Today I will be talking about one of my favorite music videos. “Black Hole Sun.” It is a song by Soundgarden and the lyrics are a bittersweet mixture against a a happy acid environment background.
The lyrics were by Chris Cornell the lead singer of the band and this song was on their album “Superunknown” that was released on March 1994.
Chris Cornell said that he was inspired by a news program he was watching on TV and he misheard the news anchor and he thought he heard them say something about the a black hole sun.
He then was so inspire by the misinterpretation of what he heard that he was able to think of the lyrics to the song while driving to his recording studio in Seattle, Washington.
The music video was directed by Howard Greenalgh. You made remember his other music videos such as “Go West” by Pet Shop Boys:
“Rainmaker” by Iron Maiden:
The “Black Hole Sun” video centers around a regular looking neighborhood. You see a beautiful landscape of a mountains and hills but then you see the sun and it is red and looks mad. It seems like it is a build up for what you are able to watch. However when the lyrics start you see Soundgarden in a bluer more pristine environment while singing this melancholy song.
. Their is a group of people carrying a sign that say “The end is near.”
The people that live in the neighborhood look sneaky clean and over glossed. However their is one weird thing about them: the way they smile. It borderlines one of those looney tune cartoon smiles:
Throughout the whole music video you can see the people in neighborhood about to be engulf by the black hole sun and disrupt their pristine looking lives:
They thought that pristine lives would never be effective by anything but nature had another plan. During the last half of the music video you see the black hole swirl and engulf anything in it’s path. The band is left unharmed and the last scene we are left is the viewer looking at the black hole.
This video would go on to win Best Metal/ Hard Rock music video at the 1994 MTV music awards. It also won a Clio Award in the same year.
Fun fact about this music video: the fork necklace that Chris Cornell was wearing in the video was given to him by Shannon Hoon the lead singer of Blind Melon. He was good friends with Shannon Hoon and there is even a bit of a homage to Blind Melon in this music video.
With a dancing little girl wearing a tutu near a beekeeper who is on the ground. In Blind Melon’s music video “No Rain” the central character in that music video was little girl in a bee costume:
The Black Hole Music Video is one of those few videos that I adore watching. I think it tells a good story in a short amount of time and I feel like the lyrics in the song really match the visuals that you see on the screen.
Have you seen the video? If so what are your thoughts on it? Comment below:
Here is some movies on my dream Criterion Collection list. If I had the chance to choose the movies that get the Criterion Collection treatment:
Over the Edge (1979) directed by Jonathan Kaplan. Starring Matt Dillon and Michael Eric Kramer. A bunch of teenagers in a small town decide to overthrow the adults over the killing of another teenager. When I saw this movie over a decade ago I thought it was a great movie about the current everyday issues that we face in the world today.
Random movie fact: This movie was the inspiration for the “Smells like Teen Spirit” music video by Nirvana.
Directed by Allan Arkush. Starring P.J. Soles and the Ramones! What can I say about this movie? First of all the as a big fan of the Ramones the soundtrack in this movie is AMAZING!!! And this is a cute movie to get lost in and I am definitely one who enjoys to get lost in a good way when watching a movie. Plus I personally start singing when I heard Ramones songs on the screen.
Random movie fact: Fans of the Ramones were use in the concert scene.
Directed by Colin Higgins. Starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds. A house of ill dispute that has been a small town secret for the past 150 years. Has finally been found out by a self-righteous TV reporter and is trying to shut it down. I like out of the box musicals and this one is definitely one of those.
Random movie fact:
The “Chicken Ranch house” was the same house that was used in Rob Zombie’s movie House of a 1000 corpses (2000).
Directed by William Dear. Starring John Lithgow and Melinda Dillion. So when I was little I had a huge obsession with Harry. I used to go to the park near my house and there was little house at a playground in the park. I would literally camp out in the little house and wait to see if Harry would come out of the woods near it. Atlas he never did however his legacy lives on in this movie.
Random movie fact:
Harry only says one word in this entire film: “OK”
Directed by Joel Schumacher. Starring Jason Patric, Jami Gertz and Kiefer Sutherland. I also had a huge fascination with vampires when I little too. Anything that related or even mentioned a vampire I was totally on board for! So in this highly stylizied mixture of Peter Pan, and vampires was on TV it was a total must watch.
