The "Man of Steel" is coming soon!

It's been a while since I've gotten excited about a new movie, but I am looking forward to the new Superman. Remember the original with Christopher Reeve and the great scene when he finds Lois Lane dead:

The sequel with General Zod was also quite good, but it looks like a new favorite may finally be hitting the big screen:

Can't wait to see it in June!

A VIOLENT (OR APATHETIC) REACTION!

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Last week I was at dinner with a friend and the topic of gun violence in schools came up. During the course of the conversation, my friend casually mentioned, “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. These things are just going to happen.” I have to admit I became defensive. Perhaps it’s because I teach at a university and there is a slight vulnerability that I feel. I explained to my friend that his attitude reflected part of the problem. As a society, we have accepted that violence is part of life, but many of us don’t see or understand the ways in which we are complicit. Agreeing to the normality of deplorable aggression is at best apathetic and portrays the population at large as powerless.

HOW WE FEEL ABOUT OURSELVES AND BODY IMAGE

We, as a society, have put our stamp of disapproval on profanity, nudity and sexuality. A quick flash of Janet Jackson’s nipple created a firestorm of censorship that eventually forced people like Howard Stern off of terrestrial radio. At the time, Howard was known for pushing the envelope with discussions involving sexuality.

In our culture, we have forbidden our networks from featuring nudity on our broadcasts. I recall the first time I traveled to London, nearly three decades ago, and saw nudity in a TV skincare commercial. I was stunned. Not only did they have nudity on TV, it was in a commercial. At the time, it never occurred to me this could even be done. But Europeans don’t have the sexual hang ups that we see so frequently here in the U.S. In fact, one of my screenwriting students recently wrote a sex scene that read something like this: “It is indicated they have sex.” I immediately understood this was her own form of censorship because she didn’t want to describe the intimate details of her own story.

 WTF STANDS FOR WHAT?!

As a society, we have also outlawed four letter words. I was miffed recently while watching a reality show. Some of the reality stars were cursing and the network had not only bleeped the language, they had also pixelated the mouths of those delivering the salty words. I suppose their philosophy was, we don’t want you to hear it or see it if you read lips. I must admit I was incredulous. In the U.S., we have huge checks and balances in place to make sure no one sees a nipple, or hears words like shit or fuck. But what are our attitudes on violence? How hard do we work to regulate how much of it audiences see on the big and small screen?

A few years back, I turned on my TV around noon and stumbled onto the movie Thirty Days of Night. The film had already started and one of the characters was being decapitated. Very recently, a new series with Kevin Bacon aired on Fox called The Following. As a professor of film and TV screenwriting, I must admit it is well done. But I also question how responsible the writers are. The level of violence in The Following is extremely high. People are sliced and stabbed, beaten, shot, and set on fire and much of that happens in a single episode. While, on one level, the writing is quite good, I don’t know that I can follow the show because, even as a viewer, I felt assaulted by the amount of violent imagery.

This is why I grew defensive when my friend said, “There’s nothing we can do.” As a society, we have ample servings of violence on TV and in movies. Young children who turn on the TV at noon might see people being shot, stabbed or beheaded. These same young minds also switch on their X-boxes and play video games like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, where the goal is to rape, rob and kill. I don’t play video games, but I’ve seen the commercials promoting them. It seems the majority of them involve the delivery of violence.

How can we feign surprise when fifteen to 20 years later these same kids walk into a school or a movie theatre and begin delivering the same kind of brutality in real life? When we decide, as a culture, that images of violence might be as or perhaps more dangerous than a nipple or the f-word, maybe then we will see its decline. But it’s disingenuous to pretend that we don’t understand how or why these things happen. We are confronted with it almost every time we turn on our TV’s, play a video game or go to a movie.

