Rabbit-Hole News: Oblivion/After Earth Syncs, Subway Gases, Prophet Sponsoring

SYNC: 

Are "Oblivion" and the upcoming "After Earth" movies part of the same pseudo-Scientology narrative?

At least it's a step up from "Battlefield Earth".


PROPHETEERING

Does the CIA and Google "sponsor prophets?" And where can I get in on that sweet-sweet moolah? Pravda reports:

"Not only ordinary citizens and scientists are interested in looking into the future. Intelligence agencies cannot remain on the sidelines when it comes to predictions. Google and the CIA have invested in the company engaged in prediction of future events based on the monitoring of the World Wide Web."

It only makes sense that the military/industrial complex would attempt to close the "prophet gap."



WAR ON TERROR:

The NYPD, in conjunction with a national laboratory, will be releasing "tracer gases" within the New York City subway system to study the trails of chemical and biological weapons. Subways in all five NYC boroughs will be part of these tests, which start in July.

Um...yay?

NAZIS:

Vice reports on the secret Neo-Nazi past of the early Nineties pop band Ace of Base. A sample of AoB founding member Ulf Ekberg's punk band lyrics:

"Men in white hoods march down the road, we enjoy ourselves when we're sawing off n******’ heads/ Immigrant, we hate you! Out, out, out, out! Nordic people, wake up now! Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot!" 

He "saw a sign" all right...and that sign was a swastika!


ALEX JONES:

Disinfo.com links to a video called "45 Failed Alex Jones Predictions." At least Jones has a better track record than Harold Camping.

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AP Obama Twitter Hack: World Panic Is Only A Tweet Away

I almost crapped myself when I first saw this "AP" tweet announcing explosions at the White House:

But luckily it turned out to be a hack by the "Syrian Electronic Army."

But not so luckily, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped immediately after the tweet:

Is this how easy it is to throw the world into a panic? One hacked tweet?

Call me Tammy Tin Foil Hat, but I really believe some of these online hoaxes (see: Joel Osteen) and hacks are designed to "test" the public -- to gauge their, and perhaps that of media/financial markets as well, reaction to this sort of "breaking news." To gauge the gullibility of the public. Isn't this what happened in Boston last week?

As if perfectly timed, the new "Thor The Dark World" trailer, released today, also features...you guessed it, explosions at the White House:

Luckily, Thor will save us.

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Burt Wonderstone Versus The Anti-Christ, Part Two

Dark Messiah

When we last left "Burt Wonderstone (Philosopher's Stone, "Stone-Worker") vs. The Anti-Christ," our magician/magickian was just about to meet a man that would change his life forever: the self-mutilating dark messiah, Steve Grey (Jim Carrey). Their face-off will be a metaphor for two very different paths of spiritual self-actualization.

As I've written at length in a previous post, Jim Carrey is no stranger to playing shamanic figures, so the role of Steve Grey fits right in. He reportedly wanted to make the role "more Jesus-y," (and there is, of course, the mystical "JC" initials) and so Grey specifically became a long-haired messianic figure, perpetually bleeding and influencing his entranced followers ("sights and wonders"). Whereas Wonderstone derives his magic/magick prowess from a long-standing tradition dating back to ancient times (and which, the movie hints at though primal symbolism, could be Masonic/Sun-worshiping in nature), Grey is a hardcore New Testament sort of dude.

The Prestige: Peter vs. Simon Magus

Wonderstone vs Grey

Their conflict will be no less than that of Saint Peter versus Simon Magus, the "New Religion" threatening to supplant the old.

Like Jesus, Grey eschews the "temples" (Wonderstone's Aztec Casino venue) to perform his miracles, instead taking it to The People out on the street. In comparison to the spoiled Wonderstone, this makes Grey somewhat (at least on the surface) a populist magician, as Jesus was a messiah "for the people." Wonderstone watches as Grey's tricks culminate in a bloody scene: the "Jesusy" man cuts open his cheek to pull out a gore-stained "Queen" card.

