Futurenaut declares its political stance for 2012 elections

Please don't let it be Romney.

Kenneth Anger's Missoni Campaign

Film giant Kenneth Anger last year created an advertisement for Italian fashion house Missoni (based in Varese ;). As might be expected, it is a sumptuous visual & aural feast, at turns breathtakingly gorgeous and strangely unsettling...

Ambush: 'The Holy Mountain' Jewelry Collection

Ambush Design recently released a range of trinkets inspired by the surrealist cinematic masterpiece, Alejandro Jodorowsky's 'The Holy Mountain'. The photoshoot features the same stark colours and arcane symbolism that were such a hallmark of Jodorowsky's production. Sadly, all pieces are already sold out but the gallery remains to be explored. Savvy shoppers may be able to locate some items after scouring the net.

WARNING!: the following video contains spoilers of the film. If the first minute intrigues you, turn it off and go buy the movie!

Futurenaut's NEW photoblog

Futurenaut. has just expanded into the world of visual media with a new blog over at cyanidewand.tumblr.com dedicated to all things colourful. It's early days yet but things will likely expand very quickly so check back often. Rest assured the current news stream will continue here. Well, what better way to celebrate than with a song!

Edgard Varèse: Stratospheric Colossus of Sirius

In the 1920's, Edgard Varèse, the "Father of Electronic Music" began working on a grandiose work that has become known as L'Astronome. Although the work was never finished, it's plot focused on communications with the brightest star in our night sky, Sirius. Varèse's libretto would ultimately be provided by the playwright Antonin Artaud. We are almost certain there is documentation of Artaud being an acquintance of Aleister Crowley (we will update with the exact reference when we rediscover it).

Crowley had received The Book of the Law in Cairo (1904), a book which contains the line, "Is a god to live in a dog? No! but the highest are of us." (Sirius is also known as the 'Dog Star') He later went on to draw a portrait of a praeter-human intelligence, Lam, around 1917 that bore an eerie resemblance to the descriptions of grey aliens that would later become a fixture of close-encounter accounts.

Jump forward to the early 1970's and Varese's biggest fan, Frank Zappa is releasing album after album. Meanwhile, author/philosopher Robert Anton Wilson starts communicating with an intelligence he attributes to a being that resides in the vicinity of Sirius (He would later attribute the phenomena to his own nervous system).

John Zorn, the inimitable composer/saxophonist, has since released a series of albums featuring his 'Moonchild Trio' (Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn & Joey Barron) which is dedicated to Varèse, Artaud & Crowley. Their second album in particular, Astronome, deals with what might have been had Varese completed this masterwork.

Our personal favourite Varèse opus is Ameriques, written from 1918 to 1921 as a response to his moving from France to New York. Monolithic skyscraper shadows tower over the composer as he navigates the bustling streets, the sun flashing between them. Life crawls over itself, trying to secrue a foothold. Everywhere are microcosms of people, intricately manipulating their destiny, the sum of which snowballing into a chaos of unstoppable forces. America: all discoveries, all adventures....the unknown!

Aleister Crowley Exhibition in Western Australia

Opening today and running till August 20* at Buratti Fine Art Gallery in North Fremantle, Western Australia is the show Windows to the Sacred. It features the art of none other than To Mega Therion himself, Aleister Crowley, alongside the works of the infamous 'Witch of Kings Cross', Rosaleen Norton and the fascinating pieces of Barry Hale. If you're lucky enough to be able to get there then don't miss out! It seems they have plans to exhibit more of Crowley's work in the future too...

* Some sources say August 22, so contact the gallery for confirmation if you intend on procrastinating!

Short Film of Austin Osman Spare's 'Earth Inferno'

Austin Osman Spare is one of the most legendary artists and occultists of the turn of last century. As an artist, his materialising atavisms and automatic drawings are phenomenally evocative of intelligences marshaled from deepest dimension. As an occultist, his invention of the sigil as a pictorial means to manifest desire was a massive technological breakthrough for the art and, along with his other methods, form a large portion upon which the canon of Chaos Magick teachings derive from (see the post on Peter J. Carroll). Numerous apocrypha are bandied about regarding Spare's evocation of entities and the subsequent insanity rendered upon less adept observers (see the works of Kenneth Grant). Together with Aleister Crowley (of whose A .'. A .'., Spare was a onetime member), he stands as a giant of early 20th century occultism (see the post on Crowley).

