Back again! I just returned from Zelda’s so now I can finally show you the extraordinary Christmas card I made for her! Of course she got a real present as well, but trust me, nothing can compare to a card like THAT! So enjoy my super glittering dazzling masterpiece created with photoshop and Mama Soul’s glitter kit (oh yes, she really has one, no joke).

Wanna see the Christmas card Zelda made for me? Honestly, her present and card were perfect! Cause they totally prove that we’re equally crazy awesome!

Yep, she made me a fantabulous sexy Alex wearing a Santa hat card! PLUS a shirtless Alex dreamcatcher. I mean, how cool is that? I’m so gonna hang this up over my bed! No, just kidding… or maybe not… Best Christmas gift EVER! I so laughed my ass off. I knew it would be something Twi-related but I’d have never guessed THAT one. Ever. Guess we just know how to rock a Twilight Christmas party!

Do you want us to make amazing Twilight presents like those for you as well? Sorry, but you have to be a special friend to get something THAT awesome. Well, you could start with leaving a comment or sending an e-mail telling us what you got for Christmas! Or participate in our Kwop Kilawtley Contest. Or do anything else that makes us laugh and gives us a good time. Cause thats the way to our hearts, lots of laughter and funny stories! Preferably Twi-related. Or you could send us a ton of cupcakes… Just saying.

Okay, now go on celebrating Christmas! At least that’s what I’ll do…Have fun everyone cause it’s Christmas. And Christmas is awesome!

a

Off to see if someone has already sent me cupcakes

Saveyoursoul

a

(images: me)

I was originally just going to do a “Top 10 Horror Films of the Past Decade” list. However, once I started getting into it, I changed my mind. Instead of a list that would have focused on only a couple of strong years, I decided to pick the best horror movie from EACH year. Then I realized that there were way more BAD movies, so I figured I should list the best AND the worst from each year.

Although I stand behind this list 100%, I have to preface it with a disclaimer: I haven’t seen every horror film from the past decade. Sorry. This list will obviously include only those movies which I’ve seen. If you think this list is missing some important films (or if you just disagree with the picks) please let me know.

Other notes: These movies were categorized by the U.S. release date, and if the movie was labeled as “Horror” by IMDB, then it was included for consideration. If the movie was released straight to video, it was considered and reminisced about, but was not allowed to take a top spot.

Let’s go!!

2000 BEST:

AMERICAN PSYCHO

A fun movie, set in the 80s, starring Christian Bale as a yuppie investment-banker-serial-killer. Other people involved whom you may or may not care about: Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Chloe Sevigny, and Reese Witherspoon.

It’s been a while since I actually saw American Psycho, so I won’t try and write any sort of review. However, I think a handful of the other Noising Machine authors watched it not too long ago. Maybe one of them will comment?

Very close runner ups were Wild Zero (Guitar Wolf vs. Zombies) and Shadow of the Vampire (What “really” went on during the filming of Nosferatu).

2000 WORST:

There were some really weak horror films from this year, but I think it’s fair to say that none were worse than…
DRACULA 2000!! (aka Dracula 2001 in the UK)

From what I remember, this was your classic “bad actors portraying unlikeable characters within a plot that doesn’t work and doing it for far too long” type of movie. Gerard Butler plays Dracula, and it’s directed by the guy who did My Bloody Valentine 3-D.

Here is something that I wrote on June 3rd, 2005, directly after watching. It could almost pass for a review…

*Spoilers!*
“Dracula 2000: with a name like that, how can it be bad?!!? i remember attempting to watch this back in milford. well, not milford, but the upstairs of milford, otherwise known as “austin’s parents’ house”. i fell asleep during the first 20 minutes. luckily, i made it farther this time! barely. so far it seems i do hate dracula. all the movies have been rather boring. i think vampires are cool, and you could do alot with them, but these movies never seem to see it that way. so… it’s the year 2000, and dracula was never destroyed. his corpse was being held prisoner in an indiana jones type tomb inside van helsing’s vault. some theives break into it, hoping it holds treasure. OOPS!! they die. dracula escapes, grabs a trenchcoat (like a true goth), and attempts to reak havok on new orleans, while searching for van helsing’s daughter. they also gave dracula a new origin. turns out he’s judas. doesn’t work for me, sorry.”

And here’s a much better review by my pal Adam:

best part of the movie is when dracula is in new york and looks up to a big screen that has monster magnet playing on it and says: “brilliant”

proof (about the 3:45 mark):

Other movies from 2000 that were considered:
Final Destination: Stupid movie. But fun. Who cares.
The Gift: I honestly don’t remember much about this, but I’d like to watch it again.
Hollow Man: Runner up for worst film, but WAAAY more entertaining than Dracula 2000.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2: not good, but not bad enough. read a review of it here… Blair Witch 2 Review.

