I really encourage everyone to sign up and pledge your time to participate in this.  This disaster in the gulf has shown us how small problems quickly become everyone’s very big problem.  This is something that we can all accomplish, it’s only two days, and I believe that you will surprise even yourself once when you are finally there.  It’s time to let go of the instant gratification that we all feel everyday and embrace sustainability.  Make it worth it and make it last.  Oil is going to destroy this planet.  Ride a bike, drink tap water, stream movies from the web, put locally sourced foods.  There are 11 different things to do the weekend of August 21-22, be sure to take part and help the planet that you live for you kids and there kids.  Click this image above to add your name to list!

First off, Predators…At first I was skeptical.  Like most people I understood how great the first Predator was how each subsequent Predator became worse and worse.  Though it was great to see Danny Glover get his ass kicked and Gary Busey get killed in Predator 2, and witness the badassery of both Aliens and Predators do battle, not once, but twice, those stories had little to almost nothing to offer.  This one payed homage to the first one with many similar characters, situations, and even specific dialogue while taking on its own new story.  Adrian Brody, who I was definitely skeptical about as well, played the part of a ex-US Black Ops operative, and drove the part home.  He was stone cold and believable.  His supporting case, Danny Trejo, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, and Laurence Fishbourne was not a group to be trifled with, even Topher who has left his 70′s reality behind him, but I won’t spoil that for you though.  Overall, when planet earth’s deadliest killers are dropped on an alien game preserve to do battle with the universes most badass alien, get ready for some serious action.  Worth the pretty penny it takes to see movies these days.

Inception…I’m not sure there is a word to properly describe the mind-fuck that this movie has to offer.  You will not leave the theater the same person if you appreciate movies in the same capacity as myself.  Or if you are a person who has any sort of fascination in dreaming in general, get ready to be wowed.  Leonardo DiCaprio joins, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ken Wantanabe, and Cillian Murphy in one of the most mind bending movies of all time.  Learn to dream within a dream with this team of dream thieves as they attempt to implant a idea in to an unsuspecting host, Cillian Murphy, using a technique called inception.  Director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Memento) creates a beautiful world dreaming and will answer all your questions on what happens in your mind while you sleep.  The movie is worth seeing twice as your will certainly miss things, and/or be confused your first time around. Hans Zimmer does the soundtrack which only put this movie further at the top for me.  It is the complete package, your next night off should be spent watching this with your best friend.

In case you are a dream nut, like myself, check this link out on Wikipedia on Lucid Dreaming.  There is a lot of cool stuff in there.

Besides these two movies, my time has been writing my book now titled, City of Ice.  It’s taken many twists and turns and I’m finally getting it to where I want it.  I promise you will be seeing more on it very soon.  It’s coming along beautifully, if you’d like a preview of it you can request one off of Contact page.  I’d love to send you a copy.

side note: all is not fair in love and war

There comes a time in one’s life when you really start to realize things about yourself.  I’m not talking about objective things like I’m a good person or a bad person.  I’m talking about more in depth thoughts of one’s self.  The things that when you sit down and think about them you really start to get a sense of who you are as a person; ponder all of your life experiences and try to figure out how you got to where you are today.  Of all the paths and goals that you could have followed, what are those few defining events, actions, and thoughts that took you down the winding, straight, narrow, wide, enlightening, and confusing paths of your life?

While going to counseling sessions, one of these events has become clear to me that I was not totally aware of prior.  For a long time I was in such despair and my life had been overtaken by emotions that I could not control.  I was angry, I was bitter and most importantly I was fearful.  Fearful of losing important people around me just like I lost my dad.  The byproduct of this fear was a barrier that I put up to “protect” me from being vulnerable and to “protect” those around me from pulling away from me. What a joke this so-called “protective” barrier that I created for my self actually was.  It was nothing more than a reaction concocted out of fear in order to hide my vulnerability.  In fact, this barrier was doing the opposite of what my subconscious wanted it to do. It was actually pushing people away.  I was on the outside looking in at this person doing these things and I knew wasn’t the true me, which is a very scary thing.

