Looks Like Someone Got The Message

Posted: December 16, 2012 in Living and Life, Politics and Leadership, Progress Report, Reflections, Social Activism
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This morning I wrote a post calling for everyone reading this blog to contact every politician they can think of and ask them to work for stricter measures against gun violence. Afterwards I saw an article on HuffPost.com on how a man in Indiana threatened to kill his wife and then go into a local elementary school and shoot them up. Thankfully yesterday he was arrested and is being held on felony intimidation charges, but it still had me spooked. I mean, it’s enough to make you think this coming Friday really is the end of the world!

But when I got back home from my meditation class, I saw an article that said on the first day of the new Congress, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California plans to introduce a bill that’ll stop the sale of assault weapons to civilians. As she said on her campaign website, “Who needs these military-style assault weapons? Who needs an ammunition feeding device capable of holding 100 rounds? These weapons are not for hunting deer — they’re for hunting people.”

So true, Senator Feinstein. So true.

So at least someone in Washington has the guts to step up and speak out on the gun problem in the United States. I hope soon we can see some progress, and I wish Senator Feinstein the best of luck in getting this bill through Congress.

However this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep emailing our elected officials. On the contrary, we should email them more, because if a bill like this is going to get through Congress, it’s going to need all the popular support it can get, and I’m hoping you’ll help support it. So email away; I’ve got to email the senator herself and thank her for saying she’ll introduce this bill, because as you can tell it means a lot to me.

Have We Gotten The Message Yet?

Posted: December 16, 2012 in Politics and Leadership, Reflections, Social Activism
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I open up my computer and what do I find? Two more stories about shootings or attempted shootings in the United States! Yes, I know, it’s unbelievable, right? The first happened in California in the parking lot of a mall (yes, another mall). A man apparently opened fire into the air and ground 50 shots before local police took him down. Thankfully no one was hurt. The second was a teenager in Oklahoma who was conspiring to shoot up and blow up his high school and was trying to get other kids in his school to help him. Thankfully he was caught before anything could happen.

But guess what? This all happened on Friday, December 14th, 2012! The same day as the Newtown massacre. Three separate shootings and attempted shootings, all in one bloody day! Am I the only one who’s getting the picture here? We’ve got a problem with guns, with people having machine guns, with people with obvious pyschological problems getting machine guns, and with people refusing to admit we have a problem and refusing to take care of it.

Now, I don’t believe God is trying to send us a message like Mike Huckabee does. For one thing, God usually sends a bona fide prophet who performs a few cool miracles before He does any sort of punishing, and usually that’s with a plague. But if He were to send a message, it would probably be something along the lines of, “You’ve got a problem with people using weapons to destroy the lives I’ve put on this Earth! Go and fix it now!” I think that’s a message we can all take to heart, right?

So I call on everyone reading this blog and living in America to contact your representative, your senator, your governor, hell, contact the President, just tell them they need to stop all this gun-toting craziness! This isn’t Rambo or The Terminator, where everything’s make-believe! It’s real-life, and there’s no Bruce Willis going to come swinging in and save us all! We have to do this ourselves, maybe by banning assault weapons in private homes or by changing confidentiality laws so that if a doctor/therapist fears a patient may commit a crime, they are obligated to report it.

We could also have special presentations in school on healthy ways to relieve yourself of stress and other problems, or assemblies to talk about mental illness and how to recognize the signs of it. Either one of these would be great strides to stopping gun violence. And like I always believe, a better education makes one less likely to commit a deadly crime, so if we fund education more and the Army less, it’d be a real help.

Thanks for reading, let’s get to work!

Stephen King and e-books

Posted: December 15, 2012 in Living and Life, Writing
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Presenting the King of Horror!

While I was trolling the Internet, looking for something to listen to as a background noise, I came across these videos that feature my idol, His Royal Highness Stephen King, discussing various topics, including the power of e-books and how it’s changing the industry, with the folks at CNN Money. It was very interesting, not just because his voice is higher than I thought, but because King has some very good wisdom to share, and he was one of the first authors to get on the e-book wagon, publishing his famous novella Riding the Bullet as an e-book (and I recommend it for anyone who hasn’t read it; it’s available in print format too, if you’re interested). Now all his books are probably available as e-books, but he still says there are drawbacks to this new innovation to reading, namely what happens when you drop a Kindle in the toilet.

