Brien Foerster is a driving force in the world of ancient mysteries and alternative history. Having appeared on History Channel’s Ancient Aliens on fifteen occasions, and boasting 23 authored books to-date, he ranks amongst the likes of Erich von Däniken, David Hatcher Childress, Robert Bauval and Giorgio A. Tsoukalos. His search for ancient discoveries is never-ending, and his passion equally contagious. In recent years he has brought some particularly astonishing findings to the table, and we’re here to discuss them with Brien.
Posts filed under SUM3
Communicating With The Dead: An Interview with Author & Researcher, Jeff Belanger
Jeff Belanger always manages to be spectacularly upbeat and positive about something that, for most people, is quite a negative topic: death. Few have been as productive and valuable in the paranormal and spirit-communicating scene as Jeff has. Not only is he the Emmy-nominated host, writer, and producer of the New England Legends on PBS, he is also the writer and researcher for the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures, and the host of the widely popular Web and cable talk-show 30 Odd Minutes. He has writtensixteen books to date, all revolving around the mysterious, the paranormal, and the supernatural, ranging from haunted locations and spirit communication, to the Bermuda Triangle, UFO investigating, and even experiences such as climbing Mount Everest.
Our Life Beyond MKULTRA: Lies, Corruption and Love, An Interview with Elisa E.
““You have to understand that the alters…like my front-line system was amazing…all those years I worked and had a so-called normal life parallel to the other life.””
We are extremely grateful to have had Elisa E. back on the show, one of the best sources of information on the world of mind-control that anyone could hope for. A survivor of trauma-based mind-control herself, her ability to reflect on her experiences succinctly and coherently is definitely a gift to anyone researching this subject-matter and hoping to find out more.
Again, we do not claim that what we are talking about is the absolute truth, since that’s something we ourselves do not know. Our primary aim is always to inform – we intend to provide a platform for people to speak from; to listen carefully and analytically; and to intellectually engage with our guests. At times, suspension of doubt is required, but that is indeed the only way that a fully-informed opinion can be reached. Those that are unable to give a theory or a proposed idea the “benefit of the doubt,” even just for a moment, tend to be those that go through life monochromatically and unenlightened.
That said, we broach a number of topics and ideas during this WoTR episode, delving just a little deeper into the world of trauma-based mind-control. We focus more on Book 2 of Our Life Beyond MKULTRA this time round, since our first interview was based on Book 1. Nevertheless, we still recap a little of Book 1, providing both a foundation for the show, as well as a neat introduction for those who have not yet read Elisa’s books.
““If each and every person on earth began to form a conscious relationship with this Unconditional Love that resides within their Benevolent human soul, and obtained or made orgone generators (negative ion generators), malevolent kontrol would be banished as long as we each maintain. No war, no violence, just pure Love and Life.””
What you have to remember is that Elisa does not claim that x, y and z, happened per se. At least not in every instance when she is recounting a bizarre story. For instance, take her various encounters with “aliens” or strange extra-terrestrial beings – she describes her memories as she recalls them, as she thought they happened. However, she fully admits that, when she recalls those various instances, they may not, in fact, have gone down as she believes them to have gone down. She admits that they may be screen memories, at least on some of those many occasions, perhaps implanted by someone else, or at times even self-induced due to the unbearable trauma that they are probably concealing. Alas, this is at the very core of trauma-based mind-control: traumatising and psychologically beating down the victim to the point of being able to fully reshape them mentally. It sounds absolutely horrific, almost unimaginable that one human could do this to another; unfortunately, that also explains why most people probably don’t want to believe in things like this. (As for the human aspect, whether these people are “fully” human or not is a whole topic in itself). Elisa explains how, a lot of the time, she doesn’t know which memories are “real” and which are screen memories – she is completely aware of that, and merely aims to inform us of the memories she does have. How we process that information is up to us.
Perhaps things can indeed get a little confusing when talk of “entities,” “demons,” “aliens, and “beings,” starts becoming heavier. However, bear in mind that this “strange” talk of inter-dimensional beings and seemingly “super-natural” abilities occurs a lot in MKULTRA/mind-control talk. For that reason, it may be useful for some of our listeners to do a bit of their own research, or even read a book or two themselves. We recommend maybe picking up one of Elisa E’s Top 4 Mind-Control Books or Elisa E’s Top 5 Mind-Control Films, which can be found at the bottom of this article here. Otherwise, one of Elisa’s own books, which we can never recommend enough. Be warned though, it does get heavy at times. Fascinating, nevertheless.
