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Below are the 30 most recent journal entries recorded in Elizabeth's LiveJournal:

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    Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
    9:57 pm
    my latest creation....
    FINALLY finished this Thomas Kuntz/Artomic garage kit for Geoff who has been patiently waiting way too long! He requested her painted like the "Silver Screen" versions of the Universal Monsters so I did my best to match the color palate they used (thankfully Paula had a Silver Screen variant Creature rom the Black Lagoon - big surprize, right?)

    Will deliver Friday!! So relieved I won't have to ship her!!





    Current Mood: accomplished
    Current Music: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Let Love In
    Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
    7:57 pm

    Caught "The Fall" last night at the DC Film Fest, directed by Tarsem Singh who did "The Cell" a few years back.

    It was mindblowingly beautiful and bizarre, the closest thing I can compare it to would be something like Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain except done as a twisted children's story with lots of bright colors & amazing cinematography, also gorgeous costumes by Eiko Ishioka who also did the ones for The Cell and Coppola's Dracula. If you are in the mood for something different I can't recommend it highly enough. I hope it gets a general release or at least makes it to DVD soon.

    official site (check out the trailer!!)
    http://www.thefallthemovie.com

    Looking forward to seeing Iron Man tomorrow and tonite is anime night at the OK Corral!

    Current Mood: impressed
    Current Music: Alkaline Trio - Private Eye
    Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
    2:46 pm
    The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs...
    Caught Ministry on Saturday night up at the Ram's Head Live in Baltimore on their final "C-U-La-Tour". The band sounded great (with Tommy Victor of Prog & formerly of Danzig on guitar) an dthe had the whole chain link fence thing going on but the setlist was a bit disappointing as the entire main set was all material from the newer and IMHO weaker albums. Then they came back on for an encore and did 3 old numbers with a fellow from Fear Factory on vocals & Al on guitar while they played "N.W.O.", "Just One Fix" and "Thieves", and then another shorter encore covering a Z.Z. Top song & the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb".

    I guess I feel if you are advertising it as your final tour folks might want to have one last chance to hear their old favs, even if you are struggling to sell your newer stuff.... I gotta admit, I was disappointed with no "Stigmata" or "Jesus Built My Hotrod" tho at least they did play "Thieves".

    Wonder what Al will do now? Rest on his laurels? Or another side project? I'm still waiting for Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters myself.

    Tomorrow I'll head downtown after work & catch Eddie Izzard at Constitution Hall which should be great & then Friday night back down to the movie theater at Gallery Place to catch the latest by Tarsem Singh, "The Fall". Tarsem directed "The Cell" a few years back & that movie completely blew me away with its extrordinary visual sense, so I've been looking forward to seeing anything else he'd do.

    Got my Ryuk figure from Sideshow yesterday & he's cool as hell, even has his own apple :)
    Thursday, April 24th, 2008
    5:13 pm
    please wait while we calibrate...the nozzle
    Venture Bros Season 3 teaser!! WOOT!

    Click here to view

    New episodes June 6th!
    Sunday, April 20th, 2008
    8:19 pm
    and lots more swag....


    We rested overnight & then enjoyed a hearty breakfast at the Seville Diner. You just can't beat those Jersey diners. Then off on a comic/movie geek pilgramage to Kevin Smith's comic book store in Red Bank NJ - "Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash". Absolutely awesome store / Kevin Smith movie museum full of all sorts of memorabilia and props. And amazing original art hanging on the walls. We found way too much to buy, I reasoned to myself I was still enjoying my b'day and therefore entitled to a bit more splurge and got the big fancy hardcover collected Hellboy Vol. 1 and an autographed Kevin Smith inaction figure. Chris found some figures of Ras Al Gul and Ming the Merciless & whimpered a bit at the life sized Snake Eyes head and the shelf of Boba Fett statues. And Paula got a Buddy Christ dashboard statue.

    Must...go....back...shop....more.....

    pix below )

    Current Mood: amused
    7:52 pm
    Wild Hearted Son....

    [info]kisarazumama and [info]atomagedevilman road tripped with me yesterday to NJ for my Birthday to see The Cult at the Starland Ballroom. We got to Sayreville about 4 PM, checked into our motel & then headed over to the venue. I made a quick chinese food run and brought back some lunch for everybody & we waited in the "preferred" line (of those who paid an extra $18 for special parking & getting in first). Doors opened at 7 & Chris and I got GREAT spots front & center on the rail - yay!! Paula preferred a seat but found a good view near the left bar.

    Didn't catch the name of the 1st band but they weren't bad, 2nd up was an all girl group from Toronto called the Cliks, their singer had a pretty good voice, sort of like a poppier Joan Jett.

