Month: October 2011

FWD, ’cause its important — Mississippi Personhood Amendment

~ Bon Steele ~ Leave a comment

Originally posted by at Mississippi Personhood Amendment

Okay, so I don’t usually do this, but this is an issue near and dear to me and this is getting very little no attention in the mainstream media.

Mississippi is voting on November 8th on whether to pass Amendment 26, the “Personhood Amendment”. This amendment would grant fertilized eggs and fetuses personhood status.

Putting aside the contentious issue of abortion, this would effectively outlaw birth control and criminalize women who have miscarriages. This is not a good thing.

Jackson Women’s Health Organization is the only place women can get abortions in the entire state, and they are trying to launch a grassroots movement against this amendment. This doesn’t just apply to Mississippi, though, as Personhood USA, the group that introduced this amendment, is trying to introduce identical amendments in all 50 states.

What’s more, in Mississippi, this amendment is expected to pass. It even has Mississippi Democrats, including the Attorney General, Jim Hood, backing it.

The reason I’m posting this here is because I made a meager donation to the Jackson Women’s Health Organization this morning, and I received a personal email back hours later – on a Sunday – thanking me and noting that I’m one of the first “outside” people to contribute.

So if you sometimes pass on political action because you figure that enough other people will do something to make a difference, make an exception on this one. My RSS reader is near silent on this amendment. I only found out about it through a feminist blog. The mainstream media is not reporting on it.

If there is ever a time to donate or send a letter in protest, this would be it.

What to do?

– Read up on it. Wake Up, Mississippi is the home of the grassroots effort to fight this amendment. Daily Kos also has a thorough story on it.

– If you can afford it, you can donate at the site’s link.

– You can contact the Democratic National Committee to see why more of our representatives aren’t speaking out against this.

– Like this Facebook page to help spread awareness.

Halloween is the Best Time of the Year

~ Bon Steele ~ 2 Comments

This is my favorite time of the year.  Cooler weather, themed candy, spooky decorations, horror movies.

I love that spine-chilling feeling.

What I don’t like are over the top, gross-out gorefests. That isn’t scary. That’s just hurl-inducing. A crazy person who hunts, maims and kills anyone who dares to have consensual sex at a lakeside resort is NOT a frightening boogeyman. He is someone that should be tranqued and taken off to the nearest plush-walled hotel for a long stay. Possibly with a plethora of calming medications. I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be gore in a scary movie. What I am saying is that there has to be something else. Otherwise, it’s just colored Karo syrup for no reason.

Now, I get that some folks are of the opinion that there is nothing more frightening than a movie about a mad-dog killer who can’t be reasoned with or put off. The blood drenched walls and bits of carnage make their hearts go pitter-pat. And when the Jason Michael clone killer leaps out from yet another hiding place, they will happily shriek and flail.

I get that. I do. They’re wrong, though. 

Because they’re confusing the startle with a true terrification*. I think that the most effective frights are those that utilize atmosphere. Not-quite right images, everyday things in an improper setting, just out of good aural range sounds, and there-then-gone apparitions. What I am talking about, of course, is dread. Dread of what is going to happen next, dread of the unknown. Building that feeling in film takes time and skill. There are directors who can accomplish this. What leaps immediately to my mind are the Japanese horror masters.

Why is it LOOKING at me?

They take normal situations and then add elements that just fuck you up.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the scariest moments I ever experienced in a movie was when the ghost appeared in the bed under the fucking covers of the fleeing character.

Boo. I am in your trope, changing the rules.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But there are American directors and writers who can do the same thing. The Freddy** movies started out that way. Sure, they were full of random arterial spray and bed blenders. But they also utilized a new kind of monster. One that could hunt you in your freaking dreams. All the protagonists of the movie were jittery, caffeinated and sleep deprived. Even cat naps could get them muderlated. Plus, Freddy liked to mess with his victims. Maybe their souls were tastier when dipped in a broth of frenzied fear?

I can haz noms on yr soul?

Eventually, the movies devolved into a gore-fest and got stupid. But those first couple were damn scary.

 

 

 

 

Now, I wrote about all of this as a way of explaining my Theory of Halloween decorations. Y’see, there are several schools of thought on Halloween decoration. There is the cutesy, let’s make sure the kids aren’t frightened, Charlie Brown in a crappy ghost costume bunch.

This is terrifying. Esp. that yellow-horned demoness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, there is the just-phoning-it-in crowd:

I am a scary ghost. Put me in your yard.***

 

 

 

 

 

And then there are the folks that I aspire to be, someday.  They build entire freaking haunted houses in their yards. They have themes. They rock my horror-writer’s black heart in so many ways. This year, I will be attempting to decorate my house/yard to reflect that shriveled organ.

Aw, its adorable!

 

 

 

My theme this year is: Haunted Nursery. There will be floating Barbie heads. There will be barely audible children’s giggles interspersed with haunting music. Piles of dirty,discarded toys. Things gazing from the shrubbery.

It will be creepy. It will be disturbing. It will probably get me in trouble with the HOA.

 

 

I can’t wait. 😀

A good start.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* – shut up, Spell Check. I say its a word, therefore it is a word.
** – Nightmare on Elm Street
*** – what the hell is that in his hand? A hat? The bleeding heart of his creator? WHAT?