Infocult: Uncanny Informatics

Ted Cruz, Lucifer in the flesh; Carly Fiorina, creepy singer

The former speaker of the United States House of Representatives, John Boehner, turned Gothic for a moment in calling Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz "Lucifer in the flesh".

The Daily Show took this idea and added to it some strange singing (!) by Cruz's apparent running made, Carly Fiorina, to produce more jokes and a horror movie parody.

(thanks to Thomas Burkdall)

Scientists resurrect ancient life forms

A group of Russian scientists has successful brought back to life amoebas last seen millennia before recorded history began, echoing all kinds of horror story plots.  Mad scientists worldwide cackled, no doubt, as they read of the project's materials:

Under adverse environmental conditions, a thick multi-layered protective covering is formed on the surface of the amoeba's cells, and then it goes into a dormant state by forming a cocoon...

All life processes slow down and almost stop. The cocoon may be conserved for years or even decades without losing viability. However, no one could imagine that amoebae could survive many thousands of years in sub-zero temperatures.

"The age of the microorganisms is estimated at 30,000-60,000 years."

Very nice creepy music video from Crosss

This video of a Crosss song is very nicely done.  "Golden Hearth" tells a short story about ritual killings (most likely) using elaborate costumes, rapid cutting, and a recursive media narrative. NPR (!) adds

Fair warning: Wicker Man-inspired costumes, grisly occult dealings and static-flickering VHS tapes lie ahead. For some of us (read: me), director Torin Langen's video for Crosss' "Golden Hearth" is the stuff of nightmares, but the heavy weirdness is definitely worth your time.

We can cover more disturbing music videos here if you, dear readers, are intrigued.

(thanks to Ed Webb)

Toronto Gothic

Canada, the home to so many severed human body parts stories, provided another case of real-life Gothic horror with this story.  It's about the discovery of the wrong kind of meat at a butcher shop.

The remains, which police said were believed to be part of a human torso, were found in a garbage bag behind the store when an employee was taking out the trash on Tuesday morning.

The police response is curiously pro-Gothic:

Police say they believe the remains were not outside the butcher shop for very long, and are asking the public to be on the lookout for suspicious packages that may contain other body parts.

Very wise, given Canada's proclivity for creative dismemberment.

(thanks to Randy McCall)

Horror cakes

Katherine Dey makes some splendid Gothic cakes:

She doesn't neglect humans:

(thanks to Thomas Burkdall)

Zombie Trump appears

Inevitably, someone compared US presidential candidate Donald Trump to a zombie.

Republicans who once worried that Mr. Trump might gain overwhelming momentum in the primaries are now becoming preoccupied with a different grim prospect: that Mr. Trump might become a kind of zombie candidate — damaged beyond the point of repair, but too late for any of his rivals to stop him.

Alexander Burns carries the metaphor a little further:

Should Mr. Trump lurch into the convention so fatally compromised with both general-election voters and a sizable faction of Republicans, it could make it easier for the party to wrest the nomination away from him. But it would also make the consequences of failing to defeat him all the more ruinous if the specter of choosing a seemingly unelectable nominee does not deter Mr. Trump’s supporters.

Ruins, specter: some nice Gothic there.

(thanks to Jesse Walker for the link; zombie-like image linked from NYTimes piece)

Mysterious baby faces appear on Denver city walls

Strange faces are appearing on city walls.  Specifically baby doll faces, popping up in Denver.

From South Broadway to Cherry Creek and many places in between, the hard, 3-D faces have been posted on curbs, medians and buildings. Many of them have been photographed, yet many often go overlooked.

Here's a shot by a local camera crew, with a reporter pointer them out:

One in the rain:

Some by a highway:

This sextet of faces brings to mind the plaster statues in Phantasm:

The faces wear down over time, thanks to the elements and, perhaps, people, but remain on the walls: