Preview: Surreal Desert Landscape Airship Painting

Work on this piece is finally winding down. I am hoping to have this one done, imaged and shipped off by December 21st if at all possible. I would *really* have liked to have had giclees of this one ready before holiday season came around, but it was just not going to work out that way.

I have a book cover illustration (for a favorite author) to wrap up by early January (which will be yet another addition to the airships series), and a holiday trip to visit family to squeeze in there as well - so I am working away until the late hours of the morning on this, in between all the shipping duties and other such things.

Anyway, here are the latest preview shots of the upcoming painting. Clicking on any of these will take you to my flickr account where you can view larger images.

sphynx and airship shown in panned out view.
Painting of baskets and ropes has begun.


closeup view of baskets on underbelly.


Closeup view of the gondola.
The lanterns within the archway are about
the size of the eye of a needle.


panned out view of the gondola

Work in Progress

This is a work in progress - oil on wood panel. You can see a closeup of the airship here: here

The airship within is done from an earlier engraving; I wanted to see how "the Sabiku" would look in something other than straight lineart, and I am glad I decided to do so. I have come to really like this piece.

It has taken me a while to do; An extended winter (and the resulting lack of ventilation), made me lean on the acrylics for quite a while, and I found that when I returned to oil panting I had developed a lot of habits and methods that were not oil-friendly.

Not that I am nearing the finish line, everything is finally coming together, I think I have at least some of my technique back.

If you have seen my art over the past year, you might say to yourself: "Wow - he really loves airships"...

Though I do love working in this strange fiction/science fiction/fantasy vein, and though the airships do make for a good mode by which to explore these worlds and a decent centerpiece - it was not my intention at first to do so many of them.

I often realized that my subject matter, styles, media and the like were all over the place: I might work digital one day, paints another, an engraving on another day, a sculpture, a wooden box, some brass trinket - one week would be horror pieces, another would be figurative art, another would be monsters, another devices - and my styles varied in more ways than media or subject matter.

This may sound interesting to some... but galleries however like unified themes when it comes to shows, and so do publishers.

Most anyone who saw a collection of my past work, had none of it been signed, would think it was a collection from at least twenty different artists... which I suppose, in some fashion or another I am... though I am not nearly as fragmented as I was several years ago.


And since I had a number of people writing me, wondering if I could do a commissioned painting of an airship in similar style to the one that started this all off, I decided, spur of the moment, that selling those commissions would be a good way to make it home for a family emergency - they all sold within an hour or two of putting them up, and I have been working on them ever since.

Having an anticipated collection and theme laid out for me is nice, because forces me to stay somewhat on target, but it also forces me to use my imagination and improvise in ways other than technique, media, style, theme, message...

It has been interesting - but I'll be glad when the last of these are done.

BTW - If you like this one as it is, I made 10 prints, because Beth likes this one as it is. There will only be 10 - I suppose that makes them very limited. The rest will be based on the finished piece. I don't want them around by the time the piece is finished, so I am also pricing these 10x10 signed metallic prints at $22 - and to add, their shipping is free with the purchase of any other item in our store.

You can grab one over on our Etsy Store.

A glimpse

This is a rather unique print, printed at 12x12 instead of 24x24 - If it hasn't sold, it is available here

It is the proof from the printers, one of four artist's prints. Two are this size, two are normal size.



It is also, were I to put preferred darkness and saturation on a percentage, at about 98% perfect - slightly lighter than I want the prints to be, but pretty much unnoticeably so.

These test prints are all a part of the process, and I am told that these slightly different from the others, being a part of my working process, are probably worth more to some people.

This is my first time stretching and mounting one of these prints on my own. I hand made the stretcher bars that hold it, though I could probably have picked up 12 inch stretcher bars for 79 cents a piece - it was late night, and I rather like making things by hand anyway when I can.



I am trying things like these, because right now, my markup is really low and I still feel guilty for not being able to make things more affordable for those who like my work.

