Social Isolation (Day 2)

I use this photo for thumbnails.

Day 2.

Other than the grocery stores being closer to empty than full, my life hasn't changed very much. Don't worry, that doesn't mean I'm not taking this seriously. I am. If anything, it just speaks to how much social isolation I do on a daily basis regardless of pandemic. Like I said, I'm a homebody.

For those unaware, I've been doing a James Bond video series on my Youtube channel where I watch the films, for the first time, and then dive into what I thought of them. It has been ridiculously fun. Originally, I was going to release them in quick succession, leading to the release of "No Time To Die" in April. But the virus had other plans.

The film has been pushed to November and I couldn't be more thankful. I quickly realized I had bitten off more than I could chew. To be fair, I had originally planned to just record my thoughts on the films after watching them, no footage, and minimal editing. If you've seen any of the series, that is certainly not the case any more. They take a lot of time. The first two weeks, I was spending 80 hours, between watching the films, filming, and then editing. It was far more of a project than I originally thought.

Hence why the delay was a blessing.

My last video in the series was "Diamonds are Forever", which also happens to be the final official Connery entry. I'll be taking a little break (only in publishing, I actually just filmed three this week) and releasing the Roger Moore years sometime next month. Then I'll release the Dalton/Brosnan era sometime this summer. All will then be followed up by the Craig era leading up to "No Time To Die" on November 25th.

It stretches things out a decent amount but I figure this will allow more people to potentially discover the series.

I've had a fun time with these films but there are definitely lulls, which can make the motivation wane when it comes to devoting somewhere between 10-20 depending on the video. Especially when I'm doing it more to catalog my own tastes rather than trying to produce content that a bunch of people watch. Don't get me wrong, I'd love a more significant audience, but my videos usually only reach double digits so I'm not delusional with thoughts of grandeur.

If you're curious about the series, here's the playlist. I've really loved doing these and the playlist will be updated, leading up to the release of the new Bond film in November.

 

Social Isolation (Day 1)

This is a random photo from My Pictures.

Wow, I've been gone from here for a while.

I figured, with all the self-quarantining that's going on, what better time to sit at the computer at just spew some thoughts out.

I'm mainly doing this because I'm sick of all the time I've wasted reading vitriolic Social Media comments. I find myself going down the rabbit hole multiple times a day and its never productive. It just makes me angry and raises my stress levels even higher. And I love writing so I may as well write. Crazy concept, right?

What do I even want to talk about? Well, I figure I'll probably write about different things every day. No structure whatsoever, just a bit of a steam of consciousness in order to maintain my sanity. I need a space away from Fiction, where I can just write without restraint. That's what this will be.

First off, I'm not sick. At least not yet. Being in Colorado, I'm not exactly at a crazy epicenter. It's still in the early days here and I don't know anyone personally that has the virus. Eventually, I'm sure I'll get it and I'm sure it'll be miserable but it's okay, I'll survive. But I'm not making the selfish mistake that many young people are by refusing quaratine protocols and still trying to live their social lives.

Look, I get it.

Not everyone is a homebody. There is a type of person that gets more depressed the more time they spend by themselves/indoors. I am most definitely not one of those people. This is my time to shine. Damn near everything I do involves being at home because many of my hobbies can be done from home: watching movies, playing video games, writing literally anything, editing videos. This is my time to shine. So keep an eye on this space if you want to read some randomness this Quarantine.

Random Thoughts for February 2019

It’s been over 4 years since the series finale of How I Met Your Mother. I’ve watched one episode since. That’s how bad the finale was. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts, it’s truly terrible. No one in the cast defends it anymore and one of the creators changed his tune regarding the episode. And theres a good reason for that: it just wasn’t good. They finally presented us with a great Mother in the prior season, which they promptly kill off in order to make Ted actually end up with Robin. Ugh. It’s infuriating even to write out. The task of creating a mother that was actually likable was so monumental, yet they fucking nailed it. Like, I can’t believe how well the actual mother reveal was. So why the fuck was that not the finale? Why were we left with the single most dissatisfying piece of television in history? Note how I said that I’ve watched one episode since. I even remember the ep: it was the Slutty Pumpkin. An episode that is near the top of damn near every favorite episodes list... and it lost all its luster. The finale had ruined even that episode. So what chance does the rest of the series have?

