Some thoughts on the Jonestown CIA cult experiment:
First is the popular phrase; "Drinking the Kool Aid", which refers to people that simply follow the group mind without thinking for oneself. This originates with the Jonestown Massacre but the drink that was used to supposedly poison the populace with cyanide was in fact Flavor Aid. How did this get mixed up in the first place? It is a pet peeve of mine when people use this phrase that has no historical validity. It would not surprise me if the CIA owed Kraft foods a favor and circulated the story so that Kool Aid would be ubiquitous in the language. The spooks and the corporatocracy are always hand in glove after all.
Second why was there no follow up on the armed white guards that reportedly were involved with the massacre and fled into the jungle never to be seen again?
Third, what, if any, connection is there between Jim Jones decision to move to Guyana and the previous compound set up by David Hill under the name Rabbi Edward Washington. The cult was a black supremacist movement named The House of Israel.
There are tons of other anomalies in the Jonestown saga. I will comment more on this in the future.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Alien dreaming
Inspired by Christopher Knowles' recollection of nightmares involving aliens I am going to recount what is perhaps the most vivid dream that I have ever had. This did not occur when I was a kid, but it should be noted that Chris and I would appear to share some common background in that we both had a difficult childhood. Unfortunately for him he suffered with illness on top of everything else, I just had the everything else.
I'll set the stage:
I was with a group of people travelling by foot into a town that was at once both modern and old fashioned, my first thought was Mayberry, from the Andy Griffith Show but with modern amenities like a modern drugstore and the ubiquitous concrete and steel posts in front of stores that prevent vehicles from ramming storefronts.
These "posts" will have a significance to the story later. They are usually a steel pipe filled with concrete in which the concrete slightly comes out of the top. Apparently they are called bollards.
There was an apparent leader of our group who looked exactly like:
I'll set the stage:
I was with a group of people travelling by foot into a town that was at once both modern and old fashioned, my first thought was Mayberry, from the Andy Griffith Show but with modern amenities like a modern drugstore and the ubiquitous concrete and steel posts in front of stores that prevent vehicles from ramming storefronts.
These "posts" will have a significance to the story later. They are usually a steel pipe filled with concrete in which the concrete slightly comes out of the top. Apparently they are called bollards.
There was an apparent leader of our group who looked exactly like:
Yes, Lance Henriksen, well known for his role in the movie "Aliens". And like most dream scenarios the man in the dream looked just like the "real" Lance but I "knew" that it wasn't actually him.
We were a small group of people entering this quaint town with modern conveniences and were approaching a drug store on the corner. I noticed that there were people milling about. The town boasted a small "Bijou" type theater. That was another quaint aspect to the place.
The first thing you would notice about the people was that they acted strange. They all moved sluggishly like a typical zombie but looked perfectly "normal", no rotting flesh etc..
The group of people I was with including the Lance Henriksen look-alike were completely normal looking and acting.
We, as a group knew that the town was already overrun with aliens. The "zombie-like" humans were in fact aliens. That was a telling sign in the dream world.
Apparently we were travelling around the country looking for human survivors and also getting supplies. One thing that we, as humans, had in our favor was that the alien/zombies were slow and clumsy and would not attack people in groups unless they had a huge advantage in numbers because they were easily killed.
At first, while we were noticed by the aliens there were only a couple of them in our immediate vicinity. We sat on a bench out front of the modern pharmacy where the bollards were on the sidewalk in front of the store.
We were discussing what to do, and had made up our mind to rest a minute and then move on as the town was overrun. It was at this point that an alien came out of the pharmacy and a couple more joined him and they started to gather. We all got up and formed a tight knit group. When a sufficient number of them had gathered we knew we might be in trouble, and we were only armed with crude weapons like clubs. One of the aliens, the one that had emerged from the pharmacy went over to a bollard and used a small hand-held device that was obviously some type of laser cutter. He started to work on the bollard top. I knew, in the dream, that the aliens used small round discs in some fashion to "turn" humans into aliens, and that ideally they had a specific device they used for this but that any round disc like object would work. The alien was cutting the top of the bollard off to use it as an agent to change us.
The aliens started gathering around us and when they thought they had enough of an advantage number wise a small boy alien of about 14-15 years old clumsily attacked. They only used their bare hands. The Lance look-alike had a bludgeon of some type and beat the kid mercilessly and he was dead on the ground in seconds. Another distinguishing characteristic of these creatures was that they "bled" a black tarry substance and they quickly disintegrated into a tarry mess. By the time our confrontation was over the boy alien was nothing but a sticky tarry black splotch on the ground.
