Witch-About-Town

Public Events....

2020-10-15T09:49:00.006-07:00

"...In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself most successfully on people incapable of understanding it. They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. By lack of understanding they remained sane. They simply swallowed everything, and what they swallowed did them no harm, because it left no residue behind, just as a grain of corn will pass undigested through the body of a bird..."

1984 - George Orwell

Recognizing Unsafe Social Dynamics, Toxic Audiences and Corrupt/Uncaring Administration Early and Heading It Off At The Pass - Several Scenarios

2020-10-15T08:03:00.005-07:00

Katie

Katie loves popular music and fashion. She talks to the popular crowd at her high school and isn’t one of the Most popular girls but she is in what is considered a “good” group. Lately some incidents have been troubling her. A girl she had been friendly with had a disagreement with one of the more popular girls at school. In about 2 weeks, the girl was accused of being a “racist” because of something ambiguous she said. It was clear that she didn’t mean what she said to come out sounding “racist”. She was socially ripped to shreds and “cancelled”, which means nobody in the top level groups was “allowed” to speak to her any more. The girl was harassed on social media and had to place blocks on half the people she had considered friends at school. And she had to switch a couple of her classes due to harassment. The school administration didn’t do much to try to help her other than switch a couple of her classes. She was now harassed in the hallway of the school during classes and it was clear she was having a very hard time. Her popular boyfriend broke up with her and she had a completely different and much harder life than she had before her “cancelling”, and went through a life crisis. Katie knew something was wrong with what she had just witnessed. She confided in her mom, who confirmed that her school had become a Socially Dangerous environment and that the school administration was allowing it. Katie had to watch what she said near the accusatory girl and her “inner circle”. She could see they had enjoyed destroying the other girl and were looking for a new victim. Katie’s mother helped Katie pick a new school to go to, and agreed to help her get to the new location every morning. Katie told all her friends at her previous school that her new school had programs she needed to prepare her better for college. She started the new school mid year. The new high school had a better culture than her previous school and she was easily able to make friends. In a few months she was able to become one of the most popular girls at her school.

Dennis

Dennis is employed by a research firm. He is trying to climb the corporate ladder. He witnessed some behavior at his job that put him ill at ease. A high achieving employee was accused of social violations and penalized by the company’s HR Department, after threatening someone else’s’ job with the good job he was doing. Everyone on his floor was subtly warned “not to achieve too much” or “they could be next”. Dennis spoke to his counselor about what had happened at work. His counselor agreed that his job was an unsafe social environment for him to be in. He began finding out about other positions available in his field. Within 6 months he had successfully submitted an application to another available position and left the first firm. He was able to advance his career and get several promotions as a result.

Leanne

Leanne was a socially active person at a medium sized college. She had come from a bad family in which there had been abuse, and wanted to reinvent her life and make the world a better place. She joined a group of “Social Justice Warriors” on campus and wanted to change the world so that nobody else could be abused the way she had been in her home. Her SWJ group “called out” several people on campus and created the “canceling” of several students and a teacher, who was forced to leave his position. It seemed like she was doing a lot of great work with her group of friends, and she loved it. Then Leanne was given a high profile interview by a local magazine that featured her picture and a video of the interview. One of the other women in her SJW group became jealous of Leanne’s new social status. Leanne was set up by this woman to look as though she had committed a “racist” crime. This is called “staging”. Although she had a strong history as an SJW and had participated in the Cancelling of others, this did not save her from being Cancelled herself. Leanne had never realized the importance of counseling and did not have any advisors to warn her that if she got too close to a group that was Cancelling others, and she achieved too much status in that group, she could be Canceled herself. The administration of the college did nothing to help Leanne and neither did her SJW friends. She was almost expelled and blocked from being on campus, hindering her ability to complete her PhD Dissertation. She ended up in great debt for her education with an incomplete PhD as a result, and denounced as a Racist on several TV programs after having fought racism for years as an SJW.

Shawn

Shawn is a writer who writes for several popular TV shows and also sells screenplays to movie producers. He delved into “cult” audiences and wrote some Fantasy/Sci Fi stories for the “Sci/Fi” crowd. Lately, the “Sci/Fi” crowd has been gaining traction on Social Media. As a group they started trying to control the scripts of movies and randomly denouncing certain characters and scenarios in the story as “not socially acceptable”. They wanted people cast in roles where they clearly did not fit (bad casting) and tried to force the production company and writers to comply. Shawn and the other writers and producers had a meeting and decided that the brand had attracted a Toxic Audience. They discussed the fact that the brand was no longer viable due to the toxic audience it had attracted and should be shelved or sold, and new shows should be created. They all were in agreement that although the brand made money, toxic audiences could create bad social situations for actors careers and others who were the “face” of the brand, and the quality of the product and their work and reputation in the field could be compromised and reduced as a result of the audience collectively pressuring the writers and production company. And this would compromise their careers. They discussed strategies to avoid toxic audiences in the future and ideas for new shows that would tap into a new audiences and other sectors of the population. Research funds were allocated to detecting which audiences contained the most “toxicity” so they could be avoided in the future.

TOXIC PC CULTURE - The Sorry State Of Scarcity Culture (Cluster B Disorders In Our Midst)

2019-02-14T20:15:00.001-08:00

“Cluster B personality disorders are characterized by manipulative,

secretive and sometimes dramatic, overly emotional or unpredictable 

thinking or behavior, used to manipulate and control others. They do 

not feel ordinary emotions such as love or friendship,  but only a sense

of pleasure when they are harming or destroying which is called

“Narcissistic Supply”.  The Cluster B spectrum includes antisocial

personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, histrionic

personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.”

As the seemingly Never-Ending Recession or period of Scarcity grinds

on in the USA, bringing out the worst in people who were previously 

too busy getting their groove on to think about disagreeing with one

another (let alone the sheer Hatred that seems to have erupted from

every walk of life toward one another), one cannot help but notice that 

the very worst and core perpetrators and enablers of these waves of

social Hysteria all seem to be teetering on the brink of sanity behind

a poorly maintained mask of Virtue and Magnanimity.  The mental 

Disease of Narcissism runs rampant through our culture like a fetid

Tornado, destroying lives, families, works of Art, Music, cities, events, 

tolerance and goodwill towards fellow citizens....everything.  Anything.

A group of Narcissists (Narcs for short) is like a Sleeper Cell.  They 

appear normal for a WHILE (long enough to get in the door of 

organizations, groups, companies, apartment buildings, social strata,

etc anywhere people are organized into a group) but somehow, terribly,

unbeknownst to the Greater Society - somewhere along the line,

usually beginning in Childhood, they have been programmed to 

Destroy.  The Narc Binary Relationship seems to be one Alpha Narc

and many Beta Narcs that can be activated by any Alpha Narcissist

who happens to step into the picture and trigger their hidden

Histrionic, Predatory tendencies.  There are waves of Hysteria that

sweep the USA and other countries for this reason, which can be 

directed in this way, or that way, by these Alpha Narccissists, for

whatever reason they have - to gain wealth, harm enemies or put

them out of business, and so forth.  They use these tactics to Defraud

people out of things they worked a lifetime to build - their Reputations,

Businesses, Images and Legacies - and consume them, use them and

take them for themselves.  Scarcity and Abuse produce this personality

type, and due to the recent and current Recession, an entire

Generation has been marked and scarred by Cluster B traits, leading

to a very unfortunate Narcissistic Tsunami.

It is for this reason that during periods of Scarcity especially, but to be

prudent, in any Social circumstance, you must carefully Vet every 

person (verb vets, vetting or vetted. (tr) mainly British to make a 

prior examination and critical appraisal of (a person, document, 

scheme, etc) who is allowed to work with, live with or attend any social

event, or enter your circle of contacts in any way  - Always with a

watchful eye towards possible Personality Disorder.   One must even

consider the social mental makeup of their groups of Fans, and take

into account who they will be attracting when designing any 

Creative Work.

Where are these “sleeper cells” of dangerous Narc behavior actually

originating? Often it’s Extreme Religious Backgrounds, centered

around family or Church/Temple/Mosque etc.  Survivors of abusive

Private Schools, or Religious Schools, cults, or families that were

just extremely Dysfunctional but not associated with any Religion.