I struggle a lot with writing these days. Expectations are a difficult thing to surpass and sometimes stress just gets the better of me. I've tried to combat this by participating in other endeavors but none are quite as fruitful as getting a good story out. I have a very stern goal for the year that I refuse to fail at, but I won't get into that now. Just know that just because my writing isn't out in the world, doesn't mean it's not happening.

I’m in love with Kingdom Hearts 3. It’s my first Kingdom Hearts game and I am absolutely blown away. The world is absolutely beautiful, with some truly breathtaking moments. I honestly can’t believe just how good this game is. I figured it wouldn’t live up to the hype but dammit, it does tenfold. This game really came at the right time for me. I love how weird and unlike anything I’ve played the game is. I'm only in the Toy Story world right now, but I can't imagine things going anywhere but up.

I can’t stop listening to the "Into The Spider-verse" soundtrack. It’s phenomenal. I feel like this is going to be a lot of kids’ entry into hip hop and it’s a damn fine one. Truly one of the catchiest albums I've listened to in years. Hell, I even listen to the score on occasion. That’s what I call spot on music choices. In fact, I'm pretty sure my repeated play of this album has made me like the film a little more (which I still loved but wasn't entirely blown away by on first viewing).

I've been reading the very beginning of "The Amazing Spider-man" run. Stan Lee's death finally made me decide that I needed to read every bit of Spider-man that he's produced. And I'm glad I have. I love the wholesomeness of the 60's setting. And it's absolutely insane to see just how strong Spider-man's Rogues Gallery is just after 20 issues. They've already introduced: Doc Ock, Chameleon, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Green Goblin, Sandman, Vulture, and I'm sure someone else who I've forgotten. It's just insane that he has so many good villains, so quickly. Definitely recommend reading for anyone that loves Spider-man. I'm not sure how far I'll read (there are 700 total comics in the series and there's just no way I'm going through all of them) but I'm sure I'll read the first 150 then pick and choose from there. Either way, it's been a blast to do.

Apologies for neglecting the website lately. My creative side is pretty firmly planted in my YouTube channel. I still haven’t advertised it, so it’s not like it’s doing crazy good numbers, but it’s insanely fun for me to do. I just love talking about Horror. So if you want to keep up with whatever I’m doing, that’s the place to do it. I release a new video every Friday.

2018 Roundup

Here's my incredibly long yearly wrap-up post. I always like to do these just as a good way end the year on a reflective note. And since my life is so very entertainment oriented, I may as well shoot for those. I set quite a few goals for myself, most of them some form of media. So I wanted to read 12 books and watch 150 movies I'd never seen before. Did I actually manage? Apparently I did. I don't know how but I did.

Here are just a few of the books, video games, and movies I read/played/watched this year.


Video Games

Completed Games

For those curious, I consider a sports game (completed) when I've completed a season of the full career mode. I did at least 2 in the games I played this year, so I counted them. Otherwise, how else can you really judge a sports game?

• Telltale Batman S2
• South Park: The Fractured But Whole
• Far Cry 5
• Dying Light
• Super Mario Land 3D
• ABZU
• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Spider-man
• UFC 3
• Madden '19
• MLB The Show
• Jurassic World Evolution

Favorite Video Games

1. Red Dead Redemption 2
2. Spider-man
3. God of War
4. South Park: The Fractured But Whole
5. Batman: The Enemy Within

Books

• City of Thieves
• Paddle Your Own Canoe
• Stephen King ...On Writing
• The Art of War
• Like Brothers
• John Dies At The End
• Jurassic Park
• The Lost World
• The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
• Own the Day, Own Your Life
• Uncommon Type
• The Outsider

Movies

This could easily change in a years time, as is the nature with favorite film's list but dammit, I'm gonna try anyway.

