Last night I was talking with some people about classic horror movies. We were talking about Halloween costumes and I volunteered that I'm dressing as the Invisible Man this year. "How are you gonna pull that off?" someone asked.
"All you need are a pair of gloves for your hands, some gauze bandages to hide your face, and a pair of sunglasses," I explained.
"But you would be visible, wouldn't you?"
"The illusion would be that I'm invisible under all the wrapping and clothing."
A woman in my group interjected, "I still don't understand how you would be invisible."
"Did you ever see the movie?" I asked.
"I'm not a Kevin Bacon fan," she said.
"Not that one," I said, "the 1933 version with Claude Rains and directed by James Whale."
"No."
"Whale and the make-up artists simply wrapped Rains in bandages and clothing until not an inch of skin was visible. that way if he had to conduct business, like rent a room in an inn, he could be seen."
This was the segue into discussing those movies. Naturally "Dracula" came up. I asked if anyone had ever seen the Spanish version of the movie. I received a gaggle of blank stares which I used to tell this story:
Carl Laemmle realized that he had an event on his hands when production started on "Dracula" so he wanted to capitalize on it in every manner possible. The problem was that Tod Browning, who directed the English-speaking version, never felt comfortable with "talkies." He was a hell of a silent film director- his collaborations with Lon Chaney stand the test of time. But Browning went off script, scrapping whole chunks of dialouge throughout much of the production. So to cater to Spanish speaking audiences who clamored for horror movies but didn't want to sit through stilted translations or subtitles Laemmle ordered production of a separate movie for Spanish speaking audiences.
Universal cast a completely different cast, director, and production crew but used the same script, stage settings and costume design. The result was an movie that in many ways is the superior of its fondly-remembered English cousin. The Spanish version runs about a half-hour longer than the English version, thanks to the extra dialogue, and Lupita Tovar is stunning as Eva (the counterpart to helen Chandler's Mina). Carlos Villarias' hammy performance in the title role will not make anyone forget Bela Lugosi, but the direction is tighter.
There are other subtle differences between the two versions. The Spanish version gives the viewer more plunging necklines on the heroines and a more subtle allusion to the sexuality conveyed by vampirism, whereas the English version sticks more to the script and oftentimes comes across as a play being filmed. Both versions are found on the "Dracula: The Legacy Collection" DVD set, so I had lots of time to study the differences.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
This provides much more incentive than "Vote or Die"...
Votergasm has three election-night parties listed for next Tuesday in Chicago. For the uninitiated, Votergasm is a web site that encourages voter registration and getting voters to the polls with the promise of hot election-night sex. Visitors to the site who register must take one of three pledges ranging from withholding sex from non-voters for a week to having sex with a voter on election night and withholding sex from non-voters for the next four years. The party at Transamoeba doesn't neccessarily promise sex, but it reads like it's shaping up to be either a nice multi-disciplinary arts experience or a bad open-mike poetry night. The invitation asks you to bring a casserole, a poem and your voting receipt (which lets you in for $5); otherwise you're being gouged for $50- and probably outed as a non-voter. For the Wicker Park Hipsters DJ Tankboy has turned his "Sweet Alice" Tuesday night residency at Ten 56 into a Votergasm party. Bring your voting receipt and receive a free Pabst Blue Ribbon. God, I miss Sweet Alice.
For those of you whose still waters run deep, the details for the party that promises to "get everyone laid" is available through e-mail request only. Oh, the organizer asks for a picture and basic information along with the request, as they want equal numbers of- attractive, I assume- men and women. This reads to me as counterproductive as it injects a healthy amount of partisan politics into the non-partisan Votergasm process. The homely vote and need loving, too, you know.
Then there's F the Vote, which jokingly urges visitors to its site to "trade sex for votes against Bush" so as not to be found in violation of FEC law. There's only one party listed and does this girl know how to throw a party. It starts at the Harold Washington Library and involves canvassing for the Democrats after dinner at the Wrigleyville IHOP. "Bring a sexy smile and KERRY-EDWARDS signs + buttons + shit", she writes.
