Hallo G.net;

[cadavre exquis]

Great Questionnaire-it reminded me of 'the Commitments', where he fantasizes in the bath about being interviewed by Terry Wogan (sorry, very Irish/British cult reference)-I shall just post the Q now-it seems pretty all-encompassing
1.What do you do? (Hobbies, job)
I’m studying at present, though in the past I’ve worked in kitchens, and behind the bar & helping with the general running of a small club.
In the summer I work at festivals on a small sound/light & staging crew.
I enjoy writing, photography & drawing, and going to galleries & museums.
I also like growing things, cooking for my friends, going to gigs, taking long walks and shooting pool/the shit in bars.
I’m not at exactly sporty, but I like to swim (outside, if possible) and I’ve just started doing Wing Chung (Bruce Lee’s Martial Art, before he devised his own one-whoo).
I love travelling (my parents are hippies who did the overland journey in the 60’s-70’s-they got me into travelling for the sake of it, and I’ve loved it ever since.) My favourite destinations -probably Karnataka & Goa, or Italy, especially Florence & Venice.
2. Where are you from? I live in a small town on the outskirts of London.
3. Who is your favourite author?
Ooh, difficult one-I read a lot, novels, poetry & biography especially about old school Hollywood stars. Angela Carter, Evelyn Waugh, Will Self, -
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Buckowski, Burroughs & J.D.Salinger are my favourite American writers.
4. What are your favourite films?
Also diff. Full Metal Jacket, Goodfellas, Withnail & I, Aliens, (sometimes I have such boy taste in films,) Labyrinth, Cabaret, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Heathers.
Sunset Boulevard, Lifeboat, Kind Hearts & Coronets and All About Eve are my favourite oldies.
5. What music do you want played at your wedding?
The Captain Sensible Version of Happy Talk.
6. At your funeral?
I’d like ‘Death Shall have no Dominion’ and ‘Not Waving But Drowning’ read, then Mozart’s Requiem-and the Sid version of ‘My Way’ at the end.
7. This IS a gothic website, so... how do you want to die?
'Resume'
Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp;
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.
-Dorothy Parker
8. What kind of casket would you want?
If it was going to be an item of furniture (like Theda Bara had) a glass ‘Snow White’ style one. In reality, I think a Zoroastrian sky burial would be cool, but there are no vultures where I live, so cardboard casket/composting.
9. What's your FAVOURITE outfit?
For here, something flame retardant, I guess (!)
I collect vintage & unusual clothes, but for every day, it’s black skinny jeans, army paras, stripy black & purple mohair jumper & a black long sleeve T-shirt.
10. What's one thing you miss about being a little kid?
Dressing up, and playing out endless stories my friends & I devised.
11. What's your favourite band?
Again, I have an eclectic taste in music, that includes 90’s indie, riot grrrl & grunge, 60’s psychedelia, old school British punk, some electro- but most relevant favourites would be Bauhaus, Bowie, Nick Cave, Iggy Pop, Velvet Underground, Soft Cell, Joy Division and New Order. Oh, and Peaches-she rocks my socks.

12. What kind of education do you have?
I did sixth form college for a while in my teens, but I dropped out. I’m now in the last few weeks of a fine art degree, I’m interested in installation, curating, drawing and painting, but my main specialisation is photography-to quote Lydia in ‘Beetlejuice’, at present My whole life is a dark room. One big dark room.

13. Why did you join? To meet peeps, also I’d like to get some of my writing ‘out there’, and get some input.

14. If the first 13 questions didn't give it away...I’ll spare you the shit about anima/animus-I’m a woman.

[Apathy's_Child]

First interesting newbie in a long time - finally, someone who doesn't blather on about Stephen King, Poe and wanting a black casket with red velvet. If it isn't too forward, I think you should give some serious thought to having my babies.

I hereby pledge to input the shit out of any writing you choose to post. It'll be nice to have some writers with brains and taste around.

[blindNsect]

Wing Chun*, not to be confused with Everybody Wang Chung Tonight.

I also practice Wing Chun, as does Paul Allender.

[cadavre exquis]

Thankyou Apathy-I shall endeavor to post some decent writing for you.
Tactfully- I liked Steven King when I was in my early teens (and scared myself silly with him)-I suppose he’s good at what he does, writing believable characters in unbelievable situations. I guess my ‘gothic cliché’ reading would be Neil Gaiman books, and graphic novels.

