Why I love Halloween

I have always loved October 31.  It is the final day of the year I enjoy before the back to back Hallmark holidays that remind me why I hate people.

Holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, (with its abhorrent music) and worst of all, Valentines Day.  Better known to me as the day every worthless person in America feels the need to come out of the cave to prove that they are the most devoted to their current squeeze.

But enough about those days, lets talk about Halloween.

As should be obvious from my writing, I love the fantasy elements of Halloween.  Demons, Vampires, Witches,  if you have read anything I write, these types tend to appear.  The whole concept of not being me for a day also is appealing.

There are always people who claim Halloween of being some holiday of great evil.  Or even dumber, that it is some warship day of some pagan g-d that looks like a giant red gargoyle.  I ignore these people.  They are just jealous that their beliefs do not allow them to enjoy this super fun day that evolves with age.

When I was a child, it was all about the candy.  As i got a little older, it became a day to scare people.  Or to go to scary locales with friends.  Now, it is a fun day to find who has the most, umm, interesting costumes, fill myself with charitable amounts of alcohol, and in the spirit of the holiday, still, I try to find some scary locales.

Happy Halloween all!  Don't drive so that you can safely make poor decisions.

The Florida Bear Hunt

Before I begin, many of the people who frequent my blog will not like this post.  Many who read this will be expecting my opinion to be on a certain side.  I will warn you, that on this issue, it is not how it seems.  With that out of the way, let us begin.

Let me begin by saying I DO NOT OPPOSE the bear hunting in Florida.

Still with me?  I bet few are but now that I have scared away most of my readers I will explain the reasoning for my post.

Nature is very effective at what it does.  It creates a balancing act that takes each and every variable into account.  Climate change?  Nature is adapting.  Humans cutting down the trees?  Nature is adapting.  Vegans causing animal overpopulation and starvation? Nature is taking that into account too.

But humans are part of this nature of balance and that begins us on our way to understanding the truth of this bear hunt.  In this case, the bears of Florida are too high for their numbers to adapt without many of them dying.  And nature has taken into account that humans kill animals when they intrude on territory.

Saying that humans should set aside more land for the animals is great and all, but our own population will have trouble adapting to that.   In reality, the choice with the bears is a slow death as well as the potential for them to harm other populations of animals (including humans) as they scavenge for an ever decreasing food supply.

So whether we kill them, or nature does it, the bears will die.  this is not some horrible sin on our part.  Its just the reality of life.  Life is not some black and white fairy tale where there is a right answer that is clearly better than the others.  Real life is Blue and Orange, Green and Red, Purple and Yellow.  Morality is nothing more than perspective.

Nature will come up with a way to control the human population in given time.  Bu it is our obligation to help protect the bears from their own overpopulation.  Its not pretty, its not kind.  But life is neither of these things.  Life is filled with opportunists who shoot the bears that are pregnant instead of the ones that are not.  Its filled with sadists who drown themselves in the blood of their kills.  But it is also filled with humans who do what they think is right and as a result, bring nothing but more ruin to the world.

Time down the road, I believe, will indicate, that despite how foul this deed appears, it will benefit the bears as well as Florida's ecosystems in general.

Peace and Tranquility

As of the writing of this post, I live in Florida.  It is perpetually warm here.  There is no winter to speak of.  There is ample sunshine which is good for my emotional state.

As I write the words on the page, I am reclining on my outdoor couch, staring out at the parking lot before me.  I would watch the sunset but these pesky things called clouds are in the way.

A car drives by, but all is quiet.  The world seems peaceful.  Peace is something that seems to elude me as of late.

Sometimes the most peaceful times are the most spontaneous ones.

Spontaneous and quick, like this blog post.

Life Parallels With Illidan Stormrage

As many gamers grow up, they find that one video game character that they realize is basically a more fantastic version of themselves.  For me, that character was and is Illidan Stormrage.

You are not prepared for me to drop this joke so I'll just get that out of the way.  Ok, now lets continue.

I have always seen a multitude of parallels to Illidan.  I have always known that I was destined for greatness.  i have always had a dark side that I barely keep in check.  I have a fascination with darkness as well as an obsession with using the powers of evil against itself.

