Papal Pandemonium

About 3 weeks ago, I was introduced to a character from Marvel that I previously had no knowledge of. His name is Gallowglass and he's the son of Thanos (a big baddie) It's also a class of Scot warriors. I made a note to myself when this name and term came into my life. It was an experiment of sorts, to see how long it might take for gallowglass to pop up again without me deliberately seeking it out. The day has come. On Cupid's birthday none the less. While looking at the filmography of Michael Sheen, an actor I like, I see that one of his credits is for a film called....you guessed it...."Gallowglass". I felt like that was a big enough sign to catapult me in to posting about a recent pope sync that blew my socks off.

Monday February 11th, 2013, as we all know, is the date that Pope Benedict announced his resignation from the dark throne of darkness. This is a pretty big deal. Regardless if you buy in to the 'Peter the Roman "conspiracy"'. This is the first time a pope has resigned in some 700 years. Talk about an historical moment. I woke up to this news and found it odd to say the least, just because March 2013 was already in my head as a potential "End of times" date. But Dec. 21, 2012 came and went, so I'll keep that idea on the back burner for the time being.  It's perfect timing though. Apparently, the 112th pope will be the last pope, before end times. Benedict is 111th. So take that as you will. 

So on to the sync. Probably around 7 or 8pm on Monday, my brother Nick tells me about a book he was just reading (He reads about 2 or 3 a week, I believe). The book being 'Bel-Ami'.  A French novel from the 19th century. I acknowledged this, but really didn't give it much thought. Fast forward a couple hours. I end up bringing up (seemingly on a whim) the story of Jesus walking on water. Being someone who knows very little about the bible, I questioned whether or not the story shows up in the holy book or was a story made up, later on. QUICK, TO WIKIPEDIA! Nick simply searches, 'Jesus walking on water.' Wouldn't ya know it, a page for that specific miracle exists. And the very first image on the page is this:

Here's where things get weird. Nick tells me that the painting on the page was described in a scene in 'Bel-Ami'. In fact, it was the last thing he read about, in said book. This is odd to say the least.  There are many pictures of Jesus walking on water. But for whatever reason, the wikipedia page used THIS one. We racked our brains for the rest of the night. How did this happen?

Did I subconsciously read Nick's thoughts?

Did I read Bel-Ami in a past life and plan the connection unknowingly?

Maybe because of my Catholic upbringing, some thing within me triggered because everyone was thinking about the pope that day?

Or perhaps it was just a simple act of fate?

But the question isn't how. It's why. Let's say Jesus walking on water, or the metaphor within, was a mystical message from a higher power. What could it/she/he be trying to tell us?

Let's add a little lighter fluid to these charcoals of curiosity.  Here's the story from the bible:

And straightway he constrained the disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before him unto the other side, till he should send the multitudes away.

²³ And after he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain apart to pray: and when even was come, he was there alone.

²⁴ But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, distressed by the waves; for the wind was contrary.

²⁵ And in the fourth watch of the night he came unto them, walking upon the sea.

²⁶ And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost; and they cried out for fear.

²⁷ But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

²⁸ And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon the waters.

²⁹ And he said, Come. And Peter went down from the boat, and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus.

³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me.

³¹ And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and took hold of him, and saith unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

³² And when they were gone up into the boat, the wind ceased.

³³ And they that were in the boat worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

Yeah, so Peter was the one involved in this story.  Peter being the name of the inevitable papal replacement.  Yes, you can say, "Well, Peter was in a lot of the bible" He was. But so was Mark, Matthew, John, Ezekial, fucking a ton of people were in that book. The indisputable fact here, is that PETER was featured in the miracle. 

Let's end this with some pictures.  I searched for Peter Turkson, the supposed Petrus Romanus. On his wikipedia page lies this image: 

And if you wikipedia search: Papal Conclave, 2013, you get THIS image:

Both have different objects on top, but both look like flying saucers to me. Especially Peter Turkson's. That's the shit I used to draw in 4th grade.

Lately, I have found that when I research heavily in to some kind of synchronicity or just an esoteric subject, it always seems to come back to aliens.  

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

UPDATE: 2/20/2013 

I forgot to mention in the original post, what happened to St. Peter's church after the Pope resigned.

 It looked something like this...

When I first read this article, the word basilica (Roman public building or the tribunal chamber of a King) stood out. It reminded me of the word basilisk. Which is a "legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents...

How fitting.

Love, Dom

Tuesday tuesday tuesday

So it was the afternoon of Wednesday, January 23rd that I was having lunch with my friend John. It never usually takes us long to get in to the esoteric discussions. I had mentioned to him how sometimes I'll rent 2 or 3 movies with little to no discernible connection and end up finding similarities. Whether it be theme, same actors, or even an obscure reference that just so happens to appear in both/all films.  Actually, I once watched the classic John Ritter rumpus, 'Stay Tuned' and realized how similar the plot was to the recent, 'Cabin in the Woods'.  Maybe I'll write an entry on that one day.

