Year: 2019

YouTube, COPPA, FTC and My Channel

Mike Nobody music

YouTube finally have announced that they’re changing their terms and conditions on December 10, 2019. They will begin deleting accounts for extremely vague reasons of “profitability”, including all accounts connected to Google and YouTube. It is unclear what they even mean by the term profitability. The way it is written it could mean anything. If we don’t make enough of a profit for them? If we’re too small? If our videos take up too much memory space on their servers? WTF?

YouTube got hit with a huge fine a couple of months ago by the FTC for violating COPPA. They were told to get their house in order. So, they have also implemented changes for the new COPPA law, requiring you to mark whether your videos are made for kids. If they are made for kids and if you don’t label your videos accordingly, you could be fined to the value of $42,530 PER VIDEO. YouTube’s algorithm and AI software is changing AGAIN. The site will identify whatever THEY deem is for kids, regardless. So, you may not have it accurately labelled to their liking even if you try.

YouTube has ALWAYS fucked with content creators, from day one. Every once in a while they’d get a bug up their ass about one thing or another and start purging videos and closing channels. I have been harassed by lawyers and had several YouTube accounts deleted before. It is a pain in the ass starting over again and again. I resigned myself, long ago, to the fact that they were never going to allow me to build up my channel into anything profitable. Very few YouTubers are able to turn making videos into their day job. But, that was always the way YouTube ran their business. So, we just dealt with all the bullshit as best as we could. Now, the government is involved. They could fine us thousands of dollars. It is an automated system that decides against you, not a person. So, you’ll eventually have to take each case to court for appeal. FUCK THAT!

By next year, we will see what kind of fiasco this is going to become. I’m pretty sure that a LOT of people are going to have their lives ruined during this mess. The FTC have said that YouTube is their main target, “like fish in a barrel”…and WE ARE THE FISH. I’m pretty sick of this shit. I’ve set almost everything I have on there to private. I’m backing up all of my videos onto Dailymotion, for now. When the smoke clears I will see if I want to post anything on YouTube again. I dunno.

Planet 9 Film Fest 2019!

Mike Nobody music
Be there or be square!

Sunday | October 20 | Ant Hall

A day dedicated to Indie Films & Live Music!

Artists & Vendor submissions open.
e-mail your work to planet9filmz@gmail

Judging determined by audience & local “celebrity” judges (TBA)
Mark Maxwell
Shana R Oros
Mike Nobody


+ Prizes, Local Art & More!

Hosted by Count Cat & Gamma-Ray

doors 2p | films 2:30p | awards 11p | music 12a

Art:
Radar Mda
Michelle Thibodeau

live music by
DEATH CAT
Dear Darkness
Awards! :Midnight
Nosferatu (classic silent film with
live score by An Angel Submerged & Jessi McAnelly)
Judges 10:45
New Year’s Kiss
The Conformity Pimp Slap
Telepathic Telephones (feature)
Higher Space
Halitosis
Judges 9:00pm
Questions for a Dinosaur
Lake Michigan Monster (feature)
Professor Mexico Moose Monster (silent film with live score by Aleph Om )
Amsteroid(feature)
Judges 6:40
Stare Way to Heaven
The Nervous Breakdown Hotdog
Food of the Gods
Fresh Green
Gamer’s Wife
Judges 6:10pm
Whacked (feature)
cache cache
Crazy
Judges 4:40
Fucked Up Point Blank
Drawn Together:Comics, Diversity & Stereotypes(feature)
The French Chef with Julia

Introduction 3pm


Presented by Planet Ant | a 501(c)(3) non-profit

Glitch VHS

Mike Nobody art, creativity, detroit, diy, electronica, entertainment, experimental, hardcore punk, harsh noise, heavy metal, independent, Influences, lo-fi, mash-up, mashup, metal, Mike Nobody, movies, music, musique concrete, No-Budget, noise, noise rock, outsider music, plunderphonics, remix, sample, VHS, vlogging

This was originally intended for a compilation. But, I missed the deadline. So, I reworked it into something different, a bit longer, for an upcoming issue of “Theee Urban SpaceCat” #3 cassette-zine. I’m working on more material that I can perform live. But, this plunderphonics style track is still pretty good and I didn’t want to waste it.

Tank Girl

Mike Nobody art, Australia, business, Cartoon, comedy, comic book, corporations, creativity, fascism, fiction, freedom, independent, Movie, movies, music, new world order, oligarchy, orwell, pop art, sci-fi, science fiction, tyranny, vlogging, world trade organization, wto

Last year was the 30th anniversary of the British comic book Tank Girl. There wasn’t much mention of it in the press, that I remember. It is a classic cult comic. So, why not? Admittedly, the 1995 movie stunk.

