DEATH SEER:

      While many people are encroached by the duties of Thanksgiving, I have to dedicate my holiday spare time to writing. Nearly every hour this weekend will be spent reediting various completed pages. I have had a loose scattering of scenes that do not follow chronologically. Some of these scenes are now being utilized as guide posts or reference guides. They will aid me in preserving the accuracy of certain plot points. Also, these detached sequences have ultimately helped shape the writing style of my story.

So, What is Death Seer about?: Why would I divulge any information about the novel? Right now, the novel's contained in a very disorderly outline. Then again, I did force order upon certain elements that are very critical in making certain story points comprehensible.

Who are the characters? An enigmatic, female figure of time; a sadistic,wily assasin; and a cowardly, introspective Death Seer. There are many more involved. But, as of now, these characters will not be made known till the published edition appears.

When will it be finished? I'm aiming for March or April. As of now, no one will be seeing the full text till the supposed published edition. Who knows if that edition will ever appear?

What genre is the story? cyberpunk, dystopian fiction with theological and philosophical elements. Perhaps, that description was a bit too convoluted.

Experimenting with Chaos: Whedonless Buffy Reboot

Before this unfortunate incident, I had grand delusions about a wonderful Thanksgiving without the extra helping of mortal stupidity. Actually, in this case, we might as well phrase this Warner Brother's charitable offering of pure stupidity. They have taken an extra step in the process of human degradation. In the scheme of the many evolutionary processes, they have devolved into mindless neanderthals who have hatched a full proof plan of sheer idiocy. Remember that episode of Buffy where the college frat boys regress to a primate stage due to over-consumption of alcohol? I feel the same by-effects were experienced by the non-geniuses behind this plan formed through profound stupidity.   They've decided to reboot Buffy to the loud jeers of Buffy fans worldwide. So, while the world at large enjoys Thanksgiving with greed. Buffy fans worldwide will be sulking over this very terrible news.

How could any company in the world conceive such madness? When they were contemplating their plans, the denouncements were reverberating throughout the cyber world.   There was not one fan who seemed pleased by any rumblings of news about the plans to reboot the beloved Buffy franchise. Because, the show's mythology had already been intricately crafted by the genius writers involved with the Buffy and Angel series. Warner's Brothers plans to revive and revise the series is asinine,pure and simple. I still can recall that iconic moment at 2009's Philadelphia World where Emma Caulfiled, the actress who played ex-demon Anya, voiced her ire about Warner Brother's plans to reboot the series. In response, the whole audience of Buffy fans erupted with thunderous applause that acknowledged that they hoped too for this reboot to fail miserably.


Except, Will it fail miserably? Or will the world of nerds be hopelessly complacent with the ideas? Sometimes when these things occurs, factions are formed and one of those factions are keen about unthinkably complying with studio executives. In this case, they would be eschewing the undeniable fact that Joss Whedon was the architect behind the brilliant Buffy. The ill fated Buffy offering before that was a film that had no artistry or any moments of intelligence. This film was the terrible Kristy Swanson film which has repeatably been referred to as being a disastrous film. Didn't Joss Whedon, with the aid of other skilled writers, salvage the premise of that film and recreate the series successfully? We unconsciously associate Buffy with the seven seasons of Buffy and the five seasons of Angels. Altogether, they comprise the whole Buffy verse which should never be tampered with. Warner Bros's reboot comes at a time where its too premature to restart the entire series. In essence, they are satirizing and disrespecting the established mythology that exists for this property. Also, they are clearly perturbing fans, Buffy actors, screenwriters, and the creator himself with these ill conceived plans. 



With this, I am officially refusing to support anything associated with this project. As with this summer's bomb, "The Last Air bender," I will forgo seeing the film and committing any action that  indirectly supports it financially. Hopefully, other Buffy fans will smartly realize the importance to show support and respect for their beloved property. When you see the Buffy reboot and support it with cash, you are essentially permitting megalomaniacs at Warner Brothers to prove that drivel in the form of poorly developed remakes is a smart,financial endeavor. In reality, we know that the very existence of this remake sullies the high reputation Buffy carries in the world of entertainment. Due to these reasons, I refuse to see any uninspired incarnations of Buffy that seek to dismantle and destroy the firmly established mythology that a large group of people worked tirelessly to create.  In all honestly, I wish for this film to fail miserably.  Hopefully, it will not prosper like the many Twilight characters that defy story conflict.   




