Oblivion Sphere

Say It Ain't So

2012-01-22T14:22:00.001-06:00

On this day 24 years ago, in 1987, Pennsylvania State Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer publicly committed suicide during a press conference. He was to be sentenced the next day on a number of bribery convictions.

Dwyer's troubles began earlier in the decade, when the state of Pensilvania realized its employees were paying too much in FICA taxes. They decided to auction a contract to an accounting firm to calculate how much money was owed each worker. A California-based firm, Computer Technology Associates, won the $4.6 million dollar deal. The owner used connections he had with the locals and bribes to influence the decision. The governor was notified of the activities through an anonymous memo.

An investigation began immediately. Dwyer was indicted to have accepted a kickback of $300,000 (to be received at a later date) if he would use his position to sway the contract towards CTA. Dwyer maintained his innocence, and insisted that he'd been framed. He refused a plea bargain, which would have him serve a maximum of five years for one charge of bribery. However, this would have required him to resign from his post (PA law allowed officials to continue serving until after being sentenced) and could have devastating consequences for his family (who'd spent most of their money on legal defenses).

Dwyer faced a maximum of 55 years in jail and $300,000 in fines. At his trial, the prosecution refused to name so called co-conspirators who had leveled evidence against him. He was convicted on January 21 and immediately petitioned for pardon by President Reagan.

The next day, he called a press conference, during which he read a speech. He was visibly agitated and nervous. The document talked about his dissatisfaction with recent events, the judge presiding over his trial and the justice system as a whole. He also announced plans to continue fighting despite the odds. However, halfway through the speech, he suddenly called for three of his aides. They each received an envelope: one with a suicide note to his wife, another with organ donor paperwork, and the third with a letter to the new governor Bob Casey, who had been sworn in two days earlier.

At this instant, Dwyer pulled out a S&W .357 magnum and shot himself in the head.

The event shocked and horrified Americans. Uncensored footage of the shooting was aired by only two of the five stations that recorded it.

However, since he died while technically still in office, Dwyer's widow, Joanne received survivor benefits totaling $1.28 million dollars. A spokesman for the family suggested that this may have been his true reason. Sadly, the planned final words of his speech "Please don't let the sacrifice of my life be in vain" were unfulfilled. Rather than reopen the case and critique the legal system, the subject of debate was "Should we let such graphic footage air on TV?"

Joanne moved to Arizona with her children and lived there until her own death in 2009. She never remarried.

A Year Lit by Fire

2011-12-30T11:37:00.009-06:00

2011 was tailored for the history books. No doubt. I could write about each event and its significance. But I believe pictures are more appropriate. This meager collection couldn't possible do it justice, but one can only try. So here you go, a 2011 highlight pictorial!

Part I: Revolution!

Lybia

Even a child understands...

Greece

Egypt

Bahrain

Part II: A Coming Home Soldier

After eight years of bloodshed, the United States is finally bringing the boys back...for now.

Part III: A New Nation

Part IV: Home?

Occupy Oakland

Continued Militarization of the Police

We're here to help...

...now with our very own Air Force!

Just ask this grateful citizen!

Part V: The President's View

Oh, he can't be reached for a comment...

The Earth Hath Received Your Brother's Blood

2011-12-29T14:02:00.002-06:00

On this day, 176 years ago....

But that was so long ago. Things are different now.

However, there are five thousand ghosts who would beg to differ.

Interesting Times Continue

2011-12-18T22:55:00.002-06:00

The Root of All Evil

2011-11-21T23:59:00.003-06:00

Now sit in your chair for a moment. Can you hear them? The wailing cries from Weimar, Argentina, Imperial Russia, Zimbabwe?

Can you hear the cries of our deceased ancestors? The ones who worked for fourteen hours in the factories and coal mines for seven dollars a week?

They all, in different languages, in different times, ask the same question: how could we have let it come to this?

And what is "this"?

Stay awake and pay attention.

November 18, 1978: An Inhumane World

2011-11-18T14:27:00.003-06:00

This is what happens when men relinquish their freedom.

On this day 33 years ago, over 900 people committed ritual suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. Shortly beforehand, US Congressman Leo Ryan and his delegation were ambushed and killed at the Port Kaituma airstrip, a few miles to the north east.

Jonestown was built by the People's Temple, a religious group founded in the 1950s in Indianapolis. They preached a doctrine of "apostolic socialism," that is to say religion was only the first step towards enlightenment of socialism. The group moved to California in 1965 after being heavily criticized for their integrationist views. When the press continued to portray a negative image of the group, they decided to establish an "agricultural mission" in 1973.

Guyana was chosen because the two groups agreed politically. They were both socialist. The man behind the People's Temple was Jim Jones, who thought he would be able to gain official protection through the nation's government. 500 built the town that would, at its peak, house about 1000. Jonestown was meant to be a benevolent communist community, but no one was allowed to leave.

Residents were indoctrinated with Soviet-style propaganda films from every Communist power in the world. Much like the Khmer Rouge, ties between parent and child were destroyed, all members expected to treat Jim Jones as their father. Jones himself was suffering from declining health, and paranoia. He was convinced that the CIA and numerous capitalist entities were out to destroy his vision.

In 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan agreed to investigate Jonestown after learning that the father of one of his friends was found dead near tracks leading out of the camp. He landed in Georgetown on November 14, but lawyers representing the People's Temple initially refused to let them in. After some negotiations, they were permitted entry. Jones was able to put up a good image. Ryan assured him that his report would describe Jonestown as "basically in good terms." But Jones' paranoia led him to believe that "all was lost."

At 5:20pm on November 18, just as Ryan and his delegation were preparing to leave at the Kaituma airstrip, the Temple's security force, the Red Brigade, attacked. In five minutes, five people, including Ryan himself, were killed, and eleven injured. Port authorities later rescued the survivors.

Realizing his mistake, Jones called an emergency meeting. He told his followers that their community was in danger from an imminent attack, and their children would be taken away from them. A large vat of poison was hastily concocted, containing a variety of chemicals. Death usually occurred in five minutes or less, but survivors later testified to hearing constant screaming. Jones himself was shot in the head, probably by a trusted aide.

Three high-ranking members (Tim and Mike Carter and Mike Prokes) were not ordered to kill themselves. They were ordered to visit the Soviet embassy Georgetown. With them were written instructions for the USSR to wire all of the Temple's assets to the Communist Party in Moscow, a total of about 7.1 million dollars. They never completed their mission. By this time, news of Ryan's death had reached Washington. US and Guyana military forces were en route to Jonestown. The three men were captured shortly after leaving their city. Only five other people intended to be poisoned survived by hiding.

Jonestown took the world by storm, and became one of the most heavily reported stories in media history. The town was later used to temporarily house Hmong refugees from Laos in the 1980s. Although looted by nearby Guyanese, no one ever lived there again. Most of it was destroyed in a fire. Only two people were arrested in connection with the death of Congressman Ryan. One was acquitted, claiming he had been brainwashed. The other was paroled in 2002. Nine people are suspected to have been involved, but cold never be tried.

Jonestown witnessed more American civilian deaths than any single incident until 9/11. The phrase "drinking the Kool-aid" was born, referring to anyone who blindly accepts what a person tells him, even if it is harmful. Ironically, the catalyst for the poison was Flavor-aid, a similar drink introduced two years after Kool-aid.

The Streets Turn Red

2011-11-07T12:04:00.003-06:00

On this day 94 years ago, armed citizens led by Vladimir Lenin in Petrograd Russia revolted. The attack was signaled from the battle cruiser Aurora. Their target was the official residence of the monarchy: the Winter Palace. Even though it took place in October (according to the Julian calendar) the November dates correspond with the Gregorian system (initiated in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII), which the Russian Orthodox Church was using at the time.

The uprising was preceded by a years of turmoil. The conditions were comparable to pre-revolutionary France in 1789. Russia's involvement in WWI only made things worse. No middle class existed, only rich and poor. The Czar, Nicolas II, was isolated and disconnected from reality. His advisors convinced him that he was beloved by the people. When peace marches started occurring in major cities, he showed that he did not love them. Protestors were killed routinely.

By 1917, a new, radical party had gained prominence: the Bolsheviks. They advocated a complete change, dissolving the royal government and implementing Karl Marx's idea of a utopian, workers' state. They elected bodies of representatives called Soviets, and cast off the local governments in dozens of small towns and cities. Seeing that the people were ready for action, Lenin returned from his exile in Switzerland. By November 7, he had amassed a make-shift army.

Contrary to later propaganda, the uprising was bloodless and not very exciting. The Winter Palace was poorly defended, and the revolutionaries were so illiterate, they had to force their prisoners to write their own arrest papers. However, the Czar and his family were not there. Nicolas had abdicated the throne in February after a similar uprising. Despite all attempts to flee the country, he and his entire family were captured. In his place, a Russian Providential Government had been established. The fall of the Winter Palace marked the end of this regime and sparked a brutal civi war that would last for the next five years. Czar loyalists (Whites) versus the Communists (Reds). Many Socialist and Marxist parties felt that Lenin had gone too far, and withdrew their support.

Meanwhile, the Western powers looked on with horror. Communist infiltrators were sneaking into worn-torn Germany and attempting to ignite the Revolution there as well. Dozens of gun battles erupted in the streets every month between the Freikorps and the revolutionaries. Munich fell to Red control for several days. The situation was so desperate, that the Treaty of Versailles had to be modified to allow the German authorities to keep their weapons. The nation could not be allowed to turn Communist. It was the buffer zone between East and West. The United States, Britain, France, Austria and Prussia each sent a contingent of troops to help the Whites. These were condemned by Lenin as "interventionists." Yet, this combined alliance troubled the Reds. Their military was poorly equipped, badly trained and had almost no financial backing. They then realized that this alliance was bent on restoring the Czar to power. To prevent this, they executed the entire royal family.

The interventionists left when it was obvious that the cause was lost due to lack of popular support. Lenin came to power, establishing Moscow as his capitol. He immediately began a series of violent purges, executing thousands of "counter revolutionaries." This bloodbath was called the Red Terror, mainly inspired by several failed assassination attempts on Lenin's life. But he would not live to see the utopian dream come true. He died on January 21, 1924 of a stroke. His right hand man, Leon Trotsky, would not survive either. He was chased out of Russia and eventually killed in Mexico by agents of the Communist Party Secretary: Joseph Stalin. Thus, Russia's century of misery began under a new flag.

The bodies of the Czar would not be found for nearly 100 years. The KGB kept close tabs on anyone who questioned the official story of the Revolution. In 1979, Alexander Avdonin found the missing family, but could not dig them up until 1998. DNA testing confirmed it was the Romanov's grave, under a dirt road near the house where they'd been shot. Nicolas himself was declared a saint by the Orthodox Church.

So what can we learn from this? It depends on how events unfold. The protests in Petrograd were seen as insignificant compared to fighting the Germans in the Great War. Likewise, the Occupation is seen as nothing to worry about compared to Iran, China and other "threats" to our way of life. Don't underestimate potential, and never dismiss voices of the past.

Remember

2011-11-05T18:33:00.001-05:00

On this day 406 years ago, in 1605, Guy Fawkes was arrested after being discovered underneath the House of Lords guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder. He followed eight of his comrades to the gallows.

The Gunpowder Plot aka the Jesuit Treason was a failed assassination attempt on King James I. The perpetrators were a band of English Catholics led by Robert Catesby. The plan was meant to completely decapitate the power structure of the reigning aristocracy, and secure greater religious tolerance in England. After James was dead, his daughter, Princess Elizabeth, would be installed as a Catholic Queen.

There were a total of 12 conspirators, each one hand-picked for their various talents. Fawkes was a military veteran with ten years of experience. He had helped suppress the Dutch Revolt in the Spanish Netherlands. For this reason, he was given charge of the explosives.

November 5 was the chosen date because Parliament would begin a new session, which was brought on by a ritual ceremony called the State Opening. The group secured the use of an old building whose kitchen was directly beneath the House of Lords. It was perfect, considering it had been unused for centuries, and didn't attract attention.

But the plot was revealed to the authorities by an anonymous letter, the author of which is still unknown. Fawkes was apprehended before he could detonate the powder and the remaining eleven plotters fled the city. King James dispatched dozens of agents to hunt them down. Only eight would survive to be captured. They were all convicted and executed.

In 2005, a replica of the House of Lords was built and the exact measure of black powder was placed underneath. The test showed that only half of the powder used would have been enough to completely destroy the building and kill everyone inside.

Today, as he was back then, Guy Fawkes' memory is condemned by large bonfires and effigies, as the people did in 1605 to celebrate the salvation of their king.

By This Sign, Conquer

2011-10-29T17:56:00.002-05:00

On this day 1699 years ago, Flavius Valerius Constantius enters the city of Rome after defeating his rival Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge.

This was part of the War of the Tetrarchy, which lasted from 306-324 AD. It was the direct result of the recently deceased emperor, Diocletian. He divided his territory into two subdivisions. By 306, the men he chose for this task had further broke down the Empire and appointed two other rulers. Now there were four men who held the title Caesar. Constantine's father, Constantius Chlorus, was one of them. This was done to prevent a repeat of the Crisis of the Third Century, during which more than 50 aspiring emperors were appointed and killed. However, as in the days of Pompey Magnus and Julius Caesar, and the days of Octavian and Mark Antony, shared power never lasted long in Rome.

In 306, Constantius died in what is now York. His legions proclaimed Constantine as emperor. This caused Maxentius to make the same declaration and moved into the Rome itself. Constantine knew that to secure his dominance of the West, he had to take the city. On October 27, two days before battle, the general and his men beheld a sign in the sky. It was a large X with a center spike and a rounded P shape. This has been argued to represent the crown of thorns. At any rate, accounts of the symbol have been disputed for centuries. But one thing was clear, on the day of the battle, Constantine's soldiers appeared with a standard that no one had seen before.