It only made $6 million against a $25 million budget. That is an apt metaphor for the post-Nirvanamania alternative craze of the 1990’s. Mega-corporations foolishly believed that they could reproduce “the next Nirvana” by slapping “grunge” or “alternative” on everything. They bought up hundreds of independent labels and signed artists left and right, regardless of any talent or experience they may possess. It doesn’t work like that. Mostly, they failed spectacularly.

But, nonetheless, I liked the idea of adapting this comic into a movie. Comic book movies are HUGE now, compared to the 1990’s. Can’t somebody else give it ago? Hey Hollywood, throw some money my way! I’ll do it!

One thing that I actually LIKED about the original movie was the animated sequences. So, firstly, animate the entire thing. Co-creator Jamie Hewlett went on to form the virtual band Gorillaz. It would be a natural fit for him to direct. And don’t wimp out with a PG version. Go for a solid R-rating. It could be badass as Heavy Metal (1981).

Second, it needs better casting. Lori Petty? Blecchh! Stay true to the source material and get an Australian cast. This takes place in a post-apocalyptic Australia. Maybe include a few Brits or Americans in certain roles. But, c’mon, Ice-T as a kangaroo? Are you shitting me? Eddie Izzard plays a great villain. Get him. I kinda liked that the fascist water company ruled everything in the original. Keep that. Put Eddie in charge. Make him a middle management Darth Vader for a multi-national monopoly.

The original soundtrack had a few good tunes. I could see staying with that sort of tone; punk rock, hip-hop, metal, indie pop, etc. Courtney Love chose songs for the original. Get Quentin Tarantino’s music supervisor to do the reboot.

If Hollywood insists on bombarding us with reboots, don’t ruin perfectly good movies PLEASE! Reboot movies that had a good premise, but were shit produced, and fix them. There is no shortage of them. Comic book movies are BIG now. So, it isn’t even much of a gamble anymore. I bet that any independent studio could do a decent job of it with a small budget. Jamie Hewlett’s success with the Gorillaz could almost guarantee a bigger budget with a few well-known actors. Someone make this happen!

Here It Is, At Last!

Mike Nobody music
FINALLY! Jumping Jesus on a Pogo Stick!

I was going to shoot a video for this. But, my painting isn’t finished and I’m waiting for proofs of the zine to come back from the printer. So, I can’t show a finished copy. But, I do want a vlog to be a regular part of these blogs. I have a pretty good setup for it now. Maybe later, eh?

Anyway, I have been in constant pain for the past two months, with acute tendonitis in my right hand. Been wearing a wrist brace and gobbling ibuprofen all day. From what I have read online it can take six weeks to six months to heal. Shit.

Nonetheless, I’ve made incremental progress on my work. The seasons move faster than I do, though. I’ve been stuck on one song for awhile. Keeping a friend’s advice in mind, to do ONE THING at a time, I haven’t abandoned it or moved on to anything else, yet. I haven’t thrown out anything in awhile, so maybe that is a little improvement? Lots of things are 1/2 done or 1/3 done. Not enough is totally DONE done, though. Motivational videos and encouragement from friends helps. I try not to be so negative all of the time. Devi Ever once called me “Negative Mike”.

Having some organization keeps everything going. The less you have to think about it, the better. Planning a schedule of some sort at least tells me when something SHOULD be done (not that I can always stick to it). I don’t want to say what I am GOING to do, though. It is better to just show whatever I do when it is done.

“Have more than you show, speak less than you know.” –
William Shakespeare

The first issue of Theee Urban SpaceCat cassette-zine is FINALLY done! Is it worth the long wait? I rearranged some pieces that I had spread out over other projects to get it finished. “Done is BETTER than perfect, because perfect never gets done”, I guess. So, it really isn’t turning out like what I originally had in mind. The zine has been pathetically overdue, on a Chinese Democracy level, intended to be released every 3-4 months, not 4-5 YEARS! This is largely my own fault, not entirely, but mostly – it is. Financial and personal obstacles have contributed to endless delays and setbacks. I also keep procrastinating and shooting myself in the foot. Such as you do with mental heath problems. Theee Urban SpaceCat #2 won’t take as long to finish because the next several issues are at least partially completed already.

Because money is always tight I am publishing all issues digitally first, and will get physical copies ready to go when I have money for printing & duplication. I’m making stickers, cards, buttons, and other goodies to go inside the zines. These are also available to my supporters on Patreon.

Ideally, I would like to have X amount of material completed by each week / month / quarter. A certain percentage goes to Patreon supporters. Another percentage goes to Theee Urban SpaceCat, Island of Misfit Noise, and whatever other projects. I don’t have the money to produce a full album in a studio. But, maybe I could periodically release 7″ vinyl singles. Gradually, I could do that until there is enough recorded for an album! Now that I have my tax ID and a business account at the bank, I am setting aside a tiny budget for all of my projects. It isn’t enough to do everything at once. But, at least I can get a little bit done while I build up my resources. If I’m lucky, I can attract the interest of some small labels to front me enough money to get more stuff done sooner.

