INTERNET SHARK FIGHT

 

Wanna see something really brutal and bloody. How about a battle of survival between a feeble minded computer illiterate old geezer and the all powerful SHARKNADO known as SOCIAL NETWORKING?

For you who swim these waters like playful dolphins you'll find this as amusing as watching a ship wreaked survivor paddling a life raft with one broken oar. Yeap that's me fighting off the sharks as they frenzy all around my leaky little floaty. The great white-Face Book, the tiger-shark-Twitter, and all the others trolling for chum; Tumbler, Pinterest, Shelfari and Goodreads. My goal is to integrate all that with www.koolkollectables.com. where my vetterSverse blog resides along with Blood Moon Social Club and Crossbreeds. Why am I killing myself? To launch my indie e-books on Amazon. Yeap I can't stop writing, it's a compulsion I can't control it.

I would have drowned already had it not been for my son Patrick bailing the water out of my sinking raft countless times. In fact I may sink anyway. Just as I get the hang of Face Book in swims Twitter, then another and another and they all want me to feed them with thoughts and pictures and likes and comments every day; all day long. So I invite you all to watch with morbid curiosity as I flounder about in the great internet ocean.

“Will he survive or will the sharks tear off bloody chunks until there's nothing left but a red stain floating amid circling fins?”

A drowning man has no use for the heavy weight of pride or arrogance, trust me on that. If you would like to watch and smirk derisively then I say thank you for not poking holes in my raft. If however you can offer a bit of advice or just a word of encouragement please do so. I will accept with great humility for the sharks are closing in and a friendly dolphin's smile would be a welcome sight.

Please follow me @vetter99 on Twitter and Like my Blood Moon Social Club and Crossbreeds pages on Face Book. You can read about my many other humerus activities and social commentaries at vetterSverse located at www.koolkollectables.com it's a work in progress so we offer apologies for construction clutter. The fun part's just beginning I saw the Kraken -Youtube on the horizon.

HEROES for HEROES

                                                          

 

If you're reading this it's a better than 90% chance you're a comic book superhero fan. You may have a favorite character. You may love all the hot new movies. You may even harbor a secret desire to be like one of those selfless do gooders leaping around in spandex. Rescuing the innocent from danger, fighting super villains with awesome super powers.

Well I know of a league of real heroes that don their capes and cowls, buckle on their armor and battle real badys like depression and loneliness. In hospitals all over the South-West desperately ill children are fighting for their lives.

                                      

Jason Golden founder of Critical Care Comics was one of those kids a few years back. He fought and won the battle with his archenemy Acute Non lymphoid Leukemia. Now he and his Avengers visit the kids and take them comics and action figures to brighten their days. In some cases it could be their last days. These Heroes bring smiles to sad little faces and inspire hope to their worried families. That's a very special kind of super power. They do this not for money nor fame. They do it for something you can't put a name on. They do it in costume and with style equal to any Hollywood actor. I've seen them in action and it's moving and it's real.

 

Benny and Joe are learning from the CCC team that Hero work isn't always about the action. It's about helping.

We here at www.koolkollectables.com are proud to sponsor Critical Care Comics. We've helped worthy causes in the past but none quite like the team at CCC. Each cosplayer that gives of their time to do this is a special human being with the soul of a true hero. They don't collect money for a massive faceless organization. They're it, they take your gifts directly to the children. They put your contributions right in their little hands. You can give them the hero support they need by going to their Face Book page or contacting http://criticalcarecomics.org/ or criticalcarecomics@gmail.com

Thank You so much for viewing our message.

Vampire War in Vegas

Vampire War in Vegas

From childhood I have always been a fan of Sci-Fi and horror stories. I was an avaricious reader of escapist novels, comics and very big on genre movies. So when I was introduced by my son Patrick to Dungeons and Dragons I took to it like a tick to blood.

In the late 80s and early 90s I was hanging out at comic and gamer cons a lot. It was a wonderful time for fans of fantasy. Comics were emerging from the shadows into the mainstream. Hollywood was just beginning to discover a whole new field of storytelling. Computer tech was getting to a level where the writer's imagination could be replicated on screen and the man in the hokey monster suit would soon become a part of cinematic history. 

Oh how I could digress for a thousand words on that subject but this story is about a period in Las Vegas history that very few people are aware of. A dark chapter when a vicious war was being fought in the neon glow of towering casinos and not a God fearing Midwestern tourist was the wiser. As they say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Well that rule's about to be broken and the shocking truth you will read about right here.

