Monday, July 25, 2016

Steampunk Granny's Review of Stranger Things

                                                               

Netflix has captivated the attention of many sci-fi fans with its debut of Stranger Things, a series produced by the Duffer brothers that seems to mirror a bit of Spielberg’s and Stephen King’s storytelling magic and the end result is a series that proves you can have fun while being scared stiff.
Stranger Things
Created by Ross and Matt Duffer and produced by Shawn Levy, the series stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarzzo, and Matthew Modine. The series, which takes place in the early 1980’s in the small town of Hawkins Indiana starts with an accident happening at a high security research center and a young boy disappearing. What do these two incidents have to do with each other?
                                                             
Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and his friends Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) are playing Dungeons and Dragons over Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) house. When Will and Dustin leave to ride their bikes home, trouble begins and Will vanishes without a trace.
The police are called in and at first it is assumed that the boy either ran away or was taken by his father. David Harbour plays Jim Hopper a big city cop who seems a bit out of place in a small town. Hopper’s laid back handling of the initial report fools you into thinking he’s not a good cop, but that’s where you’re wrong. When a second child disappears, Hopper uses every resource available to him to find out what the connection is between the abductions and the research center.
                                                                 
Winona Ryder plays the single parent of two boys who works long hours to have enough money just to keep a roof over their heads. I think Winona is awesome in the role of a mother who is frantic to find her youngest son while the world around her collapses.
                                                                 
A search party is formed and people search the nearby woods including Will’s three friends, who have sneaked out of their homes to find their friend. During a thunderstorm, they come across a young girl who goes by the named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). She is running away from some very bad people.
Conclusion
The story revolves around the boys and the mysterious girl who can move things with her mind. Who are the dangerous people who are searching for her? Where is Will Byers and who is the creature who took him?
 


This is all I’m willing to reveal and it’s up to you to find out more. You can see this fabulous series on Netflix. It is addictive and, you’ll find yourself watching one episode after another. I’m hooked on the show and you will be too.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Steampunk Granny's Review of Ghostbusters 2016

                                                               


If anyone is going to enjoy a good ghost movie, it’s a person who actually goes ghost hunting and since I'm that person, I was excited to see this new and improved version of an old favorite of mine. I was especially stoked to see the film because Melissa McCarthy was in it. Did Ghostbusters 2016 meet my expectations?
 
                                                          
Ghostbusters 2016
Based on the remake of the 1984 Ghostbusters film which starred Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver and Ernie Hudson, this newer version was directed by Paul Feig and featured Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth. Chris plays the part of Kevin Beckman, an incompetent receptionist who reminded me of a male version of Mrs. Wiggins, which fans of Carol Burnett will know what I’m talking about.
                                                                  

If people were worried that a female ghostbusting team would tarnish the original version, they were soon proven wrong. The script was well written and the acting superb. I have over the years become a loyal fan of Melissa McCarthy, although I did not like her earlier film work. It wasn’t until I saw Heat and later Spy that I knew that I would watch any film Melissa McCarthy starred in.
                                                                 

Plot
Kristen Wiig plays the part of Dr. Erin Gilbert who is forced to track down an old friend when she learns that Dr. Abby Yates (Melissa McBride) has republished a book on Ghosts that both co-wrote together. It isn’t long after that reunion when Abby, Erin and Abby’s assistant, Kate McKinnon are called out on a case. There are ghosts to deal with and because of a frightening incident in the subway tunnels of New York, a new member joins the team. Patty (Leslie Jones), who has encountered a rather strange man and the nasty spirit he was able to call forth, now wants to help catch ghosts. One of the biggest surprises of the film was Chris Hemsworth playing a ditzy receptionist. This casting was pure genius.
                                                                   

The other surprise was Kate McKinnon’s character. Kate is a blast to watch and I don’t want to ruin the show by telling you too much, but if you watch Orphan Black and love the clone, Helena, played fabulously by Tatiana Maslany then you’ll see why I freaking loved Kate McKinnon’s character.
                                                           
Conclusion
I truly enjoyed the movie from beginning to end and I want to see it again. Go see the movie. You’ll thank me for it.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Uplifting Thoughts Can Cancel Hate

                                                         


Another bombing! More lives lost! Hateful people committing the ultimate crime against GOD and men. We are lost and the only way to regain our humanity is to become one with nature. I can only begin with myself and work outwards to spread the peace...but if all of us use the power that is within us to cancel out the very real entity called hate, we will conquer evil. I go into my secret garden and send out my prayers and intentions for a peaceful world. Enjoy my video and try to create a sacred place that will serve as your sanctuary.

                                                           

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

The Experiment

                                                                 
                                                                         

