Author: Puppy

Semper Puppy

Centane – First Time Watching – The Thing (1982) Movie Reaction

On the plus side, she seems intelligent and rather natural in her reaction. Like, not going overboard for viewers.

Quite frankly I find her a bit on the clinical side…I could go for a bit more emotion. But the only way to really know if this (and if her personality) is a good co-watch with you is to give it a shot.

She also speaks Norwegian, which is good if you want to know what the Norwegian man with a rifle is saying at the beginning.

Me, I find that her translation takes away from some of the mystery of the film. And that’s what it’s all about…who is who is it and when and where and how (and sometimes why)?

The movie being watched gives it its quality, but there are several other FTW examples of it that I prefer.

Inspirational Quote: “Checkmate…checkmate…”

Grade: C

First Time Watching – Reaction Videos

A great way to watch ‘The Thing’ fifteen times in the same day and have each watch vary at least slightly.

Basically, “First Time Watching” videos are for when you’re lonely and want to watch a movie with someone but noone else is into it.

A very useful purpose, I think, at times. The trick is finding the co-watchers that you enjoy co-watching with. So to that purpose, there are a lot of possibilities.

I would recommend giving each a try, and finding out which you like and which you don’t, simple as that. I’ll be watching and reviewing a lot of said reaction videos, with a review of the first-timers typically as well as the subject. That’s a very important part of the enjoyment here.

SPOILER AND NOTE: For copyright purposes, they DO NOT watch the entire film in their videos. So it’s more for re-watching an edited version of a film you know you like (‘The Thing’, I’m lookin’ at you) with someone you know you’ll enjoy watch discovering and reacting to for the first time.

The Russian Sleep Experiment (2014 Audiobook)

Creepy(pasta) story that I listened to several times before this review.

I had initially been a bit more negative to it, as I thought it over-rated, but I think I was over-reacting in the other direction because it’s not a work of sheer brilliance.

In the final analysis, it piques my interest with a natural morbid curiosity and somewhat-originality; disturbing descriptions, disturbing behaviors, and a rather disturbing descent into insanity. And the picture is worth several thousand words.

My only complaint is that the beginning is a bit slow.

Inspirational Quote: “Keep cutting.”

Grade: B+

The Sleep Experiment (2022)

Full-length film inspired by ‘The Russian Sleep Experiment’, a famous Creepypasta.

Obviously, they had to flesh it out (ha ha) to make it feature length.

It’s about what happens when five men are placed in an isolation chamber (decent room size) that is then filled with a gas designed to keep them awake for as long as the testing scientists want, in exchange for a promise of freedom at the end of the “test”.

As a whole I find it touch-and-go but never dismal; I think it’s worth a watch by itself (it’s good enough on its own) as well as for fans of the original CreepyPasta ‘Russian Sleep Experiment’ (at least for comparison).

It’s well made enough to hold one’s interest, but it doesn’t come near the graphic horror and grotesqueness of the “origin”.

Grade: C+

To Those Who Said My Site Would Be A Total Failure

To all those who said/thought my online radio station would fail miserably, before it potentially goes away (quit, not fired), here’s my failure:

You have 555,486 Total Visits (As of 4/11/13)

So, probably a bit more including the several years since.

There’s something extremely fulfilling about not just succeeding, but about GRINDING THE FACES of naysayers into the ground about it. Ahhhhhhhh…what a feeling.

Oh, and…

Semper Puppy Radio (First Iteration):

24 Overall Favorite Station selections
1 VIP Favorite Station selection
602 Presets
3465 listening hours in the last 30 days
Rating: 5 out of 5 (4 Votes)
95 Facebook likes
5 Google shares
2 Tweets
1 Pinit

But WAIT, there’s MORE!

“Semper Puppy helps me get through my 12hr shift at work.”

