So, that was Christmas.

And we're back .... though probably not for long.



As you probably well know, there is more than enough stuff to do during the holidays. So much stuff that it's rather hard to believe that we actually get anything done. The phrase "I need a vacation from my vacation" is something we can all relate to, at least once in our lives.



In my case, I have no idea how my next few days shall go.  So, the blog may suffer some touch and go moments.  I had wanted to do a blog index. Something where someone could sit down, open the blog (in a permalink in the right side column) and see everything from 2011.



However, can you imagine how much work that is?  We're talking about nearly 200 posts from this year alone.



How can that be, you ask?



I'm so glad you asked.



You remember back in the middle of the year, just after Lent and Easter week? I was doing two blogs a day, three days a week, and a music blog on Thursdays, and a week in review every Friday.  That's over eighty blogs right there ... I say about 80 because 1) I can't remember how long I did it for, 2) nor can I remember how many days I may have missed one.



And, for the record, the Lent, and the Easter posting was about 31 blogs right there. And, never again!



I suspect that, by the second week in January, we'll be on track again.



Here's hoping.

Extremists, Atheists, and Jesus Freaks.

In previous articles having to do with politics, I have described myself as apathetic, or left or right depending on where the jury is from. I hate all politics, so I could be summed up as fair and mentally unbalanced.



What about religion? The same rules apply.



If anyone is familiar with the George Carlin routine [link rated R for language] about religion, it involves him talking about the Invisible Man in the Sky, and He Wants MONEY. When I first saw it, I thought it was hilarious. A nice little parody of the Catholic church when he was growing up.



Then I discovered that it's what he believed. Him, Bill Maher, and a whole bunch of other people.



Now, it could be that I'm a snob. My BA in philosophy might as well have been in Catholic philosophy. My father with the PhD in catholic Philosophy taught me more about the faith than my Catholic schools ever did. I get the impression that if my education mirrored George Carlin's, I'd turn out much like him. I would like to think that I could do my own research to learn what was going on, but who knows.



Atheists do not annoy me. Seriously. Two of my friends are atheists. One was my best friend before she went crazy with extremist politics—I was going crazy with PhD studies at the time, so that didn't help either.



My other atheist acquaintance is the primary artist for this website, Matt. He says he's a militant atheist. I disagree. If only because I've met militant atheists, and they have hated my guts for no other reason than I am religious. They couldn't do something reasonable like get to know me and my personality quirks before they hated me.



And I love those hate-filled nutjobs. Truly I do. They're amusing. If only because they spend a lot of them telling me what I think. It's sort of like my political article. I try to tell people what I believe politically, and from one sentence (usually a half sentence) they leap to amazing conclusions about what I think, what I believe, and why I believe it. They're funny as heck.



Then again, I may have a strange sense of humor.



So, what annoys me? If I blame George Carlin on bad education, and Bill Maher on being … himself, really … and I find Anti-Catholic twits a source of amusement, then what exactly would set me off in terms of religion?



1) Anti-Theists: a segment of the population that isn't talked about very often, Anti-Theists are exactly as the title says, they are against believers. My friend Matt may believe that religions are stupid, or that the bulk of religious people are stupid, but he doesn't hate my guts because of my faith. There are folks who have suggested that children should be taken away from believers just because they believe; or that Christians should be charged with child abuse because they tell their children that Jesus Loves Them. Anti-Theists like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris believe that those who believe in God are dangerous, even criminal. I congratulate Dawkins, Harris and their ilk on making discrimination and bigotry acceptable.



2) The Politically Correct. The Transportation Safety Authority is on everyone's list recently, so I see no reason to leave them out of my list of irritants. Recently, a front group for the terrorist organization the Muslim Brotherhood had trained the Transportation Security Officers of Los Angeles International Airport in how to be “sensitive” to members of Islam. I particularly enjoyed where “if a woman wears hijab and needs a secondary screening she should be screened in a private area by a female TSO officer.”

I like the headgear on the TSA offical.

However, they can give patdowns to nuns in public.



My main quibble there is that they can either accommodate all religions equally, or they can leave religion out of the equation. It strikes me as racist and bigoted: Why be sensitive to the religious of Islam and not Christians? Are Muslims somehow more sensitive than Christians or even Jews?



Again, it may just be me, but when I'm told “We have to give Muslims special treatment,” what I hear is: “We're going to patronize the poor sensitive little darlings, pat them on the head, and accommodate their ignorance so we can show how enlightened we are.”



Like I said, I find it demeaning and racist. It could just be me.



3) Anti-Christmas people. Fine, you don't like commercialism, good for you, neither do I. If you actually believe that Christmas is the season for love, peace on Earth, etc, and you dislike the crass commercialism of the season, I'm with you. Let's get together and sing Christmas carols down the street.

If you think that my wishing you “Merry Christmas” somehow means that I am demeaning you, you are an idiot. And you are probably looking to be offended. I say Happy Hannukah, and I say Merry Christmas, and I might even be persuaded to say happy Kwansa if I ever find somebody who follows that particular day. If you do not like it, feel free to complain. The complaint department in on the right



4) People who should know better, but lie. Earlier posts in this blog about the origins of the novel have mentioned how I came across people who researched on the Pius XII situation, noted the books they used, and spun a yawn that directly contradict the facts. Liars with an agenda … they tend to irritate me.



5) Jesus Freaks. You know who I mean. The people I mentioned in a previous post, where they're not interested in what you believe in, or what you have to say, they just wish to talk you to death with whatever rote lines of dialogue they have. They start with “Have you accepted Jay-sus Christ your own personal savior?” And, regardless of what you answer, they will push on as though you haven't spoken. Then we whip out the tazer and make them slightly crispy. I prefer atheists like Daniel Dennett. He's at least reasonable. I prefer atheists like Matt, or like my former friend Colleen; they may not like religion, but they usually point at reasonable problems.



