Scary Monsters Magazine (31DoHM07)

A few months back I picked up Scary Monsters Magazine's 2007 Year Book, Monster Memories No. 15. The magazine with its glossy monster cover seemed to be sitting there on the magazine stand waiting especially for me. With an upcoming flight back to the States coming up, I needed some fresh, non-intellectual reading material.

It turned out to a fun read with a lot of personality. The editor could maybe tone down his ALL CAPS tendency and click on the spellcheck button a bit more, but perhaps that adds to the rag's overall endearing effect. Anyway, all the old monster movie images are a hoot, and the writing is excited and passionate, qualities that seem particulary rare in writing these days.

Most of the subject matter is a little before my time (but if you were a boy growing up America during the late 60s/early 70s, there's a good chance this magazine will read like gospel for you). However, an article about the new Groovie Goolies DVD set rekindled all sorts of boyhood memories and got me feeling just a wee bit giddy. More on that tomorrow.
























Click here to visit the Scary Monsters website.

Happy 31 Days of Halloween Madness from Tiki Chris

Frankenstein and "Extremely Freaky Weather" (31DoHM07)

Did Climate Inspire the Birth of a Monster?
by Nell Greenfieldboyce
All Things Considered
August 13, 2007

Most people look at Frankenstein as a simple tale of arrogant science running amuck. But it can also be viewed as an example of how climate change can have a profound effect on artists.

Click here for complete article.

Photography courtesy of zombophoto's photostream on Flickr.




Happy 31 Days of Halloween Madness from Tiki Chris

Taschen's Iconic Halloween is an Eye Candy Treat (31DoHM07)

I really love the Taschen Icons book series. If I had the money - and the room - I'd probably buy every title in the series, which ranges from Alchemy to Web Design with all sorts of image rich topics in between. But since I don't have that kind of money or even the space for the books I already own, I must settle for a few of my more preferred topics. Among them is Taschen's Halloween, "a nostalgic tribute to one of America's favorite holidays." At 192 pages of vintage Halloween graphics (masks, adverts, old photos, etc), I can leaf through this book and come across something different almost every time. At first I was annoyed by the lack of words (none) but now I appreciate it even more. A great bedside treat to inspire spooky dreams.

Happy 31 Days of Halloween Madness from Tiki Chris

Thomas Edison: Poet, Surrealist

An Untitled Prose Poem
by Thomas Edison

A Bowery angel smoking a palm tree stubbed his toe on a comet, and pimples came out on his toe nail as big as mountains. He swore so much that God made eight new planets out of the conversation & peopled and fauna'd and flora'd them eccentrically. The almighty has a vein of humor. He made these planets & peopled them to give amusements to beings on the rest of the celestial plantation. The men were 800 miles long & 1/4 inch thick. They slept on telegraph poles, and animals with bodies as big as a pea with 900 eyes each as big as a saucer lived on these long men by catching them by the feet and sucking them in like macaroni.























Click here for reading and discussion on NPR's Talk of the Nation.

Click here for reading and discussion on BBC Radio 4's Today.

Click here for the Thomas A. Edison Papers website.

Interview with Paul Insect for Juxtapoz

Recently, I met up with London artist Paul Insect for a few pints and some convo about Shoreditch, London street art, and his one-man show, Bullion, currently on exhibition at Soho's Lazarides Gallery.

Paul Insect's Midas Touch
by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz (website)
Monday, 23 July 2007

Our guy in London, Chris Osburn, spent some quality time with Paul Insect [JUXTAPOZ Issue #76] prior to his solo show, Bullion, at Lazarides Gallery.

Click here for complete interview.

D*Face Interview for whitehot

Chris Osburn interviews D*Face
by Chris Osburn
whitehot magazine of contemporary art
July 2007









A spot had been spied, and the only way to hit it was around the outside of a stairwell that had steel bars, in a cage-like structure covering it. To get to the spot, you had to shimmy along the outer railings which overhung the frozen canal, then up a few flights of stairs. Fine on the way up, but coming back down with paste-covered frozen hands was another story. Climbing around and along the railings, each shimmy made my hands slip further and further downwards to the point I was hunched up in a near ball-like posture and had to take a leap of faith for the canal wall.

