#it's promoted as a horror movie but the reality of it is. imagine 'a star is born' but they

[theginger-patrick]

ART 311 - May 11, 2020 The Heroes’ Journey

The Heroes’ Journey is an extremely prolific narrative structure that we see everywhere around is entertainment media. In one of my previous posts, I listed some of my favourite authors and their works which are particularly important to me because of their effective world-building and foreshadowing. Many of these authors’ bodies of work feature stories which are solidly set within the Heroes’ Journey structure, but there’s one story not listed there that I would like to focus on specifically. That would be Contact by Carl Sagan, my single favourite stand-alone novel. As it was first published in 1985 and a movie adaptation starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey being released in 1997, I shouldn’t have to worry about spoilers, but here’s a spoiler warning: SPOILERS BELOW!

The premise of Contact is relatively simple. It’s a story about an astrophysicist performing SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) research at an radio-telescope array who receives what turns out to be a message from extraterrestrials, first contact, and the resultant reactions . As soon as most people hear that premise, they’ll assume that it’s either an apocalyptic armageddon style story, a science fiction horror story, or some sort of Star Trek First Contact style story where the aliens come to Earth and peacefully usher humanity into a new era. This story is none of the above. Instead, it’s a breathtakingly beautiful, moving, and awe-inspiring narrative supported by hard science fiction. Hard science fiction is science fiction which is soundly routed in factual science and mathematics. Anyone who comes to know me knows that I am hardly a religious or spiritual person, in fact I’m an outright atheist, however, this novel expresses in better form than I ever could in words the sense of the numinous which I feel when I see images like that of the Eagle Nebula’s Pillars of Creation (taken by the Hubble Telescope and released to the public in 2015), when I read papers on the research done at the LHC (CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Europe), or when I read about advancements in technology and our understanding of the universe which can be used for the betterment of our species.

There are three acts to Contact much like any traditional Heroes’ Journey narrative: The Message, The Machine, and The Galaxy. 

The Message:

Our protagonist, Eleanor “Ellie” Arroway, spends her early childhood being raised by supportive and loving parents, though her father Theodore “Ted” is the most influential on her life. He is her first mentor on her Heroes’ Journey, and helps to promote and develop her love of learning. From a young age Ellie is intensely inquisitive and devours new knowledge with a voracious appetite; she becomes particularly infatuated with the constant of π , known as “Pi”. This is of particular importance, so take note, and I would argue that this is Ellie’s call to adventure and is never refused or ignored. Unfortunately, while in sixth grade, her mentor and father Ted passes away to be replaced with her step-father John Staughton who is decidedly not supportive of Ellie’s non-feminine interests. Their acrimonious relationship is an important part to her characters development, though it was difficult for me to see it when I first read this novel as a teen.  

The novel proceeds quickly through her middle and high school years, primarily using these years to highlight the sexism which was (and still is to a degree) wildly rampant in the STEM fields at the time. I viewed much of this to be further motivation for our hero to pursue her goals, though now with the added motivation of proving her step-father's opinion of her interests to be wrong. Her post-secondary education furthers her love and interest of science, gives her experiences in more social pursuits (*cough* sexual et cetera *cough*), and introduces her to ETI (just look at SETI and guess), and two mentors: two role models with one also being an antagonist of sorts. All of this concludes with her graduation and employment with SETI.

The first sign of extraterrestrial life is shown in the form Ellie discovering a repeating message of sequential prime numbers directed at Earth; this is not something that could randomly occur in nature. This is where the meat of the story begins; the crossing of the threshold. At first there’s skepticism among the scientific community, as there should be, but the message is received by unassociated and independent facilities. As the scientific community works through political channels to ensure redundant monitoring (this is set during the Cold War era) humanity is temporarily united in this realization that we’re not alone in the universe and a desire for further knowledge. This all culminates in the discovery of humanity’s first ever high-powered radio broadcast embedded in the message being returned to us, and industrial innovations and schematics needed to create a machine of unknown purpose embedded even deeper. Thus ends Act 1.

The Machine:

Tests, allies, and enemies are abundant in this part of the novel. Honestly, this is one of the most exciting parts of the entire story for me with all of the political machinations, discussions of about the new technology imparted to humanity by the extraterrestrials (nearly all of which are theoretically possible and grounded in real science), and discussions surrounding the philosophical implications and dilemmas of this new reality. I will glaze over most of it because otherwise this post would truly become a short novel in its own right.

The most important bits to take from this act (in my opinion) are the tests and enemies and approaching the inmost cave. The tests of Ellie’s dedication to following through with her life’s work in finding new funding and conquering adversity in the form of unnecessarily contrarian colleagues and critics, personal relationship, and physical and psychological recovery after a traumatic event. The enemies of this act are primarily the extremist religious and political groups which oppose the construction of The Machine and/or want to bring on the rapture, and . They ultimately destroy The Machine which is being built and funded by the government of the United States in a terrorist attack, and this appears to be the nail in the coffin of the project. The only way in which this is salvaged is through the efforts of an ally Ellie, who has a back-up machine in the works that was being used for “testing” components. The ordeal of this movie is undoubtedly the moment of activation of the machine, when the passengers and the world are witnessing the processes taking place from the opposing perspectives of the interior and exterior.  The five passengers within the machine were confronting their fear of the absolute unknown considering this is a machine of foreign origin and technology never before used. Here ends Act 2.

(I am aware that this is Interstellar, not Contact. I just couldn’t find a GIF from Contact)

The Galaxy:

Approaching the inmost cave is what the story transitions into after The Machine activates as the passengers pass into the wormhole network which transports them to The Station. This would also likely cover the Reward (Seizing the Sword) phase. Throughout this sequence in the novel Ellie and the rest of the passengers are getting their first real reward to years of work and dedication with The Message and The Machine, but it’s obvious to the characters and audience that they’re currently in transit somewhere which has further implications on the story/mission. The trip to the station is an endless montage of breathtaking and mind-blowing scenes showing the depth and breadth of the capabilities of the extraterrestrials. Upon arrival, the passengers experience isolation and we later learn that the extraterrestrials were inspecting their memories. They used this data to put each passenger through a highly emotional and cathartic experience which was used to teach each passenger something about themselves of value. It is also when the most beautiful and numinous piece of information is given to Ellie when she asks the alien, who has appeared before her as her dead father Ted, how they experience when they create the numinous (she learned from the alien that the aliens are currently building a freaking galaxy, Cygnus A, using Sagittarius A which is the supermassive black hole in the center of our Galaxy, and is a massively powerful source of radio signals. Already a freaking numinous feat). It answers with Pi. Imagine how this would impact Ellie. Her "discovery” of Pi was one of the most formative experiences of Ellie’s early life. Specifically, the alien states that buried in Pi’s decimals is an encoded message. Imagine. Pi is a universal constant. It is something determined by physical and mathematical relations that just exist; you can’t “build” or “encode” Pi. The alien goes on to describe how they found this message in vague detail and directs Ellie on where to look.This entire combination of phases only concludes once the passengers have returned to Earth. 

Their return could likely be classified as combination of the Roadblock phase. Upon their return to Earth, rather than Ellie and the other passengers having a triumphant and joyous return no time appears to have passed on Earth, despite them having spent hours if not days on The Station. They are questioned. There are Inquiries. Politicians and the public are furious that billions of dollars were “wasted” on something that apparently just spun up to a specific speed in place, then stopped. None of the instruments of human origin attached to The Machine recorded anything; there was no sense of movement, no great amount of time had passed just mere moments, no radiation, nothing. Eventually, all of the inquiries “determine” that it was all a big hoax perpetrated by some evil capitalist (the ally that Ellie secured funding and the backup machine from) in order to amass wealth and develop a monopoly on many of the associated technologies and emerging industries. The detection of The Message was all done via the coordination of desperate SETI scientists with this man and his satellites up in space to defraud the world. Fortunately none of the passengers are punished in any way, despite many of them having been scientists deeply involved with the discovery, decoding, and understand of The Message and the construction of The Machine.

The Return of the Elixir phase in this novel is both a phase to be celebrated and mourned. Ellie discovers that her father Ted wasn’t her biological father and that instead the man she thought was her step-father was her biological father. This is a loss of identity that she mourns deeply, but with the experience, perspective, and humility she has gained through this whole journey she is able to forgive her mother’s infidelity and come to terms with this bit of knowledge. She is also able to conduct research regarding Pi to help confirm her story regarding their journey in The Machine and discovers the message hidden in Pi’s decimals. A perfect circle. Ironic as hell and yet an absolutely beautiful impossibility thrown in by Carl Sagan that elicits a sense of the numinous in anyone I know who has read the novel. In closing, not only has Ellie’s Heroes’ Journey given her more wisdom and grace as a human, but also a powerful piece of knowledge that validates her entire experience and does the very thing scientists hunger for the most: she expanded humanity’s understand of the universe and of how much there is more to discover.

I know that that was one hell of a lot of word vomit on the blog, so if you read it all the way then thank you.

#Pi #Contact #Carl Sagan #Interstellar #science fiction #sci-fi #heroes' journey

[papermoonloveslucy]

DREAM GIRL

June 23, 1947

On this date in 1947, Lucille Ball opened in DREAM GIRL, produced at McCarter Theatre, Princeton, New Jersey for the Princeton Festival.  The comedy had originally opened on Broadway on December 14, 1945, starring Betty Field and written and directed by Elmer Rice (then married to Ms. Field).

In 1937, Lucille Ball had performed on the McCarter Stage in the play HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE opposite Conway Tearle. The play launched a short tour headed to Broadway, but Tearle’s illness forced it to close in Washington DC, postponing Lucille’s Broadway debut. That would have to wait until 1960′s Wildcat. 

Lucille Ball was the Queen of Comedy long before television. In this DREAM GIRL program bio, she continues the fib that she was born in Butte, Montana, finding it more exotic than Jamestown, NY. 

Ball played the role of Georgina Allerton, a daydreaming bookshop owner. Subsequently, she toured the show, playing Boston, Detroit, Toronto, San Francisco, Oakland, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. 

SYNOPSIS ~ Twenty-two year-old debutante Georgina is the owner of a small unsuccessful bookstore. She also writes novels. She has an overactive imagination and regularly escapes reality by means of her romantic daydreams about three men in her life, which are acted out on stage. The play's time span covers a single day of Georgina's life, during which several successive extravagant and often comic daydreams are portrayed.

The play’s fantasy sequences seemed tailor-made for Ball’s style and comic wit. In a way, Georgina was a prelude to the “Lucy” character on TV, who is dreaming her way out of her suburban life - and sometimes succeeding. In the play, Georgina’s imagination takes her to:

A balcony in Mexico...

The maternity ward of a hospital...

A stage where she plays Shakespeare’s Portia

A street where she is a ‘woman of the night’ in a scarlet red dress. 

On two notable occasions, Lucy Ricardo’s fantasy or dream life manifested itself on our TV screens. In “Ricky’s Old Girlfriend” (ILL S3;E12) Lucy dreams of what her life would be like if Ricky left her to go on tour with his former partner, sexy Carlotta Romero. 

In “Lucy Goes To Scotland” (ILL S5;E17) Lucy dreams of visiting her ancestral home in Scotland while visiting London.  Having just come from seeing a West End Musical, she dreams in the musical comedy format!  

In “Lucy and the Dummy” (ILL S5;E3), after MGM offers Lucy a contract, she imagines fame and fortune but is fully awake. Lucille Ball pantomimes the joys and sorrows of stardom while a Theremin gives the sequence a dream-like, surreal quality. Lucy Ricardo is most like DREAM GIRL’s Georgina in this short reverie.  

In “Lucy and the Monsters” (TLS S3;E18), Lucy Carmichael has a nightmare  after watching a scary horror movie. The dream takes her and Viv to a haunted house where they encounter a variety of typical movie monsters and then turn into witches themselves - all before waking up. 

DREAM GIRL CAST & CREW

Herbert Kenwith (Producer) later directed 14 episodes of “Here’s Lucy” between 1969 and 1970. Dede Ball warned Kenwith that her daughter was indeed the bitch everyone said she was. Lucille snapped back: “I am not! Only when I’m working.”

Jack Benny (to Herbert Kenwith, about Lucy): "Herbert, you ought to call a psychiatrist for her."

Jus Addiss (Director) was the life partner of DREAM GIRL actor Hayden Rorke. Barbara Eden (who, like Rorke, also guest-starred on “I Love Lucy”) later remembered that Addiss and Rorke were “unabashedly gay” and often invited the “I Dream of Jeannie” cast over for parties. 

Jo Mielziner (Settings) had also done the scenery for the Broadway premiere of DREAM GIRL in 1945. From 1949 to 1970 Mielziner won 9 Tony Awards. His designs were adapted by Richard Burns for the tour starring Ball. 

