Okay, so here is the deal. . . the reason why there hasn't been a blog from me on here is because, well, I had kinda gotten myself kicked out of my blogspot account, don't know how, don't really care how, about two months. I sent myself the password reset instructions and lost them too! Then I have had headaches and have not been doing much more than working out, work, and sleep, and. . . well. . .ya know the normal excuses. But enough excuses, I am back and ready to roll!
My writing spirit has returned and I am ready to pick back up my pen and pad (figuratively, of course, since most of my handwriting nowadays is completely unreadable). And the writing starts below:
Randolph lay face down amid the waist high California grass, the cold steel of the muzzle of military-issue assault weapon pressing into the base of his skull. The foot of the officer holding the gun is resting none too lightly on Randolph's lower back as another officer roughly searches Randolph for weapons or illegal drugs. Presently, the officer comes across Randolph's waist holster concealing his .44 Magnum with laser sighted crosshairs. "Sir," the officer with the boot in Randolph's back calls out, his gun depressing a little deeper into Randolph's neck, "we have something. I think he may be one of them!" Randolph tries to move, but the man presses both his boot and the gun deeper into his neck and back. "And as for you, scumbag, after what you and your kind did to SoCal today," he says, turning to Randolph, his finger twitching eagerly around the trigger, "I really don't need a reason to paint the ground, but please, give me one anyway. I'm begging." His head darts back between Randolph and where his commanding officer is walking towards him, not really knowing who to pay more attention to. Finally, he snaps to attention, as does the person searching Randolph, giving him an opportunity to scramble quietly to his feet and begin to move as steathily through the grass as possible.
Unfortunately for Randolph, the officer doing the search hears the rustle of the grass and spins just in time to see Randolph move out of sight and utters a shout and takes off in pursuit.
Randolph hears the shout and immediately leaps to his feet and begins to sprint, darting quickly over the guardrail and into the oncoming traffic of the northbound lanes, hoping that the officers would not shoot at him among innocent civilians. That hope was dashed moments later when he hears the whine of an M-17 bullet whiz just over his head and scrape the paint off the top of a 2029 Volvo M970.
Yea, I know it's not much, but it's not about quantity, but quality.
On other fronts, there have been exactly 3 headaches in the last 4 headaches, so it appears that the combination of weight loss, medication, and exercise is paying off for me. I am currently working out five to six days a week a minimum of 80 minutes a day, biking an hour of that on a stationary cycle and preparing for a 5K that is scheduled for Saturday, June 5. There will be a blog about that afterwards. . . God willing.
As of this morning, my weight was 188.7 pounds, so I have officially lost 29.8 pounds after being down to a recent low of 187.6 earlier this week (and which I will be back to by 5/31, if not lower).
I welcome your feedback on this or any of my other blogs. Please use the comments button below or shoot me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until we meet again, remember, two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Quick weight update
Well, I have been counting my calories and working out in earnest for 37 days (I stopped taking the original medication which left me feeling sleepy on February 23) , and I can honestly say that I can see results. As of this morning, I am down 12.8 pounds from my starting weight of 218.5 on February 23. I am back comfortably into 36 pants and am starting to see a little give in them.
I am working out 3 to 4 days a week, depending on my schedule, at least 50-60 minutes at a time, burning at least 1250 calories each time I step into the gym.
As far as eating goes, I am not denying myself anything that I want. In fact, in the last week, I have had pork ribs twice, fried catfish, and Mexican four times. The difference is in portion control. I could have gone crazy and eaten everything on my plate and been sufficiently stuffed with any of the aforementioned meals. But, I didn't allow myself to do it. In fact, I was asking for a box after half of the ribs so I would have the pleasure of eating them again!
So, for those of you reading this, saying, "I don't know if I could do it," trust me, you can. It takes one small step, followed by another, and then another.
If you meant to lose weight this year, or start working out, it's not too late! It's never too late! I again challenge you, join me in this quest to make a better you. My only question now is: Who's coming with me?
I welcome your feedback on this or any of my other blogs. Please use the comments button below or shoot me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until we meet again, remember, two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
I am working out 3 to 4 days a week, depending on my schedule, at least 50-60 minutes at a time, burning at least 1250 calories each time I step into the gym.
As far as eating goes, I am not denying myself anything that I want. In fact, in the last week, I have had pork ribs twice, fried catfish, and Mexican four times. The difference is in portion control. I could have gone crazy and eaten everything on my plate and been sufficiently stuffed with any of the aforementioned meals. But, I didn't allow myself to do it. In fact, I was asking for a box after half of the ribs so I would have the pleasure of eating them again!
So, for those of you reading this, saying, "I don't know if I could do it," trust me, you can. It takes one small step, followed by another, and then another.
