Annabel Lee Tavern

This seemed an appropriate topic to blog about since I was just at this place last night in Baltimore. Yup, that's right, Baltimore. This tavern is all Edgar Allen Poe themed, and it does a damn good job of it too. Their food is nothing short of amazing and I love the names of their specialty drinks. I had one called "The Raven." Oh, was it good. And you know what made it even better? The drink was actually black. No lie. I took a picture of it (it was too dark in the tavern to see it clearly) and it was pitch black. I'm not sure if they colored it or what but it was awesome. They had the best ribs and quesadillas I've ever tasted. The meat fell right off the bone for the ribs and all the veggies were so fresh and tasty. They have pictures of ravens all over the place and the door is painted with a part of the "Annabel Lee" poem on it and so does the back wall. We got to sit in this little alcove where they had actual lanterns in the windows, a red satin curtain behind us, and a candle on the table. And to top it all off, there's a big drawing of Poe himself with a toy raven perched in top of it front and center on the back wall. As if that wasn't enough, there's a performer who comes and dresses in full Poe garb and reads his works out loud. We didn't get to see him because he normally only comes on Poe's birthday or deathday but oh well. The place is cool as hell. If you ever get the chance to go, take it. The food's amazing, the atmosphere is eerie, and the staff are great.

Hellraiser

I figured since I'd already mentioned it in my last post, I might as well go into the details. Hellraiser is a film from the 80's about a young girl who's family gets mixed up in some weird multi-dimensional stuff. Her estranged uncle, a major player to put it lightly, finds a mysterious box and becomes obsessed with it. A few minutes into the movie shows him trying to open this puzzle-box and then very mysterious and very bloody images start crossing the screen. At this point no one's really sure what's going on, and no one really questions it until a couple moves into the husband's childhood home. It isn't until much later that the audience is introduced to a wonderful bunch of characters called the Cenobites. And their leader is the lovely gentleman you see to you're right named Pinhead. Good name, huh? And as a fun fact, the guy who plays Pinhead (Doug Bradley) throughout all of the Hellraiser sequels has said that he still gets fan mail from women wanting to carry Pinhead's little demon spawn. Considering the fact that Pinhead and all the other Cenobites have some freaky S&M things going for them, I can potentially see the appeal. Not to mention Pinhead's voice, he's got a really nice deep voice. Other than his screen debut, the Hellraiser series is actually based off a book called The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. The book is basically the same as the first Hellraiser movie with only a few name changes. But if you don't check out the book, I highly recommend the film. If you know my stance on horror movies, then this one falls into that category very nicely. The effects are gritty and more memorable than modern-day horror flicks.

Alternative Artists

Keeping with the same subject as last time, I decided that some of my acquaintances and friends on a site called deviantart.com should get some spotlight as well for their work. First up we have an artist called HollyBlueArchibald. Holly's originally from the UK and has been a member of deviantart for a year. The first thing that drew me to Holly's work was her use of color, since I'm not very good with it and she is very skilled. All of her work has a twisted and edgy feel to it. One of the first works I saw of hers was one she entitled "Couple" (seen on the right). I just found it so sweet and sinister at the same time I couldn't resist. And again, just how she uses color floors me.
Second up is an artist called Nickalive. Nick's from Brazil and has been a part of deviantart for 3 years now. His main art form is graffiti. OK at this point you're going to think "WTF?" but I'm not kidding, his works are awesome. My favorite thing about Nick's work is his detail when he paints eyes, especially if they're an odd color like purple or gold. But for right now his latest work in black and white is probably one of my favorites.He calls it "Olho Pra Cima" (seen on left).
And last but definitely not least is Onewingedangel75. Angel lives in Greece and joined deviantart four years ago. Some of my favorite works of hers are her own versions of the Cenobites from the movie and comic book series Hellraiser. If it weren't for her I never would have known that there were more Cenobites other than the ones depicted in the movie. Don't get me wrong, I love Pinhead, but having more Cenobites? What's not to love? And she does an amazing job of recreating them and drawing new ones. One of my favorites out of her originals is her rendition of Kirsty as a Cenobite (bottom-right). I love the edginess all of her Cenobite works have and even sometimes even hilarity (go and look at her work of Jessica Rabbit as a Cenobite, it's awesome).
So go and check out these cool artists on deviantart, and even mine if you're so inclined.

Gothic Artist: Brom

His full name is Gerald Brom, but those in the underground just know him as Brom. Brom not only has alternative artworks, but it also an author and conceptual designer for movies, video games, and board games. The guy is literally everywhere. The picture that you see on the right is his own personal work he displays in his most recent book called The Child Thief. Essentially he combines the worlds of Peter Pan and Avalon to create a story about a boy who's run away from home. As he's in the midst of trouble, Peter swoops down and saves him and promises to take him to a magical land where he'll never grow up and never have to deal with his problems again. The downside to this offer? The world of Avalon is dieing thanks to some puritans who found themselves stuck in the land ever since the 1800's. And as Avalon dies, so does the Lady of the Lake, Peter's adopted mother. So far that's the only book of his that I've actually read, but he has plenty of others such as; The Devil's Rose, The Plucker, and Offerings. And his artwork is featured in all of them, and they are creepy. I mean, just look at Peter... admit it, he creeps you out just a little. But his artwork has also been featured on other book covers like the War of the Spider Queen series. He's also been a concept designer for films like Van Helsing, The Time Machine, Bless the Child, and Sleepy Hollow. And for all you nerds out there, he even did work for not only the video game versions of Dungeons and Dragons, but also for Magic: The Gathering. See what I mean? He's everywhere. For more info on him and to see some more of his personal artwork, I recommend going to his site and checking it all out.

