Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I hope everybody had as much fun as I did during the 31DoHM. After all the craziness this month, I thought I'd ease out with something a little more mellow. This film is short but mesmerizing. A must see!

Happy Halloween,
Tiki Chris

Le Halloween est mort (31DoHM Day 31)

Day 31: Goofy article about Halloween in France

Halloween Declared Dead In France
Parmy Olson
Forbes
10.31.06, 12:04 PM ET

The major dailies Le Monde and Le Parisien reported on Tuesday that following some short-lived popularity, the Halloween holiday has been "pretty much buried."

Click here to read the complete article.

Did Germans invent Halloween? (31DoHM Day 31)

Day 31: Did Black Forest witches celebrate the first Halloween?

Germans lay claim to 'invention' of Halloween
Ernest Gill
Mail & Guardian
31 October 2006 05:16

"People here didn't call it 'Halloween' of course, they called it 'Ruebengeisterschnitzen', which means 'gourd-ghost-carving' ... "

Click here to read the complete article.

Dubious distinction (31DoHM Day 31)

Day 31: Dubious distinction

I was checking my blogs' stats this morning (yes, I'm watching you!) when I discovered that the top search result on Google for "Halloween Cannibal" is (yep, you guessed it) this blog. Much of the credit for my rise to the top is owed to Pint Champion for providing me with his review of Cannibal Holocaust as part of the 31DoHM.

Cheers!

Crux-o-Lanterns? (31DoHM Day 31)

These crux-o-lanterns (or would they be Jack-o-fixes?) were photographed in 2005 in the town square of Allenhurst, New Jersey, "where the country meets the sea." They look like some weird fusion of Halloween and Easter tradition to me.

Photography by Tiki Chris and Emiana © 2005

Tiki Bar TV episode 22: Dry Halloween

Click here to view all the Tiki Bar TV episodes.

My creepy London neighborhood (31DoHM Day 30)

Day 30: My creepy London neighborhood

Here are some photos taken at an old cemetery eerily near my flat.























Photography by Tiki Chris © 2006

Weird NJ (31DoHM Day 30)

Day 30: What's weirder than New Jersey?

Nuthin.

See what I mean at WeirdNJ.com.

When fembots attack (31DoHM Day 30)

Day 30: When fembots attack




















What could be scarier than faceless fembots? The following scene from the Bionic Woman really messed with my head when I was a kid:

Halloween Funnies (31DoHM Day 29)

Day 29: Halloween Funnies

Thanks to Bob and Joe and to Laurel for sending along these Halloween pics from Funnies.com.

Online pumpkin carving (31DoHM Day 29)

Thanks to Kimberly for leading me to an online pumpkin carving "simulator." Here's one I carved:

Click here to carve your own.

Chapel of Bones (31DoHM Day 29)

Day 29: Chapel of Bones

One of the creepiest places that I have ever been is the Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones) in Evora, Portugal. The chapel is the creation of a 17th century monk who wanted to comment on the transitory nature of mortality … while scaring the shit out of people. The following words are engraved at the chapel’s entrance: Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos (We bones that are here, for your bones we wait). All the walls of this 200 square meter chapel,as well as its eight pillars are covered with the bones and skulls from thousands of corpses exhumed from graves (usually without consent or knowledge from anyone).

Photography by Emiana © 2003

The Devil's Violin (31DoHM Day 28)

Day 28: The Devil's Violin














Last night, Emiana and I caught a performance by the Devil's Violin at the Barbican Centre. Wow. Spooky, enthralling, poignant, and dynamic.

The Devil's Violin is a quartet comprised of a violinist, an accordianist, a cellist, and and storyteller. This Welsh group performs "long forgotten Gypsy tales from Wales and elsewhere with music inspired by the passion and energy of the Gypsy tradition."

I wish I had known about them earlier as I think that knowledge would have created a much creepier tone to my 31DoHM. Oh well, there's always next year.

Until then, click here to visit the Devil's Violin website.

