random_speak: October 2005

That Special Time of Year....

Yes, it's that special time of year again-- the season for carving pumpkins, getting sick on candy, and wearing pointy little hats.

Sadly, many conservatives have tried to ban Hallowe'en recently, alleging that it teaches little children to become witches, cast spells, worship Satan and become demonically posessed. But everyone knows that little children are already demonically possessed, so I really don't know what the problem is.

As for myself, although I occasionally do cast a mysterious spell on the various men around me, I only worship Satan when it is convenient. It's not like the everyday trials and tribulations of such a fashionable young lady require the constant intervention of Beelzebub. Only very special occasions will find me hopping daintily onto my broom to meet with my coven: tax season, November elections, stressful work deadlines, etc. And my associates are really quite charming; we usually just meet for tea, and only cast spells when absolutely necessary.

We're actually considering applying for a special non-profit tax status and we just elected a Treasurer. It's all really quite respectable and organized. You can see us at various fundraisers throughout the year (Satanists for Affordable Housing, Save the Bats, and PETA) and we also do Adopt-A-Highway now, in addition to our annual Bake Sale and Witch's Sabbath.

Someday soon we hope to have a clubhouse!

Wednesday: I Decide to Become a Famous Artist

As my completely fabulous vacation has been cancelled due to inclement weather, I have decided to take a couple of days to muck around with some paints and things.

And I have decided that nothing is stopping me from eventually becoming a filthy rich and famous artist, who lives in Barbados and keeps a bevy of buff gigolos at her beck and call. It really only requires a teensy bit of good marketing.

The only problem is that I have absolutely no tattoos, pink hair, tongue piercings or punk rock outfits. Additionally, I can't decide if I want to be a nihilist- vegetarian- lowbrow- outsider artist, a feminist- new-age- pop-expressionist artist, or a paranoid- postmodern- nudist- performance artist. But I won't let that stop me; after all, everyone knows that constructing a really clever "artist's statement" is really the best way to inform critics and collectors alike that I am an undiscovered genius worth cultivating.

I fiddled around a bit with wording and basically came up with a couple of really strong artist's statements that I could possibly use. I'm just not sure which one really represents me, which is rather tiresome.

Examples:
1. My current work informs a neodeconstructivist paradigm of consensus and the textual paradigm of discourse, a subject which is contextualised into a conceptualist construction including culture as a whole. This construction is a predominant concept in the distinction between creation and destruction, both of which are interpolated into a semantic theory that includes reality as a reality.

2. The raison d'etre of the artist is a reconstructed, precultural feminism that takes as its theme the semioticist absurdity and subsequent dialectic of capitalist narrative, filtered through the gaze of the postmodern observer. I borrow this underlying theme of 'neotextual rationalism' to denote the role of the observer as a nihilist participant in outdated perceptions of society-- a society that is merely a legal fiction both fundamentally absurd and intrinsically impossible.

3. My oeuvre is focused primarily on the 'textual paradigm of context' to denote the mythopoetical totality within both class and narrativity. In a sense, the premise of semioticist feminism implies that the significance of the artist is significant form, but only if sexuality is interchangeable with consciousness. I follow a postdialectic model of cultural appropriation and deconstructivism which, paradoxically, has little objective value. Conceptually, the subject is contextualised into a semantic theory that includes consciousness as a totality.

I'm just trying to decide which one is the most meaningful.

Going, Going.... Gone?

Going completely down the tubes...

It looks very much as if Fantasy Fest will be cancelled this year, which makes me distinctly unhappy. My aunt evacuated to the usual place, but the last thing I heard was that water was coming through the door-- and apparently Duval Street is flooded.

Hopefully everyone down there is okay (not everyone evacuated)-- and perhaps they shall reschedule the festivities for another week as it brings millions of dollars in revenues down to the Keys every year.

To-day I am puttering uselessly around the house and painting a bit. Half of my block lost power last night, but other than that we're only getting strong sustained winds on our very first chilly day of the year.

Yes: More Fantasy Fest Photos

Warning: some photos may offend those with delicate sensibilities

(click to enlarge)

Yet Even MORE Fantasy Fest Photos!

Warning: a couple of photos may offend those with very delicate sensibilities

... from various years past (click to enlarge)

very nice body painting

Batman and I hanging out on Duval Street -- as you can see, I'm quite cheerful about this

this is probably my favorite Fantasy Fest photo ever

and yet more body painting

I don't want to know how long it took to make these outfits

Fan-tastic!

Birds of a Feather

me and the hatter-- who is quite, quite Mad

me and a random showgirl, whose outfit I was ogling all evening

skeleton body painters

and yet more skeletons

painted couple

cute balloon men

body painter

a very tall drag queen

That's all folks -- this blog now has way too many photos.

Hopefully, my Fantasy Fest plans will not be cancelled by Hurricane Wilma.... I may or may not be blogging again this week because I will be acquiring hurricane supplies and hanging out in Key West (I hope) until the 31st.

cheers

More Random Fantasy Fest Photos

Warning: a couple of photos may offend those with very delicate sensibilities

From previous years (click to enlarge)

the Cat in the Hat and I strike a pose

body painting

My youngest brother dressed as "Where's Waldo"

me and a lovely senorita

I really don't know what to say with this one

looks like mischief afoot

more body painting

drag queens

me and my other brother with moneybags in the middle

~~leopard people~~ Hippies!

yet more body painting

random crowd shot

and yet more body painting

creepy balloon man

painted butterfly girl

The "Mayor" of Key West meets another body painting aficionado

Gallivanting and Getting Ready For Fantasy Fest

This weekend was quite busy between attending delicious art shows and other shenanigans... I dragged the Accidentally Acquired Man out with me, and we hit the GraphicStudio art sale/exhibition, which showcased discounted works by artists such as William Wegman, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Vik Muniz, Chuck Close, and John Waters(!) of Pink Flamingos fame (I purchased a piece by Robert Fichter) We also hit the Cross-Pollination show at Covivant gallery, saw the movie Thumbsucker, caught part of a set by the Redliners, blah blah blah!

I'm too lazy to post more, and I am busy getting ready for Fantasy Fest, etc. So I will be incredibly lame and post random images from previous years during the rest of the week.

nice example of body painting

me with a random drag queen and my high school friend

more body painting and one of my brothers

it's true -- there really are aliens in Key West

My friend is posing with these guys because one of them caught his stilt feathers on a police barricade and couldn't get free until she borrowed a pocketknife and cut him loose.