Hello and welcome to the second installment Great Small Businesses! This week I interviewed @thetarotreader (Marilyn)
Marilyn in her tarot parlor
Tell me a little bit about your business:
“My business is called Tarot Clarity LLC and I’m a fully formed and licensed business entity. I offer remote Tarot readings at a variety of price-points to help as many people as I can, and, I’ve reduced all my fees for services during Covid-19 so everyone who wants a reading can afford one. I offer remote readings which means a person never even has to leave their house. Readings are done via private mp3 recordings which allow my clients to replay them whenever they want in the privacy of their own surroundings. I’ve been offering remote readings since the early 1990, so I’m experienced with the delivery of remote readings. You may find me at: https://www.tarotclarity.com/
Most people think of tarot as fortune-telling, and while there may be a predictive nature to tarot, tarot really has evolved from the world of fortune telling to being more a tool for self-empowerment. The beauty of tarot is that no matter your question, the cards will always apply in some way to your question or situation. As an experienced reader, it is my job to interpret the cards in a way that brings meaning to your circumstances and helps you make informed decisions.
“My tarot Parlor “
All my work is done in my tarot parlor, a room completely dedicated to my tarot practice and tarot research. Nothing happens in my tarot parlor unless it’s in some way related to my tarot practice. This is an important feature for a professional in this field, because it allows the reader to be completely immersed in spiritual work and separated from other distractions. In this line of work, especially as a remote reader, it is critical for a reader to be centered, focused, and able to go deep within to find the mental space (for lack of better descriptive words ) required to connect to the client and their needs. Tarot is about making connections in a profound way. My clients deserve my undivided attention, just me in my sacred space focused on their need, among my cards, plants, crystals and other beautiful objects imbued with love and magic.
I also have a considerable tarot collection with a few hundred decks and having storage units in a dedicated space is the only way for me to remain organized.
After nearly forty-five years reading Tarot, most of my business is driven by word-of-mouth and repeat clients, but social media platforms like Instagram, and Facebook, have brought me new clients. I can be found on Instagram @thetarotreader and @tarotclarity on Facebook: TarotClarityLLC on Twitter: TarotClarity and on YouTube as Marilyn from Tarot Clarity
2. What made you want to start your business?
“Oh my gosh, we’d have to go way back to being a ten year old girl who ran home from school every day in the 1960s to watch the Gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows!
In 1968 there was an episode where a fortune-teller played by Grayson Hall, read Barnabus Collins’ fortune that foretold of the arrival of the evil Angelique. In fact, I wrote a blog about it. You can read about that here.
Anyway, the cards in that episode (the 1JJ Swiss Tarot Deck) were just stunning and kind of chilling for a ten-year old and I never forgot them. I was totally bewitched by the idea that this instrument of divination could redirect a person’s life if they so choose, and that was my first exposure to the mysterious life of a fortune-teller which seemed pretty amazing to me. Six years later, by chance, I found that exact same deck in a novelty shop and of course, I bought it on the spot. Even now, forty-five years later, when I use that particular deck, I can still recall the thrill of holding that deck in my hands for the first time all those years ago. I knew then and there that no matter what else I might do in life, tarot would always be a part of it.
In 2000, I was certified by the Tarot Certification Board and the American Tarot Association, as a way to bring credibility to my practice, but by then I had already been reading tarot for twenty-five years.
Fast forward fifty-two years after falling in love with Tarot on dark Shadows, Tarot is still in my life. Other jobs have come and gone but Tarot reading has been my one constant and now it’s the only work I do. I’m older now and am at liberty to focus on what I really want in life, and this is it. I’m not a fortune-teller as was depicted by Grayson Hall in Dark Shadows, I’m a modern witchy kind of woman who interprets tarot cards. I like helping people, which is what the cards allow me to do. I interpret what I see and pass that information on to my clients so they may proceed as they will to achieve the best possible outcome for themselves. My goal is to empower my clients so they may employ strategies and improve their situations. They feel empowered and that is very gratifying to me.
