VampireS Sumo

The Short Tale/Book: Four
[The unfinished story—Last Tale of the Tiamat
Now completed after four years]

The Tiamat and the King

The Conclusion of the Tiamat Tales

It has been said: revenge is never the winner,
simply because it kills both the giver and the
receiver, but try and tell that to the Tiamat… Sinned, Resident of Yort

Please join me for another unsung tale, unsung in the wilds of far off times—in a world that searched for what it meant to be human; ruled by the inhuman: in the Last Tale of the Tiamat [approximately 6800 BC].

The Tiamat

1
The Commander of Yort

The Commander of Yort, Commander Snemelc (Sinned’s old friend from the Amazon War), who also had lost his son to the demigods of the wet-lands (England, Germany and parts of France—or Gaul; in years past) is still not a believer in any temple religions, to include Sinned’s god. But he has hired Sinned to teach at the academy of military warfare, for a while that at least, until the King orders him to become a prisoner in his own home; which I predict is not far off. Sinned is at present an old man.

Marduk and Satan returned from Pergamun, Avalon, Hydra, Stonehenge, and Egypt, where they were setting up, and building temples for themselves, mostly for Satan, the Adversary as he is also known (that is, having them built by the hands of slaves)—it is really Satan’s quest at this point—more so than Marduk’s to become the prominent figure on the world scene (although Marduk would like to remain the second main power on earth, he is unsure if he is really a prospect) even though he is wiggling in a few converts, he has more or less become a follower to Lucifer’s cause than a leader to his own, or so it seems, as once he was. Yet it would be unwise to say Marduk is not trying his best to build an empire of temple sites (while at the same time trying not to upset Satan), and in the process demolishing all the other demonic-beasts to include their temples, hence, eliminating the competition in the god-head area in the known world and especially at the great city of Yort, their home city, city of the world (in Asia Minor); –furthermore, becoming the one and only to be worshiped on earth besides Lucifer.

Satan tells Marduk that at this point: he has under estimated his enemy [Sinned, a man of God]: that he is acting out of emotion, not thinking—Sinned being that enemy, who has favor with God, who is also the enemy to the world of demigods, and renegade angels. Thus, Satan, adds to, telling Marduk, “I know Him well [Sinned’s God], and if he is for Sinned who can really be against him?” waiting for Marduk’s response. Marduk shows fear not only for the Sinned’s God but now for the first time—outright fears Lucifer the alliance seems to be quivering. Yet the fearfulness of Sinned is in a more docile way, yet it carries its apprehensiveness nonetheless. For the most part, the dread seems to steam from the ability that Sinned can put him in the pit, almost at will; but than, so can Satan, and Satan knows this is a fear of his; consequently, Satan is trying to duplicate that fear

[The Tiamat’s Revenge] The Tiamat has waited for a long time at her end to get her revenge on Marduk, Marduk in particularly that is for it is he that she wants to settle some old scores with. She knows he has befriended the angelic renegade, called Lucifer [now Satan], but all the same, she will try to avenge the misdeed he has done to her (by killing her in battle and being cast down into the Underworld), and perhaps, just maybe, get a little help from Lucifer on the way, providing she can offer him a pleasing recipe for his quest, that is, for his pursuit to be accomplished without reservation. She knows Satan by reputation of deed, which of course is malice, her lifestyle. He is a being liken to her, a personality for revenge, if it can be had at a subtle price; for domination if it can be had without a curse, and worship, as long as it can be granted without any interference: all these are the traits that make up a good demigod, if not learned by the Angelic Renegades themselves—like Satan, and genetically imprinted in each demigod, for surely Satan himself is the prince of malice and cleverness, so much so, he could be her ally and teach her more than the old ones.

At this point, she (she: being the Tiamat (although the Tiamat is a s/he—a demonic hermaphrodite if you will) has given up her underworld crown and dictatorship to gain a spirit form of life in the upperworld. Hence, realizing she cannot have a physical body any longer this was her only way to gain entrance into the earths gravity belt (for she had her one and only chance to be likened to humans in the physical form and lost it by way of a fight with Marduk some years back) and now having lost it, revenge remains—un-quenched to this day. But by way of accepting her new form, and a ghostly form at that, and being the unquestionable Underworld’s absolute ruler, has now left her kingdom to roam the invisible earthly globe, hungry as a roaring vampire she is, with plans and ideas to stretch out her influence and quest over Marduk during this new journey of hers.

Although the demonic-beings can see her, the earthlings cannot. But it wasn’t the earthlings for the most part anyway that dominated her mind—her will. Yet, her agonizing bitterness, which twisted in her stomach, was craving for retribution from the one who inflicted pain upon her, caused her physical death. As for the humans, should they get into her way they would of course, face her might, her anger.

On another note, Sinned was never any help to her in the physical world, should he get in her way that could be very interesting, she pondered. On one hand, she liked him for some odd reason, on the other; she could eat him just as easily as she vomited up her father, now many years in the pas. But that was simply a fleeting thought racing through her head as she is now getting ready for her new expedition, mission of sorts. On the other hand, if she can avoid the old man Sinned, whom is (to her idea) too old to fart even, all the better: in thought, she told herself, ‘…why stir up trouble with him, especially before I gets my revenge on Marduk, it makes no sense, there is a time and place for that, should it come to that.’