Spike's Reaction to the news:

Anne Rice's Old Curiosity Shop  Discussion Questions:


So far, there has been no discussions brewing. Hopefully this tentative list will help you to research and gain some ideas for these upcoming discussions. Remember Anne Rice's Old Curiosity Shop remains open till November 30th and possibly beyond this date. I fervently wish for some activity here so I am not the only one concocting analytical answers to these many questions. 

Tentative Discussion Topics:

*Comparison between Siddhartha and Lestat

*The Mayfair Matriarchs 

*Role of Religion in the Vampire Chronicles

*Near Death Experiences

*Are Lestat and Nicholas and David and Jonathan similiar?

*The Mystery of Claudia

*In Depth Discussion of the much under-appreciated genius of  "Menmoch the Devil"

*Biblical and Historical Allusions in Anne Rice's literary universe

*The Musicality of Anne Rice's prose

*The Tale of The Body Thief: Vampire Retelling of Faust?

*The Philosophy of the Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witch Chronicles 

*Dickensian Elements of Anne Rice's books

And more?

Anne Rice's Old Curiosity Shop

Come ye, all you desirous bibliophiles. Pass through the threshold of Anne Rice's Old Curiosity Shop where for the next week or so, there will be an unending reign of festivities in this temporary home. Yes, temporarily, Anne Rice's Old Curiosity Shop will be opening its doors on "A Bibliophile's Reverie." And till the end of November when "Of Love and Evil," finally releases, there will be a uninterrupted conversation about all things related to Anne Rice's opulent, richly Gothic world. 

Seriously, enter intrepid readers! Smell the scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. The unseen cloud of cookie scent is wafting throughout the small kitchen, located near the front door of the shop. This small, cozy kitchen resides to the left of the shop's sitting room where a fire is bursting with warming, inviting flames. Around the marble fireplace, there sits three brown leather chairs restively sitting and waiting for someone to sit down upon them.

Neither Lestat nor the other band of vampires could make it for this meeting. So, instead I'll be the master of this party and every day I'll be initiating conversation about all things related to Anne Rice's vast,literary universe. Anne Rice may pay an unpredicted visit to our lively meetings. But she's busy exploring the ruins of Atlantis at the moment or paying visit to Lestat who has not written anything new for ages. Oh well, Toby (from Angel Time) has been more than happy to enliven Anne Rice's Old Curiosity Shop for the time being.

Hopefully, his new journal entry about his angelic visitations will more than suffice till Anne Rice invites some  more venerable immortals to the party.

To those who have never visited Anne Rice's Facebook page, please feel free to explore the intellectual jungles of her page. At nearly every intersection in the winding pathways of her Facebook page, there is stimulating conversation occurring about a range of topics including politics, literature, movies, current events or other pressing issues in the world. While you're there, invite some stragglers there to join this temporary meeting of literary addicts. Though the page is darkly colored and still rather lonely, more people occupying this space with their presence and ideas should keep this place alive. 

Beginning today in this undisturbed space, the topic will center around ideas for topics till the eve of November 30th. I hope to have more than myself entertaining the few people merely browsing the shop. I'll need many people to fill this space and generate some idea behind restoring this shop. Right now, there are cobwebs littering the dark corners of the living room because there are no ideas being created. Therefore, I implore everyone who happens upon this page to leave a comment here about your ideas for keeping "Anne Rice's Old Curiosity Shop," alive for the next week.  Till then, let the discussion begin!!

Death's Demise

                Death overlooked the idyllic wasteland below the banister of his dwellings. Flowers were in bloom, and the scene was unpleasant due to its extreme optimism.  Even the trees were arched straight and were filled with sheets of healthy green leaves. Nothing could be more abhorrent than to see such bliss. Even the denizens of this perversion were whistling merrily while shuffling off to their gratifying jobs. No disconcerting screams of pain could be heard in this land.

The whole scene below him appeared incomplete without Death. It needed that small ounce of misery in order to make the scene complete. Some tree needed to become unwieldy with burden. The petals of the flowers needed to be properly scorched till the color disappeared. And those merry bumpkins, who littered the prairie space with their sinful happiness, needed to be removed from the scene. Death had to make its presence known.

So death stealthily moved about the glorified prairie and quietly stepped upon the cobblestone pathway. The pathway cracked with the impact of Death’s daring steps; while the blanket of grass, bordering the path, turned yellow with Death’s quiet sneers.

As death pranced happily about the cobblestone path, trees collapsed and the mirthful citizens gasped. Without forewarning, the prairie’s citizens became inanimate. Their former life of purpose and meaning was meddled with. Children and adults alike cried endlessly over the meaningless carcasses of their loved ones. The only remaining lives were the happy memories held in the fogged minds of those fearing Death.  

