Random crap with Uno.

[Buster's Uncle]

http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=8796.msg50956#msg50956

[Unorthodox]

I vaguely remember the storms and the sheds roofs being torn up, but you must have been too busy afterward to post much about what was lost - I still don't recall that.

We lost the stele and the 'witches' (hard to describe if you don't remember), and the gazebo, which was going to be the framework for the temple we were going to try to make.  I still have the bar stools and fire pits that were the heart of the stele.  I really like the corn tunnel in place of the temple.  In fact, the whole garden area wouldn't have happened had we not had that stuff break and my switch to pumpkins. 

There was a lot of assorted things ("Them", I've NEVER posted good info on "them", since I was purposely hiding that info from prying eyes...might be time to think of rebuilding that too) that got damaged at the time as well, but were of lesser importance, and I cleaned out and started selling stuff shortly after in the whole simplification move, which let me do weird things like build Trevor. 

[Unorthodox]

ALREADY!!!  It's like crazy early for monarchs to be here, but we saw one hovering around our milkweed this afternoon, and sure enough. 




Also unidentified something or other that was potentially interested in the egg, it disappeared before I could really observe it. 

[Buster's Uncle]

 

[Buster's Uncle]

Hey, have you heard about the Slenderman stabbing?  No way you haven't...

[Unorthodox]

Well, bugguide don't know on the second pic there.  It's a nymph katydid, of unknown species.  Most likely after aphids. 

[Unorthodox]

Hey, have you heard about the Slenderman stabbing?  No way you haven't...

I called that months back with my kids.  One of the very few things banned in our house. 

It's not slenderman.  There's another, more human, sinister crap going around tying himself into the mythos.  I don't have the links right now because it was just WRONG.   

[Buster's Uncle]

http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=8845.new#new

[Unorthodox]

Hey, have you heard about the Slenderman stabbing?  No way you haven't...

I called that months back with my kids.  One of the very few things banned in our house. 

It's not slenderman.  There's another, more human, sinister crap going around tying himself into the mythos.  I don't have the links right now because it was just WRONG.   

Let me rephrase a bit. 

Slenderman is so damn open source, there are a lot of elements to it.  Now, supporting characters and all sorts of oddities.  About 8-9 months ago, I become aware of someone/some group claiming to be slenderman and/or surrounding characters, and crossing that line where they were messaging people to do things in the real world.  And it was some messed up crap.  No, not killing, but clearly working people up to increasingly antisocial activities through twitter, email, PMs, etc.  In that context, the stabbing does not surprise me at all.  Whether one of the slendermen people told these particular kids to do this, or they just read the stories of it telling others to do mean things and they were already half crazy to begin with, I don't know.  I just know someone's perverted the original slenderman story into some very sick 'games'. 

[Buster's Uncle]

And for obvious reasons, you don't like any of it a bit...

[Unorthodox]

My middle son is 12, and lives in his own world half the time as it is.  Usually whatever game he's been playing lately.  Come home from his friend's place talking about slenderman a few weeks back.  I'm wary of the thing.  Think it's silly, but ultimately just a regurgitated urban legend with very little 'original' in it.  People messing with kids isn't even new, though the internet had changed how people can do that. 

I mean, come on, we had the same basic premise as the slender man story in the 80's twilight zone. (probably before that, but this is always what I think about)

The Twilight Zone 1985 - The Shadow Man

[Buster's Uncle]

I was just talking with a cousin's eight year-old, a future serial killer, judging from his interests.  All zombie movies and morbid crap involving death.

He asked me if I knew about Slenderman...  No kiddin'.

[Rusty Edge]

Cases like this disturb me. You know the ones. Where a pre-teen murders or attempts to do so.  Cases like this  are open and shut, and the premeditation and lack of conscience/remorse/empathy for the victim, even after the brutality has begun demand being tried as an adult.

You can't execute them, you can't rehabilitate them in an institution, and you can't take the chance of returning them to society. Life in prison could mean 75 years. 

[Unorthodox]

Well, Slenderman can be broke into categories, really.

Original story:

Just pics and written fiction.  No big deal, IMO. 

Video games/videos: 

Amateur horror versions of various quality of category 1.  Almost entirely lowbrow jump scares. 



THE GAME:

This is where it gets weird.  LARP "game" with a "puppetmaster" controlling the game, and people needing to act it out in their everyday lives (this is where it goes a little left of the D&D stuff, the 'game' doesn't end when you're all drunk and go home).  This is where there are some SICK puppetmasters. 

I've seen some asking people to video tape hazing/bullying their best friends in public, or just walking up and punching someone for no reason, and all kinds of things that were cruel on an emotional level. 

These girls claim to be a "proxy", this is the role of those in the game helping slenderman.  It won't surprise me if the other girl is "blind" (unaware) or a "runner" in the game.  I hope the authorities are taking a hard ass look for a potential puppetmaster. 


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There's nothing wrong with being into zombies and horror, though.  Get the kid involved with a good haunted house.  Seriously.  Turn that interest into a charity organization.  Most haunters are good people. 

[Buster's Uncle]

At eight?  Disagree.  He's a crack baby grown into a giant for his age and no good will come of this.

http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=8862.0