After the events and deaths of the past week, and seeing the hate and accusations and finger pointing on both sides, I wanted to present a different way at looking at Black Lives Matter and Cop’s Lives Matter in a loving a spiritual way...because GOD knows there’s been enough hate spate out on social media.
I think the biggest threat to a peaceful coalition is the using of the title American...with a nationality before it...for instance: Italian American, Irish American, and African American etc. etc...We are proud of our heritage and rightly so, but maybe we need to start thinking in a different way. Maybe, we should just identify ourselves as Americans. Does this sound a bit radical to you? Good! I’ll explain why it’s pertinent to unify as one.
Them vs. Us
The Native American Tribal Nations who are and will always be the original people of this nation are the only ones that can rightfully brag that they were here first and that we are all unwelcomed immigrants. That said, all of us inherited the rights to freedom in this country because our ancestors braved the dangerous travel to the shores of this great nation to escape religious, racial, social and economic prejudice. As each new fraction stepped off the boats at Ellis Island, they were considered the outsider. After years of blending into the proverbial soup of becoming Americanized, they went from the designated “Them” to “Us” status.
Black Americans and Police Officers are hurting and it’s because they are looking at each other as “Them.” Yes, there is a long history of bad cops using the power of the badge to harass black people, but there are way more good cops out there who risk their lives each and every day to keep all people safe. I read a report that said that there are way more “Black on Black” crimes that result in a death than there are from encounters with police. Is it true?  Why has it become so easy to kill each other? Why do we tolerate hate?
Experiment in Universal Understanding
Let me say this upfront.
If you are a criminal, and you are breaking the law, then don’t act surprise when the police officers are called in to cart you to jail. You broke the law. Take responsibility for your actions and don’t fight the police who were most likely called in by your neighbors because you were acting like a fool.
If you are an onlooker to a police officer attempting to arrest a man who is suspected of a crime, don’t stand on the sidelines shouting insults at the officers that were called in because that fool was robbing a store in your neighborhood. Keep quiet. Your shouts are only inciting fear and it causes people to make mistakes. If you suspect police brutality, use your cell phone to quietly collect evidence and to call the local news station.
If you are pulled over, and this goes for any race, please turn on the interior lights inside the car and roll down your window, then place both hands on the wheel. I guarantee you that small act will lower the tension on both sides.
Police Officers should get proper training on crowd control, but more importantly, there has to be a desire to know the people on your rounds. You can’t do this from a patrol car. We need to bring back the “Beat Cop.”  When I was growing up in South Philly, the police officers walked their route. They got to know all the people in their district and, the people got to know them. When you get to know the stranger, he or she becomes a friend and during a crime or life and death situation, that officer is your best ally. Body cameras are an important tool of recording an event and so are street cameras. We need more cameras on the street to insure that citizens and police are both behaving respectfully to each other.
Any officer that has a problem respecting people because of race, gender, or religion, needs to leave the job. There is no place for bigots on our police force.
Nerves are raw right now and people are too angry to listen to one another.

Here is the experiment

James is late for work because his infant son, still adjusting to the world, has kept him and his wife up all night. He’s thinking about the bills that have to be paid that week and he’s worried about his elderly mother who is now exhibiting signs of dementia. The sirens pull his attention back to the present. James pulls over. Did he just go through that red light? James, who is black, begins to sweat as the white cop orders him to lower his window. James’ heart is thumping wildly.
John, the white police officer, is a new father also and like James, got little or no sleep. John always wanted to help people and that’s why he became a cop. His heart beats rapidly as he approaches the car. Is the man armed? The driver looks scared. Is he hiding something...a gun?
Two humans, both young fathers, both good men...are at that very moment frozen in time. Neighbors who see the car pulled over begin yelling out “Police Brutality” like a chorus in some musical. John and James are now forced to play the roles assigned to them with only two possible results.
1.     Even with the onlookers taunting, everything goes smoothly and John gives James a ticket for going through the red light. Both men go home to their infants and their wives.

2.     Due to the onlooker’s taunts, John reacts to James refusing to exit the car. Both men size each other up as the enemy. Backup is called and things get out of control...
 
Conclusion

Too many people have died in this country due to violence. We need to address the racism in this country. It exists on both sides of the fence. We need to fix this problem now. We need to start thinking of ourselves as American Citizens. We need to think of ourselves as comrades and, we need to unite against the real bad guys who encourage this inner fighting because it keeps us from seeing them dismantle our government piece by piece.
Yes, there are problems between the police and the communities they are assigned to protect, but we can fix this if we work together. We need to look at each other not as black or white, but as souls temporarily inhabiting a human vessel. We need to respect each other because we are all worthy of proper treatment by a fellow traveler on this big spinning marble. We are Americans! We are many colors; we are many genders; we are many beliefs, but we are Americans first and foremost. Each and every person in this country deserves to be respected and, respectful of each other. The time of profiling is over. The time to bring about peace is now. Who will step up to the plate and perform this act of valor...is it you or me?

I am extending my hand out to you. Will you take it as a sign of peace?

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Reincarnation and Our Beliefs About Death

                                                      
       

Dead is dead, or so we’ve been told, but what if we can return many times. Does the Creator give us a choice because of our free will? Is the possibility of many lifetimes, or a second or third chance to get it right, feasible? Christian religions deny reincarnation because their working formula is all about Judgement. There is almost joyfulness in their expectation of an eternal punishment. Mankind has been forced to look at the afterlife as time served in either hell or heaven. But, what if the Creator is only about love and wisdom? Is one lifetime enough to understand the meaning of life? I’m still trying to figure out how to work my smart phone let alone understanding the mysteries of life.

What do the dead tell us? There is no denying that spirits who have passed away, do keep in contact with their loved ones. I have ghosts living in my house. The Creator, the dead have seen, is not vindictive or cruel. The GOD that made all life is pure love. Would he be so intent on judging us after one lifetime? I think not. I always see GOD as a wise and sustainable loving spirit. The creatures he created were made to adapt, to evolve and to learn. A quick fly through in human form, be it 1 year or 100 years is definitely not long enough to understand the beauty of HIS love.
                                                        
I don’t think everyone comes back...but there are those who have returned many, many, times. Was there a lesson these old souls needed to learn? Were they sent back to help nudge mankind in the right direction...like Tesla or Einstein?
Do we just reincarnate on this planet, or do we return wherever there is sentient lifeforms living throughout the universe?
                                                      
 
Organized religions argue that there is no such thing as reincarnation...but these are the same people who tell us to hate those who are different and, who also start wars in the name of GOD...which makes me understand why the thought of reincarnation frightens them so. GOD is love and thus, I feel that he wants us to ask questions that need to be answered. Because HE is pure love, I doubt that my believing in reincarnation is viewed as sinful. He is my Heavenly Father and he wants me to think outside the box created by closed minds.

Do you believe in reincarnation? Why?