Bloc Party were one of those influential bands that swayed me back to dance beats.  Even though I grew up with some form of dance music playing in the background hip hop and rock music dueled to compete for the most played genre in my library. Bloc Party were that in between… the little indie, little rock, little electro, little interesting, and a lot unique band.  At least when it came to four years ago, there was a lot to capture for someone listening to a BP track.

Typically, it was their hit banquet that took me by storm.  But not with the original- the Phones dance remix.  That remix was a beauty! So to pay a small tribute to the remix that made me seek out other remixes… we salute you and all the other BP remixes that knock our socks off!

Bloc Party – Zephyrus (Holy Fuck Remix)

Bloc Party – Signs (Armand Van Helden Remix)

Bloc Party – One More Chance (Alex Metric Remix)

Bloc Party – Hunting For Witches (Crystal Castles Remix)

Bloc Party – Hunting For Witches (Villains Remix)

Bloc Party – Banquet (Phones Disco Edit)

After Mark had made his big discovery, Sam grudgingly walked his horse over to him, and took a look for himself. Sam was tired, confused, and somewhat disappointed. The first half of his hunch had been correct, but it looked like the second half of it was dead wrong. Sam wasn’t expecting this new development. He wasn’t ready for it. He hadn’t prepared for it, and that made him mad. Whereas, before he had feigned anger and enthusiasm, his anger had now become tentative, and he was truly concerned. He was mad at that murderer, because it seemed as if he’d changed his mind, and now Sam would have to change his plans. He’d been thoroughly ready to go on home, get warm, and go to bed. On the other hand, Mark was just beginning to find himself. He was coming into his own. He’d accomplished two feats, one daring, and one investigative. Mark’s confidence had been revived, and he was raring to go. Now that he had the guts that he’d been lacking, he was able to get up the nerve to ask Sam a question.

“Why is he going back, do you think?” He’d caught Sam off-guard. Sam had been probing his own mind for his next hunch, for some other possibility, for the one that wasn’t quite so obvious. Sam returned the favor by saying this to Mark. “I don’t rightly know, Kid. I’m thinking the worst. I’m thinking there’s something he didn’t finish doing last night. I’m thinking, perhaps, he didn’t complete his mission. Maybe, he had intended on murdering the pastor’s entire family. I’ll be damned, but I’m afraid he’s going back for those two kids, if he isn’t going after Luke. He’s the only one who saw him leaving the place.”

“Oh, my God, Sam! I sure hope not. I was wondering, if maybe he hadn’t forgot something else. Something he needed really, really bad to make his trip. Like a map, or something. Money, maybe.” Sam quickly shot back, “I highly doubt it, Kid. That sonuvabitch is a maniac! It’s hard to guess what he’s up to. Those kind of people don’t just blatantly disregard the law, they rule it out altogether, and then they do whatever it is that suits their purpose. He’s at least two hours ahead of us. He could already be back in town doing whatever it is that he’d planned on doing, and we may be too late to do anything about it.” Just then, Sam’s second hunch finally came to him, giving him new hope that his first hunch might still be the correct one. But the high-strung kid had gotten excited, and blurted out, “We better high-tail it outta here then, huh?” “Yeah, Kid,” Sam said, ignoring his words.

Sam turned to the rest of his posse, and filled them in. “Hey, you guys, listen up! Our murderer might be headed to the river to take a different route south. He knows someone’s on to him, or else he’d be riding over yonder on the road. If he does know we’re after him…well, that’s what I would do. He can walk his horse up the river for a ways and lose us. We wouldn’t have a chance. We’ll head on up to the river. If he’s going back to town, his tracks will be straight across on the other side. This weather’s gonna slow him down same as us.” Then Sam reached back into his bag, and grabbed the bottle of whiskey. It was practically empty. He tipped it up real quick, and killed it off, which instantly set him off into a bout of coughing, and gasping for air. After Sam had come back to his senses, Mark gave him a funny look. “It’s okay, Kid. Don’t you worry about me. I know what I’m doing. That stink back in the cave left me with a bad taste in my mouth.” Sam tossed the bottle off into the brush. Mark felt himself compelled to ask one more question, before they took off, so he continued to put up a fuss. “What about all that stuff back in the cave? You don’t think…you don’t believe…I mean, what was that all about?” Sam looked Mark right in the eyes, “I ain’t worried about that idiot’s hocus-pocus! He can cast spells all he wants. The world doesn’t work that way. Wishing will you only get you so far. Don’t you know that?” Sam reared his horse around,”Okay, men. Let’s ride!” The Kid was beginning to get on his nerve, and it ticked him off.

