Roughly once a year ye ol’ place of employment throws together some sort of family-oriented shindig and this past Saturday was the latest. This year’s event had a Mardi Gras theme so some sort of mask was in order. I haven’t ever been to an actual Masquerade
though I dream of attending one some day at which fancy dress and exquisite masks are donned by all.
Anyway, we went out to our local craft store and picked up supplies. I looked at the blank white mask in my hands and immediately thought of Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe. I took Valspar American Tradition Plasti-kote “Fire-Engine Red” paint, some stick-on jewels, a little acrylic black paint, mixed in some procrastination and this is what emerged:
The picture on the left cheek is a picture of Death,
one of the 7 Endless in Neil Gaiman‘s epic Sandman comic series. The swirl underneath the right eye is also inspired by Death. I free-handed the POE logo from the Poe Museum as the space needed something….it actually should have been bigger but after several failed attempts at forging Poe’s signature in that spot I was ready to be finished…the paint brush has never been my friend! The Masque of the Red Death mask completed I decided the family should have at least some thematical symmetry so I headed over to the local Hot Topic for some poseur-goth shirts.
(the beacon of innocence is Jessica of the Jimmy’s House / Percolations family…I kind of look like a red-face Michael Myers! 🙂 )
Trying to stick with the death theme I chose an Umbrella Corporation shirt for myself (I was doubly proud of the choice as the Death character on my mask is holding an umbrella).
Mary wore a Lenore tee.
(watch her closely and she’ll surprise you)
Lenore is the disturbingly funny comic book creation of Roman Dirge and is one of my favorites. Check out this site for some twisted Lenore flash animated shorts. I recommend Li’l Bunny Foofoo, Li’l Ballerina, Fugly Duckling and Mr Gosh.
Tori wore an Alice-in-Wonderland shirt sporting this image:
(I found this to be very funny considering it was a party for mental health workers!)
I’ve been a fan of the darker Alice-in-Wonderland stuff since playing American McGee’s Alice several years ago.
This was such a great, psychotic, creepy PC game. You can watch a really great trailer for the game here that has a crazy, whispered “we’re all mad here” at the end that gives me chills.
The party was enjoyable and today my mask was gifted to the 15 year old son of my Administrative Assistant who was coveting it throughout the evening. In researching Death pictures I came across this very entertaining site (click picture):
According to this site, in normal mode, my day of demise is set for Monday, September 2, 2041. The optimistic view has me soldering on until Tuesday, October 4, 2061. I’ve noticed through several trials that my normal date of death does not change but my optimistic date fluctuates. For some highly entertaining reading I suggest you click on the Dead Letter Office and read the archives of email that have been sent to the creator of this site. There are some easily-offended, stark-raving maniacs out there! I realize that this is a slighly morbid idea but it is done in the spirit of fun! Come on people!
In closing this post I’d like to point out that today marks the date in 1792 that the guillotine was used for the first time in France. Happy Anniversary!
Yes, I think a joyeux anniversaire is in order.
I’ve read through this, I’ll be back to check out the links. I like me a little morbid…
Anne, a doubly ‘happy anniversary’ to you since you live in the country that invented this fine machine! Without it Tale of Two Cities wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting! Well, I must head off to work now! If I’m late, heads will roll…….sorry…..
Cute pic. Thanks for taking Jessica. She had so much fun!!!!
looks like you all had fun!
my optimistic date of death: Tuesday, August 24, 2077
normal: Sunday, June 11, 2056
The pics turned out good! You must have had a professional taking those (ha ha)! The death clock is hilarious. My normal DOD is 10/15/58.
You young people and your long lives!!!!
Wow, that mask is amazing! I especially love that picture of Death (it’s one of my favorites). I wish paintbrushes (who aren’t my friends either) would treat me so well. You’re awesome! Glad the party was fun.
Ok, so sometimes I’m pessimistic, but that doesn’t mean I deserve to die on Christmas Eve! It’s amazing the difference between optimism, normality and pessimism (if this clock is anywhere near accurate) in terms of lifespan. My DOD for pessimism is 12/24/33, for optimism, 5/25/71 and normality schedules me to die on 3/9/51. Twenty years difference! Wow, I’m going to start looking at glasses up-side-down from now on!
I guess I should’ve dressed Jessica in black, but I don’t think she has a black shirt.
Kika looked perfect Julie and everyone loved her!