2001 BEST:

THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE (or el espinazo del diablo)

A Spanish movie about an orphanage in the late 1930s. There’s a ghost too! It’s directed by Guillermo del Torro and produced by Pedro Almodovar, so it’s classy. However, if you’re looking for a movie with lots of gore and loud things jumping out at you, you’ll be disappointed.

2001 WORST:

JASON X

Alright… so Jason Voorhees, that indestructibly cute guy from the Friday the 13th movies, is cryogenically frozen by the government or something. Then it’s the future and these people discover a body and decide to take it to space and re-animate it. Oops. Now Jason becomes “Jason Voorhees 2099” and pretends to be the alien from Alien and kills everyone.

Honestly, I don’t know if this is the worst movie of 2001. For instance, Jeepers Creepers came out this same year. And in the non-major studio category, you’ve got Session 9, Beneath Loch Ness (read my review here), and Children of the Corn: Revelations (although this was direct to video).

With all this in mind, I chose Jason X because really, everyone should have known better.

Other movies from 2001 that were considered:
Frailty: I don’t remember this too well. So…
Bones: You know… Snoop Dogg… acting… (here’s my review)
The Bunker: German soldiers trapped in a bunker going crazy? (here’s my review)
The Forsaken: “The sexiest vampire film since lost boys,” says the quote on the box…
Hannibal: Oh look. Hannibal Lecter doing things.
Dagon: Based on a Lovecraft story. Cool creatures and environment. Thumbs up.
The Others: Pretty good haunted house film.
From Hell: Jack the Ripper story. Just read the Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell graphic novel that it’s based on.

2002 BEST:

28 DAYS LATER

This is the best zombie movie that is not a zombie movie. Very easy pick, because this film can hold its own against all the horror movies from the decade. That being said, I also enjoyed Darkness (more haunted houses) and Spider (Cronenberg film about a crazy guy) quite a bit.

2002 WORST:

FEAR DOT COM

Yikes. Here’s a review from June 6th, 2005:

“Fear Dot Com: even better title than ‘dracula 2000′!! and the actual website address in the movie is FEARDOTCOM.COM!! movies about the internet are always good. good like a blowjob from a meat grinder. remember how health department employees usually go around investigating murders? remember how hemophiliac children like to play in rusted old steel mills? remember how the internet only reaches as far as the edge of town? yeah. someone should make an internet that can go across the whole world!! and someone shoulda read the script before giving the okay to make this film. call me old fashioned, but i feel that when you write a mystery story, you should make it make sense… and be mysterious. and oh my god!! this film is horrible! everything about it!! worse than all of those independent, no budget, shot on video, straight to dvd releases!! oh man… quite possibly worse than jeepers creepers… no. it IS worse than jeepers creepers. alot worse. fuck. time to kill myself.”

Other movies from 2001 that were considered:
Cabin Fever: Ugh. This movie! Ugh.
Ju-on: Not good. Why did Sam Raimi love it?
Queen of the Damned: Any horror film with a soundtrack done by Jonathan Davis from Korn is… worth… seeing?
Deathwatch: British soldiers going crazy? Pretty good.
Red Dragon: Oh?! Hannibal Lecter is back again? Sort of? Dumb.
Cube 2: Hypercube: Pretty much the same as the first, so if you liked the first, you’ll probably like this one.
Dog Soldiers: Soldiers and werewolves, but not as bad as that sounds.
The Ring: I remember this film to be pretty creepy?
Signs: I also enjoyed this film. The effects were DUMB, though, right?
Resident Evil: Another film I remember liking back when I saw it.
Ghost Ship: Some cool deaths. Not bad if you want to waste a couple hours.

2003 BEST:

DREAMCATCHER

There weren’t a lot of GOOD movies to pick from this year. So, although I liked this movie, it basically won best movie by default. Here’s my 2005 review:

“Dreamcatcher: yet another stevie king story. god, i’m getting sick of him. it’s like half the horror section is comprised of his stories. the screenplay was written by guys who worked on return of the jedi, empire strikes back, raiders of the lost ark, butch cassidy and the sundance kid, and the princess bride. so you can imagine it’s gonna be a bit extravagant. this movie was actually pretty good. ever since first seeing the previews a few years ago, i thought it was gonna be dumb. but i was wrong. it was fun. it’s a survival horror/aliens attack film. if only it had will smith in it, i would give it 2 thumbs up.”