The play co-starred Scott McKay as the imaginative writer. McKay played the role of Wilbur in the 1958 pilot for TV’s “Mr. Ed” but was replaced on the series by Alan Young. 

Hayden Rorke, best known as Dr. Bellows in “I Dream of Jeannie”, was also in the cast. Lucy later employed him to play the Ricardo’s new neighbor, whom she suspects to be a spy, on “I Love Lucy.”  He later returned to play a judge on a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” 

Barbara Morrison was an English-born actress who came to Hollywood in the late 1940s. She did two episodes of “The Lucy Show” and three episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” 

Lela Bliss went on to play Mrs. Shellhammer in the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street, which also starred William Frawley. 

Andrew Duggan later did an episode of Desilu’s TV series “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1964). He is best remembered as the voice of the Father in Disney’s theme park attraction The Carousel of Progress. 

Phil Arthur appeared on Broadway from 1948 to 1952, his last play with Henry Fonda (Lucy’s one-time boyfriend) and Frances Baviar (Aunt Bee on “The Andy Griffith Show”). He began on television in 1949 and his last job on the small screen was as a background player on “Perry Mason” from 1961 to 1966. 

Dorothy Elder began doing television in 1950, but her career only lasted until 1955, as a regular on “True Romances”.

Alan Hewitt  was a veteran of sixteen Broadway shows, including the original production of Death of a Salesman (1949) and Call Me Madam starring Ethel Merman (1950). From 1964 to 1966 he played Detective Brennan on “My Favorite Martian.” In 1964, he appeared on an episode of “The Lucy Show.” 

The Newark Star-Ledger review of DREAM GIRL, June 24, 1947. [Thanks to Eric C. Schwarz, research librarian extraordinaire, for the review.]

POST PRINCETON!

In January 1948, Lucille got the opportunity to recreate the role in Los Angeles, but fell ill with a virus shortly after it opened and the show closed prematurely. Because Ball was known for her film roles, promotion often said that she was appearing “Live In Person” - which seems obvious in a live theatre production! 

Handbill for the Los Angeles production that was cut short by Ball’s illness. Lela Bliss took over for Barbara Morrison. 

Souvenir program from the Brooklyn engagement at Brandt’s Flatbush Theatre in July 1947. It includes an excerpt from a write-up by Hall Barnell for Actors Cues about the rehearsal he attended at Malin Studios and a sketch of Ball from that day. 

Detroit Music Hall - signed program. 

Boston Production at the historic Shubert Theatre - signed program. 

San Francisco production at the Curran Theatre. 

During this San Francisco engagement, Ball’s husband was not far away!  Five blocks, to be exact. It is likely that Lucy and Desi stayed at the Palace Hotel while she was performing at the Curran. It is also likely that Desi’s performances were in lieu of a hotel bill for the couple! 

"I have seen other productions of this play, but the only actress whose performance really delighted me was Lucille Ball. She lacked… tender wistfulness, but her vivid personality and expert timing kept the play bright and alive." ~ Edgar Rice, Playwright

It is pretty clear that this photo was an early version of photo shop. Although it was created during the time of the play, it is quite obviously a manipulated photo. 

In August 1947, the show had finally reached what was known as “the subway circuit” - a group of New York City borough theatres that were not considered Broadway. Meanwhile, in Princeton, the summer season continued with yet another show produced by Kenwith and Kennedy, “Horace”.  The Billboard review of August 30 was of the opinion that Lucille Ball was simply playing Lucille Ball, and that audiences were okay with that. 

This sterling silver cigarette case was a gift to Lucy from the DREAM GIRL company and is engraved on the front: "With Grateful appreciation TO OUR 'DREAM GIRL' December 1947." The lid has the engraved signatures of the company, 17 in all, including actors Scott McKay, Guy Standing, and Andy Duggan. The item came up for auction after the death of Gary Morton. 

While Lucy and the DREAM GIRL company were touring, they knew that a film adaption had been made and was awaiting release. It starred Betty Hutton and MacDonald Carey, but did not open to the public till later in 1948. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz took a chance on Hutton in 1959, giving her a CBS sitcom “The Betty Hutton Show” which ended after 30 episodes.

In 1955, while Lucille Ball was busy with “I Love Lucy,” NBC made DREAM GIRL into a TV film starring Vivian Blaine. It featured “Lucy” character actors Hal March and Ida Moore. 

Ten years later, it was turned into a Broadway musical named Skyscraper, with the play adapted by Peter Stone (”1776″) and starred Julie Harris in her first musical. It earned five Tony nominations. Charles Nelson Reilly guest-starred on “Here’s Lucy” in 1970. Peter Marshall played Lucy’s brother-in-law Hughie on “The Lucy Show” in 1963.  Choreographer Michael Kidd also did the dances for Wildcat starring Lucille Ball in 1960. 

#Dream Girl #Lucille Ball #Edgar Rice #McCarter Theatre #Barbara Morrison #Jus Addiss #I Love Lucy #Skyscraper #Julie Harris #Vivian Blaine #Betty Hutton #Hayden Rorke

[plumbobpost]

Fanon or Canon: The Questionable Fate of Bella Goth

Sul sul!

When The Sims 2 came out, long term fans eagerly booted up Windows XP and launched the game, immediately discovering the absence of a popular character. Plumbob Post would not be a proper Sims-themed blog if I were not to address the red-dressed elephant in the room. That’s right, this post is dedicated to the one and only Bella Goth.

“Descended from a long line of occultists, mystics and decadents,” Bella Goth, the “elegant and athletic” matriarch of the Goth family, is undoubtedly the most well-known premade sim. She was introduced in The Sims alongside her husband, Mortimer, and her daughter, Cassandra, in a macabre mansion complete with a graveyard of ghosts. Very little information was given about Bella aside from the fact that she “enjoys a variety of activities from golf to miniature golf,” but she and her family quickly became fan favorites.

Subsequent expansion packs added more background to Mrs. Goth. In The Sims: Superstar, there is a poster featuring Bella, Mortimer, their neighbor, Bob Newbie, and a monkey. The description for this poster implies that she and Mortimer were at one time stars of a reality tv show similar to The Real World. The idea of Bella as an actress was later revisited in the console spinoff The Sims Bustin’ Out in which Bella is employed as a horror movie extra in the movie career.

In addition to having a history in acting, Bella is also implied to be of magical descent in The Sims Bustin’ Out, but this is not an isolated incident. The Goth family is featured extensively in promotional materials for The Sims: Makin’ Magic, the seventh and final expansion pack for the original game. In one render, Bella is shown brandishing a wand and enchanting a gnome, while Mortimer somehow magically waters a plant, and Cassandra struggles to hold back a dragon with a leash. As a result of these advertisements and Bella’s ancestry, it has become a common headcanon that she is a witch among fans and writers, such as Skell.

Imagine, or remember, a fan’s surprise upon loading the Goth family in The Sims 2 only to realize that Bella is mysteriously absent. On top of that, there is an additional Goth child, Alexander, and Cassandra is now an adult with a fiance and a job. Examining the memory panel of each family member reveals an interesting truth: Bella Goth was abducted by aliens.

I know, I know. Those of you that don’t play The Sims are probably thinking “Aliens in The Sims? What?!” Well, alien abductions in The Sims have existed since The Sims: Livin’ Large, but they play a much larger role in the second installment in the series. Mortimer and Cassandra both have memories of Bella’s abduction, but the story gets all the more confusing when one reads the neighborhood story in which it is stated that Bella was not at the Goth mansion at the time of her disappearance.

In fact, Bella Goth was last seen “scaling the deck” of Don Lothario’s condo. Who is Don Lothario? Good question. Don Lothario is none other than Cassandra Goth’s fiance, a romance sim with three girlfriends on the side. This raises a number of questions. Why was Bella with Don? Was she having an affair? How does Don relate to her disappearance?

Most of these questions are left without a definite answer in The Sims 2, but there are several details that have spawned many a fan theory. Firstly, Don is involved with a dynamic duo known as the Caliente sisters, Nina and Dina. Interestingly, Dina is in love with Mortimer  at the start of the game and was previously married to none other than Michael Bachelor, Bella Goth’s brother.

As a result of her fortune aspiration and her canon want to “marry a rich sim,” many fans characterize her as wanting to get rid of Bella. A simple look at Dina’s family tree adds fuel to this fire; the Calientes’ grandfather was an alien. Thus, fans everywhere assumed that Dina and Nina must have arranged for Bella’s abduction with Don’s help. This paints a pretty grim picture for Cassandra and Mortimer as well as the deceased Michael Bachelor.

Even so, there are many, many more clues as to where exactly Bella Goth is. If the player switches from Pleasantview to Strangetown, they may notice a familiar face in the neighborhood thumbnail. Playing Strangetown for any amount of time may lead the player to come across a very special townie. A townie named Bella Goth.

This Bella wears the same red dress and heels as the Goth matriarch and shares her bio from The Sims, but her facial structure is different, and she retains none of her original memories. She is also much younger than her husband, who is in the elder stage while she is still early in her adult life stage. As a result, fans have varying interpretations of who this lookalike is. Is she the real Bella Goth? Did the aliens create an imperfect clone? Could this Bella be simply a well-dressed imposter?

Maxis canon assumes the Strangetown Bella and the Pleasantview Bella to be the same person as of The Sims 2 for PSP, in which Bella still does not remember her family, but her secret directly references Mortimer. Additionally, EA released an “interview” where Bella Goth answers common fan questions. While this interview is canon, a large portion of fans disregard the revelations, or lack thereof, that it presents.

The interview reiterates that Strangetown and Pleasantview Bella are one and the same yet again, but adds several key details. Firstly, Bella recalls being in a ship surrounded by green men, confirming that she was indeed abducted. Secondly, she elaborates that she was only visiting Don Lothario to welcome him to the neighborhood, and that all she remembers was being on the roof with him and seeing a “flash of light.” There was no affair between her and the green-eyed casanova.

The most interesting reveal of the interview is that Mortimer created the Elixir of Life, an aspiration reward in The Sims 2 that adds three days to the life stage of whichever sim drinks it. Bella seems to think that someone influenced the Caliente sisters to draw Mortimer away from her because she was a distraction to his work. While the latter theory is often dismissed, the idea that dear old Morty invented the Elixir has been fully embraced by most fans.

While the interview confirmed the ideas of fans everywhere, there was a definite backlash to the voice it gave Mrs. Goth. Many players felt that her flippant attitude was out of character, and that many of the reveals were anticlimactic. As a result, most storytellers cherry pick which details they consider canon.

Luckily, the open-ended sandbox that is The Sims 2 leaves the fate of the Goth family in the player’s hands. One person may be content to accept Strangetown Bella as the true Bella, while another may not. Some simmers may have Dina and Mortimer get married and live out their happily ever after. Others may choose to reunite the Goths. I’m certain there are those out there who say “Forget Mortimer!” and marry Dina and Bella. Such is the beauty of The Sims. To quote the marketing tagline: “you decide.”

While a novel could be written on each and every Bella-oriented easter egg in the games, this article focused solely on canon story details in the first two installments and their spinoffs. If there is sufficient interest, there will be a follow up concerning Bella in the most recent games.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to visit my ask box. If you are interested, give Plumbob Post a follow, and reblog for anyone else who you think would enjoy this blog. Stay tuned for upcoming posts.

Dag dag!

*Disclaimer: these are not my images.*

ETA: You can read part two, which covers Bella in The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, here.

#the sims #the sims 2 #the sims 2 psp #bella goth #mortimer goth #dina caliente #don lothario #cassandra goth #nina caliente

[jay-michaels-public-relations]

Article contributed to Five Star Arts Journal by Jay Michaels

Comic Books – like their characters – have a secret identity. The mild-mannered paper and ink funnies are also the next level of Greek tragedy or Shakespearean epic.

Comic Artists – like their characters – also have a secret identity thrust upon them. Hard-working children of immigrants throughout the sixties grabbing a job in a time when such things were scarce drew fun and fantastical stories about improbable human beings … and outer planet dwellers. These progression-of-image books have – thanks to Godlike advances in cinema and the paranoia of psychiatrists throughout the fifties and sixties have become the new da Vincis and Picassos.

Sadly, like their characters, these artists were always lauded for their work. their stories are the fodder of -well- comic books.

