Tarantino Mashup

Watching Kill Bill with my wife reminded me of this remix video.  You should definitely check out http://www.eclecticmethod.net/, their work is astounding and the best example I can think of the art that can be produced via remix.  Well, them and Girl Talk.

The Tarantino Mixtape from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.

Five Weird & Wonderful UFO stories from Asia

(Note: This is one of two sample articles I wrote for Weird Asia News)

4 Weird and Wonderful UFO stories from Asia

By J.M. Perkins

1. Mongolia - On Febuary 23rd a report was filed with the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness database concerning two unidentified objects that fell near Ulan Bator, Mongolia. The first object weighed approximately 10 kilograms while the second was described as 'huge,' and 'over two tons'  Link

2. India - UFOs and India have a long and storied history. According to website UFO Evidence, Hindu sacred scripture is full of references to Vimanas aka flying machines. The ones built by the 'gods' fly by mysterious means and are often used in war. Link

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3. China - The Telegraph claims that a Chinese observatory filmed 40 minutes of UFO footage during a solar eclipse. The scientists are going to take 'a year' to study the footage before they release any conclusions. According to eye witness reports, this particular UFO repeatably changed shape until it settled into the form of a glowing blue sphere.

Link

I've saved the best for last, and -as is so common when it comes to Weird Asia New- the best comes from Japan. Without further ado...

4. Japan - Reuters reported that the Japanese first lady claims that she 'rode a UFO to Venus.'  Technically, she didn't visit the planet bodily; it was her soul that did the traveling aboard a triangle shaped UFO. NASA really needs to contact her, there are limitless money saving possibilities if they could get out of the messy, difficult business of taxiing about human bodies and could move on to the much more streamlined human soul transport model.  The possibility of a joint US/Japan 'soul shuttle' would do wonders for opening up space travel.  This is so much more interesting then the half hearted UFO incidents with US leaders; like former US President Jimmy Carter's UFO report and his later battle to the death with what was surely an alien controlled killer rabbit.  Link

This Week in Writing

Wrote a pitch for Recon Recylcing, here's hoping they hire me.

Started writing for Telepath RPG: Servants of God

Finishing up my short story 'Adjoining Room.'

Working on a CHEMO chapter about cyborgs.

Indian Filmmaker says movie is too scary to watch, bets $10,000 on it.

(Note this is one of two sample articles that I wrote for Weird Asia News)

Indian Filmmaker says movie is too scary to watch, bets $10,000 on it.

By J.M. Perkins

Do you enjoy horror films? Do you scoff at the futile attempts of film makers to frighten you? Well, your iron stomach and resolute will might just win you 500,000 rupees ($10,807 as of today) all you need is a ticket to Mumbai, India.

Ram Gopal Varma (pictured above) issued the challenge as a promotional stunt for his film "Phoonk 2." The film is the sequel to the 2008 "Phoonk" and features the actions of an evil spirit terrorizing a family. But not so fast, don't book that plane ticket just yet! There might be a little fine print involved...

First off, you have to be willing to be recorded by heart monitor and have your face filmed throughout the screening.  This is required to confirm you keep your eyes open, but more importantly so this potentially mortifying information can be presented live to an audience that cackles at your terror. More importantly, you have to watch the film alone, in a pitch black movie theater, in a haunted house at midnight (although I might have embellished that last part just a bit...).

Sadly, a local fan might have already beaten you to it. An Indian man in the city of Bangalore has booked an entire cinema, a doctor and 'security personnel' so he can view 'Phoonk 2' and win the Rupees. Although one does have to wonder what sort of security a person would need for watching a horror film...

There was a similar contest for the original 'Phoonk' where Varma claimed the 'winner' ran screaming from the theater after only thirty minutes. Everybody else claims the selection process was rigged. Oh well, seems like today won't be the day you can begin making a living watching horror movies. Just be grateful that the contest wasn't for watching a Japanese horror movie. You couldn't pay me enough to sit through one of those things alone.

(picture attribution - Ram Gopal Varma's picture from director's official website http://rgvzoomin.com/ ; Ghostbuster's costume picture  http://www.flickr.com/photos/chocolatefrogs/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Consuming Conspiracy Theories is like Taking Drugs

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eightprime/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

I consume conspiracist writings for much the same reason that people take hallucinogens.  I do it to alter my consciousness and to get a completely different perspective for a bit.  But, the practices have much the same risks: getting your brain stuck somewhere you won't be able to relate to the vast majority of people or from becoming dependent on the wild speculation of the psychedelic wierdness.

