In search of Titans.

A while back, I had been reminded of a favorite movie from my childhood. There was a discussion about how to make a halloween scene out of some statues and I immediately recalled Clash of the Titans, and the wonderfull Medusa scene. It’s been kicking around my brain since then, and while it was completely unrealistic for me to attempt to make such at thing, it restirred a desire to see this film again, for I hadn’t seen it since I was about 12 or so. I have one bizaar memory of the movie.

I recall having the toy of Calibos, and of Perseus. Must have been around the time it came out. And, I slept over at my Grandma’s (a rarity). Her not having a shower, I had to take a bath (even bigger rarity, always showered). And, I was allowed to play with these Clash of the Titans toys in the tub. (Only time I ever recall having toys in the tub) I immediately set out to recreate the fight in the swamp.

So, there was a strong sentimental urge for me to find this movie.

An internet search let me know it was on DVD. What’s more, it’s even being remade. The internet also informed me that the local Best Buy and Circuit City did not have any copies. So, I began calling around.

And I was greated with a number of young kids who have never heard of the thing.

“Yes, hi, I’m calling to ask if you have a copy of Clash of the Titans.”

“Let me check” on hold…

“You mean the football movie, right? We have that both used and new”

“No, that would be ‘REMEMBER the Titans’, I’m looking for ‘CLASH of the Titans’, should be under action.”

“Never heard of it. I’ll check”

I did eventually find a used copy at F.Y.E. for $5 and immediately set out to get it. And then subjected the boys to an immediate watching of the thing.

And, for the second time in recent months, I had to sit and wonder what to do. Here was yet another early 80’s movie, rated PG that shows quite a bit more nudity than I expect from the rating. In front of my 9 year old. Ah well, at least this time it was just some breast feeding, and not a pod person thing bouncing naked as she chased the last remaining human, nothing he’s not going to see in the documentaries I tend to watch anyway.

What surprised me is back when originally formulating the whole idea of the yard, I must have somewhere deep down been chanelling a part of this movie. Calibos’s lair just happens to be surrounded by skulls up on poles and torches.

Cool….

My heavens, the people even got the el cheapo black fake fir with a lazy hole cut in the middle like I did the first year!

The ORIGINAL idea for the yard was to feature a growing collection of differing skulls, just like this…

Clearly, I have been reunited with a subconscious influence

A little history in the masks…

Going through some older pictures. How the masks have changed.

The Scavenger Years

These are the years prior to me meeting Emily at work. So, unfortunately, they do not have witty names. (Emily, care to retroactively name some?)

To begin with, my masks were more scavange than anything else. The first year I used it, I just threw the bare bone on, and wandered my parent’s neighborhood. Had a couple of kids terrified, telling their grandmother some ‘8 ft tall monster’ had been chasing them. And they both utterly broke down all semblence of reasoning when I came walking in the front door. See, they thought they were safe in grandma’s house. Didn’t realize I knew her as the school librarian from elementary school, as well as a neighbor. Grandma found it most humorous after I took off the mask, too.

In proof that a bunch of guys out ‘hunting’ is just a recipe for wierd stuff to be created, here is my dad modeling that first ‘mask’.

We also had another design in mind for the thing up there around that campfire. I’ll let dad do the honors again.

I really have no idea what that second bone is. The main one is a cow’s pelvis. Opted for the first design because I couldn’t figure out how to keep the second one on that first year.

Couple years later, we moved into the house, and I had to whip something up in a couple months. So, a little glue a little wig, a little paint, and we made the original Witch Doctor Mask.

It was comfortable, if a little hot. Can’t say much about the rest of the costume. I was modelling it after an actual Zulu medicine man. But, of course, didn’t have the fur for my chest, and wasn’t about to try to sew it properly, so we bought some faux fir and cut a hole in the center. Being the idiot I am, didn’t think “hey, black won’t show up on your black underclothes”. The leggings were inspired. Real ones being made of Lion’s hair, I was rummaging through Joanns and saw this fuzzy yarn. Lion’s Mane brand. I took it as a sign, and those are still in use today.

The Modification Experiment

Still no Emily, so, yet another without a name…

The following year, I wanted to make a REALLY GOOD mask. Semi looking at Temple of Doom for inspiration, I procured a Steer Skull, hacked it apart, hollowed it out and went about making it fit my head. Sculpting where I needed to make it look right. You can see the whole process by clicking on the “Halloween 2005” slideshow to the right there.

