Left Field Mantra

SELF PORTRAIT
Prismacolors, Copics, and Microns
I'm only posting the portrait above because I thought it was funny.

But...

I wanted to share this over here because, like it or not, I'm immensely proud of this one:

Technology has reached yet another new height of ridiculous efficiency, and I'm here for it. More of this yonder-year insanity can be perused over on my Threads feed, if you're nasty. The images for this composition were conceptualized by me, generated in DALL-E 3, animated in Luma, then stitched in CapCut. Make you a couple of PB & J's, then scroll through that feed and get lost in it.

Well, it’s official. I’m now “guy who needs glasses to read things” old.

You can catch me at the grocery store about to read a label, then being like “wait, let me consult the focal oracles” while I slip on these geek windows. The upside: reading my phone is like 3D now.

I feel confident in taking the leap of faith by posting this as I've just started to listen to it:

SAMURAI MUSIC PODCAST: PRESHA MIX

LISTEN HERE
Samurai Music has been putting out the kind of moody, dystopian drum & bass sound that's so gritty and dark you kinda feel like you're piloting the Nebuchadnezzar from The Matrix. One of the first mixes I listened to from this camp was from Presha, but the absolute nastiest was an older one by Pessimist. If you're into that dark sound, I'd highly suggest giving that one a listen as well...as soon as you're done with this heat I just posted.

We're getting closer...

A L I E N: ROMULUS TRAILER
We're back to the OG aesthetic of the franchise. The "ragtag crew of misfits stuck on a space vessel with some horrendously evolved and aggressive beast" aesthetic. Fede Alvarez has an impressive resume (Evil Dead, Don't Breathe), so if anything I think we're in for a good scifi slasher. I'm sure the deep fanbase will have a much more critical analysis, but I just like to enjoy films and either throw shade at them or praise them. The fun never stops!

While we're on the subject of trailers for new horror, I just caught wind of this evil gem:
SMILE 2 TEASER TRAILER
After watching the first one and subsequently questioning people's demeanor for 2 months afterward, I'm kinda curious to see if they can top the creepy levels of the previous installment. If you haven't seen the first Smile, I'd highly suggest you stop being a punk and watch it alone...in the dark...at midnight...in a basement. I mean, I didn't view it that way, but I guarantee anyone brave enough to do so won't be the same afterward.

Just so you know, there are no real protagonists in the film I'm about to post below: VILLAINS CLICK HERE TO WATCH
I watched this one on accident, but within the first few minutes is a strangely comical scene involving the tall dude from Hemlock Grove who played Pennywise in the new IT and the girl from It Follows, so I continued on. What happened afterward pretty much convinved me that the best movies out there are ones that most of us won't ever see or hear about unless we go looking for them.

EXISTENTIAL QUESTION:

What makes someone aspire to be an anesthesiologist? Or a gynecologist? Or proctologist? What events take place in ones life or what influences happen to someone for them to decide "one day, I want to induce people into unconsciousness"? What inspiration has to strike someone for them to make the hefty decision that they want to peer into people's vaginas or rectums for a living?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

MADLIB - BEAT PROVIDER (THROUGH THE YEARS)
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The Kitchen

Sketchbook Session
I can't remember if it was the camera or the page that was dirty, but there's definitely some smudging going on here. You're probably thinkng "why didn't his lazy ass just retake the photos?". Because I'm doing this all in one take, for authenticity...or some excuse like that. There was no concept, rhyme, or reason behind this composition. I just let my hand go...which usually produces the best results. However, you're liable to either do a ton of erasing or waste a bunch of paper taking that approach. Yet, if you want to go where few have gone before...

I know, for a fact, that no one reading this is a stranger to Theo Von...

THEO VON FUNNIEST MOMENTS VOL. 1
Ok, maybe I don't know that for a fact, but this dude said "I think if you have a diploma, you're not a hooker." 😂

Did anyone notice this A L I E N easter egg in the remake of the old scifi TV show "V"?

I swear, Weyland/Yutani has their hands in everything. I'm starting to think they're a metaphor for Apple and Microsoft. Only they're trying to get their hands on a xenomorph, not your data.

If you don't have a dark sense of humor, don't watch this...but do, though.

