Goal Post: Going to Keep My Hopes Low for a While

Posted on October 15, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

You know it’s been a week if I’m writing my goal post on Saturday instead of the night before.  It means things were crazy and I ended the week simply passing out at the first chance I got.  So, what went right?

I did finish writing Darwin & the Avenging Elf last Saturday amidst the first round of chaos . . . Well, that’s about it.

One of the issues I had was that my cold got really bad last weekend.  Even gave myself a home covid test, read it wrong, and ended up in the clinic thinking I had covid when I really didn’t.  Helped me get some meds for the really bad cold before it turned into bronchitis or pneumonia.  I kept feeling better, pushing myself a bit, and then ending my day feeling like crap.  Didn’t sleep well because of the congestion, but always woke up at a terrible moment.  Too close to my alarm to really fall back asleep and too far away from it to get moving for the day.  Not fun.

To be fair, I didn’t really rest a lot.  Last Sunday was a day of building shelving units for my son’s room.  Found the ones I needed cheap and put them together.  First unit went smoothly, but the second one had issues.  A dowel broke off right at the edge of the hole, so I had to use a drill and needle nose pliers to get it out.  Not fun when you’re semi-suffering from a cold and wishing you could rest, but the remaining pieces are scattered about your bed and floor.  At least it got done and I was able . . . meet up with my son at a Monday doctor appointment because his cold turned into an asthma issue.  Yeah, last weekend didn’t go smoothly.

Work had some crazy days with PSATs, faculty meeting, and a field trip.  The days really bled together and the custody schedule was thrown off by events too.  I’m having trouble remembering exact events on any day because of all the chaos.  My laptop got stuck updating when I had an important zoom meeting.  Far too may sudden errands and appointments.  I ended every night working on the Atari 2600 Lego Set because my brain needed some type of outlet:

My mood has taken a big hit through all the stress and a few emotional body blows delivered by certain people.  I’ve felt rudderless, pointless, lonely, and all manner of depressing mindsets.  Only time I’ve been okay is at work where I have purpose and when I’m with my son.  Once all of that is over, I’m left lying in my bed and wondering what the point of existing is.  Not really pushing for the writing career and my life is fairly mundane with no chances (financially or time-wise) to do anything exciting.  Every time I get a moment to myself, I’m too tired to do anything more than puzzles, TV, blog posts, or go to bed early.  So, I’m either bored or just so overwhelmed with things I have to do that I can’t add anything fun to the list.

This isn’t going to change this weekend.  I have my son, but we have 3 tests to study for and 2 assignments to finish.  Pumpkin shopping will be respite, but it’s going to be quick and nearby.  We have people coming over today and tomorrow.  Going to try to watch the first ‘Batman’ movie from 1989 and he wants video game time.  Yet, there’s no big outing for the day or even the afternoon.  No fun trip or exciting adventure.  Mostly because we need the whole morning to get schoolwork done.  So, I don’t expect to change my mood this weekend.  It’s another survival period.

I think I mentioned working on a notebook project last weekend.  Never got to it because of my cold and exhaustion.  It’s going to have to be put off until next weekend if I don’t find something else to do.  I’m not going to start on the outline for Darwin & the Demon Game until November.  Need to start preparing and publishing paperback versions of all my books too.  I was saving that project for December, but I think I’ll start doing it little by little now.  I’ve got 27 novels, which all need formatting.  Maybe I’ll get lucky and find the motivation to get them all done by December.

TV-wise I’ve only been watching a Netflix show called ‘Locke & Key’.  I don’t know what to make of it and I’m in Season 3.  It took a little time to get into it and the magic keys were a cool creation.  The characters were interesting until it felt like the magic was being overshadowed by the relationship dramas.  It wasn’t that I lost interest, but I did find myself listening more than watching.  Not sure what I’m going to watch afterwards.  I think I had another live-action show in mind, but I don’t remember.  Probably check another anime off the list.

So, goals of the week?

  1. Work and parenting.
  2. Do more or finish December Blog posts.
  3. Maybe some ‘Phi Beta Files’ preparations.
  4. Watch ‘Batman’ today.
  5. Get over cold.
  6. Get more sleep.
  7. Do a couple paperback set ups if have the energy.
  8. Make a better list goal for the following week because this is a ton of maybes.
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Monster Month: Pontianak

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Pontianak

Coming from Malaysia, the Pontianak is a ghost that is similar to Indonesia’s Kuntilanak.  Both of them kept coming up because they’re supposed to be similar.  Not sure how once I sifted through things.  So, we’ll touch on the second one near the end.

The Pontianak is a type of vampiric ghost that takes the form of a pregnant woman who cannot give birth.  They only appear under a full moon.  They have long, dark hair, red eyes, and wear white gowns smeared in blood.  Some areas call them white ladies who are vengeful spirits.  They lure men to them in order exact their revenge and getting a meal.  A Pontianak will drive their long claws into a victim’s stomach and eat the organs. They locate their prey by sniffing clothes that have been left out to dry.

