Cemetery Screenings, one of the best things to do in Los Angeles on a summer Saturday night is nearing the end of its 6th season.

The Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a beautiful stretch of grass and graves, with lush trees, impressive timeworn mausoleums and a gorgeous reflecting pool. It’s dubbed “The Resting Place of Hollywood Immortals” and is home to the remains of of Cecil B. DeMille, Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone, Jayne Mansfield, Rudolph Valentino and many more. Few pastimes are more serene than an afternoon spent wandering around these grounds. The air is clean, the residents are quiet and the staff is fairly invisible. [Unless you decide to conduct a photo shoot without a permit, that is.]

The sky at Hollywood Forever Cemetery before a screening

Since 2002 the fine people of Cinespia have been conducting screenings of old, obscure and cult films, projected onto the side of Valentino’s mausoleum. Hundreds gather at the cemetery gates well in advance to ensure a great spot on the lawn. These lines are a captivating sight: strange caravans of all breeds of Angel City dwellers, their cargo of blankets, lawn chairs, wines and food at hand, to be arranged into picnics once a piece of lawn is secured. The projection begins with a slide show of vintage movie posters as guest DJs spin an eclectic selection of music and the people converge, set up and eat. The first time can be overwhelming, so the Cinespia website offers a few how-to tips for novices.

The three final screenings begin tonight with the Marx Brothers classic Duck Soup, followed by Pee Wee’s Big Adventure next week and culminating with the classic space drama, Alien, on September 20.

First and foremost, thanks to everyone who already bought our first print issue! They’re swiftly on their way and will be trembling in your arms soon enough. Now I need to know – what do you see below? A comb? Binoculars? A fishing reel? You may need to guess again!

BBC News has a charming quiz up that tasks the reader with a serious mission – figure out the intended purpose of Victorian devices on display this week at the British Library. While some of us suffer from a rather unhealthy gadget-love, not all of these contraptions are as obvious as one might assume! Take the quiz here, and after [only after!], see another small gallery of the exhibit, here.

[Thanks, Lucinda and Jerem]

Once you start down the dark path, salve forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will!

This installment of Z!ST is brought to you by two things I find myself missing more often than not: film and coffee houses. Kris Krug from Vancouver was here a few weeks ago and, to my happy surprise, used film for most of our photos. We shot at Cafe Muse – a relatively new coffee-zone that stays open ’til midnight and, staying true to its name, provides a guitar & piano to its patrons. There is live music, beverages and excellent food at this oasis amidst the dusty clamor of Santa Monica Boulevard.

Words can hardly express how elated I am at the concept of a real cafe within walking distance in my neighborhood, especially one that stays open past 8pm. Hollywood, for the most part, is a city of soulless cardboard franchises, thus it’s a treat to finally have a place nearby where I can station, laptop and coffee in hand, for an evening of writing, sketching, whatever. Such places are utterly crucial to the sanity of the few of us still breathing in this palm-infested desert metropolis. These simple pleasures shouldn’t be so rare.

Oh yes, the outfit! A rare but welcome instance of simplicity appreciation. Usually not a proponent of stirrups, I made an exception for these leggings, in part due to the fact that I found them at a home appliance store in Koreatown. Click on for shopping informations and more photos.

In a stroke of pure demented genius Kacper Hamilton has created a set of cups inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins.

These red wine glasses are based on the 7 deadly sins. Each glass encapsulates a sin, which is revealed through the ritual of drinking. The ‘7 Deadly Glasses’ are about celebrating passion and encouraging the user to be sinful in a theatrical fashion.

From their English laboratories straight to your chateau, these delightfully hedonistic goblets are made to order. Browse the entire set, below.

Too much is not enough for you, sir! You’ll gulp and slurp like a filthy pig while attempting to suck out the very last drops from the cup of Greed.

You enemies will truly feel your Wrath as you jab their jugular with this perilous object, then drink their sweet blood while they fight for a final breath.

Coffin furniture has long been within reach around the ‘wub. At Casketfurniture.com the macabre enthusiast will find beds, coffee tables and a private coffin phone booth called “The Edison”, no less. Coffinitup.com even offers a coffin computer desk! Unfortunately much of what’s available today isn’t particularly attractive and has too much of a novelty feel. But now there is something to make even the pickiest of decorators salivate. Behold!

For those not fond of woodgrain and longing for a sleeker look coffincouches.com offers custom couches made from 18 gauge steel coffins, upholstered and finished to your every whim.

We approached funeral directors with the attitude of recycling. These coffins are not used for burial due to slight cosmetic inconsistencies. They are reconfigured and modified resulting in a finished product – a unique one a kind coffin couch. If you notice (although it may be too small) the six cast iron heavy duty legs are embossed with the universal biohazard insignia. The reason we utilize this sign is because safety is our utmost concern. If you are not aware, once a human body is placed in a coffin it is considered biohazard tissue. The legs have the embossed insignia for precautionary reasons in the event body fluids are exchanged on these coffins.