It began innocent enough in 1993, Kool Kollectables had just opened and we were selling comics, action figures and RPGs (role playing games). A new one gaining popularity with the Gothic underworld was Vampire the Masquerade by Mark Rein*Hagen published by White Wolf Games. Now if you're not familiar with said games except to have heard on a news reports that they can be dangerous. Let me briefly set this up. RPGs had been around for decades and many a concerned commentator had done stories on kids loosing themselves into the characters so much so as to become disassociated from reality. You might recall that silly Tom Hanks movie Mazes and Monsters in 1982.

You see these games allow the players to become immersed into the role and the imaginary world the G M (game master) has constructed. Picture five lumpy guys rolling dice in the den until dawn. Now days it's online gaming that has the critics freaking out but you get the drift. A psychologically imbalanced individual might commit a violent act while believing he was a dark elf assassin. To that I say balderdash. That's a clean way to put it, in private and out of print I might say that's a fat load of bullshit. But not here I wouldn't want to offend anyone.

What made VM so scary to the critics was two fold, first unlike most every other RPGs where you played a hero archetype VM allowed you to play the monster. A blood sucking vampire; immortal, powerful, sexy. You belonged to a clan of kindred and they usually hated members of other clans. Vampire gangs if you will and the ST (story teller or game master) controlled the setting, plot and the antagonist characters. Secondly, and this was really the unnerving part, you could dress up in costume and act out the character's actions. Even worse you could go out in public to a convention, park or a coffee shop as your character.

“Talk about leaving reality behind. This was just begging for trouble,” they warned.

Of course having searched for an escape from reality into a world of pure fantasy all my life. I saw this as the ultimate portal to another dimension and plunged through the looking-glass without hesitation. I set about organizing a troop of actors ASAP. To further intensify the experience we at Kool Kollectables set all this up on our five acre ranch outside of Vegas. The guesthouse was converted over to be a Vampire casino. Complete with gaming tables, a buffet, elaborate props and Gothic décor.

The Blood Moon Social Club recruited thousands of members during the 90s and White Wolf game book sales at the shop were massive. We were the largest retailer of White Wolf books and gear in the world. And within months VM was the hottest RPG around the globe. Kindred the Embraced was a mini series based on Vampire the Masquerade. We sanctioned Blood Moon chapters all over the country and even outside the US. We published the official Blood Moon magazine Shape Shifter and a newsletter Vampiric Activity, soon my players were publishing newsletters of their own Crimson Eye and Filth. Kool K was the place to get your goth on. Everything from costumes, makeup, jewelry, props and yes sharp vein slashing fangs.

Mark Rein*Hagen came to several of our events he was charming and supportive I'm glade to say he's a good friend and I admire his many accomplishments in the world of gaming. He's working on his new “I Am Zombi” game, I wish him all the best with lucky 777s.

With this level of vampirism it was no surprise that the national media was all over VM. Every few weeks I saw a tabloid scare piece about underground goth clubs, people sleeping in coffins and blood drinkers. The truth was that VM rules expressly forbid any aggressive physical contact and you never partook of real blood. At Blood Moon we never had a dangerous incident take place. The players were intelligent and many were phenomenal actors.

Now I never said nothing weird happened. Did a lot of players hook-up and get busy in character, in costume with fangs in? Oh yeah they did. One night I walked into the crypt and found one of my male stars hypnotizing a hot little vamp. They were so deep into their scene I was invisible so I left them to it. The next day the still glassy eyed vamp's gal pal drug her into my office demanding I preform an exorcism to rid her of his foul domination spell. Another time I was asked to preform a binding ritual between a werewolf and a vampire in the cemetery. I suspected 'out of character' hanky panky but I asked no questions.

“So if no one flipped out, killed a dog and drank his blood, what's the story?” you ask.

Well what happened was actually even stranger than a gamer going into a blood frenzy. I was a little disappointed too. After all that media hype you'd think one crazy gamer would try biting a trendy goth on the neck. It would have been kool to stake his ass and torch him in the Blood Moon Cemetery.

