November 2014 – Horror Report

CHERNOBYL FROM A DRONE

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNV5Sq28Mp4?feature=oembed]

This is video of a drone flyover of the city of Chernobyl, Russia..I suppose we all know of the deadly and tragic history from the end of the 20th century..

Now, so many decades later—but no danger is gone—a drone captured chilling footage of the city of Pripyat, Ukraine. The city is stuck in time—people who were mandated to leave after the nuclear disaster in 1986 were told they’d be gone for three days. They never came back, but because the government lied to them, many of their personal possessions were simply left in place. The images from the drone were courtesy of Danny Cook, who went to Chernobyl to film the video for a CBS 60 MINUTES piece..

The video portrays an overgrown city.. vegetation is lush.. the radiated earth has taken over the streets capes..

The nightmare is nuclear catastrophe will not be over any generation soon.. But the remnants of what was are still cold, vacant, and seemingly chilling..

SONY PICTURES HACKED; MOVIES RELEASED ONLINE BY THE ‘GUARDIANS OF PEACE’; INVESTIGATIONS NOW TO SEE IF NORTH KOREA WAS BEHIND THE HACK ATTACK IN REVENGE FOR COMEDY FILM!

I suppose dictators of repressive regimes just can’t take a joke.

THE READ: Sony’s New Movies Leak Online Following Hack Attack »

This is a big deal in the entertainment world. Sony’s new movies have leaked onto the Internet after this hack.

At this moment, the story is still in the development stage.. but we know this, at least five new movies from Sony Pictures are now on file sharing websites across the internet.. The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER says this,

Copies of DVD screeners of four unreleased Sony movies including the upcoming “Annie” are getting some unwelcome early exposure, but nothing compared to the frenzy enveloping “Fury,” the war pic still in theaters since bowing last month.

“Fury” has been downloaded by over 888,000 unique IP addresses since showing up on peer-to-peer networks on Nov. 27, according to piracy tracking firm Excipio. That’s high enough to be the second most downloaded movie currently being pirated, and it’s not out of movie theaters yet.

Another big Sony movie, “Annie,” is also being pirated, this one three weeks ahead of its own wide release. Other Sony movies being downloaded include “Mr. Turner,” “Still Alice” and “To Write Love on Her Arms.”

Sony is not commenting yet.

The WRAP has this information this morning: Sony has been hacked by the #GOP group.No, not the Republican party, but instead a group called THE GUARDIANS OF PEACE. The WRAP reports that every computer in the entire company has seemingly been compromised! MORE:

But as of Friday the studio’s email, phone system and computers remained paralyzed, and in some cases staffers were using whiteboards to get things done. The studio’s Twitter accounts have also been hacked, according to two individuals with knowledge of the situation.

And while the studio has set up a parallel system offline, there is apparently no solution that has been found to undo the attack.

The hack attack is more than just movies.. it’s stolen data of stars and their contracts..

But here is the kicker: SONY is investigating the situation attempting to ascertain if NORTH KOREA may be behind the attack! According to various sources now, Sony is wondering if North Korea has funded the hackers.. REUTERS reports this connection to the SONY hack:

The attack occurred a month before Sony Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp, is to release “The Interview.” The movie is a comedy about two journalists who are recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The Pyongyang government denounced the film as “undisguised sponsoring of terrorism, as well as an act of war” in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in June.

Did a movie propel a strange and cruel dictatorship to declare war on an American studio? There seems to be a connection..

But there are a few people online who are suggesting this is all just a ploy–that the computers at Sony are awful, maybe, and that a hack could have occurred.. but that the blame game of North Korea is just a part of the INTERVIEW marketing. Making the movie seem even more important on the geopolitical stage than it ever would have been..

I don’t think SONY is faking a hack–too many people would be eager to call them out on that type of scenario.. But there is a chance that they are playing this in a way that could hopefully benefit their release of THE INTERVIEW in December..