Maxentius' men tried to lure Constantine across the bridge, which was rigged to collapse. He didn't take the bait. Rather, he sent his cavalry in front, which broke the horsemen of the enemy and sent the infantry fleeing. Maxentius tried to go with them, but was pushed into the river and drowned. The battle was bloody and brief. His severed head was sent to Carthage, and ensured that Rome's ancient enemy wouldn't attempt to gain independence.

The Western half was now secure. Only two rivals remained: Maximian Daia and Licinius. The war would be over by 324. During his reign, Constantine would write the Edict of Milan, outlawing the persecution of all Christians.

When You Disagree With Someone, Kill Them All

2011-10-27T17:01:00.002-05:00

On this day 173 years ago, Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs issued Executive Order 44, referred to by many as the Mormon Extermination Order. It commanded General John B. Clark of the state military to slaughter any Mormons he should encounter in an attempt to completely erase their influence from the state.

The order was issued during the Mormon War of 1838, which lasted from August to November. During that time, tens of thousands of Mormons were migrating farther west. Missouri was so attractive because Joseph Smith Jr. had prophesied that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ would be in Jackson County, and that his followers would inherit the land. The Mormons quickly fell out of favor with the earlier settlers for a variety of reasons:

1. Cohesion between the Mormons allowed them to dominate the local economy
2. They were sympathetic to the abolitionists
3. They often voted in blocks, which led to accusations of voter fraud
4. They believed that the Natives were descendants of Israel

Mob violence forced the Mormons out of Jackson County in 1833. They relocated north, mainly in Clay County. When hostility once again started appearing in 1836, a law was pushed through creating a new county just for the Mormons: Caldwell. This brought a time of relative peace, but soon, the Mormons were buying land and establishing colonies outside Caldwell. In neighboring Davies County, their population grew to the point where, once again, they could determine elections. This was seen by non-Mormons as a violation of the compromise.

In August of 1838, a candidate for state legislator warned that Mormons were "not allowed to vote any more than negroes." When thirty or so Mormons showed up anyway, a fight broke out. This sparked a number of similar mob-style evictions from several towns across Missouri. The Latter Day Saints began launching a series of preemptive strikes to protect other, sympathetic religions branches nearby. This forced the state military to get involved.

The Extermination Order came after the Battle of Crooked River, in which Mormon units defeated a group of militia. Exaggerated reports of an imminent Mormon invasion of Missouri reached Govenor Boggs, who signed the act.

But no wide-spread extermination ever took place. Other than the Haun's Mill Massacre (in which 17 Mormons died), the war only saw a total of 22 Mormon deaths (although numerous beatings and destruction of property, crops and livestock were rampant). Smith and other church leaders were eventually captured after the fall of the Mormon stronghold at Far West, and sentenced to death by court martial. However, soldiers refused to carry out the order. Smith managed to escape prison in 1839 and took the majority of the Mormons into Illinois.

Boggs' political career died with his order. Most of his colleagues felt he had failed to intervene before the crisis got out of hand, and when he DID intervene, it was a horrid over-reaction. Even staunch anti-Mormons were appalled by the conduct of the state militia and mob-violence. The town of Quincy passed a resolution that stated he had "brought lasting disgrace over the state he presides." One contemporary critic wrote, "Mormonism is a monstrous evil; and the only place where it ever did or ever could shine, this side of the world of despair, is by the side of the Missouri mob." In 1842, he was shot in the head by a suspected Mormon sympathizer Orrin Rockwell, but survived. He died in obscurity in 1860 after moving to California. Although arrested and tried, Rockwell was acquitted of all charges.

The Extermination Order wasn't rescinded officially until 1976.

Critical Turning Point

2011-10-20T13:48:00.002-05:00

Now that the head Romanov is dead, we'll see the true nature of the changing Libyan nation.

One Day In September

2011-09-05T12:00:00.005-05:00

On this day 39 years ago, 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer were killed in Munich during the 1972 Olympic Games. The group responsible was a Palestinian organization called Black September.

The games, only in their second week, enjoyed a happy atmosphere. German authorities were determined not to present the same, militarized image they had in Berlin 1936. The terrorists were able to get into the apartment complex with the help of several unsuspecting athletes who were also trying to sneak in.

In the early hours of the morning, the Israelis were awakened by the gunmen attempting to tamper with the door locks. They sounded the alarm, and 18 managed to escape, leaving 11 captive. In the struggle, Moshe Weinberg was shot and killed, his body thrown outside to demonstrate the Palestinians' resolve.

Black September demanded the release of 234 jailed comrades in Israel along with Andreas Baadar and Ulrike Meinhof, founders of the German Red Army Faction. They then wanted to secure their own safe passage to Cairo Egypt. Israel refused to negotiate, and Germany tried offering money in exchange for the hostages lives, but all offers were turned down.

Two Bell UH-1 helicopters were used to fly the hostages and terrorists to the NATO airbase of Furstenfeldbruck. A Bowing 727 jet was waiting to take them to Cairo, with six German police dressed as the flight crew onboard. The plan was to capture the terrorists as soon as they got on, but as the helicopters approached, the received word that there were eight enemies, not five, as they had once thought. At the last minute, with the choppers touching down, the police voted to abandon the mission. This left only five snipers, deployed on the roof and control tower of the airport, to finish the job.

At 11 pm, the order to fire was given. In the ensuing gun battle, five terrorists were killed, but not before they sprayed the Israelis (tied to their seats in the helicopters) with machine gun fire and then tossed in a hand grenade. Many of the corpses were burned beyond recognition. Three terrorists survived to be captured.

The massacre caused outrage in Israel, who retaliated against Palestine with numerous air strikes. Germany suffered heavy criticism for their botched efforts, and the rest of Europe began training their own elite counter-terrorism organizations.

Jim McKay, ABC correspondant at the time, confirmed the tragic details live on television at 3:24 am as details were fed to him by Roone Alredge:

"When I was a kid, my father used to say, 'Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.' Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They've now said there were eleven hostages. Two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9HArGWgsm4

They Have Forgotten

2011-09-01T16:25:00.004-05:00

On this day 72 years ago, a German army of nearly 2 million soldiers invaded Poland, officially commencing World War II.

Ever since Hitler came to power in 1933, he preached the philosophy of Lebensraum (Living Space): captured territory, purged of the "lesser races," and occupied by native Germans. He also spoke about his desire to "rescue" East Prussia, which was separated from the Fatherland by Poland. As part of the non-agression pact with Russia, Hitler would only take half of the country and leave the rest for Stalin.

Despite popular myths, the Poles fought like tigers. Their air force alone destroyed 25% of the Luftwaffe that took part in the invasion. They were preparing more elaborate defenses, but it fell apart when the Soviets invaded on September 17. The army never officially surrendered, and Poland harbored one of the largest resistance movements in all of Europe.

On October 6, the last operational Polish unit was captured at Lublin by the Red Army.

Poland was carved up into military districts controlled by the Germans and Soviets. The nation would be used to house the Nazi's concentration camps. Borders between Nazi and Soviet would change hands many times during the war. Each time, thousands of innocents were coldly slaughtered.

American correspondant William Shirer was in Berlin on the day of the attack. He recorded in his diary that the German people were standing in the streets, silent and stunned, that they were once again at war with Britain and France. A WWI veteran told him that he had not forgotten what war was like, and if the government knew, they would not lead the nation into one.

We all know the rest of the story, as told by the graves of tens of millions. The most destructive war in human history to date began in a remote corner of the world most people had never heard of.

Look at the world as it was then and now. It took years for Hitler's rhetoric to ferment into a bloodbath.

Those same words are pouring out again, from all lips, against all men.

The Miracle at Vistula

2011-08-25T18:15:00.004-05:00

On this day, 91 years ago, Polish forces successfully defeated advancing Soviet armies near Warsaw. The battle was a decisive turning point in the Polish-Soviet War of 1920.

When Germany surrendered in 1918, Winston Churchill said, "The war of giants is over. The war of pigmies will now begin." This referenced the numerous, smaller European nations fighting over territory they had lost some time ago. Soviet-sponsored revolutionary groups infiltrated dozens of western European cities attempting to spread the Revolution. The major western powers gave money and weapons to any anti-Communist nation willing to help suppress the violence. Poland was no exception. It had just fought Ukraine for lands left over from Austria-Hungary's dissolution.

In Russia, 1919, Vladimir Lenin had gained the upper hand in the Russian Civil War, defeating the Russian White Movement (Czar loyalists) once and for all. He was now determined to accomplish two things:

1) Re-gain territory lost in 1918
2) Bring the Revolution to all of Europe

The first objective was Germany. Lenin was convinced that Soviet Russia needed a strong, socialist neighbor to ensure her survival. Supporting the revolutionary groups covertly wasn't as easy as deploying conventional armies. Lenin saw Poland as a bridge that could be used by the Red Army to support the various uprisings elsewhere. He thought a war would be the ideal occasion to test Bolshevik strength.

In 1919, Russia made the first move by conquering Ukraine. Polish cryptology decoded Russian transmissions and revealed that they were preparing for a full-scale invasion. This cryptology would play a vital role later in the war.

By mid 1920 things were looking very bad for Poland. The Kiev Offensive, an attempt to re-take Ukraine, ended in disaster. Soviet cavalry had broken the lines in June, resulting in a collapse of the entire front. Now, the Russians were driving on Warsaw. If the city fell, it would most likely spell the end of the nation, as many Western onlookers predicted.

In August, the Poles' retreat became more organized. With their supply lines shortened, they were able to get materials faster with less effort. Commander Jozef Pilsudski ordered his force of 130,000 to cross the Vistula River and entrench near the bridgeheads leading to Warsaw.

Form August 12-25 the fighting raged. The Poles used their cryptology to intercept Russian radio messages, and found a weak point in their lines. The end result was a complete breakdown of Russian unit cohesion and discipline. The Reds suffered between 12-25,000 casualties. Poland lost around 4500.

Although the Russians regrouped afterwards, their invasion never regained momentum. The battle was such a setback that Lenin cancelled plans to initiate a coup in Lithuania. Both sides continued fighting until Britain and France pressured them to sign a treaty in March of 1921.

Sadly, the war did not secure long-lasting Polish freedom. Barely 20 years later, Russia invaded again under Stalin. With a cooperative Nazi Germany, Poland would be gutted and divided among wolves.

Thus Ever For Tyrants

2011-08-23T11:46:00.002-05:00

The Noose Tightens

2011-08-22T12:19:00.002-05:00

With Berlin surrounded, the Fuhrer refuses to retreat.

S&P Downgrades USA Credit

2011-08-05T21:50:00.002-05:00

Oh well, we knew it would happen eventually...

Prayer

2011-07-22T14:00:00.002-05:00

Lunar Dawn Trailer!

2011-05-06T22:05:00.004-05:00

A BIG thanks to the wonderful people from Voice Acting Alliance who helped me out!

View here

Vengeance Is Mine

2011-05-01T23:26:00.002-05:00

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." - John F Kennedy, 1961

After ten years, we finally did it. A page in history turns. I could write a lot about what this moment means or what might come as a result. But for now, I think I'll just smile and say a quiet prayer of thanks.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.dead/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

If They Wish To Have A War...

2011-04-19T14:01:00.004-05:00

On this day, 236 years ago, Captain John Parker and a small band of Massachusetts militia intercepted a British column of 700 at Lexington. The redcoats had orders to arrest several Patriot leaders, such as John Adams, and seize a supply of power being held at Concord. Their approach had been compromised by the Midnight Riders, such as Paul Revere. The two sides stared each other down for a few moments, and then, The Shot Heard Round the World was fired (from whom is still unknown). Eight militia were killed and ten wounded. The battle was a complete disaster for the colonists, but the word had already spread to other neighboring settlements.

The British reformed and carried on. They entered Concord without firing a shot, but little did they realize, militiamen were watching them and slowly building ranks. As the redcoats looked for the supplies they had come for, they were reported to have been kind and courteous to the population. When the left the city, they were once again intercepted by a group of militia at the North Bridge, but now it was much larger than before. With each passing moment, additional units arrived, until the British were firmly outnumbered. They beat a hasty retreat back to Boston, but would be harassed by musket fire throughout the journey.

Today is America's unofficial birthday. How many people knew that without reading the headlines? How many newspapers bothered to report it? Much of what we reaped from those sacrifices has been wasted. Government officials may pretend to honor them, but if such an event were to occur now, it would be scorned and condemned, just as it was in 1775.

So what are we to make of ourselves? Are we worthy of the Republic they left us? Would I be willing to take up arms against superior forces for the sake of an ideal? Would any of us? What would those eight dead Massachusetts men say if they saw what their colony has become, and their country?

It makes one wonder if there is any hope for our generation. They succeeded back then, but could we?

We Came Here To Fight

2011-04-16T20:46:00.002-05:00

On this day, 50 years ago, a CIA task for of 1,500 Cuban patriots launched a fearsome effort to retake their homeland from the brutal communist dictatorship of Fidel Castro.

This Day In History

2011-04-12T14:50:00.002-05:00

On this day in history, 150 years ago, Confederate artillery pieces opened fire on a federal fort known as Sumter. Thus, the American Civil War had begun. Four years later, over 600,000 men would be dead and an unknown amount of civilians. The result? Shelby Foote said it best, "'The United States are' is how you used to hear the country referenced before the war. After the war it was 'the United States is'. That's what the war did. It turned us into an 'is'."

And we still have a long way to go before every calling ourselves a "union" again...

Another One For Anonymous

2011-01-19T00:25:00.004-06:00

Hey! I just read a review of Lunar Dawn on Mobi Pocket. Someone by the name of R D posted a comment identical to yours, giving the book a 5 star rating. Would this happen to be you? If so, please contact me again, I'd like to discuss something...

Link to the review: http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/eBookDetails.asp?BookID=58967

I still can't believe it. 5 stars? And this is only the E-book version!

