Welcome to the sci-fi fantasy electronic and alternative opera... I'm a secular Atheist/Agnostic that leans toward Buddhism and Taoism, but I do eat meat and fish. Chicken, pork and seafood mostly, but every once in a while I eat beef. I don't play guitar and I've never owned a guitar in my life, but they certainly sound good in the hands of a skilled player. Nobody has black skin, and nobody has white skin and no two people have *exactly* the same skin colour and that's a scientific fact: *everyone* has an entirely unique skin colour.

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Friday, May 8, 2026

Shhhh! Digital Media Presents: Grand Tapestry of Moments 05 - Mirror, Mirror (Started May 8, 2026)



Just to deal with the idiots. Nobody is controlling me except me. I'm not a Knight of any kind and never would be. I'm not so selfish that I'd steal other people's history or goals and then wear them as my own as part of some abusive social game decades later, based upon ideas of superior culture or blood type. People who would attempt to replace a person's own identity in order to replace their culture, are truly a hateful and evil bunch.





Chapters
  1. The Fatal Shot (Finished May 8, 2026)
  2. Dinner For Three (Coming soon May 9, 2026)

Warning: This episode contains mature situations intended for an adult audience. Reader discretion is advised.



This content is produced by the artists indicated on the site, including myself, Brian Joseph Johns.

I, under no circumstance will trade, barter or otherwise swap my own identity for that of another person and I protect the same right for those who've contributed their artwork to the various projects under my management at Shhhh! Digital Media, my own company, no matter the colour symbolism involved. These rights are protected by law under the Charter Of Rights And Freedoms under section 7.


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I'd like to point out that it was the incredible Gary Sinese Foundation that brought the issue of Veteran's rights to my attention. I've always had little respect for those who'd forget the great contribution made by those who've risked life and limb to defend those values that so many of us espouse. Perhaps the true measure of one's principles are by that for which they'd risk their life.

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Shhhh! Digital Media
Brian Joseph Johns


Shhhh! Digital Media Presents:

Grand Tapestry Of Moments 05 - Mirror, Mirror


by Brian Joseph Johns




The Fatal Shot


In my line of work, life is a window of opportunity. A window that exists only if for a brief moment. Enough so to reveal a lot in the split seconds the frame a moment which will ever only have been seen, in person, once and only once.


A moment between my sight. The lens, and the distance between myself and my target.


Long enough to mean the difference between the hearing of a cry for help, or the sudden silence that follows it. 


The difference between life and death.


I knew from the moment that I first pulled that trigger, that I was truly meant for this line of work. In fact, I enjoy it so much, that there has never been  a gig that ever felt like work to me. In fact, I've often found myself hesitant on the trigger, if only because I didn't want that moment: amidst a grand tapestry of moments, to ever end.


The cross hairs are perfectly lined up as I contemplate this, my latest gig.


There's a life on the line, but that's not my concern. I'm just another part, in a much bigger apparatus than myself, and if I'm going to continue, and succeed, I never question that moment where I finally pull the trigger.


<Click>


...




"They're good, Stanton. Real good. How'd you get that DOF at that time of day?" asked his publishing editor of photography.


"Well now. That's my secret, and mine alone. Lets just say that I'm old school when it comes to setting up a shot. I mix real lenses with digital lighting compensation. Seeing as Kodak-Eastman never made a TMAX-4000, I made my own by compositing a real lens SLR with digital film speed analysis software. I have a friend in the programming business and he writes a lot of custom code for the DSPs you find in most modern cameras. I threw him a few grand, and he tweaked a custom BIOS for mine that lets me tighten the film speed all the way up beyond eight grand, while syncing with a long shutter speed thanks to a custom gyro. Between the DSP and the gyro, I get a perfect image, no ghosting, and a perfect exposure with natural DOF. Just do me a favour, and don't ever ask me for my coder's name..." Stanton spoke confidently, knowing that the secret to his photographic composition was intricately woven into both his mind, and his camera's BIOS.






"That's the best image we've got of a Red-tail during a ground kill/snatch and grab. Canadian Nature is interested as they're doing a birds of prey issue in July, but they'll only commit if the images are exclusive..." Campeau negotiated with Stanton, whose sigh could be heard on the other end of the line.


"Well if they want to lock the Red-tail in, they're going to have to pay. I've already got Bruce with NatGeo, and he's willing to offer a bit more, without locking me into exclusivity. As long as we wait six months before republishing, he's willing to pay almost twice what Canadian Nature can afford," Stanton dangled the bait in front of Campeau.


"Where's your patriotism Stanton? This is Canadian Nature. They're our front line in the wild and they've been supporting guys like us almost as far back as Jacques Cartier. I know that landing another series with NatGeo will give us international exposure, but just this once, could you give Canada the upper hand?" Campeau pleaded with Stanton's sense of national loyalty, but he wasn't having it.


"That way I see it, Campeau, is that if I get us another gig with NatGeo, then I'm taking Canada along for the ride, and that kind of international exposure will be good for Canadian Nature, because next time, they'll pay what they can afford for my exclusivity," Stanton responded.


"So be it. I'll get what I can and I'll call you if I think we beat Bruce at NatGeo's offer. Say hi to Bruce for me," Campeau responded, though sounding as if he'd already given up.


"Will do. Look. Call me anyway. I'll weigh it regardless and let you know. That's the best that I can do. Now I've got to get cleaned up. Jennifer invited Anthony for dinner and I still stink like the swamp," Stanton responded, getting up from his desk chair and heading for the bathroom.