But if it’s real, would this be an act of war? Or does anyone way if actors’ IDs get stolen and lackluster movies get leaked?

This Sunday morning is coming down..

Normally this weekly type of post is called the ‘Sunday morning sidewalk’ .. but today this Sunday morning is coming down.. The reason is not clear, but there is a deep concern in my heart about some personal issues that seem to be developing in my family. Let me explain without giving away personal secrets–I’m a 20th century boy and don’t share my entire life..

My son has grown fond of saying that he “knows everything” as of late.. It brings comic relief when he proclaims it, but he is entirely serious about this.. He truly says he knows everything and means it. Ayden is not yet even 4, but year somehow he does surprise me with his knowledge.. At times I think he knows more than me! He has become a reservoir of my memory, even telling me at times where I put items that I lost.. Found thanks to his keen eye and ear always being aware..

But he does not know everything. None of us do..
What I fear more than anything this lonely and gray Sunday morning is that the things he does not know will hurt him the most..
I am speaking specific on something..
There are a number of people in my family and my wife’s who are coming of age at a time where he will be growing into his later tens.. There is a chance that over the next decade, his life will be filled with funerals.. It scares me to ponder the thought that these eventual deaths will shatter his worldview in some way, but perhaps I am over thinking this..

Death is a fact of life. It happens to us all..
People all have their own way of dealing with events of this nature.. Children as well seem to put it into a perspective that works for them.

There is an even rougher edge to my thought on this.. The question of what God is.. whether God is.. and where he is.. I ask my son all of the time if he remembers where he was prior to being born.. as of yet he does not recall. I was hoping he’d tell me a pilot in war, or a child coal miner.. something specific and not relative to his life now, which could prove to me a reincarnation happens. Every theory on life after death is not proven. Near death experiences could be the closest thing we have–but how many of them are real vs the brain just doing its fluttering prior to switching off..

I don’t think of this all of the time. But I did last night mainly after seeing my parents struggle to decorate for Christmas.. My father already had a rendezvous with Death in December 2013 but survived.. However they are being aging in the same advanced way anyone who just turned 70 would..

I want to say, I am a happy parent. I am a nostalgic one however, with the first almost four years of Ayden’s life skyrocketing through time and space, it’s tough to get a breather and put into perspective the amazing ability a body has to age and develop.. The boy is amazing. He is absolutely my new best friend.. We play games, his play room shares a mini-office of mine.. Amazing stuff. And I have yet to really yell at him about anything important. Other parents remind me that it will change on that note, of course.. and I know it will. The parent hat will come on and he will one day tell me he hates me. I dread that moment.. But I will understand his rage is only skin deep.

What scares me more though is dealing with tragic life experiences, world upheaval, and personal crises.

About two weeks ago my wife was taking him to day care in the morning and they became stuck behind a tragic accident. There were two deaths.. My son still talks about it, reminding my wife and I about it .. He even became a back seat driver because of it, telling me to slow down or, as he says, ‘drive the right way.’ He must know of the 3o’clock position taught in driver’s ED classes.. Upon the sights and sounds of this wreck, he was told that the souls have gone to heaven. But he somehow knew that it meant in part they could ‘not go home again.’ He seemed a little sad, and changed the subject to something more appealing…

There are things about parenting that are harder than any 3am feeding session during infancy.. Those skin deep things are just things.. The real things that matter are the emotions that come with growing, the deep pain that someone can suffer, and how to inspire a child to grow up understanding life and still enjoying it.

THE SILENT WEREWOLF SHOOTER

Something new to fear: The werewolf shooter..

You can read the full CNN report here..

Times are getting strange.. now a man in a werewolf suit silently walked into a store and shot a 58-year-old construction worker. There is a massive manhunt on.. FROM CNN: After the shooting, the assailant took off on foot. Despite an “exhaustive search,” the gunman was nowhere to be found, Kelliher said… There is also no word on a motive. But the image is certainly creepy..