Whatever, let's back up to the beginning where I was advertising our first event on Halloween of 93. I'd never run a LARP (live action role play) and was just going to try it out. My wife would cater a lavish buffet and I had really gone all out decorating the club house. We'd put fliers out and right away gamers and curious Ann Rice readers were attracted to us. Among them were a pair of gamers from another game shop in town. They stopped by and we were chatting nicely. They too were planing a LARP. I was enthusiastic and offered to cross promote with them. I'm thinking the more games running the bigger this thing can get. They were open to the idea too.

They were going to do their game in a public place for $5. to cover pizza and sodas. The Masquerade rules were to be tightly controlled. The non gamer public must never know you're playing a creature of the night. This was to further create the illusion that you are a vampire lurking among mortals. Also you didn't want the cops called to break up your game. This I had learned was how Story Tellers all ran their games from universities to coffee shops. You just didn't let the public in on what you were doing. Then it happened the moment when our chat turned sour. They asked how much I was charging for our event.

“$25.00 a head,” said I. “We do your character profile on the store computer and we play on a private estate with no contact with the outside world. Also we serve an all you can eat buffet plus we give each player a few thousand dollars in 'blood money' we printed up. This is to gamble with, buy food, drinks, murder for hire, what have you.”

The sudden chill was noticeable with both he and she. Now at this point I must advise the reader that I have changed some names. The pair were clearly upset over the price tag and they abruptly left. I thought it strange but forgot about it. A few days later I heard a rumor from a gamer planing to attend my event that 'Dean' we'll call him was warning everyone not to attend our game.

“They're charging an outrageous amount and they're not doing it right. They don't know anything about the game.”

He was correct on all counts. The price was high but we felt our show prep was worth it and it was our first one so we were winging it. If we flopped it was all on me because I was really doing it to create an interactive theater where the audience was part of the play. The game aspect was a minor element as far as I was concerned. I noticed Mark Rein*Hagen had used a lot of terminology from theater and movies in the guide books and that's where I got the idea to focus on the creative artistic side. Oh yeah there was one other thing and this is key as it comes up over and over. In the guide book Mark also put in a very important rule.

“If the Story Teller want's to change anything he can do it. He can change any rule anytime.” I must confess to you here and now I didn't commit to memory any other rules after that. We had our first play “Luna Macabre” it opened with twenty-five players in attendance and they all loved it. They asked to do another and the following month we had fifty guests and the next month seventy-five.

This incredible success apparently irked our rival for he launched into a full scale assault. My informants were keeping me advised of his smear campaign.

He said things like, “Your character would be killed the first night. The food is terrible and will make you sick. If you're in my game and you play Blood Moon I'll kill your character off.”

His attacks I found amusing and decided to counter them by publishing a monthly newsletter to all interested players. Pictures of BBQ chicken, salad, cake, deli tray, chips and dip and a cauldron of fake blood enticed new players. And we instituted a rule against murdering a neophyte on their first night, if you did you reimbursed their next game.

In it I stated, “If you heard rumors of how dangerous our game is you heard right. Blood Moon is the biggest scariest most dangerous game in town and the Story Teller is rumored to be insane. So if you're scared stay home and play checkers.”

After publishing that big boast I was approached by some of my regulars and they wanted to change their characters. Here's where it gets dicey. In the rules it clearly states that the PCs (player characters) could only choose from seven clans of vampires the lessor evil ones. There were many other clans of vampires but they were the NPCs (none player characters) I played them as antagonists because they were dark twisted and demonic. All for the ST to play or delegate an assistant ST to play because they were too powerful and disruptive to the game. The rules were quite specific on this point. You were already playing a monster why would you want to play something even more hideous? Recalling my favorite rule I said yes.

“Why not? If you don't want to play the bad guys, then play the worse guys.”

Man oh man did this piss off Dean and not just him. The game was so popular over a dozen other STs were running it. And not one of them allowed their players to stray into this new territory.

“Just that loon over at Kool Kollectables.”

It got back to me that Dean was cracking down on his players. A few of them were defecting to Blood Moon so they could play these new characters. When that failed he even sent his minions over to recruit our players. It was reported to me we had spies in the game remember it was five acres and at least ten major staging sits. I couldn't be everywhere, but my Intel was usually spot on. Apparently some of his cape-and-dagger types were being turned into double agents by my operatives. So I dispatched another newsletter by undercover courier right to Deano's crypt.

“Play any game you like anytime you like and we welcome players from any game in the country.” The undead were learning to reach beyond the grave with a new thing called the internet, word got around pretty damn quick that Karl Clay Vetter was crazy and would let you play anything.

