#asylum forums

The Official Asylum Forum: A History

An Asylum History post by @shefightslikeagirl

The tacky pink stripes. The banhammers. The blog posts. The drama.

Take yourself back a decade or two and revisit The Asylum Forum, complete with 2000s-pettiness, rage posting, and fans who take the meaning of parasocial to a whole new level.

Posted: November 18, 2004 Archived from The BonnyTymePyrate LiveJournal

Due to popular demand, here is the tutorial for the "Green Tea Party" Wings that I put together for the HGTV website to correspond with my demo segments. Enjoy, and keep in mind that these steps are very simple and can be done by absolutely anyone and with infinite variety - it's all in the decoration that makes these so magical!!!

“Green Tea Party” Wings

MATERIALS: Heavy-guage wire, 2 pairs nylon knee-high stockings, assorted acrylic paints, flat-back crystals, assorted glitter, artificial flowers & foliage, decorative butterflies, assorted ribbons, assorted beads, fabric glue, electrical tape, invisible fabric pen, thread, needle, beading thread, hot glue gun, assorted artist paint brushes, tweezers, wire cutter

STEPS:

Cutting a four-foot length of wire, take one end and begin bending it into your upper wing shape, leaving three inches of the wire free at the beginning and the end of the shape.

Wrap the three inch pieces at the beginning and end of your wing shape with electrical tape to close the shape off.

Repeat steps one and two for opposite upper wing shape and both lower wing shapes, making the lower shapes slightly smaller.

Using one stocking for each wing shape, slide the stocking over the wire frame and wrap extra fabric around the wing base, taping the ends in place.

After all four wing frames are covered with stockings, go back over each wing and, with a needle and thread in a corresponding color, hand-stitch the nylon to the wire in any place where the natural stretchiness of the nylon causes it to pull away. This will insure that your fabric follows the design of your wire frame exactly.

Draw a design on each wing with invisible fabric pen.

Light an incense stick, and use the tip to singe small holes in the stockings wherever you’d like for a decorative, moth-eaten look.

Begin painting in your penned design with acrylic paints.

While paint is still wet, cover desired areas with glitter and shake excess off on a piece of newspaper.

Using tweezers to pick up crystals, use a dot of fabric glue to adhere each crystal to your wings for extra sparkle.

Wrap electrical tape around the four-inch wing centers to connect the upper and lower wings together, creating a four-wing wire frame. You can now curve the wings into a more natural shape if desired.

Wrap a wide ribbon around the base to cover it neatly, securing ends with hot glue.

Cut four lengths of ribbon about two feet each and sew two ribbons to the top insides of the upper wings, then sew the other two ribbons to the bottoms of the lower wings, leaving the ribbons hanging loosely.

Hot-glue an assortment of artificial flowers and foliage to your wing base.

Using beading needle and beading thread, string several inches of beads and stitch to bottoms of lower wings, creating a draped strand of beads. Repeat for two strands of beads if desired.

Hot-glue decorative butterflies to the wing base for the final touch.

Using the ribbon ties, tie wings onto your back wrapping the ribbons around your shoulders and tying in a bow at the front.

Posted: August 9, 2005 Archived from BonnyTymePyrate's Journal Archive Archived from The BonnyTymePyrate LiveJournal

Well, I’ve had to take a couple of days away from the grueling “Opheliac” to record the audio and finalize artwork for the re-release of poetry book, formerly called “Across The Sky” before it sold out, now called “Your Sugar Sits Untouched” and which will be a big lovely book with a CD included and also oh so very limited edition signed, blah blah, can you say run on sentance?

I am very much enjoying recording the audio version at the Asylum, complete with orchestration…it’s preposterous in a way, but something I’ve always wanted to do, the closest I get (for now!) to reciting Shakespeare on BBC Radio…so hurrah for self-indulgence, and into the iPods of all! Let’s listen to poetry on the train… Here’s the cover…dreamy…marshmallow goth…

Here’s a few other shots from that same series:

Here’s my favorite bloomers, the same used in those shots…dear god I love these bloomers:

And of course here’s something to prove we’re still working…sort of…

Posted: August 16, 2005 Archived from BonnyTymePyrate's Journal Archive

Time out from “Opheliac” for 45 minutes…okay, 46…Well, those of you who get our lovely Newsletter are already all too familiar with all of this, but I thought I’d show off the final product of those months of Punktorian men’s toil, that which I had hinted about several posts ago when I was still wondering what the hell to do.