There are some signs that a Pontianak is nearby.  A potential victim may hear an infant crying or a woman laughing.  If the sounds are quiet then she is nearby, but loud means far away.  Dogs can also be a warning.  Howling means one is around and not too close while whining means it is near.  There is a smell as well.  A potential victim will catch a whiff of plumeria flowers before smelling a rotting corpse.

So, where does a Pontianak come from?  Well, they seem to be vengeful ghosts of women who died during childbirth.  This is why they are pregnant, but cannot give birth.  It could also be that they died along with the child.  Some versions have it that they are carrying the baby who died and this is why they can’t give birth.  There is another aspect where the Pontianak was a pregnant woman killed by men, which is why it wants revenge.

The only other habit of the Pontianak that I could find deals with it being a nocturnal creature.  They hunt only under a full moon.  During the day and other nights, they hide in banana trees.

Here is where you get the sense that this creature had something to do with how women were perceived.  To subdue a Pontianak, you need to drive a long nail fully into a hole at the nape of their neck.  You need people to help subdue the ghost because it is incredibly strong.  The Pontianak transforms into a beautiful and good wife . . . Yeah . . . I’m sure good means obedient here.  Also, it goes right to wife and seems to forget about the pregnancy thing.  If the nail is removed, the ‘good wife’ returns to being a bloodthirsty Pontianak.  There’s some definite social commentary here.

As for the Kuntilanak, I don’t understand how these two are connected.  This specter takes the form of a bird and sucks the blood of virgins and young women.  They can make their targets sick with a symptom being vaginal bleeding.  If a man approaches the Kuntilanak while its in human form, it turns around to reveal it has a hollow back.  They can be subdued by jamming a long nail into the top of their head, which is the only real similarity that I could find.  Why does this one sound like an ancient culture’s attempt to explain a woman’s period?

The Pontianak is found in a lot of Malaysian horror movies.  I thought it was really interesting and then plain strange as I learned more.  Hope everyone else went ‘wuh?’ at least once here.

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Poetry Day: Conspiracy Professional

Posted on October 13, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Let’s be honest. You know who this is and where he’s from.

(I wrote this after getting into a week long discussion with a conspiracy theorist who was all over the place.  By day 4, I was just along for the ride and trying to think of a way to disappear.  I like coming up with mysteries and small conspiracies, but I don’t go that deep.  Mostly because I think those who get into seats of power are too arrogant and situationally stupid to keep everything a secret.)

I hear you talking

Screaming

At an alarming rate

About the truth we miss

That you must show us

And lead us into light

*

Your fervor is amazing

Like the greatest fire

Barely kept controlled

As if keeping these secrets

Would be your death

As you gloriously explode

*

Still I find it tiring

And every slightly wasteful

To sift through all your posts

They are complex

Mazes of facts and falsehoods

That lose me as I read

*

Maybe I prefer

To be among the sheep

Blissful in my simple way

Just trying to survive

Ignorant of power schemes

Designed to hold the darkness

*

There is a reason I hold back

From following your call

I have a nagging question

It has settled in my brain

Drowning any urge I had

To believe all that you say

*

What is your plan

After the curtain falls

And the villains are usurped

The public’s eyes are cleared

Seeing lies within the sun

And shattered trust along the ground

*

There is the other truth

You might not want to say

It has held from ancient times

Topple a ruling liar

And another liar rises

To start the game again

*

I still commend your fervor

To breach the illuminati wall

Yet I will not follow

Without a plan

Based not on blinding hope

To keep us from the hands of anarchy

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Monster Month: Kasa-Obake

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Kasa-Obake

I’ve seen this show up in so many anime that I had to put it on the blog.  Doesn’t matter that there isn’t a lot of info out there.

The kasa-obake/karakasa-obake/kasa-bake/karakasa kozo . . . It has a lot of names, but it’s always an umbrella creature.  Starting to appear during Japan’s Edo period, this is a ghost or yokai, which is a supernatural entity.  Not necessarily a demon from what I can tell, but yokai tend to be used as such in modern fiction.  Anyway, the kasa-obake is some version of what you see above.  They typically have a long tongue, one leg, and are in the form of an umbrella.  Of course, there are some variations:

  • Some have one eye and others have two.
  • Some have two arms.
  • Rarely, they’re depicted with two legs, but the one-leg is the common version.

So, what does a kasa-obake do?  Well, one story talks about them simply sneaking up on people and giving them an oily lick.  They don’t do more than that, so they’re more mischievous than dangerous.  In fact, nobody is really sure how the kasa-obake came about because it’s not connected to folktales.  As I said, it began showing up in small tales and art after the Edo period.  Some even think that they’re basically a creation after the war in an attempt to design newer yokai.  It means there’s a lot of mystery and limited information about its specific origins.

Yet, there is a legend that could explain the logic behind the kasa-obake.  It’s believed that after 100 years, an everyday object can become an apparition.  These are called tsukumogami, which might be the inspiration for this yokai.  It isn’t a possible origin, but there are similarities.  This can also be a lesson on why one should not discard old objects that may still have a use or some sentimental value.

