Review: Exodus-Gods and Kings

Went to see the new movie Exodus starring Christian Bale last weekend.  I was expecting a remake of The 10 Commandments with Charleston Heston.  Like the original Moses movie, Moses was portrayed as royalty.  Ramses was his cousin and they were brought up like brothers.  Moses saved Ramses's life during a battle that further elevated his status with Pharaoh.  
Moses's true destiny was revealed once he took Ramses's place at Pithon to check on the Jewish slaves.  Moses learned where he came from and who he was.  Ramses found out as well and Moses fled Egypt.  After marriage and kids outside of Egypt, Moses spoke with God for the first time.  There was a burning bush.  He knew he must free his people.  
Moses returned to Egypt and threatened Ramses, now his enemy and the Pharaoh, into freeing the slaves.  Ramses refused to take Moses seriously.  Plague, frogs, insects, bloodied water, pestilence, and ultimately Passover/1st born deaths forced Ramses to let the slaves go, but then something happened to make him change his mind.  (Scholars believe the Jews ransacked Egypt before they left, but the movie doesn't go into that).  The Egyptians chased the Jews to the sea.  A tidal wave killed the Egyptians, allowing the Jews to be free.

I studied this book with friends in a Bible study group.  Not that I'm an expert, but am well-versed enough to point out that this movie strayed from Exodus in the Bible. 

This is what was expected!  Got tidal wave instead.

First of all, where was Aaron?  In the Bible Moses AND Aaron approached Ramses.  Aaron's staff turned into a snake and ate up Ramses's magicians' snakes.   Ridley Scott, the director, must have felt Aaron was an insignificant character in the Bible.  Moreover, when God talked to Moses, He was portrayed as an angry child.  
Is this movie a metaphor of some kind?  A symbol of the absurdity of religion?  And the tidal wave????  C'mon!  Parted means split-why was that changed?
What is Scott trying to say?  Does he think God is a spoiled brat that likes to mess with us by using His power arbitrarily?  Does he think the Bible is a story?  Then there is the rewrite of Moses and his wife, Zipporah.  In the movie, Moses returns to Zipporah's home with 500,000 Jews.  In the Bible, Zipporah's father, Jethro, takes her to Moses with their children in the desert.  Finally, let's not forget about the Ten Commandments.  In the movie, Moses chisels them out.  In the Bible they were written by the hand of God.  

My Review: The movie's director clearly has a different agenda then bringing the Bible to the silver screen.  Was he making fun of Jews and Christians?  Does he feel that his vision is more important than the Bible?  I'm not really sure, but I can say that I left the theatre wanting my money back.  The movie Noah that came out last spring also deviated with the Bible story.  I did like that movie because I felt Noah and God were respected, but now I'm starting to wonder if this is part of a plan to take the Bible and rewrite it so that religion fades away and eventually ends up as nothing more than a "myth" or "legend" to be studied in a future English class a few centuries down the road.  There are two kinds of people who went to see this movie-religious and not-so religious.  The religious ones will see the glare of edits from the book of Exodus.  I worry about the not-so religious.  Will they see this movie as a true depiction of Moses?  'Why read the book when you can watch the movie' seems to be the growing consensus among today's youth.  I give this movie 1 star.  Ridley Scott, you should be ashamed of yourself.  This was a real slap-in-the-face to Christian and Jewish believers.

Author George Dalton Stops By: A real cowboy who writes about the West.

Thanks, George, for stopping by.  Do you consider yourself a romance writer?

No Dina, not in the literal sense. However many of the scenes in my novels are very romantic.  

What makes a book romantic? 
Tender feelings or emotions between two people, or a person and a thing.  

Why did you choose the old west for your setting? It was a time of hardship, strong characters, and uncomplicated love. 

Do you ride horse-back?

 I have ridden horses all my life. I grew up on a small ranch in east Texas, My wife and I owned a ranch until 2005, yes I have herded many cows, doctored many cows, branded many cows and helped deliver many baby calves. 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Collision-Dreams-George-Dalton-ebook/dp/B00LX956MY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418483481&sr=8-2&keywords=george+dalton

If Collision of Dreams became a movie who would be the perfect cast?

I am ashamed to admit that I don’t watch enough movies to know the names of very many actors and actresses today. John Wayne is dead, Clint Eastwood is too feeble. Merle Street is too old.  Tom Cruse is too short, Tom Selleck is too old. I guess .I would have to nominate Dina Rae and that good looking husband of her's.
LOL, George!