Jack-o-Madness (31DoHM Day 28)

Day 28: More Jack-o-Lanterns

"Here's a picture of our pumpkins from last year ... The kids designed them, Amy carved them and I took the photo."

pumpkins
Photograph by Mannequin Snow © 2006

Zombies, mummies, Phyllis Diller (Friday 27 October 2006)

Zombies, mummies, Phyllis Diller, and other ghastly creatures took over the Tiki Chris blog, while I prowled around London taking some photos for Juxtapoz Magazine's website.

Thanks to Laurel and Trader Woody for this week's contributions to the 31DoHM.

In CheekyTiki news, the finishing touches are in place at Mahiki, which should be opening very soon! Woo hoo!

And, of course, there are plenty of recent posts at ontoLondon, ontoTravel, and Rapa Nui News.

Please see below for a complete listing of all of this week's posts.

Have a great weekend,
Tiki Chris

Below is information about the five blogs that I administer: CheekyTiki, ontoLondon, ontoTravel, Rapa Nui News, and Tiki Chris. Each Friday, I hope to provide a weekly review of what I've posted. If a particular blog interests you, keep in mind that I’ve been blogging since well before this past week. You may want to take a look through the archives of any blog that interests you. Thanks.


CheekyTiki
http://cheekytikiuk.blogspot.com
Site feed URL: http://cheekytikiuk.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Mahiki Teaser
Product Profile: Shell Shade Lamp
Join the CheekyTiki mailing list
Mahiki Teaser


ontoLondon

http://www.ontoLondon.com

Site feed URL: http://ontolondon.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Virtually free Guy Fawkes and Anne Boleyn
Weekly Photo (26 October 2006)


ontoTravel
http://www.ontotravel.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://ontotravel.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Time to Move to Tonga?


Rapa Nui News

http://www.rapanuinews.blogspot.com/

Site feed URL: http://rapanuinews.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
"Monolithic" pop culture references #17
New book about Rapa Nui's history, geology, and cu...
New7Wonders "race" is on
Moai "Canstruction" in North Carolina
"Monolithic" pop culture references #18
"Ecocide" and Rapa Nui
Around the world dancer stopped in Rapa Nui


Tiki Chris

http://www.tikichris.blogspot.com/

Site feed URL: http://tikichris.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Mad Monster Party Trailer (31DoHM Day 21)
Couple of photo gigs for Juxtapoz
If only there were a one-stop online source for al...
I want my mummy (31DoHM Day 23)
Punkins (31DoHM Day 23)
The Loch Ness Geek (31DoHM Day 24)
Are those lima beans coming back to haunt you? (31...
Disneyland's Haunted Mansion (31DoHM Day 26)
ontoLondon's spooky photos (31DoHM Day 26)
How to scare my wife (31DoHM 27)

How to scare my wife (31DoHM 27)

Day 27: How to scare my wife

I dare say there's not much in this world that's more frightening to my dear lovely wife than me wearing this shirt, except maybe me wearing this shirt and doing the robot.

photograph by Trader Woody © 2006

ontoLondon's spooky photos (31DoHM Day 26)

The 31DoHM are oozing over to my other blogs too. All of October's Weekly Photos posted at ontoLondon have been selected for their particularly spooky look. Thanks to Emiana and to Laurel Parker for their contributions.

Strong Selling Point
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Photograph by Emiana © 2006






Portobello Road
Weekly Photo (12 October 2006)
Photograph by Tiki Chris © 2006






Scary Halloween Lady
Weekly Photo (19 October 2006)
Photograph by Laurel Parker © 2006










Pink and Creepy
Weekly Photo (26 October 2006)
Photograph by Tiki Chris © 2006

Disneyland's Haunted Mansion (31DoHM Day 26)

Day 26: Disneyland's Haunted Mansion

This clip takes viewers through Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride. The Haunted Mansion at Disney World scared the living daylights out of me when I was four. Now I can enjoy the fright from the comfort of my own home.

Are those lima beans coming back to haunt you? (31DoHM Day 25)

Day 25: Are those lima beans coming back to haunt you?