The manhunt was once again underway in that miserably cold rainy weather. Mark fell in line and behaved himself, as a good soldier should. Sam had gotten him to thinking the worst, too, but he was hoping Sam was right, and if that man had cast a spell on them, it wouldn’t work. Mark really did want to believe that, but his old self and his old ways wouldn’t let him. The Kid wished he could make his old self magically disappear, but like Sam said, the world doesn’t work that way. Mark was shivering, and feeling pretty darn miserable himself. He took it out on Sam by wondering why he was going so slow, and cursed him under his breathe. There was no trail to follow, so the ride was naturally rough-n-tough. Sam was having a difficult time seeing, and following the man’s tracks. Right then and there, he promised himself he’d go and get those damn spectacles his doctor had been recommending. But he was able to follow the tracks, all the way to the river. Before they crossed, Sam got off his horse, and led him to water. His men took the cue, and mimicking Sam, followed suit. After a few minutes of stretching their legs, they crossed on over, and picked up the murderer’s tracks. He was still headed north. This frustrated Sam to no end. They hadn’t gone far before the tracks headed back west. After they’d reached the road, the tracks continued northward. By that time the rain was sticking, and freezing to every single thing it touched. It was a half-hour ride from there to Bedlam, and another hour from Bedlam to their town. Sam already had a headache, and the impending doom wasn’t helping matters at all.

Just finished: The Woman in White.

Reading next: Guilty Pleasures, by Donald Barthelme.

This book really does have more than its fair share of monsters, doesn’t it?  People monstrous — grotesque might be another way of putting it (but then I couldn’t use that killer title, lifted from this Maureen McHugh collection) — in their self-interest, their willful disavowal of wrongdoing or even wrongful impulse, their superficial gentility.

Fosco is an obvious example — like Milton’s Satan, he seems something of a heroic villain until you remember the bodies he’s buried under rhetoric, charm, and rationalization (it’s more complicated with the rather defensible Satan, of course, but that’s a whole other topic) — and I’ve already talked a little about Frederick Fairlie, who is so indifferent to everything in the world but his own comfort as to be rather delightful.  But I’m thinking here of other monsters.

The monstrous mother is Mrs. Catherick.  In her discussion with Walter, and especially in the letter she sends him, Mrs. Catherick displays her absolute lack of interest in her daughter’s well being; the coldness with which she dismisses news of Anne is matched only by the warmth with which she justifies her abandonment of Anne.  It’s a magnificent portrait, this little sketch of Mrs. Catherick.  There’s her pride at being bowed to by the minister, this tiny measure of civility and her rehabilitated status in her community to be clung to at all costs.  And, especially, there’s her magnificent sign-off to Walter, which, in context, seems like the epitome of that hoary old chestnut, the banality of evil: “My hour for tea is half-past five, and my buttered toast waits for nobody.”

Is it wrong to argue that Walter Hartright himself is something of a monster, too?  What brought this to mind for me was his insistence that he bore no blame for Glyde’s death.  Of course, Glyde never would have been where he was if Walter were not digging into Glyde’s past — it’s not like he bears no responsibility.  And one of the main conflicts throughout the Third Epoch is Walter’s internal struggle between the need for vengeance and the need to protect Marian and Laura.  Collins kind of bails Walter out of this conflict, in the end.  But the conflict hews awfully close to that classic noir trope of the detective as the other side of the criminal coin: capable of impulses as dark as any murderer’s.  Interesting, that this proto-detective novel already contains the DNA of hardboiled novels and The French Connection.

We are so busy this holiday season!  First, we are performing on Nov. 25th at Villains Bar and Grill at 10pm.  Come see Michelle L’amour, Lily Bloom, Kami Oh!, Ivy Fabulous, Ginny Fizz, Dominique Trixx and Rhonda Vous.  Get your Thanksgiving off to a good start!

Then, on Dec. 4th, we have Naked Girls Reading A Christmas Carol.  Reading this month is Michelle L’amour, Mimi First, Dominique Trixx, Mina Mechante and Greta Layne.  Bring a new children’s book with you and we will donate it to Rock for Reading.

