Clint Catalyst's Blog, page 6

Daphne Guinness Is Dead

[ interrobang ]

photo : Tim Jenkins

"Rest In Peace (And Jewels). . . "

I read the head-line & felt my stomach drop like a hackneyed phrase.

The style icon " laid to rest " by jeweler Shaun Leane

Tom Ford — but you already knew this, Y/Y?

Quick as a click-through, I arrived at Samantha Conti's

article " Daphne Guinness' Golden Glove" — from which I gleaned details of

the debut event for Contra Mundum, Guinness' collaboration with Shaun Leane.

detailed view : 18 carat white gold [ yes, " steampunk " : I'm looking at you ]

Having lost two friends last month, it seemed a bit cruel, the cliff-hanger. . .

but brilliant.

[ Cue taken, duly noted : & thank you ]

Photo by Nick Knight

Upon noting Conti's coverage is dated July 1st—translation : in 'internet time,' rigor mortis

has already set—my next thought was "Shit! I bet they've already covered this at Haute Macabre."

Which, incidentally, wouldn't be a [ optional usage : scare quotes ] bad thing

but I shouldn't have to explain this

Surprisingly, they haven't.

What comes as no surprise : the power of zeitgeist, synchronicity. . .

& good taste.

Nixon's been on a "Guinness 'tear'" this week, &—incidentally—posted a shot of Daphne in a coffin.

Who's Free Of Flaw? Seriously : Look. Upon. This.

[ from the "Digital Death" event for  World AIDS Day, via Buy Life ]

Fang-Bangin' With Vincent & Kermy

Amidst all the fangnaticism

[ as a matter of fact, yes : I do watch it ]

I bring you

—  this moment —

[ Image Source : The Vault of Horror ]

&

In full histrionic glory, via animated GIF. . .

« † »

Nothing's Better Than Mascara In The Present Moment

This Track, All Week—

I've Been Living. For. It :

"  Stealer " by  MASCARA / The Present Moment

« † »

MΔS·CΔRA

The Present Moment

« † »

[ Pictured Above ]

No Eyes T-Shirt Available via NVR MND

« † »

" You take my heart / You take my home / My love / Stealer. . . "

 

L.A. Weekly — Catalyst Named As One of the "Top 10 Most Eccentric, Creative (and Quite Possibly Crazy) Characters" in L.A. Nightlife

February 2011

Direct Link via Picture Push

[ Complete List available at LA Weekly Dot Com ]

Mad Love  &  Thanks to Lina Lecaro

& — as always — The Weekly!

♥

Goth Done Right [ via Steven Meisel ]

"Here, its drama is spellbinding,

& its darkness is palpable…"

Gemma Ward † Caroline Trentini † Iselin Steiro † Lily Donaldson † Agyness Deyn † Sasha Pivovarova

A moment worth re-visiting, from the "In My Tribe" editorial

Fashion Rocks Magazine , 2007

[ VIEW FULL SIZE ]

"I'm Nikki Fucking Narcotic. Do You Know How Many Friends I Have On MySpace?!"

[ It's Nikki.  Y'know, Nikki Narcotic . . . Yeah, Well: NIKKI KNOWS. You know?! ]

"I'm sick & fucking tired of all these haters!"

Oh, GL▲SS †33†H :

How you fill my shattered, charcoal-stained heart with glee.

There was a moment—a brief blip on history's collective monitor, one might say—in which

the tiara-adorned Scene Queen had a significant role in the inexplicable phenomenon

referred to as " CeWebrity ." [ Yes, I know it's heinous. Do I need to spell every— ]

[ CUT TO ] : a formulaic Wiki How ; How-To & Tribute Videos ; an on-line 'zine & social

networking community ; hubs like Be-Scene.org & Scene Central, a virtual locale for

"ladies in waiting" [ no, but really ] & aspiring Scene Kings to—hell, I don't know…

compare quiz scores while waiting to see if their applications for anointment

were accepted, I suppose.

Some of the O.G. S.Q.s [ yep, sure did ] parlayed their notoriety into lucrative businesses.

Others?  Well, I'm sure they could tell you.

As for the new breed?

For fuck's sake, don't call yourself a " scene queen ." [ or king . . . or TS, etc. ]

EVER.

That's. . .just. . . humiliating.

Whatever the case,

as with Cosmo, The Rules or any other 'How-To' Guide :

If you really want to

&     BE      A

My advice?

Bust your own fkn' move.

Don't get me wrong: there's some wicked adorable kids among the lot,

fantastic explosions of color and creative expression .

[ Courtney Dior = one such example of Cuteness ]

However, insofar as Nikki?

