Dream Seeker Blog

Damian and Tony: keywords for future remembrance

2010-02-03T08:48:00.000-05:00

Damian and I had a great five hour meeting of the minds on the phone last night -- since it ran so late, I think it qualifies as Dream Journal stuff.

I won't get into details ... I'll just put up some keywords to trigger our memories for future remembrance:

- Venn Diagrams

- Average = Unhealthy; Unhealthy = the lowest levels of hell

- the Watchamacallit test for healthy children

- Roy Rogers

- Arby's

- Why (tm) do inferior products sell better even when the price is equal (McDonald's fried burger vs. Burger King's grilled product)?

- We hate labels

- Experts on CNBC, Wall Street Journal, etc., who say, "The market is up because people are excited about such and such company." How do they know that? Did they ask every person who bought the stock?

- Corporations are made up of people

- Bob Parsons is an Enneagram Type 8

- Halloween candy

- Hamburger Haven

- Wendy's

- Why (tm) are cheaper foods ALWAYS bad for you?

- Proof that competition does not always lower price

- Google and Superman III

I'm sure there's more, but I've got to go.

Menage a Trois Caught by God

2010-02-01T07:50:00.000-05:00

Here are the main characters:

Mary - senior citizen
Jack - senior citizen
Carrie - young woman

I was helping Mary go shopping. We stopped at a small thrift store, where she ran into some ladies who knew her. The ladies mistakenly took me for Jack, her new boyfriend.

Before this, I was about to take an old supervisor to a Wal-Mart by the airport (we were in Queens, and I was referring to an old TSR (no-prize if anyone remembers that store) location -- I have no idea if a Wal-Mart is over there or not). Not sure how the dream transitioned into the small thrift store.

Anyway, Carrie, some girl I dated in a previous life, showed up and started causing trouble. One thing led to another, and Mary, Jack, and Carrie, uh, ended up in a Menage a Trois. Thankfully, I was spared the gory details -- they were in one of those huge beds with a canopy. There were lots of sheets.

This happened in some old castle-looking room. Next, I realized we were in a Catholic building.

Next thing I know, we're in the middle of this huge Catholic church -- maybe it was St. John's the Divine in Manhattan.

The round panel windows flipped and turned blood red. A voice from on high called down and began to condemn Mary, Jack, and Carrie.

Carrie defiantly yelled back, stating basically that she specialized in wrecking people's lives and causing turmoil.

God the Father came down from heaven and took a human form -- an old white man with a short white beard and wavy hair. He wore a fedora and a sports jacket, polo shirt, and black slacks. He was thin. He was talking to someone up above him (Jesus?) about the consequences of coming down and to not hold anything against him.

He went over to talk to Mary and Jack about some deal that only makes sense in dreams. I guess he was trying to get them back on the right track, spiritually.

I don't know what happened to Carrie after she mouthed off at God.

BBC World: what did Salinger leave?

2010-01-29T13:38:00.000-05:00

Here is what I learned and my impressions of BBC World's coverage of the death of J.D. Salinger:

- Salinger became a recluse after the publication of Catcher in the Rye

- he continued writing

- he pursued spirituality, exploring Hinduism, Buddhism, and early forms of Scientology. The expert (didn't catch her name) said Salinger was a "Seeker"

- Deep thought provoking question of the day: the expert speculated about what works J.D. Salinger left behind.

It's an interesting deep thought provoking question. Personally, I hope his wishes are honored, whatever they might be. If he intended to have his works published posthumously, then so be it.

As to what works he left behind -- I suspect, based on what I learned from BBC World, he was essentially blogging since 1951. It will take years to read through it all and make sense of it.

There might be hidden nuggets, great spiritual diatribes, Catcher in the Rye sequels and prequels ... anything is possible.

It is kind of macabre to be wondering what he left behind, and I truly hope that his true wishes are honored. I don't want to see a pieced together collection that is incoherent and not designed for the public.

Since BBC World brought up that deep thought provoking question, I guess it's fair game.

Unless he intended otherwise, I hope J.D. Salinger's privacy is respected.

In Memoriam: J.D. Salinger

2010-01-29T10:10:00.000-05:00

I just saw a headline that said J.D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye, passed away at age 91.

