you! ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. 'Piano' is terrific, but, if my choice of book by him to spotlight hadn't been decided by whether there was an excerpt online that I could use, I would have chosen '14', which is my favorite of his and my recommendation as the place to start with him if you have it in your arsenal. Weird how that happens about being on fire inside and financially crimped on the outside. Ever more daring is the way to go, I'm certainly a billion percent high fiving you about that. But, hey, you're off to Tokyo soon, you lucky, lucky dog! ** Steevee, Hi, Steve, Thanks much for the link. I'll get to read your article very shortly. Everyone, Here's the great Steevee aka Steve Erickson writing about the New York Film Festival for those of us who can't go, and, well, those you of you who can. A must read! ** Etc etc etc, Hi, man! Wow, weird Beckett adaptation indeed. Which play was it? It sounds like it might be 'Happy Days'? Too bad, even if the word Halloween in your description made me wish I could see it. I'm a Halloween slut, don't you know. Ah, you're in the waiting game phase re: publishers/mss. Charming phase, not. 'Vape' is a really nice title. Actually, so is 'Exsanguination', whatever that means. I'll google it. If I notice openings amongst alt lit publishers, I'll remember to pass what I see on to you. You writing about your writing thoughts and plans is really exciting! No, sorry, I haven't read the thing you sent yet. I'm so behind right now, but if I can get the final film project's nail nailed in the next couple of days, I'll be a lot more like my usual receptive, hungry self. Yeah, Ariel's visual art stuff was really good, I wonder if he still does visual stuff with diligence. Best of luck and a superb weekend to you too! ** Sypha, 'Third Reich and Roll' was the only Residents album I really, really liked. I'll try it again and see what happens. And, yeah, their 'Satisfaction' is insane. ** Cal Graves, Hi, Cal! 'Ravenous' is cool. It's not the answer to anyone's prayers or anything, but I think it was fun. Oh, yeah, 'Hausu' is completely bonkers and great! I love it too. Do you have cool plans and things to do or make in store this weekend? Have a great one! ** Chris Dankland, Hi, Chris. Yeah, just be confident, and it'll be great, I promise you. And, yeah, let me know how the preparations and/or it itself go. I'll go look for your email when I'm done here. Thanks! Very cool about your writing going so well! I love your idea of the stories being grounded in a single Houston day. Why July 20th? Is it a secret? I'm way into the hyper compressed method. It's also really exciting to edit things that way, or it is for me. I've never read 'Manhattan Transfer', huh. I haven't read Dos Passos in, like, forever. What an interesting idea to try reading him now. Is that novel a particular favorite of yours? Of his? You have a totally splendid weekend, man. ** Kier, Hi, K-man! Oh, that's okay about the blog posts, gosh, no problem, enjoy the joys of the IRL! Wow, what a fantastic day and night you had! So great about the show and about your work's dominance of it. Did you take any installation pix, asks greedy me? My Friday can't compete with that, but it was cool. I met up with the awesome artist and d.l. Jonathan Mayhew who's in Paris for a while staying at another artists residency building. It was great to see him. We did the Paris thing of walking around and having a coffee in a cafe plus blabbing. We saw the Larry Clark show at Agnes B's gallery. I thought it was piss-poor. The photos of the usual naked skateboarder boys were so tired and predictable, they were like cobwebs. The collages were very same-old same-old. And he's painting now, and they were just awful, barely competent things. A drag of a show, but it was fun to walk through it grousing. Other than that, my day was mostly spent trying to find that person to organize our film footage. Nothing yet, but some hope and leads. And some writing, which went okay. It was all right. I'm aiming for a cool weekend. Tomorrow night, I think, I'm going to see Psychic TV with this guy Paul, who was in our film and who I like a lot. I have to get a bunch of work done on the new Gisele piece 'cos I'm seeing her on Sunday and she wants a progress report. Stuff like that. I hope you milk all the excitement out of Oslo that you can this weekend and that you'll tell me all about it! ** Misanthrope, Yep, about Antonio. I hate death. Wow, a body building contest. Was it, like, interesting? I guess it would have to be somehow. But, oh shit, I just read your comment about what happened with LPS and his mom. Good god, man, that's horrible! And, horribly, based on what you've said about that situation, depressingly not a huge surprise, Jesus Christ, I hope he's okay, and I hope she's okay, and I hope this is some kind of wake up call that changes things for him. I'm so, so sorry to hear that, George. Let me know what happens please. Lots of love to you! ** Okay. I'm kind of guessing that the post this weekend has inspired a wtf out there. I don't know. There's so much negative stuff about Jerry Lewis flying around these days, and maybe he deserves it as a dude, I don't know, but I'm a fan of his filmmaking, and I guess I thought I'd put some emphasis on his work as a Director this weekend just to be sincere and perverse or something. I think 'The Bellboy' is a great film, and that a few of his other early films are almost great, and there you go. It would be cool if people felt like commenting on his films, pro or neg, and not just talking about his possible unpleasantness as a guy, but, hey, that's up to you. See you on Monday.

Glitch: a sudden, usually temporary malfunction or fault of equipment.

In this instance the equipment is my mind, a temporary malfunction in the bouts of depression or mania which mark me as corrupt and broken.

Within my work I strive to create a Cartesian Dualism, a link between physical ‘stuff’ and thinking ‘stuff’; through the building of installations I create an environment which tests the psyche of the viewer. I explore this through the relationship between the audience and myself, focusing on the behaviour and reactions to specific encounters with the work.





I have Borderline Personality Disorder and at times my life can be extremely difficult, however it can also be incredible wonderful. I feel my life is balancing on a knife point and when I wake up I’m not sure which way my mood will fall, living like this can be frustrating but then again, maybe more rewarding. I tell myself that if I fall into a good day, then let’s make it great because tomorrow may not be quite as good.

For the past two years I have been working on Broken Grey Wires, and my passion is fully focused on what this project can achieve. In this time I have been admitted to a psychiatric hospital for days at a time, and also for weeks, this has given me the determination to turn BGW into a legacy for contemporary art and mental health, to help others struggling, and those who feel they have nothing left to give.





I am working alongside artist and curator Mike Chavez-Dawson on the project, which has three parts; part 1 will bring together all the research material and findings through the website platform. It will be a place of resource, and eventually an evolving reflective catalogue around the outputs (physical shows/workshops) that will also serve as an archive and promotional device for the overall project. As it precedes the second phase (physical exhibition) it will allow us to anchor the overall project both nationally and internationally.

Part 2 and 3 will be two exhibitions in leading institutes. Along with the artists involved I envisage that the exhibitions will enhance our experience and knowledge of mental health. All artists involved will share their experiences, whether it is of their own mental health issues, or from their understanding gained during study or knowing friends/family with mental illness. The key aim will be to make mental health situations such as my own and others more tangible to people in similar positions, albeit from a research led contemporary art perspective.

Artists include; David Shrigley, The Vacuum Cleaner, Beagles and Ramsay, David Sherry, Paul Digby, Magda Archer, Stuart Semple, Bobby Baker, Marcia Farquhar, Jeremy Deller and Ryan Trecartin, plus many more.





The point in this project is that I have been there, I’ve been in that situation, that dark hole where you wonder what the point in living is; in fact I still slip into those situations now, but I got through those times and I’ve learnt how to pull myself out of that hole. I want Broken Grey Wires to be a project which can help those struggling, can give them their confidence back; restore their pride and encourage them to find that spark again.

Workshops will be designed by artists, occupational therapists, and performers, to be fun, educational and relaxed. Talks will give the audience something to relate too and give the opportunity to ask questions to people who have gone through similar experiences.


The art will be interactive and show that it is alright to feel ‘melancholy’ it’s alright to feel ‘insecure’ we all do at some point.

And if we got through it, so can you.

To get the project underway we need to build part 1, the web platform and exhibition catalogue. To do that we need your help!

Please support the project by pledging here http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/broken-grey-wires Add us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/brokengreywires

And find us on twitter @brokengreywires







*

p.s. Hey. Today the fine visual artist and DC's contributor Lizz Brady introduces us to a very interesting project that she is masterminding and asks for your thoughts and support. I hope you will explore her words and plans accordingly and help Broken Grey Wires come to fruition in whatever way you can. Thank you! And thank you very, very much, Lizz, for sharing this here. ** Kier, Hi, K! Jonathan Mayhew was telling me about the Astrup Fearnley Museum, and I don't know why Zac and I missed it when we were there. The Black Metal museum/store is open? Awesome! Stephen told me it closed for a while. In fact, it was closed when I was there, but I wanted to visit it so bad. Cool, excited for the Diorama installation pix! Yeah, how was 'Lyle'? Nice poster. I didn't end up seeing Psychic TV, unfortunately. Long story. Too long. But I did get my tickets to see Lust for Youth and Croatan Amor next week, which I'm excited about. Cool about Cappellens Forslag, and that that guy is a fan of Justin's. Internationalism is so trippy! How much longer are you in Oslo? ** Pilgarlic, Hey there buddy! Long time no see, and doing so is a sweet thing. I'm good, man, and you sound pretty revved, which is ear music, or, I guess, eye music rather. I've heard of the Music Midtown Festival. Yeah, I don't think I'd pony up for that line-up either. You know, weirdly, I've never heard a peep of music by Lana Del Rey, or probably I have somewhere but I didn't Soundhound it maybe only because I don't know how to use Soundhound, although it's probably a snap. You make her seem interesting. I have never heard of Shovels and Rope, but what a name they've got there. Okay, I have to go find out what a duo that chose that name sounds like. I'll do that as soon as I scoot out of here. Did you have a good summer? Is summer over there? Our summer here felt like fall and our fall here feels like summer so far, so I don't think I could answer that question if I asked it of myself. ** David Ehrenstein, Thank you kindly! And great that you linked to that clip. I wanted to use it in the post and tried, but it's locked. So, cool. Beautiful scene, yes! ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. His huge face is a scary thing, and, for some reason, I like that scare. It's weird. Aw, sigh, a month in Tokyo, so, so nice. Time for me to figure out a return trip, I think. Turning 60 was so strange, right? Truly strange. And then, after a year or two passes, it's strange that it isn't so strange or something. Oh, you'll surely have another project figured out to do by the end of the year, I think. Oh, btw, that event for Lun*na's book with the fashion show and everything looked so good in the photos you posted on FB. Drat at not being there. ** Sypha, Hi. Yeah, I can see what WB meant about the Residents cover. Not so much about the Siouxsie 'Helter Skelter' cover, but I'll try it again. ** Steevee, Hi. I wondered if you liked Lewis's films. That's cool. I agree with you about 'HW' and 'CU', but there are some very inspired, terrific scenes and ideas in the former, I think. I know of Joe Sarno, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen anything by him. Huh. That's very interesting. Maybe I'll explore his work and put together a post about his work at the same time. Doing posts is a really good way to structure the exploring of filmmakers' works. Thank you a lot for the alert about him! ** Gregoryedwin, Hi, Gregory! Yes, he's frequently compared to Tati by people who take his work seriously, and the influence is pretty clear, I think. Got your email. Sure, no problem at all! What's next in the process, and when do you need it by? ** Etc etc etc, Hi! Me too, re: 'TDTCC', and it was interesting, if you watched that clip, to see even Lewis say it's completely awful and that he'll never let it be released. No wonder I liked that word exsanguination so much. Maybe I'm psychic or something. Thanks, man. ** Bill, Hi. That teaser is a total tease. Exciting! I'm going to google Birgit Ulher. I actually do know her name, but I don't think I've heard her work. Did Craig Baldwin talk at the screening? He seems like kind of an upbeat maniac in the clips I've seen of him talking. ** Jonathan, Hey, neighbor! Thanks about my cogency re: the Clark show. Dude needs a vacation from himself or something. I'm totally way down for checking out Berkley Books as soon as you think you can handle a return visit. I'm kind of jonesing badly to go there, and to that 2nd hand place too. Yeah, when do you want to go? And that show you propped on FB sounds really good too, Talk/see pronto. ** Thomas Moronic, T! Holy shit, your emails are such a incredible windfall! Thank you wildly! All hail that overdose of coffee! I'm going to post the 'LB' one on this coming Saturday, and I'll email you with the launch dates of the others. Really, wow, thank you a ton! As I told Kier, I didn't see PTV after all. Oh, well. ** gucciCODYprada, Hey, Codester! Nothing to report yet. I've just started, and I'm juggling that pleasure with two deadlines, so my pace is a bit glacial right out of the starting date. But I promise my slowness will pay off. I do remember you talking about Gesaffelstein, yeah. Thanks for reminding me and for spelling out the name. I'll go engulf myself in 'Trans' the very second this post hits the airwaves or whatever the waves inside the internet are called, if they're called anything. I guess there's no air in there. More soon, and thank you, and majorly big up to you! ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. I finally did see/read some stuff about the riots, but I had to really search for it, you're right. And, of course ,pretty much all the coverage I saw had an implicit 'it's all the 'Yes' people's fault' slant, which seems to be the ugly, barely concealed at best slant in most of the coverage of the vote. Obviously, I hope that "Campaign for 16/17 year olds to vote" thing succeeds in the extreme for every reason! ** Misanthrope, Hi, George. God in heaven, that's so ugly. I'm really glad that LPS is at least semi-safe. So, do you think his mom won't press charges against the guy? And would that mean nothing will happen? I mean, I don't know how these things work, but would 'child welfare', if that's an actual thing and not something you only see in the movies, step in to protect LPS by getting him out of that situation or something? I hope you don't have to lawyer up. God, George, that's so terrible. If there's anything I can do, you know, just ask or even hint at asking, okay? Big love, me. ** Rewritedept, Fucking Blogspot, yep. Kind of a here-and-there weekend you had. Mine was okay. I made progress on finding the guy we need to hire to help with the film footage, and, if I'm really, really lucky, that might even be a problem solved today or by tomorrow. I worked on the new Gisele theater piece a lot because I have to try to finish writing it in two weeks, and I have quite a ways to go. I saw Gisele, related. I didn't see any shows, but I bought tickets for one (Lust for Youth + Croatian Amor) and I sent out feelers to see if someone in the know can get me into the sold out Swans + Pharmakon show. It was a here-and-there weekend for me too, I guess. I'm sorry to be so vague about talking, but I always underestimate the amount of shit I have to do, so I have to say maybe later this week, yes, but we'll see. Sorry. ** Hyemin K, Hi. Oh, a mouse, yeah. We seem to get one to three mice at least once every year here because it's such a huge, ancient building. One of the oldest buildings in Paris. Well, with the mouse I took out to the park, he/she was really into our little plastic garbage can, understandably. So I made a kind of trash stairway so it could get up and into the garbage can. Then I listened, and I heard it doing that, and then I ran in there, took away the trash stairway, and it was stuck in the garbage can and couldn't get out, as planned. Then I carried the garbage can into the park and laid it on its side, and the mouse ran out and away into the park. Worked for me. ** Right. Please lend your eyes and brain and fingers to Lizz Brady's project today. Thank you very much. See you tomorrow.

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Bleed the Boy, $7.39
'Our mask for recent production, so there are basic tastes, but as long as the kiss after receiving put ventilated place under the ventilation + sun to illuminate the taste of a period of time will gradually dissipate. Full head mask, terrorist without limit, want to stimulate, want to crazy choose this paragraph, let you the night before all saints incarnation as the evil spirits, on the PARTY out of the limelight. Note: China post Air Mail To he world fast or slow,advice Dear customers choose appropriate mailing method, in order to avoid delays Halloween.'-- aliexpress.com






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Rabbits, nfs





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2014 new cross dress silicone tight party female halloween, $1,250.00
'Item Code: 190471199. Buy Directly from China Suppliers:1AM SEX DOLL COMPANYCHINA NO.1 SEX DOLL SUPPLIERWe promises: You will get 100% same as below picture dolls. Thickness. Quantity: 1 Piece. Package Size: 55.0 * 43.0 * 28.0 ( cm ). Gross Weight/Package: 6.0 ( kg ).'--dhgate.com







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Masque squelette noir adulte, 4.99€
'Ce masque de squelette noir pour adulte est en PVC rigide. Il sera parfait pour compléter votre tenue lors de vos soirées déguisées ou à thème. Disponibilité Taille Unique 4D2LA115, Commandez avant 15h, Votre commande est expédiée le Jour Même! Matière PVC'-- deguisetoi.fr





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Nicolas Cage Costume, nfs






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New Novetly Festive Tokyo Ghoul Mask, $21.84
'Type: Party Masks,Grimace. Mask Material: PU. Color: Black,Red,White. Brand Name: no. Age Group: Adults. Occasion: Party. Cover Area: Full Face. Model Number: SH-COS-108. Note: Since Russia post new policy about full name, pls every buyer offer your full name before you pay in your billing address. Thanks for your great cooperation!'-- Jean Zhou






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Self-Portrait, nfs





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Priest Costume, $176.95
'This Pedophile Priest Costume will inspire them to "confess". Our Pedophile Priest Costume includes a pull over robe with hook and loop closures, a white collar and stole, and an attached "boy" figure made of cloth and plastic that is as light as a scarecrow. Communion wafers not included. Adult Priest Costume includes: Robe, White collar, Stole, Attachable/detachable boy.'-- partymania.org








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Masque siamois adulte Halloween, 69.99€
'Effrayant! Ce masque de siamois pour adulte est en latex souple. Il représente deux visages siamois effrayants. Des cheveux sont cousus sur le dessus et il vous couvrira entièrement la tête. Il sera idéal pour effrayer vos amis lors de votre soirée d'Halloween ou autre événement déguisé.'-- deguisetoi.fr






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Penholder, nfs





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Man-Dog, nfs
'The Brazilian man, who has not been identified by name, offered an undisclosed but huge sum of money to doctors to transplant his face with a real dog's face. The doctor transplanted the man's facial features, like ears, nose, lips, and eyebrows, with parts obtained from the severed head of a dead dog.' -- The Brazilian man, who has not been identified by name, offered an undisclosed but huge sum of money to doctors to transplant his face with a real dog's face. The doctor transplanted the man's facial features, like ears, nose, lips, and eyebrows, with parts obtained from the severed head of a dead dog.'-- noa





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Ice Bucket Challenge Costume, $39.99
'ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease is a serious illness that destroys nervous cells and lives. The Ice Bucket Challenge is the latest craze in "slacktivism" that helps raise awareness and donations to fund research in the ongoing struggle to end this terrible disease. Features: Bucket with Faux Water Film, White Tulle Tunic with Faux Ice Cubes, Cube Tray.'-- brandsonsale.com





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Unique Pvc Mask Christmas Scary Corpse, $92.40
'Size: 18*15.6cm. Material: pvc. There may be color shading between the products and ones in pictures. Take the material object as the standard. We will send by EMS, DHL and UPS. It depends on the shipping cost and shipping time. That is, we may send by EMS though we write DHL. Thank you for understanding.'-- aliexpress.com





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Pinocchio and Geppetto, $60
'Here’s my son Rhett as Geppetto and Pinocchio. Don’t be confused, this is a one person costume featuring Rhett as Pinocchio’s top half and Geppetto's bottom half. Geppetto's torso was created out of a block of Styrofoam packed into a backpack and then fitted with a long sleeve shirt and yellow dishwashing gloves painted in peach for his hands. His head was simple – a Styrofoam wig holder with a Regis Feldman mask and a few added features like the mustache and white hair which we made using fun fur. Pinocchio’s overall straps are actually the back pack straps, then Pinocchio’s body is attached to that. In order to transition it all together we handmade a huge apron with paint splattered on it. Geppetto's legs are actually Rhett's legs.'-- Gail M., League City, Texas





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Leather Hawk Mask, €99.10 (only 1 available)
'Become a bird of vision and power, a messenger and protector to those that see you on your next outing. Hawks are attributed with keen sight and with being a catalyst to greater creative energy and spiritual vision. The hawk has become an important symbol for me, hence my shop name, the Hawk & Deer. For me, the hawk is a representation of strength, courage in new endeavors, and new perspectives. This mask has individually defined leather feathers framing the face, and an attached shiny leather beak. Each stage of the process is hand done - the design, cutting, forming, painting, carving and finishing. Each mask has its own unique characteristics as a result of the organic nature of leather. The leather guides where the mask will go and what it will become. These pieces revel in the unique qualities of leather, the art of carving and painting.'-- Hawk & Deer







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Kid Centaur, nfs





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1985 HULK HOGAN COSTUME,$39.99
'VERY RARE ITEM. IT IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION SHOWING ONLY MINOR WEAR. THE RUBBER BAND IS BROKEN AND WILL NEED REPLACED. THE BOX IS TIGHTLY BOUND AND HAS A SLIT IN THE CELLOPHANE ABOUT 2 INCHES LONG NEAR HIS CHIN. MEDIUM 8-10 FITS CHILD 47" TO 52" TALL. MADE IN USA.'-- snake120_0






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Pregnancy costumes, nfs










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Fantastic Scary Halloween Latex New Rubber Mask, $18.00
'I am selling a brand new, latex, scary head mask. There really isn't much more to say...it is what it is. We've discovered yet another universal truth - a person wearing this Mask looks downright disturbing. But don't take our word for it, wear this latex mask to your next social function and watch as people scramble to avoid you. Fits most adult heads. GREATEST. PURCHASE. EVER. There is virtually no place where this mask of awesomeness is not appropriate. This is the greatest purchase I've ever made here. Excellent for online dating! I am BEGGED by people to wear this over their houses. This mask is totally insanely awesome!!! Bagged with illustrated tag."-- Hell Man







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Jimmy Savile,£14.99
'Amazon has withdrawn from sale a Jimmy Savile Halloween costume after the fright-night uniform shocked shoppers. The online retailer had been promoting the costume but backtracked in the face of consumer anger and took the product out of circulation. Viewers were shown a version of "Britain's worst paedophile" dressed in his trademark tracksuit and medallion, complete with blood dripping from his mouth and death mask white face paint. An oversized cigar was also provided with the £14.99 outfit - drawing additional criticism on the grounds that it would encourage children to start smoking.'-- ibtimes.co.uk





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Nazi Halloween costume, nfs





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Mutated Cannibal, nfs
'The face took 7 hours to make and the dress took about an hour. The dress was cut up, made to look dirty and liquid latex on it. I also added fake blood to the dress to make it look like I had ate/killed another mutant. The face is all latex (not a mask) with make-up on it to match my skin. There is also fake blood on it and "sores" on my face, chest, arms, shoulders, and back. We mixed liquid latex and lotion to give the sores a "puss" look. The lotion turns to a yellow color when it sits for a while which is perfect for "sores". I made my hair look as messy as possible with only hair spray. I wore this out to a Halloween bash on Saturday night and I was not able to see out of one eye and I could only fit a straw in my mouth.'-- Kim






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Matchstick Figure, nfs
'YouTube user Visual Burrito made an LED Halloween costume for his 22-month- old daughter which made his daughter look like a matchstick figure in the dark.'-- vingle.net





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Goodbye Costume, nfs





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Zombie Steve Jobs Costume, nfs





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Latex Halloween Masquerade Masks Scary Horrific With 16 Designs, $195.00
'These Latex Halloween Masquerade Masks Scary Zombie Masks Horrific Vampire Masks For Halloween are made from latex,Very cool and horrific. There are more than 16 deisigns for this item,we will ship random to you,If you do need to specify designs ,please contact us to confirm.'-- hongkongmasks.com








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Caught in a Mousetrap Costume, nfs





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Láir Bhán, nfs
'An early 20th-century Irish Halloween mask (a "rhymer" or a "vizor") donned by people to disguise their identities on All Hallows' Eve when the dead were provided with one last chance to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world.'-- maskhist





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Rob Ford Vacuform Mayor Mask,$26.99
'The Mayor of Toronto is back - in the form of latex! This Rob Ford mask puts you in charge of zany hijinx, meetings and all sorts of other fun action! The possibilities for fun are limitless! RoFo action at its best! If inventory shows 'temporarily out of stock', please place your pre-order. More masks are on their way!' -- Amazing Party Store





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Car Seat Costume, nfs





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Suicide Bomber, nfs
'Well there's not to much explaining to do besides for the how-to. The costume is pretty straight forward. But be warned you can possibly get in trouble in some areas and around some people. I never had a single issue but I cant say that goes for you too. Supplies:Outfit: Tactical vest, camo pants, black t-shirt, black beanie, black hair dye and the head band. The vests are easy to find on craigslist, airsoft forums/stores and local army surplus stores. The head band was simply made by green fabric held together with iron on glue strips. Walmart has them. Suicide Bomb belt: Styro Foam blocks, colored wire, red duct tape, black electrical tape, zip ties, hair pins and some type of harness. The explosives: Christmas light bulbs, electrical tape, a candle, little cup of water, hand held bush trimmers or any type of smooth sliding pliers with two sharp blades near the pivot point. The little snip snip rose garden cutters works better tho. The fire crackers you will need are the cheap ones with the grey wicks. The green wicks really don't ignite well from the light bulb. 1. Cut the Christmas lights in 2's, 3's, 4's or what ever amount you want. I like 2 bulbs per strand. Snip the ends so the wire is showing. Twist it tight. 2. Light the candle. Place the very tip right over the flame so its just barely touching. It should take 3-5 seconds to get black. Once it turns black dip it in the water then right after snip the very tip of the bulb off. If you hold the cutters on the very tip and slide them back to the main body you can feel the edge. The goal is to expose the filament and not breaking the wire between the little probes in the bulb. Practice makes perfect. 3. Cut the wicks of the fire crackers shorter so it just stays around the filament. You don't want it to bunch up. Then gently tape it up. Don't put a lot of tape on the firecracker because then the nature of the explosion will be different. Detonator: Spice jar, 2 9volt connectors, momentary push button switch, wire, tape, and a hook. 1. Wrap the jar in black tape and make some type of hook so you don't have to hold it all the time. 2. Hook the two 9 volt connectors red to red, black to black so you get 18volts. 3. Drill a hole in the lid to place the button. 4. Run the red 9volt wire to one side of the push button, the black wire to a longer wire that will reach to the bomber belt and get another long wire and connect it to the other side of the push button. On the ends of the long wires attach alligator clips. 5. Stuff all the wires in the jar. Once you attach the alligator clips to the firecrackers it will only take a second for the 18volts to cook the filament. Once that burns it ignite the wick and make costume magic.'-- Coolest Homemade Costumes







*

p.s. Hey. ** Scunnard, Hi, J. Awesome pep talk to the blog folks about Lizz's project. I hope it found their buttons. I tried to listen to the new Blonde Redhead album, and I literally couldn't make it through two tracks, but I'm in an uninterested in rock songs phase. Or most of them. Sypha thinks I'm being too hard on the Residents, and I'm going to go find out one of these days. I can maybe still imagine digging their earliest stuff before they started doing those GWAR-for-nerds stage shows with the big eyeballs and all of that. Now, I know how good Boards of Canada sound. Keep me up on your progress. This is fun. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. The Sarkozy comeback thing is truly grotesque. And people saying, 'Well, at least he's interesting unlike the dishrag Hollande' is depressing. I imagine you noticed that one of his first 'comeback' statements was an anti-gay screed. But that guy has all kinds of legal trouble swirling around him, so I'll be very surprised if he gets that far. We'll see. Happy birthday a day late to Anna Karina! ** Lizz Brady, Hi, Lizz! Thank you so very much! I pledged what support I could this morning, and I hope it helps a little. ** Bill, Oh, cool, thanks for the link to her site. I got distracted by work yesterday, and so now I'll start knowing her via that hot spot. I'll ask my friend Paul what PTV were like. Honestly, I got scared off because I came across this thread on FB about a PTV concert earlier on this tour where the person talked about how it was like a Love-In, and how Genesis kept asking the audience to hold hands and hug and laugh and cry together during the show, and I thought, Fuck that. ** Robert-nyc, Hi, Robert! It's awesome to see you! I'm doing good, yes, thank you. Yes, telling me what is involved in the moving along of your life when you have the time and inclination. Take care! ** Thomas Moronic, Hi. I sure did. As I explained to Bill, I don't feel so bad about bailing on PTV, but my friend Paul who went will probably tell me it was like God, and then I'll be sorry. Hope your novel work went well. I'm sidetracked trying to finish the new Gisele piece by a deadline at the moment, but the novel's going good. Good morning! ** Kier, Hi, hi, hi! I love trains, but nine hours is too much of a good thing maybe. I'll skip 'Lyle', thanks. 'Under the Skin' was really good, right? I liked that a lot. 'Snowpiercer' isn't so hot? That's too bad. I kind of wanted to see it. I liked that director's earlier film 'The Host'. I hope work restarts in a fun manner. Yesterday, let's see, oh, I nailed down the film footage organizer guy, which was big. We met, and he was into it and okay with the fee, and he left with a hard drive containing the 80 or so hours of footage, and hopefully that will be that by next week. I worked on the new Gisele ventriloquism piece, and that went well, and I conferred with her. I had a coffee with this young French film director, Patric Chiha, who made this very good film called 'Domaine' a couple of years ago and has a brand new one called 'Boys Like Us'. That was nice. I've known him peripherally forever, but it was the first time we sat and visited. And, this is very cool: Philippe Grandieux, the great French filmmaker whose films I really love, asked me to play a small role in his new film! I've never met him or anything, so that was trippy. I'm nervous about it, but I'll meet with him to see. It was really exciting and an honor to be asked. Otherwise, just work, writing and blog post making, and missing Zac, and stuff like that. How was Tuesday in your world? ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Oh, that's very cool that you won that Twitter thing! 'Pride', right, there are posters for it all over the place here. The French poster for it is incredibly dumb and garish, and I thought it looked like crap, but a bad poster will do that. How was it? And how was the date/non-date? ** Steevee, Hi. Thanks for letting me know about the doc. I'll see if I can find it. I am going to try to do a post about him and see what happens. ** Sypha, I like their cover of 'Dear Prudence' better too. High five. ** Misanthrope, Hi, George. I'll go look for your thing on FB. A butcher knife?! Holy shit, she is very lucky to have lived through that, obviously. If it got on the news, that's probably really good since it sure seems like media coverage can pressure a case into becoming serious. Okay, it sounds like the guy is totally fucked. Great. Man, wow, yeah, keep us/me up on what happens. And give my very best to LPS when you talk to him, okay? ** Rewritedept, Hi. Swans is on the same night as Lust for Youth/ Croatian Amor, which I'm definitely going to, so oh well. I mostly want to see Pharmakon, who's opening for Swans, but I'm hoping she'll do a small gig on her own while she's here. Needing a job is suck central. Ugh, sorry. Ha ha, yeah, I'm avoiding those FB list things and all the related tags I'm getting like the plague. But it's cool that you're so gung-ho about it, and I do like reading them. Oh, there's your list. A lot of classics in there. The Unicorns, huh, that's interesting. I haven't thought about them in yonks. Cool, fun to read, thank you! My day wasn't too shabby, and I did find/hire the film footage guy, and so it's onto the next thing I need to do. Have a very good to very great day! ** Okay. Here's another Halloween post for you, this one created to help you know how to alter your appearance when the time comes should you decide to go whole hog and so on. See you tomorrow.