If you meant to lose weight this year, or start working out, it's not too late! It's never too late! I again challenge you, join me in this quest to make a better you. My only question now is: Who's coming with me?
I welcome your feedback on this or any of my other blogs. Please use the comments button below or shoot me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until we meet again, remember, two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Dieting, Exercise and Headaches
Like most Americans, I made a resolution to lose weight this year.
I have always counted myself in pretty good health, and have never really had a need to go to the doctor, unless it was for my pinched nerve in my neck or an occasional sinus infection. So, when I started having problems with headaches late last year, I just popped a couple of Excedrin Migraine pills and kept on with my day. For the most part, the headaches would go away for a while.
That is, until January 1, 2010. Since then, I have not had a day that has not been marred by the presence of a headache. As a result, my determination to go to the gym every day kind of got shot. First was the simple fact that I did not want to go on days were I felt like total crud, then I went to my general practitioner and he prescribed something that "should reduce the headaches." Well, not only did the medication not reduce them, they left me in a state of perpetual fog, wanting to do nothing but sleep until the last possible minute.
Then people started offering suggestions: "It's your eyes." So I went to 2 ophthalmologists, both of whom advised that the headaches were not caused by eye strain. "It's got to be something to do with your brain." So I went a got an MRI and consulted a neurologist; only to find out the only thing that is in my head (other than a small amount of brain) was a small cyst in one of my sinuses, and both the neurologist and one of the ophthalmologists who actually specializes in headaches assured me that the cyst would not cause the headaches. "Go to a chiropractor." I have been five times since receiving this suggestion, and the headaches remain.
I took myself off all of my medication about 2 weeks ago, mainly because they were not doing what they were supposed to, and secondly the general practioner that I started the year with prescribed me another medication that I have not gotten filled mainly because of how leary I am of returning to the fog, and since I have stopped taking the medication, I have been to the gym 5 times, each time burning at least 800 calories on stationary cycle.
As of today, I am down 6.4 pounds for the year, and despite having a dull throb in my head, am determined to workout at least two or three times a week (depending on how many times a week I have chiropractor's appointments).
That is where you, my readers, come in. I need a accountability system. I have one on a website that I recommend heartily for anyone trying to get into better shape: Myfitnesspal.com. One of my friends recommended the site to me last year during my what has become up till now annual attempts to lose weight. But I am tired of losing a few pounds, beginning to feel better, and stopping watching what I am eating or working out or both, only to have what I have lost come back, and usually bring along a few friends! So, the more accountability, the better I say.
The weight is coming off and staying off, this year! It is my determination that 2010 is the year that the weight comes off and with the exception of a pound or two, the weight is going to stay off, or if anything will come back in the form of muscle. So, in this the Various Meanderings of a Madman, on March 8, 2010, I am putting my flag in the sand and taking back my body. It will no longer belong to fat, or bad eating habits.
My only question now is: Who's coming with me?
I welcome your feedback on this or any of my other blogs. Please use the comments button below or shoot me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until we meet again, remember, two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
I have always counted myself in pretty good health, and have never really had a need to go to the doctor, unless it was for my pinched nerve in my neck or an occasional sinus infection. So, when I started having problems with headaches late last year, I just popped a couple of Excedrin Migraine pills and kept on with my day. For the most part, the headaches would go away for a while.
That is, until January 1, 2010. Since then, I have not had a day that has not been marred by the presence of a headache. As a result, my determination to go to the gym every day kind of got shot. First was the simple fact that I did not want to go on days were I felt like total crud, then I went to my general practitioner and he prescribed something that "should reduce the headaches." Well, not only did the medication not reduce them, they left me in a state of perpetual fog, wanting to do nothing but sleep until the last possible minute.
Then people started offering suggestions: "It's your eyes." So I went to 2 ophthalmologists, both of whom advised that the headaches were not caused by eye strain. "It's got to be something to do with your brain." So I went a got an MRI and consulted a neurologist; only to find out the only thing that is in my head (other than a small amount of brain) was a small cyst in one of my sinuses, and both the neurologist and one of the ophthalmologists who actually specializes in headaches assured me that the cyst would not cause the headaches. "Go to a chiropractor." I have been five times since receiving this suggestion, and the headaches remain.
I took myself off all of my medication about 2 weeks ago, mainly because they were not doing what they were supposed to, and secondly the general practioner that I started the year with prescribed me another medication that I have not gotten filled mainly because of how leary I am of returning to the fog, and since I have stopped taking the medication, I have been to the gym 5 times, each time burning at least 800 calories on stationary cycle.
As of today, I am down 6.4 pounds for the year, and despite having a dull throb in my head, am determined to workout at least two or three times a week (depending on how many times a week I have chiropractor's appointments).
