Seriously.
If I were running for my life as if I were FOR REAL being chased by an axe-wielding hockey mask wearing person, such as the FICTIONAL (characters/people) in many of the Friday the 13th sequels, yes, I would have to say a criminal complaint on the terrorist/serial killer would be very much in order.
But I was never in danger of anything while watching that stupid cheap ass horror movie FOREVER EVIL that aired on USA Network's SATURDAY NIGHTMARES block circa 1989/1990.
I was never in danger of anything while watching HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS (1988).
I was never in danger of anything when I woke up at 11am and spent Halloween Day 1999 sour as a lemon after watching SLEEPAWAY CAMP (for some reason that film, the weather that day & the late rising just left me feeling really odd in a way I'd like to spend less time thinking about).
Yes, GHOSTBUSTERS II was a little scary I commented as much after leaving the theater in summer 1989 at the age 5. Does that mean I didn't enjoy the film?
Kids like being scared. It is not a criminal offense for a kid to be scared. It is not a criminal offense to scare a kid.
Obviously, there are situations where it can be considered a criminal offense. If you're scaring a kid and the kid seriously thinks they are in danger, then yes, you are guilty of child abuse. If a kid is scared of a movie that is playing in the other room or a room they are in, they either need to understand that the movie they are hearing and/or seeing is a projection of someone's creative mind before you begin playback or you need to turn the volume down to a low enough volume that the kid won't wake up while sleeping. Most kids by the age of 4 these days I would think would understand the difference between real life and something happening on a screen. Hence, no danger is involved if the kid is sitting in the room watching something scary unfolding on the screen.
Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule.
CRIMINAL MINDS (the TV show on CBS) depicts REAL situations that can be damned disturbing for even the likes of myself to even consider. For any good natured boy or girl, it can indeed be traumatizing.
GHOSTBUSTERS II is not a real life situation.
FRIDAY THE 13TH PT 4 is not a real life situation.
HALLOWEEN VII is not a real life situation.
Yes, people getting stabbed does happen. Personally I was expecting a lot more out of FRIDAY THE 13TH when I first saw it. I was extremely surprised as to how it became such a classic that is was at the time considered (late 1990s/most people in this 4K video game world would probably call it "Old school horror" since independent cinema is so much more easily accessed with the likes of Netflix and even mainstream horror movies are much more gory than they were in the 1980s and the decade that followed it).
BASKET CASE (1983) does not happen. Big globs of human flesh with a telepathic brain hellbent on revenge do not actually exist...not as far as I know. Revenge does happen. Blood spilt does happen. Brotherly love does happen. Deformity does happen. Plastic surgery does happen. There is nothing specific in BASKET CASE that is a complete fantasy. But nothing specifically happens in BASKET CASE. The manner in which the main "monster" kills his/its'(?) victims is not even clearly conveyed. The deformity of the "monster" is not even very clear. Is something like that even scientifically possible? Maybe. Maybe it's not only possible, but a very real situation that some people deal with. I can't say. I don't think anyone dealing with such a situation would appear on Oprah and say.
And there's nothing in GHOSTBUSTERS that I can say for a fact *does not happen*.
