Whether or not you are familiar with any of the films, you're bound to appreciate this collection of classic kung-fu movie themes from the Shaw Brothers Studio. The action, tension and high-drama of the genre come out full force in the music with kettle drums and armies of brass. It may not be quite the same, but I almost feel as if I'm watching the movies again (or for the first time).
If you're not a kung-fu fan, I suspect you will be after THIS. Many of these films are more than just martial arts, but social commentary and humor, sometimes pure exploitation and I can't recommend enough that you check them out.
(The HAARP/MK Ultra Psychedelic/Ionospheric Mind Control Connection)
Perhaps you have already heard of the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP). Perhaps you haven't. Those who created it would certainly prefer the latter.
Down the rabbit hole we go....
Wikipedia sums up the HAARP project thusly:
"The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is an ionospheric research program jointly funded by the US Air Force, the US Navy, the University of Alaska and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Its purpose is to analyze the ionosphere and investigate the potential for developing ionospheric enhancement technology for radio communications and surveillance purposes (such as missile detection). The HAARP program operates a major Arctic facility, known as the HAARP Research Station, on an Air Force owned site near Gakona, Alaska.
The most prominent instrument at the HAARP Station is the Ionospheric Research Instrument (IRI), a high power transmitter facility operating in the high frequency range. The IRI is used to temporarily excite a limited area of the ionosphere. Other instruments, such as a VHF and a UHF radar, a fluxgate magnetometer, a digisonde and an induction magnetometer, are used to study the physical processes that occur in the excited region."
The Gakona Station (near Fairbanks) was established in 1993. One visit to the HAARP Home Page will give you a pretty good idea of what is "officially" going on there.
There's also this HAARP-approved informational video:
(Anyone else noticing the parallels between HAARP and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy?)
HAARP has been credited with several scientific breakthroughs since its inception, including (but not limited to) "generation of very low frequency radio waves by modulated heating of the auroral electrojet", "production of a weak, non-visible luminous glow due to signal absorption", and "generation of whistler-mode VLF signals which enter the magnetosphere and propagate to the other hemisphere, interacting with Van Allen radiation belt particles along the way" (keep this one in mind). As of 2008, HAARP has cost American taxpayers $250 million.
HAARP has also been called the "Moby Dick of conspiracy theories".
Rumored to have been based on the unconventional geophysical theories of one Nikola Tesla (above right), HAARP was (allegedly) conceived and built by the same folks who brought us the Star Wars Program (not the cool one) in the 1980's -- Strategic Defense Initiatives, or SDI. Not to be outdone, Russia has constructed their own HAARP as well: Sura.
But due to the secrecy surrounding HAARP, as well as the immense amounts of power it is capable of generating, a multitude of conspiracies have found fertile ground to thrive therein. From chemtrails (left) to "natural" disasters, HAARP's meddling with the ionosphere and magnetosphere has been blamed for all manner of evil, whether by accident or on purpose. Tampering with the weather is indeed one of HAARP's specialties, and certain links have been found connecting HAARP to January's earthquake in Haiti. The recent 8.8 earthquake in Chile also had its HAARP connections. Read this article from the very real and legitimate SF Examiner. They sure seem convinced. You can also check out a video making the same connection here.
But the natural disaster most often attributed to the HAARP Station was the 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan, China, in 2008. HAARP's M.O. often involves "boiling" the upper atmosphere during its experiments, creating Northern Lights-esque patterns in the sky via disturbances in the ionosphere.
Now here's some fucked up shit. Check out what the sky looked like 10 minutes before the the Sichuan quake:
(From earlier: "signals which enter the magnetosphere and propagate to the other hemisphere, interacting with Van Allen radiation belt particles along the way".)
But wait, there's more: Obscure reports of auroral colors dancing in the sky before the Chilean earthquake! BAM! BAM!
A U.S. Government-led experiment resulting in the deaths of upwards of 300,000 innocent civilians through manipulation of plate tectonics is no surprise. What IS surprising are the connections that have been made between HAARP and Columbine, HAARP and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, HAARP and power outages, or even HAARP and TWA Flight 800. This rabbit hole is a deep one, indeed.