"turn the other cheek"

The unusual card trick brings several images to mind:
1) Jesus telling the people to "turn the other cheek" (the trick involved a staged "fight" with an onlooker in which his mother was called a whore).
2) The Manchurian Candidate (long-haired messianic figures like Charles Manson were sometimes said to be created through mind-control techniques -- and Manson, who Grey resembles and acts like to an extent, certainly knew how to use mind-control tricks on others).
3) A strange representation of the Adam & Eve myth ("Eve" -- the woman on the card - born from Adam)

When Wonderstone visits Grey at his van after the show, the latter blows him off as not "real" enough. In the New Religion, "real" religion means viscera -- not the airy-dairy world of Spirit.

3 days until release/resurrection

Realizing that he is losing popularity to Grey, Wonderstone "updates" his look and devises his own masochistic stunt: spending three days in a clear plastic cube suspended in the air.

Note the significance of "three days" -- Jesus ressurected within 3 days, and Wonderstone is imitating him in order to "keep up" with the New Religion. Only Wonderstone's "crypt"/"cave" is spiritual -- a clear box. It is not enough -- the New Religion is dazzling the masses with self-flagelation and torture -- and Wonderstone fails in disgrace. Wonderstone also "breaks up" with his partner/Anima, the effeminate Anton Marvelton; now he is only half a person, the yin/yang Animus/Anima dichotomy split.

Wonder-Stone with his false idol in the background

Wonderstone and Grey are now mortal enemies, with Grey's New Religion taking over the world. Wonderstone is thrown out of the (Aztec) temple, and must go into exile with a profane idol of himself (the advertising standee) "mocking" him with the memory of what he once was. He will have to go back to the realm of the ancients (the nursing home) and relearn the essential truths of spirit and magick from the source (his virtual "teacher," Rance Holloway).

Meanwhile, Wonderstone's former assistant Jane (Olivia Wilde) plays a literal "Scarlet Woman" to Grey, dressed in red with a red mask (think back to the bloody Queen card). Grey isn't as "Jesusy" as he likes to portray himself -- like Jack Parsons, who cultivated a "Scarlet Woman" of his own as in the Crowleyan style, Grey is far more Anti-Christ than Christ. In addition, Grey expresses no care for the safety of his "followers," including the children -- again, more Manson than Jesus.

Grey/Anti-Christ with his "Scarlet Woman"

Getting back his "mojo," so to speak (and I can only think of a similar "fall from grace"/literal loss of mojo storyline from the "Austin Powers" movies), Wonderstone must complete his re-initiation by coupling with a Jane -- the Great Working, the Sword and the Chalice, Animus/Anima combined. Unlike his previous platonic relationship with Anton, this new pairing is a sign of Wonderstone's maturity -- he has gone from dwelling in sentiment with his childhood friend, to taking full responsibility for his life as a man.

Meanwhile, Anton has gone all Terrence McKenna and scores plant-derived hallucinogens in Cambodia. More on that in a bit.

"JC" vs. Carell

We now get to the great showdown between Wonderstone and Grey, which takes place appropriately enough during another "initation" ceremony -- that of a birthday party for a young man. As we watch the two complete -- and especially as Grey "bewitches" Wonderstone and embarrases him -- we can only think back to another battle between actors Steve Carell and Carrey -- in "Bruce Almighty."

Who can forget Bruce -- who is granted powers from God, in a "Jesusy" way -- making his coworker Evan speak in tongues on a live broadcast? In the sequel to "Bruce Almighty," Evan will play another Biblical figure -- Noah.

Wonder-Stone/Noah with "God"

Here's where things get even more subtextual and synchronistically weird.

