Death: The human condition
Current mood: contemplative
Category: Writing and Poetry
A wise man once told me that he fears not the day of his December, though he shall always wish it on tomorrow. The day of his death would be a great tragedy to many around him, though he shall be buried with a smile; taking solace in the fact that he is sharply dressed and about 20 pounds lighter.
Though wise and humorous this man may be, I still find myself filled with wonder. The wonder of that which I imagine fills the rest of the world. The wonder of death, about what happens to us when we die and of course if we have any say in the matter?
I, too wish my death forever on tomorrow, but I know one day that I shall die and in some ways I welcome this. Tis the greatest flaw of the human condition to wither off and die, though it also seems to be the greatest beauty to come to be. As if your entire life is building up to your death and how you'll be remembered...if you'll be remembered. Death itself seems to be the great finale to the greatest show ever performed...human life.
Death has been personified in every language and every country throughout time, the Hindu Yama, the Japanese Shinigami, the anchient Greek Thanatos, the Lithuanian Giltine, the Sikhism religion sees him as one of Waheguru's servants, the Abrahamic religions have Memitim, Islam, Jewish and modern Christianity refer to him as an angel of some kind and many even associate death directly with Satan. Even pagan groups like the Slavic paganists viewed Death as a woman in white clothes, with a never-fading green sprout in her hand. The touch of the sprout would put a human to an everlasting sleep.
Many people claim to know what happens to us when we die and even offer up words or book(s) on how to properly serve a creator of life as to ensure a happy afterlife, though all of this too is simply a leap of faith...even though some people tend to leap a bit farther than others.
I suppose I may never truly know until my time comes, but then again it shall be to late to share with the world. Maybe that is the perfect order of it all, the fact of not knowing all of the details is what makes life worth living.
Another wise man on his death bed recalls having a reaccuring dream in which he was hastily walking through an airport, frantcally looking at his watch as he expressed urgency with every step. On and on he would go with his plane ticket in his hand, never stopping to speak to anyone or to look back from which he came. Closer and closer he would get to his gate from which he would embark on his journey, though just before he was able to show his ticket and board the plane the P.A. system would always kick on.
"Sorry for the inconvience, but all of todays flights have been delayed."
He would always wake immediately after the announcement, though I sadly and proudly announce that he boarded quite some time go...
I am content with not knowing all of the answers at this moment, though I am dieing to find out exactly how it ends...though this is simply a symptom of the human condition.
(Myspace is for some reason disabling the link, but you can still copy and paste this to your search engine.)
Can you go to the above link and vote on my stories. I've posted 'Rose's roses' and 'The diary of Chelsea' on Musewriting. If it's good, then give it a 5. If it blows, well then give it a 1.
On writing: on life:
Current mood: bored
Category: Blogging
Stephen W. Roberts: on writing: I just love the way that words can bring any situation to life and even more so draw us in, force feeding us entertainment and even if just for a moment bringing our dreams to life. From the dip of Chaucer's quill to the click of King's typewriter, and even the occasional tappings of my very own keyboard...the written word is born, fiction draws it's breath and we as people...well, we dream.
Stephen W. Roberts: on books: They are my oxygen and without them I cannot breathe...I would wither up and be no more without the words that make me soar. I love all books.
QUOTE:"For me, it's not about being the next Stephen King, but instead truly defining rather anybody will really want to be the next Stephen W. Roberts."
QUOTE: "Like two lovers in a field of flowers, I continually race toward my avid reader."
QUOTE:"When life gives you lemons...you squeeze citric acid in the eye of a cheeky deity."
QUOTE:"The eyes play tricks on the mind, making the deepest waters appear shallow when still."
QUOTE:"The only guarantee after your first breath is your last, so why not take this tragedy and give it the happily ever after it so rightfully deserves?"
QUOTE:"I write of faith and love, I believe in the concept and even celebrate it...but I'm no thespian. I'm smart enough to know that when you apply knowledge or reason to such concepts that all you can end with is misery. Therefore I deduce that one must choose between the brain and the heart, sacrificing one for the other."