The Moonlight of Yesterday

2011-01-16T23:08:00.004-06:00

Let me ask you a question: have you ever woken up from a dream? One whose reality was almost utopian? An instance in time that allowed you to fulfill some hidden desire or great purpose? To experience something that only you could? Something so special you didn't want it to end?

Yes, those dreams. The unexpected visitors of the night that whisk you away into Neverland, leaving you breathless with a cold sweat in the morning.

"Wow, I wish I could go back there."

It's possible.

I'm going to share a story from my life that touches on both, life's long-term goals and those eerie visions. Mine is to become a successful author. Authors are one of many classes of artists. I call them "dream makers." Since I was a child I have always been fascinated and enthralled by good stories. As long as it provides an escape and ends happily, I'll give it a look. My journey into the world of the dream makers began a long time ago, sometime in late middle school/early high school. Some people who know me are aware that I used to be very infatuated with Japanese animation. In the 90s, Dragonball Z, Gundam Wing, Outlaw Star and other hit series were taking American audiences by storm. These shows had something different than the Marvel/DC crowd was offering. It's not that they were inferior, just different. Little did anyone realize, but it would start another cultural invasion. And you thought the British took no prisoners in the 60s?

Anyway...back then, I wanted to become a comic book artist. I also had decided to expand my horizons into the world of graphic novels to get my inspirational juices flowing. However, there was a slight problem...I had no idea what I was looking for. I ended up at a local Books-a-Million one night with my mother. I was amazed, they had entire shelves full of the stuff! As I squatted down to skim the selection, one title in particular caught my eye. It was a single book whose title was written in soft blue letters.

It was volume one of Minene Sakurano's "Guardian Angel Getten."

"Ok...I like mythology, so angels are cool. The cover art is nice. What the heck is a Getten??"

The moment changed my life. (yes I know this is getting corny, bear with me...)

Out of pure curiosity I began to read. Halfway through I had to buy it. I had struck pay dirt. My first manga experience would be a night to remember.

The story tells of a young man, Sichiri Tasuke (See-cheer-ee; Tah-ss-kay), who receives the Shiteinrin, a mirror-like object, from his father traveling in China. The mirror is said to possess magical powers that only a person with a pure heart can unlock. It turns out that these powers take the form of a beautiful maiden who’s named Shao-lin. Shao is a spirit of the moon, a guardian angel who is fated to protect the one of pure heart that possesses the Shiteinrin. Having slept for thousands of years, she has no idea what era she's living in. Tasuke immediately realizes that he's got his work cut out for him. How can you hide an angel?

I was hooked.

Shao is the only fictional character I have ever been in love with. Her sparkling eyes, cute smile, funny mannerisms, aura of child-like innocence and nativity, everything she did whispered one word: heaven. Just like her master, she too is of pure heart. The story is a romantic comedy that takes place in modern Japan, so Shao spends most of her time learning how to blend in, which leads to numerous, hilarious scenes. Over time, Tasuke begins devoting his time to protecting Shao from the advances of his male schoolmates...apparently forgetting that she can summon other spirits to do battle.

I anxiously awaited the release of every single volume. The story was getting tense: another artifact releases a spirit named Lu-anne, spirit of the sun, whose purpose is to bring good fortune and happiness to her master. Tasuke resists her romantic advances, and begins struggling with deepening feelings towards Shao. Little does he realize, Shao is, inadvertently, becoming attached to him as well, though she is unable to correctly interpret common signals (blushing, rapid heartbeat, etc). To further complicate things, a female classmate is determined to get Tasuke for herself.

I made it all the way up to volume six or seven...can't remember. A few months passed. The next one still hadn't been published. I was confused, but didn't have time to worry about it. School was getting more and more intense. I had to focus on grades. I can't even remember the day I decided to Google the series. To my horror, I read that the series had been "mysteriously discontinued" for unknown reasons. I was heartbroken. I would never know the end of the story? Would Shao and Tasuke seal their relationship? Was there a deeper plot beneath the surface?

I was sad, but had to forget about it. High school was ending and I had to get ready for college.

Years passed. Literally. Years

I didn't watch much anime during that time, and read zero manga. I was busy writing Lunar Dawn and taking notes for other stories I wanted to tell. Eventually I discovered that people on YouTube were posting episodes of some other childhood favorites of mine: Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles, and yes, the anime.

It was just last week that I finally asked the question: what ever happened to Getten?

I looked again, this time, on YouTube. The search brought up something called "Mamotte Shugogetten."

Uh...ok, I see the word "getten" in there...maybe it's worth a shot...

I clicked the link and there she was!

In an explosion of jazzed orchestra that was the opening theme, Shao appeared with Tasuke, dancing across the title as the credits began to roll.

Turns out that not only had the manga been completed, but an animated series was produced as well!

It all came rushing back in a giant wave of memories: the routine checks at the mailbox, the hours gazing at the artwork and hoping that I would become as talented, the boring math classes wondering if I might be lucky enough to experience a fabulous adventure. I remembered the art supplies, all of the sore fingers and wrists as I battled my arthritis to get the image from my brain to paper.

I felt...something come to life that I was sure had been laid to rest.

As in the song "Like A Rock," I saw myself again.

The series itself? Amazing. The actors' voices fit their characters perfectly. Shao sounded and innocent and pure as I had always imagined. Everything was drenched in the sense of familiarity. Reunited and it felt so good.

No, no spoilers for you. *wink*

But I will say that it had the happy ending I was longing for. I've never corresponded with Ms. Sakurano, but if I could, I would summarize with two words: thank you.

Yes, discovering the series in the first place was mainly luck and good timing. Nevertheless, the impact was undeniable and its effects permanent. I had experienced something so powerful that I was determined to give it to others, in my own way.

A few people have asked what inspires me to write stories. I hope this answer that question a little more in depth. While Getten wasn't the entire source of my creative drive, it played a huge role. I think the best way to describe it was a powder keg. Before then, I had enjoyed stories, but had no desire to write my own. Getten was a spark that helped set the thing off. It helped solidify my fascination with the moon, which turned out to be a huge influence in writing Lunar Dawn.

Looking back on those years and seeing how far I've come in life since then, it all seems like a dream. I don't have many followers on this blog, so this may never be read. The feelings I've tried to convey here are so deeply internalized that I may be the only one who truly appreciates them. Getten may not have been the most popular series either. It probably was beaten by other series such as "Love Hina" and "Ah! My Goddess" (which I never read but apparently were quite the craze). I highly recommend the series to anyone who enjoys Japanese artwork or comic books.

Shao and Tasuke will always have a special place in my heart, along with the Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles, Spiderman and my stuffed animals.

The animated series had a theme song called "Saa" (don't even ask, I don't speak Japanese).

I hold to the final lyrics: Goodbye is impossible for me.

In Honor Of...

2011-01-10T18:45:00.003-06:00

If you've never heard the song "Blood Upon the Risers," go listen to it. The song has become the anthem of all paratroopers. In the wake of the death of WWII hero Dick Winters, I figured that adding a verse to the song would be the only proper way to honor him.

He forfeited the plowshare and he carried up his sword
With angels on his shoulders broad he fell into the storm
He brought the lamp of light to those by darkness had been blind
And he ain't gonna jump no more

Glory glory, lo America's eagle cries
Glory glory, lo America's eagle cries
Glory glory, lo America's eagle cries

He ain't gonna jump no more...

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T21:40:00.001-06:00

2011. The rain outside makes me feel refreshed, fitting for the beginning of a new phase in life.

Ad-Hoc

2010-12-05T23:38:00.000-06:00

Ad: derivative of “add” but writer too stupid to include other “d.”

Hoc: derivative of “hockey” but writer too lazy bother finishing.

Hyphen: weird little dash that helps both reconcile differences (often mistaken for “minus”)

Alone they are misfits.

Together they are perfect.

Three pieces to a puzzle.

Ying and Yang are so overrated.

This Day In History

2010-11-11T00:23:00.000-06:00

German High Command Communique:

November 11th, 1918

"All quiet on the Western Front"

On this day 92 years ago, at 11 am, a ceasefire was signed, ending combat hostilities of the first world war. After four years and nearly twenty million deaths, the "war to end wars" was over. Tragically, as has been the tradition of humanity, we didn't learn our lesson, and each generation makes the same fatal mistake.

The sun's shining down on these green fields of France;
The warm wind blows gently, and the red poppies dance.
The trenches have vanished long under the plow;
No gas and no barbed wire, no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard that's still No Man's Land
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man.
And a whole generation who were butchered and damned.

And I can't help but wonder, Willie McBride,
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you "The Cause?"
Did you really believe that this war would end wars?
Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame
The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain,
For Willie McBride, it all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again.

"Those who do not know history..."

Happy Armistice/Veterans Day...take a moment to say a prayer of thanks, and beg God and we won't suffer the same fate.

Ranting Turrets

2010-10-26T13:07:00.001-05:00

(This is mine, so don't steal it!)

Happy Poem

This is a happy poem.
No crying allowed!
There’ll be no hippies, emos, or broken hearts. I’ll cast you out and then some!

It ain’t that hard to find something in your life that doesn’t suck.
You’re still breathing for one thing. That merits at least a smile.
Don’t forget your hygiene, and how you’re not wallowing in the muck.

I’m sorry if this announcement is filling you with guile.
But that doesn’t bother me. Now shut up and smile!

I’m sick of all your whining, how Fate is out for you.
Pouring your woes onto the ghost of a dead tree.
Half the crap you’re talking about probably isn’t true!

And don’t think of going on a music-listening spree. Seriously, you’re the only reason their still playing on stage.  Life’s a ride with ups and down. Tis quite fun! Wee!

So anyway, happy poem! Dance, sing and shout! And find at least one thing to dance and sing about.

Remember

2010-09-11T00:43:00.002-05:00

Remember remember that day in September, the evil that mad men wrought. I know of no reason why the blood of free men should ever be forgot.

3,000 citizens killed in a day.

4,500+ soldiers lost overseas.

Economy in free fall (contrary to a lying press and government).

Reputation completely destroyed throughout the world.

Liberty traded for 'security' (and now we have neither, Franklin was on to something).

Patriotism condemned in the name of 'tolerance'.

SA tactics employed to stifle dissenters.

Towers haven't been rebuilt, just a big hole in the ground.

An experiment in freedom ruined.

And we expect to have those terrorists captured in about...

Happy Birthday, Ephraim!

2010-08-06T11:23:00.003-05:00

Today marks the 1st anniversary of Lunar Dawn's publication! I can still remember coming into the dining room, seeing the package with my name on it. My heart pounding as I pried open the cardboard. Seeing the laminated cover and flipping through the pages. It was glorious! Six years ago, when I first started, I had never thought it would actually happen. It still seemed like nothing more than a dream, a project to keep me occupied. And now, MY work is listed on Amazon! Who'da thunk?

Alright, so what about the numbers? Well, I didn't exactly make the NY Times' bestseller list, but I made back every penny that I invested into the novel (and it was a very pretty penny indeed). In the meantime, I'll be getting ready to head back to school, writing what I can on the sequel when I have time.

Thanks to all of you who bought the novel and gave me feedback. Nothing helps a dream live like sharing it!

Now I'm off to get some cake...

Power to the pen and those who wield it! (om nom nom nom)

Party party party!!!

To Anonymous

2010-07-15T19:55:00.001-05:00

Yes, I have plans to continue the story. It will be concluded in the book's sequel, which I am working on now. I'm not sure how long it will take, but I'll update when I make any progress. Thank you for your wonderful comment.

1,000 Round 9mm Give Away

2010-06-21T18:01:00.000-05:00

M.D. Creekmore at The Survivalist Blog – a survival blog dedicated to helping others prepare for and survive disaster – with articles on bug out bag contents, survival knife choices and a wealth of other survival information is giving away a 1,000 round case of 9mm – 124 Grain FMJ (a $200 value – donated by LuckyGunner)! To enter, you just have to post about it on your blog. This is my entry. Visit The Survivalist Blog for the details.

2010

2010-01-01T10:09:00.003-06:00

So, this is 2010....*sticks hand in the air*

....feels about the same.

2009 was both good and bad to me and my family. I hope whoever is actually reading this blog (if anyone) had a merry Christmas and a wonderful beginning to the new year.

May the Lord bless everyone and your loved ones through and through.

That Time of Year

2009-12-19T18:37:00.002-06:00

Well, I guess it's been long enough. Might as well do an update. 2009 is rapidly drawing to a close, and I ain't gonna miss it one bit. Lunar Dawn has been selling slowly but surely. I've had a few people tell me that they love the story. If all works out as planned, a lot more will agree.

I intend to make a lot of progress on Solar Dusk, and thanks to James Cameron's newest film Avatar, I think my writer's block is starting to dissolve...but it's strengthened my own determination to make my mark on people's dreams...someday.

School is out for now and I managed to pass all of my classes. Thank God I don't have to take any math for the rest of my life.

Kinda brain dead, so I guess that's all I have to say right now.

Power to the pen which I hope to pick up again real soon.

Lunar Dawn is Here!!!!

2009-08-07T08:33:00.001-05:00

Thought I was Dead?

2009-07-17T09:48:00.002-05:00

Well, not yet. Been awhile, no? I apologize for not posting anything in nearly six months, crap happens. 2009 has sucked for a lot of people, especially my family. Our house got stormed on in January, numerous people (including yours truly) have been combatting serious health issues, and the political spectrum has been heating up for the worst.

I know this is supposed to be a blog about me as a writer, but given that I am also a lover of history and like to keep up with current events, you will be seeing articles on here about my various stances concerning the big issues of the day. How can you blame me? I'm only a citizen.

Anyway, about Lunar Dawn. I finally got all the errors fixed and will be signing off on the galley before the day is out. I don't know how long it will take for the actual book to be ready, but hopefully no more than a few weeks.

When it DOES finally come out, I will be sure to post a special video here and everywhere else I have an account just to make sure the word is spread.

