I'm an equal opportunity misanthrope with a cock-eyed, crazy sock monkey named, aptly, Monkey. He's both my love and my evil nemesis. He often humps my male friends' legs while singing "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" by Rod Stewart. A clever and witty little chimp, Monkey also has his own advice column ("Ask Monkey!"), which will soon be available again so that you may contact him about your life's plights and plagues via the new and improved version of my website, "GINCHY!" Meanwhile, you may follow the links to find some of his previous "work" for your viewing pleasure.

As for myself: I'm the creator & writer of an indie comic, among many zines of varied content, & a trading card set ("Strangers With Candy"). I'm also an artist, but prefer atypical media, IE: Quad-Cam photography, 3D X-Ray mobiles, mosaics made of pills, re-paint dolls, plush animal taxidermy plaques, crass cross-stitch, etc. My clothing (& jewelry) line, "Schizofrenzy Fashions", catalog will be online soon & select items will be sold through a few sites (such as "Etsy", "Elsewares" & "Fancy Deluxe") which specialize in unique DIY fare. Another project is my one-woman-band ("Hurdygurdy") CD for which I prefer eclectic instruments (accordion, bongos, kazoo, ukulele, zither, tambourine, spoons, water-filled glasses & my voice). A spoken word CD is also in progress. You can find various examples of all of the above endeavors at the following: alvastarr.livejournal.com/profile (VERY outdated, but some still applies) or the new version of "GINCHY!" at www.uber-ginchy.com (*Currently Under Construction*)

My interests and hobbies run the gamut from dull to decadent to downright disturbing and include writing poetry & non-fiction prose, performing burlesque, making bizarre concoctions for my clothing line, zines, ATCs, mail art, and other creative engine outlets of expression, as mentioned above. I also freelance write for "Jeff Buckley International Newsletter", turn out occasional reviews for "Zine World", & do promo work for misc. indie mags, small press distros, & 'not widely known' bands, both local & international. I collect metal lunchboxes, vintage dolls, kitschy room decor, original art, found objects, photos of restroom graffiti, and many other odd things that provide comfort, companionship and clutter.

o/` ..and these are a few of my favorite things.. o/`
MUSIC: Ledbelly's 1930's behind-bars blues; Edith Piaf's 'soul of Paris' perfection; Serge Gainsbourg's 1960's French fare; David Bowie's androgynous astral aria glam rock; The Cramps' psychobilly crudeness; Tom Waits' gravelly whiskey-soaked stylings; Headquarter's Middlesex mod; Kate Nash's Brit-accent pottymouth pop; Lenka's whimsical folk-inflected fun; Elliott Smith's tragic emo; Dressy Bessy's chirpy twee & all inbetween.
TV SHOWS: RETRO - "The Partridge Family", "Three's Company", "Fawlty Towers", "The Young Ones". NO LONGER AIRING - "Rollergirls" (Venis Envy's a personal friend. Whee!) CURRENT - "Intervention", "Sarah Silverman Show", "Z Rock", "One Punk Under God", "Flight Of The Conchords", "Shameless", "Ninja Warrior", "Food Party", "Invader Zim" (JV is also a personal friend. Huzzah!), Various anime ("Gunslinger Girls", "NGE", etc.), & original "Aeon Flux" from MTV's "Liquid Television" long ago.

And if all this information still does not satiate your curiosity, let me just say that I've grabbed David Cassidy's ass. Huzzah!