Click here to learn how to make Lima Bean Ghosts, as well as all sorts of other cute and easy Halloween crafts.

The Loch Ness Geek (31DoHM Day 24)

Day 24: The Loch Ness Geek

Among the many unexplained mysteries in the world is why a documentary about this guy was ever made:

Punkins (31DoHM Day 23)

Day 23: Mo' Punkins!


Punkins
Photograph by Laurel Parker © 2006
Check out more of Laurel's work at film production company Mobley Street.

Mummies (31DoHM Day 23)

2008 UPDATE: This is an old post from 2006.

What you probably want is a link to my 2008 I WANT MY MUMMY content.

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW STUFF.

Day 23: I want my mummy

Click here for jokes so funny they come with a mummy back guarantee!

Got an uncontrollable urge for some Mummy music?



Here's a scene from the Boris Karloff classic:



Mummy's the word,

Tiki Chris

2008 UPDATE: This is an old post from 2006.

What you probably want is a link to my 2008 I WANT MY MUMMY content.

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW STUFF.

If only there were a one-stop online source for all my zombie needs (31DoHM Day 22)

Day 22: ATZ


Zombies. You know 'em. You love 'em. You run from 'em because you know they want to suck your brains out of your head.

Now you can waste countless hours learning more about them than you'll ever need at AllThingsZombie.com, the zombie resource website, featuring news, reviews, interviews, message boards, contests, plenty of links, and more.

You've been warned.

Couple of photo gigs for Juxtapoz

I had a couple of photo gigs for Juxtapoz this week. Fun stuff and great art! Check 'em out:

Phil Frost
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2006
Juxtapoz
Friday, 20 October 2006



Click here for photos from Seeing is Believing, a one-man show by New York painter Phil Frost at Elms Lesters Painting Room in London on October 19th, 2006. The show continues until November 18th, 2006.

Mark Gonzales
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2006
Juxtapoz
Saturday, 21 October 2006

Click here for photos from the Mark Gonzales show on Friday, October 20 at the dpmhi Gallery with a viewing/unveiling of his latest collaborative creation, the Megga America Communion Priest.

Mad Monster Party Trailer (31DoHM Day 21)

Day 21: Mad Monster Party Trailer

Before Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer whinged about his blinking snozola, Phyllis Diller was gettin' freaky with the grooviest ghouls of all time!

If you haven't seen this Rankin-Bass piece of magic, I highly recommend it!

The Haunted blogs of Tiki Chris (Friday 20 October 2006)

Hope everybody likes the current, Halloween-ified look of the Tiki Chris blog and that you're enjoying the

31 Days of Halloween Madness.

Thanks to Jen, Pint Champion, woofmutt, Laurel, and Emiana for this week's contributions to the 31DoHM.

This week was another one of those "bunch of great stuff" sort of weeks. So, please check CheekyTiki, ontoLondon, ontoTravel, and Rapa Nui News!

Please see below for a complete listing of all of this week's posts.

Have a great weekend,
Tiki Chris

Below is information about the five blogs that I administer: CheekyTiki, ontoLondon, ontoTravel, Rapa Nui News, and Tiki Chris. Each Friday, I hope to provide a weekly review of what I've posted. If a particular blog interests you, keep in mind that I’ve been blogging since well before this past week. You may want to take a look through the archives of any blog that interests you. Thanks.


CheekyTiki
http://cheekytikiuk.blogspot.com
Site feed URL: http://cheekytikiuk.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Mug of the Month: Britiki
CheekyTiki by Tiki Racer
Product Profile: Hawaiian Print Telephones


ontoLondon

http://www.ontoLondon.com

Site feed URL: http://ontolondon.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Velázquez at the National Gallery
Arm + leg = movie ticket in London
Check out the new black cab for London
Weekly Photo (19 October 2006)


ontoTravel
http://www.ontotravel.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://ontotravel.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
The new national cocktail of Nicaragua: el Macuá


Rapa Nui News

http://www.rapanuinews.blogspot.com/

Site feed URL: http://rapanuinews.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
"Thought Travels" artist inspired by moai
Lonely Planet writer's journey into solitude
"Monolithic" pop culture references #16
New7Wonders' 21 finalists includes Rapa Nui's moai...
Rapa Nui presentation by John Kahn in New Paltz, N...


