Amateur Filmmaker, Author, Cartoonist, Musician and defictionalizer (Finding truth in fiction), mostly here to promote my music to indie developers that need it.
I was originally gonna try to sell digital copies of all my cavas art on Ko-Fi, but found that at least one may be too disturbing to sell. So I looked around for places that would allow more artistic freedom. In other words, ones that let me go as disturbing as humanly possible and still profit off them. I found this site:
While I'm mostly advertising my own artwork on this I reccomend any artiists out there to look into this. Maybe you could be able to profit off your own stuff there.
Much like my other canvas painting based albums, this one comes with a free digital copy of the original art. However unlike the other canvases, I won't sell this one on Ko-Fi, because it may qualify as too disturbing for their site. So needless to say until I find a more adult themed site to sell them, you'll only get a copy through this.
There are character actors, working actors, action actors, money actors, art actors, Nicolas Cage, but nothing like Jeffery Combs. This was a guy who would literally do anything you tell him in terms of acting. Want an over the top performance? You got it? Want something more subdued and grounded? He's your man. This guy could play anything. Heroes, Villains, Anti-Heroes, Bystanders, Minions, even a Cameo by him would take one of the most Z rated movies and make it worth watching.
Born in 1954, Combs has been acting since his Highschool days. While he's been in movies before, he didn't achieve his first major break until met by Stuart Gordon and Bryan Yuzna. Who wanted to adapt the H.P. Lovecraft Comedic Horror "Herbert West: Re-Animator"
The story itself written in 1922, but the movie itself made in 1985. It tells the tale of Herbert West, an obsessed mad scientist, who wanted to find the secret to life and death. Using a formula that brings the dead back to life, but with disasterous results. Ever since the success of that role, he's had 2 sequels and even went so far as narrating the original story on an audio book version. Not to mention him typecast in other Lovecraft and horror genre roles. However, unlike most actors who'd be stuck in one role, in his case the hammy, creepy, scientist obsessed with his work. Combs with barely any effort whatsoever has fought and won against it, by playing other types of roles to expand his range.
In terms of the Lovecraft films, he's played the innocent, but traumatized Crawford Tillinghast in From Beyond. With fellow Re-Animator Co-Star Barbara Crampton playing the role one of the mad scientists.
Playing H.P. Lovecraft himself in Necronomicon.
To playing an atoning father mourning the loss of his child in Castle Freak. And that's just the Lovecraft stuff.
The man has played everything you can imagine, from Aliens on Star Trek, to Superheroes like The Question. If here was a bingo card of the roles he'd play, he'd be neck and neck with Morgan Freeman. The only reason Combs comes short, is that unless he plans to play one, he hasn't played a God yet. Brainiac from Injustice doesn't count.
What makes him stand out amongst most actors, is whether he's hammy or serious, he is very good at convincing the audience that what he sees and what he experiences is real.
As a bit of a joke I often wonder how Herbert West would handle the modern world today.
Jeffery, you brought decades of entertainment to us all and if we're lucky you'll continue to do so. I salute you.
Over the years, we've often got our own perspectives of the world. Whether it's what god/gods to worship if not at all. Which Political Party represents our needs the most. Whether or not the Earth is, round, flat, oblong whatever. Things that seem to make sense to some, but are considered at best ridiculous or at worst down right crazy. Yet when you think about it, really hard, despite our differences and disagreements, there are a lot of things we all have in common.
For example, whether you're a religious person or not, with the exception of a select few, we all agree that this planet is more than just the land we stand on. It's a living breathing organism and in all honesty, myself included we are very guilty for exploiting what used to be a plentiful area. I myself am a Carnivore, I smoke, I love cars and motorcycles and just recently according to some people, I'm contributing to worse crimes against the Earth by making, selling and advertising NFTs. However at the same time, I've also thought of ways that could potentially help reverse the damage. For example, do not trust any government funded scientists. Regardless if they happen to be right on some things, it's a known fact that the worst of them, are paid to downplay or exaggerate the effects of their respective field.