Then I got sidetracked, and started studying some Mayan religion. It kinda morphed into a Mayan-inspired design somewhere in the middle.

Little known thing is that I had actually considered making this altar in the middle of the yard that year. PUMPING tons of blood over it with a reciprocating fountain, and having the corn stalks coming out of the bottom of it. I still LOVE the idea, and it fits perfectly with the mayan paintings that gave me the idea. However…it was scrapped as being a little too much for the kids. And I did a little half-assed offering place on the corn stalks that no one likely noticed.

Still, the mask turned out great. Even if it was WAY TOO HEAVY.

The “Cole cannot carve” experiment.

Emily has termed this one “The Predator”.

After wearing the above beast, the primary concern for 2006 was WEIGHT. I wanted it LIGHT!!!

And, as the powergrab had worked so well, I had this idea to carve some of that green foam stuff from the fake flower section of the craft store, and just coat it with a little power grab.

I can’t carve…ok, I admit it.

Add to that the green crap crumbled up and tossed grains everywhere, then the power grab had nothing to bite into as the foam would just disintigrate when you tried to touch it, it’s a miracle this thing even came into existance at all. It was SUPPOSED to look like a baboon skull. Instead, it’s just an embarrassment.

The “Cole CAN sculpt” experiment.

Hmmm…I don’t remember if you ever named this one Emily?

2007, I HAD to make a new mask after that abomination in 2006. So, it was very early I had the design down. But, very late in the year before I actually finished.

Anyhow. A lot of people have guessed that this was inspired by the death eaters masks from Harry Potter. Not so in the least, though I did find it an amusing coincidence that those existed the same year I was making this.

Inspired by the holywood portrayal of a Bokor painting his face with a skull pattern, and a very brief glimpse of a skullish mask on the escorts to the blue opera singer lady in the Fifth Element, I set out to make a skull mask.

It went VERY smoothly and naturally. Applying the lessons learned from the crap in 2006. Little known trivia is that the teeth are actually real. The smaller ones are goat’s teeth. The larger, Water Buffalo. All inverted so the roots are showing. And yes, the lower jaw that didn’t work.

2008

Emily termed this one “Shrek” prior to it being green. (a part of the reason to go green, actually)

This year, making the mask is more a traditional experience than a need. In fact, if I can’t get the paint to my liking, it’ll end up as scarecrow fodder like all the old masks, and I’ll wear 2007’s again.

Inspired by Tiki masks, Aztec headdresses, and the original red one above, trying to mash them all together into something wierd. Still a work in progress for some time to go…

Odds and ends.

May as well catch you up on a few things going on around the place.

Primarily, of course, has been the Crystal Skull. You’ll have to forgive the picture fuzzyiness, I couldn’t find the tripod.

It always sits cockeyed one way or the other due to a little ridge in the back form the seam on the mold. I need to trim it off and buff it clear now that it’s all dried up, finally.

Then we have the great rotting experiment in the backyard. Looking for a quicker/better way to rot clothes. A awefull shallow burial, based on a hunch that there’s gotta be beneficial rotting material in the soil.

Then, mow the lawn, and dump all the clippings over that, cover the clippings with newspaper and water the holy hell out of the thing.

Finally, covered all that with some plastic to keep the heat and moisture in…

For good measure I threw in some of Alec’s old pants at varying levels of the grass just for a test. So, at the end of the year, we’ll have the buried clothes according to the tutorial on the right, another set from this pile, along with 3 test pairs of pants. I think we can be fairly confident which will work best in the future by the end of the year.

Then, there’s Kyle’s doodad thing. It’s got a fair few more sticks on it since this picture was taken. Go ahead and guess what it’s for…

And, Kyle made his first full size skull.

He’s now made 3 so far. Now, if I can just get him to TRY to keep down the mess he’s making just a LITTLE…we’ll be golden.

Picked these suckers up at Savers for $1.

Don’t know exactly what they’ll be filled with. The kids caught a grasshopper and are keeping it as a ‘pet’. When it dies, I’ll have to procure it for one of em. Maybe a few more as well. 😉 And I was tempted to fill one with the excess Borax (nice white grains) I have and dance around singing “I got a jar of dirt” after watching Pirates of the Caribbean on TNT the other day. Need more jars, and a few other things to go with the whole general concept anyway.

And, Talia seems to have her own little cave of wonder these days. Now having mastered the stairs, the boys keep the door shut to keep her from their toys, and the cat food. But, She plays down in at the bottom of the stairs, and the cat swats at her from under the door. Light on, light off, doesn’t matter. She’s fairly fearless in that way. Yet, she is awefull nervous about Fred, still.

