Enough From The Clowns!

I'm sick and tired of clowns.  I'm not talking about the people with makeup and squirting flowers that somehow manage to terrify two hundred-and-fifty pound men.  I'm talking about people who write sloppy, perverted junk and have the nerve to call it a story.  I don't consider these people real authors, because they really don't seem to take their work seriously.  It's so poorly done that it comes across as a sick joke. 

I won't say the name of the particular clown that finally made me leave the circus.  They know who they are.  I read their writing sample on their website.  Within the span of a few pages, there were more graphic genitalia jokes and descriptions than I heard during my entire time in middle and high school.  I'm not saying that we should all be Pharisees who socially ostracize people whose characters do more than shake hands.  However, there's such a thing as discretion and tact.  I really don't need to know how fascinated a female character is with her shipmate's package, nor do I care what her shipmate thinks of her mammary appendages.  Not to mention that, regarding the former, I know PRACTICALLY NO women who like to stare at a man's package.  To say that this author has a few things to learn about women is an understatement.  Suffice it to say that I decided not to buy the book and unfollowed the author in Twitter.  There really comes a point where enough is enough.  I read because I want to enjoy a good story.  Making me vomit does not cause me to want to read your book.  Annoying me with crude, immature banter does not make me want to add you to my Kindle library.  Senseless carnage and hedonism won't enthrall me.  It will give me a big, freaking headache.  So if an author clowns around and throws junk like that in their book,  I won't read it, because quite frankly, I've had enough. 

Nick Cannon Is Awesome!

In this more light-hearted post, I am going to talk about a hilarious audition on "America's Got Talent."  I'm talking about Curtis Cutts Bey's rendition of the Rick James song known as "Give It To Me, Baby."  This trucker had barely gotten the first few lyrics out of his mouth when all three judges rejected him in a complete buzzer shut-out.  However, Nick Cannon and his unofficial new assistant, Ron Christopher Porter, Jr., took issue with this, bringing Bey back on stage.  What ensued was the most hilarious encore I have ever seen in my life.  Nick Cannon and Ron acted as Bey's backup dancers and really let loose and had fun.  It also showed just how fickle audiences can be.  The first time around, the crowd booed Bey off the stage.  The second time, they applauded him and his newfound backup dancers.  At any rate, it was an awesome end to one of the few entertaining shows left on television and I really enjoyed it. 

Happy Memorial Day!

To all those who served in our military, thank you for the sacrifices which you have made.  I really appreciate it.  I was actually inspired by two stories that I heard on Fox News.  One was about Sgt. Sam Cila, who had part of his left arm amputated in Iraq.  The man not only competes in triathlons, but he also finished an Ironman competition and plans to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro!  Talk about tough!  I really hope he succeeds and I will follow his expedition to watch how it unfolds. 

Another story is about a member of Navy SEAL Team Six named Adam Brown.  He overcame crack addiction and eleven felony charges to join the military.  He got blinded in one eye during a training exercise and later lost all of his fingers, yet still managed to continue!  Even though sadly, he was killed in action, I know that I will meet him one day, for he was a born-again Christian. 

These two men really helped me gain perspective on my current situation.  I'm currently dealing with a hardship that is getting me down.  I don't believe a blog is the place to discuss it, but I will cover it in a memoir which I will title "That Was Then, This is Now."  Anyway, Sgt. Cila and Adam Brown inspired me to press on and gave me a much needed attitude adjustment.  This is because they didn't settle for "positive thinking" nonsense, but discovered the value of positive DOING.  Rather than sitting around and getting high off an  "I'll pretend everything is great and hope my problems will magically go away" delusion, they did what was necessary to overcome the trials in their life.  For that reason, these two men are now my heroes. 

You can find out more about Sgt. Cila and Adam Brown (respectively) at the following links:

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/05/27/wounded-iraq-war-veteran-sgt-sam-cila-overcomes-the-odds-with-plans-to-climb-mt-kilimanjaro/

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1658253847001/remember-navy-seal-adam-brown/

Putting The Finishing Touches On "The First Dunite Citizen"

I have some things to fix in "The First Dunite Citizen", but it's all logistics at this point.  I just need to make sure that it is consistent with "Heart of Flesh" and "Daughter of the Seven Seas."  Other than that, the story is done.  It also taught me a lot about Max and "The Vigilante", which I will incorporate in "Black Swan Origins: Nineveh."

