Fear of something other than the right color

Another Monday again.

Weekend was good if too short – as is always the way.

Not a lot of time – but I’d like to say that watching the right wing of the GOP dissolve into puddles of fear sweat has been one of the great pleasures of this campaign. I mean they are seriously talking about Obama as if his first act as president will be to install some kind of communist/nazi/mulsim martial law or some such. It has been very enlightening watching these guys run around waiving there hands in the air going “AAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

Well while the right wing is losing their shit.

I’ve been doing my usual Halloween build up by watching my embarrassingly large collection of horror films from the 30’s and 40’s – Universal mostly but a few others – a very creepy on from one of the poverty row studios was Bella Lugosi in White Zombie t but that’s not what I saw last night.

Last night was the Mask of Fu Manchu with Boris Karloff as the Insidious Yellow Peril himself – Dr. Fu Manchu – before communists before Mexican’s the Yellow Peril was the Know-Nothing wing of American thought’s worst nightmare – a trip to Ellis Island is interesting mostly in seeing how the immigrants came ashore but also they have newspapers that reflect this country’s ambivalent feelings towards newcomers especially newcomers who weren’t white – hell in one paper there’s a quote that applauds the 1920’s immigration limits because it will help keep America white.

Anyway I’m off track there – the thing about the film – aside from it’s absolutely over the top performance by Boris as Fu Manchu was the casual racism – Asians are presented as sneaky violent cruel irrational and desiring of white women. There is a moment just at the end of the film were Fu is about the sacrifice the female lead who is blonde of course (he does not so do not worry) where he says’ “would you like one like one like this for your wife? Then conquer and breed! Kill the White man and take his women!” this coming after several cracks about the cold antiseptic Christian heaven or things like “lying son of a white dog – you dare try to trick Fu Manchu?” Actually reminded me of the insane fears an Obama win was bringing forth.

I also read that someone at a Palin rally finally yelled out the N word. And it got on Tape – classy boys. These people are to use the unlovely Nixon era phrase are rat-fucking themselves.

Anyway – off to bed or something – meantime please come out to the show on Friday –we need 30 people and if we get that we’ll get asked back and maybe have a regular gig down there which would be cool – we’d like another place that we feel at home at the Luna Lounge is long long gone alas.

We’re putting some older work related stuff back in as well –things are like that aren’t they? In addition, I’m getting ready to do something that will embarrass me for the rest of my life especially if it gets on u-tube. I did talk to the band about this – they have no problem with it but I did but the show must go on.

Anyway off to pop another clunky old horror film in the dvd player -

Peace Love Many Men Smoke but Fu Manchu

Monday and monsters real and otherwise

Well it’s Monday –

I was once told that there is a Hungarian saying that says “not even the grass grows on Monday” the woman who told me this also insisted that the Hungarians were in essence descended from the Huns of Attila – to which I nodded – we all have these things in our ethnic background – mine is that Ireland, especially the west of Ireland where my grandparents came from was a green land of poets and rebels and not a collection of miserable cottages at the edge of the Atlantic were folks scratched to make a bare living in the thin and rocky soil.

Anyway there is a sense that folks won’t wake up much until noon or later now.

It was the first cold day of the year – and the heat wasn’t on – it’ll be on by tonight I’m sure – there is always a day or so delay before the heat gets turned on – I can understand heating oil is pretty damn expensive. Still the first thing you say when you feet hit the wooden floor should not be ‘AHHHHH COLD!”

As part of my Halloween ritual I’ve been watching the classic Universal Monster Movies – Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the Wolf Man et al – so far just Dracula and Frankenstein.

There is a disturbing presence about these two films – Frankenstein is fraught – if that’s the right word – with images of death and decay. There is a sense of pathology about the film, mental illness run riot if you would. The monster is a living death – a reminder of it – and is hated for it. (Karloff’s makeup was Green not because he was supposed to be green but because the green shot in black and white made his skin look like that of a corpse).

There is a weird energy in both films – but it is like the wildness of mold or mushrooms sprouting on a dead tree.

The underlying dark sexuality in Dracula has been the primary focus of the revivals and the remakes as the years gone by upping it – however in 1931 version sex is a thing of terror, especially when the women get into the act as in enjoying it – that twisted some folks minds into knots. In this Dracula there is a sense of disease and rot that is in every frame – it’s a shut in pest house where Dracula is both symptom and king. Even the end doesn’t dispel the gloom.

Meantime – Colin Powell has endorsed McCain for President – and his discovered to his shock that there are racists in the GOP. Meantime the right wing bloggers and talking heads have discovered that Colin is Black. Not that that proves Colin’s point or anything.

Meantime Meantime – the only way Sarah’s rallies could get any more rancid is if they start burning crosses while she’s speaking and hey they got two weeks.

Going to be Tampa and Philly in the Series. This will not please Fox much. Especially since TBS ended up with the best Series – Boston Tampa. I think Tampa will win – somewhat better pitching but this can go either way very easily.

The Jets managed to lose to one of the worst teams in the NFL yesterday. Bret has to be wondering what the hell was he thinking when he said yes.

