Author Archive | James Curcio

In Memorandum: Free Chasing The Wish comic

By on March 11, 2013 in News 0

 Produced in close collaboration with the late Dave Szulborski, the comic tied together his previous, massively successful ARG Chasing The Wish, with an ARG that was running simultaneously with the comics production and release called Catching The Wish.

Dave was posthumously named the World’s Most Prolific ARG Producer by Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer’s Edition. We at Modern Mythology are happy to share this comic with you, free, in memory of Dave’s creativity.

FULL BOOK 1 (PDF)
FULL BOOK 1 COVERS (PDF)

Chasing The Wish comic credits:

Written by: Jason Stackhouse with James Curcio. Based on the ARG by Dave Szulborski. Art: P. Emerson Williams, Jessika Kaos, James Curcio.… Read the rest

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The Underworld of the Periphery: Countercultures of the Future

By on March 6, 2013 in News 7

From Modern Mythology: 

Those that just don’t fit, the underclass or outcast, those of the periphery, the counter-culture — these are popular topics around here, and for good reason,

“Peripheries are often border zones where peoples or things are thrown into unexpected contact, hybrid spaces yielding new possibilities for social and cultural organization.”

Think of the musical genres, poetic innovations, and linguistic creoles of the Caribbean; or think of the social “margins” or the “queer periphery,” where disenfranchisement and stigmatization give rise to relatively free experimentation in social practices and cultural life. Though centers may seem more advanced or more privileged than peripheries, decisive change and innovation often begin at the fringes. Yet the very tendency toward difference and transformation out on the margins often meets with a violent reimposition of norms from the center: Soviet tanks rolling into Prague, or the Janjaweed and Sudanese military sweeping through Darfur, or the police descending on Stonewall.

… Read the rest

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The Art of Steven Leyba

By on March 4, 2013 in News 0

In his words: 

To me the most personal creation is the most universal. Simply writing words is not enough. Books are a way culture preserves its history, but often times books used to control the ideas and politics of society; to restrict information. I seek to make books to liberate: that defy control, censorship and simple definition and depict life in its totality. I see my hand-made books as political reclamation of the natural world in its fecundity. I paint oil over acrylic over collage over anything I can find. I embellish the paintings with glass beads and organic material from the world around me literally putting the landscape and my DNA into the books. I have used dirt, coffee, hair, leafs, molasses, blood, urine, insects and anything I feel can give the book life from life. We are so used to having the synthetic and technological global culture define how we perceive ourselves, our bodies, our biology, and who we are, that when someone has a different point of view of the human experience and makes the commitment to put it in a book forever, it can be frightening and challenging yet very alive.

… Read the rest

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Ultraculture Free eBook: ‘The Apocalypse is Cancelled’

By on March 1, 2013 in News 8

From Modern Mythology:

Today I’m proud to announce a new ebook, The Apocalypse is Cancelled: Three Keys to Surviving and Thriving as a Species.

The book is a comprehensive vision of the future. It hands you the keys to:

  1. Achieve freedom through meditation
  2. Make sure Western civilization doesn’t crash and burn
  3. Embrace space travel for fun and profit

Consider it the Ultraculture manifesto. And to make sure the information spreads, I’m giving it away for free.

“I believe that life can work, and that life can be an adventure. And I want a participatory dialogue on how to get there. I want a comprehensive vision of the future for a generation that’s rejecting the unethical and unsustainable dreams of 20th century hypercapitalism, and looking to create a lifestyle that brings happiness instead of self-destruction.”

Let’s bring what we’ve discussed on this site to bear here for just a moment.

… Read the rest

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Big Brother And His Drones: What YOU Can Get Out of Surveillance and the Machine Future

By on February 27, 2013 in News 6

From Mr. VI over at Modern Mythology:

It’s time to face facts– technology advances by harnessing human drives, and the most primal are sex and death.

Drones and cybersex. So, what can YOU get out of it? Pornography and the military-industrial complex are often the prime funders of technological research. Without DARPA, we wouldn’t have the internet, and without the urge to stream porn, we wouldn’t be constantly trying to improve data compression techniques.

Without lust, there’d be no YouTube – and without the urge to achieve maximum effect with minimum effort, we wouldn’t develop labour saving devices. We wouldn’t develop technology to extend our reach, and refine our apparent control over the situation. Without apparent scarcity and rarity, we wouldn’t consider certain things precious, and we certainly wouldn’t care about loss. We wouldn’t care about extending our sphere of influence, or expanding our territory.