As an interesting aside, I learned that my father’s grandmother, was also a Tarot Reader and Tea Leaf Reader. Without even knowing it, I have been carrying on a family tradition. Maybe it’s a role we’re born into. I have been teaching my daughter since she was a child and she will continue in my foot-steps. I have a grand-daughter coming into the world soon, and I’ve already bought her a Tarot Reader onsie, and I’m putting tarot cards aside for her. I’m hoping to pass the tradition onto her as well, if she shows an interest when she grows up. Passing the tradition on to future generations is important to me. Every family needs a mystic.”
3. What are your three top decks and why?
“This question is the most difficult to answer. Asking a person with a few hundred decks which is their favorite deck is an exercise in futility. When my children were growing up, I told each of them they were my favorite and so growing up they each thought that they were my favorite. Years later after they had grown up, they ganged up on me during a holiday when they discovered that I had told all three of them they were each my favorite. But it was true I explained, because each one of them possessed unique qualities that made them my favorite for those reasons.
It’s kind of similar with the cards. However, with the cards, I can narrow it down a bit. I have several pieces of furniture in my tarot parlor and one unit in particular houses my more cherished decks; like if the house were burning, these are the ones I’d grab. On the top shelf of that unit are my historic Italian decks, which are probably my favorite en masse. They are literally what I consider my top-shelf decks.
I like the Italian decks the most because they appeal to my personal aesthetic more than other decks. My personal ancestry is predominantly Italian so maybe the Italian aesthetic is hardwired in me.
I’m not sure I can pin-point only three decks as my favorite because as I explained to my children in the story I shared, certain decks are my favorites for different reasons. I like the Italian decks like the Della Rocca because it’s gorgeous, the Vergnano because it’s cheery, and the Perrin because it’s fun.
“My tarot table. On display is the Fergus Hall 007, Tarot of the Witches by Fergus Hall. Published by US Games Systems Inc. “
I like some modern pip style decks like the Fergus Hall’s (007) Tarot of the Witches, Matthieu Hackiere’s Tarot Noir, and Ryan Edward Playing Marseille decks because they’re quirky and a little off beat.
“Fun decks from left: Tarot Noir by Matthieu Hackiere and Playing Marseille by Ryan Edward.
I love the 1JJ Swiss deck because it still gives me tingles every time I use it.
I prefer to use pip style cards because they are old school, and so am I. I know what the pip cards mean and I don’t need pictures on them. Illustrated pips are like training wheels; once you know what you’re doing they get in the way. Still, some illustrated decks are interesting and very beautiful and sometimes a client will request that I use one of them because they like it.
I will often reach for a deck that I feel is simpatico with the question or the client’s needs. Some decks align with a question or a person’s energy, and I’ll choose the deck on behalf of my client based on which deck I think will serve him or her best.
“Affordable and readily available tarot decks, recommended for my tarot class. From left, Spanish Tarot by Fournier, Ancient Italian Tarot by Lo Scarabeo, and Classic Tarot.”
I also love my very inexpensive Spanish Tarot by Fournier for when I’m doing several readings in succession, like at an event, because it has a fresh vibe and allows me to easily transition from client to client.In short, each deck has something special and magical about it. I love them all for their own unique qualities.”
4.What subjects do people ask you the most and why do you think they are popular subjects?
“The most frequent questions center on emotional and physical well-being. A majority of people ask for tarot readings when they’re hurting and want insight into how they may redirect their lives. People want to know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel and a way to get them there. Tarot is really good at helping a person navigate a situation to achieve the best possible outcome for his or herself.
Less frequently, but often enough to mention, a person already knows the answer, but they need validation because they don’t trust their own instincts either because they are too confused or because they’re being dominated by others’ opinions. Tarot will help validate one’s and gives them permission to trust themselves when their own vision is foggy.
Tarot is a very human tool, and offers an infinite combination of possibilities every time the cards are laid. Each reading is a unique and fascinating event, and I think that is why it is still relevant after nearly 600 years for both the client and the reader. “
5. Do you have any exciting news, events, or promotions that you would like to share?
“Thank you for asking because as a matter of fact, I do! I’m offering tarot lessons based on old school methods. Six one-hour classes begin Sunday, June 7th 2:00 to 3:00 pm EST. Here’s the link to sign up https://www.tarotclarity.com/tarot-lessons.html
Please sign up early because I am limiting the class to five students in order to maximize learning.