2003 WORST:

HOUSE OF THE DEAD

I’m kind of sad that this movie was actually released in the theater. There were sooo many other bad movies from this year, and they’ll all get ignored because of Uwe Boll’s shitty video game adaptation.

Here are a couple of movies that should have won worst film:
Jeepers Creepers 2: Like the first, but somehow much worse.

House of 1000 Corpses: “The acting is shit, the plot is a mix of a played out idea, and a fucking stupid idea, and the characters are just plain annoying.”

Other considerations:
Detour: “a small group of ravers are coming back from some big rave, when they decide to take a detour to find a large field of pot that is supposedly hidden out in the desert. then some tcm rejects attack them.”
Bloodthirst: Legend of Chupacabras: Awful. But obviously home-made, so somewhat forgivable. Review HERE
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Remakes are always good…
The Bone Snatcher: just your basic “monster chasing a couple people around in a secluded area” film. Read the review HERE.
Final Destination 2: about as much fun as the first one. You know.
Freddy Vs Jason: well… you’ve got Freddy… and you’ve got Jason. TOGETHER!!
Beyond Re-Animator: Pretty fun movie. Good gore, etc. Review right HERE.
Identity: From what I can remember, it’s fine, but I’ll never feel the need to re-watch it.
Flesh for the Beast: “pretty much your basic soft core film with murder and gut eating.”
Final Examination: “another shitty shit shit slasher film.”

2004 BEST:

SHAUN OF THE DEAD

Yes, it is a comedy. However, it’s also a great zombie film. It can stand along side Romero’s “Dead” family, playing the role of the crazy uncle. Or something.

2004 WORST:

THE FORGOTTEN

I was going to pick Van Helsing, but at least that movie kind of worked within itself. The Forgotten never worked at any point. Jullianne Moore’s child is missing. Or did she ever have a child? What about McNulty? Did he have a child? WHO CARES.

Other movies that could have topped the lists, if they had tried a little harder:
Saw: When this first came out, I was hoping for a delightful maniac serial killer film. Then I watched it. Yuck.
Blood Gnome: Another direct to video, low budget trash bag. HERE’S a quick review.
Curse of the Komodo: Giant komodo dragons and zombie like creatures. Yes, it SOUNDS good. It doesn’t feel good.
Dark Harvest: Oh! A Killer Scarecrow!? How novel.
Dr. Moreau’s House of Pain: People in shitty masks being shitty. Direct to video.
Creature Unknown: “Like an x-files episode written by a 5 year old and stretched to fit into a feature length format.”
Dawn of the Dead: This is one of the few horror movie remakes that turned out alright. Not as good as the original, obviously, but fine.
The Village: I thought this was fun for what it was.
Exorcist: The Beginning: It was fine. Not great. Awful CGI, from what I remember. You only need to watch it if you’re trying to watch the entire franchise.

CHECK OUT PART 2 (2005-2009)!

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scott

Possibly related posts:

• Movie Challenge 2005: Chapter 9
• 10 Great German Films
• Movie Party: The Rocky Series
• I Very Briefly Grade All Of The Warner Bros. DC Comics Movies

whether it friendship or love, some sparks will last forever.

via dreamcatcher

 DJ Josh Blackwell & Miss Babayaga – Dreamcatcher

სიზმრების დამჭერი, Ловец снов, Dreamcatcher. =)))

«Злу удается проскользнуть»

მიუხედავად ოლმუვიზე კომენტარებისა ვითომ მორგან ფრიმანის სამარცხვინო როლიაო და ასე შემდეგ საოცრად მომხიბლა სათაურმა =))) მთვარის კლუბის ერთი პოსტი გამახსენა კიდე ზუსტად ამ თემაზე. ნუ ამ მსახიობის ხათრით ფილმის ყურებას ვერ გადავეჩვიე =)) ან რატომ უნდა გადავეჩვიო =))) მოკლედ რაზეა ფილმი 4 მეგობარზე რომლებიც პატარა ბიჭს გადაარჩენენ ახვარი დიდი ბიჭებისგან =))))) მიუხედავად იმისა რომ შეიძლებოდა მაგრად გალახულიყვნენ და ასე შემდეგ როგორც ანოტაცია გვეუბნება მათ გამოიჩინეს საკმაო ვაჟკაცობა წინააღმდეგობა გაეწიათ ზემოთ ხსენებული ახვარი ბიჭებისთვის და გაეთავისუფლებინათ ბავშვი რომელსაც მიწის ჭამას აიძულებდნენ… აქვე მინდა ავღნიშნო … რა სასტიკი შეიძლება იყოს ბავშვი… მოკლედ შენ ხარ ჩემი ბატონი =)))) ეს ბავშვი რომელიც თავის თავს დადეცს უწოდებს სანაცვლოდ ჩვენს 4 მეგობარს ზებუნებრივი ძალით დააჯილდოვებს. შემდეგ გადის 20 წელი და რაღაცები ხდება რასაც მე არ მოგიყვებით =)) იმიტომ რომ უნდა უყუროთ =)) მოკლედ კეთილო ადამიანებო ვისაც ცოტა არ იყოს და მძაფრი მომენტების მაგრამ ვერ შესაშინებელი “უჟასები” გევუასებათ უყურეთ =) ყოველ შემთხვევაში ეს მორგან ფრიმანის სამარცხვინო როლი ნამდვილად არაა მიუხედავად იმისა რომ იდიოტს თამაშობს =))))