Now I don't mean, don't trust all environmental scientists, medical doctors or anything like that, as even within the government, there are trustworthy people whom have earned their credentials. But the ones that appear more on TV, than actually actively working on solving the problem, no matter what country they are from or what political party is in control at the time, are not to be trusted. Period. The ones that actually want to do their job, get less of a voice and don't deny it. While this was from a fictional version of a real life authority figure, I quote James Malone regarding how the Untouchables. He said "If you're worried about getting a rotten apple. Don't go to the barrel. Get it from the tree." Granted at the time, he was talking about finding police officers that are incorruptible, with the solution being to pluck them out straight from the academy, but I think it applies to everything. The scientists I suggest one trusts are the ones not only fresh out of College or University, but at least had a year of field work. Why? Because the respective governments, have not seen enough potential to recruit them, bribe them and use them to further their own careers. Meaning these people are scientists first and Capitalists and Opportunists next to never. Meaning they are less likely to bullshit if say for example they say we are all gonna die from this or that. Not only that, but when not distracted by things tempt them into selling out, they actually focus more on the work and would even find viable solutions.
The next thing is also science related, but it's mundane, yet effective. Over the years, I've stumbled upon a lot of alternatives, to the foods we eat. I'm not talking about things like Beyond or Impossible Meat. This actually predates it.
Meet Mark Post. This man was a hell of a genius because before Beyond and Impossible came about, he was the main go-to guy for an alternative to the slaughter house. Yet despite that, he was still able to create something that qualifies as a meat product. Not a plant based product that happens to be meat. An actual meat product you can eat without feeling guilty about how many animals were killed. Why? Because none at all. Using beef as his first foray, what he did was, using the same tech to create stem cells, replicating the muscle fibre and fat cells that are used in the average burger. Dubbed the FrankenBurger by the media. however there is one slight fault. The tech used to make it, is very expensive. Which in turn makes at least one of those burgers, also very fucking expensive. I believe however that if enough people funded his work, that he may find a way to mass produce the meat, making it not only cheaper, but an even better alternative than what we're used to fresh from the slaughterhouse. I know if I had the capital for it, I'd pay whatever I could to make that a reality. I once corresponded with the man himself through email. More or less suggesting other things to use that tech for. Such as replicating skin cells to make an alternative way to make leather. He not only responded, but he was already way ahead of me on that department. Even directing me the site dedicated to that https://www.qorium.earth/en/
I suggest you check that one out, even for curiosity sake.
This site above is the brain child of one Rob Rhinehart. A computer engineer, who believed the body can be hacked as well as computer. To test this theory out, the man went and made his own formula in which it covered every basic nutrition humans were required to survive and stay healthy. He called it Soylent. Named after a fictional company from the 1970s classic Soylent Green. Though despite the namesake, this one is not made out of human remains.....that I know of. Whether he knew it or not, there is potential beyond simply keeping us full and healthy. For those that don't know what I'm talking about. Ever since the show Star Trek The Next Generation came out, many people from fans of the show, to legit scientists have fought tooth and nail to create a gadget that could satisfy the world if done right. The Matter Replicator. In the show, the replicator uses energy from the ship's power source to recreate and reassemble matter to just about anything you want. Especially food and beverages. Now we all know that Matter cannot simply be created out of thin air as the show demonstrates, but all matter can be repurposed and rebuilt with the right technology. A big example being 3D printers, that started out as re-assembling plastic into various things from toys to key components to gadgets. However some genius figured out a way to re-purpose and re-assemble food ingredients to make various dishes. Even custom making fine details such as decorations on the sides. They started with desserts, but tried to move on to other products, the goal being to find a way to make solid foods while in space. Without Zero Gravity effecting it. One food in particular they are succeeded in, is making Pizza.
What does this have to do with Soylent? Whether Rhinehart knew it or not, he basically reduced food matter to it's most basic form with his patented formula. If one were to find away to use the printer to re-purpose and reassemble food, using the soylent formula as their raw ingredients, then you've pretty much covered all food related issues. If he had the money and resources available for it, they'd not only be able to make a crude version of said replicator, but also be one step closer to solving world hunger.
