Day 2: Miniature Madness

Jessica Hlavac The PieMY LORD, what’s she going to do with that razor blade??? Will she cut her own wrists? Hijack a plane? Enter into an eternal blood oath with Lucifer himself? What terrible horror awaits you, dear viewer?!

Oh wait. What’s that cute little pie doing there? Hang on, let me check my notes. OH. It’s Jessica Hlavac, the mad genius behind i’m so tiny, where she showcases minuscule foods meticulously crafted with her very own, non-threatening hands! She makes everything from breakfast to dessert, all about the size of a quarter. You know, that thing in your pocket that’s only about an inch in diameter? Yeah, that. Just look at this croissant sandwich sitting on one of them:

Jessica Hlavac Croissant SandwichShe even admits to being a little crazy, having “made a whole damn tiny ham just to slice it up” and make perfect ham slice edges for this diminutive sandwich. CAN YOU STAND IT.

So here we are, on Day 2 of Gothtober 2011, wondering what sort of miniature madness Miss Hlavac has cooked up this time. Ok, it’s a pie. But if you think you can follow her steps and make your own pie, as if the sheer smallness and perfectness of her handiwork isn’t mind-boggling enough… well, she’s thrown you yet another curve ball. Just try and catch it.

Day 21: chicks in love

Gothtober Helena KimToday’s piece by Helena Kim is a heartwarming tale of chick-meets-chick, told through gingerly crafted and stop-motion animated yarn and felt creatures. Hel acquired over 40 pieces of felt to prepare for this epic stop-motion journey, and each crocheted chick boasts about 400 loops apiece.

This lovely little Gothtober love story might make you misty, or foggy, or downright stormy, depending on your mood and the atmospheric conditions. And certainly it will make you appreciative of the time and care it takes to cut, shape, navigate and finagle each star, heart, pumpkin, cloud and candy corn!

Enjoy!

Day 20: ¡A Spin of the Wheel!

It’s a craft. It’s an adventure. It’s a user-guided experience, a dérive, a gamble. It is, ladies and ghouls, a musically-inspired chance operation bicycle expedition tool. And it’s a generous collection of free, fantastic song downloads, hey-o!

Gothtober Day 20Gothtober Day 20It’s also apparently a glitch in the Matrix, as evidenced by the disappearing/ reappearing cat. Spooky.

This is the first year that Jen Hofer — wordsmith, nostalgia-collector and other amazing things, and Rob Ray — boy genius, pixel-magician and also other amazing things, have teamed up as the Free Radicals. It is lovely to see the eon-spanning, old/new media-mashing outcome. Bicycles are some of the best old media, after all.

Enjoy this mesmerizing watch and listen, and download the project for your own wandering devices. Don’t let the megabytes scare you; this download is worthwhile. Did we mention the free songs?

Day 19: This is my JAM

Gothtober boomboxThere are really two parts to Kate Morrison’s “Revenge of the Haunted Boombox”: the video, wherein a tiny haunted boombox wreaks havoc on the listening pleasure of various tiny characters; and the credits, where your own pleasure is put to the test: guilty or not guilty?

And actually, there is a third part, where you go back and watch the whole thing again just so you can catch every gem of dialogue that whizzes by in miniature-stop-motion speed. There should probably be an additional fourth part where we quiz you on the script and you win a 10-minute grabbing spree at the Candy Factory, but really, how complicated does this need to be? Jeeeeez.

Just watch the video, for heaven’s sake.

Day 18: Embrace me, my sweet embraceable ghoul

Gothtober EmbraceToday’s piece, by “The Embrace,” (Lili Daniel, Lok Hwa, Teri Osato and Wileen Rungsiridacha)  is a chilling scene that might make you think twice about leaving the house alone in the wee hours of the night. Here are some fun facts about today’s spooky film:

1.) The dog in the piece belongs to Teri’s neighbor and her name is Lola. She barks at everything so they weren’t sure if the performers actually scared her or if she just wanted attention. If she wasn’t scared, she should get a doggie Gothtober Pumpkin award for her thespian talents.

2.) The boom box in the scene was hunted for far and wide! The crew looked everywhere actually for their perfect Boom Box. Name any thrift store and they were probably there from Downtown LA, Burbank to flea markets in Pasadena and they finally found one in Atwater Village that was perfect.

3.) The blood is actually chocolate cherry syrup, so don’t be alarmed, no blood donations were required in the making of this film.

4.) The players worked hard on their make-up, here are some close-ups so you can see just how much effort went into appearing stomach-churningly convincingly gory.



Want to view the carnage? See for yourself.

Day 15: Haunted Honeymoon by Lori Meeker

The rumours are TRUE.