Sometimes it’s extreme Scarcity or abusive tendencies in Families.

Families where one member was artificially Scapegoated and Targeted,

but other members or one member was artificially raised up and could “do no wrong” - a “Golden Child”.  The Scapegoat could have been smart, intelligent, funny, all the things a person should or could be - but the Family targeted this person to never receive credit or anything good or receive love, favor, etc.  The entire family unit is subjected to Complex Post Traumatic Disorder  from being exposed to and witnessing this sickening behavior, which models the Narcissistic Lifestyle and sacrifices targeted individuals to it, while forcing other members to fear becoming a Target themselves unless they comply with and enable and participate in or allow the group abuse of the Target.  Rampant Shaming, blame switching and mental and emotional abuse exist in these terrible homes.  The products of this type of environment come to see group Hysteria as “normal” because it happened in their home, community, school or friendship group growing up.  They are capable of shifting in and out of these hysterical states and destroying selected Targets during ordinary life or at school or work, or enabling this behavior, then excuse their behavior by choosing to believe it’s part of an ordinary lifestyle, when in fact it’s highly abnormal, erratic and Insane behavior ONLY practiced by Personality Disordered Individuals.

People used as Pitbulls - the more Scarcity they believe they have in their own lives, and the worse their abuse in Childhood,  the more reservoirs of anger there are to tap into and unleash on unsuspecting Targets.  And so you will see the most mild mannered  fellow citizens such as moms, young girls, older women, meek and mild men, suddenly gnash their teeth and come forward, faces straining in a rictus of Anger, against the Target whom they formerly loved and respected or at the very least tolerated respectfully.   This is all the result of systematic Narcissistic Abuse in the home, neighborhood, family and school.  

It is for this reason that anyone dealing with known emotionally or mentally impaired individuals or purposefully attracting them such as any “Alt Scene”, or even just the General Public, must operate with Extreme Caution and have many safeguards in place, the equivalent or better than a Psychiatric Hospital or licensced Psychiatrist or Psychologist.  They must rigerously educate themselves about the nature of those whom they are working with or for, and not be surprised when those whom they have generously donated their time and energy to, reward their efforts with the most heinous efforts to destroy them and all they have worked to build and their legacy.  They must never engage in Social work of this nature expecting to receive the appreciation or justly earned rewards that they deserve for such unselfish labors - instead they must always be on guard for hysterical witch hunts against them.  Even the most well meaning and mild mannered individual is not exempt from this danger.  The safest place and most emotionally  healthy place to be is well away from the Public, such as an Artist who only makes Public Engagements for an hour or two, before flying off to the next city - or one who creates but does not receive the Public into their personal sphere.   Anyone who deals directly with the Public is in Danger. 

These people are riddled with Cluster B Personality Disorders and other types of Mental disorders.  They will ignore the presence of common sense and facts and participate in a shared hallucination that one individual or group is “bad and must be destroyed at all costs” and derive pleasure from the group release of Narcissistic Supply and shared unity of the Destruction - only pausing to reflect on their actions after people, structures or works of art have been seriously injured socially, physically, financially and expensive Property destroyed, Cultural Treasures harmed beyond repair.  They will never understand or allow into their Conscious mind that they were in fact used as Pawns and Tools, and caused harm to their environment and themselves, impoverished themselves culturally, and removed value from their environment at the request of someone who is much worse than the target they participated in destroying - choosing instead to believe they have Uplifted themselves, although it is often painfully obvious that they Have Not.  A person they will never understand or know (the Alpha Narc)  was actually The Problem and the origin of the Witch Hunt - Unless a person more cool headed and logical steps into the situation and traces the origin of the Hysteria and Witch Hunt for them, in such a way that it’s very plain where it actually originated, they won’t understand the origin of the sudden Outburst.  And Maybe not even then. 

The Origin of the Fake Hysteria is always obvious when one observes who benefitted by it, on a Macro level.  Was one event destroyed only to have another created just in time to benefit from this?  Was one leader elected in the wake of a Witch Hunt of another one? The Beneficiary of the Abuse, who “heroically steps up to the plate to fill the gap of the destroyed Other”,  is Always the Origin.  These people have learned how to trigger just the right individuals in the midst of the group - Often those clearly teetering on the edge of Sanity and barely holding themselves together for day to day life, to start the Social Tornado which then takes on a life of it’s own and sweeps the area with disasterous results. That person maintains a magnanimous front, and seems to provide a replacement for the thing or person that has just been destroyed.  Invariably the replacement they are providing is far worse than the preexisting Target - Narcissistically organized through and through, because it was designed by a Narcissist or is a Narcissist, who is not capable of genuine creativity but only aping with poor results, the previous Target’s work.   The Narcissist designs the offering to benefit themselves primarily, therefore their offering is not designed to truly benefit the Community, and cannot be, due to the lack of Creativity and Intelligence in the Narcissitic Brain.  But now that the community members have “dirtied their hands” and participated in the previous destruction of the Target, they become “Emperors New Clothes” obtuse and refuse to admit that they have done something terribly wrong and replaced something great with something of Shoddy Design.  

Examples:

A Golden Child who is far worse than a targeted Scapegoat in every way - yet is upheld as the most valued member of the family in order to abuse the Scapegoat
A Business that runs far worse and provides far less than the original Business that was targeted and driven out of business, that the community participated in starving and depriving of deserved customers
A politician who is far more Corrupt than the other politician they took out with a Witch Hunt
A work of art far Uglier and designed with far less Skill and technique, than a former work of art that the Public attacked and destroyed

In order to keep Cultural Treasures in place, ordinary Citizens have to be extremely resistant to any type of manipulation of the Public by seeming “Authority Figures” who  first create Hysteria and then step in with a Replacement for something they previously enjoyed, which was actually working and doing a good job for them.  They must strive to heal family and cultural wounds/CPTSD caused by being forced to develop in terrible upbringings and abusive Religions, Families and Schools, that allows them to have a Hysterical On/Off Switch that Alpha Narcissists can just show up in their lives and suddenly Trigger, either directly or indirectly, regardless of if they’ve known the Target their whole lives but they’ve only known the Alpha Narcissist for a comparatively short time.  They must resist being swept up into Witch Hunts and intensely question their motives in possibly enjoying such terrible Situations, and strive to see the real motivations, usually Money and Power for the Disruptor, behind the cause of their sudden and irrational emotions that have no place in an Orderly Society (In other words - STOP being a Tool.)

YouTube Video on How Narcs Pack Up To Appropriate Because They Can't Create

2018-03-08T11:11:00.001-08:00

NYC's "Goth" Scene EXPOSURE

2018-02-24T12:13:00.000-08:00

*Exposure* - why does Narc Island's (Manhattan's) "Goth" scene suck huuuuuge, huge Donkey Dicks? Because it's crawling with Narcs, of course. Good event producers have dropped it like a maggot infested potato, and the Narcs that infest the center have now strip mined almost everything good that is in there and turned it to shite (to get kudos without having to do any real work). So what is happening now? These same Narcs have used up anything good where they are and Strip Mined it all to Hell and back so they can't get any more good Narcissistic Supply out of it. So they are going to approach producers and bands from other areas and attempt to get co-production deals, DJ support deals and so forth - based on what? The "good" job they've done in Manahttan? Event Producers/Bands - BEWARE of Narcs from Manhattan attempting to "work with you", "support" you, etc - these people are bringing with them the Narc/Sociopath/Cluster B problems that have rotted out Manhattan, and YOU are not prepared for it. First, EDUCATE yourself on Cluster B Disorders - that is essential for anyone who wants to work with people for a living. BEFORE you work with someone or give them social kudos and thanks, INVESTIGATE ****EXACTLY**** WHAT they have done in Manhattan. Setting up a Monthly event just isn't good enough, because anyone with a little bit of money can just pay for that and keep it going even if it attracts the most foul Narc/Sociopath cronies and hardly anybody else, and loses money. Then they will try to DEFEND this embarrassment by conducting a smear campaign on good, real producers who ARE willing to work hard and do bands every week, and so forth - therefore rotting their own scene so they can be the top of the shit pile. The truth is, a Monthly party is an embarrassment because literally anyone can do them - the mark of a true, serious event producer that benefits any social group is a WEEKLY OR MORE event (2,3 times a week). YES, this is absolutely possible and done all over the world. If a producer is sitting back losing money just putting on a monthly event and then claims he is "helping" - he is lying to you. In addition, anyone who signs a co-production deal with any of these Narcs and then suddenly finds themselves in the middle of a smear campaign - well, you can be very sure of where it came from. It's your new "friend", trying to scoop your own event out from under you or destroy it JUST so they can get a few more people to come to their lousy event. STOP falling for the tactics, you've got to recognize them and isolate who the person is doing it and go NO CONTACT. BANDS - if there is a "promoter/producer" and they only do 2 actual shows a year in Manhattan, you should not "thank" them for anything, they are rotting out the scene in Manhattan and therefore damaging it in the eyes of the world that looks to Manhattan for inspiration, and making YOUR job harder. RESEARCH what this person actually does instead of blindly giving them Narcisstic Supply by thanking them, feeling all special that they are "helping" you - you are falling into a trap when you do that, you are helping someone who is actually harming you.

