Hors Cadre (which translates roughly to “removed from the framework”) is a cute animated short about an old Scottish man who wants to sell his mansion, but his ancestors aren’t too keen about the idea.

(via The Presurfer)

Knitting Wizardry – Book of knitting projects with a “magic” theme.

Plush Valentine’s Day Stegosaurus – Who wouldn’t want a stegosaurus for Valentine’s Day? Nobody interesting, that’s for sure.

Natura Morta – Photographer Maria Ionova-Gribina takes lovely photos of dead animals surrounded by flowers.

Why Amelia Bedelia is Literally the Most Terrifying Character Ever – I’ve always assumed there was a lost first book entitled, “Amelia Bedelia and the Frontal Lobotomy,” but this works too.

Night Vale Girl Scout – Great cosplay of a girl scout from the fictional troop in Welcome to Night Vale.

H.P. Lovecraft Beers – Narragansett Brewery is releasing a line of Lovecraft-themed beers. (via Shellhawk)

Lana Crooks – Artist who makes lovely, macabre anatomical sculptures from felted wool. The Death’s Head moth is especially striking. (via Cat)

How to Make Cuneiform Tablet Cookies – For the archaeology buff on your gift list.

Urban Druid – There’s a whole potential post-apocalyptic backstory here. It’d be an unusual cosplay idea or an addition to an RPG milieu.

Is That a Spider on Your Dress or Are You Happy to See Me? – I’m not sure this is an either/or question. Really interesting concept dress featuring a robotic spider. (Hat tip to cookie)

A couple of Halloweens ago, Hallmark released a trio of novelty “Pet Ghosts:” Jars which used the Pepper’s Ghost stage illusion to make a little spectre appear when a button on top was pressed. There were three, Julian Hijinks, Genevieve Ruffles, and Maxwell McSpooky, and a label on the back described their personalities. You can see one in action here, and see closeup photos of the front and back of Maxwell’s jar here and here.

They were cute, but they were also ten bucks apiece (and since they were discontinued they’re more like $25). Although not quite as elaborate, the PennyWise blog has a very cute DIY version which is a lot cheaper and easy to customize. I like his little beady eyes.

If you wanted to get fancy, you could use the same fluffy ghost to create a real Pepper’s Ghost. Googling “miniature pepper’s ghost” turns up several fairly straightforward tutorials: Make, Chest of Books, and Diorama Man are all good examples.

This is a cute, easy novelty that’d look nice perched on a shelf or as a desk accessory. Everybody needs a pet ghost of their very own.

Self-described (at least according to Google Translate) showman Camille Renversade has a marvelous routine where he dresses in Victorian-esque garb and gives lectures about the anatomy and habits of supernatural creatures. Last September he gave a presentation on “la malédiction des loups” at the Lyon Museum of Natural History.

From his site, it looks like he does this sort of thing fairly often: He’s got lecture material and props covering mermaids, dragons, and what may be my favorite version of Nessie ever. Even if you don’t want to bother with running everything through Translate, his site is definitely worth browsing just for his photos: His presentations involve a whole collection of photos, illustrations, notes, and other supporting documentation.

If you feel like you need an excuse to dress up as a steampunk adventurer and/or create more props for your cabinet of curiosities, this would be a lot of fun. Give lectures at museums or libraries, or make it part of your persona for cosplay.

(via Propnomicon)

1. This song by Siouxsie and the Banshees juxtaposes images of racial disharmony with mundane transactions in a Chinese restaurant.
2. “The Two Bottles of Relish” is a short story about an ingenious way to dispose of a corpse…provided you can stomach it. Who wrote this classic tale?
   A) Ambrose Bierce
   B) John William Polidori
   C) Théophile Gautier
   D) Lord Dunsany
   E) Edgar Allan Poe
3. Who ate a census-taker’s liver with fava beans and a nice Chianti?
4. A candlelit dinner of rancid, moldy food, the stench of which allowed ghosts to “almost taste” it, was the centerpiece of a party which Harry Potter attended for whom?
   A) The Bloody Baron
   B) Nearly Headless Nick
   C) Moaning Myrtle
   D) Professor Binns
   E) The Grey Lady
5. Persephone was doomed to spend half the year in the underworld because she ate the seeds of what fruit?
6. This cheese-tastic 80s comedy/horror movie involves a man discovering a sweet, addictive substance bubbling out of the ground and marketing it as an ice cream substitute. Sadly, it’s actually a parasitic organism which eats its victims from the inside out.
   A) It’s Alive
   B) Bad Taste
   C) Love at First Bite
   D) Bio Zombie
   E) The Stuff
7. In the movie Se7en, the victim representing the sin of Gluttony is force-fed what dish until his stomach explodes?
8. Cannibal! The Musical! is a black comedy loosely based on the story of whom?
   A) Alferd Packer
   B) The Sawney Bean Clan
   C) Liver-Eating Johnson
   D) The Donner Party
   E) Boone Helm
9. Stephen King (writing under his Richard Bachman pseudonym) penned this novel about a lawyer cursed by a Gypsy to lose weight no matter how much he eats.
10. In the horror comedy Zombieland, the character “Tallahassee” (played by Woody Harrelson) is desperately seeking what junk food?
    A) Ho Hos
    B) Cheez-Its
    C) Twinkies
    D) Doritos
    E) Zingers

(Answers below the fold)

Read the rest of this entry »

Describing their genre as “Drive Thru Metal,” Mac Sabbath is a heavy metal band who dresses as demonic versions of McDonald’s mascots and performs fast food-themed reinterpretations of Black Sabbath songs. I like that their Facebook page takes pains to assure you that they’re a real band.

