Clowns: Scary or crap?

[Loz]

Doing my daily news download, I came across this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3544201.stm

Personally, I've always hated clowns. They scared me a lot when I was a kid, and I still think there is something unnatural about clowns, something sinister. Actually, whenever I think of clowns, I'm always reminded of a line in To Kill A Mockingbird: "Clowns are sad, it's the folk who laugh at them."

But I'm surprised there are as little as 300 clowns in the UK, doesn't seem to be very many left. I guess it takes more than a balloon animal and some crap miming to impress kids when the playstation is waiting..

[emef]

i think clowns are a little disturbing.
they dont look fun at all.
although it does make me chuckle when loads of them come out of the same car
they`re still evil.

you would think clowns could make more of a go of it with the slapstick stuff, rik mayall and ade edmonson did pretty well at basic clown stuff, just without all the makeup.

i`d go and see a clown show if they were belting each other in the face with frying pans and dropping fake anvils on each other from great heights with sound effects.
that shit never goes out of fashion

spinning plates,juggling and squirty flower on the other hand.

[jukka]

clowns are a good thing !!!

i can imagine that steve-o was an awfull clown for the kids.....as he is a bit insane !

[Loz]

the only good clown is Bill Hicks' Beelzebozo

[emef]

hehe i liked beelzebozo

[electrochix]

Clowns always reminded of IT. Scary!

[emef]

that book was terrifying

[c s]

clownz suck.

[_JM]

Seattle has a crew of evil clowns who rampage through the bars, scaring people, doing stripteases, and making out with each other. Also clown spankings. Clown wrestling. Clown porno.

I'm not so into it personally. But I'm glad it's around.

[JE:5]

http://www.disturbingauctions.com/gfx/assclown.jpg

[emef]

lol that is the campest clown i have ever seen, i`m not scared of him, i`d go shopping for jimmy choo`s with him.

[Paddy]

Originally posted by emef
lol that is the campest clown i have ever seen, i`m not scared of him, i`d go shopping for jimmy choo`s with him.

hehehe!lol

[jukka]

http://www.adam-weishaupt.com/jukka/clown1.jpg

[electrochix]

Anyone got pics of scary clowns?

[Paddy]

they're definately crap, to answer your question loz.

[JE:5]

Originally posted by electrochix
Anyone got pics of scary clowns?

http://www.disturbingauctions.com/thumbnails/lavaclown.jpg

[Lady E]

who remembers 'killer klowns from outer space?' the dickies did the theme tune!!

when klowns are cool...

we have a good friend who is phobic about clowns, and tomatos. we think its cause tomatoes look like clowns noses. its a sub phobia to his main one, clownaphobia.

[marcel]

Originally posted by electrochix
Clowns always reminded of IT. Scary!
that tcv-movie they made out of that book was ridicously dull. the responsibles should have been tortured at least 1week for that.
brrrrrr

the book on the other hand was scary indeed. i remember i read it back at the time when i was working at a restaurant. i was alone late evening there and read it. it made me being scared. not that i was scared of IT coming round the corner. it was the atmosphere. it was the fucking atmosphere. jesus

[Orang Utan]

http://www.ouchytheclown.com/ - (not particularly work safe)

http://web.mit.edu/roadkill/www/OldImages/ouchy-the-clown.jpg

I think that settles it. Clowns are evil.

[Orang Utan]

Ouchy is also a DJ: http://www.ouchytheclown.com/disc.shtml

Tagline: does this sound funny to you?

He spins: Scary ambient/ illbient/ chill, eclectic mixes, loungecore
No clowntempo there, Mr Lizard.


:illin:

[electrochix]

there's loads of mad pictures of ouchy available. How much DJ work does that guy get?

[alex cortex]

clowns always have been a widely used image in literature (and of course cinema since its invention), due to the strong and ambivalent feelings they express. but as they are nowadays less common, the full interpretation is maybe not as exhausting.

clowns make me think of fellini´s obession with circus. and of course of krusty. and the son of duchemin in the wing and the thigh. and of buster keaton (though he is not the properly dressed up one). woody allen as the jester in everything you always wanted to know about sex.

[alex cortex]

thinking of the entry question of this thread: it´s a bit limiting to only say either scary or crap. maybe i´m not so exited by clowns as i was being maybe four or five years old, but i find them interesting. that quote from to kill a mockingbird, i liked that one.

