FRANKENSTEIN PARTY @ T.R.A.C.S

To celebrate the 217th birthday of Mary Shelley, best known for her horror novel Frankenstein, the work that is considered to be a mixture of science fiction, Gothic, and having elements from the Romantic movement.

T.R.A.C.S at Timothy Plaza on River Island

Land Mark: http://slurl.com/secondlife/River%20Island/221/249/22

Monster Mash

Robert George Pickett
(February 11, 1938 – April 25, 2007)

"Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song and the best-known song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes. The "Monster Mash" single was #1 on the Hot 100 chart on October 20-27 of that year, just before Halloween. It has been a perennial holiday favorite ever since.

Pickett co-wrote "Monster Mash" with Leonard Capizzi in May 1962. The song was a spoof on the dance crazes popular at the time, including the Twist and the Mashed Potato, which inspired the title. The song featured Pickett's impersonations of veteran horror stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi (the latter with the line "Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?"). It was passed on by every major record label, but after hearing the song, Gary S. Paxton agreed to produce and engineer it; among the musicians who played on it was pianist Leon Russell.

Monster Mash Lyrics

I was working in the lab, late one night

 When my eyes beheld an eerie sight

 For my monster from his slab, began to rise

 And suddenly to my surprise

He did the mash, he did the monster mash

 The monster mash, it was a graveyard smash

 He did the mash, it caught on in a flash

 He did the mash, he did the monster mash

From my laboratory in the castle east

 To the master bedroom where the vampires feast

 The ghouls all came from their humble abodes

 To get a jolt from my electrodes

They did the mash, they did the monster mash

 The monster mash, it was a graveyard smash

 They did the mash, it caught on in a flash

 They did the mash, they did the monster mash

If you've ever seen a monster before

 Dancin' across the dance floor

 Don't be afraid, don't run and shout

 Turn around and help the monster turn it out

Get down with the monster mash

 Get down with the monster mash

Get down with the monster mash

 Get down with the monster mash

 And if you don't have core hard cash

 You can still do the monster mash

The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds

 Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds

 The coffin-bangers were about to arrive

 With their vocal group, 'The Crypt-Kicker Five'

They played the mash, they played the monster mash

 The monster mash, it was a graveyard smash

 They played the mash, it caught on in a flash

 They played the mash, they played the monster mash

Out from the coffin', Drac's voice did ring

 Seems he was troubled by just one thing

 He opened the lid and shook his fist and said

 "Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?

It's now the mash, it's now the monster mash

 The monster mash, it was graveyard smash

 It's now the mash, it caught on in a flash

 It's now the mash, it's now the monster mash

Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band

 And my Monster Mash is the hit of the land

 For you, the living this mash was meant too

 When you get to my door, tell them Borris sent you

Then you can mash, then you can monster mash

 The monster mash and do my graveyard smash

 Then you can mash, you'll catch on in a flash

 Then you can mash, then you can monster mash

The monster mash

Get down with the monster mash

 Get down with the monster mash

 Get down with the monster mash

 Mash

Frankenstein

Frankenstein's monster (also called the monster, Frankenstein's creature, or Adam) is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. In popular culture, the creature is often referred to as "Frankenstein" after his creator Victor Frankenstein, but in the novel the creature has no name. When speaking to Victor, he calls himself the "Adam of your labors"; whereas Victor refers to him as "creature", "fiend", "spectre", "the demon", "wretch", "devil", "thing", "being" and "ogre".

Within a decade of publication, the name of the creator - Frankenstein - indicated the monster, but it became firmly established after the Universal film series starring Boris Karloff in the 1930s. The film was largely based on an adaptation for the stage in 1927 by Peggy Webling. Webling's Frankenstein actually does give his creature his name. The Universal film treated the Monster's identity in a similar way as Shelley's novel: the name of the actor, not the character, is hidden by a question mark. Nevertheless, the creature soon enough became best known in the popular imagination as "Frankenstein". This usage is sometimes considered erroneous, but usage commentators regard the monster sense of "Frankenstein" as well-established and not an error.

It’s Not Wrong to Call the Monster “Frankenstein”

In Shelley's novel

Victor Frankenstein builds the creature in his laboratory through an ambiguously described scientific method consisting of chemistry (from his time as a student at University of Ingolstadt) and alchemy (largely based on the writings of Paracelsus, Albertus Magnus, and Cornelius Agrippa). The creature horrifies Frankenstein, and the scientist immediately disavows the experiment. Abandoned, frightened, and unaware of his own identity, the monster wanders through the wilderness. He finds brief solace beside a remote cottage inhabited by a family of peasants, the DeLaceys. Eavesdropping on the family's conversation, the creature familiarizes himself with their lives and learns to speak by listening to the family teach French, their native language, to an Arabian daughter-in-law, whereby he becomes eloquent, educated, and well-mannered.