She is always “on it,” responding to our questions succinctly and allowing herself time to think where it is necessary – we definitely do not get the vibe that her answers are rehearsed in any way. She makes incredibly astute comments on our shows (often emailing in regarding our other interviews), displaying signs of an intelligent and analytical mind. I think it’s important to have this background knowledge of her when judging her narrative.
““Most people in the conspiracy community generally agree that the world I come from is 50 to 100 years ahead technologically””
And yes, of course she could be duping us, of course there exists the possibility that she may be a psychopath doing this for fun, or even a disinformant – alas, in this line of journalism, those are thoughts that should go without saying, and we are certainly not oblivious to the more nefarious possibilities. But, having researched these themes for the few years that we have, and having come in contact with plenty of people in the MK circles, we are still happy to stand by our opinion that Elisa E is, undoubtedly, one of the most convincing and (more importantly) trustworthy whistleblowers out there. Thus far, she has not given us reason to doubt her, and I believe that’s important to point out. In fact, it’s extremely rare in cases such as this.
One of several intense and disturbing collages featured in Elisa E.'s books, as well as on her website, Our Life Beyond MKULTRA. Used with permission.
We sincerely hope you enjoy listening to this interview as much as it was fascinating for us to conduct. We talk about societal conditioning, and the difference between programming and conditioning; inter-dimensional and non-human entities; esoteric sciences; interconnections with movies, including how the recent film Split may help us understand a fragmented mind; if and how one might spot a mind-controlled person; and what it actually means to be a “high-level bloodline ritually abused trauma-based total mind controlled slave.” We also briefly explore how some of the seemingly superhuman abilities of mind-controlled slaves may be scientifically feasible, such as breathing under water. Yes, it absolutely sounds too weird to be true, but science is slowly revealing things that we had previously thought impossible. In fact, isn’t that what every paradigm-shift does? Shift the very foundations of our beliefs and views of reality? Check out this article on the so-called “Aquaman Crystal”. And if we take into account that real technology (we’re talking underground government research here) is probably decades ahead of what the mainstream is selling us, it becomes a little easier to believe that some of this crazy technology may well be real, and in use right now, albeit unbeknownst to us.
A couple of great links for further education on this topic: Mind Control Simple To Complex & Alters and Triggers.
You can order Elisa E.'s book here: Our Life Beyond MKULTRA Book 1 and Book 2.
And, if you’re brave enough to tackle, "The Illuminati Formula to Create an Undetectable Total Mind Control Slave” (By Fritz Springmeier & Cisco Wheeler), though please bear in mind that it is slightly dated at this point.
We find Elisa E’s story extremely compelling, and we continue to support her. Whatever it is that is happening to all these people, we hope that you will at least acknowledge that it is something. When so many people are coming out with the same stories over and over again (a quick google search will tell you that much), it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore this phenomenon.
Now for the interview, enjoy!
Another Mind Control Victim To The Slaughter? The Mysterious Murder of Tiffany Jenks
This past Sunday, we had John Captain III on the show – for over three years now, he has been campaigning for justice and exposure of the murder of his girlfriend, Tiffany Jenks. Three years on, however, the media is still brushing the facts under the carpet, and justice remains to be served.
We want to make it clear in advance: this story will come across as crazy and absurd to many readers; but we urge you to suspend your disbelief and cast aside your doubt, just for a moment, while you read this article and listen to the interview. Then go ahead and form your own conclusion. As always, we aim to remain as unbiased as possible, and give everyone a chance to speak. As J.S. Mill once said, “We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion; and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still. [John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859]
Tiffany Jenks was murdered on October 8th 2013, at the age of 35 – she was shot in the forehead, by someone she did not know and had apparently only met that night, shortly prior to her death. Or so the police say.