Narc Pack

2016-09-17T18:42:00.001-07:00

NPD. Does anyone know what this is? It's Narcissistic Personality Disorder. It's in the Diagnnostic Statictical Manual (DSM) that shrinks use. It's excessive grandiosity and an inflated sense of self importance, often and usually at the expense of others in their lives. Narcs tend to be abusive - there are thousands of "Narc Abuse" videos online. Narcs will often group up into a Narc Pack in order to collectively abuse victims that they've groomed, other family members and people in the community that they victimize. They do things like making that person or group of people feel worthless so they will do extra work or not ask for things they are supposed to get, or to quasi-legally take things that the other person should get. They don't observe personal or sexual boundaries - often they are sexual abusers and molest children or sleep with other's husbands and wives - one story detailed online about how one mother manipulated her daughter to marry a young man she secretly wanted. She got them to move into her house and proceeded to have a long term affair with her daughter's husband. That sort of thing. The more outrageous, hurtful or outlandish, the bigger a source of "Narcissistic Supply" it is for them. They get off on hurting others - their children, other family members, empolyees, anyone who is vulnerable. When they feel like they can't get any more "supply" from that person, it is time for the Discard phase - they are "done" with them and usually cut them out of their lives. It's usually when the person wises up to what is going on and stops allowing them to hurt them, take advantage of them and so forth. Some Narc Abuse is obvious, but some of it can be so deeply ingrained in families because children are groomed to be their parents victims from day 1, that the person only realizes years later why things "aren't right", why they are depressed and so forth - and why the family situation never seems to change.

Why do people have NPD in the first place? Studies have shown that it's could be a gene defect! It could actually be a heritable trait that gets activated by abuse, deprivation and so forth. That is really sad. You want to believe that the person could heal, but some people are stuck this way for life and really shouldn't have access to anyone who is vulnerable. Worse yet, it can't be healed. People who are afflicted with NPD do not feel that they should change because they enjoy being that way. It's a case of arrested development - their emotions didn't develop fully and instead of feeling love, empathy and so forth, they only know when they are getting attention, like an infant. Bad attention is just as good as positive attention to them, they just seek a large supply of it. That's where the term Narcissistic Supply comes from. They are amoral and their lives are spent hunting for more and more Supply. They usually eventually find a situation where they are "allowed" to do this - a chronic bachelor, someone with a beaten and powerless wife or husband, or a "swinger".

From Wikipedia: "There is evidence that narcissistic personality disorder is heritable, and individuals are much more likely to develop NPD if they have a family history of the disorder.[16][17] Studies on the occurrence of personality disorders in twins determined that there is a moderate to high heritability for narcissistic personality disorder.[17][18] However the specific genes and gene interactions that contribute to its etiology, and how they may influence the developmental and physiological processes underlying this condition, have yet to be determined."

So, there are people who just basiclly...suck as people, and it's inherited? Apparently, yes there are.

There are certain professions which attract Narcs - the Entertainment field is a big one. So is being a Cop, Teacher, Lawyer or any profession that allows the person to receive praise from a lot of different people and have access to vulnerable individuals. Once you learn about the traits, you will be able to spot them, even though they develop a False Self that they use as an outer shell to the world. Under the False Self of magnanimity they are insecure, filled with shame and self loathing, and any little thing can cause a Narcissistic Wound and cause them to attack. The attack is way out of proportion to the situation at hand, they seek to destroy the other person completely and don't stop with their attacks for a very long time, if ever. They fear exposure more than anything in the world, so exposing them is pretty much the worst thing you can do to a Narc. They will come up with elaborate schemes and devise all kinds of ways to try to hurt and isolate a target, even using others as "flying monkeys" (people who believe their stories and then try to hurt or disparage the victim, the word is derived from wicked witch in The Wizard Of Oz with her helpers, the Flying Monkeys) to try to hurt an individual they've targeted.

Well...now I know WTF was going on from 2009-2013 when I was doing events at that time - my partner and I were up against a Narc Pack. I kept wondering 1) how on Earth these individuals got the pomposity to believe that they belonged in any type of entertainment since they had very little personal resources such as talent, interesting or beautiful looks, or anything that are the basic normal requirements. Now I know - they were Narcs, so therefore believed they deserved adulation even with hardly any skills, talent or looks. and 2) where they got the energy to keep coming at us for 4 years straight. Apparently Narcs only know when they are being deprived of Supply, zombie like, and go after the target mindlessly and brainlessly, flying in the face of reality, using all kinds of complicated schemes like manipulating others to do their dirty work. It's astounding how many people will believe stories from men and women they don't really know. Some of them just enjoy the process and agree to help destroy someone or something because they are also sick, and some genuinely believe the bad stories. So, it was a very interesting lesson to see most of the people I knew reacting to the situation. Now I know who is vulnerable to being recruited by Narcopathic attacks and who is not, on an intimate level.

Healing from NYC

2016-08-17T12:12:00.002-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I just though I'd update you all on some stuff about my life. In March of 2013, I got really sick from moving into a new apartment in Queens that had been heavily dosed with pesticide. But the truth is, living in NYC AND having a diet that was wrong for me had been gradually wearing away at my health since I moved there. After almost 2 decades in NYC, I moved to a cottage on a beautiful 5 acre property 75 miles outside NYC in order to detox, heal my body and learn to eat according to what my individual body needed. It's been a long journey.

The first thing was to detox out all the pesticide, car exhaust and other poisons, mold and other things I had encountered since moving to NYC. I had been forced to live in substandard apartment buildings in the borroughs that had not been properly maintained, due to the Bohemian District of NYC that had been in the East Village being dismantled. Your body is like a sponge, it can absorb toxins UP TO A POINT. When it is fully saturated, that is the "tipping point" when you fall ill. But it has actually been building for a long time previously. There are many ways to get the toxins back out of the body, such as sauna, exercising and sweating, drinking fresh vegetable juices, and the use of "binders" like Chlorella. I learned to do all this and more. Clearly, all those years of buildup will not be taken care of in just a few months - after a year of living in the cottage, I was still not fully healed.

One of the problems I had developed was the beginning stages of asthma. This is clearly detrimental to a singer and bodybuilder like myself. I have now reversed asthma and have no further problems breathing or singing, and run easily. It took about 16 months. When a problem like this reveals itself, it is essential that you take time off from whatever you were doing in order to reverse the disease process. Being on "inhalers" and so forth is clearly unnacceptable to the body and unnacceptable to a health concious individual. I now need not a single medication and have zero problems, just as I was before. But it took a lot of research and time to figure out how to solve the problems.