So, I am trying new ways to cut costs: Stretching and mounting these through hobby lobby or someplace similar saves money (hence the price cuts over the past month). Not only did the printers charge me a good deal for the stretching and mounting, but the shipping gets really expensive when shipping a box that is 40-some inches by 20-some by 3.

Stretching them myself saves a little more still, which allowed me to reduce prices again this last week - and I went one further by offering unstretched prints on our etsy store for "The Rescue". That way people can purchase these for less, and - rather than paying $30+ for shipping, can pay $6 for shipping, and $24 at hobby lobby for stretching, or $8 to stretch it themselves.

If such proves to be popular, I will probably do the same for every giclee.

Hello

I am Myke Amend - strange fiction, horror, fantasy fine-art illustrator, and co-archivist for the Miskatonic Archive

This is my first blogger post - well, not really an actual post per se, but an introduction.

Soon, I will fill this thing with all sorts of Strange-fiction-related nonsense, but not today.

I do however have many, many such entries at MykeAmend.com and the Miskatonic Archive (links above), as well as a moderate collection of my artworks (example below). Please join me there in the mean time, and subscribe to this feed for what is to come.

Correction...

I noted earlier that the sale ends March 1st: All things currently down will go up, and some things at normal price will go down.

What I did not mention that I will be doing a complete site overhaul between now and then.

So, I am going to say that the sale will end on February 23rd, and will still be in effect if I am able to get everything in place by March 1st, when it will officially end.

Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause, but if I keep putting this off for one event or another, it will never get done.

Tokyo! trailer

Weird, and definitely on the most interesting side of the wierd. I will have to see this film when it comes out.

Post, stolen from comic book artist and friend, Eric Adams.

“Remains” available once again

The music of Bella Morte has been a favorite on any decent gothic playlist since before the very first Cruxshadows tour, their earliest albums being my very favorites, of course, because I am an old and crotchety bastard like that.

If I hadn't already purchased their music long, long ago, I might have noticed that their earlier works weren't available - which would have made me a bit sad, and might have explained why they were doing less and less of their original works every time I went to a Bella Morte show.

There is no goth more deprived than one who does not have Bella Morte's earlier works.

This terrible deficiency might actually serve to explain the sudden explosion of fat pants and ball caps seen over the last decade, as well as the horrendous amount of overplaying of NIN's "Closer" and VNV's "Chrome", as well as the omni-presence of "New Metal" within the once-sacred confines of what were once alternative clubs.

But now, there is hope...

"Remains", Bella Morte’s first album is now available again, as a download through CD Baby.

"Where Shadows Lie" and "The Death Rock EP" are also scheduled for re-release in the near future.

For those who like to have the actual CD in hand, a handful of new and used copies of the latter two are available through Amazon, no dice for any copies of Remains through that outlet however - but you may want to look around elsewhere.

For those who don't mind, or prefer MP3 downloads, you can follow this link to buy Remains as a download.

Seriously... 500 dollars

The Purchase Brothers spent $500 to make these two episodes of thier Half-Life 2 inspired miniseries, "Escape from City 17".

Reportedly, according to a discussion on the page at JoyStiq, much of the work in this film was covered in personal favors and people chipping in.

Still, to think that someone managed to pull all of this this together on $500, is a serious testament to the resourcefulness of the Purchase Brothers.



Info and additional info from Joystiq were found via Warren Ellis - who you should already have heard of.

Important

This is something I am jotting down here so it does not get lost in my sea of bookmarks or on my cluttered desktop, but I recommend, if you are an artist, author, or musician, that you follow the below link and bookmark it yourself... or better yet, if you are able, follow through with it.

It is a blog by Neil Gaiman about wills for creative types, and the importance of having one. He has even been so kind as to provide a template for the will in pdf format.

The blog, containing said document, is here

Quick News

The site will be undergoing some serious revisions shortly. I have put off a redesign for a while now, but I need to drop my google ads and replace them with something better.