Short of the long: this  amalgamation fictitious character encapsulates the monstrous end of the spectrum,

in which rigid Ranking Systems and bratty, entitled behavior is the norm.

C H E C K   ±   I T  :

NARC by  GL▲SS †33†H

[ Mmm-hrmm. Yeah, whatever Nikki. Bet your skank-ass extensions you'd troll efagz

to see if your asinine antics merit discussion, even. ]

But enough about Nikki—she's so 2007, I'm surprised she isn't donning a miniature top hat smothered

in Hello Kitty appliques while "modeling" a cupcake, middle finger of her other hand

extended in that universal gesture of bad breeding.

What I'm really here to talk about?

The Correctness Maximus who immortalized her :  GL▲SS †33†H

It's like this:

What you need in your life is a physical copy of their EP

available through Black Bvs Records

Unless, of course, you're like Andie Walsh & have more pressing issues…

N a m e l y , the dilemma of

[ Oh, & Y E S : Another Cyanide-Coated Piece of Perfection, It Is! ]

[ digital downloads available via Bandcamp ]

Also, out now

through Phantasma Disques :

GL▲SS †33†H / ℑ⊇≥◊≤⊆ℜ [of Mater Suspiria Vision ]  Split CDR

†

[ Full disclosure: I even went so far as to pre-order a copy, like the fan girl I'm not. . .usually ]

†

Additional resources for this band that's been dominating my nano as of late :

[ on The 'Tubes ]

GL▲SS †33†H on Facebook

MySpazz

Last.fm

The Adonis Factor: In Demand & "On Demand"

Recently, I wrote about

a documentary about body issues among gay men*

in which I appear.

*[ I'll do us all a favor & skip my Queers-vs-Gays diatribe ; sound like a deal? ]

Well, as it turns out. . .

At Both The Right Time [ Your Leisure ]

& Price [ Free ] ,

an [ edited ] version is available for your on-line viewing

☆— Embed Source : Logo TV —☆

UNLIKE THAT ENGORGED NIP BLINKING A MESSAGE OF

"TOUCH ME/TWEAK ME/C'MON FREAK ME, BABY" IN [ WH ]ORSE CODE

The Following Info?  Bitch, Don't Get It Twisted. . .

Said another way?

No, I'm not providing marked time codes as any sort of encouragement to

"just fast-forward to [my] section."  If I were that much of an egomaniac,

I'd have—oh, I don't know—assaulted you countless times via Facebook

messages [ HATE. THOSE! ] & event invites for The Adonis Factor's

4 pm time slot among the airwaves, this Sunday past. . .

On the contrary, the [ forthcoming ] digits have been designated

for those who might be skimming this text &—at the moment—have but a few minutes to spare.

IN SUCH AN INSTANCE, HOWEVER, THE IDEA

IS THAT YOU'LL RETURN WHEN CHANCE PRESENTS.

Not only am I grateful to have been chosen as an interviewee for this film with such timely subject matter,

but I also want to formally express my thanks to the scribes who've included me in reviews :

those in which I'm mentioned by name or [ somewhat ] reasonable facsimilie ,

as well as references to me by archetype, regardless of phrasing.

All the clichés about "the ugly side of being beautiful," a director's "unflinching gaze" [ homophone much? ] :

they're all applicable—as are the strong reactions Hines' investigation provokes.

[ one example ] :

"'If you're gonna be gay, you're just gonna have to experience the wrath of the A crowd,'

one perfect 10 in search of an 11 attests.

Some of us are just too allergic to house music to hazard that . . ."

quips Dennis Harvey, in his review "Get Thee To The Gym"

for the San Francisco Bay Guardian

He continues :

"Whoever said opposites attract clearly never went to the Folsom Street Fair, where every body type

runs in packs of two (or several). Sure, mom said looks aren't everything. But was she a gay man?

It's brutal out there. Combine a sophisticated, compartmentalized urban gay scene

like San Francisco's own with the Internet's heightened judging-book-by-cover —

no actual book reading implied — and you've got a recipe for looks obsessiveness

that can snare even the safely off-market."

To which filmmaker Christopher Hines counters, via

interview with Edge New York :

"The point of the film is that we're men. We're not going to hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya'

and just all be nice to each other."

Touché, Mssr. Hines. . . Touché!

That being stated, my Q & A [ conducted on a sweltering summer afternoon, sans the luxury

of air conditioning—hence the Yes-I-Know-I-Could-Moonlight-at-KFC, Honey /

Ain't-No-Need-To-Mention-My-Mug-Being-Beyond-"Dewy" look ]



is nestled within the

25:17 — 28:37

time frame.