Click here for complete interview.

Studio 360 interview with Joss Whedon

The new Buffy comics series means Joss Whedon's back in action, which is a very good thing. Here's an interview with Whedon in which he talks about why he decided to continue the Buffy saga - and why he chose to do it as a comic book. This one's for you, Emiana.

Buffy Returns
from the Miller, Second Life, Buffy episode
Produced by Eric Molinsky
Studio 360
PRI
May 11, 2007








Four years after Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended, creator Joss Whedon has resurrected his cult hit TV series in a very surprising fashion: as a comic book. .

Click here for more info.
Click here for the interview (RealPlayer).
Click here for the interview (iTunes).

Cyclops Interview for whitehot

Chris Osburn interviews Cyclops
by Chris Osburn (with photography by Marta Abalau)
whitehot magazine of contemporary art
May 2007










I like painting on the street because there's more democracy. You can just do your thing; you don't have to pay for gallery space or be curated or any of that. You just do your thing, where you like, how you like, and then it's out there. You haven't been paid and anyone can fuck it up or be inspired on the way to work by what you've made. And, once it's up, that's it: It doesn't belong to you any more.

Click here for complete interview.

Offline

The Tiki Chris blogs are on hiatus while I go have some non-blog fun. See you in a couple of weeks!


Need something to read? Check out ...

5 Good Reasons
a sampler of things
Arkiva Tropika
Barefoot Bloggin'
cookiewonton
El Blog Diablogico
Emiana
Eye of the Goof
Great British Pubs
Hanford LeMoore
hooked
Hotels by City - London
Humu Kon Tiki
Jablog
jeansnow.net
johnny dollar's vault
Junkyard Clubhouse
Kahuna Kawentzmann News
Miles' Thing
On the Road Travel
Plep
Positive Ape Index
Ribble Valley Pubs
Slice
South Pacific Travel Blog
Swanky's Blather
Tiki Magazine
Tiki Talk
Tikiblog
Virani le Beachcomber
Wooster Collective

Tiki Magazine's Polynesian Planet: New Wave British Tiki

The newly released Spring 2007 issue of Tiki Magazine features the first in my new series of Polynesian Planet articles, through which I aim to explore Polynesian Pop beyond the borders of the United States. My first piece is titled "New Wave British Tiki" and is about the current interest in Tiki that has been steadily building over the past few years here in the UK. This issue also features lots of other fab articles and pics and a brilliant cover by Mitch O'Connell.




















Click here to subscribe to Tiki Magazine.

Check out the May 07 issue of Juxtapoz

Make sure to take a gander at the May 07 issue of Juxtapoz (the one with the Paul Insect cover). In addition to being an all round groovy issue, it's got a photo in the Pop Life section by yours truly.

Click here to get your copy!

Some recent MARVEL-ous buys

Just thought I'd share some thoughts about a couple of Marvel Comics goodies that I've recently acquired.

The first is 40 Years of the Amazing Spider-Man, an eleven CD-ROM collection of every issue of the Amazing Spider-Man through 2003, in pdf form. That's over 500 issues, including Spidey's debut issue: The Amazing Fantasy #15. It's an awesome reference for geeks like me, especially since the issues are printable.


What's also cool is that the collection is complete with all those vintage advertisements, which, for me, is reason enough to view these CD-ROMs. I think it goes for around fifty bucks retail, but I got mine for $25 at a shop in Newark, New Jersey's airport.


My other recent Marvel buy is the Essential Werewolf By Night Volume 1. This thick paperback of WBN comics in black and white features Werewolf by Night's first appearance in Marvel Spotlight #2 and all related comics up to Giant-Size Creatures #1.
























WBN was among my favorite comics as a kid. The whole concept of werewolves rocked my lil noggin and to have that concept in comic-form (from Marvel nonetheless) was a real prepubescent delight for me. Reading it now, the concept's kinda goofy and the dialog's ridiculous. Still, the artwork is topnotch and the story is pretty compelling.

Pocketiki #2 Out Now!

Pocketiki #2 is out now. It's a good read and as fun as issue #1. This time round, the zine comes with oodles of goodies. It's even got a poem in it by yours truly!

