Gruß vom Krampus!

How's it going lurkers? Gruß vom Krampus! 

In case you did not already know or in case you forgot, today is Krampus Day. Krampus is Saint Nicholas' evil sidekick, who shows up every December 5th to punish "naughty children."

Growing up, I never learned anything about this evil goat demon from teachers or my family. 

Some classmates did not necessarily know anything about Saint Nicholas Day being on December 6th, which I always found to be very odd. They not only knew NOTHING about Saint Nicholas Day, but also knew nothing about Krampus Day. NEITHER were discussed in any of my K-12 schools. 

I suppose our teachers did NOT  want to traumatize us impressionable children. Otherwise, they probably never heard of Krampus either.

I recently learned about Krampus 3 years ago from watching Grimm on NBC. Speaking of Grimm, I will really miss watching this show after its series finale, in the spring. As comical as the writing is, viewers have been exposed to some international folklores and Germanic terms to describe various creatures known as "wesen."

The series also gave me a reason to start watching primetime shows on Fridays again, over these last 5-6 years. I would've tried sharing that Krampus episode from Grimm today, but no thanks to Hulu, only viewers subscribed to their site can watch online streams now.

Since that is the case, I have decided to share footage of a Krampus Parade instead. Last month in Schladming, Styria (a former small mining town in the northwest of Austria), a Krampus Parade was held. It is normally called Krampuslauf  meaning "Krampus Run."

Over 1200 Krampus celebrants dressed as the beast in black rags and masks drag chains behind themselves. 

Every so often, these celebrants hurl their chains and switches towards children. This is along with them swinging cowbells, which is to warn people that Krampus is coming.

In Scandinavian countries and other parts of Europe, Krampuskarten or "Krampus Cards" are given for Krampus Day.

Saying "Gruß vom Krampus" means "Greetings from the Krampus" in German.

The depiction of Krampus has evolved over time, since the 1800's. Older versions of Krampus cards depict this goat demon as more evil and frightening. In more modern times, he is depicted as more child friendly, if not a womanizer.

If you would like to learn more about Krampus, feel free to check out my previous blogs about him at the following:

Song Saturday: Krampus + More About Saint Nick's Evil Sidekick (2014)

Song Saturday: Midnight Syndicate's Night Of The Krampus (2015)

To celerate the holiday, here is footage of the Krampuslauf in Schladming, Styria from last month's Krampus Parade.

Krampuslauf ["Krampus Run"] In Schladming, Styria, Austria (2016)

Cartoon Sunday: Parasyte -The Maxim-

How's it going lurkers? After publishing yesterday's Song Saturday blog, I went to Hulu for Parasyte -The Maxim- only to learn that I could NOT access the search button or watch shows. 

It has been ~ 5 months, since the last time I watched anything on Hulu and I was surprised to see how much has changed. When visitors go directly to Hulu, it asks you to sign in for a free trial. 

My automatic response was "What the hell?! I was just on this site a few months ago!" I couldn't contact anyone on the site, which led me to contact Hulu on Facebook. I sent them a message about not being able to watch anything on Hulu and asked if it became a requiremnt to sign in to watch their shows. This was the message I got from Hulu's Social Support via Facebook:

"Thanks for taking the time to reach out and we're sorry for any confusion! We still offer select content for free. Head over to our site: (www.hulu.com), click on our logo to the top left of the page and it will direct you to our main page where you will be able to use the search bar. We hope this helps! Let us know if you have any further questions."

I followed the instructions given by Hulu's Social Support and voila! It worked. So in case you have been experiencing similar problems to mine in regards to Hulu, your problems have been resolved. I must commend them for their helpful support.

Meanwhile, I watched another informative YouTube vlog last week by the vloggers Rachel and Jun. I haven't had much time to watch as many of their vlogs, since I'm usually busy on and offline. 

Rachel and Jun are an intermarried couple, that live in Japan. Jun was not featured in the vlog I watched about Anime verses reality. However, in this vlog, it features Rachel, Einshine, and Sharla discussing facts about Japanese Culture. This includes them comparing Japanese animation with reality and topics such as school rooftops, uniforms, eyes, food, hairstyles, etc.

Rachel, Einshine, and Sharla: Anime Vs Reality (2016) 

Speaking of Hulu, Japanese culture, schools, and Anime, it's Cartoon Sunday. Since last year, you have read Cartoon Sunday blogs with me mentioning Parasyte -The Maxim-.  

Today, I have the link to Parasyte's pilot episode in English dub via Facebook.

It also airs in English on Adult Swim, during Sunday mornings at 1/12 am Central. 

Anyway, here is today's Cartoon Sunday.

Parasyte -The Maxim- "Metamorphosis" (2014)