Don't Wait for the Weight

Call this a cross-promotion. (TV shows do it all the time -- Magnum appeared on Simon & Simon and vice versa. They weren't super-great episodes, but it was still fun to watch Rick and A.J. duke it out with Thomas.)

My girlfriend Christy and I are trying to lose weight, and we're gonna do it. And it's not just about weight-loss, it's about eating and living better. We started a heart-healthy lifestyle last year but sort of, um, slacked. So we're re-doubling our efforts. I think it's a good thing and it's not as difficult or as restrictive as you might think.

So, to that end, I'm actively inviting (read: encouraging) you to visit Christy's blog – and take a gander. A few of us have vowed to make a difference in our own lives and, hopefully, in yours too.

Take a look, set a goal, and see if you can achieve your New Year's Resolution before New Years. Hey, it's a win-win. If you lose a little weight by Dec. 31, you can actually have fun on Dec. 31! And you won't have the pressure of setting a resolution on that penultimate day of the year that you're going to feel guilty about not keeping come Jan. 1!

Come on, it's a blog. If you cheat or choose not to do it, who's gonna know? But if you accept the challenge, you've got bragging rights in, like, August!

Yep. Here we go again...

EAT MOR CHIKIN...NOT!

I've come to realize that I question how many people actually understand the true definition of prejudice and discrimination. Through repeated exposure to images and ideas of discrimination, have we become desensitized to what it actually is? I realized that of all the people I've ever known in my life, I've known very few who were overtly prejudiced or discriminated against in any way. Chick-fil-A chief executive Dan Cathy's recent Christian-based anti-gay comments at first pissed me off in a there-they-go-again kind of way. The resultant furor over his comments encouraged me at first. Yay! This is pissing a lot of people off! And then I was appalled at the support he, and the restaurant chain, have received. Appalled and plain old disappointed. I'm disappointed in how narrow-minded and intolerant so many people in this country still remain. People seem to cling to ignorance (and stupidity) with a fierce determination that, to me, lacks explanation.

I discovered that many people I liked and respected are, in fact, hate-mongers with as little tolerance, compassion and sense as Nazi Germany at the height of its power and influence. Perhaps I've indulged in a little self-delusion because the reactions I've seen, on Facebook for example, took me a bit by surprise. The comments people have made made me think that they really have no idea what it's like to be discriminated against, or been a victim of bigotry or prejudice. I wondered how honest, God-fearing Christians could think it was okay to jail somebody because of their sexual preference? Granted, the Catholics had their Spanish Inquisition, and the Nazis had the Final Solution, Americans had slavery because blacks were inferior, women weren't allowed to vote; and hell, everyone was dumped on in this country during the Industrial Revolution. So, yeah, there's a history of egregious wrong-doing that was eventually righted. The Catholics got screwed in the U.S. right up until the 60s, and then a bunch of sick priests further sullied their reputation. Hitler lost, the slaves were freed, and women can vote. And Italians, Jews, Russians, Albanians and the Irish continue to fight amongst themselves (but they all seem to balance one another out in a sort circle-of-life thing).

So how is it, in this day and age, that we still haven't learned tolerance? How is it that so many seem to have forgotten the past and have no foresight toward the future? People continue to foist their twisted belief systems on others and hide under the white hood of free speech and the First Amendment. The First Amendment doesn't absolve you from having to think about what you say. Having the right to espouse bigotry doesn't make it right. And having the right to say whatever you want isn't the same as having the right to take action. When are people going to learn to be as respectful of other people's beliefs as they would have them be of theirs? When I read about either the gleefully ignorant ("Go Chick-fil-A!"), or the ignorantly apathetic ("I don't agree with their views, but I like their food. Go Chick-fil-A!"), I wanted to puke. It made me realize it's a lot cooler to be known as an American than to actually be one.

I don't think a lot of these people even know what the hell they're supporting. They're just jumping on the bandwagon like good little sheep and not even thinking about the actual, real-world ramifications of the words and actions that they're supporting. They're thinking of actual, flesh'n'blood human beings that their actions are affecting in a strictly abstract, academic sense. "These are other people who deserve what's comin' to them. But I don't know any of them."

History will demonstrate, as it has time and again, that the put upon and downtrodden will prevail and that their persecutors will be seen as the ignorant, provincial thugs that they are.

If all the groups that have been targeted for hate in our nation's history received the sanctions their persecutors sought, there wouldn't be anybody left.

Ella Mae

Ella Mae Blount 1912-2012

My grandma passed away yesterday. She was 99-and-a-half years old and died peacefully while asleep in her own bed. She was healthy and happy and clear of mind and spirit when she died.