That is where you, my readers, come in. I need a accountability system. I have one on a website that I recommend heartily for anyone trying to get into better shape: Myfitnesspal.com. One of my friends recommended the site to me last year during my what has become up till now annual attempts to lose weight. But I am tired of losing a few pounds, beginning to feel better, and stopping watching what I am eating or working out or both, only to have what I have lost come back, and usually bring along a few friends! So, the more accountability, the better I say.
The weight is coming off and staying off, this year! It is my determination that 2010 is the year that the weight comes off and with the exception of a pound or two, the weight is going to stay off, or if anything will come back in the form of muscle. So, in this the Various Meanderings of a Madman, on March 8, 2010, I am putting my flag in the sand and taking back my body. It will no longer belong to fat, or bad eating habits.
My only question now is: Who's coming with me?
I welcome your feedback on this or any of my other blogs. Please use the comments button below or shoot me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until we meet again, remember, two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
review of Extraordinary Measures
A couple of weeks ago, I had the "pleasure" of seeing Extraordinary Measures. You will understand in a little while why I used the quotation marks around the word pleasure.
I had actually been looking forward to seeing this movie because of the trailers that I had seen. I am a HUGE Harrison Ford fan and a pretty big Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell fan, so the thought of all three of them together in one movie made me want to see the film.
However, being that this was not a action film, like Brendan and Harrison are normally cast in, the selection of this movie was soon determined to be a mistake.
The movie was rated PG, so I was expecting a movie with no swearing, a good plot, and a few heart rending moments, seeing as how it is based on a true story, and is the story of a family that has 2 children plagued with a disease that kills kids before they reach teenage status.
Extraordinary Measures can definitely tug at your heartstrings, as it sucks you into its web the moment that you sit down when you see the two kids in wheelchairs and hooked up to breathing tubes.
The movie, however, did not deliver on the no swearing that is normally associated with PG movies. I believe I counted 25 different swear words, and cringed on more than one occasion because of hearing a string of profanity. And it was not the "normal"(if I can use such a term) swear words associated with PG films; the only swear word that I did not hear was the f-word. Yes, you read that right; this PG film used basically the whole gamut of profanity (which included the actual words for bastige, heck, darn, crap, sob, and even God darn). Considering the fact that every time that you saw Harrison Ford on screen, he was swearing, it almost made me want to get up out of my seat and leave the theater and try to go see The Princess and the Frog. Now, if you don't know my stance on profanity in movies, please go read my blog entitled "Why, Hollywood, Why" and you will understand why I am offended by any profanity in movies.
Concerning the plot, it was a fairly straight-forward plot: parents want a cure for their children, one parent finds a doctor who has a theoretical cure, and they spend the rest of the movie trying to perfect it and release it so the parents' children can get better. And of course, the drama is there with problems with funding; one child on her deathbed. But, having said that, I had a hard time accepting Brendan Fraser as a viable dramatic performer. I believe this is his first movie that was not either a comedy or a action film, and it definitely showed. His attempt at being dramatic consisted mainly of him squinting up his eyes and saying his lines. Harrison Ford and Keri Russell, on the other hand, both gave fairly good performances, but they were brought down by being in the scene with Brendan.
All in all, this is a movie that will find its home on Lifetime or the Hallmark channel, and may warrant watching when it comes onto basic cable; but, I cannot in good faith recommend anyone buying this movie unless they have to have every movie that one of the main actors is in.
Plot: 7.5/10
Humor: 8/10
Family Friendly Language: 2/10
"Family Friendly" Violence: 10/10
Nudity/Suggestive Situations: 9.5/10
Overall Movie Rating: 7.4/10
Disagree with what I have to say? Please leave your comments below or send me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com
I had actually been looking forward to seeing this movie because of the trailers that I had seen. I am a HUGE Harrison Ford fan and a pretty big Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell fan, so the thought of all three of them together in one movie made me want to see the film.
However, being that this was not a action film, like Brendan and Harrison are normally cast in, the selection of this movie was soon determined to be a mistake.
The movie was rated PG, so I was expecting a movie with no swearing, a good plot, and a few heart rending moments, seeing as how it is based on a true story, and is the story of a family that has 2 children plagued with a disease that kills kids before they reach teenage status.
Extraordinary Measures can definitely tug at your heartstrings, as it sucks you into its web the moment that you sit down when you see the two kids in wheelchairs and hooked up to breathing tubes.
