#fashion icon varney

[mayhemchicken-varneyposting]

me, a vampire? no way that's so crazy haha

[whatthecrowtold]

#unhallowedarts - "I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side" - Bram Stoker's Dracula

“You reason well, and your wit is bold, but you are too prejudiced. You do not let your eyes see nor your ears hear, and that which is outside your daily life is not of account to you. Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are, that some people see things that others cannot? But there are things old and new which must not be contemplated by men's eyes, because they know, or think they know, some things which other men have told them. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all, and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain. But yet we see around us every day the growth of new beliefs, which think themselves new, and which are yet but the old, which pretend to be young, like the fine ladies at the opera.“

(Bram Stoker “Dracula”)

It was a indeed a dark and stormy night, the one in the year without Summer back in 1816, when the Shelleys, Byron and his physician John Polidori sat down to make pop culture history. Cut off from the world, bored witless and full to the brim with laudanum, his lordship challenged the gathered Romantic enfants perdu to lift the burden of ennui with telling ghost stories in the German fashion. And while both Byron and Shelley brought off rather nothing except consuming more narcotics that night, Mary famously began to write “Frankenstein” and Polidori engendered the other treasured dread, the aristocratic, suave, blood sucking king of the undead, the vampire. The myth itself was, of course, centuries old and only two generations before, a downright mass hysteria ran through Europe when repeated cases of vampirism were reported in the Balkans along the Austro-Turkish military border.

Polidori though took the revenant peasant prowling around his former home and sucking the blood of his family, clad him in evening attire and modelled him after the pattern of his employer into a Byronic hero. Polidori’s Lord Ruthven became the ancestor of the 19th and 20th century’s vampires that haunted the imaginations of countless readers and the pages of Gothic literature from the likes of Gogol and Merimee to the infamous penny dreadfuls. One of these featured a creature called “Varney the Vampire” who brought in the fangs and the tell-tale bite marks and Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla” from 1872 gave the myth the structure of a long dead noble á la Coleridge’s “Christabel” haunting a damsel in distress and a group of heroes bringing the creature to bay with the help of ancient lore and occult paraphernalia. The groundwork was laid and along came Bram Stoker.

As a child, Stoker was bedridden until the age of seven, rose as from the dead after his mysterious illness all of a sudden ceased, became a football star at college, graduated in mathematics and ended up a pen-pusher in Dublin Castle. Not satisfied with his lot, naturally, Stoker changed his career to theatre critic at the Dublin Evening Mail, owned by Sheridan Le Fanu, and attracted the attention of the famous actor Sir Henry Irving with a favourable review, the two became friends and Stoker followed Irving to become his manager. Meanwhile he had won the hand of Florence Balcombe, a celebrated beauty, courted by Stoker’s acquaintance form Trinity College Oscar Wilde as well as a host of other suitors. Stoker would bring these experiences into a literary form in his opus magnum “Dracula” with Sir Henry Irving acting as model for the undead count as Byron did for Polidori 80 years before.

Stoker had never been to Romania, during the 1890s a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but he did a thorough research on his subjects that he would add with iconic effects to the imagery of the literary Gothic, from local legends of the 1750s, the late 15th century Wallachian Prince Vlad III. Drăculea who was famed in western European sources for his cruelty and other inspirations from Central Europe like Princess Eleonore von Schwarzenberg, rumoured to be a vampire during her lifetime at the beginning of the 18th century and already an inspiration for German poet Gottfried August Bürger to his poem “Leonore”. Well-known enough known to Stoker and everyone else who read and wrote Gothic literature.

Pitting his research-wise well founded mythical Count and his ancient evil that bears strong resemblances to the feared syphilis as well as despicable moral liberties against the forces of the modern age, trains, the telegraph, typewriters, repeating rifles and established processes and organised teamwork, based on thorough research. Published in 1897, “Dracula” became an instant success and the standard followed to this day, even if Stoker and “Dracula” act only as powers behind the throne of “Urban Fantasy”.

All artwork above is by John Coulthart from his 2018 take on "Dracula" and nicked from his blog linked below

[suzylwade]

The Greenbrier and Dorothy Draper In 1946, a legendary interior designer traveled to rural West Virginia to tackle one of her most challenging assignments — renovating ‘The Greenbrier’ and recapturing its illustrious past. Legend and history mingle at ‘The Greenbrier’ West Virginia’s iconic resort tucked away in the Allegheny Mountains. When Dorothy Draper arrived by train from New York in 1946, the boarded-up hotel (following a stint as an army hospital) had been empty for several months. Armed with a flashlight, she walked the corridors, examined the task at hand, and purportedly encountered the ghost of frequent former guest General Robert E. Lee. One of the first things Draper did was to create separate areas in the cavernous lobby by enclosing spaces with walls and screens. Guests now pass from the hotel's north entrance through the ‘Celebrity Corridor’ the 'Cameo Ballroom’ the trellis lobby, the green lobby, the main lobby and the clock lobby into the main dining room, which had been used as an officers' mess between 1942 and 1945. In the main lobby, Draper had her trademark black-and-white-marble floors laid on the diagonal: the original chic, oversize squares of pure black Belgian marble and veined white Georgian marble still gleam to this day. Then she splashed bright colours on the walls and covered sofas and chairs with fabrics in the punched-up colours she loved. By 1963 Carleton Varney, who succeeded Dorothy Draper as the president of the firm that bears her name, had taken over the job of maintaining and subtly changing the décor ‘The Greenbrier’. #neonurchin #neonurchinblog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #suzyurchin #ollyurchin #art #music #photography #fashion #film #words #pictures #neon #urchin #thegreenbrier #dorothydraper #interiordesignmaven #stripes #vibrantcolours #floralpatterns #bold #contrasting #aworkofgenius #chesapeakeandohiorailway #dorothydraperinteriordesign #carletonvarney (at The Greenbrier) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4eo-wiAA9k/?igshid=19yhfn0w5q6bi

