He Was Once A Little Green Slab Of Clay

Yesterday claymation/animator Art Clokey died. I loved Clokey’s shows; even Davey and Goliath.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2010/01/art-clokey-the-creator-of-the-whimsical-clay-figure-gumby-died-in-his-sleep-friday-at-his-home-in-los-osos-calif-after-b.html

Immediately after hearing the news, I thought about the Eddie Murphy skit from Saturday Night Live. The one where Murphy played a bitter cigar chomping character…”I’m Gumby dammit!” So of course I hit YouTube for clip, but no avail. So I found this:

After Art and Ruth Clokey found success with Gumby, the Lutheran Church in America came a-calling. Somehow this religious organization had $1 million to fund Christian propaganda aimed at America’s youth. Each episode had Davey and his talking dog Goliath involved in a series of dilemmas. However, as long as these two put their faith in God, a happy ending would be bestowed upon them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_and_Goliath

Still it would be strange that such a nice Christian boy wouldn’t question on how or why his pet dog had the ability to talk. Davey wasn’t the only one with a talking dog. Didn’t David Berkowitz have the same problem? Supposedly serial killer Son of Sam dealt with a similar situation. Someone should introduce these two; imagine the conversations they would have together, about canines, mass media and the bible. (Berkowitz became a born-again Christian after he was incarcerated.) Check that Moral Orel!

Seriously though…despite the Christian overtones, it managed to be entertaining without prophesizing too much. I remember fondly watching reruns on syndication during my wee kiddie years on a local NYC television station. Within the past ten years I’ve even considered getting Davey and Goliath action figures. Quite sure these collector items would make a great addition to my home.

So before this post ends, I will leave you with the original opening credits to the Gumby show:

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A Babe For Each Month…

Who wants a Babalon Babes 2010 calendar? If there’s enough demand, I’ll print some up. Limited addition!

Not only does it come with full color illustrated pinup for each month, but also loaded with assorted info ranging from Astrology, holidays from a variety of paths, etc.

Interested?

Just send $20 via PayPal to PsychoBunnyComix@aol.com and specify that you want the 2010 Calendar.

Valentine E-Card Psycho Bunny Style

The winter holidays are over, but around the corner is Valentine’s Day. Here’s an e-card you can send to either your loved one or drinking buddy:

http://www.123greetings.com/events/valentines_day/happy/love_psycho_bunny_style.html

Satan’s Butterfly Ball: Leigh Bowery

If there was ever a creative polymorphic polysexual combined with an overall slightly misanthropic attitude, this would be it:

Leigh Bowery was born under the sun sign of Aries on March 26 1961. Among many of his vast achievements, he was performance artist, fashion designer, club promoter, musician and muse. Later in life before his death, Bowery formed the Pop band Minty, best known for the tune of “Useless Man.”

“Boot lickin, piss drinkin, fingerfriggin, tit tweakin,
love bitin, arse lickin, shit stabbin, mother fuckin,
spunk lovin, ball bustin, cock suckin, fist fuckin,
lipsmackin, thirst quenchin, cool livin, ever giving
USELESS MAN”

His influence continues to glitter to this very day, ranging from international club kids, choreography, design, music and painting. The British musical Taboo was based partial on Bowery’s tenure in the London club scene. In addition, Boy George penned a song about Bowery titled “Satan’s Butterfly Ball.” Continuing to pay tribute to Bowery, Boy George would make public appearances dressed as Leigh during the US promotion of “Taboo.”

The best to describe Leigh Bowery is to view the documentary “The Legend of Leigh Bowery.” You can actually see it for free online, so here’s the link:
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/the_legend_of_leigh_bowery/

Also check out this other link: http://www.alissongothz.com.br/leighbowery/

…And The Douche Award For 2009 Goes To

Thankfully 2009 is over. However, before 2010 gets into full swing, I’d like to present a little something. The award looks a little something like this:

Now 2009 had plenty of candidates in the running. I mean, just so many choices! Let’s list a few, shall we?

* Christian Bale. The Dark Knight actor berates someone from the film crew.

* Octomom. She who unfortunately managed to make childbirth seem repulsive. (Sidenote: Why is it many people who are unfit to be parents, end up becoming one themselves? One of the great tragedies of life.)

* Those wacky Gosselins. Just get divorced already and die. Especially Jon.

* VH1. Anyone that was ever on a VH1 reality show. This year, or any year for that matter. Contestants that you wouldn’t dare take home to mom. One contestant (from the thankfully aborted “Megan Wants A Millionaire”) even went so far to kill his newly married wife. The wife was chopped up so bad, the body could only be identified by her silicone breast implants. Somehow these shows managed to turn a music channel into “the douchebag channel.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Jenkins

* Teabaggers. The most uninformed, ignorant bunch of politically conservative….DOUCHEBAGS!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_protests

Hate to break the news to these rather proud ‘teabaggers’…but the slang of ‘teabag’ or rather ‘teabagging’ also means something else.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=teabagger

http://onlineslangdictionary.com/definition+of/tea+bag

Uh huh…say no more.