I also need to upgrade, re-install, and rewrite some of my plugins and other things, update links for broken videos in my player, and most importantly - make this thing more roomy and easier to read.

In the next few weeks, this site may revert to the default templates, looking very very plain. It might even present itself incorrectly or broken for a few seconds or minutes here or there, as I will likely make an oops here or there. There are a lot of changes to be made. I am going to miss this design, but hopefully the upcoming one is more striking and easier to navigate and read. This might even force me to fill in some of those much-neglected sections.

The current sale - extended till New Years, then renewed up to Valentines day, will end on March 1st. I need to return a lot of things to their normal prices, putting new and different things on sale soon after.

The Spookiest Cheshire Cat Ever

This one is still for sale at the site of the amazing Alex CF; You can also find more images of this utterly incredible piece by following the link.

via the Mighty SuperPunch, where there is always too much awesome to relay it all.

See Coraline This Week

Beth and I saw it a few days ago, and plan to see it again this coming week; This, not just because we are both big Gaiman fans, but because it was an incredible experience.

This is not one of these films you can just wait to see at home, even if you are one of those people who really hates sharing the theater with children, and here is why:

I have yet to see a 3-d version of any of the recent 3-d movies released on DVD. Even if it happens, it would never be the same as seeing it larger than life on the big screen.

There is one chance to see it big and in 3D, and this is it.

Coraline is only likely to be available in 3-D for the next week or two (source: Neil Gaimain: 3d-or-not-3d).

And as for the children part... see it late if you wish, but I can tell you that hearing other people's children scream in horror and freak out towards the end of the movie, is *almost* as awesome as I would imagine it to be to hear my own screaming in fear and freaking out towards the end of the movie.

Don't have your own kids to frighten and spook? All the more reason to go and see it in theaters.

FDA Approves Depressant Drug For The Annoyingly Cheerful

[via The Onion]

The Lake Michigan Whalers' Society proudly endorses:

Thaumoctopus mimicus, the Indo-Malayan Mimic Octopus, can take on a variety of shapes and behaviours as defense, or to entertain others at parties.

In less than a second, it can change to imitate a flounder, a lionfish, a ray, Wilford Brimley, a sea snake, or any number of dangerous ocean-dwelling creatures.

In the Octopus family, it is second in cunning and resourcefulness only to The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. Though unable to write brilliant articles such as these, Thaumoctopus mimicus makes up for its apparent illiteracy through deception.



You can read more things, perhaps even factual things about this amazing cephalopod here, at inventorspot.com.

Honoring Darwin Day

I found this over on Ectomo today, and I thought it an excellent film for this occasion.

No one dies, but at least they tried...

The Greatest Corkscrew Ever Made

From One of a Hundred - Sculptural Furniture via The Steampunk Home:

There is no information on when and if a pocket-sized version of this will be available, but or those not concerned with portability, I give you:



Also found at the Steampunk Home Blog:

Art Donovan's absolutely incredible steampunk designs:

Steampunk Clock in Distressed Brass:



Siddhartha Pod Lamp:



(More images and details at The Steampunk Home and at Donovan Design)

Coraline Button Donuts and More

Image from the Portland opening of Coraline, found at the Coraline blog: EvilButtons along with many other interesting Coraline-related things, a blog which I found through the mighty Superpunch.

More on the opening party, along with many more interesting images can be found on Wieden and Kennedy's blog W+K Portland.

The Clock Tower and La Main des Maitres

The Clock Tower: 2 minutes - A very short, but pretty animated film by Cara Antonelli. You can see more on this film here.



La Main des Maitres: 4 minutes - Beautiful and fascinating in its animation and in its short story, you can learn more about this short film and its makers here



Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom

A Beautiful and Intriguing Time Sink

I remember many many years back playing "Samarost" online and loving it. It was one of many, many amazing things that I found through Organic Flash.com - a wonderful place for finding new things, were they not so tragically determined to continue to use php bb.

The second game, aptly named "Samorost 2" - was equally interesting, though I never bought the amazingly cheap full version. Something I might remedy today.

