Good Morning to No One

7:30 in the morning

The sky looks like shit

Wintry mix is pouring down

And I’m getting sick of it

9:30 in the morning

Hit the head, go back to bed

I never once believed in

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead”

11:30 in the morning

Put on clothes, feed the cat

Doom scroll into infinite

And wonder why I feel sad

1:00 in the afternoon

I eat a Hungry, Hungry Man

Breakfast of champions

It’s amazing I can still stand

2:30 in the afternoon

It’s the same old, same old

Watch a video, learn nothing

Spend the rest of the day cold

4:30 in the evening

Will I or will I not?

Another day in stasis

Emotions of a porno bot

6:30 in the evening

Eat my dinner way too fast

More COVID deaths on the news

And it sure won’t be the last

8:30 in the evening

Should I eat a whole pizza pie?

It’s the only thing I can do

To resist the urge to cry

10:00 at night

I’m not ready for the sack

I’d probably wake up anyway

With all this pain in my back

Midnight, oh, midnight

Will you come take me away?

I can’t believe in tomorrow

When it’s another shitty day

2:00 in the morning

My eyes are too heavy

Here comes the final flood

To break down the eyelid levies

Good morning to no one

You couldn’t hear me anyway

Too busy with your own life

Earning peanuts for your pay

Chronomancer

CHORUS 1

Chronomancer! Dickless Tracy!

Colonel Mouse Turd! Fucking face me!

I’ve paid for every one of my sins!

Throw your evidence in the garbage bin!

VERSE 1

Time is a weapon deadlier than a gun

Past, present, and future become one

Anxiety, depression, hostile aggression

Every mistake becomes worthy of mention

I’ve said I’m sorry about a million times

You’ve stayed quiet about your own crimes

How convenient since you need an attorney

To guide you through your criminal journey

CHORUS 2

Chronomancer! Sherlock Home Wrecker!

Missus Pee Cock! Go on record!

Tell everyone how horrible I am!

Forget your own sins, your own jam!

VERSE 2

The future looks grim for the atoners

Turning social butterflies into loners

Turning the past into something that lasts

Forever on a radio show on full blast

I’ve been explaining, yet you don’t hear me

Trying to make my own loved ones fear me

Chronomancer, you don’t have the answers

You’re just a loud and obnoxious bastard

BRIDGE

Those who truly need their final closure

Will always believe it’ll never be over

Thanks to you and your holy crusade

The trauma and drama will never fade

CHORUS 3

Chronomancer! TJ Crooked!

Mister Body Bag! I knew you wouldn’t

Have the guts to see this all the way through!

You’re just a disc jockey with a loose screw!

Pornomancer! You’re the cancer!

You’re the keeper of false answers!

Don’t even try to cast your stones!

You can’t even control your own bone!

"Before Watchmen: Nite Owl and Dr. Manhattan" by J. Michael Straczynski

BOOK TITLE: Before Watchmen: Nite Owl and Dr. Manhattan

AUTHOR: J. Michael Straczynski

YEAR: 2013

GENRE: Graphic Novel

SUBGENRE: Superhero

GRADE: Pass

This prequel to the original Watchmen graphic novel features three separate stories of political bloodshed and philosophical heartache. Nite Owl is seduced by a dominatrix-style madame named Twilight Lady into helping her solve the mystery of her slain call girls. Dr. Manhattan travels between time and space as he wrestles with his conscience over his godlike abilities and how they should be used. Moloch takes revenge against an unloving world after he grows up bullied and broken over his “ugly” features. Nobody will be left unscathed by these violent tales, not even the almighty reader himself.

As someone who enjoys a good love story, I’m particularly fond of the relationship between Nite Owl and Twilight Lady. Of course, there shouldn’t be any debate that this would never work since Twilight Lady is a true professional who never falls in love. But after all of their romantic interactions, the reader actually wants to root for them. Twilight Lady can read Nite Owl like a book. She knows when he’s blushing underneath the mask. She knows he’ll do anything to protect her since he grew up with an abusive father. She knows his intentions are pure. And yet, this puts Nite Owl at odds with the ultra-conservative superhero Rorschach, who moonlights as a janitor at a church. All of this character interaction and all of this drama, it makes for some pretty damn good storytelling that will leave you brooding long after it’s all over.