Now the Teabaggers almost grabbed this highly coverted award…but then on Sep 13, 2009 this happened:

Not that I give two shits about Taylor Swift’s dire country crap. But still…
Kanye West was always an ass to begin with. After his Hennessey fueled stunt on the VMAs…he became my top pop culture villain of 2009.

I’ve stopped watching the VMAs a long time ago. How I found out about the fiasco was through, of course, the internet. Told the boyfriend to switch over to MTV and there it was.

In the world of douchebaggery, this was brilliant. And when he capped off his interruption with a shrug the Douche Award was his. Obama gave his own presidential seal with a quick off the record remark:

“He’s a jackass.”

So while the Teabaggers had ignorance on their side, Kanye West won with unintentional comic relief. So Kanye, this one’s for you.

So What Difference Does It Make?

Pondered about this tonight…sometimes unrequited love is the best kind of love.

Why do you ask? Quite easy to explain actually.

Unrequited love is the safest kind. No fear of rejection, disillusionment, broken confidences. Disappointment is not an option, for there is none. Your reputation remands intact along with your dignity. You don’t have to worry about your partner running off with your best friend or having sex with your brother. Do the laundry with ease ’cause you’re not coming across underwear that doesn’t belong to you nor your bitter half. Go on the internet stress free. You don’t have to worry about “accidentally” finding your honey’s email containing that spicy invite that you knew you did not send. No longer will you have to lick your wounds as you pull the knife from out your back.

Your nighttime sexual fantasies are the best, ’cause you don’t have to deal with harsh physical realities. No more disdain of small penises, yeast infections, or preferring porno over having sex with you. Finally you can write that great American novel because you’re not wasting time with boring sex.

Plus in this economy, think about the money you’ll save. Imagine never having to go over your precious minutes with your cellphone plan. Your cold hard earned cash will not be spent on some therapist, who has to hear you whine about how your ex did you wrong. Your pharmacist might get a little wee pissed off though. He or she was kinda depending on you filling in that prescription to cure you of that nasty STD you picked up along the way. Oh, and save that call to the lawyer. Guess these folks are gonna have to find another way to buy that Lexus.

Your local bartender will have to find a second job, and Jack Daniels will have to cut back on his staff. Thanks to unrequited love, you don’t have to drown your sorrows in a certain liquid proof. Yeah, those silicone enhanced strippers and steroidal go-go boys are a little miffed too. They’re gonna have to learn another skill other than lap-dancing for your tips.

Put a smile on your face, ’cause without the messy breakup, you don’t have to deal with child support! If it’s not child support, well then you don’t have to deal with being a step-parent to another annoying brat. Without the annoying brat, you don’t have deal with the annoying ex of the ex either. Another kid’s innocence has once again been saved. Sometimes this works for Fido or Fluffy as well.

When you really think of it, is heartbreak really worth the trouble? Tiger Woods hangs his head while Amy Whitehouse sings Love is a Losing Game. But wait a minute you ask, why glorify unrequited love. Isn’t it just as sad as heartbreak? Well yes and no, depends on how you look at it. Just like how a glass of water can either be half empty or half full. Why frown upon unrequited love? Does it have to make you feel so hopeless and rejected?

Look at it like this; many times we think we know the person we’re involved with, but we don’t. Truth be told, we don’t always know the truth. Especially on those who we trust to be truthful. Once we do find out the truth, the person who we once loved, cherish, and put upon a pedestal, becomes nothing more than a facade. The pedestal crumbles under the heartbreak, rarely rebuilt. At least with unrequited love, the pedestal in which you have placed your object of desire remains intact. It remains intact until you decide its time to either place someone else on that pedestal, or take it down without a embarrassing fuss.

So what difference does it make? Unrequited love isn’t necessarily bad per say. There is some advantages. It’s kinda less messy in a way. If you think you’re gonna be rejected, well hell, why bother? Think of all the advantages. His or her loss as you pine in silence. They do say the chase is better than the catch. So smile and desire from afar.

At least that’s how you console yourself.

Rowland S Howard

Woke up. Went to make of what’s left of the Christmas flavored coffee. Go over to the desk to check the email, then hit Facebook to check any additional messages. Found out about this:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/influential-melbourne-guitarist-rowland-s-howard-dies/story-e6frf96f-1225814790391

It’s one thing to hear about Michael Jackson, but its another to hear about a musician that you’ve actually liked. Rowland recently passed away from cancer at the age of 50.

During my mid-late teen years I was heavy into the whole Goth/Death Rock subculture. Back in the days of vinyl, I had records from Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Lydia Lunch. These folks that I’ve just mentioned had a connection to guitarist Rowland S. Howard.

Roland is more well known for his time with The Birthday Party. That was Nick Cave’s band before he formed more popular Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. Later he did a series of collaborations with various acts, such as Lydia Lunch, Fad Gadget, Nikki Sudden, Henry Rollins, Einstürzende Neubauten, the list goes on.