Speaking of similarities, there are other umbrella creatures:

  • One is of a rain-umbrella that appears in valleys during a storm.  Anyone who sees it would be paralyzed on the spot.
  • Another is the yureigasa, which is a one-legged, one-eyed umbrella yokai.  This one blows people into the sky on windy days.

That’s really it.  The kasa-obake shows up in a lot of anime, manga, and video games due to its appearance.  Much of the information I found was from that instead of older lore like I previously stated.  So, there’s still some mystery behind this yokai.  That or there isn’t much beyond someone thought a creepy umbrella didn’t need more of an explanation.

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Guest Post – Lisa Burton Talking About The Midnight Rambler by Craig Boyack #newbook

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

I am very pleased to welcome Lisa Burton-Robot Spokesperson back to Fiction Favorites. Craig Boyack her boss, has a hit series featuring Lizzie and …

Guest Post – Lisa Burton Talking About The Midnight Rambler by Craig Boyack #newbook
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Gwen and John Talk about Different Than You Gender Characters – Part I

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

John W. Howell's avatarStory Empire

Photo by Christopher Burns on Unsplash

Hi SEers. It is John with you today. If you have been following Story Empire, you know Gwen has been discussing the subject of diversity in her previous posts. If you missed any, you can go to the subjects of religion, race, wealth, physical ability, and gender identity and read them. Today Gwen and I will answer two questions about our feelings about writing other than our own gender characters. Next week will be another session with three questions that we each will answer. Before I get into the questions, I think a little information would be good on how we decided to do this.

No, we weren’t sitting in a bar drinking. We were in discussion with our fellow SE collogues, and a consensus was that such a post would be a good thing. Because Gwen had written the…

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Free PDF: Raven’s Game

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

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Part two of the ‘Raven Series’ and I tried to make it more of a serial killer story.  This time with a cop as the main character.  It started the trend of me trying to do a different type of horror for each volume.  First one was creepy paranormal and this was investigating serial killing.  Not sure what you would call that.

Raven’s Game

Detective Gemma Cook is determined to solve the mystery of Heaven’s Nest hotel where many fatal accidents have occurred. For years, she has attempted to pin the incidents on the owner, Dawn Addison.  It has finally reached a point where a forced vacation is in order.  To Gemma’s surprise, she is invited to spend her time off at Dawn’s hotel.  Taking the offer, she steps into a game where the friendly serial killer dares her to prove she is the murderer.  Who will win?

RAVEN’S GAME PDF

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Monster Month: Gogmagog

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Gogmagog

Unlike others I’m showcasing, this monster is a specifically named one.  Similar to Polyphemus from ‘The Odyssey’, Gogmagog is a giant from mythology.  He is found within Welsh and later English mythology.  So, who is he?

Gogmagog was one of the last giants who lived on the island of Albion.  He led the others against Brutus and the Trojans who were invading.  He was the strongest and most ferocious of his tribe, but was still captured.  A Trojan named Corineus wrestled Gogmagog and threw him off a cliff and into the sea.  The place has been named after the giant.  All of this is similar to Hercules defeating Antaeus, who he lifted off the ground to cut him off from his power source.  Of course, Gogmagog was simply lifted by this man and hurled into the ocean.

There are other versions, including one where Gogmagog isn’t one creature.  Instead, he’s two giants named Gog and Magog, which may be connected to the identically named figures in the Old Testament.  (Quickly, these were either Gog the man who came from Magog or two figures that the Messiah would have to defeat.)  Now, the Roman Emperor Diocletian had thirty-three wicked daughters who murdered their husbands and were sent out to sea.  They washed up on the island of Albion where they mated with demons to give birth a race of giants.  Gog and Magog were two of these descendants and are considered the guardians of London.

Oddly enough, Gogmagog does return after getting thrown into the sea.  William the Conqueror stopped at a hill now called Dinas Bran.  Ruins at the top were called Castle Bran.  In this tale, Gogmagog was struck in the foot and fell into the ocean where he died before being possessed by an evil spirit.  He prevented the Britons from settling the area and destroyed Castle Bran when it was built.  So, what happened next?

Payn Peveral, a knight of William, went to spend the night in the castle along with fifteen of his men.  A storm started and only Payn remained standing while everyone else was cowering.  As he prayed and held his cross, the darkness turned into Gogmagog and attacked with a club.  Payn got out of the way and attacked.  The cross symbol on his shield kept Gogmagog at bay while he was attacked.  Eventually, he told his story to the knight and said how he gave his soul over to Beelzebub.  The giant was defeated and his body was thrown into a pit, but his club was kept as evidence.

So, that’s a general overview of Gogmagog.  There was a lot to sift through, so feel free to add anything you may know in the comments.

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Bad Moon Rising. I’m With Teri Polen Today.

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Teri Polen invited me to participate in her Bad Moon Rising feature. For those who may be new to Teri’s blog, her Bad Moon Rising is a feature she …

Bad Moon Rising. I’m With Teri Polen Today.
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WRITING AND THE WEATHER

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

Hi SEers! Denise here to talk about the weather and writing. Do you have a season where you are more productive writing? When fall and winter hit, I …

WRITING AND THE WEATHER
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