"And, if by some strange chance, you should run across him, you had best think only good thoughts. Anything less than that is handled at your own risk, because if you do meet Anthony, you can be sure of one thing: you have entered The Twilight Zone."

Hippo 2.0: Track Eight

Song: It's a Good Life
Artist: Jerry Goldsmith
Album: Twilight Zone: The Movie OST
Quote: Rod Sterling/Twilight Zone Season 3 Episode 8: It's a Good Life

Remember this kid? Right, the one who can wish anything into and out of existence and knows everything you're thinking. That one. You wouldn't think something this terrifying would have such and eerie and beautiful theme, but that's the way Jerry Goldsmith rolled back in the day. This theme, which plays during the third vignette of Twilight Zone: The Movie, is classic Jerry at his absolute best. The entire Overture to the movie is over on THE MASTER SWORD, under the title The Three Sacred Flames (trust me, it makes sense for that Mix) and includes an even more intense version of this theme, along with the beloved theme to Kick the Can, the one where the old people in the nursing home turn into kids for one night and rediscover their joy. Only Jerry could have composed a piece of music that actually makes you feel that way. It's just one of the many gems he left behind for us.

"I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airwaves are clean and there's nobody singing to me now"

HIPPOBAMF: Track Seven

Song: Bitter Sweet Symphony
Artist: The Verve
Album: Urban Hymns

Lest we forget what we are doing.

"We moved too fast but I had no sign
I would try to turn the hands of Time
Then looked to you for a reason why
The love we had passed me by"

Hippo 2.0: Track Seven

Song: No Ordinary Morning
Artist: Chicane (Feat. Tracy Ackerman)
Album: Behind the Sun
Quote: No Ordinary Morning/Lyrics

There are well over 500 songs on this Channel, along with various other movie clips and video projects I have worked on over the years. All of the Mixes were created organically over the span of 20 years, before Youtube was even really a thing. And yet, despite all of that time passing, there are very few songs that are repeats, that appear on more than one Mix. EXCEPT for this one. No Ordinary Morning is one of Chicane's very best songs and that is really saying something. Appearing on the brilliant album Behind the Sun from the year 2000 (almost 25 years ago!!!), it is a hauntingly beautiful piece of music that conveys a deep sense of sadness, of things that might have been and things that have been forever lost. I can't get enough of it. I guess that's how it ended up on three different mixes, WARRIORS OF DESTINY (2003), FOREVER YOUNG (2011), and of course HIPPO 2.0 (2014). So if you stick around for a while as I work on updating and rereleasing the Mixes you'll hear it again. But when the Music is this good I don't think that it really matters now does it?

"I've always believed that a portrait captures a person far better than a photograph. It truly takes a human being to really see a human being."

Hippo 2.0: Track Six

Song: Tyrell
Artist: Asche & Spencer
Album: Monster's Ball OST
Quote: Lawrence Musgrove (Sean Combs)/Monster's Ball

Annnnnnd we're back. That pesky ETERNAL DARKNESS, always showing up in the middle of another Mix. Well let's just forget about the Ancients for now and talk about Monster's Ball. Anybody who has never seen that movie needs to go watch it right now (although I wouldn't recommend watching it with your mother like I did....you'll uh, see why). Revolving around the execution of Lawrence Musgrove, played by Sean "Diddy" Combs, it's a very complicated and emotional movie that deals with hatred, loss and redemption among other things. Halle Berry won the Academy Award for her stunning and fearless performance and was the first African American woman to ever receive that honor. The score to Monster's Ball was written and performed by Asche & Spencer and perfectly compliments the movie throughout. The themes they wove into the movie are both incredibly sad and beautiful and are highly underrated in my opinion. I have several songs from the score on this Channel, one of them on WARRIORS OF DESTINY which I'll be bringing back to the forefront soon.

Sadly, Coronji Calhoun, who played Halle Berry and P. Diddy's son Tyrell Musgrove in the movie, passed away in 2001 at the age of 30. This video is forever dedicated to his memory.

"MAY THE RATS EAT YOUR EYES!!! I AM NOW LOST TO YOUR CAUSE!!!! THE DARKNESS COMES.....IT WILL DAMN US ALL!!!!!"

ETERNAL DARKNESS: Track Nine

Scene: Sanity's Requiem
Artists: Voices William Hootkins (Maximillian Roivas)
Game: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Quote: Maximillian Roivas/Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

IN WHICH: Maximillian Roivas, ancestor to the Guardian of Light, succumbs to the Insanity of the Ancients and is locked away forever, his part in the story at an end.

Oh, you thought we were done with ETERNAL DARKNESS? Yeah, no. Actually it would be more accurate to say that ETERNAL DARKNESS isn't done with US.

"I want mankind to survive. This is the only way."