In 1905 (at age 18), Spare published a limited run of his first book 'Earth Inferno': a combination of art and aphorisms. In 2004, Producto Desecho produced the following homage, featuring a Kenneth Anger-like series of tableaux vivant. Bon appetit.

SUNN O))) LEGO)))

Maximum Lego bricks yields maximum results.

Explore the world with a Robot Avatar

Scientists have recently managed to control a robot's movement by thought alone. A robot with video sensors was given visual cues (e.g. move forward/right/left) which were projected to person lying within an fMRI machine. The person then imagined carrying out these movements. The resultant brain areas that lit up on imaging were then mapped to movements in the robot. The team wishes to give people who have lost the use of their body the ability to experience life through one of these robot avatars. Of course, the applications of such technology are much broader. Scientists always mask this kind of transhumanist developments as being tools for the disabled when the intentions obviously span well beyond to the creation of cyborgian ubermensch.

Fantômas LIVE at Montreux Jazz Festival 2005

In 2005, with Dave Lombardo on tour with Slayer, Mike Patton recruited virtuoso drummer Terry Bozzio into the fold of his all-star band Fantômas. The dates they played included the Roskilde Festival in Denmark (of which a great interview clip and an electrifying rendition of 'Twin Peaks' exist) and the world-renowned Montreux Jazz Festival in Canada. The latter has been preserved in its entirety and is a good snapshot of the comic, horror film, surgical & cartoon-inspired brand of insanity these guys pump out (don't be fooled by the playlist, tracks from 'Suspended Animation' are included here).

We've had the pleasure of seeing them in concert 4 times now and they are arguably the most exhilarating live band, period. While there's no deny the sheer force and precision that Lombardo delivers to this music, it is fascinating to see the intricate and embellished improvisations that Bozzio brings to the work. The guy has the most ridiculously large kit (unfortunately obscured by the darkness in the video below but shown in all its monstrous glory in the Roskilde interview).

Apparently the next album will be electronic-based (and we wait with bated breath!) followed by a sixth album that focuses on improvisation (which Patton has hinted may see the return of Bozzio). Fantômas amenaza al mundo!

In 2023 we invade Mars

Recently, a team from the Netherlands entitled MARS ONE have announced that their private enterprise intends to land astronauts on the red planet in 2023. A cohort of the first 40 intrepid voyagers will be selected next year (2013) from public submissions for what will be a one way trip. The initial launch will be in 2016 when a supply mission sends the beginnings of what will become the outposts infrastructure. The whole thing will be broadcast as reality TV which will also act as a methods of generating funding. This is one of the most exciting things to happen, not only in our lifetimes, but in the whole of human history! We will be watching with anticipation.

I, Cyborg

In the near future, possibly in our lifetime, humans will merge with technology to a degree in which our intelligence and lifespan may be supplemented indefinitely. Already breathtaking experiments have been carried out, such as those done by Kevin Warwick, in which the human nervous system has been interfaced with electronics. Robot arms have been controlled, via the internet, directly by a human brain. The neural signals from one subject have been transmitted into the circuitry of another so as to provide a sort of telepathy. Only recently New Scientist reported that mobile phones embedded under the skin of cadavers operate with the same functionality as those held in the hand and one only has to consider the brilliance of the Cochlear Implant (a device which restores hearing to the deaf) to postulate that telephony will, with a simple implant, soon be indistinguishable from telepathy. Rats can be controlled remotely and moths are being grown with chips in their brain in order to act as spy planes. Once you dig deeper into the subject you'll realise we are standing on the precipice of abilities that will make us god-like. The mind boggles at the ethical issues that coincide with it all. On the world stage these concerns are being debated by figures such as Warwick, Ray Kurzweil, Hugo de Garis. Is it just us, or does Garis feel like the evil scientist of the bunch? : less successful, more apocalyptic, defecting to the Chinese government (with their track record for human freedom)...

We for one welcome the next phase. This isn't science fiction. This is Transhumanism. This is H+.

Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley: the last polymath? Crowley was an expert mountaineer, sexual libertine, poet, artist, and the foremost occultist, arguably in history. His synthesis of scientific empiricism, philosophies of east & west, and the phenomenology of religious/mystical devotion is a revolution that foreruns the 'use it if it works, discard it if it doesn't' angle that would be adopted by the rising cult of Chaos a century after his birth.

Crowley was perhaps the first rock star of the 20th century (as evidenced by his inclusion on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's) and smashed through so many of the taboos of Victorian England.

