Archive for 2009

Vampire Con Portraits

Vampire Con Portraits

by Amelia G : September 4th, 2009

vampire con picsThe recent Vampire-Con in Hollywood featured Vampirella’s Ball as the closing event. Comic book vampire Vampirella celebrated her 40th anniversary at the vampire convention, so I think it seemed only right to name the closing party after her. We have video coverage of the whole convention coming up soon, but the portraits we shot are exclusively from Vampirella’s Ball.

Forrest Black and I of course photographed Countess Lotti and Wendi Mirabella, the successful event mavens who made the whole weekend happen. Nella, who won the Vampirella look-alike contest kicks off our Vampire-Con photo gallery. We shot event MCs Count Smokula and the delicious Scarlet Rose (who also played a prostitute on my favorite Western of all time Deadwood.) You will find longtime friend of Blue Blood editor Pam Keesey in our portraits from the event. Other luminaries you will spot include gothic musician Andra Dare, horror actor Stephen Wozniak, and more.

I have to confess that the awesomest bit of our vampiric shooting adventure was most unexpected in context. This guy comes up to where the Blue Blood location studio is set up and he has kind of a long capsule intro. In Los Angeles, it is really really really a good idea to be able to state in a brief paragraph, while shaking hands, who you are and what you do and why who you are . . .

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Writer’s Block: Touch-Screen Pros & Cons

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I don’t really like touchscreen tech. I hit the keys on my keyboard really hard when I type. Any keyboard I use for a long time gets all the numbers for common letters worn off. I have a Blackberry, and not the Storm, partly for this reason. I always instinctively want to press really hard on touchscreens and then I worry I will break them. Touchscreens lack that satisfying feeling of the key going down, so you know you did what you intended; you just have to watch and see if what you hoped for happens with a touchscreen. I would only want touchscreen on my computers if I had a giant robot to press it gently for me.

Tweets

  • 19:53 The new version of FireFox could really crash less & it would be fine w/me. #
  • 19:54 @V6ughn My rock n’ roll brain can’t quite wrap itself around Matt Sorum/Motorhead #
  • 20:40 @youngsoulrebel the whole reason to script a Kanye Beyonce Taylor drama is to raise awareness of their product #
  • 21:35 Lived in LA for longer than anywhere else, yet sorta prefer doing biz w/NewYorkers. Curious. #
  • 21:38 @youngsoulrebel It is easier to get press in 2009 for drama than accomplishment. Now you know Kan
    ye makes music. #
  • 21:39 @bloodshotpix I’m like out of the closet now for my East Coast sensibilities. #

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Blue Blood SpookyCash Graphics Job Openings

We are looking for two more part time graphics people in the Los Angeles area. These are not on-site positions, but candidates who can conveniently attend in-person meetings in Hollywood, California are strongly preferred. You must have an internet connection, your own workstation with Photoshop, and your computer must be able to read compact flash cards or smart cards from cameras or USB hard drives. You will use company-provided compact flash media, smart cards, and/or USB hard drives.

Entry Level Graphics Production

Publication or Company: Blue Blood
Industry: Photography, Magazine Publishing, Newsletters, Online/New Media
Benefits: permissive dress code, flex time, mostly telecommuting, guest list, swag
Job Duration: Part Time
Job Location: Los Angeles, CA USA

Job Requirements:

Blue Blood, the OG trade mag of cool, has an exciting opportunity for an intelligent, computer-savvy individual with artistic aesthetics. Blue Blood’s company culture has exacting standards for quality and performance and is perfect for the individual who enjoys excelling. Workdays regularly start at noon and the dress code allows and even encourages creative hairstyles and modes of dress. Any on-site production will be from a working location in the vibrant heart of Hollywood, walking distance from coffeehouses and restaurants.

Graphics staff is primarily responsible for processing photographs for both web and print publications. The successful applicant will have comprehension of gothic, punk, body modification, and similar aesthetic sensibilities, as well as a good sense of human proportions. The position requires an individual who is comfortable with adult material without possessing a crude sensibility.

This position requires proficiency in Photoshop for both web sized and gallery print level touch-ups, including standard tools such as clone, sharpen, blur, layers, formats, liquefy, and cropping. Moderate retouching portfolio preferred, but a test can be provided to substitute for portfolio. Web layout skills, including banner design and slicing graphics and animations/mouseovers in Imageready, a plus. Film scanning, Flash, FTP and basic HTML skills also a plus but not required. Ability to use AIM or ICQ or other instant messenger a plus. Use of AIM or ICQ required; training available.

Although Photoshop skills and artistic aptitude are musts, prior professional experience is not required. Some training available for the right applicant. Flexibility of hours lends itself to scheduling around a college class schedule.

About Our Company: Blue Blood is a lifestyle content production, packaging, and publishing company founded by Amelia G in 1992. Blue Blood began as a pioneering magazine dedicated to showcasing the beauty, sensuality, and coolness of the emerging eclectic underground populated by gothic, punk, fandom, and pre-internet cyberculture. The magazine quickly rose to the largest circulation in its niche. In addition to sponsoring numerous successful events, Blue Blood very successfully transitioned to the web. Both the print and digital incarnations of Blue Blood have received press in diverse venues, ranging from HBO and FOX to MTV and Playboy to Penthouse and Marquis to the New York Times and the Hong Kong Sun. Among Blue Blood’s various enterprises are a variety of entertainment publications in both print and digital media, innovation in content-packaging, and the SpookyCash affiliate program, as well as the Blue Blood Boutique, which purveys a signature line of apparel and accessories. Blue Blood continues to set industry standards for innovation and quality.