I wish the same could be said for Dr. Manhattan’s story, but unfortunately, it was my least favorite of the three. While the idea of a godlike superhero struggling with his conscience can make for some thought-provoking creative fuel, the philosophical tropes seem to take precedence over the story itself, making for a confusing read. There were times in this story when I didn’t know what the hell was going on. Hell, none of it really became clear to me until the end, which I won’t spoil for my readers. It shouldn’t take that long for a story’s sensibility to kick in. It was for this reason alone that I once considered giving the book a mixed grade, but ultimately, I decided against that when I read Moloch’s story.

If you’ve ever wanted to live out a revenge fantasy, Moloch’s story is for you. Surely there has been a time in your life when you’ve felt unloved, unappreciated, and downright despised. Moloch’s gremlin-like appearance made him a target for bullies whether it was a stereotypical mean girl or a jock who loved beating people up. Rising above all of that trauma is hard, so what does Moloch do? He turns to a life of crime and rakes in a huge pile of cash while doing so. I wouldn’t recommend anybody do this in real life, because Moloch you are not and to prison you will go. But if you want to live vicariously through him for a little while, he’s certainly sympathetic enough for the reader to do just that. But never forget that he’s a villain above all else, so don’t get too attached to him.

I dare say that Alan Moore, the creator of the original Watchmen comic books, should be proud of J. Michael Straczynski for what he’s done. I’ll take it one step further. If the author of this book wants to do a prequel to any of my own books, I won’t turn him down. Hell, I’d give my left eye if it meant he’d work for me. The art is fabulous, the writing is superb, and the book overall is very much worthy of its passing grade, Dr. Manhattan story aside.

Getting With the Times

***GETTING WITH THE TIMES***

As someone who openly admits to being a millennial who still plays with toys, being time conscious isn’t one of my strong suits. I don’t follow trends, I don’t care if an interest of mine is dated, I don’t care what’s considered cool by other people, and I’ll wear pretty much whatever I want as long as it’s comfortable. The times may have changed, but my core values have not.

It didn’t occur to me how behind in the times I was until I was editing a short story for American Darkness called “Not Gonna Die”. In this story, there’s a party going on in the main character’s dormitory and the music that’s blasting out of the speakers is “Brass Monkey” by The Beastie Boys. I know of that song, because I was born in 1985, which means I’m twelve years older than the college kids in this story. There aren’t many 18-year-olds who know who the Beastie Boys are, so in order to have realistic cool kids who keep up with the times, I chose rap music that was a little more modern in Tech N9ne. No complaints yet.

Having an old school state of mind is easy for me because nobody has challenged me on it and anybody who did was met with the same nonconformist argument I give everyone. I actually had my brother James tell me that, “Nobody listens to Disturbed anymore.” I do. I listen to them a lot. They may have been popular in the early 2000’s, but to my way of thinking, they’ve stood the test of time in the year 2015. Obviously, my older brother is very time conscious while I couldn’t give two shits what year it is.

When it comes to my writing career, however, it should stand to reason that I have a new school state of mind, because websites like Twitter and Face Book are the future of book marketing. I do have a Face Book account under my real name of Garrison Haines-Temons. I don’t, however, have a Twitter account anymore. There were three separate occasions where I’ve had a Twitter account, but realizing it was about as useful as an asshole on my bicep, I’ve walked away several times and I have no plans to go back.

I also don’t have a smart phone like pretty much everybody does. I have a generic cell phone and even though it has texting capabilities, I don’t take advantage of them. Sending off misspelled sentences with cheesy emoticons isn’t appealing to me since I have too much respect for the English language. As far as technology goes, the only “cool” things I have are my desktop computer, Roku streaming device, and a generic MP3 player from a company that went out of business apparently.

Getting with the times isn’t something that appeals to me very much. If I want to follow a trend, I want that trend to actually have some substance to it. It’s the difference between choosing The Beastie Boys versus Lil’ Wayne or Nirvana versus…some rock band in the 2010’s I’ve never heard of before. There are things in the present day that appeal to me such as the metal bands Gemini Syndrome and Nothing More, which goes to show that it’s not about the time period something comes from, but rather the importance of its message. Rage Against the Machine is a relic from the 90’s, but their music still means something to me.

I have one last message for you all before I get into the posts about my latest artistic endeavors. Unga-bunga. Me caveman. Me want substance. Me no care about coolness! Me have ears! Me say cheers!

　

***DARK FANTASY WARRIORS***

The official date of this journal’s publication is October 30^th, which means I still have two more days of Villains Month left. And man, do I have a villain for you guys: Ryan Brock from my most recent short story “Streetwalker”. We all know that rape is a bad thing, but Ryan Brock takes the humiliating and traumatizing act to a whole different level when he forces himself on a mage named Danielle Courtney. That’s a villain in my book!