Who do you like to read? Louis L”Amour, Zane Gray, John Grisham, Clive Cussler, W.ER.B. Webb, Karen Kingsbury, Mary Higgins Clark, Dee Henderson, Elmer Kelton, J. T. Edison. And Max Lacado.

What makes a good book?  A good book is any book where you have a difficult time finding a place to stop reading and go do something else.  

Favorite mistake when writing is..................no mistake should be a favorite, but the one I struggle with the most is telling rather than showing the scene.  

Do you have any advice for new writers?

IF you are writing fiction get a note and post it on your screen that says,WHAT IF, and then let your imagination go with it.

If you are writing non fiction try not to tell the story like it is an accident report.

Dina,
Thank you for taking time to talk with me Saturday and invite me to your blog. I had a fantastic day, sold almost $1,000.00 worth of books. WOW!  

I will be at Barnes & Nobile in North East Mall after church.  I will be signing books they have in inventory rather than books that I have bought so I won’t make as much money but... hey.

Thanks again,

George Dalton
PS: You know you can still order one for that husband of yours and get it in time for Christmas.

I love writing, I love meeting the people and I love redoing the reviews. Somebody actually got some enjoyment out of reading something that I created, how good is that?
George, it's been a real pleasure!

Organ Donors: Dead Body Parts Are Like Modern Day Chop Shops

A few nights ago American Greed aired an episode about a New Jersey doctor, Michael Mastromarino, who was convicted of illegally harvesting human bones, organs, tissue, and other body parts from corpses awaiting cremation or burial.  Medical companies purchased the parts for big money.  The doctor had a few staff members who would cut into the dead bodies, take the parts that they could sell, and then sew up the corpse once finished. They provided fake donor agreements as justification for their theft.

The doctor purchased bodies from funeral homes for up to $1000 per body.  Sometimes he would order his crew to replace the bones with PVC piping, a move that eventually got him arrested. He and his crew did not test the corpses for cancer, HIV, or any disease that could infect a recipient.  Several living recipients accused Mastromarino's company of negligence and the direct cause of their new diseases/infections.
This got me thinking.  We all know that we can donate our body parts, but what about selling them off?  Why not cut out the middle man (the harvester) and sell them wholesale or directly to the hospitals? Yes, quite a gruesome thought during the holiday season, but what else would you expect from a horror writer?

Notice the PVC piping.

Legally speaking, a dead body is the legal property of the deceased's relatives or beneficiaries.  So that should mean the ones who inherit the body have the right to sell the parts just like they have the right to sell off the deceased's house or car or stock or bond or whatever.  Interestingly, the government doesn't see it that way.  Unless the corpse while living makes her/his wishes crystal clear, the government can take the organs and do what they want once the corpse at one point during life checks off on being a donor.
What usually happens is the government gives the corpse to doctors and hospitals who in turn make money off of the parts while harvesting the organs and implanting them in patients.  Organ transportation companies also get their fair share of the profits; and the families of the deceased get nothing.
So why be an organ donor?  I suppose on some level it doesn't matter.  Someone like Dr. Mastromarino can just steal the body parts, provide phony documentation, and then have the body cremated without anyone knowing.  I doubt he is the only one who has thought of this scam.  But for those who play by the rules and get possession of legitimate donors, why shouldn't the family be compensated? Shouldn't families of the dead or even the living have the right to sell off organs?  Leave a comment.  Love to know what you think. 
  

Conspiracy Theory: Illuminati in Pop Culture

I was listening to one of my favorite radio hosts, Alan Parks of Conspiracy Queries, while walking my dog yesterday.  The podcast inspired me to blog about brainwashing used in the music world.  As mentioned on the show, there are way too many award shows.  There used to be the Grammy, the Oscar, the Emmy, and the Globe.  You can count the Cleo if you like advertising.  Now we have an award for just about every kind of music and TV show.  I once loved to watch these shows, looking especially forward to the glamour of the celebrities.  Today it's overkill.  The guest on the radio show, book store owner (Conspiracy Culture in Canada), made some incredibly interesting points, two of them I want to share and elaborate on.

