Creature Feature appearance...

If you live long enough, everything comes back full circle at some point, things that become unfashionable and that people move on from, can be re-evaluated, and find a way to come back to life. Years ago, I wrote about my thoughts of the horror host TV show on Channel 2, KTVU, Creature Features with Bob Wilkins, and then John Stanley from 1971 until 1984. A series of nostalgia based books by Tom Wyrsch and video releases of episodes reminded people of made the show so special in its prime, a Documentary in 2008 – Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong: A Journey Into Creature Features seemed to solidify this reassessment.

It’s funny how things happen by accident, but bay area actor / Producer Jeff Bodean created an on-line series that lasted six episodes, and the Production work used opened a window to bring back Creature Features to the fledgling North Bay TV streaming network based in Santa Rosa. North Bay TV mirrors the localized focus of KOFY TV, another smaller bay area station. The premise of this new version is simple, a ‘has-been’ British 80s rock star has moved into a mansion on a hill with his aid, Mr Livingston, and his strange, macabe and mute friend Tangella, and shows classic horror films of yesterday, has guest, and offers of playful dose of fun. I watched the original debut stream on North Bay TV that had John Stanley as a guest and ran “Night of The Living Dead” in 2016, it looked promising and I even reached out to them, but you can tell what the future holds, so when I discovered that KOFY has picked up the show and was airing the show, it gave me confidence that others saw the promise of it as well.

By good fortune, I was invited to appear on the show in late October, and went up to the studio in Santa Rosa. The mansion is lovely, and the cast and crew could not have been more nicer, relaxed, unassuming, and fun. The episode airs Saturday night 11/11, on KOFY between 11 PM to 1 AM PT, where I talk about The X-Files, the new season, The X-Files Lexicon, and the work for Den of Geek, my love for Richard Matheson’s novel “I Am Legend”, and the film that was based on the book, ‘The Last Man on Earth’ with Vincent Price. We also talk about X-Files alumni Veronica Cartwright, and the show Millennium.

Since I have shared this news to neighbors, I have encountered countless people who remember the original show.

You can upload the North Bay TV app to see the live stream, if you don’t get KOFY, and the full episode will appear on the Creature Feature’s website within a few days.

Worthwhile fun indeed.

Those Dark Monsters Within...

“Those dark monsters within”

XFL Blog’s exclusive interview with Jason V. Brock, conducted via E-mail by Matt Allair

XFL Blog’s review of DVD documentary “The Ackermonster Chronicles”, and book review for “The Dark Sea Within” by Matt Allair

For many Philes, they might not be familiar with author and filmmaker Jason V. Brock, but he is a consequential and evolving voice in the field and subgenres of Horror, fantasy, and Science Fiction, he has also an admitted X-Files fan from back in the day. But my personal bonding with Jason came out of our shared passion for iconic genre writer H.P. Lovecraft, a figure we have written about on this blog. Jason is known for being very outspoken, and while open about his liberal leanings, he has been very vocal about the excesses of liberal political correctness, and has made no bones about the misguided aims behind such efforts in relation to deceased authors like Lovecraft. But his interests are varied, and range into a celebration of the life of first generation superfan, Forrest J Ackerman, a man who was involved in the evolving field of Science Fiction literature, and its fandom from as far back as the early 1930s. Ackerman had become the agent to a wide range of notable authors, and an avid collector of classic genre films and publications. Ackerman was also the creator of ‘Famous Monsters of Filmland’, a magazine that, no doubt, X-Files writers Glen and Darin Morgan had followed as children. One can see the review of this great documentary below. His interests also extended into a documentary of television writer Charles Beaumont, whose work is notable in Rod Serling’s seminal series The Twilight Zone, which is another series I have noted that had an impact on the work of The X-Files.

Courtesy of the author

But Jason is notable as a short story author, and this second point might interest X-Files fans who are looking for something dark and interesting. His second collection of Poems and Tales has been issued by Hippocampus Press, ‘The Dark Sea Within’. While the following musings might appear to some fans as six degrees of separation in relation to The X-Files, I felt this would be a great interest. Jason has been gracious and generous with his time, and he is in person a very fun and charming person to interact with (we met during Alien Con in Northern California last year). His devotion to interact with other fans and other authors shows a real commitment to bridge gaps and find common ground in all areas. The format is broken into a review, then interview format, for both the documentary and his book.

“The Ackermonster Chronicles” – A compelling documentary from filmmaker, Author and Musician Jason V Brock about first generation genre super fan Forest J. Ackerman whom began his life as an avid reader of Science Fiction and Fantasy pulps from the 1920s to the 1940s, and became an avid movie fan of all horror and science fiction films from the 1930s onward. Over time he amassed a huge collection of everything conceivable that related to those fields, as well as amassed a great number of industry contacts, both in film and literature. His tale has been occasionally told before, but not with the level of candor and earthiness that one finds here. Jason managed to interview Ackerman before his passing, and Brock managed, in the process, to get many revealing little tales about iconic figures such as Ray Bradbury, and Harlan Ellison. But Jason also managed to get some revelations about Ackerman’s sexual fetishes - little of this white-washes anything. The presentation of the Documentary is also surprising, it doesn’t rely on nostalgic images or genre clichés in how it reveals the human story behind Ackerman and his circle, but rather edgy. He may have been a geek, but he still was a man nevertheless. This presentation seems like a tactic to appeal to Millennial’s whom have little idea of the man, or his role these fledgling fields of Science Fiction and Horror in the early years. The tactic evidently works. The number of people involved in the roster is impressive: Ray Bradbury, William F. Nolan, Dan O’Bannon, John Landis, Joe Dante, Greg Bear, film historian David J. Skal, Lovecraft expert S.T. Joshi, and visual effects icon Ray Harryhausen.

Matt Allair: I understand that you first started on the Forrest J Ackerman documentary (The Ackermonster Chronicles! [2012]) before others worked on similar documentaries about Forrest, and that you shot about 30 hours of material. Was it difficult to prioritize what to include?

