Mousetrap

[gordonzola]

The mousetrap was pretty amazing. The pictures on the website don’t really do it justice. It’s a bigger than life size version of the kids game "mousetrap" sprung with bowling balls that go down crazy stairs, into a bathtub, around a metal gutter, up and down all sorts of crap finally setting off a release which drops a really fucking heavy old safe (or piano at the later show) about two stories distance onto the "mouse". The whole thing was made of found and salvaged materials and sits behind the "Haunted Barn", just downwind from the Superfund site that was the Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard.

I can’t say it didn’t go off without a hitch, but when the safe dropped it was still thrilling. The real star of the evening, amarama and I both agreed, was the counterweight which took the bowling ball from the bottom of the crazy stairs on a beautiful, slow ellipse into another bucket about 20 feet in the air. The crowd went crazy and began chanting "Counterweight! Counterweight!" in unison.

Another star of the evening was Formaldehyde, anarqueso’s guy. Looking much hotter in a tank top than I thought he would, he donned a straitjacket and was raised by his feet by the crane about two stories high. He escaped easily with "Eye of the Tiger" blasting over the crowd.

Ama, Anar, and I walked through the Superfund dirt and saw a beautiful moonrise over the fog and chemically-hazy sky. ilipodscrill, hmacallister, and telebraker6 were also there. It was a wonderful San Francisco night.

I will say one critical thing though. The safe falling was great. Big thud. Boom. But it was dropped on a birthday cake which was a little anti-climactic. Why not a big papier-mâché mouse filled with red Jell-O or something? More splat and gore would have been welcome, even if it got all over me. There was an organized mouse protest of the event however. Many extremely large rodents brought signs protesting the Weapons of Mouse Destruction and, when the safe had safely dropped, ran through the trap shouting "Cheese Yes! Traps no!"

Personally, I’m for both.

Comments

[bebopmonkey.livejournal.com]

When was this? Damn man! I always miss the cool stuff.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

sorry, I meant to put it on my LJ but forgot. It was all over anarqueso's.

[bebopmonkey.livejournal.com]

Then i should be reading that one too, eh? done and done. I've vowed to be more supportive of the arts this year, and need to support stuff like this (if we dont, who will?).

Our paths cross again!

[defenestr8r.livejournal.com]

One of the guys who puts the mousetrap and haunted barn together is a friend of mine. I was muy trista to miss it, but it was only one of the things I am missing about San Francisco in the slimy heat of August in the South.

P.S. I have pictures for you....

Re: Our paths cross again!

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

yay pictures!!!!

[jamie-miller.livejournal.com]

"Counterweight! Counterweight!"

Just thinking about a large audience excitedly chanting this word makes me smile.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

well, really it might have been just the three of us, but it should have been everyone. I was too excited to tell.

[walktheplank.livejournal.com]

Many extremely large rodents brought signs protesting the Weapons of Mouse Destruction and, when the safe had safely dropped, ran through the trap shouting "Cheese Yes! Traps no!"

Nice.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

yes, I'm glad our large cheese worker presence went unnoticed. we might have been taken hostage.

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

I've been wondering what this was going to be like, and am very happy to know.

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Oh, but what did anarqueso wear? Utter smashingness?

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

she wore her new tux but formaldehyde stole her top hat for most of the evening. except when he was upside down in a straitjacket.

send me your address!

Ho-lee shit

[citizenx.livejournal.com]

That is possibly the coolest thing that has ever been done with a bathtub.

[amarama.livejournal.com]

I think we were actually chanting, "Le-ver, le-ver!" but thanks for saving our reputations here by more accurately describing the machine. Man, I still love that counterweight. Two days later!

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

well, I try to tell my stories in ways that are more true than they actually ocurred. and yes, I would totally marry that counterwieght if only the state would officially recognize our type of love.

[elusis.livejournal.com]

It makes me sick to think of the oppression you suffer.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

I knew you'd understand, Sister.

[rivetpepsquad.livejournal.com]

aw crap.

almost went to this, but opted for the shipyard's "how to destroy the universe, part II" instead (damned bay area and all of its multiple crazy art sheeeet on the same nights ;p).....

i think the decision may have been made by my chanting, "yeah, i went to a mousetrap party at the haunted barn last year!"; one where i thought it was meant to display it in operation, but turned out just to be a benefit for its completion.

but dammit! you guys were there!!!

oh well. i played with sheep heads instead.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

awwww, some day we may actually meet. and yes, crazy bay area. there were two other events I really wanted to go to but since I was working this was the only one I could see in its entirety.

[mercyorbemoaned.livejournal.com]

Mr. Common Reader took the minions and they enjoyed themselves.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

awwwww. I some minion-sized folks there but no frowny-cat looking Mom. Amarama said you weren't there so I stopped looking.

[mercyorbemoaned.livejournal.com]

I wasn't. I was home avec bebe.

[amarama.livejournal.com]

Cripes! I totally thought it was them! I was going to go up and talk to them, but I thought I'd seem insane if I just walked up and introduced myself. Everyone was sad you didn't come.

[anarqueso.livejournal.com]

There will probably be another Mousetrap run next month and/or during the Haunted Barn in October. I'll post that info when I have details.

[rzr-grl.livejournal.com]

Well, here in Mayberry, I ....
I...
I swam in the lake!

*sigh*

Please give as much advance warning as possible if this does indeed happen again, as I would totally drive to SF to see a crazy thing like this. I promise to represent with the "counterweight" chant! (yay, nerds)

I have to admit - I went to a baseball game without you last weekend. This is my punishment, I understand.

field trip!

[superchones.livejournal.com]

that looks fantastical. :)

can you find out if it's open during the daytime cuz i am sure the kids from webster would love to see it, and it ties in with our field trip budget which is at a painful zero.