Crappy Movie Mega Marathon

What a weekend for the crappy movie!

First, we had the traditional AMC crappy movie night, with a surprisingly good (relative to the standard anyway)night, featuring Christine. I had actually never seen it, so it was a pleasure to actually get to watch something new. Even if I’m not a particular fan of Steven King movies, this one was most pleasantly humorous.

Then, TNT got into the act by airing AVP: Alien vs Predator. Alright, I have this general rule. Any movie that has a “vs” in the title will be utter trash. But, I also have a very special place in my heart for Alien.

There were 3 movies that stand out as scaring the holy hell out of me as a kid. The Birds, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Alien. I LOVED Alien. Or rather, I cowered in fear whenever I was NEAR Alien, and I loved it. I recall when Aliens was coming out. I “knew” I wouldn’t be scared this time because as the commercials were showing, the marines were going in to kick butt! It was going to end my fear of the thing the moment it hit theaters. (hey, I was young) Yeah…that worked. Add to that the fact my mom was working cleaning a local theater at the time, and us kids would tag along to help…so there we were in the dark theater with promo items of aliens all over.

It was about this time Maniac Manor, a local Haunted House, also decided to run with the Alien theme. The last room exitting the place was all catwalks and marines yelling at you to run as the yellow lights spun overhead and fog blasted out of piping in the wall. This Alien pops out of the piping and I totally and utterly lose all semblence of rational thought and RAN out of the place. Only time I’ve ever been scared into running from a haunt to this day, and I did not stop, did not look back till I reached the car.

LOVED Alien so much I even read some of the comics that came out. Alien vs Superman being wonderfully hilarious.

So, I just couldn’t pass up the TNT showing. And I sat there, calmly working on my own molds as the show played. Much to my surprise, I actually rather enjoyed the film. I was vaguely aware of Aliens Vs Predator comics and video games, but really never got into them, not being a big Predator fan. But, this movie, while horrible from a more rational perspective, recaptured a piece of that old Alien magic for me. Not that I was scared these days, but more that I sat with a kind of giddy joy watching the aliens make mince meat out of the Predators, and KNOWING how it would end, with the alien coming out of the surviving Predator, as the clues were abundant throughout the movie.

As familiar as I was with the Alien species, I also knew a sequal would deal with the predator version of the Alien, for they take on the characteristics of whoever they pop out of chest wise.

Enjoying the first, I couldn’t pass up the pay-per-view copy of AVP Requiem the following night. Sitting at the table, making shrunken heads, watching a most spectacularly bad movie. Yet, one that surprisingly stayed very true to the Aliens I had known. I was a little nervous of this, as a co-worker had told me it went into them creating genetic crossbreads. Turns out she was just unaware that Aliens take on the characteristics of whoever they burst out of.

A little disappointed that the Aliens didn’t go nearly as full bore as they SHOULD. Let’s see, we crash land in a forest near a town, bunch of aliens escape, tip for the screenwriters: Aliens don’t only target humans. All life in the forest would have been transformed into copies of aliens. (like the dog alien in Alien 3) But, I guess it just wasn’t as ‘scary’ as them going after just the town.

Unfortunately, this movie more seemed a showcase of the Predator than the former one. Still was a jolly romp down memory lane for me.

Little things.

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges of having Halloween as a hobby, is the ability to remain motivated and inspired to create new things for it.

It’s a slow part of the year right now. Kids out of school, family going to the pool, yardwork to do, places to go while it’s good weather…

It’s this time of year it can be easy to forget all about Halloween for a time. Yet, it is also the time of year that little things creep into the back of your mind and give you that little spark.

Kyle’s pile of returned homework sat on the counter. And, there were all the books he had written. I recalled how his teacher had told me in the conference how Kyle always loved to be involved whenever they did the story time.

Many lay half written. But, it was hard not to notice this particular one, and have it put a smile on your face.

Why does the Grim Reaper need revenge? Who knows? Who cares? Go GET EM, Grim Reaper! Nice little Halloween booster there.

If that weren’t enough, our house now must eminate a permanent attachment to Halloween in the neighborhood children’s minds. Out doing yardwork. Tending to my precious little grasses, a girl goes riding by in a wagon pulled by her sister, eyeing me suspiciously.

As they pull away, I hear her remark. “I can’t wait until halloween time. I’m NOT going to be scared of that house this time.”

We’ll have to see about that, now, won’t we?