'The work of Japanese novelist Kenji Siratori poses the reader with a contentious question: at what point does literary experimentalism transcend the circumference of literacy? Siratori’s work evokes “the coming to consciousness of an artificial intelligence” via “a devastating loop of language” (Blood Electric book jacket). Indeed, his novels are a conflation of computer code with anatomical, medical, and technological language. So, Siratori’s fiction is generically cyberpunk; yet, extreme in both form and content. Siratori’s writing evokes Joyce’s Finnegans Wake and the cut-up experiments of William S. Burroughs thus placing Siratori along an experimental trajectory. However, while the work of Joyce is semantically fecund and Burroughs wishes to reveal the underlying conspiracy of language, Siratori moves away from reconceptualizing meaning towards a disorienting, often violent, affect.

'The emotional experience of “reading” Siratori demonstrates literary meaninglessness as an analogue to the consumer’s relationship with information technology. His work considers the biases of information technology in an analogous manner that Joyce and Burroughs ask about the biases of language. Here, agency and literacy are conflated in an intense way: if we are unable to acknowledge the biases of information technology, we are incapable of possessing agency in late-capitalism. American media theorist Douglas Rushkoff recently suggested that “Facebook is set up to make us think of ourselves in terms of our ‘likes’ and an iPad is set up to make us start paying for media and stop producing it ourselves.” Amidst all the garbled nonsense of his writing, Siratori’s metaphor is as lucid as it is timely: the anxiety of reading asemic cyberpunk is analogous to the consumer’s illiteracy regarding programming and information technology. As literary experimentation is pushed to absolute limits, new languages of code and programming suggest the dawn of new arts.

'Siratori's psychedelic style, mixed with its idiosyncratic (and definedly Japanese!) use of the English language, recommends a reading in which the reader is rendered the real author of the book. The theme of the awaking artificial intelligence demands us to be replaced in the mind of what is awakened, including the noise of growing, learning, forgetting and remembering, in short, acquiring a self-referentially evolving self. In Siratori's own words: "In my writing, the language cell is distorted by the infinite hyperlink of the synapse -a new language is the conceptual pain-- all the data act as the hardweb character as if I dissect subjective writing, I'm striking the nude brain to a screen. This is the practice that hardweb creatures were disclosed". In order to read it, one furthermore has to do away with everything that qualifies as fiction, science or otherwise. Siratori presents us the art of the 21 st century word, with its typical references to the multimedia embedding of (post?)modern communication.

'As Siratori himself states, "my writing was born with the horizon of techno -- I'm advocating nerve physics here -- I process violence and sex as the reality of data -- I take a view of my conceptual web with nerve experiences. The writing is linked to how I game this expanded hardweb for me -- such a method that touches to my brain more cruelly." His work is an experiment with noise and complexity, and the necessity of its reduction. The reader should therefore be especially attentive to what he remembers of the text, what he perceives to be the text's meaningful (although I doubt that word is in place here) qualities. More than anything else, this implies a sensitivity for the transformative aspects of the new media. What is the meaning of this writing, what is its truth? If one asks Siratori: "TRUTH--data trash in the brain universe--nerve violence and nerve sex—we scan reality with the HIV form." Apparently, he has accepted the epistemological consequences of his writing. This digital narrative is no more than a synapse of an endlessly evolving web of communications, the meaning of which is ever harder to discern... Read if you dare.'-- collaged



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Further

Official Kenji Siratori
'The Etude of Murder' by Kenji Siratori
'Brain Meat for Naked Lunch' by Kenji Siratori
'hallucination=cell' by Kenji Siratori
'TATTOO' by Kenji Siratori
Kenji Siratori @ Discogs
THE NUDE BRAIN: AN INTERVIEW WITH KENJI SIRATORI
'Writing machines from remote territories'
KJ's 'Blood Electric' reviewed @ Word Riot
Kenji Siratori @ goodreads
Kenji Siratori @ Facebook
Re: Kenji Siratori @ IMAGE [&] NARRATIVE
'"Hidden Truth" is a Bootleg, Kenji Siratori his shadow and Nocturne the Killer'
::theQuestionnaire: KENJI SIRATORI
'Living Through Our Errors'
'Kenji Siratori: Cybergothic Writing'



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Musics & Videos


Colette Phair by Kenji Siratori


'Monster's Device'


'Superbug'


'Cow: a desperate poem'


'Zero Person Study'



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SANTEMUTERUERU, a graphic novel (excerpt)














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Ctrl+Monster
3D printable object by Kenji Siratori



Plastic is a great starter material. Strong, with a fairly good level of detail and slightly flexible, it comes in a wide range of colors. If you're not sure which material to go with, plastic is a great all rounder. €117.95



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Interview
from Bookmunch




Let’s start the only way I know how. Can you talk me through your novel Blood Electric – describe the book to me in your own words.

Kenji Siratori: My writing was born with the horizon of techno — I’m advocating nerve physics here — I process violence and sex as the reality of data – I take a view of my conceptual web with nerve experiences. The writing is linked to how I game this expanded hardweb for me — such a method that touches to my brain more cruelly. In my writing the language cell is able to be distorted by the infinite hyperlink of the synapse — ‘a new language’ is the conceptual pain – all the data act as the hardweb character as if I dissect subjective writing, I’m striking the nude brain to a screen. This is the practice that hardweb creatures were disclosed. Blood Electric is presenting the aspect of a genetic hardweb clearly — the nerve cells that run through our gene dub — is the strategic object that our body codes erodes the world – ‘literature is networking to our gene dub’

You say “Writing born with the horizon of techno” – Are you saying that dance music and dance culture is an influence on your writing?

KS: Yes–my writing is an industrial human body emulator–virus for the Genomics strategy. Rave that was turned hypertext is body-encoded.

Furthermore, would you say your writing was narcotic (in the way that, say, Coleridge or de Quincey or Burroughs or countless others wrote while “under the influence”)?

KS: Vital browser of nerve system is opened–language cell spins to genomewarable–nomads of the spiral form occur from my writing.

You talk about “new writing” – aren’t you just dressing up what the modernists did at the start of the twentieth century, a method Burroughs did something to update but which is in essence “stream of consciousness”, albeit stream of consciousness infiltrated by technology and html code etc?

KS: I advocate a hypermodern literature to pop culture–it means the invasion to the gene code–and to update our abolition world code–because the characteristic of 20th century style ‘hardweb’ is a struggle. However my language cell is streaming the genomewarable struggle as 21st century style ‘hardweb’.

Who are you writing for? Who do you imagine your reader to be? Would you admit there was an element of impenetrability to “Blood Electric”?

KS: I upload the focus of the nerve system–everything is to contact our language cells that were exposed to gene terrorism–I manufacture the literary plug-in of a vital browser.

Like a lot of experimental fiction, you expect your readers to work pretty hard – should reading be this difficult?

KS: I expect my readers to scan the language cell–to cause the cracking of the gene corroded–to stream the change to the human body emulator.

I think we need to define terms more clearly: what do you mean by “industrial human body emulator”? What do you mean by the term “genomewarable”? What do you mean by the phrase “the invasion to the gene code . . .”?

KS:“industrial human body emulator”–it functions as a literary hacker in our genetic network. . . “genomewarable”–the hyperlinking genetic information–the genetic engineering liquidity of hardweb. . . “the invasion to the gene code”–so language cells in gene dub are produced by the genetic ‘struggle=hardweb’.

There is a sense, I think, that you hide behind coded responses – you don’t clearly articulate answers – do you sublimate the intimacy of your SELF behind cyber doublespeak?

KS: So I cause to escape SELF of the spiral mechanism to positive–it is the language cell sequence that was approximated to nerve transmission.

What is the TRUTH – for you – of what you say – yes, you have to work to uncover the meaning of your book (and the answers to these questions) but, having worked, what is there? Is it worthwhile, this “streaming of the genomewarable struggle . . .”?

KS: TRUTH–data trash in the brain universe–nerve violence and nerve sex—we scan reality with the HIV form.

On the one hand, you’ve got STYLE – your style, this “new” style – but on the other you’ve got storytelling – the importance of telling a story in a way that can be understood (maybe not right away, but eventually) – are you telling a story in Blood Electric, or is telling a story outmoded?

KS: I go across the digital narrative in the human body–Blood Electric is such software that captures “the digital narrative in the human body” and is archive that connects my digital narrative to your digital narrative.

Who is Kenji Siratori – man or machine?!?!

KS: He is one hardweb that hyperlinked to our genetic information . . .



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Book

Kenji Siratori HUMAN_WORMS
iUniverse

'EXTREME BIO-CYBERPUNK HORROR>>>insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was sucked to the emotional replicant of super-genomewarable abolition world-codemaniacs that was biocaptured a chemical=anthropoid acid of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM is accelerated the virus:: clone-dive a trash sensor drug embryo rave on the DNA=channel of the cadaver feti=streaming_body encoder that was send back out to the acidHUMANIX infection archive genomics strategy circuit technojunkies' era respiration-byte nerve cells of the hyperreal HIV=scanner forms to the brain universe that was processed the data=mutant of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system murder-gimmick of the cadaver city Blog.... I compress the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator to the brain universe of the murder-protocol emotional replicant performance technojunkies' DNA=channel hacking the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM acidHUMANIX infection****the genomics strategy circuit of the abolition world-codemaniacs nerve cells that accelerates the virus of the artificial sun to the hunting for the grotesque WEB=joint end of the cadaver feti=streaming_body encoder that clone-dives a chemical=anthropoid mass of flesh-module vital to the era respiration-byte sending program murder game of her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals different of a trash sensor drug embryo-hyperreal HIV=scanners that were controlled plug-in....'-- Kenji Siratori

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Excerpt

Insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was sucked to the emotional replicant of super-genomewarable abolition world-codemaniacs that was biocaptured a chemical=anthropoid acid of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM is accelerated the virus::clone-dive a trash sensor drug embryo rave on the DNA=channel of the cadaver feti=streaming_body encoder that was send back out to the acidHUMANIX infection archive genomics strategy circuit technojunkies' era respiration-byte nerve cells of the hyperreal HIV=scanner forms to the brain universe that was processed the data=mutant of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system murder-gimmick of the cadaver city BLog....acidHUMANIX infection archive of the abolition world-codemaniacs nerve cells to the mass of flesh-module murder-gimmicks of her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals DNA=channel of a chemical=anthropoid is send back out the era respiration-byte_covered the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart to the brain universe of the murder-protocol emotional replicant performance that was biocaptured the cadaver city technojunkies' nightmare-script and crash that genomics strategy circuit****cadaver feti of the artificial sun=hunting for the grotesque WEB=joint end of the neuromatic body encoder that streams to the hyperreal HIV=scanners that BDSM play a trash sensor drug embryo hacking--hunting for the grotesque WEB of the cadaver city=covered the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart that jointed and suck acid to the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was send back out the era respiration-byte of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM mass of flesh-module rave on::the different vital-controllers of the biocapturism nerve cells to non-resettable the murder-gimmick of a chemical=anthropoid--abolition world-codemaniacs to the cadaver feti=streaming circuit of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_brain universe that technojunkies' BDSM plays the DNA=channel of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system gene-dub....I compress the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator to the brain universe of the murder-protocol emotional replicant performance technojunkies' DNA=channel hacking the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM acidHUMANIX infection****the genomics strategy circuit of the abolition world-codemaniacs nerve cells that accelerates the virus of the artificial sun to the hunting for the grotesque WEB=joint end of the cadaver feti=streaming_body encoder that clone-dives a chemical=anthropoid mass of flesh-module vital to the era respiration-byte sending program murder game of her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals different of a trash sensor drug embryo-hyperreal HIV=scanners that were controlled plug-in...."I am disillusioned-covered the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart cadaver city at the murder-protocol that was processed the data=mutant of her abolition world-codemaniacs emotional replicant module and that genomics strategy circuit noise--hunting for the grotesque WEB of a chemical=anthropoid=body encoder of the hyperreal HIV=scanner form to the different vital-controller of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_brain universe that jointed technojunkies' hacking the nightmare-script....hunting for the grotesque WEB insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator to gene-dub of the cadaver feti=streaming_brain universe that compressed the acidHUMANIX infection of a chemical=anthropoid murder-gimmick of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM=joints::the technojunkies' DNA=channel era respiration-byte sending programs of the abolition world-codemaniacs nerve cells that artificial sun was output to the mass of flesh-module of the murder-protocol emotional replicant performance is installed vital different of a trash sensor drug embryo-hyperreal HIV=scanners that were controlled clone-dives to the genomics strategy circuit that was biocaptured her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals....the nightmare-script of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_body encoder that clone-dives the cadaver city to the murder-protocol data=mutant processing organ DNA=channel of a trash sensor drug embryo FUCKNAMLOAD****abolition world-codemaniacs that was send back out the era respiration-byte of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system murder-gimmick of the chemical=anthropoid to a hybrid cadaver mechanism SAVE the paradise device of the biocapturism nerve cells_covered the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart that artificial sun was set up and stream to that mass of flesh-module cadaver feti=....the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was biocaptured to the hunting for the grotesque WEB=joint end of the cadaver feti=streaming_brain universe that compressed the technojunkies' acidHUMANIX infection soul/gram made of retro-ADAM murder-gimmick nightmare-script....I rape the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart that crashed a trash sensor drug embryo to the emotional replicant of super-genomewarable abolition world-codemaniacs that was sucked to the different vital-controller nerve cells of the hyperreal HIV=scanner forms that BDSM play@artificial sun DNA=channels of her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals acid of a chemical=anthropoid....rave on the modem=heart of the hybrid cadaver mechanism technojunkies' gene-dub to the nerve cells murder-gimmick of her abolition world-codemaniacs emotional replicant****the surrender-sites of the hyperreal HIV=scanners BLog the artificial sun to the cadaver feti=streaming_brain universe that I compressed the acidHUMANIX infection of a trash sensor drug embryo mass of flesh-module vital to the hunting for the grotesque WEB=joint end of the murder-protocol data=mutant processing organ that crashed a chemical=anthropoid different of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM-insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was controlled FUCKNAMLOAD vital different of a trash sensor drug embryo-genomics strategy circuit of the biocapturism nerve cells that compressed the acidHUMANIX infection of a chemical=anthropoid is output to the hyperreal HIV=scanners that were controlled the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that accelerates the virus of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM to the mass of flesh-module murder-gimmicks of her digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals gene-dub::the DNA=channel of the cadaver city hyperlinks to the disillusionment-module of the murder-protocol data=mutant processing organ that was send back out the body encoder of the abolition world-codemaniacs emotional replicant performance technojunkies' era respiration-byte reptilian=HUB_modem=heart that accelerates the virus of a trash sensor drug embryo to the DNA=channel of the cadaver feti=streaming_brain universe that compressed the technojunkies' acidHUMANIX infection crashes--the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was send back out to the different vital-controller of the murder-protocol emotional replicant that was biocaptured a chemical=anthropoid era respiration-byte of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM clone-dives abolition world-codemaniacs of the hyperreal HIV=scanner form gene-dub of the cadaver city to the nerve cells nightmare-script of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system mass of flesh-module hunting for the grotesque WEB of her abolition world-codemaniacs emotional replicant=being covered the reptilian=HUB_modem=heart that was sucked to the cadaver feti=streaming circuit that jointed technojunkies' acid mass of flesh-module is output::clone-dive the artificial sun insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was biocaptured to the disillusionment-module of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_brain universe soul/gram made of retro-ADAM murder-gimmick rave on a chemical=anthropoid gene-dub in the surrender-sites of the hyperreal HIV=scanners nerve cells of the murder-protocol data=mutant processing organs BDSM play the cadaver city....the surrender-sites of the hyperreal HIV=scanners gene-dub of the cadaver city to the brain universe of the murder-protocol emotional replicant performance that was sucked the acid of a chemical=anthropoid FUCKNAMLOAD****the abolition world-codemaniacs nerve cells rave on the murder-gimmick of the trash sensor drug embryo hunting for the grotesque WEB of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system=genomics strategy circuit that jointed to a hybrid cadaver mechanism to the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that was biocaptured the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM nightmare-script....the data=mutant processing organ of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_vital browser DNA=channel of the artificial sun is ejected being covered to abolition world-codemaniacs of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_body encoder that technojunkies' BDSM plays hunting for the grotesque WEB of a chemical=anthropoid=reptilian=HUB_modem=heart that jointed that murder-protocol mass of flesh-module....it hyperlinks the insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator murder-gimmick of the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM to the nightmare-scripts of the biocapturism nerve cells that accelerates the virus of the artificial sun plug-in to the hyperreal HIV=scanners that were send back out the cadaver feti=streaming circuit that clone-dives@digital=vamp cold-blooded disease animals era respiration-byte of a trash sensor drug embryo....era respiration-byte is send back out to the DNA=channel of the acidHUMANIX infection archive_brain universe insanity medium of the human body pill cruel emulator that clone-dives the soul/gram made of retro-ADAM BDSM play a chemical=anthropoid****plug-in to the vital browser that was processed the emotional replicant of super-genomewarable abolition world-codemaniacs technojunkies' reptilian=HUB data=mutant of her ultra=machinary tragedy-ROM creature system murder game to the mass of flesh-module of the hyperreal HIV=scanner form biocapturism nerve cells hacking a trash sensor drug embryo DNA=channel of the cadaver city--.




*

p.s. Hey. ** Scunnard, Hi, J. I saw that Lizz's project net its funding goal! That's so great! I liked 'The Commercial Album' too, at least at the time, for the same reasons. My memory is that the last thing of theirs I liked a semi-ton was 'Duck Stab'. Way back. Bratmobile, man, you are coaxing some memories out of wherever they've been comatose. I don't even own a Pansy Division 7" and I was, like, the target audience, I suppose. Nice guys. I met them once. I've got a seriously rare and expensive no doubt 7" collection, mostly late 70s/early 80s, back in LA that I really should either sell off or worship. My vinyl collection died pretty much as soon as the CD happened. Apart from largely Pollard-related vinyl-only releases, etc. Lure of the new and all of that. Although it took me years to get a cell phone, weirdly. Electronic music staples. Hm, I'd need to think and maybe even do a post. I like the idea of going backwards maybe. Check out the stuff in my new music gig posts maybe and wander into the roots? I'll think about classics, though. ** Steevee, One would imagine, yes, FB being the outrage hair trigger that it is. I don't understand why transgender is so hard to understand. I don't get that fear at all. I missed the new Dardennes. It opened here right after Cannes, yeah. Films that play Cannes very frequently open here a few days later. I decided to wait until I could see it subtitled. I'll def. see it. ** Thomas Moronic, Hi! Aw, thanks about my Halloween trolling. Infectiousness is the blog's goal, I guess. Grandieux directing a film of 'Period' is just about the best idea I've ever heard. His sound is crazy amazing, and, I may have mentioned this before, but Zac and I got extremely lucky and had the sound guy for 'Un Lac' do the sound on the first scene in our film. And he was genius, for sure. The new novel will probably share a text that was the text for 'The Pyre' but in a quite revised version. It was originally written for my disastrous George Miles novel, and it's the only survivor from that. And I reworked it heavily for 'The Pyre', and now it's heavily reworked again. That text has been through a lot. Bon day! ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. Yeah, the Grandieux thing is amazing and nerve-wracking. I have to get back to him today with an answer, which, gulp, will be yes, I'm pretty sure. If you were coming as Bernard, it would be like coming as the Invisible Man given his ever-lengthening neglect of us, God love him. ** Kier, Hi!! That 'Terminator' costume is awesome, and it looks like it hurt a lot, which I guess makes it very successful. My face stung just looking at it. Yay! I love your rainy work day. I would start, Grandieux-wise, with 'Un Lac'. Or maybe 'Sombre' if you can't find 'UL'. Yeah, the sound in his films is insane, and, as I told Thomas, Grandieux's sound guy did the sound for the first scene in Zac's and my film, and that was such a coup. I don't know how Grandieux came around to thinking of me. I guess I'll find out. Jonathan is in Patrick's new film, one of the three main stars, and he's, of course, super great in it. Yesterday ... oh, Jonathan Mayhew took me to this fantastic English language bookstore here on the Left Bank that I had never heard of until a week ago. Berkeley Books. It's really, really good. Second hand/new. I bought four books: Fanny Howe's 'Holy Smoke', Queneau's 'Pierrot Mon Ami', Robert Coover's 'Spanking the Maid', and Pinget's 'Mahu or the Material' (as a gift). Anyway, it's my new favorite place. Then we had a coffee, and I lead him to my favorite Parisian patisserie, Saduharu Aoki, where we bought pastries and chocolates. It was big fun. I worked on the Gisele thing, and a wee bit on the novel. I made headway into planing Zac's and my NYC/Iceland trip, and I have to finalize and book that today. I got the new Aphex Twin, and I listened to it once, and I love it. And that got me listening to a lot of music, and I made a gig post of what I listened to. The rest was the usual, I think. So, not a bad day. How was Wednesday? Did it rain? I think it's going to rain here any second. ** _Black_Acrylic, You should be very proud. I should have included your Savile victim costume in the post, clearly. Mm, passable means I think I'll skip 'Pride'. Cool about the soundtrack. Pete Shelley! I was just listening to 'XL1' the other day. ** Misanthrope, Oh, I hope the move back to Maryland happens. That video was fascinating. I had no pre-set mental image of her, but, even so, she wasn't at all what I was imagining anyway. She's intense. Even her eyebrows are intense. Seems like that guy is going to be in jail for quite a long time, but I guess people do have romantic relationships with imprisoned people. Sounds promising anyway. Tentative whew! ** Sypha, Hi. I'm friends on FB with Steve Severin, and he's been posting about those reissues. For me, the last totally great Siousxie album is 'Juju'. I thought there was some really strong stuff on the 'A Kiss in the Dreamhouse' through 'Hyaena' albums, but I don't think they're as strong overall. From 'Through the Looking Glass' forwards, I didn't care anymore. But those later albums were their commercial peak, or the first couple of them were, so I guess the reissuing makes sense in that way. Pride swallowed there for sure, ha ha. ** Rewritedept, Hi, Chris. Thanks re: the costumery. I don't do costumes, no. I don't know, just no interest in redoing myself up like that, I don't know why. Yeah, maybe about Swans, but I've seen them a few times, just not since the reconstitution. I would go, but I'm more into seeing Lust for Youth/Croatian Amor since I've never seen them. My favorite Simpsons episode? Wow, I don't know. The one where Lisa takes LSD? The film festival one? I would have to explore my memories for a while to choose. That's okay re: Skype. I'm super busy too. We'll sort it at some point. ** Hyemin K, Hi. I would think it would have to battery operated, but I don't know. Good luck with your work! ** Jonathan, Hey, bud! That was mega-loads of fun yesterday, man, thank you! Yes, that matcha roulade cake is sublime, right? Now you know why I was making all those undignified noises when I was eating it. I hope your pal got home safely, and, yeah, let's go do and see stuff and hang out again extremely soon! ** Done. I haven't done anything on Kenji Siratori in a long time, and he's certainly worth thinking about, of that I am sure. So I did him today. See you tomorrow.

'Patrice Énard was a French filmmaker, born on September 17, 1945 in Bordeaux, and deceased on June 1, 2008 in Paris. He was also a researcher/iconographer, theorist and film critic.

'An avid patron of Henri Langlois’ Cinémathèque Française, Énard developed a particular appreciation for Russian cinema — especially the work of Dziga Vertov — the Lumière school and the French New Wave. Those influences led him to conceive of an activist, subversive and deeply political form of cinema. Following studies at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français, he directed some industrial films and news reports on motocross. He completed his military service with the Cinéma des Armées in Baden-Baden.

'Énard made his first short films in the mid-1960s. From the outset, his provocative style, stripped of all psychology, attests to the fact that he was part of the generation that launched the French protests of May ‘68. Invested in the dialectic of disobedience, his films constantly question their immersion in the ideological context of the time, in order to better escape it. It was as if the genetic codes of that artistic movement were programming the concept of a permanent on-screen revolution.

'The filmmaker’s work was widely distributed within those circles, as well as in traditional movie theaters that were more open to innovation at the time. The numerous film festivals that had sprung up across Europe and North America also welcomed his films. In 1972, Patrice Énard was honored by the city of Belfort, and Joris Ivens presented him with the Grand Prize at the Hyères International Festival of Young Cinema in 1982.

'Like all pioneers, Énard often traveled with his films to discuss them with audiences. He encouraged viewers to rely on their own strength and to take power by way of the movie camera. He liked to say, "There are no more filmmakers than films. That's why the cinema exists." ("Why Do You Make Films?" Liberation, special edition, 1987).

'His name is sometimes associated with collectives like Ciné-Golem (with Philipe Bordier), which programmed a radically different form of cinema in the early years of the Sigma Festival in Bordeaux; Cinéma Différent (with Marcel Mazé); and the Independent Filmmakers Cooperative in Paris (with Patrice Kirchhofer). Yet, his career as a filmmaker advanced in opposition to all of those cliques. He rejected the systems and labels of all the trends and artistic movements he rubbed shoulders with — the counterculture, young filmmakers, avant-garde, experimental, etc. In fact, he was all of those things — simultaneously or in turn — but as someone who treasured freedom above all things, he preferred autonomy and continued to produce his films himself.

'Énard’s cinematic expression evolved toward a fundamentally analytical and experimental form of cinema. Driven by his increasingly personal reflections, he developed his own language and perfected it through the prism of an atypical, radical esthetic. His discoveries and inventiveness were often a source of formal inspiration for commercials and music videos. His later films could be described as a form of cinema-poetry. He raised the bar higher and higher.

'His deepest desire was always to incite curiosity, to elicit knowledge by way of the big picture. But as time went by, his field of action extended beyond the silver screen, devoting himself to the creation of a network of cinema bookstores (in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Montpellier). One notable example is the legendary bookstore Cinédoc, in Paris’ 9th arrondissement, which Énard crammed full of movie posters, photographs, magazines and books for its opening, to the great delight of cinephiles everywhere and his two bearded partners.

'Beginning as a researcher/iconographer and special film consultant for Ciné Choc, Fascination, Polar, Cinématographe and Star System, from March 1975 on, Énard served as journalist and editor on several film magazines, including Sex Stars System, Star System, Ciné Eros Star, Ciné Girl, Star Ciné Vidéo, Ciné-Films, Erostory Film. His work as a journalist also testifies to his predilection for the most extreme cinematic forms, from 1970 to ‘80. For example, he applauded the rise of eroticism and the birth of pornography and gore. He shed light on those genres in magazines such as Sex Stars System and Ciné Eros Stars. Interviews by Jacques Rig, one of his pseudonyms, became famous. His critical approach would lead those popular rags, pummeled by censorship, to become cult favorites.'-- Collectif Jeune Cinema



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Stills






















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Further

Patrice Énard @ IMDb
Association Patrice Enard
Patrice Énard @ Collectif Jeune Cinema
'Cinq films de Patrice Énard'
Association Patrice Énard Presents ...
'Le Pornographe'
Buy Patrice Énard's complete works on DVD here


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HOMMAGE A PATRICE ÉNARD





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Le cinéma de Patrice Énard : Pour voir en soi et pour d'autres
from Association Démocraties Nouvelles




Maître de l'éducation du regard, Patrice pouvait conduire une automobile très vite. Il anticipait les courbes, les virages, les ralentissements et en avait le montage mental très élaboré, ce qui, sur des circuits de passionnés, l'amenait à surpasser ses concurrents malgré une voiture de cylindrée moindre. Il n'était pas au service d'une « bande passante », il construisait les meilleures trajectoires dans la suite imposée de chaque circuit. 12 08 14 09

Ce qu'il se figurait des enchaînements n'était pas la simple copie reproductive des configurations de la piste. L'aléa d'un retardataire pouvait ainsi être intégré sans occasionner une gêne, tout au plus une péripétie complémentaire à cette construction des trajectoires. Ce qui laisse apparaître la déambulation cosmographique de Guy Debord comme une pratique insuffisante pour transformer les anciens habitus : cette éthique du filmage-montage, qu'a initialisée Jean-Luc Godard, constatant l'aboutissement nihiliste de la « dérive situationniste », s'est clairement proposée, avec Patrice, d'amener la théorie de la dérive à l'élaboration critique du sens dérivé.