ხო კიდე რა მინდოდა მეთქვა… ის ბავშვი დადეცს ვინც თამაშობს =))) ვაიმეეე რა საყვარელი ტიპია იცი? აი უსაყვარლესი =)))))))

ნახე რა გოჭია =))) ეს კადრი ფილმიდან ამოვჭერი სხვა სურათები ამ ბავშვის ვერ ვიპოვე, შენი არ ვიცი მაგრამ მე ფრიად მესაყვარლებ-მეგოჭ-მესიმპატიურება =)))) უბრალოდ კადრია ცუდი =)) თან ისე საყვარლად თამაშობს =)))) ხო უნდა აღინიშნოს ის ფაქტიც რომ Jason Lee რომელიც ხსენებულ ფილმში თამაშობს =)))))) ფრიად სიმპაწიურად გამოიყურებოდა =)))  ხო კიდე ის მსახიობები თამაშობდნენ რომლებსაც დიდად არ ვწყალობ მაგრამ აქ რაცხა კარქა იყვნენ =))) ბოლოს დამთავრდა ცოტა არ იყოს და ყ…ად =)))))))))))))))))) ოო მოკლედ რაც მეტს ვლაპარაკობ მეტ სისულელეს ვამბობ =))))))) ამიტომ წავედი =))) ფილმს შგიძლია უყურო აქედან ტოისწ გადმოწერო =)

ესეც თვალსაჩინოებისთვის ტრეილერი =)

Here is a lady talking over a pleasant tune. It’s a good formula, here’s one of my favourite examples of the genre. Hard to believe this is the same band that came up with this (loving her dancing). Or is it? Is it really?

(from Josh)

Another day of doing nothing.  My cell is only big enough to walk in little circles.  It takes me 13 steps to make a complete one.  And that’s how I pass time, walking in circles.  The first 3 days you can pretty much sleep the whole time.  There’s really no reason to get up.  But after that you never really get any good sleep.  You might sleep a couple of hours here and there, but no good 6 or 7 hours at a time.  It isn’t like you go to bed at night.  There is no day or night.  You only know what time it is by when they bring your food to you.  Working out or any kind of exercise I wouldn’t do, because you stay hungry as it is.  You eat dinner at 4pm then you don’t eat again till 6am, 14 hours and no food is a long time.  With what they feed you, you’re hungry again within two or three hours anyway.

painting by ashley addair exploring the way bad institutions dehumanize their people

So what I do is I save something off each tray, put it in these little plastic containers our milk comes in and save it for later.  That little bit of food is the best tasting meal I get.  So if you was to work out you would probably starve to death.  Lucky for me I have managed to get a nurse to sneak me two books in here, which has been a life saver.  One was “Dreamcatcher” by Stephen King which sucked for me.  I couldn’t really get into, but with nothing else to do I managed to finish it.  The second one, was much better.  ”The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, the only problem is I find myself enjoying it so much I can’t put it down and pace myself.  I’m going to end up finishing it in a day then I’ll be back to having nothing to do.  Which is what we’re all trying to avoid.

Comme j’adore le mois d’Octobre, l’Halloween et les films d’horreur, j’ai décidé de faire le premier Horreur-o-thon des Bipolaires! En effet, j’écouterai un film de peur par jour jusqu’au 31, alors revenez lire mes critiques quotidiennes…si vous en avez le courage! MOUAHAHAHAAA!

————

Parfois, il m’arrive de vouloir donner une deuxième chance à certains films, comme dans le cas d’Alien Resurrection, que j’ai trouvé meilleur la 2e fois.  Par contre, j’avais aussi donné une deuxième chance à Dreamcatcher, et c’était encore PIRE la 2e fois (des étrons-aliens? WTF?).  Alors, qu’est-ce que j’ai pensé de The Village de M. Night Shyamalan, que je n’avais vu qu’en 2004 lors de sa sortie et que j’ai réécouté hier?Tout d’abord, il ne faut pas voir The Village comme un film d’horreur, sinon vous serez déçus comme tout le monde l’a été lors de sa sortie.  En effet, il s’agit plutôt d’un thriller psychologique avec des éléments surnaturels (à première vue).