Here in the UK, we’re seemingly constantly under the eye of CCTV. According to the BBC, one London Borough, Wandsworth, has more cameras than Dublin, San Francisco, Johannesburg and Boston COMBINED.

… Read the rest

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Are Our Schools Prisons?

By on February 26, 2013 in News 25

From Modern Mythology:

Though potentially alarmist, this documentary points to a process that really started with the advent of the american education system as a part of the rise of industry. Our modern school system, though it has been vastly successful compared to many earlier systems as bad as it is, is indeed based on the whistle-blowing, mechanized and behaviorist perspective of humanity that was popular in the 1920s-50s.

Instead of changing with the times in terms of making kids into machines, and to produce “good workers,” we might consider trying to help create human beings. Because of all the school shootings, in many ways now we are facing a PKD style “thought police” No Tolerance rule toward what someone might do. How does this lack of trust effect the people within the system?

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World’s 100 Richest Could End Global Poverty Four Times Over

By on February 23, 2013 in News 33

World’s 100 richest could end global poverty 4 times over

“The richest 1 percent has increased its income by 60 percent in the last 20 years with the financial crisis accelerating rather than slowing the process,” while the income of the top 0.01 percent has seen even greater growth, a new Oxfam report said.

What sense does wealth have in the long run, if we think of ourselves as a species in an enormous cosmos, rather than Americans and Saudi Arabians, or rich and poor?
Crazy talk, for sure. ”Us” and “them.” If we don’t recognize ourselves as brothers and sisters, we’re going to be done for. Nature is far more brutal and unstable on the long run than this little calm blip in history would make us think.

“There are not yet obvious signs of extraterrestrial intelligence, and this makes us wonder whether civilizations like ours rush inevitably into self-destruction.

… Read the rest

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Alchemical Alembics and Desert Wines – An Interview with James Maynard Keenan

By on February 22, 2013 in News 5

From David Metcalfe, over at Modern Mythology:

Last year I had the opportunity to speak with James Maynard Keenan for a short Q & A that ran in Alarm Magazine. Keenan’s work with the bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer have penetrated deep into the cultural consciousness, but it was another passion of his that provided the impetus for the article. In the heart of the Verde Valley he is currently developing the Arizona Stronghold Wines partnership, which includes development of Merkin Vineyards, and creation of his own winery, Caduceus Cellars.

In researching for the interview I came to realize that there’s far more to what Keenan is doing with his wine craft than I’d first expected. A focus on community growth, desert permaculture, and sustainable, socially integrated business practices demonstrates a different side of Keenan’s genius, which in other applications has allowed him to become one of the most successful artists in the contemporary music industry.

… Read the rest

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Clark “Gonzomentary” on Film Threat and LA Web Fest

By on January 18, 2013 in News 0

From Gonzomentary.com

What results from Warwick’s footage is a “gonzomentary,” a mix of fourth-wall busting filmmaking, mockumentary, Gonzo journalism and whatever else can be added into the mix, which includes: Uncle Binky the pedophile clown; a Christian producer/investor who wants the film to contain no swearing, no drinking and no drugs, right before she has a crisis of faith and becomes a mime; a silent film; Tito the drug dealer, who is actually a British actor (David Proch) stuck in a Method acting Hell and Warwick’s own descent into madness while chronicling the adventures of Clark and J.C. And penises. Lots of penises.

Clark: A Gonzomentary Part 1 is a whole bucket of crazy, and I really enjoyed it for all of its insanity. At no point did I really have a grasp on what I was watching, as it constantly turns in and over on itself. Even when I’d come up with a criticism to lodge at it, the film itself would find a way to address it.

… Read the rest

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The Words of Traitors: bridging expectation, mediums and genres

By on January 15, 2013 in News 1

Announcement from Modern Mythology:

Described as “Beautiful!” by award-winning sequential artist and author David Mack (Kabuki, Daredevil, Dexter), Words of Traitors is an attempt at laying bare the inner workings of hope and loss, love and despair, with the raw fury of a complete mental breakdown. At the brink of death, our life flashes before our eyes. Are those memories nothing more than lies? Our memories construct our sense of identity, but can we rely on them?

This work explores the fallibility of memory and how much our memories change over time and ultimately betray us, becoming “words of traitors.” Each story is based on a jigsaw of real memories told by a fictional narrator. The combination of magical realism and real life allows both the writer and the reader to explore the language of the  subconscious.

The production process was an intense alchemical experience, much of which was documented behind-the-scenes on the Words of Traitors website.

… Read the rest

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