What Lives on Zoc's Desk Kong, Teddy, and More

There is always something endlessly waiting for attention in my attic office, or sitting, sadly neglected, on my cluttered desk, or just collecting dust; so let's see what's interesting today, shall we?

I found this bust of King Kong irresistible when I came across it at my favorite comic shop, 4th World Comics, recently. It is not elegant, nor is it an exemplary piece of sculpting, but it still charmed me enough to snatch it up, even though it is not accurate: the flared nostrils and eyes are more Mighty Joe Young than King Kong, and the forehead is too small for either of them. But I like it nonetheless. It is heavy, made in Thailand, and, according to the sticker on the bottom, licensed by Turner Home Entertainment.

Christopher Zenga at The Day After has an artistic thing going for zombears. While I am not a big teddy bear fan in general--sure, stick some neck bolts on it, paint it green, and put a sound chip that growls in it and I am hooked--I am a big fan of his work. Here's a print of one of his pieces, Tedd the Ripper, which I purchased a while back. Eventually I will have it framed, but eventually I will do everything I plan, eventually, to do.

His art is unpretentious, fun, and captures the essence of both teddy and monstrous character in charcoal grays or fairly muted colors. It would be interesting to see his illustrations captured in plush. Too many zombears and frightful teddies padding around on store shelves are either bleeding, blotched with puss, or wielding chainsaws. Zenga's more restrained approach keeps it fun and whimsical. Not all horror needs to be horrible, you know.

As you can see in the photo, I keep Tedd the Ripper next to Cousin Huet. And as you all know, he certainly did do it. Cousin Huet loved to wear his top hat, too. We buried him in it, though it was a tight fit.

This DeJur projector is one of my cherished treasures still remaining from childhood. As I grow older, I find myself thinking about those days more and more, which, for me, were in the 1960's. Back then--

Editor's ALERT! The following stroll down memory lane may be unsuitable for children under the age of thirty, and anyone who grew up with video, DVD, downloadable audio, CDs, NetFlix, Amazon.com, eBay, WalMart, Best Buy, King Kullen, 90210, and Twitter. It may contain prolonged scenes of maudlin nostalgia, violent tearful reminiscences, unsuitable "good old day" dialog, and questionable recollections.

--the only way to watch a movie when you wanted to was with a projector and an 8mm or 16mm Castle Film. Sure, they were abbreviated versions of classic (and not so classic) movies, but like seeing those first flickering magic lantern images projected onto walls, drapes, and wisps of smoke, it was special and thrilling and empowering to possess and watch Frankenstein or Dracula or The Wolf Man on a Saturday night, after the pool hall or bowling alley had closed, with your friends. Toss in a a bag of White Castle slyders and there you had it; more fun than watching goofy and overweight Wipeout contestants repeatedly bounce off big red rubber balls, head first, for a chance to win a measly fifty grand. With DVDs a dime a dozen these days, and digital downloads at your fingertips, it is just not so special anymore.

Wipeout just started! Got to go!

Comments

[Chris Zenga]

Hey! my ZomBear looks great in your office (if I do say so myself)

Thanks for the write up. It's so great to hear when people are enjoying my work. and keep an eye out for my new work from The Kitchen and Resurrection series.

Later days,
Christopher Zenga

[Ms Harker]

My horror paraphernalia and books are starting to take over my study, but it has an Asian theme with red walls, so they seem to be blending ok so far. Just as long black hair doesn't start growing from the ceiling, its all good!

www.musingcontinuum.com

[Iloz Zoc]

You used 8mm and I used reel to reel tape to record off of my 19" B&W set! I miss that set: it weighed a ton with its metal case and all. Even with all the digital stuff going on today, I miss the fun of "primitive" technology; we had to work harder at it to keep our hobby alive.

[John W. Morehead]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with a desk and office cluttered with monsters and elements of the fantastic. And your mention of 16mm film frights takes me back to my teen years when I'd use my 8mm camera to film horror clips playing on my 19" black and white television for playing later. Granted, the quality wasn't good, and they were silent, but pre-VCR days this is what we had to do to satisfy our fantastic cravings.