Holden Caufield, the main character of Catcher in the Rye, made quite an impression on me in High School. It's one of the few books we were assigned to read that I related to and read from cover to cover without need of an assignment deadline.

Holden's perspective on other people has never left me. I believe his "everyone's a phony" stance at least partially inspired great deconstructionist works that came afterwards.

Holden's pursuit of honesty and truth is one inspiration for the Dream Seeker and Soul Patrol stories Damian and I have written.

I don't know much about Salinger, other than he left the public spotlight long ago and protected his most famous work from LaME movie deals. I hope his transition to the next life was a smooth one.

If he was indeed curious about the truth of everything, he now knows it.

2010-01-23 Philosophical Discussion Highlights

2010-01-24T20:29:00.000-05:00

Damian and I had a great philosophical discussion about things we've learned the past few years. It was the kind of discussion that would make for great Dream Seeker stories, but since there is EARTH-ZERO interest in the Dream Seeker, I am no longer interested in translating that conversation into a great Dream Seeker story or novel.

I have lost all desire to pursue Dream Seeker stuff in this stale world.

I have commissioned a bumper sticker which expresses my views on this -- I've seen the first draft, and it's a beautiful yet simple message and look. There is a minor tweak that needs to be done, and it will be ready.

Anyway, here are the points ... mainly for Damian and I to record and remember:

- There are no absolutes in life:
-- You can't be against abortion 100% of the time; nor can you support abortion 100% of the time ... it's a case by case thing, dig?

- Fundamentalist Christians who feel superior to Haitians are skewed and wrong ... if they want to donate merely to convert Haitians, they should reconsider their holier than thou elitist attitude and help for the sake of helping? After all, Jesus fed the 5,000 without asking them if they believed in Him

- Liberalism is too amorphous for young kids to understand; they need structure and concrete answers to guide them through their early years; let them discover philosophy and question as they get older

- Programs like the 700 Club offer concrete answers ... unfortunately, it is disheartening when you grow up and realize what kind of idiot Pat Robertson is

- Shooting holes in Pat Robertson's assertion that Haitians signed a pact with the devil
-- Cecil Adams basically said this:
--- Even if the Haitians did sign some crazy pact with the devil, the legend goes that the pact was to last 200 years, so it has expired
--- The evidence that they signed a pact with the devil, the way Pat Robertson described, is nonexistent
--- Their is no real evidence that Haitians all united and signed some pact with the devil

- There are limits to humanity's ability to handle disasters:
-- We don't have terra-forming capabilities to prevent disasters
-- people don't get along efficiently
--- We've known IT pros who all have good intentions and want to get things done ... and they could NEVER agree on how to go about doing things!
--- Sorry, but sometimes you need a clear leader in charge that everyone can hate
--- Having a clear leader (dictator?) can be a focal point for aid workers in Haiti, for example ... they can unite via their hate towards the leader, forget their internal squabbles, and work on getting things done, complying with orders, while doing things their way

Anyway ... there are so many great elements here that would make for great Dream Seeker stories. The Soul Patrol would be fantastic for some of these concepts, since they've been around for 500 years.

Too bad.

2010-01-24 Dream: Catholic, Islamic, Q10, Crossbay Theater

2010-01-24T08:56:00.000-05:00

I had this awesome dream last night ... unfortunately, I can only piece together random details:

- the setting was some kind of Catholic Church grounds, with a University

- There were members of the Islamic faith who were part of the church and lived there

- There was a murder; a father found out his son committed the crime; he knelt to the East as his son ran out of the room

- I was wheeling file boxes from one building to another, followed by midget priest

- Suddenly I was on Rockaway Blvd, catching a bus to Crossbay Theaters ... I caught the wrong Q10 or whatever, and went in the wrong direction. The bus driver insinuated I may or may not be able to catch the right bus to come back. I asked if this bus will circle back around when the route completes; she said yes.

Why are relief efforts slow to react

2010-01-17T08:55:00.000-05:00

Here's a deep thought provoking question my wife asked me yesterday: why are relief efforts slow to react to disasters?

