Five Things you may not know about Slenderman

     My thoughts on the recent 'Slenderman Stabbing' are already a part of this blog. In my research, I've seen a lot of the same things: Slenderman is an internet meme, he's scary, etc. Not useful info. Now, I'm no expert on Slenderman, but I do enjoy the site that's cited most in tandem with him. So, here's some "facts" about the man in black.


5. He's got a nickname.
     "Slendy" to be precise. He's been around since 2009, and the internet is already very familiar with him, A nickname was inevitable.

Source

4. There are spinoffs.
     Trenderman, a metrosexual version of Slenderman, showed up in the last five years, due to a manikin having Slenderman's faceless visage.

     There's also Splendorman, whom I know zip about, except he dresses like this:

Resource

3. There are several movies about him.
     There's several different internet documentaries about dealing with Slenderman, but that's not what I mean. I mean honest to God full length motion pictures. The Slenderman "Official" Movie  [quotations mine] which hasn't been released yet, and a full length one that has been released on youtube. I don't know if either are good. Peruse at your own risk.


2. He has a single creator.
     His name is Eric Knudson. He posted the original images that sparked the rest of the Slenderman fandom under blogger name, Victor Surge. He has a gallery on Devianrtart.

"One of two recovered photographs from the Stirling City Library blaze. Notable for being taken the day which fourteen children vanished and for what is referred to as “The Slender Man”. Deformities cited as film defects by officials. Fire at library occurred one week later. Actual photograph confiscated as evidence. – 1986, photographer: Mary Thomas, missing since June 13th, 1986."

1. He's not all that scary.
     "But Rebecca" you say "he kidnaps kids! And he's got tentacles (sometimes!) and no face! That's scary!"
The concept of Slenderman is scary. It's a case of overexposure. Slenderman is in games, pictures, stories, and videos. He's a costume you can buy. He has a nickname I call it the 'Freddy Krueger Effect': become overly familiar with a villain, and they're less scary, no matter what they've done. The shock wears off.

     Frankly, there are much scarier monsters on the internet, let alone reality. This nearly Cthulu-like figure was turned into a joke. Until now. Now he is a sad reminder that children are just as susceptible to mental illness, bad parenting, bad genetics, and bad decisions.

    

Five interesting scientific articales

5. Is robot-on-robot violence bad?
     An article from Science Daily.com discusses the ethical implications of drones and fully robotized soldiers fighting upcoming wars.

Leaving aside the troubling issues raised by Bunnie Rabbot.

     Or rather, it discusses that its not too early to discuss the ethics involved.  Who is at fault when a robot kills a human? If robots only kill other robots, is there any downside? How will this change the concepts of war? Questions that need to be addressed by better minds than mine.

4. Asthmatic? Live with someone who is? READ THIS.
     Researchers are working on a 'freeze clean' method to reduce asthma causing allergens. "The process deactivates proteins found in pet dander and can remove smoke residue and other allergy-causing substances. The freezing process also kills dust mites embedded in carpets and mattresses, which feed off human skin particles and are a major cause of asthma."

I searched for 'frozen bug' and found this.

Using Mr. Freeze's tech for good? Sign me up!


3. Learn early, keep your brain alive!
     This article delineates how before puberty your brain is an amazing device that will stay better longer if you master a task. For the rest of us...tough.

Look at that smug pink bastard.

     So teach your kids how to do something well and it'll make them smarter. I feel like there's an implied 'duh' in there.

2. Diamonds everywhere
       Remember a while back when they found a planet made of diamond? No? Well, get ready to not-remember a lot more: there may be a ton of those suckers.

     Don't go hopping in your commercial spacecraft just yet: they're all super far away, even by space standards. But now 'like a diamond in the sky' is a lot more meaningful. Isn't that just as cool?

....Nope, I want giant space diamonds too.
   

1. Rich? Poor? You're gonna get cancer.
     Sorry to bring you down with the last article, but its important. This article discusses how wealth distribution and cancer are linked. Or rather, what type of cancer. People of all financial levels get it: but the rich are more likely to get "melanoma, thyroid, other non-epithelial skin, and testis" cancer. Whereas cancer related to "Kaposi sarcoma and cancers of the larynx, cervix, penis, and liver" are for us poor types.

     Just something to think about. And now, to cheer you up, marshmallows with faces.