And they came from everywhere, we had so many players I could barely keep up with writing their back stories, the plots, sub plots and the newsletters.

What I did next sent the Blood Moon haters into psychotic rage. Mark had published a new game in his World of Darkness series. Werewolf the Apocalypse. Werewolves were the ubber powerful enemies of the Kindred and you never allowed PCs to run a wolf in a VM game, it just wasn't done. But we had a big fenced area out beyond the cemetery and I thought what a kool place to have werewolf rituals and some of my players were really into wolves. Okay I admit it, the thought of howling at the moon around a campfire was freaking kool. So we created a whole pack of weres and we let the cats in too. Why the hell not? When word spread about this latest Blood Moon abomination the the battle was really on.

The fury was brewing and Dean's game was growing as well. I would be remiss if I let you believe I had no detractors in my game. There were a few that played a game or two and would quit in a huff over a ruling they disagreed with. We even had a few mass exits when a disgruntled GM quit and took his posse with him.

“We'll start our own game and put you out of business,” said they.

Yeah baby you do that, I sold a hundred books every time I heard that threat. Some of them went over to Dean's camp and gladly threw gas on the fire under my effigy. A lot of gamers were getting deep into their clan loyalty and club loyalty. His group had a name and I'll call them 'The Plague'. My covert agents were reporting back to me that his players spent much of their game sessions trashing me and Blood Moon they weren't big on story plots beyond that. However, it only sent the curious to us in droves. For every one we lost ten replaced them. We even had some imitators that started small game stores and ran a VM LARP in the back. Rather than fight with them we encouraged them and I promoted their endeavors.

“Why would you promote competitors?” say you.

Let's look at it this way. Vampires infect the mortals with their dark embrace thus creating more of their kind. The more vampires in the city the more books we sold... I'm sorry was that evil?

You would think by now I'd had enough critics badgering me about my rebellious rule bending. What I did next however got me a death sentence and this time it wasn't from the Plague. It was from my own sweet devotees. Sweet like nectar of hemlock.

I played hundreds of characters mostly to be plot devices slated for early demise at the claws of my players. Arrogan Rapture was never intended to last long but somehow he did. He was annoying, slippery and a conniver, a shadow bender and master of illusions. He was into everyone's schemes and became part of every ongoing story plot. Then I took it outside the game and trouble began for real.

At the time I was writing movie reviews for periodicals and gamer zines and Blood Moon was getting a lot of media attention. So just for shits and giggles I started showing up on the evening news or to an interview with the press as Arrogan Rapture. I wrote some articles in character as Rapture too. I even appeared on a radio show hosted by a local shock jock and had players call in asking for Rapture. I would switch back and forth from me to him much to the dismay of the DJ. It was all great fun until the 'in character' council of Vampires at Blood Moon ordered a hit on Rapture for violating the ultimate law, The Masquerade forbid exposure of the kindred to the mortals. For months Rapture was on the run. He survived but this was a big topic around Vegas. My use of him this way encouraged other creatures to come forward and do real world interviews too. I have quite a scrap book of clippings. But it was just more ammo for the traditionalist to use against us and more proof of lunacy regarding Rapture...I mean Vetter... no I mean... ah whatever.

This ever widening feud continued but I had a bigger goal and no time for Deano's infantile pranks nor death warrants on my favorite character. For a long time I had wanted to host my own gamer con. A year of preparation and when the time was right we launched the Festival De Vampyr. We had White Wolf reps, contests and a large hall rented from one of the casinos. My son and partner ST Patrick Foster was running Magic the Gathering tournaments at the shop so he organized a big one at the festival. Magic was as big as Vampire the Masquerade. We also introduced the new werewolf card game Rage. I even hired a professional belly dancer to be the hostess.

The main attraction was of course a two day LARP. Not just Blood Mooners were invited. I sent ambassadors to every ST in the state We invited them to appear with their groups. We would allow them to have a free space to erect a set in our production. All characters would be approved and their ST would be given inside details of the script. They could promote their gamer group and recruit from any players in attendance. As a bonus the non Blood Moon group with the best set design would receive a choice certificate and a sweet prize.

As gesture of peace I got Dean's number and personally invited the Plague to the festival. He was civil on the phone but as expected he called for a boycott. Of all the local groups invited only the Plague were a no show. The festival was a great success and afterward most of the new groups started coming to Blood Moon, some even became Blood Moon chapters. Unfortunately, I had inadvertently invited a new adversary and she would take our local Vampire feud to all out war.