This a deep thought provoking question with many answers that are debated by societies, charities, and governments around the world. Here's my take:

- disasters prove how limited we, as humans living in the early 21st century, are to dealing with the force of nature. We are powerless in the face of volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and other disasters to prevent them from happening, build structures that survive 100% of the time, or save 100% of the people afterwards.

We simply lack the terra-forming technology (tapping into an Arthur C. Clark idea here) to prevent disasters or save people instantly after being buried under rubble.

Disasters like this show us how far we have to go ... disasters are humbling, because we see the images of crumbled buildings with people trapped inside, and our powerless to reach them ... the scale of the disaster in Haiti is too big for humanity to save everyone trapped within 72 hours.

I suppose this is one element of the Dream Seeker -- he knows he can't save everyone from themselves, so he works individual by individual, much like the aid workers in Haiti work to save lives and heal.

Other Icons like the Realtor or Gambler claim they can control the masses ... the truth is, they have to constantly reinvent their strategy in order to continually influence and direct the world to their liking ... and even then they can't predict everything.

They are not as all-powerful as they claim to be.

Anyway -- if you have anything to add to this deep thought provoking question discussion, feel free to leave a comment.

Also, please donate today to Yele Haiti. Wyclef Jean, like the Dream Seeker, is one man trying to make a difference, one person at a time.

Donate $5 today by texting "YELE" to 501501.

Dream Seeker Anthology: freelance fiction writers proving the Realtor right

2010-01-03T10:23:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a month since I announced our Dream Seeker Anthology project, and I've yet to receive a response from writers interested submitting a story. So ... in an effort to get the word out and give more incentives, here is what you get if your story gets published in the Dream Seeker Anthology:

- $250

- links back to your website/twitter/whatever your home is on the web

- Even if no one buys the book (which is likely), we'll post the Anthology on the web, giving everyone on the Internet a chance to read your work

- Did I mention the rare glory of being mentioned and linked here at the DailySkew?

As of right now ... freelance fiction writers looking for work are proving the Realtor right. Who is the Realtor? If you read the stories, you'd know ... I'll give you another villain from the hit movie Avatar: Colonel Miles Quaritch, played to the hilt by actor Stephen Lang (he can play the Realtor in a Dream Seeker movie).

You want Colonel Quaritch to win? Keep submitting to New York Publications, hoping to catch a break. Believe the lie. Ignore us. Find a simple 3-letter website and surf there.

Deep thought provoking questions: trust the DailySkew?

2009-12-24T09:31:00.000-05:00

According to Edelman:

77% of people refused to buy products or services from a company they distrusted....

So, I guess one of the deep thought provoking questions that come to mind is do you, fair reader, trust the DailySkew?

Based on our sales, I would say the answer is a resounding NO. Why (tm) is that?

Let's go over some facts, shall we?
- The DailySkew has been on the web since 2001

- We have never been accused of cheating anyone out of anything

- We have always been up front about what this website is -- a place filled with satire, parodies, humor, commentaries, philosophical ramblings, opinion pieces, editorials, baseball humor and commentaries, short stories, Dream Seeker tales ... and more along the same lines

- We partner with reputable 3rd parties like cafepress.com and lulu.com to make our products available

- We have always worked hard to bring a different perspective to many different topics

- We've actually given you the truth for free

Despite all that we've done, we can't sell a Dream Seeker book to save our financial lives.

Lately, I have put on a full-court press, marketing-wise, to see if we could generate SOMETHING during this season of giving and shopping. So far? Nada. Zip. Earth-Zero.

I've joked with Damian recently that you folks don't deserve the Dream Seeker and the insight his stories offer. I'm beginning to think that joke will become a reality.

I mean, we're offering $250 per Dream Seeker story to freelance writers for the purpose of getting someone other than ourselves interested in this great concept, and there hasn't been one nibble! Here's a deep thought provoking question: why? Here's another deep thought provoking question: do you fellow writers not trust us?

Isn't our track record enough?

Apparently not. I guess we're not kissing enough a$$ in real life to get taken notice, like other websites owners that do the same thing we're doing but happen to reside in the Northeast or California.

Is that what you want, fair reader -- to read the works of good a$$ kissers?