And, you don’t want to miss our big show on Dec. 11th at Subterranean!

Three events in one!  We have the newest students performing their first stripteases at 8pm, then we are doing our annual holiday show right after the recital, and stay for drinking and dancing for the Studio L’amour holiday party.  Special guests are Nadine Dubois, Ophelia Flame, Roxi D’Lite and DJ Ajent Orange!

Finally, if you can’t get enough, we will be performing at Five Star Bar on Dec. 12 for their wild Festivus party!

Many thanks to all those who came out to the show and workshop in Dayton.  Myself and the Starlets always have a lovely time with you.

This week, I will be performing at Villains on Nov. 25 at 10pm along with Lily Bloom, Kami Oh!, Ivy Fabulous, Ginny Fizz, Dominique Trixx, and Rhonda Vous.  This is the perfect Thanksgiving treat!

Also, Naked Girls Reading is happening at Studio L’amour on Dec. 4.  We will be reading A Christmas Carol.  Reserve your tickets now!

I’m back home and more or less recovered. I think!

The problem with people like me is we got more ideas than time and our bodies aren’t always keeping up.

When I was kid people wondered why I pushed myself so hard. No one else was going to do the work for me. Everything I have, I earned the hard way. Blood sweat, and tossing caution to the wind or leaping before making sure something would catch me. I’m not dead yet but that could be the evil mastermind posing as a superhero by day.

Wait. What do they call those? Villains. Shh. Please keep this under wraps. I’ve got a façade to keep up.

I did more edits on NIGHT REINS. I love rewrites. I love the story so much I enjoy going in and cleaning things out. I cleaned up the synopsis of LIFE REINS got my super critique partner to look over it. Edited, she relooked at the work, I did more edits. See, I wasn’t joking about loving the rewrites. I went over some AEQUITAS II PUNISHMENT.

Over the coming posts, I’ll be adding in some interviews in the mix not to bore you with my mad ramblings.

Susan the bride and groom are beautiful and I hope they live long and prosper. I got that line from a hotty. Spock.

Mason
a.c.Mason
Darkness ♀♂ Desires
www.acmason.com

I saw it……then i rushed home to google dat shit. I’m wont say anything more just to keep your possibly open minds from being tainted.  However,it was definitely a thought provoking film.  It had me and my lady recalling different dream experiences we had in our pasts that seemed odd. You know the kind that keep you paralyzed in your bed even when you thought you had woken up.  It also had me think about all the things that I am striving for, djing worldwide, getting management, producing music blah blah……and the flick just made me realize how all that shit means nothing.  Well then it’s like……well what IS important…….. The truth is, I don’t know.  I feel that connection is important to me. Connecting with people through music, connecting in my relationship……but that’s just my little world. Is any of it really important in the grand scheme of everything?

It’s funny…..I thought that these kinds of conversations would end in my life when I stopped smoking weed and eating mushrooms; that they were just the over-philosophizing rants of an adolescent…….but I was wrong. I’m 32 years old, haven’t had a drink or a drug in over 10 years and I’m still sitting around contemplating shit that’s bigger than me…..

Music Music Music…….

The owner of the house is gonna kill me but if you’re Los Angeles tonight, come to this:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186675436776&index=1

As far as shit I’m loving…..

Well I happened to go to the Kosher Management Site when I googled this dude that I got hooked up with and I have to say……Steed Lord!!!!!

“Bucket of Blood” Nate Day RMX……amazing

Check out: http://koshermgmt.com/

are some great Steed Lord Remixes there.

Enjoy the day!!!

Beckham- one fo the few players to receive an orange card.