Favorite Films

1. Halloween
2. Hereditary
3. Mission Impossible: Fallout
4. Avengers: Infinity War
5. Eighth Grade
6. A Quiet Place
7. Isle of Dogs
8. Ant Man and the Wasp
9. I, Tonya
10. The Incredibles 2

Honorable Mentions: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Deadpool 2, Ready Player One, Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse

Here are the films, released in 2018 that I watched this year.

New 2018 Films:

1. The Cloverfield Paradox
2. Game Over, Man
3. A Quiet Place
4. Ready Player One
5. Avengers: Infinity War
6. Black Panther
7. Baywatch
8. The Clapper
9. Game Night
10. Deadpool 2
11. Infinity Baby
12. Kodachrome
13. I, Tonya
14. Maze Runner: The Death Cure
15. Ant-Man and the Wasp
16. The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer
17. Super Troopers 2
18. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
19. Rampage
20. Pacific Rim: Uprising
21. Tomb Raider
22. The Hitman’s Bodyguard
23. Red Sparrow
24. Eighth Grade
25. Permanent
26. The Package
27. Hereditary 
28. The Strangers: Prey at Night
29. American Animals
30. Mayhem
31. Terrifier 
32. Uncle Drew
33. Revenge
34. Nappily Ever After
35. Truth or Dare
36. Apostle
37. Malevolent
38. Halloween ‘18
39. Splice
40. Summer of ‘84
41. Incredibles 2
42. Isle of Dogs
43. Mandy
44. Mission Impossible: Fallout
45. Blockers
46. Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse
47. Hellraiser Judgment
48. Venom
49. Sorry To Bother You
50. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

And then these are the films from any other year that I just happened to finally watch this year. I've made sure to bold the films that really stood out to me. (It's funny how those numbers worked out, eh?)

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man Tell No Tales
2. Goon 2: Last of the Enforcers 
3. The Shape of Water
4. Captain Underpants: Epic First Movie
5. The Disaster Artist
6. Blade Runner 2049
7. Thor: Ragnorak
8. Ladybugs
9. Elysium
10. Chappie
11. Jeff, Who Lives At Home
12. Lady Bird
13. Coco
14. Creep 2
15. Deep Red
16. Phenomena
17. Just Buried
18. Mystery Team
19. It’s a Disaster
20. Small Apartments
21. Cherry
22. Killing Gunther
23. Fits and Starts
24. A Bad Idea Gone Wrong
25. Wish Upon
26. Gamers
27. 47 Meters Down
28. Tragedy Girls
29. The House
30. Happy Death Day
31. Hail, Caesar!
32. Atomic Blonde
33. Kingsman: The Golden Circle
34. Frances Ha!
35. Sicario
36. Geostorm
37. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl
38. The Legend of Tarzan
39. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
40. Free Fire
41. Hell or High Water
42. Three Billboards outside Ebing, Missouri
43. Joy
44. Dunkirk
45. Battle of the Sexes
46. Passengers
47. Colossal
48. Mother!
49. The Darkest Hour
50. The Love Witch
51. The Mummy
52. Ghost in the Shell
53. American Made
54. Friend Request
55. Perks of Being a Wallflower
56. Wanderlust
57. Hostiles
58. Stepfather
59. Stepfather 2
60. Stepfather 3
61. The Way, Way Back
62. Saturday the 14th
63. Fist Fight
64. Starry Eyes
65. American Assassin
66. Mom and Dad
67. The Shallows
68. Thoroughbreds
69. Bone Tomahawk
70. Please Stand By
71. Murder on the Orient Express
72. The Proposition
73. Tourist Trap
74. Deathgasm
75. Murder Party
76. Beyond the Gates
77. Raw
78. Train to Busan
79. Society
80. Even Lambs Have Teeth
81. Magic
82. Cannibal Holocaust
83. The Void
84. The Ritual
85. The Devil’s Candy
86. The Evil Within
87. The Killing of a Sacred Deer
88. Demons
89. Humanoids from the Deep
90. LEGO Ninjago
91. The Peanuts Movie
92. Phantasm: Ravager
93. Prancer 
94. Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead
95. Catwoman
96. Christmas Evil
97. Better Watch Out
98. Phantasm Oblivion
99. Annie Hall
100. The Exorcist III

But that's all 2018 stuff. What about 2019?

