Deadly Celebrities

America has always been the land of the famous and infamous. Even before Warhol’s now hopelessly cliché 15 minutes, America was endlessly throwing heroes and and villains and celebrities into the headlines and under the bus. In fact often there was no clear line separating the heroes from the villains, or the roles were [...]

The Tower of Song

I am always pleased when an artist finally begins to receive the widespread adoration and appreciation they deserve. Those who have been lionized by small segments of the population often fade away quickly, but once they make the jump from “acquired taste” to “icon”, they are far more likely to stand the test of time.
Just [...]

Poet’s Corner

My musical mood is continuing, as I was stuck today by both the beat and (especially) the lyrics of a track by one of my favorite bands, Poets of the Fall. I deeply love some of the images in this video…not as screamingly delicious crunchy macabre as some of their other videos, but powerful none [...]

Leg Parade

I have followed Autopilotpatty Poppy’s photographic career in Caledon from the beginning, and have reviewed her exhibits in these pages on numerous occasions. Through her exhibits of Exotic Men and Women to her displays of notable SL Victorian personages and even her more specialized shows, I have never been one to withhold my commentary, [...]

A Prophetic Digression

Delphi
My Delphi was a bench on Yamhill which had seen better days, two feet left of a new yield sign, beneath Mallory.
My oracle was waiting for me that night, expecting me, her hair too glossy and stinking of cheap red. She tapped her maimed hand on her knee, black leather glove gleaming in the streetlights, [...]

Metadata Overload

Any regular readers know I am something of a sucker for new technology. if it lights up and can be used to keep in touch with friends, surf the net or read emails, I am so THERE. I am not quite so quick to adopt new social networking schemes however…I am into Twitter and [...]

Bring the Rain

In a darkly musical mood again and I have listened to this song, one of my favorites from Within Temptation, about 10 times today. Therefore, you should too.
Besides, that is one hell of a corset…
 

Sir Arthur’s Faeries

It has always amused and amazed me how some of the most intelligent, wisest men can have their unique kinds of extreme fancy. For all their erudition, they can be just as prone to magical thinking and superstition as the rest of us poor slobs…sometimes even more so.
Take for example Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. [...]

The Game’s Afoot

Now I am not sure if I like Guy Ritchie’s take on the Holmes legend or not. I like his view of Holmes as a rough and tumble sort of cad…but there is a bit too much humor in this trailer, and too much of Holmes being a smart ass tough guy and not enough [...]

Revolutionary Reading

I have long been fascinated with the period and personalities of the American Revolution, a period quite close to our own time but removed enough to seem quite different. After all, the events that took place then are, to the modern mind, almost impossible to fully understand. The wealthy, landed class of society chose [...]

Random Musings

It has been said to me in the past that a man without a muse makes a poor artist and I have found I readily agree. I consistently write my best when doing so with a person as muse in my mind, either positive or negative. A muse is something beyond ourselves that we [...]

The Seafood Platter

Admit it, you REALLY want to see this movie….but bring cocktail sauce.
 

A Solitary Digression

Sand
Standing alone at the cliffside, I fill a bottle with sand.
Dust gleaming in the dying light, reflecting a hundred tiny suns.
I weigh the glass in my hand, solid and heavy and smooth like a piece of the morning.
Drawing back, I cast it overhand into the horizon, consigning it finally into the sea.
Every ounce of [...]

Song of the Day…or Night?

Some days are just predestined for hyper dramatic Cruxshadows goodness.
Really they are.
 

Between the Wars

 
There are certain moments in history that seem surreal, unlikely, almost impossible…as if they were created whole cloth on some Hollywood soundstage. For me one of those has always been Germany’s Weimar Republic. A bubble of just 15 years or so, between the tragedy of the First World War and the horror of the Second, [...]