Where Is Your Tribe?

I spent an underwhelming weekend at the Pittsburgh Comic Con (actually held in Monroeville) and got to thinking about the comic book nation and my place in it. Or more accurately, outside of it.

Astronaut Theology: Rocket, Man

 

Secret Sun saint Bill Shatner hosts this entertaining documentary on AAT called Mysteries of the Gods from 1976. There's a lot of surprisingly interesting information along with some not-so-interesting information (Jeanne Dixon, UFO cultists, etc). Luckily, it's front-loaded with the good stuff.

 

Make It Stop, Carrot Top

 

 Do you remember the old AT&T ads with the painfully thin comedian with the shock of curly crimson hair? Weren't very funny, were they? Well, that comedian has discovered the joys of anabolic steroids, cosmetic surgery and plain old cosmetic cosmetics and has turned into something out of Ted Haggard's worst meth-induced hallucinations. 

Sunday Matinee: In Search of Ancient Astronauts

 

Another Ancient Astronaut documentary, another Secret Sun saint. This legendary 1973 documentary draws heavily on Van Daniken and features the irreplaceable narration of Saint Rodney of Serling. A fascinating artifact from a time when people were expected to question authority and received wisdom. 

Full House for Spandex at the NYCC

Holy Standing Room Only, Batman! It was a packed house at the Our Gods Wear Spandex panel! I was so taken aback by the turnout I was actually tongue-tied for my intro.

 

The Siren: Brendan Fraser in the Underworld

The last great wave of music video revolved around the Techno movement of the late 90s. It was a musical revolution that never really came, but it marked the use of computer technology coming into its own in the service of video spots. Oftentimes, the videos were much more interesting than the songs they accompanied.

Videodrome As Prophecy

I'll be at the New York Comic Con this weekend so I asked Joe Linsner to do a guest spot eleaborating on some interesting points he raised in an email. I think this piece is right up the Synchromystic alley, from the perspective of a guy with a lot of experience in the subconscious mind.

2001: A Space Odyssey: Optical Illusion

One of the reasons I watch some of these films over and over is that there are always certain details that bother me on a subconscious level, but need to be gone over repeatedly to bring into the daylight. 

Scottish Sunday: Boards of Canada

I guess if I had to explain my strange, unconscious fixation on Scottish musicians, it would come down to their uncanny knack for channeling quantum magic into our reality through the processes of recorded sound, often in the unlikely context of the pop song. 

Mindbomb: Face to (the) Face (on Mars)

That's Orion that Kirby is drawing there...

This is awesome: two of my favorite visionary madmen, Jack Kirby and Richard Hoagland, meet in Cyberspace in Hoagland's exploration of Mars Face symbolism in pop culture, which touches on Kirby's astonishingly prescient Face on Mars story.

The Shemsu Hor, or Following the Followers

Terry Melanson of ConspiracyArchive.com raised this very important issue in the comments to yesterday's posting...

So what you seem to be saying, as far as I can tell, is that these "Followers of Horus," the secret priests of the secret society of Shemsu Hor which, according to Egyptian records, existed before time was recorded, are the real string-pullers even today. They have constructed all the competing hermetic and kabbalistic occult doctrines and have been the real "Unknown Superiors" alluded by the Elus Cohen, the Strict Observance, the Golden and Rosy Cross, and Theosophy. And further, that it is these Shemsu Hor who are behind the pervasiveness of sun symbolism?

 

Astronaut Theology: Exhibit No. 2001

When we're looking for semiotic evidence linking ancient astronauts and Sun worship, we need look no further than the all-time heavyweight champion of cinematic ritual drama, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

My Newsstand Oracle

When I was a kid my life revolved around Valles' News (pronounced Valis' News). It was one of those old-school variety stores that even had a lunch counter in my early days.

Astronaut Theology: Chariot of the God

Have you seen the Pontiac Solstice, the latest and hottest sports car on the market? It's a little out of my price range, but of course I'm fascinated by its name.

