From The Mirror:

A gang of yobs who kicked a student to death and left her boyfriend in a coma for dressing as Goths are to appeal against their jail terms…[Click here to read the full story]

Trellia’s comment:  I sincerely hope they lose the appeal.

From The Independent:

A teenager who followed the music and fashion movement known as Emo killed himself after being bullied “because of his style”, his friends said yesterday…[Click here to read the full story]

Trellia’s comment: Another tragedy in the alternative community, once again brought about by sheer intolerance and cruelty.  And the Daily Mail have the nerve to call Emo a “sinister cult?” I find the bullies reponsible for this far more sinister…

From Edinburgh Evening News:

CULT film production company Hammer Horror is set to be revived after being sold off to a consortium led by Dutch media billionaire Jon de Mol, the creator of Big Brother…[Click here to view the full story]

From Gigwise:

“Gigwise has been informed about a website set up by parents who are worried about what they perceive as the ‘glorification of self-injury and suicide’ in emo music….” [Click here to read the full story]

The website in question can be viewed at http://whatisemo.bravehost.com/index.html

Trellia’s comment: As suspected, emo is quickly being demonised and feared, thanks to that Daily Mail article.  It’s the whole “let’s blame the music” mentality that we saw surrounding such other tragedies as the Columbine massacre.  I just cannot believe that music or fashion alone can drive a person to suicide.  It defies all logic.

From The Feed:

Tim Burton has been rumored of late to be the director of a film version of Dark Shadows, the 60’s British Goth soap opera that featured vampires in its canon…[Click here to read the full story]

From Stuff.co.nz:

Two Italian Goths have been charged by police after they were found having sex in a church confessional…[Click here to read the full story]

Trellia’s comment: Sigh…these kind of stories make me despair.  After so many goths try so hard to convince everyone that they are respectable, decent people who just happen to wear a lot of black, someone goes and pulls a stunt like this.  It’s disrespectful, tasteless, and brings shame upon the worldwide goth community.  And teachers over the age of 30 should know better.  Shame on you.

From The Celebrity Cafe:

The goth teen, Emily the Strange, is to have a movie made about her…[Click here to view the full story]

From The Guardian:

The Daily Mail issued the following statement about the protest by My Chemical Romance fans on Saturday against the paper’s coverage of the band:

“The Daily Mail’s coverage of the ‘Emo’ movement has been balanced, restrained and above all, in the public interest.

“Genuine concerns were raised at the inquest earlier this month on 13-year-old Emo follower Hannah Bond who had been self-harming and then tragically killed herself.

“The coroner found ‘the Emo overtones concerning death and associating it with glamour very disturbing’.

“Her mother had told the inquest that Hannah had been obsessed with My Chemical Romance whose hit number one on their last album was called The Black Parade.

“Mrs Bond told the court: ‘In Emo it is a very glamorous death to hang yourself. The band she was into, the music she was into-the whole thing is based on the black parade which is all about dying. She called Emo a fashion and I thought it was normal. I didn’t know about the cuts.’ Her father said he had seen cuts on her wrists and his daughter had told him they ‘were an Emo initiation’.

“In common with other newspapers we ran an accurate news story recording the coroner’s remarks and the parents’ comments. We also published two other articles, one of which explained the background to the Hannah tragedy in calm and un-sensational language.

“The other was a first person opinion piece by a well-known writer, written from the perspective of a mother concerned for her children.

“We have also run two prominent page lead letters from an Emo music fan and from a fan of My Chemical Romance defending their point of view. Our music critic admires the music of the band and publicised the band’s UK tour last year.

“Since this protest was announced a great deal of misinformation has appeared on the internet, much of which confuses what the Daily Mail has actually published with the comments of web site readers and blogs over which we have no control and which have stirred up emotions.

“We note it has been pointed out by others that all this provides wonderful publicity for Warners and their impending release of My Chemical Romance’s latest album.

“The Daily Mail is a broad church and is always ready to listen to the views of readers. We do, however, suggest those who want to protest or comment read everything we have published and act on fact not rumour.”

[Click here to view the source article]

Trellia’s comment: “…calm and un-sensational language?”  If I recall, the article was entitled, “Why no child is safe from the sinister cult of emo.”  Enough said.

From Helsinki Times:

REBELLION echoes with “punk”, whilst “steam” brings back the odour of Sherlock Holmes’ London. Combined, steampunk is about industrial revolution and counterculture in the Age of Steam, the Victorian era…[Click here to read the full story]

Trellia’s comment: Yet another article about Steampunk, this time from Finland.  Even Hot Topic’s started selling cog-shaped earrings - it seems that, at long last, Steampunk has finally punched through into the more mainstream end of alternative culture.

From The Guardian:

There are few things that would drag a typical teenager out of bed early on a Saturday morning, but defending the honour of a beloved band from tabloid attacks is probably one of them…[Click here to view more]