Part of why these figures don't get the respect they deserve is because the very people that fund their own "Experts." try their hardest to scare you away from them. They hike up the prices for the resources needed while at the same time advertise their cheap, unhealthy fast foot shit. Pretty much using basic psychology on the human race's collective greed and stinginess to their advantage. Even the impossible whopper or beyond meat, is guilty of this too, because when you get right down to it, you're still eating cheap, greasy, salty, unhealthy shit in a box. The only difference being the source of said grease. While at the same time put it in our own heads that we need them, more than they need us. When in fact, they need us to survive. Bare in mind, regardless of which party was in charge, these same people decades ago tried to convince us that Global Warming was bullshit and now they're saying it's not bullshit. And it's not just one government one country. It's all governments all countries. Whether you're democrat, republican, libertarian, centrist, communist, socialist or god forbid a fucking Nazi, it doesn't matter. Mainly because you'll get fucked either way.
In conclusion, when you get right down to it, regardless of how fucked up the world is, we are much better than we give ourselves credit for. If we just stopped paying attention to the bullshit being spewed on respective news stations and actively worked hard, no problem is an obstacle. No matter how big of a mess gets made, it can always get cleaned up. We just have to fight and fund for the tools to do it.
So let me know what you think and even go so far as express your own ideas on how to reverse the known damages to the world.
"It is February 2nd. The Groundhog comes out of his hole and sees a shadow. It is the shadow of my right front tire. That means winter will last another six weeks, but not for him." -Red Green
The latter half is not an open question, but an honest one. However I'll get to that later.
While it may not seem so, I am very fascinated with many cultures all around the world. Regardless of how many agree or disagree with their politics or certain parts of said culture, I've always been fascinated by the historical value of it regardless if it's part of my own background or not. If I had the money, I would pretty much buy every known religious text and at least a souvenir from each country in hopes to connect the world in various ways. So naturally Black History Month is right up my ally.
While most people view this month mostly for the civil rights movement and for good reason as figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X has been so ingrained with it that even to this day, them and other figures have been talked about for damn near a century. It is also the month to show appreciation for black culture as a whole, whether it's African Culture, Carribean Culture or even Western Culture. From Harriet Tubman to Muhammed Ali, there has been so much ingrained from the west alone. Athletes, Inventors, War Heroes or even just regular every day Joes that got a chance for fame, glory and an opportunity to help change the world and help the race and culture as a whole be more recognized for it. Of course, there have been speedbumps along the way which I won't mention because this is not a political newspost. However as a whole the culture has persevered and endured a lot by themselves as well as with allies of other races. Yes including white people.
However, with all that said there is one question that always intrigued me. Something that I've always wanted to know since I first knew about the differences in race? Where do these specific colour names come from?
When you get right down to it, a white person for example, unless very pale or suffering from a skin condition, isn't really white in terms of colour. When you take a close look at their skin, depending on nationality and environment, their skin colour is more of a pink, beige and in some cases through tanning, light brown.
A black person, doesn't really have black skin either as, like I said before, depending on nationality and environment, they range from Light to Dark Brown.
Someone who is in middle eastern asian, is referred to as brown, but that does make sense because save for a select few who have a more paler pigment, they range from light to dark brown in terms of skin colour.
Then you have the one's that make less sense. For example, before they changed it for political correctness, The Natives were referred to the following: Redskin, Red man. I've met Natives, Canada is full of them and it doesn't take me much to visit a reservation. Hell, while it's small compared to the rest of my background which is mostly European, I myself am native. Their skin often ranges from light tan to dark brown. Not a single one shows any red unless it's on their ceremonial paint of their respective tribes. One could say cartoons like Peter Pan brought out this misconception, by giving the Natives a reddish brown look. However, they had to have gotten the idea from somewhere even if it's bullshit.
Then there's Far East Asians. Whether they're Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Laos, Vietnamese, Filipino and so on, they are often referred to as one colour. Yellow. Yet unless they contracted some sort of sickness(Which let's be reasonable a white person would turn yellow if they got afflicted with something too), their skin colour ranges from pink, to beige and in some cases a tan or dark brown.
On top of these being completely inaccurate, they come across as just as racist as what many oppressors including self-loathers do on a daily basis. I often wonder where it comes from.
