I Saw It Happen Today

It's a terrible thing when people lose their jobs...

I saw a business close today. The general manager came out of his office toward the end of day and told what staff was lingering that he needed them to work late. They needed to call all of their clients and tell them that they would not be delivering or selling anything the next day. He told the staff that, at the stroke of midnight, none of their inventory belonged to them. The employees took it pretty well. They'd apparently known it was coming. But it's not much different than when a long suffering, sick relative finally succumbs. It's as if a haven or destination you've come to count on has been bulldozed. You are compelled to return, but the door is boarded up. There is emptiness where there was easy meaning. The manager had freshly learned the information he was disseminating. It was clear that he was laying it out for his employees at the same time he himself tried to process it. I don't know how long these people had shared the office or each other's lives, but moments before they'd been joking about all the cocktails that start with "C" and bragging about the toys they'd given their kids for Christmas a few days ago. Now, just two days before a new year, they were being shut down. I felt like I should do something to help. But there was nothing for me to do. I simply said, "I'm terribly sorry about all of this" and departed. As I was leaving, I heard the manager telling the office staff to have all the employees come in at their usual times. One more day to say good-bye and think about what would happen next. It is an awful thing to watch the involuntary ending of any group of people. And what's sadder than dissolution of a company is the worry that in this economic landscape, some of these disenfranchised people will not find a new office to occupy.

Violet Tremors - Sci-Fine!

The VIOLET TREMORS leave a place in the middle of the bed for you!

They characterize their milieu as "minimal-synth". Aesthetically, that may be true. But Lorene Simpson and Jessica White, with their ambitious songs and stylish performance, Sci-Fi fly in the face of simplicity or mathematics. The girls appear childlike in their Futurist-Victorian schoolgirl garb, but their comparisons span the grownup range of 80's middle-brow pop, the likes of Adam Ant and Lene Lovich to the art music of Laurie Anderson or sexy-messy rock chops of P.J. Harvey. At the El Rey Theater at the close of their first US tour, they opened the show for Ogre (purveying his OHGR project).

OHGR is as Ogre does.

On paper, the Violet Tremors seem an unseemly fit with the grandaddy of industrial rock. But within two songs of the Tremors' set, the audience excavated a context and welcomed the lithesome duo. In performance, the Violet Tremors forge an integral relationship to monster-man, Ogre. Just as the girls seemed infected by the conjuring trance their headliner has honed over decades, Ogre himself seemed to be having a better time than ever, playing and interacting - perhaps attributable to the infectious playfulness of the Tremors? This spirit was not lost on the audience who found footing in the uncharacteristic whimsy. But if the Tremors installed a patina of good nature on the show, it served to remind the crowd that Ogre has always been a serious artist who doesn't take himself as seriously as he may take his multiple personas.

Jessica and Lorene welcome you to the machine.

As the front gal of the Violet Tremors, Jessica White is a sultry and sexy dragon lady, dancing on a bubble of wry humor. She bleated ethereal lyrics in a voice that did its best monotone but intermittently betrayed melodic sensibility. I liken it to Chris Cornell's rock-shriek which does little to disguise that beneath his choice of style is the voice of an angel. But the Tremors' vision and voice are clearly, carefully contrived. As is the group's persona. As Jessica teases the audience with mixed messages of jaded dismissiveness and desperate pleas for attention, Lorene skirts the shadows, intent to concentrate on keyboard and effects, practically hidden under pitch-black bangs. She occasionally comes up for air to smile at an inside joke a fan may have telegraphed from the floor.

VIOLET TREMORS: TIME IS THE TRAITOR

The threat of pretty-girl pretense gives way to robo-clownery as Jessica morphs from sassy siren to funky chicken. Again, Lorene cracks up. This is what separates the potentially drab from the devilishly delightful in this rhythmic, sometimes hypnotic band. The Violet Tremors were on tour in support of their debut CD (on LP for you vinyl-heads): Time Is The Traitor. This first release is a fairly accurate representation of what the Violet Tremors sound like. But it only scratches the suggestive surface of who the girls are in performance. I'll be following this group interested to see where they plant their flower seeds and how their tremulous vibrations resonate at the core of the scene.