Sync Log: Astronaut Theology

Well, Yahoo is also celebrating the beginning of Ancient Astronaut Week by featuring some NASA space colonization puff pieces on their front page. The conditioning process is certainly picking up speed.

Astronaut Theology: Let's Go to the Movies!

There's a very interesting triple-feature playing in the IMAX Dome Theatre, located at the Liberty Science Center, which is part of Liberty State Park.

 

Scottish Sunday: Gently, Johnny

 

I've been puzzling for weeks about which band I wanted to kick off Scottish Sundays with. Big Country, the band that ruled my late teenaged years? Pilot, whose hit "Magic" inspired me during the magical Spring of 1975? The Cocteau Twins? Pre-sellout Simple Minds? 

If You Must...

...check out some of the symbolism in the Nim's Island (or as I like to call it, Min's Island) imagery for yourself. All of that Freud is giving me the, um, willies.

John Cusack, Superstar: Leatherman

Todd Campbell of Through The Looking Glass alerted me to this story earlier in the week. 

Woman arrested on suspicion of stalking Cusack 

MALIBU, California (AP) -- A woman who was ordered to stay away from John Cusack has been arrested on suspicion of stalking the actor and violating a restraining order. • Emily Leatherman taken into custody in John Cusack's neighborhood • Leatherman has a restraining order against her, must stay away from Cusack • 33-year-old woman "considered a transient in Santa Monica area" 

Sometimes I'm just stymied. 33-year old Emily Leatherman is busted when she takes a cab (or Checker chariot) to John Cusack's house and can't pay the fare (shades of Charon, ferry and fare have the same root). 

 I can't remember the last time John Cusack was in the news and he's being stalked by a 33 year-old bag lady named Emily Leather-man? 

Are they trying to make me crazy?

Shoegaze Saturday: Ka-Aythr-Ein Wheel

 

Shoegaze gods the Catherine Wheel hopped on the Bush bandwagon with their 1995 single, "Way Down." It puzzled some of their original fan base but I still think this single and video are 90s highlights. I often wonder if Chris Carter saw it and used it as inspiration for the Mythology two-parter Tempus Fugit/Max.

Catherine Wheel singer Rob Dickinson is the cousin of Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, who is the writer and producer of the upcoming Chemical Wedding, a horror film about a scientist looking to resurrect the Great Beast 666 Aleister Crowley. 

This little connection reminds me that some occultists see Hathor as Babalon, the Destroyer of Men.

Hathor Watch: Oscars Edition

 

I can't believe I forgot this: Secret Sun muse Ka-Athyr-Ein Blanchett made Oscar history for being nominated for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, and for being nominated for playing a male and a female character, and for being nominated twice for playing the same role (that being Queen Eloah-Isis-Beth the First). 

Cate lost Best Actress to a sexy 9/11 truther and Best Supporting to Scottish polyamorist Tilda Swinton, who first came to prominence in her role in the gender-switching ritual drama Orlando, which featured Quentin Crisp as Queen Liz. 

 The Eternal Ritual Dramas (and drama rituals) live on...

When Mythworlds Collide: Lois Meets Lucifer

In May of 1970, this adorably silly cover hit the stands. It was a truism in the old days of fandom that all fads went to the comic books to die, and the Satanic panic of Anton LaVey and Rosemary's Baby was a dim memory by the time Lois Lane#103 made it debut. 

Note the cartoonish LaVey stand-in.

 

The Ka of Hathor: Riding the Pipe

I don't know how I could have forgotten one of the all-time greatest Hathors of the silver screen, the legendary Catherine Deneuve. It's hard to imagine a role more semiotically charged than her masterful portrayal of Miriam ("Beloved of Amun") Blaylock, the seductive, pansexual vampiress in The Hunger.

Superman's Girlfriend, Eloah-Isis Lane

Here's the remarkable cover to the first issue of Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane, published in 1958. Lois is yet another of these early Christian names of "uncertain" origin. Me, I always look a little west of the Holy Land for clues when trying to figure these names out.