Dans une communauté paisible des années 1800, une trève entre les habitants du village et des monstres mystérieux vivant dans les bois l’entourant commence à se faire difficile, à cause du curieux Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) qui s’y avanture malgré les ordres.  L’atmosphère de vieille légende Américaine présentée par Mr. Shyalaman  Shyamalaman Night fonctionne à merveille, avec un éclairage aux chandelles inquiétant et des forêts menaçants. Par contre, les personnages sont plutôt ennuyants (bien qu’incarnés de façon idéale par les acteurs) et le film avance très trop lentement.

De plus, bien que  ne peut résister à mettre un twist à la fin de tous ses films avec différents degrés de succès, cette fois, il réussit plus ou moins à surprendre le spectateur.  Mais, sa force est de proposer un aspect psychologique sur lequel le public peut se pencher après le visionnement.  Vous verrez.

Note finale: 6.5/10

———-

Meilleure citation: “Do your very best not to scream.” (C’est assez impossible de ne pas crier quand quelqu’un te dit ça.)

Meilleure mort: Je ne me rappelle pas de morts, mais la tentative de meurtre sur Joaquin par Adrien “idiot du village” Brody est assez surprenante.

Y’as-tu des tits?!: C’estl’ancien temps, t’avais plus de chances de voir des perdrix possédées par Satan que des totons.

Saviez-vous que…: Sigourney Weaver a fait des cauchemars pendant 2 semaines après avoir lu le script? Je m’attendais à plus courageux de la part de Ripley.

No time to write a proper entry as I am trying to force myself to go to bed in liu of having to open the bakery tomorrow morning, but just wanted to quickly post this announcement for an upcoming group show. Vestigial Organs will travel to Warren, RI the day after South Boston Open Studios for Mudstone Studios‘ Architectural Ceramics show.  So if you can’t make it to the show here in Boston, catch it in Rhode Island instead!  It will be up until December 2nd so you’ll have plenty of time and no excuses…

Show Announcement

So today was pretty much a total waste of a day.

I woke up feeling exhausted and so, oh so very cold. This is the thing about Florida – the great majority of people here (including me) hate the humidity and whine everyday wishing for the temperature to drop, but as soon as it does – they regret to have ever complained. And let me tell you, the temperature did drop. Just last Friday, it was a very humid 95F day, while for the past two days the highs have been in the low 60s.

Anyway, let’s focus here – back to my day of misery, I pretty much bundled up, had my daily dose of caffeine, and spent all day lurking the web and napping. How incredibly unproductive is that? There is nothing I hate more then wasting perfectly good days to do nothing. My plan is to make up for this next week, by getting extra to-do’s crossed off my endless list of tasks.

The only good thing that happened today was my very best friend, who goes to college a couple of hours north of me, was in the area today and stopped by my place bearing a gift for me! It was totally unexpected and I am still beyond excited. This might be silly, but lately I have been obsessed with dreamcatchers and have been on the lookout for the perfect one. Well, it turns out, my friend was super crafty this weekend and made one from scratch!

A few other things I’m currently keeping an eye out for:

The perfect Faux Fur

I’ve been searching eBay and Etsy high and low for H&M faux fur jackets for weeks now and have come out empty-handed. I need to step up my game, the current weather demands a huge, furry, and super cute coat like this one!

The Awesomeness that is Henry Holland

American Apparel's Back Seam Tights

American Apparel's Spiral Tights

Tights, tights, tights! As much as I detest the cold, I am in love with tight season. They seriously make everything look better! Unfortunately, with the exception of a pair of tights I purchased last week (sheer black with pin dots), my collection of pantyhose consists of a bunch of used and abused tights from last winter. I am about to stock up for this season and the Henry Holland ones as well as the two from American Apparel are at the very top of my lengthy shopping list.

I will continue my post on things I’m currently shopping for on another day. But, for now – here is the pretty picture of the day:

Pretty Deer

Here is the song of the day:

Owl Eyes by Devendra Banhart

I’m going to go ahead and end the day by doing something productive, which will be attempting to organize my inbox, it’s overflowing and currently hates me.

I cannot wait to dream of sitting on furry blankets surrounded by deers and owls tonight. Goodnight.

Hearts, Agnes

Best day ever! Except for maybe yesterday, which was the most productive day ever. Every now and then the stars align and I love my life… First:

Found these amazing canning jars, rubber gaskets intact and all!

