The Mighty Boosh: Electro

I've just spent the best 30 minutes with The Mighty Boosh. They're the Brit comedy duo responsible for one of my top ten Youtube experiences ever, Old Gregg. 

 I watched Electro.

There Vince can pull shapes and Kiss covers "Scarborough Fair"... 

The spirit of jazz appears at the Crossroads....or, um, Yorkshire. "I've been inside all the greats!"

Johnny 2 Hats sulks as Vince sucks up to Pie Face and the devil drives the vacuum. 

This comedy team is always so spot on. The music debates and generational identity undertones make this episode the best way to kill time I've had in a while. 

Perk: Halloween Costume ideas! Seriously, just look at the above stills from the episode. It's cult, it's pop culture, and it's DIY. 

#love

A Sunday Evening Downstairs in Early Fall

End of a significant life week.

Back from a dinner party with great Norfolk friends.

Halloween is over. Candy remains.

Halloween remains in her own ways.

In flux rooms influx.

I danced.

To Pickin'.

Home.

My friend.

Voting for Obama on Tuesday. Heading to Brisbane in less than 2 weeks. Good magnet days.

A new basement floor.

I made pie for the pot luck. People liked it.

2012.

Til next year...

Hallo Texas!

Traditional Johnny

My job is sending us all to the great and powerful Austin, TX during Halloween this year. I've never been there when a festival isn't going on, so I'm excited that we're going to take over Airbnb style and create our own madness!

So the challenge is coming up with a jESiO-worthy costume that will fit in a carry-on suitcase. I'm pretty close to deciding on Johnny Depp. The problem is, there are so many Johnny's that I've got to edit down my choices.

Traditional Johnny (above) is just me, a cool scarf and some trinkets and amulets and tattoos and shaded glasses. While this is easy, it's also not too far from my normal style and I'd likely just be labeled a generic "bohemian." Maybe if I drew a pencil stache? I mean, Airbnb is obsessed with mustaches anyway so it fits.

Cry-Baby Johnny: John Waters related costumes are always a good idea. This one would be easy. Hair gel, white t-shirt and ripped jeans. Leather jacket. Eye tattoo. It's a good costume but runs risk of being labeled generic Rockabilly Dude or James Dean--though hopefully the eye tattoo would make it stand out a bit more. 

Edward Scissorhands Johnny: God, I love this one so. But black hair dye and a rental house on the company dime probably don't mesh. Same with, well, scissor hands. And compiling and transporting a better Steampunk outfit than any Comic-Con kid circa 2010 could do sounds challenging.  Maybe I'll save this one for another event and convince a girlfriend to go as Winona Ryder's character...

Donnie Brasco Johnny: This one is super-easy with the wardrobe. I've got the jacket and plenty of gaudy fake gold 70s jewelry to amplify. But without Al Pacino or a scruffy Jersey accent, I am doubtful I can pull this one off properly. 

Fear and Loathing Johnny: This is a high contender. It's an iconic character that require a Hawaiian shirt, Gilligan hat, aviators and a cigarette holder (which can easily be recycled from my Breakfast at Tiffany's Hepburn costume). Only downside: the costume really becomes Hunter S. Thompson and not Johnny Depp.

Chocolate Factory Johnny: This would be fun sheerly for the fashion aspect. The hat-finding experience and jacket-embellishing process would both be a lot of fun for me. I'd likely need a wig, though....and I may end up just looking like a non-specific Dandy. Maybe if I added to it with a lot of candy (which is a great thing to have on hand on Halloween), it'd be more obvious?

Alice in Wonderland Johnny: Obviously the big awesome of this Johnny costume is I'd get to carry around a freaking RABBIT! I'd also get to have crazy make-up. The same problem as Scissorhands shows up here, though...I'm on a plane and in a rental so I have limited space. Maybe this one should be shelved for a later group costume where we can do Queen of Hearts and Alice etc. 

Shower Scene Stealer

(Not Psycho. Yet pretty freakin' Psycho.)

How have I not thought of this before? How great would the infamous shower scene from Psycho be as a costume? Um, so great. 