Carrey recently slammed former NRA prez Charlton Heston in his Funny or Die video "Cold Dead Hands." Who is Heston most famous for playing (right after that dude from "Planet of the Apes)? Another Old Testament hero, Moses. So we have "Jesus"/Steve Grey/Carrey/Bruce/Funny or Die Guy up against Moses/Noah/Wonderstone/Carrell/Evan/Heston. You have the New Religion -- one of viscera and blood -- going up against the Old Religion (Old Testament teachings deriving from the same well as Wonderstone's ancient wisdom/Masonic roots).

Carrey making fun of Charlton Heston in "Cold Dead Hands"

Heston as Old Testament hero Moses

But in the big magic/magick competition at the end of the film, Wonderstone will delve deep, deep, deep into the literal roots of the Old Ways -- by utilizing the plant-derived hallucinogens to win. From the medicine man deep in the jungle to Cagliostro, doping up (or tripping out) onlookers and patients were part-and-parcel of the workings at hand.

Better shamanism thru plant chemistry

The peyote/mescalin/mushrooms are the doorway into magickal experience and spiritual growth, and indeed Wonderstone literally drugs the audience; when they awaken, they are no longer in the temple, but in an open field. By utilizing the natural hallucinogenic powers of plants, Wonderstone and Co. has helped the audience "escape" the confines of the temple and open up their mind.

Bad trip.

On the other hand, Steve Grey -- true to his philosophy -- utilizes a far more literal approach to opening one's mind, taking a drill to his brain. This is, of course, the act of trepanning -- modern practitioners believe that by boring a hole in their skulls they will achieve a deeper state of consciousness. This apparently doesn't work for Grey, who now has brain damage -- he has literally gone on a "bad trip," choosing the New Religion yen for sado-masochism over the gentle plant-worship of the ancient shamans.

In closing, "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" is a parable of the mystic knowledge of the ancients going up against the prevailing New Religion -- and winning. True enlightenment does not have to come through the mortification of one's body, or through "blood sacrifice." The movie encourages the shamanically-inclined to search for the roots of magick -- the literal roots, all the way to the Source.

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Nietzsche-Palooza As 'God Is Dead' Song Released On Superman's Birthday

Considering the events of the last week, this song seems both appropriate and inappropriate: "God Is Dead?" by Black Sabbath -- the first single released from their album called "13".

The art for the single depicts a mushroom cloud and a portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche. Where else have we seen a mushroom cloud today?

That's right: the recent devastating explosion in Waco Texas. (the whole Waco Explosion/Waco Branch Davidian 20th anniversary/Patriot's Day/Boston thing has to be a separate post, as it gets quite complex)

But there is another significant connection today to the Black Sabbath single art: it's Superman's 75th anniversary. And Nietzsche originated the term Übermensch -- translated as "overman", "super-human" or "superman."

Nietzsche taught that after God dies, the Übermensch will take over:

"I teach you the overman. Man is something that shall be overcome. What have you done to overcome him?... All beings so far have created something beyond themselves; and do you want to be the ebb of this great flood, and even go back to the beasts rather than overcome man? What is ape to man? A laughing stock or painful embarrassment. And man shall be that to overman: a laughingstock or painful embarrassment. You have made your way from worm to man, and much in you is still worm. Once you were apes, and even now, too, man is more ape than any ape... The overman is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the overman shall be the meaning of the earth... Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman—a rope over an abyss ... what is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end."

In the upcoming movie "Man of Steel," Superman is clearly presented as a secular God/Jesus type figure -- here to replace the "God" that seems to be nowhere, unable to stop the many tragedies that have befallen humanity. The Übermensch philosophy is also quite evident in the Transhumanism movement.

Nietzsche rocks today's Twitter trends 

The Black Sabbath song itself is pretty good, if a bit on the commercial side. Again, very depressing to listen to, taking into account the Boston and Waco tragedies this week. Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne also seems to have his own current personal hell at the moment, with recent revelations that he fell off the wagon with drugs & split from his wife; which all brings the song an extra bit of urgency and pain.

Other songs on "13" include "End of the Beginning," "Zeitgeist," and "Live Forever." The band will also be guest-starring on an upcoming episode of CSI, which features a series of murders based on "Dante's Inferno" (which sounds a lot like the plot of the TV show "The Following" to me -- a series that, in a future post, I will show does quite encapsulate issues facing the current era).