Oh, Now It’s Gotten Worse!

Posted: December 15, 2012 in Politics and Leadership, Reflections
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Yesterday I was quiet and remorseful, not my usual abrasive, combative self when it comes to gun issues. I felt that was what was needed for this tragedy, where a majority of the victims were children. They didn’t need someone to be angry and yelling on the Internet. What we needed was quiet reflection and prayer.

Not today, folks. Because let me tell you, I am pissed. Why, you ask? Well, here’s why: first, Mike Huckabee of FOX News said that the shooting in Newtown, Conneticut was the result of “systematically removing God” from the school system and that it wasn’t a surprise to him that the shooting occurred. First off Mr. Huckabee, authorities are now saying the shooter Adam Lanza probably suffered from a personality disorder. Personality disorders are the result of biology and genetics along with environmental, cultural, and social factors. Pointing to a lack of God in the public school system as the sole cause is counterproductive and just shows you’re trying to advance your evangelical/political point of view while using the death of children as a political tool. Unless you’re saying that God put the personality disorder in Lanza and/or told him to shoot up the school his mother worked at? Then you’re just evil, sir.

Also, there was a shooting at an Alabama hospital today. Let me repeat that: there was a shooting at an Alabama hospital today. Three people died. I know this’ll probably be eclipsed by the Newtown shooting, but I think the fact that three shootings in a week signals that we’re actually having problems and that guns play a large factor in it.

I mean, look at all the shootings that have happened in the United States this year alone:

  1. Canton, Ohio
  2. Aurora, Colorado
  3. The Sikh temple in Wisconsin
  4. The Empire State Building
  5. Texas A&M
  6. Chicago suburbs
  7. The Oregon Mall
  8. Newtown, Conneticut
  9. The Alabama Hospital

Are we starting to get the picture here? That’s nine shootings, one of them in my state! I had a friend who comes from Canton, she knew the victims! Are we still going to say that there’s no gun problem here in the USA? Are we going to say that no new legislation should be put forth? Are we going to say these are isolated incidents?

HELL NO!

And pardon my French, but I’m angry right now. So now, more than ever, we need to sit down and talk about this ongoing problem and fix what’s wrong with our nation without the usual political bull and NRA grandstanding! As much as you may hate to admit it, there’s something wrong with this nation, and it needs fixing.

So get to work Congress! Do something about this!

Nothing Can Be Done For Them

Posted: December 14, 2012 in Politics and Leadership, Reflections, Social Activism
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Nothing can be done for the 20 children at Sandy Hook Elemeentary School in Newtown, Conneticut.

They are dead, taken from this world too early by senseless violence. As President Obama said, “They had their entire lives ahead of them — birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own”, and now they’ll never have them. We cannot imagine how their parents must feel, or how friends and loved ones must feel. This day, the flags are at half-staff for a damn good reason. These children are now lost, and their parents will never hold them in their arms again. Just thinking about it, I want to tear up and cry. Up until this point, I thought nothing could hurt me more than Aurora and Wisconsin, but I was so wrong, and I wish I didn’t have to find that out the hard way.

I wish there was something I could say that could make this all better. I wish I could erase the pain we all are feeling now because we lost these, bright, innocent young lives. I wish I could cast a spell and bring them back to us like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where the only worry about bringing back the dead may come from some odd side effects. I can’t. I wish I could, but I can’t.

I only hope now people stop bitching about second amendment rights vs. gun control and see we really do have a serious problem with gun violence in our country. I don’t know if that problem stems from just overabundance of firearms or from damaged psyches or both. I do know that what happened is horrible, and I don’t want anything like it to happen again in my lifetime, in my country.

Aren’t we tired of arguing while families bury loved ones that won’t grow up? Can’t we just sit down and talk and work something out? Is that too much to ask for? Is it too much.

Nothing can be done for those kids. Plenty can be done for those still alive. Let’s remember that as we proceed this week, and keeps these poor children in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

Snake: Part VI Done!

Posted: December 14, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I’M ON A ROLL!

Today, at around a quarter to four in the afternoon, I finished writing Part VI of Snake, two days after I finished the previous part! I had to cut out one chapter and combine two chapters as I was doing the writing, but that’s okay, because this part is awesome! I had an idea for a regular fight between the main antagonist and the Snake, but I changed it so that they fight not in an office or across the city, but in a controlled environment like in The Hunger Games. How did I do that? You’ll have to read the novel when I put it out to find that one out.