In short, I dislike the willfully-ignorant and the mean-spirited. 



But, I suppose it comes down to "Who doesnt?"

Celtic Christmas, a music blog with Lindsey Stirling

Tis the week before Christmas, and all through the house, we're going to close up the blog early -- can't you hear the mouse?



However, before I abandon everyone to their last minute Christmas shopping -- and you forgot aunt Shelly, didn't you? -- a little bit of Christmas music is in order.



Last week, we had Silent Night, by Lindsey Stirling.  This week, we're going a little bit more Irish.  If you haven't figured it out from Maureen McGrail, and Sean Ryan, and Scott Murphy as characters in my novel, I'm a little bit Irish. About 50% if you want to bicker.



So, it should come as no surprise that today's "God rest ye merry Gentlemen" is going to be a little Irish....



With Lindsey Stirling.







And, the Carol of the Bells







And Happy Hanukkah to all, and to all a good night.

Catholic review. The war on Christmas, Kim Jong-il, Sherlock Holmes, and the WBC

I've had an interesting little month. Because I have a new job....

On Examiner.com, I'm now their Catholic columnist.

Yes, I write on self defense and on Catholicism. I'm a strange, strange man.

However, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise. After all, many of my articles on this blog acted as articles for the Examiner column.

In fact, my first column was one of my first articles from this past Lent.  Catholic cannibals: Explaining the eucharist. Yes, Catholics are cannibals. Live with it. :)

If you are a long term reader, you might remember that I was allowed an interview with Murder in the Vatican author Ann Margaret Lewis.  It is now a four part article on Examiner.com -- mainly because Examiner doesn't like long columns. In fact, you can start the Interview right here.  Parts two, three and four are attached.  As is my Review of Murder in the Vatican.

There was also an Interview with "Infinite Space Infinite God II" editor Karina Fabian.  That was only a II part article.  The Review of "Infinite Space Infinite God II," one part only

And there were a few other articles that readers of this blog might know.

Mr. Phelps, David Koresh called, he wants to chat;... 

Fred Phelps, you are disavowed. 

“You're going to Hell.... Not.” I'm Catholic, not Dante 

Japan, and the Christian vlogger - 2011 Catholic... 

Then there was some new material. I wanted to explain December 8th, feast of the immaculate conception, to "normal" people.  Also, I wanted to explain why they were Rewriting the Catholic mass -- yes, they are, and they did.

Last week, there was an odd thing of North Korea versus Christmas. -- and then Kim Jong-il died. Huh.

And then, The war on Christmas came to New Jersey. I can't make this stuff up

Fulton Sheen, New York saint? Yes, New York might have a saint buried in the city limits. Who knew?

I'll see you all again tomorrow. We're not done yet

Self Defense in Review: OWS in review, Christmas shopping, & more. A 2011 in review

If you ever wanted to know when I'd simply post an entire year in review, the answer is: the last possible minute.



But, this is close enough, I think.



Let's start with some articles I had yet to post, starting with my Occupy Wall Street Retrospective.



And, because 'tis the season to be hostile, I included Christmas Shopping Safety, in addition to my Black Friday Survivor's Guide.



Now, there were two very interesting pieces on self defense recently: a McDonald's cook was assaulted, and he struck back with force that seemed disproportionate.  However, the verdict may surprise you.  The story is here.   The verdict is here.



Remember when I mentioned Krav Maga on this site?  It's going on tour.



Also, there was a kids test at my Krav Place.



And yes, there was a 2011 Year In Review. Part one: When you need to defend yourself, you do it without reservation ... until you need to stop; because, let's face it, it would be annoying to have to defend yourself, and then be arrested for it. Something you should already have an idea of, and yet probably don't know how to do it well. How to avoid a fight through attitude, and a study in Krav Maga, a review of Krav Defense in Bethpage, NY, how to escape an arm grab, defending against chokes from the front... And Evaluating a self defense class.



Top ten points to attack an aggressor. When you absolutely must attack, this is where you strike. And if you are mugged.



Part two was something else again.



I covered a real life incident that explores the rules of engagement for defending yourself in New York; pens as lethal weapons; the top ten weapons you carry on you every day.  Some people are natural born targets, mainly because they don't pay attention. Meeting people from online in real life, part one and part two;Self defense and Child Obesity; after someone tried to blow up Norway, it was time to focus some attention there for a while; How to Spot a Suicide Bomber in 12 steps. A checklist of behaviors stolen from the Israelis. They know these things.  An analysis of the rape charges filed against a French bureaucrat in New York, and comes up with a conclusion. And that conclusion is that there should be pain.  Also, in New York, a little boy was killed, and dismembered. The real danger would be bringing back an old practice that did no good the first time around.  The week that everyone tried to blow stuff up; dealing with a stalker ex; How to survive a bar fight in five easy steps; hunting in the Urban Wild when you are the prey.



And that covered most of the summer.



Part 3 was a Krav Maga seminar, Women's self defense, and Barbara Sheehan tests the limits of self defense.



Part 4: Rayon McIntosh, Occupy Wall Street, and surviving Christmas.

I think that's it.  The year. Be well, and be safe. I'll be on tomorrow for a surprise topic.

Coyote Christmas: the full story

Last week, I introduced a tale of Sean AP Ryan, in a twitter format.



This is the rest of the story.



You'll notice that a few things are different, and some things are spelled out better here than last week ... because, while Twitter can have a whole range of sequences fitted into 140 characters or less, some things can get lost in the process.





Now, if you don't recall Sean A.P. Ryan, he is a security consultant, a mercenary, and someone who is possibly quite, quite mad.



He has faced people who are NOT Fred Phelps of the WBC.



