HOMEMADE HALLOWEEN MASKS

Nice work (left), huh? But I'm afraid I don't have a name to go with the image.

I'd call this (above) a mask. Sort of.

This (above) isn't exactly homemade, but it looks that way, so I'll include it.

                                            This kid's (above) got talent!

Above, kid masks displayed on black velvet. I LOVE stuff like this. If you're an adult, you can't fake that kid sensibility. Hmmm. I wonder if kids could be persuaded to sell the masks they make?

I love masks that attempt to depict ordinary people (above). 
         

Good Grief! It's John Travolta (above, left) and Elsa Maxwell (below, right)!

Above, another mask depicting an ordinary citizen. Masks like this one are a great comment on the human race. We try to be hip, famous, beautiful, debonair...but paper mache masks reveal that we're basically just bags of guts on stilts. It's humbling.

Above, a real human face has been captured and branded by color that simply oozed out of the ether beside the person. I always think of color as a strangely malevolent thing that tries to dominate us, maybe  even eat us, when we attempt to manipulate it.

Or maybe malevolent isn't the word. Color is just...indifferent to us...it has its own high-energy, anarchic nature, and only the most fearless and skilled human beings can successfully harness it. 

Wow! Nice color (above) on that yellow mask!

Good Lord! A face (above) like a sting chord!

You have to marvel at the way masks convey emotion so directly and powerfully. 

Above, the artist decided to use the crumpled look that paper mache often has.

Above, a macaroni and glue creature.  It's a nice stand-alone sculpture,  but you might use it as a mask or a hat.

ABOUT THE TEMPLE GRANDIN FILM

Thanks to a Marcelo who, in a comment, turned me on to the Temple Grandin film. Holy Cow! It was great! I also listened to the commentary, which featured autism victim and cattle pen designer Temple Grandin herself...and I took some notes, which I'll reproduce here. Most of them are a simple statement of what Grandin believes, which may not be news to her fans, but should interest those who don't know much about her. I'll end with my own thoughts.

I love Grandin's way of thinking, which is so practical. She notices that cattle are comforted by snug confinement on the sides, and figures that humans would probably react the same way.  She made a "squeeze machine" for herself and used it to calm herself when she got anxiety attacks. If you're autistic, that's a big deal. Thanks to Grandin you can buy these things on the internet. It's important, though, that the user controls the experience.

• She's not alarmed when autistics do repetitive motions. She says it's their way of shaking off sensory overload. They can be taught to limit it to, say, an hour a day.

She continues to take anti-anxiety pills, preferring old types that are cheap and in the public domain now.

• Visible autistic behavior lessens as you get older, maybe because you have more experiences to draw from by then. She says autistic kids desperately need frequent social and educational stimulation, but not to the point of overload. Teach kids even if they don't appear to be learning. Prompt them to memorize.
• Autistic kids respond well to animals. Odd that they don't seem to mind animals touching them, just humans. 

That's it for the notes. I wish I could ask Grandin about some things that weren't in the film. She makes a good case for tactile and picture learning, but how would she teach abstract subjects like algebra and French to autistics? In the commentary she says she would have autistics bypass algebra and go directly to geometry and trig, which are visual. Hmmm, maybe, but what about French?

The subject interests me because I was always an unexciting "C" student in these subjects (algebra and French), even though they interested me. I could never figure out my resistance to them. There must be a better way to teach this stuff, but I have no idea what it would be.

Decades later I developed a taste for French rhetoric and musical lyrics. I like the sound of them even though I don't know what they mean. I'll do a blog about my favorites soon, and see if you don't feel the same way. As long as you know a little about pronunciation, you'll find yourself compulsively reading these stirring and romantic texts out loud.

Autism interests me because people who are victims of it, and who succeed in spite of it, are forced to learn everything in an unconventional way. It's an insight into another way of learning and thinking. Maybe there's something there that could help normal people too.

BTW, I like the way Claire Danes looks in the film (left). Maybe it's the hair.

Here's (left) the way she wears it when she's being herself. She looks like a different person. I prefer the film look. Straight hair isn't for everybody.