Truth and dating: Two creepy clips from the past to get under your skin

Reality is stranger than fiction..

Two blasts from the past can prove that, courtesy of users who have uploaded certain videos to YouTube.

Ed Edwards was a serial killer who murdered countless amounts of people around the United States. There is even a new book claiming that he may have been involved with the 1990s famed Jon Bonet Ramsey murder.. There are others who even believe that Edwards was the Zodiac Killer. But On October 17, 1972, Edward Wayne Edwards, the man we know was a mass murderer, appeared on the game show TO TELL THE TRUTH. He was a con man.. And clearly, even on this show, was telling things very far from the truth:

x x x x

Rodney Alcala was another murderer and rapist who made a television debut on a game show in the 1970s.. A number of sexually explicit photographs of boys were also found, some of which could have been additional victims of him.. Alcala was also known as the DATING GAME killer, because that was the 1970s show he appeared on ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Uf95INZmWI

There is something obviously very grisly and creepy about serial killers.. but match them up with obscure and equally creepy 1970s pop culture, and you have the ultimate of oddity and weirdness..

Keep in mind the brutality of these two people.. and couple that with the fact that their crimes had already been started by the point where they were able to get through background checks and be transmitted into living rooms across America..

The other question I often ponder based off of these two incidents: Are there people today, on modern game shows, who will one day be revealed to the world as the next horrid killer among us?

STAR WARS: THE MEMES AWAKEN

The internet is good for a few things: Cat GIFs and memes top the list as of late.. people from around the planet were quick to create a comedic goldmine of Kim Kardashian rear end jokes.. Now comes along the newest villain from the next in the STAR WARS franchise, and already creative minds have been inspired to think outside the box..

The first trailer for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS debuted this Thanksgiving weekend.. after much anticipation, the biggest thing that people have seemingly latched onto is the newest light saber style for the Empire.. The Dark Side is back with the red color, but the flames seem to make a letter T.. some compared it to a bizarre style of the cross, perhaps a the perversion of the trinity? A deeper message in the hooded figure walking in the forest?

As for me? I like it.. It surprised me a bit when I saw it, maybe that was the intention..
For those of you who aren’t a STAR WARS fan and don’t have one in your inner circle of family and friends, you need to understand that these changes, while slight and meaningless to some, set the fanboy-girl world on fire with debate and theatrics. Thanks to the internet, people immediately rant on Facebook, cuss on Twitter, and rumble on Tumblr..

Along with this new STAR WARS light saber style, though, comes some pretty inventive memes floating around the net..

The always reliable MASHABLE has a bit of an accounting of some of the best ..Including these:

And this, perhaps my favorite:

You wanted a light saber chainsaw…

The creative stylings of fans online never ceases to amaze me..

Inventive minds are always at work. Memes are the most refreshing of examples of how people can still think outside the box.

x x x

There is a bit of sad news in relations to the STAR WARS franchise being reported today, though.. The story comes from the UK MIRROR.. the tabloid is profiling David Prowse.. he is the giant, literally speaking at 6 feet plus, who played DARTH VADER in the original Lucas films.. The unfortunate way life has played out for him, however, is not happy: He is suffering from dementia and, according to his own confession, not improving with medication. In the article, Prowse admits that since Darth Vader was killed from the movie, there’s really no way back.. I feel awful for him, though, to be one of the few who could not reprise a role in the newest film.

And that note, memes and Prowse aside, I wonder this: The ultimate test for the new STAR WARS film will be to achieve a new Darth Vader of our time.. will that occur? Could the dark side come with a new being in this film, one that will make DARTH VADER look like an amateur?

There has been some opinions that the greatest movie villain of all time has VADER in the top 5, if not 3..
STAR WARS is awakening with a new force.. But will they be able to provide this generation of selfies and tech addicts the villain they want, or better yet, the villain they need?
We will find out in December 2015.

Until then, I trust a number of more memes will be released with each trailer..