I'm sick of the lie that the Internet is. And I'm sick of spending myself on here, literally, trying to convince you undeserving folks that the Dream Seeker may offer you some insight into your life and perspective on reality.

We will continue writing Dream Seeker because we enjoy writing them and we enjoy rereading the tales ... and we enjoy the hidden truths we embed in the stories ... however, if this keeps up, we will have no choice but to stop publishing new Dream Seeker tales. We'll write them, but you'll never read them.

I mean, if you'd rather buy a book on Amazon from an author who happens to be good at selling (which all published authors have to be -- you've probably never read a contemporary book from a pure writer), then we'll give you the links for that.

If you'd like to read writing for the sake of writing, then visit our bookstore today and buy a Dream Seeker book.

Dream Seeker Novels on sale 10% off

2009-12-17T12:14:00.000-05:00

For all you readers looking for some books on the Amrican Dream, something that will provoke deep thought provoking questions in your mind, look no further than our two Dream Seeker novels, The Velvet Mask and Return of Joshua:

As you can see, the covers depict some freaky illusions that are well worth reading about!

If you order a Dream Seeker novel today, be sure to use the coupon code HUMBUG when at check out in order to get 10% off your purchase! Man, you can't ask for more than that!

When you're talking about books on the American Dream that produce deep thought provoking questions, you're talking about the Dream Seeker. And when you read about the Icons of Reality and the dreams inspired by the Dream Seeker himself, you'll be astounded by the freaky illusions people construct to keep them from facing truth!

The sale ends December 30th, so be sure to take advantage of that coupon code HUMBUG today!

DailySkew Bookstore

Freaky Illusions: Dream Seeker Book photo shoot

2009-12-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I just got off the phone with Walter from Snap Photography -- he's agreed to do a Dream Seeker Book photo shoot over the Christmas holidays. I don't know if he's going to employ any freaky illusions in his picture-taking techniques or editing, but it should be interesting, nonetheless.

Snap Photography is looking to branch out from modeling, and take pictures for businesses looking to promote their product(s) or service(s). If you're looking for how to make a brochure for your business, Snap Photography has the skills you need to make it happen.

Speaking of freaky illusions -- you really should check out our novel Return of Joshua. The cover is, uh, one for the ages, to say the least. If you like the cover, you'll love the words inside. Try it.

Perceptive Reality: Dream Seeker Novels on sale through Dec 24th

2009-12-09T12:02:00.000-05:00

For those of you who believe in perceptive reality, you need to read the Dream Seeker Novels. We currently have two great novels for you:

1. The Velvet Mask introduces readers to the Dream Seeker, The Realtor, and other Icons who battle to influence mankind

2. Return of Joshua thrusts you into a world where the public believes the 2nd coming has occurred. Read how it happened and what the Dream Seeker does about it!

These books will challenge your perceptive reality.

If you buy 3 hardcover books from the DailySkew Bookstore and Lulu, you'll get $6 off your purchase -- just enter coupon code SAVE6 when completing your purchase.

If you feel like buying the Dream Seeker books as a gift, you can buy 4 or 5 hardcover books and use coupon codes SAVE 8 and SAVE 10.

Change the perceptive reality of your friends and family -- get a Dream Seeker book today.

Full Moon Induced Nightmares

2009-12-05T08:57:00.000-05:00

Full moon induced nightmares from this week:

I had a pet cockroach. I loved it. Cared for it. It died. I cried.
***

Tashman Reunited- CEO restarted Tashman Technologies with members from the Tashman Hall of Infamy (yes, there is good and evil, slackers). I was left behind in a giant warehouse where Tashman had relocated. CEO left me "in charge" of counting pennies and rearranging nickles and dimes. When they returned from lunch CEO wanted to tell me something, but Ms. DBA didn't want him to. CEO rearranged the coins, and told me his plan.

