The Disassociated States of America

What follow are further dispatches from the Dissociated States of America (a phrase coined by the late Walter Bowart, author of OPERATION MIND CONTROL)....

From Shepard Ambellas' 8-3-19 Intellihub article entitled "El Paso Walmart Shooting Witnesses Saw 'Three to Four Armed Men Running In... Dressed in All Black... Shooting'":

Twenty people were killed at a Walmart in El Paso Texas on Saturday reportedly by the hands of a single suspected gunman who was identified by various news sources as Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen, Texas. However, information received by Intellihub may tell a different story.

Remarkably, several eyewitnesses to the shooting, a mother and her daughter, were captured on video recounting how three men dressed in all black entered through the front doors of the store as the shooting started.

“That’s when my mom is like ‘no it is actually shooting’ and she saw three men went in and they were all dressed in black,” a young girl named Britney explained. “…that’s when my mom said ‘drop down, go down to the floor.'”

Britney admits that neither she nor her mom actually saw anyone shot or wounded but said the three men were, in fact, holding guns and acknowledged the men were shooting.

Britney’s mother Adriana was near the checkout area at the front of the store with both her children when the shooting started and claims to have seen three or four male shooters dressed in black enter through the front doors.

“As we were waiting to pay, I saw men run in shooting,” she said. “There was at least three or four people… they were dressed in black.”

To read the entire article, click HERE. 

Meanwhile, Loren Coleman continues his synchromystic analysis of the most recent manifestations of American madness in a trio of new posts:

1)  8-3-19:  Cielo Means Sky: Texas Mass Shooting & Manson Family Murders

2)  8-4-19:  Now Dayton. Countdown to 8/9/19.

3)  8-6-19:  Hole In The Wall, from Dalton to Dayton

Eating the Fantastic with Mark Evanier and Gerry Conway

Scott Edelman's excellent science fiction podcast EATING THE FANTASTIC (the spiritual successor to Mike Hodel's HOUR 25 in terms of its in-depth questions that only another writer could possibly think to ask as well as in its informal, peripatetic approach to the art of the interview) recently celebrated its 100th episode by producing an informative and entertaining sit-down with writer and historian Mark Evanier, co-creator of CROSSFIRE, DNAGENTS, FANBOY, and HOLLYWOOD SUPERSTARS, co-writer of GROO THE WANDERER, author of the definitive Jack Kirby biography, KIRBY: KING OF COMICS, and writer of a gazillion network television shows. There are many lessons in this interview for the budding professional writer. You can eavesdrop on this lunch, which took place at Canter's Deli in Hollywood in May of 2019, by clicking right HERE.    

I also recommend listening to Edelman's 99th episode, his interview with Gerry Conway, creator of THE PUNISHER, FIRESTORM, and a slew of other classic comic book characters. This interview, which was also recorded last May, can be heard by clicking HERE.

 

Of course, Scott Edelman is a fine writer himself, and I recommend checking out his latest collection of short stories, TELL ME LIKE YOU DONE BEFORE (AND OTHER STORIES WRITTEN ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS) (Lethe Press, 2018), which includes his marvelous tribute to Ray Bradbury, "The Final Charge of Mr. Electrico."

You can watch Edelman reading "The Final Charge of Mr. Electrico" at Balticon on May 27, 2018, directly below....

Terror in the Skies

Speaking of Loren Coleman... my favorite living cryptozoologist is featured prominently in Seth Breedlove's latest feature-length documentary, TERROR IN THE SKIES, a rollicking examination of mothmen, winged demons, thunderbirds, and prehistoric remnants. Here's a brief lowdown on the film prepared by its creators, Small Town Monsters (an independent production company that specializes in American folklore and modern mythology):

Illinois is known for its miles of prairie, and for being a state rich in history… but what if that rich history isn’t quite what you’ve been told? This new film, from award-winning production company, Small Town Monsters, and director, Seth Breedlove, explores hundreds of years of terrifying reports of encounters with massive, winged creatures around the “land of Lincoln”. From Alton’s man-eating Piasa Bird legends to recent sightings in Chicago of a creature said to resemble Point Pleasant, West Virginia’s infamous “Mothman”, Terror in the Skies unlocks a centuries-old mystery.

