Those of us of a particular age (and, I discovered, particular nationalities) will fondly remember growing up with Count Chocula, Frankenberry, and the rest of the Cereal Monsters. Two of them, Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy, were discontinued years ago, and the others have only been available seasonally around Halloween since 2010 (Fruit Brute, incidentally, is considered by many collectors to be the most sought-after vintage cereal box, possibly because it was used by Quentin Tarantino in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction).
General Mills just announced that the entire line of cereals will be re-released nationwide this September, the first time the entire line has been available at once. They’ve also got an exclusive deal with Target stores to offer all five cereals in their retro packaging (although I notice that they’ve updated “Fruit Brute” to “Frute Brute,” which annoys me vaguely).
For non-US folks, I’m somewhat startled to report that even though General Mills seems to have an enormous global presence, these cereals appear to be limited to the states. They may be available from online retailers like Amazon if you’re willing to pay what is likely to be usurious shipping. Otherwise, you may need to pester your US friends to ship you a couple of boxes.*
For US folks, I would assume that if the whole line sells well they’ll all be released again next year, but if you’ve been craving Fruit Brute since 1982 it may be worthwhile to buy a few extra boxes and freeze them. I may get a couple of the retro packages and frame them; they’ve got a fun vintage pop-art vibe that amuses me.
*Somebody needs to start a business matching up people in various countries so they can send each other local delicacies. I know Shadaughter would kill for Jaffa Cakes.
These lovely little “jellyfish” are made of airplants and sea urchin shells. I originally saw them at This is Why I’m Broke and assumed they came pre-assembled; however, the actual Etsy listing calls them a “kit” and specifies DIY assembly. If you’re gonna have to do that, you may as well just get the supplies yourself.
The plants appear to be one of the bajillion varieties of Tillandsia, which are widely available at nurseries and online (they even come in pretty colors.) If you want something a little more exotic, there are dozens of other varieties to choose from.
Sea urchin shells are similarly ubiquitous; you can find them at souvenir shops, craft supply stores, or online.
Stick the one into the other and you’ve got yourself a jellyfish. Hang with a bit of clear fishing line: You can drill holes in the shell if you’re feeling really ambitious, but it’s probably easiest to just thread the line through the hole and tie it around the base of the airplant. You can also hang several by repurposing a cheap photo mobile.
These are a great decoration for an office or other area where there isn’t much natural light. They’d also make an interesting favor for an undersea-themed party or wedding.
Musician Ken Elkinson specializes in “solo piano and ambient” music. He just dropped me a line about his newest project, an all-Halloween album called Halloween Ambient. He notes that he got the germ of the idea when one of his children said, “Daddy you should make Halloween music,” which made him think about how much he loved the holiday.
I then thought about the annual Halloween costume contest at my day job…about how I won so many times, that they actually cancelled the contest last year because they did not want me winning again. Then I realized how much I love Halloween, so much that even with the costume contest cancelled I still showed up at work dressed as Richard Simmons. I should add 100% accurately dressed as Richard Simmons down to the sheer pantyhose, even as no one else bothered to come in costume.
Awright, Ken! Way to represent!
He states that he tried to make the music “haunting and minimalistic without being overly cheesy.” The album has just dropped and is available for download at iTunes, Amazon, and other major digital music stores. If you want a physical CD, they can be purchased through his site.
He’s also kindly offered a free track for my readers to download. This track is called “Cauldron,” and it has a wonderfully ethereal quality. Download it here.
This is lovely stuff, and would be perfect as background music that’s thematic without being intrusive. It’d also make a nice gift, particularly for people who aren’t quite sure what to make of one’s Halloween obsession (and here I’m thinking of my mother-in-law) since it nicely fits the spirit of the holiday without being overly weird.
Incidentally, he’s got a number of other albums (including two other holiday-themed ones: Christmas and Chanukah), so if you like his Halloween stuff check out the rest of his music as well.
Posted in Needful Things|Comments Off on New Music – Halloween Ambient
Back in 2008 Amanda Palmer got the idea to produce a deck of themed tarot cards. She did an open call for submissions and selected an artist to create each card. There was much excitement and illustrations were produced and then the project sort of…evaporated. Apparently no real explanation was ever offered other than that AFP’s team were juggling a lot of projects and the deck fell through the cracks. And lo, there was gnashing of teeth.
A friend who did one of the cards just announced that the deck is back on again. Two of the artists decided to get the thing printed on their own, contacted as many of the original artists as they could find, and are launching a Kickstarter to produce the deck (pleasantly, unlike the original project, all of the artists will be paid royalties).