Mysfit, lest there is any misunderstanding I did not paint the Death pic, only the POE letters with the raven inside. The Death picture was courtesy of the internet and a little decoupage! Thanks for the compliments, I thought it turned out pretty good considering the fact that I waited until the last minute to do it. I would like to be able to paint but that’s just another in a long list of things I really don’t have time to learn right now…
Tori looks like a total cutie! Wow, it’s hard to believe she was younger than Lydia when we met!
Good job on the mask. I didn’t realize it was a Carl creation when Mary showed it to me.
It felt good to actually do something quasi-creative. I need to spend more time on creative endeavors, its a very satisfying use of time….of course it cuts into my computer gaming time!!! 🙂
Yes, its weird to look at Jessica now and think about how young Tori looked…and was…when we moved here.
Just a little medical history info on the guillotine, it was quick but caused splitting headaches.
Cool, how fun. It’s all Burton-esque around here today. 🙂
Angela, you’re going to outlive me by 9 years. Stupid girls, always have to win. 😛
Tom! You’re back!!!! 🙂
It is very Burton-esque Rob, you are correct! These posts of mine get longer all the time and I resisted the urge to put in more goth/death related stuff that I think is really cool. Didn’t want to freak my mother out too much! 🙂
Ain’t my honey talented? I love his mask! We had fun making the masks and at the party. I am glad
that Jessica got to go with us.
My normal DOD is 1/13/49. Don’t think ALL young people live to be a ripe old age. I will not even be retired by 71!
Yes, but what about your optimistic one? Looks like we’re all going to have to start being more optimistic! Actually, I consider myself a cynical optimist anyway and since I don’t plan on dying anytime soon I might as well just go for all I can get!
Great masks. Looks like you and the family had a great time. You do look like Michael Myers with your mask on. I LOL at that comment. It made my day.
My optimistic date of death is May 23rd, 2052. Which will really depress my wife since that’s her birthday assumming she’s alive then. 🙂 My normal date of death is March 6th, 2042. looks like I’m going to out live you Carl. 🙂
Okay Jeff, I’m confused…will your wife be depressed because you die on her birthday or because your death ruins her birthday plans? 🙂
Jeff, you (and everyone else!) need to watch the Lenore cartoons…they’re good dead fun!
Mom says:How strange some of these subjects are. I however took my “test” and if I’m in the normal my date is Dec 19,2028. Guess you’ll have to find other arrangements for Christmas that year! The mask was very creative, Carl. What a talented son! I am very proud of you. Mary and Tori looked great too. Love ya all!
Whoops! I guess you only have to hit the send button once, not hold it down! I’ll master this computer yet!
Good Lord! My mother has actually posted on my site! Congrats Mom, I’m proud of you for figuring it out and for figuring out how to change the name from ‘Carl’ to ‘Mom’….I took care of the duplicate comments for you!
Just hang in there mom, the posts may actually get more strange as time goes on! 🙂
I just watched ‘Magic Muffins’, very funny, hadn’t seen that one before…
Why the latter of course! 🙂
Good news, Carl we die in the same year in normal mode. I go first, January 16, so I’ll get the movies and popcorn ready. That is what we’ll do in Heaven right? What a sad year for the girls though. The thought of losing me must seem overwhelming.
I can hear them weeping now! 🙂
Boo Hoo Hoo!
That clock thing is weird! Sort of freaky.
The weird thing is, that at my current post-baby weight I am considered obese and high health risks. If I put in my normal weight, I am desirable and low health risk. However, with either scenario I still die the same day – December 30, 2048. What a sad New Year’s that will be!
“If I put in my normal weight, I am desirable….” Hurray for Karen and her positive self-image! She doesn’t need any man telling her she’s desirable!!! 🙂 Just for that I think you can count your optimistic death time rather than your normal one!
Did everyone notice that Lenore winks….or am I just certifiably insane?
Must be just you, Carl. 😉
It actually shocked me the first time it happened…I was proof reading the post and when she winked it was quite the surprise!
Speaking of families……. I know, we weren’t speaking of families, but who cares…I met Jeff’s family this evening at the comic book shop and they are all very nice…lovely wife, cute kids. Jeff, you should be very proud! 🙂
I’m really scared now because Dad and I saw Lenore wink also! Is this something in the family or what?
Its something in the family, believe me!
I love that you are commenting on here mom, but its very weird also! Weird to think of you and dad online! I’m glad for you and thrilled that you’re in here! 🙂
check out mysfit unmasked on my photoblog
(listed as my homepage in this rare instance)
Very cute, she would’ve fit right in with the gang! Here’s a direct link for those of you who need it!