Tiki Chris

http://www.tikichris.blogspot.com/

Site feed URL: http://tikichris.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Spooky? Down right horrifying! (31DoHM Day 14)
Death drives a Triumph (31DoHM Day 14)
Skull Mug Shot (31DoHM Day 14)
Bwahaha! It's Countess Dracula! (31DoHM Day 15)
Witch way to Pendle Hill? (31DoHM Day 16)
My Punkin All Lit Up (31DoHM Day 16)
How to make a tiki-o-lantern (31DoHM Day 17)
Much has been said of the strumpets of yore (31DoH...
Coconut Monkey of the Dead! (31DoHM Day 18)
Appalachian Gothic (31DoHM Day 19)
The Corpse Grinders (31DoHM Day 19)
Emiana's country-fried workout
Tiki Bar TV episode 21: Snake
Punkin Carvin' (31DoHM Day 20)

Punkin Carvin' (31DoHM Day 20)

Day 20: Even more Jack-o-Lanterns - even more KISS



Punkin Carvin'
Photographs by Jen Cwiok © 2006

Tiki Bar TV episode 21: Snake

Check out the latest episode of Tiki Bar TV:

Emiana's country-fried workout

Skynyrd Class
posted by Emiana
Emiana
Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Once per week, at 7am, I attend a spinning class. The usual instructor plays standard upbeat fare – pop, lots of dance and high energy music to keep one motivated during the 45 minutes of self-inflicted torture. However, the usual instructor was on holiday and her replacement conducted the class this week.

Click here to read the complete(ly hilarious) post.

The Corpse Grinders (31DoHM Day 19)

Day 19: The Corpse Grinders - "There are plenty of ingredients in this world!"

In honor of the 31 Days of Halloween Madness, Tiki Chris's ole buddy, Pint Champion is kindly providing a few B-Horror movie reviews. Since the days when PC was but a wee half pint, he has been fascinated by campy, low-budget horror flicks. Indeed, he has seen thousands of movies in this genre.

So why low-budget horror flicks? PC likes how these films "have the ability to turn the morbid, outrageous, unbelievable, and grotesque into pure comedy. There is definitely an art to it, and I'm a fan."

All Pint Champion movie reviews are based upon his non-patented "Tom Wopat Rating Scale."



(10 Tom Wopats = The Best, 0 Tom Wopats = the Worst)

For his third review, Pint Champion has chosen "The Corpse Grinders." Enjoy.

The Corpse Grinders (1971)



Holy Mother of Morris the Cat! This movie is what it’s all about. Absolute, pure, 100%, old school SCHLOCK!

If you need a good laugh and appreciate low-budget horror movies that make no attempt at taking themselves seriously, then rent this one! I laughed my ass off. The storyline involves a mysterious brand of cat food called “Lotus”. Any poor kitty that eats this “pork-flavored” cat food almost immediately goes bonkers and viciously attacks the nearest human! Well, as the poster in the run-down Lotus Cat Food Company plant indicates, it’s “For Cats Who Love People.” During each attack you will be glued to your couch as another B-movie actor wrestles with fake blood and a stuffed cat to save their skin. What’s the secret ingredient that the kitties all love? The secret ingredient ain’t tuna and grain meal folks, it’s HUMAN FLESH!!!!!

