Freaky Stuff on the Radio

Why is the radio scary?

The Way, DJ Taktix,  The first Jungle Track I heard on the radio

Never thought that you could get away from the freaks and scares?  The radio has a handful of scares on the waves.  War of the Worlds was past my time.  I had my freaks from radio ads to electronic music.

Radio Ads

Lung Association ad 1993 - 1994

In 1994, there was a radio ad on 1050 Chum that gave me a scare.  It was an anti smoking ad posted by the Lung Association.  While I was half asleep and the ad started, my stomach cringed because of the scary sounds and there was a heart monitor beeping in the background and it ends with a flatline.  At the end of the radio ad, they say "Support the Lung Association."

Freaky Music

What was scary about electronic music?  Some electronic music tracks have scary sounds and effects that may warp your mind while half asleep.  The most common one is the Time Stretch.  The Time Stretch, makes the voice or sound effect pretty freaky because of the spaces within the sound.  It sounds like someone talking into a fan.

Here is a list of some tracks with a scary Time Strectch effect.

Surgar is Sweeter, CJ Bolland

Higher State of Consciousnes -- Josh Wink



Spin Spin Sugar -- Sneaker Pimps (1997)



There is a scary Time Stretch in this track.  When I heard this track for the first time, I got freaked out.  The words Spin Spin Sugar is heard in the time stretch.


I Can't Help Myself -- Lucid



You can listen to this freaky time strectch.  The Stretch begins at 5:27.

Insomnia -- Faithless


This track features time stretching through out the entire track.  The words that can be heard in the time stretch is "I cannot get any sleep".  There are some other scary time stretched in the track.

The Way, Shadow VIP Mix -- DJ Taktix Featuring Top Buzz

I heard this track and had my first exposure to the scary vocal time stretch.  While I was laying in bed with the radio on, I feel my stomach turn at the start of the time stretch. 

I will add more freaky Time Streching songs soon as I find them.  Keep your Ears to the Tracks

Freaky Stuff on the TV

Freaky Stuff on TV

 

Hanna Babara Twisting Star.  A child with autism may get startled due to the synthesized sounds and patterns. 

Everybody has a TV in their house.  The TV is home to a lot of scary stuff.  When you watch TV, you get lulled into a trance as the images appear on the screen.  Out of the blue, you could get a jump scare while watching Child's Play or A Nightmare on Elm Street.  Horror movies are intended to scare you.  There can be other freaky stuff on TV including TV Logos, flashing screens, or transitions.  People on the Autism Spectrum may be more affected by these freaks.

Scary Logos

Why are TV Logos Scary?

While watching your favourite cartoons, you may remember those scary logos that appear either at the start or the end of the show.  These logos scare factors may because of the combination of weird synthesized sound and visual effects.  Here is a list of the logos that scared me in my childhood.

Hanna Barbera Twisting Star

The Hanna Barbera Logo is on of the most freaky logos on television.  After watching the Smurfs, Jetsons, Flintstones, and etc, I got freaked out by this logo.  In the early 1990's the USA network had a cartoon block known as the Cartoon Express which featured cartoons like the Smurfs and the Flintstones.  The train got me interested in watching the channel and than I got freaked out by the Twisting Star.

The Universal Pictures Logo

This can freak you out if you are not expecting it.  You will know that this logo appears before the movie ET begins.  If you see the stars and the approach, you will be less scared of it.  If you are watching a TV show and the logo suddenly appears, you may get freaked out by the music and the blue rings that circle the globe.

Other Scary Logos

This Youtube video below features a collection of scary TV logos from Childhood

Post Traumatic Effects of Scary Logos

Logo Nightmares

Having repeated nightmares of the scary TV logos in your dreams.

Not watching your favorite show anymore

You may be afraid to watch the show and seeing the logo following the closing credits or if the logo appears before the show begins. 

Breaking Glass

TV shows that feature breaking glass or mirrors freak me out when I am not expecting it.  When I see a breaking window or mirror on TV, I will yell Hoomp.  Sometimes the screen will shatter or crack during a transition between scenes. 

TV shows or movies with Breaking Glass

Prom Night II, Hello Mary Lou

At the beginning of the movie, the glass in a picture frame cracks.

Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith

During the battle within the first 20 minutes of the movie, a large bay window cracks.