150 new films and 12 new books were great goals for this year. However, I think those goals have come and gone. There were times where I just felt stressed trying to finish the goal. In the end it works out to nearly 13 movies a month. That's 1 film every 2 to 3 days. It wouldn’t be prudent to do it again. So I’m giving myself something more simple. All of these would be fresh first time experiences. (Examples that I have no intention of keeping to, just ones I came up with quickly to help formulate my goal)

• 10 Classic Films

(North by Northwest, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Snatch, Mean Streets, Gone With The Wind, LA Confidential, The Godfather 2, Spirited Away)

• 10 Video Games

(Bioshock, Resident Evil 2, Final Fantasy ??, Earthbound, Uncharted, God of War, Borderlands 2, Ori and the Blind Forest)

• 10 TV Shows

(The Sopranos, Deadwood, Ozarks, Fargo, American Horror Story, Bojack Horseman, The Expanse, House of Cards, Vikings, The Path,)

Those are just some fun things that I think will help me evolve as a person without being too confined. Notice, there’s no books this year. That’s mainly because I think I’ll do better without that number hanging over me. I found myself avoiding comic books because they wouldn’t count towards my goal and were therefore “wasting time.” Which is stupid. I love comic books.

So another big thing about this upcoming year, as well as this end of this past year, has been my Youtube channel. Now, don't get the wrong idea, it's not this massive phenomenon. In fact, I don't advertise it at all which isn't very good for those types of things. But I hate advertising and would rather have a nice creative outlet than something that I just whore out to squeeze out a couple more eyeballs. But the plan is to release a new video every Friday for the entire year. I have no idea what will come of it post-2019 but I've made that promise to myself at least.

So this should be a fun year, albeit a busy one. I plan on continuing to do what I do career-wise and just look for advancement where I see it. The entire goal of this upcoming year is to be a happier person.

I think I'm off to a good start in my weird kind of way.

31 Days of Halloween - Video Edition

I'm sure you've been wondering where the hell my "31 Days of Halloween" has been this year... well here we go!

I've actually been producing videos for my Youtube channel in the same way that I used to in writing form. It's been a lot of fun (and a whole lot of work) but in the end I believe it's been well worth it in terms of exposing me to new films and helping hone my editing. Unlike other years, nearly every movie featured is a first time watch for me. That's added an extra element in difficulty but has been so much fun discovering new films.

I'll come back at the end of the month to update this list but otherwise, just check out the playlist below which will be updated daily. Thanks!

