Monsterpaloozin' my mind: The Ghoul Goes Western Electric, pt. 3

Greetings loyal S&Pers!

Tonight, I have finally put together video of my Raybot, his entire (though brief at only a few minutes or so) routine.

Very proud.

I don't think I have to add anything textually to this, beyond my joy at him working without a hitch the entire weekend, and how very much I love, and appreciate the help of, my Monsterpaloyees --  Henner, Miranda and my V.

I loved making him. I loved displaying him.

And I loved, and always will love, Ray Bradbury.

Live forever.

Onward...

DDSP!

A long winter's nap.

Today's view from the front windows at the Skull & Pumpkin.

DDSnowyskeletonandPumpkins!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 5

OH! I have been working...

Cutting, gluing, wiring, soldering, programming, breaking, cursing, punching, hitting, spitting, kicking, drinking, cutting, gluing, wiring...

Boy did this project turn into a much more difficult thing than I had ever dreamed.

Still, I may actually get it done before shipping it off to L.A. before I ship me off to L.A..

Here is Edward Van Bone, minus his jacket and legs.

I think I need to change up his hair and how 'clean' he is, because right now he looks

so much like Andy Williams that it's starting to distract me.

Don't protest, Eddie ol' boy -- it just means I've made you too 

good-lookin'.

Yeah... I need to put some baldness back in, matte it down a bit, and make sure he's a little grungier.

But as long as Edward Van Bone moves right for two and a half days in April, it's all good.

Onward.

O'ZOM-beeee!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 2

A little more hair, subtly backlit eyes, and a cheesy application of sepia tone and 'film grain' to pretend we're watching in 1931...

He needs a little more refining, especially programming his jaw to close/reset more fluidly -- at the moment he looks like he's chewing something as he speaks.

I keep trying.

Onward.

DDSProgress!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 1

That's right, longtime S&P patrons.

It's a new year, and that means a new Monsterpalooza, and that means your humble pubkeep is making new monsters to display at the Monsterpalooza Museum!

Now, if you aren't sure what a Monsterpalooza is or what its Museum might be, you must be new to the S&P. That's not a bad position to be in -- there's so much to discover here. So please click HERE to go to the Monsterpalooza convention site and find out the who, what, where and when. The why should be obvious to anyone visiting the Skull & Pumpkin.

Go on now and come on back when you're finished. We'll be here.

Hum, hum-hm-hmmmmmm, hum-hm-hmmmmm....

Alright, you're back? Sweet.

So! The Art of Monsters takes Burbank by storm for the 4th year in a row, and for the 3rd year in a row, yours truly will be an Artist In Attendance, showing off a bit of my animatronic nuttiness in the Museum alongside works from professional monstermakers and horror artists from all over the world.

It's such an honor for me, and gets more humbling every year.

This time around, I am hoping to supply two pieces to the Museum, and while I don't want to completely give away what they'll be just yet, I do want to share the last few days' progress on one of them.

I'm sure you recognize the audio. If not, you will soon.And as always, it needs refinement, better programming, and real finishing (paint, hair, lenses for pince nez, etc.) Then, the tuxedo'd body, the arms and hands...

I am calling him -- well, that can wait. The full details will come in their time.

But for now, just imagine this fellow standing on a barker stage, footlit bfore a velveted curtain, gesturing to the rest of the Museum with his long, bony fingers; beckoning guests to enter, explore and warn them that "there are such things..."

And that's progress.

Nearly forgot about January music, but that will come tomorrow.

Until then, if you feel this video might disturb your dreams, well... we warned you!


DDSPuttingittogether!

Afterglow.

 Ah!

Welcome, welcome.

I hope you are all enjoying your respective Christmas gatherings and goings-on, and I am happy to see you visiting this humble place during the holidays. It's why we're here, you know -- a gathering place to share and enjoy the company of like-minded, good-hearted Autumn Folk at all times of the year.

My family has been sharing a wonderful few days of holiday cheer, and I can tell you we now are all a little looney from a long weekend full of sugary treats and drinks and indulgent dishes and salty snacks and naps and late nights full of laughter and remembrance of Christmases gone by.

Just as it ought to be.

I want to share just a few more bits of Christmas, S&P-style.

Here is our very orange Hallowe'en treetopper, a gift to the lovely V and me from my dear mother.

It actually resides year-round on our mantle, but I am always so happy to see it on our little black tree where it truly belongs for a few weeks a year. Thanks again, Mama.

Now, any Autumn Person worth the epithet expects their holiday gifts to be a little horrific or Hallowe'enly, right? I know you all get it.

So...

 A first class skull. Who doesn't wish for at least one skull for Christmas?

 And so, I got two!

 And three!

 Not Hallowe'enly, but definitely horrific. 

My oldest crush and favorite hero on Blu-ray -- along with my very first Blu-ray DVD player!

Not even remotely scary or Hallowe'enly, but another gift of Sigourney Weaver 

is always worth bragging over.

Besides, it's a great film you should all see.

I hope you all gave and got at least one great, fine, heartfelt gift, whatever it may be.

You are each a fine gift to me.

Merriest of Christmases to you all. 

DDSigourneyPower!

Old gourds & cold bones...

Some pumpkins and another snowy skeleton haunting the grounds at the S&P.

(shiver!)

DUMDUMSHREKPOPSICLES!

Before we get to November...

Well, November's already here, yes.

But before I get to any new jukebox tunage or waxing poetic about the end of Autumn and all that, I wanted to pass around a few pics of our 2011 yardhaunt, the 'Greatest Hits' display I was able to put together.