Then it started to rain wooden stakes and I heard the doomsday siren. People's skulls were being penetrated from falling wood from the sky. I saw blood and brains. I ran up the warehouse shelves- it was the end of the world. Full panic.
***

My wife's brother died. We were going to his wake in an office building in New York. Her girlfriends were there. We were in a shared office space with a bunch of African-American hoodlums in a cafeteria. A fight broke out between them, and next thing I know every black man has an AK-47 and starts gunning one another, including innocent bystanders. 100% panic and fear- No Way Out (nWo). The black guys were full fledged terrorists now, and holding hostages, but it was totally random. I tried to escape but one of them spread bullets in my legs. (I wanted to be in pain, but I didn't feel it in real life; my dream self collapsed and I was crawling.) I pretended I was dead and non-threatening. Then I made a run for it- I jumped out of the office building after I heard more gunfire. I took a long fall on the concrete- legs first. Blood was everywhere.

"Help." "Help!" I tried to shout. A tall thin black woman dressed in a pale blue government uniform (like a bus driver or rent-a-cop) came over. Based on her reaction, she was one of THEM. THEY had secured the building perimieter. All was lost. I shouted a one-liner like Charlton Heston. Finally the real police came.
***

Finally it looks like the nightmares have eased up. Last night's dream was tamed compared to the many deaths of Damian Hospital:

I was with my wife and her younger sister Vanessa down here in Florida. Vanessa was new here, and wanted to go Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale to go window shopping and/or look at cute boys, even though there are a bunch of places that are closer. I was like, "Riverwalk? That's a ghost town now." But they both insisted, so I didn't have a chance. My heart sunk when I calculated the amount of gas that would be wasted now ($40).

At the mall, I was carrying around a giant cardboard box that I had from my mother's apartment. There was Styrofoam in it. It was such a big box, and I had problems carrying it, yet it was only containing a rolled up poster. YUK! I think I saw a palm metto bug (or giant cockroach) walking around in it. I shifted my weight, and my wife and Vanessa were walking ahead as I saw more big cockroaches crawling around and jumping out of the box. I ditched the box and kept the Styrofoam and poster, hoping that there were no palmettos inside of it. And that's when I finally got help in the name of SGT SLAUGHTER, America's hero. Sgt. Slaughter took his jacket off and the palmettos went away, rolled up the poster real tight- even though it had no rubberband- and handed it to me. "Thanks, Sarge!" I said. I held the poster tight in my hand, and then I saw Verne Gagne on a TV screen. Verge Gagne was in his prime wrestling in a tag team match in the AWA.

I finally made my way through the crowd and wound up in an Internet cafe, where I logged into my Twitter account and added/removed followers.

DREAMSEEKER

Dream Seeker How to Get Work Published

2009-12-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

We are now accepting submissions for a Dream Seeker Anthology. If you've been looking for publishers accepting email submissions, you've come to the right website.

If you're a new writer who has been trying to figure out how to get work published, I can tell you it helps to submit short stories to independent websites like us. If we choose your story to be part of our anthology, your name will be part of our marketing campaign ... you'll gain Internet street cred, which will help in your future endeavors.

For those of you trying to find out how to make money writing fiction, let me tell you that the writer of a short story we select for the Dream Seeker Anthology will get $250.00 bucks. It's as simple as that.

So, check out our submission guidelines today.

Oh, before you start writing, be sure to get a copy of The Velvet Mask and Return of Joshua ... your short story submission should take place somewhere in-between the beginning and end of those two novels.

Books on the American Dream: Dream Seeker Cyber Monday Sale

2009-11-30T07:40:00.000-05:00

Well, the fine folks at Lulu.com are offering 25% off books on the American Dream, like Velvet Mask and Return of Joshua, if you sign up for free today at their website. It's a Cyber Monday Sale! WOOOOOoooooooh!

When it comes to books on the American Dream (and I don't mean Dusty Rhodes), I immediately think of the Dream Seeker series of novels. Dace Senoit is apolitical; he simply works to help others remember that one dream that they've forgotten or put aside. He's like a compass that points us in the right direction when we're lost in the woods or streets of Manhattan.

Anyway, if you're interested in great books on the American Dream, check out Velvet Mask and Return of Joshua today! Here's the Coupon Code:

CYBERBOOKS

Use that code when buying one of our fine Dream Seeker books at the DailySkew Bookstore.