The aliens hesitated and we took the opportunity to gather and start to make our way down the road out of town. We were accosted on our way by one of the creatures who taunted us by saying things like: "We will defeat you", and "We will take over the whole Earth." This led to a heated exchange involving profanity and it was at that point that I woke with a curse on my lips as I started awake and literally sat up in bed.
The most vivid dream I have ever had and one which involves aliens taking over the Earth.
Monday, April 25, 2011
"Our Gods Wear Spandex" review
Christopher Knowles, best known, perhaps, for his blog Secret Sun. Is also an author and has penned 2 books; "Our Gods Wear Spandex" and "The Secret History of Rock and Roll". I have not yet read the latter but this review will examine the first, which I recommend.
Many of the concepts that Chris examines in his blog are further extrapolated in this book. Much of what Chris does is examine popular culture and note the influence of mythology and the Mystery Religions.
As can be seen by the title and the cover art (which is done well by Joseph Michael Linsner) this book is about the origin of the comic book and the development of the "comic book hero".
The book is an excellent start for anyone interested in looking at a primer on the development of the modern comic book. It highlights many of the better known names in the business, both artists and writers. Knowles has a special place for Jack Kirby.
Chris shows quite clearly how the modern heroes have developed out of the "Old Gods" and the further development of those characters by artists and writers that were influenced by the occult and mystical societies like "The Rosicrucians", "Freemasonry", and "Theosophy".
The theme expressed is that people are looking for heroes and they find them in comics.
It has been my contention that our heroes are in fact dead already. But maybe as Lovecraft observes about Cthulhu and other "Old Gods" our heroes (as embodiments of ancient myth and reality) are dead but also alive. They are in the liminal state between the waking world and that of dreams, or the collective unconscious. They are merely waiting until the "stars come right" to return to offer us salvation (or damnation).
The influence of the "ancient astronauts" is of course explored here as well, notably through the work of Kirby.
It is perhaps in this latter that we see the development of the very first heroes, the ancient gods of old, Horus, Gilgamesh, Attis, and the rest. That what we have as mythology is really history and that these being were here at one time "in the flesh" so to speak.
Our heroes and saviors have been with us throughout the millenia in our culture in overt and covert ways. Comics is a modern form of expression (if you discount cave art and clay tablets) of this hidden meme.
Chris leaves us to wonder what will come of this in the future. Where will we be? What if the "old gods" return and our heroes are writ large as life right before us? Will they be happy with how we developed and offer us hope for the future? Will they be returning to take back what is theirs?
If you see Horus descending like an angel from the brightness of the Sun as depicted in "Kingdom Come" (only replacing Horus with Superman and the other greats of comic bookdom) then you will know that the time for questions is over and our answers are coming. Whether we like them or not.
Many of the concepts that Chris examines in his blog are further extrapolated in this book. Much of what Chris does is examine popular culture and note the influence of mythology and the Mystery Religions.
As can be seen by the title and the cover art (which is done well by Joseph Michael Linsner) this book is about the origin of the comic book and the development of the "comic book hero".
The book is an excellent start for anyone interested in looking at a primer on the development of the modern comic book. It highlights many of the better known names in the business, both artists and writers. Knowles has a special place for Jack Kirby.
Chris shows quite clearly how the modern heroes have developed out of the "Old Gods" and the further development of those characters by artists and writers that were influenced by the occult and mystical societies like "The Rosicrucians", "Freemasonry", and "Theosophy".
The theme expressed is that people are looking for heroes and they find them in comics.
It has been my contention that our heroes are in fact dead already. But maybe as Lovecraft observes about Cthulhu and other "Old Gods" our heroes (as embodiments of ancient myth and reality) are dead but also alive. They are in the liminal state between the waking world and that of dreams, or the collective unconscious. They are merely waiting until the "stars come right" to return to offer us salvation (or damnation).
The influence of the "ancient astronauts" is of course explored here as well, notably through the work of Kirby.
It is perhaps in this latter that we see the development of the very first heroes, the ancient gods of old, Horus, Gilgamesh, Attis, and the rest. That what we have as mythology is really history and that these being were here at one time "in the flesh" so to speak.
Our heroes and saviors have been with us throughout the millenia in our culture in overt and covert ways. Comics is a modern form of expression (if you discount cave art and clay tablets) of this hidden meme.