After much deliberation about revealing himself to the family, the creature introduces himself to its blind father, who treats him with kindness. When the rest of the family returns, they drive him away. Hopeful but bewildered, the creature rescues a peasant girl from a river, but is shot in the shoulder by a man who claims her, and swears revenge on Frankenstein for abandoning him to such intolerance, and accordingly kills Victor Frankenstein's younger brother. When Frankenstein retreats to the mountains to absorb his grief and despair, the monster approaches him at the summit and tells Frankenstein his story, while also pleading with his creator to manufacture a female equivalent to mitigate the loneliness of his existence. Frankenstein agrees, but, aghast at the possibility of creating a race of monsters, abandons the agreement. In response, the creature kills Frankenstein's best friend, Henry Clerval, and later Frankenstein's bride, Elizabeth Lavenza; whereupon Frankenstein's father dies of grief. Searching for the creature in the Arctic Circle, the scientist loses control of his dogsled and falls into the freezing water, contracting severe pneumonia. A ship exploring the region rescues Victor. Before succumbing to his illness and dying, he relates his story to the captain, Robert Walton. Later, the creature boards the ship; but, upon finding his creator dead, pledges to incinerate himself at "the Northernmost extremity of the globe" and departs.

Appearance

Shelley described Frankenstein's monster as an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m), hideously ugly creation, with translucent yellowish skin pulled so taut over the body that it "barely disguised the workings of the arteries and muscles underneath"; watery, glowing eyes, flowing black hair, black lips, and prominent white teeth. The monster attempts to integrate himself into human social patterns, but is shunned by all who see him. This compels him to seek revenge against his creator. A picture of the creature appeared in the 1831 edition. Early stage portrayals dressed him in a toga, shaded, along with the monster's skin, a pale blue. Throughout the 19th century, the monster's image remained variable according to the artist.

The most well-known image of Frankenstein's monster in popular culture derives from Boris Karloff's portrayal in the 1931 movie Frankenstein, with makeup created by Jack Pierce and possibly suggested by director James Whale. Karloff played the monster in two more Universal films, Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein. Lon Chaney, Jr. took over the part from Karloff in The Ghost of Frankenstein, Bela Lugosi portrayed the role in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, and Glenn Strange played the monster in the last three Universal Studios films to feature the character (House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein); but their makeup replicated the iconic look first worn by Karloff. To this day, the image of Karloff's face is owned by his daughter's company, Karloff Enterprises, for which Universal replaced Karloff's features with Glenn Strange's in most of their marketing.

Since Karloff's portrayal, the creature almost always appears as a towering, undead-like figure, often with a flat-topped angular head and bolts on his neck to serve as electrical connectors or grotesque electrodes. He wears a dark suit having shortened coat sleeves and thick, heavy boots, causing him to walk with an awkward, stiff-legged gait (as opposed to the novel, in which he is described as much more flexible than a human). This image has influenced the creation of other fictional characters, such as The Hulk.

 

Boris Karloff

William Henry Pratt 23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969, better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor. 

Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and especially for his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931),  (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939), which resulted in his immense popularity. His best-known non-horror role is as the Grinch, as well as the narrator, in the animated television special of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966). He also had a memorable role in the original Scarface (1932). For his contribution to film and television, Boris Karloff was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

His role as Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931) made Karloff a star. The bulky costume with four inch platform boots made it an arduous role but the costume and torturously administered makeup produced the classic image. The costume was a job in itself for Karloff with the shoes weighing 11 pounds (5 kg) each. Universal Studios was quick to acquire ownership of the copyright to the makeup format for the Frankenstein monster that Jack P. Pierce had designed. A year later, Karloff played another iconic character, Imhotep in The Mummy. The Old Dark House (with Charles Laughton) and the starring role in The Mask of Fu Manchu quickly followed. These films all confirmed Karloff's new-found stardom.

Bride of Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

English writer Mary Shelley is best known for her horror novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (1818).

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, later known as Mary Shelley, was born in Somers Town, London, England, on the 30th of August 1797. She was the daughter of William Godwin, a journalist, philosopher and novelist, and Mary Wollstonecraft, educator and feminist philosopher which was to die only 11 days after her birth, from puerperal fever. She and her four years older half-sister Fanny Imlay, were raised and educated by her father who encouraged them to write from early age. Mary Shelley became an essayist, biographer, short story writer, and novelist, famous for her novel Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, from 1818. Similar to her mother, Shelley led a complicated private life and suffered much ostracism due to her affair with the married man Percy Bysshe Shelley, which was later to become her husband. Shelly also lost three of her children prematurely until the birth of her only surviving child Percy Florence, born in 1819. Shelley's husband also died prematurely sailing into a storm. Shelley herself died on the 1st of February 1851, after struggling through her last years most likely with a brain tumor.

When Mary Shelley was four years old, her father married Mary Jane Clairmont, their neighbor, who had already two children of her own. His new wife was disliked by most of Godwin's friends and she and Mary did not get along. From an early age, Mary was encouraged by her father to write letters and she took an early liking to writing. She was also encouraged to embrace her father's sociopolitical liberal views and theories and was mostly informally educated, at home. Mary Shelley had access to her father's library, had a governess and a daily tutor. She was later sent to stay with William Baxter, a known radical, and his family in Scotland. At the age of fifteen, she was described by her father as "singularly bold, somewhat imperious, and active of mind. Her desire of knowledge is great, and her perseverance in everything she undertakes almost invincible."