    Finally time for the Cult - hooray! They did a lot more songs of their latest album "Born Into This" than on last fall's tour including "I, Assasin" and "Dirty Little Rockstar" but also plenty of older hits, opening the set with "Fire Woman" and "Rain" and including "Sweet Soul Sister", "The Witch ", "Electric Ocean", "Horse Nation", "Spirit Walker", "Edie (Ciao Baby)", "Wild Flower" and of course "Love Removal Machine" with a beautiful encore of "She Sells Sanctuary".

    Ian is still a very beautiful man (and I just loved the wolf tail hanging out of his jeans, yay Wolfchild!) and Billy Duffy looks exactly the same as ever.

    Afterwards we made it over to the Seville Diner on Rt 18 for a nice late dinner & I finally got some cake for my birthday, then we made it back to the motel in time to watch Death Note. Great way to spend a birthday :)


    many concert pix below )

    Current Mood: relaxed
    Current Music: The Mission - Swoon
    Saturday, April 19th, 2008
    8:34 am
    Another year older, maybe not much wiser


    It's my birthday today, hopefully nothing will blow up....

    April 19th tends to be a day of tragedy with events like the Waco massacre and the Oklahoma City Bombing, the invasion of the Bay of Pigs in Cuba and back in history the American Revolutionary war started at The Battle of Lexington and Concord . (In fact the two Columbine shooters intended to do their spree on this day but spaced it & remembered the next day) So I not so jokingly say I was born on "National Blow Things Up Day" & just hope for things to be quiet and peaceful. Its weird to take omne day a year to wake up and think "I hope nothing much happens."

    I'll celebrate the best way I know how - driving hours away to see one of my all time favorite bands. I always try and find a good show going on and as it turns out the Cult will be playing tonight in New Jersey at the Starland Ballroom so [info]kisarazumama and [info]atomagedevilman are coming along and we will road trip up, enjoy the show & then celebrate nearby at the wonderful diner (known for most excellent cakes!)

    [info]kisarazumama gave me this adorable kimokome Tiger that she made. :) He is a peaceful tiger, not a fierce one, so he carries a branch of bamboo in his mouth like a peace jesture.

    And of course, being Liz I had to buy myself a few things....

    pix below )

    Current Mood: thoughtful
    Current Music: The Cult - Black Angel
    Monday, April 14th, 2008
    9:06 am
    And speaking of cherry blossoms


    Finally got a chance to download/resize the photos I took the weekend before last - [info]kisarazumama and I went downtown to check out the cherry blossoms as well as a wonderful exhibition of Edo period Japanese art at the Sackler Gallery :)

    many photos behind LJ cut )

    Current Mood: contemplative
    Sunday, April 13th, 2008
    12:22 pm
    2008 Sakura Matsuri

    Yesterday was the 2008 Sakura Matsuri or Japanese street festival for the National Cherry Blossom Festival and hooray hooray for once it did not rain - well hardly, a couple of light showers in the AM before I went down and a few drops in the afternoon but nothing like the downpours of the last few years.

    [info]kisarazumama and [info]strangemuses went down early with their sensei (Professor Akiko Keene) to set up and do demonstrations all day on making traditional Japanese Kimokomi dolls.

    [info]atomagedevilman and I took the Metro down around noon to check out the festivities and the wonderful food (chicken on a stick!!!). Had fun taking pix of many kids decked out in wonderful street fashion & gothic lolitaesque outfits :)

    warning - tons of photos below cut! )

    Current Mood: cheerful
    Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
    8:30 am
    I hate spammers
    I had to kill one of my two main e-mail addresses yesterday. Some spammers faked their headings and sent out probably a zillion emails purporting to be from my "sistinas@psychotica.net" address.

    I came home last night to find about 500 bounced emails to it much to my horror. I shudder to think how many people hate me for sending shit I didn't do and I didn't want to wade thru complaints so to avoid any problems I just deleted the email addy and spent the night updating any boards/logins that use it.

    Now to change several hundred links on my psychotica.net website (grr) - I'll no longer put the email addy there but a link to a contacts page in case this happens again. I can't do much about the photoshopped credits on hundreds of photos but at least a few years ago I had the foresight to start using the website URL instead of my email address on them so its just on the older ones.

    So if you want to email me I'm now using just the sistinas @ ghosttigers.com one and I have two backups - sistinas138 @ gmail.com and mazikeen @ hotmail.com.

    I just hope I won't miss any email from folks who only have the old email - I'm going to make a note on my website & hopefully they will check there if they write & it bounces.

