When the notes are sour

So, over 800,000 homes in SE Michigan have lost power due to the crazy high winds Wednesday.

My house joined those numbers at 7am today, loooooooooooooong after the winds were over. Right now there's no estimate of when it'll be back on. Many of my readers and friends are in the exact same boat, so I'm not here for sympathy.

I can see my house from here!

The outage is so large, other states are getting involved. Warming centers are opening, as the temperatures are still in the 30s.

Both Bahamute and I are working today, warm and charging various devices. This evening and tomorrow we'd set aside for a break. Bahamute was planning on playing the new Zelda game all day, while I was going to catch up on some videos, books, and laundry.

This man is a genius, and he has a new review out.

Worst case senario we may prevail upon Bahamutes's brother and brother in law for a few hours of light if the outage lasts. Our animals will be fine for the moment, and I can cook with a gas stove very easily. I can read by candle light, as I literally have 500+ books (not including single-issue comics).

There was time now!

This is just a taste of the power and fury of nature. How easily we forget that at any moment the world around us can literally come crashing down. The ocean can take out destruction-proof cruisers. Winds whirl and kill. Even lakes can swallow ships and sailors.

Amid the temporary loss of our luxuries and trinkets we forget; the world takes people whole. 

Five Nights, No days

Chances are I'm not the first person you know who's talked about the horror franchise Five Nights at Freddy's. Spawning from a single simple point and click jumpscare game, creator Scott Cawthon has created an empire, spawning four sequels, an RPG, 3 books, an upcoming movie, children's toys, clothes, and a cottage industry of  fan created content.

This cutie is Mangle. I keep her head on my shelf, and she lives in unending pain!

In case you live exclusively in reality, the TLDR is this: you are a night guard at a Chucky Cheese style restaurant, Freddy Fazber's pizzeria. Your offical job is to watch the resturant, but unofficially your job is to keep the animatronics from stuffing you into a spare suit, IE killing you.

Also there's a cupcake with eyeballs. We don't get it either.

What is the draw? The first game was beyond simple, the horror mere jump scares (a pet peeve of mine), and the game play graphics were good, but not amazing. So what got people so interested? What got me, a non-gamer, and somebody who's never actually played FNAF into this?

A lot of the interest came from Markiplier and other youtuber gamers playing and getting spooked. Word of mouth spread, and then more games, increasing in complexity and plot, were piled on. The graphics got more...interesting.

This is Nightmare Bonnie. He's not even the scariest animatronic!

For me, the lore is the draw. Beyond the simple jump-scares there's a rich backstory of child murder, ghosts, the undead, familial strife, revenge, and the psychopathic genius who spawned literal decades of pain and misery.

All available at your local Toys R Us. Seriously.

The story is...complicated. MatPat has put out many videos with theories, which are helpful, but not perfect. Even with five games there are a lot of unanswered questions, timeline inconsistencies, and noodle incidents. The book, The Silver Eyes, takes place in an alternate timeline, as will the movie, but they still add pieces to the puzzle. The horror and mystery mix is more than enough to keep me watching videos of others playing, reading the (albeit mediocre) books, and seeing the movie.

Something about the uncanny valley mixing with the supernatural. I can't put my finger on it, but the mix feels fresh and exciting. I've always been drawn to tales of lost innocence. Even as I write this an episode of Law and Order SVU is playing in the background. Different kind of horror, different kind of loss.

Ultimately, if you're a fan of horror, you'll probably find some aspect of FNAF to like, be it the characters, the games, or just the imagery. If you like mysteries with semi-opened ended status, it may also be for you.

If you don't like monsters under the bed, or at least in the closet, stay away.

Ha ha ha, ho ho ho, and a couple of WTFs

Yet another out of genera Oz adaptaion is on its way! Maybe! Better start holding your breath!

 I'm not going to get excited, upset, or anything about the Oz adaptation. If it ever sees the light (no producer is even attached yet). There have been dozens, if not hundreds of Oz adaptations. It's even been given the horror treatment before, in short stories, an RPG game, and a comic.

If it's good, we'll get another movie to put with Tin Man or the newest Wiz. If it's bad it can go with Dorothy and the Witches of Oz, and Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return.

The best line in the film is a shitty gay joke.

Oz is like Wonderland; there are countless adaptations, there will be countless adaptations, and throwing a dark spin on it will always be trendy. The MGM adaptation is my favorite movie, and direct all remake attempts on that have failed.

So why am I blogging about it now? So that in the years to come when casting comes out and trailers, and even the movie, I can look back and say: "Huh, I'm way too involved in this stuff."

I need to use my time better.

And finish my DHMIS post...

I'm not so good with dead Dad movies

Spoilers for Logan ahead.

So, I saw Logan yesterday. And as I suspected, both Xavier and Logan died.

You could call them "ex-men!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHEVERYTHING HURTS

At one point in the movie Logan calls Xavier his Dad (as part of a cover up). Soon after, the Professor dies, killed by a Logan clone. When Logan is impaled by the same clone and dies, Laura (X-23) breaks down, calling him Daddy and full-on snot bubble crying. He dies sorta-happy, having felt familial love. Then Laura quotes Shane over his grave and the film ends.

Sorry, I need a moment.

So not 1 but 2 father figures bite it, killed by their metaphorical family. As most of my readers know (since I know most of you personally) my Dad died after a short, unexpected, brutal fight with a heart problem in 2009. I was with him when he died. I can't bring myself to talk much about it. The film Inception triggered me into surprised tears when Cillian Murphy's dad died in his dream, as it was so much like when mine did, minus the heartfelt speech. My Dad was incapable of speaking when he died.

I tried to get a picture, but it didn't work, and I'm not trying a second time.

Huh. The dad was played by Pete Postlethwaite. I like him. He's dead too, btw. Cancer in 2011.

Jesus, this is an uncomfortable blog.

The point is, I was still hit pretty hard. I'd have been sad no matter what, it was a great movie, and I'll miss Jackman's Wolverine. The character had a fantastic arc, even when his movies were only so-so. I get it; 17 years playing a part, you want to move on. And it was a fantastic finish.

The last time I had a movie hit me was The Good Dinosaur, which not only had a dead dad that was NOT in the ads, it had a scene where the Dad looks like he's back, and it's revealed to be a cruel trick of the mind. I've had that happen. IT IS

NOT

FUCKING

OKAY.

So, even after 8 years, I'm not so good with dead Dad movies. I don't know if I ever will be. But at least Logan was worth my tears. The Good Dinosaur wasn't.

Seriously.

Fuck that movie.

Trauma high five if you agree!

TLDR; Logan's good, I cried because I'm deeply traumatized, still 10/10. Fuck The Good Dinosaur.