C'est le phénofilm qui nous inscrit dans la suite attendue du plan actuel et nous restons ''en plan'' quant à la jouissance des événements imagés du génofilm. En effet d'obéir à la suite ''logique'' du visible écrase le fourmillement de l'observable au profit de ce que nous reconnaissons, c'est dire ce que nous croyons connaître, victimes de l'empathie familialiste des concessions alimentaires, des chantages claniques, des soumissions de classes.

Parti de la déconstruction, notamment, de l'impression de réalité, Patrice Enard, à l'instar du grand poète Paul Celan, travaille sur la suite attendue, c'est dire qu'il questionne les séries et par là nous éveille sur le contretype, le plagiat mimétique, dont Lacan, réouvrant l'apport de Jean Piaget et, périmant la conception catholique du mensonge comme péché, a signifié que le faire « semblant », outre qu'il est un fait de « l'inscription du sujet dans la chaîne des signifiants », ne se confond avec le fait de se donner en spectacle ou ne prendre de l'autre que son « spectaculaire ». La scène du très long baiser, dans Différences et répétitions I (1970), nous impliquait à voir, par les subtiles variations de vêture de la si prégnante Michèle, que le furieux plaisir d'embrasser, vécu par le plus grand nombre, peut se stéréotyper en « passion triste » et combien cette émotion « cuirassée », recouvrant toutes autres perceptions comme un petit tsunami mental, peut nous dérober la connaissance multilatérale des plans de cette scène surinvestie. Ce surinvestissement, captation petite bourgeoise marchande d'un commerce affectif, devient lui aussi mensonger et par là privatif d'une liberté supérieure, qui serait celle d'intégrer les déterminants sociaux à notre réduite intrigue amoureuse, un peu ridicule – qui prête à sourire – mesurée aux affrontements de notre espèce.

L'intrigance est donc, à la façon de Krishnamurti concernant la peur psychologique invalidante à chaque instant, faite de « conditionnements » qui réduisent notre champ vital à des répétitions banales et appauvries. Patrice Enard, filmant la dépendance humaine – qui nous prive d'approfondir notre vie et celle des autres protagonistes du film de la vie – par sa monstration discrète et persuasive et non par une dénotation stérile – cette « dénonciation » qui braque le surmoi par son côté « moraline », selon l'expression nietzschéenne –, nous restitue une capacité de résistance psychique et sociologique, defaçontellement plus sympathiqueque les démonstratifs savants del'Homme. 12 08 14 07

Patrice nous montre les gestes de tous les jours que nous faisons sans savourer la chance que nous avons de pouvoir les exécuter pleinement, car nous sommes petits-impérialistes jusque dans ce mépris suffisant. 13 11 03 11

Les gestes du parler, si quotidiennement banalisés, avaient-ils été montrés aussi justement que dans La Parole en deux (1973) au point de faire saillir ce fait que les passages à l'acte, dans nos vies, sont plus souvent empiriques que pratiques, c'est-dire éclairés de théorisations scientifiques : si le peuple était révolutionnaire sans avoir à pratiquer la théorie révolutionnaire, cela se constaterait jour àprès jour ; au lieu de cela un populisme couvrant les addictions consuméristes du peuple s'insinue dans les conventions conseillistes qui s'étaient embryonnées pour dépasser le style de vie capitaliste. Il y a donc lieu de briser les noeuds fantasmatiques des conceptions du peuple qui éloignent ces addictifs et ces ignorants de la théorie marxiste, réactualisée par l'éthique polyhumaniste distributive ou communielle. 14 01 04 08

Si le passant semble représenter les positions et les trajectoires, son éthique reste connotativement disposée au fatalisme : « tout passe tout casse tout lasse ». Et lors de la passation des pouvoirs sociaux, les anciennes alliances ne passeront pas si facilement au second plan sous l'effet de l'arrivée des nouvelles : la passation politique libérale adore passer du même ambiguïsé en nouveau. Ainsi l'implication floutée d'un passant dans le procès situationnel laisse l'éventualité de réponses nihilistes, je-m'enfoutistes, « après moi le déluge ». 12 08 16 13

Le cinéma conservateur a fait intrigue d'occulter les mobiles du passage d'un plan à un autre. Effet Aristote, le deuxième plan doit désavouer le plan antérieur au précédent pour assurer la continuation de l'impression de réalité instantanée : c'est le syllogisme du tiers plan exclu. C'est cela la proposition cochonne du cinéma capitaliste.

Le passant (à l'acte) dans le plan (situationnel ou filmique) dépend de la carte figurant l'action possible. Chacun ignorant en son dessein de plan la configuration générale, formée de tous les desseins particuliers, il y a lieu en quelque sorte de chamaniser dans les psychismes de tous les figurants sans se limiter à leurs déclarations ; car pour se rendre à l'endroit où ça va se passer (l'événement ou la scène) s'y diriger suppose qu'il y ait figuration du plan de départ et du plan d'arrivée, ce qui n'est pas l'apanage de lignes d'erre cosmographiques : le passant à l'acte ( le passant au tableau scolaire par exemple) qui ne se figure pas les soldes intermédiaires de gestion de ses actes(« actomes » d'Abraham Moles) ne peut établir la balance entre leurs coûts et leurs bénéfices. Ce qui enrichit d'un calcul distributif l'infinitif de Fernand Deligny. La possibilité de la dépense, de la préservation d'une friche comportementale aléatoire où puisse naître une pratique de création, n'est pas assimilable par la classe bourgeoise (grande, moyenne ou petite), car elle l'a pour sa part réduite au luxe (voire à la luxure), qui n'est qu'un calcul additif, ou multiplicatif, c'est-à-dire cumulatif .

Patrice Enard est parvenu à une image vidée du fouillis phénoménologique de l'intentionnalité car il pratiquait une décantation de l'interfilm, en entendant pratiquement les conseils des proches, les suggestions des personnes filmées ou présentes sur le tournage. D'où le nombre limité des éléments de l'image. Les enseignements de Marey, de Méliès, des frères Lumière, notamment, sont ''résumés'' elliptiquement à l'intérieur des scènes.

Les poses instiguées pour commercer la mode (vestimentaire, dans les journaux, les défilés de mode) est décomposée en postures qui semblent rémanées de la grande peinture classique, pour la beauté de leurs gestes. Un ''gester'' qui s'abandonne, non réfléchi, insolite, surgit paisiblement, d'être sans intrigue consciente. 13 12 31 07

Les collures entre les plans filmiques sont signalées par moments, qui signifient le dépassement du vieux raccolage intéressé ; elles mettent en garde sur ce qui advient dans les habitus comme zapping de la subjectivation susceptible, exacerbée par les ondes électromagnétiques et la malbouffe – ce qui dans notre vie alimentaire se propose sur le marché spéculatif comme faux fruits, faux légumes, ces aliments qui n'ont plus la teneur nourricière et plus grave encore qui n'ont plus la saveur élémentaire procurant du plaisir.

Car ce cinéaste crée des images pour des spectateurs qu'il aurait voulu pourvoir d'un regard nouveau sur le monde à la fois que pour des spectateurs qui ne sont pas encore nés et à qui il prodigue déjà des soins attentifs afin qu'ils ne s'aveuglent de pauvres certitudes sans intrépidité . 13 12 31 08

Ces opérations de surtensions synaptiques fomentent, dans la subjectivité spectatrice, une tempête intérieure imperceptible à court terme, indéniable au fil des ans, qui ne peut se traverser sans aides transférentielles d'autres subjectivités ayant elles-mêmes affronté volontairement, en les analysant, leurs propres révolutions intérieures : ce sont les figurants du film qui métonymisent ces pôles analytiques dans la vie du spectateur. 13 11 11 09

Si je cesse de croire avoir à communiquer mon rôle pour influencer le rôle du voisin, je peux alors commencer d'enquêter sur nos gestes et donc en rectifier les « faicts » (latin:factum). Où le faire de l'Acteur classique transcendait les gestes, le figurant polyhumaniste hypallagise, litotise, chiasmise, hyperbatise, paronomise, hyperbolise, oxymorise, etc, des pensées de gestes, des sentis de faits, des faire de pensées.

Jusqu'à cette pratique matérialiste sensible divisémiste des cas de figure de style de vie et de mort nous restions dans la dépendance des anciennes conceptions qui voulaient prévoir « le Sort », la « Destinée » de l'analysant et questionnaient géomantiquement un clavier métaphorique de Signifiants Vedettes. Ils n'enquêtaient pas sur les figures concrètes qui les faisaient se figurer qu'un sort existe, qu'une destinée préexiste à chaque figurant des styles possibles, effectifs.

Si la série connote la reproduction d'un type, alors que des séries de diversités existent néanmoins, la multiplicité évoque des plissements hétérogènes, or le monohumanisme de « l'ondoyant et divers » (Montaigne) ne parvient pas à en distinguer les plis, c'est dire à les ''transcrire'' cénesthésiquement. On associe le pli au Baroque, qui est l'Esthétique de la Contre-Réforme, il faut donc attendre la mutation épistémologique Einsteinienne pour que le plissement multiple sorte de ce rôle retardateur, implicateur obsédant et complicateur désavouant de nouages des sens figurés, virtualités sans avancée effective.

Le capitalisme, au stade hyperfétichiste, maintient érotisé pathologiquement la question de la transmission, de la volonté de réguler les destinées. 12 08 17 22

La panique induite par la fausse prophétie obsessionnelle – la hantise d'être ethniquement exterminé cause épidémique de la reproduction exponentielle de l'espèce humaine, mutée viralement en devoir de mémoire reproducteur de la structure du traumatisme historique sous ses dénégations substitutives – ne sort pas du pouvoir addictif au stress du marché et de son calcul pervers. Le souffle n'est pas dé-nervé (dépsychisé) ou destressé comme le réalise Pourvoir (1981) de Patrice Enard. 12 09 06 15



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8 of Patrice Énard's 13 films

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Parcours (1968, 10 minutes)
'La folie du protagoniste capte l’œil de la caméra et l’entraîne dans son sillage. Ivre de liberté, celui-ci dessine une trajectoire inédite : la sienne. Elle n’est autre que le reflet de son scénario intérieur, à mi-chemin entre fantasme et réalité.'-- democraties-nouvelles.org



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Différences et répétitions I (1970, 20 minutes)
'Le film interroge le spectateur sur sa dépendance au cinéma dominant. Il l’invite à démonter les mécanismes du système pour accéder à une compréhension à la fois différente et infinie des images et des sons.'-- cjcinema.org



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Différences et répétitions II (1971, 17 minutes)
'Le son est entré en rébellion avec l’image. Il y a de l’infilmable dans ce qui est montré. Le film soulève une série d’interrogations sur des questions cinématographiques fondamentales – comment, pour qui, pour quoi filmer, qu’est-ce que le cinéma?'-- CJC



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Différences et Répétitions III (1971, 17 minutes)
'Patrice Enard a mis un pluriel au titre de Gilles Deleuze. Car seul le cinéma pouvait réaliser – au sens de rendre réel – ce lien si étroit qui lie le même à l’autre. Le film est un fleuve d’images avec une bande-son de bruits d’eau. Emportées par les flots, les trajectoires se croisent et se décroisent, échappant à tout scénario. Les protagonistes pourraient être remplacés par d’autres puisqu’ils ne sont que les singuliers figurants de situations répétitives.'-- Le Nouveau Latina



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Le Cinéma en Deux, (1972, 7 minutes)
'Claude Chabrol, très ouvert et intrigué par ce curieux gauchiste, chevelu en catogan et tout de noir vêtu, défie Patrice Enard : comment va-t-il pouvoir tirer parti du tournage de son « Docteur Popaul » ? Invité à porter sa caméra 16 de cinéaste différent sur le film, Patrice Énard, tout en jouant les figurants dans les scènes de cimetière, regarde autrement « l’autre » cinéma en train de se faire. Et il le défait. C’est sans doute là le premier making off, avec deux f, de l’histoire du cinéma!'-- Le Nouveau Latina



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La Parole en Deux, (1972, 12 minutes)
'La mise en scène de la parole à l’écran est le sujet du film. Seul le premier plan est synchrone. Tout ce qui suit est une exploration systématique de la production d’un discours à l’écran. Pour unifier cela et pointer les questions de la prise de parole, il fallait un message politique fort, militant. L’un des deux groupes maoïstes de Bordeaux, celui des théoriciens non rattachés au Parti Communiste, se prête avec talent à ce difficile exercice de style.'-- Le Nouveau Latina



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La Vie en Deux, (1980, 15 minutes)
'Erica Blanc, ou Erica White, ou encore Erica Bianchi possède déjà une filmographie européenne lorsqu’elle rencontre Patrice Énard. C’est l’une des reines de la série B. Elle rédige le texte du film où elle rejoue avec distance et humour sa fameuse « carrière », sa « vie de pellicule ». Au besoin, elle n’hésite pas à réendosser les costumes de ses rôles les plus déshabillés ! Ces scènes sont émaillées de photographies de films dont elle fut l’héroïne.'-- Le Nouveau Latina



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POURVOIR (1981, 90 minutes)
'Le tournage a duré dix ans. Une fois dissipée la fumée des barricades, la libération sexuelle émerge – en particulier celle des femmes – et le discours freudo-marxiste prend le relais. Le bas du T-shirt de ces dames devient pour le spectateur un jeu de ligne obsessionnel qui à la fois montre et cache. Le style de Patrice Énard se radicalise en une sorte de poésie visuelle, répétitive. Cette musique pour les yeux met en valeur autant de charmantes différences qu’il y a de femmes pour se prêter à cet étrange divertissement en vert et blanc… couleur chair.'-- Le Nouveau Latina



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p.s. Hey. ** MyNeighbourJohnTurtorro, Hi, man! Tricks are not that tricky meaning they're good, I think. That's interesting: the dream. I do not like Winona Ryder, how did your subconscious know that? I think she's mostly a bad actor, and there are reasons why I would say I think she's not a very good person either, but I can't say why in this public place in the latter case. That's right about our film's title. We took it both because we like it and because we had this plan early on to coerce Vår into appearing in our film, but then they split, and I doubt we could have persuaded them to do it anyway given our severe budgetary restrictions, but blah blah. Oh, huh, I'm going to see Lust for Youth, and, more excitingly for me, in theory at least, Croatian Amor play on Sunday. Good and not a vast surprise that they were really good live, but that's comforting. We start hacking -- and the opposite of hacking as well -- our film into shape as soon as Zac gets back from the holiday trip he's on in the States, meaning approximately on October 8 or 9. I would guess, as do our producers, that the BBFC will not be so supportive of our film, but, really, anything can happen in the editing, so who knows. Very happy Thursday, sir! And I'm very pleased to see you! ** Jeffrey Coleman, Hi, He does seem to be. Apparently he's a very nice, personable guy. Oh, I think the interview you're talking about is the interview I used in the post, but I edited out all the interview's asides and running commentary and reaction descriptions because they irritated me. I have it on fairly high authority that he talks like a normal person, whatever a normal person would talk like, but you know what I mean. Yeah, he wrote a cool Amazon review of one of my books. 'God Jr.', I think, strangely enough. I saw the existence of that Shipley/Siratori collab. novel when I was putting together the post, and I think I saw that it can be downloaded for free, so I have it bookmarked to grab. I'll go read that Shipley essay, cool, thank you, Jeff! ** David Ehrenstein, Hi, David. Definitely skipping 'Pride'. You make it sound exactly like French posters make it look. The title of the new Araki is surprising. I'm intrigued. That's too bad about M. Keaton. I always kind of liked him, I saw that he was 'coming back', and I've been kind of rooting for him. ** Steevee, 'Amores Perros' is the only film of his I've seen, lucky me, I guess. No, I downloaded the Aphex Twin, but I'll probably get the package too the next time I'm somewhere where physical/musical objects are purchasable. ** Sypha, Hi. You don't read Siratori in the normal way. You kind of let your eyes become your ears or something. I really like reading him, but I'm very into meticulously organized noise and all that. You could be right about 'Kiss in the Dreamhouse' being the last really strong Banshees album. Super great that you bought that collection of Jean Rhys novels! And that you're liking 'Good morning, Midnight'. She's amazing. ** Etc etc etc, Hi, C! My powers, ha ha, hopefully are growing stronger. I should pay attention to them and find out. I love Herzog. I adore the way he talks and writes. I could listen to him talk forever, I think. I didn't know about that new collection. I'll look for it. His book 'Of Walking in Ice: Munich - Paris 23 November - 14 December 1974' is really great, if you haven't read it. Probably you won't get to peek at the new novel. I never show anyone anything until I think it's finished, then I show it to one or two trusted people for feedback, and then I finish it again, if need be, and then I guess I start letting it out. Showing people things in progress confuses and freaks me the fuck out. Once I made the mistake of reading from a novel-in-progress ('God Jr.) before it was finished, and the experience was so traumatic that I stopped working on it for a year. The novel is emotionally very, very straightforward. The writing in some parts is a weird combination of very plain and explosively personal and complicated, and, in other parts, it's more fiction-y and overtly complicated/poetic. So, it's weird. I can't say that the novel itself is straightforward, but its insides are trying very hard to be straightforward. Hm, hard to explain. Thank you for asking. It's chilly here too, or it's getting there. Happy Thursday! ** Scunnard, I like Bratmobile too. Like 'Awwww, Bratmobile'. Thank you for the kind offer on the Pansy Division vinyl, but, nah, I'll take a pass. One of my ex-boyfriends is on the cover of one their albums or singles or something. Hold on. 'Deflowered', album, cover here. That's him on your left. Yeah, me too, meaning most of the post-CD vinyl I bought was at shows. I'm so not a huge Gwen Stefani fan that I didn't understand your joke at all. Childish Gambino! Your collection playing is making my brain cells transude. ** Thomas Moronic, Hey! I thought you might like seeing Siratori here. Cool. You should put that collab. you did with him online, obvs. Awesome news on the breakthrough with your novel! Them's the opposite of fighting words! Yay! Consider me multiplied into a cheerleading squad with your novel's title on my jacket, whatever the title is. ** Kier, Hi! The title is from the lyrics of 'Pictures of Today/Victorial'. Here. It's the second phrase/line they sing. Such a great, great song! Oh, I procrastinated on the yes because I'm so nervous about it, but I'm going to email him and say yes today and hope I didn't wait too long. Zilch days can be nice, so yours sounds like it was okay. Mine was no great shakes either. I was home pretty much all day doing stuff, the usual stuff. I did plan/book 2/3 of Zac's and my NYC/Iceland trip, so that was an accomplishment. What else. Oh, there's yet another documentary film about the JT Leroy saga/crap being made, yikes, and I said okay to being interviewed for it, so the film crew is coming to Paris to interview me next ... Monday. That happened. I can't remember what else. Pretty low-key. Maybe today will perk up. I'll let you know And ... now ... how was your Thursday, pal? ** Damien Ark, Hi, Damien! Yeah, Siratori is kind of way out there in the best way. Very cool about the write up! Fantastic! Send it to me at this address: dcooperweb@gmail.com. I'll get it set up on the blog asap. Great, thank you so much, Damien! I'm excited to get/read/post it! ** Paul Curran, Paul! How are you? I feel like I haven't had the pleasure and honor in ages! What's up? How's writing, life, Tokyo, etc.? Do tell me everything humanly possible about Halloween in Tokyo in every respect if you feel like undertaking a Mother Theresa-like mission on my behalf, ha ha. ** Gregoryedwin, Hi, man! Oh, okay, cool, I'll look for the email from FC2. FC2! So great! That's so exciting! How are you in general, and what's going on? Are you writing something new or ... ? ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben! ** Derek McCormack, Maestro! How sweet and glorious to see you! Oh, guess what? You being here triggered a faded out memory, which is weird -- the fade, I mean -- because this only happened two days ago. I walked out the door of the building where I live to smoke, and I saw this woman who lives here and who I always notice because she has a huge dog and you're technically not supposed to have dogs here, talking to someone on the building's front steps. And I started smoking, and I thought, That voice sounds so familiar, meaning the guy she was talking with, and I looked over, and it was Giles! From 'Buffy'! And I thought about saying, 'Giles!' or something but he saw me looking at him, and he could see my eyes saying, 'Holy shit, it's Giles', and his eyes signaled me with what I felt pretty confident was a 'stay away from me' message, so I didn't say or do anything. Anyway, oh, thank you so much about my horror novella! That's so nice! I'm proud of that thing, thank you! Oh my god, 'The Haunted Barrel Works' looks so, so beautiful! That photo at the top of the entrance, or whatever it is, is, like, the most exciting thing I've seen in ages. I would kill to ride that with you. Oh, Derek, lucky, lucky you! Thank you for making my day dream. Love, me. ** Misanthrope, Here's hoping big time that she has finally come to her senses and that she has senses. Good question about how Siratori writes his fiction. He's very tight-lipped about that, as you can imagine. ** Bill, Hi. His shorter pieces are like his longer pieces, just shorter. There were links to a few of his short pieces in the 'Further' section, if you want to check them out. Nice that the Antosca is nice. I'll get that. What did Thursday hold? ** Jared, Hi, Jared! So happy you dropped by! No, god, I wish Grandieux wanted to make a film of 'Period'. That was someone's dream, and then it became my dream, and that's as far as that idea has gotten so far. No, he wants me to play a very small role in his new film that he's shooting right now. Any chance for a catch up on what's going with you? ** Okay. I will be really, really surprised if anyone reading these words has ever seen the films of Patrice Énard, or has even heard of him before because he's quite obscure even here in France. I just discovered his work and his existence a couple of weeks ago, and I was sufficiently impressed and intrigued to pass along the word to all of you guys. If you explore the post, you'll as much as I know about him. See you tomorrow.

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p.s. Hey. ** MyNeighbourJohnTurtorro, Hi. Yeah, I think limited is more fair. I can't really argue with the way she did her thing in, like, 'Beetlejuice', 'Heathers', 'Edward Scissorhands', and the very early stuff. I know, Vår in our film. I still feel like if they hadn't split up we could have schmoozed them into it somehow. Oh, yeah, questions for Mr. Elias, shit. I don't know why I'm so intimidated by that prospect. Let me try to force myself to automatic write some queries in the next couple of days. Eek. Well, the juxtaposition of sex with violence is the probable problem with our film. There's a scene where an electronic music/spoken word artist guy gets violently and graphically molested by two audience members in the midst of a gig. And another long sequence/scene where a guy tries to have sex with a dead boy. I think those will probably cook our film's UK goose. My Thursday was diligent but quiet. Today has the potential to be more eventful, I think. Have a great version of Friday! ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. Oh, you've actually heard of him. Well, of course you have. Very interesting, I think. Fans in high places are angling to revive his work and reputation here at the moment. Pansy Division are so charming and so dumb/literal. Yury is good, busy. He has his first showing of his fashion line coming up in a couple of weeks, so he's very busy and out and about getting that together. He's doing really well. I'll tell him you asked after him. He'll be pleased. ** Sweettomb, Trinie! Holy shit, hi pal! I miss you! Oh, I think it's likely that I'll be at the 'Kindertotenlieder' show on the 31st, but I don't know for sure, and it is Halloween night, so ... But you should get tickets anyway! It's my favorite work I've done with Gisele, and it's awesome, if I don't say so myself. If I don't make it to the 31st show, let's meet up in the evening while I'm there. I'll be in NYC five days, I think. Send me your cell number. Do you have my addy? It's dcooperweb@gmail.com. I'm excited to see you! ** Steevee, Hi. Very cool about your 'Love is Strange' review. Very curious about that thing. Everyone, go read Steve's thoughts/review of the new, highly acclaimed and buzzed about film 'Love is Strange' by Ira Sachs, director of the mostly very liked film 'Keep the Lights On'. Check it out, dudes. If you decide 'Showgirls' doesn't suck, I'd be curious to know why. I haven't read a single anti-suck article that has convinced me in the slightest so far. ** Dan, Hi, Dan! Really nice to see you! Sorry about my eternal slowness with email, I'll go look today. I don't think I'll be getting to the West Coast/LA until early next year, or that seems to be my fate re: getting 'home' at the moment. Oh, it would be nice to see Amanda if she gets to Paris. Anyway, I'll write back to you soon, and thank you again as always for everything. ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T. Great finds are cool. And they're out there everywhere, which is cool too. If you changed 'Their' to 'Your' in your title, and I'm not suggesting that you do, we'd both have things named after Vår songs, or seemingly in your case. There was one, I think, scrapbook page whose text was taken from my early draft of one section of the novel. I can't remember which texts I used, but I think it's likely that at least most of those texts will end up in the novel. Thank you for finding them beautiful. Fingers crossed. ** Scunnard, Budster! I know, transude, I don't where that came from. I should use it all the time. Or you should. Or we both should. Do you have, like, a million Cure albums? I think back in my LA vinyl collection, I must have, mm, well, maybe only four? I think the last Cure album I actually bought was 'Pornography'. Wait, I think I have 'The Head on the Door'. I think I have a bunch of their 7" and 12" things, though. The only time I ever saw The Cure live was on their very first US tour for 'Three Imaginary Boys' when they are still a punk band. That seems weird for some reason. You did just use a boating metaphor, and more power to your refreshing self. ** Kier, Hi, King Kier! Oh, the too early 'God Jr' reading. It was weird for weird reasons. Obviously, it was a novel where I was trying something really different from what I'm known for doing or whatever. And what freaked me out, maybe weirdly, is that people liked it so much. They were really excited about it in this way that people aren't at my readings, and it was like they were saying something like, 'oh, we've secretly been hoping you would write something more wholesome and sexless all along', and that really confused me, and then, on top of that, amidst all the positivity, someone I really respect came up to me and told me what I read was shit and that I was selling out and how incredibly disappointed he was in me. So it was traumatic all the way around. Yeah, this'll be my third appearance in a JT Leroy doc. Jesus. I just googled Bardufoss. It looks so amazing there. Northern Norway must be insanely beautiful and forbidding in the winter and stuff. I want to go there. I haven't even been to Bergen yet, and I really want to go there. That machine you used is really pretty and, yeah, scary. Very Halloween, in fact. Smoking on the hay in the stables is turning on the fog machine in my daydreams. My day was kind of nothing-ish, I think. Work, mostly. Middling progress. Read a little. Did a blog post. Wrote to Zac. Texted with Kiddiepunk who's coming back to visit Paris today, hooray. Gosh, not much that I can remember really. But I think today will be better or more detailed or something. What did you do on Friday? ** Paul Curran, Hi, Paul! Quiet's okay, god knows. Interesting that you've laid aside the novel you were working on. I always think that's a really positive thing, I mean when you choose excitement over slogging. I would love to read a Tokyo specific novel by you! I mean, I did my Paris novel, and there must be no city more previously written about/inside than Paris. Anything you can say about the new novel yet? Our film's raw footage, all 80+ hours of it, is being organized by a guy right now because Zac's on holiday in the US, and we'll dig into it and start editing around October 9th or so. So, the film is on a short holiday. My novel is moving forward, not as swiftly as I would really like it to because I have a deadline to finish writing the new Gisele theater piece, but, when I work on it, I'm very happy. Please do transfer Tokyo Halloween to me by whatever means. Would be a balm, a salve, a you-name-it. ** Hyemin K, Hi. I'm sorry about how taxing that conference has become. Being jarred is the last thing you need for your writing. Ugh. Oh, if you make it to NYC/'Kindertotenlieder' do say hi please. I'll be busy with the production, and mostly chilling/exploring the city with Zac otherwise, but it would be cool to say hi. It was very interesting to read about your work and your thoughts and everything. No need to apologize. It was very interesting. ** Keaton, Hey, buddy! Good to see ya! Halloween rules! Rools! I definitely look forward to your daily October posts. Boon city. A 'nice, smooth' story. That sounds like a challenge. I wouldn't know where to start. There's a new Cannibal Corpse? What good timing. I'll overhear it, def. Love from here. ** Sypha, Hi, James. Glad you got to 'Enter the Void'. Yeah, most people seem to have mixed feelings about it. Oh, man, that Cat Band post is making my imagination's mouth water. That sounds so beautiful. Thank you, thank you! ** Misanthrope, Hi. Well, since Siratori's work works on me and others who like his stuff, I would say that means it works. It just seems like some kind of ultimate example of something being in the area of one's interest or not. Cool that you bought LPS a gift. Sounds like escape and pleasure are just what the doctor ordered. I'm with you on the 'reading is reading' front. But, yeah, things will be a lot better for him, obviously, if he can get the reading writing skills thing up to the par that lets you get ahead in life, job-wise and other-wise. ** Jose Osoria, Hi, Jose! Excellent to see you! Yes, thank you a million for that great tip and suggestion. No, I haven't gotten the DVD yet, but I plan to when I go to this great DVD store here soon. Yes, definitely, about the subtitles thing. How are you? Are you really good? What's going on? Thank you again! ** Jonathan, Hi, J-ster! Dude, the CDG train is no picnic even when your only luggage is your cellphone, so, yeah, bleah. You went to the first night of CRAK! Okay, huh, I'm glad I accidentally spaced on that. Your Irish pal's thing is tonight, right? I hope it's fun and that you brush against the people in the know in a fruitful way. If you want to go see Lust for Youth and Croatian Amor on Sunday, that would be super sweet. See how it goes and how you feel and let me know. Later, gator. ** Finis. It's Halloween on the blog again today. See you tomorrow.