QUOTE:"Give to a good man all that he requires to eradicate evil, and before he is finished you will wonder why evil has switched sides."
QUOTE: "I'm alive. My heart is beating, veins pumping, lunges inflating and mind racing. Tis the daily workings of a working man's day."
QUOTE:"Good riddance, to bad rubbish."
QUOTE:"Pain is temporary, fiction is forever...and through the pain I long for forever."
The unholy birth of Satan’s Wicked Refugees, Dark fiction anthologies.
Current mood: excited
Category: Writing and Poetry
Satan's Wicked Refugees is to be an anthology(s) filled with dark fiction of a macabre nature. Mostly horror, though I am open to Sci-fi, Fantasy, Mystery or Thriller as long as it's dark. Rather good or evil wins in the end is obviously up to the writer, but one way or the other all Hell must break loose.
Currently SWR is open to submissions, 2,000-8,000 words. 12 Times roman prefered.
one being 'Wicked' which is scheduled for a January release, this is to be an anthology filled with dark fiction tales of all kinds. Horror, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Mystery, Crime Drama, Thriller, etc etc. As long as it's dark, well then it's wicked enough for this book.
Foul language, violence and even brief, mild erotica is welcome, though you must keep it tasteful.
Darkened Horizons is now available in BOOKSTORES!!
Current mood: ecstatic
Category: Writing and Poetry
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Darkened Horizons now available in BOOKSTORES!!
I, myself and 'The conscience of Janice Clovell' are featured in the most recent release of this fantastic franchise alongside some great talent.
FEATURING: Z NOIR by Sean Keller * BALKERN HOLLOW by Matthew Allen Pierce * A CABIN FOR TWO by William Couper * THE LOST HOPE OF ELLA by Danielle Ferries * THICKER THAN WATER by Anthony Beal * THE CONSCIENCE OF JANICE CLOVELL by Stephen W. Roberts * CITY LIMITS by Jeremiah Coe * SYMPATHY PAIN by John M. Bishop * DETOUR by Jordan M. Bobé * RETRIBUTION by Charlotte Emma Gledson
NEWS FROM JORDAN AT DARKENED HORIZONS!!!
Darkened Horizons Issues 1-5 have all been issued ISBN's and will soon (within 10 weeks) be available in all bookstores. Halloween and Till Death Do We Part have also been issued ISBN's with the same time frame for global distribution. With this new development the prices have been increased due to the Retail Mark Up costs. That's the drawback, now here's the good news.
With the availability to be sold in bookstores and through alternate internet channels the authors in the series will be able to arrange for copies to be available at book signings, promotions, conventions, ect.
The new process has cost me a bit of money, a lot of time and no little heartburn. I hope it proves fruitful for all of those involved in the projects. Of course, I am hoping with the expanded distribution my feeble attempts to make Darkened Horizons a paying market will be easier realized.
Thank you to everyone that has supported an endeavor that has been called, "Extreme," "Inventive," "Enterprising," "A cause to celebrate" and (my favorite) "Perhaps too hardcore".
CHICAGO (Aug. 9) - Bernie Mac, the actor and comedian who teamed up in the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" and gained a prestigious Peabody Award for his sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," died Saturday at age 50. "Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles. She said no other details were available and asked that his family's privacy be respected.
The comedian suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease. Recently, Mac's brand of comedy caught him flack when he was heckled during a surprise appearance at a July fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama.
He was one of "The Original Kings of Comedy" in the 2000 documentary of that title that brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience. "The majority of his core fan base will remember that when they paid their money to see Bernie Mac ... he gave them their money's worth," Steve Harvey, one of his costars in "Original Kings," told CNN on Saturday. Mac went on to star in the hugely popular "Ocean's Eleven" franchise with Brad Pitt and George Clooney. His turn with Ashton Kutcher in 2005's "Guess Who" topped the box office. It was a comedy remake of the classic Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn drama "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" - with Mac as the black dad who's shocked that his daughter is marrying a white man. Mac also had starring roles in "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers." In the late 1990s, he had a recurring role in "Moesha," the UPN network comedy starring pop star Brandy. The comedian drew critical and popular acclaim with his Fox television series "The Bernie Mac Show," which aired more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006. The series about a man's adventures raising his sister's three children, won a Peabody Award in 2002. At the time, judges wrote they chose the sitcom for transcending "race and class while lifting viewers with laughter, compassion - and cool." The show garnered Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Mac. "But television handcuffs you, man," he said in a 2001 Associated Press interview. "Now everyone telling me what I CAN'T do, what I CAN say, what I SHOULD do, and asking, ..Are blacks gonna be mad at you? Are whites gonna accept you?"' He also was nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album in 2001 along with his "The Original Kings of Comedy" co-stars, Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer. In 2007, Mac told David Letterman on CBS' "Late Show" that he planned to retire soon. "I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," Mac told Letterman. "I missed a lot of things, you know. I was a street performer for two years. I went into clubs in 1977." Mac was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on Oct. 5, 1957, in Chicago. He grew up on the city's South Side, living with his mother and grandparents. His grandfather was the deacon of a Baptist church. In his 2004 memoir, "Maybe You Never Cry Again," Mac wrote about having a poor childhood - eating bologna for dinner - and a strict, no-nonsense upbringing. "I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy," Mac told the AP in 2001. "I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn't a lot of things to laugh about." Mac's mother died of cancer when he was 16. In his book, Mac said she was a support for him and told him he would surprise everyone when he grew up. "Woman believed in me," he wrote. "She believed in me long before I believed."
Congrats Sinister Landscapes on being a Best Seller on Amazon!!!
Current mood: awake
Category: Writing and Poetry
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Sinister Landscapes is an Amazon Bestseller!!!
Hey folks,
Our little gothic anthology is soaring today; at 2:15 pm, it cracked the Top 100 at Amazon shattering the doors down and snatching the 19th spot. An hour and a half later, it leaped to 9th position!!! We're in the Top 10!!!! Yeehaw!
Thad Linson Sarah Wilson Basore Eric Enck Jessica Lynne Gardner Ryan B. Clark Brandon Ford Jeani Rector David Boyle Gordon Anthony Bean Bret Jordan Alan Draven Stéphanie J T. G. Reaper R. Vance Jeff Ezell Charlotte Emma Gledson Charlie Glover Frank E. Bittinger
As well as a foreword by Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc and an intro by yours truly. So you get all this for $12.11 (list price is $14.95 but Amazon is discounting it).
Your support means a lot to us. Please repost and tell all your friends/family/co-workers!
Thank you!!
Cheers, Alan
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I hope all is well for these authors wish to congratulate all involved with Sinister Landscapes...I'm more than sufficiently jealous and absolutely hate you all...lol, take care.
Where do you get off? Hey guys, I have an idea...let's take some good food, process it and force America to gag and get fat at the same time. Fish Stick inventor, who does he or she think he or she is? I like to give him or her a piece of my mind or penis. (Family guy joke..couldn't resist)
My nephews enjoy the delightful taste of pre-packaged, processed crap. I, for one am here to take a stand. No more shall I set my all-American ballpark franks and my beef and bean burritos next to this filth. No longer shall my pork, beef and fowl suffer the foul company of processed brain food. I wish for all of you to know that I don't blame Gordon, oh no, he is just a humble fisherman doing his duty.
FEATURING: Z NOIR by Sean Keller * BALKERN HOLLOW by Matthew Allen Pierce * A CABIN FOR TWO by William Couper * THE LOST HOPE OF ELLA by Danielle Ferries * THICKER THAN WATER by Anthony Beal * THE CONSCIENCE OF JANICE CLOVELL by Stephen W. Roberts * CITY LIMITS by Jeremiah Coe * SYMPATHY PAIN by John M. Bishop * DETOUR by Jordan M. Bobé * RETRIBUTION by Charlotte Emma Gledson
contemplative
creative
bored
excited
ecstatic
shocked
awake
angry
accomplished