This code is only good today, November 30, 2009. At midnight, the code turns into a proverbial digital pumpkin and gets eaten by the Grinch ... off-screen, of course.

Start Your Own Wireless Dealership For Less Than $300!!!

2009-11-25T08:27:00.002-05:00

This is a sponsored guest post written by Tom Rose on behalf of Big Cell Phone Cash. Post powered by Sponzai.

Become a wireless phone CEO for less than a $300 investment. No overhead, no inventory, no credit check or background checks on new dealers and activate and sell all your inventory directly from the internet! Give away phones to your customers! Your customers don't even need credit to sign up for this non-prepaid program! Bad Credit? No Credit? No Problem!

Go To: http://www.bigcellphonecash.com/551.html

And Learn More!

deep thought provoking questions: who can resist the realtor?

2009-11-25T08:22:00.001-05:00

After hearing about the global warming hoax, one of the deep thought provoking questions that occurred to me was who can resist the Realtor? Another one: can you resist the Realtor?

These deep thought provoking questions need explanation, for those of you who haven't read the Velvet Mask. If you haven't read it, what are you waiting for? Jump in for the literary experience that feels like a comic book or movie!

Anyway, The Realtor I'm referring to is not a real estate agent ... he is the Icon of selling reality to individuals and the public at large. He promotes whatever reality that boosts his business for himself and various investors he works with. He is an eternal force that has always been with us, in some form or another, pushing humanity forward to advance his agenda.

In our modern time, the Realtor would be the one who sold the world on man-made global climate change ... and he'd be the one to reveal it to be a lie when he was done with the concept.

The Realtor will boosts Presidents and Dictators into power, and then tear them down when he sees fit.

The Realtor will convince you that Coke is it, and then turn you into the Pepsi Generation.

The Realtor will sell you on the vicarious thrill of jumping out of a plane and then, years later, convince you how silly you were when you were younger.

The Realtor is akin to the MSM, a used car salesman, an IT guy with a hot new product or service on the web ... he is the one who convinced you that you needed an iPhone because the Blackberry didn't do enough, after convincing you to buy a Blackberry years earlier. He'll sold you a flat screen with laser disc player, and years later convinced you to buy a blue-ray machine to go with that LCD HDTV.

So, getting back to the deep thought provoking questions theme of the day:
- Who can resist the Realtor?
- Can you resist the Realtor? How do you do it?
- Why do so many people get caught up in the Realtor's vision, instead of pursuing their own dreams?

You're probably thinking of some deep thought provoking questions yourself about the Realtor. Feel free to leave any you might have in the comments section.

Holiday Airfare Deals from my Friend in Paradise!

2009-11-24T20:01:00.000-05:00

This is a sponsored guest post written by Ali Kendall on behalf of airfare-now.com. Post powered by Sponzai.

Just wanted to send a quick "shout-out" across the Pacific to my friend Ali in sunny Honolulu, Hawaii!

Ali runs the airfare-now.com website with all kinds of tips, coupons, strategies, etc. for findng holiday airfare deals. Now airfare comparison travel sites have come a long way in the past few years but there are still literally thousands of them to choose from. So here's a big aloha and mahalo to Ali for keeping it simple on a pretty nifty little travel website!

Deep thought provoking questions: Return of Joshua predict the Global Warming Hoax?

2009-11-24T19:58:00.000-05:00

In our ongoing search for deep thought provoking questions, I thought I'd bring up this: does the novel Return of Joshua predict global warming hoax?

In my opinion, as co-author of the novel, I would say yes.

In Return of Joshua, we see society tricked into believing the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ has occurred, via miracles caught live on camera by an unsuspecting MSM MEDIA. We see the public become more and more caught up in the lie, with regular folks spending life savings to fly to Egypt just to get a glimpse of the Savior himself. Disciples are chosen, and institutions are built to promote the message that Joshua has brought.

We see the characters completely caught up in the moment, without questioning what is really happening.

Here are some deep thought provoking questions for you to consider:

- Would I be fooled if the news channels and everyone around me were convinced of something that was not real?

- How long did you believe in the global warming hoax?

- If I knew something was not real, but everyone else believed it, would I fight for the truth, or just wait until someone else revealed it?