1. Today's hit music is used to brainwash the youth.  
People claimed music was the devil's work back in the days when jazz came onto the scene and then when Elvis the Pelvis rose to stardom.  What makes today any different from the past?  Most of today's songs come from half of a dozen song writers.  Max Martin is the most famous.  He's a 43 year old Swede who hit the big time back in the '90s and still maintains his kingdom of hit music.  He has written and produced hit songs for just about everyone-Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, N Sync, Pink, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Jessie J, Christina Aguilara, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, and Kelly Clarkson, just to name a few.  He's had the 3rd most number one singles of all time (19 number one hits), only behind Paul McCartney (1st with 32 number one songs) and John Lennon (2nd with twenty-six number one songs).  And he's still young.  He's written 51 total top ten hits.
Many claim his hit songs are analogies, codes, and metaphors for slavery and mind control.  One example is inserted below.
Britney Spears's "Hold it Against Me", a Max Martin hit, tops them all in terms of Illuminati overload.  Pseudocultmedia says, "We also see another reference to the “good girl gone bad” motif, the sex kitten exploitation that happens to most female Illuminati slaves. At the beginning of the music video we have Britney dressed in white, and after her occult blood ritual is complete (we see the IV lines rip from her body as they spew neon coloured paint, AKA her blood, everywhere) we see the new Britney Spears, programmed, laced in black leather and ready to show her allegiance to her masters."

2. A sexy dance meant to hypnotize the audience in Fritz Lang's 1927 Metropolis movie has been showing up in music videos. The movie is about thinkers (elite) and workers (slaves) in a New World Order Society.  The character Maria is an android whose goal is to start a revolution among the workers.  Pop stars copy Maria's seductive/hypnotic dance performed from the movie, adding fuel to New World Order conspiracy theory.

Maria the robot performs the "Whore of Babylon" Dance in "Metropolis"

Beyonce as Maria the robot

This dance as well as the entire movie has masonic images, suggesting an elite, inner circle who runs the world.  Beyonce, Madonna, and Lady Gaga are some of the celebrities who have copied this dance.  For what purpose?  It's not likely that their fans are even aware of this old movie.  Is it some kind of initiation?  A masonic ritual or passage into elitism?  Is the dance meant to hypnotize or brain wash?  LEAVE A COMMENT-very curious!

As a New World Order conspiracy junkie this movie is on my MUST SEE list.  A review will soon follow.  Hope you enjoyed the post and it got you thinking next time you listen to music.  Special thanks to the fabulous Alan Parks and his guest!

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Review: Season 4 of American Horror Story

This year's American Horror Story is about circus freaks.  The show takes place during the 1950's in Jupiter, Florida.  Jessica Lange is the ringleader of a bearded lady (Kathy Bates), a man with a clawed hand (Lobster Boy nickname), a three-boobed woman (Angela Bassett), Siamese twins (Sarah Paulsen), world's tiniest woman, and many more.  

Jessica Lange's character is an amputee who wants to become a famous singer.  She hopes her freaks will attract people from Hollywood.  She wasn't always an amputee.  Her character started off as a French woman living in Berlin during World War II.  She worked as a dominatrix and starred in rough pornos.  In one of her films, the director drugged her and then hacked off her legs, leaving her for dead.  One of her best customers saved her.  Years later, she turned to alcohol, depression, and her freaks, choosing to live a life as an outcast.

The season begins with a killer clown on a murder rampage.  He is not affiliated with the freak show.  He soon gets a fan who wants to follow his footsteps.  His fan is a good-looking, rich, spoiled sociopath who wants in on all of the bloody fun.  The rich kid has been practicing to be a serial murderer for years by killing animals all over the property of his mansion.  (I think the actor who takes the part of the killer clown's sidekick was also the actor in a made-for-TV movie about another rich kid who killed his girlfriend and then video-taped himself with other friends bragging about it and even re-enacting it with a Barbie doll.)  My point is this-the perfect actor to make your skin crawl.  Anyway, his mentor, the killer clown, gets killed during one of his murders and now it's up to the rich kid to continue what was started.  He begins by slashing up his maid.  His mom is upset, but covers his tracks by getting rid of the body.  He then hits a gay bar and picks up a male prostitute.  His paid escort is also his next victim.  Shades of Jeffrey Dahmer? This story line has lots of blood.
The Siamese twins were hidden away until their guardian is murdered.  One of the twins tried to kill the other one which landed them in the emergency room.  The news covers the story.  Jessica Lange reads about it and then recruits the twins into her freak show. They are the starring attraction.  Although the money starts rolling in, Jessica Lange is jealous because she always wanted to be star.

