if any of you ever wonder, or hear rumors, about an author who cranks out one thing after another, unaffected by the tale they’ve just told…

I’d wonder about them . Because I can tell you otherwise. The level of thought and emotion you have to give to not only create the story, but to “live” the lives of each player in the tale….

It is both enlightening, and exhausting. More than that, it makes you come as close as you can to *living* other lives.

This is why books have so much power. This is also why authors don’t live normal lives.

And it’s worth it. If I can give *this* experience to others… it’s worth it.

Not long ago, I saw an article that stated that the version of futurism presented in STAR TREK had become outdated, and no longer had a place in modern society. The article went on to say that one of Treks’ core concepts – that of Altruism – was no longer viewed as productive or healthy, and that Western society had long shifted towards a focus on the individual instead of the whole.

As I read, I found myself shaking my head, and realizing that the author had missed the point of TREK entirely. In STAR TREK, they live in an Altruistic society. Now, for those who may not fully be aware, Altruism is the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others. It is (supposed to be) a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core aspect of various religious traditions and secular worldviews.

One of the basic ideas behind the world that Gene Roddenberry created for TREK was the concept that Humanity had finally ‘grown up’, grown out of the selfishness of its infancy, and discovered a galaxy full of infinite, diverse beings. STAR TREK, without this core belief of a better mankind, simply wouldn’t be TREK at all. And it wouldn’t have lasted fifty years either.

What the author of the aforementioned article missed is fairly simple. His argument was based in the idea that, as our society has moved away from Altruism, and toward Egotism, that we have ‘grown up’ in some way. Personally, I believe that the further we go away from Altruistic beliefs, the more infantile we become – not the more grown up.

Altruism or selflessness is the opposite of selfishness. And selfishness is NOT a virtue, no matter how it’s packaged for our consumption. And STAR TREK knew this, fifty years ago, just as well as it does now.

I could write volumes on this idea, but the day is busy and life is short, so I’ll conclude with this. It takes courage to be kind, especially in a society that is generally unkind.

When they said “To Boldly Go”, that was not only into space – but into life.

Live long, and Prosper.

As you all should know, saying that I am a life long Star Trek fan is along the same level of understatement as saying that there is a bit of water in the ocean. And while I’ve enjoyed the previous Star Trek movies in J.J. Abraham reboot, the previous two have felt – to be quite blunt -wrong. Yes, the actors are great choices, each embodying their respective characters in ways that are honest and true to the people Gene Roddenberry penned fifty years ago. My issues stemmed from how little humanity had really ‘grown’. Star Trek (2009) was a decent movie; Into Darkness (2012) was trying far too hard to be both original at the same time as nostalgic. And honestly, the problem all along was more with the script, having been written by people whom, while talented, didn’t know squat about the heart and soul of Star Trek.

So -with all that being said, how do I feel about Star Trek: Beyond?

I loved it.

For the first time in the ‘alternate’ timeline, these characters truly become the people we’ve always known them to be. From the first words of the Captain’s Log entry, to the banter between Spock and McCoy, not only do the central characters ring true as people with depth and experience, but the ‘secondary’ characters each have moments where they stand front and center and shine as bright as an Altarian Sunrise. Little bits, dropped here and there, are the breadcrumbs that give those of us whom are vested in the Trek universe all the info we need to finally, truly find our heroes. Yet, I saw no deal breakers that would make this film unenjoyable even for the most new of newbies.

I won’t go in details (too often known as ‘spoilers’) for obvious reasons. I will say that when Krall (the big bag naughty person in this film) speaks of the ‘evil’ of the Federation, and of the very idea of unity providing peace and strength, the words spoken by our beloved crew ring true in a way that more people need to not only hear, but embrace.

This, my friends, is a Star Trek that Gene would be proud of, and one I dare say that all of those we’ve lost over the years in our little Trekverse would proudly enjoy, quietly nodding as the whispers of wisdom the franchise has always offered us subtly take their rightful place once again.

People want to argue colours – red or blue, white or black. Then they add in labels – liberal or conservative, police or citizen, legal or illegal. Then the argument turns back to weapons- to have or not? And each facet of the argument has good points and poor ones; each side of the debate has taken the high road, and stooped to fear mongering.

And they all miss the point.

With all the killing, violence, prejudice, bigotry and outright hatred people have for each other in this country, all the labels mentioned above only serve to put us in one of two camps: friend or foe. And no matter what side you think you are on, the other side disagrees.

