An Artist Named Mark Reiser Stepped into Another Universe

We knew Mark mostly emails and social medias.

Reiser was a nice guy.

Mark’s artwork was so deeply rich. It was like looking at black light art of the 1970’s filtered through a space age.

He did a fantastic job with all his artwork for Spaceseed. He played music as well but that stunning art of his was reaching out everywhere to fill my eyes with colorful strangeness.

Mark did the cover for the Spaceseed cd Empire of Night. It was their first cd that I had any involvement with helping to create. So just in that it holds a special place in my spirit. What elevates it and levitates it is that outstandingly odd cover. There is a brain dump of Salvador Dali crossed with Steve Ditko’s Dr. Strange artwork.

Mark has left this mental state we call life.

Goodbye sir, your passage has not been forgotten.

Sincerely yours,

Count Robot

Publishing Yourself

           When a band self releases their own music, that’s cool and its belief in yourself and totally cool to go independent.

            When a filmmaker finances their flick themselves and sells direct to the audience, that takes guts and courage and dedication to their vision.

            An artist doesn’t usually wait for a committee to tell them its OK to go and create a painting, the artist just paints.

            So why is it when someone self publishes a book its looked down upon?

            Why is self-publishing your writing still considered to be somehow cheap?

            I read a lot. Some pro-published some not. Some pro-published stuff is great, some is crap. Some self-published stuff is great some is crap. So why do some people disparage everything that is self published?

            What is a blog if not self-publishing yet I don’t hear people decrying blogs in general, instead I hear “It gives everyone a voice”. Well doesn’t self-publishing do the same thing?

            For all of you who dismiss self-publishing, I’ll leave you with one last thought, without self-publishing the names William Blake and Edgar Allen Poe may have been unknown. If you don’t believe me research their lives. Both of them extensively self-published their own works.

Yours in committed self-publication,

Count Robot

            

Dear Blog

Dear Blog

            Dearest Blog,

            It would be truly nice to get to know you better. Not in Jim Morrison sensual way, but you know kind of like we had been dating for a while. Not that I’m dating because I dig the married scene.

            Come now sweet Blog, let’s get together to watch Trog. Sure it’s not the greatest flick but its B Movie fun time it’ll do the trick without a tick.

            Dear sweet innocent as smog covered snow Blog. You little, little, little blog that would like to ride a maple log. You should wear a frog you saucy little blog.

Yours in hysterical nonsense,

Count Robot

Reeling: A Life at the Movie Review Show

            Over many years and many episodes an amazing thing has happened, there has been a fun, insightful movie review show that has been on cable hosted by a married couple. 

            Laura and Robin debate the merits of different cinema shows from the art house stuff to the low brow Z grade garbage chow flicks. Their review of Zombie Strippers was just as priceless as their review of some Frenchie foreign fru fru movie that’s name doesn’t spring to mind at the moment.

            They rate movies on a scale of A-D (honestly can’t recall an F ever being handed out). They don’t give too many A+ marks, which wisely shows how prized that score is held. They don’t often give out D’s either but it happens.

            How long has the show been running? Well they reviewed Ghost when it came out, so that should give you a good benchmark. The show rolls out of Malden, Massachusetts. It’s also very easy to check out online. Go to: http://www.reelingreviews.com/www.reelingreviews.com

            Ok so why is this an ad for a cable show? Because it is worth digging. It’s good, fun, and it’s a slice of history that people aren’t noticing and they should. Name another husband/wife show running for this long that’s still got spirit, spunk, and brains?

            Sometimes they agree, some times they spar, they’re real and so is their love of flicks. Most episodes have an insane amount of reviews and the Reeling website is crawling with more.

            If you dig films than this is the show for you to check out.

            Your humble blog typer has been doing crew duty on the show for more years than some have years. It’s been an experience to do something so insanely fun for so long. Some nights it’s all about technical stuff. However many shoots have involved skullduggery, drunken dust ups, pizzas, back door escapades, political intrigues, and fits of slanderous libel.

            When at the last shoot your narrator was confronted with the question, “How long do you think you can do this?” the response was, “I’ll do this until I drop.”

            Oh what joy! So watch away and behold what a movie review show should be, fun and informative!

#reelingmoviereviews

Yours in good movie review viewing,

Count Robot

american dream

this was something i wrote many years ago for a project that i worked on with the amazing Dante Conte. Sadly it never took off but thought it was worth posting. hope you dig it.

American Dream

Hello

I’m Joe Average

and I’m dreaming

of Vego Nazis scheming

of walls of breasts streaming

Cadallac carnivores can chew on my bones

drowning in lollipop lads

and retro fashion exploitation fads

just give me the good hard fax

a keep Pamela Anderson from getting flat tax

turn on, tune in, shoot up, the American Dream

keep me from all that’s clean and sober and reeks of academe

give me cologne de’ Clint Eastwood tough

I bet the Statue of Liberty likes it rough

this land is your bland

from the thighmaster land

to the inner child fat gland

think locally, rape globally

Mentos, the brain wash maker

give me another shot at Drew Barrymore’s puberty or give me death

stay true to the night of the next Mike Tyson ear bite fight

snap, crackle, pop, let the shadows blow away another president, oh what a relief from freedom it is

burn, baby, burn all the discos with sterno

love me legal tender, love me until my credit card limit is through

put our laws in a convenient blender, maybe the presidential cat will get eaten by an Arab killer shrew

living at the YMCIA crack den

GI Joe just married Ken

the American dream is a child not a voice

so the next time you choke on that Ronald Reagon burger rejoice

live free or French frie

live free or French frie

Yours in dated social political satire,

Count Robot