Ay,ay,ay, blindNsect, you’re quite right-I shall change that spelling to Wing Chun ASAP-I’m afraid I had to look up the ‘Wang Chung’ ref.-very appropriate considering what an eighties music fiend I am-the guitar in the intro reminded me of Talking Heads –so I’m blasting out ‘Once In A Lifetime’ now. In my defense, I’ve only being doing Wing Chun for about 3 months of weekly sessions-every week they look surprised that I’ve come back for more (esp. After my first experience of sparring, when I didn’t think to take my lip stud out and got hit in the mouth-luckily they missed it by millimetres.)

[Ben Lahnger]

Yeah, I want to have an opinion or comment on that intro, but you've gone out of your way to make the font tinier than normal. That makes it hard to read, like people who use red text on a black background or a flowery squiggly font in their posts. I don't read any posts on casual social forums that are made harder to read than they ought to be.

It's a shame, because based on Apathy's_Child's reaction, I might have been interested in you.

[HavelockV]

A woman of intellect, good taste, and wit! You sound quite charming. Welcome, and I hope your stay is a pleasant one. *hat tips*

[cadavre exquis]

Quelle horreur-I haven’t got off to a very good start have I?
In answer to Ben’s (perfectly correct) critique (someone else said the same thing, then removed the comment)-you’re quite right, that text is minute-I will make sure things are nice & legible in future-if I can’t correct the sizing issue, I will repost my intro.
It certainly wasn’t a deliberate attempt to be obtuse-I’m a bit of a graphic design snob, and I genuinely (& in this case ironically)think that serif fonts are more legible-however, Times New Roman tends to be smaller than other fonts, so if I’m using it, I will size it accordingly.
I do agree, that people using complimentary colours that make your eyes boggle like Op-Art, refusing to punctuate so it’s-like-having-a-stream-of -consciousness-yelled-at-you, & even using grunge fonts (pretty as they are) are all big turn offs when it comes to reading stuff.

& Thank you HavelockV-you flatter me *twirls parasol coquettishly*.

[cadavre exquis]

'I want to have an opinion or comment on that intro, but you've gone out of your way to make the font tinier than normal.'

I can't work out how to resize it, so I'm going to re-post my Q answers at a more legible size (see above)

1.What do you do? (Hobbies, job)
I’m studying at present, though in the past I’ve worked in kitchens, and behind the bar & helping with the general running of a small club.
In the summer I work at festivals on a small sound/light & staging crew.
I enjoy writing, photography & drawing, and going to galleries & museums.
I also like growing things, cooking for my friends, going to gigs, taking long walks and shooting pool/the shit in bars.
I’m not at exactly sporty, but I like to swim (outside, if possible) and I’ve just started doing Wing Chun (Bruce Lee’s Martial Art, before he devised his own one-whoo).
I love traveling (my parents are hippies who did the overland journey in the 60’s-70’s-they got me into traveling for the sake of it, and I’ve loved it ever since.) My favourite destinations -probably Karnataka & Goa, or Italy, especially Florence & Venice.
2.
Where are you from? I live in a small town on the outskirts of London.
3. Who is your favourite author?
Ooh, difficult one-I read a lot, novels, poetry & biography especially about old school Hollywood stars. Angela Carter, Evelyn Waugh, Will Self, -
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Buckowski, Burroughs & J.D.Salinger are my favourite American writers.
4. What are your favourite films?
Also diff. Full Metal Jacket, Goodfellas, Withnail & I, Aliens, (sometimes I have such boy taste in films,) Labyrinth, Cabaret, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Heathers.
Sunset Boulevard, Lifeboat, Kind Hearts & Coronets and All About Eve are my favourite oldies.
5. What music do you want played at your wedding?
The Captain Sensible Version of Happy Talk.
6. At your funeral?
I’d like ‘Death Shall have no Dominion’ and ‘Not Waving But Drowning’ read, then Mozart’s Requiem-and the Sid version of ‘My Way’ at the end.
7. This IS a gothic website, so... how do you want to die?
'Resume'
Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp;
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.
-Dorothy Parker
8. What kind of casket would you want?
If it was going to be an item of furniture (like Theda Bara had) a glass ‘Snow White’ style one. In reality, I think a Zoroastrian sky burial would be cool, but there are no vultures where I live, so cardboard casket/composting.
9. What's your FAVOURITE outfit?
For here, something flame retardant, I guess (!)
I collect vintage & unusual clothes, but for every day, it’s black skinny jeans, army paras, stripy black & purple mohair jumper & a black long sleeve T-shirt.
10. What's one thing you miss about being a little kid?
Dressing up, and playing out endless stories my friends & I devised.
11. What's your favourite band?
Again, I have an eclectic taste in music, that includes 90’s indie, riot grrrl & grunge, 60’s psychedelia, old school British punk, some electro- but most relevant favourites would be Bauhaus, Bowie, Nick Cave, Iggy Pop, Velvet Underground, Soft Cell, Joy Division and New Order. Oh, and Peaches-she rocks my socks.