Read onward for an incredibly picture-heavy post which you probably WILL regret…I’m talking of course about the B. Corgan video for the single “Walking Shade,” directed by the wonderful P.R. Brown. Paul was a dream to work with, so open to my Punktorian world, and built upon it to create a fantastic setting for all these bits of fabric I’d bled over. When things got a bit insane towards the end, I brought in some extremely talented ladies to help me complete the project on time, namely, Caroline, who kept me going with her box of 76 industrial CDs. We heard them all. Thrice. What made things even more challenging is that we didn’t know up until the very very very last minute which song these costumes were even for…it was a battle between “DIA” (the song I’m on), and “WS” to the last. “DIA” made more sense in a million and one ways, mainly that I already had the most exquisite antique black velvet hat complete with feathers, not to mention the Victorian mourning gown, but “WS” was chosen in the end. It only really mattered of course because the chance to create costumes that fit the lyrical content of each song was lost, and I had to instead design pieces that would generically fit for whichever song was chosen, which was a useful exercise and I’m not complaining…perhaps only slightly….My idea was to create a picture of the Victorian underground, filled with shady characters, a bit of dirt, a tinge of glamor, and questionable morals. A lot like dating rock stars. To begin with, I made these sketches:

Punktorian Dandy

Punktorian Gentleman

Punktorian Soldier

Punktorian Henchmen

Then it was time to make watercolors reality, which is not as easy as it sounds. After months of stitching, unstitching, restitching, building shoulders into coats, building stronger shoulders into coats, pattern-making, glove shredding, tea-dying, button positioning, bondage strapping, hat distressing, boot shopping (size 12, my friends, are near impossible to find, and I nearly had to sell my left breast into slavery for the ones I finally found), we had 5 full lead outfits complete with breeches, gloves, hats, stockings, vests, shirts, coats, canes, boots, pocket-watches (basically everything but skivvies), and two band costumes (and I can tell you it’s harder to make two costumes exactly alike than it is to make ten that are different), which looked a little somethin’ like this:

Punktorian Dandy

Someone wasn’t in the mood to tie their shoes…

This coat pattern was made from scratch, just draping fabric around a dress form…first time I’d ever made a man’s coat…

Goddamn, that’s a lot of zippers…

Every single outfit was made so that you could take off the coat, and still have a wearable “look”, thereby creating yet more options for the director to play with…

Punktorian Gentleman

We fought with this coat for a month…the tweed fabric was so heavy that the shoulders, which already had a challenge ahead of themselves, were inevitably pulled southward…we tried everything from cardboard inserts to resetting entire sleeves, and I think I blacked out from exhaustion at some point, because I honestly can’t remember how we fixed the problem…

Yes, I am fucking proud of this design…it is sex…only better…tea-dyed to the extreme for a weathered, torn, aged, I’ve slept in this for the last six months appearance…

Even the coat has two looks (actually three, but wait for the surpise…), because you can fold the collar down to expose the jaunty jabot…a little cane never hurt anybody either…

The bondage straps were made so that you can easily unhook them and reconnect them to various other D-rings placed elsewhere on the coat…or you can hook them to you dog’s collar and go for a stroll…

SURPRISE!!!

And underneath it all, a ragged gentleman lurks, pocket-watch in tow…this was my attempt to popularize stripey stockings on men, if you hadn’t already noticed…not sure yet what the global buzz is on that one, I’ll be checking the mags…

Punktorian Soldier

For this set, I wanted the appearance of somebody just back from digging in the dirt, a popular pastime in Victorian England…

[photo missing]

I regret that I do not have a clearer picture of this appliqued emblem, because it is rather sweet…this shirt made good use of both my overlock machine and my acrylic paints…

Punktorian Schoolboy

Here, the same heart-on-cross emblem is repeated, this time just painted on…after going back and forth on the issue, we decided to leave the shirt out rather than tucked in…we like messy schoolboys…

All private school uniforms should look like this…

Punktorian Streetwalker

Just a nice ensemble for a casual country twilight walk…the vest is sporting actual antique buttons…there were supposed to be gloves photographed with all of these looks, but we forgot, being completely focused on other things at the time, such as how to keep not yet buttoned cuffs on without the use of safety pins…

Punktorian Henchmen (dear friends Matt & Brian…are they not the most gorgeous pair you’ve ever seen in breeches?)