Until then, power to the pen and those who wield it!

Old Man Winter Is Sneaking Behind My Back!

2009-02-01T14:21:00.003-06:00

If you keep up with the news, you've probably heard the story about the bad ice storms that have been wrecking havoc on the mid-west. My home in Kentucky was hit hard by the disaster. My parents have to sleep downstairs where the furnace is because a tree crashed through the roof. They just now got a power generator to run their appliances and my little brother Jordan finally gets to return home after being stranded for several days at a friend's house (not that he can't take care of himself).

The National Guard has been called to help deal with the problem. It's easy to understand how unprepared they were. Severe weather of this degree hasn't occurred in over 15 years! Paducah sits on the very western tip of the state, about an hour from the Missouri border. If you ever wanted to live in a place where global warming seemed to exist, this is it. Sure, it gets cold (about 40 if we're lucky) but rarley to we experience the full package (ice, snow, etc).

The safety of my family and friends is my #1 concern, but I'm equally frustrated that my relationship with Jack Frost has deteriorated this badly!

I love the snow. I love ice. I love the cold. People call me crazy, but I can walk outside in a T-shirt and jeans when it's 50 and smile all day long. Down here in Florida, if the temperature drops two degrees the locals go crazy and wrap up like it's the next ice age!

All of that to say I'm really mad that Old Man Winter would deprive me of something that I enjoy so much. What'd I ever do except praise his handywork? It's like he's got some kind of crule vice against me!

I konw it's a conspiracy, it has to be. The timing is just too perfect. I've only been in school for about two or three weeks and now the weather we should have been getting in December is happening all over the place, except when I'm around. Of course.

I remember how it was in elementary school. There were four seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter. They always had a signature month for each one. Spring started in March, summer June, fall September, and winter in late November. You could always tell when the seasons changed because the weather was suddenly very different. Things happened.

Now we have to put up with green Christmases, scorching Thanksgivings and 4th of Julys that make a boiler look refreshing.

Our educational system is failing. We can't even update our basic meteorology! Either Mother Nature needs to get with the program or we need to get more funding.

Let's just say that if I was in charge we wouldn't see the grass from the 25th of November to the 1st of March.

Power to the pen and those who get to exerience nature's phases on time!

Let the Dice Fly

2009-01-20T11:20:00.003-06:00

Moments ago, I watched history in the making as the 44th President of the United States, Barrack Obama, was sworn into office in Washington. I found myself rather humbled when it occured to me that I was watching the dawn of a new age in the nation's history.

Many Christians, like myself, are not thrilled with this turn of events, since they, and myself, disagree with his policies on many issues like abortion. Nevertheless, he is now in power and it is by the will of God that this has come to pass.

In his inauguration speech, the new President paraphrased the Bible, (1 Corinthians 13:11) by saying, "The time has come to put away childish things," refering to the war in Iraq, the suffering economy, the ruined healthcare system, and failing schools.

Obama's words promised hope, prosperity peace for all nations of the world. As he concluded, to the massive applause of the thousands of supporters and citizens, my thoughts drifted back to Eisenhower, "The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you."

Our eyes are on you now, Mr. President.

Please, make us pround.

Power to the pen, and those who take the sacred oath written by it.

Lunar Dawn's Cover Art!

2009-01-19T12:33:00.004-06:00

Click to enlarge!

By the way, this is the only update you're getting till the book actually comes out, but I figured this was important enough to share!

A big thank you to my good friends Brennon Con (who drew the picture) and Jesse Grisham (who colored it).

You guys rock!

Just a Quick Update...

2009-01-07T11:00:00.002-06:00

Ok, so college is back in session and I'm taking 15 hours of classes. Most of these will be challenging and I foresee a significant drop in posts while I get used to the new scheduel.

Just remember that I shall return!

Eventually...

Happy Birthday....

2009-01-02T12:48:00.002-06:00

TO MEEEEEE!!!!!

Today I turn twenty. Today I can leave adolescence behind for good! No more moodiness or sudden depression fits! Today, everyone has to stop what they're doing and pay homage to great and glorious ME, Taylor Harbin, author extraordinaire and master of the Sphere. Today, everyone will tell me how the world is a better place because of my very existence.

I was going to write more, but then I remembered, TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! That means I don't have to unless I WANT TO!

I know it's hard, but just sit tight, I'll be back sometime in the near future.

Oh, by the way...uh.....*thinks*....something about a new year....resolutions....blah blah blah....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Ego-hazard....er...Swimming Through Star Ocean....uh wait, no...(insert creative title)

2008-12-28T15:46:00.007-06:00

Hello all,

As the epic wait of all waits continues for Lunar Dawn's release date and since the holidays are over (except for my upcoming 20th birthday on January 2nd) I figured it'd be nice if I actually....pshhh...I don't know, get back to blogging for a change. So, with that in mind, I will now force you into submission as I spill my guts....per say....

First, nostalgia!

It was the mid 1990's, I was in Florida with my family on vacation. While visiting with my two older cousins I noticed they had decided to bring their Playstation with them. While I shuffled through their collection they had already powered the console up and were playing a game. I gave the screen my attention as some of gaming's most infamous title screens (and opening dialogue) came to my ears...

July 1998
Raccoon Forest

Not wanting to break the mood too much I quickly asked, "What's this?"

Their reply? Two words...

Resident Evil

Yes, I was witnessing the birth of a legendary franchise...but being only five or six years old, I was soon out the door in fear for my life. Now a days I tell people it was the horrible voice acting that frightened me so, not people being messily eaten alive by zombies (is sooooo lying).

Skip a decade or so....after I grew to like survival horror....

I just got done playing Resident Evil (the remake) on the Nintendo Game Cube (yes, it still works and I would much rather play that system than a Wii any day), twice as a matter of fact, for both profiles. Everything good I could say about this MASTERPIECE has already been said a thousand times....so imagine all of that somewhere in this article...

Ok time's up.

NOW ponder an even bigger question....

The movies......WHY?!

Imagine everything BAD that's been said about these movies is somewhere in this article....then sit back and listen to me repeat the three major areas why fans were outraged (all of these based on articles I've read, why waste money or time to see them?)

1) Over-all mood: the movies were said to be bloody, fast-paced action films rather than the dark, mysterious, Stephen King-like suspense thrillers that the games were.

2) Lack of game characters: the central focus of the movies revolves around an ex-Umbrella employee named Alice. Characters that were central to the plot of the game, like Chris, Jill and even Wesker, get bumped to supporting roles, and most fans agree that their portrayal was way off.

3) Over-all plot: as said before, Alice is the main character, trapped underground when the Tyrant virus leaks. Technically, this COULD work, given the fact that it's several weeks if not MONTHS after the incident before S.T.A.R.S is finally deployed. Regardless, in my opinion, the movie ought to have a kind of subtitle if that's the case, like Resident Evil: Germination
or Infection

No matter how bad the films are, the saddest part, as I think everyone knows, is that it's all Capcom's fault! Zombie film-making legend George Romero wrote a script for the first film. Even though I would have changed certain things (Chris isn't even a S.T.A.R.S member! What gives?) it was excellent and followed most of the games' central plot elements.

Unfortunately..

It was rejected by the very company who birthed the series, giving the green light to another director with a more Hollywood-style approach. The result speaks for itself.

This, I believe is a clear sign that we need to expand the independent film industry. If I were a gambling man I'd bet money that a group of about 30 hardcore fans (like myself, and that includes writers, a few directors, etc) could EASILY make a more acceptable film than any professional who can't get passionate about the story because, like Steven Spielberg, he doesn't consider video games to have story-telling value.

Anyway....onto something else.....

As I've already said in previous posts I LOVE RPG's, in fact, I grew up on them! So for Christmas this year I was excited to get my wish fulfilled when I unwrapped a copy of Star Ocean: First Departure for the PSP. I've managed to put seven hours into it so far, and here are my initial thoughts.

Presentation rocks! After the annoying Square Enix title screen (the one that takes like 30 seconds to go away) vanishes, the player is immediately treated to an awesome video depicting the major characters in a beautiful, vibrantly colored FMV. It's no secret that one of the biggest leaps in Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions was the inclusion of animated cut scenes, (having no dialogue to read was helpful on the eyes) and fans loved it! Square decided to carry this over in Star Ocean. With great music and a top-notch voice acting cast, and, as always, good graphics, the game looks great, but how does it play? (Oh, I forgot to mention, even during in-game cut scenes, most of the script is narrated as well!)

Game play is truly remarkable. Just like Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, you don't have to worry about turn-based battles. Now, you can just rush into the action with full force! However, the random encounters are still a major factor....so it's bittersweet. However, one major difference between Star Ocean and Final Fantasy that I've already noticed are the way in which you power-up your characters. In Final Fantasy, you had to rely about 50% on the best weapons, items and accessories. These can be bought, stolen, found in chests, and won in mini games or side quests. In Star Ocean, the player can purchase "Skill Sets" (Ex. Combat lv. 1) which opens up new possibilities for their characters' over-all stats. A good example of this is purchasing Combat 1, which allows you to use SP (skill points) to learn "God Speed", an automated technique that randomly warps your character(s) into attack position (rather than running across the field). The higher the level this skill and the faster you warp.

So basically you rely on these Skill Sets to boost every kind of stat imaginable: your ability to dodge enemy attacks, the chance of landing a critical hit, etc, and very little of it is influenced by the items you're equipped with.

But there's one problem....which I'd like to illustrate with the following scenario:

You're traveling with a party of six (three active fighters and three in reserve) across a plain so you can get to the next castle (and more than likely advance the plot) when suddenly you're attacked by a horde of monsters. You survive, but each character suffers massive damage and you use the last of your healing items to keep them alive in case you get into another fight (by the way, the three reserve fighters are weaker than the active ones). You make it to the castle and find all sorts of shops, mainly one that sells high-dollar weapons and armor. With the excess money you've acquired, you buy enough stuff to boost each active fighter's stats by several points, increasing your chances of staying alive.

This scenario is all too common in Final Fantasy.

Star Ocean however is totally different...

While towns aren't uncommon, weapons/armor/accessories that can significantly boost your character's power are few and far in between. Basically, in a nutshell, the battles are like Final Fantasy....the original Final Fantasy....for the NES...where battles can go from ridiculously easy to near impossible while traveling from one town to another. This forces you to use the same weapons for hours on end grinding to get SP, which you'll use to boost character's stats via abilities, like God Speed. But then it's revealed that each character has certain Talents (Roddick, for example, is listed as having Nimble Fingers and Originality, which means he's more likely to succeed at Writing Music--which doens't seem to be very useful at this point, Cooking--allows you to blend foods to create power-ups, or Item Creation than Cyuss, who possesses Animal Instinct). By using this hint, you can boost certain skills and teach them Specialties (Mineralogy, Eye for Detail and Smithing can help you strengthen weapons using mineral ore) Not only that, there's a skill called Appraising, which means that if you get something like "?ITEM/?WEAPON/?MINERAL" and use the Spectacles item (one use only....whatever) you can identify what it is....but it doesn't always work....which means you may have to use MORE SP just to.....is it clear yet? The entire system is dependant on LEARNING!

Now I get where this is going: knowledge is power, and just because you get a different kind of sword, it doesn't mean you yourself have gotten any better. There's a definite "survival" aspect in this game, but I think the transition is just too quick....and there aren't any tutorials!

The whole skill thing can backfire easily as well. If you're in a fight and want to hurry up to the next town, you can easily hit the triangle button (which pauses the battle) and select "Escape". You're home free, right? Wrong! You notice that one of your characters (controlled by the computer, yes, only one character can be controlled by you in the battles, since they are real time) is using God Speed....and he's already half-way across the field.....into the enemy ranks. Chances are that this guy will be killed off before he can obey your command (it's happened to me a lot). Now you've lost a man and are in worse shape than before.

Your options? Well, you could always turn God Speed off (yes, each ability can be switched off at your whim) or you could access the Tactics menu for the character and select "Don't Do Anything", but honestly, who plans that far in advance? You might forget what you did later on!

This is the essence of my gripes concerning this game: too much of it relies on Skills, SP doesn't accumulate fast enough, and the Skills get more costly the higher up in level they go! That means even if I'm able to compete against strong monsters, I won't have enough SP to develop Talents, refine Item Creation, or other such options that add lovely depth to the game. It'll just take too long!

Final Fantasy VIII was criticized for it's unnecessarily complex Junction system. I think my argument is well-founded enough, but like I said, I've only pit 7 hours or so into the game and I plan on seeing it to the finish!

Other that these gripes I love the game. It's one of the best PSP titles to date, and I'll be securing a copy of Second Evolution after I beat this one.

A Long Awaited Update

2008-12-17T15:44:00.002-06:00

Hello readers,

I know it's been over THREE MONTHS since I posted anything here, and for that I apologize (once you get to college people get the strange idea that you have to DO stuff). Anyway, Lunar Dawn is moving right along. I have a conference called scheduled on December 19th to discuss interior issues like font size and other things.

The company said that at the MOST it would be 3 months, so worst case scenario it won't be out till February or March. I hope this doesn't end up being so, but it's out of my hands now.

Anyway, it's Christmas break so I won't be back on here until I know when the release date is. I might try working on the sequel.

Happy Holidays to all! See you in 2009!

Power to the pen and those who wield it!

My New College Dorm (and girlfriend!)

2008-10-13T13:57:00.007-05:00

An even that everyone on campus has been wating for nearly TWO MONTHS has finally arrived!

Lunar Dawn Progress Report

2008-08-20T17:57:00.002-05:00

I know you are all anxiously awaiting the book's release, so let me pass along everything that I've been told:

First I have to get all of the illustrations (which are FABULOUS btw) scanned and mailed off with the book itself and a few other little documents (thank-you lists and blurbs) to the publisher. After a few days I'll get a call from their design team to discuss font size, format, layout, etc. About two weeks after that I'll get a sample and from there I have no idea where this is going to go.