Of course, I want to remind everyone that during the current pandemic, my fees for services have been reduced to help everyone who would like a reading to get one. I currently offer readings for as low as $10.00 and I give every reading my undivided attention. Don’t let money stop you from getting a reading. I have a price point for everyone.
I maintain a tarot YouTube channel that I’m pretty consistent with and I have an excellent playlist on the topic of numerology and each of the respective tarot suits. I actually recommend anyone interested in my class to view this series, which can be found here
I also maintain a tarot blog which is a rich resource for those interested in reading and learning about tarot and I invite everyone to peruse it. I’m not real consistent with entries, but there are already many articles there to choose from.”
The first time I went to Universal Studios in Orlando Florida I was so amazed by everything! The lights, the sounds, there was a lot of neon going on in the maps. It was a total mind explosion in my eight year old head!
Then I remember my family and I stood in line for a show. I really wanted to go on the back to the future ride first but my mom said I would really enjoy the show and we will go on the ride later.
We went into this like open area theater and sat down to wait for whatever that was about to start soon. Then I heard a loud explosion and then I saw this guy:
I was so excited because I had literally seen the movie Beetlejuice like 20 times at the point. I literally had a lot of the scenes memorized in my mind. I was so impressed by the show that every time my family and I went to Universal Studios. We would try to watch the opening show and I never got tired of watching Beetlejuice dance, sing and be his usual Beetlejuice self. Then I saw all of my favorite Universal Monsters and the show completely made my visit awesome! My kid mind was also impress that the monsters had incredible singing voice and awesome dance moves!
The show first premiere in May of 1992 and it had a good run in Florida until January 2016 where it was replace with Fast & Furious: Supercharged. Now I am not a fan of the Fast & Furious but I know a lot of people are. Universal Studios in Japan is the only park that currently runs the show. I don’t know if I will ever travel to Japan but if I do I am pretty sure this will be the first place I will visit to reminiscent in my childhood memories of Frankenstein and Dracula dancing to great 1950’s music. But in the meantime there are tons of Youtube video the various performances throughout the twenty plus years that the show ran in the Hollywood and Orlando Parks.
Like any long term show it went through different revamps in terms of using different songs, dance moves and actors. But in any case I felt regard of the different levels of this live show it still delivered a sold performance.
There are not a lot of first day rides left at Universal Studios in Orlando. I believe that the E.T. ride and I am always curious to see when they will stop the one. But for now I have my memories to draw on and many possible future trips to the park in my future!
Has anyone else seen the show in any other Universal Studio Parks? Have you seen the show in Orlando? Comment below!
On a side note: I will be writing in the future more first day attractions for for Disney World and Universal Studios. Also let me know in the comments below a ride that I have not cover that you would like to see in the future!
Count Von Count you are this month’s MAN OF THE MOMENT!!! He is one of the first characters on Sesame Street that I remember seeing first on the show. He is one of the few memorable characters that can wear a monocle well. His looming cape, his impeccable sense of style and great sense of memory when it comes to numbers rivals few. I remember when I first started kindergarten I would recite my numbers as Count Von Count! Which deeply confused the nuns that were my teachers.
Here are some facts you may now know about the Count Von Count:
The character inspiration of the Count is from actor Bela Lugosi portrayal of Dracula:
The first time Count Von Count made his debut on Sesame Street is in 1972 on the show’s season 4 with Bert and Ernie. Ernie set up a bunch of blocks and asked Bert to watch them while he goes to an errand. Bert thinks it is an easy job until a guy in a cape who said he loves to count appears!!!
I am not going to lie I have a lot of Sesame Street songs on my Spotify playlist title “Good Tunes” and one of the songs I have on there is called “The Batty Bat” sung by Count Von Count:
The Count doesn’t really live in Sesame Street because he lives in a huge castle and he doesn’t really cleans it as much as he should because their are a lot of cobwebs in his home.
His house also attracts a lot of bats and instead of making them go alway. He makes them his pets and even named some of them: Grisha, Misha, Sasha and Tatiana.
In a book called “The Sesame Street Pet Show” (1980) we learned that the Count has a pet octopus named Octavia.
The Count also has a kitten name Fatatita although no one knows the correct spelling of the kitten’s name because it is also spelled “Fatatatita.”
Count Von Count had a couple of love interests:
The first was The Countess Von Numeral (aka. Natasha):
She had similar features to the Count and she even had a monocle!! She also had a weird obsession with chime bells. She moved from Transylvania to Sesame Street and lives in an apartment above the drug store.