Chris leaves us to wonder what will come of this in the future. Where will we be? What if the "old gods" return and our heroes are writ large as life right before us? Will they be happy with how we developed and offer us hope for the future? Will they be returning to take back what is theirs?
If you see Horus descending like an angel from the brightness of the Sun as depicted in "Kingdom Come" (only replacing Horus with Superman and the other greats of comic bookdom) then you will know that the time for questions is over and our answers are coming. Whether we like them or not.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
"Skyline" modern mythology meets Christian and mystic symbolism
Interestingly the characters in the movie apparently have no last names.
The story revolves around a couple Jarrod and Elaine, and Jarrod's friend Terry, his wife, assistant and friend as well as Oliver.
In this story Terry has become a success in the land of dreams Los Angeles, in the West, the land of the setting sun.
Jarrod is clearly the talented creative person in the friendship between him and Terry and yet Terry is the one who has been gifted with success. Terry has invited Jarrod and his girlfriend out to his place.
Jarrod
Jarrod is clearly an artist and creative type, the "right brain" personified.
Terry lives in an exclusive building on a high floor, showing in effect his superior status as being above the "rabble" and a member of the "elite". Jarrod and his girlfriend are members of the proletariat, blue collar types, thrust into the party atmosphere. They have some difficulty because of dissociation and a derangement of senses helped by the liberal use of alcohol and drugs.
The real story starts with the descent of BLUE light emitters onto the city, which have an overwhelming attraction for people. It should be noted that this is a complete ripoff of the so-called "Project Bluebeam" purportedly a secret government program to simulate an alien invasion or the second coming of Christ or Mohammed for propaganda purposes. This has been shown to largely be a complete fabrication, maybe as disinformation by the government or simply the imagination of a religious fanatic. One might see some of Christopher Knowles' work on this topic or listen to an interview I had with him in which we talked about this very topic.
The BLUE light, again more water association, in this case the aliens appear to not be interested in the water because they are focused on humanity and man does not live on the water but on the land, serves as a carrier for a sort of neuro-chemical "virus" which hypnotizes the viewer while the body is "abducted" and taken aboard the alien craft for nefarious purposes.
Jarrod sees the light, is ENLIGHTENED.
Blue light virus infects Jarrod
Jarrod is spared abduction because the contact was broken before it could get to the critical moment. Additional information is revealed in the movie which indicate that Jarrod may have had other things going on that helped him to avoid the effects of the light. Having been inoculated, so to speak he later may look on the light without totally succumbing AND may project his thoughts through the viral link to the "aliens" and affect them remotely. Mind control for sure. The neuro-chemical-mechanical "virus" seems to impart to the human victim a sense and reality of physical and mental power. Jarrod later demonstrates this.
The "aliens" are an interesting element in this movie.
"Alien" Mothership
There are obvious parallels between the aliens in this movie and the Borg, and the Matrix's "Squiddies"
and the Ogdru Jahad from Hellboy
as well as the amorphous, tentacled monsters of H. P. Lovecraft. The Lovecraft element is most apparent because of two factors. The first is the origin of the "aliens" is strongly implied to be from another dimension and not from outer space, contextual analysis will reveal this as you watch the movie. The second point is the OBVIOUS connection between the aliens and humans that implies....wait for it.... alien intervention theory!
It is obvious that the aliens have an intimate connection with humans and may, in fact, NEED humans. I will not spoil the movie further by laying this out here but you will see this clearly displayed in the movie.
What is perhaps even more significant is the strong connection to the Rapture of Christianity. Only in this case it is a sort of "anti-rapture".
The religious element is repeated in a number of ways in the movie, where sins result in punishment delivered by the "hand of God" in the form of "aliens".
The religious element is very strong and is clearly Christian in origin in the film. The "Project Blue Beam" connection clearly indicates some strong influence from "fringe" Christian groups.
There are some other overt and covert themes that become apparent as one watches the movie. We have the LIGHT bringing ENLIGHTENMENT which confers POWER. This is the very heart of Hermeticism as well as many secret societies. There is of course an element of danger in this seeking of enlightenment as is well known to those who have looked into this.
And Eastern religions, but that connection is not explored in this film with it's heavy Christian symbolism.
There is, of course, the brave, selfless sacrifice of the military. The military intervention in the movie may be jarringly out of context because one of the first things they do is to hit one of the mother ships with a nuclear weapon.
Seemingly showing no regard for the people of Los Angeles. One must remember that other military action elsewhere may have proven ineffective and most of the people of Los Angeles were by this time gone. This is really not adequately explained or explored in the movie and is a contextual problem.