Lobster Boy, the man with the pincher claw hand, is one of the most complicated characters.  He knows that he is a freak, yet wants a normal life.  Early in the season he gets a side job jamming his claw up womens' vaginae.  He's got the magic touch.  His mother, the bearded lady, and father, the new husband to the 3-boobed lady, are also freaks.  He might not remember, but his mother flashes back with a ghost about how her son was born into exploitation.  As she gave birth, her husband charged people to watch.
My Review: Writers of Freak Show American Horror Story prove that the imagination is truly limitless when it comes to horror.  Asylum, Coven, and Haunted House look like children's stories.  The two serial killer clowns freak me out the most.  I also like the con-artist who is trying to kidnap the Siamese twins for money.  Jessica Lange is one of the finest actresses the world has ever known.  Love, love, love her!  She might be old, but she is still one hot mama.  The director maximizes the creepy factor throughout the show.  My only complaint is the music.  David Bowie and Fiona Apple were not around in the 1950s.  I do not like it when cultural time lines are blurred.  Otherwise, if you like violence, emotional discomfort, twisted people, and revolting scenes, then this show is for you!  So far, Freak Show is the freakiest of all the American Horror Stories.  5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Gone Girl

Forced my husband to take me to the new movie Gone Girl last weekend, starring Ben Afleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, and Carrie Coon.  I did not read the book by Gillian Flynn.  Friends told me it moved too slow.  However, the story line sounded interesting, plus the movie people always tend to cut things out and speed things up.

For those of you who know nothing about the movie, it's basically a simple story about an unhappily married couple.  The wife, Amy, disappears on their fifth anniversary.  As the police investigate, the husband appears to have been involved in foul play.  Forensics show us a covered up blood stain and broken furniture that look staged with the goal of the appearance of a break-in.  The husband is having an affair with hot 20 year-old.  The wife's diary is found, describing him as a money-draining, cheating, abusing, good-for-nothing bum.  Despite the absence of a body, the husband is convicted of murder in the court of public opinion.  He fights back, getting a Johnny-Cochrane style attorney who wants to defend the husband.  The tables soon turn and we discover that the wife is not dead.  Without giving too much away, the plot took on many twists and turns.

My Review: I enjoyed this movie from start to finish.  All of the actors were brilliant.  The way the plot was laid out made me feel like I was spying on this couple's lives over sitting in a movie theatre.  The story reminded me of Fatal Attraction, Chinatown and Dial M for Murder, yet still seemed original.  The movie felt like the best of Alfred Hitchcock and Roman Polanski rolled up into one.
Emily Ratjakowski makes a small but noteworthy performance as Ben Affleck's girlfriend.  I predict she will become a big star-gorgeous woman.  She is currently on the cover of this month's Cosmo.

 Patrick Neil Harris's character added even more intrigue.  My only complaint is wanting to know his character a little more.  His back story was unfortunately rushed.  My husband, who hates thrillers and wanted to see Bill Murray/Melissa McCarthy in St. Vincent, even liked the movie.  This is my pick for best movie of the year and hope the Academy sees the value in a blockbuster hit.  Loved it and recommend that everyone pay the 10.00 or whatever the ticket price.  It's one of the few movies that is worth every penny. 5/5 Stars

6 Shows That Will Add Some Fright To Your Halloween by Elizabeth Eckhart

6 Shows That Will Add Some Fright To Your Halloween

With Halloween just a few days away, why not consider staying in this year and enjoying a new or classic horror television series. Here are six horror-themed television shows that will put you in the mood for the scariest night of the year.

1. The Walking Dead: Not only is this series breaking cable ratings records left and right, The Walking Dead is easily one of the most disturbing and frightening pieces of zombie filmmaking ever seen on the big or small screen. While it pushes the boundaries of gore on television, it also tugs at the heart as the series follows a small group of survivors trying to exist in a post-apocalyptic world overrun with zombies. The Walking Dead currently airs Sunday nights on AMC.

2. The X-Files:  Most television experts have hailed The X-Files as one of the definitive television shows of the 1990’s. It is also the show that pushed the boundaries of decency opening the door for so many of today’s horror-themed shows. From fluke-like creatures that live in the sewers to a house full of inbred mutants, the exploits of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are just as frightening today as they were in the 1990’s. The show, which ran on the FOX network for nine years, is available on DVD and on DTV in your area through most streaming services.

3. Sleepy Hollow: For a new and frightening take on the Headless Horseman legend, check out Sleepy Hollow, which currently airs Monday nights on FOX. The show brings Ichabod Crane and his nemesis the Headless Horseman into the modern day New England town of Sleepy Hollow. With horrifying demons, monsters and good old-fashioned scares, this is definitely a show that should be watched with the lights off.

4. Grimm: What if the creatures from Grimm’s Fairytales lived among us and we never knew they were there? That’s the premise of Grimm, which follows detective Nick Burkhardt, who is from a long line of guardians called Grimms that strive to keep balance between humanity and the mythological creatures that exist among us. The show features some of the most creative monsters ever seen on television including creatures inspired by wolves, spiders, jackals and even mermaids. Grimm airs Friday nights on NBC.