Richard Kaczynski's biography of this most remarkable and often confronting man is the definitive picture of his life & exploits. A new edition has been released to much acclaim.

For those who find the idea of magic(k) too rooted in fantasy, one should realise that Crowley's revolution is one of discarding any intrinsic reality to things like demons, etc. Rather, ritual and its incantations & entities are simply tools used to execute ones will. Confused yet? Seek on....

The Art of DM Cook

David M. Cook is a Brooklyn-based artist whose work we have fallen in lust with. It's full of geometridelic robot skulls, serpentine chimeras with rainbow boners, saggy tits & tattoo flash. When he's not making 2D artwork he's creating 3 dimensional 3D glasses with bat faces. It's a wonderful world thanks to David Cook! His artwork is featured on recent Converge shirts too!...

'Watchmen' Motion Comics

Alan Moore took comics to a new level when his acclaimed Watchmen series exploded onto the scene in the mid '80s. It's this series that spawned the concept of the graphic novel, comics as a serious literary & artistic medium rather than a childhood novelty. Its effect can be seen in the homes of today, with progressively older adults tuning their TV into animations that focus on increasingly adult themes. This book went on to be the basis for the 2009 feature film.

In 2008, an extremely faithful 'motion comic' was released. Though transitions from one scene to another often feel rushed, it is nonetheless entertaining viewing.

For us, the character of Dr Manhattan is so resonant. Who resonates with you?

Salvador Dali explains Alka-Seltzer

The master of surrealism himself explains the mechanism of action of antacids. Perhaps a little reminiscent of Jurgen Haabermaaster & Howard Moon's plug for Windy Blast Fast? Use only as directed.

Sam Keith's 'The Maxx'....Animated!

Back in the 90's comics were all the rage and one of the more edgy and imaginative was Sam Keith's 'The Maxx', a tale about a bum who thinks he's a hero locked in a battle against the serial rapist, Mr Gone. To complicate matters The Maxx often finds himself transitioning into his own alternate universe, 'Australia'. His only guiding light is the social worker, Julie. MTV produced an awesome animation that is pretty much 100% true to the original. Any video that begins with King Crimson's 'Satori in Tangier' has to be a winner! Only downside is that the guy who uploaded the video below had to flip it to get it up on youtube. A small price to pay!!

Create your own Fractal Art

Want to make some eye candy that looks like a divine eagle-winged cherub descending from on high to wreak vengeance upon all feeble sinners? Visuals that literally have infinite detail, limited only by the resolution of your computer screen and the inadequacies of your cheap bubble jet printer? fractalarts.com is an interesting site with plenty of images, tutorials and even software to start creating your own fractals!

Paul Laffoley is a Prophet

Paul Laffoley is a prophet. Paul Laffoley is on the Autism Spectrum. Paul Laffoley got kicked out of Harvard. Paul Laffoley has a mysterious intrathecal implant. Paul Laffoley worked on designing the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre. Paul Laffoley was fired from said design job for suggesting bridging both towers for safety, space & stability. Paul Laffoley is a visionary artist. Paul Laffoley has designed time machines, skyscrapers, extraterrestrial communication devices, living houses. Paul Laffoley has a blog. Paul Laffoley has a gallery. Paul Laffoley has a vision for the future: the Bauharoque. Paul Laffoley will blow your mind. Ladies & Gentlemen: Paul Laffoley.

Peter J. Carroll - The New Pope

Peter J. Carroll: too scientific for magick, too magickal for science. His works provide pragmatic strategies for stepping bravely into the void, still gaping due to the current non-union of Neuroscience and Psychology. The above book is probably our favourite piece of writing bar none. It is a manual for the layman to embark on the transcendence of his/her mundane existence and should be mandatory for all earthlings. Even rudimentary experimentation with some of the coursework therein is doubtless enough to shake up your life.

Since publishing this and other works, Carroll has gone on to focus on turning occult forces into 'rebel physics' formulas and many of his ideas can be found at his site, Specularium. Below is a lecture by the man himself.

The Art of AJ Fosik

Those of you familiar with Mastodon's latest album The Hunter will already be familiar with the amazing sculptures of AJ Fosik (although that album cover hardly does his works justice). For those not in the know, Fosik creates stunning psychedelic reliefs of god-like monsters. Check out his site and see him in action in Mastodon's Black Tongue video (below).

Analog Synths for All!