"Thanks for calling us first Stanton. At least you're giving us the option. We'll talk later, but only if I don't smell you first," Campeau responded and then hung up.


A moment later, and Bradley Alexander Stanton was in the shower, and hot running water mixed with the suds of his favourite body wash, as he lathered his toned and muscular form. When he'd finished, he fixed himself up and donned a comfortable pair of black jeans and his favourite corduroy shirt and began sorting out the dinner he'd planned to cook for them that night.


To be continued...

Written by Brian Joseph Johns ♏


Credits and attribution:


Thank you both the Deepai.org and Photopea.com, without whom the title art would not have been possible.


The Fatal Shot image created by my own engineered prompt, and the genius artistry of Perplexity AI.

Special Thanks To Rocket Fuel Lakeshore Blvd West, perhaps the best place in history to get a coffee, circa 2001-2004. Miss you all very much.

Artwork: Amy Wong, Wendy Pusey, Ghastly, Birdman, Brian Joseph Johns, Daz3D, Unreal Engine...

Tools: Daz3D, Corel Painter, Adobe Photoshop, Lightwave 3D, Blender, Stable Diffusion (Easy Diffusion distribution), InstantID, Sadtalker, Google Colaboratory, Microsoft Copilot (Windows 11), Hitfilm, PhotoPea (a great web based Photoshop stand-in if you're on a low budget or in a pinch), Deepai.org, Google AI Studio, Borderline Obsession...

DeepSeek AI for suggestions on exercises to improve aspects of describing scene and settings with a more sensory focused grammar.

InstantID by: Wang, Qixun and Bai, Xu and Wang, Haofan and Qin, Zekui and Chen, Anthony. Research Paper Title: InstantID - Zero-shot Identity-Preserving Generation in Seconds.

Sadtalker by: Zhang, Wenxuan and Cun, Xiaodong and Wang, Xuan and Zhang, Yong and Shen, Xi and Guo, Yu and Shan, Ying and Wang, Fei.
Research Paper Title: SadTalker: Learning Realistic 3D Motion Coefficients for Stylized Audio-Driven Single Image Talking Face Animation.

Gratitude: Our Mentors, Senseis, Sifus, Sebomnims, lifetime inspirations, family, friends, the Nomads (ask Stanton about that one), the Music, the Movies, the Theatre, the Arts, ASMR, (both YouTube and Bilibili and the many other creators on those platforms), the Gaming and Developer communities and of course, the audience.

Martial Arts (in the words of real experts and at least one comedian): https://brucelee.com (home of the real Dragon and an entire family of inspirations), http://iwco.online International Wing Chun Organization (International presence of a very scalable intensity martial art, protected and developed by Shaolin Nun Ng Mui) and the alma mater of Jinn Hua's own specialized variation thereof, https://iogkf.com International Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karatedo Federation (even Hanshi had his teachers), https://itftkd.sport International Taekwondo Federation (Here there be Taegers), https://tangsoodoworld.com Tang Soo Do World (the path of Grandmaster Chuck Norris), https://www.aikido-international.org International Aikido Federation (how else would Navy Chef Steven Seagal liberate a Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier from a team of hijackers?), https://www.stqitoronto.com Shaolin Temple Quanfa Institute (The City Of Toronto's own Shaolin Temple), https://www.enterthedojoshow.com Master Ken's Ameri-Te-Do presence (If we can't laugh at ourselves, then we can at least laugh the loudest at others, and other Zen)

Magic (performance, illusion and perhaps the real thing): Magic Week Archive (I'm currently growing this section so stay tuned)

Special thanks to Aitrepreneur, Mickmumpitz, Hugging Face and the YouTube educational content producers, including those catering to the AI content production pipeline and of course AlphaSignal.

Shi Heng Yi Shaolin Training For Self Mastery 
A reknowned Sifu under whose tutelage you can study the theory and practical applications of the Shaolin Arts for health, physical and mental wellbeing in every day life

Shi Heng Yi Shaolin Training For Self Mastery 
A reknowned Sifu under whose tutelage you can study the theory and practical applications of the Shaolin Arts for health, physical and mental wellbeing in every day life

Jesse Enkamp: Karate Nerd
Jesse, a reknowned Sensei who runs his own dojo, explores the world of Martial Arts, traveling to many exotic locations to meet practitioners of a variety of different arts

Sensei Rokas: Martial Arts Journey
A reknowned Sensei of Aikido who in seeking to understand the roots of Aikido and its applications, seeks to stress test its effectiveness in a number of real world situations while studying its history

Seamus O'Dowd
An extensive growing archive Katas, Techniques and Waza (mostly Shotokan)

Iaido: Train For Katana Mastery Like Samurai 
The original weapons focused curriculum under which Samurai became masters of their art

Tapp Brothers Exercise For Better Motion 
Extensive courses for calisthenics and body strength, stamina and flexibility

Special thanks to Canva for inspiring other creators and giving them the tools

Special thanks to Captain Crunch and his wonderful sister!

Special thanks to Bandcamp for giving indie music artists a home under one roof

Something to give you perspective: The very first teacher had no formal education, didn't graduate and was self taught, but only because they had no other choice. We do.

This content is entirely produced in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at 200 Sherbourne Street Suite 701 under the Shhhh! Digital Media banner.

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