For a general overview of the “official” story, check out some of these links:
www.kptv.com/story/23731932/court-documents-describe-night-of-tiffany-jenks-death-at-blue-lake-park
www.cbs46.com/story/23809980/man-charged-with-murder-for-death-of-portland-woman-tiffany-jenks
koin.com/2014/08/22/vivacious-tiffany-jenks-remembered-at-sentencing
However, the story that we present here on the show deviates a little from the publically released story, and we hope that it exposes as much of the truth as possible. John is here to speak about his lost partner and to tell us his side of the story, and we're here to question, listen, and give him a platform to talk on – something the police has not done.
What you need to know is that Tiffany Jenks’ case does indeed display all the stereotypical tell-tale signs of a mind control victim (or a victim of TMK, Total Mind Kontrol, as it is known in some circles): the evidence all points in that direction. She was a physically fit and beautiful woman; intelligent, a high-achiever and a college athlete; she had a top job; yet, she had drinking problems and, more significantly, mental problems. She also appears to have been quite a socially isolated person, despite her approachable personality. She would often hint at there being more to her than meets the eye…but it always remained ambiguous as to what exactly that was.
For anyone reading about this subject-matter for the first time, it may be beneficial to hark back to some of our previous interviews (e.g. “From Victim To Survivor - The Real “Jason Bourne” And The Dark World Of Mkultra), or do some quick Google research yourself. It may well be necessary, at least to get a light grasp on what we’re talking about. This link may also be useful to many of you, especially for those that may want to delve a little deeper and learn more about the various stages of Mind Control (be sure to follow monarchprogramming.wordpress.com, I find a lot of the information on there very useful).
Anyway, enjoy this interview, and we hope that it will enlighten you a little more as to what is going on in our world… We urge you to take action where you can.
Spread The Word and Spread The Love.
A Tour Through Esoteric Hollywood: Sex, Cults and Symbols with Author and Researcher Jay Dyer
Jay’s back at it again, this time joining us on West of The Rockies to talk about his new book, Esoteric Hollywood. With so much information packed into the book, we set out to focus on a select few movies, namely, The Shining, Rosemary’s Baby, and Close Encounters of The Third Kind. Of course, this also meant delving into the minds of Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski, and Steven Spielberg, the directors of those movies respectively. We also analyse the wider impact and scope of movies, as pertains to the actors involved; possible government or power connections; and, of course, the effects on the public viewers. As usual, there was a lot to be said, and too little time.
The masked ball scene from Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Related: Examining The Esoteric Themes Of Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" with Jay Dyer.
We interviewed Jay back in June of last year, focusing mainly on Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. For those of you that haven’t listened to that show yet, or perhaps would like more of an introduction into Jay’s work, head over to our article, Examining The Esoteric Themes Of Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" With Jay Dyer.
Is Hollywood really as glitzy and glamorous as it advertises to be? Is it just a façade for something much darker, hiding something far more nefarious and wide-reaching than we realise? It has long been known that the lure of Hollywood stardom can turn a good person bad, and poison even the purest of souls. What is the real motive behind the many evils we hear of, the doped-up stars gone crazy, the apparent secret and/or subliminal messages in movies?
Scene from Rosemary's Baby (1968) written and directed by Roman Polanski.
Of course, the Illuminati, government and CIA, as well as religious/cult involvement are always terms that pop up in discussions such as these. To what extent are these various entities or enterprises really involved in the film industry? Are movie directors puppets just as much as actors and pop-stars have often been thought to be?
The recurrent surrealistic themes of the aforementioned movies are certainly not to be dismissed, especially the common motif of a storyline that blends reality with fiction, waking states with dream sequences. In essence, they’re all pretty “trippy” movies, and that should not go unnoticed. Are they trying to inform us of something going on behind the scenes? Perhaps in Gorvernment? Preparing us for some sort of revelation or disclosure? Mass mind-controlling us, perhaps via various frequencies, subliminal messages, and even obvious messages? Alas, is that not what powerful propaganda and stringent censorship is doing in many nations right now even, and certainly in the past, e.g. Hitler’s Germany? Or….right here?
Scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) written and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Of course, we can’t omit the topics of MK Ultra and aliens in a discussion such as this. How might film play a role in the creation of mind-controlled (or “kontrolled”) victims? And how does this tie in to alleged alien encounters/UFO abductions? Do the ideas overlap? Are they both forms of mind-control, using trauma and screen memories to make the victim believe certain things, or cause them to have certain characteristics or abilities? It’s certainly no new theory that those experiencing bizarre or paranormal events may be the subject of false screen memories. Once again though, if this is indeed the case, we need to ask ourselves: to what ends?
