Sunday, April 14, 2019

Hypnotize yourself into believing in your own sanity!


The media we choose is probably some sort of self-inflicted form of hypnotism. In a way, that's for the best I feel. Even if we're being hypnotized, at least it's by our own choosing. It just makes me wonder about how often we're hypnotized by other more diabolical forces that we're not aware of. There are for certain thousands if not millions of unseen masterminds trying to take over our minds. Usually, this is through the want of money; producers, advertisers, and of course the news media. 

I've lived my life without television for at least 3 years now, and it's been great. My smartphone still tries to get me involved in shit I don't care about, but I've grown pretty skilled at ignoring most of the nonsense that goes on in the world so I can better focus on my life and the lives of those who I care about. Petty political squabbles don't get me upset; what gets me upset are those who invest so much of their free time getting so angry over politics. They may as well be angry forever. And I say let them be angry; I'll enjoy life enough for all of them and reap the rewards of what is, without question, the dumbest and darkest timeline in human history. It's like we've been cursed by the Mandala Effect. 


In this difficult timeline, we have to hold onto what makes us who we are. Change is a wonderful process, but, if you keep letting the world determine who you are you'll end up becoming someone you won't be able to recognize. Change is great, but too much is chaos. Tread lightly and explode into your next mutation, but be sure that it's of your own doing. Don't follow trends, or take anyone's word that this or that may or may not be worth your time because only you can judge for sure. 



Shudder is GREAT



I don't really like Netflix. My girlfriend has a subscription, but there's not much for someone like me. I have a specific palate for the media I consume, and so I decided to try a few different subscription services. 

Shudder is, so far, GREAT. I love it. I love The Last Drive-In as a weekly semi-live program, but I also love the original content Shudder is producing. "Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich" was loads of fun and it took the material and lore of the Puppet Master series seriously enough. Plus, and maybe more importantly, the puppet designs are great and the kills are fun.

"Critters: A New Binge" is an interesting piece of media. Rather than a movie, it's 10 webisodes around a Critters reboot that feels like a kid-friendly Full Moon like series. It's not really "kid friendly" I guess, but kids could watch this. Even though there's blood and monsters running around, it's not scary at all (but I don't think the original Critters were either honestly). A New Binge leans into the humor and silliness of Critters, and I feel like it's worth checking out. I really hope they make more too. The cast is entirely likable, and their dedication to playing this series as straight as possible even though the premise is totally absurd is commendable. 


And I really can't wait for the upcoming Creepshow series. We got a peak of the Creep, who will be hosting this anthology series and he looks wonderful. As far as I'm concerned Shudder is doing everything right. 


Midnight Pulp & Night Flight Plus are also GREAT



So Shudder is great, no question, but so are Midnight Pulp and Night Flight Plus. They both offer some free content I believe, but I chose to pay my five bucks and subscribe to both to see their full power. I'm really impressed since both networks have a similar feel but still have their own specific focuses and energy. 

I should highlight that Midnight Pulp focuses more on what weird from any generation. Films, anime, and documentaries. Night Flight Plus has that too, but there's a heavy focus on music documentaries, videos, and also comedy. Also, Night Flight Plus feels like it's focuses more on a specific eras, which is a nice touch. 

I have happy to see a good deal of David Liebe Hart (DLH) content on Midnight Pulp. His show, "The Junior Christian Teaching Bible Lesson Program" is both fun and educational. The first episode deals with the connections between the Earth and the advanced Elder Masters on Star Korendor. I was even able to find the map that DLH was showing during the show. And of course, the music was as beatific as ever.



If you want to watch The Junior Christian Teaching Bible Lesson Program it's available on DVD, but I believe there are a few episodes also on YouTube if you search for them. 

On Night Flight Plus I watched for the first time the classic Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo movie, "Forbidden Zone", and boy, what a film to watch while absolutely stoned. It was like I was there with them in the sixth dimension. I have to say though; I've heard for years about how weird this movie was, and it is weird, but it isn't unintelligible. There's definitely a story, and clear character intent, but there's a lot of strange imagery. There's something almost classically Shakespearean about the plot too. Definitely worth a watch if you've never seen it. I'm really happy I finally found time to enjoy this cult classic, even if it was in color.


The Many Jokers




So that new "Joker" movie certainly looks interesting. There's something classically grind-house and Hollywood about it. I'm pretty stoked about it. No matter how it turns out, or what it looks like, I really plan on being there in the theater and absorbing this new interpretation of such a classic character. 


It's fun having so many different version of the same character. This new one specifically carries a soft murderous vibe not too disimilar to that of Marvelous Mervo from "Blood Harvest". Even the make-up is similar, so I wonder if that was intentional. 



I think it's a pretty interesting take on the Joker. It's not his psychosis or toxic chemicals that turn him into a murder clown, or even the mob and Batman, it's just society being shitty to him. It's not "one bad day" it's just his life that lead him to it. Or at least, that's what I gleamed from the trailer. 


There's also a new Joker on "Gotham" (the Fox television series) just called "J" and he looks very strange and sickly. I don't watch the series is about, or what the build up to this reveal was, but it looks pretty fun. Just another interesting interpretation of the Joker. I'm sure they've been working on this character for several seasons so I hope the fans have enjoyed the transformation. 



Not sure about this version of the Joker though...


TINY GIANT SPIDER INVASION



I met a little spider friend the other night. I think it was a Black House Spider, but I don't really know. I had planned on taking it outside in a cup or something, but my cat chased it off before I could. To my knowledge, this spider still stalks my home. 


Sons of the Desert Tent #1 Meeting


 So my best pal and lodge brother went to our first Sons of the Desert meeting this week. The Sons are an association of Laurel & Hardy fans who watch movies, cartoons, and talk trivia about the classic comedy team and other topics. 

We wore our fezzes. We thought there'd be more members wearing them, but we us there were three fezzes present. I think we inspired other members to get their own fez from Fez-O-Rama. It was a nice time. The films we watched were on 16MM print film (I think) and it was as clear as any blu-ray. We were pretty impressed by it. 



The location we met in was a beautiful church in midtown. The meeting room had this cabinet that was donated to the church by The Wicked Witch of the West herself. What an interesting artifact to bump into in this secret society meeting. 



You can't tell by this picture, but this room was packed with Laurel & Hardy fans. There must've been like 40 people in this small room. 


Afterwards, on my way home, there was pretty strong rainfall and I got caught in it. I ended up getting soaked. I took an accidental selfie since I had my smartphone in my hand as I was rushing to the LIRR train. 


Oh and I should also mention, my lodge brother got me a LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP  to the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society. It's a nice thing to be a part of, but I haven't taken advantage of the online message-board yet.



Thrift Shop Gets


Some recent thrift shop purchases

Batman Forever Two-Face glass cup ($2)


Rudy Giuliani voodoo doll ($1)


Hula Girl with a spring waist ($1)


Sakura Matsuri Washington D.C., 2019

Some friends and I took a trip yesterday to Washington D.C. so we could enjoy the Sakura Matsuri festival. It was fine I guess. We were bummed that there were no cherry blossoms blooming. The festival may have been a week late or so. Still, the food was good and the company was better. Today I woke up sore and exhausted but I'd go again for sure. 














Putting Stuff Into Storage

The only bad thing about being a collector is running out of space. Like the changing seasons I often put some stuff away so that new stuff can take it's place for a time. I'm always rotating my collection to suit my mood. 



Below are a lot of the items that I own that are now currently in storage. Many of these items I have owned all of my life. 









































Anyway, until next time!