Tex & Daisy. What a pair...

Susan Beth Stiefvater

I met Sue Stiefvater when I got my first job on the "Mainland". That job was at Sambo's Restaurant in Reseda and I was a busboy. I had just gotten off the boat from Hawaii and was trying to make my way in the big city. I didn't yet know that people who lived in "the Valley" were actually nesting there to foster their denial about living anywhere near a city. I was so naive I had my feelings hurt by an operator who hung up on me when I couldn't answer her because I didn't know what an area code was. "Do you live on an island?" Then I met Sue. My pal and co-worker Carol Carbone introduced me to her after another co-worker, Dana had introduced me to Carol...

Carol: Who is that guy?

Dana: A Mexican who speaks really good English...

Carol and I hit it off at once. Even though she was wearing a brown Polyester Swiss Miss uniform. Carol took me to meet her best friend Sue who had her face buried in a school book and would barely look up at me. I smiled, turned on the charm and used my best tap-dance to get her attention. Nothing. I made quips and did funny voices. Crickets. I was put off, insulted and left hating the little snob. I should have known I'd end up crazy in love with her.

Sue and Carol were roommates and they took pity on me when I broke up with my first LA girlfriend Jeannette. I moved in with the Sambo's girls. I was jobless, demoralized and dumb. But Carol and Sue were New Wave Valley Girls. They lifted me up, encouraged an 80's hair-do and dragged me over the crest of San Fernando to West Hollywood and The Odyssey disco. There we met all kinds of New Romantic young folks, popstars of the day (Kristy McNichol, Rick James, Billy Idol) and encountered the most alternative of lifestyles. I also threw up for the first time from drinking too much. Then there were the mythical drives up and down the winding gauntlet of Laurel Canyon, shit faced. Carol with her forehead against the steering wheel sorting double vision from curves while I held Sue by her waistband while she leaned out of the Subaru backseat window and filled the canyon with Southern Comfort.

This is as far as I'll get. A few days ago when I mentioned to Sue that I was writing a blog about her, she had a bona fide fit. She not only got angry that I might be embarrassing her, but the thought of me talking about the past dredged up some pretty big issues. It made me a little sad, but if you know Sue, you know she doesn't like the attention and HATES being misunderstood or misrepresented. Susie didn't want me to tell the story. So, this is all you get. I won't tell you about our 5 years together or what we learned or should have over that time. I guess the most important thing for you to know is that we survived each other and are still very close friends today. I call her "Little" she calls me "Big". We still fight, laugh and lend each other money. She was my first true love. I will love her forever.

Let the Halloweenification begin!

I'm telling you! Halloween is chasing down X-mas with a chainsaw. It is definitely the 2nd most popular American holiday. I've never seen so many decorations and holiday novelties before in my life. Target stores alone, have a whole section dedicated to Halloween - including amazing food kits! Cookies, cupcakes and even a haunted gingerbread house!

Target hits the bulls-eye with this year's Halloween novelties!

Wish these were around when I was a kid. (only 10 bucks)!

And Disneyland has taken a turn for the best kinda worse. Mickey-o-lanterns, great window displays and lots of spooky-themed takes on rides like The Nightmare Before Christmas - Haunted Mansion. A Space-fire creature inhabits Space Mountain through the eerie month. The season's fireworks show has a good dose of classic Haunted Mansion too.

It's in the Disney-details! The whole park is tricked out for treats!

Main Street takes our favorite holiday mainstream!

If we could just get folks to start giving presents on the 31st, Santa wouldn't stand a chance! Have a happy and horrible Halloween all my monster pals. Make sure to post your favorite Halloween haunts here and EVERYWHERE so that the season continues to fester and grow!

Love, despite otherwise...

Near the trailer.

Maybe 4 years old? Squatting next to a water faucet. Rinsing. The boy isn't watching what he's doing. But he is practiced in his chore. Rinsing. He turns toward the Instamatic...

Earlier. Parents balling fists. Sending electric pressure through the boy, loosening everything inside of him. He is just a baby. He doesn't understand why there is tension so sore and constant that it makes him mess himself. He's just a baby.