He has dangled someone off of the Empire State Building -- which is a little important to this story, though not much.



He has bargained his way out of an LA jail.



And this is just in the short stories that have appeared on this site. (Linked to in the left hand column.)





Today, he runs up against someone who is decidedly not RM Hendershot, author of Masks.  I can guarantee you won't even see the word Hendershot appear once.  Honest.



Coyote Christmas.

Yeah, I got nothing

Writing this blog three days a week has been fun.  It's entertaining, it's good for me to have something to do, and, perhaps, maybe, it may help get me published.

It also helps that I am a font of utterly useless information.

At the end of the day, it's the end of another year, and it's almost Christmas time, so I'm trying to figure out what I should do next, especially since there are fewer and fewer people interested in personal blogs the closer we get to Christmas.

However, I do have a few tricks up my sleeves, and a few announcements. However, they're not ready.

So, I will, instead, leave you with a fun bit of news....

I have a new job.... again.

Enjoy

Music blog: Silent night, by Lindsey Stirling.

I do not do sweet and touching.



But for this, I'll make an exception.  Silent night, done by last week's Lindsey Stirling.









And, just so you don't feel jipped, have another ... not Christmas music, but it'll do, I think.

Extremists, Atheists, and Jesus Freaks.

In previous articles having to do with politics, I have described myself as apathetic, or left or right depending on where the jury is from. I hate all politics, so I could be summed up as fair and mentally unbalanced.

What about religion? The same rules apply.

If anyone is familiar with the George Carlin routine [link rated R for language] about religion, it involves him talking about the Invisible Man in the Sky, and He Wants MONEY. When I first saw it, I thought it was hilarious. A nice little parody of the Catholic church when he was growing up.

Then I discovered that it's what he believed. Him, Bill Maher, and a whole bunch of other people.

Now, it could be that I'm a snob. My BA in philosophy might as well have been in Catholic philosophy. My father with the PhD in catholic Philosophy taught me more about the faith than my Catholic schools ever did. I get the impression that if my education mirrored George Carlin's, I'd turn out much like him. I would like to think that I could do my own research to learn what was going on, but who knows.

Atheists do not annoy me. Seriously. Two of my friends are atheists. One was my best friend before she went crazy with extremist politics—I was going crazy with PhD studies at the time, so that didn't help either.

My other atheist acquaintance is the primary artist for this website, Matt. He says he's a militant atheist. I disagree. If only because I've met militant atheists, and they have hated my guts for no other reason than I am religious. They couldn't do something reasonable like get to know me and my personality quirks before they hated me.

And I love those hate-filled nutjobs. Truly I do. They're amusing. If only because they spend a lot of them telling me what I think. It's sort of like my political article. I try to tell people what I believe politically, and from one sentence (usually a half sentence) they leap to amazing conclusions about what I think, what I believe, and why I believe it. They're funny as heck.



Then again, I may have a strange sense of humor.



So, what annoys me? If I blame George Carlin on bad education, and Bill Maher on being … himself, really … and I find Anti-Catholic twits a source of amusement, then what exactly would set me off in terms of religion?

1) Anti-Theists: a segment of the population that isn't talked about very often, Anti-Theists are exactly as the title says, they are against believers. My friend Matt may believe that religions are stupid, or that the bulk of religious people are stupid, but he doesn't hate my guts because of my faith. There are folks who have suggested that children should be taken away from believers just because they believe; or that Christians should be charged with child abuse because they tell their children that Jesus Loves Them. Anti-Theists like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris believe that those who believe in God are dangerous, even criminal. I congratulate Dawkins, Harris and their ilk on making discrimination and bigotry acceptable.

2) The Politically Correct. The Transportation Safety Authority is on everyone's list recently, so I see no reason to leave them out of my list of irritants. Recently, a front group for the terrorist organization the Muslim Brotherhood had trained the Transportation Security Officers of Los Angeles International Airport in how to be “sensitive” to members of Islam. I particularly enjoyed where “if a woman wears hijab and needs a secondary screening she should be screened in a private area by a female TSO officer.”

I like the headgear on the TSA offical.

However, they can give patdowns to nuns in public.

My main quibble there is that they can either accommodate all religions equally, or they can leave religion out of the equation. It strikes me as racist and bigoted: Why be sensitive to the religious of Islam and not Christians? Are Muslims somehow more sensitive than Christians or even Jews?

Again, it may just be me, but when I'm told “We have to give Muslims special treatment,” what I hear is: “We're going to patronize the poor sensitive little darlings, pat them on the head, and accommodate their ignorance so we can show how enlightened we are.”

Like I said, I find it demeaning and racist. It could just be me.

3) Anti-Christmas people. Fine, you don't like commercialism, good for you, neither do I. If you actually believe that Christmas is the season for love, peace on Earth, etc, and you dislike the crass commercialism of the season, I'm with you. Let's get together and sing Christmas carols down the street.

If you think that my wishing you “Merry Christmas” somehow means that I am demeaning you, you are an idiot. And you are probably looking to be offended. I say Happy Hannukah, and I say Merry Christmas, and I might even be persuaded to say happy Kwansa if I ever find somebody who follows that particular day. If you do not like it, feel free to complain. The complaint department in on the right

4) People who should know better, but lie. Earlier posts in this blog about the origins of the novel have mentioned how I came across people who researched on the Pius XII situation, noted the books they used, and spun a yawn that directly contradict the facts. Liars with an agenda … they tend to irritate me.

