You're Safe Now

I read something extremely heart warming yesterday, and simply wanted to share.

When I was younger and watching TNG and Captain Jean-Luc Picard , commanding officer of the USS Enterprise played by Patrick Stewart I had a certain sense of looking up to the character, Picard. It was a leadership thing, how humans naturally follow a true leader. But there was also a father aspect to the character. Naturally, I explored this further, even toward a book on leadership written by Wess Roberts and Bill Ross, so imaging my surprise in reading about this yesterday, only recorded a few days earlier on May 29, coming from the actor himself regarding a topic obviously so close to him.

http://lemonsweetie.tumblr.com/post/51652237280/let-me-tell-you-a-thing-about-an-amazing-man

it may be hard to hear, but the YouTube video of the exchange may also be of interest

Right now, this very instant, someone needs to know that they can reach out and get help.

“You never have to go through that again, you’re safe now.” this is such a powerful message. I have such a feeling of compassion toward what Patrick Stewart is doing, and also for his sharing something so obviously personal.

One other point... notice how he points out that "violence is never the answer" and at the same time finds compassion for his own father, only last year he discovered that un-diagnosed PTSD may have been the cause for his own family's trouble. This reminds me to search beneath the surface regarding the issues in our lives.

Marianne Schnall exclusive interview with Patrick Stewart

Million Man Pledge

Stand! note: My son's Eagle Scout project benefitted Stand! here in Contra Costa County, CA

Vets in USA with PTSD Hotline
1-800-273-8255, press 1.

USA Hotline for Domestic Abuse
‎1−800−799−SAFE(7233)

Sometimes There Won't Be Any More

My parents had the typical mid- 20th century life. They were married in 1950 and then the 5 kids arrived over the next 14 years. My dad provided the income as my mom stayed home to raise us.

I have many vivid memories about growing up, the son of a school teacher and a businessman (hardware, plumbing, refinishing). I also remember the struggling through school with money; don't get me wrong, my folks 'loaned' me money (that I never had to repay) but I also had to get part time jobs to pay for school. The only money I had in my pocket when I started college was what I earned thru the paper route and odd jobs around the area, like “rock” picking and “corn detassling”… If you don’t know what those things are, then you have a little more to learn… I didn’t have a car, I got to college by sharing a ride with someone who did have a car.

I was fortunate in that my chosen career was in a growth area, computers... Throughout the 70's and 80's I had decent opportunities but also challenges, largely by not being in the right company at the right time. Or by not starting my own company, perhaps that path was just not for me.

In the early seventies a construction worker could afford a house a new car and his wife could stay home with the kids if she so desired, just as my mom did in the 50's. My mom went back to work in the ealy 70’s. Things were already changing .

Personal Effects: Dark Art

Back in the first part of the year, I posted that Sigler and Hutchins are really good authors giving the old school publishing industry a run with an alternate business model.

JC Hutchins' latest book, Personal Effects: Dark Art, is out, at bookstores and online, I've ordered my copy, and a prequel is playing in the feed at JC's site, and at Podiobooks. The book is a supernatural thriller, great storytelling, and will keep you up at night, either reading, or scared to go to sleep. The book is also different, in that you get some "personal effects" like ID cards and photos and if you call the phone numbers with some of the items, you get the character's voicemail; google the characters and institutions, you will find real websites to further shore up the storytelling infrastructure, like the hospital website or the main character's myspace page.

Personal Effects creator is Jordan Weisman, of the Alternate Reality Game storytelling genre. Think The Dark Knight, Year Zero, and I Love Bees.

Maybe you won't be a simple passive reader, you might become active in the story, because you can find out things that the characters themselves don't know... or do they?

Posted via email from Thomas's posterous

Contagious

Coming up to the last episode of Contagious, by Scott Sigler.

The latest podcast episode was posted Sunday, only one left. You can get the feed and listen to all of the episodes where Scott reads them for free at
http://www.scottsigler.com/

If you like horror with a science bent, you're gonna love these.

Time, Sigler, Hutchins

Gotta love these guys. Their heart (and tons of time) has gone into their work and the marketing "buzz" is starting to pay off.

Give them a listen at Podiobooks.com (Infected, Contagious, 7thSon book 1)or at the author's websites. I just finished Sigler's Nocturnal and it was great!

The 3rd issue of RKMag is out!

Julia is also in this issue, check out the work that this fabulous group of kids is accomplishing.

Alternate link

Julia is on page 13 and 33.

Towel Day is this Friday

Towel Day is celebrated every May 25 as a tribute by fans of the late author Douglas Adams.

More information can be found at wikipedia.

The event was first held in 2001, two weeks after Adams' death on May 11, and since then annually. On this day, fans carry a towel with them throughout the day. The towel is a reference to his popular science fiction comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Free E-Book

Here is a free ebook, from a new author, since 9-11 making his name in the pod-o-sphere. It is horror, so you may not like that genre, but if you do, right click this link and download and save to your computer.

This book goes on sale on Amazon.com on April 1, for $20 (correction, $13.57) and as the author says, this "free" distribution "... will tick off the suits at the big publishing companies." From his website, Scott Sigler writes:

"En route to a rousing final episode, Ancestor was the #1 literary podcast on iTunes and every other podcast index, including Morpheus, FeedBurner, Podiobooks.com and Podcast Alley. The book's popularity caught the attention of the broadcast world, and was the first audiobook broadcast on Sirius Satellite to the company's 4.3 million subscribers.

ANCESTOR SYNOPSES

On a remote island in Lake Superior, scientists struggle to solve the problem of xenotransplantation -- using animal tissue to replace failing human organs. Funded by the biotech firm Genada, Dr. Claus Rhumkorrf seeks to recreate the ancestor of all mammals.

By getting back to the root of our creation, Rhumkorrf hopes to create an animal with human internal organs. Rhumkorrf discovers the ancestor, but it is not the small, harmless creature he envisions. His genius gives birth to a fast-growing evil that nature eradicated 250 million years ago -- an evil now on the loose, and very, very hungry.

You can also download or capture the podcasts, for free, and listen to the book as an audio book. So if you have a commute and are looking for a horror novel to keep from falling asleep while you drive, this is it!

You can do this from the podiobook website via this link.

Enjoy!