Showing posts with label story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label story. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

The Parasites


This is an allegory about how the politicians are controlled by corporations.

The Parasites

The leaders of our nation, the United States of America, are infected with parasites that were uncovered in mining operations in tropical countries around the world. The first direct infection occurred when survivors of a mine collapse were rescued and visited the president of the United States in ceremony and celebration. The entire Federal government was thereby infected through proximity over the ensuing months. Now the leaders are proposing and implementing harsher and harsher policies such as mandatory fifty hour work weeks and day camps for people to send their children to.

Research has shown that people who are healthy and not starving have fewer children. Humanity is starving itself purposely in a flawed belief of innate laziness in humanity. This causes them to create conditions where people are oppressed because enough jobs are not being produced for the people, there is not enough training to produce the proper skills, and the type of work available is destructive to the environment and the overall health of the planet. This entire process is exacerbating the problem of population growth and stress on environmental resources.

The parasites afflicting the planet are nature's answer to this dilemma. The only way to stop them is to create a different and healthier methodology. We must give up the norms and beliefs with which we have indoctrinated ourselves and create a more fair and equal society. We must go back to the lifestyles of those we once felt destined to civilize. We must realize that we are the brutes who paved over paradise and destroyed once beautiful habitats. We must lose our sense of ego and recognize the beauty in all human beings and create a communal and shared existence. Only then can we restore the health of the community and the parasites will fade away.


Sunday, October 17, 2010

Author J.S. Chancellor - Blog Book Tour

J.S. Chancellor has a new book out:


Son of Ereubus - Guardians of Legend - Book One



J.S. Chancellor




J.S. Chancellor, whose personal motto is, “woe is the writer who mounts their merit on the masses,” started writing stories when she was still in grade school, and finished her first fantasy novella at the age of 14.

She drafted chapter one of the Guardians of Legend trilogy when she was a freshman in high school, sitting on a stool in front of a piano bench, in her parents’ den.

It wasn’t until she was 25 when a resident at the apartment complex where she worked lovingly made a casual remark about her procrastination that her passion for fantasy fiction took center stage.

Since then she’s focused all of her efforts on writing, to include leaving her full time job in September 2009 and actively maintaining a blog dedicated to the art of crafting fiction (www.welcometotheasylum.net). You can find her there, or her official website, www.jschancellor.com.

She currently resides in Georgia with her husband and two beloved dogs.


J.S. Chancellor gives me the great pleasure to be able to share her work and writing with my blog viewers. I have some prepared interview questions from the author which I would like to share.


As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

Well, in the second grade I announced that I was going to be a stand-up comedian. No, I’m not kidding. Then, after growing infatuated with Batman around age 12, I announced to my best friend at the time that I was going to become Catwoman. So, I suppose I sort of compromised and became an author, where I can be any number of impossible, ridiculous things.


What do you think makes a good story?

I can only answer this for myself, since “good” is subjective. But, ironically what I quantify as a good read isn’t in the genre I typically write in at all — it’s horror. I love to read horror, but dark fantasy is as close as I’ll ever come to penning it. Reading it though, I want to follow a story that has me on the edge of my seat, horrified, with a little bit of romantic tension thrown in for good measure (however slight). It has to appeal to all of my senses. I read a lot of Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine as a child and never got over the need to eat books like that for dinner — all in one sitting. Love them!


What advice could you give to other authors wanting to start out?

Have fun. No, really, I mean this. Enjoy your time as an unpublished author. Revel in writing only for yourself. All of it changes when you begin to involve other people in your work; publishers, editors, reviewers, readers … it’s a good thing, I don’t mean to put you off from accomplishing your goals. But, don’t take for granted where you’re at now. Those earlier experiences are what shape you later on. Think of this time as your foundation. You’ll only build on it from here, but it will never be unimportant or wasted time.

WHolstad:

Spoken like a true writer.  As a blogger and casual writer myself I can relate to wanting to get into the field of writing for a living.  I am sure many bloggers and viewers of blogs can relate to that sentiment.  Let's hope we all get there and wish for the prompt success of Mrs. Chancellor!

jschancellor@gmail.com

Sons of Ereubus at Barnes and Noble.