In all the movie is highly derivative and has many contextual errors, but the symbolism and the origins of the themes explored, lightly, or heavily, in the movie are well worth looking into.
The creative artist, sets on a path of enlightenment, by going WEST into the setting Sun perhaps indicating a sort of reverse or negative enlightenment. There is an element of incorporation into a greater whole, but with the caveat of the power of human will and love. This results in a sort of individuation within the collective, shades of Jung perhaps. Not a great movie but watchable.
The story revolves around a couple Jarrod and Elaine, and Jarrod's friend Terry, his wife, assistant and friend as well as Oliver.
In this story Terry has become a success in the land of dreams Los Angeles, in the West, the land of the setting sun.
Jarrod is clearly the talented creative person in the friendship between him and Terry and yet Terry is the one who has been gifted with success. Terry has invited Jarrod and his girlfriend out to his place.
Jarrod
Jarrod is clearly an artist and creative type, the "right brain" personified.
Terry lives in an exclusive building on a high floor, showing in effect his superior status as being above the "rabble" and a member of the "elite". Jarrod and his girlfriend are members of the proletariat, blue collar types, thrust into the party atmosphere. They have some difficulty because of dissociation and a derangement of senses helped by the liberal use of alcohol and drugs.
The real story starts with the descent of BLUE light emitters onto the city, which have an overwhelming attraction for people. It should be noted that this is a complete ripoff of the so-called "Project Bluebeam" purportedly a secret government program to simulate an alien invasion or the second coming of Christ or Mohammed for propaganda purposes. This has been shown to largely be a complete fabrication, maybe as disinformation by the government or simply the imagination of a religious fanatic. One might see some of Christopher Knowles' work on this topic or listen to an interview I had with him in which we talked about this very topic.
The BLUE light, again more water association, in this case the aliens appear to not be interested in the water because they are focused on humanity and man does not live on the water but on the land, serves as a carrier for a sort of neuro-chemical "virus" which hypnotizes the viewer while the body is "abducted" and taken aboard the alien craft for nefarious purposes.
Jarrod sees the light, is ENLIGHTENED.
Jarrod is spared abduction because the contact was broken before it could get to the critical moment. Additional information is revealed in the movie which indicate that Jarrod may have had other things going on that helped him to avoid the effects of the light. Having been inoculated, so to speak he later may look on the light without totally succumbing AND may project his thoughts through the viral link to the "aliens" and affect them remotely. Mind control for sure. The neuro-chemical-mechanical "virus" seems to impart to the human victim a sense and reality of physical and mental power. Jarrod later demonstrates this.
The "aliens" are an interesting element in this movie.
There are obvious parallels between the aliens in this movie and the Borg, and the Matrix's "Squiddies"
as well as the amorphous, tentacled monsters of H. P. Lovecraft. The Lovecraft element is most apparent because of two factors. The first is the origin of the "aliens" is strongly implied to be from another dimension and not from outer space, contextual analysis will reveal this as you watch the movie. The second point is the OBVIOUS connection between the aliens and humans that implies....wait for it.... alien intervention theory!
It is obvious that the aliens have an intimate connection with humans and may, in fact, NEED humans. I will not spoil the movie further by laying this out here but you will see this clearly displayed in the movie.
The religious element is repeated in a number of ways in the movie, where sins result in punishment delivered by the "hand of God" in the form of "aliens".
The religious element is very strong and is clearly Christian in origin in the film. The "Project Blue Beam" connection clearly indicates some strong influence from "fringe" Christian groups.
There are some other overt and covert themes that become apparent as one watches the movie. We have the LIGHT bringing ENLIGHTENMENT which confers POWER. This is the very heart of Hermeticism as well as many secret societies. There is of course an element of danger in this seeking of enlightenment as is well known to those who have looked into this.
And Eastern religions, but that connection is not explored in this film with it's heavy Christian symbolism.
There is, of course, the brave, selfless sacrifice of the military. The military intervention in the movie may be jarringly out of context because one of the first things they do is to hit one of the mother ships with a nuclear weapon.
In all the movie is highly derivative and has many contextual errors, but the symbolism and the origins of the themes explored, lightly, or heavily, in the movie are well worth looking into.
The creative artist, sets on a path of enlightenment, by going WEST into the setting Sun perhaps indicating a sort of reverse or negative enlightenment. There is an element of incorporation into a greater whole, but with the caveat of the power of human will and love. This results in a sort of individuation within the collective, shades of Jung perhaps. Not a great movie but watchable.
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