Impact of Vaccines in Canada

Saw this on Facebook the other day and thought I would pass it along.

It was compiled by Toronto Public Health.

Gothic Charm School

Gothic Charm School.

You may not tell a book by its cover… but the title sure can give you a giggle. 🙂

Asylum Attendant

Is this my very first book review? I think it might just be. It seems fitting for my first to be the informative and adorable Gothic Charm School by Jillian Venters. Complete with gothy makeup tips, badass illustrations (by the author’s talented husband), and great advice for Goths (and everyone else, really), this book was an enjoyable read. It even confirmed my suspicion that I was a Goth, too! (Sidenote: I once was that person who was too special and awesome to be tied down with labels. Nowadays, I happily embrace them. Maturity is a funny thing.)

I will be shamelessly honest in saying I was drawn to this book because the title reminded me of one of my favorite crappy reality TV shows. The difference is, Gothic Charm School is full of class and Rock of Love: Charm School was full of…trash. (I believe being a stripper/porn star was…

View original post 343 more words

Sweet Dreams!

Saw these photos the other day [1]  and had to share them with you.

Goth bedroom designs.

Dark and heavy.

Or lighter but still dark…

…and a bit macabre.

Some will say, “How can you sleep in a room like this?”

to which I say…

“How can you NOT sleep in a room like this??”

Pleasant dreams, my little geeks and nerdlings!

___________________________________________________________________________

[1] 13 Mysterious Gothic Bedroom Interior Design Ideas. Thanks to the magnificent Anna Camara for passing this on to me. Brava!

Creepy Girls (20): Psycho Chicks in Hell

Let’s face it, Insane Asylums (or if you prefer, Psycho Wards, Loony Bins or Funny Farms) are awful places at the best of times.

But add to the natural horrifying nature an additional element… an impossibly deranged young lady in an insane asylum so awful as to make her mental disorders look like mild mood swings in comparison… and you have the makings of a truly Creepy Girl.

I ran across this photo the other day and it pretty well encapsulates this feeling for me.

The filthy abandoned room, the iron bed with no mattress, the Raggedy Ann doll, the thin girl bound to the antique wheelchair, the sheet of plastic… and of course the nurse behind it.

And for all we know, this young lady can actually be sitting in some perfectly-run institution somewhere, well cared for by devoted highly-trained staff. And yet… this may very well be how that girl perceives her surroundings and, indeed, her very existence.

Everything combines to portray the hopelessly hellish nature of insanity.

Some Perspective

During the summer, the heat and humidity will sometimes push an otherwise pleasant, even jovial person (e.g. me) into a ‘kvetch spiral.’

It’s during times like these that a bit of perspective is helpful.

It is in that spirit that I offer the following photograph…

You’re welcome.

What’s worse than seagulls? Drunken rowdy seagulls!

This report just in from that bastion of scientific research journalism, the Bristol Post!

As if these pests aren’t pesky enough, now they’re getting hammered and causing a ruckus!

(No, not drunk on beer like your average yobbo!)

It seems the local shithawks in Devon county, southwest England, are getting wasted, acting loutishly and attacking people.

Bet you can’t guess how!

A new theory explaining an increase in seagull attacks has been found – they are getting drunk on flying ants.

(Yummy!)

Scientists say gulls’ behaviour is getting worse because the hot temperatures have seen a massive boom in the insects, specifically flying ants, upon which gulls feed.

The ants then turn to formic acid in their stomachs and act like alcohol – causing the gulls to lose inhibitions around humans and brazenly steal food.

(Fighting over food. The gull seems to be getting the better of this battle)

They are left so tipsy the gulls have been seen flying straight into buildings and into the paths of moving cars.

(“I’m king of the world! D’OH!”)

Residents in Ilfracombe, Devon, recently reported being swooped on by the sloshed seabirds and, at first, presumed they were protecting their nests.

But they sensed something was wrong when the birds started flying into buildings and into the paths of cars.

Yeah, that’s usually a good clue.

At any rate, high heat is usually to blame for the increased flying ants so hopefully, things will calm down at summer’s end.

This is more like it!

Those who know me know that I hate the heat. And the humidity. And nice weather.

And most of all, sunshine. I literally cannot stand the feel of it on my skin.

Try and appreciate that I am writing this on a sunny afternoon in July. Temperature  33C (91.4F). I hate it.

Everyone says I should live in the Hebrides. [1] 

From what I understand, I would thoroughly enjoy the place!

Be that as it may, I occasionally stumble across a photograph that captures much of what I consider an ideal setting for me.

Such is the case with the photograph below…

(Now this is more like it!)

Overcast, almost dark, misty, cool, damp. I’m not sure where this photo was taken. Could be anywhere, I suppose.

I just love it.

The only improvement I would make would be that the season be autumn. Mid-October to be precise. Cool days, cold nights. Colourful trees.

Just over two more months of summer left. It cannot end too soon for me.

_________________________________________________________

[1] The Hebrides (/ˈhɛbrɨdiːz/; Scottish Gaelic: Innse Gall) comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive influences of Celtic, Norse and English-speaking peoples. This diversity is reflected in the names given to the islands, which are derived from the languages that have been spoken there in historic and perhaps prehistoric times.

Roadside Daylilies

I hate summer with an undying passion.

Everything about it revolts me. Every warm sunny day fills me with disgust.

The heat. The humidity. The smiling happy people and their nauseating tots having fun and ((((shudder)))) enjoying the weather!

And oh, lord save me, the relentless sunshine!

It is, for me, a three-month hell hole.

One thing and one thing only makes the entire sickening season bearable.

Roadside Daylillies.

Driving down a country road, air-conditioner on full blast, sunglasses, sunscreen. Karen Carpenter’s “Sleigh Ride” blaring on the radio…

And there at the side of the road is the thing that saves me from insanity every year.

It’s as if Nature has taken pity on me and my suffering and has given me this one tiny solace… as if to help stop me from driving a spike into the neck of the next oaf who says, “Hot enough for ya?”

So the next time you hear some sweaty nitwit say, “It’s not the heat… it’s the humidity!” and he DOESN’T get hit with a shovel hard enough to drive his head into his chest…

…give thanks to the Daylily.

Creepy Girls (19): Morticia Addams

A few young people have asked me to elaborate on the image in my last post. [1]

Morticia Addams. Tish!

(Charles Addams ‘Addams Family’ first appeared in The New Yorker magazine in 1938)

I loved her with a deep dark passion since the day I first saw her.

(Caroline Jones in the 60’s TV adaptation)

Other kids had normal crushes on television characters. My first TV crush was Morticia Addams.

(“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly”)

I was 9 years old when The Addams Family television show premiered.

(Anjelica Houston in the 1991 film adaptation)

I’ve been smitten with her ever since.

(“Don’t torture yourself. That’s my job”)

Despite the external creepiness and spookiness, Morticia is a loving wife, a loyal friend and a devoted mother.

She, like every member of the Addams family is genuinely happy with who she is and what is expected of her.

(Bibi Neuwirth on Broadway in The Addams Family musical, 2010)

To me, Morticia Addams is the quintessential Creepy Girl.

Long may you haunt my dreams and fantasies, Tish!

__________________________________________________________

[1] This I found both sad and pleasing. Sad that some people did not even know (let alone appreciate) the works of Charles Addams and his delightfully macabre cartoon family… and pleasing in that it provided me an opportunity to introduce a whole new world to people who would otherwise have gone through life without the comforting ray of creepy moonlight that is The Addams Family.

Creepy Girls (18): Share the Love!

My vert first Creepy Girl!

(*happy sigh*)

Post this on Facebook or Twitter if you like Creepy Girls too!