I'm guessing that she's unaware of the Votergasm orgy being organized. Or was summarily rejected.
For those of you whose still waters run deep, the details for the party that promises to "get everyone laid" is available through e-mail request only. Oh, the organizer asks for a picture and basic information along with the request, as they want equal numbers of- attractive, I assume- men and women. This reads to me as counterproductive as it injects a healthy amount of partisan politics into the non-partisan Votergasm process. The homely vote and need loving, too, you know.
Then there's F the Vote, which jokingly urges visitors to its site to "trade sex for votes against Bush" so as not to be found in violation of FEC law. There's only one party listed and does this girl know how to throw a party. It starts at the Harold Washington Library and involves canvassing for the Democrats after dinner at the Wrigleyville IHOP. "Bring a sexy smile and KERRY-EDWARDS signs + buttons + shit", she writes.
I'm guessing that she's unaware of the Votergasm orgy being organized. Or was summarily rejected.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
The Good Doctor Speaks...
Rolling Stone came out with their endorsement of John Kerry this week, but for my reading pleasure the real treat was a Hunter S. Thompson article offering his take on the Bush Administration.
The article was classic gonzo Journalism; Thompson at his absolute best. It generally takes a brazenly criminal Republican government to bring out his ire that way. Going so far as to say that he would vote for richard Nixon if offered up as an opponent to Bush-Cheney, the good Doctor's summation of the election next week was "not whether President Bush is acting more and more like the head of a fascist government but whether the American people want it that way." Knowing what we do about the across-the-board failure of the first Bush term, I'm surprised that the pollsters are even calling the election a tossup. It certainly does make one wonder whether the American people want some form of fascism in their lives.
Personally I was steadily losing faith in my fellow Americans- and the Kerry campaign- until his undeniable bitch-slapping of the President in the first debate. The Steve Earle concert at the Vic last week brought back the fight and gave me hope that this Bush is rebuked in the polls next week. The stakes truly are too high this time around to sit on the sidelines, to "vote your conscience" and choose third party next week. Progressives I talk to love to complain about the lack of a third party. I sincerely believe that if George Bush gets another term we're going to have a hard time finding a second political party.
One of the wonders of the Kerry campaign is that, quietly, he's made it okay to use the word "liberal" again without wincing. With the Bush team making it very hard for anyone who isn't a dyed-in-the-wool evangelical to support them and Bill Clinton proving that democrats can be fiscally conservative and still reach out to the poor, the minority, and the progressive in this country, we're gonna have a say in how the next four years turn out.
My commanding officer on the Uss Anzio years ago used to use this quote from the New York Times to begin his award ceremonies: "Somewhere beyond the cortex is a single thought whose mere whisper can silence an army of arguments. It stands alone in final judgement as to whether we have demanded enough of ourselves and- by that example- have inspired the best in those around us." It's a fitting quote for this political climate: liberals going out and quietly registering voters while fundamentalist Christian conservatives scream their throats raw saying that dissenting opinion of George Bush is unpatriotic.
We have a week to demand the best of ourselves and to inspire those around us. I pray that it's enough.
The article was classic gonzo Journalism; Thompson at his absolute best. It generally takes a brazenly criminal Republican government to bring out his ire that way. Going so far as to say that he would vote for richard Nixon if offered up as an opponent to Bush-Cheney, the good Doctor's summation of the election next week was "not whether President Bush is acting more and more like the head of a fascist government but whether the American people want it that way." Knowing what we do about the across-the-board failure of the first Bush term, I'm surprised that the pollsters are even calling the election a tossup. It certainly does make one wonder whether the American people want some form of fascism in their lives.