We also briefly touch on something a little closer to current times, namely Stranger Things (the recently released science fiction-horror web series starring Winona Ryder) and the advent of a new age of entertainment where a “perfect” TV show or movie can be generated via an algorithm. Indeed, the writers working for Netflix are said to have used the huge amounts of viewer data and various algorithms in creating the storyline for last year’s paranormal TV hit (I say TV, though most people are probably watching these types of shows on their computer). The same goes for other Netflix originals. With that in mind, what does that mean for us, as viewers? Sure, on one hand, it’s great to watch something that is essentially guaranteed to be good, if not amazing. On the other hand…what other doors does this open? If the television and film industry is already digging this deep into our preferences, our lives, our minds, what else could they achieve? Or what are they already doing? The possibilities are vast, and often scary.
Needless to say, we also throw in some Scientology references (L. Ron Hubbard’s influence in Hollywood, even to this day, cannot go without mention), and briefly look at how Aleister Crowley and Jack Parsons may have played a role in this scene (no pun intended…or maybe it was).
We hope you enjoy the interview – allow yourself to be taken on a little tour through Esoteric Hollywood:
Paranormal Lockdown, UFO Over Chile, Wikileaks & UFO Disclosure with Paranormal Investigator, Ben Hansen
Ben Hansen, inside Waver Hills Sanatorium for an episode of Paranormal Lockdown with Nick Groff and Katrina Weidman. (Source)
UFO over Chile - November 11, 2014. Photo: CEFAA
Regular guest Ben Hansen is back on WoTR Radio tonight, with another healthy dose of updates on all things UFOs and the supernatural. During this episode of West of The Rockies we discuss the TV show, Paranormal Lockdown on Destination America/TLC; paranormal investigations and the use of new technology; the debunking of the Mexican Air Force UFO sighting; the analysis of the new Chilean thermal UFO video; and a little discussion on Wikileaks and the Podesta/UFO emails thrown in.
Ben also talks about the upcoming paranormal event that he’s involved in, namely, “Night At The Surfing Museum,” presented by Haunted Orange County which will be taking place on February 22nd. You can also catch Ben at The 26th Annual International UFO Congress taking place February 15th through 19th in Scottsdale, Arizona. Ben will be giving a presentation on his analysis of recent presidential UFO comments as well as leading and hosting a night-time skywatch during the conference.
For more information on Ben and his upcoming appearances, check out his website: BenHansen.com
Enjoy the interview!
The Mystery of The Toynbee Tiles: An Interview with Steve Weinik of the Documentary "Resurrect Dead"
Justin Duerr next to a Toynbee Tile -- from the 2011 documentary, Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles.
Photo: ©Steve Weinik Photography
Warning: SPOILER ALERT
(for those that have not yet seen, Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of The Toynbee Tiles)
For a good fifteen years now, Steve Weinik has been studying a mystery – a modern-day riddle that, as of yet, remains largely unsolved. A perfect topic for West of The Rockies to delve into and explore further…
The Toynbee Tiles first started appearing on the streets back in the early 80’s, initially just in Philadelphia, and then spreading up to New York as well as further out East, even making appearances in South America, specifically in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. Of course, the questions started building. What were these strange tiles? A student art project gone pandemic? An arcane prophecy? NWO/Illuminati secret messages? What they are, or rather why, remains to be fully explained.
Tile located at 15th & Chestnut St. Philadelphia, PA
Photo: ©Steve Weinik Photography
The message, in its simplest form:
TOYNBEE IDEA
IN MOViE `2001
RESURRECT DEAD
ON PLANET JUPiTER
(Common variations include changing ‘MOVIE’ to ‘Kubrick’s’, ‘RESURRECT’ to ‘RAiSE’, and/or omitting ‘ON’.)
For a long period of time, it remained uncertain as to exactly what the tiles were made of, and how they came to be so solidly embedded in the streets of Philadelphia and other cities. More importantly, how they appeared so discreetly, without anyone ever publically witnessing the tiler himself (we can safely assume, at this point, that it was a he). However, by now we can at least be certain of this much: they are held together by Elmer’s glue and asphalt crack-filling compound, while the cut-out shapes are made of flexible linoleum.