Ditko tells the story of Steve Ditko, a comic book illustrator virtually forgotten by the masses, but celebrated by comic book fans everywhere. Chronicling his rise in the comic book industry, Ditko was instrumental in Marvel’s success by co-creating two of comics most iconic characters, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange and several of DC’s silver age icons, Hawk and Dove, Shade the Changing Man, and the Creeper. Ditko also worked for virtually every other publisher of note including Warren, Charlton, Pacific, and Eclipse, co-creating other iconic characters like Mr. A, the Question and Blue Beetle. he also created some of the 1950s most startling imagery in sci-fi and fantasy comics. ironically, Spiderman was meant to be one of those fantasy one-shot characters for a comic book called Amazing Fantasy. Stan Lee, planning to cancel the poor-selling monster book, let Ditko draw one of those far-out characters for the last issue. The rest, as they say …

The Daydream Theatre and TheatreLab NYC present DITKO, a play written & directed by Lenny Schwartz on October 1 & 2 at 7:30pm Tickets: $15 in advance at Ovationtix.com and $20 at the door the location of TheatreLab is 357 WEST 36th STREET 3RD FLOOR – NEW YORK

Some actors have the honor of playing Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, and Lear … others have a more lofty experience. Derek Laurendeau plays Steve Ditko; Dave Almeida dons a cigar for his role as Jack Kirby; Anne Bowman plays a mystic master – no, not Doctor Strange … Ayn Rand. And Geoff White takes the elevator to the floor ABOVE Mount Olympus as Stan Lee. The avengers assembled also include Samantha Acampora, Christopher Ferreira as Jerry Robinson/Dick Giordano (talk about Marvel AND DC), Mindy Britto, Emily Lamarre, and Timothy DeLisle.

At the New York Comic Con in 2010, Stan Lee entered the stage and someone from the back of the house screamed “YOU’RE A GOD, STAN”  We asked the cast … well is he? Well, are you? And what’s it like playing Gods.

Derek Laurendeau: 

To me comic books aren’t becoming a religion, they are one. As with most religions you have practices, prayers, meditations, and most of all stories that give the moral standards and practices of them. Comic books in their own way share many of these. Many people routinely make pilgrimages to the conventions or their comic book shops to share in the collective story telling of hundreds of artists and writers. The whole community (artists, editors, writers, fans, etc.) shapes these stories. The stories give us the hope and ability to cope with the world around us. The comics are also a mythology on their own. Superheroes are god like and while the stories can be bombastic, heroic adventures at the end of it all the heroes themselves are just as human as we are and through that relatability you can gain strength to overcome any difficulties. Also like most religions there are divisions that you see when stories adapt and change. Most recently the Miles Morales Spiderman comes to mind as an example of the rift that can divide comic fans.

“I feel like we’re not playing gods. Ditko, Lee, Kirby, and Robinson were humans just like us.”

They had their flaws and faults just like anyone would have. The fans may see them as these deities, but at the end of the day they were just men and women creating from their imaginations. They created these characters not knowing what would happen. The act of creation is what they knew best and by putting the work in and giving their art every bit of energy they had they made magic happen on the pages. I feel like my responsibility to the role is to show the humanness of these great people. Yes they created heroes that will not be forgotten any time soon. But Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Jerry Robinson all started at the same place behind a table with nothing but an idea, paper, and something to write and draw with. The truth is anyone can do what they did as long as you have passion and are committed one hundred percent to making your destiny happen. However I do feel an extra responsibility to Ditko since very little is known of him and for a lot of people seeing the show it was the first time they had ever heard of him. So i feel a duty to do my best to represent Steve as the sure minded, smart, and talented artist he was.

Geoff White, like the characters he plays (Stan Lee) was a bit more irreverent. 

Growing up in the 60’s, I was the usual comic book kid… I occasionally grabbed a Superman or Spiderman. I’ve always had a healthy respect for the art form, but as I began college and studying theatre, my focus changed and comics faded in my life Except for my many friends who  are avid collectors. But, as an Actor, I do feel the responsibility of being true to any character I portray, but obviously playing Stan in the city, next to the Comicon is a little daunting.  Fortunately, Lenny is a true Fan and an insightful Director and I truly feel the audiences will enjoy the ride as much as we do.

Dave Almeida plays another king. Jack “King” Kirby. The man attributed to some of the greatest comic book characters of all time – who never got the respect he deserved … until after his passing. 

We the public may consider these creative writers and artists “gods”, but I would guess that they just considered themselves just “working Joes”, and getting paid for their services, just like screenwriters, journalists and commercial artists did at the time. These wonderful people gave us role models without even realizing it; role models who change the minds and hearts of a post war generation and their children.

Christopher Ferreira playing two comic book legends shared his thoughts as well.

When I was in grade school at that time, comics were the safe place where social outcast bookworms could find comfort in fantastic stories about heroes and a fantasy world.  It was ours.  Now comics are everyone’s.  Now I’m the expert who pretty girls turn to to learn about this world of mythical legend.  Now I feel like the prophets of old, leading new followers to the wonderful teachings of pulp fiction legends. I absolutely feel a strong responsibility to accurately portray such legends as Jerry Robinson and Dick Giordano.  I met Jerry twice in the later years of his life at the San Diego Comic Con and I was so blown away by his intelligence, exuberant personality and humbleness.  He did so much important work to get creators the credit and recognition they deserved.  I can only imagine how he encouraged and helped Steve Ditko in his early days of coming into the comic book industry.  Jerry was such a force in the comic book industry.  So my goal in bringing him to life again onstage in this version is to show how human of a man he was.  Comic book creators are people who care about the human race, I feel.  They write stories that show the best humanity can be.  Creating heroes that they wish we all could be.    

Anne Bowman practiced philosophizing by saying this.

What comes to mind is how comic book characters are like religious icons, known all over the world. Before I did this show I didn’t realize how often I see Spider-Man in my daily life, in many places other than TV.  For example, I went to the beach with family a few weekends ago, and my friend’s five-year-old was wearing a Spider-Man t-shirt. I told him I was in a play about the man who drew Spider-Man, and his eyes got wide. I knew Spider-Man when I was his age, too. That’s pretty incredible. 

    Emily Lamarre and Mindy Britto looked up in the sky and had this to say:

Emily Lamarre: I’ve been thinking about this all day and haven’t really found an answer for this question. I’ve been an outsider to the comic book world and through Ditko I learned that Ditko was the real creator of Spider-Man. I think with why comic books are becoming a religion as people look up to these characters because they are strong, and brave. They even may pass down the stories of these characters to their children in hopes to take the lessons and ideals that they had and use them in real life. With the creators like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Jerry Robinson, and Bill Finger, they created these characters and the world they live in for people to read and look up to.

Mindy Britto: To be honest, comic books are a bit of a new phenomenon for me. I feel that comic books offer an escape into another reality. Comics are always indicative of pop culture, reflecting both modern society and a new market of readers. Writers come up with religious back stories to keep the character current and provide relatability and depth. It makes sense that comic books are becoming a religion due to the complexity of the world that we live in and the desire to explore and uncover.

  =================

JAY MICHAELS, an indie film and live event producer and promotional executive, is considered an authority on comic books and horror movies. He is the host of “Terror Talk” on the burgeoning streaming station, Terror TV. Michaels, a notable presence in the world of independent theater and film as a producer and an actor, has been charting horror and science-fiction on film and television and appraising comic books and other ephemera since 1973. He is also a judge for the Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival.

  Adventure takes four colors, two staples, and one dream Article contributed to Five Star Arts Journal by Jay Michaels Comic Books - like their characters - have a secret identity.

[ramajmedia]

Devon Sawa Interview: The Fanatic | Screen Rant

When John Travolta texted him regarding his new film, The Fanatic, Devon Sawa knew he would stop at nothing to get the second lead role in the Fred Durst-directed thriller. Sawa stars as Hunter Dunbar, a movie star on the edge of sanity with a wide variety of stresses in his life. Meanwhile, Travolta plays Moose, a mentally unstable megafan who idolizes the Hollywood icons he sees on the big screen. Naturally, these two men find themselves on a crash course with one another.

Fred Durst is best known as the frontman for Limp Bizkit, but he's also an accomplished film director, and The Fanatic is his latest and greatest work, combining black comedy, psychological terror, and passionate empathy to create a truly unique work of art.

Related: 21 Amazing Movies That Actually Understand Mental Illness

While promoting the film, actor Devon Sawa spoke with Screen Rant about his work on the film and his friendship with his co-star, John Travolta. He also discusses how he still gets starstruck from time to time, and how director Fred Durst brought Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' energy to the set.

This movie is so deliciously uncomfortable. It's my kind of movie!

Good. That's it, that's what we we went for! I'm glad you said that, because that ending, the climax scene, is what we want. We should be thinking somewhere between uncomfortable and confused. So that's good!

I want to talk about it without spoiling it for the Screen Rant reader, but was that ending part of what made you sign on to The Fanatic? What was the process of getting this movie in your oeuvre?

The process of getting this movie was a very big fight on my behalf. I'm gonna be open about that. Travolta and I worked together on another film, and Travolta had suggested me to Fred Durst for this part. Fred wasn't completely sold on me. He hadn't seen me on anything mainstream for quite a bit of time. I had been doing TV and whatnot. So I had to fight my ass off for this film. And I did it because I knew... John sent me a picture of what he was going to look like, and he told me a little about what he was going to do, and I had to get it. I laid every single scene from the movie down with another actor. We did the whole thing on tape and sent it to Fred. Fred took it for a few days, and finally I got it. It was a fight. I have a text from John Travolta, saying "This is what I'm going to look like in the movie," and I was like, oh my God, that's crazy... That's when I decided to fight for it.

You've worked with John before, and part of this movie is about fandom and having a disconnect from reality when it comes to movie stars. I know you've been an actor for many years, but I can't imagine anyone meeting someone like John Travolta and not having a moment where you just have to tell him, "Oh my God, I loved you in Grease."

Yeah. Well, it was Pulp Fiction for me. I was 14 or something like that when it came out, and it was life-changing for me. Up until that point, I was just going to set to be with other kids and have fun and giggle and have that whole thing. But when I saw Pulp Fiction, I don't know if it was just the right timing, but seeing Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, and John Travolta as these larger-than-life characters in a different world, it just changed things for me. I remember the first time I met John on the movie, Life on the Line, and I was very nervous. He came into that room and you just felt like a movie star walked in. I was super nervous for that table read. That was the first day on set. John comes with the greatest stories ever. Like, he has stories of Marlon Brando. He has stories of Muhammad Ali... He's amazing, that's all I can say.

Have you ever had that with any of your other co-stars who you've loved and adored for years, and then you get to see them as peers?

Yeah, Stallone was another guy I worked with, last year. If you told 12-year-old me that I'd be working with Stallone, I would never have believed you! But believe me... And we did a fight scene! I got there two weeks before, and I had a choreographed fight scene with the John Wick stunt crew, and when we got to set, he didn't like it. So he said, "we're just gonna fight for real. We'll see what happens. If we don't like it, we'll go back to the choreographed scene. But let's just go in there and pull our punches." He started going, "remember Rocky 2, when I did this?" And I was like, dude, do I remember Rocky 2? Are we really doing this right now?

That's amazing.

So amazing.

You're working in this movie, not just with John Travolta, but with Fred Durst, who casual viewers might not recognize as a filmmaker, even though he's been doing movies for more than a decade, and I think he has a really great eye in this movie.

I'm glad you mentioned that, because there were a couple of movies I did where they thought this was Fred's first movie. But Fred has put in his dues. He did a slew of music videos before he got The Education of Charlie Banks. That was a critical success for him. Then he did more videos and then the Ice Cube movie (The Longshots). He's put in his dues. This is just another stepping stone for him to the next big thing he does. He's got a great energy, he knows what he wants. Like, he knew which DP he wanted. And Travolta spent the whole time in character. He never left character. We called him Moose, and all that. He and Fred would talk, and he would be Moose, and Fred would be his buddy. They would do a little improv before they would start a scene, and it was awesome to watch. Fred is the real deal, man! And I won't lie, he does bring that Limp Bizkit flavor to the set. There is a little bit of that Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' sh** going down, you know what I mean? You feel that energy, and it's nice!

You said Travolta was method. Do you have any rituals like that? To be honest, five minutes before this interview, I felt nervous, kind of scared, because you can be so mean and scary in the movie! Like, I know you're an actor, it's the job but when you're playing an actor, there's an extra layer of reality, at least to someone on the outside looking in. How do you get into that persona?

I'm not method. I do take moments before doing a scene, I think of where my character has been before this, where he's going, the whole backstory thing. For this character, I drew on the breaking points we've seen from different actors over the years. Like, Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn, Britney Spears. The breaking point with the paparazzi, they pick on them just enough where they hit them with an umbrella or throw a punch or knock the camera out of their hands. That's what I drew on. Moose is my breaking point. All this stuff is going on in Hunter Dunbar's life: the wife, the maid, the agent, the son. All this stuff is going on, and Moose is the breaking point. That's when I break, you know what I mean?

Yes, absolutely. This is a question I like to ask everyone I interview. Do you have a movie or a show, anything that you're particularly proud of, from your career, that you feel didn't get the attention it deserved at the time, that you'd like to shout-out for the Screen Rant reader?