Peace Love I am Dracula

Fall and the exploding heads

It’s fall – the leaves are turning and the heads of RW nut jobs are exploding

I’m impressed here all of sudden with what’s happening and on some level it just confirms what I’ve always thought - that people will start to think logically about something only when they have exhausted every other avenue – sometimes twice.

Meantime – while normally amused in a snarky way by the bellowing of the right wing – now – as the water is rising at their feet and they start to squeal like rats in a death cage, it’s just depressing as hell. The ones that aren’t drifting into the upper reaches of cloud koo-koo land (that’s were Obama is a Muslim Maoist terrorist who will make us all have teh gay sex) are lapsing into a self pitying mulishness.

However, it was ever thus I suppose – the end of Nixon was not very satisfying from an emotional standard either – in the end he just became a broken wreck wandering about the white house talking to paintings. It would take a heart of stone to not feel at least a little bad for the man, even if he was a complete son of a bitch – he was a human being.

It’s the same here – the wheels come off and the right starts tearing at itself, wondering how it could come to this – and looking down the gun barrel of near total repudiation they are losing it on a level that makes you start to cringe. Some of these folks are just sad lost worshipers of big daddy power – some however are just fucking nut bags whose anger is just all consuming. And what is making their heads explode is that they really can’t say the most basic reason they hate Obama – his skin color. Oh they want to but we’ve made enough progress in the country that at least they can’t come out and say it.

They do try to get around this in weird ways – one rw has gone on the record as saying that if Obama was white they would hitting him much harder (and pray just how is accusing him of being pals with terrorists going easy?) which is pretty laughable.

Personally, I do expect the race to tighten up a bit – unless McCain just absolutely loses his mind on TV – (which is a possibility) – it is the natural order of things. Still Christopher Buckley – Son of that Buckley is going to vote for Obama.

Meantime – it looks more and more like a Philly Rays series which will excite the fans of the phillies and the Rays but few others. Eh – Wait until the Buffalo – Carolina Super bowl .

Anyway we’re back rehearsing and getting ready for the outrage that we hope will be our annual Halloween show – it’ll be one of the few times we’re not the only folks in the weird costumes.

It is going to be a bit of homecoming for me – playing down in the financial district near where I used to work and where the Orange Bear was – it has gone away it has as all things do. So I’m looking forward to it.

It was funny we were all so happy to be back and playing that we just played way too loud.

Got another special cover coming for the show and we hope you get there – it’s kind of a big gig for us so if you can – do.

More begging to follow.

Peace love you have to come!

Halloween show! Masked Wrestlers! Midgets!

Okay

It’s scary out there isn’t it – like more than just a little scary – like ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! Scary.

So what to do?

Well Halloween is coming – and so are we – The Bob Muir & the Enemy Below’s Halloween show! 8:30 ! Friday 10/31 – whatever else you are doing come see us first!
Watch us make with the funny like really funny! And just weird too.

Going to be playing at the OS Art House at the John Street Bar and Grill – 17 John Street between Broadway and Nassau - more details later but we will give away candy and I plan to do something very very stupid that I probably will regret to the day I die especially if my niece comes to see the show as she threatens from time to time. Or if someone films it and puts it on u-tube and well let’s not go there.

Anyway sorry that the blogging has been light – work’s be intense and well by the time I get home I’m usually just wanting to see if I can get my dwarf warrior up a level or two on the great time suck Know of World of Warcraft – get it today and you too will have no life.

But I did manage to sneak in a lucha librie movie the other day – the title translates as the Champions of Justice and features the Blue Demon, Mil Mascars and several others – along with the usual surreal pleasure of watching the wrestlers go about their day to day actions in sport coats and suits with the masks on it had more than it’s share of just plan goofiness.

For example, the evil scientist whose sinister plot was to freeze pretty women – and not much else – used midget henchmen. Not just midget henchmen he dressed them up in red suits with masks – now to be honest if city of heros/villans – the other time suck I play – ever allowed the masterminds to pick what their henchmen looked like I’m making mine red suited masked midgets in heartbeat.

However in a practical sense masked midgets really aren’t your best choice for the muscle you need – even with the added strength your super science gave them since it also seemed to make them flammable and really no matter how strong a midget is, you can pick him up and toss it pretty far as the film showed.

There was also a scheme right out of the playbook of Doctor Evil – the Fem Fatale asks two of the wrestlers to take her water skiing – they agree not knowing that she has planted a bomb in the boat which will explode after, well a lot of water skiing shots – this film does believe in padding - so as the time comes close she drops the rope and begins to swim to shore – the wrestlers their suspicions aroused by this and by the loud ticking in the boat, ditch the boat just in time to avoid getting killed.

But are they safe? No! They are attacked by frogman.

It’s got to be one of the most bizarre examples of a plan B I can think of

“Okay you wait under water and if the bomb doesn’t kill them you do it.”

“Sir it’s a big lake – what are the odds that the boats going to be anywhere near us when the bomb goes off?”

“Do what you’re told – and they wonder why I prefer midgets?”

Anyway more details of the show as things are settled. You have to come to this you will laugh a lot and you will see me die of shame.

Peace, Love Red Suited Midgets.