But both films - as well as FRIDAY THE 13TH - convey their respective stories with a grain of salt, tongue planted firmly in cheek, to where you'd have to be digging pretty deep into the realm of someone's closet in order to know just how real a lot of these things are or might be. A 5 year old does not believe in ghosts unless they have parents that tell them to believe in ghosts, just like kids don't believe in Santa Claus. unless you tell them to believe in Santa Claus. And even serial killers are practically a product of someone's crazy mind if you aren't warned to be on the lookout for a serial killer. I mean, even adults tend to be rather blase about the possibility of car theft, leaving their cars unlocked not only occasionally but routinely. The idea of something far worse happening is not even something many people even entertain the slightest notion of. And why should we? How many people born today are likely to die because someone else was born? The stats are pretty consistent. For every birth that eventually becomes a serial killer there's several hundred million more, 99.999% of which will survive said serial killer's birth and subsequent behavior. Granted, I haven't looked this up. That's a rough estimate. But honestly -- have you ever met someone who died because of a serial killer? Cancer, perhaps, most likely, if you've lived for any length of time with a social life bigger than mine, or perhaps child abuse and the emotional damage that causes, or perhaps HIV/AIDS or some rare blood disorder or something, but a serial killer? Some people reading this might be able to say they know someone who had a friend die at the hands of a school shooter or a terrorist or a basic serial killer, and maybe 1 or 2 out of the 15 or so people that read this blog actually did have a friend or relative that was murdered in cold blood, but even that's unlikely, although I don't intend to downplay the grief of knowing such carnage. I'm not saying we should all be carefree and act like the world's just dandy because most of us know that it isn't and we are if anything acting overtly in accordance with that fact. But the fact is you don't go to bed expecting someone to appear in your window with the intention of abducting you and never letting you see your parents again. You go to bed and you scare yourself with shadows knowing damn well that they're just shadows but getting the chills nonetheless.
Monday, May 21, 2018
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
An outer world
I cannot believe this.....actually, I don't know if this is anything to "believe"...
When the heck did I last have the computer on?
It seems like I might or might not have had it on Friday. I don't even remember what time of day I turned it off last. Somewhere between 9 & 11 p.m.....maybe....seriously not real sure.
But I kid you not ---
Ok , ok.
***MAYBE*** in the early part of Saturday I had the computer on.....I can't swear to that being true or untrue....
HOWEVER
at least 75% of Saturday including sleeping hours was computer free
And I did not have it on at all Sunday NOR did I have it on Monday.
And I didn't turn it on today until close to or after noon.
So that's like.........insanity! No, it's even weirder than that. It's REVERSE insanity! It's something that I'm not sure I'm really comfortable with getting used to...I guess you could call it a 3 days fast? Uh...that's not exactly what I was intending
and it's not like the computer itself is anything special. My smartphone does almost everything my PC does, just not as smoothly.
I think I'm going to forgo signing up for Rhapsody (they've re-braned themselves "Napster", but I say that's a bunch of bullschit bc it says right under it "powered by Rhapsody"....eeeirk!) ANY WAY!------I have Pandora and I don't even use it that much. I've been a-ok with the ads on Spotify. They're generally minimal and/or non invasive. I don't know if they're just that infrequent or they've gotten better at timing them. It used to be kind of an issue, especially on albums where half the songs kinda flow into each other. I think some of it is an improved user experience. Their ads are not intended as a threat. They're intended as a source of revenue for the site and the content providers (artists & producers etc.) on the site. If an ad is annoying, it's probably not doing its job correctly. Car commercials and commercials for household cleaners are ***annoying*** Why? Because I don't give a lick about cleaning my house and I'll be born, dead and ascended 100 times before I ever buy a new car -- OR A USED ONE for that matter! Sure, there may come a day when my sister wants to buy a new car and ask for my input but the hell if some stupid commercial has any bearing on that input. Especially since all car commercials are exact same thing. "Hey, ya know, it actually IS polite to stare!" or "Hey, show your macho side!" or "Be macho AND suave!" or.....something along any combination of those ideas. Stupid. The only thing I ever gleaned from a car commercial is that my sister's 2012 KIA SOUL uses 1 gallon every 30 miles apprx vs. some "super fuel efficient" vehicle that Ford introduced around that same time frame that has a 36 mpg fuel efficiency, which I thought was impressive based on my mom's car at the time, before she decided to give it up, which had a 20 mpg fuel efficiency....granted, that car was made in the late '90s, '96 or '97, before gas prices started climbing the empire state building. And then of course, global warming hadn't quite manifested itself in such obvious ways at that time either. I think it had maybe started to, but it was nowhere near as severe then as it's gotten. I