Yes, I was going to do a big tribute to the anti-genius of Edward D. Wood, Jr. But time... time not only slipped away, it was fairly torn from my daily schedule with alarming regularity all through September and October.

No complaints. I love working.

But I decided I had backlogged so many great props, figures, routines, music and decor that a greatest hits display would be perfect -- a kind of Hallowe'en version of a cheap TV clip show.

It worked just fine.

Now don't get up, I'll just pass a few around:

 Our 'graveyard' just before adding the animatronic characters.

 The lovely 'V' helping set up 'Boo Corner' (for littler spooks and scared grown-ups!).

 'Uncle Bill' setting up the stupendous 'De Witch Woman' display he built 

last year in honor of the family-favorite James Lewicki illustration 

(story and pictures from this post and this post, remember?)

Our cat Hallowe'en ('Halli') always helps us move the leaves around.

 She also spent a lot of time hanging out with Cap'n Lantern an Ficketts.

 The graveyard ready to go, seen through the web of a spider

that decided she had to set up shop here. 

(Sorry Frog Queen!)

 An angle I only get to see once a year: the business end of my

graveyard attraction.

 Cap'n Lantern, First Mate Ficketts, a tombstone-perched raven named Nevermore...

 ... and the Lean Bros & Ghoul, ready for spooky swingin' songs!

My one and only Ed Wood tribute piece.

 The completed Boo Corner...

... and guests.

'De Witch Woman' took the place of the usual Treat Room we have on

that side of the porch. That foot pumped, that spindle spun, and de ol' witch woman

sang  (in my Aunt Gail's voice) 'Turn an' spin, come off skin!' all night long.

The decade-old Great Pumpkin animatronic character, in his perfectly

glowy, perfectly plasticky pumpkin patch!

A blurry but colorful shot of the display from across the street. 

Of course, the Skull & Pumpkin has always been a Post-Hallowe'en Blues-Free Zone, as you well know. There is nothing about cleanup that saddens me -- not really -- and in fact it has grown to become a rather Zen-like ritual, at once cleansing and inspiring.

Besides, there simply isn't a reason for sadness.

For one, we had a grand time.

For another, it's still Autumn. I mean, look at the view I get to and from work every day...

Still very, very Fall.

I'll be back soon with new musical diversions for a new month.

In the meantime, I'll gather up the pictures and let you all get back to whatever you were doing. I hope you're all discussing your own amazing Hallowe'en 2011 stories!

Until next time!

DDSP!

A skull and pumpkin.

Yesterday was a bit of a Pumpkin Carving Day.

Kiara the Great was in rare form, using a Pumpkinmasters kit to whip up some design I'm still trying to decipher. But she loved every second of it!

The lovely V procured four or five excellent raw jack o'lanterns, and I chose the one I thought would make the oddest looking chap.

Here you can see I have already done the eyes, but I wanted you to see the warts and scars on this wonderfully warped little fellow. All of his odd features make for a glowering, grotesque but grand little gourd!

When I brought him to the S&P, he immediately began to grumble and shift, and leaving him to his own devices for a time, I eventually found him here:

... on the windowsill at the top floor landing. He obviously knew his place.

And by nightfall, well...

Now that's a skull & pumpkin!

I'm enjoying him immensely, and am quite certain the rest of our menagerie has welcomed him with open... whatever they may have.

Hallowe'en on the way... yikes!

DDSGrumble!

It's the little things.

Welcome, loyal S&P-brains!

I sure hope a fun and festive Fourth of July weekend was had by all. I know we had a marvelous time here at the S&P.

One thing I've always loved about July 4th is that it's only three days out from my birthday.

As a kid, this was a real boost. Everyone was together enjoying family fun and when it had to end, I'd just think  that's okay, in a few days I'm going to celebrate all over again! and any sadness about wrapping up Independence Day was gone.

So... tomorrow's the big day.

But last night my lovely V and Kiara and the family put together a very nice evening of food and fun that I was not at all expecting.

They even pulled out the Hallowe'en decor just for the occasion, right in the middle of Summer.

So... d'you think these people know me?

Two of my favorite tablecloths.

My nephew, the famous Mr. Jack, picked this other Jack to be my drink goblet all night.

The same Mr. Jack also put this pirate skull together for a beautifully

buccaneerin' centerpiece.

I have to admit, though, my favorite thing all night had to be

this truly unique pumpkin cake made mostly by hand

mostly by my granddaughter Kiara!

No, I did not make her put 43 candles on it.

But look at this thing:

Atop the cake is an iced marshmallow stem, and the surrounding images

are a bat (upper side) and the pumpkin's jack o'lantern face at the bottom (he has

very purpley-black rouge cheeks, don't you know?). It was a bundt cake, so

she filled the center with a mix of icing, mini marshmallows and graham

crackers... delicious!

Pirate skull, Kiara and a spoooooky pumpkin-faced cousin o'mine await the 

carving of the Great Pumpkin Cake.

I really am a lucky fellow. To be surrounded by loving family and friends who know and understand my love for Hallowe'en is fortunate enough; to have them share that love is a true blessing.

Hallowe'en in July. Just one of the perks (and quirks) of living the life I live.

I just wish it didn't have to be so humid and hot.

DDSPerspiration!

Feliz Cinco De Mayo!

y feliz cumpleanos, Jack Pierce!

Ciento veinte y dos!
¡Ay, ay, ay!

DDSP!