Thierry Henry’s handball on Wednesday night has already ignited the nations press in a frenzy of hatred anger and in some cases even racism.
Yes Henry was wrong to do what he did and yes, he can hardly expect people to be sympathetic, regardless of his so-called attempted apology.
Yet it seems the world cup in this country is famous for creating villains rather than heroes. Henry joins a list that includes Maradona, KOEMAN, Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo in players who’ve been blamed for costing the nation World Cup success, the difference for Henry of course is that his crime was not even against England.
While the British press’s and indeed much of the public’s sympathy for Ireland is touching, it’s probably undeserved. Would the Irish be as angered or vociferous in their cries of injustice if England had been denied in such a manner?
What Henry has done is simply get the Chelsea fans down at fleet street warmed up for the pantomime season that will be next years World Cup. Without a doubt next year will see the emergence of a new national enemy whose actions will have been deemed to have cost England certain glory.
The last World Cup was a case in point, Wayne Rooney’s sending off was seen by many as the real reason behind England’s failure. Not the fact that Wazza wasn’t fully fit, or that we took one striker barely fit enough to travel, let alone play and another one who’d yet to make his premier league debut as back-up. No, it was all Ronaldo’s fault for winking after Rooney got his marching orders.
Cue hysterical screaming by the press, calling for Ronaldo to be, sold, deported, imprisoned, shot or at least given a Chinese burn, depending on whose column you read. The resultant fall-out no doubt helped contribute to Ronaldo’s house being vandalised but hey he shouldn’t have had the audacity to wink.
Only 8 years earlier it had been national treasure Sir David Beckham (it’s only a matter of time) who’d been blamed for kicking out at Diego Simeone against Argentina, thereby ruining England’s chances. In what should rightly be remembered as the most disgraceful exhibition of unwarranted vilification in the national press’s recent history, Beckham was treated slightly worse than Hitler. One paper even published a dartboard with his face on while burning effigies awaited him on his return from France.
There was no mention of the fact that only two games prior to the Argentina one, England had lost to Romania, or that Hoddle went to the World Cup with no idea of his best team, or that he made Beckham do a press conference explaining how he felt to be dropped. No, it was all Beckham’s fault.
Let’s not even mention Euro 2004, where anything from the WAGs to referee Urs Meier to even the shape of the penalty spot was blamed for England’s exit.
Right now Henry is British public enemy number 1 but he shouldn’t worry too much, next summer there’ll be someone else ready to step into his shoes should England fail, the only question is will he be English?

There’s always a bad guy in every story.  Someone has to give your hero a problem that your story works through to resolve, after all.  They automatically appear, and its up to you to show just why they are the threat your hero sees them as.

But there’s a big different between a bad guy and a true villain, and most of that has to do with their development.  Your villain needs to be designed not only to truly be that threat, but also that lets you see that yes, he too is human just as much as your hero is.  And you know what… it’s okay to actually like them too.

Let’s look at a few of the more successful villains in popular media:

Sylar from HEROES: The young man who wanted to be special. In the first season you are introduced to Gabriel and his fall from grace into Sylar. He’s killed, tortured, and been given so many chances to redeem himself and always takes the wrong path. Sure, he tries to save himself sometimes, but the lust of his powers always brings him back.

Everyone knows what it feels like to be different and wanting to be special. This is the reason why so Marvel Comics is still in business with more mutant superheroes than a wiki can keep track of. As humans, we related to that need, sometimes much more than a cheerleader who likes to cut off her own finger to watch it grow back.

Sylar is us. He’s what we could become if we don’t watch our need for power, and what happens if we are willing to do anything for it. And we watch him and want to see if the next time he tries to take the good path, that he will do it. Because we want to think that if we were in that spot, we could too. We love him because we want to know if that was us, we could still be loved and saved too.

The writer’s achieved this in a very simple way – they showed it. You get to see in flashbacks the path that Gabriel took and the manipulations that happened to make him start on the path. They also show that deep inside, he’s just a scared man who just wants to make his mother proud; wants to be accepted by a group for who he is, and allowed to grow into maturity.

And of course Zachary Quinto then takes the writer’s words and is able to translate it onto the screen, using his vocal inflections, acting intentions and facial expressions to expand beyond the dialogue to round out the way Sylar is shown and in return embraced by the fans. And the fact that Quinto is attractive to boot doesn’t hinder him at all.

The Joker from the Batman Comics:

The crazy, maniacal, car wielding clown from the Batman empire wouldn’t be as well loved of a villain as he is today – Wizard magazine named him the Greatest Villain of All Time. His background differs depending on which form of media you look at him in – comic, cartoon, live tv series, or the movie portrayals by Jack Nicholson and of course, the Academy Award winning performance by the late Heath Ledger. But what keeps people coming back to wanting to see this character again and fear the way they might approach him in the new way?

Part of it is history – the Joker appeared in Batman #1 in 1940. He was the first villain, and has yet to be able to stay behind closed doors in Arkham. He’s hurt a LOT of people in his almost 70 years of mischief and mayhem, including the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin, as well as the paralysis of Barbara Gordon. He’s caused a lot of pain to the main hero, and so he’s earned the respect of the audience as a force to be reckoned with.