honestly don't know if I've ever witnessed planet Earth without the effects of global warming. I was born in 1983, late in the year, and I certainly don't remember much about the national weather forecast of that month and 10 days that I was alive that year or the year after then or even the year I went to see GHOSTBUSTERS II in theaters -- 1989 (summer). I might've caught part of a newscast that year. If I did I don't remember it, at least not now. And of course, duh, global cooling is what is happening here in North and South America, but it's not called North and South America warming. North and South America are two of 7 continents and China, part of Asia, just in itself, is bigger than the United States as far as land mass goes. I suppose the United States including Alaska & Hawaii might be able to fit 3 billion people within it and not require a complete infrastructure overhaul...like, ya know, instead of houses that are 2++ feet apart, just build a giant sardine can with beds that everyone lays in 24/7 while connected to a computer......idk....I mean, seriously...I saw a tiny clip from the news as part of some piece invovling China's pollution problem...demonstrating how people often walk around wearing face masks, this person was walking out of a giant building that looked like it was a bank or something, and of course it wasn't busy or she would not have had nearly the freedom of movement she had, and I'm sure that becomes a little of an issue when you have everyone chomping at the bit to get home or to work or whatever....but back to my primary point, China is not just a huge case of overpopulation. It's a HUGE LAND MASS. The contiguous United States is also a HUGE land mass and thankfully we aren't nearly as overpopulated as China, but nonetheless China is bigger. And that's only part of Asia. And then you also have Europe and Africa. All 3 of those continents are on whole different side of the Earth. This will all trickle down to Australia eventually, I would think..........I shudder to think of living in Australia. How do they survive? I mean, it's expensive enough importing goods from overseas to the U.S. Exporting to Australia? In exchange for money, i.e.: capitalism?
Gosh, their citizens must do a good job at harvesting their own grain.
Of course, music CDs and clothing and stuff are probably not in need of being imported.....I know SONY-BMG has a headquarters - division in Australia. Probably ditto for other big players in the Entertainment industry. Oddly enough, a LOT of real good music comes from and to Australia. Dumb as it is, the only example of music from Australia that is coming to mind at the moment is Men At Work, who are not my favorite band or anything near that, although they did crank out some good tunes. They have an odd taste in music tho, it seems...KISS' CD UNMASKED (1980), a serious underperformer in the world at large, did exceedingly well in Australia. And 80's new wave band The Motels had a lot of success in Australia. Actors galore keep popping up from Australia. And again, only one specific example is coming to mind (Nicole Kidman). And there's this newer actor who was in a Coke commercial that aired during the super bowl. Can't remember her name. I don't know if she was in any movies or not. I read about the commercial and watched it for reference, but I don't recognize the face. But then again I hardly ever watch movies. I went back to THE CONJURING and am slowly re-watching it. I rented it when it came out to video initially and got like halfway through it. I'm still working on getting to where i left off at and have to say, it really is an intense movie. I can't say I'd suggest a PG-13 rating vs. an R rating. But I can't say a PG-13 rating would've been unfit. I think the difference between PG-13 and R is kind of minimal. Some kids watch R rated movies without their parents distinct permission before they're in school and others can't even watch PG movies without express permission from their parents until they turn 16. PG-13 movies are often "glamorizing" self destructive behavior that teenagers often engage in, like drinking and casual sex etc.. And of course, being young & free (& dumb, largely) teenagers do those things in excess rather than as needed. Which just increases the destructiveness of it all. Adults do both, legally, but they have to balance that stuff with work, and sometimes family, responsibilities. Even those who are OK with the world at large dying of hunger as long as it doesn't encroach on their personal freedom still have things to do to get their end goal(s) accomplished. And until personal responsibility becomes some archaic thing, so the desire to "settle down" and grow roots will also remain. There does seem to be less personal responsibility ditto with the desire to grow roots etc., but those ideals are not gone. According to some kind of poll that CBS 60 Minutes cited when I was watching said episode, the % of people who think marriage is outdated has only doubled from 1979 to 2009. That's THIRTY YEARS! And you know what double looks like? Ok, ok, I don't remember what the # was, I can't say specifically. But it's less than 30%. So it was a little high considering in 1979. And it hasn't grown nearly as much as you would think in that span of time, given how rampant divorce is. People have hope and good things in mind, somewhat. It doesn't negate the foul stench that permeates the uncircumsised human heart, that many people just blindly accept as part of reality, with nonchalant shrugged shoulders, but it does show that things in this world are not too far gone to be restored. A revival is possible. All things are, with God.