Excerpt:

Since time immemorial, Man has lived in fear of losing his soul to the darkness of Saint Ereubus. For generations, the Ereubinians have wielded that power and ruled like gods. Three thousand years ago, Man irresolutely placed his faith in a mythical world. That world, Adoria, now holds Man’s final hope.

As the last stronghold of Man is threatened, the fates of three strangers become forever intertwined and everything they once believed will be irrevocably changed as they discover...

Their time has run out.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Story of my and my brother's original music.

http://www.myspace.com/mistlethistle

MistleThistle Biography

I met my brother some time after I was born. He is seven years older than me. His name is Tim and I am Walter. Tim and Walter Holstad. We started working on music together probably some time in 2007 I would estimate, maybe 2006. I was living at my mom's in Muskego at the time so we would practice in her living room on occasion or I would go over to my brother's apartment around 80th and Oklahoma in Milwaukee.

My brother is a very prolific writer and very determined. He writes a lot and makes a point to work very hard at his music. He is one of those people that were told to work hard in life and took it to heart I think. I on the other hand like to enjoy things in life and treating the music too seriously takes the fun out of it in my opinion. There is room for both. Certainly without some effort songs will not be written and polished to a decent level but if there is no heart or joy in your music it will sound lifeless and boring. I have about 15 or 20 songs that I have written. My brother has a lot but we play probably around 20 of his.

Our first show together was at my brother's wife's uncle's house in Minocqua, Wisconsin. We played out on the deck at his house on a lake. It was pretty fun and for the most part people enjoyed it. At the end we played a blues jam and people wanted us to keep playing but I was a little nervous and putting my guitar away at the time so we stopped.

I played a Battle of the Bands show in June of 2009. I played this show with my friends Ian and George and Tim did not play. Tim and I were not playing together at this time. We separated after working with a new drummer because the new mix of tension and egos was too much of a burden to continue. The battle of the bands show was at the Rave in a smaller side bar area. I had a lot of fun at that show and it went pretty well. We did about 6 songs, 5 originals and a cover of Eddie Vedder's Society.

Recently Tim, Chris ( the new drummer I spoke of ), and I got back together to play at a fashion show at Crisp bar that I had been invited to play at. The show was September 26th, 2010 and was a lot of fun. We had about 3 practices in the 2 weeks before the show and that was it so it was kind of tough. The songs were not fully polished and ready so the show had its ups and downs. It was good practice and there were some good parts for sure. I did get some applause after a guitar solo and some of the songs were pretty solid. It was definitely a learning experience and hopefully we will have more shows in the future to build on the experience of this one.

Friday, May 28, 2010

North Carolina trip - Striving for the Best

North Carolina – Striving for the Best

When I was in North Carolina I was out of my element but still had my same hangups. Looking for friends and making good decisions were both very difficult especially considering old habits and anti-social behavior. In my need for friendship I made friends with the most available and friendly people I came across however these turned out not to be the most healthy people to have developed friendships with. That and also not realizing I was not committed to being in a new state, cut short my stay there by at least a week.

The Blue Ridge mountains are beautiful and fun to drive through. Daniel Boone state forest runs through there.

I was given a job down there, through the company I was working for with the temp' service, helping out in the office of an apartment community consisting of 9 buildings or so. I was doing general office work, showing apartments, making deposits, and answering the phones. This was a fun experience but like most things in life I wouldn't mind having a do-over.

I became friends with one of the landscapers who was extremely friendly at first but then began trying to take advantage of me occasionally by asking me for money and rides. I also made friends with another person who asked me to let him use the office phone and such when we were hanging out in my apartment, the model unit, where I was staying. This unit did not have a phone.

Self confidence issues kept me from searching for higher caliber friendships and I did not have my normal group of friends around in North Carolina to fall back on. This left me in an emotionally precarious situation. While I seem to be past it relatively unscathed I would say if there is a moral to this story one might be that we should always strive for the best and never settle for what is coming easiest at any point in time. And we should always try to remember to believe in ourselves and try to see the positive in life while being aware of, but not focusing on, the negative, except maybe to make it better.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

End of Aging - Mass Production (ch.4)

The End of Aging

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3.