So Wednesday night, I decided to rent some vids. I end up getting 'The Three Musketeers', 'Tower Heist', and 'The Fourth Kind.'  I haven't seen any of them before and I watch them in that order. 'Three Musketeers' wasn't the worst thing ever, but it wasn't the best thing either. I got exactly what I expected out of it. At times, it was fun and action packed and the cast was good even if they didn't have a lot to work with. One line that is repeated twice in the film goes like this:

Constance: Are you always this cocky?

D'Artagnan: Only on Tuesdays...and whenever beautiful women are involved.

There are no other days mentioned throughout the film.

On to 'Tower Heist'. Pretty solid cast, but in the end, Eddie Murphy is the only one who can make me laugh. And as far as sex appeal goes, you will have to look elsewhere. All they give you is Tea Leoni and the girl from 'Precious'. Yeah, it is what it is. Tea plays a cop, Claire Denham, Ben Stiller is Josh Kovaks. There's one scene where they get a little tipsy together at a NY watering hole.

Claire: The last time I drank this much at a bar, I made out with a firefighter.

Josh: Really? How long ago was that?

Claire: Tuesday.

(They both laugh)

When this scene occurred, I was taken back a little. It was obvious enough of a reference to write down.  

I watched 'The Fourth Kind' the next morning. I was waiting for a Tuesday reference. Of course, if the movie ended up having a scene where some woman reads her weekly planner aloud, then I wouldn't have counted it.  About an hour and 15 minutes in, I figured if it hadn't happened yet, it probably won't.  

Low and behold:

Man interviewing main character:

Interviewer: Let's go back three days. To Tuesday.

And yes, that is the only time a day is mentioned throughout the entire film.

Also, there were about 6 or 7 

33 or 333s. And SPOILER ALERT...the alien abductions occurred at 3:33 am.

It is what it is, and if it wasn't, it would be something else.

Besides these apparent Tuesday references, there were two other similarities to note.

Milla Jovovich appears in both 'Musketeers' and 'Fourth Kind'. 

A chess game between Kovacs and his antagonist in 'Tower Heist' is an underlying theme throughout the movie and there is a chess match between the Cardinal and the young King of France in 'Musketeers'.

Tuesday

The English name is derived from Old English Tiwesdæg and Middle English Tewesday, meaning "Tīw's Day", the day of Tiw or Týr, the god of single combat, victory and heroic glory in Norse mythology. Tiw was equated with Mars in the interpretatio romana, and the name of the day is a translation of Latin dies Martis.

The Latin name dies Martis ("day of Mars") is equivalent to the Greek ἡμέρα Ἄρεως. In most languages with Latin origins (French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Romanian, Gallician, Sardinian, Corsican, but notPortuguese), the day is named after Mars, the Roman god of war.

• Black Tuesday, in the United States, refers to Tuesday, October 29, 1929, part of the great Stock Market Crash of 1929. This was the Tuesday after Black Thursday. The crash is said to have marked the start of the Great Depression.
• Patch Tuesday is the second Tuesday of every month when Microsoft releases patches for their products. Some system administrators call this day Black Tuesday.
• Shrove Tuesday (also called Mardi Gras - fat Tuesday) precedes the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar.
• Super Tuesday is the day many American states hold their presidential primary elections.

-Wikipedia

I don't wish for anything bad to happen on Tuesday, and I hope me even talking about this, is okay. But let's just say that January 29th rolls around and something does occur, you can come back here and see the time stamp below. I may even be lucky and Tuesday could bring something good. Or Tuesday can come and go like most other Tuesdays. 

 If the universe was trying to convey messages via media, then Tuesday IS a message. What that message may entail, if anything, is up to me to figure out.

-Dom

Hombres de Negro

-Dom

Tabloid Tableau

While waiting in line at the grocery store, you inevitably find yourself face to face with tabloid magazines.  I suppose you could always look the other direction and peruse the candy selection, but then you'll most likely end up buying some. The other day, one of the back covers of a popular magazine, "PEOPLE", caught my eye.

This is a 2012 'yearbook' collage.

Geriatric actor turned director yelling at an empty chair?

CHECK.

Blue haired big tittie pop star?

CHECK.

Child actress turned DUI enthusiast/probation collector?

CHECK.

Brad Pitt?

CHECK.

South Korean pop star doing a horse dance?

CHECK.

Screenshot from a movie where tweens & teenagers fight to the death?

CHECK.

Obese little girl known for eating melted butter 'n' ketchup?

CHECK.

Mass killer responsible for the death of 12 and injuring of 58 innocent people in a movie theater?

CHECK.

Are these sick fucks at 'People' really trying to tell us that deranged murderers go hand in hand with movie stars? Could that not, if only subconsciously, influence copy cats? Giving them some sort of false hope that if they also commit heinous crimes, they can be celebrities?