The movie, however, did not deliver on the no swearing that is normally associated with PG movies. I believe I counted 25 different swear words, and cringed on more than one occasion because of hearing a string of profanity. And it was not the "normal"(if I can use such a term) swear words associated with PG films; the only swear word that I did not hear was the f-word. Yes, you read that right; this PG film used basically the whole gamut of profanity (which included the actual words for bastige, heck, darn, crap, sob, and even God darn). Considering the fact that every time that you saw Harrison Ford on screen, he was swearing, it almost made me want to get up out of my seat and leave the theater and try to go see The Princess and the Frog. Now, if you don't know my stance on profanity in movies, please go read my blog entitled "Why, Hollywood, Why" and you will understand why I am offended by any profanity in movies.
Concerning the plot, it was a fairly straight-forward plot: parents want a cure for their children, one parent finds a doctor who has a theoretical cure, and they spend the rest of the movie trying to perfect it and release it so the parents' children can get better. And of course, the drama is there with problems with funding; one child on her deathbed. But, having said that, I had a hard time accepting Brendan Fraser as a viable dramatic performer. I believe this is his first movie that was not either a comedy or a action film, and it definitely showed. His attempt at being dramatic consisted mainly of him squinting up his eyes and saying his lines. Harrison Ford and Keri Russell, on the other hand, both gave fairly good performances, but they were brought down by being in the scene with Brendan.
All in all, this is a movie that will find its home on Lifetime or the Hallmark channel, and may warrant watching when it comes onto basic cable; but, I cannot in good faith recommend anyone buying this movie unless they have to have every movie that one of the main actors is in.
Plot: 7.5/10
Humor: 8/10
Family Friendly Language: 2/10
"Family Friendly" Violence: 10/10
Nudity/Suggestive Situations: 9.5/10
Overall Movie Rating: 7.4/10
Disagree with what I have to say? Please leave your comments below or send me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
2nd Syckosis excerpt
You have waited patiently for another excerpt from Syckosis, and here it is!
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Randolph closes the phone and puts on the auto-pilot on the Prius and closes his eyes for a few moments to decompress from what had already been a stressful morning. No sooner had he closed his eyes and began to doze off to sleep then a proximity alarm sounds in the vehicle. His eyes bolt wide open as he sits up straight in the car, clutching the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turn white. Randolph looks ahead and sees a wall of flame spread across his side of the interstate from where a gasoline tanker had lost control and crossed the median before flipping onto the northbound lanes of the road and exploding in flames. Randolph quickly swerves the Prius onto the grass on the right side of the road, and struggles to maintain control as the little hybrid bucks and jumps through the dry St. Augustine grass, all the while the flames spreading closer to the vehicle and beginning to lick at the blades lining the edge of the road.
After an eternity, Randolph manages to pull the car back onto the road and look at the carnage in his rear view mirror, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as he relaxes his grip on the wheel. He picks up his phone and quickly dials 911 for a fire truck and police to arrive and route people around the wreck, before resetting the auto-pilot and settling back in for an hour and a half nap between his current location and mile marker 442. Randolph’s sleep is troubled and light as his brain replayed the events of the morning over and over, and Randolph trying desperately to figure out what he did wrong to allow Morgan to be kidnapped.
He was into his tenth repetition of the events that morning, all with the same result as the original, when the car's auto-pilot's soothing female voice roused him. He rubs his eyes groggily and looks around at his surroundings. He lightly taps his right foot on the brake to disengage the auto-pilot and begin slowing the car as the sign announcing mile marker four hundred forty two appears just over the horizon. Randolph squints briefly, looking for the package that Morgan's kidnappers had told him would be there. He flips a switch and the neon green flashers come out of the top of the car and begin to flash. He slows the car to a stop as he eases off the side of the road right at the marker, and waits for a break in the traffic to get out of the car. He looks at his watch and breathes a sigh of relief. Fifteen minutes to spare, he says to himself, and looks in the sky for the chopper that was to meet him at the mile marker. To his dismay, there is nothig hovering overhead, not even a cloud. "That lying little piece of ----" he says, as he flips open his phone and begins to dial the number to the Sacramento office. "I would watch what I would say, if I were you, Agent Prescott," the muffled voice on the other end of the phone chides him, as he puts the ear piece to his ear. "How did you--- I dialed ---- okay, we need to set some ground rules here, Mr. Voice," Randolph snaps back. "I am at the rendezvous point as agreed upon with fifteen minutes to spare, now what?"
"My, my, aren't we a l-l-l-lttle impatient," the voice on the other end of the phone responds. "All right, m-m-m-my l-l-l-little boy scout, the box that you are to transport is behind the third bush to your right. But be careful, or it might explode, and we don't want to have to clean up boy scout off the road. Would be extremely m-m-m-messy."
"Third bush on the right," Randolph mumbles under his breath as he walks towards a scraggle of barberry bushes that had sprung up earlier that month. He pushes the brush aside and sees the package laying on its side, and a light gray smoke emanating from the far corner of the box. “Um, the box seems to be smoking. Should it really be doing that?”
