And the Top 10 Global SSWC Readers Are...

Planet Obscura and Screaming Skulls Weird Club wish to acknowledge our faithful blog followers and subscribers from around the globe. Our Top 10 Reader Traffic for September 2012 was from the following countries:

            1.   United States

            2.   Canada

            3.   United Kingdom

            4.   Germany

            5.   Netherlands

            6.   Italy

            7.   Australia

            8.   Spain

            9.   India

          10.   Denmark

Thank you all for your support... We love blogging for you!!! :-D

Is there a topic you'd like to see that we're not covering yet? Anything bizarre or deviant that is unique to your country... something you'd like to share with the rest of the world? Please leave a comment on this post and we will research your suggestions in order to bring you fresh new blog material!

510 million square kilometres. One global community.
There's a little deviant in all of us.

Williams Sonoma Hallowe'en Items at Yorkdale, Toronto

Just wanted to share these awesome Hallowe'en finds I came across while shopping at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto the other day. 

Williams Sonoma has their Hallowe'en collection out right now, and it's pretty nice. I especially love their "Hallowe'en Potions" plate set that includes 'Hemlock Root', 'Wool of Bat', 'Witches' Brew', and 'Toe of Frog'. This design can also be found on a coaster set.  Click here to check out more Williams Sonoma Hallowe'en items. 

The last photo in this post is a pair of skull & cross-bone shoes available for purchase at Town Shoes. They're really cute, but I did find them a tad expensive at $140. :-S

Matt Webb and his Pug Pillow

"...pug pillows for all!" - Matt Webb

Oh, hey!  It's Matt Webb and his one-of-a-kind pug pillow (but it's actually the pug pillow that I'm trying to highlight here, because this pillow is *very* SSWC)! 

This picture is taken from one of Matt's videos where he serenades us, and tells us to check out his EP called Coda and Jacket, with the promise of pug pillows for all who give it a spin (see video at link below)! 

I already own the EP - I love it and and it gets played a lot!  It didn't actually come with a pug pillow, but if it did...

...I'd give it to misspulga!

[Link to Matt Webb's Coda and Jacket Countdown Video]

[Link to Matt Webb's Twitter]

Amazing Liquor Bottles - October 2012 Edition

'Crystal Head Vodka' bottles.

It's been awhile since I posted photos of the interesting liquor bottles and packaging I've come across during my travels... Many readers have asked if this series would be continued and as such, 'Amazing Liquor Bottles' is now back by popular demand!!! 

I'm also asking *you* to submit your photos...  Any cool bottle, packaging, or concept you personally come across (or find on the internet) is fair game. Please send your submissions to: 

screamingskullsweirdclub@gmail.com 

...(or post a link in the comments section) and Screaming Skulls will happily share your finds on the blog! For submission inspiration, check out the links below, and enjoy the photos accompanying this post! 

[Amazing Liquor Bottles, Part I]

[Amazing Liquor Bottles, Part II]

Delicious Canadian beer: Nasty Habit (QC), Boneshaker & Red Racer (ON).

The photos below were taken by misspulga during a trip to Northville, Michigan... in a grocery store. Love how our American neighbours can do that!!! :-)

Other cool links to check out:

[Crystal Head Vodka]
[Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. - Nasty Habit]
[Amsterdam Beer]
[Red Racer Beer]
[BeerAdvocate website]
[TorontoBeerBlog website]

Toronto Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2012

View of Old City Hall from Nathan Phillips Square.

The Vampire and I took our yearly trip to Nuit Blanche on September 29th... and were sadly disappointed this time around. It wasn't as well organized as previous years, and it seems that Torontonians (at least the younger set) completely missed the point. We saw more teenagers passed out on the street -or writhing in their own vomit- than exhibits... and I don't exaggerate. I think it's awesome to go out and have fun with your friends (and goodness knows a little intoxication never hurt anyone), but the immersive vibe was sorely absent. I don't know whether to blame the system for failing to cultivate creativity and artistic appreciation in kids from the iGeneration, or the organizers for moving what's supposed to be a street party mainly indoors. This latter point was truly an unfortunate feature of the evening... The majority of exhibits were indoors this year - including 4 of the main exhibits located in the bowels of the Nathan Phillips Square parking garage. 90+ minutes is much too long to wait to see an exhibit that is open to the public for less that 12 hours, especially when nothing much else was going on along the routes. In my opinion, restricting people from interacting with these exhibits completely defeats the purpose of having Nuit Blanche in the first place since it is meant to be an organic and participatory event. I really hope next year will be better. It's sad to admit that Toronto -a place that is filled with so much talent and creative energy- does not seem able to adequately showcase its artistic abilities. As a proud Torontonian, I am quite frankly embarrassed by this.