The Amityville Curse

The washroom mirror cracks after a lady wipes the steam away.

Cracking / Breaking glass transitions

Arthur: Episode 54, Let's Talk to some Kids,

Sue-Ellen makes a high kick and the camera cracks.



You can see the transition for yourself by watching the video. The screen cracks at 3:56.  The screen will turn blue and crack.

Arthur: Episode 66, Arthur's Big Hit

After Arthur finds out that DW was playing with his model plane, there screen will crack and smash.



You can see the transition effect for yourself.  Watch the video above.  the screen cracks at 4:12

Inquiring Minds: Superstitions

At the end of the Superstitions segment of this episode, the screen will suddenly crack when the host mentions that it's bad luck to break a mirror.

Video Games Sounds and Visuals

In video games there are scary sound and visual effects that may traumatize you from playing the game anymore.  For example if you play Air Fortress, there is a scary moment when you die inside the Air Fortress, the screen will invert colours and the game ends  I will post this in a new posting, Freaky Stuff in Gaming.

 

 

There are many more breaking / shattering window transition effects out there.  I will add them as I locate them.  Keep your ears to the tracks.

 

Page Index

 

Freaky Stuff, 

 

Freaky Stuff in the Car

 

Freaky Stuff on the Radio

Freaky Stuff in Video Games

Resource

Wikipedia, USA Cartoon Express, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Cartoon_Express

Freaky

What Freaks me out?

Breaking and Cracking Windows

A cracked window, www.ecolinewindows.ca

Why do cracking windows freak me out? 

When a window breaks, I will jump because of the crack appearing along with the loud snapping sound.  It's bad luck if you break a mirror.

Breaking / Cracking ice

Why does Breaking ice freak me out?

When ice breaks beneath your start cracking, I would get freaked out because of the sound of the ice.  I would jump when I hear the sound of ice breaking on small patches of thin ice because the sound catches me off guard and I get frightened when I see the cracks appear in the snow or ice.  People with autism may be sensitive to loud sounds.

Elevators

 

An elevator bank at Pearson Airport

Why do elevators freak me out?

When I was 6 years old, I had a dream that I was in the glass elevator at the Pickering Recreation Complex.  When the elevator was travelling down to the first floor, the base of the elevator shaft broke and the elevator car fell into the abyss.

Later that year, I got stuck in an elevator in a medical building in Scarbourgh Ontario.  After riding that elevator, I wanted to take the stairs down to the main floor when it was time to leave the building.  For a few years following that experience, I did not want to ride in an elevator for.  Today, I am used to riding the elevator when I need to ride one.

Dental Lights

If you are not afraid of the Unknown of visiting a dentist or the sound of the Drills,  There is something to be afraid of.  You are afraid of the Lights.

Why are Dental lights Freaky?

The most freaky dental lights feature a broken effect in the light reflector.  When I saw a Plax Mouthwash commercial on TV in 1995, the opening scene featured a freaky dental light.

A Castle Dental Light, a freakish Dental light

The Dental light in the picture above is freaky because of the broken effect pattern in the light reflector.  If you see this kind of light in your dental office, you may scream and never want to see a dentist again.
Thank goodness for Pelton and Crane's The Helios 3000 Light for not being scary.  The Helios 3000 light has a solid reflector and it has not scary features.  This will make vising your dentist much easier those who are scared of the lights. 

Thank you Dr Max Neiman and Associates for installing Pelton and Crane Lights in their new office.

Operating Room Lights

Some Operating Room lights may be freaky because of the patterns in the reflector.

Why are Surgical lights freaky?

There are some surgical lights that feature the broken pattern effect in the light reflector or outright strange and weird.

Youtube Video Update, September 2010

September 4, 2010

The Second Youtube Video Update.











Check these videos above and more at My Youtube Page

The Life and Death of The Diesel Playhouse Part 2

DIESEL Playhouse in April 2009

The Diesel Playhouse now sits dark in a sad looking condition.  The Brass doors are locked forever and a piece of wood is wedged through the right doors.

The Doors into the theatre are chained from the inside to prevent the doors from being forced open by vandels.