Jason V Brock: It was, and my wife, Sunni, did an outstanding job as editor. The main reason was that there was so much to cover. Ackerman lived into his 90s, and was a pivotal figure in the development of several areas of popular culture, from fandom to the emergence of science fiction as a mainstay genre in literature and film, to the acceptance of horror by the masses via Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and the legitimization of collecting. He was key in all of these roles, not to mention a beloved ham actor appearing in over 200 films and an agent and editor. Along the way, he even managed to cultivate a few outspoken foes (Harlan Ellison pops to mind!), and lifelong friendships with other people he inspired, such as the late Messrs. Ray Bradbury and Ray Harryhausen. Inevitably, Sunni had quite a job assembling everything, as I shot what I believe to be the longest interview Forry ever conducted, which ran about eleven hours! It was done in a single day, with a few breaks for food. Later we did some pick-ups to cover things missed in the original interview. To complicate matters, I shot in HD, which at the time was almost unheard of, so we had to have special gear to film and edit. It was sort of a nightmare, technically, back then.

And yes: Ours was the first documentary to be solely about Ackerman. Later, a few others came around and managed to get theirs out before we did, but that was only because they weren’t as thorough. I don’t want to say anything more negative, so I’ll leave it there. I will note that ours went on to win the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Documentary in 2014, so that tells you something.

We actually began the interview process in 2006, as I recall. During that time, we were encouraged to do another documentary about a man that Ackerman had agented at one time, the late writer for The Twilight Zone and some of Roger Corman’s Poe films, Charles Beaumont. Beaumont and Ackerman had many of the same friends and so on, so as I shot things for the Ackerman film, I also shot material for the Beaumont effort (Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone’s Magic Man [2010]). During these interviews, Ackerman had a serious injury and was hospitalized. While he http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1531642/recovered, we continued to work on the Beaumont documentary, and were able to finish it. After that documentary was done, we had an invitation to have the World Premiere at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, CA. It went very well, with a near capacity turnout of around 400 people from all walks of life: Movie industry folks, reviewers, Twilight Zone fans, and so on. We also had an assembly of people who knew, worked with, or had studied Beaumont at this premiere, including George Clayton Johnson, William F. Nolan, John Tomerlin, Marc Scott Zicree, Ray Bradbury, and Earl Hamner. Other screenings of the film took place all over the world, including a special showing at the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas under the invitation of the Founding Director and science fiction legend James E. Gunn.

After about a year, we were able to pick-up with the Ackerman documentary; sadly he passed away before the film was completed, though he did live to see a short 10-minute preview. After the film was completed, we had the World Premiere, by invitation once again, at the historic Aero Theatre in Santa Monica (which, like the Egyptian Theatre in LA, is part of the prestigious American Cinematheque), and panelists there for the audience Q&A included the widow of screenwriter/director Dan O’Bannon (Dan briefly lived with the Ackermans as a teenager), long-time Ackerman assistant Bill Warren, William F. Nolan (Ackerman was his first agent, as he had been with Tomerlin and Beaumont, among many others), and George Clayton Johnson. Again, we had a fantastic turnout, and the documentaries have since been shown numerous times all over the world.

Matt: What was the most difficult interview to secure?

Brock: Well, for Ackermonster, I would have to say it was John Landis, simply due to scheduling. He’s a busy guy. For the Beaumont film it was William Shatner, mainly for the same reason.

We’re completing a third film at present, entitled Image, Reflection, Shadow: Artists of the Fantastic. For that, likely the toughest to secure was Prof. Ernst Fuchs. We had to go to Europe for the majority of the interviews, and he was at work painting an amazing mural inside a chapel in the capital city of Klagenfurt in state of Carinthia, Austria. We had to drive through the Alps from Vienna, and once we arrived, Prof. Fuchs had me deliver a small brass model of a proposed sculpture to him, but the City Hall made me leave my passport as collateral before letting me take it to him! That was a bit of an odyssey.

Matt: It’s one of the few documentaries that is so candid about the sexuality of his era, as well as his sexual fetishes and interests; was the decision to include that aspect of his life intentionally going against the grain about what you would usually see in such documentaries? Did that aspect just naturally unfold as you learned more about him?

Brock: Well, in my films I prefer to uncover the true essence of the individual or topic. As a result, I tend to use unconventional means to achieve this goal. One thing I don’t like—especially if the subject is a person—is to have a narrator. I find that to be an old-fashioned way of doing things. Instead I let the people who knew the person explain to me, in long and candid terms, what the person they knew was like. Over the course of 20 or 30 interviews, one can establish a fuller picture of all aspects of the subject as viewed by others. I call it “peeling away the onion layers.” It gives us, I feel, a much fuller appreciation of the person at the heart of the film.

With respect to sexuality, it was Forry who brought that stuff up. I never got the feeling he was embarrassed or ashamed of it (and he had no reason to be), so we went with it. I found it an interesting window into how his mind worked, and it tied in to idealized notions of the past (such as nudism) as they changed into what we see today. Forry was genuinely fascinated with the good in people, and was what I would deem an optimist. He truly felt that in the future, we would be living by the tenets of what I have come to call the “Utopian Triangle”: everyone speaking Esperanto, living on a spaceship, and nude. He was more complex than just an old guy who liked science fiction books. I wanted to show that.

Matt: The documentary has a very edgy, contemporary presentation, and isn’t packaged with many nostalgic clichés. Was the approach done to appeal to younger Millennial viewers who might not be aware of Forrest’s, or Science Fiction’s, early history?

Brock: It was not done in a contrived way to appeal to a demographic, but if it does, that’s fine with me. It was done as a way to humanize the past, actually.

Matt: When did you first meet Forrest?

Brock: We first met him at San Diego Comic-Con in 2005, where he was doing a signing with Ray Harryhausen and Ray Bradbury.