5. American Horror Story: This anthology show earns its name well as it is easily one of the creepiest, scariest and most stylish shows on television. Each season features its own unique story and the current season airing on FX each Wednesday night may be the best. This season, entitled Freak Show, takes place in 1952 in Jupiter, Florida where a group of freak show circus performers have pitched their tents. Get ready to meet the most unsettling group of performers ever seen, from the bearded lady to the conjoined twins. It also features the most terrifying clown ever portrayed on screen, who is so creepy the clown from Stephen King’s It suddenly looks like a children’s performer.

6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: If you like a little fun mixed in with your scares, then this Joss Whedon-created series is an ideal choice. During its seven seasons that ran from 1997 to 2003, Buffy and her band of vampire hunters, called the “Scooby Gang,” strived to save their high school from every manner of demonic and evil creature. While horror fans will enjoy the vampires and monsters, get ready to be sucked in by some of the most likeable and fun characters ever portrayed on television. The show is available on most streaming services and DVD.

Thanks, Elizabeth!  My personal fave is American Horror Story, but all are great shows!  Happy Halloween and thanks for the post!

Zombie Terms 101: Bad Juju

With the so-called zombie apocalypse approaching, one must be educated about the different kinds of zombies before prepping for defense. First, there is the most common and believable-the human that turns into a zombie because of mental collapse, disease, infection, and/or radiation. They stagger around dazed and confused and cause panic to others. Then there is the man-made monster kind or the kind Hollywood and horror authors like me tend to capitalize on.

Zombie interest continues to fascinate the world. Jeffrey Dahmer drilled holes then poured acid down his victim’s heads in hopes of creating his own zombie. His madness didn’t work. Can man make his own zombie? Are these monsters real?

According to Wade Davis, author of The Serpent of the Rainbow, zombies are real. They are a product of the Voodoo religion. He was originally hired by a pharmaceutical company to find out about the drugs Voduists used in their death rituals. He believed that datura also known as zombie’s cucumber was a plant that could medically make one who ingested it appear to be dead for a certain length of time. Sounds like the stuff Juliet used to fake her death. Could Shakespeare known about the magical zombie-making plant?

Datura or sometimes Cimora, a close relative of Datura’s, eventually wears off but leaves the victim in a state of confusion, highly susceptible to the art of persuasion. Presto! A zombie slave is at the captor’s disposal. Mr. Davis didn’t just find his datura flower, but witnessed zombie phenomena as he immersed himself within the Haitian culture.

http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Juju-Dina-Rae-ebook/dp/B0097L9FHW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414112771&sr=8-2&keywords=bad+juju

Bad Juju is a unique blend of horror, romance, and fantasy. Besides The Serpent and the Rainbow, I read volumes of other Voodoo material and watched hours of TV specials. Some of the terms I learned can be found below:

Bokor: A wizard who practices black magic, a zombie maker.

Loa: deity/spirit

Ghede Family: A family of loas known as the spirits of the dead. Three barons rule the family. Baron Samedi is the loa of resurrection. Baron Kriminel is the most feared loa associated with cannibalism and souls. He’s honored on The Day of the Dead. Baron LaCroix is the loa of the dead and sexuality.

Poppet: Voodoo doll

Ti-bon-ange: “little good angel” The part of the soul that represents a person’s individuality.

Gros-bon-ange: “great good angel” Part of the soul that is collected into a reservoir of the Cosmos or spirit world.

Baka: Voodoo spirits in animal form.

Loup Garou: werewolf

Djab: a devil

Dessounin: Death ritual that separates the gros-bon-ange from the body.

Bizango Society: Secret society of Vodouists. They have Freemason-like qualities such as aprons, secret handshakes, oaths, hierarchy, and symbols. Legend states they change into animals at will. They are known for stealing black cats and boiling them to death for Voodoo services. They drink each other’s blood from a human skull chalice.

Bad Juju is available on Amazon for free this weekend.

LINK: http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Juju-ebook/dp/B0097L9FHW/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1347218825&sr=8-13&keywords=bad+juju

Review: Homeland's New Season

I am a big fan of Homeland.  Wasn't sure if I was going to watch it after Damian Lewis's Brody character died last season.  Last Sunday, the new season kicked off with an hour and a half special.