There were boxes and boxes full of these; I just took what I could comfortably carry and the shapes that I was most interested in, but there were tons more! They all came from Harvard’s Recycling Center, which sort of makes me worry about what was in them before they abandoned all of them… lots of them reeked of alcohol so I’m leaning towards some sort of organic, probably dead, material. Either way, these definitely weren’t filled with jam so I intend to thoroughly sterilize them. Next…

A dentist hook up has been providing me with AMAZING live teeth samples

9 Freshly Pulled Perfectly in tact teeth, aside from a few giant cavities

He sterilizes them and then drops them into these alcohol filled jars so they don't dry out and become brittle

So let’s see, tons of gorgeous canning jars, recently emptied of organic materials, previously filled with alcohol AND 9 beautiful live teeth samples in the same day… coincidence? I think not. Clearly these things are meant to go together…

Oh!  And I just got 3 pounds of paraffin wax from Seaport Candle downstairs for cheap. They have a beautiful studio on the first floor of the building so I just ran down, chatted for a minute, and ran back up with brand new wax in hand! No expensive shipping, no overpriced art supply shops, no dragging heavy wax on public transportation.  Yesterday I visited the lumber yard, Robert N. Karpp, that’s not even a block away and dragged a 4′x8′ sheet of 1/2“ plywood to the apartment by myself—awesome! I could go on and on about all the other fabulous things that have been accomplished in the last two days, and how thrilled I am by my new apartment and its location, but I won’t bore you. I will just leave you with this, the view out our 4th floor window overlooking the industrial section of Southie at night…

I know you can't really tell, but there's a fabulous crane parking lot right behind the big white building

And sometimes an especially brightly lit cruise ship pulls up and lights up the whole area in blue light… cool…

Postcard Design

Finally came up with a name for my show!  I submitted the design for my postcards and had to invent a title to put on the cards so there you have it.  I hate making up titles.  Half the time I end up just throwing something random together; sometimes it works, sometimes not so much.  This might be one of those not working times, but the title is slowly growing on me so we’ll see what I think by the time the show rolls around.

Making the postcards meant I had to finally set up my studio corner in the new apartment.  In addition to finishing a few teeth, I had to assemble some sort of photography booth.  I took a few pics of my corner and the crazy contraption I put together for the sake of taking a few nice photos…

My corner studio in the new apartment

And lastly, here was the second favorite postcard photo.  It’s a tiny version what’s to come in the next few weeks and at the show on November 1st.

Postcard Design Reject

Ever since Studio I, I’ve been getting very little sleep.At first, I was having 3 or 4 dreams a night because my body wasn’t used to it. I began writing the dreams down on a stack of index cards that I kept next to my bed and its become quite an interesting ongoing project. Here are a few to start off with:

2/2/2009 I was using my Kashi cereal as laundry detergent, because that’s what it said on the box. Its cleaning power isn’t in the fact that there is soap (because there isn’t), but because of the abrasiveness of the granola clusters. I was pouring it into the laundry machine & also eating it.

3/8/2009 Saddam Hussein was teaching me the trick of sending hidden messages & also how to be found when hiding in the desert.

5/3/2009 (my friend Toren’s dream) “I was at my tuesday midterm and it was at a cathedral and they had a lot of cake which was tasty but I just ate it instead of finishing the test which i had to guess every single answer on.”

i think its so funny how clear Toren’s fears are outlined in his dream: getting fat and getting bad grades haha

I was sent this dreamcatcher recently by a distant friend.

I had to share it as it is such a beautiful picture. Dreamcatchers are significant to me. In any case, enjoy!

This is apparently the result of going into production mode.  Shelves and carts and boxes and kilns full of teeth…

Kiln full of teeth...

Cart full of teeth...

Extra shelf in the studio, full of teeth...

Boxes full of teeth that have been dragged home on the T

And just for fun, a nice close up of some of my favorite broken teeth.  I haven’t transported these home yet since they are so fragile.  A surprisingly good photo, considering it was taken on my camera phone…

Broken Teeth

May kakaibang ligaya ang naidudulot sa ‘kin ng Potchi. Kung bakit eh saka ko na ikukwento.

***

Bago ako umalis patungong Baguio, iniabot niya sa akin ang isang ginintuang kahon. Nakabalot ng packaging tape ang gilid upang hindi ko mabuksan. Pinipilit pa nga niyang idikit ‘yong natanggal sa pagkakakabit na balahibo ng manok at butones ng empleyado. Pero hindi na siya nagtagumpay. Sa ‘kin nama’y wala ‘yon. Nakalagay sa ilalim ng box na ‘yon ang isang sulat na maaari ko lamang buksan ang kahon kung makaapat na mensahe na sa akin ang pinakamamahal kong si Repa. Magsisimula raw ang bilangan oras na makababa ako ng bus.

