Technological Malfunction

Just letting you know that my computer has decided to play dead. It should be fixed soon, but probably no posting till then. Fingers crossed it wakes from the coma with memory intact.

Beard Head

For those of you unable to grow your own, or even just needing some extra insulation, check out the products at this fantastic website Beard Head. They even donate some proceeds to charity. I'm imagining myself snug inside one of these right now... bliss! Thanks to Kate for the heads up on this one.

Krabat

I went to see the film Krabat last night, at the German Film Festival held at the Chauvel cinema in Sydney. It was likened to Harry Potter, but very different in my mind. It was about a group of black magic apprentices who run a mill in 18th century Germany, narrated with the tone of a dark fable. The catch-phrase is "Everything comes with a price". It's based on the book by Otfried Preussler. 

There's quite a few good German actors in it, including Daniel Bruhl (from Goodbye Lenin! and The Edukators) and Robert Stadlober (from Summer Storm). David Kross, from The Reader (also recommended) played the lead role of Krabat. In the film Krabat's "coming of age" moment in symbolised by the growth of his facial hair, a light moustache. I was lucky enough to see the actor actually introduce the film in the cinema.

The Proverbial

Here's a fantastic Bulgarian proverb.

"Seize opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind."

Apt advice, I'm sure.

Into The Wild

Emile Hirsch grew a beard for his role as Christopher McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp) in Into The Wild. This is one of the most moving and inspirational films I have ever seen. It follows the true story of McCandless as, after graduating, he shuns expectations to go tramping around America and Canada. Sean Penn is a truly great director. Compare the photos of McCandless and Hirsch below.

Poll Winner!

It's unanimous! Percival Thurstmore won out in our Beard of the Week poll, snatching the votes from Mack and Lolcat Beard. Personally, I agree. Check out the new poll to vote for this week's Beard of the Week. Congratulations Percival!

Dream Dictionary

I have found a hardcore dream dictionary at the Dream Moods website. Here are some relevant interpretations.

Beard: "To see a long beard in your dream, is representative of old age and insight, and wisdom.

If you are a woman and you dream of growing a beard, signifies your masculine aspect of your personality. You want to be more assertive and wield more power.

If you are a man and don't have a beard in real life, but dream that you are wearing a beard, represents your individualistic attitude. You do not care what others think or say about you."

Mustache: "To dream that you have a mustache when you don't actually have one, signifies that you are hiding an aspect of yourself. You are putting on a disguise or showing a different aspect of your personality.

To dream that you shave off your mustache, denotes that you are revealing your true self. You no longer have to hide under some disguise or some shield. Alternatively, you will try to attempt or reinstate yourself to a position of honor and status and abandon your asociations with illicit pleasures and evil companions.

If you are a woman and dream that you have a mustache, indicates that you are expressing your power through your words and your verbal expression."

Definitely some food for thought there. I would like to see interpretations from a feminist viewpoint, I think there'd be an interesting take on the symbolism of facial hair in dreams.

If anyone has had any dreams about facial hair, please tell all in the comments.

Dream Interpretations

Do you ever dream about facial hair? Here is some research about how to interpret such dreams.

According to the MyJellybean website,

"If a female dreams of growing facial hair, you may have suffered an attack on your reputation or persona recently. This dream is a warning not to let irritations grow into large heartaches - try to let your emotions cool and things will pass. This dream may also warn against spending your money foolishly."

I'm not convinced by this. The website seems to be aimed at tween girls, so I would not consult it for a serious enquiry.

Dream Central is a forum for discussion about dream interpretation. According to one poster there, facial hair can signify debt or sorrow.

I am wondering, why does facial hair have such bad interpretations? Do men ever dream about it, or just women dreaming of unwanted facial hair?

According to the Petrix dream dictionary, a beard symbolizes "Authority, Power, Wisdom". Now that sounds more like it!

More on this soon...

The New Guard

I know which one I prefer...

I think it's great that young actors are bringing facial hair back. There's not much room for improvement where Robert Pattinson is concerned, but I'm liking it.

Joaquin Phoenix

Personally, I think his new look is rockin'. Hollywood just can't deal with anything that's not "marketable". I've been a fan of his for a long time and a bit of rapping isn't going to put me off.

PEACHES!

The ultimate bearded lady...

She rocks. I can't believe she used to be a primary school teacher, it's a strange world. And this beard is a little too convincing!

Like Father, Like Son

Following in his father's footsteps, Sean Lennon is also fond of a beard. His music's not bad either.

Icons of Facial Hair

Perhaps the most well-known icon of facial hair, challenged only by The Beatles ("bigger than Jesus") during their Sgt. Pepper phase.

I definitely recommend 'John Lennon - The Life'. The biography of a very complex man, it makes for a very interesting read.

John Lennon knew the value of a good beard.

Percival Thurstmore

A big thankyou to Simon from Hencat productions for providing these fantastic stills from The Great Yowie Expedition. If you haven't yet seen the short film, you can find it in the archives. I have no words to describe Percival Thurstmore's raging moustache. And it's 100% home grown.

Poll Results

Well, in the contest between Beard or Moustache, beard won out by 66% compared to moustache's 33%. Thankyou everyone who voted. The new poll will be up shortly, so have your say.

On The Street - Mack

This is the inaugural post for The Bearded Lady's 'On The Street' segments. These will consist of photos taken of people I see around, sporting some form of facial hair, with a small snippet about them and their style.

Mack is a 61 year old psychologist from Sydney. He's worn his beard for 45 years and trims it once a month to keep it in check. For him, facial hair isn't a fashion statement. He is motivated simply by convenience.

Lolcat Beard

Lolcats really does make me laugh out loud. Check out this pic.

This is actually from their i can has cheezburger site. Cuuuute!

Easter Sunday

Egg by Michael

I hope you're having a lovely Easter holiday. Thanks to my dad, Michael, and my sister, Phoebe, for taking the art of egg decoration to new heights.

Disclaimer: Here at The Bearded Lady we only use free-range eggs. No chickens were harmed in the making of this blog.

Egg by Phoebe

Happy Easter!

Proving that facial hair is appropriate, no matter the season.

Ashley G Artworks

Looking on Flickr, I found these fantastic prints by the artist Ashley G. You can see more of her work here at Flickr. She also has her own blog and website, as well as items for sale at Etsy. She's very talented, I just love it.

She has prints of Bearded Guys and (Semi-)Bearded Guys. She even does custom portraits!

Top to bottom: "Emerson", "Lewis", Custom Portrait

Dylan Moran

This clip was brought to my attention by Simon from Hencat. It's from Dylan Moran's 'Monster'. Just wait for the punchline...

The Great Yowie Expedition

Here is a very funny short film made by the guys over at Hencat. It features one of the most awesome moustaches I have ever seen (and it's not fake). Enjoy!

Stafford

I did this drawing based on a photo of my uncle Stafford. I never met him, he died before I was born, but in most of the photos I've seen of him he sports an exemplary beard. He was an intrepid mountaineer. I think he must have been so cool.

An Introduction

So here's a couple of pics to introduce myself.

Photo by Kate Campbell.

Here I am modeling a home-made moustache. I call this the Juantolio.

Virgin Territory

Hello and welcome to my new blog. This plan has been hatching for a while, so hopefully it will get rolling properly soon. To introduce you, this will be a blog around the theme of facial hair. Not being able to grow it myself (in any significant quantity at least), I find it a fascination phenomenon. I welcome comments, questions and even contributions. You can contact me at thebeardedlady@hotmail.com . I'm just starting out, so please be gentle with me.