The Introverted Detective

You see caroling in every Christmas Carol movie, youth groups go caroling, and you hear Christmas carols all over your radio stations the minute November pops up (which annoys some to no end because it suggests Thanksgiving is worth skipping over). Do we truly know what caroling is? Let's find out.  1847 by Granger - courtesy of Fine Arts America Today I am researching where caroling started and how it became what it is now. I'll start with what it began as and go chronologically into what it currently is. Ready to go? All bundled up? Great! Wassailing Do you know what wassail is? It is a drink akin to what became today's eggnog. It was traditionally given to travelers in the spirit of hospitality since winter weather was not kind. It seems to me that our society has lost some of that spirit of hospitality (though in many cases it might not be a good time to bring it back, given our current worldly state).  Wassailing was not even singing but in fact well-wishing door-to-do...

Need help getting a good night's rest? Here is what I found and compiled. Maybe we can sleep better together.  Courtesy of Acme Mind Clinic Anxiety rises and sleep becomes elusive. Need help? I'm pretty sure everyone does. We could all do with a better sleep schedule when life kicks us in the back end. Today we dive into what you can do to sleep well.  Sleep Schedule What? A consistent sleep schedule is needed? Gasp! Most of us don't really have it. It is easy to forget your body works better on a consistent timer. Ideally, it should be no more than 8 hours of sleep, but at least 7 hours are necessary. Get up and go to bed at the same time if possible. Consistent timing reinforces your sleep-wake cycle. This includes weekends, you night owls.  What if you don't fall asleep within 20 minutes? Easy, go do something relaxing, like reading or listening to music (relaxing music, look on youtube for ASMR or music compilations). Once tired go back to bed. Don't just stare ...

 Do not try Buster Keaton stunts at home, ladies and gents, or you might die. Buster Keaton was a skilled stunt man that took many risks and those types of stunts can kill you, so much so that insurance companies won't let you do those stunts anymore. He is what you call a skilled expert and insanely lucky. He is also made of rubber. Courtesy of Pinterest Today we talk about one of the most hilarious comedians and stunt men I've ever seen. He started in silent movies with physical comedy. I'll go into three parts of his life; his acting, his stunts, and his life outside acting.  His Acting Not only was he an actor, but also a director, which is usually where seasoned actors who stick with Hollywood end up going if I've caught onto the pattern. He could also edit and write. He also did stunts that insurance companies will no longer sign off on. He was known for a straight face during comedy scenes, which earned him the nickname "the great stone face". Keaton tr...

It occurred to me the other day that people disappear from lots of places, but some locations are consistent. Let's discuss where people disappear from and why.  The Great Smoky Mountains courtesy of wallpaper cave First I'm going to talk about where people tend to go missing and possibly why. Then, I'm going to highlight a few cases that are unexplained. You'll notice that my research tended to find the most mysterious disappearances and I'm rolling with it. I'm also making a note of the fact that extensive parklands are often places where lone hikers do go missing. This is because it is easy to pick off a few hikers if they are in the middle of nowhere, as opposed to standing in the middle of a town full of people. Also, suicidal individuals may choose this setting to end their lives alone, as well as perhaps just getting lost in miles of park land.  Extensive Parkland  The Great Smoky Mountains are part of park land, which means you know what I'm going to...

I know that movies feeding off of real emotion look good and authentic, but can you force distressing emotions to come out of an actor by abusing them? Yes, you can. Ask Shelley Duvall about her film experience. Even putting donald and goofy voices to the steps scene in the shining won't make the scene less unsettling. Today we talk about her and many other cases of abusing actors.  Courtesy of looper.com Tippi Hedren in The Birds Today I am focusing on The Shining, The Birds, Singing in the Rain, and the alleged Dan Schneider situation that arose at Nickelodeon. You'll never see these movies and shows the same way again.  The Shining The book alone is, I'm told, unsettling by itself. It is about a family living in a hotel during winter. During this temporary stay to watch someone's hotel alone, the father gets haunted by a spirit making him violent toward his family and the son sees horrible psychic visions. Unsettling? You bet. The movie shows the mother of the family...

I talked about Ned and Nancy ( Nedcy ) in a previous blog. What I want to theorize on today is whether Frank and Nancy (or Francy) could happen. I'm going off of the Herinteractive games, for reference.  Courtesy of Tumblr I mean no ill will toward Ned. I'd like to make that clear right now. I like many aspects of Ned, including his impressive loyalty to Nancy and sweet, sappy conversation. He's also a good man for advice in earlier games. While that is all true, Francy is an attractive option since Frank and Nancy share a lifestyle of travel and adventures on a consistent basis. How would this actually look and would it work? Let's find out.  Background Information The Hardys are mostly phone friends, with the exception of three games where they are physically present. You can become the Hardys in Kapu Cave (both brothers), Last Train To Blue Moon Canyon (Frank only), and Midnight In Salem (Frank only). It's important to look at how many games they are in as both p...

 I talk about the Christian bubble (link  here  for my blog on that) and Christian fiction (see  here ), but let's focus on the visual media that isn't printed on a page. I want to look at all the exceptions to the rule. While there are badly made preachy films and fake Christian media out there, I'll be highlighting the ones you should be looking up.  Courtesy of wordandway.org I could look up an entire list or two or five of the best Christian films that are well-made, however, I have my own list that I'd like to give you. I know for a fact that these are good. I have watched all these beautiful films, except for one category. I can look up more and watch them for myself on a future blog. For now, I give you my personal recommendations.  Some of you will be saying that not all these films were directed and made by Christians. You'd be right. It seems that some Christian filmmakers have also directed horror films, so I don't care who directed it, in my per...