I also had to learn what diet and supplements my individual body needed. This took a lot of study and sifting through a lot of information. Diet and supplementation is NOT "one size fits all". I drew heavily from The Weston Price Foundation, Drs. Gonzalez, Isaacs, Beard and Kelley for information on traditional diets to formulate my perfect diet. Now I eat a lot of surprising things such as highly purine meats like beef and lamb, Bone Broth made of these animals, organic grass fed butter and cream, sardines and herring, seaweed, and organ meats! In NYC I had been lead to believe that I should live on vegetables, chicken and tofu. This weakened my body and nervous system considerably over the years and caused me to have "brain fog". In the past I responded to weight gain with "going vegetarin or vegin". Although this caused me to drop several dress sizes, it weakened my skeleton, muscular system and nervous system. I was teetering on the edge with a really weak body when I moved into the pesticide and mold apartments. It's no wonder I had trouble.

In NYC it was difficult for me to run, due to street harrassment and nothing but pavement to choose as a running surface. Because of this, I had only done Eliptical and Yoga, etc for many years. I had to re-learn how to run and correct physical problems that I now call "Urban Joint Damage" using Pilates and Gymnastics moves. It took almost a year before I could actually run again. This was one of the most scary experiences because here in the USA, women need to be able to run. It's a dangerous place and running is one of the most basic things you can do to defend yourself. There are lot of people in NYC who have lost the ability to run, and that is very unfortunate for them.

These were by far not the only problems I experienced from living for an extended period of time in a heavily Urban environment, but they are examples of all the things I've been correcting in the past year and a half. I'm happy to say that I joined my first Ballet Barre class in the past week, and added that to my exercise programme of Pilates, Running and regular calasthenics. I will soon be starting Voice and Acting again, as the area I now live in has excellent classes.

DJ XTINE

2014-01-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

Right now I am accepting Guest DJ Bookings, as I am working on Music, Fashion, Blogs, Youtube Videos and Music Videos and not doing Nightclub Events right now. I will, however, return to doing Nightclub Events eventually, so don't be surprised when you see flyers/posters at your favorite store and ads online ;D I am a highly productive person and am never happy unless I am working on something.

I have also been working hard at my Gym, so expect some new Eye Candy Photoshoots soon, LOL

My most recent gigs have been:

(exerpt from my Bio which has been updated:)

2013 – Resident DJ for private BYOB THROUGH THE MIRROR.

- OCT. 31st – Halloween – Main Floor DJ for DRACULA’S BALL, PHILADELPHIA PA

- DEC. 31sr – New Years Eve – Main Floor DJ for VICTORIANA, Troocadero Theatre, PHILADELPHIA PA

2014 – Guest DJ for ULTERIA – NEW HAVEN, CT

DJ XTINE OFFICIAL BIO

EVOLUTION

2012-10-07T00:38:00.000-07:00

Each time I have a Birthday party, friends, acquaintances and strangers alike present me with gifts. I am deeply grateful and touched by this. Over the course of the last three and a half years that I have been producing events once more, I have had three birthday parties. I have watched the nature of what I am doing evolve, parsed down from a more general purpose- to hold Goth/Industrial events, to a more spiritual, evolved and deeply fulfilling purpose- to forward artists with a common theme- Classical Values expressed with a Gothic or Old World sensibility and aesthetic. Beauty, Love, Truth, Spirituality, Honor, Straightforwardness, Steadfastness, Loyalty... these are just some of the values depicted and infused in the works of music and art of the group of Artists that has gathered around AbsolutionNYC Productions. If I had known, starting out and throughout some of our troubled times that the result of my actions would be that I would become interwoven with this amazing group, I would have been very comforted and redoubled my activity to get to this point. But happily we have arrived. So there you see- sometimes you don't know exactly why you have been given heavy tasks to complete, until you have been in the thick of it, doing it. When you look behind you at all the ground you have covered and are sitting at the top of the mountain, THEN you can "see" what it is you were doing. It's not necessary to know exactly what you are doing when you start out, just start making the motions that feel best to you, and all will become clear when the time is right.

I was touched beyond words to see what my dear friends had brought me this year. One brought the manuscript of a book he had written, photocopied because he has yet to find a publisher. One brought me a stack of comics he has contributed to throughout his career. One brought me a prismic jewel, representative of what HE felt that we represented- beauty, through HIS eyes. One brought (really tasty) foods that she had made from scratch. And so forth. It was this moment that that these gifts made me understand that I was leading the charge toward creativity- and not just any creativity- creativity in the face of nearly crushing obstacles like the economy and the city's draconian policies against nightlife.

It is this quality that we Finnish people call Sisu, which is described in one article as "a peculiarly Finnish brand of doggedness, capable of facing down death itself..." It's a toughness that transcends just having simple "guts", there is an endurance quality to it too, and a fierce independence to it as well. This well describes all we have done, and more...I am particularly stoked that we put on about 150 band's performances last year. 150 performances says a lot about what we are capable of when we put our minds to it, and our bodies to the test. Musicians composed and performed, artists drew and painted, writers wrote, dancers danced... the New York City Gothic Revival has begun and is well underway!

I want to end by saying that the dearest and sweetest gift of all is your time, your company... by consistently focusing on this movement and coming together to lend your energy, you the patron inspire us to higher heights, greater accomplishments. By participating in the movement with your fashions, your thoughts, your dreams, you help fuel this movement, inspiring us ever onward.

What CAN you do?

2012-03-29T00:35:00.002-07:00

In order to keep a wonderful underground event running, a community must participate together. They have to decide that it's something they believe in and would like to have around.

But there are a lot of people who are kind of bogged down with work, family, other sorts of issues, etc. They wish the community well, but they feel that they just can't participate because they don't have the available time and energy they used to- or maybe they've just become numb to not having the variety of wonderful events in their city these days and a kind of helplessness has set in.

Instead of saying "I can't", why don't we decide what we CAN do? Here is a list of things you can do to help even if you can't go:

1) share the event on your facebook page with a nice recomendation- only takes a minute.

2) take a few flyers when you are at the event and leave them in a place where other like minded people may see them

3) forward the website to friends who might like to go, or who are looking for something to do when they visit

4) word of mouth- a nice buzz about the event is always appreciated

5) donate an old black T-Shirt to the collection of T-shirts we keep for people who didn't know about the dress code but still want to come in

6) do the old fashioned thing and CALL a friend who might want to go to tell them about it:P

7) if you can't make it every week, maybe you can make it once or twice a month.

8) think good and positive thoughts about the event. There are some people who are bitter about not being able to go out right now and then proceed to badmouth all nightclubs and events. Don't succomb to negative thinking. Other people still have yet to meet friends, significant others and inspiring people and make their own memories and they NEED these events. And you never know, one day soon, YOU may need the event too, so be kind and positive.

A conversation with a wonderful friend recently confirmed for me what I have always known instinctively - partying is a practice like Yoga- it's something that takes work to achieve and enjoy. It's a sociable state of mind that allows you to have fun in a group. It doesn't always "flow" right away, you have to relax and get through the awkward moments in order to get to the "sweet spot" where you really start to enjoy yourself. Don't give up on a night if you show up and don't have fun AT FIRST. Just relax, sip on your drink or soda or whatever, and give the night a chance to grow on you.

Nightclub Ettiquette

2012-03-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

1) Any career, fulltime employee of nightclubs or producer of nightclubs is given free entry to other nightclubs, even if they are not on the best terms with that club. It is very shameful for a producer to charge another fulltime producer for entry- unless they choose to pay in order to show support. This only applies to FULLTIME producers or employees. Just doing a monthly is not good enough to merit free entry everywhere, nor is being a part time DJ.

2) It is a well known fact in the industry that patrons do not visit the same venue twice in one week. Therefore, producers do NOT use the same venue as another producer- they find their own. Parasiting off of another producer by stealing their venue is the most dishonerable thing that a producer can do to another producer- it literally takes food of the table. It goes without saying that the offending producer will become persona non grata for doing such a thing. Knowledgable and experienced managers and owners never allow such a thing- they carefully nurture any production they have invested time and money in by considering the theme of each new production and how it will affect their current productions. A lot of times, new producers try their hand at doing an event and they naturally think "oh, my friend has such a great venue for doing their events, and look, there's even a day free right before their event! Won't that be nice if I have my event on that day?" No, it is the opposite of nice. Instead of being happy, that friend will be truly upset and have to have "a talk" with the person who decided to do this. Hopefully, the friendship will survive it. Producing is a field that requires intense study and a fulltime commitment to do it right. Trying to have a 9-5 and do it part time almost never works, and also messes things up for those with a greater commitment to the field. It's far better to contact a fulltime producer for a onetime event and work in under their umbrella than inadvertently hurting someone's event and earning a bad reputation to fulltime producers in the process.