And then there is the fact that the Joker is a MURDERING CLOWN!!! He’s crazy, unpredictable, a genius and goes into his crime sprees with a painted smile on his face and putting them on all his victims too. The character sees and plans in so many circles and layers that if he wasn’t insane he would be in politics.

It’s the “what’s he going to do now?” factor that keeps the Joker going 70 years in popularity with his audience. He has never disappointed in entertaining, always gives his best performance when the writers bring him out for a job, and we have the knowledge that Batman will tuck him back into the little padded cell with his name engraved over the door at the end of the story. But unlike most villains who have a signature style every time they appear, the Joker consistently changes things up and the tricks will just keep coming until Batman figures out the endgame.

There’s no relation that can be drawn between the reader and the joker, however. The Batman series pulls it’s reader relationship in through its heroes. But you are able to respect and even love the Joker because of the feelings that your heroes go through while dealing with him, and knowing that his insanity brings depth and perspective to the heroes that lesser villains would not be able to accomplish. Its a symbiotic relationship – to love one means you must love the other.

Darth Vader from the Star Wars Saga:

Let’s face it – when Vader first appeared, he was a flunkie to the Emperor with an old school religion and awesome powers to choke people just by holding out his hands. But he wasn’t interesting then. With just the first movie out, the story was the three main characters – Han, Luke and Leia. Vader had no established history shown on screen or in the novelizations to make anyone give a care to him.

It was when Empire Strikes Back did Vader become interesting. You could tell that in writing the second story, George Lucas was starting to plot out the origin story. Yoda had the secret that Obi-Wan hadn’t told Luke about, or that Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru died protecting Luke from. Was it that Lucas didn’t know he would make Vader into Luke’s daddy dearest until then…

That doesn’t matter when you look at it on screen. Empire is where you have the climactic moment. “Luke, I am your Father.” That is the moment right there where suddenly Vader’s character changes, and you’re forced to watch everything again to reanalyze the villain and see him for more.

Why? Because now he’s human. He’s a father. He’s not trying to manipulate Luke – he’s doing what he thinks will save his son. He’s trying in some really unsuccessful fashion to even bond with him. Father and son taking over the universe? Sure, why not Dad!

When you rewatch, you then start to see the hints of humanity that you might have missed. The little things that Lucas put in that shows that this was once a man who lived and loved and wasn’t completely evil. And it sets up the expectation that now this is a man who can be saved.

Luke is already the hero of this movies, and now he sees his goal. We already know Luke can win space battles – but can he save his father’s soul? It’s that arc in the Return of the Jedi that keeps you on the edge of your seat in that final lightsaber battle, and when Luke is then on the ground screaming in pain for his father.

The prequels, no matter your opinion on them, are then trying to then take you back and show that origin story. Some of the reason why it failed is because Lucas had such a high expectation line from the fans that he would truly never be able to meet it. Everyone knew the story without it needing to be shown on screen.

It was that lack of a complete background story that had given the fans had twenty years of their own creativity to make up the missing pieces, pulling things from their own lives and putting them into Anakin Skywalker to make him someone they could all sympathize with.

In conclusion – You need to look at your villains as if they are the most important character in the novel, along with your hero. They are symbiotic, have had some kind of fall from grace, and there has to be either some hope for redemption or else showing that they are completely irredeemable in order to have them be believable. Then you need to make them human so that your readers can look at them and understand how they work – or think they can try in the cases like the Joker.

Know their background, even if you don’t plan to reveal it. Know the path that brought them to where they are at the beginning of your book. Write your origins story for them, and keep that in your pile of research. You already know your hero is going to win, but make it so that your readers may not believe that until you want them to.

And don’t be surprised if they get upset when they lose, and if you kill them off?… I would avoid any fan mail with black envelopes and pictures of bloody knives on them. But take comfort in knowing that if you got this response – you did it right.

What can be said about our featured villain this week? Four eyes, two (three? or four?) heads, six fingers and all the Avian knowledge of culture and warfare. He most notably tried to have Bruce Banner fix the city of his extinct masters after seeing Harpy (Betty Ross stopped shaving for a few weeks) on the wing. Besides his combat knowledge, his android body grants him increased strength, reflexes and durability. Bi-Beast, we salute you. You know, twice.