Journey to the heartland of the midwest in this new documentary which offers a startling, in-depth look at an ongoing phenomenon. The feature-length film was shot around the state of Illinois in September and acts as much as a guide to the constantly changing terrain of the land as it does an introduction to a reality-altering subject. Breedlove contacted numerous witnesses and investigators who claim to have seen massive beings in the sky as recently as last year. One of the most recent, and popular stories to hit major media in recent years has been an ongoing wave of sightings of a red-eyed, shapeless creature dubbed the “Chicago Mothman”, an event which is also covered in great detail in this film.

Breedlove's other feature-length documentaries are also well worth your time, particularly THE FLATWOODS MONSTER: A LEGACY OF FEAR (2018) and THE BRAY ROAD BEAST (2018).  

 

Loren Coleman on the Garlic Festival Shooting

In his latest Twilight Language blog post entitled "Garlic Festival Shooting, Oz, Zaragoza, and Aragon," the always insightful Loren Coleman offers a preliminary synchromystic analysis of yesterday's mass shooting at the Garlic Festival at Christmas Hill Park located in Gilroy, California.

Paul Krassner, R.I.P. (1932-2019)

Paul Krassner, the greatest satirist of the twentieth century, passed away on July 21 at the age of 87. If you haven't read Krassner's many books, you're definitely missing out on an incomparable experience. His 1993 book CONFESSIONS OF A RAVING, UNCONFINED NUT (the title of which was provided to Krassner by none other than J. Edgar Hoover, who called Krassner "a raving, unconfined nut" in a declassified FBI document) is, in my estimation, the funniest autobiography ever published.

Here's an excerpt from Danny Goldberg's 7-26-19 Nation article entitled "Goodbye to Free-Thought Icon and Merry Prankster Paul Krassner":

"Among the icons of the 1960s counterculture, no one carried the torch in succeeding decades with more joy and vigor than Paul Krassner, who died on July 21 at the age of 87. He was writing witty, politically charged group e-mails to hundreds of devoted friends and planning new projects until his final earthly days.

"Born in Brooklyn, Paul was a child prodigy on classical violin who played a Vivaldi concerto in Carnegie Hall at age 6. In the 1950s he became a staff writer for Mad magazine; he began publishing his own satirical magazine, The Realist, in 1959.

"That year he interviewed Lenny Bruce for Playboy. Paul later edited Bruce’s autobiography, How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. Paul is most famous as one of the founders of the Yippies; he was an unindicted coconspirator in the trial of the Chicago Eight, who were arrested in connection with anti-war protests outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

"Yet Paul’s greatest legacy is The Realist, which he kept going for 43 years, until 2001. Among those he published were Norman Mailer, Dick Gregory, Jerry Garcia, Allen Ginsberg, Kurt Vonnegut, Groucho Marx (whom he turned on to LSD), Ken Kesey, Richard Pryor, Marshall McLuhan, Woody Allen, Mort Sahl, George Carlin, Neil Postman, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, Joseph Heller, Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Barbara Garson (whose brilliant play MacBird Paul helped fund), Terry Southern (who called The Realist “the most important publication in the United States”), and artists Art Spiegelman and R. Crumb. Paul was the first to publish Mae Brussel’s theory on the JFK assassination, and he was a go-to source for conspiracy theorists.

"To me, the best parts of The Realist were Paul’s own pieces, which mixed anarchic humor and a nuanced progressive political agenda...."

Fortunately, you can still read the best of those pieces in Krassner's excellent collection How a Satirical Editor Became a Yippie Conspirator in Ten Easy Years (1971). Other essential Krassner books include The Winner of the Slow Bicycle Race (1996), Sex, Drugs, and the Twinkie Murders (2000), Murder at the Conspiracy Convention and Other American Absurdities (2002), One Hand Jerking: Reports From an Investigative Satirist (2005), Who's to Say What's Obscene? Politics, Culture and Comedy in America Today (2009), and Patty Hearst & the Twinkie Murders: A Tale of Two Trials (2014). Forthcoming is Krassner's final book, Zapped By the God of Absurdity, which will be released this September by Fantagraphics Books. Do yourself a favor and pre-order the book right HERE, right NOW!