Now! My pies de resistance! The keepers of the Punktorian Underground! I call to order the first meeting of the Boot Brigade!

Lace-up coats…does it get hotter than this? I think not…

[picture missing]

Matt Walker’s got stylez…here he’s thinking of ways to kill you without leaving a mark…

Check out the strappage!

He’s still thinking of ways to kill you…he’s narrowing it down to either cyanide or a mind-blowing drum fill…

Brian Liesegang, my favorite puppy dog, was such a delightfully willing participant in this game of dress-up…thanks Brian!

Just you look at that jabot! Look at it!

Alright then, it seems he’s decided on the cyanide…

[picture missing]

I’m particularly proud of how these shirts came out…what a divine, tea-dyed, shredded mess:

I’m very very proud of this work, and of those who helped me, Paul Brown, Matt, Brian, Caroline, fLee, CrysTAL, Melanie, and strong black tea, thank you to you all, I am indebted! So that’s it, or that which I can tell anyway, the rest is for history to decipher…

Posted: July 29, 2005 Archived from BonnyTymePyrate’s Journal Archives

Here we are at the Asylum today…This is my wall of words & wit:

This record is being brought to you by “Zoloft”:

And also by “Legends of China Green Tea” which is consumed by mass and potentially dangerous quantities…but hey, if you want to be a Legend…:

And this is for you, Tom Cruise, you bigoted, ignorant, righteous piece of rhino excrement…lick my antidepressant tainted arse!:

Posted: January 21, 2005 Archived from The BonnyTymePyrate LiveJournal

It is just after 7 am, and I'm waking up after having fallen asleep only two hours ago, and I felt compelled to write thoughts down, because this is when all the good stuff happens...

My keyboard's not lit up, and it's dark in here, so there are lots of typos I will have corrected by the time you see this...

My life is a whirlwind of action and emotion these days. So many things undone that were to be done, things put on hold, things going forward that were never even to be...and guess what I've done right at the height of it all? That's right, I've dropped the Zoloft. Not the medically, intellectually smart thing to do, I completely realize, but I had to listen to that feeling deep n my gut that says "do something," so I did, and I've been off it for about two weeks now. Every day is a range of emotional and physical tests for me, the dizziness, the lack of focus, the mental confusion, the general anti-depressant withdrawal, and I'm dealing with it without complaint, and have not gone into the state of extreme darkness that would normally have accompanied such a withdrawal/descent back into unmedicated depression. I am committed wholeheartedly to my health, I'm not abandoning myself...I will utilize herbalists, therapists, anything it takes to get to a state of happiness or at least manageable unhappiness through more natural means, and if that doesn't work, then I'll go back to plan A but at least I will have tried. I always appreciate advice and tales of successful release from medication, so feel free to share what has worked for those of you who have been in this spot before.

In the meantime, Opheliac is temporarily on hold as I am moving residences and am currently staying with friends - lovely times, but not the studio I was used to working in, so I'm a bit displaced. Things will get back on track and be better than ever, I just need to regroup, it'll just take a moment. The heightened emotion these days brings endless fodder for writing and thus new songs, but the last thing Opheliac needs is more songs...

Then there is work on the upcoming albums of friends, something I'm spending more time on than my own, but that's because they have major label deadlines and I don't;) C'est la vie... But music will be made, and life will be lived, and oranges will be cloved, and so on and so forth.

My eyes are beginning to go into sleep zone again, time to cut this soliloquy short.

Do you ever get that feeling that you've jumped off the Bridge of Sighs and you are falling downwards through the air, but you don't know if you'll hit the water or the rocks, you only know you're falling? That's where I am, in all it's stupid poetic glory.