Landau is the part-owner of the company and is operating illegally with the complicit help of his investment partner, Maltby. To save money, they begin cutting costs by buying corpses from the creepy caretaker (Caleb) of a nearby cemetery called, are you ready for this, “Farewell Acres.” Caleb is your typical bearded, hunchback, corpse-selling caretaker who lives with his insane wife Cleo. Cleo takes care of the baby, which is a doll that has hair that is all matted like hers. It gives a new meaning to “Empty Nest Syndrome.” She is always giving Caleb “salty meat” throughout the movie. Boy, wonder what kind of meat that is? The workers at the Lotus plant are also a trip. There is a wino janitor, Willie, and a one-legged “mute” redhead named Tessie. Landau happens to be fluent in “American Sign Language” and communicates with Tessie. What a great boss! Their hand motions, however, resemble wiping nacho salt from your fingers. One ASL sign I do know is the one for “bull shit.” (Make bull horns and rub them on your upper lip)

The protagonists are Dr. Howard Glass and his girlfriend nurse, Angie Robinson. They expose the company after becoming suspicious of the all the cat attacks. Dr. Glass fully explains (after one minute of highly scientific research using a ten dollar microscope and some cat guts) how once tigers in nature taste human flesh, they go crazy! Tigers related to domestic cats…makes sense, right? There is also a private investigator leering around here and there.

The “corpse grinder” is the machine that does the dirty business. It grinds up the bodies into a nice brown paste for the kitties. Since this movie was released in 1971, the nudity is toned down, so everyone has to go into the grinder with their clothes and all. Hilarious! Best lines of the movie are as follows.

“There are plenty of ingredients in this world!” (Landau after pushing his partner Maltby into the grinder)

“There is someone here (referring to dead body) to see you.” (Says Mortician Assistant to Mortician)
“He’ll have to wait.” (Mortician)

This movie gets high marks for making the Pint Champion all giggly. I highly recommend!

8 Tom Wopats!

Click here to to learn more about Ted V. Mikels, director and producer of "The Corpse Grinders."

Appalachian Gothic (31DoHM Day 19)

Day 19: Appalachian Gothic

Yessirreebob, I grew up in the deep dark south, to which I pay homage with the next two juicy bits of kuntry klips.

Bonnie Prince Billoween

I've been a big fan of Will Oldham/Palace/Bonnie Prince Billy for a long while. Here's a fittingly creepy video to a great Bonnie Prince Billy song:

Always keep to the trail

Sticking with the Appalachian gothic, here's one of the all-time scariest scenes in cinema!

Coconut Monkey of the Dead! (31DoHM Day 18)

Day 18: Coconut Monkey of the Dead!



Wanna add a tropical touch to your Halloween festivities? Looking for that missing piece for your next spookilau? Do what woofmutt did: customize a coconut monkey (easily found at pretty much any charity shop/thrift store or garage/boot sale).



Coconut Monkey of the Dead!
Photographs by monkeyskull © 2006
Click here to read woofmutt's original Tiki Central thread about his Coconut Monkey of the Dead!

Much has been said of the strumpets of yore (31DoHM Day 18)

Day 18: Much has been said of the strumpets of yore

Nothing really scary about this clip (except, perhaps, how much I enjoy it). Just a great scene from a spooky classic, The Wicker Man.

How to make a tiki-o-lantern (31DoHM Day 17)

Day 17: Tiki-o-Lanterns!

Visit tikifish.com for "genuine tikifish-designed Tiki-O-Lantern" patterns.

Coconut Wired Adventure #8

Coconut Wired Adventure #8: We were Hoodwinked

Click here to listen to the sonic surf, tropical tunes and exotic ambiance of the latest Coconut Wired episode.

My Punkin All Lit Up (31DoHM Day 16)

Day 16: Kooky spooky Jack-o-Lantern's glow

My Punkin All Lit Up
Photograph by Laurel Parker © 2006
Check out more of Laurel's work at film production company Mobley Street.

Witch way to Pendle Hill? (31DoHM Day 16)

Day 16: Witch way to Pendle Hill?

Sign of witchcraft on Pendle Hill
Photograph by Emiana © 2006

Bwahaha! It's Countess Dracula! (31DoHM Day 15)

Day 15: Bwahaha! It's Countess Dracula!

