The Art of Darkness

Mickey Mouse in the Haunted House

December 31st, 2012 by Cobwebs

Early-period Mickey was quite a bit less sanitized than today’s mouse.

(See also Hell’s Bells. Demonic cow, you guys.)

Posted in Funny Peculiar | 5 Comments »

Beauty and the Link Dump

December 28th, 2012 by Cobwebs

Paper Sculptures by Peter Callesen – Intricate sculptures, each made from a single sheet of paper. I love the half-formed skeleton.

The Gemini Company – Purveyors of expensive but lovely sideshow gaffs like Fiji Mermaids and conjoined skeletons. Their portfolio is also a great source of inspiration.

Bach on Glass Harmonica – Glass Duo does a lovely rendition of the Toccata and Fugue in D. (For the sake of completeness, part 2 is here.)

Mending Moth Holes with Moths – These DIY moth patches are supposed to go over holes, but they’re pretty enough to use just for the sake of decoration.

Clockwork Empires – New world simulator game which involves “building steampunk cities in a dangerous world filled with monsters, elder gods, insane people and evil.”

Rockbetter – “Improved” Norman Rockwell paintings.

Prometheus – Webcomic about Prometheus and the eagle that tears out his liver every day. Huh.

Snow, Glass, Apples – A “fairy tale” by Neil Gaiman.

Tie-Dye Hair Extensions – Video tutorial from the Crafty Chica.

Atelier Gothique – Attractive (and from the looks of it, fairly expensive) gothy jewelery. Site suffers from “goth = hard to read” syndrome.

Posted in Link Dump | 2 Comments »

Thug Kitchen

December 27th, 2012 by Cobwebs

Lavender Lemonade

Novelty sites written in a particular persona are hard to do well, but Thug Kitchen is entirely wonderful. Its tagline is “Real talk about real fuckin food,” and it is a celebration of healthy eating. Like a thug.

Last week I overdosed on a cup of these [strawberries] and my vitamin-C level was 136%. Went to the hospital for a flu shot and the doc was all like “Whoa you healthy as fuck, son. Blood pressure is all normal and shit.” and I looked him in the eyes and told that smart ass son of a bitch “I straight don’t give a fuck. Thug life.” and then I paid my co-payment like a fucking boss.

It’s light on recipes but has interesting meal suggestions and useful nutritional tips. Even if you aren’t interested in the lycopene content of a tomato, the site is worth a look for sheer entertainment value.

Posted in Funny Peculiar, Resources | 1 Comment »

Cursed Fruit Ornaments

December 26th, 2012 by Cobwebs

Cursed FruitIt figures I’d see these too late to use them as holiday ornaments, but they’re attractive enough to leave up year-round.

Artist gnarledbranch made these gorgeous ornaments using papier-mache apples. I love the little skulls atop each stem.

You can make papier-mache apples or other fruit easily enough; or you can find premade ones in craft stores or online. You could also use wooden or plastic apples, although with the latter you’d want to make sure that the paint you used would stick.

I like the matte, dark colors used to paint the apples. The skulls could be painted using a stencil if you aren’t ambitious enough to try them freehand. The skulls on the stems appear to be little plastic novelties similar to these, but you could also use skull-shaped beads (a quick google turns up loads of them; I like these) or make your own from polymer clay.

The material used for the hangers appears to be fairly stiff; possibly something like thin cardboard. You could also use a pretty ribbon, or rough twine for a more rustic look. It could be attached with a dab of hot glue or, if you’re using a heavier wooden apple, a small nail or staple. You could also omit the hanger entirely and just pile these in a bowl, but I have to say that a tree covered with “cursed fruit” would be extremely striking.

Incidentally, be sure to check out the rest of the artist’s Flickr stream, particularly the gorgeous jewelry boxes that he paints.

(Hat tip to Cat)

Posted in Doom It Yourself | 2 Comments »

Christopher Lee Reads “The Nightmare Before Christmas”

December 25th, 2012 by Cobwebs

Tim Burton wrote this poem in 1982 and eventually turned it into one of his best movies. Here’s Christopher Lee narrating it.

(via BoingBoing)

Posted in Whatever | 1 Comment »

Secret Santa Exchange List

December 24th, 2012 by Cobwebs

Santa CthulhuOur fourth Secret Santa Can Suck It pretend-gift exchange was heaps of fun, and everyone’s “gifts” were wonderfully creative.

Here’s a list of all the participants this time ’round. Follow each link below to see what they chose for their giftees!

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Ten Little Link Dumps

December 21st, 2012 by Cobwebs

Light Switch Plates – Green Tree Jewelry creates marvelous Rube-Goldberg-by-way-of-steampunk wooden switch plates.

