Charts!

The Return of Cheez!

Did you know Cheez was back? I didn't (obviously) but now I'm happy to say I do.

Since last November, Canadian Super Artist Fiona Smyth has been posting new entries in her hallowed B&W "Cheez" series* -- which originally appeared '92-'02 in the comics pages of Exclaim. Sure, you won't get black smudge on your fingers looking the e-version, but otherwise the experience is much the same. Fiona's even pledged to keep doing them at the last minute.




Nobody's visual mindscape is quite like Ms. Smyth's and I'm glad to see this chunk of it back in action.

*new comics appear in Toronto Art Post.

Sleazy Meanz on tumblr!

I'm not sure it's the best solution to the problem, but I'm unable to switch the songs on my old Sleazy Meanz Myspace page so I have created a new page on tumblr for the purpose of posting newer tracks or whatever.

There's not a lot there as yet, admittedly. I should note tumblr seems a little easier going as far as content so I may post some harder images over there than I've been getting away with here.

Neurofibromas!

If these growths were appearing in the ocean or the sky or on trees or rocks say, we might well marvel at the beauty and the intricacy of the patterns, the wonderful variety inherent in nature.

But this is human skin the neurofibromas are appearing on - and therefore the sight (and the fascination with seeing) can't be cast as anything but ugliness, abject mutation, even horror.







If our skin can't be perfect, many of us will nevertheless pursue dermatological perfection for the whole of our lives, until we die and our skin literally rots off the bone. Like cancer or tumours, neurofibromas are human growth, life itself as horror. Growth as farce, as satire.










Like a painting with too many brushstrokes by an artist who didn't know when to say enough - this life, this growth - is too much of a good thing, spoiling the creation, making it unsuitable for anything but the reject pile.

Happy May Day!

Happy May Day, Beltane, Calan Mai, or Walpurgisnacht.

Quoting Tennyson, "In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love... I have but an angry fancy; what is that which I should do?"

Dye your beard green.

Enjoy dancing around a giant phallus!




From Austin V. Whittall's "Orgies: a brief history" --

Beltane, as a custom survived in various parts of Europe, such as France, Germany and England. It included setting up a village May-pole. It involved dancing and great sexual frolics around this gigantic phallic symbol which represented gods phallus in Mother Earth. After dancing around the Maypole celebrants would retire to the open fields where they would have sex with anyone and everyone in the plowed fields in order to insure the fertility of the land and prosperous yield of crops.

Phwoar! Sometimes the old ways really are best.