The End of Aging Chapter 4 McDonald's Style Genetics

Perhaps the previous scenario was too uncharitable toward our friends the “elite.” Perhaps they will generously make the anti-aging technology cheaper and widely available to everyone as we have found in many examples of mass production. How would this scenario play out?


As the price of genetic modification becomes more affordable for everybody the amount of people who forgo aging will increase. There could be a sort of inbreeding effect as the gene pool becomes less variant or more charitably perhaps people who undergo the treatment will be sterile and unable to reproduce. This could be a side effect of the treatment or it could be incorporated into the treatment as a solution for over-population. This would be perhaps a somewhat less sinister outcome than the previously outlined examples where the poor are left to die while the elite live forever. Genetic modification to end aging would upset the natural course of humanity and the cycle of life but it could present a solution to some of the problems humanity is facing because of the effect we are having on the planet we live on.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Predator and Al Qaeda versus the U.S.A. and Aliens

Chapter one.

Saturday March 6th, 2010. Yucca mountain. Colorado. U.S.A. Researchers studying Yucca mountain for possible nuclear storage facilities are startled to find large eggs of an unknown creature. Tom Jenkins calls back to base, “Owoduni. We have an interesting find here. Large eggs of an unknown species. Possibly alive. We might want to change the focus of our research here. I'll send you some pictures.”
“Look at this one!” Jia Li exclaims as the top of one of the eggs unfurls like a self opening banana. She backs away a little bit and they watch in nervous excitement. As they watch a crab like creature exits the egg and moves with extreme rapidity toward Jia Li. She screams as it chases her up the cavern in the direction of the entrance which is about a hundred yards away.
Julie and Tom run after her. “Run Jia!” They exclaim in unison as the creature flies up into the air and lands on the back of her head. Jia falls to the cavern floor screaming and Tom and Julie catch up to her. They watch in terror as she struggles with the crab like creature, it's tentacles clinging to her head and drawing around her face. Jia utters some muffled incomprehensible sounds. Tom and Julie grab onto the grotesque crab creature but cannot budge it. Tom dials 911 on his phone.

Chapter two.

Meanwhile in a cave in Afghanistan..Predators are feeding delightfully on Alien babies. “Ooo oo,” exclaims one Predator, snacking on his new found delicacy. The Predators guard the al Qaeda residents of the cave who have been plagued by these creatures. Sometimes the al Qaeda members bring back captives and torture them by allowing them to be exposed to the crab like creatures. The Predators have given al Qaeda the use of the technology of their arm strapped suicide bomb device and al Qaeda plans to use it the next day in the upcoming presidential elections in Kabul.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

The End of Aging Ch. 3 - Reconsidering

Chapter 2

III.Reconsidering

People begin playing music and singing and Simone speaks during a break in the pageantry. “I personally do not like guns or violence. I believe peaceful resistance is the key to achieving our goals. I believe we should work to create our own services for our people and end our reliance on the system set up by the powerful and long lasting elite group. That way we can end our dependence on them and be self-sufficient.”
Tom puts down his drum and replies, “Funny we went through all that effort to get the guns.”
“Yes.” says Simone. “We can hand them out as mantelpiece decorations for those who wish to have them. They are artful pieces.”

Chapter 4

Sunday, February 14, 2010

The End of Aging Ch. 2 - The Poor Evolt

Chapter 1

II.The Poor Evolt

Plotting from their underground bunker, Joe and Jan meet with the clan to discuss the takeover plan. They just want to be left alone so they are going to march the elite out of their 'hood. John calls out from the back of the dimly lit room, “Are there going to be enough A.K.'s?”
“I believe so.” Joe responds from the front. “We've got 10,000 automatic rifles in all. About 6,000 A.K.'s, a couple thousand Kalashnikov's, and an assorted allotment of other revolutionary gear. We plan to storm the streets Thursday at daybreak.”
“Wooohoo!” Erupts from the gathered throng.
Katrina stands up in the center of the room. “We've got to watch out for the National Guard.”
“Indeed we should.” Karim replies standing nearby.
“Okay then.” Jan says. “Bust out the guitars and the drums and let's have some fun!”