-windiebird

This was a weekend for insight and enlightenment. There are times when you converse with people and the conversation seems to jump from one topic to the next in a matter of miliseconds. Sometimes it’s the awkward grapple for topics to talk about, and sometimes it just flows naturally and you hit gold. Gold I say.

This was such a weekend where I, we, struck gold.

A few other ladies and I came to discussing Disney movies. The nostalgia of our childhoods (childrenhoods? Kidding). A common theme we noticed in our favorite princess movies is the fact that none of them have mothers. In Shakespeare’s plays this is an underlying message of misogony (the hatred of women).

Let me lay out the evidence:

In Aladdin, Princess Jasmine only has her father and a tiger. Where is the mother?
In Cinderella, her mother dies and she gets an EVIL stepmother.
In The Little Mermaid, Ariel’s mother is never shown. There’s only King Triton.
How about Snow White? Another EVIL mother/queen.
Belle in Beauty and the Beast has no mother.
Even Pocahontas doesn’t have a mother. Just a father who is the chief of the tribe.

All very interesting facts, no?

Well let’s think about the villains in these Disney classics as well.

Cruella Deville: woman.
Cinderella’s Evil Stepmother: woman.
Snow White’s Evil Queen: woman.
Jafar: effeminate.
Scar: effeminate.
The Queen in Sleeping Beauty: woman.
Ursula: woman.

Coincidences? I’m not so sure. Some people discussed Scar’s effeminate features earlier this month, which helped us to reach this conclusion: Disney is misogonistic.

Scar and Jafar are two male villains, but they don’t exert manly traits. They’re both slenderized, and kind of flambouyantly depicted. They look like they wear makeup and have kind of graceful movements. It’s just something to think about.

The female villains are all independent women. They have no male counterparts, and notice how many of them are in charge, or queens without kings. Women in power are depicted as the villains in these “fun for the whole family” films. Whether we notice it or not, the types of messages Disney sends is that independent women, who are not controlled by men are to be feared. These types of women are evil. Kings without queens, or men without wives, are loving and nurturing; gentle – but women who aren’t controlled by a man are deemed insane, scary, and diabolical.

Shakespeare implemented this idea in a lot of his plays, which was, what, 100 years ago? How far have we progressed? Disney basically does the same thing. The films we watch depict some type of current social views. It could be a bit subliminal, and maybe we’re just so used to it that it goes undetected, but all the signs are there.

I found it interesting – I’m not being a feminist or anything. It’s just some food for thought.

L.

Had fun with this one….

Have You Seen Heroes: Season 3 Episode 8 – Villains?

Episode Synopsis:

Under the guidance of Usutu, Hiro has a vision back in time one year ago to determine what forced Arthur Petrelli to fake his death and create Pinehearst. In the past, Hiro also watches the early days of the Company and how Mr. Petrelli and Mr. Linderman founded it, and their falling out with Angela who saw them as a threat to both Nathan and Peter. Also in the past, Meredith Gordon’s origins are shown of how she was captured by Thompson to work for the Company, and of life of crime with her half-brother, whom is the blue-flame fire-starter Flint. Also, Sylar makes a discovery about his powers when he meets Elle for the first time and how she inspired him to kill in order to steal others powers.

So what do you think of this episode?

If you missed it, you can watch it here.

Only Children have been dropping little morsels of remixes here and there, but this is their first full-length mixtape. You can get a sense for what they’re all about by looking at the tracklist and giving the thing a whirl. Disco house lives and these bros rule! Now, I know I’m a tad late on this one, but I tried to make up for it by posting a couple more MP3’s than usual. Enjoy!

Tracklist:
1. Countdown To One
> 2. Prince – Uptown (Only Children Extended 12″ Edit)
> 3. Miami Horror – Make You Mine (Cassian Remix)
4. Nice Guys – I Don’t Want You Back
5. Basement Jaxx – Raindrop (Louis La Roche Remix)
6. Zero 7 – Everything Up (Zizou) (Mock N Toof Remix)
7. Tigercity – Fake Gold (Only Children Remix)
8. Drop The Lime – Devils Eyes (Classixx Remix)
9. Duck Sauce – aNYway
> 10. Villains + Classixx – I’m On It
11. Only Children – When Doves Get High
12. Röyksopp – The Girl And The Robot
13. Little Boots – Stuck On Repeat (Fake Blood Remix)
14. Morgan Page – Longest Road To Nowhere (Only Children Remix)
15. Santiago & Bushido – Make Me Feel
16. Empire Of The Sun – Walking On A Dream (Van She Vs. Only Children Remix)
17. Hey Champ – Cold Dust Girl (Only Children Remix)
> 18. Phonat -  Set Me Free
19. Only Children – Only Harder Faster Children

