It's a day early, but...

I am thankful that what vision remains has remained stable over the last two years.

I am also thankful for the people in my online and offline life who encourage my creative endeavors.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving weekend, if you celebrate. 

Have a Happy Few Days, if you don't. 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. 

freakboy on film: A GHOST STORY

                        2017 

written & directed by David Lowery 

I'm waiting for someone. 

I could blog about how I had been wanting to see A GHOST STORY since last year.  I could carry on about how this beautiful, thought-provoking film was everything I wanted and a little more.  I could explain how the story takes the viewer to some unexpected places. 

I could blog about how strangely A GHOST STORY made me think of after death.  I could elaborate by saying that I hope the dead can't see or feel the pain left behind in their absence.  I could also go on to say that I hope we can't feel their pain because the living may not be the only ones in mourning. 

Instead, I want to blog about the odd thing which occurred while I was watching A GHOST STORY.  My sister and I were huddled around my tablet, quietly taking in the dream-like images before us.  My little, purple Bluetooth speaker was amplifying the phantasmagorical nature of this cinematic experience when the odd thing happened. 

Within the film, the ghost was having an emotional outburst, which caused the lights to burn brighter and books to be thrown from the shelves.  During this scene, the Bluetooth speaker started disconnecting and just as quickly reconnecting with my tablet.  The speaker's loud chime, indicating connection, binged four or five times in a row until I switched it and my tablet off and restarted the gadgets.  After that, everything ran smoothly and my sister and I experienced the rest of A GHOST STORY and thoroughly enjoyed it's haunting beauty. 

Afterwards we joked about the coincidence of the speaker acting up as the ghost was causing similar occurrences in the film.  I can't speak for my sister on this, but I fall into a grey area when it comes to supernatural and cryptozoology stuff.  I want to believe that Bigfoot is walking around isolated locations, that alien life forms are visiting Earth on a regular basis, that Nessie is lurking in a Scottish loch and that houses can be haunted.  Tragically, the multitude of ridiculous television programs centered on proving the paranormal has caused me to lean more towards the skeptical side.  

In other words, I really don't believe a ghost was responsible for the speaker glitch.  It was fun to acknowledge the spooky timing with the scenes on-screen, but I slept just fine that night.  However, if it was a ghost, then A GHOST STORY makes me wonder who exactly it was fiddling with my speaker. 

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind film review.

Freak Out, 

JLH

P.S.  Here is a previous half-blind, supernatural film review...

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2018/06/freakboy-on-film-let-me-in-great-hammer.html 

The reasons why Rick's so-called final episode of The Walking Dead was...

L is for the lazy zombies that couldn't even catch a motionless rock. (Seriously, Rick should have never made it to the bridge)

A is for the assumption that Rick "Grimey" Grimes was actually going to die.  (I didn't get what I wanted for an early birthday present)

M is for the memory of the multiple reasons why I stopped watching The Walking Dead at the end of Season 5.  (Too many moments of characters in impossible situations not being bit or scratched by a zombie and my absolute loathing of Rick, for example) 

E is for the excruciatingly awful episode (Rick should've died), the excruciatingly ridiculous previews for the next few episodes (decaying zombies evolving...really?) and the excruciatingly painful talk of future limited series spin-offs & made for AMC movies. (For the love of George A. Romero, please STOP!!!)

🙄😑👎

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind rant.

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. Here is a TV rant from last year...

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2017/09/ahs-cult-kool-aid-mixer.html 

A Selfish November

These are the facts... 

November is my birthday month. 

My birthday, tragically, falls on Election Day. 

This is my second birthday since losing a chunk of my vision. 

I traditionally keep my birthday celebrations low-key. 

This is the promise...

I promise to do at least one nice thing for myself every single day in November.  

The nice thing might be as simple as listening to one of my favorite albums or watching a film I adore.  

Perhaps I'll take myself out to dinner at a special restaurant that I rarely visit.  

Maybe I'll splurge one day and purchase something slightly extravagant that I absolutely don't need but totally want. 

I may even do something I've been thinking about since April 2015.  I think it would be fun and awesome to order a copy of DARK EXCURSIONS and discreetly leave it behind at a restaurant or coffee shop or someplace.  In the fantasies of my delusional mind, someone finds my book, reads it, enjoys my emotionally damaged characters, and then passes it along to a like-minded friend. 

This is the first nice thing...

I started watching one of my favorite television series today. SWINGTOWN originally aired on CBS during the summer of 2008.  This series about young love and open marriage only lasted one season, but I've never stopped watching because I love the characters and how they change and grow throughout the 13 episodes. 

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words. 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. I briefly blogged about SWINGTOWN in December 2016...

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-tv-freak-returns-revivals.html