So now I have only four chapters in the Epilogue left, and then the first draft of this novel will be finished. Can I get a whoop-whoop?! Anyway, time to do a count-up (my favorite part of reporting the Parts are done). Remember, I write my drafts double-spaced, with 12-point Times New Roman font. When I finally publish this and Reborn City, they’ll probably be much smaller in terms of page count. Probably.

So, Part VI of Snake ends up being 28 pages and 7,095 words. Adding it to the rest of the Parts: the Prologue was 14 pages and 3,979 words; Part I was 41 pages and 10,177 words; Part II was 96 pages and 23,801 words; Part III was 126 pages and 30,733 words; Part IV was 86 pages and 22,288 words; and Part V was 29 pages and 7,576 words. Add it all up, and you get a staggering amount of 420 pages and 105,649 words. Does anyone want to place a bet on how long the first draft will be after I add the Epilogue?

Well, I’ll take a break till tomorrow. Tonight, I just want to spend time with my family and read some good books too.

Wish me luck.

A Paper-Clip of Short Stories

Posted: December 12, 2012 in ideas, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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I’ve received a lot of support from friends, family, and readers on the possibility that after I finish Snake, I could work on some short stories and possibly turn that into a collection, and publish it before I publish Reborn City or Snake. Well, I’m still a little undecided on that, but I’m definitely taking some time this vacation to write a few short stories. I actually picked out five of the fifteen ideas I had amassed on my tack board and put them on a paper-clip. And I don’t mean I had some ideas, wrote them on pieces of paper, and paper-clipped them together. What I meant was, I put down some short story ideas on pieces of paper, and then poked them with the business end of a paper-clip. I’d take a photo with my camera and post it here on my blog, but my writing is big and recognizable. There’d be no point if one of my stories gets stolen.

So I’ve selected my short stories. When I get home tomorrow and I finish Snake, I’ll start working on them. Shouldn’t take me too long, especially if I’m not distracted by anything. Unfortunately I tend to get very distracted somedays, so hopefully I can keep my mind on work long enough to make some progress.

So, if anyone is wondering on the short stories I’ll be working on, here’s the ideas I have, without anything that’ll give away anything important:

  • An isolated girl’s school becomes even more isolated one morning, and something dark is beneath it all…
  • A man trying to go clean gets a strange and spooky experience while going cold turkey…
  • A politician running for reelection gets a very deadly and undead visitor while in an old mining town…
  • There’s an old, abandoned hospital on the outskirts of town with a bloody history. And that history is very much alive…
  • A young boy with autism gets an encounter with the spirit world, and his small world might get a shock that’ll shatter it to pieces…

Sounds pretty awesome, right? Especially with the … after every idea. And if, God forbid, the two short stories I sent out recently get rejected, I could add them to this list; they’d make a great collection. Either way, 5 and 7 are lucky numbers for me, so either way I’m good.

Now assuming I decide to do a collection, what should I call it? Definitely nothing with the word “paper-clip” in it; that’d sound too comedic for what I’m doing. Perhaps “The Bells At Dusk”? Or “Eyes in the Smoke”? Or perhaps I’ll take a title from one of these short stories. Who knows? Any suggestions would be great.

Well, I’ve got work to do. Blog on you later!

Snake: Part V Done

Posted: December 12, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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Awww, isn’t it cute?

Well, that last chapter took me a while because I got distracted so many times. But I did it! I finished Part V of Snake, and I feel like partying! I only have eleven chapters of Snake left now! I just got to finish up the climax, and then I have to write the epilogue. I’m almost done!

You know, I can’t believe how quickly I’ve written Snake; when I was writing Reborn City in high school, it took me two fricking years to write the first chapter. That was partly because I believed that a novel needed to be written in years, partly because I took breaks during writing RC for homework/working part-time/Israel/writing short stories/other stuff. In any case, it took a long time to write RC, but I’ve managed to write Snake in almost six months. I feel almost like James Patterson! If given the time and the motivation and the equipment and the inspiration, I can get a novel done in a year, something I didn’t think possible for me.