Chapter 3

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Hell On Earth - The End of Aging

Hell On Earth

Death is a part of life which we will all experience. Until one day when the elite figure out a way to stop aging in the human body and create a situation in which all of our bodies behave like children's bodies, creating new cells as old ones die off. In this manner older people will regress back to their childhood states. They may be able to choose an age they would like to remain at.

Of course this offer will most likely only be given to the rich and the elite who can afford it. The poor will be allowed to die. The rich will then continue to have families and raise children and only the poor will be allowed to die in true Capitalistic style. The dead will look upon the people of Earth from their place eternal or will if they can. They may not be able to see the people of Earth but Earth will have become the eternal hell for those who choose to remain for they will not experience the natural course of life but will remain in an artificial state on a decaying planet. The joke will be on them.

The rest of the people will experience the beauty of the ever-after and the natural course of existence.

Chapter 2

Friday, October 9, 2009

Autumn in Utopia - The Cultural Revolution - w/ prelude

Autumn in Utopia - Prelude

A New Mythology

Everyone simultaneously leaves their work places and goes home. This includes bank and government officials so no one remains to take over and evict people from their homes as the police have left too. A new type of organization is developed. Everybody shares the duties of driving the trucks and working on the farms. Food is provided to you at your house or apartment or street corner or tent community. Everybody works an average of 6 months out of the year. The rest of the time is spent living resourcefully and sustain-ably.

Crime is reduced because all needs are provided for.

The new society involves less work and more natural beauty. Less time spent in office buildings. Fewer office buildings. And more parks and forests. There is less emphasis on cars and types of cars, parking lots, roads and more emphasis on the natural beauty of Earth which cannot be recovered once gone for thousands of years. More attention is paid to the real and less to the artificial. More emphasis on humanity and less on responsibility. Less on the finite and more on the infinite.

The infinite being God and the finite being that of man.

There's too much work being done by too few of people. We need to spread the work around more and put less emphasis on great accumulation of wealth.

Autumn in Utopia – Chapter 1 - Setting Out

Waxing gibbous shining bright as I go for a walk on an autumn night. I walk down the sidewalk and a cool breeze blows. Oaks and maples are in its throes. Small branches are falling on the sidewalk below. Halloween decorations are in the yards. Gravestones, witches, and pumpkins carved. In the clear bright sky are thousands of stars. On the streets below are many cars. People are in the houses, not outside. I wonder why it is they choose to hide. Thousands of people are in the vicinity. Yet here on the street is peace and tranquility.
I get into my truck and go for a drive. I've got a big 18 wheeler and I'm driving to the power plant to pick up a load because it's a nice night for a drive. Nobody works anymore because they have to or are required to. Everybody works now simply because they want to. I know Grady at the plant will have a load I can pick up and tomorrow I will haul it to the processing facility. There is always work to do now and nobody really wants for anything because everybody wants to work.
The engine rumbles as I go on my way. I wave hello to some kids at play. I think what an awesome day. Just last year we were all enslaved.

Autumn in Utopia – Chapter 2 - The Conflict

Someone retaining capital and power from the days of capitalism is attempting to buy people off and control them for his advantage again. He is trying to make money off of them by offering them money. That way he can get them to do what he wants while retaining a dominant position for himself and his family for years to come. He also instills this hope in his followers. That they may be able to hold a position above others to where they can have material goods and leisure of a higher level than they are able to now under the policy of cooperation. His name is James Maverick.

I pull into the power plant and go in to see Grady. It is 10:30pm on Monday.
“Grady. How are you?” I ask.
“Just fine Walt. Did you know Maverick was in here? He offered Stuart a hundred thousand dollars a year to be his partner and run the place. He's also got a bank project he's working on. Says he's got investors and everything.”
“You don't say.” I reply. “Trying to get the great scam back in place I see.”
“Yeah,” Grady responds. “Stu didn't take him up on it but Maverick says he'll be back.”
“I'd better talk to Stuart.” I say.

