In 1977, someone claiming to be an alien took over this live UK broadcast on ITV's Southern Television franchise. The strange voice which came out of nowhere announced an important message to all Earthlings, which was taken very seriously by authorities at the time. I love the way this alien sounds — I find its voice oddly comforting. I would like it to come back and interrupt more news broadcasts today.

The five-and-a-half minute message, which could be heard throughout many places in England, went like this: 

This is the voice of Gramaha, the Representative of the Asta (Ashtar in some texts) Galactic Command speaking to you.

For many years now you have seen us as lights in the skies. We speak to you now in peace and wisdom as we have done to your brothers and sisters all over this, your planet earth. We come to warn you of the destiny of your race and your worlds so that you may communicate to your fellow beings the course you must take to avoid the disasters which threaten your worlds and the beings on our worlds around you.

This is in order that you may share in the great awakening, as the planet passes into the New Age of Aquarius. The new age can be a time of great peace and evolution for your race, but only if your rulers are made aware of the evil forces that can overshadow their judgments.

Be still now and listen, for your chance may not come again. For many years your scientists, governments and generals have not heeded our warnings; they have continued to experiment with the evil forces of what you call nuclear energy. Atomic bombs can destroy the earth and the beings of your sister worlds, in a moment.

The wastes from atomic power systems will poison your planet for many thousands of your years to come. We, who have followed the path of evolution for far longer than you, have long since realized this — that atomic energy is always directed against life. It has no peaceful application. Its use, and research into its use, must be ceased at once, or you all risk destruction. All weapons of evil must be removed.

The time of conflict is now past and the race of which you are a part may proceed to the highest planes of evolution if you show yourselves worthy to do this.

You have but a short time to learn to live together in peace and goodwill. Small groups all over the planet are learning this, and exist to pass on the light of the dawning new age to you all. You are free to accept or reject their teachings, but only those who learn to live in peace will pass to the higher realms of spiritual evolution.

Hear now the voice of Gramaha, the representative of the Asta (Ashtar in some texts) Galactic Command speaking to you. Be aware also that there are many false prophets and guides operating on your world. They will suck your energy from you — the energy you call money and will put it to evil ends giving you worthless dross in return.

Your inner divine self will protect you from this. You must learn to be sensitive to the voice within, that can tell you what is truth, and what is confusion, chaos and untruth. Learn to listen to the voice of truth which is within you, and you will lead yourselves on to the path of evolution.

This is our message to you, our dear friends. We have watched you growing for many years as you too have watched our lights in your skies. You know that we are here, and that there are more beings on and around your earth than your scientists admit. We are deeply concerned about you and your path towards the light, and will do all we can to help you.

Have no fears, seek only to know yourselves and live in harmony with the ways of your planet earth. We of the Asta Galactic Command thank you for your attention. We are now leaving the planes of your existence.

May you be blessed by the supreme love and truth of the Cosmos.

Correction: ITV, not BBC. 1977, not 1997.

In this unbelievably surreal McDonald's training video from the 70s, you'll start to wonder if there was some kind of trippy sauce on everyone's burger. The training video stars American comedian and satirist, Pat Paulsen. The chaos begins to intensify at 3:38, when a fellow sticks his head under the soda fountain to drink directly from the spigot. The music in this training video is also spectacular. The psychedelic 70s — what a time to be alive!

When I first saw this video of a creepy sculpture of a woman's face in a lake, I didn't realize how giant this stunning piece is. If you skip to 0:35 in the video, you'll see the sculpture's giganticness as Ruben Orozco Loza works on it.  He made this piece as a commentary on climate change, and had it placed in the River Nervion, which is located in Bilbao, Spain. Although the message behind this piece is heavy, I would be pleasantly surprised to come across "Bihar" while taking a swim. 

YouTube description:

People in the city of Bilbao recently woke up to a disturbing sight: a sculpture in the River Nervion, depicting a young girl, eyes wide open, who appears to be drowning. It's the work of a Mexican artist named Ruben Orozco Loza. Titled "Bihar," which means 'tomorrow' in Basque, the work of art is meant to provoke conversations about sustainability and climate change. The artist told a Spanish news outlet that he wants people to consider how "their actions can sink us or keep us afloat."

In 1986, this Japanese Kleenex commercial appeared on television screens across the country. The commercial itself is pretty simple. An eerie song, "It's a Fine Day" plays as a woman in a white dress sits beside an ogre child, and a Kleenex blows around mysteriously in the breeze.  Many people were displeased with the eeriness of this commercial, and claimed it was cursed. 

As people requested for the commercial to be taken off air, rumors began to circulate: "One claimed the entire film crew met untimely deaths in freak accidents. Another reported that the ogre child had died immediately after filming. Still others circulated that the actress, Keiko Matsuzaka, died, was committed to a psychiatric hospital following a mental breakdown, or became pregnant with a demon baby." All of these rumors undoubtedly were proven true.