I'm excited beyond all measure but we must all be patient. I'll pass along updates as soon as I get word on something. Until then keep your fingers crossed!

LUNAR DAWN IS FINISHED!!!!

2008-08-05T17:26:00.002-05:00

At long last, the epic is ready to be published (actually it was completed the 31st)......almost.

I'm still waiting on a few illustrations from my artist and I'm sure when it will be our, considering the fact that I'm starting college in a few weeks. But I'll keep you posted as soon as I find things out.

Another Lunar Dawn Update

2008-07-17T10:55:00.001-05:00

I'm on page 430. Novel should be complete and on its way to print by the end of the month.

Progress Report

2008-06-17T15:16:00.002-05:00

Hello fans,

Many of you may be wondering where I am at this point, considering my last post was almost two months ago on April 30 and it is now June 17. The answer is simple.

I have decided not to post anything else until my novel Lunar Dawn is completed. I hope to have this done by the middle of next month. I am currently on page 250 something and I work several hours out of each day editing and writing new material to make the story better. This is my first novel and I won't put it out for everyone to read until I think it can stand on its own two feet.

Don't think I've forgotten about my readers though. I'll be back ASAP with new episodes of The Portal and other random things on Youtube.

Until then, power to the pen and all who wield it!

Street Fighter 2010: The Conclusion!

2008-04-30T13:34:00.000-05:00

THE PORTAL: EPISODE TWO (Street Fighter 2010 Part 2/2)

2008-04-28T16:39:00.000-05:00

THE PORTAL: EPISODE TWO (Street Fighter 2010 Part 1/2)

2008-04-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

THE PORTAL: EPISODE ONE (Baseball NES Part 2/2)

2008-04-08T09:44:00.001-05:00

THE PORTAL: EPISODE ONE (Baseball NES Part 1/2)

2008-03-04T18:18:00.001-06:00

It's finally here! The first episode of what I hope is a very long series. Enjoy!

A Special Surprise!

2008-01-19T13:19:00.000-06:00

Hey all!

I know it's been way too long since I last posted, but with college starting and Lunar Dawn picking up speed, I'll have less time to share my thoughts. However, I put something together just for you guys that I think you'll like. Enjoy!

Movie Review: No Country for Old Men

2007-12-28T21:13:00.000-06:00

Call the toss: heads or tails? Don't really matter cause I was cheated out of seven bucks for the ticket to go see this darn thing! "No Country for Old Men" is a crime/drama/suspense/thriller/Western/drama....you get the point. Written and directed by Ethan and Joel Cohen, based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy. It opens with various clips of the beautiful Texas landscape as Tommy Lee Jones delivers the opening narration, similar to the way Sam Elliot opened "Ghost Rider." Any who, Jones is hunting one day minding his own business when suddenly, he stumbles upon a whole bunch of dead Mexicans, a truck with a huge amount of dope, and $2 million in cash. He picks up the money, along with some of the ammunition that's left, and heads out. So he goes to the police, turns it in, and then they team up to track down the rest of them...WRONG! He goes out on his own and becomes the target of a psychotic Javier Bardem. Don't ask me what's wrong with this dude, all I know is that he's SCREWED UP! He was obviously in on the drug deal but what side of it? No one knows, he just wants the money. Jones starts going from town to town, giving us no clue as to what he plans on doing: is just trying to put some distance between him and the bad guys or is he trying to make off with the money himself? Impossible to tell.

The main thing that just sticks in my crawl about this film is the gritty, senseless violence, and complete lack of closure. Jones ends up getting himself killed after a bunch of nameless Mexicans raid his hotel room, Javier leaves several bodies in his wake, but never gets what he's after, and the films ends with an old sheriff telling about a dream he'd had. No happy ending, no explanation, good vs evil and evil wins.

But then again, I suppose that's what the story is intended to make us do, cringe as he realize that this film depicts the real world. Every day the news papers are filled with stories of people whose actions no one can interpret. I'm reminded of John Carpenter's classic "Halloween" as the character Dr. Samuel Loomis, explains to the sheriff just what kind of man the serial killer Michal Myers really is, "I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply…evil."

What I liked? Well, the suspense had me on the edge of my seat. There were some great camera shots for scenes requiring meticulous detail, and the acting was pretty good. Javier plays on of the best villains I've seen on the screen since Kevin Spacey in "Seven". You defiantly felt you were in the times. Location shooting couldn't have been any better, and the barren desert landscape was magnificent.

This film defies all the rules that we expect writers to follow when we go see a picture. We expect a plot, characters and an outcome that makes sense, whether good or bad. But the more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to understand how this so accurately portrays the environment we live in. No one is truly safe. As horrifying as it may be, we forget by putting on rose-tinted glasses. It hurts to be reminded that evil still exists, but then again, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. All in all, the film isn't bad after you get over the initial reaction. You just need a moment to let it all sink in.

Power to the pen and those who wield it.

I'm Back!

2007-12-27T18:12:00.000-06:00

Hey readers!

I had a wonderful Christmas vacation. I've gained weight (just a little) from all the turkey, apple pie, egg nog, cookies, corn, green beans, and....*sigh* everything else. Got alot of editing done on Lunar Dawn, I'm now done with the first 100 or so pages. My goal is to have the book ready by next summer, but who knows? I got a new digital camera, been playing with that alot. This is just a quick post to let you all know that I'll be back to work on this blog soon. I got a surprise for everyone, so keep checking in! I hope you all had a great holiday season, and have a happy new year!

Pearl Harbor

2007-12-07T09:56:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone,

It's December 7th, the day that continues to live in infamy. Over 60 years ago on this day at 8 AM, over 200 Japanese aircraft descended mercilessly on Pearl Harbor with the intention to completely destroy the American fleet. Over 2,300 sailors and Marines were killed as the island was bombarded by wave after wave of fighter planes. The very next day, Congress declared war on Japan, what would be referred to as "waking the giant".

Today we all ought to take just a few moments to remember that this is the day our nation was smacked in the face, and realized that our existence was at stake. So what did we do? What did millions of young men and boys all over the country do? They dropped what they were doing and went to volunteer. On that day, no draft was necessary because everyone knew what was happening. Nearly four years later, the Empire of Japan was brought to its knees by the Atom Bombs.

I'm not going to waste my time and energy writing about the politics of the times, or the conspiracy theories behind who MAY have known something about whatever. The fact is that we were attacked and we responded in the appropriate manner. Do I have a grudge against the Japanese today? No, that wouldn't be right, because the generation today isn't responsible for what happened so long ago. But be certain that this day transformed us into a mighty power. It was one of those rare times in history when we put aside our differences and banded together like good American citizens should every day, to fight a common enemy. Imagine what would happen if we did that to fight against the terrorists today? Or poverty?

"December 7th, 1941: a date that shall live forever in infamy." It's almost funny when you think about Roosevelt. He scratched out the original sentence, "a date that will live in world history" and replaced it with more passionate words. This is the day we lost our innocence and left home to do our job.

I'm sure hundreds of people are already at the memorial, standing just a few feet over the carcass of the USS Arizona. Moments of silence, prayers, and witness testimonies. May God forever allow their souls to rest in peace. I hope that we never forget this tragedy and blatant travesty.

Power to the pen, with which one may honor and give praise to the millions of dead who gave their LIVES for freedom!

Taking a Break

2007-12-03T11:25:00.000-06:00

Hey guys,

I know it's been awhile since I last posted something, but I have a good reason. My first semester in college is drawing to a close, and the final exams are only a week away. After that I've got a nice, long break for Christmas, during which time I hope to edit alot of Lunar Dawn and write some more articles. I haven't forgotten about you so don't worry, I'll be back ASAP!

Crossed and Killed Over

2007-11-27T12:08:00.000-06:00

Hey again everyone,

Thanksgiving is over and I'm about a hundred pounds heavier, but it was all in chocolate covered almonds so I ain't complaining. Still working on Lunar Dawn when I can, and I've almost broken the 100 page mark. After two more weeks, finals will be over and I'll get to chill at home on a long Christmas break. Hopefully, my juices will start flowing better and I'll be able to knock a good chunk of it out. My holiday was very nice. I got to see my little bro and FINALLY was able to play Halo 3, Bioshock and Guitar Hero III (which is nowhere NEAR as good as II, except for a very few songs). It was really nice to see all of the family from out of state, and I had duck for the first time in my life, which was just absolutely delicious. But all this cheer was all put on the back burner when I discovered that the Hollywood crap machine was spitting out another shameless slop job of a movie.

Over the break I got around to buying the DVD of Alien. It was a film released in 1979 directed by Ridley Scott (surprisingly, the same man who had me shaking my head with American Ganster). If you love science fiction and horror, then this movie is for you. The basic plot follows the journey of a commercial spaceship, the Nostromo, as it makes its way to Earth with millions of tons of mineral ore. The crew is rerouted to investigate a mysterious transmission of unknown origin and class. Upon doing so, they accidentally allow a hostile life form on board that rapidly grows into a deadly creature. Even though it's rated R, the violence and language are considerably tame compared to today's movies, so I still HIGHLY recommend it.

So why am I writing a bad review on Alien? Well I'm not, I'm writing a review on the bad people who had abused the franchise. After Alien in '79, there was a sequel: Aliens, followed by Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, but the latter two films were not nearly as well-received as their predecessors. In 1990 the film Predator (starring our favorite Californian: Arnold. It's funny, if you ever see a movie poster for this film, his last name takes up the entire top line) was released in theaters. It only spawned one sequel, but would also fall victim to the same cruel vice against fans I am about to reveal.

Both films were such monumental hits that fans were screaming for more. In 2004, they got more both franchises in the movie Alien vs Predator. Now for those who had seen Freddy vs Jason, they may have been able to predict what was coming (Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street were both regarded as excellent horror films by themselves, but the cross-over only gained a 40% approval rating). Concerning AVP, there isn't much to say. Two alien races come to Earth for one thing: carnage. They get plenty of it as humans are whacked off right and left. The concept is OKAY at the most: the Predators like to hunt powerful animals that are challenging to kill, and since the Alien race is nearly invincible, it's assumed they were after the ultimate prey. At the end, the battle between the two is technically inconclusive, but it DOES leave an opening for another film. But with so much negative criticism from fans and a sharp financial decline after only ONE WEEK of showing, would they really want to go on?

Well guess what? On Christmas Day of this year, AVP 2 is scheduled to be released in theaters. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? The first one wasn't that great, why push your luck? Isn't it BAD when you lose money?

This article is meant to chase after crossovers in general. When a big hit like Alien or Predator comes out, I fell that it's better off left alone to bask in its own, glorious aura. Works like that are so great because...well that's it! They stand on their own two feet apart from the mainstream. But put two works like that together and something in the film-making formula just goes all screwy. When they were separate, the creatures had a mysterious appeal to them and that helped make them scary. Revealing all there is to know about them? Eh...maybe in the sequel, MAYBE after lots of searching and following shady clues, but why reduce them to mere grunts in large armies going after each other?

It's just like those crappy, black and white movies where King Kong goes against Godzilla time after time and no one dies. In the original films, the monsters were these great, legendary beasts that no other creature on Earth could match....except ANOTHER legendary beast that no other...see where I'm going with this? It diminishes the glimmer of what the filmmakers wanted to portray as awe-inspiring.

The Marvel comics are just as guilty (might as well include DC, Vertigo, and some others), but there are over 100 characters in each series so that means there are about 10,000 possible crossovers...no comment...

Just because the first installment of the series (maybe the second) is good, the series can still be butchered beyond belief. The original Friday the 13th was a movie that became so popular it knocked The Empire Strikes Back off of its proper place at the #1 slot! There's a difference between senseless slashers and interesting crime films (such as Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs or John Carpenter's Halloween. Try comparing them to crap like Saw or Hostel) so I bet the original 13th wasn't bad. But its mass praise spawned a seemingly never-ending span of sequels that downgraded it from being special and transformed it into the cliche murder/massacre crap we've been getting non-stop ever since. The full story was told in three films. If they did such a good job with just three, why'd they have to go further? What were they thinking (more like, what were they NOT thinking)?!

Now, there is one exception, and it's a video game called Kingdom Hearts. Many famous Disney characters and other game personalities (such as Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockheart, etc.) make an appearance in this massive alchemy. But the catch is that it involves inter-dimensional travel, therefore, isolating the original worlds of each character. It was a good move, because it doesn't distort the back story and makes for an interesting combination of side-quests. The series has gotten lots of praise, but since I don't own a PS 2, I can't say from personal experience.

So what about CRAPPY cross-overs? Well, AVP 2 is the only film on the horizon that's been confirmed, so I've compiled a list to give the Hollywood hacks a few ideas:

Rocky vs Cinderella Man (I honestly don't know who'd win.....)

Harry Potter vs Earthsea

Lord of the Rings vs Eragon (Oh crap, somebody please kill me now...)

Master Cheif vs Samus Aran (The ULTIMATE battle of the sexes...)

Talledega Nights vs Blade of Glory (Yeah, an all-out fag fest....great...)

Star Wars vs Star Trek: The Borg against the Droids (What, no Jedi Knights?)

Resident Evil vs Doom (Demons from Hell against zombies? Hmm...)

Constantine vs The Exorcist

Jonny Cash vs Ray (Heck, why not?)

Lassie vs Old Yeller (Call the Humane Society...)

Home Alone vs Dennis the Menace

Okay, I think I'm getting carried away....just a little. Anyway, my point has been made. Hope you all are enjoying yourselves and survived the after-holiday sales. I was out there for only a little bit, but it was brutal *shiver*

Power to the pen and those who protect their life's work's dignity with it!