Matt: Was there particular story you had to omit that you wished you hadn’t?
Brock: Several! There are so many stories told by different people I wished we could have included. Alas, there’s not room for everything! Perhaps more in a future edition. . .

Matt: In the commentary you mentioned being something of a neophyte about Ackerman when you started the project, did what you learn change your perspective about him?

Brock: Well, I understood his impact with respect to Famous Monsters, which I read growing up, but with regard to his importance in the larger scheme of things, that was surprising. To my mind, he’s the fulcrum of bringing this type of literature and film into the present. I say that not only because of his own achievements, but also because of his friendships with Ray Bradbury and Ray Harryhausen. They have, collectively, inspired millions of people, quite literally. And all over the world. People who love the genre don’t even understand the impact of these men, and I predict none of it would have happened if Ackerman hadn’t been the catalyst.

“The Dark Sea Within: Tales and Poems” By Jason V. Brock – Personally, I find it difficult to be easily captivated by contemporary weird horror or fantasy fiction. Most mass market fiction has been so commoditized to pander to a demographic, and so many genre writers fall into a generic cul-de-sac that provides a comfort eye candy to the reader whom happily takes it all in, it is difficult to find a genre writer that has something to say, and something transgressive that leads to new revelations about the characters depicted. But the purpose of weird horror and fantasy should be to reveal to the reader something new about the human condition that hasn’t been considered. H.P. Lovecraft, within his obsessional interests and neurosis, did open up a view of man as minuscule in a greater scheme of things, that notion ran in contrast to the comforts of Christianity. While Lovecraft did not influence him, Clive Barker’s early work remains some of the most transgressive to come out of the eighties, he’s one writer that moved Lovecraftian sensibilities into new directions, Clive was also unapologetic in celebrating the other as something beautiful. Anne Rice is another example of someone who celebrated the sensuality of the other with new perspectives. Yet the point is that horror and fantasy cannot move forward unless it is transgressive, unless it makes the reader uncomfortable, yet shock tactics are not enough. The reason why filmmakers like George Romero and David Cronenberg remained so interesting is the depth of their best work to have something to say. I am happy to reveal that Jason Brock’s new book reveals an ability to write good, captivating prose, and meets many of the expected above points.

The first tale that I was most curious to check out was ‘Brood’, a Lovecraftian tale that acts as a contemporary sequel to ‘The Shadow Over Innsmouth’, set in the coast of Massachusetts, a Sheriff and deputy investigate the bodies of mutilated half breeds off the coast, and this leads to as grim revelation. ‘The Dark Sea Within’ reminds me of a Clive Barker tale from his short story era – An art dealer, and his girlfriend, lured by the promise of rare art in Prague are lead into other realms.  ‘Memento Mori’ is a vignette that deals with an old man’s recollection of an unusual event from the Second World War. ‘Transposition’ is a surgical horror tale with a O’Henry twist. Thus far his work reveals a writer with a breath of influences. ‘The Shadow of Heaven’ is another Lovecraftian influenced tale of a Military unit in the Arctic that faces a grim outcome. ‘The Man With The Horn’ is another tale of a woman overwhelmed with curiosity about an apartment neighbor that leads cosmic revelations, this tale might remind others of Lovecraft’s “The Music Of Erich Zann’. The tale ‘Verlassen’ manages to have the flavor of a Ray Bradbury tale, introspective.

The tales ‘Unity of Affect’ and ‘Epistles From Dis’ manage to be structurally inventive, in the case of ‘Dis’, the title makes reference to the city in six level of Hell of Dante Alighieri’s poem, ‘Epistles from Dis’ manages to be an ambitious apocalyptic novella that demonstrates his sure hand with working in the longer-form format. In terms of his Poetry, many follow in the spirit of Edgar Allen Poe’s poetry, or Lovecraft’s dalliances with Poetry, but they also demonstrate the influences of writers like Milton and Edgar Lee Masters. There are many sides to Jason’s influences and that breath is revealed with each piece. I should note that the book concludes with ‘notes’ about the writing, while this isn’t completely unusual, it is rare to see a writer willing to share his through process and inspiration behind each work. The closest example I can think is musician Pete Townshend who is very open about his creative process. Jason V. Brock is a writer with great promise, although already very accomplished, I would be intrigued to see where could go with a longer-form Novel. Fans who have an interest in the weird fantasy field should celebrate such a new voice, recommended.

Matt: Your second collection, The Dark Sea Within, is very eclectic in its prose styles; was the selection process difficult?

Jason V Brock: Not really, I have always written in a variety of styles and with a broad thematic base. I like to challenge myself, and I like to gently confound expectations. The main thing is getting the flow of the book to be a smooth experience for readers. Of course, some people dislike poetry, so they can skip those if they wish.

Matt: Since the publication of Simulacrum and Other Possible Realities, how many years did it take to write the tales and poems in Dark Sea?

Brock: Well, not too long, actually. I had the bulk of the material together in a couple years. I write very quickly, and generally have three to five story requests in the hopper at any given moment. The longest part of the process for me is perfecting the pieces and handling final revisions before going to press on a collection. I am a chronic reviser, and enjoy that aspect of writing.

I did have to put in a great deal of work on the novella that debuted in Dark Sea entitled Epistles from Dis. I had been working on that piece—which clocks in at about 23,000 words—off and on for roughly ten years. It is a complex work, and involves a sweep of history as well as a lot of research related to the machinations of the disaster that unfolds in the story. It was fun to do, but tough as well. At the moment I am building the contents for my third collection, tentatively called Grotteschi: Further Explorations of the Kafkaesque. I hope to have it ready for early 2019. It’s about half-completed now; I have to wait for some of the pieces to appear in print before I can release it, though.

Matt: You are known for being an advocate for writers like H.P. Lovecraft and Richard Matheson: Is there a writer that has influenced you that would surprise most people?