    Current Mood: frustrated
    Current Music: Nekromantix - Nice Day for a Resurrection
    Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
    2:19 pm
    60 Rules of Horror Punk
    An Amusing list I found while surfing....
    http://diablocast.blogspot.com/2007/12/60-rules-of-horror-punk.html

    60 Rules of Horror Punk
    (stolen from the forums at World Horror Network)

    by Kurt Andersen

    1.) Religiously watch Horror movies.
    2.) Be a "Fiend"
    3.) Be a "Ghoul"
    4.) Change your name to something spooky (Danzig, Sid Terror, Wednesday 13, Evil Presley)
    5.) Never use the word "Spooky"
    6.) Watch and thoroughly enjoy "Plan 9 From Outer Space"
    7.) Use Whoas as much as possible in your music
    8.) Have at least one song that’s about Zombies contain the word Zombie, Dead, or Undead
    9.) Refer to graves, graveyards, or cemeteries as much as possible. They’re "Fiendish".
    10.) You know what you need? some skeli gloves
    11.) You know what those gloves could use? Some spikes
    12.) Always refer to your band as either: Evil, Pure evil, the most evil, evilest, fiendish, or ghoulish band ever.
    13.) Make sure at LEAST one member of your band has his face painted like a skull or a Zombie
    14.) All members of your band are required to have Devil Locks. If they don’t know what that is, kill them immediately (Or kick them out of the bad, either one)
    15.) Never gain popularity (cult or otherwise) until 10 years after your band has broken up
    16.) After gaining popularity, reform with only one old member and tour using the same name of your "popular" band.
    17.) Make sure your logo contains a creepy looking skull or some variation of the Fiend Skull.
    18.) Make a skeleton shirt using only a black long sleeve shirt and White Out
    19.) Make a band website but never update it.
    20.) Never keep the same drummer, instead frequently hire new ones and fire them for ridiculous reasons.
    21.) You’re not using enough Whoas!
    22.) Pick out a creepy 1950's style horror movie font for you to write your band name in
    23.) Use green and purple for shading as much as possible
    24.) Spikes, spikes, spikes
    25.) Only use BC Rich guitars, they’re both Ghoulish AND Fiendish
    26.) Break a guitar or bass every show
    27.) Get a job solely to buy new equipment
    28.) Frequently attack your crowd, bash at least one person in the head with your guitar
    29.) Get banned from San Francisco
    308.) Write multiple songs about killing teenage girls and how much you enjoyed it
    31.) Make sure your drummer gets kidnapped for 6 months while touring
    32.) Whhhooooaaaahhh!!!
    33.) Make sure every photo is at a graveyard, or you playing live.
    34.) Why isn’t there any blood in your show? MORE BLOOD!!!
    35.) Every time you play live, have an old zombie movie play in the background.
    36.) Kill a cow and use its backbone on your leather jacket
    37.) Frequently state in public that Jerry Only should have just let the Misfits die.
    138.) Put a number in one of your songs or album covers. This insures that fiends will refer to it for years to come.
    39.) Frequently whine that Balzac should tour the U.S.
    40.) Make sure you have a side project or album title that has the name of a Misfits song on it
    41.) Don't speak, it you have to, grumble incoherently
    42.) Make sure your band has little or no musical talent
    43.) Wear boots: If possible, put spikes on them
    44.) Chains: Not only a great accessory, but good for attacking the crowd
    44.) Tour every single day for months on end, stop only to record an album.
    45.) Go to London to tour but instead get throw in jail. Write a song about it.
    46.) Open up your own club
    47.) Get it shut down only a couple years after it opened due to payment issues and noise and violence complaints.
    48.) Release self made EPs only, then compile them into two or three cds and give the cds different names then the EPs
    49.) When thinking of lyrics, cd titles, band names etc. Remember, EVERYTHING comes from outer space
    50.) Make your own record label, be sure to name it after an old horror movie or horror punk song
    51.) Make sure your album covers contains any combination of the following: Zombies, Demons, Skulls, Vampires and half naked women
    52.) Remember, Every day is Halloween
    53.) If you want your band to be happy together and last long, don't be like Danzig.
    54.) When writing lyrics, if you come at a writers block refer to rule 7
    55.) If you’re browsing for cds and see one from Germany, get it.
    56.) Frequently point out that the Nekromantix and Mad Sin are Psychobilly and not Horror-Punk
    57.) Also at every possible moment, point out the difference between Psychobilly and Horror-Punk
    58.) Punk Rock Is UNDEAD!
    59.) When throwing a party, see rule 1
    60.) You mean you sat here a read all this when you could be watching zombies massacre each other!? For shame, fooorrr shhhaaaammmmeee

    Current Mood: amused
    Current Music: The Matadors - The Evil Eye
    Sunday, March 30th, 2008
    6:38 pm
    Horrorfind
    Went to the Horrorfind convention with [info]kisarazumama today & met up with [info]atomagedevilman and his friend Lynette - the con was pretty disappointing as it was tiny & there were hardly any people there & a tiny dealer's room that was about a third empty. Granted it was Sunday & I'm sure it was more heavily attended on Saturday (or I hope so anyway) but it was still kinda sad - I wonder if it is because of the con relocating from the Marriott Hunt valley north of Baltimore or due to the general bad economy?