Colin Smith uncovering a tile at 12th & Market Streets, Philadelphia, PA. Photo: ©Steve Weinik Photography
The tiles are finally sandwiched between two layers of tar paper, the bottom sheet acting as a gluing agent to the road, whilst the top layer fills the open cracks and gaps of the tile over time (through the pressure of vehicles rolling over it), with the top tar sheet eventually peeling off, leaving the perfectly embedded tile on display.
The lettering and framing (as well as the occasional figures, some of which include robot/android-like creatures; naked, provocatively-posed females silhouettes; and, on some occasions, even extraordinarily crafted grim-reaper-like characters) are roughly cut, with an almost child-like quality, the colourful appearance often adding to their playfulness, making them absolutely captivating pieces of art.
Edison New Jersey tile in 2007. This tile has since been paved over. Photo: ©Steve Weinik Photography
In fact, as of October 2015, the Streets Department of Philadelphia officially decided to recognise the Toynbee Tiles as street art, agreeing to, “save one or two of the Toynbee Tiles only if there is a fast and affordable method for removing them.” Admittedly, where possible, they could just work around the tiles or simply leave them put where they need not be removed, as they have already done in some places.
Steve grew up in Philadelphia, first noticing the tiles back in 1993, though only actively starting to investigate them around 2001 – already being a hobby photographer at that time, he naturally started taking photos of them and began documenting their whereabouts.
Tile at 30th St. & 6th Ave. New York, NY.
Photo: ©Steve Weinik Photography
Alongside a group of three other Toynbee Tile enthusiasts, a documentary came under way in 2005, initially commenced by Jon Foy, with Steve and the others (namely Justin Duerr and Colin Smith) joining the project a little while later.
So, what was The Toynbee Tiler (TTT) trying to achieve? What message was he trying to get out there? Was he part of a cult? Was he crazy? Did he know something important that needed to be told to the public? All of these are questions are addressed during our interview, and certainly in the documentary.
Iconic image of the Molly Pitcher rest area tile near Cranbury, NJ. Photo: ©Steve Weinik Photography
We are all fairly certain at this point as to who the TTT is, though the details remain to be explored. Personally, I still feel that the occurrence of Julius “Railroad Joe” in this story remains somewhat of a mystery – might he still have been involved or related in some way? Perhaps simultaneously working alongside Sevy, or perhaps at a different time (either prior or after Sevy’s involvement) - whether they were working in conjunction or not would also remain to be solved, as it’s perfectly possible that one was a copycat of the other, or one was somehow continuing the “legacy” of the other. Simply put, his story seems to fit just too well to merely be a coincidence. What do you think?
The development of the tiles, that is, the aesthetic and geographical changes over time, lead us down a path of understanding as well as further confusion, the increasingly crazy ramblings of later days indicative of a breakdown in the tiler’s mental state and growing paranoia. Join us in this interview, and see what you make of it….
For further details regarding the movie, the film crew, and their intentions, head over to the FAQ section of the movie website and be sure to visit Steve Weinik's photography page to check out his amazing work as well as Steve's page dedicated to the Toynbee Tile mystery.
Want to find out more about this mystery? Tune in to our show!
Over and Out. Peace
Heaven and Earth Oasis 4th Annual Fundraiser - Holistic Therapy for War Veterans
Valerie Heath, Founder of Heaven and Hearth Oasis speaking at their 4th Annual Fundraiser in Hollywood, California.
Attendees were greeted with a number of booths offering a variety of methods to help treat symptoms of PTSD.
This last Saturday saw the Loews Hotel (Hollywood) host the annual Heaven and Earth Oasis fundraiser. Having just interviewed Valerie Heath, founder and President of Heaven and Earth Oasis, this was our first opportunity at seeing the organisation in full action. Dedicated to helping war veterans, not just on a physical but also a mental and emotional level, this organisation aims to do all this at zero cost to the veterans themselves.
Veterans were able to experience some of the holistic treatments offered by the practitioners of Heaven and Earth Oasis.
