Ape: the Halloween Retrospect

Yes, it really is Tom Savini with the "kill me now" look on his face as he holds up Ape. I thought I'd throw some whimsy into the October posts with my partner in crime, Christmas Ape.

The other pictures below, I suspect, Ape Photoshopped...

 "You're the caretaker, Mr. Ape. You've always been the caretaker..."

Best. Ape. Photo. EVAH, Bitches!

Don't you wish you were Ape?

Thanks to Tom Savini for being gracious enough to take a pic with Chris Aype. Tom, you rock!

Oh, and? Don't you wish you'd taken part in the Chris Aype Celebrity Photo Contest?

P.S. I have wanted this pic for years! I am so fabulously giddy!

Ape's Turn

Skull and Pumpkin blogger, Mike C. and Ape frolic in the Monsterpalooza
Museum.

Ape gets around, doesn't he?

Teasers...

 Extra geek points if you can name them all!

First Contest Offerings

The first two entries for the Chris Ape Celebrity Photo Contest:

 I love these! (I'm not including the stories right now, but I will in the future!) Thanks, Lyndsay, for getting the ball rolling!

Chris Ape Celebrity Photo Contest

Christmas Ape, kicking it with pal Jack Nicholson at the Overlook Hotel.

And I really hope that a bunch of people enter into this with the spirit I intended! (That's a plea. Don't leave me hanging!)

It's been quiet here in Halloween land, with not many comments and not much going on, so I thought I'd insert some mid-Winter silliness into a dull season...

My readers know of my dear friend, Christmas Ape, a.k.a. Chris Aype or just Ape, who flies around the world with us and gets his picture taken in the coolest places. Great fun, right? There's only one problem:

Ape has no celebrity photos.

He almost did. Twice, in fact. Once, over Christmas, with Joe Mantegna, and once with Jon Favreau at Monsterpalooza a couple of years ago.

I chickened out, both times. I just couldn't walk up to either of them and explain the magic that is Ape, and ask for a photo for his Facebook page. And I really wanted to, because it would be awesome!

That's where this contest comes in. Chris has requested that I get him into some pics with celebrities, and I thought that given my lack of spine, Photoshop might be the answer. I figured that if this guy could Photoshop celebs into his party pics, someone could Photoshop Ape into a celebrity encounter of some kind.

So there's the contest. Grab a picture of your choice of Christmas Ape off his Facebook page (or you can search this blog) and give him his celebrity picture! He could be chatting with a supermodel, giving advice to President Obama, having drinks with Mila Kunis, skiing with Vince Vaughn, or whatever fun situation you can dream up for him. The celebrity can be living or dead. Use your imagination! You can create and enter as many pics as you like.

Mr. ShellHawk, Ape and I will narrow entries down to the top five, which I'll then post here for a reader vote. (Aren't I an optimist? I'm assuming I'll get more than five!) The deadline for entry will be February 18. The top five will be posted by February 22, when the voting will start. Send all entries to me at shell hawks nest at ya hoo dawt calm. I hope you can figure out the email address from that!

So here are the rules:
1) No naughty pics. Suggestive, o.k. Porn, not o.k.
2) By sending these pics to me, you agree that I can use them in whatever way I choose, including posting them on Facebook or making millions in a tell-all book. (Like that would ever happen...)
3) You must name the celebrity with whom he is pictured. (Because I just don't know them all!)

Extra credit for the story of how Ape and his celebrity ended up in the situation pictured. Keep it short and sweet. The cooler and more far-fetched, the better. 

What do you win? I'll tell you!

First Prize is one of my jack-o'-lanterns. My choice.
Second prize is a trick or treat bag with a softcover edition of  Halloween: The Best of Martha Stewart Living and a copy of  Make: Halloween Special Edition.
Third prize is one of my mini-boos.

Please spread the word! Tweet it, blog it, Facebook it. The more, the merrier, and I might start posting entries in the intervening time before the contest entry period is over.

Let's have some fun with this, gang!

Ape's Dolphin Adventure

"How do you feel about a Banana Daquiri later?"

Christmas Ape, a.k.a. "Chris Aype" on Facebook, practices cross-species diplomacy. 

He says he really likes dolphins, even though they made his butt a little wet, and the wet frizzes his fur...

Ape and the Time Line

Chris Aype has decided to revisit his "Antonio Bay" trip on my Facebook page.


Not a bad job for someone who was made without articulating fingers, actually...

"You're the Caretaker, Mr. Ape. You've Always Been the Caretaker."

Big thanks to Patrick Nottingham! Ape is very pleased! (He says the next best thing would have been having Jack Torrance snuggling him, but this was great, too!)


Chris Aype's Facebook page.

Hallowe'ens Past

Someday, I really am going to have to Photoshop Ape into that photograph.


Of course, I'll have to learn Photoshop, first...

Easter Flowers

Here in California, the flowers are showing the first blooms of Spring. Yes, it's been raining off and on this week, and the temperature varies from forty-five to sixty-eight degrees (so you're never really sure how to dress for the day) with sometimes gusty winds, but the flowers know what to do. Since we hosted Easter dinner, I decided to brave the rain and head out into the garden to get some color into the house.