Remember the scene? Here it is:

So, to pull it off, first just buy a cheap shower curtain and bloody it up:

And get a fake knife to put either on your chest or back:

Carry a bar of soap and add a ton of gel to your hair so it appears wet all night. Your partner can go as Norman Bates...which is easy as there's both "normal Norman," which is just regular clothes and a knife (and maybe a pill bottle labeled anti-psychotic?):

Or "psycho-Norman":

haha, isn't this toy awesome?

Pros:

-Easily identifiable 

-Relatively cheap

Cons:

-Ever applied a fake knife to yourself? I've done a needle and it takes for-ev-er. 

Only 2 weeks to go!

Framed

Halloween Idea #16

So Halloween is approaching (thank God!). While this will not likely be the post to win me any "prettiest design" awards, I think the concept is really great for a costume and --best of all-- I can't find that it's been done before. 

So the idea is to become a Warhol celebrity portrait for a Halloween costume. These portraits are iconic, and the first step would simply be to go a little nuts with your makeup and hair color. See some edgy fashion pics below for inspiration:

After makeup application, the next step is the frame. Just take an old frame from the thrift store and cut out whatever bad art it came with. Insert a technicolor or mildly neon posterboard in its place with a hole cut out for your head. 

Above is a mass produced "Mona Lisa" costume but you get the idea. 

Take a copy of Warhol's signature and print, cut, and paste to the lower corner and voila!

Pros:

-Art related

-Easy and unique

-A bunch of people can do it as a group costume 

Cons: 

-You're a frame head for the evening, so no cozying up to the bar if that's the kind of Halloween you're having

Only a few weeks to go!!!

HalloRoo

Halloween Idea #15

While attending Bonnaroo over the weekend, I had the greatest idea for a Halloween costume: Bonnaroo Attendee. Having just survived another music festival myself, I definitely have the wardrobe ready to go.

Would need:

-Wellington rain boots caked in mud
-Band t-shirt with strategic cut outs revealing an ironically 90s bikini top
-Bandana and oversized sunglasses
-Wristband
-Map/schedule
-Happily dazed look
-Spray tan or fake sunburn
-(Kudos to my friend Norm for providing this idea): iPod in pocket with creepy whisper announcing "molly. molly. molly. shrooms. molly" over and over again in a hushed, yet frantically needy manner.

Only five months to go!

PS: I get to don my Daria idea next month! My friend is having a 90s theme party so I'm excited to dig into the blog's costume vault for ideas! I'll post pics afterwards, for sure.

Pablo Honey

Halloween Idea #14

I went to Virginia Museum of Fine Art's Picasso exhibit last week (on loan from  the Musée National in Paris.) I'll do a proper art post on that soon. In the meantime, I noticed the gift shop was selling striped "Picasso" shirts for, like, a million dollars and thought it'd be a good Halloween costume contendor.

Striped shirt, paintbrush, cigarette. Pretty basic. Maybe add a bald cap?

Pro's:

-All I'd have to buy is a bald cap.

-It's art based.

Con's:

-Would people get it? I live in Norfolk, VA. People don't get much around here.

Only six months to go!

Coal Miner's Daughter

Halloween Idea #13

Music-themed, ridiculous sequined dresses, tie-in to some truth...All good reasons to consider Loretta Lynn as my March contender for Halloween 2012. I'll be seeing her live (!!!) in June so I'll get some more inspiration there.

Actually being a coal miner's daughter, and from two towns over from the infamous country feminist, I'd be drawing on my roots to an exent. No joke, though, the insanity of her dresses are really what's doing it for me.

Pro's: Musical tie-in, cultural tie-in. No wigs. Sequins. I own a guitar and mic. I'm fairly certain I'll be spending the time in New Orleans with Heather, who has gone as Dolly Parton on more than one occasion. Dolly & Loretta? Together again?

Con's: I could be in New Orleans, where it's warm. No need to waste an opportunity to wear something best seen sans coat and hat. Crinoline is itchy.

Only eight months to go!

JKRface

Halloween Idea #12

My February pick in the Halloween game is the Joker in drag from The Dark Knight. Batman is my favorite superhero and one of my favorite characters of all time and I've somehow never incorporated this into a costume.

I love how creepy and sad Heath Ledger played the Joker in this version and especially love some of the kooky stuff that came out of his portrayal. It felt more artistic than a lot of superhero films...more like a character versus a caricature.

Pros: I already own a nurse's costume and clipboard, so it would be inexpensive. I love all things Bat.

Cons: It's been done. A-lot.