12. What kind of education do you have?
I did sixth form college for a while in my teens, but I dropped out. I’m now in the last few weeks of a fine art degree, I’m interested in installation, curating, drawing and painting, but my main specialisation is photography-to quote Lydia in ‘Beetlejuice’, at present My whole life is a dark room. One big dark room.

13. Why did you join? To meet peeps, also I’d like to get some of my writing ‘out there’, and get some input.

14. If the first 13 questions didn't give it away...I’ll spare you the shit about anima/animus-I’m a woman. [/size][/size]

[HavelockV]

Originally Posted by cadavre exquis

Quelle horreur-I haven’t got off to a very good start have I?

& Thank you HavelockV-you flatter me *twirls parasol coquettishly*.

Nonsense, my lady! You have already elicited a procreative proposal from Mister Apathy, one of the board's more distinguished personages. I would say you are doing quite well for yourself, petty complaints aside.

Oh, and for your future reference, corrections to posts must be made within a few minutes of posting. Else, the "edit" button performs a vanishing act and your words are set in stone.

[cadavre exquis]

A 'procreative proposal'-that's fabulous-
& potentially a great chat up line-as in 'let's spend our time together creatively-
procreativey'
You have a nice turn of phrase there - & thanks for the advice vis-a-vis editing stuff-I like to think my grammer is pretty passable, but as a dyslexic my spelling is let's say idiosyncratic-I can see this being a problem (plus US spell check to banjax me further)!
Thankyou all for the lovely welcome though-and I do appreciate any practical & technical guidance.

[Saya]

Thanks for resizing! You're cool, please stay.

I wouldn't worry about the spelling and the grammar too much, you at least have an excuse (and I know about the US spell checker, us canucks tend to use the British spellings and it drives me insane when it tells me a word is wrong because I added a u). And I don't think anyone has pointed out my very poor grammar yet, so you're safe ^_^

P.S. Havelock I'm loving the new avatar, although I really liked the hat in the last one.

[cadavre exquis]

Thankyou Saya-I just realised I spelled grammar incorrectly-that's quite funny/appalling. Spell-check does my head in-esp. the fact that it's US setting on Facebook-(as well as F.B. having no italics, which drives me nuts, as I think too many capitals & explanation marks for emphasis look rather naff after a while).
Newfoundland must be amazing-are you anywhere near L'Anse aux Meadows? I really want to visit Canada; I have loads of family there (my Grandma's little brother emigrated just after WW2, & had a huge family)-and I'm a big fan of Margaret Atwood's early Canadian pastoral period-she describes the lakes & forests amazingly.
I like your avatar-it makes me think of the graphic novel & movie of Watchmen, both of which I enjoyed very much (I've also been told I should see 'Kick-ass' for further deconstruction of the superhero genre-any views for or against it?).
And you're quite right-Havelock does have great hats.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by cadavre exquis

Thankyou Saya-I just realised I spelled grammar incorrectly-that's quite funny/appalling. Spell-check does my head in-esp. the fact that it's US setting on Facebook-(as well as F.B. having no italics, which drives me nuts, as I think too many capitals & explanation marks for emphasis look rather naff after a while).
Newfoundland must be amazing-are you anywhere near L'Anse aux Meadows? I really want to visit Canada; I have loads of family there (my Grandma's little brother emigrated just after WW2, & had a huge family)-and I'm a big fan of Margaret Atwood's early Canadian pastoral period-she describes the lakes & forests amazingly.

Hehe, I love Atwood! More of a fan of her dystopian novels, but I've been turned off by Canadian/Newfoundlander lit after it was forced down our throats in school, I should take a look at it again.

I'm not near L'Anse aux Meadows, I think I might have visited before when I was little but I'm not sure if I'm remembering it right. Newfoundland is awesome depending on what kind of person you are I guess, lots of historical things, nature oriented tourism, but not much else unless you're in St.John's.

I like your avatar-it makes me think of the graphic novel & movie of Watchmen, both of which I enjoyed very much (I've also been told I should see 'Kick-ass' for further deconstruction of the superhero genre-any views for or against it?).
And you're quite right-Havelock does have great hats.[/size][/font]

Thanks, I'm a Wonder Woman fan and a knitter, so it seemed perfect XD Kick Ass was a great movie, but it didn't go as far in depth as Watchmen. It had a lot of comical satire of superheros, but not really in depth deconstruction. I'd probably compare Hit Girl to Kill Bill's Black Mamba before I compare her to Rorschach, although Big Daddy is very much a psycho Batman.