On a lighter note, I have written a book. THE UNVEILING: 1.0 is a sci-fi/fantasy/adventure that many have compared to The Da Vinci Code (only with psychics and aliens, specifically the Anunnaki of Sumerian Mythology). To check it out, please visit the website: TheUnveilingSeries.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY -- In Memoriam

Mom,  a month before her passing

BACK IN THE DAY...
It’s difficult to believe that 6 years have passed since my mother’s death, which was entirely unexpected. At the time, I couldn’t imagine how I would ever recover from such an intense loss, but here I am. Anyone who has lost a parent they were close to will understand the disconnect that occurs. For most of us, our earliest memories involve our mothers. The cars may change, the houses may change, families may grow or break up, but mom is, more often than not, one of the unique constants.

Had she lived, today would have been her 78th birthday. While this may sound old to many of you, she hailed from a family of longevity. My grandmother, who was every bit the stereotypical matriarch, lived to be a hundred. All of the women, including my aunts, remained quite active until their late eighties and even nineties. In fact, my mom’s oldest surviving sibling passed very recently at the ripe age of ninety-four. This is exactly the path I expected for my mom. [To know what a young seventy-two she was, see the photo above that was taken just two months before her passing.]

AND HERE WE ARE TODAY...
The most wonderful aspect that I have experienced since her passing is the ability to hear her voice, almost as if she is continuing to parent from the other side. While she was alive, if ever she learned I was pushing myself too hard, she would remind me to slow down. Even today, when I am spread too thin, I can hear her voice telling me to pace myself. As I grow older and wiser, I realize more and more what a great life teacher she was and how blessed I am to have had her in my life.

Today, on her birthday, I must say thank you for the foundation that taught me to be a decent person. I must say thank you for the love, nurturing and compassion. I must say thank you for the patience, guidance and understanding that only a mother could afford.

Happy Birthday, mom, you are sorely missed.

"THE UNVEILING: 1.0" unveiled - Part 3 (an excerpt)

The following excerpt is a portion of "The Unveiling: 1.0" that involves a real life artifact referred to as the Antikythera Mechanism. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Antikythera Device [let's just call it Anti-k], it was discovered in a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek isle of Antikythera.

When discussing this find with a friend, she mentioned her familiarity with the artifact. She found it intriguing because the device, in her words, is "historically out of order." But what did she mean by this exactly? Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines the word history as follows:

a chronological record of significant events (as affecting a nation or institution) often including an explanation of their causes.

As history tells it, the technology that would become the clock was invented somewhere around 966, but would not become accurately sophisticated for several more centuries. Cathedral clocks would make their appearance around the year 1344, but such devices would not be considered elaborate until the early 1400's. The technology used to build the Anti-k Device resembles the intricate workings of a clock, but archeologists estimate that the Anti-k Artifact was built around 100 BC. So, as my friend eloquently stated, it is chronologically out of order, since in theory, the technology used in its manufacture did not exist at the time of its construction. This is just one of several real-life mysteries that I have tried to incorporate into "The Unveiling." Who really built the Antikythera Mechanism? Could it be alien technology as some surmise?

To see a video on the Antikythera Mechanism, please click here.

Here is a portion of THE UNVEILING: 1.0 in excerpt. It can be found in chapter 3 of the first book, 1.0. I hope you will enjoy it:

 ============================================================================

   “So, this is it?” Max said as Miklos turned around.

   If Miklos had seemed annoyed earlier, he was smiling now. “Voilà the mechanism, Monsieur Battenberg. Normally, it is housed in the fourth floor exhibit they call Gods, Myths and Mortals. Today, however, it is being cleaned.”

   Max reached out and touched the Plexiglas box protecting the mechanism. He gazed more closely at the strange symbols. “Some of those are zodiac signs, aren’t they?”
   Nodding his head, Miklos continued, “Are they not phenomenal?” Miklos may not have been enthused to cross the Atlantic for a Battenberg, but the Antikythera Mechanism clearly rejuvenated him. “As you can see the device is quite unique, in particular because it dates back thousands of years, certainly before any such technology ever existed. So they say.”
   Max hated to admit it, but, up close, he was just as mesmerized as Miklos by the device. “Who do they think built it?”
   The doctor frowned, but it quickly morphed into a laugh. “There is quite a bit of speculation on that, Monsieur Battenberg. Certainly, we Greeks have taken responsibility for its manufacture. It was found off the coast of Greece, after all. But then there are those who suggest alien technology was used to construct it.”
   Max laughed at the notion. “Okay.” He was strangely drawn to the device, and actually felt electrified by its presence. He peered more closely, nearly pressing his face against the Plexiglas. “How does it work?”
    “Certainly, you are aware it doesn’t work, Monsieur?”
   Max stood at attention, taken aback by the comment. “What do you mean it doesn’t work?”
   “Well, everyone is aware, the mechanism is missing a crucial piece. A gear essential for its function.”

