Comicality

LMAO!!! Omigod!!! Oh wow! My stomach! Hahaha! That was awesome!!! Fool's Day Directed by Cody Blue Snider from Delirio Films on Vimeo.

Amen to that, dude. It's such a harmful state of mind, and it lasts for years. I'm glad that you got through it with some help though. More people need to talk it out and find a way to be comfortable in their own skin, you know?

One of the most popular stories that I've ever written on my site, "The Secret Life Of Billy Chase" is finally available in a fully re-edited, reformatted, series of ebooks! So you can carry it with you wherever you go, extras and all! Told in the form of a diary, a young gay teen is doing his best to navigate his way through love and sex and secrets and everything that I'm sure we've all dealt with at one time or another! And the 'naughty bits' are definitely included with every experience that Billy has the pleasure of being a part of! In detail! Hehehe! Grab all of the books from the ebook section at https://imagine-magazine.org/store/comicality/ as soon as you can! And spread the word! Check it out! And let me know what you think when you get a chance at Comicality@shackoutback.net Enjoy! A quote from a friend... "I'll throw in an unsolicited plug here - The Billy Chase novels are GREAT. If you've given up on "gay fiction" because so often the quality of the writing is just soooo bad...this will bring you back. Beholder (Comicality) is a WRITER. The real thing. The sex is hot, but for me the story just pulled me in. As an older guy who went all the way through middle school and high school living in a suffocating closet, Billy Chase is the story of the adolescence I wish I could have had. I fell in love with the kid. I found 'em on Amazon, I assume there are other places. You'll thank me! :)" - Arrowzz

I thought that was Jake Warden...but he's like a doppleganger or something! Sweet! Love it!

LOOK!!! See??? Do you see what I mean? This was posted just a few hours ago... I mean, first of all...what the FUCK is this guy's fucking problem??? But look at how little these random T-Shirts are. They're for LITTLE boys for Christ sake! Little! Why can't they have a rainbow on it? How is that destroying anybody's masculinity? And what do you do if the GIRL'S T-shirts have rainbows and unicorns and mermaids on them? What then? He doesn't seem to give a shit about ruining their femininity. This is all such BULLSHIT!!!

Awwww...June??? That seems like FOREVER from now! Sighhhh...at least I'll have 'Guardians' between now and then... (Where are the WHO??? ::Giggles:: There are barely any left, dude...)

To be honest...it's been my personal experience that guys get it WAY worse than ladies do, and I don't know why. I mean, neither side should be getting picked on at all, but when it happens...it's like the idea of two men or two boys kissing just seems to freak homophobes out. Or even if they're not homophobic...there still seems to be this unnatural aversion to the idea. One of my cousins...she has two kids and played straight for almost her whole life...and then one night she just showed up to dinner with a 'girlfriend'. Now, my family is not as gay friendly as I'd like them to be, but nobody gave her any grief for it. They barely said a word. Something tells me that if I were to pop up with a boyfriend in front of my family it would be an entirely different scenario. In fact, I'm sure some of them would bite their tongue, but they'd probably get uncomfortable and leave early. And that's exactly why I don't tell them. I also have an aunt who's m2f trans, and she barely feels welcome at all. She stops by to say hello or maybe grab a plate of food, and everybody is nice to her, but it's still not the same. You know? Even growing up, being called a 'fag' was considered the worst thing ever. I've been accused of being gay for not watching the football game on Sunday. What? WHY??? And who cares? I keep trying to figure it out, but there doesn't seem to be any logical reason for it to be that way. Of course, being a lesbian comes with its own set of challenges and hardships...but whenever it comes to schools, or politics, or sports, or religion...why is it always the boys that bear the brunt of the attack all the time? You can just listen to them and tell who they're talking about. When it's two girls...people picture kissing and lace and silk sheets. When it's two boys? They frown up and think of something more akin to a prison RAPE scene or something. That hardly seems fair to me. Who taught us to think this way? Who taught us that it was our business to think about it at all?