Chapter 3 – The Conversation

“Stuart my man. How are ya?”
“Good Walt. I suppose you heard about Maverick?”
“Yeah. What's that all about?”
“He's trying to entice people with money. That old system again. What a waste. Having to keep track of everything so you can see who's got what and how much. It's all based in fantasy.” Stu says.
“I agree. Keeping track of everything. We have eliminated over fifty percent of labor just by not keeping track and worrying so much about how much everybody's got or taking.” I reply.
“Next time he comes down here,” Stuart smiles, “I'm going to tell him to buy his own power plant and quit using ours at no cost to himself or his neighbors up on the hill in those big houses. They look like museum pieces. I'm surprised those people aren't still wearing wigs and bell skirts.”
We laugh.
“Some people just can't seem to keep up with the pace of the changes in the world.” I declare.

Chapter 4 – The Deconstruction

Today is the second day of October and I am going to the deconstruction site to see if I can help. There are people on the heavy equipment tearing down office towers with cranes, bulldozers, and dump trucks. Someone there decides that they will show me how to work a heavy mover so I can help begin hauling things away. In this way I partake in the process of tearing down the building piece by piece.
Ultimately there will be very few buildings in Utopia when deconstruction is completed. Most of the land will be parks and forests. Many people live in small wooden huts in the forest choosing to live very natural and earthy lives. Food is brought in on the caravans that supply the out lands. It is composed of travelers and others who choose that line of work. Most of the food is hauled by compact electric vehicles which are recharged by the sun and hydrogen cells and also horse pulled carts are common. New forests are already being planted in previously torn down downtowns and office sites.
Concerts are common in the forests with different musical groups showcased daily and hourly. On my way home from deconstructing the building I stop at an ongoing showcase. Some friends are in the band and the audience as well.
“Jimmy. Nick. How's hap's?” I ask my friends.
“Hi Walter.”
“Hey Walter.”
“What cha eatin'?” I ask.
“Zucchini bread.” Nick replies. “You should grab some. There's beer too.”
“Sounds great.” I reply and head toward the table.
The concert venue is a clearing in the woods outside the former town. Actually the forest is as of yet very small for it is newly planted. Utopia has yet to reach its planned state seeing as the Walkout only occurred a couple years ago.
The band plays and people dance. Children, adults, and teens. Some careen. Some serene. Some ponder the Pleistocene.

Chapter 5 – Education

Education is provided free of cost, of course, as money is no longer used in Utopia. Courses are pass or not pass. There are no mandatory general requirements. There are no regular eight hour days of classes.

Chapter 6 – The War

I am sitting at class when we first get word of the coming onslaught. All the powerful weapons of the capitalists directed upon us. They apparently maintain enough support and control to be able to mount this attack. The class is in an open clearing in the woods and we are sitting on log benches and writing on smooth wooden tables.
We hear a loud explosion as a nearby home is hit with a bomb. We see troops coming toward us. The occupying force and the troops immediately begin reinstating all the rules and regulations of before and what they call law and order. We are in danger of being re-enslaved but I think we have a clear enough doctrine and understanding that we merely have to peacefully resist the occupiers. We already have a model for resisting the occupation from when the peaceful revolution was accomplished the first time.


Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Autumn in Utopia - The Cultural Revolution


Autumn in Utopia – Chapter 1 - Setting Out


Waxing gibbous shining bright as I go for a walk on an autumn night. I walk down the sidewalk and a cool breeze blows. Oaks and maples are in its throes. Small branches are falling on the sidewalk below. Halloween decorations are in the yards. Gravestones, witches, and pumpkins carved. In the clear bright sky are thousands of stars. On the streets below are many cars. People are in the houses, not outside. I wonder why it is they choose to hide. Thousands of people are in the vicinity. Yet here on the street is peace and tranquility.

I get into my truck and go for a drive. I've got a big 18 wheeler and I'm driving to the power plant to pick up a load because it's a nice night for a drive. Nobody works anymore because they have to or are required to. Everybody works now simply because they want to. I know Grady at the plant will have a load I can pick up and tomorrow I will haul it to the processing facility. There is always work to do now and nobody really wants for anything because everybody wants to work.

The engine rumbles as I go on my way. I wave hello to some kids at play. I think what an awesome day. Just last year we were all enslaved.