This rose is a mutant hybrid tea-it's called "Black Magic." I bought it from Jackson and Perkins years ago, when they still had the patent. I saw this one has three buds within one bloom, and that is a first, even for my yard. I guess that was a great place to hide the bodies! 

Nearly all my orchids are in bloom, too.

Of course, the rest of the roses are starting to show their colors, too.

The iris bulbs I planted a few years ago are going gangbusters. I really should have separated them last Fall, but for some reason, I got a little bit busy!

Though he's a pretty tough guy most of the time, Ape does like to take the time to smell the roses.

Since I had done most of the prep for dinner on Saturday, I had some time to take some wanna-be artsy shots of the flowers and the rabbit skull sculpture I made. 

 We went through almost ten pounds of lamb and ten pounds of tri-tip roast (it's usually a California cut of meat, East Coasters, and it is fantastic!), a bottle of champagne, seven or eight bottles of very good white and red wines, a mess of salad, baby potatoes, and green beans. For dessert, there was home made creme brulee and fresh-baked cupcakes.

Needless to say, today I am back on my diet!

A Few From Monsterpalooza



Sculptress Stacy, Artist
Ron Whipple, Tombstone
Maker Robert Santos,
CalHaunter Heidi



Monsterpalooza came and went far too quickly! I was only able to attend for one afternoon, and there was so much there that I wanted to take more time to look at!

I think what stuck with me most is the mad sculpting skills that people demonstrated. There were several props that were so incredibly realistic, they gave me a serious case of the creeps!

Of course, meeting up with friends from near and far was one of the perks. I got to reconnect with some CalHaunts pals whom I haven't seen since Transworld, one of my best friends from junior high school, and of course, the Bloodshed Brothers.





Cool ghouls: The Bloodshed Brothers and Yours Truly.





Amazing tribute to Lon Chaney



 

Chris Ape narrowly averts being dinner



Because even now, only heterosexuals can marry dead people.



Ape, schmoozing the ladies to great effect

More pics tomorrow!

I Heart L.A.

My Southwest flight didn't crash and I made it to Burbank Airport without a hitch. My dad picked me up from the airport and we went straight over to my grandma's house to say hello. It was so great to see her little face light up when I walked in the door! She looks well enough that she just may make it to her 102nd birthday. I'll have to drive down to L.A. for that, for sure. Last night I got to meet up with a couple of girlfriends for leisurely drinks and chit-chat. Fun day!

Today, I get to head over to either the Getty Villa or the Getty Museum with my dad for a cultural experience. Tomorrow, it's Monsterpalooza with buddy Ron Whipple and a bunch of other folks I know from all over. I find it endlessly amusing that once I said I was going, several of my friends who are also going asked if Ape would be coming, too. Ape is such a party animal, he wouldn't miss it for the world!

I wonder if Bob Lizarraga or Eric Pigors would take a pic with Ape? He needs some celebrity pics for his Facebook page.

Ape and Shark

Ape at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

My darling husband took us to Monterey for my birthday weekend getaway, where we got to see my brother and his wife, as well as some of the cool sights at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I'll post more later in the week.

Ape and Val

Christmas Ape brought home a gift for Val, our pink hedgehog. Before and after pics.

Hedgehog mask by Ghoulish Productions.

The Owl and the Hot Springs

After the Christmas madness was over and we turned the Prius' nose northward again, Mr. ShellHawk and I made a couple of stops on the way up the coast. One stop was Hearst Castle, which will be another post, and the other stop was Mercey Hot Springs. The Hot Springs is about twenty-six miles from the middle of nowhere, and there is no doubt as to how happy I was that we had our GPS in full working order! We had gotten a late start from Ventura, where we had visited a friend for brunch, so by the time we got to the last couple of turns, it was pitch black and raining. It would have been super-easy to miss a turn in the dark and wind up at Leatherface's house, instead!

We had reserved one of the tiny cabins, which was basically a small bedroom with heat and enough space to put your bags down. Though small, the place was immaculate and there was nothing wrong with the heater!

Because that fat bastard, Santa, brought me a cold for Christmas, I stayed in bed in our little cabin and couldn't bring myself to take advantage of the hot springs. (It was also cold and rainy, and there was no way I was going out in that any more than I absolutely had to.) The Mister headed over to the tubs while I snuggled up with my Kindle, my tissue box and my Ape and listened to the wind blow and the rain fall.

Why on earth would we go there in December? Why not go when it's warmer? Because of a feathered resident, the Long-Eared Owl. Mercey Hot Springs (and surrounds) happens to be their overwintering spot.

They are very hard to see under normal circumstances, because their plumage allows them to blend into the trees. 

The next morning, we woke to a sunny, windy day, and the trees outside were full of owls. Think of the picture above as one of those "Hidden Pictures" searches from your childhood while you look for the little guys. On the other side of the tree, they were a bit easier to see.

He and his friends were definitely checking us out as much as we were checking them out.

They were so flipping cute, I just wanted to snuggle them.