As a writer, there are some narratives created in this genre that just impress the hell out of me.  Likewise, I poach liberally whatever I think I can work into my fiction.

If you want to get completely out of your head for a bit, I 'recommend' this link http://vigilantcitizen.com/?p=175 about the esoteric meaning of a Rihanna music video.  There's lots, lots more.  Here are three more that blow my mind from time to time: www.Disinfo.com, www.prisonplanet.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Icke

Photography and Soul Stealing

I don't know if they ever actually said it, but the cliche is that some Australian Aboriginals believe(d) that by taking a picture of someone you would steal part of their soul.  I believe something similar; every time you take a picture you make the subject larger.  Or -depending on your definitions and boundaries of self- making an image of someone increases the detail and scope of their media avatar.  This glamor, this super self of image can be confused for, used to understand, or extend the influence of a person.  The flip side is that the image can be used to inspire and instruct the subjects enemies.

An image extend 'you' through time and space.  It travels where you don't, it persists after you're gone.  I never deal with celebrities or politicians, I deal with images of celebrities and politicians and my feelings about them are largely influenced by the images which may or may not faithfully map reality.  Depending on how you see it, photography can  'dilute' a person.  It's a simple matter for a person who's glamor is big enough to lose sense of where they end and where their image begins.  I believe this is the most common strain of discontent from amongst the glitteratti.  When someone takes a picture of you they are gaining at least a partial ability to influence the definition and creation of 'you.'  I think this is why authors like Pychon are so photography adverse.  They don't want to be diluted.

You don't lose anything when someone take a picture of you.  But something grows.  Whether that something is you or a cancer or a media tool used to navigate the world just depends on your own outlook.  And how good your image makers are.

Thursday Diversion: MɪʀʀФяяɪM

This is an awesome puzzle/platform game which allows you to selectively mirror your world in order to traverse the temple.  It's really hard to describe, but it's something special.  Link

Corn Syrup Leads to Fatter Rats than Sugar...

...at least according to this bombastic headline.  http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/

(Body by corn subsidies apparently...)

This is rather odd to read. I've always had a knee jerk preference of sugar over high fructose corn syrup, even going so far as to buy sugar sweetened Mexican Coke (when I drank Coke) as opposed to my own country's corn syrup variety. It's kinda nice when your biases are given a veneer of scientific respectability. Of course, if I were actually to delve into the scientific paper itself, I'm sure I would find a litany of qualifications and unanswered questions that may partially or wholly undermine the headline. But I prefer to let the article stand as is, without dissecting it, so I can be right.

Maybe in the future they'll just have to mix a little kelp in with all the high fructose corn syrup...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100321203508.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotbenjamin/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

CHEMO update

My biggest project, and the one that has the most fans, is my novel CHEMO: How I Learned to Kill.  Here's what's happening with that:

I have finished drafts of seven different chapters of the novel.  Two of the chapters are complete.  'CHEMO:  The Town of Golden Woods' which has been published and has another adaptation in the works; and 'CHEMO: The Condemned' which I am waiting for a reply about.  I will keep revising and submitting the draft chapters for publication as I finish them.  I want to keep sending them to Dunesteef first because the guys are awesome and I loved what they did with Golden Woods.

Speaking of which, two months back I submitted the aforementioned 'CHEMO: The Condemned' to the aforementioned podcast.  Big, one of the hosts, got back to me saying that he liked the piece but it dragged a bit and had some truly stupid errors (my words, not his).  This was incredibly embarrassing for me.  Thankfully, he was nice enough to let me rewrite it before he sent it on to Rish, the other host, for consideration.  I emailed an updated and corrected version yesterday.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I got to read the script for the adaptation of 'CHEMO: Town of Golden Woods' that Julie over at 19NocturneBoulevard is making.  It's different, but it's really great and I can't wait to hear it in August.  She's done an amazing job reworking the story.  You can see it, sort of, waiting patiently in her upcoming episodes que.  http://www.19nocturneboulevard.net/upcoming%20episodes.htm

Also, I wanted to mention that if there are any agents out there looking to sell a military science fiction/horror/urban fantasy novel let me know. My contact info is under Resume.

Wait, CHEMO is an urban fantasy? Yeah, at times it is. You, constant reader, just haven't gotten to those parts yet.