The editors at Mindflights and Ideomancer have helped me fix the last remaining major flaw in my writing.  When it comes to my short stories, I include way too much backstory.  The editors at these magazines say that this information, while interesting, really slows down the plot.  For that reason, I now include a mini "slash-and-burn" phase where I do nothing but cut out everything that isn't absolutely necessary.  One of the editors at Ideomancer actually gave me this advice and I am extremely grateful for it. 

Once I finish polishing "The First Dunite Citizen", I will return to "Black Swan Origins: Nineveh."  It will be the "fill-in-the-blank" phase, in which I write important scenes to connect the gems which survived the "slash-and-burn" phase.  It worked with "Black Swan Origins: Fionnuala", so I figure it would be a good revision strategy to keep. 

Not Bad For A Nice Guy, Haha!

I saw UFC 146 last night and it was awesome!  The three fighters who I was rooting for all dominated their matches.  First Roy "Big Country" Nelson knocked out Dave Herman with a powerful right.  Then Cain Velasquez smashed Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.  That fight was brutal.  I thought it would be a close decision, but Cain seemed bent on redeeming himself after his humiliating loss to Junior Dos Santos last year.  Antonio is lucky to be ALIVE after Cain was done with him.  I don't think it will be too long before Cain gets a chance to regain the UFC heavyweight title.

Dos Santos obliterated Frank Mir, which made my night.  I've never particularly cared for Mir, although his ground game is unmatched and I gained a lot of respect for him after seeing how well he treats his family.  I was scared for Dos Santos when Mir caught his leg in the first round, but luckily, he managed to escape.  Then he knocked Mir on his back, but learned from Brock Lesnar's mistake.  Instead of getting close enough to get caught in a kneebar, he stepped back and waited for Mir to stand up.  On the ground, Mir would have dismembered him.  However, when it comes to stand-up, Mir was simply too slow.  Dos Santos walloped him and in the second round, knocked him out with a hard right.  The hammerfist he hit Mir with after that was merely an exclamation point.  I am disappointed that Edson Barboza suffered his first loss.  You have to love a guy who praises Jesus Christ after he pulls off the first spinning heel kick knockout in UFC history.  That being said, I still loved the event.

Dos Santos made a joke after he won, saying "Not bad for a nice guy, ah?"  Well, it certainly wasn't, champ.  It certainly wasn't.

Discovering "The Vigilante"

During my break from my novel, I decided to do some revision on a short story which features "The Vigilante" as the main character.  This person is Max's childhood best friend.  As soon as Max was born, her cradle was put right next to this person.  The one known as "The Vigilante" loves Dunite culture and cannot understand why so many of her peers are so racist.  This story is about her showdown with one particular brute: Sandra's elder sister.  I've done three drafts and it is already excellent.

I love writing short stories because they give me a chance to develop my characters before they go into my novels.  Consider them auditions, if you will.  Sometimes when I am writing, some random person shows up and takes over.  That's when it really gets awesome, and it's actually the way Max wound up in the series.  Other times, a character who I planned to enter the story chokes and winds up sucking.  At that point, I put them out of their misery before they can do any serious damage.  I will probably release a book of these characters called "The Blooper Reel" after I complete all fifteen books. 

Free At Last!

Last night, I finally had the chance to attend "Night of Freedom", which is led by Pastor Troy at Apostolic Lutheran Church in Lake Worth.  Basically, it is a night of food, games and music for people who are recovering from addiction to alcohol and drugs.  I had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Troy at a different Christian group called "The Stronghold" and had wanted to attend sooner.  However, my schedule would not permit it.  Satan has a habit of turning your life upside-down every time you try to get involved in anything for God.  Thankfully, God created the opportunity for me to go regularly, so last night I went and asked for an opportunity to volunteer.  As it turned out, Pastor Troy needed someone to help stay and clean up the bathrooms and I eagerly agreed.  I will be doing that every time that I come.

He gave an amazing message about saving faith, using Abraham as an example and James 2: 19-22, which is quoted below:

"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?"

A lot of people misinterpret that passage to mean that we have to do good things to be saved.  That, quite frankly, is not true, and Pastor Troy made that clear in his sermon.  What the passage is saying is that if you really have faith in God, you will do good things.  Righteous deeds are merely proof of a living faith.  For example, if someone claims that they love the homeless, but they never volunteer at a shelter, refuse to donate to organizations which feed them, and blow them off if they try to talk to them, do they really love them?  No.  However, if they do all of those things, then it is proof that they do love the homeless.  The scriptures put it this way:

"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." (James 2:18)

That's what I love about this ministry.  Pastor Troy not only gives the gospel; he lives it by trying to help these people.  He and the other people who work in this ministry show their faith by their works.  That's why I am glad to help in any way that I can, even if it is simply cleaning the bathrooms.