3) This is something I've been over before, but I'll say it again. If you work with a producer at their event, you can't turn around and work with another producer on the same day without hurting the event you were just working at. If the producer you worked with was willing to take you on and give you publicity to build your name and reputation, working against them after they've done this is considered "biting the hand that feeds", being a turncoat, betrayer, etc. You will definately be persona non grata if you do this intentionally. If it was unintentional such as is the case with a new performer or producer, you may get to have a "talk" with a producer and get a second chance. Not all producers do this, however- in the beginning of my career, a club I really liked stopped hiring me and I never knew why until later- I had been producing an event on the same night as one of their nights that was too close to the theme of their event. They gave me my name and reputation, and then I turned around and used it to hurt them and take food off of their table. If only they had talked to me about the situation, I would gladly have understood and switched my day or theme, but I wasn't given that chance. It's a producer's perogative if they want to try this. I generally do give one chance to new producers or performers who have never been clued into this fact of promoting. It's something that every performer on Earth has to take into consideration, it is the business aspect of show business. What if huge acts like Lady GaGa went up against Brittney Spears on the same day? Millions would be lost from each performer and thousands of fans would be dissapointed. It goes without saying that if you want to get ANYWHERE in the field of performing, you will need to learn to observe basic courtesy.

Smart performers see that there are only 3 or 4 main investors in the Goth/Industrial scene of NYC and stick with the investor who best represents their chosen genre and the needs of their artistic project or image. That means supporting them in the face of other events, being loyal, etc. If you can't figure out why basic loyalty and goodwill toward the people who make your genre possible is necessary for the survival of your genre, you should take some time to seriously think about it. Hurting the people who make your genre possible is like striking out against the hand that is pulling you up out of a pit.

In the past, these rules were commonly known and agreed upon. However, with a new generation of producers coming in, certain disohonerable oldtime producers have figured out a particularly sleezy way to exploit the new people and use them as a way to hurt nightclub rivals. They encourage the newbies to break the rules so that the other producer they are in competition with will be the one to have to have "the talk" with them about what they are doing, and consequently get the "blame", potentially hurting their relationship. Don't be used like that. The one who really suffers is the newbie- the jerk who encouraged them to break the rules isn't going to hire them, and if they choose to get upset about getting "a talk", they won't get hired by the other producer either. It's really one way of making sure new talent has a hard time and ultimately won't succeed, so don't be victimized. You'll hear all kinds of things like "they can't tell you what to do", "don't be intimidated", and all sorts of other garbage. This has nothing do do with "intimidation", "telling anyone what to do", etc- it is just business reality. If you weren't told by us, you would quickly have been told by another producer, especially the douche who encouraged you to break the rules if you were trying to do it to one of HIS events and/or venues.

Thank You Everybody!

2011-11-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share with you some of the wonderful feedback we are getting from our productions ABSOLUTION, ATLANTIS and INCANTATION:

"my god, thanks for everything! I am so appreciative for the opportunity and I am really overwhelmed with joy to be able to be part of a production with some great beings and under such great guidance as you and Jason. You guys blow me away with what you deal with continuously on these show nights. You guys get infinite gratitude and respect from me. A sincere cheers! You two are my fav goth couple. :) "

This is only one of the many, many sincere compliments and thanks we have been receiving on a regular basis for providing NYC with regularly scheduled Goth/Industrial shows and parties.

Recently I calculated that at around 78 productions per year, Jason and I spend 1/5th of our year either getting ready for productions, traveling to productions, spinning/performing at/directing productions, and returning home from productions. Whew! Practice makes perfect:)

I have more requests than my poor Facebook page can handle. The limit is 5,000 so my personal page has no spots left. Please join my Facebook Fan Page instead to keep up with all the new developments.

We've got tons of great stuff coming up, just check our site at absolutionnyc.com. I also wanted to let you know that our New Years Eve party will be particularly great this year, so be on the lookout for the flyer for New Years when it comes out soon.

It hasn't been easy, but it sure has been educational and sometimes fun, profound and awesome! Thanks for joining us on this path to spearhead the making of the Goth/Industrial scene in NYC once again a relevant and recognized movement as it is in most other large cities in the USA! Sweeping problems, would-be politicians(trolls under bridges;) and naysayers from our path like so many flies, we adhere to the words of Goethe:

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

How my 10X Great Grandfather spent another Revolution

2011-08-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

We are deep in the midst of the formulation of a new generation of Nightlife. Although this Empire exists only in the minds and hearts of it's patrons, it is no less real to some than a vast country, and worth sacrificing for. My Great Grandfather 10 times removed, Timothy Johnes D.D. was a Pastor in Morristown, NJ during the War of Independence. George Washington was part of his congregation and even used his home as a headquarters during the War.

"Sunday was the great day of the week.. Good Pastor

Johnes, of the First Presbyterian Church, could see his

congregation coming through the forest from the neigh-

boring farms, not riding in wagons, but (if the distance

was too great to walk) on horseback, the wife behind her

husband on the pillion, while the children managed to

cling on them as best they could. The women were

clothed in homespun, from the fruits of that industry

which has given the name of " spinster " to the unmar-

ried daughters of the family, showing their constant oc-

cupation. In the winter they brought their footstoves,

filled with live coals, to put under their feet during ser-

vice, while the men disdained such an approach to ef-

feminacy. If there was an evening service each family

brought one or two candles, and persons sat holding

them during the meeting; for even candlesticks on the

walls and pillars were not then provided. But though

the men could bravely sit with cold feet in the winter,

they did not hesitate to take off their coats in the heat of

summer, and if sleep seemed likely to overpower them

they would stand up and thus remain until the inclination

to drowsiness had passed. The men sat together upon

one side of the house, and the women and children upon

the other side, separated from each other by the broad

aisle. The young people occupied the galleries, the

young men and boys upon one side of the church, the young

ladies and girls upon the other. This necessitated the

appointment of certain men of grave and staid aspect to

sit m the galleries to preserve order."

They did not have easy lives AT ALL- they were building a country. They suffered from heat, cold and overwork, just as Jason and I are suffering now in our apt in Bushwick. Think about how they felt as they sat in church with only a lighted candle for heat. There was no guarantee that the War would be won, and nobody had enough food or provisions, not even George Washington:

"There was some-

times scarcity at the headquarters as well as in the camp,

as the following anecdote will show: '' We have nothing

but the rations to cook, sir," said Mrs. Thompson, a very

worthy Irishwoman, and housekeeper, to General Wash-

ington. " Well, Mrs. Thompson, you must cook the ra-

tions, for I have not a farthing to give you." " If you

please, sir, let one of the gentlemen give me an order for

six bushels of salt." "Six bushels of salt; for what?"

" To preserve the fresh beef, sir." One of the aids gave

the order, and next day his excellency's table was amply

provided. Mrs. Thompson was sent for, and told she had

done very wrong to expend her own money, for it was

not known when she could be repaid. " I owe you,"

said his excellency, " too much already to permit the

debt being increased, and our situation is not such as to

induce very sanguine hope." " Dear sir," said the good

old lady, " it is always darkest just before daylight, and

I hope your excellency will forgive me for bartering salt

for the other necessaries now on the table." Salt was

eight dollars a bushel and could always be exchanged

with the country people for articles of provision."

The Church had to be used as a makeshift hospital, so they gathered for worship services in an orchard in the back yard of the church:

"As the army left here in May 1777 we may infer from

this last minute that the church was retained as a hospital

for those incapacited by sickness from the severities of

active warfare. If this be so the pastor and people were

obliged for a year and a half to worship, as we know

they did a part of the time, in the open air."

My Great X10 Grandfather realized that differences between factions did not matter in the eyes of his God, and therefore allowed people of all creeds to his services, famously stating "All who love the Lord are Welcome", just as Jason has welcomed all representatives of the various groups of the Goth/Industrial scene to parttake in ABSOLUTION.

