Dawsferatu's House of Horrors

1. Meiji Japan Emperor Kōmei succumbed to smallpox on January 30th, 1867. The Edo period died with him. His fourteen year old son Prince Mutsuhito assumed the Chrysanthemum Throne on October 23, 1868 and was re-christened “Emperor Meiji.” Too young to govern at the time of his ascension, the child emperor’s advisors assumed control of Japan and quickly set about modernizing the island nation: old systems of feudal hierarchy were abolished, the so-called “evil customs” of the past were broken off, and thus were the foundations of imperial rule laid. Emperor Meiji Early Meiji reformers believed such reforms were necessary for achieving diplomatic equality and military strength. The motto of the era was “Enrich the Country and Strengthen the Military.” Emperor Meiji embodied these efforts. He wore Western-style military clothing, styled his hair after the Western fashion, and grew a kaiser mustache all in an effort to appear more “civilized” to the outside world. 2. Lady Snowblood Toshiya...

The name Jackson Pollock is synonymous with drip painting, a technique that involves flinging and dripping thinned enamel paint onto an outstretched canvas laid on the floor of a studio. His body of work is less about the ultimate product than it is about the process . Number 17A is the record of a performance. This was a revelation for the coastal gallerists of 1950-whatever. Number 17A was art as artifact: it was bold; it was daring; it was, they thought, new . But, as is often the case, roadside hucksters were ahead of the art world by a good ten or fifteen years. Number 17A On May 23, 1934, a cadre of brave policemen ambushed Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow as the couple drove down a back road somewhere in rural Louisiana. Bonnie was eating a sandwich in the passenger seat when a Texan rifleman appeared and shot Clyde in the head. Clyde’s mind was blown into the back seat. He died instantly. Bonnie had just enough time to get off one last bone-chilling scream b...