 

Count Dracula Endorses BELA LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE!

I recently visited my close friend, Count Dracula, and told him that I had just published a nonfiction book entitled BELA LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE (coauthored with Gary D. Rhodes).

After I gave him a copy of the book, Dracula said, "Ah, it's wonderful to see my old friend Bela receiving some much deserved publicity!" 

I replied, "You know... some Dracula fans believe that Christopher Lee played you better. What do you think?"

The Count waved his hand dismissively and said, "No one could wear a dinner suit like Bela!"

"You actually met Mr. Lugosi?"

"Oh, yes. At one time we were quite close. I first met him in 1926 when I was preying on helpless young waifs in the Hungarian community in New York. I saw Bela performing dinner theater in a quaint, out-of-the-way cafe in Greenwich Village. Ah, yes! He made an excellent Cyrano! Fine comedic timing. I was the one who suggested he portray Yours Truly. I showed him all my best moves. He was a quick learner."

"Do you want to say something briefly about the nine films Bela made for Monogram Studios in the 1940s, the subject of our new book?"

"I had fallen out of touch with Bela by that time, but of course I saw all of those films when they premiered. Well, except for those two Bowery Boys films. For some reason those didn't play in Louisiana, where I was living at that time. My favorite was THE APE MAN. I needn't tell you, my friend, that THE APE MAN was a weird fucking film, was it not?"

"Yes, of course. That might be my favorite too. I devoted a very long chapter to that particular movie in this new book."

"I should watch it again. Maybe this time I'll even understand the damn thing. Anyway, I'll endeavor to read your new book. Reading helps me not fall asleep at night. Now stand back as I transform into an immense hookworm!"

"A hookworm?"

He leaned in close and whispered, "Bats, wolves, dogs... I've never been able to figure them out. They're way too complicated."

"Before you leave, can you pose for a picture with me?"

He sighed. "Oh, all right, but then I must go immediately! I have pressing matters awaiting me at my castle. Tending to the needs of my pet armadillo, Tony, must outweigh your petty concerns for publicity!"

So we snapped a few photos, and then I watched the Count squirm off into the distance. It was an exhilarating evening all around, as you can well imagine.

If you'd like to read the same book that Count Dracula will soon be perusing in his coffin, then please feel free to order your copy of BELA LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE from Amazon right HERE.

Frankenstein's Monster Endorses FREEDOM OF SCREECH!

I recently visited my close friend, the Frankenstein Monster, and told him I had just published a story that revolves around the book Mary Shelley wrote about him over two hundred years ago. 

I told him, "The story's called 'Farewell, Frankenstein!' and it's all about this college campus in Southern California that tried to ban Mary's biography of you! How wild is that, eh?" 

After I gave him a copy of the story in question, the Frankenstein Monster said to me (and this is a direct quote):

"Emblazon the following words upon thy blog: 'I expected this reception from academia! All so-called learned men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Those of you who read these words, those of you who consider yourselves to be reasonable souls, do the sacred duty of true humanity, purchase a copy of Craig Spector's latest anthology of dark fiction, FREEDOM OF SCREECH, and read Robert Guffey's stunning reportage concerning the abhorred book the late Mary Shelley wrote about me and my tortured existence! I cannot recommend this anthology more highly!' 

"Now... begone, vile insect. Off with you, and seek no further blurbs of endorsement from me! I wish only to be left... alone!" 

Then I said, "Will you pose for a picture with me first?" 

And he said in exasperation, "Ugh!" 

The old fellow couldn't have been more cooperative. Thank you, Frankenstein Monster!
 
We here at Cryptoscatology.com really appreciate all your efforts on our behalf!

You can buy a copy of Craig Spector's FREEDOM OF SCREECH anthology (which includes my story "Farewell, Frankenstein!") via Amazon right HERE.