If you can survive the commercials

[ we're all impatient, so don't even consider visiting that territory—

same as the unedited, 30 minute longer version with extras:

convenience is a privilege, not a 'right' ]

You'll see

Behind-The-Scenes Footage from a Mother-Of-London Photo Shoot

featuring make-up artist
& The Mother Herselfness, Mildred Von Hildegard

* a.k.a. Miss Camera-Shy, Hair Dyed The Color Of Corroded Metal

— as well as —

the photography of

[ listed in order of appearance ] :

[ From The L.A. Weekly : Red Cross, Blue Liz McGrath Sculpture/Background ] : Kevin Scanlon



[ Red Not Dead : On Location, Filming of POX ] : Piper Ferguson



[ From Frontiers Newsmagazine : Green Hat, Turkey-Bone Bouquet by Adele Mildred ] : Amanda Brooks

» Sequence Break : My 'Lower-Third'/Establishing Shot/Intro «

[ Putting The "Gay" In "Geisha" ] : Amber Gray

[ Screen Test for A Pilot Without Fuel ] :

[ Two Childhood Shots ] : Nada Clue

[ Black & White/Bleached Hair/Posin' At The Boneyard ] : Jennifer Roberts

[ Hustler Pink Handprint/Does-This-Look-Like-A-Hotbed-Of-Mental-Health? ] : Dirk Mai



[ Blue Heart-Shaped Face; "Daytime Casual" Shoulder Mirrors ] : Austin Young



[ On The Rooftop, Red Jewelry/My Forehead ] : Nick Bohn



[ Sepia-Tinged Dapperification ] : Lotus Josephine



[ with Audrey Kitching, Two Consecutive Images ] : Dirk Mai

[ Los Diablos' "Darling, I Can't Be Bothered" Beautification Regimen,

Featuring Deadlee & Jillian Lauren ] : Jon Wasserman



[ With Audrey Kitching & Linda Strawberry ] : Nhat Nguyen



[ Two Consecutive Lipstick Prophets Catalog Shots ] : Dirk Mai



[ Black & White/'Mean-As-Sweeney-Todd' ] : Eric Kroll



[ From Secret magazine : White Top Hat, Two Consecutive Black & White Images,

One Thistle Harlequin ] : Andrea Ferrante

[ Final Photo : Fully Face-Beat, Mother of London, Tricked-The-F-Bomb-Out ] : Dirk Mai

☆ ★ ☆ The Adonis Factor Airs Again ☆ ★ ☆

on Tuesday, May 31st at 8 a.m. via Some Cable Providers/10 a.m. via Others

For more information, visit the Official Website ,

stream the uncensored/unedited version via Netflix ,

or—you know, like, purchase The DVD

* & uhh, speaking of appearances…so you don't have to ask:

The custom 'dandy' brooch I'm wearing was created by Komodokat ♥

 

Tumblr Reciprocation : Life Beyond The "68-&-Owe-One" Mentality

Oh, sweetness. Is it too much to fathom, the thought of dipping into the population?

This business with the little people—you know, your "followers". . .

Can you simply Not. Be. Bothered?

Excluding the rare exception [ namely, bashin' my dash with—well, content I don't want to encourage;

hence, the deliberate omission], I don't understand why a person wouldn't "follow back." Granted,

I'm still a novice in the grand scheme of tumblrification, but I don't know of a means by which

one can tell how many "followers" a person has. . .nor do I care to, quite frankly.

I mean, MySpace has gone down the shitter—it doesn't even have a name anymore;

that's how far removed it is from social relevance.

Didn't the myopic Don't-You-Know-How-Many-"Friends"-I-Have mindset accompany it?

[ Seriously? But SERIOUSLY ]

It's rudimentary, my take on this sitch:

the primary function of tumblr's dashboard [ or "feed" ] is that of an open dialogue, a continuous conversation

in which anyone from the 200 countries scattered around this curious planet we inhabit

has a unique opportunity [ so long as there's internet access, though that's a given—

I might as well be telling you it gets dark at night. . . ]

Because tumblr's predominant means of communication is by way of a visual vocabulary, the opportunity

of which I speak is the ability for an individual to participate in the site's ostensibly endless discussion

without the usual complications 6,800 different languages present.

Sure, music is a 'universal language'; we're familiar with the adage, most of us. In the case of tumblr, however,

the ability to upload videos & mp3s further validates my premise/rationale, rather than dilute it.

[ She's So Happening, via ThreeFrames.net ]

So : short of the long? Yeah, I follow back. I also acknowledge that the sum of one's "followers" does not deify.

[ Icarus much? I'd mutter Give Me A Break, but we have our day in the sun : each & every. . . ]

Oh, & when I attend a potluck dinner?

I don't only eat the dish I brought.