5) Jesus Freaks. You know who I mean. The people I mentioned in a previous post, where they're not interested in what you believe in, or what you have to say, they just wish to talk you to death with whatever rote lines of dialogue they have. They start with “Have you accepted Jay-sus Christ your own personal savior?” And, regardless of what you answer, they will push on as though you haven't spoken. Then we whip out the tazer and make them slightly crispy. I prefer atheists like Daniel Dennett. He's at least reasonable. I prefer atheists like Matt, or like my former friend Colleen; they may not like religion, but they usually point at reasonable problems.

In short, I dislike the willfully-ignorant and the mean-spirited.

But, I suppose it comes down to "Who doesnt?"

Music blog: Lindsey Stirling, epic violin

If you don't know from the violinist Lindsey Stirling, you're missing out.



But, since even I only heard of her about a week or two ago, you probably haven't missed too much. Thankfully, she's up on Youtube.



Short version: I've never seen a woman dance and jump around while playing a violin.



The long version: try this video.  If you're not familiar with the tune, it's the main theme to the Legend of Zelda video games. If you have no idea of what a "Zelda" is, don't worry about it. It's fantasy, and it usually involves swords. Just play the video







Of the various and sundry videos Stirling has up, it was hard to pick what else I wanted to post....



However, this one has her moonwalking as she plays the violin.



Enjoy.

Month in review: November, 2011

Well, another month shot to hell.  :)



Anyway, this has been an interesting little month. This was the month I discovered Stumbleupon.com.... and I posted links to almost every single blog entry, and through in some of Masks as well .... only in that case, I crashed the website for a little bit. Oops.



So, all of that adds up to this month having over 13,255 hits on the blog.  It's been a good month.  Even if I had to rewrite the top ten blog list. I may still yet have to.



Anyway...



There is a Story By Twitter coming up soon on the blog, and probably next Monday.  If you have a twitter account, find join my twitter feed (you can find a link in the right hand side). Otherwise, you may not get it for a while.



I've written characters of mine who take surveys, starting with Egyptian cop Hashim Abasi ... who has a list of enemies on his mouse pad.



And, if you ever missed a video we've done thus far, well, you can't: here are the complete Videos of A Pius Man.  Not to mention that there's also a video going around the net that makes me think I have to seriously up my A-game: a live action recreation of a video game fight from the epic game Arkham city.



Oh yes, and there is a contest going on: I hope someone has notice.



Our music blogs have had: Dragonforce's Heart of a Dragon, Final Fantasy's One Winged Angel, and Mozart. We also had Tom Smith's Cooking for 93 ... a little something for Thanksgiving.  There was also the classic science fiction summary in song Rocket Ride, by Tom Smith, as well as some Dragonforce's Where Dragons Rule.  We also had some Two steps from Hell, and the greatest beer that any bar has ever had for sale: it's Three-oh-seven Ale.



I've also had the most FAQ that any author has ever had to deal with: "Where do you get your ideas from?"  Here's an answer.



There was also some issues with Google.  Feh.



And, finally, there was a self defense review: with kill shots, Occupiers, and ... something else, I'm sure.



See you Monday.

Christmas charity opportunity.

Karina Fabian, former guest blogger and interviewee,  has asked me to post this.  So I have.  Enjoy.



No, I didn't say a lot. But I think the below will do, don't you think?

Dear friends and
readers, This winter, I have two things in my
heart and on my mind:  caring for those less fortunate than me (or indeed, much
of the world) and my DragonEye, PI stories.  For Christmas, I’m combining them
and would like to share them with you. Those of you who are “Vern Fans,” know
about my dragon who works in our world as a private investigator, and his
partner, Sister Grace, a mage and nun in the Faerie Catholic Church.  They’ve
saved the worlds and their friends in numerous stories and novels.  Last year, I
wrote a story for Flagship about their first Christmas together.  Not
only is Grace struggling with the Mundane idea of Christmas, but their home is
threatened by a land developer who wants to tear down the entire neighborhood
and make a mall.  When the Ghosts of Christmas come to visit him, however, Vern
and Grace have to solve the mystery before the Christmas Spirits become Angels
of Death. I have revised and am publishing
“Christmas Spirits” as a serial story to raise funds for Food for the Poor. This
is a wonderful charity that helps people in impoverished nations help
themselves. It allows donators to choose their gifts--whether rice for a family
for a month, school supplies, livestock, tools or even houses.

I'm
asking that you please check out the story, and, if you enjoy it and want to see
more, that you donate even a dollar to the cause. Also, if you enjoy the story,
let your friends know. I'll post every Tuesday and Thursday as the donations
come in.   Right now, we have raised enough to send a family 20 baby chicks and
are halfway to a fruit tree in addition.  Vern would like to send them a cow (he
is a dragon, after all), but Sister Grace and I are dreaming of raising enough
to buy someone a home.  Can you imagine giving a HOUSE for Christmas?  Will you
help? Find the story at http://christmasspirits.karinafabian.com. 
You can also get to it via my website, http://fabianspace.com.  Look under the
Christmas dragon for the link.   You can learn more about Food for the Poor at
http://www.foodforthepoor.org.


Thanks for your attention!

Karina Fabian 

Self Defense Review: November 2011

It's that time of the month again.  We're back with yet another self defense review.



I started off this month with my last -- as in final -- article on Occupy Wall Street. I've had it with these people.  Not to mention that I wrote the article the day before the OWS were told that, no, squatting is illegal, and we're taking your tents away. Thank you.  If you ever wanted to know the problems that local business had with Occupy Wall Street, just click here.



If you ever wanted to scare off attackers, or at least make yourself look like a target that would give them trouble, you might want to try here.  You even get a song with it.



I've mentioned more than once that, well, accidents happen.  When you're attacked, and you must defend yourself, someone could die.  You should avoid it whenever possible, but sometimes, well, accidents can happen.  My friend Carlos helped me out with this one.



And, after I stole more than a few good lines and articles from this book, I decided to do a little review of The Special Forces Guide to Unarmed Combat.  It's surprisingly useful.