Day 1: "The Meg" - https://youtu.be/lr-Kz24mBCA Day 2: "Hereditary" - https://youtu.be/fHhmwlLCK-w Day 3: "Tourist Trap" - https://youtu.be/OLKQfmTgA_M Day 4: "Raw" - https://youtu.be/UdoKOoKApOY Day 5: "Mayhem" - https://youtu.be/wAZb3n7NFwQ Day 6: "The Gate" - https://youtu.be/xPx91fBMhxI Day 7: "Train to Busan" - https://youtu.be/mX8ceNH0VVU Day 8: "Truth or Dare" - https://youtu.be/A_YeY2kFQ7w Day 9: "Society" - https://youtu.be/Y27TlD35G8I Day 10: "Cannibal Holocaust" - https://youtu.be/GYBuPukvnCQ Day 11: "Deathgasm" - https://youtu.be/CK__e4cHYxQ Day 12: "Revenge" - https://youtu.be/-L9cr_UMjkw Day 13: "Apostle" - https://youtu.be/JGVASe6OQM8 Day 14: "Even Lambs Have Teeth" - https://youtu.be/ZCq_OuTgy6M Day 15: "Black Sunday" - https://youtu.be/cRYrxPEOcSM Day 16: "The Evil Within" - https://youtu.be/g7I90C_emdw Day 17: "Magic" - https://youtu.be/BjwOmJNL-UE Day 18: "Murder Party" - https://youtu.be/6lt53m3W06U Day 19: "Halloween (2018)" - https://youtu.be/pCLIE__5q2Q Day 20: "The Void" - https://youtu.be/YOwWw1lPlfw Day 21: "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" - https://youtu.be/XJkOG3JxXR0 Day 22: "The Devil's Candy" - https://youtu.be/04JzXnbGSl4 Day 23: "Beyond the Gates" - https://youtu.be/UTDNH8KKKNs Day 24: "Demons" - https://youtu.be/zRM9eVB3EnU Day 25: "The Ritual" - https://youtu.be/MvUki94lfqk Day 26: "Malevolent" - https://youtu.be/dGQ0SqERw_w Day 27: "Humanoids from the Deep" - https://youtu.be/m5nxsXvp6dI Day 28: "Slice" - https://youtu.be/Qpl1V1bWQ8o Day 29: "Summer of '84" - https://youtu.be/0IUmicYCH28 Day 30: "Terrifier" - https://youtu.be/xbD6dQSvdgM
Day 31: "Pieces" - https://youtu.be/gp8wxPv73Cw

The Jurassic Books

After a recent obsession with the Jurassic Park film series, I finally decided to take the plunge and read the books -- or rather listen to them. So I fired up "Audible" and entered Crichton's weirdly different while wholly familiar world. Now, I'm gonna get into some spoilers so if you're ever wanting to read the books (the first one is definitely worth it) then read no further.

The first book, "Jurassic Park" is very similar to the film of the same name. Most of the characters are all there and the basic skeletal structure of the plot is still all there. But it's all in the details and those details differ rather drastically. There's a whole element of the dinosaurs somehow being spotted in Costa Rica. This didn't really sit well with me because they're dinosaurs. They aren't ninjas. They'd be spotted and the secret would be out. But who knows, maybe the 80's were just a different time.

Heh.

One aspect I really enjoyed with that is the death of John Hammond. It never made any sense to me that the guy who was responsible for all this madness never got his comeuppance. Well the book rectifies that in a big bad way because not only does he die, the character is a bigger prick than the film version could ever imagine being. He's just a billionaire who just did this scheme in order to get money. He doesn't care about dinosaurs. Very different from the film version who seems like much more of a philanthropist.

The second book, "The Lost World" had me intrigued before reading it for many reasons. The most important being that the film has never been a huge favorite of mine. It's enjoyable but definitely has its problems and is in no way a worthy successor to the seminal first film. So the book just HAD to be better than the film. Well...

I can't really say that it is. In fact, it's more frustrating than anything. Ian Malcolm gets brought back one to be just as useless as he was in the first book. I understand that Crichton wrote the book under different pretenses given that JP was such a success, but dammit give him something to do other than just talk about chaos.

And why shoehorn in those kids just to be Lex and Tim 2.0? It just felt like redoing something that worked well in JP that just didn't make much sense to repeat in this film. May have been Crichton commenting on sequels but I just saw it as lazy. Kinda like the whole "Ninja Dino" angle from the first book.

I'm glad that Dodgson finally was given his comeuppance (really like that word today), especially given what an unnecessarily evil he was made in this book. I mean, he literally pushes Sarah Harding off of a ship into the ocean and steals dino babies. He makes you seething by the end of it all. But he gets one of the more brutal deaths of the series so at least there's that.

One thing I'll give the movie is that the third act in San Diego is even more impressive after listening to this because it really just kind of ends. There's some excitement but it's not this grand moment like in the film. That would have really been exciting to see in Crichton's novel.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend "The Lost World" because it's just kind of bland. There's not a lot happening but if you want some loose ends tied up, and want a world where Malcolm stays alive, then read it. Otherwise, just stick with "Jurassic Park" and enjoy the story that spawned a beloved franchise. I know I did.