Counseling: Self-realization  #1

What I realized during one particular section, talking about religion and the supernatural, is that I have become a part of death.  Before you think I’m just being morbid and depressing listen to the explanation.  First of all, my religious views are pretty plain and simple.  I believe that there is a god(s) and there have been many saviors that walk(ed) this Earth.  A place called “Heaven” doesn’t necessarily exist but a place where souls go after they pass certainly exists.  I believe that souls either live on to help us from the Otherside or become a part of the Earth to help it.  Now, for anyone who wonders what death feels like, you may or may not already know the feeling.  When you lose someone who’s very close, whether you realize it or not, you have a connection with the Otherside.  You know what it’s like to die.  As that person is lying on the hospital bed, they are going through the same pain and suffering that you are going through because we don’t want to let go.   Since my dad died I have always felt something that I haven’t been able to put my finger on until now.  I feel as if I have one foot in the natural world and one in the supernatural.  That connection with my dad passing is a part of me that I neglected for far to long.  This is a part of who I am, as well as my vulnerabilities due to that event.  Realizing this totally dissolved that “protective” barrier.  This was something based on fear and I no longer have reason to fear loss. I’m allowed to be vulnerable, allowed to break down and cry, allowed to confess my emotions, and allowed to be a person unrestricted by death.

Now when I sit alone, I don’t feel alone at all.  This realization has brought me closer to my dad and his advice even from the Otherside.  I can feel his presence all the time, all around me.  When I sit in solace and ask him for help, I can hear him and I know what to do.  This connection was neglected for so long, it makes me ashamed that I couldn’t hear him clearly because of my own insecurities and fear.  I wanted him back so bad I was willing to cut him off subconsciously.  That same fear almost took me down a path where I had no control over my emotions and actions, which certainly would have shoved the ones I loved away.  I have now come to a huge turning point in my life where I know who I am.  My eyes are open and I’m finally happy again.  This lost sheep is finding his way with great success.

By Justine Campbell

We sat across from each other staring. To keep my hands occupied, I rode my finger tips along the rim of the wine glass. It was so easy to lose my train of thought in his eyes. I felt the corners of my lips curl up. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, it was peaceful. I couldn’t help but smile. Not enough men I’d previously dated understood the value of silence but he did. For other women this might have been a quirk but for me, it was a quality in a man I could not live without.

My hair was a wreck and I’d only had enough time to put on cherry lip balm before leaving the house but he didn’t seem to mind. I fussed with my hair. From the look in his eyes, I could tell he preferred me like this.

After a few moments, I took a sip of the white wine in my glass with my eyes still glued to his. Quickly scanning his face, I couldn’t help but admire. He was a handsome man with olive skin and untamed facial hair. He didn’t make much of an effort to look good; he simply had a natural air of attractiveness.  I couldn’t understand why he loved me when he could love anyone (women far better looking than I am) but I didn’t doubt what we had, I didn’t dare.

The quiet between us felt good. We just looked at each other as we often did to pass the time.

The silence was disrupted by his words, “Whatever I had before no longer matters. Something has happened inside of me.  Everything I have ever known about myself has been forgotten, manipulated by your essence and has transformed me into someone new.”

Any other woman might view this as sweet talk but I was enamored by the way he spoke. It was much like the way he wrote.

Acknowledging what he said, I smirked while trying to come up with the perfect rebuttal. I decided to stick with how I truly felt.

“I don’t know why or how, but I know that I don’t want to know.  I’ve never admitted to believing in fate, not until the first time I looked into your eyes.  Some things are best left unexplained.  Today I’m thankful for what is,” I tell him.

I surprised myself with such an eloquent response.

Pausing to catch my breath, I continue to say, “All I know is that, after today, I will never have to worry about being alone.”

And I didn’t have to worry about being alone. He was faithful in every sense of the word.

As if it were a reflex, I reach across the table for his hand, carefully lacing my fingers in his. With my free hand, I take a swig of the last bit of wine in my glass. We mutually agree with a nod of our heads that it’s time to go. Getting up we slowly walked to the door, hands laced tightly. Our movements across the coffee house were in sync.