After my mom called and told me Grandma had died, I unpaused the TV show I was watching and continued. I thought it might distract me from the news I'd just gotten. But it didn't. (Big surprise.) So I turned it off and I just...sat. My grandma and I weren't close, but neither were we distant. We simply lived across the country from each other and didn't communicate often. But I loved her dearly and I like to think that I was a decent grandson, especially during the last few years of her life.

As I sat on my couch, what I thought about was her life and her death. She was nearly a century old. A century! She was born just 9 years after Orville and Wilbur learned to fly. She witnessed the birth of commercial aviation and saw Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. She was around when a telephone still weighed about 4 pounds, only came in one color and didn't have a prayer of fitting into a handbag or a pocket. She had a typewriter and sent letters and didn't have a computer and never sent an email. She heard movies go from silent to sound and saw them go from black and white to color. She listened to radio and then watched television. She sang to herself and then got a phonograph and then a cassette player and then a CD player. (No iPod for Grandma, though.)

My grandma lived through World Wars I and II. She lived through Korea and Vietnam. She survived every disease known to modern man either because she never caught it or simply kicked its ass. She wasn't killed by a mugger or a drunk driver or a heart attack or a stroke. She was born in a time when it was nearly unlivable to be black in America and she saw the modern civil rights movement make life a bit better.

She raised 2 sons who then raised children of their own, who then raised children of their own. She was all of 5'-2", had a thick silver braid down to her butt, and I can't pull up a mental image of her face without a smile on it. She said her trick to keeping a clean house was to put things down where they belong. And she said that every disagreement isn't worth arguing about.

When I think about death, the idea of dying doesn't bother me that much. I think what frightens me is how I'll die. Will it be painful? Will I be alone? Will it take long? Will it be after a protracted illness while I'm lying in a hospital bed attached to machines and surrounded by strangers?

My grandmother died peacefully and painlessly while asleep in her own bed. That's how I could go. So for today, I'm not quite as frightened as I was.

Thanks, Grandma.

The Beyond - A Short Story

This post is a companion piece to my previous post. It's a short story that @Christy (booksflutterby.blogspot.com) wrote after I showed her two pieces of science-fiction art that I did. I think it's a wonderful story (in my unbiased opinion) and I hope you'll give it a read.

Enjoy!

The Beyond

The Beyond
For years we lived in the peace of our world, content with the knowledge that had been handed down from father and mother to son and daughter. In the darkness of night, we gathered with families, heard tales of the Ancients, and learned that when one ceased to exist on this plane, the other world awaited. In the day, we went about our business, living our lives. When the skies were clear, one could look up and see the red stillness that was and had always been. It was simply, The Beyond.

The Beyond was a place the Ancients believed the essence of our being went once we ceased to exist physically on our planet. Another was The Traverse. The Beyond was preferable. It could be seen. We knew when we looked at it that perhaps our loved ones were there. The Traverse was frightening. What did it look like? Why could we not see it? As the ancients explained it, it was what was just past The Beyond, and only a select few were chosen to go.

We became curious and began to wonder what was inside, or even on the other side, of The Beyond. Did one truly go there when one ceased to exist? If we could somehow build a craft that could take us there, would we see our loved ones? And if we could go farther, would we find out who went to The Traverse and why?

And so began the journey to build crafts that would take us into The Beyond and perhaps to the Traverse. It took years of failed experiments. We worked as one, those on the long side of the world and those on mine. It became a universal goal. What was already a functioning global community became more so. Then the day came when one of the test launches of a craft lifted off, hovered and moved higher toward The Beyond. We were ready.

The world rejoiced! Soon we would have answers. More tests were done, crafts were built, and teams were chosen to go on the first journey. Training was intense, but all knew it was worth it. Those who were chosen would find answers, bring them back to our world, and perhaps become the new Ancients with new answers.

When the day arrived for the four crafts to depart, everyone was there to witness it in person, those from our side and the long side of the world. The crowds were large and the mood was high.We who were chosen boarded with pride and an intense emotion we had never before felt. Finally, we would see The Beyond. Finally we might see loved ones long passed.

All went well with lift off. We made it through several layers of atmosphere and neared our first destination: The Beyond. The red glow that had been so comforting was now slightly frightening. We were worried. As we entered the brightness of The Beyond, our crafts tilted and alarms sounded. We did our best to keep control, and watched as our three sister craft did the same. Finally we broke through.

The Traverse

Surrounded by the warm red glow, we marveled at the wisps of vapor that seemed to dance. Desperately we searched for signs of what the ancients had told us. Where were our loved ones? We continue to explore The Beyond, but there was no sign of life. There was no sign of a planet where we could land. There was no sign of familiar faces. With deep sorrow, we sent images back to our world with the message that we were continuing on to The Traverse.