Lee Bul (b. 1964, Korea) grew up in Seoul and received a BFA in sculpture from Hongik University. Considered one of the leading Korean artists of her generation, she has achieved international recognition for her formally inventive, intellectually provocative oeuvre. Demonstrating virtuosity across diverse media—from drawing and performance to sculpture, painting, installation and video—her multifaceted production is representative of the most innovative aesthetic currents shaping contemporary art in the global sphere.

Lee Bul’s work has been featured in solo presentations at museums throughout the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1997); Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland (1999); Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia (2001); MAC, Musée d’Art Contemporain, Marseille (2002); the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York (2002); Le Consortium, Dijon (2002); Japan Foundation, Tokyo (2003); The Power Plant, Toronto (2003); Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2004); Domus Artium, Salamanca (2007); Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris (2007–08); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2012); MUDAM - Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg (2013-14); and most recently at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (2014). Forthcoming exhibitions will take place at the Espai d'art contemporani de Castelló, Spain (2015) and Musée d'art moderne de Saint-Etienne, France (2015). She has also participated in major group exhibitions around the world, and in 1999, she was awarded an Honorable Mention at the 48th Venice Biennale for her contribution to both the Korean Pavilion and the international exhibition curated by Harald Szeemann. The artist currently lives and works in Seoul, Korea.

From here: http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/artists/lee-bul


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Nothing's perfect, but that doesn't stop us chasing the dream – a Catch-22 that has long fascinated Korean artist Lee Bul. In the 1990s, her cyborg sculptures took an obsession with prosthetics and plastic surgery to a gleaming conclusion: ideal robot women. More recently, she's turned to the futuristic architectural fantasies of the early 20th century. Elaborate sculptures and installations are crafted from twisted metal, decked in crystal beads and chains, set in mirrored boxes or hung from the ceiling like castles in the air. Hectic and gorgeous, they suggest another kind of post-human world, where shimmering modernist buildings lie in seductive ruin.

Bul was born in 1964 in a remote South Korean village where her dissident parents were in hiding from the oppressive government. Something of a renegade in the Korean artworld, she made her mark in the late 1980s through outlandish street performances. Her first sculptures were designed to be worn: covered in freakish protrusions and decked in sequins, they suggested a metamorphosis that was both grotesque and sensual. In the late 1990s her sci-fi inspired, mutant cyber-women, with missing heads and limbs like the female torsos of Renaissance sculpture, established Bul's international reputation. As with the cyberpunk novels of William Gibson, her work pointed to a terrifying future where technology is less freeing than debilitating.

The past five years have seen Bul make a break with this aesthetic, though beauty gone mad remains an abiding theme. Her 2007 series, Sternbau , was inspired by visionary architect Bruno Taut's proposals for a crystalline city in the Alps, which date from 1917; darkly sparkling, chandelier-like hanging sculptures sprawl outwards, laden with out-of-control décor. An installation from the same year, Heaven and Earth, explores her own country's embattled modernisation: in a scruffy, white-tiled bathroom resembling a torture chamber, a bath is filled to the brim with foul-smelling black goop. Reflected in this well of horrors is an ice-white sculpture of Baekdu mountain, the mythical birthplace of the Korean nation. Luxurious and sinister, Bul's art mines a terrible beauty that seems to stretch endlessly into past and future, grimly dehumanising and forever compelling.

Taken from/continued here: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/jul/21/artist-week-lee-bul


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Like a lighthouse perched on seaweed-covered rocks, a temple stands on a landscape of black hair, atop a structure that is taller than I am. The whorls and skeins of hair form a canopy over the wall of an ancient building that is pierced by empty windows. Beyond the wall is another landscape of undulating hills, with a writhing highway whose multiple exits go nowhere. With me so far? It is confusing. The entire structure stands on a concrete pillar set on to a rock at its base. The rock is impregnated with large crystals that seem to have grown there.

Is Lee Bul’s Excavation, 2007 a model of a place, or an image of a body – the spirit up there in the temple, the comings and goings of the highway like speech or thoughts, the lower functions rooting us to the earth?

There is an awful lot of fabrication and jiggery-pokery in Lee Bul’s constructed worlds. But there are no people, even though a few figurines, like the ones that populate model railway sets, would add a sense of human scale.

In another model that looks like a towering mountain of petrified goo, a pylon flashes an illuminated sign that reads Weep Into Stones … Fables Like Snow … Our Few Evil Days. The phrases come from Hydriotaphia, a meditation on mortality by the 17th-century English writer Thomas Browne, which inspired WG Sebald’s tour of East Anglia in his novel The Rings of Saturn.

Here, Browne’s words illuminate a psychological terrain that has its roots in South Korea, where Lee lives and works. Elsewhere in her Mon grand récit: Weep into stones … is a scale model of the studio she occupied in Seoul in the late 1980s. It was on the top floor of an abandoned tower block, the typical remorselessly utilitarian architecture of a country under a military dictatorship. Her idiosyncratic art resists the conformity of the culture she grew up in, and constantly returns to the idea of a failed utopia, dreams of a better future and the ruins of the past.

It also revels in its own excess. Or rather, she points out both the plenitude and complexity of the world – and our inability to control it all. So it is with her work. Sometimes dark and doomy, frequently decorative and definitely strange, Lee fills two floors of the Ikon in Birmingham with sculptures and maquettes, installations and drawings. One work is a maze of screens and mirrors, culminating in a chamber of infinite reflections and bright lights, your own shadow disappearing in a vortex. This is fun, but infinity mirrors are such a cliche.

The exterior walls of this maze have been papered with pages, in English and Korean, from American psychologist Julian Jaynes’s The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. You can only read fragments – the pages are disordered, pasted upside-down and semi-obscured by deliberate stains.

Lee’s references add heft to what she does, and help her work come alive, but they don’t always make it better. I get lost among all the ramifications in her more complicated works. Look – there is a tiny jade-green model of Tatlin’s Tower, no bigger than a peanut! And here are dozens of drawings. The best are those with pendulous bulges and pouches, their phallic and breast-like and shoe-like forms. They remind me of the early drawings of Eva Hesse, and their almost human forms provide relief.

Elsewhere Lee has installed “cyborg” creatures and sculptures of vomiting dogs. These had yet to be unleashed on my visit, which is a pity. I do like a vomiting dog. Twinkling lights, more infinity mirrors, and a tunnel that’s mirrored on the inside and like a ramshackle shanty on the outside, through which you can stoop and crawl, give her show a kind of fairground liveliness. There is so much going on everywhere that the whole exhibition becomes an obstacle course. There is no let-up, and after an hour or two, you wonder if there is any way out.

Taken from/continued here: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/sep/11/lee-bul-review-techno-terror-sculpture-south-korea-ikon


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Monster: Pink
1998 / 2011

The monstrous and phantasmic bodysuits she wore during those performances eventually developed into sculptural artworks such as Monster: Pink in their own right. Through various sculpture series including “Cyborg,” “Anagram,” and “Live Forever,” Lee investigated the limits of human desire, ideals and potential.




Untitled (infinity wall)
2008

In the “Untitled (infinity)” series, which is fixed to walls or the floor of the gallery, Lee uses mirrors to create illusions in which oddly shaped objects resembling fragments of architectural models appear to continue endlessly into the distance. Thus the desire for immortality, which was apparent in “Live Forever,” is here transferred to the spatial concept of infinity.




Chrysalis
2000

The works in the “Anagram” series, which takes its name from the English term for changing the order of letters in a word to make a new word, consist of various parts that are joined together interchangeably with the result that their appearance reminds us of plants or insects. Many references to literature can also be found in the works. For example, the work Chrysalis refers to a stage in a moth or butterfly's development, but one may recall at the post-apocalyptic world found in John Wyndham's science fiction novel The Chrysalids (1955), in which society attempts to eradicate animals and plants made mutant by exposure to radioactivity and humans who do not conform to strict norms.




Sternbau No. 4
2007

In 1919, the German architect and urban planner Bruno Taut, who is best known for works such as his Glass Pavilion (1914), became inspired by the fantasy novelist Paul Scheerbart's essays on Glasarchitektur (Glass Architecture)(1914) and thus developed what he called Alpine Architecture(1919), in which buildings are giant artworks arranged in mountains as a kind of ornamentation. His ideas of Sternbau, which glitters like a star or a glass building reflecting the sunlight, resonate with Lee Bul's ideas of an ideal society, a fantasy landscape. It also reflects the notion of the incompleteness of utopian architecture theories. Several of Lee's “Mon grand récit” works thus suggest the influence of such.




Bunker (M. Bakhtin)
2007

Bunker (M. Bakhtin), which looks like a black rocky mountain, has a cave-like interior that can be entered through a large fissure. The invisible key to this work is the ghost of Yi Gu, the man who was born as the heir to the Korean Imperial family and died in 2005. Lee Bul is fascinated by the dramatic life Yi led in the shadows of the modern development that occurred under Park Chung-hee's military dictatorship. Inside the cave, Lee juxtaposes the sounds of the visitors' footsteps with vibrations from locations that had significance in Yi's life. In this way, she creates an amalgam of history and Yi's memory with contemporary times.

Taken from/continued here: http://www.mori.art.museum/english/contents/leebul/introduction/


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Lee Bul’s Official website: http://www.leebul.com/




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p.s. Hey. The honorable Thomas Moronic leads us through the weekend on the coat tails of the work of the very interesting artist Lee Bul, and I strongly suspect that even a minimal exploration of his post and her work will intrigue and pleasure you up enough to get you to Monday with flying colors and all of that. Enjoy, and thank you mightily, Thomas! ** Hyemin K, Hi. Yeah, it's a pretty weird and racy book for libraries, I would suspect. I dig about the non-interview, and I like the idea of me being distanced to the point 'dead' in your writings about me. Okay, whatever you think is best for you and your style re: NYC is definitely the best. ** Jeffrey Coleman, Hi. Oh, that would have been interesting to do a switch out and illustrate those deceased people's birthplaces instead, although it might have been a lot harder to find photos of wherever those places were, I guess. Weird, Swans are playing here tonight. It's sold out, so I'm not going. I do remember you telling about that guy from high school whom you lost track of then found again. Well, given your history with him, it's no surprise that his silence would make you worry about and imagine the worst that could have happened. That has happened to me a bunch of times. I'm a worrier. In my cases, it always turned out to be something simple and to do only with their issues and not about me, if that makes any difference. I kind of vaguely remember Antonio posting about that band here, but it's a very vague memory, and I have no idea when it would have happened, and Blogger doesn't have a sophisticated enough comments search engine to help. But that was an amazing story, and really intriguingly told. Thank you, Jeff. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. That Ira Sachs video looks intense and disturbing/ depressing, so of course I'll watch it. ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. No, I didn't notice anything about those locations actually being tagged as haunted. I guess I was hoping to implant the ghosts or something. Thank you! ** Empty Frame, Wow, thank you a lot, man. Yeah, I felt particularly pleased/ proud of that post, I must admit, Thank you! The gif obsession is deep one. I haven't quite figured it out, but there's just something about them, their limitations and little magic and their poetic and stuff that kind of drives me crazy in the good way. But, yeah, poor anyone reading this blog without a super computer. Mine is no super computer at all, and the internet signal here at the Recollects sucks, so if loading those posts feels like building a pyramid, at least making them is like that too. Yeah, really nice, totally, about the face/ architecture juxtaposition thing. If you didn't find the answers to those questions, I can fill you in. You know, I think I hadn't seen George Shaw's paintings until I googled his name just now. They do look really haunting and strong. Thank you for that, and, yeah, again, for your very kind words. Excellent weekend! ** Keaton, Hi, K. Thank you, man. I wrote a poem about Brandis's death. There was a weird power there. The 'writing it' part is the part that sucks. But needs to be. I wish my imagination was Cape Canaveral and paper was Mars. I need a good desk too, or an infinitely less cluttered one. Love back. ** Thomas Moronic, Thank you again so very much for our weekend's enlightenment/ entertainment combo. And thanks a bunch about the post yesterday. Yeah, I was into the playfulness of the gifs re: everything else, thanks, great eye as always. I ... think you did tell me about going into Brandis on acid. Yeah, thanks, buddy, and have a superb Saturday and Sunday. ** Scunnard, Hey. I keep thinking that 'Disintegration' is the big hole in my limited interest in The Cure 'cos it seems to be the go-to album for Emos and stuff. I think I'll stream it and fill that emptiness inside me, or I guess exaggerate it, if the Emos are right. Love 'Pornography', though. 'A Strange Day' is one of my all-time favorite songs, which feels kind of embarrassing to say for some reason. Keep it up, man. ** Paul Curran, Thank you re: the post, sir. And, yeah, a lot for your words on 'TMS' and 'MLT'. Voice is always first for me too. I wonder if that's true with fiction writers in general. I guess I get the feeling that most writers get a voice at some early point in their development and then just blindly use it to do what they want. I can't figure out why anyone would want to do that at all. But I think maybe if you study writing, that's what they teach you to do? I mean to use the entirety of you imagination to work out premises and plots and shit? ** Steevee, It does have smart defenders for sure, and a healthy contingent of smart pooh-poohers as well. Interesting case, in any case. No, I didn't know there was a new Yob, but I'm certainly interested to hear it. Cool. Obviously very interested to read your take on 'Gone Girl'. I'm in the camp that thinks Fincher is very overrated. ** Creative Massacre, Hi, Misty! How really sweet to see you! It has been a while! I'm doing really well, thanks. Really busy but for very good reasons, I think. It would awesome to see you more often, it goes so much without saying. Lots of love to you! ** Kyler, Hi, K. Oh, shit, I'm sorry about your family stuff. Hang in there, or maybe I mean hang in here. Not here as in the blog, but here as in your life outside your family. Very interesting about that hypnotism/ past-life regression things or things. But, wait, you were a ghost at one point? But I thought ghosts didn't die, so how did you manage to escape the eternality of ghost existence and get reborn? ** Sypha, I don't remember who that 'EtV' actor was? The main guy/ghost who got killed? Cat Day sounds like a total joy, and I'll be very excited to get and host it. You rule! I've never heard of 5 Seconds of Summer. What a ridiculous but weirdly almost kind of interesting name. ** Misanthrope, Good question about Corey Haim's ghost. What do the experts say about that? Do you get to idealize yourself when you become paranormal? Yeah, if LPS ends up in your neck or house, you obviously would be doing him a huge favor by helping him learn the basics. I don't believe in ghosts either, but I guess since the movie that scared me the most as an adult was 'Blair Witch Project' that means the idea of ghosts must scare me to some degree too when their premise is combined with the right cinematography or something? ** That seems to be that. Lee Bul has you so completely covered this weekend thanks to the good graces of Thomas Moronic. Enjoy what that entails, won't you? See you on Monday.

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Croatian AmorSlim Stomachs
'Loke Rahbek is a busy man indeed - as if Sexdrome (RIP), Var, Damien Dubrovnik and Lust For Youth (plus running a record label) weren't enough work. But here we are with Croatian Amor, the self styled 'bubblegum industrial' project of the aforementioned Dane. Genitalia Garden is a collage comprised of field recordings, samples and warm bubbly synth that comes together to form the soundtrack to a grimy European arthouse flick that doesn't exist yet.'-- Fucked by Noise






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Carla BozulichDeeper Than The Well
'Never fenced in by genre, Bozulich has been an art punk (Ethyl Meatplow), an avant-garde country crooner (The Geraldine Fibbers), a noisy improviser with one of the world’s greatest guitar players (Scarnella), a storyteller capable of reimagining a classic Willie Nelson album (“Red Headed Stranger”), and the leader of a misfit trio that creates intense, uncomfortably dark music (Evangelista). The only constant is her unflinchingly honest point of view. “Deeper than the Well” is taken from her upcoming fourth solo LP Boy and indicates that despite being in the fourth decade of her career, Bozulich isn’t close to losing any steam, delivering one of her most left-field compositions yet, as well as a clever and intensely sexual set of lyrics.'-- collaged






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James HoffBlaster
'New York based conceptual artist James Hoff returns to PAN with Blaster, a document of his explorations of computer viruses as agents within the composition process. Specifically, Hoff used the Blaster virus to infect 808 beats and then utilized the mutated results as building blocks for seven new compositions. Hoff’s interest in computer viruses lies in their ability to self distribute through (and ultimately disrupt) networks of communication and Hoff’s agency as an artist centers on placing these parasitic forms into pre-existing genres, such as dance music. Blaster is a timely exploration of the infectious qualities of sound, and how it too, as a carrier, makes it’s way through social networks, reduced to bits and programmed to infiltrate and replicate.'-- p-a-n.org






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Dan'l BoonePart 2
'Uniformly adventurous musicians Nate Young (Wolf Eyes), Neil Hagerty (The Howling Hex, formerly of Royal Trux), Alex Moskos (Drainolith), and Charles Ballas (Formant) have just formed Dan’l Boone, and nothing makes any sense. “I’d come downstairs into Charles’ basement and Nate and Neil would be making competing diagrams that represented the record. I was so lost,” says Moskos. And to supplement the visual philosophizing, Hagerty stated the following, “cryptically,” in a voicemail to Ballas: “To create music by reverting to zit-popping thrash, you must believe that the prognosis is so dismal that it takes time to hear them retain enough for your face before summary dismissal.”'-- Tiny Mix Tapes






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This Will Destroy YouWar Prayer
'There's rattling, dubbed-out drums, unhinged strings, levigating shoegaze guitars, electronic drifts and blowouts, synthesizers that seem almost sentient, and layers of gentle, toy-box notes over woozy, kitchen-sink noise. The jazz of "Mother Opiate" evokes Bohren & der Club of Gore, and on opener "New Topia", deep synthesizer washes and plaintive guitars build up for a minute and a half, before slow-motion drums march in front of friskier noises towards a huge, blissful, earplug-rattling wash. "Serpent Mound" offers twisting, churning electronics and aching guitars worthy of My Bloody Valentine and the ghosts that band's known to pack into their sprawl; "The Puritan" is an ambient refrain that feels like wind drifting across a burnt-out prairie, and the explosive martial pace and windy space ringing inside "War Prayer" send chills. Some songs make me think of laying on my back in a planetarium, wondering about friends who've died.'-- Brandon Stosuy






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Helen AdamFearless Junkie Song
'A 'bardic matriarch' to the San Francisco Beats and, in her narrative voice, 'a sorceress with distinct powers over and within [that] community', Helen Adam's early life as the daughter of a Presbyterian minister in the north-east of Scotland appears to offer little indication of what was to come. Having moved to America in the 1930s, she settled some years later in a community in which formal experimentation was often the poetic mode-du-jour. Adam's reputation, however, rested on her retention and mastery of the ballad forms of her native land. Her importance was crystallised in her inclusion in Donald Allen's seminal collection The New American Poetry 1945-1960, and she was to extend her artistic vision into experimental filmmaking and collage production, as well as the writing of a successful opera. Personal circumstances hindered her endeavours in later years, precipitating a slide into obscurity. Indeed, it is only since her death that Adam has begun to receive once more the recognition her work merits.'-- Spl






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GrouperCall Across Rooms
'Recorded almost entirely in Aljezur, Portugal while Liz Harris was taking part in a residency, Grouper's new album Ruins might be the most stripped-down set of songs she’s released so far. The songs came about when Harris happened upon a room with an upright piano – she had a 4-track Sony recorder with her, so that became her setup. After long walks through the ruins of a small village nearby, she would sit at the piano and process, in her own words, “a lot of political anger and emotional garbage.” The result is the most naked, raw recordings we’ve heard from Harris – a far cry from the comparatively sunny Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill.'-- Fact Magazine






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Kemper NortonHer
'The music of Kemper Norton streaks across the ages like a tipsy beach-comber, enthusiastically and expertly skipping across time's tide and handpicking an array of instruments, contexts and influences to form what he succinctly describes as "coastal slurtronic folk". Far from being a romantic nostalgia trip, like the rash of recent releases that turn today's laptops into yesteryear's Radiophonic Workshop to relive their youths spent watching cult TV, Kemper Norton's music exists within the continuum, encapsulating a free range of sounds and stories spread throughout history. Here, medieval mandolins meet modular synths, or a 19th century harmonium harmonises with its future cousin the Casio keyboard, evoking anything from pre-Christian myth to post-modern polemics.'-- The Quietus






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The History Of Colour TV 1-800-BADNITE
'The History of Colour TV is a Berlin-based shoegaze outfit whose origins began in 2010 as a conceptual audio-visual project of musician Jaike Stambach. After self-releasing several experimental cassette-only EPs and accompanying videos, the project began to take on a fuller shape as Stambach brought in additional bandmembers to color his dreamy, darkly textured pop songs. Their first release as a group was 2011's Colour TV EP, which still incorporated some of the more abrasive ambient textures of Stambach's earlier solo work, but was far more anchored in song format. A deal with Texas-based indie Saint Marie Records was struck and they released their debut album, 2012's densely layered Emerald Cures Chic Ills. Stripping down their sound, while keeping it no less potent, they returned in June 2014 with When Shapes of Spilt Blood Spelt Love.'-- collaged






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KriegRuin of Our Lives
'Krieg has returned. For anyone even remotely familiar with US black metal this demonic wrecking crew needs no introduction. Over the course of their 19-year career they have produced some of the finest albums to emerge from the US black metal scene. And their latest is no exception. Transient, which is being released by Candlelight Records, continues their tradition of challenging and expanding the boundaries of the genre. Jameson’s vocal performance is gut wrenching throughout. Some of his side projects and previous works have suffered from a lack of variety, but this is definitely not the case with Transient. You can feel the venom and vitriol oozing from every syllable. His vocal attack fits perfectly into each of the songs. From deathly bellows to throat shredding growls, Jameson puts in the vocal performance of his career. It’s a far cry from the standard black metal screech we have all heard a thousand times since the dawn of the second wave in Norway.'-- metalbandcamp.com






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ShellacDude Incredible
'You know the Shellac drill by now: born of Albini's very own recording Arcadia, Electrical Audio studios; the extrapolation of simple practice-ideas that gradually become live staples; recorded without question to analogue tape; aluminium-bodied Travis Beans (this isn't some kind of metaphor); nothing really resembling a chorus; tangerine trousers; sombre yet mirthful; released, as always, on Touch And Go; and a carefully considered artwork package, which this time is a chipboard square and glossy macaque print (more about them later). Whatever you want to call their shtick - math-rock, post-hardcore, minimalist jugular-cutting, or just a white, angry man talking with style – it remains just that. Dude Incredible sounds "like a Shellac record" according to Bob Weston, and he's right. Not that that's a bad thing of course. When I eat my once-yearly Cadbury's Cream Egg I expect the sugar content to make me feel dizzy and I'd be irked if it didn't. And similarly, when I hear a new Shellac record I expect it to kick me in my imaginary balls.'-- The Quietus






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Ice Orgylive in Brooklyn
'Ice Orgy is about as cold and indulgent as the name suggests. These crawling drones come courtesy of an autoharp and electronics, painting grainy streaks of disharmonious tones, and gently throbbing them into your ear holes with a plodding, pounding pulse that gradually doubles-down into a rolling rollick – the kind of thing that you’d imagine zombies dancing to. The upper register is a swarming mass, a cloud of uncertainty and unknowing seeking out any relaxed corner of your brain and infecting with a discomforting notion of simple dread. Ice Orgy is pure anxiety in sound, a cold sweat for the ages.' -- collaged






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Call SuperConey Storm Drain
'Since I’m reviewing a techno long-player, I’m supposed to make some sort of comment about how it bridges the theoretical gap between the club and bedroom/headphones/whatever, right? It makes sense, given how many artists botch the album thing on a regular basis by just going the banger-interlude-banger route or toning down their club sound into inoffensive nothingness, but Call Super is one of the few who doesn’t even need to distinguish between the two, creating a self-sustaining space so unique that the two collapse into each other. Unlike, say, Kassem Mosse’s brilliant record from earlier this year, Suzi Ecto isn’t just a collection of well-engineered cuts that work outside the dancefloor, but a world unto itself, full of unnaturally iridescent chimes and hissing, crunchy sound design. Its neon skylines work wherever, alien enough to remain interesting after the umpteenth listen but comforting enough to make you want to spin it that many times.'-- Tiny Mix Tapes







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p.s. Hey. I'm sick with a bad cold or the flu or something, so this p.s. is probably going to really suck, sorry. ** David Ehrenstein, 'He can move stuff around but ... he has no real ideas of his own:' that makes sense to me. Early on. when he'd only made 'Seven', 'The Game', and 'Fight Club', I'd expected differently. ** Jeffrey Coleman, Hi. When my brain returns, I'll try that lecture. Thank you. I hope your email to your friend gets something going. Doll Food, cool, yeah, as soon as my ears aren't all clogged up, I'll check that out. Thank you again. ** Damien Ark, Hi. Cool that the post triggered art making longings. Sometimes pauses can be the best medicine. Yeah, thank you a ton for the posts! So great! Peter's really nice. He's pretty easy talk to about anything. We talked about The Rolling Stones, whom he loves, for instance. ** Misanthrope, Dig, about the ghost stuff. I've never been so scared that I lost control of my bodily functions. I was so scared once when I was a little kid that I went into shock, though. Eragon, what's that, oh wait, I remember, never mind. 'Cecil B. Demented!' What an underrated wonderful movie. ** Steevee, I love being pleased by your reviews, so cool. ' ... it's very mainstream (in the UK tradition of THE FULL MONTY & BILLY ELLIOT) and suffers from a formulaic screenplay': that's a flashing red light of a blurb if I ever read one. ** Thomas Moronic, Thank you again, man! So lovely. Oh, I'm going to run your gp #2 (EIF#7) on this coming Friday. My weekend was varying degrees of ruined by sickness, but it was okay within that context, I guess. The webpage for that collaborative art group is really nicely designed, and I'll check it out once my brain cells cooperate. ** Dan, Hi. Oh, cool. Shit, I'm toast above the neck, and pretty much below it too, but I'll cast my hazy eyes over the email and get back to you as best I can today. Thanks! ** Kyler, Good about the southern quiet. Oh, okay, I see, about ghosts being able to die or 'die' or die again. Weird, cool. ** gucciCODYprada, Hi, man. I've started, but it's going to take me a while. Sorry. But I've started, and it's too early on to say much, but it's awesome. I did like Gesaffelstein. I listened to a bunch more in fact. Might put some on the blog in fact. Love from sluggish, feverish me. ** Hyemin K, Hi. Yeah, sure, okay about the no interview thing. They're usually red herrings anyway. So are solid perspectives. I'm into confusion, you know. Definitely don't risk an unfortunate accident. I'm trying to avoid them myself until I can actually think clearly again. ** Keaton, Sculpture is God's Halloween candy. Satan's too, I guess. 'Paper craves design': whoa, that's nice. ** Kier, Hey, buddy boy! Record fairs! I love them. I miss them. I don't think they have them here. Or maybe they do. LA had/has great ones. Yay about the great drawing day. Too bad that the other day didn't work out that way, but that happens, right? Uh, this will be a shitty report because my head is shit, but ... Kiddiepunk, yes. First I saw him on Friday. We hung out. We hung out with Peter Sotos. PS is visiting Paris right now. Well, duh, how else could we have seen him? Kp and I saw Stephen O'Malley's drone symphony performed at a church. That was beautiful. I started getting sick then. The next day I really getting sick, but I drank coffees with Kiddiepunk anyway, and that was nice. Then I got sicker and sicker. I couldn't see Lust for Youth and Croatian Amor because I was too sick, and that was very depressing. While I was sick, I did minimal things not very well and blew my nose and coughed and felt like crap. I'll spare you the sickness details. So, now I'm sick, but I need to get better today somehow because at 10 am tomorrow morning this film crew is coming over to shoot a giant interview with me for a new JT Leroy documentary. Ugh. How was Monday? For sure it will be a billion times better than mine no matter what happens. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi. Oh, shit, more Art 101 delays? Sorry, man. It'll be so worth it all, though. ** Sypha, Oh, I remember that character existing, but I don't remember what he looks like. Oh, wait, that's the guy who's seen giving someone a blow job with smoke coming out of his mouth in that amazing brothel scene at the end, right? Nope, I've never seen that band's name written anywhere. Usually, I at least know boy bands' names. Yeah, I probably won't pick that album up, ha ha. ** Derek McCormack, Hi, Derek! Cool, so weird about Giles being on my doorstep, no? I tried to ask around and find out why he was here, but no one knew anything. That dark ride really, really looks like a dream. I bookmarked that page, and I keep looking a it. Oh, that's sad you won't be here this fall, but, yes, spring! Spring in Paris is famously and justifiably beautiful. And I have so much to show you, so do make sure to come. I'll go to David's show for completely sure. Oh, man, I so hope the surgeon can clear up your guts' problems. Whoa you finished your novel! And you're finishing the Count Chocula book! Holy shit, Derek, that's such amazing news that I literally feel like I'm not sick at this very moment. Seriously, I could climb to the top of this gigantic tree outside my window in the pouring rain -- it's raining right now -- and ... do whatever one would do at the top of a gigantic tree. Scream in terror to be rescued? Anyway, you get the picture. Tons and tons of love to you! ** Jonathan, Hi, man! Stephen's thing was really beautiful. I have 24 seconds of surreptitious video of it on my phone I can show you. Super sucks that I didn't see Croatian Amor 'cos I'm sick as a dog. I'm glad your Friday thing was at least fun enough. I'll so go get matcha cake with you if you can wait a day or two for me to be normalized again. Or just go yourself asap, and I'll drag you back there again. ** Right, well, that p.s. sucked. You don't have to be nice and tell me it didn't, but thank you for the thought if you did think that. The gig today is quite good if I don't say so myself, and find out why I said that if you want. I'm going to go try to get well now. See you tomorrow.