But one thing that is for certain- it’s not truly possible to find common ground with a foe. You can negotiate, have treaties, etc… But not peace, because you both know the other side is just *waiting* for you to fail.

You can only make peace with a friend.

Drop all the damn labels. Move forward to help *all*people. That’s what truly made this country great before. Time to do it again.

Don’t just pray for peace; *make* peace, with yourself, and with others.

Ever wonder if the afterlife is nothing more than the moving of your consciousness from one reality where you died, into a reality where you lived?

it is said that all possibilities play out across the multiverse. If this is true for small things, like being forced to repeat the fourth grade, or turning right vs left at a given intersection, shouldn’t we also take into account every potentially life-ending event that we’ve survived?

What if we survived none of them?

Here’s the thought: What if our own consciousness, instead of imagining what might happen if we did X vs Y, actually has seen it played out though the loosely connected consciousness’s of our limitless number of selves across time and space. We’re not imagining how it would have felt if we hadn’t dodged that baseball to the head – at some level, we KNOW how it felt, because somewhere, it happened to us.

Overall, this affect would manifest itself around moments that are similar – just as the streams break up for a given event. And our imaginations are nothing more than the thoughts or the living memory of one (or several) of our versions living throughout a series of unending, limitless universes. And the only thing connecting these alternate worlds, with their histories both subtly and grotesquely different than what we see as our own, is the living mind, the essence of spirit (all spirit, human or otherwise), and it is only our individual ‘focus’ on a given course that sets the realities we accept as our own.

If this were the case, we’ve all died a billion times, and survived as billion times over as well. In this scenario, none of us ever get out alive, but we are all immortal. Would the pinnacle of existence be the ability  to see where these tangents would take you, and focus your reality accordingly to bend the world to your will? Or, would the ability to see all possibilities, all focal points, and facets of every decision, essentially make one a God?

After all, we are all immortal, aren’t we?

Just a quick note to announce that I have been invited as a Regional Author Guest to appear at CoastCon 39, March 4, 5 and 6th, and the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi , MS.

As I get more details on events and such, I will post them. Until then, head over to www.coastcon.org

To my CONSERVATIVE *AND* to my LIBERAL friends.

In today’s media driven, knee jerk society – you are BOTH missing the point. Yes, perhaps the laws need more power; however, self protection IS a fundamental right.

Neither side is wrong, but neither side has the answer; and here is why.

There are other countries in the world that have more liberal Gun laws (meaning more people can have guns) and more conservative gun laws (prohibiting gun ownership). Yes, this goes against what Americans label as Liberal and Conservative – but put your damned labels aside, and look at the numbers.

Other countries with more strict gun laws do not have this problem.
Other countries with more liberal gun laws do not have this problem.

If the real issue isn’t right in front of your face, let me spell it out for you.

The PROBLEM isn’t in the laws; it’s in our society.

Didn’t want to hear that? Too bad. BUT, let me explain.

From a PURELY legislative standpoint, BOTH sides are right. The Second Amendment clearly gives all citizens the Right to Bear arms; whether those arms are firearms, crossbows, swords, etc… we have a Constitutional RIGHT to be able to defend ourselves (and the implication was to defend ourselves with equal force; not to try and defend our homes with Swords against a nuclear attack, or to trounce our enemies with Atomic grenades when they come at us with a knife; some degree of sensibility is simply a given).

That being said: Some people take it too far. What the HELL are you afraid of? We’ve had more peacetime on our own soil that any Kingdom or State that has preceded us. So you choose to live in a prepetual state of readiness?

Alright – I’m OK with that. And I appreciate your vigilance.

If you REALLY take the time to educate yourself, you will realize that, in EVERY SINGLE INSTANCE of MASS GUN VIOLENCE in American, (and probably a high percentage of the non-mass instances) the shooters were FRICKEN NUTS! They really were – wouldn’t you have to be?

Look at the facts: instances of one on one gun violence are usually driven by (1) domestic violence, (2) drug related violence, (3) General crime. No where in this do we have common criminals, or even PROFESSIONAL criminals going out to commit mass murder. For the Common person, hurt and pain too often turns to violence, and if a gun is present… there ya go (whether the gun or the shooter was legal and licensed isn’t relevant). For the professional criminal, they don’t want the level of scrutiny that comes with a mass shooting.

So what is left?

Those who are broken, un-stable, sad, lonely, radicalized; in short, those who SOCIETY needs to help. Because if we don’t, they will do EXACTLY THE KIND OF SHIT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT!