Gagged by the Gangster ( A Satirical Piece)

2007-11-22T23:10:00.002-06:00

Happy after holiday readers!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Get plenty of turkey and pecan pie? Well, I'm going to digest some of that food by reviewing a movie that I saw last week. Russle Crowe and Denzel Washington star in "American Gangster", directed by Scott Ridley. The basic story is based on the life story of Frank Lucas (Washington), a black mobster. The first scene starts out with Frank and his boss burning a guy alive in a back alley because he...well heck, no one says anything so how should I know? Maybe he didn't snitch to the cops, maybe he did something else.

"Vinni."

"What's up boss?"

"I ordered a Cuban sandwich with mustard, lettuce, mayo, pickles, a slice of white cheese and toasted. Why ain't it here yet?"

"Uh....boss you never ordered a sandwich. We're at the pizza parlor."

"Don't tell me where we are! I OWN this town and if I say it's a sandwich shop, then that's what it is! They're just very flat and circular..."

Anyway, the beginning is very choppy. In fact, most of the first 20-30 minutes focuses on Russle Crowe (who's character's name isn't mentioned enough to remember) as the massive drug problem of the late 60's-early 70's begins dominating the nation. It was too hard trying to keep up, so I just waited until Frank takes over the mob business. He starts by eliminating those who try to push him around and trafficking a revolutionary new type of dope onto the streets called Blue Magic. I'm no drug expert, but according to the film, the more concentrated, or "pure", a drug is, the higher the quality and therefore the more it's worth. Frank, however, is selling his stuff at prices lower than anyone else, monopolizing the market. This doesn't happen until AFTER you watch Russle run around busting random dealers having sex with random women, and settling child support claims for his family that just suddenly pop up with no explanation.

Eventually, President Nixon launches his enormous campaign against drugs, giving Crowe the opportunity to assemble his own, hand-picked team of narcs. They start going through the known druggies one by one, oblivious to the real mastermind. Meanwhile, Frank is scoring big in NY, Jersey and even with US Army in Vietnam. On the outside it looks like he's just a wealthy business man taking care of his family, but as the film progresses, his "business" soon turns into an obsession. His efforts to evade police soon give Crowe's team the lead they need. The story ends with Frank cooperating with police to bring down nearly three fourths of New York's corrupt police and other drug buddies. His life prison sentence was reduced to 15 for his efforts, however, every cent me ever made off dope was confiscated by the feds.

Sound like a short review? Well that's because it's nearly 3 friken hours long! I can't even remember half the good scenes! The seven bucks I spent landed me senseless nudity, sex, needle sticking, high getting, mouths so foul they're better off eating moss out of a pond, and....grrrrr! My advise? Save your money and just watch and documentary on Frank Lucas, because Ridley Scott's redition is NOT what I expected or desired.

Having said that, Russle and Denzel did GREAT jobs with their roles. Washington is about as ruthless as they come, killing off his own hired hands at the slightest screw up, an defying Crowe at interrogation. They make a good combination when in the same room, but they are the only good things that happen. Like I said before, the movie is soooo long I was actually WANTING it to end.

Just head over to screenit.com if you want a list of everything to watch out for. I personally don't even know why I wrote a review on this film, it ain't much, just a rant on how disappointed I was. Go see it if you want to, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Power to the pen and those who actually ENTERTAIN with it!

Terrors of the Turkey

2007-11-19T12:45:00.000-06:00

Hello readers,

Well, it's the week of Thanksgiving. Yes, in only two short days, families all over the county will be sitting down to give God some SERIOUSLY overdue credit. It's that spectacular time of year when folks will try to ramble off everything that's happened to them over the past few months because they live too far away from their relatives and can't visit on a regular basis. As early as 9 AM, the highways will be jam-packed with over sized mini-vans full of crazy people who didn't get out of the house in time to beat rush hour (heck, even rush hour trying to sneak out early and can't even beat ITSELF). For many, this is the LAST thing they want to be apart of. I mean, honestly, could you REALLY look forward to a day when folks you haven't seen in who knows how long, come over and nearly eat all of your food? I've already sent out advanced emails to the family declaring my dorm room OFF LIMITS....unless they're in the mood for a Thanksgiving dinner consisting of saltine crackers, with some peanut butter, orange juice and Fig Newtons. I've only got one can of chunky soup left, and I'm saving it for an emergency.

And speaking of emergencies, that's exactly the kind of situation we're going to have on our hands AFTER the holiday is over! I am, of course, referring to a social crisis that you can only get by living in a capitalist society: shopping sales. Let's be realistic, mothers all over the US are drawing up battle plans for the imminent "D-Day" that's fast approaching. Several key establishments (aka "Target Zones") have already began fortifying themselves to repel the invasion of MPPCFs (money-packed-purse-carrying-females). THESE gals are the Navy Seals of the middle class. They can turn a family of one husband and three kids (maybe a dog) into a kick-butt band of cutthroat coupon commandos! So your son is only five years old? Ha! Ten seconds in parking lot at Wal-Mart and he'll be climbing on people to get that last container of yogurt because your geek cousin Phil "The Pill" Martin is lactose intolerant and can't eat ice cream for dessert.

Wait a sec....I got a great idea! This whole thing could solve the problem in Iraq! All we have to do is turn these 8+ million people loose in Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Arabia, and have them use credit cards to buy out all of the terrorists' weapons! Why hasn't the CIA come up with this yet? If you can't beat em, buy em out! Just monpolize the black market and leave them with nothing but crappy rubber band guns, Nerf darts, and cherry bombs. Heh, strap THOSE on and try to blow up someone you rotten jihaders! I know what you're thinking: "They're hiding in caves." And all I can say is that you OBVIOUSLY don't know what a fully-trained MPPCF can do. Armed with a list, extra cell phone minutes, speed dial, and high heel shoes (Yes, high heels. The constant clicking against the tile floor warns civilians to get out of the way and avoid the cross-fire. It's a federal requirement.), they can find ANYTHING! So what if there are no more fat-free Oreos on the shelf? If the sales representative doesn't specifically say, "We do not have that item in stock," they have it, and they're about to lose it for 30% off the retail value.

The most annoying thing about after-holiday sales are those BORING commercials they show on TV. Every store you could possibly find in a phonebook seems to have something going on. Why? They're trying to avoid taking the blunt of the invasion by dumping it all on their competition. I mean, COME ON, you'd have to be one crazy store manager to invite that kind of punishment on your employees. The psychological damage that results is nearly irreversible. Bars owners have learned that even tripling their stock doesn't provide enough alcohol to stabilize each veteran that comes along. Those guys need a lot of juice.

"So, Ed, who were you with?"

"Best Buy, morning shift, 2nd CSP (customer service platoon), video game aisle."

"Woah, dude. Barkeep, set him up another one on me. What happened out there? I heard you boys got hit pretty hard."

"It was Hell man. The shift manager was down only ten minutes after the action started. The Geek Squad had to drag him behind the counter before they could get him to calm down."

"God have mercy!"

"Th...those moms, they were everywhere! Jumping out of the aisles, jumping out of the freking AISLES, man!"

"Poor chap."

"Here's to Benny. Newly released DVD's won't be the same without you."

Unfortunately, medical science has yet to find a way to protect clerks from such effects. Although group prep sessions have been clinically proven to help reduce the severity of the damage, this is a dangerous game, and new methods of cruel and unusual punishment are introduced each year. Thankfully, there's one safeguard that many stores now have in place: time limits. That's right, the sales are only good for about two hours for one day in the entire week.

*breaths* Well, in all seriousness, Thanksgiving IS a great time to celebrate this country we live in and the numberless blessings God Almighty has afforded to us. If you're having trouble thinking of things to be thankful for, just look around. You'll notice that our women don't have to cover their faces and walk twenty feet BEHIND the man they're with. You won't have to pray three times a day towards a city in the east you may have never been to. You don't even have to know which way east IS! But remember, there are those who have to work just because they got the short straw, or maybe they don't have a family to celebrate with period! And let's not forget the brave men and women who have to eat dinner in tents because they're overseas.

So while you're out in all the madness this week, do everyone a favor and be extra nice. Sure, it may be funny as crap to watch some poor ol sap get trampled like a bug in a heard of wildebeest at the mall, but wait till you're at least fifty feet away before laughing at them. I hope you all have a safe, turkey-stuffed Thanksgiving.

Power to the pen and those who set it down to count their blessings!

Surprise! A Crsis Prolonged

2007-11-14T12:58:00.000-06:00

Hey readers,

Nothing too special has happened since the last post. I'm still editing Lunar Dawn for its printed version. Each time I get done I have to slowly back away from the computer and wipe the sweat off my brow, proof of how intense the action is in this story. Anyway, while I was surfing the net one day I came upon an interesting discovery. It seems young fantasy author Christopher Paolini has decided to expand his Inheritance series by making it a cycle (4 books) instead of a trilogy as he originally planned.

His argument for this was rather interesting: according to a video announcement, which can still be viewed (http://alagaesia.com/kvetha/?detectqt=false&) Paolini says that he felt three books were not enough to fit the entire story into, in addition to not being in consistency with certain characters...um...character. Personally, I've stumbled upon the exact situation myself in writing. Since the description of his choice is still kind of vague, we can only speculate as to what specifically contributed to the spawning of a fourth book.

What also interests me is how Random House seemed to go along without putting up a fuss. All of the Inheritance books so far have a reference to the trilogy printed somewhere on them, whether it be the front cover or the last page in the back. How are they going to handle the inconsistency? They obviously can't re-print millions of copies of both books just to correct that one mistake, and the idea of a re-call is ludicrous. The only practical solution is to drop the word "trilogy" and just call the series "Inheritance" with nothing else attached.

The bigger question concerns the audience. Will Inheritance fans be patient enough to wait for this forth book? It's been almost 3 years since Eldest was first released in hard cover on August 23, 2005, and people are getting tired of waiting on this still-untitled-book III. If he takes any longer on #4, other aspiring authors (such as yours truly) will have an ample chance of stealing the spotlight, thus increasing the competition.

What's funny is the fact that as I type these words, millions of people across the world are groaning to themselves, "Oh $%!#, now we have to put up with that stupid series even LONGER now?!" Insane asylums are being packed full with poor folks who just can't take it anymore, supermarkets are baring the doors and windows to prevent looting, the Nation Guard is stockpiling weapons, and special teams of riot police are being trained to handle the coming hysteria.

Ok....maybe it isn't THAT bad....yet.

After all this time, Paolini had best be able to pull off a really, REALLY good book if he wants to prove that good things come to those who wait. If not, well, I'll leave that up to your imagination.

Power to the pen and those who wield it!

Salute! Present...Graditude!

2007-11-11T19:23:00.000-06:00

Good Monday morning readers,

I should have had this post up yesterday, but this topic ought to be discussed often. Veteran's Day was yesterday, the nation holiday where we set aside time to honor all of those, both living and dead, peace or war, who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

As I typed out an email to my grandfather thanking him for his service in Korea, I asked myself: Are veterans today satisfied with their work? In other words, do they think their sacrifice made this country better? Are they proud of what we have become? This quesion would have to be taken on an individual basis, but I have some thoughts. War has changed in style, tactics, conflicting parties and so on, but the basic principles and lessons the human race has failed to learn are still there. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the recuiting stations were packed with volunteers. When American troops were committed to fight against the Communists in Vietnam, young boys were drug kicking and screaming to the battlefield. In 1941, the volunteers knew that everything they had grown to love was now thretened by two ominous foriegn powers. In 1969, folks were scratching their heads wondering why WE had to play policeman in a civil war over 1,000 miles away.

A soldier is a very amazing person. He isn't allowed to tell you what he thinks about the president or the goverment, but when you order him to go shoot another human who's been labled as a threat to national security, he simply replies, "Yes sir." Above all people on Earth, they hate war the most. Why? Well, because they fought it! I was reading an essay called "Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All" by William Manchester. William was a Marine who fought and survived the battle. One of the objectives in his essay was to bring to light the true horror of warfare, as he experienced it. He says in one paragraph, "One of the facts withheld from civilians during World War II was that the Kabar fighting knives, with seven inch blades honed to such precision that you could shave with them, were issued to Marines and we were taught how to use them. You never cut downward. You drove the point of your blade into a man's lowe belley and ripped upward. In the process, you became soaked in another man's gore."

Sickening, isn't it? That's the price of defending freedom, and it hasn't changed at any time in history. When you're pitted against another human being who is just as zealous (in mose cases) for his cause as you are, there is only one rule: kill or be killed. Soldiers may not like the Congress that declares war or the President that orders such-and-so operation to quell whatever little brushfire in that small country way over which way, but they're stuck in it with millions of other men and women, all who are ready to die for us AND each other.

Are they proud?

In my studies I've noticed a significant difference between soldiers and civilians. There are two famous examples in our ouwn heritage. General George S. Patton saw fit to rampage into the U.S.S.R and crush their military power to such an extent, they would never be able to oppose us again. He said, "I could go whip em right now and make it look like it's their fault!" Why? Because he was an avid historian who knew their culture well, and he knew they couldn't be trusted. Did we listen? No. We had just beaten Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan after nearly five years of bloodshed. You'd have to crazy to keep going! Public support would have dropped like a rock, the other nations of the world would have seen us as no different than the Germans or Japanese, and more than likley, our tired military wouldn't have been able to get the job done quick enough, opening up the possibility of resorting to using the new Atom Bomb.

As a result of our noble dicison, the Soviets became a royal pain in the world's butt. The countries they liberated during the WW II never got their freedom back. They became part of the Iron Curtain, and what was left of Germany was divided into Communist East and the free West. The Cold War was on, and it wouldn't end until 1989, the same year I was born. General Patton knew what was coming. All we knew about was what had already happend. We wanted a quick end to the conflict without giving much care to the future result. Patton may have been right.

As that crisis was taking root, another grew up like a weed. North Korea had recieved unexcpeted support from hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops that pour across the Yalu River. MacArther demanded permission to fight back, but the Soviets *sigh* were political allies of the Chinese, and by this point, had also developed the Atom Bomb. To fight against China would have meant risking a fight with Russia. Stalin had Europe in the palm of his hand. If he entered the battle, another World War could have erupted. Despite Chinese agression, a truce ended hostilities on July 27, 1953. The border between the two nations became a neutral zone.