Oh yeah, I mean, Idle Hands was supposed to be a lot bigger than it was. Who knows? They ended up pulling it from a lot of different states, especially Colorado, since it was coming out the weekend after Columbine had just happened. They cancelled the premiere, they stopped doing press, they stopped playing the promos on TV. We never got to see how it would have done in real life. It was kind of buried because it's about a kid whose hand goes on a killing spree in a high school. It was obviously not appropriate. But we never got to see what it would have done.

More: 10 Gory Teen Horror Movies From The ‘90s We All Forgot About (Including Idle Hands)

The Fanatic hits theaters on August 30.

source https://screenrant.com/fanatic-movie-devon-sawa-interview/

#screenrant

[mybrendanthehuntress137]

[Sneak Peek]Walt Disney World vs Disneyland Space mountain. Which is Better?

I feel like I should put this out, Space mountain is one of my favorite roller coaster of all time. But the question is; Which one is the best one: The one in Disneyland or the one in Walt Disney World? Well lets take a look. This my new series where I compare which one is better.

First lets look at the history of how this mountain came to be

During the Space age in the 50′s, Walt Disney was making a documentary on television about the potentials of space travel. While working on Disneyland in Anaheim. Walt Disney had help from a Disney animator John Hench. He and Walt wanted to make a land called ‘Tomorrowland’, a futuristic land of the year 1986, being educational and preparing others for the future. When Disneyland opened in July 17 of 1955, it was a big success. In Tomorrowland, their most thrilling attraction was Rocket to the Moon: a space themed ride which gave guests a thrilling sneak peak of commercial space flight that would be popular in the future. While Disneyland was a huge hit in its first year of operation, Tomorrowland would never be completed. The problem with Tomorrowland is that tomorrow will always come, new ideas for the future will always come, and Tomorrowland would be outdated.

 This is what Tomorrowland used to look like in the 50′s in Disneyland

In 1959, Disneyland got its first expansion with the Monorail, The Submarine Voyage, and the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride, this would make Matterhorn the world’s first steel roller coaster. During the 60′s, Walt Disney replaced Rocket to the Moon with The Flying saucers in 1961 which closed in 1966 due to technical issues. He decide to get help with the other artists to plan a Major overhaul for Tomorrowland showcasing new ideas and technology for the future.

Concept art for the New Tomorrowland

In 1964, The World’s fair was showcased, showing newer technology. When Matterhorn was a big hit, Walt Disney said to the imagineers “Why can’t we have a ‘Space mountain’ ride?” With these words and the many artistic lessons learned in The World’s Fair, John Hench would work with Walt Disney once again on the land that challenged him and Walt from the very beginning. But how would he capture a lasting mystery and intrigue within an ever-changing land how would the danger and thrill of space travel be captured in a theme park attraction? John Hench had the solution, he just didn’t know it in 1964.

The New York World’s fair ran thru 1964-1965

With the New York World’s fair come and gone but what remained as a profound purpose and vision for Disneyland. While the discoveries made in New York were inspirational to Walt and his artists. It would inspire more for the vision for a newly realized Tomorrowland. Not that much imagineers seemed to solve John Hench's problem by bringing a so-called Space Mountain real in a land that focused on making the future a tangible reality. Outer space was still a intangible mystery to the American public. Not only that but the technology required to make an indoor space themed roller coaster was non-exsistent. 

This is the original Concept art for Space Mountain

The original idea for this so-called ‘Space mountain’ was expanding Matterhorn’s format by having a single car coaster to run on four separate tracks in a futuristic alien-like mountainous structure. During development on this space roller coaster, the original name for it was going to be called ‘Space Voyage’. This is where the technological issues lied. But primarily, Walt Disney swept the project away by the creation of Pirates of the Caribbean for the newly minted New Orleans Square. But Hench kept working on the ‘Space Voyage’ project, designing concepts for the future attraction that would be part of a major part of the new planned Tomorrowland. 

Walt Disney showing E.p.c.o.t. (Experimental. Prototype. Community. Of. Tomorrow.) for his new project for the Florida project (Plans for building Walt Disney World)

Unfortunately, in late 1966, Walt Disney past away. And with him went the vision and advocacy for new and daring attractions and projects, the space thrill ride would have to be delayed for the new Tomorrowland in 1967 would open without Walt’s Space Mountain.

Opening ceremony for the New Tomorrowland in 1967

Vintage footage of the New Tomorrowland in Disneyland

The New Tomorrowland was a big success and became one of the most popular lands in the park, but now WED Enterprises (Walt Disney Imagineering) would be occupied by bringing Walt’s dying vision to fruition: Walt Disney World. While the Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland in California would serve the same philosophical function as it’s Disneyland counterpart in Florida, WED was partnering up with different companies to sponsor brand new attractions. Just like when Disneyland opened in 1955, Tomorrowland would prove to be the hardest land to plan and design. WED decided to open Tomorrowland attractions in a series of different phases. And so, Walt Disney World opened on Oct 1, 1971 with a very unfinished Tomorrowland.

A picture of the Tomorrowland’s Grand Prix Raceway in Walt Disney World in 1971.

For the next phases, WED would seek out bigger and better projects. Marty Sklar and John Hench approached RCA (System Communication Center) to sponsor an attraction for Tomorrowland. Because RCA was an electric company, Sklar and Hench began work on designing a computer themed attraction. But when they finally met with the company had to pitch the idea, it resulted into an absolute failure. So they went back to the drawing board, this time, they noticed an overwhelming lack of thrill rides in the park because there was no room to build a Florida version of the Matterhorn. It then became clear that this might be the perfect opportunity to bring Walt’s Space Mountain to life. And so, they did. George McGinnis would help design the attraction, along with former pilot Bill Watkins. Together. They would design the ride system that would perfect with the Matterhorn attempted; less than 20 years earlier. And so, after many many MANY YEARS, Space mountain would finally begin construction in 1972.

Pictures of Space Mountain’s construction updates in Walt Disney World

Space Mountain finally opened at Walt Disney World on Jan 15, 1975, with a huge ceremony and would forever change the definition of thrill ride. This would declare Space mountain the World’s first fully indoor roller coaster.

Picture of the grand opening of Space mountain on Jan 15, 1975

Six months later; work began immediately on bringing a version of this attraction, where it was originally attended. Disneyland. Because of space issues, the ride would have to go from having two track to just one. But with the technological advances made with the Orlando version, the team of artists and imagineers would be able to consolidate and perfect the tubular steel roller coaster and even increase capacity.

Pictures of Space Mountain’s construction updates at Disneyland

Space mountain in Disneyland opened on May 27, 1977 [two days after the movie Star Wars premiered] on the site of the former flying saucers. Like the other space mountain in Florida, it was a phenomenon. With a line stretching all the way to the parks main entrance. 

Original pictures of Space mountain in 1977 (top): The original loading station for guests to go on their rocket ships and blast off into space.

But could it last long? What would happen to the excitement over the Space age die out from the American people? Could a space-themed thrill ride survive the event relevant cultural trend, or would it have to go to the way of many of its Tomorrowland predecessors? Not only with the public demuth a staple of the theme park experience, the future generations of artists would find themselves itching to breathe new life into this journey into the unknown

I’m going to have to tell more history of Space mountain in Disneyland because theres more story to it.

in 1996, Space mountain got some speakers on the sides of the vehicles to amplify music. The song is made by Dick Dale Combining a sci fi horror feel and a surf song as well.

Original ride vehicle with speakers on the side

Then on 1998, they redid the dome to make it a bronze color, because Originally In the 90′s, Disney was trying to be cool and hip, a bunch of projects were scrapped due to EuroDisneyLand’s (Disneyland Paris) massive failure but we’ll get to that later. They tried to make Tomorrowland 2055, a very great renovation, but we got this instead due to their low budget.

Original concept

What we got

Space mountain closed in 2003 to refurbish the ride. Luckily, the exterior would be restored. And a new music track was put in to replace Dick Dale’s version. This new soundtrack is composed by Micheal Giacchino.

Pictures of the dome getting back to its white color and ride vehicle were refurbished to look more space themed

in 2005, for Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, Space Mountain re-opened to the public. The loading station has now a different spaceship hanging from above and a bunch of set pieces were redesigned.

In 2009, Space Mountain got its first seasonal overlay called Ghost Galaxy on Halloween seasons. The screen on the front of the station is all glitched and corrupted, giving the illusion that a ghost is lurking. And in 2014, they made the station lighting to green

In 2015, to help promote the new Star Wars movie ‘The Force Awakens’, they themed Tomorrowland into “Star Wars: Season of the force” putting Star Wars music around the land. And Space Mountain was seasoned to Hyperspace Mountain, where you have to help the rebellion fight off the Galactic Empire from invading Jakku. This season wouldn’t change back to the original version till 2017 for both Star Wars’s and Space Mountain’s 40th anniversary. Space Mountain would return to its original ride. 

Front entrance shows the sign for Hyperspace mountain (left) and the theater entrance shows a theater saying “Star Wars: Path of The Jedi” (right)

This would also be the last time that the inventor of Space Mountain; 87 year-old Bill Watkins would ride it for the last time.

87 year-old Bill Watkins the guy who came up with Space Mountain rides it one final time

In 2018, a new queue was added, this had a satellite for hanging and some LED lights on the ceilings

New queue area in the standby line.

In 2019, Disneyland had to temporarily closed Space Mountain, two weeks after a man climbed out of one of the roller coaster cars while the ride was still in motion, ABC Newsthis link opens in a new tab reported.The incident happened on Tuesday, but unfortunately, Disneyland park-goers were still unable to ride the indoor roller coaster as of Thursday.According to The Orange County Registerthis link opens in a new tab, the man, in his 20s, was uninjured but was guided to safety by employees in order to receive first aid and was taken to the hospital later as a precaution.The man has some cognitive disabilities and was moving around in the dark during a slower part of the ride when he was able to get around the safety mechanism and climb out of the car, The Orange County Register reported. Once employees realized he was not in the car, they stopped the ride to find him.

Thanks for reading the history of Space Mountain. I’m sorry this had little to comparing and which one was better. But I wanted this to be a little history behind this roller coaster. But this took me SO LONG TO DO!!!! I was working on this for 10 HOURS TODAY TILL 12 AM!!!!!! 10 HOURRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSS OF SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUFFERING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I promise that I will do a comparison with Disney World and Disneyland to see which one is better. As a bonus, I will also compare the one from Disneyland to Disneyland Paris to see which ones are better. I’ll also do a little bit of history on the one in Disneyland Paris since I rode on it and I thought it was amazing. But which one will be more supremer? Find Out next time when I talk about “Which Is Better?”. I do not own any of these photos, they belong to these rightful owners in the links. I don’t know all the owners but I got a few of them.

http://matterhorn1959.blogspot.com/

http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/

https://davelandblog.blogspot.com/

Again thank you guys so much for supporting this! I can’t wait to do more episodes of this. And let me know on the comment section what is your favorite Space Mountain ride and to see who you think will win. Have a good day!

#disney #space mountain #disneyland #disney world #compare #preview #history #longest post I've ever done #I might do it again

[targetdummy]

I’m not interesting, but I was tagged by @givemebishies to answer some stuff about. These probably won’t be that cool or interesting for anyone else to read, but here we go!

Rules: Answer all questions, add one question of your own and tag as many people as there are questions.

1. Coke or Pepsi: Pepsi. It’s sweeter, and you’re supposed to sip soda rather than drinking it like water. Plus, MJ still forgave them after they caught his hair on fire, started his painkiller addiction, and dropped him as a promoter because of the child abuse allegations, so I imagine he at least liked to drink it.

2. Disney or Dreamworks: Disney generally. I’m not a big fan of either one, but I think Disney has made more important things in their time. Kind of unfair since they’ve been around longer, but whatever.

3. Coffee or Tea: Cappuccino. And even then I don’t want to taste the coffee in it.

4. Books or Movies: I watch more movies, but I think more books have had a serious impact on my life. I don’t know though, Rocky is a freaking masterpiece.

5. Windows or Mac: What? Where is my GNU/Linux option? Richard Stallman didn’t die for this! [For real though, I use Windows because I’m peasant trash who likes to play video games without spending hours on configuration. Though, I am considering dual-booting with Linux Mint in the near future. We’ll see. And Stallman isn’t dead, that was a joke.]

6. DC or Marvel: Marvel. Gotta have my Spider-Man and X-Men. The Avengers are also much more varied and interesting than the Justice League.

7. Xbox or Playstation: Playstation all the way. I can’t even name an Xbox exclusive offhand other than Halo or Gears of War. Playstation has a more interesting history too.

8. Dragon Age or Mass Effect: A friend of mine kept telling me to play both, but stressed Dragon Age more. I have played neither.