Brock: I think most people would be very surprised to learn about one in particular. He was a fine literary writer named Richard Selzer. His work is lyrical, but rooted in reality. He began as a surgeon, and his book Mortal Lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery is one of my favorites of all time. I had the chance to publish him once, and he was great to work with. A real gentleman. I also really admire the work of Gabriel García Márquez. Rod Serling, O’Bannon, David Bowie, William S. Burroughs. The aforementioned members of The Group, of course, and the cohort they influenced: Dennis Etchison, Peter Atkins, et al. (In fact, our publishing shingle, Cycatrix Press, is re-issuing Etchison’s Masters of the Weird Tale Centipede volume, It Only Comes Out at Night, in paperback.) Also the theatre has been a big influence; I was really into plays and theatre in high school. And the poet Dante.

Matt: Do you see a moral thread that runs through most of your story telling?

Brock: One theme is “be careful what you wish for.” I see others, but that one is recurrent. Also “things are not always what they seem to be.”

Matt: Is a lot of your story telling based on personal experiences? Is any of your fictional work autobiographical in some manner?

Brock: Most of my work has some tinge of biographical material. Many of my characters reflect amalgamations of aspects that I have, for better or worse. And liberal doses of imagination, of course.

Matt: I’m always fascinated with the issue of societal censorship, which seems to be an on-going scenario, and with artists—be they writers, musicians, painters, or filmmakers—the issue of self-censorship. Has there ever been an image, idea, or sequence that you thought of, to which you decided ‘It’s too extreme, I can’t go there’, when you were developing your work?

Brock: No. I am generally most interested in ideas that challenge or excite me. I have dialed back some of the baser elements of gore that I had in my earlier efforts. I was interested in medicine, and still am, and would frequently go for realism in describing things. Sometimes that grueling for a reader. So I learned to temper that with more flair with respect to style. It’s not so much about endurance as it is about conveying messages in my work. Sometimes the extreme parts stepped on that, though I have been known to be extreme from time-to-time!

Matt: Now that you have several story collections under your belt, do you feel ready to work on a long form novel?

Brock: I do, certainly. I have done a variety of long-form pieces now, ranging from 11,000 to more than 20,000 words. My literary agent, Cherry Weiner, is after me to complete my novel series, the first of which is tentatively called (UnSub). This is the beginning of a trilogy about a specific character, a woman named Sinthya Morrigan. She is an FBI investigator in the Behavioral Sciences Unit, and starts the series with her coming in to clean up a serial murder investigation in the Pacific Northwest, which is where I now reside. It’s a police procedural/crime book in part, but with a strong supernatural element. The trilogy is all mapped out; I’m finishing the first book.

I also have a Weird fiction short novel entitled The Kellen Diaries on the backburner. It will be a sort of lost document book about a specific character, and drawing on the Weird tradition, a bit of Lovecraft, and also Southern Gothic ideas. The latter is a natural draw for me, considering I am from the South, so it feels comfortable. Along the way, I plan on an S-F novel, and a couple others I have ideas for. William F. Nolan and I are working on several projects as well—one is his forthcoming Centipede Press Masters of the Weird Tale series omnibus (due in early 2018), and his memoirs, currently titled Nolan’s Run, due in 2018 as well from Dark Regions Press; I am serving as editor for those two. I have also outlined another novel—with Nolan’s blessing, as he wants me to assume the mantle for the literary franchise—which is an extension of the Logan’s Run universe, called Logan Falls.

Additionally, I have planned a couple nonfiction books of scholarship—one on The Group, and one about film, music, literature, and art, similar to, but wider in scope, than my Bram Stoker and Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award Finalist book from 2014, Disorders of Magnitude. Then there is my semi-regular ongoing print/online anthology/periodical Nameless Digest which will see two issues out this year, with some fantastic stuff in them, including original stories by Ramsey Campbell, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, and a new Thomas Ligotti interview from Darrell Schweitzer.

Lastly, S. T. Joshi, the scholar, critic, and anthologist, and I are planning a new book called Future Weird for 2018. Should be pretty interesting, as it merges the non-Lovecraftian Weird with Science Fiction; we already have some excellent contributions for it. Very interesting admixture, that.

Matt: Are you optimistic about the current field of Science Fiction, Horror, or Fantasy Literature in 2017?

Brock: Overall, I suppose. Right now, there seems to be quite a bit of overtly preachy material out there. I think that will date badly as social mores change and people get tired of being lectured to; we’re not children here, for the most part. We can handle ideas that are different from our own, or at least I can, and the people I generally associate with.

There is also a bad trend toward PCism that needs to be kicked to the curb. “Artists” who are PC aren’t artists: They’re politicians yearning for acceptance, I feel. Now, there’s nothing wrong with addressing ethical concerns, or moral dilemmas, or recasting things contextually, but trying to dictate terms to people and hammer at them if they differ from your overly-rigid worldview is not only foolish, but dangerous. That’s mind control. Groupthink. I’m against it. I refer to these types as “Stalinists” but they aren’t that organized. They’re reactionaries, mainly. I am personally liberal, and find the very notion of people telling me what to think—or, even worse, the “correct” way to think—to be unacceptable. I’ll decide for me, thanks.

Along those lines, casting people into the lake of fire over a political stance is not only counter-productive, it’s a streak of self-righteous idiocy and narcissism that I find to be anathema to the tolerance, understanding, and compassion I was raised to be mindful of. It also stymies being the person who wants to grow as a creator and a human being; it involves too much talking and not enough listening; wanting to be “right” and not open to other points-of-view; even if someone has an outré or negative set of ideas, hearing them out is not an endorsement. It’s an acceptance that they are different in their perspective. That’s all. It won’t “turn you into _______” to listen, think, then formulate a reply rather than simply react in regurgitated, half-digested stereotypes and cockamamie ideas of pseudo-justice. We have to try and come to terms with one another, not just condemn people who are different than we are: How is that any different that being a sexist, or a racist, or a homophobe, or an ageist? That sort of unenlightened “thinking” violates my personal ethos.