    Still we managed to spend our $$ and buy some cool stuff - [info]kisarazumama got a great giant Godzilla model kit by Polar Lights that we'd never seen before. We knew of their excellent recasts of the old Aurora monster kit sbut didn't realize they'd made a few new originals of their own in that style & this fellow is one of those (about the size of the Aurora Big Frankie). I got a cool book on decorating for Halloween full of great photos of rare old vintage decorations from the fellow who wrote it who was only to happy to sign it & he also had some very nice modern repros of antique Halloween cards - since the originals sell for big bucks on ebay I stocked up so I can send some to friends when the season rolls around :)

    pix below )

    Current Music: Ghost Dance - Heart Full of Soul
    Saturday, March 22nd, 2008
    9:13 pm
    In the land of the infected, the immune man is king

    This afternoon Paula and I went over to the Rio & caught a matinee of "Doomsday", the latest from Neil Marshall who directed "Dog Soldiers" and "The Descent." It was the most fun we've had at the movies in a long time as it's such an insanely crazy flick we were howling with laughter during much of it.

    It's sort of a combination of The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Escape from New York and 28 Days Later with its tongue planted firmly in cheek and a fun (and well placed) soundtrack (Adam & the Ants, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Frankie Goes to Hollywood etc). Sometimes it doesn't make a whole lotta sense but if you just relax and enjoy the ride its a fun weird trip even if it jumps the shark a few times. Starring Malcolm McDowell, Bob Hoskins & a bunch of other people you never heard of who look cool.

    A great way to spend part of an afternoon :)

    Current Mood: amused
    Current Music: Naruto on the TV
    Monday, March 17th, 2008
    10:55 pm
    If I'm gonna be gimpy at least I can do it in style
    Another goodie that arrived in the mail today from my recent splurge may help if my bum knee continues...its a replica of the cane used by Gary Oldman in Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula and has a pull out sword...well more like a longish dagger....



    I can totter in style

    Current Music: Social D - Ball and Chain
    11:04 am
    misc....
    Wish the rest of my weekend had been as fun as Saturday's show but Sunday was a bummer - I'd twisted my knee pretty bad a few weeks ago and yesterday it was KILLING me. (I was getting on a shuttle van at the airport & had to lift my leg real high to get in since I'm short & my 50 lb backpack shifted and slide and I lost my balance and spun on the knee - OUCH!)

    I need to ditch the "maybe I will ignore it and it will go away" idea as that is obviously not working so I made a doctor's appointment for Thursday morning. I'm hoping its just a bad sprain but fearing a torn meniscis as its a sharp pain on the inside right knee under joint. It comes and goes but yesterday was the worst yet, I could barely walk and had to cancel my plans for the day to go to a lecture on Edo art at the Freer gallery (too much walking at the Smithsonian for my bum knee!) hell I could barely make it between my bed and the bathroom! At least I can still see the exhibit as it will be there for a month. I didn't even try do my laundry or make a grocery store run as I was too intimidated at the thought of the stairs.

    At least today it is bearable and wrapping it in an ace bandage seems to help. Spooky has been doing his best "medicinal kitty" help (the fuzzy hot water bottle effect).

    I've been just kinda depressed lately, now that I'm not running around like crazy on weekends and keeping myself moving - I tend to crash when I stop moving. No major trips planned for a while, at least til we go to NJ to see the Cult on my birthday. Definitely aiming for Horrorfind at the end of the month as it is local.

    So when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. I should stay away from ebay for a while as I kinda splurged lately.....

    new toys for Liz )

    Current Mood: sore
    9:47 am
    The Unseen at the Ottobar


    Saturday was pretty crazy - I headed up early to the Ottobar to see the Unseen & get a chance to hang out a bit and brought them some cookies Paula baked. When I arrived I saw the hood of their truck up and all of them bending over the engine - NOT a good sign. Turns out all the fluid was leaking out of the transmission and it had started making some weird noises just as they were getting into Baltimore which was only the third stop of their month long tour with Wilhelm Scream. Needless to say they were pretty worried and had to figure out what to do - of course it was late afternoon on a Saturday which meant no repair shops would be open until Monday morning.