Golly, they’ve thought of everything! And for $3,500 + shipping you too can own one of these exquisite pieces. Not a bad deal, I say.

18th Century Picnic: Viona (above) makes it happen.

One thing I love about Belgian photographer/fairy princess Viona Ielegems is the extent to which she manages to make her outside world match her inner vision of what the world should be. How many times I’ve stared with longing at a sweaty dancefloor, closing my eyes and wishing the cheap satin I saw around me to turn into fine Indian silk, for the lace chokers to blossom into elaborate starched ruffs, and for the club itself to somehow morph from a sauna of cigarette butts and stale t-shirts into an elaborate pleasure den of opium, jasmine incense and free-range peacocks roaming from room to room. I open my eyes to someone spilling beer onto my own not-that-fancy corset, and the scene I envisioned evaporates faster than whatever the ending to Kubla Khan was supposed to be. Not our Viona! If she wants it, she makes it happen. In 2006, she threw her first ball at a neo-gothic chapel. I’d say “it’s like the Limelight used to be,” but no… this place is 10 times bigger. And the people dress 10 times better.

A picnic guest.

This year, Viona outdid herself by throwing a Victorian picnic around the time of WGT. Pictures have just been posted, so let’s break it down. Actual gramophone? Check. Exquisite china set that includes a bloody vampire bunny? Check. Good-looking dandies posing next to fresh strawberries, wine and chocolate éclairs? Check. How I wish I could’ve been there! You go, Viona. Congratulations on making your dreams – and some of our dreams – come true.

• Viona’s Victorian/18th Century PicNic Photos
• Gala Nocturna Site
• Viona Art

Phyllis Lyon (left) and Del Martin, lesbian activists who have been together for over 50 years, embrace during their marriage ceremony at San Francisco City Hall in 2004. (Chronicle photo by Liz Mangelsdorf )

It’s a beautiful, balmy evening here in the east bay, but the mood in my neighborhood is uncharacteristically quiet, even somber. In a few hours, the California Supreme Court will publicly rule on the legality of this state’s ban on gay marriage. The tension is palpable.

In 2004, in a remarkable act of civil disobedience, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom allowed thousands of gay and lesbian couples to wed before the courts stepped in and disallowed the marriage licenses. Debate has been raging ever since, with civil rights activists and SF city officials challenging the state family code law that restricts marriage to a man and a woman, and a SF trial judge declaring the ban unconstitutional. In 2006, a conflicted appeals court upheld the ban, stating that it should be up to voters or legislators to legalize same-sex marriages, rather than judges.

Conservative interest groups and the state attorney general are defending the ban, and the justices have remained divided. It could go either way. Regardless of what happens at 10am, Pacific Standard Time, it’s going to be a historic day.

Fingers crossed, everyone.

EDIT (12:15pm, 03/15/08): WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!

The muses of fashion sing again as we enter spring here in Angel City. To celebrate the turning of the tides agent Yoon and I had ourselves a little roadside picnic near the ever-fragrant LA River.

For this momentous occasion I picked a simple knit dress, thumb leggings and high heels with steel-plated toes – a sensible choice should one need to escape the local packs of roaming hobos on foot. In daylight hours these [equally fragrant] folks keep to dark shelters under bridges, sale with only glowing eyes indicating their whereabouts. Still, treat one can never be too careful when choosing footwear.

Eyes: my usual cobalt eyebrows in a Ben Nye shadow, a hint of drugstore iridescent green shadow on the eyelids to echo the shoes, liquid liner, Urban Decay “Heavy Metal” glitter highlights
Skin: Pür mineral powder
Lips: Nyx coral lip gloss
Nails: NYC enamel in Times Square Tangerine Creme
Dress: Final Touch $30 at Angel on Melrose Ave
Leggings: H&M
Bag: shop near Asakuza Temple, Tokyo
Gloves: Harajuku, Tokyo
Shoes: Naughty Monkey $30 on Amazon

Photos by Veronica Brak

My parents complained the other day because they actually visited the blog and thought that Mr. Pearl was “a scary man.” Mom and dad, no. This is what a scary man looks like!

Readers may remember the face above from BoingBoing, November 2007. Turns out his name is Zombie and that since his last appearance on the web, he’s gotten even more decrepit flesh inked into his dermis, including an exposed brain at the top of his skull. For the first time ever, he speaks! Here are some choice bites from a hilarious interview with BME:

BME: You’re kind of an internet celebrity — what do you think about it?
Zombie: Not much, I don’t even own a computer. So fuck you assholes.

BME: Facial tattoos are a big step from “regular” tattoo placement. How long had you thought it through before you started your facial tattoos?
Zombie: Never really had to think about it… I’ve been white trash my whole life…

BME: Are you single?
Zombie: Yes… Very single… I’m not very dependable… Girls cut into beer time.

BME: What did you family think about your transformation?
Zombie: My mom told me, “You started it, you better finish it.”

His mom’s right. Also, I think he’s kinda cute! Ladies, what say you?

Big thanks to clockorange for the tip.

BME Interview with Zombie