Exposition Round III - Are we back for one more round, hehehe! Yes, folks! I believe that we are! When it comes to exposition, that is an entire book in itself. Learning what it is, how to use it, when to use it...when it’s too little, when it’s too much...it would be an absolutely exhausting effort to try to fill you guys in on all of it at the same time. And that’s just with the limited amount of experience that I have had with it, personally, over the years...most of it being stuff I learned through a LOT of haphazard trial and error. So I just tired to tackle the subject from a completely different angle in multiple parts whenever I got my head screwed on right and felt confident that I’d be able to make some sense out of the whole thing for anyone who was looking for a fw eta tidbits of knowledge here and there. Everything else has to be learned by just embarrassing yourself enough times to get it right. Hehehe! But we’re all creative people here...so we already know that it’s the best way to go more times than not. So make a few sandwiches, grab your particular drink of choice...maybe bring some porn along with you, as long as you’re willing to share, hehehe! And let’s get back to the ins and outs of the art of using exposition and how it can help or hurt your story, depending on how you decide to use it. Cool? If you haven’t read my previous two articles on exposition, you can find Part One at https://gayauthors.org/blogs/entry/17506-exposition/ (Dealing with what exposition really is, and what is needed and not needed for the sake of brevity and pacing) and Part Two at https://gayauthors.org/blogs/entry/18119-exposition-round-2/ (Which deals more with being able to deliver information through visuals and detail instead of just speech alone). So check those out for some of the other parts of the process that I’ve spoken about in the past. They both, basically, deal with the art of being able to say what you need to say...without saying it. On many occasions, this can be accomplished gracefully, and your story can really benefit from it. But, the question we’re tackling for Round Three is...what happens when you’re not really given much of a choice in trying to navigate your way around just coming right out and saying what you have to say so the story doesn’t stall and your attempts to avoid it become awkward and weird. I mean...sometimes it happens, you know? Prepare for it. And when it comes time to ‘tell’ over ‘show’...you want to make sure that you’ve already figured out an effective way of doing so. I have struggled with this in the past myself, and it can sometimes lead to long periods of frustrated stares at this blasted blank screen, hoping that some sort of random stroke of genius will somehow fall in my lap and free me from the temporary block. I get stuck between lacking the clever answers I was hoping for and the desire to simply cheat and skip over it so I can get back to the ‘important’ stuff...hehehe, but it is important. It isn’t going to work one hundred percent of the time...but the lack of a challenge will lead you down the road to laziness, every single time. So never give up trying. That being said...there are going to be times in your writing where the simple approach to the problem is the best one. Some important details can’t be delivered to your readers in subtle and nearly invisible ways without you having to slow everything down considerably and taking an unnecessary scenic route that might ultimately bore and frustrate your readers. Sometimes...just plain ol’ exposition is best. What you need to think about most is which forms of exposition are stronger, and which ones are weaker, in terms of delivering the same amount of information in your fiction. That’s not to say that they won’t work...it just means that you, as a writer, should always look for the strongest ways possible to get the job done. For example... How many movies have you seen in the past where a certain piece of information has to be delivered to the protagonist of the story...and they just happen to be in a bar, or a restaurant, or a convenience store...and the info just so happens to be playing on the news on a TV in the background? And they run up and tell the bartender, “Hey! Turn this up!” And the bartender actually does it, first of all (Hehehe! “Sure, random stranger!”), and everybody around them gets quiet so he or she can hear the news broadcast clearly? Not to mention that they turn up the volume at the exact moment that the newscaster repeats the news that needs to be given? Or someone calls them on the phone, like, “Are you watching the news?”...and they turn it on just in time to get all the details without interruption? Does that happen in real life? I don’t know...maybe. But I’d think it was unlikely. Now...you can easily deliver information to your audience in this manner, but I’d like to think that this is one of the ‘weaker’ ways of doing so. There’s really nothing wrong with it, per se...but I’m willing to bet that you guys already knew what I was talking about from one hundred movies you’ve seen and stories you’ve read a million times before...and that makes it cliché in a way that you might want to avoid. I’m thinking that you don’t want that. Why is it weaker? Because it feels as though it’s a story contrivance that comes out of nowhere. Very fortunate for the protagonist, but not to anyone reading. Therefore...not to anyone writing it either. If it were me, I would use the whole news broadcast thing as a last resort...but I would still use it if I thought it served the purpose that I needed it to serve. Because it really is a quick and easy way to give the main character (and thus, the audience) the information that they need to have for the story to move forward. And that’s why this form of exposition is used so much. Because it’s very useful. I hope that doesn’t sound like a conflicting flurry of advice in this article. Just keep in mind...this isn’t about good and bad uses of exposition. It’s more about stronger versus ‘not so strong’. K? As many of you guys already know, I am a hopeless insomniac, and always have been since I was a little boy. So much so that my mom just kind of gave up on trying to force m to go to bed at ‘bedtime’, and just tried to stay with me until I fell asleep naturally. Hehehe, even then, my brain was buzzing with so many ideas that I couldn’t quiet my thoughts long enough to relax. SO...I grew up watching a lot of old black and white movies and TV shows on television, and they always stuck with me. And if there was ever a long road trip that w had to take somewhere, my parents used to play these old cassette tapes in car to sort of keep me captivated by the stories and all the entire time. I still have some of those old cassettes! I would listen to the original “War Of The Worlds”, and “The Witching Hour”, and more. And one that