I have been keeping up with the photography section, and soon I’ll be updating the “favorite haunts” section too…(don’t worry I didn’t forget about you.)

by Lucid S.Darqly

From what I can remember, it was a great day….

I could probably stop the article there, seeing as no art was seen at darqpress’s last outing for artwalk. It was the 1st artwalk of summer, and we started it in gala fashion, 2 for 1 beers and half price appetizers(huge servings) at trollys.

Four pints, some hot wings, and southern quesadillas later, we stumble our way to the square. Something was askew, the square was packed, vendors,norml, bands, and norml were all present. We took plenty of bad photographs of what I’m sure were good people, and handed out 75 cards, before nightfall(blew our whole load,of cards I mean).

The festivities begin(again), back to trollys, level 2 this time, just for the atmosphere, and because Black Box Revue wasn’t open yet.

Ok, so we should have learned our lessons from artwalk past, don’t start drinking and expect to see any galleries, once you barhop, you don’t stop. Seeing as artwalk has only happened twice for me, but it’s always a great night either way, and I’m sure there was some great art on exhibition… now, things get blurry.

Enter Black Box Revue, the weekly electronic show held at the outland, which usually packs with extremely nice, fun loving, individuals. This week featured Ssion, and the usual slew of local dj’s. I will mention here, it was lovetrons birthday, and I did manage to get him a meeting with johan, because his 8 bit sounds belong at BBR, much more than they do where I saw him the week prior… opening for mid-life crisis metal bands, doing mostly cover songs, he’s just too talented for that.*shameless plug* He recently remixed The Bothers Darqly, I think mostly out of gratitude for the evening.

To backtrack for a moment, there was a huge line around the building for the show upstairs at The Ballroom, and I would write about that show, but the promoter was less than friendly(nothing to do with the Ballroom itself), so instead of free coverage, and photography, we just got invited in for a bit for free,who needs promoters?

Here’s where things get tricky, I remember sitting at a booth, talking with Fenominon and St. Thomas, and being approached by a million poeple I haven’t seen in months. Walking past someone twice my size, hearing a rude comment, and taking them somewhere quiet to dissolve the rumors. Headed to the afterparty, stopped at walmart, drunkenly decided to walk home from there(bad choice).

Thats about all I can recall…. only way to celebrate two months of sobriety.

For a few more images from the evening go to the GALLERY

by Darian Darqly

Hello darqlings! We’re here! Darqpress has finally arrived, now all your dark little dreams can come true. The site was officially “birthed” on February, 25, 2009 – Ash Wednesday (Headquartered in the buckle of the Bible belt)! Can you believe it? Total coincidence on our part, but perhaps it’s an omen. A sign that the end is near, maybe?

While the Christian world was washing away the decadence from partying their asses off the night before (Fat Tuesday) and swearing off fun for the next forty days, we were introducing a whole new world of decadence and excess to rub their noses in and to intice you all! (Cue sinister music, thunder and lightning, menacing laughter) Mu-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

We are already meeting with disdain from the religious right and moral gistapo in our area, “Thank you Jesus!” We must be doing something right. An elderly couple of do-gooders stopped on their way to church when they saw us doing a photo shoot yesterday to harrass us on a public street. Truth be known, they just wanted to see the cute girls in fishnets or the hot tattooed boy with his shirt off – God knows that’s why I was there! Even when we were leaving the old guy was calling us back, yelling “so what kind of magazine could you possibly be taking pictures like this for – you with your holes in your faces (those are called piercings), your colored hair and dressed like that?” (We hadn’t even brought out the chains yet!)

I think the old bastard just wanted to check out the pics later when his wife wasn’t with him. They took our license plate numbers and started calling business owners on the street to scare us. When we moved to our next spot, they actually called the police and told them we were vandals. God would be so proud. When “Evil” isn’t breaking any laws, lie and say it is because justice must be served!! “Good” will prevail even if it has to be bad to do so! When the cop arrived, he was like “oh, you guys are just taking pictures, somebody told me you were breaking in and vandalizing places. Carry on.” Score 1 for the “bad” guys.

Moral of the story darqlings: To the old coot with all the pent up sexual aggression, we forgive you, it’s in our nature and it’s what Jesus would do, right? ..But it’s also in our nature to blow you kisses and a big, “FUCK YOU!!” And to the PD, thanks for protecting and serving this time. And thanks to all you sickos who drove by honking your horns and showing some love for the darq arts!

You can view images from the shoot HERE

FIRST TIME OUT!

by Darian Darqly

I knew darqpress was off to a smashing start when our first interviewee was detained. The interview began almost 3 hours late. We were in a bar, going to interview one of the owners, what else could we do with that much time to kill? We got shit-faced!! Consequently, this made for a hilarious interview when he did arrive.

He was a great sport (he’s used to corralling drunks). Before the evening was over two of my lady friends flashed me both “T” and “A,” (gay boy privelege – if only that did it for me), but the hot, young bar owner topped it off by flashing me the new tattoo on his abs and all was right with the world.

The two words I think best sum up our first interview would be “profane” and “obscene.” It was a perfect tone setter! Welcome to darqpress! Let the games begin!!

Furbys and the Furby conspiracy in all its Glory.