Because of our brave choice, North Korea still exists, using every cent of its money to build up the military, and China is getting stronger by the day. They have a domonating presence on the world market and their staggering population is enough to put rabbit breeding to shame. We were forced to back down in a tough spot at a bad time. MacArther could have been right. We may have been right.

Here we are in 2007. We've been fighting in Iraq for over four years. A nation that used to give up everything to protect its flag is now plagued with those who seek a right to burn it. Is this what out soldiers fought and died for? Is this why they answered the call? I have no answers, but let me say this: never should we hate or despise those who are forced to kill for our sake. They have given up everything so we can have it in their place.

To all veterans who may be readign this. Thank you. From the heart of a young man who is ignorant to all aspects of what it is REALLY like, thank you. You are in my prayers and thoughts.

General MacArther said in his final public appearence, "Old soldiers don't die, they just fade away." I wish that weren't so, and I hope your actions will be forever engrained in the memory of this nation.

The pen is mightier than the sword, eh? I say: power to the pen, but may God Almighty, and American the beautiful, bless those who chose the sword!!!

Dull Day

2007-11-08T11:57:00.000-06:00

Hello again readers,

Well, it's been a few days since I last posted. I've been real busy getting projects for college done and starting new ones. I am currently reading some fantasy books and I hope to post reviews for them soon.

Anyway, I was at the doctor the other day. While waiting to be called in, I looked up at the TV. There was a message that said, "If you cannot keep your appointment, please notify us 24 hours in advance." Why are they just now telling me this? It was only my second time visiting this office and I had no clue about their policies. By this point I was bored to tears, so I began to wonder off into very strange thoughts. I was soon making a list of all the things that would go wrong. What if I break my leg while climbing the stairs to my appointment? What then? Will I have to go up the stairs anyway to reschedule and THEN get my leg fixed? Or maybe I call, leave a message with the secretary, but then she has a heart attack and I don't hear from the doc till two weeks, giving time for the funeral and everything else.

What if I reschedule and then someone before me cancels? Do I have to go sooner and thus rearrange my daily plans to fit the change? What if there is a major terrorist attack and martial law is declared? Will there be anyone at the office to take my call?

This is stupid I know, but I'm not making it up, the TV actually said that, and it's got me paranoid.

Well, that's all I have the energy to write today. I'll be back with something of literary value next time. Oh, everything went fine by the way.

Power to the pen and those who aren't confused by it!

Don't Count All Your Eggs Before They're Hatched, One of Them Might Be Stolen! ( A review of the Inheritence conflict and my personal feelings)

2007-11-03T09:07:00.000-05:00

Good day readers,

No introduction here, the title says it all.

Eragon...oh boy....Eragon....this topic is a powder keg waiting to go off. If you have a lot of friends that are die-hard fantasy lovers, you had best read this article, and others, to know what you're getting yourself into. This novel has caused one of the biggest firestorms among sword and sorcery readers today. For those of you who have read the book, you may like this, and for those who haven't, pay attention.

Eragon is a fantasy novel, the first in a trilogy called Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini. Paolini was home schooled, gradating at age 15. In multiple interviews, he stated that Eragon was not only a way to keep himself entertained while isolated at his Montana home, but also the tale of his boyhood daydreams. Eragon was first published through the Paolini family's private press, and the following year was spent promoting. In a stroke of good fortune, the book was picked up by the young son of Carl Hiaasan, an author employed under Random House. His son liked the book so much Carl brought it to his editor's attention. Shortly afterwards, it was accepted, and Random House got the rights to the entire trilogy. Eragon shot up to the top of the best-seller list like a backwards bolt of lightning, managing to knock Harry Potter of its place at the #1 slot.

Sounds like an amazing story, right? A classic rags-to-riches (for lack of a better term) tale that we all dream of? Well, so far we've only talked about the book, not the story contained within its pages.

The basic plot is this: a 15 year old farm boy named Eragon finds a mysterious egg, a dragon egg that the entire Empire is looking for. The egg hatches and Eragon names the dragon Sapphira. He happens to be living with his uncle, since his parents died long ago. The Empire's men kill the uncle in search of the egg, forcing Eragon to flee his home accompanied by an old hermit/warrior named Brom, who trains Eragon to fight as they run. Now, I'm only skimming the VERY surface of the novel, but does this all sound familiar? Of course it does! Here's the chart that many critics use to label the book:

Eragon=Luke Skywalker

Brom=Obi Wan Kenobi

Arya= Princess Leah (Except Arya is mean)

Sapphira=R2D2/C3PO/plans of Death Star

Garrow=Uncle Owen

Inheritance=Star Wars/Lord of the Rings

This is not MY brilliant idea or revelation. This is what thousands of people have seen for themselves. Personally, I didn't catch any of this crap when I first read the book at age 15. By that point in my life, I was trying to finish my own work and figured that a good way to sharpen the ol' mind was to read popular fantasy, thus getting a feel for the market. I'm not an avid reader, but I got through Eragon pretty quickly. Only after I finished its sequel, Eldest, did I begin to find out what was going on.

The list of things that Inheritence gets blasted for is endless: bad prose, bad character development, plagiarism, lack of consistency, lack of originality, etc. It's true that there are multiple flaws in every writer's work, even legends like C.S. Louis, Stephen King, Robert Jordan, and so on. For every few million who help get a best-seller where it is, there are ALWAYS those who have either never heard of it, or just aren't interested. For Eragon, however, it is a whole new thing. For every few million who buy and like the book, there are several thousand who are doing everything they can to kill it! I haven't seen a crucible this big since those religious people went after Harry Potter! But why try to burn Eragon at the stake? He isn't a witch.....I think.

What do I think? Well I enjoyed the novel. Sure there are plenty of things that I would have changed, like as the frequent use of the word 'aye'. Eragon uses this word almost every single time when he really means 'yes'. Normally I wouldn't be annoyed by this, but he's the ONLY character in the WHOLE book who says it! That's right, not even the dwarves of all people say it, and drawrs are supposed to be like Scotsmen: good ol' boys that drink loads of ale and kick butt for a living (lucky jerks). Wait.....did anyone notice that I called the dwarves 'drawrs'? See, that's what happens when you try to get involved in something like this. The two clashing sides swirl in your head like screeching infants until your brain goes numb and you start to hallucinate! To the normal, logical human being this whole thing is too weird to describe! How could someone hate a book so much?

No one can deny that SOMEBODY liked Eragon, because otherwise, a titan like Random House wouldn't have taken it to begin with. It's obvious that the editors and the readers are thinking on very different levels. It doesn't matter which side of this debate you pick, because everyone knows the similarities between Paolini, Lucas and Tolkien. To the die-hard, cannot stand, absolutely detest, anit-Eragon people, here's my question: Star Wars and LOTR has revolutionize literature/movies in every possible way. Who hasn't been inspired by them? And if Lucas hasn't filed suit, or Tolkien's family pressed charges, then why are you making such a fuss? Paolini's a new writer, why not wait and see how his other books do after Inheritance? He might improve.

Now, for all of those who love the series: if there was someone who made millions of dollars and received praises from crowds of adoring fans because they stole another person's ideas, wouldn't you want to know?

This is one reason I took such pains to eliminate all possible cliches from my work: because no debut author should have to endure the torment that Paolini has taken in such great stride. However, any author who frauds off of great artists ought to be exposed, but doing so is very difficult. Plagiarism is a tricky business, and if you've ever taken an advanced English class where they make you learn MLA (Maniacal Losers Academics as I call it) you know what I mean. There are so many small, tedious rules and guidelines that you have to take the work in question word by word. Surprisingly, there are lots who seem to want the job.

By far, the biggest disappointment for fans and haters of the series alike was the Eragon movie released in December of 2006. It starred Ed Speleers as Eragon, Jeremy Irons as Brom (one of my favorite actors) Robert Carlyle as Durza, and John Malkovich as King Galbatorix. It only garnered a 16% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, the 10th lowest of the year. I saw the film myself, and I have one word for it....ARRRGGHHH!

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!?!?!

HUGE sections of the book had been chopped out, and even the most basic plot elements were screwed around. Eragon was 17 in the film even though the novel describes him as 15 years old, having a birthday somewhere in the middle of the story. Did they even read the book? How could they not get THAT right? It was incredibly fast-paced, events that set up the other two books are just non-existent which eliminates the possibility of a sequel, my favorite roles (Brom and Durza, played by Irons and Carlyle) got the best lines in the film but they both die, and speaking of stars, poor Malkovich! Galbatorix was only mentioned in the book, NEVER seen in any part what so ever, (heck, even Eldest didn't even show him!) but in the movie he has, at the most, TEN minutes of screen time divided up into three short scenes. My dear friend Michale once commented on the role, "He's all like, 'I suffer without my stone...wait....no we have to do that again I showed too much emotion'". He's right too, despite his short time in the film, Malkovich could have at least TRIED to be convincing.

Another disappointment for me was the fact that Peter Buchman wrote the screenplay. This guy is best known for Jurassic Park III, a film that I greatly enjoyed. Now, I'm willing to go easy on him....IF this is his first attempt at fantasy. Even BEFORE the film came out, every fan I talked to wanted Peter Jackson to do it. A quesiton I always ask myself about bad book-based movies is this: They know that millions of fans want the movie to be as good or better than the book, why can't they take the extra time to allow the author to get involved? What ever happened to all that talk about someone's vision?

With fans all over the world still waiting for book number three, both sides are probably getting ready for a showdown. Let's try to stay out of the crossfire, but by all means, get some popcorn ready because it's going to be a heck of a show.

Power to the pen and those who wield it without being cast alive into the blazing flames of senseless literary condemnation!

A Very Good Morning

2007-11-01T12:02:00.000-05:00

Hello again readers,

I hope you all had an awesome Halloween and first day of November. I didn't do much, but I have some exciting news that you may be interested in.

For those of you who haven't read my first post, I'm a novelist, or if you want to call me a free-lance writer that's fine too. My primary genres are fantasy and science fiction, even though I'm starting to dabble in the thriller aspect as well. My first book, Lunar Dawn, is currently available for download from an electronic company called Club Lighthouse Publishing (just look at my first post for their website).

But that's all about to change. As of this week, I have started down a path that will lead my book to a printing press. That's right, Lunar Dawn is coming out in paperback! Now many of you may be wondering why this is exciting. Well, I'll tell you why, starting with the story.

Lunar Dawn is the first installment in my series "The Eclipse Chronicles". The book begins in the middle of this destructive war in which the kingdom Juran is the last standing opposition to hordes of Demons that have overrun the planet. These Demons, however, come from outer space, so no one knows a single thing about them. Their technology is far superior and they have the Juran armies outnumbered at least 10 to 1. The only thing keeping the planet from being totally engulfed by darkness is a young Juran soldier named Ephraim Jordan. Ephraim is an alien who was taken in by the Jurans after his world was conquered by the same Demons he now fights against. He carried a sword called the Eclipse Crescent, which is embedded with supernatural magic powers. Ephraim is known as the Holy Knight, and the Demons want him dead more than anyone else. The only problem is that they can't beat him.

The novel follows Ephraim as he volunteers for a mission that basically orders him to end the war be way of slaying Cain, the Demon king. Along the way, Ephraim gets help from a number of people who all want to see the ear of terror end. His long time friend and mentor, the mage Codya Manasseh, accompanies him on the trip as they dive into a twisted web of danger and deceit. That's all I'm going to say about the basic plot, so I hope you're interested enough to read it.

What I WILL say is that it is nothing like any fantasy novel you've ever read. First of all, there are very few cliche elements, such as elves, dwarfs, etc. Even when I DID have them in the story, they've nearly been hunted to extinction by the Demons, thus playing a very insignificant role to begin with. I eventually thought, "Why bother?" So I took them out completely and focused on developing my other races, like Gravers, War Birds, Ra'kiy, and Nymphs just to name a few.

There were a few things I added from the conventional elements to make a kind of blend. For example, Ephraim is an alien from another planet. We know this because the book mentions that he has pointed ears, like an elf, and violate eyes with grey hair. I also introduced some classic horror characters that seem to have been forgotten over the years, especially in modern fantasy, like vampires and warlocks. Basically, I did everything I could to make sure this work was as original as possible.

But don't worry, I kept all the necessities of a good story: romance, suspense, horror, action, humor, more action, more romance, action and just too many things to list on this page!

Anyway, this is just an initial announcement. I will be editing the book to make the parts better and the overall flow more unique. More updates will be posted on here as soon as something develops. I'd be more take orders if you want your name on the list. Email me today!

Power to the pen and those who wield it!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T06:25:00.000-05:00

Yay! The day is finally here! I hope you all enjoy yourselves tonight. Be safe and have lots of fun! I'll be back tommorow, hopefully with a full article.

Power to the pen and those who can get candy with it!

The Story of Spooky Stories

2007-10-30T10:56:00.000-05:00

Hello again readers,

Well, tomorrow is the day that millions of children all over the nation are awaiting. It's the one night mom can't say 'no' to your sweet tooth. Yes, tomorrow is Halloween. I was running out of blog ideas until a young lady friend of mine suggested I write a brief history of the festival since many are confused about its origins and purpose. I assume many of you will be passing yourselves off as ghosts and ghouls this coming Wednesday. So I hope you find this interesting.

Where to begin? Well, to avoid plagiarism I'll state that all the information I am about to regurgitate comes from Answers.com This is a great research website should you ever need one.

Now then, let's go back in time to the mid 5th century. The Celts of Ireland celebrated a festival known as "Samhain", which fell on November 1st. The word literally means "summer's end" and was used as a time to offer sacrifices to the gods as thanks for a prosperous harvest.