HAARP has even been linked to the so-called Norway Spiral (below). Anyone remember that thing? Here's a video to jog the memory. Any surprise that Europe has their own version of a High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program as well? It's called The European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association (EISCAT), and it's located in Tromsø, Norway -- THE SAME PLACE THAT THE NORWAY SPIRAL WAS SPOTTED. Dude. What the fuck? Failed Russian missile launch MY ASS.
Must-read article: HAARP, CERN, CARE, The Norway Spiral, and Russian/Chinese wormholes on The Freeman Perspective (fuck I love this guy).
But what might possibly be the most disturbing accusations against the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program are those concerning mass mind-control.
Allow Nicholas Jones from HAARP.net to explain:
"Earth is wrapped in a donut shaped magnetic field. Circular lines of flux continuously descend into the North Pole and emerge from the South Pole. The ionosphere, an electromagnetic-wave conductor, 100 kms above the earth, consists of a layer of electrically charged particles acting as a shield from solar winds. Natural waves are related to the electrical activity in the atmosphere and are thought to be caused by multiple lightning storms. Collectively, these waves are called 'The Schumann Resonance', the current strongest at 7.8 Hz. These are quasi-standing extremely low frequency (ELF) waves that naturally exist in the earth´s 'electromagnetic' cavity, the space between the ground and the ionosphere. These 'earth brainwaves' are identical to the spectrum of our brainwaves.
(1 hertz = 1 cycle per second, 1 Khz = 1000, 1 Mhz =1 million. A 1 Hertz wave is 186,000 miles long, 10 Hz is 18,600 miles. Radio-waves move at the speed of light.)"
All of this is just the tip of the iceberg, scientifically speaking. Read Mr. Jones' conclusion HERE.
Layman's terms: HAARP on Conspiracy Theory With Jesses Ventura: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Part 6, concerning mind control:
(The Unabomber was a mind-control research subject?)
Another indispensable resource in attempting to understand HAARP's nefarious mind-control aspirations is the book Angels Don't Play This HAARP (corny name, Jesus), written by Nick Begich and Jeane Manning. You can read this book online, in its entirety, here. You collector types can buy it here. One of the authors even created a sprawling, 9-part YouTube series, cheezily titled Angels Still Don't Play This HAARP, which you can check out here: 123456789
What if the U.S. Government IS responsible for massive natural disasters? How do you think citizens would react, much less survivors? Perhaps that's exactly why so much time and money have been put into large-scale mind-control experiments. It's crazy to think about, but if the CIA, FBI, SDI, etc. etc. etc. have taught us anything, it's this: When it comes to Government, fact is ALWAYS stranger than fiction...
And don't even get me STARTED on the Project Bluebeam (video / RationalWiki) connection. You know, about how the HAARP Earthquakes are uncovering false geological data to assist in NASA's holographic alien/Second Coming deception and whatnot.
OK, just ONE video. Project Bluebeam + Scientology = New World Order? Watch:
Of course, if you want the truth about HAARP, there is only one place to go. You guessed it... CYRAX AND FLYRAX.
One:
Two:
All of this talk about HAARP was only Part 1. Moving on...
Welcome to MK Ultra:
A different angle:
Like the last round, let's allow Wikipedia to set this one up:
"Project MK-ULTRA, or MKULTRA, was the code name for a covert CIA interrogation research program, run by the Office of Scientific Intelligence. This official U.S. government program began in the early 1950s, continuing at least through the late 1960s, and it used United States and Canadian citizens as its test subjects. The published evidence indicates that Project MK-ULTRA involved the surreptitious use of many types of drugs, as well as other methods, to manipulate individual mental states and to alter brain function.