Personally I was steadily losing faith in my fellow Americans- and the Kerry campaign- until his undeniable bitch-slapping of the President in the first debate. The Steve Earle concert at the Vic last week brought back the fight and gave me hope that this Bush is rebuked in the polls next week. The stakes truly are too high this time around to sit on the sidelines, to "vote your conscience" and choose third party next week. Progressives I talk to love to complain about the lack of a third party. I sincerely believe that if George Bush gets another term we're going to have a hard time finding a second political party.
One of the wonders of the Kerry campaign is that, quietly, he's made it okay to use the word "liberal" again without wincing. With the Bush team making it very hard for anyone who isn't a dyed-in-the-wool evangelical to support them and Bill Clinton proving that democrats can be fiscally conservative and still reach out to the poor, the minority, and the progressive in this country, we're gonna have a say in how the next four years turn out.
My commanding officer on the Uss Anzio years ago used to use this quote from the New York Times to begin his award ceremonies: "Somewhere beyond the cortex is a single thought whose mere whisper can silence an army of arguments. It stands alone in final judgement as to whether we have demanded enough of ourselves and- by that example- have inspired the best in those around us." It's a fitting quote for this political climate: liberals going out and quietly registering voters while fundamentalist Christian conservatives scream their throats raw saying that dissenting opinion of George Bush is unpatriotic.
We have a week to demand the best of ourselves and to inspire those around us. I pray that it's enough.
Things I Found When I Wasn't Taking Myself Seriously
The Metal Sludge website posted a "20 Questions" interview with none other than the legendary King Diamond today. With his stage make-up, gothic-themed concept albums, five octave range, and rumors of Satan worship, King was one of two rock singers who genuinely creeped me out (the late punk singer GG Allin was the other). I remember holing up in my friend Danny Arrecis' basement after graduating high school with a Mercyful Fate's "Melissa" and King Diamond's "Abigail" albums on vinyl, reading the lyrics and wondering what the hell he was smoking.
King still hasn't lost his ability to be creepy. In the interview he discusses how he communicates with his cats and shows an interest in writing a children's book. Hey, if Bill O'Reilly can write one, King Diamond should be allowed the opportunity.
"Like a memory in motion/ you were only passing through":
That's a beautiful couplet. As a reformed poet I always loved the imagery in Johnette Napolitano's lyrics. Concrete Blonde was such an underrated band. I wore out two copies of "Bloodletting" in school and bought "Mexican Moon" used at least as many times. Anyhoo I've been listening to "Bloodletting" on the way to work lately. More accurately I've set the song "Caroline" on constant repeat. I hold that song up as an example of lyrics truly making a song. Not that the music is bad- it's not- but the lyrics are just so vivid. As a writer that's what I notice foremost in a song.
If'n anyone reading this is interested you can check out more about Concrete Blonde at the official site.
I lettered in basketball and took home economics in high school:
To this day I can whip up a nice three-course meal, pair it with a unassuming wine and complete a no-look pass on a fast break. I still found this article at Landoverbaptist.org both hilarious and hitting close to home. My stepfather used to make us race him in fifty yard dashes during cookouts. "The day you outrun me is the day you become a man," he'd crow at me while I was more interested in turning the ribs over. The day I outran him was also the day I left home and didn't look back. He took a swing at me for no particular reason so in retaliation I tried to drop the family car on him while he was under the engine changing the oil. It was this white-trash version of the "take the pebble from my hand" scenario from Kung Fu.
We just laugh about it today.
King still hasn't lost his ability to be creepy. In the interview he discusses how he communicates with his cats and shows an interest in writing a children's book. Hey, if Bill O'Reilly can write one, King Diamond should be allowed the opportunity.
"Like a memory in motion/ you were only passing through":
That's a beautiful couplet. As a reformed poet I always loved the imagery in Johnette Napolitano's lyrics. Concrete Blonde was such an underrated band. I wore out two copies of "Bloodletting" in school and bought "Mexican Moon" used at least as many times. Anyhoo I've been listening to "Bloodletting" on the way to work lately. More accurately I've set the song "Caroline" on constant repeat. I hold that song up as an example of lyrics truly making a song. Not that the music is bad- it's not- but the lyrics are just so vivid. As a writer that's what I notice foremost in a song.