Again, we struggled to maintain control as we moved from the red atmosphere of The Beyond to the mysterious unknown of The Traverse. It took such concentration, that none of us noticed what it looked like until we were through and steady.

Finally, we were on the other side of The Beyond and instead of the brilliant red we had known all our lives, we saw a peaceful blue that hypnotized us. This was The Traverse. The vastness was almost overwhelming. Our small imaginations had never envisioned this. We no longer believed we would find our loved ones, but we did believe we would find others, and we wanted to experience their beauty.

V I S U A L S v.2

I was sitting here trying to think of something new to talk/rant about, and – apparently – the world is now perfect, because I can't think of anything to bitch about right now. But I did realize I'd done a bit of artwork since the last time I posted some of my stuff.

So until something pisses me off or otherwise strikes my fancy, here's some new-ish artwork to keep you busy for a little while. Click on the images to see an enlarged view.

Enjoy!

Mouthful of Mic [Illustrator and Photoshop] I guess I don't really need an explanation for this one. Except that was misleadingly difficult to do. It kept looking like a bean, which was frustrating. It didn't start looking like a microphone until I shaded it and chromed it up.

The Beyond [Photoshop] I was in a sci-fi/geeky mood for a while and did this along with The Traverse. I didn't come up with these titles either; Christy did. And she wrote a really cool short story to go with them.

Guardian [Illustrator and Photoshop] Yay! An actual paying piece! This is...I'm not actually sure what this thing is. I call it the warp drive.

Hitachi [Illustrator and Photoshop] When I was first starting to get into using the computer to do illustration instead of the airbrush, I used to collect photos I found of cool looking stuff. I found this in a magazine and thought it would be a good exercise to keep honing my Photoshop skills.

CK-650 [Illustrator and Photoshop] This was a blast to do. Sometimes I'll just go on Google and look for images of cars or motorcycles – anything that seems like it'd be fun to draw. This piqued my curiosity so – voila!

Sentinels [Illustrator and Photoshop] Sci-fi/geek mode again. I drew one of these...things and then decided to dupe them and put them in orbit around an earth-like planet. I think of them as guardians of the world below, impersonal but also unthreatening.

The Traverse [Illustrator and Photoshop] This is the companion piece to The Beyond (the second piece in this collection). This started as a doodle in Illustrator and sort of got out of hand. lol I don't really know what these things are though. Stargates maybe? Portals to regions unknown?

U.S.S. Venture [Illustrator] I was a major Star Trek: The Next Generation fan and I loved the graphics that visual artist Mike Okuda did for the show. I first drew this in pen and ink when I was just a wee one and wanted to re-do it in the style of ST:TNG's graphics.

Enday [Photoshop] This was kind've a joke for Christy's mom. I think she saw another planet thingy I'd done and thought the lights of the city were explosions. So now we have our end-of-days world.

The Chrysler Building [Illustrator and Photoshop] This is a work-in-progress (you may have noticed that the Chrysler building isn't actually there yet), but I thought I'd show it here and then post the finished piece eventually.

Cops Aren't Idiots, They're Just Written That Way

But I'm stylin'!

This is not a cop-bash. It's a TV cop bash. Reality shows may still be all the rage, but give me a police procedural and I'm glued to the boob tube. But why? Why, why, why are the cops so stupid? I don't know much about real police procedure, but I've gotta believe that TV cops are way dumber than real ones.

I understand that a certain amount of artistic license may be necessary for dramatic purposes, but do writers have to make TV cops short-bus stupid? Surely there are real cops across America that are rolling their eyes, pissed off that TV portrays them as clichéd numbskulls. Don't get me wrong; there are a few smart cops out there. Detective Kate Beckett on "Castle" is smart, pretty, and tough. Detective Robert Goren on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" is brilliant. And Detective Jane Timoney (the brilliantly acerbic Maria Bello), late of "Prime Suspect", was the coolest, most realistic female TV cop since Cagney and Lacey (probably why she was canceled). If I was murdered, I'd want any of these top cops on the case.

But most of them are just dumber than a bag of rocks. For example:

Should Be Working Vice
Why are the male detectives all balding, middle-aged, non-descript gray suits while the female detectives are hot and sassy? Carrie Wells on "Unforgettable" (see photo) wears tops cut down to her navel and 5-inch stiletto boots (along with an annoying, ever-present smirk). If I was a suspect and I saw her coming after me, I'd run. Why? Because she can't catch me if she's wearing 5-inch stiletto boots. With her long, bright red hair, sleeveless low-cut tops and heels, she should be working vice, not homicide.