Harold Fox is an outstanding painter who's shown his work at the La Luz De Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles five times, which is how I recently found out about him. I wish I would have known about his work earlier in my life. His detailed painting style and characters remind me a bit of Joe Coleman, which is what caught my eye when I first saw some of his stunning paintings of pirates.

If you didn't make it out to the 2020 showing at the La Luz De Jesus Gallery, you can check out Fox's show "Working Days End" in this video: September 2020 Exhibition: Harold Fox-Working Days End.

You can also see his currently available artworks here.

If you're planning on visiting the Mic Mac mall this holiday season in Dartmouth, Canada, then wear a sturdy pair of running shoes. You never know when you may need to flee for your safety in the presence of "Woody", an extremely creepy christmas tree with a giant animatronic face. Jimmy Fallon made the keen observation that Woody shares a few similarities with the 'Red Light, Green Light' Younghee doll from the hit series Squid Game on Netflix. Merry Christmas!

This weird german cat commercial was a hit with my cat. He was fixated on my computer screen all throughout the video, and even meowed a few times to the song. I can see where he is coming from, though, because this commercial rules. I wish all supermarkets were filled with cats jumping through the aisles and singing this song. Meow!

Kitty and Mimmy's New Umbrella is an adorable stop-motion animation from 1981. This 24-minute film is great for Hello Kitty fans of all ages. The plot is about Hello Kitty and her twin sister Mimmy, who receive umbrellas from their mother on a rainy day, and embark on an adventure. This sweet story is filled with ethereal eye candy, and will brighten your day.

YouTube description:

I present to you the first ever Hello Kitty animation ever! Kitty and Mimmy's New Umbrella was created in 1981 and was produced with stop motion animation. This was the first time anyone had ever seen an animated Hello Kitty special of any kind

Commuter is an excellent song by Ceephax Acid Crew, whose music videos never contain a dull moment. The video to "Commuter" is full of trippy surprises, and you should check it out if you're in need of something mind-bending today. Ceephax Acid Crew (born Andy Jenkinson) is the brother of Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson), who also makes awesome electronic music.

BENEATH THE SKIN  (1981) by Cecelia Condit explores the grim side of female subjectivity as it merges a true crime story about an unsolved murder with personal nightmare imagery. The film has a hallucinatory quality to it, and is as beautiful as it is unsettling. I'm fascinated by all of the contrasting elements of this film, such as the relationship between light and dark, impersonal and personal, and dream vs. reality. This 11 minute film is the first notable work by Condit, who's gone on to make many more compelling videos since.

YouTube description:

Relating a tale told by a girl on a swing, Beneath the Skin explores the contrast between the impersonal horror of a news story heard on television and the involvement of the storyteller in a nightmare, which gradually becomes more familiar and commonplace as the tale unfolds. The straightforward approach of the teller is humorously or frighteningly contrasted by a bombardment of visual images which mock or intensify the macabre flavor of the work.

"The Bats" was drawn and animated by Jim Trainor in 1999. This 8-minute film won at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000, and for good reason. The emotion and beauty of this film lies in its simplicity, both in the way it's drawn and its premise. 

"The Bats" tells the story of a bat who leaves near a Mayan temple inside of a cave with other bats. The bats have 9 distinct pitches. We follow the bat throughout his life as his mother raises him, he learns to echo to find food, loses his brother, has sex, talks to god, faces the threat of extinction, and eventually cinpletes his life cycle. Let me know if this film made you cry, too.

Polly Verity is an artist from Wales with an incredible talent for making paper art. In this six-and-a-half minute video, we learn about the joy that Verity finds in folding paper to create outstanding images and constructions. She even made the skirt she's wearing entirely out of paper! She makes it look easy, but I can't imagine the amount of focus it must take to make such intricate and precise folds. Verity's dedication to her craft is inspiring. 

YouTube description:

"The Mind's Eye"  is a new series from VICE in which we chronicle the creative process of a unique creator, artist, or craftsperson as they produce an original work. The result is a hybrid between a strangely-satisfying look into the technical processes of modern art, but also a portrait of the world's leading creators, their lives, and their inspiration. 

Polly Verity is a "paper sculptor" from Wales who has enchanted her followers with her remarkable ability to create intricate, three-dimensional works of art using mainly plain, white paper. 

In the third episode of "The Mind's Eye", we'll follow Polly as she brings a whole new dimension to the age-old art of origami.

The Creepiest Mustard Commercial in Recorded Human History will make you want your mommy. I eat French's mustard quite often, and I don't think I'll ever look at it the same after hearing this voiceover added to an vintage French's mustard commercial featuring a clown hotdog cook. The clown's eerie appearance in this commercial is one thing, but the voiceover makes me want to hide under the covers.

Hi Weirdo! is an amazingly fun and life-changing children's book by artist Mitch O'Connell and his 7-year-old son, Aiden. This book will warm the hearts of cool kids, happy mutants, and high weirdos.

