Kitsch of the day- MEATSCAPES.

I am fond of things that a little tacky, and kooky. So, I decided that once in a while (hopefully more often than less) I will share pieces of art, or websites that are on the kitschy side.

I am a vegetarian, and even I can appreciate this.

MEATSCAPES

Here are some of my favorite pictures.




For more information just
Check out this link
http://www.machineanimalcollages.com/Menus/MeatScapesMenu.html

Frosties, Ships and cloud factories...

Today around 4 pm, We decided to go for a drive, with no particular destination set out. Which is the best way to take a mini road trip. We started off getting something to snack on at Frostie in Sabina.
****
Then we drove through New Vienna. It was an interesting little town. I am from Colorado, and the towns out there are nothing like the ones in Ohio.
These places are truly “Any town USA.” They are trapped in time (the buildings) I love it.

We ended up in a town called Hillsboro, we basically just got some gas in that town. However I spotted an interesting lawn ornament. ☺



We did some more driving, along the Ohio river. It was very pretty, and we stopped at a little diner, in a town called Higgensport.

This place had a LOT of ships. I took a couple pictures of the ones I favored.


and I had the best grilled cheese sandwich of my life, and an equally good baked potato.
The tables looked like a TGI Friday’s sign.

Travis was not amused at me taking pictures of him. (He was actually lip syncing “Fuck you.”)

The jerk. LOL
There was also an adorable little kitty that was hanging out out on the deck.

We went for a little walk in this town. And I spotted this tree and vines, it reminded me of The Secret Garden.



Then we stopped at a little park, and I got some pictures on this river boat. ☺


Travis and I were the most awesome captains ever.




Then a little further down the road, I spotted something unsettling.

“Please tell me that is a CLOUD factory!” I said.
It was my first time seeing a nuclear power plant.

This was some town called New Richmond I think.

We ended up in Kentucky, and then on our way home, disaster.
The damn car broke down. We were able to get it home, but it needs to be towed to the mechanic in the morning. I think Billy Mays did it from beyond the grave because I talked a little smack about him before we left.

~FIN~
** The Frostie pic wasn't taken by me. Whomever took it, if you want me to remove it, I will

Memorial Day 2009 part 1.

For Memorial Day Weekend, I went to Marblehead, Ohio. It is a small little town on a peninsula, in northern Ohio. The waters that surround it, is Lake Erie.


I had never been there before, and was not sure about the location of the Hotel. Then I got there and was blown away.
For around $115 bucks a night, I was one block away from the lake, and right across the street from 3 restaurants. The food, wasn’t that spectacular, but Lake Erie, and all of the attractions made up for it.

The first night, Travis and I went to the lake, and stood on the dock. The sun was starting to set, and the view was simply breathtaking.


There was a forest fire in Michigan that weekend, so it made the sunset all the more beautiful.


The hotel kind of looked like an institution. The walls were cement, but that was fine. It just meant that we couldn’t hear people in the other rooms. So it felt like we were the only ones there. ☺

The TV was interesting. There was on channel that was all French language. For someone from Colorado, this was new. In Colorado we have Spanish language stations.
Of course Ohio is across the lake from Canada, so the French makes sense.

The next morning, I woke up early, and walked out to the dock, and took some pictures of the sunrise. It was a cloudy morning, but it still looked nice.


That day, we headed to Mystery Hill. Mystery Hill is a quirky little place, with Mini-golf and many dinosaur sculptures in the forest.


Can you see how amazed we are ;)


Then there is the Mystery Spot. It is a place where the gravity is just not right. You literally tilt diagonally. Remember those V-8 commercials? It’s like that.


It is pretty fascinating, because the water runs UP HILL, here is a video of Travis, demonstrating with a tennis ball.


I thought it was really cool. I must warn you, it might make you feel sick. Like you just got off of the most brutal ride at 6 flags. I felt a little queasy, and in the video you can hear my heavy breathing. I was trying not to dry heave, or puke at that point.

I will post pictures of the island we went to, and the forest we stopped at on the way home, at a later date.

Picture This: Last Night In Harlem

This photograph was taken by Des'Rae Lynn Stage. She is an amazing photographer.
You can view more of her work at http://ifeelinfinite.net/.

In Memory: Michael Jackson

I guess I will be one of millions of bloggers who post something about Michael Jackson. I am not going to get into his personal life. I just want to make a list of my favorite Michael Jackson songs/performances. So that is what I will do.