And now, now that she was entering a new life, a new adventure, who would worship her, this was part of every demonic beings nature, yes oh yes, the need—indeed, the need to be worshiped, the fancy to be worshiped.

It was like mans nature to hide his real thoughts, to use language to simple talk, which was not the essence of the person, the part that he hid, that is what she had learned anyhow, what Satan worked with, what all demons knew of man. It didn’t matter what language you spoke, it was human nature, that was the language you had to understand; this, she felt, would take some thought, she really needed to re-invent herself, and work on getting a following, a few to follow her, worship her, that would just be a plus, Satan she knew was sewing up most of the worship areas in his favor, and Marduk, oh well, she thought, he will not need to be worshiped also but not with her plans in store for him would he have it for long. Plus, she had to simply get used to this new spirit form of life without touch, physical touch that is, and a lot of other non-sensory items built into her new body of sorts, or whitish configuration she had to float around in.

“Yes,” she moaned, “I have no smell, touch, no feeling of cold, wet or heat, all the things Marduk is subject to [has], who took them away from me.” Surely, life would not be the same should she take them from him she thought, but again, she told herself: ‘…first things first.’ She also knew more sooner than later, Sinned would get news of her transformation—and presence, she knew he’d adjust well, he always did in the past, and it would just be a matter of time for him to get involved somehow, someway with her life again. So in a way, time was of the essence consequently the Tiamat’s way of thinking was, ‘People think time will heal past outcomes,’ and it may, but it also gives the enemy time to plan better. And this she had done. The question that begged an answer, or would beg one was: should Sinned appear on the scene, what then? she concluded: ‘What can I do in a physical world, where I’m like a ghost?’ (Only time would tell.)

Upper-world

(As the Tiamat had now joined the upperworld, several weeks had passed. She has now visited several locations on earth, gathering information here and there for her announcement that she was back.)

—Sinned, had heard the Tiamat had capabilities to materialize, and he was told he was given the gift of trans-vision at the same time, that is, he could see into both worlds should the Tiamat appear. Matter-of-fact, the day she was granted this new ‘self’, she had to make a deal, and part of it was Sinned would be granted this transparent vision to be able to see into both worlds within the first appearance of her on earth, meaning, if she materialized just once, just one time, in any location, he would at that point be given this trait. Moreover, during these several weeks she—the first weeks of her new voyage into earths atmosphere—she kept a low profile of her activities, and did not materialize for that very reason.

In addition, the Tiamat didn’t know for sure, one way or the other, if he [he: being Sinned] still held the capability of casting her into the pit, the Abyss (which was of course different then the underworld, more gruesome, and confining). The Abyss, or the pit, was where no beast or devil or demon, creature, and sure no human, wanted to go where bones rot just because of the heat and smell. Where you continuously fall, fall and fall: –hanging onto roots, and ugly insects looking at you, grabbing at you, scaring you on and on and on—; where horror was the nature of things—and crimson round one-hundred-legged quarter size insects bite you night and day, with sad eyes that seemed to stick inside of their heads haunted you night and day; ah, I forgot, there is no day there, so it is just gloomy dark like night. And so life would be interesting for the Tiamat, as well as the world that awaited her. Yet, her secret appearance, or her debut, would be kept secret, secret that is until s/he had to appear (for she was of both sexes, as I have already mentioned or sexless), as long as she didn’t expose herself to the physical world she could produce her plan better.

At this juncture, Sinned had told Serr’el (his holy angelic friend) he had no intentions of exposing her, as long as the demons kept their fighting among themselves. That is to say, exposing her to the world at large, thus, causing more fear to his city of Yort, which had enough fear within their bones and walls; Sinned had always felt it a privilege to do service for his city, yet it was a thankless task during his older years, or at least it had become that now.

2
Meeting with the Ram god

The Tiamat has now left the Underworld, and made her way to Yort, where she has met with the Ram-god, who Marduk has threaten to kill. As she materializes, she tells him about her new spirit-form, and what she has done to acquire this new freedom. At first the Ram-god is a little taken back by this, not knowing her abilities, if any at all; inasmuch as, she once was the Queen of the Seas and feared in all the lands of the world—that is, until Marduk came into the picture—and of course the Underworld that eventually became under her control, her legend proceeded her all the way to the Netherworld, she was not one to be trusted, nor overlooked either.

At this occasion, the Ram-god now explains about Lucifer’s new agenda, that is, on becoming the number one challenger to Marduk, yet they have not fought, or tried to eliminate one another; not a surprising step, the Ram-god feels, for each is using one another for the moment, yet the Ram-god indicates to the Tiamat, he feels this is because he is somewhat submissive to him [to Lucifer], and in need of his allegiance for the moment, which indeed he is.

The Ram-god also explains he is aware his days maybe numbered; in as much as, he knows he could very will be on his way to the underworld at any moment for the most part, when he is no more useful to Lucifer that is; meaning in essence, any day, any day depending on the mood of either Marduk, or again I say Satan.

Narrowly the Tiamat looks deep into the Ram’s eyes, knowing he is in need of a ally, and he could be, and she could meet that very need for him, fill that very want of his, so she says to the Ram-god (in a calm tender voice ((unlike hers: and as it has been written somewhere in history: beware of a women who speaks beautifully, she’s maneuvering waywardness.)): ”…they may have plans for you already my friend, it is best we, you and I united, if not outright, silently and clearly.”