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BillandSteve, 19
Looking for thugs to cash rape me and my boyfriend open to any thugs to come now
adress
103 barston street
lichfield
staffodshire
ws14 9as





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Tinyenigma, 22
I've only just turned 22, but I feel mature enough to of accepted what I am.. I don't feel or consider myself human anymore. I'm fully sane and made the choice to take this path. I hate my body, and have no issues about sacrificing it.

I would bleed and scream for master. If you're the one, I would accept slaughter play as I would be your pig. I know no limits means no limits . For the one I would tolerate mutilation and amputations of any kind. I'd be your meat to brutalise, rape, hang, nail down, slice up, sell off... It would be all down to you.

I'm relocatable worldwide, I know it's a one way ticket, but I would need help with cost of your outside US. I hope to be 24/7/365, no limits pig, scat, torture, meat, blood at a masters convenience before the end of the year.







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bill, 21
I think I'm looking for a master ironically but honestly I can't tell at this point.





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IminNevada, 20
He is trembling....wet juicy wild young body flexing uncontrollably in orgasm it brings me great pleasure to see him lost in his xplorations of xtreme sexual delights. when he hears my voice ....his asshole gapes and instantly humidifies, pulsing and breathing steaming like a slippery caldera to the fragrant darkness god has cruelly buried past my tongue's and finger's length....i spread that hole wider wider oh my god .....insane to know him and he xplodes.....jet after jet of cum and droplets of asshole juice and my saliva leaking down his legs, a cocktail poignant as tears ....over & over & over i take the asshole to his limits....my lion's head chomping imagining im tearing flesh from bone ....the incense gassing me delirious..... i xplore the beyond....does he feel the weight of blood within him lifting.... throbbing in his asshole now flooded red and blasting his young life into my hungry mouth and throat with my desire for him and his for me already in hell and on fire

(Thats supposed to be u talking about me)





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SoImBack, 23
Desperate boy looking for suspended inthe air spread eagle helpless gagged and facemask on sniffing amyl constantly and extremely punished until my blood is raining hard onto the floor.I will be forever grateful if you can make this happen.

Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!Help me please!







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deathislazy, 22
I attend the local community college and I always have fantasized about being kidnapped and raped while walking home from the library. You would lock me downstairs in your basement. Rape me. Beat me. Kiss me hard and long before you push my head down and shoot your cum in my butt if it needs to come to that.





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2stupid2exist, 23
I got a wish that I am made into a perm dog . I got told that someone whipped the human tight out of a guy by hypnosis. I am looking for the same to be done to me . I don't want exist as a human want to be a full dog . I am unbelievably stupid . My only limit is my own my own fluids... I want nothing to do with my spit, sweat, cum, piss.

PLEASE HELP ME






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teenpig4sugarmonster, 18
Just a boy of xxxxx years. Looking for someone to get raped by or something, anyone, 2 suicide attempts, so yea, I can say im pretty screwed right now. I´m not crazy, I live in the same world as anyone, the difference is thar ive seen more thing over here than they have. I like horny assholes, I take them very seriously, If you need someone to not give a shit about, to get your darkest shit out with, Im here.

Im really starting to lose faith in people now.





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ilookhetero, 24
into total brainwashing. looking to have my persona molded into something looser, dimmer, and hotter. Wash my brain clean like I'm dirt. Make me a dumb. the thought makes me cock throb till it hurts.





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CumforArt, 25
Sexually adventurous young couple based in Soho need your cum to help add to our ambitious art project. We're getting married next year but are determined to do it on our own terms. To that effect we are working on an art project called Gross Indecency.

We've had a duvet cover printed with life size image of ourselves. We're inviting 144 guys (144 = a gross) to come fuck us and cum on our duvet. The simple reason is we try to get through five guys in a night so it's less exhausting for us to play the passive role ;-)

So if you want to pop along ride a a tight arse for a while, dump a load and get to call yourself an artist in the process then we're your guys!

When complete the duvet will be hung in a gallery under a UV light to highlight the little deposits you guys have all made. Interested in making a little contribution to the arts? Get in touch!





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SuccinctSlave, 19
hi honey, I am john. I am a student and a yuppy. I just needed to do this for emergency. I am not the guy in the pic but if you have him as your slave I want him to be gang banged.

he's got an 19year old A'ss with sexy lips, a sexy A'ssmouth to suck and deepthroat your big cock until you fun all over his face, A'ss or mouth. Honey, you can write inside him with your fist. I'll make it true.

Now this point may put some of you off but he's registered blind after losing most his sight in 2k (the ones who've banged him so far said this turned them on even more), so him traveling is a big hard but I would gladly give petrol money if you would pick him up and drop him off after.

(Learn to read and ask the right questions.)





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Recentdropout, 19
Been there, done that.

Not that interesting. Except I need to use my body and skills and my attraction to badass pricks to get me through the day. I need to eat, rest and sleep somewhere. It's all survival. I just use my wits to do stuff like this. It doesn' t matter, I just need somewhere and someone to count on.

I have two kids thanks to my stupid ex sugardaddy who wanted two adopted kids just to walk out on me.

Sad to say I have to stuff someone else's dick down my throat or up my ass just to feed and house myself.

Sad reality.







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statuesque, 20
i lick your ass clean - anywhere anytime - i love the taste of ass - please wash ur ass befiore action - i deserve that!





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XxICantChangexX, 21
Middle Eastern boy shit for extremely sadistic semitic Zionist.

I am sad. i h8 life.
Family all dead becuz of you.

Thinghs i would appreciate immensely:

brandings
Extreme cbt (Perm Marks perfered)
electro(cution)
permanent catheter (all destruction & operations nedded to)
Cutting
Sounds (Largest one 1st, shoved by force down slaves piss hole)
Dragged by its balls from room 2 room by force
Head smashed again walls and floor until it can't think anymore permanently
Chemical agents rubbed all over slaves flesh (Battery Acid, other harsh chemicals)

Hope to be understand well, not confusion, make real deal, and took.





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AchillesVladimirWescott, 23
My nickname is Blackness, as ever since I was young I have written dark poetry. I love blood. I like to include blood in the fiction I write. I like to write about what's happening to me as I write. I like to handwrite in my own blood. If anyone would like to make me bleed by doing horrible things to me while I write about what you are doing to me, I am ready for you. My roommates are out of town until a week from Friday. Or if anyone would like to exchange poetry about our lives and the unfortunate events that have happened to us, please message me. I love nothing more than conversing with people who understand the depths of the soul. My soul digs deeper into the underworld than you will ever know.





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24U, 19
We are two young boys in a great relationship, and we are very happy with eachother. But now and then we feel the need to get the crap beaten out of us. Maybe it's good to know that this is very new for us, and we haven't done this before. Our sexlife is great, but we are just exploring extra dimensions.

Important: We are passive, otherwise we are useless.
Guys we like: Tall, intelligent, over 40 years old.
Don'ts: Anything that will kill us on the spot, costumes.







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GANGBANGME4EVER, 24
I am a young 24 year old French slut hungry to be used every second of my life. Every second!! I want to turn a dick to a machine. I need intense oral and anal pounding 24 hours a day, no sleep, no rest, no nothing else. I arch my back a lot, I offer my crazy panting holes to everyone, I whines very good, I want more constantly !!

INSATIABLE BEYOND BELIEF, INSANE ENDURANCE, ADDICTED TO BEING BITTEN AND HIT SMACKED PUNCHED AND CHEWED, SUBJECT, I ask for ALL THE TIME, my ass the focus of everything, I'M NOT TIRED.

Psycho morality-free atmosphere assured. I spanked hearts.

Hang my head over the side of the bed and fuck my throat until I puke, then make me eat my puke and wash it down with your piss, then toss me around like a fuck doll until I puke, and repeat.

For real real real real real DOMINANT guys very, very macho, very drugged, very horrible violent nymphomaniacs, very, very durable, fuck DOUBLE SODO fist DOUBLE PUNCH without any mercy zero none at all for me.






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caucasianfanofmewanted, 20
I currently live in Portugal as a houseboy, but i will leave this country, and i will leave this "job" very soon. In the next 2 weeks.

I want to be a "slave", but i want to be a "free slave". I mean i want to visit my family few times a year, and i want to use the internet for a few hours a day and watch the football matches twice a week maybe. And sometimes go and play football.

I will always be your slave but i just need smoe things i want to do. And i`m smoking.

I swear if someone will take me and make me his "free slave", give me food, give me some free time and give me cigarettes i wil be very good.

Anyone else going to PIG tonight?





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BEwareOFme, 23
My fantasy is being castrated, or turn my genitals into something like pussy for Master's cock pleasure, while use my ass has a hard fist torture hole. Pull out all my teeth, for hard skull fuck... And maybe at almost last without arms and legs, so i can be tied to the ceiling and used hard for fisting sessions. I would be only an screaming hole. Of course, I most want to find the right Master who is a real sadic and like snuff, for making reality of my final dream of strangled to death and beheaded and taxidermy used to make my head a trophy on your wall.






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WhiteTree, 22
I have blond hair blue eyes I'm 5'10" 170lbs I have a 6 1/2 in cut cock I want to get fisted and fucked by a dog or horse









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Agony, 18
Hey I'm Tyler originally from Malaysia. I do not meet this site's age requirements. I'm a slave with no limits. My stepbrother owns me but he can only use me on weekends so he wants me to have masters that will not take no for a answer and that are not afraid to hit me and toture me and do absolutely anything to me during the week. I think what makes me so hot when it comes to this is because I'm very very young and it doesnt look like I'm into this type of thing.

No matter what I may be doing, my stepbrother will always be in my heart and etched in my head.

Likes and limit (Highest - 5 , Lowest/Extreme Limit - 0):

Abrasion摩擦: 5
Age play年龄游戏: 5
Anal sex肛交: 5
Anal plugs (small)肛门塞栓、小: 3
Anal plugs (large)肛门塞栓、大: 5
Anal plug (public, underclothes)肛门塞栓、公开场合、在衣服内: 4
Animal roles扮演动物角色: 5
Arm & leg sleeves (arm binders)臂腿袖套、固定手臂: 3
Asphyxiation窒息:5
Auctioned for charity慈善拍卖: 5
Bathroom use control控制使用厕所:4
Bestiality兽交: 4
Beating (soft)咬、轻:3
Beating (hard)咬、重:5
Blindfolds眼罩、蒙眼: 5
Being serviced (sexual)被性服务: 5
Being bitten咬:5
Breast/chest bondage胸部捆绑:5
Breathe control呼吸控制: 5
Branding烙印: NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED
Boot worship长靴崇拜: 2
Bondage (light)轻度捆绑: 3
Bondage (heavy)重度捆绑: 5
Bondage (multi-day)数日连续捆绑: 5
Bondage (public, underclothing)捆绑，公开场合，衣服下:4
Brown showers(scat)棕色淋浴、擦刮、似为以粪便涂抹全身: 4
Cages (locked inside of)锁入牢笼:5
Caning棍打:5
Catheterization导管/导尿:5
Cells/Closets (locked inside of)锁入密室/壁橱:4
Chastity belts贞操带: 0
Chauffeuring汽车司机/运送: 0
Choking闭气/窒息: 5
Clothespins衣夹: 5
Cock worship阳具崇拜: 5
Competitions (with other Subs)与其它奴隶/受虐者比赛: 4
Corsets (wearing)穿紧身衣1
Cuffs (leather)镣铐、皮革: 4
cuffs (metal)镣铐、金属:5
Cutting切割: YES for $$$$
Dilation膨胀/扩张: 3
Double penetration双阳具插入: 5
Electricity电: 5
Enemas灌: 4
Enforced chastity强制贞操: 0
Examinations (physical)身体检查/审查: 5
Exercise (forced/required)运动、强迫/要求: 5
Exhibitionism (friends)露阴、向朋友:0
Exhibitionism (strangers)露阴、向生人: 2
Eye contact restrictions限制目光接触5
Face slapping掴击脸部/打耳光5
Fantasy abandonment幻想抛弃: 5
Fantasy rape幻想强奸: 5
Fantasy gang-rape幻想轮奸: 5
Fisting (anal)肛门手交：整个拳头插入肛门:5
Following orders跟随命令: 5
Foot worship脚部崇拜: 3
Forced dressing强迫着装: 3
Forced nudity (private)强迫裸体、私下: 5
Forced nudity (around others)强迫裸体、在其他人:0
Forced servitude强迫劳役: 5
Full head hoods完全蒙盖头部/蒙头: 5
Gags (cloth)封口、布料:3
Gags (rubber)封口、橡胶: 5
Gags (tape)封口、胶带: 5
Gates of Hell (male)地狱之门、男性 YES!!!!!!!
Genital sex生殖器性行为/正常性交: 5
Given away to other Dom(temp)赠送给另一主人、短时间: 5
Given away to other Dom(perm)赠送经另一主人、永久 YES for $$$$
Golden showers金色淋浴/屎尿: 5
Hairbrush spankings用毛刷拍打:5
Hair pulling拖拉头发: 5
Hand jobs (giving)用手、给予: 1
Hand jobs (receiving)用手、接受: 5
Harems (serving w/other subs)女眷、与其他奴隶一起服伺主人: 5
Harnessing (leather)束以马具/笼头、皮革: 4
Harnessing (rope)束以马具/笼头、绳索: 4
Having food chosen for you食用为你挑选的食物: 4
Having clothing chosen for you穿着为你挑选的服装 4
Head (giving fellatio)口交、给予: 5
Head (receiving fellatio)口交、接受:5
High heel worship高跟鞋崇拜: 0
Homage with tongue(n-sexual)用舌头表达尊敬、非性行为: 5
Hot oils (on genitals)热油、用于生殖器: 4
Hot waxing上热蜡: 4
Housework (doing)做家务: 5
Human puppy dog人扮小狗: 3
Humiliation (private)羞辱、私下: 5
Humiliation (public)羞辱、公开场合: 0
Spreader bars手足伸展棒/把两足或两手绑在棍棒两端使其尽量伸展: 5
Standing in corner墙角罚站: 3
Stocks（长袜/储备）: 5
Strait jackets直接/只穿上衣外套: 5
Strap-on-dildos (sucking on)穿戴式假阳具、舔舐: 5
Strap-on-dildos (penetrated by)穿戴式假阳具、抽插:5
Strap-on-dildos (wearing)穿戴式假阳具、穿着: 1
Strapping (full body beating)用皮带/皮鞭抽打全身: 5
Suspension (upright)悬吊、直立: 5
Suspension (inverted) 悬吊、颠倒/倒吊: 5
Suspension (horizontal)悬吊、水平: 5
Supplying new partners for Dom为主人提供新伙伴: 0
Swallowing semen吞咽精液: 5
Swallowing urine吞咽尿液/饮尿: 5
Swapping (with one other couple)交换、与另一对配偶: NO
Swinging (multiple couples)交换、与多对配偶: NO
Tattooing绞身: YES for $$$$
Teasing挑逗/取笑: 3
Tickling痒: 4
Triple penetration三阳具插: 5
uniforms制服: 3
Including others包括其他）:4
Vaginal dildo阴道用假阳具:1
Verbal humiliation口头羞辱/言辞羞辱: 5
Vibrator on genitals对生殖器使用震荡按摩器: 3
Voyeurism (watching others)窥淫、看其他人: 3
Voyeurism (your Dom/others)窥淫、看你主人与其他人: 2
Video (watching others)观看录像: 3
Video (recordings of you & me)观看自己的录像: 5
Water torture用水折磨: 5
Wearing symbolic jewellery佩戴象征性珠宝饰物:3
Whipping鞭挞: 5
Wooden paddles木板、如球拍等、击打: 5
Uncontrolled furor 观看录像: 5
Snuff playing角力/扭打/格斗/摔跤: 5






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Oooooppppps, 22
MY ULTIMATE FANTASY!

I'm approached by a police officer(s), they ask the normal questions, but then notice how cute I am... I'm too cute to let go of! So the officer(s) chloroforms* me, rendering me unconscious. The officer(s) proceed to bind and gag me and kidnap me either by putting me in their car, and driving me to some remote place.

*I have no experience with chloroform, and I'm a singer, if this will damage my singing voice, then please do NOT use chloroform on me, if it will not affect it, please use it.

On to my limits:
You will not shave my head, but the rest of my body is negotiable.
You will not put my cock in your mouth or ass.
You will not hit me above the shoulders.
You will not squeeze my throat.
You will not hit me on the head with anything.
You will not cut my dick off.
You will not piss or shit in my mouth.
You will not write on me.





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enjoy_till_end, 18
"LIFE IS FUN BUT I TRY TO KNEW HOW TO MAKE YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE BY BEING UNCOMFORTABLE... EACH TIME DEMANDS GOES BUT STOCKS COMES DOWN SAME WAY LIFE GOES UP AND SO DOES THE VALUE OF PERSON"

Hey guys my mom bought the story i am back from hospital for you to do everything you want with me you have simply to ask again






*

p.s. Hey. Same deal as yesterday, i.e. I'm sick. Probably a little worse today. There will be p.s. damage, sorry. ** gucciCODYprada, Hi, Cody. Yeah, a little time would be good for the response thing. But you can comment here for others reasons if the mood strikes. Would be really ace. Yeah, sick, ugh, but it can't hold out too much longer, right? Lots of love, me. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. Thank you. I'm doing the fluids thing. But this whatever that I'm beset with is fucking with my sleep, so I might have to do without the zzz's remedy. My fear isn't mid-interview vomiting but rather mid-interview staring into space in befuddlement. ** Tosh Berman. Hi. You're right, I'm a work-it-off kind of guy unless it whomps me into sleep without my say-so. Oh, you're off to Tokyo today! I would love to hear how you are and about  anything Tokyo-related if the blog looks homey from down there. Safe flight! ** Steevee, Hi. Thank you. Oh, that does sound better. I.e., its politics. Re: its success. Over here anyway. Maybe it's too UK for the US. It's quite a hit in France, apparently. I heard part of the new Goat. I like it. I want to get it, I think. Thanks! ** Jeffrey Coleman, Thanks, Jeff. I did see that Quietus piece, yeah. It's good. The Quietus and Tiny Mix Tapes are in my daily site visit cycle. I listened to a bit of Orval Carlos Sibelius and quite liked it, and I want to investigate them more. Don't know Gum Takes Tooth -- nice name, yeah -- but I'll dig into whatever they do when I get well. I like what I know of Astral Social Club, but I didn't know about the new Soundcloud album. Will check it. Cool, thank you a ton for the great suggestions as always. And really glad that you heard from your friend, whew. ** Kiddiepunk, Mikester! Ha ha, thank you, I will get better now for sure. Yeah, man, I got knocked out. Sucks. I have to try to talk about JT Leroy and try watch my p's and q's this morning on film. They flew all the way from LA to talk to my unexpectedly sick-fucking-self. Fuck. Miss you, man! ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T. Yeah, CA are really good. I pretty much like everything Loke does. For my money, that Shellac track I chose is the only really good one on a generally blah album. Hope your headache has vacated. Very cool about that interview. I'll devour it as soon as I have the facilities to devour anything. Everyone, Thomas Moronic alerts everyone to an interview by Harmony Korine of Kenneth Anger. Pretty incredible combo there, obviously. Read it here. ** Kier, Hi, Kier! Thanks for the well wishes! And for the healing gif, yay, yum! I hope you're not getting sick. I speak with authority when I say that being sick sucks. I've never seen 'Portlandia' or 'Veronica Mars'. TV has become a distant desert to me. It's weird. My sick day was spent trying to do things and not doing much of anything other than blowing my nose and coughing and spacing out. Uh, ... what did happen? I think I wrote some emails. I know I got some. I think I made most of two blog posts. Uh, oh, 'God Jr.' is going to be audio book. My first ever audio book. Weird. That's all I know about it. If anything else happened, it's been forgotten. Sorry. I'm doing that JT Leroy interview in a little while whether I'm capable or not, so I guess I can tell you about that tomorrow if nothing else. Tell me about Tuesday! ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. I'm really glad you liked Helen Adam. She was a serious treasure. That video is one of my favorite things. Cool, obviously, re: the resumption of Art101 on Thursday! ** Kyler, Hi, K. I'm doing zinc. If it's helping, it's taking its sweet time. Maybe Wednesday morning. That's my current goal. ** Misanthrope, Hi, G. Thanks. Oh, man, your allergy attack sounds even worse than whatever I'm down with. You win, sorry. 'Cows' might be just the thing to change LPS's life. I'm doing fluids and vitamin C, but sleep is denying me most of its theoretically saving graces for some reason. ** Sypha, Stay away from sick people. That's my banal but good advice. No, haven't watched the 'Inherent Vice' trailer yet. Excited for it though. Well, then watch a PTA movie, right? It's not so hard to do, buddy. ** Postitbreakup, Hi. I haven't checked my email yet, but I will. Thank you for the well wishes and for the shining beacon. ** Made it. It being the last day of the month, guess what? Yep, slave invasion. Embrace them or fend them off as you see fit. Speaking of fit, perhaps I'll be fit when I see you tomorrow. I doubt it, but you never know.

The Starck Club, Dallas
closure reason: unknown (1989)






The Cave, New Orleans
cr: ceiling collapse (1931)






The Living Room, Providence, RI
cr: building declared unsafe (1991)






The Blitz Club, London
cr: declining attendance (1989)









B018, Beirut
cr: bombing (2014)






Heartbreakers, Columbia
cr: insider deal (early 2000s)






La Favela, Bali
cr: gas explosion (1992, 43 killed)







Sari Club, Kuta, Bali
cr: terror attack (2002, 202 killed)







Christian Audigier Club, Las Vegas
cr: bankrupt (2014)







Art of Lovers, Osaka
cr: prostitution (2013)












New City Club, Tokyo
cr: structural instability (2014)






King Xhmu Discotheque, Sapporo
cr: unknown (2014)






Enchanted Forest Teen Club, Dayton
cr: burned (1972)







La Belle Angèle, Edinburgh
cr: arson (2002)






Proscape Gardens, Memphis
cr: unknown (1979)






The Bitter Lemon, Memphis
cr: unknown (1972)







Club Oberá, Oberá, Argentina
cr: paranormal activity (2013)








Lolito's, Moscow
cr: front for a child prostitution ring (2014)






Cocanut Grove, Boston
cr: burned (1942, 500 people killed)







The Station, West Warwick, RI
cr: burned (2003, 100 people killed)






40/40 Club, Atlantic City
cr: destroyed by Hurricane Sandy (2012)









Medusa's, Chicago
cr: lost its lease (1992)






The Hospital, Montreal
cr: no business license (2005)







Sutthisan Rama, Bangkok
cr: financial crisis (2004)











Cross Club, Prague
cr: safety code violations (2014)






The Tunnel, NYC
cr: non-payment of rent (2001)







Xenon, NYC
cr: declining attendance (1984)






The Doors, Johannesburg
cr: mass murder on premises (1997)






Pyyzm, London
cr: onsite rape and murder (2013)






Eclipse, Coventry
cr: continued drug arrests (1995)







Gatecrasher One, Sheffield
cr: burned (2007)







Pusher, Manchester
cr: police drug crackdown (1974)






Kettells, Seattle
cr: unknown (2009)









No Comment Club, Paris
cr: unknown (2014)






Cabaret du Néant, Paris
cr: waning of 'clubs that celebrate death' fad (1867)







The Nsect Club, Hampton, VA
cr: weak attendance (1995)






Cousin Bill's, Oklahoma City
cr: tornado (2012)






Hillbilly Ranch, Boston
cr: burned (1980)






Chandalier, NYC
cr: unknown (1985)







The Metaphysics, NYC
cr: destroyed by WTC collapse (2011)








The Electric Circus, NYC
cr: outmoded (1970)







Shorty's Underground, Cincinnati
cr: floor collapsed (1995)







Panorama Club, Portland
cr: unknown (2003)






The Odyssey, Los Angeles
cr: burned (1981)







Coconut Teaszer, Los Angeles
cr: foreclosure (2006)








The Starwood, Los Angeles
cr: unpaid taxes (1981)







Gazzarri's, Los Angeles
cr: irreparable earthquake damage (1993)








Clifton's Pacific Seas, Los Angeles
cr: declining attendance (1960)







Floodlights, Beverly Hills
cr: never existed (2000)






Nafta Club, Nazare, Portugal
cr: building collapsed (2002)










The Adventurers Club, Orlando
cr: unknown (2009)






Mystic, Malta
cr: mass suicide on premises (1970)







Honey Moon Trail, Rock Springs, Maryland
cr: owner murdered (1963)






JB's, Flint, Michigan
c: burned (2014)






The Magic Kingdom, Indonesia
cr: bomb blast (2002, 180 killed)








The Cave @ Homa Chateau, Gullin, China
cr: flooded (2014)







Lavish, St. Louis
cr: unknown (2002)






Old Joanna's, Swansea
cr: burned (1998)







Dady-O Nightclub, Cancun
cr: drug trafficking (2014)








Luv-a-Fair, Vancouver
cr: safety code violations (2004)






Charlie's Club, Moore, Oklahoma
cr: tornado damage (2014)




*

p.s. Hey. The combo of sickness and weird related sleeping problems has me pretty wiped out today, so apologies re: the p.s. for the third and hopefully last time. ** Tosh Berman, Hi. Aw, thanks, but the gin and the Beach Boys probably get a bunch of the credit. It was a good group, though. Luck of the draw, basically. I always use long plane flights to catch up on blockbusters, as you probably know. What did you watch? I'm seriously interested. And you're in Tokyo now! My tired, diseased mind swims. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. 'Letting the bitch have it' is not my style. I was as honest and reasonable as my fog allowed. The interesting thing about this film is that, one, it's being made by an interesting director -- he made the good doc 'The Devil and Daniel Johnston' -- and, two, that Laura Albert agreed to be interviewed for it. First time that's happened. We'll see, but the guy has done his research big time, if nothing else. ** Scunnard, I would like to have been a fly on the wall too 'cos I was semi-out-of-it, and I said/came off like ... god knows. Never understood the Dead Milkmen thing. Or I mean the 'why they were supposedly interesting' thing. Daft Punk's 'Discovery' is genius. The rest is varying degrees of pretty good, I think. What do you think? ** Bill, Hi, Bill. Unfortunately I'm not. Feeling better. I have this theory that it must be peaking today. Based on ... nothing. On my sunny side. Yeah, Croatian Amor is very cool. Oh, shit, how was the concert? ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T. My mind is like the mind of a bifocals-needing guy who isn't wearing his bifocals today, but, even so, those were very beautiful, and I'll find out why when I reread them or more like read them as soon as my mind belongs to me again. Thank you, maestro! ** Sypha, Yeah, I'm sure, re: the high improbability of escaping any circulating illnesses when you work retail. Never heard of 'Gone Home'. It sounds kind of like a throwback to 'Myst' and that era of computer games, which is a very good thing. I loved those kinds of games. I'll go see what I can find out about it Thank you. ** Steevee, Hi. Well, I'm not sure wannabe slaves are particularly constructive thinkers. Then factor in that most of that stuff is fantasy, and there you go. I forget where he was based. I have a bad memory this morning, but I think he might have been based in Israel itself. ** Robert-nyc, Hi, Robert. They were pretty slutty, yeah. If I had my wits about me, I would have said something less prosaic and more like, 'Takes one to know one', ha ha. Cool you're coming to see 'Kindertotenlieder'! I, and Gisele, who's doing the 'talk' thing too, will try to be entertaining or something. Ouch, sorry, about your body pain. I do that kind of thing to myself twice or so year. Really annoying pain. I haven't heard the new Perfume Genius yet, no. I have a certain degree of interest in him, but I haven't gone wild for his stuff, yet anyway. Oh, I'm so sorry about your dad, Robert. Having lost mine a few years ago, yeah, it is a complex thing to go through and to try to understand. Hugs. Very glad you're writing and sending it out too. Sorry for my fuzz. It's nice to see you. ** Kier, Hi, K. Thanks. They were a good batch. Oh, uh, I did have favorite lines, but my brain is too much like toast at the moment to try to recall them. I think the interview went okay. I was pretty zonked and chugging double espressos to stay alert. It was long, like ... many hours long. Like I told David, it seems to be a pretty serious film about the whole JT Leroy thing. Not like that stupid Discovery channel thing earlier this year. I basically said the same stuff I always say about the whole nightmare. I have no idea how I and what I said will be edited and framed by the director. I wish I had not been so fuzzy in the brain pan, that's for sure. That was the only productive thing I did yesterday. The rest was just sickness, surviving and battling. Today is going to suck 'cos my sleep was horrible, but I'll see if I can do something of note in this morass. Yeah, audio book. Trippy. No, I'm not the reader. I have some kind of input or opinion on the reader they choose, but I would suspect my influence there is pretty limited. We'll see. You slept badly too? Hugs, high five, fist bump! How was your day? Did you sleep? I can't sleep during the day except when I'm really, really out of it. So I'm doomed until tomorrow. I suspect. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. If you don't mind, I'll take your hopes and delay them until tomorrow because today is crappy. Ugh, about the political landscape. Use what's going on in Hong Kong as some kind of role model maybe? Stay passionate and committed and strong, pal. ** Etc etc etc, Hi, C. All I know about the audio book thing is that Grove Press has struck some kind of deal with a company called Audible, who do audio books, and the Audible people chose some books from the Grove Press backlist, and 'God Jr.' was one of the chosen books. Thanks about it. I like that novel. It's been under option for the movies by the awesome people who made 'Coraline' and 'ParaNorman' for a few years now, and those things rarely come to fruition, but that would be big and cool if that does happen. Ed Dorn, huh. Um, complicated. I did like his poetry when I was younger. 'Gunslinger' particularly. But he was kind of a really horrible guy who was involved in this nasty thing called 'The AIDS Award' where he and another poet would give 'The AIDS Award' once a year to writers they didn't like. I got the award one year, and a couple of others writers I know got the award, both of whom later died of AIDS. Him doing that kind of colored my opinion of his stuff. But, yeah, he was an interesting poet. The 'interactive chunk of Infinite Jest' is mysterious and interesting. Yeah, curious to hear more about that. Cool. My work is stopped dead by my being ill at the moment, but it'll flow again soon. It has to. I hope the CCM mainline happens soon. ** Postitbreakup, Thanks! ** Misanthrope, I hope you're feeling better. I'm not, but it has to happen sooner or later. Oh, crap, the worst case scenario re: the LPS situation has come to pass. I mean, I don't know, but could you report his violation of the protective order to the police? Is that bad form? Man, that's fucking awful. Let me/us know what happens. Horrible. Hugs and love, man. ** Hyemin K, Hi. Thanks for the kind thoughts. No, I just picked up some sickness that's going around, I think. Surely, I'll start feeling better tomorrow. Surely. ** Jared, Hi, Jared! Thanks, I hope so too. What's the deal on that show you organized? That's very exciting! Give me info or a link to the info or something. Oh, Aki! I love Aki's music, and I kind of know him personally a little. He was in residency here at the Recollects for awhile. I really love his music a lot, and he is a sweetheart. That's very cool. I think the self-recognition leading to therapy thing is really, really good. I think you know I was in heavy therapy at one point, and, even though I still can't figure out how it could have worked, it made a huge difference. Yeah, let me get well and rested, and I'll fill you in, thanks for being interested, A lot has been going on and still is. Things are very good. Great, Jared! It's so cool to have you around! ** Damien Ark, Thanks a lot, Damien! Hugs, kisses right back. ** Okay. What's today? Oh, dead clubs. Uh, yeah, dead clubs. That's the whole story. I'll do my best to improve myself and, by consequence, the p.s by tomorrow. See you then.

