It's Memorial Day...

...so, once you've had your fun for the day, and taken some time to remember your war dead from your "favorite" war(s) from Gulf War II back to World War II, I hope you'll join me in thinking a little further back. Personally, I recommend contemplating those who served and died in World War I... trench warfare, mustard gas, and massed frontal attacks on machine gun nests, all in a bid to deal with a War to End All Wars. If only for that goal, unattainable as it may be, they deserve to be remembered.

Remember, it's easy to remember the participants in wars where the survivors live on... but that doesn't make the sacrifices of past wars worthy of forgetting.

Unspeakable Evil, in a Cute Package

OK, so you all know I like sick and twisted things... and if cute gets thrown into the mix, I'm good with it (as evidenced by my last post). Most of you probably also know I have an (un)healthy interest in Lovecraftian bits. How, then, am I supposed to resist My Little Cthulhu? Stay strong, stay strong...

Animation Recommendation: Happy Tree Friends

We now take you back to your regular blog, which is already in progress...

How to present this... well, it's definitely not for the kiddies, I'll say that for starters. It's also not for the squeamish or easily offended... hell, I'm recommending it, and I'm somewhat embarrased by liking it. On the other hand, if you like your "cute" animation with a healthy helping of the old ultraviolence, this is the show for you.

The basic idea in each episode is, generally, an ultra-cute forest animal-based cartoon show, that starts out normally enough, but then goes horribly wrong somewhere along the way, leading to the demise of most, if not all, of the characters involved. Oh, and this is basically a non-verbal sort of thing (the most intelligible bit I've heard to date is an "Oh yeah" out of Disco Bear), so it relies heavily on sight gags, even when it's not going all Itchy-and-Scratchy on the cast.

Intrigued? Well, of course you can snag a copy through Netflix, but, if you're just looking to see what's up right now, try this. I've seen "And the Kitchen Sink", and it's pretty okay... I'd just recommend staying away from episodes with Flippy to start with... he's the appropriately-named Green Beret bear that is too easy of a crutch to get things going with in the short, online episodes at the website. If you do pick up season 1 volume 1 though, he definitely works in "Party Animal".

Doing better...

Thanks for the posts & concern, all... as you can see, last night I was not in a "good place". I think I've regained my "center" now, and, while I'm still a damn far sight from being OK, neither am I down and out. It helps not to dwell on it, so I likely won't be doing much more on the topic of my Dad or his death in the near future... which, frankly, is likely a bit of a relief for us all... :)

Warning: unpleasant topic follows

It's time to use words that I always "knew" I'd have to use one day, but still feels strange to actually be using... namely, this: my Dad just died today.

Time for flowery prose later... for now, the awful truth, the horrible vision of watching him gasp an gurgle for air in his nursing home bed, eyes open but not seeing... hands turned blue from lack of oxygen... the hope, but not the certainty, that all that was there was basic animal survival reflex, not the heart and mind of the man who helped me become what I am today.

Time for bittersweet memories of days past later... for now, the alternation of pain and numbness that lures you into embracing the numbness... but knowing that that path is closed to me, as I lived there long ago, and struggled to escape.

Time for worrying about how melodramatic this all sounds later... for now, the occupation of time until I can sleep, and then the new day after... the first day after my Dad died.

...of course, it's another kind of institution, too...

Yep, the Internet's also an insane asylum of sorts... how else can you explain sites like this? Mind you, I'm not saying it's bad... it just ain't normal... :)