Death cackled while more people befell their deaths. Piteous screams erupted from the people. Death thought they were pathetic to offer prayers to some ruler of an afterlife. This was their final termination. Once they died, the illusion of life would be abolished.

One boy still walked through the wreckage of the death surrounding him. He walked upright with confidence. The locks of his dark blonde hair shimmered in the obscene darkness of the world. His blue eyes discerned the dark, searching for one last piece of happiness.

Death laughed then sniveled. He laughed hard enough to cry at the ridiculousness of this boy’s steady hope. What could this boy potentially find?

Suddenly the boy pointed confidently to Death’s blackened form. “Please I implore you Death, Kill me. I’m much too happy.” The boy announced his plans with a surprising amount of determination.

Death was daunted by this boy’s willingness to die. No life force has ever asked for death.

                “Fine, I shall do as you command. You’re the last form of life in this miserable place.” The boy suddenly became dominated by a feeling of strangulation. He breathed one slow breath and then exhaled his last. Finally, the boy crumpled to the ground. He was dead.

                Death laughed aloud at his success. Then the gathered memories of those he killed became unrepressed. Death died with the unwillingness to accept their worth.

                Life awakened soon and reverted to its former glory. In this remade world, life was the master.

A Poetic Responce to Kamelot's "Poetry for the Poisoned."

Complete Chaos

The Great Pandemonium

A clangorous noise

Echoes through the caverns

Of a depraved mind and

Shakes the foundations

In support of the temple of sanity

Clutching the frame of my skull

Grasping for nonexistent equilibrium

Thinking

If tomorrow came

Would it reestablish peace?

In my tumultuous thread of thoughts

Consulting the zodiac,

I only reconfirm the ever present darkness

That leaks through the dank nerve passages

In an inconsolable mind

Suddenly a panorama of stars brightened

Through the canvass of abysmal darkness

Preserving the coldness in my mind

The Hunter appears, resplendent

Reaffirming the solitude on the outside

So, I plunge deeper into my mind

Escaping the material

And think once more

On the House on the Hill

An illusion that offers false security

While the chaos around me endures

From outside that house, I stand atop

The Morbid Necropolis

Surrounded with fragile glass flowers

Beneath me, infernal forces

Blaze through the city’s structures

Shredding the humanity from the

City’s cultured corpse

Within me, my train of thoughts

Chug effortlessly towards

My small sanctuary of serenity

Then, it Derails and produces

Toxic cynicism

A Seal of Woven Years,

My amassed memories of beauty

Futilely Consoles my smoldering corpse

That still lights with malevolent flames

Sometimes, the beauty begins to disintegrate

Though it works tirelessly to remain intact

An image of my deceased loved one

Recites evocative prose

To my poisoned mind

Afterwords, the desiccated body of my lover

Becomes more pronounced as

They Outreach their bloodied hands

To my blackened hands

And offer me an opportunity to be immortal

“Once upon a time”

