Joyland by Stephen King

The dark chronicler of our time. Joyland by Stephen King "Who dares enter the funhouse of fear". Here's what I believe about Stephen Edwin King: just as John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey wrote the poetry of the younger Boomer generation, Stephen King has written our maturing prose story. From Boy's Only yarns like "Stand By Me" to the Horror-laden lifework that began with Carrie, he's caught the lifes of us real-life Boomers with unfailing veracity. Only Terry Pratchett seems to be able to consistently reach into that same Jungian zone we somehow share. How can a writer inspired by EC comic books as a kid have gone on to expand that four color EC world into a vast, unique, haunted Prose universe? The answer, whatever it is, makes Stephen today one of the most well-known writers living or gone. In a way I envy him. The writers who inspired me as a boy (Sir Charles G D Roberts, Grey Owl, Ernest Thompson Seton, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London, Edgar Rice Burroughs) are either forgotten by all but the Faithful, or consigned to the Children's Shelf. But only in a way. The world just gets darker and Stephen grins and says, "See, I was right from the beginning!"

And yet Stephen's work still somehow throbs like a Who classic. There's hope in that sound. So now comes Joyland from Hard Case Crime. His hero is just an ordinary joe with an ordinary name (Devin Jones) who gets a job at an archetypal amusement park. It's got your House of Horrors, a mirror house, a wax museum and lots of thrilling rides. We've all been there, we think. But hang on: out of our memories Stephen is about to build nightmares. Partly, I don't understand the man. While Stephen was scared of things under his bed as a kid, I knew that the rustling under my bed was a short-tailed Manx cat that nobody else wanted or some critter I'd found Out There in the cruel world and was now healing (I hoped) in a shoebox with holes. But I understand the people he writes about. They're us. Joyland is available as a paperback book and an Audiobook (narrated by Michael Kelly). About it, Stephen says, "I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts. That combo made Hard Case Crime the perfect venue for this book, which is one of my favorites. I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we're going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book."

The most Popular Fly fishing Brands

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Inception

By now, the internet is half Inception essays, the other half being heated comment sections about Inception. Nolan's critics are not entirely wrong, but I just can't get worked up over their objections. I thought the movie was masterful, engaging, really top-shelf filmmaking. The audience I saw it with was suspended in rapt silence, until the final shot cut to black, an anguished collective groan, giving way to hearty applause. I sense a future classic. I really enjoyed seeing so many genre influences writ large (shots and ideas from movie history) worked into a fresh entertainment. I wish I had a dvd screener of it, I could do some convincing A/B shot comparisons. In no particular order: The rooftop meeting to discuss Yusef's dream drugs seemed right out of a nearly identical scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (famously, Spielberg paying the locals to take down their TV antennas to better look like wartime Egypt in Inception, a sea of satellite dishes). 

The location, paired with a similar feel, a team assembled for a push into enemy territory, discussing what's next, seemed to me an unmistakable nod. The very Mission: Impossible plot of a secret team creating impersonations and clever manufactured situations to trick a guy at the end. Inception is more of a modern M:I than the Tom Cruise movies. At many points during the movie I felt retroactively hi-fived for watching the entire Mission: Impossible series. The Bond elements. Everyone calls out the machine-gun ski patrol/snow fortress as an On Her Majesty's Secret Service homage, sure. But something seemed very Nintendo Goldeneye 64 about the fortress and guards. A sort of latter-Bond amalgamation. And all-goon, all railing-kill land where you target cyphers through a rifle scope, and toss proximity mines into vent shafts. There's more certainly, but this pizza is not going to eat itself.

Hiatus

I've been on hiatus for a bit, and hopefully I'll return soon, i'll be back in the first week of september, but for now I've been focusing on keeping my spirit clear of negativity and reading and writing the blog has been on the back burner. Sometimes the state of the nation is just sensory overload and I need to channel that light and energy within until I'm a bit stronger. 