'As a filmmaker, Herschell Gordon Lewis was a businessman above all else, and his 12-year movie career was spent either chasing or creating trends. But the one trend that he is directly responsible for -- the splatter film, where Grand Guignol theater is translated to the screen for the sole purpose of allowing the viewer to ogle the dripping viscera of the human body -- has endured, inspiring an entire new genre of film and breaking down the barriers of what is allowable in onscreen violence. All of Lewis' artistic choices were made for strictly mercenary reasons, and retaining a competitive edge over Hollywood was prime consideration. In simply showing more onscreen than other filmmakers would dare, Lewis inadvertently created a monster that still stomps messily among us and influenced American culture (popular and otherwise) forever.

'His film career began one day when he was complaining to an associate at his ad agency that the only way to make real money in the business was to shoot features. When the man asked why he just didn't make one, Lewis realized he didn't have an answer, and the seeds for The Prime Time were sown. Lewis produced but did not direct this inaugural project, a mildly sleazy melange of juvenile delinquency and beatnik jive, and his experiences with the film encouraged him to take the reins of further productions. He was dismayed by what he considered to be unnecessary wasting of time and resources while the picture was made, and he was determined to trim every financial corner in hopes of larger profits. He debuted as a director with Living Venus, notable primarily for introducing Harvey Korman in his first feature film role.

'Around this time he went into partnership with David F. Friedman, an ex-carny and road show man who had the background and instincts to help exploit Lewis' films to their utmost potential. They wasted no time in jumping into the nudie film business, producing low-budget product for display at striptease clubs. The Adventures of Lucky Pierre cost only 7,500 dollars to make and was a hit, a silly burlesque-style rip-off of Russ Meyer's The Immoral Mr. Teas. The pair then turned to nudist colony films, one of the few ways that filmmakers could legitimately show skin in those stringent times. Their films were successful enough, but both Lewis and Friedman were hungry for something that could separate them from the rest of the pack. While watching a gangster film one night on television, Lewis noticed that a character's bullet-riddled body barely bled, and a brainstorming session with Friedman led to a whole new genre of film.

'While blood had been shown onscreen before in other non-Hollywood productions, no one had devised a film that would focus directly on the carnage, with scene after scene of graphic, stomach-churning mayhem as the sole point of the show. The gimmick was something that might give the filmmakers an edge over their competition. After wrapping up their nudist colony epic Bell, Bare and Beautiful, the two were inspired by the Egyptian facade of the hotel they were staying at and developed a script on the spot about a sinister caterer who collects body parts for use at a feast designed to raise an ancient Egyptian goddess from the dead. Blood Feast was completed in two days and was a hit in 1963, filling drive-ins and outraging decent citizens. Lewis and Friedman had found their cash cow and were determined to milk it.

'They would continue down the exploitation path with 2000 Maniacs, Color Me Blood Red, Alley Tramp, Monster a Go-Go!, Sin, Suffer and Repent, and Moonshine Mountain, and even tried his hand at two children's films: Jimmy, the Boy Wonder and The Magic Land of Mother Goose. Lewis explored a number of exploitation subjects in the latter half of the 1960s, usually following proven trends in an effort to strike while the iron was hot. She-Devils on Wheels arrived early in the popular surge of motorcycle action dramas, while Blast Off Girls was a belated attempt to exploit rock & roll. Suburban Roulette was an uncharacteristically tame story of wife swapping, and Something Weird's plot included LSD use along with witchcraft and extra sensory perception.

'While Lewis may have been playing the field, he hadn't given up on the gore genre completely. The bizarre horror comedy The Gruesome Twosome arrived in 1967, as did his lengthy vampire epic A Taste of Blood. But his final two horror features helped cement his legacy as the creator of gore films with an enthusiastic exclamation point. 1970's The Wizard of Gore is a surrealistic, confounding tale of a mysterious magician who uses sleight of hand and mind control to physically tear his victims limb from limb. Even more grotesque, though, was The Gore Gore Girls (1972), a jaw-droppingly tasteless nudie-horror-comedy that found Lewis outdoing every outrage he had ever perpetrated on the audience. While the effects remained as cheap as ever, the audacious brutality and mutilations (set against corny humor and an inappropriately jolly musical score) earned The Gore Gore Girls the first X rating given solely for violence.

'The film turned out to be the voluntary end of Lewis' movie career. He had kept his advertising agency throughout his filmmaking years and it was flourishing, as was his expertise with copywriting. Finding it harder to outdo his fellow exploiteers as well as the more liberal Hollywood features of the time, he gave up the grind and went on to a very successful career in direct mail marketing and copywriting; indeed, the instructional tomes he's produced on the subjects are considered essential reading for many professionals. Lewis ended up losing the rights to his films after putting them up as collateral for a car rental business venture that failed. He didn't mourn, thinking that they weren't worth much, but when home video exploded in the 1980s, Blood Feast found a whole new bloodthirsty audience, and as the years have progressed, Lewis' films are more popular than ever. After years of musing over returning to the slasher genre he created, Lewis finally began production for Blood Feast 2 in 2001.

'Herschell Gordon Lewis has never regarded himself as a great filmmaker, and it isn't false modesty on his part that prevents him from making such a claim. His interest in a motion picture career was predicated solely on making money, something that he has always cheerfully admitted. Whether or not he succeeded to the extent that he desired is only for him to decide, but one thing is for certain, his work opened up avenues for a legion of hucksters and con artists to make millions off the cruel desires and tasteless urges of audiences.'-- Fred Beldin



___
Stills




















































_____
Further

Herschell Gordon Lewis Official Site
HGL @ IMDb
'The Cinema of Herschell Gordon Lewis'
'Why the Godfather of Gore came to Calgary to make his latest film
Download HGL's films @ Something Weird
Review: 'The Eye Popping Sounds of Herschel Gordon Lewis'
'Herschell Gordon Lewis Returns with Anthology "BloodMania"'
'Splatter auteur Herschell Gordon Lewis: "I’m no artist"'
'Herschell Gordon Lewis and the Corpse Reviver Shot'
'Scum of the Earth – 7 Herschell Gordon Lewis Films'
'Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore' @ Slant
'Well, life is full of surprises. For all of us.'
'Herschell Gordon Lewis may not be one of the two greatest filmmakers of all time'
'Gore Pioneer Herschell Gordon Lewis Gets His Due'
'Dream - Herschell Gordon Lewis' @ Arte
'Herschell Gordon Lewis: Exploitation with a goblet of gore'
'Master Of More Than Gore'
'Bad Biology and Herschell Gordon Lewis'



____
Extras


Trailer: 'Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore'


THE LOST FILMS OF HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS


Herschell Gordon Lewis 'Noise'


Best worst fight scene from HGL's 'Linda and Abilene'


Herschell Gordon Lewis's Holiday Marketing Tip



_______
Interview
from Bright Lights Film Journal




Your background in academics was quite different from that of your partner David Friedman. Was this difference an advantage in that it allowed for two widely differing viewpoints, as far as how to market or sell a film?
The disparity of backgrounds was a heavy asset. I brought a sophisticated knowledge of advertising and communications; Dave Friedman brought a carnival barker knowledge of how to motivate people. The combination worked, and we learned from each other.

Did you ever think when you were making the now classic Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs that future filmmakers, not only those in the exploitation market, would cite your films as being influential?
I hadn’t anticipated being a footnote to motion picture history. I did realize we were producing a film of a type no one had produced before. The question was: Would any theatre play it?

Was there a particular film or even a particular scene in one of your films that really outraged the public and incurred the wrath of decency groups?
The infamous tongue scene in Blood Feast was the watershed gore scene.

Did it surprise you or does it surprise you when certain films, novels, or artworks come under fire from decency groups for containing what they consider to be extreme violence?
Decency groups don’t bother me as long as they proselytize their own followers. When they try strong-arm tactics in the mainstream, I’m very much opposed.

What did you think of the gore films of the mid-1970s and 1980s that came after Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs?
Most of the follow-up films were formulaic. I don’t sense a great deal of difference among the various Halloweens and Amityvilles and Screams, although certainly their effects far transcend any I was able to include.

Was the dialogue in your films improvised or was there always a complete script that you adhered to?
After Blood Feast the films were scripted. This was self-protection to assure minimal film wastage.

When looking back to your films, are you ever surprised that you were ale to get so much from relatively small budgets?
I’m not at all surprised that I could get so much from a small budget. My rules were absolute: 1. Don’t shoot a rehearsal. 2. Make do. 3. Don’t quit for the day until you’ve shot every scheduled scene.

Did the small budgets inspire you to become more creative in the setting up of scenes, camerawork, special effects, etc.?
Yes, small budgets were the driver, forcing us to substitute imagination for dollar expenditure.

Does it surprise you when serious, or if you want to use the word "highbrow," film journals such as Cahiers du Cinema discuss or profile your career and your films?
I once was nonplussed that serious publications took my work seriously. I no longer am, because I see the profound effect our early films had on film production.

Do you see filmmaking as an artform, as something to be taken seriously?
I see filmmaking as a business and pity anyone who regards it as an artform and spends money based on that immature philosophy.

Do you think that all works of art must contain exploitation elements?
Art is in the eye of the beholder. It isn’t necessary for all art to include exploitation materials, but certainly it’s necessary to include devices that seize and control attention from the target-group the artist is trying to reach.

How do you think the independent film market has changed since the days when you were an independent? Has it changed for the better?
The independent film market no longer exists. The industry is an Arabian bazaar, with nonaffiliated producers clamoring for attention along with the major studios. The successful independent invariably sells his/her product to a major company or direct to cable.

Just For the Hell of It (1968) is considered to be one of the most disturbing and violent juvenile delinquent films ever made, two years before Clockwork Orange was released. Were comparisons ever made between the two, and what did you think of A Clockwork Orange?
I never have drawn a parallel between Just For the Hell of It and A Clockwork Orange. Many feel A Clockwork Orange is pompous and obscure; I don’t…and I love Beethoven’s music.

A number of your films contain the theme or subject of psychic phenomena as well as witchcraft and magic or what you might term occult subjects. Are these subjects that are of interest to you?
I’m mildly interested in psychic phenomena but am no fanatic. I’d be delighted if some sort of proof ever came to light.

Who are some of your favorite directors? And what are some of your favorite films?
I admire the Coen Brothers and like just about every film they’ve made.

In films like Color Me Blood Red (1965) and even The Adventures of Lucky Pierre (1961), you poke fun at the pretensions of art and the world of art. Are you suspicious of the intentions of filmmakers who try to package exploitation as art?
I think I’ve answered that question. Yes, I’m suspicious of filmmakers who regard themselves as artists and auteurs.

How did you respond to critics who viewed your films as bizarre, either in content or style?
I don’t regard having a film called "bizarre" as an insult. If a critic offers that comment, I’d thank him for it.



___________________
16 of Herschel Gordon Lewis's 38 films

______________
Blood Feast (1963)
'Groundbreaking in so many evil ways, Blood Feast is the simple tale of an insane Miami resident who kills women in putrid manners, in hopes of resurrecting an Egyptian goddess. Yes, it’s a load of narrative malarkey, yet Lewis’ one-note flick is charmingly despicable. It took some major balls to make a gross-out of this kind back in '63, and Blood Feast doesn’t shy away from its vileness; the film’s most memorable (for all the wrong reasons) image is that of the antagonist pulling a hot blonde’s tongue right out of her throat. It’s a moment akin to the moon landing for gore-hounds.'-- Complex



Trailer


the entire film



______________
Scum of the Earth (1963)
'The film truly belongs to Lawrence Wood, who plays Mr. Lang with such an insane joy that it’s impossible not to root for the sleazy old pornographer. Whether he’s giggling as a toy monkey somersaults across his desk or he’s politely explaining why nothing is actually his fault, Wood appears to be having such a good time that it’s just infectious. Wood’s best moment comes when Kim expresses some reluctance about modeling for more pictures and suddenly, Mr. Lang starts to shout at her about how she (and all the other kids) are hypocrites. “You’re damaged merchandise and this is a fire sale!” he shouts as sweat streams down his face and Lewis zooms in for a close up of his mouth, “You’ll do what I tell ya!” Wood screams, “Do you hear!?” It’s a scene of lunatic genius that, in the best tradition of both Herschell Gordon Lewis and the grindhouse in general, comes out of nowhere and is all the more effective because of it.'-- unobtainium13.com



Trailer


Excerpt



________________
Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964)
'While Two Thousand Maniacs! may not be as rudely in-your-face as Blood Feast, it is a much more accomplished and effective picture, one which still has the power to make first-time viewers squirm uncomfortably in their seats. Essentially a macabre version of Brigadoon, Two Thousand Maniacs! sees the southern residents of Pleasant Valley seeking vengeance for Civil War atrocities by capturing two carloads of northerners and subjecting them to a variety of ingenious and stomach-turning tortures. Among the grisly highlights are a blonde sexpot (SHELBY LIVINGSTON) having her thumb sliced off by a muscle-bound hayseed, after which the demented townsfolk treat her wound by chopping off her entire arm! While her arm is being served up as barbecue(!), her husband JEROME EDEN is liquored up with moonshine, then drawn and quartered by four horses which gallop off in different directions.'-- Something Weird



Trailer



________________
Monster a-Go Go (1965)
'Director Herschell Gordon Lewis needed another movie to round out a double-feature with Moonshine Mountain. So he bought Bill (The Giant Spider Invasion) Rebane's unfinished Terror at Halfday, added a couple of extra scenes, some new dialogue, some narration, and voila - Monster A Go-Go was born. The plot, such as it is, is that an astronaut has gone missing after crash-landing in suburban Illinois. At the same time, a monster that looks suspiciously like the lost spaceman (and is highly radioactive) has been terrorizing teenagers and scaring the pants off of the locals. Scientists work to study the monster, but he escapes into the Chicago sewers, only to disappear suddenly.'-- tvtropes.org



Trailer


Excerpt



_______________
Color Me Blood Red (1965)
'Though Color Me Blood Red is the least discussed of Herschell Gordon Lewis's unofficial "Blood Trilogy" (which also includes Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs), it's probably my favourite. It's lighter on gore, but there's hardly any boring filler, its concept is great (a mad artist using blood for paint), and it's hysterical (sometimes intentionally, other times unintentionally). Best of all is its lead actor. Gordon Oas-Heim gives an outrageous performance as loony painter Adam Sorg. He shouts his way through the film with Zach Galifianakis-esque outbursts, bugged out eyes, and a sweaty forehead. He's a wonderful thing to watch.'-- Dave Jackson



Trailer



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Something Weird (1967)
'Between the Blood Trilogy and 1970's The Wizard of Gore, director Herschell Gordon Lewis explored a wide variety of themes outside the hard-gore arena while continuing to court viewers with the sensational and the exploitable. One of his most unusual offerings of this period was this category-defying tale from 1967. It would be too easy to simply suggest that Something Weird lives up to its title. What's truly remarkable is that this exploration of psychic phenomena, criminology, drug therapy, and the supernatural actually manages to remain coherent throughout its running time! The concept began as a script by producer James F. Hurley, who later complained that director Lewis had compromised his serious vision. (Interestingly, Hurley's original intent was reflected in his own subsequent film The Psychic in 1968, which utilized Lewis as cameraman. Viewing this film, one can see immediately why Lewis felt the story needed some "juicing up.")'-- images journal.com



Trailer


the entire film hosted by Joe Bob Briggs



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A Taste of Blood (1967)
'Herschell Gordon Lewis is one of my favourite directors and this was a huge let down for me. The master of gore became the master of bore in this retelling of Dracula. The pacing of this film is incredibly slow. There are many continuity errors including a chase scene where at one moment it's midday and then suddenly it's night and back to midday...and back to night. I thought I missed something at first and went back but no. Each scene is drawn out. A lot. I had to hold myself back from skipping through scenes. It could have easily been 40 minutes shorter. I will give him credit for trying something different from what he normally does. I think that's important in any craft...sometimes it doesn't work out. Skip it if you're not a fan of HGL though.'-- Nikola Night



Trailer



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The Gruesome Twosome (1967)
'This 1967 Herschell Gordon Lewis feature has the unique distinction of having one of the most bizarre openings in low-budget horror cinema history. After editing, the film was short in length. As filler, Lewis added two wig blocks with construction paper faces talking to each other during the opening. One of the wig blocks is stabbed as blood gushes out everywhere. Even after inserting this opening sequence, the film only runs 72 minutes. Crazy Mrs. Pringle and her mentally challenged son Rodney run a wig shop near a Florida college campus. The wigs are advertised as 100 percent real human hair. The shop also rents vacant rooms to college co-eds. The renting of rooms is only a disguise for Pringle to lure young women to the shop so Rodney can scalp and murder them.'-- Plan 9 Crunch



Trailer


Excerpt



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The Girl, the Body, and the Pill (1967)
'Always in search of uncharted exploitation territory, Lewis turns his attention this time to the then-controversial topic of birth control. Given the nature of the film, it is surprising that it contains practically no overt sexual situations beyond a couple suggestive dissolves. One of Lewis's more multifaceted productions, The Girl, the Body, and the Pill follows the subject through multiple perspectives. We see a liberal high school teacher (Pamela Rhea) advocating for sex education as a means of promoting proper hygiene among her rapidly developing adolescent students. Her efforts to promote planned parenthood meet with fierce opposition from the school board as well as the parents of several of the students. Actually, one parent in particular, the hyperprotective puritanical father (Bill Rogers) of a virginal daughter whose boyfriend wants to go all the way, is the loudest voice to oppose such education. The film additionally follows the exploits of the school's most promiscuous student, Randy (Nancy Lee Noble), and that of her considerably more promiscuous single mother(Valedia Hill).'-- Wikipedia



Trailer


Excerpt



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Blast-Off Girls (1967)
'Sleazy music promoter Boojie Baker convinces a pop band to come work for him. He arranges play dates, publicity, record contracts, and the band's loyalty by getting his hired girls to exercise their feminine charms on all who stand in his way. Thus he creates the new music sensation, The Big Blast, but the band is unhappy about Boojie keeping most of the money. When they try to leave, Boojie sets them up for trouble with the law, but offers to bail them out if they sign the contract. Can't anyone stop this scum bucket?' -- letterboxd.com



Trailer



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She-Devils on Wheels (1968)
'1968 saw no less than nine feature films from the prolific Herschell Gordon Lewis. Without a doubt, the best-remembered of the batch was this innovative girl gang mini-epic. Lewis didn't invent the biker film, but the female "Man-Eaters" of She-Devils on Wheels (written by Louise Downe) were the first of their kind. The Man-Eaters live up to their name in all but the most literal fashion. Led by Queen (Betty Connell) and the huge, poetically-inclined Whitey (Pat Poston), they're the terror of their community. To them, men are cattle--to be chosen from "stud lines" at their whim and to be tossed aside after use. Young initiate Honeypot (Nancy Lee Noble), however, hasn't quite got the idea; she tends to stick to one particular "stud." A challenge is set to the candidate: she'll become a full-fledged Man-Eater once she proves her loyalty by dragging the beaten body of her beau from the back of her own motorcycle!'-- images journal.com



Trailer


Excerpt



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Just for the Hell of It (1968)
'Hear the name Herschell Gordon Lewis, and you may picture in your mind's eye gouts of blood and gore, intestines being dangled in front of the screen and the somewhat dubious acting skills of playmate Connie Mason. There's a non-gore stream to the directing output of the man though, and although there is some blood right towards the end of the film, Just for the Hell of it eschews the trademark gore for the most part. What we have here is a foray into nihilistic morality and hippy-beatnik violence, which ends on quite a surprising note for a film made nearly forty years ago. For those of you with a penchant for vintage exploitation, you can do a lot worse than Just for the Hell of it. Aside from any thematic concerns, you've got the great sixties decor, clothes and soundtrack. After these surface thrills you can appreciate the pretty confronting violence and themes. Lewis has crafted a fairly potent essay on mindless evil, despite the sometimes clunky performances and low budget.'-- Girls Guns and Ghouls



Trailer


Excerpt



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The Wizard of Gore (1970)
'What WIZARD OF GORE does differently than most other magic films, especially of its time, is introduce popular technology into its trickery. The titular wizard, Montag, doesn’t only mesmerize his theater audiences but those viewing at home as well, with Lewis perhaps boldly starting a ‘fear of TV’ trend that would fully manifest in later features like NETWORK (1976) and VIDEODROME (1983). That the various slayings in the film also take place in the home rather than on the stage as they appear to – or do they? – root this almost firmly in the type of home invasion/slasher feature that would become popularized in 1978 with HALLOWEEN. What Lewis’s film may lack in subtlety it makes up for in blurring lines that were already blurry in the first place. The real spectacle isn’t all of the young women being dissected on screen and covered in – what was rumored to be – sheep guts, it is in Montag’s speeches about what we don’t know and can’t begin to figure out.'-- Brattle Blog



Trailer


Excerpt



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The Gore Gore Girls (1972)
'The Gore Gore Girls stands alone in the Lewis repertoire in several ways. Though no stranger to sex and nudity in his non-horror work, the director had always kept these elements a safe distance from his gore films, feeling such a blend was too risky even for him. But competition had upped the ante, so the move was finally made here (Lewis remembers less nudity than the film actually contains, incidentally). The combination of sick gore and sick humor remains as potent today as ever. Many viewers (including some horror fans) still find it unwatchable. Even Something Weird owner Mike Vraney (in his audio commentary interview with Lewis, where he's joined once again by Jimmy Maslin of Shock Films) admits his discomfort with the film's most extreme sequence. Lewis is neither defensive nor apologetic: he made the film, he states, for adults only; and for that matter, for adults who possessed a certain sick sense of humor. No attempt was ever made to disguise the nature of the film, and the idea that anyone would take it seriously is simply bewildering to the director. This was an attempt to once again out-"gross" what anyone else was doing; and it unquestionably delivered the goods.'-- images journal.com



Trailer


the entire film



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Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat (2002)
'Thirty-nine years after making his groundbreaking independent horror film Blood Feast, director Herschell Gordon Lewis returns with a sequel. This time around, Faud Ramses III (J.P. Delahoussaye) , the grandson of Blood Feast's protagonist, moves into his granddad's catering shop. It isn't long before Faud proves to be a chip off the old block, as he lures buxom young women into his lair and carves them up for sandwiches. Nobody ever has, nor could, accuse H.G. Lewis of being a genuinely good filmmaker – his career is built on lower-than-B-grade trash after all, but similar to the likes of Lloyd Kaufman, his movies must be viewed using a wholly different set of expectations than critical standard. In this sense, Blood Feast 2 is a raging success. Not only is it excessively gory (sickly, even, in parts), but it’s also legitimately funny. Visually, it looks cheap and uninspired – Lewis employs no glitzy camera tricks, displays no directorial flair, and blocks as easily as possible for an obviously quick shooting schedule. Again, being an H.G. Lewis film this is something to be expected, alongside lingering close-ups of the extreme mutilation conducted during the kill scenes and uniformly hammy acting from the cast.'-- dreadcentral.com



Trailer


the entire film



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The Uh-oh Show (2009)
'Originally conceived under the title of Grim Fairy Tales, The Uh-Oh Show! is gore and exploitation legend Herschell Gordon Lewis’s minimally scary second film of the new millennium. While his previous film was a sequel to arguably his most famous work, Blood Feast, this one’s a completely original idea. It blends his usual trademark extreme, absurd gore with light satire on reality TV and pop culture. The most important thing this horror comedy makes clear is that the man has not lost his sense of humor and fun in the slightest nor has he forgotten how to sling blood around or hack off body parts.'-- best-horror-movies.com



Trailer


Herschell Gordon Lewis and the Making of The Uh-Oh! Show




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p.s. Hey. I think it's possible that I feel very slightly better today. ** Jonathan, Hi, man. Take care of that thing early on, if you can, 'cos if it's related to my thing, its adulthood sucks. If even the smallest gulps of dark liquors didn't give me a horrible hangover, I'd try that whiskey cure. You better? Nuit Blanche is this weekend. It looks a little blah this year, but you should do it, it's fun. Yes, Sadaharu Aoki, ASAP, yes! ** Scunnard, Hi, thanks. Oh, right, memory-attached music totally transcends aesthetic stuff. That's that a sweet, sad story. I'll try to make Dead Milkmen into a siren if I ever hear them again. Daft Punk acting as writing fuel makes sense, yeah. D-bands of note. I know there be a handful but my brain isn't that clear. Do bands starting with 'Der' count? Beth Ditto, okay, explain her goodness to me if you want 'cos she just seems like an alterna-Christina Aguilera or something. I always feel like if she didn't look so cool, she'd be an 'American Idol' contestant or something. Oh, wait, Deerhunter, Deerhoof, Dinosaur Jr. ** Robert-nyc, Hi, Robert. I too am hoping for impending clear skies in my head and lungs. Yeah, I had my dad for quite a long time, so I was very lucky. Never went to the Tunnel for some reason. It might have popped up later than when I was in NYC. My NYC clubs were Area, Danceteria, Limelight, Palladium, etc. You take of yourself too. ** David Ehrenstein, I guess clubs are kind of like amusement parks in liquid form. Yeah, for sure, about LA's motivation. ** Sypha, 'Myst' without the mysticism, yeah. Those kinds of uneventful explore games were great, and, yes, the 'utter rejection of the macho/over-masculine attributes that seem so prevalent in many first person games today' was a key value, I think too. Their pan-gender identity thing was beautiful. Oh, that's okay about not coming to NYC. I understand. It would have been nice to see you, obviously. ** Kier, Me too, about the New City Club. I did read somewhere that they're trying to fix the structural stuff and reopen it. Maybe Tosh can check it out for us. I'm feeling so slightly better that I can't tell if I'm actually better. Also, I'm still waking up. Hope so, duh. You did more than I did yesterday by a long shot. I literally did nothing much. I tried to do things. Most of the day was me attempting to do things for certain lengths of time. There's stuff I have to do today -- meet with someone, give Gisele feedback on a music video she just shot -- so tomorrow will have something more detailed in it when I try to talk about it. You're back to work! How was that, and seeing 'Barry Lyndon', and everything else? ** Keaton, Hey. Oh, your month of daily blog posts has begun. I just glanced, and it looks spooky and alluring. Later for me. Everyone, mighty Keaton has begun a month of daily posts on his legendary blog. Yesterday was #1. Here he is to introduce it and send you over there. Go over there. Here he is: 'For me, there is nothing more frightful in this world than this guy's work. To think I have seen some of his work in person and can only vaguley remember it makes me want to punch myself in my head. The more I look or think about it, the sicker and more distraught I become. So, in the tradition of the "Horror of Sculpture" stories, The King in Yellow, Benlian, etc. Happy Hallowpeens kids, Marble Angels. (According to some sculpture books, Le Reveil d' Adam, perhaps the original is/was missing, when I first saw a it, I thought it was alive!)' Cool! Thanks for the love and for the good health vibes and for the nice stuff about the post. ** _Black_Acrylic, Oh, wow, I know about the Majestic in Leeds! That's a legendary club. Oh, shit, that really sucks. ** Steevee, Hi. The director said he doesn't want the film to be a 'talking heads' documentary. So far he's trying to just interview 'the core group', as he put it. I know he has done LA, Bruce Benderson, Ira Silverberg (JT's and my former agent), me. I know he's trying for Mary Gaitskill. I'm not who else. Maybe Gus? ** Tosh Berman, Yay, thank you for the in-flight films list! Was the 'Godzilla' fun? I'm still tempted. Oh, gosh, you're so very kind about the post. That crazy looking Tokyo club that got closed down is maybe going to reopen if it hasn't already, so, if you check it out, let us know the scoop. And enjoy sublime Tokyo! ** Misanthrope, I'm trying to heal. I might be fractionally healed. Confusing mixed messages there. Get the lead detective's name, for sure. Oh, look, if it's the slightest sweat to get to NYC, you've seen 'Kindertotenlieder', so don't feel you need to get there, and I'll be probably busy with it and maybe with traveling a bit outside the city with Zac. If you come, we'll sort out a meet, but just don't feel any compunction to come is all. ** Rewritedept, Hi. I am still sick, yeah, but maybe a teeny-weeny less so. Cool that you were a big hit at the wedding. I didn't see the pix yet. I've been indisposed. Cool that Mould was great. I'm quite surprised he said nice things about me, but I guess it's a lot easier to say nice things privately than it in print. I've just been sick. Really, nothing much else has been happening at all. ** Bill, Yeah, I know, about Club Obera. I loved that photo. I'm kind of vaguely very maybe feeling better, thanks. Glad that the concert was worth the trouble. Any evidence forthcoming? Yeah, the protests in Hong Kong are really beautiful and hopeful and shining. Very exciting. Have a great day. ** Right. Uh, oh, have a Halloween post in the form of a thing about Herschel Gordon Lewis's filmography. I hope you like it. See you tomorrow.

