W is For Watching "BirdBox"

My sister came over the house and told me about Sandra Bullock’s new movie "Birdbox" and after she showed me the trailer off her phone, I decided I would sit and watch the new Netflix film because the previews of it looked pretty interesting.  

I think I had an instant emotional response to the fact that it was Sandra Bullock as the leading actress since I learned to love her from watching "Miss Congeniality." Since then I can't help but enjoy her acting. I appreciated the fact that the trailer showed that she was leading kids on a journey by water with a blindfold on which seemed pretty interesting. 

Hope usually springs eternal when I decide to watch any movie because motion pictures are not like short sitcoms. You can't simply breeze through a movie in a few minutes. They take a few hours of time to be propped in front of a television to watch. But I went full throttle with the idea and on Christmas Eve, we sat and watched "Birdbox" together.

The movie had its good moments and its bad moments, but overall, I enjoyed the flick.

It would probably be advised that this movie is suitable for people beyond the age bracket of 17 because of the suggested violence but for this film, I’d say, is not suitable for anyone with the dynamic disorder of taking what is meant to be a mere cinematic delight and trying to recreate the madness in real time. Or maybe it should be rated MM for the mentally mature.

I didn’t think that people would be brave enough to decide to try grocery shopping, walking or doing other things blindfold with their kids based on scenes in a movie. I never considered that it would become a thing where people were out there trying to see if they can drive blindfolded even with bicyclist, motorists and pedestrians who at the same time are not adhering to the rules of the road. Sometimes we need a moment to pause and reassess when we see things like “hashtag birdbox challenge” “hashtag tide pod challenge” “hashtag Drake In My Feelings Challenge” all over the different social media platforms you use.

Should I now be quaked with fear that the driver in front of me might be blindfolded? We already have all these sizeable issues all around us and now this silly one that is becoming quite dangerous if you ask me. Don’t jump on the band wagon just because you think it might be fun. The fact that the end of the movie concludes in a home for blind people might be something to consider. The things we see, we die to see. People are dying to see if they can accomplish things with a blindfold on because they saw it in a movie. Is this your suicide attempt? Each character who saw died to their vision.

But if you do not see something, you cannot be moved by the image. You are in the box of being controlled by what you hear, feel, taste or smell. A blind person can’t glorify the image of the sun or be ruled by it in the morning, but they might know it is time to wake up because of the crowing of the roosters and the smell of the morning dew. 

If I didn’t see the news report of the guy driving with a blindfold that got into a terrible accident because of this crazy challenge, I would have been less likely to have gotten distracted by it. And to think, I’m clumsy with vision. I can’t see how someone would expect that driving with a blindfold on, would have been a good idea.

Let’s not all jump to living without one of the working senses we were blessed to have, all at once. Why are we so eager to pretend to be blind? There needs to be a sense of balance. 

I guess failing is often the best way to learn but I don’t think causing vehicular death because of a “hashtag challenge” is the best way to learn. So let’s stop doing these ridiculous things.

Even still, “BirdBox” is a good movie. Sandra Bullock did some incredible acting in this film as she is known to  and I give it to her. If you are interested in taking a glance at a good Netflix original movie, I’d say check it out.

It is action-packed. It is suspenseful. It is one of those movies that if you miss one moment, you miss a lot. It has intense moments and you will find yourself getting lost in the magic of this movie that might make you smile at moments and at other points of it, sad, scared and it might even make you cry. 

All I can say is, it is packed with flavor. See it for yourself and if you are someone who steps to your own beat of the drum, makes your own plans, and doesn’t get pressured by all these social media challenges to not keep up with your own ambition to accomplish your own goals, and have about two hours to watch a good old energetic horror picture, then “Birdbox” is for you.

Hashtag IG Live

I guess we all tend to change with the times. I mean, who wouldn’t when we are all devoted to being our own personal best which may come with going with the trends that are currently #hashtag making noise. 

So the new form of communication seems to be going live and letting the social world into the moment so they can live the story with you. You can serve elaborate affairs, up-close-and -personal, with the world so they can understand your implication of truth more than just seeing a picturesque landscape of it.

I hesitated using it or to even watch the live feeds for a while 

because I didn’t want the idea to take over my mind. But I decided to try it while at a band rehearsal and it was not as bad as I thought it would be. 

I actually was once encouraged to start a Youtube Vlog series which I  entitled The Rehearsal Mode of JNote,
showing different aspects of how I practiced my vocals and rehearsed in a sort of television sitcom type of way with scenes and commercials and everything. At that time, I had recorded, edited and published 15 episodes with the first being three minutes long and the 15^th being about 
15 minutes long and it was fun to do.  But today, I shook the 

rehearsal mode thing up a bit and was softened into trying the live thing on Instagram for myself.

Here is what I found out…

So you get an hour of time to record live and share it with whomever is willing to watch on Instagram. I am used to having rehearsals with different bands I work with when nobody is watching but today, in spite of the burning questions I have about the live thing that instantly disappears after you are done recording, I took the risk and I did it.

Could a person actually affect another person by doing something differently and allowing those interested to be a part of it? Could you actually rock the world by being live? What if you stumble and fall when people across continents are there as a witness, virtually watching?

I found out that people are generally interested and actually took the time to see what was going on. Some liked. Some commented. I put my whole heart into the rehearsal mode that we were in and folks complimented the band, the sound, my singing, the music and it was interesting. 

I will call this a flowering of my strengths over my fears because I mustered the courage to do it. But my question is, while I am making these big, brave strides, what happens to the video? Is it really erased after it is shared and commented and liked and watched, like a snapchat photo? Perhaps it lands upon the moon. Or maybe it slides down a rainbow into a garden full of four leafed clovers. Can someone please tell me the cold, relentless truth about Instagram Live? 

Are you on instagram?  Join me! My username is musiqal1 and I would love to IG with you.