[dena]

Ever thought about the fact that clowns are generally fat old men that smell like booz and aren't funny at all!?
Or is it me that has no sense of humour!?

Long story short, I think they suck donkey balls !

[Lady E]

Originally posted by dena

Long story short, I think they suck donkey balls !

i think dena has made the definitive statement on clowns.

what about pierrots?

[Orang Utan]

Originally posted by emma


what about pierrots?

NOOOOOOOO!
http://qsilver.queensu.ca/~wcentre/images/scream%20munch.jpg

[Lady E]

they were an obsession for girls my age in the early 80s! they were on everything!

i think time is right for a revival. its already happening in fashion...bell sleeves are THE thing apparently.

gonna get a stick on swarovski crystal tear drop for my face today.

[V Knid esq]

Just watch out for Harlequins! They're the really dodgy ones.

[Orang Utan]

What's the difference between a harlequin and a pierrot? I was so disgusted by them that I never bothered to find out.

[bitconductor]

how is flack these days has anyone heard?

[Lady E]

this is really dredging the bottom of my brain now

but pierrot and harlequin are characters in something...maybe the comedia dell' arte?

they could well be lovers.

pierrot is a sad type - white and black costume.
harlequin is more upbeat - diamond crazy costume.

my brain hurts now.

[Lady E]

http://www.psupress.org/books/titles/0-271-00928-4.html

yes comedia dell'arte.

but they are both blokes and rivals for columbine's affection?

[emef]

didn`t svan vath toy with harlequins or pierrots years ago --shudder--

[Daddys Girl]

Clowns - not really to bothered by them, but I fail to see why they should be funny to small children.

Harlequins - I'm on the fence about those - my mother has some little pink ones that were given to her years ago - they look evil - yet a few weeks ago, I bought a pink-top that has the face of a really sad looking Harlequin on the front of it - which was odd....

D_G ;o)

[Daddys Girl]

I must be getting confused - Pierrots - are they the little people (that I mentioned above) in pink costumes, and the One tear drop on their faces? - If so, those are the figurines (sp) that my mother was given years ago, and thats whats on the front of that pink top I bought!!!!

D_G ;o)

[mr franks]

Originally posted by emef
didn`t svan vath toy with harlequins or pierrots years ago --shudder--

i think i remember some 'harlequin' type 12" sleeves from Sven Vath a few years ago....awful.

[iain c]

C:\My Documents\My Pictures\gacy.ipg now thats scary

[iain c]

www.poisonoustouch.com/gacy1.jpg (http://www.poisonoustouch.com/gacy1.jpg)

[Orang Utan]

Looks like Leigh Bowery - now he WAS scary

[iain c]

who's Leigh Bowrey?

[Orang Utan]

Er...difficult question to answer - a performance artist? A bon vivant? A clothes horse? Deceased Anitpodean Soho Party Animal - if you ever went to a London art opening in the 80s/90s you'd know who he is.

[FiST]

http://www.cabezamarginal.org/antrogotos/07_02.jpg

this is him, there was a documentary about him a month or so ago on the telly.

[aleks]

john wayne gacy maybe the scariest of them all...he´s the one on the pic.(iain´s link)

[Orang Utan]

Yeah! We actually had good reason to be afraid of him!

[iain c]

oh man thats the guy who's name i couldnt remember ,thats been driving me mad for ages,yeah fist i watched that program too, it was very surreal or should i say "he was" some of the outfits were outragously funny.

[iain c]

heres another one http://www.unlicensedcemetery.com/

[iain c]

sorry this is it http://www.unlicensedcemetery.com/images/gacy_home2.jpg

[grobelaar]

Originally posted by Loz
Clowns: Scary or crap?

Cool!

[marcel]

weee harlequins.. im going to poo now

[emef]

Originally posted by Orang Utan
Looks like Leigh Bowery - now he WAS scary

i thought he was great

[Orang Utan]

He was but his appearance was often rather menacing

[Yer_Maw]

Originally posted by Orang Utan
if you ever went to a London art opening in the 80s/90s you'd know who he is.

damn, i missed them, you should have phoned man.

;0

[iain c]

singing -"psycho killer ,qu'est que c'est ,fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better---------"

[Loz]

that doc on Leigh Bowery was really interesting, caught it totally by accident. Quite an interesting fellow, amazed at his abilities to dance for hours in the costumes he did, without the aid of anything besides vodka.