Nosferatu

For this particular film, we've got to go way back. You think Bella Lugosi was the original vampire of the silver screen? Think again. Max Schrek's got him beat by about a decade. All the way back in 1922 Germany, the production of Nosferatu was underway. Anyone who has read or seen a decent version of Dracula will recognize plenty of plot similarities. Why? The original plan was to do Dracula, but the director couldn't get the rights off of Bram Stoker's wife. So the director (F.W. Murnau) decided to embellish a bit. He changed the Count's name to Orlock and left out his background story. Other than that, yeah... The story's mostly the same. Now some people are going to skip over this movie immediately for one reason, it's a silent film. I know, sounds weird right? Having a vampire movie be completely silent? But you have to remember, they didn't exactly have a lot of choice back then. Film was still a relatively new thing and had a lot of limitations on it. Even with those setbacks, the movie is still pretty damn creepy. You can check out the whole story behind the film here. If you want a modern follow-up to it then I suggest a film called Shadow of the Vampire. It's a fictional film about the making of Nosferatu starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe. Malkovich plays Murnau, the director, while Dafoe plays alongside him as Schrek. Keep in mind this is a fictional account of what happened, even though they add in some cool info about the actual filming. They do a really good job of matching up characters that look like the original actors from Nosferatu, an impressive feat considering the fashions and how odd some of them looked. For a more in depth look at Shadow of the Vampire go and look here.

Gothic Cruise

Yes, this may sound like an oxymoron, but trust me its real. Every year there's an annual Gothic Cruise that takes passengers on a cruise through the Caribbean or other exotic locations for seven days. This year they've booked the Norwegian Sun for the trip, yet again the oxymoron side of all this. During that entire week there are special events that include live bands as well as club nights and a masquerade ball. See, we goths know how to have fun. I was severely upset when I missed the chance to go last year mainly due to the fact that The Crüxshadows were playing during the live band event. This particular year God Module and Imperative Reaction are due to play and they're including an autograph session where you can pick up the cruise's personalized CD and meet the bands. Awesome, right? It doesn't stop there. The masquerade ball gives all goth-cruisers the opportunity to break out their Victorian garb and compete in a costume contest while they dance the night away. Yeah, I'm already getting irritated that I'm going to miss it again this year... But the list of fun things to do continues on to tempt you even more with a gothic fashion show, goth karaoke, showings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Repo! The Genetic Opera, as well as a few parties to celebrate being at sea. What's the downside to all this? The pricing. Cruises are normally pretty expensive as it is, but since this is a specialty cruise, it seems to run a bit higher than most other cruises. For a full list of prices as well as a more in-depth itinerary I recommend going to their site for a little look-see.

Vampires Don't Sparkle!!!!!

I felt the overwhelming urge to finally do this post from reading the "Mark Reads Twilight Blog" (thank you Janelle :D) Yes, I am one of those people who has nothing but complete and utter disdain for everything Twilight, if you couldn't tell from my previous blog raging about how Twilight has taken over Hot Topic and turned it into a center for posers. Oh, wait, I didn't mention that part of my rant... Oh, well, here it is now. And before any die-hard Twilight fans read this any further; I have read all the books, I have seen two of the movies, and I read the books before the series EVER GOT POPULAR. I read the very first book when I was a sophomore in high school. For those who don't want to do the math from viewing my age on my profile, that was over 4 years ago.
Thus, I will start out this rant with the very obvious note that VAMPIRES DO NOT SPARKLE. I have never heard of anything so utterly ridiculous and embarrassing in relation to something that is supposed to be sinister, seductive, and anti-social. Do you see the problem already? Please tell me you do. Vampires don't like people unless they are sucking the very life out of them through their jugular. They do not stalk people unless they plan to eat them. If you want to see how a proper vampire acts, then go and read any of the following:
1) Anne Rice - The Vampire Chronicles
2) Bram Stoker - Dracula
3) Stephen King - Salem's Lot
4) Charlie Huston - Joe Pitt Series
For my second point, it isn't so much the books and movies that irritate me (although the movies are completely horrible no matter which way you look at it) but the fan-base that has sprung up around them. Most of these people are NUTS. Just by doing a google search on the internet you find stories about non-fans getting attacked just for saying they don't like the series. True some of these stories are fake, but plenty of them are truth. Unfortunately, the main page where you could find all of these stories has been shut down. These people seriously need to get a life if they get so obsessive about a book with fictional characters that they feel the need to attack and physically hurt those who have valid reasons for not being dangerously obsessed with it.
Now there was a time when I did like the series. But this was also when I was a hormonal teenager in high school and didn't have a real concept about good fiction or literature. Anything that had a half-assed plotline could get my attention along with vacuous characters that were nonetheless head-over-heels in love with each other despite a mound of reasons why they can't. I can't wait until this fad finally dies and rots away in its grave.