The second lady was name Lady Two. They met at a ball and the Count noticed her number 2 statue. Not only does he strike up a conversation with her but he also woos her with a song and dance!
Officially the Count is never referred to as a vampire. Maybe they thought it might be too scary for kids if he was referred to as one.
He has an awesome car that he nicknamed “The Countmobile.”
His other interests is music. He was a radio Dj and had his own station and had a segment on Sesame Street called “Count It Higher: Great Music Videos from Sesame Street:
Overall the reason why Count Von Count is one of my favorite characters is because he combines two things scary and learning. And I think if you are able to reach a person through those two avenues I think you have done a wonderful job!
One of the earliest shows I remember being infatuated with was a show called “Unsolved Mysteries. Some of the cases scared me or had a lasting impression on me whenever I think of the show. Of course this blog post was inspired by an earlier entry I wrote about on Tammy Lynn Leppert . (Click on the link to read about that case)
Here are some cases that I remember that trigger that memory:
“Resurrection Mary”
In season 6, episode 15 (premiered on January 4, 1994 segment title: “One for the Road”):
In Justice, Illinois (southwest of Chicago) there is a cemetery called Resurrection Cemetery. There has been reports since 1939 of a ghost woman name Mary Bregovy who walks outside the cemetery street. She looks like she is either lost or just wandering around the area. Sometimes taxi drivers or random drivers who are driving in the area would see her but unbeknownst to them they would offer her a ride without knowing she is a ghost. There was a report in 1979 that a cab driver picked up a lady in front of the gates of the cemetery and before he opened the door for his passenger she disappeared. There has been conflicting reports of the identify of the lady ghost. Some claimed her to Mary Bregovy while others believe it was an other woman name Anna “Marija” Norkus because both women are buried in the cemetery and had died from car accident during the time frame of the first reported ghost sighting.
“Tatum Family Ghost”:
In season one episode 3 (premiered on October 26, 1988 case in at 37: 42 into the video below):
Kay and Jim Tatum lived near Atlanta, Georgia they built their dream house in the short time span of five months and moved in the winter of 1986. However before they can fully settled into their new house Kay was caught off guard by a man that pasted by her bedroom that wasn’t her husband.
They thought it was a burglar and ignore it and moved on with their lives. However two months later more strange things started happening inside the house. Including weird noises to things falling off by themselves in other rooms they were not in. They would also hear bells ringing and the longer they lived in the house the worst it got. They finally could not stand all the weirdness in their household and moved out of their dream home.
Missing Persons segment: Kari Lynn Nixon (season one, episode 24 and premiered on May 10, 1989 segment starts at 25:27 in the youtube video below):
Kari Lynn Nixon was only 16 years old when she disappeared on June 22, 1987 in her own neighborhood (Au Sable Forks, New York) while doing errands for her family.
Au Sable Forks, New York
She left her house at around 9:30 pm for the market only spent about 25 minutes there then left and was walking by foot towards her house. There were even reports of neighbors talking to her between 10:00-10:30 p.m. that night and after that she disappeared with no trace of her.
Her parents noticed her missing the next morning and a massive police search had began with no results. November of the same year she disappeared the family got a weird letter from Flint, Michigan. The letter claimed that Kari was living in Eutawville, South Carolina. Their was even a report of somebody from that area who claimed to have seen Kari during that summer because some one introduced that person was Kari Nixon. However the person who had claimed to had seen Kari was an unreliable source because she claimed that her memory of the meeting was not a 100%.
In 1991 Kari Mom saw a New Kids on the Block concert footage and thought she saw her daughter in the crowd. Kari’s family was very hopeful it was her because the concert footage was taken in 1989, which was the year that Kari disappeared. The members of New Kids on the Block even made a public plea on Unsolved Mysteries for Kari to come forward so she could be found. However the person in the footage came forward and it was not Kari which made the Nixon family heartbroken.
Unfortunately in the winter of 1994 Kari’s remains was found only a couple of miles from her house in a shallow grave. A man named Robert Anthony Jones confessed to raping, kidnapping and killing Kari. He also confessed that he spotted Kari in the market while he was buying beer and followed her outside only to forced her to go with him at gunpoint.