So I’m going to take a short little break, veg out in front of my computer, and then I’ll see about starting Part VI.  I’m going to make the rest of this first draft simply frightening, disturbing, and slightly romantic. Wish me luck, mi compadres!

I hope that was some resemblance of Spanish. I should’ve stuck with Hebrew: Wish me luck, haverim sheli!

Oh, and before I forget, here’s the page and word count up! Part V was 29 pages total (keep in mind, double-spaced, twelve-point Times New Roman font) and the word count was 7,368 words. Now let’s add it all up: we get 392 pages and 98,346 words! Jeez louise, I’ve been busy these past six months! But it might become bestselling busywork someday.

On to Part VI, haverim sheli!

Is This A Good Time To Start An Overdue Conversation?

Posted: December 11, 2012 in Politics and Leadership
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I was watching the latest NCIS episode when there was a breaking update. Apparently there was a shooting at a mall in Oregon today. Yes, while kids were jumping up and down as they waited in line to see Santa and mall cops were worried about an increase in shoplifting that always comes with sales and holdiays, some guy shot and murdered two people before getting killed himself. Also, the guy had a hunting rifle, which, if I remember correctly, you can take home with you the same day you buy it, no questions asked. Not even a background search.

Also, this is the fourth major shooting in the past five months! Aurora; Wisconsin; New York City; and now Oregon. All involve guns, all probably could have been avoided. AQnd yet how many state or national gun laws have been passed since this meshuggas started? That’d be none. And how many people have tried to start a discussion? Plenty of politicians, civilians, and one sports newscaster. And how many times have those discussions been shot down by opponents of gun control? Every time!

Seriously, I’m getting tired of ranting on this subject. so can we do something to stop the gun epidemic. Something that actually helps, something that actually doesn’t involve bickering along party lines. And come on, the election is over by a month and five days. It’s a good time right now to talk about safe, proactive ways to cut down on the amount of gun violence. And don’t say “less restrictions, leave them as are”; and don’t say we should allow the right to carry concealed arms, that’s what the police are for.

SeriouslyCongress, I’m telling you to do something about this, or be called inept senior citizens. Heck, the Supreme Court is beating you to gay marriage, might want to show you guys can actually function.

Solving the fiscal cliff problem might fix the bad image you guys have too, but gun control might also help your image.

Seriously, let’s talk. I’m on this blog and near the phone. It shouldn’t be hard to find the latter. You’re Washington DC, after all.

Snake: A Diagnosis

Posted: December 11, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
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Or lack of one, to be more precise.

I’ve mentioned it a couple times before, but I’ve been working with a forensic psychologist who’s been helping me with the police reports in Snake. I send him a description of the Snake’s latest murder, he takes a look at it and based on the information I give him uses it to try and guess things about the Snake, such as motive and who he might be. I use that information he gives me so that my FBI profiler character can give an accurate assessment of the Snake.

Now, I promisedmy friend/consultant that when the profiler character figured out the Snake’s identity, so would he. Granted, the profiler character figured it out using evidence that can’t be used in a warrant, much less a courtroom, but she figured it out, so I sent the identity of the Snake to my consultant, giving him a detailed history of the Snake, his personality, and why he became a killer. I also asked what sort of diagnosis the Snake would be given. This is the reply I got:

“He doesn’t have a diagnosis.   Certainly, he has some psychiatric traits – like psychopathy, etc. – but nothing diagnosable.   A diagnosis signifies that either some impairment is occurring, or there is clinically significant distress present.   I don’t see either in his case.   It’s clear that he’s not truly a psychopath, and it’s evident that he’s done what he’s done in order to seek revenge and ***********.   While extreme in his methods, he’s quite noble in his cause.   I wouldn’t burden him with a diagnosis.”
By the way, the ************ means there’s something in that paragraph I don’t want revealed yet, so I had to cut it out and replace it with something else.
Bottom line though is that I set out to create a unique serial killer the literary world had never seen before, and it looks like it worked, becuase I’ve never heard of a serial killer without a psychological diagnosis. Psychopaths, schizophrenics, mood disorders, paranoids, even a few conditions that cause mental retardation and facial dysmorphia, I’ve seen them all used with serial killers in movies and books. This is a first for me though, so I’m kind of happy that my own work is where I’m introduced to it.
Anyway, thought I’d share that with you. Have a good evening, I’m off to dinner.
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