Purpose

I have finally found my purpose in life!

I am an example of how to avoid strife.

I will listen to you and let you vent,

Give advice, and off you went.

You did as I said, and it worked out great.

Too bad that I am mired in self-hate.

I can clearly see what you should do,

And if only I were you,

My life wouldn't be the way it is.

But that's how it shall stay, because I'm remiss,

In taking care of myself and my life.

I will never avoid the strife.

Although I despise problems,

The ones that bother me most, I can't solve them.

Because they are personal to me,

And I won't share, ask for help, or let it be.

As hard as it is to be me,

It's even harder to accept that THIS IS me.

I've already made a post about this yesterday, and I previously stated that there wasn't enough material for it to feature as a full Harry Situation Review. But then I thought, fuck it, let's go over it again; only this time let's explore even further.

In case you haven't heard, what's new this week is a new video that's been sweeping the web. If you haven't checked it out by now here's a link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2REkk9SCRn0

Now to the review!

In A Heartbeat is a short animated film made by a pair of college students, Beth David and Esteban Bravo. The story centers around a closeted boy (to my understanding is named Sherwin) who runs the risk of being outed by his own heart after it pops out of his chest to chase down the boy (who is named Jonathan) of his dreams.

The video was uploaded online on Monday and has since received over 10 million views. Holy crap. And I can see why.

Let's talk about the big positive: the animation. These are some talented people because the animation is really, friggin' good. I mean it's like Pixar level good. The details on the characters, the backgrounds, the foregrounds, everything is good.

There's no voice acting or voice over, that's another positive to the video. The video is strictly told through actions and expressions. It doesn't need dialogue or exposition. The story tells itself (if that makes sense).

If there's one thing that I can describe about this is that it is a very moving video, emotionally anyway. This is about a boy who is afraid to admit his feelings for another, and worse he's afraid of being judged by everyone. There's a lot of symbolism that comes into play as the video progresses, and I thought that it handled everything fairly well. I think a lot of people can definitely relate to this.

Ultimately the message is the heart wants what the heart wants. You shouldn't be afraid to follow it. If people are going to judge you, then really that's their problem. I'm not gay but I definitely understand how it feels to be different from everybody else. I think that's the other message the video is trying to get through too. That it is okay to be different, which it totally is.

Now I mentioned in the last post that there were some commenters that said when they watched it they cried. I didn't. I watched this 3 times. I don't know. Crocodile tears, maybe. But I will say that it does tug at the heartstrings, especially at the end.

That's really all I've got to say about this new hit video. It's got wonderful animation, some funny slapstick, and some down to earth heartfelt moments that left me smiling in the end. 

Check it out some time, and see if your heart pops out too!

No grading scale needed. Final Grade: A+

So that's my thoughts/review of In A Heartbeat. Have you seen the video by now? What were your thoughts? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check back later tonight as I post my review for the long waited The Dark Tower.

#harrysituationreviews #lgbt #animation #shortfilm #AGrade

I open my eyes. I feel a throbbing pain at the back of my head. I would reach up to touch it but my hands are bound behind my back. I’m tied to a chair in a very dark room. How did I end up..?

The creature pacing backwards and forwards in front of me is more beautiful than anything I have ever seen. He emanates joy from every cell in his tall, glowing body. He has long, folded wings which seem to separate and rearrange the air around them as he paces. But he doesn’t look happy.

“Ah, you’re awake,” he says, turning towards me. The sound is like a million choirs singing the most beautiful tune ever written. Tears stream down my face and my heart feels as though it’s growing so fast it might burst out of my chest. I sigh. I can do nothing but smile up at this wondrous creature.

In the back of my mind a voice quietly mentions that this creature has obviously knocked me out and tied me to a chair. The rest of my mind ignores the voice.

The angel tuts. It makes my heart sing.

“Ugh. Can you please stop that!” he says.

I sigh again deeply and smile at him.

“I said, STOP!”

This time his voice changes. The word “stop” sounds more like a chorus of angry, ravenous beasts. I freeze and hold my breath. I dare not move a muscle.