He is currently serving time for his crime in Wyoming Correctional Facility in New York.
I will cover another set of these cases in a future blog post. Which cases did you watch on this show that left an lasting impression on you? Comment below:
Sources: Wikipedia, Youtube and Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
This is a new section of my blog where I interviewed some great small businesses. My first interview is with: @chelseascreename
Tell me a little about your business. (Be as descriptive as possible)
“I sell original prints (and recently cellphone cases) off my Instagram and through vendor markets.
Since Covid19 I’ve been relying on virtual markets and sales through Instagram and had a more exposure by being more aggressive by promoting myself online through interviews and collaborations. But it’s been a bit of a setback with the hard restrictions in Austin, most of my vendor events have been canceled until the following year. Although I’ve gained some attention with my works that have COVID19 as a subject, I don’t have a set date to work back into markets, it’s all been online sales. “
2. What kind of movies and/or shows you have been watching that inspire you to make your art?
“The original inspiration or ‘spark’ came from 80s VHS horror covers and pursuing the shelves of the horror section of my local video store when I was growing up.
I watch a lot of cult movies that inspire me. I like anything that has horror elements but isn’t straight up horror. Just like my art, stuff that has horror elements, but isn’t too “on the nose”. So those creepy Kitschy 1960s shows like The munsters, the Adams family, bewitched Ive used as cultural reference in making artwork that I describe as “new kitsch” or “creepy kitsch” because it could be part of the set design of a black and white haunted house picture or tv show.
I also like exploitation films or documentaries about serial killers or cults so that’s found a way into my art as well.
Of course Twin Peaks has always been an influence and the mythology of Laura Palmer as the tragic female.
I like following accounts like retro cult because they remind me of things that I can go back to and use as inspiration for artwork, things I might have seen and forgotten about when I was a kid or take me down a rabbit hole of media that is visually compelling or kitschy/campy that I never saw before. ”
3. What made you decide on this kind of art medium vs. an other?
“I think as I can’t draw and the turnaround for making my ideas into something tangible is fast, collage artwork is the best fit. It’s like putting puzzle pieces together to find the right images to tell a certain story. ”
4. What is a fact that not a lot of people know about you?
“I lived and worked in Tokyo for 3 years “
5. Do you have any exciting news or promotions about your business that you would like to share?
“I will be showcased on oddities and curiosities YouTube on Tuesday June 2nd for an interview.
You can also learn more about my process on the podcast ATX SOCIAL
My prints are $30 plus $10 for shipping, all prints are posted on my instagram at @chelseascreename.
Payment is through Venmo.
If you like my stuff, or even just a particular piece, a follow or a share and tagging me on instagram helps out my small business a lot in terms of exposure. “
Hello everyone! I thought to share some random facts about one of my favorite Disney world rides:
The Pirates of the Caribbean Ride! I remember the first time I went on this ride I was about five years old. And the small little drop in the beginning of the ride always makes me a little bit nervous! But I always enjoy this ride and it is always the first two rides I want to go on when I get to the park.
This is a staple ride in most of the Disney parks. They have the ride in Disneyland, Magic Kingdom (opened on December 15, 1973), Tokyo Disneyland (opened on April 15, 1983), Disneyland Park in Paris (opened on April 12, 1992), and Shanghai Disneyland.
Disneyland first had this ride and it opened on March 16, 1967 in California.
This was the last ride that Walt Disney was involved in before this death in December 1966. He was heavily involved in the designing process of the ride.
They wanted this ride to be a walk-thru wax museum. The final decision that made the ride into a boat ride was due to the success of it’s a small world ride. Walt Disney notice the success of that ride from the 1964 New York World Fair. And decided to employ the same boat ride system with the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
There is more then one hundred twenty sound animatronics on this ride.
It cost almost eight million dollars to create this ride.
The song “Yo-Ho A Pirate’s life for Me” was written by Xavier Atencio and George Bruns. It is one of my many favorite theme park rides songs!
When Walt Disney asked Xavier (pictured above) to write the song he had never written a song at that point.
Voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft (1914-2005) did the audio for the animatronics for the person who is hanging on the lamppost and for the minstrel playing the accordion. You may recognized his voice as being the voice of Tony the Tiger:
Another voice actor named Paul Fress who voiced the auctioneer in the ride was also the voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy:
When they were making the park in Florida they originally did not want to have the ride there. Due to the fact that Florida has a bunch of historic pirate orientated locations in the state. They were planning make a “wild west river boat ride”
instead called the “Western River Expedition.” However the idea was nixed because people who had went to Disneyland or have heard about the Pirates ride were asking about it. So Disney listened the demands of the people and went ahead and made the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in the Magic Kingdom. I cannot imagine the pirates of the Caribbean ride not being in Florida. Although sometimes I do wonder what the “western river expedition” ride would of been. Thankfully I have this Yesterworld video to refer to:
What other rides do you want me to write about?
Were you surprised of any of the information above?
“We are Keep It Weird, the podcast for all things strange, unusual, paranormal, supernatural, creepy, sticky, gross, scary and everything in between! Produced, hosted, and owned by two ladies – Ashley Casseday and Lauren Ogle. We actually joined the podcast game long before everyone and their mom had a podcast– we’ve been doing Keep It Weird since 2016. Actually when we began the show we couldn’t find any other shows doing what we were doing– combining the paranormal with true crime. Of course within a year or two there were hundreds, so we had to switch it up a bit but we’re actually grateful for it. It made our podcast content so much more interesting and it pushed us into being a better show.
Today we really focus on all things weird; we still cover the paranormal and supernatural and true crime but we also have episodes on the human body, nature, food, sex, twins, religion, cults, conspiracies…there’s even a sports episode! Our goal is to be one of the best researched podcasts out there. For example, when we did our artificial intelligence episode; we didn’t just talk about the present and future of AI. We discussed artificial intelligence in literature and how it affected the products we use today. We theorized the future of AI through a legal lens by asking what type of laws would be written for AI. Would they have rights? Would the destruction of a self aware cybernetic organism be murder? Will we ever be able to upload our consciousness and if so how does that affect the ideas of heaven and hell? What even is consciousness?
Each season we get to go on a full paranormal investigation and every week (at least before isolation) we get to sit down with a friend, coworker, comedian, or expert and chat about something strange and unusual. We even have YouTube content- “This Week in Weird” where we bring you the strangest news stories from around the world and “What Was That?” which is where we bring you the creepiest paranormal videos, EVPs, and photos that are submitted to us. It is SO much work, but it’s a blast. A true labor of love.”
2. How did you come up with the name and the concept of your podcast?
“Back in 2016, we were both at a place in our lives where we were lacking a creative outlet. We had been friends for 7 years and had always wanted to work together in a creative way and podcasts were something a lot of people had just started listening to and we thought… “well we could do that!”
The content was easy; a lot of what we talked about when we got together was ghosts, aliens, and the latest true crime documentary, so we knew we could talk about it for hours and hours and never get bored.
Coming up with a name was interesting because you need something that encompasses your entire show. The strange and unusual, especially through the lens that we view it, is such a vast topic. Eventually we landed on Keep It Weird! It’s how we end all of our episodes, it’s almost a reminder for all our listeners to feel comfortable being strange.”
3.What are the top three favorite shows you have done and why?
“My Body Ate My Balls: In season 3 we did a human body episode and our guest was a comedian named Nick Wuthrich who came on the show to tell us all about his life as a eunuch. He was born as a eunuch so his entire life has been different– struggling with taking testosterone and the strange things that will do to your body, hiding it from friends and classmates, and finally accepting it as an adult and actually using it in his standup routines.
Shake It Up: Murder in the Midwest & Can’t Shake This Feeling: Murder in the Midwest: This one was special because of the amount of work that was put into it. A lot of podcasts (including ours) cover true crime stories and they get their information from the internet or books that have already been written on the subject. For Murder in the Midwest– we got to do the investigating ourselves. Ashley and an old friend of hers from her hometown researched the 1975 murder of John Shakespeare in Centralia, Illinois. We had help from local law enforcement, local true crime writers, private investigators, at one point the BBC even got involved. It was a really special experience and even though it was particularly exhausting and at times very difficult it was very rewarding.