But the parallels go much deeper than that.  Like Illidan, I have watched the women I loved choose vastly inferior men to myself.  And then told that what I see as so great about myself is nothing more than a fatal flaw.  Like Illidan, I made the mistake of listening to people who have less of a grasp on reality than I do when looking for advice.

Also like Illidan, I tend to get punished whenever I do what needs to be done.  I may save the day, but in the end, I'm the villain.  Don't mind the fact if not for my actions, you might not be able to judge me in the first place.

Also like Illidan, I have been back-stabbed by just about everyone I have ever trusted.  the more I trusted them, the deeper the knife was twisted.  even worse, these former friends love the idea of projection.  They accuse me of being a traitor while twisting the knife. 

Hatred as I have already explained at length is a powerful emotion, only competing with love and fear as far as the most potent of emotions.  Like Illidan, I embraced the inner darkness, which of course managed to alienate most of my friends.  Of course I realized at that point that the people I pushed away were never my friends anyway.  Just dogs looking for the scraps I dropped.  I am better off without them.

I am sure that as you read this, you think I fancy myself a egotist.  That I see myself above all others.  And while I may come off that way, and have justifiable reasons for thinking I am better than most people, at the end of the day, I am just a person who has the capacity to change the world.  The world just is not prepared for it.

Back to The Present

Today is the day where back to the future becomes the present.  10/21/2015 is the day that the characters who have captivated us all for many years arrive.  But looking around, I think they traveled to another dimension too.  Things look awfully weird in this back to the future (present) world.

I want to know where the hover boards are.  That clothing the people wear looks kinda neat, if not inefficient and lacking in comfort.  And while the Cubs are in the playoffs, it still is 1908 forever until they win.

Still, there are some cool things we have that this other world lacks.  Namely better computers and phones.  But I am blinded by the mediocrity of my life with all of these things and... oh someone give me a hover board right now!

But while we look at what we have and do not have, I am also looking into the future.  As a science fiction writer, I am spending much of today conceptualizing future tech to incorporate into my books.

Until the next future becomes the present, Happy Back to the Future Day!

Stormlight Archive Shows why Ben Carson would make a Terrible President

This blog post deals with two of my favorite things:  Novels by Brandon Sanderson, and Politics.

Stormlight Archive is considered Sanderson's magnum opus.  His crown jewel.  The story he has always wanted to tell.  I could focus on the very diverse cast for the sake of a blog post, but today I will focus on one character and one character only.

For the sake of avoiding spoilers, the character I refer to will not be named, except as "Character X".  Though, any that have read the series will know who I am referring to.

Character X has an unusual circumstance.  They wake up every morning with a different level of intelligence. After a series of tests to determine what Character X has as far as intellect that morning, a decision is reached.  If Character X has a non outlying level of intellect, they are allowed to leave their home.  However, should they be deemed either far below or above average, Character X is not allowed to leave.

This is done due to the fact that Character X has much political power where they live.  The advisers of this person learned the hard way before this system was implemented what happens when they are allowed to lead with one of these drastic levels of intelligence.

When Character X has far below average intellect, they tend to bring to the table social reforms for the good of all.  Reforms such as free healthcare and a larger amount of spending on items that would greatly benefit the common people.  However, these reforms if continued over a long period of time would lead to bankruptcy and would destroy the nation, thus being counter intuitive.  Emotions dominate over logic at this point.

When Character X has far above average intellect, they tend to bring to the table social reforms for the greater good.  Reforms such as selective breeding, and executions of people that are too dumb to live as well as the poor and homeless.  However these reforms if continued over a long period of time would lead to a police state along with genocide and would thus destroy the nation, thus being counter intuitive.  Logic dominates over emotion at this point.

Which leads me to Ben Carson.  Carson is a well learned medical doctor.  He has gained appeal because he is not held by strings to government officials.  He also has lots of schooling and has made some very tough choices.  All of them for the greater good.  This concept of greater good regardless of price is why Carson would make a terrible leader.