The angel is no longer pacing back and forth. Now he stands before me, glorious and terrifying.

“Now,” he says in a much quieter voice. “We need to figure out what you have done and how we can fix it.”

I concentrate hard for a moment, trying to piece together how I ended up here. The last thing I remember is being in the hotel room with Candice. Now I’m being interrogated by a angel. I am trying hard not to piss him off.

“What is the last thing you remember?” the angel asks.

“I was with, erm, a friend,” I try to dress it up a bit nicer.

“Go on.”

“She accidentally knocked a few things off the table with her leg.” I smile to myself for a moment remembering flashes of the evening. Candice was a bit of a wild one, no lie.

“Was this amongst them?” The angel is holding up what appears to be a bookmark.

“I don’t remember,” I reply.

“TRY HARDER!” I wince for a second and close my eyes.

“OK, OK. I guess it could have fallen out of the Bible on the table?”

I try hard to remember but all I get are images of cocaine and Candice.

The angel begins pacing again. He stops, suddenly and places his hand on my head.

Images of the night flood my memory. They flash past at light speed but I instantly know each one in depth. I remember everything now. From the lines of coke on Candice’s stomach to the gorgeous, coy brunette in the strange clothing.

“Oh shit.” I can’t think of anything better to say.

Gabriel seems to know exactly what happened now too. He places his hands on his beautiful face and makes the most sorrowful sound I have ever heard.

“I told her that God would be the father of her son. I didn’t tell her that he would appear in a flash in the night looking like a dishevelled drug addict,” he says. “I need to change this.”

He looks up to the sky and reaches out his hands. “Please!”

I sit there for a moment watching the angel Gabriel plead towards the heavens but nothing happens.

Obviously Jesus Christ, son of Dave has a nice kind of ring to it.

I gaze upon the beautiful but dejected face of God’s angel one more time. “Erm, can I go home now?”

Azari and Zane were as different as night and day-- she had blonde hair and sky blue eyes that went well with her paler complexion, while he had black hair, olive skin, and eyes so dark you couldn't see the pupils. 

Azari and Zane's parents were both Mindcasters, so of course, they were expected to have powers, too. 

Azari was afraid that if Zane had powers, then she wouldn't, because they were polar opposites. 

However, the Elder Mindcaster assured her that they both had equally strong powers flowing through their veins.

Now, there comes a day when every Mindcaster or anyone else who shows a manifestation of power must come before the Elder Mindcaster. 

Even though Azari and Zane's powers were not the power of the mindcasting and they had not manifested anything, everyone still knew the power was in them; so they came.

The Elder Mindcaster kindly and carefully instructed them on how to concentrate on manifesting their powers for the first time.

Since Zane, was oldest he went first; his powers were so overwhelming that the Elder Mindcaster drew back in utter fear and reverence.

Only Zane didn't stop there, and Azari knew he would destroy all the Mindcasters if she didn't do something--which meant using her abilities against her own brother.

I imagine that my first date with God was rather boring on his part. But for me, it was my entrance into the world I loved for 84 years. My mom always said that you only get to have two real dates with God. That the first date was for your creation and that the second date was for your death. Everything in between was in preparation for that second date. You don't always realize that at a young age though.  That the path you follow and choices you make help lead you to where you end up. My second date ended up being as miraculous for me as my first date. It was old age that caused my second date (lucky me!), but God met me with a smile all the time. Gray hair is common in heaven it seems. The entrance to heaven was rather cliched as well, full of tall white pillars and golden light. But, God himself was so much more than what one person could ever imagine. He had a presence to him that was heavy and light, warm and cold, and a thousand more adjectives that still wouldn't be able to explain quite how he could make you feel. Conversation was a lot easier than I imagined though. Most likely because God seemed to know me better than I knew myself. It was a rather bad date in the mortal sense of the word when I look back at what was said. It focused majorly on me, on my reminisces of the mortal world, and all of my questions about what if? and what now? It was good though, and as he escorted me through the gates of Heaven afterwards-he kissed my forehead and just smiled. So in the end, my second date with God went splendidly. And I could die happy.