[Apathy's_Child]

I really, really wanted to like Kick-Ass a lot more than I did - great concept and some good scenes. I just wish Hit-Girl's use of the word cunt had actually been a cleverer, wittier line than just, "hey, let's make the cute little girl say the c-word! LULZ!!" And also, the love-interest thing was annoying IMO. Why does the girl always have to be really hot instead of just attractive enough to be believable, and so fucking boring you'd probably lose all interest once you got your dick wet?

I mean, I liked the movie well enough. I just liked the concept better than the end product.

Oh, and by "distinguished personage", Havelock means crotchety, judgmental SOB.

[HavelockV]

*bows to Cadavre Exquis and Saya* Thank you, ladies.

Apathy's Child, crochety, judgmental, and of canine-descent though you may be, you always bring good material to the conversation. *grins*

[Ben Lahnger]

cadavre exquis, thank you for the kind response, and please accept my apology for implying the tiny font size was by intent. Your explanation cleared that misconception up well. And your work in reposting the introduction in a larger font is an appreciated effort. You didn't have to do that, but you felt compelled to do so. I am glad, as your intro is very interesting to read.

So much of your character is revealed in that listing ... it's not often one finds someone who understands the charms of "Lifeboat", but then I'm a big Hitchcock fan in general. I also don't mind small black and white dramas that basically take place on one set and give you a lot to think about ... like "12 Angry Men." And who doesn't like "Labyrinth?"

The Dorothy Parker mention is much appreciated, although for all her quick wit it always seemed to me that there was one woman who had cheated herself out of having more fun in life because of her own cynicism. But she sure could turn a phrase. I used to have this exchange in my signature:

Man - "I can't bear fools."
Parker - "Funny, your mother could."

Ah, hilarious stuff! I like your intro very much. Welcome to this place. I look forward to your contributions.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Apathy's_Child

I really, really wanted to like Kick-Ass a lot more than I did - great concept and some good scenes. I just wish Hit-Girl's use of the word cunt had actually been a cleverer, wittier line than just, "hey, let's make the cute little girl say the c-word! LULZ!!" And also, the love-interest thing was annoying IMO. Why does the girl always have to be really hot instead of just attractive enough to be believable, and so fucking boring you'd probably lose all interest once you got your dick wet?

I mean, I liked the movie well enough. I just liked the concept better than the end product.

Oh, and by "distinguished personage", Havelock means crotchety, judgmental SOB.

I agree, it was pretty good for a superhero movie (especially for Marvel!), but not as good as lets say Iron Man. And I wish I wish they kept the love interest the way she was in the graphic novel, I won't spoil it too much but they don't get together and she does something extremely bitchy to him for lying to her. In the movie she just struck me as an annoying stereotypical teenager, I couldn't hate her in the same way as in the comic.

I love Hit Girl so much though. I agree the cunt bomb was just for shock, but her action scenes were amazing, and there was a lot of hard work on her part to prepare for the role. I also wish her and Big Daddy got more time, I know Kick Ass was the main character but a lot of his scenes could have been edited to make room for them.

[ape descendant]

Welcome and to quote Caberet "feedilly deedilly dee"!!

[cadavre exquis]

Originally Posted by Saya

Hehe, I love Atwood! More of a fan of her dystopian novels, but I've been turned off by Canadian/Newfoundlander lit after it was forced down our throats in school, I should take a look at it again.
.

I think she's one of the only prolific novelists who are any good-along with Collette & a couple of other faves, I re-read her stuff in loops. Have you read 'After the Flood' yet? I really want one of the feathered costumes in the book that grow on you...
I haven't seen Kick Ass, but I feel like I ought to now. I've not bothered with Tarantino for a while-loved Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction, but I find him abit morally vacuous, and it seems like he doesn't care about his characters-so why the F should I?
I really should be on my way to uni now-so I'll have to reply to other comments-esp. about Dottie Parker-later-possibly after watching Kick Ass!

[Saya]

Originally Posted by cadavre exquis

I think she's one of the only prolific novelists who are any good-along with Collette & a couple of other faves, I re-read her stuff in loops. Have you read 'After the Flood' yet? I really want one of the feathered costumes in the book that grow on you...
I haven't seen Kick Ass, but I feel like I ought to now. I've not bothered with Tarantino for a while-loved Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction, but I find him abit morally vacuous, and it seems like he doesn't care about his characters-so why the F should I?
I really should be on my way to uni now-so I'll have to reply to other comments-esp. about Dottie Parker-later-possibly after watching Kick Ass!