Project MK-ULTRA was first brought to wide public attention in 1975 by the U.S. Congress, through investigations by the Church Committee, and by a presidential commission known as the Rockefeller Commission. Investigative efforts were hampered by the fact that CIA Director Richard Helms ordered all MK-ULTRA files destroyed in 1973; the Church Committee and Rockefeller Commission investigations relied on the sworn testimony of direct participants and on the relatively small number of documents that survived Helms' destruction order.
Although the CIA insists that MK-ULTRA-type experiments have been abandoned, 14-year CIA veteran Victor Marchetti has stated in various interviews that the CIA routinely conducts disinformation campaigns and that CIA mind control research continued. In a 1977 interview, Marchetti specifically called the CIA claim that MK-ULTRA was abandoned a 'cover story'."
MK Ultra is one of the most popular and fascinating conspiracy breeding grounds of all time, due to widespread destruction of official documents and the twisted nature of the subject matter at hand. Rabbit holes within rabbit holes within rabbit holes here, man.
Q: So who's that creepy motherfucker over there on the right?
A: Just another rabbit hole.
US Army Colonel Michael Aquino, just one of hundreds (if not thousands) of MK Ultra acid casualties. Aquino was deeply involved in MK Ultra projects in the 60's and 70's, until finally being tossed out of the military in 1975. So where did he go from there? Easy! He went on to form the Temple of Set along with members of The Church of Satan. Fun!
The bottom line is this: Throughout the 50's, 60's, and 70's, the CIA performed extensive testing on both willing and nonwilling subjects, all in the name of mind control and brainwashing. Their tools: Barbiturates, amphetamines (sometimes simultaneously!), heroin, morphine, temazepam, mescaline, psilocybin, scopolamine, marijuana, alcohol, sodium pentothal, ergine, and good old Lysergic acid diethylamide.
Below: Did someone say "Lysergic acid diethylamide"?
Did anyone see that movie The Men Who Stare At Goats, or maybe even (Heaven forbid) read the book? These types of ideas put forth by the U.S. Government -- that the mind is the ultimate weapon, able to be molded and bent in the most fantastic and sadistic ways -- all have their roots in the fabled MK Ultra Program. Here are some fun facts: - In 1953, Project MK Ultra was allotted a full 6 PERCENT of the total CIA budget. All told, about $10 million was spent on the project in the duration of its existence. In 60's money, that's A LOT. - MK Ultra's precursor was called Project Paperclip, which started all the way back in 1945. It was an attempt by the U.S. Government to enlist Nazi scientists, and learn their methods of torture and brainwashing. - After its "official" dissolution, MK Ultra evolved into Project Monarch. Although Project Monarch doesn't (ahem) "actually" (ahem) exist, rumors paint it out to be significantly less than wholesome. (Hint: NWO, Disney, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, mind control, CIA).
I could probably write all month about MK Ultra and CIA mind control, but I'll leave it up to the reader to perform further research. Start with Thanks For The Memories by Brice Taylor (left), written by a woman who was kidnapped, brainwashed, and sexually assaulted by Henry Kissinger and Bob Hope (I learned of the existence of this book through the equally amazing Apocalypse Culture II by Adam Parfrey). From there on out, things might get weird...
Also: Was it Bro Steven who informed me of the MK Ultra project that resulted in a full-grown elephant being killed by a super-massive dose of LSD? Or am I making that up? If not, please elaborate.
I just finished watching Santa Claus is Coming to Town with my two kids. I'm a sucker for Christmas movies and SCICTT is probably my favorite, mainly becuase i love to see that bastard 'Herr Burgermeister' get his comeuppance. I mean, just look at this asshole.
Anyway, I'm in a good mood, despite having a complicated day. I've also had a few, uh, adult beverages, which always helps. I decided to post a few things that may help those of you looking to change things up a bit from a genre of music that always helps me put things into perspective: all female punk-pop from Asia. Shonen Knife needs no introduction. But just in case, they formed in 1981 in Osaka, Japan and had a few brief minutes of minor fame in the states because Thurston Moore and Kurdt Cobain really dug them. Rock Animals, released in 1993, is probably their most well known album.