“N-n-n-n-no. What color is the smoke?”
“It appears to be a light grayish-blue.”
“Then, I would suggest that you run, because I would say that in the next ten seconds, that package is going to explode.”
Chapter 4: “Tick-Tick-Boom!”
Randolph hears the word “run” and takes off in a full sprint away from the box. He had gotten about twenty feet from the package when it erupts into a fireball about the size of a small car, and the concussion of the explosion lifts Randolph off his feet and sends him hurtling through the air and onto the pavement about fifteen yards away.
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Randolph closes the phone and puts on the auto-pilot on the Prius and closes his eyes for a few moments to decompress from what had already been a stressful morning. No sooner had he closed his eyes and began to doze off to sleep then a proximity alarm sounds in the vehicle. His eyes bolt wide open as he sits up straight in the car, clutching the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turn white. Randolph looks ahead and sees a wall of flame spread across his side of the interstate from where a gasoline tanker had lost control and crossed the median before flipping onto the northbound lanes of the road and exploding in flames. Randolph quickly swerves the Prius onto the grass on the right side of the road, and struggles to maintain control as the little hybrid bucks and jumps through the dry St. Augustine grass, all the while the flames spreading closer to the vehicle and beginning to lick at the blades lining the edge of the road.
After an eternity, Randolph manages to pull the car back onto the road and look at the carnage in his rear view mirror, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as he relaxes his grip on the wheel. He picks up his phone and quickly dials 911 for a fire truck and police to arrive and route people around the wreck, before resetting the auto-pilot and settling back in for an hour and a half nap between his current location and mile marker 442. Randolph’s sleep is troubled and light as his brain replayed the events of the morning over and over, and Randolph trying desperately to figure out what he did wrong to allow Morgan to be kidnapped.
He was into his tenth repetition of the events that morning, all with the same result as the original, when the car's auto-pilot's soothing female voice roused him. He rubs his eyes groggily and looks around at his surroundings. He lightly taps his right foot on the brake to disengage the auto-pilot and begin slowing the car as the sign announcing mile marker four hundred forty two appears just over the horizon. Randolph squints briefly, looking for the package that Morgan's kidnappers had told him would be there. He flips a switch and the neon green flashers come out of the top of the car and begin to flash. He slows the car to a stop as he eases off the side of the road right at the marker, and waits for a break in the traffic to get out of the car. He looks at his watch and breathes a sigh of relief. Fifteen minutes to spare, he says to himself, and looks in the sky for the chopper that was to meet him at the mile marker. To his dismay, there is nothig hovering overhead, not even a cloud. "That lying little piece of ----" he says, as he flips open his phone and begins to dial the number to the Sacramento office. "I would watch what I would say, if I were you, Agent Prescott," the muffled voice on the other end of the phone chides him, as he puts the ear piece to his ear. "How did you--- I dialed ---- okay, we need to set some ground rules here, Mr. Voice," Randolph snaps back. "I am at the rendezvous point as agreed upon with fifteen minutes to spare, now what?"
"My, my, aren't we a l-l-l-lttle impatient," the voice on the other end of the phone responds. "All right, m-m-m-my l-l-l-little boy scout, the box that you are to transport is behind the third bush to your right. But be careful, or it might explode, and we don't want to have to clean up boy scout off the road. Would be extremely m-m-m-messy."
"Third bush on the right," Randolph mumbles under his breath as he walks towards a scraggle of barberry bushes that had sprung up earlier that month. He pushes the brush aside and sees the package laying on its side, and a light gray smoke emanating from the far corner of the box. “Um, the box seems to be smoking. Should it really be doing that?”
“N-n-n-n-no. What color is the smoke?”
“It appears to be a light grayish-blue.”
“Then, I would suggest that you run, because I would say that in the next ten seconds, that package is going to explode.”
Chapter 4: “Tick-Tick-Boom!”
Randolph hears the word “run” and takes off in a full sprint away from the box. He had gotten about twenty feet from the package when it erupts into a fireball about the size of a small car, and the concussion of the explosion lifts Randolph off his feet and sends him hurtling through the air and onto the pavement about fifteen yards away.
More to come as it comes to me.
Do you like what you have read? I welcome your feedback on this or any my blogs, leave me a comment below or send me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until we meet again, remember that two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
Monday, January 11, 2010
New Excerpt from Syckosis
All right, here it is: the next excerpt from Syckosis!
“Yea, you can connect me to Agent Menov,” Randolph responds after a few moments of silence.
“It would be my pleasure to connect you, please hold,” Rocky responds, and the musak begins again, this time playing a synth rock pop ballad that somehow had gained popularity earlier in the year among the tween and teen crowd. Finally, a man answers the phone.
