Naked Graveyard: Issue 2

Hey friends,

This is the time of year when days start to get warm. I don’t care for it. I like it cold and dark. I don’t like the outdoors. I prefer the indoors. Books, music, movies … all the good stuff is indoors. Bugs, dirt, the sun … all the bad stuff is outdoors. If I have to be outside, I like it between 54 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit, and I like the sky to be completely overcast. I like it when the sky is so gray you can’t tell if it’s morning, afternoon, or early evening. I love to not be able to see the sun. When the sun is visible, you can see time passing. I don’t care for that. I probably should live in a cave. I would have been a great hermit.

(more words after the cave photo)

This month I finished reading a book titled House of Psychotic Women by Kier-La Janisse. The book works as a memoir for Janisse who uses films in the horror and psychological thriller/exploitation genre, which prominently feature neurotic women, to analyze her past trauma. I loved this book because I love a good memoir, and I love films that feature neurotic women. Here are descriptions of two such movies I have seen more than a few times:

Black Swan (2010): Natalie Portman plays Nina, a tightly wound, extremely fastidious, and dedicated ballerina in NYC who desperately wants the lead role in a production of Swan Lake. The problem is, Nina is deemed too sweet and pure to transform from the virginal White Swan into the sensual Black Swan. Because Nina is determined, she wills herself to transform into a “bad girl” by taking drugs, engaging in reckless sexual activity, and standing up to her controlling mother. (spoiler alert) Although Nina gets the lead role, she does so at the expense of her sanity … and her mortality!

Birth (2004): Nicole Kidman plays Anna, a high society widow in NYC who’s preparing to move on with her life by marrying her boyfriend, Joseph (Danny Huston). Anna’s plans get interrupted, however, when a ten-year-old boy named Sean shows up at her engagement party and insists he’s the reincarnation of her deceased husband. Does Anna’s fiancé get violently jealous with the little boy? Yes! Does the little boy walk in on Anna when she’s taking a bath? Again, yes! Wherever you imagine a story with a plot like this going, it does. I won’t say anything else. By this point you’re either intrigued or repulsed.

Okay, so, here we are again. I’m told a good newsletter shouldn’t be more than 500 words, so I’m gonna leave you with this: It’s a big, scary world out there. There’s a nasty sun that comes out during the day and sometimes it gets unbearably hot. Stay inside, read fucked up books, watch fucked up movies, and listen to fucked up music. Also, explore the links below. You’re doing all the right things. See you next month. Peace!