So here are some Yuletide presents for you, my faithful readers. First up, a couple appropriate jingles: Clarence Carter’s smash hit Backdoor Santa and a little sumthin’ sumthin’ from Eazy-E. Also, Jingle Goats. Awwwww. Goats are the cutest thing ever, right? But this holiday isn’t just about jingles and goats. There’s also really scary shit like Santa Claus and Mel Gibson talking to a beaver puppet and techno remixes of Doors’ songs. And less scary things like an inflatable Alan Moore and beautiful Indian chicks dancing in front of a giant snake puppet while some guy chants in German. That’s the true reason for the season right there, folks. That and festive feasting.
[Note: Some of these may be NSFW. Of course, that's pretty much to be assumed when goats and Mel Gibson are involved.]
Seriously, before you responded to my other comment and alerted me to this, I was reading about Alan Moore and Glykon earlier tonight! Nice!
You also might like the post I did today about Antinous Epiphanes, etc….!?!
The Divine Puppet works in mysterious ways …
I saw your post and plan to respond later tonight!
You know, I think that German/”Indian” thing was probably the inspiration for Alan Moore’s Snakes and Ladders, as a great deal of it features a naked woman dancing on stage with a snake.
(Though I can’t be sure, I think I heard something about “Sita” in that clip, which makes me wonder if this was some rather free adaptation of part of the Ramayana…)
If true, that makes it a thousand times better …
Wow, that snake dance…. that’s a pretty sparkly map of Tasmania she’s got there. That’s a risque outfit even for now, much less then. Though I kept getting distracted by the obviously-claymation snake. :)
I am so going to have to use that term at some point. That and “distracted by the claymation snake” which has got to be the best sexual euphemism ever.
OK, the Gaiman poem was awesome… but the beaver. My god, the beaver! I’ll see that shit in my nightmares for a week.
That role had to be written exclusively for Mel Gibson. Honestly, could you imagine anyone else playing it? Except, maybe, Tom Cruise. The best part is how it shifts from “Hahaha look at how wacky he is talking to the puppet” to this serious exploration of mental illness and the destructive impact it can have on the people around you. Come to think of it, I doubt Tom Cruise could have done the role justice. Only Mel has stared the Beaver in the eye and walked away.
And I’ve always loved the Gaiman poem. I think it was originally published in Smoke and Mirrors … or one of his other collections. But the animation actually made it a hundred times better. Especially the part where they’re performing their inexplicable nocturnal rites and he’s standing there watching, horrified. Genius, man.
Yes, it’s in Smoke and Mirrors… I’m planning on taking it to our friends’ house tomorrow night and holding a dramatic reading. :)
I bet that will be awesome!
Also, I know it’s an Austrian tradition, but:
http://krampus.com/
I love me some Krampus! I’m actually surprised by how well Krampus traditions are infiltrating the popular consciousness. The other day one of my favorite comics/popculture blogs posted this:
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/12/15/krampus-comic-book-infinite-earths/