Let’s confront the elephant in the room first. Most of you may already know, through social media, on Dec 30th of last year I was followed into my building, assaulted at my front door, and my keys were stolen. It put me in a very bad place emotionally. Still, I must count my blessings. He didn’t see my phone in my coat pocket. My purse was tucked away under the seat of my car because I’d only intended to stop home for a moment. I was able to move my car away from the area so he and his lookout couldn’t steal it later on, as the pattern of reports suggested they would. My injuries are nowhere near what they might have been. I was able to see my therapist within eighteen hours. The locks to the unit were changed night of, the locks to my other residence were changed on the first, and my car was re-keyed within a week. As the days roll by things are starting to look like the new normal. My vigilance is heightened, sounds of the interior lobby door rattling still haunt me, and putting the key to the lock of my front door accelerates my heart rate. Slowly, ever so slowly forward.
For better or worse, I forced myself to perform my regularly scheduled Nerdlesque show just two days later. Being on stage was designed to provide a distraction, four minutes at a time. Although I am the only one who might have known this, my choreography suffered due to pain. There is always some amount of vulnerability stripteasing, this was exponentially more so. Cast and crew were incredibly supportive and made accommodations I needed. My show yesterday was more or less business as usual. Bim Bam Boom is populated with beautiful, talented, compassionate people; the kind of individuals it is very reassuring to have your back.
In an effort to mood stabilize I’ve been spending a lot more time on series, gaming, and crafts. All caught up on Call the Midwife, exhausted the third season of The Crown, and because I’m such a period drama nerd I’ve thrown myself into Victoria. About halfway through that as well. So if you have another suggestion in the same vein (that isn’t Downton Abbey), let me know. Looking for a quiet casual game I fell in love with Unravel Two. The melancholy music, beautiful art direction, and cooperative puzzle designs are what got me. Apropos of nothing, I decided I wanted to teach myself to knit. One shabby scarf later, I think I’ve got the basic pattern down and onto the next challenge. Easing back into work with development on a website for Fungasm Press. Once that is completed it will be time to restore archives of Bizarro Central. Speaking of Bizarro...
Brilliant author of The Cheat Code for God Mode and fancy lady pal extraordinaire, AndyLeigh, shot this little naked love note to the wide world of weird literature. So many fantastic books are featured throughout the set; as much as it is alt pinup it is a reading list for fans of weird tales. I've used stills from this photo set as openers for Bizarro Bedtime: A Salacious Selection of Smut on YouTube and Vimeo. For more Bizarro Babe goodness, grab yourself a bookmark by scrolling to the bottom of this page.
VIPs are getting the full 29 image photoset, and Backstage Patrons also get 18 beyond-the-set images this month! Be sure you're logged in on my site to view the images. Feel free to give the set some love by leaving a comment or clicking the heart below. As always, thank you to all my Patrons. You make art happen.
Photographer: Andy Leigh Photography