For more deep thought provoking questions, check out the Return of Joshua novel today at the DailySkew Bookstore.

Short animation

2009-11-24T19:40:00.000-05:00

This is a sponsored guest post written by Matt Kelland on behalf of Moviestorm. Post powered by Sponzai.

Moviestorm is enabling a new generation of amateur film-makers to realize their visions. It offers easy, affordable animation tools that can produce sophisticated high-quality films on practically no budget. After several years in development, Moviestorm has demonstrated that home movie-making needn’t be limited to cheap hand-held cameras and clips of the kids goofing around. Its virtual movie studio allows users to break free of the limitations of the real world, and allows them to direct, film, edit and distribute 3D animated movies without any knowledge of animation techniques or 3D modelling. And best of all, it's free, and comes without any copyright restrictions.

Iain Friar, known as IceAxe, is one of Moviestorm’s many successful film-makers. His short film, Clockwork, a dystopian vision of a totalitarian Britain after a Soviet invasion in the 1980s, is winning accolades and awards around the world, most recently the audience prize at the Atopic Festival in France and the Grand Prize at the Machinima Expo. Clearly influenced by both 1984 and A Clockwork Orange, with a visual style that evokes both Communist era propaganda posters and more recent animated movies such as A Scanner Darkly, it is a stark, powerful film that belies its modest origins.

Iain, who's 42, works in marketing, and started making movies just 18 months ago. “I’ve always been a hands-on person, in music, sport, and everything else,” he says. “I thought it would be fun to shoot a music video, but I’m not the most technical of people, and it seemed extraordinarily hard. I remember when computer games started using in-game animation to tell the story instead of video clips, and this interested me, especially now that game technology has become so sophisticated. So I bought a book, Machinima for Dummies, which had Moviestorm on the CD, and I was hooked. I liked Moviestorm because it did what I was looking for, even though I didn’t really know what I was looking for at the time, and the Moviestorm community was very supportive. I initially made comedies, but I could see that the movies people respected were more dramatic, so it seemed that was the direction to go in.”

He spent four months working on Clockwork, and then the same again on his next short, Cloud Angel, a steampunk thriller set on board an airship. Apart from the voice acting, he made the entire film himself at his home in Basingstoke, England. “I'm lucky that my friends are so willing to step up to the mike and read my silly scripts!” he laughs. His next film is Gridlock, a science fiction comedy which he is co-producing with another successful Moviestorm director, James Thorpe. For this, they’ve stepped up the production costs a notch: they hired a recording studio and got the local amateur dramatic group to do the voice acting.

Iain is realistic about his future, though. “Am I ambitious? Yes. Do I want to keep it as just a hobby? Well, probably yes, because I imagine that if it became a full time activity, the fun might go out of it. I make movies as escapism. That said, I think that this industry would be really interesting to work in, because it's embryonic; I'm not sure what direction it will go in. It's exciting!”

Moviestorm’s CEO, Jeff Zie, is hugely enthusiastic and supportive. “Iain and the many other Moviestorm users are an inspiration to us all,” he says. “We’re really proud that we’re giving talented people like this the tools they need to unleash the creative potential they never knew they had, and to produce these wonderful films.”

Try it and see!

You can download Moviestorm for free: Windows and Mac versions are available. If you want, you can expand your virtual film studio and buy extra costumes, sets, props, and sounds in their marketplace. If you've ever wondered whether you might be the next Tarantino, Ang Lee, or J J Abrams, now's the time to find out!

Dream Signs and Symbols, Return of Joshua

2009-11-20T08:08:00.000-05:00

Recently I had two dreams that I'm sure have some interesting dream signs and symbols:

1. I was looking at tall bookshelf at an old European library, and I couldn't quite make out the letters printed on the spines of the books. They were just a little fuzzy, even though I had a new prescription for glasses. I was thinking how you can't fix certain things as you get older.

2. I was in Vietnam, marching in a steady procession with a group of soldiers, in the middle of a tall grassy field. A white anglo-saxon (is that redundant?) chick with blonde hair, wearing one of those triangular Vietnamese rice farmer hats, whipped out a bazooka and fired on us. One of the soldiers dived to block the missile with his body, while the rest of us dove to the ground.