Saturday morning cartoons: A collection of news briefs from the world and beyond

The holiday purge is over. Food is eaten and those leftovers just don’t look appetizing anymore.. do they? For my they stopped being attractive to my senses on Thursday night when I had me third helping of turkey and fixins’..

In the world at large, some news can be consider leftovers.. Here’s what I think matters to me, and perhaps should to you, as well. Presented in link form. Click on what you want and you can go away.

Shopping in Ferguson and St Louis were affected by large protests over the Michael Brown shooting.. It led to arrests and even mall closures..
One rallying call being heard in some places on Black Friday: No justice, No profit. The protesters can’t stop the steamrolling profit of online stores, though.. Amazon smashed Black Friday sales yesterday with their busiest day of the year. And if you’re a protester, how do you stop online retail?

Could BABADOOK be the horror movie of the year? So many mainstream sources do the impossible: Positively review a horror movie..

Check this out: An Air Canada passenger has captured the moment a screw came loose from the plane, struck a propeller, and lodged itself in a window.. Wonder why I don’t fly?

Clyde Lewis made a good point about this photo on his Facebook page. Check out the number of media whores taking a shot of the fight over this product in a UK mall.. It would almost look staged to me..

There is an Easter egg in the game ESCAPE DEAD ISLAND–and an homage to Kubrick’s version of THE SHINING

Cable is dying. Some predict that by 2030 it will be completely dead.. Here is an article that is detailing how streaming is taking over our lives and pop culture. And this is one future shock I am in favor of.. Cable and DirectTV and all the like give us a plate full of garbage.. the crap that is broadcast so often us unneeded. I have one friend who has completely gone off the grid known as cable, and only streams.. He’s perfectly fine with that. Netflix and Hulu are the way to go.. in the next 20 years, we will also have more options when it comes to streaming.. Cable will indeed by dead by 2030.

People are really, really excited over the new trailer for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS.

Thanksgiving 2014 box office: The HUNGER GAMES is ruling over the crowd.. $11.1 mil on Thanksgiving..

Benedict Cumberbatch speaks: Stop taking selfies.

In 2005, Bill Cosby made a deal with the NATIONAL ENQUIRER to block a story from a woman claiming he raped her.. But in the weeks recent, Cosby’s real fate was sealed.. The deal didn’t matter after more than one woman said the same thing about him..

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 5 (sigh) getting a 3D release..

What scares AMERICAN HORROR STORY actor Michael Chiklis? Every script of the show..

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And finally, check out this video:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOVduROwRrk]
Whoever posted it would like you to believe it is a flying horse in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There are a ton of theories already online, including the possibility that it is a balloon which looks like a horse. Others who cannot discern properly are quoting scripture .. But what is clear is this: Pigs cannot fly, nor can horses. Someone needs to go back to the drawing board and get a better horse. Or maybe it was a drone in a horse’s body? Whatever it was, it’s comic relief for your Saturday morning..
Either that or the end times are upon us..

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Dook .. Dook.. Dook.. The horror movie of the year?

Yesterday, the HORROR REPORT linked up several news sites’ stories about the horror film BABADOOK. All were positive–for a horror movie that is surprising to have mainstream sources actually back the film. There’s another today: SLATE magazine says that you should see this terrifying movie about motherhood..

And there is more: The LA TIMES says that the movie is smart and delivers grown up horrors..
The Mary Sue says you will never escape this best horror movie of 2014..

The reaction to BABABDOOK has been interesting to read.. I have read countless reader reviews and many of them say that the movie was so off-putting about children, they have decided not to have any.. One commenter on a story even wrote that the child was so repulsive in this film, they were rooting for the monster..

The BABADOOK is a metaphor in our time for sometimes.. I think for the pains of single parenting. This is a scary thought that many people have to endure .. There are tons of single moms and dads out there, split by a high divorce rate or even the tragic experiences of death itself of one of the people in the family.. Raising one child alone–or even more– is an unsettling premise in itself. Imagine when you through in some paranormal entities and a dook dook dook pounding on a night time door.. It’s a frightening thought to say the least..

