Noir Vixen

I spent this past Saturday night being thrilled, blown away, moved and grossed out by the festivities of Spike TV’s Scream Awards 2008 held here in Hollywood at the Greek Theater.  It’s a surreal, rock and roll experience from the profanity laden acceptance speeches to the audience dressed to the 9’s in their wicked finery or costumed glory.  I loved every second of it (except the bit where I nearly froze my tail off because it was held in an outdoor venue).

I’d love to be able to talk about the experience in more detail but I’d be giving away secrets and surprises best left unspoiled.   Let’s just say that communing with the other twisted souls of Los Angeles and appreciating the often overlooked work of those people who make us jump out of our chairs or bring our favorite fantasies to the big screen was the highlight of my year.

Be sure to tune in tonight to Spike TV to see the Scream Awards yourself. (It airs a few times so you have plenty of opportunities to check it out!)  There will be some world premieres of much anticipated movies, loads of witty banter and a remarkable band out of Estonia with a whimsical imagination you’ll love seeing unfold.

Attention all zombie hunters and living dead - It is time to set aside your differences and get your groove thing on with Zombie Karaoke at Ground Control on Monday October 13th.

For those unfamiliar with the only alternative karaoke night in Los Angeles, this weekly event is not your neighborhood bar with the inevitable collection of drunks caterwauling the same Frank Sinatra song over and over again.  Hell no! You can expect nothing but the best in alternative rock and goth/industrial music in a very relaxed environment with such perks as WiFi and internet terminals as well as dinner available.  (Check out their website for a .pdf file of songs available.)

Ground Control is located at Jewel’s Catch One (4067 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles 90019).  Free, secure self-parking is available in a walled and guarded lot.  Doors open at 8:30 pm and you’ve got to drag your rotting carcass home at 2 am.  With a $4 cover (18+ welcome!), this is the most undead bang for your buck you will get this Halloween season with regards to an event.

Any upscale Halloween cocktail or dinner party would not be complete without a trip to Z Gallerie this holiday season.

For the discerning Hallow’s Eve hedonist, shopping at Z Gallerie is an orgy of visual delights and elegant iniquity. Serve up cocktails with skull and cross bone ice cubes made from wickedly clever reusable trays. Dine at a darkly adorned table accented by the Jolly Roger on everything from napkins to martini glasses. There are even hypnotizing glass skull napkin rings to take your presentation to a whole new level of death. Wash the room in the lurid light of candles perched upon midnight candelabras. For an evening enchanted by shocking misdeeds, perhaps finger foods presented upon Seven Deadly Sins Mingling Plates will inspire all manner of scandalous acts.

Sign up for the Z Gallerie email updates to keep up on sales. There have been several already (Ghouls are 20% off right now!) and as the nights draw closer to Samhain more sales will surely follow.

I love zombies.  I like dressing up like one.  I adore the artful arrangement of gore and fake blood.  I enjoy discussing ways to survive a zombie apocalypse.  I’ve even been known to take drastic cuts in pay if I can be a zombie in a horror movie done up by an inspired FX artist.

If you share my near obsession with the restless undead, you will love Lost Zombies.

Lost Zombies is a community generated zombie documentary made up of hundreds of people from all over the planet discussing outbreaks of zombie infestations in their own, personal way.

It’s free to join and a fantastic way to connect with the other twisted imaginations of your ilk.

Come play with us!

Image courtesy of LADead

The Autumnal Equinox is upon us, dearest darklings.  Monday September 22nd will mark the official change of seasons.  It’s certainly a good reason to celebrate.

On Friday, September 19th, dawn your passionate, scarlet attire and revel with other like minded devotees as Ruin ushers in the Fall with Lilith Eve at the darkly glamorous Monte Cristo (3100 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles 90005).  Enjoy the monthly Night Gallery showcasing local artistic talent out on the patio rooftop and partake of the uniquely spiritual experience that is Monastic. (If you haven’t seen Monastic live, you are missing out on a performance that will enchant you.)

As if that isn’t enough hedonism for you, you can visit the absinthe bar and languish elegantly in the vintage red parlor while sipping on ‘Death In The Afternoon.’  (That would be champagne and absinthe for you neophytes.)  Perhaps you will succumb to the primal act of dance while DJ Xian and guest DJ Sally weave wicked musical seduction all night long.

The evening is 21+ and the doors open at 10 pm.  Entry is $10 and there is valet parking available for $5.  Upscale attire is requested.

For further details visit www.ladead.com.

Photography courtesy of CyberWear

In my compulsive shopping forays (the ones that are not focused on high heels,) I have come across ‘must-haves’ for the die hard spooky fruits and gloom cookies out there with ever expanding wardrobes like mine - especially in the accessory department.

I give you glow-in-the-dark syringe pins!

These oddly compelling cyber broaches come in blue, green, pink and yellow. They are perfect for transforming yourself into a futuristic zombie, post apocalyptic survivor or maybe a walking hazmat disaster. These are not mass produced and you will not run into very many other people with them, which is always a plus in my book.

CyberWear is a local Los Angeles business just getting started (thus the MySpace page for the time being pending a website launch) but already showing quite a bit of imagination. I’m a big fan of their spiked monocles with a blue light inside of them that look like something straight out of the Borg Collective.

If I can get them to make one with a pink light and encrusted in Swarovski crystals, I’ll be one happy vixen.

Tippi Hedren will appear at the screening of the horror classic.

On Sunday September 14^th, The Edison in conjunction with the Jules Verne Charity Educational Mission will be celebrating the 45^th Anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock’s horror masterpiece The Birds.

The Birds was the first movie Hitchcock made for Universal Studios in 1963. At the time, it was considered a technical feat. It was a production plagued by a darkness that is now legendary from the intense arbitrary horror ridden world that pervaded all of Hitchcock’s films to the on set drama that became so intolerable ingénue Tippi Hedren had a nervous breakdown, forcing the production to shut down for several days. Even by today’s standards, the film still holds up and offers a cerebral element amid the violence that made Hitchcock an unmatched genius.

Screening details and ticket info after the jump. [click to continue...]