Skull Mug Shot (31DoHM Day 14)

Day 14: Another skull mug detail

Skull Mug Shot
Photograph by Tiki Chris © 2006

Death drives a Triumph (31DoHM Day 14)

Day 14: Grim Reaper looming over youthful frivolity

Death drives a Triumph
Photograph by Emiana © 2006

Spooky? Down right horrifying! (31DoHM Day 14)

Day 14: Spooky? Down right horrifying!

Happy Friday the 13th! (Friday 13 October 2006)

Hey! I think I might have coined a new term this week: McHattan, in reference to all those super-mega franchises, such as this one, that have been taking the grit out of Manhattan for the past decade or so.

I also continued eerily along through another dark week of the 31 Days of Halloween Madness and posted an artist profile on spooky, kooky Sam Gambino, one of my favorite artists. Thanks Sam!

I'd like to also thank Laurel, Pint Champion, Beth, Dawn, and the kids at Chive Talk for making this a very reader participanty week. YEAH!

And a very special thanks goes to Jen and John for allowing me to post one of my all time favorite photos ever!

In other news ...

did I mention there's a new tiki bar opening in London? Of course I did, along with all sorts of other great stuff over at the CheekyTiki blog.

Even more great stuff was posted at ontoLondon, ontoTravel, and Rapa Nui News this week too.

Please see below for a complete listing of all of this week's posts.

Have a great weekend,
Tiki Chris

Below is information about the five blogs that I administer: CheekyTiki, ontoLondon, ontoTravel, Rapa Nui News, and Tiki Chris. Each Friday, I hope to provide a weekly review of what I've posted. If a particular blog interests you, keep in mind that I’ve been blogging since well before this past week. You may want to take a look through the archives of any blog that interests you. Thanks.


CheekyTiki
http://cheekytikiuk.blogspot.com
Site feed URL: http://cheekytikiuk.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Cool kid at the Tattoo Convention
Check out these awesome tiki tattoos!
Product Profile: Tiki Quest
Basketful of pufferfish
More tiki tats!
Polynesian exhibition at the British Museum
Mahiki teaser


ontoLondon

http://www.ontoLondon.com

Site feed URL: http://ontolondon.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Clerkenwell Film and Video Festival: all about Lo...
Disney does Sir Elton John
Cool Britania: ice sculpture has eco-message for B...
Weekly Photo (12 October 2006)


ontoTravel
http://www.ontotravel.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://ontotravel.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
The new national cocktail of Nicaragua: el Macuá


Rapa Nui News

http://www.rapanuinews.blogspot.com/

Site feed URL: http://rapanuinews.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Tingo book review
"Monolithic" pop culture references #15
Princess Cruises to visit Rapa Nui


Tiki Chris

http://www.tikichris.blogspot.com/

Site feed URL: http://tikichris.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
KISS meets the Phantom of the Park (31DoHM Day 7)
KISS or Treat (31DoHM Day 8)
Alice Cooper meets the Muppets (31DoHM Day 9)
Ghost in a tree (31DoHM Day 9)
Lil Alice (31DoHM Day 10)
Motor Home Massacre, if you must (31DoHM Day 10)
Hey Hey Hey! It's Halloween (31DoHM Day 11)
Friendly Jack-o-Lantern (31DoHM Day 11)
Skull Mug Shots (31DoHM Day 11)
Hawaiian Tropic Zone heats up McHattan
A message from the shrunken head maraca maker (31D...
Death Brisket with Chives! (31DoHM Day 12)
Artist Profile: Sam Gambino (31DoHM Friday the 13...

Artist Profile: Sam Gambino (31DoHM Friday the 13th!)

Friday the 13th: Artist Profile: Sam Gambino

For this month's artist profile, I chose one of my faves: Sam Gambino. Sam's a versatile artist, whose style seems to comfortably weave in and out of a few genres.

Being that today is not just Friday the 13th but also the 13th day of my 31 Days of Halloween Madness, I'm only focusing on Sam's creepier works. However, I highly highly highly recommend checking out his website, especially his Tiki Gallery.

Some of Sam's especially Halloween-y works:



Shrunken Heads!

Learn more about this prolific artist at SamGambino.com.