THIS IS HOW YOU DIE
Funny but true story: in the early days of the Funny Or Die website, the Admin banned me from commenting on their videos because I said something they didn't like about a video Will Ferrell did. The internet in the early 2000's was awesome.

Speaking of dark humor, Burn is a flick that is labeled as horror but the protagonists behavior throws you off to make you think the film is going in a certain direction. This keeps you on your toes the entire time while the story is coupled with some strange humor and odd tension. That's all a roundabout way of me saying "she's weird af and he's an idiot".

BURN CLICK HERE TO WATCH
I probably should've waited until I saw The Exorcist: Believer before I posted this or even got excited about it, but I'll admit I'm interested in where they take this. That might change once I actually get a chance to see the aforementioned, but check this out anyway:

From Bloody Disgusting:

Mike Flanagan in Talks to Direct the Next ‘Exorcist’ Movie

Recent comments from producer Jason Blum suggested that a retool was in order when last year’s The Exorcist: Believer wasn’t as successful as Blumhouse and Universal hoped. That certainly seems to be the case, as Deadline reports tonight that Mike Flanagan is in talks to direct the next Exorcist movie.

Director David Gordon Green was initially on board to direct an entire trilogy of new movies in the franchise, with The Exorcist: Believer intended to be only the first film in that three-film sequel series. Originally set to hit theaters on April 18, 2025, sequel The Exorcist: Deceiver was delayed when Green left the project.

If talks come to fruition, Flanagan will take over, likely steering the franchise in a new direction.

READ THE REST HERE

I'm going to go ahead and leave it there before I exhaust everyone's ADHD and y'all stop reading this blog.

OH NO feat. PERCEE P & DIAMOND D - KNOW MY VOICE

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Further

Digital Phantoms Series: 001
A quick black and white vector illustration to study line work and variations in line weight - composed in Adobe Illustrator. It's the beginning of a series I'll be exploring with the intention of utilizing line work to convey depth rather than multiple shades of a color. We'll see how weird it gets.

Not to intentionally kick off with gloom, but the art world loses another legend:

Akira Toriyama, Creator of Dragon Ball and Manga Pioneer, Dies at 68

From IGN:
"Toriyama's body of work inspired both anime fans and creators alike.

Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball and the artist behind Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, and numerous other works, has died. He was 68. News of Toriyama's passing was made public by the official Dragon Ball Z X (formerly Twitter) account on March 7. According to the statement, Toriyama died due to an acute subdural hematoma."

I don't really need to explain how much of an influence he was on a whole generation, but there will never be another.
>>> READ THE REST HERE

Now, I gotta tell you, this is an interesting yet weird conversation:

JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE #2111 - KATT WILLIAMS
The menthol question is what first piqued my attention. Katt Williams is a legend and an iconoclast in his own right, and this conversation shows and proves why he's earned both of those titles. It delivers the brand of banter and compelling communication that we've all come to expect of him and Joe Rogan, so I for one am glad this conversation happened...even though by the time I've posted this, we've all moved on to something else wild that Katt's said.

A24 is undoubtedly racking up a killer resume - with flicks like Under the Skin, Hereditary, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and this oddity:

THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER >>> CLICK HERE TO WATCH <<<
I've watched many a strange film in my day. I was a big fan of Takashi Miike in his Audition / Ichi the Killer days, so I'm pretty familiar with what's left field - and The Killing of a Sacred Deer definitely ranks up there. I watched the first 15 minutes of this asking myself aloud this one question: "wtf?". That should give you an idea of the obscure level of this film. Although, if you're not a fan of Hitchcock or Kubrick, well...

While we're on the subject of film, I just so happened to stumble upon this video (thanks to the good folks at the USS Sulaco Colonial Marines (Aliens) Fans Group) that's 45 minutes of unreleased footage from the original ALIEN film by Ridley Scott. It's packed with information about the storyline that, if you ask me, should have never been removed from the film. Although, it's easy to say that 40 something years later.

ALIEN (1979) | RESTORED EDITION (WITH DELETED SCENES)
Parker is the OG "disagreeable dude", hands down.

I'm going to go ahead and leave it there because this time change has me yawning in broad daylight.

CZARFACE feat. GODFATHER DON & KOOL KEITH - HELICOPTER

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