Sharing is Good For the Soul
Why do cops discuss ongoing investigations in front of, well, everyone? They interview a shop-owner in his store, and then reveal details of the case while he listens on. What if he was involved in the crime? Good thing for him that they're kind enough to let him know exactly how off-track they are.

Mr. Manson, Meet the Parents
Why do cops parade families of victims through the squad room, in plain view of the suspects? "Right this way, Mr. Smith." "Hey...hey...! Is that the scumbag who raped and murdered my daughter?" Always eager to help out, some hapless cop has a firearm handy for the victim's dad to snatch and shoot the suspect. The suspect who turns out to be innocent.

Always Give Fair Warning
This is one of my favorites. Our intrepid detectives are searching for a suspect. They spot him on the street and shout, "Hey, you! FREEZE!" from either a) a block away, b) across a crowded room, or c) when the suspect is within easy reach of a potential hostage. Naturally, the suspect always gets away in the ensuing chaos. If I was a cop, I'd casually saunter up to the suspect, put my gun in his ear, and shout FREEZE! That way, he wouldn't get away and I'd have the added benefit of scaring the shit out of him.

Nah, He'll Never Use the Fire Escape
The entire detective squad is decked out in riot gear, the S.W.A.T. team is present with battering rams, shotguns, and automatic rifles. They bust into the suspect's lair, a gunfight breaks out and...the suspect gets away through a secret tunnel, onto the roof, down a fire escape, etc. Did it not occur to anyone to check the building's blueprint before mounting the assault? (The suspect did.)

It Could Be Ketchup
Why do detectives always have to dip their fingers in a pool of blood and then rub their fingertips together to discover that it is, indeed, blood? Haven't they seen enough blood to know what it looks like? And hello? Blood-borne pathogens? Hepatitis? AIDS? ("Dude, did that paper cut heal yet?")

It Could Be Powdered Sugar
If I was a badass drug dealer and wanted to bump off the entire narcotics division, I'd plant a brick of arsenic-laced cocaine in plain view because I could rest assured that all the cops would whip out their switchblade (they all have one), poke a hole in the pack, and taste the product. A product that could be...PCP perhaps? Or Drano? Or rat poison? And how on earth do they pass a department mandated drug test after they've been sampling smack all week?

No, No, Really – I'm Fine
Det. Curtis shoots a kid by mistake. Later, he slams a suspect against a wall during an interrogation and snarls, "You think I'm done with you? Huh? Well, do ya? Punk!" His captain says, "Um, ok. That's enough, Det. By the way, how's the counseling going?" Is there a TV cop out there who actually welcomes counseling after a traumatic event? And is there a lieutenant or captain who would let their detective carry a gun after seeing him/her go uncharacteristically medieval on some perp's ass?

Better Let 'Em Know We're Here
After an episode's worth of searching, our heroes have finally discovered the location of the mad bomber's hideout. So they head over with sirens blaring and tires screeching to a halt, thus alerting the suspect that the police have arrived. While the team is preparing to bust in the door, the perp is setting a booby-trap bomb and effecting his escape. Which leads us to...

Clear!
No, it's not! Busting into a house, quickly sweeping a room with a flashlight and declaring a room "clear" is just stupid. Did they check the closets, under the bed, the attic, the crawlspace under the house? If I was a bad guy, I wouldn't come out, guns blazing. I'd just hide in the bathtub, because they didn't check there either.

If I Look at You Hard Enough, You'll Confess
If you suspect, but as yet have no proof, that someone's guilty of something, why would you stare them down, thus alerting them that they're under suspicion. "Hmmm... Clearly she knows I'm up to something. So while they're continuing their investigation, I'll eliminate all of the evidence that could possibly implicate me. That way, I'll escape and they can bring me back all season long to not get caught again and again and again and..."

A Few Honorable Mentions...
- Empty threats made against suspects during heated, yet fruitless interrogations
- Insubordinate cops that wouldn't just get fired, they'd be shot
- Unmarked cop cars that look like cop cars ("Hey Vinnie? You think that's a couple of cops in the black Crown Victoria with no hubcaps that's been parked across the street for the past 7 hours?")
- Serial killers that don't get caught
- Unsolved murders of our hero's loved ones (Kate Beckett's mom on "Castle", Patrick Jane's family on "The Mentalist", Carrie Wells' sister on "Unforgettable")

I don't know if it's something in the Police Procedural Writer's Rulebook that says every show has to have this crap, but enough already. Let's get some smart TV cop who wear sensible shoes.