In 1814, with seventeen years old, Mary Shelley started a relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of her father's political admirers and a married man. Percy was also helping Godwin financially and, due to his admiration for Godwin's political thought, he was alienated from his aristocratic surroundings. Percy and Mary Shelley started meeting secretly at her mother's grave and when her father discovered, he tried to finish the relationship, without success. The couple travelled to France with Mary's step sister Claire Clairmont and only returned when there was no money left. Upon their return, Mary Shelley was pregnant and her father, to her surprise, refused any help. Percy was constantly leaving home, escaping from creditors and also at the time Percy's wife gave birth to their son and Percy seemed to want Mary Shelley to have an affair with his friend Hogg. They left to Geneva with Claire Clairmont in 1816, to spend the summer with Lord Byron, Claire's affair at the time. The bad weather confined them to the house and they spend much of their time talking about galvanism and reading ghost stories which prompted her to write the first sketch of what was to become her most famous novel Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus.

Mary Shelley's most famous novel, Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, was released anonymously when she was only 21 years old. Only from its second edition, five years later, was her name to appear as the author. It was initially thought that the author was her husband Percy, as the book was dedicated to William Godwin, his political hero. The work came out of a competition proposed by Lord Byron in the summer of 1816 so as who could write the best horror story. The central idea came to Shelly in a dream where she saw a student putting together parts of a man's body and working through a big engine to animate it. She first wrote a short story but Percy encouraged her to expand it into a novel. The novel had at the center of its plot a failed attempt at artificial life, by the scientist Frankenstein, which produced a monster. The work is considered to be a mixture of science fiction, gothic novel, and having elements from the Romantic movement. It was partly inspired by the electrical experiments conducted on dead and living animals by the italian physicist Giovanni Aldini. Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus is also seen as a warning about the transformations of man under the Industrial Revolution. In what is the chronological end of the novel's story, even if the scene belongs to the beginning of the book, Frankenstein warns about the terrible effects of letting oneself be driven by ambition and loosing control over its own possibilities.

GINGHAM PARTY at T.R.A.C.S

DJ Rik checked all the undies if they were are checked enough and entertained us with his great tunes last Saturday. Rik had made a great set of tunes and our guest did there very best to come in theme. But that is no news. Here are the snapshots I made during the party.

Dj Rik

Ellbee

Call

Racker

Alvei and Sabia

Phoebe hitting her friend

Matilda

Corvus

Wanted Melody

My sl brother Caasper shared this video on FB.

In the Wild West, we follow the comings and goings of a cocky cowboy who falls in love with a Diva.

Lol:-)

Lol:-) is a Canadian comics television series created by Pierre Paquin and Denis Savard. It premiered on July, 2011. The series is started by Réal Bossé, Martin Drainville and Antoine Vézina. And co-starter by Sylvie Moreau, Sharlene Royer and Julie Ménard and eventually for others actors.

GINGHAM PARTY at T.R.A.C.S

T.R.A.C.S at Timothy Plaza on River Island

Land Mark: http://slurl.com/secondlife/River%20Island/221/249/22

Gingham Style (Not Gangnam Style!)

Check out Gingham Fashions by Riley Blake in this music video.

GINGHAM

Gingham is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven fabric made from dyed cotton or cotton-blend yarn. It is made of carded, medium or fine yarns, where the colouring is on the warp yarns and always along the grain (weft). Gingham has no right or wrong side with respect to colour.

History

The name originates from the Malay adjective, genggang, meaning striped. Some sources say that the name came into English via Dutch. When originally imported into Europe in the 17th century it was a striped fabric, though now it is distinguished by its checkered pattern. From the mid 18th century, when it was being produced in the mills of Manchester, England, it started to be woven into checked or plaid patterns (often blue and white). Checked gingham became more common over time, though striped gingham was still available in the late Victorian period.

Use

Along with muslin, gingham is often used as a test fabric while designing fashion or used for making an inexpensive fitting shell prior to making the clothing in fashion fabric.

Gingham shirts have been worn by mods since the 1960s and continue to be identified with fans of indie and mod music with brands like Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, Penguin and Merc producing gingham shirts.

The fabric is used in many applications. Gingham curtains are found in many kitchens, and gingham handkerchiefs are found in many back pockets. It is a favorite for lightweight shirts and blouses, as well as summer dresses for women. Many barbecue aprons are made with gingham checks, and even pajamas and bedspreads can be created with this fabric.

Gingham typically is considered to provide a youthful, whimsical or relaxed feel. This might be because it frequently is used in children's clothing and décor, or that feel might be why it is used for those purposes. It can be found virtually anywhere, but it most often is found in informal settings. As a lightweight and easy-to-clean fabric option, it is considered to be a great choice for many household linens as well as comfortable clothing.

FEATHERS PARTY at T.R.A.C.S

There were lots of feathers at the club when DJ Zee played his set last Saturday.

Tim had real life issues and could not help but all went fine.

Our guest did a great job on there outfits.

Here are the snapshots I made. 

(Sorry I did not got a good shot of all the, more than 20, guests)