   “But, Doctor Miklos, I would hardly have arranged for you to come all this way to show me a device which serves no purpose. This is useless then?”
   A smile twisted onto the doctor’s lips. “Hardly, Monsieur, hardly. The device, the Antikythera Mechanism, is one of our world’s most important finds. Surprisingly, there are only a few who know this. I figured you to be one of them when I was told you wanted to meet.”
   Max was still dumbfounded by the news. “So, how do we find the missing piece?”

   “If only we knew the answer to this question,” Miklos explained. “If the mechanism were operational, I promise it would change the face of the world as we know it. Some presume it capable of unlocking cosmic knowing.”
   Max could feel his spirits waning. He had no idea what “cosmic knowing” even meant. “And no one’s tried to manufacture the missing piece?”
   “Sadly, today’s technology barely makes a scratch at understanding a device thousands of years old. I’m afraid building this piece is out of the realm of anyone’s expertise. Alien theory doesn’t seem so fantastical now, does it?”
   Max and Miklos had switched places in their disposition. Now, it was Max who was annoyed.
   “Well, you’re the expert. What do you suggest we do?”
   “There are rumors. Stories of the Illuminati or the Knights Templar. Some even say the piece lies hidden in an alternate dimension, so as to prevent the device’s misuse. The Bermuda Triangle and other such nonsense.” Dr. Miklos toyed with Max, teasing him with his knowledge. “Others say the Knights Templar were as careful in hiding this piece as they were in secreting away Christianity’s beloved Ark of the Covenant. A theory that I suspect is quite more likely is the element is buried deep within the earth. Are you familiar with Oak Island, Monsieur Battenberg? It’s a small land mass off the coast of Nova Scotia. If I had to bet, I would say this is the location of the missing piece. In the Money Pit.”
============================================================================

The Money Pit is yet another real life mystery that I have incorporated into the story of "The Unveiling," but there will be more on that later. I hope you enjoyed this excerpt. Until next time, I wish you all well.

To learn more or to purchase a copy of "The Unveiling: 1.0," please visit the website at TheUnveilingSeries.com. "The Unveiling" is available in paperback, Nook, Kindle and iBook.

DID SHE OR DIDN'T SHE? BEYONCE & THE ILLUMINATI

Beyonce has been in the news a lot lately. First, there was her lip-synching debacle during the presidential nomination and then the rumors about whether or not she flashed an Illuminati sign during the Super Bowl’s half time show. So, what’s all the hubbub about Beyonce and the Illuminati anyway?

For years, there have been rumors about the music industry and the occult. Some believe that most (if not all) successful musical artists have literally had to sell their souls in exchange for fame and fortune. Could there be any truth to such outrageous allegations? I suppose the first question we have to ask ourselves is whether or not we even believe in such a thing as the Illuminati. Do secret societies really exist with the ability to manipulate or control commerce and the media?

To hear Bob Dylan’s cryptic interview where he implies he’s sold his soul, click here.

One thing I can vouch for is humanity’s cliquish nature. Mankind has an innate desire to belong to something exclusive. We see this play out daily on grade school playgrounds as well as in the sororities and fraternities of university campuses. Many of these archetypes were well represented in the movie, “Mean Girls:”

1. The plastics
2. The jocks
3. The band geeks
4. The art freaks
5. The Goths.
6. The punk rockers

This list could go on. All of us who have survived high school, and those who are braving it now, know these affiliations well. Which groups did we interact with and what are the groups that we secretly hoped to participate in? I am unsure why we have this desire to belong to something larger than ourselves, but as we age, the exclusivity of our cliquishness becomes more and more sophisticated. These aspects are easily displayed in the hazing of fraternities and the secrecy of the Freemasons (which Dan Brown reveals in his last novel, “The Lost Symbol.”)