    Meanwhile I drove Mark & their tour manager Jeff down to a nearby Auto parts store where they bought a huge container of transmission fluid so they could add some before they tried to drive the truck anywhere to be repaired & they made plans. Eventually they decided to rent a vehicle so the band could continue on the their shows (next one in Virginia beach the next night) and they'd leave Jeff and Elvis behind to take the truck into a dealership Monday morning and meanwhile they could park their trailer at one of Elvis' friend's house where they were staying. Then once the truck is fixed they can catch up with the band who can drop off the van in another city.

    It took Mark a while to find a place where they could rent a large vehicle on such short notice but he found a full size car thru Avis at BWI airport so I drove him down to pick it up - when we got there he was really lucky and was able to upgrade it to a 12 passenger van for only $6 more! The fellow at the checkout was really funny... Mark asked if anybody could smoke in the van, he was like "hey man, you can you anything you want, you wouldn't believe what people do in there. I found half a joint under the seat." His smile indicated that he enjoyed the remaining half and hoped for some more good finds, I bet he cleans those vehicles out thoroughly...

    Mark in the van followed me back to the Ottobar (I figure with all my stickers my car is hard to loose in traffic!) & we got there just in time to catch Wilhelm Scream who I'd heard recommended before and they were really good. Then the Unseen went on a little after midnight & even tho they were stressed and tired they put on a great show including a wonderful cover of "Paint it Black" for the encore.

    Fun to watch Elvis playing with them - he's the singer/guitarist from Left Alone and is filling in for Tripp this tour & will also do so on the upcoming one they are doing with Tiger Army. I'd met him a couple years back when LA were touring with the Horrorpops & then again opening for Tiger Army & he likes my pix & LA used one on their last album so when he spotted me when I arrived his first question was "you still snapping pix?" and I promised to get some good ones of him. And speaking of photos, Mark gave me a couple copies of their latest album on vinyl as some of my pix are on the inside liner - yay, I'm officially on some VINYL! The clear vinyl is especially cool :) Still so proud to se ethem using those pix I took on T shirts posters etc!

    Tried to talk Mark & Co. into coming over to the Paper Moon diner afterwards but they were too stressed & tired so Jennifer and I went & had a great late nite dinner and the Unseen have a raincheck for May 16th when they'll be back at the Ottobar with Tiger Army - that will be a fun weekend!!

    More pix on my webpage at http://www.psychotica.net/unseen/2008-Ottobar.html

    lots of pix from the show behind this LJ cut too! )

    Current Mood: accomplished
    Current Music: The Clash - Safe European Home (on XM Fungus)
    Thursday, March 13th, 2008
    8:13 pm
    I really want to see this!!!


    Just stumbled on this & hadn't heard about it before - a film coming out on my favorite living writer - Harlan Ellison - called "Dreams with Sharp Teeth"

    http://www.creatvdiff.com/harlan_ellison.php

    Awesome!

    If you aren't familar with his work I can't recommend it highly enough, especially his short stories such as ""Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman", "A Boy and His Dog", "I have no Mouth and I Must Scream", "Jefty is Five" and "Mephisto In Onyx". They are visceral, highly literate & utterly unforgettable.

    I discovered his books in my early teens and he had a huge influence on early Liz. (I even flew cross country to Phoenix when I was 17 to see him at a Science Fiction con where he was Guest if Honor, hmmm first time I did something like that!) I'm fortunate to have been able to hear him speak a number of times, he tells the most amazing stories & could keep you breathlessly waiting on his next word even if he was just reading his grocery list.

    Bio on wikipedia:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_ellison

    Current Mood: excited
    Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
    1:34 pm
    very sad news


    I just heard that artist Dave Stevens has died of Leukemia. I hadn't even realized that he'd been ill though I hadn't seen much work by him in the last few years.

    He was an amazing artist and creator of "The Rocketeer", also well known for his lovely pinups. I never could afford one of his originals but am happy to have a signed print of one of my favorite pieces by him of Vampirella (and just realized he drew his own tombstone in the lower right corner) and I got to meet him some years back at one of the Chiller conventions. He was as handsome and friendly as he was talented.

    A very sad loss to the art world :(

    http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/03/11/dave-stevens-1955-2008

    Current Mood: sad
    Thursday, March 6th, 2008
    9:39 am
    I like my coffee like I like my women...covered in beeees!


    Just found out that Eddie Izzard is doing another big tour & will be here in DC on May 1/2 - woot! (and the nice person who posted this on the Blood Pact forums also posted the presale password which is "STRIP" BTW)

    This will be a blast, very glad to be able to snag good orchestra pit tix as I know it will sell out quick, especially with him now having his own TV more-or-less mainstream show.

    www.auntiemomo.com/cakeordeath/currenttour.html

    dates & info below )

    Current Mood: crazy
    Current Music: Alkaline Trio - Sadie
    Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
    2:07 pm
    MusInk (The Ink part)


    Finally catching up - the weekend before last I made it out to SoCal but barely.... I intended to take the 9:30 AM flight from BWI to LAX but we got hit by a nasty snowstorm that turned into an icestorm, and being the chicken that I am who refuses to drive in inclement weather I called SuperShuttle & got to BWT nice and early...onbly to wait an extra 4 hours while the flight that originated in New Hampshire was delayed, and finally arrived & had to de-ice and then stopped in Nashville & de-iced all over...