Ngunit ‘di ko naman nasunod ang kasunduan. Madalang kasing magpadala ng mensahe si Repa. Natapos na ang ikalawang araw. Dalawang mensahe pa lang ang natatanggap ko kaya ipinagpaalam ko na sa kanyang bubuksan ko na ‘yong kahon. Nagulat ako sa nilalaman niyon: anim na origami ng mini 4WD, isang maliit na lapis at sangkaterbang potchi strawberry. Akala ko’y tapos na ang laro ngunit hindi pa pala. Dapat ko pa palang hulaan kung bakit may kasama pang lapis sa kahon.

Hindi ko maisip ang tamang sagot. Pero naisip kong gumanti. Dahil matindi ko siyang kaibigan eh uuwian ko kako siya ng kahit ano. Humihingi ako sa kanya ng ideya; ayaw naman niyang makisama. Hanggang sa maispatan ko’y dreamcatcher. Tama siya, kusa pala talagang liliwanag ang paningin mo dahil sa mga ‘di mo inaasahang pagkakataon mo maiisip kung ano nga ba ang pinakamagandang ipasalubong.

Ang sabi ko sa kanya, dapat niya munang mahulaan kung ano ‘yong binili ko para sa kanya. Kung tama ang sagot, maaari niya itong makita. Ikalawa, dapat mahulaan niya ‘yong dahilan kung bakit, kundi ay ‘di niya ito makukuha. Napaisip tuloy siya buong Sabado ng gabi. Bandang huli, nahulaan din niya kung ano iyon at kung bakit iyon. DREAMCATCHER para palaging may ‘iwrestled’ sa PANAGINIP. Point A ‘yong dreamcatcher niya, ‘yong nasa ‘kin naman ‘yong Point B. Track. Axis. Parang gano’n.

Ibinalik niya sa ‘kin ‘yong tanong: Bakit nga ba may lapis pa? At ang sagot eh noong nakaraang linggo raw kasi, sinabi ko sa kanyang ang dami-dami kong gustong isulat na hindi ko matapos. At ang Baguio ay isang magandang lugar upang makapagsulat. Kaya’t pinabaunan na rin niya ako ng lapis. Akala ko nga stirrer ‘yon ng itinimpla kong kape, eh. Hehehe. Nang sa kung anong dahilan (na naipaliwanag ko na sa blog entry sa ibaba), nang mapadpad ako sa tahanan nila eh no’n ko lang nalaman na hindi pa pala tapos ‘yong sorpresa niya.

Pinapili ko siya kung anong kulay ng dreamcatcher ba ang mas gusto niya, blue o green. Pinili niya ‘yong blue. Ang galing. ‘Yon naman talaga ‘yong para sa kanya eh. Paborito ko kasi ang berde. Isinabit niya iyon sa lugar kung saan madaling makikita, pero pansamantala lang daw ‘yon. Kinuha niya ‘yong isang origami at tinanggal mula sa pagkakatiklop. Ipinakita niya sa ‘king mayroong letrang ‘J’ sa upper-right corner noong maliit na papel. Nagulat ako kasi ‘di ko inisip na mayroon pang ganoon. Binuklat ko ‘yong isa pero wala naman akong nakita. Sablay na paningin, mayroon naman pala. Letrang ‘O’, ‘di ko lang nakita. Tapos, no’n ko lang naisip na kaya pala anim na origami. Kasi M-O-J-A-C-K-O. Bakit ko naman kasi maiisipan na buklatin ‘yong papel eh ang liliit ng mga ‘yon. Nanghihinayang ako sa effort niya sa pagtitiklop. Saka, duh, ‘di ko iyon maibabalik sa dati, noh!

Gagong-gago lang talaga. Bigla tuloy akong nahilig sa mga sorpresa.

***

Oo nga pala, sa daan namin pauwi no’ng inihatid niya ako at matindi ang trapik eh may naispatan na naman akong kakaibang karatula, nakalagay: “BABALA: BAWAL UMIHI AT MAGTAPON NG BASURA D2.” So, para sa kaliwanagan ng lahat eh kung iihi ka lang do’n, PWEDE; kung magtatapon ka lang ng basura do’n, PWEDE; pero kung iihi ka at magtatapon do’n ng basura, BAWAL.