There’s been way too much of that in the literary community of late. Enough already. Don’t become what you hate.

Matt: Due to the nature of this blog, I understand you are an X-Files fan, do you have a favorite episode or season?

Brock: I do! My favorite is the one where Scully and Mulder visited the retired sideshow community in Florida. Season 2, episode 20: "Humbug." I especially love it as I am frequently treated like a freak in real-life by people who have a hard time appreciating my takes on things.
I also tend to gravitate toward the misunderstood; that, too, is a large thematic concern in my work. I can trace it back to my upbringing in the rural South: We were poor, and I frequently felt the sting of ridicule over that, which was out of my control, of course. Most of my friends were the same, and I had a bit of a split childhood, first with my mother, then later with my father (who was mixed race) and stepmother. Looking back, growing up that way, in those conditions, gives one insight into humanity that you can’t get any otherwise.

Jason is a fascinating figure, and all areas of his work are worth looking into. You can Purchase The Ackerman documentary here, as well as his new collection of tales The Dark Sea Within here. Or via Amazon.

You can find Jason V. Brock via his Twitter, his Facebook, or his website with his wife Sunni.

Special thanks to Jason for his time!

Consequences

Where I live, or I should add nearby, there’s an old white building for years I assumed was a library. It’s right off Presidio Park drive in San Francisco. I learned a year and a half ago that it was the home of the Internet Archive.

Now, the Internet Archive has been a resource for all on-line internet media, including books, sites that have gone missing have been archived there. This is especially important for some of the valuable written content that has existed since the mid 90s on the Internet. While it is true that the internet features a great deal of misinformed dreck, the internet has also featured some great resources that are / were well researched, informed, insightful, and that broke the line between legitimate, old school journalism, and freed up a kind of citizen based journalism that was a two edged sword.

Some of that citizen journalism was well done, and responsible, and some of that citizen journalism was not, and that is really the fault of the individuals involved when they were not responsible for their work. Nevertheless, you’ve had people who worked quite hard, with long hours of thought, elbow grease, and ethics to offer their best for little payment, or no pay, and with the belief in the free exchange of ideas. There might have been excesses along the way, abuses, when it comes to file sharing, or breaches in ‘Fair use’ rules, or abuses with frivolous sound bite content that is driven by 140 characters.

There might have been Silicon Valley figures with Utopian dreams about using the internet in the ‘app age’ to solve the ills of services, and goods, thus creating new problems without fixing the displacement of the work force of those services. Few could have seen the downside to a Facebook or a Redditt many years before. There have been abuses indeed, but the many bad apples shouldn’t spoil the whole bunch, we have always seen excesses in every aspect of culture.

The folks behind the Internet Archive have announced, due to developments with the new President Elect, they are moving their operations from San Francisco to Canada, to protect their servers in light of a new administration that has indicated, during the campaign, a lack of support for Internet Neutrality, the elimination of the FCC, and raised questions about revising the meaning of the First Amendment. Now, as to if this is all just heated rhetoric that will lead to nothing is hard to say, but we are facing a seismic shift in our culture, in our politics that one should be vigilant with, Elections have consequences and this is more true when our culture could be facing a government that no one really knows what to expect. An Autocratic government? A Kleptocratic government? More of the same authoritarian government we saw in the early 2000s? All of the above, or none of the above?

We have supported, at The X-Files Lexicon, Internet Neutrality for a decade now for sound reasons. The belief that information is the coin of the realm, regardless as to if that information is entertainment based, news based, history based, or science based. The mechanics of explaining how Internet Neutrality works has been complicated, but the objective has remained that a consumer should not have to pay to play, while it’s understandable with on-line news outlets to pay a subscription fee, the system should not be rigged to force that situation in all matters, especially when it’s done for politically expedient reasons.

We should address the other ramifications related to The X-Files season 11 news. The comments from Gillian Anderson about nothing happening, and the added comments from Anne Simon, which suggest that the election outcome has affected FOX studios decision to not move forward with another short form season. This could have little to do with politics, but more about scheduling conflicts and how much various parties want to commit. If this set of circumstances had to do with knee jerk action to the political climate, it would be a waste to ignore such salient points as the high ratings of the first three episodes. It also runs counter to how Television networks operate, where they live and breath off of high ratings. I feel people shouldn’t draw certain conclusions yet.

Fact based truth should not be a causality of social or political movements, but they often seem to be the first causality in the struggle to uphold free speech.

We are living in cynical and faithless times, it’s true that trust in all institutions have collapsed, but that doesn’t have to be the case. This collapsing of trust was intentional, by design and by various parties.

This lack of faith in the realm of information, this blurring of legitimate information, and artificial information has extend into every area now.

When the line between the tiny sliver of legitimate global conspiracies has been blurred to mean everything is a conspiracy, it loses all meaning now.

When we are conditioned to accept what was once unacceptable, it has lost all meaning now.

When we abandon fact based truths, or data, then everything means nothing now.

This malaise is not just a symptom of America, but of the entire world now.  It does feel like there’s a global re-wiring at work in Europe, The UK, France, Italy, and Latin America, all to benefit the Eastern regions at the expense of everyone else.

This example with the relocation of the Internet Archive is one tiny piece of this new paradigm shift, the list is vast with other pieces of this puzzle.  But we might see further changes soon. One cannot predict the future, only pay attention to the clues.

Like the destruction of the Library of Alexandria in AD 642, we should take care to not repeat history.

New XFL appearance on X-Cast about ep 3

The X-Files Lexicon webmaster appeared on Tony Black’s The X-Cast to talk about season two’s episode, ‘3’. Tony could not have been more gracious and some interesting points about “3” were raised, as Matt Allair has always felt it was a better episode than given credit for by fans. The podcast explains why.