O/O
When the heck did I last have the computer on?
It seems like I might or might not have had it on Friday. I don't even remember what time of day I turned it off last. Somewhere between 9 & 11 p.m.....maybe....seriously not real sure.
But I kid you not ---
Ok , ok.
***MAYBE*** in the early part of Saturday I had the computer on.....I can't swear to that being true or untrue....
HOWEVER
at least 75% of Saturday including sleeping hours was computer free
And I did not have it on at all Sunday NOR did I have it on Monday.
And I didn't turn it on today until close to or after noon.
So that's like.........insanity! No, it's even weirder than that. It's REVERSE insanity! It's something that I'm not sure I'm really comfortable with getting used to...I guess you could call it a 3 days fast? Uh...that's not exactly what I was intending
and it's not like the computer itself is anything special. My smartphone does almost everything my PC does, just not as smoothly.
I think I'm going to forgo signing up for Rhapsody (they've re-braned themselves "Napster", but I say that's a bunch of bullschit bc it says right under it "powered by Rhapsody"....eeeirk!) ANY WAY!------I have Pandora and I don't even use it that much. I've been a-ok with the ads on Spotify. They're generally minimal and/or non invasive. I don't know if they're just that infrequent or they've gotten better at timing them. It used to be kind of an issue, especially on albums where half the songs kinda flow into each other. I think some of it is an improved user experience. Their ads are not intended as a threat. They're intended as a source of revenue for the site and the content providers (artists & producers etc.) on the site. If an ad is annoying, it's probably not doing its job correctly. Car commercials and commercials for household cleaners are ***annoying*** Why? Because I don't give a lick about cleaning my house and I'll be born, dead and ascended 100 times before I ever buy a new car -- OR A USED ONE for that matter! Sure, there may come a day when my sister wants to buy a new car and ask for my input but the hell if some stupid commercial has any bearing on that input. Especially since all car commercials are exact same thing. "Hey, ya know, it actually IS polite to stare!" or "Hey, show your macho side!" or "Be macho AND suave!" or.....something along any combination of those ideas. Stupid. The only thing I ever gleaned from a car commercial is that my sister's 2012 KIA SOUL uses 1 gallon every 30 miles apprx vs. some "super fuel efficient" vehicle that Ford introduced around that same time frame that has a 36 mpg fuel efficiency, which I thought was impressive based on my mom's car at the time, before she decided to give it up, which had a 20 mpg fuel efficiency....granted, that car was made in the late '90s, '96 or '97, before gas prices started climbing the empire state building. And then of course, global warming hadn't quite manifested itself in such obvious ways at that time either. I think it had maybe started to, but it was nowhere near as severe then as it's gotten. I honestly don't know if I've ever witnessed planet Earth without the effects of global warming. I was born in 1983, late in the year, and I certainly don't remember much about the national weather forecast of that month and 10 days that I was alive that year or the year after then or even the year I went to see GHOSTBUSTERS II in theaters -- 1989 (summer). I might've caught part of a newscast that year. If I did I don't remember it, at least not now. And of course, duh, global cooling is what is happening here in North and South America, but it's not called North and South America warming. North and South America are two of 7 continents and China, part of Asia, just in itself, is bigger than the United States as far as land mass goes. I suppose the United States including Alaska & Hawaii might be able to fit 3 billion people within it and not require a complete infrastructure overhaul...like, ya know, instead of houses that are 2++ feet apart, just build a giant sardine can with beds that everyone lays in 24/7 while connected to a computer......idk....I mean, seriously...I saw a tiny clip from the news as part of some piece invovling China's pollution problem...demonstrating how people often walk around wearing face masks, this person was walking out of a giant building that looked like it was a bank or something, and of course it wasn't busy or she would not have had nearly the freedom of movement she had, and I'm sure that becomes a little of an issue when you have everyone chomping at the bit to get home or to work or whatever....but back to my primary point, China is not just a huge case of overpopulation. It's a HUGE LAND MASS. The contiguous United States is also a HUGE land mass and thankfully we aren't nearly as overpopulated as China, but nonetheless China is bigger. And that's only part of Asia. And then you also have Europe and Africa. All 3 of those continents are on whole different side of the Earth. This will all trickle down to Australia eventually, I would think..........I shudder to think of living in Australia. How do they survive? I mean, it's expensive enough importing goods from overseas to the U.S. Exporting to Australia? In exchange for money, i.e.: capitalism?