And, just for fun, I did a nice little article on how to Survive Black Friday.



I hope you all enjoy.

Thanksgiving blog: Cool stuff. Cooking for 93.

The odds that anyone is going to read the blog today are so slender, it's improbably ridiculous.



However, for those of you who have tripped over my website today, you will not go away empty handed.  



First up: have you ever had to cook for relatives?  On Thanksgiving?  Without any help from the vast army you're feeding?



If the answer is yes: enjoy.













Next up, you've seen my videos -- and if you haven't, look in the right hand margin, and you'll find them soon enough.



However, now that I've seen this awesome group, I think I should hire them before I try doing another one.

Music blog: Tom Smith's Rocket Ride, Where Dragons Rule, Halo

This is Tom Smith's classic "Rocket Ride."  Basically, making fun of every major high-budget scifi movie made .... possibly in the last twenty years.  Give or take a decade.



I think it's kinda fun.



Enjoy

Dragonforce: Where Dragons Rule, as done to Halo.

Coming soon: another twitter tale.

Last week, you learned about the strange situation I'm in with google.  This week, I've fixed it, as you can tell by the strange ad layouts you see around you.  And, I think that I like these ads better -- when I have them, that is.



However, I spent so much time getting that fixed, I'm missing a blog for the day.  I think the moral of the story is: don't bother with google ads, unless you like being screwed over.



However, I will make a little note here: Does anyone remember "Boys of the Old Brigade"?  It was story by twitter that I put together a while ago.



I'm thinking of doing it again in December, only with a story called Coyote Christmas.   I've written out the whole story in proper format, and I've done a twitter version.  The former was 18 pages, the latter only 7.



However, there is one major difference.



This time, I actually have a twitter account.



How many people do you think I can confuse on Twitter with lines like

Calling me a rent-a-cop is like calling a mushroom cloud
a really neat special effect. 

It should at least get someone's attention.



I'm thinking of saving this story for December 5th.  So, if you want to catch it live, join my twitter by then (the join button is in the right hand column).

Occupy Google!

Sorry, this blog will be postponed for today. Nothing new is going to happen.



Why?  Because Google has decided to jerk me around



This blog, APM, has recently had a slight bump in traffic.  How slight?  Well, to break it down, the blog has had just over 16,000 viewers.



Thus far, November has brought in over 8,000 new readers.



Google Ads, who usually have a place in the right hand column, or just under the latest blog post, have decided that my latest bump in Google Ad clicks is sketchy.



If you don't have Google's Adsense on a blog, it's simple: you get paid by click.  The more hits you get on the website, the more likely it is that someone will click on your ads, and the more clicks, the more money.



However, you don't get paid until you make $100.



Before November, I had "made" $40.  Since the start of the November, I've brought in more than that -- not much, but I could buy a new laptop, if I buy it wholesale ....



In other words, just when I'm actually about to make ANY money, Google pulls the plug on me.



I'm going to spend the next few days waterboarding someone at Google .... um, I mean, appealing my case to these overstuffed shirts.



It's not much, but for someone who is too overeducated to be employed even at McDonald's (I think they're afraid I may take over), it's something.



Pardon the interruption.

Music Blog: 307 Ale, Halo, Dragon Rider

Yup, more music ....



By the way, before we begin, please remember that we have a contest ongoing.  Also, if you could check out some of our sponsors on the way out, it would be nice.  Thanks.



Anyway, today is the return of Filk music.



Tom Smith: 307 Ale .... the world's first hyper beer.







More below the break.

Epic "Trailer music", by Two Steps from Hell





And, a bit of soundtrack from the Halo franchise. On A Pale Horse (Reprise): A surprisingly touching bit of music, considering the title.

Top Ten Blog Posts, November, 2011.

Well, this has been an interesting week.



I recently came across a network called Stumbleupon.com.  I figured "hmm, maybe I should post some of my blog posts up there."  After a while, I posted .... a lot.



Then, I did the same for Rebekah Hendershot, of Masks, because, well, I was there, and I could ....



I sort of broke her website.  Oops.



The website for APM did not go down .... though we had about seven THOUSAND newcomers ....



If you are one, welcome.



Anyway. we've had to rewrite the top ten most viewed blogs blogs of A Pius Man.  Apparently, people really like comic books, theology, and blowing stuff up.



#1 Sex, DC Comics, and ... wtf?  This should not come as a surprise to anyone. This was a hit within the week it was posted, and shot up, and stayed up ever since.  Written in the wake of the initial DC reboots, this blog took a look at how DC treated two of their best female characters .... badly.



#2 Disasters to Marvel At: A Comic Discussion. Before DC comics had ever earned my ire, Marvel had done a great job at annoying me, by turning their entire world into a giant hamster wheel, where there is a lot of running, and no one goes ANYWHERE



#3 Mr Phelps, You Are Disavowed… No one likes poor Fred Phelps, founded of the Westboro Baptist Church, probably incest master, definite cult leader, and all-round narcissistic little prick.



#4 Evil Religions 2: Baby-raping Catholic Priests. Part of my Evil Religions series (the title was ironic) I took a look at everyone's favorite cliche -- namely, "Oh look, a priest on television. Who does he rape/ maim/ assault /kill?"


#5 The Pirate King, a Story of Sean A.P. Ryan.  One of my stories about the infamous mercenary Sean Ryan, a man who doesn't exactly look like the heroic type, and may be too crazy to be a bad guy.  Basically, a Somali pirate picked the WRONG ship.



#6 Snarky theology 3: Evolution, Creationists, and other irritants.  Also part of the Evil religions series ... Sort of.  Some people like to complain about evolution. That it proves or disproves EVERYTHING about religion.  If you really, really think that way, well, I think you're a flaming idiot.  Here's why.