You mean Year Of The Flood? I did and it was awesome, the bird and scales costumes kinda freaked me out actually. I really love the hymns in the book though, I was thinking of finding the CD for that. I read it before I started reading Oryx And Crake, which is good but since it was the first book, I already know what happens so there's very little suspense in it, I put it aside so I can forget some details before I go on. Can't wait for the third book!

[d0p3y]

goodfellas ....

Me like too ^__^


Welcome.

[cadavre exquis]

I watched 'Kick Ass' last night-it was definitely better than alot of the (frankly appalling) films out there, but I did feel that bits of it could've been way better-and as a friend of mine once (I think very wisely) said, about a film that I actually quite liked (darned if I can remember what it was though-maybe I'll get back to you on that one...) 'a film that falls just short of brilliant is more annoying than a bad film'-I don't completely agree there, but I like the sentiment.
I must admit that I haven't read the graphic novel, so I can't make an informed judgment vis-a-vis the quality of the adaption. I do agree that his girlfriend was pretty vacuous-I also think that adult script writers & directors tend to totally lose their heads when dealing with teenage sexuality,as well as going for what they think looks good on-screen, often in an icky, voyeuristic way (yes, that means you, Larry Clark!) Hit-Girl was wicked-shades of the lovely Natalie Portman in 'Leon' (-which I think is a zillion times better a film, but that's just my personal opinion.) Nicky Cage is a rum bugger isn't he-I know the <indie-film-for-credibility/commercial film for ££$$/another 'intelligent-movie-to-keep-'em-guessing> path is perfectly respectable, and well trodden by the likes of *mmm* Jonny Depp-but I'm never sure what to make of him-I mean, who the hell thinks 'I can improve on the Wicker Man'. Hmph.

[cadavre exquis]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

cadavre exquis I also don't mind small black and white dramas that basically take place on one set and give you a lot to think about ... like "12 Angry Men." ...
The Dorothy Parker mention is much appreciated, although for all her quick wit it always seemed to me that there was one woman who had cheated herself out of having more fun in life because of her own cynicism.

Just read up on this film (12 Angry Men)-it looks very interesting-thankyou for the recommendation!
If you haven't seen it (-which seems unlikely-) may I recommend 'The Third Man', also Ealing comedies, and for kitschy, creepy fun,'60's British Hammer & Ealing portmanteau horror films .
As to Dolly P. , I find her very interesting, apart from the obvious stuff (poems, short stories, aphorisms etc,) in that there are many, fascinating, charismatic personalities (in Camden Market you can buy 'the 27 (years old, as in died-at) club' tee-shirts - yuck) -who didn't survive, and didn't have the chance to fulfill their full potential-and then you have the less idolised faction, (like D.P., who paradoxically, despite her constant morbid poems, and a flirtation with the reaper that included several serious suicide attempts, lived to be about 100)-William Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, Dietrich, Louise Brooks, all lived to ripe old ages (even poor old F.Scott F. lived long enough to be described as out of fashion in his obituaries). I suppose what I'm trying to say-(though goodness knows it's got rather convoluted!)-is that Dorothy Parker had plenty of time to BE Dorothy Parker-beyond the 'prodigy' shtick, beyond her brilliance being tied up, unavoidably, with her sex appeal & charisma-she got (amongst the pain, disappointment & just prosaic shite, that is real life) to be herself, which counts for something-& I hope she had a good few kicks along the ride! -But maybe I've completely mistaken your statement.
If you've had the patience to read the 'bleaugh' for-mentioned, do respond-I do enjoy a good debate (*insert mass-debate joke as applicable*)
cheers x

[cadavre exquis]

Originally Posted by ape descendant

"feedilly deedilly dee"!!

We switch partners daily
To play as we please,
Twosie beats onsie,
But nothing beats threes.
-I sleep in the middle,
-I'm left,
-And I'm right.
But there's room on the bottom
If you drop in some night!

Have you seen the Broadway/Donmar Warehouse revival, by Sam Mendes? They televised the Donmar Warehouse version in the UK (you can watch it on youtube- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW5eFCFnW9c ) Alan Cummings as the emcee & Jane Horricks as Sally Bowles-brilliant version, and truer to the book (though I ADORE the movie.)

[HavelockV]

Some years back I had the pleasure of attending a performance of that production of Cabaret at the vaunted Studio 54 in New York City. Alas, Mr. Cumming was long gone, but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I was particularly charmed by the small bistro style lamp-lit tables and chairs that comprised the audience seating area where the orchestra seats would normally be. Lovely.