[iqvts]

2000 FASHION SHOW Drive #2006, Las Vegas, NV 89109 from iQ Visual Tours on Vimeo.

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[gst95]

It's been overdue for a long, long time, but better than late than never. I think it's time to me to finally revisit the Pixar filmography from beginning to end, obviously starting with their first ever feature film. What can I say about this film that others haven't? If there was one film out there I had to list to sum up my childhood, Toy Story would likely be at the very top of this list.

Woody of course, is a cowboy doll who seems to have everything going for him. The love and care of his friend Andy and a leadership over the other toys in his room. Cue Andy's birthday (just a week before the move to a new house), where a hot new toy appears on the scene that becomes his new favourite, pretty much leaving Woody in the dust. That is Buzz Lightyear, a slick space ranger figure that has all the technological advancements you'd want.

Let's just say that Woody's hostility to Buzz's presence has consequences, namely the two ending up in the house of the bad kid next door, Sid. It's not just about them trying to get back home however, it's also the lesson of friendship, the two learning to overcome their differences and work together. Woody has jealousy over losing his spot embedded into him, while Buzz suffers under the self-delusion of being an actual space ranger.

Then there's the rest of Andy's toys, like Woody's love-interest Bo Peep, loyal Slinky Dog, timid Rex the dinosaur, piggy-bank Hamm, and Mr. Potato Head who is to put it mildly, a massive bellend in this entry, particularly to Woody. Add to those a fine voice-cast of names, which include Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, the late Don Rickles and Jim Varney, Pixar regular John Ratzenberger, and even R. Lee Ermey as a green army captain.

One thing that I also remembered when rewatching this was just how dark the tone managed to be at times, namely when Sid is on-screen. He's a bratty little punk who gets his kicks from destroying toys, taking parts of them apart to make bizarre creations or just blowing them up for the hell of it. I also like how his dark and messy room (where "cannibal" mutant toys lurk) serves as a complete contrast to the bright and friendly look of Andy's room.

Being the very first film of it's type (feature-length CG animated film), some parts have aged undoubtedly (like the rather uncanny looking humans and dogs), but other things like the level of detail in the environments (namely the interior of Pizza Planet) and the fluid movement of it's characters manage to hold up well. Considering the size (and situation) of Pixar at the time, it's amazing what they were able to pull off.

In typical Disney fashion, of course it would need a musical side to it as well, with Randy Newman scoring and providing such memorable numbers like "You've Got a Friend in Me" and "Strange Things are Happening" (over a memorable montage depicting Buzz "replacing" Woody). Even if you're not a fan of his voice, I feel his work really gives Toy Story (and subsequent Pixar efforts) a distinctive feel that no one else could do.

In honesty, it's one of those movies that in my mind that is so timeless, so iconic that my words can't really do it justice. The lovable characters, the subtle sense of humor (with some jokes that went over my head as a kid), the exciting set-pieces, the overall production design and charm of it all. So why not a 10? I don't know, I guess it's because Pixar would outdo themselves even more with the sequel.

Otherwise, this was a fun start to a nostalgic trip down memory lane. If you never grew up on this as a child, I feel you missed out big-time.

9.5/10

[mayhemchicken-varneyposting]

modern day varney committing historical fashion crimes

[mayhemchicken-varneyposting]

fuck it, varney in incroyable fashion

[mayhemchicken-varneyposting]

Trick or treat?

Enjoy

[mayhemchicken-varneyposting]

...trick or treat?

a special treat for my #1 fan: that time @sylphwyndtamer and i trapped varney in the universe of armored core 6 for shits and giggles. this counts as putting him in a costume i think

pov: you know, you thought you did have objections but they all seem to have suddenly evaporated

[mayhemchicken-varneyposting]

WAIT. DID I NEVER POST. THIS ONE

[mayhemchicken-varneyposting]

i feel like i should apologize for this one

[iqvts]

2000 FASHION SHOW Drive #2006, Las Vegas, NV 89109 from iQ Visual Tours on Vimeo.

For more information: lasvegashomes.com/listing/70-463565/2000-fashion-show-drive-2006-las-vegas-nv-89109

ICONIC TRUMP TOWER EAST/STRIP & POOL FACING 1 BEDROOM UNIT, ADJACENT TO CORNER UNIT W/ UNBELIEVABLE SOUTH STRIP VIEWS! ITALIAN MARBLE, FULLY FURNISHED RENTAL PROGRAM READY UNIT HAS SEPARATE MASTER BEDROOM W/ FLOOR TO CEILING GLASS! SPACIOUS MASTER BATH HAS SEPARATE JETTED TUB & SHOWER, TV INSERT IN VANITY MIRROR. SECOND BATH PERFECT FOR GUESTS. CONDO-HOTEL OFFERS DINING, SPA, POOL DECK, LOUNGE AREA, CONCIERGE SERVICES, VALET SERVICE & SECURITY.

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[iqvts]

2000 FASHION SHOW Drive #6108, Las Vegas, NV 89109 from iQ Visual Tours on Vimeo.

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