Kerri begins a new post in Kabul, Afghanistan, as a station chief. She and her crew track down a bin Laden type of bad guy in a warehouse.  They bomb the place to smithereens.  What should be considered a victory for the U.S. is quickly spun as a massacre as rumors spread that several innocent bystanders died along with the bad guy.  One of the few survivors has a video that proves the rumors, showing a wedding taking pace inside.  He is reluctant to get involved, but his roommate posts the video on Youtube without his consent.  Once again, the U.S. is portrayed as the bad guy. Kerri's promotion is short-lived as she is quickly called back to Washington to explain the PR mess the bombing has caused.
Once back home, Kerri sees her sister and her baby (the one she was pregnant with last season with Brody being the father).  Her maternal instincts are no where to be found.  The idea of having her career destroyed and being stuck taking care of her baby is too much for her to deal with.  She desperately tries to find a way out.  Sure enough, in a Benghazi style cover-up, she learns some dirt on the Secretary of Defense and uses it to get her job back.  She then manipulates her sister into taking care of her baby.

My Review: Where do I start-blown away from the first second to the last.  Brilliant everything-writing, acting, directing, special effects, etc.  Kerri's heroic personality is compromised when it comes to motherhood.  
I was shocked when Kerri almost drowned her baby in the bathtub.  I loved how the moderate Muslim with the wedding video had plenty of secrets.  Quinn gave an outstanding performance as an emotional basketcase with PTSD.  One of my favorite scenes was when Kerri's co-worker gets his face plastered all over the Afghani news for blowing up the wedding and the Muslims beat him to death in the street.  Kerri and Quinn try to save him, but they are too late.  I felt like a witness to a crime rather than an audience of a TV show.  One of the best shows on TV ever-5/5 Stars.

Erotica Review: Skye Jordan's Reckless-Book 1

Reckless is a romance-erotica novel about a clothes designer who designs wedding dresses and a Hollywood stunt man.  These Californians sort of meet at the airport.  The clothes designer flirts with him through a phone app and then shows up at his hotel room.  In the dark, she has oral sex with him and then eventually regular sex while on her business trip.  She wants to chalk off their liason as a one-night stand, but he (Jax) wants more.  They begin to miss each other.  Both have been burned in relationships and aren't ready to jump into another one.  However, the sex is too good to ignore.  SPOILER ALERT: They hook up for good in the end.

My Review: I downloaded this book for free, not really expecting to finish it, but was pleasantly surprised.  The writer knows her way around bedroom.  Her sex scenes were very steamy, but not too steamy in the sense of being edgy, avante guard, uncomfortable, or just plain weird.  I liked both of the characters.  There seemed to be some research done about the fashion world.  Vera Wang's wedding dresses came to mind.  The stuntman's character was interesting as well.  Reckless is a terrific book to read for entertainment.  Erotica and romance are not favorite genres of mine, but Ms. Jordan still managed to drag me into her imagination.  Well done!  4.5/5 Stars

War in the Middle East: To Be or Not To Be

Both right and left wingers are constantly slamming Obama for his foreign policy.  They feel he is weak, harsh, complacent, indifferent, apologetic, more interested in golf, and everything in between.  Although I am not an Obama fan, I did admire his style. 

Up until today, I thought his actions resembled Ron and Rand Paul.  Why risk the lives of soldiers and throw tax dollars away?
The left is so concerned with the disenfranchised while the right demands war.  Or are they parroting what the inner circle wants-war?  You have to remember that reporters report first to their boss and second to you and me.
Why is it so important to fight ...let's see...-Russia, pro-Russian separatists, ISIL/ISIS, Hamas, al-Qaeda...?  Wait, I think the U.S. now funds al-Qaeda.  I'm sure I'm leaving some group out.  
The only consistency to this hawkish attitude is New World Order conspiracy theory.  To establish New World Order, we need to establish world dominance.  You can't have world dominance without oil dominance.  You also need drug and food dominance, but that's another story or even book.  Big Pharma, Big Agri, Big Conspiracy explains it all.  

Let's start with the Middle East-not our problem.  What happened to those reporters was horrific, but think about this rationally.  With exception to political assassination (Archduke Ferdinand for example), when does any country go to war because a few citizens were brutally murdered?  These reporters were not murdered by a government, they were murdered by a bunch of yahoos who roam the desert and jump from terrorist group to terrorist group like a high school student trying to find his/her niche.  Who are we going to war against?  Define ISIS or ISIL.  What is their address?  What is their driver's license number or voter's registration card?  Do they pay taxes to any particular government?  How do you fight a terrorist group who might join another terrorist group the next week?  How do you know they aren't posing as your ally?  