    So while I was originally due to LA in early afternoon I didn't get there until evening & was too pooped to do anything & ended up skipping the concert I was going to photo (Time Again's record release at the Knitting factory) - major bummer...

    At least I got plenty of sleep for the next day & headed down early to Orange County & caught up with Alex & Rachel and we headed off to the MusInk tattoo & musicfest in Cosa Mesa put on by Kat Von D & the LA Ink crew which was a ton of fun! There were about 150 different artists there hard at work, a whole building full of vendors of cool stuff & that night a great concert in store - Throw Rag, The Guana Batz and Tiger Army!

    I resisted getting any more tattoos there since a) I don't have much $$ and b) I tend to think bigger in terms of tattoos than ones done quickly in an afternoon and affordable LOL and c) not wanting to spend all day on a plane with a fresh sore itchy spot! But Alex got one on his lower leg in script that says "Stay Fresh" (I think he plans a sprig of broccoli over it.

    Watched the Saturday competitions for color work & saw some very nice stuff :)

    (MANY MANY pix below!! And see next post for concert stuff!)

    way not dial up friendly - tons of pix below cut! )

    Current Mood: amused
    Monday, March 3rd, 2008
    10:34 am
    celebrity sighting
    There's apparently a big ceremony going on in a few minutes in the conference center attached to our office building to rename the Child Health Institute after Eunice Shriver so everybody stopped working to watch the celebs file in (our office overlooks the atrium between the office side & the conference center side) and we saw Eunice, Ted Kennedy, Arnie & Maria Shriver and a whole slew of Kennedy young-uns. Lots of security too, wouldn't have been a good time to run down to the ATM machine. (Though not as bad as the time Al Gore was here & they wouldn't let you use the elevator)
    Saturday, March 1st, 2008
    8:36 pm
    best recent add to the Liz art gallery : )
    Since its so damn hard to find any original work by Marty Emond (him being gone nearly 4 years now & having lived most of his life in New Zealand little made it to the USA) whenever I see a piece pop up (once or twice a year) I try my best to snag it.

    Heritage Auctions recently listed two nice painted pieces, one a splash page from "White Trash" of the pink caddy & this pinup styled cowgirl. I got outbid on the White Trash piece which is actually OK as I already have a really nice painted page from it but am thrilled to add Cowboygal to the Liz collection :)



    Poking around tonight I found that Illicit Clothing did a T shirt and a work shirt based on this! (They also did a shirt of the "Lover Destroyer" painting I have) - very cool!

    Sigh... I can't help to think what Marty would be doing if he was still around.

    Current Mood: excited
    Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
    1:31 pm
    "Look! They're filming midgets!"
    Had a fairly quiet President's Day weekend, catching up on much needed sleep has made me feel considerably better while I head into another crazy sleepless weekend which at least will be the last major travel for a bit.

    Did get out to the movies and Paula and I went down to the Landmark in Bethesda and caught "In Bruges" directed by popular British playwright Martin McDonagh starring Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson. Went expecting some witty wanna be Quentin Tarrantino meets Guy Ritchie after seeing the trailer and was considerably more impressed by the writing & character development. The language is pretty raw but damn funny with many great lines and how can you miss with 2 hitmen on vacation and loads of violence, drugs, prostitutes and midget jokes and some Hieronymus Bosch for good measure. Highly recommended so long as you don't blush at the "f" word (kinda wondered how some of the elderly crowd at the art house theatre were handling it...)

    Looking forward to the weekend - heading out Friday morning for SoCal again, will catch Time Again's record release show at the Knitting Factory Friday night & then Saturday is the big "MusInk" tattoo convention in Orange County put on by Kat Von D/LA Ink and Tiger Army, The Guana Batz and Throw Rag will be playing there that night which will be fun. Have to promise myself no new tattoos (combo of no money + not wanting to fly cross country with itchy new tattoo & no lotion *or* end up in the midst of moshpit with a fresh and sore one!) but I am definitely wanting some more soon, can't believe its been a year and a half since my last!