Far to the south, in the Roman Empire, citizens held a tribute to the goddess Pomona, the deity of fruit trees and abundance. When the Romans conquered Britain, they incorporated the Celtic traditions into their own. The Romans also instituted the festival Feralia, a day in which everyone offered prayers on behalf of the dead. As the Catholic Church arose, the observance of "All Saints Day" became a common practice. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory the III changed the date from May 13 to November 1st. "All Saints Day" was a time in which all the saints of the Catholic Church were honored. "All Hallows Eve" (Halloween) was a type of set-up night for the festival.

What about all the other things? Jack-o-lanterns for instance? According to legend, they were lamps used by a man named Jack as he wandered for eternity over the face of the earth, denied entrance to both Heaven and Hell. It was introduced to America in the 1840's, but the Irish who did so found it easier to use a pumpkin rather than the traditional turnip.

Bobbing for apples? An ancient version of throwing the bouquet at a wedding. Unmarried people who could bite into an apple on a string or in water were thought of as the next ones to get hitched.

Trick or treating? It resembles the All Souls Day of "going a-souling" in which the poor would beg door to door. They promised to say a prayer for the dead in exchange for charity. It is highly possible, however, that the practice as WE know developed here in America with no such connections.

Ghost stories? A Celtic belief that on Samhain, the boundaries between the world of the living and the realm of the dead were shattered, allowing departed ones to walk amongst us. It's obvious that this belief has survived.

What we can see is a large blend of ancient traditions, religious holidays and a little bit of our own creativity, producing Halloween that we know today. So as you get a piece of candy thrown into your bag, remember that many survived because it. Try putting THAT one past your parents. "Oh yes mommy, I need to go trick-or-treating because it may be the only way to get my next meal." Come to think of it, that's not such a bad idea....but don't forget to offer a prayer!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this. I'll be back tomorrow with another post. And remember this: if you ever have comments or want me to talk about something that interests you personally, don't hesitate to send me an email! I'd love to hear from you. Most important of all, be safe, have fun, get LOTS of candy and stay away from those crappy horror flicks.

Power to the pen and those who scare the living heck our of people with it!

There will be no post today

2007-10-29T20:19:00.000-05:00

I'm terribly sorry readers, but I simply did not have time to write an interesting article today. Please send me an email if you have any good ideas, I'd love to hear from you!

Power to the pen and those who wield it!

Tube Tantrum

2007-10-28T13:49:00.001-05:00

Hey readers,

I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday afternoon like I am. My next rant is about a series of issues that plauge over 40 million people every day across the world. So sit back and relax as I point out the annoying quirks in our favorite video sharing community: Youtube.

Now, as most of us know, Youtube allows people to share videos of their favorite things, or post their own creations online for others to critique. It's safe, it's free, and all you have to do is follow a few rules. You have the option of flagging a video you think isn't suitable for the website, and being able to save that one comedy skit you nearly died watching is just awesome. It's a giant alchemy of every kind of video, some types you never knew existed, such as AMV's (Anime Music Videos) and fan dubs.

But that's precisely the problem! There's too dang many! It's all in a big, unorganized heap that we have to sort through. If you grew up without cable or satellite TV like I did, then getting high-speed Internet and logging onto Youtube is the next best thing. You can look up any video you want and watch for free. Sounds great, right? Well let's just hope that what you're looking for is on the most-popular list.

The main issue I have with Youtube is that is uses the same searching techniques as Google: finding individual words in lines of text and ranking them according to the number of hits they get. But why is that an issue? You have to be ultra specific with your terminology as you search. How come? Because there are too dang many articles or websites that make mention of stuff every day! You could be looking for an article that talks about classic movies, but somewhere in there you get a hit for a tutorial on how to use Windows Movie Maker. Why? Because the tag line has the very word "article" in it.

A good example of what I'm talking about is a search I did last night. I'm not a big fan of South Park, but I saw a funny clip from an episode that made fun of World of Warcraft. I laughed so hard I nearly choked! My family is coming to visit me in a few days. With them is my younger brother who likes the series. So I figured, "Why not favorite that clip to show him?" All I had to do was run a quick search and narrow it down to the correct video, right? A task that should have only taken a few minutes nearly drained a hour of my time. Want to know why? Because the clip didn't exist anymore!

That's right. A short video clip I had watched only a week ago had vanished without a trace. I typed in every search phrase I could think of using the words "South Park", "World of Warcraft", "episode" and "funny". The list of hits I browsed through was everything BUT the clip I was looking for. I got hits for music videos, fan made trailers of the episode, but not the episode itself! Heck I even got a hit for Invader Zim. I have three words for this...what the crap?! Even if the guy hated the site, quit and deleted everything on his account, there ought to be at least ONE other user out there who would gladly take his place. But no, I had to go all the way over to Myspace and look it up there. An easy way to fix this problem would be to have a better category system. All it takes is a simple program that requires videos to be labeled properly. And please, for the love of all that's sacred, get rid of the tag lines! Half the irrelevant hits I got were because the dumb users who posted the vids wrote in every possible tag word they could imagine. They REALLY want their videos to get watched! It's like searching for a needle in a haystack except there IS no needle anyway!

Another thing about this site that really sticks in my craw is the big deal they have about copyrighting. I'll use a hypothetical example of myself. If I post a Star Wars video, let's say an actual clip from one of the films, no editing, no dub or anything. Let's pretend that I forgot to post George Lucas as the director and 20th Century Fox as the studio that made it, or let's say I didn't know at all. Chances are that video will be scrapped. Why? I didn't give credit where credit is due. That's understandable in some cases, but why can't you just send me an email politely asking to correct the problem? If you go around deleting every video that violates your guidelines without giving them a chance, not only will they be confused as to what they did wrong, but they'll quit the site for sure.

The online laws of video copyrighting and piracy are as confusing as the website itself. No one gets it right all the time, so cut some slack!

Something else that's really odd are those red bars at the top of the screen telling you a video has been removed for whatever reason. If you click on a video link, you may see something like this:

"This video has been removed for terms of use violations."

Ok, that's fine, a little vague, but I have no complaint. It was probably obscene or something. On other occasions, however, you may see a line like:

"This video has been removed due to claims by Paramount Pictures."

What?! Are you freak'in kidding me? What's a billion-dollar studio like Paramount doing on Youtube anyway? It's no wonder that there are hardly any full-length movies on the site. There are video size limits yeah, but it's because the users are scared out of their wits! The big boys upstairs seem to be real paranoid about the whole piracy thing. I wouldn't want my work being copied illegally, but these guys have taken it to the extreme. It's like the Spanish Inquisition all over again: a complete search of the entire Internet looking for offenders. You'd better have plenty of ways to prove your innocence or you'll be burned at the stake, heretic.

This is just insane. I mean, if you were having a conversation with a friend trying to tell them about a great book you just finished, but had to keep repeating the author's name and publishing company every time it came up, you'd lose your mind! Same thing with Youtube. Do we REALLY have to give credit to something as well known as Star Wars? Half the world already knows who made it, and we're more than happy to educate the next generation. Fan videos seem to be a big target for this crap. But here's a thought: since most fan videos are dedicated to things that are popular, why not have Youtube just do a Google search and learn about it? If it's as popular as Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, is there a need to say who wrote it? I sure as heck didn't invent either!

Speaking of Google, don't use it to search for videos you can't find on Youtube. Why? Because more than half the search results will be from Youtube anyway! My only advise is to chat with users who might have what you want and ask them to email it to you. Then hop back and forth between Youtube and Myspace. One of them is BOUND to have it.

*Sigh* Well, I'd better calm down before I hurt myself.

Power to the pen and those who wield it without fear of institutionalized repression!
(Original quote by Taylor Harbin)

In the Gutter

2007-10-27T11:38:00.000-05:00

Hello readers,

I overslept a great deal more than I wanted to on this Saturday, but last night I thought of a topic to write about that has gotten me all fired up. So fasten your seat belts, we're headed for the highway of controversy.

Ok, in my quest to find publishers for my material I've noticed that a lot of them have an Erotica section. This whole genre irritates me enough as it is, but the straw that breaks the camel's back here is when companies will say, "We accept erotica but no pornography."

What? Did I just read that?

That's right people: erotica is different from porn, or so THEY say. I'm here to dispel that lucid myth. I'm looking at the dictionary right now as I type this article. You know what it says?

Pornography: "Sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal." (answers.com)

How could someone miss that? Now granted, I don't read "erotica" or stuff like that, but I've noticed a great deal of modern fantasy, such as the series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R. R. Martin, and the book "Acacia" by David Anothy Durham have some explicit material. I'm willing to give these guys a bit of leniency, since I'm sure sex is not the major theme of the novels, rather just unnecessary side stories. The point is this: how can you possibly make a distinction? Are erotic novels one step below porn because of the lack of pictures? I don't know, the cover art often seems pretty borderline to me.

The funny thing is that you'll never see big companies like Random House or Tor and Forge advertising an erotica section, the companies are always fairly new and low-budget, often electronic firms. They've probably figured out that these kinda of books push the envelope too far to the edge and will only sell to a certain percentage of the population. Smart move. Why would the literary titans want to pump millions of dollars into a genre of books that are, quite frankly, disgusting? Sexual slavery, women using prosthetics so they can play the male role with their lesbian partners, adultery, rape, and incest? Makes me sick each time I think about it! It's just another useless exploitation of the human imagination and gross depiction of the mistreatment of women...and sometimes men.

I remember reading a quote by some guy long ago who was reviewing an erotic novel, arguing this very issue. He said, "Pornography is just body parts moving together, erotica has a plot." There's...I'm sorry, I just can't see how that's true, since both "genres" have a HUGE theme of sex in one way or another. You NEVER see films compared in this way. Even if the rating is just PG-13, they ALWAYS say "Contains sexual content." No sugarcoating, just the bare, naked truth.

While we're on the subject, is there even such a thing as a "pornographic novel" today? (Yes, there were porn novels written in the Victorian age and so on, but that's another story) I thought it'd be fair to examine the differences between the two, but I can't find any website that sells these books. The only hits I can get on Google are articles written by established authors on the topic.

This whole thing is just stupid. I mean, it's like trying to define how someone can be legally drunk. They're still a danger to everyone out there if they get behind the wheel, but hey, at this toxicity, they may just CRIPPLE someone instead of killing them. I'll bet that a lot of companies are trying to do the same thing, the catch is that I've never heard an erotic novel reader give a good explanation as to what THEY think the difference is.

So what's it going to be readers? Are you a pervert or...a pervert? Honestly, why does anyone buy an erotic novel to begin with? As women say, "They only want one thing."

Now I'm hungry. So, till next time my friends.

Power to the pen and those who wield it with dignity!

Fire Emblem: To the Brink of Madness

2007-10-26T07:50:00.000-05:00

Good morning everyone,

Ok, so I was at cinemassacre.com last night (actually it took me to gametrailers.com) watching clips of the Angry Video Game Nerd, when I see this picture appear on the side of the screen. It was a promotion for Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Now, I love RPG's such as Final Fantasy, the Lunar series, Baiten Kaitos, and so on. Marth and Roy were the two most awesome characters in Super Smash Bros Melee for the Game Cube, and on the same console, a Fire Emblem installment was released. I have just one question: why call it Radiant Dawn? The last FE title was Path of Radiance, and unless it has significant meaning to the story, I don't see the point. Was that the REAL Japanese title or the American distributors messing up again?

Anyway, I was interested by the screen so I clicked on it. A little bar came down at the top of the browser that said "Pop-up blocked, click here for options." Now any computer geek knows that holding down the Cnrtl button while left-clicking a link can open up whatever website you want in a new window and override many pop-up blockers. A handy trick and easy fix to the problem, right? Wrong. The bar just kept flashing, obviously not allowing me to get a new window for whatever reason. So I right-clicked it, choosing the "Always allow pop-ups for this website" option.

Here's what makes me mad: the blocker actually has to REFRESH the page! That's right! It can't just say, "Ok, he's unlocked the safeguard let's move on," no, it sets out on a personal vendetta, more like, "Oh, you didn't....that's it, it's on now boy! Take THIS!" The thing I hate about side window advertisements is that most of them are scams or all out boring to begin with, and if there is just one that DOES look remotely interesting, you have to put up with this stupid thing getting in your way every time. So after the page gets refreshed, I thought, "Alright, whatever, I'll just click it again." I looked on the page expecting Fire Emblem, but what I got in its place was a Honda label. Now I'll never know what the new game is about and probably go into depression, losing sleep as I try to pick up the pieces of my broken life.

It's not a total loss. The main character is a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros Brawl, released for both the Wii and Game Cube. So after I get home for Christmas, I'm going to the store, then me and Ike are gonna whoop some butt.

Power to the pen and those who wield it!

Igniting a Wild Fire

2007-10-25T14:43:00.000-05:00

Greetings,

Welcome to Oblivion Sphere! This is my first post of the blog *sigh* what a feeling! I'll just start with a brief intro. I am a writer, a novelist, a creative engineer who cherishes his craft, constantly refining and improving it. My original dream was to be a comic book artist, manga especially. But at age 11 (or maybe 12?) I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. The pain and limiting effects of this disease (which I still carry six years later) compounded with my own dissatisfaction of my work, eventually led to me retiring the pencils and markers for good. At 15, I decided to try writing as an experiment to see if I could use it to channel all the energy built up inside. I started typing up a story on a computer we had in the basement, but then something happened: I couldn't stop! It exploded into an all-out obsession in just six weeks, when I had finished the first 175 pages. Now I spend a little time almost every day doing what I love, immersed in fantasy, science fiction, drama, romance, action, mystery and thrills.

My first novel, Lunar Dawn, is available for download at http://www.clublighhousepublishing.com/ I have more books in this series on their way, but after there is also a load of homework calling me. Please return soon to read my next post or to comment on related subject matters! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Power to the pen and those who wield it!

Taylor Harbin