Funnily enough, while I myself was thinking of this for a long time. Recently the whole thing was inspired by a comedic moment in the famous Blaxploitation movie Shaft. For those that don't know, Shaft was a series of movies that starred Richard Roundtree as the title character. A private detective that goes through extreme lengths to get the job done. Basically the African American equivalent to Dirty Harry (Both who's first movies were released in 1971.) The actor later reprised his role twice in two Shaft Movies starring Samuel L. Jackson. In one scene he's butting heads with NYPD Lt. Vic Androzzi. Bare in mind this movie takes place both in-universe and IRL in 1971, just 7 years after the Civil Rights Act was officially passed. If you though tensions between the African American/Canadian communities and local law enforcement was bad now, back then both were constantly at each other's throats trying to get used to one another. Even if you happen to be black and working for law enforcement, it doesn't make things easier. As shown when Private Eye Shaft often refuses to give Police Lt. Androzzi any intel regarding certain crimes he knows about. So naturally in a movie that was in the early 70s they made it as funny as possible, albeit with stuff that wouldn't fly today. Such as race related roast offs. None so over the top as this scene:
In it after butting heads with Androzzi, both let one snark each before they part ways for their parts of the adventures. Androzzi takes a black pen and puts it next to Shaft's face saying "You ain't so black." Shaft counters by saying "You ain't so white baby." while putting a white coffee mug next to Androzzi's face. To me, while it wouldn't fly today, I just thought it was a hilarious scene, but it did get me thinking. Where exactly did this classification come from and would it be more politically correct to change it or are we so used to the labels that we just can't?
That aside, I hope this year's history month goes on successfully and who knows, maybe if we all got to know each other a lot more, we'd not fight each other all the time.
Death's Weeping Rose is now available on Bandcamp. The album consists of the two songs and as an incentive, those who purchase the album will receive a digital copy of the original painting absolutely free. The actual copies I sell on Ko-Fi are around $5 a copy. Which makes this offer practically a steal. I also included digital copies of my other arts, in their respective albums and tracks.
Ok, for those who don't know. For two days including today, many Canadians are currently protesting the new restrictions regarding Covid-19. While I am pro-vax, I don't disrespect people's right to protest if it's done in a calm and peaceful manner. In other words, I respect your beliefs on the matter so long as you don't act like an asshole.
This message is a public call out to the asshole that put swastikas on my country's flag. Now, if he were comparing the mandates to fascism I understand, as many protesters have done that with many subjects from Police brutality to....well this. However, this person isn't doing this to compare Trudeau's reign to Hitler. He's doing this as a Pro-Nazi anti-vaxxer. Pretty much claiming that the Nazis did a better job. As a Canadian. No. As a human being I am absolutely disgusted at this shit. Bad enough some of these people have legit complaints, but this asshole pretty much associated all protesters, regardless of whether or not they had families in World War Fucking Two on our side, with the fucking Nazis. Congratulations asshole. You ruined it for the rest of them.
To any protesters whether I agree with them or not or those here whom have family among those protests, I am very sorry this asshole did this to you and I am extremely sorry for the backlash you'll all recieve.
For nearly thousands of years, there have always been some form of media. From news stories, to books, to visual mediums like movies, tv shows, video games. With the exception of news related stuff, much of it was nothing more than harmless fiction that depicts events and situations that didn't seem likely to happen. That is with a few exceptions.
While there have been many fictional mediums, which through Satire and Expressionism, end up reflecting real life events. From Godzilla being a metaphor for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to They Live satirizing Reaganomics. There have often been some times when they end up predicting something that doesn't happen yet.
Whether they tried or not, some media ends up predicting future events either to the letter or with some broad strokes that take things close. None more guilty of this than Movies or TV Shows.
