And I’m back! Crazy how fast time passes… especially when you’re me and everyday is a new adventure!
Then, I get to tell y’all about anything past or present that you would find interesting, and the last 30 days have indeed been that.
MegaCon Orlando
I just finished the MegaCon Orlando convention, and this was one truly for the books. I was invited by well known pop culture journalist and major event moderator, Aaron Sagers to participate in a paranormal investigations panel with folks from the Central Florida area, who, like myself, have a fascination and background with trying to peer and deal with the “unseen world”. The video of the panel is up on my YouTube channel, so take a peek.
This is why I tackled and got the rights to “the based on true events” demonic possession project I’ve been working on getting in production, The Dutchman: A House Possessed. I am unafraid of these things, but again…fascinated. I look at this scientifically, and it’s physics and energy going places and manifesting, but with a touch of the mystical. It’s like alchemy in a way.
BTW, the YouTube views for my interview with Dr. John Catapano – the investigator that the Warrens left behind to do all the work – are now over 45,000. This is proof that the world has the same interest as a lot of us in these things. Wait for my next news vlog. (Sign up here.)
If all goes right, I may be in the thick of a very dangerous investigation here in Florida. You folks will get an exclusive first look at what could be truly frightening. Because of the nature of this house and the entity within, only one trusted friend and I are going there. It’s too risky to have anyone else but the person the being first communicated with and myself as me.
I do more of this stuff than I share publicly. Read Vinnie and Mook if you want to get a sense of what I’ve seen and experienced. Write what you know is my rule in most of my work.
Bubba is different. I use Bubba to kind of cool off and get absurd, but even those stories have some grains of truth and experience. One day I’ll tell y’all about my encounter one winter’s night on Bourbon Street with a member of New Orleans “Rougarou” crew.
So stick around my YouTube and this website. It’s about to become a tingling taste of Halloween early this year…
I was going to continue my indie film lecture, but something recently has me holding that final part ‘til next blog. You will get that final information, I promise.
For now… Most of you have seen the Game of Thrones finale, of course, and it’s a mixed bag of love, hate, and indifference.
Of course, it is. Why? Because opinion varies and is the spice of life. But I would like to throw my “flavoring” into this mix and here is what I call:
“Let the Wookiee win”
This phrase means more than just a funny line from Star Wars. These days, to me, it’s a true indicator of how the public and society is feeling.
Folks, we’re pissed off. It seems like there is no winner in anything anymore. Politics, personal lives, work, and even the damn Earth itself is getting angry. Writers and artists are the commentators and “watch wardens” of these things and here is my take…
A lot of fiction is reflecting our current dystopian attitude. It’s like we can’t win in real life, so why not really amp up our feelings and take it to the fantasy realms. In Game of Thrones, we were hoping that a person who owned a dragon would rule her world and that she would use this mighty beast to show us all the justice we crave in our real world. No surprise to me that she didn’t get her way either.
In the real realms, equate the dragon with the massive weaponry being rattled by every country to the one they have issue with. Compare Daenerys with a hurt child who now that has power within her grasp, as now, she can take revenge on all who demeaned her and be the final judge of us all.
This is a particularly bad scenario to me. Look at the spoiled brats who have power now. The totalitarian attitude these angry immature bullies have towards all of us. We are pawns and “collateral” damage in their schemes to gain absolute power. Even most fictional villains look more like heroes these days because they are at least honest about what evil outcomes they want.
Ya gotta love an honest villain. And we do. I even do this with Vinnie and Mook. They’re two hit men who now have turned their vicious talents toward doing good, and they don’t even realize most of the time that they are now becoming heroes. Like when Harry Potter had to “kill” himself to outwit Voldemort. As I titled this section, it’s sometime all about backing off and letting the Wookiee win.
We need someone to rise to the occasion, be willing to suppress their pride and allow the other guy to win. Sometimes it works and sometimes it backfires of course, but in the end, the war ends. Then, we can assess what happened and move on. Hopefully with all the lessons we needed to learn so we can prevent a conflict in the future. As I wrote…hopefully. Even the best intentions can cause problems if we don’t learn sacrifice and cooperation.
In the history of storytelling, we always enjoy flawed heroes who, like we, are not perfect but want the best for all. It’s the meat and potatoes of a being heroic and gets us to the dessert of the meal… a happy ending. Come on! We all love one, and it’s not a trope if done correctly and with care for the audience if a storyteller really does want to satisfy their audiences.
I know what you’re thinking, “Oh please, Mitch, we won’t look cool to our friends if we want to see the world saved.” Well, sometimes giving in to the love and hope that we are forced by the current societal and peer pressure but secretly want. It goes back to, “If your friend jumps off a bridge…”
Most of us would try to stop our friend in the first place. MOST. However, sometimes, our friend is out of control, in need of therapy or sobering up, and we would feel terrible if we let them do it and we could prevent it. See? There it is.
Let the Wookiee win. YOU’RE the Wookiee, people, and if those who understand why heroics are dangerous – and could get you a fist in the face from a friend whose pride or anger is out of control but will thank you later – is why we need heroes and happy endings. We need to look to heroic tales and embrace the positive end results. It empowers us to learn from mistakes and see that even the most powerless of us can do mighty deeds and then tell those deeds in the reality of a tale told in bar or in a story from an author we respect. And we do count on those authors and creators more then we think.
You get angry when a writer you love kills off a favorite character. We thrill to the shock at first, and then we think, “That wasn’t necessary.” Ever been on a theme park roller coaster and not be thankful when it’s over, but deep down, think “Ok, that was cool, but I think the bumper cars or go carts would be more fun for a while?”
Know why? Because, you have some control and a chance to interact but walk away intact. So, when we read a book, play a game, or watch a film or show, we want to at least feel good. The show Nailed It is one of my favorites because most don’t have the skills, but they try – and we all applaud the effort. Even the judges try to make them feel good about trying.
And trying is where we find our heroes and happy endings.
In closing for now: Never forget, Game of Thrones was done by a production company with a budget and a massive story. We all know that “Hollywood” always thinks that most of us are idiots and exploits us by not honoring what we really want. They instead look at angry bloggers or those looking to make trouble because they want attention and so forth because conflict makes for publicity and gaining minions.
In altruistic storytelling, we are luckier. Why? Because imagination and trying to make our readers who were attracted to us because of our view of things resonates with theirs.
As was said at the end of Game of Thrones, Tyrion states this perfectly…
Because poor damaged all-seeing and all-knowing Bran has a better story than anyone.
Bran had one hell of a happy ending, and after what he’d been through, we all deep down agree.
See you next month and I hope I have a happy ending with this crazy paranormal investigation I’m doing. I hope I’m back here to tell you all about it. I believe in happy endings, and I hope I can help that ghost (or whatever) have one, too. But if the Wookiee wants to win, I will not stop him and smartly get the hell outta its way…
Yours unruly,
Mitch