The sun gently kissed the horizon illuminating the sky with reds, oranges and purples. The air was hazed and dreamlike. We stop in front of the coffee house for a moment to say our goodbyes.

“I will see you tomorrow” he says slowly, as if the next day was centuries away. He lets go of my hand gently and begins running across the street to catch the light. He turned, disregarding the oncoming traffic to bid au revoir. I liked the way his face looked in this light, his smile bright, revealing two rows of white teeth. The Honda was too fast, his movement too slow. The smile on my face slid off as I drew my hands to my face in horror.

His 6’1 frame came crashing to the cement, no signs of pain, he was lifeless. The compact car stood in front of his body. People yelled and screamed but I didn’t acknowledge their presence.

I ran over while tears flooded my eyes, clouding my vision. Blood was everywhere, settling in the cracks of the cement. His chest heaved up and down as he struggled to breathe. I leaned over whispering words of promise and love that only his ears could hear.

The sky slowly darkened but in spite of the lack of light, I remain hunched over his frame. I’d wait there forever just to know he was okay.

I started off becoming vegan because I needed to get a handle on what it was I was actually eating.  You all know the story about how I was mindlessly eating for years of my life and more that I had worked at this new restaurant. Once I had a firm grip on what I was eating and enjoying it at the same time I realized that there was more to being vegan than just staying healthy.  There was another world out their that us, as humans and even Americans, were forgetting.  I started becoming more and more conscious about were I was putting my trash, in regard to recycling and what not.  I also became much more conscious of how food was manufactured and actually brought to the table in the first place.  The movie Food, Inc. was first on my list to watch.  This movie explained the ins and outs of the meat industry in the United States.  We no longer run farms and raise cattle or chickens.  We run factories that mass produce products that are genetically engineered to grow twice as fast as they are supposed to.  The animals are not properly taken care of and become sick and are slaughtered in the most inhumane ways.  I will never eat another piece of meat again in my lifetime.

This movie opened my eyes to the countless products that men and woman use on their own bodies.  These products, before they ever reach your skin are tested on animals to make sure they will not harm you at all.  Now I used to joke that, its not so bad that they get shampooed all day long, but the truth of the matter is many of these products will actually cause harm to animals, burning skin, losing hair, etc.  This is all so you can have that nice shiny hair or keep that wave throughout the day.  Fair?  I don’t really think so.

Someone wiser than myself once told me:

“Continue to write not for the fame and fortune, but for the ability to create exciting new worlds, and to out-do yourself.  When you start writing for money and fame, you will love your creative nature that is YOU.”

It was this quote that really resonated with me and I only heard it about a week ago.  It has brought me back to a lot of the things I have written before with clarity and the ability to make them even better than when I started them.

So whatever you think you know now, empty your cup….so you may fill it again, with all the knowledge of the world.  There is too much out their to ignore to not not want to know. The greatest ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about.

Don’t mistake this for me shutting down the blog because it is hardly the case, but I will be updating at a regular rate, but with more posts of substance.   I’ll be posting links to other places that I will be contributing.

Next week I leave for a week to walk along the roads of Cape Cod and see the sights from Sandwich to the tip of Provincetown and back.  I look forward to clearing my head, taking some good pictures and meeting some cool people along the way.  Be sure to also check out From the Top: Part 1 & 2, the previous two posts, for some light reading.  It is my latest creation.

New Duncan Rocks!!!

side note: it’s not what you knew, but what you know and how you use it today.  make it worth learning.

Life is not unlike the thrill we seek in the outdoors.  We are all given a starting point on flat ground and we begin to climb.  Sometimes the path we choose is flat and scenic and other times we choose the winding paths through sharp jagged rocks and thickets.  Like most paths there isn’t always a choice of terrain and skill level and we are forced to adapt immediately.  We aren’t always able to make it on our first try and need to return to rest gather the necessary skills to continue to the next level.  The glory of reaching the peak walks hand and hand with our doom.  To reach the top means the end of life.  No mountain is the same height for any given person.  Lessons learned and achievements gained along the way open new heights to places never imagined. The people we take with us as guides will sometimes be left behind or taken for the ride based upon how useful they can be along the journey and whether or not their journey is riding the same trail at that moment or at least in a parallel.