Found online today through the magic of Twitter, "Machinarium" is a new full scale adventure game also designed by Amanita Design.

Having recognized the design right off, I went looking for the previous two so I could share them here. There are however many more games and interesting things at the creator's site, AmanitaDesign.com.

The preview for the game is in the video below:


Machinarium Preview from Amanita Design on Vimeo.

More Star Trek Related Silliness

I couldn't leave this one out. Monty Python and Star Trek combined.

You've probably seen it on the internet thirty years ago, but I missed it. I was busy being awesome that day.

James B. Hunt

His art showings are madness. 'One of the greatest things happening in the art world today.

Rather than being a part of the standard gallery process of a*s-rap*ng prospective buyers and artists alike - James prefers to give his works away in these crazed easter-egg hunts. He hides his works all over Tempe Arizona, and posts photos on his site as clues to the whereabouts of his artworks... which are free to whoever is resourceful and lucky enough to find them.

... Oh, and he also randomly broadcasts additional hints on CB radio.

This has been going on for a while, several years now I think... and it frustrates me to no end that I am never in Tempe Arizona when these happen; It seems the only way to acquire his works... well, the only way that involves no stalking or abductions.

If you are looking for additional clues - it is rumored that he also tattoos maps on the vital organs of abducted livestock, and if you have learned to read the code, additional clues are also available through the writings of Nostradamus or in centuries-old boxes of candied popcorn.

To read more about James, go here: James B Hunt

To read more about the latest hunt, go here: Tempe Art

To read the latest post about the Hunt, go here: The Hunt Continues


Some of James' works:



"Klusk"



"24brd"



No title found

Deviant Art Data

There are more from this series of Star Trek parodies on CoilHouse, which in case you live in a hole, is one of the more awesome magazines on the net or in print. [Link to the article]

This episode in particular outlines my general feelings regarding the sort of "artworks" that seem to pop up in most any google image search.

I think the above two paragraphs are warning enough, proceed if you dare.

The Tale of How

"Nine months of part time work gave birth to The Blackheart Gang’s acclaimed short film called, The Tale of How. The Tale of How is the second part of a trilogy of works called the Dodo Trilogy. It is to later be flanked by The Tale of Then and The Tale of When. The Dodo Trilogy, in turn, fits into a much greater work called, The Household"...

More on this amazing film series here


The Tale of How from Shy the Sun on Vimeo.

Gone Postal

This post is dedicated to the brave men and women of the United States Postal Service, who come rain or shine, snow or volcanic eruption, will boldly and without question, engage anything made of cardboard or paper in mortal combat.

Their remarkable ability to bend or fold most anything, even cardboard tubes, without fear of "do not fold" stickers, is second to none in the known universe... and beyond!

But this year, they have gone above and beyond. Their astounding levels of daring and brazenness know absolutely no limits ... as demonstrated by our moving experience of this summer past - wherein they not only managed to defend our home for weeks against our long-awaited priority packages, but completely and totally destroyed most everything they did not pilfer.

As tribute, I offer you this list of little known facts, tips, pointers regarding the USPS:

1) The only way to destroy Chuck Norris, is to ship him.

2) Need to turn rocks into gravel? Ship them! Why waste all that time and energy with the sledge hammer when you can have violent postal-monkeys do it for you?

*Trick: to save on postage - address the package, put a stamp on it, and drop it off at your local post office. Insufficient postage means it will come back to you, as long as it has no resale value. If not thoroughly broken, repeat.

3) Need a building destroyed? Put a shipping label on it! The USPS is unaccountable for terrorist acts, and are licensed to kill any and all who get in their way... even bears! one of those minor details that most tend to forget about - until it is too late anyway.

4) If you need diapers, fill a box with valuable things and ship it. Seriously - when we moved via the USPS, our box arrived minus an antique tomohawk, a canoptic jar, airbrush set, and gods only know what else. All these things turned into packages of diapers!!!