Random Thoughts for July 2018

Letterboxd may just be the only app I need. It's a movie lover's wet dream in terms of keeping track of your own ratings for various movies. It makes it very easy when trying to decide what to watch, since that usually very mood dependent. If you love movies, go check it out, add me, all that jazz. You should know what my username is. Once they make it so I can just send my mini-reviews to Twitter, that is all my twitter feed will consist of.

What's happening to Chris Hardwick/James Gunn is bullshit. Our Social Justice Warrior society just goes too far, too often. These are two guys that should in no way be losing work because of these allegations/past events. Sure, they're both very different, but both have the common theme of NOT BEING A FIREABLE OFFENSE. These incidents have really taught me the important lesson of: don't apologize just to appease others, apologize when you actually feel regret.

I'm listening to the audiobook versions of Harry Potter. And let me tell you something that may surprise you: they're amazing. Okay, maybe that was obvious but dammit they are. I listen to these at work and they put me in such a good mood, really taking me back. Since I'm only on the third book so far, I'm getting a lot of flashbacks to Elementary School and it has been a trip. Also, how the hell did I forget about Peeves the Poltergeist? He's the best part of the series!

"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" was so fucking good. I had such a passive interest for this film and I had no idea why. I've always loved the series, and they always become a staple for my year whenever they're released. But for some reason, I didn't think this film would follow suit... how wrong I was. It's always hard to say with a recent film but this may just be my favorite film of the franchise. Everything about it is just top notch. In fact, this theatrical experience has guaranteed myself a ticket purchase for another film franchise releasing soon: "Mission Impossible: Fallout."

The library is an untapped resource. I know I've said this before but too few people take advantage of the library and I no longer count myself among them. I have rented so many films I wouldn't have otherwise seen, all because they are available at the local book depository. I'm only putting this to encourage at least one other person to go make a trip.

Life has been crazy and getting in the way of goals. There's a lot of stuff going on that I can't exactly talk about but to say there's some big changes on the horizon would be an understatement. Those changes (let's just say job-related) have gotten in the way of my creative pursuits. To better represent those changes, I figured the site was in need of an upgrade. So here we have it. Hope you enjoy.

Friday the 13th

Another Friday the 13th is upon us and yet again I'm spending it with everyone's favorite drowning victim, Jason Voorhees. That's right, I can hardly let one of these days go by without watching one of my favorite horror franchises of all time "Friday the 13th." Don't get me wrong, it's not the greatest series to ever exist, but it's such dumb fun that I've always been drawn to it. In years past I've watched the entire franchise in a single day but I've since cooled off on doing that (maybe one day in the far off future). Instead, I pick out a few choice films and go for it. So what exactly did I choose this year...

"The Final Chapter" was a no brainer. It's legitimately good with some of the best atmosphere of any of the films. It has more style than any of the previous films and adds a layer of brutality. Next I threw on "Jason X" because I wanted some dumb fun. No, it's nothing amazing but dammit, I enjoy how silly it gets. I capped it off with the Remake, which may be among my favorite in the series. Hell, today it is. I just love all the elements that made it more than just "Supernatural Zombie" and brought it down a little bit. Makes it a tad scarier.

I actually added a new tradition this year without even really realizing it. See, we already had a Friday the 13th in April of this year, and I saw "A Quiet Place." Well, that film released on 4K and it was almost like fate, watching it yet again on that day. And, being how weird I am about watching certain films on certain days of the year, I think I may have added another.

And dammit if it's not deserving as all hell. The film is just a powerhouse from start to finish. It grips you with silence in ways that films really don't these days. And the acting is just phenomenal all around.

I'm not sure if you celebrate this day like I do but maybe you should start. Or don't. I mean, it's not they don't teach you super important survival tips or anything.

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