9. Night Owl or Early Rise: Night owl. I feel and work better at night. I like knowing the rest of the world is asleep.

10. Cards or Chess: Cards because they are an unlimited number of games! (So is Chess technically, but I like that with cards you can more easily have a random aspect if you want).

11. Chocolate or Vanilla: Are we talking ice cream? Vanilla. Are we talking brownies? Chocolate. Are we talking anything else? I don’t know.

12. Vans or Converse: I buy the cheapest shoe that feels comfortable and doesn’t make me hate myself when I wear them. I’ve never owned either of those.

13. Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash or Adaar: I’m sorry, I’m only a level 2 mage, I don’t know those ones yet.

14. Fluff or Angst: both I guess? I’m an angst lookin’ to get his fluff on.

15. Beach or Forest: Beach beach beach. I need to be warm and surrounded by water.

16. Dogs or Cats: I like cats and dogs that act like cats.

17. Clear Skies or Rain: Rain all the way. Rain for days. Clear skies are boring and make me sad. They don’t even move. I can feel rain. It surrounds me and makes me feel loved. Warm rain especially, or cool rain on a warm day.

18. Cooking or Eating Out:  I prefer eating out in both senses of the term. But for real, I love restaurants. I love the feeling of being in one, and knowing that my food is being handled by someone who knows how to make it well. Then to just have it brought to me, it’s awesome. Like, I didn’t make this. I don’t deserve this. But you’re giving me this, just for some paper. It’s just so comforting. Oh, and takeout is awesome too, because it’s that experience, but with more control and less atmosphere. All of it makes me so happy, honestly, I can’t understate how awesome it is to pickup food from somewhere awesome. Shout out to my people at El Canelo, that’s the place I dream of when I’m hungry. Any Chinese/Japanese is great too. Then fast food, Sheetz and Chick-Fil-A especially can be great. All of it, man. I’m sorry, I wrote too much for this.

19. Spicy Food or Mild Food: Spicy! Specifically, spicy and sweet. It’s all a part of the experience!

20. Halloween/Samhain or Solstice/Yule/Christmas: Halloween is cooler theme-wise. Japanese Christmas though 💕

21. Would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot : Yeah, I guess a little too cold, because I love the sensation of getting warm.

22. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Phew, does what Dr. Manhattan have count? You know, just be god. Nah, I wouldn’t want that, that’s too much. Controlling time would be cool. Would probably be depressing in reality, but cool in theory.

23. Animation or Live Action: This really depends on the work.

24. Paragon or Renegade: I have no idea what this is referencing. But Renegade is a 1986 beat ‘em up game that I really like for one reason: it’s the start of the Kunio-Kun series that would eventually lead to Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, or River City Ransom. Renegade isn’t amazing on its own, but really cool to see where RCR got its origin.

25. Baths or Showers: Showers usually.

26. Team Cap or Team Iron Man: Haven’t watched Civil War yet, but Iron Man.

27. Fantasy or Sci-Fi: Sci-Fi usually feels bigger than Fantasy and can include Fantasy elements without much of an issue (infinite universe, infinite possibilities), so I’ll go with it.

28. Do you have three or four favourite quotes?

Okay, these might get lengthy, so here we go:

1. (Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid 2)

“Life isn't just about passing on your genes. We can leave behind much more than just DNA. Through speech, music, literature and movies... what we've seen, heard, felt... anger, joy and sorrow... these are the things I will pass on. That's what I live for. We need to pass the torch, and let our children read our messy and sad history by its light. We have all the magic of the digital age to do that with. The human race will probably come to an end some time, and new species may rule over this planet. Earth may not be forever, but we still have the responsibility to leave what traces of life we can. Building the future and keeping the past alive are one and the same thing. “

2. (Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen)

“Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.”

3. (Shigeru Miyamoto)

“A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.“

And there’s a lot more but I’m bad at remembering them.

29. YouTube or Netflix: YouTube, I watch it way more than Netflix. I like all the different voices on YouTube, how accessible it is.

30. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson: Isn’t Harry Potter a My Immortal fanfic? I go with that one. Also, nobody will even remember Percy Jackson in ten years.

31. When You Feel Accomplished: When I’ve created something that people enjoy, and when I fulfill the needs of those I love. I haven’t been doing enough of either lately :/

32. Star Wars or Star Trek: I accept that Star Trek is superior in every way, however I will always defend Star Wars as my personal favorite.

33. Paperback Books or Hardback Books: Hardback. I am less likely to ruin it, and it looks nicer on a shelf.

34. horror or rom-com: I’m not a fan of either, but I like horror elements in other things.

35. tv shows or movies: TV shows. Individual stories that build to an overall story arc will always have more depth than a single movie. That’s why Samurai Jack is more compelling than any of the samurai movies it draws inspiration from.

36. favorite animal: Tiger.

37. favorite genre of music: Funk and its derivatives.

38. least favorite book: The Old Man and the Sea. I like Hemmingway, but it’s a book where nothing happens, the most exciting part is when he says the ocean is a women having her period, and the ending feels like actually watching an old man die. He doesn’t die in the book, that’s just how it feels.

39. favourite season: Summer. As hot as possible.

40. song that’s currently stuck in your head: ME NE’ER HA ME GUN SO ME HA TA MOO SHARP LI ME KNIFE

41. what kind of pyjama’s do you wear? Pajama pants and a t-shirt. I wear this all day when possible.

42. Handwriting or Typing? Typing. Gotta go fast. And I can’t compile my code from a piece of paper.

43. If you can only choose one song to be played at your funeral, what would it be? The Real Folk Blues.

44. What is your go to book/movie/tv show that you immediately find solace in when you feel down? Okay, I don’t know about books, movies, or TV shows, but I always find solace in any YouTube show that can make me feel less alone. It doesn’t have to be funny or interesting, I just have to feel like people are around me, talking, and being happy. Game Grumps works well for this, or most podcasts.

45. “Yer a wizard/witch, Y/N” - your reaction? I know. I didn’t learn to code just to not be a wizard.

46. Are you generally a messy or organized person? I’m an organized person who appears messy. It’s like a hashing algorithm. There is some initial data behind it, but you can’t make sense of the result, and there’s no way to reverse it.

47. What’s your go to comfort food? Anything fried. Especially fries. It just feels so familiar, so welcoming, like it can never be bad. Especially with good sauces, sweet and sour most of all probably.

48. Do you enjoy being creative? If so what’s your favorite way to create? I do. I’m not sure what my favorite way is. Writing is easiest, but making games and web stuff is so rewarding. I need to do more either way.

My question:

49: Other than Tumblr, what is your favorite website?

I have no friends to tag :D (But if you see this and nobody tagged you to do it, you can totally say I tagged you and do it anyway. I’ll vouch for you.)

#ask tag

[abusivedadsrock]

I want to recommend a fic: Where your heart is by anhcor and tvshows_addict.❤️Loved, loved that fic, so beautifully written and emotional. It's art, and I can only recommend people to read it. 🙌 I was glad that I found it, it's one of my all-time-favourites in the meanwhile.

Oh, hello there! That is so nice of you

I still haven’t read WYHI, but it is on my to be read pile, I promise haha

And since you took your time to come in my inbox and promote a fic, I feel like it’s only right that I rec you some fics back, how about someother fics that are also beautifully written and emotional? 

this crown of thorns 4kIf there’s one thing Harry is sure of, it’s that he doesn’t want to forget a single thing about Louis. 

how i imagined us 7k[Sometimes reality is shitty and Louis plays Scheherazade.]

Young & Beautiful 227kLouis, to his horror, attends an elitist university in which the name Zayn Malik means something, Niall Horan doesn’t stop talking, there are pianos everywhere, and Harry Styles, only son of a drug-addled, clinically insane ex-rocker, has a perfect smile and empty eyes.

Little Technicolor Things 72kLouis is a poor writer and recent university graduate, depressed, anxious, and living in London when he meets Harry, an artist with a secret who likes to paint sunrises and pretty boys from California.

another hazy may 41klouis is a terrible poet and harry lives in the now and they have six weeks to fall in love but, really, it only takes six seconds. bookshop meets military meets summer romance au ft. marlboros, the backstreet boys, and underrated literary devices.

Finding Lou 60kLouis is the nomadic stranger who wanders into Harry’s bookstore. Harry is the skeptic who falls for him.

i love you more 47kBoys like Harry can’t fall in love. But then he meets Louis. A love story in two parts.

Coeur d'Enfants 126kAs Marx said of the bourgeois class: all that is solid melts into air. St. Peter’s verse.

all of our important nothings 27k[Harry and Louis are in love, Haylor happens, and Louis battles quite a few demons along the way.]

I would name the stars for you (I would take you there) 91kOr a vaguely Notting Hill-like AU (or that made for TV Disney movie Starstruck if you’ve seen it… no? Just me?) starring popstar!Harry and bookkeeper/soulful poet!Louis; and including guest appearances by Fate, a wise elderly aristocrat, and lots and lots of pining.

Fair warning, some of these are very sad and some deal with some heavy stuff, so please, read the tags first! Enjoy xx

#anonymous #this was fun! #I should do more of these given how many fics I've read haha #fic rec #larry fic rec #mine #these are just some fics that I like #I could have added so many more lol

[aion-rsa]

How Hideo Kojima and Junji Ito Could Finish What Silent Hills Started

https://ift.tt/2EpTlgx

The collaboration survival horror fans have been waiting for may finally be happening, according to famed mangaka Junji Ito, who confirmed that he’s been talking to video game auteur Hideo Kojima about working together on a new horror project, which has been the subject of much speculation since the release of Death Stranding last year.

Ito shared this tidbit while talking to Viz Media during this weekend’s Comic-Con@Home event (via IGN), where he was asked whether he was currently working on any video game projects.

“So, the simple answer is no,” Ito’s translator Junko Goda told Viz Media. “However, I do know director Kojima and we have been in conversation that he might have a horror-based game that he may be doing, and so he has invited me to work on that, but there are no details on it yet.”

Those who have been following Kojima’s attempts to make a horror game over the years likely know that Ito was previously set to collaborate with the video game auteur and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro on Silent Hills, a new take on the beloved survival horror series starring The Walking Dead and Death Stranding actor Norman Reedus. But the collaboration never got past a few initial meetings and a karaoke session.

“Once the Silent Hills meeting was over, we went to karaoke,” Ito said while speaking at the Toronto Comics Art Festival (via Game Informer) in 2019. “I didn’t hear anything after that. I heard that the plan got scrapped through outside sources. I have seen Kojima and Del Toro since. I never started designing monsters. Nothing exists. There are no roughs or sketches.”

In an interview with IGN about approaching Ito to work on Silent Hills, del Toro called the mangaka “completely one of the masters,” saying that he loved how Ito seemed to “get high on his own supply” while imagining the grotesque monsters, body horror, and extreme violence that are trademarks of the mangaka’s work.

“In the way that you feel Dario Argento in the early movies was getting off on each murder or you feel David Cronenberg was secretly aroused by body horror – in the same way, you feel Junji Ito being titillated at a very basic disturbing level by his stuff,” del Toro said of Ito.

However Silent Hills would have turned out, it does sound like the trio had some interesting new ideas about how to push the survival horror genre forward.

“We had a few working sessions where we were talking about using the console, the next-generation console in a way that would surprise people. Let’s really freak out people. Let’s really cause a panic with Silent Hill. Let’s go for it. Let’s go for full-blown social madness,” del Toro told IGN. “We were planning this stuff. Ito was mainly being nice, making notes. He didn’t sing either. He was a very serious man.”

Unfortunately, when Kojima and publisher Konami had a falling out during the development of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the game director left the company and Silent Hills was quickly canceled. Konami has done little with the series since (besides making Silent Hill-themed pachinko gambling machines).

It’s a shame this all happened before Ito could even put pencil to paper. I personally would have loved to see what monstrosities Ito’s chats with Kojima and del Toro might have inspired. Fortunately, Kojima and del Toro’s P.T. demo was a stunning proof of concept for what Silent Hills might have looked like. It was also its own experiment in “social madness.”

When P.T. was mysteriously released at Gamescom 2014 by a fake studio, many gamers quickly became obsessed with solving the confounding (and terrifying) demo’s seemingly nonsensical puzzles. Within hours, P.T. had become a viral marketing phenomenon, the subject of countless reaction videos, forum threads, walkthroughs, live streams, and social media posts. Of course, beating the demo revealed P.T.‘s biggest mystery of all: that it was, in fact, a “playable teaser” for Kojima and del Toro’s Silent Hills. Yet, by the time the truth had come out, P.T. itself had morphed into its own unique experience destined to outlive the game it was created to promote.

Much has been written about the making of P.T. and its influence on the horror genre in the years since its release. You can also find plenty of videos dissecting different aspects of the demo, including videos of players, dataminers, and modders trying to figure out how the demo works. Siux years later, certain things about the demo remain a secret, including the meaning of its cyclical narrative.