“Agent Douglas Menov, how can I help you?”
“Doug, Rand Prescott, out of the Bethesda office. I am in Fresno right now, and need to know where the closest field office would be to my location.”
“Rand, I thought you were on vacation with Morgan? What are you doing asking for a field office location?”
“Doug, I don’t have time to go into it right now. Suffice it to say, we are down one agent due to someone that has access to our tracking technology taking advantage of what they could access. Now, can you get me the location or do I need to speak to someone else?”
Doug is silent for a few moments, as he clicks at some keys on his holoterminal. Finally, he speaks. “Well, Rand, if you would have asked me an hour ago, I would have told you Los Angeles, but given what has happened, you got two choices: Sacramento or San Fran. They are both about the same distance and time. You need me to send someone to pick you up?”
Rand replies quickly to that question. “No, but I will need a noteholo and an untraceable cell phone waiting for me when I get to Sacramento. And I also need someone to keep an eye on my locater because I have a feeling that there may be someone trailing me using my locater.”
Doug is silent for a few more moments at the announcement that someone could be trailing one of his co-workers. “All right, Rand, any thing else you need.”
“Actually, yes. Can you have the same person who is watching my locater also watch for Morgan’s? The people that took her appear to have the technology to deactivate her chip.”
“You got it, man. Be careful.”
“I don’t know any other way to be.”
More to come as it comes to me.
Do you like what you have read? I welcome your feedback on this or any my blogs, leave me a comment below or send me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until we meet again, remember that two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
“Yea, you can connect me to Agent Menov,” Randolph responds after a few moments of silence.
“It would be my pleasure to connect you, please hold,” Rocky responds, and the musak begins again, this time playing a synth rock pop ballad that somehow had gained popularity earlier in the year among the tween and teen crowd. Finally, a man answers the phone.
“Agent Douglas Menov, how can I help you?”
“Doug, Rand Prescott, out of the Bethesda office. I am in Fresno right now, and need to know where the closest field office would be to my location.”
“Rand, I thought you were on vacation with Morgan? What are you doing asking for a field office location?”
“Doug, I don’t have time to go into it right now. Suffice it to say, we are down one agent due to someone that has access to our tracking technology taking advantage of what they could access. Now, can you get me the location or do I need to speak to someone else?”
Doug is silent for a few moments, as he clicks at some keys on his holoterminal. Finally, he speaks. “Well, Rand, if you would have asked me an hour ago, I would have told you Los Angeles, but given what has happened, you got two choices: Sacramento or San Fran. They are both about the same distance and time. You need me to send someone to pick you up?”
Rand replies quickly to that question. “No, but I will need a noteholo and an untraceable cell phone waiting for me when I get to Sacramento. And I also need someone to keep an eye on my locater because I have a feeling that there may be someone trailing me using my locater.”
Doug is silent for a few more moments at the announcement that someone could be trailing one of his co-workers. “All right, Rand, any thing else you need.”
“Actually, yes. Can you have the same person who is watching my locater also watch for Morgan’s? The people that took her appear to have the technology to deactivate her chip.”
“You got it, man. Be careful.”
“I don’t know any other way to be.”
More to come as it comes to me.
Do you like what you have read? I welcome your feedback on this or any my blogs, leave me a comment below or send me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until we meet again, remember that two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Syckosis!
Have you ever had a nonsense word stuck in your head for hours? Early this morning, I had the title of this blog pop into my head and it would not leave. For some reason, I even started spelling it in my sleep. When I woke up an hour ago, I realized the meaning of the word: the title of my next novel I was to work on.
In the following minutes, I quickly powered up my laptop and typed out a portion of the prologue. I thought I would share what was written with you now.
"People were milling around the Farmers' Market on the corner of Fairfax and Third Street that sunny spring morning in downtown Los Angeles. The market itself was brimming with people, waiting on the market to actually open for the first time of the year, as the first fruits and vegetables from the area had just arrived earlier that morning on the farmers' trucks and were still being arranged to their liking.
"No one seemed to notice the nervous young man of African-American descent trying to pus his way through the crowd. He kept looking around, constantly checking over his shoulder, convinced that at any moment a Los Angeles bike cop would tap him on his shoulder and ask him his business there, and thus thwarting the master plan. The youth kept one hand on his backpack strap of the backpack that had been securely fastened to his back, until he reached his destination and removed the hand from his strap and reached into his pocket and pulled out a detonator."
More to come as it comes to me.
Do you like what you have read? I welcome your feedback on this or any my blogs, leave me a comment below or send me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until we meet again, remember that two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
In the following minutes, I quickly powered up my laptop and typed out a portion of the prologue. I thought I would share what was written with you now.