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p.s. Hey. Thomas Moronic's masterful 'EIF' series gets a Halloween costume today. Pretty great, obvs. Enjoy the hell out of it. Thanks, Thomas! So, you remember how I said that I was maybe slightly better yesterday. I couldn't have been more wrong. I got very whomped with illness last night, and I am a complete wreck. I don't even have the brain power to read the comments from yesterday. I have to get at least somewhat better by tomorrow because I have stuff I need to do, so I'll go try to sleep or stare or something all day in hopes that works. Sorry for no p.s. Hopefully tomorrow.

A structure made of scaffolding, for workers to stand on while working on a building. Middle English scaffold, scaffalde, from Medieval Latin scaffaldus, from Old French eschaffaut, escadafaut (“platform to see a tournament”), from Late Latin scadafaltum, from ex- + *cadafaltum, catafalcum (“view-stage”), from Old Italian *catare (“to view, see”) + falco (“a stage”), a variant of balco (“stage, beam, balk”), from Lombardic palko, palcho (“scaffold, balk, beam”), from Proto-Germanic *balkô (“beam, rafter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhelg- (“beam, plank”). Akin to Old High German balco, balcho (“scaffold, balk, beam”). Pronunciation: (UK) IPA(key): /ˈskæfəʊld/, (US) IPA(key): /ˈskæfəld/ or IPA(key): /ˈskæfl ̩d/



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Introduction


Introduction to Scaffolding : Basic Terms


Scaffolding Design 3D Tube & Fitting / Modular



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Types





























































































































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Collapses


Denmark


London


Melbourne


Surrey


London



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Jean Genet

'Here are the trees again – I haven’t really conveyed how fragile they were. The yellow leaves were attached to the branches by a fine yet real stalk, but the forest itself looked as frail to me as a scaffolding that vanishes when a building’s finished. It was insubstantial, more like a sketch of a forest, a makeshift forest with any old leaves, but sheltering soldiers so beautiful to look at they filled it with peace.'

'He was free to leave his body, the audacious scaffolding for his balls. Their weight and beauty he knew. With one hand, calmly, he opened the folding knife he had in the pocket of his peacoat.'

'Nothing in the world was odd: the stars on a general's sleeve, the stock−market quotations, the brief life of the scaffolding, it is the elaboration of that expedition which takes to the sea and continues.'

'I cling to myself on the scaffolding of my onanistically created characters, to prove their ... what?'

'The scaffolding of bodies, still a shelter for noxious acts collapsed into regret.'



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Resources

The Scaffolding Magazine
National Access & Scaffolding Federation
Safety requirements for scaffolding
Industrial scaffolding @ eBay



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Examples















































































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News

Four Painters Moving Scaffolding Hit By Ten Thousand Volt Electric Shock

Watch frightening moment daredevil fan falls from scaffolding during A$AP Rocky performance

Hearst Tower Scaffold Collapse Traps Two Window Washers

Guillaume Mazars Reimagines El Lissitzky's Horizontal Skyscrapers In Scaffold And LEDs

The Strange World of Scaffolding and Why We’ll Be Seeing More of It

Helicopter filmed hitting scaffolding and tearing itself apart

Insane Workers Assemble Scaffolding

Construction worker left with HALF A HEAD after horrific scaffolding accident has skull rebuilt

Dozens Hurt When NYC Tour Bus Crashes Into Scaffolding

Justin Bieber descends from the scaffolding dressed as an angel

Bubble Wrap Saves Falling Scaffolding Worker

Daredevil rooftop 'free runners' shot by airgun sniper as they scaled scaffolding



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Movies


The Dark Knight


Ask the Dust


Jurassic Park 3


Fellini's Roma



Transcendence


The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey




Duncan Jones's Moon


The Hundred Foot Journey



Louis Malle's Alamo Bay



Ironclad


Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters


Safety First


Giant


The Shining



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Science fiction

'Science fiction writers need to build out their worlds with enough detail and system knowledge to provide consistent scaffolding for character behavior, allowing the reader (and the author) to understand the flow of the story logic. It's often the case that a good portion of the world-building happens behind the scenes -- written for the author's own use, but never showing up directly on the page. But there's little need for science fiction writers to build their worlds beyond that scaffolding. Futurists need to make as much of their world-building explicitly visible as possible (and here the primary constraint is usually the intersection of limits to report length and limits to reader/client attention); any "behind the scenes" scaffolding risks leaving out critical insights, as often the most important ideas to emerge from foresight work concerns those basic technology drivers and societal dynamics. When a futurist narrative includes a story (with or without a main character), that story serves primarily to illuminate key elements of the internally-consistent, plausible scaffolding. In science fiction, the scaffolding supports the story; in futurism, the story supports the scaffolding.'-- Jamais Cascio



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Art



'Sarah Sze’s mixed-media installation Book of Parts (Centennial) is made up of tiny wood, plaster, felt and string objects that are ‘put on display’ across a large metal scaffolding. The work, dramatically lit, occupies an entire gallery in the museum’s modern and contemporary art section. Sze represented the United States at the 2013 Venice Biennal.'-- Blouin Art Info





'Highly evocative machines, small planes are capable of stirring up passionate feelings of wanderlust and the romance of travel. They are also symbolic of a particular kind of fearlessness and an individual will we often associate with the long solo voyage. Inspired by tales of journeys on small aircraft, Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro have created a new work titled Stasis (2012) for the MCA exhibition. This temporary installation on the Museum’s front lawn consists of a Beechcraft Travel Air suspended in a cube matrix of metal scaffolding. The bright orange plane is held aloft by the scaffolding system, yet also appears to have been captured mid-flight. Positioned with the plane’s nose pointing towards the MCA, its angle of trajectory suggests an ominous result.'-- MCA









'New Zealand artist Mike Hewson and Australian artist Agatha Gothe-Snape recently transformed the facade of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia into an enormous six-storey high public artwork that is part of the of the maintenance scaffolding. Playing with the uneven exterior of the Museum, the work uses dimensional perspective and a clever play on words to create a poetic and intriguing artwork that grows and shrinks and changes in appearance and meaning as scaffolding is assembled and deconstructed.'-- Junk Culture





Olafur Eliasson, Reversed waterfall, 1998, Scaffolding, steel, water, foil, wood, hose, and pump
122 4/5 x 109 2/5 x 63" (312 x 278 x 160 cm)









'Ben Long's evolving series of Scaffolding Sculptures examines the value of hard graft associated with manual employment and describes the process of work as a methodical, cumulative endeavor. Inspired by his experiences working on building sites as a teenager, Long constructed the first of his Scaffolding Sculptures in 2004 after two years of development for this ambitious series of artworks.'-- belong.co.uk





'New York City-based artist Olaf Breuning displayed his latest artwork for a series entitled Smoke Bombs at the 2012 Fiac contemporary art fair in Paris. For his series, Breuning photographed exploding pigment that he placed along scaffolding in the street.'-- Enpundit





'Allan Weller's Scaffold Furniture (1988) isolates the components of the dining table without the structure of the table. A chair’s seat and back float on a skeleton of scaffolding. Surrounding the chair is a plate, cup, glass, napkin, knife, fork, spoon and a lamp. Each is held with minimal support. Scaffolding is an element I use often to isolate and define. It is important to the understanding of process. Scaffolding floats an object in space and is crucial to the process of construction in architecture.'-- allanwexlerstudio.com






'Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan's In-Habit: Project Another Country (2012) is a floor-to-ceiling installation of miniature cardboard condominiums supported by steel scaffolding. The work has connections to the artist-duo’s own lives, it was inspired by the fragile houses and itinerant existence of the marginalized Badjao people, who live scattered across several islands of the Sulu Archipelago in the southwestern Philippines, and on the northern shores of Borneo. Living mainly in fragile stilt houses on the margins of the ocean, which both provides sustenance and contributes to its cultural identity, the Badjao community doesn’t conform to a modern state’s expectations of its citizenry or to the demands of a liberal economy.'-- artasiapacific.com





'French artist Christian Boltanski's CHANCE is an immense and complex installation – it’s like a oversize filmstrip running on large scaffolding so it looks like a giant film projector or newspaper press. You walk underneath and inside the scaffolding with a large filmstrip moving through it. The filmstrip is a series of photographs of newborn babies, taken from birth notices in Polish newspapers. There’s also two digital clocks which show the number of births and deaths across the world in real-time. Every evening at midnight, these clocks provide the figures for the day and tally a summary of births and deaths.'-- sydneycool.com.au






'Architects HWKN have won this year’s MoMA/P.S.1 Young Architects Program competition and will install a giant spiky structure that cleans the air in the courtyard of the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Centre in New York. Nylon fabric will be stretched across a grid of scaffolding to create the pointy arms of the installation, which is to be named Wendy.'-- dezeen.com





'In the late 1980s Noland began a series of sculptures and installations examining the masculine underpinnings of the American dream, embodied in men’s beer consumption. Crate of Beer (1989) is a wire-mesh basket full of empty Budweiser cans. In her 1989 untitled installation at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, Noland stacked six-packs of Budweiser atop one another. Metal scaffolding transformed these mountains of alcohol into a construction site. For the artist, Bud cans are as potent an American symbol as Old Glory, both being red, white, and blue.'-- Box Vox





'Berlinde De Bruyckere came to international prominence in 2003 at the Venice Biennale where she exhibited The Black Horse—a monumental, abjectly deformed figure covered in glossy horse hide. She specialises in sculpture in various media including wax, wood, wool, iron, lead, horse skin and hair. Be they human, equine or vegetal, her nightmarish sculptural displacements conjure and reflect upon suffering and vulnerability, love and brutality, loneliness and memory. De Bruyckere's most recent work consists of horse figures on scaffolding.'-- undo.net





Graham Hudson The Ruins, 2009, scaffold, pallets, ladders, 5 x turntables, on off timer and light chaser, cm 540x540x540




'Diana Al-Hadid’s multi-tiered and gravity-defying sculptures suggest time, space, human presence and absence. Simultaneously earthy and otherworldly, Al-Hadid’s work reverberates with architectural and natural forms that are both familiar and foreign. Nolli’s Orders (2012), the central work in this exhibition, is an enormous sculpture composed of a series of terraces and scaffolding onto which are affixed cloud-like structures and headless bodies.'-- art HOPPER







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p.s. Hi. I've been literally dead asleep except for waking up several times to cough violently and drink a little water since I launched the post yesterday. The night before last, my bad cold turned into a thing of horror. My body feels like it weighs a thousand tons. I am wiped out and can't think much less do the p.s. today. I'm sorry. Logic or something says I should be better enough to catch up with you on Monday. We'll see.

Glitch: a sudden, usually temporary malfunction or fault of equipment.

In this instance the equipment is my mind, a temporary malfunction in the bouts of depression or mania which mark me as corrupt and broken.

Within my work I strive to create a Cartesian Dualism, a link between physical ‘stuff’ and thinking ‘stuff’; through the building of installations I create an environment which tests the psyche of the viewer. I explore this through the relationship between the audience and myself, focusing on the behaviour and reactions to specific encounters with the work.





I have Borderline Personality Disorder and at times my life can be extremely difficult, however it can also be incredible wonderful. I feel my life is balancing on a knife point and when I wake up I’m not sure which way my mood will fall, living like this can be frustrating but then again, maybe more rewarding. I tell myself that if I fall into a good day, then let’s make it great because tomorrow may not be quite as good.

For the past two years I have been working on Broken Grey Wires, and my passion is fully focused on what this project can achieve. In this time I have been admitted to a psychiatric hospital for days at a time, and also for weeks, this has given me the determination to turn BGW into a legacy for contemporary art and mental health, to help others struggling, and those who feel they have nothing left to give.





I am working alongside artist and curator Mike Chavez-Dawson on the project, which has three parts; part 1 will bring together all the research material and findings through the website platform. It will be a place of resource, and eventually an evolving reflective catalogue around the outputs (physical shows/workshops) that will also serve as an archive and promotional device for the overall project. As it precedes the second phase (physical exhibition) it will allow us to anchor the overall project both nationally and internationally.

Part 2 and 3 will be two exhibitions in leading institutes. Along with the artists involved I envisage that the exhibitions will enhance our experience and knowledge of mental health. All artists involved will share their experiences, whether it is of their own mental health issues, or from their understanding gained during study or knowing friends/family with mental illness. The key aim will be to make mental health situations such as my own and others more tangible to people in similar positions, albeit from a research led contemporary art perspective.

Artists include; David Shrigley, The Vacuum Cleaner, Beagles and Ramsay, David Sherry, Paul Digby, Magda Archer, Stuart Semple, Bobby Baker, Marcia Farquhar, Jeremy Deller and Ryan Trecartin, plus many more.





The point in this project is that I have been there, I’ve been in that situation, that dark hole where you wonder what the point in living is; in fact I still slip into those situations now, but I got through those times and I’ve learnt how to pull myself out of that hole. I want Broken Grey Wires to be a project which can help those struggling, can give them their confidence back; restore their pride and encourage them to find that spark again.

Workshops will be designed by artists, occupational therapists, and performers, to be fun, educational and relaxed. Talks will give the audience something to relate too and give the opportunity to ask questions to people who have gone through similar experiences.


The art will be interactive and show that it is alright to feel ‘melancholy’ it’s alright to feel ‘insecure’ we all do at some point.

And if we got through it, so can you.

To get the project underway we need to build part 1, the web platform and exhibition catalogue. To do that we need your help!

Please support the project by pledging here http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/broken-grey-wires Add us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/brokengreywires

And find us on twitter @brokengreywires







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p.s. Hey. Today the fine visual artist and DC's contributor Lizz Brady introduces us to a very interesting project that she is masterminding and asks for your thoughts and support. I hope you will explore her words and plans accordingly and help Broken Grey Wires come to fruition in whatever way you can. Thank you! And thank you very, very much, Lizz, for sharing this here. ** Kier, Hi, K! Jonathan Mayhew was telling me about the Astrup Fearnley Museum, and I don't know why Zac and I missed it when we were there. The Black Metal museum/store is open? Awesome! Stephen told me it closed for a while. In fact, it was closed when I was there, but I wanted to visit it so bad. Cool, excited for the Diorama installation pix! Yeah, how was 'Lyle'? Nice poster. I didn't end up seeing Psychic TV, unfortunately. Long story. Too long. But I did get my tickets to see Lust for Youth and Croatan Amor next week, which I'm excited about. Cool about Cappellens Forslag, and that that guy is a fan of Justin's. Internationalism is so trippy! How much longer are you in Oslo? ** Pilgarlic, Hey there buddy! Long time no see, and doing so is a sweet thing. I'm good, man, and you sound pretty revved, which is ear music, or, I guess, eye music rather. I've heard of the Music Midtown Festival. Yeah, I don't think I'd pony up for that line-up either. You know, weirdly, I've never heard a peep of music by Lana Del Rey, or probably I have somewhere but I didn't Soundhound it maybe only because I don't know how to use Soundhound, although it's probably a snap. You make her seem interesting. I have never heard of Shovels and Rope, but what a name they've got there. Okay, I have to go find out what a duo that chose that name sounds like. I'll do that as soon as I scoot out of here. Did you have a good summer? Is summer over there? Our summer here felt like fall and our fall here feels like summer so far, so I don't think I could answer that question if I asked it of myself. ** David Ehrenstein, Thank you kindly! And great that you linked to that clip. I wanted to use it in the post and tried, but it's locked. So, cool. Beautiful scene, yes! ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. His huge face is a scary thing, and, for some reason, I like that scare. It's weird. Aw, sigh, a month in Tokyo, so, so nice. Time for me to figure out a return trip, I think. Turning 60 was so strange, right? Truly strange. And then, after a year or two passes, it's strange that it isn't so strange or something. Oh, you'll surely have another project figured out to do by the end of the year, I think. Oh, btw, that event for Lun*na's book with the fashion show and everything looked so good in the photos you posted on FB. Drat at not being there. ** Sypha, Hi. Yeah, I can see what WB meant about the Residents cover. Not so much about the Siouxsie 'Helter Skelter' cover, but I'll try it again. ** Steevee, Hi. I wondered if you liked Lewis's films. That's cool. I agree with you about 'HW' and 'CU', but there are some very inspired, terrific scenes and ideas in the former, I think. I know of Joe Sarno, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen anything by him. Huh. That's very interesting. Maybe I'll explore his work and put together a post about his work at the same time. Doing posts is a really good way to structure the exploring of filmmakers' works. Thank you a lot for the alert about him! ** Gregoryedwin, Hi, Gregory! Yes, he's frequently compared to Tati by people who take his work seriously, and the influence is pretty clear, I think. Got your email. Sure, no problem at all! What's next in the process, and when do you need it by? ** Etc etc etc, Hi! Me too, re: 'TDTCC', and it was interesting, if you watched that clip, to see even Lewis say it's completely awful and that he'll never let it be released. No wonder I liked that word exsanguination so much. Maybe I'm psychic or something. Thanks, man. ** Bill, Hi. That teaser is a total tease. Exciting! I'm going to google Birgit Ulher. I actually do know her name, but I don't think I've heard her work. Did Craig Baldwin talk at the screening? He seems like kind of an upbeat maniac in the clips I've seen of him talking. ** Jonathan, Hey, neighbor! Thanks about my cogency re: the Clark show. Dude needs a vacation from himself or something. I'm totally way down for checking out Berkley Books as soon as you think you can handle a return visit. I'm kind of jonesing badly to go there, and to that 2nd hand place too. Yeah, when do you want to go? And that show you propped on FB sounds really good too, Talk/see pronto. ** Thomas Moronic, T! Holy shit, your emails are such a incredible windfall! Thank you wildly! All hail that overdose of coffee! I'm going to post the 'LB' one on this coming Saturday, and I'll email you with the launch dates of the others. Really, wow, thank you a ton! As I told Kier, I didn't see PTV after all. Oh, well. ** gucciCODYprada, Hey, Codester! Nothing to report yet. I've just started, and I'm juggling that pleasure with two deadlines, so my pace is a bit glacial right out of the starting date. But I promise my slowness will pay off. I do remember you talking about Gesaffelstein, yeah. Thanks for reminding me and for spelling out the name. I'll go engulf myself in 'Trans' the very second this post hits the airwaves or whatever the waves inside the internet are called, if they're called anything. I guess there's no air in there. More soon, and thank you, and majorly big up to you! ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. I finally did see/read some stuff about the riots, but I had to really search for it, you're right. And, of course ,pretty much all the coverage I saw had an implicit 'it's all the 'Yes' people's fault' slant, which seems to be the ugly, barely concealed at best slant in most of the coverage of the vote. Obviously, I hope that "Campaign for 16/17 year olds to vote" thing succeeds in the extreme for every reason! ** Misanthrope, Hi, George. God in heaven, that's so ugly. I'm really glad that LPS is at least semi-safe. So, do you think his mom won't press charges against the guy? And would that mean nothing will happen? I mean, I don't know how these things work, but would 'child welfare', if that's an actual thing and not something you only see in the movies, step in to protect LPS by getting him out of that situation or something? I hope you don't have to lawyer up. God, George, that's so terrible. If there's anything I can do, you know, just ask or even hint at asking, okay? Big love, me. ** Rewritedept, Fucking Blogspot, yep. Kind of a here-and-there weekend you had. Mine was okay. I made progress on finding the guy we need to hire to help with the film footage, and, if I'm really, really lucky, that might even be a problem solved today or by tomorrow. I worked on the new Gisele theater piece a lot because I have to try to finish writing it in two weeks, and I have quite a ways to go. I saw Gisele, related. I didn't see any shows, but I bought tickets for one (Lust for Youth + Croatian Amor) and I sent out feelers to see if someone in the know can get me into the sold out Swans + Pharmakon show. It was a here-and-there weekend for me too, I guess. I'm sorry to be so vague about talking, but I always underestimate the amount of shit I have to do, so I have to say maybe later this week, yes, but we'll see. Sorry. ** Hyemin K, Hi. Oh, a mouse, yeah. We seem to get one to three mice at least once every year here because it's such a huge, ancient building. One of the oldest buildings in Paris. Well, with the mouse I took out to the park, he/she was really into our little plastic garbage can, understandably. So I made a kind of trash stairway so it could get up and into the garbage can. Then I listened, and I heard it doing that, and then I ran in there, took away the trash stairway, and it was stuck in the garbage can and couldn't get out, as planned. Then I carried the garbage can into the park and laid it on its side, and the mouse ran out and away into the park. Worked for me. ** Right. Please lend your eyes and brain and fingers to Lizz Brady's project today. Thank you very much. See you tomorrow.

If you've heard of the genre power electronics than you probably already know about Whitehouse, Sutcliffe Jugend and Atrax Morgue, for starters. They're great artists, but it's fun to dig deeper. I've listened to a great deal of extremely tinnitus inducing hateful albums and decided it was time to make a list of my top five favorite power electronic releases.
     Power Electronics is sort of an evolution of early industrial that amplifies the harsh, destructive nature that is similar in noise music. It has spun its own sub-genre entitled 'death industrial', but that's a whole different story. In no way is this music radio friendly or going to help any less with those neighbors of yours that threaten to call the police on you for playing 'that damn hostile bullshit again'. Well, they may just leave you alone and never look at you again if you put one of these albums in their mailbox as a gift.


Five.Concussed & Asphyxiated by Coma Detox




This a short twenty minute release off the label Filth & Violence. Coma Detox is an obscure act that has just recently started to release physical material and I'm extremely glad he made that decision. By the title names you would immediately think of it as some sort of Atrax Morgue tribute or so called 'clinical ambient' sounds, but I'd think that he's made a sound of his own.
     All of the tracks have been recorded in such a dense thick quality that makes it feel like you just pulled this tape out of a pile of mud and cleaned it off with a rusty nail. Even with the cover art and such, I feel that this is much more mature than someone screaming about having sex with a corpse over high pitched feedback. The sounds created are minimalistic and orchestrated with such lush interest towards separating a wall of feedback from clashes of metal junk and analog noise. The distorted vocals are impossible to decipher, almost as if there's a hidden meaning under these tracks not meant to be solved.
     A few people I've recommended this to have told me that it doesn't really sound too unique or different from a random obscure Black Leather Jesus or Taint tape, but I'd disagree, although I don't really know if anything I say can back my opinion up. I just feel like it's so much more than another power electronics tape. Listen for yourself.







Four.Mattress on the Floor by Breathing Problem




The release starts off with recordings about rape and people getting killed, followed by a girl saying, “..Who cares? I don't really care. Whatever happens happens.” Blast straight into a tunnel of crunching noise and hidden vocals with secret cries for help.
     Breathing Problem is a member of the extremely noisy punk band Total Abuse. I've been a fan of Rusty Kelley's music for a while and always found this project to be my favorite to come from Texas.
What we have here is unbelievably dangerous, potent and loud even at a quiet volume on your speakers. Its hard to block out the things that Rusty is screaming at you – something extremely disgusting and hateful with the putrid taste of a drug overdose. I'm exhausted already just from the first two tracks, back on my feet throwing myself around to the blaring nihilistic noise, back on the ground in need of air when '9PM' plays and flat out dead when the album is over.
     I guess some would say it's hard to differentiate this between power electronics and harsh noise. It could just be both, but this spot in my list feels right to me.







Three.World Draped in a Camouflage by Grunt.




Grunt is possibly the most creative of all power electronics artists, in my fucking opinion. It was hard for me to decide which one to put on this list. 'Seer of Decay' is an almost perfect album, but the second disk on it isn't strong enough for me to call it a complete five star album.
     This is a power electronics album that doesn't seem focused on the typical PE topics. Instead, the nature of it is apocalyptic and dystopian – bringing us back to the roots of industrial sound, dissecting those very sounds and tweaking them to create something new. Annie Gosfield had an album recorded in a factory using the machines as instruments. I'd say this album sounds even more machinable than that release. How so? The stunning imagery given by subtle dark ambient synths, the humming bass feedback, screeching that actually sounds like a fork against a metal machine..
..Grunt's vocals are yelled, but I don't feel hatred/rage in them. It's more an aggressive explanation of things to come or the mistakes of humanity to lead towards an eviscerated planet. I think there's a difference between misanthropy and painting a dead world like these tracks do.
     Every single sound and track is varied with careful orchestration with layers of chains, synths and other sounds to keep an abrasive on the edge of your seat sound. Your captivated and interested, just as humans are with war and political violence. This music makes me think of historical massacres, assassinations, bloodthirsty rebels and monstrous rulers that dream of the death of millions.
     A perfect ballad of terror.







Two.Liberal Cunt by Pogrom




Is there anything as hateful and cruel? This is the album that embodies those well known power electronics emotions and amplifies it to the level of hatred that AM speaks of in the short 'I Have No Mouth And Must Scream' by Harlan Ellison. Side A is a tumbling battle of machines, boiling blood and industrial strength. Pedals being smashed until broken, metal pipes being slammed around and nonsensical taunting into a microphone over thousands of layers of harsh noise.
     The material literally sounds like its dripping wet of sludge and everything is falling apart. A mess in the sense of dysfunction and death.. The 'Untitled' track is honestly one of the most horrifying pieces of power electronics I've heard – from the bad trip vocals, screeching that follows it around and banging that brings me to thoughts of industrial techno, but obviously way more insane and pissed off.
     And then we have the final track; a long sound collage with powerful feedback that makes you feel locked in a closet full of shit and piss and vomit.. For example, there's this female voice that sounds like she's puking, moaning or craving bath salts or something.