Hippo 2.0: Track Five

Song: Waking Up
Artist: Anthony Gonzalez
Album: Oblivion OST
Quote: Jack Harper (Tom Cruise)/Oblivion

Oblivion is like a few other movies that I've seen where after I've watched it I can never remember what the hell happened in the movie. Like at all. Predator is another one of those movies. No matter how many times I watch it, it always feels like the first time. Who knows why? But even though I can't remember what Oblivion was all about, I for SURE remember the soundtrack, in particular this song. It almost has a Hans Zimmer-ish vibe going on with it, from the relentless pace to the way it builds to an incredible crescendo at the end. Great stuff.

NOW WAKE THE HELL UP AMERICA. THE TIME IS NOW.

"Make each impression
A little bit stronger
Freeze this motion
A little bit longer
The innocence slips away"

Hippo 2.0: Track Four

Song: Time Stand Still
Artist: Rush
Album: Hold Your Fire
Quote: Time Stand Still Lyrics/Rush

A good friend introduced me to this song and thereby to the band RUSH many years ago. I don't claim to be an expert on the band, but I do know that these three men and the band they created are the stuff of Legends. HIPPO 2.0 was originally entitled TIME STAND STILL in it's first form. A few songs were changed here and there but the core of the Mix has always been and remains this song. Thank you to the members of RUSH for this and for all of the incredible music they brought to us over the many years they were together. And may God rest the talented soul of Neil Peart who passed in 2000. He is sorely missed but will be remembered for many, many years to come.

Ennis: "Two guys living together? No way. Now we can get together....once in a while, way the hell out in the middle of nowhere, but..."
Jack: "Once in a while. Every four fuckin' years?"
Ennis: "If you can't fix it, Jack, you gotta stand it."

Hippo 2.0: Track Three

Song: Brokeback Mountain 3
Artist: Gustavo Santaolalla
Album: Brokeback Mountain OST
Quotes: Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger), Jack Twist (Jack Gyllenhaal)/Brokeback Mountain

You can always tell when an audience in a theater is uncomfortable. How can you tell? They will always laugh at things that are decidedly unfunny. Brokeback Mountain was laughed at and mocked when it was released way back in 2005. Gay cowboys? In a white tent? Screwing? Hilarious!!! The thing is, there is nothing funny about that movie. Nothing. It is a tragedy, pure and simple, one that most people can understand if they wish to, the tragedy of two people who cannot be together but who really should be. Heath Ledger may have won the Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker in the Dark Knight, but I have always believed that Ennis Del Mar was his greatest role. The fact that the same man played both of those characters almost back to back is nothing short of astonishing. The music from the movie is masterfully composed by Gustavo Santaolalla and this particular track which is played during a critical scene near the end of the movie is the best of them all.

"And in the days following Draco's sacrifice, Bowen and Kara led the people in a time of justice and brotherhood. As I remember it now, those were golden years warmed by an unworldly light. And when things became the most difficult, Draco's star shown more brightly for all of us who knew where to look."

Hippo 2.0: Track Two

Song: Finale
Artist: Randy Edelman
Album: Dragonheart OST
Quote: Gilbert of Glockenspur (Pete Postlethwaite)/Dragonheart (1996)

"How little do you mortals understand time. Must you be so linear, Jean-Luc?"

Hippo 2.0: Track One

Song: Time
Artist: Hans Zimmer
Album: Inception OST
Quote: Q to Picard, All Good Things, Star Trek TNG Finale

Hey all, been stuck in a rut but I'm stopping that shit. I've been missing the music so how about we listen to HIPPO 2.0? It's a good one, starting with the same song that ended HIPPOBAMF. There are no words to describe how incredible this song is so I won't even try. Best just to go with it.

TAKE THE MIGHTY DAWNBREAKER AND WITH IT PURGE CORRUPTION FROM THE DARK CORNERS OF THE WORLD

I'M AS MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!!!

Movie: Network (1976)
Artists: Peter Finch, Ned Beatty
Scene: It's THE scene.

48 years ago and here we are again. I've never been so angry in my entire life than I am at what is happening in America right now.. We can change the future but he's right, first we have to get MAD.

"Wait a minute....."

My So-Called Mix: Track Fourteen

Episode: Strangers in the House
Artist: W.G. Snuffy Walden
Show: My So-Called Life

Returning Soon to a Mix Channel Near YOU!!!!

LOOKING FOR AMERICA COMING THROUGH YOUR SCHOOLS!

"What may be easy to take may be easily taken away."

ETERNAL DARKNESS: Track Eight

Scene: Corrosion of the Dead God (Ulyaoth)
Artists: Voices (Richard Doyal/Richard Doyle)
Game: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Quote: Ulyaoth/Eternal Darkness

IN WHICH: Ulyaoth warns Pious Augustus to never underestimate the Power of Mantorok.

Hey Ho! Let's Go! We have a Universe to save.