-Dom

They're watching you

-Dom

Nostalgia

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
1 Corinthians 13:11

It is an understatement to say that I am nostalgic. Sometimes I try very hard to convince my brain that it's still 1986, but this time around I'm old enough to be fully conscious of my surroundings. Truth be told, the 80s "slash" early 90s have come and gone. How lucky though for a die hard nostalgic to have this glorious leviathan of information we affectionately refer to as the internet?. I reserve my god given right to spend hours upon hours of my limited time on Earth to scour youtube to fulfill my insatiable craving for yesteryear.

I've always carried this overwhelming feeling inside of me. The feeling that nothing will ever be as good as it once was. No event could ever compare to the most significant events that have already occurred. Which in turn, shaped me into who I am today. Once you are forced to "grow up" by your superiors and peers, the magic of life begins to fade away in to the infinite void.  

Now I'm starting to sound a bit brooding. I don't want to feel that way. I mean, shit, an educated human should know better than to revel in past pleasures, right? What's that phrase? Whatever happened, happened. It's true. Shit, does in fact, happen. But we always have the choice to remember that shit as good or as bad. Sometimes memories can be very fulfilling and personally gratifying. 

There seems to be this stigma that merges adulthood with childhood. This overwhelming notion that a lot of the mainstream public seem to agree with. When we all turn a specific age, we are almost required to quote unquote grow up. Throw away your comic books and Yoda pez dispenser because now is the time to nut up and work your fucking balls off until Father Time says otherwise. How wicked, right? Not wicked like a skateboarder might say. More like wicked being uttered by a frightened Salem resident. 

                                                                                                 Give up what makes you happy. We all agreed to this. 

When you're 18 you can smoke. 

When you're 21 you can drink. 

When you're 25, you can rent a car.  

And when you're about 13/14 you're expected to at least begin the stages of "growing up". (Is it even possible to grow down?) Time to think of college. A career. Your future. The inevitable lineage you're expected to continue in the name of your father and his father before him.

This whole process we all inevitably go through always makes me sad. To think out of an average 65 year life span on Earth, you're expected to enjoy 18 years of it, and then force yourself to do things you know in your heart of hearts, that you sincerely do not want to do. And then the last 10-15 years of your life is spent in a fog of confusion and pain.

Let me set the record straight at this juncture and say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with liking things that really have no influence on anyone but yourself. So you happen to like musicals and getting dressed up like a beaver just for fun. All the luck in the world to you. You're doing something that makes you happy, and no one, no matter how maniacal they might be, can take that away from you. And if anyone ever tries, we truly owe it to ourselves to run the fuck away from that negative jibber jabber.

I can't help but quote Ashley Montague's excerpt from 'The Sync Book 2'...

"...the truth about the human species is that in body, spirit, feeling and conduct we are designed to grow and develop in ways that emphasize rather than minimize childlike traits; we were never intended to grow 'up'."

Make believe is fun. Everyone can agree on some level. One of the main reasons I respond so strongly to film is its escape aspects. Movies are essentially gateways to escape the mundane reality we all love and tolerate, in to a fantastical world where literally ANYTHING is possible. 

What's not appealing about that?

I realize now, while typing these letters, that I always seem to forget a very icrucial fact about the good old days...

At one point, the past was the present. So that right there is definitive proof that grand times, littered with grand feelings are only a mental mouse click away.

-Dom

December 21st, 2012 (I know)

So I think it was either 2008 or 2009 when I first caught wind of the winter solstice of 2012 bringing about an Apocalypse/Transcendental Awakening/Pole Shift/Solar Flare idea.

I was interested but skeptical and kind of remained that way up until 12/21/12.  There were definitely times where I was really amped for some kind of spiritually enlightening cosmological happenstance to actually occur, but it always felt like wishful thinking at the end of the day. Regardless of what anyone thought would happen or even hoped would occur, the fact is, it was a very intriguing moment for mankind.  

On the day of December 21st I heard a story by Barbara Hand Clow on Red Ice saying how the day is significant for her on a personal level now because she became a Grandmother for the first time.  The idea of December 21st being a day of significance on a smaller scale, like in your personal life or maybe even something to occur in your town, never came up in the last 3 years. I was constantly thinking of something global, sometimes even universal happening. And in the end, what's really more important? The collective events that occurred in the gigantic world we live in? Or the moments we gather through our time here? 

One of the movies I watched that night was 'The Adjustment Bureau'. For whatever reason, I have a history with this movie. Every time I try watching it, something will interfere. Whether it be the disc not playing or the system not working for a specific disc. Plus the video store only had one copy that they couldn't find, so basically you just hope it reappears.

 Well, the stars aligned on that fateful night for my eyes were finally allowed by the gods to feast upon this visual treasure. Maybe a bit melodramatic there, but it was good. Really good. I was getting a few 'They Live' vibes from it. Which is awesome because I can't say that about most movies. 

And I also have to add, Phil K. Dick, you are some kind of an Angel Wizard.

In the end, it turns out the universe finally letting me see this movie was the best present I ever could have asked for, for this winter solstice extravaganza.

-Dom