By Scrappy Doo

            It’s no surprise that, to this day, a certain furry animatronic creature with large eyes, a beak, and lashes for days still captures  hearts and resonates many happy memories in our society. Most parents with children who grew up around the time of Furby’s holiday release date in 1998 probably have many stories to tell of this loveable headache. Personally, I was ecstatic when I received a Furby, and very heart-broken when he was smashed by a hammer only a few months after I got him. Nowadays, it is a rarity to hear of them, and even more rare to see them in any store or even online ordering sites (barring the wondrous, vast array of collectibles and toys that E-bay provides).

            So what happened? Where did Furby disappear to? Did they all fly back to the distant cloud from which they fell? Or perhaps, were they purposely euthenized in a slow conspiracy set about by the government we love and trust oh-so-dearly? Perhaps a quick intro to the mechanics of a Furby would give a clue. At least, that’s what my thoughts were as I first started research for this juicy story.

            After a quick Google search, it’s easy for anyone to notice how many “scam” and “conspiracy” stories about Furbys (this, not ‘Furbies,’ is the proper spelling, according to Tiger Electronics – the creators of Furby) there actually are. Furby runs on a basic 8-bit processor, giving it little ability to actually “learn” new things, so much as it just accesses certain preprogrammed data streams giving it the ‘illusion’ that it is learning to speak whatever language it is programmed to do so the more time you spend with it (according to http://www.phobe.com ). However, if this were truly the case, then why does the National Security Agency have a ban on Furbys of all kinds from even being on their premises? The government seems afraid that the possibility that this fuzzy robot-esque friend may actually learn to speak based on its surroundings is more a threat to our National security than we assume. As Andrew Marshall from www.independent.co.uk put it, “In other words, having asked endearingly for a cookie, the Furby might then suggest bugging the Russian embassy and intercepting wireless traffic from the Iraqi military.”

            If this toy is such a danger, then why – I wonder – do they have such a vast amount of spoofs? Most notably, “Furby Baby and “Gizmo Interactive.” Furby Baby is identical to Furby Adult in almost every way, minus its smaller size, and it’s somewhat higher-pitched and more child-like voice. Gizmo Interactive, on the other hand, is a much more surprising addition to the Furby family. His digital voice is identical to Furby’s, though his vocabulary is much different. And, unlike Baby Furby, Gizmo Interactive was formed thanks to an out-of-court settlement between Tiger Electronics and whoever the hell it is that controls Gizmo’s P.R. The lawsuit was started because of Furby’s striking resemblance to this loveable movie fuzz-ball, Gizmo. But after the settlement, Tiger created, essentially, a Furby with a Gizmo skin covering and new language chip.

            Gizmo Interactive and Baby Furby are also banned from the NSA.

            Though Furby may no longer have hundreds of its kind on the shelves of your local toy nook, they are still in existence. Ebay may be one’s best chance at snagging one of these loveable “National security risks,” though a few larger toy stores in major cities still carry a couple in stock.

            Kah toh-dye. Doo-moh boo loo-loo, o-kay? Kah may-may u-nye! Dah/a-loh/nah-bah.

by Darian Darqly

           Christine, Lucid and I recently tracked the elusive “green fairy” to one of our favorite haunts, Mixology, where you can not only sample this elegant pleasure of the past, you can even have it prepared for you in artful 19th century fashion, with a burning sugar cube on a fancy absinthe spoon!

           Known for its eccentric preparation techniques, its curiously high alcohol content and its long list of infamous connoisseurs, historically, absinthe is a drink surrounded by mystery and misunderstanding. 

Gift of the Goddess

            Absinthe is something of an acquired taste. It often has a strong licorice flavor with a hint of menthol, deriving its taste from anise, fennel and wormswood. The name “absinthe” comes from the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, “Artemis’ wormswood” (Artemis was the Greek goddess of the hunt). The milky cloud produced when water drips into Absinthe has its own term, to “louche.” The eccentric preparation began in bars in the Czek Republic, but it was later used to exploit the drink and market it to tourists who visited the region.

            There are many rumors circulating as to the origin of absinthe’s nickname, “the green fairy,” ranging from the mystical connection between the herbs used to make the drink and the fairies once believed to guard the plants to the supposed hallucinatory properties that made the drinker see fairies. The most probable explaination, however, is the greenish fog produced when the drink is mixed.  

Bad Fairy!!

            Because it enjoyed great popularity among French artists and writers in the late 19th and early 20th century, prohibitionists and religious extremists associated the drink with Bohemian culture and vigorously fought for its ban. It was rumored that absinthe caused hallucinations, violence, and even madness. It was condemned as a dangerously addictive, psychoactive drug because of the chemical thujone, found in absinthe in miniscule amounts.

            Some of the more nefarius paletes graced by absinthe were Oscar Wild, Charles Baudelaire, Vincent Vangough, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, and the infamous occultist, Aleister Crowley. All considered scandalous men in their day and most likely aided the movement against absinthe to build their case for it being the demonic inspiration of social deviants. Absinthe has been villafied for its “corruption” of human nature in famous works of art, literature and poetry, even being blamed for a gruesome murder or two.

Banned, But Not Forgotten…It’s Back!!

          It’s back and it’s legal for the first time since 1912! Absinthe reemerged in Europe in 1988, with the implimentation of food and drink standards by the European Union. As of February 2008, nearly 200 brands of absinthe were produced in a dozen countries, most notably in France, Switzerland, Spain, and the Czech Republic. Commercial distillation of absinthe in the United States resumed in 2008. It’s not just a drink, it’s an experience, replete with almost ceremonial preperation and a full and colorful history.