These are the thoughts I had while climbing yesterday.  Though I reached a peak, it was only a small one in which I gained a small amount of insight into myself.

side note: i’m a vegan sitting on the side of a mountain in the wilderness eating a granola bar that contains hemp wearing a rambo bandana. how much more cliche can i get?

side note 2: and the fattest man i have ever seen just walked in here.

Written By: Thomas Shaggy
Story By: Thomas Shaggy and Greta Von Voss
Edited By: Greta Von Voss

There was no end to day and no beginning to night. Then sun came and went as it pleased. Jake walked through the streets of a quiet suburban town. The snow fell quietly from the sky. He could practically hear the snowflakes touch down. A hand touched him on the shoulder.

“Do you know where we are, Jake?” Dr. L’ling asked.

“This is my house. Well it is the first house that Sarah and I bought together.”

“This is where it began.” The doctor kneels down and touches the ground. The snow disappears and the lights in the house turn on and he can hear the music playing indoors. Jake turns to look at the doctor, but he is nowhere to be found.

5 years ago.

Jake approaches the door and opens it slowly. His family greets him with smiles, hugs and kisses. A banner hangs in the opening to the kitchen. “Welcome to your new home!” His dad gives him a pat on the back and reassuring handshake. Jake’s mom grabs him by the face with tears welling in her eyes and tells him how much she loves him.

Jake spots Her from across the room. She turns down the lights with the dimmer switch on the wall and the music goes up in the background. She walks out of view into the kitchen taunting him with her eyes and her short sundress showing her legs, which oddly, is wildly inappropriate for the setting.

He walks through the crowd nodding and smiling to his family about the room. He turns into the kitchen and looks to the end of the hall towards the staircase. Her form disappears up the stairs. A hand grabs his shoulder.

“This is where it will end. Do you know why you are here?” Dr. L’ling asks.

“My wife, I am here for my wife. I have led a dishonest life and I’m here to set it straight.” He responds. Jake makes for the stairs. The doctor grabs his arms again, holding him back.

“Your wife has forgiven you. The simplest answer isn’t always the right one. Now it’s time to dig deeper. Those stairs only hold the key to more pain.” L’ling explains.

“I appreciate your help, now I’m going to my wife.” He snatches back his arm and heads for the stairs.

The hallway is endless. He turns the corner to the steps but instead is back in the living room. Jake stops abruptly. His family greets him with smiles, hugs, and kisses. “What is happening?” Jakes thinks to himself. He see’s his wife in the corner of the room taunting him with her body. Once again, her clothing wildly inappropriate for the occasion, but still she belly dances slowly to the low light and moves her hands through her hair. Her form begins to fade into the background. He makes his way back toward the kitchen and his father cuts him off. He shakes his hand with approval and his mother grabs him by the face and tells him he loves her.

“Ugh, I’m sorry guys, I’m not feeling good. I’ll be right back.”

Jake turns to make his way through the kitchen again when he is startled by a voice in his ear.

“Now, we can be alone.” He can hear her lips separate with every word she utters. She pulls him down the hall and up the steps. The noise from the floor below fades and the lights dim out as they come to the second floor.

“What is happening Sarah?” Jake asks.

“I want you to lay on the bed.” She opens the door. Jake smiles and enters the room. He looks around in confusion. The old reupholstered couch from Dr. L’ling’s office sits in the middle of the room. The door clicks shut and the lights brighten showing that they are, in fact, in the doctor’s office.

“Lay down, baby.” She points to the couch.

Confused, Jake listens and lies on his back and looks over at his wife. She makes a motion towards him, one leg in front of the other slowly beginning to undress herself. Jake smiles, but his wife’s face begins to grow sad. Her body begins to disappear in front of his eyes.

“Sarah?…Sarah, what is happening?” He reaches out for her hand, but she has disappeared. He lays back down and closes his eyes.

“I warned you this would only bring you pain.” The doctor said from behind. Jake jumped as the shooting pain in his chest. He looked at his hand, blood.

“What is happening?” Jake gasps for air.