The Camarilla was the official fan club of Vampire the Masquerade, sanctioned by White Wolf Studios. At the time their headquarters was based in Salt Lake City not far from Vegas. In my zeal to unite all the vampires under one roof at the festival I organized a Cam chapter outside of Blood Moon. Several of my best players joined this official Cam chapter. Now the rules were quite different. You started at a beginners level, very weak and none of those forbidden characters. Then I sent my emissaries to the Salt Lake games and invited the high ranking members to the festival. All went well although I'm certain they did not approve of some of our characters. They were a bit snobbish when it it came to non Cam events, none of which bothered me. The Camarilla president I'll call her Jane was cordial and we had a pleasant time. I met her entourage and they too were pleasant.

I still ran Blood Moon as pretty much anything goes. On the side I ran the local Cam chapter according to their rules. Being the only Cam rep in Vegas I held some sort of rank, I've forgotten what my title was. But a few months after the festival a bunch of players came in and told me they were from the Vegas Camarilla and were there to inform me that Dean was now the local head of the Cam. It seemed they had reformed the Plague into two Camarilla chapters thus automatically granting him higher rank than me. But we were all part of the Cam now and my chapter was welcome to come to their games.

I congratulated them and said I would inform my Cam members of the new chapters. It was a very polite bloodless coup. He had swooped in and usurped my position without me knowing it was coming. Not even my best agents caught that one. What bothered me the most, I was never informed by the president of the Cam, after all it took at least a month to make it official. I thought we had a rapport but all the while she'd been fuming over Blood Moon's incredible popularity. I called to give her a heads up as to the type of players she was dealing with, she was quite terse with me. I got the distinct impression she had caught the plague. When I held a meeting with my Cam chapter I let them know what transpired. My instructions were simple. Go to the Salt Lake games as usual. Make no waves and just play as normal but observe what happens with the Plague.

I knew this was going to be a disaster. First I knew how Dean played the 'out of character game'. Second Blood Moon's influence was great in Vegas. In order to compete with us even the Plague had to allow stronger more powerful characters. Stepping down to the puny Cam characters would be hard for anyone to play but these guys were not actors they were hard core power gamers. What they didn't know was I had seen the character sheets from Salt Lake. They were god characters, one of the perks of running the show. So I just sat back and waited. It wasn't long, in fact it was the very next Salt Lake game when all hell erupted. It was reported back to me that Dean and his whole gang arrived and started throwing their little paper character's weight around. You see game masters are notorious for having a god complex. Not I, of course, I speak with all humility on this... Stop laughing or I'll have your soul sucked!

Dean's show of force and aggressive play did not set well with the all mighty Cam and a thrashing ensued. The Vegas upstarts got a lesson in respect. Dean and his hell hounds ran back to Vegas tails tucked and balls ablaze. They promptly went online denouncing the Cam. They disbanded their chapters and even sent death threats to the rattled president. I called shortly after and informed Jane that our chapter was not part of the Plague's insurrection. I hung up and never held another Cam meeting.

I'd like to say the war ended with that skirmish but no. The Plague turned it's ire back onto Blood Moon and never let up until Dean eventually left town to plague some other perceived enemy. Blood Moon continued on drawing celebrities and many more fans. We hosted more festivals and the annual Halloween games were awesome. TV and news reporters did stories on us and investigated to find no dangerous or illegal activities. The games had a great run and ended in 2002. Patrick is rebuilding the old BMSC web site and I will be writing a series of horror stories based on Blood Moon's in character adventures.

Did I see obsessed gamers? A few but they just liked to argue with me all night about their characters. I have seen Little League dads and soccer moms go postal. When they show up to their kid's game wearing full sports gear lookout. Did the Plague engage in vile sportsmanship? Hey, we weren't playing volley ball, Vampire the Masquerade is about ancient blood feuds and clan vengeance.

To their credit the Plague and all those other anti Blood Moon factions, to my knowledge never engaged in any acts of real violence. In fact I congratulate them for being worthy antagonists for Blood Moon. I enjoyed the out of character subterfuge almost as much as the in character plots.

 

Did I see players so detached from reality they forgot their name was

 Karl and not Arrogan Rapture Master of Evil?

