Dave Brockie's Passing

by Chris Chaos

I woke up this morning to the news that Dave Brockie (Gwar, X-Cops, The Dave Brockie Experience, Death Piggy) passed away yesterday. I had numerous texts from friends and associates that knew that I worked with Dave and included one of his videos on Dynasty of Darkness: Apocalyptic End.

  

As of late there have been many faked and spoofed celebrity deaths listed on the internet, but all sources checked out that Dave really did pass. As of this writing there is not a known cause of death but the authorities suspect no foul play and drugs were NOT present. In the past when Flattus Maximus (Cory Smoot) passed the members of Gwar were at least relieved that drugs were not the cause of his death. Cory's official death was listed as coronary artery thrombosis (Heart attack) brought about by his pre-existing coronary artery disease. Cory died at age 35. Dave then  stated that he was taking steps in his own life to be a little more healthy and he also planned on quitting smoking. While working with him I never observed him doing any sort of drugs, just a lot of drinking. He even speculated that another popular lead singer (who I will not identify) from a metal band would most likely be the next person to die from over dosing of heroin. He gained this insight from when Dave toured with this band and the person in questions was beyond messed up from doing drugs prior to completing their set.

I had the fortune of working with Dave a few years back when we filmed 2 of his The Dave Brockie Experience shows in the Philly area. While interviewing him I saw a side to him that I never experienced before. He is on every level a true rocker and loved doing what he did creating music and performing up on stage. The passion burned fiercely within him. Hopefully in the coming months I can finally edit up the massive amount of footage that I filmed at his shows and make a fitting tribute for Dave and all the contributions that he made to the music world over his long enduring career.

The video we did for Dave Brockie "Damn that Money" is on this DVD:

Dynasty of Darkness: Apocalyptic End

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey.  He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com) 

IS ACCURACY IMPORTANT?

by Chris Chaos

(A short essay concerning accuracy and consistency in the medical field)

I find it ironic that a few years ago I was "properly" trained and qualified to dispense medication to "people that need them"...and the company emphasized the importance of accuracy, precision and that mistakes could lose or damage a life......when I received my medical certificate, my name was misspelled. Some say grammar and medicine are unrelated and it is no big deal...I say not, if you mix up two like sounding medications...that could spell disaster.

Let me elaborate: A few years back, I took a position and medical training that would assist me in the production of the book and video series entitled "CURSED: An Explanation of the Unknown". The position was working with people that sustained brain injuries and could not function to capacity, prisoners, sex abuse victims, the homeless and others that did not function with a "normal" cognitive/mental capacity. During this stint, I learned vastly about the medical field and how the inside operations work in correlation to medical grade drugs and pharmaceuticals. Bottom line, it is a huge money maker for the companies involved and the doctors that accept the kickbacks and push unnecessary drugs onto a public that they see as cash cows.

Many of the people that I was dispensing medication to have become some what of a functional zombie due to being over medicated. Usually they would be taking a med for one issue and that would have side effects, so they took a secondary drug to combat the side effect of the initial drug, now that drug had additional side effects and then a 3rd and 4th drug were introduced to deal with the new added side effects. Some of the patients were popping upwards of 30-40 pills in a session just to deal with one initial health issue and all the side effects caused by the additional meds. When all in all, half the meds that deal with mental health were really not having any sort of positive effect in the first place, but that is a seperate issue.

Back to the original issue at hand, accuracy in the medical field. My name misspelled on a medical diploma is not life threatening, but the wrong name of a patient or a medical drug on a label could mean the difference between life and death. If Drug A was meant for Patient A and there was a mix up and patient B received this drug, there could be dire consequences.

   

So with the teachings of accuracy and precision, I would have liked to add in "consistency". To also be consistent with the accuracy and precision.

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey.  He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, has a black cat named Jynx, two rats: Hopping Heather and Climbing Carol, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at: Axisvideo@aol.com)