"It is not to be wondered at that under all these depress-

ing circumstances the troubled heart of Washington

turned for support and comfort to the God of all strength,

to the God of nations and of battles. We are not sur-

prised, therefore, that as the time of the communion

drew near, which was then observed semi-annually,

Washington sought good Pastor Johnes, and inquired

of him if membership with the Presbyterian church was

required "as a term of admission to the ordinance."

The doctor's reply was, "Ours is npt the Presbyterian

table, but the Lord's table, and we hence give the Lord's

invitation to all his followers, of whatever name." This

pleased and satisfied the general, and on the coming Sab-

bath, in the cold air, he was present with the congrega-

tion assembled in the orchard in the rear of the parson-

age, the house now occupied by Mrs. Eugene Ayers, on

Morris street; and in the natural basin still found there

he sat down at the table of the Lord, and in the remem-

brance of redeeming love obtained no doubt relief from

the scenes that appalled and the cares that oppressed him.

The common opinion is that the Lord's Supper was ad-

ministered in the church. This is so stated in Sparks's

life of Washington and by other writers, but the true

version is as already given. The church was occupied

by invalid troops till the close of the year 1777, if not till

some time in 1778, as the records of the trustees show.

This was the only time after his entrance upon his public

career that Washington is certainly known to have par-

taken of the Lord's Supper.

(For the proof of this interesting historical incidenl

the reader is referred to The Record ior ]m\t a.x\A Kn-

gust 1880.)

Washington was a frequent attendant upon these open-

air meetings. On one of these occasions, according to

an account handed down by Doctor Johnes, Washington

was sitting in his camp chair, brought in for the occasion.

During the service a woman came into the congregation

with a child in her arms; Washington arose from his

chair and gave it to the woman with the child. "

Times of building(or in this case, rebuilding) are accompanied by great hardship, and this time period is no exception. I sometimes think the forefathers and foremothers had an easier time, for they had a great tabula rasa(empty slate) on which to write, while we must write over the grooves of the past.

Taken from History of Morris County, New Jersey http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924028828386/cu31924028828386_djvu.txt

Silly Hipsters, Cities are for Cars!(at least NYC!)

2011-08-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

Something I was posting about on my Facebook page last year frequently was the futility and assinine over idealism and unrealistic quality of putting bike lanes all over Manhattan and it's boroughs. Although I am quite Green and believe in conserving Mother Earth(as a Pagan, that's very important to me), I am also very realistic and know that Manhattan and it's boroughs were NOT designed with bikes in mind.

Many years ago when I first moved here, I decided to get more exercise by riding a bike. It took me exactly 15 minutes of bike riding in the East Village to discover why this was impractical and dangerous. The streets are narrow and filled with drivers of unknown origin from various countries where there exists narry a street sign or driving rule. Manhattan is a place where frenzied business and commerce take place all day every day, and due to nightlife the traffic at night is even more congested sometimes than during the day. Nobody has time for you or your bike. It's just a simple fact of life in Manhattan and the boroughs.

I was shocked when I drove to Manhattan one day and saw that there were new bike lanes all over Brooklyn and the East Village. I remember thinking about how this would lead to bikers being hit by cars and even joked about it. What really made me mad, however, was the smug, anti-car attitude of the hipster bike riding class. It was as though they thought they could convert the whole city to being green and riding bikes by hating cars, and trying to act shitty to people who owned cars. That attitude is not going to get far at all because the people who own cars in Manhattan, Brooklyn, etc mostly own them because they OWN A BUSINESS. It's not because they just "feel like taking a ride". Hipsters will never be able to stop people from car ownership in NYC for that reason. To me such short sightedness was too stupid for words. And not only that, people would be mowed down in great numbers because of the bike lanes.

I wonder if the person or group responsible for pushing through the ridiculous bike lanes is going to reimburse the pain, suffering and lost time from work of the silly kids who took a chance and used the bike lanes and were hit, like this one:

HELL ON WHEELS

The article is peppered with statements like "James Paz remembers something inhuman slamming into his bike". No Shit, Sherlock. That would be a car. Or how about a classic "...when that four wheeled monster bulldozed her body." Four wheeled monster. Wow. The attempt to get people to hate cars sounds pretty ridiculous. Nobody is going to believe cars are "inhuman", "four wheeled monsters", etc. Especially if they need them to get to and from work.

Then, the article tries to punish "cops who don't try to find hit and run drivers who hit people in the bike lanes". Well it doesn't take a genius to figure out that cops along with everybody else think the bike lane idea is ridiculous for Manhattan. The only people who don't? Hipsters who are mainly college students, who mostly don't work or own a business yet!!!

Pushing the bike lanes has cut down on the amount of people who can drive and park in the areas where they were put, hurting business and the economy there further(If customers can't park, they won't go.)It is out of the question for most people to ride in a New York winter with snow and ice all over the place. And it is downright dangerous. Bike couriers are a bold breed of human, sleek with very quick reflexes and top of the line bikes. A dumb kid from Iowa on a gearless bike? That's a sitting duck, hit and run fodder. You might as well put a target on your back.

So you move to Manhattan from wherever. You think everybody should go Green, give up their cars and buy a bike. You decide to "set the example" for the rest of the oil wasting, atmosphere polluting anachronists you live in NYC with(99.999% of people, in other words EVERYBODY ELSE EXCEPT YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS.) You get your gearless bike to fit in with your hipster friends, get on it, and hit the road. You ignore the speeding cars, reckless drivers and narrow streets ALL AROUND YOU, because YOU ARE ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF THE GREEN MOVEMENT AND YOU ARE GOING TO CLEAN UP NYC AND SHOW EVERYBODY ELSE HOW IT'S DONE. After all, they JUST put in bike lanes, so it's safe, right? Suddenly, a car turns you and your bike into roadkill. As they're peeling you up off the road with a spatula, you start blaming EVERYBODY ELSE- right? It's the COP'S fault. It's the DRIVER'S fault. No, dumbass- it's YOUR FAULT. Everybody Knows that Manhattan is no place to ride a bike, unless you are close to Olympic status with a racing bike. It's not changing for you or anybody.

Spring!

2011-05-02T00:47:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally here, and I am grateful that here in NYC we are getting a real spring this time instead of slamming from really cold to really hot like some years.

ABSOLUTION's dance party, ATLANTIS, has been rolling right along and to our delight we meet new and interesting people every week along with our regulars. We have a really wonderful cast of characters there who's company I greatly enjoy. Our special events like the upcoming PALE QUEEN'S BALL are exciting and fun. And we do a Saturday from time to time like our INCANTATION party. I will also be DJing at QXT's DJ DIVA WEEKEND on Saturday May 14, 2011. Good times.

We've been enjoying some great places to eat for a special occasion treat like the much beloved ZUM SCHNEIDER, HEIDELBERG which has even better and more authentic German food, and a great Belgian Beer Bar called VOL DE NUIT. We also like RADEGAST HALL in Williamsburg, on nights where there is no ompa-ompa band playing, lol!

I have decided to get into a business that I have long patronized, an online pagan oriented products store. I am always looking for oils, candles, new decks of Tarot and other cards, blank books and so forth. I know of so many good ones by now that I decided to start sharing them with all of you. So therefore keep your eyes open in the future for THE WHITE RAVEN, a new place to go shopping for pagan stuff you enjoy- or just ogle it online, lol:) It's not ready yet, but check back. THE WHITE RAVEN is coming!

Thanks so much, dear readers, for keeping life in the community of NYC. Bands, parties, stores, restaurants or just hanging out- let's keep our community a great place to be!

Happy and Productive

2011-02-20T12:54:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while since I wrote a new blog. I've been obsessed with our new ABSOLUTIONNYC SITE and haven't been paying attention to the blog. I kind of miss the simplicity of this little blog after operating a site like the one we have now.

I don't want to disappoint you gossip hounds, but there really isn't anything new to report other than our parties are going well, are a lot of fun and are a joy to put on. Thank you everyone! Keep an eye open for ABSOLUTION PRODUCTION'S Goth/Industrial themed shows and parties at many venues and nights of the week in 2011 as we expand our number of productions and the quality of the acts we are booking.