Yeah, yeah I know. Hey Chris, when are you actually going to put up something new and stop chopping your old videos up into little pieces? The short answer? Soon. But I wanted to give Futile Escape one last Hurrah and put up the last minute of it as a Short. With attention spans being what they are these days I thought it would be a good way to spread the love. The full video is over on IT KNOWS WHAT SCARES YOU, which by the way, I've FINALLY decided what the next video is going to be on that mix, so stay tuned. And of course we're STILL right in the middle of ETERNAL DARKNESS so I'll be working on that as well. Thanks for watching as always! See ya.

"You cannot explain away a wantonly immoral act because you think that it is connected to some higher purpose" - Jean-Luc

Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one? This is the quintessential question that Star Trek has grappled with for the past 50 years. This episode from season six of The Next Generation tackles this question head on. MAN OF THE PEOPLE is one of Star Trek's most important episodes. And I'll tell you this - those who exploit the innocent for their own ends will regret it for the rest of their lives....and beyond.

Episode: Man of the People
Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season: Six

"DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF MANTOROK, WARLOCK. ITS POWER CANNOT BE DEFINED IN TERMS YOU UNDERSTAND."

ETERNAL DARKNESS: Track Eight

Scene: Corrosion of the Dead God (Chattur'gha)
Artists: Voices (Greg Eagles/Richard Doyle)
Game: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Quote: Chattur'gha/Eternal Darkness

IN WHICH: Chattur'gha warns Pious Augustus never to underestimate the Power of Mantorok.

DON'T YOU KNOW? I'M ELECTRO.

"How can you, a mere mortal, comprehend what that Entity represents or what Power It can wield? We know not, and We know more than thou."

ETERNAL DARKNESS: XEL'LOTATH: Track Eight

Scene: Corrosion of the Dead God (Xel'lotath)
Artists: Voices (Jennifer Hale/Kim Mai Guest/Richard Doyle)
Game: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Quote: Xel'lotath/Eternal Darkness

IN WHICH: Xel'lotath warns Pious Augustus to never underestimate the Power of Mantorok.

I'm back! Long story. Ok, where were we? Ah yes, time to check in with the Ancients again.

"Such an irony that the Keeper Itself be imprisoned within the walls of It's own Magic."

ETERNAL DARKNESS: Track Five

Scene: The Absent Horror (Ulyaoth)
Artists: Voices (Richard Doyal/Richard Doyle)
Game: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Quote: Ulyaoth/Eternal Darkness

IN WHICH: Pious Augustus makes contact with Ulyaoth from beyond the boundaries of our Reality. They discuss a possible flaw in the two thousand year plan to summon the Master of the Planes into our Universe.

All at once.

"Nothing short of a Miracle will keep him alive! And there hasn't been one of those for a long time."

ETERNAL DARKNESS: Track Five

Scene: The Absent Horror (Chattur'gha)
Artists: Voices (Greg Eagles/Richard Doyle)
Game: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Quote: Pious Augustus/Eternal Darkness

IN WHICH: Pious Augustus makes contact with Chattur'gha from beyond the boundaries of our Reality. They discuss a possible flaw in the two thousand year plan to summon the Ancient of Power into our Universe.

Separate and Simultaneous.

You're outmanned, you're outgunned, you're out-equipped. What else have you got?

GUILE.

Episode: Peak Performance
Artists: Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, Ron Jones
Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 Episode 21

I decided to bring this one back from the vault and give it a fresh coat of paint. If ever we've needed this advice it's now. We must outmaneuver the Enemy. And we will. Cause we're worf it.

"A hundred summers to a day
We have waited here for you.
Seeing that you've found the way,
It must certainly be you.
Your hunger and your thirst to still,
All is here in readiness.
You shall eat and drink your fill,
Sheltered in our tenderness.
Regardless whether good or bad,
You've suffered much and traveled far.
Take comfort for the trials you've had.
We'll have you just the way you are."

ETERNAL DARKNESS: Track Seven

Song: Late Call
Artist: Jerry Goldsmith
Album: Poltergeist 2: The Other Side OST
Quote: The Never Ending Story

IN WHICH: As the Darkness of corruption and insanity relentlessly encroaches upon us, the Light gathers together in the name of the Lord to stand against it.

"Be strong and take heart, all who hope in the Lord." - Psalm 31:25

And then....some people just get lost on the way to the Light, and they need someone to guide them to it.

"Most of us go through life with blinders on, knowing only that one little station to which we were born. But now you, on the other hand, have had the rare privilege of escaping your bonds for just a spell....to see life from an entirely new perspective. How you choose to use that information is entirely up to you." - Roddy McDowall

I watched OVERBOARD! last week and wondered how far I could compress the movie into a bite-sized bit of content and still have it retain it's true meaning. Here's what I came up with. Four minutes and Nineteen seconds. Not bad. Next time we'll break the 4 minute barrier for sure.