The AFP Tarot Kickstarter campaign will launch on Monday, August 5. You can stay abreast of updates via their Facebook page or Twitter feed.
Just for fun I googled around to see how many of the original images I could turn up. This is going to be one eclectic deck. (Many, unsurprisingly, are NSFW, so click with care.)
Boy, I love it when people offer to give my readers free stuff.
Josh from VIVO Masks recently dropped me a line about their products: They’re a retailer of authentic Venetian masquerade masks, hand-crafted (authentically) in Venice, Italy. And holy moly, they have some amazing stuff.
Their masks range from the familiar multicolored carnival masks, through Goblin King-esque masquerade pieces, to leather-and-spiked “erotic” selections. I’m particularly impressed with their laser-cut metal masks, like this delicate little bat and this neat skull. They even have a long-nosed plague doctor; not to mention completely astonishing confections like this. The site also has a blog with costume suggestions to accompany their masks, plus lots of party ideas.
And…they are offering a free mask to one lucky commenter! Whee!
The winner can choose any mask in their Under $50 section. They will ship free anywhere in the U.S.; if you’re overseas and would like to play you may do so, but you’ll have to pay for shipping (which according to their site will be $25).
To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Friday, August 2 about which mask you might choose if you win. One commenter will be chosen at random.
Update: The contest is over, and random.org returned the magic number 4, which means Sisifo wins the mask! (Note that since some people commented more than once or commented but didn’t wish to be included in the contest, this number is based on individual commenters, not comment number).
I shall email her with details forthwith. Thanks to everyone who played along!
Japanese artist Akinobu Izumi creates itsy-bitsy vignettes of paper and clay inside tiny glass bottles. He sells them in his Etsy shop. His little papercraft creations are immensely detailed, and their staging is quite creative; I especially like the gel-candle “water” in his bottle of dolphins.
The bottles he sells are small enough to wear as jewelry (although he recommends against it lest they break). Although it’d be tough to DIY something quite that small, it might be possible to use Z-scale (1:220) or (1:450) model railroad miniatures for something reasonably similar. A bottle containing a tuft of grass and a tiny, lonesome tombstone would make a lovely pendant.
You can also use larger-scale miniatures and dollhouse accessories to decorate glass bowls or large jars to display on a bookshelf or desk; a tutorial I did a couple of years ago might be a helpful jumping-off point for that venture.
I love these little pocket worlds because they imply such a rich backstory. You can make up endless stories (and encourage children to do the same) about the denizens of your teensy universe.
Intrepid commenter pdq pointed me to these splendid bat-wing shoes on a Tumblr site that calls itself “Emmanilona” on sub-pages and “Emma Metso” on the main page. The same site has a lot of other interesting designs, such as this neon-green corset, which the notes say were “made for a customer.” Unfortunately, the site appears to have no contact information or other details about the artist, so good luck trying to become a customer yourself. (Googling either name is similarly unhelpful.)
The company these shoes were made for, Cloudberry Lady, is a Finnish “Lolita” brand; theirTumblr lists the artist’s name as “Emma Tsurumoto,” but I can’t find any other information about a designer with that name either. Also their post (made a few weeks ago) notes that the shoes are still available for purchase, but there’s no link and a browse through their online store turns up zilch.
Tumblr sucks at conveying useful information, is what I’m saying here.
Anyway, the idea is interesting and the designer (whoever she is) has an earlier post with photos of the shoe being mocked up with paper wings. It’d be interesting to try a DIY version, either as part of the shoe (perhaps hot-glued on to an inexpensive pair of pumps) or as something like spats with an elastic band that fit around the ankle. Pleather, vinyl, or even stiff-ish cloth (maybe with an extra layer of interfacing) are all reasonably easy to work with and should provide decent results. Matching wings on a hair bow or decorating the front of a clutch would be a nice additional touch.
Don’t Starve is a weirdly appealing little indie game with the slogan, “Survive! Collect! Attack!”
Play as Wilson, an intrepid Gentleman Scientist who has been trapped by a demon and transported to a mysterious wilderness world. Wilson must learn to exploit his environment and its inhabitants if he ever hopes to escape and find his way back home. Enter a strange and unexplored world full of strange creatures, dangers, and surprises. Gather resources to craft items and structures that match your survival style. Play your way as you unravel the mysteries of this strange land.
It appears to be a hybrid adventure/resource gathering game, with artwork that’s rather reminiscent of Gorey. The game developers appear to have a fine sense of humor, as evidenced by the recent update notes on the site:
New Things To Discover:
Peaceful rock lobster herds roam the gloomy depths.