I realize that not everyone gets my quirky/random/morbid sense of humor, and this saddens me, because I didn't think it was all that difficult to follow, but I suspect otherwise at times. Humor is so important to every relationship, and it is so polarizing as well in it's ability to divide by what one finds funny... One can change their mind, their behavior, but I cannot imagine being able to change that part of me that has random thoughts and says them out loud, or finds the potential for laughter in feminist poetry or a basket of fruit...that is what it is. I know I'm weird, but at least I don't ever pretend to be otherwise...I wear tea bags on my head, and I've got pics to prove it...I don't back down from challenges, and I always take a dare, that's my weakness perhaps. All aside, people's reactions to "me" never cease to surprise me, and I'm not getting any more normal here!;)

I received a bunch of fan presents from you guys the other day, I will go into detail later, but I love and am endlessly grateful your gestures, I truly am. Thank you!!!

I think I can try sleeping now, wish me luck...

Oh, but I should say that the baroque violin on the Corgan's album track is amazing, we left it dry against all the rock elements so that you can really hear the contrast and you feel the physicality of the playing and the woodiness of the instrument...I am very proud of how it's turning out. Back into the studio tomorrow...on two hours sleep...what's new?

This is to prove the "wearing tea bags on my head" statement, but at least I'm not the only one - there are those who would jump into the fire of public scorn with me as you can see:

Posted: November 28, 2004 Archived from The Official Asylum Forum (read more)

[mod note: This entry appears in a different form as ‘T-Shirt Poll...Please:)’ on LiveJournal]

Hey dolls!

Hope you all are enjoying this last remnant of your holiday weekend!

I’ve got a couple of points this morning:

1. I’ve discovered my new drink of the season, AMARETTO TEA!!!! It is insanely gorgeously lovely and wonderfully alcoholic too;) 6 oz. hot black tea, 2 oz. amaretto cream, topped off with fake whipped cream or even non-dairy creamer. Make this, you WILL thank me;)

2. Because I’m sad not to be performing lately (recording is an all consuming project), I was looking at these pics from my last show and thought I’d share them with you. These were taken afterwards as the whole of ServX was there to support as evidenced in these pretty pics of BTP greatness:

As you will see on our someday album, ServX is LadyP, fLee, CrysTAL (the finest champagne), and Me, ViolinX. I am wearing my David Lettermand dress, and LadyP is wearing a top I custom made for her...

I think this is possibly the best photo of me ever:

Our goal here was to make four completely emotionally disparate faces...and I think we succeeded miraculously:

[mod note: Not sure if these photos are in the right order, but alas... at least they’re there]

This is a small article contextualizing and explaining the Asylum Forum drama related to “CosetteAlice” (sometimes shorted to CA) and Emilie Autumn.

On August 6, 2009, a thread was started in the “EA News” section of the Official Asylum Forums regarding the re-release of Opheliac. It was called “Opheliac US edition deluxe re-release??”. The overall vibe of this thread was critical of the album being released again, as Opheliac had been released multiple times since the Opheliac EP’s release in 2006, with the Laced portion of Laced/Unlaced being the only non-re-release, non-EP release since Opheliac. However, the vibe of the thread was overall neutral; despite being critical, people were mostly just bouncing back and forth in posts about whether or not they should buy it, or what they would’ve rather had in another re-release of Opheliac.

(For context, the North American Opheliac re-release through Trisol Records had just happened in late 2008.)

At one point, EA herself entered the thread, and she was critical of the criticism. See some examples below:

And then, in response to one of the comments very much like those, CosetteAlice said the now-infamous words:

“...but maybe you should have a cup of tea and relax a little.”

EA did not respond kindly, as seen below.

CA responds, then EA responds again:

And this, my friends, is where the phrase “fucking patronizing fucking” comes from, which you might see referenced if you comb through old blogs like @spreadingaplagueoflulz​ or @askthereform. I believe the meme started somewhere in the depths of the now-defunct Reform, who generally found the whole ordeal funny, sad, and ridiculous.

