Acid, Abramelin, Ancient Aliens, and Alan Moore

My man Marc Clair asked me on to talk about The Spandex Files and I was happy to oblige. And boy, we got deep into the weeds...

Life in the Fast Ghislaine

Something extremely strange is going on, strange even in the context of 2020. I can't rightly figure exactly what as yet, I can only poke around the edges of it. 

Send in the (Killer) Clowns. Don't Bother. They're Here.

I guess there's a theme emerging this autumn, what with the Joker movie and It: Chapter Two hitting the multiplexes. Killer clowns do indeed seem to be the dominant archetype of the season, all too appropriate for a world descending into mass psychosis and epidemic levels of stupid.

That Joker Isn't Funny Anymore

Well, Secret Sun September may be winding down now but it seems it still has a few surprises left for us. The latest is the release of makeup tests for the new Joker standalone movie, which will be starring Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role.

It's (Mermaid) Apocalypse Now!

We shall swim out to that brooding reef in the sea and dive down through black abysses to Cyclopean and many-columned Y’ha-nthlei, and in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory for ever.  

- HP Lovecraft, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth"

Swamp Things and Strange Angels

Marvel John Whiteside Parsons, who no one outside of a small handful of weirdos had ever even heard of until very recently, is the subject of a new prestige series based on the biography written by George Pendle. 

Meet Your New Gods II: Alien Sex Fiends

"Well,  I won't say another word. You can just see for yourself."

Mermaid Apocalypse: Social Engineering through Memetic Overkill

 A lot of people have asked me over the past ten years how you can tell if a symbol-set is circulating through the culture through synchronistic means as opposed to being injected into the culture by conscious design. 

Joker Watch: The Season of the Witch

Well, here we go again. Another mass killing, another day swollen with portent and history.  And another dead-eyed Joker. 

Graphic Depictions

Ever since I started this blog, I knew I didn't want to spend the rest of my life doing someone else's laundry. 

Psychic Survival Strategies on Aeon Byte

This is one of my favorite podcast appearances. Miguel Connor is a great conversationalist with a wide range of interests and we both spent a lot of time preparing for this talk. 

Comics are Magick: Runestone Cowboy

Strangely enough, this installment is kind of a sequel to "Daddy and the Pie," only it was published 5 years before by a different company (in The Witching Hour #12) and was written by a different writer. 

Pop (Culture) Has Eaten Itself

A look at the 2011 top 20 grossing films in the US should send bolts of terror down the spine of any Hollywood mogul.

Talkin' Heroes and Horus on Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio

It's been a while since I talked Spandex, but Miguel Conner invited me onto Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio for a talk on superheroes and the esoteric realms. This one's a stormer and I think you'll enjoy it even if you're not a comic or superhero fan. 

Entrainment Tonight: On to the Next One

When you sift through all of the strange symbolism manifesting itself in the culture you have to ask yourself two questions- what does it mean and who put it there? At this stage in the game, intentional symbolism in movies, videos, games, etc. isn't really very interesting to me, in and of itself.

Secret Sun Best of the Zeros: Books and Graphic Novels

The 90s were the decade of my great romance with books. There were so many life-changing titles that came out I can't begin to name them all. 

Watchmen and the Digital Apotheosis

OK, I finally watched Watchmen. 

When it came out I was super busy, and was admittedly a little put off by some of the bad buzz. And since I've been busy since the DVD came out, I haven't had time to watch a two and half hour movie, which translates into a four hour experience with all the pausing and snack-fetching around here.

 

Killing Joker

The Mystery deepens to untold levels. Looking at the Dark Knight trailer, it's so painfully obvious that someone was looking very carefully at Killing Joke's video "Hosannas From the Basements of Hell." 

The Dark Knight Working: Up From the Underworld

Heath Ledger's untimely death has people talking about the various symbols that are always put into play from events like this. Adam is digging into the the portents that no one paid attention to in his new piece, "This Joke is Not Funny."

Swamp Thing... and The Golden Compass?

One of my favorite all-time comic book characters is yet another alienated outsider: Swamp Thing. DC doesn't seem to know what to do with the character anymore. What's worse, they still haven't gotten around to reprinting the amazing issues written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar and drawn by Phil Hester.