"People were milling around the Farmers' Market on the corner of Fairfax and Third Street that sunny spring morning in downtown Los Angeles. The market itself was brimming with people, waiting on the market to actually open for the first time of the year, as the first fruits and vegetables from the area had just arrived earlier that morning on the farmers' trucks and were still being arranged to their liking.
"No one seemed to notice the nervous young man of African-American descent trying to pus his way through the crowd. He kept looking around, constantly checking over his shoulder, convinced that at any moment a Los Angeles bike cop would tap him on his shoulder and ask him his business there, and thus thwarting the master plan. The youth kept one hand on his backpack strap of the backpack that had been securely fastened to his back, until he reached his destination and removed the hand from his strap and reached into his pocket and pulled out a detonator."
More to come as it comes to me.
Do you like what you have read? I welcome your feedback on this or any my blogs, leave me a comment below or send me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until we meet again, remember that two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Why, Hollywood, Why?
I hate to do this so early in my blogging, and hope it does not drive people off from reading future blogs, but I am going to have to get out my soapbox.
Just two nights after watching a movie that had a PG-13 rating for violence but had no profanity that I heard, I had TiVo'd Revolutionary Road, which was supposed to be a good movie, according to all the reviews that I had read. I saw it was rated R, but assumed (which was probably my first mistake) that it was due to sexual situations or nudity (given the fact that the movie starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet of Titanic fame). Little did I know that within the first ten minutes my ears were barraged with a cacophony of swearing that may have made a drunk sailor blush. Leo DiCaprio himself took the Lord's name in vain no less than 5 times, not to mention several other questionable, if not unnecessary, profane words, in the 10 minutes of the movie that I managed to sit through before deleting it from the drive and apologizing to my wife for subjecting her to such a movie.
My questions to Hollywood is this: why does a movie have to have swearing in it? In my opinion, the only "good" (and I use that word very loosely) reason for swearing in a movie is if the movie is a biopic and the protagonist was a person that was epitomized by the occasional swear word. But, in the last four DiCaprio movies that I have caught bits and pieces of (The Beach, The Aviator, The Departed, and now Revolutionary Road) it seems like the norm rather than the exception was to have the movie littered with profanity. And for what reason? As far as I could tell it was to "advance the story."
Which actually brings me to my next point: is it necessary to swear or continuously drop the "F-bomb" just to advance the story? Chances are there is another way to say what needs to be said without using outlandish amounts of profanity to say it.
I was about to say, "Chances are that we have become so accustomed to swearing on television that it does not even effect us," but even television does not allow the type of language that was used in the first ten minutes of the movie. They would either bleep this language or not allow it in the program in the first program, depending on who the network that the program was being run on, and the time of day that the program was running.
I am most definitely not stating that we should do away with more mature programming; I am simply stating that if Hollywood can produce a movie that has a rating of R that does not have any swearing (Passion of the Christ) or a PG-13 movie that has no swearing (Sherlock Holmes), then why do they have to put out movies that do?
I had actually been looking forward to watching a movie at home with my wife, but Revolutionary Road will never find its way onto my shelf, unless someone comes out with a "clean" version of it, which may be nothing more than the title and credits, and a couple of minutes of dialog from the first five minutes of the movie, before the swear parade started. I don't think I'll have the problem with swearing tonight with Tale of Despereaux.
Okay, I am getting off my soapbox now.
I welcome your feedback on this or any of my other blogs. Please use the comments button below or shoot me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until the next time,
Thanks for your time.
Just two nights after watching a movie that had a PG-13 rating for violence but had no profanity that I heard, I had TiVo'd Revolutionary Road, which was supposed to be a good movie, according to all the reviews that I had read. I saw it was rated R, but assumed (which was probably my first mistake) that it was due to sexual situations or nudity (given the fact that the movie starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet of Titanic fame). Little did I know that within the first ten minutes my ears were barraged with a cacophony of swearing that may have made a drunk sailor blush. Leo DiCaprio himself took the Lord's name in vain no less than 5 times, not to mention several other questionable, if not unnecessary, profane words, in the 10 minutes of the movie that I managed to sit through before deleting it from the drive and apologizing to my wife for subjecting her to such a movie.
My questions to Hollywood is this: why does a movie have to have swearing in it? In my opinion, the only "good" (and I use that word very loosely) reason for swearing in a movie is if the movie is a biopic and the protagonist was a person that was epitomized by the occasional swear word. But, in the last four DiCaprio movies that I have caught bits and pieces of (The Beach, The Aviator, The Departed, and now Revolutionary Road) it seems like the norm rather than the exception was to have the movie littered with profanity. And for what reason? As far as I could tell it was to "advance the story."