Hometown Haunts: We’re cheating a bit here because this encompasses a series. We do something called Hometown Haunts where we will invite a guest on to chat about their home state and all the WEIRDness that exists there. We’ll cover hauntings, cryptids, true crime, UFO activity, and any other crazy things that have taken place in their home state. We’ve had many comedians and actors on the show for this segment and we have covered California, New York, Texas, Michigan, Maine, Iowa, and as soon as we can safely have guests on again we’re doing an Ontario, Canada episode with a very special guest!”
4. What interests do you ladies have outside of your podcast that not a lot of people know that you like?
We are actually incredibly transparent on our show– our listeners know all of our likes and dislikes, they hear about our sad weeks and our happy weeks. They know about our mental health diagnoses, our significant others, they knew all about Lauren’s pregnancy and what it was like to have and now raise a child. We are very open. And we are extremely lucky to have the listenership that we have– they are all so wonderful and share their lives with us as well. One of the saddest parts of our show getting bigger and bigger is not being able to keep up with the messages and emails.
But for the sake of the reader- Lauren sings in a cover band called Dr. Spaceman and has her own children’s music business here in LA called Peek-A-Boo Music and she’s raising an adorable one year old. Ashley spends most of her time producing and editing the show but she also collects occult books, pets cats, and is becoming a damn fine chef.
5. Do you have any exciting news or upcoming events that you would like to share?
Well unfortunately the entire country is shut down for the time being so we’re mostly just trying to hang on and record our podcast remotely! It’s unfortunate to have had to cut out our guests for the time being, but it’s also very cool that recording a podcast is something that is actually very easy to do with someone who you are isolated from.
We do have one piece of very exciting news but unfortunately it’s not something that we can share yet!
I am a huge fan of movies. I am especially a fan of weird plots or concepts in movies. So here are five movies that you may or may not heard of!
Heathers (1989) directed by Michael Lehmann:
Starring Winoa Ryder, Shannen Doherty and Christian Slater. I only heard about this movie back in 2004. So it took me a couple of years to jump on the Heathers movie bandwagon. A dark comedy about high school, teen suicide and popular kids? Count me in! This movie is definitely worth watching a couple of times because the dialogue in it is so crafty and very punchy. This movie was recently featured on The Last Drive- In with Joe Bob Briggs:
If you have a shudder subscription I definitely recommending watching Heathers with Joe Bob Briggs commentary. Because it taught me lot of things I did not know about the film.
Random movie fact:
The role of Veronica was meant to be played by Jennifer Connelly but she turned it down.
The Fan (1982) directed by Eckhart Schmidt:
Starring Desiree Nosbusch and Bodo Staiger. A young teenage girl crush on a pop star singer turns really weird and deadly. This crush becomes more than just a fantasy thing, it totally consumes her to the point that nothing else matters. She lost interests in school, in her friends and her home. When she finally runs away to meet her crush at a TV station dire consequences happen.
Random movie fact: Bodo Staiger is not only one of the leads in the movie but he also made the soundtrack for the movie.
Starring Robert Lansing, and Judith Chapman. A plastic surgeon who goes off the mental edge and physically makes over a young lady who just suffer injuries from a car accident into his missing daughter. And that is not even the weirdest part: The young girl falls in her with the plastic surgeon!
I always tend to revisit this movie every couple of years because of the Gothic vibes I get from the movie. Plus the beautiful background of the mansion didn’t hurt at all! It is a beautiful mansion.
Random movie fact: This movie was filmed in Georgia for a budget of 400,000.
Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) directed by Michael Patrick Jann:
Starring Kristen Dunst, Kirstie Alley and Denise Richards. This is one of my favorite movies ever. This is another dark comedy ( I think you can tell that this one of my favorite movie genres). It is about a small town in Minnesota where a beauty pageant is being held but someone in town is taking winning too seriously. And they are literally killing their competitors in order to win.
Random movie fact:
Kirstie Alley was inspired by Frances McDoramid acting in Fargo and used it in her role as Gladys Leeman.
Meet the Feebles (1989) directed by Peter Jackson:
What happens when puppets start using drugs, money and sex? Meet the Feebles! I came around this movie when I was looking up information for another movie on IMDb. I accidentally typed in the wrong word and this movie popped up. And honestly I don’t regret making that mistake!
Random movie fact: Peter Jackson actually makes a cameo in his own movie. He is dressed up as one of the alien costumes from his movie “Bad Taste.” And you can briefly see him in that costume in the audience scene in this movie.
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