The demo is a notable example of a game going viral, as players worked together on the internet to solve the puzzles, while word of mouth on social media got others to try the demo. While Kojima explored this idea further in Death Stranding, which has its own social mechanics, del Toro and Kojima originally planned to take all of this one step further with Silent Hills, using “every aspect” of the PS4 to “create a state of widespread social panic,” according to IGN. While I’d stop short of saying it caused widespread panic, P.T. itself did spread like wildfire through internet gaming communities in 2014 like some sort of interactive urban myth or creepypasta. Or a meme.

Fans of the Metal Gear series know Kojima loves to insert metafiction and other metaphysical elements into his work, such as with the Psycho Mantis boss fight in Metal Gear Solid and the final twist in Metal Gear Solid 2, which some believe predicted the pervasive nature of meme culture on the internet as well as how technology could be used for social engineering. Many of Kojima’s games specifically tackle how technology can distort and corrupt reality.

P.T. has its own distortive qualities and can even be considered a major turning point in Kojima’s work undoubtedly influenced by del Toro’s own directorial sense. Some critics have said the demo’s endlessly looping hallway, which players must keep walking through to solve P.T.‘s many puzzles, “practically hypnotizes you into a state of vulnerability.” That sense of vulnerability also comes in part from the hostile ghost that follows closely behind you throughout the experience as well as the disorienting nature of the puzzles that work on a sort of dream logic that’s never explained within the actual game. (There are no tutorials or in-game prompts to be found in P.T.)

Read more

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By Bernard Boo

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Death Stranding’s Norman Reedus Teases New Project with Hideo Kojima

By Matthew Byrd

Kojima told The Japan Times in 2014 that with P.T. he wanted to explore “a more genuine, thoughtful and permeating type of fear” than the violence and gore usually found in AAA survival horror games.

“There are horror action games with zombies and grotesque things and so forth. The real fear isn’t from those things. It’s from standing in an empty place, where just to step forward or to turn around is scary,” Kojima said, explaining that the demo is scary because “there’s no information.”

“Nowadays, when people don’t know something, they Google it. They ask on Twitter or Facebook and they get the answer right away. We live in an age of information. When that suddenly disappears, that’s the scariest thing,” Kojima explained. “That’s why there was no information about who made P.T. There was no purpose or background and no explanation about the story, and that’s frightening. I did this on purpose. That’s why I hid my name and title and just let them play.”

While Kojima has said many times since the release of P.T. that the demo wasn’t actually related to Silent Hills in terms of gameplay or story, it’s impossible not to wonder how the success of the interactive teaser would have influenced Kojima and del Toro’s final product, and how Ito’s own work would have added to the experience.

After all, Ito was a perfect fit for the “social madness” Kojima and del Toro were going for with Silent Hills. In his seminal horror manga books Gyo and Uzumaki in particular, Ito deals with extreme levels of social anxiety and the unbridled chaos that follows.

In Gyo, Japan is plagued by undead fish who crawl out of the sea using spider-like metal legs powered by a “death stench.” Images of bloated victims assimilated into the killer fish army pervade the pages of the book as do images of mass hysteria.

If Gyo is Ito’s own take on the zombie genre, Uzumaki is something far more experimental and disturbing. In Uzumaki, a small Japanese town finds itself under attack by a supernatural curse involving spirals. The book is infused with a heightened sense of paranoia, as characters try to navigate the horrific dream logic that’s not unlike the one found in P.T.

Interestingly enough, Ito was inspired to create Uzumaki in part due to his desire to understand spirals as symbols, as well as an interest in depicting spirals in an unexpected way that would scare Japanese audiences, an approach that sounds like Kojima’s own distortion of gameplay mechanics players normally take for granted.

“The ‘spiral pattern’ is not normally associated with horror fiction. Usually spiral patterns mark character’s cheeks in Japanese comedy cartoons, representing an effect of warmth. However, I thought it could be used in horror if I drew it a different way,” Ito said in an interview with 78 magazine in 2006. “Spirals are one of the popular Japanese patterns from long ago, but I don’t know what the symbol represents. I think spirals might be symbolic of infinity.”

While Ito’s work is full of the violence and gore that Kojima wanted to move away from with P.T., it’s clear that the two creators share similar sensibilities when it comes to finding more primal ways of scaring their audiences. Like Kojima and his use of the suburban hallway, Ito often uses images of things that aren’t traditionally considered scary — like spirals — in order to terrify. Another example is hair.

“Historically, long black hair has been symbolic of Japanese women, and most women value this image. The long hair of a woman is common in Japanese horror because it conveys an enveloping feeling of movement. I think it conjures up fear in people unconsciously,” Ito told 78. It’s in this space between what we know to be scary and what people don’t even know they’re scared of yet that both Ito and Kojima excel. With Kojima now running his own Kojima Productions indie studio where he can decide what he wants to work on and with whom he wants to work with next, his collaboration with Ito might finally come into fruition on their own terms. And their past work certainly points to a match made in hell. If Kojima and Ito do decide to collaborate on a new horror game, one would have to wonder how del Toro might fit into the project. After Silent Hills was canceled and a previous video game project called Insane also fell through, del Toro vowed to never work on a game again during an interview with Playboy (via IGN). That said, del Toro did allow Kojima to use his likeness for a major supporting character in Death Stranding, so perhaps there’s hope the Silent Hills trio could be reunited one day. Until then, our hopes of seeing something akin to what was planned for Silent Hills rest with Kojima and Ito. Perhaps Kojima could even teach Ito a thing or two about video games along the way: “I don’t know anything about games. I don’t play them. I am afraid if I get into them I’ll miss deadlines. I have never played Silent Hill,” Ito revealed at the Toronto Comics Art Festival while ruminating on his relationship with Kojima. “I have known Hideo Kojima for 20 years. He is a nice older brother type.”

The post How Hideo Kojima and Junji Ito Could Finish What Silent Hills Started appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3jNP9Ht

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[savvystories]

The list keeps getting bigger – and better!

  MEDICAL THRILLER!

“readers of Michael Crichton & Robin Cook will def enjoy!”

– Ginger S. Baldwin, Amazon review

With nearly 5,000 copies sold before its official launch day, the Do No Harm box set containing THE GAMMA SEQUENCE became a USA TODAY bestseller.

Some secrets refuse to remain hidden.

Geneticist Lanaya Kim must do what authorities haven’t—tie together the “accidental” deaths of several prominent scientists around the country to show they were actually murdered. Over the past two years, geneticists have died in what appear to be accidents, but Lanaya knows otherwise. If she tells her secrets to the authorities, she risks becoming a suspect or revealing herself to the killer and becoming an open target. Hiring private investigator Hamilton DeShear may help her expose the truth, but time is running out. The murders are happening faster, and Lanaya’s name may be next on the killer’s list. But when Lanaya and DeShear start probing, what they discover is far more horrifying than anyone could ever have imagined.

Buy it HERE

“This is a great novel!” I loved the characters and the waterfall scene was very exciting! What’s truly fantastic/captivating about the whole story is that it really could happen… – Anne Marie Andrus, author of Monsters & Angels

“A solid 5 stars. Great read. Amazing.” “I really did enjoy it and love a good ending – I assume there will be another book to give us more… Look forward to your next.” – R G Review

The Gamma Sequence, book 2:

Rogue Elements

THE PAST DOESN’T DIE. IT WAITS TO BE FORGOTTEN.

After completing the biggest case of his career, private detective Hank DeShear returns home to start treatment for a disabling genetic condition that could end his life, but he learns his partner on the prior case has just been murdered. Was he wrong to conclude the secretive killer known as The Greyhound had declared a truce? Or have disciples of The Greyhound surfaced to carry on with the murders?

DeShear is able to attach himself to an overseas goodwill mission headed by the U. S. Vice President, enabling him to pursue leads in foreign hospitals he thinks could be offshoots of Angelus Genetics’ illegal organ harvesting programs and human trafficking operations. Determined to pursue the truth wherever it leads, DeShear must also keep a low profile so he doesn’t become the next murder victim—but the onset of his debilitating condition may kill DeShear before the murderer gets a chance.

FANS OF ROBIN COOK AND MICHAEL CRICHTON WILL LOVE THE LATEST ADDITION TO THIS WELL-WRITTEN AND SUSPENSEFUL SERIES.

“A masterful thriller” A riveting thriller by Dan Alatorre, the fast-paced plot is loaded with suspense, intrigue and chilling implications for the future of genetic research. I cannot wait for the next book in this spine-tingling series! – JY, Amazon review

“5 STARS” – Book Review Gal

Buy it HERE

The Gamma Sequence, book 3:

Terminal Sequence

FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW

While preparing for his final round of life-saving treatments, Detective Hank DeShear agrees to work with Jaden Trinn and The Greyhound to shut down the remaining legs of Angelus Genetics’ illegal multi-national operations. Their ally, Dr. Carerra, is unable to help, forced away to appear in Washington D. C. to comply with what she thinks is a Congressional subpoena, in the hopes of getting leniency for actions her husband took while exposing Angelus’ gruesome activities. But the company Dr. Hauser founded plans to continue operating, buying political protection and stopping any would-be attackers in the harshest, most permanent ways possible. But when the next generation of Hauser-created child prodigies learns of the founder’s true plans, a horrifying reality is revealed that no one could have envisioned.

Fans of Robin Cook and Michael Crichton will love this series, especially the finale!

Buy it HERE

“I loved the characters and the story is incredible” – Amazon review

“I just binge read all 3 of the current books. Loved all the books and the thrill ride. Can’t wait for the next.” – Amazon review

The Gamma Sequence, book 4

The Keepers

  CAN HANK DESHEAR SOLVE A KIDNAPPING CASE WHILE AVOIDING BEING FRAMED FOR THE VICTIM’S MURDER? After destroying the last remnants of Angelus Genetics and the evil Dr. Hauser’s operations, Detective Hamilton DeShear escapes with Agent Jaden Trinn and their 5-year-old ward Constantine to The Bahamas for a vacation – only to be framed for murder as Constantine is kidnapped and Trinn is nearly shot to death. Recovering in Paris, “Helena” attempts to help, but she is saddled with the hospital’s frustrated Doctor of Psychology who must open up to the possibility that things with this mysterious elderly patient are not as they seem.

Click HERE to preorder your copy NOW.

MURDER MYSTERY, ANYONE?

Two detectives hunt a serial killer. The killer’s hunting them.

A lone trucker is ambushed, shot, and brutally stabbed. A tourist meets the same fate while out for a jog. Facing two crime scenes that could have come from a horror movie, Detectives Carly Sanderson and Sergio Martin search for the crazed serial killer. Five more attacks happen in a week, launching the entire city into a panic, causing the mayor to throw all of the city’s resources into stopping the rampage. But while the detectives work around the clock, they don’t know the killer has upped the game—by making them his next targets.

Get your copy HERE.

“Plenty of action and suspense, well written…  a pleasure to read. You will certainly enjoy this book. This is my first dip into the Dan Alatorre literary pool, and I’ll certainly be back for more.” – Amazon review

“Fast-paced, excellent read. I’m looking forward to my next book by Dan Alatorre.” – Amazon review

TIME TRAVEL ADVENTURE

The Navigators

SOME SECRETS AREN’T MEANT TO BE KNOWN

A freak landslide at a remote mine site uncovers a strange machine to a group of paleontology grad students. Wary of corrupt school officials, team leader Barry takes the machine home to study it in secret, reaching only one realistic – and unbelievable – conclusion: It was designed to bridge the time-space continuum. It’s a time machine. Testing delivers disastrous results, sending one team member to the hospital and nearly killing another. When word leaks about the discovery, the ultimate power struggle ensues: the university wants it for funding, the power company wants its energy regenerating abilities kept under wraps, and a rival group wants to steal it for themselves. No one cares if Barry’s team comes out alive. Fleeing for their lives, the students must fight the school, the police, and each other if they want to learn the truth about what they’ve discovered – a truth with more severe consequences than any of them can predict.

Get your copy HERE

AMONG THE BEST OF THE YEAR –  Happy Meerkat Reviews. “5.0 out of 5 stars. Gripping action adventure science fiction. This book is amazing, I can’t believe how engrossed I was in reading it!”

“This book grabs you from the beginning and doesn’t let go until the. very. last. line. Dan Alattore is an exceptional writer, the details, feelings and wit in this story draw you in, and you feel like you are right there with each character.” Amazon review

PARANORMAL THRILLER

A Place Of Shadows

Possibly my best book, ever.

A series of unexplainable tragedies surround a family and their young daughter as they seek to determine whether they are possessed, paranoid or collectively going insane. Meanwhile, forgotten clues from the father’s past may indicate forces are at work in ways more ominous than any of them could have imagined.