But we don’t help, do we?

No, only once it’s too late, only once that Man or Woman has BROKEN and lived in a Mental HELL long enough to come to the conclusion that EVERYONE, or even certain someones… Christians, Muslims, Blacks… (that wasn’t too long ago, was it?)… Mexican.. whatever. They create targets, but even killing the targets doesn’t fix their pain, their hurt… it doesn’t fix the trigger that turned them into mass murderers.

Now, some of you, and rightly so, may ask, “Why should I give a damn about some psycho that killed X number of people?”

Its a good question; but my first response is this; What if you could reverse time, and see that ‘murderer’ as something else; as a person who’d not yet harmed anyone, but had become so truly broken that they were getting ready to harm others.

Too many would say “Kill the Bastard”; but he’s not a bastard yet, is he? He’s only thought of committing the crimes you’d kill him for. So that isn’t a very Christian ideal, is it?

So what would you do? Try to change them? Help them thru the hurt that broke their Humanity to this end?

I’d say we should work on prevention of the crime, much more so than prevention of the tool used in the crime.

I’ll not say this often, but consider this; I’m not an ignorant man. If I wanted to kill LOTS of people, I wouldn’t personally use a gun. There are far too many other ways to kill the masses. And if I *DID* want to use a gun – hell with the laws; and if the laws did prevetn me from buying a gun, I’d either get one illegaly, or MAKE ONE MYSELF.

In short, legislation is not the answer.

That being said, what could help?
Perhaps, we need to find a better way to identify these shooters sooner, but that takes intervention from not only Law Enforcement, but from Friends and Family as well; it takes weeding out the asshole who reports someone they are angry with, just to frak them over; it take a change in our mentality as a society, where we no longer just focus on ourselves, what *WE* want, and our own goal. We have to learn what our European counterparts hav e learned, and balance the needs WE have as individuals, with the needs that our shared SOCIETY has. And this teaching has to start early. By the age of three, the self-identity of most children is set; so have you not only taught them self respect, but respect for others as well? Have you lead by example?

Or have you said one thing, and been a selfish ass in your actions?

They learn by what they see at a YOUNG age:

Our society in America is broken. Whether you believe that is because of politics, religion, media, etc… you are all right, and you are all wrong.

It comes down to MORALS.

I’ve known Christians who thought they were saints; some of them were, but others weren’t worth a crap; same for people of every other religion. I’ve known Atheist who were kind and giving, and those who were self-centered; no matter the label a person takes, it is their overall ACTIONS that tell you the truth.

We do not need to legislate gun control; we need to find a way to BETTER *WHO WE ARE* as a people, so we can find these offenders, these murderers, before they act, and help them fix what is broken within THEM.

Until we do that, we will still be reliving Columbine, Sandy Creek, Aurora, Oregon…

how long do you want this list to be?

Gun control is NOT the answer; not in this country. But we MUST change how we identify and assist the people who do these horrible things, without EVER FORGETTING those who lost their lives, so we could wake up and change ourselves.

A friend of mine replied:
There will never be a good leader b/c they are all politician

I answered this:
then WE have to lead; the people who’ve made the biggest difference in our society have rarely been politicians; they’ve been preachers, lawyers, and regular people.

We have to stop asking those “in charge” what is right, and just DO what is right; not just for ourselves, but for us all.

She responded: after all we are working under a lobbyist from Washington DC……..
Lobbying (also lobby) is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in a government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies.

My answer:
my dear – I KNOW; believe me, I understand, and you are NOT wrong.

That being said, legal changes come from legislation; Societal changes come from PEOPLE. We do not need a Government telling us how to feel, react or respond; reaching out to people who may create a violent crime should not be a MANDATE;

we shouldn’t need that to be the law, should we?
Shouldn’t we just try to help because its the right thing to do, instead of burying our heads in the sand and saying ‘It’s not my problem”?

The fix for this problem does not start with laws; they only infringe on those who obey them. The sad souls who do these crimes don’t give a damn what the laws are; and in our ‘capitalist’ society, there will always be someone willing to sell a firearm to whomever has the right amount of money – laws be damned.

The only way to really combat this is to make us a society of individuals again, instead of individuals who happen to live in a society.

And it starts right here – right now. With everyone who reads this and understands.

Or it goes no where.

So it’s 3am. And things have been interesting.

Know why book three isn’t available yet? Because of two words –

Carpal Tunnel.