It is always great to visit the Barton Grange and today was no exception.  The only difference today was that I got to meet up with all the Barton Grange team in one go – so the inimitable Rob was there along with Louise and Jane, Genivieve (do you spell it like that?) and Joanne and I am sure that there were others (but its Sunday night and Celebrity Come Dine With Me is just about to start and I’m weary too so the brain has gone dead!!!)  The only person missing that I could think of was Tom – where were you, Tom?

I met a load of lovely people.  Couples, girls on their own, a bloke banished to the back of the room whilst his fiance looked for wedding dress ideas, mums and daughters and mums-in-laws too.  Thanks for taking the time to visit my stand.

Michelle and Paul dropped by first of all and they’re getting married at Broughton Church and Barton Grange for afters in September 2011.  Here are your pics in black and white and colour as requested – see I’ll do anything for my customers!

Then Donna and Lee came and had a chat but they hadn’t yet booked anywhere – I hope you’ll think about Barton Grange now you’ve been and had a look.  Its not the best photo, Donna, and I hope you won’t hold it against me as I know you’ll be a lot more relaxed on the day!

And then, thrills, Carla turned up with her mates Gemma and Kayleigh – Gemma has already booked her photographer but it was lovely to see them all as they had attended Carla’s wedding last year.  A girl with great taste as it was a Barton Grange/Fotoamour/The Flower Shop Garstang wedding!

Carla – give me a call when you’ve had your baby.  I’d love to do some photos for you!

Sally and Gilly came to chat later and it was brilliant to have a talk with someone who is really into the whole wedding accessory theme.  You know, I’m a girl who knows how to stick to a wedding budget – but if you have you’re heart set on the little bits and bobs of a wedding AND you have the budget to go with it, then it can be a truly beautiful thing.  Gilly would make a great wedding planner and is a useful friend to have around if you’re planning a wedding like Sally is.  (I think I’ve got their names the right way round – apologies if not!)

How is this for amazingly exciting – one of my potential customers today was Natalie. Natalie competed at the Bejing, Sydney and Athens Paralympic Games in swimming.  How fantastic and utterly brilliant is that?   Myles has already asked to be my assistant on the day if Natalie books with Fotoamour but I have a sneaking suspicion that its only to try and obtain autographs from a few of the guests!  Incidentally Natalie and her man (another major athlete) are getting married on 10/10/2010 – how cool is that?!

When I showed Natalie this pic she wasn’t that thrilled with it – but I think you’ve got a picture of a lovely, bright, smiling beautiful bride to be – so I’m sorry, I went with it anyway!

Winifred, Katie and Julie came up to my stand and were just lovely.  I felt like we clicked.  So I was pleased that they decided to book me there and then for next May.  I am so chuffed to be photographing your wedding – its going to be brilliant. Keep in touch, girls and call me if you need any major advice.

The last to be photographed today were Alison and her entourage!  What a great bunch of ladies.  No venue booked yet but they went away with a few ideas and I’m hoping that they’ll consider Barton Grange for sheer professionalism and …. niceness.  Being nice is just such an underrated past-time and a team of nice people managing your day is one of the very best reasons to book a venue.  So here is, from left, Brenda, Alison, Hazel and Margaret on their quest to find the ultimate wedding reception venue!

The catwalk and dress show today was provided by Dreamcatcher in Kirkham.  I don’t often have a great deal to do with dress shops in general but I must say that I thought there were some much nicer numbers here than I have seen of late.  I am also relieved to see that there was an alternative to the strapless numbers that so many brides have worn, and worn well admittedly, over the last few years.  Its just nice to have a change, that’s all!  Having said that the shot below is made up entirely of strapless numbers – hey ho!

Mother of the bride outfits were provided by Speights (I think that’s right but I’m hoping someone there will correct me if not).  I was again, pleased to see some different outfits there.  The chic little suits were particularly flattering and I loved the metallic one with the mega hat pictured below.  It just looked so sophisticated and dressy without being overdone.   A great look.

Now for those of you that are quick enough, and been reading this blog a while, you’ll recognise the lady above as being the singer for The Prohibition – the band that played at The Ansdell School Summer Ball.  Only then she was wearing a tartan tutu and platform boots.  Today she was wearing Mother of the Bride outfits – from the sublime to the ridiculous.  She still only looks about 17 though doesn’t she!

Will post some more soon about some of the other suppliers there – So Close Invitations in particular as I was really impressed with the stuff that they had on display.  I’ve got some shots of some of their work and if you need invites they would be worth checking out.  Keep reading though as I’ll be posting these pics tomorrow.

But I’m just off to watch Celebrity Come Dine with me followed by Kevin McCloud’s Grand Tour.  (AKA Thinking Woman’s Crumpet!)