The postal monkey lady tried to explain this as "The box must have been too empty to ship safely, so they probably padded it to protect your things".

... apparently the post office, despite their status as a "shipping service" - has absolutely no shipping paper, peanuts, or bubble wrap.

They do however have mountains and mountains of diapers... because they are just *that* hardcore!

To further ensure the protection of our valuables, they also removed them from the box completely - and have most likely stored them at N.O.R.A.D. for safe keeping.

Last year, after being amazed by their ability to fold the unfoldable, I began the practice of shipping most of my prints in reinforced heavy duty cardboard tubes, and hermetically vacuum-sealing the end caps (just in case the post office uses them in a log-rolling competition).

Since then, they have only managed to destroy one tubed package (folded), and three cardboard reinforced photo mailers; These I credit to the postmaster general - or perhaps one of his postmaster colonels, all of which are rumored to be able to fold steel girders, concrete pillars, time, space, and even my best-reinforced packaging.

Unfortunately, some of the printing services I use, still ship in outdated 'box technology' - so I end up with packages of damaged prints on my doorstep... oblong things which were once square... wrestled with and fornicated upon.

These I typically ship back for a refund, or file a claim for. In cases where the damage went un-noticed for weeks after receiving, however, Beth typically uses them in her craft projects. Otherwise I hold onto them for conventions - offering them as freebies or for cheap, or using them as display pieces for unwatched children-monkeys to chew on, and for contagion-ridden adult human-things to touch with their filthy human hands (though not necessarily in that order).

Recently, because of the sasquatch conspiracy, sales have been at an all-time low; Things were actually bad enough that I was starting to worry that perhaps people had found about my various crimes against humanity.

I was very, very relieved to find out that such was not the case, and more relieved to find that I can put the 'barely damaged', unnoticeably damaged pieces up for sale, and they vanish almost instantly.

... So this week, I think Beth and I will go through our damaged prints and set up a special section on Ettadiem.com for just these sort of things. If you would like to know when these offers are... offered, you can subscribe to the rss2 feed for my site, or go to the EttaDiem site and do the same.

Regarding Templecon

Things have been a bit rough this past month, as I am sure they have been for most everyone.

I hate updating when I am in a negative mood, but I do need to say we won't be at Templecon this year.

The event organizer has been nothing short of wonderful, and she has worked hard on making this what should be an incredible event. We would love to have gone, but things have been increasingly rough for us, as I am sure they have been for everyone.

It would be terribly irresponsible, if not completely self-destructive, for us to try to make this trip right now. There are car issues which we could not resolve in time, and the area hotels were all too expensive for our budget.

For those who are going. We are sad that we have to miss this chance to see you. It would have been so nice to meet you in person, and put some names to some faces, icons, and those interesting letters made from torn magazine covers.

This has been a terrible year for making plans. Though I would love to get out and be more social, I think the best path to take from here is to make no more plans until the white death is off the ground, and until things start to look more promising for all of us. Having been trapped here so long, with limited resources, I've taken to eating hapless humans - again; I have been told that the increase in nervous and slightly hostile energy makes me a bit difficult to be around right now.

For the next months, we will likely be focusing only on regional and local events.

Look for us to be on the road again in March or April - I think S.P.A.C.E might end up being our first haul of the year, but we are pulling for an appearance in NYC at a gallery T.B.A.

Again, sorry for our absense. We do hope to see you very soon.

Slightly Damaged Prints for Sale - sold

I have a handful of prints that were damaged in shipping, not major damage - just some slight bending of the corners that makes them otherwise unsaleable.

2 [both sold] of which is a 20x10 metallic proof for the latest artwork, "Behold the Machine". They are test runs, the white point is a bit wide - makes for a neat glow on the ice and fog, but not quite what I wanted. They also have 2 millimeters of corner crimping in their upper right corners - pretty much unnoticeable, especially if they are matted or mounted.

I am selling these for $7.50 each.



