RIP Van Smith

I just read in the newspaper that Van Smith died. He was the guy who created Divine's frightening look. You probably already saw Divine, at least in the John Waters movie Pink Flamingos (1972). That was the one with the infamous dogpoop-eating scene. That's dedication for you! The chicken scene also upset a lot of people, but as Mr Waters admitted in his defence, at least they ate the chicken afterwards.

Anyway, here's a quote from Van Smith about his make-up philosophy:

"I like to start with a freshly-scrubbed face. First I apply pimples made out of eyelash glue, and if they have any natural glow, I throw dirt on their face as a good base. Then I draw on blackheads, pencil on any age lines, shadow severe bags under their eyes, and crack their entire complexion by letting egg white dry on their skin."

Return To Sender

When I open the mailbag at work there are always a bunch of letters addressed to people who haven't worked there for years, so I have to Return it to Sender, but sometimes just for the hell of it I like to add a drawing, like this one.
Mostly it's one of these little dudes, crying his eyes out because that person ain't there no more, and it's so sad. Or maybe he's crying because he is the one who sent the letter, and he's gone to all that trouble of writing a letter and putting it in the mailbox, but that person ain't there no more.

A Scanner Darkly

I just got back from the movie palace. I went and saw A Scanner Darkly, the film version of the Phillip K Dick novel about a young narcotics officer who infiltrates a ‘drug household’ and ends up getting hooked himself.
The movie was shot live action then animated, a very time-consuming process no doubt, but the result was awesome, in particular the scenes where the narcs are wearing their scramble suits. The scene near the end in the cornfield was pretty cool too.
The cast was terrific – Keanu Reeves, Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey Jr and Winona Ryder.
I can’t say how faithful the film was to the novel because I read that novel many years ago, way back when I had only just begun to bake my own brain. (What is that sizzling sound? Is there a barbecue next door?) The feeling I got however was that Linklater had been faithful to the spirit of the book.
This one will make it into my Top Ten for sure.