No, and that only happened to me a couple of times...

It's been awhile since his voice called to me in the dark of night.

MEDIA MESSAGE

 I have watched with fascination for many decades this ongoing and heated debate between the so called right vs left / conservatives vs liberals over the “Media Message”. Yes you all know what that fight is about.

“The destruction of our youth and culture vs freedom of expression.”

But first to clarify a point. When I say “Media” I mean to include all TV shows, movies, video games, music, news outlets, books and of course Hollywood. Are all these outlets being controlled by the left?

“YES!” So say the concerned conservative wing.

“REDICULAS!” So say the compassionate left.

For what it's worth here is my humble commentary based on my observations. I speak not from either side but as a libertine observer with no degree in anything to proffer as credentials. I offer only this as a mark of expertise on the subject. I was born in front of a television back when color was unheard of and three were the choices of channels. Movies were censored and risque reading was confined to under the covers by flashlight. At least that's how I read those filthy rags in my cave-like loft as a child. I have viewed hundreds of thousands of TV shows and films, read a library of books, magazines and articles. Oh yes and I have slaughtered countless foes playing violent video games with the blood and gore control cranked up to insane.

I have in my modest way produced interactive theater, television commercials and programs. I've written numerous film reviews and books and dabbled with film productions, TV shows and rock bands. No, I'm not famous outside of my own mind. I have worked in and around the “MEDIA” enough to have if not a credible voice then certainly a very annoying one in the debate. I do believe that my observations may expose some of the obfuscated truth about the facts. I expect argument from both sides for both sides have become so divided on this issue that they are blind to the truth. So if you're open to my opinion then read on. If not then read it anyway dunderhead you've come this far. Hopefully, I'll say something that will piss you off and you can rant about it. I kinda like it when that happens.

Clearly I understand that the subject is far more complicated than just “right vs left” however I'm not writing a book on it, just a pithy blog. Simplification is essential here but I will concede that there are many external factors driving the debate. In the wider scope of the conversation issues such as male vs female, white vs color, gay vs straight, or Republican vs Democrat are all hot button issues. I will touch on them briefly, but will try to stay focused on the main topic. For over a century it's generated fervent debate from the grass roots to the highest peaks of power. Do I have to spell it out in all caps? Sure why not... “SEX and VIOLENCE.”

The timeless story of Hercules started centuries ago among the Greeks. It has been retold in every conceivable format. It's the tale of a man who has committed many a sin but overcomes trials and tribulations aplenty as he battles his own internal demons. He eventually rises as a hero of the common folk and strikes back at the powers above.

Writers and Hollywood love this story and have redone it over and over as drama, a joke, a cartoon, a tongue in cheek farce. They have rewritten it as a western, cop on the skids, comedy and most any way you can fit the flawed anti hero vs monstrous antagonists into your plot. Clint Eastwood's The Gauntlet has a down and out alcoholic cop sent by his superiors to undertake the prisoner transfer of a Vegas call girl. Yep there's the sex part. It's a mission were he is faced with incredible dangers. He is not expected to return which is the whole point. Instead he survives his many trials and proves to himself, his pears and the higher ups that he is more than what they expected. At the time of release this film was critiqued for it's extreme violence.

This newest rendition has wrestler turned actor, brawny as all get-out Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reprising the original story as the mighty demigod undertaking the legendary twelve labors. He too is not expected to return alive. The teasers look bloody awesome. As I speed through soap and diet ads I always slow down to look at them.

Hercules is a great character because he and other mythic figures; Gilgamesh, Thor, Jason and the Argonauts are the foundation of all modern day heroes. Comics are riddled with such mighty protagonist. Novels, and cinema draw heavily from mythology. I have been a fan of all the myths from around the world since learning to read. But what is the message coming out of all of this? The easy answer; no mater the cost, you must stand and fight for something more important than yourself. Good will triumph over evil, even if that good is tarnished.

The secret subliminal message; there's a bundle of cash in sweaty male bodies bashing the crap out of fantastic monsters. The greedy capitalist that invest and produce these steroid injected stories in all their incarnations are getting paid well. The next time some rich celeb says they're a socialist you laugh right in their thousand dollar facial.