Here’s a Wikipedia entry about him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowland_S._Howard

I could post a video of him performing with Lydia Lunch, but I thought this was more suitable:

Past From The Blast

Everyone knows Simple Minds as that 1980s Alt band who did that song “Don’t You Forget About Me.” Yeah, the famous theme song from that seminal teen flick from the Reagan era “The Breakfast Club.” Now don’t get me wrong…both the song and the movie were okay. My fave character from that club was Ally Sheedy’s character, the sulky Allison Reynolds. Probably because I had liked her messy hair and brooding demeanor.

Anyhow, I didn’t come here to talk about the film. Prior to Simple Minds becoming a huge 80s rock/pop outfit, they actually put out some decent albums.  One song I’ve particularly loved was “Travel” from the 1980 release “Empires and Dance.”

With Simple Minds’ third album release, “Empires and Dance” mixed the post-punk/art rock atmospheric guitar effects with dark dance beats.  Hints of slight 1980 European political overtones blended right into the slightly Roxy Music influenced sound. The Scottish based Simple Minds continued to fine tune their own sound until the massive bubblegum hit exploded in the US. By the time “Alive and Kicking” was released, the band briefly transformed into US arena rock darlings.

For sometime I’ve been trying to find that particular early Simple Minds song as an MP3. Imagine my surprise when “Travel” appeared out of nowhere during my search for another song; “Being Boiled” by The Human League.

Proof that there is a god, and it comes in the form of YouTube. Dig hard enough, and you will find. Here I found a UK television appearance promoting this single. Since mercury is presently in retrograde, this blast from the past is fitting. Or shall I say a past from the blast?

IF-X # 4, The Social Intercourse Issue

Just wanted everyone to know I did the cover for the latest issue of IF-X. IF-X is a themematic issue, and this particular subject is social interaction, or rather, social intercourse. Here’s the cover:

You can order your own copy here:

http://idea-men.us/if-x.html

2009: The Year Of The Celebrity Deathmatch…

An iv17 Sol 6° Capricorn, Luna 18° Taurus Dies Solis
Sunday, December 27, 2009 e.v. 11:21 PM

As I typed this originally last week, it was Yuletime. Winter Solstice passed, Hanukkah passed, Christmas just ended. Then there’s Festivus, etc. Tons of holidays to choose from, take your pick. The year of celebrity death match is almost over.

I, for one is glad that 2009 is coming to a close. It had its ups and downs. I won’t even get into the subject about celebrity deaths. The start of 2009 certainly sucked for me. On December 30th, 2008, I threw out my back. I spent New Year’s Eve hobbling with a cane to the local bar because I just *had* to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Good thing I didn’t go with my original plans. Spent an hour in pain and headed back to bed, where I spent the next three-fours months. Pouted, cursed my fate, read, sketched. Hung around Facebook like a high school student playing hooky in the cafeteria. When I was bored with that, I caught up on DVDs and bad television. Along the way, discovered once again who my real friends were. Lost my faith in humanity for the hundredth time; but then again, I didn’t have much faith to begin with. (shrugs)

Eh, what can you do? I did manage to make it to the NYCC in one piece (New York Comic Con) limping in style with a rhinestone studded cane.

Could be worst; I could’ve been a dead celebrity.
(I’m not even go into the whole Michael Jackson death fiasco. He’s dead, get over it. Of course the media was over-reacting per usual, as if it was the second coming of Christ. Let him rot.)

Come around June, things turned around more positively. Got some web press, interviews and mentions on blogs. Had my illustrations shown on a writer’s blog. Worked on a webcomic and had my first cover art published. Released another self-published title, Babalon Babes no. 4 (the Astrology issue.)

Even so, so glad this year is almost over. Kinda glad this decade is almost over. The past ten years have been shitty, to say the least. Barely hitting two years into the decade, and Y2K led straight into 9/11. Bleh. Not that I didn’t feel for the victims of that disaster…ah forget it, I won’t get all political here. Just embarrassed as an American to be stuck with the worst President in US History. Bush with his big old monkey ears and clueless smile. A decade of reality TV, bad Emo, Hip-Hop, and pop music, global warming, blah, blah, blah. Having to lived in a decade where people slowly became more shallow, more cold, more heartless, with no sense of loyalty. Oh wait, maybe people were like that all along, only I just woke up from my naive daydreams into a living nightmare. Now how’s that for being over-dramatic?

On the plus side, there was the internet, iPods, the return of comfortable Converse sneakers…

Anyway, time for some self-promoting plugs…

Babalon Babes # 4, The Astrology Issue is now on sale.
Available through WitchesBrewPress, you can order via PayPal.
Send $4.00 ($3.00 plus $1.00 for shipping & handling) to psychobunnycomix@aol.com
When ordering, please state you would like BB#4.

Also, Psycho Bunny issue 3 (Special double issue) is still available.
Again, you can order via PayPal, $6.00 ($5.00 + $1.00 S&H) and state you would like PB#3.
(If ordering both issues, shipping is just $1.00)

Also, don’t forget the webcomic, www.shittymickey.com! Written by John Reed and drawn by yours truly.

Happy Holidays everyone.