On Saturday I drove to West Palm Beach with my fake nephew (a best friend’s son) to surprise him with a meet-and-greet with Vine app sensation Marcus Johns. Marcus was also there to make a SUPERVINE with his fans- several hundred screaming girls- in the center of City Place. I fought off any chance of a reveal every step of the way, and when Marcus finally emerged, I picked up Aidan so he could see. “MARCUS JOHNS?” He was super excited to take his picture with him after hours standing the rain. Aidan is a huge fan of the Vine app and watches all of Marcus’ videos over and over- he’s even paid tribute to him a couple of times in his own videos. It was really cute.
Marcus with a puppy and 1/1,000 freaking out girls in the background
Another cool thing that took place this weekend was in Los Angeles, and I wish I had been there for it! The event is called Twenty Wonder- a cultural mash up featuring art, comedy, science, magic and music; with proceeds benefiting the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles. A few of the events included Mexican masked wrestling and burlesque, a vaudevillian 19-piece orchestra and cabaret, found film footage from the Cinefamily theater, The Los Angeles Derby Dolls, D.I.Y. Comet Builders: fun-size astrophysics with real scientists and WAY more!
The way I found out about Twenty Wonder was via artist Tim Biskup’s instagram. I saw these warped caricatures he made of people and calls the project “Ego Killers”. They’re pretty brilliant, so I had to share!
And finally, last night I watched the Criterion Collection’s release of the 1977 Japanese film House directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, which I’ve wanted to see for a long time. I can honestly say I’ve never viewed any motion picture like it before, and I’ve watched A LOT of weird shit in my time. The visuals were so imaginative and it read more like an out-of-body dream. House is about a schoolgirl traveling with her six classmates to her ailing aunt’s country home, where they soon face supernatural, horrific events. Obayashi desired the special effects to look unrealistic, as if a child created them, which I think is what I love about it most of all. This film touches on themes of childhood fears, most of which he based on his own daughter’s. If you like strange art-house style movies, you’ll want to watch this gem.