As well it must be, thought the Ram-god, and with more thinking: ‘…the Tiamat wants to make a deal with me (he concludes hesitantly in his mind’s eye), assuring me of something.’ He then asks: “What is it you want from me?”

Said she (with that infamous grin of hers, a jeer if you will): “…he will take you out [meaning: Marduk], and when he does you will have to go to the underworld; so it is a matter of time, but I have friends there in the Netherworld, I will instruct the Underworld to make you [the Ram-god] second in command, which is of course, second to my daughter. And when Marduk shows up, he will be the scorn of the Underworld, and under you.”

The Ram-god’s head now has shifted emotionally to the ground, staring, thinking—deep emotions going to and fro, throughout his huge cantankerous body which is wanting to argue, but no words coming out from his mind or out of his mouth; he ascends his eyes, his brow to her level, “And what…” he implies with a harsh voice.

Says the Tiamat to the Ram: “Hmmh…its better you give me help, and possibly give up your physical life on earth if need be, if called for, and be assured of a ruler-ship in the Underworld—better than, better than, not having a pack with me, and a future rule-ship elsewhere if not here: Lucifer is taking everything slowly anyhow. And by the way, it is also just a matter of time, not an ‘if’, but a ‘when,’ that Marduk or Satan will get rid of you, it will happen, that is, when the duel-twins [Marduk and Satan], come to you one night and kill you for your temple, as they have killed many before. And you will end up being a dog in the Underworld like the rest of the humans, demigods and creatures you have no idea ever existed. There are only three, only three in the Underworld with power of any kind, or maybe four, but Satan does not come down there (as many people think) but once in a great while, he can’t stand it, it smells too bad. And the three I mention are, me, my daughter Gwyllion, and the Mantic ore, and so it can be you and my daughter and the Mantic ore.”

After hearing all this the Ram-god makes the exchange, the demonic pack, a curse unto one another should it be broken, a curse that will follow either one; now it is implemented, and both are allies.

Dennis Siluk’s new book: “Spell of the Andes,” which is his 30th book out thus far, can be seen on most of your internet book stores, such as bn.com bn.com or abe.com abe.com

Ecuador casinos are found mostly in nice hotels and unlike the casinos in North America are not open 24 hours a day. The casinos are typically found in hotels that cater to the business traveler and are therefore close to major airports. Some of the casinos feature bars; however, the ones that don’t generally feature bars and restaurants within the hotel.

There are four Ecuador casinos in the capital city of Quito which is located in the province of Pichincha. The largest is the Best Western Plaza Hotel Casino with 176 slot machines and 25 table games. This Las Vegas style casino offers blackjack, big six, poker, craps, baccarat, Spanish 21, and roulette. The casino also features a hippodrome room and two bars. The hotel has 100 rooms and suites and two restaurants.

Also found in Quito is the Hilton Hotel and Casino Colon Quito. Table games include baccarat, poker, roulette, and blackjack, and the casino features 91 slot machines. The casino and the hotel, with 399 rooms and suites, is located in the financial district. Quito has smaller, lesser-known casinos in addition to the larger ones.

Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador and is located in the province of Guayas. Guayaquil features four Ecuador casinos. The Hilton Hotel and Casino Colon Guayaquil features 107 slot machines and nine table games. Blackjack is the most popular table game, but the casino also offers mini-baccarat, Caribbean stud poker, and roulette. The hotel and casino are close to the Guayas River and 5 minutes from Simon Bolivar airport.

Another Guayaquil casino is the Unipark Hotel and Unicasino, which features 113 slot machines and seven table games, comprised of blackjack, baccarat, and roulette. The hotel features six restaurants and 139 rooms and suites.

Oro Verde Hotel and Casino Guayaquil boasts 85 slot machines and 10 table games. Table games include Caribbean stud poker, roulette, blackjack, and baccarat. The hotel features 152 rooms and 60 suites. Multi-cultural cuisine is offered at the hotel’s six restaurants and bars.

You’ll also find Ecuador casinos in the provinces of Machala, Manta, and Salinas, although they are scarce in these areas.

This article is the property of ecuador-casinos.com/ Ecuador Casinos

As a somewhat older gentleman (but still fairly good looking and somewhat romantic?) I have always enjoyed good relationships with the younger folk – Oh! The times I have been called upon over recent years to inspect and give an opinion on some poor new prospective boyfriend.

Of course, it is somewhat flattering to be consulted for such advice by pretty young females. However, my opinions and comment are based more upon my experienced knowledge of the devious thinking of younger males (I once was one) rather than any psychic ability.

I have always held a very open mind to most matters and my sideline interest in psychic and astrology subjects has been generated more as result of relationships with members of the fairer sex who dally in such areas.

More recently, with time on my hands due to health reasons I tended to read more on the subject and, in particular, that of the compatibility of people under their different zodiac signs. So, out of simple curiosity I conducted a simple experiment.

I prepared two lists on which I set down the names of numerous males and females that I had known over the years - friends, lover’s, business etc.

I then noted alongside each name my relationship with that person as Excellent-Excellent Romantic-Good or Average.
After this, I noted down where possible, each person’s birth date and Zodiac sign. I made many phone calls and researched many old dairies to complete this particular information.