Ben Carson is the type of man who does not get held back by emotions.  He would do what seems logical.  This is all good and done when doing medical procedures as well as a multitude of sciences.  However, when dealing with living breathing people, equal parts emotion and logic are needed.

A strong, skilled leader does not throw away lives that can be saved, even if the outcome is desired as a result.  Nor does a leader that the President of the United States needs to be let what logic dictates to be common sense have the final word.  Common sense would dictate that brutal dictatorship will keep people in line.  Cold logic dictates that soldiers are willing to die the moment they sign up for armed service.

People are people though, and they cannot function with happy and fulfilling lives when one of the chief leaders of their nation sees them as more livestock than as human beings.

And so, I hope that our future leaders use both logic and compassion when they help bring America to greatness.  Neither must be flexed at the expense of the other.

Prayers for Israel

Every single day this week I have watched the news with dread wondering what new attack would happen in Israel and even worse, how the media would spin it for its own agenda.  And while between all the stabbings, explosions, political agendas, and fires, many people such as myself have friends, innocent and just, trying to live their lives.

Terror incites more terror and I fear that unless some drastic measures are taken, this cycle of death will only continue to escalate into the foreseeable future.  I weep for both the Jew and the Muslim. This conflict benefits neither as they continue to fight each other.  they continue to hate each other.  they continue to raise their kids to hate each other.

The only one winners in this conflict are the weapons dealers, the resource oligarchs, and groups hell bent on inciting terror.  Innocence is lost at a far younger age than normal and darkness begins to rein its head in a land that is supposed to be the center of light and hope for the world.

I also look at disgust as I watch the media descend on the land of Israel like a pack of vultures.  They lurk nearby watching, waiting to seize something, and idea, an incitement, or even false truths to manipulate their views to an agenda of their design.

The carrion feeders lurk in all corners of political spectrum.  They spin tales to make money of of violence and tragedy.  The words they speak are hand picked to help perpetrate the cycle of death, fear, and hatred that plagues Israel (and the Middle East at large)

As there is no one media station that actually seeks to end the violence and hatred, I will be one who will attempt to do so.  I offer my prayers to the Holy Land.  May we soon see a day where Palestinians raise children in a world where they do not need to hate their neighbors.  May we soon see a day where Israeli children do not have to instantly become soldiers as soon as they become adults.

I am not naive enough to think that these words will bring about the change that I hope for, but perhaps it can help lay the foundation for the snowball that once it has gathered enough momentum, can reach towards its ultimate goal quickly.

A goal of peace and light.

Lanfear

As I have run out of books by Brandon Sanderson and RA Salvatore to (re) read, I have began  re-reading the series that lead me to these authors: Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan.

So as I have been making a habit of writing posts about characters who I really have enjoyed in fiction, I am glad to write one about my favorite Femme Fatale in all of fiction.

Lanfear is the psycho ex girlfriend that you hope to never see again.  Shes the one who willingly calls herself "Daughter of the Night" when she has been scorned a little too far.  Shes the one who you keep hoping will turn to the side of good, but never does.

Who says all evil women wear black or red?

In Wheel of Time, Lanfear is considered the most beautiful woman of her time period, and possibly of the later time period when she is awoken from her suspended animation.  Hunting the Dragon Reborn since his past self rejected her, she seeks to change that this time around.

Shes also serving the resident G-d of Evil and will do anything, and I do mean anything to have her beloved back.  This seems to entail forcing him to be just as evil and prideful as she is.  Good guys tend not to give in to those demands.

Still reject her at your own peril.  She has just as much magical power as she does beauty and considering that her favorite tactic is to torment you in your dreams, you won't be getting far.

If it was not apparent, from some of my other posts, I am a fan of the Vamp Female Archetype, or the one that uses beauty and seduction as a weapon and never turns to the side of good.  Still the reason she is my favorite of all, is because despite all of her negative traits, the reader still has pity for her.  All the way through the series, I secretly hoped she would be redeemed in the end.  I won't spoil her ultimate fate, but I did weep when I read it.

Robert Jordan may have died before he could finish his work, but a character like Lanfear stands the test of time.  There are quite a few Vamps within the novels I am writing and a piece of the Daughter of the Night has an influence on each and every one of them.