Semper Puppy station peak (first iteration) – 383rd (Out of over 7,000 I believe).
(Last top ten list, by country, last 30 days for first Semper Puppy iteration)

1 – The United States
2 – Mexico
3 – Brazil
4 – Canada
5 – Argentina
6 – The United Kingdom
7 – Germany
8 – Spain
9 – Serbia
10 – Italy

(Last top ten list, by country, last 30 days for second Semper Puppy iteration)

1 – The United States
2 – Germany
3 – Canada
4 – Mexico
5 – The United Kingdom
6 – Brazil
7 – Israel
8 – Ireland
9 – Switzerland
10 – Portugal

(Last top ten list, by state, last 30 days for second Semper Puppy iteration)

1 – IL
2 – CT
3 – FL
4 – CO
5 – OH
6 – TX
7 – CA
8 – NJ
9 – NC
10 – NY

Semper Puppy, second iteration:
All-Time Highs:

Grunge: 1st
Classic Alternative: 10th
Adult Album Alternative: 16th
Overall: 490th

Semper Puppy, third iteration:
All-Time Highs:

Grunge: 1st
Classic Alternative: 7th
Indie Rock: 14th
Overall: 507th

Semper Puppy, fourth iteration:
All-Time Highs:

Grunge: 1st
Classic Alternative: 7th
Indie Rock: 14th
Overall: 464th

Unique Countries, Last 30 Days, fourth iteration: 47 (Record: 50 on 3/13/17)

Yip! >.<

Deep Puppy Thoughts (Part 250)

A collection. And remember, there’s always hope, so hang the fck in there.

“I am become Puppy, licker of faces.”

“In the silent privacy of his mind…she faced…and took his burdens upon herself.
He could not resist her…he had no defense…
“No Evil!” she breathed at him. Not this time.
His eyes were fixed on hers, and they flamed hot midnight…
His refusal made grief well up in her like the wail of a lost child.”
At least I can feel this. More than most, certainly.

Yes, how horrible, the “Friend Zone”.
I mean, it’s just friends.
It’s not corrupted by all those desires, wishes, dreams, love, eternal love. Because what says love like really really loud grunts.
Golly, I really am lucky. (That’s not a joke).
I might think differently if I thought most people were actually genuinely nice and caring.
It’s all just BS leading up to sex. Meaningless.
But if that’s all you want, the brief climax, don’t worry. There are plenty of fellows out there.
“Do you like it? These things you do?”
“No, I don’t. But that’s life, isn’t it?”

FAIR USE: CRITICISM –
“The Thunderous Sound Of Delicacy”
It’s probably already been done, but Duvall’s quiet, gentle, comforting tone and message at the beginning draws you in with an implied sense of civility. Then Duvall pulls a ‘Columbo’. Right before you can leave, he asks a very simple “When?”
You thought “Hey, that wasn’t so bad”…then he comforts some more, before turning it into a soft, gentle, mildly firm like a scold, which rises quickly into a dangerous, helpful, run through, which ends with what terrifies with tone and finally asks (in my opinion) “Do you like your job, son?”
“Because that would be *my* time, my own private time, which no one – if they had any sense of self-preservation at ALL – would dare interrupt.”
*Genial little chuckle*
Gently “If…I were you.”
*Genial little smile*
*The other, fear in his whole figure, freezes, pleading: “I’m sorry…”
Duvall raises his hand, with a low “shhhh”, and proceeds to ignore the man completely, 99 percent sure he will have nothing further useful to say, and he’s gotten bored already in his mocking “explanation”.

FAIR USE: CRITICISM – The person and the bee.

FAIR USE: CRITICISM – The beauty to me is how pure her love is. It seems so rare in people. And as for him, it was tense when I first saw this, a very long time ago…I was actively worried, and then relieved. I cared for them, I genuinely did…suspending disbelief wasn’t a big problem. They couldn’t have pulled this off so seemingly easily if there wasn’t some Diane in Shelley Long, and some Sam in Ted Danson.