　

***POISON TONGUE TALES: EDITING***

I have to be frank with you guys. Although Random.org has chosen “Death Blade” as the next short story to edit, I’m not looking forward to it at all. Don’t get me wrong, Marie’s comments never scare me. In fact, they make me laugh and feel lighthearted. It’s the actual job of editing that frightens me about “Death Blade”. It was my first official entry at the WSS Contest and Company and I wasn’t as good in late 2013 as I am now. In other words, what scares me the most…is my own unpolished writing. Maybe I’ll shelve Death Blade and choose a different one to edit for now.

　

***JANUARY FIRST***

I’ve been spending the past few days trying to bulldoze through another paperback book. Whenever I get in this mood, every other creative project takes a backseat with the exception of competing in WSS contests. What makes January First by Michael Schofield so special is its ability to speak to me personally. Like little Janni, I too have schizophrenia and I recognize her struggles. Watching her spiral into madness is heartbreaking and has almost brought me to tears a few times. I plan on giving this book an Extra Credit grade when I finish reading it, which it desperately needs because some troll assholes on Good Reads are peppering it with uneducated one-star reviews. I’ve heard of that kind of trolling happening to authors before, so I take good care not to believe anything those people say.

　

***MOVIE DIALOGUE OF THE DAY***

WYNARSKI: Excuse me, have you seen a set of keys around here?
RANDAL: No time for love, Dr. Jones.

-Clerks, a movie made in 1994 when renting movies from a video store was still “cool”-

Athoptlorys

If you’re seeing this character’s name and you have no idea how to pronounce it, here’s a little something to help you out: “uh-THOPT-low-riss”. Now that you know how to say the man’s name, it’s time to tell you a little about him. Usually when somebody has such a mystical singular name, it always means trouble. That trouble comes in the form of a dark lord who wants to turn the entire world into one nation under his rule.

If he should ever come into power, he could make your life a living hell. Getting your documents checked and your blood alcohol level tested are the least of your problems under an Athoptlorys dictatorship. Getting shoved into death camps and harvested for energy? That sounds like something from The Matrix, but when it comes to sadistic villainy and blood-stained worlds, nobody has a monopoly on that.

In order to create such a dystopian nation, you have to consider what kind of world Athoptlorys is trying to rule. Judging from the main villain’s devilish name, it sounds like he’s trying to control a dark fantasy world. But why stop there? Why not dominate the sci-fi genre as well? The earth is divided not by nations, but by time periods. There are separate nations for the dark ages, the prehistoric era, the steam punk revolution, and there’s even one nation dedicated to the space opera genre despite not being in space. This world is a lot like Chrono Trigger, but it’s all jam packed into one world we all must share.

How exactly do you do that? How do you share a world with dinosaurs, barbarians, alien warriors, Egyptian mummies, Chinese dictators, and Japanese warlords when all of these people and more want to kill the main character? And how do you cram all of these time zones and cultures into one prose? It would either have to be a series of novels or one novel the size of Webster’s Dictionary. If Athoptlorys is to create one nation under his thumb, he’s got a shit ton of work to do. He’d better be really powerful or at least have a lot of powerful minions. You think a T-Rex is going to surrender peacefully to someone who wants to use his carcass for food and energy? Bullshit, man!

If this nameless novel actually came to fruition, one of two things would have to happen. Either Athoptlorys would become the almighty god of this earth or the various cultures across time would consume each other in a scorched world apocalypse. If you thought our current world nations don’t get along with their Muslim vs. Christian gimmick, try pitting an army of crusaders against a multi-story tall blob monster whom they perceive to be the devil in another form. These time periods include early stages of racial, religious, and sexual prejudice. A black lesbian nun might fare well in one part of the world, but not in another.

That also begs the question of who would be the biggest threat to the main hero: Athoptlorys or this hodgepodge of time zones? Yes, dark lords are always sadistic and powerful, but this is a thunder dome of hatred we’re talking about here. If an ordinary person can survive both the forces of Athoptlorys’ government and the forces of prejudice, then he’s not only a hero in my book, he’s a god. He could start his own religion and lead the people of earth to a peaceful future where cultures get along and nobody has to worry about whether they’re going to survive another day in hell. The main hero would definitely have a push to the top of the literary charts, but when approaching this novel, it’s important not to shoot myself in the foot and make things TOO impossible.

　

***LYRICS OF THE DAY***

“When did we become these sinking stones? When did we build this broken home? Holding each other like ransom notes. Dropping our hearts to grip our brother’s throat.”

-Nothing More singing “This Is the Time (Ballast)”-