The other 2 [both sold] is a 16x20 metallic print of "Conception" (the mechanical dragonfly and mechanical nymph). Same deal - a very small crimp at the upper right corner. I am selling those for $15 each.



Shipping is $6 per order, priority- so if you buy two, you pay shipping only once.

The work I would put into making new listings, would negate the purpose of selling them - so, if you are interested, you will need to contact me through my contact form. I will edit this post when these prints are gone.

My Manic

Video by the extremely talented and somewhat dark Laura Marling.



Her videos, her music speak to me in ways that are dangerous, beckoning me to be that beautifully, tragically human entity I was once addicted to being... a voice in the back of my head telling me how wonderful it might be to be depressed, to feel strongly about something or nothing... to exist.

Anger and frustration, silliness and humor, half-hearted at best, are time-efficient jaunts through temporary, fleeting states of being and self-awareness - defenses against the depression of my environment, all of those who seek to bring me down with them... towards time spent, time lost, on whimsical sentience or into the calling comfort of futility.

Remaining driven, powered, maintained through a necessary aversion to distractions of living - this moment of contemplation, all I have, all I am, perhaps all I will ever have been, as the clock ticks on in increments of dollars, deadlines, and fleeting opportunity - marked by an aging shell and the changing world.

Do I push myself so, to someday have time for being alive, or as a measure against it?

I am as repelled by this video, as I am drawn to its beauty.

... back to work.

Michael Parkes

I have always thought of Michael Parkes as nothing short of amazing. He and Brom are at the top of my list as living artists are concerned.

Watching this video, I am seeing that I can take my works a bit further, shoot a bit higher; Well, I guess I always have that in mind, but currently I am thinking in specific new directions and contemplating new areas of focus.

I plan to get back into doing oils as soon as possible. I have that children's book I need to work on now - but I think some new oils are what I'll be working at in my "down-time".

Behold the Machine

Recently done for Vernian Process - the original painting is 48x24 inches in acrylic on birch panel.

The details are tiny, with a lot of single-hair brush work done.

There are polar bears the size of dimes, swirls and twirls the size of pin-heads, needle-thin ropes and lines, and a ton of details and hidden images hidden within hidden images - made so that its owner can find many, many new things throughout the years.

Artwork is never finished, only abandoned - though the prints are available now, the painting may see some additional work before I finally let go of it.

20x10 Metallic prints, and PRESALES on 12 from each of the giclees on canvas, giclees on Rag Paper, and Large Metallic Prints are available in the store. Though I hand-sign all limited edition prints, and hand-embellish my signature on all canvas giclees, only #s I, II and 1-10 of these limited editions will be hand-embellished.

A moment of your time please...

The Pickled Brothers includes my good friend Travis - sideshow freak extraordinaire.

Travis has been on Jay Leno in recent weeks for his world record-breaking bug-related feats, and has performed his acts at shows and conventions all over the country. Erik, the other Pickled brother, broke the world record for upside-down juggling last year. Both are fantastic people worthy of winning this years reward.

I might also mention that Travis is the type of friend who would drive 45 minutes or more to lend a circular saw.

Please, if you would, vote for him through the link below (No guarantees on him lending you his saw).

You can scroll past all other categories if cramped for time (you needn't fill them all out).

Scroll down to: OUT AND ABOUT: Best comedy troupe

http://www.bestofcincinnati.com

One vote per Ip, they are logging IP addresses.

New art! ...by Bethalynne Bajema!

I am just finishing up that new work for Vernian Process. It has taken many many wonderful years off my life doing so in 24-hour shifts with single-hair brushes and many, many multiple molecule-thin ghostly layers placed carefully in high-detail atop a 48 inch by 24 inch birch wood panel.

Prints will be available - as soon as I scrape together the many hundreds it takes me for photographing, and color matching/proofing.

... which may take a little while longer as we are still gathering funds for paper and marker with which to write "Providence Rhode Island or Bust!" on, so we can spend less time standing by the highway and more time being abducted by cannibalistic hillbillies.