I’ve worked as best as I can – even tried dictation software; but the rhythm is so different, from a creative stance.

It may take some time to adapt – love and light to you all.

D

Life is full of moments you hope to remember; be it the first trip to Walt Disney World, the first kiss, the first …anything.
All of those are memorable, and hopefully unspoiled. But it is the more common memories – the ones that are reinforced day to day… these are the ones we carry with us – the memories we hope will define our future. It is the special moments – even the ones that are buried in the mundane – that define our hopes and dreams.
Never let anyone steal your vision of *your* future; not ever.

There is a lot of praise for Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner) and the huge transformation she’s gone thru (and dare I say, all the crap she’s caught for doing so).

Let me start by saying that yes, I support her decisions with what she has done to become a woman. While I do firmly appreciate a person’s right to live as they wish to live (whether it be in religion, sexuality, political outlook, etc), I also have embraced sciences as a fall back, in most of my life.

So I say, with no intended disrespect – Don’t give me feelings (I’ve always ‘felt’ like a woman )- they vary from person to person

Tell me the facts; what can science prove? And how does that have an impact on the discussion?

From a scientific point: Sexuality is based on genetics; Chromosomes tell the tale – so unless you have not only “Sexual Reassignment SUrgery” along with a hitherto undiscovered ‘Chromosomal reassessment procedure’, you are, as they stated in SouthPark, “not a woman (who was surgically altered from male to female); just a man with a mutilated penis”.

Now here, I ask you to stop. Stop and think about all I’ve said before – put your hate and Ire aside…. and hear me out.

Please.
Yes, I really am asking – PLEASE.

What I said above, quoting ‘SOUTH PARK’, may only be tagging a well known parody program, but if we are honest with ourselves, there is a LARGE portion of American Society ( and I dare say much of the world ) that does not understand the TRANSGENDER ISSUES at all!

We, in a (hopefully) more progressive society, are more open to listening, understanding, and accepting other ways of living – whether those are the way of the Batchelor, Old Maid, Widower, Crone, Hermit…. Etc. But less and less are we able to see that those who live on the outskirts – those who are gender-fluid, or transgender, gay, bi… or what ever label you want to give them, are still simply people we interact with day to day. The rest, dare I say, is just a LABEL – and not much more. It makes no difference in the medical trade, business, service.. how many other industries need I mention? Let’s face it – unless you are HAVING SEX with them… how could it possibly matter to you?

Yes, I said it; we interact with them day to day.

Now, I am going to get a bit fussy here – so either redirect, or keep reading and DEAL!

If you have a mailman who is gay – do *you* still get your mail?! YES???? Then please, read on…

Do you possibly know a transgender PERSON? Do you?!? Oh my god, do you? (are you so offended by the thought that you now look at every woman who has a pronounced throat as having an adams apple?! Seriously – I have a more masculine PE teacher in 4th grade… learn some Anatomy before you judge…)

AND (and here is the big thing) – ***IF*** you know a transgender person…

if youy didn’t know when you met them ( and let’s face it, in either a physical or emotional way, we often do…)
WHAT DOES THAT KNOWLEDGE CHANGE?
Seriously… is the intellectual opinion of that person mitigated by their sexuality? Or their sexual Identity?

(THIS IS NSFW) If your CEO held a meeting with a didlo up HIS ass… does that change the message he gave in the meeting?

IT IS NOT UP TO YOU TO JUDGE
that, my friends, is up to GOD – and dare I say, HOW DARE YOU think you KNOW the MIND of GOD.

You may balk, and squirm…. but worse has been done. So stop the high and mighty routine, and have your COME TO JESUS moment, because – yes – JESUS didn’t preach about sex. HE taught us to love each other – regardless. LOVE was , and is, the real message. You can LOVE without understanding and without acceptance…

the ideas are NOT exclusive of one another… and they were never meant to be.

NOW – even if your interpretation says that he *DID* preach about sex; ask yourself this…. have we talked about sex at all? Or, have we only talked about SEXUAL IDENTITY and SEXUALIY ?

See the difference? If not, then we are done. I can’t continue this conversation with those who aren’t educated enough to understand the difference.

If you **DO** see the difference – PLEASE COMMENT: I’ll delete any trollish, non-topic comments made, so don’t bother responding to them. Keep the conversation civil (or you too will be removed).

Thoughts? Opinions?
KEEP IT CIVIL AND NON_JUDGEMENTAL.

(and thanks for your kind, thoughtful additions…)