But he does mess and they do react. They make noise and call names that hurt like the belt. And the boy struggles to connect their words to their faces to his life - in confusion and a damp depression. He's just a baby and doesn't know why things are wrong. Only that he is wrong.

And so, this morning he does his ritual washing next to the trailer, under the spigot. The grass has grown tall and green where the water spills. Regularly. And the boy is practiced in his rinsing. Underpants.

His eyes turn toward the camera and the depth of sadness in them is concussive. The profound worry. The abstract humiliation. I look into the eyes and I choke up. Audibly. Every time.

A picture is worth a thousand apologies.

They are not mine to make, but I pray them for him. To him.

The boy grew up and I found him. Together we made a friendship that elevated us both past certain pasts. But his eyes were stained by some echo of that ancient suffering. His eyes rarely cried. But in the perpetual ripples on the shade of neglect. Under the tattoo of the memory of abandonment. In the faded hollows just under his brightness...

...audibly. Every time.

For Bee

Love Horror? Want More? Rondo Awards time again!

Every year since 2003, David Colton and his Classic Horror Film Boards have presented the RONDO HATTON AWARDS! These treasured lil' statuettes are the only horror award nominated and voted on by classic horror fandom at large. This coveted acknowledgement within our community is much more friendly than competitive. Sure, we all want one. But at the end of the day, supporting the Rondos means fostering attention for the classic horror faire we love and encouraging the creation of more classic horror-related media for all of us to enjoy.

When you check out a RONDO BALLOT for the first time, I think you'll be surprised at the number of categories AND the sheer quantity of nominees listed. It's remarkable to note how many talented people are lending their energies to exploring the genre and keeping it alive through diligent, creative, well-researched work. If you are new to the genre or the Rondos, I can assure you that you won't find a more literate or well informed field. Now, I know there are a lot of categories. But be aware: YOU CAN VOTE ALL OF THE CATEGORIES - OR - JUST THE ONES THAT YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH. But I would challenge you to get up to speed with as many nominees and their works as you can. It'll be a rewarding effort.

As in most RONDO BALLOTS past, there are a number of Forrest J Ackerman-related projects nominated for honors this year. Here they are:

10. BOOK OF THE YEAR

FORRY: The life of Forrest J Ackerman, by Debbie Painter

And...

HOUSE OF ACKERMAN, by Al Astrella and Jim Greene

11. BEST MAGAZINE OF 2010

FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND

14. BEST MAGAZINE COVER

FAMOUS MONSTERS # 250, by Michael Heisler

You'll also enjoy voting on everything from "Best toy, model or Collectible" to "Best Blog of 2010"! At the end of the ballot you'll find a list of write-in categories which includes the prestigious "Monster Kid of the Year" Rondo. This is an honor that goes to the person the community feels put forth, "efforts beyond the call of duty to build a better world of gods and monsters." I can tell you first-hand that this nod is one of the great honors in our genre. I received it in 2009 for my care-taking of our beloved Forry Ackerman in the last years of his life. It was like a big hug of appreciation from the people most important to me. This year YOU get to decide who gets that hug!

Me and my very own Creeper!

So, amble on over to the RONDO AWARDS ballot and cast your vote. Just cut and paste the ballot into an e-mail and make all of your choices. Be sure to include your name on your ballot or risk disqualification! Send your votes to David Colton at: Taraco@aol.com no later than midnight of March 27th, 2011. Do it now! The monsters are listening!

Monster's Ink: FM and me!

Our grand ol' Uncle Forry. He started it all!

Wow! I recently edited retro issue #70 of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. Issue #70 represents the first of the missing FM issues that appeared when Warren Publishing replaced FM with Monster World for ten issues in the 1970s. For a monster fan growing up in Hawaii, Famous Monsters, or "FM" was my only lifeline to the horror world I loved. To get the opportunity to link my name to the magazine's legacy was, well, a dream come true. Years ago my dearly departed friend and original FM editor Forry Ackerman asked me, "So pal, when you were a little boy did you ever dream you'd grow up to be best pals with me?" I'd be lying if I said yes. But once I did become Forry's best friend, it was obvious to me that we belonged together. I seemed to have a positive impact on him and he found it easy to relate to me. We were an unlikely but remarkable fit. Opposites in personality, but our value for loyalty and sense of wonder was the same. Nonetheless, if you had ever asked me if I could imagine following in the footsteps of my mentor by editing an issue of FM? I would have laughed in your face.