THE BILDERBERG GROUP, THE COMMITTEE OF 300 & THE ILLUMINATI...
So, do wealthy and influential people band together to brainstorm on ways to stay wealthy and influential? If we chose to, couldn’t we just call this by one of its names: corporate strategy, where CEO’s and high paid executives sit in boardrooms trying to determine the best way to stay on top? Not only is this a common practice, corporations contractually bind their employees to maintain secrecy about what goes on in the boardrooms. But is this where it stops? Is there another level of exclusivity beyond the corporate boardroom? We know the Freemasons exist. We know the Bilderberg Group exists. Are the Illuminati and the Committee of 300 that farfetched?

What I find interesting are the media’s attempts to rebuff that Beyonce flashed the Illuminati's not-so-secret symbol during the Super Bowl. The argument was that she would never display a secret sign in a public venue, that the gesture she made was simply one of Jay Z’s antics for his record company, Roc-A-Fella Records. I find this is flawed logic, especially since there has been talk of Jay Z’s affiliation with the Illuminati even before he married Beyonce.

As rumor would have it, Jay Z is the one who brought Beyonce into the fold. As rumor would also have it, the Rockefeller name has for years been associated with the Illuminati. Is it simply coincidence or brazen behavior that Jay Z chose to name his company Roc-A-fella and that he often uses the Illuminati symbol as part of his shtick?

Here is the Illuminati symbol, which you can find on the back of every dollar bill. It is a simple triangle with the all-seeing eye in the center of it.

If Beyonce did choose to flash this symbol during the Super Bowl half-time show, could there be a more efficient way to do it than the way she gestures above? I’ll let you do the math.

I’m not here to prove anything to you, but I do hope you open your eyes to see the world, not as we’d like it to be, but rather to see it as clearly as it is.

I WROTE A BOOK!
TO LEARN MORE OR TO READ AN EXCERPT
of my sci-fi/fantasy/adventure, “The Unveiling: 1.0,” please visit TheUnveilingSeries.com.

“THE UNVEILING: 1.0” unveiled – Part 2

Last time, I wrote about the genesis of “The Unveiling Series” and how I was inspired by Sumerian Mythology to write it (see Part 1 of “The Unveiling: 1.0” unveiled).

In this installment of “The Unveiling Series” unveiled, I will talk more specifically about the aspect of the first book that involves the cabal. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this term, Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines cabal as follows:

The artifices and intrigues of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn a government); also : a group engaged in such artifices and intrigues.

DO SECRET SOCIETIES REALLY EXIST?
Some examples of the cabal that are more commonly known are the Bilderberg Group, the Illuminati, and some would even say the Freemasons. Of course, this list could go on with other clandestine organizations like the Club of Rome or the Committee of 300, which proposes that there are 300 individuals who run the world.

Since the recession of 2008, we have heard much talk about the 1% vs. the rest of the world. Only now are people beginning to believe the truth behind these percentages. Is the idea that 300 people control the majority of the world’s wealth so implausible? The premise of the cabal centers on the idea that those who govern the planet are not the ones we see, but are more so the ones we don’t see. Not the Bushes, the Clintons or the Obamas, but rather the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds.

THE GREATEST TRICK THE DEVIL EVER PULLED...

CONVINCING US HE DOESN'T EXIST
In the first “Unveiling” book, “1.0,” we are introduced to our protagonist, Max Battenberg. As the heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune, Max has always enjoyed the best money can buy. Just shy of his 25th birthday, he has held the belief that luck made him a member of a wealthy family. Along with most people, Max took for granted that his father, Demetrius Battenberg, had used sharp business acumen to parlay the family fortune into greater riches. While on some level, this was true, Max was completely unaware that he’d been born into the cabal, a fact his family intentionally withheld until the age of twenty-five. Once a Battenberg reaches this age, they are introduced to their true legacy in a bizarre ceremony referred to as the Battenberg Initiation.