“Alatorre’s best yet!” I wanted to keep reading. Good job. – Molli Nickell,The Publishing Wizard and former Time-Life acquisitions editor

A brilliant work. Haunting, fast paced, multi-layered. Alatorre has outdone himself with this chilling tale of paranormal suspense. If you loved The Shining or A Change Of Seasons’ The Body (also known as the movie Stand By Me), you’ll love this book. – Lucy Brazier,author of the PorterGirl: The Vanishing Lord and PorterGirl: First Lady of the Keys

Comparing it with the likes of King and Koontz. I don’t think I’ve come across a book quite like this one. It has a powerful potential to be a great supernatural thriller that everyone will talk about for years to come. That’s comparing it with the likes of King and Koontz. – Russell J. Fellows Reviews

Dan Alatorre can summon the chills and thrills of a supernatural horror story. – Grady Harp, Amazon HALL OF FAME * TOP 500 REVIEWER * VINE VOICE

Get your copy HERE

COMEDY ROMANCE

The Italian Assistant

When a married man’s overseas business deal goes wrong, the one person who can help him has ideas of her own. A madcap comedy where true love finally prevails and everyone lives happily ever after—but only after a lot of screwups.

Family man Mike Torino lands an important business project in Italy, home of naked art, Valentino, and taxi-crashing yoga pants, so he brings along his wife, hoping to rekindle their marriage while securing a promotion. But romance gets derailed by head colds, constant bickering, and assaults from ankle-breaking cobblestone streets. Their daughter develops a gelato addiction. Mike’s Italian partner has a coronary. And as for amore . . . Mattie tells Mike to handle things himself—and storms back to America.

Mike is trapped. Leaving Italy will blow a promotion; staying might cost him his wife and family.

While reeling from Mattie’s frantic departure, a replacement liaison is assigned—a top-notch, beautiful young Italian woman who is instantly smitten with Mike and determined to reveal the passions of her homeland—whether he wants to see them or not! Normally immune, Mike is tempted—but is headstrong, voluptuous Julietta worth the risk?

“Funniest book I have ever read!” I laughed a lot and cried in equal measure but cannot remember when I have enjoyed a book so much. – Anita Dawes Book Review

“Made me laugh out loud.” – Amazon review

“WOW! Worth every second spent reading!” – Amazon review

Get your copy HERE

HORROR STORIES

Get your scare on

Dark Passages

A COLLECTION OF SHORT HORROR STORIES AND DARK TALES

USA Today bestselling author and master storyteller Dan Alatorre brings you a collection of dark stories.

The Jemwaju: Come sit by the campfire and listen as an old friend tells a man’s group of Scouts about a Mayan tomb he explored as a college student, and the possibly haunted remains of the vengeful warrior priest he discovered inside. Best Monday Ever: A dark humor tale about a hard working businessman who wins the award of a lifetime, but the announcement causes his wife to become a kidnap target of a strange group called the witch coven cult. Dark Questions: A young man finds himself strapped to a chair without any explanation, then the torture begins… but he can’t provide answers to questions he isn’t being asked. Enjoy these eerie, dark short stories from master storyteller and USA Today bestselling author Dan Alatorre – and be sure to leave the lights on!

FANS OF STEPHEN KING, WILLOW ROSE, AND DEAN KOONTZ WILL LOVE DAN ALATORRE’S NEW “DARK PASSAGES” SERIES!

Get your copy HERE

  Book 2 in the series:

Dark Voodoo

THREE HORROR STORIES TO KEEP YOU UP TONIGHT: The Rendering: A young woman’s visit to a voodoo shop goes horribly wrong. Countenance: A difficult situation gets worse for a bank robber when things are not as they seem. Epilogue: The third story in this theme gives a satisfying surprise ending.

  Get your copy HERE

    Book 3 in the series

Dark Intent

  The Power Outage: An eerie story about a lone homeowner who meets the new neighbors on a stormy night when the power on their street goes out, but the neighbors are not what he expects. Tonight We Hunt The Beast, Lads: Against his better thinking, a medieval monk rides along with a frenzied mob to hunt a dangerous mythical beast.

A Settled Matter: A dark humor take of a would-be normal man who decides to hire a hit man to murder his wife.

  Get your copy HERE

  Book 4 in the series

Dark Thoughts

  The Monster And The Maintenance Man: The maintenance worker on a prison’s electric chair sets up his own system of justice. A Number One Bestselling Author: A dark humor tale of a jealous author attends a party and assesses the life of the host, his successful former mentor.

The Seer: A boy takes a scary trip through his grandmother’s dark basement and encounters another boy from long ago.

  Get your copy HERE

Dark Passages Box Set

All 4 volumes – even the ones that aren’t released yet! A steal, and it includes all of the books so far:

Dark Passages

Dark Voodoo

Dark Intent

Dark Thoughts

Enjoy these short horror stories from the comfort of your own home – and leave the lights on.

Get your copy HERE

Kids books! Check these out!

  Stinky Toe

“Bo” does not like to take baths – he wants to play! But his mother has other ideas. Enjoy this funny rhyming story with YOUR children. Fun to read to youngsters; fun for older kids to read to YOU!

Get yours HERE

The Zombunny

A young rabbit who stays up late and doesn’t eat right becomes a tired, grumpy… ZOMBUNNY! Great for young readers and students learning English as a foreign language.

  Get yours HERE

  Bestselling author and humorist Dan Alatorre brings us into his living room for funny and delightful stories about the real meaning of fatherhood and parenting. “Savvy” is the nickname of his daughter, and “Savvy Stories” is a fun filled romp through the early years of having a baby. These stories will have you chuckling at the universal message of bringing up baby ��� and watching her take over the house! Equal parts funny and touching, Savvy Stories shows you why all kids are special. After all, “the beauty of children is in the magic they see everywhere; the beauty of parenthood is seeing it with them.” Not a bumbling TV sitcom stooge, the Dad in this book is a smart, kind, loving man who is constantly amazed at his daughter, something every dad should be (but, sadly, many are not).

You will laugh and cry, sometimes on the same page, and you will see yourself 100 times over in this book. Savvy Stories has been acclaimed as required reading for parents, for its hilarious and heartwarming insights. Its lessons are deep and apply to every family, everywhere, because what makes Savvy special is what makes all children special. We just have to look.

CLICK HERE TO BUY

“The honesty of a 2 year old is amazing. Are they all like this? I hope so. What a shame that probably has to change.

“I’ve caught my daughter doing stuff where I would expect an older kid to lie, and she persists in telling me exactly what she did, ratting herself out completely. That just can’t keep up, can it?

“Whenever it’s just the two of us home alone and I need a shower, like after I’ve worked out but my wife isn’t home to watch our daughter, I’ll put Savvy on the bed in the master bedroom and leave the bathroom door open. That way, she can watch cartoons while sitting on the bed, and I can shower.

“With the door ajar, she can’t see me, but she can certainly come in if some crisis were to happen – like the DVR switched her cartoon off and put on the news – and I can hear her if were to cry for some reason – like when she was trying to use the headboard as a balance beam and got wedged between the mattress.

“She’s two. That stuff happens…”

You will buy this book for the comedy but you will keep it for the memories – and fall in love all over again with your own kids!

CLICK HERE TO BUY

You have never read a book like this before.

The Long Cutie hooks you with alternating chapters about a charmingly precocious 3 year old girl and stories of other real life people who have Long QT Syndrome, a potentially life threatening heart condition.

But this is no sob-story cry fest!

This is a life-affirming, often hilarious, occasionally thrilling, rollercoaster ride!

The Long Cutie will make you smile, nod, laugh and cry – sometimes all in the same page. Interspersed throughout the book are fascinating vignettes from a Norwegian man who tells stories about his family’s tragic history of LQTS. All the stories in the book are true. Some families consider themselves “special needs.” Others don’t. Some found out that they had Long QT by passing out and wrecking their cars! Some were misdiagnosed with epilepsy for years. Some of their stories are like reading TV medical drama. Some are like reading a comedy. All of them are amazingly true and a rollercoaster of emotions to read, but you will not end up depressed or feeling bad as you read because these are some of the strongest people you will ever read about and they do not inspire and will not accept – pity. Think of it like Pulp Fiction without all the shooting and blood. And without the gangsters. And without the cussing. And… Okay, don’t think of it like Pulp Fiction. Wait, DO think of Pulp Fiction, but only in the way the stories are separate stories that are told in pieces that may or may not overlap.

You know, you’ll just have to read it. But I think you’re really going to like it!

And I know you are going to be touched by it. Deeply.

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  “Colonoscopy? You turn 50 and all of a sudden they want to stick a TV camera up your butt? Terrific.”

Dan deals with it ALL, laying out each step of the process in his typical, hilarious way, but with a goal of educating us in the process (in the end, it’s not so bad. Get it? In the end?) about a necessary and life saving procedure.

Night Of The Colonoscopy is a funny story about a guy starting to get a little older and trying to be realistic about it; wanting to have fun in life while still setting a good example for his 3-year old daughter – while keeping a humorous outlook at life.

The hospital gown that won’t close in the back? The nurse who didn’t tell him everything he might need to know about laxatives? And just how big is that camera, anyway???

Follow along and laugh as we head down another road of family interaction and life lessons as we learn about the Night Of The Colonoscopy!

Buy this book and learn about this important and life saving procedure while chuckling to yourself the whole time.

CLICK HERE TO BUY

Bestselling author and humorist Dan Alatorre takes us on a trip that will have any parent laughing out loud! Dan shows us the hilarious side of the challenges of parenting, as the father of a young girl is suddenly tasked with getting her a leotard before her first gymnastics class.

What happens next is an endearing journey of comedy that we’ve all been through: the challenge of shopping quickly combined with the fun and magic of childhood.

Moms and dads alike will laugh along with the characters in this epic journey because There’s no Such Thing As A Quick Trip To BuyMart!

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A fun loving comedy by bestselling author and humorist Dan Alatorre. A loving father somehow gets ensnared in his 3 ½ year old daughter’s request for a birthday party for her favorite stuffed animal; and instead of saying no, he goes along with it. What happens next is a hilariously funny and charming explanation of the true meaning of fatherhood, the differences between moms and dads, and how sometimes the really silly things we do on life’s journey are often the best:

“My daughter was nearly insane with excitement. No sugar high could match the rush of endorphins that were the thought of all her favorite things in the whole world all colliding in her brain at one time: ice cream, Hope The Baby Dolphin, birthday cake, and playing with the phone.”- from “A Day For Hope”

CLICK HERE TO BUY

A routine trip to the store creates a golden opportunity for a loving father to bestow a terrific Christmas memory on his three year old daughter. Filled with humor and love, this story will have you laughing and turning the pages to see if the stranger with the red shirt and white beard is… Santa Maybe?

This one is an annual favorite. I read this instead of “The Night Before Christmas”

CLICK HERE TO BUY

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Yep, we have those, too

Children love this delightful picture book! With its many cute images, Laguna The Lonely Mermaid tells the story of a lonely young mermaid who must think of a creative way to rescue stranded pirates. By helping others, she makes new friends.

Great for parents to read to preschoolers or for slightly older kids to read to their parents! Includes suggestions for parents about making reading fun for kids, links to Facebook Fan page for downloadable coloring pages, and more.

BTW, I wrote this down but have a look at who the author is. There’s a story behind that. My daughter made up this whole story. THAT story is included in the book, too. Kids’ll impress ya.

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An adorable, amusing picture book with many cute images for children, “The Princess And The Dolphin” tells the story of a beautiful little princess who has a very special stuffed animal – that she loses somewhere in the castle! With help of her parents (the king and queen) and the family dog, they are off on a search.

Kids enjoy a terrific, fun story while discovering that persistence is important, as well as being resourceful, and working together.

A little princess in your house might just learn a thing or two about putting her toys away, and maybe a little something about responsibility, too!

Great for parents to read to preschoolers or for slightly older kids to read to their parents!

I love this story. It’s 100% true (okay, we aren’t kings and queens, but you get the idea), and if you read my stuff you know it is. If i could only leave ONE book for my daughter to read, it would be this one. Because she’s five now and she can’t read the bigger books. but also because this really happened, so we made a story about it.

CLICK HERE TO BUY

Children are going crazy for this story! A young girl’s family visits the beach, where she befriends a small crab and his friends. All is well until a little stranger washes up on shore after a storm, and she decides to work with her new friends to help him get back home – to France!

Enjoy this fun, full color, illustrated children’s book that has a great story and also teaches the importance of persistence, creativity, and teamwork!

Perfect to read to little ones, or have slightly older kids read to you!

This started out as a game we played when Savvy was a tiny little thing, and grew into this story. can you guess who the little girl in the story is?

CLICK HERE TO BUY

  My Books The list keeps getting bigger - and better! MEDICAL THRILLER! "readers of Michael Crichton & Robin Cook will def enjoy!"