[emef]

Originally posted by Orang Utan
He was but his appearance was often rather menacing

i like that sort of menacing :)

[Lady E]

leigh bowery was amazing. i saw that documentary on bbc 4 a while ago and loved it. the things of his i liked the best were the collaborations with choreographer michael clark, who worked with the fall a lot and often used their music in his pieces with leigh. his life is the subject of boy george's musical Taboo, i believe matt lucas played leigh for a while. he was stunning and unique and you see his legacy everywhere in clubland, especially recently when everything you ever see about london clubs in the face just looks like a load of 3rd rate leigh bowery cast offs listening to a load of 3rd rate 80s pastiches.

[emef]

i`d really like to go and see 'taboo'
boy george kinda got a bit boring but when he started turning up for interviews in leigh bowery garb he looked fantastic again.
i loved that documentary on leigh bowery, it was great to see all the footage of him and see stuff i didn`t already know about him.
the home film of him was funny cos it really reminded me of getting ready to go out with my friends circa 1985/89, not that my friends were as out there as he was but they were giving it a good go.
that documentary also made me think about how silly and odd the 80s were and how straight the 90s and 00s became.
i miss seeing my friends dressed as geishas, 2004 wears bloody suits.

[Loz]

is that a personal dig, emef? I thought I looked rather dapper, don't you know.

Although I still think there is a silly and odd thing going on in the 90s and 00s, it's just more underground, not so much in the mainstream. Of course, it'll come back, and wearing suits will become the 'odd' thing to do, just as it was in the 90s, when people were into baggy tshirts and trousers.

[electrochix]

He is a bit mad.

http://www.leighbowery.com.br/xtravaganza/gallery/bowerycover2.jpg

[emef]

Originally posted by Loz
is that a personal dig, emef? I thought I looked rather dapper, don't you know.

Although I still think there is a silly and odd thing going on in the 90s and 00s, it's just more underground, not so much in the mainstream. Of course, it'll come back, and wearing suits will become the 'odd' thing to do, just as it was in the 90s, when people were into baggy tshirts and trousers.



no its not a personal dig, i really warmed to you more after your recent avatar.
but when i was 18 to 23 i went clubbing entirely on the gay scene
all my friends were gay, thanks to my best friend being gay and wanting to go clubbing with him and the fact that at gay clubs i could wear funny clothes/makeup, dance like a melon and not get my head kicked in.
i went out with blokes who did dress as geisha girls, who wore makeup and wanted to be david sylvian of pete burns.
i myself in my slimmer 80s days went out regularly in skirts and numan/berserker blue and white makeup... you have to applaud blackpools open minded attitude to difference
then in 89, i discovered acid house clubs and went to those 100% which turned into electrotechno-ish clubs that evolved into the clubs i go to now.
as with most things i lost touch with most of my 85/89 friends except my best friend, who thankfully is still my best friend :)
and now years later i do miss the sort of really weird friends i used to have when i was younger.
no-one dresses out of the ordinary, in techno clubs and that is what i miss.
i only stopped wearing full length skirts myself on nights out when i turned 30 (a few years ago)
so generally, if you are a bloke wearing a dress, if you are wearing leather/pvc, have dreadlocks/piercings i am going to make a beeline for you, to say hi.
i prefer the music that i hear in clubs now but i miss the visually/obvious weird people.
i love meeting people who are dressed really oddly but it just doesn`t happen anymore.
i should go to more S&M nights really

[Paddy]

http://www.cirkusskandinavia.dk/Scaryclownspics/grim2.gif

these clowns are scary, dont you think?

http://www.cirkusskandinavia.dk/Scaryclownspics/grim6.jpg

[Paddy]

http://www.cirkusskandinavia.dk/billeder/ondklovn6.jpg

http://www.strike-the-root.com/images/clowns.jpg

[Paddy]

http://www.hugemagazine.com/paintings/frankwu/dunkwu.jpg

http://www-scf.usc.edu/~jcruz/clown.jpg

[emef]

they are all scarey except the clowncactuspots, which are all like the proverbial 'camp as a row o tents'

[Paddy]

Originally posted by emef
they are all scarey except the clowncactuspots, which are all like the proverbial 'camp as a row o tents'


i thought that id drop them in for comedy relief! teee heee! cacti willys! (arf).

[iain c]

ahh,isn't she lovely?------NOT!!!!http://www.clowns4all.com/news-charm-94.jpg

[Dangerman]

Originally posted by c s
clownz suck.
im with you on this one.