Click here to get your own copy.

Interview with Dan Witz for Juxtapoz

Last week, I had a opportunity to have a chat and a roam around Brick Lane with artist Dan Witz before the opening of his show at StolenSpace. Here's the result:

Dan Witz - Interview
by Chris Osburn

Juxtapoz (website)
Tuesday, 10 April 2007










Our UK art show photographer Chris Osburn orchestrated an interview with Dan Witz before his show at StolenSpace in London on April 5th. Talking points: the smell of piss, cops, Giuliani, mosh pits, souls, and getting a black eye from a rough incident with a camera.

Click here for complete interview.

SWEET TOOF interview for Whitehot Magazine

Chris Osburn interviews SWEET TOOF
by Chris Osburn
whitehot magazine of contemporary art
April 2007















I got into it after watching a film called “Style Wars” by Henry Chalfant, also “Beat Street” and the book Subway Art are to blame. When I started I was into letter forms and characters. Years ago it would be skinny cap tags; today, it’s fat cap. When I started, the paint was thinner and today the paint can cover most surfaces. I still do the odd letter form piece, but now I’m more interested in what I can get my teeth into … also working with cut outs and paste-ups.

Click here for complete interview.

Mommy, what were polar bears?

Top titles of the future according to Time Magazine. Funny/scary stuff.
Just click on the image for a much larger, more legible view.
Thanks to Jen, the Chive Talkin' librarian, for sending this image my way!

Latest ish of NUDE Magazine

NUDE Magazine is a pretty good read. I'm especially enjoying the just released Spring 2007 Issue 10 for two reasons: it features a cover article with photos of Space Invader as well as a great, in depth interview with London-based illustrator/architect Michael Murphy of DESIGNinBLUE.

Back to the Future
by Ryan Crabbe
NUDE Magazine, Issue 10
Spring 2007

I still believe that great architecture has the ability to feed people's senses in a very positive way, and by saying 'great' I don't necessarily mean big. Great architecture to me is thoughtful and intriguing and has an effect on the subconscious through its regulation and manipulation of spaces.











Space Invader: all out art attack
by Anne Bowles
NUDE Magazine, Issue 10
Spring 2007

Forget bird flu: there's another much more benign virus being spread through the streets of the world's major cities, by a Parisian street artist who goes by the name of Space Invader.













Click here to purchase the latest copy of NUDE Magazine.

The Buffy adventure continues

"Buffy Season 8" Comic Book - Details
From Ew.com - By Webmaster
Whedon.info
2006-07-18


From comics she was born, and to comics she shall return: Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s post-cancellation adventures will soon begin anew — penned by Joss Whedon himself — in the pages of Dark Horse Comics ... Dark Horse will debut No. 1 at Comic-Con this week.

Click here for complete article.

Nature’s CCTV Cameras (or Chris Osburn interviews Dscreet)

I recently got a gig writing for whitehot magazine of contemporary art, a monthy online magazine. Here's a link to an article I wrote for them about London-based artist, Dscreet.

Nature’s CCTV Cameras (or Chris Osburn interviews Dscreet)
by Chris Osburn
whitehot magazine of contemporary art
March 2007










When painting owls in public spaces, Dscreet aims to have passers-by feel as if they are being watched by the very paintings they notice. According to Dscreet, “Owls are like nature’s CCTV cameras … a projection of my own paranoia.” Interestingly, Dscreet’s projection of paranoia is at once cheery and stern. His owls are large and colorful. Their unflinching (and unblinking) gaze creates an eerie presence that demands attention. To see them evokes the suspicion that a magic realm of wonder exists – even amid otherwise urban landscape.

Click here for complete article.

Crack cocaine and foie gras amazingly similar!

The podcast interview with the author is actually really fascinating, and the book sounds like a great read too.

Book Details Journey from the Streets to the Stove
All Things Considered
NPR
March 5, 2007


















In the late 1980s, Jeff Henderson was making $35,000 a week as a major drug dealer in San Diego. He got busted, went to prison and wound up washing dishes on kitchen duty ... After his release ... his skills making crack cocaine helped him master fussy French recipes such as foie gras.

Click here for complete article and for downloadable podcast.