PIZZA BOY (PART IV)

ON THE SPOOKY OLD HOUSE (COPYRIGHT BY DANIELE MONTELLA). THIS IS THE STAGING AREA FOR THE ALIEN INVASION OF EARTH:

MENACING ALIENS (CHANTING) (V.O.): "Kill the Pizza Boy! Kill the Pizza Boy!"

MENACING ALIENS (CHANTING): "KILL THE PIZZA BOY! KILL THE PIZZA BOY!!!"

MESSED-UP ALIEN: "Wait a minute! I don't blame him for not taking off his disguise! I just tried to put mine back on again and I can't remember where anything goes!"

BIG CONICAL ALIEN: "Same here! I took off mine and now I don't know how I'm ever gonna get it back on again!"

BIG CONICAL ALIEN: "I keep mine on all the time, but it's really uncomfortable. I wish I could take it off."

ALIEN: "Er, maybe we were a bit hasty."

ANOTHER ALIEN: "Yeah, Dude. Sorry about that!"

PIZZA BOY: "That's okay! No biggie!"

PIZZA BOY: "Look, I gotta go, but....."

PIZZA BOY: "...but I can't help asking: somebody here ordered this pizza...don't you still want it? It would be a shame if it went to waste, and it's only eleven bucks. "

HUNGRY ALIEN: "That was me! I ordered it! But it's not for me. I only eat Earth women."

ON A BABY, EATING A BOX.

HUNGRY ALIEN (V.O.): "It's for her. She likes to eat the box!"

PIZZA BOY: "The box!!?? Hmmm. Well...I, er...guess I could give you some kind of discount."

GIANT ALIEN HEAD:  "Hey, everybody! It's time for The Great Leader's broadcast!!!"

FEMALE ALIEN: "Oh, my gosh! The Great Leader!!!!!"

All aliens rush to take their places around the TV.

ALIEN VIEWERS: "Oh, boy! Transmission from the mother ship is especially clear tonight!"

ALIEN KIDS (THEY CHANT TOGETHER): "All hail to the grand and glorious GREAT LEADER! All hail to the great and glorious GREAT LEADER!""

ALIEN WOMEN (THEY CHANT WITH THE KIDS): "All hail to the grand and glorious Great Leader!"

THE ENTIRE ROOM (EXCEPT PIZZA BOY) (CHANTING TOGETHER) (V.O.): "All hail the grand and glorious GREAT LEADER!"

OH BOY!!! WE'RE IN THE THICK OF IT NOW!!!  WHO OR WHAT IS THE GREAT LEADER!!!????  WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO PIZZA BOY WHEN THEY MEET!??????? WHAT WILL BE THE FATE OF DEAR OLD PLANET EARTH!!!??????? DON'T MISS A SINGLE PIXEL OF THE NEXT THRILLING EPISODE OF.......

*********************PIZZA BOY***********************

SO YOU HATE HALLOWEEN!

Gee, that's too bad. Well, I won't trouble you with these pictures of sexy Halloween costumes. I'll understand if you want to pursue more intellectual activities elsewhere. 

 These pictures are all taken from the latest internet offerings. The stores are a little more sparse this year, I guess because they figure nobody has money to spend. That may be a mistake. Hard times could be good for the Halloween industry.

Alpine beer maidens (left) are back. Why did they ever go? Maybe this is the way all girls should dress, all year 'round.

Above, the latest variation on The Queen of Hearts. 

I submit that girl toy store clerks should dress like this (above). The stores would sell more toys. Come to think of it, we should bring back beautiful airline stewardesses. Some industries are the natural domain of the handsome and the beautiful. Zeus has willed it so.

Wow! A nice Cleopatra costume (left)! Actually, the Mark Antony costume offered in the "Spirit" stores this year is a pretty good costume for men.

(Gulp!)  I see the girl pirate biz (left) is still thriving. (Gulp!) (Gulp!)

If I ever figure out a way to get rich from Theory Corner I'm gonna get a yacht and staff it with sailors like this one (left). Be nice to me and I'll give you a ride....unless my social standing demands that I snub you.

Baseball, anyone?

This glimpse into 1770 (above) is my final entry. I toyed with the idea of substituting this for picture of a guy in a clown costume with a rainbow colored afro, but that would have been cruel.