New podcast appearance on The X-Cast

Another podcast appearance in short order. The X-Cast is a fairly new UK podcast, and Tony Black was gracious enough to invite me to appear for about an hour.

We cover a range of subjects, and in spite of exhaustion, and missing a few questions on a quiz, it was fun times indeed. Everything from the premiere, favorite episodes, the history of the XFL site, The Syndicate platform, my brief thoughts on the paranormal and Carl Jung, music and film projects, and where to go next.

Mr. Black is a nice gentlemen and the podcast is worth a look.

New Podcast appearance on Sci Fi Fidelity about XFL

Hi Everyone,

This has already been making the rounds, but the first of two podcast appearances this month. I did a brief interview with Michael Ahr, and Dave Vitagliano on Sci Fi Fidelity / Den of Geek, nice couple of gentlemen.

Where we talk about our favorite episodes, interesting segment.

You can listen here.

A little hint about our next exclusive, can you guess?

Thought Experiment: Identity Branding

Recently I’ve been mulling over various issues related to life, and related to everyone’s role in the internet, and pondering a new term to describe a set of ideas – “Identity Branding”, meaning a device used by people in the blogosphere, or internet media, where the identity of being angry, or superficial, or ultra intellectual, or crass, has become its own brand within on-line discussions. While terms like “Identity Politics” is freely thrown around like confetti in this day and age, perhaps we should consider this. My terminology is still being developed, and I realize the very phrase, some might argue, seems like an oxymoron or a misnomer. The Blog, in the past have explored related subjects in depth, here, here, here, here, and here and it’s time to expand the dialog. I see the results of this phenomenon, Identity branding, frequently, and how I came about this epiphany has been a slow process that I couldn’t articulate as I was working through my own frustrations for a good number of months. This phrase could be elaborated on as “Ideological Identity Branding” as well. When I think of the slogan phrase from The X-Files: “Trust No One”, I think of it as having several layers of meaning, one being don’t trust the government, don’t trust corporations, or trust religious institutions based on dogma.

But my personal interpretation of the phrase has been more along the line of “Don’t accept things at face value.” Retired political Radio personality Randi Rhodes, while acknowledging the cesspool that is talk radio used to say: “I know the company I keep, don’t take my word for it, and look it up yourself.” This crystallizes for me the problem of Identity branding in relation to the internet. We all participate in identity branding, all of us who writes blogs, I do too, and this isn’t about discouraging anyone from the business of blogging, but it was about starting a dialog to become mindful of the mechanizations of identity branding. There’s a relationship between the writer and the reader indeed, while this process can be beneficial, it can be detrimental when the writer is perceived as an authority figure in excess. Identity branding can victimize the reader to lose all sense of themselves, to the point of becoming too invested in championing the point of view, or agenda of the writer. The byproduct of identity branding is that the very notion of ‘free thought’ on either side of the political divide is gone. What is left is a kind of white noise that leaves everyone with closed minds, and the inability of listen. Therefore, the ability to process and accept and reject what you wish to on any given point has been taken away, all for the sake of the validation of a higher figure. This also applies to discussions about gender equality, racial equality, or sexual orientation.

Instead of the goal to encourage free thought, this identity branding is like a Frankenstein creature of unintended consequences, where people form around their own clicks to such a degree, the intention of democratic dialog dovetails into uniform thinking within those clicks. This device is used to demonize people whom, in most areas, share the same goals, but differ on certain points. I really had assumed that this phrase was already part of the Lexicon of the advertising world, or marketing world, but it seems to not be the case. Therefore I will be developing this term and refining it, and hope readers will start to ponder this point while going on with their day to day lives. More to come.

Addendum: The XFL Blog will be resuming its reviews by Christopher Irish, who has been busy elsewhere with a special project.

When Duty Calls...

Two promo X-Files trailers to debut Monday night...

We were asked by FOX publicity to mention the two part promo trailers for The X-Files Season 10 episodes that will debut tomorrow night, Monday, during both Gotham and then Minority Report.

You can tune in to “Gotham” at 8/7 central to view part 1, and the following this, on “Minority Report”, you can view part 2 at 9/8 central to view part 2.

The descriptions Monday regular programs are as follows:

On GOTHAM at 8/7c, a deadly escape rocks the city and following his reinstatement, it’s up to Gordon (Ben McKenzie) to track the Maniax. Meanwhile, Galavan (James Frain) plans his next move, while Bruce (David Mazouz) enlists the help of his father’s old friend to unlock the secrets in his office, and Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) attempts to ask out Kristin Kringle (guest star Chelsea Spack). 

Then, on MINORITY REPORT at 9/8c, it’s a match made in….the future. Dash (Stark Sands) and Vega (Meagan Good) team up again to find a killer who is currently down on love. Meanwhile, Dash continues to reach out to his siblings for help.  



The Two-Night season premiere of The X-Files is Jan, 24th, 2016, Sunday, 10:00-11:00 PM ET 7:00-8:00 PM PT, and Jan 25th, 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT

Thanks Gabe, Vince, and Chris L.

Matt holding the trusted recording device he’s used on interviews for many years.

When we conducted our interview with Vince Gilligan, I came to realize I was remiss in thanking one other person, Chris Carter’s right hand man, Gabe Rotter, for connecting me to Vince’s assistant in late 2014. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Once again, I want to thank Chris Longo from Den for being such a huge help last month.

The trouble with 'celebrity webmasters'...

(The following article was written as far back as January 2012, but held back due to certain concerns. While seeking the advice from a small circle of colleagues, some felt it could read as antagonistic, while other’s saw no issue. The following piece is not directed at any X-Files fan site, or fellow Philes, but a series of general observations.)

I’ve been mulling over this subject for a very long time, and it is based on my own personal observations over time, and a few direct experiences. For some fans of either this blog or the overall work of The X-Files Lexicon, some of the following points might seem like I am biting the very hand that feeds me, and I hope they won’t be misconstrued as a lack of appreciation on my part, I have always been very aware over how fortunate we have been. Yet, the longer you run a fan site that keeps growing and developing, the more pitfalls you risk encountering, and that’s really the way it is, the dilemma becomes – how to continue, and retain your integrity?