O'Connell's eye-catching cartoons in this book are next level, as always. There are so many silly characters to be enjoyed throughout the 24 colorful pages of Hi Weirdo!, that you'll want to look through it over and over.

Order a copy directly from the World's Best Artist here.

This week on Cartoonist Kayfabe, the guys dive into The Fabulous, Furry Freak Brothers – Marijuana Superheroes from Underground Comix by Gilbert Shelton. This legendary comic, first released in 1968, revolves around a trio of stoner buddies who are always getting into shenanigans. The comics satirize the psychedelic counterculture of the era, while simultaneously critiquing the establishment. If you're a fan of the comic, you might be interested in the new Tubi TV animated series about The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, which was released on November 14th 2021.

Hamilton Morris inhales xenon gas in this video about the fascinating way that the element xenon affects the human nervous system. Hamilton Morris, (son of Errol Morris) is an American documentarian, journalist, and scientist. He is also the creator and director of the investigative television show about drugs, Hamilton's Pharmacopeia.

Xenon gas acts as a dissociative when inhaled. Morris' xenon inhalation process begins when he fills up a condom with the gas from a metal canister. Then, he breathes in the xenon and a big smile immediately appears on his face. He informs us that, "It's certainly psychoactive, there's no question about it." Throughout the rest of the video, he inhales even more xenon and takes us along for the ride. 

From YouTube:

Some unused footage from my new episode: Using a sophisticated xenon inhaling apparatus made from a thin film of polymeric isoprene, I inhale the strangest of noble gases. Here is an extended cut of the opening scene from my most recent Pharmacopeia episode. The footage was captured in 2014 and it is slightly corrupted.

These clips from the 1954 sci-fi movie Creature From the Black Lagoon are a sublime match with the song "Ocean Man" by Ween. "Ocean Man" never fails to get stuck in my head and play on a loop all day after I listen to it. https://youtu.be/tkzY_VwNIek

I also find the creature from the lagoon to be a giant cutie. I just want to hang out on the beach with him and listen to Ween all day.

I felt like I had taken a drug the first time I watched I'm Not The Girl Who Misses Much by the one and only Pipilotti Rist. Rist is an installation and video artist who makes work about the female body, which she often depicts through a surreal or abstract lense. "I'm Not The Girl Who Misses Much" was made in 1986, and features Rist manically dancing around a white room while repeating the title of the art piece, which is a line from the Beatles song "Happiness is a Warm Gun." This strange, beautiful video has always fascinated me due to the intense mood and feeling that it provokes every time I watch it.

I'm a huge fan of this incredible collection of artwork by Barry Paul. Paul makes wonderful, intricate art about aliens, UFO's, and Machines. He has such a brilliant and unique vision which is apparent throughout all of his drawings. I could look at his work all day long. You can see him talking about his artwork and ideas here: Outsider Artwork: Alien reincarnated Barry C Paul with anatomical alien drawings.

If you're in LA, be sure to check out artist Marnie Weber's incredible new exhibit at ODD ARK•LA. The exhibit will be open until December 4th, and features 250 unique hand painted/collaged album covers for the soundtrack to her feature film, The Day Of Forevermore. Each and ever album cover is spectacular. I'm blown away by all of the wondrous creatures in her work. Weber's visionary artwork is a must-see.

From UPCOMING — ODD ARK•LA

ODD ARK • LA is pleased to present a very special project by artist Marnie Weber, Songs Forevermore — an installation and record release exhibition of 250 hand-collaged and painted unique LP cover's for the vinyl album soundtrack of  Weber's visionary feature film The Day of Forevermore. On view from Nov 13 – Dec 4, 2021. A socially-distanced opening reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, November 13th, from 3-6pm.

 For each album cover, Weber has sourced from a wealth of imagery from the artists' own oeuvre. Recurring characters from the bizarre, humorous and dreamy weave together various narratives from Weber's films, performance and collaged work– all combined with painterly processes of beautiful iridescent Decalcomania and sprayed and splattered paint. The albums will be presented on floor to ceiling shelves as a colorful densely arranged grid that will allow for unexpected and exciting combinations of imagery and loose visual narrative. 

For the occasion, Weber's film The Day of  Forevermore will be available online for free viewing from October 22 to December 4, 2021 through Vimeo, or the artist's webpage at marnieweber.com/forevermoreThe Day of Forevermore, is a modern fairy tale, a daughter (Colette Weber Shaw) struggles to find freedom from her imposing mother, an elderly demented witch (Marnie Weber), on the mysterious farm of Forevermore Acres. The farm is a rundown junk strewn ranch full of aged witches and misfit monsters filmed at the legendary Los Angeles Zorthian Ranch. The mother's plans to indoctrinate her daughter into her coven of darkness are interrupted by three curious teens that wander onto the farm. The daughter, yearning for a life beyond the farm, is a compassionate and innocent soul but may have a bit of the devil in her when called upon to take power.