If'n anyone reading this is interested you can check out more about Concrete Blonde at the official site.
I lettered in basketball and took home economics in high school:
To this day I can whip up a nice three-course meal, pair it with a unassuming wine and complete a no-look pass on a fast break. I still found this article at Landoverbaptist.org both hilarious and hitting close to home. My stepfather used to make us race him in fifty yard dashes during cookouts. "The day you outrun me is the day you become a man," he'd crow at me while I was more interested in turning the ribs over. The day I outran him was also the day I left home and didn't look back. He took a swing at me for no particular reason so in retaliation I tried to drop the family car on him while he was under the engine changing the oil. It was this white-trash version of the "take the pebble from my hand" scenario from Kung Fu.
We just laugh about it today.
Monday, October 25, 2004
Make Lemonade with Bridgeport Bartering!!!
While talking with my old roommate Saturday evening I was informed that her upstairs neighbor was moving out of the building and that, if I was interested in saving $200 a month in rent, I should call up the building owner to grab the apartment as soon as possible. My one concern was coming up with the first month's rent and deposit on such short notice as all my bills and my November rent on the current apartment are usually due around the end of the month
I thought it over all day Sunday and called him this morning. By noon we arranged payment terms and had a handshake agreement. I move out of my current apartment this weekend; needless to say the extra $200 I save is going to a truck. The move should be easier this time around- like last year it's only a few trips down the alley. With the addition of a truck I should cut that move down even further.
Although I like my current place I'm really looking foward to moving, and not just because the new place has a working fireplace! This apartment was the result of a greedy building owner slicing in half a classic second floor apartment in one of these graystones one only finds in Chicago.
Example: There's a door in my living room. One would think that it leads to the outside. But it doesn't. It leads to what is now the closet in the front apartment. If these two apartments were the one single apartment the original architects intended that would be the dining room. The front hallway of the front apartment is now houses a kitchen that can only be found in Manhattan railcar-style apartments. That kitchen leads to a bathroom that exits to the stairwell originally intended for the apartment. Color me a pessimist, but I would want two ways to enter and exit my apartment. It certainly would have come in handy two months ago when one of my neighbors downstairs (long since gone from the building) threatened to "put a bullet in my ass" before he moved out.
But that's all history now. I'm just glad I'm returning to a building I really didn't want to leave in the first place. I plan on spending the extra savings wisely- catching up on credit card bills, saving for a spring vacation, paint for the new place. Should be fun.
I thought it over all day Sunday and called him this morning. By noon we arranged payment terms and had a handshake agreement. I move out of my current apartment this weekend; needless to say the extra $200 I save is going to a truck. The move should be easier this time around- like last year it's only a few trips down the alley. With the addition of a truck I should cut that move down even further.
Although I like my current place I'm really looking foward to moving, and not just because the new place has a working fireplace! This apartment was the result of a greedy building owner slicing in half a classic second floor apartment in one of these graystones one only finds in Chicago.
Example: There's a door in my living room. One would think that it leads to the outside. But it doesn't. It leads to what is now the closet in the front apartment. If these two apartments were the one single apartment the original architects intended that would be the dining room. The front hallway of the front apartment is now houses a kitchen that can only be found in Manhattan railcar-style apartments. That kitchen leads to a bathroom that exits to the stairwell originally intended for the apartment. Color me a pessimist, but I would want two ways to enter and exit my apartment. It certainly would have come in handy two months ago when one of my neighbors downstairs (long since gone from the building) threatened to "put a bullet in my ass" before he moved out.
But that's all history now. I'm just glad I'm returning to a building I really didn't want to leave in the first place. I plan on spending the extra savings wisely- catching up on credit card bills, saving for a spring vacation, paint for the new place. Should be fun.
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