I always had a specific fondness for were episodes of “The Shadow”! God, I know som of those old tapes by heart! Hehehe! The thing about these ‘story tapes’ is that they were played on the radio, in a time where there wasn’t a television in every household. No pictures. No stage. Nothing. Just the words you heard, a few sound effects, and a couple samples of music added here and there. Everything else? It’s ALL exposition! Every word! The rest was left up to your imagination. Back then, they didn’t really have much of a choice. But the overall effect is absolutely brilliant. I want you guys to listen to the audio of this particular episode of “The Shadow” for a few minutes. You can listen to the whole thing if you like, and find huge block of episodes on Youtube if you find you have a taste for it like I do...but I’m sure that just listening to the first five to ten minutes or so will give you more than enough context to understand the idea that I’m talking about. Check it out... The beginning of the broadcast is just the opening to introduce you to the protagonist, theme music and all. That’s exposition. This is the info you need to know in order to follow the main character on whatever adventures he plans to take you on. But listen after that. It’s just words and a few sound effects...filling in everything you need to know. Who is The Shadow? Who is he with? Where are they? Snow? Werewolf? What’s a werewolf? How long has this been going on? All of this is being given to you with words alone, in an interesting and entertaining way, without showing you a single picture. With a radio broadcast like this, way back then, you wouldn’t have the luxury of the kind of subtlety and visuals that you would have with a TV or a movie screen...but you wouldn’t have the inner monologue and narration of a full length novel either. This lies somewhere in between. Everything has to be spoken aloud in order for the rest of the story to make sense. It’s practically narration...but without the narration. Does that make sense? This is one of the reasons that I’ve always felt that one on one dialogue has always been one of the strongest methods of delivering information in your narrative, as opposed to any number of other methods that might be effective...but simply don’t deliver the same ‘punch’, you know? I guess it really depends on what kind of story you’re writing, which methods you decide to use. For example, if you’re writing a mystery from a detective’s point of view...finding clues, photographs, reading news articles, etc...might be the way to go. But if you’re writing about two college Sophomores flirting with one another at a party...I’d think having them talk and trading some witty (or perhaps some nervous) dialogue would fit better when it comes to finding out who these characters are and what their background is. I’ve been writing a gay teen story that takes place during a zombie apocalypse (How’s THAT for a way to start a paragraph! LMAO!!!) called, “Shelter” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/shelter/) where the teen survivors are walled in and protected by the military in a high school that was made out to be a fortress for refugees from the outbreak...but teens are the main protagonists of the story. And something that I’ve found it difficult to do is to deliver the proper amount of information to them without them constantly having to ‘overhear’ conversations from the officers or doctors or civilians all the time. Once or twice, is fine. But seeing as it’s a serious situation and everything is being sort of kept as a secret, I really haven’t found many ways for them to figure out what’s going on without them just ‘happening’ to be hiding out in the right place at the right time. It’s what I’ve got to work with right now, but I’m constantly struggling to find other ways for them to be in the loop without having to hear everything second hand. Maybe it’s just me, but after a few times of using that trick, I feel as though it’s beginning to weaken the narrative a little bit. I’d rather find a few different sources of exposition if possible. Still….it works, and it’s effective...but I want to be as strong a writer as I can be. And drifting over to that ‘lazy’ off ramp is OH so tempting sometimes! Hehehe! Just something to think about when you’re writing. You can use exposition quickly to get your point across without having to strain yourself too much to find clever ways around...as I said before...sometimes, simplicity is best. But use it sparingly, and try to strengthen your presentation if you can. Having your protagonist looking for information and just hearing it on the news can be a bit weak. If they need to look up a specific sort of demonic possession and they Google it and it’s like, the third result on the page? Weak. Trying to find someone who can’t be found, and suddenly running into their ex-boyfriend on the street with their name and address in their phone all cued up for you? Weak. I truly believe that informative dialogue is the way to go, and that’s exactly what I learned from listening to old cassette tapes of classic radio shows in the car as a kid. So grab your influences wherever you can, and take the best parts to heart. In my story, “Gone From Daylight”, I was lucky enough to take the whole ‘fish out of water’ approach to the situation, where everyone around him was a vampire and he wasn’t. So I was able to effectively use dialogue with his companions in order to teach my protagonist (and thus the readers, remember?) how this world works and what the rules are. That takes your readers on a journey with your main character, as opposed to just following breadcrumbs from whatever knowledge you decide to drop in front of them from a journal entry or an overheard conversation. It keeps your main character driving the story forward, as opposed to simply being a passenger or a witness to what is going on around them. Also...if you go that route...please don’t reduce your protagonist to a ‘parrot’. That’s not good either. Meaning, you’ve got everybody else doing the talking, and your main character just says, “Why?” And then they dump the info on him and he says, “How?” And they dump some more info on him….rinse and repeat. Always, always, ALWAYS, have your protagonist driving the plot forward! It’s awesome to have him absorb a lot of information and use it to get the rules in order...but don’t let him drift out of the spotlight. K? Even the strongest bit of exposition can weaken your main character if your readers don’t feel like he’s directly involved anymore. Alrighty! That’s it for tonight! I hope this helps you guys out while you’re writing your next big masterpiece! We’re all just on brilliant opus away from a legacy we can be proud of, right? Hehehe! So go out there and grab the trophy! Love you lots, one and all! Take care! And stay beautiful!

