The Solitary Sanity Terror

Hello Friends and Neighbors.  Today I offer you a pondering into the thoughts of the paranoid.  This is a topic that has no small amount of simultanious enjoyment and trepidation.  Some will tell you that life is all about the relationships you maintain.  This much I can tell you is true, however, the strongest relationship you will ever have is with your own mind.  

The human mind, for most of us, is a complex thing.  Entire conversations can be held between you and your own mind.  Debates over what to wear or eat and of course the mulling over of decisions about the future can take up plenty of time. 

The scary part, at least to me - although I would wager many of you to feel the same, is that sometimes you can get into an argument with your own mind.  This is the stuff that rejects reason.  How one can have an argument with ones self is a horrific prospect.  That is why one of the most terrifying film tropes is the insane.  H.P. Lovecraft made his name exploring the concept of insanity. 

Mens sana in corpore sana is not always reliable.  Furthermore, when you are in a debate with your own mind, which side is the right and sane side?  Is there even a chance that you can be sane if a part of your own mind seems insane?  

Think about what you are doing the next time you get into an argument with yourself.  This is a personal horror that you are experiencing as your mind tries to rationalize with itself over a situation or decision. 

 Have you ever gotten mad at yourself over something you were doing, while you were in the process of doing it?  From little things like beating yourself up over an extra cup cake at desert to fighting over what to write about in a report or blog... Is there any way to justify that you are compos mentis? 

Now take it to the next step.  If every time you are making a decision you have multiple thoughts permeating your decisions, so does everyone you are dealing with. 

Take the classic husband and wife argument scenario.  You and your spouse are in an argument and you realize that the other person is just getting madder.  You understand, rationally, that no matter what you say you will be seen as the jerk.  You are arguing in your own mind to simply shut up and let it go.  You know it does not matter, no matter how emotional or rational your argument may be, your mind is telling you to stop - yet you fight with yourself in your own head while simultaneously arguing with the spouse.  Now realize that in all likelihood- your spouse is doing the same thing in their mind. 

Is that sanity?  Is this the highly evolved - God given - intellect that we as humans so cherish?  Certainly your singular mind- that being your one brain in your same body- should be on the same track as your actions.  But, terrifyingly enough, it isn't.  

You look at Renfield and call him insane, but at least we all know he had outside help.  What is your excuse?   At least we have the solace in knowing that our personal insanity is a shared trait amongst our species.  We can rationalize a baseline level of insanity and judge everyone else off of our 'normal.' 

Just a thought to ponder as you go about your day.  Have fun choosing what to make for dinner.  I am sure you will come to a proper agreement with your mind. 

Be Excellent to Each Other,

~BAT

#BE2EO

Mrs. Bat’s Musings: Restaurant Review

Back Alley Blues & BBQ  

Rating: 5 Bats

                Mr. Bat and I went to Back Alley Blues & BBQ on a Sunday evening with Stephen Kelly for dinner. This was our first excursion to the Blues & BBQ joint, and I must say I was curious about what to expect. Having previewed the menu online, I was thinking it might be too expensive to make a regular part of our dining out experience; however, I was pleased to find that I was wrong on all counts.

                When you walk in, it looks like you have wandered into the back side of a building. All you see is a long hallway. Once you are down the hall, the room opens up to a space with tables and chairs. It is a seat yourself where you want kind of place and the tables have a Plexiglas over them with a menu under the table top for you to read. Home style washcloths are the napkins. (A totally cute touch) The service was friendly and helpful. I loved that she was almost as talkative as I am. At the back of the hall there were guys setting up for a jam session. The music was fun and well played, which added to the ambiance of the location.

                We started off with a house specialty called Candied Bacon. They take thick cut bacon and coat it in brown sugar and then slow smoke it for 2 hours to get all of that crispy smoky sweet tasty goodness ready to be gobbled down. It was a great starter for the evening meal! They have a full bar and a variety of beers both bottled and on tap. I loved my sweet tea, it was sweet but not syrup like.

                After the appetizer, our entrees arrived. Stephen Kelly had Hot Links and Brisket while Mr. Bat had Pulled Pork and Brisket. I had a Brisket stuffed loaded baked potato. The general consensus was that the Baked Beans had the right texture and flavor to be a winning side option and the Fried Pickles were to die for! Mr. Bat had the Home style Mac & Cheese with the crunchy crumbs on top. It was yum!

                I have a tendency to order more than I can eat, and this time was no exception. I was so full from just a third of my potato that I needed a take home box.  The next day I enjoyed my leftovers including a piece of candied bacon and fried pickles with my potato.

                So my recommendation is to RUN don’t walk and get you some fantastic BBQ at the AWESOME Back Alley Blues & BBQ! Check out the live music, have a drink & enjoy. I know this place is now on my regular restaurant rotation!