Hang on the Box is from Beijing. They formed in 1998, released a few really kick ass albums and, as I just discovered, disbanded. Which is a shame. Here is their third release Di Di Di. myspace dl
Gito Gito Hustler is a quartet from Tokyo that formed in 1995 and is still together. This is either a demo or a sampler I picked up after seeing them live in 2003, I think. The songs are from their album Love and Roll. Their cover of "The Locamotion" is awesome. website dl
By now, you guys are probably pretty familiar with my taste in movies. I love a good splatter flick, a stupid 80's comedy, or a mindless action extravaganza. But I also dig a good documentary, as long as it makes me think and/or laugh. Global Metal, anthropologist-turned-filmmaker Sam Dunn's follow-up to 2006's Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, is just such a film, and more. Although it was released internationally in 2008, I just got around to watching it last week, and it has also taken me that much time to fully digest it.
Below: Sam Dunn (right), pictured with co-director Scot MacFayden.
Much like Vice Films' Heavy Metal In Baghdad, Global Metal approaches the topic of heavy metal as a socio-political phenomenon, filming its adherents at street level, on their own terms. But GM takes on a much more international view, travelling from Brazil to Japan to China to Israel to Muslim strongholds like Indonesia, India, and Iran to document the views of underground (and often third world) metalheads. This is what makes it such a compelling film. Hearing the views of the average Iranian metallion, not only on the subject of metal but also on the subject of everyday life in their country, isn't something you're going to see on the nightly news. These are Bros in their natural environment, explaining their passion for a style of music that had been banned for decades in their homeland. But the movie is about MUCH MORE than just metal.
Below: Indonesian thrashers. I want to party with these dudes.
Left: Behold, Slayer graffiti in the streets of Iran. Sweet.
Global Metal isn't just for the metalheads. Dunn might be a metal fan first, but he is an anthropologist second, and a close second at that. His dissection of the culture and political climate at each of his stops is eye-opening to say the least, as he visits mosques, shanties, karaoke bars, and the hallowed "metal mall" in Rio de Janiero through the course of the film. The subject of globaliztion takes the front seat, and observing the mish-mash of Eastern and Western culture via the heavy metal scene is inspiring. The cinemotagraphy is top-notch as well, with Sam's small film crew capturing mind-blowing images of Brazilian beaches and mountains, Japanese street life, and even the Great Wall of China. The obscure "archive" footage is pretty insane, too. We are treated to images of Iron Maiden and Scorpions performing in front of literally hundreds of thousands of people at Rock in Rio in the early 80's (the first music festival in which Brazil opened its borders to European and American acts), and also the first western concert in Jakarta in the early 90's. The band featured is Metallica, and the images of buildings burning just outside the stadium as the band plays on is a striking one.
My favorite moments in the film came upon the crew's arrival in Japan, though. As I mentioned before, Global Metal was my first in-depth taste of the Visual Kei movement (albeit through the eyes of Marty Friedmann), a subject I find endlessly fascinating and equally entertaining. And you just can't argue with the image of a large group of fifty-something Japanese businessmen in suits and ties, getting hammered in a karaoke bar and singing along to Deep Purple's "Highway Star". If there's any issue with Global Metal, it's the lack of live footage from local bands. The footage included is fucking great, and turned me on to several new bands. But there isn't much of it, and some bands aren't even identified. Also, listening to Lars Ulrich talk about how he thinks music piracy is "totally cool" can be a little tooth-grinding. All in all, Global Metal is a flick everyone should check out at least once, whether you're a metal fan or not. It's a fascinating look not only at a musical genre, but also at a growing culture shared between continents and people thousands of miles away from each other. It's everything Until The Light Takes Us SHOULD HAVE been, and an encouraging "Chapter 2" in Sam Dunn's filmmaking legacy. Check it out.
Above: Bruce Dickinson shares his thoughts on all things Maiden. Below: I actually preferred hearing the opinions of these guys regarding Iron Maiden. No offense, Bruce.
Today's special: Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, AKA Lik Wong, AKA Strength King.