It's said often by those that claim to know that the male animal loves all this action and the hot babes that throw themselves at the muscle bound heroes. But allow me to divert your attention to a rapidly growing trend with sweet gentle liberal actresses. Yes they recycle, refuse to wear fur, support homeless puppies, demand more gun control and believe in “Man Made” global warming. They are also staring in Resident Evil, Aliens, Serenity, Buffy, Dark Angel, Kill Bill, Tomb Raider and the latest in hot sexy super-babe flicks, Lucy. And I don't mean a remake of the fifties sitcom. In fact the message now is you can be a bad ass green-skinned super assassin Guardian of the Galaxy and still have great hair. Yeah the women are kicking butt and getting paid bodacious loads of loot. Is that a bit of a conflict? Don't shoot me I'm just asking.

Back in the nineties when I had Kool Kollectables a Kick Ass comic shop in Las Vegas, NV. Bad Girl comics were all the rage. As much as I love the Big Bang Theory I must disagree with their premise that hot chicks don't hang out with comic geeks. We had scores of them in our store buying Lady Death and Purgatory comics. In fact girls made up near half our clientele. Surprisingly, girls are big fans of Bat-Man, maybe it's the mansion.

In the 1990's a live action role playing game, Vampire the Masquerade was sweeping the country. Guys and girls were dressing up as blood sucking vampires. The religious right were aghast. The news media were deluged with horror stories of real vampires that drank human blood. Critics of fantasy games like Dungeons and Dragons were even more concerned with this new obsession with goth and darkness. “If your kids were wearing black trench-coats over black clothes you should be very concerned. If they're wearing fangs it may be too late. The lines between reality and fantasy are blurred and weak minds can become lost in the fantasy world.”

Maybe in your fantasy pal but I never had one single person flip out and bite anyone unlike that soccer player at the World Cup.

Thousands of America's youth had gone completely over the edge wearing makeup, fangs and black Gothic garb. They haunted our Blood Moon Social Club seeking power and dominion over the mortals that knew naught of the monsters that lurked among them. Everyone wanted me to write them up an undead character; Men, women, gays, blacks, Asians it didn't matter. The allure of immortality, superhuman power and yes dark sadistic sex appeal is universal. The gaming world gave me tremendous insight into the minds of my actors especially the females. How they manipulate the male, how they destroy their female rivals. As a creature of fantasy ordinary humans change, they no longer respect the laws of civilization. They take their super powers and use and abuse them with abandon. Sex and Violence draws them like moths to erotic flames. It was glorious, I never had so much fun in my life.

After all that scare what do we have today? Twilight, True Blood, Vampire academy, and a host of series about, immortal demons, angels, witches, gods and werewolves. Sex and Violence permeate novels, comic books, movies, online gaming. Amazon.com allows anyone to publish their ideas thus creating a whole new media outlet for the average person. There is more Sex and Violence in the media than ever and amazingly in spite of gun sales at a high. Murder and rape has actually gone down. Maybe the thought of armed women watching Milla Jovoich has intimidated the bad guys. Or maybe we're all role playing out our sick fantasies at home on the X-box instead of running amok.

Those crazy conservatives have been preaching doom and gloom every since Elvis shook it in their faces on the Ed Sullivan show sixty years ago. Those loony lefties are just as bad. Back in the day they started the imported water craze when every celeb had a bottle of Evian or Perrier in their hand. Now hundreds of brands stock every store and the same people that got us all to drinking bottled water are telling us to stop it because were polluting the earth. Really?

Does the media hype left wing causes like global warming? Absolutely. Can they actually prove the world is hotter now than twenty years ago? No. Even if it was plastic bottles had nothing to do with it.

Do Republicans obsess over abortion? Most defiantly and dirty dancing, and dirty rap lyrics and gay marriage. Has Rock and Roll destroyed America? No and neither will that other stuff. I return to the big question. What is the over arching all consuming message from the Media? It's simple and tens of thousands of films have delivered it, please indulge me as I bring you to it with an illustration.

There once was a powerful German ruler that sat upon his throne and cast his coveting gaze over Europe. He set his mighty army to conquer all he surveyed. America came to the aid of her allies and sent many young heroes to fight the tyrant. One such fellow was a simple backwoods country boy. He shunned violence against his fellow man for it said in his bible, thou shalt not kill. Alvin York played convincingly by Garry Cooper saved his fellow soldiers when facing overwhelming forces. He took his trusty rifle and single-handedly stormed the machine-gun nests and killed the enemy in order to save lives. He captured scores of the Huns and delivered them to his commanders. This WW1 true story was remarkable and the 1941 movie was gripping.

