The Joys of Internet Radio

Have I ever mentioned how much I love internet radio? It's kind of a recent discovery for me, because I live in a cave, and I don't come out of it very often, so I'm generally late on stuff all the kids are doing. Which is why I dress like a Victorian/punk hobo from the 80's. Z has no concept of time. But yes, now I have discovered internet radio, and I love it.

My two favorites would have to be IHeartRadio and Last. FM. Especially Last. FM, because it gives more details about the various bands and songs you're listening to. I have discovered so many awesome bands through this thing...Oh, hold on. I can hear my iPod, Fluffy, crying softly in its docking station.
"Noooo, data overload! I am a mere 16 gig contraption! No more, please!"
 Poor thing. I'm going to have to replace it soon.
 "If you just liked movie soundtracks and Josh Groban like you used to, I'd be totally cool, but you just had to get into goth music and every other musical genre ever conceived by man!"
Shut up, you can retire when I have money.
"I thought you preferred CDs anyway!"
CDs are expensive, you little Steve Jobs spawn! Now be quiet!

Sorry about that. Fluffy is getting a little cranky these days since he barely has two free gigabytes to his name. Can't say that I blame him, but I would kind of like new music. Fortunately, my internet radio stations can sate my everlasting musical thirst for the time being.

Z's glorious art debut on this blog. So yeah, I actually own this one!

The only problem is, when I'm listening to some customized goth station, some odd things sneak in. Dangit, when I listen to goth music, I want to listen to goth music! Not Radiohead! Or when I want wumpity-thump oontz-oontz music, I do not want scream-o.

I do not like Radiohead. I'm sorry. *watches tiny readership shrink even further*

Blagh, in other news, I am sick. Allergies on top of a cold I'm getting over. Boo. But who cares? I don't. I'm boring myself. I'm going to go find food. What's your favorite kind of music? And if it's goth, what's your second favorite? I like metal (even Within Temptation!), classic rock, and random Britpop. And New Age. I really dig the hippie-dippy stuff. Peace out, dude.

Thanks for reading, lovelies and gents!

Just so You're Aware...

Yikes, it's been nothing but vampires with me lately. It's like they're following me. First aliens, now vampires. Why me? Will I never have peace?

You've probably seen this story floating around the internet since it is rather eye-catching. I mean, when you read a headline like, "Nicolas Cage: I'm Not a Vampire," you kind of have to do a double-take. You mean there's nothing more pressing going on in the world? Don't worry about the American debt crisis, y'all. Nicolas Cage is not a vampire!

The mass hysteria is due to an old picture surfacing, featuring a man from the 1800's who bears a striking resemblence to Nick Cage. But don't photographers have trouble capturing vampires on flim?

So apparently Cage has a look-alike from the mid 1800's, and
believe or not, he actually looks goofier than the current one.

Jack Mord is apparently the individual who came up with this theory. With a name like Mord, I would be worried about my own living status. Mord sounds a lot like "Mort" which is close to "Morte" which means death! Am I the only one seeing this? This needs closer scrutiny!

This is what Jack Mord himself says about his hypothesis: "My theory is that he allows himself to age to a certain point, maybe 70, 80 or so, then the actor 'Nicolas Cage' will 'die,' But in reality, the undead vampire 'Nicolas Cage' will have rejuvenated." If I am correct, I think Cage did own a castle in Europe. Sadly he had to sell it because of money issues. Dude, who loses a castle?

I'm still not entirely sure if Mord was serious when he put forth his theory, but he must have been, because people are NEVER sarcastic on the internet.

If any actor was a vampire, though, it would probably be him. Nick just seems kinda vampirey to me. Must be the nose, or something. And if it's not Nicolas Cage, it has to be Tom Cruise or John Travolta. Don't you remember that part of vampire lore that talks about vampires all being scientologists? No? Maybe I just made that up. That was merely vicious slander on my part, guys, sorry.
But I am serious when I say that Nicolas Cage is NOT a vampire. You guys can rest easy.

Besides, wouldn't vampires be better actors? Geeze, people.

Thanks for reading!
Z

Gothy Incognito

Yesterday I had to go out while keeping a lower profile. The aliens are still out there, doncha know. So I went in disguise! This is advised when you have to visit snooty relatives or acquaintances that you don't want to annoy, are putting in job applications, or when you just don't feel like going to the effort of getting pimped out in all your gothy glory. This is normal and perfectly acceptable, and your Goth Card will not be revoked, because it happens to everyone.

Whenever I dress less ostentatiously, I feel like I'm in disguise. I don't lose my hipstery-artiste vibe, but I feel less awesome. However I liked my outfit yesterday. I might wear it again sometime, but with more personal touches. Also, my eye-makeup gives me away. No Mata Hari here, I'm afraid.

Oh, dear. Z is off her meds again. I really, REALLY need a haircut. This is getting ridiculous. Beware, children. If you have a deathhawk, you need to maintain it. Otherwise, it could end up flopping over, growing out, and looking like this. Let that be a lesson to you all.