An analysis of the lists threw up that, throughout my life, my most excellent relationships had been with Arian’s, Leo′s, Aquarian’s, Geminis, Taurean’s and Sagittarian’s. Of these, my most Romantic ‘Excellent relationships′ had centred upon Leo′s, Gemini’s & Arian’s plus, one very special sensual Scorpio.

Zodiac research indicated that the female Sagittarian offered the best compatibility choice for my sign of Aries there were no Sagittarian female romances on my list of females.

There was however, one female at the beginning of my list. She dated way back to my lecherous youth and due to the haze of time I could not recall or remember her birthday.

As I sat one evening and reminisced back some 40 years to that time, I had to conclude, with a somewhat lecherous smile on my face, that this lady had to be the best and most exciting romantic relationship in my life to date. This was a young male older women relationship and a bit of a social no-no at that time. Might turn it into an Ebook one day entitled – ‘Lady Sagittarian’s Lover’ or something similar.

My curiosity gained the better of me and I set to work to trace her and in time managed to locate her surviving son. From him I gained her birthday to discover she had indeed been a Sagittarian.

Can the stars be right? I don’t really know. I can say however that in my case, without doubt, that lovely Sagittarian lady of so long ago was indeed the most exciting romantic activity of my life to date.

Who knows, there may yet still be another fantastic Sagittarian girl out there for this optimistic older Arian? Although one of a little lesser vitality than that exciting Sagittarian princess of so long ago.

Ted Burgess turned to the computer at age 63 as a possible mental rehabilitation tool after heart attacks and strokes. His interests cover many subjects as reflected in his web site. One mental rehabilitation exercise was constructing the free Ebook– Zodiac Lovers Guide at assetsoflife.com assetsoflife.com

In November of 2001, I found myself standing in front of at least fifty Alfred State College students who were attending my comedy show. After the President of the college, Bill Rezak, decided not to participate in the imaginary goat auction, I had to fill time before the band was ready to perform. I started on this riff about college life at Alfred. Which, to be honest, is like making fun of someone with irritable bowl syndrome if you like to make fart jokes.

During this impromptu stand-up routine, I was thinking that college comedians must have it made. I’ve promoted a lot of events at college campuses and other entertainment venues, and comedians, especially at college campuses, always draw a solid crowd. I think it is because we as students need the relief after all the bullshit we have to put up with. And since the entertainment industry doesn’t seem to get why we’re tuning the traditional media out, our entertainment options are usually limited to the bar, the local movie theater, and comedians.

So here we have comedians with a built in audience and plenty of college related material to work with. What could go wrong? Apparently everything. Since everything is way too broad a subject to take on, I have three theories about why most of the comedians on the college circuit blow.

1) The students who book comedians consistently flunk personality tests. Maybe campuses get bad comedians because selfish people do their booking. Some organizations that use your campus activity money often have no oversight and book what they want, not what you want.

This theory gets some momentum when you consider some of these dopey bastards usually spend your campus activity money on an annual visit to NACA (the National Association Of College Activities.) NACA, as a grizzled veteran of student booking once told me, used to be a place where “evil promoters” offered students cocaine in hotel rooms in exchange for booking the act they represented.

I can’t tell you if that was true or not, but I know conventions where you have to go and put something together are often cluster fucks that end in poor results. Most of the students I’ve met who attend these conventions skim through the acts and just pick what they wanted to see, not what the students wanted to see.

While I think a lot of student activity planners are incompetent and often require a baby sitter, this theory really doesn’t explain why the comedians themselves suck, just why you see them at your college and not on Comedy Central, where bad comedians go to die.

2) A college official tells the comedian they can’t say certain jokes because it might offend the audience. I’ve seen this happen twice with Tiny Glover at two different colleges. The first time I saw him at Alfred State College in 2003, the adviser of the Alfred Planning Board told him that he couldn’t make any comments that might be offensive to gay students. Then during his act, as he started to make the joke about getting into bed with his male roommate, he stopped and said something to the effect that he couldn’t go on because he was told not to. The same thing happened with him at SUNY Potsdam.

Now, two things are possible. First, that these two colleges’ officials were members of the PC Nazi Brigade, and they wanted to censor everything before students were exposed to it. (And yes, in both Alfred and Potsdam’s case, they are card carrying members of the brigade.)

Or it could be that this part of Tiny’s act is part of his routine to win favor with the audience. What supports this theory is that colleges today are run by conservatives and liberals who want to serve as the parents to students in the real parent’s absence, so when they are involved with student booking they are too involved and control everything, including the content you’re exposed to.

This theory is slightly better than the first one, as we’re getting closer to why the college comedian’s material might be ruined because of the college’s influence. But there are many colleges out there that let comedians say what they want, in which case…

3) There are no excuses: most college comedians suck. We’ve all seen a bad comedian before, but sometimes college students are exposed to people who should quit and become professional perverts. At least this way when they molest their audience there is some kind of penalty for it.

I’m honestly sick of hearing about how long it took to get to my school, why the school’s weather sucks, and worst of all, the bullshit public service announcements every comedian makes about how awesome life is and how you shouldn’t wrap kittens in dynamite.

I have yet to encounter a comedian that has made a comment relative to my school that would be funny during their routine. Usually we just get the standard, “Hyuck, hyuck, man, that school food sucks, what do they serve in your dining hall… crap?” This line is often followed by the comedian leaving college material behind and moving on to their boring life. Did I miss memo that said everyone had to be like Jerry Seinfeld? You’re a loser… and?