So, why didn't I snap?

When I was 11, I was having a rough time.

     It was my first year of middle school. I got beaten up so badly on one occasion that the cops had to be called. I transferred schools between grades since the school admitted it couldn't do anything to protect me from the people who harassed me.

     It was also the time I discovered Stephen King. More specifically, Stephen King's IT. A story where a child-murdering shapeshifter stalks his victims via magic and mortal agents, including other children. He promised vengeance on the protagonists if the bullies in the story killed for him.

     Starting to sound familiar?

     Yet I didn't poison a kid to try and impress Pennywise. I didn't go into the sewers seeking his approval. If a bullied victim like me didn't go bad from reading this story after abuse heaped on abuse, why?

     It's not because I couldn't tell the difference between fantasy and reality (as children of that age can. Especially when the history of the myth is easy to find). Its because I'm not a sociopath or a psychopath. "It's weird that I didn't feel remorse." Said one of the attackers. This is classic sociopath mentality. It is terrifying. Far more terrifying than Slenderman and his associated mythos.

     Sometimes upbringing has little to do with it. Perfectly normal families produce people with no conscious. We have no indicators of the girl's home life yet, so I can't assume this was the case. But something was clearly wrong in their hardware. Normal kids, even kids who read gruesome horror stories, do NOT attempt to murder other kids. If they did, I would not be here. I would be in jail or dead.
   
    What can we do? Where can we turn? Who can we blame?

     The attackers. They knew the difference between right and wrong. They chose to kill for an icon. They are not the first to claim this. If they hadn't found Slenderman, it would have been for Charles Manson, or Freddy Krueger, or God.

     Funny, I can't find any examples of people trying to kill for Freddy or Jason or the boogieman. Just real people and God.

     Take from that what you will.

     

Slenderman, Creepypasta, and what really matters

Two 12 year olds tried to kill another 12 year old because they wanted to become Slenderman’s ‘Proxys’ and live with him in his murder mansion.

The victim of the stabbing survived, thank God.

One of the girls says Slenderman watches her and reads her mind and can teleport. These are seriously disturbed preteens that found something to feed their psychosis. If it wasn’t Creepypasta and Slenderman it would have been Freddy Krueger or a Faerie. 

We’re about to get a wave of people blaming Creepypasta for murder, much like past horror movies have been blamed for inspiring killers. Creepypasta will be talked about on talk shows and Fox News will debate on how it’s ruining the youth. There will be anti-pasta movements, fringed and religious in nature.

There are two things that actually matter in all the coming insanity:

ONE: These girls are made to take responsibility for their actions and are given the help they obviously need.

TWO: The victim recovers successfully.

That’s it. It does’t matter if Creepypasta and horror is badmouthed or ‘they’ try to censor it or demonize it. It doesn’t matter if Slenderman is given the blame, he’s fucking fictional and thus gives no shits. All that matters is that one girl almost died and that all three need help.

Remember this.

Five Cat Facts

     Based on painstaking research of owning several cats (not at once), and having friends who also own cats.

This is Harley. She is the best cat ever. Yes, better than yours. 

5. Sometimes, they lick.
   
    Cats are famous for not being dogs. They don't bark, wag, or lick faces. OR DO THEY? I'm my travels, I've found several cats, including Harley, who just LOVE to lick. She likes faces and feet particularly. If you let her, she'll sandpaper your face clean off.

     The problem with this is it can dull the barbs on your cat's tongue. Wonder why older cats look so much scruffier than their younger selves? Their smooth tongues aren't as good at grooming. Those barbs are there for a reason. So if you're cat is a licker, let her have a few slurps, then stop. Cat saliva isn't good for your skin, and it can damage their tongues. Don't let your cat lick you!


4. They aren't all snobs.


     Harley was the first good example of this, but now two of my friends have cats that have confirmed it: some cats really like people. Many cats will hide when guests come over, that's true. But more and more I'm meeting cats who love visitors.

      Harley is my best example: once we took her to Grizz's house to meet my inlaws and their dog. She'd never been there, never met these people, and never been around a dog before, so we were a little worried. Harley came upstairs, took one look around, and thought 'Well, this is happening.' She then strutted around, cuddled with everyone and ignored the dog (who already lives with cats). She didn't even freak when Bahamute accidentally trapped her in the reclining couch. That is one cool cat!