    So last big trip for a while, at least until TA tours in May :) I'm kinda depressed that there was no way I could get enuff $$$ together to go see them in Australia (mainly because I REALLY want to see Zombie Ghost Train again who are opening for them) but it would be about $2K in airfare alone and I just haven't been able to raise it. The economy is so awful I can't sell much now - over the years I've always been able to count on selling some collectibles quick to raise fast cash when I need it. Haven't been able to move any of my horse figurines in months and was trying to sell several pieces of art but only able to sell one and got really low offers on the others so I figured it was better to hang on to them for now than sacrifice for a lot less than I'd paid. (at least I made a good profit on the one I did sell) Nobody has extra $$ for stuff these days, that recession has been here for a while :( Just really miss them, hopefully they'll be back to the states this summer or later this year I can afford to go over there. Read in the LA times that some more airlines will be starting the LAX-Sydney route which is expected to bring fares down quite a bit, maybe under $1K round trip which would be awesome. Never quite understood why Australia was so much more to travel to than Japan but apparently there's a lot less options.

    And there's a good chance I'll make it to Japan in August :) That damn passport is burning a hole in my pocket. At least that gives me a lot more time to raise the $$.

    Great to hear ZGT again on XM's Fungus channel too last nite, so happy to hear them on the (sat) radio!!! :)

    At least some good shows are finally coming here - the Horrorpops will be at the Ottobar March 2 and The Unseen there March 15 and Time Again April 4th and Tiger Army is actually playing there May 16 which will be pretty insane. The Ottobar is definitely my favorite dive bar & place to see a show/hang out, plus next to Reptilian Records & around the corner from the Paper Moon diner :) TA will also be playing the Troc in Philly on the 17th & Irving Plaza in NYC on the 18th which will make for a crazy fun weekend!

    Current Mood: relaxed
    Current Music: Horrorpops - Thelma & Louise
    Monday, February 11th, 2008
    8:16 pm
    back from Vegas & Tiger Army


    Finally back from Las Vegas & caught up on some sleep, the show was awesome, especially as for the only time this tour that I know of they were joined onstage by Donny and did "Outlaw Heart" for an encore,such a treat to hear that one again!!!!

    Love Equals Death and Revolution Mother opened, wish the Dear & Departed could have been there but since they'd opened for TA at the record release show there las June the venue wanted a different band so L=D filled in instead - s'ok as I like them a lot too.

    I left Baltimore in the morning & Alex & Rachel met me at the airport and we checked into our hotel & headed over to the Mandalay Bay & had lunch at the House of Blues so we could do the "pass the line" thing (people who eat there get in first when they show their receipt). Waited in line with several other folks I knew from the Wiltern shows & it was great to see them again! And while I was waiting by the box office for the photo pass James came over & gave me a hug and asked how my flight was - he told me I looked tired & I told him it had been a long day but I'd cerrtainly be wide awake when they were onstage :) He's such a sweetie! Also their manager's assistant came over & introduced himself & his wife, very nice of him, I'm so appreciative of how they take care of me :)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Set list (from memory so I might be off a bit)

    Prelude - Signal Return
    Afterworld
    When the Night Comes Down
    Devil Girl
    Santa Carla Twilight
    LunaTone
    Nocturnal
    Hotprowl
    Cupid’s Victim
    Rose of the Devil's Garden
    Pain
    Through the Darkness
    F.T.W.
    Forever Fades Away

    Encore:

    Outlaw Heart (with Donny on steel guitar)
    American Nightmare
    Never Die

    Annabelle Lee

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    And found out it was Albert's birthday when Nick wished him a happy birthday from the stage so had to go wish him one after the show at the merch booth & he was all surprized thad I knew it was his birthday!

    Only shot a few pix as the venue just let us shoot for 1 song even tho they'd originally told us 3 (there was me and one other photographer, plus a guy video taping) Still got some decent ones, so here are a few, more on the ghosttigers ite -
    http://www.ghosttigers.com/gallery/concert/2008-HOB-LasVegas.html

    It awas so great to see so many folks there that I know from the SoCal shows as well as Eric Razo from Viva Hate & the Henchmen!

    pix below cut )

    Current Mood: tired
    Current Music: The Clash - Brand New Cadillac
    Saturday, February 9th, 2008
    6:53 am
    Vegas Baby!
    Tiger Army & Love Equals Death at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay tonite - YAY!

    All packed and about to head to BWI airport.

    Also found I'll have a fun show on my birthday as The Cult are playing the Starland Ballroom on April 19th - whoo hoo!! Ian Astbury for my birthday!!! ROAD TRIP!!!

    And ticketmaster is showing a Tiger Armys show for Irving Plaza in NYC on May 18th - hmmmm another US tour & back to the east coast???? Tix onsale this morning!