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"Escape From Planet Earth" Finally Released as Asteroids & Meteors Buzz The Planet

Zeitgeist Anxiety: "Must Get Offworld!"

In development since 2007, the animated movie "Escape From Planet Earth" is finally set to be released in American theatres today -- on the same day a meteor crashes down in Russia, and the so-called "largest close-call" asteroid buzzes by the planet. Escape from planet Earth, indeed.

The movie involves the all the usual tropes regarding extraterrestrial visitors -- lovable wise-cracking aliens (from a NASA parody called BASA) that seem Disney-ready for stuffed animals and video games, Area 51 shenanigans, The Evil CIA/NASA/Mr. Smith dude with the suit, and the idea that all of our current technology (including iPhones) have been re-engineered from off-world creations.

I just love the synchronicity of imagery here...by an incredible coincidence, this movie, held in legal limbo for over a decade, finally makes it to the big screen the same day all this cosmic flotsam and jetsam impacts our planet.

From "Escape From Planet Earth":


Dialogue: "I thought this movie was supposed to be in 3-D" (then the flying object crashes through the screen)

From today's Drudge Report:

Drudge Report headline for 2/15

Also, there is simply the stark relevance of the title: "Escape From Planet Earth" -- during a news cycle filled to the brim of stories wondering what we will do in the event of a real asteroid emergency or other somesuch galactic emergency. As I've written in a previous post, this push for "offworld" exploration and colonization will dominate the pop-culture and overall media landscape for many years to come.

Read also: "Starseeds, Star Wars, and Krypton Found: The New Space Narrative"

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Sync Watch: Is Red Mask Symbolism Heralding A New Plague?

"And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all" --Edgar Allan Poe, The Masque Of The Red Death

I noticed a lot of "red mask" symbolism last week -- probably at least one a day, either in news stories or movies I watched. There's also been a lot of talk of flu epidemics, "norovirus" epidemics, and elder celebrities suddenly finding themselves sick and in the ICU.

So here's a little "sync carnival" I put together entitled, "The Red Masque of Captain Chaos."

I'm sure it's not heralding some sort of age of pestilence, or something.

From "Drudge Report," 1/25/13





" The rap titan sported a red makeshift mask similar to the one worn by the superhero in Paris yesterday. "
-- The Sun, 1/24/13

Cover of the comic book "Red Hood & The Outlaws" #16, which hit stands 1/23/13

Jack Of  Diamonds from "Seven Psychopaths"

Dom DeLuise's alter-ego Captain Chaos from "Cannibal Run"

Burt Reynolds in ICU with flu; 1/26/13

Gawker, 1/27/13

Burt Reynolds and Barbara Walters, circa 1980



 





The Atlantic, 1/25/13





"And thus too, it happened, perhaps, that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before. And the rumor of this new presence having spread itself whisperingly around, there arose at length from the whole company a buzz, or murmur, expressive of disapprobation and surprise — then, finally, of terror, of horror, and of disgust. In an assembly of phantasms such as I have painted, it may well be supposed that no ordinary appearance could have excited such sensation. In truth the masquerade license of the night was nearly unlimited; but the figure in question had out-Heroded Herod, and gone beyond the bounds of even the prince's indefinite decorum. There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made. The whole company, indeed, seemed now deeply to feel that in the costume and bearing of the stranger neither wit nor propriety existed. The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat. And yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revellers around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture was dabbled in blood — and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror."

--Edgar Allan Poe, The Masque Of The Red Death

Red Shirt = Death

Jack of Diamonds

 

Red Death reads the cards...



...as does the Joker...



..."Diamond" Jack...






...who started his career as "The Red Hood"





1/30 UPDATE: two more news stories hitting today that carry the red mask/plague theme

From The Atlantic:

And from Drudge (note red mask & red hood):

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