#7 Scott Murphy's Notebook: Spytech This was a complete shock to me. Honestly.  I tossed together some fun facts I've collected over the years, and  compiled them.  Before, NO ONE had read this blog.  Now ... well, what a difference a post on Stumbleupon can make.



#8 Snarky Theology 5: The Passion, Jews, and Good Friday.  I wrote this the week before Easter.  Too many people watched Mel Gibson's The Passion, and I wanted to look at a few things.



#9 Snarky Theology 2: FAQs about Lent. Again, another "why are people reading this one?" post.



#10  The flame war is postponed ....  After the Japan Earthquake, some little twit online made a comment that went viral.  I decided someone should smack her down.  I did.



Anyway, so, again, if you're new, welcome.  Take a look around.  We have a nice introduction column on the right.  And, before you left, please click on a sponsor or two.  We have some interesting ones, and, we need the cash.



Thanks.

FAQ: Where do you get your ideas?

I've touched on this briefly during the series on how I created A Pius Man, but, apparently, the question many authors are besieged with is “How do you come up with your ideas?”



Short answer: formal viewpoint. Or a functional mentality.



For example, last year, I saw Forbes Magazine with cover article about how al-Qaeda was losing money, and it suggested that Osama "needed a new business model."



I can not make this stuff up.



The point is, people look at things from a “formal viewpoint.” I would look at a large pile of money and think of where a character would hide it. An accountant would probably count it all. A pyromaniac would look at it as stuff to burn.

[More below the break]



In my case... to use an example, in 1998, my family went to London and stopped off to see the Crown Jewels. Everyone else stared at the jewels. I went and looked at the security. I didn't take notes, since I didn't want to be thrown out of the Tower of London by the fastest possible route [the jewels were a few floors up]. The British Museum got the same treatment from me -- The Elgin Marbles from the Greek Parthenon had their own wing.... so, if the Greeks really wanted them back, they could steal them with a few construction helicopters and just airlift the whole wing—the Israelis did that with an Egyptian radar tower once to great effect.



Basically, it's a matter of looking at things from a certain viewpoint. I suspect that if I go see the Mona Lisa, the majority of my time will be pondering how someone could disable the security guards, the electronic surveillance, and walk away with a few paintings from the Louvre. Though the answer would probably be to steal something from the basement storage area—less security, without the individual alarms on every piece.... hmm, now that's an idea....can someone scan for Semtex at the entrypoint to the Louvre? Hrm...



The sad thing is that the above was really thought up as I wrote it.



I created one character because a teacher in high school, on the first day of class, said “I'm a wanted terrorist. I've been hunted for 19 years.... I can kill you with two fingers.” He was the creative writing teacher, so we went with it....



And I wondered... “What if he was telling the truth?”



He's in a back pocket somewhere, for when I get around to writing that novel. The annoying thing is, I have it outlined....



Some, like Harlan Ellison, have described writing as a compulsion, and that's because that's how we seem to be wired. Be it the Tower of London or the British Museum, writers wonder how we can do something with where we are, what we're doing, some little factoid we picked up, or a stray comment.



I don't think I've ever gone to someplace and not wondered how to blow it up, shoot it up, or what would be required to do something like that.



Rebekah Hendershot, author of Masks, described a similar experience when creating her book: “Why doesn't LA have any superheroes?” Answer: “Because something killed them all. And it's still here.”



With A Pius Man, Scott “Mossad” Murphy came out of the mass of Evangelicals flocking to Israel after 9-11. What does Israel do with all of these meshuge goyim? And what do you do with them if they want to join the military, or even the intelligence services? Answer: the goyim brigade—Mossad agents who not only "don't look Jewish," but aren't.  Murphy was just a throwaway character I had come up with to use “someday.” He had literally been shoved into a notebook and left there for three years. I had used him once as a supporting character in one book, and all but forgot him. Later, he came in handy.



And that's why writers have notebooks—to keep track of all the random neurons firing off with ideas. You never know when there's going to be something that comes in handy. Stephen King supposedly has a trunk filled with notebooks of ideas past.



So, if you ever think that a writer is odd, well, they are. They look at things from different points of view—if only because they have to be able to see things from the points of view of different people as they write them. Stephen King writes about things that scare him... and that seems to be everything... the author of Rebekah saw how much LA had been shortchanged of superheroes and decided to explain why. I think up various and sundry ways to kill someone with a ballpoint pen (I'm on nine).



That's how we find ideas. We're wired to.



But then again, who'd go into this profession if we weren't?

Music blog: Heart of a Dragon, One Winged Angel, and Halo

Sorry, this Tuesday, I can't honestly say that there's anything I want to blog about.....



So, music blog.



You remember back when I mentioned I was a nerd? This is proof. I present you with the most epic soundtrack I've heard in years .... the main theme for the Halo video game series.



While I originally wanted to post this video, the owner disabled embedding. Darn it.

I have mentioned Dragonforce once or twice. Like I said before, I like their music for fight scenes. I'm not sure I understand what their songs are about.







And then there's this. Another video game soundtrack. This is the main villain's theme from Final Fantasy 7. I've never played the game, but I can't argue with a theme that can utilize an entire orchestra.



A contest... I had to do this sooner or later.

I have fans everywhere

In the interest of keeping everyone interested in what goes on around here, I have come to a simple conclusion. It's time to share the joy.



I would like the dear loyal and trusted fans on Facebook to help with a few things.



In short: I want some more fans on Facebook, and I'm willing to pay to get them.



However, since I don't have cash to shill out in bribe money, I'll have to make due with something else.



Do I have your attention?

[More below the break]





A dozen years ago, when I started writing what (unbeknownst to me) is commonly called fanfiction, I had come to the conclusion that I wanted to do this for a living. To rip off Dr. Samuel Johnson—only an idiot DOESN'T write for money. It's fun, but so's making the rent.