I realize a lot of the comedians are starting out on the college circuit or they are just doing the gig to collect a paycheck in between “projects”, but we need a damn good laugh these days, and some of the garbage we’re getting makes me want play with GI Joe toys and give them mental disorders that make it impossible for them to interact with each other.

It could be that all or none of these theories are correct, or the answer is somewhere in between, but when you have so much material to work with for every college campus out there (Potsdam has mutant farm animals roaming around in a cage on Route 11 for example) there is no reason to use the same tired routine and go through the motions to “entertain” us. Unless some of these comedians simply suck, in which case they shouldn’t quit their day job.

Brandon J. Mendelson
Host of “The Brandon Show” television show, author of “The Brandon Show” syndicated column.
thebrandonshow.com thebrandonshow.com

Two weeks ago, I went to Italy to visit family and see the country. I was a military brat, so I’ve been there plenty of times before, but nevertheless, it was a magnificent and learning experience, both artistically and as a guerrilla marketer. So for the next few weeks, I’m gonna take you on a brief tour of Italy, and show you what I learned from my trips. I’ll take you from Venice to Florence, Pisa and Rome, plus few places thrown in. The travel industry is an outstanding resource for learning about marketing, so let’s get started.

Italy Lesson: Venice

Of all the cities in Italy, Venice is my favorite. There’s some sort of deep connection between me and Venice. Perhaps it is the old, rustic look to the city? Perhaps it is the enchanting waterways? The exquisite food? Or the beautiful and friendly people? Or maybe it’s just a town that truly has a sense of itself. IT is one of Italy’s greatest former city-states, and it currently is one of the most-visited vacation spots in the world. Yes, to many it is just a tourist town that sometimes smells bad in the summer, but the people there know marketing. They know how to get tourists into their shop, or drop a tip.

Let’s take, for example, Rondo’ Veneziano. This band has gained a small degree of fame in Italy, particulary in Venice. I suspect part of the notoriety is due to their name which alludes to Venice, and also their musical style. They play Classical music to upbeat electronic drums. After years of listening to copies of their tape, I was surprised to find that there was a five-piece band behind the music. Five women playing their violins with such incredible timing and skill you’d think there was a DJ.

Well, I was thrilled to find they would be playing Venice that night we arrived. And I found out in a fairly unusual manner. Among the hordes of street merchants, a man dressed in Victorian garb approached us and spoke in Italian, then English to tell us about this band. He was selling tickets…in the streets. Sure you find Hawkers doing this all the time, here, but it struck me as interesting… Even more so when we came across the second and third groups of Hawkers. It was a coordinated effort.

You see, what this lesson is about is getting people to your shows. It takes work, but think about it for a minute. What if they next time you had a gig, you went down there a week in advance, handed out flyers, sold tickets, gave out discount coupons that many clubs are so fond of? What if you had a mailing list with you telling them you could send them more info? Could you bring in twenty, thirty, fifty extra people to see you play, even though they’ve never heard of you before? Maybe. What if you add a theme to it? Dress to impress your selected audience. Or a theme that would inspire people of all ages. Think you could bring out a helluva lot of load of people out to see you. Do you think the club owner would consider booking you again? On a better night? Opening for one of the top local acts or maybe even a national act?

I’ll tell you what. If you show that you’re willing to put in that much effort, then hell yes! They′ll book you. If you can pack a place, particularly on a bad night, then you are an asset to the club that they don’t want to lose. They′ll book you and treat you right. Plus, you will entertain countless people and gain some new fans, sell some CDs, and get people talking about you.

It just takes a little effort to learn from the Venice Lesson and that of Rondo’ Veneziano. Organize your friends and bandmates, ask them, convince them, even bribe them if you have to (just weigh the costs), to help you hand out tickets and get some notice. Your musical career will proceed only as fast you are willing to work.

Bard Marc Gunn of the Brobdingnagian Bards has helped 1000’s of musicians make money with their musical groups through the Bards Crier Music Marketing and Promotion Ezine and the Texas Musicians’ Texas Music Biz Tips. Now you can get personal advice by visiting bardscrier.com bardscrier.com for FREE “how-to” music marketing assistance.

No time to visit the site? Subscribe to the BardsCrier.com distributed weekly for Free. Just email mailto:subscribe@bardscrier.com subscribe@bardscrier.com

Corrado Feroci (1892 – 1962) was a graduate of the Academy
of Fine Arts in Florence, the art capital of Italy. He came to
Bangkok in 1923 when King Rama VI requested the Italian
government for a sculptor to train Thai artists and craftsmen
and raise the standards of Thai art to international levels.

The arrival of Corrado Feroci was to start a train of events
that would have a profound impact on the development of Thai
art. He started as a sculptor with the Fine Arts Department
and taught sculpture to art graduates.

Later, he was asked by the Thai government to prepare a
curriculum and the textbooks for the formal training of artists.
With a formal teaching system in place, the Silpakorn School
of Fine Arts was set up in 1937 with Corrado Feroci as the first
director.

In 1943, as part of the government’s policy to emphasize the
importance of art, the school was raised to the status of a
university. The Silpakorn University of Fine Arts was
established with Corrado Feroci as the first Dean.