“You were brought here, here to this planet of ice so I could show you all the things that you were and all the things that you weren’t. Your purgatory, until you realized the truth.” He explained.

The blood filled his shirt and his breathing became shallow. “What truth?”

“That you, Jake, were not the man you pretended to be. The successful, powerful, unmerciful businessman that you had become was not the man you truly were. You were to never escape your fate, but only accept it.” He could feel his pulse slowing as the doctor explained. He remembered the day he arrived at this place.

“Fate?”

“Do you remember the first day you arrived here?” Asked L’ling. Jake closed his eyes and thought back.

He stood in the elevator with his two bodyguards behind him. He looked down at his watch.

“Let’s make this quick, I need to be home for dinner.” Jake said. The bodyguards let out a snicker. The elevator slowed and bounced to a stop and the doors opened slowly. Blood sprayed from either side of him covering his face. Jake looked around and saw the two bodyguards lying dead next to him.

From the roof of the building across the street the assassin looked down through the scope and fit the cross hairs onto Jake’s chest. He clicked the trigger back and the bullet whistled through the air, shattering the lobby window, knocking Jake to him back.

He looked down at his chest and the bullet has gone clear through his body. The blood stained his hand and he couldn’t even muster the strength to speak. He looked out at the street and there standing in the sunlight was Sarah. In the same short sundress that she wore at the house warming party, she waved at him. He fell to one knee trying to fight consciousness. He looked back towards the street to see Sarah smiling at him. The pain of a thousand sledgehammers on his chest took away ever breath he could conjure up. Tears of regret fell from his eyes and onto the floor mixing with his blood. Jake made himself comfortable on the polished concrete floor and, through his tears, watched his beloved slowly disappear in front of his eyes.

“No, this can’t be. P-P-Please help.” Jake reached for L’ling. His body slumped lifelessly over the edge of the couch. He sat quietly with his notebook and wrote one last word and underlined it.

“Acceptance.”

Written By Thomas Shaggy
Edited by Greta Von Voss

8 years ago

They sped along the coastline with the top down on the convertible.  She laughed with her mouth open wide.  He looked at her in disbelief.  She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.  The leaves were green and the sun bright.  The air blew in off the water and onto the land.  Jake put his foot down on the gas pedal and accelerated through the corners.

The car came to a stop in a lonely parking lot.  The boardwalks stretched for miles in either direction.  Only a few people walked along the old twisted walkway.  He waited for her to walk a few steps in front of him and he reached into his pocket to grab to the small square box, just to make sure it was still there.  Clouds began to roll in from the south.

She walked out onto the pier. “Let’s go, Jake!” she called.

“I’m coming.”

They leaned up against the railing at the end of the pier and watched the rainfall on the ocean.  The grey sheets falling across the horizon that looked like a broom sweeping across the earth.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Sarah asked.

“Yup.”  Jake’s hands began to sweat.

The breeze picked up and he could feel the drizzle of rain on his face.  The boats along the harbor began to sway to the aggressive breeze coming from the storm.  He looked over at her and they caught eyes.  She smiled gently at him and nuzzled up close to him and held linked her arm with his.  The rain began to come in a little heavier.  Neither of them moved the pier.  They continued to watch the world around them.  People run for shelter back on the boardwalk and stuck on the beach.  He put his arm around her.

The storm blew up onto shore and through the small town. Jake and Sarah stood at the end of the pier and looked at each other.  Jake gazed down into her eyes and told her how much he loved her. He couldn’t tell if she was crying or if it was just the rain that had covered her face.  He leaned in and kissed her cheek and could taste the salt of her tears and her mouth.  He went for her mouth and they connected.  The waves crashed onto the beach faster and faster and the rain picked up a little more.

“This isn’t exactly how I envisioned it,” Jake paused, “but when does anything really go as planned?”

Sarah looked at him blankly.  “Well what I mean is,” Jake searched for those legendary words and reached into his pocket, “I—ya see—sometimes—.” He couldn’t finish.  He pulled back the hood on his jacket, bent down on one knee, and took her by the hand.