Obama finally caved from the constant criticism by funding anti-Syrian rebels to fight Assad.  Many believe these "rebels" are al-Qaeda.  What a slap in the face of the U.S soldiers!  And the tie-in to ISIS/ISIL is too confusing.
Is war really just a disguise for a favor?  Or is it pay back?  To begin with, Saudi Arabia aka oil exporters in terms of debt charts is the U.S.'s third biggest sugar daddy.  China and Japan are the biggest debt-holders and the only one the main stream media ever talks about.  But the fact is this: the U.S. owes the Saudis big.  This might be the reason for our "concern" for the Middle East.  Saudi Arabia wants to clean up the Islamo-mess and we can't afford to say no.  
Unlike ISIS, the Saudis like making money and like the idea of an elite class running the world.  Unlike ISIS, they understand real power and it's not going to be found in the middle of the desert with a few machine guns and knives with serrated edges.  The inner circle globalist sees ISIS's terror as an opportunity to take over the region.  What do you think about U.S.'s constant meddling into Middle Eastern affairs?  Leave a comment.

Elizabeth Eckhart Guest Blogs: 5th Wave Jumps on the Dystopian Bandwagon

If you’ve kept an eye on the box office lately, you’ve probably noticed the slew of YA books being turned into films. More specifically it seems that dystopian themed books are the flavor of the moment: we’ve got The Hunger Games, Divergent, Ender’s Game, and, most recently, The Giver all making the leap from the page to film (for YA dystopian novices they’re all highly recommended and are easily available on demand) . Now, joining those films is The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.

The book is the first in a planned trilogy which centers on a 16 year old girl named Cassie Sullivan. She’s so far survived the first four waves of alien invasions, but there’s a fifth one rapidly approaching. The aliens look like humans, and will kill anyone they meet while traveling in the countryside and backroads, so Cassie can’t trust a soul while traveling alone in the crumbling ruins of society as she used to know it. However, in her quest to find and save her brother she meets a fellow survivor named Evan Walker - but can she trust him?

The book earned Yancey solid reviews, with the New York Times saying, “it’s a testament to Yancey’s skill that for the duration of this grown-up’s reading, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.” Entertainment Weekly agreed, hailing it as “a remarkable, not-to-be-missed-under-any-circumstances book”. Readers loved it as much as critics with over 240,000 hardcover copies and 55,000 e-books sold in its first year.

While the book series differs from many of the other big series popular recently in the YA dystopian genre in that it is much more sci-fi oriented, it doesn’t quite reach that Star Trek/Star Wars area of unbelievability that would likely turn away its core audience. It doesn’t seem as far fetched as, for instance, teenagers fighting to the death for entertainment of others, or a world where all color, emotion, pain, and feeling are held by a lone man.

Catching onto the viability of this series first was Sony Pictures along with producers Graham King and Tobey Maguire, who snatched up the film rights to the series before it even hit store shelves. The film was in pre-production and casting for about a year before they announced they’d casting soon-to-be-”it”-girl Chloe Grace Moretz as Cassie, the lead character. They also announced they’d hired directed J. Blakeson (best known for The Disappearance of Alice Creed) as well as the relatively unknown actors Nick Robinson as Ben Parish, Malaika Monroe as Ringer, and Alex Roe as the mysterious Evan Walker.

Bringing some extra star power to the cast is Liev Schreiber who just signed on to play the villainous Colonel Vosch. Outside of the casting, we do know that the book was adapted by screenwriter Susannah Grant who wrote the screenplays for such hits as Ever After, Erin Brockovich (which earned her an Academy Award nomination), Pocahontas, and the 90’s television series Party of Five. To say the book was in good hands is clearly an understatement.

Aside from that, not much is known about this exciting new film except for its release date, which is slated to be January 29, 2016. If you’re not looking forward to waiting that long for your next fix, you’re in luck! The second book in the series, titled The Infinite Sea is due to be released on September 16th. However, if you’re more impatient than that, there has been a trailer for it released and Britain’s Daily Express newspaper got an exclusive sneak peak at the book and have an extract available on their website for you to whet your appetite with.

Elizabeth, thanks again!  Great post!

Conspiracy Rant: ISIS-The Monster the U.S. Created

My blog fan and fellow conspiracy buff Frank Fontaine is on a roll.  He sent me some links that suggest ISIS is the U.S.'s Frankenstein, created as an excuse to invade Syria.  
Now why does the U.S. want to invade Syria?  Refresher course-A few years back al-Qaeda was fighting Assad and we backed al-Qaeda.  Call me naive, but two bad guys killing each other off is a good thing, right?  Word out on the street says that Syria's Assad was and is trading oil NOT on the U.S. dollar standard.  Not sure how they are trading it and how it is bartered, but U.S. feels deprived.  Russia is also involved.  Bankers who are part of the one world government are upset because the Middle East once again has thrown a wrench in their plans.