Now in its fourth year running, the non-profit was originally established by Valerie, after having come to the realisation that war veterans sadly do not receive the full amount of care that they need and deserve. Those returning from war are damaged on far more than a mere physical level, and thus, Valerie, alongside co-founder Chantal Benedict, made it their task to provide holistic treatments for veterans. This includes the more popular complementary treatments, such as massage and acupuncture, but also lesser-known methods, such as DNA Theta Healing and Reiki (both forms of energy healing, becoming increasingly more popular in the US).
Kurtis Lee Thomas' booth at the 4th Annual Heaven and Earth Oasis Fundraiser.
At the fundraiser, we were lucky to meet some of the amazing people working in this field. Kurtis Lee Thomas had a booth set up in the vendors’ hall, and also delivered an incredibly uplifting speech before the luncheon. We even grabbed a couple of his orgone pendants, which, in all honesty, seem to be doing their thing so far.
We also bumped into world-renowned psychic, Patti Negri. So, how is a psychic related to this? Admittedly, the idea of a psychic healer helping out with emotional problems is unwelcomed by a lot of people. But this is holistic healing, an approach that tries to address all aspects of someone’s life, which may often involve the spiritual realm or perhaps even the afterworld. This means having to keep one’s barriers down a little, and allowing new ideas to take form -- a lot of the techniques used in alternative healing may appear kooky at first, but they all aim to benefit the overall wellbeing of the individual. And Patti has been known to do just that.
World-renowned psychic, Patti Negri, about to begin a psychic healing session at her booth during the 4th Annual Heaven and Earth Oasis Fundraiser.
Leon Cooper, WWII Vet & American Hero, featured in the documentary Return to the Phillipines, the Leon Cooper Story.
WoTR also had the incredible opportunity to meet Leon Cooper, WWII Veteran and Navy landing craft officer, from the recent documentary, Return to the Phillipines, the Leon Cooper Story (Watch Trailer).
To find out more about Heaven and Earth Oasis and their treatment for war veterans, you can listen to our recent interview with founder, Valerie Heath.
Heaven and Earth Oasis 4th Annual Fundraiser Gallery
Spread The Word and Spread The Love -- Happy Veterans Day and A Huge 'Thank You' To Our Service Personnel, Past, Present and Future!
Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con 2016
First things first – so, Comikaze isn’t called Comikaze anymore, which is definitely confusing. And if not confusing, at the very least it’s annoying. Does anyone really call the convention by its full name? That’s Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con. (In all honesty, we didn’t really see, “Comikaze,” as lasting too long. I don’t think it has the most positive of connotations for people, certainly not for Americans…). Anyway, that’s a petty complaint. Despite the name change, the essence of the event remained, and there was certainly no shortage of crazy costumes, amazing artists, and…Harley Quinns.
What would Stan Lee's LA Comic Con be without an appearance by the Joker and Harley Quinn.
So So Happy - Skelaminals booth at Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con 2016.
The variety and quality of vendors was definitely up a notch this year. Maybe I was just in a shopping mood, but I feel that pricing and variety of goods did indeed see an improvement. WoTR favourites included a super-fun and creative booth by the name of Botti Vingelo (find them on Facebook & Etsy), selling general fantasy/goth/steampunk-style jewellery, with its stand-out items being a variety of earcuffs, making for extremely cute elfen-esque accessories.
We also had a great time at the So So Happy – Skelanimals booth, perhaps because the two vendors happened to be particularly friendly and comedic. In any case, they were happy to entertain our indecisiveness as we contemplated for a-little-too long which of the many sweaters to purchase. I can only imagine that this is the average struggle of a twelve-year-old emo/scene kid. They also threw in a couple of freebies, which definitely earns them a very positive shout-out from us.
We were also glad to bump into Alejandro Lee again this year, creator of the comic series, Sally Sprocket & Piston Pete, who not only writes but illustrates his own books. Steampunk-meets-Wild West, Pinocchio-meets-RoboCop, this storyline couldn’t get any more bizarre, but neither could it get more fun. This is definitely an indie artist to support and keep an eye on.
My Chemical Romance frontman & comic book creator, Gerard Way.