#knowwhatimfawkinsayin' ?

GIF It To Me! [ Princess Hijab & Other Animated Awesomesaucery ]

 

As A Kid, I Often Said I Wished I Could Speak In Hieroglyphics

How rad it would be, I thought

[ though—since the timeline I'm referencing is circa rural Arkansas—

quite likely not verbatim, my choice of vernacular ]

If I could "talk with pictures": fancy symbols—except

not carved in stone, but rather contained

in word bubbles,

like in a comic strip . . .

Y E A H .

A funny thing, time : cycles : that

symbol of the serpent swallowing its tail

All these years later, & where do I find myself?

Obsessed with animated .gifs, for fuck's sake—&

yearning to communicate through means of a visual vocabulary.

I mean, let's face it…does this gem excavated-from-the-uncredited-swag-on-imgur

not speak volumes?

Or how about this for a response?

[ Source: Sex With God : tumblr ]

& this flash-tastic action? Is it worth the proverbial thousand words?

Or does it have no value, since you're such a worldly, highly-experienced Millennial?

[ So tough, the inured existence of a Trustafarian on tumblr, oui? ]

Hasty generalizations & snide jabs swept aside like unpaid internships, corporeal punishment,

or any scenario in which Unique, Special Beings aren't coddled—even & especially

if [ HARMPH! ] "so-o-o bored."

Sure : sometimes animated awesomesauce does get served with syllables & consonants…

For example: this little ditty by Seacrestcheadle, which—if Facefail permitted such forms of communication—

I would've plastered many moons ago on the 'Wall' of my pal Ugly Shyla ♥ [ because yeah, She 'Gets It ']

Alas! Seacrestcheadle isn't why I've chosen to "get bloggy" this fine day

[ though worthy a post of his own, indeed! ]



Au contraire, I've intended to post about the following individual

for quite some time now, & finally: here we are—&

here the moment is…

If by chance you're not familiar with the guerilla art of

Princess Hijab

Then please consider this a formal invitation to become acquainted, your

introduction by way of brief video clip [ courtesy : Babelgum ]

Admitted : at times the six-minute doc plays w-a-y-y-y Richter in the histrionics department

[ not to imply I don't—my guess is that producers urged Hijab to "ratchet up the drama"

for the cameras ] :  to "raise the stakes," "show the element of danger," "provide some

conflict"…as if the visual assaults she orchestrates aren't confrontational enough.

However, to be fair [ I mean : gauche much, Mary?  I'm only using their content! ]

I could be making excuses for the artist, when she's portrayed exactly as she is.

 

O.K.!

Now that you have a bit of background info, I don't feel as if I'm doing a dis-service by

sharing 'only' the digital art she creates.

Y'see, aside from recalcitrant acts of  Hijabization,

the Princess constructs some friggin' amazing GIFs; must admit.

& since ultimately, that's what I'm 'on about' today

C H E C K ±     T H E S E   :

╬  for a full-page GIF-tastic sensory overload, check out 8 BITZ PER PIxEL ╬

S O U R C E S

In Order Of Appearance :

[ Black & White Symbol Skull-Fuckery : Seacrestcheadle at Dump.fm

[ The Eye of Horus : Webweaver Clip Art ]

[ Bloody Eyes/Middle of Three Examples : Sex With God : tumblr ]

[ Princess Hijab : Aquabotic, bumbumbum, Today and Tomorrow ]

One Post, Two Editorials, Three Dark Beauties…& You

Excerpts from "The Emperor's Black Rose" by Gilles Et Dada

ENEMIES TURN TO LOVERS

LOVE ONES BECOME EXCUSES

DISTANCES SEEM LIKE REASONS

AND SNAKES CHANGE THEIR MASK FOR THE HUNTING SEASON

INTERPRETATIONS ARE MY NEW NIGHTMARE

STILL YOUR IMAGINATION MAKES ME MORE THAN JUST A MAN

I WON'T STOP, AND I WILL SAY IT ONCE AGAIN

FOR AS LONG AS YOU GIVE ME YOUR DREAMS

I WILL CONTINUE FILLING THE BLANKS

— Federico Cabrera

[ Initial Discovery via Fucking Young! ]

Photography & Post: Federico Cabrera

Styling: Jasmin Mishima

Hair & Make-Up: Marii Sadrak

Models: Anette M. & Eetu at Paparazzi

Assistance: Emma Hedenborg & Udi

& Next :

"Human Terror," Featuring Mateusz—a.k.a. Matthew Budziak

[ Initial Discovery via Life Is Not Δ Rehearsal ]

Photography: Marcin Banasiak

Model: Mateusz/Matthew Budziak

Make-Up: Sandra Wiśniewska