“Being here with you right now is all I ever wanted with life.  I’ll be as cliché as I need to be.  The rain wasn’t planned, but I see my life now changing forever with the cleansing of our worlds most precious natural resource.  Both this water and you make each day worth living.  I need them both and until the day I die I won’t forget that,” Jake took a breath, “Will you marry me?”

She cupped her hands over her mouth and nose trying to contain her happiness.  Her eyes welled with tears and she nodded yes.

The wind picked up and the temperature began to drop rapidly.  The ocean turned to ice and the rain to snow.  Two lovers stood frozen in time at the end of the pier holding hands ready to make the ultimate promise to one another.

Jake stood at the end of the pier looking back at himself.

“Facing your past and knowing the love that you truly started was vital to your return to reality.” Dr. L’ling said from behind him.  Jake smiled as he approached the ice sculptures of himself and his beloved Sarah of so many years ago.

Tokyo – 10 years ago

The train slowed at the station and the young promising man stepped from the train onto the platform. He was the only American to be seen for miles.  He carried with him a suitcase and sports coat draped over the same arm.  He made his way down the steps from the platform above to the street below.  He took the escalator.  A small Japanese man waited at the bottom with a sign “Jake.”  He looked around and figured that could only mean him.  He approached the man.

“Mr. Ambrose?” The small man asked.

“Yes.”  He tipped his cap.

The man welcomed him into the car. “The limousine will see you to your hotel.  Please get in.”

Without hesitation Jake entered the limo.  He rolled down his window and looked out at the world.  Tokyo was a bright city with many attractions.  After the meeting, all he could think about was returning to his room to rest.  The limo pulled up in front of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Tokyo.  He walked up the small carpeted stairway and into the main lobby.

“Any messages?” Jake asked.

“None sir, your room is all prepared.”  The concierge points to the elevator. While approaching the elevator he passes a beautiful American woman.  She is dressed in her business attire and makes way for the hotel bar.  He locks eyes with her and she with him as he enters the elevator.

Jake slides his key card into the lock and clicks open the door.  The lights flick on and a room full of people erupts in congratulations.  Jake is stunned.  He boss stands in the center of the floor with a cigar in his mouth clapping his hands at the young executive.

“Welcome the new partner to the party.”

Jake’s jaw hangs on the floor.  He takes the cigar from his boss’s hand, but is still distracted by the woman’s face downstairs.  He is eager to find out who she is.  The party gathers around Jake and toast to the new partner of the American conglomerate.  It became apparent that this was not the place for him at the moment.  He made his way to the door to gather himself and get a breath of air.

“Don’t go too far, partner!” This boss gave him a thumbs up.

“You know it.” Jake smiled.

Downstairs, Jake walked through the lobby and into the hotel bar.  It was more of a club than anything.  Business executives like himself that had just closed their own business deals were now celebrating.  He could not see her though.  He took a seat at the back and ordered his whiskey neat.  He took small sips and scanned the room for her beauty.  A touch from behind and that smell of designer perfume was all the assurance he needed.

“Mind if I join you?” She asked.

“Not at all, please.”

She sat next to him and they talked for hours.  The warm sake helped facilitate the conversation.  The crowd shuffled in and out and Jake began to forget about his own party in the floors above.  They exchanged smiles and laughs until their bodies hurt.  The looked deep into each other’s being.  A look that goes far beyond any other first date.  It was as if they were able to find out everything the needed about each other with each passing questions and conversation.

“I’m Sarah.” She extends her hand.

“Jake,” he shakes her hand.

“Do you know what today is?” Sarah asks. Jake looks down at his Seiko watch.

“Friday? Yea, Friday the 22^nd of November.”

“That’s correct, the Day of Small Snow,” she states, “look.” She points out the window. Jake turns to see the street lamp outside.  Small flurries pass in and out of the light.

“It’s beautiful.” Jake said.

Jake lit a cigarette and inhaled slowly and let out a deep breath.  The long green, reupholstered couch was becoming uncomfortable. He stirred for a second.

“It was then that I realized I’d spend the rest of my life with her,” Jake said slowly.

Dr. L’ling’s pen came to a screeching halt as he underlined a few words on his paper.  He looked up at Jake.