AN ESOTERIC OVERVIEW OF "DIE YOUNG" BY KE$HA

First things first. I've said it before and I'll say it again: If Jay-Z, Madonna, Niki Minaj and Ke$ha are part of the Illuminati, then we have nothing to fucking fear from the Illuminati.

However, that said, I know that many people who are interested in parapolitics, the occult and conspiracy topics are intrigued by the role played by esoteric symbols, themes and archetypes in popular culture. Also, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued by the topic as well. Therefore, I've decided to begin devoting some of this blog space to exploring how these potent ancient communication technologies are being used in everything from film and television to music (and music videos), highbrow literature and comic books, advertising, architecture... every aspect of our mass culture.

For my first foray into this field, I will be breaking down the currently somewhat controversial music video for the song Die Young by popular hip-hop crossover artist and party-girl singer/songwriter extraordinaire, Ke$ha.

Continue reading at USELESS EATER BLOG...

...AND THE TCHOTCHKE-TIZATION OF LOVECRAFT CONTINUES...

Although I must admit, these Lovecraftian nesting dolls do make quite a handsome set...

THE SWEETEST HIPPOPOTAMUS

Last week I posted links to the trailer and full-length movie of a short film I worked on called The Elusive Man. You can still see them here, just a few posts down. I got a lot of positive feedback from people who enjoyed that flick, so I thought I might as well go ahead and post a more recent short film for which I provided some writing services. It's called The Sweetest Hippopotamus, and it's an extended music video for singer/songwriter Suitcase Sam, who specializes in fun, jazzy tunes in a Doctor John and Leon Redbone style. Once again, my writing partner and brother from another mother Marc Roussel performed directing duties on this one, and I think it turned out pretty nicely. Enjoy!

LEWD LEXICON

SHAMENESIA - 1. (noun) The feigned inability to recall something (or someone) that you have done after you've done it (or him/her) due to any number of factors that could make one want to forget such things. 2. (noun) That awkward pause immediately following tech support asking which websites a customer has been visiting in order to find out where and when their computer became infected with that nasty-ass virus.

SAMMY DAVIS JR'S UNBELIEVABLE SATANIC SIT-COM!

Drunkle Orpheus strikes again! This time, the program director for the Cafe Hypnagogia Youtube channel brings us the pilot for Sammy Davis Jr's ill-fated, Satanism-inspired sit-com, Poor Devil! Drunkle explains:

Sammy Davis Jr, during his early 70s Satanist phase, made this unsold TV pilot with a plot that plays like a satanic reversal of It's a Wonderful Life, complete with a Christmas-time setting. Sammy is a zany, misfit demon who is on the outs with Lucifer (Christopher Lee) because he hasn't captured a soul in over a thousand years. He gets one last chance when he is assigned a burned-out salesman (Jack Klugman) who is thinking of selling his soul. Sammy scrambles to satisfy Jack's desire for wealth and revenge and the usual sitcom merriment ensues. Also starring Gino Conforti as Sammy's demonic rival and Adam West as Klugman's sleazy boss. Originally broadcast by NBC on Valentines Day, 1973. For more info on Sammy Davis Jr's interest in The Church of Satan, read this article from Vice.com.

THE ELUSIVE MAN - TRAILER AND A BIT OF HISTORY

I don't normally use this space to showcase my day job (especially considering I don't currently have one), nor my various and variegated side projects. However, now that Barrack Obama has been duly re-elected President of the United States and all the world's problems have suddenly melted away, I don't have anything else to write about, so why the hell not?

A couple years ago, my friend and writing partner Marc Roussel and I came up with a nifty idea for a comical short film centered on the glamorous world of high stakes international art theft. After we banged out the basic concept, Marc and another partner/pal of ours, Mark Sanders, co-directed the film, which we eventually decided to call The Elusive Man. It has since gone on to be featured at a number of film festivals across North America, and it's even won a few awards!

Here's my favorite trailer for the movie, put together by Marc over one of my favorite pieces of music, Hall of the Mountain King...

If the above trailer has sufficiently whet your appetite, then why not take the time to watch the film in its entirety? You can either watch it at Vimeo in all its full-screen, high resolution glory, or else you can find it right here on this blog, in the post directly below this one, just one... post... down...

THE ELUSIVE MAN - COMPLETE AND UNCUT

THE ELUSIVE MAN from Marc Roussel on Vimeo.

IS IT WORTH IT?

Are enough people visiting this site to make it worth my while to keep posting here? I see almost zero replies to the posts I do put up, and the financial rewards have been, well, ZERO, despite putting some serious man-hours in, more last year than this year, but for no returns at all, really. And this despite, apparently, tens of thousands of people visiting the blog. Are all those numbers provided by Blogger just bullshit tossed up to make us suckers keep plugging away? In other words... IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?!