Only nine months to go!

Get Born

Halloween Idea #11

I've been a little slack when it comes to the Halloween game since October. (The Halloween game being where I pick a costume each month, all year, do a blog post on it, and decide the following October out of those options--with reader/friend input). I'm going to re-up this starting today.

For January, my pick is classic Bobby Dylan. The scraggly hair, the harmonica, the skinny jeans and sunglasses. I've got all the stuff already. I've been spending time lately realizing the insanity of life will never be resolved and, when all else fails, some good lyrics will always pick up the pieces.

Maybe add a posterboard a'la "Subteranean Homesick Blues"? Then my date could go as guru-era Allen Ginsberg.

Pros: Cheap cheap cheap. Pretty much free. It's a nice homage to someone who's awesome versus someone who's popular or easy (shout out to all uncreatives who add the word "sexy" in front of anything normal and call it a costume).

Cons: I really can't think of any. I sort of love this.

Only ten months to go!

Mine and Yours

I've been a busy busy bee.  I planned a party or three. 

pic: Anne-K

Pic: Sam Shinault

Pic: Rob Soscia

Some pics of some of the parties are here. Sorry for the link-da-link you're about to encounter. Peace.

And the winner is...

Carrie!!!

I had so much fun writing up a new Halloween costume each month. It really kept the creative juices flowing and I wasn't stuck on Oct 27th freaking out when all the thrift stores were out of what I needed, etc.

Carrie was my January pick, waaay before I had anything to do with creating the Zombie Prom Taphouse party last Friday night (pics, etc coming soon!!! It was a-maz-ing). When I realized this would be my big deal party of the year, and it was prom-themed, Carrie was the obvious answer.

I still love a few other outfits and will keep them in mind for future Halloweens (and hopefully, many many intra-year costume parties).

Rocky Mountain

Tonight, the tv show Glee will debut its Rocky Horror Picture Show episode. I love love love Rocky. Unfortunately, a few months ago, I tried to introduce some friend to it and it didn't go well. This being Halloween and all (aka, the Holy Grail of Rocky weeks--and my favorite days of the year), I'm chalking the experience up to Norfolk and returning to my love of all the glam and gloom in the film.

I've never seen Glee, but I know about it. It's got good ratings and people in cubicles talk it up. The real, real reason I know about it, though, is because I went to high school with one of its stars, Jayma Mays. When you're from Appalachia and everyone knows everyone, when someone becomes famous, everyone knows about it.

So, I happen to know this: Jayma loves Rocky Horror. In drama class, it was danced to regularly. She even used "Toucha Touch Me" as her audition song for Glee. This is rad. I'm not normally a namedropper and fame doesn't impress me. You know what does impress me? People working hard and doing their thing and getting recognition for it. And having fun. Looks like she's accomplishing all that.

Here's a sneak peek of tonight's episode.

Here's an interview with Jayma about all things Rocky. 

SURVIVE NORFOLK

pic: John Cachero

Last night.

I helped make this happen. I am proud of that.

Dressin It Up

Here's a picture (taken by Louis Fisher) of Mo and I doing the twist at AltDaily's Pulp Fiction afterparty last weekend at The Boot. DJ Android killed it, so props to her. You can't really tell from the pic, but Mo is Mia Wallace before the overdose, and I am Mia Wallace after.

 I love, Love, LOVE costumes, Halloween, silliness, dressing up, Halloween, and, well, Halloween. My year of Halloween blogging is almost up and I'll soon be picking a costume. Listing ideas monthly has been a great help, though, as this is the first year ever I don't find myself a couple of days before the big day wondering what I'm gonna wear--and by then all the thrift stores are pith.

I predict a good Halloween this year, as we at AltDaily will be showing Zombieland at The Naro on October 29 (preparty at Colley Cantina), and after that....ZOMBIE PROM complete with the Dead Michael Jacksons doing it up at Taphouse. Dead Michael Jackson's isn't really a band, btw. It's the uber-talented Chris Dean (who sings for Virginia Symphony Chorus and Beachstreet USA, as well as directs a Sunday choir and participates in ONE with his cohort Ivan King. Ivan's gonna be a dead MJ and so is their friend Casey, who'll alternate between guitar and bass as Chris sings and Ivan runs the laptop.

Here are some more Pulp pics for your enjoyment.