Dueting with Bart Simpson (1991?)
Michael Jackson (credited as John Jay Smith) is the voice of Leon Kompowsky, a big fat white man from a mental hospital who believes he is Michael Jackson. Episode: “Stark Raving Dad.”
This is one of the greatest songs from the long running cartoon.
When I was a kid, after reading the credits, I said “Wow I really thought it WAS Michael Jackson.” Little did I know it was. HAHA


Rockwell “Somebody’s Watching Me (1982?)
Michael Jackson sings the chorus to this song. He does not appear in the video. I just like this video.


Paul McCartney “Say, Say, Say.” (1983)

This is a wonderful song, and I love the video. I like the concept of them portraying snake oil peddlers! Watch for Latoya Jackson’s cameo.


*Michael Jackson performs Billie Jean and does the Moon Walk for the first time.
I was just a kid maybe 5 when I saw this on TV. It was the very first time I ever saw Michael Jackson, and I loved his music. This song will always be my favorite Michael Jackson song.


Thriller is my favorite Michel Jackson video of all time. Zombies, AND the legendary Vincent Price, what’s not to love. But sadly youtube is lame and embedding has been diabled on the extended version. :<>
So I will leave you with this commercial from the 80s




*I would like to thank QuentinsOnTheWay for sending me the video of the Billie Jean performance.

Sugar Free Disney: Sleeping Beauty

When most people think of Sleeping Beauty, they tend to think of the Disney cartoon. Does this cartoon has everything needed to make a syrupy sweet Disney story?
Lets see…
-A pretty, pretty princess? Check.
-A handsome Prince? Check.
-Friendly little sidekicks? Check.
-Adorable woodland creatures? Check.
-An evil villain? Check.
-An elaborate battle between good and evil, in which good wins? Check.
-Everyone falling in love and living happily ever after? Check.


In the Disney movie, we have a king and queen celebrating the birth of their beautiful baby Aurora. The good fairies of the land have come to bless her with the gifts of beauty and song.



Well, there was a fairy, who was not invited, Maleficent.


Maleficent storms in and curses Aurora. The curse? Death before the age of 16, by a spindle.
Well one of the good fairies, changes the curse from death to a coma. That can only be reversed by the kiss of true love. Or she is asleep for 100 years, whichever comes first.

Aurora ends up in the care of the fairies, and her name changed to Briar Rose. This is of course, for her protection. She meets a handsome young man, and they fall in love. Neither one knowing the other is royalty, that they were betrothed to one another when Aurora was born.


Well, when Aurora is told that she is a princess and must marry a prince named Philip, she is sad. She is in love with the peasant. One thing leads to another, and she pricks her finger on a spindle and falls into a deep sleep.

Well, her true love battles Maleficent (in what I think is one of the coolest Disney scenes ever).


Then he kisses Aurora and she wakes up.


Everyone lives happily ever after.


Well, I have always wondered if the original story was as sweet and whimsical.
The original story, (Sun, Moon and Talia) was adapted by

Giambattista Basile, an Italian poet.

Sun Moon and Talia is nothing like Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. In this story, Talia is a princess, who is put into a coma by a flax splinter. Not, a curse. In this tale, the handsome prince does not kiss her to wake her up. It is a king, and he actually rapes her in her comatose state.
Here is an excerpt from the story:
“Crying aloud, he beheld her charms and felt his blood course hotly through his veins. He lifted her in his arms, and carried her to a bed, where he gathered the first fruits of love. Leaving her on the bed, he returned to his own kingdom, where, in the pressing business of his realm, he for a time thought no more about this incident.”

Romantic isn't it?

9 months later, still comatose, Talia gives birth to twins. A boy and a girl. So, some fairies pop up, and place the babies at their mothers breasts to feed. Well, one of the babies ends up loosing it’s place, and starts sucking on the mother’s finger, thus removing the flax splinter and waking her up.

The king returns, and finds Talia is awake. He tells her who he is and what he did. The average woman would be appalled and enraged that she was raped in her sleep. Not Talia. She falls in love with him.

Of course this king is already married. When his wife finds out he has been out doing this, does she pack up and leave him? NO. She has the children kidnapped, and she orders the chef to slaughter and cook them. She wants to feed her husband his own children.

Of course, the chef does not kill the babies. He hides them, and feeds the king lamb.

The King has the Queen burned alive for her evil deed, even though the kids were in fact still alive. He rewards the cook for not killing his children.
Then he marries Talia.

Oh wait, there is a MORAL at the end of the story!

"Those whom fortune favors
Find good luck even in their sleep."

I didn't realize being raped and giving birth to not ONE but TWO babies because of the rape, was "good luck."

I am trying to imagine what the Disney version would be like, if they didn't sugar coat it. It is an amusing if not disturbing thought.