So, since I have nothing new of my own to share just this second:

Beth makes all manner of interesting things in her strange, unique, and wonderful ways.

Her unique combination of pencil, pen, and digital multimedia works come in hundreds of flavors, many of which taste like Cthulhu.

You can see more of her work, on her blog, which I designed much better than my blog... My blog gets replaced as soon as I can get rid of the google ads, which will happen as soon as I make up all the time they have uglied up my site count for something, in the form of a check hopefully.

Beth's Site:http://www.bethalynnebajema.com/scriptorium

Outdated Teaser Photo of coming V/P painting:

Originals on Sale Tonight

Beth and I need to stock up on prints, merchandise, and travelling expenses for Templecon in Providence, RI, where she and I will be guests of honor.

To celebrate a rather rough week, All originals are drastically reduced in price!

I suppose I need not mention this is a first-come, first serve deal, as there is only one of each.

The most drastically reduced are these three recent engravings on Ampersand Archival clayboard:







The view all originals on sale, click here

From the Aether

A quick photo post of my latest sculpture, from a short story I am working on.

Mono Goggle from Taggert's Workshop

This photo is just a bit of a teaser, there are many more interesting pictures on his site, Taggert's Workshop including a picture of this splendid eyepiece all lit up.

Though his Blogspot blog is almost brand new, I would highly, highly recommend subscribing to it.

Keep a good eye on this one, I am sure there are many amazing things to come.

Direct link to the monogoggle

A Fantastic Compilation CD

I have spent this past week hooked on the compilation CD that came with Issue 10 of TWF magazine, a magazine I bought erroneously for its featuring of Christian Death...

This, because I am terrible at recognizing faces, and he girl at the front really threw me off - especially since I do not follow the 'Valor' band, whatever they are called, I forget.

The magazine however, regardless is a fantastic magazine.

Its layout and design work are a bit rough, and very reminiscent of an old-school zine, though much bigger than the standard self-published rags (and of course it also has color). But good music mags, such as this are about the music, as they well should be.

Where the magazine really shines is in its content and coverage, wherein the music does not take a back seat to fashion and nifty trinkets; It is a fantastic mag for gothic music enthusiasts, even better with this amazingly well-conceived CD, which is my favorite part of the magazine and well-worth the purchase in its own.

This CD is quite possibly the best single-CD gothic compilation I have heard, period.

Featured in this CD are: Uninvited Guest, STandArt, ASP, Life's Decay, that band with Valor in it, Place4Tears, Niceville, 1000 Voices, Zombie Girl, Jesus on Extasy, Volkmar, Christine Zuffery, All Living Fear, We.Got.This.Far., History of Guns, and Die Form.

Though there is plenty to love for EBM and synth-pop enthusiasts, my favorite tracks are of course those that best fit my traditional gothic, deathrock, dark cabaret, and neo-victorian tendencies - several of which I was introduced to through this CD (which I am incredibly beyond grateful for):

Uninvited Guest - You are your kingdom, ASP - How Far Would You Go?, Life's Decay - Decense**, NiceVille - Endless Cigarette**, Jesus on Exstasy - Beloved Enemy, Christine Zuffery - Mon Chant de Sirene**, All Living Fear - Jessica, History of Guns - Drag On**, and Die Form - BWV 147-5, and *sigh* admittedly... That band with Valor in it - as much as I love the original Christian Death, it really is actually very good track, and they are actually a great band when not doing the Rozz Williams era stuff - which I still feel should be left to CD 1334.

(** denotes my four absolute favorite tracks)

I look forward to future releases from TWF Magazine, if only for their musical selection prowess.


Magazine cover copyright TWF Magazine, Image copyright Christian Death

Occupod

... for lack of a better name, I don't think it would actually crawl on its eyeball.

The unfinished product. Finished pics at my Flickr account.

This is my second clay sculpture ever. The third is light years beyond this one, and in the works.