There aren’t any other screenshots of this interaction that I can find, but as the story goes, the entire thread spiraled and CosetteAlice was banned shortly afterward (reportedly by InkyDust). It concluded with EA posting a journal entry titled “In Which: I Invite You To Make A Fucking Choice” (below), which is considered by some to be the beginning of the long end for the Asylum Forum. It created a divide in the fandom, and for some time posting any sort of criticism on the forum would warrant attacks from other members who would white-knight for EA.

Dearest Plague Rats, A quick post, please forgive the lack of niceties: I have just learned that, since the banning of the person responsible for what was with out any doubt the most offensive series of posts ever, some very much valued Moderators of this forum have resigned, and several muffins are upset. This, of course, saddens me as well as all in the Asylum greatly. I’ve decided, though it should be in no way necessary, to take a few moments out from massively overwhelming tour, book, and album preparation to address this issue before it gets any more out of hand than it already is. Firstly, I am well aware that nobody is going to agree with every little thing I say or do – and why should you? I assure you the sentiment is likewise, and this is well and proper for intelligent individuals with a healthy spirit of free thought. I am also aware that many of you have, over time, become understanding and even supportive of things you began by being violently against (my posing in pasties, signing to new record labels, releasing certain music, wearing certain costumes, having certain opinions, just for example) and rather than judging you as hypocrites and holding on to the anger, disappointment, and even outright betrayal I felt at being so misunderstood by those I had previously held complete faith in, I said nary a word, appreciated your eventual support, and kept my proverbial forum doors open to you (not easy for one for whom revenge is the best revenge). However, if I and my friends in the Asylum are to be expected to sit meekly by as certain of you behave in an offensively ignorant manner, then you are backing the wrong girl – that’s not in my nature to do, and I would think this would have been more than evident by now. In fact, I would have assumed this evident within the first few words of any bit of music I’ve ever written. To those of you who appear not to understand why said posts, most especially those of the banned party, were offensive to me, I give you the option to either educate yourselves on your own time and in your own space (because please never forget that this is my space that I share with all of you at my own expense, and in which I generally give you all the freedom I would wish for myself), or to resign your posts in the Asylum Army – this is not the place for you, and I humbly suggest that you turn your attention and support towards other artists of a more placid, non-controversial, and less opinionated nature; there are more than enough of them out there, and I’m sure they all have forums of their own. I say this with sorrow and most sincerely, without a shred of the sarcasm I so enjoy. Ignorant and offensive words on the subject of mental health, especially mine, are not to be tolerated here – the Asylum employs a “one-strike you’re out” policy on such things, just as it does for offenses such as racism, sexism, and violence of a verbal and physical sort, all of which are equally criminal, whether you are aware of this or not. To ascribe another’s most justified irritation at anything at all to a “manic state” without any evidence or authority to do so is equivalent in the minds of myself and other sufferers trying their best to live as normally as possible to any of the aforementioned offenses. I assure any concerned that I am properly medicated at the moment, in a relatively healthy frame of mind and body, and advise you to take my words, opinions, and actions seriously as my own – I am due as much respect as anyone else. I thus invite you to attempt some understanding if not compassion, and challenge you to place yourself in the veggie-leather combat boots of someone such as myself for a brief moment, or anyone who has spent a lifetime not being taken seriously for reasons including looks, sex, age, and status as a “crazy person,” and to the point where she has to write not only a song but an entire book about it (and trust me kittens, if you can’t deal with this, then this book is not for you – it sure ain’t rated fucking PG). Should you choose not to accept my invitation, I regretfully ask you to turn in your weapons and make room in here for those who will, for, in short, and as any of you who have been to any of the Asylum shows have no doubt heard, if you’re not with us, you’re against us. Entrance to our ranks is quite exclusive, and maintenance in these ranks require some semblance of loyalty and belief in the Asylum’s mission to educate and end the outrageous discrimination towards anyone who has ever taken Zoloft. Oh, and not being a fucking arsehole doesn’t hurt. Abandoners of the cause will be sorely missed. Now that was sarcasm. Smell it? Cheers all, off to do something valuable with my time, like sewing costumes and petting my rats. With Love & Bloody Crumpets from the Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, EA, a.k.a. W14A

If you have any more info or screenshots regarding this fandom incident, please let me know!