Do you feel it sometimes? Does it sometimes feel unfair? There are many members of the LGBTQ+ community, and we come in all shapes, sizers, colors, cultures, and genders. It's a natural part of life. You'd think people would have just learned to deal with it by now...even the stubborn ones. But when the hatred and the ridicule and the demonization of people comes around...do you feel like it's a lot harder on boys than it is for girls? I mean, ladies can be gay too. Ladies can be transgender. And it's beautiful. But...while it's not like they don't face their own trials and tribulations when it comes to being who they are or coming out to their parents...why does it feel like boy's always get it the worst? Is there really a difference? Are boys not supposed to be intimate with one another? Is the idea of them having sex really that 'disgusting' in comparison? What do you guys think? Are the scales unbalanced when it comes to being male or female? And feel free to share your personal experiences, both ladies and gentlemen, on this. And anonymous responses are more than welcome, as always. We just want to have a decent conversation on this with a few different perspectives, so throw your two cents in! I'll keep an eye out for ya!

It's a shame that so many people have never seen the original version of this video. But...here it is! And yes, you ARE beautiful! And I love you!

If that's the case...just wait until you read "After Practice" and "Jesse-101"!

Nope! No teasing! The fans helped me out with donations and stuff, and I have been pounding this keyboard like a madman in order to pay thm back and say thank you! You've only got about another day or two to live without me in your face! ::Giggles::

If you want an inside look at how I mad them all, you can read my article at https://imagine-magazine.org/releases/volume-72/comsie-talks-making-a-video-trailer/ and get some behind the scenes info. But if you want something in particular, I'll try to remember wher I got the clips from so I can tell you. Cool?

It's just a good day! That's all! A very VERY good day! I feel great! I feel like...Diana Ross, Michael Jackson great right now!!!

Hehehe, this should be some kind of bisexual anthem or something! Plus, it reminds me a lot of Prince...which is always an awesome bonus! Either way, it just makes me feel good! ::Grins::

Dawwww...

Much much better this past week or two! And it's gonna show soon! Trust me! Shhhh....