“Even though his joints creaked and his bark rasped, he would fight with the fire of a much younger dog if Dru needed him to.”

“Eli: It doesn’t have to make sense. It’s faith, it’s faith. It’s the flower of light in the field of darkness that’s giving me the strength to carry on. You understand?
Solara: Is that from your book?
Eli: No, it’s, uh, Johnny Cash, Live at Folsom Prison.”

“While it’s well known that as one gets older, one tends to find changes in the world at large unsettling, confusing, f@cking irritating, a rebuke to one’s very existence, it’s generally not a good idea to make a career out of saying so.” – Greil Marcus

“Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art Of War’ is to Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s ‘Hagakure’ what a refreshing, crystal-clear, shallow wading pool is to an ocean.” – Me

FAIR USE: CRITICISM –
“…so careful, when I’m in your arms…”
“You woke up screamin’ aloud…”

FAIR USE: CRITICISM –
Beautiful.
“Abashed the Devil stood, and felt how aw(e)ful Goodness is…”

“You deceived me.”
“You let yourself be deceived. But in your heart you always knew what had to happen here.”

“My…dark destructive tastes…
I chose…to stroll amongst the waste that was your heart…lost in the dark…”

Who Goes There? (2012 YouTube Audiobook Adaptation)

From “Must Be Nice Studios”, it’s a good companion piece to John Carpenter’s 1982 movie ‘The Thing’.

Nice explanations/references here, of things you may or may not have cared about from the movie…unsure what’s what in terms of relevance or irrelevance to who or what or where or when or how or sometimes why? (Or who cares?).

But that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?

If you don’t like Carpenter’s film, this is probably not worth it. If you *DO*, it is, if only to compare little variables and check what’s really what and who’s really who.

One of the “things” actually argues INTELLECTUALLY for its own existence when it’s still – for most intents and purposes – “human”.

Inspirational Quote: “So it’s walkin’ around without skin. Maybe it’ll look better.”
IQ Cousin: “Maybe we at war with Norway.”

Grade: B-

Who Goes There? (2023 YouTube Audiobook)

The original novel was the planted triffid seed for John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’.

The narrator sounds far too much like Aldo Farnese to take the intro seriously. At least he doesn’t tell us about trade school.

At around 1:02 he sounds like the creepy-a$$ animated guy from one of the ‘From Beyond’ short subjects.

An UP! and down persistent volume warning is definitely in play here.

There is one thing about this version that I rather like: just think about the vague and also contrastingly *sharp* changes possible in perception. Wow man…what a trip.

Nice argument (possibility?) at 1:06:50 from MacReady…

Around 1:49: Hmmmm…the thing is a pacifist?

Ha ha.

Inspirational Quote: “…a flash of electric blue seared upward from beyond the granite wall.” (and inspired J.C.’s opening?)

Grade: C-

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (2015 YouTube Audiobook)

This is the audiobook of the original 1955 novel.

Alright…we’ll call it a draw.

The rampant sexism can be creepy and annoying at times.

Very interesting material, and it holds your attention for the most part.

Read pretty well overall, mostly convincing emotion as appropriate but a few too many cracks.

Scientific probabilities: Don’t care. It’d take all the mystery out of life.

The debate and explanation near the ending is pretty cool, very clinical and undeniable.

The ending itself seems really half-a$$ed, inspired by the times and drawn out of a hat. The 1978 movie has a similar but more likely (near) ending.

Inspirational Quote: “…tell you later.”

Grade: C+

Re-Reviews

I’ve decided that I will not go back and re-review anything I’ve aleady reviewed. BPD and/or the like makes this an extremely difficult task, PLUS there are so many reviews, PLUS very few people seem to give a solitary fck.

So if my opinion has changed, oh well. This is a work I’ve built for myself out of nothing. It’ll always be here and always be that, even if it has major old mistakes.