Also, that spell in her hand, that's Balefire.  That magic would quickly bring The Hulk, Superman Prime, and Son Goku to their knees faster than you can say "Instant Transmission", before it erases them from existence.

Shape-shifting, the Underestimated, Game Breaker Super Power.

As I have just recently completed the newest Mistborn Novel, Shadows of Self, I have had my mind drawn back to the Kandra, somewhat Humanoid beings that can take on the shape and form of any being that they digest the bones of.  The extra twist with these abilities is that due to a combination of immortality and extreme cunning, Kandra are masters of wearing the mask.  They are so skilled at their craft that they are able to masquerade as the being they are impersonating to the point where they can pass sometimes for many years without being caught. (They rarely ever get noticed.)

Shape Shifting tends to be a stock superpower that never reaches the game breaker levels it is capable of.  Partially this is author lack of foresight in this department.  Partially it is also due to the writer's wishes to develop other concepts.

Still, when in the off chance, a writer uses the concept correctly, the ability to up the ante and intensity of a story increases as the abilities of shape-shifting are fully explored.  

The paranoia fuel that is capable with shape-shifters is without few to compare.  The only examples I can readily come up are planting bugs on a person's body, watching through their shadows to be anywhere, or linking their brain to a greater hive mind (and lesser forms of mind control)

When characters are forced to use code words to identify each other and will not share secrets with their closest confidants, that is when the idea is being used correctly.  When parents see their children as potential killers and vice versa, this idea is being utilized to its greatest potential.

There are other secondary abilities that can be tacked onto Shape-shitifng, or create all kinds of new (and sometimes kinky and squicky) situations.  Some examples of this are a shape-shifting seducer that in its true form is actually an Eldritch Abomination.  One of my favorite examples of this concept is the Yaclol which in its true form looks like this:

It other forms tend to be more akin to the mythological Succubus (in fact, in the setting where these things exist, they once were Succubae) 

But there are other non squicky concepts one can use with shape-shifting.  One which I am using heavily in the Search for Eden books.  When brought down to more of a science, some forms of this ability are a complete rewrite of cells.  If this is so, its not unheard of for healthy amounts of regeneration to be a side effect of such powers.  Regeneration of this magnitude makes shape-shifters incredibly hard to kill.

If you enjoy combinations of paranoia fuel and squickly situations, I highly recommend reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. 

I also recommend of course, my own writings which for sure also have these elements.

The Issue the Media is Ignoring About Gun Violence in America.

I refuse to go on a rant about gun control verses the second amendment.  I could go blue in the face and change not one opinion.  Instead, I will speak about a much bigger problem that the gun violence is one of many side effects of.

Lets look at how people have responded to gun violence.
Media Glorifies the killer.
NRA pushes for more guns.
Peace Activists push for less guns.
People rush to blame mental illness.

No one talks about the victims.
No one talks about how horrible it is that innocent people died.

These are the issues I will address today.

In Australia, when a single shooting like the countless ones in America occurred, they banned guns.  The violence stopped.  I do not think this would work in America.  Once again this is a result of a key cultural difference in this country.

In the USA, we have this thing called the American dream.  On the surface, its the idea that anyone who works hard enough will have a better life.  Deep down though, its far more sinister.  The idea becomes "I will succeed at any cost.  I will do whatever it takes, cheat whoever I can, steal from whoever I can, and take advantage of anyone I can."

You may notice that the word "I" is used frequently in the paragraph above.  That is my problem with Cutthroat Capitalism as I call it.  This philosophy is also what is the underlying cause of these shootings.  Even worse, it is the reason behind our entire countries' disregard for human life in general.

In Cutthroat Capitalism, Humans are rivals.  They are nothing more.  The "I" mentality has led to a complete disregard for all life that isn't our own.  You will not hear about how horrible these deaths are, except from people directly connected to them.  In the minds of most, death is nothing more than a statistic.

Ban the guns, people will find other ways to kill.  Keep the guns, people will keep killing with them.  So long as we view success in a cutthroat light, we will continue to see our fellow humans as obstacles instead of as people who should be respected.

Until then, the weapon does not mater, the killings will continue.