One. Dirge: The Peter Sotos Files by Martin Bladh




Dirge. The penultimate work of power electronics that goes back to where we started. Bladh is given sound collage and spoken word pieces by Peter Sotos, former member of Whitehouse and cult writer, then uses these works to give an even more disturbing atmosphere. I've always said to people that a stupid slowcore album isn't enough. You need this.
     The album opens in with familiar collage pieces that you may of heard from Peter Sotos albums “Buyer's Market” and “Proxy”, layered in a genius way where certain parts fade in and out to kind of suck you into the whole mess as to all these haunting stories going on at once. It ends with a woman saying, “And this is all I have left of her – FINGERPRINTS!”
     Bam. Straight into the noise. Violent strings and feedback like a quartet descending in an elevator down to hell. Despite the fact that it's not as harsh as stuff Bladh has done on Skin Area or IRM, it's made for by the unsettling nature of these sounds sinking into you with the dialog that you're fed.
And then you get the chance to hear Peter Sotos calm, gentle loving voice talking about pedophiliac acts over a loop of a kids toy. Nah, his voice is extremely complex on this track. You can hear this sense of guilt and frustration in it almost as if he's on the verge of breaking down.. Like the most ultimate grin at the face of humanity.
     We slip into the next track which features talk show samples about babyfuckers and babykillers followed by more horrifying strings. 'Insult' could be seen as the break from the insanity, even though it's not that uplifting of a track. It gives you some breathing space in the dark droning room the track presents itself in, but the closer you listen to the voice the more captivated you are to realize things are definitely not going to be ok. The track slips farther into a sense of unsafe nature, until you slip into the next 'Buyer's Theme', which is much like the first track and features two different interview collages going on on different sides of the speakers along with a frightening humming sound in the background.
     I don't really know if my theory is on spot or not and it probably isn't, but I have a feeling that Sotos had these samples of rape victims for a very specific reason. These people are targeted because they're seen as weak or easy to victimize. Also, the media portrays the killers as celebrities, where as the victims are just a body count. You're supposed to feel bad for them, but not really care about who those people are and their story.
     The next track, “Dirge:Mary” could be seen as the most disturbing piece of music ever..EVER. Even after the second and third listen I was caught off guard by the track. Maybe it's because of how slow and serious the woman speaking on the sample is and then we're sent straight into the filth. Filthy, disgusting noise that spits in your face. Now you're basically listening to a woman cry over the worst thing that's ever happened in her life. Still feeling good? Are you still happy?
     I feel like the three albums Sotos released weren't enough to let me understand him as the artist he is.  For some reason I've always come to respect his honesty and brutality. His books are sold for hundreds of fucking dollars and as a poor college kid.. You know how it is. The tracks featuring him on his readings give me much more insight. It's almost as if the album just gets dirtier as it goes and Sotos words mixed with Bladh's unnerving sounds craft an ugly story that you just can't stop reading.
“Injury” is definitely the harshest track here, because we knew that Bladh couldn't go out with just a few bangs. He has to keep slamming the shit in your face and it just feels so good.. The extreme misanthropy presented on here keeps you coming back to make you hate even more. Keep hating and until you become the hate and become another dirge, another sick disgusting human... And this release ends just as it started and all you can do is grin.
     Power electronics has always seemed to try and present a sense of uneasiness. Martin Bladh's “Dirge” is just that; the darkest form of matter from the human body put onto a record for you to experience. It's an album that I feel should be listened to by every single living human. An album with this much strength deserves this spot.







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p.s. Hey. Damien Ark knows his stuff. As a fellow lover of this kind of stuff, I urge you to listen. Read and listen. Today particularly. Thank you. Thank you, Damien. So, I have a really bad infection of the lungs. I'm feeling the very slightest bit better today than yesterday. This weekend was truly horrible. I don't even want to talk about it. The doctor says I should start feeling notably better by tomorrow. Because there are so many comments backed up, I'm going to try to catch up today rather let the situation get huger and worse. But I feel quite bad and my answers will be very short. Sorry. ** Thursday ** Scunnard, The Go-Gos really should have worked, but they didn't, I guess. I don't know why. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. ** Dan, Cool. Will share as soon as I can. ** Etc etc etc, Hi. Never met Pynchon, no. LHotB made noises like it might wake up a couple months ago but it hasn't, yet anyway. ** Zach, Hi, Zach. Sorry to be sick when you return. It'll pass. Cool, thanks, about 'Ktl'. I look forward to catching up. ** Steevee, Everyone, Steevee's review of GONE GIRL. ** Thomas Moronic, Thanks. ** Damien Ark, Thanks a lot for the great post today! No, there's deliberate humor in almost all of my writing. People just don't see it. Thank you for the really kind words. ** _Black_Acrylic, Very good news about the progress, Ben. ** Chilly Jay Chill, Great about the residency, Jeff. Hope you got a ton done. I've been incredibly sick. I haven't done anything. ** Keaton, The thing on your blog that I was going too look at and share got erased. ** Sickly, Nice new name. My eyes are too fucked up squint that well, but I'll read the AF thing when I can read again. Yes, I certainly know about the rape accusations. There's stuff everywhere about that. I don't like the Jezebel piece. I only played Mortal Kombat once for about ten seconds. I don't like fighting games very much. No, I haven't done a post. Should I? Do you want to? I'll look into it. I got sick around the time I was going to say yes to Grandieux, and I didn't, so I'm not in the film. ** Misanthrope, Hi. I haven't forgotten about the yen. ** Alistair McCartney, Hi, Alistair. Yeah, I was getting worse it turns out. Weird. Great to see you. Sorry to be sick. ** Cal Graves, Hi, Cal. Thanks. ** Kier, Hi, Kier. That was a nice day. I've just been deathly ill. I have to start trying to have a life to tell you about maybe tomorrow. ** Rewritedept, If they were blown out of proportion in print, it was deliberate on his part. Oh, I don't know about NYC right now. I need to get better first. ** Friday ** Scunnard, No, but thanks. ** Tosh Berman, Cool. Yeah, I've sleeping 80 - 90% of my time. ** Gregoryedwin, Thanks. It sounds good to me. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. ** Paul Curran, Hi. ** Steevee, This was beyond homeopathic unfortunately. ** Kiddiepunk, Thank you for calling and helping me. That really meant a lot. ** Thomas Moronic, The post was sterling, man, thank you. ** Zach, Thanks, man. ** Kier, Your day sounds even more beautiful when I'm sick. I don't know why. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. ** Kyler, Thanks. ** James, Thanks. ** Sypha, Thanks. ** Misanthrope, Thanks. ** Saturday ** David Ehrenstein, Ended up needing to see doctor on Sunday. ** Steevee, I did eventually, thanks. ** _Black_Acrylic, Thanks. ** Etc etc etc, No, no great fever dreams unfortunately. Oh, yeah, I use scaffolding in my writing all the time. ** Thomas Moronic, Hi. Thank you, and beautiful, true scaffolding thoughts. ** David Ehrenstein, Okay. ** Hyemin K, Hi. Feel better. I had to see a doctor, and I did. Thank you about the post. ** Chris Dankland, Hi, Chris. Thank you. I hope you're hanging in there through all of everything that's going on right now. ** MANCY, Thanks. ** Keaton, Will do asap. Everyone Keaton: 'Nothing Left To Do But Smile', and '...nothing but psychology projected to the outer world.'. The last one's link didn't work. ** Bill, Hi. Hopefully. Sleeping and pumped full of drugs. Thanks, Bill. ** Kier, Hi, K. Pumpkin! Festive! I think I'm finally maybe getting better. But I'll know tomorrow. ** Misanthrope, Thanks. ** Kyler, okay. Everyone, Kyler's 'reading will be Fri Oct 17 at 4PM @ Greenwich House, 20 Washington Square North, (NYC), reading from my novel, The Secret of the Red Truck.' Be there. ** I'm beat. Sorry for that. Enjoy Damien's music fest. See you tomorrow in some form.

* excepting L.A. which will get its own post.

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The Dent Schoolhouse
Cincinnati

'The Dent Schoolhouse was once an actual school, but over the years it served as a home for several different businesses including a machine shop and a dry dock. Then for many years it became a haunted house run by the local Boy Scout troop, until 2005 when they sold the place to Bud Stross, Josh Wells and Chuck Stross. Formerly home haunters, the team had spent several years planning the leap to pro haunting and had attended many shows and seminars in preparation for opening an event. When they built this haunt they really had a clear plan in mind and it showed: create a very tight theme weaving the building and the design of everything from the scenes to the marketing into one cohesive story. The building is much larger than it at first seems as a vast area in the back extends the floor space enormously. Here the rooms expand in size, one of the first being a rather large auditorium full of seats and prom decorations. One of my favorite scenes in this section was the garage featuring an actual car, with a poor victim shoved in the trunk. The tools, the car parts, the walls of old license plates are just cool, hundreds and hundreds of props in just one room. The space is well used as you wind around the garage though a series of chain link partitions. I was amazed at how much work went into securing these props to the various surfaces, most of which are located where the public can touch them. Often VERY fine wires wrap almost imperceptibly around them creating a firm anchor but giving the illusion of being casually tossed down by a mechanic.'-- Haunt World











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Nightmare: New York
New York City

'Nightmare: New York, a haunted house opening Friday in the Lower East Side, will explore the darker side of the city’s history and mythology — including a walk through the crime-ridden subway of the 1980s. The spooky trip back in time includes a ride on a graffiti-covered subway car with "criminals rambling around” and an encounter with the “mole people” who live underground. "They can experience the horrors of that era in a sick way," said co-director John Harlacher. The attraction’s horrors also include a “demented rat section” that includes a “rat king” — a ball of rodents stuck together by blood and bodily fluids — as well as the paranormal ghosts of the Dakota, a co-op located on 72nd Street and Central Park West, said Harlacher. The haunted house on Suffolk Street will feature 13 different areas, each covering a specific NYC horror story or urban legend, said Harlacher, who grew up in Brooklyn but now lives in Harlem. Other scares include a visit to Melrose Hall in Brooklyn, which was built in the 1730s and sold to a British colonel who allegedly tortured colonists in his basement and imprisoned an Iroquois girl in a secret room. Nightmare: New York will admit groups of six to 10 people at a time, according to its website. Going through the entire attraction should take about 20 to 25 minutes, Harlacher said. Those looking for an especially frightening time can also mark their forehead with the letter X. The mark lets the house’s 38 actors know that person is up for slightly scarier experience.'-- DNAInfo New York











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Dead Acres Haunted Hoochie
Patatskala, Ohio

'Dead Acres is advertised as “The Worlds Most Extreme Haunted House”. This is a strange haunted attraction that is working hard to make you sick. Tickets are $25. This is not your typical haunt attraction. It is very “hands on” and you should expect to be touched, grabbed, and maybe even choked or dragged. They set out to stand out. Dead Acres is a full sensory assault. Taking you by the neck or leg or crotch and dragging you down the rabbit hole & into the realm of a heart pounding in your face horror show. This year they feature a simulated live demon birth. If you do not want to see this, don't buy a ticket. Their fans expect them to step it up a notch and be cutting edge, and that's what this is. This is not church. This is the Haunted Hoochie. WORKING HARD TO MAKE YOU SICK.'-- collaged











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Albany Haunt
Albany

'Sam DuBois has loved All Hallow's Eve pretty much all of his life. When he was 10, he constructed a haunted house in the basement of his house. When he was 12, he set up a graveyard in the yard, complete with a witch's cauldron. So now, at the ripe old age of 13, he's an old hand at the holiday. But he's also upping the ante. This year, DuBois has set up a full haunted house in the driveway of his house at 1048 Peralta Ave. "We have over eight animations, six skeletons," said DuBois, sounding like a Disney imagineer. "Over 500-square-feet of fear. People popping out around every corner and you can't see because of fog. When you're outside, there's thunder and lightning going on." The theme is a hillbilly haunted house, something DuBois cooked up last year when he began planning. DuBois began buying up marked-down Halloween supplies right after last year's holiday. He created a floor plan and spent much of the summer building parts of the house. He recruited volunteers to perform in the house. And how long does it take to go through the house? "It depends on how fast you run," DuBois said.'-- Contra Costa Times











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House of Shock
New Orleans

'Far more than a mere “haunted house,” House of Shock was started by Phil Anselmo, front man for heavy metal rock group Pantera, and two friends, in one of their backyards. After initial success, it moved to one of their grandmother’s backyards for more room, then a rented warehouse, and now 22 years later it has been rated the Number One haunted attraction in the country by an industry publication, gets thousands of loyal visitors each weekend, and resembles a county fair devoted to gore, a small village with retail area, games, bar, restaurant, and the main event, which includes a live pyrotechnic stage show, followed by a walk through the House and more than a dozen elaborate Hollywood-style sets, ranging from a zombie infest graveyard to Satanic Church, complete with live actors and automated creeps. Despite its impressive run and long success, House of Shock is coming to an end after more than two decades – this is the final season and curtain call for the soon to close attraction.'-- Forbes











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Fear Overload's Scream Park
San Francisco

'These ‘R’ Rated attractions are far different than normal haunted houses. Fear Overload’s owner Nathan Polanco explains, “We had to make it R-Rated, it’s so unspeakably terrifying that we can’t let kids or young teens to go through.” At Fear Overload, customers are given only one dim flashlight to journey through the horror. Nathan promises, “We have created the most jaw-dropping, horrifying haunted houses in all of California." In their newest haunted attraction this year, AbusementPark, customers make their own path through the haunted fair grounds of BaylorAmusement Park. Wandering through this once friendly amusement park, they encounter what lurks behind the walls in this horrific place. Polanco explains, “In the Abusement Park, the legend goes that Sally Baker, a local schoolgirl, hanged herself in its bathroom stalls. Ever since then, the fairgrounds have been haunted.”'-- Horror Society











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The Cult
North Conway, New Hampshire

'18+, Must Enter Alone, Encounter Live Animals, Edibles, Extreme Violence, Sexual Undertones, Must Sign a Waiver, There is a Safe Word, Extreme Physical Contact. To reach the The Cult, one must ride a very old, creaky chair lift to the top of a mountain. Once there you must stumble around in the woods looking for anything. Eventually, you will see a lighted cabin. Upon arriving, you will be blinded with a flashlight and temporarily deafened with headphones that will speak to you shortly, and you on your way to the purest horror Halloween has ever created.'-- collaged











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Tayman Graveyard
Midlothian, TX

'Tayman Graveyard is located in Midlothian Texas, a short drive south of Dallas and Fort Worth on the site of the old Addamsville Terror Complex. Comprised of 4 haunted attractions and many themed areas, Tayman Graveyard is an intense experience that will make you check in the closet and under the bed before climbing in at night. Run, designed, operated and performed by a local Boy Scout troop, Tayman's charms will depend on your interest in the dark undercurrents in teenaged boys' fantasies. Dressed, sometimes barely, in ragged costumes that leave uncomfortably little about their bloodied bodies to the imagination, they scream, attack, tell horrible jokes, attempt to molest the teenaged girls in attendance and issue homoerotic challenges and offers to the boys and men. Upon having their advances rejected, and, in the case of the girls and men in my group, rejected only because of the haunt's 'no touch' policy, they turn on themselves, cutting their arms or using dangling prop nooses to hang themselves. Definitely the strange haunted attraction you ever will see.'-- collaged











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Freakling Bros: Gates Of Hell
Las Vegas

'While walking through the Gates of Hell attraction, I watched a camouflaged attacker appear out of nowhere, grab my colleague by the foot, then knock her down and drag her away down a long hallway. I was left alone in the darkness until the attacker came back for me and threw me over his shoulder. We also faced electric shocks, professional wrestlers, and a firing squad. Freaklings Bros' now offers The Victim Experience, an uncensored, more extreme way to experience Gates of Hell. The Victim Experience is only for those over the age of 18 and you must go through alone. Participants will experience extreme physical contact, light torture, simulated drowning, and more.'-- ravenblack.com











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Cutting Edge
Fort Worth

'Located in a 100-year-old abandoned meat packing plant in a section of Fort Worth historically dubbed as “Hell’s Half Acre,” the Cutting Edge Haunted House is built upon a foundation of fear. The meat packing equipment from the Old West is still in use, but now it is a two-story human processing area. Realistic looking human mannequins are hoisted up to the second level and brought through the entire meat packing process until the conveyor system brings the butchered corpses back to the first level. The old meat-packing plant in downtown Fort Worth is a great home for the fantastic special effects that our loyal customers have come to expect.” It takes visitors an average 55 minutes to explore Cutting Edge Haunted House. The walk-through is replete with frighteningly-realistic props. Cutting Edge Haunted House has established a reputation for being one of the best haunted houses in the nation. The new Guinness World Record has helped to solidify Cutting Edge Haunted House’s standing as the largest walkthrough haunted house in the United States. Come see what new horrors lurk in the twisting corridors of Fort Worth’s ultimate haunted house.'-- Cutting Edge











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McKamey Manor
San Diego

'McKamey Manor is an insanely extreme home haunt. It uses scare tactics that are off limits to professional attractions. Participants are covered in blood, forced to eat disgusting things, threatened with power tools and stuffed into a clothes dryer. Did we mention the experience lasts for 2-3 hours?! So epic. After signing a liability waiver, you're warned with a self-penned poem of the bodily harm you are about to endure. You will be touched, grabbed, bumped, bruised and possibly even cut. And scared out of your mind. If there’s one thing McKamey Manor is known for, it's water. They like to blast you with misters, douse you with garden hoses and push you into kiddie pools. And then they dump gallons of blood on you.'-- collaged












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House of the Haunted
Savannah

'On a spooky scale of 1 to 10, Chase Anthony Davis says his haunted house should score an 8. On Wednesday, the 18-year-old aspiring artist opens his "House of the Haunted" to the public. Davis began building the homemade haunted house in his parents' Battery Point backyard about three weeks ago. He's hoping the free attraction will help get him into college. "I've always been an aspiring director and producer of the arts," Davis said. "This Halloween, I decided to structure a haunted house for free, get my name out there and see what I can do." He recruited his parents, two sisters, a cousin and seven friends to staff the project. "He just loves this kind of stuff," said Davis's 21 year-old sister Caryn. "This is his thing." Davis hopes the project will attract the attention of arts colleges, particularly the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he plans to apply for a scholarship. Since 2006, Davis has taken classes online through Ashworth University High School, based in Norcross. He expects to receive his high school diploma in the spring. Davis also works full time at Tradewinds Ice Cream and Coffee on Wilmington Island.'-- savannahnow.com








Watch the video here



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The Unknown @ Shocktoberfest
Sinking Spring, PA

'Created by Professor Strangeways and his dedicated assistant Malinda Montague, your journey into the Unknown will overwhelm your senses! Themed in Steampunk, you’ll encounter various fears and phobias augmented through the use of advance audio and 3D video technology. This haunted house is like no other in the world! But be warned, it is said the creators will stop at nothing to better understand what scares you! Not scary enough for you so far? Then know that you can and, dare we say, must experience The Unknown with zero protection by taking the Naked and Scared Challenge. If you’re brave enough, you must tour The Unknown wearing nothing and completely nude! See if you have Gymnophobia -- the fear of being naked. This will heighten your vulnerability allowing the creators to take fear to a whole new level! Participants must be 18 years of age or older and must sign a waiver. No sexual misconduct, inappropriate or disrespectful behavior will be tolerated.'-- collaged











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Haunted Overload
Lee, New Hampshire

'The Haunted Overload folks just do excellent work. They're bringing a level of creativity that's better than anything else I've seen anywhere (with possible exception of Blackout in NYC, but that's a completely different adults-only thing those guys are doing...). Haunted Overload fits together with a really nice vibe - they "get it" in a way most of the bigger budget places don't usually seem to. So much cooler to have all the DIY stuff instead of a bunch of rubber corpses, fake blood and animatronics. The fog, the pumpkins, the trees, the woods, the sounds - it all comes together the way a good painting does. And it all takes place inside a giant skull-shaped, multi-level labryrinth that they built themselves. A really good spooky Halloween feel. And plenty of scares. Good ones beyond the standard just jump-out-and-say-boo stuff.'-- collaged











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The Basement
Pittsburgh

'The Basement does contain sexualized content but none of it is meant to simulate or even come close to sexual assault. The goal is to push you outside of your comfort zone and for a lot of people that means confronting sexual content in a new or unaccustomed way. Americans are very uptight about sex and sexuality, they are even frightened of it, so including scenes that put people in sexualized situations is going to really push them to think about their own boundaries (one of the goals of the Basement is that people will learn more about themselves). The Basement tries to keep those two things separate. Sexual assault is not the ‘fun’ kind of scare, it’s just scary. Also in the basement there are no female victims (seen commonly elsewhere). All of the female characters are strong and in control in their scenes, again this was really very important. I loved some rooms in The Basement – but when it comes to borderline sexual assault – even if that wasn’t the intent — it’s gone too far —- at least, for me.'-- Jezebel











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Ultimate Haunted Barn of Blood
Ypsilanti Township, MI

'Within these walls are the remains of the legend of Wiard's Apple Thieves: As the story goes, the thieves were looting the barn when bad fortune fell upon them. A hungry bear wandered into the barn looking for a midnight snack. Little did he know he'd found more than fresh apples to satisfy his appetite. Unfortunately for the thieves, the bear blocked the only way out so there was no chance of escape. They tried in vain to scare him off, which only drew his attention toward them. The bear made quick work of the 3 thieves with his mighty claws and, once they were no longer breathing, he dragged their bodies atop of a large pile of apples. With no discrimination, they were torn limb from limb and soon there was no way to tell shredded flesh from the shredded apples. Once his stomach was full of thief-meat, and his lips were wet with blood and juice, he went back into the orchard and lumbered off into the night. Unfortunately, the next day was Sunday so nobody came to work. By the time they found the bodies on Monday the stench was putrid. They decided that since there was no means of identifying who the thieves were they would bury the shredding remains in the floor, seal the barn and let the sands of time cover the memory of the gruesome event. Sometime around Halloween in 1984, the barn was opened again out of necessity. It's dark history was long forgotten. Workers didn't think anything of the odd noises and flickering lights to begin with but then the whispers and screams came. The thieves never escaped their fate...will you?'-- hauntedhousemichigan.com











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Sandy Hill Haunted House
Ottawa

'For the past four years 14-year-old Canterbury High School student Gabriel Roberge has been decorating his family's Sandy Hill front yard for Halloween. This year's haunted house takes visiting trick-or-treaters through a harrowing two-minute adventuring including a grisly butcher, glow-in-the-dark clowns, a demented girl with an axe, a man with a chainsaw, and lots and lots of blood. This year's attraction, bearing the subtitle sKreamers, is promised to be this morbid and creative boy's most ambitious and horrifying experience yet. "People will speak ill of it for centuries," Roberge announces.'-- ottawacitizen.com











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Netherworld
Norcross

'The path through Netherworld is longer than six football fields. There are more than 450 special effects and animatronic creatures at Netherworld, including an 80-foot spinning tunnel, more than two dozen giant monsters, a 60-foot rocking room and in 2014 -- more than four dozen ghostly projections. Netherworld contains many sets and props for major movies, including chainsaws from Zombieland, massive candelabras from Van Helsing, a complete basement set from the soon to be released Prisoners starring Hugh Jackman, and additional props and sets from movies such as Pet Sematary 2, The Mummy and Saw, to name just a few. Netherworld icon creature creator Bill "Splat" Johnson's handiwork can been seen in dozens of movies and TV shows including Eight Legged Freaks, Halloween 2, Zombieland, The Sleepaway Camp sequels, Catching Fire and “The Walking Dead.” Netherworld employs more than 300 people every Halloween season. Many celebrities have visited Netherworld, including Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, CM Punk, Chandler Riggs, Evander Hollyfield, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, three-time Oscar winning makeup artist Ve Neill, Andre 3000 of Outkast, Jermanie Dupree and Bow Wow. Netherworld is widely considered one of the scariest and best haunted attractions in the world and has been included in countless top haunt lists over the years, including number one rankings in Fangoria, USA Today and Hauntworld magazine.'-- norcross.11alive.com











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? House
near Huntsville

'You are among a select group invited to attend the most disturbing Halloween haunted house attraction in history. It will take place at 8 pm, Halloween night. At 7 pm, you will receive an email directing you to the location of the attraction. Do not attempt to reply to this email. The address will be disabled upon the issuing of these invitations. If you choose to attend, the cost of the attraction is $300. You will tour the attraction in a small group. Perhaps you will notice an ingratiating young German tourist among your number who will introduce himself as Ralf. Do not become overly attached to him. Upon entering the attraction, Ralf will be assaulted and kidnapped from your group by a handful of the haunt's performers. After some time, you will be allowed to follow. You will find yourself at an auction where Ralf will be sold to the highest bidder among five unsavoury men. Once the sale is complete, you will follow Ralf and his new owner into a terrifying torture chamber. You will be seated, gagged, secured to your chairs and forced to watch the torture and murder of Ralf by his owner. The length of this scene could take several hours. When Ralf is dead, all witnesses including you will be executed. Somehow you will barely survive your execution. Your body will be wrapped in plastic and loaded onto the back of a truck. You will be left alone for precisely 30 seconds. If you wish to take an early escape from the attraction, that will be the time. Those who choose to stay will be driven into a forest and buried alive in a mass grave. Your murderers will then drive away. If you can escape the grave, you will be free to find your way back to your cars. It won't be easy. The attraction will end at approximately 5 am.'-- anonymous email











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Unhinged in the Haunted Basement
Minneapolis

'Descend into the nightmarish depths of The Soap Factory’s Haunted Basement and explore the terrifying world of Unhinged. Unhinged uses a brand new immersive structure leaving patrons no safety net. Don’t worry, there is still a safe-word, so practice saying “Uncle” now. Each patron wears a mask and assembles into a group before plunging into the nightmarish, subterranean world of Unhinged. Every patron forges their own path, sealing their fate at each twist and turn. All bets are off during Unhinged. Stand your ground? Stay with your friends? Venture on through the darkness? This terrifying journey promises to keep you on the edge of crying “Uncle” all night long. Each patron must wear a light-weight plastic mask for the duration of their experience. We strongly suggest patrons wear contact lenses instead of glasses.'-- The Soap Factory












*

p.s. Hey. Continued slow improvement on my end, but my head is still quite fuzzy so don't expect too much from me in the p.s. yet, okay? ** Douglas Payne, Hi, Douglas. No, Peter was just here and made noises about giving me copy of the book, but then I got sick, so ... I'll pick it up. Memory says that I've only read Bidart here and there in various places. I don't trust my head at the moment, though. I'll make a note to look at that particular collection. Thank you. ** David Ehrenstein, I still could maybe be in the Grandieux, but I would need to be very healthy by Friday, and that's a question mark at this point. ** Scunnard, Ha ha. ** Sypha, Perfect on the twin weekends. ** Steevee, Hi. Yeah, antibiotics and some other supplementary stuff. I was hoping I would bounce back immediately, but the infection was/is pretty bad. At least the improvement is happening. Oh, I suppose you're right about the cover images. Interesting. I was just imbedding videos, so I didn't really get a look at them. Look forward to the book review. In my experience, yeah, 'the tendency to rely on musical comfort food' increases as one gets older rather hugely. I feel pretty unusual in not having embraced that route at my age, yeah. It's always scared me, I've been very careful to try not to let nostalgia pollute my opinions and aesthetic. And, for whatever, it doesn't come naturally to me. I've always been more into the excitement and promise of the new than the comfort of the familiar or of the previously understood and registered. For better or worse. There's no right or wrong there, obviously. ** Damien Ark, Cool, man, thanks a lot again. I'll give you the date for the part 2-like post really soon. ** Mark Doten, Hi, Mark. Thank you a lot. Oh, I saw an email from you, but, with this sickness thing, I haven't had it in me to open email in a while, but I will soon. Take care. ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T. Yeah, it should be all upwards from here on, I hope. The Twin Peaks news was of course exciting and intriguing even if I'm already tired of the shared social media excitement and ready for actual news: cast, etc. ** Etc etc etc, You saw Yellow Tears, ha ha, cool. Thanks, it seems like I'm getting better. Fingers crossed re: 'Vape' and the CCM Mainline thing, for sure. I'll be in NYC for 'Kindertotenlieder', yeah. I'm not sure how social/or and around I'll be yet. Too early to tell. ** _Black_Acrylic, Thank you, Ben, and your excitement about the Art101 method of progress is palpable and really nice. ** Cal Graves, Hi. Yeah, I hardly ever get sick, but, when I do, I tend to get fucking whomped. Thanks, man. Doc says I should be gradually returning to normal day by day, so hopefully in a couple of days I'll be whoever I actually am again, ha ha. ** Keaton, Hey. Your new things looks really good. I think by tomorrow I should have the brain available to actually explore and appreciate your makings, so try not to delete them yet, okay? Everyone, now that you've tried Halloween season DC's style, go try Halloween season Keaton's style. It's called 'Satan'. It's here. It starts, 'Pits of bones, sex rooms, child-abuse, child-prostitution, cutting, disease, human sacrifice, drugs, brutal murders, sacred objects, faces in doors, Heavy Metal music, hysteria, the manifestation of Satan himself!' Yeah, lungs are serious. I'm definitely getting that, ha ha. ** Sickly, Hi. I think I'm turning the corner right now. That's the idea. I haven't properly inhaled a cigarette in a week for the obvious reasons, and my brain is a deep, deep haze partly for that reason, so I don't feel like I know a lot of things that I either actually do know or should know. It's okay about the Jezebel thing. That whole situation has evolved from an interesting, important conversation being held by people in the scene who knew the people involved to some degree and cared personally about them/it into a grotesque mess of distortions and accusations and censorship and bullying and exploitation by outside Alt Lit-haters and hard-ass activists, and it's just incredibly depressing to see. I played 'Super Smash Brothers', I think. But again, yeah, it just made me bored and antsy. 'Un Lac' is my favorite! ** Misanthrope, Hi. It was funny? That's weird. Thanks I guess. ** Rewritedept, Grumpy? Certainly possible, I guess. Antibiotics, other meds, yeah. Green tea, yeah, doing that. Thanks. It would be good to have a job that's better for your mental health. I may be sick and fuzzed out, but I know that. The only good news I need is news from my own lungs and brain to the rest of me, so no worries. ** Okay. If I were running wild and free in the US this month, those are the haunted house attractions I would do whatever it took to check out. Those of you who are near any of those attractions really should think about taking advantage of your sublime proximity and checking them out both for your own sakes and in order to tell me how they were. Thank you. See you tomorrow.