NO – This is not a joke page to sell T-Shirts.

Yes- This band is exactly what you want it to be.

“MAC SABBATH” Is indeed: Ronald Osbourne and the whole gang in full regalia playing all their hits like “Sweet Beef” and “Chicken for the Slaves” in a multi-media show with video, theatrics, audience participation and sing alongs.

Here’s their cover of “Iron Man:”

Yeah…I got nothin’.

(via Laughing Squid)

The Hallowig – Knitty has a fairly easy pattern for a knitted wig made with brightly-colored yarn.

Memorial Molar Ring – Odd memento mori-ish sort of ring made with vintage porcelain molars.

California Carnivores – Huge retail carnivorous plant nursery. In addition to selling lots of interesting varieties, the site is a great learning resource.

Nessie Ladle – I love the way the long neck of this ladle peers out of your soup at you.

Viral Fear – A roundup of creepy urban legends which have been spread by the internet.

The Devil’s Bible – The 13th-Century Codex Gigas has been scanned by the World Digital Library and is available online. It’s primarily text, but there are some pretty illuminations. A National Geographic documentary about the manuscript is here.

Improbable Island – Elaborate text-adventure game in which you are charged with destroying a leaking Improbability Device. Be sure to check out the rookie guide.

Housepig – Lots of vintage movie posters, including a lot of horror movies.

Nutter Butter Bats – Super-easy “bats” made using peanut-shaped cookies.

Cthupid – Just in time for Valentine’s Day, these Cthulhoid Cupids will surely win your sweetie’s heart. Or rip it out. One of those.

Artist Ashley Gilreath made this lovely portrait necklace, entitled, “I Am Who They Were,” featuring photos of various ancestors. There are several additional views in the Reliquaries section of her portfolio (scroll down toward the bottom).

This is a really striking piece and would be a great way to showcase photos of people who were important to you. A “family tree” one featuring notable ancestors would be a thoughtful gift for someone interested in genealogy, and a necklace with thumbnails of goth icons–anyone from Poe to Siouxsie Sioux–would be a very unique accessory.

Gilreath cast the silver and bronze frames herself, but similar small frames can be found at craft stores in the jewelry or scrapbooking section, at Amazon and Etsy, and at jewelry suppliers like Fire Mountain Gems. Most seem to only have a single place at the top to attach a chain, but if you wanted to achieve the same multi-strand chain effect of the original piece you could use a little solder. (A soldering iron isn’t difficult to use, just don’t put it down and then reach blindly behind you to pick it up again and grab the hot end. Like…nobody I know has ever done. Heh. Heh.)

If you’ve got photos languishing in a drawer, it’s time to dig them out and turn them into a conversation piece.

It’s time for another bunch of random stuff that I want to share but can’t hang a whole post on. As a pleasant change, I’ve actually got attributions for all of the images this time. Yay.

	13th Floor Sign The fabulous Dead Spider posted this on her site without comment. It would be perfect to hang on a closet or bathroom door.
	Fang Napkin Rings This idea by Family Chic is such a great use of brightly-colored plastic fangs.
	Funky Bat Necklace lilruby Jewelry made this necklace using “rusty black charms from B’Sue Boutiques and a plastic skeleton head.” There’s another view of the same necklace here, and lots of other neat stuff on her site. (Also check out the selection of bats from B’Sue.)
	Spider Box Woodworker going to pieces makes cool wooden boxes with spidery legs. There are more examples in his gallery.
	Never Trust the Living This cute cross-stitched Beetlejuice quote is by Etsy seller CinemaStitches, who has several other amusing ones as well.
	Beholder Hat Jen of Twist & Loop made this awesome “beholder” hat with needle-felted eyes for a craft contest. Sadly, despite much begging in the comments, she doesn’t have a pattern available and won’t take commissions.
	Fabric Headboard This would be a great way to use up scrap fabric, or to showcase favorite band T-shirts. There are instructions for making a similar headboard here.
	Beasty Buddies A whole line of silly fleece hats, including horned Viking helmets and several different monsters (the one pictured is named Bumblezor).
	Wicked Baroque Chalkboard Available from Houzz, it would probably be possible to DIY something similar using an interesting picture frame and chalkboard paint, but I love that this one comes with bat-shaped magnets.
	Marauder’s Map Dress Ali of permets-tu drew the Maurauder’s Map on a dress to wear to Leakycon. There are no build notes, but she commented that she never wanted to use another fine-point Sharpie in her life, so I’m guessing it was just a stencil and a whole lotta work.

“I prefer to say, ‘I turn into a human when there’s not a full moon.'” -Optimistic werewolf
— rolldiggity

Zombies love me cause I’ve been marinating my brain in wine for years.
— ElgatoEsmio

Robert Frost in the streets
Edgar Allan Poe in the sheets.
— Quartzjixler

Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton didn’t split up — they just finally got untangled.
— sween

WHAT DO WE WANT?
GHOSTS TO STOP KISSING US IN OUR SLEEP!
WHEN DO WE….wait what?
— weinerdog4life

*Dog President gives a speech on live TV, not realizing one of his ears is turned inside out*
— OtherDanOBrien

Probably a fun thing to tweet would be “going to meet a guy I met on Craig’s List” and then never tweeting again.
— Sassafrantz

[Jesus at Last Supper]
*breaks bread* This is my body
*pours wine* This is my blood
*opens jar of mayo*
Judas: I’m gonna stop u right there
— huntigula

If I were a skeleton, my only pickup line would be “Wanna bone?” Why try harder?
— gordonshumway

I never feel guiltier than trying to explain to my dog why she smells another dog on me…
— Ideal_Victoria