A few years later another German ruler tried this ploy again only bigger and with greater ferocity. His goal was not just world domination but eradication of the “impure races”. Once again America came to the rescue with legions of young warriors. One among them not even eighteen found himself in a similar situation as Sargent York.

Audie Murphy a poor kid of the country too and an expert marksman for he hunted to feed his family as York did. He came upon a massive force of Nazi troops and tanks. His men were pinned down and dying he had only one option. He charged the enemy and blasted them to Hell and Back. He leaped atop a burning tank and mowed them down with the machine gun. Flames licking at his heels he held his ground and cut them to pieces. Their resolve shattered the Nazis surrendered.

Hollywood was so impressed with his story they of course wanted to make the move. When they met the shy good looking young man with chest covered in medals, they thought who better to play him than he. A new cowboy action star was born.

So is it clear now? Yes, the lines between reality and fantasy sometimes get blurry with the media but in real life when evil rises to conquer the world you don't appease, you don't turn your back, you don't bargain. You call up a country boy with a sharpshooter's eye.

Dirty Harry walked softly and carried a big 44. When you need a bigger than life persona to fight tyranny in your war film you call for a Duke Wayne never a Justin Bieber. When terrorists take over a skyscraper you pray Bruce Willis is with you. When your planet is being overrun by marauding space aliens you assemble the Avengers. When a snake worshiping wizard beguiles your only child you get a barbarian to kick his ass.

When the world's most terrifying super villain is hiding out in Pakistan you call Seal Team Six. They may not be the Avengers but every one of them is a Capetian America, and that's good enough for me.

BAKING BABIES

Over the last five years or so the grand kids and great grand kids have been popping out like Christmas cookies from the oven. My grand daughter Patsy just baked a baby brother for little JR. Grand son Josh's little one, Summer Rose is walking and Joe Eagle Eyes and brother Benny the Badger are taking Karate and Taekwondo and Maria is driving.

   

When they all converge on us at the Holidays, Mystic Canyon takes on a rather international World Cup look. The Wife Carol and sons Pat and Phil are Choctaw, Polish and Irish. Somewhere in there is some Cherokee and Chickasaw too. Then Salvador and Columbia are represented by the daughters in laws Yani and Claudia. Then we have the grand kids and their spouses from Guatemala and Mexico. I round it all out with being Irish, English, German, and wee drop of Scottish. My ancestors came over so long ago I don't really claim any connection to the old country other than as a historical reference.

So if you're scratching your head and wondering, just how did a hundred percent white guy end up with this crowd? That's a very long and winding story worthy of a book all to itself. Let's just say I married into the Choctaw tribe and the south of the border bunch adopted me.

I'm an orphan of sorts with no offspring of my own. My immediate family are all gone and the rest of my Texas relations avoid me like the plague. Can't blame them really. You see I wasn't the black sheep, they would have been happy with one in the family. No I was the guy that skinned roasted and ate the cute little fella. I've always been partial to sacred cow too, it's great with habanero barbecue sauce.

Just kidding, I wasn't really that bad. Okay I was, but I've long since reined in my wayward ways. Now days I don't do such crazy things, I just write about them. That's right even though my stories are fantasy I lace them together with thongs of truth. You can use your imagination to try and unravel the threads, or not.

In closing I'll impart this wee nugget of truth I didn't go rouge later in life because of some tragic turn of events. I was born a rebel. I was disowned at five by my father a drunken reprobate and abandoned by my mother a talented but irresponsible artist. I've been a survivor by sheer willpower and I have never blamed anyone for the circumstances of my life. I have always viewed it as a great adventure fraught with many dangers lurking behind dark portals. Perils must be overcome by wit or by force, and then you find treasures. Some glitter like gold while others are what you build a family on like baking babies to carry on your legacy, such as it is. I hold no stock in the belief that blood is thicker than water. I know without reservation that a merry band of modern day comancheros bound by love, willpower, raw determination and a well stocked Christmas tree can hold against all storms.  

OUT WITH THE OUTDATED

It has been ten years since we had a major upgrade in technology. The last time was when we were producing Kool TV. The old equipment was insanely slow. This new computer is a big leap forward. I 7 processor, two terabits hard drive and much more. A couple of weeks now just getting use to it and all the new features. We're tearing down the old web sites and starting over and this machine should serve well in the endeavor.