The movie clearly features an overwhelmed mother and a troubled child

But if you want to see this ‘greatest horror movie’ of the year, good luck: 99.9% of you will not be able to in theaters, since the release is so small. You may need to be in Los Angeles to see it..
Or on Demand.
So demand it. And see it.

Empty restaurants and quiet streets

My life has changed considerably since the carefree days of my early 20s.. I am not saying that is a negative thing, but just instead a product of growing.. Interestingly, there are times I go back and see even what I posted on the HORROR REPORT about 10 years back, and really not much has changed in that regard.. It’s my personal life where the most has occurred..

When you’re a dad, and your wife is a mom, you’re tired by ten and rarely get the chance to get out of the house.. date nights are a dime a dozen, and even when they take place you’re mostly worried for the last half of it about how your child is doing at home with whoever is watching..

There are other times though where a simple act of driving can open the floodgates of memories.. Last night, a simple act like that did happen. Around 9, I got extremely hungry for food from a little place called Hollywood Pizza in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania–I name it because you should consider it if you’re ever in a zip code nearby, it’s some of the greatest pizza that is eaten on the crust of the planet.. Before I digress into a litany of food related statements, let me get back to my drive.. It was 9pm, cold as hell–if that’s possible–and the streets were empty. Only 9pm on a Friday night? Empty? It was so quiet I could hear the electricity surge through the lines above me, that faint and dull hum that comes with it filled the night air with some form of noise..

Bars were empty, it seemed..
Even the restaurant I picked my food up was without customers most of the night..
And my nostalgia hit.. I recalled very similar nights in my early 20s, with friends, walking on a cold street into a watering house or food establishment.. I remember the laughter and the strange things we’d do, trying to act as adults when we needed to but still refrain from adulthood when we could.. I was fond of those times, though nostalgia normally shields your memory from the boring nights or horrid times..

What confounds me is this: On Thanksgiving night, while driving home from a family dinner, I witnessed with my own eyes how busy malls and Walmarts were. But that seemed to change on Friday.. I doubt that Black Friday sales will be as good as what was expected..

Last night, I was further shocked to see so little of life outside at night. I understand that this could be a product of my area, perhaps just a little hole in a wall town without people outside.. I am sure cities had bars packed with patrons.. Right?

I am actually beginning to consider the possibility that people have evolved away from enjoying night life .. It seems that once nightfall comes, house doors and windows get locked and computers go on, people slip away from life to peruse Facebook for too many hours or play Farm Heroes way too long. The watering house always has empty seats.. We are choosing virtual reality over reality..

I am 34 this year.. While some may consider that young, I feel old. Joints are aching and my body is aging. Then again, friends and family remind me often that I shared those same complaints with them at 24. Things have changed greatly in ten years.. And with changes comes fond memories of times past.. Nostalgia..

But is nostalgia a good thing? And even more, what is it? Smell and touch can bring it back.. short little snippets of sayings may inspire it.. times of the year often hit you with it.. But it can also be deceptive.. people can be turn a dark past into a bright memory with a bit of falsehood in a brain. I try to explain this to people, often without success, but I get very nostalgic on 9/11 each year.. Not because I enjoyed watching 3000 people die, but because I turned 21 and recall the immense patriotism after 9/11 in 2001. Nostalgia can trick you ..

There is a study I recall reading that nostalgia is more present when you are lonely or sad. Last night, while I walked a lonely sidewalk under a street light to get my meal, perhaps that is exactly what I was feeling. After all, here it was, a Friday night, and I heard no music. No laughter.. nothing. Just dimly lit bars without customers. And hell, even a crowded barroom is a lonely place.. Just picture a taproom void of people..

Perhaps this generation growing is the last that will encounter social life in the same way we know it to exist. . ? Maybe those virtual reality worlds will give us the sense of companionship we desire? Perhaps we can program it into us..? Maybe the future will come complete with an adroid robot sex doll for our love and a headset and computer for social experimentation.