Above and left: Ricky was born with the strength of 20 men. Ricky feels no pain. Ricky knocks down stone walls with one punch. Please don't fuck with Ricky.
Basically the Citizen Kane of Hong Kong gorror flicks, 1991's Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky was director Lam Ngai Kai's ode to all things violent, bloody, and over-the-top in modern cinema. Heads explode, jaws are torn clean out of people's skulls, punches are thrown completely through stomachs, and the disembowelments, beheadings, and dismemberments all come fast and furious. But despite its relatively tiny budget, Riki-Oh also happens to be a very original, well-made film, chock full of semi-convincing (I use the term loosely) special effects, stylistic jump-cuts, and weird artsy sequences that wouldn't be out of place in a highbrow German coffee house film. But don't get me wrong: It's still pure PULP, dishing out the instant gratification that all gorehounds need to keep their interest aroused.
Trailer:
Riki-Oh (Fan Siu Wong, also known Stateside as "Ricky") is a young man tormented by inner demons. His girlfriend offs herself after witnessing a heroin deal, and seeking violent retribution on the gang responsible, Ricky finds himself serving a ten-year maximum security bid for manslaughter. But unfortunately for Ricky, we are now in the magical year 2001, and all Chinese prison systems have been privatized. This means, of course, that the warden is a total dick, and that he is running an illegal opium farm inside the prison via a group of powerful inmates known as the Gang of Four. Although Ricky is a peaceful dude who avoids fighting at all costs, it soon becomes apparent that the Gang of Four and the warden want him dead, by any means neccessary.
This is where it gets fun. As inmate after inmate attempts to take Ricky out, a series of fight scenes ensue, which escalate both in gore and intensity as the film plays out. In fact, the gore is laugh-out-loud awesome, as evidenced by a couple scenes shown below. As the DVD packaging of Riki-Oh proclaims: "It's Evil Dead 2, Braindead, and The Matrix times ten, turned up to eleven!". Not far off, although the Matrix reference is both inaccurate and unneccesary. Riki-Oh indeed "goes to eleven", and stays there for a solid 90 minutes. Ever seen a dude attempt to strangle another dude with his OWN INTESTINES? Thanks to Riki-Oh, you can now, along with a multitude of other scenes so unspeakably gory that they will change your life (for the better) forever. Here's a hint: Giant mutant thrown into a meat grinder? It goes to eleven. Duh.
SPOILERS:
Due to its 'Category III' rating (the Chinese equivalent of NC-17), Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky was a box office failure in its homeland, but a strong international cult following has kept it alive and profitable throughout the years. It was originally based on a Japanese manga (titled simply Riki-Oh -- check it out here), and was originally shot as an anime series. But the live action version is the real deal. A sequel to The Story of Ricky was produced a couple years later (entitled Dint King, Inside King, AKA Story of Ricky 2, AKA Super Powerful Man), but it received very poor distribution outside China and is both hard to find and only loosely connected to the original. You can find Ricky on Netflix here, buy him on Amazon here, or watch him via YouTube playlist here.
I'm sure most of you are familiar with the epic work of visionary director John Carpenter, the brilliant mind that brought us such genre-defining classics as Big Trouble In Little China, Halloween I & II, The Thing, The Fog, They Live, Assault On Precinct 13, and Escape From Ney York, just to name a few. And most of you also know that Mr. Carpenter, an accomplished musician, has also supplied his own soundtracks for most of these films (which rule on their own).
But did you know that Carpenter, ever the renaissance man, fronted his own New Wave/Yacht Rock band in the mid-80's, aptly named John Carpenter's Coupe De Ville? Because he did, and I have the video to prove it. Below you will find a clip of JCCDV performing their awesome jam "Big Trouble In Little China", from the end credits of the film of the same name. Keep your eyes and ears open for John belting out the rad lines "Yeah we gotta run / Run into the mystic night / Run until they take us awaaayyYYYYYY!" in his characteristic monotone during the pre-chorus of the song. It rules:
