http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dumb-starbucks-shop-appears-las-678728 After I read the above link from the Hollywood Reporter, I had two words appear in my brain, Lemmings and 'ubiquitous'. As in, if you read the story, there is a line of 'lemmings' waiting to get 'free' coffee and pastries. Obviously, a few folks decided to have a little fun with the ubiquitous coffee symbol. I suspect they will get a nice, legal appearing letter in the mail from Starbucks advising them to 'cease' Continue Reading
The Golden Ratio
The below link is for a Wiki article about Salvador Dali's - The Sacrament of the Last Supper. If you read toward the end, the writer notes that Dali used, the Golden Ratio. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sacrament_of_the_Last_Supper What's the Golden Ratio, you ask? I will let the Wiki folks put you to sleep from the below link. It has a lot of basic information, and if you have read, Fishing for Light, you might get a chuckle based on several of the Continue Reading
The Ecumenical Council
I had an interview question concerning the influences for Fishing for Light. As I shared in the interview, I used to live in Florida, and have visited the Dali Museum several times. Over the years, I was drawn (excuse the pun) to several of Salvador Dali's masterworks. In particular, the Ecumenical Council, the Hallucinogenic Toreador and of course, the 'Clocks'. But I want to focus on the Ecumenical Council, I provided a link below if you want to take a look at this amazingly complex Continue Reading
Jerome Internment and 14th Amendment
Well, I was not sure what next to share about Fishing for Light. And then, as if by magic the attached article appeared from the Washington Examiner. What is the old saying, 'truth is stranger than fiction'? I suspect the Millennial Generation might think it hard to believe that the United States built internment camps, but, under the Roosevelt Administration, they did. In Fishing for Light, Professor Quan's father was shot dead trying to escape from the Jerome War Relocation Center. If you do a Continue Reading
23 Enigma
As I was writing Fishing for Light, I could not make up my mind as to Eddie Wilcox's age. And then, I stumbled upon the 23 Enigma. The reason? I happened to be reading about William S. Burroughs. At present, I reside in St. Louis, Missouri, and he happened to be from St. Louis, so I was curious about his life. He was a lead part of the Beat Generation, and wrote, Naked Lunch. It is a wild ride for the reader, and the cross connections with the number 23, and Eddie representing the Millennial Continue Reading
Professor Quan’s, Waldo
Any self-respecting mad scientist would have a trusted pet, right? Of course, the stereotype is for the scientist to be, EVIL, black eye-patch and hiding within a subterranean lair waiting to take over the planet. But Professor Quan is not evil, and he is not mean, he is a man on a mission to eradicate Ms. Prosperina. To me, that's the connection between Professor Quan and Captain Lovins, it is about personal responsibility, they understood it was vital to their mission to hide, and remain Continue Reading
Pure Love
"When Professor Quan realized the government used his genetic starter to create Ms. Prosperina, he devoted his life to eradicating her by spreading the universal bond within humanity’s genetic code, pure love." Fishing for Light - from the book description. Pure love? Fishing for Light is a satire, so it should be funny, and absurd at the same time. Right? But I added a serious note, as in, what is 'pure love'? I will not tell you how Professor Quan finds, pure love, that would ruin the Continue Reading
Jim Bob Calhoun
An editor asked me an innocent question, "How does a character like Eddie have a friend like Jim Bob Calhoun? I don't see them together." As I have written previously, I carefully create every character and each has a specific purpose. If you read Fishing for Light, you might cast off Jim Bob as the cliché bumbling friend that shoves Eddie back into Professor Quan's world. But that would be incorrect, if you think about your own life, and the friends you have and have had, what is the one Continue Reading
“Raw is a good place to be as an artist … it’s where the truth comes out.”
"Raw is a good place to be as an artist … it's where the truth comes out." Keith Urban, American Idol. (last episode) The truth? I love watching American Idol, I love the new cast, and in particular the honest encouragement the young artists get from these judges. Because these judges know what it is like to stand in front of a stranger and perform. And then accept their fate. It is a 'thang' to put on someone else's socks, and walk around in their world, I think it also can be humbling, Continue Reading
Bertrand Screwtop
I get asked on a regular basis, "where do you come up with these characters, and their names?" I'll answer that question with Chapter 4 from Fishing for Light, which I have pasted below, or you can read it off Amazon.com in the 'look inside' option. It is a short chapter, but it might be more interesting if you know the background influences. I create my character names, based on what the character represents. As in Bertrand Screwtop. In Fishing for Light, Bertrand is a commercial litigation Continue Reading