Autumn in Utopia – Chapter 2 - The Conflict


Someone retaining capital and power from the days of capitalism is attempting to buy people off and control them for his advantage again. He is trying to make money off of them by offering them money. That way he can get them to do what he wants while retaining a dominant position for himself and his family for years to come. He also instills this hope in his followers. That they may be able to hold a position above others to where they can have material goods and leisure of a higher level than they are able to now under the policy of cooperation. His name is James Maverick.


I pull into the power plant and go in to see Grady. It is 10:30pm on Monday.

“Grady. How are you?” I ask.

“Just fine Walt. Did you know Maverick was in here? He offered Stuart a hundred thousand dollars a year to be his partner and run the place. He's also got a bank project he's working on. Says he's got investors and everything.”

“You don't say.” I reply. “Trying to get the great scam back in place I see.”

“Yeah,” Grady responds. “Stu didn't take him up on it but Maverick says he'll be back.”

“I'd better talk to Stuart.” I say.

Chapter 3 – The Conversation


“Stuart my man. How are ya?”

“Good Walt. I suppose you heard about Maverick?”

“Yeah. What's that all about?”

“He's trying to entice people with money. That old system again. What a waste. Having to keep track of everything so you can see who's got what and how much. It's all based in fantasy.” Stu says.

“I agree. Keeping track of everything. We have eliminated over fifty percent of labor just by not keeping track and worrying so much about how much everybody's got or taking.” I reply.

“Next time he comes down here,” Stuart smiles, “I'm going to tell him to buy his own power plant and quit using ours at no cost to himself or his neighbors up on the hill in those big houses. They look like museum pieces. I'm surprised those people aren't still wearing wigs and bell skirts.”

We laugh.

“Some people just can't seem to keep up with the pace of the changes in the world.” I declare.

Chapter 4 – The Deconstruction


Today is the second day of October and I am going to the deconstruction site to see if I can help. There are people on the heavy equipment tearing down office towers with cranes, bulldozers, and dump trucks. Someone there decides that they will show me how to work a heavy mover so I can help begin hauling things away. In this way I partake in the process of tearing down the building piece by piece.

Ultimately there will be very few buildings in Utopia when deconstruction is completed. Most of the land will be parks and forests. Many people live in small wooden huts in the forest choosing to live very natural and earthy lives. Food is brought in on the caravans that supply the out lands. It is composed of travelers and others who choose that line of work. Most of the food is hauled by compact electric vehicles which are recharged by the sun and hydrogen cells and also horse pulled carts are common. New forests are already being planted in previously torn down downtowns and office sites.

Concerts are common in the forests with different musical groups showcased daily and hourly. On my way home from deconstructing the building I stop at an ongoing showcase. Some friends are in the band and the audience as well.

“Jimmy. Nick. How's hap's?” I ask my friends.

“Hi Walter.”

“Hey Walter.”

“What cha eatin'?” I ask.

“Zucchini bread.” Nick replies. “You should grab some. There's beer too.”

“Sounds great.” I reply and head toward the table.

The concert venue is a clearing in the woods outside the former town. Actually the forest is as of yet very small for it is newly planted. Utopia has yet to reach its planned state seeing as the Walkout only occurred a couple years ago.

The band plays and people dance. Children, adults, and teens. Some careen. Some serene. Some ponder the Pleistocene.


Chapter 5 – Education


Education is provided free of cost, of course, as money is no longer used in Utopia. Courses are pass or not pass. There are no mandatory general requirements. There are no regular eight hour days of classes.


Chapter 6 – The War


I am sitting at class when we first get word of the coming onslaught. All the powerful weapons of the capitalists directed upon us. They apparently maintain enough support and control to be able to mount this attack. The class is in an open clearing in the woods and we are sitting on log benches and writing on smooth wooden tables.

We hear a loud explosion as a nearby home is hit with a bomb. We see troops coming toward us. The occupying force and the troops immediately begin reinstating all the rules and regulations of before and what they call law and order. We are in danger of being re-enslaved but I think we have a clear enough doctrine and understanding that we merely have to peacefully resist the occupiers. We already have a model for resisting the occupation from when the peaceful revolution was accomplished the first time.