In terms of TV shows, Star Trek, predicted the very future technology we hold in our hands. The big example being the invention of the Cell Phone. Which was invented because the person inventing it was a huge fan of the series and wanted to make a portable device similar to the communicators at the time. Not only did the person invent a new way of communication at the time, but it became the precursor to other forms of communication tech. For example this flip phone:
Was specifically designed to try to copy this communicator to the best of it's abilities:
But nowadays you can actually get phones or bluetooth devices that look exactly like it. Turning that inventor's dream into a reality. Even the newer show's badge communicators aren't exempt from this as they too use bluetooth tech:
In terms of Movies, Back To The Future Part II was a huge one, mainly because it wasn't Zemeckis' or Gale's intention to create a realistic future. In fact everything in their version of 2015 seems to fantastic to be true:
Yet they not only got some things right, but some was actually directly inspired by the movie. Here's a list of some I can name off the bat.
Antique stores selling Memorabilia and Merchandise that was considered modern in their present. While Pawn Shops already do that already. With Games and old Movies being a dead giveaway. Antique specific stores have yet to qualify these as antiques. However, it did inadvertently predicted the trend of Grading and selling old merchandise. From Trading Cards, to old video games. Just recently VHS are even on the list of things to grade and sell. What does the antique store show?:
Old games, old books, old cards and even old memorabilia. That Roger Rabbit Plush alone would have increased it's value today, because Disney simply cancelled Jessica Rabbit. Now granted these aren't graded, but it does give the jist of what I'm talking about. The tech that was considered new, is now the new Antiques.
Another thing they predicted was Nike inventing a shoe that has Power Laces. Shoelaces that can tie up on their own. While it was meant to be a publicity stunt to cash in on BTTF and the real 2015, they ended up proving beneficial in other ways. For starters, the first person to try on a fully functional pair, was Michael J. Fox. The Actor who played Marty McFly. Michael J. Fox is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which he spent most of his acting career trying and even succeeding in hiding until it became unbearable, then the rest of his life trying to combat the disease, by funding organizations and using himself as a guinea pig for various treatments. For those who don't know, one of the major symptoms of Parkinson's is the inability to control your motor functions. Which either don't move or move against your will. A classic sign is when you see someone shake their arms uncontrollably, barely able to walk and trouble speaking. So naturally even something as simple as tying your shoes would become a hassle if you have this. Needless to say, the Power Laces proved useful for him. As since they can automatically tie themselves with just the push of a button, there was no need to tie them manually.
However, that's not all. When Nike realized what they had, they improved on the tech. Turning a simple alternative to shoelaces:
To a shoe designed to adjust to the shape and size of your foot:
And this was from a publicity stunt of all things. I can't imagine what they'd do if they got serious. The other things they predicted are as follows. While it's jacket counterpart has some features like a heater to keep you warm and even smart shirts that monitor your vitals, we have yet to have a jacket that can adjust it's size like the shoes or dry itself when wet. No the heater doesn't count. You need at least a fan.
Two Screen Video/phone Glasses: Google Glass and other smart glasses related tech. As well as VR Tech that allows you to watch movies and TV in front of your very eyes. From Google Cardboard to Oculus Rift.
Video Phones: While many of these have been around since before the real 2015. Video phone technology has improved to the point where you can literally talk to friends and family on your television screen. As opposed to just your computer and phone.
Hoverboards: Many people tried replicating these. Some were somewhat successful.
Digital Payment: Not just debit and credit cards, but being able to pay through various means of digital technology such as your smartphone.
Hands free gaming: This one's a grey because most of the tech it did predict didn't start out as hands free and still required a controller for your hands as reference. Consoles like Wii and PS Move, using motion capture technology based controllers and sensors for said reference, while the lesser received Kinect and PS2's Eye toy before it were the true hands free examples.
The Chicago Cubs winning the world series: This one is also a grey, because it was the right prediction, yet the wrong year and team. In Back To The Future, they predicted that the Cubs would win the World Series, by beating a Miami team in 2015. However the cubs never made it to the world series in 2015 as it was the Kansas City Royals beating the New York Mets 7 - 2 in their final game. The Cubs did win in 2016, but not against a Miami Team. Not even the Miami Marlins. The only real life Miami MLB team since 1993. Instead they were 4 - 3 against the Cleveland Guardians, back when they were still originally called, The Cleveland Indians. So close enough.
Of course not all predictions are idealistic and hopeful. Some of which are down right scary.