– Puppy

The Day Of The Triffids (YouTube Audiobook 2017)

The first chapter is decent but slow.

The rest is…slow.

I *have* to listen to the entire thing when I review one of these, but do yourself a favor and trust me: it ain’t worth it.

Kinda creepy, kinda silly, quite boring.

The main character/love interest relationship is emotionless and clinical…just like all the relationships. And, let’s be honest here, characters. There’s just very little to induce you to care about any of the characters and/amid the boring, incredibly-potentially interesting story about molluscs errr triffids.

There’s a great sexist rant at the end of Chapter Ten.

BTW: The idea that your life ends if you go blind is both offensive and absurd.

Inspirational Idea For A Good Sign To Wear: “I am sighted and submissive”.

Grade: D-

FAIR USE: CRITICISM

This (and all of my posts that are in any way voicing an opinion or seem to be voicing an opinion, positive or negative (or neutral) are protected under the Fair Use of criticism. I make no money whatsoever on these posts. This is to be assumed to apply on all past, present, and future such posts.

‘Absolutely Fabulous’:

“Patsy used to date Keith Moon.”
“Well, sort of…woke up underneath him in a hotel bedroom once.”

Puppy:

Wow…that’s ummm…something, alright.

(Example of Fair Use)

Have a nice day.

– Puppy

Bartleby, The Scrivener (1853)

Audiobook.

With all due respect, this is as boring as the world that Bartleby seeks to escape from.

Much of the interest in this story is seeing the physical reactions, which is done much better with pictures.

It’s just…dull. Not “bad”…just *dull*.

DISCLAIMER: If you have no idea what to expect beforehand, it will be more interesting. If you know the quote, and the inevitability, there’s just no point in listening.

Grade: D (Upped a notch for newbies)

Born Of Man And Woman (1954)

Short story by Richard Matheson. It’s interesting and quite sad.

A first-person “entry by entry” account of something/someone chained in their (supposedly?) parents’ basement.

By “its” own vague description and from what it says “mother and father” tell it, it is hideous in appearance, but that’s not made explicit.

Probably more interesting that way; leaves a bit to your imagination.

It’s a little TOO short, would be my only real complaint.

Grade: B

The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)

To make it quick, this was written by Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker. They went on to write ‘Airplane!’, among others.

But this is minor-league baseball – where even the best stars first need to work out the kinks and learn the ropes.

Sometimes painfully.

So unless you really (REALLY) can’t get enough of ZAZ, stick with something else.

Grade: D-

The Metamorphosis (2012 Audiobook)

1915 story by Franz Kafka.

Incredibly creepy, right from the start.

From there, it just seems – from the main character’s reaction/narration – that it will be the same boring story of a traveling salesman with little attention paid to the fact that things have changed JUST A BIT as he’s now a huge insect. I mean…that would make selling a bit difficult, wouldn’t you think?

Fairly quickly, though, things seem to change…but very slowly in terms of how the narrator views things and thus describes things. Like a brain that is slowly turning from human to insect. I didn’t expect that, actually, and it’s an object of curious interest. CREEPY interest.

Everything just slowly and inevitably starts to collapse. Depressing.

Depressing because it is seemingly completely without reason; someone destroyed in an instant for no good reason, doomed to simply die slowly.

Inspirational Quote: “…simply have to overcome a slight indisposition for business reasons.”

IQ2: “It’s not fair it’s not FAIR!”

Grade: B

The Human League

Greatest Hits (1988)

You can’t get much more meaningless than this. So “Human” is kinda funny, kinda nostalgic, and stupid.

Mechanical (hooks) World. Almost all aren’t hooky enough to warrant listening to the guy’s voice/meaningless lyrics.

Good for when you want to feel substantial, no matter how insubstantial you are.

For best results, instead of listening to 1-16 once each, listen to 1 sixteen times.