What I am loving about sculpture is that I do not have to think too much on lighting, reflection, and shading - most of it is done of course by it being a 3-d object already, and I am finding that I can do this stuff well enough that making sculptures is much quicker than making sketches and designs to work from.

I had forgotten how much I liked sculpting.

When I was a kid, I must have split my thumb open about fifty times making a huge wooden dragon with 8 legs, 3 heads, 4 wings, feathered bodies and feathered wings and highly detailed features down to the pointy teeth and claws. I was actually always better at sculpting than I was drawing - and from the way the piece after this one is coming along, I think I can easily and quickly get there again... and this ceramic clay is much easier than wood.

This might soon become a part of my process for making paintings.

Take THAT Evolution!

These are probably the most awesome shirts *evar*:



http://controversy.wearscience.com/

Young Mad Scientist's Building Blocks

Okay, I sort of wish I had kids by which to justify buying these.

But would I share?



"At Xylocopa, we know that the key to a successful education is to begin learning at a young age. Like many of you, we are concerned about the state of science education in the public school system, especially in the lower grades. Specifically, we have noticed that there is absolutely no training in the K-6 grades that prepares students to become mad scientists. In this competitive 21st-century world, the need for mad scientists will only increase, but the lack of basic education in primary school leaves us concerned that there will be no future students capable of leading in this illustrious field.

Fortunately, we have a solution - a first step, if you will, along the path to mad science proficiency. " [read more at Xylocopa...]

[via Ectomo via Porphyre]

Tornado

Ever imagine what railway engines would be like if steam power had not been abandoned all those years ago?

...Well, British enthusiasts have gone above and beyond, creating this modern-day version of the former technology:





more on these two videos here

Holiday Delays

This is just a quick note to let people who have ordered between December 24th and January 1st, that shipments coming in and shipments going out, have been slowed by the holidays, making for a combined delay of about 3 to 4 days more than the average shipping time (different from product to product).

Apologies for any inconveniences this might cause, Giclees ordered between the 26th and the 1st will ship on the 8th of January, anything else is shipping today.

Otherwise, we are now back on regular schedule and back to business as usual.

West

I am home, and finally able to sit down and listen to my copy of Ego-Likeness' "West".

West is a limited edition CD, the second of their Compass set, signed and numbered, and absolutely well-beyond-worth the $10 spent.

Though most of the tracks on this CD are remixes from other CDs, or entirely unique alternate versions by the band, "Sirens and Satellites" is completely new, and well-worth the purchase in its own. It is a moving and energetic masterpiece with perfect dynamic separation, making for a moving and energizing torrent of perfectly placed highs and lows washing over and incredibly contagious and rhythmic musical dreamscape.

"I Live on What's Left" is a haunting anthem, pensive, gloomy, beautiful, relaxing and atmospheric - reminiscent of Liz Frazier or perhaps Jane Sisberry in style and feel - moving and downbeat, the perfect prelude to the tracks to come:

The Hypofixx Remix of "Burn Witch Burn" is a pulse-pounding and melodic dance track, and addictive beyond description. I do hope to see it once again top request lists at US clubs this year, and maybe ten years later in Ohio.

"The Egg of the Mother", originally Recorded in 2002, is as promised drastically different from the original version ("Save your Serpent"), and utterly fantastic. I could not say which of the two I love more, but I can say that hearing this version made me more than pleased to have the EP. "The Egg of the Mother" is a hypnotic, dreamy, building musical wave, its ebb and flow leading perfectly into "Severine", a wonderfully depressive and powerful remix by Hopeful Machines - a side project of Ego Likeness' brilliant and artistic composer and co-author, Steven Archer.

Signed and Numbered, at only $10+$2 S&H, with only 300 available - I would certainly recommend putting the purchase of this CD at the top of your list for this week, if not this very minute.

Watch the video for Sirens and Satellites (performed at DragonCon 2008):
(Or see it at full size and format here)

New short story

I forgot to mention it before, but I put up a brief strange-fiction insane-fiction story here at The Miskatonic Archive.