Which actually brings me to my next point: is it necessary to swear or continuously drop the "F-bomb" just to advance the story? Chances are there is another way to say what needs to be said without using outlandish amounts of profanity to say it.
I was about to say, "Chances are that we have become so accustomed to swearing on television that it does not even effect us," but even television does not allow the type of language that was used in the first ten minutes of the movie. They would either bleep this language or not allow it in the program in the first program, depending on who the network that the program was being run on, and the time of day that the program was running.
I am most definitely not stating that we should do away with more mature programming; I am simply stating that if Hollywood can produce a movie that has a rating of R that does not have any swearing (Passion of the Christ) or a PG-13 movie that has no swearing (Sherlock Holmes), then why do they have to put out movies that do?
I had actually been looking forward to watching a movie at home with my wife, but Revolutionary Road will never find its way onto my shelf, unless someone comes out with a "clean" version of it, which may be nothing more than the title and credits, and a couple of minutes of dialog from the first five minutes of the movie, before the swear parade started. I don't think I'll have the problem with swearing tonight with Tale of Despereaux.
Okay, I am getting off my soapbox now.
I welcome your feedback on this or any of my other blogs. Please use the comments button below or shoot me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.
Until the next time,
Thanks for your time.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Review of "Sherlock Holmes"
This past Saturday, I went to the movies with my wife to see one of the Holiday blockbusters, Sherlock Holmes. I went in not expecting much, after hearing several mediocre reviews from other reviewers. After sitting through about twenty minutes of commercials and trailers, the main attraction started, and almost immediately I was hit by an "action" sequence with a voice-over by Sherlock himself, Robert Downey, Jr. as he was describing the actions he was taking to incapacitate one of the bad guy's henchmen, with the moves being slowed down to show the impact on the other person. But, as soon as the henchmen was down, to my surprise, the whole scene played out again, this time in real time. This double the action for the same person played out three times in the movie, and that was one of the only real detractors that I could find.
The story itself was something that you would have expected from Sir Doyle himself, with a twist every time that you thought that you had the plot figured out, and also with foreshadowings of what will no doubt be a sequel given the ending of the movie.
The comedic back and forth between Downey and Law definitely had the crowd that I watched the movie with laughing, and there was only a couple of jokes that made me groan.
There was not any swearing that I heard during the entire film, which for Hollywood in general, and Guy Ritchie in particular, is almost unheard of. I am guessing the reason for the PG-13 rating was due to all the violence and the one "nudity" scene, with a double entendre by Holmes to a chambermaid about "the key to his freedom lying under the pillow" suggestively placed between his legs.
All in all, this is most definitely a movie that I would see again, and look forward to getting the DVD with the digital copy for my iPod.
Plot: 9.5/10
Humor: 9.1/10
Family Friendly Language: 10/10
"Family Friendly" Violence: 8.7/10
Nudity/Suggestive Situations: 9.7/10
Overall Movie Rating: 9.3/10
Disagree with what I have to say? Please leave your comments below or send me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com
The story itself was something that you would have expected from Sir Doyle himself, with a twist every time that you thought that you had the plot figured out, and also with foreshadowings of what will no doubt be a sequel given the ending of the movie.
The comedic back and forth between Downey and Law definitely had the crowd that I watched the movie with laughing, and there was only a couple of jokes that made me groan.
There was not any swearing that I heard during the entire film, which for Hollywood in general, and Guy Ritchie in particular, is almost unheard of. I am guessing the reason for the PG-13 rating was due to all the violence and the one "nudity" scene, with a double entendre by Holmes to a chambermaid about "the key to his freedom lying under the pillow" suggestively placed between his legs.
All in all, this is most definitely a movie that I would see again, and look forward to getting the DVD with the digital copy for my iPod.
Plot: 9.5/10
Humor: 9.1/10
Family Friendly Language: 10/10
"Family Friendly" Violence: 8.7/10
Nudity/Suggestive Situations: 9.7/10
Overall Movie Rating: 9.3/10
Disagree with what I have to say? Please leave your comments below or send me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com
This is where it all begins!
Today I start on a new journey, and welcome those of you who have decided to make the trip with me.
Along the way, I will post excerpts from the book that has been in the works for the past 4 years, along with general thoughts and reviews of books and movies that I have read or watched.
Once again, welcome, and hope you enjoy the ride!
If there is anything that you want me to talk about, feel free to comment to this post or e-mail me at childofking88@aol.com!
Thanks
Along the way, I will post excerpts from the book that has been in the works for the past 4 years, along with general thoughts and reviews of books and movies that I have read or watched.
Once again, welcome, and hope you enjoy the ride!
If there is anything that you want me to talk about, feel free to comment to this post or e-mail me at childofking88@aol.com!
Thanks
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