Signs of the Times, The Fourth Turning

How the Fourth Turning Explains the Mainstream Entertainment Collapse

In the past few years, the mainstream entertainment industry has been gripped by an epidemic of costly flops. These failures have spread across video games, movies, comic books, and more. Titles expected to be blockbuster hits—like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Skull and Bones, and Suicide Squad: Kill…
November 13, 202411 Comments
Rule of 3 Simpsons

The Rule of 3 in Pop Culture: Why the 3rd Try Wins the Crowd

Whether we're talking about a tabletop roleplaying game, a video game, or a movie franchise, when a new IP launches, success isn’t always immediate. In fact, it often takes more than one attempt to win mass appeal. History shows that pop culture products frequently achieve breakout success not with the…
September 27, 20249 Comments
Pan's Labyrinth

Meandering Through Pan’s Labyrinth

The record-setting campaign for my dark fantasy epic Lord of Fate is in its final hours. Don't miss these exclusive rewards at limited-time discounts. Back it on Kickstarter Before eccentric director Guillermo del Toro was filming giant robots and collaborating on mammoth movies like The Hobbit, he was best known…
September 23, 20242 Comments
Serpent and the Rainbow

Curse of the Serpent and the Rainbow

Cherished readers: Help reconquer dark fantasy. Back my brutal adventure novel Lord of Fate, now funding on Kickstarter. The spooky season is right around the corner. What better time to dredge the depths of the web for an alleged true legend of high strangeness? Today's chilling tale comes to us from…
September 13, 20249 Comments
Greer Funeral

James Earl Jones, Eternal Memory

The sad news broke on Monday that beloved entertainer James Earl Jones died at his home, aged 93. Having won more accolades than most performers could dream of, the US Army veteran and Shakespearean actor profoundly influenced several generations and built a legacy that will continue for generations to come.…
September 10, 2024
Kevin Murphy

MST3K’s Kevin Murphy Notices Movie Ground Zero

Hollywood product has degraded to the point that hardly a day goes by without someone noticing Cultural Ground Zero. Valued neopatron, DJ, and fellow ex-movie theater employee Scott Waddell brings up this book, wherein MST3K's Kevin Murphy notices movie ground zero. Dial around your radio and you’ll sometimes hear a…
August 20, 202411 Comments
Movie Theater Closed

Remembering the Movie Theater

The movie theater I once worked at years ago closed for good recently. To anticipate longtime readers' follow up question, yes. It was the location notorious for high strangeness that's been featured on this blog before. But whether or not it really harbored ghosts, that defunct theater has joined other…
June 4, 202418 Comments
Star Trek Horror

Star Trek Is Zombie Horror

Recent interactions on X revived the evergreen debate over which genre Star Trek belongs in. Writer Isaac Young sparked the discussion with this incisive thread. But it was user Brainwright who introduced a related topic that bears on today's meditation: Related: Star Trek—The Motion Picture Miles of page inches have…
May 30, 202410 Comments
Deadpub Hollywood China

Deadpub, Hollywood, and China

The death of oldpub and the implosion of Hollywood are two subjects that get a lot of play in the new counterculture. Newpub authors and anti-woke film critics alike have come to resemble End Times preachers interpreting the Book of Revelations to mean the eschaton is right around the corner.…
May 16, 20242 Comments