Uhhh...a little bit of everywhere. It depends on which ones you're looking for. Some are from short films, some from movies, some from commercials, some from music videos...it all depends on what I was looking for at the time.

Read The Room When it comes to a writer having their own voice in their fiction, it sort of becomes a signature for fans of their work. It’s easily recognized, not just by the words being used or the particular flow of their storytelling ability...but sometimes it can be through the content alone. Writer’s bring a deeper part of themselves to the table. Their memories, their sense of humor, their feel for drama...both their attributes and their occasional flaws. It can be as easy to pick out of a line up as the vocal sounds of a singer or a band when you hear them. And sometimes...you don’t have to hear their voices at all. For example, I’ve heard a LOT of people play the harmonica in their music...but I KNOW when I hear Stevie Wonder play the harmonica. It’s unmistakable. I’ve heard a lot of people play the piano, but there’s something about the way that Elton John plays it that just hits different. It can’t be imitated or reproduced...there’s just a part of him that is so evident in every key. Listen for yourself. Stevie Wonder and Elton John. If you’re familiar with either one of these artists...just listen. Neither one of them says a word...but you know it’s them. You just do. 000 That being said...the point is...we write what we write, and we’re good at it. Again, being comfortable with your art is a big part of being able to manipulate, take chances, and make educated and skillful choices as to what you can do with whatever you create. Readers can tell on a subliminal level when you’re at ease with your craft. It’s a good thing. A GREAT thing! However... (Hehehe, you knew that there was a ‘but’ coming, didn’t you?) Despite getting a great deal of enjoyment out of your craft, your themes, your thoughts, your cast of characters...as an artist (and to a certain degree, an entertainer)...you have to be able to ‘read the room’. It’s an important part of writing fiction that I think some people overlook from time to time, and it doesn’t often end up with the best of results. I posted an article on niche writing not long ago, and I definitely encourage authors to make that a fun and pleasant part of the whole writing experience...but when it comes to writing anything in what you would call ‘mixed company’...knowing your audience is going to play a major part on whether or not your audience is going to truly enjoy your writing, or immediately get turned off and click away from it. And that is really bad, especially if it’s a first time reader. Chances are they’re going to judge you on that one piece of work and not come back to check out anything else of yours, expecting more of what they didn’t like about their very first experience with your writing in the first place. This means that you’re alienating your audience right off the bat, and your connection...that much needed reader/writer symbiotic relationship, is instantly broken. Once that happens, it is very VERY hard to get them to give you another shot. So always make sure that you’re putting your best foot forward. And that means developing a sense for who your audience is and what they came looking for. I understand...it’s very easy to find your writer’s voice and pursue it with some varying degrees of success, and even build up a decent sized fanbase because of it, to the point where you sort of get enveloped in that personal bubble of, “This is what I like. This is what I write. And people will love it no matter what.” But, let me tell you...nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to certain circles. Believe me, I know. At the risk of sounding insulting...that’s ego talking. There’s a huge difference between reaching out to readers, and having readers reach out to you. This is something that you need to keep in mind, no matter how much of a genius you may be at putting words together. K? Sometimes, you have to take your signature voice and practiced methods out of the equation and examine the landscape that you’re working in before rushing in blind. Because not everybody wants to hear what I have to say. I have to be prepared for that. More on this in the “Touch The Nerve” article, coming soon! When I first got the idea to write my own stories like, “New Kid In School” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/newkidinschool), “A Class By Himself” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/aclassbyhimself), and others...I decided that I wanted to post my stuff on the Nifty Archive. Now, I had been reading the stories posted there for quite some time before ever trying to do my own thing, and it was pretty much the only game in town for stories like mine, so I pretty much got the gist of what was going on there and decided to give it a shot. Boy meets boy, both are cute, find a reason to get them along with each other, and then have them bang like a couple of jack rabbits. Done and done. If you read a lot of my earlier work, you’ll be able to see that pattern playing out in almost every post that I put out there up until about “On The Outside”, I believe. Was I just super horny and sexually frustrated when I wrote them? Hehehe, of COURSE I was! But that wasn’t the only reason that I structured my stories in that way. I was a fan of the site, I had been reading a lot of other offerings from a lot of other writers, and I took a lot of mental notes on what kind of stories existed in that space, what was constantly being posted, and what was most popular with Nifty readers. So when it came to my first shaky tries at writing my own additions to the archive, I made sure to keep that in mind. I wanted something that would stand out, be extremely hot, but still have some heart and actual story to it. Basically, I wanted to have my writer’s voice to be heard in its truest form...but I also wanted to be aware of my audience at that time and what they might be looking for. When I started, a vast majority of Nifty’s stories was comprised of jack off stories and quick chance encounters. There are a lot of stories that I write now that would NEVER had garnered much attention way back in 1998! You guys should thank the stars for places like GayAuthors that we have now! Hehehe! ((Hugz)) Thanks Myr and crew! My stories on Nifty back then would have been too much story, too long between graphically described sex scenes, too much dialogue and teen angst...I don’t think many people would have had the patience to skip ahead to the ‘good parts’. Of course, the landscape has changed dramatically since then, and writing full stories with believable characters who aren’t always stripping down naked and screwing each other every chapter is much more common. But it wasn’t when I started. The reason that I was able to gain the love and support that I did at that time was...I was able to read the room. I was aware of my audience. I got to write what I wanted to write from my heart, but didn’t mind coating it with a little bit of fictional ‘candy’ to raise a few eyebrows here and there. That little bit of sexy homework could have been the difference between having a ‘Comicality’ and not having a ‘Comicality’. So trust me when I say that knowing your audience is ESSENTIAL to how your story is received by the people you’re sharing it with. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not at all saying that you should pander to anybody for the right to be liked or appreciated. No. That’s not necessary. I’m telling you that being aware of the kind of readers that your work is being presented to before you even begin to type those words out on the screen is going to give you an advantage by the time it’s finished and released to the public. Themes matter. Amount of sex matters. Depictions of sex matters. Language and vocabulary matters. The ages of your characters matter. Genre matters. All of these guiding lights come into play when it comes to sharing your projects with whatever group you happen to be in league with at that time. If you’re writing for a younger preteen audience...you can’t submit something graphically or overtly sexual. If you’re on a site for modern love and romance stories, submitting something that edges more on being a grotesque horror, blood and gore, story isn’t going to play well with a majority of your audience. If people are looking for something adhering to a certain theme or a subject, you cant just barge in with something completely off topic. And so forth and so on. I mean, those are extremes...but there are subtle differences to be noted as well. Take that little bit of extra time to look at the other writers’ offerings around you, and see if your particular voice fits into the layout of what everybody else is doing. Like I said...take ego out of it. Take a moment to see if you can adjust and adapt your own abilities and instincts to still maintain your beloved and recognizable style to what this particular site/contest/anthology/publication is asking for. It’s not a difficult task at all. Not for any experienced writer. You’re a writer! Figure it out! I do it all the time! The difficulty comes from authors who are too shielded or defensive of their personal voice to notice that the idea of, “I’m just gonna write whatever I want” isn’t always the way to go. It might make you stand out...but not always in a good way if readers can’t draw a connection between what you’ve written and what the task at hand was. Make sense? Versatility is the key. Sometimes what you want to write doesn’t quite ‘fit’ into what everyone else is doing. And while it’s cool to be different and original, there are still guidelines that you have to set for yourself and use your voice to tell the story that’s being asked for. Something that is structured to blend in with the current environment that you’re trying to be a part of. There’s a big difference between having an original take on a common idea, and just forcing your ideas upon a group that is looking for something else entirely. You’ve got to teach yourselves how to change things up every now and then, if for no other reason than to keep from being labeled a ‘one trick pony’ in terms of your content. Really take some time and think about where you are and who your readers are going to be. It’s not a trivial part of being an author, it’s a part of being a part of a community. No one is asking you to compromise your voice for the sake of a ‘herd mentality’. If anything, it’s a chance to flash your skills and bring your own unique flavor to the table when it comes to creating a new presence where you didn’t have one before. Always an awesome experience! True story...when I wrote the first chapter of “Waiting Outside The Lines” years ago (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/waitingoutsidethelines) it was for a writing contest that I was asked to be a part of online! And...if I may take an ego moment, hehehe...I WON that writing contest, and turned it into a series! One that is coming to an end soon, but I’m very proud of it. Anyway, guidelines gave me three cute celebrity boys to get together and basically just told me to build a story around it. And that’s exactly what I did. That’s the story that you can read right now to this day. Now...there was a second contest that I was also added into...and that one was a little bit out of my depth for that one. Hehehe, but the guy who was running the contest told me to ‘figure it out’. Now this one involved Chandler Riggs, Chris and Liam Hemsworth, and some sex toys, etc. Now that’s not the kind of stuff that I usually write, but hey...hey! Challenged accepted, you know? I wish I could show it to you guys, but I honestly don’t have a copy of it anymore due to a computer crash. But if any of you guys can find it, I’d LOVE to read it again myself! I think I surprised myself. Hehehe! How did I deal with the more hardcore presentation of it all? I had Chandler get sick with a nasty flu, and while he was in bed, he was watching the Hemsworth brothers on TV, I think...and the whole thing pretty much takes place as a horny teenage boy’s fever dream. Sex toys and all. Proving that a little ingenuity can get your particular voice heard and still have it blend in with the assignment that you’ve been tasked to work with. Seriously, I don’t remember the name of that one! But if one of you guys has a copy, PLEASE send it to me! Hehehe! I’d love to go back and look at it again some day! ::Giggles:: It doesn’t take a whole lot of research to read the room, folks! Figure out what the vibe is, and do what you can to match it. Just do it in your own way. MAKE it yours, and show the world what you’re made of. Cool? I hope this keeps your brain bubbling over with new ideas and inspires you guys to keep pursuing your art! We always need new stories in the world! Whether it be on a laptop screen on painted on the walls of an ancient cave...we’re all storytellers at heart. So buckle up, and show us your best! Take care! And I’ll seezya soon!