     My friends new cats are much the same: people don't bother them, they love cuddles, and they'll lavish attention on anyone. So not all cats are fridge stranger-phobics.

3. They have favorite people.

     From the moment we saw her, Harley picked Bahamute as her favorite. She jumped into his arms and cuddled with him, ignoring me and winning him over. I'm not saying she doesn't love me: she just like the tomcat better. And that's fine: that's how pretty much every animal do.

     Cats will spend more time with their favorite person, even if someone else feeds them and changes their litter and I'm starting to sound like a bitter parent, aren't I? NEXT TOPIC!

2. They make weird noises.

1. They're smarter than you think.

     I don't mean 'They predict earthquakes' or 'They have the vocabulary of a small child' kind of ways either. I mean simply this: my cat knows my routine. I go to work at 9:50 Monday through Friday, with an occasional variation. Harley sleeps at the foot of our bed, and will crawl out when I do for snuggles and noms. Then she crawls back into bed while I make lunches and write. The INSTANT I think 'Time to wake Bahamute up' she crawls onto my chest and nuzzles my face. This is a DAILY event. She knows when I go to work and has devised a way to keep me around for snuggles instead. That is a smart, and very manipulative cat.

     Don't think it's because she likes me better: she does the same thing to prevent my husband from leaving the house to pick me up. She just wants SOMEONE giving her attention, and doesn't care where she gets it.

You harlot.

     Cats, like dogs, are smart enough to know when you're getting ready to leave, or when you get up and go through your pre-work routine you're about to vanish for several hours. It shouldn't be that astonishing. The difference is, the dog is happy to see you whereas the cat either doesn't care, is angry, or will cuddle non-stop. But they do know.

Five Cool Netflix Documentaries

Wanna learn something? Put these in your queue (or bogart a friend's Netflix).

5. Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the Horror Film

     I didn't forget the Oxford comma, the filmmakers did. That's my sole complaint about this documentary. It's comprehensive, funny, and touches on a LOT of classics. A good overview of the genera and how it changed over history. I'm gonna re watch it as soon as I get half a minute of free time...


4. Best Worst Movie

     Some of you may already be familiar with the subject of this documentary, Troll 2. It's about Goblins, and it's not a sequel. This thing fails before it gets out of the gate. But what works is this documentary made by the kid who starred, mostly about the man who played his dad.

     George Hardy is a dentist, and apparently the nicest man in the world.Mr. Rogers levels of nice, people. Even his ex-wife couldn't find a bad thing to say about him. Then he stumbled into a cattle call for Troll 2, and history was made.
     This isn't just about Mr. Hardy: it's about the fandom that has sprung up around Troll 2. The conventions, the movie nights, the utter obsession: this stuff makes me look normal. Or at least at the top of a bell curve. Take a look!

3. Cropsey

     As an Amature Urban Folklorist (aka, I read a lot of Dr. Jan Harold Brunvand's work), this documentary about a legendary killer lurking in an abandoned asylum caught my attention. What held it was the in-depth look at the media and the court of public justice regarding the actual murders in the area, and the man convicted of them. Was he a modern Cropsey? Was he an innocent scapegoat? Watch and see what you think.

2. Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

     Why another horror documentary after Nightmares in Red, White and Blue? Because this one is about my favorite scary movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and the resultant franchise. Plus, it's FOUR HOURS LONG. There's over 100 interviews with key players like Robert Englund, Bob Shaye, Heather Langencamp, Wes Craven, and basically everyone who was anyone to the franchise.

Except this nameless loser.

     This is THE definitive horror documentary, folks. Granted, I'm only up to Nightmare on Elm Street Five: The Dream Child, and have an hour and a half to go. I'm planning on buying the 2 disk DVD set, which has EVEN MORE STUFF. So excited.

1. Blackfish

     Like Sea World? Like Free Willy? Like smiling young people in swimsuits? Yeah, you're gonna be sad after watching this. But you need to be sad. Short version? Killer Whales are called that for a reason. But here's the twist: a whale has NEVER been known to kill a human in the wild. JUST in captivity.
     It's a harsh look into Sea World, and places like it. This has graphic and very disturbing imagery. Blood is shed, and not all of it's human. People break down in this. I urge you, if you only watch one documentary on this list, MAKE IT THIS ONE. No joke, folks. None at all.