In recognition of his services, Corrado Feroci was granted Thai
citizenship in 1946 and changed his name to Silapa Bhirasri.
During his career in Thailand, he was responsible for 18
famous monuments in Thailand of which 9 are in Bangkok.

His better-known monuments are:

King Rama I Monument (1932) at the Memorial Bridge to
honor the founder of Bangkok and the Chakri dynasty that has
reigned over Thailand till this day.

Democracy Monument (1939) in Ratchadamnoen Avenue to
commemorate the coup in 24 June 1932 that ended the
absolute monarchy and brought in constitutional government.

Victory Monument (1941) in Phahonyothin Road to honor
Thai servicemen and civilians who died in the Franco-Thai war
from November 1940 – January 1941, over disputed Indo-
Chinese territories that are now part of Cambodia.

King Rama VI Monument (1942) in Lumphini Park, a
monument that is fittingly in memory of the king who was
responsible for inviting Feroci to Thailand.

King Taksin Monument (1954) in Thonburi in honor of the
king who united the kingdom after the fall of Ayutthaya, drove
the Burmese out and established the capital in Thonburi.

Corrado Feroci died in Thailand in 1962 leaving behind an
institution dedicated to the preservation of Thai art. The
Silpakorn University of Fine Arts has produced generations of Thai artists schooled in the best traditions. His famous monuments in Bangkok and Thailand bear further testimony
to his legacy.

The

Weezy F. Baby, otherwise known as Lil Wayne, was born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. in New Orleans, LA, on the 27th of September in 1982. He is also known by the monikers Birdman Junior, Raw Tune, Weezy or simply Dwayne Carter. He has been a resident of New Orleans until August 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf states and caused widespread damage. He has since relocated to Miami, FL. Lil Wayne claims to be “the best rapper alive since the best rapper retired.”

Lil Wayne’s musical career began at the tender age of 11, after meeting Cash Money Records′ owner and CEO Ronald “Slim″ Brian. He cites Pimp Daddy and U.N.L.V (recording artists from Cash Money Records as well) as some of his early influences. After his encounter with Slim, Lil Wayne out of high school to fully pursue his dreams of becoming a rap artist. Another Cash Money executive, Baby Williams, signed him to Cash Money, where he has been ever since. Baby not only served as Lil Wayne’s musical mentor, but also as a father figure.

Weezy grew up with a stepfather who, like many young men from the inner city, owned a handgun which was unregistered. Lil Wayne accidentally shot himself whilst playing with it as a young child, and after waking up in hospital a few days later, pointed the authorities to the gun’s owner. His stepfather was ultimately arrested for owning the unregistered weapon and incarcerated. Unfortunately, after his release from the penitentiary, he was abducted and killed. In memory of his stepfather, Wayne got “In Memory Of Rabbit: It’s Up To Me” tattooed on his arm.

At age 14, in 1997, Lil Wayne formed the Hot Boyz along with fellow members Juvenile, Turk and B.G. They released the hugely successful album entitled “Get It How You Live”. The Hot Boyz instantly became famous in the south and midwest.

When he was 16, Weezy released “The Block Iz Hot” thereby launching his solo career. Four albums have followed ever since; Lights Out, 500 Degreez, That Carter, and That Carter II.

His latest offering was released on the 6th of December 2005 and it has already sold more than a million copies. With his rising popularity came a huge demand for his music in digital format. Nowadays people prefer using mp3 players as opposed to compact discs. They are smaller, easier to carry, and can store over a thousand songs in some cases.

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When an author submits work to a publisher, there are guidelines that must be followed, and they will always be very clear about what those guidelines are. Some of them are industry-wide. Some of them are also without merit and bordering on either absurdity or outright lies.

One demand that publishers seem to spew with regularity is that all manuscripts must be in a certain font; what is called a serif font. Serif fonts have those little tiny flourishes or extras on the letters. The most common one is Times New Roman. The number one argument is it’s easier to read. I never agreed with that conclusion, as I found Sans Serif fonts much easier on my eyes and much faster to read. (This entry was originally in Comic Sans–it is now in whichever font the publisher chooses). I did my own research by giving out a sample page to readers with Times New Roman, and another with Prima Sans BT. Hands down, the readers preferred Prima Sans BT. So when publishers say Times New Roman is easier to read, what they really mean to say is, Times New Roman is the only typeface available in the third world where they send these manuscripts to be typeset and printed. Cheap labor, cheap supplies. Another example of American Outsourcing.

Moving on to word count. In recent years, the criteria for word count has increased. A standard novel was often around 60,000 words. Now publishers almost across the board demand 80,000 to 120,000 words in order for your book to even get a glance. My problem with this one does not stem from laziness or an inability to write that many words; it stems from the concept of being true to a story. Sometimes a story is best told in fewer words. I think a book should only be long enough to tell the story, and to impose a higher word count as a matter of course is a total dismissal of the art of storytelling. Even the most popular fiction writers have had to pad out their stories to meet this word count, and I don′t know about you, but I can tell. Who wants to read a three page description of a freakin′ sunset? Also, it makes sense that it would be cheaper for the publisher if the book was smaller. And aren′t people busier than ever? who has time to read these long ass books? I don′t, and I write books myself and read quite a lot. My best friend, who’s also an author, believes it’s inherently psychological. Readers think they are getting more value for their money if the book is bigger. What they’re getting is unneeded exposition that doesn′t move the story, and often serves to bore the reader. Again, padding. I maintain that a story is as long as it needs to be. If a writer is thus shackled by a word count, aren′t we just screwing around with the literary arts? That’s like telling an artist he didn′t use enough paint to create his picture, and should use a different color, or should perhaps paint on something other than canvas. Who are they to tell the creative artist how to interpret or impart their muse?