I whisper detachedly

Reminding the devilish demon

Of my lover’s true state

Spontaneously, the figure blackens

Along with my own horizon of blackness

With this, I will regain light soon enough

Only until the turbulent storm returns once more

Angelic Crucifixion

The mournful church bells weep

Then slowly the wail ceases

Along with the broken gasps

Of the Fallen boy

Laying against the inanimate body

That belonged to the boy’s lover

The figure’s former smile

Now has vanished with the amorous energy

That once possessed the empty vessel

If the abandoned boy still listened closely,

He could hear his lover’s lyrical voice

Stringing together some semblance of hope

Suddenly the church bells awakened

From their restive place

And pierced the air with irrational alarm

Along with it, the gutturals of impassioned villagers

Echoed the feelings voiced by the bells

The villagers still needed to crucify one more

To preserve the illusion

The demeaned boy felt a soaring fear

Rise over his morose thoughts

He became awash with more fright

For the riled masses

Assembled Below the hilltop

Where he still grieved for his

Lover’s demise

They soon congregated along the hill’s bottom

Their faces were alike,

Cast in a malevolent light

From the fire of their torches

Altogether, the flames

Swung madly atop the torches and were

About to extinguish

Because the crowd had forgotten

The advantages of a candle flame

Preserved with love and care

A preacher roused the crowd’s anger

By feeding their primal energy

With abominable depictions of the gravest sinner,

The preacher spoke detachedly about the emasculated boy’s sadness

While, he bellowed triumphantly for the lover’s murder

In front of him, the blazes of the torches

Seemed to grow in height

Behind the opaque blanket of fire,

The faces of the villagers were brightened

At the prospect of rightfully killing

The sinful fiend,

Crying dispassionately for his incubus’s departure

Alarmed, the boy mewled

Chastening himself for the legions of death

Bursting with flames below

Seizing his lover’s bloodied form

He held the fractured form aloft

Then locked his lips

On the lifeless lips of the corpse

Predictably, the crowd applauded his actions

With projectile torches

Sharply colliding with the boy

Knocking him and the lover

Upon each other while the flames

Passionately entwined them and licked them

During which, the boy screamed painfully

As the flames finally shredded their skins

Finally, the crowd clapped, enthralled

With the spectacle of the torched twosome

Some of them gave a silent prayer of Thanksgiving

For the deaths of two unholy aberrations

While, the preacher himself, discomforted

Averted his sanctified eyes

Though he still gave one feigned cheer

Of joyfulness over this successful witch burning

Several people still hear the revelry  

Sounding from this long forgotten tragedy

Unnumbered among the mess of unrecognized sins

Amidst it, some sensitive ears

Still hear the lover’s hopeful lament,

The lovers’ exultant shouts

Then their distraught cries

And finally, their last, relieved breaths

Signaling their final release

A Sincere, Forlorn Response to Roy Khan's Absence from the Upcoming USA tour.

 

Dear Kamelot/Kamelot management

First of all, before I segue into the critical side of this email. I wanted to offer my condolences to Roy Khan who recently was diagnosed with a serious illness. There's no method of foretelling this event. The illness itself was beyond the realm of his control. Therefore, I completely understand that he is physically unable to perform due to these debilitating conditions. Therefore, the below criticisms are not a result of insensitivity.

Anyways, I happen to be an ardent fan of Kamelot who has been waiting for a Philadelphia concert for a long span of time. Every year, I have patiently waited for announcements of this type to surface. Upon hearing the band's music, I have been enraptured by the rich instrumentals and Roy Khan's deft, emotive voice. For me, Roy Khan's voice is inseparable from the music. His voice bolsters the emotions of the music and allows the listener to completely been entrapped in the  music's ethereal atmosphere. Hardly any other metal band of this kind has maintained this ineffable sound that has always kept my interest without fail.

I've been greatly anticipating the band's September 14th Philadelphia concert for the opportunity to hear this music performed live. I wanted the chance to have feel that same energy produced by the albums in a venue with good acoustics. With superb bands like Kamelot, the ambience of a live performance is unmatched especially when the singer himself always adds more layers to that first layer of complex musicality.

When news of Roy Khan's illness was announced, I felt greatly despaired and naturally betrayed. Though this occurrence was beyond any individual's control. With my fervor for this band, I could have formed this letter into a belligerent note that is filled with obscenities. Knowing the band's difficult situation where large sums of finances were involved, I cannot fault the band with their decision.

Yet, I still feel greatly disappointed by this news. Kamelot has been an integral part of my life when it comes to finding a daily cathartic release. The band's music has been a fundamental element in the development of my current novel "Death Seer." The same thing cannot be applied to other band's because Kamelot happens to be one of my favorite. Hardly any band's themes resonate with me to the same degree that this band's music. Roy Khan's voice has strangely become the voice of one of the story's characters or the expression of my own personal emotions that I could not properly express. His voice soars and pierces the soul.

Formerly, I was thinking of writing this letter to demand the band to postpone the concert or at least offer the opportunity of a refund. Rationality surmounted those earlier feelings and allowed me to attempt to understand the band's decision. Even then, I still will feel a void September 14th because of Roy Khan's absence. I will try to accept the new singer's interpretation of these masterful songs. Though, I will still find these feelings to be uncontrollable because the core of Kamelot's sound has always been Roy Khan's voice. Even with the skillful instrumentals of the band, there will still be this gaping hole in my heart because Roy Khan's absence will permit the music to have a missing element. On that night, I will be unable to not allow myself to feel despaired by this absence. For most dedicated USA Kamelot fans, it will surely feel like an unnatural concert even with the vocalist's best efforts.  Sadly, it's nearly impossible for any vocalist to equal the main vocalist of the band. This happens inevitably because the sound of the music works in tandem with the singer.

With that, I implore the band to consider touring in the USA sometime next year to allow Philadelphia to assuage our feelings of disappointment. As a committed Kamelot fan, I want to have the opportunity to hear Roy Khan's voice reverberate beautifully through the streets of Philadelphia. If this happens to be the only concert in Philly, the city of brotherly love will never be graced with this talent.

Again, I will attend the concert because of my understanding of the circumstances. And I hope for Roy Khan's quick recovery from this illness.

Thanks,
From a Philadelphia Kamelot Zealot,
Justin B.