[ecotone99]

[HR] The Light

Death.

It wasn’t anything other than a distant notion. Something that would eventually happen but, you know, in the future. Until now, it was simply an idea that surrounded my daily life in a shroud of fear. It was always looming, but never a real threat. Maybe that’s why I never thought about it. Or maybe all of those video games wrought with carnage and destruction and those horror movies filled with gratuitous gore really did desensitize me to the point of laughing at or altogether dismissing the idea of actually dying someday. Sure, I’ve attended my share of funerals and I even saw that guy get hit by a car right in front of my apartment. Those moments did ground me back to reality for a while. Over time I always went back to the ever so popular “that will never happen to me” mentality. Of course, that’s when I accidentally stumbled into death’s path.

All this time, I thought I had control of my own life. I mean, I didn’t think I was above fate, or destiny, or whatever you want to call it. I thought I still had time to make more mistakes, maybe even go on that trip I've been putting off. I simply never gave death much merit. I carved my little niche of a life out of the choices I made. I, like so many others I’ve come to know over the years, struggled my way into and out of most of the cliché of life’s virtues and vices. I kissed my high school sweetheart, Jessica Martin, under the stars near the soccer field. It began to rain a bit but neither of us cared. I was pissed at my boss when that bastard, Jim Montgomery, got that promotion and third floor office with the custom executive desk and shiny name plate. I thought it was “in the bag” until it was announced at the Christmas party.

It may have been a simple life, but it was mine, dammit. If I could cry I would.

Maybe I am.

All of those times throughout the years I thought I was indestructible, and even now. Well, not right now of course.

You see, I didn’t realize just how much I cherished the world around me until I could watch myself being devoured by one of its creatures.

I would be more accepting of this predicament if it was my fault. I wish I could blame some ancient curse on my family lineage or if I neglected to honor the god of “insert religion here”. Hell, I’d even accept it if in a drunken stupor I accidentally pissed on a mystical being wrought with vengeance in its hollow heart. But no, this thing, this monster that has taken what seemingly insignificant life I had at my dead-end desk job, was simply a “human being”. I use that term in the loosest sense of the word of course. Even as I watch my body move towards lifelessness in this strange third party view that can only be experienced when your head is severed from its home, I can’t imagine any true “human being” possessing such raw violence and a seemingly preternatural enjoyment from the turmoil of others; especially since that human is a thirteen year old bitch of a little girl.

I even know her! She spent the night at my house just last weekend. Now, she is feasting on my entrails like my body is part of the raw food diet.

The darkness is coming soon, I can feel it. Not in the usual sense of the word. I really don’t feel anything anymore. It’s peaceful really.

I’m not sure how much longer I will be in this state of “transition”, for lack of a more appropriate word. It seems like hours ago when I felt that first pain throughout my lower back. That tingling sensation you feel when your hand falls asleep. You know, that damned unshakable “pins and needles feeling”. I felt that flood through my body as it collapsed to the floor. Then came a wincing pain as my upper spine was shattered. My skin and throat were ripped apart and I, well my head at least, finally came to rest here.

How appropriate for me to find the best possible position so I can bear witness to the rest of this dreadful show.

I find myself trying to recall things, memories, anything. It’s hard.

I really just expected, no, I wanted this to be some bad episode of a low budget television show. I mean, who the hell ever thinks that a leisurely jog around the block in an attempt at redeeming a New Year’s resolution would turn out like this? Sure, it’s July and the New Year is halfway over, but better late than never, right? Well, I guess in retrospect, never starting would have been much better for me.

The humor and irony of those thoughts are lost in the moment it seems.

This sight is surreal, like that one movie. Or was that a book? Ha-ha! She really is having a grand old time with my carcass. What the hell is she? And why is she devouring my lifeless body like it was a Thanksgiving feast? Who am I, and who the heck am I even talking to?

Oh great, and now here comes ‘nother guy. Is that the calvinry, the cavalry? Hey, too late there, buddy! I’m already decursertated, descalpitated... what the hell? My head is over here and the rest of me is being digested by that little, um, whatever that is!

Wait! He isn’t here to slaughter that monster, he’s joining in! Not sure why he chose to start at my groin. I hope you choke on my pipe organ; you freak!

I don’t know how much longer I will be in this state of “translation”, for lack of a butter wand. Wait, didn’t I just say that?

The blackness is covering most of my eyes now. It’s closing like the ending of the Looney Tunes cartoons I used to watch as a kid.

Ha-ha!

‘member that one about the orange monster and the bunny? That was great.

All I can thank of, thank if, think of is that fade to black and the simple word ‘fin’ written in fancy white letters.

The darkness is coming, and I don’t see the light.

They said there was a light when you died!

Where’s the light?

I want to see the light!

Don’t let me die!

I’m sorry.

By: Alexander Vincent

submitted by /u/FarmHousePrime [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/309udnD

#Blogger #Story

[literateape]

The Long Road to the Trump Presidency and Where We Go From Here

By Don Hall

Imagine sitting down in your living room to watch the first televised presidential debate. Depending on which side you were on — Richard Nixon for the Old Guard conservatives, John Kennedy for the Young Progressive liberals — it was either going to be a complete ass-kicking by a long-time political beast or a breath of fresh air by the youngest candidate in recent history.

If you were in that new audience of television viewers, what you saw was the very beginnings of media chipping away at the intellectual strength of our democracy. You witnessed the first time when good looks and charisma on a mass-cult scale beat facts and acumen to nothing more than likability.

Read the transcript. Divorce yourself from the televised spectacle and Nixon’s flop sweat. He presented better arguments, better answers and demonstrated a genuine knowledge of how things worked. Kennedy reads like he was exactly who he was — a neophyte from a family legacy.

Yet almost completely due to the new media that emphasized looks and poise over knowledge and experience, the nation watched and crowned Kennedy the winner of both the debate and the presidency.

Television had changed everything.

The Vietnam conflict was the first war broadcast into the homes of Americans. Not just the propaganda newsreels of WWII or Korea but the actual images of children being napalmed and American soldiers having their legs blown off. The effect was tremendous in that kids seeing the destructive force of warmongering anti-Communist paranoia caused them to mobilize and protest on a mass scale during the conflict.

It is worth noting that while television indelibly damaged our democracy’s leadership races, it changed the way the population viewed American exceptionalism and her imperialist tendencies. The new media (at the time) was both destructive and constructive in separate turns.

Film has had the same such affect upon the masses. Films made during the Blacklist times of Senator Joseph McCarthy appealed to both those still in thrall to the propaganda of WWII as well as offering more subversive messages about the dark power of censorship and government overreach. On one hand we had John Wayne in The Green Berets and Frank Sinatra in The Manchurian Candidate; on the other we had Elia Karan’s On the Waterfront and Herbert Biberman’s Salt of the Earth.

In the '70s, film took an even more activist approach with movies that continued to destroy the myths of war via the Vietnam Conflict by focusing on the horrors of it (Full Metal Jacket and The Deer Hunter) as well as the difficulties of being a veteran of that war with little or no support (Coming Home). Tackling the environmental concerns of the day were Silkwood and The China Syndrome; police corruption (Serpico); protest culture (Zabriskie Point, The Conformist); and a general distrust of authority (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, A Clockwork Orange.)

At roughly the same time, videotape technology began making it’s way into homes, and the process of separating movies from community events to individual preferences as well as the free exchange of copied tapes opened new doors for pop culture.

In 1980 came the continuation of that ill-fated first televised debate with the new 24-hour Cable News Network effectively forcing journalists to find news in the most mundane and banal events as well as begin spinning news to keep advertisers happy. It is not without irony to note that this lead-up to an infotainment style of reporting was ushered in in the same year the country elected a B-movie actor turned California governor to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The '80s saw a growing list of films about gay rights, nuclear war and civil rights while at the same time promoting anti-gay and misogynist humor. Cable news became a parody of itself and the FOX network was founded in 1986 (although it’s pernicious news arm didn’t launch for another decade.) In 1990, the ARPENET was decommissioned and the internet as we know it was dropped upon a public completely unprepared for it.

VHS was abandoned for CDs. Home computers became commonplace. Personal devices designed to individualize musical tastes and further distance one person from another, creating tinier and tinier bubbles of consumption were all the rage.

Meanwhile, electoral politics became more and more influenced by the work of ad-men and saw candidate Bill Clinton playing saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show. The monster that is the Celebrity Politician really started flexing his popularity in the late '80s and '90s and, Holy Shit, was he itching for the unfettered, unregulated, Wild West show that was the World Wide Web.

Imagine sitting down in front of a computer screen, logging onto the internet with a modem that squawked like a digital hog being slaughtered, and hearing that chipper “You’ve Got Mail!” You check your mail — a couple of ads for CD-ROMS, a message from a co-worker as geeked out as you are about the instant communication of this 2400 baud device, another ad about NewtonMail and an invite to a ListServ.

You click that link and in an impressive three minutes of download time, you’re on.

On the ListServ (a prehistoric version of Faceborg and Twitter) you find a thread espousing the new GOP-driven “Contract with America.” Users with fake names espousing the “Taking Back Our Streets Act” and the “Personal Responsibility Act” and conspiracy theories about President Bill Clinton and his “manly” first lady.

“Who pays attention to this shit?” you ask yourself after perusing the thread for three hours. The irony is lost on you.

As the internet became more evolved and connection rates got faster, as the devices became smaller and more powerful, as the platforms became more pervasive and asked less and less personal accountability for what what written, the spiraling cascade, like the Skynet of James Cameron, grew to an unstoppable informational force. It was ready for abuse. It was ready to change us indelibly.

A couple of things to chew on:

Faceborg is 14 years old. It debuted in 2004. Twitter is 12 years old. The iPhone is 11 years old.

77 percent of Americans own smartphones. Faceborg has 1.8 BILLION users. Twitter has 327 MILLION users.

In 1960, during the Nixon/Kennedy debate, only 47 million households had televisions.

So, here we are. A sub-par reality TV star as or president. So easy to hate. So easy to blame everyone else.

When celebrity and fame become the coin of the realm, is it really any big surprise?

This isn’t a polemic about the dangers of technology. Technology is not dangerous, it is a tool. Atomic energy is not dangerous. What we do with it is. Guns are not dangerous. The assholes who use them to mow down innocent civilians are. It isn’t television’s fault we so wholeheartedly were convinced that the good-looking young TV-friendly candidate beat the paranoid, anti-Communist politician who looked like shit on the box.

Media is not dangerous but our awe-inspiring, numb-fucked gullibility is a giant shark-infested moat surrounding us at every turn. And these sharks have lasers and extra teeth and, like a NASCAR jacket, are covered with corporate logos.

The flipside is that without the internet, without this unbelievable communicating power, there would be no #BlackLivesMatter or #MeToo. There would be millions still left in the dark as the oligarchy marched through the village with impunity. Due, in part to the internet, there is now more equity in Hollywood, on television, on cable. More black and brown faces telling stories we need to hear. More democracy at work in who gets to make movies.

What do we do? How do we avoid allowing our worse natures use the technology at our disposal in ways that threaten to destroy the fabric of our democracy?

1. Give the news two days before you jump in.

The internet has created a race for first when it comes to reporting. School shooting? Wait two days before you ingest the noise. Trump fires another corrupt shitstain on Twitter? Wait before you read. Do not cede control of the information to those less interested in accuracy and more interested in winning the scoop.

2. Refuse to resort to the tactics of those whom you despise.

Fight fire with fire was a saying coined by a fucking arsonist. Go with the much better adage “Tweet others as you would be tweeted.” Sure, it’s fun to participate in the online pile-up, the masscult public shaming, but it truly makes you exactly like the squalid bullies you endured in high school. Exactly the same but with all of your teeth and without the brutal alcoholic step-father.

3. Learn to fast.

There is a genuine benefit from taking a break from those things that consume us. Fasting doesn’t have to be 40 days and 40 nights — you are the Savior, dimwit. Take a day and turn your phone off and leave it in a drawer next to your weed and gummy bears. Read an actual book. Talk to other human beings face-to-face, especially those whom you may think disagree with you on something.

Use social media. Don’t let it use you.

4. Read three articles on anything from three completely different sources before you form an opinion.

“The opinion of the intelligent outweighs the certainty of the ignorant.”

If my guess is correct (and fer crissakes, I hope not) Trump will be our president until 2024. While not all of us made it through the lost decade of George W. Bush, plenty did. The prospect of eight years of the orange tweetdick is horrifying but there are far worse than him waiting in the wings, hoping we don’t wise up to the fact that celebrity, money and fame are not congruent with the ability to soberly lead a nation (or even the local school council, for that matter).

We don’t need more information these days. We need to understand how to use it.

#Nixon/Kennedy Debate #television #media #internet #Faceborg #Twitter #Trumpfuckenstein #film #news #Vietnam