31 Horror Reviews #3 - Mutant Vampire Zombies from the Hood

Check yo self Friends and Neighbors.  Today's movie review is Straight Outta Compton.   Perhaps one of the saddest zombie movies I have ever been subjected to, "Mutant Zombie Vampires from the Hood" stars C. Thomas Howell as a police officer who is out to catch the hoodlums dealing drugs in the inner city.   He and his partner, we will call him Murtaugh, get in a shoot out as the leader of the asian gang (we will call them Dragons) and the leader of the black gang (the bloods) are in a dispute over a hostage / drug deal/  Along comes a solar flare - oh my!  This proceeds to knock everyone unconscious.  

They awaken to find that the world has changed.  After some time the bloods leader meets up with his friend who has been killed by zombies.  Luckily he is saved by the old mexican man, Julio.  You can't make this up folks.  So after showing the bloods leader how the zombies are terrible and monsters, in a scene that is absolutely hilarious wherein our heros watch - via binoculars from a nearby building - as zombies rip the arm off of a helpless woman and proceed to eat it.  Oh, but before they eat the arm they also of course rip her clothes off so she goes running topless at the camera and presumed armless safety...  This girl is actually credited as "Gratuitous Nudity Zombie."  At least they don't take themselves seriously.

So the obligatory team up for survival happens, cop and gangster and gangster set out to find safety.  Along the way they encounter a woman and her father who have the answers, maybe.  They find it hard to get to safety when all of the zombies are not only semi-aware but also quite randy.  Yep, apparently the zombies that come from a solar flare become rapists.  Geez.  Still the final solution remains elusive and you can predict the rest.  

I give this one 4/10 on because of C. Thomas Howell and the cajones to use rapist zombies.

As always,

Be excellent to each other.

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=)

~BAT

31 Horror Reviews #2 - Zombiethon

Blargh Friends and Neighbors!  Today's review is for a simple little flick that came out of the home video boom of the mid 1980s, a feature created directly for home video called "Zombiethon."  This is a real gem of a picture.  It takes several zombie movies and shows all of the best parts in clip format.  These clips are framed loosely with the story of several women running for their lives into an old theater only to find that the zombies are inside watching the shows.  

Part one features "Zombi" - Lucio Fulci's half sequel to "Dawn of the Dead."  Here you can see all the best scenes of zombie killing and even the famous zombie vs. shark scene without having to watch the rest of the movie. Shown in sequence and in bloody detail, witness the story told in an incoherent way that somehow still makes sense. 

Part two brings us "Zombie Lake" which is probably best viewed here.  From what we atTales can tell is that some Nazi's were killed and thrown in the lake.  Then some skinny dippers came along years later and the sight of all the naked girls turned the Nazis into zombies and they attacked.   Not a great film at all, but this one is not watched for good, I think this was an attempt at zombie porn.  In that case it is Skinamax worthy.

"Oasis of the Dead", "Fear" and "Virgin among the living dead" come along and bewilder us at this point with the questions of why and the thankfulness that this is only Netflix.  Blargh indeed.  

"The Invisible Dead" provides us with an interesting look at an invisible man who attacks the living... especially naked girls.  However the next thing you know it appears he is not a man but a monkey-thing?  Yeah... that is what I said.

Finally the film features "The Astro-Zombies" which is all about aliens being made into zombies... but there is some evil Chinese woman and some other guys in the mob... oh who knows it is terribad.  

So there you have "Zombiethon"  Check it out if you are looking for some laughs.  

I give it 4/10 on the Bat-scale due to "Zombi" being featured with the eye in wood scene and the shark.  Also Zombie Lake for having an eight girl skinny dipping scene with Nazi zombies attacking them.  Worth watching for that alone.

As always,

Be excellent to each other

(-

=)

~BAT

31 Horror Reviews #1 - Dracula vs Frankenstein

October is here Friends and Neighbors! To celebrate, we will be reviewing 31 horror movies in a row. Yeah that means one per day. Stay tuned folks!
"Dracula vs Frankenstein"
Okay, wow this is a terrible film. This 1971 flick features some heavily cool folks though. Angelo Rossitto is featured in a perfect role, as a barker at a freak show. Also this movie features the final horror appearance of Lon Chaney Jr. Though he performs amazingly given the material, it is clear how the cancer had ravaged his body. 
So these hippies come along and discover a mad doctor who is killing people to perform experiments on them. Multiple killings and events occur and finally the police show up to kill everybody. The heroine is the only one to escape. End. 
But wait...that was the original movie. Filmed in 1969 Somebody, apparently in a drunken moment, made the call to add Dracula and the Frankenstein monster. So they film some new scenes in 1971 with a clearly aged cast and mix them in to create an even more incoherent story. 
So, Dracula shows up. Apparently Dracula here is David Schwimmer's dad, sporting a Jew-fro and bad pancake makeup in his face. He talks with an echo and blinks as he talks. Dracula wants to use the Frankenstein monster to kill people and make Dracula invincible. However, the monster looks like terrible. He sure is strong- can lift a moose, but he appears to have been hit in the face with about 10 baseballs. 
So somehow Dracula gets mad, incinerated things with his ring and tries to sacrifice the girl... For no reason...until the monster of course revolts. They fight in the woods and die. Lame 
So on the Bat-scale I give it a 2/10. 2 is only because of the two star cameos. 
Come back tomorrow!
Be excellent to each other. 
(-
=)
~BAT