(“Don’t You Want Me”)

Grade: D

From Beyond (Michael Granberry Stop Motion Animated Short Film, 2006)

This is definitely the best of the three ‘From Beyond”s that I have partaken fully of.

The other video is interesting but crude and quite flawed. The audiobook is good, but it’s much better with pictures.

I like the animation, which may not be perfect but to me seems to capture the spirit of Lovecraft’s weirdness…the oddness of his otherworldly beings.

I like the voice acting very much. Good sound effects, too.

And I gotta say I love the ending: A bonus that makes it even better, an original addition in the spirit of Lovecraft.

Inspirational Quote: “Yes, my friend, these are the quivering monstrosities that float and flop about you every moment of your life…”

Grade: A-

From Beyond (Dangerous Puppets Stop Motion Animation Short Film, 2015)

Very odd and unusual as well as…Creepy. “Rough”…weird and not for everyone, but I get a certain enjoyment from it.

It’s a nice little variation in a rare form. Guilty pleasure maybe, but so what :P

Inspirational Quote: “I want to showwwwwww you something.”

Grade: C+

From Beyond (HorrorBabble Audiobook, from ‘Three Weeks Of Weird’ compilation, 2017)

H.P. Lovecraft short story…one of his best, I think. Audiobook version. At just under 20 minutes, it’s certainly worth listening to (as well as watching, but those are two other posts). Each ‘From Beyond’ entry is worthy of your attention.
Good all the way through, and about as close as Lovecraft comes to a happy ending.

Grade: B

The King In Yellow (1895): The Complete Collection (Horrorbabble Audiobook, 2017)

Do you like pretension and open-to-any-interpretation? You’ll love this. No? It is then worthless to you.

Fine, the first four “Volumes” have some connections. Enough to maintain interest. But interest based on hope for something MORE, hope that these building blocks will pay off later. But they don’t. They are just LEFT THERE, as the author moves on to confusing insane writing *WITHOUT* connections.

I would try the first four, just to be sure, but trust me on the next six.

When I consider the year that this was published, it makes a LOT more sense. I mean, very few people probably had a then-current chance to read the work, so I imagine it encouraged clever people to gather together in groups with their majestic rare book and dwell on how all the common schmos had no idea this even existed…a shared, rare secret. But it’s not rare anymore. Anyone that wants to know whether they are sufficiently stoned or not could probably determine that by listening to a bit of this. If it sounded brilliant, “It all makes sense to me now!!!”, then you’re plenty stoned. Or plenty high. *riff riff*

If you have interest in this sort of thing, if you have interest in weirdness, if you have interest in H.P. Lovecraft, if you have interest in weird a$$ sh1t….if you WANT to like this, and KNOW it, and what it means, you may very well listen to EVERY line for any hint of anything it might (eventually) give. Oh well, I can’t stop you.

But don’t underestimate this: If you’re of sound mind and don’t wanna get a little freaked or laugh in wondrous surprise, it’s not for you.

Don’t let anyone tell you there’s anything brilliant to be discovered here, because there’s nothing brilliant being *SAID* here.

It’s brilliant nonsense rambling, and if you discover a meaning for yourself, it’s completely by accident…..you’ll try, of course, that’s only natural. Those that like trying and thinking odd, unbidden images will keep on with it, those that do not will stop pretty d@mn quickly.

I have no idea and don’t care enough to look into it, but does this have ANYTHING to do with King Crimson, the obviously much-later-on prog-rock band?

H.P. Lovecraft supposedly read this (and *LIKED* it, yet!), thus justifying its existence.

“Volume One”: A great moment in the history of insane first-person “narration”…At this point, without reading further, it seems as if the entire volume is meant to be a story written by a lunatic, and while it seems pretty insane, I was expecting (hoping?) for something a bit more “important”. A bit of mythos, in the vein of Cthulhu, to get really weird freaky things going.