Personally, I have been at this game of being involved with a small circle of fan sites from as far back as 2000. I was a moderator and minor contributor to a site I won’t mention, from 2000 to late 2001. Then I became a moderator and minor contributor to The Harry Potter Lexicon from 2002 to 2005, and this is not withstanding the years of observing the rise and fall of countless other fan sites, as well as noting the price that is exacted for highly successful fan sites.

Yet over years of my observations, I learned and tried to apply what I learned with the establishment of The X-Files Lexicon in 2005, and tried to uphold my ‘statement of principles’ at the time of my launch. Yet it is a juggling act to try and avoid various pitfalls and maintain a level of objective honesty, and avoid conflicts of interest even while being offered the occasional perk, I am always reminded of the Rush lyric: “Glittering prizes, and endless compromises, shatter the illusion of integrity.”

Perhaps upholding pure integrity is an impossible ideal, but then again, one might be able to sleep better if they hold themselves to a higher standard, and treat people how they wish to be treated.

I remember seeing some of these dilemma’s early on as I visited some hugely successful movie news fan sites with whom won’t be mentioned by name, where the webmaster’s would be wildly inconsistent with their argument's, or would allow their opinions to be co-opted by studios that would curry their favor with press access, or elaborate press junkets, or free product, while the outside public would hold some illusion that such fan sites were different, more honest, or better than the mainstream press, either media or print, when in truth I didn’t see any distinctions.

The avarice of successful sites can be their un-doing, if one isn’t diligent. There’s a number of traps that I can list to help explain how sites can lose their credibility.

Too much praise.

On a universal level everyone likes to get recognition for their efforts, and it’s natural to enjoy, on some level, compliments, which I do, but I also compartmentalize, and contextualize such compliments. It never changes the fact that at the end of the day you have more work to do, and more to prove, I take it with some modesty, but what I have noticed in some cases, with certain webmasters, they cultivate a climate that encourages sycophants, a kind of unhealthy adulation that seems disproportionate in the scheme of things. In many respects, I don’t trust sycophantic praise, and thankfully I have never encountered that problem with the Lexicon. In truth, while agreement is nice, I don’t expect anyone to agree with me on various points, and that dialogue, that disagreement is healthy.

Some consider me an “expert” with all things X-Files, and while such labels are flattering, as I have stated before, I really consider myself more a facilitator who had a good idea back at the beginning of the site in 2005. I am well aware that some webmasters will be invited, or will petition to make public speaking appearances at conventions, and so on. While I wish them the best of luck, I have never seeked out making such visible appearances, it’s just not my thing, and while I can be assertive when needed, I just don’t have that inclination.

I should also point out, I have always been diligent and mindful with using the phrase “We” when speaking about any success within the Lexicon site, and not “I”, no one succeeds alone, and this distinction helps to keep myself in check.

Advertising and selling out.

The Lexicon does use a certain amount of website advertising, but in truth, we generate little revenue, I consider it mostly extra gravy, and it’s something I don’t depend upon, but I have observed with hugely successful sites where their web hits generate revenue, if the webmaster is dependent on that revenue generator, then they can become a slave to the success, and will go to great lengths to feed that machine. I’ve observed this a number of times where people will be driven to do things, for the sake of competition, they otherwise would never do.

Another byproduct I have become all too aware of is the trend with webmasters to write, sell and get published biographical works about their websites, their experiences with meeting fans, and to dish on their experiences with interviewing, and meeting celebrities. While my feeling is ‘to each his own’, I share no such interest on capitalizing on my experience with running a professional fan site. While this subject hasn’t been broached within the fan inquiries I receive, I should state the following:

I have no intention to publish a print edition of The X-Files Lexicon in any form, for profit. Where it could be done with relative ease, when you consider our growing percentage of interviews, original articles, or the articles within this blog, such a book could be done, but it won’t happen, the only way such a book would be published in any form as if the profits went towards some charity. The other reason why I feel no need to write any book is the fact that the Lexicon’s history is all there on-line, the site is an open book, and our interaction with people of note is well documented, there would be no need to write about any antidotal tales.

A part of my problem is that I feel that such books are driven by such hubris, and narcissism, especially when dishing gossip about the fandom experiences. The reason why I support such fan efforts by Erica Fraga and writers like Amy Donaldson, is the fact that their publications offer original content, and fresh insight into The X-Files phenomenon.

The problem of objectivity

I had previously mentioned in late 2008 about my prior involvement with The Harry Potter Lexicon, the lawsuit debacle between RDR and JKR’s legal team, and the debate over “Fair Use” copyright and the internet. At the time I diplomatically avoided citing my specific problems with the Harry Potter fan news site, The Leaky Cauldron, and their reporting of the RDR law suit, and specifically web mistress Melissa Anelli who exclusively handled the bulk of such reporting of that case, which favored a bias for JK Rowling, which I guess could be expected. But the site used their clout, which was significant at the time and abused it, to go beyond covering what was a mere dispute between publishers, and engage in a character assassination of the webmaster of The Harry Potter Lexicon, Steve Van Der Ark, where the Cauldron acted as the judge, jury, and executioner, when Steve was never listed as an official defendant in the case, but as a mere witness.

Melissa Anelli had close ties to JK Rowling, Warner Brothers, Scholastic; The Leaky Cauldron’s actions I’d argue were driven by fear, based on my speculation, over losing the relationship they enjoyed with Warner Bros, and the access of JK Rowling herself. In entertainment media, access equals power, in many cases access also generates on-line advertising revenue

At the time, Melissa had broken the code of ethics rule for on-line journalists as cited here, due to her evident conflict of interest.