Ten years ago, I decided that history would be useful for a writer, because history is a fun story, if you have the right narrator. Six years ago, when I wrote the first, five pound, draft of A Pius Man, I knew that I had something interesting here, even if it was a master's paper that spiraled out of control. Not being stupid, I invested time and energy in a PhD in modern European history, just in case the writing thing went sideways.



Little did I know that two year after that, writing would be my backup after the PhD thing went sideways. If you ever read something that makes fun of academia, higher learning, I will lay money that very little is made up.



So, since I'm counting on being published for my livelihood, that means I'm counting on you, dear reader.



What, me worried?



I still have an agent.  However, it would be nice if I could print out the weekly internet traffic and say “I already have X-amount of fans who will go buy the book, read it, and probably inflict it on everyone they know.”



I would like the X-amount of fans to be a little higher.



As I write this, the fan level is at 119. I'd like a nice and easy 150 fans. Once the page hits that threshold, there will be a Podcast of the opening of A Pius Man. Yes, an audio reading of the novel, from page one.



After that .... well, we'll cross that bridge when we drive off of it.



So, does this sound like a plan?

To steal a phrase: I report, you decide

I've never posted any evidence about the Pius XII debate.  I do today.

Look it over yourselves, see what you think.  I found it ... interesting.

http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/Vatican.php?id=4287

The Videos of A Pius Man

Thus far, anyway.



I was wandering through the video section of the APM Facebook page, and I realized that I haven't done a video trailer for ... a while.

If you're relatively new, you've probably never seen any of the trailers.  Unless you're really diligent in spelunking through the FB page, then you've probably come across them.

This is where I've collected the ones done thus far.

This wasn't the first one, but it was a remodeled version of it. I cleaned up the typeface a little, and I think the visuals are spliced together better.

The images are obviously not done by me. Anyone who's found the Vatican Ninja images I've done will notice that.  They're from a lot of books that take one side of the Pope Pius XII argument, such as it is. And, just maybe, a Dan Brown novel.

I'm subtle like that.

And then, then there were the character trailers.

[More below the break]

Characters taking Surveys: Hashim Abasi

Have you ever gotten an internet survey?  It has strange questions like your favorite foods, and flavors, that sort of thing.

Ever wondered what would happen if you had a novel character answer one of those?

I've done a few of those lately.  One for a Secret Service agent, a German Spy, an Israeli Catholic spy, a psychotic mercenary, and an Interpol Cop.

I've decided that, this time, it was time to look into Hashim Abasi, Egyptian cop, and Oxford graduate.

[More below the break]

***********

Month in Review: October, 2011

This is the month where everything went very, very strange.  And, that was apparently a good thing.  This is officially the month with the most page views ever. Who knew?

I started out with something that pissed me off: DC Comics turning Starfire and Catwoman, two of their stronger female protagonists, into sluts, to put it charitably.  They were so totally reduced to sex objects, I wanted to throw rocks.

So I threw angry language at them instead.

Ironically, in one month, it has become the most read post on this entire blog, beating out Disasters to Marvel at, which is a year old.

Also, I decided to get back to creative writing, creating more surveys that my characters have filled out.  You know, the older online essays that used to be sort of fun.  I had one for the German spy Manana Shushurin, and another for the Secret Service agent and nerd, Wilhelmina Goldberg, as well as the lethal weapon, Irish Interpol Agent Maureen McGrail.

I didn't have all that many music blogs this month.  I threw up some John Williams marches, and Tom Smith taking his revenge on technology and Rob Granito

A false report on gay marriage in the military made me start an irate blog .... then I wanted a better footnote, discovered that the story I based my indignation on was bogus, and I was stuck with a blog I had to rewrite, very, very fast.

I put in another blog on writing. This time it was a matter of "how to exposition like crazy" -- when you have to dump a graduate paper's worth of information into one novel.

Also, I had a little conversation on how to write for disaster.  It's mostly how to write characters who are supposed to be terrified, when you yourself have never been quite that scared -- and, making certain that your character's fear is appropriate both to the situation, and the person.

And, there was my self-defense review for the month -- with my  my self defense columns for October. It had to do a lot with Occupy Wall Street, self defense for women, and self defense against the zombie apocalypse .... I'm serious about the zombie apocalypse part.

Catholic conspiracies 3.  This was almost a replacement for It was inspired after I saw a lot of idiots try to pin Occupy Wall Street on "crypto-Jewish Jesuit fascists founded by the Illuminati."

I want my Vatican ninjas.

Self defense review: Zombies, Womens self defense, Barbara Sheehan

This has been a really weird month for me, truly. And how is that difference from any other month, you ask?

 To start with, most of my self defense review materials turned out to be comedies.


Taking this month in chronological order will probably make the most sense.

To start with, I discovered a new Women's self defense, every Sunday.in Manhattan.  It's Krav Maga for women -- which is actually more advanced than going for straight, plain-old Krav Maga, believe it or not. It has to be for some of the techniques to be effective.

And then, of course, there was the little incident of Barbara Sheehan, battered women: which is always a problem.  In New York, you can't kill anyone and get away with it. That includes if you kill someone in self defense. Even if a jury let's you go, the New York District Attorney's office will find some way to throw you in jail, without remorse.

But, then again, the odds of that happening are more likely when you consider that Barbara Sheehan shot her husband with his own gun while he was shaving, after she just came back from her next door neighbors. Click the link to read more.
[More articles below the break]

Catholic Conspiracies 3: Jesuits, OWS, and the Vandals Are Here.