Craigslist Strikes Again

I am so sick of Craigslist. People giving dogs away "Free to good home" and then I get emails like this: Hi my name is Mary. I run a rescue in (month). I received a frantic phone call this morning from a man who recently adopted a jack russell. He has only had the dog less than a week and is already to dump in a shelter. He claims the dog is around 20 pounds and is mixed breed. Unsure on any shots and is not neutered. He was a free to good home on craigslist. They are unequipped to deal with the dogs issues and asked me to take him. I am really full right now and can not take this on. I am hoping to find the dog a safe place before the end of the day or I fear they will take him to a shelter where he will most likely not get adopted. I can be reached at (phone number). Thanks - Mary. This is so common! People dump their problems on someone else and then that person who has no emotional attachment to the dog dumps the dog and then what happens. Dead dof! I guess the kill shelter is better then abused. Seriously I think free to good home should not be allowed! Well really I wish Craiglist didn't exists for animals to be traded like inanimate objects.

Good Things

Ooops. I wrote something slash-y. Okay, so, for the uninitiated, I wrote a short fanfiction story. I've published it on fanfiction.net, and so far I've received amazing reviews, which has just blown me away. I was so nervous about posting it! Now I'm just so happy that people like it and think that I got Castiel's thoughts down perfectly... what a compliment! I wrote it from Castiel's point of view, because I find him fascinating, and the fact that we don't really get to see what's going on in that head of his... he's a bit of a mystery. And that's fun to explore! And, well, it's slash, which means it's kind of a love story between Dean and Cas. That isn't everyone's cup of tea, I know, hell, it wasn't mine, that's for sure, for a long time, but hey, we're all different. So if the idea of that freaks you out, icks you or makes you uncomfortable, please don't read it. I wont mind! In any case, it's not physical, that's only implied. There's no touching, etc. So, really, it's very tame. Just Castiel's thoughts and the resulting conversation with Dean. Anyhow. If you'd like to read it. I'm almost feeling a little proud of it... weird, but, I've had such good feedback that it's really allayed my fears, and I'm definitely encouraged to write more. 

Especially because I've written 2 fantasy stories and drawed 4 fantasy coloring pages now and they were both liked and got wonderful reviews. So, I'm feeling a bit braver! (Here is a short demo of the first story I wrote: "Exclusive Interview With Castiel, Angel Of The Lord". Anyhow, I have posted it here before, but there it is in case you missed it. I'm actually considering doing a few more in this interview series, with other characters like Bobby, Sam, etc). If you do decide to read it / them, please let me know what you think. Meanwhile my hand / wrist is feeling better. Not completely, of course, but I'm just glad the brace and Celebrex are helping, because that's a good sign it's only temporary. My house is so cold right now! They did say we'd have a cold winter this year, didn't they? Luckily, I have an awesome heater, thanks to mum, so with door snakes and closed doors along the hallway, along with solastic-ed windows to stop the drafts, it's infinitely better. I hope everyone is keeping warm (or cool) wherever you may be. I'll be back tomorrow probably to post something more substantial. Take care!

Lose Weight Naturally

Certain changes have to be made to your diet too. Start first by getting rid of all those fries and sweet stuff. Sounds too tough - well, think of all those eager eyes staring mercilessly at you! Use natural substitutes instead. Get pre cut fruits and veggies. You can nibble on these when you are hungry. Having real fruits instead of fruit juices will cut out a large number of calories and will also fill your stomach more. The increased fiber intake is good for your bowels too. Have gallons of water, if you can! Water will alleviate the sharp pangs of hunger. By dissolving toxins, water will be good for your skin also. Water will remove any dehydration and the skin will take on a beautiful luster. Control your portions. Substitute white bread with brown. Eat in a smaller plate to help you lose weight. Visual appearances do affect our food intake. If you stuff a smaller plate with food, though the amount you take is lesser, your eye transmits the message that you have eaten a good quantity.

Another way to "trick" your body is to eat slowly. It takes about 8 minutes for the brain to tell your stomach that the food you have eaten will suffice, thus you lose weight. So, take it slowly. Chewing on your food also gives you the kind of satisfaction that aids in reducing food intake. Starting off with a salad or a low fat soup is another great way to cut your food intake. Soups can be very beneficial if they are home made and thick. In addition to giving you lots of vital nutrients, they will also take away the sharp pangs of hunger that urge you to eat more than you actually want. Snacking in between meals is a good idea. Have a small salad bowl or a low fat cracker plate by your side. It is ok to eat 6 times a day provided your overall intake is lesser than before. Actually, healthy snacks especially those high in fiber will reduce hunger. Never eat after 7 pm. Go to bed on a light stomach. Eat a good and healthy breakfast. Go natural!