In terms of TV, The Simpsons for example had an episode called Bart to The Future, in which Bart sees a vision of what his future is like. He's a slacker rock star and Lisa is President of The United States. Her first order of business, trying to clean up the mess of her predecessor. Who you may ask? Donald Trump. Now at the time this was considered a joke, until 16 years later. When Trump became president for real and while many disagree, he did do major damage to the country where anyone picking up after him would risk making the country broke trying to fix things.
In terms of movies. The Terminator of all things predicted that eventually Robots would become foot soldiers that could potentially wipe out humanity. Sounds far fetched right? Well:
That's right a robot built in Russia, designed to kill. A real life Terminator designed to replace foot soldiers in the army. I can't see anything go wrong here.
So the question is. Can medial predict the future or is it all a coincidence?
Personally I believe the former and I'll tell you why. There have been three movies I have seen so far, that predicted Covid. Spoilers for those who haven't seen them yet.
First there's John Carpenter's The Thing. In it, an Alien Virus terrorizes an antarctic research station. With the ability to consume, infect and imitate any organic life it touches. While the movie itself is a gorefest, it's real terror is in the mystery angle of it. Specifically the paranoia that one or more humans are infected and people going insane wondering who could it be or god forbid thinking they themselves are infected. Sound Familiar? It should. Because that's exactly how everyone acted when Covid spread all over Earth. It was literally the Thing's worst case scenario as Blair figured out in the movie. People were panicking, making accusations and doing stupid things thinking it would stop it. Like panic buying Toilet Paper.
Of course that could have been a happy coincidence.
Then you have the next Carpenter Classic They Live. Which as a jab to Reaganomics was meant to depict the world being controlled by rotting mockeries of the human race. Yet their actions seemed to inadvertantly reflect on a lot of events that happened the past 20 years. The police raiding the Shanty town predicting the increased Police brutality from the 90s to now. Many of which leading to death. They also double as how our respective governments reacted to the outbreak when it was out of control. By creating Lock Downs and Restrictions that did more harm than good, yet some people are convinced are a good thing. Despite the fact that the lock downs should have applied to only those that went to the spots the outbreak were most prominent at the time. It wouldn't have stopped the spread, but it would have at least slowed it down to a more managable level. Instead everyone suffers for the mistakes of the few.
John Carpenter himself once mentioned that those movies could have a connection to Today's events like Covid and to put his point across applied the Reagan satire of They Live to Trump's administration as well. Maybe both connected together in the movies pieced together a huge prediction.
Now one could think it was just John Carpenter being lucky, but he wasn't the only horror Icon to accidentally predict it. His prediction was merely over 40 years old. Here's one that is both 24 - 6 years old. Let me explain.
As most know, I recently made a remake to a theme song to one of my favourite horror films. Phantasm:
Which I explain most of the plot of the movie. However in this case I am referring to the 4th and 5th movies OblIVion and RaVager respectfully. In it the Tall Man in at least one plane of reality has successfully taken over Earth. One of his weapons, a deadly incurable virus that wiped out most of the human population and as a result, caused world governments to collapse. Sound familiar? It should.
With the exception of the collapsing government part, which even then is hanging by a thread, we have a nigh incurable virus that so far has killed over 5 million people. literally over 995 million away from taking a huge chunk of the world population. Assuming the virus lasts long enough to keep the death rate up. In two more years it will be another 5 million. Assuming they increase rather than decrease as the years go by, it would happen much faster. The fact that the final movie of the series, would end with a future like that, is too scary to be a coincidence. The only difference between real life and that, is there's no Tall Man to fight for this....that we know of at least.
What do you think? Has there been any media that you think predicted the future? Let me know.
Now this is something I'm especially proud of. For the longest time I always wanted to do an 80s style song, but could never get the percussion right. Until now. I present to you Conflict on Main Street.
Now you're probably wondering why I use second person pronouns for this as well as other songs. It's because I figure there aren't enough lore around be it in music, movies, TV and other mediums, where you are fully immersed in the story. Not just by being a spectator, but a main character. But none so prominent. Where you, yourself is on an album.