Amen! Good for you! ((Hugz))

I'm so glad that right after this ad...he allowed me to 'help'!

Still one of my all time favorite songs! And after recovering from being sick for the past week (With some illness hangover symptoms still lingering) it fits perfectly. Thank God! I HATE being sick! I really do. Hehehe!

As much as I tried to complicate this for myself to be as honest as I possibly could be with this question...the answer is an easy one. No. In fact...HELL no! Not worth it. Is the idea tempting? Sure. I have to concede that. But I simply can't see myself doing something despicable for all the material rewards in the world. I just can't. And maybe that's why I'll never be rich, hehehe. But so be it. I don't want to hurt anybody. I couldn't sleep at night knowing that I was misleading people down a dark path, or that I was at all responsible for someone ruining their life or somebody else's. I don't want any parts of that. It's disgusting. I'd feel sick in the belly every day of my life being a part of something like that. Not only that, but I have friends in real life. Family. I have to look people in the eye when I go out to shop for groceries. I have neighbors. How can I get on TV or the radio or on stage and spread hate...get rich off of it...and then come home to know that my own mother is deeply ASHAMED of me? All of that hard work and sacrifice...just to become an utter disappointment and a bastard. Sending out echoes that can only lead to pain and suffering further down the line. Ugh! I don't know how some people can do that. How they can write it off as just a job or an 'act'...and then punch out for the day and try to go live a normal life among other people. The very people you said you despised just a few hours ago. Stay the fuck away from me! You know? Listen...if certain people are willing to sell their soul for money and fame...I don't get it, but whatever. It's your life, not mine. But I can't. The way I see it...if you do awful things, you deserve NO peace. If it's you, if it's your partner, if it's your brother or sister, if it's your boss and you're asked to do it or your fired...and you do those things...you shouldn't be able to sleep at night. NO peace! EVER! You're a part of it. I don't care if you're running the company, doing media for them, just an employee...you're a part of that evil. I don't care if all you do is bring the devil his morning coffee and his dry cleaning...you're a part of it. And you do it by choice. Do you have a sense of morality or don't you? You sacrifice your soul and your dignity for THIS? Fine. But deal with the inner torment that comes with it. Enjoy your riches. They'll keep you company when every friend and family member that ever believed in you has abandoned you and you're left all alone. Karma never loses an address. And it's coming. It always does. Don't start apologizing and growing a conscience when things begin to crumble and it's all falling apart. It'll be too late.