An analog hardware synthesizer for under $100!! Korg has unleashed the Monotron in 3 tasty flavours: Original, Duo, & Delay. These little beasts are ribbon-controlled, battery powered, and feature an internal speaker for synthesis on the go. Not that we are an expert on this sort of stuff, but they are also made with circuit benders in mind, for those electronics nuts that want to tinker with their equipment. These things are almost toy-like and will hopefully open the minds of the masses up to experimenting with music.

Adam Wallacavage's Octopus Chandeliers

Fancy Cthulu hanging from your ceiling, raining down illumination on you and your loved ones? Adam Wallacavage makes a range of these delightful cephalopod chandeliers (and even a Medusa design!) that doubtless will induce a cognitive dissonance on all whose eyes gaze upon them in dread...

The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky

If you have never witnessed the films of Alejandro Jodorowsky before you would be well advised to rectify this shortcoming. Of particular importance are his acid western El Topo and his magnum opus, the enigmatic The Holy Mountain. As a leader of the 'Panic Movement', Jodorowsky's surrealist visions drip with sincere symbolism, absurd comedy, and deliver an electric shock to the bourgeois via his elevation of the profane. As the Alchemist says, "You are shit. You can change yourself into gold!"

That this man was stripped of the opportunity to make Dune (featuring Salvador Dali, the art of H R Giger, & the music of Pink Floyd, Magma, Henry Cow & Stockhausen) is, as they say, a crying shame.

Feast your senses | Expand your mind...

The Ganzfeld Experiment

Lately, we have been reading about and experimenting with the Ganzfeld experiment. Ganzfeld refers to a homogeneous field, whether it be visual, auditory, tactile, etc. Usually this translates into lying still, staring at something featureless with white noise in the background. Why subject yourself to such misery? Because you will begin to hallucinate.

The idea is that once you deprive your senses of any meaningful stimuli your brain starts to make things up. People may start out with flashes of greeny/purple shapes/fog but eventually vivid visuals or distinct sounds may burst out of nowhere.

So throw away those crystal balls and obsidian mirrors 'cause this here's the new scrying, baby.

Those who are interested into delving into the emerging science behind it might like to start by hunting down the following article:

Wackermann J, Putz P & Allefeld C 2008 'Ganzfeld-induced hallucinatory experience, its phenomenology and cerebral electrophysiology' Cortex, Volume 44, Issue 10, pp. 1364-1378.

The Lovecraft

H R Giger's Baphomet Tarot

A little while back we stumbled on this blog explaining the symbols behind H R Giger's Baphomet Tarot. For those who are unfamiliar with Giger....well no one is unfamiliar with Giger are they? He invented the mother-flippin' ALIEN!

Anyhoo, for those unfamiliar with the concept of tarot, it is probably best to abandon the notion of some haggard gypsy in a tent predicting the future. Instead, consider them as symbols for meditation or as troubleshooting strategies (either in a 'spread' or as stand-alone cards). For instance, one might take The Fool (above) as a commentary on the ultimate free will of man to chose his fate in the most hopeless of circumstances and the eternal & cyclical nature of the elements that make him up.

We like to put a card up as our desktop wallpaper, whatever we're trying to focus on at that moment, as a constant, subconscious cue.

Failing all that, they're just damned amazing paintings!

You can find all the cards here or, if your German ain't too shabby, you may wish to try Giger's tarot spread game.

Lucifer Rising: Angerwear

Fancy yourself a style icon for the new aeon? Sixpack are peddling these cool tees featuring the emblem sewn on the back of the Light Bearer's cloak from the seminal Kenneth Anger film Lucifer Rising. I wept inconsolably when I discovered they had sold out of a limited edition run of jackets with the same patch emblazoned on the back.

Alternatively, Zazzle has a similar (though slightly less faithful reproduction imho) available. Or, if you're feeling retro, you might opt for their Jehovah shirt!

Fans of Noel Fielding might find this symbol oddly familiar....

Welcome to the Futurenaut

Greetings! Thanks for stopping by, we trust you will enjoy your stay.

This blog will consist of all manner of nick-nacks, curios, second-hand objet d'art, trinkets, you name it.

As conventional newsfeeds descend deeper into the abyss of banality & irrelevance, it will be small, mobile units such as this blog that rise from the ashes as a luminous information phoenix. So, without further adieu, let the Crowned & Conquering Child of journalism receive the only fanfare of inauguration worthy of such an occasion...