    Current Mood: excited
    Current Music: Foxboro Hot Tubs - Mother Mary
    Monday, February 4th, 2008
    10:05 pm
    sigh....Liz has a bad art habit

    ....but couldn't resist reserving one of the next Michael Hussar print (#4) "Still Life with a Smile" that they are putting out thru Birdbath Publishing. Especially since Mr, Hussar's nice assistant holds the same number of each edition for me (#23).

    His stuff never fails to amaze me... And I'm such a total geek when it comes to art.

    Current Mood: extravagant
    Current Music: Mad Sin - Dead Moon Calling
    11:50 am
    Saturday night in Kentucky :)


    Another weekend another Tiger Army show - yay!!!

    Chris and I headed off way too early Saturday morning for Covington, KY (just across the river from Cincinnati) - a 500 mile roadtrip that could have been smoother... first we stopped for breakfast & I realized I'd left my wallet in my other hoodie when I gassed up the night before so we had to turn around. Then I fell asleep in the car & wasn't awake to tell Chris to get off the PA turnpike at the New Stanton exit and continue on Rt 70 and woke up somewhere north of Pittsburgh to turn back again. Poor Chris tried to make up some time which earned him a speeding ticket - whoops. So we cooled it & eventually rolled into Covington & checked into the Marriott Courtyard right on the waterfront, delighted to see a White Castle in the front of the hotel - sweet!

    Headed over to the venue which was pretty close - it was a very intimate venue with a tiny low stage and no barrier which was a very cool place to see Tiger Army after much larger venues on the west coast. Delivered the bags of cookies that Paula and I had made for TA and The Dear & Departed which were very well received :) The guys sure enjoy some treats on the road and James is totally all about those NUTTER BUTTERS!!)

    The crowd was totally crazy & really into it, it got pretty rough & I was thrown forward into the stage a few times - my back is hurting today as are my shins (banged into the stage) but it was soooo worth it as the show was just amazing, there was just so much energy I think it was one of the best shows I've seen in ages. One of those nights when you realize why you love something so much and why you go so far out of your way to do what you do and hell yeah it was worth driving 500 miles each way & all the hassles and money. Hey Liz's whole attitude towards life - ask yourself at any given moment where you'd be if you could be doing anything and then if you aren't already doing it, figure out how to make it happen! There are few things I'd ever rather do than go see my favorite bands :)

    The Dear & Departed were also great & it was a real treat to see Dan join Tiger Army onstage for the encore for "Ghosts of Memory" as he sang the backups on the album so that was a real treat (plus they rarely play that one live!!)


    Setlist:
    Prelude - Signal Return
    Afterworld
    When the Night Comes Down
    Devil Girl
    Santa Carla Twilight
    LunaTone
    Nocturnal
    Hotprowl
    Rose of the Devil's Garden
    Pain
    Through the Darkness
    F.T.W.
    Forever Fades Away
    Cupid’s Victim


    Encore:
    Ghosts of Memory (w/ Dan from the Dear & Departed!)
    American Nightmare
    Never Die

    I was REALLY hoping they'd play American Nightmare again so Chris could hear it so I called out for for it & was blown away when Nick introduced it - he said "you could have been coming to see Tiger Army since '96 or '97 and never gotten to hear this one live except for Elizabeth over there who was in San Diego a few weeks ago"

    Nick, you so rock :)

    Afterwards hung out for a bit - gave James a big hug & talked to the Dear & Departed for a while, they are all such sweethearts, I really wish they were playing the Vegas show next weekend instead of Love Equals Death (who I do like quite a bit) but since they played the record release show in Vegas last June they couldn't do it again - bummer! Will see Dan at the MuseInk fest coming up tho as he'll be doing some tattooing there!

    At least our return trip was smoother & uneventful, we stopped at an Outback steak house for dinner & to take a break from the car - the BEST thing IMHO about Super Bowl Sunday is being able to walk right into the sort of popularrestaurant where you'd normally have to wait an eternity for a table and have it be mostly empty (in fact just a few tables of football widows!) The steak was wonderful & very rare :)


    http://www.ghosttigers.com/gallery/concert/2008-MadHatter-Covington.html


    lots of pix below cut )

    Current Mood: sore
    Current Music: The Damned - Anything
    Friday, February 1st, 2008
    10:43 am
    Happy Birthday Paula!
    Happy Birthday Paula a/k/a [info]kisarazumama - hope you are enjoying your day off & we'll have a great dinner tonight at Ziki Japanese Steak house!



    (and I can't believe I even found a Godzilla card!)

    Current Mood: amused
    Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
    10:07 am
    Death Drinks a Mai Tai
    Just had to order one of these shirts as this design is just too high concept for words =)

    Yay for Woot!



    Current Mood: amused
    Friday, January 25th, 2008
    1:53 pm
    Gotta love those LOL cats :)


    Current Mood: amused
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