Finally, I've been thinking about comissioning a logo/artwork for CHEMO. Any suggestions?  Moreover, if CHEMO has ever inspired you to make any kind of artwork, I would love to see it.

I will update again in a few months.

Dungeons & Discourse

In the comic 'Dresden Codak' the characters play a game called 'Dungeons & Discourse.'  The game is a Dungeons and Dragons analog; but all the creatures, character classes and gameplay mechanics have been replaced/influenced by philosophical concepts.
http://dresdencodak.com/2006/12/03/dungeons-and-discourse/
http://dresdencodak.com/2009/01/27/advanced-dungeons-and-discourse/
It is probably the most esoteric thing I've ever enjoyed.  And now I'm tempted to help them start making it a reality.  Heaven help me.

Brain Crack

Here's ZeFrank, reminding you why you should always strive to get your ideas out there.

I don't think I've ever blogged about ZeFrank before.  He's done a lot of things, but he will always have a place in my heart because of his year long 'internship' to the league of awesome where every day he made a wierd, funny and nearly always confusing video like the one above.

My Munnys: Fallout (Pipboy?) Munny, Duct Tape Munny

After owning the blank vinyl dolls for a suprising length of time, I finally made two my two munnys!  One of the fallout character/pipboy munny.  The character looks like this:

And my Munny looks like this:

I'm not sure what I was going with this one... duct tape bondage Munny?  But this is what it looks like:

And here are both:

All in all I am pleased with the results.  I can't wait to make some more.

What I'm Thinking About: San Diego Seasons

Back in February, it rained for a week.  For vast swaths of this world, this would not be an unusual.  For me and mine it was a minor disaster: we had 159 accidents on a single day and the beach community where my wife works experienced significant flooding.  

Everything tends to be temperate here, but it's incorrect to claim we don't have seasons.  I just think that European seasons don't describe what occurs.  Instead, we have San Diego seasons.  

This is my understanding of San Diego seasons: 
Starting in December our Wet Season begins.  This isn't winter, it is more akin to Spring.  Wet season is when plants grow and the hills turn green.  The drizzle sputters and dies around April and we have dry, temperate weather -our Soft Season- till mid August.  Finally, late August through November is our burning season.  The weather is as hot as it gets and the winds pick up.   Even though the weather is the hottest we get here, this season is more akin to winter.  During Burning Season everything dies and refreshed; the land is readied for our Wet Season where the cycle begins again.  Fires don't happen every year, but when they do it is almost always within this season. 


At least, that's how I understand the seasons where I live...

Godzilla Haiku...

... is my new favorite internet addiction. I would wager this is going to be a new internet meme, and is the best use I've ever seen for the tumblr format. So far this one it my favorite.

It's not often that your last two posts get combined in video form...

This about sums it up...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Lady Gaga: My Explanation

Lady Gaga is an brilliant musical creator wedded to ateam of visual artists who collaborate to create something that feels new in a wholly oversatuated pop landscape. I always try to remeber that the people I see on television are not people, they are composite events.  Any icon, diva, or character of any sort is a product of team of professionals that polish and shape and design a product that is loosely tied to an individual human being. One of the things that makes Lady Gaga unique is the fact that she is never out of 'character' (unlike so many in her field), I doubt the Lady Gaga character matches the human that plays her all that much.  For instance, if I saw 'her' in real life sans the wig and the crazy Leigh Bowery inspired visuals... I wouldn't even recognize 'her'. That's the point; Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta isn't Lady Gaga (tm) anymore then Steven Colbert is Steven Colbert (tm) anymore then Britney Spears is Britney Spears (tm). 

Lady Gaga is especially compelling to me because she 1) writes 'her' own music 2) seems smarter then so many of the vapid sexpots that dominate dance pop and 3) decided that if she was going to be a character, she would damn well be a captivating one.   

Also, her music is catchy as all hell.

Here's my favorite Lady Gaga remix.



Here's Christopher Walken dancing, because I can't watch the first video without wanting to watch this second one.

Tupac Shakur and the End of the World

Amazing, depressing post apocalyptic story.  Link

Obama Feigning Interest in Mundane Things

Since this blog is about re-posting boingboing, here's Obama feigning interest in mundane things.  This is probably reason number 75 why you'd never want to actually be president.  http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/02/obama_being_forced_to_look_at.html#photo=1
I think the one with the jar of dirt is my personal favorite...