In Merriam-Webster’s definition of cabal, it is implied that a group might secretly rise up (as to overturn a government), as if this might happen at any point in the future. But consider this: what if a cabal had always been there? What if every function of every society on every continent had been secretly governed by an invisible group?

After his initiation, Max learns he is part of an intricately placed system that has for centuries dominated the globe. Just like in the movie, "The Matrix," what if the majority of the world had been born into slavery without even knowing it? It is this reality that “The Unveiling Series” explores through the eyes of its protagonist.

In my next post, I will talk about Beyonce’s Super Bowl performance. Did she really throw up an Illuminati sign (see the eye in the pyramid above)? If so, does that mean the Illuminati really exists?

“The Unveiling: 1.0” is a sci-fi/fantasy/adventure. It is available in paperback, Kindle, Nook or iBook. To learn more or to purchase a copy, please visit TheUnveilingSeries.com

"THE UNVEILING: 1.0" unveiled - Part 1

Welcome to the first installment of “The Unveiling: 1.0 ” unveiled. You should know "The Unveiling" is a novel series and that “1.0” refers to the first book of an epic story.

NAMING THE SERIES
At one point, I did try to figure out if I would come up with different names for each individual book like Tolkien did with the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy: “The Fellowship of the Ring;” “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King.” After toying with several options, I decided 1.0 was the best designation. I am currently working on “2.0,” the follow up to this first book and I am developing a story for “3.0” to round out a nice full-bodied trilogy.

THE STORY BEHIND "THE UNVEILING"
So, what is “The Unveiling” you might ask. The tale of “The Unveiling” is a blend of fact and fiction that holds Sumerian Mythology at its core. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this mythology, its origin is Sumer, Earth’s oldest known civilization (fact). The mythology from this region recounts a phenomenal story of how modern man was created. But here’s where it gets interesting. Sumer’s mythology reads quite a bit like the Old Testament, only it's a much older story. Where the Old Testament refers to God as our creator, Sumerian Mythology instead proposes that an advanced alien race genetically engineered us. Is this too fantastic to believe? Perhaps not. Could the Old Testament possibly be a derivative story of this ancient Sumerian tale?

I must admit I was perplexed by the Sumerian account of humanity's origins. By tradition, I had been taught to believe in the Old and New Testaments which only made Sumerian Mythology that much more compelling. Today, the ancient civilization of Sumer is largely known as Iraq (along with portions of Turkey and Syria). A segment of this region is believed by many to be the legendary location of Eden in the Bible’s Genesis.

Bible excerpt – Genesis 2:10
“Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden;
and from there it divided and became four rivers...”

Of those four rivers mentioned, only two still exist, the Tigris and the Euphrates, both located in Iraq, or what used to be Sumer.

Upon learning this, my brain immediately began a balancing act. If I had been taught that the Bible is truth, why am I not meant to believe a story that emerges from the very region that the Bible speaks of? I admit I found this difficult to reconcile. Here I had two stories before me with incredible similarities, but one was meant to be believed (according to religion) and the other, even though it was the older of the two stories, was intended to be fantasy or myth. Whether or not you believe in religion is not really the point. The tale of Sumerian Mythology is so compelling that many scholars believe in it, as you can witness on shows like the History Channel’s “Ancient Aliens,” or in books like those written by Erich Von Däniken or Zecharia Sitchin.

SO, WHAT IS "THE UNVEILING" SERIES?
"The Unveiling" novels recount an epic sci-fi/fantasy/adventure tale that chronicles the creation of man. If you enjoy stories by authors like Dan Brown, Whitley Strieber or Stephen King, "The Unveiling: 1.0" is sure to please.

In the meantime, please keep an eye out for Part 2 of “The Unveiling” unveiled. Next time, I’ll discuss more specifics of “1.0” and how it relates to the Bilderberg Group.

"The Unveiling: 1.0" is available in paperback, Kindle, Nook or iBook. To learn more or to get your copy, please visit TheUnveilingSeries.com.