I get so disgusted with this whole thing that I swear I′ll self-publish for the rest of my life. Then I can write what I want to write, how I want to write it, tell the story that needs to be told in the space it needs to do so, and I′ll use the typeface that my research tells me is most legible and easy on the eyes, and I′ll buck convention and write sarcastic and funny things within the copyright page because I bloody well want to, and not because some big brother publishing establishment tells me otherwise.

There.
I have vented.
I feel better.
But only a little.

Kelli Jae Baeli is a singer-songwriter, artist and full-time author with 6 books currently in print. More information can be found on her website jaebaeli.com jaebaeli.com

I was so sorry to go online today and learn of the death of Bob Clark and his son in a senseless auto accident in Los Angeles.

Clark, 67, and his son Ariel Hanrath-Clark, 22, were driving in Pacific Palisades when their Infiniti collided head-on with a vehicle that a drunken driver steered into the wrong lane, according to police and the filmmaker’s assistant.

The accident happened at approximately 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, about a half-hour after the bars closed. To add insult to a tragic, senseless act that took two lives, the driver of the out-of-control vehicle was not only under the influence of alcohol but was also driving without a license.

The 24-year-old driver of the vehicle remained hospitalized and will be booked for investigation of gross vehicular manslaughter after being treated.

My heartfelt condolences go out to Bob Clark’s family and friends.

Bob Clark is best known for the holiday classic "A Christmas Story" which happens to be my all-time favorite movie. The film captures the Christmas wish of a 9-year-old boy who wants an official Red Ryder carbine-action model air rifle.

A Christmas story is told from the view of the Ralphie Parker, the boy in the story.

It is a sad day when anyone is killed by a drunken driver, but even more so when someone as creative as Bob Clark is taken from us. I can write no more on this.

Following is my original movie review of A Christmas Story. I publish it as a tribute to Bob Clark, his family, and those who knew him and loved his work.

A Christmas Story &ampndash 4 Stars (Excellent)

A Christmas Story is arguably the best Christmas movie ever.

There is no doubt that the 1984 version of Charles Dickens′ A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge is a worthy contender for the honor. Since I have not seen Fanny & Alexander (1983), I remain a huge fan of A Christmas Story.

Can there be anything greater than Santa coming to your house on Christmas Eve with the perfect gift of your choice? I think not, especially if it is a genuine Red Ryder 200-Shot, Carbine-Action BB Gun for a 9-year-old named Ralphie living in Northern Indiana in the 1940s.

Imagine Ralphie’s dismay when his mother, his teacher at Warren G. Harding Elementary School and ultimately even Santa Claus at Higby’s Department Store tell him &ampquot;you′ll shoot your eye out.&ampquot;

A Christmas Story is about much more than whether Ralphie gets the Red Ryder BB Gun he covets. It is about a Midwest family with two boys, Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) and Randy (Ian Petrella), who encounter the normal struggles of growing up.

Ralphie and his friend Schwartz (R. D. Robb) badger their friend Flick (Scott Schwartz, not to be confused with R. D. Robb who plays the role of Schwartz) into pressing his tongue against a steel post to see if it will stick.

Flick, who realizes that he might be wrong in saying his tongue will not stick, is left with no alternative when Schwartz whips a "triple dog dare" on him. To save face, Flick learns a very hard lesson and this film gets some great footage in the process.

Both the boys and the girls watching this drama unfold are horrified at the result and the boys have no problem abandoning Flick when the school bell rings. Flick is left frozen to the post. When their teacher Mrs. Shields (Tedde Moore) confronts them about who is responsible for Flick’s condition, they clam up, realizing &ampquot;it’s always better not to get caught.&ampquot;

All of the boys also must deal with the terrifying Scut Farcas (Zack Ward) and Grover Dill (Yano Anaya), the schoolyard bullies. They get pummeled on a daily basis and act like cowards until Ralphie sees Santa at Higby’s and gets another dose of "You′ll shoot your eye out, kid."

Ralphie is so agitated with rejection over his Christmas wish that when he is next confronted by the bullies he flies into a fit of genuine rage, charging the much larger Scut knocking him down and pounding him repeatedly in the face. Scut ends up with a bloody face and 100 times the embarrassment of being beat up. This event would forever after be known as the Scut Farcas Affair.

I love A Christmas Story because the exact same thing happened to me growing up in the Midwest. I was small for my age and was constantly picked on by bullies until I learned how to fight back no matter what the odds.

When the Parker family goes out to buy their Christmas tree they encounter a flat tire on the way home. Mrs. Parker (Melinda Dillon) encourages Ralphie to help his father (Darren McGavin) fix the flat.

Ralphie manages to lose the lug nuts during the tire change, and, in fit of fright, utters the dreaded F-word to the shock of his parents. Mrs. Parker demands to know where he learned the word and Ralphie, desperate to come up with an acceptable choice shoots out a name of a friend.