It has been challenging but wonderful running a full scale production company once again. In the past year my partner and I updated our list of patrons, learned the "lay of the land" of available venues again(it changes each year in a living, changing city like Manhattan) and learned which bands and acts were ready and available now. There was a lot of "dead wood" to clear away, and chaff to separate from good grain. We also had to do a fair bit of educating people about the basics once again. Thankfully, that period is over- the foundation of the NYC Goth/Industrial nightlife scene is to the point in development that your free lessons are over. From now on you may inquire on the tab above labeled BOOKING XTINE about my Consultancy Fee if you want more info, LOL! (that was a joke, for you humorously impaired out there). There are some(I can think of one in particular) who is willing to offer advice, who has "come about" during a vaccuum - for those who take such advice, caveat emptor, and Good Luck.

Thank you to the many wonderful patrons who have been coming out weekly. There may be a Recession on, but nobody told them, lol! I see so many faces returning again and again, and new people who crop up after finding us on the Web or through our ads. I think they are seeking our party for relief FROM the Recession, which is how it is supposed to be. A Time that is not a Time, a Place that is not a Place, a Day that is not a Day.

I like it when people say "I met my boyfriend/girlfriend at your party!" or "I had the best conversation there the other night" or even "did you see what that guy/girl did?" That is the whole purpose behind it all IMO. Weaving the fabric of community and reality. That, and watching the crowd move like a many-headed and -limbed beast to the music, feeling the air get hot from all the dancing, and swirling fog like London pea-soup:). It's Magic.

-Xtine

ABSOLUTION accomplishments 2010

2010-12-31T14:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of the distinctions ABSOLUTION has garnered in 2010. We hit the ground running last New Years, as it marked the beginning of our weekly contract on Fridays with club UC87 to produce one Gothic/Industrial themed party per week, and sometimes two in the case of a Sunday holiday party such as Halloween.

1) We produced over 52 parties at UC87(not including other venues)

2) We had about 30 bands play throughout the year, being the only Goth/Industrial themed night in the NYC area and it's boroughs that featured at least one band per week.

3) We featured a roster of 50+ DJs who all came to promote their own party productions with guest appearances

4) We designed a website(coming soon!) that is an online library and repository of information about previous Goth/Industrial events in NYC, restoring the rich history of this scene to the people who created it and took part in it and those who wish to find out about the history of this scene, dating as far back as 1996.

This major effort revitalized the Goth/Industrial scene in NYC and drew attention to it from other music fans and producers. It provided a welcome influx of interest about this subject and gave music and fashion fans the option of attending and celebrating this scene on a weekly weekend basis. Unwilling to allow a great tradition to fall into disrepair and unafraid of naysayers, we will continue on our path into 2011! There are many options open to us now and there are many other works in progress, so stay tuned for more news. It's a good time to be a Goth/Industrial fan, DJ or musician in NYC;)

From a Distance- Moving into 2011!

2010-12-22T22:46:00.000-08:00

What a wild year we've had! We have accomplished many goals that were previously being said to be impossible(although we knew from many years experience that they were not, in fact, impossible at all), such as creating a weekly Goth/Industrial club event. We've had some ups and downs, and incredible progress. Galvanizing the Goth/Industrial scene into action has been a great pleasure to me. Even on the worst days when you have seen me with a stressed out look on my face, hair askew and not in the best outfit(or, can I even say it? Sneakers!:/), it has been an honor, a pleasure, and so inspiring to bring such a beautiful art form back to the City of New York on a weekly, weekend basis.

What we have done has made things easier for all producers and patrons of Goth/Industrial music events by increasing the frequency of the events in NYC and therefore the interest and fan base. By "defending the borders" and highlighting the differences between what we like and what other music and fashion fans like, we made it so that people were aware of these differences and could therefore make a conscious choice to be in our category- and "represent" as the case may be, LOL!

I want to dedicate this song to those who felt unnecessarily threatened last year by our progress(there are always a couple of those). We knew and were prepared for this by our years of experience, but that never makes this process any easier emotionally. We want those people to know that they are in our hearts, and a candle is always burning in the window to light their way back to us, a drink always poured and set for them at the table. We care for them more than they know.

"From a distance, you look like my friend... "

Oceania is at war with Eurasia....

2010-11-14T19:30:00.000-08:00

Rune meditation for today: OTHALA, or

HOMELAND- where or what is your spiritual Home?

When your Home is in your heart, you are always there.  You can create a Home around you...

I've always liked this song by Midnight Oil, Dead Heart. It speaks about the Homeland, and how it can never truly be stolen.

On Being a Goth/Industrial DJ in NYC

2010-11-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

A DJs career is dependent upon one thing: time. DJs, to show their worth, must be able to spin a full club event alone 10pm-4am(6 hours). A 30 minute set is approximately 6 songs- a 45 minute set, 9. It takes almost no skill to select 6 or 9 songs to play back to back. A true DJ takes the crowd through fast periods, slow periods, and creates a story or a music landscape in the mind- an adventure into music.   A short jaunt is just a cameo, it's a favor done by the promoter to allow the DJ to make a cameo appearance to build up their name.

It is not normal to have a club event with more than one or at the most two DJs. This style of club event was brought about by DJ JASON, who decided to make a super party that was made up completely of cameos by other star DJs. He didn't intend for everybody to copy this style, not realizing that people would eventually think that shamelessly ripping off other people's club event styles was OK.

What happens when every event has four or more DJs on it?

1) the deterioration of DJing as a skill. If nobody knows how to spin a club event from start to finish, it is not as much of a skill as it used to be and hardly a skill at all. For who can't string 6-9 songs together?

2) the cheapening of the image of all DJs. If nobody can tell a real DJ from one who has only spun at most for an hour, the DJs with no skills get the same promo as the real DJs. It turns it from being a skill into just a promotion bubble, on the level of the Kardashians.

3) The end of DJing as a career- if no DJ can play a full night, obviously they aren't going to get paid much or anything for playing. Therefore touring is certainly not worthwhile, nor is learning a skill they are never going to get to use. Anyone who wants to spin a full night had better also develop the skill of Promoting so they can book themselves for a full night or else they will never be heard on that level. With this double workload, will anyone without a huge head start ever pursue this art?

For most promoters to book 4 or more DJs is actually anti to the Goth/Industrial scene's music being studied in depth by specialists because it makes it not worthwhile, while at the same time creating a glut of "faux" DJs who have very little skills- who have been billed on lots of flyers but spun a quarter or less of the hours a real DJ has spun. This horde of "faux" DJs also does not understand the true role of the DJ in club events- a DJ MUST support the club event they have chosen, or which has given them a chance to build a name. They cannot go from club event to club event on the same night, but must help build up the same club event of their choice in order to build a name. Promoters think they have found a treasure when they rip off the structure of ABSOLUTION in having multiple DJs, but in reality they are helping keep the Goth/Industrial scene at a minimal level by replicating this style. It's not meant for everyone, only ABSOLUTION who has done it for 12 years!

I'm sure it must be confusing for would-be DJs to be given a 30minute- 1 hour sets at EVERY EVENT- that's not supposed to happen.   I'm happy that I did not develop during this time period.

Aesop's "The Donkey and the Lap Dog"

2010-11-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

It's my opinion that everyone growing up should be given a copy of Aesop's Fables. They come to us from the mid 6th Century BC and are attributed to the wise slave Aesop, but over the centuries have probably been worked on and embellished by any number of people. The wisdom in these stories holds true to the modern day, and can be seen anywhere there are people, low to high.

Today, let's consider a story by the name of "The Donkey and the Lap Dog".

T

HERE was once a man who had a Donkey and a little pet Dog. The Donkey worked all day in the fields and slept in the barn at night. But the Lap Dog frisked about and played, jumping in his master's lap whenever he pleased, feeding from his hand, and sleeping by his bed at night.
The Donkey grumbled a great deal at this. "How hard I work!" said he, "and I never get any pay but blows and hard words. Why should I not be petted like that wretched little Dog? It may be partly my own fault. Perhaps if I played with my master as he does, I too might be treated like him."
So the Donkey pushed his way into the house, and jumped up on his master's knee, putting his forefeet on his shoulders and giving a loud bray.
The master, almost deafened by the noise and in danger from the great clumsy creature called out, "Help! help!" and the servants, running in, drove the Donkey out of doors with sticks and stones."