This breach of ethics could have been avoided by Melissa Anelli early on, if she had recused herself from reporting on the case, and brought in a writer who was steeped in copyright law, and could have explained the murky details to Potter fans, Melissa never did that. I should add, the relationship between the Leaky Cauldron and the HP Lexicon was indeed complex, as both sites were involved with membership with The Floo Network, a small group of high profile HP fan sites. This crisis dissolved that partnership.

I remember all too well, visiting the comments section of The Cauldron, and seeing a propaganda strategy employed with Cauldron insiders, and sychcophants, early on when the mere question, or suggestion of unprofessional bias was raised by a fan, the attacks on fans who raised the question were voracious, and the tactic, of insisting the Cauldron was being objective and professional, this tactic reminded me of Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels when he argued that if you repeat a lie, (or, in this case, a credibility exaggeration) persistently and strongly enough, it would be accepted as fact.

At the time of this issue, I created a Facebook group arguing for this unprofessional bias from The Leaky Cauldron, while it generated only a small percent of followers, it provided a platform for a circle of fans to trade information, get the word out, and hold some semblance of accountability.

The tactic’s against Steve Van Der Ark and The Harry Potter Lexicon worked. The price was steep. At the time I had departed HPL in 2005, it was a robust, active site with a large following, and still putting out new material on a regular basis. By 2008, the bulk of the entire staff had resigned, in many cases due to pressure from outside fans, voracious attacks from other fans in many cases towards contributors, and while the Lexicon site is still available, it hasn’t been active in any measure for years.

It is only in retrospect after a number of years, that certain things become clear. At the time of the RDR suit, one of the claims of JKR’s legal team was a print edition of the PHL site would be detrimental to the eventual publication of a Harry Potter Enclyopedia to be written by JKR, an argument that never washed for me as there was never any evidence to me that the writing of such an encyclopedia was impending. It baffled me that JKR’s team, at the time, would focus on such a tactic as to character assassinate Van Der Ark and the HP Lexicon, and it only became clear recently when JKR launched “Pottermore”, an official site was probably in the works at the time the RDR lawsuit developed. They probably saw a window of opportunity to use the “fair use” issue to eliminate a website competitor. JKR has been known for having a litigious inclination over other slights. In fairness to JKR, in her deposition she did comment that her decision to move forward with the suit had nothing to do with Warner Brothers, you can find a summary of the entire case here.

By 2005, while I had grown disillusioned within the fandom of Harry Potter, it was mostly a desire to move into other independent areas, by 2008, my disillusionment was complete. Personally, and sadly, I feel no connection whatsoever to that scene. I haven’t bothered to read any of JK Rowling’s books since then. Not The Tales of Beedle The Bard, not The Casual Vacancy, not The Cockoo’s Calling. I wish her luck, but I moved on.

One of the unfortunate byproducts of professional fan sites engaging in this kind of conduct is the fact that they become blunt tools of corporate interest, and I suspect that The Leaky Cauldron, Melissa Anelli, and her team were mere pawns in a greater scheme. I haven’t found this to be the case within X-Files fan circles, and to the great credit of Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, they have always been approachable to the fans, and seemed to feel little threat over copyright issues, as long as such fan activity promotes the X-Files / Millennium phenomenon in a beneficial manner.

I cited this example to illustrate a byproduct of what happens when webmasters gain too much access – you see a level of abuse, of jockeying for power where the need becomes to stamp out competition, and ultimately there are no winners in such circumstances, based on what I’ve heard through other sources, website interest in the Leaky Cauldron has declined in numbers. I always suspected it would.

Conclusion – The problem itself.

I have addressed a number of points to breakdown my observations, and issues with the conduct of outside professional fan sites. To the great credit of the X-Files fandom community, I rarely if ever see these issues, most of the fandom are populated by such intelligent, and independently minded people, I see less of an inclination for sycophantic behavior, it may be there, but it seems to correct itself over time, and that’s why I love being involved with this fan base.

One remedy might be our support of the network platform known as The Syndicate, as the platform might help The X-Files / Millennium fan community to steer away from the click type situations that leave segments of fandom insulated, but I digress.

I think the reason why these behaviors come up for webmaster’s of some professional fan sites, might simply be that such webmasters allow their identity to be defined by the success of such sites, if they have nothing else to fall back on – for example, success with an independent career or occupation, or artistic success as a filmmaker, writer, musician, painter, illustrator, or a digital artist. But my observation remains that the success of running a professional fan site is a hollow success, especially being that you are focused on the creative success of someone else, yet we live in a culture where there’s a growing trend to celebrate trivial success.

In my case, I have varying degrees of success, and a career that involves my personal passions,.. filmmaking, music, writing, and media. Where I don’t feel the need to cling to the success of the Lexicon, I would be more than willing to walk away and hand ownership to someone else if the opportunity were to arise.

I have seen cases of webmasters whom have stayed too long in the game, and should have handed control to others and walked away, where they have allowed hubris to damage their credibility – pride goeth before the fall, so to speak.

While I can understand this fear, this desire to cling to what they have, life is also about change, and moving into new territories. Buddhism describes the very problem of attachments, and the need to let go.

Ultimately, the highest compliment you could pay to an artist who has influenced you is to go forth and create your own original material, and that itself, perpetuates a healthy cycle of creativity.

Addendum – In 2009, when I had access to the good people at 20th Century Fox Television, I took a risk and asked the legal team at Fox, if they saw any issues, or evidence I had breached the issue of “Fair Use” regarding The X-Files. At that time, they found no issues of concern.

Profile write up in Bluebook magazine

This came as a bit of a surprise, as far as when it was going to be published, but a great friend of the site, Sarah Blinco, had offered to attempt some publicity to help the Lexicon, starting about two years ago. She wrote up a great profile piece that has been printed in an on-line fan magazine, all about The X-Files, Bluebook.

Please check out page 32-34. The formatting might require some plug-in, fair warning, but it's worth a look.