Only Children – How The Midwest Was One (146MB + mediafire)

Beats™

La idea para crear a Rotten J inició con la necesidad de un antagónico fìsico de Babylon, de tú a tú.
No como Santiago Robles que es màs un antaónico por poder e influencias. Debìa tener un aire de punk rocker inglés, old school y muy, muy gandalla. El look pronto varió un poco a más rocker, pero la actitud se mantuvo. Al final me gustó tanto, que creo que tendrá su propio cómic en algún momento.

Kid Buda

Amitabha!

I created him as a physical antagonic character of Babylon King, not as Santiago that uses his power and influences. Visually the main idea for Rotten J was an english- badass-old school-punk rocker, which lately had more rocker than punk, but the whole feeling remained.
In the end I liked him so much, that he will surely have his own comic at some point.

Kid Buda

Amitabha!

Ear Worm is a musical supervillain.

He really had no choice. When your name is Rick Rohl*, and a lightning strike happens simultaneously with the third shot of Everclear and your voice becomes a natural mental intrusion as a result of a freak accident? What else is there to do but become someone who disrupts the brains and thoughts of people in a 50′ radius by putting songs into their heads that they can’t get out!

[Rick Rohl is a real person. I have never met him, but an online friend had him as a customer so I just ran with it].

Here is the latest mixtape from the up and coming artist $. Killah. I interviewed him a month back and got a good insight to his character. Now, with this mixtape, you can get an insight to his music. I think the tape is dope but don’t take my word for it.

Download link after the jump.

- iMegatron

DOWNLOAD: $. Killah – A Night Of SuperHeroes, Villains, and KillaH (Mixtape)

Why bother turning on the news anymore? Everything is desolation and calamities– haven’t we had enough?

Yesterday, at Fort Hood in Texas, a US army psychiatrist– who definitely needs therapy himself– loaded some guns and shot dead 13 people and wounded some 28 more. Major Nidal Malik Hasan was a perturbed man, unfortunately lately the earth is filling up with too many perturb beings, yet no one is doing much about it.

Reports claim that Hasan shouted “Allah u’Akbar” before starting his rampage– and so I wonder, how much more greater can Hasan’s god be that so many deserve to die in his honor? Oh geez, I know the answer– Hasan’s god is an extremist radical with a case of serious attention craving disorder, along with a really bad case of unfounded hatred, etc, etc, etc. After gathering data from Hasan’s personal computer police have found website postings with sympathetic messages to suicide bombings. Goes to show that we are sleeping with the enemy– and then there are those who want to close down Guantanamo and bring more perturb radicals inside our home, I don’t get it.

Oh and today in Florida another shooting occurred– is there a competition of some sort? I titled this post “Heroes & Villains”, but I guess the heroes are on lunch break or something– some one please call Superman and get Wonder Woman a raise.

- Lady of Press

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. (via http://www.nanowrimo.org)

I just started writing my novel tonight. I spent two days brainstorming ideas until I found one that worked. I basically have the whole plot laid out in my head, so I suspect writing this novel will be no problem. I’ve only managed to get about an hour and half of actual writing time in there tonight, with a count of 1,715 words. Without giving too much away, I can tell you my novel is about… Retired Superheroes.

Here is an excerpt: (note: the main character’s name for the time being is “Joe”, I haven’t thought of his name just yet)

There was a man in a spandex suit reading the newspaper. This man was surprisingly the oddest looking one of the group. Over top of his spandex suit, he wore a cardigan sweater, and over top of that, he wore a cape. Of all the people in the room, Joe knew this was the one to talk to. He took a deep breath and began walking towards the geriatric superman of sorts. He pondered what possible questions you could ask to a man wearing a cardigan over a spandex body suit, but he decided it would just be best to introduce himself. “Hello sir, my name is…” he began as he tripped over what appeared to be a log and came crashing to the ground with a thunderous thud. He spun around quickly to see what it was that had tripped him, but much to his dismay, there was nothing. “Hi, I’m Stretch Johnston!” proclaimed a mysterious booming voice. Joe looked over to see a skinny African-American man in a purple rubber jumpsuit, his leg stretched and wrapped around his chair several times. “Sorry about that, I love to trip people up!” he yelled, bursting into laughter as he finished his sentence. “Ha ha ha, ooh ho ho ho, How are you my brother?” he snickered. “Uh… I’m good. My name is Joe, nice to meet you.”