As you may or may not know, back in the day, Dr. Henry Frankenstein, using electricity and leftover human parts, made a monster. The only problem is, the monster wasn’t really relating to the people around him that weren’t held together by artificial means or salvaged cadaver pieces… he was mighty lonesome. After many months of the monster’s relentless pestering, Frankenstein created a beautiful blushing bride for his solitary modern prometheus.

Everything was going great, until the Doctor awoke one morning to find both creations missing, as well as his car!

All of us were worried sick, until it was revealed that the couple merely eloped and went on worldwide holiday to um… a few choice honeymoon locations.

Okay, maybe more than a few, maybe they’ll read this and eventually come back at some point, but for now, Congratulations, you two! Gothtober wishes you all the best, and when you come back, we’ll unplug all the appliances, and you can attach yourselves to the outlets and blow out the neighborhood transformer, just for fun!

But seriously, folks, this day was made by Lori Meeker, accomplished costumer and puppet maker and general all-around artist expert-a-gogo. You can actually catch a glimpse of her puppets that she made for the Pop Ups in The Wall Street Journal, as well as NY 1 TV.

Here’s a little trivia about the SONG in Lori’s movie, do you remember the 1983 movie it was featured in many years ago?

Well, I totally thought this song was very Kenny Loggins, but no no no nooooo…. I was wrong, and startled to find out it was actually this guy, and how did I not make that connection all these years? Anyway, Cheers, Lori Meeker and her right hand Gothtober helper, Jeff Levine and the rest of her crew, you guys made a wonderful keepsake the Frankensteins will be able to look at for years to come.

Day 14: DIY hobgoblin

Gothtober stitch hobgoblinApparently, mind-blowing fingernails are the sub-theme to this year’s Gothtober; check out those Halloweeny stripes and stars!! Day 12 might be a little jealous.

No matter the state of your manicure, YOU can make an adorable print+sew hobgoblin for Halloween, thanks to the lovely and crafty Miss Christy Chambers. All you need is some printable fabric and a few other widgets and doodads that you probably already have at home! Then just print, bedazzle, clip and assemble per Christy’s fun and easy-to-follow instructions. And just wait till you see the finished product: cutest. hobgoblin. ever.

Also, enjoy the sultry, New Orleans style tune by Doodle M. Farnieflox. Was that the character who made the star-belly-on machine for the Sneeches? In any case, it’s great music to download by.

Make your hobgoblin now!

Day 11: Delicious graveyard, yum.

Gothtober edible graveyardVero Lego’s Hungry Halloween not only gives you recipes for delicious candy ghosts and chocolate spiders — it demonstrates how to create an entirely edible, yummy-sweet action graveyard playset! That’s right, YOU can construct your very own desserty haunted house (is that a load-bearing chocolate wall I just devoured?), make up names for your icing tombstones, put it all together and play ghost-in-the-graveyard in a landscape of macabre, sugary sweetness.*

Get it now!

*Gothtober cannot be held responsible if you choose to consume your scrumptious ghost world in a single sitting, nor are we liable for any ensuing seizures, bouncy spells, comas, crying jags, or annoyance to others.

Day 9: Paws of terror

Gothtober squirrelThis doo-wah ditty may sound carefree at first listen, but don’t be fooled: Artist Paul Gailiunas sings of pure horror, of the ages-old struggle between man and nature, of a regular guy just tryin’ to live the suburban dream but subject to tyranny in his own back yard. Even the cats lurk with caution, casting a circumspect almond eye to the treetops.

You might sway and tap your foot; you might even sing along. But when you walk outside, what nightmare awaits you, acorns of doom poised in its terrible claws?

Find out! (if you dare)

Day 7: Vigilante Halloweenification

Gothtober pumpkin faceGothtober Kenefick collage

In Big Loud ‘n’ Orange, two men embark on a little transit improvement project they call “Bustober.” Alex Kenefick and Eric Potter—respectively armed with a clipboard and a boom mic—await the arrival of Metro buses ripe for Halloweenification. Viewers are also treated to entrancing, interstitial montages of Christina Aguilera, David Allen Grier and Angel‘s David Boreanaz moving through a pumpkin patch.

Though it may at first seem like a surreal and even disconcerting melange of imagery, this project has all the makings of a successful urban redevelopment venture: mass transit, grassroots activism, star power, kids and farm-fresh produce. It should come as no surprise that the video’s creator, Alex Kenefick, is in fact a seasoned urban planner and transportation activist.

We had a chance to interview Mr. Kenefick, who says that a total of 15 to 20 Metro buses were “improved” in Operation Bustober. He equates Metro buses to the ultimate Haunted Boombox: “They’re big, they’re loud, and they’re orange.”

We also inquired about the meaning of the gourd-navigating stars. “It’s Halloween in L.A.,” said Kenefick. “I could have put normal people in the pumpkin patch, but I figured celebrities were just better.”

See it now!