“Volume Two”: Less varied and weird (less, still very)…not as “good”(?) as one but don’t even *THINK* about skipping chapters, this is a WORK, of art or cr@p or insanity, in any case a work, and it won’t do to pick-and-choose. A beautiful woman is at the center of this buried amidst the now-usual borderline-insane ramblings that go here, there, and/or everywhere.

“Volume Three”: Interesting musical ramblings and/or musings…(more) impressive insane ramblings.

“Volume Four”: Official ‘King In Yellow’ chapter of the Boston Red Sox! Vague reminders of 3 on occasion…and a vague resolution to the supposed theme that’s not any more or less meaningful as any independent ramblings thus far.

“Volume Five”: The origin of the fabled snipe? Love, birds, endless vistas, other weirda$$ sh1t…adding intermittent French has no effect whatsoever. I mean, you know it doesn’t mean anything more than the rest of the nonsense here. Sounds nicer, though…French is such a pretty language.

“Volume Six”: Repetition and sub-sub-titles…I was very thankful when I realized it was short.

“Volume Seven”: Puss? or Puss?…meh or calming, or both. I don’t remember, already.

“Volume Eight”: Oh God this is starting to make my brain bleed. War is – confusing and boring?

“Volume Nine”: Mocks itself at least once, very welcome and normal…French, American, (ew!) Latin…oh Dear God this whole thing is the worst audiobook I’ve ever listened to. Allow me to quote a hero of mine on something completely different: “For a long time I thought this was the worst rock band in history simply because it was the most pretentious, but sometimes pretensions are (at least partially) earned.”…painting tends to be a somewhat common mention…fish FISH a FISHY requisite t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t…”an ecstasy of trill”, now *that* is a cool description – finally. Crossdressing. A miracle. Lots of Rue…faster, faster…

“Volume Ten”: “Crimson, nor yellow…” Is this more evidence that King Crimson took this cr@p and tried to make it sane? Or did they try to keep it insane and go full-on pretense? Or is there no connection? Or who cares?…art teacher…longggggg smile…intermittent French as it builds to a CLIMAX. (No, not really…)…multitudinous love…greater than normal attention, hoping for and waiting for (but not expecting) an actual, meaningful ending that somehow sums things up in some small way at least. NOPE.

Inspirational Quote: “What?? What about the chicken?”

IQ2: “…(passages) that made (‘The King In Yellow’) such an admirable (audiobook) to fall asleep to.” – A Hero

Grade: C- (Upped three notches for inspiring talented writers)

The Outsider (2017)

H.P. Lovecraft short story on YouTube, illustrations by Tanabe Gou, voice by Jaemi Samples, montage by msa_21

A version made IMPO more interesting by the “gender” being female.

The creepiness is pretty predictable, at least it was for me, but it’s an enjoyable watch with just enough suspense to keep you tuned to confirm 100 percent that it was what you thought it was.

For Lovecraft, this is light.

Grade: B-

8/12/23: For Lovecraft, this is simplistic.

But that’s more an allusion to the extreme NON-simple-ness (I like making up words to suit my purposes) of almost everything else he wrote. It’s not simplistic in a vacuum or any other piece of household machinery. You may guess the hook early on (then again you may not), but he doesn’t just take that as may be and write filler around it. There’s a lot of description and thought that goes on. So, I think it’s…good. Grade: B

First Time Watching – Overview

Are you bored and lonely? Looking to watch a movie with someone but also by yourself?

This is a category on Youtube where you can do pretty much that.

The quality varies wildly of course, and you’ll have to go through a lot of different “fellow watchers” before you find a Fav.

It can be enjoyable. Just remember – it’s cool to “watch with someone” at times, and in this case you can stop any time you want, and not have to interact in any way. So it’s good for semi-loners and/or really shy and/or depressed and/or socially awkward people.

BUT…they’re not really your “friends”. So avoid unhealthy obsessions. And keep your money in your pockets.

Word that will sear itself into your brain before too long: “Content”.

– Puppy