Disaster Dioramas – Downloadable papercraft models of famous disasters like the sinking of the Titanic and the Chicago fire.

Knitted Trilobite – No instructions, but the photo is too cute not to share. Look at those winsomely beady little eyes.

They Fight Crime! – Amusing random generator.

Pumpkin Shandy – Tasty-sounding drink.

Castle Magpie – A “wearable ghost story” that is just awe-inspiring in its execution.

Dalek Princess – This is the most adorable little Dalek costume ever.

DIY Ghostbusters Backpack – Fantastic Instructable for making your own proton pack.

Preserving a Bat – Interesting video on how a bat skeleton is cleaned and articulated for museum display.

If the Children of Westeros Had Picture Books – On a side note, “War Trout” is the name of my next band.

Posted in Link Dump | 2 Comments »

Meaningful Medals

December 20th, 2012 by Cobwebs

MedalOver at BoingBoing, Xeni Jardin has been blogging her fight against breast cancer. She finished her treatment a couple of months ago, and a friend presented her with a great “Kicking Cancer’s Ass” medal. He made it simply by finding an appropriate award medal (in this case, “Science”) at a site that specializes in trophies and awards; the message and her name was part of the standard customization.

This is a gift I’d never thought of before, and I love the idea. It turns out that there are a lot of Halloween-themed medals, trophies, plaques, ribbons, and other awards, primarily meant to be used as prizes for costume contests or parties. Crown Awards, Trophy Depot, and Dinn Bros. all have nice selections, and searching “Halloween award” will turn up plenty of other vendors. (Most cities also have a trophy shop or two, in case you’d rather go the low-tech route.) Most of the awards are surprisingly inexpensive, as well.

These would make a lovely and unique gift to help someone celebrate a special achievement. (It doesn’t have to be as dramatic as beating cancer; even “Congratulations for not strangling your boss!” would be just fine.) It’s a great way to make someone feel extra-special; who doesn’t like getting a medal?

Posted in Resources | 2 Comments »

Seen Online

December 19th, 2012 by Cobwebs

When I go out, I always carry a note that says, “THIS WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT”, so the police will have something interesting to do if I die.
rolldiggity

Christmas toy idea: a Tickle Me Kristen Stewart Doll except when you tickle her she just stares.
prodigalsam

If you live to be 100, you should make up some fake reason why, just to fuck with people… like claim you ate a pinecone every single day.
GuyEndoreKaiser

The best thing about alcohol hand gel in hospitals isn’t the hygiene, but that everyone walks around like they’re hatching a dastardly plan.
ChribHibble

If you want your waiter to be extra attentive, begin your order with “Well, considering this is my final meal…”
bridger_w

All underwear is edible if you’re willing to persevere.
mrnickharvey

It’s not a walk of shame if you do a victory lap of their house as you’re leaving.
Paxochka

If I was a capricious god, every time someone said they had to see a man about a horse, I would make them poop a tiny horse.
sween

James Bond Coca-Cola? Good idea! For as we all know, his catchphrase is “Coca-Cola: Shaken not-Oh for fuck’s sake it’s all over my tuxedo.”
MrMichaelSpicer

From now on, I’m only supporting celebrities I think would let me in their mansion during a zombie apocalypse.
lifeserial

Posted in Funny Peculiar | 3 Comments »

Internet Law and Chilling Effects

December 18th, 2012 by Cobwebs

David from Dark Artifacts dropped me a line to let me know about a truly insane case currently going on in his part of the world. It’s worth mentioning here because something similar could affect many of us.

Rémy Couture, a horror makeup artist in Montreal, posted photos of some of his work online. Someone in Germany ran across the site, mistook the makeup–which was apparently labeled as, y’know, makeup–as photos of a real crime, and reported it to Interpol. Canadian police arrested him and he is being charged with “Corruption of Morals,” which is not only an honest-to-goodness law in Canada, it carries a sentence of up to 4 years in prison.

My gob, it is smacked.

There are so many scary implications for this case it’s hard to know where to begin, but the idea that “corruption of morals” outweighs “freedom of speech” is right up near the top. (Not to mention that somebody in a whole ‘nother country can cause you trouble if they don’t like what you’ve posted online.) David rightly points out that if Remy is convicted it could adversely affect the art community and create restrictions and censorship of horror fans and producers.

This kind of law has been floated in a number of countries, and it behooves us to pay close attention to them and fight their passage. Posting something that somebody else doesn’t like should very definitely not be penalized.

David discusses the case more fully here, and you can read more about the case (and donate to his legal defense) at SupportRemy.

Posted in Whatever | 8 Comments »

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