Ralphie, of course, has heard his father cuss time and again, quoting that his father could &quotweave a tapestry of obscenities that is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan.&quot When their furnace in the basement acts up, Ralphie says &quotmy father dabbled in profanities like an artist dabbles in oils.&quot

This cussing incident so resonates with me because I grew up in the same kind of environment. I often believed my stepfather had a 200-word vocabulary and at least 50 of those words were cuss words. I probably heard the F-word 10,000 times before I graduated from high school. I used to tell my friends I could speak 5 foreign languages if I got mad enough.

A Christmas Story is loaded with other real life events, including Ralphie’s day-dream about being blind from having to suck on soap for cussing, his father winning a prize lamp shaped like a woman’s leg that he displays in their living room window for all to see, and the secret decoder Ralphie gets by eating Ovaltine for breakfast.

There is also Aunt Clara′s gift of a pink bunny costume that Ralphie is forced to model on Christmas morning, the neighbor’s dogs getting into the house and eating their Christmas turkey, and the surprise on Christmas morning after all of the gifts are opened.

A Christmas Story is based on Jean Shepherd’s book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. Shepherd does a superb job of narrating this film about his childhood. The film is so well done, so authentic to its 1940s time period, so believable and likeable that it gets my excellent rating without qualification.

Director Bob Clark is uncanny in his ability to orchestrate this timeless story. Peter Billingsley is a 13-year-old actor playing the role of 9-year-old Ralphie and does so with incredible facial expressions. Young Billingsley is in the moment and totally professional.

A Christmas Story, a low budget film that was not expected to do well, was released just before Thanksgiving in 1983. By Christmas the film had been pulled from theaters because it was thought to have been "played out." It was only because of complaints from moviegoers that it was brought back to life.

The film celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2003 with release of a two-disc special edition. There are fans all over the world that treasure A Christmas Story and will not let it die, and I am one of them. I have lived so many parts of A Christmas Story that I feel it could also have been the story of thousands of other young boys growing up in the Midwest.

A Christmas Story is on my personal Top 10 all-time list of favorite movies because it exemplifies family values and the joy of living those few precious moments that define us for the rest of our lives.

A Christmas Story is an amazing film that teaches some of life’s great lessons, including determination, courage, patience, struggle, victory, self-esteem, love, acceptance and belonging. This is truly a classic movie that only those who have lived these experiences will appreciate the most. I am blessed to be one of those people.

Copyright © 2006 Ed Bagley

Ed Bagley is the Author of Ed Bagley’s Blog, which he Publishes Daily with Fresh, Original Articles on Lessons in Life, Jobs and Careers, Movie Reviews, Sports and Recreation, and Internet Marketing intended to Delight, Inform, Educate and Motivate Readers. He also operates an upscale resume writing service for executives and professionals that is part of his Blog. Visit Ed at . . .
edbagleyblog.com edbagleyblog.com
and check out this main article section at . . .
edbagleyblog.com/JobsandCareersArticles.html edbagleyblog.com/JobsandCareersArticles.html

Many sports services grade their bets in various ways. Apparently, they like some of their sports picks better than others. They wager five units on one, two units on another, a single unit on still another. Usually, they assign a ranking to these bets, normally stars, such as 5-star, 3-star, 1-star. Also, many have locks, as in a Lock of the Week, Month, or even the dreaded Lock of the Century.

Of course, these are just marketing gimmicks, and very transparent ones at that. Varying your bet size is not only dangerous, it’s completely pointless as well.
The issue surrounding the grading of bets is confidence. Let’s say you have capped the day’s games and come up with three sports picks you like. The first two you are pretty confident in, the third not as much. Maybe, you think, I’ll bet a unit and a half on the first two and only one on the third.

But why bet the third at all? Sure, it might win, but even your gut is telling you it has a good chance of losing. Why bother with “1-star” bets at all? Just to have action? Never a good idea. When Precision Plays evaluates a sports pick, it must give us a certain level of confidence before we’ll play it (and release it to our customers). Doubt cannot be eliminated; there are no “locks” in sports betting, only on doors. Any bet can lose, but if there is more doubt on one pick than another, we’ll trash it.

Although each sports pick we make must meet a certain level of confidence before we’ll play it, this level is necessarily tied into the payout the bet will produce if a winner. The smaller the payout, the higher our confidence in the pick must be.
For example, if we like the Anaheim Ducks at -150, we’ll need to be 100% confident that the pick will have a 65% chance of winning, not 60% as expressed by the -150 money line. Likewise, if we like the Boston Bruins as 150 dogs, we’ll need to be 100% confident that the bet will have a 45% chance of winning, not 40%*.

In our hockey example, the Ducks are seemingly the stronger bet, the one that should inspire the most confidence. After all, we figured them to have a 65% chance of winning, not the mere 45% chance we gave the Bruins. But the two bets are exactly the same. We have the same level of confidence in the percentages (100% confident). We have the same edge on each bet (5%), and if we made these bets a thousand times, we would win the exact same amount of money on each.

*To learn more about money lines and percentages, please see the Precision Plays article entitled “Money Lines, Fair Odds, & Juice”. It demonstrates mathematically how to calculate the actual house edge on a sports bet and how this relates to the odds of a sports pick winning or losing.

To learn more about how a Precision Plays account can help you succeed at sports betting, please visit PrecisionPlays.com PrecisionPlays.com