And if that is the case, how will nostalgia work in the future? What will people reminiscent about ?

The good old days weren’t ever that good.
Tomorrow is not as bad as it seems. Billy Joel sang that long before we thought that..
And those two statements make sense now..

Crowded and smoky barrooms of my 20s weren’t great. They were repulsive many times, and by 2am a complete insult to humanity itself.
And tomorrow, the future, really won’t be as bad..

Right?

A Black Friday news collection

Here are the briefs and long reads to know about, now that your turkey induced coma has wore off and you’re most likely caffeinated as hell for your shopping steam roll.. First take a deep breath and enjoy your worldview. Or maybe get it shattered by facts ..

The news:

The New York TIMES has an interesting profile running on Marcel-Lehel Lazar, otherwise known as the hacker GUCCIFER. He caused chaos and heartache to all of those who he stole the emails of.. The New York TIMES also mentions one other Guccifer prediction that may scare your Christmas socks off: A 2015 nuclear attack in Chicago and an unnamed city in Pennsylvania.. Many are discounting that as conspiracy lunacy, while others may be getting their iodine ready..

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=623Oga9NPvE]

There is some perspective on Black Friday today courtesy of a YouTube video that compares shoppers in 1983 and today. Needless to say, our animal instincts have kicked in to high gear and we are acting like hunters in ancient times again. The 1980s outfits were more colorful, too.. why do we all dress in black anymore? SO drab and boring, so morose and melancholy. Let’s pep this experience up, zombies! IT’S CHRISTMASTIME!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfJezF8diUg]

More on the shopping sensation: Mark Dice is back again with his annual tradition: Dressing up like Santa and shaming shoppers. It works.

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Ebay has sent out an urgent message to any of its sellers: The IRS wants you to pay your taxes.. You must pay Uncle Sam if you sell that old junk inn your closet. So ifs ands or buts .. You’ve been warned.

Again! The sunspot is back ..it has been renamed active region 12192..It looks like quite a dangerous sunspot capable of producing flares.. be aware. You can choose between http://spaceweather.com/ or www.solarham.net for your best viewing of news in relation to the sun..

Ferguson protests are not done yet.. they have moved from the streets of fire into the stores of chaos on Black Friday..

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There have been some very interesting cautionary tales of WIFI over the past few years.. this new story from the UK DAILY MAIL offers up some more food for thought: Is WIFI causing headaches? And pain? It profiles a person who has EHS.. Do you?

Remember the SLENDERMAN case? The girls who stabbed another just to summons their master? According to the lawyer, one of the girls who stabbed the other still believes SLENDERMAN is real.

The horror movie BABADOOK is getting some more attention.. the latest from NPR, which gives it high praise.. It is noteworthy, and mentioned in the article, that this movie is scoring nearly a 100% high rating on ROTTEN TOMATOES, coming in at 97.. that’s amazing, it’s a score that is difficult to get to on that site or any other.. this movie is going to be one of the greatest horror movies ever seen by those who choose to see it..

Here is another story about BABODOOK from ROLLING STONE, which says that filmmaker Jennifer Kent took a story of an imaginary creature stalking a mother and her son and created the ‘scariest movie of the year’ ..

You know who Megan Fox is. But do you know the other Megan Fox? Thanks to the Internet (and a friend of mine who found her on my behalf) she is making the rounds in a viral fashion. She compares a can of Coke to evolution.. she visits a museum and mocks science. And she reviews cloth diapers. Get ready Megan Fox for the real Megan Fox..

REAL WORLD star dead at 29.. choked on his own vomit after a night of partying..

The UK METRO profiles the story of the ‘tragic history’ of the REAL WORLD in light of Ryan Knight death..

CREED frontman says he’s broke.. .. “Right now, I’m living in a Holiday Inn, by the grace of God, because there’s been a couple of weeks where I had to live in my truck”