ISIS doing what they do best-hate.

Flashback-Our war with Iraq was obviously not about weapons of mass destruction or bin Laden (a Saudi who lived in Afghanistan) or even 911.  What it was about was trading oil NOT on the U.S. dollar standard.  This act alone is worse than all of the heads these monsters have ever lopped off.  The bankers also known as bangsters cannot handle losing power.
So where is Frank getting this information?  It's all over the Internet that U.S. and her allies (Qatar and Saudi Arabia) have funded ISIS with the goal of overthrowing Assad.  
Who are ISIS?  Many believe ISIS is really a shoot-off of al-Qaeda.  Hmm...., so if the U.S. and allies created ISIS, that would mean that they took al-Qaeda and turned them into a fiercer military.  So that would mean that the group of people our soldiers risked their lives over to fight in Afghanistan were now used for the purpose of fighting Assad.  Hmm...So our enemy over the last decade at some point became our army?  So who is our real enemy?  Why are so many news channels criticizing Obama for not going to war?  Why should be go to war?  Trust no one.  Love to hear your theory.

Yezidi or Yazidi Religion: What is it?

We are all aware of the 50,000 or so Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis, trapped on Mount  Sinjar by ISIS.  Some of the women are held captive as sex slaves.  ISIS calls them their wives.  The children are also in danger of unspeakable horrors.  U.S. has sent Marines with a rescue mission supposedly in place.  The story has lost much steam over the last few weeks with Americans preferring to concentrate on Ferguson, Missouri, and ISIS's beheadings of journalists.

So who are the Yazidis and what is their religion about?  Reporters like to gloss over the details, claiming it's some sort of combination of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.  Although that's not an out-and-out lie, it omits the core of the Yazidi/Yezidi religion.  

The Yazidis are more closely related to Zoroastrianism than Christianity.  Zoroaster, the religion's founder, preached two mentalities under one god, Ahura Mazda.  This religion comes from the Ismaeli branch of Islam.  BTW, Ishmael was the older brother of Isaac who got kicked to the curb with his Egyptian mother after Sara gave birth to Abraham's second son Isaac.

Zoroastrians pray in front of fire.  They believe in reincarnation, but only once the end of the world happens.  The Magi from the Christmas story were believed to be Zoroastrians.

Yazidis' roots are Zoroastrian, but they have added their own spin on the religion.  Shaykh Abi Musafir, born 1070-1162, was the founder.  Mithra the sun god is involved in the religon. Yazidis have two holy books, the Black Book and Revelation.  Some believe Revelation is a forgery, authored by Westerners with the intention of sugar coating the odd religion.  The Black Book might also be a forgery, but there is a debate.  Most believe this group never had an official sacred text, but passed their traditions orally through their holy men or priests.

Yazidis are concentrated in northern Iraq, Armenia, Georgia, Syria, Germany, and small pockets all over Europe and the U.S. Yazidis believe that God (the Christian God) is under the care of seven angels with Malak Tawas (spelled several different ways) as the head of the seven angels.  Westerners and ISIS believe Malak Tawas is really Satan.  Shaytan is Satan in the Koran.  Shaytan, also called Melek Tawas, refused to bow down to Adam and Eve after God commanded him to.  Yazidis believe God and Satan made amends and reconciled.  The peacock is Malak Tawas's symbol.  Satan was not created by God, but born of a white pearl.  

Yazidi name stems from "yazata" or divine being,  or possibly from Umayyad Yazid, the Sultan Ez.  They speak Kurmanji.  Yazidis believe in reincarnation, pray five times a day, fast, celebrate their own New Year's Eve, throw a Festival of the Peacock, refuse to eat lettuce, and make a pilgrimage to Sheikh Musafir's tomb, the religion's founder.  They believe Jesus was an angel in human form and Mohammad was a prophet.  They won't spit or wear the color blue.  Some believe the color blue represents Noah.  This is especially interesting to me because the Flood might have been about getting rid of all of the fallen angels.  

Yazidis are baptized and circumcised (not a requirement).  They are monogamous, but priests/chiefs can be polygamous.  They believe they descended from Adam alone-NOT Eve.  They also practice Honor Killings which are directed towards women who violate their laws, culture, and traditions.  Recently, a case in Germany was reported about a Yazidi girl who fell in love with a German boy.  Her family killed her.  

I became fascinated with this religion while writing Halo of the Damned and Halo of the Nephilim.  Much research went into the books.