Vatican

Ninja

Remod

(Draft)

Once upon a time, very long ago, I discussed how the Catholic Church seems to be the favorite of multi-generational bands of abject nutcases.  I then expanded the topic, discussing how many fruit loops were involved, and that was titled The Revenge of the Vatican Ninjas.

In this case, we're going to add a bit of local politics.  And by local, I mean New York.

Has anyone heard of Occupy Wall Street?

If you haven't, that's okay, they're rather annoying -- essentially a fun bunch of anarchists hanging out in Zuccotti park who were told that 1968 was a really fun time, that bathing is bad for you, and it's quite okay to defecate wherever you deem fit.  It's not so much a political movement as an unruly mob. They're mad as hell, they're not going to take it anymore, and they are rebels without a clue -- when someone says they hate Wall Street, and the bailouts of Wall Street, yet they don't protest anyone who was bailed out, this spells stupid to me.

They've attacked police officers, and they want the redistribution of wealth, but they whine when their stuff is stolen.  At the end of the day, while they may appear threatening, they are mostly harmless.  And if you read any of the links, you'll notice that I spend most of my time making fun of them.  Just don't tell my editors, they may think I'm having too much fun.

So, what does this have to do with Catholic conspiracies?

Well, recently, I did a search on twitter for "Jesuits."

Big, big mistake. 

Apparently, now, the Jesuits are a crypto-Jews / Nazi / Zionist organization, bent on establishing the New World Order via Occupy Wall Street .... And, of course, founded by the Illuminati. 

As my friend Jason says,

"It's the internet. I'm not surprised about anything I find on it anymore. I think it was created by Cthullu, not Al Gore. It's a bottomless pit that WILL stare back at you if you look at it too hard. In the dark. On a cold winter night. With eerie music playing in the background (Cthullu has a MP3 player)."

I have to ask, now -- what are you people smoking?  Or is it that the internet goes to the loudest spammers, who happen to be nutjobs with unlimited time on their hands.

Either way, it's always good to see that nothing ever changes.

The amusing part of the Occupy Wall Street movement as "crypto-Jewish Jesuit conspiracy" is twofold, really.  One, they've got an emerging anti-Semitic group in there, with makes the whole "evil Jewish Conspiracy" part kinda stupid .... er.  

On the other hand, their fellow occupiers have issues with breaking other people's toys.

How so?

I'll give you one guess.

Their international branch at "Occupy Rome," in addition to firebombing cars, has taken upon itself to smash up religious icons.

All I can think is: if this happened to a synagogue, would the Mossad have already killed everyone in this photo by now?

But, no, it's just the Catholics.  So, who cares?

Ann Margaret Lewis, posted this to her facebook page and asked "Why?"

And isn't it obvious?  Because Catholics are "evil, baby-raping priests," and most of these people are too busy worshiping their iPads . And they like to talk about how they should "eat the Rich"-- and the Catholics are wonderfully rich and powerful, aren't they? They have so many shiny things, after all.... And, somehow, the sarcasm isn't burning a hole in my keyboard.

And, sure enough, someone said just that, responding with two recent stories.**   And by recent, I mean they happened the week before.  The words are "innocent until proven guilty ... unless he's Catholic," aren't they? But, it's nice to see anyone can justify a hate crime is the target is "right."

But, thus far, Occupy Wall Street has endorsements from the Nazi party of America, the Communist party, and David Duke.

Between this and the above "evil Jesuit plot," it seems that a faceless, aimless rabble makes for a great Rorschach test for ideologists of any stripe.  "Oh look, there's a group of angry protesters, they must hate who I hate," or "they embody everything I despise."

Vatican Ninja Chibi.

"Grr. Arrgh"

While it is quite entertaining to watch a group of people go slowly insane, it's time these guys ought to come up with a coherent message. Hell, the Tea Party's wants could be summed up as "We hate big government, we want fewer taxes, less spending and no Obamacare."

With the OWS, we have the Nazis, the Klan, the Communists, "we hate Jews / big business / brand names / we're wearing brand names/ we hate bailouts but won't protest those who got bailouts ...."  

Oh, yeah, and they're an evil Jesuit conspiracy.....

Can I have my Vatican Ninjas now?

**The footnotes are below the break.

Don't Panic: a writer's guide to disaster

I should start by mentioning that this is going to be less about writing disasters, and more about a character reacting to them.

My characters have all sorts of problems.

In my books, I've had people confronted with Being beaten to death, Destruction of public property, heartbreak, a small war, as well as vampires and the end of the world.

In most cases, this is easy for writers to put down. Fear is easy, everyone has experienced it in one way or another.

In my case, not so much.

There are two moments in my life that highlight the reasons my characters react the way they do.

One New Year's eve, I was over at a friend's house.  My sister decided to be helpful in the kitchen, and went to work cutting vegetables with a mandolin slicer.

Somehow, my sister managed to cut off the pad of her little finger.

The husband of the house couldn't look at the sight of blood. The wife felt immediately ill. My sister felt faint from blood loss almost instantly.

I rolled my eyes, sighed, made sure that the severed part clicked into place with the rest of the meat puzzle of my sister's finger, wrapped it, and drove her to the nearest ER.  We were seen immediately, since it was only 6pm on New Year's eve.  Midnight would have been a different kettle of fish, I'm sure.

I didn't freak out before, during, of after the incident. I was mostly annoyed that the evening might be shot to hell.  I went out into the parking lot with my cell phone and started calling people to wish them all a happy new year.  It took about 90 minutes for my sister's nine stitches to put her back together again. And a fun time was had by all.

And this isn't gloating. This isn't "I kept my head while others lost theirs!" moment. This was a moment of irritation, annoyance, and "Damnit, I have to play ambulance driver? Really?"

Now, you could say this happened to someone else. so why should I worry.

Then there was the time I was accused of being a terrorist....
[more below the break]