I was basically wearing a black tank, a grey and white stripey button-up, and some nicely-fitted boot cut jeans stuffed up into my baby combat boots. Plus accessories. I like to stuff my non-skinny jeans into my boots. It gives off kind of a punky militaristic vibe.

My baby combat boots. Ain't they purdy? I wear these when I want something more understated than my giant stompy ones. Also, much love for the old-fashioned bicycle necklace. Check out Forever 21 sometime, because they often have adorable jewelry like this. And it's CHEAP! Anyway, if you're going out disguised as an under-the-radar hipster punk hobo, be sure to add something that at least alludes to the fact that you were once a cute, happy person. Otherwise you might scare people.

Here I am pretending I am a heroine in a 1950's Biblical epic. I lurv my scarf. I wasn't much of a scarf person before, but lately I've been finding more and more uses for them. I may have to collect more.

I'm just a holy fool, oh baby it's so cruel.
Anywho, I promise that the next time I blather on and on about an outfit, it will be much more exciting. Or a little more exciting. Thanks for reading, my lovelies!

Z

Take Two and Nosferatu!

Nggh, I figured this would happen. I've tried numerous times to start a blog, but like I said, I think I'm ADD. No, seriously. I just don't want to be diagnosed with more crap, so I don't ask my doctor about it. I can deal with ADD!

Phoo, I probably offended some people, there.

Anyway.

Where have I been? HIDING! The aliens found me, and so I've taken to setting up a bomb shelter and hiding in it so they won't find me again. I don't think they want to probe me or anything, but they keep saying something about "Miley Cyrus," so I figure whatever they want can't be good. But what I really want to talk about is...

a. Hey, I renamed my blog! I figured if I narrowed it down too much, I wouldn't want to do it. So it's not just about fashion anymore, though I'm sure that will come up plenty of times because I'm a fashionaholic. If that's not a word, it is now.

b. Nosferatu! I just watched it last night. Well, I finished it last night anyway. I started it a week ago, but I fell asleep. Not because I thought it was boring, but because for some reason, my lack of sleep caught up with me. What? I sleep four to five hours a night! How could I be tired? *Looks like a panda because of dark circles* I just don't get the importance of this thing called "sleep." Whaaaat.


Nosferatu, a 1922 silent film, was not as creepy as I was hoping, but it was nevertheless quite enjoyable. It featured Max Shreck as a eerie, emaciated, giant-schnozzed, pointy eared vampire known as Count Orlok. The film was obviously based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, but the names were changed to protect the innocent and other liberties were taken with the story.

It's a German movie, so it's loaded with atmosphere and creepy shadowplay. Shreck is also insanely creepy-looking as Orlok. I take my hat off to the guy for being able to function at all under that makeup job. Get a load of this, though if you are a self-respecting vampire fan at all, I'm sure you'll recognize him.

Isn't he cute? I love his hands. I wish I could grow my fingernails out like that. He kind of reminds me of a less-disturbing Anna Varney, her talent and awesome weirdness aside.

Despite the good things about it, there were still some things about this movie that bugged me, or that I didn't find quite as impressive. First off, it's one of those horror movies where the creature moves very, very sloooowwwwly. I wouldn't find this bad in itself, but the protagonists never make a huge effort to get away. They throw their hands up over their forehead in a dramatic fashion and swoon and act terrified, but the vampire just keeps coming.

And coming.

And coming.

Dude, did I just see a turtle run by?

And coming.

OK, to be fair, maybe the monster had a hypnotic gaze or something. That was one of Dracula's original powers, right? But still. That kind of thing in horror movies gets old, but since this is an early horror film, I give it a pass. Maybe back then it was suspenseful.

Second issue: Wow, the protagonists were limp biscuits. I can understand being freaked out by something that looks like Count Orlok, but man, these guys would swoon and pass out over everything! It's common for silent movie characters to over-exagerate, but I got the impression these guys would screech and faint at the sight of my dog, too.

Horrifying. I'm sorry if I made any of you throw up or anything like that. But yeah, the constant swooning and all was actually kind of funny, but didn't help the scariness.

Then there was the last thing that I found annoying, though this time it wasn't the fault of the original movie. The music was bizarre. Being a silent movie, it had a musical score that was added later. I don't know when it was added or who wrote it, but it started out harmless enough. It began as creepy synthesized organ music, sometimes with the use of chimes or glokenshpiel (orhoweveryouspellthat) that were used to good effect. Unfortunately, most of the time it just sounded like some hipster got ahold of a keyboard and thought he was doing something really progressive and original. Which usually translates to a lot of irritating noise. Sometimes it really ruined the mood. If they'd kept it low-key, it would have been quite nice. I kept fantasizing about what it would sound like with a bunch of Blutengel songs added in instead. Then again, maybe not.

Goth music is never silly. Nuh-uh. Nope. (I LOVE BLUTENGEL!!!)
All in all, I think Bela Lugosi made the creepier Dracula, but if you're a fan of vampires or old horror flicks, check out Nosferatu sometime. It's a lot of fun and though it can be slow sometimes, it's a fascinating glimpse into another time. Max Shreck makes a great vampire, and gloomy German silent movies always make an interesting watch.

Thanks for reading, my lovelies!
Z