Anyways, I need to go to sleep now. Goodnight, Universe!

UPDATES:

My Beginner B-Boy and B-Girl Class starts tonight!

B-Boy/B-Girl Classes for Beginners!

DOWNTIMES:

Photography continues…

Here’s another from Clear_Effect from our most recent photo shoot.

Here’s one from my collection during the filming of fog city nights, with my Polaroid SX-70..

Bride stripped bear by her bachelors, even

So I realised the similarities between the cels and another important marcel duchamp piece, large glass. The piece is about a woman being sexually pleasured with a machine being run by nine men.

So with this in mind I started jotting down idea for an artwork which oded to this brilliant piece but with keeping in the ideas of commercialism, value, and money.

I can’t talk too much about the piece as of yet because its hard to even know what its a cover of.

Its lightly provocative in nature what with Minnie being naked and all. I replaced the bride with her, and obviously she has been stripped bare by her bachelors (a host of male disney villains). There is even a question mark as to whether the image is suitable, there is a kind of uneasiness in their smiles that make us think of the worst.

The sort of idea behind it was to have disney take over a piece of art, but I don’t actually know if its worked. Its certainly recognisable to me as a piece of art, and as a reference to Duchamp. There’s also the alluding to my heroes nowadays, vs the villains of my past. But I really don’t know.

I personally love the piece but I need to think more abput why it is art, and why it is so brilliant (in my most humble opinion)

hahaha

When shopping for shoes the biggest concerns are quality, style and wearability. Melissa manages to transform an undesirable material like plastic into a shoe of high function.

The sustainable line of footwear includes flats, heels, wedges, clogs and sandals made from recycled material like MEFLEX plastic and PVC which stretches design beyond its limits.

Once known as the ’80s jellies (clear shoes worn by little girls with socks), the modern stylized shoe is now made softer with a fabric insole. Melissa marries women to both comfort and fashion.

“I have a pair and it feels like I’m walking on gel,” said Lauren Benson, manager at Nida in Hayes Valley. Nida sells a variety of styles from the Spring and Fall collection including the Vivienne Westwood Three Straps, black shiny Zaha Hadid, clear J. Maskrey NightSky and Ultragirl.

Melissa shoe construction is intended to abide for years. “They’re green and last longer than a pair of leather shoes,” said Lauren Stewart, sales associate at Villians on Haight street. The shop has select styles from the Fall 2009 Collection including Glam, Ashanti faux velvet booties and brown Vivienne Westwood Three Straps Elevated. Prices range from $59 to $200 and opt for a color of choice.

No worries when it comes to laundering the shoe darling of the eco-world. “They’re very easy to clean. Some of my customers stick them in the dish washer, my co-worker hoses them down but there is vinyl cleaner for them,” said Benson.

When its time to move onto the next pair throw them in a bin with three chasing arrows because they’re 100 percent recyclable.

Based in Rio Grande do Sul, the Brazilian brand under one of the largest shoe manufacturers, Grendene, embarks on the motto, “Plastic Dreams.” While dreaming for over three decades, the company has churned out innovative concepts like space, form, chaos and disorder while collaborating with designers like Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, Campana brothers and famous architecture Zaha Hadid.

Melissa shoes has become very popular especially among the vegan community. Looks like Miuccia Prada has even jumped on the bandwagon and took a lead from Melissa with plastic heels in her 2010 Spring RTW collection.

“My store manager said it rained in Japan last summer and all the girls were wearing these (Melissa shoes) because they’re like rain shoes,” said Benson.

Whether its for a rainy day, beach party, strutting down a runway or enjoying the nightlife with girlfriends, these funky, fashionable shoes are sure to bring durability and comfort while keeping plastic out of landfills – and gentlemen keep your fingers crossed. Word on the street is that a men’s line of sandals is to debut next spring.

Melissa shoes are also sold at Therapy and Margaret O’leary in San Francisco. Check out different styles at www.melissaplasticdreams.com.

Written by: Shaneia Caldwell