The missile exploded. I felt my torso rumbling (kinda like a contemporary video game) as it was torn to pieces by the blast. I felt no pain. Fade to peach-orange color.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your take on these dream signs and symbols. While you're at it, check out The Velvet Mask at our DailySkew Book Store.

Books on the American Dream -- The Velvet Mask

2009-11-18T20:24:00.000-05:00

When I think of books on the American Dream, I can't help but think of Dace Senoit and the Dream Seeker series of novels.

It's amazing -- we've got two novels for sale and several more waiting to be released ... the idea of selling fiction literature on the web is incredible. When the literature is the Dream Seeker, then you truly have the epitome of books on the American Dream.

There's a classic chapter in The Velvet Mask, page 71, called Final Fate of the Universe, where the Realtor -- who buys, sells, and trades realities to humanity -- tries to convince our hero Dace that by inspiring individuals to live out their one true dream in life he was actually helping the Realtor's business. It's the ultimate battle between the clean pursuit of dreams and slimy pursuit of power ... the attempt to achieve stable fulfillment versus the constant pursuit of the latest thing, be it a product, service, lifestyle change ... the battle between real change towards the better in the human heart and superficial coverings to hide the heartache within.

I could go on and on ... but I'd love to hear what you think. Check out the great books on the American Dream at the DailySkew BookStore, and then come back to the DailySkew and tell us what you think!

Rock Along Productions brings you Music News

2009-11-18T19:21:00.000-05:00

This is a sponsored guest post written by Justin Germino on behalf of Rock Along Productions. Post powered by Sponzai.

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Deep thought provoking questions from Dream Seeker: The Velvet Mask, from article at thedailyskew.com

2009-11-10T13:11:00.000-05:00

I just posted this at thedailyskew.com, and I thought I'd share it here:

Here are some deep thought provoking questions that occurred to me while reading Chapter 1, pages 11 through 13, of Dream Seeker: The Velvet Mask:

- Why don't shy boys who are afraid to shower after P.E. (phys ed, for the uninitiated) because of being naked around other teenagers realize that they'll never get the girl if they smell sweaty in class?

- What do people from Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America think when they read about teenage boys that refuse to shower after P.E. because they're shy and afraid?

- When someone disappears (i.e., doesn't show up at work or school with no explanation) and you know that person's phone number or where they live -- how long do you wait before attempting to contact that person? A week? A month? Two months?

I remember, in my Junior year of High School, I skipped like a month of classes before my best friend came knocking on my door to find me and see what was going on.

Anyway, Dream Seeker: The Velvet Mask is full of storylines and ideas that inspire deep thought provoking questions. Feel free to check it out, along with other fine DailySkew eBooks, at our DailySkew Bookstore.

For more static Dream Seeker content (because the 21st century writer cannot live on blogging alone), check out thedailyskew.com.

Deep Thought Provoking Questions - Dream Seeker: Return of Joshua, Chapter 1

2009-11-07T12:26:00.000-05:00

Recently, while browsing the web, I came across the subject of deep thought provoking questions. It made me think of the Dream Seeker: Return of Joshua, Chapter 1, which I recently read for an audiobook we're producing here at the DailySkew.

Anyway, here are some random deep thought provoking questions related to what I read:

- When did society begin to lose their fear of Satan?

- When did society go soft on the concept of eternal damnation?

- In Return of Joshua, it's suggested that this loss of fear towards Satan is a phenomenon in developed countries like the United States, and that the Icon for religious evil, as depicted in the book by the character Ty Strong, survives through the faith of people in third world countries. Is the loss of fear of religious evil archetypes limited to developed countries in our time? Why or why not?

- In Return of Joshua, the chain bookstore is called Boundaries, which is a parody of the name Borders. Who was the marketing genius that came up with the name Borders for a bookstore, anyway?

- What work has more spiritual value: A Course In Miracles or Dante's Inferno?

For more topics that inspire deep thought provoking questions, check out Dream Seeker: Return of Joshua at the DailySkew Book Store.

We'll keep you up to date on the progress of the Return of Joshua audiobook, as well as other Dream Seeker literary projects.