Bunnymen turn into beardlords when your sanity is low.
Ever wonder what’s right below a tentacle? MORE TENTACLE!
The invasive Lureplant will taunt you with its delicious veggiemeat.
Eat exotic cave bananas!
Ferns! You can burn ’em!
More colourful mushtree varieties.
Stalagmites come in more varied shapes.
New Things to Craft and Use!
The vampiric BatBat.
The marginally useful Compass.
New Map Generation Features:
Gaze into the abyss in the caves!
Cave walls are prettier.
Cave layouts are… caveier.
(I was hooked the moment I learned that the main antagonist is a demon named Maxwell.)
There are lots of gameplay screenshots and videos (the latter, unfortunately, featuring flickers and scratches that are supposed to mimic old-timey film artifacts but are mainly just annoying) in their gallery. Here’s a trailer:
The game is playable either through Steam or as a standalone on Chrome. You can buy it here.
One of the lovely things about running a site like this is that, in addition to finding interesting stuff, interesting stuff occasionally finds me. The nice people at Urban Body Jewelry recently dropped me a line, and I agree that they are relevant to our collective interests.
The business was founded by a group of “body modification enthusiasts,” and they proudly proclaim that everyone who works for them has a lip ring, tattoo, or other mod. Their enthusiasm is reflected in their merchandise and oh, they have some awesome stuff.
They offer a variety of jewelry and accessories for all sorts of body decoration, from ear stretching kits to nose rings (even though the hipster-moustache thing is fixin’ to jump the shark, I thought this septum horn was cute). They’ve got loads of gothy stuff in a variety of materials; a few of my favorites are the black wing talons, bone rose plugs, spiderweb tunnels, Day of the Dead plugs, and the really interesting coffin plugs.
Best of all, they’ve kindly agreed to offer a $25 gift certificate to one of my readers. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Friday, June 14 about which item you might choose if you win. One commenter will be chosen at random. (They ship internationally, so overseas folks can play too.)
They’ve got loads of really neat stuff, so go check ’em out!
Update:
The contest is over, and random.org spat back the magic number 5, which means Lauren gets the gift certificate. I shall email her with details forthwith.
…and the things that she makes are adorably weird.
Artist Shing Yin Khor draws and sculpts all manner of bizarre little beasts, with blobbular bodies and a look of wide-eyed wonder.
My sculptures are rooted in the ideas of bad science, historical hoaxes and cabinets of curiosities. I make anxious, nervous critters, and trap them within the rigidity of bumbling science.
Her site is full of photos of her work, creatures with names like “fattybugs” and “larms,” all of which are ridiculously cute. You would think, for instance, that something called a Desecrated Gravebeast would not be particularly cuddly, but you would be wrong.
She’s also a talented illustrator, creating cheerfully slimy little animals and also one-off silliness like The Macbeth Signal. She also does a part-drawn, part-sculpted webcomic which follows the adventures of a schlubby little monster named Marlowe.
She sells some of her items online, and a few of her posts feature commissions she’s done, so if you need a whimsical monster of your very own she might be able to oblige.
Those of us of a particular age (and, I discovered, particular nationalities) will fondly remember growing up with Count Chocula, Frankenberry, and the rest of the Cereal Monsters. Two of them, Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy, were discontinued years ago, and the others have only been available seasonally around Halloween since 2010 (Fruit Brute, incidentally, is considered by many collectors to be the most sought-after vintage cereal box, possibly because it was used by Quentin Tarantino in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction).
These lovely little “jellyfish” are made of airplants and sea urchin shells. I originally saw them at 
Musician 
Back in 2008 Amanda Palmer got the idea to produce a deck of themed tarot cards. She did an open call for submissions and selected an artist to create each card. There was much excitement and illustrations were produced and then the project sort of…evaporated. Apparently no real explanation was ever offered other than that AFP’s team were juggling a lot of projects and the deck fell through the cracks. And lo, there was gnashing of teeth.
Boy, I love it when people offer to give my readers free stuff.
Update: The contest is over, and 
Japanese artist Akinobu Izumi creates itsy-bitsy vignettes of paper and clay inside tiny glass bottles. He sells them in his 
One of the lovely things about running a site like this is that, in addition to finding interesting stuff, interesting stuff occasionally finds me. The nice people at 
The contest is over, and random.org spat back the magic number 5, which means Lauren gets the gift certificate. I shall email her with details forthwith.