This public notice is posted on the theatre and it reads "

"Notice.  An application to amend the zoning By-Law by Lifetime 56 Blue Jays Way, Inc. to permit a 41 Stoey mixed-used building"

Page Index

Diesel Playhouse Front Page

Life and Death of the Diesel Playhouse Part 1

The Life and Death of the Diesel Playhouse

Where was The DIESEL Playhouse?

The Diesel Playhouse was located at 56 Blue Jays Way, in the heart of downtown Toronto.  Everyone associates the Diesel Playhouse to Evil Dead the Musical.

History of the Diesel Playhouse

The Theatre was originally built to house the Second City in 1997.  When Second City moved to its current home on Mercer Street, Jeffrey Latimer leased the building in 2006 as the Diesel Playhouse.  The only major show that got to perform a successful run was Evil Dead the Musical

The Glory Days of the Diesel Playhouse

The Diesel Playhouse made its name when Evil Dead the Musical had its successful run from May - September, 2007 after the run was extended twice.  On Februay 14, 2008 Evil Dead the Musical re-opened its doors for a lengthly run until September, 6 2008.  The best seats were in the Splatter Zone because you get covered in Fake Blood which is sprayed out by the actors and water cannons which are hidden behind the walls.

The Death of the Diesel Playhouse

On December 9, 2008, just over three months after Evil Dead the Musical closed, The Diesel Playhouse turned out the lights.  The final act was a one night performance from the Straight No Chasers.  Now the Diesel Playhouse sits dark until the Bisha Hotel and Residence opens.

This is the final article in the Toronto Star in regards to the death of the Diesel Playhouse

The house the Dead built is no more.

Tuesday night's performance by the music group Straight No Chasers was the last show to play at the Diesel Playhouse, 55 Blue Jays Way, originally built in 1997 as a home for the Second City.

After the comedy troupe left the premises in 2005, to relocate across the way on Mercer St., the theatre stood dark and was supposed to be turned into condos.

Producer Jeffrey Latimer, who arranged to lease the building from Michael Kleinman the following year, knew he had a two-year stay of execution to keep the venue functioning.

It reopened as the Diesel Playhouse in April 2006 with the production of Boy Groove. Some 140 shows appeared there over the next two years, but the theatre will best be remembered for the hit production of Evil Dead: The Musical, which filled it for 500 performances on two separate occasions, finally ending its run on Sept. 6 of this year.

"I was supposed to have closed the place in April 2008, but Evil Dead was still going strong, so I asked to have my lease extended until we closed in September," recalls Latimer. "After that, my involvement ceased. We went out on a high."

Then things changed. Mel Pearl assumed ownership of the building and B.J. Reinblatt (brother of Evil Dead's author, George Reinblatt) continued to manage the place on a month-to-month basis.

The problem was the shows weren't coming. The calendar on the Diesel's website reveals that there were only four one-night stands booked between now and the end of February, at which point a new horror musical called Cannibal (starring Evil Dead's leading man, Ryan Ward) was tentatively scheduled to open.

Some shows, like this Sunday's sold-out engagement of the Princes of Comedy, are planning to move to Second City. Klaus Schuller, executive director of Second City Toronto, said, "We'll do everything to help, but we can't sacrifice our own operation."

All day yesterday, sound and lighting equipment was being removed from the Diesel and it was obvious that its days as a performance space were over.

"It's a shame," said Latimer. "It was great while it lasted." (Toronto Star, December 11, 2008)

Reference: Richard Ouzounian (theatre critic), Diesel Playhouse Turns out the Lights, http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/551969

In the Next entry,  I will show you some pictures of the Diesel Playhouse during the dark spell.

Page Index

Diesel Playhouse Front Page

Life and Death of the Diesel Playhouse Part 2

Cinemax

What is a Cinemax?

A Cinemax is a party featuring a DJ and three movies playing at the same time on three screens.

What do you need?

3 Video Projectors

3 Large white fabrics

Sound System My favourite sound system is Justin Martin's Alien Influx Sound System

8 Channel Mixer

two turntables

two CD Js

Three DVD Js

Set-Up

The Set up of the room can be any manner.  The Film projectors must be accessible to the DJ.  The DJ will be in control of the Visuals on all three screens. 

Throwing down the Cinemax

The DJ has to be able to mix the music tracks with the soundtrack of all three movies.  The DJ can cross fade, rewind, scratch, or any other DJ effect to the music or movie soundtrack.