The Vamp

Theda Bara was a well known silent film actress in America, outranked only by Charlie Chaplin(duck soup. nuff said) and Mary Pickford (an actress and more, she pioneered new camera techniques and co-founded the United Artist studio). She was considered to be the first sex symbol and many of her roles were that of the femme fatale.

Her genuine ethnicity (polish and swiss) was discarded and she became a woman of egyptian and french descent, giving her that perceived air of mystery needed to become famous at that time. The name "Theda Bara" is an anagram for "Arab death".

She never starred in any "talkies" and much of her work was destroyed in a fire, but A Fool There Was can still be experienced by devoted movie watchers everywhere.

A Fool There Was

The Cambridge Spies

“…Guy Burgess, the most calcified degenerate of those who has deserted british intelligent for the embrace of Moscow and the KGB” - Christopher Hitchens

This is a particularly interesting story about a particularly interesting group of people. The Cambridge spies (called so due to their recruitment while attending said school) were a group of young men enlisted by a Soviet spymaster sometime during the 1930s until the 1950s. Their stealth was impressive, being so bold as to work for MI6, but were eventually exposed and forced to flee England. I can't really do the story justice, so I suggest doing a little field research of your own.

A good place to start: BBC History: The Cambridge Spies

                                 I also highly recommend the BBC TV series on the subject.

We all go a little mad sometimes.

I grew up watching horror movies. In fact, my first injury involving stitches as a child had to do with the terrifying sight of Chucky (I'm still a bit suspicious of dolls, their creepy glistening eyes make them seem somehow alive ::shutter::). His cackling laugh, so frightening to me, sent me running down the hallway, resulting in me somehow cutting my hand. 

This took place during the summer, and I had to spend most of it with my hand inside a plastic bag, enabling me to swim in the pool with my cousins and not feel left out.

Setting those dramatic memories aside, the summer always puts me in the mood for a good horror flick, and Alfred Hitchcock's Projects are the perfect way to satiate the need for a good scream.

Greaser Girls, Monster Movies and Strange Pets

 When I decided to start this blog, I really wanted to post something once a day because it's a nice distraction from litter pans and sheep brains (don't worry, I'm not feeding them to the kitties, I'm taking an anatomy class and for some reason the powers that be feel that sheep brains and eyeballs are a good visual for nursing students. This makes me sad, especially when the eyeballs have eyelashes attached to them). Because of my procrastination, I've decided to post a few images with no real connection to each other, other than the fact that they're in black and white.  Enjoy!

"The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue."-Dorothy Parker

                       Behind the scenes of "Creature From the Black Lagoon" via Retronaut

And now for something completely different...