The 1st issue of Warren/ Ackerman's "FM" c. 1958

I got a call from FM publisher Phil Kim in September. It was then that he offered me the managing editor position on Famous Monsters #70. I was over the (full) moon. The issue was going to replicate the old-school 70's FM as closely as possible, right down to the black and white newsprint pages! I asked if I would have any control over content and was thrilled to hear that I would. I hung up with Phil and immediately began spinning my wheels. Off the top of my head I knew I wanted to do a Dick Smith-style makeup layout and to have some of the iconic elements of the old mag brought into this issue. Things like Forry and Warren's anti-smoking ads and perhaps a whole segment on fan collections of the time (I had collected so many vintage pictures). As it turned out, FM was still growing and morphing. So, two weeks after agreeing to edit the mag, I got another call from Phil. Now I would be "guest editor" under copy editor Jessie Lilly, managing editor Mark Redfield and editor in chief Mike Heisler ... Oh, well. Growing pains. But I was still excited and wholly grateful to be involved.

MY first issue of Famous Monsters magazine.

As it was to turn out, Mike Heisler and Mark Redfield left the FM organization before issue #70 had been put to bed - but not before determining the content and layout of the issue. I confess, at first I hated the Hercules In New York cover, but it had already been locked in as the face of FM #70. The artwork was nice - but the subject? I made the best of it and asked my young, talented (and sarcastic) friend Justin Halliwell to write the "Filmbook" for HINY and I really warmed up to the subject as Justin's tongue-in-cheek treatment tickled me. Today when I look at the cover art, I kinda love it. I smile knowing what fun it represents. I also asked my good pal Elizabeth Haney to contribute a retro-article on Women In Horror - as I insist on female fandom being represented in any project I am involved in. Finally, I contributed the editorial intro (with as much pun-shine as I could muster) to honor our Ackermonster and captioned much of the mag - other than August Ragone's Destroy All Monsters piece and 2 of Max Cheney's terrific multi-contributions (I did caption his YORGA piece - some of my proudest groan-worthy work). Jessie Lilly and the rest of the FM staff were incredibly diligent in putting the finishing touches on the mag. I hear the final product is fantastic! As I write this, I understand that copies of the issue have just hit the FM offices and I am really excited to get one in my claws!

The cover of issue #70. Don't judge a book...

It was a bittersweet ending to the project when I was informed that I would now be credited as senior editor. I embraced the honor, but admit I was a little sad that the mag wouldn't truly represent what I woulda/coulda done. So, while the perfect opportunity to edit a real FM was not the perfect experience (like all journeys), I'm really glad I did it! I hope it opens the door to more participation in the stuff I love. Maybe down the line I'll get the chance to create MY perfect issue? I have other exciting projects planned with FM, Phil and his dedicated crew. As FM evolves, It will certainly hit its stride. It's no small feat transitioning from an entertaining novelty of the past into a relevant presence of the future - but we're all working away at trying to get there. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate in the genre, honor Forry Ackerman, perpetuate FM and to have had such fun doing it. Buy a copy of FM issue #70. If you like it, tell Phil to let me do it again sometime! Do check it out. I'm proud of it and it was made with a lot of love of fandom, Forry and MONSTERS!

EPILOGUE: I now have copies of FM #70 in my grubby little paws. It's really fantastic! It does exactly what we'd all hoped. It looks, smells and feels like vintage FM! Phil plans to learn from this issue and continue to tweak the authenticity (he's gonna up the paper thickness a bit), but all in all it's quite a faithful replica of the original. I gotta admit, it choked me up a bit to imagine Forry examining this issue. I could see him, beaming as he turned it over in his hands and read every single word. Hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to more...