Do YOU know any Donkeys?

ABSOLUTION tonight- DJ JASON'S BIRTHDAY and PIKER RYAN!!

2010-10-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

Tonight is a very special ABSOLUTION honoring the birthday of DJ JASON! He is the one and only person in NYC who values the Goth/Industrial scene enough to devote his energy to doing a Weekly Party for all of us. He deals with bands, artists, performers and photographers on a weekly basis- things that others had considered "too much trouble", in order to keep NYC's tradition of a lively, intelligent and interactive nightlife alive! In addition we will have classic NYC band PIKER RYAN(music in the style of Nick Cave) flying in from Oslo, Norway to do a reunion! 87 Ludlow St corner of Ludlow and Delancy www.absolutionnyc.com

Things that Everybody Knows about Nightclubs in NYC!

2010-10-13T22:21:00.000-07:00

Since restarting my nightclub project, I have often been surprised when people have asked me questions that in the past Everybody Knew. I decided to make a page about what Everyone Knows, as a refresher or maybe a tutorial for people who have entered the world of NYC's nightlife in the past three years when there was a lack of professionally executed nightclub events.

Q: When do you start?

A: Most nightclub events in NYC begin at 10pm and end at 4am. Occasionally you may see an event that opens a bit early like at 9pm, but that could be because they are on an off night like a Sunday or an early weekday like Monday-Wednesday. But normal club hours are 10pm-4am.

Q: What do you spin?

A: If the theme of the party is Goth and Industrial, I will play what is customarily played at Gothic and Industrial nightclubs- Goth, Industrial, Synthpop, 80s New Wave and New Romantic, and Underground Cult Classics. I would never spin another type of music if this is the theme of the party. Everyone Knows that the music always matches the theme of the party.

Q: Can you play my favorite Hip-Hop song?

A: No. That's not what kind of DJ I am. I don't even have Hip-Hop in my collection, nor do I know the most popular Hip-Hop songs right now, nor do I want to know them. As a matter of fact, I deliberately shelter myself from that kind of knowledge because to me it's gauche. So PLEASE- Everybody Knows that a Goth/Industrial DJ does not have the slightest idea what you mean when you ask for a Hip Hop song or any other song outside their genre.

Q: Blah Blah Blah, Blah Blah Blah Blah(while I'm spinning).

A: Everybody Knows that you can't ask a DJ questions or start talking at them while they are spinning. Most DJ booths or platforms are elevated, to prevent this sort of thing which can cause the club to suffer if the DJ gets distracted. For DJs who are unlucky enough to be spinning at crowd level, don't come up and start a big conversation while they are spinning- even if there is nobody dancing or there is nobody in the room at that particular moment. Saying Hi is ok but that's about it. DJs need to be ready to catch people's attention when they do walk into the room. If you are standing there yacking, it will be that much harder to build the room up. Talking to a performing DJ- Don't Do It.

I'm sure there is more but that is all for now. I will probably add more things onto this particular blog as they come up.

CLICK N DRAG For The Discerning Underground Party Patron in NYC...

2010-10-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

MOTHER, a Nightclub created by CHI CHI VALENTI,raised the bar for all underground nightclubs in NYC, challenging producers to see that nightclub production could actually be an art form.

My first real impression of New York Nightclubs was received when I was randomly hired as a "method go-go" artist at this club. I had been to NYC nightclubs before and liked them but was not overly impressed. MOTHER and CLICK N DRAG were totally different.

The doorperson was in actuality KITTY BOOTS, a lauded fashion designer who doubled as wardrobe mistress for the dancers. The basement of MOTHER was stuffed with her creations, and before the event she would go in and pick out something for the dancers to wear. Because MOTHER was my first experience with working for an NYC nightclub, I thought it was normal for nightclub performers to have not only a large dressing room but a large stock of costumes and someone to make them look fabulous! Little did I know that this is far from the case with MOST other clubs, LOL.

The video displays(yes, they had someone to just do video displays) were done by noted visual artist ROB ROTH. And the staff in the club were all hand picked as a casting director would choose in addition to being able to do their jobs. Needless to say, when you combine these elements it makes for a Party on a very high level, far higher than most other nightclub productions. It was like being part of a play or performance art piece rather than a club night. This production was actually run WEEKLY, for four years. So anyone who is operating under the misconception that nightclub parties are "too hard to do on a weekly basis"...how about a party that needs new visual displays, costumes, dancers and performers EACH WEEK? And this was done with aplomb.

There was a strict dress code for this party- NO blue jeans, NO white button down shirts, NO baesball caps WHATSOEVER. I remember going there with a CBGBs employee and even having HIM turned away because he was wearing blue jeans. Someone not well versed in how to run a nightclub would probably think this was not the best business policy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Because of the dress code, people went out of their way to dress up for this party, and come out to this party, knowing that there wouldn't be any disagreeable people there. People worked for hours and hours on costumes for this party. The dress code stimulated business not only at the club but for related businesses like costume shops, underground fashion designers, etc, and made NYC a much more fun and fashionable place. It became a haven for artists, photographers and other "artsy" types.

So tonight is the night- I'll see you all at CLICK N DRAG!

Ellicott City, Maryland

2010-09-24T02:25:00.000-07:00

I have a favorite place to stop every time I visit my parents in Virginia- Ellicott City, Maryland. I discovered it in 1994, right after college at University of Maryland. Or rather, it was discovered for me by a guy I was dating at the time. He thought I would like it because it had a lot of quirky, artsy, Witchy type stores there.

He brought me there and I certainly DID enjoy it, although at the time it was just simply because I could have a good time browsing the stores. Now, 16 years later, I returned there with Jason. He immediately was impressed by some of the stonework in the buildings, and how some of the buildings were built right out of the living rock. That coupled with the rather esoteric flavor of the place lead me to think "Masons!" which was shortly confirmed when we came upon this sign:

Chartered in 1843? That's a very established Lodge indeed. Here are some more pics of the stone houses and street:

We continued to explore, and visited a number of lovely places like a Victorian Tea Room called TEA ON THE TIBER. Even the East Village of NYC can't boast a true Victorian Tea Room. When I returned home I looked up Tea on the Tiber and I was shocked to find that there are a number of Tea Rooms around the country, and not only that, there are tearoom review sites like this one: TEAGUIDE.NET. I hadn't realized that Tea Rooms were making a comeback. I adore tea so this is a good find in my opinion.

I then got curious about the name of the place- Tea on the Tiber? I looked up Ellicott City's Wikipedia article, and found that, like Rome, Ellicott City is reputed to be built on seven hills, and the river that flows there is named the Tiber just as Rome's river is named Tiber. The builders of this city had Rome in mind for sure (and possibly Rome's Pagan beliefs as well? Hmmm...).

There are other facts about Ellicott City in the article, such as it is reputed to be one of the most haunted small towns on the East Coast. It was also home to The Enchanted Forest, a fairytale-themed amusement park that closed in the early 90s. In addition, it is listed as one of the most affluent communities in America, and since 2005 has been ranked 4 times as "one of the best places to live in America" by Money and CNNMoney.com. So strange with it's esoteric themes and wealth! It's definitely a place I love to return to again and again on my way up and down the East Coast. I invariably find something I'd love to take home.

Here are some pictures from a store in Ellicott City I always make a stop at, THE FORGET ME NOT FACTORY. The website doesn't really do the place justice, because it's an ancient stone house with three levels that is simply STUFFED with anything and everything you could ever hope to look at or want if you are into anything even vaguely esoteric, faerie, witchy, alternative or mysticaly minded. When I say stuffed, I mean really covered- every surface, walls, floor, ceiling, etc is just loaded with things. It would take more than a day to examine it all- I often don't buy anything because I'm feeling overwhelmed in there. You may see Jason in some of these pics, much to his chagrin:):).

And of course, when we left, Jason who is ALWAYS on the job made sure to leave some of our flyers in their flyer basket. Jason never forgets this all-important task, even though I sometimes do. Thanks, Jason!