The History and Lore of Ouija Boards
As the Internet becomes increasingly cluttered with accumulated pop cultural detritus, it’s refreshing to rediscover a site like The Museum of Talking Boards that stands the test of time (even with it’s very 90s looking mouse-trailing planchette.)
The online museum chronicles the history of talking boards, also known as ouija boards, spirit boards, witch boards, and channeling boards. While the history presented on the site is fascinating and well-researched, the Museum’s pièce de résistance is the gallery of nearly 100 lovely examples of talking boards, both vintage and modern.
Also delightful is the page of ouija board superstitions which includes gems like this:
A Ouija Board will scream if you try to burn it. People who hear the scream have less than thirty-six hours to live. There is only one proper way to dispose of it: break the board into seven pieces, sprinkle it with Holy Water then bury it.
And don’t forget, there are three things you must never ask a ouija board:
- Never ask about God.
- Never ask when you are going to die.
- Never ask where the gold is buried.
Beast Blender: Taxidermy for Everyone
From the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists comes Beast Blender, a Flash driven virtual taxidermy studio that enables you to create your very own legendary creature or cryptid. There are dozens of parts to blend, from an alligator’s tail, to a mosquito’s wing, to a black rhino’s horn, and each part can be flipped, resized, and placed independently.
My dismal first attempt is pictured above - I managed to convince myself he’s got a Beetlejuice sandworm thing going on.
The Art and Alchemy of Scent
Driftwood.
An ancient forest in the heat of a summer afternoon.
Shelves full of old books.
The smoke of burning maple leaves.
These are some of the extraordinarily specific scents Christopher Brosius has captured in his collection of decadent and delightful perfumes, accords, and home sprays. His mission is “to give you a pleasure you never thought possible” by capturing and bottling all of the world’s pleasant scents. His approach to aroma is part science, part art.
At any given time, there are up to 400 hand created accords on display at CB I Hate Perfume, Brosius’ Brooklyn gallery. You can purchase a single accord, or arrange for a custom blended perfume made without any alcohol. Many of the ready-to-wear scents are also available online.
For those not able to travel to the gallery, the online shop offers detailed descriptions of each accord, accompanied by the story behind each scent. Brosius’ inspirations are also evident in the literary references that pepper the site.
His Chemical Series of perfume accords contains scents that truly underscore the link between aroma and memory. The series “captures the scents that symbolize technology, industry and man-made objects.” At first this may seem bizarre, but imagine the nostalgia when you catch a whiff of a smell from your childhood - a fresh new box of Crayolas or sun tan lotion, for instance.
If you feel that women should smell like Britney Spears Fantasy and men should not enter a room unless preceded by a cloud of Drakkar Noir, then CB I Hate Perfume probably isn’t for you. But if old paper and autumn leaves or spring flowers, wet dirt, and moss tickle your fancy, take some time to explore the CB I Hate Perfume online perfume shop.
2008 Dances of Vice Festival Weekend
A weekend of neo-Victorian festivities sponsored by Dances of Vice will take place in New York City next month. From the Dances of Vice site:
We invite all modern dandies, decadents, aesthetes, artists, thinkers, and dreamers to join us on February 8th and 9th for the 2008 Dances of Vice Festival in New York City!
The festival will include live music headlined by cello rock ensemble Rasputina. Other highlights include a vintage Polaroid photo booth, a live Victorian fencing demonstration, puppet operettas, and a costumed ball.
via Phantasmaphile
Bite of the Living Dead
Rob and I often lament that the rest of the world doesn’t operate on our natural schedule - waking a few hours before dark and heading back to bed some time after dawn. In the Hollywood area, many industries have adapted to the unconventional schedules and privacy concerns of the Tinseltown elite by offering expanded hours.
One dentist has opted to alert her clientele to late night hours with a series of advertising posters designed by Adville to look like campy horror film posters.
The ad campaign announces the 6pm - 2am availability of Patty Ross, DDS, also known as La Contessa Nocturna and The Dentist of Darkness.
Now if only this would catch on, maybe we’d have somewhere to go at 2am on a Tuesday after getting our teeth cleaned and hitting the 7-11.
via Neatorama
The Modern Ruins on Bannerman’s Island
Bannerman’s Island is home to the most beautiful examples of modern architectural decay I have ever witnessed firsthand. Bannerman’s Castle was built by military surplus dealer Francis Bannerman as a storage warehouse in the early twentieth century. The words “Bannerman’s Island Arsenal” were proudly displayed in 4 1/2 foot lettering on the building’s facade, thus popularizing the name “Bannerman’s Island” for the tract of land more properly known as Pollepel Island.
The European-style fortress was Francis Bannerman’s hat tip to his Scottish heritage. He personally designed every turret and embellishment, every curved wall that became part of Bannerman’s Castle.
The island sits in the Hudson River, just a couple of miles south of the Beacon-Newburgh Bridge, and can be seen from the window of the train if you’re heading to Poughkeepsie. Bannerman’s Castle has remained vacant since the Bannerman family deeded the property to New York State in 1967.
The castle first sustained serious damage in 1920 when some of the stored arsenal exploded, sending portions of the building and the island itself cascading into the Hudson River. A mysterious fire laid waste to all of the island’s buildings in 1969, and with each passing year, nature reclaims more of Bannerman’s Island.
The state of New York still owns Bannerman’s Island, and the parks department has designated The Bannerman Castle Trust as the official “friends” organization. Members of the trust are attempting to secure the funding and resources required to preserve and stabilize the buildings on the island.
While the Internet is rife with images of Bannerman’s Castle, most pale in comparison to Shaun O’Boyles stunning and evocative photographic essay, Bannerman’s Island. The above images are selections from O’Boyle’s work, which you can support by purchasing a high quality, fine art print from his site. For more on the island, see:
Bannerman Island Arsenal (Hudson Valley Ruins)
Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape
Lost in New Jersey on Bannerman’s Castle
Bannerman Castle (NY) (Images of America)
Thanks to BLDGBLOG for recommending Shaun O’Boyle’s photography of modern ruins. Shaun’s photographs are, if possible, even more memorable than the castle itself.