Gosh, their citizens must do a good job at harvesting their own grain.
Of course, music CDs and clothing and stuff are probably not in need of being imported.....I know SONY-BMG has a headquarters - division in Australia. Probably ditto for other big players in the Entertainment industry. Oddly enough, a LOT of real good music comes from and to Australia. Dumb as it is, the only example of music from Australia that is coming to mind at the moment is Men At Work, who are not my favorite band or anything near that, although they did crank out some good tunes. They have an odd taste in music tho, it seems...KISS' CD UNMASKED (1980), a serious underperformer in the world at large, did exceedingly well in Australia. And 80's new wave band The Motels had a lot of success in Australia. Actors galore keep popping up from Australia. And again, only one specific example is coming to mind (Nicole Kidman). And there's this newer actor who was in a Coke commercial that aired during the super bowl. Can't remember her name. I don't know if she was in any movies or not. I read about the commercial and watched it for reference, but I don't recognize the face. But then again I hardly ever watch movies. I went back to THE CONJURING and am slowly re-watching it. I rented it when it came out to video initially and got like halfway through it. I'm still working on getting to where i left off at and have to say, it really is an intense movie. I can't say I'd suggest a PG-13 rating vs. an R rating. But I can't say a PG-13 rating would've been unfit. I think the difference between PG-13 and R is kind of minimal. Some kids watch R rated movies without their parents distinct permission before they're in school and others can't even watch PG movies without express permission from their parents until they turn 16. PG-13 movies are often "glamorizing" self destructive behavior that teenagers often engage in, like drinking and casual sex etc.. And of course, being young & free (& dumb, largely) teenagers do those things in excess rather than as needed. Which just increases the destructiveness of it all. Adults do both, legally, but they have to balance that stuff with work, and sometimes family, responsibilities. Even those who are OK with the world at large dying of hunger as long as it doesn't encroach on their personal freedom still have things to do to get their end goal(s) accomplished. And until personal responsibility becomes some archaic thing, so the desire to "settle down" and grow roots will also remain. There does seem to be less personal responsibility ditto with the desire to grow roots etc., but those ideals are not gone. According to some kind of poll that CBS 60 Minutes cited when I was watching said episode, the % of people who think marriage is outdated has only doubled from 1979 to 2009. That's THIRTY YEARS! And you know what double looks like? Ok, ok, I don't remember what the # was, I can't say specifically. But it's less than 30%. So it was a little high considering in 1979. And it hasn't grown nearly as much as you would think in that span of time, given how rampant divorce is. People have hope and good things in mind, somewhat. It doesn't negate the foul stench that permeates the uncircumsised human heart, that many people just blindly accept as part of reality, with nonchalant shrugged shoulders, but it does show that things in this world are not too far gone to be restored. A revival is possible. All things are, with God.
O/O
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