Besides that, something we had also (secretly) been looking forward to was the Gerard Way interview. Emo fan or not, we were interested to see what the lead singer of My Chemical Romance had to say about his comic-book career. It was fun to hear the updates on his latest comic series, Young Animal, but the interview was disappointingly brief, with Gerard having to leave at about an hour in, skipping the Q & A session, and leaving late-comers wondering what on Earth just happened. So yay for Mr. Way, but nay to the brevity of his appearance.
Maurice & Rob, the voices of Pinky & The Brain.
Of course, seeing Pinky & The Brain (well, OK, the voice actors thereof) was also pretty cool – that’s Maurice LaMarche and and Rob Paulson, The Brain and Pinky, respectively. Growing up with certain cartoons, and then later seeing the real-life voice actors behind those characters, is always a trip. It’s a cross between fun-and-exciting, and the uncomfortable tinge of feeling like you’ve finally grown up – yeah, those cartoons you used to watch aren’t actually real.
However, there were a couple pitfalls this year too. If we’re going to give a review, we’re going to make sure it’s comprehensive and honest. The first major downer that we encountered were the new opening hours. This year’s event saw its grand opening at 5pm on Friday. Closing time was 9pm. Perhaps LACC had to cut some corners this year, but the effect was most certainly undesirable – Friday lost a little of its excitement and hype, because it all of a sudden seemed like a bit of an add-on day, and the prospect of spending three hours putting on the costume and all that make-up just suddenly started to feel less worth the while. Now, I’m not saying Friday was dull – it just wasn’t quite the “grand opening”
This year's program guide cover was created by the amazingly talented artist, Camilla d'Errico.
There was also a lack of excitement and variety when it came to panels this year. There was no lack of panels per se, in terms of numbers alone but the number of repeats and similar topics to last year was just past acceptable. Admittedly, themes and topics don’t go out of style within a year, but a little more variation might have been nice. For newcomers, it’s great to have things recapped, but for those who have been to more than one comic convention, it would be nice to have a bit of change. The timetable also appeared a little more crammed this year, presumably because panels were reserved only for Saturday and Sunday, with Friday being converted into a “vendors only” day. This was a little sucky, especially given that Friday had already been reduced to a mere four hours. Things were also somewhat lacking in the “headliners” department. Sure, there were plenty of popular names in geekdome at LACC, but, once again, not much had been switched up from last year.
Things got all "the power of Christ compels you" outside of the convention center on Sunday afternoon.
Things did, however, get turned up a little more outside the convention center. That’s to say, a bunch of angry Christians decided to tell everyone there that they’re going to hell. Really, things did actually heat up enough for the LAPD to decide to monitor the scene. (Yeah, the cops showed up to a comic convention…) Standing their ground and holding their fortress, they proudly held up signs saying, “Ask Me Why You Deserve Hell,” “Repent or Perish”, and “Cry To God,” among other death-metal band names. It was comic to watch (all puns intended), eliciting mainly “WTF?”s from people, with a bunch of fellow nerds standing around wondering what aspect of playing League of Legends lead them down the pathway of hell. Come on, y’all, it’s a comic and gaming expo. Not heroin. (Plenty of heroines though, I saw at least a couple of Wonder Women.)
With SLLACC happening on Halloween weekend, there was no shortage of super-cool accessories.
None of this should be taken as a complaint, constructive criticism at most. We love LA Comic Con, and will undoubtedly continue to attend. Being smaller than San Diego’s Comic Con International, this makes for easier attending, both in terms of ticket availability and in terms of crowd manoeuverability. And at $70, it’s still a great deal ($50 at the presale price, and that’s for the three-day multi pass).
Tl;dr Comic books, cosplay, crazy Christians, gaming, Harley Quinn Harley Quinn Harley Quinn, Deadpooldeadpooldeadpool, See y’all again next year!
Check out our Stan Lee's LA Comic Con 2016 Gallery
Spread The Word and Spread The Love.
The Paranormal Past, Present & Future of the Haunted Linda Vista Hospital: An Interview with Richard Berni of Boyle Heights Paranormal Project
Rich knows a thing or two about the paranormal. Having founded the Boyle Heights Paranormal Project back in ’09, he went on to adopt a few caretaking duties at Linda Vista Hospital during its uninhabited years, a time that saw dozens of film productions and music videos crews use the hospital interior as their creepy backdrop.
