Meme Scholar with Madness (PhD)

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Happy Father's Day!




June 15, 1955: Operation Alert: Nuclear Anxiety, Empty Streets and Scenes of New York on High Alert. Civil defense drills were mandatory, but whom were they for?

“Politics is like sex, You have to go all the way.” - “Bracing for Armageddon: Why Civil Defense Never Worked,” by the late Rutgers professor and peace activist Dee Garrison. Losing control of the narrative, officials soon retired the drills.




June 15, 1982: The Steve Miller Band released their 12th studio album "Abracadabra" by Capitol Records. The song charted in nine countries, including Germany where the record reached No. 1 for a week.

The video directed by Peter Conn is somewhat primitive by modern standards but groundbreaking for 1982 won an MTV award for best effects, highlighting its adventurous approach. The Abracadabra Girl, described as a teenage actress/model with her seductive, mysterious persona, bewitching eyes, sculptured features, and flowing hair, is key to the video’s magical theme and is often cited as MTV’s first "video vixen", yet nowhere is she identified by real name. No casting credits for any of the performers.



Given this was the very early days of MTV music videos of which they had no clue what they were doing, the performers were often hired through modeling or acting agencies for one-off roles without public credit, especially for low-budget productions like this one, where actors provided their own wardrobe and props. I searched dozens of music sites, Miller interviews, 80s music blogs, ilove80smusic.com, uDiscoverMusic, Ultimate Classic Rock, Reddit, Discogs, Songfacts, Nothing found. Archival records from MTV or Capitol Records might hold casting sheets, but these of course are not publicly accessible.

I used AI to search academic and popular music history sources, including books, articles, and interviews by known music historians. I also had AI check platforms like JSTOR, Google Scholar, and music history blogs for references to the Abracadabra video or its cast. No music historian directly addressed the identity of the Abracadabra Girl. I even searched out Rob Tannenbaum, co-author of "I Want My MTV" from the early MTV days, and Academic articles on MTV’s visual culture such as Journal of Popular Music Studies. Absolutely nothing.

Historians note that MTV’s launch in 1981 prioritized visuals over documentation. Videos like "Abracadabra" were experimental, with directors like Peter Conn focusing on innovative effects & wild extreme colors rather than promoting performers identities. This aligns with the Abracadabra Girl’s anonymous, archetypal role as a sorceress.

In 2016, Steve Miller discussed the inspiration for the song “Abracadabra,” noting it was inspired by a chance encounter with Diana Ross while skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho recalling their shared performance on Hullabaloo in 1966. He wrote the lyrics in 15 minutes, imagining how the Supremes might perform it. Miller mentioned that Capitol Records initially doubted the song’s potential, calling it "awful" and predicting it would flop. He was touring Europe during the video’s production, which explains his limited appearance in the video, only in still photos with sunglasses or a black bar over his eyes.

Historians like Tannenbaum argue that video vixens were often interchangeable, with fame reserved for later stars like Tawny Kitaen (whom you all have seen). This explains the lack of focus on her identity. Surely, someone must know, but damn if I can find anything. Abracadabra Girl remains a mystery.

Abracadabra video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY8B0uQpwZs


I find it strange that there are like a million songs about being in love with or chasing a mystery girl, but only one about encountering spectral cowboys doomed to eternally chasing a herd of ghostly cattle.





"E Pluribus Caeruleus -- Out of many That Which is BLUE."
A nutty political UFO mythos slogan?
Community of the Blue Brethren; Professor Brother Blue.


Professor Blue and the Modern UFO Mythos

Brother Blue

I came across brother Blue from an old ATS thread.


OK Brenda, now this is a tense international spy novel. No, we can't afford to shoot abroad so just stand by the backdrop and try and look suspenseful. And provocative. Maybe beguiling. Undo some buttons if it helps. Gary, suck your tummy in. And scene...


The Nick Carter-Killmaster series, a very long-running series of spy novels featuring the character Nick Carter written under the pseudonym "Nick Carter" house name. Many authors. The novels are similar to the literary James Bond novels, but low on gadgets, high on action. Sexual encounters in particular are described in detail.


Rad paperback covers.




Remnants of Iranian ballistic missiles that fell in Israel. Boosters of Emad-type liquid-propellant MRBMs and, potentially, a Rezvan in the bottom photo.
According to Iranian media, Rezvan is a liquid-fueled single-stage missile with a detachable warhead that has a range of up to 1,400 kilometers, and can be launched from a variety of fixed and mobile platforms.




Netyanahu: Israel attacked Iran because Ayatollah Khamenei was planning another Holocaust against the Jewish people.

Netyanahu: "Iran wants to kill Trump."

Translation: I will stop at nothing to get the US military involved.
"We have quite a few rabbits up our sleeve on how to destroy those deep underground nuclear facilities; I don't think I should get into that."

"We now control the skies in northern Iran and now have a free open highway to Tehran." He goes on to say that he will not stop the war campaign until ALL nuclear facilities & all ballistic missiles are destroyed, for however long it takes... and could lead to regime change.

Fox News/Netyanahu interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceEoIbNTJHw


Satellite images shows the aftermath of Israeli airstrike on the Shahran oil storage facility and Tehran Oil Refinery.




Trump appears to have regrets about the Israel/US surprise attack on Iran.


This type of messaging can be interpreted in multiple meanings.


Feels like something straight out of an Adam Curtis documentary.


https://x.com/FirasMaksad/status/1933982138547765665


Now, that's a shocker! There's a war somewhere and the British are involved? Could it be the HMS Lindsey Graham? The clock is ticking...


Iranian Navy intercepts British destroyer in Indian Ocean

Disclaimer: I have no idea how this new war is going to play out nor how long it will be to end and the US may not have anymore of role than what it has currently. However, once a war starts nobody knows how it's going to play out nor for how long. Lord of War guys are going to be busy.