Still haven’t settled on the perfect costume for your kids this year? In the interest of good parenting, here are some helpful suggestions on what to definitely avoid, what to probably avoid, and even a few that are just “too darn cute”!
Daddy, do we have any crack left?
Read More air freshener, costume, funny, Halloween, Hannibal Lecter, Hitler costume, Johnny Cash, Madonna, Risky Business, scary, Scissorhands, Wallenda, weirdCheck out this fun (and incredibly intelligent, insightful, entertaining) radio interview with…ME!
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Read More Author tips, Blog Talk Radio, dead end radio show, Dianna Bellerose, Empowering and Inspiring Women Globally, Most important marketing tips for new authors, Top ten marketing tips for new authorsMy young daughter Emma, who happens to autistic, recently wrote (because she has difficulty with spoken language):
“I want to know what you think about autism and am curious to understand why wasted time is spent being against a way of thinking and being.”
Emma, here is my simple answer to your “why” question: Because most people are idiots.
Myself included. “Idiot” is merely another label, or course, and as such, it is ultimately just another word on a very long list of categorizations intended to “other.”
I will now (idiotically) expound on my statement, attempting to use that label (idiotically) to describe that same label in some sort of useful (yet idiotic) manner–which I have (idiotically) labeled ISD: Idiot Spectrum Disorder.
Idiot Spectrum Disorder is a devastating condition that affects 80-90% of the human population. At this time, there is no known cause of ISD, nor is there any cure. Genetic predisposition, cultural conditioning and environmental toxins may all play a role in this tragic condition, but the best we can do now is analyze the symptoms and attempt to catalog the various subcategories of idiots on the spectrum.
“Delusional idiots” are ego-based consciousness forms who believe themselves to be intelligent (“know what’s what”). This presupposition leads to many dangerous and/or harmful conclusions. (More)
Read More ASD, autism, autism spectrum disorder, couch potato
Okay, here’s a quickee. Tonight’s the big night. So let’s start the pool poll for what kind of devastation we’re in for tonight. Bryan Cranston says it “will be a holocaust.” Vince Gilligan says he has “no sympathy” left for Walter White. So you know the body count will be high so here are my big questions:
Who get’s the ricin capsule?
Who gets sprayed with bullets from the machine gun in Walt’s trunk?
What big characters bite the dust?
Read More Breaking Bad, Breaking bad ending, Breaking bad finale, Flynn, Heisenberg, Jesse Pinkman, ricin, Skylar, Walt Jr., Walter WhiteAwkward pause in the conversation? Here’s the perfect filler: “What TV shows are you watching now?” BAM! You’re almost guaranteed a minimum of fifteen minutes of boisterous banter. And in those rare instances where the answer is: “I don’t watch TV.” You can always ask for the check. Even if you’re not in a restaurant.
What’s on tonight? Won’t be better than this.
Independence Day. A celebration of the American Spirit, the triumph of Freedom over Tyranny. How will we celebrate? In New York City, you might be standing behind miles of barricades along 12th Avenue, or even 11th Avenue, to make sure you don’t get anywhere near the Hudson River where five barges will be blowing off enough fireworks to decimate a small country in a very colorful fashion.
I love fireworks. I’ve seen a lot of them in New York. Some were legendary, like the Bicentennial Celebration or The centennial anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge, both of which could be easily witnessed among throngs of people watching from the RIVERSIDE. When did the Police Barricade State take over? It’s been gradual in some ways, part of the ongoing national campaign to curtail personal freedom in every possible walk of life. Hey let’s go to the YMCA for a swim! But no diving, no jumping, no paddle boards (you could kill someone with those things).
Read More barricades, fireworks, Fourth of July, Giuliana, Great Lawn. Central Park, Hudson River, Independence Day, July 4, Macy's fireworks, police stateI’ve always believed that any good vs. evil tale is only as good as the evil. The best villains are the ones you end up rooting for—the ultimate guilty pleasure. You want them to survive, so you can get another unhealthy dose of evil down the road. Check out the following links for various lists of the top literary villains of all time and the top film villains of all time. I’ve included three lists in each category to point out the overlap of critical consensus. In literary fiction, many of the same names keep popping up. Ditto with the film villains. Which are your favorite villains from each list (or your own write-ins)?