All that being said, I would like to end this post by highlighting some of the positive features and enjoyable experiences we had during the night. Firstly, the tiff Bell Lightbox had some amazing film installations. The Vamp and I only got to see one: "Cent une tueries de zombies" (by Mike Lane and Colin Geddes), but it was well worth it. The pamphlet for this cinematic event described it like this: "Zombies have overrun pop culture and are feasting on our collective consciousness. Seek vengeance: watch 101 zombie death scenes on the big screen." It was well edited and delightfully gruesome... Watching the film re-ignited my passion for zombie movies, so you can guess what I'll be spending my time doing in the next little while.

Other noteworthy installations included "Green Invaders, 2012" (a light installation inspired by the iconic 80s 'Space Invaders' video game), "Outsiders2012, 2012" (an interaction installation featuring life-sized human forms appearing to be made out of saran wrap that were passed around the city all night), "Tower of Progress, 2004 & 2012" (a 16-foot sculpture by Laurent Gagnon built from parts of discarded machines), and a very cool video light installation in Nathan Phillips Square that featured interwoven clips of jellyfish, galaxies, and atomic bombs.

To finish off our evening, The Vamp and I headed to our fav midtown watering hole: The 3 Brewers. We had some delicious nachos and a pitcher of their *exceptional* tasting (and reasonably priced) home-brewed amber ale. If you haven't visited The 3 Brewers yet, we highly recommend that you do!!!

Please enjoy these photos of our Nuit Blanche 2012 escapades (below). :-)

"Green Invaders, 2012" by Yves Caizergues (Lyon, France).

        

Lady Gaga window display at the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC).

Close-up of Lady Gaga display at HBC.

Old City Hall at night. 

UFO landing pad, a.k.a. New City Hall at night.

Video light installation in Nathan Phillips Square.

Another view of Old City Hall from Nathan Phillips Square. 

Brewing equipment @The 3 Brewers (Yonge & Dundas).

Display @The 3 Brewers showing artifacts found during site excavation.

Native Boutique in Hollywood, California

SSWC reader Chris Parkinson from California sent us these photos of "Native Boutique": A store in Hollywood that features various types of women's clothing, including a "crack rack" which has this-and-that type items that they are trying to move to a lower price. Apparently, they have epic jewelry too. These pictures feature Native Boutique's 2012 Hallowe'en displays. Thanks to our US friends for your contributions... Keep the photos coming! :-)

Please send your photo submissions (including your name and location) to: screamingskullsweirdclub@gmail.com

Trip to the Huronia Museum in Midland, Ontario

Last summer, the Vampire, el Presidente, Ricvictorian and myself took a trip to the Huronia Museum in Midland, Ontario. Midland is located approximately 2 hours north of Toronto on the picturesque shores of Georgian Bay. The museum is small, but densely packed with local artifacts and information regarding the area's First Nations Peoples (Huron & Ojibway), the marine history of Georgian Bay, art from the Georgian Bay region, and Euro-Canadian culture pertaining to Huronia.

The Huronia Museum's website describes the museum as having a replica of a 'pre-contact' Huron/Ouendat village, including a lookout tower, wigwam, and full-size longhouse. In addition, they house an exhibit gallery featuring tens of thousands of historic artifacts ranging from photographs, native archaeology and art by members of the Group of Seven, and others.

Please enjoy these photos from our trip! :-)

Face Carving 1

Face Carving 2

The Bone Pit

Masks on Poles

The Village

Inside the Longhouse

Local Fungus 1

Local Fungus 2

Interesting art from inside the Huronia Museum

Painting by famed First Nations artist Norval Morrisseau

el Presidente at Ricvictorian's posing with
his authentic Stereoscope

el Presidente and the Stereoscope

The Alternative Limb Project

Jo-Jo Cranfield for 'the alternative limb project'.

Viktoria Modesta for 'the alternative limb project'.

Kiera for 'the alternative limb project'.

Prosthetic covering by 'the alternative limb project'.

While scrolling through my RSS feeds on Google Reader, I happened upon an interesting post by Neatorama regarding "beautiful prosthetic limbs". I have always been fascinated by amputation from a neuropsychological perspective, but also aesthetically speaking... Perhaps I have ASTAR to thank for this morbid curiosity (see video below - anyone who grew up in the 80s will instantly be transported back in time!)... 

Regardless of my strange personal tastes, I can't imagine *anyone* who wouldn't be drawn to the beauty of 'the alternative limb project'. Directed by Sophie de Oliveira Barata (in the UK), this amazing service combining form and function provides amputees with a creative and personalized alternatives to traditional prosthetic limbs. The hyper-realistic limbs she creates can help amputees feel more "whole" again, while the alternative-style limbs can - according to her website - "help break down social barriers". These limbs are certainly conversation pieces to say the least.

I really believe in the work Sophie is doing. I think that these beautiful works of art truly have the power to heal by helping individuals to regain their confidence and reforge their identities following the tragic loss of a limb. A person will never be the same after surviving an amputation, but Sophie's talents and dedication have the ability to turn this difficult situation into an empowering experience.