Some folks over at Electronic Cottage have shown interest in collaborating with me on the next Island of Misfit Noise album. Time permitting, I will have made enough progress on the IOMN movie to get it out this Fall. I have lots of other ideas still cooking on the back-burner. Hopefully, I can get them going a lot faster than I have been doing so far.

Here is some music from my collection. MarshaKat got me into this when we were together. So, blame her.


Sarah Brightman & Hot Gossip – I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper (Official Video)

Sarah Brightman & Hot Gossip – I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper (Thriftshop XL 2012 Remix)

Sarah Brightman & Hot Gossip – I Lost My Heart ‘To A Starship Trooper’ 2013 (Dj Lee’s 2013 Remix)

2019… So Far, So Good… I Guess.

Mike Nobody alternative, america, anxiety, art, autobiography, blues, business, Cartoon, comedy, comic book, copyright, corporations, country, depression, detroit, diy, electronica, entertainment, experimental, free speech, freedom, funk, gospel, grunge, hardcore punk, harsh noise, heavy metal, history, independent, Influences, internet, jazz, LGBT, LGBTQIA+, life, lo-fi, Mail, mash-up, mashup, mental health, metal, michigan, Mike Nobody, money, motivational, music, musique concrete, new wave, No-Budget, noise, noise rock, OCPD, outsider art, outsider music, plunderphonics, politics, pop, pop art, porn, prog, progressive rock, propaganda, psychedelia, punk, punk rock, R&B, Radio, remix, rock, rock and roll, rockabilly, sale, sample, sci-fi, science, science fiction, soul, stupidity, transgender, tyranny, Uncategorized, united states of america, usa, vlogging, zines
Almost done........................
Almost done…………………….

Time still flies when you aren’t having any fun. I am absolutely certain that time speeds up as you age. That is why old people wear clothes that are out of style. It was still in fashion just a minute ago, for them.

I was planning to include a vlog today, since vlogging is meant to be half of these posts. But, honestly, I don’t have anything worth videotaping right now. I also don’t have any new paintings to show.

2019 is speeding by, just like the past few years have. WTF is wrong with me? Besides the usual shit? Things actually are going pretty okay right now. I had a few rough months between December and February. That mess is finally settled, notwithstanding my growing piles of debt.

I have a list of folks waiting for Theee Urban SpaceCat cassette-zine. I have been digging through stacks of demo tapes and gigabytes of incomplete data trying to finish it. I have enough material already done for a complete issue or two… or three. But, I have spread it out over several zines. I didn’t like the way it was when I compiled it all together. So, I am filling each issue, finishing each song, one-at-a-time. A friend suggested that I do this to get myself focused, instead of hopping all over the place like I usually do. Get one thing done. Then, move on to the next thing. This approach seems to be pushing the process along, I suppose. Creating the equivalent of two double albums every few months is kinda hard when doing it all alone and you keep shooting yourself in the foot. Everything is absurdly late getting it out.

I asked around about getting my mixes mastered. But, I cannot afford to do it, not entire albums anyway. I might have one or two singles mastered for radio… maybe. The rest will just have to be a raw mix.

I am waiting for the government to process some of my tax shit, so I can finish setting up the business side of things. They’re still catching up from the Trumptard shutdown a few weeks ago. It has delayed everything. I’m never happy dealing with that sort of stuff. But, I anxiously want to get it done and out of the way.

Here is a Daniel Johnston song from my record collection for you. I get the same feeling myself sometimes. I am always starting my life over again… and again… and again… and again….

Redheaded Vengeance (1997-1999)

Mike Nobody art, comedy, creativity, diy, fiction, horror, independent, movies, No-Budget, outsider art, VHS, video, YouTube

This is the sort of filmmaking that I aspire to. The only available information posted about this short horror movie is in the description of a YouTube video.

Many respected film historians refer to Redheaded Vengeance as “the greatest no-budget VHS horror short of all time”. Enid Sachbalm of The Des Moines Register described it as “the Rambo 3 of homemade VHS horror shorts”.

The Criterion Collection dismissed it as “a repugnant abomination, crudely fashioned by mouth breathing lunatics” – but that’s only because they’re too damn stupid to understand it.

Redheaded Vengeance was shot sporadically in and around Columbus, Ohio between 1997-1999. The original goal was a feature length film – shot entirely on VHS – for almost no money.

Much more footage exists than what’s seen in this 10 minute short.

The “budget” was probably something like $47.06. A single Memorex SM4300 VHS camera was used. Final editing was completed in 2009 using IMovie. No one involved had any movie making or acting experience.

Sean – who played Redhead a.k.a. Pigtails – did an incredible job. He was completely possessed by the character while in costume—it was true movie magic.

Craft services were provided by Milwaukee’s Best.