Read MoreI’ve been known to say that I don’t suffer fools gladly, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes I don’t suffer at all. Take these ladies and gentlemen for example. Please. Here’s a Best of Collection” from my Nation of Idiots posts plus some new favorites:
Good kitty!
Read More funny photos, funny pictures, idiots, morons, stupid peopleCome again? Sure, but you have to wait until Easter! Badoomboom! But seriously folks, Thank God It’s Good Friday! Why? What’s so Good about Good Friday? Wellllll…as all those who’ve have read The Book of Paul know, most of the action in the story takes place between Holy Thursday (what’s for dinner? Roast rump!) and Good Friday. And for everyone who hasn’t read The Book of Paul, now it’s on sale for 50% off until roll-away-the-stone day! That’s only $1.99 — the price of a tall Starbucks coffee as opposed to the regular $3.99 grande latte price. Wow! What a deal! Yes, indeed it is. And it’s available only on Amazon http://amzn.to/LJf2nX so tell your friends, family, creditors and rival clan members that they better take advantage of this once-in-a-weekend opportunity, before Paul decides he doesn’t feel quite so generous anymore.
Okay. Now that we’ve made your weekend a whole lot darker by spreading the gospel according to Paul, let’s zero in on that gloomiest of all religious HolyDays–Friday the Good. Being a former altar boy educated by friendly nuns and way-friendlier priests, I’ve been well indoctrinated in the Party Line position of the Church regarding the significance of Good Friday, which can be summed up as: Christ HAD to die to cleanse us all from Original Sin®.
HOWEVER, since we all continue to be born with Original Sin®, and therefore have to be baptized to RE-cleanse ourselves (otherwise we will surely burn in hell for all eternity), I’m still a little cloudy on the “HAD to die” reasoning. Another thing that doesn’t quite add up for me is the whole “on the third day He shall rise again” bit. Admitedly, I’m no math whiz, but if Jesus died at 3:15 in the afternoon of Friday and was out of the tomb at sunrise on Easter, that comes to…wait a sec, let me get my calculator…um…okay, got it: about 39 hours. Hmmmm. Weird, huh?
Read More Blog radio, Easter, Gnostic Gospels, Good Friday, Good Wednesday, Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Philip, Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Truth, Hermes, Hermeticism, Nag Hammadi, Sophia, The Dead End, Women who love PaulI was invited to participate in what can best be described as a chain-letter blog hop. Here’s how it works: someone gave me 10 interview questions which I’m going to answer below. Then I passed on the questions on to 5 other authorswho will post their answers on their own blogs next week, and they pass on the questions to 5 more authors and so on and so on until there is some kind of nuclear blog dirty bomb disaster with a half life of 500,000 years.
The very talented author and superior human being, Kate O’Reilley invited me to this bunny blog hop. Here’s a link to her fab blog and quite interesting answers: http://katevsworld.com/2013/02/20/the-next-big-thing-blog-hop/
So without further adon’t, herewith are my pithy (yes, I do write with a lithp) replies:
1: What is the working title of your book?
The Book of Paul. Does that work for you?
2: Where did the idea come from for the book?
The first line of the book is: He practiced smiling. I wanted to explore a character that had been so damaged that he’d completely shut down emotionally. Could someone like that be redeemed by love? Why yes, of course he can! Right? Well, I hope so.
3: What genre does your book come under?
The Book of Paul covers a lot of ground: occult horror, mystery, thriller, crime, dark fantasy and sci-fi⎯with a healthy dose of humor and a sassy sprinkling of erotica.
4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Read More Alphabet City Manhattan, Blog Hop, blog tour, Book of Paul, Chuck Palahniuk, Clive Barker, Kate O''Reilley, New York, Paul, The Next Big Thing, Umberto Eco