Is it a good or bad sign for the economy when people begin selling off prepurchased cemetery plots on CraigsList?
At least 24 plots from around the Los Angeles area are available as of this posting, ranging from $600 to $10,000. (The $600 plot is described as less than regular size, “for child or cremated.”)
David Goldstein at KCAL9 interviews some of L.A.’s living of what appears to be a growing trend, and offers some tips for potential buyers.
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Cinespia.org’s Cemetery Screenings resume again this Saturday with “Ace In the Hole,” a rarely seen Kirk Douglas film directed by Billy Wilder. But these outdoor screenings, held on empty plots at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, rarely get better than when showing horror films, such as “The Hunger” scheduled for Saturday, June 7th.
“The Hunger,” directed by Tony Scott, stars Catherine Deneuve as a centuries old Egyptian vampire who grows tired of her fellow bloodsucking lover, David Bowie, causing his immortality to reverse, while her affections turn to Susan Sarandon, a doctor specializing in premature aging. A lesbian sex scene follows, so what’s not to like?
Screenings begin 9pm, with gates opening at 7:30, but if you attend prepare to show up a couple hours early to secure a place in line - there are no seats, but there is a land grab for prime real estate on the lawn once the cemetery opens. Bring a couple blankets (one to protect yourself from the grass, another to keep warm), snacks and beverages, a flashlight for when things get dark, and some holy water - this is a cemetery, after all.
Tickets are $10, cash only “donation” - parking can be found on neighboring streets, but, again, prepare to show up early for a decent spot or prepare for a long walk.
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We all know the lag time between ordering and actual delivery of fine furniture. It can take months! So in that respect, Halloween in Los Angeles is right around the corner, and now is the time to order one of these to-die-for Coffin Couches from, where else?, Coffincouches.com.
And since these macabre divans are from a Los Angeles company, two of the five models have appropriately themed designs; The Dodger Blue (above) and The Low Rider (my favorite.) To top it off, they even see their enterprise as being environmentally sensitive.
We at Coffincouches.com have the mindset of thinking “Green”… It is a health and safety law that funeral homes cannot resell used coffins to the general public. We approached funeral directors with the attitude of recycling. These coffins are not used for burial due to slight cosmetic inconsistencies…
Now just envision Elvira or Black Betty lounging on one of these… Side view after the jump. [click to continue...]
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Creepiness beyond Los Angeles: In San Francisco, retired high school science teacher Ray Bandar has a collection of 7000 skulls in his house… although his wife has a rule that the bedroom is off limits.
And in Sacramento, our state capital, a man was arrested after police found over 300 dead cats stuffed in three freezers in his home.
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As much as I love Halloween, I hate wearing a costume. Thats why I have a lot of affection for “costume t-shirts.” You know the kind - the tuxedo t-shirt is the grandaddy of costume t’s.
There are lazy costume tees… these usually just have some writing on them like, “This is my lazy ass costume.” But really, that just giving the middle finger to whoever hosted the party requiring you to dress up.
The costume t-shirts that impress me appear to have another costume printed on them. Like this ode to an 80’s era Michael Jackson zipper jacket (pictured). Brilliant! And the icing is a white glove.
T-shirts with superhero logos on them sort of cut it, but some go step beyond. Wicked Cool Stuff is selling tees that give the appearance as if you’re being buffed out like the Hulk or Wolverine.
Finally, 80’s Tees has a lineup of Star Wars, GI Joe, and other pop culture inspired attire, include a Wookie tee and another bowling shirt from “The Big Lebowski.” And lets face it, if the Dude were to abandon his robe for any sort of costume, it would be a costume tee.
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The Fangoria Weekend of Horrors will be held in Burbank April 25 - 27, the same weekend as Coachella, LA Times Festival of Books, and the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival. But what everything but Fangoria is missing are hearse loads of goth babes, Vampira wanna bes, and other girls who aren’t afraid of the dark.
As evidence, check out this lineup of eerily sexy ladies competing to be the convention “Spooksmodel,” and vote on your favorite. They don’t offer much on background - just a single headshot for each, unfortunately, so I’m giving my one enthusiatic vote for Kimberly Violet Tomaska… because I’m a sucker for redheads.
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Perfect for the neglectful gardener, all you need are some hanging planters, pantyhose, and pumpkin seed… and not much water.
Sure, its only April, but you can begin stocking up now, and according to Kerry at Associated Content, pumpkins can keep for a couple years if stored properly.
One tip:
Always make sure to store them stalk down. Some pumpkins have a dip in the top where the stalk emerges and water will accumulate and cause them to rot.
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A park ranger found the bat, which was flopping around on the ground, on Saturday in the Crystal Springs picnic area, just south of the Griffith Park Drive ranger station at the eastern edge of the park. It was taken to a lab in Downey for testing and has been destroyed, said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Dr. Jonathan Fielding. [Daily News]
If bit by lycanthropes or any other sort of potentially infected animal in Griffith Park, contact the Public Health Department at (877) 747-2243.
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Maila Nurmi, a. k. a. Vampira, has died. She was 86.
From Wikipedia:
The idea for the Vampira character was born in 1953 when Nurmi attended choreographer Lester Horton’s annual Bal Caribe Masquerade in a costume inspired by a character in The New Yorker cartoons of Charles Addams.
Her appearance with pale white skin and tight black dress caught the attention of television producer Hunt Stromberg, Jr., who wanted to hire her to host horror movies on the Los Angeles television station KABC-TV, but Stromberg had no idea how to contact her. He finally got her phone number from Rudi Gernreich, later famed as the designer of the topless swimsuit. The name Vampira was the invention of Nurmi’s husband, Dean Riesner.
A brief obituary at Metroblogging L.A.
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Antebellum Gallery’s opening party on Friday night for Dia de Los Muertos ¡Erotica! brought out a crowd of art, sex, life and death appreciators, along with mezcal proselytizers who sure converted me. Amen, my aching head… [click to continue...]
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I swear, you can feel the true heart of Los Angeles beating at El Pueblo, the spot where the city was born. Saturday and Sunday afternoon at La Plaza for Fiesta de los Muertos featured Ballet Folklorico, Banda, Mariachi, face painting, community altars, puppet shows and street theater. The kids were loving it and so was I. Check the Olvera Street site for a year-round schedule of fiestas. More photos after the jump.
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LAist has a good run down of Dia de Los Muertos events (and they mention Creepy LA a couple times too) so I’m not going to rehash the cool line-up they’ve put together.
My plans call for biking to nearby Olvera Street in the early part of the evening for the traditional novenario procession, and from there heading to Antebellum Gallery in Hollywood for Rick Castro’s adults-only, down-and-dirty opening party for Dia de los Muertos ¡Erotica!
All in all, a fine tour from the sacred to the profane, whaddaya think? (I’ll be posting pics from both events tomorrow, some of them probably dirty- or at least I’m hoping.)
Antebellum Gallery 1643 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood; 6:00 to 9:00 PM; $5. 18 and older.
Photograph by Rick Castro
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Lucha VaVoom had their first-ever Halloween party last night at the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles. As my friend Lauren said, “It was like watching a live cartoon.” Complete lunacy after the jump. [click to continue...]
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Digg Creepy!
