MetaChat - In an era

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13 November 2006

In an era when every other 20-something has a tattoo or a piercing, and when pediatric plastic surgery is a common specialty, the carnival freak show is dying. Bugmenot: nytasshat2/nytasshat.)

post by: mudpuppie at: 16:19 | 24 comments

Mudpuppie? I would like to make a date with you in chat to talk and have conversation and maybe a sno-cone. Please contact me at your convenience to arrange this.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 13 November | 16:30

Perhaps, but as of yet you still can't have yourself endwarvened of get a siamese twin put in up at the mall.

posted by jonmc 13 November | 16:36

"endwarvened"?

posted by Lipstick Thespian 13 November | 16:44

When Garrison Keilor visited town a couple months ago, he remarked on the youth he observed on Portland's streets; "young men who looked as if they'd fallen and landed face first in the tackle box." (I lol'd)

posted by pieisexactlythree 13 November | 16:45

What a neat little article.

It makes me wonder whether I should give Carnivale another chance.

It also makes me wonder why I read the bugmenots as "NY Tasshat."

posted by occhiblu 13 November | 16:48

Perhaps, but as of yet you still can't have yourself endwarvened of get a siamese twin put in up at the mall

Both of those sound like jobs for Dr Nick Riviera. Maybe he can change jonmc's "as of yet" to "as of now". What a glorious day that would be. I'd have dwarf siamese triplets - one on each side. Six arms would be pretty cool, although I'd hate to run out of deodorant on a hot day.

posted by TheDonF 13 November | 16:54

It makes me wonder whether I should give Carnivale another chance.

The answer to that is No.

But for pure kitsch, you should watch Tod Browning's Freaks.

posted by mudpuppie 13 November | 16:55

One of us! One of us! Soon you will be one of us!

posted by pieisexactlythree 13 November | 16:57

The answer to that is No.

Heh. Damn. It's a show I would like to have liked.

posted by occhiblu 13 November | 17:03

Both of those sound like jobs for Dr Nick Riviera.

Totally.

posted by Specklet 13 November | 17:05

There's a bit of a nuevo-burlesque trend going on in DC, so I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the freak-show vibe return. The MrsMoonPie and I were at the Palace of Wonders Saturday night--no live freak-showing, but plenty of freakishness on display on the walls. Plus, we saw a guy dressed as a priest pull a string of oversized rosary beads out of his butt.

posted by mrmoonpie 13 November | 17:36

"endwarvened"?

It's a perfectly cromulent word.

posted by jonmc 13 November | 18:17

There's a bit of a nuevo-burlesque trend

I've been mildly obsessed with neo-burlesque lately. It's playful and retro and the girls are mindboggling sexy because of that. I wanna go see an actual show sometime.

posted by jonmc 13 November | 18:20

It could be another type of verb -

"Nick endwarVENED between Jess and Milo when they thought they could torch the cat."

posted by Lipstick Thespian 13 November | 18:31

Burlesque show? I'll get my tassles...

posted by Pips 13 November | 18:54

Cool article, pups. Hey, have you ever read Daniel Mannix's "Freaks: We Who Are Not As Others"? It's very good.

posted by Zack_Replica 13 November | 18:59

Haven't read that one, Zack. I've read Robert Bodgan's "Freak Show," which posits (brilliantly, I think) that "freak shows" weren't cruel and degrading, as we tend to think of them now, but that for a lot of performers they were pretty much the only alternative to the asylum. And, the performers actually got pretty rich in a lot of cases (excluding the cases where they were exploited by unscrupulous promoters).

I also have a book called "Very Special People," which is laugh-out-loud baaaaaad. Too many sentences end in explanation points, and the book is littered with variations on the phrase "They were Very Special People!"

And, somewhat related, I also have an 1874 edition of PT Barnum's autobiography, "Struggles and Triumphs. I'm a bit of a circus fre -- er, nerd.

posted by mudpuppie 13 November | 19:11

ExCLAMation points. I have no problem with explanation points -- I find them very helpful.

posted by mudpuppie 13 November | 19:16

pups - Amazon link, Re/Search link (with 2 excerpts) - it's pretty good. Worth a look.

posted by Zack_Replica 13 November | 19:24

And, somewhat related, I also have an 1874 edition of PT Barnum's autobiography, "Struggles and Triumphs. I'm a bit of a circus fre -- er, nerd.

and this is why mudpuppie is a true wonder of nature! I am envious!

also, if you ever get world weary, look up pictures of primordial dwarves (and know that they speak in teeny voices) and you will be back in love with life!

posted by Mrs.Pants 13 November | 20:07

MetaChat, complete with comment editing. This is the Freak Show I think of...

(The Residents Rule BTW)

posted by eekacat 13 November | 21:27

I met a balloon fetishist/performer recently... I'll have to let y'all know when his next show is...

posted by TrishaLynn 14 November | 11:02

I also have a book, all pictures of so-called freaks, called "Sideshow" by Max Rusid. It's a "photo abbum of human oddities". Included is a photo of Myrtle Corbin, from the 1800's. She had a double lower body, and gave birth five times, three from one side and two from the other. Francisco Lentini, a three-legged man, eventually ran his own sideshow, and spent 19 years with the Ringling Circus. And a Betty Williams made $500.00 a week in the 1940's and 50's displaying her parasitic siamese twin. Ah, I'll miss the freak show...but there's always Mardi Gras!!!

posted by redvixen 14 November | 19:05

Mr. Moonpie, that Palace of Wonders looks fantastic! Did you have a good time?

posted by frecklefaerie 16 November | 00:23

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