Contact: Blue Blood
Email Address submit@blueblood.net
8033 Sunset Blvd #4500
West Hollywood CA 90046 USA

Special Instructions: A formal resume is not required, but a skills inventory and pertinent background, including any relevant hobbies, is. A basic Photoshop test will be given to applicants who pass the initial round of selection. Candidates who successfully complete the test will be invited to interview for the position.

Tweets

  • 05:30 @thomasroche I deeply want to shop at Fanthora now. #
  • 05:31 @Very_Wiley You inspired me to finally buy deck chairs so I can drink my coffee looking at the Hollywood sign. I confess you were the neat 1 #

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What are the top blogging sites?

What are the top sites like LiveJournal? There is Blogger/Blogspot. What else is out there and do any of my pals like any of those other sites?

Tweets

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Pic of Me at Vampire-Con

[info]forrestblack shot this portrait of yours truly at the recent Vampire-Con. He and I shot a bunch of vampire costumes at the event. Free gallery for the perusal of those who do not let fangs get their black panties in a bunch. I also spoke on a panel about vampires and sex. Big shocker that would be my topic; what with Blue Blood and writing my thesis on it and all ;-

Blue Blood
(Image Courtesy of Blue Blood)

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Ashes En Pointe

Los Angeles is covered in ash. Where I am in Hollywood, it is at least a fine layer of ash, as opposed to say a raging inferno or one of the areas where it will costs residents thousands of dollars to clean the ash out of their carpets and ventilation systems. Unfortunately I am kind of a delicate flower when it comes to physical adversity and, even running an air cleaner 24/7, my eyes and throat have been burning all week and I’ve felt sick for days.

Getting ready to post the images [info]forrestblack and I shot during Vampire-Con at Vampirella’s Ball. I need to write a short article to accompany the photography, although I’ll have more coverage of the event on video later, so I don’t need to do the full report with this. I think it is awesome that professional event planners put together what I consider more of a proper fandom event in Los Angeles and that they did it on a topic so near and dear to my heart — vampires.

It is probably mostly just the normal biological response I’m having to the endless fires in Southern California, but I keep thinking about the parts which were difficult. I mean, a lot of what I do is really hard. Not like it might be tough for someone else to do, but like it is really a challenge for me personally. I just like to take challenges as head-on as possible. Always have.

I mostly enjoy this. Today I am just feeling a little bit like a ballerina with bleeding toes. But having our city covered in ash is probably supposed to make all Angelenos gothic.

“However, this was before Inigo’s wound reopened; and Westley relapsed again; and Fezzik took the wrong turn; and Buttercup’s horse threw a shoe. And the night behind them was filled with the crescendoing sound of pursuit.” –William Goldman, The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure; The “Good Parts” Version

Tweets

  • 03:51 @AltPornNet #sex101 Learn to cook (RT) #
  • 07:15 Running air cleaner 24/7 but fires are making air quality so bad. Need groceries but don’t want to breathe outdoors. Feel fight or flight. #
  • 07:16 @darklinks Fortunately there is Thai food 1 1/2/ blocks away 5pm-2am most nights 🙂 #
  • 07:17 Thank you @AltPornNet for New Story: Blue Blood: NSFW Contributor News bit.ly/VHcsR #
  • 07:19 Milk me. Good Day LA just said fires are at only 22% containment & will be burning for likely weeks. #

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Tweets

  • 13:05 @dianacage There is a fantasy porn image I did not need in my head. #
  • 13:07 @smashingmag only if you are covering the beauty of my nude photography bit.ly/17MWnw #
  • 13:07 @charliejane the next thing in crowdsourcing will be crowds that create smaller, better crowds. who tag themselves. (RT) Awesome! #
  • 13:24 @jizlee Eek, baby toupees! #
  • 13:30 Despite avoiding Bejeweled, really failing to prep for imminent September projec
    ts budget meeting. #
  • 13:31 Would you want to party with Dionysus? www.blueblood.net/2009/08/maenads/ True Blood thoughts #
  • 16:29 California fires make my brain sluggish. Going to lock myself in bedroom w/air cleaner now. Then Thai food. #

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Tweets

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Tweets

  • 15:14 @ replies appear to be disappearing. Twitter seems to be on the fritz. Anyone else having vanishing mssg syndrome? #
  • 03:44 @almostevil Whoa, making DMs public is even worse than disappearing @ replies. #

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Tweets

  • 13:20 NSFW blog @ www.blueblood.com/news/ Anyone want to give me prelaunch feedback via commenting, DM or email? #
  • 13:40 @debrahyde "Literature is due a new era of sexual modesty." Really? No way. tinyurl.com/mszv8w (RT) #
  • 14:28 @AbusiveBear My Campaign Slogan: "Send me to Washington to slap those Congress bitches in the face!" (RT) #

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