They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!

Zombie March in Boston. The site also gathers links to zombie marches in other cities. But apparently the undead have yet to make an appearance in New York.

Krampus

Went to check out the Whitney Biennial yesterday, the title of the 2006 exhibit being Day for Night. I usually tend to “get” the mixed media projects, appreciate the works displaying obvious technical proficiency, and ignore the films altogether. I am not one of those people who rushed out to theaters to see Drawing Restraint 9. (Did anyone?)

I was surprised to discover then that my favorite work from the Biennial was Cameron Jamie’s Kranky Klaus. The Whitney Web site describes the work as a document of “the pagan myth of Krampus—a shaggy beast said to roam the valleys of Austria on the night of December 6.”

In his film, Jamie follows a group of four or five Krampus as they make their way through a village on a snowy evening. The way the Krampus worked was this: a man dressed as Klaus would enter a building where a group of people were gathered in expectation. From a wicker basket that he carried, Klaus would distribute these satchels with “Gold Pass” stamped on them.

Shortly after Klaus left, the Krampus would enter. (Refer to picture.) Not only do the Krampus look grotesque, but they wore these bells the size of coconuts around their waists. They would come in, hopping from foot to foot, not only physically intimidating the villagers but overwhelming them with this awful clanging. They would start assaulting the people, pulling them from their chairs, wrestling them to the ground, and overturning tables. Most people, half-smiling, tried to resist. There was no fighting back. But one girl in the film did start crying.

Then they would leave for their next destination, the men playing the Krampus occasionally walking with their costume heads off (and at least once stopping for beers).

The soundtrack for the film was provided by the Melvins (warning: unnecessarily intense Flash site). The music was throbbing heavy metal-like, which underscored the oddly violent–yet organized–nature of the whole thing.

LA Weekly has more pictures from Krazy Klaus. Artangel, which commissioned and produced Krazy Klaus, has more information about the other films in Jamie’s trilogy focusing on “vernacular rituals”: Spook House, about a working-class Detroit suburb’s celebration of Halloween, and BB, about “LA teenage wrestlers.”

The Biennial closes Sunday, May 28.

Operation Santa Claus

On Saturday, I went to the main Manhattan post office to check out Operation Santa Claus, which I wrote about in a previous entry. I was pleasantly surprised by the numbers of people there, both men and women of different races and ages, including some parents with kids. The post office had separated the letters to Santa by area — the five boroughs, New York state and out of state — and there was also a bin exclusively for letters in Spanish.

Although many of the kids requested items like an XBox or an iPod, a good number also wanted stuff like a new winter coat because they had grown out of their old one. I also didn’t expect the letters from adults, some of whom wrote of losing their jobs or only making enough to pay for rent and utilities. Probably most distressing, and exasperating, to me were the letters from single mothers asking for clothes for their six children. Distressing and exasperating because I don’t understand (OK, maybe a little) why these women chose to have so many children when they can’t provide for their basic needs.

Operation Santa Claus operates through Friday, Dec. 23, so I’d urge anyone with some time to participate. You can look through as many letters as you like to find one (or more) you think you can fulfill. I think some of these kids would be grateful to receive anything, however small, so you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money to make a child’s Christmas.

Apartment Camping

The Orikaso Bowl

I’ve never gone camping before, but I’m endlessly fascinated with camping equipment. They feed into my dream that one day, I’ll own only so much that I can throw everything into a car and take off.

I also admire the design of some of these products. I recently saw the Orikaso Bowl at a sporting goods store. Orikaso, the company that makes the bowl, also sells foldable cups (it even has handles!) and plates. Awesome.

Then there are those nesting camping cooksets, where the pans can be pots and the lids double as plates. How ingenious is that?

On a completely different note, I found out about an effort similar to NYCares’ Winter Wishes program. Called Operation Santa Claus, the program originated with the USPS, which every year receives letters from kids addressed to Santa. In 1912, the Postmaster General authorized the use of these letters for “philanthropic purposes.”

If you wish to help answer one of these letters, you can visit Manhattan’s General Post Office at 421 8th Ave. (33rd and 8th) between now and Dec. 23, between the hours of 9-4:30 Mondays through Fridays except on Thursdays, 9-7 on Thursdays and 10-4 on Saturdays. You can also send donations, which will be used to throw a Christmas party for underprivileged kids.

Robert’s Snow for Cancer Research

If you live in Boston, you might want to attend the 2005 kickoff of Robert’s Snow. Robert’s Snow was founded by my friend Alice‘s sister, Grace, and Grace’s husband Robert, a two-time cancer survivor. Their campaign seeks to raise money for cancer research through the auctioning off of wooden snowflakes decorated by children’s book illustrators. Last year, artists such as Marc Brown (creator of Arthur), Ian Falconer (Olivia) and Chris Van Allsburg (The Polar Express) contributed snowflakes to the campaign. (Grace herself is a children’s book author and illustrator.)

For more information about the campaign, please visit http://www.robertssnow.com. The 2005 campaign kickoff will take place next Thursday, Nov. 3, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Locco Ritoro Gallery in Boston. The 200 snowflakes that will be auctioned off this year will be on display at the gallery. You can RSVP for the event on the Robert’s Snow Web site.

If you can’t attend the kickoff, you can still view this year’s snowflakes on the Robert’s Snow Web site. And, of course, you can bid on a snowflake or snowflakes. They will be auctioned off on eBay beginning Sunday, Nov. 6 (link TK on Robert’s Snow).